Main Text Chapter 1800 Drifting Away Like Smoke

Ghost Market, Xinyi Pavilion.

Outside the window, boats were coming and going. Where the boats passed, the lights of the boats made the lake sparkle. After the boats passed, it fell into darkness again. The boats in the distance were like fireflies in the night.

The eternal night scene in the darkness has not changed for many years.

Everything that could illuminate the room disappeared. Cao Man was immersed in darkness, standing in front of the window, looking at the lights in the distance, just like his life, he could only hide in the darkness and look at the light.

At this moment, he was so fascinated that he looked confused. Tears welled up in his eyes at some point, and finally turned into two teardrops. They were hot and rolled down his cheeks, hanging in his beard. He was sobbing and murmuring: "Father …”

Qi Jue, who had been standing quietly aside, slowly raised his head, and he could hear the mixture of love and hate in the voice.

"My boss, please forgive me..." Qi Jue persuaded, took out two star bells in his hand, and gently sent them to him, "My boss, these are the star bells sent by the family master. The family master hopes to establish a relationship with you. direct contact.”

"Head of the family?" Cao Man looked up to the sky and closed his eyes, two tears rolled down his cheeks again, "Why should he be the head of the family? Just because the boss is gone, is he the next in line? Is there such a thing as seniority? He is the head of the Xiahou family. What achievements have he made? Is it because he can see the light and the rest of us can’t?"

Qi Jue said with some panic: "My boss, please don't say this again. If it spreads to the ears of outsiders, it may be detrimental to my boss!"

Cao Man lowered his head and shook his head slowly: "Would it be beneficial to me if I didn't say this? It's hard for one mountain to accommodate two tigers, not to mention how many tigers there are on the mountain of Xiahou's family. As long as we people are still here, what can he do?" Are you at ease?"

Qijue: "Boss, brothers, the situation may not be as bad as you think."

Cao Man: "When the old man came to power, how did he deal with his siblings?"

Qi Jue said: "Today is no better than in the past, nor is it better than that. Back then, the old man's brothers were all in the open, everyone had hope, and they naturally fought, while the boss and other people in power were all in the dark. This may be the wise act of the old man. Since the day the host and others disappeared, they have no chance of being the head of the family. "

Cao Man: "I don't have any complaints about him being the head of the family. I just don't know what the old man thinks. Xia Houling has never really been on his own, but at first glance, he can give orders to others as the head of the family. Once everyone has In my opinion, the Xiahou family is in crisis and is about to fall apart. Could it be that the old man has secretly controlled enough power to support him? Then why did he not contact me until now? "

Qijue: "If my boss has any doubts, why don't you go to the old man and ask for clarification?"

Cao Man: "I asked, the old man asked me to do my own thing. At this time, the old man refused to tell me. What are you worried about? As you said, from the day I hid in this darkness, I knew I am not destined to be the head of the family, but at this time, why don't you even give me a chance to meet him? My father is critically ill, and my son is not even qualified to visit? "

Qi Jue was silent. She didn't know what he was thinking, but she knew that his mood was a bit unstable. He looked at the star bell in his hand and said, "The people sent by the family master are still waiting. How to respond to this matter of the star bell?"

Cao Man was silent for a while, then suddenly he waved his hand and swept the two star bells, placing a seal on the two star bells. He swept one of them and put it away in his hand. He warned: "I don't mean to harm others, but I must guard against others." , even if he has any thoughts about me now, I haven't reached that point yet. If he wants to control this place, he must first find out the situation on my side. I'm afraid he will start with the people around me, the most suitable target. It’s you, you must be careful when you go out in the future, and you must have enough experts to protect you, so that no one can take advantage of you! I have told you so much to let you understand one thing, even if you have been with me for so many years, You can’t become his confidant even if you take refuge in him.”

"Old slave, I understand." Qi Jue agreed.

"Haha..." Cao Man suddenly laughed miserably. If asked whether he would be willing to do so, he would definitely not be willing to do so. However, he had no idea how many people like him existed in the Xiahou family. Even if he wanted to connect them, he would not be able to do it. He had to I admire the wisdom of the old man in making such a plan. Without the support of other forces, even if he has any ideas, it will be in vain. Relying on one force can't accomplish anything, but Xia Houling has the support of the old man, but he can easily find out the Xiahou family's background!

At Tianweng's Mansion, Wei Shu quickly left the Forbidden Garden and came to Xiahou Ling's house. Xiahou Tuo had not yet passed away, and Xiahou Ling did not have the courage to enter the Forbidden Garden yet.

A maid greeted him and led him directly outside Xia Houling's study, announcing, "Master, Butler Wei is here."

"Come in!" Xia Houling's voice came from inside the house.

The maid made a gesture of extending her hand and stepped back. Wei Shu pushed open the door and entered. However, as soon as he entered, his nostrils could not help flaring and he smelled the smell of blood.

There was no one in the study room. Wei Shu was stunned as soon as he walked into the inner room. He saw the source of the smell of blood. Fu Tong, the housekeeper of Xiahou Ling's house, was lying in a pool of blood. His eyes were wide open. His heart was penetrated. The bloody sword was thrown on the desk. Xia Houling sat behind the case and looked at him.

There was silence between the two of them for a while, and then Xiahou Ling spoke up: "From the time your father followed my grandfather, until you followed the old man, the Wei family and the Xiahou family are one. There is no doubt about my vision, so I have never doubted my loyalty to Butler Wei. Don't worry, I have no other intentions. I just wanted to kill Fu Tong to let you understand that no one can replace your position in the Xiahou family. You are still Xiahou. Housekeeper."

Wei Shu bowed and said, "Thank you, Master, for your trust."

Xia Houling stood up and said, "The old man's spirit is not as good as before. Every long conversation is hurting the old man's body. This is against the filial piety of a son, so I need your help. Now you can tell me what I want to know." Yet?"

Wei Shu didn't answer. He went to Fu Tong's body and inspected it carefully. He even took out the ink pad and put the fingerprints of Fu Tong's ten fingers on a piece of white paper. Then he took out another piece of white paper. There were also fingerprints on the paper, and the fingerprints on the two pieces of paper were put together for detailed comparison.

Xia Houling frowned and said, "What? Am I so unworthy of your trust?"

After confirming that the deceased was indeed Fu Tong, Wei Shufang stood up, cupped his hands and said, "I forgive you, this is what the old man meant."

Now the name has been changed.

Xia Houling was stunned, "What do you mean?"

Wei Shu said: "Before the old man passed away, Wei Shu only listened to the old man's orders. After the old man passed away, Wei Shu only listened to the old man's orders. The old man told him that as long as he was still alive, he could not sit back and watch the secrets of the Xiahou family. The secrets of the Xiahou family cannot be allowed to fall into the hands of other outsiders, because it is too dangerous for the Xiahou family. The old master ordered the slaves to wait for Fu Tong to die! "

"..." Xia Houling was a little speechless. He was still hesitant before taking action against Fu Tong. After all, he had been his confidant for many years. However, he asked Wei Shu several times about some situations but could not get any useful information. Wei Shu had been Avoiding this made him very angry, but he didn't dare to do anything to Wei Shu. He was already secretly angry in his heart, and he would settle the matter later. In order to gain Wei Shu's trust, he decided to kill Fu Tong.

Who would have thought that it turned out to be the old man's intention after making trouble for a long time. He now understands a little bit that the old man is not only paving the way for him, but also paving the way for Wei Shu. On the contrary, letting Wei Shu have no worries is also paving the way for him. This is forcing him to make up his mind to win Wei Shu's trust and send a loyal minister to Wei Shu. he.

The resentment in Xia Houling's heart disappeared immediately, "So, can I say it now?"

Wei Shu bowed and said, "Master, if you have any questions, just ask. Wei Shu will answer everything he knows."

Xiahou Ling said word by word: "Now I want to know how many brothers I have who are in charge of the Xiahou family's underground forces!"

The two of them kept asking and answering questions in the study room where the body was parked and filled with the smell of blood. They stayed bored for a whole day before Xia Houling stopped asking questions.

At this time, the shock in Xiahou Ling's heart was indescribable. He did not expect that the power of the Xiahou family was far beyond his imagination. There were actually some of his brothers lurking under Niu Youde's command. It was simply...

"Xiahou Tuo's life span is approaching, I really didn't expect it!"

In the Netherworld, Miao Yi and Yun Zhiqiu were filled with sighs after hearing the news. They also had to sigh that a generation of outstanding people would never escape their end.

Yun Zhiqiu sighed to Yun Zhiqiu who was sitting in the pavilion having a drink, "If Xiahou Tuo dies, I don't know if there will be any changes in the world. The person in Tianmin Palace is a member of the Xiahou family after all. I don't know if it will." They will get involved and implicat us as well.”

Miao Yi muttered: "Let Xu Tangran pay more attention to Duke Yuan."

Yun Zhiqiu said: "I asked about it when I heard the news. Apart from being silent for a long time, there was nothing unusual about Duke Yuan."

By the time everyone here knew about it, the news that Xiahou Tuo's lifespan was approaching was almost no longer a secret. Everyone was waiting for that day to arrive, or to be more precise, they were paying attention to whether there would be any changes, which caused a lot of trouble. Everyone became nervous.

After all, Xiahou Tuo could not survive even one year. When he was about to close his eyes, Qingzhu personally held his hand and watched him close his eyes. The ministers of the Manchu Dynasty, except for the four heavenly kings, basically They all gathered at Tianweng Mansion.

"What does Tian Weng have to say?" Qingzhu, who was sitting next to the couch, saw Xiahou Tuo opening his mouth, held his hand and asked.

After all, Xiahou Tuo didn't say anything. Tears appeared in his eyes that slowly closed, and two teardrops flowed out from the corners of his eyes. At the end of his life, his decayed body was only supported by mana. When the last mana dissipated, the body of flesh and blood disappeared. The body also dispersed like flying smoke, drifting like smoke along the weak airflow in and out of the room.

A group of people in the house watched the streaks of smoke floating outside the door, toward the cracks in the window edges, toward the roof arches, and seemed to be contaminated by everyone. It was such a gentle and wonderful scene.

In the end, Qingzhu's hand was empty, and Xiahou Tuo was left lying on the couch with only a set of clothes.

"Father!" Xia Houling cried out sadly and knelt down. All the children in the room also knelt down and cried bitterly, including Xiahou Chengyu.

Qingzhu stood up and sighed with a complicated expression. He cupped his hands in front of Xiahou Tuo's clothes and bowed, "Have a good journey, Tian Weng!"

The ministers who were qualified to be in the room also bowed solemnly.

Soon, Xiahou's house was full of crying. (To be continued.)