Southern Qi Fenghua Record

Xia Houyi has a lot of acquaintances, and on weekdays, he often invites friends to eat, drink and have fun everywhere, so it is not surprising to go out to meet someone.But he suddenly emphasized that he met someone, it must be because this person is very special.

Xia Houyuan raised his eyes to look at his son, but seeing his serious expression, he immediately understood that this matter was unusual.He dropped another son, and Fang asked, "Who did you meet?"

"Your Majesty today." Xia Houyi's tone was still calm, but there was a hint of seriousness and confusion that was unclear.

"Your Majesty?" Xia Houyuan was a little surprised, and looked away from the chessboard, "When did it happen?"

After Xia Houyi died, everyone outside agreed that Xia Houyi was the next generation Duke of Yue, but Xia Houyuan still had a little hope for the eldest son, and he has not yet written a letter to ask the second son to be his son, so Xia Houyi is still white now, and it makes no sense that he will get The Son of Heaven's private summons.

Although he is not at home these days, he has never heard that Xia Houyi has entered the palace.

Since we didn't meet in the palace, it was outside.

Coincidentally, he also heard people say that the Son of Heaven often goes out of the palace in subdued clothes recently, but no one knows what happened.

The whereabouts of the Son of Heaven are very secretive, and Xia Houyuan didn't even find out about it, and Xia Houyi was even less clear.While thinking about how to fully convey the whole matter to his father, he gave birth to a son, which happened to block his father's way out.

Xia Houyuan glanced at the chessboard, frowned slightly, and secretly scolded his son for being a cunning.

Xia Houyi said calmly: "That day I specially asked Shu'er to go swimming in the lake, but in fact I used her as a cover to meet His Majesty."

Xia Houyuan recalled it carefully, and Fang remembered that he went out half an hour later than usual that day. Xia Houyi did come to greet them during that time, saying that he had invited his sister to go out to visit the lake.Later, Xia Houshu also came to pay his respects, and their father and daughter talked for a while.

"Why does Your Majesty want to see you?" Xia Houyuan asked.

"Because of the Evergreen Gate." Xia Houyi said without hesitation.

This matter has been held back in his mind for a few days, and he has been thinking about what to do. Now that he has come to this point, he simply no longer hides it.He thought for a while, and continued: "There are four secret agents in the Changqing Gate. Uncle means to let me take over two of them first. I originally wanted to accept it, but unexpectedly, His Majesty suddenly sent a message to see me. He went without thinking too much. Judging from what His Majesty said, it seemed that he didn't want me to take over so soon. Although he said some reasons at the time, in my opinion, it was just an excuse."

Xia Houyuan was stunned, he couldn't even care about the chess game in front of him.After a while, he sighed: "It seems that His Majesty is still suspicious after all."

Xia Houyi also took a white seed and rubbed it lightly. He was worried not only about the emperor's suspicion of Xia Houshi, but also about Xia Houshu. At this time, his uncle gave Xia Houshu another task that was beyond her scope of authority.Isn't it just a coincidence?

If Xia Houshu's identity is exposed because of this, there is no guarantee that he will not be manipulated.

Seeing that his son didn't respond, Xia Houyuan said again: "In your opinion, does Your Majesty want to take back my military power, or do you want the Evergreen Gate in the hands of Prince Gong's Mansion?"

"Your Majesty is very thoughtful, and I can't guess what he really thinks. Maybe he wants everything, maybe he doesn't want anything." Xia Houyi's doubts were all displayed on his face, "But that day His Majesty only said Let me not be in a hurry to take over the Changqingmen, but I didn't mention my father. I think that if His Majesty really wants to take back the military power from his father, he shouldn't just summon me in secret."

Xia Houyuan chuckled lightly, but the smile didn't reach his eyes: "Don't say you can't see him through. I watched him grow up from a baby in swaddle, and I haven't seen him through for more than 20 years. These In the past few years, I have become more and more incomprehensible. If he asks me to hand over the military power, I will definitely give it with both hands, but he just doesn't say anything."

Xia Houyi was stunned for a moment, and said hesitantly: "Father's prestige in the army is not because of a soldier's talisman, the military's aspirations, not anyone can replace it. And Changqingmen has been in the hands of the Zhong family for hundreds of years. It’s not something that anyone can take away if they want it. Even though I am my uncle’s nephew, and I have his full support, but after so many years, the Evergreen Clan has not completely convinced me. Your Majesty is wise and wise, so it is not impossible to see clear."

"Military orders are like a mountain. If I have no military power and no prestige, I will not be able to command the Chibane Army." Xia Houyuan smiled inwardly, "Actually, I don't care. Since your elder brother left, I can see it clearly. What military exploits, what glory, what power, are all fleeting. If these can be exchanged for your elder brother's safety, I would rather be a villager in the mountains and take your mother and son to live a peaceful life. But it is your uncle, I am afraid there will be some troubles gone."

Xia Houyi nodded in agreement, and said, "I haven't told my uncle about this, but I've been thinking about how to tell him these few days, and I just asked my father for an idea."

"Let's tell the truth." Xia Houyuan finally dropped a son, "Your uncle is a smart man, he knows what to do."

"Then I'll go to Prince Gong's Mansion tomorrow." Xia Houyi said and dropped another son.

The father and son each had their own little calculations, and did not speak in a tacit understanding.

There is a large pond outside Xiahouyuan's study, which is connected to the Xingxing Pond outside.The pond is full of lotus roots. At this time of year, the lotus flowers have not yet bloomed, but the lotus leaves have grown lush and lush. Many frogs hide among them, singing softly against the night.

The sound of frogs came into the study, and the father and son were still playing chess in silence, the sound of chess pieces falling on the board was crisp and clear.

After a long time, Xia Houyi asked again: "Father, do you think that if there is no Changqing Gate, will Prince Gong's Mansion still be Prince Gong's Mansion?"

His tone was a little melancholy and a little confused.

Since the founding of Nanqi, the Zhong family has gone through four generations, and the momentum has been declining. Even in the fifth generation, there is no heir to inherit.The glory of the family of military generals comes from the real swords and guns fought by the descendants of the past generations on the battlefield, which is visible, but the glory of Prince Gong's Mansion is the succession of countless people in the secret place.Some people envy the wealth of Prince Gong's Mansion, but no one thinks that behind this wealth are piles of corpses and rivers of blood.It would be a good thing if the Zhong clan could get rid of the Evergreen Gate.The key is whether Uncle Zhong Zan is willing to give up, and how.

Xia Houyuan didn't expect his son to ask this question, so he really thought about it for a while, and Fang smiled and said, "This should be something that your uncle should consider, why should I worry about it?"

Xia Houyi didn't answer.

However, Xia Houyuan changed the subject and said again: "The ten kings with different surnames granted by the Emperor Taizong back then, now there are only three families left. Apart from your uncle, the Zhong family is full of women and children, so there is nothing to be afraid of. Your Majesty is a wise king, so it is not likely to be rejected. Hurry up and kill all the people. And I heard from your mother that your uncle plans to let Qingkui recruit a son-in-law, and if you can give birth to a son and grandson, it will not be difficult to inherit the title."

But Zhong Qingkui is only 14 years old this year, and it will take at least four or five years until she gets married and has a child. If she still does not give birth to a boy by then, what kind of ending will Prince Gong's Mansion go to?Can Uncle wait for that time?

Xia Houyi was still worried about the affairs of Prince Gong's mansion, but Xia Houshu had already finished his disguise and sneaked into the prime minister's mansion while there was no one around.

The prime minister's mansion is located on the banks of the Qishui River in the west of the city. It is large in scale and covers an extremely wide area. It is known as "the first mansion in the capital" and has attracted countless talents and heroes.

The courtyard of the Prime Minister's Mansion is surrounded by whitewashed walls, green willows hang around, and a black golden nanmu plaque hangs on the top of the red vermilion lacquered gate, on which the three characters "Prime Minister's Mansion" are inscribed in flying and phoenix dances.The high gate compound with three entrances and three exits, the front is the hall, and the back is the official residence. If you look down from the top, the whole Xiangfu Manor is like two "Hui" characters nestled together, dozens of courtyards are tightly packed. Surrounding the master in the center of the house symbolizes the pivotal core position of the master.The layout of the scenery in the mansion is also quite elegant, with vertical and horizontal corridors, winding paths leading to seclusion, pavilions and terraces in the garden, connected pavilions, rockery like a screen, ponds and swamps, surrounded by green trees, and the scenery is interlaced and misplaced, just like a miracle.

Senior officials in Beijing all raise government soldiers, and use them to watch their homes and protect their homes in their free time, and they can go to battle to kill the enemy in case of riots.The dignified residence of the prime minister of a country is even more heavily guarded.

Xia Houshu found a hiding place and squatted down, then took out a map from his arms, compared the places he walked with the map, and silently memorized the directions and buildings.

After the lake tour that day, Xia Houshu took advantage of the wine and begged Xia Houyi for a long time before he agreed to draw a map of the prime minister's mansion for him.

According to the map that Xia Houyi spent one night drawing, Xia Houshu avoided the patrolling guards many times, and it took about half an hour to finally find Yi Wu's former residence.

Yi Wu's residence is called Cuiyu Pavilion, which is located on the west side of the backyard of the Prime Minister's Mansion. There are some exotic flowers and plants in the yard. The rainy season has just passed, and the flowers are competing to bloom. The strong smell blends together to create an indescribable weirdness. .

Xia Houshu rubbed his nose lightly, and then quietly lurked among the flowers beside him. With the candlelight shining through the window, he could clearly recognize the dozen or so burly guards guarding outside.

The beauty was dead, and it was obviously unusual for her to have so many people guarding the yard where she lived.

Before coming, Xia Houshu had found out that Prime Minister Wang's concubine, Yi Wu, was a native of Lingdu. She was twenty years old. As her name suggests, she was good at dancing and had a beautiful and enchanting appearance. She was quite skilled in pleasing men, so Won the favor of men.Otherwise, Prime Minister Wang, who is nearly fifty years old, would not willingly go to her bed and protect her everywhere.

However, a month ago, Yi Wu, who had always been the favorite of the special room, suddenly died in the residence, and was cremated soon after.

When he got this news, a cloud of suspicion was secretly planted in Xia Houshu's heart.

According to the customs of Nanqi, people are usually buried in the ground after death.Even if some treacherous and evil people are sentenced to beheading, their family members or relatives will be notified after the execution to collect the head and the body for burial together. Cremation is rare.

However, most of those who choose to be cremated have unspeakable secrets, or have some incurable disease that is contagious, and they have to do it for fear of spreading the disease; or they have been poisoned by others in order to destroy the corpse.

If Yi Wu really contracted some terminal illness, there is no need for Changqingmen to investigate the cause of his death.

Then there is only one possibility left - Yi Wu died at the hands of others.