Phoenix Fight: The First Concubine

Chapter 161 The Sheepskin Scroll

These words are indeed his sincere words.

Although Emperor Jianwu put a lot of pressure on them, the other party was their father after all, a figure they had admired since childhood.

When facing Emperor Jianwu, it was inevitable that Xiao Mingrui felt a little complicated.

Hearing what he said, Xiao Mingchen's face was also a little gloomy, thinking about the warm past with Emperor Jianwu, and the time spent with the father and son, he couldn't help but see sadness in his eyes.

"I hope the emperor can take care of his health."

Xiao Mingchen is sincere at this moment.

Xiao Mingrui is also sincere.

What he wanted was to stand upright, not to use some insidious means to deal with his father.

Maybe Emperor Jianwu would be a little wary, but Xiao Mingrui knew that he would never make that step.

A few days later, on the day of the Lantern Festival, Emperor Jianwu seemed to have recovered his health, and was still having fun with the people and watching the lanterns in the capital on the day of the Lantern Festival.

Once Emperor Jianwu came out, everything was completely unimportant.

Because he is the explanation.

The speculation about the emperor's illness also disappeared at this moment.

All he wanted was such a result.

After the Lantern Festival, one day Xiao Mingrui took his son Xiao Wenzhi into the palace.

Emperor Jianwu seemed to like this grandson very much. Hutou was not a shy person, and he was very courageous. He grabbed Emperor Jianwu's beard and pulled out a few dragon beards, but Xiao Mingrui was sweating coldly. .

Emperor Jianwu didn't think it was disobedient, and laughed, and rewarded the tiger's head with a jade pendant.

Old people are always more tolerant and kind to their grandchildren.

"This kid is very courageous, which is good. There are no cowards in our Xiao family." Emperor Jianwu laughed.

Xiao Mingrui wiped off his sweat: "That's because Father doesn't care about him."

"What do I care about with my grandson?" Emperor Jianwu didn't take it seriously, and played with the tiger's head for a while, but although he looked good on the surface, he was very tired recently, and he was a little tired after a while.

Xiao Mingrui hurriedly asked someone to carry his son down, his eyes moved slightly, hiding the worry hidden deep in his heart.

"Mingrui, you've done well in the Ministry of Rites... How about it, I'm going to ask you to be in charge of the Ministry of Officials recently."

Xiao Mingrui was a little surprised. The Ministry of Officials is the head of the six departments, in charge of the promotion and dispatch of hundreds of officials across the country, and the Shangshu of the Ministry of Officials is also known as the Heavenly Official. This is the place where it is easiest to get in touch with all the officials. A place where it's easy to make connections.

"You go to be the Zuo Shilang of the Ministry of Officials first. It just so happens that the Zuo Shilang Ding You returned to his hometown recently."

Xiao Mingrui was silent for a moment, then knelt down to thank him.

Up to now, he didn't show much excitement, in fact, he already understood Emperor Jianwu's thoughts.

Maybe Emperor Jianwu is not willing to give up power, but the empire cannot live without descendants. He must let Xiao Mingrui go through more trials to test his ability, or test his loyalty, or let him cultivate power.

Xiao Mingrui came out of the imperial study and went to the Ministry of Rites to hand over the affairs of the Ministry. He will be transferred to the Ministry of Officials the next day.

Sure enough, as soon as the news came out, it caused many people to speculate.

Most people think that this is Emperor Jianwu cultivating heirs.

But also a little unwilling, jumping up and down in the dark.

The weather is getting warmer. After the second dragon raised its head in February, the temperature is rising day by day.

On this day, the King of Chu invited Xiao Mingrui to the Palace of King Chu for a drink.

The King of Chu is actually not very idle now, he is holding a post in the Imperial Academy, he is a bachelor of the Imperial Academy, and occasionally participates in some book editing activities.

But these are small things that don't take much time and effort.

King Chu's daily life is also very leisurely. Compared with other brothers, it is obvious that his life is very comfortable.

The Chu Palace is also built with carved railings and jade, which is quiet and beautiful. The two brothers played chess in a boat on the lake.

The black and white pieces on the chessboard are criss-crossed, the king of Chu holds the black, Xiao Mingrui holds the white, at this moment the pieces are entangled, it is difficult to distinguish the enemy from the enemy.

The King of Chu suddenly went away and was eaten by Xiao Mingrui. He was about to lose, but in the end he managed to keep the situation, but it was still very miserable.

"Sigh, second brother, we brothers play chess, but I have never won against you. Just like the chess game in front of me, as long as I can keep myself, I will be fine, but I dare not fight for the front, I can't, I lost. "

King Chu shook his head and said with emotion.

Xiao Mingrui's eyebrows moved slightly, he glanced at him, and thoughtfully said: "Since that's the case, I'm not the one who kills everything, brothers don't have to be like this, let's make up."

King Chu smiled slightly: "That's not bad."

The two seemed to be talking about a chess game, but who would not understand the meaning behind the words, so there was no need to hide anything at this moment.

An hour later, Xiao Mingrui left Chu Palace.

The king of Chu was fishing alone on the boat. The lake surface was still a little cold in early spring, but he was sobered up by the spring breeze, so the king of Chu tasted the medicinal wine alone.

This big boat with five bright tiles has many rooms, all of which are elegantly furnished to entertain guests. At this time, a white-faced middle-aged man walked to the bow and sighed: "My lord, why bother? power to fight."

The king of Chu was noncommittal, he knew his own family affairs, and his physical condition was not enough to participate in this matter.

Because he can't guarantee that he can bear the daily hard work.

Being an emperor is very hard work, and in his situation, he can't last long at all.

What's the point of earning life but not spending life?
"you are not a fish, how to know the joy of fish?"

The white-faced middle-aged man shook his head and sat down beside him, "Actually, with the sageness of the prince, if you are more active, you may not be worse than King Luo."

"This is fate. I am not interested in those things, as long as I can do what I want to do in this life." King Chu ignored his words at all, and was positive, it also depends on whether he has the qualifications.

If you don't have the qualifications to just fight there, that would be stupid.

Whether he fights or not, he is a prince, so what is there to be afraid of?

Xiao Mingrui kept pondering on the way back, feeling very emotional in his heart.

He didn't expect the King of Chu to say that. In fact, the King of Chu has a certain reputation in the court, but he is relatively low-key on weekdays, so he doesn't attract attention.

"Is this expressing your heart to me?"

Xiao Mingrui understood this, because the King of Chu had a heart problem, so it was impossible for him to participate in the seizure of the heir.

King Wei is currently locked up in the palace. He has nothing to do all day, but he spent a lot of time playing childbirth games with his wives and concubines. As a result, many women in the palace of Wei are pregnant. Very funny.

As for the sixth prince, the seventh prince has always kept a low profile and has no ambitions.

On the contrary, his little brother, the eighth prince, and his little brother, the tenth prince, who were only three or four years old, seemed to be behind the biological mother who always wanted to fight for things, but always used her son in the end.

Because Emperor Jianwu had seen enough of the performances of his adult sons, he liked the younger children very much, thinking that they were very pure.

It's a pity that being born in the palace, no one is really glass-hearted, most of them are scheming.

Xiao Mingrui is completely clear about these things.

Luo Wang's mansion is full of excitement.

Today, Aunt Zhou and sister-in-law Yun Xia came to visit Murong Wei together, and brought their children with them.

Hutou and Lele seem to be very interested in children. Murong Wei's younger brother, Murong Chunxu, is five years old, and Yunxia's youngest son is just over one year old. He is about the same age as Hutou Lele. The three kids sit opposite each other On the kang, he played with the toy that Murong Wei had made.

Most of these are simple puzzles and the like, which are designed to improve the child's ability to exercise.

Murong Chun wanted to play at the side, but unfortunately Hutou and Lele didn't pay much attention to this little uncle, so Murong Chun had to play by himself.

Not long after, he saw the scimitar inlaid with precious stones placed on the antique shelf in the room.

At this time, Murong Wei, Aunt Zhou and the others were mostly focusing on the three children, but Brother Chun, who had no one to take care of him, discovered this treasured sword.

He curiously picked it up to play with, and Wan Xia who was at the side saw it, and hurriedly stepped forward to persuade him: "Young Master, you can't just play with this casually, it's very dangerous."

Brother Chun liked it even more, but he refused to hand it over.

"It's a beautiful knife, I want to see it."

Brother Chun pulled out the knife. Although there was no sharp light and it didn't look like a precious sword, Brother Chun seemed to like it very much, and even waved the knife a few times.

Aunt Zhou on the other side could see it, her eyes almost popped out, and she stepped forward to grab Brother Chun in surprise: "Nonsense, put it down!"

When Brother Chun was yelled at by his mother, he immediately felt a little unhappy. When Aunt Zhou fought for his knife, he immediately raised his hand and moved aside.

But I didn't expect that it hit the wrong place all of a sudden, and with a touch, the precious knife slashed on the Huanghuali Bogu shelf, almost shaking the vase on the Bogu shelf.

Murong Wei didn't care about her own children at this time, and hurriedly got up and went over: "Brother Chun, stop making trouble, this is your brother-in-law's property, if it is broken, he will be sad."

Brother Chun was a little scared. He didn't expect that the knife had been chopped on the Bogu shelf, and one side of the shelf was chopped off. For a child, he was really a little flustered.

Murong Wei stretched out her hand to pull out the knife, but unexpectedly, the handle of the knife suddenly fell off.

She hadn't expected such a miraculous change to happen.

But in the blink of an eye, Murong Wei remembered something, and found that the broken part of the handle of the knife was the place where it was connected to the blade, and it was actually hollow.

Murong Wei's heart skipped a beat, she quickly put away the knife and pressed the handle on.

Brother Chun was puzzled, he felt that today's sister's is also quite strange, what's the matter with this knife, is there anything special about it?
He watched curiously, but Aunt Zhou pulled him over and reprimanded him.

"This kid is really messing around." Aunt Zhou said helplessly, "Wei'er, you don't know how skinny he is."

Murong Wei's heart was beating wildly, but at this moment she still tried her best to keep calm, "Kids, always be a bit naughty, it's okay."

Her mind was completely focused on the knife, and she took the knife away on the pretext that she had to deal with something.

When there was only one person left, she quickly picked up the knife and pulled the handle off, and she saw that there was something hidden in the hollow.

Xiao Mingrui used the golden hairpin to pull the thing out, and when she saw clearly, it turned out to be a scroll of sheepskin!

Murong Wei was taken aback. There was such a secret hidden in this treasured sword?
What was even more unexpected was that none of them found out, but a child, Brother Chun, found out.

Because what is normal is, who of you got a treasured sword and would use it to chop firewood?

Only Brother Chun was subverted today, because this kid didn't know what it means to be violent. Unexpectedly, by coincidence, Murong Wei discovered the secret of this scimitar.

Murong Wei opened the parchment, and found that there were pictures of mountains, rivers and rivers drawn on it, as well as some annotations, but they were all barbarian characters, which Murong Wei didn't recognize.

What kind of map is this?
Murong Wei was dreaming, could it be some kind of treasure map?

She observed carefully for a long time, but she still didn't find anything special.

Could it be that this thing is something special, otherwise why did the barbarians order people to assassinate Xiao Mingrui?

This is not without reason, is it?

Could it be because Xiao Mingrui snatched the knife back then?

Murong Wei guessed in her heart.

This incident is so miraculous, it also made Murong Wei have a lot of doubts about what happened back then.

She remembered that when they were on Ziwei Mountain, those barbarians did behave very strangely. When they saw Xiao Mingrui, they seemed to want to catch him and get something.

But he had to escape because of failure.

Later they even dared to assassinate her, Murong Wei.

But the barbarian royal court was defeated, so there was no room for them. Naturally, it disappeared like boiling water and snow.

"Isn't it really my guess?"

Murong Wei was a little curious and a little excited when she thought about it, could this thing be a mysterious treasure map, just like the American blockbuster she had seen in her previous life?

Murong Wei couldn't figure it out for a while, so she temporarily covered her thoughts, hid the things in her arms, and then went back to receive Aunt Zhou, Yun Xia and others.

After sending them back to the mansion in the afternoon, Xiao Mingrui also came back from Prince Chu's mansion.

Murong Wei coaxed her children to take a nap, still thinking about the mysterious sheepskin picture.

Seeing Xiao Mingrui's return, her eyes lit up immediately, and she excitedly stepped forward and grabbed Xiao Mingrui's arm: "Husband, I have something to tell you."

Xiao Mingrui was stunned for a moment, seeing her eyes were shining, as if a pile of gold ingots were shining, he couldn't help being surprised: "What's wrong?"

Murong Wei looked around, dragged him into the inner room, and then took out the sheepskin picture.

"Look, this!" She said excitedly, "Today..."

She briefly talked about what happened before, and Xiao Mingrui was also taken aback, "So, this thing is hidden in that precious sword?"

"Yeah, look at this sheepskin picture, can you see anything?"

Xiao Mingrui picked it up and took a closer look, but saw that the sheepskin figure was very old, a little yellowed, and you could see the traces of time passing on it, and there were some damaged places, and there were even traces of fire on the edges, which shows the ancientness of this thing And encounters, maybe someone once wanted to ignite it, maybe someone wanted to take it for themselves, maybe someone fought endlessly for it.

Xiao Mingrui stared intently at the map above, and the more he looked at it, the more familiar it became.

He thought for a while, and asked someone to go to the marching map he had obtained in the army when he went to northern Xinjiang.

Originally, this map was to be handed over to the Ministry of War afterwards, but he took it away, who would dare to say more, it was indeed because the map was drawn very accurately.

Xiao Mingrui had some guesses in his mind, so he took the map treasured in the study, compared it, and clapped his hands and said, "It's the Xihetao area, look at the map, and compare and see if it's similar?"

Murong Wei compared them and found that there are indeed some similarities. Some differences may be caused by the changes of time and geography, but most of the areas are still similar.

"It's not just as simple as a map, is it?"

Murong Wei looked at both the front and back, but didn't find anything special.

Xiao Mingrui frowned: "It's in barbarian script, I don't understand it in this article, but it would be easier if I understood it."

In fact, Li Jishan also knew some barbarian characters, but Xiao Mingrui was a little hesitant to take this thing out.

Of course, this is not as simple as a map, otherwise, is it necessary for the barbarians to assassinate him for this?

"Wait, I need some time to determine the origin of this thing."

Xiao Mingrui decided to investigate secretly, whether there were any legends about the barbarians.

If this kind of thing is very old, some secrets should be learned from some legends.

Murong Wei said: "I don't think this is a treasure map? A barbarian's treasure map. Otherwise, why are they working so hard?"

Xiao Mingrui was also a little curious: "I really can't tell."

He studied for a long time but couldn't figure out why, so he went out to find someone who understood the barbarian script, and silently wrote some barbarian script books.

After inquiring about news from the border gate, Xiao Mingrui finally heard a legend.

It is said that a great king of the barbarians 500 years ago, because his son wanted to usurp the throne before his death, he specially asked his confidants to hide his huge property in a secret place, and this secret place was on the grassland.

Although this picture shows the Xihetao Grassland, obviously, no one has heard of any digging of a large number of treasures there in recent years.

The reason why legends are legends is that they have not become true.

If it becomes true, it will be history.

This legend obviously interested many grassland kings, but in fact, after the death of that great king, there were indeed a large number of property missing.

This is even more crazy.

The treasure map marked the names of some mountains and rivers, and also recorded the location of the treasure in very small details.

But since no one dug it out, obviously not.

"Is that already a desert over there?" Murong Wei suddenly asked, "500 years ago it might have been a grassland, but now it seems to be a desert, right?"

The vicissitudes of life have changed over time, and perhaps the location of the treasures there has long since changed.

Xiao Mingrui nodded: "But if this picture existed 500 years ago, wouldn't anyone have dug it out 500 years ago?"

Murong Wei raised her eyebrows, a little eager to try: "Could it be that there are other things hidden on it, such as rubbing some potion on it to reveal another picture?"

Xiao Mingrui's eyes lit up: "It is indeed possible."

He studied it carefully.

This drawing is drawn with blue juice, which is very strange, not ink, nor is it a strange thing, but after years of changes, the lines are still clear, it is indeed very magical.

There was a flash of inspiration in Xiao Mingrui's eyes, perhaps he could really find a way to make this picture appear.

Murong Wei mainly wanted to experience the novelty and excitement of treasure hunting, but she didn't pay much attention to it.

As for the treasure left by the barbarian king, can it compare to the rich Qin Dynasty?
However, after all, it is the treasure of the barbarian king. If you can get it, then naturally you don't want it for nothing.

Xiao Mingrui moved his mind, and he could naturally find a solution for it.

Just half a month later, when Murong Wei almost forgot about the parchment, one day, Xiao Mingrui mysteriously told her that he got the real version of that picture!
It turned out that this was a map drawn with a strange herbal juice produced in the South China Sea, but after it was painted with another kind of herbal juice, the original map of the entire parchment disappeared, but another picture appeared.

This picture is not Xihetao, but in the Yanzhi Mountain area.

500 years ago, it was once the place where the barbarian king lived.

Murong Wei suddenly realized, and exclaimed: "I really didn't expect it, the more unexpected this is, the more likely it is."

The barbarians may think that the treasure left by the barbarian king is naturally for the barbarians, but who would have thought that the map is fake?
Perhaps with the passage of time, they thought that the location of the treasure was hidden, but no one thought that it was a problem with the map?
Maybe there is, but obviously, compared with the civilization of the Central Plains, the technological level of the nomads is still a bit low.

The main reason is that this kind of herb is not native to the grassland, and their wizards may not know the origin of this thing, let alone know the map.

"This precious sword has always been kept by the Khan of the barbarian royal court. It was given to the eldest prince that time. It was only a temporary symbol of his status. I didn't expect it to be snatched by me."

Xiao Mingrui was also a little surprised, a little bit embarrassed: "It also made those barbarians go crazy and chased me to the capital. It seems that they are reluctant to give up this thing."

Murong Wei smiled and said, "Don't they have to give up in the end? Maybe they also think that the treasure is impossible to find. Compared with the illusory treasure, of course life is more important. Besides, they must have a copy."

Xiao Mingrui nodded, "But without the original, they will never be able to know this secret, but it is cheaper for us. So, should I thank the Khan from 500 years ago?"

Murong Wei giggled, put her arms around his arm and said, "Husband, if he knows, he might jump out of the grave in anger!"

Xiao Mingrui laughed out loud.

The two couples got a possible huge treasure for nothing, and they were really excited for a while. Xiao Mingrui decided to choose some people and go to Yanzhi Mountain to investigate.

"Wu Jing is going too? But he and Xiangtao are not married yet."

Murong Wei said.

Speaking of this pair of Huanxi lovers, Murong Wei is also very happy. These two people don't know each other. Every time they met before, they didn't pay much attention to each other. Xiangtao also looked sideways and didn't know what happened , the two of them got better.

From last year to now, the relationship has been increasing day by day, and Murong Wei is planning to marry Xiangtao next month.

Xiao Mingrui nodded: "Ranzhi Mountain is not far away, he will be back in half a month, and the wedding will not be delayed."

Murong Wei nodded. Naturally, this matter should be handed over to her confidants to be at ease.

Moreover, even Wu Jing would not be able to know everything at that time. It is estimated that Xiao Mingrui will send someone to test to see if there is such a treasure.

I don't know if there will be any changes in the treasure after years of changes, it's hard to say.

The two couples looked at the map for a long time, discussing what kind of treasure there would be.

Murong Wei thought it was gold and silver treasures, and Xiao Mingrui thought that there might be some antiques, because at that time the Central Plains was fighting, and the northern rangers went south, looting a lot of things.

Murong Wei smiled and said, "It doesn't matter what's in it, as long as we get it, it's the price for the barbarians to assassinate you."

Xiao Mingrui laughed, of course, if he could, he definitely didn't want to be assassinated, and there would be another shock at Ziwei Mountain.

Within a few days, Xiao Mingrui sent his confidants to Yanzhi Mountain to investigate the matter.

But he didn't take this matter too seriously. Compared to the throne, what kind of treasure is just a trivial matter.

After Xiao Mingrui went to the Ministry of Officials to oversee matters, the court reached a consensus, knowing that Xiao Mingrui was the future heir apparent, naturally many people came to curry favor.

As Princess Luo, Murong Wei inevitably had to meet some officials' wives every day, which really made people feel tired.

Half a month later, Wu Jing and the others came back from Rouge Mountain and brought back news that they had indeed found a treasure hiding place there, but the place was very secret and there were only a small number of them, so they couldn't break through the boulder to enter.

Xiao Mingrui did not act rashly, he planned to wait until he ascended the throne before making preparations for this matter, if he digs treasures there with great fanfare, wouldn't that be a joke?
(End of this chapter)