At the end of the Sui Dynasty

Chapter 303 Qing Ruo
The arrow thrown by Gao Bufan hit Hou Junji's left shoulder, almost all of it was gone, only half an inch was exposed, a large lump was swollen around the wound, and blood was oozing out. Scary, Li Shimin and Fang Xuanling couldn't help looking at each other awe-inspiringly.

Liu Hongji took a deep breath and said, "The arrow is pierced so deep that it probably has already hurt the bone. You have to bear with it, Laohou."

Hou Junji gritted his teeth and said, "Let's do it, don't be a mother-in-law, I can bear this kind of injury."

Hearing this, Liu Hongji no longer hesitated, took the dagger out of the boiling water, quickly cut open the flesh around the wound, and then pulled out the arrowhead inlaid on the shoulder blade. Blood gushed out like a spring, and Hou Junji was in such pain that he almost His teeth were all crushed, the veins on his forehead were bulging, and he was sweating profusely, but this guy was quite stubborn, so he didn't let out a moan.

Liu Hongji threw the bloody arrow into the washbasin, quickly cleaned the wound and bandaged it to stop the bleeding. After finishing, he let out a sigh of relief, gave a thumbs up and praised, "Old Hou, I, Liu Hongji, respect you for being a man."

Hou Junji's complexion was pale, and he was panting heavily, obviously he hadn't recovered yet, but he didn't have time to talk to Liu Hongji.

As the saying goes, things flock together and people are divided into groups. This Liu Hongji is from Chiyang County, Yongzhou, and his family background is not low. He is the son of Liu Sheng, the governor of Hezhou. Like-minded, so we mixed together.

At first, Liu Hongji relied on his father's shade as You Xunshi (low-level military officer). Last year, during Yang Guang's first expedition to the east, Liu Hongji was conscripted into the army. As a result, his trip was delayed when he arrived in Fenyin County, and he could not arrive at the designated place on time. According to military discipline, he should be executed if he loses his time, but Liu Hongji has a good brain. He knew that he would definitely lose his time, so he took the initiative to do something illegal, and was arrested by the county magistrate of Fenyin and imprisoned. After the month of prison, spend money to manage relationships and come out.

Although Liu Hongji regained his freedom, his official status was deprived, and he had a criminal record, so it was difficult for him to re-enter the official career, so he took refuge in Tang Guogong's mansion as a servant, and now works beside Li Shimin.

"Junji, are you alright?" Li Shimin asked with concern as he approached.

Hou Junji shook his head palely: "Erlang, don't worry, the subordinate will not die, can you give me a bowl of wine?"

Li Shimin hastily poured a bowl of strong wine for Hou Junji himself, and the latter drank it all in one go, and then he let out a sigh of relief and said, "This subordinate seriously underestimated Gao Bufan's strength, I'm afraid this son's martial arts are really as good as fish. Don’t give up too much, as Mr. Fang said, compared with Junji, it is the difference between an ant and an elephant.”

Li Shimin couldn't help being shocked, and kept silent. Liu Hongji said in surprise when he heard the words: "This is too exaggerated. I know your skills, Laohou, so how powerful is Gao Changqing? I don't believe it."

Hou Junji laughed at himself: "At first I didn't believe it myself, I just thought that no matter how high Gao Changqing's martial arts were, he couldn't be much higher than me, as long as he arranged properly, he would be able to kill him in one fell swoop, until today I saw it with my own eyes. He confronted the man with the golden ghost mask, and Jun Ji realized that I might not be able to do three tricks under Gao Changqing's command. If the man with the golden mask hadn't come out suddenly, Jun Ji might not be able to come back today, even so , was still shot by Gao Changqing with an arrow, and almost died."

Fang Xuanling couldn't help sighing: "Erlang, you are too impulsive. I reminded you at the beginning that even if you want to deal with Gao Changqing, it's best to use someone else's hands."

Hou Junji hurriedly said: "Mr. Fang misunderstood, this has nothing to do with Erlang, the assassination of Gao Bufan was Junji's impromptu idea, and Erlang didn't know about it, if the Duke of the State blames it, Junji will bear it all."

Li Shimin was both moved and ashamed, he grabbed Hou Junji's hand and said, "Junji really treats me like a brother."

At this moment, there was a knock on the door of the room, and everyone in the room couldn't help being startled. Li Shimin collected himself and asked, "Who?"

"It's me, second brother, open the door quickly." Li Jiancheng's voice came in, and he knocked on the door even more urgently.

Li Shimin hesitated for a while, and finally opened the door, and asked with a guilty conscience: "Brother, what do you want from me?"

Li Jiancheng glanced at the situation in the room, and immediately understood a little bit, stepped into the room and closed the door, and asked in a low voice: "Second brother, did you send Hou Junji to assassinate Gao Changqing?"

Li Shimin is also a bachelor, nodded and said: "I did it."

Li Jiancheng's expression darkened suddenly and he said, "Shimin, you are too reckless. If you let your father know about this, let's see how he will deal with you."

Hou Junji hurriedly said: "Da Lang, you can't blame Erlang for this matter, it was Jun Ji's own initiative to assassinate Gao Changqing, and I will bear all the consequences."

Li Jiancheng couldn't get used to these brave and ruthless rangers around Li Shimin, so he couldn't help saying angrily: "What a breath, you bear it? What do you take to bear it? Can you bear it?"

Hou Junji was immediately questioned, his face turned red, and he was speechless. Li Shimin quickly said: "Brother calm down, Junji did it out of kindness. Things happened if they didn't happen. It's useless to blame him now. Fortunately, Junji didn't do anything this time." There shouldn't be any trouble if you reveal your identity, and I ask the eldest brother to do the second brother a face, keep this secret, and don't let dad know."

Li Jiancheng's expression softened a little, and he said in a deep voice, "Shimin, it's not that the elder brother didn't help you, but you really caused a big disaster this time."

Li Shimin frowned and said, "Brother, why did you say that? There were more than one group of people who assassinated Gao Changqing on the long street today. Jun Ji just shot a few arrows in the distance, and didn't even fight Gao Changqing at close range. The other party couldn't possibly recognize him." Junji came."

Li Jiancheng sighed and said: "If it's just Gao Changqing, even if he recognizes it, it doesn't matter too much. At worst, we will have many enemies in the future. What can he, Gao Changqing, a little pastoral supervisor, do to us? The bad thing is this one." The killer from Jinghua Shuiyuelou was involved in the assassination.

The owner of Jinghua Shuiyue Tower assassinated the emperor back then, and the emperor has long wanted to uproot this organization, but the emperor is now in the Linshuo Palace, so this matter is likely to alarm the emperor. Once Feiyuwei intervenes in the investigation, you know the consequences How serious is it? "

As soon as this remark came out, everyone in the room couldn't help but change their faces. Even Hou Junji, who was fearless and fearless, began to feel uneasy. He obviously realized the seriousness of the problem. Although he was not afraid of death, he was also afraid of hurting his family and Li Shimin. They!

Feiyuwei is an intelligence organization around the emperor, directly responsible to the emperor, and has great power. Once Feiyuwei intervenes in this matter, the consequences will be unpredictable!
Hou Junji gritted his teeth, and said bravely, "Erlang, hand me over to the government. I will confess my guilt to the government, and I won't hurt everyone."

Li Shimin was kind and righteous, and immediately shook his head and refused: "No!"

"Erlang..." Hou Junji wanted to persuade him again, but Li Shimin said firmly: "Junji doesn't need to say more, I, Li Shimin, will not betray my brother even if I die, if Fei Yuwei comes to the door, at worst, I will refuse to admit it to death." , Hongji, you help Junji go down to rest, I will arrange you out of the city after dawn, you go back to Luoyang to avoid the limelight."

Hou Junji couldn't help being moved until his eyes turned red, and Fang Xuanling was also slightly moved, secretly thinking that he was right at the time, and Liu Hongji was also full of enthusiasm, patted his chest and said: "Erlang, don't worry, as long as I, Liu Hongji, still have one If you keep your tone, you will definitely keep Brother Junji safe."

Li Jiancheng sighed and said: "Forget it, it's not too late, since you have to leave, you don't have to wait until dawn, lest you have long nights and dreams, I will make arrangements."

Li Shimin said happily after hearing the words: "Thank you, brother."

Li Jiancheng didn't say much anymore, just nodded slightly and left the room.A trace of worry flashed in Li Shimin's eyes, he turned around and took out a bag of gold and silver from a box in the corner and stuffed it to Liu Hongji, and said in a low voice: "Hongji, Junji, these money and silver should be enough for you to spend for a while. After leaving the city, you run immediately, don't stay, if you can't stay in Luoyang, go back to Daxing (Chang'an), remember to remember!"

Both Liu Hongji and Hou Junji's heart sank slightly, and they nodded and agreed with emotion.

Li Jian was a calm person, and his ability to handle affairs was extremely strong. As expected, he quickly made arrangements and successfully sent Hou Junji and Liu Hongji out of the city gate in the name of Dao Yexiang.

After leaving the city, Hou Junji and Liu Hongji immediately ran away according to Li Shimin's instructions. Li Jiancheng's people couldn't help being dumbfounded. When they realized that they were about to chase, Hou Junji and Liu Hongji had already fled into the Running away in the dark, he disappeared, and could only return to the city angrily to report to Li Jiancheng.

Li Jiancheng's face immediately darkened, but there was nothing he could do. He could only reprimand his subordinates and let it go. He found his father Li Yuan and reported with a face of shame: "The child has arranged for Hou Junji and Liu Hongji to be sent out of the city, but the following Some people were negligent for a moment, and let them run away after leaving the city!"

Li Yuanruo glanced at Li Jiancheng meaningfully and said indifferently: "Jiancheng has always been prudent in handling things, how could he be so negligent? You are just pretending to be confused, you don't want to fall out with Shimin, alas, if Shimin can be half as prudent as you, You don't have to worry about being a father."

Li Jiancheng smiled wryly, "Sure enough, I didn't hide it from you, father."

Li Yuan waved his hand and said, "Forget it, let him go, and let him go. In fact, my father just wanted to take this opportunity to scare the people of the world, and let him be more cautious in doing things in the future, but he was afraid that it would be too late, and he would hurt him. If you have a strong momentum, you will be timid in doing things in the future, but you will lose nothing.”

Li Jiancheng nodded, and said a little worriedly: "Then what will Fei Yuwei do if he finds out about Hou Junji?"

"Then check it out. With Fei Yuwei's ability to arrest Hou Junji, we can't stop it. Don't worry, the emperor won't make things difficult for me because of such a trivial matter, let alone Li Min and Li Hun. Are you holding it?" Li Yuan said calmly.

Li Jiancheng was relieved when he heard the words, his eyes flashed and he said: "Gao Changqing's martial arts are more advanced than we expected, and the fourth sister's marriage..."

Li Yuan waved his hand and said, "No need!"

Li Jiancheng wondered: "Why, didn't father plan to betroth the fourth sister to Gao Changqing?"

"At this time and at that time, Li Min and Li Hun's uncle and nephew are going to kill Gao Changqing, and the killer in Jinghua Shuiyue Tower may be moved by Yu Wenshu, we don't need to take over this hot potato, and after all, paper can't cover fire , if Gao Changqing learns about Hou Junji's assassination of him in the future and turns against the people of the world, wouldn't it be harming your fourth sister, so let's let this matter go." Li Yuan said.

Li Jiancheng heaved a sigh of relief when he heard the words, he didn't quite agree with this matter!
…………

In Linshuo Palace, Gongsun Yingxiu in Tsing Yi knelt down in front of Yang Guang's seat and said shamelessly, "Your Majesty, Qingruo has disappointed you. This operation failed to catch the owner of Jinghuashuiyue Tower. The other party has already seen through Qingruo's identity." .”

Yang Guang turned out to be amiable, with a trace of love in his eyes, he raised his hand and said, "Xiao Qingruo, get up, don't be discouraged, I have searched for more than ten years and have not been able to catch this traitor. It only took you three years to almost catch him, which is already quite remarkable, at least now I am no longer ignorant of this traitor."

Gongsun Yingxiu stood up, raised her eyebrows and said, "Don't worry, Your Majesty, Qingruo will catch this thief one day."

Yang Guang smiled and said: "I believe you, by the way, I heard that Gao Changqing and Bai Yunshang jointly injured the traitor."

Gongsun Yingxiu nodded and said: "Yes, but Bai Yunshang was also seriously injured, and it is still unknown whether she will survive."

Yang Guangwen said: "It's a pity, if this girl can come back to life, she will call me to see me. Although the Buddhists are not pleasing, they always advise me not to send troops to Goguryeo, but they are still loyal to the Sui Dynasty. I want to give them Take a reassurance."

"Your Majesty, this is a wise move." Gongsun Yingxiu said.

"Oh, is this Xiao Qingruo's truth?" Yang Guang asked with a smile.

Gongsun Yingxiu nodded and said: "Of course it is the truth. The dispute between Buddhism and Taoism is unnecessary. As long as it is beneficial to the Sui Dynasty and the emperor, Qingruo has no reason not to support it."

Yang Guang said with a relieved smile: "If you think so, I and the empress dote on you in vain. By the way, Wang Fazhu is doing well recently. I haven't seen him for more than two years."

"Master, he is a very good old man. In the past two years, he has been practicing in secluded cultivation in the Yuqing Profound Altar, and he only eats a little dewy pine nuts every day." Gongsun Yingxiu replied.

Yang Guang said enviously: "Wang Fazhu eats the wind and drinks the dew, he is like a god among gods. When I conquer Goguryeo in the coming year, I will go to Yuqing Xuantan to practice immortality and Taoism with Wang Fazhu."

Gongsun Yingxiu said with a smile: "Even if the emperor can afford this hardship, isn't he afraid that the empress will call the door to find the master's dignitary?"

Yang Guang laughed and said: "Nonsense, how can your aunt be so fierce."

Gongsun Yingxiu chuckled and said, "Your Majesty, don't tell Auntie that Qing Ruo is afraid that she will tear her mouth apart."

"You, you have been eccentric since you were a child. By the way, Gao Changqing is a talent, but he is not very easy to control. Keep an eye on him for me, lest he make mistakes. First, polish it for a few years. If it can be of great use, I will not treat him badly." Yang Guang said lightly.

Gongsun Yingxiu was inexplicably happy, nodded and said: "Yes, Qing Ruo will obey the emperor's order!"

"Go, go and greet your aunt, she has missed you for a long time." Yang Guang waved his hand and ordered.

So Gongsun Xiuyingxiu resigned and left, heading for the harem.

(End of this chapter)