19.
On the seventh day of October, the city of Taiyan learned that the Tisu envoy ship was coming, and had already sealed off the canal for three days, and prepared a guard of honor on the pier to welcome Queen Tisu.
The season is when the autumn chrysanthemums are in full bloom, and the petals are clustered on the pier, covering all the bluish-gray floor tiles with the original color of Taiyan. The attendants are lined up on both sides, watching the long boat with a hideous giant statue carved on its prow slowly approaching. . The sailors yelled to lower the sinking anchor, untied the ropes on the fence, and tied the pier posts by the river workers on the bank. The long steps slowly protruded from the deck, and when they touched the ground, they made a heavy sound, and the ship was pulled back to the ground. connected to the ground.
The Beihong officials standing in front couldn't help poking their heads out a little, wanting to take a closer look at the appearance of this noble woman who will become the princess of Beihong. But what they didn't expect was that the first person to come down from the deck was a young man.
The man was slender, wearing a dark red baronial dress, with a gun and saber at his waist. He turned his head and murmured a few words to the boat in Tisu language, then jumped down the steps lightly. The sun's light spots faded from his body one after another, and everyone could see clearly the young man's long black hair and the same dark pupils. His face was so beautiful and delicate that it was a little thin, and his outline was clearly different from that of people from the southern border—he was from Dongzhou. .
The officials of Beihong looked at each other, and after a long while, a person who usually read tabloid gossip shrank his neck and said in a low voice: "I heard that Tisu's Hai Zhongjue was born in a slum in Dongzhou. Because he saved the life of their princess, he was granted the title of Xujue, and he has gained the trust of the princess in the past few years... Could it be him?"
Everyone couldn't help taking a closer look, but no matter how they looked at it, it was difficult to connect this person's appearance with the rumored fierce and hulking "June of the Sea". A few disdainful sneers came from the crowd, probably because they regarded this Dongzhou native who had strayed from his hometown as a court jester with nothing but skin.
Naturally, Hai Lian didn't know what the Beihong people thought of him. Before getting off the boat, he was still cramming to memorize those damn red tapes. cup. The baron swallowed the yawn he was about to utter, stretched out a hand with a somewhat unfamiliar movement, and bowed to the top of the steps.
"Congratulations, Your Royal Highness."
After a while, the protagonist of the ceremony finally walked off the deck slowly. The princess who was still on the boat three days ago and learning to dance civil ditties and vulgar boat songs with great interest has already taken off her usual white dress and put on Tisu's most formal and solemn golden dress, with delicate flowers blooming on her cheeks, The heavy and complicated flower seat pulled up the long light brown hair, and long tassels hung from the sideburns, which made a pleasant sound as she moved. She stepped off the boat with a serious face, but when she passed by the "Jester of the Palace", she winked quietly at him, a hint of cunning flashed in her blue eyes.
Hailian also raised the corner of her mouth slightly.
The people who came to receive them had already greeted Long Rong, and greeted Long Rong in the southern language. Rong was bored listening to it, just stared at a pot of golden chrysanthemum not far away, and suddenly felt a gaze fell on him.
He turned his head to look, and saw a middle-aged man standing behind Beihong's envoy. The man was not panicked when he found that Hai Lian had firmly grasped him and cast his gaze. Smiled a bit.
When Long Rong got on the carriage to the palace, Hai Lian asked softly: "Do you know the name of the man with a goatee among the people who came to welcome you? I was distracted just now and didn't pay attention to their introduction."
"Who?" Long Rong was stunned before he realized, "That person seems to be named Zhang Kexing, but I don't know exactly what he does. What's wrong?"
Hai Lian secretly wrote down this name. Anyway, he will stay in Taiyan for at least a few months, and sooner or later there will always be a chance to meet again, "It's nothing, just ask casually."
Twelve carriages drove out of the wharf, and their wheels rattled along Taiyi Avenue to the imperial palace. Long Rong and Hailian took one together. She opened the curtain and quietly glanced at the crowd outside the long street, and asked curiously: "When you were young Do you live on this street?"
Hai Lian shook his head: "How is it possible, this street is the main road of Taiyan, and it is not inhabited by people."
"Like no one lives near Amber Square?"
"Almost." Hailian replied, and he glanced outwards, pointing, "See that piece of red tiles, the boundary over there is equivalent to the Shiratori District, when we were young, our family wouldn't let us play there It is said that the leg will be broken by the servants of the dignitaries; and turn left from here, it is the largest market in Taiyan, and it is as lively as the reflection river when it comes to festivals; there is also the clock tower, listen to me Dad said it was a place where scholars go, so it should be Taiyan's Chenming Palace... "
Long Rong listened to Hailian's introduction with great interest, and asked casually, "What about your home?"
"My home is in—"
The smile and ending abruptly ended on Hailian's face. The young man's throat choked, and he slowly lowered his hand, "I don't remember."
Long Rong is so sensitive, she lowered the curtain and apologized softly: "I'm sorry."
"What do you have to apologize for?" Hailian smiled, "My family was not the only one who left home because of the 'War of Splitting the Nation' back then, and it's been so many years. What's more..."
I am about to meet the culprit who made me leave my hometown. Hai Lian swallowed the half sentence in his throat, and didn't say it to Long Rong.
20.
Nineteen years ago, a war of splitting the country allowed Qin Weiheng to successfully replace Qin Yu as the ruler of Taiyan and become the emperor. Compared with his fatuous father, at least half of Dongzhou presided over by Qin Weiheng is indeed inferior in terms of military strength. A section higher than Nan Hong who hastily established the capital.
And after holding the knife and gun tightly in his hand, naturally, the iron cavalry in Qin Weiheng's hand has long been eyeing Nan Hong, who in his eyes is just like his father, but just dying—after all, no one wants to be in this land of Dongzhou. There are two real dragons on it.
If Nanhong hadn't suddenly sealed the only son of the Fang family, Fang Tinglan, as Lord Zhenhai in the past few years, and let him be in charge of the Yingcang army, he would have cut off the East Tianli line with thunderous force, and held back the trade between Beihong and Xilu. The route is not separated from the sea to warn, I am afraid that Chi Jincheng is already in Qin Weiheng's pocket.
It was precisely because of another stalemate that Beihong couldn't help throwing the red line to Tisu, hoping to use this marriage to contain Fang Tinglan's chess game.
Although Hai Lian doesn't care much about the situation in the four deserts, but with Faluko's complaints every time he gets drunk, he also knows what Long Rong's marriage means this time. He raised his head and followed Long Rong towards the front of the hall, while the holder of the other end of the invisible red line was already standing there.
Before meeting Emperor Beihong, Hai Lian had already imagined what Qin Weiheng would look like in his mind. He could drive away the original master on the throne with iron and blood, and tear the entire Dongzhou into two. Violent like Fecona, treacherous like Abele, or... cunning like Fang Tinglan.
As soon as the last image flashed through his mind, a nameless anger rose from his chest. Hailian closed his eyes angrily, and when he opened them again, he looked at the man in the extremely gorgeous dragon robe in front of him. At that time, all his imagination was shattered in an instant.
neither.
The king of Beihong's country has the blood of Beimo orchids, and he is taller than the other palace servants. He also seems to have a slight blood relationship with the Amber King who has been dead for four years. Qin Weiheng's hair color It's also slightly reddened, but if Abaler is red like a flame burning with life, then Qin Weiheng is just the embers after burning. If you look closely, there are even fragments of gray hair mixed in the period, turning the original His dull face made him look even older - he was obviously younger than Simona when he was under fifty years old.
Such a person is the king of Beihong
Hailian couldn't believe it.
And before he had time to think deeply, he saw Qin Weiheng had already walked down the steps slowly. The man received Tisu's mission with a slightly empty smile, introduced his heir to Long Rong, and then ordered a banquet, ceremony preparation, orchestra to play in unison, and a hundred operas to be staged. It wasn't until Hai Lian sat down and watched half of the Dongzhou puppet show that he suddenly understood.
The king of a country in front of him is like a puppet, who is drawn by some invisible force to make various actions, and seems to have given up struggling prey, and uses his gorgeous camouflage to attract more butterflies. above the spider web.
But who can manipulate the emperor? The emperor... Shouldn't he be above ten thousand people
Until the end of the banquet, Hailian didn't have the slightest clue about this issue. But Long Rong saw that he was absent-minded throughout the whole process, so he simply turned sideways and whispered: "The emperor will return to the previous court to deal with affairs in the afternoon, and their prince wants to accompany me to Beilin Garden, why don't you go back to the embassy?"
Hailian was taken aback: "Can it work?"
"Why not? I'm here for a blind date, not to demonstrate and fight. I don't need to be around with a large group of people." Long Rong said with a smile, "You also happened to go out for a walk, although your family is not here Now, maybe we can meet our former neighbors?"
Hai Lian looked at Long Rong, who smiled at him calmly. She is not a delicate white flower, but a woman who has survived two throne changes. She must have seen the strange atmosphere in this palace one step earlier than him.
"Okay, I'll go out for a walk." Hai Lian heaved a sigh of relief and bowed slightly to Long Rong.