Kunning

The rewards from the palace were all neatly piled up in her room.

There are gold, silver and satin, as well as jade and agate.

All of them come from Shen Zhiyi, the eldest princess of Leyang.

Jiang Xuening came back to the house from the outside, Tang'er and Lian'er, the two little girls, hadn't seen her girl for a long time. Seeing her coming back, she seemed to have lost a lot of weight, and her complexion was not very good. stand up.

Ask on the left and read on the right.

Jiang Xuening didn't answer a single word, let them wait and wash, and sent them out without even asking about Beijing's recent situation, and sat alone in the room.

A bright candle was lit on the desk.

Jiang Xuening stared at the jumping flame for a long time, a drop of candle tears fell down the edge of the candle, and she blinked.

Everything was silent.

She got up and walked to the dressing table, her face without makeup under the candlelight was reflected in the rhombic mirror.

There was a soft "snap".

It was she who opened the dowry that had been locked up for a long time, and opened the bottom compartment, inside which was wrapped a fine Hetian sapphire bracelet with a pink and white silk handkerchief.

"Ning Ning, I beg you to do something, if you go back home and see the eldest girl, please give this to her for me..."

Wanniang's sad face when she was dying flashed back to her eyes.

She clenched her hands vigorously, her eyes widened wide, as if she was afraid that she would not agree, but also seemed to be full of guilt and pain.

But who is that for?

Jiang Xuening recalled, but she was still not sure.

How she wished there was a little bit of her own there.

But until Wanniang lost her breath, the maids from the capital forcefully broke away the hand she was still holding on to, and she didn't get the answer she wanted.

"Is there nothing left for me..."

She took the bracelet out of the dowry, turned her back to the candlelight on the desk, looked at it for a long time, tears rolled down her eyes, and a sneer appeared on her lips.

His fingers slowly gripped the bracelet tightly.

For a moment she wanted to drop the thing.

As if it never existed.

But the moment he raised his hand, he felt that he was unbearable and despicable, and the more ridiculous sadness was set off by the two...

"laugh."

So I really laughed out loud.

After all, Jiang Xuening threw the bracelet on the desk, and slowly lay back on the bed, but she couldn't fall asleep with her eyes open.

The capital city in the new year is a lively time.

The Lantern Festival will be held for three days in a row, visiting relatives visiting relatives, and shopping in the market.

Although the weather is suddenly cold, it is rare that there are people everywhere.

Teahouses and restaurants are full of idle old men who walk birds and fight crickets in the street on weekdays, and it is inevitable to talk nonsense when they sit down.

In fact, it is nothing more than a trivial matter.

But this year, something unusual happened.

Lu Xian ate up at Xie Wei's place last night and didn't sleep well all night, so he got up early to go to Shuxiang Inn to see how the silver stocks of Ren's Salt Works were going up.

It's just that it came too early, and the news of silver stocks has not yet arrived.

He ordered a bowl of tea, and sat upstairs, just in time to eat a handful of melon seeds, listening to the chatter of people downstairs.

"Have you heard?"

"heard."

"I've heard that too."

"Haha, isn't it just that auspicious people have their own destiny, and good people will eventually be rewarded!"

"Hey, what kind of charades are the masters playing this morning?"

"You don't know yet?"

"I'm confused by what you said. I'm ignorant. What happened in the capital recently? Is it the extermination of the Heavenly Sect?"

"It has something to do with it, but it's not this one."

"What the hell?"

"Hahaha Master Zhou came to the capital only seven or eight years ago. I don't know if it's normal. You guys should be kind and don't make fun of him. It's really unbelievable that this man is definitely not the prince. I can still come back alive. I don’t know how much hardship I have endured outside these years, and how many sins I have suffered!”

"Pity the tomb of the three hundred righteous children in the Forest of Steles of the White Pagoda Temple..."

The master Zhou sitting below really became more and more confused the more he listened, and he couldn't help asking what happened.

Only then did the older one explain it to him with a bit of ostentation.

That's why it was only revealed before and after the rebellion of King Pingnan.

Lu Xian listened, it was nothing more than that.

King Pingnan broke into the capital, broke into the palace, and didn't catch the prince at that time, so he came up with a cruel way to capture all the children of the right age in the capital to identify them, and found that none of them were later. , So they used the lives of these children to threaten the queen and prince who were hiding in Beijing to show up.

There are 300 people in total, where can parents see their children like this?

There was a cry of mourning in the city.

"It was a big winter, it was so pitiful, the common people were kneeling on the long street, begging the rebels to show their hands, arrest them, don't arrest children. Ouch, I listened to you back then, really worrying? You said But for any individual, who can feel compassion after hearing this? It can be seen that the eighth grandson of Wang Pingnan is a beast!

"Your Highness the Crown Prince, how can you be coerced by others?

"If he wants to fall into the hands of the rebellious party, the treacherous schemes of the rebel party will succeed. Wouldn't it be over for us to go to court? At such a critical moment, loyal ministers and good generals can be relied on."

Master Zhou was stunned: "Could it be that 'Ding Fei Shizi' you mentioned?"

"Isn't it?

"At that time, Xiao Shizi was only seven years old. His father was the new Duke of the Xiao family in Dingguo's mansion, and his mother was the jewel in the palm of the old man of Yongyihou's mansion. With a bit of ingenuity, I heard that apart from learning the piano slowly, everything else can be called a child prodigy with an unforgettable memory. When the first emperor was here, the Duke of the State had long invited him to be crowned son. In the future, it is certain that he will inherit the Duke's Mansion. Before something happened to the Mansion of Yongyi Hou, you heard that Xiaohou Yan is very powerful, right?

"But let me say, it's still eight feet away from Ding Fei's son back then!"

The listener couldn't help being shocked.

Lu Xian was enjoying listening upstairs.

This man spoke vividly, as if he had seen it with his own eyes back then. The words are basically correct, it’s just that person’s piano...

Frowning slightly, he couldn't help cursing in his heart: It's so **** mad when people compare themselves to others.

Downstairs, everyone pricked up their ears.

Even the shopkeeper forgot his plan and looked up.

The person who spoke took a sip of tea to moisten his throat, and then continued: "Back then, Prince Dingfei was very popular with the empress and empress in the palace, and when the accident happened, he was in the palace with Madam Yan, so he naturally protected His Highness and hid together with the empress. Otherwise, how can we say that Xiao Yan and the two clans are loyal and courageous, and devoted themselves? At that time, the lives of three hundred innocent children were on the one hand, and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was in danger on the other. He took the initiative to stand up and changed his robes with His Royal Highness the Crown Prince!"

Suddenly, many people in the field let out a "ah" in surprise, obviously they all guessed a bit.

The man then said: "That's right, this is actually a method of Li Daitao's stiff! Dingfei Shizi has been walking in the palace since he was a child, and the eunuchs all recognize him and are familiar with palace etiquette, and he is seven years old, which is about the same age as His Royal Highness the eight-year-old crown prince." , the stature is not far apart, and his personality is extremely alert. If he pretends to be the prince, appears in front of King Pingnan's rebellious party, and asks King Pingnan Yinuo to let those children go, it will be a fortune."

Master Zhou remembered something: "But those stele forests in Baita Temple..."

Someone answered: "Ping Nan Wang and other vicious people, once they think they have the crown prince, how can they keep others alive? Naturally, they will all be killed. When reinforcements enter the city, they will definitely not be the crown prince." The threat failed, and it was only when he realized that he was holding a fake one, so he killed it in a fit of rage! Only a poor seven-year-old child, the orchid orchid and jade tree had not yet matured, so he died prematurely due to this accident! Xiao Yan and his wife The people of the family dug for a long time in the pile of frozen corpses at the entrance of the palace, and finally found the dragon pendant and the clothes he wore when he was pretending to be the prince. Whose family is it..."

"Sin!"

"I heard that in those few months, there were children crying all night in the capital. It was scary. Until the imperial court collected the bones of these poor children and took them to Baita Temple, buried them next to the Chaoyin Pavilion, and immediately The forest of steles was carved, and the names and surnames were engraved, and the eminent monks in the temple were asked to chant scriptures day and night for seventy-seven forty-nine months, and only then did the hostility of this unjust death go away, and the souls of these children were saved..."

"But now the son is definitely alive?"

The man obviously also felt that this was a miracle, so he couldn't help but smacked his lips and said: "That's not true! It was spread all over the capital when I got up early this morning. I can't believe that there is such a thing of resurrection in the world! But I want to It's reasonable to think, after all, Mrs. Yan said she didn't find anyone back then. There are clothes and jade pendants, and when the snow melts, people will be **** and **** when touched, and no one can be recognized. Everyone's children look similar. I heard that it was very miserable, and it seems that it fell into the hands of the Heavenly Sect. Thanks to the young master of the court, Mr. Xie, he was rescued this time. It can be seen that the sky has eyes, and such loyal and good ministers are blessed with great fate!"

What is believed in the market is the word "blessing".

Hearing what the man said, they all nodded their heads to express their gratitude, and they were a little happy for this prince Dingfei.

Only Lu Xian, who was sitting upstairs, gave a lukewarm smile, and suddenly interjected: "The brother downstairs seems to know a lot, why does it look like I saw it with my own eyes? An errand in the palace?"

The man didn't expect someone to pick a stab at him.

He raised his head and saw that it was Boss Lu of Youhuang Pavilion. He couldn't help but look positive, stood up and cupped his hands, salivated and said with a smile: "Hey, isn't this my hearsay, just to talk to everyone for fun? But you I guessed right, I heard this news from a **** who had worked as a servant in the palace when he was released. But he was not in good health, and not long after he finally came out of the palace with money, he fell ill. He died. It’s ashamed to say that my fortune now depends on the money he left behind.”

This person is not a big man among the merchants in the capital, after all, there are many powerful people under the feet of the emperor.

It's just that no one thought that there was such a layer of origin in the middle, so they couldn't help being a little surprised.

But there are also a few people who know him well and know that what he said is not false.

Although Lu Xian was a businessman, one was a Jinshi and the second grader who had worked in the Imperial Academy, and the other was secretly doing some **** for Xie Wei. People are as simple as that.

Although the man knew what to say casually, he heard the clue.

Didn't the **** who had worked as a servant in the palace and was released after knowing this matter die quickly?

He ate another melon seed, and raised his eyebrows with great interest: "If you say it this way, then it must not be that the son was with his mother, Mrs. Yan. Mrs. Yan should know and agree. But how did I hear that soon after the siege of the capital was lifted, Mrs. Yan had a falling out with Duke Xiao and went back to the Hou Mansion directly, and the Xiao and Yan families had no further contact?"

The man below was stunned.

The others couldn't help being shocked: They only heard people talk about it before, but why did they really think it was a bit weird when they were asked this question?

Someone tentatively asked, "Boss Lu knows something hidden?"

Lu Xian rolled his eyes: "I want to know what you are doing!"

This appearance couldn't be more real, so everyone felt relieved, and then thought: how can ordinary people know about the affairs of the Tian family? The only ones who can be pitiful are the three hundred innocent children buried in the snow.

Early in the morning, the cold sunlight rose from the east and shone obliquely on the white marble railings that lined up in front of the Huangji Hall.

The ministers have arrived and stand with their heads bowed.

Emperor Shen Lang was wearing a black five-claw golden dragon robe and a twelve-pronged crown on his head. He was sitting high on the dragon chair behind the imperial case, his face was a little dark and difficult to see in the Golden Luan Hall.

Xie Wei was in the rank of civil servants on the lower left, and he was rarely dressed in neat and majestic court clothes. Compared with the usual Taoist robes, it was a little less secluded and remote, but it still didn't hurt his aura of austerity and stamina, but he seemed a little more sharp.

But still not enough, just right.

There was a three-point smile on his face, he only raised his eyes to look at Shen Lang, and reminded in a soft voice: "Your Majesty, the prince must have been waiting outside the hall for a long time."