Xia Houshu and Yun Xi arrived at the agreed lakeside first. As expected, Xia Houyi hadn't arrived yet. There was only a small cruise ship docked on the shore waiting for people.
The boat was booked by Xia Houyi early in the morning. The boatman was an old man in his fifties, surnamed Luo, with a half-white beard and half-white hair. His skin was tanned and his arms were very strong due to years of boating work. He was half way through the boat at the moment.
Lying on the bow and taking a nap.
Yunxi was naughty and took a piece of foxtail grass she picked on the road and scratched the old man's nose, causing the old man to wake up and sneeze loudly, while she snickered next to him.
The old man took a closer look and saw that it was a girl. He laughed and said, "Girls are so rude." Knowing that they were the people on the boat, he led them aboard.
Yunxi was naughty, so she gave some of the cakes she brought to the old man as an apology.
The old man accepted it with a smile, and enthusiastically helped them light a charcoal fire to make tea.
The weather was not good, and the wind on the lake was very strong. The willow branches on the lakeside were blown back and forth, as if dancing in the water, graceful and graceful, making the entire lake come alive.
The old man helped light the fire, then went into the cabin to ask if he should sail first, saying that it might rain soon due to the weather.
When it rains, the lake becomes foggy and there is not much to see. The old man sleeps in the open all year round and watches the weather, so he is naturally more sensitive to changes in the weather than a wealthy and idle man like Xia Houshu.
Xia Houshu didn't doubt that he was there, but also thought that Xia Houyi didn't know when he would arrive, and there was no point in staying where he was. He might as well go shopping by himself, so he agreed to the old man's suggestion.
The boat traveled along the lake for a while, and just as the old man expected, it started to rain outside. Soon mist appeared on the lake, and everywhere you looked, it was covered with mist and rain. Several willows nearby hung down their green branches.
It sways with the help of the breeze, contrasting with the ripples on the lake.
Amidst the mist of water vapor, Xia Houshu couldn't help but think of some past events.
According to historical records, at the beginning of the founding of Nanqi, Emperor Taizong Dugujing, in order to commend several outstanding ministers, made an exception and granted ten vassal princes with different surnames to show that the monarch and his ministers were one family and share peace. These ten vassal princes with different surnames were Prince Xiang, Changsun Duo, etc.
, Jing Wang Kong Chengqin, Su Wang Luo Kedun, Hui Wang Zhang Mingying, Jing Wang Zheng Jia, Xin Wang Zhang Huaisu, Ling Wang Situ Hui, Gong Wang Zhong Shuozhi, Shun Wang Situ Xian, Yi Wang Xue Congji.
Among them, Prince Gong Zhong Shuozhi was the son-in-law of Emperor Taizong and the ancestor of Xiahou Shu’s mother Zhong Yuqing.
Although Prince Gong ranked relatively low among the ten vassal kings with different surnames, he won the trust and reliance of successive emperors of Nanqi, and became one of the three kings with different surnames who received hereditary replacement. Not only because of Zhong Shuozhi's
The son-in-law of Emperor Taizong, and because Prince Gong was in charge of the mysterious organization Changqing Sect.
The ancestor of the Zhong family was originally an important minister of the Sima family of the former Dayi Dynasty. He was responsible for secretarial duties, supervising officials for the emperor, and searching for intelligence.
Sima Gu, the last emperor of the Dayi Dynasty, was arrogant, extravagant and lewd, and was not good at governing the country. On the one hand, he sent envoys to collect beauties from all over the world and filled the six palaces, causing "daughters from thousands of families dare not speak out, and pretend to be raised by men against their will. Once the marriage is agreed upon, they take a bath."
The strange phenomenon of "dressing up and turning into a pretty girl"; on the other hand, they forcibly acquired land to build palaces and intensified corvee labor. They were so happy with their achievements that they wasted people and money, forcing the people to revolt.
The Zhong family saw that the Dayi Dynasty was declining day by day. Sima Gu regarded the people as nothing but grass and was unpopular with the people. He remonstrated many times with no results and resolutely resigned and returned to his fields. However, Sima Gu was afraid of the intelligence network in the hands of the Zhong family and kept sending people to assassinate him.
Trying to drive them all out.
In order to protect themselves, the Zhong family joined the rebel army led by Dugu Jing in anger.
Dugu Jing was born in a noble family, he was generous and righteous, employed people in an eclectic way, and treated virtuous people well. He not only treated his followers favorably, but also further consolidated the relationship with his allies through marriage, and betrothed his daughter to Zhong Shuozhi, who was the head of the Zhong family at the time.
as a wife.
Zhong Shuozhi did not let Dugu Jing down. He quickly summoned his old troops to rebuild the intelligence network, collect information for Dugu Jing, and assisted Dugu Jing in his expeditions east and west, and established the Nanqi Kingdom.
After Dugu Jing proclaimed himself emperor, the first thing he did was to confer meritorious officials, which was known as "Taizong's Favor" in history.
For hundreds of years, the Changqing Clan and the Zhong family of Prince Gong’s Mansion have relied on each other and shared weal and woe.
The Zhong family was favored by the emperor for controlling the Changqing Gate and endured for a long time; the Changqing Gate also continued to grow and develop due to the succession of the Zhong family, becoming the eyes, nose, ears, and also the sharpest eyes of the Nanqi monarchs.
weapons.
The core of the Evergreen Sect is divided into two parts: Dead Soldiers and Secret Agents. Most of the Dead Soldiers were street children and orphans who were born in humble circumstances or from poor families. They were later taken in by the Evergreen Sect, taught martial arts, and became monarchs after rigorous training and screening.
The most loyal blade. The origins of spies are inconsistent. There are young masters from aristocratic families, as well as civilians with agile skills and flexible minds, regardless of high or low. The inconsistent status makes it easier to hide and eavesdrop on information. In addition, spies have strict rules.
The levels and authority are divided into four levels according to the tokens: purple ring, blue ring, green ring, and silver ring. Secret agents at all levels are directly under the orders of Prince Gong's Mansion. Everyone performs their own duties and has nothing to do with each other. Even if they meet each other, it doesn't matter.
Get to know each other.
When Zhong Shuozhi was alive, the Zhong family had contributed to the founding of the country and had Princess Nanqi as his wife, which made the Changqing Sect reach its peak of glory. At that time, the dead soldiers and secret agents of the Changqing Sect were all led by Prince Gong's Mansion and were loyal to the
Your Majesty, all kings dare not look down upon Prince Gong’s Mansion.
To this day, although Prince Gong's Mansion is nominally in charge of the Changqing Sect, in fact the leadership of the Changqing Sect has been split into two parts. Only the secret agents are led by the Prince Gong's Mansion, while the dead men directly obey the orders of the monarch and follow the talents.
From screening to appointment, Prince Gong's Palace has no right to interfere.
The glory of Prince Gong's Mansion was short-lived. The main reason was that the Nanqi monarch was afraid of the secret power controlled by Prince Gong's Mansion. He was afraid that Prince Gong's Mansion and Changqing Gate would not be controlled and would pose a threat to the imperial power. Secondly, it was the exclusion and frame-up of the courtiers, which made the palace more vulnerable to imperial power.
Prince Gong's Mansion had to be more low-key in his behavior.
Of course, there is another reason that must be mentioned, which is that the Zhong family is not prosperous. For several generations, it has been a single generation. The successors have no choice but to choose from good or bad qualifications, resulting in the loss of power. Especially in Zhong Zan's generation,
Moreover, the heirs have withered and the family has declined.
Xiahou Shu's maternal grandfather Zhong Jing only had one son and one daughter. The eldest son Zhong Zan had the ambition to revitalize the family since he was a child. However, although he married several wives and concubines as an adult and gave birth to children respectively, none of them has been healthy so far.
The grown-up son. Princess Gong and several other concubines had given birth to Lin'er earlier, but in the end they either died of illness or died strangely due to various other reasons. One of them finally reached the age of fifteen.
, but died because he accidentally fell off the horse while riding with others. On the contrary, each of the five daughters was more beautiful than the last.
There are rumors outside that this is because the dead men and spies supported by Prince Gong's Mansion have committed too many sins, so no one can inherit the incense.
Things handled by the Evergreen Sect have always been secretive and full of dangers. The position of the sect leader has always been passed down from male to female. When Zhong Zan found that his road to revitalization was very difficult, he wanted to entrust this important task to the next generation to continue to complete it.
, to realize his grand ambition. However, he never had a son, which undoubtedly became a heartache for him. He felt anxious and sad almost all the time because of this.
Later, Zhong Zan thought that his sister Zhong Yuqing had two sons, so he decided to take care of his nephew Xia Houyi, who was good at disguise. After all, Xia Houyi also had half of the blood of Prince Gong's family flowing in his body. I don't know how many generations had passed since he would adopt the Zhong family.
If a descendant from a side branch comes to inherit the family business, it is better to hand over the Evergreen Sect to his own nephew, since he will not have any successors.
At that time, Xia Houhui was still there, and Zhong Yuqing thought that in the future, his eldest son Xiahouhui would inherit the title of Duke of Yue, and his second son Xiahouyi would inherit the Changqing Clan under the command of Prince Gong's Palace. Therefore, he did not object to Zhong Zan's proposal, but instead intended to do so.
Unintentionally and secretly cultivated Xia Houyi.
When Xia Houshu first returned to the Duke of Yue's palace, he only knew that he was the only daughter of the Duke of Yue. His mother was a princess personally granted by the late emperor. His maternal grandfather and uncle had successively inherited the title of Prince Gong. They had a noble family background and a prominent family background.
Everyone is the focus of attention everywhere, and they don’t know what kind of power Prince Gong’s Mansion holds, and they don’t even know that Xia Houyi has long been selected as the heir to Prince Gong’s Mansion. Every time I see him chatting and laughing with three or five friends all day long, I don’t think about it.
She only thought of the enterprising Xia Houyi as a libertine with no ambitions and who only wanted to wait for his father to seize the title a hundred years later.
It wasn't until later that I discovered something fishy.
At that time, Zhong Zan was obsessed with instructing Xia Houyi on how to recognize and employ people, and was obsessed with building him into the best successor. Therefore, Xia Houyi would go to Prince Gong's Mansion every now and then, and sometimes even live directly in Prince Gong's Mansion, spending ten and a half months without work.
Return home.
Xia Houshu was curious and went to stay at Prince Gong's Mansion under the pretext of being close to his cousins. However, he found that Xia Houyi would disappear every time he entered his uncle's study room.
It was obviously unusual for him to disappear for a long time without any reason. However, Xiahou Shu was born in a wealthy family and knew some secret places like secret rooms. However, she went to the big study room several times in the name of borrowing books from her uncle, but she didn't.
No clues were found. This aroused Xia Houshu's desire to win, and she was determined to find the truth.
Later, one time, when the guard guarding the door was not paying attention, Xia Houshu once again followed Xia Houyi's footsteps and sneaked into the big study, vowing to find out the secret of their uncle and nephew's disappearance in the study.
That time, Xia Houshu did not rummage around impatiently as usual, but sat directly on the Taishi chair behind his uncle's desk, holding a book and reading leisurely while waiting.
At dusk, I heard a noise coming from behind. Xia Houshu turned his head suddenly and saw that the bookshelf behind the chair was separated from the middle, and then a thick wall inside also cracked. Behind the wall was a row leading to the underground.
The stone steps were bottomless. The stone walls on both sides of the passage were inlaid with fluorite lighting, and Zhong Zan and Xia Houyi walked up the steps one after another, hands behind their backs.
Their eyes met, and everyone couldn't hide their surprise, especially Xia Houshu.
She had also doubted these well-made bookshelves before, and she even knocked along the wall while rummaging through them. Unexpectedly, the wall behind the bookshelves was thickened on purpose. Even if she broke her fingers, she couldn't hear what was behind them.
is empty.
Zhong Zan has been in charge of Changqing Sect for many years and he quickly reacted.
He first pinched his beard and asked why Xia Houshu appeared in the study, then scolded her for not coming to his study casually, and finally warned her not to take a step closer to the study in the future, otherwise she would not be allowed to step into Prince Gong's Mansion again. The words were almost finished in one sentence.
.
Xia Houshu was suddenly scolded by her uncle, and felt very uncomfortable. She left the study with tears in her eyes, and walked a long way before realizing that something was wrong. But she did not dare to go to Zhong Zan to argue, after all, she came uninvited.
She also broke other people's secrets, so she was wronged first. Moreover, Zhong Zan was very tight-lipped, and even if she tried her best to talk, she wouldn't be able to find out anything.
So Xia Houshu shifted his target to Xia Houyi.
After her many attempts at harassment, coercion and inducement, Xia Houyi finally surrendered and confessed truthfully.
Xia Houshu was surprised at first, but after going back and thinking about it for a night, he used this as an excuse to threaten Xia Houyi and help him find a job in Changqingmen.
Xia Houyi was dumbfounded. He didn't expect that his little sister would go too far. Thinking about the dangers of Changqing Sect, he naturally had ten thousand people who disagreed.
However, Xia Houyi could not withstand Xia Houshu's hard work in the end.
Of course, Xia Houshu thought that his skills were inferior to others, so with Xia Houyi's great help and concealment, he could only manage to get a silver ring spy. However, he hid the fact that he was a secret agent of the Changqing Sect from his family, and even the person in charge of
Even Zhong Zan, the uncle of the Evergreen Gate, didn't know the truth because she entered the Evergreen Gate under the identity of Mo Zhen. This chapter has been completed!