Autumn night, no moon, no stars. Murder Night!

Wolong Inn.

One of the post stations on the trade route between the Qing Empire and Persia. The northwest desert of the Xuanhuang Continent is the only one within a radius of 100 miles, and it is opened by an official family, and official documents are required to move in the past. No worries, safe and reliable. There was an endless stream of merchants in the past.

Tonight is an exception. Merchants who were going to settle down here had to buy torches in the shop and rush to the next post station at night.

The inn is not luxurious, but it is extremely spacious, and the houses and courtyards are also clean and tidy.

At this moment, the courtyard of the inn is heavily guarded everywhere. Inside the house, there is a post of ten steps, a post of five steps, and a sentry. All this because there is an important person in it tonight.

The only son of the emperor of the Qing Empire, the crown prince of the dynasty: Song Cheng.

In order to protect the prince's safety, the inn has long been cleared inside and outside, leaving only the prince's guard brigade and post station management.

A well-dressed young man with clear eyebrows sat at the only wooden table on the second floor. Drink the turbid wine slowly and thoughtfully. He is Song Cheng, the crown prince of the dynasty and the only heir of the Qing Empire.

Opposite Song Cheng was a young man: he looked upright and resolute, dressed well, and his identity was extraordinary to be able to drink at the same table with His Royal Highness the Crown Prince of the Dynasty. It's just that his eating appearance is indecent, and the dishes that sweep the table like the reincarnation of a hungry ghost, the rice bowl in his hand is also a large rice bowl, and praise for the food comes out of his mouth from time to time. Incredibly, he chewed unusually carefully, and his cheeks opened and closed at high speed seemed to exceed the normal limits of human beings.

Two guards stood respectfully with their swords in their hands, staring ahead to warn their surroundings. But from time to time, he swallowed the saliva seduced by the chewing sound, and secretly said in his heart: No wonder people are princes!

Long......

Song Cheng's expressionless face showed a faint flush, and he was rarely drunk. He looked at the "foodie" in front of him, there was a trace of helplessness in his eyes, and said softly: "Uncle Fourteen?"

The man who was fighting hard at the dinner on the opposite side licked the last grain of rice in the rice bowl and looked at Song Cheng with a smile. Put down what you are doing, stand up, step aside, and bow down. Said: "His Royal Highness the Prince, the ministers have dinner." ”

There was a smile in Song Cheng's eyes, and he said, "Uncle Fourteen and I have never had a mustard. I asked you not to be formal, but you are still like this. I'm going to torment my nephew!"

"Although the prince is a junior, he is even more courteous to Weichen. But the dignity of the dragon throne, the power of the Son of Heaven. Wechen must not forget to be measured. ”

When Song Cheng heard this, he lost interest in talking. said: "Please leave the emperor for a while, my nephew has something to deal with." ”

Wait for people to retreat. Song Cheng said to the guards: "Messenger!"

One of the guards took the order.

Zhuo Yu, a post officer, served in the army at the border in his early years. Xiao Li's military exploits were awarded a nine-grade official position, because he acted rigorously and rarely made mistakes. When he grew older, he was sent to guard the inn.

At this moment, he was standing by the cash drawer, taking care of the accounts, but he was thinking about his office. In the darkroom there, his worries are hidden......

Zhuo Yu's heart trembled, looked at the mighty and cold guard, and glanced at the official office. Bow your head and follow the guard.

After the visit, the prince leaned back in his chair. looked at Zhuo Yu who was kneeling coldly. Said: "Zhuo Yu, fifty-six years old." He joined the army at the age of eighteen and made a lot of achievements. But he didn't know how to be an official, and was suppressed by his boss several times. In his twenty-three years of military career, he only got a nine-rank lieutenant. After guarding the Wolong Inn, he repelled the horse bandits several times, and in order to save the merchants, the good wife died at the hands of the horse bandits. All the credits, none of them. ”

The prince leaned forward and frowned slightly: "It can be seen that you are an unintentional high-ranking official, and you are willing to stay here for a long time." ”

After hearing this, Zhuo Yu hurriedly kowtowed and said, "These are all things within the responsibility of the ministers, and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince can know." Wechen has been grateful. ”

Song Cheng ignored Zhuo Yu, but continued his words: "Looking at your appearance, you look a little old. It can be seen that on weekdays, it is not surrounded by brocade clothes, and jade food is eaten. So, you don't have much money. The post chief is not fat, and it is common for merchants and guests to exchange gifts in the past. It can be seen that you should confiscate the bribe-received ......"

"His Royal Highness the Crown Prince will see you!"

Song Cheng stood up suddenly, his expression was slightly angry, and his voice became harsh: "You don't love power, nor do you love money. You don't have any tricks, so why are you weak-minded? Could it be that your copywriting room is hiding a traitorous affair and collaborating with the enemy?

With this question, Zhuo Yu was so frightened that he broke into a cold sweat. kowtowed like garlic, and said in a panic: "Weichen is wronged!"

Song Cheng suddenly smiled, continued to sit down, and said, "I heard that you and your deceased wife left a son of the same age as me. You just had a son at the age of forty, so naturally you cherish your son. Every day your son will be with you, and today I will come, and all will see me. Only this child is missing. It must have been late at night, and you didn't worry about him going home alone and hiding him. Just now, Commander Zhao and the corridor glimpse your eyes in the copywriting room. You must have hidden him there!"

Zhuo Yu breathed a long sigh of relief, and bowed again: "Your Highness has seen it clearly! Since the deceased wife left, in order to prevent the dog from suffering another accident." Weichen built a secret room with the post official at home and entrusted him to hide. Please forgive your sins!"

Song Cheng was suddenly angry, his sleeves swept away, and a table of wine and food fell to the ground. The two guards beside him jumped in front of Zhuo Yu and drew their swords against Zhuo Yu's neck. Hold down Zhuo Yu, who was not ready to get up.

"Okay, you Zhuoyu, you don't repay your merits, you have no court, you can be described as disloyal! Huaicai is hidden in the world, you have no heart for the people, you can be described as unkind! The tragic death of your wife, if you don't get a reputation for her death, you are ruthless! Hidden son secret room, the first is to violate the military order, the latter is to deceive the king! Several crimes are punished together, I want to see how many heads you have?!"

Zhuo Yu panicked again: "Wechen knows his mistakes, Wechen knows his guilt, and Weichen deserves death!"

"Hmph! It's easy to say, ten thousand deaths! How many lives do you have, and how many times can you die!" Song Cheng said angrily. It seems that the next moment will be an order to kill Zhuo Yu.

It's just that at this time, he waved his hand to let the two guards let go of Zhuo Yu, and his voice changed sharply, "But I can give you a good chance to atone for your sins!"

The two guards who protected the prince all the way were also slightly stunned, and humanity was: Accompanying the king is like accompanying the tiger, and the will of heaven is unpredictable. And so it was......

"Prince Xie's grace not to kill! Weichen is willing to smear his liver and brain, bow and die with all his might. ”

Song Chengdao: "Don't need your life or death! ”

"Prince Xie. Zhuo Yu got up and asked, "Dare to ask, what is the opportunity for the prince?"

"Your son is with me on my mission to the northwestern kingdom of Persia. ”

Zhuo Yu said in fear: "Prince Qiyu, the dog has lived in a wilderness town since he was a child, he has no talent in his chest, he has no power to tie the chicken, and he does not know the etiquette of service. I'm afraid it's hard to take on this big task!"

Song Cheng said angrily: "Pretending to be deaf and dumb! If you were stupid, you would have died long ago! Do you have to say something unpleasant?"

As Song Cheng said, Zhuo Yu is indeed pretending to be crazy and stupid. When Song Cheng said that he would let his son go to Persia with him, he knew that the prince was asking his son to be a stand-in for the prince and accompany him to Persia.

At the same time, he also thought: when looking for a stand-in, it is when danger arises. And the assassin who was sent to assassinate the future emperor of an empire was by no means an idle person, which means that if his son went with the crown prince, he would be more than lucky!

Song Cheng said impatiently: "Quickly go and bring your son to the king." ”

When Song Cheng first saw Zhuo Li, he didn't like this young man who was his age, especially his eyes, which were dull and ethereal: blind.

The stand-in for His Royal Highness the Prince, who has a perfectionist fetish, is a blind man. But under that layer of no dizziness, Song Cheng felt contempt and ruffianism. It seems that he, the crown prince of the dynasty, has no status in the eyes of the blind......

This made Song Cheng angry, if it weren't for the fact that the guards had noticed signs of an assassin, he would have urgently needed a stand-in for his own age and stature. Even if Zhuo Li is blind, he will definitely gouge out the blind boy's eyes first, and then beat a hundred boards, and then ...... Song Cheng couldn't imagine that it would come later, looking at the pair of "dead fish eyes" that were not dizzy, so he couldn't continue his thoughts.

Like the prince, Zhuo Li, who was fortunate enough to be the prince's stand-in, was very unhappy. At the moment when he heard that he was going to become Song Cheng's "queen stand-in", a sentence appeared out of thin air in Zhuo Li's mind:

Fate is in his own hands, who is involved, take a brick and shoot him......

Zhuo Li has a headache for this, and since she starts to remember, some inexplicable words and fragmented images often pop up in her mind due to time and place.

Fragments of memory form a subconscious meaning in Zhuo Li's mind, invisibly influencing Zhuo Li's thoughts and behaviors.

They tell Zhuoli the form of all things in the world. So, unlike all people who are born blind, Zhuo Li's mental world is colorful.

At the same time, they will also merge together and become a terrifying nightmare that haunts Zhuo Li.

At this moment, it was the fragments in his mind that made Zhuo Li almost violent in his desire to resist Song Cheng, and at the same time suppressed Zhuo Li's urge to shoot Song Cheng with a brick.

In the face of Song Cheng, Zhuo Li showed what he thought was the best humility and respectful action......

But this guy doesn't seem to appreciate it very much. I didn't even say anything to myself, just looked at the comparison of the figures, and confirmed that they were almost similar. directly asked the guards to change Zhuo Li's clothes......

The guards took Zhuo Li and stepped back and changed into a set of guard clothes that did not match the proportions of his figure.

The prince's plan is easy to understand: Zhuo Li pretends to be a prince disguised as a guard, accompanying the brigade. Let the Assassins think that the prince in the carriage is a fake prince, and he is confused in order to protect himself.

was first inexplicably made a substitute for death who was greedy for life and afraid of death, and then forcibly changed his clothes by a group of strong men.

Zhuo Li's heart naturally didn't have any good thoughts: "You don't want to leave the brocade clothes and jade clothes and the fragrant car soft couch even if you die." Sooner or later, you'll die on this!"

Seeing Zhuo Li retreat, Song Chengcai felt a little relieved, and in his heart he didn't want to stay with Zhuo Li for a moment. It seems that the closer the two of them are, the less longevity they will have.

Song Cheng felt a little relieved in his heart, and looked at the guard commander who came back to wait for the order: "What is our country Xiangrui doing?"

"The auspiciousness of the country?!" The name of the guard commander is Lu Yi, one of the eight commanders of the Imperial Forest Army who guards the imperial city. Since his enlistment, he has been in the Imperial Guards for more than 40 years. knew the royal situation well, but after hearing these four words for a while, he couldn't help but pretend to be stunned, and then reacted, he was talking about Prince Yi, the fourteenth uncle of the crown prince Song Cheng.

Prince Yi, all dynasties of the Qing Empire will have this prince title. And this throne seems to be intended for the fourteenth brother of the emperor. This throne is only enshrined in the throne, has no authority, no fief, and does not even appear in the royal history books.

However, if the country is in danger, Prince Yi will appear in folklore. For example, when the Qing Taizu was founded, for example, a hundred years ago, when the Qing Shengzu's army went south, for example, ten years ago, the Holy Ancestor died, the seven sons seized the heir, and the private army of the Twelve Road Prince surrounded the imperial city. Prince Yi was in charge of the pass, and 50,000 soldiers were not allowed to enter the city.

appeared again and again in the wild history and legends of saving the empire, and the title of the throne was given the honorific title of "the auspicious rui of the country" by the people of Limin. In the folk, "Xiangrui of the country" completely replaced "Yiwang". However, when it came out of the mouth of the crown prince Song Cheng at this moment, it seemed ironic.

Lu Yi naturally understood the resentment in the prince's heart: the royal family is the most prestigious, and the prince's title is forgotten among the people, which is naturally contempt for the imperial power.

The allusion of flattery can't be done for the blunt Wufu Lu Yi, but his kung fu is still not bad. When Song Cheng said "the auspiciousness of the country, he wisely pretended to be stunned." After a seemingly brief period of thought, he said, "The prince is resting in the guest room west of the Tianzihao. ”

Song Cheng also seemed to be very satisfied with Lu Yi's performance, and there was some appreciation in his eyes: "The assassin's infestation was discovered by the fourteenth uncle, what do you think?"

Lu Yi replied: "Prince Qiyu, his subordinates are lowly in the martial realm, far inferior to Prince Yi. ”

"Have you ever seen Uncle Fourteen make a move?"

Lu Yidao: "No. However, ten years ago, the palace was fighting for the emperor. It is indeed Prince Yi who guards the Zijin City Gate alone. ”

Song Cheng nodded and asked, "According to your speculation, how is the Fourteenth Uncle's martial realm?"

Lu Yi pondered for a long time and replied: "The current head of the Divine Dragon does not appear at the end, but according to the records of the classics, it is only higher than the Five Tiger Saints of the Taizu period. ”

"It's not a legend, it's a classic! Isn't there anyone who has actually seen him make a move?" Song Cheng was a little annoyed. He doesn't like the fact that he is in the air.

Lu Yi hurriedly said: "Weichen can be sure of one thing, Prince Yi does have a divine blade in his hand. ”

"You're talking about 'gambling on swords'?"

Gambling on swords, one of Prince Yi's hobbies. It is rumored that Prince Yi likes swords. And he likes to compete with others, but whenever he encounters a sharp sword, he must compete with his own sword. The method of the competition is very simple: two people hold swords against each other until the blade of the sword is missing or disconnected. Whoever is intact wins.

Lu Yi replied: "I heard that if there is a sword that can break the prince's sword. He rewarded the sword casting craftsman with a million gold. And personally recommended to the Ministry of War, to protect the official position of the fourth grade or above. ”

"He's so at ease. Song Cheng was a little displeased, and then smiled again: "No wonder my Qing Dynasty's weapon casting is superb and wins the world." ”

Lu Yi echoed: "Yes, although the prince's sword has never lost in a gambling sword. However, encounter highly skilled casting craftsmen. The prince will indeed recommend it to the Ministry of War. ”

"So he can be regarded as a 'national auspicious rui'!" Song Cheng asked again: "Can a weapon deduce the user's martial realm?"

"No, you can't. His subordinates had seen the prince's sword once, but his subordinates were clumsy and couldn't see anything special about the sword. The crafting material can be said to be only slightly stronger than the wooden sword......" Lu Yi looked at the prince. I won't go on.

"The sword is inferior, or you don't lose. It must be assisted by the power of the martial realm. Song Cheng continued to finish what Lu Yi was about to say, breathing a sigh of relief. He said, "Let's leave it at that." The order went down: set off at the beginning of the day and hurried overnight. ”

Lu Yi hesitated and suggested: "Please forgive Your Highness for Weichen's blunt words and hurry up at night." But confusing the Assassin's vision is indeed a good strategy. However, according to legend, there was a team of assassins named 'Night Pupil' in the Jinyi Building of the Southern Ming Empire, whose eyesight was beyond ordinary people. Its eyes can see clearly in the dark, and in the bright sun, it can turn into a beast-like 'vertical pupil'. If it were the unfortunate fact that they were the assassins mentioned by the Prince, they would be in danger. ”

"It's still a rumor! Can't you hear some facts with actual evidence in your mouth?" Song Cheng said angrily.

He doesn't like the feeling of being elevated, and he has to have solid evidence for anything to make him feel safe. And everything he heard tonight was rumors, wild history, which made him feel uneasy.

Song Cheng realized his gaffe, waved his hand and said, "Execute it!" and then said to the two guards: "You also retreat." ”

Song Cheng was left alone in the room, and there seemed to be a trace of clarity in his mind: the rumors were not necessarily true, but he was the only bloodline of his father. The only heir to the throne, he will do his best to keep himself safe!

Thinking of this, Song Cheng felt helpless frustration. He thinks he is talented and intelligent, and the ins and outs of things in the world are all in his imagination. Unexpectedly, this first time I was away from the imperial city, and I panicked.

Fell on the bed weakly, looked at the vast Qiongyu through the window, and couldn't help but smile bitterly and said a word that has never felt both positive and negative: young!