Jinluo had never experienced such weather before, and the first snow fell suddenly yesterday, so she had not bought any new clothes. At this moment, she was only wearing a thick coat. The hem of her skirt and her shoes were wet, and her hands and feet were numb from the cold.
The road was covered with snow and had now been turned into a muddy mess by the wheels of cars, horses' hooves and people's feet.
Of course, there is no return carriage available here.
She was afraid that the snow would get heavier, so she gathered her clothes together, looked carefully at the road, and hurried back, not daring to be careless at all.
Suddenly, I heard the sound of horse hooves coming from behind.
She pulled He Xiang and carefully moved to the side of the road, waiting silently for the group of people to pass by.
There were three people coming, Shang Rui, Ming Lian and a man who looked like a guard. The three of them were riding on horses. When they passed Xia Yue, they did not stop and passed by like the wind.
The wind blew up the snow and hit her cheeks, making her shiver.
Unexpectedly, after a while, the sound of horse hooves came back again.
Xia Yue looked up and saw Shang Rui riding in front. When he was almost in front of her, he pulled the reins to stop, but he didn't get off the horse. He just looked down at her and asked, "Can you ride a horse?"
She was stunned. After realizing his intention, she glanced at their three horses and replied, "Yes. But I don't want to ride with others."
Shang Rui raised his eyebrows, stood on his horse, and raised his chin slightly: "Coincidentally, I am the same. So Miss Min, there is no need to be sentimental."
Xia Yue felt somewhat embarrassed when his words revealed her true feelings.
When Ming Lian saw Shang Rui glance at him, he immediately understood. He got up and led his horse to Xia Yue, and handed the reins to Xia Yue with both hands.
Xia Yue took a look at it and took it without hesitation. She knew that if she and He Xiang walked back like this in such a heavy snow, they would definitely get sick from the cold. Now that she had an advantage, why should she be so hard on herself
The thick coat she was wearing was a little long and not as neat as the riding clothes she had worn before, so she tore the stitching on the side with both hands, then grabbed the reins, stepped on the stirrups and turned over.
The chestnut horse seemed unfamiliar with her. It shook its neck in fear and turned around. Xia Yue leaned forward and stroked the horse's mane, and it gradually calmed down. Then, she turned around and held out her hand to He Xiang: "Come up."
He Xiang hesitated.
"Don't be afraid, I'm here," Xia Yue said as she taught her how to step on the stirrups and then pulled her onto the horse's back.
Shang Rui couldn't help but ask her when he saw her like that: "Don't you want to ride with others?"
Xia Yue answered without looking away: "He Xiang and I are like sisters, so it's definitely not someone else."
Shang Rui curled his lips, but didn't bother with her words. He kicked the horse's belly with his foot and rode away. Ming Lian got on the other horse and rode with the guard, chasing closely.
She seldom rode a horse with others, let alone on a snowy and muddy day like this, so riding was particularly tiring.
After the horses started running, the wind and snow became stronger. He was not afraid of it because he was wearing a cloak. But she was wearing thin clothes and stood in front of He Xiang. The wind cut her cheeks and the back of her hands like a knife, which hurt. He rode in front and did not show any sympathy for her. At first, she could barely keep up with him for a while, but later she fell further and further behind, and she could no longer be seen after turning a corner.
When she was almost at the city gate, she saw that they had been waiting for her on the side.
"If you hadn't come soon, I would have thought you had stolen my horse." He glanced at her.
Xia Yue was so cold that she didn't even have the strength to retort. She went down to the field silently with He Xiang and returned the horse to Ming Lian.
She reached out to tidy up her messy hair, and when she raised her hand, her sleeve slid down from her wrist, revealing a piece of skin.
Only then did Shang Rui notice the hands he had captured.
The five finger marks he had just made were clearly imprinted on her white wrist. He did not use much strength, but the skin on her wrist became red and swollen. He looked up again and saw that her originally slender fingers were covered with tiny cuts from some unknown work, some of which had not yet healed and were already white.
He couldn't help but move his eyes to his other hand.
The same is true.
Looking at her lips that were frozen purple, his heart sighed softly. The girl he saw on that spring night in Jinluo this year, even if she was crying, she was not so miserable.
But he was not a man who understood romance from the beginning to the end. He thought about it for a long time but didn't know what to do. Seeing Xia Yue bowed and thanked him and turned away, he told Ming Lian: "Find someone to follow her." That look and tone had nothing to do with love.
After Xia Yue left, Shang Rui went straight to Zimozhai.
After Helan Xun learned about what happened today, he hesitated and said, "I think... Your Majesty should not give her the jade."
"No problem. I'll think about it."
Yes, maybe he shouldn't give it back to her so easily. The secret of the jade, this woman didn't understand, they didn't understand, or maybe only Wei Ranyu and him knew it.
"Have you found out the result of what I asked you to do yesterday?"
“No response yet.”
"Then send someone to Jinluo with my portrait to inquire."
"this… "
"No need to ask any more questions, just do as you are told."
He suddenly thought of Jingtan’s words—"Brother Yu, the Brother Yu who always said that you two look alike."
Shang Rui closed his eyes silently. If this child was really alive, he didn’t know whether he would feel regret or relief.
Wei Ranyu.
A child who was regarded as the future crown prince from birth.
His father became the crown prince on the day of his full moon. Even though his biological mother, Queen Mu, had passed away many years ago and the Mu family had experienced several ups and downs and gradually declined, the late emperor had always treated the first crown prince well. Everyone could see that his father missed that woman very much and had no intention of appointing another queen.
As for Wei Ranyu, Shang Rui first saw him up close when Wei Ranyu entered the palace to attend the Imperial Academy at the age of six. Everyone who saw him said that Shang Rui looked surprisingly like him.
Before the tutor came to teach, he walked to Shang Rui's desk, listened to the eunuch's words, bowed, and said timidly: "Nephew pays respects to Uncle Jiu."
At that time, Shang Rui was playing with the other brothers and didn't pay attention to him.
Then he was led by the eunuch to another table to pay respects. With that shy look, if it weren't for the clothes he was wearing, Shang Rui would have thought he was a girl. He really couldn't figure out why they looked similar.
He later asked the old maid in the palace, and she smiled and replied while changing his clothes: "Your Highnesses all look like the emperor when he was young."
Four
In the evening, Shang Rui returned to the solemn palace with high walls, and his mood became heavy with the silence under the night. He was used to being served, so he never avoided the palace maids and eunuchs doing anything, and rarely dismissed them.
In the snowy evening when the lights were just coming on, two eunuchs and a row of imperial guards were waiting outside the imperial study, and there were two palace maids on both sides of the curtain inside the study. With so many people accompanying him, it was as if there was no one around, dead silent.
Heavy snow fell.
From afar, one could hear the sound of guards shoveling snow outside the palace, but other than that, there was no other sound in the world.
Shang Rui kept his eyes down for a long time without saying a word. He was not a person who was content with peace and quiet, so at this moment, he could not relax his brows.
Ming Lian came in carrying a square lacquer tray with tea. Shang Rui leaned against the back of his chair, his long legs folded together unruly on the imperial desk, his eyes closed and he said nothing.
Ming Lian noticed that he was depressed, so he said, "Your Majesty, why don't you go talk to the Queen? I guess she hasn't rested yet."
Shang Rui didn't open his eyes and said unhappily, "Today is the second time you are meddling with me."
Ming Lian went out for a while and then re-entered the hall, bringing someone with him.
This person was Yao Chuang. He learned about Shang Rui's identity after the last autumn hunt, and later became the emperor's personal bodyguard.
Yao Chuang did not beat around the bush and knelt down to say to Shang Rui: "The emperor's order has been completed."
"how?"
"The girl's surname is Min, and her family moved to Jinluo eleven years ago." After Yao Chuang finished speaking, he took out a piece of paper from his arms and presented it to him.
Shang Rui put his legs down, stood up and took it. He quickly read the words on the paper and handed it to Ming Lian. Ming Lian opened the lampshade, lit it carefully, and then placed it in the warm basin on the side of the room.
Shang Rui stared at the piece of paper, watching it gradually shrink and then collapse into a pile of ashes. All kinds of thoughts turned in his mind, which finally turned into just one sentence.
"Ask a secret sentry to watch over her, and make sure no one notices."
Suddenly, a eunuch came to report that the Jinde Palace had sent someone to bring soup to the emperor. Shang Rui glanced at Yao Chuang, who understood and immediately sneaked into the screen behind the palace.
The person who came was not the queen herself, but her personal nanny and a palace maid. The nanny said, "The queen said that it was freezing cold and she was worried that the emperor would catch a cold in the snow, so she made some soup and ordered the servants to bring it to the emperor."
"Put it on the table." Shang Rui said as he sat back at the desk.
After receiving the order, the maid bowed her head and carefully walked to the side of the table with the lacquer tray. On the table were memorials, writing brushes, inkstones, and tea that Ming Lian had not had time to give to the emperor. It was difficult to find a spacious place to move out. The maid was unfamiliar with the hands and didn't know what to do for a moment, so she had to bite the bullet and put it under Shang Rui's nose.
Shang Rui glanced at her casually, and his eyes accidentally fell on her hands, which were slightly similar to the hands he had carefully examined during the day. He was so excited that he couldn't help but grab her.
The palace maid was startled and the lacquer tray dropped heavily on the table, but she did not dare to look up or move her hand.
Shang Rui said: "Raise your head."
The maid lowered her head and replied softly, "I dare not."
Shang Rui said in a deep voice: "Raise your head."
This time, the palace maid dared not disobey. She raised her head tremblingly, her eyes full of fear and confusion.
Shang Rui glanced at her and his heart sank.
They are different, how can they be the same