The capital is very large, the eight major urban areas of the east, west, north and south arch guard the imperial city Forbidden City, overlooking from the air like a huge nine-square grid, a radius of 100 miles, the population of nearly one million.

The capital is very small, which house has a wind and grass, chickens and dogs jumping, and it will not take half a day to become the talk of large and small restaurants and teahouses, the jokes in the streets and alleys, and the gossip of the deep boudoir in the courtyard.

The people of the capital are very stubborn, maybe a little thing can make people indignant, and the hot-tempered ones directly straightened their heads and fists and feet, and the gentle Sven people also had to stand in place and theorize for a long time.

But the people of the capital are forgetful, but it has only been more than ten years, and the general's mansion in the south and the pair of generals and couples who "know the country and recite it in the world" have been forgotten by the entire capital. Even though the abandoned mansion reminds passers-by of its existence and former glory every day, people still dare not remember that past.

In the mansion of Zhao Changfeng, the secretary of the ministry, the Lord Shangshu, who was sitting behind the bookcase, frowned.

A cold wind of early spring blew the candles on the table flickering, and the flickering light and shadow reflected his iron-blue face. On the desk are a letter from his hometown just sent by his son Zhao Muzhi and an official document sent by the Day Punishment Department. The contents of the two letters are both about the murder of Zhu Laocai, Zhao Changfeng's father-in-law, Laixi City, a few days ago, but the case history written in the official document of the Criminal Department is completely different from the secret letter from his hometown. According to the official document of the Criminal Department, Zhu Laocai's virtue was lost, and he was punished by God from heaven and died violently on the night of the Lantern Festival, and the secret letter recorded in detail the causes and consequences of the theft of Zhu's mansion, the rebellion of the fox immortals, the Taoist priest's hunting of demons, and the assassination of Zhu Laocai by Yunfei Han Fengge, a disciple of Kunyu Mountain. Both letters were written by his protégé, who was now serving as a county magistrate in Lacey City.

Just when Zhao Changfeng was worried, there was a commotion outside the study, and when he looked up, the door of the study had been pushed open by his tearful and angry wife. Zhao Changfeng's wife, Zhu, stared angrily at her husband in front of her at this time, and the two little maids who blocked the way were so frightened that they stood outside the door with their heads bowed and trembling.

Zhao Changfeng waved his hand and said to the little maid who was already frightened: "Regardless of your business, retreat, remember that today's events must not be passed on." ”

After the two maids left, Zhu stared at Zhao Changfeng, who had an ugly face, and asked, "My father was killed, do you know?"

Zhao Changfeng nodded and said with relief: "The day criminal department has sent someone to deliver a letter, my father-in-law died unexpectedly, Mrs. must not be too sad, tomorrow our family will get up and go back to Laixi to mourn." ”

Zhu heard her husband prevaricate like this, and finally couldn't help but angrily pointed at Zhao Changfeng and scolded: "The surname is Zhao, my father's death is that my uninformed lady also knows that he was killed by someone, you open your eyes and say nonsense to pretend to be confused for me? Do you still have a conscience?"

Zhao Changfeng listened to her scolding and was originally suppressed, and the anger that he had suppressed also surged into his heart: "What are you yelling at? Do you think this matter is not shameful enough? Don't you know what your father does on weekdays, this time he has been punished for killing domestic servants indiscriminately, what do you want me to do?"

Zhu cried and shouted: "Back then, you were still a poor scholar, I didn't think you were poor, and I was dedicated to you, even if my father couldn't stop me from marrying you, I didn't expect to promise a white-eyed wolf." What's wrong with my dad being unreasonable? What's wrong with killing a few maids? Even if he does something wrong, but you are killed by someone who has nothing to do with it, you shouldn't avenge him? Don't forget that he is my father and your father-in-law!"

Zhao Changfeng said angrily: "What do you want me to do? Forcing the Criminal Department to send a sea arrest document to arrest those two murderers? Please order the Ministry of War to send troops to besiege the behemoth Kunyu Mountain on the coast of the East China Sea? Am I crazy or is His Majesty the Emperor crazy? I'm afraid that the emperor will be the first to cut off my head to show favor to others!"

Zhu Shi calmed down at this time and sneered: "Zhao Changfeng, don't think I'm a woman, people don't know. Why didn't you care about what my father usually did? Now you are here to tell me these great truths, and you are a hypocrite! On weekdays, you don't ask or dissuade what your father does, and it is not just some self-defiling means to give people a handle, but in the end it is just to protect your official position as a scholar so that you can do your self-righteous great things for the country and the people? Phew! The people of the world are blind, and you are just a villain who sells his reputation and reputation!"

Before Zhu finished speaking, Zhao Changfeng slapped her in the face with a wave of his hand, and knocked her to the ground. After the fight, Zhao Changfeng calmed down in his heart, and looked at his wife who fell to the ground crying, and felt a little unbearable, after all, how did a woman know her ambitions in her heart?

Zhu Shi lay on the ground and covered his face, the corners of his mouth oozed blood and mixed with tears, and he was unconsciously stunned: "It's my fault, it's my willfulness to follow a white-eyed wolf like you, so I hurt my father, it's all my fault." ”

Zhao Changfeng saw her talking nonsense, and said to his son who was guarding the door very sadly: "Muzhi, send your mother back to visit and rest, tell the housekeeper to pack up, and we will leave for Laixi City early tomorrow morning." ”

Zhao Muzhi picked up his mother and sent her back, and then returned to the study again.

Zhao Changfeng saw his son, who had given high hopes, standing beside him and wanted to speak, and sighed and asked, "Muzhi, do you think that being a father is too ruthless?"

Zhao Muzhi has just turned eighteen years old, reads poetry and books on weekdays, has quick thinking, has always had great ambitions, and has always been given high hopes by his father Zhao Changfeng. At this time, he asked his father, "The child has heard about his grandfather, but since his father does not approve of what he has done, why didn't he stop it as soon as possible?" Is it really as his mother said?"

Zhao Changfeng sighed: "Regarding your grandfather's affairs, I did have selfish intentions at the earliest, and your mother didn't say anything wrong. ”

Zhao Muzhi has always believed that everything his father did was for a reason, but he was still puzzled: "Could it be that what your mother said about your grandfather's connivance was based on giving people authority?

Zhao Changfeng looked at his son lovingly and said: "You are still young, and there is naturally nothing wrong with the sage teachings in those books, but the world is impermanent, and people's hearts are sinister, how can all those sage teachings be explained." Even your mother can see your mother's clumsy self-defilement, and His Majesty the Emperor can't see it? It's just a tacit understanding, I give Your Majesty a reason to dismiss me at any time, and Your Majesty gives me temporary trust, you see how fair this deal is. In this way, it will not be useless to be a father, His Majesty the Emperor will take the trouble to think of some charges against me, just like the general's mansion in the southern city. It's a pity that a heroic figure like General Han wouldn't think about it, when he went all the way north and drove the Northern Barbarians back to Helan Mountain, how could His Majesty the First Emperor not think nonsense? After all, Emperor Taizu of the Great Zhou Dynasty supported his troops and stood on his own feet, so that he had the Zhao family. ”

Zhao Muzhi was shocked: "Could it be that General Han's murder really has something to do with His Majesty the First Emperor?"

Zhao Changfeng smiled sadly: "Of course, His Majesty doesn't have to do it himself, or even move his mouth, but won't the people around him worry about his master?"

After a pause, Zhao Changfeng avoided the question that everyone in the capital did not want to mention and did not dare to delve into, and said: "Muzhi, no matter what the means of being a father are, but you remember that being a father has never been ashamed of the world, if you are ashamed of anyone, the only one who can't stand it is your mother." Alas, the matter may have now been placed on the bookcase of the fellow in the Privy Council, who had been hiding in the little dark room all day, and the devil knows what he would do with it. ”

Zhao Muzhi heard his father mention the young adult he respected, and said bluntly: "Father, maybe that adult is not as fond of shaking his lips and tongue as you said, and that mysterious courtyard is not as dark as my father thought. ”

Zhao Changfeng listened to his son talk like this, of course he knew that he had heard a lot of market legends about that kid on weekdays, and said unhappily: "Where will that little cub be kind, in short, you will stay away from that yard and that little beast in the future." ”

Although Zhao Muzhi was quite reluctant about what his father said, he still nodded and said, "Yes, the child remembers." ”

Zhao Changfeng looked at the back of his son's departure, and thought of the young man who was full of evil in his bones although he had been an official in the same dynasty for many years, he had only seen a few faces, and his eyes narrowed and he said fiercely: "The surname Ji, if you really dare to put your hand on my son, don't blame me for being ruthless, others are afraid of you, but Zhao is not afraid of you hairy boy!"

It is also in the capital, but unlike the bright and spacious Shangshu Mansion, this is just a dark room of a small house, and there are also two letters on the bookcase in front of the young man who has been forgotten by Lord Shangshu every year.

The young man surnamed Ji was smiling, but the smile fell in the eyes of those dignitaries in the capital, but it made people feel faintly uneasy.

On the desk, two envelopes were spread out side by side and sent to him through the top-secret passage, one was the detailed account of what had happened in Laixi City a few days ago from the secret agent who only one of him knew about, and the speech of a local scholar from a poor family that night, down to the pause in tone and the change in expression. Another letter that made him smile was from the hand of the young man, and the letter was just written about some trivial things in life, as well as the people, things, and anecdotes on the mountain, as well as the boy's faint admiration for a young girl in his heart, and the words revealed the young man's thoughts and dependence on him.

The young man surnamed Ji carefully put away the letter from the young man who was raised by himself from the pile of dead people and always liked to follow his buttocks, stuffed it into his sleeve and said to himself with a smile: "This little thing still has a little conscience and knows how to send a letter back." Then he glanced at the direction of Shangshu Mansion and said disdainfully: "This Zhao Changfeng is too petty, I don't bother to take care of your family's bad things." ”

At present, the matter of Laixi City has been decided, and the general cause and effect have been settled, and the fox fairy Bai Liniang, Zhao Shangshu, the official of the capital, and Yunfei who traveled down the mountain from Kunyu Mountain have all chosen to acquiesce in this ending. Of course, if Zhao Changfeng is angry, it is also human nature, if he has the courage to go to Kunyu Mountain to take revenge and kill himself, then no one will stop him.

The young man surnamed Ji stood in front of the window, but he was unmoved by the cold night breeze and thin clothes. That little thing can already go down the mountain, and he has been fully prepared in the capital over the years, both openly and secretly, since everything is ready, then the murderers behind the scenes who participated in the public case, are you ready for your neck?

He stood by the window, looking south. Over the years, I often recall my teenage days when I couldn't be called a teenager. The busyness of the adults in the house, the ardent expectations of the father, and the approving gaze of the fairy-like couple. The kind smile of the old lady who sits in front of the hall all day long and basks in the sun with inconvenient legs and feet, and the admiration of outsiders for this general's mansion when she occasionally goes out of the mansion, I always remember it vividly. But all this beauty disappeared in the sudden killing and fire, leaving only the "alien" that the murderer couldn't calculate and the child who was secretly rescued by himself. Although he has always regarded himself as a passer-by in the long river of history that he is not familiar with, there are always people who have to report the hatred of those who have lived with him for more than ten years, many people don't dare, many people can't, and the most qualified person is now just a teenager and needs his own help. Alas, what a worrying fate!

Finally, he picked up his pen and wrote a few twisted words on the paper: "Zhao Changfeng, the secretary of the ministry, and Yu Shenxing, a student of the Hanmen of Laixi City, can be the ministers of the auxiliary country." After writing, I looked at it carefully and was quite satisfied with my writing level, and threw the pen into the sea of pens at will. The young man who sighed softly clapped his hands, and a ghostly figure appeared in the room and stood with his hands down. The young man folded the paper on which he had written and handed it to the figure and said, "Send it to the imperial study tomorrow morning." The figure took the note and cautiously exited the room.

The young man who was left alone in the dark room suddenly jumped back and forth in the room like a child, singing a childhood nursery rhyme that no one in this world had ever heard: "The little boy sits on the door, the little boy sits on the door, crying and shouting for a daughter-in-law, what do you want a daughter-in-law? Light the lamp and talk, blow the lamp as a companion。。。。。。 ”