I only feel that at this moment, what I heard has exceeded my cognition of the surrounding qiē in my previous decades of life, and I am completely stunned by the flat expression of the Iron Mask King who seems to be just talking about today's weather.

But the sound of the tide of the sea was noisy at this moment.

All the time, surging around, echoing in the already noisy ears, I only felt that the noise was a little unbearable, and I subconsciously took a step back and reached out to hold my head.

Only then did the Iron Mask King show a stunned expression: "You really don't know? ”

“……”

"No one sued you?"

“……”

"Huaiyin didn't sue you either?"

“……”

I didn't speak, I was gritting my teeth hard, trying to drive out the noise in my head, until this time, I was out of breath, I looked up at the Iron Mask King in a panic, and shook my head.

No.

No one has ever sued me.

If it weren't for the fact that some of my childhood memories were too deep, if it weren't for the fact that I imprinted her every word and deed in my mind, even if the Iron Mask King had sued me now, I would not have believed that my mother was an ordained nun when she married my father.

But—of course she is!

In my memory, she has always had half-length hair, until I finally left Xichuan and went north to Beijing, her hair did not grow too long, but because it was the appearance of my mother that I had seen since I was a child, I didn't feel anything strange and weird, just like my mother should be a woman, and my father should be a man.

But, how can it be normal?

Any ordinary woman, when she marries a woman, her long hair has already reached her waist, but my mother remembers, until I was two years old, her hair was no more than ear-length.

There was only one possibility - that up until then, she had no hair, she had shaved her head.

I've finally figured out one thing now.

My mother, even after marrying her father and becoming the head of the Nishikawa Yan family, was rich and wealthy, her life was very simple, most of her clothes were blue and gray, and only during the New Year's holidays, when my father asked her, she would change into bright red clothes to show joy, but outside of that, she never had any joy for the bright colors.

However, in her father's painting, the wind blowing red yarn in the western mountains, she was covered in a shadow.

Perhaps, it was not red yarn at all, nor was it the bright color of the clothes she was never used to, but the robe that Buddhists used to give up their greed.

The wind in the west mountain blows the red yarn, which turns out to be a robe.

When I thought about this, I suddenly smiled.

I felt ridiculous, but I didn't know why, and the sadness that followed made me want to cry again.

Over the years, I have always understood that I am not without grievances, but I am just suppressing that grievance, because there are parents all over the world, so even if she has never been enthusiastic about our life, even if she has never treated me lightly as a daughter, I can only accept it, not blame, although in my heart, there is always a grievance.

But I now understand that she is not without enthusiasm or coldness, but all the coldness and purity are her nature, or rather, the soul attitude of a Buddhist.

She was moved and persuaded to marry someone, but she never changed her soul.

At this time, the Iron Mask King sighed.

He said slowly, "It seems that she doesn't plan to sue you about this. ”

I looked at him, thought for a moment, and said, "Perhaps, Mother doesn't think it's worth telling. ”

He looked at me with a little surprise.

She didn't sue me, of course, because she was cold by nature, and she never felt too important about her own affairs, and my father didn't sue me, naturally because she protected me from being young and ignorant, which was a blow to a child.

As for the people of Nishikawa, they don't say-

Perhaps, they simply don't know, I don't know.

What kind of person is my mother, as a daughter, of course, I should be the most knowledgeable person in the world, so this seemingly well-known thing, everyone probably also has a collective consciousness, that is, I must know, and know more than anyone else.

Therefore, no one will specifically mention to a daughter what her mother is.

Therefore, this thing that should not have been a secret has been a secret for so many years in front of me.

I wanted to laugh again, but I couldn't, only the sadness welled up in my stomach, and tears blurred my vision.

Looking at me like this, the Iron Mask King also fell silent.

The two of them stood face to face without saying a word, and I don't know how long it took for me to finally withdraw from that sadness, look up at him, and ask softly, "Do you know who my mother was before she became a monk?" ”

Even if she is a monk, she must have had a time when she was alive, who was she at that time? What is her family like? Who are her parents, my maternal grandparents? Why did she become a monk? What was her purpose in becoming a monk?

All these questions came to my mind in an instant.

But the Iron Mask King shook his head gently.

My heart suddenly cooled.

Although there are so many questions in my heart, I know better that my mother's affairs have been dusty for decades, and there are not many traces of her willingness to stay, and those things about her private affairs may be even less, and the Iron Mask King doesn't know, and I'm not surprised at all.

Thinking of this, I couldn't help but raise my head and glance at the man opposite.

It is undeniable that he is old, I can imagine how handsome the face that is almost exactly the same as Huang Tianba was when he was young, galloping on the grassland with high spirits, and now the corners of his eyes are full of wrinkles, and his rough skin also has a withered breath, but even so, the heaviness and depth of the years in his eyes, as well as the hardness of manhood that has not retreated, make him more attractive.

Such a person should be very attractive to girls.

I couldn't help but think of what Xue Qian said, although I believe that the truth must not be as unbearable as she guessed, but now that people are in front of me, I still can't help but ask: "Then you and my mother-"

Before I could finish my sentence, he had already spoken, "I like her." ”

“……”

I don't know if it was because of the too direct answer, or because of his too open eyes, I lost my reaction for a while.

After a long while, I let out a blank "ah".

He smiled, but there was a faint ruthlessness in his smile, and said, "It's a pity that I met her too late." ”

“…… When did you meet her? ”

"She and your father's wedding."

“……”

"I traveled to Sichuan and heard about this major event in Shudi, so I rushed to watch the ceremony."

“……”

"So, the first time I met Huaiyin was when she got married."

He looked at me dumbfounded, and then laughed cruelly: "If it weren't for that, your father and I would have won or lost." ”

I hesitated for a moment: "You and my father, didn't win or lose?" ”

He said: "What made her heart move, what made her decide to marry, was your father, what else should I fight for?" ”

“……”

I was so shocked that I couldn't speak.

In the love between men and women, I have seen too many horizontal knives to snatch love, and there are countless jealousy, so that they tear their hair and tear their faces, and they turn against each other, just for who gets whom and who loses whom.

But I have never seen him so open-minded, in love, so focused on devotion, so decisively withdrawn.

In shock, I smiled softly at him.

In this smile, all my respect, even those unspeakable feelings, were integrated into it, and he looked at me with a smile, and seemed to understand, and smiled back to me lightly.

But-

Their feelings are so simple, and other things may not be as simple as feelings.

Why did he go to sea?

Why did you become a pirate in these seas?

Why did he attack Yan Qinghan and their ship, and now why did he stay at sea, why didn't he go back to the grassland?

These many questions slowly emerged in front of me as his identity and my mother's past were revealed.

I said, "You—"

However, this time, before I could ask, he had already opened his mouth first: "Why did you go to sea?" ”

“……”

"You weren't sure it was me until you saw me, and you certainly didn't come to me. What are you looking for? ”

“……”

"Isn't it the same as those people?"

“……”

"You're here to find the Franc artillery?"

I suddenly felt like I had ignited something with a bang, and the whole person was shocked, although I had already guessed this possibility, but when he really admitted it, I was still a little confused.

"Franc machine artillery...... Did you really go to sea for this thing and have been adrift at sea for so many years? ”

“……”

"My mother really hid the Franc machine artillery at sea, did you do it?"

"......" He looked at me and didn't speak.

After a moment of silence, he said, "You are really here for this. ”

I took a deep breath and said, "I- I know about it, but I'm not here for the artillery. Someone wanted to use me to find the Franc cannon, so I designed my daughter. I thought they had taken my daughter out to sea, so they followed. ”

"Someone designed you? Who is it? His thick dark eyebrows furrowed: "That cousin of yours? Someone from the court? Or people from Jinling. ”

My eyes widened in shock: "How do you know this?" ”

He sneered: "Do you think pirates really only live on the sea?" ”

“……”

"Although we only dock once in six months, we know what is happening on the shore."

“……”

I looked at him silently, and suddenly realized: "So, that's why you attacked Yan Qinghan's ship?!" ”

He gave me a faint look.

I was still a little incredulous, and asked, "You know that they all went to sea to find the Franc machine artillery, so you-you just went to attack them?" ”

“……”

He still didn't speak, but there was a tacit calmness on his face.

I gasped.

Before today, all of them were uncertain, so I couldn't understand why a group of "pirates" would take the initiative to attack Yan Qinghan, and the purpose was not for money. Now I finally understand a little: as I had guessed before, although ordinary pirates operate at sea, their scope of activity is definitely not limited to the sea, and of course they are the same, so they must have their own men, or eyeliners, on land, and many of the things they care about can be known in time as soon as they change.

However, they are different from ordinary pirates.

Their purpose at sea is not to plunder, but to guard and guard.

So anyone who wants to go to sea in search of the Franc cannon will become a target for them. When Yan Qinghan, Pei Yuanfeng, Xiao Yusheng, together with Yangzhou and Jinling, all sent a huge fleet to the sea, such a major event must not escape their ears and eyes, so they will find Yan Qinghan's fleet on the vast sea, and do it unceremoniously, but let go of the merchant ships like Boss Wang, who are obviously richer.

This is what Xue Muhua told me before, she felt that the purpose of this group of pirates was not simple, and the activities in this sea area were not like looting, but more like patrolling.

It's a little clearer.

My mother, indeed, handed over the Franco cannon to him!

The two of them have no relationship between husband and wife, and even, from his tone, they don't talk about love at all, but my mother handed over such an important thing to him, which is almost a more important entrustment than her own life, she can completely trust this man and entrust everything to him!

I thought, maybe my mother trusts him more than she trusts herself!

Thinking of this, I looked at him with more respect, and said solemnly: "Uncle Iron Mask King, I-I also heard some things when I returned to Xichuan, and I think that only you can tell me the truth of the matter." About the Franco-machine artillery, about my mother. It was she who took the artillery, didn't she? ”

He glanced at me, still a little hesitant in his eyes, but finally nodded: "Yes." ”

"She—"

I wanted to ask why, but when I thought about it, I knew why.

For such a murder weapon, even I absolutely do not want it to appear on the battlefield, or even in this world, and since my mother used to be a nun, she must be more sympathetic to the suffering of all beings, and her rejection of that kind of thing must be deeper than mine.

I didn't ask what I said, but the Iron Mask King spoke: "Back then, the people of the Xue family purchased that batch of artillery from overseas, and planned to transport it directly into Shu to unite the forces of the Yan family, as well as fight against them, and start a war. ”

This is a fact that I already knew at the beginning, but I have a doubt.

"The Xue family bought such a powerful weapon, why don't they use it themselves?"

Moreover, according to the topography, it is more difficult to fight from Shu to the north than from the south of the Yangtze River to the north.

The Iron Mask King glanced at me and said lightly: "There are three people to rely on to start a war, do you know which three?" ”

I said, "Weapons, money, food, and people." ”

"That's right." He was a little surprised that I would answer correctly, glanced at me, and then said: "The Xue family can only be regarded as a big family in Jiangnan back then, although they are rich, but to support a war, it is simply a drop in the bucket." Besides, even if the weapon is already in hand, the person-"

"People?"

At that time, the Pei family had been in charge of the Central Plains for more than 20 years, and most of the situation in the Central Plains had been calmed, especially the Jiangnan was strictly guarded. In that environment, the Xue family had a small chance of winning in Jiangnan. ”

I nodded.

Probably because the Xue family has experienced this period, so when Pei Yuanxiu and Yao Lao seized Jiangnan, they did not go to war directly, but took advantage of the contradictions within the imperial court to encourage Shen Gongyi to rebel, so that Pei Yuanhao put all his energy on dealing with the Shen family.

"Shu has never been the sphere of influence of the imperial court, and if the artillery is transported here, they will join forces on both sides, and if this battle starts, the outcome may be unknown."

"So, Mother robbed the Franc cannons?"

"Yes."

"Haven't you used this batch of artillery?"

"Nope."

I frowned: "Not once?" ”

The Iron Mask King squinted his eyes slightly and looked at me, although there was no anger on his face, but from his expression, I could already see the displeasure of being suspected, and hurriedly explained: "We fought with the cavalry of the Eastern Chahe Division in Nian Baoyu half a year ago, and one of the generals they led the army saw my father and my mother back then, and said that they had been attacked by the Franco's artillery. ”

The Iron Mask King also frowned, thought deeply for a while, and then said slowly, "When you say that, I remember." ”

"How?"

"Indeed, Huaiyin mentioned that before that batch of artillery was purchased from overseas, the Xue family first purchased one for power testing."

"Power test?"

"Yes."

I exhaled slightly, and my heart came to me.

Usually, when we buy some goods, we will first propose a part of the trial, which is also common sense, so if the Xue family buys such a large number of artillery, whether it works or not, of course they must also try it.

Therefore, Nian Baoyuze, the cavalry of the Eastern Chahe Division, in that year, became the touchstone of the Franc machine artillery.

When I thought of this, I couldn't help but sigh secretly.

Kumuhan once said that Xichuan suddenly went on an expedition to prevent the cavalry of the Eastern Chahe Division from entering the Central Plains to plunder, and that battle was inexplicable, especially when he brought my mother to the battlefield, it was like calling my mother.

Now, I seem to feel a little bit of it.

That battle, maybe it was for my mother.

Or perhaps, it was just a test of the power of artillery, and my mother appeared on the battlefield because she wanted to know how powerful that firearm really was, and how dangerous it would be.

She will only make a decision after knowing a qiē.

But-

I looked up at the Iron Mask King.

Perhaps it was too clear in my gaze of inquiry and doubt, he also frowned and said, "What are you watching me do?" ”

I thought about it for a moment and said softly, "Uncle Iron Mask King, I have a question for you. ”

"You ask."

"It's all my mother's decision, but why are you involved in this?" Gone that batch of Francophone artillery? ”

"Yes."

"Haven't you used this batch of artillery?"

"Nope."

I frowned: "Not once?" ”

The Iron Mask King squinted his eyes slightly and looked at me, although there was no anger on his face, but from his expression, I could already see the displeasure of being suspected, and hurriedly explained: "We fought with the cavalry of the Eastern Chahe Division in Nian Baoyu half a year ago, and one of the generals they led the army saw my father and my mother back then, and said that they had been attacked by the Franco's artillery. ”

The Iron Mask King also frowned, thought deeply for a while, and then said slowly, "When you say that, I remember." ”

"How?"

"Indeed, Huaiyin mentioned that before that batch of artillery was purchased from overseas, the Xue family first purchased one for power testing."

"Power test?"

"Yes."

I exhaled slightly, and my heart came to me.

Usually, when we buy some goods, we will first propose a part of the trial, which is also common sense, so if the Xue family buys such a large number of artillery, whether it works or not, of course they must also try it.

Therefore, Nian Baoyuze, the cavalry of the Eastern Chahe Division, in that year, became the touchstone of the Franc machine artillery.

When I thought of this, I couldn't help but sigh secretly.

Kumuhan once said that Xichuan suddenly went on an expedition to prevent the cavalry of the Eastern Chahe Division from entering the Central Plains to plunder, and that battle was inexplicable, especially when he brought my mother to the battlefield, it was like calling my mother.

Now, I seem to feel a little bit of it.

That battle, maybe it was for my mother.

Or perhaps, it was just a test of the power of artillery, and my mother appeared on the battlefield because she wanted to know how powerful that firearm really was, and how dangerous it would be.

She will only make a decision after knowing a qiē.

But-

I looked up at the Iron Mask King.

Perhaps it was too clear in my gaze of inquiry and doubt, he also frowned and said, "What are you watching me do?" ”

I thought about it for a moment and said softly, "Uncle Iron Mask King, I have a question for you. ”

"You ask."

"It's all my mother's decision, but why are you involved in this?"