On the day Shen Zechuan entered Zhaosu Temple, it was a rare sunny day in Qudu. White snow covered the palace tiles, and the red walls reflected green plum blossoms. The sunlight penetrated through the eaves, and a yin and yang line slanted in front of his feet.

He had just recovered from a serious illness and was so thin that he could see the bones. The old dreams of his fifteen-year-old life were like ashes, which were blown away by the cold wind after he opened his eyes.

Ge Qingqing went down the stairs first, looked back at him, and said, "It's getting late."

Shen Zechuan supported the pillar and walked down the steps slowly. He was exposed to the sun, neither adapting nor fearing. The boy's childishness seemed to be crushed in the paleness, and he could no longer see anything other than being sick and weak.

Ji Lei was waiting at the gate of Zhaosu Temple, followed by Xiao Fuzi. Xiao Fuzi looked up at the ancient temple and marveled: "The Xiongqi Temple does not look like a place where people are imprisoned."

"You don't know its origins," Ji Lei said. "Zhaosui Temple was originally a place for the royal family to offer incense, and the handwritings of Lord Guangcheng were enshrined inside. In its heyday, eminent monks from all over the world gathered here, and chatting was very popular."

"Why haven't I heard anything from your noble master in recent years?" Xiao Fuzi looked at the temple door, "It seems to be dilapidated. It hasn't been repaired for a long time, right?"

Ji Lei calmed down for a while and said: "Twenty years have passed. Prince Sin once instigated the Eighth Battalion of Qudu to rebel. After the defeat, he retreated here and trapped animals in the temple to fight. In the end, his blood spattered the Buddha statue and he committed suicide. After that, the late emperor no longer When I set foot here, I picked up the name of the temple and mentioned the word "Zhao Gui" again."

"Twenty years." Xiao Fuzi pinched his throat in an unusually strange manner, "Then I haven't given birth yet! Lord Ji has just joined the Imperial Guard, right?"

Ji Lei did not answer this, turned to the back and scolded: "Why haven't you arrived yet?"

Xiao Fuzi was still circling around the stone tablet of "Apologia", and finally asked Ji Lei: "Is it possible that I have never heard of anyone being imprisoned in there?"

Ji Lei seemed to be annoyed and said: "All the ministers implicated in the case of the guilty prince were imprisoned. Civil servants and military generals all killed the nine tribes. There are very few left. It has been twenty years, who still remembers!"

As the prison cart approached, Ge Qingqing saluted Ji Lei and said, "Sir, I've brought you here."

"Send it in." Ji Lei said to Shen Zechuan, "If we say goodbye today, I'm afraid I won't have a chance to see him again. The emperor's kindness is so great that you should appreciate it for the rest of your life."

Shen Zechuan turned a deaf ear. He entered Zhaosu Temple, and the red door with peeling paint moved with a roar. He stood in it and looked at Ji Lei. Ji Lei was stared at by this gaze and was about to get angry, but he saw Shen Zechuan. A smile appeared on his clean face.

Crazy.

Ji Lei thought subconsciously, but heard Shen Zechuan say in his ears.

"Master Ji." His voice was calm, "See you someday."

The red door slammed shut, stirring up countless dust. Xiao Fuzi covered his nose and coughed, retreating repeatedly, but saw Ji Lei standing there, motionless.

Ji Lei was called several times before he came back to his senses. He quickly mounted his horse, his back was being basked in the sun, and he said: "...Bah, bad luck!"

* * *

Xiao Chiye rode across the street and bumped into Ji Lei. He reined in his horse and laughed, saying, "Old Ji, aren't you on duty in front of the emperor?"

Ji Lei looked at Xiao Chiye's best war horse with covetous eyes and said: "Today we escorted the remnants into the temple and are driving to the palace. Second Young Master, what a good horse! I heard that I tamed them all myself?"

"I have nothing to do." Xiao Chiye cracked his riding whip, and the sea green in the sky suddenly fell on his shoulder. He said, "Playing like a hawk and playing with a horse, that's all I can do."

"You'll be very busy when you become an errand after the new year." Ji Lei said, "You are a newly rich man in Qandu! I won't be on duty tomorrow, why don't we go have a drink together?"

Xiao Chiye said: "The wine is not good, so I won't go."

Ji Lei laughed out loud and said: "Good wine must be good wine! Who dares to invite your second son here if he is not a good wine? I will go to your door later to invite you. Do you have time to go and have fun together?"

Xiao Chiye rubbed his bone finger and said, "My eldest brother, don't you like this? Why, just me going there doesn't count as a meal?"

Ji Lei quickly said: "I didn't say these words! Second Young Master, it's settled."

Xiao Chiye agreed and was about to leave. He seemed to remember it before he left and asked, "How does the remnant look? Can his legs and feet be able to walk?"

"I can walk," Ji Lei said, "but he doesn't look very agile. There are a few imperial sticks that don't leave any injuries. It's his luck to be able to walk."

Xiao Chiye didn't say much, and rode away.

* * *

Later, the servants from Zhaosu Temple brought food. Shen Zechuan lit the oil lamp but did not touch the food. He took the oil lamp and walked along the small corridor on the side of the main hall.

There had been dust here for a long time, some of the rooms were dilapidated, and the doors and windows were broken. Shen Zechuan saw a few corpses, which fell over when the wind blew. Since he didn't find any living things, he returned to the main hall.

The Buddha statue has collapsed, and the incense table is old but very strong. The size below is suitable. Shen Zechuan hung up the tattered curtains and lay down underneath with his clothes on. His legs were aching from the cold. He endured the pain and closed his eyes to count the hours.

In the second half of the night, there was fresh snowfall, and Shen Zechuan heard two night owl calls. He sat up and lifted the cloth, and saw Ji Gang stepping in in front of the door.

"After dinner," Ji Gang opened his bag, "I started boxing. It's too cold to block the wind at night. Master is afraid you will get sick if you fall asleep."

Shen Zechuan looked at the roast chicken wrapped in oil paper and said, "You should avoid meat and fish when you are sick. Master, you can eat it."

Ji Gang tore up the roasted chicken for him and said, "Bullshit! It's time for you to have a full stomach. Master likes to eat chicken butts, and he also likes to eat them at home. You leave it to me."

Shen Zechuan said: "I will follow you, and I will eat whatever you eat."

Ji Gang glanced at him, laughed a few times, and said, "You brat."

The master and apprentice shared the roasted chicken. Ji Gang seemed to have a toothache and chewed up the chicken bones. He handed the gourd to Shen Zechuan and said, "If you really can't stand the cold, drink. But don't drink too much." , like your brother, sip according to the amount."

They have not mentioned Zhongbo, Duanzhou, or Chashi Tiankeng these days. Master Niang and Ji Mu are like master and disciple's tacit wounds. They both think they are hiding it secretly, but they don't know that the blood is It has flowed out, and the pain coexists.

Shen Zechuan took a sip and handed it to Ji Gang.

Ji Gang didn't answer, he said: "Quit drinking, Master doesn't drink anymore."

Silence fell in the palace, without the protection of the door, the fine snow fell in front of us, becoming the only scenery in the long night.

Ji Gang said: "Why are you stunned?"

Shen Zechuan said: "Master."

"If you have something to say, just say it."

"sorry."

Ji Gang was silent for a while and said, "It's not your fault."

Shen Zechuan clasped his fingers tightly and stared at Xue, as if he would shed tears if he blinked. His voice was hoarse and he said, "Have you gone to Tea Stone to find us?"

Ji Gang slowly leaned against the incense table, his body buried in the shadows. He seemed to be looking for his own voice, and after a long time he said: "I went, I found it."

Found it.

Ji Gang found his son covered in arrows in a deep snow pit. He jumped down, stepped over the thick corpse, and dug out Ji Mu's body.

Ji Mu was only twenty-three years old and had just raised the flag of the Duanzhou garrison. The armor was new. On the day she put it on, Hua Pingting hung a safety charm in the lock for her son. When Ji Gang found him, He was blue and blue from the cold and froze together with his colleagues.

Shen Zechuan raised his head slightly and said, "Master, I'm sorry."

Ji Gang was already old. He rubbed his gray hair and said, "Is he an elder brother? He should be. It's not your fault."

It snowed again for a while.

Ji Gang curled up his hands and feet and said: "Who knew that the bald man from Biansha would come? He became a soldier and rushed to the front. There was nothing we could do about it. I taught him boxing and he got that temper again. You let him run away. It's better to kill him. He can't bear to see people suffering, so why, how could he run away?"

"It's not your fault, it's my master's fault. I drank too much, and your master's wife scolded me for so long, but I didn't stop. When the cavalry came, I couldn't fight well. At my age, I'm old and useless, and I have long since stopped. It worked."

The gourd was wet, and Shen Zechuan held the gourd without saying a word.

"I'm old and useless." A head suddenly popped out from behind the Buddha statue and said with a smile, "I'm old and useless!"

Ji Gang jumped up like a leopard and shouted: "Who!"

The man, unkempt and disheveled, gradually leaned out and imitated Ji Gang and said, "Who, who!"

Ji Gang heard the sound clearly, pressed down on Shen Zechuan, and lost his voice in astonishment: "...Master Qi!"

The man quickly turned his head back, kicked the Buddha statue, and shouted loudly: "No! It's not Taifu!"

After Ji Gang caught up with the Buddha statue in a few steps, he saw that he was trying to escape through a hole, so he couldn't help but grab the man's ankle. The man immediately let out a cry like a slaughtering pig, and shouted: "Your Highness! Your Highness, leave quickly!"

Shen Zechuan covered his mouth and worked together with Ji Gang to bring the man back.

"Who is this?" Shen Zechuan asked.

"You are young and have never heard of it." Ji Gang's voice was unsteady and he pressed his hand and said, "Master Qi, okay! You are still alive! Where is Mr. Zhou? Is Mr. Zhou here too?"

Taifu Qi was so thin that he could not move anyone, so he stared and whispered: "Dead, dead! I am dead, Your Highness is dead, everyone is dead!"

Ji Gang said in a deep voice: "Master, I am Ji Gang! I know Ji Gang from the Imperial Guard!"

Taifu Qi was in shock. He raised his neck hesitantly, looked at Ji Gang's face and said, "You are not Ji Gang, you are an evil ghost!"

Ji Gang said sadly: "Master! In the 23rd year of Yongyi, I escorted you to the capital, and His Highness the Crown Prince greeted you here. Have you forgotten too?"

Taifu Qi's eyes flickered and he said crazily: "They killed the Crown Prince...His Royal Highness the Crown Prince!" He whimpered, "Ji Gang, Mr. Ji! Take His Highness away! The East Palace has become the target of public criticism, how can His Highness deserve it!"

Ji Gang let go of his hand dejectedly and said: "Taifu... At the age of twenty-nine, Lei recognized a thief as his father, and I have been kicked out of the capital. In the past twenty years, I have become a wanderer in the world, marrying a wife and having children in Duanzhou, Zhongbo."

Taifu Qi stared at him blankly and said: "...Your Highness just went, the emperor and grandson are still here! Take him away, you, take him away!"

Ji Gang couldn't help but close his eyes and said: "In the 30th year of Yongyi, the prince committed suicide here, and no one survived in the East Palace."

Taifu Qi leaned up and murmured, "Yes, yes..." He burst into tears like a child, "How did it become like this?"

Ji Gang was exhausted both mentally and physically that night. He said: "After the clouds parted, the water flowed for ten years [1]. How could I have expected that we would meet again in this life in such a situation."

Taifu Qi turned over and hid his face, saying: "Are you also locked up? Lock him up! Let them kill all the intellectuals in the world."

Ji Gang said: "My disciple took the responsibility for his father."

Taifu Qi said: "I have suffered for my father... OK, who is his father? Has he also angered the emperor?"

Ji Gang sighed and said: "Last year, Shen Wei was defeated..."

Unexpectedly, when Master Qi heard the word "Shen Wei", he suddenly turned his head, crawled towards Shen Zechuan on his hands and knees, and asked, "Is this the son of Shen Wei?"

Ji Gang sensed something was wrong and was about to take action, but Taifu Qi had already jumped out first. He grabbed Shen Zechuan with his withered fingers and said ferociously: "Shen Wei! Shen Wei has killed His Highness!"

Shen Zechuan had quick eyes and quick hands and had already grasped Taifu Qi's wrist. Ji Gang immediately captured Taifu Qi and said: "Taifu! Why did the emperor and his grandson die? Do you want my apprentice to die for what today? ?No matter what evil deeds Shen Wei does, it has nothing to do with my disciple!"

Taifu Qi gasped harshly and said in a trembling voice: "Since he is Shen Wei's son, Shen Wei's son..."
Chapter completed!