"If I had known that you would come to see the lanterns, I should have lived on the opposite side." Duan Baiyue said, "The horizon is wider."
"It's not a little baby watching the lantern festival. You must squeeze to the front to see it clearly." Chu Yuan smiled and looked at him, "You said it yourself, the palace is too stuffy, just come out and get some air."
This is the busiest street in Wangcheng. Even if the windows are half-closed, you can still hear the noise below. The steaming sugar and oil cakes are fried in the pot, and the aroma immediately rushed to the second floor, full of All are sweet.
"Do you want to eat?" Duan Baiyue asked.
Chu Yuan nodded: "Well."
"Wait for me." Duan Baiyue got up and went out.
Duan Yao said eagerly from the next door: "I want to eat it too." How could it smell so fragrant.
"Be obedient, be patient." Nan Moxie continued to lie on the wall and patted his head with a hand, "Wait, Master will take you downstairs to eat something hot."
Standing by the window, Chu Yuan watched Duan Baiyue walk across the street, crowding with a group of little dolls to buy candy cakes. After buying them, he went to the snack shop next door. When he finally came back, he did not forget to bring a few packs of cows with him. Miscellaneous flavor.
"Try it and see." Duan Baiyue said, "Every day you can see people queuing for this house's lo-mei, it should be very good."
"The owner of this shop used to be the royal chef in the palace." Chu Yuan didn't use chopsticks, he squeezed a piece of beef liver and ate it, "Later, he accidentally broke his leg, so he resigned from the affairs in the palace and went to I have lived in my hometown in Jiangnan for three years, but I still miss my son and daughter-in-law in Wangcheng. I just came back a few years ago, and I can’t find the time to open this Bafang Luwei Restaurant.”
"Remember so clearly?" Duan Baiyue was surprised.
"Try it." Chu Yuan said, "You should like it."
Duan Baiyue took a piece of beef tendon and threw it into his mouth, nodding: "It's really good."
"Just not bad?" Chu Yuan looked at him.
"Huh?" Duan Baiyue thought for a while: "Otherwise, I'll say a few more words? Crispy but not rotten, moderately fat and thin, red in color, and melts in your mouth."
Duan Yao and Nan Moxie swallowed their saliva together next door, feeling a little thirsty.
Chu Yuan shook his head and said, "When you were eight years old, you entered the palace and said that you liked to eat this, and you also said that you would send a cook from the Southwest House to learn it in the future."
Duan Baiyue: "..."
"I knew you forgot." Chu Yuan said leisurely, "You are not allowed to eat today."
"A plate of lo mein more than ten years ago, it's not unforgivable to forget it, right?" Duan Baiyue moved his chair and sat beside him, "Well, I haven't forgotten a single important thing."
"For example?" Chu Yuan asked.
"For example, one day we will go back to the southwest together." Duan Baiyue said, "You promised me at that time."
"Huh?" Chu Yuan imitated him, holding his cheeks, "I can't remember, I forgot."
"I didn't forget it." Duan Baiyue helped him blow the cold oil cake, "It's a little hot, eat slowly."
"What is that?" Chu Yuan saw a pile of scattered cloth bags in the corner.
Duan Baiyue said: "Things that disguise themselves." After all, Wangcheng is no different from other realms, and there are many officials who know him. In order to avoid accidents, it is better to be careful.
Chu Yuan leaned in and looked at his face.
Duan Baiyue laughed: "It's okay, the skin is rough and the flesh is thick, not the same as you."
"Is it worth it?" Chu Yuan asked.
Duan Baiyue said: "Value."
Chu Yuan looked at him, but he didn't know what to say for a moment. He was also a frontier king, but even walking on the street was an extravagant hope. Is it worth it
"I'm thinking nonsense again." Duan Baiyue sighed, reaching out and pinching his chin, "I've said it all, don't regret what happened back then."
Chu Yuan's voice was very low: "Now the world mentions you, but it's all infamy."
"Who said that, there was no princess who wanted to marry me a while ago." Duan Baiyue didn't care, "Besides, what can I scold, going back and forth is nothing more than a wolf's ambition and conspiracy. If I care about this, it is really a worm. ate too much."
Chu Yuan did not speak, and was still in a trance. In the past ten years, the two have used each other and depended on each other for life and death. They have said too many things and done too many things. They have long since not known what was in his heart. Even now, occasionally, I am still in a trance, feeling that I can't see the person in front of me, nor the road in the future.
"Why is the next door so quiet?" Duan Yao was at a loss.
Nan Moxie "shush" at him, gently opened the door, tiptoed to the door of the two of them, and continued to listen.
Duan Baiyue also frowned and looked at him worriedly: "What's wrong?"
Chu Yuan stroked his cheek with one hand and kissed him with his eyes closed.
Outside the door, Duan Yao was full of excitement and sneaked over like her master, ready to listen to the corner, but Nan Moxie swept away from his neck and forcibly dragged him back to the room.
The little doll can't see it, he will learn badly if he kisses it.
The touch on his lips was too real, and his mind seemed to be broken with a bang. Duan Baiyue was stunned for a moment, and then he held his waist and pressed the person heavily against the wall.
Chu Yuan just looked at him without speaking.
Duan Baiyue's eyes were bloodshot, and she didn't know what to think. But he never thought that one day he would take the initiative to cross the fragile boundary that the two of them had carefully concealed for so many years.
Even if it's just this moment, it's better not to think about the country and the world, knowing that an impulse may be irreversible, and I don't want to worry about it anymore. Duan Baiyue lowered her head and deeply kissed the person in her arms again, Chu Yuan's eyelashes trembled, and the tip of her tongue was soft and hot, like dodging, more like catering.
I can't tell how long it took before Duan Baiyue let go of her arm a little, but she was reluctant to let him go, and leaned closer to kiss her.
Chu Yuan reached out and pushed him away, his ears a little red.
The room was quiet.
After a while, Chu Yuan said, "I'm going back to the palace."
Duan Baiyue said: "I don't want me now?"
Chu Yuan: "..."
Duan Baiyue smiled lowly, stepped forward and pulled the person into his arms: "Sit for a while, and I'll take you back."
"Let's meet Gu Yunchuan tonight." Chu Yuan said, "Maybe he really has something to look for you."
"Okay." Duan Baiyue agreed.
The people's laughter came from outside the window, and there were hundreds of lotus lanterns floating on the river, swaying and winding into a string.
Chu Yuan stood beside the bed and stared at the lights.
"Make a wish?" Duan Baiyue hugged him from behind, "Maybe it will come true."
Chu Yuan said: "I wish you peace and happiness in this life."
Duan Baiyue shook his head: "It's not me, it's us."
Chu Yuan held his hand around his waist, slowly intertwined his fingers, and leaned back in his arms.
By the river, Liu Dajiong and Tao Rende were eating sweet-scented sweet-scented osmanthus dumplings. Naturally, it was Master Taifu who paid.
"Next time I'll find the emperor's critique, and you will present your own grandson as a treasure." Liu Dajiong complained, "Don't implicate innocent people."
"Isn't this new to you? It just landed, and the emperor has not seen it yet, so he is thinking about it." Tao Rende said, "My grandson makes trouble in the palace every day, and the emperor has a headache every time he goes there."
"You've sinned a lot." Liu Dajiong said, "Our emperor was originally unwilling to accept the concubine draft. If you see a lovable doll, maybe you can change your mind. Now it's more and more boring."
"I'm embarrassed to talk about me." Tao Rende dropped the dumpling spoon, "You talk to people every day, but you don't even talk to the emperor."
"That's our emperor, how can ordinary people be worthy of it." Liu Dajiong plausibly said, "When I first come back to concubine, I need to be outstanding in appearance and noble, but also know how to advance and retreat. How many can match?"
Tao Rende shook his head again and again: "If you don't have it in the king's city, then go outside to find it. It's time to go to the North Palace in a few days. You can take a closer look along the way. My eyelids are always jumping recently, maybe there is a real marriage."
"Listen to this officer's advice, your eyelids are twitching, because you have done too much unfortunate things, how can you jump out of marriage." Liu Dajiong's face was full of disgust, "Besides, look at the spot on your forehead, don't jump on our emperor. Get someone with a pockmarked face."
Tao Rende felt that sooner or later, he would be pissed off by this matchmaker.
Duan Baiyue also happened to be asking: "North Palace?"
"Well." Chu Yuan nodded, "Every year at this time, I go there to live for a while. I go to see the people along the way, and change the boundary to broaden my horizons. It is the rule set by the father." Laughing, "But I always feel that he thinks it's too hot in this royal city, so he finds an excuse to escape the heat."
Duan Baiyue said: "Yunde City is located in the deep mountains, it is indeed much cooler than here."
"What about you?" Chu Yuan asked, "Do you want to go back to the southwest?"
Duan Baiyue said: "No."
"You've been out for so long, aren't you afraid of border chaos?" Chu Yuan turned to look at him.
Duan Baiyue said: "When you see it with your own eyes, you will know that the border in the southwest is probably the most stable border in Da Chu, and it is not just repressed by force. Previously, the seventy-two villages in Miaojiang were their own camps. They are poisoning each other in intrigue, just to compete for a little house ration. Now after the reunification, everyone has a house and a farm, and the Southwest House will give rewards from time to time. The life is good. They are no more ambitious than those gangsters in Mobei. Even if they are united, they will not be able to overcome the big storms, not even in the southwest, not to mention the royal city, so why bother.”
"You also have a day when you talk about other people's wolf ambitions." Chu Yuan touched his chest with the back of his head.
"When will I pull them up and raise a banner, you said that when the news reaches Wangcheng, will the Tao Taifu be stunned?" Duan Baiyue asked.
Chu Yuan didn't know whether to laugh or cry: "Can this also involve Master Taifu?"
"He scolds me every day, and you don't let me fight." Duan Baiyue's chin rested on his shoulder, "You can only talk gossip." Very wronged.
Later in the day, the people watching the lotus lantern gradually began to disperse, and Duan Baiyue also sent Chu Yuan back to the palace.
Nan Moxie and Duan Yao were lying on the windowsill, and Yin Yin watched their backs go away, almost sticking out most of their bodies.
Be sure to stay in the palace tonight!
Eunuch Sixi was dozing off in front of the palace gate, and when he heard the sound, he opened his eyes, and he was relieved to see that both of them had come back.
"During this period of time, can someone come to me?" Chu Yuan asked.
"No, it's very quiet." Eunuch Sixi smiled, the emperor may go out for a stroll in peace in the future.
"Then have a good rest." Duan Baiyue said, "I'll go see what's going on at Brother Gu's side, and then—"
"Then go back to the inn to rest." Chu Yuan patted him on the side of the face, "You haven't slept well in the past few days. After talking about things tonight, it will be midnight again, so you are not allowed to run around."
"Alright." Duan Baiyue smiled, "Then I'll see you tomorrow night."
Chu Yuan nodded, watching him jump over the courtyard wall and leave, feeling a little wanting to laugh.
The movements are getting more and more proficient.
"Your Majesty." Seeing that he was in a good mood, Sixi was also happy, and said aside, "Can you pass hot water for a bath?"
"Let's meet later, it's still early." Chu Yuan said, "I'll go and look at the book again."
Sixi: "… "
Chu Yuan smiled and looked at him: "I know, I will come back to sleep earlier."
Four Xi repeatedly said yes, and helped him to the imperial study.
Zhezi is still the same as before, and things are still not too small. Chu Yuan's mood is much better than yesterday, and he even has a smile on his face.
Father Sixi was beside him, it seemed that there was still a King of Southwest China.
Half an hour passed in a blink of an eye, Chu Yuan put down the wolf in his hand, and Eunuch Sixi hurriedly said, "Does the emperor want to go back to the palace?"
Chu Yuan pressed his stomach and said, "Pass some meals."
Eunuch Sixi didn't react at first when he heard it, but then he returned to his senses and hurriedly said, "What does the emperor want to use?"
"Everything is good, the sooner the better." Chu Yuan rested his chin on the dragon's case, "I starved to death." Although he bought a lot of braised beef with oil cakes in the inn, he didn't eat much at all. He just returned to the palace. I didn't realize it yet, but after reading a few books, my stomach was growling, and I wanted to put my chest on my back.
Father Sixi trotted down to give instructions, and after a while, a servant brought a food box, which was the clear porridge and side dishes that Chu Yuan used to eat before, as well as a sweet soup and a tea-flavored snack.
"Your Majesty, use it slowly." Four Xi arranged the tableware for him.
Chu Yuan asked, "Is there any meat?"
Sixi: "… "
ah
The cook in the imperial kitchen quickly caught fire, the ribs chopped loudly, the broth was fragrant, and the little eunuchs around were swallowing. The hot dishes were rushed to the imperial study. The imperial chef was frightened, saying that it was too late to cook the big dishes, and asked the emperor to forgive him.
Chu Yuan took a mouthful of the fish maw and said, "It's good, reward."
The royal chef smiled instantly, and after thanking him, he followed the servant out of the royal study.
Sixi waited by the side, watching Chu Yuan eat fish and meat, eat seven or eight spare ribs, but still didn't stop his chopsticks, and said that he wanted to eat red braised deer trotters. So I wondered, this Southwest King took people out, why didn't he give him food, and saw that the emperor was hungry.
…
This evening, Chu Yuan ate the meal with the best appetite by himself.
In the Ranyue Building, Gu Yunchuan was playing the piano by the railing, and Duan Baiyue leaned on the pillar and said, "Brother Gu's technique is so smooth, I think it will take a while before I can sign up to receive guests."
Gu Yunchuan paused, and one of the strings was broken.
Duan Baiyue sat opposite him.
Gu Yunchuan was puzzled and looked at his waist: "Where's the king's cloud-splitting knife?"
"Give it to Yao'er." Duan Baiyue poured a glass of wine by herself.
Give it to Yaoer, but why do you have to hang such a piece of broken iron around your waist? Gu Yunchuan couldn't help but asked, "Can I borrow this... sword for the next viewing?"
Duan Baiyue said simply and neatly: "No."
Gu Yunchuan: "..."
"What's the matter with me?" Duan Baiyue asked.
"It has something to do with the Tiansha teaching." Gu Yunchuan replied.
Duan Baiyue paused and looked up at him.
"I went back to Menglanzhou to look for old friends, and when I came back, I passed by the southwest." Gu Yunchuan said, "After Lan Ji was killed, the Tiansha teaching was like a mess of sand, and the rest of the younger disciples needless to say, they have already packed up their burdens to find their own way. The four guardians in the house also had no intention of staying any longer. After taking their property, they set fire to the Tiansha Religion Palace. I thought this was the end of the matter. killed."
"By whom?" Duan Baiyue asked.
Gu Yunchuan said, "Lan Ji."
Duan Baiyue frowned suddenly.
"Or Lan Ji's wronged soul." Gu Yunchuan said, "The other three were killed by one move, their chests turned black and their flesh turned out, looking like the white bone claws that Lan Ji used to practice on weekdays. After the news came out. , People in Jianghu knew that it was not good, so they wanted to save the fourth protector first, but who knew it was too late, and only had time to hear her last sentence, saying that the person who claimed her life was Lan Ji.
Duan Baiyue said: "She was seriously injured and fell off a cliff that day. Is there still life?"
"That's why I said it, maybe it's a ghost." Gu Yunchuan raised his eyebrows, "All the sects in the southwest are investigating, and I heard that even Sun Moon Villa is going to send people, so I didn't join in the fun, I'll come back and tell you about it first. "
Duan Baiyue nodded: "Thank you."
"If she didn't provoke the Southwest Mansion, the lord would not interfere in this matter." Gu Yunchuan said, "I also asked this time, although Menglanzhou is located in the South China Sea, few people have heard of Tianchensha, can I ask? I might find it. The golden silkworm thread is poisonous, so don’t be careless.”
Duan Baiyue smiled and said, "I'm like a sick child now. Everyone has to ask for a medicine for me when they go to a new place."
"I don't see many interesting friends like Wang Ye. It's better to live a few more years." Gu Yunchuan filled him with wine, "If it's all right tonight, I'll stay in the Ranyue Building and drink at the bar. It's not as good as what the lord made by himself, but it's also been stored in the cellar for more than ten years."
Duan Baiyue nodded: "Okay."
Gu Yunchuan clinked glasses with him: "Get married early."
Duan Baiyue: "..."
"Cough cough." Gu Yunchuan said, "To tell the truth, when I was passing through the Southwest Mansion this time, Aunt Jin pulled me and talked for a long time, saying that I was looking forward to the prince marrying his wife Yan Xianghuo every day, and one of my eyes was blinded from crying. ."
Duan Baiyue: "..."
In the inn, Duan Yao was so sleepy that he still insisted on not going to sleep, and wanted to listen to Master tell the story of that brother being a lover.
The watchman beat the gong and walked by on the street, and Nan Moxie clapped his hand fiercely.
It didn't come back for a while, so it was obvious that it was left behind.
Finally did not humiliate the teacher.
Early the next morning, Duan Baiyue returned to her residence and saw Nan Moxie and Duan Yao both lying on the table, sleeping soundly.
…
"Brother." Duan Yao got up in a daze when she heard the sound.
"Why do you want to sleep here?" Duan Baiyue frowned.
"Talking for too long, I fell asleep before I knew it." Duan Yao yawned hard.
"What are you talking about?" Duan Baiyue sat at the table.
Duan Yao and Nan Moxie said in unison, "Talk about how grand you will be when you get married in the future." After all, that's the emperor.
Duan Baiyue put a spoon in his brother's mouth.
Duan Yao Bah Bah: "It fell to the ground last night!"
"Nonsense." Duan Baiyue stood up, "Go back to sleep."
Nan Moye asked expectantly, "Can you cook a red egg?"
Duan Yao's face was flushed, and she was ready to inform Xiao Er in excitement.
Duan Baiyue sat beside the bed: "I was in Ranyuelou last night."
"Ranyuelou is good, everything is complete." Nan Moxie patted his thigh.
Duan Yao covered her ears consciously. She didn't know what an object was. She hadn't peeked at the small story book at all, but she was pure.
Duan Baiyue said: "Be with Brother Gu."
Duan Yao said disappointedly: "Huh?"
Nan Moye's smile froze on his face.
Duan Baiyue was too lazy to speak, pulled out the broken iron from his waist, and drove the two out.
Duan Yao squatted in the corridor, holding her cheeks in her hands, and sighed with her master.
"Ugh!"
A few days later, Chu Yuan really drove out of the palace and went all the way east to the north palace of Yunde City.
Since it is to observe the people's feelings along the way, it is natural not to be in a hurry, stop and go along the way, and it takes three days to reach the next city. The carriage stopped at the post house, and Chu Yuan pushed open the door of his room and saw a large bouquet of flowers on the table, and he didn't know where they came from.
Duan Baiyue leaned on the roof beam and smiled at him.
"Come down." Chu Yuan stretched out his hand.
Duan Baiyue turned over and jumped to the ground: "Why is it so late, I've been wandering in the city all day."
"It's hot on the road, so I asked everyone to rest for a while." Chu Yuan wiped his sweat with his sleeves, "It's also hot in this room, and the ice cubes will take a while to be delivered. You don't know how to wait outside."
Duan Baiyue laughed: "I was really on the tree before, but a group of little baby monkeys came to climb the tree and were almost discovered."
"Dangtang Southwest King, hiding a group of little dolls." Chu Yuan patted him on the chest, "Shame."
Duan Baiyue held his hand and was about to get close to his relatives, but someone outside the house said, "Your Majesty."
Chu Yuan pushed him away immediately.
Duan Baiyue asked, "Can I go out and beat him?"
Chu Yuan said: "No."
You can't be beaten. The King of Southwest crouched on the beam and watched Tao Rende enter the house.
In my last life, I should owe this old man a lot.
"I've been tired all the way, Master Taifu doesn't stop." Chu Yuan said, "Is there anything you want to do with me?"
"Back to the emperor, yes." Tao Rende said, "There is a Yuelao Temple near this post house—"
"Master Taifu." Chu Yuan interrupted him displeased.
"Your Majesty listened to the old minister." Tao Rende said more quickly, "This month the old temple is very effective, and the day after tomorrow happens to be the Qiqiao Festival, so there are a lot of brocades hanging in front of the marriage tree, all of which are the daughter's house in the waiting room. Line by line—"
"Four joys!" Chu Yuan said loudly.
"Your Majesty." Father Sixi trotted in.
"Send Master Taifu back." Chu Yuan ordered.
Tao Rende wanted to say something, but Chu Yuan had already entered the inner room.
"Master Taifu, let's go." Father Sixi whispered in his ear, "Don't make the emperor unhappy, I'll talk about it later."
Tao Rende sighed in his heart, and withdrew after thanking him.
Liu Dajiong put his hands in his hands and was watching a good show under the tree.
You know, you will be kicked out.
He also said that his eyelids are twitching, which is a good thing.
good ass.
"Look, you didn't let me beat him." Duan Baiyue squatted in front of him.
Chu Yuan sat beside the bed, looking at him and didn't know whether to be angry or to laugh.
Duan Baiyue asked: "Yue Lao Temple, do you want to go? I'll take you there."
"Don't go." Chu Yuan pulled his hand back.
Duan Baiyue got up and sat down next to him: "It's very effective, let's go secretly and come back after a look."
"You like watching the fun so much?" Chu Yuan grabbed his ear.
"Maybe I can really ask for a marriage." Duan Baiyue hugged the person into his arms, "At least a red thread, eh?"
Chu Yuan rested his chin on his shoulder and said lazily, "Well."