Chu Zhixia went back to the bedroom and slept for a while, and vaguely always saw a shadow trekking alone on a rainy night. The road ahead was dark, and only the rain that splashed all over the ground reflected the moonlight, illuminating the path of the man.

A fire burned behind the man, and the dragon meandered to chase him to the corner of his coat, but he remained unhurried.

Chu Shixia was angry and anxious, and he couldn't wait to rush up and slap him and drag the person back to discipline him well.

At this moment, Chu Zhixia was woken up.

She was used to staying on her pillow, and even if she fell asleep, she tensed the nerves in her whole body, and almost jumped up and locked the other party's throat.

Yuzhu was startled by her halfway death, and her hands still maintained the action of covering her with a blanket.

"Miss, did you have a nightmare?" Yuzhu touched her sweaty forehead with some concern.

Chu Zhixia lay back on the couch and said nonsense: "I dreamed that I took eighty beautiful men back to the clouds, and my brother asked me which one I wanted to give to the family tree. Then the group of beautiful men fought, and the human head was beaten into a dog's head, which hurt the eyes. ”

Yuzhu chuckled, used to her babbling to hide what she didn't want to say.

"What time is it?"

"Chenshi."

The early dynasty is over. Chu Zhixia thought.

She casually tied her long hair with a raw blue hairband and said, "Is Pei Gongzi going to the palace to give a lecture to His Royal Highness today?" Let's go to His Majesty for a meal with Pei Gongzi. ”

"That Miss Jiang?"

"Don't send her back to Fangmanting just yet." Chu Shixia paused for a moment and said, "The prince will take her life." ”

——

Pei Zhang used the tea, raised his eyelashes and glanced at Chu Shixia quietly.

Chu Zhixia sat steadily on the cushion of the carriage, his posture was not elegant, but it was not vulgar, but it was a little strange. Pei Zhang looked at it for a long time, and knew that when he saw her slowly moving Buddha beads, he suddenly realized that he was like an old monk.

"I heard that you brought back a girl from Fang Manting." Pei Zhang said euphemistically.

"What, you want to hug too?" Chu Zhixia's movements in his hands didn't stop, and his eyes didn't open.

"Our Pei family is strictly controlled, I don't dare." Pei Zhang sighed, "Yesterday's news, the third prince was beaten with fifteen canes by His Royal Highness the Prince, and the ground can't go down; Chen Jixun was carried back to Chen's house, and his leg was useless. ”

Chu Zhixia said "um", which was an answer.

"Is this your discord?" Pei Zhang asked bluntly.

Chu Shixia opened his eyes slightly, looked at him, and did not speak.

"His Royal Highness the Crown Prince's most precious thing is this younger brother, although the third prince has always been domineering, but the prince is strictly controlled, and he has never been so absurd." Pei Zhang was stunned and said, "Chen Jixun actually took the third prince to prostitute in order to save your face, which can be regarded as offending the prince thoroughly." ”

In the Great Zhou Decree, officials and ministers strictly ordered that prostitutes were not allowed.

Time has passed, this law has gradually been forgotten, and everyone knows what happened in the fireworks field. Although the behavior of the three princes is Meng Lang, the world is as black as a crow, so it is not a big deal. The problem is that the emperor does not like these two sons, and this time he is afraid that he will be even more disgusted.

The crown prince has been walking on thin ice for so many years, and even once intended to draw a line with the Chen family, just to win the favor of the emperor.

Chen Jixun ruined the reputation of the three princes and the crown prince. It is difficult to say that the prince ordered to break Chen Jixun's legs, how much of it was acting for the imperial history, and how much of it was revealing his true feelings.

"It's not my strategy, you're thinking too much. I really didn't expect that the third prince would be so brainless, he would blow up at one point and leave in a hurry. Chu Shixia said, "But since he did it, I don't mind adding fuel to the fire for His Royal Highness the Crown Prince." ”

Pei Zhang put on a posture of listening attentively.

"The boss behind Fang Manting is the Guangling Jiang clan, do you know?"

Pei Zhang's face changed.

The Guangling Jiang clan is a well-known wealthy merchant on both sides of the Yangtze River, holding two ways of salt and tribute silk, and is very rich. The eldest son of the Guangling Jiang clan went north to enter the imperial capital a year ago, Pei Zhang knew it, and it was understandable.

When a person has money, he still has to keep it, which is nothing more than relying on power and soldiers. The world is not chaotic enough to raise private soldiers, so Jiang Changgongzi entered the imperial capital for only one thing - to collude with the senior officials of the court and the central government to seek refuge and business convenience.

"This Jiang Changgongzi is a bold one," Pei Zhang snorted, he didn't look down on the collusion between officials and businessmen, "I don't know who this living god of wealth has chosen?" ”

"The Chen family." Chu Zhixia's movement of the Buddha beads froze, and the Bodhi Zi made a crisp "click" sound.

Pei Zhang frowned, "If the prince knew ......"

"The crown prince will definitely suspect that this is a game against the three princes, and the purpose is to tie the prince and the Chen family together. How strong his suspicions are, it depends on how many imperial historians impeach the three princes today. ”

Chu Zhixia wanted to laugh very much, but also felt that he lacked morality, "The regent has many children, and Chen Jixun can't look down on him." But the prince doesn't have any affection at all, and the regent's heart must be very rich, and I think I also feel that this grandson is as disobedient as a nephew, but I don't know if he has murderous intentions? ”

On the eve of the Second Emperor's Palace, Chu Zhixia had already planted the seeds of doubt in the heart of the regent - as long as the prince wanted to break free from the control of the Chen family, sooner or later he would completely forget and erase the part of his bloodline surnamed Chen.

Chen Jixun's bloody broken leg, did it sound the alarm for the regent?

A resentful grandson, a suspicious grandfather, doesn't know what kind of good show to sing.

The curtain that fell together sprinkled pure white light in, shining on Chu Zhixia's side face, so white that it was almost transparent, like a piece of white jade penetrated by light. There is only a thin layer of fluff that makes her look very childish.

Between the Buddhist beads she casually moved, there was a bloody wind and rain.

"I saw the way you took care of the Qinglou woman, and I thought you really pitied her." Pei Zhang said meaninglessly.

"It makes people's teeth ache when they hear this."

Chu Zhixia didn't care about his teasing, and said slowly: "I really pity her, but so what? My mercy will not save her, nor will it save the people of the world. If compassion is useful, what do you want people like me to do? ”

Pei Zhang could only agree with her words in silence.

——

In front of Weiyang Palace.

Chu Zhixia and Pei Zhang were stopped by Bai Shan and couldn't go inside. The sound of broken porcelain crossed the palace walls, and the sound was in the ears. The two glanced at each other invariably - it seems that the impeached imperial history is not afraid of death, and the emperor is so angry that he can't wait to tear down the beams of Weiyang Palace.

Bai Shan smiled and said, "Your Majesty is talking to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince inside, and the two of you should not go in." ”

"Father-in-law," Pei Zhang said politely, "I don't know if His Royal Highness is still in class today?" ”

"His Royal Highness went out earlier, and now he should be in the painting academy." Bai Shan said, "Why don't Pei Gongzi go to the painting academy to find it?" ”

Pei Zhang gave Chu Zhixia a look and signaled her not to be an eyesore here. In case the emperor's mind turned around and remembered that there was still a share of Chu Shixia in this matter, she would not be able to eat and walk around, and the end would not be much better than that of the prince.

Chu Zhixia just wanted to be a-stirring stick conscientiously, and he didn't want to ask for hardship. So she stuffed some silver into Bai Shan's hand, and followed Pei Zhang to the painting academy to find Bai Ziche.

Since beating a bottle of ghost knocking on the door and burying Wang Xianfu's life, Chu Zhixia has not entered the palace much to see Bai Ziche.

First, he was afraid that the emperor would come back to his senses, and suspected that this play was colluded by Chu Shixia and Bai Ziche; Second, Wang Xianfu has many disciples and grandchildren, and he doesn't know which one of them is secretly staring at Bai Ziche, and he fabricates criminal evidence without criminal evidence.

When the two arrived at the painting academy, Bai Ziche rolled up his sleeves and washed the brush in the water tank. The six princes did the same, with their fleshy little arms exposed, lying on the edge of the water tank and scratching with a brush, and their little short legs tried to stand on tiptoe.

"Uncle!" When the sixth prince saw Pei Zhang, his eyes lit up, and he rushed over and hugged Pei Zhang's thigh.

"How did the Fourth Highness raise you? was so fat that he almost broke up with his uncle. Pei Zhang smiled and hugged the sixth prince in the crook of his arm and pinched his face.

"Mr. Pei, Miss Chu." Bai Ziche smiled bitterly and saluted them, rolled up his sleeves to his shoulders, and reached into the water tank to fish out the sinking brush.

Chu Shixia laughed and said, "Is the Fourth Highness planning to hide from Mr. Pei in the painting academy so that he can skip class?" ”

Bai Ziche shook his head and motioned for them to come into the house.

Chu Zhixia looked around, and there was almost no trace of the eunuchs in the house, and occasionally a few of them were just sweeping in the corners of the courtyard, far away from the hall and the main house.

Most of the painters in the academy are young men who are in good health, and the men and women in the palace are very guarded, and the palace maids are absolutely not allowed to serve in the academy. I don't know what means Bai Ziche used to expel the eunuchs to the corner, and he didn't touch the affairs of the courtyard.

Bai Ziche saw her doubts, raised her hand and motioned to the little palace maid who was waiting close to her, Fuyun, to take the six princes out, and then said: "After Wang Xianfu died, my father allowed me not to be served by eunuchs. ”

Chu Shixia suddenly realized that he had been bitten by a snake and had been afraid of the well rope for ten years.

"Are you here for this morning's pilgrimage?" Bai Ziche asked.

Pei Zhang nodded, "Although it's the same to go back and ask Pei Cifu, but since you're here, it's okay to listen to His Highness first." ”

"Your Majesty is angry." Bai Ziche said.

Chu Shixia and Pei Zhang both nodded.

"None of the imperial historians impeached the three princes."

Chu Zhixia and Pei Zhang were stunned, and then they were covered in cold sweat.

None of the imperial historians impeached the three princes was more serious than all the imperial historians pointing at the noses of the three princes and scolding their mothers. This means that the crown prince or the Chen family holds the entire Yushitai and even all the officials in the court in the palm of their hands, and they can scold whoever they want, and they can only shut up if they don't want them to scold.

To put it mildly, this is a clique for personal gain; To put it more broadly, this is to deceive the Holy Heavens.

Chu Zhixia was the first to calm down, "The premise of Your Majesty's anger is that he knows about this matter. ”

The palace walls are deep, how does the emperor know about the farce that happened in the Jade Fang?

Bai Ziche said in a wandering manner: "It's nothing, it's just that the third prince was beaten with fifteen canes, and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was so distressed that he went to the palace to ask for a doctor." The East Palace asked the imperial doctor late at night, I was concerned about my brother's health, and asked more, and His Majesty sent someone to inquire himself. ”

The emperor's anger brewed all night, and the next day there was no imperial history to say anything about it. Anger turned to horror and suspicion, and smashed the prince in the face.

Chu Shixia still felt that something was wrong, "Yushitai is so cooperative?" ”

"You still don't understand our Royal Highness the Crown Prince."

Bai Ziche smiled softly, his eyelashes drooped, and he couldn't tell whether it was mockery or malice, "When I was five years old, I was pushed into the pool by the third prince and almost died. In order to save the third prince from punishment, he coerced and lured me, and made me say that I fell by myself. As long as it is for Bai Yu, the prince can do anything. ”

Whether it is Chen Jixun's legs or the fifteen canes of the third prince, they are all for the sake of turning big things into small things. Kill that insignificant Fang Manting woman, and plug Yushi's mouth, you can act as if nothing happened.

As long as the emperor doesn't know, then it can be regarded as the whole world doesn't know.

The prince reacted quickly and ruthlessly, but he was defeated by his love for the third prince.

"The plan to attack the heart is not overnight." Pei Zhang was not in a hurry, "Don't make any other moves at this moment, so as not to make people suspicious." Whether it is His Majesty and the Crown Prince, or the Prince and the Chen family, they all have to take their time. ”

"One more thing."

Chu Zhixia raised his hand and closed the teacup and said, "That woman, I want her to live." ”

Bai Ziche didn't object, as if he felt from the bottom of his heart that this was human nature, "What are you going to do?" If she insists on protecting her, I am afraid that it will arouse the prince's dissatisfaction or suspicion. ”

"It's my selfish desire to save her, but it's not all selfishness. I'll give her a chance, and if she survives this time, she'll prove that she's the right person. ”

is not a bad person, but he is not a living bodhisattva, this is Chu Shixia's consistent style.

Pei Zhang bowed his head slightly and said, "Yes." ”

The three of them got together, and the abacus was shocking.

In the courtyard outside, Blowing Cloud held the Six Princes and reached out to grab the shadows in the water, and the Six Princes giggled happily.

A window apart, like two worlds.