Tai Hao sighed with emotion: "I have served in Yichuan City for more than four years, although the days cannot be called beautiful, but immersing myself in the cultivation of martial arts every day is fulfilling and satisfying. However, I can't predict how long I'll stay on this land in the future. His voice revealed a hint of confusion and helplessness, as if he was full of anticipation and uneasiness about the unknown future.

After hearing this, Lord Chengfan first sighed deeply, and then asked, "Is Lord Taihao still insisting on writing to the imperial court?" ”

Tai Hao was surprised: "How does Lord Chengfan know that I have been insisting on writing to the court all these years?" ”

Lord Chengfan said in a deep voice: "It is well known to the Chinese martial arts of the DPRK that Lord Taihao once presented a letter to the imperial court, asking for forgiveness for the sins of officials who had been exiled to Lingnan for more than ten years. However, the emperor, who was sitting upright on the main hall at the time, was furious when he heard this, and severely reprimanded you, and ordered that no official of the court should be allowed to communicate with you in correspondence. ”

When Tai Hao heard this, he frowned and said, "No wonder I haven't received a reply from the emperor in the past few years, it turns out that he is so resistant to this matter." ”

Lord Cheng Fan said earnestly: "You may think that this is just a reminder to the imperial court, however, in the eyes of the emperor, this is a move to challenge the imperial power. How can he heed your advice to exonerate an exiled official? ”

Tai Hao said helplessly: "It seems that I am going to stay in Yichuan City forever." ”

Lord Chengfan responded: "I don't think so, as long as you stop writing to the emperor, you will leave here soon." ”

Tai Hao said in a deep voice: "I hope so! ”

Master Chengfan said frankly: "When Xuan Cheng first ascended the throne and became emperor, I was still in Tianxue City, and I strongly opposed his claim to be emperor. ”

Tai Hao said: "When Emperor Xuancheng was called emperor, I was by his side, and I also heard that the court was divided into several factions at that time, and there were many opposition forces in the court for him to become emperor. ”

Cheng Fan said: "For all generations, the position of the emperor of our Eastern Empire has always been hereditary, and the law followed is that there is a grandson, there is no grandson, and the elder brother is the elder brother. Emperor Xuanyu died, although he had no son, Xuancheng was only his cousin, and he did not meet the rules of imperial succession at all. ”

Taihao asked, "Then why is Emperor Xuanyu obsessed with passing the throne to Xuancheng?" Is it because Emperor Xuanyu doesn't have a younger brother, only this one cousin? ”

"Definitely." Lord Chengfan said slowly: "Emperor Xuangang has four sons, the eldest son is Xuanyu, although he is the eldest son, but he was not the prince at first, Emperor Xuangang divided him to Tianxue City, and the one who was named the prince was Xuanyu's younger brother Xuanyi, but when Xuanyi was ten years old, he was suddenly killed. There is a saying in the palace that the person who killed Xuan Yi was Xuan Cheng. ”

Taihao was surprised: "How is it possible? Dare to kill the prince, this is a capital crime! ”

Lord Chengfan chuckled and said, "This matter is not unbelievable. He took a sip of tea and continued: "Xuanyu and Xuancheng have always had a good relationship, although they are cousins, they are better than their own children, it is rumored that when Xuanyi was killed, Xuancheng had visited the prince's mansion the day before, which had to arouse the suspicion of the ministers. In addition to the two sons of Xuanyu and Xuanyi, Emperor Xuangang still has two sons, one Xuanjie and one Xuanyi. When Xuanjie was young, he was crowned King of Qi, but he was lustful and lewd, and died at the age of twenty-eight. Although he had three sons, he never lived in the capital since he was a child, and he knew nothing about the government. Xuan Yi loved to travel in the mountains and rivers, danced with guns and sticks, disappeared 20 years ago, and it is rumored that he has worshiped the famous teacher of the South China Sea as an apprentice. Since the death of Xuan Yi, Xuan Yu naturally became the new crown prince, and Xuan Cheng became his right-hand man, until Xuan Yu ascended the throne and became the emperor, Xuan Cheng has been highly used. However, fate is impermanent, Xuanyu only has two princesses, and there are no heirs to succeed to the throne. All the subjects took it for granted that Hyun Cheng was the heir to the throne. ”

Tai Hao asked, "In that case, why does Lord Chengfan still oppose Emperor Xuancheng as emperor?" ”

Lord Chengfan said truthfully: "The former Emperor Xuanyu died, and the situation in the DPRK and China was stormy. Princess Changxiang and her party are bound to plot to usurp the throne and compete for the throne. Xuan Cheng's move to become the emperor is certainly justified, but my worries are all due to the ambitions of Princess Changxiang's party. Although the ministers said that 'a brother ends up with a brother', there is no precedent in history to follow for the rule of 'a brother ends up with a cousin'. Unless you go to the South China Sea and invite the four princes to return, there will be chaos in the court. However, if the throne is passed on to the son of Xuancheng, everything can be back on track. In this way, Princess Changxiang will no longer compete with children for the throne, and Xuan Cheng can also serve as the regent with peace of mind. More importantly, I am worried about the safety of Xuanbao, the son of Xuancheng. In the past dynasties, there are few princes and princes who enjoy peace. Emperor Xuancheng has only one son, and if he encounters an accident, he will fall into the heart of the rebels in the court. ”

Tai Hao nodded and said, "What Lord Chengfan said is extremely true, but now that Princess Changxiang's party has been wiped out, the situation in the DPRK and China is quite stable. ”

Lord Chengfan shook his head and said, "It seems to be stable, but in fact, there is a hidden murderous intention, and the real danger has not yet come. ”

Tai Hao said curiously: "What do you say about Lord Chengfan?" ”

Cheng Fan said: "A few years ago, the counterinsurgency war in the north was finally won, but everyone ignored an important rebel leader, he was the former concubine Wanyan, and he never appeared after the war ended, Lord Taihao, don't you think it's strange?" ”

Taihao said: "Maybe he has died on the battlefield." ”

In a firm tone, Lord Cheng Fan asserted, "I am convinced that he is not dead, because he has never set foot on the battlefield from the beginning to the end. How can you die on the battlefield? I venture to assume that he must have devoted himself to the training of his soldiers in the hope of making a comeback. In addition, Princess Changxiang is still guarding the mausoleum at the moment, loyal to the first emperor; And it is also possible for the Ten Thousand Words Horse to join her and join hands together. Their husband and wife joined forces, and together with their supporters in the court, it was very likely that Emperor Xuancheng's court would be overthrown in one fell swoop. ”

Tai Hao asked, "Does the emperor know about these things?" ”

Lord Chengfan said softly: "The emperor naturally knows, after all, there are Mr. Yanfang, as well as the two prime ministers Zhengqi and Liangyu. Since I returned to Thousand Winds City, because I had strongly recommended Xuanbao as the emperor, I was not favored by the emperor, and was only given a slight position, and I was appointed as the temple of Guanglu Temple. However, due to a moment of negligence, a certain medicinal herb was mistakenly inserted into the emperor's imperial diet, which caused more than half of the harem concubines to fall ill, and the officials of Guanglu Temple, no matter how big or small, were implicated, and I was demoted to this point. His tone was full of helplessness.

Tai Hao let out a long sigh and said, "Because of this incident, he was demoted to Lingnan, which is too severe for Lord Chengfan's punishment. ”

Lord Cheng Fan replied respectfully, "Lord Taihao, this punishment is really a meager responsibility, and I hope that Lord Cheng will take more care of it here in the future." ”

Tai Hao smiled faintly and said, "Lord Chengfan doesn't have to be polite, I have a lot to ask Lord Chengfan about in the officialdom!" ”

In the following time, Yichuan City has been quiet and peaceful, and the government affairs of the government are not busy. Taihao no longer wrote to the court, and he gradually reveled in this peaceful day.

The sun and the moon flowed, and another three years passed. Emperor Xuancheng finally remembered Taihao who was in Yichuan City, and he personally issued a holy decree and sent an envoy to teleport to Yichuan City. The general meaning of the holy decree is this, the emperor is about to usher in the 60th birthday ceremony, and the whole world celebrates. As a hero of the anti-Japanese war, Taihao will be invited to attend the ceremony and offer the most sincere blessings and respect to the emperor. Therefore, please Taihao return to the capital and celebrate the grand event with the people of the world.

This holy decree is like a spring breeze, warming Taihao's heart. He felt the immensity of the emperor's grace and understood his responsibility and mission. So, he packed his bags and embarked on the road back to Beijing.

On the day of leaving Yichuan City, Lord Chengfan and Zhilun personally saw off Taihao. Although they felt extremely nostalgic for Taihao's departure, they also sincerely congratulated him. After all, having spent nearly eight years in Yichuan City, Taihao has always guarded the peace and tranquility of this city, although he has not achieved anything outstanding in this city.

When Taihao embarked on the road back to the capital, the people along the way learned of his departure and came to see him off. Although Taihao thought that he was only going to the capital to celebrate the emperor's birthday, the officials who were exiled to Yichuan City did not see it that way. They knew that Taihao was reused by the imperial court.

Qiu Wang's predecessors also came in person and wrote a poem for Taihao, called "Sending Taihao to the Capital", the poem said:

The shadow of Taihao is gone, and it is hard to cry when you go to the capital.

Thousands of miles away from the waves, but it is difficult to find the old sounds.

The moon shines on the lonely boat, and his thoughts fly into the heart of the pen.

Remembering old friends and wishing each other, Guihong brings me deep affection.

Taihao rode his horse alone, left Yichuan City, and hurried day and night. When we reached a high mountain, it suddenly rained heavily. He hurriedly rode his horse and hid in a cave, where there was a thunderstorm and darkness. When the lightning struck, lightning flashed and illuminated the stone walls of the cave. Taihao didn't notice it at first, but after a few lightning bolts, he could see the patterns on the stone wall. He hurriedly took out the fire fold from the package on the horse's body, and after lighting it, he found that there were martial arts moves carved on the stone wall of the cave, like martial arts cheats.

Taihao took advantage of the light of the fire fold and walked to the deepest part of the cave. He noticed some unlit torches scattered on the ground and hurriedly lit one. The firelight instantly illuminated the entire cave, and Taihao could see everything on the stone wall. He was surprised to find that the carved patterns were all of a warrior playing with a long stick. This kind of expression reminds Taihao of the patterns on the cheats of "Snow Cat Fluttering Shadow", "Idle Cat Listening to the Sea" and "Painting Tiger by Cat".

Looking at the text on it carefully, Taihao was instantly surprised. Because he clearly saw the four words on the far left of the stone wall, "leading the cat and lying in the sand". He couldn't help but exclaim: "Could this be the cheats of the third master Shu Lihe's "Holding the Cat and Lying in the Sand"? ”

Tai Hao's heart was full of doubts, and he felt very puzzled as to why the third uncle would engrave the secret book of "Holding the Cat and Lying in the Sand" here. After all, this place should not be far from the third uncle's hermitage. He decided that after the rain stopped, he must pass by Cloak Mountain again to visit the third uncle. I haven't seen him for nearly eight years, and I don't know how the third uncle is doing now. By the way, I asked him why he carved the secret book of "Leading the Cat and Lying in the Sand" here, and what is the secret in it.

At this time, it was getting dark, and Taihao was sitting in the cave, looking at the torch in his hand, thinking about his own thoughts. Suddenly, as if he had come to his senses, he got up and stood at the entrance of the cave and looked out, only to see that the sky was still rolling dark clouds, lightning and thunder. At this time, he suddenly woke up, could it be that the third uncle was in danger? The third uncle should have been afraid that the cheats of "Leading the Cat and Lying in the Sand" would be lost, so he carved it here. A deep sense of worry welled up in Taihao's heart. He decided to rush to Cloak Mountain to visit the third uncle as soon as possible to calm the uneasiness in his heart.