When Lu Qingyao's journey returned to the Tea Horse Road, the whistles swarmed in one by one. For the first time, Lu Qingyao noticed that there were so many whistles around him.
Sure enough, the man in the imperial city still had scruples about his own profession, fearing that it would be more of suspicion. At the moment, Lu Qingyao had only one choice, and that was to rush back to the imperial city and become his eighth prince.
The horse raced all the way, hurrying and slowing down, and Lu Qingyao arrived at the Imperial City in less than half a month, which was much faster than the normal journey.
The imperial city was still as bustling as ever, with people coming and going. It seemed that nothing had changed, only Lu Qingyao had changed. He traveled around the world and made a good friend, but when he came back he lost another friend.
Lu Qingyao did not go directly to the palace or his own mansion. He went directly to the White Horse Temple. Ye Tianshi inherited the Qingcheng sect and had his own Taoism to resolve it. He, Lu Qingyao, does not believe in Buddhism or Taoism, but he also needs to find a place of purity at this moment.
This time, Lu Qingyao, who stood in front of Monk Wuliang, no longer claimed to be the Six Musketeers.
"Old monk, there are no flowers to enjoy now. Is there any good tea?" Lu Qingyao took off his mask and looked calm, but Monk Wuliang heard a trace of sadness in this sentence.
There are some things that you don’t need to ask too much about.
Monk Wuliang prepared a guest room for Lu Qingyao, took out the few money he had left for good tea, and boiled a pot of boiling water. After the eighth prince changed into his moonlight clothes, he poured the water and washed the tea. , pour again, prepare tea, pour tea. As usual, he handed a cup to Lu Qingyao.
"Eighth Prince, please."
Although Lu Qingyao had put on brighter-colored regular clothes after shedding the dust of her journey, she still looked a little tired. There are some things that he does not want to participate in and does not want to get involved in. But who among the royal family is not involved in the situation? Whether they want it or not, there are some things in this world that you can’t choose to do or not do if you want or don’t want to. Lu Qingyao picked up the tea cup and took a sip, but his tongue was burned by the fresh brew.
"Ah, it's so hot! Monk, are you trying to burn me to death?" Lu Qingyao was already absent-minded, and Ye Tian was in a bad mood because of the matter.
"This tea is no different from when the Eighth Prince came last time. It's just that the Eighth Prince's state of mind is different." A few years later, Monk Wuliang, who was twenty or thirty years older than the Eighth Prince, now looks like Seems a little older. Monk Wuliang is one of the few people who has watched the Eighth Prince grow up. When someone needs to answer questions, he is much more reliable than the Eighth Prince's father who doesn't care about anything.
Indeed, Monk Wuliang was right. Lu Qingyao now, Ye Tian is on the one hand, I don’t know if he can survive the holy water poisoning attacks again and again, and I don’t know if he can survive one year, the next year, until twenty years, I don’t know. Will he and Ye Tian be able to find the detoxification method of holy water in the past twenty years? His own affairs were on the other hand. Lu Deqing had an ambiguous attitude towards him, the eighth prince. He had been trembling and surviving alone in the intrigues all his life. The few years he had been wandering around in the world were just a few extra years. In this life, ,enough. But if it was because of some irrelevant suspicions, then he would still have to give himself a few more years to live in this life.
I don’t know how the news sent back to the Anhe Guard by the whistles was written, but that one seemed to be very eager for his return. Lu Qingyao could even feel that he was supposed to encounter one or two bandits on the way back. The robbers were all gone, as if someone had opened the way for him to reach the imperial city smoothly.
"Monk, you still hit the mark like this. Why don't you guess, can I come out alive this time?" As usual, Lu Qingyao was casually joking with Monk Wuliang, risking his own life. A bet.
After his mother and concubine left, and after the age of ten, every time Lu Qingyao entered the palace, he didn't know whether he could come out alive.
Things in the world are impermanent. Monk Wuliang, a Buddhist practitioner, knows what his answer is without even thinking about it. "Eighth Prince, you have a destiny, so don't worry too much. What should come will come, and what should go will go."
It's the same cliché again, boring. Lu Qingyao's face couldn't look better. Now, he could only take one step at a time. As usual, it was natural. Only this time, Lu Qingyao needed to leave his identity as the Six Musketeers in White Horse Temple. He really couldn't enter the mansion as the Six Musketeers and then leave the mansion as the Eighth Prince.
"Old monk, help me put away my sword and luggage, and wait for me to refill this cup of tea when I come back." Swords are not allowed in front of the temple, so Lu Qingyao left behind the Six Musketeers' swords, masks, and luggage for traveling around the world. After leaving the Imperial City, we plan to come to White Horse Temple and have a drink with the monk. The tea is still too hot, so I won’t drink it after this cup. I’ll have another cup with the old monk when I get out.
After drinking this cup of tea, he will return to his identity as the eighth prince and face his father.
Lu Qingyao walked out of the White Horse Temple and headed towards the imperial city. As far as he could see, the number of whistles from the Anhe Guard was still the same as when they came, and no one was missing. The journey into the palace went smoothly. It didn't take much guessing to know that the guards had received the news that he was entering the palace today.
But on the way to the imperial study room after entering the palace, it seemed to be more difficult than before. The Anhe Guards were heavily guarded from the moment he entered the palace to the imperial study room. It seemed that no matter what news came back from the Anhe Guard, his father's wariness against him made every step he took feel like he was facing an abyss and walking on thin ice.
This time, the walk to the imperial study took longer than usual. Finally, we reached the imperial study at noon.
The guard outside the imperial study room was indeed He Qun. He Qun went in to inform the Eighth Prince of his visit, but the reply was to ask the Eighth Prince to wait in the courtyard outside the room. It was not yet late autumn, and the sun at noon was still dazzling and hot. Lu Qingyao kept standing outside the room. The autumn colors in the courtyard were lifeless, and he could only stand. It was not until after standing for two full hours that Lu Deqing finally Let him in.
A few years later, when he saw the eighth prince Lu Deqing again, his majesty was the same as before. He did not even raise his eyes to look at Lu Qingyao, who was kneeling in obeisance.
"Is it so interesting not to be in the imperial city or my own mansion in the past few years, but in the world of Jianghu?" Lu Deqing asked coldly.
On the way here, Lu Qingyao thought about this problem, how to dispel his suspicious father's concerns.
"Father, on this trip, in addition to seeing this great river and mountains, I also tested the teaching results of He Weiwei. The heroes in the world are indeed heroes in the world, and they can be used by my father." Most people in the rivers and lakes are free. Lu Qingyao actually didn't know whether he was willing to be used by Lu Deqing, but Anhewei had so many whistles. As long as Lu Deqing wanted to, it would not be difficult to leverage a corner of the world.
"Well, that's a good point. In the past few years, you have grown taller, but you are still a little thinner. Let's stay and have dinner together. It's almost time to have dinner." This should be the first time since I can remember. Hearing his father speaking to him in such a tone that a real father cared about his son, Lu Qingyao's eyes were even a little dazed. For a moment, he raised his eyes to look at Lu Qin's eyes and froze. This was extremely disrespectful to the emperor. He Qun on the side quickly reminded the eighth prince, "Eighth prince, you can go to the side room to rest for a while. I will call you when the time is up."
Lu Qingyao finally came to his senses and stepped back respectfully.
When they arrived at the side room, Lu Qingyao was a little overwhelmed by the long-awaited display of fatherly kindness and sonship, but he was still secretly glad that he should be able to pass today's test.
After taking a short rest, it was time to eat. This was the first time in twenty years that Lu Qingyao and his father ate at the same table. Maybe he had done so when he was young, but most of the time it was him and his mother and concubine in the deserted palace. After the concubine died, he ate alone in the deserted palace.
There were no singers and no one was playing music. It turned out that dining with his father was no different from dining with civilian families he had seen in the past few years. Over a few simple home-cooked dishes, Lu Deqing asked Lu Qingyao about the interesting things he had encountered in the past few years, and the two of them were talking and laughing about the beautiful scenery they had seen. After the meal, Lu Deqing sent someone to bring the cooked chicken soup. Just like the father and son in the folk, they always make something good to replenish the body of their son who is still growing after returning from a long trip.
Lu Qingyao looked at the fragrant chicken soup and his father who looked normal. The young man thought that although his father usually ignored him, he still thought about him in his heart. The chicken soup was really fragrant. Lu Qingyao was still a little bit unsatisfied after drinking a bowl of it, but the strange fluctuations in his internal energy made him react. His father, who was unusual today, was also on guard as usual. The chicken soup was laced with Xiaoyao scattered.
The name Xiaoyaosan sounds happy, but it is actually a strange poison in the world. The wonder of this poison is that it competes with the checks and balances of the internal force. If the poisoned person is poisoned, he will automatically become a disabled person and never use his internal force. The poison will slowly erode the poisoned body and dissipate the poisoned person's internal force until the poison penetrates deep into the bone marrow and dies of exhaustion. . However, if a martial arts practitioner is poisoned and tries to force out the toxin through internal force, the poison will cause the poisoned person to lose his internal force while using his internal force. In a short period of time, the poisoned person will lose all his internal force and become a useless person, and when the poison invades Bone marrow poisoning will also cause failure and death.
Such a vicious poison must not be a common defensive poison in the palace. In order to prevent him, the old man was even willing to find such a vicious poison from the rivers and lakes that he had always dismissed. The love between father and son just now turned out to be for The drama put on by this bowl of soup. It was hard to tell whether he should admire the old man's acting skills or feel sorry for the hallucination he had just had. Lu Qingyao chuckled unconsciously.
"I am honored to have dinner with my father. If I don't want to bother you anymore, please allow me to go ahead." Lu Qingyao asked his father for permission to go ahead, just like every time he said goodbye before.
Lu Deqing was right, because there was no need for the eighth prince to stay here anymore.
Lu Qingyao said goodbye to his father, looked at He Qun for the last time, and left.
He Qun should have known about it, or the poison should have been planted by He Qun. Otherwise, Lu Deqing would not have known about such a vicious poison without the magical power of An He Wei.
What a vicious and reasonable idea. If the Eighth Prince really interacts with the Demon Sect, then the Eighth Prince, who will no longer be able to use his internal power, will lose his deterrence to targets like the Demon Sect who only recognize martial arts. The same is true for the entire Jianghu. Even if the Eighth Prince can really intimidate the Jianghu, he will not be able to do so from now on. If the Eighth Prince wanted to use the world to intimidate the imperial city by using the status he had gained through martial arts competitions over the past few years, then Xiaoyaosan would have lost all his inner strength and become a useless person when he wanted to use force to conquer others and command the world.
This idea is very consistent with Lu Qingyao's suspicious and jealous character. One move may not be fatal, but it will definitely make you unable to move.
It is said that a son is better than his father, but at this moment, Lu Qingyao is the one who understands Lu Deqing best.
It's really ironic. Just now, I was drinking and chatting with my father at the dinner table. It turns out that none of this will ever happen. If it does, it must be fake. It's so ridiculous that Lu Qingyao, who had been alone for twenty years, was finally defeated by his father's pretend tenderness between father and son.
Lu Qingyao staggered out of the imperial city without going directly to his mansion. In the few days left, he hoped to return to the days of freedom and walked step by step towards White Horse Temple. He wanted to change back into the clothes of the Six Musketeers, but these Six Musketeers would no longer use swords.
But before reaching the White Horse Temple, Lu Qingyao was intercepted by a masked man on his way up the mountain to the White Horse Temple.
Why bother covering your face? It was really unnecessary. Lu Qingyao could tell that the figure he had met frequently in the past ten years was He Qun without even saying a word. It seemed that his father was not worried about his Xiaoyaosan, and He Qun was his second guard against Lu Qingyao.
Fortunately, the light skill that He Qun gave him only required a little skill and did not require the use of internal strength. Lu Qingyao, who was not carrying any weapons at the moment, could only hide around in the mountains and forests with the help of Qinggong under the sword of He Qun who was pressing forward step by step. He cannot use his inner strength. He has to live until the first day of October. When he meets Ye Tian, he tells him that not only is he, Ye Tian, blessed by God, he can only be the leader for twenty years, but he, the Six Musketeers, may only have less than two years. Ten years of life. Look at these brothers and sisters, how fair and cruel God's favor is to them.
He Qun struck out quickly and pressed forward step by step. Seeing that Lu Qingyao's skills were getting better and better in recent years, his immediate plan was to force him into a desperate situation. On the other side of the mountain was an unfathomable cliff.
Lu Qingyao was finally forced to the edge of the cliff by He Qun through the insufficiently bright moonlight and complex terrain.
He stumbled and almost fell down the mountain.
"Chief He, why bother? To do this?" He didn't understand why he sent He Qun to chase him since he had already been hit by Xiaoyaosan. Was it to force Lu Qingyao to use his inner strength and put him in a desperate situation before he felt relieved?
He Qun didn't answer, but Lu Qingyao had the answer in his heart. Double insurance, his father was really cruel to him.
The Six Musketeers who have been in and out of the world in recent years are free, and so should the Eighth Prince. In this case, it's better to give it a try and either fulfill He Qun's wish or gain eternal freedom from then on.
Lu Qingyao smiled at He Qun. Under the not-so-bright moonlight, he even looked a little cunning and paradoxical.
"Guard He, you can go back and do your work." After saying that, Lu Qingyao leaned back, jumped, and fell down the cliff.
In desperation, He Qun shouted "Eighth Prince!" and ran to the edge of the cliff, but no one answered under the cliff. He immediately sent a signal, notifying all the Anhe Guards to dispatch to search the mountain and the valley under the cliff.
However, after three days of searching, Lu Qingyao found no one dead or dead. He was nowhere to be seen, as if he had disappeared out of thin air. The Anhe Guard could not search, but if he fell from the height of the cliff, he would die or be injured. From now on, whether Lu Qingyao is really dead or becomes a disabled person, he will no longer pose any threat to Lu Deqing and the throne he worries about. .
Five days later, the palace announced that the eighth prince had contracted the disease and died.
From now on, there is no more Eighth Prince in the world, and there is no more Lu Qingyao.
