The male protagonist tricked me

Two days ago, the Xiyang Empire incident broke out, followed by the withdrawal of the Alliance and the Empire from the front, causing a tsunami of public opinion.

However, in the eye of the storm, Zhou Zhuo and Jiang Shuo lived a peaceful life.

After that night's "beautiful dream" passed, Jiang Shuo's mood seemed to calm down, and he became the person who could endure alone and carry forward in the dark.

He has started a new plan.

In the past 20 years, he has slowly eroded the power of all the aristocratic families and the royal family by provoking disputes among the aristocratic families.

It's just that although the aristocratic families are already fading away, the former imperial sun of the Jiang family is setting even faster.If he didn't lay out the next game in advance, he was afraid that he would have no chance.

At the same time, the relationship between him and Zhou Zhuo seemed to have entered a period of relative relaxation.

Frozen three feet is not a one-day cold, Jiang Shuo knows very well that not only can they not go back to the past, but it is also difficult for them to be strangers who are most familiar with each other.

But maybe in his last time, he can still leave a trace of warm memories.

Zhou Zhuo didn't say much about Jiang Shuo's small change, because a bigger haze enveloped his heart, and so far he doesn't even know who to ask.

He just forced Jiang Shuo to eat more every day, and then sneaked into his room at night after he fell asleep, and warmed his body with the power of the stars.

However, all of these are just a drop in the bucket. Zhou Zhuo knew very well that if he could not find the source of the problem, then all he did was just delaying time.

As for the source buried so deeply by Jiang Shuo... Thinking of Jiang Heng's news about "Gu", Zhou Zhuo squinted his eyes, and sent Jiang Heng a message, telling him to enter the palace on the second day.

Jiang Heng came late at night, and he took a secret path given by Zhou Zhuo.

Even in his previous life, when Zhou Zhuo entered and exited the palace many times, he never knew that there was such a precise and invisible secret passage in the palace.

Zhou Zhuo never told him this in his previous life.

So, is the message I gave useful?

Jiang Heng was wrapped in a black cloak, thinking about how to effectively use the information on his side in exchange for news from Zhou Zhuo's side, and at the same time trying to figure out a way of thinking about the various changes that have taken place in this life. Come.

The relationship between Zhou Zhuo and Jiang Shuo is probably a bit special, Jiang Heng pondered in his heart.

He had vaguely noticed some of them in his previous life, but with the mentality that those things had nothing to do with him, Jiang Heng could be said to have deliberately avoided or ignored these things.

But now... Can this matter become one of his bargaining chips?

The hood on his head slipped off, and Jiang Heng stretched out his hand, and pushed open a small and delicate door—this passage actually went directly to the outside of His Majesty's bedroom.

But the night was dark outside the window, and the lights inside the house were dim. Zhou Zhuo was the only one sitting on the gorgeous sofa, staring at Jiang Heng.

If it was the past, Jiang Heng would be a little afraid of Zhou Zhuo.

He didn't know if his adoptive father, who was deep in thought and unpredictable in temper, wanted to find fault with him—even though Zhou Zhuo had never treated him badly during the years of getting along with him, he just kept a cold attitude and distance from him .

But children still can't help but feel intimidated by such adults.

Today, Jiang Heng is no longer afraid of Zhou Zhuo.

Even he didn't bother to pretend to be weak and fearful, and just quietly looked back at Zhou Zhuo, "Marshal."

"Sit." Zhou Zhuo pointed to the empty sofa opposite him. He seemed to want to laugh, but in the end he just curled his mouth into a straight line and asked directly, "What is Gu?"

Jiang Heng was not surprised. He guessed that Zhou Zhuo probably didn't know about this matter, so he deliberately tried to test it out. It seems that Zhou Zhuo didn't ask anything from Jiang Shuo.

"Your Majesty doesn't even know?" Jiang Heng showed just the right surprise, perfectly interpreting his expression and attitude.

But after all, Zhou Zhuo has enough profound experience to put it there, and he can tell at a glance that Jiang Heng is deliberately pretending.He was not angry either, he just said, "What do you want? I can consider exchanging with you."

These words are dissatisfied, but tempting. Jiang Heng does have something he wants to know, but before that—"Can I trust you?" He looked at Zhou Zhuo pretending to be suspicious, "After all, these things are about It’s important, when I say it, it’s very likely that I’ll be silenced, isn’t it?”

Although Jiang Heng has no doubt that his future self will have the ability to fight Zhou Zhuo, but he is still too weak now, but he can stand on the fourth floor of the Star Sea, and he has not even condensed the heart of the elements. It is definitely not wise to hit a stone with an egg choose.

Zhou Zhuo admired his caution, but he couldn't help but sigh in his heart.

Regardless of whether Jiang Heng is his and Jiang Shuo's child, at least these years, he raised this child, and the relationship between them should not be what it is today.

"Well," Zhou Zhuo said, "I ask a question. If you know the answer to this question, you can make a request, or another question that you need me to answer. If I also think it's okay, we can exchange it. If one of them If one party is not satisfied with the chip, it raises it until the other party is satisfied."

While talking, Zhou Zhuo called up the optical brain screen and pointed to the time on it, "You need to leave the palace before dawn, when the guards are weakest. If there is no accident, we still have four hours."

Such a fair way of negotiating made Jiang Heng feel comfortable, although he also knew in his heart that before he and Zhou Zhuo were equal in strength, they would never be able to truly complete a fair dialogue.

But in the present case, this is enough.

Jiang Heng nodded, and Zhou Zhuo asked his first question again: "What is Gu?"

"My request is," Jiang Heng blinked, and said the first thing that he had planned in his heart, "I request that in the next two years, the safety of me and Song Ao can be absolutely guaranteed."

He came to negotiate, not to ask for a price, so he proposed a time limit of two years, which was not too long or too short, which was within the range that Zhou Zhuo should be able to accept.

Zhou Zhuo was taken aback for a moment, he thought about the many kinds of requests and questions that Jiang Heng might ask, but the answer still exceeded his expectations.

However, before Zhou Zhuo could answer whether it was okay, the door of the inner bedroom was suddenly pushed open, and Jiang Shuo, who was wearing pajamas, stood there half lazily and half haggard, with a slightly hoarse voice, "He didn't Fa promises you."

The eyes of the two turned to Jiang Shuo together, Zhou Zhuo's eyes were slightly surprised, but Jiang Heng's eyes sank, "So, in the Honglian training camp, there is also the person who designed to kill Song Ao in the Xiyang Empire this time, It's actually you?"

Jiang Shuo finally gave a guilty smile, and his eyes fell on Zhou Zhuo, "He is my accomplice, and it is the trace of him helping to demonstrate."

Zhou Zhuo's breath was stagnant.

At that time, Jiang Shuo's valet did ask him to deal with the traces. If he insisted on saying that this was an accomplice, he really couldn't get around it.

Jiang Shuo said it so lightly, as if it was just a very trivial matter.

This attitude made Jiang Heng angry, but he knew very well that the two in front of him were not easy to deal with, and losing his temper would not help him in his trip today.

So Jiang Heng only asked: "Why?"

It's just that the cold voice still betrayed some of his emotions, Jiang Shuo walked over leisurely, and his gestures were full of extravagance.

He unceremoniously sat beside Zhou Zhuo, and when he bent down to take something from the drawer under the coffee table in front of him, his pajamas slipped down, revealing a large area of ​​scenery.

It's just that the pale skin is wrapped in a thin and sickly body, which can hardly arouse any desires in people, and it can even be said to have no sense of beauty.

Jiang Shuo groped for a while, and took out a pack of cigarettes from the small drawer.

He took out one and put it on, then shrugged nonchalantly, "People are always going to die, it's just the difference between dying sooner or later, we will all die one day, won't we?"

"It's you." His eyes circled around Zhou Zhuo and Jiang Heng, "Why didn't I know when the relationship between your father and son was so good? Talk at night and borrow my place."

What Jiang Shuo said was to light his own cigarette, but Zhou Zhuo's hand was faster than him. As soon as a small cluster of sparks ignited on his fingertips, the smoke disappeared and went directly to Zhou Zhuo's hand.

"Your current physical condition is not suitable for smoking." Zhou Zhuo said as he prepared to stuff the cigarette into his mouth without hesitation.

However, Jiang Shuo's pupils tightened, and a little star power shot out from his fingertips. The cigarette instantly froze into ice, and then turned into powder in Zhou Zhuo's hands.

Zhou Zhuo was not angry, but only looked at Jiang Shuo with some doubts, and caught a glimpse of the tension flashing in the depths of his pupils.

"If I can't get it, don't even think about it." Jiang Shuo added coldly, but was suddenly taken aback.

Zhou Zhuo's expression also changed slightly.

The eyes of the two met, and there was no smoke in their hands, but a smell of tobacco spread in the air.

Following the smell of tobacco, Jiang Heng was holding a cigarette in his mouth very calmly, watching the two people in front of him calmly, as if he was not surprised at all.

Although it was because he didn't pay special attention to Jiang Heng, this kid was able to make both him and Zhou Zhuo completely unaware of his movements of holding and lighting cigarettes under such circumstances. Obviously, his accomplishments are already extraordinary. Low-level Xinghai can be compared.

Jiang Shuo's eyes were fixed, and he had a bad intuition in his heart.

Originally, he was certain that this kid didn't know any real confidential content - because he had no channels to obtain information at all.

But at this moment, Jiang Shuo had already made up his mind to send this kid away immediately.

He is an extremely important part of his plan, and he cannot make mistakes now.

However, Jiang Heng seemed to be aware of his intentions, he took a deep breath, and exhaled a smoke ring very skillfully, "It's true, people will die sooner or later, but why don't you want him to die?" He The cigarette butt in his hand pointed at Zhou Zhuo, "You have been infected by Gu, right? Let me guess, is your Gu still contagious? What is the way of infection?"

Jiang Heng remembered the smoke that Jiang Shuo had just frozen into powder, and made a guess: "Body fluid exchange?"

Jiang Shuo was completely stunned, but soon, maybe less than a second, he immediately frowned and looked at Jiang Heng with a look of confusion, "What nonsense are you talking about? This is my empire , Whoever I want to die will die."

However, in Jiang Heng's view, his stern speech was not threatening at all.He even felt a bit more confident.

"I think there is no need for His Majesty to rush to a conclusion." Jiang Heng looked at Jiang Shuo calmly and calmly, "Why don't you listen to what I have to say first?"

Seeing Jiang Shuo's unhappy expression, Jiang Heng smiled and said in a slow tone: "What if I said, I have a way to relieve Gu?"

Jiang Shuo didn't answer, but the sharp eyes that shot straight at him showed his inner unrest.

Jiang Heng's confidence has increased by one point.

At this moment, he finally felt some relief—it turned out that he was not only an inconspicuous pawn on the chessboard, but also had the possibility of competing against the person who could control his destiny.

Zhou Zhuo, on the other hand, kept frowning tightly and said nothing.

It's just that Jiang Heng's cultivation base is still low at this time, and he hasn't noticed it yet, but Jiang Shuo knows that Zhou Zhuo has opened up his domain to block all interference from the outside world.

Even, under the Dzogchen domain of the tenth level of the Xinghai like him, he who has already fallen to the eighth level of the Xinghai is helpless to fight back.

If Zhou Zhuo had made up his mind to listen to Jiang Heng today, he would have no other options.

But, what Jiang Heng said, the method of dispelling Gu, does it really exist?

If there is such a method, why does he have to wait for more than 20 years? !

Zhou Zhuo, who had been silent all this time, finally moved at this moment.

He took off his coat and put it on Jiang Shuo who was only in pajamas—even though the temperature in the field was constant and there was no possibility of catching a cold, he did so anyway.

Jiang Shuo's long eyelashes drooped slightly, and the palms on his knees were clenched into fists.

In the next second, Zhou Zhuo's warm big hand covered him, wrapped his hand in it, and said to Jiang Heng: "Our transaction continues, one more observer, do you have any objections?"

Looking at the overlapping hands of the two, Jiang Heng naturally had an answer in his heart, "Of course I have no objection. It would be even better if His Majesty is willing to make a deal with me."

"So, what is Gu?" Zhou Zhuo brought the question back to the beginning.

"It can be understood as a kind of living poison. Some are slow, some are potent, and they have various miraculous functions, and some are even helpful for cultivation... There are all kinds of strange things. Speaking of this, maybe you can ask His Majesty privately later. , he will be more clear than me. After all, there was His Majesty's intention in the initial plan to cast a nine-turn ring Gu on me, right?"

Zhou Zhuo felt his hand tremble slightly in his palm.

But he naturally wouldn't attack Jiang Shuo right away, they still have time to have a good talk, so he continued to ask Jiang Heng: "What is your source of information? I want the answer to all sources of information."

This question was also within Jiang Heng's expectation. He paused and said, "I want to know what you two... plan for the future of the empire."

After confirming the relationship between the two people in front of him, some doubts in Jiang Heng's heart were resolved, but another doubt was deepened. The biggest doubt was why Jiang Shuo wanted to destroy the empire in such a way.

Countless people in the previous life thought that Zhou Zhuo conspired against him and replaced Jiang Shuo.

It's just that after Zhou Zhuo also took that position, he couldn't control the greedy and warlike desire in his heart, and continued to lead the empire into the abyss.

What was I doing at that time?

Fighting on the battlefield, or killing an unknown number of members of the Song family?

This time Zhou Zhuo didn't answer immediately, but glanced at Jiang Shuo.

Naturally, knowing part of Jiang Shuo's plan, he could exchange the information with Jiang Heng, but he didn't want to do that.

On the one hand, he respects Jiang Shuo, on the other hand, he doesn't like the feeling that Jiang Shuo can let go as if he has given his last words to him.

He doesn't agree, let alone allow it.

Looking at Zhou Zhuo's eyes, Jiang Shuo's eyes flashed with deep meaning.

But judging from Jiang Heng's answer to the first question, he was not aimless, and indeed had some information that he didn't even know.

So after thinking for a while, Jiang Shuo nodded, "Yes."

"The Song family." Jiang Heng replied, not only these two words, of course, "I don't know if Your Majesty knows...but, everyone in the Song family has been bewitched, including the head of the Song family and the younger brother of the Song family. Four people of a generation."

"What?" Jiang Shuo frowned this time.

Sure enough, Jiang Shuo sighed in his heart, he really made the right bet today, even for those who seem to be playing chess on top of the chess game, the information gap is so big.

"This is what I can confirm so far, and as for more... maybe there are some in the Xingyao Army, but we haven't discovered it yet." Speaking of this, his eyes are also a little dignified.

In any case, this is always a major hidden danger.

"I don't know what the Gu is on His Majesty." Jiang Heng said in a very flat tone, "But that old guy who cast the Gu is full of schemes and tricks, and I'm afraid the credibility of what he heard from him is not high. At present, we have There is still too little understanding of Gu, and the Song family siblings are doing their best to research and investigate."

Zhou Zhuo nodded, then sighed.

"Tell me about the answer you just wanted. The future of the empire is not determined by us, and may not even be determined by the royal family or the aristocratic family. Because in the future, it may be 20 years, or 200 years. The royal family is also fine. No matter whether it is a family or an aristocratic family, they will eventually disappear from the history of the empire. Or, even the empire will eventually disappear.”

Jiang Heng looked at Zhou Zhuo with blazing eyes, and a storm surged in his heart.

If he didn't have the experience of his previous life, if he was asked to listen to what Zhou Zhuo said, he would definitely feel that Zhou Zhuo was fooling him, which means he didn't answer this question.

However, thinking of the previous life, the emperor Jiang Shuo’s various weird behaviors before his death repeatedly tossed the empire. The new throne will be won by the family and there will be endless battles - aren't these all deliberately consuming the power of the aristocratic family?

But does this... really work?

A strange idea suddenly popped up in Jiang Heng's mind. If he asked Song Ao, what would he think, how would he say it, and what would he do?

But before Jiang Heng conceived the answer, Jiang Shuo's eyes were a little dark and unclear. He looked at Jiang Heng's eyes suddenly became sharp, and asked suddenly: "You haven't been hit by the Gu, so, where is the ring-turning Gu?"

Suddenly being turned against the general, Jiang Heng didn't notice for a moment, showing a moment of astonishment.

However, this moment seems to have given Jiang Shuo enough information and judgment.

He raised one hand to cover half of his face, and suddenly laughed a few times, "You gave Song Ao the Gu, didn't you?" Although he was asking a question, Jiang Shuo's tone was almost certain.

He suddenly started laughing, at first it was a restrained and simple smile, and then gradually turned into a wild and unrestrained laugh—"Hahahaha! I never thought that you would! Why, do you regret it? Hahaha! "

He is not the only poor man who has been teased by fate?Jiang Shuo's heart suddenly surged with a vicious relief.

It's just that Jiang Heng has already made up his mind at this time, and he is not angry at Jiang Shuo's provocation. He turned his eyes indifferently and said, "Is this your problem? In exchange, I want to know my real identity."

"That doesn't count." Zhou Zhuo grabbed Jiang Shuo's shoulders and pulled him into his arms. His complexion was still very serious, and he was more worried about Jiang Shuo's situation.But at this time, he could only use the power of the stars to calm Jiang Shuo's emotions.

"The next question," Zhou Zhuo continued the conversation with Jiang Heng, "Where did the news of detoxification come from?"

Seeing that he had already raised the question, Jiang Heng quickly regained his composure, "The exchange question I want is, Lu Fenghua's real identity, and did the Lu family really exist?"

Zhou Zhuo was a little surprised. He raised his eyebrows slightly and asked, "Don't you want to know the answer to that question just now?"

"That's not important." Jiang Heng replied indifferently.

His answer actually has another hidden meaning, that is, it doesn't matter whether he put the nine-turn back ring Gu on Song Ao's body or not.

Regarding Lu Fenghua's matter, Zhou Zhuo had listened to the report from Never Rufu, but some details were still vague, and he was not completely sure yet.

Therefore, after thinking for a while, Zhou Zhuo replied, "I'm not sure about Lu Fenghua's identity at the moment, but I can tell you something about the Lu family."

Jiang Heng nodded. Jiang Heng had already reported the Zerg-related situation to Zhou Zhuo when they fell in the deserted star.This time Wei Rufou naturally gave a more detailed report, but the amount of information was still very different from what Jiang Heng and Song Ao had learned.

Not to mention the issues they had deliberately concealed about the identities of the Zerg and the Gu worms he had talked about.

Since Jiang Heng came to collect information, he naturally showed considerable sincerity and provided Zhou Zhuo with almost all the information other than the agreement they had with the Zerg.

And Jiang Shuo frowned the more he listened, "When they were falling in the deserted star before, the Zerg didn't just attack them?" Jiang Shuo looked at Zhou Zhuo, "Why didn't you tell me?"

Zhou Zhuo didn't feel ashamed, and continued to hold Jiang Shuo's shoulders, not letting him break free, and said to Jiang Heng: "Since you are curious about the Lu family, I will tell you the origin of the Lu family...but it is only the Lu family's That's all."

Jiang Heng raised his eyebrows, it seems that this Lu family is deeply involved with something else, otherwise Zhou Zhuo would not have said that.But it doesn't matter, this is all information that he has not come into contact with, even if he has experienced wind and rain in his previous life, even if he knows a little more now, it may be of great help to him in the future.

After all, the world seemed far more complicated than what he had learned before.

Zhou Zhuo had already spoken very concisely, but it still took some time——Jiang Heng also did not expect that a family that is now unknown and no one has even heard of it, was once in the history of the empire. There is such a strong and colorful stroke, and then it was deliberately hidden.

"At the beginning, human beings were forced to move from one planet to the interstellar. In the process of continuous fighting and enriching the team, there were two families at the beginning, which gradually became the center of leadership. These two families, one named Xia and the other named Lu .And as you can imagine, this is the origin of the Xialu Empire's name."

"When human beings finally migrated to this livable interstellar space and prepared to build an empire, both the Xia family and the Lu family were withered due to excessive wear and tear in the years of war."

"At that time, the Jiang family, my Zhou family, and the current Simen Wu, Kuang, and Song families were in full swing. In order to stabilize the empire as soon as possible, the last few families united and decided to use Jiang The family is the emperor, the Zhou family is the commander, each of the four sects performs their duties, one emperor, four sects and eight sects, and a system of 32 aristocratic families."

"Since then, the Lu family and the Jiang family have retreated behind the scenes. The Lu family has become the 'night watchman' of the empire. Each generation of the Lu family will send one person to the current emperor to be a close servant, assisting the emperor and supervising the emperor at the same time; As the 'gatekeeper' of the empire, each generation of the Xia family will also send someone to the current marshal to perform the same duties."

"Generally speaking, except for these two people sent out, the rest of the Lu family and Xia family will not be revealed to the public. But it is true... there will be accidents. For example, we once had a friend who grew up together when we were young. , the ability is not inferior to mine, but he was later recalled by the family, all the information was erased, and we never saw him again."

"Our good friend once made a big splash in the army, so Wei Rufou has already reported to us the suspicion of Lu Fenghua's identity. But there is no more evidence at present, and even his appearance is the same as the one we saw back then. It's completely different. So I can't give you a definite answer about whether Lu Fenghua is him or not."

"So, may I know his name?" Jiang Heng asked, "This should be the same question as the last one."

Zhou Zhuo was not stingy, and just spit out his name: "Lu Fanming."

"So he and Lu Fanliang are brothers?" Jiang Heng asked again.

Zhou Zhuo hesitated for a moment, Shan did not nod, "How do you know about Lu Fanliang?" He felt a little vigilant.

Although Lu Fanliang was the emperor's close servant, his name was unknown, and others only called him "Guan Lu".

Naturally, Jiang Heng couldn't talk about his previous life experiences, so he asked instead: "So, do you all know Lu Fanrou too?"

Sure enough, this question successfully attracted the attention of the two of them.

Zhou Zhuo and Jiang Shuo looked at each other, and instinctively felt that the name might have something to do with Lu Fanliang and Lu Fanming—but the Lu family, like the Xia family, had always kept things secret within the family, and it was a convention that outsiders were not allowed to intervene, so they never Did not take the initiative to ask.

Facing Jiang Heng's question at this time, they only hesitated a little, but in the end they all shook their heads.

However, Jiang Shuo's complexion has obviously become dignified, as if he is thinking about the possibility in Jiang Heng's words.

"You all stand too high. Although you can indeed see the overall situation, I'm afraid you often overlook some details." Jiang Heng stood up. He has already got most of the news he wants today, and it's just a matter of accepting it when he sees it. The most basic professionalism of a hunter.

"Let me remind you that Lu Fanrou is the wife of Song Chenghong, the current Patriarch of the Song family. It is rumored that she has died of illness. The Song family and the Lu family... can be in close contact with each other. For the rest, you should investigate by yourself." His eyes skipped Zhou Zhuo's hand on Jiang Shuo's shoulder again, and he didn't want to stay any longer.

What's more, Jiang Shuo has Zhou Zhuo to take care of him here, while Song Ao in the marshal's mansion is still in a coma.

Thinking of Song Ao, Jiang Heng felt a little warmth in his heart again. He finally moved his eyes to Jiang Shuo, and said solemnly: "I don't know why you want to kill Song Ao. Maybe to deal with that old Song family, maybe In order to deal with the aristocratic family... or as you said, you have this power."

His pupils were as black as ink, but there was a persuasive coldness in them: "But now the hope of unraveling the Gu lies with Song Ao, and I just got a two-year promise - I hope you can at least do the simplest thing." of."

After speaking, he opened the secret passage again without hesitation, put on his cloak and hood, stepped into it, and left without looking back.

This series of actions was really neat and unrestrained, and it took a while for the two of them who were still thinking about the last message he left to come back to their senses.

Zhou Zhuo smiled helplessly, "This child... I can see it today, except for those eyes that look like mine, this willful and reckless personality that pokes even the sky is completely based on you."

Jiang Shuo let out a smirk, but there was emotion in his eyes, "Of course it's more generous than you. We've kept the gas for 20 years, and it doesn't matter to them at all."

"It's not important to him." Zhou Zhuo sighed softly, "But you are very important to me. So, can we reconcile?"

Jiang Shuo slumped back on the sofa, Zhou Zhuo's coat slipped off his shoulders.

There was enthusiasm in Jiang Shuo's eyes, and there was a hint of hoarseness in his voice, "Why must it be like this? I have thought about it for a long time, a lot, and it is very good...I have persisted for 20 years, and soon I'm going to die without a care,..."

"I want to carry out a top-down reform. I have worked hard for 20 years, only to prove that this road will not work. I am a mediocre, let alone a qualified emperor."

"Maybe with my death, I can send this declining empire one last mile, making it go on a strange path faster."

"And you are the most suitable person to do it."

"I hope you hate me and kill me without any worries."

"I've endured this for 20 years."

"Why won't you fulfill me?"

He stretched out an arm, shielding his eyes with his forearm.

At that moment, Zhou Zhuo didn't know whether he should feel sorry for him or himself.

Or, they are all just flimsy dust in the boundless torrent of fate.

But he insisted—"Did I promise to let you die?" Zhou Zhuo's expression was cold, "Whether you owe this empire is up to you, and it has nothing to do with me. But what you owe me, you owe me." It must be paid back."

"If you don't want to say it, I won't force you, but I will wait until the day you say it."

"If I hate you, I won't continue to follow your arrangement."

"If I kill you, I'll die with you."

"At that time, who will you find to fulfill your 'last wish'?"

Zhou Zhuo walked up to Jiang Shuo, slowly but firmly grasped his wrist, and pulled him up.

"What kind of Gu did you fall into, or Jiang Heng's life experience, there must be one of the two that you should explain to me today." Zhou Zhuo's tone was not hurried, but he was very persistent, and he was bound to unravel the truth in his heart. suspicious.

And Jiang Shuo closed his eyes deeply.

Things have come to this point, which he did not expect at all.

Originally, he thought that the less Zhou Zhuo knew, the better, hated him, and even if he could turn his hatred towards the empire into hatred, then maybe everything would continue to develop according to his expected track, until the aristocratic family was wounded. Do your best until the people wake up.

But he never expected that Jiang Heng, who he arranged to stay at the end, would become the biggest variable, and directly shake out part of his plan.

Whether it is the Jiang family or the royal family, after so many years of tossing, it is really weak and unsustainable. If you really want to give it a go, it is almost impossible to do it without Zhou Zhuo's strength.

Closing his eyes, Jiang Shuo's eyes flashed a hint of helplessness and determination.

"It doesn't matter whether it's a blind spot or a habitual way of thinking. I've never doubted the Lu family... But if the Lu family really has a connection with the Xia family, I can probably figure out the question that I was puzzled by before— —How on earth did I fall into a Gu?"

The time has to be pushed forward to 20 years ago.

At that time, Jiang Shuo had not ascended the throne, and his life was quite comfortable and relaxed. On the contrary, Jiang Heng, who had already started to take over the family affairs, was busier.

As the sole heir of the future monarch, Jiang Shuo's most important homework besides Xinghai cultivation is naturally governing the country.Since he was a child, his father's face, which was always full of exhaustion, rarely showed a smile.

But Jiang Shuo will always remember the bright and sincere smile on his father's face when he said that "reform is imminent" and that it may succeed soon, and the empire can be abolished and returned to the people to be the masters of their own affairs.

Little Jiang Shuo is always thinking, maybe this is the best thing that can happen in this world.

If his father succeeds, he doesn't have to become the next emperor, and he doesn't need to learn the knowledge of governing the country that he never liked, but he can leave the palace and go to the outside world.

However, on the eve of the announcement of the reform, Jiang Shuo's father died suddenly.

All the doctors in the palace examined him, but they only said that he died suddenly from overwork. The whole country sank into an atmosphere of mourning, and the reform plan that had not yet been implemented was aborted.

The empire cannot live without a king, so Jiang Shuo was forced to become the young emperor.

At that time, his teacher was Song Zhan, the father of Song Chenghong, the current Patriarch of the Song Family.

However, perhaps it was Jiang Shuo's father's sudden death that stimulated the old gentleman, and his teachings to Jiang Shuo suddenly became more radical and strict, especially the one that was secretly hidden by Jiang Shuo's father and regarded as a treasure. The content of the reform was heavily criticized, and Jiang Shuo was required to be a domineering emperor.

"I didn't realize that something was wrong with him at that time." Jiang Shuo shook his head, "But I never figured out how he put the voodoo on me. Because as far as I know later, the voodoo is not what I imagined. It’s as easy as it sounds, either the person who has been planted must willingly swallow the worm, or the person who has been planted must be tied up for ‘refinement’.”

"It is absolutely impossible for me to be willing to obey Gu, let alone be tied to 'refining Gu' by him... After my father was killed, I was extremely careful in everything, and I had to sieve and check the things I entered... Now that I think about it , if that Gu was given to me by Lu Fanliang, I might have swallowed the Gu without knowing it."

And that was the beginning of all nightmares.

"What I took was the child Gu, and the mother Gu was on Song Zhan's body." Even though Jiang Shuo still felt pain when recalling those days, he was able to bear and face it.

"This is a very special kind of Gu worm, it will continuously eat my star sea, turn my star sea power into life force, and transfer it to that old thing. So as long as I am still alive, I still have cultivation, I will always be his tonic. But the connection between mother and child Gu... is that once he dies, I will die with him."

Seeing Zhou Zhuo's unbelievable expression, Jiang Shuo smiled wryly, "I didn't believe it at first...so when he came to show off to me triumphantly, I gave him a blow. I used