At the Mid-Autumn Palace banquet, the emperor wanted to give a banquet to the new scholars.

The Great Zhou Dynasty did not have the rule that horses could not participate in the court's politics, so there were also a few champions who fell in love with the princess at the palace banquet, leaving a lot of good stories. However, the emperor did not have a particularly favored princess, and had little interest in choosing a son-in-law, and allowed the princess and nobles to whisper behind the screen, commenting on the talent and appearance of the new scholar.

On the contrary, the emperor joked that Chu Zhixia had reached marriageable age, and he didn't know if the king of Zhenbei was engaged to her.

"Chen's brother often said that the minister has been spoiled at home, and it is better to find someone who can tolerate and pamper the minister like a family. Such a person may not have been born yet, so the minister and the elder brother are not in a hurry. ”

Chu Zhixia was wearing a scarlet floor-length skirt with golden tassel earrings on her ears, which made her skin as clear as snow. She is no longer the immature and jerky appearance when she first came to the imperial capital, and she has a bit of a girl's graceful and graceful, slightly modified with powder, and her eyebrows and eyes are quenched bright and charming.

The sons of the family toasted to the emperor and the prince, and from time to time secretly looked at her. Chu Zhixia had a smile on the corners of his eyes and eyebrows when he spoke, as if the golden sunlight was dancing, hooking people's hearts. If it weren't for her identity being too noble and sensitive, maybe someone would come forward to talk.

Pei Zhang sat not far away, and nodded again and again when he heard it - whether Shen Zhou was tolerant and arrogant Chu Zhixia, he didn't know, but Chu Zhixia was really used to Shen Zhou.

The emperor just said casually that he was not very relieved about who Chu Shixia would marry, so he stayed quietly in the Autumn Leaves Mountain Residence until the overall situation was stable. Anyway, the king of Zhenbei has no intention of giving her a marriage, so he can delay it.

"Your brother loves you and will choose the best for you." The emperor smiled and said.

The emperor's love for Chu Shixia is obvious. Chu Zhixia did not sit with the concubines and princesses, nor did he sit with the daughters of the famous families in the imperial capital, but sat at the same table with the princes, very close to the emperor and queen, and could directly see the new scholars.

Chu Zhixia saw Xu Yan like this.

This year's champion is Xu Yan.

When Huo Jian'an helped Ling to go south, Xu Yan did not return to Jiangnan with him, but continued to stay in the imperial capital. Chu Shixia could see Xu Yan's depression and gnashing of teeth, although he had cleaned up his personal appearance, Xu Yan's youthful spirit seemed to have dissipated overnight.

"The eldest princess of Qi still said that she was sick this year and did not enter the palace." The emperor suddenly pointed at Xu Yan and said, "This person was introduced to me by the eldest princess, what does Mo Xue think?" ”

"New Section Champion?" Chu Zhixia pretended to be, "I heard that he is a great talent." ”

"The Huo clan has never lacked great talents," the emperor sighed, "Huo Wenbai is a pity. ”

Chu Shixia felt a throbbing pain in his heart and did not answer.

"I've heard some rumors about you and Huo Wenbai." The emperor looked at Chu Zhixia with a cold smile in his eyes, "Some people say that Huo Wenbai was hidden by you." ”

"Everyone in the world knows that Huo Er Gongzi was stolen by assassins from the carriage of His Royal Highness King Qin. Your Majesty, the minister cannot afford to commit such a crime as assassinating the emperor's heir. Chu Zhixia said without being salty.

"You're not afraid that I'll listen to slander?"

"Your Majesty has said that it is slander." Chu Zhixia looked at him innocently.

The chill in the emperor's eyes slowly dissipated, and he patted Chu Zhixia's shoulder with a smile and said, "Xu Delu has a deep prejudice against you. ”

"I don't like him very much." Chu Shixia said frankly.

"Why?"

"Don't dare to lie to your majesty," Chu Zhixia smiled brightly, "The minister is at odds with the villain." ”

The emperor was not angry, but gave Chu Shixia a glass of gardenia wine with a little satisfaction. After the noisy gongs and drums were over, the emperor left the palace banquet with Concubine Rong. The queen did not show any displeasure with this, and waited for the right time to leave the table.

Chu Zhixia made an excuse and went outside the hall to breathe.

The moonlight under the corridor is bright.

Bai Huan sat under the rockery, with water flowing beside him. He seemed to be drunk, supported his forehead with one hand, and raised his eyes to look at Chu Zhixia. Chu Zhixia saluted him from a distance, without any intention of approaching. The two of them confronted each other across the moonlight.

"When you first came to the imperial capital, you weren't as cautious as you are now." Bai Huan sneered.

"Then His Highness must have misremembered." Chu Zhixia's face did not change color.

"What did you say to your father? He smiled heartily. Bai Huan asked casually.

"It's just some gossip." Chu Zhixia shrugged his shoulders and said indifferently.

"My father has so many children, and he can't make him laugh. What we can't do with all our brains, you're doing it easily. I really envy you sometimes. Chu Zhixia, you are really likable. Bai Huan raised his glass at her and said sincerely.

Chu Zhixia knew that he couldn't ask anything in the mouth of a drunkard. She sneered in her heart, but said respectfully: "Your Highness has drunk too much, I'll call the palace people." ”

"You're standing right here." Bai Huan said rarely forcefully.

Chu Zhixia frowned, stood in place and did not move.

"You are standing here, and you are not allowed to go anywhere until the palace feast is over."

Bai Huan shook his wine glass and threatened: "You don't want your little guard to hurt Ah Yu to be known by your father, right?" Even if he likes you no matter how much he likes you, he will not let go of the farce that damages the face of the royal family. You'll probably be fine, but what about your little guard? ”

Chu Zhixia reacted that this person was not drunk at all, so he simply leaned against the pillar and faced him and said, "Then I'm more curious." His Royal Highness the King of Qin, when His Royal Highness's head was bleeding and the evidence was ironclad, you kept silent. Wouldn't it be too late to warn me now? ”

Bai Huan froze.

Chu Zhixia stepped in and said, "Or do you want Your Majesty to know about this more than me?" ”

Bai Huan stared at Chu Zhixia silently and gloomily.

Chu Zhixia dissected his heart without the slightest fear, and said, "The Third Highness has always acted like this, and Your Majesty must be accustomed to it, so you are definitely not afraid that Your Majesty will blame the Third Highness." Your Majesty will not criticize the prince for me, so what you are afraid of is actually ......"

Sinking boats.

"Shut up."

Chu Zhixia shut up with kindness, and turned around to leave.

At this moment, someone suddenly screamed in the main hall.

"It's out of the water!"

——

Under the deep shadow of the palace wall, Shen Zhou suddenly raised his head.

He looked up at the glimmer of fire lit up in the sky, and heard the carriage in front of Xuande Gate, and some people were talking about the fire in the main hall where the palace banquet was held. Shen Zhou turned his head and glanced at the carriage of the Autumn Leaves Mountain Residence, quietly. The guards who were waiting in place were also a little anxious, and kept looking at the palace gate.

Chu Zhixia has not yet left the palace.

The walls of Miyagi are extremely high, and they have been reinforced again since the second prince Bai Yi's rebellion, and it is a little difficult to sneak in. If Luo Shuangyi is here, he can shoot the hook to the city wall with his delicate equipment, and climb up deftly along the silk thread. But Shen Zhou didn't have the habit of carrying instruments with him, in addition to the sword, he only had a few pieces of candy stuffed to him by Chu Shixia before leaving.

Luo Shi was right, such a life would indeed dull his sword.

Shen Zhou took a piece of sugar under his tongue, walked to the carriage of the Akiba Mountain Residence, and patted the carriage wall.

"Son of the Sinking Boat." The guards recognized him and said nervously, "The eldest lady is still in the palace, will it be fine?" ”

"Go to Yulinwei and find Cheng Yuan." Shen Zhou said, "Let him bring two pieces of Yulinwei's armor over." ”

"Yes!"

At this moment, a certain string in Shen Zhou's mind tightened suddenly.

He subconsciously took a step back, and a slender knife was slashing right down the tip of his nose, and then it swooped in mid-air and swept quickly somewhere in the darkness. Shen Zhou made a decision immediately, snatched the fire fold from the hand of the guard who broke out in an instant, and threw it in the direction where the knife flew. The faint light of the fire was fleeting, and the eyes of the demon who was close to the sunken boat saw a line of spider-like traces flashing.

It was the silk thread that operated the knife.

He is an assassin of the Mountain Oni clan.

Shen Zhou didn't have time to think about how these people found his traces, but he was relieved at this moment.

"You don't have to go to Yu Linwei." Shen Zhou pressed the hilt of his sword and said, "They don't want to kill Mo Xue, the person they want to kill is me." ”

"Childe?!"

"Let's go." Shen Zhou's five fingers brushed the hilt of the sword, pulled out the sword, and said coldly.

——

The fire in the main hall burned strangely.

The candle flame fell impartially by the door, lighting the decorative veil, just blocking the way for Chu Zhixia to leave. Chu Zhixia listened to the panicked people outside the door rushing to extinguish the fire, but Bai Huan drank himself calmly.

"Don't tell me it's a coincidence." Chu Zhixia raised one eyebrow and said.

"It's just a small fire." Bai Huan didn't care at all.

"You're pulling me to chat just to trap me here?" Chu Shixia glanced at the palace wall, "You don't think this fire can burn me, do you?" ”

"I don't want to kill you, I said, you're very likable. If you don't have the surname Chu, maybe I can like you a little more logically. Bai Huan's pale and delicate face reflected the firelight, faintly crazy, "Maybe I will ask the king of Zhenbei to marry you, maybe too." ”

"Is this some new joke? Not very humorous. Chu Shixia said.

Bai Huan wanted to say anything more, but Chu Zhixia ruthlessly pierced his disguise, "That guard of mine, what are you afraid of him?" Do you know him? ”

The corners of Bai Huan's eyes twitched slightly.

"Or do you know someone who looks like him?" Chu Zhixia happily admired Bai Huan's gradually gray face, and sighed, "To be honest, it's not easy to look like him. So who is it that makes our Venerable King Qin afraid of this? ”

"Nonsense!" Bai Huan refuted her.

A shadow fell from the top of the corridor, and Chu Zhixia took a step back suddenly. Chu Zhixia easily grabbed his gap in the smooth landing, twisting, and stabbing movements, twisted his forearm with one hand, and threw the person into the fire behind him with the strength of his elbow.

This intimate garment, which was delicate to every skirt pleat, did not restrict Chu Zhixia's movements, and she didn't even mess up a single strand of her hair during her movements.

Chu Zhixia hooked the golden skull that he took out of the assassin's arms between his fingers, the red rope swayed, and said, "Find someone to assassinate me, and I will inquire about my master's name." Cangliu swordsmanship specializes in the assassination technique of the Nine Shadows, although I am not good at learning, but no one is my opponent in a one-on-one situation. ”

Bai Huan took a step back with a bleak expression, and turned over the wine in his hand, and the celadon wine set shattered to the ground.

Chu Zhixia threw the golden skull into the fire with an expressionless face.

"I mean, you're not the one who wants to kill me, are you?"

"Mo Xue, are you in there?!"

Pei Zhang's shouts came from outside the fire.

"Yes." Chu Zhixia stared at Bai Huan and responded.

——

The shipwreck leaped to an astonishing height and tumbled lightly onto the roof of the carriage, like a praying mantis jumping from one blade of grass to another in a field. The strange-acting demon knife did not clumsily crash into the wheels of the carriage, but flexibly retreated.

Shen Zhou didn't know how many people the Mountain Ghost Clan had sent, but he knew that such an incomplete darkness of the night was the best cover for this kind of knife. There are many prohibitions in front of the palace gate, one of which is that a large number of open flames are not allowed to burn, otherwise this kind of knife will have nothing to hide.

The servants who were surrounding the guests to the banquet were all frightened by this posture, and crawled to find Yu Linwei. The four corners of the room fell silent for a moment, Shen Zhou silently counted his heartbeat, and then cut off a corner of his clothes and blindfolded his eyes.

The moment it was completely dark in front of him, Shen Zhou's sense of hearing, smell, and touch reached its peak. The sound of the wind blowing through the leaves, the extremely suppressed breathing and the sound of his heartbeat suddenly became distinct, and the sinking boat suddenly flipped into the air, and the demon knife walked into the air against his waist. The scabbard in Shen Zhou's left hand was pulled up, and the silk thread of the demon knife that was being recovered was tightly entangled. The special silk thread was taut like steel, and it was rigidly twisted into the scabbard.

The faint and faint sound of his heartbeat was clear for a moment, and Shen Zhou didn't have time to enter the palace in that direction, and three more crossbow arrows almost grazed his throat. The demon knife grabbed the gap and pulled back, and the sinking boat rolled down the carriage, and three crossbow arrows were nailed to the roof of the carriage.

"Sink the boat and dodge!"

Without hesitation, Shen Zhou ripped off the blindfold and rolled on the spot to dodge.

A feathered arrow landed where he had been kneeling.

Immediately afterward, a torch flew into the air and smashed into the roof of the carriage. The splendid decoration on the roof of the carriage was blazing, and the sudden blazing and bright fire forced Shen Zhou to subconsciously raise his hand to block his eyes.

The Assassins, hiding in the dark, also reflexively avoided the bright light.

A sudden burst of light illuminated the path of the demon sword's retreat, as well as the direction of the arrow feathers that pierced the ground.

The frightened horses pulled the burning carriage and rampaged, Chu Zhixia Fei stepped on the carriage to borrow strength, turned around and pulled his bow and shot in the direction where the arrow feathers were pointing. The sound of arrows entering the body was muffled, and the ancient trees that flourished beside the walls, the silent shadows under the walls, and the shadows between the bonfires of the castle towers sprung and moved.

The arrows were swift and swift, shooting one after another at the retreating demon sword like a snake. But after giving up using light and shadow to cover their figures, those shadows that moved up were surprisingly fast, and they quickly and lightly avoided the encirclement and interception of Yu Linwei, and ran away from the Xuande Gate.

Shen Zhou looked up at Chu Zhixia, who walked up to him without saying a word and pressed his head between his neck sockets. Chu Zhixia's hair was scattered and fell softly, carrying the fragrance of honey locusts and the smell of smoke and dust in the fire.

Shen Zhou was obediently held down by her, like a kitten pinched by the back of the neck, without asking why.

Chu Shixia looked at the people who came and went in front of the Xuande Gate with different expressions, and their eyes involuntarily fell on the back of Shen Zhou, whispering about the assassination that had just happened. The gray-headed Bai Huan was surrounded by the palace people, and his burning eyes almost burned two holes in Shen Zhou's body.

"Don't look up, don't turn around." Chu Zhixia pinched Shen Zhou's thin neck bone and said in a deep voice, "Follow me." ”