The darkness of the night was like an impenetrable net, and Shangjing, which was shrouded in the net, sank into sleep.

A figure quietly left Wei Guogong's mansion.

The dense night engulfed the houses in the distance and the nearby streets. Shi Shiran, a young man guided by ghost lights, wandered in the night, playing his special game of collecting ghosts.

——The last time he went out to wander, it was mainly to test Lan Xin's ability, but this time he purposely went to collect ghosts.

In the silent night, the boy's figure was like a burning fiery flame, clearly bright and eye-catching, but no one noticed his presence wherever he passed.

This picture is very similar to the opening CG of the adventure game.

Probably because of the unique induction between ghosts and spirits, or ghosts can smell some kind of soul breath that ordinary people can't detect. After wandering for a long time, Su Ying followed the burning lamp all the way to the west of the city.Among the row of small houses, only one has a tall white lantern hanging in front of the yard, which is a sign of a recent death in the family.

As soon as he got close, Su Ying felt a familiar aura.

He jumped lightly, as if a light red light flashed across the night, and landed on the courtyard wall in the next second.

In the cool night wind, strange sounds that ordinary people could not hear came from the yard, like chewing sounds, or the sound of someone digging a grave, accompanied by the sound of footsteps back and forth, as if someone wasConstantly wandering in the courtyard.

Oh, the first one wins the lottery?

Su Ying looked down curiously.

I saw the small courtyard was dilapidated and dim, and a vague shadow was circling back and forth under the only tree in the courtyard. It had long legs and hands, a shriveled belly, and its limbs looked like stretched noodles. It crawled on the ground with hands and feet together.Okay, the thin fingers are digging hard at the soil, and the mouth that is getting bigger and bigger is like a black hole, swallowing the dirt that has been dug out.

At this moment, Su Ying was shocked.

"What a miserable ghost, are you so hungry that you want to eat dirt?"

From Su Ying's perspective, he could clearly see that the soil fell into the phantom's mouth, slid all the way to his shriveled belly, and then fell out of his stomach as if passing through a layer of transparent projection.on the ground.

The observation during this period is enough for him to know that in this world, after death, the soul will normally enter the reincarnation, and will not stay in the world as a ghost.Although Su Ying habitually refers to such things as "ghosts", in fact they are not ghosts formed by the separation of human souls, but spirits born from the memories and obsessions of the deceased at the moment of death.

With the formation of such a muddled and obsessed spirit, it is not difficult to guess what kind of obsession the living have when they die.

Su Ying sat on the wall, observing with great interest the second spirit he found in this world besides Lan Xin.

Looking at it, he slowly made a question mark.

Because the ghost obviously has no self-awareness at all, and has been interrupted around the tree, crawling forward, digging and eating the soil, and the soil it eats keeps falling out of the phantom and falling back to the ground... I don’t know.I thought this was watching a VCR that played repeatedly.

Strange chewing sounds, bizarre footsteps, and the constant sound of "grave digging" echoed faintly in the night.

Unknowingly, the soil in the yard has been turned over.

"puff"

The scene was too funny, Su Ying couldn't help laughing.

"Hahahaha, what kind of high-performance excavator is this? Put it in the field to loosen the soil, it must be very efficient."

The night wind blew through his black hair and lifted his clothes that were burning like fire. Su Ying laughed so hard that he completely ignored that it was night and he was sitting on the wall of someone else's house.

His laughter startled the soul shadow who had been mechanically repeating the process of "digging → eating soil → dropping soil", and made the shadow raise its head in a daze, revealing an old and withered face, with "Hunger"'s dazed eyes.

It also alarmed the owner who was already asleep in the wing room.

Suddenly, there was a series of collision sounds in the room, as if someone accidentally bumped into a table, chair and bench in a hurry at night.

"Who?!" Immediately after, a little light came on, and someone picked up a bench and shouted through the window, "There are patrol guards on the street outside. Which thieves dare to come to my house to make trouble?"

The voice sounded full of courage on the surface, but there was a nervousness pretending to be calm.It can be seen from the fact that the owner of the voice did not push the door open immediately, but bluffed people through the window.

If it was an ordinary thief, he would probably have been shocked away.

But Su Ying is not an ordinary thief, he is here to steal ghosts.

Therefore, instead of being nervous about being discovered when he broke into a private house in the middle of the night, he was pleasantly surprised by this unexpected accident, and his face also showed the expression of discovering a new side game.

He landed without a sound, raised his hand and picked up the prostrate soul, then came to the window without a sound, and slapped the soul on the head.

At this moment, the soul with long hands and feet like noodles was immediately shot straight into the window, the front half of the body and head penetrated the window, and the second half of the body was still outside.

At the same time, he slowly opened his mouth to comfort.

"Anxin, Anxin, it's not a thief, it's your father!"

At the same time as the voice sounded, red flames suddenly exploded in the ghost lamp beside him, and the boy smiled and spoke.

"...Your father said he missed you~"

It's a pity that Su Ying's consolation was useless. At the same time as his voice sounded, the people inside had already uttered a hellish scream——

The blood-like brilliance floated slowly, accompanied by the cold yin energy, and the rippling blood light layer after layer made the surrounding environment seem to be distorted into an absurd and blurred dream.

The ghosts and ghosts that shouldn't be seen by human eyes also appeared in this dream. The people in the room who held up the bench to be on guard could only see layers of blood-colored light penetrate the window and shine on him, and an old, shriveled and hideousHorror's face also suddenly came in from the window, and pressed against his face.

There was still a hint of covetousness in those eyeballs.

The heartbeat soared to an unimaginable frequency in an instant, and the rippling blood brilliance distorted the scene in front of him like water, only the familiar face of the dead, with decayed death and yin, rushed towards him.

"Ah ah ah ah ah"

After a scream, the person who fell on the ground rolled and scrambled back, wailing and howling: "Don't come, don't come, Dad, I was wrong, I was wrong——"

"...I didn't mean to starve you to death!"

"...Aren't you willing to do anything for me!"

The room was dim, and a little candlelight cast his dark shadow all over the wall. His pale face remained unchanged, but it was getting closer and closer to him. His drooling eyeballs seemed to be filled with the words "swallowing people into his stomach".of greed.

The deeper and deeper blood light dyed everything in front of him red, like a rippling lake, causing his vision to shake. In the blurred and dizzy vision, he seemed to be a ghost that was getting closer and closer to him.scratched his neck.

A low hoarse voice drifted into his ears.

"You smell... so sweet."

"Hey—" The overloaded heart could no longer bear it, and the fright that exceeded the threshold made the man fall down completely.

"Ehhh? Are you so carefree?"

A voice of disappointment sounded faintly, and Su Ying photographed the ghost with long hands and long legs out of thin air, and found that there was a touch of clarity in the eyes of the originally dazed soul, but his face was dazed.

"Alas!" The shriveled old man let out a long sigh, as if he hadn't recovered from the tragedy of being starved to death by an unfilial son, or hadn't adapted to his identity.He bowed solemnly to Su Ying, very tactful, "Old man Du Laide, thank you for your enlightenment, I am willing to serve you in the future, no matter what."

Su Ying accepted the new Pokémon and asked him curiously, "You are also considered a starving ghost, do you have any special abilities?"

...

When Su Ying stayed up in the middle of the night, looking for ghosts to collect ghosts, at the same time, the other person didn't sleep either, but repeatedly looked at the letter in his hand.

The bright light in the study room illuminated the neat and beautiful handwriting on the letter paper, and the man's finger-wrench hand slowly passed by.

A few hours ago, this letter from an old friend was handed over to him, and he was very familiar with the handwriting on it.

In a trance, the man who has reached the age of forty seems to have returned to his youthful youth twenty years ago.

The past couldn't help but come to his mind.

It was an experience that he shouldn't have had in his capacity, and it was also the most special experience in his life.

Back then, he concealed his identity and accidentally met a talented and beautiful woman. The two became confidantes and fell in love with each other.When he was with her, he could temporarily abandon all troubles, without having to think about the struggle in the court, his brother's aggression, and temporarily forget those intrigues, without the constraints of identity, as if he had become a completely free ordinary person.This feeling fascinated him, and he naturally fell in love with the woman who gave him such a feeling. He swore an eternal alliance with her, revealed his identity, and promised to marry her.

Just then, an accident happened.

Something happened to the Chen family, and Chen Jiuniang, who was originally suitable for him, was permanently removed from his wife list. The increasingly aggressive brother and his father's hesitation forced him to seek a wife with a strong family background to increase his wealth.More chips.He had to give up his sweetheart.

I thought all the forbearance was only temporary.Although Chen Jiuniang can't be given the status of a regular wife, but after the regular wife passes through the door, he can also bring his sweetheart into the mansion and take good care of him.

Even if so many people proposed marriage to the Chen family, he never paid attention to it.He believed that as long as he opened his mouth to take a concubine, it was impossible for the Chen family to choose anyone other than him.

But Yu Liulang also got involved.

This made him fall into painful choices again.

As long as he speaks, Yu Liulang can't compete with him.Even if the latter promises the position of wife.

But he can't.

He gave up his sweetheart and chose the noble daughter of the Yu family as his wife, in order to win over the Yu family.If the young lady of the Yu family took a concubine before she got married, and the one who was brought into the mansion was the wife Yu Liulang wholeheartedly wanted to marry, wouldn't it be a slap in the face of both the Yu family siblings?With such insincerity, how could the Yu family stand by him unconditionally just because of marrying a daughter?The Yu family does not have only one girl.

More importantly, how should other people think of him for doing such a thing of arguing with his wife and brother?Those brothers will definitely fan the flames to slander his reputation and shake his position.

So, he flinched again.

He watched helplessly that the Chen family happily agreed to Yu Liulang in the selection of relatives, and watched them offer the appointment and ceremony, and finally couldn't hold back, and sent someone to secretly take away his sweetheart and hide her.

From then on, Chen Jiuniang of the Chen family died.And in a certain house in Shangjing, there was an extra room who lived in seclusion.

He promised sincerely that he would hire his sweetheart as his wife in a fair and honest manner in the future, and would never let his current wife bear children for him—that was just a bargaining chip on his way to the throne.

And he has persisted in this commitment for three years.

Until his status was threatened again, the elders who were full of children and grandchildren talked about the emptiness under his knees and spread rumors that his heirs would be hindered..

Between Yuanda Hongtu and his sweetheart, he chose the former again.Soon after, his wife became pregnant.

Looking at the beautiful handwriting on the letter paper, the man in the study looked dazed, as if he had returned to that night seventeen years ago.

Chen Jiuniang, who was supposed to be well concealed by him and knew nothing about the outside world, learned of Yu's pregnancy from nowhere, and she who had been raped again and again could no longer bear being constantly deceivedHe quarreled fiercely with him, and in the end, he even slapped him. In a panic, he said some harsh words, which made people reflect on themselves, and then left the house and went back to see his pregnant wife.

Just when he thought Chen Jiuniang should calm down and was about to coax her, a message came - she disappeared.

At that time, his brothers were staring at his every move, trying to find his flaws, and there was an elderly father on top who refused to let go of power. In order not to be discovered, he could secretly use very little power to find someone, and finally found nothing..

And when he finally survived his father and was able to rule the world freely, nearly a year had passed.Whether it is long or short, it is enough to wipe out many traces and clues, making it difficult for him to verify.Unless he announced the world openly and let the world become his eyes.

But he still can't.

Once this is the case, everyone will find that the person he is looking for is Chen Jiuniang who died of a serious illness after the engagement.

He just wanted to find someone quietly, then change his identity and hide in his backyard. He didn't want everyone to know that the person he had admired for a long time was the woman who had been engaged to his wife and brother.

For him who just sat in that position, it is not worthwhile to damage his reputation and shake people's hearts for a woman who has left him, and to cause controversy in the court and harem.

The first thing he had to do at that time was to stabilize the hearts of the court.

If it were changed to him now, he would not have to have so many worries if he had completely secured his position.

But if it were him now, he would not deliberately look for a woman who had been separated from him for more than ten years.

Nearly twenty years have passed, and it would be a lie to say that he still has nostalgia for that woman.

Sometimes he asked himself how much his love for her stemmed from admiration of the unrestrained freedom she displayed, how much he loved her for herself, even he couldn't tell.

Perhaps, that person is just a symbol of freedom.

The pressure brought by his brothers, the pain caused by the indecision of his elderly father, the pervasive attacks of the enemies who always want to push him down, the expectations and demands of the supporters who wholeheartedly support him, like the ancient sage king...... All of these bound him tightly.Only in front of that person, he is unrestrained and omnipotent.

Chen Jiuniang probably had such a feeling in her body.

After thinking about this, he didn't send anyone to look for Chen Jiuniang.In order not to destroy the once beautiful thoughts.

In this way, the woman he met when he was young can always become the white moonlight in his heart, instead of becoming ugly like the old people in the harem who have long since withered.

It was not until more than ten years later that this letter came to him.

Before opening the letter paper, he hesitated.

If Chen Jiuniang, who once dared to love and hate, also became a vulgar woman, relying on the little affection in the past, relying on the fact that he failed the other party's guilt, and tried to seek benefits for her descendants, then it is hard to say that he will do it with his old dream broken.What.

But after opening the letterhead, he smiled.

"...Jiu Niang is still the former Jiu Niang."

This letter is not very long.

In addition to simply recalling the past between the two of them, and bringing up her experience after she left, I will focus on one thing-Li Langzhong and his wife had a relationship with her once, and they saved their lives.He gave them the book shop he gave to himself, leaving the jade pendant and letters as tokens, and they can go to the capital to take over the book shop at any time.

The date of inscription was sixteen years ago.

The book shop was the place where the two of them made love, and it was also a gift from him to her. She gave it away so simply, which meant a clean break.Back then, he would have been angry, but for him now, he only felt that Bai Yueguang was still Bai Yueguang.

The old dream in his heart was not broken, but even more beautiful.

"...This is Jiu Niang."

Sighing again, he put the letter away carefully, and called the servant: "What is the identity of the young man who delivered the letter?"

"It has been found out that he is the only son recovered by Duke Wei."

The servant replied respectfully.These few hours were enough for them to find out the origin of Su Ying's identity clearly.

"Oh? It's a coincidence." The superior immediately remembered the lawsuit a few days ago, "Duke Wei came to the palace to see you a few days ago, just because of this child."

Thinking of this, he asked casually.

"What happened to the former son of the Duke of Wei?"

The servant who had been prepared for a long time replied immediately: "He was expelled from the Duke's mansion and changed back to his original surname. Now he is called Li Mingjin. He was thrown into prison for murder and sentenced to one year in prison."

Speaking of this, the servant watched his face and couldn't help asking: "Your Majesty, do you want to tell Jing Zhaoyin to let that Li Mingjin go, or give him some other care?"

"Why do you think you should take care of him?"

This sentence sounded like a pure question, without any anger or dissatisfaction, but the servant who spoke boldly knelt down quickly: "Your Majesty, forgive me, this servant is taking the liberty to speculate on the holy will. This servant just thinks, just thinks, that Li Mingjin is the one."The biological son of Li Langzhong and his wife..."

Since the object of Chen Jiuniang's repayment is Li Langzhong and his wife, it should be their own son who should repay.

He paused.

"Get up." Emperor Huiming beckoned him to get up, "You don't need to take care of him, you can do whatever you want."

The latter sentence clearly refers to Li Mingjin.

While speaking, the lights in the study room reflected the emperor's face, and there was a faint shadow under his eyelids.

"Since the token was brought by that kid from the Xu family, then Mo Zhai is naturally his."

The servant said yes, and after getting up cautiously, the emperor with an unpredictable expression said with a smile: "This kid has only been recognized for a few days, and rumors have been flooding since he went to Beijing. He is also a wonderful person."

The servant smiled knowingly: "The son of Wei Guogong went to Zuiyun Tower today, and made a group of like-minded friends. He must be a wonderful person."

While speaking, he caught a glimpse of a deeper smile on the emperor's face.

A moment of enlightenment came to my mind.

——Perhaps it is indeed a good thing that the heir of Duke Wei's mansion has changed.Especially from Xu Mingjin who was outstandingly talented, to Xu Mingjue who is ignorant and incompetent.At least, His Majesty has a very good impression of the present son of Duke Wei.

After thinking about it, the servant immediately decided that when he sent someone to give the son the title deed later, he could make some friends appropriately.

...

The next day, when Su Ying arrived at Ink Studio, the store manager took the initiative to present the land deed and a bunch of accounts, which contained a whole year's revenue.It was as if not only handing over the store, but also everything in the store, including this year's revenue, was given to him together.

This is undoubtedly a very obvious gesture of favor.

But Su Ying was not polite and accepted them all.

System 333 was very surprised, and asked the same question as the servant: [Accordingly, Xu Mingjin, no, Li Mingjin is the biological son of Li Langzhong and his wife.I thought that "Prince Prince" would have to hesitate for a while. Should he choose you as the host or Li Mingjin? How could he be so decisive?】

It took only one night, and even the accounts were settled.Obviously, the other party chose Su Ying almost without hesitation.

Su Ying said casually: "It's not beyond my expectation, although I'm also a little surprised, he is so decisive."

System 333 suddenly became more curious: "So why?"

"...Maybe it's because I'm more likable?"

Su Ying smiled.

——Wei Guogong's mansion does not need a good heir, so the current situation is what some people are happy to see.The ignorant and incompetent Wei Guogong's son, of course, is more pleasing!

System 333 didn't hear this hidden meaning. It just thought that the host was narcissistic as always. As the host's right-hand man, he immediately agreed unconditionally: "Of course, you are much more likable than that Li Mingjin, host."

Su Ying blinked and didn't explain further.

He just took out another letter, and the peach pattern on the envelope was vivid.

In fact, due to the uncertainty of the future, Chen Jiuniang left two letters, which can be described as painstaking.

If after her son’s life experience was exposed and he was expelled from the mansion, he only wanted to live a stable and prosperous life, and he did not want to be involved in disputes, so he took a letter with a maple leaf and a jade pendant to Mozhai—then the emperor would regard them as Li Langzhong and his wife.For the sake of Chen Jiuniang's old relationship, it is enough for him to live a stable and prosperous life.

If the other party is unwilling to live an ordinary life and has the ambition to achieve a great cause, then give this letter with peach blossoms.

In this letter, Chen Jiuniang confessed everything.

Once the emperor verified that the other party was his own son, he would naturally make the best arrangements for him.

This was the case in the original destiny.

Xu Mingjin, who had a good relationship with Li Sanlang from the beginning, was accepted by the Duke's Mansion, so naturally he didn't have to take the risk to kill Lan Xin, and Li Sanlang regarded Lan Xin as a real elder, and after taking her back to the Duke's Mansion, he lookedIn terms of Li Sanlang's face, everyone in the Duke's Mansion really thought that Lan Xin had taken good care of him these years, so they treated Lan Xin very well.

Until Xu Mingjin's plot was revealed and he was expelled from the mansion.

Lan Xin found Xu Mingjin and handed over the jade pendant and letters that she kept to him. Unwilling to be kicked out of the Duke's mansion and wanting to take revenge on the Duke's mansion, how could Xu Mingjin be satisfied and just be the owner of a small bookstore?He chose the second way.

As a result, all the good luck in the world seems to be concentrated on him.

He who was supposed to be in a mess always encountered all kinds of good opportunities by accident. He kept meeting noble people, was appreciated by others, and his talent spread far and wide.

In a very short period of time, he became a rising newcomer in the court. The highly respected Master Chengyuan only saw him, and marveled at his profound fortune, and he would also protect the people around him, and protect the whole Daqi.

On the other hand, the heir of Wei Guogong's mansion who had exchanged identities with him for many years is a disaster star who will only bring trouble to those around him.

——Isn’t the love of the Son of Heaven the greatest blessing?The useless people soared from the ground, and the mansion of the Duke fell into mud.

From the beginning to the end, Xu Mingjin didn't know her real background, she really thought that she was talented and lucky.

And relying on this world-recognized blessing, even after the third prince ascended the throne, he still treated this "lucky star" with great favor.In this way, he lived a life that is said to be extremely blessed.

When others talked about Wei Guogong's son who switched identities with him back then, they only said that their fate was predestined.One is born to enjoy happiness, and the other is born to suffer.Even if it is changed back, it is the same.I can only lament that the Wei Guogong's mansion never saw through it, and was implicated by the disaster star for nothing.

But now, Su Ying couldn't help but laugh when he thought of Xu Mingjin who was still squatting in the prison, seeing the flattery in the eyes of the shopkeeper who respectfully presented the land deed and accounts.

...Can it be just a small difference that can make fate go on a completely different track?

In the original destiny, the man who accidentally discovered that he still had a son in this world used his monstrous power to prepare his illegitimate son for the second half of his life with peace of mind, using the Xu family as a stepping stone.

But now he is being imprisoned in prison.

This makes reality all the more ridiculous.

The seemingly completely different choices gave Su Ying insight into the nature of the other party.

"...He is a completely self-centered, self-interested, out-and-out human being." He murmured.

But when it comes to their own blood, there is a rare warmth.

...It is precisely because of such complex contradictions that human beings are interesting.Compared with flowers and plants without souls, human beings with thoughts and souls who will make unknown choices and lead to unknown destiny nodes are interesting.

"Tell me, would it be interesting if I brought this letter to Li Mingjin and let him know the truth?"

Su Ying raised the letter in Yang's hand, showing an eager look of wanting to open the hidden plot.

"Isn't it the best time now?" After all, if the emperor finds out, wouldn't he be on his way to his original destiny?The host shouldn't like such a plot, right?

Hearing what System 333 said, Su Ying, who was eager to try, also calmed down: "That's right, I always feel that if I do this now, I won't be able to reap the most satisfying achievements. Wait for the best time to go, and the other party's expression will be more excitingBar?"