Chapter 51 Three Thousand Miles of Qingqiu

At the end of the court that day, he was walking by the Qingshi Danbi in front of the Qianqing Gate, when a civil official came over, lowered his voice, and looked very cautious: "His Royal Highness, I heard that His Royal Highness is good at wine. , A few days ago, I got a jar of peerless fine wine, if it is convenient for His Highness, I will send someone to the palace?" He glanced at it, and vaguely remembered that this person was a servant of the household department, who was reliable in his work and cautious in his conduct. He has long been used to these flattery, and with a little carelessness, he nodded and smiled at the man: "Okay."

Not surprisingly, seeing this fat middle-aged official looked dazed for a moment, he hurriedly agreed. The smile on his lips deepened, and he walked down the steps slowly. All the officials behind him deliberately slowed down, waiting for the assistant king to leave first. He was used to being wanton in Chu, and he didn't wear court clothes when he went to court. Instead, he wore a silver and white shirt embroidered with Kuilong, with a golden ribbon around his waist, as stunning as a fairy in the breeze and the moon. He is today's assistant prince, with great power in his hands. Even Emperor Deyou, who is recuperating in the palace, entrusts him with the task of supervising the country. He is only one step away from the dragon chair.

That's why there are so many courtiers scrambling to get closer to him, but they are afraid that one day Emperor Deyou will really pass on the country to him on a whim, or he will simply usurp power and seize the throne because he deceived the prince when he was young, so they can cling to the situation and keep this moment status. He was always lazy, and under the long steps, there was a soft sedan chair with gorgeous decoration. He leaned over the sedan chair and ordered people to put down the gauze curtain, covering everything outside. It is his privilege to be able to ride a sedan chair in the Forbidden Palace as a foreign minister.

And his privileges, apart from being given by his natural blood, are given by the person who is sitting on the dragon chair now. Emperor Deyou, who came to the throne at the age of twelve, was his elder brother.Frail and sick, but diligent and wise; gentle and kind, but with thunderous wrists... It's not that he didn't think about usurping the throne, but he knew that there would be no one more suitable for the throne than that person. This is why in the ninth year of Deyou, when Emperor Deyou was in exile, he did not ascend the throne. Instead, he returned the power after Emperor Deyou returned to the court.

Regarding this past incident, there are different opinions in the ruling and opposition parties. Some people say that he was held back by the two imperial battalions and the queen, and had to give up the throne he had obtained. Some people also said that he was an incompetent person who made a mess of the government and only waited for Emperor Deyou to come back to clean up. If someone came to ask him why, he would probably answer leisurely: "I'm too lazy to care about it." Yes, it's not that I'm too lazy to take care of it. What other reason can I explain? After all, he seems to have always been at odds with Emperor Deyou, and even if he occasionally visits the court at the same time, he probably has neither respect nor obedience.

This pair of royal brothers who look so close to each other really made everyone's minds dumbfounded. His palace is on the side of the Forbidden Palace, but the place where he usually lives is inside the Forbidden Palace. The soft sedan turned around in the outer court, and entered the inner court in such a grand manner. Before getting out of the sedan chair, a figure ran in from the palace gate, dressed in a bright yellow robe, that face that resembled Emperor Deyou's now looks like a boy, full of smiles: "Uncle Qing!" He has always hated this face, so he didn't hide it at this time, he raised his hand and grabbed the boy's cheek: "I'm very good today, I didn't spoil my good deeds."

Emperor Deyou has not been in court for a long time, and the one sitting in the dragon chair in the court hall to listen to the government just now is Prince Xiao Lian. When the two of them went to court, the assistant king often dealt with the report lightly, while the crown prince listened quietly.But occasionally the prince hears doubts and raises them in court. At this time, the assistant king would mostly let the prince finish his speech, and then answer the prince's questions with all his heart... It's just that when he returned to the inner court, he would inevitably have to make use of the problem and pull this nephew over to rub it.

Being dragged by the emperor like this, the prince also looked very happy: "Uncle Qing, there are few things these days, and there will be no morning morning for the next two days, let's go to the palace to see father and mother!" He stopped his hand, let go of his nephew's face, smiled and said, "I don't want to move, you can go by yourself." "Uncle Qing won't go again." Hearing what he said, the prince immediately became depressed, "Mother asked me when Uncle Qing didn't go last time. Daddy also missed Uncle Qing very much, and asked if Uncle Qing was unwell .”

As soon as he heard it, he snorted coldly: "It's enough for him to take care of his own broken body, and worry about me." The prince is usually the best at coaxing his elders, so he grabbed his sleeve and shook it: "Uncle Qing, why don't you go and see your father, your father has coughed again these days, mother is very worried." He frowned for a while, speechless, and finally said: "Go and have a look." There is still a long way to go from the capital to the palace in the accompanying capital. They changed into casual clothes and rode together, and it took almost an hour to get there.

After getting off the horse, he was full of travel and dust, so he naturally had to go to the hot spring to take a bath and tidy up before he was willing to appear in front of people. So when he changed into loose white clothes, with shoulder-length black hair loose, and walked to the front hall, the whole family had already been happily sitting together eating snacks. His long and narrow phoenix eyes swept over, and when he saw the man in Tsing Yi sitting beside him, he involuntarily let out a cold snort, his eyes were like knives. The person who was thrown by him with the eye knife didn't seem to know it, and instead smiled and waved to him: "Qianqing, you are here."

The only one who dared to call him by his name directly was his imperial brother, the current Emperor Deyou, but he didn't give any face to him, instead he turned around and sat down beside the woman in red. Gentlely smiled at her, his widely praised peerless face was full of affection: "Cang Cang, I came to see you, do you miss me?" "I want to, of course I want to!" Regardless of the fact that her husband and children were by her side, the empress in red leaned over to hug him and took his hand, "Qianqing, come to eat grapes, they just arrived from Turpan Yes, it's so sweet!" So his smiling face, which kills men, women, and children, is not as attractive as grapes... The corners of his lips twitched undetectably, and His Royal Highness, the most gorgeous co-registrant king, finally smiled, and picked up the grapes with his slender jade fingers. A crystal-clear grape was delivered to the Queen's lips: "Cang Cang, you can eat it." She opened her mouth and bit the grape without looking at it. The queen thought of some novel way to play, turned around and threw herself into the arms of Emperor Deyou who was beside her, and mumbled with the grape in her mouth, "Brother Xiao... I'll feed you... ..." This is such a troublesome situation. Over there, the prince Xiao Lian and the second prince Xiao Yan have pinched each other for some reason. The two hands hidden under the table are moving back and forth, pointing at each other, I had a great time playing.On the other hand, the evil princess was eating grapes while watching with her chin in her hands. At this time, His Royal Highness the Co-Prince would always think silently in his heart, if this is the happiness they have earned through hard work...then it is not so attractive, is it? After arguing for a while, Emperor Deyou, who was being held by the queen, said with a smile, "Lian'er, take Yan'er and Xiaoxie to the training ground by the lake, and you can give Yan'er some pointers." After finding a legitimate reason to have a big fight with his younger brother, the prince quickly agreed happily and left with his younger siblings. He looked over lazily, knowing that he was dismissing the children, and sure enough, Emperor Deyou smiled again: "Cang Cang, Qian Qing and I went to the study to talk about something, you go and make two bowls of tea for us. " The queen agreed to come down, bowed her head and kissed Emperor Deyou and got up to leave. Standing up and reaching out to him again, Emperor Deyou still smiled: "Qianqing, I'm sorry to trouble you." He hummed softly, stood up, and did not pull the outstretched hand: "You will be hypocritical." That being said, he still followed Emperor Deyou to the study. Although he no longer listened to the government, but now most of the government affairs and memorials are still handled by Emperor Deyou, so there are many kinds of documents and memorials in the study, and there is an open map of map on the table. Smiling at him, Emperor Deyou picked up a memorial on the desk: "The Ministry of Industry impeached Si Yu'an, the right servant of the Ministry of Household Affairs, Qian Qing, what do you think?" Thinking of the middle-aged official who said he would give him fine wine when he came to court this morning, he only thought for a moment: "If Si Yu'an is indeed at fault, he should be punished according to the law." Emperor Deyou lowered his eyes and smiled: "Qianqing, do you think that I arranged for my eyes and ears to monitor you?" I just talked to him in front of Qianqing Palace in the morning, and was tempted by Emperor Deyou with a memorial in the afternoon. How could there be such a coincidence? He sneered: "Isn't it?" "The people in the accompanying battalion are indeed by your side all the time, because the safety of the assistant prince cannot be ignored." Said with a smile, Emperor Deyou put down the memorial, "Qianqing, from today onwards, the two battalions in front of the imperial court will be at your disposal , All matters, they will no longer report to me." He couldn't help being stunned. The two battalions in front of the imperial court were the emperor's confidantes, and they were also the two most powerful sharp knives in the emperor's hands. When the whereabouts of Emperor Deyou was unknown, the two battalions in the imperial front did not obey his orders. He had never had the opportunity to get involved in the affairs of the two battalions before. Slightly squinting a pair of shallow phoenix eyes, the words in his mouth came out: "Even the two battalions in front of the imperial court are handed over to me, brother Huang is really not afraid of me seeking power and seizing the throne." Lifting his eyes and smiling at him, Emperor Deyou didn't get angry at all because of his words, and his tone was still gentle: "Qianqing, you know that if you want the throne, you only need one sentence..." Still wanting to say something, Emperor Deyou frowned suddenly, his figure swayed slightly, and he raised his hand to support the desk beside him. Suddenly startled, before he regained consciousness, he stretched out his arms to hug the blue figure: "Brother Huanhuang!" Closing his eyes and leaning most of his body weight in his arms, Emperor Deyou coughed lightly, and shook his head after a while: "It's nothing, just dizzy occasionally, don't tell Cang Cang." The innate cold poison and the successive injuries in the early years have ruined the health of this body. It has been several years since his serious illness in Deyou's 18th year. They all know how weak they are. It is impossible for his body to last for many more years, but they all tacitly kept silent and avoided. Qiandai's phoenix eyes flickered, he smiled, and there was an unusual trace of irritation in his voice: "So you are trusting me again?" "Qianqing..." The back of his hand suddenly covered another palm with a slight coolness, and he held his hand lightly. Emperor Deyou had the same smile on his lips, "I want you to take care of me for me." This country." A youthful face very similar to the current Lian'er appeared in front of his eyes. He opened his mouth, but he couldn't refuse in the end, feeling a little annoyed: "You always think that everything will be as you wish!" "Where is it..." Knowing that he had already complied, Emperor Deyou's pale face showed a more gratified smile, and there was a hint of joking, "I still want to ride the horse paddock with Xiaoqing, but it's a pity he doesn't Will stay with me again." Hearing that "Xiaoqing" whom he had not seen for many years, he actually felt a little shy, and sternly said, "If you talk nonsense, I will let go." With a low laugh, Emperor Deyou stopped talking. At this time, the queen also came back, with two teacups on the tray in her hand, seeing them both, she made a fuss and said, "Brother Xiao, Qianqing... you two are hugging each other!" He looked down and saw that his arms were wrapped around Emperor Deyou's waist. He wanted to let go, but he was afraid that Emperor Deyou would still be dizzy, so he forced himself to let it go: "Hugging once in a while is not enough. It will break!" Emperor Deyou was already better, so he smiled lightly and supported his shoulders, stood up by himself, and said to the queen: "Cang Cang, come and put down the tea." She would not easily let go of this opportunity to tease the co-principal king, but the queen was still speechless: "Qianqing, I know you like your brother emperor, but you can't hold on to him like this..." He knew that arguing with the queen would probably be fruitless, so he simply hummed and said nothing. It's just that when Emperor Deyou was about to turn around, he said in a low voice: "Ride the horse, just ride the horse, it's nothing." The queen didn't know the cause and effect of this sentence, but Emperor Deyou laughed, his dark eyes were full of smiles: "Then Qianqing...we've made a deal." The next day after that, it happened that the weather was sunny and the autumn was crisp, and Emperor Deyou really took the two princes to the Hailuo Paddock to relax with him. Of course the crown prince and the second prince would not be idle. They finally had a chance to come to the paddock. They had already brought their own elite soldiers to shoot and kill their prey and compete in secret. Having been ill for many years, Emperor Deyou was still upright and dashing after putting on his strong clothes. It was not suitable for him to gallop, so he let the steed under his crotch walk on the grass in the pasture with small steps. The assistant king rode his horse and followed beside him without speaking. They just walked together for a while, and Emperor Deyou looked at the group of autumn geese in the sky, with a smile on his lips: "Xiao Qing, we are finally back." Looking at the similar hills and trees beside him, he also hooked his lips and smiled: "It's not too late." Yes, it's still early... Twenty-seven years have passed since the last time they parted in this paddock and said goodbye next time. That was when the assistant prince was nine years old, he was not the honorable Prince Dawu, but the son of an unfavorable prince and a lowly dancer. Emperor Deyou, who was the prince that year, was only eleven years old. The world in the deep palace is hot and cold, and he has an overly monstrous face, everyone is alienated and feared by everyone. In this cold world, there is only one young man who smiles at him tenderly from beginning to end, just like all brothers who love young brothers. They slipped to the Taiye Pond to fish together, were punished by the Tai Tuo for being playful together, and together the cats hid in the rockery to avoid the guards looking for them. The last time they met when they were teenagers was in this Hailuo paddock. That day was the first time he participated in autumn hunting and the first time he shot the prey with his own hands. He excitedly brought back the hare he had killed and handed it to the young man who was too weak to participate in hunting. He took his hand and said, "Brother Huanhuang, next year I must hunt a deer to replenish you." body!" The boy laughed and said, "Okay, when I feel better next year, we can ride horses together in the paddock." At the age of nine, he smiled and squinted his eyes slightly. The peerless youth that he deliberately took advantage of when he was an adult was still like a rough jade at that time, unconsciously exuding natural beauty. But just after that hunt, before he had time to visit the young man in the palace again, his father received the imperial edict to become king. Once the prince obtains the fiefdom, he will leave Beijing immediately without a moment's delay. On the day when he left the capital in a hurry, he, who had always been obedient, struggled for the first time. Even though he was young, he knew that many years had passed, and he didn't know when he would see each other again. He cried and wanted to go into the palace to say goodbye to him , but they were still stopped by the soldiers escorting them out of Beijing and sent into the carriage. This farewell is a full ten years.In the past ten years, wild geese have gone and come again, crabapples have thanked and bloomed again, and he has been thinking deeply year by year in the past ten years, and he has captivated the world step by step. Ten years later, he came to the Forbidden City again, and his identity was a usurper with ulterior motives. The rebellion at the end of Deyou's eighth year was too hasty and chaotic. They looked at each other several times, but neither of them mentioned their childhood friendship. However, at a critical moment, he pushed the girl in red into his arms without hesitation, and he took it over without hesitation, desperately bringing her out of the forbidden palace. After that, they accompanied each other for another ten years, never too close, but never too distant. Returning to the palace from the paddock, the prince wanted to stay for another day, so he went back to the capital first. Although the government affairs are heavy and trivial, there needs to be a person standing there in the Forbidden Palace. It was already late at night when he arrived at the inner palace.In the ninth year of Deyou's reign, the harem was dismissed, and the empress moved to the palace. Today's Forbidden Palace is getting colder and colder day by day. He walked among the empty palaces, surrounded by darkness and the bitter autumn. Is it too cold at the heights?Standing at the top of the empire's power, he understood the loneliness that no one can talk to, the loneliness that has nowhere to resolve. It's just that at this moment, he still wants to stand here, overlooking the mountains and rivers of the empire, and listening to the joys and sorrows of the people... just like what that man did all those years ago. This is the duty of their descendants of the Xiao family, which cannot be violated or abandoned. He thought, maybe after many years, when he can finally let go of these responsibilities, when he can finally let go of the smiling woman in red, and the boy who smiled at him and held his hand in his memory. He will go back to Chudi, go back there, spend the boundless years that only belong to him, and take a look at the thousands of miles of Chengjiang River in Chudi, where the sky is full of clear autumn.