In the tenth year of Yuan Sui's reign, it was noon on August 11th. In the Jinghaihou Mansion in Lu City, the cicadas were silent and the birds were silent.
There were steady snoring sounds coming from the bedroom, where Qi Shouyu was sleeping soundly. Butler Feng had been standing outside the door for three sticks of incense, but the master in the room still didn't wake up. After hesitating for a long time, he still stretched out two sticks.
His fingers gently knocked on the carved mahogany door:
"Master Marquis, Master Marquis! The prince is waiting in the side hall right now. Do you want to go and see him?"
After a while, I heard the short and fat prince in the room shift his body on the couch, which made the bed board creak softly, and then said with a little impatient tone:
"Why is that Shuzi here again? It's such a troubled time now, but he still has no patience at all!"
"But it doesn't seem good to just let the prince hang there all the time -"
Although he was across the door from the room, Butler Feng still bowed respectfully to the room when he spoke, and he did not dare to neglect the etiquette at all. But as soon as he finished speaking, he heard Marquis Jinghai suddenly slam a teacup on the desk.
On the ground:
"The Crown Prince, the Crown Prince, does he think that he is the Crown Prince and everyone wants to make him happy? He comes in and out of my palace so frequently, for fear that others will not see him? Once there are too many gossips, even the saliva can drown people!
Don’t you understand this little bit of truth?”
"I understand, little one. If you don't want to see me, I'll go and send you away."
Seeing that the master of the house was angry, Butler Feng did not dare to say anything more, and turned around to see off the guests. Before leaving, he did not forget to take out the heavy money bag that Qi Zixiu had just given to him, with a look of regret on his face.
.
Unexpectedly, Marquis Jinghai’s voice sounded again, and he agreed to see the guests:
"I have endured this for so many years, but I don't care about this meeting anymore. Let him wait for a while, and then tell me that I want to change my clothes."
Hearing this, Butler Feng couldn't help but feel happy. He put the pouch back in his pocket and walked quickly towards the front hall.
Qi Zixiu, who had already been waiting impatiently in the front hall, was only wearing an ordinary soap coat and took off the purple gold crown on his head, looking like an ordinary person. After entering the door, his eyes
From time to time, he secretly glanced towards the backyard. As soon as he saw the short and fat figure of Marquis Jinghai, he rushed forward impatiently:
"Uncle Wang, you are fine. My nephew is here to disturb your rest again."
Qi Shouyu seemed to be quite satisfied with his nephew's outfit. He put a smile on his face, stretched out his hand to motion for him to sit down and spoke: "My dear nephew, there is no need to be polite between you and me. This visit should be for
That thing, right?”
As he spoke, he looked up at the butler standing next to him. Butler Feng immediately understood and humbly backed out of the front hall, closing the two doors tightly.
Seeing that his uncle was getting straight to the point, Qi Zixiu also had a smile on his face and bowed deeply: "Uncle Wang is really aware of everything. I wonder if any news was sent back after the navy fleet went to sea?"
"Does my nephew want to hear the good news first, or the bad news?" Qi Shou smiled foolishly, but his eyes were stern.
The smile suddenly froze on the young prince's face, and the mustache on his lips trembled slightly: "Uncle Wang, please don't play tricks on your nephew. If you haven't already sent your most capable people to handle this matter, how could there be any
Bad news?"
In just one or two words, the pudgy prince made Qi Zixiu in front of him feel uneasy. However, he casually picked up the tea cup that the butler had just filled, put it to his mouth and blew lightly:
"The so-called bad news is that the Tianwu Strait has been filled with thick fog for several days. Therefore, the ships of the navy are still staying in the offshore southwest of Wanzhou, waiting for their laggard colleagues, and have not continued eastward."
"In this case, maybe we haven't found the right opportunity to take action yet - Uncle Wang promised his nephew that this time he will eradicate Zi Yin, the commoner son, and never let his father's idea of dethroning the eldest son to establish a young one come to an end!"
"My dear nephew, please don't be impatient. Isn't there some good news for this king? In fact, the boat that Ziyin and the others boarded has been separated in this mist. If nothing else happens, I have arranged
The manpower should have finished the matter by now."
However, this answer obviously did not reassure Qi Zixiu: "What do you mean should be? This time Ziyin asked the black-eyed boy to accompany him to the sea by name. If Uncle Wang, the person you sent fails -"
"Missed? My nephew must have underestimated my king's methods!"
After hearing this, Marquis Jinghai snorted heavily, and finally couldn't help but scolded, "Now that the king is seriously ill, if nothing else happens, the position of Duke Ye is already yours. It's you.
, because he was afraid that something might happen to the Peng Congress when he sailed away with the ship, he actually refuted the idea of the king in person, which gave the child Ziyin an opportunity! Now he is asking for help from the king, but he is also suspicious. His words are not acceptable.
If so, if I were the king to choose, I would also think of abolishing the elders and establishing the younger ones!"
Qi Zixiu quickly stood up and apologized: "Uncle Wang, don't be angry, don't be angry, it was my nephew who made a mistake. The nephew is also because his father loves Ziyin so much, and he is worried that if the matter is not handled well, if there is an investigation, it will also cause trouble.
Uncle Wang, are you in trouble?"
"You actually want to say that the two of us are now grasshoppers on the same rope, right? I must remind my nephew that the reason why you can still sit in the position of the heir is precisely because you have the ability to hold the boat.
I will give you my full support as a teacher. Before making any decision, you must not forget that water can carry a boat, but it can also capsize it!"
As he spoke, Qi Shouyu raised his head and looked straight at him. Although he was still smiling, the young prince quickly averted his eyes and bowed deeply, not daring to say anything more.
.
The atmosphere in the room instantly became tense, until the housekeeper opened the door again and came in, bringing a slight warmth.
Seeing Qi Zixiu's trembling look, Housekeeper Feng was afraid that his private collection of money would be exposed, so he didn't even dare to look at the owner of the family, but only said in a submissive manner:
"Master Hou, people are here."
Marquis Jinghai narrowed his eyes and waved impatiently to the young prince: "I have an appointment next, so I will not accompany my nephew today. Steward Feng, see you off!"
Qi Zixiu nodded repeatedly and followed the servant out of the front hall. Before he left the side door of the Hou Mansion, he saw a warrior riding on a gray jade horse outside the door from a distance. The man was wearing Zhoushi Xuanjia, with a
The broad-backed saber on top is particularly eye-catching. He proudly raises his head wearing a bronze mask with an animal head. Judging from the feathers on his helmet, he must be a general.
"Steward Feng, can you tell me a little more about this person?"
The prince suddenly remembered that he had seen the general come to visit him several times before, but he could not distinguish his identity through the mask. He quickly turned his head and asked in a low voice. Unexpectedly, the butler's tone was quite strict, and he kept waving at him.
:
"Your Majesty, please don't ask these irrelevant questions. There is no need to visit your home these days. The Marquis has his own plans, so don't worry."
After seeing the prince off and watching him go away, Butler Feng hurried back to the courtyard. Before he could close the door in time, he respectfully led the waiting warriors into the house: "General Pinghai, please come in quickly. Mr. Hou, it's early."
Just waiting for your news!”
The man on the horse didn't say much, jumped down from the saddle, and handed the horse's rein to the other person's hand: "My Hui Yuhua especially likes to eat the fodder in the palace. After meeting the Marquis later, I will also
I need to ask Butler Feng for advice."
"General, you're welcome. I should tell you everything I know!"
Butler Feng nodded and bowed as he watched the young man enter the side hall. After looking around for a while, he saw no one around, so he turned back and closed the open side door again.
However, Qi Zixiu, who had just walked out of the gate of the Hou Mansion angrily not long ago, was hiding at the corner of the street not far away, sticking out one eye and looking in the direction of the Hou Mansion. Because of his anger, the veins on his head protruded.
Beating slightly, he cursed in a low voice with great reluctance:
"How can you be so respectful to a reckless man who practices martial arts! I am the current heir apparent of Ye State and the future Duke of Ye State! Don't think that you can be arrogant just because you have military power now. After I succeed to the throne, you will agree to it bit by bit.
You settle the score!"
At the same time, the warrior in black armor was kneeling on one knee in front of Jinghaihou. The mask on his face had also been taken off and hung around his waist, revealing his iron-green face and bulging hands.
Head.
"Lord Governor, I am late, please forgive me!"
Looking at the bulging package behind Yu Li, the corners of the pudgy prince's mouth slightly raised, and he already had a rough idea in his mind: "It doesn't matter. Has the matter in the Tianwu Strait been dealt with?"
The young general quickly took off the package and spread it on the ground. What was inside was a white robe stained with blood. There was also half a mutilated skeleton wrapped in the robe, and there were many obvious tooth marks on the broken areas.
It seems to have been caused by an animal bite.
Marquis Jinghai took half a step back, took out a handkerchief and covered his mouth and nose. It seemed that the smell of blood in the package made him feel very sick: "How did the corpse become such a virtuous person?!"
"Reporting to the Governor, when the ship sank, the scene was very chaotic. Afterwards, my subordinates fished out countless corpses from the sea, all of which had been bitten by sharks. However, my subordinates concluded that this corpse must be that of Young Master Ziyin!"
"Oh? How can you see it?"
"It is said that because of the red-haired witch, Young Master Ziyin will carry a sea monster tear close to his body all day long, and will not even take it off even when bathing and sleeping. Although the lower body of the corpse is missing, the corpse in his arms is
But there is also a Kraken Tear hidden inside, so it must be no coincidence."
"Although it's not perfect, it's still a good job. Let's go and collect the reward from Butler Feng later. This time, I spent a lot of money to book the girl Ziyuan from the Shihua Pavilion, so I've done it for you.
Just a wish."
Hearing what the other party said, Marquis Jinghai finally grinned. The folds on his face stretched out, like a slowly flattened piece of dough.
"Thank you, Lord Governor!" Yu Li saluted and thanked him immediately, but did not get up from the ground. "But just now when the general came in, he saw the crown prince. His face seemed a little bad. Is it because the general came back late?"
"That ignorant Zhuzi is not a person who does big things. He came to the house several times to inquire about the progress of this matter, which almost annoyed me to death!"
Marquis Jinghai flicked his sleeves, as if he was a little disappointed by this topic. However, Yu Li did not notice the change in the other party's mood, and still raised his hand and asked:
"Does the general need to present this corpse to the crown prince for inspection so that he can feel at ease?"
"Why are you worried? Not to mention that he hasn't sat on the throne yet. Even if he does sit on the throne in the future, you still have to figure out who you are? Who should you offer your loyalty to?"
"Forgive me, Overseer, I didn't mean it that way, General!"
Only then did Yu Li realize that he had said the wrong thing and kowtowed nervously again. Marquis Jinghai stared at him sideways for a moment and suddenly burst out laughing:
"Okay, okay, I don't blame you. In the final analysis, my nephew is just a pawn in this game. You don't need to care too much about his happiness and anger. But this corpse-"
The pudgy prince rolled his eyes as if he had come up with another plan:
"You will send someone to bring this body to the palace later, and order Tingweisi to check the identity. After all, it is related to the safety of the young master. Tingweisi will definitely report the results to the person who is already terminally ill. If he is involved in this matter,
And if you die, it will save us from having to do it ourselves in the future."
"yes!"
Yu Li received the order, wrapped up the bones on the ground again, and retreated respectfully. Only Marquis Jinghai was left standing alone in the front hall, with his unique sinister smile on his face.
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