Emperor Huan held his head with one hand and fiddled with the puppet with the other, without saying a word for a while. After a moment, he smiled and said lightly: Why did the queen come to report to me? Aren’t you the one who always makes the decision on everything in the palace?
The Queen suddenly raised her head, her eyes were like ripples, and her lips pursed: I am His Majesty's wife.
You are my wife! Emperor Huan stopped his hand. After a moment, he still had a smile on his lips, but his tone suddenly became cold. Then I will vent my anger for the empress and kill Jiang Wei--
Killed with a stick.
Four
The harem was finally peaceful.
At dusk, the queen retreated from the palace and remained alone behind the heavy curtains, burying her face deeply into the pillow without moving.
The endless emptiness and fatigue were like the tide of a moonlit night, drowning her silently. She hadn't had a dream for a long time, but now she was in her dream, looking at the thin moon in the sky through the thin mist.
When was that? It seemed to be nine years ago, on the eve of her getting married as the emperor's wife.
She also shut away the others and walked back and forth alone in the backyard of the Prime Minister's Mansion. On a small table, the warm wine has gone cold. The wind blew slowly, and the coolness penetrated my clothes.
Snapped! Something hit her on the head.
She hurriedly turned around to look, but there was no one on the wall. She picked up the thing that fell to the ground, and it was just a ball of paper. Unfolding it, in the moonlight, she could clearly see the word "Look Up" written on it with iron paintings and silver hooks.
WTF?
But she did it anyway. So she saw, in the direction she had just looked, a thin moon hanging low, and on the wall under the thin moon, a young man who appeared out of nowhere sat on his knees and raised his eyebrows at her, but he could not smile. language.
That was clearly the husband she was about to marry, the emperor who had just succeeded to the throne not long ago. Now he changed his usual majesty and sat on the wall of the courtyard, swinging his long legs as a greeting to her.
She raised her head in the moonlight: Why are you here?
Suddenly I wanted to come over and take a look. He seemed to be really looking at her carefully, and then look at you like this.
She smiled: Can you see clearly from such a distance?
He groaned: Then I'll come down.
He was about to jump off, but she quickly stopped him. Ordering him to stay on the wall and not move, she said helplessly: Forget it, I'll go up there! Then, she really climbed up an old elm tree on the side and climbed up to the courtyard wall to sit side by side with him.
She has never been a pampered girl, and she is very similar to her father in temperament. He knew it, so he didn't say much. He just turned sideways and held her face. Suddenly there was a look of sadness in his eyes: You are so much like your father. I'm really afraid that if you marry him, one day you will end up with him. Treat me the same way.
By the way, since the late emperor, the Prime Minister has firmly controlled the government, and all the ministers who competed with the Prime Minister have been exterminated. After Emperor Huan ascended the throne, he had to obey the Prime Minister's orders in every move he made.
She let him hold her face and stared at him calmly: I can't.
Just as a smile appeared on his lips, someone suddenly said in the yard, "Miss, it's late at night!" Then he and she both heard a set of footsteps.
He frowned and just had time to say "I'm leaving" before sliding down the wall.
But she finally heard all the words he didn't finish.
On the night of her wedding to him, he leaned on her drunkenly. She thought he was really drunk, so she turned her head, but she met his very clear eyes. His lips were close to her ear, and he whispered: Then, I can't do it either.
I won't abandon you. I won’t let you go. You will be my wife, we will be together forever, grow old together.
In the dream she should have smiled shyly. However, outside her dream, she only felt a sense of sadness. She thought that this dream should come to an end, and she forced herself to wake up from the dream.
After stroking her dry eyes, she had just stood up when she heard a maid coming to report: Your Majesty, the Prime Minister, has invited your Majesty to come back to your house to discuss important matters.
five
The important thing the Prime Minister said was a quietly rising force among the people specializing in assassinating important officials of the imperial court. None of the officials who were assassinated were his confidants. Even Lin Jian, the commander of the Yulin Army, was found dead on his couch one day. A confidant was killed, and the prime minister was unable to cultivate more capable people for a while, so he could only hastily promote a few officials to fill the vacancies.
The people in the court, which had always been controlled by him, were uneasy and the situation suddenly became tense.
You have been paying more attention to His Majesty these days. The Prime Minister said.
The queen opened her mouth as if she wanted to defend Emperor Huan, but she finally nodded in agreement.
But for several days, Emperor Huan continued to hold his puppet and perform his plays without any movement.
One day he casually asked about the situation of the former Queen's return to the Prime Minister's Mansion. The Queen sat on the edge of the bed next to Emperor Huan and said warmly: My father told me not to worry, I just have to serve His Majesty well.
Emperor Huan had already thrown his outer robe and boots all over the floor, put his hands behind his head, and lay on the bed wearing only his middle coat. Hearing this, he turned his head to the queen, smiled and rolled his eyes, but said nothing.
The queen tugged on his sleeve: Your Majesty often composes his own plays. I wonder if your Majesty is willing to perform a few plays for my concubine?
Emperor Huan smiled and said: The queen has served me for a long time, but she doesn't know what plays I have written? His eyes flashed and his voice suddenly lowered. I have already heard about what happened in the court. The queen asked the prime minister to rest assured that even if I had done something in the play, no one would be able to spread the news out of the palace, let alone instigating people to carry out assassinations.
The smile on the Queen's face froze, she bit her lower lip and was silent for a long time, but she still turned away and said: Your Majesty refuses to act?
Emperor Huan laughed, jumped up from the bed, put his bare feet on the ground, and opened the screen in front of the bed: Someone is coming! Put me on the stage!
The play continued until evening. With colorful sleeves fluttering and silver threads flying, Emperor Huan controls the emperor in the play, almost portraying a monarch's deep affection. Every time he called the puppet "Beloved Concubine", he glanced at the queen from the corner of his eyes, causing all the servants to burst into laughter and cheers.
After the play, Emperor Huan pushed the puppet into the queen's arms, took her in his arms, and led her deep into the curtain.
It is the harmony of Ye Luan and Phoenix, and infinite love. Just waking up from a deep sleep, the queen touched the side of her pillow, but Emperor Huan was nowhere to be seen.
She put on her clothes and got up, without shoes, walked through the screen curtain and walked quietly to the place where the puppet show was performed during the day.
Emperor Huan, he is here alone.
The queen hid herself behind a curtain, and she could only see his profile. He lowered his head and stroked something gently. Looking closely, it turned out to be nothing more than a puppet. The puppet looked like a woman, dressed in plain clothes and with a bright smile on her face.
It's so ordinary.
The queen looked stunned. There was a low singing voice in her ears, floating like water vapor, and she suddenly came back to her senses.
Emperor Huan lowered his eyebrows and controlled the puppet, moving his lips as he sang a song by Su Bai whose meaning she couldn't understand. And she could clearly see the deep longing and sadness in his eyes.
It was a look he had never given her in the nearly ten years they had been together.
She couldn't help but wonder: In the past ten years, had he been alone every night, singing a Su Bai song, and missing someone she didn't know?
That man wears plain clothes and understands Su Bai; unlike her, who always wears colorful clothes and only knows Beijing Mandarin. There was a huge difference between her and that person, and she realized that it was that kind of person that he could not forget.
However, when did his heart, which he had clearly placed in her before, quietly get lost?
When did he and her begin to seem distant and estranged?
She quietly retreated and lay in bed, listening to the faint singing, and tossed and turned all night long.
six
The weather is getting cold. On the night when the first snow fell all over the imperial city, Emperor Huan ordered people to burn a charcoal pot and smoke cage in the waterside pavilion for him to play with and watch the snow.
The waterside pavilion faces a large lake dug out, and most of the densely planted reeds in the lake have withered. But the snow is covering it layer by layer, and when you look at it under the moonlight, it looks like reeds are blooming all over.
The queen came uninvited. Three of the reed mats on the four sides of the water pavilion were put down, except for the one facing the lake. If you look at it from a distance across the water, you will see the emperor and empress pouring wine to each other in the waterside pavilion, with a wisp of warm smoke curling up next to them. It is really a harmonious harmony between the piano and the piano, which is more beautiful than the couple in the painting.
The queen was a little drunk and her face was red. She supported her hat with her hands and suddenly said as if unintentionally: A few days ago, I heard what sounded like Su Bai's singing at night. It must have been His Majesty singing. Can your majesty sing for my concubine again?
While playing with the wine glass, Emperor Huan said calmly: The queen heard wrong.
Even if I heard it wrong and my eyes turned slowly, can't Your Majesty sing a Su Bai song for me?
Emperor Huan glanced at her gently: "It's just a country tune, how can it be heard by the Queen?"
The queen smiled slightly and stood up lazily, as if she was about to leave. With one hand holding the reed mat, she suddenly turned around and said quietly: Your Majesty, this is the first time you have rejected a concubine. Is it worth it for a song of Su Bai?
Emperor Huan took a sip from his wine glass, then smiled: "Is this the first time?" Yes, I have always been obedient to you, Queen. Changing the topic, he sarcastically said, "But, what did I get?" If I remember correctly, queen, you used the power I gave you to imprison me in this palace, at the mercy of your father and daughter.
The blush faded away in an instant, the queen's face turned pale, and her fingers could not help but tremble.
Emperor Huan tonight was different from before, but she couldn't care less. He still had a smile on his face, very bright and very ironic, and she dared not look directly at that smile, just like when she turned away from him for the first time and listened to her father's words, removed his personal attendants and put him under house arrest in the palace. Same as in middle school.
I still remember that at that time, he tilted his face slightly, and there was nothing strange in his eyes, but he smiled and said to her: I didn't know that the queen's memory was so bad. She could forget everything she said not long ago in the blink of an eye.
In fact she never forgot. But, how should I tell him that she has followed her father since she was a child? After all, she is so like her father. She believes that she must firmly control the things she cares about in order to keep what she doesn't want to lose. And her life is so long and broad, how can she fill her ever-expanding desires with just one thing?
She didn't know how to answer then, and she doesn't know how to answer now either. She could only turn her head away quickly, lift the curtain and leave.
Emperor Huan was the only one left in the waterside pavilion. His smile suddenly faded, he raised his eyebrows and sighed softly.
Tonight, he was indeed a little anxious.
But, after all, it’s almost the appointed time.
As if to confirm what he thought, under the dense reeds, the almost frozen lake water rippled slightly, and suddenly the water splashed, revealing the half-body of a person!
In the snowy moonlight, this man floats on the water, seemingly not feeling cold. And his face was clearly that of Jiang Wei, the leader of the puppet troupe who was killed with a cane.
He is not dead!
He swam closer to the waterside pavilion without going up. When Emperor Huan leaned over and pretended to break the reeds, he whispered: Everything is ready, just waiting for His Majesty's order.
Emperor Huan lowered his voice: Control the harem. No more words were said.
When Emperor Huan took a reed, the man who had just been floating on the water had quietly dived back to the bottom.
Emperor Huan knew that Jiang Wei would quietly go to a place in the palace where neither he nor the queen would go. No one knows who he is anymore because Jiang Wei has been killed with a rod. How could a dead person still be alive in the palace, existing in the shadows that few people see?
Jiang Wei was taught to deliberately violate palace rules and cheat death in order to survive, in order to send messages to the outside world through Jiang Wei and implement the planned plan step by step. No matter how much the Queen and Prime Minister checked, they could never imagine that a dead person was organizing everything.
The reed in his hand was suddenly broken, and Emperor Huan let go of his hand.
The slow wind gradually tightened, and the reeds rustled across the lake.
His heart was up and down, and he suddenly felt impatient.
seven
The New Year is approaching, and although there is still no clue about the official's assassination, and the situation in the DPRK and China is gradually changing, the Prime Minister has to put on a smile and go to the palace to congratulate him during the New Year.
In the early morning of New Year's Day, the heavy snow began to stop. Emperor Huan changed his official uniform and was about to go to court when the queen suddenly called him. When he stopped, she leaned on the smoke cage and said behind him: I have begged Your Majesty so many times, are you really unwilling to sing that song Su Bai for me?
Emperor Huan was stunned, did not look back, and left without saying a word.
In the court hall, all the ministers lined up and bowed their heads in worship.
Emperor Huan repeated the old words he said every year at this time, but his eyes flickered towards the palace door. There, a bit of cold light suddenly appeared, but it quickly disappeared behind the door.
He knows what it is.
So after saying Ping, Emperor Huan said to the Prime Minister: "The Prime Minister has worked hard for the country every year, and I am very relieved." In the years to come, I will still look forward to the Prime Minister - after speaking, his face suddenly became sharp, his voice was high-pitched, and he behaved himself!
As if given an order, dozens of Yulin generals suddenly poured in from the palace gate, holding the prime minister in the center with guns and spears. All the ministers in the court were as silent as cicadas, burying their heads and standing aside, not daring to express their anger.
He has been waiting for today for a long time. He held back countless times, just to keep a low profile, so Jiang Wei secretly contacted the courtiers who were still loyal to the royal family to organize the assassination, so that the prime minister's confidants would vacate the position, giving him the opportunity to fill it with people he trusted, such as the former Yulin Army The death of leader Lin Jian finally replaced his confidant. At present, there should be many ministers in the court listening to his orders. As for the harem, I am afraid that it is also under the control of Jiang Wei, who suddenly became angry.
After several years of planning, it has finally come true.
Emperor Huan raised his eyebrows and smiled.
At this moment, the leader of the Yulin Army lowered his head and said loudly: I'm late!
The smile is stiff!
Emperor Huan's expression changed drastically and he lost his voice: You
His Majesty. The unspoken words were cut off by the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister stood with his hands behind his back in the center of the Yulin Army, but he was not at all frightened. He laughed loudly, with a tone of resentment towards the juniors: Your Majesty wants to put on a good show for the old minister again? As soon as he finished speaking, the spears pointed at him all turned around and turned towards Emperor Huan!
Your Majesty is smart and will devise a plan to let the old minister select a new troupe to enter the palace. There is someone in this troupe, but the old minister is unable to find out. Your Majesty taught Jiang Wei to deliberately seek death, but he only let him fake his death and spread the news outside the palace of what your Majesty wanted others to do. The prime minister smiled and said, it's a pity that someone had warned the old minister before, so the old minister sent people to check the corpses thrown out of the palace. After counting them, there was always one missing. The veteran minister is not talented, and he is good at interpreting the holy will. After thinking carefully, he probably knows the whereabouts of the corpse and His Majesty's plan.
After that, he secretly sent someone to investigate, and finally found a rat hole in an inconspicuous corner of the palace wall. The man waiting beside the hole caught a rat that passed through the hole and ran out of the palace, with a tail wrapped around it. Silk mice.
He took out the roll of silk from his arms: His Majesty's arrangements and the names of the people to be killed were on it. I prevented the danger before it happened, and finally saved the pillars of the country from being slaughtered. I also learned from His Majesty's method and taught them to cheat death in order to survive. As for those ministers who, together with Jiang Wei, killed people for His Majesty, they have been dealt with by Your Majesty.
As if to prove his words, in an instant, all the ministers who bowed their heads raised their heads. Several people who were rumored to be dead were now standing in the court, including Lin Jian, the leader of the Yulin Army who was poisoned to death. However, none of the cronies that Emperor Huan had cultivated in private were present at this moment, and they must have all been killed by the prime minister.
All civil and military officials in the dynasty obeyed the Prime Minister's orders.
His fingertips trembled slightly, his fists were clenched hard, and then slowly released. Emperor Huan stood up calmly and said with a childish smile: Alas, after several years of planning, everything came to fruition. In the end, it was the Prime Minister who was cunning.
In fact, when he heard that the voice of the leader of the Yulin Army sounded like Lin Jian, he knew that the situation was over. He lost completely.
He raised his head and looked outside the palace door. The snow had obviously stopped, but it didn't know when it started falling again.
He smiled slowly and said softly: It's snowing. I have always been afraid of the cold, so please retreat!
eight
Walking back to the harem step by step, stepping on the jade steps leading to the Queen's Palace. Every level of the jade steps was stained with blood and piled with dead body parts.
Emperor Huan recognized Jiang Wei's severed head on the last jade step. The last bit of blood of the Zhongliang Jiang family that competed with the Prime Minister was ruined.
It's his fault.
But he still smiled slightly, smoothed out every wrinkle in his clothes, and opened the door to the Queen's Palace.
Hot wine has been prepared for him in the palace.
He sat upright, ordered all the palace guards to retreat, and saw the queen coming with a wine bottle and kneeling in front of him: After drinking this wine, your majesty will no longer be afraid of the cold.
He lowered his eyebrows and looked at her deeply: "The queen is really my virtuous queen and the prime minister's good daughter."
certainly. The queen raised her head, gave him the most perfect smile, and met his eyes. The concubine's father had a good daughter. She told her father about your majesty's words: Doesn't a puppet have his own destiny? His majesty plotted against him. After His Majesty's death, she will be the future Queen Mother. She lived a life of wealth and splendor unparalleled in the world.
The corner of his mouth raised: Sooner or later she will be the queen mother. She paused for a moment, her voice was low and hoarse, why?
Why?
The queen's smile faltered, but in an instant she smiled even more heartily: Originally, she just wanted to take away a little bit of His Majesty's power, thinking that in this way, she could keep His Majesty by her side forever. Unexpectedly, she took a little, but couldn't stop. Later, she found that it was becoming increasingly difficult to keep His Majesty, so why not do her best and get everything she could with her father?
So, how about I give her another grace? When the prince ascends the throne, he can take her surname. Thousands of miles of land and a century-old foundation, I will give it to her! He suddenly burst out laughing, completely crazy. He almost grabbed the wine bottle, raised his head and drank it in one gulp without saying a word.
The queen knelt on the ground, kowtowed and smiled: Thank you for your kindness, Your Majesty.
The snow is getting heavier and heavier. The palace was extremely quiet, except for the crackling in the charcoal basin that could be heard clearly.
The wine bottle touched the table gently, and after a long while, he slowly said: I gave you everything, and in return, you must obey my words.
yes.
In my mausoleum, I don't need any valuables, I only put those puppets in the tomb. Especially a puppet in plain clothes. He paused and wanted to put it in the coffin, the place closest to me.
After a long silence, he thought she would not agree, but she said softly yes.
He smiled very gently and stretched out his hand as if to touch the top of her head. But he didn't know what he thought of, and when he closed his eyes, he finally gave up.
Although you have forgotten what I said to you during the wedding, I have not.
It was snowing heavily outside, and there was no sound of people in the palace.
Not long after, the crackling sound in the charcoal basin became smaller and smaller, and the last sparks were clearly extinguished, and finally went out quietly.
The queen knelt for an unknown amount of time, until her legs were numb from the cold, and finally she sobbed, raised her tear-stained face, and cried out in a hissing voice to Emperor Huan: I want to be with you forever and grow old together! But Your Majesty, your heart is not with me now!
Where has your heart gone?
Bang. A very small, unnoticed sound.
That was the sound of a poisonous needle falling to the ground between Emperor Huan's fingers, which could not bear to penetrate the flesh after all.
Nine
In the 29th year of the Ming Dynasty, his father died in the early spring of that year.
Not wanting to look at those faces that were obviously ecstatic but crying like mourning for their heirs, he sneaked into his father's mausoleum and wanted to sleep peacefully one night leaning on his father's coffin.
Unexpectedly, there was already someone in the tomb, and it turned out to be--
The Prime Minister's only daughter.
He knew her. She has a cool personality like her father, and is so flamboyant that she only wears the brightest colors on weekdays. Now because it is a national mourning, she finally wears plain clothes. Not knowing how she got into the tomb, she quietly said to him in front of his father's coffin: Your Highness, you shouldn't hide here.
Because he was the prime minister, he didn't like her at all, so he was not polite to her at all: What about you? You shouldn't be here either.
But she raised her eyebrows and smiled brightly: I'll take you back.
While he was talking, the open door of the tomb suddenly fell down for some unknown reason. He and she couldn't run away and were actually locked up in the tomb alive. He kicked the tomb door hard and cursed her as a broom star.
She was not panicked, but instead comforted him: I told my father that I would come here to find you. We won't go back, father will bring someone here.
He ignored her and sat down against the tomb door, hugging his knees, burying his head between his knees and closing his eyes to sleep.
In the silence, he suddenly heard her humming to the side. The tune was strange, like a folk tune, but not entirely. Raising her head, she smiled as if she knew he was confused: I sang casually. Sure enough, to attract your attention, I still have to rely on this method of singing and dancing.
He turned his head away and continued to ignore her.
She smiled even more heartily, moved closer to him, tugged on his sleeves, and tried every possible means to coax him to turn his head.
He had a stubborn temper, and it was rare that she kept nagging him with soft words. So gradually he started talking to her, and eventually she fell asleep leaning against him, and he didn't even push her away.
He and she slept next to each other in the cold tomb that seemed to be forgotten. When she woke up, he had already looked at her sleeping face silently for a long time.
She blushed for the first time: Hasn't my father come yet?
It’s okay if you don’t come. He said, lest if you come to me now, one day after you get out, you and your father will come to kill me.
She stared at him blankly for a moment, then suddenly laughed. Turning her palm, she handed something to him: Originally, my father said that you were not a thing in the pond, so he really asked me to kill you. But if I give you this poisonous needle now, if I want to kill you one day, you can use it to drag me to accompany you to hell.
Before he could react, she turned away, as if saying to him or to herself: I like someone and want to be with him forever.
At that time, his face turned red and he did not dare to answer. But he put the poisonous needle away properly, thinking that he would never use it. He wrote down the tunes she sang casually, and filled in his thoughts with his mother's native dialect, Su Bai. He remembered her clean appearance in plain clothes and kept her smile to himself.
I was still young at that time, and I didn’t know that people’s hearts can change. He thought that he and she could really be together forever and grow old together.
Mute Emperor by Su Yu
one
Ye Ling's harem has too many beauties with different personalities.
Some are uniquely endowed, some are scheming, some are playful and cute, some are smart and clever, and some find new ways to pretend to be indifferent. And when they faced Ye Ling, they all had blazing but measured enthusiasm in their eyes.
The only exception is Li Yang.
That day, he was sitting high in the palace hall, and all the concubines were sitting at the bottom. He looked over casually, and saw the warm and lively gaze from the corner. Ye Ling was stunned for only a moment, and then pretended to be calm and looked away.
He spoke in a lazy and indifferent tone as usual. He was the only one who knew that the ten fingers hidden under his robe were trembling. Together with his heartbeat that was suddenly disrupted, it meant a bittersweet reunion after a long separation. .
two
Li Yang's marriage to Ye Ling as his concubine did not go smoothly.
When she was sixteen years old, the imperial court was choosing a concubine among princes, generals and ministers. Li Yang took it upon himself to submit her birth date and birth date to the palace, but was then mercilessly rejected, saying that she was not suitable.
Li Yang was bored in his room for many days, but good news came from his cousin. It was said that the emperor had appointed his cousin Shu You to the palace, and the whole family was excited for a while. Only Li Yang opened his eyes wide and felt unconvinced.
Every day she hugs the hen that Ye Ling gave her when she was still in the capital. The hen has become old and faded and no longer even lays eggs. She only eats and drinks water and lies in the sun to take a nap. Li Yang held it in his arms, talking incoherently about whether Ye Ling had forgotten me, and looked at the courtyard corridor in despair, which was decorated with bright red and looked festive.
Just when everyone in the family thought Li Yang had given up, Shu You was found unconscious in the room on the day Shu You entered the palace. Li Yang held the hen he couldn't put down, knocked his cousin unconscious, and jumped onto the palace palace to welcome his bride. chariot.
Along the way, I was nervous and excited at the same time, thinking about how to speak to Ye Ling, what to say, to reminisce about the friendship in childhood, and how to tell him that ever since he left without saying goodbye, he had not been absent for a single day. miss him. I wonder if he really caught the ninety-nine cicadas, and if he will miss me as much as I do.
Originally it was just a child's desire for a playmate, but as Li Yang grew up, something naturally sprouted. She even hid in the theater and listened to those pornographic songs that made people blush, but she was thinking about Ye Ling in the bottom of her heart.
But it was not what Li Yang expected. For half a month after she actually entered the palace to replace Shu You, Ye Ling failed to show up to see her. At first, she still embraced the shy nature of her daughter's family, but later she couldn't help but asked the palace people where Ye Ling's palace was. However, the first time she went out, she bumped into the queen, and the second time she saw an injustice on the road, she drew a sword to help a palace maid who couldn't figure it out. .
I really saw Ye Ling, who had been away for five years, at a banquet where the Western Expeditionary Army returned to the court to entertain the emperor and ministers a month later. She was in a low position, sitting in the corner, her warm and joyful eyes always locked on Ye Ling sitting in her seat.
Ye Ling, this bad boy, was so naughty when he was young, but he became more stable when he grew up. Li Yang kept rubbing his fingers excitedly. He was happy about Ye Ling's change as the king of a country, but he couldn't help but feel disappointed that he could not participate in his growth.
Li Yang was naturally optimistic, and he was sure that Ye Ling would definitely remember her, so his warm gaze always followed the young emperor sitting there. It was too clear and direct, but Ye Ling just couldn't notice it. During the three-hour banquet, he Except for a glance here at the beginning, he never stopped looking here for a moment.
After getting off the table, Li Yang lowered his head and followed the palace attendants out, but not in the direction where he lived. On a beautiful night with a thin moon and stars, blocked by the dancing shadows of trees, Li Yang easily hid behind the boulder in the courtyard.
After waiting for a long time, I heard rustling sounds moving out of the hall. She heard Ye Ling's deep voice instructing the attendant beside her: Don't follow too closely, I want to walk alone.
Li Yang peeked out secretly. Under the cool moonlight, Ye Ling's figure was heading towards the bamboo forest. Without thinking much, she crouched and trotted up to follow him cautiously. After making sure that there were no palace people or guards around, she boldly rushed over and hugged Ye Ling tightly.
The body under the black robe suddenly stiffened, and the long-lost sound of Li Yang's breathing came to her face again through these separated seasons. Time seemed not to have left the mark of growth on her body, she was still so willful and wanton.
Ye Ling, I've been looking at you all night, didn't you notice? She raised her head, her eyes were bright and there was no alienation at all. Or have you forgotten me? How could you forget me?
There is probably only one girl in the world who dares to hug him like this and not let go, Li Yang!
Ye Ling was stunned for a long time. After all his emotions calmed down, he signaled Li Yang to let go: I clearly appointed your cousin, how come you are the one who entered the palace? The tone was calm, without a hint of surprise or joy.
Li Yang didn't let go, but his eyes were stained with anxiety: "Are you in love with Shu You?"
Ye Ling did not answer, but took Li Yang's hands away from his waist, and said in a tired and helpless voice: You shouldn't be here.
Li Yang looked at him quietly, and panic swept over her little by little. She didn't know what to do, so she just insisted: I am Li Yang. We agreed to be together when we grow up. I'm here to find you. Ye Ling.
Ye Ling had already turned around, held Li Yang's trembling fingers and said coldly: I'll give you three days to leave the palace and go home, and bring Shu You back before no one notices. Otherwise I will send you back personally.
three
The next day, someone from the palace came, saying that they had received the emperor's secret order to help Li Yang pack his luggage back to Kezhou.
Li Yang was petite and stood in front of the door to prevent them from entering, threatening and yelling. However, her resistance was ineffective, and she was carried to the courtyard by the guards who were sent.
She just sat on the ground that was baked hot by the midday sun and looked at it without saying a word. The tears fell and were quickly wiped away by her, until the disturbing chirping of cicadas from the pomegranate tree behind her woke her up.
Li Yang was stunned for a moment and then jumped up. He ignored the strange-looking palace servants and climbed up the tree, only asking for a large porcelain bottle. She was catching cicadas, one big or small, which she carefully stuffed into a porcelain vase, writing down the number each time she put one in. The afternoon sun was blazing and the mosquito bites made Liyang's entire exposed arm red and swollen. However, she ignored the palace people's obstruction and just caught the cicadas one by one. If there were no more ones on this tree, she would find another tree. .
She counted nineteen and twenty one by one.
She didn't sleep that night. She was so exhausted the next morning that she just drank a pot of tea, and then it was another day of hard work. It was windy at night, but Li Yang's mind began to feel dizzy, his arms stretched out inertly, and he couldn't remember how many he had caught. She hugged the porcelain vase, leaned on a branch and looked at the fine stars in the sky, telling herself to rest for a while.
Then he looked down and saw the black figure standing on the wall.
Li Yang blinked, but found that it was not his illusion. There was really a tall and thin figure standing there, wearing a raincoat and a bamboo hat. The whole person stood there like a sculpture, looking at her, or the bright moon?
It's not raining, so why are you wearing a raincoat? Li Yang was not afraid at all. She even cheered up slightly because of the appearance of the man in black. She had heard stories told in books in the past, mostly about knights and knights who haunted the night.
He robbed the rich and gave to the poor, coming and going like the wind, which made her envious.
He didn't speak, but moved and turned to look at her. His face was covered by the bamboo hat and could not be seen clearly. He could only vaguely feel the man's cold gaze, quietly falling on the corners of her eyes and eyebrows.
Li Yang carefully climbed down the tree, ran over and looked up at him under the wall: Are you a thief here to steal something?
The man remained silent.
You can't speak?
The man remained silent.
It turns out he is mute! Li Yang concluded on his own that this man was mute. He couldn't help feeling a little pity, but he asked out of curiosity, "Are you very good at martial arts?" Can you help me catch cicadas? I want to show it to the person I like.
The man turned around and tried to leave.
Li Yang stopped him again and again: "Don't leave, hero. If you help me catch the cicada, I won't tell others that you came to the palace to steal things at night. How about that?" Otherwise, I will call the guards, and you will be unable to fly by then.
The man stopped and looked at Li Yang with a proud but expectant look. After thinking for a moment, he jumped down and hurriedly avoided Li Yang before he could get close. He just pulled out the long sword with his left hand and jumped up the tree. Li Yang was dazzled by the light and shadow of the sword. However, after a moment, he jumped down with a sword full of cicadas and silently placed it in front of the stunned Li Yang.
Li Yang exclaimed, thinking of the silence of the night, she lowered her voice and snickered again, raised her head and sincerely praised the person one foot away from her: "Mute, you are so awesome." I wish I were as powerful as you. If Ye Ling doesn't like me, I will threaten him.
Four
The three-day period passed quickly, but Li Yang still held the porcelain vase and refused to come down from the tree.
Whenever a palace guard approached, she would scream endlessly, until all the crows in the courtyard flew away, and everyone looked at each other, not knowing what to do.
It lasted until evening, when Ye Ling came.
He looked at Li Yang playing rogue hiding in the canopy of trees from a distance, frowning and motioning to the guards behind him to drag her down. Seeing that he was eager to push her away without saying a word, Li Yang panicked for a moment and just shouted at him: Ye Ling, I don't want to leave.
Ye Ling looked sideways and looked at her coldly: Ye Ling is not someone you can call. After saying this, he turned around and allowed the guards to climb up the tree and forcefully pull down Li Yang, who was hiding. Li Yang didn't understand where the young man with the bright smile she knew had gone, and why Ye Ling was so cold in front of her at the moment. She pushed away the guard beside her, but still stepped forward to grab his arm and showed him the cicada in the porcelain bottle. Her voice was one part aggrieved and one part persistent: Don't drive me away. I caught ninety-nine cicadas for you. Can you take a look? You've caught these cicadas for me before.
Ye Ling's side face was still indifferent. He suddenly turned around and grabbed the porcelain bottle from Li Yang's hand, and then threw it aside impatiently. The sound of shattering porcelain made Li Yang freeze suddenly before he finished speaking, and looked over in confusion.
The porcelain bottle was broken into pieces, and the ninety-nine cicadas that took her three days were thrown onto the stone slab. The sun was so strong that she couldn't open her eyes, but she didn't know whether it was because of her tears or the dazzling sunlight.
Ye Ling waved away her hand that was still holding his, and sternly shattered her unrealistic expectations: Yes, I caught ninety-nine cicadas for you, and even missed the scheduled enthronement to catch cicadas for you. hour. I also made a promise to you that we would be together for the rest of our lives, but I was sixteen when we made the promise. Ye Ling, who said those words and did those things to you at the age of sixteen, has disappeared. Do you know? Are you going to be so persistent for the rest of your life just because I made a joke when you were young?
Li Yang listened, and the courage in his heart that he could do unscrupulously with memories was wiped out bit by bit. She squatted down in front of Ye Ling dejectedly, covered her face and shook her head, unable to believe it.
But, after all, you said it? How can you deny what you said?
Ye Ling cruelly turned away, lowered her eyes and started to leave. However, she was caught by Li Yang. She still refused to give up. Even if she was rejected to this extent, she still wouldn't give up: I don't want to leave.
Every word she spoke was soft, as if crying and sadness had exhausted all her energy. Ye Ling couldn't help but look back, and his heart suffocated when he saw her pupils that were still gleaming with light, and he quickly turned his head as if he had been pricked by a needle.
The fingertips under his robe pinched the tiger's mouth hard, and it hurt so much that he had to face the cruelty of Qingming sadly.
You don't have to leave, but I will never step foot here again in my life.
five
The entire palace knew where Li Yang was in just one day.
He entered the palace in place of his cousin Shu You, which aroused the wrath of the Holy Emperor. He was thrown into the cold palace without favor and ordered that no one should come near him.
Even flowers, plants and trees for several miles around have been transplanted, and the place where Li Yang lives has completely become a secluded and cold palace.
Ye Ling's attitude was clear. He would not accept her. If she never gave up, he would just stay in this small place. Even if she waited until her eyes turned red and her head turned pale, he would not respond to her even a little bit. Passion and love.
The so-called memories, the past is the past, she clings to it, but he has long since discarded it.
Fortunately, Li Yang still had the dying hen. As the night was approaching, the mute would occasionally come to listen to her confide some of her innermost thoughts. Although they would not respond to her or tell her what to do, Li Yang finally managed to Not alone.
She can hold on. She wanted Ye Ling to see that she would never give up even if she was at the end of her rope.
The harem was in chaos, and just when everyone quickly forgot about Li Yang, a third person who was not afraid of death appeared in Li Yang's desolate courtyard. It was the elder brother of the palace maid who rescued by the lotus pond that day, and the golden champion of the Golden Kejian, who was described as San, was like a spring breeze with a smile, and she would blush involuntarily in the last one or two sentences.
Yan Huai will look for the opportunity to appear in front of her or backyard after daily dynasty. When she patted it, she fell into the grass that she fell on her face and talked to her. Relieve boredom.
Li Yang was very grateful to his appearance, because he could always bring something she needed for her, sometimes it was fun objects, and sometimes a delicious snack. Although it was to be grateful for her life -saving grace to her sister that day, he did more. It was precisely because of what he did that made Li Yang less think of Ye Ling's time, and he smiled more.
Aren't you afraid of being discovered by the emperor? Li Yang touched the exquisite painting book. No matter how much, I am also a abandoned concubine. You are too adventurous every day.
Yan Huai shook his head again and again, and he would stutter as soon as he spoke nervously: No. Recently, the emperor was busy building the southern water conservancy. The harem was taken care of by the queen. They did not follow you freely. Really.
Li Yang looked at his clumsy look, and he was soft -hearted, and he no longer rejected his kindness. After the night late at night, she changed the appearance of the sorrow and clouds of the sun, and she talked to him with gratitude. .
Dumb couldn't speak, and never approached her, and it was even more afraid of Li Yang's touch. Often he stands under the corridor and talks with Li Yang across the window. It wasn't talking, and Li Yang always said that he listened silently.
But he would do something that could not be done, for example, to cut off the dead branches in the courtyard for her, repairing her kitchen that leaked the rain on the rainy days, and brought her some novel candlesticks to take pictures. The entire bedroom was shining.
Dumb, although the people I like don't like me. But thanks to you, Dad said that being a person must understand, I feel very content at the moment. Keeping on Ye Ling's side, even if he can't see him, there are friends with you and Yan Huai, um, and hens. By the way, have you seen my hen? When you wait for me for a while, I will hug it to show you.
The hens have become more and more sleepy recently, and the feathers have gone in the bright color of the past. It looks very worrying to pull her head. Li Yang hugged it from the nest and shook it gently, but she opened her eyes and looked at her hen in the past, but at this moment, she still had no movement. Li Yang shook again, and it was still indifferent.
Li Yang was panicked, and he picked up the hen and ran to find dumb. However, there was no dumb figure outside the window. Without staying, Li Yang began to run with the hens. She didn't know what to do, she just wanted to find Ye Ling.
He can dislike himself, he can hate himself, but please, please help him to save her hen.
If even her hen leaves, she doesn't know what she can support the memory of the past.
six
Ye Ling has rest.
The palace man in front of the king's dormitory door told her with the palace lanterns. The inner waiter looked at her at a glance: you should go back, and while the emperor did not know that you ran out of the cold palace. Besides the emperor, he will not meet you.
She was stopped in front of the door. The guard covered her mouth and shouted her. The hen in the struggle fell from her arms to the ground. The sound of falling to the ground was so quiet, and there was no struggle and pain.
Li Yang was blinded, and his eyes were looking at the hen with no movement.
She saw her pitifully, and couldn't help but reminded: The hen was about to die, and the feathers were falling off.
Li Yang suddenly struggled violently, and the guard did not dare to pull a sword at her. She bite her hand to the guard of her guard, and squatted down and picked up the only silent at the moment they ate the painful hands. Hen. When the crowd did not return, he rushed forward to beat the door that he had seen.
The people in the harem quickly dragged her and covered her mouth to prevent her from leaking out of heartbreaking crying. However, in the moment, the lights in the dormitory suddenly lit up, Li Yang opened his eyes wide, looking at the door intently.
Ye Ling met her. He had no black hair, and he was lazy at a glance. He seemed not as sharp as he was. The request that Li Yangben wanted to blurtically blocked his throat in his throat when he followed the queen who followed him.
He asked what happened to the palace people who guarded the night, and the palace man glanced at Li Yang, who described the wolf, who described him not far away, and whispered: She asked His Majesty to save the hen.
Ye Ling's gaze fell on the hen. There was so instantaneous time and memories that he came to have such a moment of confusion and breath. Just move forward.
But he still stopped and stopped at the hen. He asked the pale Liyang with his lower lip with a whole time: Do you want to save this chicken? The discourse is full of sorrow and irony.
Without seeing Li Yang's response, he waved his hand: Go to the doctor to come and see if this chicken is saved?
The guard loosening the hand of Li Yang, Ren Liyang was paralyzed on the ground. Royal doctor came later, although the diagnosis and treatment of a hen was absurd, but he still answered: this chicken should be rescued.
Li Yang's eyelashes trembled, and suddenly looked up at Ye Ling, and all his eyes begged.
Ye Ling avoided his gaze elsewhere. After a short silence, he promoted narrowly: Since there is still saving, the widow will not save death! Did you hear that? No one is allowed to save this chicken.
Li Yang stared at him unbelievably.
Ye Ling turned around and took the queen's shoulders, and the door with light sprinkled closed a little bit in front of Li Yang's eyes. The light in Li Yang's eyes gradually faded, and the door that was closed seemed to be in her heart. When closed, she hit the soft and precious things, and the landslide was crushed.
She didn't cry, but just sat there, her eyes looked sorrowful but looked at the hen softly, and she couldn't do it. She has no power for the memory of the past, has no power for this terrible admiration, and has no power to herself.
She regarded Ruo Treasure's joy so, Ye Ling didn't care.
Li Yang suddenly cried. For a long time, there was a bullish star in the sky echoing her. Ye Ling in the dead dormitory was suddenly stiff. When did he heard Li Yang's presumptuous cry last time?
At that time, he was still a young man in his eyes, and comforted her not to cry with the face of young Li Yang's face. Li Yang cried and cried, and after crying, he smiled and told him: It doesn't matter, you forget that everything is not happy.
At this moment, even if he was mentally prepared, he still couldn't resist those non -incompatible panic and sorrow, and he swept his breath and covered his breath, only to hear the crying cry of Li Yang.
She said: Ye Ling, a bad boy who is not credible, wait for me to cry, and I can completely forget you.
At the time of his heart, the queen held his cold fingers and fits the abdomen, and said softly: His Majesty, who do you say that this child will be born in the future?
Ye Ling was stunned, and then suddenly furious, pointed at the door and called her to roll.
