In the dim cell, there are cockroaches everywhere, and from time to time two rats sprang out, and in the humid air, a pungent fishy smell rushes straight to the brain, and the smoke makes people have a headache. Xiao Ye hurried here with Yang Gengxiu, and spent two yuan to buy off the jailer before he was able to come in to visit the prison, and the two followed the jailer to the prison, covering their noses all the way, looking down at their feet, for fear that one would accidentally step on something dirty.

The jailer walked to a cell and stopped, quickly opened the chains, turned his head and said to Xiao Ye honestly, "This is it." ”

The two men were immediately taken into the cell, and the jailer then closed the door and hung up the chains.

The cell was poorly furnished, a layer of straw was spread on the ground, a broken straw mat was placed in the corner of the wall, there was not even a futon, Zhang Gou was lying on his side on the straw mat, his head resting on his arms, his whole body was curled up, he was not asleep, and he could never sleep in such a dirty and disgusting environment.

Listening to the jailer's words, and listening to the sound of chains colliding and jingling bells, Zhang Gou immediately got up and sat up, and when he saw that Xiao Ye was coming, he quickly knelt on the ground again, bowed his head and shouted: "Your Highness!" The lower official is wronged! ”

"Wronged?" Xiao Ye put down the hand covering his nose and laughed: "What have you wronged?" ”

Zhang Gou was still kneeling on the ground, but he raised his head, looked up at Xiao Ye, who was high above, and said: "Wyeth killed her husband, blamed others, and caused the official to be imprisoned, and the official was naturally wronged." ”

"So far, you're still hard-mouthed! Today in the public court, in front of the prince, that Xie Zheng has stripped you to the point that there is no skin left," Xiao Ye hated so much that his teeth were itching, and his words were full of anger, Zhang Gou did not dare to speak, Xiao Ye then said: "Whether it is Wyeth who blames you, or you blame Whit, this king knows very well in his heart, and now he comes to you, just to hear you say in person, whether the murderer is you or not." ”

Xiao Ye was extremely serious, Zhang Gou hesitated, still unwilling to admit it, "It's not a lower official." ”

"This king will hear the truth!" Xiao Ye was full of anger, all vented, Zhang Gou was stunned, didn't dare to speak, just lowered his head slightly, Xiao Ye's eyes were full of anger, he always stared at him, seeing him bow his head, it was clear that he acquiesced, he hated in his heart, and said word by word: "He is the cousin of this king!" ”

"Cousin?" Zhang Gou smiled bitterly, he looked up at Xiao Ye again, and then said, "What if he is His Highness's cousin?" It has been four years since His Majesty founded the country, and the lower officials have followed His Royal Highness for four years. The lower official is loyal to His Royal Highness, but in the end he is not as good as His Highness's cousin who elbows outward? ”

"What do you say? What do you mean by that? Xiao Ye's face was full of suspicion, but he remembered that he had just been in the house, and when he hadn't gone out yet, Liu Fang reminded him that Zhang Gou had told him a lot of his cousin's rights and wrongs in front of him last time.

Zhang Gou sneered, "Your Highness's good cousin, since he took office as the left servant of Shangshu Province, he has secretly communicated with the prince, and he has a very close relationship in private, but His Highness still doesn't know about it?" ”

Xiao Ye has always been suspicious, listening to Zhang Gou say this, he was also quite suspicious, seeing that he didn't speak, Zhang Gou said again: "Your Highness, think about it, he has done a thing for His Highness in Shangshu Province these days?" Every time the prince invited him to eat tea, drink and talk about things, did he report to His Highness once? ”

Zhang Gou understands Zhou Xuyi's personality, this person bullies the weak and is afraid of the hard, is very good at flattery, arrogant to the lower toes, and commanding, although Xiao Ye is the county king he supports, but after all, it is his cousin, his junior, he Zhou Xuyi will never listen to his juniors.

Xiao Ye felt that it was not unreasonable, and when he was half-convinced, Zhang Gou secretly gave Yang Gengxiu a look, Yang Gengxiu understood, so he pretended to be entangled, and said in a slur manner: "Your Highness, actually... There is also a matter of lowly position, and I don't know whether to talk about it or not. ”

"You say."

Yang Gengxiu bowed his head slightly, and secretly glanced at Zhang Gou, and then made up: "The prince rarely allows outsiders to enter his study, except for those few cronies, even the crown princess can't go in, but Zhou Servant is an exception, this time, the prince invited him and Xie Zheng into the study many times, and I don't know what he was plotting. ”

"Is this serious?" These two people took turns to fight, Xiao Ye naturally couldn't resist it, and he believed it in three or two sentences, and Yang Gengxiu said again: "It's true." ”

Xiao Ye glanced back at Zhang Gou, still a little suspicious, and he said with concern: "Does my cousin know that you are the king's person?" ”

"He doesn't know."

Zhang Gou was proud in his heart, so he said confidently: "Your Highness, in fact, the lower official already knew that you would definitely come over tonight, because His Royal Highness is a smart man and knows the truth of abandoning the car to protect the handsome, and the prince has a capable general by his side, and he broke His Royal Highness's right arm, and His Royal Highness can no longer lose the backbone of the lower official." ”

His words seemed to be good for Xiao Ye, but he seemed to be threatening him, and now Xiao Ye really can't afford to lose.

"You are also a smart person, you know how to use the weakness of this king to save yourself," Xiao Ye looked at Zhang Gou with a scrutinizing gaze, but Zhang Gou was contemptuous, "Your Highness has a good reputation." ”

Xiao Ye snorted coldly, brushed his sleeves away, and Yang Gengxiu glanced at Zhang Gou again, and then left with Xiao Ye.

Xiao Ye was walking out sullenly, passing outside the cell where Wyeth lived, and seeing that she was sleeping soundly, the fire in her stomach was vented, and she scolded: "The oil woman who is all over the ground, she can also sleep, she is really like a pig!" ”

Unexpectedly, after speaking, he held his breath again and left in a huff.

Early the next morning, Xie Zheng took the jade branch to pay tribute to Zhou Xuyi, and was walking on the way to Zhou's house, when he suddenly noticed that someone seemed to be following him, and the two did not look back to investigate, Xie Zheng walked to a stall selling mirrors, picked up a mirror and looked at himself, and the consequence was really to see a thief-eyed little guy behind him in the mirror, staring at her without leaving his eyes.

She glanced sideways at Yuzhi, Yuzhi understood, and immediately became vigilant, and secretly stretched out the short sword hidden in her sleeve, revealing a pointed head, blocking in front of her.

Xie Zheng saw a small alley in front of him, so he put down the mirror in his hand and walked into the alley with the jade branch.

Yuzhi pressed him against the wall, grabbed him by the collar with one hand, and put a short sword against his neck with the other, and asked, "Say!" Did King Wuling send you? ”

The little guy didn't speak, but he took advantage of the jade branch's unpreparedness, put one hand behind his back, secretly held the dagger pinned to his belt, and quietly stretched out to the front, about to assassinate the jade branch, Xie Zheng saw it clearly on the side, and quickly stepped forward to grab the dagger, and at the moment he pushed the jade branch away, he wiped the little guy's neck.

The little guy fell to the ground, the red blood gurgled down, staining his collar red, Xie Zheng threw the dagger aside, looked at his death with lowered eyes, and said lightly: "Send someone to send this corpse to the Wuling Palace." ”

"Yes."