In Xingqing Palace, the willow trees by the pool hang down their branches and sway gently in the breeze.

In the sun-drenched room, Colliers fell asleep on a chaise longue, covered with a blanket on his body, and gradually felt hot.

In a daze, I heard someone stepping on the carpet and hearing the sound of slight footsteps.

It was Xue Bai who came.

"King Shou is dead." Colliers sighed, "As you wished, you took revenge." ”

Xue Bai said: "If Concubine Wu Hui didn't want to help him as the prince, how could there be a bloody case back then, and the blood debt was repaid in blood, which was very fair." ”

"How can you be sure that the saint will not be killed?"

"Because General Gao will protect me."

Colliers hesitated and said, "I don't know if I should protect you, you didn't even tell me the truth." ”

"You're going to protect me, you know how extraordinary I am." Xue Bai said, "It's definitely not comparable to the mediocrity of King Shou. ”

"No matter how extraordinary it is, what does it have to do with me?"

"You're sixty-six years old, you've enjoyed all the glory and riches, you have everything you can have in the world, what else do you want? More power, wealth? No, you want to do another great thing like when you were young, and you have achieved enough results in your life, but when you are dying, you find that the results are not important, what matters is your wonderful life......"

Colliers felt an inexplicable excitement, and blood flowed again in his old body like dead wood.

He opened his eyes, sat up, and looked into the room, but he didn't see Xue Bai, only a small eunuch catching flies.

It's just a dream.

Gao Lishi was inexplicably stunned and recruited another adopted son, Li Dayi, who was guarding the door.

"Where is the saint?"

"I'm rehearsing with Fan Meiren." Li Dayi whispered: "Fan Meiren has not been able to stand out in the teaching workshop for many years, and she is very good at singing and dancing. ”

"Did the saint mention the concubine?"

"No, I didn't."

"Not yet?"

Colliers couldn't help but think about it.

He also read the letter presented by Yang Guifei, and understood the intention of the concubine to do this, since the explanation of the relationship with King Shou could not be explained clearly, it was better to be frank and open, and only make the appearance of thinking about the saint wholeheartedly, and ask for the death penalty, if the saint pities the concubine, it is easier to be soft-hearted.

But at the moment, the saint has not reacted, if it drags on for a long time, it will make the courtiers think that the concubine has fallen out of favor, and the situation will change again according to the face of the world.

For example, this time Li Linfu stood on Xue Bai's side, not only for Xue Bai's ability, but also for a large part of the reason that Xue Bai had a noble concubine behind him, and Li Xuankong had the lord of King Shou, but he was actually helpless.

But Gao Lishi thought about it, it was not for nothing that the saint beat the Yang family like this, and he could also use this to beat Xue Bai.

"Go to Jingzhao Mansion."

……

When he arrived at Jingzhao Mansion, Gao Lishi really saw Xue Bai this time, not in a dream.

"King Shou is dead, as you wish."

"It's a pity that he died young." Xue Bai sighed.

The actual situation is far more restrained than in the dream, Gao Lishi knew that no matter how much he tried, he couldn't be sure that Xue Bai was Li Qian, so he skipped this matter for the time being, and said: "You don't blame me for trapping you in Jingzhao Mansion, I originally planned to wait for the concubine to return to the palace, and say a few kind words for you in front of the palace." ”

"General Gao is thoughtful, no matter what, I should thank General Gao."

"What are you going to do if the concubine falls out of favor?"

Xue Bai smiled bitterly: "I offended the prince, if there is no protection from the concubine, sooner or later there will be no place to die, presumably I can only learn from Li Mi and hide in the mountains to become a Taoist priest." ”

Seeing that he still refused to say anything, Gao Lishi first knocked him and said: "You can't learn Li Yu, he will definitely return to the court to be a ruler in the future, but you will only have to hide in Tibet in the future." ”

Xue Bai would not be easily frightened by him, and asked rhetorically: "General Gao thinks that the concubine will fall out of favor?" ”

Gao Lishi said: "The concubine's response is for you to give advice, right?" The mind of a saint is not so easy to guess. ”

"As a courtier, how dare I, speculate on the holy will? Only believe in saints and concubines...... Love is stronger than gold. ”

Xue Bai replied decently, but the idea he gave Yang Yuhuan this time was more from his emotional experience, thinking that this could take advantage of Li Longji.

But he really didn't think much about the possibility of Yang Yuhuan falling out of favor, as far as he knew, Li Longji had been doting on her until Ma Weipo, and Xue Bai didn't even know that she had the experience of being kicked out of the palace.

After all, many things are different, she has more of his brother-in-law, there is one more fan girl in the palace, and there may be more variables that he can't think of. If Yang Yuhuan really falls out of favor, his situation will be difficult.

Gao Lishi is the best at observing his face, seeing Xue Bai's worries, and said: "Let me remind you again, you don't see the fierce competition for storage space over the years, but ah, the more you fight, the more you can see that the storage position is not important now, understand?" ”

"Understood."

"I heard that you are getting close to King Qing, pay attention to the future."

Li Longji obviously didn't think that he would die in a short time, so he would let Li Linfu deal with Donggong fiercely. Only when you really realize that your life is not long will you think about cultivating an heir.

And when Gao Lishi said these words, he meant "The concubine can't protect you, be honest and patient."

It's a beating, but it's also a protection......

~~

At the same time, a somewhat sneaky figure was glancing at Xue Bai's official house from the flower garden, and saw that there were eunuchs and guards guarding him, so he quickly shrank his head.

It was Ren Mulan who came.

Because of her young age, after she arrived in Chang'an with Xue Bai, she has been taught by Du Yan. Du Yan has taken in a lot of children in recent years and cultivated them, and Ren Mulan is the commander of these children.

She usually wants to help with some errands, but unfortunately she doesn't have the opportunity. This time something finally happened, Du Yan got a message temporarily and ordered her to pick up Xue Bai.

As a result, I happened to meet the old eunuch who came to see Xue Bai, and I didn't know what to say, and I had been locked up in the official house for a long time.

After waiting for a while, the sun was gradually turning west, Ren Mulan was anxious, and secretly said in her heart: "Isn't it a eunuch?" He has not returned to the palace to serve the saint. ”

Complaining, she saw someone hurrying on the opposite path, and she hurriedly retracted into the flower garden.

"Oh no! General Gao ......"

I only heard someone report in a panic outside the official house, and pushed the door in.

Ren Mulan thought to herself: "The old eunuch should leave this time." ”

As a result, she waited for a long time, and saw several little eunuchs passing messages and presenting objects back and forth. It wasn't until the dusk drum sounded that the old eunuch hurriedly left with the people.

"Whew."

Ren Mulan let out a sigh of relief, came out from the other side of the flower garden, tidied up her clothes, and walked towards the official mansion with a food box.

She is wearing a maidservant's colorful skirt today, which is very inconvenient, but she still likes her original short cardigan, so that she will not be detained when fighting and running.

Walking to the gate of the courtyard, the guards were the servants of Jingzhao Mansion, who had already been bought by Du Youlin.

"Ahem, I'm ...... The slave family belongs to Xue's house, and Xue Lang's maid has to be instructed by the lady to send him some snacks made by himself. ”

Ren Mulan felt that she was not lying.

After entering the official house, it was Diao Geng who took care of Xue Bai in his shift today, and he was sitting under the porch at this time and plucking his ears, and when he saw someone coming, he stretched out his hand to stop him.

"Lang Jun is tired."

"Me." Ren Mulan glanced at her and said, "It's me." ”

"Then Lang Jun also rested."

"I was sent by Erniang."

Diao Geng let Mulan in, and said in a low voice: "Lang Jun is not here, he left with General Gao." ”

Ren Mulan was startled, bypassed the screen, lifted the futon and saw that there were two pillows inside.

Finally ran an errand but it was messed up, she hurriedly put down the food box and ran out, to report to Du Yan.

~~

Taifu Supervisor, Left Treasury.

Although Yang Guozhong wears dozens of positions, he always remembers that his own errand is Taifu Qing, taking care of money for the Son of Heaven. Once this is done, everything else will naturally follow.

On that day, he was looking at the treasures collected from the Zuo Vault.

"Uncle Guo, please see, this is the 'Seven Treasures Tent'."

Yang Guozhong looked at it, and saw that what had been moved was a behemoth, a bed made of ivory, with a curtain hanging on it, which looked extremely gorgeous.

On the side to introduce the treasure to him was his henchman Dou Hua.

Dou Hua stepped forward and lifted the curtain in a rather exaggerated posture and said, "Uncle Guo, look, the mat on the couch is made of rhino horn; The mattress is made of mink; The felt is made of stingers and mosquitoes; The bed mat is woven by the dragon whiskers of Fenjin and the phoenix of the river. ”

Such a gorgeous treasure, Yang Guozhong looked at it but hesitated.

"Uncle Guo, how's it going?"

"Will the saint really like this thing?"

Dou Hua was stunned for a moment, and hurriedly rushed back to Yang Guozhong's side, and said in a low voice: "Didn't Uncle Guo say that the sage wanted Fan Meiren to give birth to a child?" Fellowship in this tent is the easiest way to conceive. ”

Yang Guozhong said: "Isn't the Seven Treasure Tent exactly what Zhang Yizhi dedicated to his mother back then?" ”

"Uncle Guo, this Qibao Tent is not the Qibao Tent of the year, but the workmanship and materials are the same......"

Dou Hua hurriedly explained, but Yang Guozhong still shook his head.

Others don't know that his biological mother is Zhang Yizhi's sister, so he knows about it, Zhang Yizhi's brother was killed in the Shenlong coup, and although Yang Guozhong and Zhang Yizhi are nephews, they have always stepped on the low and praised the high, and they don't like to associate with the Zhang family.

Back then, Zhang Yizhi dedicated the Seven Treasures Tent to his mother Wei Azang, but Wei Azang has been widowed for many years, and it is a waste to sleep on such a good bed alone, so he fell in love with Li Zhenxiu, the waiter of Fengge, Zhang Yizhi asked Wu Zetian to make a decree to let the young and handsome Li Zhenxiu marry the old and decrepit Wei Azang...... Although Wei Azang is his grandmother, Yang Guozhong feels that she is not doing this properly, and when he thinks about it, he is very sympathetic to Li Zhenxiu's situation.

In addition, there is another thing, recently, the Zhang family saw that Yang Guozhong was in power, and they have already come over again, and now they are still living in Yang Guozhong's mansion.

It is inevitable that everyone will have some poor relatives, and it is not easy to send them away, anyway, the Zhang family just makes him dislike.

"Sending this thing to the saint will make the saint unhappy, so let's find some more pills."

"Don't you dare to look for any more elixirs, do you?" Dou Hua thought of the Xingyang centipede bag last time, and his face turned a little pale.

Suddenly, a servant of the Yang family hurriedly came running.

"Uncle Guo, it's not good!"

"What's the alarm? The sky hasn't fallen yet. ”

"It's out of the water! The Lady of the Kingdom of Qiu's Mansion is gone! ”

"What?" Yang Guozhong was shocked: "Did it burn to my mansion?" ”

"I don't know, but ...... But the fire is very strong, and now ...... The concubine doesn't seem to have run out yet. ”

Yang Guozhong was stunned for a moment, and he didn't care about it, so he hurriedly left the Zuozang Treasury and rushed to the Xuanyang Fang Lady Guoguo's Mansion.

When I arrived at Pingkangfang, I could already see the smoke billowing in the distance, and when I got closer, I could see the firelight and the setting sun, dyeing the sky red.

There were shouts, cries, coughs everywhere.

Fortunately, almost all of the people who live in Xuanyangfang are nobles, and there are enough people to fight the fire, which has controlled the spread of the fire.

"What's going on?"

Yang Guozhong drove away the crowd and rushed to the place where the crowd gathered, and his eyes swept away, only to see that the three Mrs. Guo were there, and there were still servants and maids who had escaped from Mrs. Guo's mansion, and he couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

"Where's the concubine?"

Yang Yuyao was anxiously directing the firefighting, and when she heard the words, she only shouted: "Quick, go and find someone for me." ”

Yang Guozhong carefully observed the crowd, saw Zhang Yunrong, stepped forward to grab her, and asked, "Since you escaped, what about the concubine?" ”

"Woo...... I don't know. ”

"What do you mean?" Yang Guozhong had a premonition that something was wrong, and said angrily: "Even you are alive, but you tell me that so many people can't protect a concubine?!" ”

In response to him, only Zhang Yunrong's cry was heard, and tears washed the ashes on her face, making her originally beautiful face dirty.

Yang Guozhong was furious, turned his head and scolded people: "Are they all waste?!" ”

He was about to have a seizure, but he was surprised to find that the person standing on the Wanghuo Tower not far away was actually Gao Lishi.

Yang Guozhong hurriedly ascended the stairs and said, "General Gao, why are you here?" ”

"I just arrived."

"This Fire ......"

Gao Lishi said: "The fire burned from the vacant Li Qiwu Mansion in the east and spread to the Lady of the Kingdom of Qiu. At that time, Mrs. Yu Guo was playing polo in the west courtyard, so she escaped immediately, but ...... But the concubine was gone. ”

"I don't understand, how could it be gone?"

Chief Colliers sighed and muttered, "The concubine is only afraid that she will be disheartened and unwilling to escape." ”

"Impossible."

Yang Guozhong shook his head again and again, he knew very well that the concubine's submission of a letter to ask for guilt was to retreat into advance, and she was not sincerely seeking death at all, and this matter was strange.

He thought about it, and suddenly his heart moved, and then he felt a chill down his spine.

Concubine Wu Hui made a mistake back then, and died of illness not long after; Now Yang Guifei made a mistake, and it didn't take long for her to be buried in the fire?

It was getting dark, and the fire was finally extinguished.

However, Yang Guifei was still not found.

~~

Half of the east side of the Lady of the Kingdom of Grace was burned down, and people were looking for it in the ruins.

In the darkness, a figure left the ruins, headed east, and was stopped at the gate.

"Who?"

Wu Hou, who was guarding the door, took the torch and shone it, and before he could illuminate the other party's face, a token was handed to him.

"Keep your eyes open and see clearly, something so big has happened, don't delay the news from the Ministry of Internal Affairs."

"Yes, the internal officer, please."

The man quickly left Xuanyangfang, across the long street, opposite the East Market, he still entered the East Market with a token, and went straight to Fenghui Bank.

He stepped forward and knocked on the knocker.

Soon the door was opened, and a head poked out, it was Ren Mulan.

She glanced warily, first at the eunuch's robe.

"This internal official...... Huh, Lang Jun? How did you find it? ”

"If I can find it, it means that you have done something wrong."

Xue Bai flashed straight into the door, with a calm face, and said, "Who is in charge of such a big matter?" ”

Ren Mulan rarely saw him so unhappy, and said, "I don't know, I just listened to Erniang's instructions to invite you to come, but I didn't get it." I didn't expect Lang Jun to come over. ”

"Where's the person?"

"This way."

~~

At the end of the corridor, Du Yan walked alone to a secret house and pushed the door in.

She frowned slightly, her eyes thoughtful.

When I entered, I first smelled a faint fragrance, which was not strong, but it smelled very comfortable.

The candlestick shone faintly, and behind it sat a man in a polo suit, dressed in a man's robe, but showing a slender figure.

didn't see his face clearly, just such a silhouette, even Du Yan felt a little moved when he saw it.

"He's coming?"

"Nope." Du Yan said: "Unfortunately, when I sent someone to invite him, he was talking to Gao Lishi, and was later taken away by Gao Lishi. At this time, I'm afraid I'm still looking for you on the fire. ”

"Send someone to talk to him?"

"One is that the curfew is inconvenient, and the other is that it is too dangerous if it is discovered." Du Yan said: "I'll take advantage of the night to send you back......

Halfway through speaking, she heard the whistle outside the hospital, owed a debt, and said, "Wait a minute, concubine." ”

Yang Yuhuan was about to speak, only to see that Du Yan had turned around and left.

She couldn't stay any longer, thought about it, got up, and was about to walk out, when she saw Xue Bai coming over.

"I heard they didn't pick you up, how did you find them?"

"Sister has left a lot of traces, and I have erased them all." Xue Bai asked, "Why do you have to do this?" Let the saint think that you are martyred for Li Xuan, which will only backfire. ”

Yang Yuhuan only showed a slight smile when he heard the previous sentence, but when he heard the latter sentence, he was stunned.

She didn't answer right away, but sat down again, glanced at Du Yan, and motioned for her to go out.

The door was shut, and the faint light of the fire no longer faltered.

"You think I set the fire?" Yang Yuhuan asked.

"Isn't it?"

"It's not." Yang Yuhuan shook his head and said, "I'm going to play polo with the third sister, and I'm changing clothes, and the fire is spreading from the east." The palace people fled with me, and they were all dressed in colorful skirts, and they were not as fast as I was, and I ran to the flower-bed, and when I saw that they had not followed, I went into the flower-bed, and wiped my face with cigarette ash, and ran out alone. ”

Xue Bai was a little unconvinced, and asked, "Why?" ”

"Isn't your house next door? I have something important to talk to you about. Yang Yuhuan said: "At that time, everyone was busy running out of the third sister's house, it was a mess, no one could take care of me, I arrived at your house, said that there was news to tell your lady, and I met Yan Yan." ”

"After that, Yan Yan asked Du Yan to pick you up?"

"Do you believe it?"

Xue Bai nodded and said, "Believe it, although it sounds unreasonable, it may not be impossible to happen." ”

"Not angry?"

"Ben wasn't angry with Sister A, but I just felt that this was inappropriate." Xue Bai groaned, "How did that start the fire?" ”

"I don't know, it's the vacant house next door that should be burned first." Yang Yuhuan said: "You just think too much, everything feels man-made, but the fire in the world is very large, and most of it is accidental." ”

Xue Bai still planned to investigate the cause of the fire, but now it was not the time to pursue these with Yang Yuhuan, and asked, "Why did you take such a big risk to meet?" ”

"How did you know there was such a big risk?" Yang Yuhuan complained, his smile was thrillingly beautiful, and he said angrily: "I thought it would be quick to meet while there was chaos, but who would have thought that I couldn't invite you." ”

"What's the matter with Sister?"

At this time, Xue Bai thought that Yang Yuhuan was a little ignorant, and felt that this woman was beautiful and beautiful, which was too capricious. If you meet again at this time, once you are discovered, you are afraid that both of you will die.

As for what could she do? It's nothing more than Wu Huaishi wronging them for having a personal relationship, just leave it out, how can it be discussed.

Thinking like this, he listened to Yang Yuhuan's question.

"You tell me honestly, are you Li Ying's son?"

Xue Bai looked intently, facing Yang Yuhuan's concerned eyes, he was slightly stunned, shook his head and said, "No." ”

"Well, I believe you. But Li Xuan said that he would testify to your identity as the son of Li Ying in front of the emperor, whether you are or not, it will arouse the suspicion of the saint. Don't think that Gao Lishi will protect you enough, the saint will secretly send others to investigate. ”

"Who?"

Xue Bai only felt a slight chill on his back, and realized that he only pinned his hopes on Gao Lishi, and he still underestimated Li Longji too much.

On second thought, Colliers by no means can fully represent Li Longji's meaning, not even half of it.

That is, the threat is too small at the moment, otherwise I am afraid that I will be dead.

"I'm not sure, but I know that some people in the province occasionally bypass Colliers and perform to the saint alone." Yang Yuhuan said: "I write it to you." ”

She raised her hand, her fingers dipped water in the teacup on the desk, and wrote two names on the table.

Xue Bai stepped forward to read it and remembered it in his heart.

He felt that he had just made some mistakes to blame Yang Yuhuan, she had taken a big risk to come here, and if it was indeed a very important news for him, it could only be talked about in secret.

The handwriting on the table faded away.

Xue Bai raised his head and glanced at her again, this time very close.

"You're different from the man next to you." Observing Xue Bai's eyes, Yang Yuhuan suddenly said.

"Huh?"

"The man next to me looked at me with the word 'possession' written in his eyes, but you didn't."

"Where's General Gao?"

"He's not a man."

"Li Linfu and Yang Guozhong also have it in their eyes?"

"Yes, they want to possess but don't dare, they hide deeply, they are sneaky. You're different, and the way you look at me is...... Compassion? ”

After Yang Yuhuan spit out a word, he seemed unsure, but after thinking about it, he nodded to himself.

She knew very well that Li Heng's so-called life for her was nothing more than self-pity, and asked her to compensate him; Li Longji's so-called favor is nothing more than pretentiousness, and he wants her to be his embellishment, every time they pay, they need to be rewarded, and she needs to please them with her beauty and talent. To put it bluntly, they want them to be happy.

The difference between Xue Bai is that he seems to be clinging, trading, and exploiting, but he often makes her feel ...... He seemed to want her to be well.

This made Yang Yuhuan feel that he couldn't understand him.

"I wanted to ask you, do you think I'm pitiful?"

"A little."

Xue Bai leaned back a little, and his attitude towards her was often like this to keep his distance, unless necessary, he rarely leaned forward to oppress the other party.

"I'm a person who likes to take my destiny into my own hands."

"So you think I can't decide my fate?"

"Yes, but not all pitiful." Xue Bai said: "I just feel a little pity." ”

Yang Yuhuan felt that the word "pity" was indeed more appropriate, she could have lived a faster life, but unfortunately not.

"You are so young, and you still feel sorry for me? I think you're weird. ”

"It wouldn't be strange if Sister Ah looked at me as someone in her thirties, I was too old."

"Not only Lao Cheng, but you must have many secrets hidden in you."

Yang Yuhuan had a rare opportunity to be alone with Xue Bai, but he still had many questions to ask, about his background, his talent, and many of his strange ideas.

She was about to ask one by one, but Xue Bai asked, "I killed King Shou, do you blame me?" ”

"Not to blame." Yang Yuhuan shook his head without hesitation and said, "I have nothing to do with him for a long time, how can I blame my righteous brother because of an unrelated person." ”

At this point, she lowered her head and said again.

"But there is still sadness, a person I have known for a long time has died, and I know that he is not happy at all...... He lives a miserable life because of me, and when he dies, I have to pretend that I don't care about my future. ”

Xue Bai could understand this mood and said: "If Sister Yi wants to cry for him, she can cry here, and after crying, she won't show this emotion again." ”

"I can't cry." Yang Yuhuan smiled instead and said, "Who doesn't live a miserable life?" ”

Xue Bai couldn't tell whether her smile was poignant or sweet, and after a moment of daze, she said, "Then let's go, I have to send Sister back at night." ”

Yang Yuhuan didn't ask any of his questions, and he was stunned when he heard the words, and responded: "Let's go." ”

~~

The moonlight shines on Chang'an City.

Out of Fenghui Bank, I could faintly hear someone singing in the East Market.

"Sauvignon Blanc, in Chang'an."

"Luo Wei and autumn cry Jinjing, the slight frost is miserable and cold."

"The lonely lamp is overwhelmed, and he rolls up the curtains and sighs at the moon."

“……”

Yang Yuhuan was covered with a black bucket and walked behind Xue Bai, she was very interested in this singing, and turned back several times, but Xue Bai always walked forward with his head bored.

She had to keep up quickly.

It's like a runaway girl who hasn't had enough fun, so she was found by her family and brought back.

When passing through the doors of Dongshi and Xuanyangfang, Yang Yuhuan was still worried about whether there would be an accident.

But everything went well, Xue Bai took out the token given by Gao Lishi, and each time he hurriedly drank back from the Wuhou who came to inquire.

"The Ministry of Internal Affairs, get out of the way."

"Whoa."

Gradually, there was a lot of noise ahead, and it was people still looking for the concubine in the ruins after the fire.

Suddenly, a group of people came with torches.

Xue Bai and the others went over and said in a low voice: "It's better for you to wait a day or two to be found, there is a dry well in the southeast corner of Yaoniang's mansion, I'll take you there." ”

"Okay."

Yang Yuhuan was respected as a noble concubine, but at this time, he listened to Xue Bai's words very much, honestly covered his body, and quickly followed him.

The people around are either moving the fallen beams and pillars, or calling for the "noble concubine".

The real concubine hurried past them, groping her way through the ruins...... Finally fell to the ground.

"Hey."

A coquettish snort.

Xue Bai turned around and saw that someone on the other side of the ruins was alarmed, waving a torch.

"Is it a concubine?"

"No, I'm looking for the concubine with the palace people."

"Who are you?" There were still people walking over from the other side.

"Inner Servant Province, General Gao sent me."

"Listening to the voice, you don't look like you're from the Inner Chamberlain, don't you want to take credit for finding the concubine?"

"Don't be joking, let's find someone quickly."

Xue Bai responded calmly, and at the same time reached out to grab Yang Yuhuan, helped her up, and used his body to block the light of the closer and closer torches......

(End of chapter)