Alley entrance.
A young man in simple clothes set up a small stool and sat on it peacefully.
A simple wooden crutch was leaning against the wall. There was a birdcage hanging on the crutch, and in the birdcage lay a sick crow. The crow's feathers were dark red, as if they had been soaked in blood and then dried again.
The sickly crow would open his eyes from time to time and look at the people watching without saying a word.
The young man's face was covered with ugly burnt scars, like squashed sarcomas. His eyes turned white and he seemed to be blind.
Most of the people surrounding the young man are young and middle-aged.
Young people ask about their future, middle-aged people ask about their fortune.
Occasionally, a young and beautiful girl is bold and not afraid of the differences between men and women. She shyly sits on the stall and asks about marriage. The blind young man smiled and took out a clean gauze scarf, wrapped it in the girl's catkin, and felt the bones through the gauze scarf.
A penny is really too cheap. Whether people believe it or not, it is not a bad thing to have fun or spend money to hear a few good words.
Zheng Xiu and Feng Bei looked side by side for a while, exchanged glances, and left quietly.
Feng Bei looked confused: "Wei Chen?"
Apparently she wasn't entirely sure either.
The only intersection between Feng Bei and Wei Chen was that they were both trapped in ghosts in Baili Village twenty years ago, and were eventually rescued by Zheng Shan at the same time.
As for Wei Chen, he was supposed to be taken away by Chang An, but in the end it was Wang Cangyun who risked everything and sacrificed himself to rescue him.
Thinking of Wang Cangyun, Zheng Xiu couldn't help but feel a little sad.
"That blood crow must be him. Unexpectedly, he has always been right under the Emperor's nose."
"What do you say……"
Feng Bei glanced at Zheng Xiu.
"Zhu is very likely to know this. But Old Wei may not know. In Old Wei's view, Wei Chen died twenty years ago, and no one would have guessed that a 'dead person' would Show up here.”
"You...will tell the emperor about this?"
Feng Bei asked.
Zheng Xiu laughed dumbly: "What do you tell the emperor to do?"
Feng Bei tilted his head, then understood and smiled slightly, understanding his thoughts.
Zheng Xiu leisurely explained: "There was a grudge against Canquanlou at the beginning, but Canqulou obviously did not deal with Ye Weiyang. Ye Weiyang has now become a piece of scattered sand, and Zhu's whereabouts are unknown. As the saying goes, the enemy of an enemy is a friend. The reason why Wei Chen Setting up a stall here honestly may have something to do with Zhu’s disappearance.”
"Before Wei Chen reveals his true purpose of coming here, just keep an eye on him. There's no rush."
The Imperial City can be said to be the base camp of the Zheng family. In the imperial city, Zheng can be said to be a behemoth comparable to Ye Weiyang. Both the financial resources and the number of thaumaturges gave Zheng Xiu full confidence.
Forget it in other places, in the imperial city, if Wei Chen really has evil intentions, can he still be made to jump up and down?
"It's probably because of Senior Wang Cangyun."
Feng Bei smiled and revealed Zheng Xiu's true thoughts: "There are many reasons to touch a person. But there is only one reason why you are unwilling to touch him. Is it because Senior Wang Cangyun wants him to survive?"
As expected of you.
Emphasis on love and justice.
In the past, Fengbei didn't like Zheng Xiu. After escaping from the cannibal painting, everything I saw was good about him.
The more Feng Bei gets to know Zheng Xiu, the more he can understand why so many masters of the Zheng family like to gather around Zheng Xiu and call him "Master Zheng" affectionately.
The reason why the Zheng family became the Zheng family today was not because of Zhonglie's bloodline, nor because of Zheng Xiu's "Zhonglie Marquis" who had an empty title but no real power, but because of Zheng Xiu himself.
It was he who made the Zheng family what it is today.
"I want you to talk more."
Zheng Xiu pretended to be evil, licked his tongue, picked up Feng Bei's little hand and squeezed it without any martial ethics.
In broad daylight, Feng Bei was not used to being intimate with Zheng Xiu in such an environment, but the struggle at this moment was undoubtedly more eye-catching. She could only get closer and hide the hands they held in her long sleeves.
Feng Bei always dresses in a low-key manner. She is not like a wealthy daughter who would like to have the words "beautiful and charming" written on her clothes. For a while, not many people noticed the little movements of Zheng Xiu and Feng Bei under their sleeves.
As they were walking, Feng Beitan suddenly opened her mouth in random thoughts. She turned to look at Zheng Xiu, ignoring the frivolous little hand, and her eyes could not hide the surprise: "I understand!"
"What did you understand?" Zheng Xiu was stunned. Can he suddenly realize it just by holding hands?
Feng Bei pursed his lips, and there was a hint of coldness in his voice: "No wonder the emperor has allowed you to get rich these years, and even tacitly allowed you to gather a group of thaumaturgy masters under his command. He has long wanted to let you Zheng family replace Ye Weiyang. "
Zheng Xiu was silent for a while.
After a while, he sighed softly: "He is worthy of being an emperor."
Back at Zheng's house, after Zheng Xiu told Qing Shisan about Wei Chen, Qing Shisan slapped his head: "The incomplete building! No wonder there were so many lame, blind, and deaf people in the city before March 3rd!"
Zheng Xiu was stunned when he heard this: "Before March 3rd?"
Qing Shisan: "Back to my lord, just before the royal ancestor worship ceremony on March 3rd, Feng Bei and...ahem, Zheng Shan..." Qing Shisan blinked hard at Zheng Xiu, as if to imply something, but Zheng Xiu Pretend not to see it, pretend not to know. Qing Shisan coughed for a while, and when he saw that the master did not express his position, he continued: "It happened not long after they went south."
"Qing noticed that something was wrong with the situation at that time, so he secretly kept an eye on the remnants. He wanted to wait until the master woke up in prison and report in detail. As everyone knows, the master later became seriously ill and couldn't wake up, so the matter was shelved. Got off."
It’s worthy of being praised by the brotherhood.
No matter the details.
Zheng Xiu sighed and felt relieved that he left the matter to Qing for approval. Chao Qing Shisan gave a thumbs up and praised it: "Well done! The monthly payment will be doubled next month! I will let Er Niang write it down for you later."
"Okay! The master is very generous!" When Qing Shisan heard about the extra money, he immediately smiled and narrowed his eyes.
Zheng Xiu asked: "What happened next?"
Qing Shisan pinched it with two fingers, and the dry tobacco bag ignited on its own, and a faint smoke came out. He took a hard breath and said with a smile: "After the ancestor worship ceremony, everyone disappeared inexplicably, and nothing happened. It was just as quiet as when we came here."
When Zheng Xiu heard this, he was stunned for a moment, thinking that the crown prince that Old Wei finally appointed at the ancestor worship ceremony was the newly born fourth prince, and two drops of cold sweat broke out on his forehead for no reason: "Damn it, could it be... In fact, the incomplete building and the one among them Is there any collusion among the princes?”
Qing Shisan choked on the cigarette, coughed violently, and showed an incredible expression.
He didn't expect this.
But when Zheng Xiu mentioned it, Qing Shisan also figured it out and looked at Zheng Xiu in shock. His mouth moved and he didn't dare to say anything.
Before March 3, the three princes who had the opportunity to compete for the crown prince showed their methods. The second prince assassinated the eldest prince, but the eldest prince had other plans, but in the end he lost to the third prince.
"For the cannibal painting, all the masters including Shangxian Sanfengbei, Shangxian Sijun Buxiao, Xixiansi Gu Qiutang and so on were mobilized."
Zheng Xiu's mind was spinning.
Suddenly, he connected everything he had experienced not long ago.
"Cannibal paintings were originally in the hands of monks."
"Chu Susu, one of the top ten generals, is looking for the monk and the painting in his hand."
"In other words, this painting was actually in the hands of Qianchilou."
"But in the end, due to some strange combination of circumstances, the monk lost his memory and ended up living in Shuzhou."
"Wait until the master gives the cannibal painting to Zhu."
"Zhu took the opportunity to continue his century-old plan and target Feng Bei."
"Wei Chen knew about this earlier? Did he do it on purpose?"
"They are using each other!"
"Using this incident, the Imperial City was empty at night, and Zhu took advantage of the situation, and the Qianchilou forces secretly entered the Imperial City."
"No matter which one of the three princes becomes the crown prince during the ancestor worship ceremony, there will likely be a vigorous drama of seizing the heir apparent! There will be rivers of blood!"
"However, in the end, Old Wei's light hand turned the secret fight between the three princes into a child's play house, punching the cotton!"
Zheng Xiu thought about it carefully and was very frightened. He quickly figured out all the causes and consequences and broke out in a cold sweat. All of this seems to have nothing to do with Zheng Xiu, but the development of the Zheng family relies on the era of peace and the protection of the royal family. Once the world is in chaos, or the emperor changes hands, one can imagine what will happen to the Zheng family next.
He felt at this moment as if a storm was brewing in the imperial city not long ago that could destroy the world. Zheng was in the center of the storm and almost faced the impact. When the storm finally dissipated, Zheng Xiu realized it later, which made him feel scared.
In this storm that almost caused disaster, everyone had an agenda.
The candlestick is Fengbei.
The one who edited the pictures was the "painter".
The three princes are seeking the legitimate throne.
I don’t know what the incomplete building is for.
This messy drama finally disappeared because of Lao Wei's decision.
Zheng Xiu happened to kill the crow farmer and extinguished Zhu's eyes, forcing Zhu to retreat and leaving Ye Weiyang dead in name only.
Peeling away the cocoons and connecting them layer by layer. This made Zheng Xiu wonder whether the outcome of all this was part of Zhu's arrangement?
"When did I become so paranoid?"
After an unknown amount of time, Zheng Xiu laughed at himself.
It seems that Zhu, who has lived for thousands of years, and the secrets Zheng Xiu learned from Gongsun Mo's memory, brought him too much pressure.
Finally, Zheng Xiu solemnly said to Qing: "Keep an eye on Wei Chen."
Qing Shisan took the order and left.
A few more days passed like this.
Zheng Xiu was a little uncomfortable with the monk leaving.
It seems that he spent all these years staying with the monk.
From time to time, he would enter the prison and check the route of the "Bald Station" on the prison.
Zheng Xiu would always enter the prison of his mind when he was bored, and from time to time he would study the [Painter]'s weird things, and from time to time poke the face of "Fengbei Station" to study her scale, and from time to time poke the bald head of the Bald Head Station to pass the time. time.
After escaping from the cannibal painting, Feng Bei was alone and homeless - in her words, her home was destroyed by someone unknown, so she could only live in Zheng's house temporarily, hoping that Zheng Xiu would take her in. Every time he saw Feng Bei talking angrily about who had done something to her family, Zheng Xiu would try his best to keep a straight face, for fear that he might not be able to hold back his laughter.
Feng Bei vaguely sensed that this incident seemed to be related to her sweetheart, and even suspected that Zheng Xiu had done it deliberately and carelessly. However, she could not find a reason for Zheng Xiu to destroy her family for no reason, so she could only give up.
Yin Qingqing is the woman sent by the emperor. After arriving at the Zheng family, Zheng Xiu arranged for Feng Bei to be his personal maid. This was a matter of killing two birds with one stone, but Feng Bei was not used to getting along with other people and had no communication with Yin Qingqing. In addition, Yin Qingqing seems to know how scary Feng Bei is, and behaves cautiously in front of Feng Bei, unable to hide the fear in his heart. This kind of body language that regards Feng Bei as a "monster" obviously pokes Feng Bei inadvertently. It hurts, so most of the time, Feng Bei will not take Yin Qingqing with him.
Yin Qingqing was effectively under house arrest in Fengbei's room and was not allowed to go out all day long.
After a few days of leisure, Zheng Xiu knew that he was under a lot of pressure, so he decided to listen to a little song to relieve the pressure.
Lying in the hall, Zheng Xiu clapped his hands and ordered to go down. Not long after, Zhizhi, Pingping, Lily, and Bobo came to Zheng Xiu wearing luxurious clothes and looking calm.
A simple maid brought hot tea.
After a while, Yin Qingqing came here with a calm face, wearing a thin shirt, with a red bellyband looming.
Zheng Xiu looked at Zhizhi, he knew that this girl had the worst temper, and he did not let Yin Qingqing dress like this. Sure enough, Zhizhi smiled mischievously, and then asked in a soft and soft tone: "Master, what music do you want to listen to?"
"It's okay, you can sing whatever you want. Qingqing dances."
"okay!"
Zhizhi agreed repeatedly, his fingers glowed with white light, and he plucked a few crisp notes on the strings like lightning, tinkling Dongdong.
In an instant, except for Yin Qingqing, the other three women's faces turned red. Pingping, who was just about to play along, fell motionless with her fingers on the Ji Qin.
Zheng Xiu, who was drinking tea, squirted out, almost hitting Yin Qingqing.
This is the tune of "Eighteen Touches".
"Just the song about the reunion dinner."
Zheng Xiu knew that if he didn't order a song, Zhizhi and the others might really dare to sing "Eighteen Touches" in broad daylight to cheer up, so he quickly ordered it.
"There are always one or two trends in the world..."
Zheng, harp, flute, and music were played by [orchids], and the four girls each showed off their talents. The melodious music floated out of the hall and echoed throughout Zheng's house.
During the music, Yin Qingqing, who was supposed to perform the dance, remained motionless, lowered her head and remained silent.
Zheng Xiu frowned.
Yin Qingqing bit her lower lip: "I don't know how."
"come over."
Zheng Xiu squinted his eyes and raised his fingers at Yin Qingqing.
Yin Qingqing came to Zheng Xiu obediently.
This was the first time in so many days that Zheng Xiu took a serious look at Yin Qingqing's appearance. Ever since Old Wei forced Yin Qingqing to Zheng Xiu, Zheng Xiu had almost forgotten her in a corner. After looking carefully, Zheng Xiu couldn't help but marvel. He didn't look carefully at the clothes he was wearing that night. In fact, Yin Qingqing's appearance was even better than that of the four maids who played and sang.
Her figure, which is both fat and thin, exudes mature charm under the tulle and bellyband. Her delicate collarbones are curved just right, and a string of small bone chains hangs from her white neck. What Zheng Xiu cares about the most is her eyes. There is no youthfulness in her eyes at her age. Instead, there is a calmness and indifference as if she has seen through the world.
"Pinch your legs."
Yin Qingqing knelt down and kneaded Zheng Xiu's thighs tightly and loosely.
"Tell the emperor that I agree."
Yin Qingqing trembled slightly, kneading her hands for a moment, but still nodded in agreement: "I understand, Master."
"If you want to leave, I can't keep you here."
"Qingqing can't go back."
Zheng Xiu closed his eyes, listened to the music, and enjoyed Yin Qingqing's service. Hearing the reply, Zheng Xiu was not surprised.
"Are you originally from the Secret Service?"
Yin Qingqing replied calmly: "Master Zheng is wise. Before I came to the Zheng family, I was indeed a member of the Secret Service."
"The emperor is really willing to give up."
"Your Majesty has always admired the Marquis."
She secretly changed the title of "Master" to "Master Hou". If you taste it carefully, it has a different artistic conception.
"Since Zheng is here, just stay peacefully."
"Yes, sir."
Zheng Xiu asked one after another.
The four girls were playing and singing outside.
"How old are you?"
Yin Qingqing was silent and sighed softly: "Master, do you really want to know?"
"explain."
Zheng Xiu's tone condensed.
"This slave girl is thirty-five this year."
The music stopped suddenly.
"What?" Pingping was stunned: "Impossible."
Zheng Xiu opened his eyes and looked at Yin Qingqing carefully. She looked like she was in her early twenties.
Yin Qingqing stood up in front of Zheng Xiu and turned her back, causing the gauze on her smooth shoulders to slip off.
In front of Zheng Xiu, she had her bellyband half-unbuttoned and covered her front with a calm expression, completely exposing the curves of her back to Zheng Xiu. In the cover of the bellyband, two twisted characters are particularly conspicuous - "Jiyou".
"This slave is a 'time demon'." Yin Qingqing said her identity in a calm tone: "In the past, I made a living by kidnapping."
