As the Kyoto of Daqing, Dingtianfu has always been very stable, whether it is people's livelihood, climate, or public security, it has remained the same for decades.
What has also been going on for decades is the common people's daily pastime - gossip.
No one dared to spread the word about what happened in the palace, and nothing about the Gaomen Courtyard could be spread. It was just trivial gossip between neighbors.
Too bland and tasteless.
But today is different.
"Have you heard? The Chengguo Duke's mansion is in a state of silence. I don't know who died."
"Not only did I hear that I was passing by far away just now, but as for who died...other than Duke Lao Cheng, who else could it be?"
"Indeed, Duke Cheng Guo is nearly eighty years old, right? He deserves to die."
"..."
News like this was spread quietly in private, and even some small aristocrats and small aristocratic families got involved, and discussions continued.
Chengguo Gongfu, main hall.
Duan Rufeng, the "damn" Duke of Cheng, was sitting in the main seat.
Just sitting like that, his tall and majestic body has a majestic power.
It's just that his eyes were closed and his face was calm, without any sadness or anger.
In addition to Duke Cheng Guo, there is also a middle-aged man with a simple and honest face in the main hall, who is Duan Yuanyang, the eldest son of Duke Cheng.
This seemingly honest man was roaring with great anger.
"How audacious! Absolutely audacious!"
"How dare he do such a thing innocently?"
"That's his father after all!"
"What misunderstanding between father and son cannot be eliminated?"
"Do we have to get to this point of cannibalism?"
"If this spreads out, where will our Chengguo government's face be shown?"
"Father, where should you put your face?!"
"It's pity that my wise and martial second brother is about to break through the realm. In the future, he may even let the Duan family have two dukes... but he died like this!"
"This bastard..."
Duan Yuanyang's beard and hair were all flabby, and he was shaking with anger. He cursed for almost half an hour before he stopped and raised his fists towards his superiors, "Father, if you are not talented, I am willing to lead the Chisong Army to capture that bastard!"
"you……"
Duan Rufeng slowly opened his eyes, "Are you so happy?"
"Open...what does father mean by this?"
Duan Yuanyang had a dull look on his face, "The death of my second brother has made my child heartbroken beyond measure, how can he be happy?!"
"Because you think that if your second brother dies and your nephew does something like this, I will definitely not pass the position to him."
Duan Rufeng explained for his eldest son, "Right?"
Plop.
Duan Yuanyang knelt down directly, trembling, fearful and angry: "Father is wronged! I can swear to God that I never meant this!"
"Oh? Really?"
Duan Rufeng's tone remained as calm as ever, "Then let me ask you, if Xiangyi is here, how do you plan to find out Wuxie?"
"This kid has a plan!"
Duan Yuanyang straightened his body and said confidently: "We know the true face of that evil bastard. As long as we write his name on the sky net, it will be useless to let him escape to the ends of the earth!"
"Skynet?"
Duan Rufeng's tone rose slightly, "What do you mean, you want me, at my age and with a shy old face, to borrow a channel from a red-skinned guy to handle our own family affairs?"
"this……"
Duan Yuanyang lowered his head and his eyes flashed: "My child knows that the family scandal should not be made public, but the death of the second brother cannot be concealed at all. Even Zhang Hua's few officials can guess that this evil person is on his head, and it will happen sooner or later.
One day it will..."
Snap!
Before he finished speaking, Duan Yuanyang was slapped and flew out, rolling over for more than ten times before stopping.
"Every mouthful brings evil seed, every mouthful brings evil seed."
Duan Rufeng appeared at the spot where Duan Yuanyang had knelt before, with a violent expression on his face: "To say the least, Wuxie is your second brother's son, and your second brother is also my son!"
"...I know I'm wrong, kid!"
Duan Yuanyang got up, not caring to wipe the blood from the corner of his mouth, and kept kowtowing.
But the look in his eyes was so vicious that it was a bit scary.
"Don't think I don't know what you're thinking."
Duan Rufeng smiled disdainfully, "You just want this matter to be spread as widely as possible. It would be best for His Majesty to issue an edict to rebuke Wuxie, so that Wuxie will never be able to be the head of the family, right?"
"This... my child has absolutely no intention of doing this!"
Duan Yuanyang raised his head, with a look of horror on his face: "The child has no talent and no virtue. He is not enough to support the position of Duke. I have never dared to hope for it. If my father doesn't believe it... If he doesn't believe it, just don't use Skynet. As long as
By using the same life lock, children can find him! And this way, you don’t have to worry about being found out!"
"Lock with the same name?"
The disdain on Duan Rufeng's face became even stronger, "Yes, if you use the Same Life Lock, you can indeed find Wuxie, but what about after you find him? What are you going to do? Use the Same Life Lock to suppress his power, and then kill him
On the spot, right?”
"baby……"
"Shut up!"
Duan Rufeng scolded, directly interrupting Duan Yuanyang's sophistry, "I have listened to too many lies from you in my life, and I have already heard enough."
Duan Yuanyang was excited, but he kept his mouth shut, not daring to say another word.
"I don't object to your ambition. Even if you are despicable, shameless, nasty and have no bottom line, I can accept it."
Duan Rufeng turned around and walked towards the main seat. As he walked, he spoke in a low, lonely and helpless tone.
"If you can rely on conspiracy to kill your second brother, kill your nephew, or even kill me, not only will I not blame you at all, I will even show off to my ancestors underground...because I
My son is better than theirs!"
"But what about you?"
"In all your life, have you ever accomplished one thing?"
"There are no small mistakes in being an official, but big mistakes will be made."
"You're going to kill me for marrying a wife... That horse is your wife, the daughter of the Minister of Rites, not a courtesan!"
"Even if you give birth to a child, you can't give birth to a good one."
"That's right, heirs have always been inherited by the direct eldest son since ancient times, and it's the same with our Duan family."
Duan Rufeng sat down on the main seat and looked at Duan Yuanyang with hatred, "But you should ask yourself, can I rest assured that such a big family fortune is in your hands?"
"My child realizes his mistake. He has embarrassed his father..."
Duan Yuanyang lowered his head, and the resentment in his heart was so strong that it could not be increased.
"Okay."
Duan Rufeng waved his hand feebly, "You are indeed like the mud that cannot stand up to the wall, but now, the position of the Duke can only be filled by you."
"What?!"
Duan Yuanyang suddenly raised his head, with a look of disbelief on his face.
Obviously, after talking about this, and protecting Duan Wuxie to this extent, he should have no hope of ever sitting on the position of the head of the family. Why did he suddenly turn around?
Could it be that... the old man was so shocked by the death of his second brother that he went crazy?
Thinking of this, Duan Yuanyang was ecstatic and immediately looked into Duan Rufeng's eyes.
this……
Duan Yuanyang was stunned for a moment, and then immediately lowered his head.
He could see clearly that Duan Rufeng's eyes looked tired and weak, but he was still clearly awake and showed no signs of confusion.
This is not a sign of madness at all.
If you're not crazy, why do you say that?
Duan Yuanyang couldn't understand.
At this moment, Duan Rufeng gave the answer.
"The fate lock has been broken."
Duan Rufeng slowly closed his eyes.
"What?! Broken?!"
Duan Yuanyang was shocked and couldn't help but fell back, from kneeling on the ground to sitting on the ground.
The Tongming Lock is not a very high-level treasure. It is at the level of a magic weapon at best. It is mainly used to cultivate outstanding descendants of the family.
However, this unique magic weapon is extremely rare. Even in the capital city where nobles are everywhere and there are as many officials as dogs, few can afford to use it.
It has only one function, to link the life sources of two people together.
This life source link does not mean that if one person dies, the other person will definitely die.
Its real effect is on martial arts - as long as either one of the two makes progress in martial arts, the other will get feedback.
Only when both people die will the fate lock be broken.
so……
The second brother and that scoundrel of his are all dead?!
Duan Yuanyang came to his senses and began to try his best to suppress the corners of his mouth from rising.
"Even if the fate lock is not broken, I still don't believe that Wuxie killed your second brother."
Duan Rufeng continued, "You may think that Wuxie is afraid of waiting too long to become the head of the family, so he will kill your second brother, but you don't know that Wuxie doesn't want to be a Duke at all... He prefers
Hiding in the dark, enjoying the feeling that no one in the world knows him."
"What's more, now the fate of the two is broken."
"It is very likely that Wuxie's death will be far earlier than your second brother's."
It is indeed possible...
Duan Yuanyang gradually calmed down from his excitement and nodded thoughtfully.
"Now, you are the only candidate for the position of Duke."
"But, if you want to be the Duke of this country, you must accomplish one thing."
"If I can't do this, I would rather go to the palace to face the Holy Spirit and ask His Majesty to strip off my title than leave it to you!"
Duan Rufeng's eyes widened in anger, and the iron-blooded aura rose brightly, covering the entire main hall.