The entrance and inner courtyard of Shangshu Mansion are covered with white silk and plain wraps. This is to give their dead son Zonghuo, Shouling and Dai Xiao.

Their Shangshu Master Zong Chuke has been in the mourning hall for a month, losing his son in old age, and the white-haired person sends the black-haired person, which is the sympathy of the people of Chang'an for this Shangshu during this time.

The mourning hall was also dim, and Zong Chuke stood on the opposite side of the tablet, slowly dialing the rosary in one hand.

"Your Excellency."

Zong Chuke heard the voice and slowly opened his eyes.

A servant cautiously appeared from behind the curtain and whispered, "The mage in charge of giving Gongzi a superordinate has been found, and I want to ask the master how to arrange it?" ”

Zong Chuke stared at Zong Huo's spirit card in front of him with a faint gaze, and spoke for a long time: "Let the mage live in the mansion tonight, and tomorrow Huo Er will go for thirty days, let the mage practice in Huo Er's courtyard, and wish him an early ...... of bliss."

No matter how you look at it, it is a loving father's grief over the loss of his parents, and the servant does not dare to stay in this gloomy mourning hall for a while, "The slave knows, so I will go down and arrange it." ”

Zong Chuke was the only one left in the mourning hall, and he was facing the tablet of his parents and his children, and the dark light around him, as if he could really touch the underworld with a touch of his hand.

Until a servant girl came in with food, "My lord, it's time to eat." ”

Zong Chuke looked at the food at his feet, and said to the maidservant, "Close the door, no one is allowed to come in." ”

The maidservant had long been accustomed to the strange temper of Zong Chuke in the past month, and after nodding, she immediately went out and closed the door of the mourning hall.

Zong Chuke waited until there was no sound around him at all, and then slowly bent down and picked up the food at his feet with one hand.

He took a look, because in Dai Xiao, all he ordered were vegetables and water, and none of them were meaty.

Zong Chuke walked to the front of the altar and stretched out his hand to turn the candlestick on the left.

Suddenly, only a low voice was heard, and a dark secret door opened on the left side.

Zong Chuke watched faintly for a long time, and walked into the secret door with food.

Inside the secret door is a long stone staircase, and at first glance it is not even known where it leads. Zong Chuke walked down the stone steps until he saw a candle light at the end.

Zong Chuke stepped forward and pushed open the hidden door.

I saw a figure inside, quickly turned over and jumped up, and shouted in disbelief: "Dad? ”

Zong Chuke walked in with an expressionless face, and under the illumination of the candle flame in his hand, he saw a pale young man standing beside the bed.

As soon as Zong Huo saw Zong Chuke, he knelt down and said with a trembling voice: "Dad! ”

Zong Chuke walked to the table, put down the food in his hand, and said lightly, "Let's eat." ”

Zong Huo immediately pounced when he heard this, and when he saw the porridge and side dishes on the table, his face turned even paler, and he even felt sick to his stomach.

When Zong Huo lowered his head and retched, Zong Chuke stared at him coldly.

When Zong Huo finished vomiting, he found that his father was staring at him, and he suddenly cried even more and was ugly: "Dad, I will die if I eat these again!" ”

After staying under this dark day for a month, if you can't eat a little meat at once, anyone will be driven crazy.

Zong Chuke stared at him: "Have you forgotten that you are already a dead man?" ”

Zhongzong personally ordered the execution of Zong Huo, which is a fact known to everyone in Chang'an.

Zong Huo knelt down again: "Dad, I know it's wrong, I won't dare next time." Dad, can you help me? ”

In the palace death row a month ago, Zong Huo also pleaded with Zong Chuke.

Zong Chuke looked at him: "How many times have you said this?" ”

is not only on death row in the palace, Zong Huo has been in trouble for the past 20 years, he will cry and repent in front of Zong Chuke, begging Zong Chuke to help him clean up the mess.

He thought that as long as he cried like this every time, no matter how big the matter, his father could help him suppress it, even if it was murder.

It's a pity that Zong Chuke is just a military secretary, not Zhongzong, and even Princess Yongtai, who was once Zhongzong's biological daughter, was directly killed by the queen of heaven at that time because of her crimes.

The emperor's daughter can't escape the crime, let alone a Zonghuo.

Zong Huo knelt and hugged Zong Chuke's leg and cried bitterly for a long time, he had just escaped death, how could he bear to live under this underground for the rest of his life?

Zong Chuke seemed to have been impatient by Zong Huo's crying, he raised his foot and kicked Zong Huo to the ground, and said sharply: "Do you know how much effort I spent to save your life? You've been crying bitterly for only a month, would you rather be a headless ghost in the Netherworld at this moment? ”

Zong Huo trembled: "Dad, my son knows that he is wrong, you can send me out of Chang'an, my son promises that he will keep to himself for the rest of his life and never cause trouble again." ”

What Zong Huo wants most is to leave Chang'an, leave this place, as long as he is no longer allowed to eat chaff vegetables, even if he begs like a beggar at the moment, it doesn't matter.

How could Zong Chuke not understand his thoughts: "Send you out of Chang'an?" You are already a dead man, do you really think that you can stay and leave as you want as you did when you were alive? ”

Zong Huo knelt on the ground motionless, as if he had gone out of his body.

"Dad, you either send me away, or I die here, such a day, my son can't live a day."

Zong Chuke's face swelled into a purple scab, "You rebel dare to threaten me?" ”

Zong Huoyang's face showed a hint of relieved happiness: "Dad, my son doesn't dare to be unfilial, and you don't want our Zong family to be wiped out because of this, right?" ”

Zong Huo is the only son of Zong Chuke, so his life and death affect the half life of Zong Chuke and Zongfu. When Zhongzong insisted on executing Zong Huo, he already wanted to cut off Zong Chuke's half life.

Zong Chuke was trembling with anger, but Zong Huo knew that none of this would change, just like he knew that no matter how much trouble he caused, his father would only do his best to protect him.

"I'll find a way to send you out of Chang'an, and before that, you have to stay here honestly." Zong Chuke said with an extremely cold expression.

Zong Huo kowtowed deeply on the ground: "Thank you, Dad......"

——

"Recently, because of Hu Shang's affairs, the four major gates of Chang'an have been under martial law, and it is impossible to get out of the city at this time." The main book of Dali Temple, Xing Zuo said to Pei Tan.

Hu Shang is a person who travels to and from the Western Regions, Persia and other places to do business, because of Zhongzong's accession to the throne, many Hu merchants flocked to Chang'an, so Chang'an Jiedu made the identity of Hu Shang extremely strict to avoid fishing in troubled waters at such a moment.

Pei Tan asked the people of Dali Temple to investigate the recent incident of the passage of Chang'an City Gate early in the morning, and the result was that in the past month, if you want to travel to Chang'an, you must have a warrant from an official of the second rank or above.

Pei Tan couldn't help but look dark: "In this way, it is not so easy for Zong Huo to leave Chang'an?" ”

At least until the day of the execution, Chang'an City was still under martial law, and it was unlikely that a person as cautious as Zong Chuke would risk his own son's life at this time.

After the main book left, Pei Xian walked in.

Pei Tan said slowly: "If Zonghuo is still hiding in Chang'an, the place where he stays can only be Shangshu Mansion. ”

No one else has the courage to harbor him, only his own father Zong Chuke will do it regardless of the risk.

Pei Xian said: "In this case, why don't you take someone to search the Shangshu Mansion, as long as Zong Huo is still there, it will naturally be difficult to fly." ”

Pei Tan shook his head: "Not to mention that Zong Chuke is still a first-class Shangshu, Dali Temple has no right to search if it is not edicted." Even if there is His Majesty's will, it must be remembered that at this stage, His Majesty is only giving a secret will. ”

Secret Purpose. It is a secret investigation, and any fanfare that is put on the surface is against the intention of Zhongzong.

Pei Xian couldn't help but say: "Then do you just let Zong Huo go unpunished?" ”

Pei Tan slowly closed the case file in his hand, and said for a long time: "Naturally not, since Your Majesty has issued an order to investigate this case, it is expected that this matter will be brought to the fore." As long as Zong Huo is still in Chang'an, it is impossible not to show his feet, we just need to wait patiently. ”

Pei Xian paused and said, "Everything is according to the son's orders." ”

In fact, the file in Pei Tan's hand is the archive of Jing's exile case in Dali Temple five years ago.

Pei Tan ordered someone to find this case file from the archives early in the morning, and saw the whole process from trial to conviction back then.

The case was also in Dali Temple back then, but Dali Temple Qing did not really try the case back then, because the case was actually decided by the Queen of Heaven herself. Dali Temple actually just went through the motions, and then the case was sealed and finalized.

Pei Tan finished reading the case file, and his only thought was that the Jing family had no chance to complain back then, and even if there were, it was blocked because of the situation at the time.

Pei Xian couldn't help asking, "What is Childe thinking?" ”

Pei Tan's eyes were as light as night: "I was thinking about how tenacious a girl who was only ten years old at the time lived in the palace with the shame of her family's exile. ”

Pei Xian was surprised for a long time, "Is Gongzi talking about that Jing daughter, she has been in the palace for five years, and she will only be fifteen years old this year, right?" ”

Even today, Jing Wan'er is only at the age of reaching Lu, and it was even more unimaginable five years ago.

Pei Tan's eyes narrowed: "It's a man, and it's rare to have such a city at the age of ten." ”

Compared with Zong Huo, the only son of Shangshu Mansion, before he caused death on horseback, he was already a famous gentleman on Chang'an Street, eating, drinking, prostituting and gambling everything, not just relying on his father, who was Queen Wei's person.

If a lady is tough and upright, it can only show that the Jing philosophers of the Jing family back then must be iron-like and strong-boned to teach such a daughter.

Looking at it this way, Jing's case is afraid that there is more fog than the truth.

The mage wearing a Taoist robe was carrying the dust in the courtyard and chanting words, and on the side was Zong Huo's nurse who was crying, and there was no vitality in the whole house.

"The person who died on Chang'an Street is just an ordinary person, how can he be compared with Gongzi, Your Majesty actually asked Gongzi to pay for that people's life, has he taken into account the generations of heroes of my family?"