The autumn night is clear and the fireflies are light. The noise of singing and drinking can be vaguely heard from all sides, and the coolness of the distant river is blowing, it is already late at night and the dew is heavy.
Looking up, there are many painted boats on the Chuyan River, and the lights are dim, like a jade belt passing through the sky.
A boat leisurely leans against the pier facing the water in the south of the four-sided building. There is a man standing on the bow, with a plain blue shirt and a tall jade body. Facing the river with his hands behind his back, the night wind blew his clothes rustling head-on, with a carefree attitude.
The guy at the head of the inn has a pair of eyes that have been away from home for a long time, and he has already seen that the guests on board are extraordinary, so he greeted them before the boat was stable.
Hearty laughter came from the cabin, and a young man lifted the curtain and came out, turning his head and saying: "The four-sided building is here." Then he asked the man at the bow: "Fourth brother, eleventh brother came back from Mobei with you this time. , why are you lazy instead?"
The man glanced at the cabin lightly: "You have been forced to drink seven bottles of imperial wine, try it, the wine of the emperor was wasted by you guys."
That young man was Ye Tianli, at this moment he said with a smile: "Fourth brother defeated the Turks again this time, we only drank the good wine stored in the cellar of Shuoyang Palace, Father is very excited tonight, how can we spoil the fun!"
A person in the cabin laughed and scolded: "You still think I'm lazy after pouring me seven bottles of imperial wine, why are you so crazy that you want to come to this four-sided building tonight?"
Ye Tianli smiled and said, "The tea here is good and the qin is good, it's just for Brother Eleven to sober you up."
Eleven staggered out of the cabin, held Ye Tianli's shoulders, and the two stood side by side. At first glance, they looked similar in stature, and their eyes were especially similar. carved out of the mold.
"Didn't the fourth brother and the seventh brother talk about it, who is messing around with you?" Eleven said, raising his head and squinting his eyes to look at the surrounding buildings: "I haven't seen you for a few months, and you changed your appearance like this?"
Ye Tianling looked back at his brothers, with a smile on his lips, and walked up the wooden plank road in front of the building, saying casually, "Fifth and seventh brothers are slow."
Eleven laughed and said, "It was said earlier that the boats in Beijing are faster than horses, but Fifth Brother wants to ride a horse."
The steward in the building had been notified earlier, so he came out personally: "I have seen some of your Highnesses, the Xiaolan Pavilion has been cleaned up, and some drinks are prepared. Miss Wenyan has been waiting for a long time, please move upstairs."
Several people followed him to go upstairs, the laughter gradually faded, the building was tall and the wind was light, and the air became cooler.
In the innermost room, there is a simple and elegant small plaque facing one side, with the words "Xiaolanting" written on it.
Entering the pavilion, there is a spacious inner hall on one side, long windows carved with pear wood on both sides, a few pots of orchids are placed in front of the windows, and the fragrance of orchids is everywhere in the pavilion, which makes people feel refreshed.
Several veils rippling slightly with the wind, dividing the elegant room into two. On one side, clear glazed lamps are lit all around, the light is bright, and there are eight simple and simple yellow pear wood long tables placed in pairs. There are several exquisite side dishes on each table, three or two bottles of water and wine, and a plain white embroidered orchid cushion is placed in front of the table for guests to sit on.
There is a pair of tea sets near the flower windows on both sides, and a small stove cooks water, making a slight noise, which makes the dry and cold air in autumn a little more moist and warm.
On the other side of the veil, the shadow of the lamp was heavy, it seemed that only a clear lamp was lit, and a woman with wide sleeves was sitting quietly on the mat with Yaoqin in front of her, but she couldn't see the details.
When Ye Tianling and others entered the pavilion, they heard a few strings of "ding dong" behind the light gauze, and the clear spring beads splashed on the empty mountain and the phoenix blew, and the lingering sound lingered endlessly, as if it meant to welcome guests.
At this moment, Pingting bowed down to the two handsome women standing beside the desk, and said in a clear voice, "Lan Qi Lan Luo welcomes you to Xiaolan Pavilion."
Ye Tianli raised her eyebrows towards Qing Sha, and said with a smile, "Trouble Miss Wen Yan tonight."
Qing Chen sat behind the veil, and because of the light and darkness, she couldn't be seen outside, but she could clearly see every move of people under the glazed lamp.
Although he knew that Ye Tianli was here to entertain guests, he did not expect that it was the brothers who met suddenly, if not for a layer of veil, the shock, joy, astonishment, and joy on Yurong's face at this time would surely have filled his heart. All emotions were leaked out, her hands trembled involuntarily, the originally stable voice unintentionally slipped up, and it floated out, she hurriedly restrained her mind and followed the trend, and brought out a clear voice like flowing water under her fingers, the wind returned shallowly and followed the veil Fade into the night.
She pressed the ice string lightly, looked at the visitor quietly, her eyes fell on Ye Tianling and Eleven, and then she smiled. Ye Tianling looked a little thinner, with a stern look in his tall and tall figure, his gestures were as cold as before, his deep and elusive eyes, his thin and calm lips, which were occasionally raised slightly, were considered To have expressed a smile.
Eleven stood next to Ye Tianling, a little drunk, and hadn't seen him for a few months. The more calm he was, he disappeared in the drunkenness, but after he came in, he seemed to be much more sober, and looked at a picture hanging on the wall. The deputy long scroll said: "Lanting Preface, who wrote this?"
It was Qing Chen who silently wrote an ancient famous post "Preface to Lanting" and hung it on the wall, but only took the word "Lanting" to suit the occasion. Ye Tianling also turned around to look, and watched quietly for a while, but raised his eyebrows slightly, and said two words: "Not bad." He turned to look behind Qingsha.
Although Qing Chen knew that he couldn't see him, he still felt that those two cold gazes could penetrate all the way through, and he could see everything behind the veil. She couldn't help feeling a strange feeling in her heart, as if the moment they looked at each other through the heavy veil, the vines that had already spread and twined quietly bloomed flowers in the dust, and after a moment of enchantment, they quietly shone brightly like jade.
Lan Qi and Lan Luo, who were serving the banquet at the side, boiled water and made tea, and offered green cups to the three of them one by one. At this time, a few more people came in from downstairs, but it was Ye Tianzhan and Ye Tianqing who came after them.
Seeing that they were drinking tea in the pavilion, Ye Tianzhan said with a smile, "You threw Brother Wu to me when he got drunk, but you enjoyed it here."
Qing Chen took a breath when he saw him, and Ye Tianli looked into the curtain and smiled, his eyes seemed to be intentionally or unintentionally looking towards Ye Tianzhan's side, very smiling and teasing, Qing Chen's teeth itch with hatred, no wonder He only talks about banquets during the day, so he intends to play tricks on her.
She raised her eyes and stared at the past, but of course Ye Tianli couldn't see it, she turned her head and asked, "Why did Fifth Brother become like this after only drinking a few cups?"
Ye Tianqing looks gentle and gentle, a little more friendly than Ye Tianling's indifference, a little more stable than the willfulness of the eleven brothers, but a little more silent than Ye Tianzhan's handsome and romantic, At this time, he was already drunk, almost worse than Eleven, and he shook his head helplessly when he heard the words: "You don't dare to provoke Fourth Brother, so you torment me and Eleventh Brother."
Ye Tianzhan was wearing a sunny gown, with a carved auspicious jade ring pendant on his waist, making him even more elegant and gentle, and said with a smile: "Brother Eleven rushed to drink by himself, so I can't blame others."
Eleven propped his head on his hands, and said casually: "You can't bear to provoke fourth brother sooner or later, it happened not long ago that fourth brother was injured..."
As soon as the words came out, Ye Tianling said flatly: "Eleventh brother, don't spoil everyone's interest."
Eleven shook his head and kept silent.
Several people had already heard it, and Ye Tianzhan's eyes flashed with surprise, and he asked, "Is fourth brother injured?"
Ye Tianli then asked: "Who did it? There is such a person in the Turkic army?"
Ye Tianling nodded slightly: "A little injury, it's already gone."
"That's what the fourth brother said, but after all, the injury is not serious, and it has been extremely hard to survive the months of fighting," Ye Tianqing said, "They want to drink, and the eleventh brother and I will block it for the fourth brother." .”
A faint smile appeared on the corner of Ye Tianling's lips, and he stopped talking immediately, and turned his eyes to the "Orchid Pavilion Preface" on the wall, and tapped lightly on the rosewood table with his slender fingers.
Knowing that he had something on his mind on Eleventh, he changed the subject and said: "When I returned to Tiandu, I heard that Miss Wenyan's qin is unparalleled in the world. Just now, tapping on the strings has already fascinated people. I take the liberty to ask Miss Wenyan to play the qin." , I wonder if it is possible?" Glancing at Ye Tianling, seeing him staring at the "Orchid Pavilion Preface" all the time, he sighed helplessly.
Although he led his troops back in time that night to meet Ye Tianling and successfully broke through, he has lost news of Qing Chen since then. After returning to the camp, they sent people to search for it several times, but for half a year, there was nowhere to be seen. Although Ye Tianling's face was calm, and he swung his army thousands of miles to kill the enemy as usual, but Eleven knew that he always had this matter in his heart. The Western Turks were lucky this time. When they met Ye Tianling, they were in a bad mood. The Xuanjia Iron Cavalry showed no mercy and forced them into a panic step by step. They lost thousands of miles of land in the north of Yanran Mountain one after another. After this battle His vitality was seriously injured, and he was afraid that he would not be able to attack the Central Plains again in a short time. However, even if he was victorious and returned to the court at this time, Ye Tianling still left a group of his confidant guards in that mountain, and continued to inquire about Qing Chen's whereabouts nearby.
Ye Tianzhan and the others knew that the fourth brother had a cold temperament, if he didn't want to talk about things, it would be useless to ask more questions. Throwing away the previous words, he toasted and smiled: "We came here drunk, and we are already abrupt and beautiful. We will punish you with tea instead of wine, but just ask for a song."
Qing Chen was very concerned about what happened to the attack in the mountains that night. After taking a light veil, he looked closely at Ye Tianling's face, and he didn't know very well, but after a few months, the injury should be fine. Originally concentrating on him, when he suddenly heard people bringing the topic to his side, he hurriedly collected his mind, lightly plucked the strings with his right hand, and issued a soft and clear rhyme as a response. Ye Tianzhan, gentle and elegant, his words and deeds are always flawless, and he is as gentleman as a jade.
Gently pick it with your finger, the lingering sound is still lingering, and the sound of the piano like flowing water has been mellow.
The tune is serene and elegant, like a quiet orchid, with a noble posture. But the music in the hearing room is melodious, and there seems to be a faint qin sound echoing around it, so people can't tell whether it is played by the seven strings or not. .
Qing Chen listens to the strings and rhymes, and the sound of the piano is like a dark fragrance floating, which makes people feel relaxed and happy, and thinks about the distance leisurely.
She closed her eyes slightly, played it again, and pointed to a slightly higher note, like a little orchid swaying on the rocks in the mountains. No matter how the autumn wind is blowing or the layers of frost are layered, she still has an elegant temperament and a proud character. The sound of the lyre gradually became thinner, almost inaudible, and turned into a faint choke, but it was silently continuous.
It can't be lowered, and the rhythm of the piano rises quietly, like a dance, as if it has gone through wind and frost, orchid buds bloom, the tune is extremely exquisite, and there are strands of deep feelings in the silent place, noble and elegant.
At the end of the song, the aftertaste is lingering, and the room is silent. Everyone seems to be immersed in the piano, with endless aftertaste.
Qing Chen raised his eyes, but suddenly saw Ye Tianling looking at him, his lingling eyes piercing through the veil to the bottom of her heart, which made her feel tense. The shadow of the veil was faint, which softened his sharp-edged outline a lot, as if falling into a dream.
"Suddenly looking back, that person is still there, in a place with dim lights." When she took off his mask for the first time, she thought of this poem. She never knew that seeing a person would have such a feeling, it seemed familiar, like a previous life.
Ye Tianling's eyes never left Qingsha, at this time Eleven tapped on the flower table, and said loudly: "This song should only exist in the sky, so how often do you hear it in the world. It should be a clear explanation for this!" He picked up the bottle in front of him and took a swig.
Ye Tianling then withdrew his gaze from the veil and glanced at Eleven.
Ye Tianli also poured a glass of wine, and said with a sly smile: "A good piano and good wine are rare tonight, Miss Wenyan, I respect you." He drank it all down.
Qing Chen looked at the two brothers with a smile behind the veil, and moved the strings slightly to show his gratitude. In the blink of an eye, Ye Tianzhan was holding the cup lightly, looking at this side with a gentle expression, with a very familiar smile on her lips. With a chill in his heart, afraid that he would hear the clue, he stroked a short voiceless tone, said goodbye with a song, and quietly retreated out.
All the way back to the room, Qing Chen heaved a sigh of relief, put on a plain white scholar's shirt, tied his long hair with a jade belt, and immediately turned into a young gentleman. Looking up at the Xiaolan Pavilion on the third floor, it is quiet, only the light from the window reveals a halo, bright eyes with a smile, and a touch of joy in my heart. Instruct them to prepare a few refreshing side dishes for them to accompany the wine, and add extra nourishing soup.
The business in the four-sided building is good tonight. She took care of it, and suddenly heard a noise in front of the hall. The steward in the building hurried over and said, "My lord, please go ahead and have a look. I'm afraid the young master of the Wei family has drunk too much." cup, and keep haunting Lan Lu."
Qing Chen frowned, Wei Qian had seen her before, I don't know if he would recognize her, but there was no sign of Xie Jing everywhere at this time, she was afraid of alarming everyone in the Xiaolan Pavilion, so she hurried to the front hall. When I got there, Wei Qian, the eldest son of the Wei family, was dragging Lan Lu outside in a drunken state. Lan Lu didn't dare to fight hard, so she could only plead softly. As if seeing a savior, he hurriedly shouted: "My lord!"
After all, Simianlou is still a song and dance studio, although it is more elegant and elegant than other places, guests occasionally make trouble after drinking, but Xie Jing usually comes forward to dismiss it. Qing Chen was very disgusted with Wei Qian's smell of alcohol, but he stepped forward with a smile, and raised his hand to block between the two of them: "Young Master Wei is holding on to our Lan Lu's clothes, but he is interested in this new material and wants to take it back as a gift. Madame? It is not uncommon for the material to be worn, why don't I send someone to fetch a new one."
Wei Qian and her had only met once in the street, and now she was wearing men's clothes again, and she couldn't tell who was in front of her eyes: "The young master is going to take Lan Lu back to be the second wife today, how much do you want to redeem her?" Silver? Master, I will pay double!"
He seemed to have drunk a lot of wine, and his feet were staggering. Qing Chen took advantage of the situation and pulled Lan Lu away to protect him behind him. Said, they are all free to come and go. This is a good thing, but it must be happy if two people wish each other, right, Young Master Wei?"
Wei Qian waved his hand and pointed at Lan Lu: "Young master, come here! The young master likes you, it's your fate!"
Lan Lu hid behind Qing Chen in fright, Qing Chen still smiled and said: "Everyone watches people coming and going, and it's not convenient to say anything outside. Lan Lu, just make chrysanthemum honey stuffed in the back, go and have a look." No, send Young Master Wei to the Accord and wait." She raised her hand and said, "Young Master Wei hasn't heard all of Lanying's pipa music yet, so why don't you just sit inside, why are you in a hurry to leave?" She knew it would be a while. It is impossible for my son to send people away, but I want peace of mind, first leave this eye-catching front hall, firstly, it will not affect the business, secondly, let Lan Lu get away, and most importantly, don't disturb the upstairs.
If Lan Lu was granted an amnesty, she rushed to the back hall after being blessed in a hurry, Wei Qian said angrily, "Where are you going?" Qing Chen half-asked and half-stopped: "Young Master Wei, why worry, please come inside!"
Wei Qian waved his hands and shouted: "Young master, I am playing this trick, you are getting impatient, if you don't bring me out today, I will demolish all the buildings around you!"
Qing Chen raised his eyebrows and twitched slightly, trying to hold back the anger in his heart, when he suddenly heard a voice from upstairs: "Wei Qian, what do you look like, don't you think it's embarrassing?"
The voice was not high, it sounded elegant, but there was a kind of shock invisibly. After the tense and chaotic scene fell silent, Wei Qian raised his head and suddenly felt a little sober: "Your Highness Seventh, His Highness Twelfth?"
Immediately afterwards, Ye Tianli said with an angry voice: "Wei Qian, you are so courageous! You don't pick a place to make troubles, do you have the ability to tear down the four-sided building and show it to the king?"
When everyone was looking upstairs, Qing Chen stood there motionless half-faced Wei Qian, looking very strange, but she didn't care about other things, but she didn't dare to turn her head, and slowly lowered her head and rubbed sideways to the side. In front of the hall, Gao Zhu blocked behind the flying yarn and winked at the steward. The steward was a bit puzzled, but he was also a spirit, and he hurried forward and said with a smile: "Damn it, I disturbed the two highnesses, and the younger one is here to accompany the crime."
Wei Qian's drunkenness has been drunk for the most part, no matter how powerful the Wei family is, they dare not challenge the prince, but because of the matter of Tianwu Zuifang, they hold a grudge in their hearts, so they looked down at Ye Tianzhan with resentment, and said resentfully: " I didn't expect the two Highnesses to be here, to drink a few more drinks with the adults of the Ministry of War tonight, and I hope the prince will forgive me."
Ye Tianli snorted coldly and said, "It's only a few months since I was promoted to the Central Guard of the Ministry of War. I don't think the fourth brother is in Tiandu. The Ministry of War has nothing to do with it. You don't even ask who is here today. How dare you be so presumptuous!"
Wei Qian's downcast eyes were mixed with pride and hatred, but he didn't dare to do anything more. There still seemed to be a warm and cold smile on Ye Tianzhan's face, and there was no ups and downs in his words: "No wonder, it turned out that the waist became stiff after entering the military department."
Ye Tianli has always acted domineeringly and flamboyantly, Zhan Wang also defended Simianlou, not to mention Wei Qian, everyone present was a little surprised. Qing Chen was a little annoyed to see that they had been alarmed after all, but he was relieved after all, if it wasn't for this, he would still have to struggle tonight. Through the curtain, Ye Tianzhan was vaguely seen standing in front of the building railing, his blue clothes were like water, his handsome face was unwavering, and he said to Wei Qian slowly: "Hurry up, I don't want to meet you again in the four-sided building."
The anger suppressed in Wei Qian's heart suddenly rushed upwards, and he slammed his body all the way and was about to explode. You might as well see Ye Tianling walking slowly out of Xiaolan Pavilion with his hands behind his back, and asked Ye Tianli, "Twelve younger brothers, what's the matter?" Jun When the cold figure appeared in front of the building, his eyes swept this way lightly, Wei Qian seemed to be shocked by the lightning, his whole body was awe-inspiring, and the third part of his drunkenness was completely awakened by fright, and he knelt down on one knee with a flick of his clothes A military salute: "Four...Four Highnesses."
Ye Tianling's eyes were emotionless, and he stopped in front of him, and the whole front hall was suddenly silent, as if the colorful colors had faded away, and his clothes were innocent and calm.
"No." Finally hearing him say two words, everyone felt a sense of relief. Wei Qian got up and stood with hands down, with a faint sweat on his forehead. Even the most insolent official disciples in Yige City knew that if something happened in King Ling's eyes, it would be asking for trouble, especially since he was still under the control of his position, he couldn't help but feel uneasy.
Ye Tianling didn't seem to be very interested in what happened in front of him, he just said: "In the Ministry of War tomorrow, don't let me see you smelling of alcohol again." Then he said to Ye Tianzhan and the others: "Go in if you have nothing to do."
Ye Tianzhan looked downstairs seemingly unintentionally, a jade-like smile escaped from the corner of his lips, and he turned and entered Xiaolan Pavilion first. Ye Tianling then moved forward, subconsciously looked back, Qing Chen was raising the veil to look up quietly, his sharp eyes immediately sensed something, and the bottom of his eyes suddenly shook when he was looking at him unexpectedly. Qing Chen blinked at him in that fleeting astonishment, smiled and slipped away, leaving only the long purple silk veil fluttering and the lamp shining brightly.