There is a banana tree, two jujube trees and several plum trees planted in front of the east guest hall of Xingzhi Temple. The flower buds bloomed in October, and the whole garden was filled with fragrance.
The leaves were falling, and there were more than a dozen people kneeling in front of the door. There was an old doctor in front, followed by two young doctors kneeling behind him, and behind them were palace guards dressed in black casual clothes.
The old doctor could no longer hold on, and the young doctor could not help but speak up, and said to the black-clad guard with a cold face: "General Chen, when will the Marquis wake up? I am here on the order of the Emperor to treat the Marquis's injuries, but the Marquis only told us to kneel and not let us in. What's the logic?"
Chen Yuanwu and his brother Chen Yuanqing are two generals under the command of Dingbei Marquis Xiao Fu. Both of them are rare masters. In the entire Jinling City where there are so many masters, they can at least rank in the top five.
There was a child with Turkic barbarian looks sitting under the banana tree in the yard. He was squatting on a chair, facing a black and white chessboard, chewing a pear with his head concentrated, as if he was thinking about how to solve the chess game.
The imperial guards in the palace did not recognize this child. They had only seen the Chen brothers. However, Chen Yuanwu was a stern man with a rough face and said rudely, "If you don't want to kneel, go back to the palace!"
"But, Your Majesty, we haven't even seen the Marquis yet! How can we report back?"
"Then tell him that the Marquis is seriously injured and needs to rest, and ask His Majesty not to send anyone to disturb him."
The old doctor could no longer kneel. Yuan Wu saw that he was about to faint and said, "Doctor Zhang, please sit down."
Doctor Zhang slowly sat down on the ground, panting: "General, but if I can't see the Marquis today, I will not get up."
"Well, kneel down if you want."
Doctor Zhang saw that he was not going to respond, so he groaned, slapped his thigh, and cried out in mourning: "My Lord, my Young Master, Master Xiao!"
Xiao Fu's father was the first-class Duke of Changguo of the Ye Dynasty. Xiao Fu's mother was the second wife of the Duke of Changguo and also the princess of the Yunnan Palace. When Xiao Fu was born, he was holding a precious pearl and was destined to inherit the title.
Before he was conferred the title of first-rank military marquis, Xiao Fu was the envied young master by others.
Later he entered the court as an official, assisting his sister, who was a dozen years older than him, and the prince born to Empress Xiao at the time, in her successful bid for the throne. Xiao Fu was then granted the title of military marquis.
The good times did not last long. Seven years ago, the young emperor was afraid of him, so he promoted him in name only and demoted him in reality, and exiled him to the interior.
At the border, with cattle and sheep on the grassland and the sun and moon as their companions, Xiao Fu was born with a superior mindset. He did not have the same desire for power as others, so he just went inside the border.
When not fighting, Xiao Fu rode his horse alone on the grassland, sometimes lying on the grass, and the sheep would come and surround him. These animals were intelligent, so he would stretch out his hand and let them touch him in any way they wanted. When Xiao made a "baa" sound, the sheep also made a "baa" sound. They could communicate with each other through the same language.
So seven years passed like this.
Just a month ago, a secret decree was delivered to the interior, in which the emperor asked him to return to Nanjing with a small entourage without alerting anyone.
That means he is not allowed to lead the troops.
Along with the secret decree, there was also a secret letter from his eldest sister, Empress Dowager Xiao. The letter was not long and did not contain any extra meaning. It simply urged him to go back.
Xiao Fu figured it out. There must be some unexpected events in the palace and a storm was about to come, which was why they were so anxious for him to return to Nanjing.
No matter what happens, it has nothing to do with him.
He has no control over the Yuwen family's world.
It happened that Xiao Fu was assassinated before entering Nanjing, so he simply lay down in the Xingzhi Temple.
The imperial physician has been here for three days, but he hasn't even seen Lord Xiao.
Here, Lord Xiao went to the back mountain to soak in the hot spring, then returned to the east guest hall of the Taoist temple with two oranges in his pocket and his eyes and ears covered. This is the best living room. The huge courtyard is planted with white plum blossoms, so it is called Hanmei Hall. There are three side rooms next to the bedroom. He is not picky about where to live. It is much better than the ones inside the Great Wall.
When Xiao Fu came back, he seemed to be in a good mood and threw out two oranges: "Golden Cup."
The barbarian child was called Jinzun. He took the orange in one hand and then held the chessboard and pestered him to play chess.
"My Lord, let's play chess!"
"Jinzun, come here." Xiao Fu lifted up his snow-white skirt and sat down, "Bring the chessboard over here."
The Turkic child was picked up by Xiao Fu on the battlefield, and his name was a long paragraph. The child's eyes were like those of a sheep, clear and bright. Xiao Fu tried to teach him to speak Chinese, but he still couldn't learn it after many years and could only utter a few words at a time.
Xiao Fu just gave him a Han Chinese name.
Jinzun's mentality is no more than ten years old, which can be seen from his eyes.
Therefore, when Xiao Fu looked at people, he would first look at their eyes. No matter what kind of monster it is, he can tell it at a glance.
Jinzun loves playing chess, but his chess skills are very poor. Xiao Fu seldom plays with him, but he enjoys himself and plays by himself.
Xiao Fu was holding the white piece and caught a glimpse of Chen Yuanwu pacing outside.
"Yuanwu." Xiao Fu called him in.
"My Lord, Yuan Wu is here."
Xiao Fu didn't even raise his head, holding a warm white piece in his palm, and said in a low, clear voice: "Aren't they going to leave yet? They are still kneeling?"
"He's still kneeling, saying that he can't see the Marquis and can't return to the palace to report. Marquis, Doctor Zhang is already that old, and his temper is really stubborn..."
"Then let him continue to kneel."
Chen Yuanwu: "How about I knock him out?"
Xiao Fu raised his eyelids and looked at him.
Chen Yuanwu: “…I was just kidding.”
Xiao Fu smiled and continued to make his move: "Okay, then knock him out and let the Jinyiwei take him back. Don't come here again."
After Lin Zikui and Mo Liu came back, Lin Zikui put medicine on his eyes while Mo Liu went around to the East Guest Hall to take a look. He stood far away and saw a large group of people kneeling in front of the door of "Miss Xiao Er". They were all men, old and young, strong and weak.
"Strange," Mo Liu said, "Is this a punishment for the servants?"
Then, Mo Liu saw a strong man knock the old man unconscious.
“Master!”
"Doctor Zhang!"
Mo Liu couldn't hear clearly, he only saw a group of people shouting, and the strong man's voice was even lower, as if he was trying to persuade the old man in a kindly manner. After talking for a while, two young men who looked frail, one on the left and one on the right, helped the old man up, and without even bowing, they went into the house. Then, the group of warriors who looked like officers and soldiers escorted the three people away.
As soon as he got on the carriage, Doctor Zhang opened his eyes.
"Master?"
"Aren't you dizzy?"
Doctor Zhang nodded: "I was pretending. General Chen was not very aggressive. If I stop pretending, what will I do if he is more aggressive?"
"But His Majesty..." The young imperial physician hesitated to speak.
"Then, how are we going to get back to the palace and report to His Majesty and the Queen Mother?"
Doctor Zhang wiped his sweat and said, "The marquis is probably fine. If he is in trouble, General Chen will definitely let me in to see him. Marquis Xiao is very lucky. Let's go back to the palace and do as he says. The marquis will not be willing to return to the palace for a while." Doctor Zhang closed his eyes, looking a little worried.
Mo Liu looked around for a while, and felt something was not right, so he turned around and reported, "Master, I've checked everything. There are people living in the east guest room. There are many people kneeling at the door, and they are beating an old man!"
He couldn't describe it clearly, but Lin Zikui heard a suspicious point.
"You said that the people coming in and out were all men?"
"Yes! They are all men."
"If the Second Young Lady lived there, she would definitely have maids to serve her. The person living there is probably not the Second Young Lady."
"Don't panic, sir. I'll go find out right away!"
"Hey? Wait, Mo Liu..."
Mo Liu began to change his clothes: "Here is the Taoist robe sent by Taoist Lingyuan. I'll put it on and take a look. I'll know. It's okay, sir. I'm young. You always say I'm twelve years old, but I'm still as tall as eight years old. They won't do anything to me."
Lin Zikui didn't know what to say: "...Then go quickly and come back soon."
"Don't worry, sir."
Mo Liu closed the door and went out.
Lin Zikui sat blindfolded under the tree in front of the door. It was not yet time and the effect of the medicine had not yet been fully exerted, so he could not take off the blindfold.
The wind made him cold, so Lin Zikui lowered his head, tightened his cloak around his shoulders, and hid his ears in his rabbit fur collar.
On the other side, Mo Liu sneaked around and just as he approached the East Guest Hall, he was grabbed by a big hand.
"Where are you from, kid?"
Mo Liu cried out, looking up at the big man with thick eyebrows and fierce eyes like copper bells, and said in a panic: "I, I am a Taoist priest from Xingzhi Temple. I came to see if you need anything. Please put me down!"
"You? A Taoist priest? You look so shifty!"
Chen Yuanwu slapped him down with his palm and threw him to the ground. Mo Liu fainted, more seriously than Doctor Zhang. He was really fainted.
Xiao Fu was still in the room, playing chess with Jinzun. Playing chess with Jinzun was so boring that it was like he was just playing with a child.
He was extremely bored when he was inside the pass.
Hearing the noise, Xiao Fu asked a question. Chen Yuanwu said, "My Lord, that was a sneaky little ghost. I just saw him. He was eavesdropping on us behind a tree. He didn't put on his Taoist robes yet. After a while, he changed into Taoist robes and sneaked over. God knows what he wants to do!"
Xiao Fu said "Oh" and didn't care, but he glanced at it out of the corner of his eye and recognized it.
The man who boasted that his son would pass the imperial examination, become the top scorer, and marry the princess's servant.
That young man...
Xiao Fu rubbed a warm white seed with his fingers, his eyelashes trembled twice, and he lowered his eyes, not knowing what he was thinking.
Yuan Wu asked: "My Lord? How do you deal with it?"
"Leave it there and forget about it."
Xiao Fu said, "Where's Yuanqing? Is he practicing swordplay?"
"Yes, I guess he won't be back until 12:00."
Xixin Hall.
Lin Zikui waited and waited, and as it was getting dark, he murmured anxiously, "Why hasn't Mo Liu come back yet? He always comes back soon, right? Could it be that something happened to him and he was arrested?"
"No! I have to go take a look."
He took off the blindfold. After being fumigated by the liquid medicine, his eyes were wet and he could barely see. Lin Zikui quickly put on the Taoist robe that fit him fairly well, and hurriedly walked around several rooms and rows of trees. He quietly leaned his back against the wall, poked his head inside, and dimly saw that there were two or three people.
There were voices, but they were inaudible.
"who?"
Lin Zikui suddenly squatted down nervously, but he didn't expect that he didn't get in! It was discovered!
A large hand lifted his collar.
"Great! Here comes another Taoist priest!"
Lin Zikui glanced at him, seeing that he was a fierce and strong man, and closed his eyes again: "Misunderstanding, brother, I... I am here to look for someone."
"Who are you looking for?!"
"My... book boy. He is just a child. He is ignorant and runs around everywhere, which makes me worried! If there is any offense, I hope you can be magnanimous and not make a fuss with him."
Chen Yuanwu was speechless after hearing what the scholar said. It took him a while to figure out what to say: "Nonsense! Your servant overheard us talking and broke in pretending to be a Taoist priest. You are his master? You also pretend to be a Taoist priest, so what do you say!"
"I...sent him to find someone." Lin Zikui was grabbed by the collar and couldn't move after struggling for a few times. He buried his head like a quail.
Out of the corner of his eye, he seemed to sense someone approaching.
"Tell the truth! Who are you looking for?!" Yuan Wu seemed to notice someone coming over when he spoke, and his voice suddenly became softer, "Hou..."
He swallowed the last word and shook his head at him.
"Master, this man is dishonest and speaks in a roundabout way. I don't know who sent him and what his purpose is." Yuan Wu's eyes narrowed, "How about killing him?"
Lin Zikui's face turned pale, and he said hurriedly: "I'm not a thief, I'm here to look for Miss Xiao Er! I thought she lived here! It was all a misunderstanding! I got the wrong person! She doesn't live here, my servant and I have no ill intentions, brother, please spare her life! Don't hurt her!"
Chen Yuanwu was half-believing and half-doubting, and wanted to speak: "Then you..." He was suddenly interrupted by a slow voice beside him: "Who said you came to the wrong place?"
"Hou... Master?"
Chen Yuanwu looked at Lord Xiao in surprise and loosened his grip subconsciously.
Without support, Lin Zikui fell to the ground, panting and bowing: "Thank you very much, brothers, please show mercy, forgive me, forgive me..."
Lord Xiao slowly bent down.
"No need to forgive me."
The clear, clean, and playful voice made Lin Zikui look up. A face slowly approached, close enough for him, a short-sighted person, to see clearly what this person looked like.
Lin Zikui held his breath and stared blankly.
Xiao Fu seemed to be extremely interested in his eyes. He lowered his head and stared at them for a long time, looking deeply into them.
Then she raised her lips and whispered, "I am Miss Xiao Er, and Mr. Xiao Huang, the head of the Ministry of Revenue, is my father."
Lin Zikui was confused: "...Ah?"
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