Yu Bai

A thought flashed through her mind, and although it was very fast, she still hooked the tail.

The timing was perfect. If I could get some useful information out of it, maybe I could use it to tease Xiao Yingzhu next time.

Xizhen thought of the same thing as Jiang Nian at the same time.

He paused for a moment, his dark, lacquer-like pupils briefly scanning Jiang Nian's inquiring face. He then curled his lips briefly, "If you're curious, you might as well ask Xiao. I'm sorry I can't answer."

?

Indirect admission!

Jiang Nian curled her eyes and thanked him cheerfully, "Thank you for your guidance, sir. I will definitely ask him when I get back."

The clear light was half-transparent through the thin clouds, and it was dark at the end of the long and narrow alley. The halo was like a ball of fermenting black fog, which kept expanding and expanding, making people feel timid.

After the prefect learned of their identities, he arranged for them to rest in rooms in the state guesthouse. Although the prefect's attempt to take their lives in the previous city had not actually happened, and they had not even seen the faces of the assassins, they still felt a sense of luck in their hearts after escaping.

Seeing Jiang Nian standing in front of the door hesitantly, Xizhen helped her open the door, and her voice was calm and gentle, like coaxing her to sleep.

"Have a good rest, there won't be any danger here for the time being... Xiao will be back soon."

His voice was very peaceful, just like the comfortable and soothing feeling you get when you come home after a hard day and lie down on a soft bed with a soft quilt against your skin. Just hearing it would make you relax your tense emotions involuntarily.

The bright lights in the room were lit, and the well-arranged bedroom came into view. Xizhen's pretty and sharp face looked like a brocade painting under the candlelight, strange and bright.

The sharp danger that I sensed in her words at that time disappeared again, hidden under her beautiful appearance.

At this moment, he seemed to have returned to the low-key and secretive attitude that was barely noticeable when he first came in.

Like the Epiphyllum that quietly opens in the summer night, silently and peacefully.

When people suddenly realize it and are subconsciously drawn to watch it in a trance, that is the moment when they are most defenseless and without any vigilance.

This extremely pure and light flower, like snow and frost, will reveal its addictive side, piercing the chest of the flower viewer coldly and neatly, becoming fertilizer for growth, and then buried under the lush green leaves, turning into a handful of solidified soil.

"Is there something on your face?"

Xizhen moved the bright light away, and his cold gaze fell lightly on her stunned face.

Jiang Nian held his breath and denied it: "No."

How could she have been distracted so suddenly? She shook her head with a smile, took the lamp from Xizhen's hand, and said calmly, "Sir, you specially sent me back today. I am very grateful."

Xi Zhen had no intention of staying in her room, so after nodding, he thought that Qin Lan might still be waiting outside for him to explain, so he replied, "No problem. Then, I will take my leave first."

The faint fragrance passed in front of Jiang Nian, and the wooden door was immediately closed.

After a slight sound, she was suddenly stunned.

It is the smell of night-blooming cereus and morning dew.

—

There is nothing wrong with Meng Zheng's health; it was caused by overwork.

The reason for overwork is not only because of walking too much today, but also because of the accumulation of things in recent times.

The details of the tasks they were actually responsible for were different, and none of them could be discussed publicly. After tacitly ignoring the reason for "overwork", Meng Zheng seemed to have questions to ask, and instead of declaring a rest, he kept the two of them.

All the servants in the room were dismissed, and two lamps illuminated the living room brightly.

Meng Zheng had just woken up and still looked sickly. His voice was a bit weak, like someone who had just recovered from a serious illness. "Duke Xiao, you should explain to me who that female doctor is."

On the previous few occasions, he was evaded with various excuses, whether overtly or covertly.

When he first met Xiao Yingzhu, he felt that this female doctor had an unusual background. Although she did not look like a noble lady, her temperament was extremely unique.

She was not like those young ladies from scholarly families in the capital. Although she gave the impression of being well-educated, elegant and intelligent when first met, after a few words of conversation, it was discovered that beneath that gorgeous appearance she was as dull, insipid and silent as water.

On the contrary, she is very smart, and this smartness is not deliberately pretentious, but natural and innate, without any affectation.

During the conversation in Akamon that afternoon, he had only exchanged a few simple words and asked about her identity, but the female doctor was able to answer her freely and with unexpected points of view.

Growing up in a merchant family, he should be well aware of the majesty of the imperial power.

But she never felt timid or nervous, as if she was not bound by worldly dogmas. Knowing that he was a prince, she could still use ready-made arguments to refute his words vividly.

It's like she has her own unique aspirations, and someone can give her the courage to practice them, so that she can move forward steadily step by step according to her own ideas without any interference or obstruction from the outside world.

And the question she asked was just a small obstacle on her way.

—

When Meng Zheng was young, before he was sent to a secluded countryside by Emperor Changde to recuperate, he attended several banquets - these banquets were different from the ones he attended after his return.

The difference is that he still wants to communicate with children of the same age and is not as bored as he will be later.

At those childhood banquets, he had spoken with several noble children. Although he had long forgotten their names, he remembered their way of communicating clearly, as if it was engraved in his bones and made him uncomfortable.

They are nothing more than strictly following the boring dogmas of their elders and practicing them in the way they think. Although they look like lively and active children, when you look closely, they are all boring, dull and lifeless antiques.

The topics they were discussing at the time seemed childish and innocent to their elders, who would just laugh it off even if they heard them.

However, children in this situation will think that their words are gradually becoming like those of their elders, and they will imitate the tone of their elders, using their own ways to seduce and snatch what they want at this age.

He was naturally not interested in such topics.

Didn't you stay in the palace long enough? When you come out, you encounter the same thing, just from being an adult to being a child.

So he looked for the rest of the group, the children who were not so old-fashioned and had a little childishness.

But these agility is not completely natural. They always speak half-heartedly and half-concealedly. After a few words, their minds are full of twists and turns.

When I was there, I didn't feel anything was wrong, but after returning from the mountains, I felt more and more disgusted.

But even if I hate it, I will definitely be locked up in the palace. Since this fate cannot be determined by myself, I can only try to change it by myself.

But what should we strive for so that others will no longer restrain themselves?

No matter how he thinks about it, there is only one way, a way that he must take even if he has to escape.

But he is not alone in walking this road.

If this is something that can give me a chance to change myself, then I have no choice but to fight for it.

Fighting for the throne of immense power would allow him to enjoy a life of prosperity and bloodshed. Isn't that a kind of freedom?

Then these boring and complicated things can be ignored.

—

"From what I've heard, there's been no sign of the sect coming out of hiding in recent years. Why would they appear now? Even if the sect and the imperial court don't interfere with each other, they should have been informed in advance. Did you inform my father before you brought them directly to Cang County and exposed them to secrets?"

Meng Zheng's slender hand was half resting on the still warm medicinal soup. The imperial physician who had just accompanied him came to check his body and found that it was no different from usual. He left a cup of this familiar and unpalatable medicinal soup.

Now the bitter smell of medicine has dissipated, leaving only the spicy fragrance of Chinese herbs.

He glanced at the medicine cup, his brows relaxed again, revealing a carefree demeanor and sharp words.

"Or... that female doctor isn't actually a member of the sect, but is using the sect's name as a pretext?"

Xiao Yingzhu lowered her eyes slightly, the light and dark color in her eyes covering up the mixed emotions in her heart.

He was silent for a moment, then explained calmly, "Your Highness may have made a mistake. The reason the sect intervened was because of the unusual hexagram signs, so they sent someone to investigate."

"Is there something different about the hexagram?"

Meng Zheng's gaze paused for a moment, lingering on Xiao Yingzhu's face. His tone became unfathomable, "Is that female doctor the sect's special dispatcher?"

Xiao Yingzhu lied without blushing or beating her heart, and nodded slightly, saying, "That's right."

Meng Zheng frowned, staring intently for a moment, as if he had figured something out. A deep smile played on his lips, and his fingertips pointedly tapped the table lightly:

"Time passes, the past is gone, and we should adapt to the changing world. I wonder how Duke Xiao is cooperating with the sect now?"

Xiao Yingzhu opened her eyes, and there was a coldness in them, like an autumn pond after a seasonal rain, covering up the past.

He often smiles, but the smile does not reach his eyes, which seems to have a hidden threat.

Therefore, people always thought that he should be smiling when killing people - using those eyes that become as compassionate as gods and Buddhas when they become cold, looking down at the death row prisoners, with a ruthless smile on his face, and slashing down.

They had a very rigid stereotype of Xiao Yingzhu, believing him to be a bloodthirsty, ruthless, cold-blooded butcher who did whatever he wanted. Naturally, they could not imagine that this man would not smile sometimes.

It is like this moment.

His eyebrows were indifferent, his gaze was calm, and beneath his beautiful features there seemed to be a sense of violence and incongruity in his face.

At first glance, the corners of his lips seem to be raised but not raised, and he looks as elegant as a prince. But upon closer inspection, his face is expressionless, like a sinister evil spirit crawling out from the eighteen levels of hell.

The pair of eyes, as cool as autumn water, looked at Meng Zheng indifferently, as if looking at a dispensable dead object. There was no need to spend too much emotion on him. He could immediately pull out his tendons and bones and sever his tendons and veins with a knife.

Meng Zheng thought he was seeing things, but the next second, Xiao Yingzhu pursed her lips and smiled faintly.

"If Your Highness doesn't believe it, you might as well take a look at this secret report first."

He took out the paper Qin Lan had given him - the original book was worn out, and he was afraid it would get torn if he carried it around, so he returned it to the sect.

There was a picture of a plant on the paper, with a few lines of small words written next to it, explaining the functions of this plant.

"This is what the hexagram says."

"Only by finding this herb can we break the epidemic."

There were three of them at the table, and Yu He didn't say a word from beginning to end. He didn't believe in ghosts and gods, and he had an unusual disdain for things like divination and fortune-telling, which he sneered at even more than others.

But when his eyes fell on the plant indicated by the hexagram, he suddenly paused.

"Why do you think so?"

He had found this grass in a smuggled vehicle when he was on military duty.

Since the quantity was small, they were all intercepted and handed over to the emperor. However, a fire broke out on the way to the capital, and the grass was burned to ashes. They searched for it again afterwards, but found nothing.

Xiao Yingzhu's eyebrows were calm and her words were concise: "Once the seal issue is finalized, you will make your own decisions. We will then know the details."

"..." Meng Zheng, just before waking up, heard about the command of the Tongzhi seal. Thinking of the bishop who had not yet finished cleaning, he felt dizzy again. He propped his head up, and the carefree look between his eyebrows contrasted with his sickly face, suddenly showing a sense of fragility. "I will call the Tongzhi tomorrow."

As more information besides what he knew came to light, Yu He's calm expression gradually turned colder.

When the work was done, he responded briefly: "I obey your orders. I will summon the magistrate tomorrow."