That year, that cicada, that sword

Chapter 288 Taking advantage of the situation to force the palace to win by half

After a night of meditation, Xu Beiyou went to the East Lake Courtyard in the early morning of the next day.

Although Xu Beiyou is the head of the Sword Sect in name and seems to be in charge of the entire power of the Sword Sect, but in essence, Zhang Xueyao is still the acting Sect Master of the Sword Sect, Xu Beiyou is only the first disciple of the Sword Sect, and the fundamental power of the Sword Sect is still in the hands of Zhang Xueyao.

Whenever there is a major event involving the fundamentals of the sect, Xu Beiyou, the head disciple, still has to meet the acting sect master Xueyao, and ask the acting sect master to make a decision in person.

In the early spring, the East Lake Bieyuan was still as deserted as ever. Zhang Xueyao met him in the Liuli Pavilion. At this time, the lake had thawed, and through the glazed ground, one could see bright red swaming freely under his feet.

It's not the first time Xu Beiyou has come here, but it's not always possible to come here either.People with a bit of status in Jiangdu know the existence of the East Lake Bieyuan, but few can enter, and among these people who can enter the East Lake Bieyuan, there are very few people who can enter the Liuli Pavilion. Only a dignitary at Xie Suqing's level will do.

Zhang Xueyao knelt on a cushion, with a small table in front of her, and stretched out her hand to signal Xu Beiyou to take a seat.

In all fairness, Xu Beiyou is not used to kneeling and sitting in the pre-Qin and Spring and Autumn period. He prefers to sit on chairs, but Zhang Xueyao, who prefers the ancient style, is used to this, and he has to "do as the Romans do".

After Xu Beiyou knelt and sat in front of her, Zhang Xueyao personally brewed tea for him and said, "Don't forget to offer a stick of incense to your master later."

Xu Beiyou nodded slightly. After Gongsun Zhongmou's death, there was no bones left. Now there is only a memorial tablet and a tomb.

Zhang Xueyao put down the teapot in her hand, and said straight to the point: "I know you don't go to the Three Treasures Hall for nothing, so just tell me if you have anything to do."

Xu Beiyou took out a booklet from his sleeve and handed it to Zhang Xueyao. It was written overnight by Zhang An himself, and it included information about Kunshan and Zhang Zhaonu over the years.

While Zhang Xueyao took the notebook and flipped through it, Xu Beiyou recounted the whole process of meeting Chu Tiankuo yesterday.

Xu Beiyou said calmly: "In my opinion, Zhang Zhaonu's drunkard's intention is not to drink, even if he wants to test the depth of our Jianzong, it may not mean that he is flattering the Taoist school, so I mean that we are at this time There cannot be any concessions, the Chu Clan’s Sword Cottage must be preserved, and even Kunshan must be taught a lesson.”

Zhang Xueyao put down the booklet in her hand, raised her head to look at Xu Beiyou, and asked, "Senior Brother Shangguan and Gongsun Zhongmou are gone, what should we use to teach Kunshan and Zhang Zhaonu a lesson?"

Xu Beiyou had been prepared for a long time, and replied, "Take advantage of the situation."

Zhang Xueyao pursued and asked: "By borrowing from whom?"

Xu Beiyou said in a deep voice, "The imperial court."

Zhang Xueyao was not at all surprised or surprised by this answer, she chuckled lightly and said, "It seems that you are determined to drag Jianzong to the court ship."

"This is exactly what Master meant." Xu Beiyou said calmly: "When in Julu City, Master accepted the private seal of Emperor Xiao's Lingbao, which was a tacit consent to join hands with the imperial court. Ye went down the mountain in person. Now that we and the Daoist sect are in the same situation, there is no other way out, so we might as well board the imperial ship and put all our eggs in one basket."

Zhang Xueyao lowered her eyes and did not speak in a hurry.

There were some things she didn't say clearly, but she had to think about them.

Behind Xu Beiyou stood Han Xuan, the second assistant of the court. Xu Beiyou took Jianzong onto the court ship. To him and Han Xuan, it was a great thing, but to Jianzong, it was a great thing. Not necessarily so, as Xu Beiyou himself said, it was a desperate attempt.

In addition to his identity as the young master of Jianzong, Xu Beiyou also has deep ties with people in the court such as Han Xuan and Xiao Zhinan, so no matter whether Jianzong succeeds or fails, he has a way out, but Jianzong is different. When the road is dark, there is no way out.

Taking a step back, it is said that people's hearts are sinister. If Xu Beiyou is a wolf-hearted person, and he really wants to trade Jianzong for a rich and powerful person, Zhang Xueyao, as the acting suzerain of Jianzong, has to guard against it.

The two fell into silence. After a long time, Zhang Xueyao said slowly, "There are many factions within the imperial court. If our Jianzong boarded the imperial court's big ship, whose name should it belong to? Sapphire? Or Han Xuan? "

Xu Beiyou shook his head and said: "The imperial court now has only two parties, the Prime Minister's Party and the Imperial Party. Old-fashioned and old-fashioned, after all, it is no match for the new winter that is coming."

Zhang Xueyao took a sip of tea, "So, you are more optimistic about the imperial party?"

Xu Beiyou held the teacup in both hands, and said: "It's not that I'm optimistic about the imperial party, but I believe in sir. In his letter to me, he once said that there is only one cloud in the sky of the Great Qi Dynasty, and only one person can call the wind and rain. That is His Majesty today."

Zhang Xueyao said with a half smile but not a smile: "I almost forgot, Xiao Xuan is still Xiao Zhinan's father, why, you are starting to think about how to please the future Lao Taishan now?"

Xu Beiyou raised his head and looked at Zhang Xueyao calmly, and said, "Master, you are worrying too much. The reason why Xu Beiyou is here today is because of Master's good fortune, not because of Xiao Zhinan, no matter what I was before or what I will be in the future, I have always been a disciple of the Sword Sect who wants to restore the Sword Sect, and my ambition and heart remain unchanged."

Zhang Xueyao shook her head and said, "It's not that I worry too much, it's that I've had a heart-to-heart pain."

Xu Beiyou's heart moved, and he asked, "Master's wife is talking about Xiao Shen?"

Zhang Xueyao said with emotion: "Yes, this is the Great Elder. At that time, my Sword Sect had three elders under the suzerain, namely Great Sword Slave, Zhang Chongguang, and Xiao Shen. Zhang Chongguang was my uncle and was in charge of the Punishment Department. The Great Sword Slave is the master's confidant, and he is in charge of the Sword Qi Lingkong Hall. After the master and the Great Sword Slave died in battle, only Xiao Shen was left alone. Such a powerful elder actually secretly surrendered to the Taoist sect, and attracted Yuchen, the master of Yuheng Peak, to land on the island, and exchanged nearly a thousand lives of Jianzong's people for the position of the master of Jianfeng Peak."

Zhang Xueyao stared at Xu Beiyou, and said slowly: "Once bitten by a snake for ten years, I was afraid of the well rope, and my teacher was really afraid. Going south, I hope you don't hate my teacher for this."

Xu Beiyou never thought that Zhang Xueyao would speak so frankly, and remained silent for a while. Anyway, the relationship between him and Zhang Xueyao has not yet reached the point of trusting each other, even the biological mother and child may not be able to do so. In all fairness, if two people Being in a different position, Xu Beiyou didn't dare to make a decision easily, after all, it was related to the life and death of Jianzong, and if he was not careful, he would lose everything.

Xu Beiyou didn't speak, and Zhang Xueyao didn't continue to ask.

After Xu Beiyou was silent for a while, he said softly, "If my wife hasn't made up my mind, then let's put this matter aside for now, but how to deal with it in Kunshan still needs to be clearly told by my teacher."

Holding the teacup, Zhang Xueyao rubbed the cup subconsciously, and said calmly: "Soldiers come to block, water comes to cover, Murong Xuanyin and Taiyi have to return in vain to save Ku Tianzun, what kind of disturbance can a Zhang Zhaonu cause? "

Xu Beiyou said in a deep voice: "But today is not what it used to be. Just like what my teacher said just now, Uncle Shangguan is no longer here. Can my teacher alone be able to defeat Zhang Zhaonu?"

Zhang Xueyao squinted a pair of narrow and long phoenix eyes, the murderous intent was fleeting, and she said flatly: "With Zhu Xian in hand, even if my injury is not healed, I have no fear of Zhang Zhaonu."

Xu Beiyou asked again: "Can Zhang Zhaonu be killed or seriously injured?"

Zhang Xueyao was silent for a while, then slowly shook her head.

Xu Beiyou said softly: "If this is the case, the decline of our Jianzong will be clear at a glance. Everyone in the world will know that our Jianzong is at the end of its strength. By then, there will be countless people who fall into the well, and everyone will push the wall down. How will our Jianzong deal with it?"

The expression on Zhang Xueyao's face gradually returned to calm, with a hint of loneliness and twilight.

After a long time, Zhang Xueyao said without any fluctuations in her tone: "Go and write a letter to Han Xuan, explain the current situation, and see how he responds."

After finishing speaking, Zhang Xueyao put down the teacup in her hand, got up and walked out of the Liuli Pavilion, leaning on the railing to look.

Dressed in white, it is hard to hide one-third of helplessness and three-point desolation.

Xu Beiyou got up silently and exited the Liuli Pavilion.

In an invisible confrontation, Xu Beiyou took advantage of the situation to force the palace and won by a small margin.

(End of this chapter)