Don’t Show the Son

The last martial arts class is an assessment of the students' cultivation achievements in the past few months.

After several months of training and teaching guidelines, about half of the students have successfully entrained qi, and have since stepped into the door of martial arts, and the remaining half, although they failed to entrain qi, their physical fitness has also been greatly improved Promoted and successfully passed the assessment.

The courses of the School of Abnormal Arts are originally designed to improve the various abilities of the students, and will not set too many obstacles for the students in the assessment.

For Lin Xiu, the martial arts class didn't really have much effect on him.

He entrains his energy outside, and his biggest gain in martial arts class should be Xue Ning'er's ability.

Thinking of Xue Ning'er, Lin Xiu felt a little guilty. If she had been harboring evil intentions, it would be fine. Even if he designed Xue Ning'er, she deserved it.

But when it comes to emotional matters, the word serious is what I'm afraid of.

It is an indisputable fact that he hurt someone who really liked him. Xue Ning'er even left the School of Different Arts because of this, which made Lin Xiu feel even more guilty.

He wanted to have a face-to-face talk with Xue Ning'er, but he heard that she had been staying in Xue's residence, not even seeing her best girlfriend, and Lin Xiu had no chance either.

Li Baizhang saw what Lin Xiu was thinking, patted him on the shoulder, and said, In a few days, it will be the Empress Dowager's birthday. At that time, all the nobles in the royal capital will go to the palace to celebrate her old man's birthday, Ning'er The girl should also go, if you are lucky, you should be able to meet her...

After Lin Xiu returned home, she also heard about the Empress Dowager's birthday.

The Empress Dowager is the grandmother of His Majesty today. After the death of the late emperor, the Empress Dowager also followed the late Emperor. Therefore, there is no Empress Dowager in Daxia, but the Empress Dowager has always been in good health and has a very high status in the palace.

Lin Xiu is very familiar with the harem, but she has never met the Empress Dowager, because the old man is not heat-resistant, and before the weather got hot, His Majesty sent her to the palace in Lishan to escape the summer heat.

Today, His Majesty practices filial piety. This time, on the 80th birthday of the Empress Dowager, he will hold a grand banquet in the palace for the officials and dignitaries, and pray for the Empress Dowager. At that time, officials of the fifth rank and above, as well as all the dignitaries of the royal capital, will enter the palace. Congratulations to her old man on her birthday.

The Lin family also received a notice from the palace today.

Three days later, for the palace dinner, all three members of the family will be present, the difference is that Lin Xiu and Uncle Ping'an are in the central palace, and Mrs. Uncle Ping'an is in the harem. For large banquets in the palace, the men and women are usually separated.

After lunch, Lin Xiu accompanied her mother to the street to choose a birthday present for the Empress Dowager, Sun Dali and Ah Yue also followed them.

For the Empress Dowager's birthday, the rich and powerful would naturally not enter the palace empty-handed. Fortunately, the Lin family is just a small household, so the gift doesn't need to be very expensive, a gift of tens of taels of taels of silver, as long as there is a thought, it will do.

If everyone had to prepare rich gifts for the empress dowager's birthday banquet, then many poor officials in the court would have to sell their iron.

In a jewelry store in Dongcheng, Mrs. Uncle Ping'an took a fancy to a pure gold Guanyin statue. The shopkeeper asked for five hundred taels of silver, and she countered with three hundred taels of silver.

At this time, a figure suddenly came out from the back hall of the shop.

It was a middle-aged man. When he saw Lin Xiu, he was stunned for a moment, and then surprise appeared on his face. He quickly stepped forward and said, Master Lin, you left in a hurry last time. Our family hasn't been able to thank you very much. You, today I am hosting a banquet at the Yueyue Tower, please do me a favor!

Lin Xiu knew this middle-aged man. Not long ago, he had earned a thousand taels of silver from Yuanwai Chen.

At that time his son was kidnapped, Lin Xiu asked Da Huang to ask all the stray dogs in the city for help, and only then did he find his son back.

Lin Xiu smiled and said: Mr. Chen has already paid the reward, so there is no need to eat. I still have some things to do today.

Seeing Lin Xiu's refusal, Chen Yuanwai had a look of pity on his face, but he thought of something, looked at Mrs. Ping'an, and asked, This lady is...

Lin Xiudao: This is my mother.

Member Chen looked at the Avalokitesvara statue in her hand, and said, If Madam likes this Avalokitesvara statue, I will give it to Madam. It can be regarded as a little favor from me...

Five hundred taels is nothing to the Lin family today, but Chen Yuanwai didn't accept anything, and even said that if it wasn't for Lin Xiu, he would have lost 10,000 taels last time, so he insisted on giving him the Avalokitesvara statue. ...

Walking out of this jewelry store, Mrs. Ping'an asked in surprise, Where did you meet all these friends?

Lin Xiu explained simply: I happened to do him a favor before.

Zhou Yun didn't ask carefully either. His son is very different from before. He used to stay at home and didn't even have a friend. He was very popular in the Qing Dynasty, and he was often called in by the palace. Even when he went out to buy gifts for the Empress Dowager, he met such a generous friend...

Seeing these changes in her son, she was really gratified.

The four of them came out of the shop, and happened to have two figures walking towards them.

Both Lin Xiu knew each other, one was Xue Ning'er, and the other was her best friend Chen Peipei.

I haven't seen her for a few days. Lin Xiu didn't expect to meet her here. When he didn't know how to speak, Xue Ning'er also saw him. Then her face turned pale and her eyes were full of panic. She took Chen Peipei's hand the next moment , as if fleeing away...

Only seeing Xue Ning'er's eyes, Lin Xiu understood her thoughts.

really……

sinned.

Not seeing her for just a few days, she looked haggard and lessened a lot. Needless to say the reason behind it.

Lin Xiu sighed inwardly, the thing he was most afraid of and least expected had happened.

At this time, at a street corner ahead, Chen Peipei looked at Xue Ning'er puzzled, and asked in confusion: Ning'er, what are you running? Isn't that Lin Xiu? By the way, how did you seduce him? , I can't wait to see Zhao Lingjun make a fool of herself in front of you...

When Chen Peipei said these words, Xue Ning'er's face turned even paler. She looked at Chen Peipei pleadingly, and said, Stop it, stop it, okay...

Chen Peipei finally noticed her strangeness, and asked worriedly: Ning'er, what's wrong with you, you look very strange...

Xue Ning'er burst into tears, hugged Chen Peipei, choked up and said, I, I'm a bad woman, I'm not good enough for him...

...

In the past few days, because of the birthday of the Empress Dowager, the whole country celebrated together in the Great Summer, and the curfew in the royal capital was also temporarily cancelled.

Originally, at night, the inner city became very quiet, and those who were still walking on the street during the curfew time would be arrested and punished with a cane.

But since three days ago, after the night fell, the capital really became lively. The shops on the streets were open all night, and the peddlers carrying burdens were in an endless stream. It was surging, and there was no place to stand.

The area near the imperial palace in Dongcheng is populated by high-ranking officials and dignitaries. Today, there is also a constant flow of horses and carriages, sedan chairs, parked at the gate of the palace, and dignified and dignified officials get out of the sedan chairs and walk towards the gate of the palace.

The ladies and eunuchs of Shangli Division all came to the gate of the palace today. The congratulatory gifts brought by the officials and dignitaries will be kept here and registered in the book. Except for the very few top dignitaries who have valuable gifts to present to the empress dowager face to face, the other Everyone's gifts are not allowed to be brought into the palace.

At the gate of the palace, Lin Xiu first handed over the post from Uncle Ping'an's Mansion, and sent the brocade box containing the Guanyin statue. After the maid and eunuch inspected it, they registered it in the register, and then the eunuch led the three of them into the palace gate.

As soon as he entered the front palace, one of the maids on the left walked out, bowed to Uncle Ping'an's wife Zhou Yun, and said respectfully: Madam, please follow me, this servant will take you to the harem...

There are many female family members attending the banquet today. According to the usual practice, they will go to the harem to participate in the banquet hosted by the empress.

Lin Xiu and Uncle Ping'an were brought to a majestic palace in the Central Palace.

The area of ​​this palace is very large. It was originally built for large-scale banquets in the palace. There are two short rows on the left and right, extending from the main hall and even extending to the square in front of the main hall.

Royal banquets are very particular about seating. There are etiquette rules for who should sit in what position and who should be in front of whom.

Those princes and their children with high status and respected status naturally sit at the front, and some small dignitaries and officials can only sit outside the hall. It is late autumn and the weather has already turned cold. It feels like sitting outside the hall and blowing the wind. It's not good.

Among the dignitaries in the royal capital, the third-class uncle is the most numerous. Uncle Pingan, who has been promoted to the second-class uncle, is naturally qualified to sit in the hall, but the position is relatively low.

Lin Xiu's position was further back, two tables behind, and she was outside the hall. Fortunately, although she was close to the door, she was still inside the hall.

They came neither early nor late, about half of the people inside and outside the hall, most of them knelt down obediently behind the short tables, waiting for the banquet to start.

There are also those who sit close to each other and know each other, whispering and laughing at each other.

Lin Xiu sat alone behind the table, a little bored, he didn't know the people on the left and right, and he didn't know when the banquet would start. After a while, should he wait for Xue Ning'er at the gate of the palace?

Just as he was thinking about this, a figure suddenly walked up to him, patted his shoulder, and said, I've been looking for you for a long time, so you are here.

Needless to say, it was naturally Li Baizhang.

He said to Lin Xiu: I just came back from concubine mother's place to say hello. I met Miss Ning'er on the way. It's only been a few days since she lost a lot of weight. You really can't bear her to go on like this...

Lin Xiu breathed a sigh of relief and said, This matter happened because of me, and I will be responsible.

Don't play with your feelings, especially for girls who really like you, even if you don't love them, please don't hurt them. The more you are like Lin Xiu, the more you know how precious this kind of pure liking is. .

Before the banquet started, Lin Xiu and Li Baizhang were chatting without saying a word.

All the people who appeared in the hall tonight were prominent figures in Wangdu. Of course, Lin Xiu didn't know many people. Only when Marquis Yongping appeared, Lin Xiu took a second look.

Under the leadership of an eunuch, he walked in from the outside and sat at the very front of the hall.

Li Baizhang noticed Lin Xiu's gaze and asked, Have you met Marquis Yongping?

Lin Xiu nodded, and said: I met once, he said that the matter between Yang Xuan and me is limited to the two of us, and has nothing to do with Yang and Lin.

Li Baizhang said: This man is a hero. He is less than forty years old, and his martial arts cultivation is already close to the upper level. The Yang family must make further progress in the future. It is best not to form a death relationship with the Yongping Houfu. hatred.

A 40-year-old low-level low-level magician is already considered a little talented, and the road to martial arts is even more difficult, but Yongpinghou can have the strength close to the high-level low-level at the age of less than 40. have such power.

No matter whether it is different arts or martial arts, it is more difficult to break through the realm as you go to the back. It seems that there is only one realm between the lower realm and the upper realm, but even the geniuses in the eyes of ordinary people can break through this realm. Under normal circumstances, it will take fifteen to twenty years.

From the upper realm of the earth rank to the lower realm of the heaven rank, those with outstanding talents will have to practice hard for at least 30 years. If the ability is awakened too late, they will not be able to touch the threshold of the heaven rank until they die.

It can be seen from this that Zhao Lingjun can step into the lower ranks at the age of eighteen, what kind of terrifying talent is this?

What's even more frightening is that she didn't break through at the age of eighteen. She had already stepped into the ground level a few years ago.

According to this kind of cultivation talent, she must be able to reach the upper realm of heaven in her lifetime.

Throughout the ages, there are only a handful of people who can reach this realm, and each of them has left a strong mark in history.

If Marquis Yongping can be promoted to the upper realm of the earth rank, then it is a sure thing for him to become the Duke. A martial arts expert at the upper rank of the earth rank can even fight against the magician of the heaven rank. Apart from the royal family, there are so many dignitaries in the king's capital , there are only four families with heavenly powerhouses.

It is a first-class family and three second-class families.

Their status and power today was not rewarded by the royal family, but by the strength of their family. This is why His Majesty fears them and refuses to marry Zhao Lingjun to them.

The strongest of these families are only in the lower realms of the heavens, and getting Zhao Lingjun, who has a limitless future, is not as simple as adding wings to a tiger.

Compared with these behemoths, Lin Xiu is still cute, with low talent, low strength, and harmless to humans and animals. If Zhao Lingjun marries him, His Majesty can sleep at ease today.

The closer it was to the start of the banquet, the more important people came in from the outside.

Gradually, there began to be princes, county kings, and even prince-level figures. With Li Baizhang beside him, Lin Xiu memorized the faces of these important figures.

After the ability is awakened three times, there will be a new skill in the Eye of the Eye.

Never forget.

His eyes are like human flesh cameras, he can clearly record everything he sees in his mind, and when he recalls, it is exceptionally clear.

Lin Xiu remembered these people for another reason.

Although he didn't know who the people who assassinated him twice were, but he must be here tonight, maybe he could find some clues from it.

Lin Xiu would not give up on the investigation of the two assassination incidents. He had to find out who wanted his life. However, the scope of suspicion was too wide, and he was unable to start for the time being.

At a certain moment, two young men walked into the hall one after another, causing a commotion in the hall, and many people stood up and saluted.

Lin Xiu naturally also learned the identities of the two from Li Baizhang.

Among them, the gentle and refined one is King Qi, the only son of His Majesty and Concubine Xian.

Another one who looks gloomy and soft is Zhao Wang.

Lin Xiu was still wondering at first. According to common sense, after the emperor confirmed the candidate for the crown prince, in order to avoid power struggle among the princes, the other princes should be sent to the fief and not allowed to return to the capital...

But most of His Majesty's princes today are in the capital. Not only that, King Qi also holds important positions in the court, with countless party members around him, and he can even stand against the prince...

After being gradually involved in power struggles, Lin Xiucai gradually realized that things were not that simple.

Concubine Xian's concubine's surname is Song, Song Yuzhi's Song, she was once the daughter of Ningguo Duke's mansion.

The empress's surname is Zhang, and her mother's family is Dingguo Gongfu.

The only first-class Duke in Great Xia is Duke Dingguo.

This seems to be a dispute between the prince and the king of Qi, but it is actually a power struggle between the two top giants in Daxia. Lin Xiu even discovered a small detail, that is, many dignitaries in the court sent their own daughters After entering the palace, no matter whether it is a concubine or a noble person in the harem, whoever is selected randomly has a good family background.

The royal family and the powerful have long been inseparable.

The infiltration of these rich and powerful families is not limited to the imperial court, even the emperor's harem cannot be avoided.

Lin Xiu thought of more.

Dingguogong's daughter is the empress, Ningguogong's daughter is a virtuous concubine, the rank in the harem is actually the rank of the powerful family, what does this mean? no lord...

Lin Xiu suddenly felt comfortable.

As an emperor, he couldn't decide who he would marry, or even who he would establish as the crown prince. From a certain point of view, he was actually just a tool man, whose only function was to have sons, as a bargaining chip for these powerful and powerful people to fight for power.

Now Lin Xiu felt more comfortable.

But should I say it or not, I don’t have to do anything, there are so many people who send young and beautiful girls to him, this is not the ultimate dream of every LSP, how can such a good thing not happen to him ...

Think about it carefully, forget it.

The gift of fate has been marked with a price from the very beginning. There is no such thing as a free lunch or a free sleeping girl. Power is precious, and beautiful women are good, but compared to freedom, these are nothing...

The real freedom is to be unscrupulous and like the person, do happy things, even the person who sleeps with him every day, has to be appointed by someone else, what good thing is that?

While Lin Xiu was thinking wildly, another figure, accompanied by several people, entered the hall.

This person was ordinary in appearance, not tall, and looked honest and honest, but when he entered the hall, everyone stood up, including Li Baizhang beside Lin Xiu.

Everyone bowed and said in unison: See His Royal Highness the Prince!

Lin Xiu has met the Empress and the Emperor Daxia. Although the Empress is not as beautiful as the Imperial Concubine, she can be regarded as a beauty. The Emperor Xia is even more talented. His father and mother.

Although he is not ugly, compared with Princess Minghe, Li Baizhang, King Qi and King Zhao, he lowers the royal family's appearance a bit.

Although the Prince's Highness is not good in appearance, he has a very amiable aura, and there is a trace of majesty and nobility in the amiability. When people see him, they can't help but want to bow their heads.

Not only did Lin Xiu not intend to bow her head, she even wanted to put her hands on her hips.

I don't know why, but upon seeing His Highness the Crown Prince, Lin Xiu had an inexplicable feeling in her heart. How should I describe this feeling...

If Lin Xiu saw Princess Minghe, Lin Xiu felt uncomfortable all over, and always felt suppressed by him everywhere, but seeing the prince, it was the opposite feeling, that kind of suppressed pleasure...

This kind of feeling won't happen inexplicably. Lin Xiu seemed to realize something, turned to look at Li Baizhang, and asked in a low voice: The prince's ability can't be to control water...

Li Baizhang was surprised and said: This matter has not been rumored, how do you know?

Lin Xiu looked at the prince again, and the only thing that could make him feel this suppressed pleasure was the ability of water.

This ability is also one of the heavenly abilities, its power is very domineering, and it is very restrained from the magic of fire.

But this ability was restrained by the magic of ice.

Sky grams.

At this moment, the prince who walked into the hall seemed to feel something. He frowned slightly, turned his head slowly, and looked in a certain direction. The eyes of the two met in the air. Lin Xiu's expression was calm, but the prince shook his body, instinctively Take a step back.

Several people around said quickly: His Royal Highness, what's wrong with you?

The prince looked away from Lin Xiu's direction, smiled slightly, and said, I'm fine, let's go, the banquet is about to start, and you should take your seats as soon as possible...

The prince and others left, Li Baizhang also parted from Lin Xiu, and returned to his own position. He is the prince, and his position is at the front of the hall.

Soon, a bell rang outside the hall, and the officials, dignitaries and their children in the hall also silenced one after another, sitting in front of the table, looking straight ahead.

Zhu Jin came out from the back of the hall and said in a high-pitched voice: Your Majesty is here!

The Emperor Xia and the Empress supported an old man and walked out slowly. Everyone inside and outside the hall stood up and saluted, and said respectfully: See Your Majesty, Empress Empress, I wish the Empress Dowager good luck and prosperity...

The etiquette of the banquet in the palace is very detailed, and even the congratulatory speeches are arranged in advance so that they can speak in unison and be uniform when the time comes.

The banquet begins, and the first link is the gift offering.

Some princes, county kings, and several people in charge of the Duke's Mansion personally presented birthday gifts to the Empress Dowager. The Empress Dowager did not stay here for long, and was supported by the empress and several nuns to leave.

She is just showing her face here, there are still many female relatives waiting in the harem.

Afterwards, it was Zhu Jin who announced the start of the dinner on behalf of His Majesty, and the palaces served dishes one after another. More than a dozen slender palace ladies sang and danced in the palace, with their sleeves fluttering.

The maids wore very little clothes and danced gracefully, but Lin Xiu didn't care to appreciate it.

Lin Xiu still remembered the way the crown prince looked at him just now.

What kind of look was that? It contained disgust, resentment, hatred, and many things that Lin Xiu couldn't explain clearly. Although the two just looked at each other for a moment, there were some things that couldn't be hidden.

Like loving someone.

It's like hating someone.

Xue Ning'er looked at him with eyes full of love, while the crown prince looked at him with eyes full of hatred.

Lin Xiu had never seen such a look in the eyes of Yang Xuan's fan of Zhao Lingjun.

Although it was the first time for him to meet the prince, seriously, the hatred between him and the prince had been forged a long time ago.

The crown prince was also one of Zhao Lingjun's former suitors. He was originally the crown prince. If he married Zhao Lingjun again, the throne would be as stable as Mount Tai, and no one would be able to compete with him again.

Lin Xiu's existence shattered his dream, and he had reasons to hate Lin Xiu.

It can even be said that in the two previous assassinations against him, the sons of His Majesty the Emperor were the most suspected, followed by the super rich families in the capital.

After meeting the prince today, Lin Xiu's suspicions became even greater.

Princess Minghe's ability is fire, and Lin Xiuming's superficial ability is a relationship of mutual restraint. She can't help but often trouble him. The prince's ability is water, and Lin Xiu is restrained to death. He will hug himself Do you have good intentions?

I'm afraid not.

Lin Xiu looked towards the front of the hall, the crown prince's seat was only under the Emperor Daxia's. At this moment, he was watching the singing and dancing in the hall with a smile.

Although there was no direct or indirect evidence, Lin Xiu could not be sure that the prince was behind the two assassinations, but it must be said that he was the most suspected.

That being the case, let's start the investigation with him.