Yan Fei

In the early morning of the second day, the two rushed to Caoqing. Because the swallow injured his leg and couldn't move, the man drove the car outside the Hou's mansion.

When the guards outside the mansion saw that the young master had returned, they hurried in to report.After a while, Yan'er ran out in a hurry. It happened that Yanzi was hugged by the man and put one leg on the ground. Yan'er cried and threw herself into Yanzi's arms, hugging him tightly.

The man glanced at the plaque on the Hou Mansion, and his eyelids twitched.

On the square board were written four gilt characters - "Kan'anhou's Mansion".

Mrs. Kananhou also ran out in a panic, stood on the threshold, and looked at her son with a sigh of relief.

"Thank you sir." After Madam thanked him, she asked the servants to give him something as a thank you gift, the man waved his hand hastily.

"Madam, please don't thank me. The young master ran out by himself, and I just sent him back. It's nothing worth mentioning."

"Mother," Yanzi said, "it's the group of people we followed when we went out."

Madame frowned.It turned out that when Yan'er came back, she was only crying and asking someone to find Yanzi. She was so dizzy from crying that she couldn't say anything clearly, and the pelican almost collapsed from running away. After waking up, it turned out that it was the accompanying attendants who wanted their lives.The aunt who was guarding Yan'er thought she was still awake, so she talked to his wife and said nothing.

Who would have thought that it would be so.

"...Take the young master and miss down, we'll talk about it when the Hou master comes back."

Yanzi had no choice but to take Yan'er back to the backyard, followed by a group of servants, he could only see what his wife said to the young man, the man looked serious, finally his wife nodded, and the man left.

After nightfall, Madam asked Aunt Liang, who was taking care of Yanzi, to cook Yanzi a bowl of the medicine prescribed by the doctor, but when Yanzi saw the bowl of medicine, he felt as if he was facing a formidable enemy, and refused to eat anything.

"What's the matter, young master? Wasn't he very obedient before?" Madam covered his nose with a veil, asked Aunt Liang to force him down, and quickly covered him with her eyes and hands before he was about to spit it out. His mouth was stuffed into his stomach in a daze.

Yanzi glared at Aunt Liang, and kicked out all the servants, leaving only the mother and son in the room.

"You child, the medicine is for your own good, otherwise how can the poison of the snake be completely detoxified?" Madam wiped the corner of his mouth and said.

"The doctor clearly said that he doesn't understand what's going on with this snake venom, so he can only try it! Mom... don't you smell anything?"

"What's the smell? It's just the smell of medicine. Don't tell me that you hate the smell of medicine and die. You've never done that before."

Yanzi clenched the corner of the quilt tightly, and said, "It's... the smell of Xuanwu charcoal wood."

Madam was taken aback, and said: "Could it be that you were poisoned and stupid?"

"No. Mother. I can't smell it wrong. When I was on the pasture, it was fine at first, but later they gave my sister and I the smell of basalt charcoal. It was faint at first, I thought I thought I smelled it wrong, but...but then it got worse," Yanzi's forehead was covered with cold sweat, "Mom, I'm afraid there's something in that food..."

"...From now on, you and Yan'er's food will be tested first before eating. The rest will be discussed after your father comes back, how about it?"

Yanzi knew that her mother was just a woman with no power to restrain her, and she couldn't make too much noise when her father was away.He just nodded.

Kananhou, who used to be a romantic young man, solved a major case in his twenties and recovered the first batch of basalt charcoal wood that was detected for the court, and was named Kananhou by Emperor Taiwu. Go to take charge of matters related to Xuanwu charcoal.

Although basalt charcoal wood is just a kind of wood, after it is made into charcoal, it can be put into gunpowder together with the cicada amber, which is firmly controlled by the court, and its power is greatly increased. Therefore, it is one of Minghan's lifelines.

However, since Emperor Dayuan came to the throne, Xuanwu charcoal wood was often lost during transportation, and courtiers have written impeachment letters to the court.Whether it is basalt charcoal wood, or Guan Eucalyptus, they have become a thorn in the heart and a thorn in the side of Emperor Yuan.

At this time, Guan Yuhou was propping his head with one hand, and tapping the fingers of the other hand on a large stack of papers spread out on the desk, his gentle and handsome face was full of sorrow.

Mrs. Guan Yuhou brought in a cup of tea and put it on his table.Time has not left too many marks on her face, her face is just like that exquisite girl many years ago.

"What's the matter? What happened to the wood again?"

Kanan Hou pondered for a while, then nodded: "Although judging from the total amount, the loss of wood is not too much at the moment, but looking back at previous years, it can be seen that the amount of loss is more and more. Axue, Xuanwu charcoal wood It can only be used when it is burnt to charcoal with the cicada, right? Only the emperor, the military, and us two fellow swallows know about it. General Yang of the Suzaku Army is an old fox who sits on the bench. Being loyal to the emperor and the country, but only following the dragon chair, he will not disclose this matter without the emperor's consent, and it is even more impossible for the emperor to disclose this kind of matter. Swallows have a sense of proportion, so it is impossible to do so Someone knows what is the use of Xuanwu charcoal wood. Moreover, the amber from the first mountain produced by Chao Chan has been taken away, and the second mountain is guarded by the emperor's dead soldiers. It is impossible for anyone to still have amber... Either there is a lack of charcoal, or... there is something else we don't know about Xuanwu charcoal... ahem..."

"Msister?!" Seeing that her husband, who was always healthy and strong, suddenly coughed, the madam was so frightened that she hurriedly handed him the tea.

Kanan Hou waved his hand and said, "Maybe it's due to the recent fatigue...don't worry about it."

"...Master, Yan'er and Yanzi also have a cough recently, and Yan'er's cough is even worse..."

"How are you?" Kananhou asked, holding his wife's hand.

Madam pursed her lips and said, "Me too..."

Guan Yuhou's hand tightened, and he turned his head to look at the brightly dancing lights in the lampshade.

"It's my fault. I didn't take care of you all the time."

"Master, it's not your fault. Don't be too tired." Madam patted his hand and smiled wearily.

"Master, it's time for soup." Aunt Liang turned around and brought in a bowl of chicken soup. Long white smoke rose with a strong aroma and scattered in the room.

Yanzi sat on the bed, her face was pale, and she was so thin that she could see the blue blood vessels under her skin, holding a book in her hand.He raised his head, and a strand of black hair leaked from the back of his neck, with a lot of silver in it.

"Where's my father?" Yanzi asked blankly.

"Master hasn't come back today. I heard that something is wrong, so I have to come back later." Aunt Liang held the bowl and handed it to Yanzi's mouth without raising her head.

Yanzi frowned: "Take it away, I won't drink it."

Aunt Liang didn't care if he didn't agree, she just opened his mouth and poured it down for him, saying: "Ma'am said, I want the young master to make up for it. It's better for the young master to drink it, don't let the madam down. .”

Yanzi was so hot from the oily chicken soup that her stomach ached and she was about to spit it out, but Aunt Liang pressed her on the bed and covered her mouth tightly, almost suffocating to death.

At this time, Yan'er's voice came from the next door: "I won't drink! Please don't let me drink!"

Yanzi's heart tightened, and she wanted to get up and get out of bed, but she lost all strength and fell out of bed.

"What the hell are you...what are you trying to do..." Yanzi stared at Aunt Liang, her fingers curled up.

Aunt Liang picked him up with one hand, threw him on the bed, picked up the mirror in the swallow's room, carefully examined the pattern on the frame, smiled slightly, and held it in front of him, saying: "Hurry up, young master, don't worry."

Yanzi raised his eyes to see himself in the glasses, and was stunned.

In the mirror, his originally jet-black hair had already turned more than half white, and the strangest thing was that the color of his eyes had also faded quite a bit.

"You... you guys..."

Aunt Liang glanced at him, put the mirror on the table, and went out with the bowl.

Yanzi gritted her teeth, took a roll of bandages from the wooden cabinet next to the bed, wrapped her arms and legs tightly, and walked out the door leaning on the sword in the room.

There was no one in the yard, he climbed the window eaves to the outside of Yan'er's door, pushed open a gap and slipped into the room.

There was no light in the room, so he could only ask in a low voice, "Sister?"

"Yan...zi..." Yan'er turned over on the bed and replied.

"Sister, I'll help you up, let's go out." Yanzi wrapped Yan'er's arms and calves with bandages, let half of her body lean on his back, and carried her slowly outside the door.

"Swallow... Where are the parents..."

"I'm going to take you to find father...sister?!" Yanzi glanced aside, and actually saw Yan'er's silver hair and hands with blackened nails on her shoulders.

He didn't dare to look at his hands, so he gritted his teeth and carried his sister along the path to the front hall.

Before they reached the front hall, they saw the front yard bursting into flames, screaming again and again.

Mrs. Guan Yuhou stumbled and ran up the path, she was relieved when she saw the two of them, but her face tensed immediately.

Her black hair was all silver, and there were some scary black veins on her neck.With all her might, she dragged the two children into the stable, onto a black-maned horse, and put a black robe on them.

"Swallow, listen..." Madam choked and took a breath before continuing, "Listen well, take your sister to go south to Yiwei across the river to find Gusu Pavilion. Remember to avoid Open up Evilwood and run . . . take the pelican and the crow and never come back."

"Mother?" Yanzi grabbed the reins tightly, and Yan'er, who was leaning on his arms, stretched out a hand tremblingly, trying to grab Madam's sleeve.

The madam pinched the pale hand, and finally let go after a while, and patted the horse's back, watching the horse rush out through the back door with the two children on its back, followed by two children from the back door. Big dog.

Yanzi turned her head and glanced at her, just in time to see a man in a black robe and veiled hat stabbing his sword into his mother's abdomen, behind him were more people in the same costume, like a ghost in the underworld, like a ghost in the underworld.

One of them stood with his hands behind his back, and the firelight beside him made the golden bird pattern on his black robe dazzle people's eyes.

But the swallow's eyes stared at the big bird without blinking.

The pattern of the big bird was exactly the same as that of the small bird hanging around his neck.