Outside Fudu Villa.

Lian Shenwei got off the carriage and looked over with his eyes slightly squinted.

“There are a lot of changes.”

The layout of the trees outside the villa looks a little unfamiliar. There are vines climbing outside the walls and cracks in the bricks. It is no longer as lush as before.

Ming Candle: "Master, don't you want to go in and take a look?"

"It's good enough to just take a look from a distance."

That was Lian Yubai's place, and today was the deceased's death anniversary, so he should not disturb it.

My sister likes winter because plum blossoms bloom in the dead of winter. However, it doesn’t snow often in Nanjing, so every time it snows it’s a novelty, and the sky and earth are pure white.

But he liked the spring in Jinling more, where everything grew and the gardens were filled with lush flowers.

June 2nd ten years ago was not a sunny day like it is now. When he received the news and rushed to Fudu Villa, everything was over.

Humans are truly very contradictory and complex animals.

Sometimes he thought that given his current situation, it would not be a bad idea to just die once things were settled, so he could go and be with his sister and the others sooner.

But sometimes he thought, how unwilling he is.

He still has a lot of fine wine in Phoenix Terrace to drink, there are still so many places he has not visited, he still has close friends, and he still has debts that have not been repaid. His left hand can still hold a sword, even if he cannot use internal force, he can still be an ordinary hero who sleeps with the wind and the moon.

He wanted to return to Jinling and see the spring scenery every year for the rest of his life.

Thinking about it this way, he sometimes felt that being alive was not bad and wanted to continue living.

If there had been no Emperor Jingcheng, if he had not met his elder sister, if the late emperor had not known about it, there would have been no Fudu Villa.

He was silent for too long.

People who were worshipping in the villa came out one after another. Occasionally, someone saw him and cast a curious glance at him, but did not disturb him.

Lian Shenwei frowned, knelt on the bluestone slab facing the main gate of the villa, and kowtowed three times solemnly. When he stood up, he raised his hand to lower his hat, and his finger bones brushed against the corner of his eye.

Then he turned around and got on the carriage, saying calmly, "Let's go."

Capital city.

Imperial Palace. Purple Palace.

"How's Ning Feng's leg?"

Eunuch Li: "Your Majesty, I heard from the old marquis that he is much better, but he still can't walk."

The eunuch brought in the boiled medicine, and the smell of medicine in the Purple Palace suddenly became stronger. Emperor Jingcheng felt chest tightness, coughed a few times, and said tiredly: "Tell the Imperial Medical Bureau not to think of a new prescription."

Eunuch Li's face was bitter: "Your Majesty, your health is the most important thing. Those..."

"Okay."

Eunuch Li had served Emperor Jingcheng since he was a child, so Emperor Jingcheng knew what he was going to say next without even thinking. He sighed, closed his eyes, and leaned back in his chair.

Although he is in his prime, he is already showing signs of old age.

I don’t know if everyone can see that he is running out of energy, but after Lian Shenwei left, the capital became increasingly unstable.

"I have heard a lot about the girl named Ye Mingqin in the Ministry of Justice recently."

Eunuch Li: "Yes, Lady Ye has solved many strange cases. Although she is a woman, she is as capable as any man."

"As far as I can remember, she came from the Regent's Palace. Is she the Regent's adopted sister?"

"yes."

"As my adopted sister, I feel that she has no partiality for me and is dedicated to serving the people. She is a rare loyal official in the court."

Emperor Jingcheng suddenly remembered that on the night Wei Li died, Lian Shenwei came to him and said that he wanted to keep the position of Right Prime Minister.

He was originally curious about who Lian Shenwei would arrange to sit in that position, but now it seems that if he guessed correctly, it was most likely reserved for this little girl.

Ye Mingqin is a member of the team trained by Lian Shenwei for Jingjue.

He didn't think there was anything wrong with a strong woman; Wei'er was just that kind of strong-willed person.

Since she had real talent and knowledge, he was not reluctant to give the child a chance to move up. What if one day he was gone and Jing Jue ascended the throne? If this girl was killed as Lian Shenwei before she could gain a firm foothold, wouldn't that be unfair?

However, it is not easy to get promoted if you stay in the Ministry of Justice.

Emperor Jingcheng pondered for a moment and said, "As for the position of the Minister of Rites, I remember that there is no candidate yet. Let her take the easy job."

"The Ministry of Personnel's Wenxuan Qingli Division seems to be short of staff. It would be good to let her do some odd jobs there to get familiar with the situation."

Eunuch Li's eyes widened in shock, suspecting that he had heard wrongly.

He knew Ye Mingqin. He had been working tirelessly in the past two months, accumulating real achievements and merits one by one.

Many people said that she was working in vain, as women were not eligible to take the imperial examinations, and reaching the fifth rank at the age of 21 was already the limit. Even if she worked harder, what could she achieve?

While working in the Ministry of Rites, he also worked as a clerk in the Ministry of Personnel...

The position of the Ministry of Personnel is called "Heavenly Official" and is in charge of the dispatch of officials. Many people dream of doing odd jobs there.

It is clear that His Majesty's intention now is to use me in an important position.

This Lord Ye has really reached the top in one step.

"I understand."

Emperor Jingcheng didn't care what he thought.

The eldest prince and the third prince are really careless. They don't behave like wise rulers. They use any means to win over court officials. Their biological mother has been paying respects to the Yangxin Palace more and more frequently recently, and has been doing more and more small things in private.

The Prince's Party and the Crown Prince's Party were fighting fiercely. Lian Shenwei would have handled it well. Now that his health was deteriorating day by day, he had to hold on to maintain the balance of the court.

After the southern tour to Nanjing, it’s time to come back.

Today is June 2nd...

Emperor Jingcheng picked up his brush and started painting, wanting to paint the face of his wife in his memory, but when he finished, it was just a picture of sparse and cold plum blossoms.

He sighed.

After all, it was the royal family that was sorry to Lian Shenwei, and he would ask Wei'er to take good care of her.

At this moment, a young eunuch came in hurriedly, "Your Majesty, there is a letter from Jinling."

Emperor Jingcheng opened the letter and saw that it was written a few days ago and had been delivered to the capital very quickly. He quickly scanned the contents of the letter and stopped at the words "The Regent Prince was assassinated and his whereabouts are unknown".

His chest rose and fell violently several times.

After a long time, he suddenly spurted out a mouthful of blood and passed out.

"His Majesty!"

The hall was suddenly in chaos.

"Mr. Qiu is a friend of Master Ximian. Why didn't Master Ximian ask you to go, but instead looked for someone like me whom he had never met?"

After the worship, the sun had already set, and Ying Jingjue and Qiu Che walked out together.

He didn't know what the rules for worshipping in Fudu Villa were, but so many people were in the outer villa, and he was the only one who went to the ancestral hall in the inner villa that had not been cleaned for many years.

Ying Jingjue is not stupid.

There was very little incense ash in the incense burner, and there was also a thick layer of dust. It didn't look like anyone had ever worshipped there. The things he cleared out were all items from many years ago.

He went there on behalf of Master Ximian, who said he wanted to heal his own wounds, but before that, had he never gone in to pay his respects once?

and……

He had never noticed before that the direct bloodline of Fudu Villa was of the same surname.

Is it a coincidence?

Qiu Che: "Xi Mian doesn't want to come, he just doesn't dare to come."

Ying Jing definitely didn't understand: "What do you mean?"

"When Fudu Villa was hit by a disaster, Ximian didn't come back in time, and his relatives...friends died tragically. He must feel guilty."

Ying Jing was silent for a moment: "What about the worship in previous years?"

"He has never been here in previous years. We, his friends, have never asked him about his sorrows. I don't know why he chose you this time, but he has always been a casual person, so maybe it's fate."

Qiu Che paused, "Xi Mian said that if you help him to worship, it will be in exchange for saving his life. From now on, you don't need to come to Fudu Villa. He has nothing to do with you anymore. This is our fate. We will never see each other again."

Ying Jingjue was silent for a few seconds, "I understand."

Qiu Che nodded, "I should go now."

Ying Jingjue: "Mr. Qiu seems to be in a hurry to leave. What's the matter?"

"I'm going to find Ximian and ask him something," Qiu Che bowed, "bye."

Ying Jing decided: "Goodbye."

After Qiu Che walked away, the smile on the young Chu Jun's face faded. He raised his hand and waved, and a secret guard appeared behind him.

Ying Jingjue: "Go check the relationship between Ximian and Fudu Villa, and where the Regent went during the past few days."

He received the news that Lian Shenwei was fine, but he wanted to know who saved Lian Shenwei and where he had been in the past few days.

The secret guard took the order and went forward.

Ying Jingjue took one last look back at Fudu Villa.

In the evening glow of the setting sun, the villa is extremely quiet, silent in the old dreams of the past, watching the children who grew up in its arms leave home.

…

Lian Shenwei returned to Nanjing with half of the fleet.

Xiao Zhizi arranged a new room for him and carefully prepared meals, hot water and dry clothes.

Lian Shenwei took a short nap and heard Ying Jingjue coming back. He tidied up briefly and told Mingzhu to let him in.

Ying Jingjue put on a concerned look: "Is the teacher all right?" His eyes fell on the back of Lian Shenwei's hand. He was stunned for a moment, "Are you injured?"

Lian Shenwei lowered his eyes and looked at it, then hummed, "Thank you for your concern, Your Highness. I was assassinated and had no internal strength to rely on. I accidentally hit the back of my hand while escaping."

Ying Jingjue: "How did the teacher escape?"

Lian Shenwei had already thought of a pretext: "There was a sword aura coming from behind, and I fainted. Ming Cang said that a swordsman in white saved us, but he disappeared afterwards."

"A swordsman in white? I think he should be Master Ximian."

Ying Jingjue paid attention to his expression, and then half-truthfully recounted his encounter with Ximian, and sighed, "...The owner of Fudu Villa actually has the same surname as the teacher. I was really shocked, thinking that the teacher had some kind of relationship with the villa."

Lian Shenwei was surprised: "Really? Maybe our ancestors are really from the same family."

Ying Jingjue smiled and said, "Come to think of it, Teacher has never told me about your past. Before you entered the court as an official, was your family also in the south?"

"Your Highness has forgotten that I have no relatives. It was Your Majesty who showed me grace and personally transferred my household registration to Beijing," Lian Shenwei said lightly.

He never worried about his identity, because Emperor Jingcheng would never let him be exposed. Even if there were some tails that he didn't notice, he would just smooth it over for him and make sure it was kept secret.

Ying Jingjue: “So that’s how it is.”

At that time, Lian Shenwei had not yet been surrounded in the court. Since it was something that the emperor had personally ordered, Lian Shenwei must have been thoroughly investigated at that time. Who were the people in the nine clans? All of them would be recorded in the files one by one, and there would be no mistakes.

Was the inexplicable intuition in his heart an illusion?

Lian Shenwei: "Your Majesty has been on the southern tour for a long time. Your Majesty is not in good health. It will be easier for Your Majesty to return to Beijing as soon as possible. Your Highness should prepare to return."

Ying Jing decided: "I understand."

the other side.

When Qiu Che returned, he saw an empty room.

He opened the letter left by Lian Shenwei on the table. Lian Shenwei could write in three styles. One style belonged to Ximian, which he had used when delivering food to the border. Another style belonged to his identity as Teacher Li Ningfeng, and the last one was the Regent King of the Great Sheng Dynasty.

The handwriting written under the identity of Ximian is his original handwriting.

[Qiu Che:

Feng Ke said, in these years you always went to Fudu Villa first and then went to your hometown in Dulan to pay tribute to your brother. I owe you a lot and I am ashamed to face you. I don’t know how to react when I mention this to you face to face.

I think you never mentioned Acheng after we met again because you didn't want me to feel guilty.

There is no point in saying more, and you never want to see me say these things.

Brother Qiu, I had an appointment with you to fight ten years ago. When you come back from Dulan, bring the blade of the Wuliang Sword and some good wine and come to the capital to find me.

It’s still the same old rule, the loser must unconditionally promise the winner something.]

No signature.

Qiu Che finished reading and took a deep breath.

The room was dark. He opened the window and saw the dark blue sky mixed with some green. It was vast and boundless, with a crescent moon hanging overhead.

riverside.

Lian Shenwei stood at the bow and looked into the distance.

The bright moonlight fell on one shoulder.

Someone shouted:

"Return trip——"