Mountains and rivers pray for peace

Chapter 6 First meeting in Xianglou
It was nearing the end of August, and although the daytime in the capital was unbearably hot, there was already a bit of autumn coolness at night.

The entire palace was shrouded in the bright moonlight, and the long palace passages seemed deep and deserted.

In an inconspicuous corner outside Jing'an Palace, a tall guard in night clothes bent slightly and said in a low voice, "Your Highness."

In front of the guard, there was a tall figure hidden in the darkness.

The five-clawed dragon pattern embroidered with gold thread on the outer robe glowed faintly under the reflection of the moonlight, casting a soft halo on this figure, making one unable to resist wondering who is the person hidden in the night .

The man's knuckle-boned fingers lightly tapped the carved window lattice a few times, and he said without any emotion, "It's time to prepare for the hunting in autumn."

"Your Majesty takes orders." The tall guard paused for a moment and then spoke hesitantly, "His Majesty was angry today because of the incident in the paddock on the outskirts of Beijing."

"Oh? What's the matter with the emperor?" The man said calmly, making people unable to understand his emotions.

He turned slightly sideways, and the bright moonlight shone on half of his profile, allowing people to catch a glimpse of his peerless face.His sword-shaped eyebrows and starry eyes, his nose like a hanging gallbladder, his thin lips slightly pursed, and his eyes were dotted with stars, with a bit of a chill.The whole person is tall and erect, and there is a vague feeling that people cannot look at him.

This person is none other than the emperor's seventh son, Shen Yuning.

If outsiders hear Shen Yuning's disrespectful tone towards the emperor, they will be secretly shocked.

But the guard seemed not to be surprised, and his expression was calm: "Huo Chi, Ning Guogong's nephew, tampered with the horses in the paddock on the outskirts of Beijing, causing Huo Qi, the eldest daughter of the Huo family, to fall off his horse."

"The emperor would actually get angry over a little official woman?" Shen Yuning's words were half teasing and half sarcastic. He glanced at the guard who was leaning slightly, "Cheng Chang, what else did you find out?"

Cheng Chang paused and said coldly: "Your Majesty, your Majesty is not angry because of the eldest daughter of the Huo family. According to the report from the pastor Wang Yuan, Huo Chi went to the horse feed house in the paddock on the outskirts of Beijing. That day, the eldest daughter of the Huo family, Huo Qi, came He fell off his horse. He thought something was fishy, ​​so he started investigating, and found out that it was Huo Chi who had manipulated the horse materials with the intention of harming the royal foal. This incident slapped His Majesty in the face, and it is understandable that His Majesty would be angry."

Shen Yuning's eyes moved slightly, signaling Cheng Chang to continue.

Cheng Chang immediately said again: "This matter is not as simple as it appears on the surface, I'm afraid that Huo Qi, the eldest lady of the Huo family, is behind the scenes."

"Huo Qi?" Shen Yuning raised an eyebrow.

"Huo Qi is the only daughter of Ning Guogong Huo Ruhai. She has always loved her like a treasure. This time Huo Chi did something to the horses in order to cause trouble for Huo Qi, but Huo Qi turned his army around. Wang Yuan said in front of His Majesty All the speeches were given by the eldest lady of the Huo family."

Cheng Chang raised his head slightly, looked at his master's expression, and continued: "Mr. Ning has been wise and safe in the past few years, keeping a low profile, and except for being by His Majesty's side for consultation, he has rarely been involved in court affairs. According to my subordinates, this The matter of the paddock on the outskirts of Beijing is closely related to the hunt in autumn, but Duke Ning's mansion suddenly got involved, could it be that Duke Ning has some plans?"

A faint smile appeared on Shen Yuning's lips, and the coolness in his eyes dissipated a bit: "Cheng Chang, can't you see? This matter was probably done by the eldest daughter of the Huo family."

He grew up in a palace of open and secret fighting since he was a child, and he has an instinctive intuition for danger and conspiracy.The matter of the paddock in the suburbs of Beijing was done extremely covertly, it was by no means Huo Ruhai's handwriting.Huo Ruhai has always been an upright person, and he would never play these shady tricks, so it could only be that Miss Huo's family is behind her back.

Heh, I didn't expect that an interesting person came out of this upright Duke Ning's mansion.

A moment later, before Cheng Chang could react, the man's tall figure disappeared into the night. Only the sandalwood remaining in the air suggested that someone had been there.

Autumn in the capital always comes unexpectedly. After several autumn rains, the air is filled with coolness.

Inside the Qiju, there are several pieces of fine rice paper spread on the desk, and several squares of pine smoke and ink are placed next to them.Huo Qi was wearing a green velvet embroidered jacket and was practicing calligraphy with a purple-hair pen. After a while, there were several large characters with flying dragons and phoenixes on the paper, which were like flowing clouds and flowing water, majestic.

Ting Yu and Ling Feng stood beside them to serve the pen and ink, both holding their breath, for fear of disturbing the quiet woman in front of them.

"Girl, the shepherd supervisor Wang Yuan is dead." Tingyu sounded a little cautious and was the first to break the silence.

Huo Qi's hand holding the pen paused, but there was no surprise on his face: "It's expected."

"My servant heard from the people outside that Wang Yuan was killed by the people in the gambling shop. I heard that when he was discovered, there were more than a dozen large holes on his body. But Jing Zhaoyi went to investigate, but found no one. Without evidence, the matter had to be left alone." Tingyu took out some talking notes and explained a murder case vividly.

Huo Qi sneered, what kind of gambling house forced debts, I am afraid that the real culprit behind this is Huo Chi.

No one else knew how cruel and merciless her second brother was, but she had learned it before.She had never offended him in her previous life, and he would come to take her own life.This time Wang Yuan made him suffer such a big dumb loss, how could he be reconciled?

However, she did not have time to sympathize with Wang Yuan.In his position, seeking his own government, the king didn't do his job well, instead he had some crooked thoughts and took Huo Chi's money to kill her. Now this ending is nothing more than a dog bites a dog.

"Why do these unlucky things come to taint the girl's ears? Girl, this year's Qiuju Banquet is coming soon, and important court officials and their families are invited to attend. You should also prepare." Ye Feng has been studying ink just now, At this moment, he was looking for a gap to insert needles.

"It's time to get ready, listen to the rain and wind, and go get my cloak. Let's go to Yixiang Courtyard." Huo Qi put down the pen in his hand and rolled up his sleeves.

Yixiangyuan? !These words shocked the two maids.

Although Lingfeng had always been steady, he also had a strange look on his face: "Girl, this is a brothel. How can you go to a place like this? It will be harmful to your reputation if word spreads about it."

Huo Qi didn't take it to heart: "Reputations are all just good things, so what's the use? Since I want to go, I have my own reasons, so let's go." He took out 200 taels of Hongtong Cabinet from the drawer of the dresser. of banknotes.

After walking for half an hour, the three finally arrived at Yixiangyuan.Yixiangyuan is located on Guanqian Street in the west of the city. There is a lot of people nearby, which shows that the business is good.

Huo Qi covered his face with a face fan, and led two maidservants towards the gate of Yixiang Courtyard, only to see a gorgeous old bustard walking over with his waist twisted.

The old madam took a look at the young girl in front of her, and said teasingly: "Girl, our place is where men come. Don't you want to come and play too?"

Standing behind Ting Yu and Ling Feng, after all, they are innocent little girls, and they blushed immediately after hearing the blunt words of the old bustard.

"Is it possible that mom only does business for men? I came here today, and I also have a profitable business. I wonder if mom is interested?" Huo Qi was calm, shaking the face fan in his hand, and said with a half-smile.

"Girl, take a step to speak." The old bustard welcomed the guests from all directions, and he was very discerning. He rolled his eyes and saw that Huo Qi had extraordinary bearing and was dressed in high-quality clothes. He should have some strength.

Huo Qi was talking with the old bustard here, but he never thought that in the private room with the best view in Yixiangyuan, someone was looking at him with great interest, causing a small wave.

"Which girl is this from? She is so disrespectful." The man choked on the tea in his hand and his face turned slightly red.

The man who spoke was none other than Tang Zhiyao, the famous folk doctor. He was dressed in a moon-white brocade robe, making him look gentle and elegant. If you didn't know his true identity, you might think he was a noble son of some family.

"He is a wonderful man." The man opposite was extremely elegant. He took a sip of tea and spoke calmly.I saw this man with handsome features, eyes as cold as ice and snow, and an air of grace in his movements. He was none other than Shen Yuning.

He watched the woman outside the window with interest through the beaded curtain as she interacted with the madam, as if he had seen a wild cat escaping out of nowhere.I don’t know which girl she belongs to, but she has a wild temperament, and she comes to visit a brothel in broad daylight.

Two flowers bloom, one branch each.

In the private room of Yixiang Courtyard, the bustard poured tea and said with a smile, "I don't know what business you want, Miss?"

Looking around, seeing no one else, Huo Qi rubbed his nose and said to the old bustard: "I see that my mother is also a straightforward person, so I just said that I came here this time to find something from my mother. The price is good.”

"Oh, girl, what are you talking about! Just say that I will do my best, even the moon in the sky, I have to pick it off for you!" The old bustard also has a temperament that talks about people and ghosts, pinching him A high-pitched voice said.

"Without him, it's just a small bottle of love." Huo Qi said indifferently, looking up at the old bustard.

The old bustard's expression changed.

(End of this chapter)