The next day, the emperor held the Autumn Festival Ceremony as usual and invited everyone to participate, including Ning Yao. Today was neither a wedding nor a birthday, so Ning Yao changed back to his daily clothes, wearing a black dress with wide sleeves, which made him look beautiful. Her skin was plain white, which added to her aloofness. She didn't like wearing red clothes. The color was too dazzling and would even awaken the long-sleeping demon in her heart. She also wanted to attend the emperor's birthday party yesterday. She was wearing black clothes, but was forced to wear a scarlet dress by the maid next to her. Today, the maid couldn't find an excuse, so she could only shake her head and sigh, and reluctantly changed into a black dress for Ning Yao.

The maid's name was Diexiang, and she had been by Ning Yao's side since she was a child. Ning Yao could not help but be more tolerant of her, which led to the situation like yesterday.

Diexiang felt that Ningyao's old-fashioned clothes had completely lost her previous feeling, and she no longer looked like a woman, but Diexiang also understood her. She had survived with Ningyao through nine deaths. For Ningyao's change, she was not only distressed, but also distressed. And all she can do is stay with Ning Yao and take good care of her.

Spring hunting, summer seedling hunting, autumn hunting, and winter hunting are activities that must be held in four seasons respectively. The purpose is to pray to God for good weather this season and to bless all people. After the lengthy ceremony, the autumn hunting officially began, and Liu Zhong was in high spirits. He was definitely going to win the first place, but Gao Xu looked at him with disdain, finally dropped a provocative smile and rode away in the dust.

Although Ning Yao arrived at the scene, he did not participate in the hunting because he was still drunk and had a splitting headache. Instead, he watched everyone hunt from the table.

Although Ning Yao is an official, she is a woman, so her seat was arranged on the side of the female family members, separated by bamboo curtains. Most of the female family members participating are young girls who are waiting in the boudoir. They usually cannot go out, but now they can go out. They are very curious about everything, and when they meet their best friends, they will inevitably gossip, and now most of the people they are gossiping about are Ning Yao, who is a woman like them but has entered the temple.

People who practice martial arts have always had well-developed five senses, and their ears are even more powerful. Now, with only a bamboo curtain separating them, Ning Yao listened to those words word for word. After hearing these words, Ning Yao's intuition was ridiculous, and he kept talking. They were all words she was tired of hearing on weekdays. They were so boring that she simply closed her eyes and took a nap, thinking about the current situation in the DPRK.

She needs power, and the biggest obstacle to her in the court is not a problem. Only the right prime minister is the biggest stumbling block. But the power of the right prime minister in the court is deeply entrenched and cannot be pushed away overnight, otherwise that person will also He will not seek cooperation with himself. The embankment of a thousand miles is destroyed in an ant nest. If he wants to completely knock down the right minister, he can only penetrate slowly and wait for the opportunity.

Time flew by, and soon it was dusk. The courtesy officer beat the big drum to indicate that the hunting was over. The hunters returned one after another. From a distance, Ning Yao saw someone being carried back. When he looked carefully, it was Liu Zhong. Liu Zhong was covered in injuries, and his legs were even wrapped in a thick layer of cotton. After careful questioning, they found out that Liu Zhong went to hunt bears in order to win the first prize.

Looking at Liu Zhong's appearance, it's not difficult to guess the result. He attacked a bear cub that had just left its mother. In the end, the cub broke its leg with a slap, rolled off the horse, and fell into a nearby river. , was swept away by the rapids and hit hard on a protruding stone in the river.

He hugged the stone tightly and watched the black bear trying to attack him. At the critical moment, the emperor's guards heard the noise and rushed to the river to fight to the death with the black bear. The black bear was killed by everyone, and the escort also suffered heavy losses.

When counting the number of people, they discovered Liu Zhong who had been soaking in the river for a long time and rescued him.

He wanted to hunt the black bear and win the first prize, but in the end he was defeated and barely managed to save his life. Liu Zhong felt that he had been humiliated and lost his home, so he quickly asked his entourage to carry him back. When he left, he didn't know what he had done before.

Everyone who said anything regarded him as a joke, laughing at him for being incompetent but still trying to show off his abilities. Now that he's healed, even if he has a broken leg, half of his life has been frightened!

In this regard, the veterans in the court couldn't help but sigh with emotion. Liu Yongzhi was beyond their reach, but his son was so stubborn, restless and irritable, with no shadow of his father. In fact, this was what they expected, Liu

Yong admires the golden mean and is well aware of the dangers in the world. In order to protect his son, he will inevitably suppress him in everything. But when Liu Zhong was young and frivolous, he would inevitably be impatient in order to prove his ability.

This is what Ning Yao saw at yesterday's birthday banquet. Liu Zhong is not in danger for the time being. This matter is also a blessing and a curse for him. If he learns a lesson from it and knows how to use it as a warning, then he will inevitably do it in the future.

He is a strong enemy, but if he still does not repent, then this is what he will do for the rest of his life.

Gao Xu returned with a proud face. When everyone took a closer look, they found that there was a live wolf cub among his prey! The wolf cub was covered in blood and could not see the color of its fur. It was about one month old and lay quietly on its own.

Mother's body was curled up next to her body. How could she be so pitiful?

When the women in the boudoir looked at it, they felt their hearts were hit hard, and their feelings of love and pity arose spontaneously, and they couldn't stop it, leaving Ning Yao speechless.

The ladies in the boudoir gathered around and pulled Gao Xu to ask questions. What "Women's Rules" and "Women's Precepts" had been learned in daily life? The rules and propriety had been thrown out of their minds and they were all ignored. Gao Xu, however

Ignoring everyone, he walked up to Ning Yao holding the little wolf cub by the scruff of his neck, quite trying to please him.

"General Zhennan, I wanted to give this little thing to you as soon as I saw it. Are you satisfied?"

"It's okay." Ning Yao looked a little tired, as if he was still hungover, and said in a lazy voice, "Thank you."

After finishing speaking, Ning Yao signaled Diexiang to take the wolf cub, and then ordered someone to take out the tea set, and made an invitation gesture towards Gao Xu, indicating that he should sit opposite her. The accompanying boy was very nimble, and quickly,

A tea set was placed one by one in front of Ning Yao, and the charcoal fire was burning just right in the small stove.

"General Zhennan wants to invite me to tea?" Gao Xu said with a smile on his face, unable to hide his surprise, "I thought the general's hand was the one holding the knife and holding the sword, but I didn't know that the general could also make tea."

"I learned it many years ago." Ning Yao moved leisurely, took tea cakes and baked them by the stove. His eyes reflected the charcoal fire in the stove, and he didn't know what he was thinking. "I haven't done such a thing for a long time.

"

There was a rare melancholy in Ning Yao's tone, which made Gao Xu couldn't help but stay there, and spoke out of nowhere: "What were you like before?"

The tea cake gave off a slight aroma. Ning Yao put the tea cake on the cotton cloth, wrapped it, put it into a grinder, crushed it gently, poured the ground tea powder into a fine mesh sieve, and sifted it.

After finely grinding the tea powder, Ning Yao took out a bamboo spoon and poured the tea powder into the tea cup. At this moment, the water in the cauldron slightly bubbled with crab eyes.

"Too stupid." Ning Yao seemed to be describing a person who had nothing to do with him. He took out a spoonful of water and poured it into the tea bowl. He ordered the tea without any mistakes. He watched the green foam appear on the tea soup for a long time.

, Ning Yao stopped, took a cup of tea, and handed it to Gao Xu.

"This tea is very good. It tastes delicious and sweet, and makes your cheeks moist."

Hearing this, Gao Xu picked up the tea handed over by Ning Yao, took a sip, and found that it was indeed as Ning Yao said, the tea was undoubtedly good. Just as he was about to praise it, the words changed when he came to his mouth.

"It is indeed good tea, but..." Gao Xu raised his eyebrows and put down the tea cup, "I have a lot of wine in my collection, which is hard to find in the world. I wonder if General Zhennan can give it a try?"

"Young general Gao must have forgotten that Ning Yao is too drunk."

"That's right, I was negligent." After saying that, Gao Xu glanced at the white foam still floating in the tea cup, and then drank the tea in one gulp, "General Zhennan is really a master at ordering tea.

"

After drinking a cup of tea, Gao Xu said goodbye and stood up to leave. The goal had been achieved, so he had no intention of staying any longer.

Returning to the camp, thinking about what he had just said, Gao Xu took a deep breath, suppressed the boiling blood all over his body, hugged the beauty beside him and leaned over to kiss her, hiding his aroused murderous intention.

Ning Yao, Ning Yao, I like you more and more.

The next day, the news spread throughout Chang'an that the Qi envoy Gao Xu won the first prize in the Xia Miao hunt, but the North Vietnamese envoy Liu Zhong failed.

Just after noon, Ning Yao received a greeting card. There was no signature on the greeting card. When the housekeeper received it, he carefully asked the person who sent the card a few more words. He found that the person who sent the card did not understand Yue Mandarin and could only speak a few words.

After saying this word, I felt doubtful for a moment, and then I respectfully invited the person who sent the invitation into the flower hall. After asking someone to say hello, I hurried to the study to find Ning Yao.

"General, judging from the accent, the person who sent the greeting card seems to be from the South." The butler frowned and was about to say something else, but Ning Yao took the greeting card with an indifferent tone, preventing him from speaking again.

"Uncle Yang, you are from Yongzhou, how can you recognize the southern accent?"

"This old slave is just guessing, General, don't blame me." Uncle Yang immediately noticed his mistake and stood aside in silence. After Ning Yao finished reading the invitation, he spoke again, "How? Do you need me to refuse?"

"No, I'm invited by an old friend." Ning Yao put the greeting card away properly, and then took out the book that had been put aside to read, "Tell the person who sent the greeting card that I will definitely attend the appointment on time."

Uncle Yang took the order and retreated. Ning Yao looked at the military book in her hand, but her eyes couldn't help but become deeper. She heard the sound of weapons hitting each other again in her ears. She seemed to hear the sound of weapons piercing armor and passing through flesh, shouting for kill.

The sound was deafening... She seemed to smell the disgusting smell of human blood mixed with fireworks in the air.

After a moment, Ning Yao's thoughts returned to normal, and the murderous intent in his eyes became more and more intense.

Everything she endured in the Leshan battle, she will definitely take back a hundred times a thousand times from Nan Guo.

The person who invited her to meet was Yang Zhen, the envoy of the Southern Kingdom. The two countries had just reached a truce. This envoy was probably here to discuss peace talks. As she was the leader of the Leshan battle, she must be indispensable for this discussion. Yang Zhen is here

Most of the invitations have other purposes.

Youshi.

The sunset was like fire, giving the entire city of Chang'an a warm color. A carriage slowly drove out of the general's mansion. Ning Yao leaned on his seat, tapping his fingers on his legs, his expression as before

He was indifferent, not knowing what he was thinking.

After a long time, the carriage stopped, and the driver reminded her in a low voice that she had arrived at the destination. Ning Yaofang stretched out his hand to lift the curtain and bent down to get out of the carriage. Yang Zhen asked her to meet at Xiaoxiang Xiaozhu, a relatively elegant guest house.

The pavilion is a good place to listen to music. On weekdays, there are many literati coming and going. It is also a good place to have secret conversations while playing the piano and listening to music.

When they arrived at the private room where they agreed to meet, there was no one there. Ning Yao knelt down on the banquet. Zhi Diexiang ordered a piano girl to play the piano for him, and also ordered a chess girl to play chess with him to pass the time.

Three rounds of the chess game have passed, but Yang Zhen has not arrived yet. The game has been decided. After winning several games in a row, Ning Yao felt a little bored. He waved his hand to signal the chess girl to retreat. He closed his eyes and rested. After a while, he heard the sound of sparse footsteps gradually disappearing.

Close.

Someone pushed open the door and came in. The moment he saw Ning Yao, his breathing became erratic.

Killing intent swept over her, and Ning Yao didn't even open her eyes. She reached out and caught the sword that was stabbing her throat with two fingers, and then slowly opened her eyes. The tip of the sword was pressed against the skin of her throat,

It only takes a little more force to penetrate her throat.

"It's a pity that it's not the hand holding the sword." Ning Yao used a little force with his fingers, and the sword broke into two pieces. It fell on the mat and made a sound of metal hitting wood. "It's too early for you to kill me.

some."

Suddenly, the piano girl was startled, and her hand suddenly played a wrong tune. Ning Yao glanced at her and waved her hand to leave. The piano girl was relieved and ran out of the private room as if she was running for her life.

.

When the matter was exposed, Yang Zhen knew that he was not as good as Ning Yao, so he simply abandoned his hand and broke the sword, looking like he was at his mercy, but he wanted to save face, so he stood there with his chin raised slightly.

"If you want to kill or scrape, please do as you wish!"

"You want to kill me, why?"

"You killed my brother!" Seeing Ning Yao's puzzled face, the anger in Yang Zhen's heart ignited again, and he said angrily, "I'm afraid you have killed too many people and you can't remember them all."

Alright."

"If I remember correctly, the name of your southern leader in the Leshan battle was Yang Zhang." Ning Yao raised his eyebrows, "He is your brother? He was willing to kill himself with his sword in order to protect the people of Leshan. He is a rare general."

"He died to protect the people of Leshan. You shouldn't insult him like this."

You shouldn't insult your brother like this.

One sentence made Yang Zhen freeze there, unable to think or move.

When he first heard that his brother had been defeated in the battle of Leshan, he didn't believe it at all. But later, no one in the 100,000-strong army returned home! At that time, despite his father's objection, he went to Leshan alone and arrived at the battlefield. The Yue army had already withdrawn.

, the stinky valley was littered with corpses, except for him, there was only one bone picker and the vultures who stared at the corpses.

With the help of the bone collector, he found his brother's body. The body was already rotting, but the wounds on the neck were so shocking that it was obvious that someone had severed his neck. After seeing his brother's body,

At that time, he secretly made up his mind that he would make the person who killed his brother pay with his life.

According to the custom of the South, the bodies of those who died on the battlefield can never be transported back to their hometown. They can only die on the battlefield, and even their bones can only rot there, allowing their souls to continue to guard this place. He hates, hates his brother

You are not allowed to go home after death. And the culprit of all this is the man who killed his brother, the man named Ning Yao.

So when he heard that Ning Yao had been granted the title of General Zhennan by the Yue State, he went against his will and entered the court as an official in order to strive to be sent as an envoy to the Yue State on the birthday of the Yue Emperor, and killed him with his own hands.
To be continued...