The Great Xia Dynasty started from the grasslands, and their nomadic nature made them relatively respect the status of women. Compared with the Bian Tang and Huai Song Dynasties, there is a difference. For thousands of years, there have been many female generals and female Confucian scholars who became officials in the court, and there are also female lords in power behind the curtain in the harem. For the defense between men and women, it is relatively more tolerant. Therefore, in the back city, apart from the emperor's concubines and daughters, there are also many guards stationed there, and most of the princes who have not been crowned kings who have left the palace to build government offices also live here.
At this moment, in the Yingge Bieyuan in Houcheng, in a quiet bamboo sea, a young gentleman in black robe was sitting.
The young man was only about twenty years old, with a handsome face, star-like eyes, a straight nose, eyebrows like swords, black hair hanging behind him, tied loosely with a black ribbon, elegant black robes, embroidered Purple gold unicorn, surrounded by dark flowers and auspicious clouds, lined with Su brocade of Huai Song Dynasty, wearing soft leather deer-patterned boots, the soles of which are engraved with patterns of blue clouds, sitting leisurely and quietly in front of a small bluestone table, burning incense beside him, and playing a guqin on the table. Scrolls were scattered on the side, and beside a sapphire jug was a glass cup with two dragons spitting out pearls on both sides. It was a treasure at first glance.
Although it is already winter, Yalang Mountain is warm and hot, surrounded by hot springs, creating such a quiet and warm place. A gust of fresh breeze blows, fresh and cool wind blows through the bamboo, making it more leisurely and content.
The young man's hands were like white jade, and his fingers were slender. He slowly picked up the glass cup and raised it to his lips, but he didn't drink it. His eyes were like stars, he narrowed his eyes slightly, without even looking at it, and said in a flat voice: "Come out. "
"I hate it." A delicate female voice suddenly sounded, and a charming girl appeared in the bamboo forest behind her, "You find out every time, it's meaningless!"
The girl was only eighteen or nineteen years old, and she was wearing a lotus-colored gold-plated couplet shirt on her upper body, a white butterfly skirt on her lower body, a light blue belt across her waist, and a green lily orchid hanging on her head. Tassels around the ears, painstaking efforts and jade pendants between the eyebrows, Dinglan earrings, and agate necklace, although noble, they are not at all vulgar. As the girl walked, she took off the snow-fur cloak outside, and said in a crisp tone: "Father is still the most partial to you. I just came from Lanshan Courtyard, and it was freezing cold there. Look at you, the snow has fallen before it hits the ground. melted."
The young man turned his head, with a calm face, a faint smile on the corner of his mouth, and said, "It's the love of the Holy One."
"Hmph," the girl snorted, "why don't you come and love me, I'm the royal father's biological daughter."
"Princess."
"Call me princess again!" Throwing Daqiu to the servants aside, the girl ran up to the young man and shouted loudly.
The young man smiled helplessly and said, "Chun'er."
"Don't think that you can get away with it like this," Princess Chun'er sat on a stone bench opposite, puffing her cheeks and said angrily, "Say, why did you leave before the banquet was over? Let me leave all the guests behind Follow here."
The man smiled calmly and said, "I'm sorry, I have something to do temporarily."
"What can you do?" The girl shouted loudly, just after she finished speaking, she suddenly realized that her words were reckless, and carefully glanced at the man's face from the corner of her eyes, seeing that he didn't respond, she hurriedly said, "Did you leave the table only because Wei Jing came?" Yes, he just came back from the south, and I didn't know he would come, so don't be mad at me."
The man raised his head and shook his head slowly, "Princess don't worry, Yan Xun dare not."
"Call me princess again." Chun'er frowned, stood up suddenly, grabbed Yan Xun's clothes, and said angrily, "Brother Xun, do you take me as your own?"
Yan Xun lowered his head, frowned and looked at the girl's tender little hands, his brows could not help but frowned slightly, and he pulled out his clothes calmly, "Princess is worrying too much, you still have to pay attention to the distinction between superiority and inferiority."
"Damn the difference between superiority and inferiority, how good we were when we were young. Do you remember when I was nine years old, you took me to a brothel to fight, and now you even have to hide your nickname."
"Back then, I was young and ignorant, so I was reckless."
"I hate it!" Chun'er threw the jug on the ground and said loudly, "I hate you to death!" After saying that, she wanted to turn around and leave.
"Princess, please stay," Yan Xun stood up and called out, handing over a box wrapped in lavender silk.
Chun'er raised her eyebrows, "What is this?"
"Princess's birthday, be careful, the princess will accept it."
Chun'er's small face suddenly became happy, and she opened the box with a smile, only to see a white rabbit tail. The girl's eyes widened immediately, and she shouted, "This is... is this Yan Yan's tail?"
Yan Xun nodded, "A few days ago I heard that Yan Yan bit your hand and was thrown out by the Queen's order. You cried for a long time. I ordered someone to cut off this tail, and you kept it as a souvenir. Right. It’s not something valuable, don’t take it personally.”
Zhao Chun'er's eyes suddenly became moist, she shook her head, and said softly: "I have collected too much gold, silver and jewelry, and this is the best gift. Brother Xun, thank you, Chun'er is very happy."
As soon as she finished speaking, the girl's face turned red, she held the rabbit's tail, didn't even bother to put on Da Qiu, turned around and ran out of the bamboo forest.
Yan Xun has been standing in place, but the smile on his face gradually disappeared as the girl's back left.
"My lord, Princess Chun is gone."
Yan Xun took off the robe that was touched by the girl just now without saying a word, threw it on the table, turned and left, leaving a word in a low voice, "Take it and burn it."
"yes."
The servant agreed deeply, and when he raised his head again, Yan Xun's figure had disappeared.
The afternoon sun was very good, Yan Xun was sitting in the study, flipping through the winter tax documents that had just been delivered, giving detailed instructions. Feng Zhi came in to pass the meal three times but was kicked out by Ah Jing who was guarding the door, so he had to wait outside the door aggrieved.
The wind is blowing softly, and the incense burner on the desk is swaying slowly. Suddenly, there is a fresh smell, not the powder from the palace, not the orchid incense from Yingge Bieyuan, not the green bamboo fragrance from the bamboo sea. , but a unique smell of yellow sand and mud, and even the smell of sharp blades.
Yan Xun frowned, raised his head, saw the person coming, his eyes suddenly softened, wanted to speak, but felt a little funny, turned his face away, wanted to hold back, but the corners of his mouth gradually curled up.
"Have you laughed enough?" The visitor was only fifteen or sixteen years old, and he was still a young boy with fair complexion, watery eyes, and wearing a green leather armor, looking more and more heroic. Hugging her to her chest, with sparkling eyes and a hint of a smile, she said stubbornly, "It's cold outside."
"When did you come back?" Yan Xun's voice was as warm as water, as if he had lost all his vigor in an instant, he looked at the warm eyes of the young man in front of the door, and smiled lightly.
The boy also laughed, tilted his head and replied, "Just now."
"Why don't you come in?"
The young man pouted, and dismissed it disdainfully, "Someone said that no one is allowed to go in even if it is a big deal."
Yan Xun nodded, "Really? Since I said such a thing, they still dare to let you in. They really deserve to be killed."
"Aren't I still standing at the door?" The young man raised his eyebrows, "How dare you break the rules of Prince Yan."
Just as Yan Xun was about to speak, the little Shu Tong Fengzhi who was holding a food box behind the young man finally couldn't help it and said, "I said Miss Chu, don't play tricks with Your Highness anymore, I ordered the kitchen to reheat this meal more than ten times , you should take a bite first."
"Okay." Chu Qiao picked up the food box, stepped in, and said with a smile, "Just give Fengzhi face."
The little bookboy wiped off his sweat and retreated.
Yan Xun stood up from behind the desk, stepped forward to untie the cloak behind Chu Qiao, put it on the chair, then turned around and sat in front of the table, watching Chu Qiao put all the dishes on the table one by one, before closing his eyes. Eyes sniffed, and said intoxicatedly: "It smells so good, why didn't I smell it just now."
"Your nose is useless. If I don't come back, you will starve to death."
Putting a bowl of rice for Yan Xun, Chu Qiao sat beside him and took a big bite, "The rice cooked by Yu Gu is the best."
Yan Xun's complexion changed slightly, revealing a rare distress, looked down at the young man, and said softly, "Have you worked hard all the way?"
"It's okay," Chu Qiao shook her head, "It's just too cold."
"Are your feet freezing again?"
"No, the boots you gave are very warm and comfortable."
Yan Xun nodded, and said in a deep voice: "From now on, it's better to leave this kind of thing to Ah Jing and the others. You still don't want to run around all the time."
"I also want to stay in the house and not go out, but how can I rest assured?" Chu Qiao sighed, "Fortunately, it won't be long, and in half a year, we won't have to work so hard."
Yan Xun's eyes lit up, and the outside wind blew in through the slightly open window, carrying the quiet fragrance of the bamboo sea in the distance.
"Have you seen Mr. Wu?"
"No," Chu Qiao shook her head, "I saw Xihua, he said that Mr. Wu has already gone to Beijing to coordinate the winter tax, so don't worry too much."
Yan Xun nodded and sighed, "That's good. I haven't slept well for several nights and have been dealing with this matter. Mr. Wu is here, so I will save a lot of effort."
"Is everything peaceful in the palace?"
Yan Xun smiled coldly when he heard the words, and couldn't hide the sneer at the corner of his mouth, "It's still the same, I don't know if you heard the news, Wei Jing is back, and I had a face-to-face meeting with him today."
"I heard about it." Chu Qiao nodded in agreement, "Wei Jing was to blame for the landslide of the Nanjishan Emperor's Mausoleum. I heard that he had already been dismissed from his duties as a supervisor, but I didn't expect him to come back so soon."
Yan Xun put down his chopsticks, took a sip of the teacup, "You did a good job of drawing the fire from the bottom of the pot. Wei Shuye has been implicated by Wei Jing, and has now been dismissed from the position of governor. Now there are rumors everywhere in the palace that it is Wei Guang. He deliberately stayed out of the matter and wanted to get rid of this position. Although that one did not express his position, the other elders of the Presbyterian Church were very dissatisfied with Wei Guang. When the enclosure was drafted a few days ago, they collectively got stuck with the Wei family. Although Mu He Xifeng was ineffective, Mu He Yunting is gone, but Mu He Rongcheng is not a vegetarian, and when he returns from Xiling, the Presbyterian Church will be full of excitement."
Chu Qiao's mouth was full of food, but she said solemnly: "This matter still needs to be followed up, so don't be careless. Don't worry, I will handle it properly."
Yan Xun nodded, "I don't worry about your work." As soon as he finished speaking, he suddenly laughed, raised his slender fingers, and gently wiped Chu Qiao's face.