After the banquet, Zhan Yingshao thought about the suffering he had suffered at Chu Shou's place, so he stayed for a while to give Wei Qingxuan some advice.
"Brother Wei, you don't live in Kyoto often and are not very familiar with Princess Liuchuan. She is famous for being tricky and perverse. She is still much restrained in her behavior now... But you can rest assured that Princess Liuchuan will act in a measured way.
, usually there won’t be any big problems..."
As he spoke, he said angrily:
"You too, I know you are an honest and upright person, but you have investigated the copper mine case, what do you want the Metropolitan Procuratorate to investigate? Not to mention that they were specially sent by His Majesty, you, you, you still gave the censor to someone else.
It’s no wonder that they will make things difficult for you. Tomorrow, you will accompany them on a good walk. Don’t be greedy for credit. You will never get any favors if you compete with the Metropolitan Procuratorate!"
"Just remember what I say, there will definitely be no big problem."
Wei Qingxuan smiled at the corner of his mouth, nodded slightly, bowed his hands, but replied nonchalantly: "Thank you, Mr. Zhan, for your advice."
Chu Shou seemed to have drunk too much, and was staggering with Sanqian's support. Song Yanqing followed behind him, walking with his hands behind her back.
Ah Shui trotted over from behind, bowed slightly to Song Yanqing, then hurriedly stepped forward to put a thick cloak on Chu Shou, helped Chu Shou with Sanqian, and continued walking.
After exiting the door, he turned right and then turned right again. The figures of several people gradually disappeared in the night, with the shadows of bamboos appearing gracefully. The boy who led the way saw that the road was dark, so he lit a night watch light. Sanqian took the light and said, "Okay.
, you go."
The boy handed over the lamp, bowed, turned and walked back.
Chu Shou removed his hand that was tightly holding Ah Shui's arm, wrapped his cloak tightly around him, and gradually straightened his back.
Ah Shui couldn't help but burst into laughter as he walked: "Miss's acting skills are really expressive, and she is becoming more and more proficient."
Chu Shou was speechless, blinked at her, and only chuckled. The light, shadow, and moonlight blended together, making the space between his eyebrows look particularly gentle.
Sanqian poked Ah Shui in the back and winked at her. Ah Shui understood immediately and pulled Sanqian to Song Yanqing.
Three thousand night lights were quickly put into the hands of Song Yanqing who was following behind, "Little Master Song! The two of us suddenly remembered that the lady's... handkerchief, yes, the handkerchief fell on the table.
Go get it!”
Before the two of them finished speaking, they passed by Song Yanqing and ran away.
He was stunned for a moment, then held the handle of the lantern tightly, raised the corners of his mouth slightly, raised his eyes to look at the man at the end of the corridor, and couldn't help but raise his lips and smile.
Chu Shou had already turned around and just stood there obediently, smiling crescent-shaped eyes towards this side, rounded corners of his mouth, and picturesque eyebrows.
Song Yanqing held the glimmering lantern and walked towards Chu Shou. The two walked slowly side by side.
The black gauze and green gauze caressed each other intimately as the two of them walked, as if they were being pulled by the moonlight, and there was a subtle touch. The light, color and shadow were filled with a touch of emotion, floating between the two of them.
After a long silence, Song Yanqing spoke first, with a cold voice, and said calmly: "Before, at Fodu Temple, I kowtowed three times, lit up three sticks of incense, and made three wishes to the Buddha."
After hearing this, Chu Shou turned to look at him, grabbed his sleeve with his left hand, blinked tightly and asked, "Do you want to tell me? If you tell me, it won't work."
Song Yanqing lowered her eyes and chuckled, and unconsciously tightened her grip, "Buddha will never bless me...it doesn't matter if I tell you."
Chu Shou lowered his hands along the sleeves of his robe, his face a little apologetic, and his eyes dimmed a bit.
Song Yanqing raised his head slightly, and the wind passing through the bamboo forest caressed his cheek, blowing away a little of the alcohol. He took a deep breath, and then muttered: "The first wish is to hope that all the hardships will be over and the joy will come. Since childhood...
My parents and brothers at home suffered a lot because of me and had to die a good death. At that time, I always looked forward to the day when the envoys of the witch clan would come to see me in person. After I died, the criminals would no longer have murderous intentions and my family would be able to live happily.
peaceful."
"It's a pity that my parents and brothers all died to protect me. They didn't have to wait until the day I died first, and I was destined to affect others in my life. Uncle Mu on the 48th floor took over the burden of my parents. After learning that he had some friendship with the Wu clan,
After that, I asked him to send me there..."
"Qingqing, I lied to you. On the first night you asked me why I came to Hanyuan? I said it was because the forty-eighth floor was in danger and I didn't want to cause trouble with Uncle Mu. In fact... my parents and brother left me.
I was so despondent that I just wanted to die."
"But my life was bought by them, and I have long been out of my control. So I often ask you, when will the envoy of the Wu clan be born to complete the ceremony to welcome the heavenly official? You often say that you don't know...",
As he spoke, he lowered his head and smiled, and then said: "I don't know if you really don't know or if you are pretending that you don't know. There are some things you never want to tell me, but you don't know that your eyes can speak, and I happen to
, can hear some.”
"Later, as you and I gradually became familiar with each other, I began to worry again, fearing that you might actually feed me blood and seal my throat, but... it seemed that it was okay for you, so I didn't worry about this matter for long, but
I was afraid that you would be struggling in your heart, so I pretended to be angry and snubbed you several times."
"After all the hardships, happiness comes. I think it has already come true that year when I was sent to Hanyuan for refuge and met you. There is another concern in the world, and there is hope for living."
Chu Shou lowered his eyes and bit his lip silently. She recalled that when she first saw him, he was fair and skinny but skinny. When he stood up from behind Uncle Mu, she was frightened by his eyes at the first glance.
, as dull as stagnant water, no matter how she teased him, he was unfazed.
In the first two days they lived together in Hanyuan, he refused to say a word. Later, she regarded him as her patient and swore to him that she would raise him until he was white and fat, and then he would be willing to live in a shallow way.
Laughed.
She knew from the beginning that he was a Heavenly Official, and she also knew that the custom of the Wu Clan to greet and send off Heavenly Officials was just a cover for killing animals under the guise of an oracle. She didn't care at first until everyone decided on the name of the Wu Clan's envoy.
, and she panicked when he personally handed this "infinite glory" into her hands.
Azu had only one daughter, and her daughter died early. Even though Chu Shou was a maternal daughter, due to the inheritance of blood, the job of welcoming and seeing off the heavenly official fell on her.
On the way back to Hanyuan, she thought of a hundred ways to rescue Tianguan. She even went to the place where the goddess was enshrined and knelt on the ground piously:
"Goddess Empress, for the sake of my sincerity to you, please leave him in this world to accompany me, or you may pity me. I have no father, no mother, no brothers and sisters, and there are two above me.
There is an old man who is waiting for me to take care of him until I die. He is very fond of me. It is hard to find him in this world. As long as you keep him, I will definitely find you the best golden statue. The incense will never go out and the lamp will never go out..."
Chu Shou continued to live day after day with Song Yanqing with such uneasiness, until one day Youbei received news from the Younan clan that her noble concubine aunt in Kyoto, who was a goddess of the witch clan, actually had an affair with him.
The experience of Chu Shou and her own mother was similar. What she thought was impossible happened. The goddess of the witch clan was not chosen according to the oracle, but... to check whether she had any traces of what her ancestors said: "You will not survive until the age of eighteen."
"The curse, from which Fang was called the goddess of heaven.
Generally, when a goddess reaches her 18th birthday, she will suffer from a serious illness that cannot be cured and will last until her 18th birthday when she dies.
Grandpa, the elder of the Younan clan, came here to compare with Azu to see if the symptoms of the imperial concubine were consistent with Chu Shou's mother's condition. As expected, it was indeed the case.
It was also from this that she remembered what her ancestors wrote on the page of Tianguan's biography - "Only by using Tianguan's blood as a guide can you extend your life." Therefore, this disease is not incurable.
.
She was scared to death at that time. What if they wanted to drag Song Yan Qing to have his heart cut open and bleed out in order to save the goddess... What would they do?
Fortunately, Azu didn't reveal anything, but she also knew who the villain who had been chasing the Song family was. It was the imperial concubine. All his misfortunes came from the Wu clan, and she,
As one of thousands of people, I have watched with indifference for many years.
There was something she always wanted to say, but it weighed heavily on her heart. Every time Song Yanqing wanted to tell her some past events, she always felt like she was suffocated by the huge stone in her heart. She carried this with her
I have regretted for the Witch Clan for many years, so I wanted to give him all the good things in this world.
She has always been a vested beneficiary. Not only did she drain the last bit of blood from her fellow goddess, who cursed her mother, she also drove the father who missed his wife crazy. Talking to the victim who was separated from his loved ones, she talked about everything.
I feel that I can't be too hypocritical in Song Yanqing's eyes...
That sentence often lingers in her mind. She selfishly covets that bit of beauty and is unwilling to tear off the last fig leaf, because it seems that as long as she says this sentence, it will be the time to step down. She dare not say,
Especially when talking to Song Yanqing.
A hand as long as a bamboo bone waved in front of her, pulling her out of her thoughts. She calmed down, stiffly pulled the corners of her mouth, and asked, "What's wrong?"
Song Yanqing looked at her but smiled, and asked tentatively: "Did you hear what I just told you?"
"I...I was just thinking about the copper mine tomorrow, yes, the copper mine." The corner of Chu Shou's mouth twitched a few times, and he frowned helplessly. She looked at Song Yanqing's cold face and carefully replied: "
Why don't you... say it again?"
Song Yanqing lowered his eyes, his eyes were hazy, and he shook his head stubbornly, but he couldn't laugh. There was bitterness in his eyes. After thinking about it, without saying anything more, he turned his head and looked at the wind blowing the leaves, and then he felt that it was true.
In autumn, if you don't pay attention, you will see all the fallen leaves blowing down to the ground.
The moonlight was sparse, and the branches were like winding black snakes coiled around, quietly crawling to the ground and climbing to the roof. The road was not long, but the two of them walked very slowly, as if they had really returned to the past, going down the mountain to return to the cold.
When they were in the garden, they walked side by side like this. Sometimes they got excited and couldn't finish talking along the way. Of course, it was mainly Chu Shou who spoke; sometimes they were speechless all the way, and they didn't feel embarrassed or cramped. On the contrary, they just followed the words.
The mountain breeze makes me feel particularly comfortable.
Song Yanqing handed the night lamp to Chu Shou. Both of them were absent-minded. Chu Shou did not dare to meet his eyes and lowered his head to catch the night lamp with his peripheral vision. He turned around and left without saying a word.
For a moment, Chu Shou seemed to have seen the day he left Hanyuan, and his back was still so lonely.
She stood at the door for a long time, watching Song Yanqing's back disappear little by little into the night. She just stared at it like this, unable to see through it.
"You just... seemed to have missed the life-and-death oath between him and you... Tsk, tsk, tsk, it's such a pity that the censor is so infatuated."
On the other side, a person walked out slowly from the darkness. He was tall and slender. Luo Qi crossed his arms across his chest, leaned his back on a wooden pillar and spoke casually.
Chu Shou raised his eyes coldly, and a golden arrow slipped out of his sleeve. She stepped closer to Luo Qi, put her elbow on his throat, turned the golden arrow with her right hand, and pressed it against his chest.
Luo Qi was pushed down suddenly and could not stand still. He raised his eyes and met Chu Shou's gaze. Her eyes were cold and she frowned slightly. She pushed his neck with her elbow and made him breathless. He raised his lips.
He smiled and said with some difficulty, and asked: "Princess...what does this mean?"
Chu Shou's eyes turned fierce, completely different from the gentle demeanor just now. She said coldly to Luo Qi: "I hope you can think clearly about what words should be said and what words should not be said. If I remember correctly,
, the storytellers in various teahouses are still telling stories about my princess’s past. If you don’t know, take the time to listen to it... Let’s see if I dare to really do something to you.”
The sharp arrow of the golden arrow scratched his chest through his clothes. It didn't hurt, but it lingered there like a poisonous snake, making people feel disgusted and bored.
Chu Shou then said:
"I think you are You Yanzhi. I am in a foreign country and I am helpless. Don't force me to meet people and talk to each other. If you dare to talk nonsense again, the place where you will stay for a long time is not Kyoto.
"
After saying that, the hand holding the golden arrow was raised and quickly dropped. Luo Qi was so frightened that he closed his eyes tightly.
However, the arrow did not pierce his chest tightly, and Chu Shou's hand circled him and did not hurt him. However, the purpose of intimidation was still achieved.
Before he could react, Chu Shou pushed back hard, turned the golden arrow with his fingers nimbly, put it back into his sleeve, turned around, pushed open the door, and stepped in slowly.
The door closed with a creak. Luo Qi touched his neck and leaned along the pillar and coughed a few times. He coughed up tears. After calming down, he straightened his robe and picked up the clothes that had just fallen to the ground.
Night light, raised his hand and gently swept away the dust on it, his eyes were dim and unclear.
Then he walked forward with it and turned around a corridor, but was stopped by a figure.
Luo Qi was frightened. He tightened his grip on the handle and took a few steps back. A trace of displeasure flashed in his eyes. He looked left and right, then blew out the night light, raised his eyebrows and asked, "What's the matter?"
?”
"I would like to ask you for advice, what should I do if tomorrow's Princess and the Metropolitan Procuratorate request to investigate the details of the copper mine?"
Under the moonlight, Wei Qingxuan's face gradually emerged. He frowned, feeling uneasy, and stood respectfully in front of Luo Qi.
Luo Qi lowered his eyes and sneered, and said in a deep voice: "Then take them to the abandoned mine to have a look. After entering the mine, I still want someone's life."