Chapter 7 Seven, bloody dream
When Huang Zixia returned to King Kui's mansion, Li Shubai was having dinner alone in the flower hall. Seeing her coming, he signaled the maids to go out, and pointed to a chair next to him.
Huang Zixia knew what he meant, so she pulled the chair and sat down.Li Shubai handed her a pair of ivory chopsticks, and pushed a small bowl to her.
She looked around and saw only the shadows of flowers on the partition wall moving around, and there was no one around, so she picked up a golden soufflé, poured some cloves into her bowl and ate it.
Li Shubai asked casually: "I went to Shangxiang today, I heard that someone performed a very wonderful trick in front of you?"
It is said that King Kui Li Shubai is the most informed about the news, not to mention that he ordered his guards to escort them this time, so it is naturally clear.
So Huang Zixia was not surprised, and just said: "Well, it's quite exciting, but I personally think the princess's reaction is even more exciting."
"Future princess." Li Shubai corrected the title of Princess Kui, adding two words in front.
Huang Zixia asked him back: "The emperor personally bestowed the marriage, the queen's sister, is there any change?"
"No matter what the reason is, if she takes out the fake geng post, she will be deceiving the emperor, and she will end up with nothing but doom," Li Shubai said, then changed the subject and asked, "Is she worried that her identity will be exposed?"
"It seems to be more than that. There seems to be some ulterior secret hidden in her past. The man who suddenly appeared vaguely mentioned that she was so scared that she couldn't hide it at all."
"Have you noticed how that man appeared and disappeared?"
"I can't see it at all. Moreover, I can't find any clues about how he came in surrounded by the heavy guards of the palace and how he disappeared." Huang Zixia bit the ivory chopsticks and frowned, "After he disappeared , Wang Yun led a group of people to search the temple for a long time, but there was no trace. It seems that he turned into a bird and flew away over the wall."
Li Shubai asked slowly: "Have you read Huangfu's "Yuanhuaji"?"
Huang Zixia shook her head: "What?"
"It's a book, which records a unique skill 'Jiaxing Rope Skill'. It is said that during the first year of Emperor Xuanzong's reign, during the imperial edict, Jiaxing County competed with the supervisor in juggling, and the supervisor looked for the one with the unique skill among the prisoners. A prisoner said he knew rope skills, so the jailer took him to an open space and handed him a hundred-foot-long ball of rope. He took it and threw the end of the rope into the sky, and the rope went straight into the air, as if someone was pulling it up. As he let it go, the rope went up into the sky, and when the end of the rope was no longer visible, he climbed up the rope, disappeared into the air, and escaped.”
"No matter from which angle you look at it, no matter how you imagine it..." Huang Zixia thought for a long time before saying, "This is impossible."
"Why is it impossible? Aren't there many incredible things in the world?" Li Shubai's lips twitched slightly, "For example, it is said that my future princess will disappear in a birdcage like a bird."
"It seems that, my lord, you also care about that person's words?"
"I believe there must be a reason for it." Li Shubai leaned on the back of the chair, looking at the slowly swaying flower shadows on the leaky window, and suddenly asked, "Huang Zixia, where was your favorite place in Chang'an when you were young?"
"Ah?" Huang Zixia was caught off guard, with a mouthful of golden soufflé still in her mouth. She stared at Li Shubai with wide eyes, and said vaguely, "It should be... West Market."
"Well, West Market. I liked it the most when I was a child," he said slowly and thoughtfully, "who wouldn't like it? This is the busiest place in the whole capital, and even in the whole world."
Chang'an West City. Jewelry from Persia, spices from Tianzhu, BMW from Dawan, tea from Jiangnan, brocade from Shu, fur from Saibei... Shops of all walks of life are bustlingly open, fish shops, pen shops, wine shops, teahouses and so on, all of which are noisy and lively.The crowds of merchants and passers-by, the food stalls wandering the streets, the colorful flower girls, and the orchids with slender waists in the restaurant formed an extremely lively scene. This is Chang'an West City, which is so lively that even the curfew can't stop it.Since Kaiyuan and Tianbao, the development here has become more and more prosperous, and even the surrounding workshops have been driven, singing and singing every night, and the noise is endless. In late spring and early summer, the sun shines on the locust trees and elm trees all over the street, and the first leaves are as green as jasper.Li Shubai and Huang Zixia walked under the shade of the tree one after the other.Because Li Shubai was wearing a micro-clothes, Huang Zixia also changed out of the eunuch's clothes today, and put on an ordinary round-neck men's clothing, looking like an underdeveloped boy. They wandered through the West Market casually, looking at the things in the shop.It's a pity that Li Shubai spent a lot of money since she was a child, and she didn't like the poorly made things in the market, while Huang Zixia was almost penniless, and Li Shubai hadn't paid her a salary, so she couldn't buy anything except to look at it. Only in a shop selling koi, Li Shubai bought a small bag of fish food, and looked at the rather unique porcelain fish tank inside, as if he was thinking about something. Huang Zixia, who couldn't buy things by herself, naturally encouraged the rich: "It's pretty good-looking, and the small fish can move a little more freely when placed in the porcelain tank." He picked up the fish tank and looked at it, then put it back again, and said: "I keep it in the big one, and I'm used to swimming around, so I can't adapt to the small one." Huang Zixia muttered to herself: "Isn't it okay to let it take it easy for a day?" "Anyway, it will fall into that situation, so why let it be happy for a few days?" "..." Huang Zixia was really speechless to this man who put the truth on Xiaoyu.
It was still early and the jugglers hadn't come out yet.Huang Zixia asked passers-by, and found out that although the West Market opens at noon, jugglers and the like should come out later, and come out when the street is the busiest. Seeing that it was past noon, Li Shubai finally took pity on Huang Zixia, took her into the most famous Zhuijin Building in Xishi City, sat down in a cubicle, and ordered a few common dishes that had never been seen in the palace. The restaurant is quite elegant, but there are so many people dining, it seems noisy.Just when Li Shubai frowned slightly, he suddenly heard a sound of wakefulness, and the restaurant fell silent. A storyteller was in the shop. He brought a Dutan drum, and he sang while beating. First, he came up with a little song "Xi Hua Die", then he took the drum sticks, cleared his throat, and said, "Everyone, villains are not talented. , today I will tell you all about the strange things in all directions of Kyushu." As soon as the sound was made, Huang Zixia recognized it.He was the storyteller who was in the short pavilion outside Chang'an at that time.At that time, a group of people took shelter from the rain together, and it was he who talked about the case of the Huang family, embellishing it with absurdity, and when telling anecdotes, this kind of storyteller should be the most sensational and popular. He opened his mouth and said: "Chang'an City, Daming Palace, the emperor sits in the middle of the Daming Palace. There are other kings outside the palace, and one of them is Prince Kui, whose name is Li Zi and Li Shubai." Someone below made a fuss and said, "My favorite is the story of Prince Kui. First, let's start with a story about King Kui leading six envoys to fight against Pang Xun!" "Guest officer, don't be too busy. Let me tell you about the current situation first. The occurrence of this incident has a lot to do with the fact that King Kui shot and killed Pang Xun in the midst of thousands of troops!" There was commotion outside, Li Shubai sat in the leaky carved compartment, but seemed to turn a deaf ear to it, only eating slowly, looking at the passers-by outside the window with a calm expression. Huang Zixia rested her chin and listened to the sounds outside—"By the way, everyone knows that Prince Kui has been very busy recently. No, I heard that there is a new trouble." "Prince Kui has just broken the 'Four Plans' of the capital, and he is going to marry the princess again. It's the time when the spring breeze is in full bloom, so how can there be any trouble?" It was the guest just now, singing and singing with him. "Do you know that yesterday afternoon, the quasi-princess of Kui's mansion, the girl from Langya's family, went to Xianyou Temple to offer incense?" The people present chattered and said: "I have heard about this a little bit. I heard that the sister of the queen's clan is extremely beautiful, as gorgeous as a heavenly man!" "Yesterday, when the driver of Prince Kui's mansion escorted her out of the city, I was also on the side of the road wanting to take a look. Unexpectedly, this queen-to-be is as demure and dignified as the legends say, and even the curtain of the car has never lifted a corner. Curious." "But I think it must be a peerless beauty, otherwise how could we have snatched Prince Kui from Princess Qi Le alive?" "That Princess Qile is really the most pitiful person in the capital now. It can be seen that a woman can't express her heart too clearly, otherwise if she doesn't get the person she likes, she will become a laughing stock in others' mouths." "Exactly, if there is no girl from the Wang family, with Princess Qile's family background and appearance, wouldn't she be a perfect match with King Kui? Princess Qile is now behind closed doors, and she must be cursing that girl at home every day." Princess Kui, hahaha..." There was a lot of discussion in the room, and the storyteller just listened to it with a smile, and when the voices stopped, he said: "But you know, this girl from the Wang family is so lucky to become the envied Princess Kui by everyone in the capital, but it is inevitable. A sudden twist in the marriage?" When the people present heard it, they all fell silent.That storyteller was really catching wind and shadows, with a lotus tongue, and he recounted the trick of Xianyou Temple yesterday, which was mixed with countless speculations and fantasies. He came out, and among them was the strange man who wanted to rob the princess. Wang Yun fought with him for 300 rounds with a sword.The manpower was invincible, so he jumped out of the circle and shouted: "There are still ten days before King Kui's wedding, so King Kui must be careful!" Take the princess away. The storyteller became more and more excited as he talked. He slapped Xingmu in his hand, and his eyebrows danced brightly: "When Wang Yun heard this, he was so angry that smoke rose from his orifices, and he swung his sword to chop. Hearing a whoosh, the strange man turned into a puff of green smoke and went away. The next black arrow, engraved with the words 'King Kui of the Tang Dynasty', is exactly the arrowhead that hit the throat when Lord Kui shot and killed Pang Xun!" "Okay!" The storyteller's last word fell, and the audience burst into thunderous applause.In the bustle, only Huang Zixia shook his head speechlessly, and Li Shubai asked lightly, "Is that not good?" Huang Zixia shook his head and said, "I can't figure it out, since you have wings, why do you want to turn into green smoke and just flap your wings and fly away?" "Don't you think this is more exciting?" Huang Zixia recalled that at the short pavilion outside Chang'an City, the storyteller said that he was the reincarnation of Baihu Xing, so he couldn't help but calm down for a while, and then asked Li Shubai: "Shouldn't Jing Zhaoyin punish this kind of person?" "What's wrong with increasing the joy of life of the common people?" He looked indifferent, not even twitching his eyelashes. She could only helplessly continue to listen to the stories outside, the storyteller was already talking about the old case back then. In the ninth year of Xiantong, Pang Xun of Guilin mutinied and led 200,000 troops to the imperial court, demanding the title of Jiedu envoy.When the imperial court refused, he proclaimed himself king, went down to several states, and massacred the governors and common people of the state capitals.At that time, the envoys of various festivals were self-reliant, and the imperial court was unable to mobilize the troops of the states. In the midst of the military disaster, the Li and Tang royal families were helpless. Only Li Shubai went to various Xiongzhous to raise troops, raised 100,000 soldiers and horses, and lobbied the surrounding area with interests The Jiedu Envoy finally united with the six major Jiedu Envoys, and in September of the following year they defeated the rebellious army and killed Pang Xun. At that time, among the rebellious army, Pang Xun was standing on the top of the city, and it was Li Shubai who was holding a carved bow, and shot him in the throat with an arrow.The rebellious army collapsed, and in the uproar, Pang Xun fell straight from the tower to the ground, and was trampled into a pulp by the soldiers and horses below the city.Only the arrow sticking to the flesh and blood was preserved, and it was placed in a crystal box and placed in the Drum Tower of Xuzhou to warn future generations. It was also at that time that Li Shubai got the talisman with his birth date written on it. After many years, the teenage boy became the prince who has the power over the world, but he fell into that strange curse from then on, unable to escape. . A month ago, there were rumors that inside the Drum Tower in Xuzhou, the crystal box remained intact, but the cluster of arrows disappeared.The Xuzhou state government searched urgently for a long time under its jurisdiction, but there was no trace. It turned out that it appeared in Xianyou Temple, and appeared impartially on the day when Wang Ruo entered the incense, and was left in the Buddhist temple by a mysterious person. "Everyone, isn't this a strange thing, a strange thing close to a demon?" As soon as the storyteller patted the wood, it seemed to ignite the conversation, and everyone started to discuss: "Could it be that Pang Xun, a lingering spirit, wants to take revenge on the occasion of Prince Kui's marriage?" "Come on, loyal ministers and filial sons have always had spirits. He is a rebel, what kind of grudge does he have?" "Hey, Pang Xun killed people like hemp, maybe he was reincarnated from an evil ghost, why can't he have a spirit?" The topic quickly turned to strange power and chaos, Huang Zixia could only turn his head and cast his eyes on Li Shubai who was opposite. Li Shubai didn't raise his head, he just asked, "What are you doing?" "I was wondering... what were you thinking when you shot that arrow at Pang Xun when you were nineteen years old." She looked at him with her chin in her hand. His expression was as usual, like the surface of a windless lake, without a single ripple: "You will be disappointed to hear that." "No way, tell me?" "I was wondering if there would be a bit of embarrassment if a sudden gust of wind blows the arrow crookedly." "..." Huang Zixia was speechless. "There are some things, why do you need to know." He said, pointed out the window, and said, "There's a magic show over there, let's go." The hungry Huang Zixia looked at the food in front of him that he hadn't eaten a few bites, and followed him to stand up with resentment.
After noon, jugglers and jugglers came out here and there.But most of them were just ordinary juggling such as throwing pills, topping bowls, and stepping on water tanks. There was a crowd of people surrounded by a sword swallower. "Swallowing swords is normal, what's so interesting about it?" She asked the uncle next to him who was trying to squeeze in. The uncle said expectantly: "This one is different! This sword is four feet long, but the dwarf who swallows the sword is only three feet tall!" Huang Zixia immediately wanted to squeeze in.Li Shubai gave her a disdainful look, then turned and left.Huang Zixia had no choice but to follow behind him silently, thinking, this kind of person seems to have nothing of interest in living in the world, would he feel happy himself? However, in an instant, she suddenly thought, what about herself?Both parents died, all relatives were bereaved, and there was a grievance, but I didn't even have a clue to solve it. In my life, would I really have any way to return to the happy and noisy girl before? Li Shubai was walking in front, feeling the silence behind him, Huang Zixia seemed to have lost even the sound of his footsteps.He turned his face slightly, looking at her behind him. She followed him two steps away, but her eyes were on a young couple passing by on the street. They were holding the hand of a little girl from left to right. The little girl was bouncing up and down, sometimes on purpose Hanging in the hands of parents, like a little monkey swinging. Li Shubai stopped and waited for Huang Zixia. She stood there watching the family of three go away, quiet and silent, the sun shone on her face, and a faint shadow covered her face. After a long time, when she turned around, Li Shubai said slowly, "Let's go."
There was another group of people in front, this time they were serious jugglers, a man and a woman couple, both men and women were dressed in the dust and slickness of charlatans.They stood in the crowd and watched them perform a fish-and-dragon scene first, and then an ordinary scene of water into wine. It was the woman who showed a hand of paper flowers into flowers. When the ten flowers were thrown into the sky by her and fell one after another, the viewing effect was really good. The trick is over and the audience disperses.The man and woman packed up their things and wanted to leave.Seeing Li Shubai's wink, Huang Zixia could only go forward to inquire: "Brother and sister, your tricks are really amazing, it's really amazing!" The man returned the salute with a smile, and said, "It's so-so, my little brother likes to watch it?" "Yeah, I especially like watching that... that paper flower becomes a real flower. I know that the real flower must have been hidden in the sleeve in advance, but where did the paper flower go?" The man smiled and said, "That can't be said, this is the guy we eat." Huang Zixia looked back at Li Shubai, he threw a piece of silver to her.She put the money into the man's hand and said seriously: "Brother, to tell you the truth, my master is betting with someone else. You know that there was a rumor in Beijing yesterday that someone in Xianyou Temple flicked his sleeve and killed him." Did the little bird in the cage disappear for no reason?" The man held his money and smiled brightly: "I don't know about this, but I definitely have a way to turn a bird in a cage. You can just talk." "My master has a friend who insisted that this is impossible. My master made a bet with him, saying that he must show him this spell within three days. Don't you see... can this method be taught to my master? " "This is just a trick," he said immediately, "the bird is pre-trained. Once the owner gives the signal, the bird will stand at a certain part of the cage, and there has been a mechanism in that place. You only need to press the bird with your left hand to move it." A pole on the cage, that organ moves, the bird will fall, and then his right sleeve flicks, and the bird can be taken away directly." "Oh! That's how it is." Huang Zixia showed a suddenly realized expression, and reached out to Li Shubai again, and Li Shubai threw another silver ingot to her.Holding up the silver, she asked, "Brother, since you are so proficient in this mechanism, then you must have such a birdcage and a bird here?" "It was really there before." The eldest brother was a little depressed when he saw the silver, "It's a pity, it was bought away a few days ago." The woman beside him finally couldn't help interjecting: "Let me just say, what's the use of the five taels of silver? The little bird was passed down from the master, and the training is so good. It would be a pity to sell it for ten taels of silver." .” Huang Zixia asked again: "But do you train with mynah? Can you train it in three days?" The eldest brother said angrily: "It's not myna, but mine is a white bird, very beautiful." "Oh, that's such a pity," Huang Zixia said, and gave the man the silver in his hand, "I don't know who bought it, how can I find him? I want to try my luck and see if I can buy it." Transfer it to me." "I really don't know that. The other party left after learning the method. I don't even know the name." "So, what does it look like? Brother, do you still remember?" "Hmm... a young master in his twenties, with a height above average, looks good, pretty and delicate... By the way, there is a cinnabar mole on his forehead!" The woman added a sentence next to it: "The cinnabar mole grows in the middle of the forehead. It is straight and straight. The whole person is already good. With that mole, it looks like the person in the painting."
When they walked towards King Kui's mansion, neither of them spoke. Huang Zixia was thinking about the ins and outs of the whole thing, and she still couldn't figure out those mysterious clues, but when she looked up, she found that Li Shubai had left her far behind. She hastened a few steps to catch up.The sky was dark, and the lights all over the street were already lit. Two rows of lanterns lined up along the street and alley beside the road, and the red halo illuminated the whole street.Li Shubai looked back at her from under the lamp. His always cold face was neutralized by the warm orange light. A slightly bewildered expression. She didn't expect that he would care so much about that person, she felt a little hesitant, and didn't know what to say, so she could only stand under the lamp and look up at him. The lights all over the street fluctuate slightly in the wind like streamers, shaking and casting restless light. She was a bit at a loss for words, and it took a long time before she said with difficulty: "Actually, I thought so... At first, I only thought that a man with eloquence and a calm demeanor should not be a juggler who walks the rivers and lakes. He must have learned from others secretly. That's why I came here to ask... But the person who appeared in front of us that day is absolutely impossible to be... that person." "Well, it's impossible for him to have anything to do with Pang Xun, and it's even more impossible for him to hide from everyone and enter Xianyou Temple." But he can let others enter Xianyou Temple.When both of them thought of this, he said: "What's more, he has a lot of subordinates who can stand up for him, so why bother to learn from two jugglers on the street." The street lamps are like daylight, and the brilliance is dazzling.Just as they stood silently by the side of the road, suddenly a carriage came slowly. There were guards and eunuchs clearing the way in front of and behind the carriage, and a row of dozens of people was in order. They hid on the side of the road, not wanting to be seen by others, but the people in the carriage opened the windows and saw them with a glance. The carriage stopped slowly, the door of the carriage opened, and the one who got out was Li Run, King of E. He is a fair and handsome, elegant and gentle man, always with a smile on his face.People who have seen him say that he has a natural ethereal air of immortality, because he has picturesque eyebrows, and a bright cinnabar mole on the center of his forehead, just like the person in the painting.
Li Run walked in front of them, and asked Li Shubai with a smile, "Why is fourth brother here?" Li Shubai looked back at him, nodded slightly: "Seventh brother." Seeing that he was alone with only Huang Zixia, Li Run nodded to her, then smiled and said to Li Shubai: "Today is a peaceful day, and the street lights are like stars. No wonder fourth brother wants to go out for a walk. But he only brought a little girl with him." The eunuch is inappropriate, you should find a few guards to take it with you." Li Shubai raised his hand to touch the tassel hanging from the street lamp, and said, "If there are more people following, how can we see such a quiet night?" Li Run looked around and saw the street full of lights and few pedestrians. He nodded and said, "That's true. We grew up in a bustling scene, and we have never experienced such a scene before." Li Shubai seemed unwilling to say more with him: "The curfew is coming soon, you should go back early." He nodded in agreement, then remembered something, and said: "If you are free, fourth brother, you can come to my place for a little gathering in the future. Now Dong Tinglan's reincarnated disciple Chen Nianniang is in my residence, serving as a piano teacher." "Isn't she going back to Yangzhou?" "Before the ninth younger brother brought her into the palace to perform skills for Concubine Zhao, the emperor and empress were also there. But Concubine Zhao likes the pipa, and the emperor is a lively person, and has no preference for the qinse... As for the empress, she has always been pure-hearted and self-absorbed. Those who love singing, dancing and feasting will not look at a luthier differently. I asked her what she meant, and she said that she wanted to stay in the capital for a while, and she probably wanted to find Feng Yiniang." Huang Zixia and Li Shubai looked at each other.Unexpectedly, Chen Nianniang would come to Li Run's house.A series of related things seem to be slowly coming together under the guidance of something. Li Shubai remained calm, and only said to Li Run: "So that's the case. I will be free in a few days, and I will go to your place." "Okay, brother, I'll clean up and wait."
After Li Run's carriage was far away, Li Shubai turned his gaze to the lamp in front of him, and asked slowly, "What do you think, Prince E?" She thought for a while and said, "If you want to disguise your identity, the best way is to pretend to be someone with obvious characteristics. I think this may be the reason why Prince E was chosen as the smoke to confuse us." "Is there another possibility?" "There is also a possibility that Prince E's innocence was so childish that he went to Xishi to learn tricks in person, and then came back to teach others to scare your princess." She leaned against the willow tree behind her, holding the willow and said casually, "Why? Thinking about it, I think the first possibility is more plausible.” "I know he's not that person, because I don't believe he can do anything in front of me," Li Shubai said slowly, his voice colder than usual, "I just want to know, who is trying to pull him to me?" In front of me, who is the person who wants to deceive me?"
The ninth day of May. There are still seven days until King Kui's wedding. A drizzle hit overnight, and the entire capital was immersed in misty rain. On the way to Wang's house, through the thin bamboo curtain on the car window, Huang Zixia saw the flower branches hanging down because of the rain. The peach and plum blossoms have already bloomed, but the Sophora japonica flowers in Chang'an are blooming one after another, and the whole city is enveloped in a faint fragrance.Strings of pure white flowers hang from the branches, and the color is so light that it seems to be there.Only occasionally one or two hit the car window, and when she heard the slight sound, she realized that it was not rain, but flowers. The members of the Wang family were already waiting at the door with umbrellas. When they saw her coming, they hurried over to help her hold the umbrella, and said, "Eunuch Yang, you are here. The queen is calling the girl into the palace, so you and Aunt Suqi will follow." Let’s go in and meet together.” "Yes, I know." Huang Zixia nodded in response.The rumors in the capital became more and more intense, and had already reached the ears of the king and queen who had lived in the deep palace for a long time.She called them into the palace today, and she must have many things to order. Thinking about it, Huang Zixia took the umbrella, walked through the vestibule, and walked along the corridor.After passing through the two rich gates, turn all the way to the west courtyard, which is where Wang Ruo lives. Her yard is full of bluegrass, and the plantains in the yard have newly sprouted long leaves, covering the window, showing a feeling of coldness and lack of warmth in such a rainy day. Huang Zixia gently put away the umbrella and stood outside the window.Under the plantain outside the corridor, there is a large porcelain vat, in which there are three or four koi carps, bright colors of red and white, swimming in the water. She stood watching the rain hit the plantains, and the water splashed.In the silence, she heard a vague voice in the room, as if someone was whispering something. Huang Zixia turned her head and saw the couch in front of the window through the leaky window. Wang Ruo, who was lying on the bed, was sleeping restlessly.In her sleep, her brows were tightly frowned, her face was full of panic, her hands were tightly clutching the corner of the quilt, her forehead was covered with beads of sweat, as if she was enduring the most terrible torture. Huang Zixia stood outside the window, staring at her for a while, still thinking about whether to wake her up, but heard her muttering: "Scarlet...Scarlet..." She was slightly surprised, and was listening with her head bent, when suddenly Wang Ruo's voice changed to pleading: "Feng Niang, don't blame me, you shouldn't..." Suddenly, the wind and rain intensified, hitting Huang Zixia's half of his body.She hurriedly turned around, and when she heard Wang Ruoah's scream, she had already woken up. Huang Zixia calmly brushed the water droplets on her clothes, walked to the door calmly and knocked on the door, and called in a low voice, "Princess." There were two maids sitting in the room, one named Xianyun was very clever, and immediately came over and opened the door, saying: "Eunuch Yang, you are here, the princess is having a nightmare." "Well, I just heard the princess wake up through the window." Huang Zixia brushed off the raindrops on his body, and when he turned around, he saw that Wang Ruo had slowly sat up from the couch. When he looked up at her, there was still fear in his eyes. , seems to be still sinking in the nightmare just now. Huang Zixia walked to the side of the couch and asked in a low voice, "What did the princess dream about?" "Chonggu..." Her eyes like autumn water were filled with tears at this time, and she looked at her with rippling water, she wanted to speak for a long time before she turned her face away and said in a trembling voice, "I, I dreamed that I really... ...really disappeared from this world..." Huang Zixia sat down beside her couch, and said in a low voice: "Dreams are thoughts in the heart, the princess dreams day by day and dreams at night. In fact, as long as you don't think about what that person said, you will definitely not have such a dream. " "Really?" She asked in a trembling voice, grasping Huang Zixia's sleeve weakly and helplessly, her body trembling slightly, "Chong Gu, the prince will protect me, won't he?" "Yes." She said without hesitation, but she recalled Li Shubai's words in her mind-no matter what the reason, if she took out the fake Geng Tie, she would be deceiving the emperor, and she would only end up in eternal doom. However, her one-word answer made Wang Ruo feel extremely at ease.She breathed a sigh of relief, then leaned against the soft cushions on the couch and stared silently for a while. Huang Zixia saw the corners of her lips, and a dreamy smile slowly bloomed. She looked at a point in the air, but seemed to see something indestructible, and murmured: "Yes, Lord Kui will protect me, What else am I afraid of?"
Chang'an West City. Jewelry from Persia, spices from Tianzhu, BMW from Dawan, tea from Jiangnan, brocade from Shu, fur from Saibei... Shops of all walks of life are bustlingly open, fish shops, pen shops, wine shops, teahouses and so on, all of which are noisy and lively.The crowds of merchants and passers-by, the food stalls wandering the streets, the colorful flower girls, and the orchids with slender waists in the restaurant formed an extremely lively scene. This is Chang'an West City, which is so lively that even the curfew can't stop it.Since Kaiyuan and Tianbao, the development here has become more and more prosperous, and even the surrounding workshops have been driven, singing and singing every night, and the noise is endless. In late spring and early summer, the sun shines on the locust trees and elm trees all over the street, and the first leaves are as green as jasper.Li Shubai and Huang Zixia walked under the shade of the tree one after the other.Because Li Shubai was wearing a micro-clothes, Huang Zixia also changed out of the eunuch's clothes today, and put on an ordinary round-neck men's clothing, looking like an underdeveloped boy. They wandered through the West Market casually, looking at the things in the shop.It's a pity that Li Shubai spent a lot of money since she was a child, and she didn't like the poorly made things in the market, while Huang Zixia was almost penniless, and Li Shubai hadn't paid her a salary, so she couldn't buy anything except to look at it. Only in a shop selling koi, Li Shubai bought a small bag of fish food, and looked at the rather unique porcelain fish tank inside, as if he was thinking about something. Huang Zixia, who couldn't buy things by herself, naturally encouraged the rich: "It's pretty good-looking, and the small fish can move a little more freely when placed in the porcelain tank." He picked up the fish tank and looked at it, then put it back again, and said: "I keep it in the big one, and I'm used to swimming around, so I can't adapt to the small one." Huang Zixia muttered to herself: "Isn't it okay to let it take it easy for a day?" "Anyway, it will fall into that situation, so why let it be happy for a few days?" "..." Huang Zixia was really speechless to this man who put the truth on Xiaoyu.
It was still early and the jugglers hadn't come out yet.Huang Zixia asked passers-by, and found out that although the West Market opens at noon, jugglers and the like should come out later, and come out when the street is the busiest. Seeing that it was past noon, Li Shubai finally took pity on Huang Zixia, took her into the most famous Zhuijin Building in Xishi City, sat down in a cubicle, and ordered a few common dishes that had never been seen in the palace. The restaurant is quite elegant, but there are so many people dining, it seems noisy.Just when Li Shubai frowned slightly, he suddenly heard a sound of wakefulness, and the restaurant fell silent. A storyteller was in the shop. He brought a Dutan drum, and he sang while beating. First, he came up with a little song "Xi Hua Die", then he took the drum sticks, cleared his throat, and said, "Everyone, villains are not talented. , today I will tell you all about the strange things in all directions of Kyushu." As soon as the sound was made, Huang Zixia recognized it.He was the storyteller who was in the short pavilion outside Chang'an at that time.At that time, a group of people took shelter from the rain together, and it was he who talked about the case of the Huang family, embellishing it with absurdity, and when telling anecdotes, this kind of storyteller should be the most sensational and popular. He opened his mouth and said: "Chang'an City, Daming Palace, the emperor sits in the middle of the Daming Palace. There are other kings outside the palace, and one of them is Prince Kui, whose name is Li Zi and Li Shubai." Someone below made a fuss and said, "My favorite is the story of Prince Kui. First, let's start with a story about King Kui leading six envoys to fight against Pang Xun!" "Guest officer, don't be too busy. Let me tell you about the current situation first. The occurrence of this incident has a lot to do with the fact that King Kui shot and killed Pang Xun in the midst of thousands of troops!" There was commotion outside, Li Shubai sat in the leaky carved compartment, but seemed to turn a deaf ear to it, only eating slowly, looking at the passers-by outside the window with a calm expression. Huang Zixia rested her chin and listened to the sounds outside—"By the way, everyone knows that Prince Kui has been very busy recently. No, I heard that there is a new trouble." "Prince Kui has just broken the 'Four Plans' of the capital, and he is going to marry the princess again. It's the time when the spring breeze is in full bloom, so how can there be any trouble?" It was the guest just now, singing and singing with him. "Do you know that yesterday afternoon, the quasi-princess of Kui's mansion, the girl from Langya's family, went to Xianyou Temple to offer incense?" The people present chattered and said: "I have heard about this a little bit. I heard that the sister of the queen's clan is extremely beautiful, as gorgeous as a heavenly man!" "Yesterday, when the driver of Prince Kui's mansion escorted her out of the city, I was also on the side of the road wanting to take a look. Unexpectedly, this queen-to-be is as demure and dignified as the legends say, and even the curtain of the car has never lifted a corner. Curious." "But I think it must be a peerless beauty, otherwise how could we have snatched Prince Kui from Princess Qi Le alive?" "That Princess Qile is really the most pitiful person in the capital now. It can be seen that a woman can't express her heart too clearly, otherwise if she doesn't get the person she likes, she will become a laughing stock in others' mouths." "Exactly, if there is no girl from the Wang family, with Princess Qile's family background and appearance, wouldn't she be a perfect match with King Kui? Princess Qile is now behind closed doors, and she must be cursing that girl at home every day." Princess Kui, hahaha..." There was a lot of discussion in the room, and the storyteller just listened to it with a smile, and when the voices stopped, he said: "But you know, this girl from the Wang family is so lucky to become the envied Princess Kui by everyone in the capital, but it is inevitable. A sudden twist in the marriage?" When the people present heard it, they all fell silent.That storyteller was really catching wind and shadows, with a lotus tongue, and he recounted the trick of Xianyou Temple yesterday, which was mixed with countless speculations and fantasies. He came out, and among them was the strange man who wanted to rob the princess. Wang Yun fought with him for 300 rounds with a sword.The manpower was invincible, so he jumped out of the circle and shouted: "There are still ten days before King Kui's wedding, so King Kui must be careful!" Take the princess away. The storyteller became more and more excited as he talked. He slapped Xingmu in his hand, and his eyebrows danced brightly: "When Wang Yun heard this, he was so angry that smoke rose from his orifices, and he swung his sword to chop. Hearing a whoosh, the strange man turned into a puff of green smoke and went away. The next black arrow, engraved with the words 'King Kui of the Tang Dynasty', is exactly the arrowhead that hit the throat when Lord Kui shot and killed Pang Xun!" "Okay!" The storyteller's last word fell, and the audience burst into thunderous applause.In the bustle, only Huang Zixia shook his head speechlessly, and Li Shubai asked lightly, "Is that not good?" Huang Zixia shook his head and said, "I can't figure it out, since you have wings, why do you want to turn into green smoke and just flap your wings and fly away?" "Don't you think this is more exciting?" Huang Zixia recalled that at the short pavilion outside Chang'an City, the storyteller said that he was the reincarnation of Baihu Xing, so he couldn't help but calm down for a while, and then asked Li Shubai: "Shouldn't Jing Zhaoyin punish this kind of person?" "What's wrong with increasing the joy of life of the common people?" He looked indifferent, not even twitching his eyelashes. She could only helplessly continue to listen to the stories outside, the storyteller was already talking about the old case back then. In the ninth year of Xiantong, Pang Xun of Guilin mutinied and led 200,000 troops to the imperial court, demanding the title of Jiedu envoy.When the imperial court refused, he proclaimed himself king, went down to several states, and massacred the governors and common people of the state capitals.At that time, the envoys of various festivals were self-reliant, and the imperial court was unable to mobilize the troops of the states. In the midst of the military disaster, the Li and Tang royal families were helpless. Only Li Shubai went to various Xiongzhous to raise troops, raised 100,000 soldiers and horses, and lobbied the surrounding area with interests The Jiedu Envoy finally united with the six major Jiedu Envoys, and in September of the following year they defeated the rebellious army and killed Pang Xun. At that time, among the rebellious army, Pang Xun was standing on the top of the city, and it was Li Shubai who was holding a carved bow, and shot him in the throat with an arrow.The rebellious army collapsed, and in the uproar, Pang Xun fell straight from the tower to the ground, and was trampled into a pulp by the soldiers and horses below the city.Only the arrow sticking to the flesh and blood was preserved, and it was placed in a crystal box and placed in the Drum Tower of Xuzhou to warn future generations. It was also at that time that Li Shubai got the talisman with his birth date written on it. After many years, the teenage boy became the prince who has the power over the world, but he fell into that strange curse from then on, unable to escape. . A month ago, there were rumors that inside the Drum Tower in Xuzhou, the crystal box remained intact, but the cluster of arrows disappeared.The Xuzhou state government searched urgently for a long time under its jurisdiction, but there was no trace. It turned out that it appeared in Xianyou Temple, and appeared impartially on the day when Wang Ruo entered the incense, and was left in the Buddhist temple by a mysterious person. "Everyone, isn't this a strange thing, a strange thing close to a demon?" As soon as the storyteller patted the wood, it seemed to ignite the conversation, and everyone started to discuss: "Could it be that Pang Xun, a lingering spirit, wants to take revenge on the occasion of Prince Kui's marriage?" "Come on, loyal ministers and filial sons have always had spirits. He is a rebel, what kind of grudge does he have?" "Hey, Pang Xun killed people like hemp, maybe he was reincarnated from an evil ghost, why can't he have a spirit?" The topic quickly turned to strange power and chaos, Huang Zixia could only turn his head and cast his eyes on Li Shubai who was opposite. Li Shubai didn't raise his head, he just asked, "What are you doing?" "I was wondering... what were you thinking when you shot that arrow at Pang Xun when you were nineteen years old." She looked at him with her chin in her hand. His expression was as usual, like the surface of a windless lake, without a single ripple: "You will be disappointed to hear that." "No way, tell me?" "I was wondering if there would be a bit of embarrassment if a sudden gust of wind blows the arrow crookedly." "..." Huang Zixia was speechless. "There are some things, why do you need to know." He said, pointed out the window, and said, "There's a magic show over there, let's go." The hungry Huang Zixia looked at the food in front of him that he hadn't eaten a few bites, and followed him to stand up with resentment.
After noon, jugglers and jugglers came out here and there.But most of them were just ordinary juggling such as throwing pills, topping bowls, and stepping on water tanks. There was a crowd of people surrounded by a sword swallower. "Swallowing swords is normal, what's so interesting about it?" She asked the uncle next to him who was trying to squeeze in. The uncle said expectantly: "This one is different! This sword is four feet long, but the dwarf who swallows the sword is only three feet tall!" Huang Zixia immediately wanted to squeeze in.Li Shubai gave her a disdainful look, then turned and left.Huang Zixia had no choice but to follow behind him silently, thinking, this kind of person seems to have nothing of interest in living in the world, would he feel happy himself? However, in an instant, she suddenly thought, what about herself?Both parents died, all relatives were bereaved, and there was a grievance, but I didn't even have a clue to solve it. In my life, would I really have any way to return to the happy and noisy girl before? Li Shubai was walking in front, feeling the silence behind him, Huang Zixia seemed to have lost even the sound of his footsteps.He turned his face slightly, looking at her behind him. She followed him two steps away, but her eyes were on a young couple passing by on the street. They were holding the hand of a little girl from left to right. The little girl was bouncing up and down, sometimes on purpose Hanging in the hands of parents, like a little monkey swinging. Li Shubai stopped and waited for Huang Zixia. She stood there watching the family of three go away, quiet and silent, the sun shone on her face, and a faint shadow covered her face. After a long time, when she turned around, Li Shubai said slowly, "Let's go."
There was another group of people in front, this time they were serious jugglers, a man and a woman couple, both men and women were dressed in the dust and slickness of charlatans.They stood in the crowd and watched them perform a fish-and-dragon scene first, and then an ordinary scene of water into wine. It was the woman who showed a hand of paper flowers into flowers. When the ten flowers were thrown into the sky by her and fell one after another, the viewing effect was really good. The trick is over and the audience disperses.The man and woman packed up their things and wanted to leave.Seeing Li Shubai's wink, Huang Zixia could only go forward to inquire: "Brother and sister, your tricks are really amazing, it's really amazing!" The man returned the salute with a smile, and said, "It's so-so, my little brother likes to watch it?" "Yeah, I especially like watching that... that paper flower becomes a real flower. I know that the real flower must have been hidden in the sleeve in advance, but where did the paper flower go?" The man smiled and said, "That can't be said, this is the guy we eat." Huang Zixia looked back at Li Shubai, he threw a piece of silver to her.She put the money into the man's hand and said seriously: "Brother, to tell you the truth, my master is betting with someone else. You know that there was a rumor in Beijing yesterday that someone in Xianyou Temple flicked his sleeve and killed him." Did the little bird in the cage disappear for no reason?" The man held his money and smiled brightly: "I don't know about this, but I definitely have a way to turn a bird in a cage. You can just talk." "My master has a friend who insisted that this is impossible. My master made a bet with him, saying that he must show him this spell within three days. Don't you see... can this method be taught to my master? " "This is just a trick," he said immediately, "the bird is pre-trained. Once the owner gives the signal, the bird will stand at a certain part of the cage, and there has been a mechanism in that place. You only need to press the bird with your left hand to move it." A pole on the cage, that organ moves, the bird will fall, and then his right sleeve flicks, and the bird can be taken away directly." "Oh! That's how it is." Huang Zixia showed a suddenly realized expression, and reached out to Li Shubai again, and Li Shubai threw another silver ingot to her.Holding up the silver, she asked, "Brother, since you are so proficient in this mechanism, then you must have such a birdcage and a bird here?" "It was really there before." The eldest brother was a little depressed when he saw the silver, "It's a pity, it was bought away a few days ago." The woman beside him finally couldn't help interjecting: "Let me just say, what's the use of the five taels of silver? The little bird was passed down from the master, and the training is so good. It would be a pity to sell it for ten taels of silver." .” Huang Zixia asked again: "But do you train with mynah? Can you train it in three days?" The eldest brother said angrily: "It's not myna, but mine is a white bird, very beautiful." "Oh, that's such a pity," Huang Zixia said, and gave the man the silver in his hand, "I don't know who bought it, how can I find him? I want to try my luck and see if I can buy it." Transfer it to me." "I really don't know that. The other party left after learning the method. I don't even know the name." "So, what does it look like? Brother, do you still remember?" "Hmm... a young master in his twenties, with a height above average, looks good, pretty and delicate... By the way, there is a cinnabar mole on his forehead!" The woman added a sentence next to it: "The cinnabar mole grows in the middle of the forehead. It is straight and straight. The whole person is already good. With that mole, it looks like the person in the painting."
When they walked towards King Kui's mansion, neither of them spoke. Huang Zixia was thinking about the ins and outs of the whole thing, and she still couldn't figure out those mysterious clues, but when she looked up, she found that Li Shubai had left her far behind. She hastened a few steps to catch up.The sky was dark, and the lights all over the street were already lit. Two rows of lanterns lined up along the street and alley beside the road, and the red halo illuminated the whole street.Li Shubai looked back at her from under the lamp. His always cold face was neutralized by the warm orange light. A slightly bewildered expression. She didn't expect that he would care so much about that person, she felt a little hesitant, and didn't know what to say, so she could only stand under the lamp and look up at him. The lights all over the street fluctuate slightly in the wind like streamers, shaking and casting restless light. She was a bit at a loss for words, and it took a long time before she said with difficulty: "Actually, I thought so... At first, I only thought that a man with eloquence and a calm demeanor should not be a juggler who walks the rivers and lakes. He must have learned from others secretly. That's why I came here to ask... But the person who appeared in front of us that day is absolutely impossible to be... that person." "Well, it's impossible for him to have anything to do with Pang Xun, and it's even more impossible for him to hide from everyone and enter Xianyou Temple." But he can let others enter Xianyou Temple.When both of them thought of this, he said: "What's more, he has a lot of subordinates who can stand up for him, so why bother to learn from two jugglers on the street." The street lamps are like daylight, and the brilliance is dazzling.Just as they stood silently by the side of the road, suddenly a carriage came slowly. There were guards and eunuchs clearing the way in front of and behind the carriage, and a row of dozens of people was in order. They hid on the side of the road, not wanting to be seen by others, but the people in the carriage opened the windows and saw them with a glance. The carriage stopped slowly, the door of the carriage opened, and the one who got out was Li Run, King of E. He is a fair and handsome, elegant and gentle man, always with a smile on his face.People who have seen him say that he has a natural ethereal air of immortality, because he has picturesque eyebrows, and a bright cinnabar mole on the center of his forehead, just like the person in the painting.
Li Run walked in front of them, and asked Li Shubai with a smile, "Why is fourth brother here?" Li Shubai looked back at him, nodded slightly: "Seventh brother." Seeing that he was alone with only Huang Zixia, Li Run nodded to her, then smiled and said to Li Shubai: "Today is a peaceful day, and the street lights are like stars. No wonder fourth brother wants to go out for a walk. But he only brought a little girl with him." The eunuch is inappropriate, you should find a few guards to take it with you." Li Shubai raised his hand to touch the tassel hanging from the street lamp, and said, "If there are more people following, how can we see such a quiet night?" Li Run looked around and saw the street full of lights and few pedestrians. He nodded and said, "That's true. We grew up in a bustling scene, and we have never experienced such a scene before." Li Shubai seemed unwilling to say more with him: "The curfew is coming soon, you should go back early." He nodded in agreement, then remembered something, and said: "If you are free, fourth brother, you can come to my place for a little gathering in the future. Now Dong Tinglan's reincarnated disciple Chen Nianniang is in my residence, serving as a piano teacher." "Isn't she going back to Yangzhou?" "Before the ninth younger brother brought her into the palace to perform skills for Concubine Zhao, the emperor and empress were also there. But Concubine Zhao likes the pipa, and the emperor is a lively person, and has no preference for the qinse... As for the empress, she has always been pure-hearted and self-absorbed. Those who love singing, dancing and feasting will not look at a luthier differently. I asked her what she meant, and she said that she wanted to stay in the capital for a while, and she probably wanted to find Feng Yiniang." Huang Zixia and Li Shubai looked at each other.Unexpectedly, Chen Nianniang would come to Li Run's house.A series of related things seem to be slowly coming together under the guidance of something. Li Shubai remained calm, and only said to Li Run: "So that's the case. I will be free in a few days, and I will go to your place." "Okay, brother, I'll clean up and wait."
After Li Run's carriage was far away, Li Shubai turned his gaze to the lamp in front of him, and asked slowly, "What do you think, Prince E?" She thought for a while and said, "If you want to disguise your identity, the best way is to pretend to be someone with obvious characteristics. I think this may be the reason why Prince E was chosen as the smoke to confuse us." "Is there another possibility?" "There is also a possibility that Prince E's innocence was so childish that he went to Xishi to learn tricks in person, and then came back to teach others to scare your princess." She leaned against the willow tree behind her, holding the willow and said casually, "Why? Thinking about it, I think the first possibility is more plausible.” "I know he's not that person, because I don't believe he can do anything in front of me," Li Shubai said slowly, his voice colder than usual, "I just want to know, who is trying to pull him to me?" In front of me, who is the person who wants to deceive me?"
The ninth day of May. There are still seven days until King Kui's wedding. A drizzle hit overnight, and the entire capital was immersed in misty rain. On the way to Wang's house, through the thin bamboo curtain on the car window, Huang Zixia saw the flower branches hanging down because of the rain. The peach and plum blossoms have already bloomed, but the Sophora japonica flowers in Chang'an are blooming one after another, and the whole city is enveloped in a faint fragrance.Strings of pure white flowers hang from the branches, and the color is so light that it seems to be there.Only occasionally one or two hit the car window, and when she heard the slight sound, she realized that it was not rain, but flowers. The members of the Wang family were already waiting at the door with umbrellas. When they saw her coming, they hurried over to help her hold the umbrella, and said, "Eunuch Yang, you are here. The queen is calling the girl into the palace, so you and Aunt Suqi will follow." Let’s go in and meet together.” "Yes, I know." Huang Zixia nodded in response.The rumors in the capital became more and more intense, and had already reached the ears of the king and queen who had lived in the deep palace for a long time.She called them into the palace today, and she must have many things to order. Thinking about it, Huang Zixia took the umbrella, walked through the vestibule, and walked along the corridor.After passing through the two rich gates, turn all the way to the west courtyard, which is where Wang Ruo lives. Her yard is full of bluegrass, and the plantains in the yard have newly sprouted long leaves, covering the window, showing a feeling of coldness and lack of warmth in such a rainy day. Huang Zixia gently put away the umbrella and stood outside the window.Under the plantain outside the corridor, there is a large porcelain vat, in which there are three or four koi carps, bright colors of red and white, swimming in the water. She stood watching the rain hit the plantains, and the water splashed.In the silence, she heard a vague voice in the room, as if someone was whispering something. Huang Zixia turned her head and saw the couch in front of the window through the leaky window. Wang Ruo, who was lying on the bed, was sleeping restlessly.In her sleep, her brows were tightly frowned, her face was full of panic, her hands were tightly clutching the corner of the quilt, her forehead was covered with beads of sweat, as if she was enduring the most terrible torture. Huang Zixia stood outside the window, staring at her for a while, still thinking about whether to wake her up, but heard her muttering: "Scarlet...Scarlet..." She was slightly surprised, and was listening with her head bent, when suddenly Wang Ruo's voice changed to pleading: "Feng Niang, don't blame me, you shouldn't..." Suddenly, the wind and rain intensified, hitting Huang Zixia's half of his body.She hurriedly turned around, and when she heard Wang Ruoah's scream, she had already woken up. Huang Zixia calmly brushed the water droplets on her clothes, walked to the door calmly and knocked on the door, and called in a low voice, "Princess." There were two maids sitting in the room, one named Xianyun was very clever, and immediately came over and opened the door, saying: "Eunuch Yang, you are here, the princess is having a nightmare." "Well, I just heard the princess wake up through the window." Huang Zixia brushed off the raindrops on his body, and when he turned around, he saw that Wang Ruo had slowly sat up from the couch. When he looked up at her, there was still fear in his eyes. , seems to be still sinking in the nightmare just now. Huang Zixia walked to the side of the couch and asked in a low voice, "What did the princess dream about?" "Chonggu..." Her eyes like autumn water were filled with tears at this time, and she looked at her with rippling water, she wanted to speak for a long time before she turned her face away and said in a trembling voice, "I, I dreamed that I really... ...really disappeared from this world..." Huang Zixia sat down beside her couch, and said in a low voice: "Dreams are thoughts in the heart, the princess dreams day by day and dreams at night. In fact, as long as you don't think about what that person said, you will definitely not have such a dream. " "Really?" She asked in a trembling voice, grasping Huang Zixia's sleeve weakly and helplessly, her body trembling slightly, "Chong Gu, the prince will protect me, won't he?" "Yes." She said without hesitation, but she recalled Li Shubai's words in her mind-no matter what the reason, if she took out the fake Geng Tie, she would be deceiving the emperor, and she would only end up in eternal doom. However, her one-word answer made Wang Ruo feel extremely at ease.She breathed a sigh of relief, then leaned against the soft cushions on the couch and stared silently for a while. Huang Zixia saw the corners of her lips, and a dreamy smile slowly bloomed. She looked at a point in the air, but seemed to see something indestructible, and murmured: "Yes, Lord Kui will protect me, What else am I afraid of?"