April days are always accompanied by continuous drizzle.
On the streets, pedestrians holding various paper umbrellas were bustling.
Zheng's taxi drivers are diligent and diligent, running around the streets and alleys, soliciting customers for their livelihood.
As they ran, hearty laughter and melodious whistles echoed throughout the imperial city, making people stop and smile when they heard it - Zheng's coachman has long become one of the two unique scenery in the imperial city.
Another unique scenery disappeared not long ago: the sky was full of ravens, falling at the same time.
The sight of thousands of ravens falling and dying at the same time made the people panic, thinking it was a sign of disaster from heaven; but soon some officials issued a document to refute the rumors, saying that there was no such thing, but why, the officials I can't even come up with a reasonable explanation.
Of course, food, clothing, housing and transportation are the foundation of people's livelihood. Now that they live and work in peace and contentment, the people have quickly forgotten this.
Qing Shisan and Zheng Xiu were still chatting under the eaves.
Things were arranged without leaving home.
Zheng Xiu had nothing to do and thought about it, and ordered a batch of limited edition paper umbrellas.
The ribs of the umbrella are inlaid with gold and jade, with the words "attracting wealth and treasure" printed on them. The number is limited to eighty-eight, with a unique number. The cost is thirty taels, and it sells for six hundred and sixty-six taels of silver. It is designed to deceive the rich in the city.
The selling point of the promotion is that the Qiankun is hidden in the ribs of the umbrella and can shoot out steel needles. It is a must-have product for traveling at home and traveling around the world to kill people and steal goods.
If everything goes well, you can earn more than 50,000 taels of silver once it is resold.
The happiness of the rich is so simple and unpretentious, purely making money.
When Qing Shisan heard this, he said with a smile that he was smart and continued the arrangement.
There are countless talented people in the Zheng family, and the craftsmen are all first-rate. Wouldn't it be easy to make a treasure umbrella that contains the universe?
When Qing Shisan asked why the master suddenly thought of tinkering with such a "retro" thing, Zheng Xiu smiled and said nothing.
"Meow!"
Xiaofengmiao jumped down from the side in a frizzy manner, jumped straight into Zheng Xiu's arms, found a comfortable position and curled up, squinting his eyes and motionless.
Zheng Xiu habitually stroked Xiaofeng Miao's hair, which was soft and smooth, and seemed to have gained weight again.
Touching it, Zheng Xiu burst into laughter. Only then did he remember that this cat was not the one he and Feng Bei raised in the world in the painting.
"When did you become so close to me?"
Zheng Xiu smiled at the kitten in his arms.
He vaguely remembered that when he wanted to tease the cat in the past, he could scare the orange cat into a shocked face.
"Meow meow..."
The orange cat rolled her eyes with her belly facing up, as if gesturing to Zheng Xiu to scratch her belly.
[Idiot meow. 】
Zheng Xiu's movement of stroking the cat's crotch suddenly froze, and he covered his ears in surprise.
Auditory hallucinations?
What's this [foreign language] nonsense about?
"Meow meow meow!"
The orange cat rolled happily in Zheng Xiu's arms.
He looked very close to Zheng Xiu, and he didn't look like a cat that could curse.
At this moment Qing Shisan spoke, attracting Zheng Xiu's attention.
"Master, there is something that you will definitely be interested in."
Zheng Xiu continued to tease the cat and replied to Qing Shisan: "You tell me."
"Do you still remember that not long ago, before you fell ill, the Wei royal family held a ceremony to worship their ancestors on March 3rd and establish a heir apparent?"
Zheng Xiu was stunned. After a hundred years, if Qing Shisan hadn't mentioned it, he would have forgotten about it.
In fact, this matter had nothing to do with him. Whoever he appointed had nothing to do with him. He had no intention of getting involved. So when the two princes offered olive branches to each other, Zheng Xiu used various methods at that time. The way declined.
Now that Qing Shisan mentioned it, Zheng Xiu became interested again. It stands to reason that although the issue of establishing a prince would not lead to bloodshed on the surface, overt and covert fighting is necessary. Zheng Xiu looked calm and asked about the follow-up.
"Haha," Qing Shisan smoked a dry cigarette and laughed a few times: "At that time, the master suffered a serious illness, and our Zheng family had no backbone. We were all like frightened birds, fearing that the fire would burn our heads."
"It is said that the second prince almost wanted to go south and find another way."
Zheng Xiu tried hard to turn over the memories in his mind.
It's been a hundred years, and it's not easy to bring the characters from the past back into line.
Qing Shisan saw Zheng Xiu frowning in deep thought, and kindly reminded him, "The most arrogant and domineering one."
Oh, I remembered.
The kid who asked me if I knew how to write the word "death".
Zheng Xiu nodded: "I remembered it, what happened later."
"I secretly inquired a lot of information from Mr. Jiang. It is Jiang Gaoyi, the one who is very close to the master, and is now Mr. Jiang, the Minister of the Ministry of Justice." Qing Shisan noticed that after the master recovered from illness, he seemed to have "forgot" a lot of things , he would remind him thoughtfully when speaking. Zheng Xiu was very satisfied with Qing Shisan’s sensibleness, with an encouraging smile on his face. Qing Shisan continued:
"First, the eldest prince paid a lot of money to hire the great writer Ximen Bei to come to the house to tell the story. Under pressure, Ximen Bei wrote two autobiographies for the eldest prince and spread them widely. He spent a lot of pen and ink in the book and advocated many things of the eldest prince. Deeds, familiar with poetry and books, going to the countryside to provide disaster relief, proficient in all kinds of music, chess, calligraphy and painting."
"Although the common people don't understand, after reading the book, people talk about the eldest prince a lot more."
Zheng Xiu listened quietly, and the orange cat turned over again.
"Ugh...meow!"
【Shabi meow. 】
Zheng Xiu seemed to understand again this time.
The orange cat was scolding the eldest prince.
"It's easy to scold."
Zheng Xiu smiled and patted the cat's butt.
The orange cat rolled his eyes, his expression was quite human.
Qing Shisan glanced at Zheng Xiu strangely.
"It's okay, just keep talking and I'll listen."
"By the way, there is one more thing about the eldest prince. It is said that one night in the palace, the eldest prince was assassinated in his bedroom. In the end, the eldest prince was safe and sound. According to various clues, it is inferred that the eldest prince... is very likely to have a profound conspiracy. Gate magic."
"Oh? What method did he use?" Mr. Zheng's eyes suddenly lit up.
If the undercurrent of internal strife in the royal family only makes Zheng Xiu "interested", then when it comes to "door path magic", it is to the extent that Zheng Xiu is "excited".
"The chess player. His chess skills are superb."
"Did you see it with your own eyes?"
"It's a guess. But I'm 70% certain."
Zheng Xiu closed his eyes, holding the orange cat in his arms, and said calmly and calmly, "Continue talking."
Qing Shisan secretly praised the master's magnanimity at this moment.
For some reason, after the master became seriously ill this time, he changed to a different person. Qing Shisan felt that the master seemed to have matured a lot all of a sudden, exuding the majesty of a superior old man. It's completely unlike what he can show at his age.
"The eldest prince was assassinated that time. Although there is no certainty, the subordinates believed that it was probably the second prince who carried out the assassination. In short, it was left to nothing. Therefore, the second prince impatiently wanted to escape from the imperial city and go south to survive. But somehow I didn’t leave in the end.”
"Then something happened that perhaps I didn't expect. As March 3 approached, many ministers publicly praised the third prince in the morning."
Zheng Xiu's eyes were half-opened, a little more surprised: "The third prince with a cowardly personality?"
"Yes, the third prince has a 'cowardly' temperament." Qing Shisan grinned, emphasizing the word "cowardly".
Zheng Xiu suddenly said: "The third prince won?"
Qing Shisan squinted his eyes and showed a mysterious smile.
He smiled for a while and slowly shook his head: "This time, the master guessed wrong. Or, everyone in the world who dared to guess guessed wrong. No one can guess the emperor's mind."
Zheng Xiu thought for a while, then showed a surprised expression: "They all lost? No wonder... As expected of Old Wei."
He suddenly remembered "many years ago" when Old Wei asked the emperor three questions in front of the prison camp.
Lao Wei once asked Zheng Xiu himself who among his three sons he was most optimistic about.
Surprise appeared in Qing Shisan's eyes. He never expected that the master would guess the result. After a while, Qing Shisan gave Zheng Xiu a thumbs up: "As expected of the master!"
On March 3rd, the emperor announced to the world that he had appointed the fourth prince as the crown prince.
That's right, it was the fourth prince who was still drinking milk in the nurse's arms just a few days after his birth.
"Obviously, all the plans of the three princes have failed, but in fact, Old Wei has passed this incident and thoroughly seen the methods and temperament of the three princes. It is indeed an imperial family, even his own son has been cheated. Once. If we really didn’t get it right, all three princes will die." Zheng Xiu said with emotion.
Qing Shisan also sighed: "So, there is nothing good about being born in an emperor's family."
"hehe."
Zheng Xiu smiled and did not comment.
If you talk about this kind of thing outside, you will be beheaded even if you talk about it.
But in the Zheng family, there are no taboos, just talk about it.
This is his territory, and he, Zheng Xiu, has the final say.
Time passed quietly as the two chatted about everyday things and happily bonded.
Several whistles sounded from the eaves, and Qing Shisan listened attentively: "They are already waiting in the conference room."
"Let brothers be alert...but now that there is no raven, there is no need to worry too much."
"Don't worry, let alone the raven, not even a fly can fly into Zheng's house."
Qing Shisan said firmly.
Now that Ye Weiyang has lost her "eyes" and is completely mute, Zheng's house has truly become a dragon's nest and a tiger's den.
Zheng Xiu held the little orange cat in his arms and walked slowly in Zheng's home. He passed by the corridor, fed the goldfish, looked at the unopened lotus flowers, stopped and walked for a while, and finally arrived at the living room.
In the living room, familiar faces sat down respectively, and they were quietly waiting for Zheng Xiu's arrival.
What came into view were the other two giants of the Brotherhood, Ji Hongou and Pei Gaoya, sitting aside.
The monk sat uncomfortably on the stool. The fourth maid in charge of the reception brought hot tea to the monk. The monk quickly stood up and thanked him.
The former Yue Yan, who was an undercover agent on the surface, Xi'er, the golden dressmaker of Zheng's Cloth Shop, was looking around.
Yan Jiji was still dressed like a contractor. The honest old craftsman seemed to be attending such a grand meeting of the Zheng family for the first time and seemed restless.
The golden dressmaker's eyes glanced up to the seat from time to time - I don't know whose idea it was to add an extra stool next to the main seat, on which Feng Bei sat with a cold gaze. This way of arranging the seats made Zheng Xiu slightly stunned. Wasn't it obvious that he wanted to tell everyone that someone had given Feng Bei the status of "hostess".
When Zheng Xiu sat down with the cat in his arms, the orange cat saw Feng Bei, jumped out of Zheng Xiu's arms happily, jumped into Feng Bei's arms, and pushed its furry head desperately into Feng Bei's soft and big arms.
This familiar move made Zheng Xiu raise his eyebrows. Feng Bei also turned his gaze at this moment. The two looked at each other, and both saw a hint of shock and confusion in the other's eyes.
Zheng Xiu shook his head slightly.
Feng Bei nodded slightly.
The exchange is completed.
To put it simply: Let’s talk in detail in the room later.
Qing Shisan also sat down, crossed his legs, and turned off his cigarette.
"A lot of things have happened recently." Zheng Xiu started directly: "Recently, when I was away, the Zheng family had to take care of all the brothers and sisters. With your help under the Zheng family, Zheng felt that he was lucky throughout his life, and sighed with emotion to his ancestors Bless the Zheng family."
"The master is serious."
"Where there!"
"I hope the master is safe."
Zheng Xiu first looked at Xi'er: "What's happening in Ye Weiyang recently?"
Xi'er's answer was exactly the same as what Qing Shisan understood.
Quiet, too quiet.
Xi'er glanced at Feng Bei.
In fact, she was more shocked than anyone else. She didn't know the inside story, let alone that the relationship between Feng Bei and Mr. Zheng had reached this point. But she had personally experienced Ye Weiyang's pursuit of Feng Bei. Now that Feng Bei was sitting in Zheng's house safe and sound, just the fact that "she was safe and sound" was enough to make Xi'er have wild thoughts about Ye Weiyang during this period. Weiyang's internal weirdness gave rise to countless speculations out of thin air.
"By the way, you also know that." Zheng Xiu slapped his head and secretly cursed himself for forgetfulness. In fact, after being tortured in the painting for hundreds of years, many memories of the outside world have become blurred. Only then did he remember that Yue Yan was also present when Feng Bei was involved in the cannibal painting. Thinking of this, Zheng Xiu smiled and explained: "Feng Bei is no longer Shang Xian San, and you know it very well. Now, Ye Weiyang and our Zheng family have a hostile relationship."
After a pause in his tone, Zheng Xiu added: "An unrelenting hostile relationship."
Zheng Xiu's words finalized the relationship between the two parties, and there was absolutely no possibility of detours.
Feng Bei looked at his sweetheart softly.
Zheng Xiu made Qing Shisan, Ji Hongou, and Pei Gaoya sit up straight in an instant.
Ji Hongou took a deep breath: "This... is a big deal."
Qing Shisan smiled bitterly and said, "Master, you are really good at hiding."
Pei Gaoya touched his head and said, "I am worried that I have no work recently."
Xi'er quickly took out Ye Weiyang's badge from her waist and was a little dumbfounded: "No wonder I was chubby when I came." She was referring to the "black cat" issued by Ye Weiyang. Little Fatty refuses to come in, it turns out he senses the murderous intention of the master! Then can I go back?"
"Meow!"
The orange cat arched even more happily.
"Don't make trouble."
Feng Bei didn't dare to touch the little orange cat with his hands, for fear of accidentally touching the cat and killing it. She gave a habitual scolding, and the orange cat immediately became quiet.
After Xi'er was shocked, she told what she had seen and heard recently without reservation.
The undercover agent completely jumped back to his original position.
Everyone listened quietly.
At the end, Zheng Xiu lowered his head and pondered: "You mean, since that incident, the Night Lord has never issued any instructions? Immediately after all the ravens died, the Night Lord lost contact?"
"Ye Weiyang is now in name only and no longer deals with mystery cases?"
"Nowadays, mysterious cases happen frequently everywhere, but no one pays attention to it?"
"Even the Emperor can't find the Night Lord?"
Zheng Xiu was no less surprised than Yue Yan.
He originally thought that killing the Crow Raider would only blind the Night Lord, nothing more. What I didn't expect was that the raven was not only Zhu's eyes, but also the medium through which Zhu issued instructions.
Now that the crow keeper has been completely killed and his eyes have been taken away, Zhu, who has been hiding behind the scenes, has no medium to communicate with Ye Weiyang. Now, is he completely hiding?
"What does he want to do?"
Zheng Xiu fell into deep thought.
The three big brothers, the fourth maid, Monk, and Feng Bei were all puzzled when they heard this.
When Zheng Xiu said that he and Ye Weiyang would fight to the death, they thought they were about to start a war. Feng Bei also wanted to find out who was behind the scenes and settle the grudges from twenty or even two hundred years ago. But now that they heard it, Zhu was completely hidden, and Ye Weiyang's operating system was completely paralyzed. Their newly summoned interest was like a punch on cotton, extremely uncomfortable.
"Could it be..."
He had previously speculated that Zhu did not dare to approach the imperial city because there was a place under the palace that was extremely close to constant darkness. It was the place where Gongsun Mo painted cannibal paintings a hundred years ago. As the saying goes, there must be a monster when something goes wrong. Ye Weiyang's weirdness gave Zheng Xiu a bad guess.
"Uncle Yan, I have two things to trouble you."
Zheng Xiu quickly arranged the matter: "First, make a batch of swords for me. I will draw the styles of the swords for you later. Don't look at me like this. I am not rebelling. The swords do not have to be sharp. If someone from above asks, I will explain."
"Also, please help Uncle Yan dig some tunnels to connect the whole city. But be sure to avoid the area near the palace. As for the tunnel route, I will give it to you later."
Yan Jiji quickly agreed, his behavior a bit flattered.
Zheng Xiu closed his eyes and thought for a moment: "Also, arrange the time. I want to meet Ximen Bei."
Zhizhi and others took out pen and paper and took notes.
This is their job.
"Xi'er, please continue to pay attention to Ye Weiyang's movements. Once the Night Master uses a new method to convey orders, notify me in time."
Xi'er agreed with a grimace.
Yes, I have to go back and be an undercover agent.
Whether it was the movement from the royal family or Ye Weiyang's turning off the engine, everything became peaceful, as if everything was going according to Zheng Xiu's wishes. If you want to make trouble, you can't make trouble, if you want to fight, you can't get over it. But on the contrary, this weird "smoothness" made Zheng Xiu feel more and more uneasy.
Zhu has lived in the world for thousands of years with different identities. Zheng Xiu does not think that killing the crow farmer will completely make Zhu give up the overall situation of the "Century Festival". He would rather believe that Zhu has other plans.
In fact, before he interfered with the incident in Baili Village, there was no Ye Weiyang or Raven in the world, and everything was hidden in secret. The "great changes in the world" caused by Zheng Xiu's intervention only brought these secrets hidden underwater to the surface.
"That's wrong." Zheng Xiu, who had closed his eyes in deep thought, suddenly opened his eyes and glanced at Feng Bei.
Although two hundred years ago in Cicada Valley, three strangers became human pillars at the same time. But the ghosts of twenty years ago may not be the same. Is the Treasure King a stranger? Wei Chen is a stranger? Feng Bei’s father too? Plus Fengbei?
This seems to be the wrong amount.
"Fengbei's father is not a stranger!" Zheng Xiu compared the Richan Valley two hundred years ago with the Baili Village twenty years ago. If we think about it in terms of "ritual"...then think of the murals left in Richan Valley.
Zheng Xiu suddenly realized: "No, in addition to the stranger, there must also be a 'sacrifice'! Atulu two hundred years ago was a sacrifice! Feng Bei's father twenty years ago was also a sacrifice!"
"Is there a possibility that the three human pillars used to suppress Chang An do not need to be in the same place, but only need to happen at a similar time and in different places to have the same effect?"
"Is Zhu planning to continue the layout in other places?"
Zheng Xiu had many thoughts in his mind.
They are all questions that no one can answer.
Zhu, who had lived for thousands of years, was like an elusive huge shadow, entrenched in Zheng Xiu's heart, making him feel uneasy.
After arranging some trivial matters again, after thinking about it, Zheng Xiu decided to secretly go to the palace tonight to explore.
He wanted to find out what was left in the huge secret room under the palace after the real Gongsun Mo painted the cannibal paintings.
Asking for a monthly ticket!
(End of chapter)
