There is a peculiar hillside in a hundred miles away from the capital, this hillside is surrounded by mountains on three sides, and one side faces a cliff.

On the hillside sits a peculiar building, built on the topography of the hillside, with three sides of the mountain and facing the cliff.

Directly in front of the building, a cliff about 100 feet wide runs from east to west, completely cutting off the building from the outside world and serving as a natural barrier for the building.

The gate in front of the building and the connecting courtyard wall are as high as a castle tower, and a row of soldiers in the uniform of the Imperial Forest Army stands neatly inside the wall, although the plaque in front of the door clearly reads "Twilight Villa", but from any angle, it is obviously more like a heavily guarded and isolated city.

In front of the gate, there is a large black iron bridge, on both sides of the towering bridge there are dozens of thick and dark iron chains tightly intertwined to the gate tower of the mountain villa, and the two large iron gates that are as black as the iron bridge but twice as wide as the bridge are tightly closed as if they were never intended to be opened when they were built, making this city-like mountain villa seem even more mysterious.

As the sound of horses' hooves approached, a carriage slowly approached the villa under the support of a small group of cavalry, and finally stopped on the edge of the cliff, the coachman made a complicated gesture to the soldiers on the gatehouse of the villa on the opposite side of the cliff, and then saw that there were soldiers on the city tower and quickly got down the tower, and soon after, there was a piercing sound of iron chains grinding on the opposite side, and at the same time, the pitch-black iron bridge that was originally standing straight on the opposite side slowly leaned down in this piercing rhythm.

After a while, with a loud "clang", one end of the iron bridge landed not far in front of the carriage, and crossed the cliff straight across the cliff, connecting the two mountains that were originally separated by a cliff. Almost at the same time, another heavy sound of iron grinding came from the other side of the cliff, and with this sound, the large iron gate in front of the villa slowly opened.

"Drive", with the shout of the coachman, the carriage slowly drove towards the villa surrounded by the front and rear of the cavalry. As soon as the last of the horsemen entered the lodge, the screeching of chains and the movement of the gate resounded, and a moment later the gate was closed, the iron bridge was erected, and the surroundings fell silent, as if nothing had happened.

Although there is only one gate and one bridge, the difference between the inside and outside of the mountain resort is like a world of difference. At first glance, you can see all kinds of pavilions and pavilions in the village, small bridges and flowing water are staggered in front of you, all kinds of well-known, unknown flowers and trees compete for beauty, although it is in the eye, complicated and complicated, but there is no disobedience, but it gives people a sense of luxury and exquisiteness, and every detail presents the impeccable craftsmanship, all of which make people marvel at the construction of this mountain villa is not easy.

After entering the gate of the lodge, the carriage moved slowly and easily, and after passing through a cobblestone path surrounded by flowers, it soon entered the front yard, and the cavalry who had been accompanying it stopped at the same time after entering the gate of the lodge, and no longer followed the carriage into the front yard.

In the front yard of the villa, Wei Chifeng, the commander of the Royal Forest Army's cavalry battalion, had already led several of his men to line up, waiting quietly, and after the carriage drove in and stopped, the coachman immediately got out of the car and saluted Wei Chifeng, and then stretched out his hand to lift the curtain in front of the car, and saw at a glance that the carriage was full of dry food.

Wei Chifeng waved his hand, and several soldiers immediately stepped forward and began to carry the dry food down from the car.

After about a dozen bags were removed, a young man sat in the center of the carriage with his eyes closed, his eyebrows like distant mountains, and the corners of his lips smiling.

Wei Chifeng immediately greeted the carriage with a smile on his face: "I really wronged Xiao Gongzi, but Wei really can't think of a better way to hide people's eyes, fortunately, this is the last time, I hope Xiao Gongzi will forgive me, don't blame, hehe." ”

The man in the car slowly opened his eyes, his eyes as black as ink were like bottomless black holes, which made his originally warm and jade-like demeanor more unfathomable mystery, I saw him get up and get off the carriage with a smile, and said lightly: "General Wei's words are serious, thanks to General Wei's repeated help in the past two years, it's too late to be grateful, so why blame." ”

"Hahaha, Xiao Gongzi is polite, in fact, Wei didn't help much, the assassin who slipped through the net last night was also blocked by Xiao Gongzi and your people, in terms of martial arts, Wei Mou, everyone here together is probably not as good as your subordinates, Xiao Gongzi is both civil and military, and there are masters around him who are loyal to him, so that Prime Minister Xiao is the pillar of the country, and when he returns to the capital in the future, Wei will rely on Xiao Gongzi to take care of him." Wei Chifeng was already clenching his fists as he spoke.

Xiao Yurui returned the salute without humility or arrogance, and there was always a faint smile on his lips, "General Wei has seen the outside, if it is not for the general's approval, how can he arrange his subordinates and maids in the villa to protect and take care of his cousin!" If it weren't for the general's help, how could I have quietly entered the villa every ten days with this convoy escorting supplies to the villa to visit my cousin! General Wei's help to his brothers and sisters in the past two years should be kept in mind, and if he has the opportunity in the future, he will definitely repay the general. ”

Wei Chifeng was waiting for this sentence, and when he saw that the goal was achieved, he was no longer polite, smiled, and said seriously: "Xiao Gongzi, Wei has abided by the agreement with Gongzi two years ago, and has not let my subordinates set foot in the backyard for half a step in the past two years, so as not to disturb Miss Ling's recuperation, but in seven days, the two-year period will be completed, and Wei will escort Miss Ling back to Beijing at that time, so I have to take the liberty of asking today, I wonder if Miss Ling's memory has been fully recovered?" ”

"Don't hide it from General Wei, although I will tell my cousin about the past every time I come, but when I left ten days ago, my cousin still hasn't recovered his memory."

Wei Chifeng's eyebrows furrowed slightly, "Then I'm afraid it's difficult to hide from Ling Shangshu and the emperor, right?" ”

"General Wei rest assured, he has his own arrangements, and the emperor will definitely send someone to pick up Xin'er in seven days, and he will also ask for orders to accompany him, and when he sees me and others, the general only needs to tell us that Xin'er is all right, and the general will prepare a few sets of clothes for my people in advance, so that they can leave this place together in the general's team at that time, and the rest will be handed over to the next place, and I will guarantee that the general will never be affected." Xiao Yurui still smiled calmly.

Wei Chifeng hesitated, although he was still a little uneasy, but seeing that Xiao Yurui had no intention of telling him the specific arrangements, he looked calm and calm, and finally decided not to ask more, "Okay, Wei will definitely follow the son's wishes." ”

Xiao Yurui's smile deepened, "Then there is General Lao Wei, thank you first." If nothing else, I'll go to the backyard first. ”

Wei Chifeng immediately stepped sideways and said with a smile, "Xiao Gongzi, please." ”

Xiao Yurui nodded and walked to the backyard.

After Xiao Yurui turned over the courtyard wall, Zhang Meng, the deputy general beside Wei Chifeng, said in a low voice: "General, why do you need to obey this kid, he is just a cloth cloth, although his father is the right prime minister, but you have the support of the queen mother and the left prime minister, why worry?" What's more, we didn't even see the shadow of the thief that day, it can be seen that the disparity in strength is huge, no wonder we are, besides, this Ling Yuxin only hit his head and lost his memory, and did not suffer other injuries, at most, it is to treat us for the crime of poor protection, with the Queen Mother and Prime Minister Zuo, even if you want to punish it, it is just a formality in name, why do you have to accommodate him everywhere because of this. ”

Wei Chifeng glanced at Zhang Meng, "Thanks to you for following me for so many years, you haven't grown at all." ”

Zhang Meng looked dazed and aggrieved, but he didn't dare to say more.

When Wei Chifeng saw his look, he had to shake his head helplessly, and patiently explained: "Do you think I helped him because I was afraid of him? In the past two years, I have almost responded to Xiao Yurui's requests, not only to cover up what happened two years ago, but also to make him owe me a favor. According to the queen mother, when the first emperor was in power, people before and after him had praised him more than once, saying that he was intelligent, thoughtful, and both civil and military, and he would become a great weapon in the future, so he made him the emperor's companion very early, not only to inspire the emperor, but also to cultivate his relationship with the emperor, and to pave the way for him to assist the emperor in the future. ”

The more Zhang Meng listened, the more confused he became, "Then why hasn't he got a half-official position yet?" General, why do you want him to owe you a favor? ”

Wei Chifeng's eyes unconsciously revealed a mixture of admiration and jealousy, "This is what he really excels at, and it is also a place that many people can't see through, it is said that the first emperor had arranged everything before his death, as long as he wanted, he could pay homage to the marquis, but he declined, and now after the saint succeeded to the throne, he repeatedly invited him to join the court as an official, and even the official position was optional, but he didn't want to be politely rejected by him, but the saint did not see any anger, not only gave him a token, allowed him to enter and leave the court and the palace at will, but also often invited him to the court to discuss matters, But according to the eldest brother, he never took the initiative to go to the court, only if the emperor ordered to invite, he would go to the palace, and even if he went to the court, he never only watched and listened, never took the initiative to speak, only the emperor asked, he would answer, but he always answered carelessly, but every time a few words inadvertently but there are hidden mysteries, even if there are occasional courtiers to provoke, he can always resolve invisibly without a trace, in the past two years, the emperor has been in the name of purging the dynasty, and has secretly reduced a lot of power of our Wei family, He has cultivated a group of royalists who dare to openly compete with the Wei family, at least half of which is the credit of Xiao Yurui, but at the same time, he often seems to have unintentionally helped his father consolidate and strengthen the right-wing forces headed by his father, but he himself has never participated in any of his father's government affairs and activities, in the eyes of the world, he is an elegant person who is full of talent, but is not disturbed by worldly fame and fortune, and does not want to pay attention to worldly affairs. can't grasp any of his handles, and is completely helpless against him. ”

Zhang Meng was surprised, but also felt a little incredulous, "Is he that powerful?" Even Prime Minister Wei can't do anything about him? ”

Wei Chifeng's heart was a little gloomy, and he sighed, "My eldest brother is no longer the left prime minister who leaned towards the government and the opposition back then, and now the situation in the court is more complicated, in addition to the right faction headed by Xiao Jinshan, the royalist faction that the emperor strongly supports and the three-point court of our Wei family, the loyal and honest people led by Ling Fengyang, the secretary of the ministry, seem to have formed a faction of their own, although they are also loyal to the emperor, but they are not as obedient to the emperor's orders as the royalist faction, they are more loyal to the country, loyal to the people, especially Ling Fengqi, If he thinks that it will damage the society and the people, let alone the left and right prime ministers, even if it is the emperor's opinion, he will openly oppose it in the court, his prestige in the court and the people is quite high, not only my eldest brother and Xiao Jinshan, even the emperor has to be afraid of three points, and although he and Xiao Jinshan often disagree on political opinions, they are relatives in the end, and they can always pull each other at critical moments, on the other hand, my Wei family, the eldest brother is now more and more powerless in the court, although the second brother still has heavy troops, but he is stationed outside the gate all the year round, The queen mother had a dislike with the emperor because of Ling Yuxin's matter, the eldest brother made a lot of enemies back then, and now I don't know how many people are waiting to see the decline of my Wei family, today I want this Xiao Yurui to owe me a personal favor, just to make it difficult to ensure that my Wei family will not ask for him in the future! ”

Zhang Meng was still skeptical, "Does this kid have such great ability?" ”

"Actually, I wasn't too sure two years ago, but in the past two years, I learned from my eldest brother about his influence on the court, and I saw him at a young age, so many masters were willing to work for him, which shows that my decision that day was correct and ......." Wei Chifeng looked at Xiao Yurui's disappearing back and showed a meaningful smile.