Zhan Zhao hurried from Kaifeng Mansion to Xian Wang's Mansion, originally wanted to find Xian Wang to report, but did not want to pounce, the guard guarding the door said that Xian Wang went out early in the morning, Zhan Zhao thought about it and asked to stay and wait, the guard saw Zhan Zhao when he was on an errand in the palace, so he politely brought Zhan Zhao into the side, and retired after serving tea.

Zhanzhao waited for a long time in the remote area, and when he saw that it was not early, he wanted to say goodbye and come back tomorrow, but as soon as he got up, he heard hurried footsteps outside the door.

When Zhan Zhao walked to the door, he saw King Xian walking briskly like himself, hurriedly going out to greet him, and bowing down to meet the prince.

King Xian helped Zhan Zhao up, and said continuously: "I'm really sorry for the Zhan guards, early this morning, the king suddenly sounded and promised to find a beautiful starling for the Queen Mother, and send it to the palace to relieve her old man's boredom. ”

Zhan Zhao hurriedly said: "The prince is too polite, Zhan Zhao also arrived at noon, the prince, Zhan was ordered to protect the adults this time, and if there is something wrong, please ask the prince Haihan." ”

King Xian smiled lazily: "Then the safety of the king in Beijing will be guarded by Lao Zhan, and the time is not early, if the Zhan guards have nothing to do, how about having dinner together at night?"

Zhan Zhao hurriedly stepped forward and saluted: "How dare Zhan Zhao and his martial artists dine at the same table with the prince, Zhan Zhao should first familiarize himself with the terrain and layout of the palace, so that he can better protect the prince in the future." ”

King Xian laughed and said: "In his early years, Zhan Guards walked the rivers and lakes and was known as 'Nanxia', how can they be compared with ordinary martial artists, or do Zhan Guards think that I, the banquet of the down-and-out prince, can't be in the eyes of 'Nanxia'?"

Zhan Zhao saw that although his face was pleasant and his tone was relaxed, his words were sharp and explicit, and he did not hide the fact that he was exiled, and it was not good to excuse himself for a while, and after thinking for a while, he bowed his hand to King Xian and said: "The prince is gracious, if Zhan Zhao refuses again, it will be hypocritical, and Zhan Zhao will be respectful and obedient." ”

King Xian nodded with satisfaction, and pulled Zhanzhao to take him to visit his courtyard with great interest.

The Xian Wangfu is actually not big, but the layout is extremely exquisite, although the whole palace does not have the small bridges and flowing water that can be seen everywhere like other princes' mansions. Pavilions and pavilions, but there is a kind of formation secretly, if there is no person familiar with this formation to lead the way, I am afraid that I will rush into the only part of getting lost, Zhanzhao led the way by the virtuous king, and secretly thought to himself: This virtuous king is really not simple, only this sitting in the virtuous king's mansion is far beyond those princes in the capital, if I want to secretly investigate some situation here, I am afraid I must break this formation first, but I don't know where this organ is hidden.

Zhan Zhao and Xian Wang greetings, while secretly writing down the route along the road, unconsciously came to a covered bridge, only to see some bird cages hanging under the eaves of the bridge on both sides, inside are some extremely colorful and beautiful birds, these birds chirp in the cage jumping up and down very flexible, Zhan Zhao has never seen this kind of bird, can't help but be attracted by them, stop to watch.

Seeing that Zhan Zhao was interested in these birds, King Xian couldn't help but smile and said: "This bird is only found in Shu, the name is called the tongue of the bird, the temperament is gentle, but it is extremely intelligent, this time I came to Beijing, the people were afraid that I would be lonely, so they brought a few to me for entertainment, if the Zhan guards like it, you can pick a few back to raise at will." ”

Zhan Zhao hurriedly excused himself and said: "The prince laughed, this bird is the prince's favorite, how can Zhan Zhao take it? ”

When King Xian saw him refusing, he smiled and was no longer reluctant, and walked forward by himself, as he walked, he seemed to ask casually: "Zhan Guard, this palace is almost complete, what do you think of this king's place?"

Zhan Zhao said: "Although the prince's palace is not big, it is exquisite, which shows that it took a lot of thought to build this mansion in the first place. ”

King Xian laughed and said: "Zhan guards have good eyesight, this king's palace is actually equipped with organs in every place, and the guards will open the organs every night, and it is easy for ordinary people to come in, but it is not so simple to get out, so there is no one outside here at night, although the Zhan guards are ordered to protect this king, but with these organs, there is no need to bother Lord Zhan at night, so as not to accidentally touch the mechanism by Lord Zhan, if this is injured, the king will also feel uneasy." ”

Zhan Zhao understood that King Xian was turning a corner to warn him, asking him not to act secretly at night, King Xian was scheming, and sure enough, as Lord Bao said, he could not be underestimated, and he was secretly wary of this person in his heart.

Unconsciously, it was dark, and after the prince took Zhan Zhao to have dinner, he went back to his room to rest, and Zhan Zhao was thinking about waiting for tomorrow to find a free time to go back to Kaifeng Mansion and Ming Bao after everything here, please decide.

On the second day, Kaifeng Fu

Ruoxi was taken to a secluded small courtyard by Gongsun Ce early in the morning, there was a densely foliage locust tree in the courtyard, and a few brightly colored birds were chirping and flying around on the tree, and there was only one room outside the stone table of the Eight Immortals and a few stone benches placed beside the tree. Ruoxi fell in love with this simple courtyard at a glance.

Gongsun Ce pointed to the room and told Ruoxi that it was the alchemy room prepared for her, Ruoxi walked into the room and saw that there was only one room in the house, which should be the alchemy room that Gongsun Ce said, although this alchemy room is small, it is complete, and it is neat and clean, and there are still some undried paint marks in some places, which are obviously rushed out overnight, and there is a small alchemy furnace in the middle of the room, and the furnace has burned a little red, steaming hot.

Ruoxi looked very satisfied, thinking that Kaifeng Mansion was really fast and good, so he arched his hand to Gongsun Ce and said: "Mr. Gongsun's efficiency is really amazing, Ruoxi admires it." ”

Gongsun Ce smiled slightly and said, "Miss Ruoxi doesn't have to be polite, it's just a gesture, but I don't know what the girl can do to start refining medicine, and how long does it take to refine?"

Ruoxi made a rough calculation in his heart and said: "Counting today, two days is enough, but I can't be disturbed in any way in these two days, otherwise it is very likely that my efforts will be wasted, and I ask Mr. Gongsun to make proper arrangements." ”

Gongsun Ce nodded and said: "Girl, rest assured, this was once Mrs. Bao's Buddha Hall, but because Mrs. Bao has returned to her hometown to accompany Mrs. Bao, this place is vacant, and no one usually comes in.

Ruoxi was overjoyed, and quickly thanked Gongsun Ce, and began to take out all kinds of bottles and cans from the cloth bag, Gongsun Ce saw that she was a girl with so many things, and couldn't help but be amazed, and it was inconvenient to disturb her if she thought about it, so he closed the door for Ruoxi and left quietly.

Ruoxi took out a small vial of blood released from Feifei's body last night after preparing everything she needed, and poured the blood into a brass cup.

Ruoxi gently put the brass cup into the reddish refining furnace that had already been burned, sat cross-legged in front of the furnace, closed his eyes, and began to hold his breath and concentrate on alchemy.

Xian Wang's Mansion

Zhan Zhao just finished breakfast, the palace came to inform that the prince invited him to wait in the front hall, Zhan Zhao hurriedly came to the front hall, saw that the prince was sitting and drinking tea, so he stepped forward to salute, King Xian stood up early, quickly stepped forward to help him, signaling that Zhan Zhao did not have to be polite.

After King Xian asked Zhan Zhao to serve tea, he said: "Zhan Guard, I heard that Lord Bao also received an invitation to the emperor's Mid-Autumn Festival banquet, and this king has been in the capital for a few days, but he has never seen Lord Bao, I heard that Lord Bao is selfless in judging cases, fair and honest, and even the emperor has to give him a few points, this king wants to meet him, I don't know when Lord Bao is usually free?"

What King Xian said was in Zhanzhao's arms, Zhanzhao was secretly happy in his heart, so he said: "My lord will go to the palace gate every day before dawn to wait for the morning time, usually at this time it is almost time to come back, if the prince wants to go to Kaifeng Mansion, Zhanzhao is willing to accompany." ”

When King Xian heard this, he was overjoyed and said, "That's great, why don't we prepare and go to visit Master Bao." ”

Zhan Zhao nodded and said, "Wait a minute, Zhan Zhao will go to prepare the sedan chair." ”

As soon as Zhanzhao left, King Xian put away his smile and said to himself: "Bao Zheng, this king wants to see what you are capable of, don't let me down too much." ”

Inside the flower hall of Kaifeng Mansion

Bao Zheng just returned to the mansion after the morning court today, and saw Mr. Gongsun hurriedly greeted him and said to him that King Xian was waiting in the flower hall, his heart tightened, and he thought: Zhan Zhao was ordered to monitor King Xian's every move, why did King Xian come this time, and the guards of Zhan had not revealed it in advance, could it be that something had changed?, thinking of this, Bao Zheng hurried to the flower hall with Gongsun Ce, and saw King Xian leisurely drinking tea, Zhan Zhao stood behind him with his head down, his face was as usual.

Zhan Zhao heard the movement, looked up and saw Bao Zheng and Gongsun Ce coming in together, and hurriedly raised his hand to see Bao Zheng, Bao Zheng bowed his head and asked him to excuse himself, and he bowed to King Xian, saying: "Bao Zheng asked the prince to wait for a long time, and asked the prince to forgive his sins." ”

King Xian hurriedly picked up Bao Zheng and said: "It's this king who came uninvited, what is the crime of Lord Bao, please sit down." ”

Bao Zheng got up at this time, paced to the head of King Xian and sat down, and said, "I don't know what happened when the prince came today?"

King Xian took a sip of tea and said: "It's nothing, it's just that when this king was in Shudi, he had heard of the prestige of Lord Bao, and this time he came to the capital, so he should come to pay a visit." ”

Bao Zheng was stunned when he heard this, and hurriedly said: "The prince has won the award, Bao Zheng is just doing his duty, how dare he work for the prince to come here in person." ”

King Xian chuckled and said: "Lord Bao doesn't have to be too humble, I heard that the Zhan guard is the emperor's own imperial four-grade sword guard, and he also gave the 'royal cat', and assigned the Kaifeng Mansion to call on weekdays, this time in order to protect the safety of the king, Lord Bao actually sent the Zhan guard to the palace, which really flattered the king." ”

Bao Zheng heard King Xian say this, and felt a little strange in his heart, so he glanced at Zhan Zhao who was standing behind the prince, and said: "The prince is a prince and noble, his status is noble, the safety of the prince in Beijing should not be underestimated, and the call of Zhan guards to protect the safety of the prince is actually the emperor's meaning." ”

"Oh, I see, the imperial brother really cares for me, but the imperial brother is also too careful, although the Xianwang Mansion is not as heavily guarded as the palace, but generally Xiaoxiao wants to spread wild in this palace, but he can't, Zhan Guard, do you say yes?"

Zhan Zhao heard King Xian ask him by name, so he stepped forward and replied: "The layout of King Xian's Mansion is exquisite, there are many organs, and it is indeed difficult for ordinary people to come and go freely. ”

Bao Zheng's heart moved when he heard this, and he took advantage of the situation to ask: "Oh? I didn't expect that the prince still knew the art of the Five Elements Bagua, but Bao Zheng had never heard of it." ”

King Xian laughed and said: "When this king was lonely and bored in Shudi, he learned some messy things, one to pass the time, and the other to protect himself, just in case, this time he came to Beijing to test what he learned, so that the Zhan guards smiled." ”

Zhan Zhao said: "The prince's ability to set up the formation, looking at the rivers and lakes, can be regarded as a leader, Zhan Zhao is a shallow learner, so that the prince can laugh." ”

King Xian smiled slightly, and said: "I heard that Mr. Gongsun is erudite and talented, knows astronomy, geography, and has excellent medical skills. ”

Gongsun Ce, who had been silent on the side, saw that King Xian suddenly led the topic to himself, and he was not surprised, so he hurriedly stepped forward and saluted him: "Don't dare to teach him, if the prince has anything, even if he orders, Gongsun Ce should do his best." ”

King Xian picked up the teacup and took a sip of tea, paused for a moment and said: "One of this king's subordinates is unfortunately hit by Miao Jiang's Gu poison, every time the moon is full, if there is no antidote, it will be painful, fortunately, this king has a bottle of antidote in his hand, so that he will not be tortured, but this antidote has been almost used, and seeing that the next round of full moon is coming, I don't know if Mr. Gongsun has any research on Gu poison?"

Gongsun Ce was shocked, but he remained silent on the surface, glanced at Bao Zheng and said: "The student is ashamed, the Gu technique is a unique secret technique of the Miao people, and it is easy not to show it to the public, although the student is very curious about this secret technique, but he suffers from the lack of a way to study, so he is powerless to solve the Gu poison." ”

"Hey, Mr. Gongsun's words are wrong, this king just arrived in the capital a few days ago and heard that Lord Bao cracked a big case, and also killed Zhang Guifei's brother for this, I heard that this case is related to Gu arts, this king also heard that the lord arrested a woman, that is, from Miao Jiang, I don't know if I can let this king see it, and ask about the antidote?"

Gongsun Ce hurriedly said: "Lord Wang, most of the rumors in the market have exaggerated and distorted the facts, the red porcelain case is indeed cruel, but it has nothing to do with Gu art, Lord Wang must not listen to rumors." ”

King Xian's face was slightly disappointed and said: "I see, that is the recklessness of this king, please forgive me, Lord Bao, this king is also eager to save people." ”

Bao Zheng's face was dark, and he couldn't see his face, so he only said lightly: "The prince is serious," but he didn't mean to continue.

Seeing this, King Xian was not annoyed, smiled good-naturedly, and got up to take his leave.

Gongsun Ce hurriedly gave Zhan Zhao a look, and Zhan Zhao said: "Lord, can you wait a while, Zhan Zhao came in a hurry yesterday, there are still some things that have not yet been explained to the dynasty and other brothers, and Zhan Zhao will come when he goes." ”

King Xian nodded, Zhan Zhao walked out, Gongsun Ce saw King Xian sit down again, so he took the opportunity to find someone to change a cup of tea for King Xian and Bao Zheng, and also walked out and walked to Zhan Zhao's room.

Zhan Zhao waited in the room for a while, and saw Gongsun Ce coming in a hurry, and he didn't care about the number of courtesies when the time was pressing, so he pulled Gongsun Ce and said, "Mr. Gongsun has a way to break the five elements? I wanted to go and investigate last night, but who knew that the virtuous king seemed to have seen through my intentions, and took me around his palace yesterday afternoon, and also hinted that my entire palace would open the mechanism at night, and I was afraid that if I touched the mechanism would arouse his vigilance, I did not dare to act rashly, who knew that this morning, he took me to see Lord Bao, and the words in the flower hall just now were half-truths and half-truths, but made me suspect that he had something to do with the red porcelain case, and this person had to beware. ”

Gongsun Ce also frowned and said: "What King Xian said just now is obviously a temptation, but in fact he also exposed himself, only a few of us know about the Rouge Gu Technique, and it is impossible to leak it, how did he know? It's just that if he was really related to the red porcelain case, he hid it so deeply before, but now why did he jump out by himself, what is the purpose? Is it just to make us suspect him? This is too much to say. ”

"In any case, King Xian is very scheming, Mr. Gongsun must remind your lords to be cautious about this person, I am not convenient to stay for a long time, I will try to find an opportunity tonight, no matter what. ”

Gongsun Ce hurriedly said: "The technique of the five elements is ever-changing, unless you see the change of the layout with your own eyes, you can make a way to break the situation on the spot, but I can't enter the palace, don't take risks to protect the guards, everything needs to wait for the opportunity to move." ”

Zhan Zhao walked out and said, "Mr. Gongsun, rest assured, Zhan Zhao has his own measure. ”

As soon as he walked to the door, he saw Feifei hiding outside the door, Feifei saw Zhanzhao seeing him, and explained with a red face: "I heard that you are back, so I want to come and see you, I didn't mean to eavesdrop on you." ”

Gongsun Ce said playfully: "I'll go back to the flower hall first, and you can talk slowly." ”

Zhan Zhao saw Gongsun Ce pulling his legs and leaving, he didn't find it funny, and said with a smile: "Look, you scared Mr. Gongsun away." ”

Feifei didn't have the heart to joke, and said worriedly: "Brother Zhan, you promised me not to take risks easily, Mr. Gongsun said, the Five Elements Technique is very dangerous, and you are not sure, don't be reckless tonight, or, let Bai Yutang go with you, he understands these things." ”

Zhan Zhao said with a smile: "Bai Yutang wants to stay here to take care of the prison, don't worry, I'll be fine, Feifei, I don't want to stay for a long time, you be careful yourself, there is nothing to do recently, just stay in the mansion, don't go out of the mansion alone." ”

Feifei said: "I know, I will listen to you and stay here obediently, Brother Zhan, Ruoxi said that my blood has a life-saving effect, or I will put some blood on your body, in case there is something, you will drink my blood." ”

Zhan Zhao was made to cry and laugh by her words, and felt warm like spring in his heart, all these years in Kaifeng Mansion to investigate and handle cases, he has never been the only one to care about others, take care of others, everyone regards him as a strong man, but he also has times when he is fragile and needs to be cared for, but these times are cleverly covered up by him.

Feifei's words just now, although a little childish, but Zhan Zhao was very moved, he reached out and stroked Feifei's hair, and said softly: "Don't worry, your big brother Zhan is a cat, cats have nine lives, it won't be so easy to have an accident, you can wait for me to come back in the house." ”

Feifei was dazzled by Zhanzhao's gentleness, and stood in place for a long time, and when he came back to his senses, Zhanzhao didn't know when he had already left, Feifei sighed silently, turned around and closed the door for Zhanzhao, and went back to the room boringly.