Why did we meet
After the meal, Qi Yan and Nangong Jingnv discussed it, of course, after Qi Yan carefully explained to Nangong Jingnv why she wanted to take a leave of absence from the court and what happened in the court recently, since Nangong Jingnv had no intention of it. To reveal, Qi Yan is also very willing to accompany her to continue acting.
Nangong Jingnv suggested that Qi Yan declare her illness, but Qi Yan felt that the courtiers thought that she was not suitable to be the chief examiner because she had an eye disease. Will the situation change when she is ill again at this juncture
Nangong Jingnv was definitely not, the reason was that since the imperial father had personally been present on the day the imperial decree was read out, if the courtiers had any more objections, it would be equivalent to disrespecting the decree.
Nangong Jingnu: "Don't worry, the examiner's matter has been completely settled, and there will be no more waves."
Qi Yan asked again: "Now that the minister has served as the chief examiner of the examination, what will you do next?"
Nangong Jingnu raised her hand and poured herself a cup, and calmly replied: "What else can I do? It's enough to do your job well and select a group of young talents for the court."
Qi Yan: "Yes."
Nangong Jingnu picked up the glass and drank it, as if Qiyan was talking to herself: "More than half of the court is now filled with Confucian scholars, and in a few years it will be time for the old and the new to change."
Qi Yan turned her head, looked at Nangong Jingnu's delicate and three-dimensional profile, and replied softly, "Yes, it's about time."
"Boom!" There was a loud noise, and a muffled thunder resounded through the world.
Qi Yan's wrist flicked, and the chopsticks fell to the ground.
Nangong Jingnu turned her head around, glanced at her slightly drunk eyes, and said with a smile, "It's just a thunderbolt."
Qi Yan apologized and picked up the chopsticks, but her expression was a little unnatural.
From nowhere came a large thick black cloud, which was obviously noon but dark like evening.
In an instant, the gust of wind whistled, blowing the open door of the dining hall loudly, the tablecloth vibrated violently and overturned the wine jug, leaving the table in a mess.
Qi Yan got up and rushed to the door, closing the door of the dining hall against the blinding wind, and the room returned to silence.
There was still half a jug of kumiss left in the wine jar, and Nangong Jingnu had a look of pity in her eyes, but she lost her appetite.
Qi Yan: "The sky has changed, I'm afraid there will be a heavy rain soon."
Nangong Jingnv said "um", and then there was no more.
Qiu Ju led two teams of palace maids hurried over: "His Royal Highness, Consort, it's going to rain soon, do you want to go back to the main hall?"
Qi Yan looked at Nangong Jingnu, who nodded, thought about it, and picked up the half bottle of kumiss left on the table.
After leaving the dining hall, the maid opened an umbrella for the two of them, and several white-purple rays of light shot out from the black cloud, and after a few breaths, there was a deafening sound of thunder.
Qiu Ju: "Your Highness, where are you going?"
Nangong Jingnu turned her head and said to Qiyan, "This palace will return to the main hall first, the concubine, please do it yourself."
Because of Qi Yuxiao's relationship, Qi Yan has always lived in a side hall not far from the Warm Pavilion.
Qi Yan opened her mouth and saw Nangong Jingnv leave without turning her head. She could only swallow the words that came to her mouth and watched Nangong Jingnv leave.
The palace maid stood on tiptoe and tried to hold the oil-paper umbrella above Qi Yan's head: "Master Consort, let's go back too?"
Qi Yan took the umbrella and stared at Nangong Jingnu's disappearing direction without blinking: "Go back first, before it rains."
Maid: "What about you?"
Qi Yan: "Go, don't worry about me."
Gong maid: "...Yes, the concubine should go back soon, be careful of the rain."
Qi Yan: "Thank you."
"Boom", the sound of thunder seemed to explode in the ear, causing pain in the eardrums, Qi Yan took a deep breath and moved towards Nangong Jingnu's departure direction, chasing after him with strides.
Just after walking a dozen steps, pea-sized raindrops came along with the gust of wind, and half of Qi Yan's clothes were soaked in an instant. With such a heavy rain, the umbrella was useless.
The rain curtain was continuous, blocking the line of sight, and the raindrops slammed heavily on the umbrella surface, making people unable to lift their heads.
Qi Yan chased after her for a while based on her memory, gritted her teeth and let go of the umbrella holding her hand. With a "huh" sound, the umbrella was blown away by the wind.
After losing the weight, Qi Yan's steps became brisk, but the heavy rain was still a problem. She had to close her eyes and recall that many years ago, in order to gain the trust of the third prince, Nangong Wang, she offered to set fire to the Weiming Palace, and even drew a picture of the palace layout of the Weiming Palace by herself, and gave the guards time to change shifts. The palace was renovated according to its original appearance.
Qi Yan found out the route of Nangong Jingnu's return to the palace from her memory, and chased in that direction.
In fact, Nangong Jingnv and her group did not go far. Qiu Ju held the oil-paper umbrella on top of Nangong Jingnv's head. Her body was soaked, and half of Nangong Jingnv's body was also wet, but due to the heavy rain, the gravity Pressing on the umbrella made it difficult for the master and servant to move forward.
Qiu Ju: "His Royal Highness, it's raining too much, why don't we go back to the side hall for a while, and wait until the rain stops before leaving?"
Nangong Jingnu: "I've gone all the way..."
"Your Highness!"
"Qiu Ju?!"
Hearing the shout, Qiu Ju was overjoyed: "His Royal Highness, it is the concubine who is chasing after him."
Nangong Jingnu pursed her lips: "Bengong heard it."
With a "click" sound, Qi Yan stepped on the rainwater on the slate and ran over, and she rushed under the umbrella: "His Royal Highness."
The purple uniform on Qi Yan's body was dyed almost black by the rain, and the bun that was meticulously combed on weekdays was also washed loose by the rain. A few strands of hair were attached to her face, and strands of rain fell down her face. , This look is reflected in Nangong Jingnv's dark eyes, and it is also imprinted in Nangong Jingnv's heart.
Qi Yan didn't care about this, and opened her mouth with a charming smile: "Your Highness, the rain is coming in a hurry, maybe it won't last for too long.
Nangong Jingnv stared at Qi Yan and didn't say a word, the next moment Qi Yan snatched the wine jar from Nangong Jingnv's hand, put one hand in her arms, and held Nangong Jingnv's hand with the other: "Anyway, it's all If you want to take a bath, it's not good to shower for too long."
After she finished speaking, she pulled Nangong Jingnu to run. Qiu Ju, who was behind her, hadn't reacted yet. The two masters had already run away in the rain. She gave a low voice and had to throw away the umbrella in her hand and ran with the two of them. stand up.
Qiu Ju, who threw away her umbrella, found that although she was in the rain, she felt extremely relaxed, which was much stronger than the previous state of being unable to walk.
Qi Yan held Nangong Jingnu's hand tightly, as if she was afraid that the opponent would break free if the strength in her hand was loosened.
Qi Yan: "Your Highness, watch your steps, it's coming soon."
Nangong Jingnv's drunkenness had been awakened by such a shower. She raised her sleeves to wipe the rain on her face, and saw Qi Yanmao's waist was protecting the wine jar on her chest. The rain hit him in the face, making him almost Can't open his eyes, but this person can't wipe the rain like himself.
Suddenly, Qi Yan hugged her and jumped off the horse's back, protecting her past events with all her strength, and seeing Qi Yan turn her head to smile at her, Nangong Jingnu's heart sealed with ice quietly cracked...
She took the initiative to shake Qi Yan back, and the latter smiled brighter: "There is still some distance, can your Highness still run?"
Nangong Jingnu also loudly replied: "Bengong's foundation is much better than yours!"
As he said that, he picked up the wet skirt and quickened his speed.
Qi Yan laughed loudly: "I remember that Your Highness always ran like this in the past, and I thought His Highness had changed."
Nangong Jingnu spat: "You still dare to be sloppy, be careful this palace will give you a kick!"
…
The two ran back to the side hall where Qi Yan lived in one breath, and with a "bang", Qi Yan directly slammed the door of the hall open, and the palace maids inside made a burst of exclamations, and after seeing the people who came, they all pleaded guilty. .
Qi Yan waved her hand slyly, and handed the wine jar in her arms to a palace maid: "Quickly prepare hot water."
Maid: "Yes."
Qi Yan never let go of Nangong Jingnu's hand, but took her hand to the front of the hall, and slumped on the chair before letting go.
Nangong Jingnu also ran with some soft legs, her chest heaved violently, and sat next to Qi Yan.
Qi Yan gasped for breath and praised: "His Royal Highness really has amazing leg strength, and he actually runs faster than the minister."
Nangong Jingnu consciously slowed her breathing and snorted softly.
With a "bang", the door of the palace was blown open by the strong wind, and two palace maids hurriedly stepped forward to hold the door, asking for instructions: "Your Highness, Consort, the wind is too strong, you need to get on the roof, otherwise I'm afraid the window paper will be blown to pieces."
The so-called roof is a necessity for every household, the size is the same as the windows of each household, and most of them are made of wood. In case of bad weather, in order to prevent the window paper from being blown, it will go outside to place the top plate on the window frame, and the matching dark lock will be dropped to block the strong wind.
However, the only downside of the top panel is that it blocks outside light sources and plunges the interior into darkness.
It stands to reason that the weather should have been on the roof long ago, but because Qi Yan "can't see at night", the palace maid asked for instructions in advance.
Nangong Jingnu glanced at Qi Yan and said to the maid, "Bring two ever-bright lanterns and prepare more lamp oil."
The palace maids acted independently, and a few people went around the hall to install more than a dozen windows on the ceiling, and the other four went to the library to carry the ever-bright lantern.
As the ceilings were installed one by one, the light in the hall became darker and darker, until the last ceiling was up and the room was completely plunged into darkness.
Perhaps the darkness hid her expression, or she gave Nangong Jingnu a step like "covering her ears and stealing the bell", only to hear her clear her throat and whisper, "Ben Gong is here."
Qi Yan laughed silently. The darkness also gave her enough sense of security that she no longer had to worry about being seen by Nangong Jingnv. She turned her head and looked at Nangong Jingnv's location.
Qi Yan: "Your Highness..."
Nangong Jingnu: "... um."
Qi Yan: "During the Shangyuan Festival last year, my minister came back from an inspection tour of the county below. Due to the wrong estimate, he passed through Cheshire. Although the lantern festival there is not as prosperous as the capital, it is unique."
The past struck Nangong Jingnu's heartstrings again, and she sat up straight and listened carefully.
Qi Yan paused for a while as if recalling, and continued: "I saw the back of a child on the street, very much like His Highness."
Nangong Jingnu twitched the corners of her mouth, not knowing how to answer.
Fortunately, Qi Yan chuckled and continued: "She is also a woman disguised as a man." Qi Yan's fingers trembled involuntarily, returning to silence.
After a while, Nangong Jingnu's voice came: "And then?"
Qi Yan exhaled a long breath: "Later? The minister caught up with her and invited her to eat a bunch of candied haws."
Nangong Jingnv: "The concubine knows how to pity the fragrance and cherish the jade, and has never left her name?"
Qi Yan smiled and said, "Why do you have to know each other when you meet?"