"Let them go!" The regent roared in a low voice, "Bo Yan is the future master of my Chen clan, and he can't be fine." If you hurt him for your own selfish gain, I will not let you go. ”

However, the Assassins of the Mountain Oni Clan were indifferent and continued to attack the sunken boat. The Lord Regent turned his head and glared at the man beside him.

The human skin mask, which fits perfectly to the muscles and bones of the face, still makes people shudder when he laughs, and the man spreads his hands helplessly and says, "Gongzizhou is of great significance to the Mountain Ghost Clan, and I hope that the Taishi will remember the sacrifice made by the Mountain Ghost Clan today." ”

The man snapped his fingers, and the Oni Assassin hesitated to stop his movements, holding down his weapon and retreating. Shen Zhou picked up Deng Mian's collar, climbed over the wall and disappeared without a trace. Luo Shuangyi quietly confronted the Mountain Ghost Clan assassin under the wall, grabbed Chen Boyan's throat and threw him off unexpectedly, turned around and quickly disappeared into the night.

"Chase."

——

Confucian temple.

The Confucian Temple stands on the side of Taixue, on the shore of the Mirror Lake. The Great Zhou encouraged scholars to serve the country, and Emperor Taizu once set an old example of penniless scholars borrowing the Temple of Literature to prepare for scientific examinations. It's just that there are fewer and fewer children from poor families participating in scientific expeditions, and this old routine is gradually forgotten.

Chu Zhixia walked into the Temple of Literature and saw people kneeling in front of the statue of the saint. Dali Siqing did not wear an official uniform, and he lost his usual aggressive momentum, revealing the decadence and powerlessness of a middle-aged man. He reverently worshiped the statue of the saint and looked back at Chu Zhixia.

"Where's Deng Mian?" Chu Zhixia asked.

As soon as the words fell, Shen Zhou pulled Deng Mian out of the back door. Shen Zhou let go of his hand, and Deng Mian threw himself into the arms of Dali Siqing and cried quietly. Shen Zhou stepped forward and grabbed Chu Zhixia's hand, looking her up and down, and his gestures showed his anxiety.

"I'm fine." Chu Zhixia held his hand and asked funny, "You burned down the regent's house?" ”

Shen Zhou nodded expressionlessly.

Not only did he burn down the house, but when the mountain ghost assassin was entangled with Shen Zhou in the backyard, Luo Shuangyi led people to assassinate all the Chen bloodlines he could find. The regent used blood relatives to blackmail Dali Siqing, and Shen Zhou used blood relatives to force the regent to give way to life.

In the other way, Shen Zhou not only learned quickly, but also drew inferences from one another, and did more absolutely and ruthlessly.

"Mian, do you know what this place is?" Dali Siqing wiped away the tears on Deng Mian's face, held his emaciated cheeks, and asked gently.

"Temple of Literature." Deng Mian looked at his father uneasily.

"This is where I met your mother."

Deng Mian had never seen such tenderness on his father's face. He meticulously described the details of his first encounter with Mrs. Deng, who died early, word by word, and the past seemed to turn page by page in front of his eyes.

It was early spring more than 20 years ago, and catkins were flying like snow.

A poor and white scholar went to the imperial capital to take the exam and wanted to stay in the Temple of Literature. But the Temple of Literature has long been corrupted and degenerated, and the little official told him to get out of the house in a vicious voice, so as not to let the poor sour gas defile the saint. Although he was born in a big family, he was a side of the micro end, and he was not taken seriously, so he could only rely on his own talents and learn to work hard to find a way.

But the genius also has to eat.

He fainted from hunger under the wall outside the Temple of Literature, and when he woke up again, he was greeted by a bowl of fragrant white rice. Mrs. Deng, who was still a girl, was dressed in coarse cloth and orchid flowers, pursed her lips and smiled at him gobbling up, with two deep dimples on her cheeks.

He gained fame, and finally someone looked up to him and wanted to marry his daughter to him. But he stubbornly returned to the alley near the Temple of Literature and married the girl he had been thinking of back home.

His wife hated being a traitor the most, and he stubbornly guarded the worthless literati style. He refused to cling to the eunuchs in a low voice, nor did he want to form a party with the regent, and he received a meager salary every month and lived in a narrow courtyard. His colleagues who rose up the ladder gave him a sneering look, mocking him for his nobility and ignorance of current affairs.

With a flick of fate's fingers, the boat of his life capsized.

Mrs. Deng was sick, very sick, and needed a lot of money to be cured. At that time, he was not a high-ranking Dali Temple, he was just an insignificant minor official in Dali Temple, and he didn't know when he would come out.

So, he took the first sum of money other than the money, pressed the case file of the rich businessman's son who beat the man, and sentenced him not guilty on the grounds of insufficient evidence.

Mrs. Deng's health gradually improved under the treatment of famous doctors, and she finally understood what she saw when she saw her husband's high official position and the mansion that changed again and again. Mrs. Deng was weak and had never been able to have an heir, and she refused to look at him again.

Until Deng Mian was born, Mrs. Deng died of depression under years of torture of conscience.

"The last thing she said to me was, 'You shouldn't have saved me.'" For so many years, I always thought that she was disgusted with me because of my self-depravity, but in fact, she just hated herself for being sick and forced me to go to the point of no return. Literati and writers like this kind of bridge, the seeds of infatuation, and the troubles. Even she thinks so herself. ”

Dali Siqing stroked Deng Mian's cheek and chuckled: "Only I know, it's not like this." The road of power and desire is like a swamp in the forest, stepping in and sinking step by step. It's my desire for profit that I don't want to turn back, and I can't turn back. ”

Chu Zhixia seemed to have a premonition of something, and looked at Deng Mian's gaze with a little compassion. Deng Mian looked at his father at a loss, Dali Siqing wiped away the tears on his face, and his smile was helpless and conniving, just like when he was a child, he couldn't memorize the article anyway, and when he was splashing and rolling, his father rushed to coax him.

Chu Zhixia had a clear and cruel thought in his heart - this was Deng Mian's last night as a child.

Dali Siqing turned around and knelt down in front of Chu Zhixia, bowed for a long time, and said: "I know that I am a tiger and a tiger, and I have done a lot of evil, even if I have a thousand knives, it is not an exaggeration. But Ah Mian is a good boy, and although he is dull, he has never harmed you. ”

Deng Mian hurriedly wanted to help Dali Siqing up, but he was stunned under his resolute eyes.

"I have sent the confession and the recital exposing the regent's crimes to Yu Linwei, I am willing to confess my guilt and surrender to the law, I only beg you - take Deng Mian away." Dali Siqing pleaded.

After this battle, the regent will definitely not let go of the Deng family. As Dali Siqing said, he has long had no way back.

"No, father!" Deng Mian looked at Chu Shixia in disbelief, rushed over and took Dali Siqing's hand, and said hurriedly, "You resign, let's go together." You have already confessed your guilt, Your Majesty will not blame King Qi and Chu Zhixia. Let's go together, I don't want to leave you here alone. ”

Dali Siqing pushed his hand away, shook his head and said, "Impossible." The regent had worked in the court for many years, and his roots were so deep-rooted that a letter could not condemn him. When he came to his senses, no one could escape. ”

"The regent is unscathed, why should I help you take Deng Mian away? In such a big case as the murder of an official of the imperial court, if you give false testimony, you will have to raid your home. Chu Zhixia asked almost indifferently.

"I did one thing for the Regent." Dali Siqing said calmly.

Chu Zhixia said that he would listen to him.

"In the winter of the eighth year of Jingtai, a woman died in the palace and another palace maid ran away. The regent sent me a secret letter, saying that this maid was carrying a baby, and asked me to clean it up with the adults and the children. ”

The words "Jingtai Eight Years" are like a needle, which stabbed Chu Zhixia's most vulnerable nerve.

Dali Siqing didn't notice it, and continued: "I found the body of the palace maid in the ghost market, but I couldn't kill the baby. At that time, my wife had just become pregnant with Deng Mian, and the fetus was unstable, and I was afraid of retribution. So I spent money to buy a newly dead baby corpse in the ghost market, and handed it over to the regent along with the body of the palace maid. ”

A certain string in Chu Zhixia's mind was tightened little by little, and the voice was dry that she didn't even notice, "What about that baby?" ”

"I abandoned him in a corner of the ghost market, and I don't know if he lives or dies." Dali Siqing shook his head and said, "But I left a token in my swaddling clothes." ”

Dali Siqing took out a jade ring from his arms, and in the dim candlelight, the jade was as red as blood. This is the dragon's blood jade produced in the desert, peerless and rare, looking at the light, like a pool of blood surging. The jade ring is carved into a dragon with head and tail link, and the horns are majestic and lifelike.

The dragon pattern is not very usable, and this dragon blood jade ring is undoubtedly a thing in the palace.

Chu Zhixia instinctively made her stop Dali Siqing from continuing to speak, she took the dragon blood jade ring, and said, "This should be a pair of jade rings, what about another one?" ”

"There is only one in the swaddling clothes, and the other may be in the hands of His Majesty." Dali Siqing said, "Is this kind of sincerity enough for you to take Deng Mian away?" ”

"No, I'm not leaving!" Deng Mian shook his head desperately, grabbing Dali Siqing's sleeve and not letting go.

At this moment, Shen Zhou slammed the door and said, "The assassins of the Mountain Ghost Clan have chased after him." Yu Linwei has another street here. ”

Shen Zhou looked at Dali Siqing in disbelief: "Yu Linwei was recruited by you?" ”

"I want to confess my sins and surrender to the law, how can I do it without the court officials?" Dali Siqing replied calmly.

Chu Zhixia immediately made a decision, grabbed Deng Mian's hand, and said, "Follow me." ”

Dali Siqing resolutely pushed Deng Mian's hand away and slapped him. Deng Mian was beaten and froze in place, looking at his indifferent and majestic father in a daze.

"From this day forward, you are no longer my son. Dali Siqing framed the noble daughter of the Chu family in the clouds, and committed suicide in the Temple of Literature. The whereabouts of his son are unknown, and his life and death are unknown. In this world, there is no more Deng Mian. Dali Siqing said sharply, "Let's go!" ”

"Daddy—"

Chu Zhixia grabbed Deng Mian and dragged him away forcefully.

The last time Deng Mian looked back, he saw the back of his father toppling the statue of the saint and holding a candle to light the curtain. The world that was suddenly ignited collapsed into ashes inch by inch in Deng Mian's eyes, shattering with the wind.

——

In the ninth year of auspicious charm, the sixth day of the first month of November.

Akiba Mountain House.

Yan Jue was wearing the golden armor of the Zhonglang general, with a long body and a tall posture like a pine. He stood in the middle of the snow-covered courtyard like a straight gun. Chu Zhixia walked up to him with an umbrella and saw that a layer of frost had condensed on his armor.

Yan Jue suddenly came back to his senses and saluted her, "Miss Chu, are you okay?" ”

"It's good." Chu Shixia said, "So early, General Yan didn't go to Miyagi to be on duty, what are you doing here?" ”

"Last night, the imperial capital was very lively." Yan Jue looked at Chu Zhixia with a dark expression.

Chu Zhixia's eyes were not leaking, neither curious nor questioning, and quietly stared at him.

"The Chen family's house caught fire, and the regent died three sons and six grandsons. I thought something was wrong, but the regent insisted that it was caused by the fire and refused to let Yu Linwei come to the door. ”

Of course, the regent will not let Yan Du come to the door, and there is a big difference between a corpse that dies from a wound and a body that dies from a fire. Not to mention that the assassins of the Mountain Ghost Clan are still hiding in the Chen Mansion, once Yan Jue detects any clues, it will be another bloody storm.

"That's how the Lord Regent has always been." Chu Zhixia commented lightly.

"The Temple of Literature on the shore of the Mirror Washing Lake is also on fire, but it is not because the little official accidentally overturned the fire candle." Yan Jue paused for a moment and carefully observed the expression on Chu Zhixia's face, "It was Dali Siqing who lit a fire in the Temple of Literature and set himself on fire, and when we arrived, the fire was already burning very big. He confessed his guilt in the fire, claiming to apologize to His Majesty with his death. ”

"It's a shame." Chu Zhixia finished speaking without emotion, stared at Yan Jue and said, "Little Marquis Yan, what do you want to test me?" ”

"I don't want to test anything."

Yan Jue said: "I just want to tell you that Your Majesty was angry because of the foolery of Dali Siqing, and ordered the Deng family to be exterminated. Dali Siqing's fugitive son Deng Mian is also wanted. Once caught, he was exiled at least and beheaded at worst. ”

Chu Zhixia silently looked at Yan Du, and Yan Du then said: "The city gate and dock will be strictly checked, and Yu Linwei has already pasted his portrait all over the streets and alleys of the imperial capital. Do you understand? ”

Chu Zhixia nodded slightly.

Yan Jue exhaled, with a little sadness in his smile, and said: "I actually hated him before, thinking that he didn't understand anything, but he just had a good baby." But last night, I couldn't sleep, remembering the day I was promoted to Zhonglang, Deng Mian and Cheng Yuan came with you to congratulate me. He looked clumsy, and wanted to apologize for bullying me with the third prince in the past, but he was afraid that I would not accept it, so he didn't hold back a word until the end of the banquet, and his face turned red. Later, Yanshu told me that Deng Mian secretly stuffed her with money, and it was still a long time before the Chinese New Year. ”

"Actually, think about it, I have fought with him so many times, and Dali Siqing has never troubled me. Maybe his words, 'Do you know who my father is?' were just to embolden himself. ”

——

Yan Jue is gone.

Chu Zhixia walked through the long and winding corridor and turned into the newly cleaned courtyard. Yuzhu just pushed the door out of the bedroom, holding the empty medicine bowl in her hand.

"How is he?" Chu Zhixia asked.

"Still feverish." Yuzhu shook her head and said.

Chu Zhixia sighed, pushed open the door and walked in. Deng Mian lay on his back on the bed, staring blankly at the top of the bed. Chu Zhixia walked up to him and touched his hot forehead, and he burst into tears as if he had suddenly come back to his senses.

Chu Zhixia picked up her skirt and sat on the edge of the bed, and said softly: "You can't go out of the city recently, you have to hide again." When you are well and Your Majesty's anger has passed, I will find a way to send you away. Do you want to go to Gangnam? I can send you to Jiang Qiao. ”

Chu Zhixia depicted an ethereal and sweet dream, and said: "The shopkeeper Jiang is rich now, you can go over and learn to manage accounts with her, it doesn't matter if you can't learn it, she has a good temper and won't blame you." I heard that Jiangnan is rich and prosperous in the world, and I patronized and worked when I was in Jiangnan, but I didn't have a good time. ”

Deng Mian slowly got up from the bed and stared at her motionlessly.

Chu Shixia took a deep breath and said, "If you hate me, I ...... too"

Deng Mian suddenly hugged Chu Zhixia and sobbed softly.

"I don't have a father anymore, I don't have a home."

Chu Zhixia was stunned by him, and reached out to pat him on the back.

Chu Shixia said, "I'm sorry. ”

Deng Mian just cried and shook his head, intermittently, and couldn't say a word. He even cried lowly, as if he knew that he was guilty of sin, and he didn't dare to make trouble for Chu Shixia.

Shen Zhou didn't know when he walked into the room and quietly watched Deng Mian crying. Deng Mian cried so much that he vaguely remembered that Shen Zhou didn't seem to like others getting too close to Chu Zhixia, but before he could open the distance, Shen Zhou stretched out his hand to him.

In Shen Zhou's well-defined hand, there was a crystal clear sugar.

Deng Mian burst into tears.

"Shen Zhou doesn't understand, but Shen Zhou knows that he has to eat sugar when he's sad."