Xie Yun pulled his fingers out of Shan Chao's palm little by little. This movement was actually full of caution - but it was so subtle in the dark night that even he himself might not be able to notice it.
"What exactly do you want?" Xie Yun asked, looking into Shan Chao's eyes.
On a winter night, the cold wind passed through the winding porch of Changle Palace, and the vegetation around the pond rustled, but Shan Chao didn't answer.
"You have fought for eight years and returned triumphantly. The Empress Dowager personally promoted you to rank, and the land property and servants and maidservants will soon flow into your mansion... The Khotan mission is still in the palace, and you helped them repel the Tubo army, His Majesty is about to announce the victory of Yutian's surrender to the world, which is a political wealth that no one in the capital can imagine in their dreams."
"But here you are, telling me you miss me."
Xie Yun paused, his voice was slow but clear, and he asked, "What exactly do you want, Shan Chao?!"
Shan Chao smiled into his gaze, raised his hand and rolled up his cuffs, revealing the hair band that had already faded to light red but was still tightly tied around his wrist.
"I miss you..." he said almost softly, "that's what the man in the poem means when he woos his classmate and wants you to be his wife."
At that moment, Xie Yun's heart was icy cold, as if he had returned to the deep winter night in Fenggao Palace eight years ago, when the icy wind howled and the stars were brilliant, they were facing each other on the snow, the young man who raised him by himself said, I I want you to be my wife, can I
At that time, he would still ask in a whisper: "Did it bother you? I'll leave now."
He would also hesitate for a long time because of being rejected, and then turned away sadly, leaving a long series of footprints on the snow that gradually drifted away.
——However, Xie Yun knew that he would not do it now.
"...but I don't need your love." Xie Yun said hoarsely.
There was no surprise in Shan Chao's expression, not even a touch, as if he knew he would say that.
"I just want to live in this world well, hold the power of the dragon in my hand, sit back and relax from now on, enjoy money, power, glory and wealth to my heart's content, look down on all beings on the peak that the world can't reach, and finally die... You know what the biggest variable in this is ?!"
Xie Yun held Shan Chao's skirt, his eyes were cold and menacing, he gritted his teeth and said, "It's your deviant love!"
When he said the last sentence, the cold wind passed through the hall, affecting the old wound on his heart. Xie Yun shook off Shan Chao vigorously, and pressed his left chest to calm down, but he saw Shan Chao looking at him unblinkingly: "As long as you wish, everything will be there."
Xie Yun pursed his lips tightly and said nothing.
"But what you're talking about is from the dragon..." Shan Chao paused, "Whose dragon is it from?"
·
Banquet in Changle Palace.
Xie Yun had already gone for a meal and did not come back, Yang Miaorong looked at the empty seats beside her, hesitated for a long time, stood up when no one was looking, and walked out the side door.
There is a plum grove in the inner garden of Changle Palace, full of red plums in full bloom, emitting a faint fragrance under the moonlight. Yang Miaorong walked along the bluestone path for a while, only to feel the moonlight was pleasant and the fragrance filled her chest, and she couldn't help but feel relieved, so she couldn't help standing still on a vigorous plum tree.
She just wanted to poke around to see if Xie Yun was nearby, but suddenly she heard a slightly hesitant voice behind her: "Miss Yang?"
Yang Miaorong turned her head in amazement, and saw a young man who was a little weak in stature but very elegant in appearance and was dressed in golden clothes standing under the plum branches behind him.
"...His Royal Highness?"
Prince Li Hong seemed to be very happy, but his expression was a bit reserved. He was deliberating for a while and didn't know what to say. Seeing Yang Miaorong's blessed body saluting, he hurriedly stepped forward: "Miss Yang, don't be so formal, hurry up, please get up!"
Yang Miaorong still insisted on saluting, and asked with a smile: "Isn't His Royal Highness at the banquet? Why did you come here?"
The prince wanted to say something, but he covered his mouth and coughed hoarsely.
The prince's health has not been very good in the past few years, and recently he has gradually contracted hemoptysis. The imperial doctor visited the doctor many times, but he couldn't explain the reason. He could only say that the crown prince was too busy to recuperate when he was in charge of the country. Although he was lucky enough not to die, the residual poison was not cleared, which led to today's result.
Yang Miaorong frowned and said: "Your Highness, please take care of your body."
"It's okay, it's just a matter of time." The prince raised his head and smiled, and said softly: "I just... followed here when I saw Miss Yang leave the table."
These words were very meaningful, Yang Miaorong couldn't help being startled, a trace of suspicion suddenly rose in her heart.
But she also reacted very quickly, abruptly swallowing the words "what are you doing here?" and said with a smile: "Commander Xie drank too much and said he wanted to come to the Plum Garden to have some fun. I came to see him—Why did your Highness call I, Miss Yang? In a few days, I should be called Mrs. Xie."
The prince didn't know whether he understood it or not, he seemed to froze for a moment.
However, just when Yang Miaorong thought that he would not say anything more, the prince swallowed his saliva and said slowly: "I have something to say in a simple way, and I ask Miss Yang to make amends. Thank you for commanding him...to be a man She is very cold and cruel, but Miss Yang is gentle and gentle, why would she marry such a person? Xie Yun is not a good match!"
As he spoke, he seemed to muster up his courage, and looked at Yang Miaorong with piercing eyes.
Yang Miaorong was speechless, the plum garden was completely silent for a moment, even the sound of the wind seemed to disappear without a trace.
After a long while, she sighed helplessly, raised her slender white hand, and tapped on a slanting plum branch beside her: "Please tell me, Your Highness, what is this?"
The prince hesitated and said, "Twigs."
"What kind of branch?"
"It's black and dry, and it's full of snow. I'm afraid the gardener will come and cut it off at dawn... like that?"
Yang Miaorong gently turned the plum branches around, and the snow fell, revealing the red flowers blooming on the other side.
"You see, Your Highness, just change the angle a little bit, and the things in front of you will be completely different. The same is true for Xie Yun. In your eyes, he may be a thorn in the side, but in my eyes, he is gentle and considerate. Yes. future family."
Yang Miaorong picked a plum blossom and pinned it on her temples, and said: "As for whether it is a good match... Since you are not married yet, how do you know that he is definitely not?"
The crown prince repeated her words over and over in a dazed state, and was almost bewildered for a moment. After a long time, he laughed miserably: "It seems that I was born at the wrong time, so I can only see each other too late!"
Yang Miaorong helplessly ignored the last four words, and only advised the first half of the sentence: "Your Highness, please don't underestimate yourself. Your Highness is today's crown prince and tomorrow's emperor, and the country, the country, and the common people must be entrusted to His Highness. Isn’t it time to say something like this?”
"Really?" The prince asked back: "I thought everyone around Xie Yun had already decided that Jiangshan Sheji would be entrusted to another woman. How could it be that they were born at the wrong time?"
"Your Highness misunderstood, Xie Yun's current position is closely related to his previous experience, but no matter who sits on that chair in the future, Xie Yun will do his best as a courtier..."
Even Yang Miaorong herself felt very pale with this excuse, but she had indeed tried her best, so she could only sigh.
As long as the prince retorts a little more, she really can't answer anything. Fortunately, the prince didn't do that, but stood there mocking himself: "I understand."
Immediately afterwards, he smiled very gently, and said, "However, it is impossible to deny the four characters of seeing each other late, isn't it, Miss Yang?"
Yang Miaorong was at a loss, but felt a little sympathetic. When she was thinking about what to answer, she suddenly heard hurried footsteps not far away, and then a young eunuch, a confidant of the Eastern Palace, walked up to the prince quickly, and said respectfully: "Lang Jun! The sage has left the Zichen Palace. I have come to Changle Palace to meet the Khotan delegation, you should go back quickly!"
The prince smiled at Yang Miaorong and nodded, then turned and walked towards Changle Palace.
·
A dozen or so steps away, at the other end of the Merlin that no one saw, a little palace lady restrained her voice and stepped back out of the inner garden step by step without making any noise.
Immediately afterwards, she ran wildly, walked through the intricate porch of Changle Palace with ease, walked around several marble screens from the back door, stepped into the main hall, secretly hid behind the curtain, and whispered: "Sister!"
In front of the curtain was a feast of toasting, and the emperor had not yet arrived at the first seat. The confidant maid beside Empress Wu turned her head, showing a surprised look, then got up and walked over quietly.
"Where did you go to play? The queen just asked..."
"I saw the crown prince in the plum garden," the little maid said tremblingly with a pale complexion, "I saw the crown prince and... and Miss Yang from Commander Xie's house..."
·
"The saint is coming!"
Everyone in Changle Palace stood up and fell to the ground, only to see the palace gates wide open and guards of honor everywhere, the emperor entered into the palace with the support of Gong'e and took his seat, looked around, and said with a smile: "All my loves, get up!"
The palace people immediately helped the King of Khotan and the princess and his party, and then the minister of Honglu Temple went up to play the right role, and took a thick bronzing tribute gift list from the envoy of Khotan, and the eunuch handed it to the Holy One; the Holy Dragon was very happy, After the reward was handed down, the King of Khotan led his disciples, chieftains and others to bow three times and kowtow nine times, kneeling down to thank him.
Under the seat, Yang Miaorong quietly glanced sideways at Xie Yun who was beside her, and asked softly, "Where have you been?"
Xie Yun came back one step later than Yang Miaorong, he seemed to be looking unhappy, he just shook his head and said nothing.
Probably because it was very cold outside, Xie Yun's cheeks showed a kind of extreme transparency, which was still slightly blue. But his lips were a bit abnormally bloody, and on his ice-white cheeks, there was even a hint of voluptuousness.
Yang Miaorong stared at it for a while, wondering if she had read it wrong, but saw Xie Yun tilt his head sensitively, avoiding her scrutiny.
Yang Miaorong suddenly became suspicious: "You..."
Suddenly her voice stopped, and she looked out of the corner of her eye.
Not far away, beside Tianhou's hand, Shan Chao was staring at her quietly.
They all said that this titan who had been stationed in the northwest for eight years was ruthless and murderous, but at this moment Yang Miaorong could not find a trace of ferocity from him, on the contrary, he was very calm.
It's just that the calmness is like deep water, and the undercurrent inside is dangerous, which makes people feel fearful.
Shan Chao nodded politely to her, then poured wine in front of him, respected him from afar, and drank it up.
"Help up the little princess!" the emperor cheerfully instructed the palace servants, and then turned to the king of Khotan happily: "You are too honest. You have worked so hard on the journey to Beijing, why did you bring your daughter?"
King Khotan hurriedly laughed and said, "How does Your Majesty see your daughter?"
As usual, this question should be answered by the empress. You only need to close your eyes and praise the princess's beauty, knowledge, virtuousness, and morality...then the scene can be perfectly handled. Such a scene in Empress Wu's career as an empress for so many years It has happened many times too.
However, this time, before Empress Wu could speak, the emperor said: "The little princess is indeed the pearl of the Western Regions, seeing her today, she really deserves her reputation!"
Empress Wu choked.
King Khotan also felt something was wrong, but he didn't realize it under the eyes of everyone, so he went on as planned: "To tell you the truth, Your Majesty, this time I brought my daughter to Beijing for an audience, in fact, I wanted to present my most cherished His daughter stays in the Kingdom of Heaven, so as to make an eternal bond between Qin and Jin..."
It stands to reason that the emperor should praise the crown prince next time, saying that his son is worthy of your daughter and will treat her well, and then give her the title of crown prince Liangdi to show his respect and appeasement to the vassal state.
However, the emperor did not do this.
Empress Wu was tyrannical and ruthless. Taishan Fengchan came back that year and directly poisoned Mrs. Wei Guo. Since then, there has been no trace of the young beauty in the harem for a long time. The emperor's cloudy eyes wandered around Princess Shadali, and he was quite relieved. He asked King Yutian with a smile: "Oh? We will marry Qin and Jin forever. Do you want to dedicate the little princess to me, Fu Jiaxiong?" ?”