Taishifu.

Dressed in a black cotton robe, Xiao Taishi sat on a large chair in the room, looking at a sword hanging from the wall in a daze. His face was very ugly, a little pale, and his withered right hand on the handle of the chair was even trembling slightly.

It was late at night, but he didn't feel the slightest sleep.

Just looked at the sword like this, and I don't know how long it took before Taishi Xiao sighed lightly and muttered to himself: "Yu'er, do you remember this sword?" When you were young, you didn't know the truth, and you once asked your father for this Optimus Sword, and your father told you that one day, when your father felt that the time was right, he would give it to you ......! ”

He stopped, and his old body curled up in his chair, like a poor old man who was about to die, so old and so helpless.

The flickering of the oil lamps in the room cast his shadow on the walls, twisting and squeezing.

"My father has figured it out now, as long as you come back, the old man will hand over this sword to you." Taishi Xiao's voice also trembled slightly: "You haven't come back for a long time, I miss you for my father'......!" ”

The old man's voice was soft, as if he were whispering in a dream, or as if he were crying in a low voice.

A clear sound of pushing the door sounded, and the old man did not turn his head, still looking at the sword quietly, but he knew very well that there was no one else here at this time except Xiao Lingzhi.

Xiao Lingzhi came in with a porcelain jar as always, entered the inner room, and saw the old lady who was tired of curling in the chair like a child, with a trace of sentimentality in her eyes, she gently walked to the side, poured a bowl of soup, carefully held it, and presented it in front of Mrs. Xiao.

Taishi Xiao finally raised his head, looked at the cold girl in front of him, showed a kind smile, took the soup bowl, did not drink the soup immediately, but gently placed it on the small table next to him, and then turned his eyes to the sword again, and asked softly: "Lingzhi, this sword, you have seen it many times, do you know what kind of sword it is?" ”

Xiao Lingzhi turned her head and looked at the sword with beautiful eyes.

In fact, the sword didn't look special, the shape was very simple, it looked quite ancient, but it was clean and clean, without the slightest trace of rust.

"Lingzhi doesn't know." Xiao Lingzhi said softly: "But Lingzhi thought, this sword must be very important, otherwise grandpa would not hang it in his master bedroom." And this sword looks. After a long time, it is very clean, and it must be ...... that grandpa wipes it from time to time! ”

Taishi Xiao smiled and nodded: "You kid, you are talented and intelligent, and you can see through many things at a glance. He looked at the sword with a look of awe, and said slowly: "This sword is called the Heavenly Sword, and it is the sword used by my Xiao family ancestor when he followed His Majesty Yan Wu to conquer the south and the north. Back then, His Majesty Yan Wu raised troops against Qi and recruited the heroes, my ancestor Xiao Gong pulled out this sword, from the Longxing Division, this sword drank countless ...... blood! ”

Xiao Lingzhi has a graceful posture, like a daffodil blooming quietly, listening carefully to the side.

"Since Xiao Gong, this sword has become the sword of the head of my Xiao clan." Taishi Xiao turned his head to look at Xiao Lingzhi, "The Heavenly Sword has been treasured by the successive heads of my Xiao family for a hundred years. ”

Xiao Lingzhi suddenly realized, nodded slightly, and said, "I see." ”

Taishi Xiao sighed and said, "The old man has descended every year, and he knows that the position of the head of this family will be passed on. ”

Xiao Lingzhi did not speak.

"According to the rules, this sword should have been passed on to your stepfather." Xiao Taishi said slowly: "But the lord of a clan is related to the rise and fall of a clan, so I have to be cautious. Your father-in-law is arrogant, ignorant, irritable and arrogant, unable to convince the whole clan, let alone the great talent to unite my Xiao family, he is really not a person who can take on great responsibilities......! ”

Xiao Lingzhi's eyes were slightly surprised.

She wasn't surprised that Xiao Taishi would have another heart for the head of the family, with Xiao Huaijin's ability and personality, he was indeed not a suitable candidate for the head of the family, she was just surprised that such a major matter of electing the head of the family, why did Xiao Taishi unexpectedly mention it to herself at this time.

But she still seemed very quiet, listening quietly.

"In fact, the whole clan also understands that the real choice of the master of the family is Yu'er, who is far away at the border, your second uncle!" Master Xiao said softly: "Many years ago, the old man made up his mind that the future of the Xiao family was entrusted to him. ”

Xiao Lingzhi didn't know how to say it, but Master Xiao smiled and said, "Lingzhi, you sit down first and talk to grandpa." ”

Xiao Lingzhi nodded and sat down on the chair next to her.

Taishi Xiao was silent for a moment, and said softly: "This time to quell the rebellion, do you know who led the army back to Beijing ......!" ”

"The whole of Beijing has been talking about this for the past few days." Xiao Lingzhi's expression was a little unnatural: "Yes...... It's Han Mo! ”

Taishi Xiao nodded slightly: "Yes, it's Han Mo." His eyes suddenly became sharp: "But behind this matter, there is a huge problem hidden, do you understand?" ”

Xiao Lingzhi frowned slightly, was silent for a moment, and then said, "What does grandpa mean?" ”

"Han Mo went to the northwest this time to escort His Royal Highness the Crown Prince to inspect the border passes and bring deterrence to the Wei people." Xiao Taishi said slowly: "But when I returned to King Qin, it was Han Mo who led the troops, and of course there was a big problem in the middle!" ”

……

"What does grandpa mean, does it mean that something happened at the border gate?" Xiao Lingzhi frowned and asked.

Taishi Xiao was trembling with one hand, but he tried his best to calm down, nodded and said: "If nothing happens, even if the one who leads the troops back is not Huaiyu, it should be the prince, and it can't be Han Mo anyway." Han Mo did not have the slightest influence in the Northwest Army, but this time when he came back, the Northwest Army obeyed his military orders, which was really incredible......! His face seemed to have aged ten years in an instant, and the look in his eyes was the kind of horror or even begging that could never be revealed in front of outsiders, although his voice tried his best to remain calm, but he couldn't hide the trembling voice: "Lingzhi, you say, isn't it...... Something happened to him? ”

He looked at Xiao Lingzhi, like a poor but hungry old man staring at a girl with a steamed bun in her hand, her eyes full of begging.

Seeing Taishi Xiao's helpless eyes, Xiao Lingzhi was actually sour in her heart, and said in a very positive tone: "Grandpa, the second uncle will never have anything happen. He is a famous general of the Ten Directions, a strong man at the peak of martial arts, with 100,000 Northwest Army under his command, and he is loyal, and no one in this world can hurt him. ”

Hearing this answer, Taishi Xiao's face showed a look of surprise, and he grabbed Xiao Lingzhi's jade arm with one hand, "Lingzhi, do you really think so?" You are very intelligent, what you say must be reasonable, do you really think that your second uncle is safe and sound? ”

Xiao Lingzhi felt that Taishi Xiao's grasp was very powerful, and her jade arm was a little painful, and her willow eyebrows frowned, but she still nodded and said, "Grandpa, don't worry, the second uncle will be fine." ”

Taishi Xiao was like a man who fell into the water and grabbed a life-saving straw, full of joy, and soon found that he was a little out of shape, hurriedly let go of his hand, and said softly: "Lingzhi, you ......!" ”

Xiao Lingzhi smiled and said, "Lingzhi is fine." ”

Because of Xiao Lingzhi's words, Taishi Xiao seemed to be in a much better mood, so he actually stood up, carried his hands in the room, paced back and forth, and muttered to himself: "Yes, Huaiyu is both civil and military, there are thousands of soldiers under his command, and he is very cautious, no one can hurt him...... Yes, no one can hurt him......! He walked back and forth dozens of times, repeating it in his mouth, unknowingly, after a long time, he suddenly stopped his steps, frowned, was silent for a moment, and finally said: "That is the case, why is it Han Mo who led the troops back this time?" Where is Huaiyu? Where is the prince? ”

Xiao Huaiyu is his son, although the crown prince is a member of the royal family, but now he is his grandson-in-law, these two people, but there is no news, he naturally has eyes and ears in the northwest, but to this day, there is no exact news to inform the whereabouts of the two people.

He returned to his seat, pondered for a moment, his eyes showed a cold look, and said softly: "Could it be that Han Mo led the troops back to Beijing and had something to do with the crown prince?" He squinted his eyes slightly, and seemed to forget that Xiao Lingzhi was by his side for a while, and muttered to himself: "Su Yuting is secretly involved with the prince, and they have been together in the past few years...... This turmoil in Beijing is absolutely inseparable from the prince's plan. The prince went to the northwest, and now that he thinks about it, he must have other plans? What is he going to do? How did Han Mo get the military power? The military power has always been in Huaiyu's hands, without Huaiyu's permission, it is impossible for Han Mo to get the military power in the northwest, and it is impossible for the Northwest Army to obey Han Mo's military orders, could it be that Han Mo's military power was given by Huaiyu? Why did Huaiyu hand over the military power to that kid ......! ”

He has a strong confidence in his son, although he has long felt that the prince is likely to go to the border to make a move against Xiao Huaiyu, but in the heart of the prince, the prince and Xiao Huaiyu are by no means equal opponents, although the two can be regarded as a monarch and a minister, but the prince is like an ant, and it is impossible to take any advantage of Xiao Huaiyu, who is like a tiger.

It is precisely because of this that he really can't figure out what kind of changes have happened in the northwest, and because he can't imagine that Xiao Huaiyu will be carefully plotted by others, so many things are difficult to explain in his opinion.

He had full confidence in Xiao Huaiyu, but deep in his heart, he had always felt a deep uneasiness, and that uneasiness had not weakened since the rebels imprisoned him, but until this moment, it had not weakened, but was getting stronger and stronger.

The rebellion of the Su family made Taishi Xiao aware of a very cruel reality, the premise that they had the courage to rebel was that Xiao Huaiyu lost his military power, otherwise Xiao Huaiyu was sitting on 100,000 elite soldiers, and the Su family would not dare to move.

Han Mo led the troops back to Beijing, which had confirmed the worry in his heart, but he didn't dare to believe it, and he didn't want to believe it.