Three years ago.

Lugu Mountain on the outskirts of Beijing is dyed with layers of forests, and the frost leaves are red and bright. Wei Shuyao wanted to go hunting, but she was afraid of being scolded by her father, so she sneaked to the station at the bottom of the mountain to find her brother.

Carrying a quiver and a bow and arrows, she whispered into the camp.

The warm wind blew, and she saw a thin shadow standing in the school yard, practicing swords.

The sunset glow sprinkled down, and the cold light of the sword blade blended into him, making the sharp move a little softer.

Wei Shuyao wanted to tease him, so she pulled out the feather arrow from the quiver and put on the bowstring like a mischief.

The girl was dressed in bright clothes, like a crimson sunset falling in the sky, and the arrows in her hands fell like meteors.

Xie Mingyi's movements in his hands did not pause for half a minute, and he gently swung his sword and cut off the feather arrow.

Wei Shuyao was surprised by his swordsmanship, and was even more annoyed that he had not succeeded, so angry that he shot more than a dozen arrows in a row, and shot the quiver empty.

She looked at the broken arrows on the ground, annoyed, and forced him to pay for his arrows. saw Xie Mingyi retreating slowly, lowering his eyes, and opening his mouth without hurry.

"Miss Wei Qi has such a good archery technique, it should be aimed at the Beidi army, not below."

After speaking, the long sword was put into the sheath, and he turned a deaf ear to the coquettish drink behind him, and actually left like this.

……

Time is blown away by the cold wind like snow, and the past is more and more clearly revealed.

Wei Shuyao came back to her senses numbly from a burst of pain. She tried to escape, but her legs were so filled with lead that she couldn't move.

The wound on her forehead cracked open again, and the pain made it difficult for her to breathe.

There was silence, so quiet that only the sound of her heaving breathing could be heard.

Wei Shuyao bit her lip and tried to make herself look calm, but her body couldn't help but retreat, retreat, retreat.

Until her back hit the stone wall, a chill came from the hard stone, which made her tremble again.

"Bang".

The hairpin in the sleeve smashed to the ground, and the pearl tassel spread out and jumped out, rolling to the wall.

Xie Mingyi's cold eyes swept over the golden hairpin, and then slowly moved to her.

Wei Shuyao was overwhelmed by the cold gaze.

She thought that she should be the last person Xie Mingyi wanted to mention.

She deliberately teased him, laughed at him for being a little mute, and even cheated on him......

And now, the mute boy who had been bullied by her and the unfamiliar figure in front of her slowly overlapped, and was holding her life and death.

Instinctively, she lifted her foot and wanted to turn around immediately.

She had just taken half a step when a long arrow "swished" at her, narrowly grazing the side of her ear.

Before she could react, she heard two sharp arrows breaking through the wind. The arrow slammed into the stone wall, and the tail feathers trembled.

As if to warn her not to act rashly.

Wei Shuyao's brain went blank, and shivering spread from the cracks in her bones, stabbing her heart and lungs like pins and needles.

Xu was sluggish, Xu was frozen, Wei Shuyao's body shook, and she fell straight to the ground. She struggled twice, but before she could retreat, she saw the tall figure raise his steps and walk straight towards her.

The man walked with his backlight, and his facial features gradually became clear.

The cold face in that memory grew and faded away from the youthfulness of the youth. The only thing that remains unchanged is the black mole at the end of the eye, like a slight blemish on the white jade.

Wei Shuyao bit her lip and couldn't move for a while, and the pain of the wound made her temples jump suddenly.

Until half a year ago, she was still the most beautiful lady of the family in the capital.

Although she has been lost since she was a child, she is quite loved by her father and brother, and she is supported by the queen's aunt, and she has never paid attention to those nobles.

Therefore, even if she is occasionally arrogant, the sons of the family also praise her like a bright moon.

Later, my brother died in battle, my father was imprisoned, and the Guogong Mansion became a collapsed moss pile.

Wei Shuyao actually didn't care about those gossip. The world is hot and cold, and her heart is like a clear mirror.

What's more, no matter how ugly the words are, I get tired of hearing them for three months.

But now...... She inexplicably felt that her nose was sour, and she suddenly felt unprecedented embarrassment and grievance.

"Miss Wei Qi."

In the next moment, she suddenly heard Xie Mingyi speak, and her voice was indifferent.

"This is a good bow and arrow."

He half-rolled his eyelids and rolled his eyes, his tone in a nonchalant tone.

Wei Shuyao's fingertips trembled, and her brain was blank. She wanted to say something, but in the end she only opened her lips slightly, "Shen Yi ......"

The voice was so soft that only he could hear it.

Since he left Beijing three years ago, he has become the last person she wants to see.

But now that she heard him speak, the extremely unfamiliar tone seemed to be a sharp knife out of the sheath, which pierced her heart.

Xie Mingyi's eyes were slightly raised, and the corners of his lips hooked up a casual smile, "Tsk, want to go to Lord Lu?" ”

This secret passage goes out, and it leads to Haiyan Street, where the Lu Mansion is located, how would he know?

"No......" Wei Shuyao's heart was flustered, her eyes were lowered, and her voice was as thin as a mosquito, "No." ”

She can't implicate anyone else.

"Oh?" Xie Mingyi withdrew his smile, lowered his back slightly, and looked down at her.

He stood so close, a few steps away from her. You can smell the cedar aroma on his body, and the wine is as clear as it is aged.

His eyes were lowered and condescending, as if he chuckled, "That's it, Lone doesn't care about this." ”

Probably because he felt disgusted to talk to her for more than half a word, Xie Mingyi's face was slightly gloomy, he raised his chin, and asked directly: "Where did the British Duke put the Kanyu map of the three northern states?" ”

His voice was as cold as ice, not an inquiry, but an order.

Wei Shuyao's body stiffened, and she suddenly came to her senses.

It turned out that the prince of the East Palace came here today specifically for this thing.

The three places of Hezhou, Yongzhou and Suzhou, which border the Great Wei and Beidi, have complex terrain and are easy to defend and difficult to attack. Beidi is eyeing all year round, and the map of Sanzhou has always been a sharp weapon for arranging troops.

The first emperor had not established a prince for a long time, and he was quite fond of the eldest princess, so this picture was handed over to the eldest princess for safekeeping. Clinker, more than ten years ago, the eldest princess accidentally lost this picture.

It was rumored in the palace that the eldest princess was so remorseful that she was depressed, and she died suddenly before she could stand......

Because of the involvement in the death of the eldest princess, the current saint decreed that it was strictly forbidden to talk about this matter after he ascended the throne. In recent years, the wolf smoke in the north has continued, and the Beidi people have become more and more inch-inch, but no one dares to mention the search for maps again.

A few years ago, the British Duke accidentally obtained a copy of the map of the three states, which was presented to the Son of Heaven, but the ministers said that it was fake after careful identification.

Father and brother are both in the army, and Wei Shuyao also knows something about this secret. She understood what Sanzhou Yutu meant to Da Wei.

Now that Hezhou has fallen, the border line is precarious, if there is a map, it will be able to hit Beidi and recover Hezhou.

As the crown prince and concerned about the border war, it is understandable that Xie Mingyi came to search for such important things.

But what did he want a fake picture? Could it be that the picture is real?

Wei Shuyao's thoughts flew, and out of the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of the blood-stained hairpin, and she was stunned again. The tragic scene of Jin Yiwei's slaughter of the mansion last night is vivid, and she must not fall into the hands of Dong Xing.

She needed a new straw.

Even this straw is another beast with hidden fangs.

In a desperate situation, Wei Shuyao suddenly had a bold idea.

She bit her lower lip hard, and deep tooth marks immediately appeared on her lip flap, "That copy was indeed placed in the Gongfu Mansion, but my brother took it with him when he went on the expedition......"

The girl's slender figure lay on the ground, her long eyelashes fluttering, stained with cold, like a fragile and crystalline ice flower in the snow wind.

"My brother fell on the battlefield, and that thing disappeared with it."

A drop of blood slowly slid down her cheek on her forehead, and her thick nasal voice was a little hoarse, "The Mansion is no longer what His Highness is looking for." ”

Without waiting for Xie Mingyi to frown, Wei Shuyao took a deep breath and immediately continued: "But I have seen that map, and I know it by heart, I can draw a map of the three states in the north for His Highness." ”

She suppressed her emotions and tried her best to make the tone sound calm.

"But...... I have something I would like to plead with Your Highness. ”

"Dong Xing wants my life...... Please Your Royal Highness the Crown Prince, protect me for a while. She blinked softly, her thick eyelashes casting shadows on her lower eyelids, "...... You hold my father's life in your hands, and the heads of the people in the palace are only a matter of your words, and I am not qualified to ask you. ”

Wei Shuyao bit the tip of her tongue, her voice was harsh, and she said softly: "In the past, Shuyao was young and ignorant, and she offended His Highness a lot, I dare not ask for your forgiveness...... When I'm done drawing, I'll leave it at your Highness's disposal, but—"

Her voice trembled even more, her voice became lower and lower, and she choked up, "Remembering the Wei family's life-saving grace to you in the past, and remembering that Shu Yao will make meritorious contributions to protect the safety of the people in the north, Your Highness Wanwang, don't hand me over to Dong Xing." ”

Wei Shuyao knew that this was a desperate move.

But she had to bet.

Thin sweat oozed from her sideburns, waiting with bated breath for Xie Mingyi's reply.

And yet—

The man in front of him stood still for a long time, and did not say a word.

Wei Shuyao had never felt that it was so long and difficult.

The pain on her forehead became more and more frequent, and a few strands of green silk loosened out, cutting her vision into pieces, Wei Shuyao couldn't help but raise her eyes and quietly looked at the man who was standing.

The man's thin lips pursed slightly, and there was always a hint of a vague smile in his eyes, but when she carefully distinguished, the little wave dissipated.

After a while, I saw Xie Mingyi smile suddenly, "I remember that it was your brother's carelessness that caused Hezhou to fall." ”

He slowly gathered his head, "Now, you are holding the Sanzhou map as a hostage, so shameless?" ”

Wei Shuyao's expression changed slightly, trying to explain something, but it was in vain.

She was at a loss, lowered her eyes, and hid her surging grievances.

She really wanted to take back Fang Cai's plea, so she was simply sent directly to Jinyiwei by him to fight for that little chance of life, which was better than this kind of torment.

Since the overturning of the mansion, Wei Shuyao has fallen from the clouds in the sky to the mud, and has experienced a lot, and she feels that she is as safe as a rock.

But at the moment, the tears in his eyes couldn't help but roll down, blurring his vision.

The winter day was bright, and the light fell through the gap outside the corridor, illuminating her slender and white neck like warm white jade. Drops of blood slipped from the end of her brow, down her pale face and down with tears, and into her collar.

In a few moments, a shadow obscured all her vision.

The slender and well-proportioned fingers suddenly poked over and lifted her chin slightly.

"What's more, the chips given by Miss Wei Qi are too few."

The rough fingertips rubbed against the snowy skin, and the heat of his fingertips burned her heartbeat a few beats.

Wei Shuyao's mind gradually dissipated, and the pain wrapped in the cold air burrowed into the cracked wound. Before she could answer, she suddenly gasped for breath and coughed uncontrollably.

Coughing up blood and the blood spilling from the wound merge and fall from the corner of the lip. The already haggard face lost the slightest bit of glamour of the former glamorous Jinghua, and only the terrifying paleness remained.

Xie Mingyi's eyes moved downward, falling on the sticky blush on his fingertips.

The hand that clasped the smooth chin loosened the restraints, and he twisted the bloody color with his fingertips, and looked sideways slightly. The little eunuch who had been guarding behind him stepped forward and handed over a handkerchief.

Xie Mingyi casually wiped his fingertips, and suddenly chuckled.

"Want to be alone to protect you? It depends...... What else are you willing to pay. ”