On the Chinese New Year's Eve of the twenty-seventh year of the Ling Emperor, the emperor who asked for immortals asked for questions was found by the palace people in the early morning and stopped breathing after refusing to go to court for several days.

The imperial physician said that the emperor died from the cinnabar and mercury in the elixir, which was caused by the accumulation of toxins. Over the years, Emperor Ling's heirs have either died young, or have gone crazy, stupid, or died for no apparent reason. Later, Chen took his young son to the throne and changed his name to Jingtai.

In the first year of Jingtai, Chu Mingxiu was born.

After the great victory of the Northern Expedition, he was recalled to the imperial capital, and the king of Zhenbei, who had been trapped in the Akiba Mountains for a whole year, finally returned to the clouds with his wife and children.

"Emperor Ling listened to the slander and tested the medicine with Chu Mingyan. The king of Zhenbei held a grudge and joined forces with the regent with the wolf's ambition to poison the Spirit Emperor. Otherwise, why did the king of Zhenbei, who held the military power, return to the clouds unscathed and be the king with a different surname who was far away? ”

Chu Zhixia looked at the smug Zhuang Songbai coldly, and said word by word: "You have no evidence." ”

"If you have to break the net with me, you'll know if I have any proof." Zhuang Songbai showed a slightly bloody smile and said, "But, do you dare to gamble with me on the lives of your Chu clan?" ”

Chu Zhixia clenched his back molars.

The regent once mentioned this matter ambiguously, and together they told the truth about the weakness of the eldest brother of Chu Zhixia. Chu Zhixia knew that this matter was likely to be true, and the evidence in Zhuang Songbai's hand was probably not false.

"Let your people stop, and we'll be fine. The king of Qin was too weak to be assertive. His Royal Highness King Qi has impressed me this time. I can join forces with you to conquer the world together. Zhuang Songbai coerced, "Don't challenge my patience. ”

——

Akiba Mountain House.

"What's going on out there?"

Huo Wenbai sat by the window, looking at the roses blown down by the wind in the courtyard, and asked without warning.

Cheng Yuan's hand trembled uncontrollably, and he reluctantly said, "No." ”

Huo Wenbai looked at him quietly and said, "Since I got sick, Mo Xue has come to talk to me every day. I haven't seen her for three days, is something wrong with her? ”

"The eldest lady said that the overall situation has been decided, so you don't have to worry, just go back to Jiangnan to recuperate." Cheng Yuan calmed down and said, "Mr. Huo will go to the imperial capital today, and the eldest lady has arranged a boat to see you off." His Royal Highness King Qi has completed his studies, and one day, he will definitely visit Mr. Jiangnan to thank him for his teaching. ”

Huo Wenbai pondered for a moment and said, "I heard that the person who wrote the article for Shen Ming is a dwarf. Can you bring him to me? ”

Cheng Yuan hesitated.

"Just talking, out of the way." "I'm not so bad that I don't even have the strength to speak. I won't harm Mo Xue, you can rest assured. ”

"I didn't mean that." Cheng Yuan was embarrassed, waved his hand and said, "Then you drink the medicine first, and then I'll go and bring that dwarf for you." ”

Huo Wenbai finished drinking the medicine, and his body regained some strength slightly. The dwarf was slipped in by Cheng Yuanti, and his hands and feet were firmly tied together. The dwarf writhed and cursed, and his mouth was full of chapters and witty words, so that Cheng Yuan couldn't bear it anymore and blocked his mouth.

"Let me stay alone with him for a while, Cheng Weichang, you go out first." Huo Wenbai said.

Cheng Yuan answered and went out to guard.

The dwarf lay on the ground indignantly, squinting at Huo Wenbai.

"I'll untie you, don't make a noise, and don't run away." Huo Wenbai said, "I won't hurt you, but I need you to help me do something, can you do it?" ”

The gnome nodded repeatedly.

Huo Wenbai took a knife, and the dwarf rubbed it at his feet, and Huo Wenbai cut the rope for him. The dwarf moved his hands and feet, looked at Huo Wenbai, whose legs were crippled, and thought to himself that he would just run away without doing anything.

"The Autumn Leaves Mountain Residence is the residence of the Chu clan in the clouds. The people guarding this place are all soldiers of the army in the clouds, and there is also a Yulin guard commander at the door. You can't escape. Huo Wenbai saw through his mind and reminded.

The dwarf obediently pinched his leg and flattered, "What does Childe want me to do?" ”

"My name is Huo Wenbai."

The dwarf was stunned for a moment, "Jiangnan Huo's family, Huo Wenbai?" ”

"Exactly." Huo Wenbai nodded, "Do you recognize me?" ”

"Recognize, recognize!" The dwarf nodded excitedly, looked at his legs, and was a little confused, "Weren't you killed by thieves, how did you ......?"

"Fortunately, the Chu clan in the clouds rescued him, and he never died in Huangquan. I want to ask you for one thing, and when it is done, you will be free again. ”

"What's the matter?"

"Take me to Hanlin Academy."

Cheng Yuan, who was outside the door, pushed the door in, and said with a stiff expression: "No! The eldest lady said......"

"If it weren't for the stalemate with Shousuke, Mo Xue wouldn't have been delayed. Cheng Yuan, think about it, what kind of means can you coerce Mo Xue? Huo Wenbai looked directly at Cheng Yuan and said loudly, "What is she afraid of, what is she afraid of, and what does she cherish?" ”

Cheng Yuan froze in place.

"Chu Clan in the Clouds."

Huo Wenbai continued: "I don't know what Shoufu has to coerce the Yunzhong Chu Clan, but I know that if I continue like this, I will miss the opportunity to cut off this tumor. Everything Mo Xue has done will come to naught, and even she herself will have to get into it. ”

Cheng Yuan was forced to retreat again and again by his words.

"In the eyes of the world, I am already a dead man whose whereabouts are unknown. So you can't go, Pei Zhang can't go, and His Highness can't go. Just let this little brother send me once. Huo Wenbai patted the stunned dwarf and said.

Cheng Yuan was in a stalemate with him for a moment, and finally retreated.

Huo Wenbai smiled and looked at the guqin covered with flannel in the corner of the room.

"It's a pity that I haven't said goodbye to you yet." Huo Wenbai said in his heart, "Jiang Qiao, I can't change the strings for you in the future." ”

——

When the news of Huo Wenbai's appearance in the Hanlin Academy reached the Academy, Bai Ziche was holding the hands of the six princes and teaching him to draw birds. The birds and feathers on the branches were like lifelike, and the six princes laughed happily, but Bai Ziche was a little absent-minded.

Until Yan Jue hurriedly entered the door and informed him: "Huo Ergongzi has found it, and now the King of Qin, Shoufu and the Regent are all in Hanlin Courtyard." Even His Majesty was alarmed. ”

The pen in Bai Ziche's hand fell on the rice paper with a "click".

By the time Bai Ziche rode his horse to the Hanlin Courtyard, the bustling crowd had already gathered, and the water could not be splashed. Bai Ziche squeezed in anxiously, he saw many familiar faces, Chen Boyan who looked bad, Bai Huan who had a sinking face, the three princes who were fierce soldiers, and even Bai Shan, the personal servant beside the emperor.

Huo Wenbai sat in a chair, surrounded by scholars and officials of the Hanlin Academy, with only a ragged dwarf beside him, struggling to push away all those who tried to get close to him.

Huo Wenbai unveiled his hood, revealing a pale and thin face, and smiled at everyone.

"Second son, what are you doing these days-"

Huo Wenbai held up a finger to his lips and signaled him to be quiet. Huo Wenbai, or rather, Jiangnan Huo's has a different kind of charm among the literati. It was just a simple gesture, and the crowd quieted down.

"Recently, I heard an interesting story. An old man who has studied hard for decades has finally been admitted to Chunqiu, and he is very happy. When he was preparing for the exam at the post house, he met a young son who was in the same spring as him. Seeing that he was young, but his rank was above him, Lao Suo was ashamed, so he sought to learn from him. ”

Huo Wenbai's voice was not loud, like a drop of water, falling in the middle of the lake. Everyone expected what he was going to say, but they still listened quietly to what he was going to say.

"Childe taught him to raise flowers, walk birds, fight crickets, and after a month, Childe won the champion, but Lao Suo returned to his hometown to farm. Before leaving, Lao Suo asked Childe, I did what you did, why are the two fates different? Childe said, human life, heaven, that's all. ”

Huo Wenbai glanced at the onlookers around him, and asked lightly: "I want to ask you, human life, by yourself or by heaven?" ”

Silent.

"Emperor Taizu opened the road of scientific research to recruit talents and the cornerstone of our imperial dynasty. But now, those who have no ink on their chests only need to cast a good tire to be able to rise to the top; Those who are full of economy must not form a party for personal gain, otherwise their careers will be cut off. But is this the reader's fault? ”

Huo Wenbai coughed violently, and said in a hoarse voice: "This is the fault of the world. ”

"Shoufu Zhuang Songbai, in the name of his protégé, is a party, and wants to run the court into a private property of a family with one surname, which is a crime; As the first assistant, he did not think about revitalizing the dynasty, and allowed the corpse vegetarian to run rampant for personal gain, causing the emperor to accumulate evils, which is a second crime; Cutting off the road to promotion for the children of the poor family, causing the family to sit big, and the court is full of party disputes and unavailable people, which are the three sins. ”

The wind is blowing.

Huo Wenbai's cough became more and more serious, and his back trembled with overwhelm. He jerked, looked at the blood dripping from his palm, and smiled faintly.

The potency of that bowl of medicine is over.

Huo Wenbai slowly retracted his ten fingers, held the blood in his palm, and continued: "And knowing the fault of the superior, but in order to protect his own body, he is unwilling to speak up, and allows people with ill intentions to endanger the emperor and the people, which is the sin of our scholars in the world. ”

"There is a stone tablet at the entrance of Taixue, which teaches princes and nobles, on which are written the four sentences of Hengqu, and those who read will memorize it." Establish a heart for heaven and earth, establish a life for the people, continue to learn for the saints, and open peace for all generations. I want to ask you, do you remember, do you still believe? When you are silent, when you are alone, how many people have ruined their families because of their fluttering words? ”

Bai Ziche clenched his hands violently.

Huo Wenbai shook his head with a smile, "You don't dare to say, you don't dare to ask, you don't even dare to think." You bury yourselves in the pile of old papers, reading the teachings of the sages, but you will never be able to read them. ”

Huo Wenbai saw his brother and sister again.

They stood in front of the crowd, the sunlight penetrating their bodies. Huo Wensong was dressed in a clean green shirt, and smiled gently at him. Huo Wenqing didn't have a drop of blood on his body, standing beside his eldest brother, frowning and looking at Huo Wenbai, looking very worried.

Heaven and earth hang upside down at this moment.

Huo Wensong and Huo Wenqing both disappeared.

Huo Wenbai was in a trance and saw Jiang Qiao and ...... Father's sad eyes. Huo Wenbai shook his head, wanting to expel these beautiful bubbles from his mind, but he couldn't help but want to stand up by pressing the chair.

"It is the responsibility of my generation of scholars to acupuncture the disadvantages of the times and to correct the dynasty. Not succumbed to power, not moved by wealth. If the person who speaks is splashed with blood on the spot, I am willing to start with Huo Wenbai. ”

Huo Wenbai felt that he was hallucinating.

He saw his father.

The white-haired Huo Jian'an.

Huo Wenbai wanted to stand up, but forgot that his legs were disabled. Huo Wenbai barely held on to the handrails, stood for a moment, and then fell forward sharply.

Bai Ziche watched the shaky Huo Wenbai struggle to stand up, and a certain root in his brain suddenly broke, and he was almost about to rush forward to help him. But a slender and cold hand suddenly grabbed his wrist and grabbed Bai Ziche tightly.

Bai Ziche turned around in shock and saw Jiang Qiao, who was wearing a hood, shaking his head at him.

Huo Wenbai did not fall.

He fell into a familiar embrace, so familiar that he wanted to fall asleep.

"My ...... Son! ”

Huo Jian'an hugged Huo Wenbai, who was coughing up blood, and screamed sadly.

Jiangnan Huo's Wenbai, Jingtai has been in the middle of three yuan for nine years, and he is the leader, and he was pointed out as "the talent of white jade" by the chief examiner. After being an official for three years, he couldn't bear the filth of officialdom, hung up his crown and left, and taught and educated people in Jiangnan. A clean life, not for the powerful.

Jade, the most gentleman.