"You're asking the wrong person." Bai Huan let out a long breath and said with a wry smile, "Master Qingxuan became famous at a young age, and he entered the palace to lecture at the age of ten years. But I didn't know him well, and even deliberately avoided him, never talking to him in private. ”

The queen is keen to eat fast and chant Buddha, but Bai Huan avoids it like a snake and scorpion.

"It's just because my father doesn't like strange things." Bai Huan lowered his eyes and laughed at himself.

The royal family only has kings and ministers, not fathers and sons. Bai Huan is careful everywhere, docile and respectful, but he still can't be blue-eyed. Even when the emperor was sick, he only wanted to see Chu Zhixia, and he didn't want to see any of his sons.

"All I know is that Qing Xuan is a smart but silent person." Bai Huan thought for a long time and said, "You can go and ask the fourth brother, he is much more familiar with Qing Xuan than me." ”

"Fourth Highness, where does this start?" Chu Zhixia was a little surprised.

"The fourth brother has known very well since he was a child...... How to please the queen mother," Bai Huan pondered his words, "He studied Buddhist scriptures harder than others when he was a child, so he should be very familiar with Master Qingxuan." ”

Chu Zhixia suddenly felt bad in his heart.

——

The next day, above the morning meeting.

The Criminal Department attacked the fourth prince Bai Ziche in the matter and was familiar with Master Qingxuan, and he once trespassed into Dali Temple because of the case of the edict of the painting academy, and it was inevitable that he would hold a grudge, and he was suspected of conspiring against the party and slandering his brother.

The second assistant of the cabinet jumped like thunder, and scolded the criminal department for "people are not old, their eyes are dazzled first, for the future, they slander the prince, there is this scholar, and I am also mistaken." The second assistant of the cabinet is over half a hundred years old, and despite the obstruction of his colleagues, he will roll up his sleeves and smash him with a jade wat.

"Miss, you don't know how critical the situation was at that time." Cheng Yuan swallowed his saliva in fear, "The cabinet deputy shouted at me, telling me to get out of here, otherwise I will be beaten together; The criminal department drilled me in the back and ripped off my belt. ”

The melon seeds held by Chu Zhixia shook his knees with laughter.

"Your Majesty didn't ask anyone to pull it, so he knew to ask me: 'Cheng Qing, what do you think'." Cheng Yuan slapped his palms and said helplessly, "The Criminal Department gives the matter from the fourth grade, the cabinet second assistant from the first grade, I am a little Yu Linwei, what can I think, how dare I look at it?" ”

Chu Shixia couldn't stop laughing, and he held on to Shen Zhou's shoulders to sit firmly, "You must be wishing you were blind." ”

"The most terrifying thing is that the regent is sitting in front and looking at me," Cheng Yuan pointed to Shen Zhou, who did not speak, and said, "Yes, it is Shen Zhou's virtue." Just looking at it, I didn't say a word, and I was covered in a cold sweat. ”

Shen Zhou: "? ”

Cheng Yuan sighed, "I have to say, 'The minister is incompetent, and no trace of the assassin has been found'." ”

Chu Zhixia smiled enough, and remembered the matter, "There are three secondary assistants in the cabinet, which one is speaking for the four princes?" ”

Cheng Yuan said secretly: "The surname is Pei." ”

Chu Shixia raised his eyebrows.

——

Painting Academy.

Summer is getting deeper, and the courtyard is full of shade.

Bai Ziche rolled up his sleeves and washed his brush, and the painter and the attendant behind him whispered.

Today, Concubine Pei entered the palace, and the six princes were taken away by the palace people first, and there was no sound of children crying in the painting courtyard, but it seemed a lot more cold and quiet. Bai Ziche didn't show any discomfort, but just washed the paint off his hands.

"Your Highness," the little chamberlain Feibai couldn't hold back, and took the lead in whispering to him, "Today, Concubine Pei enters the palace, why don't you accompany the Sixth Highness to meet him?" ”

"Miss Pei is Aunt Ayan, if she enters the palace as a concubine, she will be Ayan's mother." Bai Ziche said lightly, "It's reasonable, it has nothing to do with me, what am I going to do?" ”

Feibai spit in his heart that the mud of the four princes couldn't support the wall, but he still refused to give up, "Your Highness is alone in the palace, and it is difficult to support it alone, if you can be taken care of by Concubine Pei or even the Pei family, wouldn't it be the best of both worlds?" The slave heard a few days ago that Pei Cifu is still talking to you in the court! ”

"I don't think I heard what you said. Later, let people grab the handle, don't say I didn't warn you. Bai Ziche glanced at him, "The weather is good today, take out the paintings in the attic and blow them." ”

Feibai turned Bai Ziche over and over in his heart and scolded him for being bloody, but he had to do as he said.

Many of the masterpieces in the collection of the academy are made of white silk, which was raining heavily some time ago, and it was inevitable that it would change color due to dampness.

Wooden shelves were erected in the courtyard, and dozens of silk silks splashed with ink or blue were placed on the shelves, undulating with the wind through the hall. Bai Ziche moved a chair and sat in it, his eyes slightly closed, as if he was in the clouds, and thousands of white wings spread out in the wind.

"Your Royal Highness, Your Highness, is so Yaxing."

Bai Zi opened his eyes and looked at the young man in the wide-sleeved robe standing in front of him.

"Dare to ask Your Excellency's name?"

"Guanzhong Pei, Pei Zhang." Pei Zhang smiled approachably, "I came here today to send my fourth sister into the palace." Pei has no official position, but he loves Danqing's brush and ink, and he came to the painting academy to take a look. ”

"What painting does Pei Gongzi want to see?" Bai Ziche got up and smoothed the folds on his clothes.

Pei Zhang stood behind him and said, "Pei Mou came this time, not to watch, but to seek a masterpiece." Hearing that His Royal Highness had been transformed into a god, Pei was cheeky and begged His Highness to paint a picture for the grass people. ”

"What painting?"

The Buddha pulled the flowers, and the leaves smiled. Does Your Highness know this allusion? Pei Zhang asked with a smile.

Bai Ziche stood on the steps and turned back, the afternoon slanting sunlight was chopped by the eaves, and the last line of shadow fell impartially at Pei Zhang's feet. Pei Zhang was bathed in golden sunlight, and his light brown pupils were like amber full of light.

"I know."

"Then there is His Highness Lao." Pei Zhang bowed slightly and thanked him.

——

Bai Ziche walked into the house and stared at Feibai warningly. Fei Bai left with the scroll in his arms, and Bai Ziche pushed open his door.

The emperor appointed a new academy attendant and agreed that Bai Ziche would continue to stay here. These days, Bai Ziche has locked himself in the painting academy and has not been able to move an inch. But when he appears in front of people, he is ignorant and unfazed.

Bai Ziche closed the door, leaned against the door panel, and exhaled: "You're right, the Pei family came to me." ”

Chu Zhixia tumbled down from the beam of the house and landed lightly on the ground, "The Pei family in Guanzhong is a big family, and the tree has deep roots. Pei Zhang is the young head of the Pei family of this generation, and he lives up to the expectations of the family, and it is not impossible to have no official position, but he just doesn't want to. Does Your Highness know why? ”

Chu Zhixia's face was white, without a trace of blood. She sneaked into the palace last night and didn't leave, and stayed in Bai Ziche's room for the night.

"Because of the Regent?" Bai Ziche guessed.

Chu Zhixia shook his head, "Because of Your Majesty." ”

"Concubine Pei has entered the palace and has a prince. With Pei Zhang's talent, if he enters the court as an official, he will inevitably be a regent again many years later. Pei Zhang, for the sake of his sister's life and nephew's future, did not hesitate to live in Guanzhong for a long time to avoid His Majesty's suspicion, and it cannot be said that he is not smart. ”

In the last ten days of staying in the clouds, Chu Shixia was forced to memorize a long list, one of which was Pei Zhang. The list was written by Chu Mingyan himself, followed by his family background and a small line of annotations.

Chu Mingyan's annotation to Pei Zhang was: "False gentleman, true strategist." ”

"Then what did he come to me for?" Bai Ziche was puzzled.

"It's hard for smart people to guess," Chu Zhixia sighed, "Chen has a lot of guesses, but he can't be sure yet. Didn't he ask His Highness for a painting? His Highness drew one for him. ”

Bai Ziche was stunned and thought: "'The Buddha pulls flowers, and the leaves smile' comes from the legend of Zen Buddhism. It was said that Shakya was silent at the Lingshan meeting, and the disciples did not understand what he meant, but only Mahakala laughed loudly. Pei Gongzi asked for painting in this language, but it has a bit of the meaning of 'can only be understood, not spoken'. ”

It's just that I don't know what Pei Zhang's "meaning" is that Bai Ziche will know.

"It seems that Pei Gongzi is looking forward to you, Your Highness." Chu Zhixia patted Bai Ziche's shoulder, and didn't see the outside world, "The minister wants to investigate the case of Yuanjue Temple today, about Master Qingxuan, what does His Highness have to tell me?" ”

Bai Ziche thought deeply before saying, "I only have a few words of friendship with Master Qingxuan. He was a man who seemed cold, but in fact had a compassionate heart. I don't know why he assassinated His Majesty, or how he had anything to do with the Assassins. ”

In Bai Ziche's memory, Qing Xuan was different from the monks who only knew how to chant scriptures and chant Buddha.

Qing Xuan really crossed every person in the world who was in suffering, he once spent time for the little eunuch who was beaten to death by a stick, and he also gave generously to the woman who sold her body to bury her father. Qingxuan doesn't pretend to anyone and treats everyone equally.

Chu Zhixia nodded, and what else was there to say, he suddenly put his finger in front of his lips and motioned for Bai Ziche to silence. Bai Ziche frowned, Chu Zhixia's subordinates mercilessly picked up the vase and smashed it on the door and window, and a rush of panicked footsteps immediately sounded outside the door.

"He found out as soon as he got close, Your Highness doesn't have to worry." Chu Zhixia comforted him, "This waiter is called Feibai, right?" It's quite dishonest, do you want to clean it up for you? ”

"Forget it." Bai Ziche refused.

——

Dali Temple.

Cheng Yuan, who was pushed around by officials from all walks of life, couldn't bear it anymore, asked the emperor for the gold medal of General Yulin, and entered the morgue of Dali Temple all the way unimpeded.

The morgue was stinking, and when I stepped into it, my brain felt like someone had beaten me with a stick.

Cheng Yuan almost wanted to turn around and flee immediately.

He lowered his eyebrows and was pleasing to his eyes, and kept quietly looking at Cheng Yuan and the entourage behind him with a hat covering his face with contemptuous eyes. I was instructed before I came, don't do anything, don't do anything. He has seen a lot of children from a family like Cheng Yuan, who are strong and hard-working, and at most he will crawl out of the morgue at a glance.

"You go out first," Cheng Yuan pinched his nose and said, "Don't get in the way." ”

He was stunned for a moment, only to know that Cheng Yuan was talking about himself, and left in disbelief.

Shen Zhou, who had been following Cheng Yuan silently, took off his hat and took out a handkerchief dripping with peppermint essential oil from his arms and gave it to him.

Cheng Yuan was pardoned, and quickly took it over and covered his mouth and nose.

Shen Zhou's face did not change, and he used the hilt of his sword to pick up the white cloth covering the corpse.

Master Qingxuan's corpse had begun to decompose, and fat and white maggots were wriggling in the wound. Shen Zhou stretched out his hand and pressed it on his face a few times, and the softened and rotten flesh under the skin made a "coo" sound.

"Don't press it, I beg you." Cheng Yuan wanted to vomit when he heard it, "What is that, you can touch it." ”

"Dead people." Shen Zhou replied truthfully, "Haven't you touched it?" ”

Cheng Yuan's stomach turned over and over, and he waved his hand again and again, indicating that he had seen a short time and had indeed never touched it.

"This person is not easy to be embarrassed, unless all the monks of Yuanjue Temple are blind, he is undoubtedly the real Qingxuan."