Chapter 7 Chapter Two

After dinner, Concubine Xia personally served a cup of Penglu Pear Snow Soup. "Ai Qing has worked hard," Qing Wang Qingren noticed that she was not going away as he was approving the memorial, and said, "What's the matter with you? Just say it." Concubine Xia solemnly knelt down and kowtowed, "My concubine's mother is seriously ill, I implore the Lord to allow my concubine to go home and visit her." At this juncture, she asked to go home, probably not by accident.King Qing hesitated for a moment, and said, "How many days are you going?" "It can be done in a day."

Qing Wang said: "The affairs in the palace are complicated, and you can't do without them. You go and come back quickly." On the second day, Concubine Xia returned from her natal home.Qing Wang Qingren inquired about his mother's condition.Concubine Xia frowned, and only said that the situation was not as serious as she expected.When the mother saw her, she was in a good mood and her symptoms were relieved.Qing Ren smiled and said: "Your mother is missing you, you go back and see her more, she will recover faster." Concubine Xia was startled when she heard the words, not knowing what King Qing meant by these words.

Qing Ren continued to say softly, "If you need anything, just let me know. I will try my best to help you." "Thank you, Lord." Concubine Xia knelt down and bowed. Concubine Xia retreated for a while, and brought a small glazed cup.Qing Ren glanced at it and couldn't help being amazed.The goose-yellow glass cup contains pure white milk soup, with a touch of translucent peach red in the center, and the color is as delicate as a cardamom girl smiling.What's more rare is that there is a distant and strange fragrance, such as lilac, Duruo, Qingheng, Angelica dahurica, Fuqu and other flowers blooming together.

"It's called Baihua Qingjiu." Concubine Xia laughed, "This is the only thing I learned from this trip home." Qing Ren said: "Such a divine product, the name is not good." "Then ask the Lord to give you a name?" "Just call Yun Zhong." "Yun Zhong?" "Yun Zhong." "Then thank the Lord." Qing Ren nodded. "My lord, do you know who created this Yun Zhong?" Qing Ren expected her to be in a hurry, so he must have asked this question, and said, "Isn't it your mother?" "It wasn't my mother," Concubine Xia said with an earnest smile on her face, "it was created by a young lady who learned tea art from my mother. My mother drank this tea when she was sick, and she repeatedly praised that she had never seen such a good tea. That The young lady is really smart and enlightened, and after less than a year of learning, she has the potential to surpass blue."

Qing Ren already understood, "Madam Cai's tea art is outstanding, unrivaled in the country. Even she praised it, it seems that it is really not simple. ——Whose lady is that?" "It's Master Qing's granddaughter, General Qing's daughter, her boudoir name is Luo Ru." Concubine Xia blinked her eyes and said, "The queen has visited the palace with her mother several times in Japan, do you remember?" "I don't remember." Qing Ren rarely paid attention to Queen Qing's female relatives. "A girl who was born quite smartly, and her character is also very dignified." Concubine Xia praised.

Qing Ren nodded. Seeing that he didn't seem interested, Concubine Xia continued to instigate, "I have already invited Miss Luo Ru to the palace tomorrow to help me make some tea utensils. I also invite the Lord to go to the concubine's side to taste tea tomorrow, so that I can give my concubine some face." ?” Qing Ren said: "That is natural. I will go there when I have time." Concubine Xia chatted a few more words, and finally backed down. Xue Li came up slowly and took down the "Yun Bell" that hadn't been touched at all. While thinking, Qing Ren smiled and shook his head, looking at Xue Li, "Why?"

Xue Li said expressionlessly: "Concubine Xia had a fierce fight with her father at her mother's house, because she didn't want to bring that girl to the palace, but her father refused to let her go." "Miss Luo Ru, do you know?" Xue Li frowned, "I don't seem to have any impression. Anyway, she will come tomorrow, and the Lord will just see it with his own eyes." "You don't even remember, probably not some beauty." Qing Ren said casually. There is a small pool behind Cangwu Garden, and the water in the pool comes from a hidden canal.The source of this canal is a quiet spring in the temple outside the palace.Mrs. Xiang dug this canal back then to draw holy water from the temple to feed her Angelica dahurica.

This water has mana attached.There is a kind of thorny shrub beside the canal, which grows extremely densely.In the four seasons of the year, there are three seasons covered with small red fruits like lanterns. A stalk of light blue reed was hidden under the bushes.The reed flowers are covered with a layer of light gold like dusk, and the blue reed leaves are wide and big, as sharp as a crescent moon.He broke off a reed leaf and placed it on the water.The reed leaves are spinning under the fiddle of the canal water.He sang a song in a low voice.So the leaf gradually settled down, and after a while, it went upstream along the canal and disappeared outside the palace wall.And he himself waded away with the leaf.

The temple is very large, a few steps behind the courtyard, there is a secluded courtyard, which hides the largest library in the Qingkui Kingdom.In the afternoon sun, a field of green grass exhales an intoxicating fragrance. Through the window, he saw a white-clothed boy lying on the desk and writing quickly.The young man was quite handsome, his hair color was black with cyan, his fair complexion and black jade-like eyes showed a frightening aura. "Zhu Xuan," a faint female voice came from inside, "It's hot at noon, go back to your room and sleep for a while." The young man named Zhu Xuan stopped writing and said, "I'll sleep after copying this document."

"It's not in a hurry now." The familiar female voice sounded resentful, "Don't you finish copying today, so you can't copy tomorrow?" Zhu Xuan obediently stopped writing, picked up the scrolls on the table, "Master, don't you rest?" "You don't have to worry about me." The curtain moved, and a woman in homely attire flashed out.She looked pale and thin, and looked at the young man with big eyes shining brightly, "There is someone coming to this study in the afternoon, you should avoid it." "Then, can I take the rest of the documents to my room to copy?" Zhu Xuan asked with wide-eyed eyes.

"Whatever you want." The woman said with a smile, "But——what kind of document is this, and it deserves your attention?" Zhu Xuan blushed, and did not answer, but held the scroll in his hand to the woman.She lowered her head and turned over, her originally pale face suddenly turned paler than paper. "The blueprint of Yunfu Speeder—where did you find it?" She tried to ask calmly. Zhu Xuan said lightly: "Master, it's your own collection. Master, twenty years ago, he searched hard to find this "Book of the Underworld" from the depths of Tianque Mountain, and brought it to Yingdu. I think it is an extremely important classic. , should be studied carefully. Moreover, Master should not object to my reading this." The woman shook her hands when she heard this, and the scroll fell to the ground.After Zhu Xuan finished speaking, he leaned over to pick up the scroll, held it tightly, and repeated, "You don't object, do you?" The woman was silent for a long time. Zhu Xuan also greeted him in silence. At the end, the woman sighed, "I have no objection." "Thank you, Master." Zhu Xuan held the scroll in his hands and quietly withdrew. "Zhu Xuan." Walking to the door, the woman suddenly stopped him again. He stared at her with wide eyes. "In that case, I hope you will study this book carefully." She said solemnly. Zhu Xuan nodded, bid farewell to the woman and came out. Qing Ren was peeking out of the window, thinking about what the "Book of the Underworld" was.Unexpectedly, Zhu Xuan came towards him and bumped into him.He was a little embarrassed and subconsciously wanted to hide.However, Zhu Xuan just hesitated for a moment, as if he sensed that there were people in the yard, he looked around but found nothing, so he left in a hurry with the book in his arms. The aroma of green grass became stronger and stronger.Qing Ren looked at the young man's back, feeling an indescribable sadness in his heart.On the one hand, he couldn't help laughing at himself. The boy left the door of the library, but he didn't go far.There was a linden tree outside the door with strange bones. He tiptoed under the tree, pulled down a branch, hung a belt on the branch, and left quickly.The leaves rustle slightly, as if it were just a cool afternoon breeze gliding by. Qing Ren was puzzled, he floated under the tree, looked up, there was faint writing on the belt. The door of the small courtyard opened with a creak, and a young girl in blue shirt came in, with a young and peaceful face, holding a volume of books in her arms, probably "someone who came in the afternoon in the study".Seeing no one around, the girl galloped lightly to the bottom of the Bodhi tree, almost passing through Qing Ren's body.Qing Ren dodged in a hurry, and when she looked back, she had deftly removed the belt on the branch, and stuffed it into the sleeve. Qing Ren was dumbfounded.I saw that the young girl changed her solemn expression in a short while, and stood respectfully outside the study curtain. In the study, under the window of Muchun, there are green shadows whirling.The familiar figure was still lost in thought on the desk, with two slender fingers unconsciously twirling a lock of hair on his forehead.Sunlight leaked obliquely from the window lattice, and the hair shone with ice-coloured light. At this time, Qing Renfang felt that someone threw green thatch on him.Turning around, he saw Xie Li. The puppet was silent, just crushed the green grass in his hand and threw it at him, the expression on his face clearly said that she was angry.Every time he used the magic power of reed leaves and qushui to enter the temple with his soul out of his body, she was severely reprimanded by her. This kind of secret passage was left by Fusu, the high priest of the previous generation, and it was only used for the secret communication between him and the former queen and Mrs. Xiang.When Qing Ren obtained Cangwu Garden, this secret also fell into his hands.Without hesitation, he imitated Fusu's appearance, used the knowledge he learned in the black tower, manipulated his own soul, and left the palace along a secret path that no one knew about, heading for that mysterious place. Xie Li told him countless times that leaving one's soul out of one's body is an extremely damaging way of vigor, and only true wizards have enough mana to avoid such damage.But he doesn't mind.Because only in this way can he visit that woman quietly. Xue Li had nothing to do, and she didn't dare to tell Aunt Wu.Sometimes she would find out his whereabouts, but she could only follow him non-stop, and use Qingmao's method non-stop to help him recover. He originally wanted to apologize to Xue Li, but the scene just now made him breathless and unable to open his mouth.In the end, she asked first: "Don't forget to take medicine at night, don't delay here for too long." He suddenly asked: "She loves that boy very much, doesn't she?" Xue Li nodded. "She loves him, even to the point where she won't let anyone get close to him, but anyone who gets close will be killed." He sneered, "Isn't this normal." Xue Li said: "That's just because, except for that boy, Aunt Wu can't love anyone." Qing Ren was silent for a while, before he wanted to speak. So he stepped on the reed leaves and returned to Cangwu Garden.From a distance, several figures were seen swaying in the grass.Startled, he quickly returned to his body, and then stepped forward to reveal himself. "Stop, who let you break in?" Qing Wang Qingren said angrily. Those few people seemed to have never heard of it, and fled away through the grass like flying. Qing Ren took out the bow and arrows from his waist, and four feathered arrows flew out like beads, and the four figures fell down in the grass immediately.Qing Ren hurried to catch up, left the grass to search for a week, but found no sign of the peeping person. Four feathered arrows fell to the ground, each wearing a small leaf.Qing Ren picked up the feather arrow and found that the leaf was divided into seven leaves, shaped like a bird's feather, and had a strange appearance. There was an ancient character carved with a knife in the center of the leaf. "Is it a shikigami driven by spells?" Qing Ren looked at Xue Li suspiciously. Xie Li took the leaf and crushed it with a spell, "If the lord doesn't want anyone to know that you are looking for Aunt Wu, these shikigami cannot be left behind." "Who is their master?" Qing Ren asked, "How dare you release Shikigami to spy on me." "I don't know, but it should be done by the dignitaries of your Qing clan. Driving the horse chestnut shikigami is the spell that the wizards of the Qing clan are best at. Although I can't find out who did it, but what happened just now One blow is enough to kill a wizard who practices it." Qing Ren's pupils shrank, "I will call people's attention." Xue Li nodded, "Then, the Lord probably has a tendency in his heart?" Qing Ren didn't answer, but said, "Tell Aunt Wu to be careful." It was after the moon had set, and on an empty avenue in the east of the city, a carriage covered with black curtains galloped across the stone road, like a ghost traveling.Not far away, the driving horse suddenly stopped, and the coachman whipped it a few times, urging him to go fast, but the horse suddenly turned a corner, went straight into an alley, and ran a few feet away. Then he stopped slowly. After stopping, there was no movement in the car.The coachman jumped down lightly, walked to the front of the car and looked inside, with an unbelievable expression on his face. He stood dumbfounded on the ground, let out a sigh of relief, turned back into the car, and retreated back to the alley along the original road. The carriage rutted a faint arc on the blue brick road in the alley, as if a bloody flower had floated on the blue brick floor. The car stopped at the entrance of the alley.The coachman could already smell the restless fragrance wafting in the night wind, like the strange flowers and herbs in the mountains and forests in early summer.The coachman reined in his horse and looked around suspiciously.In the second half of the night, the streets of Yingdu were still so quiet, without any human breath.After a while, the coachman fell asleep leaning on the shaft. From the eaves at the entrance of the alley, a night traveler with a bow on his back jumped down, jumped directly in front of the carriage, and lifted the curtain on the carriage. The car was empty. Night Pedestrian also seemed to be taken aback, and climbed into the car to investigate, but found nothing.At this moment, he suddenly saw the red ruts on the ground, chased them a few steps up, and found that the light red light slowly spread out, until it reached the depths of the alley, and the depth of the alley led to the Qingkui Temple. Ye Xingren suddenly understood something, he hurried back, still hiding on the eaves.After a long time, the coachman woke up slowly, as if it was just a dream, he couldn't remember what happened just now, he just focused on urging the horse to go fast, so as to get back before dawn. In the early morning, Qing Wang Qingren received a secret report.Not a single car took the body out of town yesterday.Only an empty car once made a turn in an alley near the temple, but there was nothing in the car, it was empty. "Did you see the blood on the ground?" Qing Ren asked. "Saw." "Light red, fishy?" "yes." Aunt Wu's guess was really good.Qing Ren thought to himself. "Whose yard did the carriage come from? Where did it go back?" The samurai, who was still wearing night clothes, had a troubled expression on his face. Qing Ren smiled slightly, "Actually, I don't need to ask you, I just asked you to keep an eye on the door of Shoufu's family, didn't I?" "It is true that he came out of Shoufu's house and returned to Shoufu's house." The samurai said. "En." Qing Ren nodded indifferently. "But..." The samurai hesitated to speak. "But what?" Qing Ren raised his eyebrows, "Is there anything else?" "The carriage came out of Shoufu's house in the evening. According to my observation at that time, there must be something in the carriage. The carriage didn't go out of the city, nor did it wander around in the city. Instead, it went directly to a brand-new house. Until the middle of the night, The carriage came out and ran towards the city gate until it was led to an alley." "If they went directly to the city gate, then the guards guarding the city would not have any doubts when they saw an empty car." "But obviously the coachman didn't know that the car was empty. After he found out, he left the alley and went back to the second house. This time, he came out after a while and went straight back to Shoufu's house. " Qing Ren nodded, "This second family is also a wizard?" "No. I'm not familiar with the situation in the capital. After inquiring, I found out that it's the residence of Sir Shi Cai, the supervisor of ceremonies." "Caimengxi," Qing Ren said, "Concubine Xia's father, is he?" "Exactly." Qing Ren was taken aback for a moment, then smiled lightly and said, "He's quite capable." On this day, Qing Ren said that he was sick and spared the early court, and waited alone in the study.Xie Li came from Aunt Wu's side, and the content of her reply matched that of the warrior in the night.While Qing Ren was thinking, he couldn't help becoming irritable. He suddenly heard someone whispering in the study room, and after drinking it, he saw that it was some ladies from Concubine Xia's Palace. The maids looked at each other, and one of them kowtowed repeatedly: "It is the Empress Xia who urged us to find the Lord immediately, and she is waiting in the Lubo Palace." Before becoming a queen, someone is already so obedient, Qing Ren thought to himself. As Qing Ren expected, it was Miss Qing who came.Because she is an unmarried woman, she avoided it according to etiquette and hid behind the screen.Concubine Xia stepped forward with a smile and offered a cup of herbal tea, which was made by Miss Qing herself.Qing Ren tasted it a little bit, and gave a compliment.Concubine Xia praised Miss Qing again, and she was about to introduce her.Qing Ren nodded, and the girl turned around from behind the screen with a ringing sound. Surrounded by pearls and emerald greens, Miss Qing looks dazzling from a distance.It seems that for the meeting, she really dressed up.Perhaps the flower tin was too heavy, she kept her head down, unable to see her face clearly.Qing Ren thought to himself, after all, this is the granddaughter of the chief assistant Qing Yannian's direct relative, so she shouldn't be neglected.So he put on a kind face, and when she finished prostrating, he asked her to raise her head, and he also took a look at what kind of woman she was, asking Concubine Xia to flatter her so much. The girl just lowered her head, her chin almost reaching her chest. "Young lady is so shy," Concubine Xia hurriedly smoothed things over, "Luo Ru, the lord asked you to excuse me, why don't you thank me?" It was as if there was a magnet attracting her on the ground, but the girl couldn't lift her head up, and her white hand was tightly grasping the corner of her skirt. "Her name is Luo Ru?" Qing Ren became a little impatient, planning to get out. "Yes, yes," Concubine Xia repeated, "When Miss Qing was born, Luo Ruhua bloomed in the city, which is a sign of auspiciousness." "Xiangrui?" Qing Ren almost laughed. At this moment, a pale white flashed in the corner of my eye.He turned his head involuntarily, and found that there was a noble girl who accompanied Qing Luoru, wearing plain clothes, with clear and delicate eyes, and an indescribably elegant charm.The girl never spoke, with a careless expression, waiting quietly beside the dazzling Miss Qing.Qing Ren saw that she looked familiar, thought for a long time, and suddenly remembered that this was the girl who had appeared in Aunt Wu's study. He wanted to ask about the girl's background, but he couldn't speak because Miss Qing was in front of her.Concubine Xia had already noticed the look in his eyes, and hurriedly said: "This is the concubine's niece, named Chanjuan. She and Luo Ru have been friends since childhood. Since Luo Ru is not used to meeting alone, I let Chanjuan accompany her." "Is it your brother Che Ti's daughter?" "Yes, it's a pity that her parents died early, leaving only such a girl, and there is only such a granddaughter under my father's knee..." "I forgot... why did your brother die?" Concubine Xia lowered her head and said, "Everyone is very happy today, why are you bringing this up?" "Return to the Lord," Chanjuan walked up naturally without waiting for anyone to call, "My father, Che Ti, fought with Marquis Bai Ding fifteen years ago and died there." "It turned out to be the orphan of a warrior from the Qing clan." Chanjuan knelt down and kowtowed, and said flatly: "The Lord is wrong. Although my father is dead, he is not a warrior." "Chanjuan—" Concubine Xia stopped her. So far, Qing Ren has seen Concubine Xia's intentions. It was certainly not Concubine Xia's original intention to recommend Qing's parents and daughters.It was just because of Qing Yannian's threat that she had to do her best for Miss Luo Ru. So, last night her father, Cai Mengxi, helped Qing Yannian dispose of the corpse of the practice wizard, was he coerced by him or voluntarily?Qing Ren had his own thoughts in his heart, these yingyingyanyan girls in front of him had never caught his eyes at all.What is the concubine Xia in front of her planning?Does she know what her father is doing?Qing Ren turned his head to look at the smiling concubine. Although it was undoubtedly Qing Yannian's instruction to recommend Qing Luoru, how could Concubine Xia be so at the mercy of others.On the one hand, she brought Qing Luoru to Qing Ren in a bright and unparalleled dress, but on the other hand, she made her own girl stand beside the protagonist like an orchid in an empty valley. Qing Yannian and other ministers may not understand Qing Ren's taste, but Concubine Xia knows it well.It's just that she never imagined that a girl like Chanjuan often has her own opinions and won't act according to her wishes. Right now, even though the girl kept silent under Xia Fei's yelling, she didn't hide the lofty and self-assured expression on her face.Qing Ren could not help but look at her a few more times. Concubine Xia saw that King Qing was silent, and added: "Actually, my brother is not good... something went wrong in the sea area. In order to boost the morale of the army, Bai Dinghou had to be executed by marching. I just have pity on this child, who has become a scapegoat." ...In order to redeem her, I sent her to Aunt Wu and made her a disciple." "The temple witch?" he murmured. "Yes, from the age of nine, Chanjuan went to the temple three times a month, recited scriptures with Aunt Wu, and worshiped the gods. Fortunately, this girl is also very smart, and she learned a lot from Aunt Wu. Now people say All the talented women in the city of Yingying, besides Chanjuan, don’t think of anyone else.” Concubine Xia said, “Actually, speaking of it, Aunt Wu has not taken in another apprentice by her side for so many years. Therefore, Chanjuan can’t say that she is a disciple of Wu. My only disciple." Qing Ren was a little annoyed.It turns out that Concubine Xia's niece, Chanjuan, has long been Aunt Wu's apprentice.And he didn't know anything.He could only be content to peep quietly, without mentioning her name to anyone.How long has it been since I asked her about it? Is it because I don't want to, or because I dare not? Chanjuan didn't seem to hear Concubine Xia's evaluation of her at all, she just stood there stiffly.Qing Ren looked at her curiously.Or because he was hinted by Concubine Xia, he quietly searched for traces of her master on this delicate girl.Chanjuan seemed to sense Qing Wang's unusual gaze, and suddenly raised her eyelids.Qing Ren was hit by her gaze unexpectedly, besides the clarity and introversion of a young girl, there is also an inherent coldness and vigilance... It's really rude, and Qing Ren can't help but get annoyed. He suddenly suspected that the reason why Caimengxi was able to participate in Qingyannian's plot might be due to the contribution of this granddaughter who knew witchcraft.The scene he saw in the temple suddenly appeared in front of his eyes. Under the eyes of Aunt Wu, the girl secretly sent letters to the young man Zhu Xuan. It turned out that she was not an easy person. He turned his head away, didn't look at Chanjuan again, and didn't answer Concubine Xia's words, just said "Mm", bowed his head and continued to drink tea. There was another awkward silence. Suddenly, Miss Qing stood up, pulled off the beaded crown from her head, and immediately her black hair fell loose. Qing Ren was stunned. "Forgive me for being rude," the girl suddenly knelt down again, "I'm really...not used to wearing the beaded crown...it's about to fall off." Qing Ren couldn't help laughing, and almost spit out a mouthful of tea. Concubine Xia was so angry that she said, "Hurry up and help Miss down to comb her hair." Like throwing a stone into water, the dull atmosphere was suddenly broken.The palace people got busy one after another, picking up beaded crowns, and passing combs.Chanjuan silently retreated to the side, letting the palace people come forward to serve Qing Luoru. "Forget it, it's good." Qing Ren became more interested, "Luo Ru, raise your head again and let me take a look." The girl raised her face slightly, facing Qing Ren. To have such a radiant face made Hua Tang pale in an instant.Qing Ren was dazzled for a moment, but was speechless.A small face was flushed, like spring peaches and plums to the extreme.His eyes were wet as if he had cried, but he just kept looking at King Qing. Qing Ren took a deep breath, smiled and said, "So it was you." Qing Luoru's eyes widened, and she couldn't hide her joy, "My lord remembers me? I was honored by the lord that day, but I didn't have time to thank you." "Alan," Qing Ren said quietly, "You actually invited me a good archer, the granddaughter raised by Mr. Shoufu." This Qing Luoru is the young archer who shot the sky Luo flowers and birds in Shenshui Garden on the day of Qinghou's death.Concubine Xia was obviously confused, but she could also hear the faint anger in Qing Ren's elegant voice.What Qing Ren thought of at this moment was not only that Concubine Xia was leading the attack, but also suspected that Qing Yannian had intentionally put this girl in front of his eyes long before that. "Thank you, Lord, for your compliment." Qing Luoru didn't feel it, and just continued, "My Lord's arrow skills are magical, and the little girl admires her all over the ground. I just wish I didn't have the chance to see you. There are no women in the Spring Hunt, and the little girl is not allowed to dress up as a girl." Men’s clothing, please forgive me, Lord.” Qing Ren said with a smile: "I will not punish you, but I will ask your grandfather. Your grandfather's family law is not strict, and he even let the girls run around." Qing Luoru was taken aback, "Please Lord, please don't tell my grandpa—" "Eh?" Qing Ren narrowed his eyes, observing the girl carefully. "Grandpa's family education is very strict." The ignorant girl, obviously frightened by Qing Ren, kowtowed repeatedly, "I learned my arrow skills secretly, and I went to participate in the spring hunting... It took a lot of effort to hide it My family... If the Lord wants to punish me, punish me, don't tell my grandfather. He always calls me a wild girl, if he finds out that I do this kind of thing, I... I will be punished." Qing Ren felt amused, and wondered: "How do you know that I won't hit you?" Qing Luoru couldn't say a word, and choked with tears. Qing Ren put down his teacup and laughed.Xiao Bi just stood up, helped the girl up by himself, and smoothed out her messy hair.Qing Luoru had never been approached by a man before, and in this situation, she didn't know where to put her hands and feet.The two big eyes only looked at Concubine Xia's face in a panic. At this moment, Concubine Xia finally breathed a sigh of relief, must cheer up, and Miss Chaoqing gave an encouraging smile.Seeing it, Qing Luoru knew that nothing had happened, and immediately blushed again. "I haven't said to spare you yet," Qing Ren said, "Follow me to Jiangli Mountain, if you can't shoot me three geese down, you will still have to hit the board hard." "Thank you, Lord." Qing Luo Ruxi said earnestly. "Also, you didn't cook this tea, did you?" "Eh?" The girl lowered her head, looked at Concubine Xia resentfully, and said in a low voice, "No, I don't know how to tea art." Concubine Xia blinked her eyes, smiled wryly and said, "It turns out that I am busy." Qing Ren ignored it and just took the beauty with him to the archery range. Concubine Xia sent the two of them back, and saw that Chanjuan was still waiting on the corridor of Lubo Palace. "Aunt..." Chanjuan called her apologetically. Concubine Xia stopped, glanced at her, sighed, and stopped talking.This girl is no longer in her control. Chanjuan pursed her lips and said seriously, "Auntie, don't blame me." "It's nothing." Concubine Xia said wearily, walking past her. "Aunt—" Chanjuan caught up with her and stopped her, "I still have something to say." Concubine Xia then stopped.She knew that this girl had some knowledge, so she had to listen to her. "Auntie, you always work for the master in the palace, and you don't often go home to visit relatives. I hope you can go back more often." Chanjuan said, "Now grandma is also ill, and no one advises grandpa. If you are here, your words Grandpa is at least willing to listen to a few more words. People like us should be more cautious in everything." "Why, it's still for your marriage?" "No," Chanjuan couldn't help but blushed, but still said seriously, "it's a more important issue." After hearing her words, Concubine Xia knew something big was going on.She looked around and saw that the palace people were ten steps away, she did not expect to overhear, so she pulled Chanjuan to her side and asked in a low voice: "What's wrong?" "A stranger came to our house a few days ago. Although he was dressed in an ordinary attire, I could tell at a glance that it was a wizard. I was about to ask, but Grandpa hid him again and didn't mention it to me. All I said was Please come to pray for grandma, unexpectedly yesterday morning, a car came to Shoufu's house and picked her up." Concubine Xia couldn't help being shocked when she heard this. "I didn't think much about it at the time. In the afternoon, I went to Aunt Wu's place to read a book. Aunt Wu gave me a cardboard box and asked me to open it at midnight." Chanjuan's face gradually turned pale, "I feel a little strange , came home and looked around quietly, but found nothing unusual. Until midnight, Shoufu’s car came again. I heard the sound of the rut rolling across the road from a distance, and felt a little strange. He's still in the car, but he's out of breath." Concubine Xia gasped. "Wizards who fail to do so will lose their lives." Chanjuan said, "I couldn't sit still. I went out to have a look, and saw the driver of the chief assistant's family telling grandpa that he was recommended by you, and now he is not good enough. , died. Shoufu said it will be handled by you.” "So - is it really the person recommended by your grandfather?" Concubine Xia almost collapsed on the ground, and Chanjuan had no choice but to support her. "Maybe." Chanjuan said, "I suddenly thought of Aunt Wu's cardboard box. When I saw the time on the clock, it was exactly three o'clock in the middle of the night. I opened it quickly and understood everything. Anything with this talisman affixed to it will disappear within a stick of incense and become nothing. The dead body was parked in front of the door, and Grandpa was running around in a hurry. Sticking a charm on the corpse, he drove the coachman back. Thinking about it now, it’s really scary, but Aunt Wu would have arrived a long time ago to give me such an emergency thing.” Concubine Xia's eyes were straightened, and she suddenly said: "Chanjuan, you shouldn't have pasted the paper talisman on that dead person. It's clear that Aunt Wu took advantage of you and asked you to make a mark on that car, so you can't hide your whereabouts from them in the future." You know, although Aunt Wu has never met the Lord, she is the Lord's closest confidant and helper. Letting Aunt Wu know means letting the Lord know." Chanjuan was silent for a while, and said: "Maybe it is true. But, even if you don't make that mark, you can't escape Aunt Wu's eyes, and you will be noticed by the Lord. Aunt Wu is willing to help us out, which means that maybe the Lord Wu is not right now. It’s just trying to make things smaller.” Concubine Xia sighed.At this moment, her mind was in a state of confusion, and Qing Ren must have known about it very early in the morning when such a thing happened.The frightening thing is that just now he was chatting and laughing with Qing Luoru, completely calm.And she was still in the dark, she didn't even know what made her always cowardly father so daring to go against her dangerous husband. Her father, Caimengxi, was originally of mediocre talent. Although he had a daughter who was a princess, she had to rely on Qing Yannian to take the position of censor, and it was unknown if she was coerced by him.However, there are not a few people in the court who are regarded as Qing's party members.But most of the people just follow suit and go along with it. As long as they don't do anything conspicuous, Qing Ren won't bother with these people.And his father dared to help Qing Yannian arrange wizards, spy on the monarch, and dispose of corpses, and he was almost guilty of treason.Even if he is coerced, Qing Ren will be furious.And... if it wasn't for coercion, then——it would be horrible. The more Concubine Xia thought about it, the more frightened she became, and she held onto Chanjuan's hand tightly, "The lord must have known about it. Father, and Mr. Chief Assistant, don't you know that the lord already knows about it?" Chanjuan said slowly: "I don't know how Mr. Shoufu is. But looking at Grandpa's appearance, he seems to think that he has cheated the world. Sigh... I don't understand what Grandpa thinks. The Lord and Mr. Shoufu will have trouble, and sooner or later there will be trouble." There will be a break one day. Grandpa always thinks Master Qing is great. In fact, although the Lord is forbearing, he has always been quite smart..." "Stop talking." Concubine Xia waved her hand. This is exactly what she has always doubted.But when Chanjuan whispered it in her ear, her doubts amplified tenfold, making her breathless, and she would rather not hear these words.It was originally a sunny day, but the clouds above the Green Wave Palace were sombre with iron gray, and there seemed to be a dizzying smell of blood floating from the sky.Concubine Xia pressed her forehead, trying her best to calm herself down. "Chanjuan..." she said subconsciously, "You are still a child, don't worry about it. The family is not stable, you have to be careful." "I know. It's just that I'm not a child anymore." Chanjuan said seriously, "People in our family, generation after generation, are always used as sacrifices by these powerful people. I just don't want the tragedy of my father. Repeatedly." Hearing her mention her father again, Concubine Xia twitched, "Don't think about it. No one can tell about your father." Chanjuan refused to give in, and said: "But Auntie, you know more than me, right?" "I can't hide anything from you." Concubine Xia smiled wryly. "It's just me and my aunt," Chanjuan said, "Why do you keep it from me?" Concubine Xia pondered and said: "To tell you the truth, your father's violation of military law is just an excuse. He was unlucky. It was probably in the last years of the Wu Xiang dynasty. There is a deep relationship. Just look at it after reading it. After a few years, he changed King Qing, and he actually said it himself. Bai Dinghou immediately found an excuse to kill him. Originally, your mother She also died together, but before she died, she left a little word for the family and let me know. Later, Concubine Bai Dinghou Tuochun apologized to me, saying that she had violated the military law and had to do it, and she gave it to us in private The family gave a heavy gift. I can't think about it, so I can only say that my brother is unlucky." "Unlucky?" Chanjuan raised her eyebrows. "Yes, because the Bai family can't afford to provoke them. King Qing's dependence on them is deeper than what you all have seen. And...everyone in the Bai family is not simple. Shoufu has not treated them well these years."少做过手脚，从未撼动他们半根毫毛。你只想想，武襄王和湘夫人当权的时候，他们就是湘夫人的重臣，临到湘夫人的对头清任上台，他们又成了清任的心腹。这在别人身上，是不可能办到的事情。而且，他们在海疆的根基又是那么深……所以，将来怎么样，还说不定呢……唉……所以，我告诉你，你记在心里就是了，千万别跟你爷爷提这个。他老人家只知道对庆家忠心，看不到长远处，一点退路不给自己留。” 婵娟低头默想了一会儿，忽然问：“父亲看见了什么？” “不知道，我也没敢问。不过……”夏妃想了想，说，“后来我悄悄留意，发现武襄朝最后几年，湘夫人曾经派大祭司扶苏秘密前往海疆。大祭司去干什么呢，当然是去做法，而且肯定还是了不得的事情。也许，你父亲的死，就是因为他看见这个大秘密。” “如果知道大祭司在海疆做了什么，父亲的死因就明瞭了。” “追究下去是很危险的，知道得越多，就陷得越深。假如我知道了，白家连我也不会放过，我们家就全完了。” “可是姑妈——” “别再说这个了。”夏妃打断了她，苦笑道，“婵娟……当初我真不该送你去巫姑那里，你一个女孩儿家，总是想那么多干什么呢，这不是你的份内事儿。你就不能弹弹琴，绣绣花，打打猎，过得轻松快活一点儿么？像洛如那样，多好。” “我怎样也不会真正快活的。”婵娟悠悠道，“再说，像她那样，就很好么？” 夏妃哑然。 姑侄两人面对面地站着，各自想着自己的心事。她们被血缘绑在了共同的命运绳上，身不由己。船在下沉。周遭的一切，都渐渐与她们对立。她们只是两个弱女子，除了彼此伸出安慰的手，似乎别无办法可以排遣心中的失落和恐惧。 青夔历四百一十七年冬，青王清任纳首辅庆延年之孙女庆洛如为妃，号芸妃。 在此之前的那个深秋，青王曾三次召庆家小姐入昔辉堂练习射箭。朝中上下都在猜想，这位庆家小姐，大约会是下一任的王后了。大学士那一边的人难免愤愤不平。连庆延年自己都大感诧异。让青王立庆洛如为后，是他私心里的希望，甚至不惜为此威胁夏妃。但是时局和青王的态度都已经不同于庆拂兰当年。他自己对这件事，都没有太大把握。然而青王选择了庆洛如。也许，对于即将步入垂暮之年的帝王而言，青春少艾是难以抵挡的魅力。 庆延年一度大松一口气。 然而旨意下来以后，他沉下的心又漂移起来。芸妃算是个什么名号？四妃之中并没有这样的封号，似乎只是一个随便的称谓。从这点上看，庆洛如被架在了一个不进不退的位置上。而宫中的格局，从外表上看基本没有改变。青王究竟是什么意思呢？ 幕僚们恭维道，青王喜欢芸妃庆洛如，这是不争的事实。早晚芸妃生下小公子，这王后的位置还有谁能跟她争？宫里的人告诉庆首辅，只要芸妃在跟前，青王的饭都要多吃一碗。那小丫头竟有这等本事，倒也是她的缘法，庆延年心想。他已经老了，谋略有余，精力却不及往年。面对精明深沉的青王，他甚至没有足够的信心继续掌控已有的那些东西。但是小孙女儿的表现出人意料，倒给了他一点点冀望，也给了他一点点担忧。 而对于十七岁的少女庆洛如来说，这一切都像是一场梦。青王清任把青鸾宫旁边的紫竹苑赐予她居住。之前所有人都对她说她会成为王后，她心里又是惊喜，又是惶惑。这已经超出了她的小小希冀。她希冀的是什么呢，不过是让那个传说中的英雄看她一眼。这就像每一个豆蔻少女所怀有的心思，简单的梦想，不计后果的热情。然而现在，她竟然要做他的王后？竟然所有的人都当她是王后了。 繁花簇锦的嫁衣已经卸在一边，她呆呆地坐在檀木雕花大床上。早间的旨意她很快就知道了。结果不是王后，却是……芸妃，她很重的心忽然轻了，可是这一轻又似乎轻过了头，飘忽忽不知往哪里着落。她甚至看到了旁人哀悯的神情。没有做王后，她很可怜吗？她要到了她想得到的，为什么被别人一看，自己都觉得自己可怜了呢？一时间百味杂陈。 她不像孤女婵娟。她从小顺风顺水，有生里第一次觉得，命运的诡变，人情的复杂，远远地超出了自己的想像。不过是一个月的工夫，就改变了一生的轨迹。她无意识地拉扯那些散落的头发。极尽奢华铺陈的房间，在她的眼里，却空荡荡像一个雪洞。侍女们进来，要替她换上晚装，看她这副样子，不由得换了一个半讥讽的眼色，正要上前劝谏，却听见背后青王威严的声音，“你们都退下好了。” 庆洛如这才从沉思中惊起。 侍女们像花蝴蝶一样，翩翩退下。只剩下青王一人站在幽暗的灯火里，注视着因为担忧而显得有些苍白的少女。 庆洛如慌忙跪下请安。彼时她只穿了一件白色的深衣，蜷在地上有如兰花初绽。清任将她一把拽起，揽入怀中。少女脸上顿时红潮翻涌，而手却是越来越凉。 "Are you afraid?" 庆洛如听见青王的声音柔和得不像真实的，便胡里胡涂地说了句：“不怕。” 清任轻声笑了。庆洛如发现此刻青王的表情，微微透着明红，泛起一种不真实感，仿佛隔着久远的岁月，凝视着遥远彼方的某个目标。 也就是在芸妃正式入宫的那一夜，在郢都城北，永远寂如长夜的神殿里，朱宣终于完成一天的祷告。 他站起身来，看见巫姑静悄悄地站在廊檐下，点着一盏旧白纸灯笼。跳跃的火光将她的身影勾成了浓重的暗金色。 “师父——师父——”少年看见这般情形，知道她又失神了，连忙唤她。 巫姑清醒过来，看了看自己俊美的徒弟，长叹了一声，朝他招招手，“我算着今天晚上，后院的风兰花应该开了。一同去赏花吧。” 朱宣回屋，挑了一盏新的灯笼，跟在巫姑身后。 巫姑好静，以祭司清修为名，神庙里不许留住其他的巫师。这么些年也只有两个徒弟，一个是朱宣，一个是婵娟。夏妃知道清任对巫姑的看重，超过每一个后妃，所以巫姑隐然拥有无上的特权。夏妃让婵娟入道，本就是为了籍此求得庇护，并不是真的想让千金玉体成为巫师。因此巫姑也不会令婵娟随侍身旁。日夜跟随着巫姑的，只有二十岁的弟子朱宣。 到了夜间，这旷大的神庙中，只有师徒二人。虽说都是有高超法力的巫师，也未免觉得静得可怕。 “把灯吹了罢。”巫姑吩咐。 一片浓郁的夜色中，风兰花纤长的花瓣闪烁着银白色的磷光，仿佛游荡的幽灵，风一吹就会消散。事实上风兰这种花禁不起白昼的热烈，总是在早晨的第一缕阳光中凋谢。 “一生只开一次，一次只开一夜，”朱宣轻声说，“多美的花，可惜啊！” “只有一夜的盛开。所以，这种花天然地就比那些朝朝暮暮的花珍贵了好多倍，”巫姑说，“没有可惜，就不值得怀念了。” 朱宣不知道该说什么好。 “把花采下来吧，注意留住花粉。”巫姑说。 朱宣温顺地点头。 巫姑悠然地看着少年修长的手指敏捷地撕下一朵朵洁白的花瓣。风兰花，虽然是只开一夜的绝色花朵，依然因为它极其神秘的药用价值，要在最美丽的时候被采摘下来。 “婵娟也来就好了。”巫姑说。 朱宣的手停了一下。 “前几天她跟我说，希望看到一次风兰花开。可是我邀请她在神殿里留宿看花，偏偏她又来不了。”巫姑说。 朱宣自然知道，因为婵娟要参加庆洛如入宫的典礼。他不知如何去接巫姑的话，只能保持沉默。 “听说他们家里，想把她嫁给庆延年的孙子，这可不好。”巫姑悠然道，“婵娟是个聪明的孩子。虽然比起你来差了一些，可也是我的爱徒，怎么能落到庆延年手里去呢？世事难料啊。” 朱宣的脸白了白。 “花如年华，不能错过的。”巫姑悠悠地说，“等到明年，还能留下谁在这里？不知花在何处，人又在何处了。” 朱宣心里一动，立刻说：“别人不在，也有我和师父您，在这里守着花开的。” 巫姑苍凉地一笑。 少年被她的笑容所震慑，心中一酸，再不敢抬起头来看她，只是用修长的手指敏捷地撕下一朵朵白花，一句话也说不出来。 美丽的风兰花终于被一一撕碎，变成金盘红缎上的一堆碎银片玉。巫姑将这一盘花瓣捧回房中，掩了门，嘱咐朱宣道：“我要连夜将这花朵炮制成药，不需你帮忙，你自己早些休息吧。” 朱宣毕恭毕敬地退了出来。 一弯新月，渐渐沉落西天，只有疏疏朗朗几颗星，斜挂在墨色的天宇中。朱宣一边吸着冰凉的夜风，一面慢慢地走回自己的住所。这是一间相当隐蔽的偏院。神殿最后一道回廊的尽头，插入一片浓密得有些阴森的树林。那片神木林自建庙以来就已存在，几百年来不曾有人敢于触动它，即使当年的神殿建造者，也难以察觉到就在这神木林后面，神庙的围墙边下，还有几间隐秘的小屋子。小屋依围墙而建，全然由竹木构建而成。一墙之隔便是郢都城的护城河沿，白日里隐隐能听见墙外贩夫走卒们的喧嚣声，而墙内却是永远与世隔绝的天地。 朱宣并没有回到屋中。夜凉如水，心乱如麻，他想自己清静一会儿。此时此刻，巫姑应该还在药房中整理风兰花粉，不知她又是怎样的心绪呢？ 院子的一角有一扇门，门外是一条窄窄的隐秘巷道，通往围墙外。这门常年不开，一把铁锁早已锈死，薄木板也朽烂不堪。巫姑在这里种上了天阙山的云萝花，花蔓很快就爬满了整个木门，一直高高地攀到围墙顶上去。朱宣很喜欢这种有着水绿色花朵和冰凉香气的植物，他在花下搭了一个矮梯，以便闲来时给花藤修剪枝条。而某些枯寂的夜晚，他也会独自坐在梯子最上面的一格上，任由思绪如这植物一般疯长，无拘无束，无边无际。这时候他就会感到自己离天空近了一些，离尘世也近了一些。 周天的星，如霜雪细碎，如落花飘零。 “朱宣。” 他忽然听到一个熟悉的声音，仿佛一滴水落在了沉寂的湖面上。 “朱宣，你在么？”小心翼翼地，那个声音又重复了一遍。 他立刻把身子贴向了花墙，靠近那声音的来处。墙外的人听见了响动，发出了欣喜的叹息，“你果然在的，太好了。” “你怎么了，这么晚还过来？”朱宣急切地问道。 “没什么，我只是想过来看看你。”她说，“今天洛如出嫁了，我跟随姑母入宫侍奉，直到现在才出来。” “是你说的那个——庆首辅的孙女？”朱宣迟疑道。 “是的，她做了主上的新妃子。” 朱宣沉默了一会儿，道：“婚礼很隆重吧。” “是啊，好隆重，青夔很久都没有这么荣耀的典礼了，就好像是死气沉沉的夜里，忽然点起了光明烛火。连我这个陪伴新娘的人，都穿上了珠光宝气的大红吉服。我想我真正出嫁的时候，也不可能装扮得如此夺目了。” “你穿礼服的样子，一定很美。”朱宣说。 她的确穿着那繁花似锦的礼服，守在柴门之外，就如同荒草巷陌中忽然开出了一朵夜之花。沉甸甸的裙裾拖在护城河边污浊的泥地上，沾满了腥湿的草叶和露水。她没有回答，沉默了一下，忽然说：“朱宣，我想看见你。” 朱宣没有回答。 她知道他不会回答，于是紧跟着说：“我每天都忍不住猜想你的眼睛，你的头发。可是我们永远都不能见面。我永远都不能知道，你——究竟是什么模样的呢？” “我也不知道自己长什么模样，我不能照镜子。” “可是，”婵娟说，“有一个人知道你的模样。” 朱宣“嗯”了一声，算是回答。 “只有她一个人知道你的样子，”婵娟忍不住强调了一下，“为什么？为什么只有她能看见，不要告诉我因为她是法力最强的巫师，所以她看见你不会死，这个理由不充分。” 朱宣说：“婵娟，不要这样谈论我们的师父。” 虽然少年的声音清静如水，却不能有效地平息女孩激荡的情绪，“我仰慕师父，她睿智而圣洁。虽然外面有种种的说法。一直以来我都认为，无论师父做了什么，我都不会有异议。可是，当我了解到你的存在，当我知道你因为她的缘故而不得不忍受无尽的痛苦，我再也无法认同她的所作所为。我记得你对我说过，当你还是个小孩子，偶然的机会第一次看见了神殿外面的人，你高兴得不得了。然而还未等你跟他说上一句话，那人就倒在了地上，眼睛变成了两只血洞……你立刻就晕了过去。那样的恐怖和罪恶感，几乎把你的精神摧垮。然而这还只是第一次。在那以后你谨记着关于你自己的禁忌，不让任何人知道你的存在。可是防不胜防，依然有十多个不幸的人，因为你而丧失生命。” “婵娟，你害怕我吗？”他忽然问。 “我不怕你。可是我也曾经深深地害怕过。”婵娟说，“外界的人，只知道神殿里豢养秘兽，用目光夺人性命，就像最邪恶的妖魔一样。却不知道，你比谁都无辜。你只是秘术最大的受害者……” “别说了，婵娟。” “你不必隐瞒，伤人并不是你天然的特质。我思前想后，这只有一种解释，是师父对你施了法术让所有看见你的人都不能活命。而杀人的罪过和痛苦，却被强加于你。” “我的确痛苦，但并无怨恨。” “朱宣！” “你说得不错，我并非天生会伤人，是师父在我的眼睛里面种下了咒法。” “果然如此！”听见他如此平静地承认了，她忍不住惊呼，“她想用这种的方法来拘禁你，独占你——” “不是像你想像的那样。”朱宣的声音从浓密的云萝花藤后面透过来，仿佛只是一道不经意的夜风，“尽管伤了这么多人。但师父是不得已而为。” "how?" “她说这是为了保护我，否则我会死去。” “怎么会有这种事情，我不相信。” “这是真的。” “你有何证据？” “证据么？师父就是这么说的。” “你怎么知道师父说的就一定是真的，你为什么如此信任她？”婵娟不禁焦急起来，朱宣是那样的一个孩子，在他短短二十年的生命中，从未接触过外界的人和事情，他甚至不懂得什么叫欺骗吧？ “我为什么不信任她呢？师父是我爱的人，我当然全心全意地相信她。就像我相信你——我的师妹一样。” 他说这话的时候，声音宁静得像午夜的河水流淌，语气自然得像风中的叶落，就像鱼在水中游，鸟在天上飞，而他像赤子一样地相信他的师父。墙外的她，心中倒极其不自在，仿佛她的不信任，倒是值得赧颜的。 “可是……”她终究还是不能解除疑虑，对他的关切又升了起来，“难道没有别的办法，能够让你离开这个牢笼？” “师父一直在想办法。” 婵娟不语，下意识地用手指搓揉着拖在尘泥中的裙幅。她隔着密密的云萝花架，听见他的呼吸，温柔而坦然，像一只幼兽。 彼此沉默片刻之后，仿佛感到了她心中的不安，他又开口了，“我之所以相信师父，还有别的原因。” "Ok?" “因为她其实是我的母亲。” 依然是平静如梦的声音，却把婵娟惊呆了。她一把抓住了手边最近的一根花藤，狠狠地拉了一下，像是想拉住就要脱缰的思绪。 “婵娟？”朱宣也察觉到了她这边的震动。 “你怎么知道的？”她急问，“是她告诉你的？” “她没有说过。” “那你——” “你又来了。”他仿佛是在那边轻轻地笑着，“一个孩子对母亲的直觉，还不够吗？” “你——真是这样觉得的？” “婵娟，师父待你如何？” “师父待我很好。”婵娟顿了顿，又说，“我明白了。师父待我很好，对你更好，但是她对待你的方式，和对我完全不同。——是因为这个吗？” “大约可以这么解释。不过也可以说，是我更愿意接受她是我的亲生母亲这一事实。”朱宣道，“这也许是个天大的秘密，她不能让任何人知道，也不肯告诉我。但我早已清楚地察觉到了，从她教我读书、写字、种花和养鸟，从她带着我学习法术，从她看我抄写经书的眼光，从她听我弹琴时的神情……虽然她是那么淡漠的一个人，可是她对我的态度还是明显的与众不同。我相信，这是母亲才有的姿态。” “所以，”婵娟叹息道，“你也就像一个孩子而不是徒弟那样地信赖着她……你可有告诉她，你的这种感觉？” “从来没有——既然她竭力隐瞒。”朱宣道。 “假如你真的是她的孩子，”婵娟道，“那是绝对犯了大忌的。” “我知道。可是，其实……我很想……听见她亲口承认。” 婵娟静默了一下，忽然想起了什么，道：“这么说，你的父亲……” “——是的，当然，就是那个人。”朱宣道，“是她一直深深爱着的那个人。” 这句话令两人再次陷入长久的沉默。婵娟清楚地知道，朱宣说的是什么。情人的伤感总是类似。她离他如此之切近，能够清楚地感知夜风穿过他的衣袂，晨露滑下他的鬓角，然而他们却永远不能看见对方的面目，在倾心相与中素昧平生。她满腹惆怅，回头看护城河上浮起淡淡的白沫儿，风似乎吹得更急。晨星寥落，远处黑压压的城墙角，框住了浅浅一抹铅色的天空。 “婵娟，”他低声问，“可以让我握一下你的手吗？” 她低头看见，密不透风的云萝花藤蔓之间，不知何时破出了一个细小的缝隙，一根修长的属于少年人才有的手指，从那个缝隙里探了出来。她毫不犹豫地捉住了它。陌生而熟悉的温暖，令那只冰凉的手指微微颤栗。原来他和她彼此的