Returning to Lin Yuan from Taoyuan Temple, getting off the carriage, Xiao Mo and Gao Zhe walked in front, Xia Wenqing followed behind, suddenly Xiao Mo stopped, let Gao Zhe leave first, turned back to Xia Wenqing and said, "Do you remember what you promised me before going to the General's Mansion?" ”

It turned out that I was going to say the conditions, "remember." Since the two of them talked in the carriage, Xia Wenqing found that the two of them were different, and his attitude towards him instantly became cold.

Of course, Xiao Mo saw the change in Xia Wenqing's attitude towards him, but he didn't care, "Just remember, you want to avenge your parents, I can help you, but you have to listen to my arrangement." ”

"Why should I listen to you? I can take revenge on my own. The confidence in Xiao Mo's eyes all the time made Xia Wenqing really unhappy.

"On your own? I guess you're already dead before you get revenge. ”

The words are not rough, if I alone want to change this decaying dynasty, it is impossible, Xia Wen sighed secretly, but I can't trust the man in front of me, not to mention that if I walk out of this forest garden in anger now, where can I go, there are officers and soldiers everywhere, forget it, the hero will not suffer the immediate loss, and promise him first, "But you hide in this courtyard all day and night to be a hermit gentleman, what ability do you have to help me?" ”

The person in front of him chuckled, "Just because I am the eldest young master of Prime Minister Xiao's family!" ”

Prime minister! Xia Wenqing flashed a trace of surprise, so that there will be more opportunities to see the emperor in the future, when Xiao Mo saw the surprise flashing in the woman's eyes, he knew that the overall situation was in his hands.

"But why are you helping me?"

"Naturally, I have a reason, you don't have to pay attention to it."

Xia Wenqing knew that there was no way for others to make him speak about what he didn't want to say, so he didn't ask any further, "Then how are you going to arrange it?" ”

"Rest first!"

Hearing this, Xia Wenqing almost didn't spurt out a mouthful of blood, what kind of answer is this, how can the ancients not play cards according to common sense, "I'm serious." ”

"I'm serious, too!" When he said this, Xiao Mo turned his head and looked at her innocently with a smile in his eyes, "I mean, the city has not been safe in the past few years, the emperor must still be looking for you, waiting to cut the descendants of the Xia family to the roots, and the current foundation of Beiyue is still solid, with you and I can't shake it, in a few years, the emperor gives up looking for you, and the people are disgruntled because of his tyranny, and the princes covet the throne, at that time, as long as we push lightly, the dilapidated city wall will naturally fall." After speaking, Xiao Mo walked forward.

I didn't expect Xiao Mo to even think of what happened after this, and I had to admire his thoughtfulness and the depth of the city.

The two of them knew that when they walked to the middle of the bamboo forest, Xiao Mo stopped, "Listen to the piano?" ”

"No need!" Xia Wen walked past him without looking back, originally thought that Xiao Mo was just scheming, but he didn't expect him to be so indifferent to life, like a piece of thousand-year-old ice, he originally liked to listen to him play the piano, but now he is not in the mood, cold-blooded animals play the piano like others without the slightest emotion, what is there to listen to such music.

Xiao Mo looked at the girl's somewhat thin back, and the corners of her mouth rose, is this woman really only thirteen years old?

Time flies, time flows in a hurry between my fingers, and three years have passed.

In recent years, the national strength of North Vietnam has gradually faded, coupled with the drought and flood disasters in many places in recent years, the people's harvest has been greatly reduced, but the imperial court's taxes in this regard have increased instead of decreasing, and the people's lives are miserable.

Xia Wenqing's originally slightly immature face has become slim in a blink of an eye, and sixteen years old is also twenty-eight years old.

It's spring again, the warm sunshine is pouring into the house, Xiao Mo is sitting at the desk, painting a "beautiful spring picture", and Xia Wenqing is grinding ink for him.

"It's spring again." Xiao Mo sighed while painting.

Three years have passed, Xiao Mo has matured a little, thinner and thinner, sword eyebrows and starry eyes, "Niansheng", he called the woman next to him, two years ago, Xiao Mo changed Xia Wenqing's name to Gu Niansheng, afraid that her original name would reveal her identity, "I called you today to tell you that our plan is about to start." ”

Xiao Mo saw her ink-grinding hand tremble, he looked at her, "What's wrong?" ”

"It's okay, it's just that I can avenge my parents, and I'm a little excited." Having said that, Gu Niansheng's face could not see the slightest joy, she even felt that once they started their plan, there would be no such a leisurely day in the future, I don't know why, she was a little greedy for such a day with Xiao Mo.

In the past three years, Gu Niansheng's impression of Xiao Mo has changed a lot, and she even feels that he is the only person she is close to in this strange place.

"But I don't see that you're happy." Xiao Mo smiled lightly, just like when he first saw Gu Niansheng, he was as warm as jade.

Living with Xiao Mo, Gu Niansheng found that he was so terrifying that he looked at people accurately, and a casual expression you made would be discovered by him.

Gu Niansheng sighed, "I just don't think the days will be too peaceful in the future." ”

"But it's not peaceful, and you can exchange it for Taiping I."

Gu Niansheng was surprised by his ambition, Xiao Mo was a hidden son who was ignorant of the world on the surface, but after getting along with each other for several years, she found that the ambition he had was beyond her imagination, he not only wanted to get rid of the mediocre king, he also wanted to change this country that was strong on the outside and corrupt on the inside, he wanted to destroy this country, and then establish a prosperous world that really belonged to the people.

On the day of the beginning of spring, Xiao Mo, as the eldest son of Prime Minister Xiao Cheng, naturally received an invitation from the palace, and the original Xiao Mo ignored it, but now he also attaches importance to this palace banquet, and Gu Niansheng, as his "personal maid", will naturally follow him.

The civil and military officials in the court and the county lord had already gathered in the imperial garden to drink tea and chat, and at this time, Xiao Mo and Gu Niansheng slowly walked into the garden, because Xiao Mo did not participate in this kind of banquet before, so many people only knew that Prime Minister Xiao Cheng had an eldest son who ignored everything, but they didn't know what this person looked like, so when a man with a refined temperament and dressed in white appeared in the garden, there were many doubtful eyes cast at him.

Xiao Mo ignored these inquiring glances, walked straight to Prime Minister Xiao Cheng, and saluted respectfully, "Father." ”

Seeing his eldest son, who had moved out of the Xiao family for a long time, appeared here, Prime Minister Xiao was also very surprised, but he didn't say anything because of the occasion, he nodded, "It's good to come." ”

As soon as he finished speaking, he saw a young man running in the distance, he was very young, and shouted to Xiao Mo, "Brother!" ”

"I don't know it's been this big for a few years." Xiao Mo looked at the fair-skinned and clean young man in front of him with a smile, he was Xiao Mo's half-brother, Xiao Chengxiang's youngest son Xiao Jinyan.

Although the two are brothers, they feel that their personalities are very different just by looking at the surface, one is as gentle as jade, and the other is lively and cheerful.

"Brother, you are really, for so many years, I haven't seen you go home to see, I still remember my younger brother." Xiao Jin's tone was a little dissatisfied, but more of it was his younger brother's deception to his brother.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry." Xiao Mo smiled, jokingly like Xiao Jinyan apologized, but said to Prime Minister Xiao Cheng, "Why don't you see your mother?" Xiao Mo's biological mother left when Xiao Mo was very young, for Xiao Mo, who lost his mother's love since he was a child, mentioning things about his biological mother is undoubtedly revealing his scars, Gu Niansheng also knows this, so he never asks about his mother in front of him.

"Your mother is in poor health, so she rests at home." The person Xiao Mo now calls his mother is Xiao Mo's stepmother, Xiao Jinyan's biological mother, just two years after Xiao Mo's biological mother left, Xiao Chengxiang married Xiao Jinyan's mother, for Xiao Mo, this woman took the place of his mother, although this made Xiao Mo very unhappy, but there was nothing he could do, he could only call her mother respectfully.

At this time, Prime Minister Xiao Cheng was invited to have tea by others, and in an instant, only three people were still in place, Xiao Jinyan proposed to go for a walk by the lake, and Xiao Mo agreed.

There are obviously a lot fewer people by the lake, it may be just spring, the temperature is still low, the wind blowing on the lake is cool, Gu Niansheng followed behind the two, the wind blew, she couldn't help sneezing, Xiao Mo turned around when he heard the sound, took off the fur cloak on his body and draped it on Gu Niansheng's body, and tied her neckline tightly, and said softly, "Be careful, don't catch a cold." This sudden movement and this gentle voice made Gu Niansheng blush inadvertently.

Xiao Jinyan originally thought that this woman was Xiao Mo's slave, but only then did he notice that Gu Niansheng was not Xiao Mo's maid, at least Xiao Mo attached so much importance to the woman in front of him, which fully showed that the relationship between the two was not a simple master-servant relationship.

However, to be honest, Xiao Jinyan has always felt that she looks like an old man, and now that she looks closely, she really looks like Xia Wenqing who was with him when she was a child, but if it was really her, why didn't she think of him, or did she also doubt it.

"Brother, who is this woman?" Out of curiosity, Xiao Jinyan decided to ask clearly.

Xiao Mo also knew that his attitude towards Gu Niansheng just now aroused Xiao Jinyan's suspicions, "It's my maid." ”

Xiao Jinyan didn't believe what he said, and looked sly, "If it's just a simple maid, then the younger brother also takes a fancy to her, I don't know if the eldest brother can be an adult and give her to me." ”

As soon as these words came out, Gu Niansheng was stunned, she looked at Xiao Mo, he still looked confident, always kept smiling, he slowly spoke, "Xiao Mansion is so big, how can there be a lack of such a maid, although a gentleman should be a man, but others can, but she can't, to be honest, she is the smartest and most talented girl in my house, I want to keep her to relieve her boredom." ”

Xiao Jinyan still didn't believe this, but when Xiao Mo said this, he didn't refute it anymore, "I see, but this girl, where have we met, I see you are very familiar." ”

When he said this, Gu Niansheng was a little apprehensive, because she had really never seen this person, but this person spoke like this, could it be that he recognized the identity of his daughter of a criminal minister?

"Childe, it's indeed the first time I've seen you, so naturally I won't be familiar with it." After saying that, she smiled slightly.

If it's really her, why doesn't she remember me, could it be because of the decline of the Xia family?

Just when Xiao Jinyan was strange, Xiao Mo sent Gu Niansheng to the carriage to get a calligraphy and painting, so Gu Niansheng turned around and left.

When she turned around, Xiao Jinyan found the jade pendant on her waist, which was the mutton fat jade engraved with the word "Xia", and after she walked away, Xiao Jinyan asked Xiao Mo, "Big brother, is she Xia Wenqing?" After speaking, he smiled faintly, with a hint of self-deprecation, "Although she said that she was not, I saw the jade pendant she had carried since she was a child, it was her, right." ”

Xiao Mo was a little helpless that his younger brother was so smart, "Yes." Then, he sighed again, "Don't blame her, the Xia family is in decline, and she can only protect herself." ”

Xiao Jinyan nodded, "I understand." His eyes kept staring at the place where Gu Niansheng's back disappeared.

After talking for a long time, Xiao Mo excused himself to leave, walked back for a long time, and saw a figure standing not far away, he smiled and walked over, "Why are you standing here, didn't you ask you to get calligraphy and painting?" ”

Gu Niansheng turned his head and looked at his smiling eyes, "Is there this calligraphy and painting, don't you know it yourself?" ”

Hearing her say this, he smiled and shook his head, and really just used the pretext of using calligraphy and painting to let her leave.

The two walked back to the Imperial Garden, and Xiao Mo asked her, "You really don't know who that person is?" ”

Gu Niansheng knew that it was not easy for him to ask such a question, if she said that she didn't know, then she also revealed that she was not Xia Wenqing's business.

But coincidentally, just when she was standing alone on the side of the road just now, she also cleared her mind and remembered that she had seen a kid who often circled around Xia Wenqing in a dream, and when she went to the General's Mansion, she also saw a portrait of Xia Wenqing, and the words were mentioned next to it, "Xiao Jinyanliu." ”

In this way, she naturally understands the relationship between Xiao Jinyan and ancient Xia Wenqing, which can be regarded as a childhood sweetheart.

"Now at this time, if we only care about seeing old friends, then we will all be in trouble in the future, and it will also affect him, so it's better not to know each other."

Xiao Mo nodded, what she said was indeed good.