Chu Zhixia and Pei Zhang's horses galloped in the snowy night, and the goose feathers and snow darkened the light and shadow of the red lanterns. In front of the post house, firefighters gathered, trampling on the ground with snow and water. A carriage stopped abruptly not far away, and after the people in the fire were carried out, the people in the carriage jumped down with dignity and carried the survivors into the carriage.

The first to bear the brunt was Huo Wenqing.

Chu Zhixia has excellent eyesight, and when he learns the bow and arrow, he can shoot down the thrush on the branch at the limit distance, and he can see the unconscious Huo Wenqing at a glance.

The Huo brothers were obviously more seriously injured and were placed in the carriage in the back.

"It's late." Pei Zhang's tone was heavy.

"It's not too late." Chu Zhixia covered his face with a face towel, took off the bow and arrows on the side of the saddle and drank the stream of snow, turned over and dismounted.

Pei Zhang was stunned, unable to believe the crazy thought in his mind, "What are you going to do?" ”

"Play dirty with me, he's still too tender."

——

Huo Wenqing was not seriously injured, but fainted from the smoke. When she was unconscious, she didn't seem to be aggressive at the poetry meeting, and she was a lot more demure and graceful. Bai Huan sighed in his heart, wiped the smoke and dust off her face with a handkerchief dipped in warm water, and covered her with a large coat to protect her from the cold.

If Huo Wenqing was willing to cooperate, it wouldn't have to be like this.

Early tomorrow morning, Huo Wenqing offended the villain in the market and was framed, and the news that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was affectionate and personally took care of people in the East Palace will spread. Bai Huan only needs to push the boat down the river and ask the emperor for marriage.

Suddenly there was the neighing of horses outside, and after a violent jolt, the carriage was forced to stop.

Before Bai Huan could get angry, he heard the guard's roar: "There are assassins!" ”

Three feathered arrows broke through the curtain and were nailed to the wall of the carriage, and the cluster of arrows sank deep. Bai Huan was stunned, and a layer of cold sweat flowed down his back. Huo Wenqing, who was unconscious, opened his eyes at this time, and out of nowhere, he lifted the curtain and threw himself out.

Bai Huan was shocked and hurriedly grabbed her wrist. The two men flipped out of the carriage, and the guards surrounded them. Bai Huan pressed Huo Wenqing under him and looked up at the assassin who was stepping on the wall.

Huo Wensong and Huo Wenbai were in the carriage behind, and the guards came to protect Bai Huan and Huo Wenqing in a hurry, and the carriage guards behind were instantly empty.

The Assassin's feathered arrow was off target, and he cleanly dealt with the guards behind him. Bai Huan saw the assassin's intention, and it was too late to remind him.

The Assassin swooped down like a bird, his knees against a guard's throat, knocking the man flying and planting him in a snowdrift. She held the feather arrow in her backhand and plunged into the heart of another person, and with her left hand drew her sword to pick the flesh and skin of another person's heart, she paved a bloody path in this snowfield, and easily landed on the horse's back, and the horse went on a rampage.

"Chase!" Bai Huan slapped the chief guard to his knees, gritted his teeth and said, "Useless thing!" ”

Huo Wenqing on the ground was panting, and looked up at Bai Huan, his eyes were indifferent.

"You did it on purpose, didn't you? You know that the Assassin is here to save you, to distract the guards from her. Bai Huan's face was gloomy, and he didn't care about the reputation he had carefully created, so he pinched Huo Wenqing's cheeks and said, "Who is that?" ”

"Has Your Highness offended too many people, and you can't guess which one it is?" Huo Wenqing sneered.

——

Chu Zhixia crackled more than a dozen times on the horse's buttocks, and while they were running wildly, he turned his head and got into the carriage. As soon as he saw the scene in the carriage, Chu Zhixia's heart was half cold. The heavy smell of smoke and blood came to his face, and Huo Wensong was covered by a white cloth from head to toe.

Chu Zhixia quickly probed his pulse, only to feel a dead silence.

Huo Wensong's face was covered with black ash and blood, his neck was unnaturally crooked, and he was full of embarrassment, completely missing his previous demeanor.

The movement of the carriage was too loud, and it was only a matter of time before the guards of the East Palace caught up. Chu Zhixia immediately made a decision, and Huo Wensong, who still had a breath, flipped out of the carriage and burrowed into the dark alley.

Akiba Mountain Residence is not going back.

Chu Zhixia went straight to the Scarlet Jade Pavilion, leaving a series of messy footprints in the snow.

The sound of horses' hooves faded away, like a spring thunder falling in the valley.

——

The next day, the East Palace.

As soon as Bai Huan stepped into the side hall with one foot, he heard the sound of the porcelain bowl being swept to the ground. Huo Wenqing, who was full of sickness, looked at him coldly, and the frightened maids knelt on the ground, and the bitter smell of medicinal juice spread in the side hall.

"Don't gamble with your body." Bai Huan said warmly.

Huo Wenqing only felt that he was disgusting, "What about my eldest brother?" ”

"Yesterday's Assassin ......"

"The beams of the post house were burned off, and my eldest brother blocked it for us and was smashed to the neck and head." Huo Wenqing pierced him mercilessly, "He was gone at that time, I know." Do you even want to take advantage of this? Do you still want to say that my second brother was also killed by that assassin, and only you are sincere to our Huo family? ”

Bai Huan choked for a moment, so he had to say, "I'll take you to see him." ”

Huo Wensong's body was parked in an unused room.

His green shirt was burned so that he couldn't see his true face clearly, and the flesh and blood of the ten fingers that held the pen to win the head of the crown in the spring were blurred. Huo Wenqing's nose was sour, and tears flowed uncontrollably, smashing on the back of Huo Wensong's hand, cutting white marks one after another.

"My eldest brother is the Jinshi of Jingtai for six years, the champion of the Toad Palace, and the champion of the others." Huo Wenqing's voice was hoarse, "He also traveled through the streets on horseback, received awards in the palace test, and made generous speeches for the people." Just because he has no official position and is penniless, can you despise him so much? ”

"This was not the intention of this palace, and this palace did not expect this." Bai Huan said bluntly, "If you didn't do those things, it wouldn't have been like this." ”

Huo Wenqing closed his eyes and pressed his eyes against Huo Wensong's fingers, his back was like a string that was tense to the extreme, trembling incessantly. Her tears washed away the filth on Huo Wensong's hands, revealing a piece of tattered flesh and blood.

"Yes, Your Highness is right, I killed my eldest brother."

Bai Huan took a half step back, sighed long, and said, "I'll be good to you." ”

Huo Wenqing didn't say a word, poured clean water, and carefully wiped away the thick smoke and blood stains on Huo Wensong's face and hands. She did it so hard that she didn't even fall between her fingernails, as if there was only one thing in her life to sustenance.

——

Crimson Pavilion.

Huo Wenbai struggled to wake up, and what caught his eye was the top of the tent embroidered with golden acacia flowers, and the tassels of the tent were finely embellished, and the strings were mixed with gold wires. His throat was so dry that he could seep blood, and he subconsciously wanted to find water to drink, but the people next to him were alarmed by him and immediately held him down.

The hands were thin, white, and moist, and the fingertips were powdery, like a peach blossom.

"Don't move, your bones are broken."

is a girl of the same age as Huo Wenqing.

"Do you want water?" The girl took the warm water and handed it to his lips, and calmly instructed the maid, "Go and call Miss Chu, and say that the second son has woken up." ”

Huo Wenbai swallowed a few mouthfuls of warm water in embarrassment, and his mind cleared up a little, and then he saw the girl's face clearly.

This girl's eyebrows and eyes are like distant mountains and shadows, so clear and beautiful that she is not stained with fireworks, she simply pulls her hair with a hosta, and the jade-colored arms on her wrists jingle and jingle. She is clearly still immature, but she vividly shows the charm of a woman who does not match her age.

"Where am I?" Huo Wenbai asked.

"Jade Fang." The girl replied, "I don't know the rest, when Miss Chu comes, you can ask her personally." ”

Huo Wenbai nodded, and suddenly grabbed his pants in a panic, "What's wrong with my leg?" ”

The girl bowed her head in silence, as if she couldn't bear to speak.

"It's broken."

As soon as the door opened and closed, Chu Zhixia locked the door and said without a trace of emotion.

The inn was in disrepair, and they were supposed to save money and settle there. A fire ignited, Huo Wensong pressed his two younger siblings under him, and his neck was broken by the beam, and Huo Wenbai's leg was broken.

Huo Wenbai showed a desolate smile, almost turning over and vomiting blood, but he understood that now was not the time to give up on himself.

"Miss Chu, what about my sister and my eldest brother?"

"Miss Wen Qing was taken away by the crown prince, and the eldest son was gone last night." Chu Zhixia stood beside the bed, looking down at him, not giving him time to digest, at this time, as long as his brain stopped, he would be overwhelmed by pain.

The prince claimed to the public that it was the market hooligan who was smashed by Miss Wenqing who took revenge and set fire to the post house. That man was found guilty by Yu Linwei this morning and hanged himself at home. I pretended to be an assassin and kidnapped you, and the prince asked the whole city to hunt down the assassin, and if you died, he would have no trouble getting what he wanted. ”

Chu Zhixia looked at Huo Wenbai and blinked his eyes slowly, tears running down the corners of his eyes, wetting his sideburns.

"Even if life is worse than death, you must live." Chu Zhixia said.

"Okay." Huo Wenbai nodded vigorously.

"Jiang Qiao, the second son is handed over to you." Chu Zhixia said to Jiang Qiao again.

Jiang Qiao nodded, "Yes." ”

——

Chu Zhixia sat in the room next to Huo Wenbai, carrying a clay pot of water to wash the sword. Drinking Jianxue has never been bloody, and she does it just to calm down and pass the time. The drops of water on the sword shook off her, wetting the thick carpet beneath her feet.

Jiang Qiao pushed the door in and sat opposite her.

"The second son drank the decoction and fell asleep." Jiang Qiao said.

Chu Zhixia nodded sullenly.

Huo Wenbai's existence is very embarrassing, they all know who set the fire, but there is no evidence, the prince's status is noble, and he can't be accused casually. They can only suffer this dumb loss. But the prince preached that Huo Wenbai was "robbed", not "rescued", and if Huo Wenbai returned safe and sound, the prince would also be very embarrassed.

If she was the crown prince, she would have sent someone to kill Huo Wenbai now, justifying herself. If Huo Wenqing agreed to marry the prince at this time, the prince might still let Huo Wenbai go. After all, one Huo Wensong has died, if Huo Wenbai has three longs and two shorts, the Huo family and him will not marry, but resent.

Chu Zhixia hadn't slept all night, he had been thinking about this matter, and he was sleepy, so he reached out and wiped his face twice.

"Eldest Miss," Jiang Qiao suddenly asked, "Is that second son the second son of the Jiangnan Huo clan?" ”

"You know him?"

Jiang Qiao shook his head and said, "I can't talk about acquaintance, it's just that when he was in Tanhualang, A-Niang read his poems to me." Such a high-spirited person has a broken leg, does he still have a chance to enter the ranks? ”

"Yes." Chu Zhixia said, "So many officials with bad brains brag and fart at the court meeting every day, Huo Ergongzi is only eight years old, but his legs are not good, what is worse than them?" ”

Jiang Qiao's melancholy vanished, and he couldn't help laughing.