That year, that cicada, that sword

Chapter 177

It was almost dusk, and the slanting sunset came in from the entrance of the main hall, pulling out a long afterglow on the ground, dragging the back of Xu Beiyou in front of the Buddha statue for a long time.

Xiao Zhinan did not know when she came to the entrance of the main hall, holding on to the vermilion door frame, the rays of the setting sun shot from behind her, as if a layer of blood-red gold rim had been plated on her outline, her face was shrouded in shadow, and her expression could not be seen clearly .

"What are you looking at?" Xiao Zhinan asked softly.

Xu Beiyou turned around, smiled and said, "Are you awake?"

Xiao Zhinan hummed lightly, stepped over the threshold and entered the hall, the shadows on his face dissipated, and his whole body became clear.

Seeing this scene, Xu Beiyou's heart moved slightly, he stepped forward and said, "I was watching the Buddha just now."

"Looking at the Buddha?" Xiao Zhinan looked up at the three golden Buddhas who were neither happy nor sad, and said slowly: "These three big Buddhas... were made by Master Bukong, who was the head of the three Buddhist masters back then. When my grandfather was young, he asked Master Yu Bukong, who has a mentor-student friendship. Therefore, after the completion of Jiming Temple, the royal grandfather wanted to invite Master Bukong to be the first abbot of Jiming Temple, but Master Bukong declined the proposal. , but elected Master Cangxue to be the first abbot of Jiming Temple, and left behind these three horizontal and vertical Buddha statues, which are rumored to be [-]% similar to the original Buddha statues of the Buddhist ancestral court."

Xu Beiyou snorted and said, "No wonder that man has been watching Buddha."

"That person?" Xiao Zhinan asked curiously, "Who is it?"

Xu Beiyou said softly, "Qin Mumian."

Xiao Zhinan was startled for a moment, then sighed softly: "It seems that you have already met her, so what did she say?"

But before Xu Beiyou could speak, Xiao Zhinan shook his head again and said, "Forget it, don't tell me, just make up your own mind."

Xu Beiyou remained silent.

"It's getting late." Xiao Zhinan looked at the sky outside, and said slowly: "I'm planning to go back, how about you? If you want to go to the East Lake Hospital, I'll ask Zhang Wubing to bring you the sword box later .”

Xu Beiyou didn't hesitate much, just shook his head and refused: "I've been thinking here for half an afternoon, I'd better go back and get it myself. Doing things is like cooking small fresh food, pay attention to a certain degree of heat, under heat, half-baked, over heat, things Just focus."

A little smile appeared on Xiao Zhinan's face again, shallow and just right, he said: "Then when do you plan to go? If it's before I return to the imperial capital, I can consider going there with you, which can be regarded as giving you confidence. "

Xu Beiyou smiled softly, "Aren't you afraid of Qin Mumian? That's an expert who once fought against the empress dowager."

"Afraid, why aren't you afraid?" Xiao Zhinan smiled at this moment like a thousand-year-old demon fox who has cultivated into a spirit, and said sweetly: "But you will definitely not watch me being bullied by her, will you? Xu Beiyou."

Xu Beiyou was taken aback, and smiled wryly: "The grievances and grievances of the elders, just like my master and Qiuye, are all muddled accounts that cannot be calculated."

Xiao Zhinan said flatly: "There's nothing unclear. Father never shy away from this point. He once said that the grievances between the imperial grandmother and Qin Mumian were, to put it bluntly, two women fighting for a man. In the end, the imperial grandmother won, that's all. "

Xu Beiyou was stunned, and was deeply shocked by His Majesty's straightforwardness. After all, his parents were involved. How could a man and a child say such things?
Xiao Zhinan suddenly laughed and said, "If Grandmother hadn't won, there would be no royal father, let alone me."

Xu Beiyou sat on the threshold, looking at the setting sun, and said with emotion: "Why do women make things difficult for women?"

Xiao Zhinan hesitated for a moment, and imitated Xu Beiyou, who sat on the threshold regardless of his manners, looked at the sunset and said, "If it is a man who said this, then it only shows that you men are really greedy."

"Greedy?" Xu Beiyou said with a smile: "A person who is not greedy is still a human being? That is a saint."

"Actually... I have always envied the imperial grandmother. The more I envy her, the more unwilling I am to marry Duanmuyu and others. Do you think I am also greedy?" Xiao Zhinan said softly.

Xu Beiyou shook his head and said: "Don't be greedy, it's just human nature. If we follow our Jianzong's way of doing things, we can kill Duanmuyu and his ilk with a single sword. One sword can't solve the trouble, but it can directly erase this trouble .”

Xiao Zhinan smiled wryly, "It's really a sight to behold."

"Hehe." Xu Beiyou smiled, putting aside the indifference and arrogance that had been imposed on him these days, just like when he first met Xiao Zhinan in Danxiazhai, his clean face and clean smile made everyone feel ashamed. Xiao Zhinan, who was in the state of immovable wind, lost his mind for a moment.

Like most princesses, Xiao Zhinan never knew what it was like to be in love with each other, and she had never even tasted the feeling of being in love, because she was used to seeing the excellence of her father and brother since she was a child, which made it difficult for her to love each other again. What kind of feelings do you have for those young and handsome people?

Like an old fox who has lived in the temple for many years, she considers the gains and losses, weighs the pros and cons, and examines everyone around her with rational eyes, until she meets Xu Beiyou, a different young man, from the very beginning. Thinking about it, she was shaken later, and she asked herself, is there really such a thing as fate in the world?

If there is one, let it slip by without catching it, but is it a sin?

Xiao Zhinan lowered his eyes, and gently turned the purple-eyed emerald counting beads on his wrist.

The descendants of the Xiao family are few and far between, and they cannot be counted more than two hands, so there are not as many rules as outsiders imagined, and many words are not taboo.

Father Emperor Xiao Xuan once asked his father Xiao Yu when he was young, why he only married his mother when he was honored as an emperor.

Xiao Yu replied that there were three reasons. First, the husband and wife were originally a couple in need.Second, his wife was seriously injured because of him, and the legacy was so deep that she became weak and sick in the future.Third, if there are many women, there will be many right and wrong, and if there are many right and wrong, there will be less cleanness and peace, and no thinking.

Therefore, at three o'clock, Xiao Yu only married Lin Yinping throughout his life. Although Qin Mumian was also respected as a concubine by all the old officials, in fact, he and Xiao Huang had neither the name nor the reality of husband and wife.

Of course, this conversation between father and son must be behind the back of the empress dowager, who is known for her arrogance and jealousy, otherwise Xiao Yu might not be able to do anything, but Xiao Xuan when he was young would inevitably be "rubbed" by his mother. The teaching of "flat rubbing round".

Perhaps because Xiao Zhinan resembled her grandmother, she never thought of sharing her husband with other women from the bottom of her heart. Even if this husband made her abandon her like a shoe, that would not allow other women to get involved.

From this point of view, Duanmuyu, the half-son-in-law favored by Emperor Xiao, violated Xiao Zhinan's big taboo. She never liked the sad princess and even began to think about whether to let Duanmuyu leave the chessboard early.

Xu Beiyou observed Xiao Zhinan's expression changes from the beginning to the end, and only when Xiao Zhinan put the counting beads on his wrist back into his cuffs did he suppress the smile on his face and asked softly, "What were you thinking just now?"

Xiao Zhinan showed a bright smile for the first time, and narrowed his eyes, as if immersed in some kind of joyful emotion, "I was thinking how to dismember that scumbag Duanmuyu."

Xu Beiyou asked in surprise, "Is it true? Do you want me to make up the sword for you?"

Anyway, in terms of treating Duanmuyu, Xu Beiyou was absolutely no different from Xiao Zhinan.

"Add a sword? Aren't you afraid of offending Duanmu Ruisheng?" Xiao Zhinan asked with a smile.

"Duanmuyu wants to put me to death, do you want me to sit and wait for death? There is no such reason." Xu Beiyou smiled and said: "I am not a bad person who repays grievances with virtue, let alone learn how to do it myself. Blood for blood."

Xiao Zhinan got up from the threshold, and said: "If you want to return blood with blood, you don't have to say a few cruel words and make a gesture of death as if you are going to die. You have to have that capital. If it is the former Jianzong, The four elders, the six sword slaves, the twelve sword masters, and the twenty-eight guards, as the young master of the sword sect's first disciple, you naturally have the confidence. As for now, you are still too far behind to wrestle with Duanmu Ruicheng. Far."

Xu Beiyou also stood up and said, "I'm a commoner from a small place. I don't have a brilliant family background that everyone admires, and I don't have the aptitude to be an immortal. It's a great opportunity to become the young master of the Sword Sect by chance. It would be too unpopular to ask for anything else. Master and sir have paved a magnanimous road for me, as long as I don't die halfway, one day I will be able to compete with the head of the Duanmu family in an upright manner."

(End of this chapter)