The news of Xiao Yuanying, the king of Teng, was not wrong at all, and Xiao Di, the owner of the Xiao Mansion, came to the Zhushe of the other courtyard that night, and told Long Shaoyang the news that the prince was the chief envoy and Long and An were the deputy envoys to escort the wedding team to Xiliang. Originally, Emperor Qi had agreed to the news that Xiliang proposed marriage, but Long Shaoyang had heard about it from Xiao Di a few days ago, and it was originally a sure thing, but His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was the envoy and personally escorted the wedding team, which was somewhat unexpected by many people.

Xiao Di, Long Shaoyang, and Cheng Bo discussed in the Zhu House, and they all felt that Emperor Qi attached so much importance to it this time, and it was related to the attack on the three envoys of Xiliang and the two of them, especially one of them was the prince of the Xiliang clan, and Emperor Qi didn't want to hurt the harmony between the two countries because of this, and wanted to come here His Royal Highness the Prince also had the meaning of apology. As for the selection of Long Shaoyang as the deputy envoy, it was naturally the intention of the prince, and the three of them naturally did not feel surprised. After discussing for a while, the three of them went to bed separately.

In July, the morning and evening are cool, and people who are busy with their livelihood take advantage of the morning to come out to do business, selling tofu brains, baking cakes, and frying fritters...... At a glance, the wide streets of Los Angeles are crowded with pedestrians. At this time, the corner door in the northwest corner of Xiaofu in Yanqing Fang squeaked, and the door panel opened, and two people, an old man and a young man, came out, the young one was long and jade, the sword eyebrows and starry eyes, the old one was tall and thin, but he was hunched over.

The two went out of the corner gate, went up the street, turned two neighborhoods, and came to an alley. Listening to the clatter of horses' hooves, a black carriage drove out of the alley, and the two of them did not ask questions, and opened the curtain one after another.

With a whip sound, the carriage slowly drove out, straight east, and went out of Los Angeles from Jingding Gate, and after a few miles, the carriage stopped. The curtain was lifted, and an old man came out of the car, and the driver handed the whip to the old man, but he jumped out of the car.

The old man took the whip, sat down in the driver's seat, raised it, and threw it with a crisp sound, and the horse neighed and the chariot went away.

The terrain outside Luocheng faces the mountains in the north and rises from the ground to form a natural barrier. The west and south sides are mainly flat and soothing, while the east of the city is hilly and mountainous. Out of the east gate Jingding Gate, out of more than ten miles, dozens of hills, different heights, undulating, like waves.

It was a summer day, the mountains were full of verdant grass and trees, and in this full of green, a black carriage got off the official road and walked slowly along the mountain path.

After a few moments, the carriage stopped in front of a wood. The old man who was driving the car jumped out of the car, tied the reins to the tree next to him, turned around and lifted the curtain of the car, and said, "Young Master, it's here!" A sound of promise came from inside, and when the curtain was lifted, a middle-aged man walked first, holding a cane, followed by a young man.

"Young Master, the mountain road is rugged, and the miasma in the forest is heavy, you must pay attention to your body. Shaoyang, you support the eldest young master. The old slave leads the way. As he spoke, the old man took out a bag from the car and carried it behind him, picked up a branch on the ground, patted the dead leaves and grass on the ground, and walked in front.

The middle-aged man smiled silently, his right hand on crutches, supported by the young man, and followed the old man, walking slowly. I saw that the forest was deep and leafy, the light and shadow were jumping, the wind was blowing the green leaves in the ears, and the insects were singing and the birds were crying, which made people feel a sense of tranquility.

These three people are none other than Long Shaoyang, Xiao Di, the master of Xiao Mansion, and Cheng Bo, the old servant of Xiao Mansion.

This Tuolong Mountain is an inconspicuous hill in the eastern suburbs of Los Angeles, to be precise, it is not a mountain, but several hills connected together, the ridge is like a dragon, winding and endless, hence the name. Even if it got a good name, the mountain was low and there was no good view, and the literati and writers were even more reluctant to set foot in it, and over time, Tuolong Mountain gradually became a place name, and no one could tell which mountain was Tuolong Mountain.

The three of them walked slowly up the forest path. said that it was a small road, but in fact, it was already overgrown with weeds and dead leaves, and the old servant Cheng Bo cleaned up his debut while walking, and it was obvious that no one had been here for a long time.

After walking for a while, Xiao Di gasped and said to himself: "The days go by so fast, and it's another year in the blink of an eye." Old, this leg and foot are not as good as a year. ”

The old servant Cheng Bo turned around and said with a smile: "The eldest young master is joking again, the old slaves are all in their armor, but they have never considered themselves old." You, in my eyes, are still the little ones who haven't grown up!"

Long Shaoyang said: "Uncle Cheng, according to your old meaning, in your eyes, am I not a little doll in swaddling clothes." ”

Xiao Di and Cheng Bo both laughed.

The three of them walked for about half an hour and came to a mountain pass. The surrounding high woods stand, but here is a flat land, the place is not big, there are pavilions on it, the stone pillars and thatched eaves are vines entwined, moss is attached, a sign of decay.

Xiao Di sighed and said, "Things change and stars change, the world is vicissitudes, things are like this, how can people be worthy?" ”

Long Shaoyang only felt that his heart was hot, and he nodded.

After crossing the pavilion and walking forward a few zhang, a low tomb was piled on the ground, which was no different from the tomb of ordinary people, only a white marble tombstone erected in front of it, as if telling the noble identity of the deceased before his death. The surrounding area is overgrown with weeds, dead branches and leaves scattered all over the place, but there are no weeds in this tomb, it is clean and neat, and it is obvious that someone comes to clean it from time to time.

"Princess, the old slave with the eldest young master, and ...... There's also a dragon boy who sees you're coming. The old servant Cheng Bo choked, put down the burden behind him, opened it and took out a few fresh fruits, placed them in front of the grave, lit three pillars of incense, and took out some paper money to burn them, and for a while fine smoke curled up.

Xiao Di stepped forward, knelt on the ground, bowed, and then stood up, but did not say a word.

Long Shaoyang raised his eyes and saw a column of black letters on the white tombstone: The Tomb of Princess Zhenyuan of Great Qi. For many years, the rain and wind blow, the sun and the freezing, the body of the monument appears smooth and flat, but the handwriting is still eye-catching. Long Shaoyang knew that this was the tomb of Xiao Di's biological mother, Princess Zhenyuan, if she said it seriously, she should be called the eldest princess, after all, Her Majesty Daqi is no longer her father, but her younger brother.

"Brother Xiao. Long Shaoyang took a step forward, with a little sadness in his solemn voice, "Shaoyang has heard of the name of the eldest princess since he was a child, cares about the people, and favors the world. Since I am here today, Shaoyang has a reluctant invitation, and I want to make a sacrifice in front of this tomb to show my admiration for my life?"

After speaking, he looked at Xiao Di, and saw that his face was very strange, his eyes were shining, as if he was sad, melancholy, and seemed to have a trace of excitement and perseverance. I saw him retreat to the side, let out a long sigh of relief, as if relieved, and said, "Shaoyang, please." ”

Long Shaoyang bowed lightly, walked slowly to the tomb, squatted down, took three sticks of incense from Cheng Bo's hand, bowed deeply three times, just plugged in the incense candle, and was about to get up, only to hear one person shout "Childe be careful", when he felt a force rushing towards him, his body was knocked to the side, and then he heard a cry of "ah".

Knocked to the side by this momentum, Long Shaoyang rolled on the spot, stood up, took out the jade flute in his waist, and waved it in his hand, only to hear a few crisp sounds of "pop", and the feather arrows that shot straight over him were shot down one by one.

When he raised his eyes, he saw Cheng Bo waving a dry tobacco stick and protecting him in front of Xiao Di, who raised his cane with his right hand, and both of them were waving left and right, slapping feather arrows to protect their bodies. It's just that a feather arrow on Cheng Bo's left shoulder swayed, obviously hitting an arrow - Long Shaoyang immediately understood that it was Cheng Bo who reminded him loudly, pushed himself away hard, and blocked this sudden arrow for himself.

Thinking of this, Long Shaoyang only felt that his blood and qi were surging, and suddenly the jade flute in his hand accelerated and waved, and when he saw the opportunity, he rolled continuously on the spot, stood up, and cooperated with Xiao and Cheng. Cheng Bo made a mistake with his body, and the three of them became corners.

Long Shaoyang hurriedly said: "Uncle Cheng, does it matter if your left shoulder hurts? It's all Shaoyang's fault! Brother Xiao, you're okay!"

Xiao Di said: "Shaoyang, don't worry, these thieves can't help the lame!"

Cheng Bo said: "Young Master Long, the old slave is not in the way, just a little skin injury!" There was a tremor in his voice.

Long Shaoyang said: "Brother Xiao, Uncle Cheng, let's retreat to the pavilion and hide!"

It was only at this point that the three of them could see clearly that the dark arrow was shot from several tall trees around it. The tomb is on a flat land in the mountains, rarely sheltered, but surrounded by large forests, condescending ambushes, it can be said to occupy the best geographical advantage.

For a while, the feather arrows flew, and the three of them shot down the feather arrows and retreated to the pavilion.

Although the stone pavilion has been dilapidated, the stone pillar is still intact, and the pavilion body is entwined with vines, which suddenly blocked a lot of feather arrows, and the arrows are not as rainy as outside the pavilion.

The three of them entered the pavilion and leaned behind the three stone pillars, Long Shaoyang looked at Cheng Bo, only to see that his forehead was covered with beads of sweat, his wheezing was heavy, and his face was pale, showing that he was reluctant to support.

He was shocked and said, "Brother Xiao, Uncle Cheng, you two will hide in the pavilion for a while, and Shaoyang will go out to meet this group of shrinking turtles for a while!" After speaking, without waiting for the two of them to reply, his body shook and he was out of the pavilion.

Long Shaoyang jumped a few times, dodging the feathered arrows that came one after another, and bowed under a big tree. He had seen it clearly, and he had already figured out which trees were hiding archers, and he was about to climb the trees, when he suddenly heard a few whistles in the distance, which were very rapid and sharp.

Long Shaoyang was stunned, looked up, and saw that the feather arrow was suddenly gone, followed by the branches of several big trees, and five or six black-clothed people floated down from the trees, and as soon as those black-clothed people landed, they rushed towards the forest.

Pulling out his feet to chase after him, he suddenly heard a person behind him: "Shaoyang, this arrow seems to be poisonous! Come and take a look at Uncle Cheng!" It was Xiao Di's voice.

Long Shaoyang was shocked, turned around and ran into the pavilion, only to see Cheng Bo leaning on the stone pillar, his face was sallow, panting, his shoulders were bare, and his clothes had already been soaked in blood, and he was wet. A feathered arrow was impartial, hitting the shoulder, the arrow was submerged in the flesh, the surrounding skin was slightly purple, and the wound was bleeding from itself.

Seeing Long Shaoyang coming in, Cheng Bo struggled and said, "Young Master Long, the old slave is not in the way, it's just a skin injury......

Thinking that since he entered Beijing, his diet and daily life have been handled by Uncle Cheng himself, Long Shaoyang couldn't help but feel hot in his heart, turned to Xiao Di, who was anxious next to him, and said hurriedly: "Brother Xiao, the poison of this arrow, I'm afraid it can't be delayed." ”

At the moment, without waiting for Xiao Di to answer, Long Shaoyang leaned down and said, "Uncle Cheng, you always grit your teeth and endure it", his right hand was full of strength, he held and pulled, pulled out the feather arrow, and then bowed his head and lay on Cheng Bo's shoulder...... I only heard Cheng Bo and Xiao Di shouting at the same time:

"Long Gongzi!", "Shaoyang!"—"I can't help it!"

Long Shaoyang lay on Cheng Bo's shoulder, sucked out the poisonous blood with his mouth, spit it aside, and repeated this three or four times before he stood up.

Cheng Bo raised his finger to the front, panting and said, "Young Master Long, take more than a hundred steps forward, there is a mountain stream in the forest." You can find it if you look for the sound of water, go rinse your mouth, it's too late, I'm afraid it's too late!"

Long Shaoyang agreed, turned around and ran towards the forest. Walking not far, I listened to the sound of the water, searched for the sound to find the mountain stream, scooped the water entrance, rinsed a few times, and then turned back. Seeing Xiao Di and Cheng Bo supporting each other, they walked out of the pavilion, hurriedly stepped forward, and couldn't help but say that they picked up Cheng Bo. Cheng Bo wants to resign, but how can he resign?

Xiao Di limped, followed behind Long Shaoyang, and suddenly muttered: "It's just that everything is in danger, but today's worship is a custom, and our itinerary is tightly arranged, why was it suddenly ambushed this time?" They seem to have come prepared. ”

Long Shaoyang only felt a shock in his heart, and suddenly remembered the conversation he had with Zhu Xibing in the Cloud Stopping Pavilion yesterday, it was summer time, and a layer of cold sweat was already pouring out of his palms.