There are various bluestone paths in the imperial garden, and there are ancient trees and flowers, green moss on the side of the road, and red pavilions for people to rest. I walked on the blue brick road, shuttling between the slanting red grass and trees, thinking about Yuwen Yong's words, it doesn't look like a fake, can I believe him?

"Xiao Shangshu, come here!" In the pavilion ahead, Ji Nushi was waving to me.

I answered the call and sat down in the pavilion. Out of curiosity, Ji Nushi asked me, "Your Majesty just called you out, what did you say?" ”

I only said lightly: "It's nothing, just told me to prepare for the autumn hunt." ”

"That's it?"

Ji Nushi was quite disappointed, felt bored, and changed her conversation again, "Xiao Shangshu, do you think that Feng Xiaoshu's female companion Qi Guogong is a little unusual?" ”

I raised my eyebrows, "What's unusual?" ”

"They often whisper in one place, and I've seen them twice. Xiao Shangshu, you got close to Feng Xiaoshunu, so she didn't say anything to you? ”

Looking at Ji Nushi's excited look on his face, I still said lightly: "Feng Xiaoshu only serves the concubine wholeheartedly, and has no other ideas. ”

Ji Nushi didn't believe it, and said: "Xiao Shangshu, who in this palace doesn't want to fly on the branches to enjoy wealth." Take 10,000 steps back and say, even if Feng Xiaoshunu has no intention, she can't bear Qi Guogong's interest in her. Qi Guogong is a talent, and he is a royal nobleman, being entangled and grinding by such an outstanding man, can she resist? ”

As he was talking, he suddenly heard a scream. Ji Nushi and I hurriedly went out of the pavilion to take a look, only to see a person in front of me lying on the ground in embarrassment, and when I got closer, it was Yuwen Yong's attendant Yuwen Xiaobo. Ji Nushi and I hurriedly helped him up, and Ji Nushi greeted: "Uncle Xiao, are you okay?" ”

Yuwen Xiaobo's sideburns were scattered, he looked at a puddle of tung oil on the ground, and complained: "What kind of bastard is this, who actually sprinkled tung oil on this road and caused me to suffer." Bastard, it's really hateful! ”

Yuwen Xiaobo lost his temper and frightened the palace maids who were playing with flowers and plants in the flowers on the side. I saw a picture scroll rolling far away on the ground, so I hurriedly picked it up and put it away, and handed it to Yuwen Xiaobo, "Lord Xiaobo, this is your painting?" ”

Yuwen Xiaobo took the painting that I rolled into a tube, straightened his body, and said, "Okay, I don't need your help, I can walk by myself." ”

After that, he straightened his robe and walked away alone.

Ji Nushi looked at his back and guessed: "Uncle Xiao is afraid that he will have to offer some calligraphy and painting to His Majesty again." ”

——

"You said, did you take that picture of Concubine Xiang!" Yuwen Xiaobo's hand was against my collarbone, and he asked me gloomily, but he didn't use his hand to choke my neck.

Yu Wenyong stepped forward and shouted: "Uncle Xiao, calm down and let her go!" ”

was reprimanded by Yuwen Yong like this, and Yuwen Xiaobo reluctantly let go of me.

At noon today, as soon as I entered the Zhengwu Palace, I was forced by Yuwen Xiaobo, and I only knew after listening to it that the picture of the Xiang Concubine that he dedicated to Yu Wenyong yesterday was replaced, and the people who came into contact with the picture of the Xiang Concubine yesterday were the only ones besides him. Therefore, Yuwen Xiaobo suspected that I took the real picture of Concubine Xiang while he was wrestling, and secretly exchanged another fake picture of Concubine Xiang to him.

I defended, "It's really not me, it's just an accident that I met Lady Xiaobo in the Imperial Garden that day." Even if I have the heart to replace the adult's painting, how do I know that you are going to dedicate the painting to Your Majesty on that day, and how do I know that what you are going to dedicate to Your Majesty is a picture of Concubine Xiang? ”

Yuwen Xiaobo snorted coldly: "That's not for sure, your methods are powerful." Who knows where you got the news that I am going to dedicate a painting to Your Majesty, and arrange it all! ”

Yu Wenyong stopped him, "I believe in her, and she didn't do anything about stealing paintings." I have already ordered He Quan to investigate, and I believe that I will soon be able to find out the person who really stole the painting. ”

Yuwen Xiaobo said hurriedly: "But she is the one who has the most opportunity to commit the crime, and she is the most suspicious." Why didn't Your Majesty check her first! ”

Yu Wenyong said fiercely, "I said, I believe in her, and you are not allowed to embarrass her for half a point!" ”

Yuwen Xiaobo didn't dare to squeak anymore, but just stared at me with resentment.

"Uncle Xiao, think about it again, besides you, who else knows that you are going to offer Concubine Xiang to Your Majesty, and the news may have leaked from him." I tried to be as tactful as I could.

"I only told Ah Xian about Concubine Xiang." Yuwen Xiaobo changed his words and said with great certainty, "But it's definitely not him." He said that he would keep it secret for me and would never reveal half of it. ”

Qi Guogong - Yu Wenxian? Seeing that Yuwen Xiaobo was so sure, I had to speculate elsewhere. My mind flashed over and over again the picture of Yuwen Xiaobo falling in the area of the Qingliang Pavilion yesterday, and the figure of the palace maid who was tending to the flowers and plants flashed in my mind-

"I see." I shouted all at once, "There is another person who has the opportunity to commit crimes." ”

He Quan quickly called out the palace maids who were responsible for pruning flowers and plants in the area of the Qingliang Pavilion yesterday, a total of four. I went to identify people, the first three palace maids were not the ones I saw yesterday, and the last palace maid named Lu Ming, but everyone didn't know where she went, and they didn't see her all day. He Quan immediately mobilized the palace maid to find someone, and finally found her in a hidden rockery in the imperial garden.

The man was out of breath, the body was cold, there was no sign of struggle, his right arm was outstretched, his four fingers were close together, and his index finger was pointing straight to the north.

The coroner found a silver needle in the back of her head, which had been poisoned and died by a poisoned needle that had been smeared with blood on her throat. In addition, I also found a small verdant bead flower near the rockery, which is a headdress style only found by the female officials of the third rank in the palace.

Everything is clear, the third-grade female officer, to the north. There are four recorded third-grade female officials in the palace: Xiao Qingqiang, Ji Wanqiu, Feng Ling'er, and Zhong Yu. All the female officials of the third rank live in the Wen'an Palace, I live in the Academy of Literature in the east, Ji Wanqiu lives in the Fuyun Pavilion in the west, Feng Ling'er lives in the Tinglan Pavilion in the south, and Zhong Yu lives in the Snow Tower in the north.

Zhong Yu was quickly arrested and put into Si Zhengsi's cell, but she was a hard bone, and she did not let go even if she was tortured, insisting on her innocence. It's suspicious, and there's no way to start.

——

The autumn hunt is set up in the Lishan Palace on the outskirts of Chang'an City. Lishan is a vein of green mountains, surrounded by clear water, clear as a mirror, only the breeze with light green water vapor in the mountains blows, and the body can be dissipated with dry heat. Cool as promised, it is the best choice for hunting.

Among the harem concubines, Yuwen Yong only took Li Guifei to Lishan alone, accompanied by the princes and ministers and their families. To my surprise, Lonely Garo was also among them. Although Yang Jian is the son of Yang Guogong, his current position is only a corporal of the palace, and he is not qualified to travel with his family. But Dugu Jialuo, who was his wife, was selected into the list of Qiu Hunt's entourage, which shows that Yuwen Yong treats her specially.

The autumn hunt was launched in the Lishan enclosure, and first Yuwen Yong had a riding and archery competition with Yu Wenhu, Yu Wenxian, Yu Wenzhi and others. Yuwen Hu, who has been on the battlefield for a long time and has long been familiar with driving, naturally arrived first in the horse racing competition, followed by Yuwen Yong, Yu Wenxian, and Yu Wenzhi. In the next hunting competition, Yuwen Hu got the most, although Yuwen Yong got the prey as good as him, but he was surprised to get an elk, and he had a good start. Yu Wenxian followed closely, and Yu Wen, who was the youngest and inexperienced, fell straight to the end, and couldn't help but be depressed and listless.

The royal competition is over, and the next thing is the game of the generals. Surprisingly, in the archery competition, Yang Jian, who was a palace uncle, and Yuwen Shenju, the commander of the guards, were evenly divided, winning everyone's applause. Dugu Jialuo looked at Yang Jian, who was showing his skills on the field, and a touch of pride flashed on his bright face.

While everyone was feasting after the game, I withdrew and walked through the verdant green trees, stepped on the thin autumn grass, and came to a clear water and blue pool. A pool of deep water is as clear as glass, and you can see the shallow water flow from the upper reaches of the white stone to pass through, and the murmur flows into the clear pool, and the cool green water vapor hits the face. The color of the sky and water, and the shadows of the low-hanging green trees by the pool, really make people fall into the painting.

Picked up a puff of water, washed his face, and was surprised to find someone behind him, I hurriedly got up and turned around, and when I saw that the person who came was Dugu Jialuo, his eyes were deep, and he was a little vigilant in his heart, "It turned out to be Mrs. Yang." ”

We were a few steps away from the edge of the pool, but I saw a clear dagger against my neck as quickly as electricity, "Don't move! ”

My heart suddenly rose to my throat, "What is Mrs. Yang doing, if you do this again, I'm going to call someone!" ”

"If you dare to shout, my dagger will cut your throat instantly, you shout and try!" This woman, who was as bright as a fire lotus, had a cold face at this time.

"Say, what if I pushed you into the water and drowned you here? Everyone will only suspect me if you are stumbling into the water. ”

Looking at Dugu Jialuo's cold eyes, I tried my best to control my frightened heartbeat and asked, "Where did Qingqiang provoke Mrs. Yang, and why did Mrs. Yang kill me?" ”

Dugu Jialuo's bright eyes seemed to smile and said, "What if I say it's for Yang Jian, for Your Majesty?" My husband Yang Jian has never mentioned the woman next to me in front of me, but he not only praised you in front of me. Your Majesty is now defending you in every possible way, and it can be seen that you are very good at deceiving people's hearts, and I will get rid of you today! ”

I was so scared that I calmed down, and said to Dugu Jialuo, as clear as snow: "For Yang Jian and Your Majesty? I don't believe it, Dugu Jialuo is a strange woman with wisdom and great ambitions, how can she be with those ordinary women who are confined to love and jealous for the sake of the competition between children. ”

My words aroused Dugu Jialuo's interest, and she said, "Wisdom and ambition? How can you be sure that I won't kill for the sake of jealousy? ”

"The famous Jade Gongzi is not such a narrow-minded person!"

"You-" Dugu Jialuo's bright face really lost its color.

Exegesis:

(1) The title comes from Lu Zhaolin's "Fifteen Nights Watching the Lanterns" in the Tang Dynasty: "The stars of the Han Dynasty are suspicious, and the building is like the moon." ”