Chen.

"How's it going?" The regent dropped a word on the chessboard and looked at his grandson as he entered the door, his eyes unwavering.

Chen Boyan hurried back, and hurriedly returned home before his grandfather fell asleep, afraid that the smell of sweat on his body would hit his old man's house, and he took a bath in a hurry. He sat down with a faint breath and nodded relentlessly, "Stop." ”

The regent nodded, but said nothing.

Chen Boyan pondered for a moment and said, "Grandpa, the Jiang family is stupid. Chu Zhixia dug a pit for him, and he really jumped down. If the grandson is late today, tomorrow His Majesty will know that there is a merchant pulling his grandfather's flag, and he will dare to copy the Akiba Mountain Residence. For such a person, it is better to give up early. ”

"If he had been shrewd, I wouldn't have let him in." The regent lifted his eyelids and looked at him, and said, "If he is as cunning as Chu Zhixia, do you know if he will climb the threshold of my Chen clan today and drink Chu's tea tomorrow?" It is because he is stupid that he will be used. ”

Chen Boyan straightened his back and listened intently to the regent's teachings.

"The huge industry of the Guangling Jiang clan is rich in Jiangnan. Such a wealth cannot be kept by a stupid person. Since he can't keep it, why don't you take it? The Regent's voice was only the slightest deception, as if he were talking about a trivial matter.

Chen Boyan's body was shocked, and he first complimented: "My grandson has learned." ”

"Are you better injured during the martial arts?" The regent asked again.

"It's already great." Chen Boyan paused and said, "At that time, the shot didn't hit me directly. ”

Otherwise, if he breaks his ribs and lies on the bed to die or live, it is him Chen Boyan.

"Practicing martial arts is just to strengthen the body and protect oneself by the way. It doesn't matter if she loses to her, today is not a troubled time that will win the world right away. Although you worked hard in Gyeonggiwei, you slowly accumulated fame and ability, and you don't have to worry about not having a chance to return this shot in the future. ”

The regent picked up a chess piece and put it in the palm of his hand, stared into his eyes and said, "Grandpa is old, but you are still young, you can afford to wait." A momentary humiliation is nothing. When my Chen clan ascends to the supreme honor position again, the Chu clan will just be one of our dogs. ”

"Taoguang is obscure, and my grandson understands." Chen Boyan bowed his head and said.

The regent was satisfied.

——

Crimson Pavilion.

"The eldest lady is saying that Chen Boyan beat him in public?" Jiang Qiao was dumbfounded, and he didn't notice that the tea was overflowing the teacup.

Chu Zhixia quickly snatched the teapot and put it down, saying, "Chen Boyan has been practicing martial arts since he was a child, and when that slap went down, half of his face was swollen. She shook her head again, especially if she didn't think it was enough, "Didn't Chen Boyan eat?" hit so lightly, if I was my second brother, my brains flew out and splashed on the ground. ”

Jiang Qiao looked down at the unfinished tofu brain on the table, with a complicated expression.

"Master Jiang is a very stubborn person." Jiang Qiao's face was a little condensed, "When he was a child, he was often accused of being snubbed by his father, so he couldn't listen to others say anything bad about him. He lost so much face this time, and he will definitely find a chance to get revenge back. ”

Jiang Qiao suffered a lot when he was a child. The more the head of the Jiang family loves Jiang Qiao, the more the eldest son of Jiang wants to make a stumbling block for her in secret. He pushed her down the well, put filthy atlases in her bedroom, and instructed the little ones with unclean hands and feet to do something to her.

Later, Jiang Qiao refused to get close to the head of the Jiang family, and the head of the family also thought that this beautiful daughter was not intimate and obedient enough, and gradually snubbed her.

"If he swallows his anger and suffers this dumb loss, then I will be distressed." Chu Zhixia raised his chin at her and said, "Don't mention this obscure thing, tell me about your business." ”

Jiang Qiao saved a little money.

The owner put her value extremely high, which was undesirable and undesirable, creating a lot of gimmicks. Jiang Qiao's prices for ordering tea, pushing cards, and playing the piano and flute are not affordable for ordinary sons, and the objects that the guests give are also worth a lot of money, and Jiang Qiao has also become the most expensive "commodity" in the Scarlet Jade Pavilion in the rising prices.

She didn't buy jewelry, she didn't buy powder, she converted it into silver and kept it in her hands.

"No matter how much silver there is, it is useless to hold it in your hand. With my efforts today, it is impossible to shake the Jiang family's big tree by saving money. Jiang Qiao calmly stated, "So I want to do a business." ”

Chu Shixia asked first: "How much money do you have?" ”

"Three thousand taels." Jiang Qiao paused and said, "This money can't make a big deal, but you can start with a small one." ”

Chu Zhixia nodded in approval, and then asked, "What do you want to do?" ”

"Does the eldest lady know about Liuyunjin?" Jiang Qiao asked.

"Guangling specialty, famous for the cloud pattern contained but not exposed, Zhenbei Wangfu has ten emperors to reward down." Chu Shixia shrugged, "My eldest brother wants to give me the clothes, and the second brother said that he can't wear it for two years, and then he threw it there and fell into ashes." ”

Jiang Qiao smiled and continued: "Liuyun Jin is expensive in the imperial capital, but even if you count the raw silk used, it is far from the same price as gold now. To get to this point, on the one hand, the Jiang family controlled the weavers of Liuyun Brocade, and on the other hand, the Jiang family deliberately raised the price. ”

The higher the price of Liuyun brocade, the more it can highlight the identity and status of the person wearing it.

Both buyers and sellers are happy to see it.

"What does it mean that the Jiang clan controls the weavers of Liuyun Brocade?" Chu Zhixia frowned.

"The weaving process of Liuyun brocade is a secret, and weavers have made a living from it for generations. But Jiang Changgongzi was too greedy, not to mention raising the selling price, but also suppressing the price of the acquisition of Liuyunjin. The weavers could not survive, so they either shrunk their clothes and dieted, or gave up the craft and changed their ways. Jiang Qiao paused and said, "I want to find a caravan to go to Jiangnan to find those weavers." ”

"If you have the craftsmanship of a weaver, weaving Liuyun brocade near the imperial capital will not only save the cost of transportation, but also make a mess for the Jiang family." Jiang Qiao said with selfish intentions, "The rich and noble people naturally can't look down on the unknown Liuyunjin, but the more inferior ones can't say for sure." ”

At that time, Liuyunjin will no longer be as expensive as gold, and the Jiang family will lose a profiteering financial road. Those in the Jiang family who are eyeing the position of the head of the family will definitely count this account on the head of her "eldest brother" who is above the top. Jiang Changgongzi lost his blue eyes and snake gall, and he was already anxious, and Jiang Qiao couldn't wait to add fuel to his fire.

When Chu Zhixia heard the word "Jiangnan", he couldn't help but feel a little shaken.

"Gangnam...... It's spring, isn't it? ”

Jiang Qiao was stunned for a moment, and nodded after thinking for a moment.

Chu Shixia fell silent, and then said, "It's good. I'll help you find the caravan, and I'll tell you if I have news. ”

Jiang Qiao didn't expect things to be so easy, and said with a smile: "Thank you, Miss." ”

——

Leaving the Scarlet Jade Pavilion, Chu Zhixia went to the ghost market.

Chu Zhixia was a little absent-minded, and when the boat was drifting with the waves, she looked up and counted the gaps in the blue bricks on her head. Chu Zhixia flew a ghost coin into the ghost boy's mouth, and flew ashore on his own boat. As soon as Chu Zhixia turned into the entrance of the ghost market, he was grabbed by a pair of hands as thin as chicken feet.

Chu Zhixia was so agitated that he almost broke the other party's hand.

"Why are you here?" Chu Zhixia glared at the elusive ghost city owner, and finally held down his hand.

"I figured you were going to come and bring me something today." The ghost city lord rubbed his hands and said excitedly, "Did you get it, hurry up and give it to me!" ”

Chu Zhixia was amused by his childish appearance, and said deliberately: "I didn't get it, I came to ask you for a different wish." ”

The ghost city lord was stunned for a moment, and then said: "Impossible, I have no last resort, and I have never missed it." Take out the blue-eyed snake gall! ”

"You really never missed?" Chu Shixia laughed and said, "Didn't you say that my master would be the last one?" ”

The ghost city lord reacted, bared his teeth and grinned: "Little girl, so grudgeful? But your master's life is not determined by me, I just told him this result, what's the use of you hating me? If you want to hate, hate God. ”

Chu Zhixia couldn't listen to him one by one, one by one, and she had goosebumps when she heard it. Maybe he died once and lived again, Chu Zhixia has some jealousy of the theory of ghosts and gods, and he is no longer as taboo as before.

"The snake gall is given to you, and we will be cleared." Chu Zhixia took out the small box containing the blue-eyed snake gall from his arms and said.

"How many people want to get close to me, but they can't climb high." The ghost city master monkey hurriedly snatched the box and snorted coldly when he heard the words.

Chu Zhixia didn't care, and said with a smile: "The thing is for you, then I'll go." ”

"Wait, I have a message from Jiangnan here. Aren't you someone who cares about the Nine Shadows? This news is for you. The ghost city lord carelessly took out a thin bamboo pipe from his arms and threw it to Chu Zhixia.

Chu Zhixia took over the bamboo pipe that could be easily crushed by her, and was a little unexpectedly apprehensive, "Is it good news or bad news?" ”

"I didn't look at it, how do I know?" The ghost city lord waved his hand and said impatiently, "I'm going back to alchemy, you take the news and get out of here, we will clear up in the future, don't bother me." ”

Chu Zhixia remembered that ominous dream, and he didn't dare to open the letter.

After hesitating for a long time, Chu Zhixia still unscrewed the bamboo pipe.

The letter was short, only two lines.

"On February 18, the Mountain Ghost Clan blew up the Ten Devils of the Luo Clan and the Eleventh Assassin in the painting boat with gunpowder."

There was a moment of blankness in Chu Zhixia's mind.

She struggled to find an excuse - although Shen Zhou had been taken away by five of the Ten Demons and the Nine Shadow Elders, the eleventh unknown assassin was not necessarily Shen Zhou. Maybe it was some other assassin, maybe it was someone who was captured by the ten ghosts, maybe the person who inquired about it was wrong, and only the ten ghosts were on board.

But in the dark, there was a voice that kept repeating in her ears, and the person who got on the boat was the sinking boat.

February 18.

It was the day when Chu Zhixia dreamed that Shen Zhou died in the lake.

In the dream, the shipwreck fell in a dark blue lake, and the exploding ship on the water was like a falling sun, throwing golden fire towards the bottom of the deep lake. Shen Zhou stretched out his hand in vain, but he could only sink helplessly.

He asked Chu Zhixia in his dream: "Do you still want me?" But he just spat out a string of bubbles in vain.

Chu Zhixia woke up in a cold sweat, frightened and collapsed, why is it water again, why is it this kind of dream again?

Chu Zhixia pulled out his mind in a huge shock, but he couldn't even find the shadow of the ghost city lord. She walked back in a daze, repeatedly denying that the eleventh Assassin on board was a sunken boat, only to be greeted with another sneer, mocking her self-deception.

——

I don't know when, Chu Zhixia walked back to the Autumn Leaves Mountain Residence.

It was already time for dinner, Yuzhu anxiously walked around the door, and finally saw Chu Zhixia's figure, so she greeted her and complained: "The eldest lady said that she went home for dinner, but she never saw anyone, and the dishes were sent back to the small kitchen to be heated several times...... Miss, what's wrong? ”

Chu Zhixia raised his head, his eyelashes were wet, and the piece of information in his palm was soaked in sweat and blurred.

"I ......"

Am I doing something wrong, should I stop him, am I ...... Killed the shipwreck? I lived again, but I couldn't save the edict of the Academy of Paintings, I couldn't save Huo Wenqing, and now I don't even have a sinking boat.

Who else can I save?

But Chu Zhixia couldn't spit out a word, her body trembled, and she suddenly fell forward and threw herself on Yuzhu's shoulder.

Yuzhu's three souls and seven spirits were so frightened that they flew out of the Tianling Gai, and hurriedly supported her, and before Yuzhu could ask "What's wrong", Chu Zhixia's words in his chest turned into a mouthful of blood, and he vomited out regardless of it.

"Miss!"

Yuzhu's panicked voice turned into a line of beeping, which dissipated in Chu Zhixia's ears.

"Second watch!"