The street echoed with the sound of metal knocking, accompanied by the shouts of the merchants walking the streets. The sound full of life is rippling in the bright light of spring, making people feel lazy and tired.

When Xue Chongxun's men and horses approached, the merchant saw that the house slave in front of him was carrying a poke lamp with words written, as well as the exquisite horse fight on the side, the merchant hurriedly avoided the roadside, and the shouting also stopped, looking at the swaggering people and horses running rampant on the street with awe.

Xue Chongxun was going home, there was a conspiracy in his mother's mansion at night, he planned to stay in the princess's mansion until the night, but when he heard the house slave report that Yu Wenxiao had something to ask to see, he was waiting in the Weiguo Mansion, as if something was wrong, so he said goodbye and went back, ready to see Yu Wenxiao again. In fact, he had been thinking about a feasible way to coup d'état for a long time, and he had thought about it countless times, so he didn't need to cramm, he just needed to think about how to say it to convince his mother.

Back on Anyifang North Street, Xue Chongxun saw Yu Wenxiao, but did not invite him to the Weiguo Mansion, but only took him to the small courtyard diagonally opposite to talk. While walking, Xue Chongxun said: "During this time, the people of your family try to have as little contact with me as possible. ”

Yuwen Xiao was a little unhappy when he heard this, and when he saw that Xue Lang didn't even let him in, his heart was even more blocked, but his face was not easy to show, so he had to mention it lightly: "Yuwen Ji heard that you went back to Chang'an, and complained in front of the old man, and you didn't send someone to say it in advance, she originally wanted to pick you up." ”

"Oh......" Xue Chongxun glanced at the old man, opened his mouth and finally gave up, not wanting to explain too much, for fear of leaking the news. He already felt the old man's dissatisfaction, but he thought that Yuwen Ji was not his main room, and the old man couldn't talk about his father-in-law, so it was difficult to say more, and he would understand the truth in the future...... Misunderstandings are small things, but leaks are big things.

Xue Chongxun thought for a while and said, "This time I went back to Beijing to report on my work, and I have to leave in two days." I heard in Luoyang that you made a murder? ”

Yuwen Xiao hurriedly said: "I am in a hurry to meet with Xue Lang today, it is precisely for this matter. The murder was never done by me, and since I became an official, I have always been cautious and strict with myself, and I have never done dirty work. ”

Xue Chongxun walked into an inverted room at the entrance of the small courtyard with him, invited him to take a seat, and asked, "Did you find out the culprit of the assassination?" ”

Yuwen Xiaodao: "It's found out......"

"Who?"

"Who else can there be, it's Colliers!" Yuwen Xiaodao, "I found the person who connected according to Xue Lang's clues, and used some means to force out about and other clues, but before I could continue to follow the vine, the person died...... Now there is no evidence at all, just based on the rhetoric of the middle. ”

Xue Chongxun groaned: "It's really him, I also thought at the time, who else but him would use such a means on me?" It doesn't hurt if you don't have evidence......"

At this time, he had already moved to kill in his heart, not because he couldn't hold back the evil breath in his heart, but Gao Lishi would actually use assassination to take revenge, Xue Chongxun couldn't help but feel a chill in his heart, as if he felt the hatred in Gao Lishi's heart...... For a person who hates himself so much, he can only feel at ease if he destroys him with his backhand. As for right and wrong, good or bad are all floating clouds, and don't you find trouble for yourself when you get entangled in those things?

The murderous aura on Xue Chongxun's face slowly calmed down again, and he said indifferently: "This matter is over here, you don't have to ask anymore..."

At this time, he suddenly regretted letting Yuwenxiao investigate the matter, in case this coup failed, the Taiping party would naturally be wiped out, and I am afraid that the Yuwen family would also be bitten by Gao Lishi. Thinking of Yuwen Ji, Xue Chongxun sighed in his heart, she should be a really good person. Originally, I wanted to remind Yu Wenxiao to be prepared, so that he could be prepared and ready to run away at any time, but he was afraid of leaking any clues, Xue Chongxun hesitated for a while and finally gave up.

After talking about Gao Lishi, Xue Chongxun sent Yu Wenxiao out, and after turning around to the courtyard, a house slave whispered: "Does Lang Jun remember Xiao Heng?" I've been locked up for a few months, and I'm in charge of delivering food on weekdays, I'm afraid that Lang Jun will forget ......"

Xue Chongxun slapped his forehead, he really forgot about that person, and asked, "Still alive?" ”

The house slave said: "But it's a human life, Lang Jun didn't speak, who dares to mess around." ”

"Take me to see." Xue Chongxun said. So the slave took him first to the wood-room, where there were two doors in the basement, one leading to the bottom of the "sauna" hut, where the slaves and maidservants made a fire; Inside the other door was a storage room, but now it was held privately, just like the dungeon.

The house slave in charge of the key opened the door, and Xue Chongxun and two henchmen walked down the stone stairs. The top of the passage was propped up with a whole plank, and after walking down for a while, there was still water dripping down his head, and it seemed that there should be underground water veins under this courtyard.

The servant lit the lamp, and the basement was finally lit, only to hear the "rattle" of chains, and a hoarse and miserable voice shouted, "Rice...... ...... eating"

The servant said: "Chained, you can't run, it's not windy here, it's useless to call him anything." ”

Xue Chongxun took the lamp, followed the sound and took a closer look, and was suddenly surprised, where is the person in front of him, where is the handsome scholar Xiao Heng? The hair is scattered, a dirty and tangled messy hair is on the upper half of the body, the face is almost covered, and the body is even dirtier after not taking a bath for several months...... Xue Chongxun smelled a strange stench mixed with the smell of feces.

"How did you get it like this......" Xue Chongxun felt an indescribable feeling in his heart. How did you torture a living person like this?

The house slave said: "Those who have entered the prison of the official mansion have been locked up for a long time with this ghostly appearance, there is no way, since they are prisoners, who is still waiting as a bodhisattva?" It's good for him to be able to feed every day. ”

Xue Chongxun fell silent, in fact, although Xiao Heng was a little hard-hearted towards his confidante, he didn't do anything treacherous. It was Xue Chongxun himself who locked up a person like this, but he was a little more vicious. He doesn't have to make excuses for himself, is he such a person?

Xiao Heng, a new science and technology scholar and a young man, was planted in the hands of Xue Chongxun, and he was really moldy for eighteen lifetimes. Xue Chongxun thought about it: Life is like this, no matter how chic he Xiao Heng is, can he compare to his father Xue Shao noble and free? Didn't my father starve to death like this?

"This person can't be let go, otherwise it's troublesome." Xue Chongxun said coldly.

The slave hurriedly said, "How does Lang Jun want him to die?" ”

Xue Chongxun remembered his father who was starving to death in prison, so he said lightly: "To get him a good meal, there must be wine and meat...... Then stop serving food and let it be. ”

"Yes." The house slave replied respectfully.

"Rice...... ...... eating" Xiao Heng shouted again, he seemed to be a little unconscious.

Xue Chongxun felt an inexplicable pain in his heart, and at this time, a drop of water on it dripped into his neck socket, which was cold and cold, making him feel cold all over his body.

In fact, he is more afraid, if the coup fails and falls into the hands of Li Saburo and Gao Lishi, how will he die? It's only worse than Xiao Heng, right?

Sometimes it's that the punishment can't be done by the sergeant, when Empress Wei was in power, there was a prime minister who lost the upper hand because of the political struggle, and was assigned to Lingnan, and Empress Wei sent a royal history to give the prime minister to death. The dry method of the imperial history is to ask someone to cut down the bamboo and weave it into bamboo strips, then strip off the prime minister's clothes, put him on the bamboo strips and pull him back and forth, until all the flesh on his body is scraped, and only white bones remain......

In the history of memory, how did Xue Dalang die? Xue Chongxun was suddenly very curious, but he really couldn't remember, anyway, he was given death by Li Longji, and the four sons of Princess Taiping, his cousin Li Longji, only one survived.

……

When the old man Yuwen came home, Yuwen Ji came up with great enthusiasm and asked for warmth, and finally said in a casual tone: "By the way, has Daddy seen Xue Lang?" ”

When the old man heard this, he was angry: "I saw it, but I didn't even let him enter the mansion, and asked Lao Tzu to have less dealings with him in the future." ”

The enthusiasm on Yuwen Ji's face suddenly froze. Originally, she also made up her carefully, carefully painted her thrush and applied rouge, especially her proud red lips, which were meticulously painted, making her originally charming face look even more delicate and beautiful, like spring flowers, beautiful and stylish. I didn't wear the usual men's clothes, I wore a half-new light-colored skirt, although it looked like ordinary clothes, and the colors were not bright, but she was carefully selected, and what she wanted was this restrained beauty. The color and material are not eye-catching, but they are very finely cut, trying to bring out her graceful figure, and the large places appear larger, and the small places appear more slender.

So attentive, for what? She said in disbelief, "Did he really say that?" ”

The old man snorted, and walked straight inside with a straight face, not wanting to say more. Only Yuwen Ji was left standing by the door in a daze, her mind blank, and she really didn't know what she was thinking.

She pulled down her face and silently followed the old man back into the house. Back in the boudoir, she sat down in front of the dresser, and she looked in the mirror in a daze.

Could it be that he is tired of it? Yuwen Ji looked at her charming face in the mirror, she was still very confident in her appearance, and it was really rare to be prettier than her when she walked casually on the street...... But when she thought of the famous Princess Jincheng in the palace, she was a little unconfident.

"I just want to be happy, and if I get tired of it, I will lose it, is such a person worth my attention!" Yuwen Ji scolded with resentment, "Just treat yourself as unlucky, and you are a cheap beast for nothing!" It's better to get out as soon as possible! ”

"Hate you! I hate you......" She felt very unwilling.

In an instant, she remembered that the City God Temple was bravely in front of her, and his sturdy body was like a mountain, a mountain that could shelter from the wind and rain...... Tragic and beautiful.

However, if he is really a person who cares about his life for the sake of love, does he still have a background, and he has to marry a princess? I'm afraid that as he himself said: as a nobleman, he can't bear the shame of a woman dying in front of him.

So Yuwen Ji was first resentful, then nostalgic, and now she is sober: judging from his words and deeds on weekdays, he is not a self-sacrificing person, or he is very selfish at all! The incident at the City God Temple was not for love, but just a belief of his?

Yuwen Ji also felt that she was really cheap: that person was despicable and shameless, what bullshit belief of his own, what does it matter to me? What's so great about the nobles, look at his sè, isn't there a powerful mother? G