Master Sima looked at the cold tombstone in front of him and shed tears. The beauty's voice and smile seemed to be still in front of him.
He looked at the old Han Dynasty object that he gave her nine years ago - a translucent bronze mirror with Zhangcao pattern, as if he wanted to find a shadow of his wife or a smile in it.
However, he didn't find it.
There was only a decadent face covered in stubble and red eyes in the mirror.
At this time, Xia Houxuan, Cao Xi and his party completed the task of assassinating Ke Bineng and finally returned to Luoyang.
However, they had been separated from their families for a long time, but they did not see the scene of a happy family waiting for their return.
What Xia Houxuan and Cao Xi never expected was that during his trip to Youzhou and Mobei, his closest relatives and loved ones would be separated from him forever!
"Master Sima!"
Outside the jungle, a loud shout interrupted his contemplation. He looked back blankly and saw Cao Xi, a man with four feet of red light in his hand, an angry look on his face, and red eyes. He had fiercely competed with him in the civil and military recruitment field.
People who fail.
Cao Xi stepped with sonorous steps, holding the Dragon Scale Lumo Sword, and pressed towards Master Sima who was kneeling in front of the grave.
"You said that you should take good care of Yuanrong!" At this moment, Cao Xi's face no longer had the usual gentle look, but was replaced by a solemn look with a hint of sadness.
Although he has been married to Wei Yuan for many years and they are quite affectionate, Xia Houhui and he grew up together after all, and he was so infatuated with her when he was a teenager. They were childhood sweethearts for more than ten years, and their relationship was as deep as brother and sister.
How could friendship just disappear?
Therefore, the grief in Cao Xi's heart at this moment was no less than that of Master Sima who lost his wife and Xia Houxuan who lost his sister.
"I went to Taichu's house and asked my cousin-in-law, and she said that Yuanrong did not die of the plague."
When Cao Xi said this, a strong killing intent suddenly appeared in his eyes, and he said word by word:
"My cousin is proficient in medical skills, and her judgment will never be wrong! Master Sima, what else do you have to say?"
The withered-faced Master Sima was still in a daze at this moment, and he just let out a few wry smiles in his throat.
Cao Xi was completely angry and couldn't help but press down the dragon scale knife that was placed on Sima Shi's neck. The extremely sharp blade cut a shallow blood mark on Sima Shi's neck.
The numb Sima Master had already lost the desire to dodge and survive.
"Okay, since you have nothing to say, I will avenge Yuanrong with my own hands today!"
Cao Xi's eyes were red, like a crazy tiger and leopard. He raised the dragon scale sword in his backhand, and then with a swipe sound, the sword stabbed straight into Master Sima's face!
With a "Bang!" sound, the dragon scale sword in Cao Xi's hand was shot to the ground by someone in an instant!
The Sima Master was also stabbed to the ground by the remaining force of Cao Xi's sword, and his cheek under his left eye became dripping with blood from the stab of the dragon-scaled sword! And it was precisely because of this stab that
Master Sima's left eye has since left a root cause that is difficult to cure.
In the midst of the lightning and flint just now, it turned out that Xia Houxuan, who had rushed into the forest, shot down the dragon scale knife in Cao Xi's hand with the 'Quality' sword in his hand.
"Uncle Zhao, please calm down. So what if you kill him? Can Yuan Rong be brought back to life!"
With a dark face, Cao Xi leaned over and picked up the sharp blade that Xia Houxuan had shot down on the ground, and then said coldly:
"Taichu, I hope you won't stop me today, otherwise you won't blame me, Cao Xi, for being unkind!"
As he said this, he turned his hand and used the killing move "Xinghan Xiliu", and then rushed towards the Sima Master who fell on the ground with his sword again.
Xia Houxuan shook his head helplessly, and used his backhand to step out of Xia Menxing's "Hide of Prey" move, and knocked out the furious Cao Xi with the back of his sword.
These years have passed, and he and Cao Xi have become very familiar with the family swordsmanship, and there is no need to recite poems and mental techniques.
At this moment, Xia Houxuan turned red due to grief, and his eyes that were no longer so clear were filled with deep hatred.
When he returned from his trip north, his sister, whom he had a deep affection for, passed away suddenly and inexplicably, and his mother became in a trance because of this. How could he not feel sad?
At this moment, he was staring coldly and fiercely at Sima Shi, his former friend and brother-in-law. In his eyes, there was helplessness, determination, sadness, and a bit of reluctance.
"Master Sima, I will not take your life today because I promised Yuan Rong that I would not make things difficult for you. But in the future, if I find out that you have done anything harmful to nature and justice again, I, Xiahou Xuanding, will not spare your life.
You! Just take care of yourself!"
Xia Houxuan sheathed his sword and carried Cao Xi who was unconscious on the ground. When he turned around and was about to leave, he was stunned for a long time and seemed to have a slight hesitation, but the hesitation was fleeting and he finally spoke.
said:
"Remember, from now on, I, Xia Houxuan, and your Sima Master will have no friendship at all!"
Finally, only the blood-stained Sima Master and the cold solitary grave were left on Beimang Mountain.
After a long time, Master Sima, who was in a daze and kept smiling bitterly and giggling, murmured to himself:
"The dew on the grass, He Yixi..."
Lu Xi will return in the Ming Dynasty...
When do people return after they die?"
This is a song from the past.
How easily the dew on the leaves evaporates, and the evaporated dew will still appear at dawn, but when will the departed return?
He understood that she would never come back in this life.
And the friend he values the most will never come back...
―――
Within the Changling Marquis Mansion.
Xia Houxuan looked thoughtfully at the fish pond in the back garden, which was not very big but seemed to be unfathomable.
This is a habit of his. Ever since he was a child, whenever he was upset or had something he couldn't figure out, he would calm down a lot as long as he came to this bright, mirror-like pond.
He never expected and could not accept that Yuanrong and Hui'er, the lively and lovely sister who often pestered him and Uncle Zhao to play together when they were children, would leave him and his mother like this.
Snowing.
It's snowing again.
The snowflakes, as light as goose feathers and as clean as goose feathers, were like pieces of dying cicada wings, and like pieces of falling plain petals, falling slowly from the cold sky.
"Brother...wait for me..."
"Huier, hurry up, hahahaha..."
His thoughts suddenly seemed to go back to that late winter thirteen years ago. The ten-year-old self was running on the slush-covered bluestone road on Xuanyangmen Street in Luoyang City more than ten years ago, calling back to his
younger sister.
The little girl behind him, his sister, carefully held up her dress and took small steps in the snow and mud, chasing his brother...
When the snowflakes fell, he stretched out his hand to catch them, but they melted before they fell into his palms.
A thin layer of snow has also accumulated in front of the gate of the Hou Mansion. Between the sky and the earth, apart from the blue-gray color of the city bricks, there are only patches of white left, just like the earth is also wearing a white mourning dress.
.
"Husband, it's snowing."
Li Huigu came to the back garden and saw her husband in the independent corridor with a desolate expression. She couldn't help feeling pity in her heart and put the white fox fur cloak that Xia Houxuan often wore on his shoulders:
"It's cold outside, please go back with Huigu quickly."
"Huigu."
Xia Houxuan looked at the palace in the distance and the newly built Lingxiao Tower in the snow. The look on his face gradually became firmer. Even Huigu couldn't see through her husband's heart for a moment.
Why did he secretly make up his mind? Xia Houxuan looked at his beloved wife and said word by word:
"I have decided to intervene in the whirlpool of the court. I must seek justice for those who have passed away. Huigu, are you afraid?"
"Of course Huigu is afraid."
Li Huigu leaned on her husband's shoulder, with a lot of thoughts in her mind at the moment. In her mind, she suddenly thought of her father who died at the hands of the remnants of the Yuan family many years ago to protect the people:
"But no matter what your husband wants to do, Huigu will support you."
Xia Houxuan and his wife hugged each other in the snow and leaned on each other.
In fact, he had noticed the truth of everything a long time ago. In the past, he still had to worry about Yuanrong, but now, they had even killed Yuanrong, so how could he let them go again?
―――
The next day, Gu Ting and Guannei Hou Xiahou Feng received two orders and requests from Xiahou Xuan.
The first thing was told to Gu Ting. Xia Houxuan asked Gu Ting to deliver a letter to Gao Tanglong's house, the official of Sanqi.
The second thing was given to Xia Houfeng. Xia Houfeng found this matter rather strange. Xia Houxuan asked him and Yu Huan and Yu Shanjun to find a way to prepare some fish blood, fish intestines and other things.
What was the head of the family trying to do? It was almost the first time that Gu Ting, who had watched Xia Houxuan grow up, failed to guess the child's intentions.
As for Xia Houfeng, his cousin who had a close relationship with Xia Houxuan, he didn't know what his cousin was going to do this time.
The moonlit night is dark and the wind and snow are strong.
A ghost-like black shadow jumped up to the top of the tall Luoyang City, and under the cover of the dark corner, climbed up to the newly built mausoleum.
This black shadow is of course Xia Houxuan. At this moment, under the cover of night, he is hiding from the eyes of the night guard Yu Linlang and the imperial guards. In the corner of the tower, the wooden pillars are smeared with Xiahou Feng and Yu
Huan prepared the fish blood.
Xia Houxuan's eyes were full of determination and severity at this moment, and he thought to himself:
As long as the smell of fish blood can attract magpies, crows and other carrion-eating birds from Mang Mountain to the north and the southern suburbs tomorrow, his plan will be half successful.
————
At the Gaotang Mansion, after the young master Gao Tangchen met with Gu Ting from the Changling Marquis Mansion, he immediately took the autographed letter that the Marquis of Changling had entrusted Gu Ting to bring to his father Gao Tanglong's study.
Gao Tanglong immediately opened the handwritten letter. The handwriting in the letter was elegant and vigorous, which made Gao Tanglong involuntarily feel pleasing to the eye. However, the content of the letter made Gao Tanglong break into a cold sweat.
After a long time, Gao Tanglong's slightly frowned eyebrows finally relaxed. At this moment, he no longer hesitated, and his eyes became very determined.