That night, Lin Qingbai's body was still not healed, as soon as his abdomen left Xi'an's hand, it was as cold as an ice cube.

Xi An lay on his side and slept behind Lin Qingbai, his hands wrapped around Lin Qingbai's waist from behind, and his palms warmed Lin Qingbai's abdomen.

The two of them were not close, there was still a punch distance between them, but it looked like Xi An was hugging Lin Qingbai from behind.

Lin Qingbai's sleep has always been bad, with less sleep and more dreams, but even though there were occasional firecrackers outside the window that night, Lin Qingbai slept peacefully which was rare.

I slept until dawn, and when woke up, it was already time.

Xi An is not as leisurely as Lin Qingbai, and has to rush to the military camp every day at mao.

Lin Qingbai looked at the folds of the pillow beside him, and belatedly realized that when he got up today, his hands and feet were no longer cold, and there was still a comfortable warmth in the bed, so that his whole body was warm.

This temperature may be too comfortable, to the point where Lin Qingbai nostalgic for it.

On the night of the second day, Xi An did not come back from the barracks.

Lin Qingbai sat on the bed, looking at the empty place beside the bed, feeling no sleepiness in his heart, suddenly he felt a little lost.

He felt that tonight was much colder than every day before.

But it is clear that today's charcoal fire burned more than yesterday, but he felt that the cold was unbearable.

If Xi An is here...

Thinking of this, Lin Qingbai suddenly stopped himself from continuing to think, his fingers tightened the sheet, and his cheeks began to feel hot again.

After a long time, Lin Qingbai let go of his tense hands, then lowered his head and gave a wry smile.

He felt that his body was really not up to the mark, Xi An just took care of him for a night yesterday, and now he still insists on clinging to others?

Nothing!

Lin Qingbai didn't want to become like this, and was extremely annoyed in his heart.

So he lay down with a grunt, wrapped the quilt around himself, and closed his eyes tightly like a child, trying in vain to prevent himself from feeling the cold and fall asleep faster.

But the drowsiness seemed to be against him, the harder he tried to fall asleep faster, the more energetic he became.

In the middle of the night, Lin Qingbai half-closed his eyes and just felt a little drowsy when he suddenly heard the palace door being gently pushed open.

Lin Qingbai was startled, and immediately opened his eyes.

He saw a tall figure walking in softly, and before Lin Qingbai could react, he quickly turned on the bed and hugged Lin Qingbai with both hands.

The smell that belongs to Xi An instantly filled Lin Qingbai's nostrils.

Lin Qingbai was stunned for a moment, and after smelling this familiar breath, the tension in his whole body softened instantly.

Even so, Lin Qingbai still struggled in Xi'an's arms and asked: "...Why are you here? Is there anything in the barracks?"

Xi An said with a smile, "I'm here to sleep with Master."

The words were vague, and Xi An's deep voice lingered in Lin Qingbai's ears, and Lin Qingbai's face became hot when he heard it.

He reprimanded a little sullenly: "Don't talk nonsense."

Xi An was puzzled and asked back: "Master, why am I talking nonsense? I asked Dr. Liang specially today, and she said that Master always sleeps with cold hands and feet at night, and his stomach and abdomen are also cold. If it is cold today, if it is not warmIf you wake up in the morning, you will definitely feel uncomfortable, so when you go to bed at night, you must make sure that Master’s body is warm. I didn’t know this before, but now that I know, I can’t make Master feel uncomfortable anymore.”

Xi An explained seriously.

The scorching heat on Lin Qingbai's cheeks could not be subdued, on the contrary, it seemed to be burning more and more intensely.

He said sternly, "I'm not cold at all, get up quickly."

"But when I touched Master's hands and feet, it was so cold."

Xi An said: "I used to take care of the wounded when I was in the Qianzhou military camp before. At that time, we slept together on the bunk, and there was nothing wrong with it. Now I know that Master is not feeling well, so naturally there is no reason to go.,condition

Besides, my master is unwell, and I waited on him all night, so who would dare to speak his words?"

Xi An's righteous words, if Lin Qingbai said more, it would appear that he was guilty.

Lin Qingbai clenched his mouth tightly, the tips of his ears were so red that they were about to bleed, he suddenly rejoiced that the hall was completely dark, and Xi An couldn't see his red-hot appearance.

At the same time he was annoyed by it.

So he struggled to turn over in Xi'an's arms, turned his head to Xi'an, and said coldly: "I'm going to sleep, don't disturb me."

After finishing speaking, Lin Qingbai buried the lower half of his face in the quilt, and said no more in a cold voice.

Xi An smiled and said, "Yes."

For several days, Xi'an took care of Lin Qingbai's body in the name of taking care of Lin Qingbai's body, and slept in Lin Qingbai's bedroom at night.

Lin Qingbai and Xi An have always had a deep relationship between master and apprentice, and no one felt that this matter was inappropriate.

Until one morning, when Xi An was eating breakfast, he saw that Xi An uncharacteristically did not go to the barracks, but sat at the desk and waited for Lin Qingbai to have dinner together.

Lin Qingbai was startled, feeling a little strange, he asked, "Why didn't you go to the barracks today?"

Xi An poured a cup of tea for Lin Qingbai, handed the warm tea to Lin Qingbai's palm, and said: "A few days ago, the Nanying won the first place in the riding and archery competition of the four camps, and today they will be rewarded with a rest for a day."

Lin Qingbai also heard about this, nodded and sat down to eat.

Until the two finished their breakfast, a servant came in and saluted Lin Qingbai and Xi An.

That person was Lin Qingbai's messenger in the palace. Usually, only when something important happened in the palace would he come to the mansion to inform Lin Qingbai.

Lin Qingbai picked up the handkerchief and wiped her mouth, then said softly, "Speak."

The servant arched his hands and talked about what happened in the palace today.

"My lord, Concubine Qiao was thrown into limbo yesterday."

Lin Qingbai frowned upon hearing this, and asked, "What happened?"

Concubine Qiao is the most favored concubine nowadays. She was born noble, and has been on the rise since she entered the palace. She has two sons under her knees. The emperor loves her even more than the queen. There are often rumors that the emperor may make Concubine Qiao's son the crown prince.

How could a person who was so favored by the emperor be thrown into the cold palace all of a sudden.

"I heard that someone found out the evidence that Concubine Qiao framed the Second Prince yesterday."

"Second prince..." Lin Qingbai frowned, stroked the table with his bony fingertips, and subconsciously tapped.

The second prince is the eldest son of the emperor. Since he was a child, he has been extremely intelligent, sensible and obedient, and he is the most likely person to inherit the position of prince.

However, four years ago, the second prince suddenly contracted a strange disease. At first, he often had nightmares at night, waking up sweating profusely, saying that he could see ghosts.

At that time, everyone thought it was because the child was young and was afraid of sleeping alone at night, but then things got worse and worse, until the second prince started to go crazy and looked in a trance, so he hurriedly invited the imperial doctor to see him.

After the imperial physician had seen it, he couldn't tell why. Several imperial physicians discussed it for a long time, and solemnly prescribed a few medicines.

However, the second prince took it for several days, not only had no effect, but his condition became worse and worse. He couldn't recognize people clearly, dared not go out, and became a foolish person who only knew how to giggle.

The second prince became like this, the emperor was furious, and ordered the imperial physicians to find out the reason. The imperial physicians studied for many days, and finally they could only say that this was a hidden disease that the second prince had in his mother's womb. When he was a child, he was no doubt like an ordinary person. When he reached a certain agewill get sick.

The imperial doctor's remarks pushed everything to the empress, and the emperor made it easier for the empress to become more and more prosperous.

But now this old story has been brought up again, and it is said that Qiao Guifei did it, which is really puzzling.

Lin Qingbai asked: "How to find out?"

"It was a servant girl under Concubine Qiao who took the initiative to report. She said that Concubine Qiao ordered her to add a poison from the Western Regions to the incense of the second prince.It was given by Peng Shangshu of the brother's household department. Afterwards, Concubine Qiao colluded with Imperial Physician Fang to push the matter to the Empress, Your Majesty

Immediately after hearing this, he ordered someone to investigate, and when it was verified to be true, he was furious, and threw Imperial Physician Fang and Peng Shangshu into prison, concubine Qiao was demoted to a commoner, and she would be kept in the cold palace for life."

Lin Qingbai was silent for a long time after hearing this matter, and then asked: "Why did the servant girl suddenly report on Concubine Qiao?"

"My lord, that servant girl has already killed herself, and no one knows the reason."

Lin Qingbai squinted his eyes, feeling that this matter was a bit strange, but he also thought that it was nothing more than the intrigue in the harem, and he had no intention of participating.

Lin Qingbai: "I see."

The servant who delivered the letter had no intention of retreating, but cupped his hands and continued to say the second thing: "My lord, there is one more thing."

"kindness."

"Last night, Zuodu Yushi's family of the Procuratorate was killed on the way back to Beijing."

When Lin Qingbai heard the news, his heart trembled, he sat up straight slowly, and asked, "Is the news true?"

"It's true, the emperor has ordered people to investigate. The whole family had their throats cut, bled to death, and all their valuables were stolen. It was preliminarily determined that it was the work of bandits., if this matter is spread, it will definitely cause turmoil, so the emperor suppressed this matter."

Lin Qingbai closed his eyes, as if he was extremely tired, he waved his hands to make the servants back away.

There are only Lin Qingbai and Xi An in the hall.

Lin Qingbai sighed softly and said, "The court is going to be in chaos again."

Xi An heard everything, but didn't react in any surprise.

Holding a spoon in his hand, he was stirring the soup in the bowl, and asked seemingly unintentionally: "Peng Shangshu's family in the household department has already collapsed. I wonder if his daughter Zhou Fuzhao will be implicated."

Xi An mentioned Zhou Fuzhao, and Lin Qingbai suddenly thought of this woman.

He was silent for a long time and said: "The big tree has fallen, and it has not been spared."

Xi An smiled lightly and said, "Master is right."

Lin Qingbai just lamented the helplessness of the world in his heart. Before, the imperial concubine wanted to point Zhou Fuzhao to him, but now, within a month, Zhou Fuzhao's family has all collapsed.

Thinking of this, Lin Qingbai suddenly came to his senses and asked Xi An: "How did you know that Zhou Fuzhao is this person?"

Xi An raised his eyebrows, and said casually: "It's just that I accidentally learned that the daughter of the Zhou family is a well-known talented woman among the princes and nobles in the capital, but now the phoenix landed and became a sparrow in an instant."

Lin Qingbai's thoughts were chaotic, and he felt heavy in his heart, and he couldn't say a word for a while.

In the days to come, the turmoil in the court did not stop there.

The bandits were rampant, but it happened that it was the end of the Spring Festival, and many people whose families were in the outer cities returned to their hometowns one after another, and it was inevitable that they would encounter bandits and be killed.

There were also two other court ministers who were robbed of their property and then killed.

This time the bandits had extremely high methods and a large number of people. Even though the officials had brought enough guards, none of them were spared and all of them were killed.

The emperor was afraid that this matter would cause panic among the people in the court, so he suppressed all the matter, but ordered people to seal off the mountain, and Yue Hui went to investigate the matter.

But Lin Qingbai found out something was wrong.

I don't know if it was a coincidence, but most of the ministers who were killed were veterans of the former court. Although they were not important ministers in the palace today, they also caused turmoil in the court.

Lin Qingbai will inform the emperor at this time, but the emperor is very tired and said: "There are not many ministers in Beijing whose hometown is not in Beijing. Only these few people return to Beijing every year. Bandits kill people who are naturally looking for rich people.It's just that compared to these, the number and martial arts of these bandits are even more astonishing."

Lin Qingbai thought for a while, and agreed: "It is true."

The emperor looked at the memorial on the table with lowered eyes, and said in a calm voice for a while: "Xiao Shi, have you ever heard of Cangmen?"

"Cangmen..." Lin Qingbai repeated the name in a low voice, and said, "Brother Huang, do you think this has anything to do with Cangmen?"

Lin Qingbai naturally knew about this organization.

The south of the Yangtze River is well-developed in commerce, and the waterways and mountains have many branches. Cangmen is the bandit who is doing evil on the Cangshan Mountain, and is called Cangmen by the people in the court.

Those bandits are different from ordinary bandits, they are good at martial arts, organized and strategic

, Most of the murderers are high-ranking officials and rich businessmen, and the death status is mostly a knife seal, and they are killed directly.

The emperor had ordered several times to subdue the bandits and seal every mountain road and waterway, but all of them returned in vain, and he didn't even see the appearance of the Cangmen people.

It is said that there may be someone from the Cangmen in the government as the internal response.

However, these things have not been figured out yet, and those bandits suddenly disappeared, and no one knew where they were.

The matter of the Cangmen can only be shelved in this way.

Now the emperor is bringing up the old matter again.

The emperor said: "This time the bandits killed people with a knife to seal their throats, and bandits with such high martial arts are really rare."

Lin Qingbai thought for a moment and said: "What the emperor said is very true, but I am a little puzzled. If they are really from the Cangmen, if they only want to make money, the south of the Yangtze River is rich and far away from the capital, so they can get more money.Why do people still come to the capital, and what exactly are they asking for?"

Lin Qingbai's words really hit the spot of the problem.

The two were silent for a long time, and finally the emperor sighed deeply and said: "The external chaos will be eliminated, and the internal chaos will rise again. If it is really the Cangmen, the capital will not be peaceful again..."

Lin Qingbai did not respond.

The emperor also said: "I ordered Admiral Qin of the Patrol Battalion to strengthen the law and order in the capital. Envoys from the Western Regions will visit Beijing in a few days. We must not let foreigners see the joke."

"yes."

In a blink of an eye, it was the Shangyuan Festival. Even though there was a bandit incident, the capital was still very lively.

Although there were some rumors in the city, most of the people didn't care.

It's just bandits, and every winter is the time when bandits love to be troubled most.

What is different this year from previous years is that it is not civilians who died, but a few unlucky officials.

Xi An didn't pay attention to this matter, he came back from the barracks early that day, surrounded Lin Qingbai and said that he wanted to go shopping with Lin Qingbai in the street.

Lin Qingbai was looking at the Cangmen dossiers from previous years. Those cases were complicated and complicated, but there were very few clues, only some portraits and descriptions of the deceased.

Lin Qingbai watched so intently that he didn't even hear Xi An's words.

"Master, Master."

Xi An called twice more, and Lin Qingbai came back to his senses.

Xi An sat across from his desk, leaning half of his body to look at Lin Qingbai. Just as Lin Qingbai was about to respond, he suddenly felt dizzy, and immediately frowned, pinching the space between his eyebrows.

Xi An immediately stood up and walked behind Lin Qingbai, rubbing the temple for Lin Qingbai.

He lowered his head and looked at the file that Lin Qingbai was reading, his eyes paused.

Then he raised his hand, closed the file and put it aside, and said: "Master has been too tired recently, bandits have been rampant for a long time, and there is no rush to find clues. There are lanterns on Lantern Festival Street tonight.Master, might as well go for a stroll with me."

Lin Qingbai had no intention of going out for a stroll, but heard Xi An say with a smile: "A few years ago I was fighting abroad, and I haven't accompanied Master to visit lanterns for several years."

Lin Qingbai paused and said, "Okay."

After dinner, Lin Qingbai and Xi An left the mansion together.

They came to Liufang Street, the busiest place in the capital, where the lights were bright like daytime. Street vendors were buying all kinds of gadgets, and children were running around the street with lanterns. It was very lively.

Lin Qingbai has lived in the palace for a long time, and has rarely seen such a lively scene.

He saw someone performing fire-breathing in front of him, took a second look, and Xi An took Lin Qingbai there knowingly.

There were a lot of people watching the fire, and it was crowded. Xi An was much taller than Lin Qingbai. He stood behind Lin Qingbai, grabbed Lin Qingbai's arm with one hand, and protected Lin Qingbai by himself.Lin Qingbai won't feel crowded, but also can stand in a good position, so that he can see the performance when he raises his eyes.

Lin Qingbai's back was pressed against Xi'an's chest, and the heat from the man's chest was transmitted directly to Lin Qingbai's skin even through his clothes.

Lin Qingbai stood for a while and then felt that the heat was unbearable, and he didn't know that it was too much fire from the performance.

It was still hot, and Xi An stood too close, his cheeks were flushed and his palms were sweaty.

He turned around without saying a word, pushed Xi An's arm away, and was about to go out.

Xi An followed behind him, grabbed Lin Qingbai's hand and asked, "Master, why don't you watch it? There will be more exciting things later."

"It's nothing more than these routines, I don't want to watch it." Lin Qingbai turned his face away when he spoke, even though the sky was dark, he still didn't want Xi'an to notice the redness of his cheeks.

"Lord Yun, General Xi." At this moment, a voice suddenly came from not far away.

Lin Qingbai turned his head and saw Yuan Shangshu standing not far away, with his wife by his side and a child in his arms.

The two stepped forward respectfully and saluted Lin Qingbai.

Lin Qingbai quickly supported the Minister of the Ministry of Officials and said: "Shang Shu Yuan is too polite, you should call me Young Master outside."

Only then did Yuan Shangshu realize later, he hastily withdrew his saluting hand and said, "It's your son, I'm in debt."

The two exchanged a few more pleasantries. Yuan Shangshu's wife was very elegant, holding a three or four-year-old child in her arms, standing aside and looking at Yuan Shangshu with a smile in her eyes.

It's just that the child was a bit mischievous, twisting his body in his arms all the time, pointing his little finger at the shining sky lantern in the distance, crying and saying, "Bright! Aunt, I want to shine!"

It's really unruly for the child to behave like this. The woman patted the child's back and coaxed him in a low voice, "Go in a moment, go in a moment."

Yuan Shangshu smiled and turned to the woman and said, "Ah Fang, you take Jinger to put the lantern first, and I will look for you later."

"No need, today is the Lantern Festival, so Yuan Shangshu should accompany his wife and children to light the lanterns. It's not too late to discuss matters in court."

Yuan Shangshu received Lin Qingbai's order, cupped his hands and said, "Thank you king...no, Mr. Xie."

After Yuan Shangshu finished speaking, he took his wife's hand, and the three of them turned and left, and walked together to the brightly lit riverside in the distance, looking no different from the ordinary people around them, ordinary and happy.

The sky lanterns by the river slowly flew up into the sky, rising like stars.

Sky lanterns can be used to entrust wishes. Most people go with their companions. Two people write their common wishes on the lanterns and let them fly.

Xi An stepped forward and asked, "What else does Master want to do?"

Lin Qingbai had been looking at the river for a while, Xi An asked, "Does Master want to release the sky lantern?"

Lin Qingbai paused, and immediately withdrew his gaze, and subconsciously began to speak stiffly again: "I think the bookstore in front of me is very interesting, and I want to take a look."

"Okay." Xi An smiled and led Lin Qingbai forward.

Lin Qingbai walked behind Xi'an, turned his head and took another look at the place where the sky lanterns were placed by the river, the hands under his sleeves were tightly pulled into fists.

He actually wanted to go to release the sky lanterns, with Xi An.

But it would be a bit embarrassing for him to talk about this matter.

There is no reason for a master to want to release sky lanterns with his apprentices. Those who release sky lanterns together are all family members and husband and wife.

But nothing.

Lin Qingbai thought it over, this road went straight to the riverside, and there were all stalls with sky lanterns there, even if he didn't open his mouth, Xi An would think of it.

Is there anyone who doesn't release sky lanterns during the Lantern Festival?

Thinking of this, Lin Qingbai walked to the bookstore. The bookstore was opened by an old man, and a few lanterns were lit on the scores, illuminating the whole store brightly.

Most of the books sold in the shop were rare ancient books. Lin Qingbai picked up one casually, flipped through two pages, and was fascinated by the stories inside.

Xi An stood bored by the side, and asked Lin Qingbai softly, "Master, there is a fruit cake seller in front, do you want to eat it?"

Lin Qingbai turned a page of the book, and gave a casual grace.

"I'll go and buy."

Xi An turned around and walked out of the bookstore.

However, when Xi An walked out, he didn't stop in front of the bakery, but walked all the way forward, walking quickly to the woods in front of him.

The trees are tall and the leaves are dense, which isolates the noise on the road.

Not long after Xi An stood there, a person came out from the dark depths of the forest.

Wearing a bamboo hat, the man was tall and thin, and suppressed one eyebrow, so he couldn't see his true face clearly, so he stopped not far from Xi'an.

Xi An stood under the tree, the light and shadow of the leaves covered his face, reflecting his cold eyes, and his whole body felt as if the chill had penetrated into his bones.

He only heard his calm voice ask: "What's the matter?"

The man nodded without speaking.

The corners of Xi An's mouth curled up, he chuckled lightly, and said, "Go."

The man turned and walked out of the woods.

Lin Qingbai was reading a novel story in the bookstore, and was looking at the exciting place, when suddenly there was a piercing scream from the street.

"ah!!!"

"Killed! Killed!"

Then there was a chaos of people, and the people around were in a mess, and the shrill screams resounded through the entire street.

Lin Qingbai's hand holding the book froze, and he turned his head to follow the voice.

People by the river kept running out, and for a while the crowded people turned their backs. The sky lantern that was halfway flying was trampled on the ground and ignited on the grass.

In the blink of an eye, the riverside, which was originally full of laughter and family joy, turned into a burning hell, as if it was about to swallow people up, everyone screamed and fled, it was so terrifying that people just wanted to escape quickly.

Lin Qingbai turned around, subconsciously wanting to find Xi An, but when she turned her head, she found that there was no one behind her.

"Ann..."

Immediately, Lin Qingbai panicked. He dropped the book and ran towards the river against the crowd.

The fleeing people kept bumping into his body, but Lin Qingbai didn't seem to feel it. He just looked at the place where the incident happened with a crowd of people by the river, and wanted to go faster........

His heart was beating chaotically, and a terrifying thought was like a ghost claw growing in his heart, twisting the skin and flesh of his heart, making it extremely painful.

He wanted to suppress this thought, but he couldn't do it no matter what, instead it became more and more intense.

The bandits that appeared recently are likely to be members of the Cangmen, and they killed all dignitaries, princes and nobles.

If the person involved in the accident is Xi An...

Lin Qingbai didn't dare to think deeply. In the past, he was so weak that he had to be supported when he walked, but now he didn't seem to feel tired, and ran to the riverside without stopping.

Today is the Lantern Festival, and with the emperor's order, Admiral Qin led the patrol battalion to strengthen the patrol of the capital, but it still failed to guard against everything.

At this time, Admiral Qin had already rushed to the riverside with the patrol battalion, and surrounded the place where the crime happened.

When Admiral Qin saw Lin Qingbai coming, he was stunned for a moment, and immediately stepped forward to salute: "Lord Yun, why are you here..."

Before he finished speaking, Lin Qingbai pushed him away.

Lin Qing's white hair was disheveled by the wind, and the mud on the river beach was splashed on his white clothes. He was no longer as calm as before. He pushed aside the battalion soldiers blocking the front and walked to the front.

When he saw clearly who the dead person was, the blood all over his body seemed to freeze, and his face turned pale instantly.