Ningguo Mansion.

Gongsun Mo never had a mother, but was still sent to his uncle's house.

Wang Wenzhou sat on a mahogany chair, and the fine incense burned in the incense burner, lingering in the study. Holding the cigarette pouch pot made of copper, he comfortably took a deep puff of the tobacco bought by the Qingyue Kingdom of the Southern Dynasty, and the smoke ring exhaled swirled in the air for a long time.

"This Qingyue country, although it is remote, but this tobacco is really good!" King Wenzhou, the Duke of Ningguo, shook his head in admiration, couldn't help but take another big sip, and praised his nephew sitting next to him.

"Uncle likes it, and after a while, Mo'er will help my uncle buy it." Gongsun Mo looked at his uncle's intoxicated appearance with his eyes closed, swallowing clouds and spitting mist, and he covered his mouth and nose slightly without a smoking habit.

"That's a good feeling!" Hearing that there was still high-quality tobacco to smoke, Ning Guogong finally opened his eyes, and his eyes were full of excitement.

"It's really quiet in the house!" Gongsun Mo is used to being noisy, and often hides in the flower building for the night, if it weren't for his father's tighter management, I'm afraid that nearly 100 flower building taverns in the royal capital can be visited.

"yes." Ning Guogong's intoxicated face showed a rare expression of loss, but in an instant, this Qingyue's tobacco was so strong that his mind began to be numb and sluggish.

"Uncle, you'd better smoke less." Gongsun Mo sighed, snatched his uncle's cigarette pouch and pot, and extinguished the tobacco.

"Oops! Other! Wang Wenzhou stretched out his hand to grab the handle of the cigarette pouch, but after thinking about it, his nephew was still for his own good, so he stopped in the air and grabbed it, or put it down.

"You know, my uncle has this hobby." Ning Guogong hung his head and sighed lonely.

"Hasn't Uncle thought about getting back your rightful position!" Gongsun Mo stared at his uncle, his bright eyes were not instantaneous, which was completely different from the demeanor of a playboy on weekdays.

"Presumptuous!" Wang Wenzhou heard such rebellious words, and his originally calm face showed a shocked expression.

"Uncle is angry!" Gongsun Mo knew that once he said that sentence, he would inevitably touch his uncle's scales, but he said it without hesitation, and his uncle was really angry, so he had to hang his head and admit his mistake.

"Forget it." Wang Wenzhou returned to a calm tone, he has no queen of his own, just such a nephew, if he dies one day, this hereditary title, he is still ready to let this nephew change his mother's surname and inherit the title, "Mo'er, when my uncle is gone, the position of Ning Guogong is yours, you have to be careful, you can be rich for life, how many people can't ask for it in their lifetime!" ”

"Uncle!" Gongsun Mo wanted to speak and stopped, since he was sensible, his uncle has always been this decadent appearance, there are forbidden army guards outside the house, and every month King Chen will send someone to send endless gold and silver jewelry, and endless silk and satin.

But it is a central sour, only Ning Guogong himself knows.

The prince who has lost power has no name and money, but he can't do anything, he can't participate in anything, and even his sister who married out can't go home casually, what's the point of these wealth.

"Uncle, I don't want to inherit the title!" Gongsun Mo hesitated for a long time, but he was still ruthless, and said firmly, looking directly into the eyes of the Duke of Ning Guo, and did not back down.

Wang Wenzhou looked at his young nephew, sat on the chair dejectedly, and was speechless for a long time.

Maybe for him, it is better to be a canary imprisoned in a golden cage than to be an ordinary person.

Just like himself when he was young, his sister refused to persuade him to become his own son, because he didn't want his children and grandchildren to be tied hand and foot like himself, as an example of kindness to all officials, to show the king's kindness and generosity, and to be a caged bird.

"It's fine." Ning Guogong let out a long sigh, the path of young people, let them decide for themselves.

"Why didn't my sister come along?" Ning Guogong thought about it, and only ate with his sister during the New Year's Festival, and he hadn't seen him for a few months, he looked at the only junior with pity, and his eyes were doting.

"My mother said that my uncle was bored alone, so I asked Mo'er to accompany my uncle and come back in a few days." Gongsun Mo thought about it, and said in 1510, "Uncle, three adults died in the king's capital, have you heard?" ”

"How could you not know, it is so terrible!" Wang Wenzhou hugged his arms and frowned together, for more than 40 years, he had never heard of such a big case, let alone imagined that it would happen in the royal capital at the feet of King Chen in just a few months.

"My mother didn't tell me why she asked me to come to my uncle." Gongsun Mo's expression was solemn, "In recent days, someone from the Criminal Department has arranged defenses in the house, and I think someone must have told Dad that the murderer's next target is Daddy." ”

"Mo'er, I didn't expect you to be so smart." Ning Guogong looked at his nephew, and his eyes became sharp.

Wang Wenzhou didn't think that he could see the clues of the matter and be smart, but that this unruly son who looked like an outsider was just the coat he was wearing, and Gongsun Mo inside was not so exaggerated, after all, he was the son of Gongsun Yi and his nephew.

The young man who climbed to the position of Shangshu from the end of the day has grown old, and this young man who is not under his father is probably in his prime.

"Where's my uncle?" Gongsun Mo didn't pretend to be himself in front of his own uncle, he just shook his head lightly when he heard such praise, compared to his father, compared to the children of officials and nobles he knew, he always felt that he was too far behind.

"The Guogong Mansion is guarded by the forbidden army, so Mo'er doesn't have to worry." Wang Wenzhou nodded, which can be regarded as comforting his nephew, even if his sister is unwilling to come back, he can be by the side of his loved one, and as a younger brother, he is not reluctant.

"Uncle, my father won't really be fine, right?" Gongsun Mo hesitated for a moment, for the murderer who was able to commit three crimes and was still at large, he was not sure whether his father could escape with his whole body.

…………

Liu Shuang dipped his spit, clicked a very small hole in the oil-paper window, and spied on Ning Guogong's every move in the study by taking advantage of hiding in the dark.

The middle-aged man in the light robe sitting in the middle should be Ning Guogong. And the young man sitting at the bottom of the hand was really the gentleman Gongsun Mo who had seen before.

It's just that the difference is that when he saw him in the stars and the moon, his face was full of diligence and exaggeration, and he was a rich boy who was not doing his job, but now this person has a respectful complexion, like a capable order in the Divine Capture Division.

Liu Shuang glanced down at Chu Qingqing, and happened to see the incredible look in Chu Qingqing's eyes.

It turned out that Chu Qingqing didn't know that Gongsun Mo, who was a gentleman, was just his disguise.

If this is the real Gongsun Mo in front of him, wouldn't Ning Guogong's suspicion be even greater?

With the help of Ning Guogong's identity and wealth, Gongsun Mo replaced his uncle, who could not move freely outside the mansion, recruited killers, borrowed the condensation balm provided by his uncle, and with the assistance of his father's military department Shangshu, he eliminated the enemies who could affect the plan one by one.

So, what is their purpose? Gongsun Yi has bigger ambitions?

That Shangshu, who is in his fifties, although he can continue to stay in office for more than ten years, and it is not impossible for him to be promoted to the position of the left and right ministers, but is it really worth taking such a big risk to murder important ministers?

Gongsun Mo has his own ambitions?

He made the appearance of a romantic son, instead of being courteous and polite, and he was not prepared for his career at all, but it seemed that in order to reduce the courtiers' suspicion of his father, he deliberately sold an innocuous handle to others, what kind of ambition would such Gongsun Mo have?

Does Ning Guogong have a greater purpose?

Instigated the courtiers to advise King Chen, restore the authority of the Duke of Guo, those who were killed were ministers who were unwilling to advise, if so, it would never be planned by Ning Guogong alone, at least, An Guogong would also be involved, and even the Zhenguo Duke who was far away in Ningzhou could not be unaware that so many people were involved, the risk of exposure would be greater, and as King Zhaowen personally issued the will of the capital, how could it be changed at will?

Thinking about this, Liu Shuang shook his head, no matter which one it was, it seemed outrageous.

Chu Qingqing also frowned, listened carefully to the conversation in the house, and held her breath, even though this Guogong Mansion was so desolate and cold, she still didn't dare to take it lightly.

And in the study, the two of them were still talking.

…………

Wang Wenzhou looked at his nephew's worried look and showed a faint smile.

"I was fifteen years old when I met your father." Ning Guogong did not directly answer his nephew's words, but talked about the past, his voice was soft, as if he was thinking about happy memories.

"My sister is only eighteen years old, and my brother-in-law is young and vigorous, but unlike us, I am destined to inherit the position of Ning Guogong, and my sister is also the sister of Ning Guogong in the future, not to mention wealth. And the brother-in-law is just a small Jiupin scribe of the military department.

At that time, my brother-in-law still had a lot of time, and he always accompanied me to the river outside the city to play, and I knew that he wanted to be with my sister at all, and I was just an excuse to drag the oil bottle.

The three of us have our own minds, I want to play, and they play with me, and speaking of which, my brother-in-law's swordsmanship is not bad. ”

"Daddy knows how to use a sword?" It was the first time Gongsun Mo had heard about his father's mother when he was young.

"Well, although you can beat three or two gangsters on the street, if you continue to practice, maybe there will be a small success." Ning Guogong smiled and fell into the past.

"I know that my sister also likes him, after all, my brother-in-law at that time, young and vigorous, always full of small faces, my sister and I have watched our father's perennial sad face since childhood, and when we met my brother-in-law, we also spent a happy time.

My brother-in-law was practicing swords by the river, and my sister looked at him with a smile, so I went down to the river to fish.

But it didn't take long for my brother-in-law to stop practicing swords, and even the smile on his face began to decrease a lot.

I know it's because of my father, my father doesn't like my brother-in-law's humble background and no future, and my brother-in-law swears that he will definitely get ahead.

Later, within a few years, my brother-in-law was really promoted, although he was still a very young Si Cao, but his father couldn't help his sister, so he still agreed to the family affair. ”

"So, my brother-in-law is really a very powerful person." Ning Guogong paced, stood in front of Gongsun Mo, patted his nephew's shoulder gently, and comforted: "Don't worry, it'll be fine!" ”

I didn't expect my father to be that kind of person when he was young, completely different from his cautious appearance now, Gongsun Mo nodded.

"Rest early." Ning Guogong was a little tired.

"Yes, Mo'er has retired." Gongsun Mo gave a deep salute, not as a prince of the country, but as a nephew to worship his uncle.

…………

In the study, Wang Wenzhou stared intently at the flickering candle flame for a long time, a shallow smile bloomed at the corner of his mouth, he didn't know what he was thinking, maybe he continued the memories just now.

Until he felt tired, Ning Guogong blew out the candle, closed the door alone, and quietly went back to his room to sleep.

The remaining candlelit rooms, perhaps seeing that the master was resting, gradually turned off the lights.

Liu Shuang and Chu Qingqing hid in the corner, patiently waiting for the time to pass, and when everyone in the house fell asleep, they gently pushed open the window of the study, turned over and jumped in.