After eight years of life extension, the Xie family encountered an eventful autumn. First of all, the old man Xie died of illness, and then Xie Guifei, who was a concubine in the palace, died on the ninth day of September of that year due to a miscarriage. In the season of dogwood, Xie Qi lost his father and his sister who were the same mother as him.

Since that year, the political situation has gradually changed.

The Holy Lord abolished the prime minister and set up a cabinet, and the auxiliary ministers in the cabinet fought for the position of the first assistant, and they fought openly and secretly. At that time, the second son of Xie Ergongzi, who was the left servant of the Ministry of Officials, was often at odds with the important ministers of the cabinet at that time because of his political views, and was too upright, and was slandered several times, causing dissatisfaction with the saints, and in less than a year, he was demoted three times.

The entire Xie family smelled the crisis, whether it was the miscarriage of the fifth girl or the bumpy career of the second son, they all had the same source, that is, the saint's jealousy of the Queen Mother finally affected the entire Xie family.

Sometimes, a small change can turn a person's life around.

Xie Qi, who wandered all day long, returned home that year to help with the affairs of the clan.

Song Ran remembered that when he went to Yaozhou to look for himself, it was a snowy day.

At that time, it was almost three years since she was left alone by her family in Yaozhou. In the cold winter of Layue, in the remote courtyard where she lived, there was a branch of cold plum blooming alone, and the thick snow pressed on it, almost crushing the branches. She had never encountered such a cold winter. Xie Qi sat in the house, watching her move a stove with a sigh, and went to the mother-in-law in the house to ask for carbon to make a fire. Those maids and mothers-in-law are used to power, when Uncle Zhong is there, they are still afraid that he is the henchman of Mrs., and Uncle Zhong is not there, so they change their faces, eager to look at people with the tip of their noses.

When she lit the stove, Xie Qi's eyes fell on her cold red hands, and asked her, "When do you plan to live this life now?" ”

She raised her eyes to look at him, she hadn't seen her for a few years, and the corners of his eyes and eyebrows were still piled up with a delicate romance, but when she smiled, there were peach blossoms in her eyes, but they were white and snowy, and the indulgence and wantonness that made her admire and envy seemed to have fallen into the cold winter.

Seeing that she didn't answer herself, he stretched out his hand to the stove, and while baking the fire, he said: "Master Hou is still looking for a suitable son-in-law, and there should be no shortage of children who want to join the Mo family." If you pick slowly, you may be able to pick one that is better than Xiao Yan. If you're lucky, he'll be able to raise eyebrows with you, but if you're unlucky, he finds out that he's married to a young lady who has no status in the Mo family, and he doesn't even have enough charcoal to keep warm in winter, will he pity you, or will he look down on you? Have you ever thought about these things? ”

She brought her hand to her mouth and sighed, and frowned slightly: "Naturally...... I've thought about it. ”

Xie Qi's shoulders were draped in a robe with a snow-white fur collar, and a faint smile kept hanging on the corner of his lips, but the words he said were a little vicious: "The prostitute of the Qinglou will still plan for himself, work hard to save money and redeem himself, or try to climb a good man." You come from a family, have outstanding looks, and are full of talent, are you willing to be trapped in the life that others have arranged for you for the rest of your life? ”

His words have naturally been in her heart countless times, and if you want to ask her if she is willing, she is unwilling. But what if she is unwilling, this Mo family is a huge cage, and the surname Mo is the biggest shackle imposed on her. It is also ironic to say that her grandfather named her Shaowei because he wanted her to be like Shaowei Xing in the sky, avoiding the chaos and complexity of people and things, and living this life calmly. But she is trapped by the sophistication of people all the time, and in the Mo family, she can only reduce her sense of existence, and only by pretending to be obedient and ingratiating can she exchange for a moment of peace.

When she was very young, she learned to read current affairs and look at the eyes. She can't be too smart, she can't be too clumsy, she has to be in the right position, she can't be in the limelight, she can't make a mistake.

"Brother, I've been a little tired over the years."

She lowered her eyebrows, and her breath met the coldness in mid-air, turning into a swirling white gas.

Rubbing his fingertips, he sighed softly, "When will such a long winter come to an end?" ”

He looked at her for a long time, and then turned the palm of one hand, which was a slender and powerful hand with five fingers slightly open, and a beautiful shape.

"After this winter, come with me, okay?"

His voice was as calm as the snowflakes falling outside the window, and there was not a hint of bewilderment in it. But it was such a calm sentence that made her pupils dilate slightly. At that time, she thought, she can't wait for anyone to save her, she has to make her own choice.

After a while, she put her hand in his hand and gently promised, "Okay." ”

He forged her identity and took her to Ling'an to avoid the eyes and ears of the Mo family, but the conditions he put forward were simple - he only wanted her people to stay in Ling'an.

The last time he saved her, he didn't ask for anything from her, but this time it was different, he wanted her to reciprocate.

"What I need you to do, you will understand when the time comes, you are a smart girl, and you will naturally know how you should repay the favor."

He sat on his horse, with a lead-gray sky behind him, and the trees still growing upward, and the bare branches mottled with the bleakness of winter, and the jackdaws perched on the thicker branches, watching their parting with cold eyes.

"When we say goodbye, you and I may have completely different positions, Shaowei, you have to take care of yourself."

Now that I think about it, this reminder at the time of separation should be the last mercy he can give her.

When she went to Hangzhou with Shen Hanxi, she had vaguely noticed that Xie Qi had some kind of connection with the things she encountered. But at that time, she had not yet seen the whole picture of the matter, and she had not been able to connect those seemingly unrelated things together, and she had never wanted to believe that everything that seemed to be accidental was related to him.

Now, when the time came for him to speak, she finally understood that she was just one of his moves.

As he said, she only needs to be here and do nothing to play the role that this chess piece should have.

In today's imperial court, the cabinet and the court guard have monopoly power, and if he wants to break this deadlock, he needs to involve the Mo family. The prestige of the Mo family in the court, as well as the military power in the hands of the Qin family, are enough to influence the pattern after the new emperor ascends the throne.

It's just that she meditated hard, and she didn't know what direction he wanted things to develop by creating contradictions between the Mo clan and the Tingwei Division everywhere.

At the beginning, it was he who snatched Xiao Yan from prison, and he was the one who asked Jiang Lili to betray her to Shen Hanxi, just to send her to Shen Hanxi's sight. He also sent someone to assassinate Liu Mingxian, and deliberately left a forged jade talisman of the Mo family at the scene, he should not be naïve enough to expect that he would be able to blame the Mo family in this way, but wanted to use this move to attract Shen Hanxi's attention to the Mo family.

Thinking about it like this, he is also the one who revealed to King Chengwu that Zhou Guangtong was about to enter Beijing, because he calculated King Chengwu's temper, and he would definitely not be able to help but spit out the truth in front of her, and if she knew about it, she would definitely go to see Zhou Guangtong. As long as she sees Zhou Guangtong, her identity will arouse the suspicion of Ting Weisi.

Under the banner of the young pavilion master of the Relief Pavilion, he used the intelligence network of the Relief Pavilion to calculate step by step. As for Jiang Lili of the Relief Pavilion, she should have been sent by him, but for some reason, she had a disagreement with him, so she kidnapped herself in Hangzhou Mansion and tried to keep herself away from Shen Hanxi.

Jiang Lili is friend or foe, she doesn't want to make a conclusion for the time being, but the other party must have sensed some of Xie Qi's intentions, so she will stir up the situation like this.

The secret stake of the Mo family found by the Ting Wei Division should indeed be the hand planted by her grandfather in the Ting Wei Division, although the Mo family has no intention of interfering in the government affairs, but they want to control the turmoil in the capital.

However, since the death of my grandfather, this dark stake has lost its usefulness. Until, Xie Qi mastered the Relief Pavilion. In the name of the Relief Pavilion, he used this hidden stake to create today's situation.

When Xiao Yan was robbed from prison, the first person she suspected was Shaoyuan, not only because of the relationship between Shaoyuan and Xiao Yan, but also because half of the cabinet master's order of the Relief Pavilion was in the hands of Zhong Bo, and the other half was in Shaoyuan's hands.

This incident was also learned from Zhong Bo not long after she arrived in Ling'an City.

"The half in the old slave's hand was entrusted to the old slave by the old lady, so that the old slave could pick up a suitable time and hand it over to the young master. The other half should have been transferred by the lady to the second son. ”

Therefore, when Zhong Bo first arrived in Ling'an, he had already secretly used this half of the pavilion master's order. When she was in the prison of the Ting Wei Division because of her muteness, Zhong Bo kept an eye on her safety through this secret stake in the Ting Wei Division. But he didn't know at the time that there was another person who was also giving orders to this secret pile.

"Why is the Pavilion Master's Order of the Relief Pavilion divided into two halves? Half is in the hands of the grandfather, and why is the other half in the ...... Mother's hand? ”

"After the old lady founded the Relief Pavilion, he did not take care of the affairs of the cabinet himself, but entrusted his old friend to take care of it on his behalf. This friend has guarded the Relief Pavilion for him for 20 years, and thinks that he can retire successfully, so he passed the cabinet master's order to the junior he trusted. This junior is the mother of the young master, and now Mrs. Mo. Uncle Zhong's words made her silent for a long time, "Before Mrs. married into the Mo family, the affairs of the Relief Pavilion have always been handled by Mrs. Mrs. later married into the Mo family, and the pavilion master ordered the two to become one, and it was also fate. ”

"Unexpectedly...... There is also such an inside story. ”

How strange she was to her mother.

All in all, I don't know what kind of means Xie Qi used to get the cabinet master's order that should have been in Shaoyuan's hands. The secret pile has always mistakenly thought that she was the "young pavilion master" who never showed her true face, so she confessed in the forced confession of the court guard.

As everyone knows, she herself is all in the dark.

She didn't know where Xie Qi's move would go for the time being, but she vaguely knew that everything she was hiding from would one day turn into her nightmare again in other forms.

Of course, she could choose to tell Shen Hanxi all this, but she still remembered Xie Qi's kindness to her and her great kindness to save her life, and she should repay it with her life. But if you don't tell the truth, you will be held accountable like this, and Ting Weisi will ...... Will you let her go?

No, even if Ting Wei Si does not hold herself responsible, with her involvement with Ting Wei Si at this time, it is enough to make the Mo family take action. Although her father doesn't like her, she is the daughter of the Mo family in the end, representing the face of the Mo family, and she still remembers that the third aunt who almost killed her back then was pulled in front of her by her father and beaten to death with her own hands.

She only felt chills all over her body, remembering the reason why Shen Hanxi left in a hurry, and an even more chilly chill climbed up her back.

Now she can only wait patiently. Is there another turnaround......

It's still doomed.

At this time, Shen Hanxi was walking towards the inner palace, and on the way, he had already heard the news of Su Long. In the sky above Renshou Palace, there were a few wisps of floating clouds in the blue sky, the vermilion palace gate was closed, and the guard in front of the door drew his sword out of the sheath, and coldly reminded him: "Lord Shen, this is the inner palace, and you are not allowed to enter without ...... communication."

Before he finished speaking, several brocade clothes stepped forward, and after a few breaths, he controlled all the guards under the sword.

Shen Hanxi didn't squint, and stepped over the high threshold, which was simply arrogant to the extreme.