On the 23rd, three days before the emperor's 500,000th birthday celebration, Jiafu and Ci'er, mother and son, quietly arrived in the capital without disturbing any outsiders.
It was late at night, and the carriage carrying the mother and son entered the palace directly from the left gate of Chang'an, and went to the Chengtian gate. , go north and enter Duanmen, pass through the corridor in the middle of Zuosheji and Right Taimiao, pass through Meridian Gate, and then go west. In the dark night, the closed palace gates opened one after another, and the pedestrian finally passed through Xihuamen and came to Xiyuan. When the third watch was over, he was sent to a palace called Jiaoyuan.
In the banana garden, the flowers and trees are lush, the white bridge is clear and the waves are clear. The bait is thrown, and the koi swim around and jump around, the scene is really gratifying. The palace for mother and son to rest is obviously carefully arranged in advance, with cloud blankets on the floor, splendid brocade tents, jade screen Jinxia, and Boshan incense.
Came here from the palace gate in a sedan chair and walked a short distance. When Ci'er was still being held by Jia Fu in the sedan chair, she fell asleep in her mother's arms, and Jia Fu settled her son. That night, Heyi slept on the outside of his son. Although he was tired from walking, he had no sleep at all, and he was awake until dawn.
The next morning, Ci’er woke up from a full sleep. Cui Yinshui was already waiting outside the palace to serve him. Jiafu didn’t use him, she just called him back. Cui Yinshui knelt on the ground. He helped his son dress and clean his face, and combed his hair. After getting up and finishing and having breakfast, Ci'er looked around curiously and learned that this was the big room called the "Imperial Palace". She remembered the "Grandpa Emperor" whom the eunuch said she had never met, and asked, "Mother , When can I see Grandpa Huang?"
As soon as he finished speaking, Jiafu heard Li Yuangui's voice from outside: "Madam, long live."
Jiafu turned her head, accompanied by the sound of footsteps, and saw a figure stepping in, and the figure appeared at the entrance of the hall. The man slowly walked in and stopped.
Xiao Lie came, wearing a black gauze folded towel on his head and a long robe with a round neck and narrow sleeves and a gold woven dragon on each shoulder, standing there.
Jiafu was slightly surprised.
She left Kyoto in the autumn of the second year of Zhaoping to go to Suye City. Now in the spring of the sixth year of Zhaoping, the three or four years in between are not short or long, but the emperor seems to have aged a lot. Xu is overly concerned about state affairs in the past few years, and now the temples are flourishing.
In Jiafu's original impression, the emperor should still be a middle-aged person, but at this moment, when she saw the emperor's first glance, she felt that the emperor was really old and no longer in his prime.
Jiafu only glanced at it, then immediately lowered her head, took Ci'er beside her, and led him to kneel together, kowtow to the person in front of her, saying long live.
Xiao Lie's gaze fell on the little figure beside Jiafu who was bowing to him, staring fixedly, the figure did not move. After a while, seeing the child quietly raising his head and peeking at him, his bright eyes showed curiosity and confusion, he smiled at the child and beckoned to him.
Ci'er got up from the ground, walked towards the man in yellow clothes with a jade belt around her waist, stopped on the ground a few steps away from him, raised her head slightly, and looked at Xiao Lie for a moment, hesitating. After a while, he asked in a low voice, "Are you my grandfather?" His voice was tender and milky, but his expression was very solemn.
Xiao Lie's voice trembled slightly: "Are you Ci'er?"
Ci'er nodded: "Ci'er is my nickname. My real name is Pei Yiyuan. The 'Yuan Fei Rutian, Yu Yue Yu Yuan' Yiyuan."
Xiao Lie stared at the child in front of him, resisting the infinite excitement that surged in his heart, walked towards him, and finally stopped in front of him.
"Pei Yiyuan, I am your grandfather!"
Xiao Lie bent over, picked up the child and lifted it up high.
Jiafu looked up and saw her son's small body being held high above his head by the emperor. His son let out a happy laugh, which echoed in the four corners of the hall like a bell.
She couldn't help but think of the last time she met the emperor. At that time, she rushed to the capital to ask to see the emperor, but the emperor's anger was still unabated. When she was interviewed, he also questioned what he knew exactly.
At that time she coped with it. The emperor may really believe it, or he may not believe it, it's just a tacit understanding.
A few years later, Li Yuangui came to pick up her and Ci'er that day and said "Grandpa Huang" to Ci'er, which surprised her. At this moment, the emperor recognized Ci'er directly in front of her. , without the slightest concealment.
What is he trying to do
As if aware of her horror, Xiao Lie slowly put down Ci'er, looked at Jiafu, and said, "I have received your birthday gift. Ci'er is my grandson, my grandson. You took him well, Get up. Now that you are here, you can stay at ease." After he finished speaking, he looked at the child with a smile on his face: "Ci'er, Grandpa Huang will take you to play with Grandpa Huang, will you go?"
Ci Er was about to nod, but hesitated again, turned to look at Jia Fu, and ran back: "Mother, Grandpa Huang wants to take me to play with him, can I go?"
Jiafu met the two sharp eyes that the emperor cast towards her, looked at her son with expectation in her eyes, and nodded slowly.
Ci'er turned her head happily and said to Xiao Lie, "Grandpa Huang, my mother has given permission!"
He turned to look at Jiafu again: "Mother, I'll come back to accompany you after I've finished playing with Grandpa Huang."
After he finished speaking, as if he remembered something, he ran in quickly, holding the chess box in his hand, and ran out.
Jiafu watched Xiao Lie hold his son's hand, and led him out of the palace gate, his figure gradually disappeared from sight, and he couldn't help falling into a daze.
…
Xiao Lie stopped in the morning, and brought Ci'er to the imperial study room to screen out the palace servants. Li Yuangui smiled and presented twelve trays of dried fruits, including longan, lychees, peach kernels, eight-treasure candy, pickled plums, and jujube chestnuts, and six trays of fresh fruits, including apples, pears, and grapes.
Xiao Lie waved his hand and motioned for Ci'er to come over. Seeing him holding the chess box, he looked at his face without blinking, and said with a smile, "What does Ci'er look at Grandpa Huang like this?"
Ci'er said, "My mother told me earlier, Grandpa Huang, you are different from ordinary people. How are you different, Grandpa Huang?"
Xiao Lie was stunned for a moment, touched his face, laughed loudly, and hugged Ci'er on his usual living couch, which was surrounded by red sandalwood wood on three sides. Grandpa Huang is no different from ordinary people. If you don't see Ci'er, you will miss him."
"The man without a beard also said, "Grandpa Huang, you are sick, only then did Ci'er and my mother come to see you. Is your illness better, Grandpa Huang?"
Xiao Lie laughed again and nodded: "When Grandpa Huang saw Ci'er, he was all healed."
Ci'er showed joy. Xiao Lie looked at the box he was holding in his arms and asked with a smile, "What is Ci'er holding?"
Ci'er hurriedly placed the box on a small table on the couch, carefully opened the lid, took out the pieces inside, and said, "This is a birthday present from my father, and it was made by my father himself. Yes. Grandpa Huang, do you want to play chess? If you can't, Ci'er will teach you."
"well!"
Xiao Lie nodded hurriedly, followed him onto the couch, and sat cross-legged opposite Ci'er.
Ci'er laid out the folded chessboard and placed the pieces of both sides one by one, while teaching Xiao Lie how to move, with a serious and serious expression.
Xiao Lie stared at the busy little man on the opposite side, and while he was relieved, his eyes gradually revealed a resolute look as if he had made a final determination.
"Pei Yiyuan, in three days, Grandpa Huang will be fifty years old. At that time, before the Meridian Gate of the Imperial Palace, there will be a ceremony to present prisoners. Those prisoners are all Japanese pirates who harmed the people along the coast of Great Wei. There are dozens of them. Over the years, they have murdered and set fire to all crimes. Now those Japanese pirates have been swept away. The Japanese envoys are sincere and fearful and hand in the crime book. The grandfather will order all those people to be beheaded before the Meridian Gate. Heroic soul. Pei Yiyuan, are you afraid?"
Ci'er's face gradually turned red, her eyes widened: "Pei Yiyuan is not afraid! My father killed countless bad people in Suye City! Pei Yiyuan also wants to grow up earlier and kill bad people with my father!"
"Okay! I'll ask you again, at that time, would you like to accompany Grandpa Huang to the morning door and watch this great ceremony?"
"Pei Yiyuan is willing!"
Ci'er held the chess piece in her hand tightly, nodded and said.
Xiao Lie laughed again, and the laughter shook the hall tile: "Okay! The grandfather will agree with you, then, the grandfather will take you to the morning gate tower, and you will help the grandfather to order and kill all those Dare to offend my big Wei's jumping beam!"