Chapter 122

When Feng Shuo came, the Chu family had just finished setting off firecrackers to welcome the spring. Outside the gate with the new Spring Festival couplets pasted on it was all red scraps of paper left over from the firecrackers.

It is said that the first day of the first lunar month is the "birthday of sweeping the floor", and on this day one cannot sweep the floor, otherwise one will sweep away the fortune of the year, so no one went down to sweep the thick snow in the Chu family courtyard. The withered red plum petals fell on the snow, which was surprisingly beautiful.

Feng Shuo was of noble status, and even Mrs. Chu and Grandpa Chu came to the gate to greet him in person. Jiang Yanyi stood with the younger generation, and because she felt that she was too ugly after staying up all night, she kept nodding her head and lowered her eyebrows, and did not dare to look up at Feng Shuo.

Her rare and graceful gesture attracted Feng Shuo's attention.

Feng Shuo looked at her for a few more times without making a sound, and found that she had put on rouge on her face, which was different from her usual plain look. He thought that she was wearing makeup and was embarrassed to be seen by him, and the corners of his mouth could not help but pull out a faint arc.

During the New Year, the opera troupe did not accept any work, and even if they wanted to invite a troupe to the mansion to liven up the atmosphere, it would not work. As soon as Feng Shuo came, except for Chu Changping and his son, everyone else in the Chu family was obviously very reserved .

Inviting Feng Shuo to the front hall for guests, Old Lady Chu was very reserved for a long time, and could only say "drink tea".

Feng Shuo also saw the restraint of this family, so he deliberately avoided the topic of political affairs and only talked about some casual family talk.

Unfortunately, before the cup of tea was finished, almost all the topics that could be talked about were talked about.

Except for the "sick" Chu Chengbai and the disabled Chu Yangui, all the male members of the Chu family were in the front hall to entertain the guests.

Feng Shuo said, "Why don't you see the young master of your family? Duke Chen said that his chess skills have improved a lot. I am free today, so I will play a few games with him."

These seemingly casual words made everyone in the Chu family pay attention to Chu Yangui, a young man who seemed to have a ruined future.

Being able to worship Duke Chen as a teacher and being favored by Feng Shuo, Chu Yangui will definitely be his adviser in the future, no matter how poor he is.

Compared with Chu Yangui's bright future, Mr. Chu's face has not been good since he remembered his son who was beaten and unable to get out of bed on New Year's Day. His dissatisfaction with Chu Changping was almost all on his face, but he did not dare to act rashly in front of Feng Shuo. He just made excuses that he was not feeling well and left early.

Chu Changping did not let Chu Yangui come over, but was worried that his leg injury would make it inconvenient for him. Feng Shuo had already asked, so he asked Chu Chengmao to go and bring Chu Yangui over.

After Chu Chengmao went to see Xie Chuji, his mind was full of helping her to pull the strings and telling Feng Shuo that there was hope for the Mu family to be rehabilitated. But just in case, Xie Chuji's affairs in the mansion had to be kept secret, and there were many people in the front hall, so he never found a chance to introduce her to Feng Shuo.

Now he went to pick up Chu Yangui, thinking that Chu Yangui would play chess with Feng Shuo later, and he would have a chance to meet Feng Shuo alone, so he asked Chu Yangui to tell Feng Shuo on the way. After

sending Chu Yangui to the front hall, he went back to the backyard to find Jiang Yanyi, wanting Xie Chuji to pretend to be Jiang Yanyi's maid, and after Chu Yangui sent a message to Feng Shuo, Jiang Yanyi would take Xie Chuji there.

Although Xie Chuji was introduced only for official business, this arrangement would not keep Jiang Yanyi in the dark.

When Chu Chengmao came over, Jiang Yanyi was talking to the old lady in the courtyard of the old lady with Chu Shubao, several sisters, and Xue. Chu Chengmao asked her to go to the front hall to deliver a plate of rice cakes. The female family members thought that the King of Liaoning wanted to see Jiang Yanyi. Chu Shubao and Chu Jiabao both smiled gossipingly.

Chu Huibao wanted to go out for a walk after being bored in the room for a long time, and shouted that she wanted to go with Jiang Yanyi.

Chu Shubao threatened her: "Aren't you afraid of the King of Liaoning?"

Chu Huibao scratched her hair, thought for a long time and finally thought of a description: "No, he looks as good as my second sister."

The grandparents and grandchildren in the room all laughed. The old lady Chu said: "You silly girl, good-looking can't be used to describe men."

Chu Huibao was puzzled: "Then what should I say?"

The old lady Chu said: "You should say heroic."

"Parrot? Doesn't he look like a parrot?" Chu Huibao looked silly.

Chu Shubao didn't know whether to laugh or cry: "Okay, Huibao, stop embarrassing yourself. I'll find a teacher for you in the spring so that you can learn some knowledge and avoid being laughed at in the future."

Chu Huibao pouted unhappily, "No way. If I can't write big characters well, the teacher will slap my palm again."

Chu Jiabao smiled and said, "Then you have to practice your handwriting well. When you were in the capital, you lost three teachers because of your ugly handwriting."

Old Madam Chu was amused by her granddaughters: "Then Huibao has to learn from your second sister. Your second sister's handwriting was so ugly before, but now it's quite decent."

Chu Huibao turned her head to look at Jiang Yanyi pitifully: "How did my second sister practice her big characters?"

Jiang Yanyi said with a smile: "Practice more calligraphy."

Chu Huibao's chubby little face fell instantly.

Chu Shubao and a few others couldn't help laughing out loud.

Chu Chengmao urged them at the door, so Jiang Yanyi got up and followed him first.

Chu Huibao wanted to follow as a little tail, but was stopped by her sister Chu Shubao.

Jiang Yanyi walked in the corridor with Chu Chengmao. She knew Feng Shuo a little bit. Feng Shuo could be frivolous sometimes behind people, but he was definitely a calm person in front of others.

She guessed that this was probably Chu Chengmao's idea, so she asked him: "Second brother asked me to go. Is it related to Miss Xie?"

Last night, Xie Chujijiu asked to see Feng Shuo, so Jiang Yanyi was not surprised that Chu Chengmao could guess it.

He walked and said: "She said she has evidence to vindicate the Mu family and wants to see the King of Liaoning."

This answer surprised Jiang Yanyi a little, but after thinking about it carefully, it seemed that everything could be explained.

When the Mu family was raided, Duke Chen had to work hard to replace Chi Qing and Mu Shizi with two death row prisoners. Since then, the two brothers have been hiding their identities under Feng Shuo.

Xie Chuji is deeply in love with Mu Shizi, so it is not surprising that Mu Shizi has revealed his whereabouts to her.

When she arrived at the guest room where Xie Chuji lived, she was not dissatisfied with Chu Chengmao's arrangement. She quickly changed into a maid's clothes and followed Jiang Yanyi to the front hall.

Front hall.

Feng Shuo had finished a game of chess with Chu Yangui. He taught Jiang Yanyi how to play chess. Jiang Yanyi was very smart, but his chess style was always conservative and gentle. Chu Yangui's chess style could be said to be completely opposite to Jiang Yanyi's. He always took an unconventional approach and made a desperate move.

The black and white pieces on the chessboard were fighting bloody battles. Compared to Chu Yangui's fight to the death, Feng Shuo's every move seemed to be carefully planned, as if he had already calculated all the possible paths Chu Yangui could take.

When Chu Yangui's black piece was completely trapped by the white piece, Feng Shuo said meaningfully: "The road of chess is also the road of the heart. You can break out of the current siege with just a strong will, but in a person's life, there are more obstacles to overcome than just the one in front of you. Before being ruthless, you must see clearly the road ahead."

Outside the half-open window, heavy snow was flying like cotton. Occasionally, snowflakes fell on the window frame, and were melted by the heat of the charcoal basin in the room in an instant.

After a game of chess, Chu Yangui's back was almost soaked with sweat.

He looked at the man sitting opposite him, and suddenly felt that he was a mountain that he could never climb in his life.

People only talk about how cruel and violent the King of Liaoning is, and court officials also call him a mad dog, but no matter how many insults he suffers and how many people want to kill him, he is still the greatest king in this chaotic world.

He has come step by step on a mountain of corpses and a sea of ​​blood. He is indeed cruel, but the reason why he has remained invincible so far is not only because he is cruel, but also because he has already planned and mastered the overall situation.

Chu Yangui looked at Feng Shuo, pursed his lips and nodded: "I remember it."

There was a knock on the door outside. It was Jiang Yanyi who brought Xie Chuji to deliver cakes.

The servants in the room had been sent away by Chu Yangui on the pretext of not disturbing the chess game. Old Master Chu sat there for a while, and she really couldn't think of anything to talk about with Feng Shuo. While Chu Yangui and Feng Shuo were playing chess, she left the front hall, not to mention that Second Master Chu, a drunkard, went back to his own yard early to drink.

Jiang Yanyi came in with rice cakes, saw the chessboard, and asked with a smile: "Did Yangui lose?"

Feng Shuo said: "He plays better than you."

Jiang Yanyi was concerned about giving Feng Shuo some face in front of outsiders, so she just glared at Feng Shuo. After she put the rice cake plate on the low table beside her, she asked Chu Yangui: "Are you bored? I'll push you out for some fresh air?"

This meant to avoid the question, after all, what Xie Chuji said might be confidential.

Without waiting for Chu Yangui to answer, Feng Shuo said, "The window is always open, it's not stuffy."

He pointed to the pearwood chair beside him and said, "Sit down, why not help Yangui to watch the next game."

Xie Chuji was also a very smart person, and he immediately understood Feng Shuo's attitude - he didn't intend to let Jiang Yanyi and his brother avoid suspicion.

After Jiang Yanyi sat down, Xie Chuji bowed to Feng Shuo and said, "Greetings to the King of Liaoning."

Chu Chengmao was guarding the door, so no one would come here.

"No need to be polite, Second Miss Xie." Feng Shuo looked up at her from the moment she entered the room until now. "It is said that you have obtained evidence to vindicate the Mu family?"

Xie Chuji's thin back was straightened: "Yes, I would like to ask the prince to overturn the case and vindicate the Mu family."

Feng Shuo asked: "Evidence."

Xie Chuji took out a stack of letters from her arms and handed them to Feng Shuo: "Marquis Mu Wu had a lieutenant general named Liao Kun under his command. When Marquis Mu Wu was defeated, it was not because of the previous emperor's judgment that Marquis Mu Wu committed treason and then committed suicide, but because he was framed by this villain!"

"Liao Kun?" Feng Shuo frowned. "After the Mu family was raided, he was the only one in the court who dared to risk his life to plead for the Mu family."

Xie Chuji's eyes were red, and hatred was boiling in his eyes. "He is just pretending! Marquis Mu Wu used another lieutenant general under his command, and he held a grudge against him. At that time, the late emperor was ill, and several princes were fighting secretly. Although the prince's orphan was loved by the late emperor, he was jealous of his relatives by marriage and had been suppressing the Gao family. The Gao family had many empty titles but no real power."

"In order to help the grandson of the emperor seize the throne, the Gao family set their sights on the military power of the Mu family and bribed Liao Kun, a lieutenant general under Mu Wuhou. In the battle where Wuhou's army was defeated, it was Liao Kun who opened the city gate for the enemy at night, and countless Daxuan civilians and soldiers were killed in their sleep. The letter that pointed out that Mu Wuhou was colluding with the enemy and treason was also sent by him to contact the Minghan Kingdom in the southern border in the name of Mu Wuhou..."

The ironclad evidence that convicted the Mu family was a letter written by the marshal of the Minghan Kingdom in the southern border to Mu Wuhou.

After Mu Wuhou's death, the marshal of Minghan Kingdom instinctively attacked the next city directly, but he took the initiative to stop the war for three days, saying that he admired Mu Wuhou and mourned the loss of such an ally.

This move made the officials in the court who had originally pleaded for the Mu Wuhou family no longer dare to petition for mercy, thinking that Mu Wuhou really was treason.

Feng Shuo has been looking for evidence to redress the Mu family in recent years. He thought that the letter was a frame-up by Ming Han State, and that the truce by the Ming Han State Marshal was just a show.

Unfortunately, he sent countless people to investigate, but could not find a breakthrough. When he nearly killed the Ming Han State Marshal, he also questioned the other party on the battlefield. The Ming Han State Marshal insisted that Mu Wuhou was his ally. All the facts showed that Mu Wuhou really was treason.

If it weren't for his trust in Mu Wuhou, Feng Shuo would have been convinced by the evidence.

Now Xie Chuji has found out that someone used the name of Marquis Mu Wu to communicate with the Marshal of Minghan State, and the mystery has finally been solved.

Feng Shuo never thought that the old subordinate who seemed to be loyal to Marquis Mu Wu was the real culprit who put the entire Mu family on the line.

He flipped through the letters sent by Xie Chuji one by one, and his face became worse and worse. In the end, it was already cloudy: "Back then, Xuanqing took the initiative to find Liao Kun. It turned out that from then on, the Gao family knew that their brothers were not dead."

Liao Kun seemed to be at odds with the Gao family, but in fact he was a running dog of the Gao family.

Back then, Mu Xuanqing thought he was a trustworthy person and dragged out all the clues he found, thinking that he really wanted to help the Mu family get justice, but Liao Kun reported all of Mu Xuanqing's movements to the Gao family.

Duke Chen, who replaced Mu Xuanqing and his brother with death row prisoners, also became a thorn in the eyes of the Gao family. However, Duke Chen resigned from his post and retired before the Gao family found evidence, thus escaping the Gao family's calculations.

Mu Xuanqing trusted Liao Kun too much and always suspected that there was someone else's spy around him. He tried to eliminate his power several times but to no avail. Who knew that the real traitor was the destination of all his letters.

Xie Chuji smiled bitterly and said, "The letter on the arrow that the prince received in the army three years ago was also written by the Gao family. The Gao family knew that the prince was determined to find out the truth and vindicate Mu Wuhou, so they came up with this plan to kill both the prince and you in that battle."

Feng Shuo was not the commander-in-chief in that battle. After fighting for several months, he only had a few thousand remnants. The imperial court's reinforcements were slow to arrive, and Ming Han State had a force of tens of thousands of tigers and wolves. The commander-in-chief abandoned the city and fled. In the end,

Mu Xuanqing died in the battle, and Feng Shuo was seriously injured and lost half his life.

The truth that had been investigated for several years finally surfaced, but it was bloody, just as the blood that flowed to the entrance of the vegetable market when hundreds of people from the Mu family were sent to the execution ground and beheaded.

Feng Shuo's knuckles were so tight that they wrinkled the letter paper, but his eyes were calm before a storm: "It's time for them to pay back what they owe to the Mu family."