Yunmeng County at the confluence of the three rivers, although it is not the largest area among the ten states and eighty-eight counties under the jurisdiction of the Great Chu Empire, it has become an important town in the empire where farmers and merchants gather and trade flourish because of its fertile land, water and land accessibility, and prosperous trade.

Once a place is prosperous, it is inevitable that there will be a surge of forces and a secret war. There are many wealthy families in Yunmeng City, and the forces are complex. Among them, the largest ones are the Lu Mansion in the east of the city and the Yan Mansion in the west of the city.

The Yan Mansion is a new wealthy family, but it has only risen in recent decades, and the owner's background is secretive, and he controls most of the local bodyguards, docks, shipping, and underground money business, so some people speculate that this family has a lot to do with the Green Forest thieves and even the anti-thief rebels.

Lu Mansion is a local hereditary wealthy family, the ancestor is the founding father of the Great Chu Empire, in the past years followed Emperor Taizu to open the country in a hundred battles, repeatedly made meritorious achievements, and was named the Marquis of Righteousness.

The Lu family's son relied on his father's nobility, advocating martial arts from generation to generation, and for more than 400 years, he has indeed produced many talents and a prosperous family.

The scale of Lu Mansion is large, only the building of the palace covers an area of hundreds of acres, the palace is revered and the pavilion is heavy, the alley is deep, and the servants are in groups. However, light and darkness always go hand in hand in this world, and no matter how gorgeous the palace is, there are also musty corners, and no matter how glamorous the wealthy family is, there are also sad people who are depressed and helpless.

Lu Zhan is this sad person, his father Lu Tonghui was plotted seven days ago, was seriously injured, and died in Huangquan in less than half a day.

Although Lu Tonghui's surname is Lu, he is only a collateral relative of the Lu family, and his status in the Lu family is low, almost equivalent to ordinary miscellaneous servants. He usually takes care of some kitchen chores in the Lu Mansion, and his salary is not high. His wife died early, and his only son, Lu Zhan, was not yet fifteen years old, and now he is studying in the school in Zhendong, and he helps his father do some chores in the house.

Although this Lu Zhan is smart and has a high surname, because he is not a direct member of the Lu family, and his family background is poor, his body has been weak and weak since he was a child, so he has been depressed and has not been able to practice martial arts like the children of other core relatives in the Lu Mansion, and have achieved something.

Coupled with the sudden departure of his only relative, he has become a lonely and miserable person, can you not teach him to be sad?

Because his family was not good, he didn't do any magic things, but after the Seven Dynasties, Lu Zhan hastily buried his father.

On the day of the funeral, Lu Zhan stood by his father's grave with a sad heart, Lu Tonghui had few friends before his death, and the people who came to the funeral were just familiar people in the house.

The grave was a little deserted, recalling his father's voice and smile before his death, words and deeds, Lu Zhan fell into deep grief, and the people who came to the funeral came to the grave one after another to stand silently mourning.

At this time, I saw two men wearing Lu Fu uniforms walking over quickly. The two of them looked arrogant, even when they walked to the grave, they were striding forward, and they did not care that they had to maintain solemn and solemn etiquette on such occasions.

The man in front was about thirty years old, short and stocky, with a generous face. The younger one who followed was a little younger, and his appearance was very strong, and there was a ferocity in his eyes.

The people who came to the funeral were all people from the Lu Mansion who were not of high status, and when they saw these two people, they respectfully let go of their bodies and lowered their heads. The middle-aged man standing next to Lu Zhan was Uncle Ding, Lu Tonghui's friend before his death, and he told Lu Zhan in a low voice: "Walking in front is Liu Dingguo, who is the nephew of Liu Dagu, the third head of the Inner Palace. The name following behind was He Feng, who was the leader of one of the squads in the Lu Mansion Courtyard Hall. ”

Lu Zhan raised his head and looked at the two of them.

He had long heard that the nursing hall of the Lu Mansion was full of good hands who had achieved success in cultivating martial arts, and it was said that they all had the ability to crack and strengthen the cattle empty-handed, and to fly the eaves and walk the wall. He has always been very curious about these high-level martial arts, and he doesn't know what the difference between people who practice martial arts and normal people.

Now that there is a master walking so close to him, it is no wonder that he will look at the head of the nursing home named He Feng with curious eyes.

Sure enough, He Feng's temperament is indeed a little different, his eyes are particularly sharp, as if he can grasp your heart with his eyes alone, and when he walks, he walks steadily, and he looks very courageous.

And Liu Dingguo, who was walking in front of He Feng, was more imposing than him, and it seemed that his martial arts cultivation was even more powerful than He Feng.

The two walked up to Lu Zhan, and Liu Dingguo shouted arrogantly: "Hey, you are Lu Tonghui's son?"

Lu Zhan nodded, showing a blank expression.

Liu Dingguo sneered, took out two ingots of silver and threw them to him: "Well, these ten taels of silver are given to you by our housekeeper Liu, and they are regarded as the pension of the Lu Mansion." ”

Lu Zhan silently took the silver.

After Liu Dingguo handed over the silver, he waited with his head held high, but he didn't wait for Lu Zhan to bow and thank him with low eyebrows;

This made him very annoyed, raised his eyebrows and glared at Lu Zhandao: "You little cub don't know how to count etiquette, Lao Tzu rewarded you with money, don't you even say thank you, uncle, don't you usually teach you the truth of humility and humility?"

Although Lu Zhan was one round younger than him, he was already about the same height as him.

He looked at each other with a very calm gaze, for this kind of guy who ignored the occasion and was extremely rude in front of his father's new grave, although he didn't have the strength to scold them now, he must also make himself neither humble nor arrogant, and not lose the face of his deceased father.

"My fate is up to me!--Your strength can be much stronger than mine, but I will also fight to the death, and I will never be despised, insulted, or even indulged in the trajectory of my destiny!" -- this has always been the firmest belief in Lu Zhan's heart, and it is also the source of motivation for him to still work hard at the bottom of the Lu Mansion.

Lu Zhan has been bullied since he was a child, so he has a little arrogant paranoia, and he is a young man, dares to do things, and moves forward bravely, and sometimes acts without caring about the consequences.

Seeing this, Uncle Ding, who was standing beside Lu Zhan, hurriedly said: "Uncle Liu is angry, he is a child who is not sensible, and his father has just been buried, so he is confused, please forgive me." ”

Liu Dingguo snorted angrily, and before he could scold something, He Feng behind him said softly: "Brother Liu, don't be like a child, it's important to do business." ”

Liu Dingguo's eyes flashed and nodded. His tone softened slightly, and he asked Lu Zhan, "Boy, did your father say anything to you before he died?"

Lu Zhan shook his head.

"Did you really not say it?" Liu Dingguo asked: "Our nursing hall is tracking down the murderer of your father, it is said that your father was seriously injured and fled home and still has a breath left, didn't he tell you the clues about the murderer?"

Lu Zhan's heart fluctuated for a moment, but he still bit his lip and shook his head. In fact, his father did say some things before he died, but he didn't feel the need to tell them to the brutal and rude guy in front of him.

Liu Dingguo and He Feng glanced at each other, since they couldn't ask anything from this little guy's mouth, it would be boring for them to stay any longer, so they sneered twice and quickly left the cemetery.

Although Lu Tonghui has made no special contributions in his life, he is finally one of the side relatives of the Lu family, and he has done his best for the Lu Mansion. But after the funeral, the mastermind of the Lu family did not even show his face, and only sent Liu Dingguo, who managed foreign affairs, to send ten taels of silver as a pension. It can be seen that the cold heart of the Lu family makes people feel cold.

It was autumn, and the wind was cold, and the paper flags on the grave were raised high by the west wind, making the sound of hunting.

Lu Zhan shuddered, and woke up from his grief, only to see that the incense and candles in front of the grave were about to burn out, the sky was gradually darkening, and the funeral people had dispersed into the slowly falling night, and only Uncle Ding was still by his side.

He asked Uncle Ding, "Uncle, do you think that the nursing hall will really investigate my father's murderer?"

"This ......" Uncle Ding hesitated for a moment, thinking that it would be better to be honest with him and let him recognize the reality.

"I don't think so, your father is an inconspicuous little person in the Lu Mansion, and now the world is so chaotic, and people are dying every day. The Guardian Hall is only responsible for the safety of the noble people in the mansion, and your father's life and death will be placed in the eyes of these old ladies and gentlemen. As he spoke, he hugged Lu Zhan's shoulder, "Kid, it's not too early, let's go back." ”

Lu Zhan nodded, followed Uncle Ding and walked towards the Lu Mansion, and on the way he asked again: "Uncle Ding, since the Nursing Hall doesn't want to take care of my father's affairs, why should he care about what my father said before he died? Could it be that they have ulterior motives?"

Uncle Ding suddenly stopped, he turned around and looked at Lu Zhan's eyes solemnly: "Could it be that your father really told you something before he died?"

"I did say something, but I didn't understand it. ”

"What did he say?"

"He told me not to avenge him and get out of here, I don't know what he meant. ”

Uncle Ding lowered his head, bit his lip and thought for a while, and said in a low tone: "Your father is right, he wants to warn you that it is dangerous to stay here in Lu Mansion." Xiao Zhan, you have to listen to him and leave immediately, preferably tonight. ”

"No, I'm not leaving, I have to avenge my father!" Lu Zhan replied firmly.

"But you can't afford to provoke his murderer," Uncle Ding looked at him and said, "Don't talk about revenge, even if you move this thought a little, you will be killed immediately." ”

Lu Zhan's heart moved, stared at Uncle Ding and asked, "Uncle, do you know who killed my father?"

Uncle Ding's body stiffened, his eyes flickered, and he was obviously engaged in a fierce psychological struggle. Lu Zhan shook his arm and said, "Uncle Ding, you must know some secrets, please, tell me why for my father's sake?"

Uncle Ding hesitated for a while, and finally said: "Okay, I said, but Xiao Zhan, you have to promise me, don't tell me what I told you, after all, this is related to the lives of your and my families, and if you don't get it right, my whole family will suffer." ”

"Okay, uncle, I promise you, I will never tell you. ”

Uncle Ding looked left and right, and after making sure that there was no one around, he lowered his voice and said, "Your father seemed to have seen some things that he shouldn't have seen in the first two days before he died, so he seemed very panicked. ”

Lu Zhanqi said: "What shouldn't you see?

Uncle Ding shook his head and said, "I don't know, I asked your father, but he refused to say it explicitly, only said that he had been dealing with a few demon-like things before. Listening to that tone, it seems to be related to a high-level figure in the house. Seven days ago morning, your father and I were in the kitchen discussing the purchase of goods, when a small leader of the nursing hall, the guy named He Feng who came just now, asked your father to go out with him to run errands. Your father went out with him and never came back, and the news of your father's death came that night. ”

Lu Zhan gritted his teeth, "So, that He Feng is likely to be the murderer of my father?"

"I'm not sure, I can only say that he is the most suspicious, and he was very concerned about what your father said to you before he died, which is enough to explain something. Uncle Ding guessed: "I think your father's death must have something to do with something that shouldn't be seen, they are killing people." ”

Lu Zhan clenched his fists, and his finger joints made a "snapping" sound.