Mountains and rivers pray for peace

Chapter 22

On the other side, the candlelight in Qiju was brightly lit, and the room was silent.

There is no incense in the house, but the fragrance of sweet-scented osmanthus coming in from the yard is already intoxicating enough.

Huo Qi was holding a booklet in his hand, and was looking at it carefully. It was "The World Beyond the Great Wall", which recorded the geography and humanities outside the Great Wall.

Under the candlelight, Huo Qi's porcelain-white face was almost transparent, and his pair of phoenix eyes saw something interesting, mixed with a strange brilliance.

After a while, Tingyu crept in from outside the house, holding a small plate of sweet-scented osmanthus cloud cake in his right hand and a small medicine bottle in his left hand.

She secretly glanced at Huo Qi on the small terrace and said casually to Lingfeng: "It's really strange. I just went to the kitchen to get the girl cloud cakes, but I don't know who put a small medicine on the stone table in the courtyard. Bottle. It looks a little weird to me."

"It seems to cure bruises." Ting Yu put down the Yunpian Cake, unscrewed the medicine bottle and sniffed it closely.

"It's a coincidence today. My lady has some bruises on her neck for some reason today. I'm about to go to the pharmacy to get medicine." Lefeng, who was doing needlework with her head down, glanced up.

"But who set it free? Besides the two of us, who else would know that the girl was injured?" Ting Yu was puzzled.

Although the voices of the two maids were not loud, they poured into Huo Qi's ears verbatim, and even Huo Qi, who had always been attentive, was slightly distracted.

"Put it on that shelf first." Huo Qi pointed to the shelf in front and said suddenly.

Tingyu nodded and did as he was told.

Huo Qi was about to continue reading when he saw Lingfeng embroidering a handkerchief with a bit of sadness on his face.When I was distracted, the needle accidentally pricked my finger, and a few drops of blood spilled out.

She thought that something happened to Leaf, and said with concern: "Why don't you look in a good mood today, but what happened?"

Lingfeng hesitated and said: "Miss, the servant is fine. I just thought that today is the wedding night of Yuan Shizi and the second lady. When the two of them get together, I'm afraid they will know that the incident at the Qiuju banquet was done by the lady." .”

It was only after hearing Huo Qi's explanation that the two servant girls realized that everything at the Qiuju Banquet was arranged by Huo Qi.Although they didn't know why the young lady suddenly changed her gender, they were all focused on Huo Qi, and they were also a little worried about her situation at the moment.

Huo Qi comforted the two maids and said, "Don't worry, I didn't intend to hide anything from the beginning, they will know it's only a matter of time. Huo Qinglan married into the Hou's mansion, and I'm afraid he will be busy recently. As for Yuan Shao, he already lost face at the Qiuju Banquet, so he didn't dare to act rashly in a short time."

Huo Qi's eyes were like a calm lake, with no trace of worry.The two maids felt a little relieved after seeing them.

"What's more, there are more important things to do now."

After saying that, Huo Qi's eyes moved to the booklet on the desk, and he felt warm in his heart, and a handsome and vague figure appeared in his mind.

Brother, we will meet soon.

……

The next day, Guanqian Street, the private room of Yixiangyuan.

The red window is half open, sending a few hints of autumn.

Shen Yuning was playing chess with a man. On the table, black and white were fighting inseparably, and it was about to decide the winner.If you look closely, this chess game actually has the meaning of alluding to the game of the Great Qi Dynasty, and I don't know if it is a coincidence.

Shen Yuning's slender fingers fiddled with the black jade chess in his hand, then gently placed it on the board, and smiled slightly: "Cui Xin, your chess skills have regressed a bit."

The black chess piece was placed, and in an instant, the outcome was decided.

Cui Xin lowered his head slightly and said with a look of shame: "His Highness has a unique idea, and I am convinced that I have lost."

Cui Xin was General Ning Yuan of Da Qi.

Cui Xin is only in his weaker years now, but he is already in the third rank, a high position and weight.In addition to making outstanding military exploits in the Battle of the Southern Kingdom, Emperor Xiaowen also made great efforts to promote him.

Some people in the court even secretly speculated that Emperor Xiaowen wanted Cui Xin to succeed Yuan Xianzhi, Marquis of Zhenyuan, and become the next generation of minister.Because Cui Xin did not come from a noble family, but had risen to his current position through his own merit, he had always been neutral in the court, which naturally made the always suspicious emperor feel at ease.

But no one knew that he had already been Shen Yuning's guest of honor.

Three years ago, he was just a small guerrilla general.

In the battle of the Southern Kingdom, he fought bloody battles and beheaded more than a hundred enemy soldiers, but someone pretended to claim his military merits. In the end, it was Shen Yuning who helped him get back everything that belonged to him in the dark.Because Shen Yuning was kind to him, he has followed Shen Yuning from then on until now.

However, although he has followed Shen Yuning for three years, he still feels that this Highness is a little unpredictable, such as now.

Cui Xin gathered himself together, looked at the chess game in front of him, and said, "Your Highness, for this autumn hunt, His Majesty sent his subordinates to garrison. Will your Highness still sit on the mountain and watch the tigers fight like in previous years?"

In the past years, all the princes have been gearing up for the autumn hunting, and they have exhausted their efforts, wishing to perform as well as possible in front of Emperor Xiaowen.But this His Highness in front of him is fine, he just went for a formality and hunted a few foxes to make a cloak, as if he was a rich man going to play.

Shen Yuning was used to this, so Cui Xin asked this question.

Unexpectedly, on Shen Yu Ning's usually calm face, there was a smile that he didn't usually have.

"What if I say that this time, I don't want to hide anymore?" He took the chess pieces he just dropped and quietly changed positions.

Cui Xin glanced at the position where Shen Yuning's chess piece had moved, and a chill ran down his spine.After the pawn moved, the situation turned upside down.Shen Yuning still calmly captured his army, but compared to the previous roundabout tactics, this move was more ruthless and murderous.

"If this is the case, it is a great blessing for the Qi Dynasty." Cui Xin broke out with sweat on his forehead and performed a standard courtesy of a monarch and his ministers. "It's just that in the past, His Highness believed in the golden mean, but now he suddenly changed his temper and let his subordinates A little surprised."

Shen Yuning seemed to have suddenly remembered something, and said, "Someone reminded me that if you have the ability, you should try your best."

Cui Xin thought it was some minister in the court who advised him, so he was no doubt about it: "In my opinion, since your highness has the heart, you should do everything possible. Now the other princes in the court are already prepared. Although your highness is outstanding, In the end, I missed the opportunity, I am afraid that the situation is not good for His Highness. This subordinate is willing to leave immediately and go to Dongyanling to make arrangements."

"My lord has already made arrangements, but it's better if you go earlier." Shen Yuning twirled his fingers, and said in a vague way.

Cui Xin made a bow and said, "This subordinate takes orders."

Cui Xin lowered his head and was about to say goodbye, but from the corner of his eye, he accidentally caught a glimpse of blood oozing from Shen Yuning's wrist. Even though Shen Yuning was wearing a black robe, it was hard to hide the blood.

"Your Highness, what's the matter with the injury on your wrist?" he asked hesitantly.

Shen Yuning said nonchalantly: "It doesn't matter, I accidentally met a wild cat yesterday."

"This wild cat is too cruel. If it dares to scratch His Highness, it can only be dragged down and dealt with." Cui Xin, after all, was a man on the battlefield. Seeing the amount of bleeding, he estimated that it was a wound deep enough to show the bone.

Dispose of this feral cat?
The speaker was unintentional, but the listener was intentional. These words were like a switch, inadvertently opening Shen Yuning's memory.

In fact, in Yuan Xianzhi's study yesterday, it was only a matter of raising his hand for him to kill Huo Qi and get back.Huo Qi always appeared in places he shouldn't be, and now he broke through the secret of his spying on Yuan Xianzhi's study.Only the dead can keep secrets, and according to his usual style, killing Huo Qi is the surest solution.

However, he didn't want to do that.

It is much more interesting to keep Huo Qi alive than to kill her.

Cui Xin saw that Shen Yuning seemed to be distracted and asked tentatively: "Your Highness?"

Shen Yuning came back to her senses, and said lightly: "It's okay."

*
Cui Xin was talking with Shen Yuning in Yixiangyuan, but he did not expect an unexpected guest to visit his Ningyuan General's Mansion today.

Huo Qi was standing at the door of General Ningyuan's mansion. He was wearing a rabbit fur cloak. From a distance, he looked like a naive little rabbit.

She stepped forward and knocked on the door.

Not long after, a man with the appearance of a soldier opened the door. He was a little surprised to see a little girl.After all, the general's mansion is either a soldier in the mansion, or a servant in charge of cleaning the court, and almost never has a female family member.

Huo Qi said softly: "Can I please inform you? I am Huo Qi, the daughter of Duke Ning. I have something important to see you, General Ning Yuan."

The little soldier didn't pay much attention to Huo Qi, a little girl, but when he heard her report her family name, he felt a little suspicious.Although Ning Guogong's mansion is very powerful, it has always been distinct from General Ningyuan's mansion. How could Ning Guogong suddenly send his daughter to visit?

Huo Qi seemed to understand the other party's mind, took out his jade pendant, and said with a smile: "Do you not believe my identity?"

The soldier glanced at the jade pendant. Although the doubts in his heart did not dissipate, he still said respectfully: "Girl, it's an unlucky time to come here today. My general has gone out and is not at home now."

Huo Qi hurriedly asked: "It is convenient to let me know when General Ning Yuan will come back?"

Xiao Bing seemed a little embarrassed: "Girl, we have no control over the general's itinerary, and I don't know when he will return. However, I heard from our leader that the general may not return to the mansion during this period of time. Your Majesty summoned the general Go to East Yanling to prepare for the autumn hunt, I'm afraid you won't be able to come back for ten days and half a month. If you really need to talk to our general about something important, why don't you come back next month."

Huo Qi saw that the little soldier spoke the truth, not like a lie, and he didn't bother too much, thanked him and got on the carriage back home.

The carriage returned along the road, and when it passed the Chang'an official road, a gust of autumn wind blew away the curtains of the carriage, and the quiet face of the woman clearly appeared.

Ting Yu looked at Huo Qi from the side, with a worried expression on his face.Ever since my daughter had a closed door at General Ningyuan's Mansion, she seemed to be in a bad mood. Although the lady was usually cold-tempered, she was not as serious as she is today.

She still couldn't hold back and asked: "Miss, why did you come to General Ningyuan's mansion so early in the morning today? I don't see the master having any friendship with this general on weekdays."

Huo Qi was lost in thought through the veil of the car, and memories flooded in like a flood.

In the previous life, the eldest brother's body was escorted back to Ningguo Duke's Mansion by Ningyuan General Cui Xin.At that time, he was the one who led the troops to exterminate the so-called bandits. However, when he arrived, Huo Xian had already died on the way back to the capital.

In this life, if you want to save Huo Xian's life, you may have to start with Cui Xin.Cui Xin has been stationed in the capital since the battle in the Southern Kingdom. He is the only person in the capital who can mobilize government troops without alerting Emperor Xiaowen.

It's just that it might not be appropriate for dad to go out and discuss this matter with Cui Xin.Huo Ruhai has tempered his sharp edge, but now he is suddenly involved with the emperor's favorite, who still has military power, and can easily arouse people's jealousy.

Secondly, she had no evidence to prove that her eldest brother would be killed. She just relied on her memory from the previous life. It was too far-fetched to persuade Huo Ruhai to find Cui Xin.

That's why she wanted to come to Cui Xin.

After all, it is much more convenient to do things in her own name.

But she had calculated everything, but she never thought that Cui Xin was going out at this moment. If she waited until he came back in the capital to discuss it, it would be too late.

Thinking of this, Huo Qi's eyes froze, he closed the curtain of the car, and said solemnly: "Let the driver hurry up, I'm going to see my father."

(End of this chapter)