Chapter 20 Twenty or fifteen years ago, the dream of family and country

It was a sad story that I had never experienced, and it was the honor of the children of the emperor's family that I had never been in contact with. The Dali Palace fifteen years ago. The wind is soft and the clouds are peaceful. Duan Qingyi said that he always remembered those days, the days before the age of eleven, the clear and warm days, it had nothing to do with the extremely gorgeous brocade robes in the court, and the sweet and delicious jade food brought by the imperial kitchen. It's only about three people. One is his mother, the woman who has no heart.Although she was as beautiful as jade and was favored by her father, the deep palace gate was not a blessed place for such a pure-hearted woman.

So, in the repeated invitations to favor and robbing of luck, she tasted the coldness of the deep palace: time after time of intrigues, time and time again of framing, she lost her father, brother and relatives.So, the carefree Bai girl who originally came to the water to sing, just shrank in the deep confinement, facing the gray sky, holding Jiaoer, weeping from time to time, wet and hanging on her two sons. The rouge stone on the chest. Duan Qingyi always thought that his father loved his mother exclusively, otherwise, it would be impossible for him to kill her father and brother who were accused of "attempting rebellion" when he was angry, and leave her alone.Although, her position was abolished, and her costume and phoenix crown were taken away.

He once sneaked around outside his mother's palace, and saw his father, who was sleepless all night, sighing outside his mother's palace, with those hesitant hands, after trembling, he could not push open the door of the bedroom that cut off the kindness, turned around and left. In the figure, what cannot be concealed is the deep loneliness of a man. Thus, the young Duan Qingyi frantically ran into his father's palace. Above the gloomy and quiet hall, an eleven-year-old boy vowed that if I grow up in the future, I will never let down my beloved woman like my father! The man sitting on the palace, looking at his handsome son in front of the palace, sighed - one day, when you sit on the throne, you will know how ridiculous your words are.

At that time, he couldn't understand the indistinguishable black and white world with his black and white eyes, so naturally he refused to believe his father's words.Therefore, he yelled at his father, I would rather have my beloved woman than this lifeless throne! Since his mother lost her smile, the only two people who can bring him joy are his younger brother Duan Haoming, and Long Yu, the son of General Long Xiang and Feng Jing, the Dragon General. He has always remembered the appearance of Hao Ming pulling a kite and running towards him, that kind of childlike innocence and unique dependence on himself.Haoming shouted in a childish voice, "Brother, brother, look, I've put the kite up into the sky, after a while I'll put you on the kite and up into the sky too, so my father won't be able to practice the Flying Sword because of you." I can't punish you.

Duan Qingyi always remembered that Haoming was a boy who liked to cry so much. Since he was a child, he was extremely cowardly because of his congenitally weak body. Therefore, tears became the best way for him to vent his inner softness. Every time, when Duan Qingyi was practicing kung fu, and received physical injuries, the little Haoming would always hide behind him, screaming hoarsely in pain, he didn't want to see Duan Qingyi, whom he relied on, get hurt. Whenever at this time, Duan Qingyi would put away his usual seriousness and stand upside down on the ground making faces, only then could he make Haoming laugh through his tears.He stroked Haoming's little head and said, look, brother is fine.

And Long Yu, this beautiful little boy, entered the palace to practice martial arts with Duan Qingyi since he was a child. His father, General Long Xiang, was a man of strong iron bones. He died on the battlefield many years ago.Therefore, from that day on, Long Yu's mother, Fengjing, wiped the battle robe left by her husband Long Xiang with tears and said to the three-year-old Long Yu, from today onwards, you will take up this armor and inherit your father's legacy. important task.You have to remember that you are a descendant of the Long family, and your mission is to protect our prince.

Thus, the three-year-old Long Yu grasped the sword handed by his mother between vague understanding and non-comprehension.At that time, his small hands could not handle such a heavy sword.Therefore, he suffered countless whippings from Fengjing! Every time Duan Qingyi saw Xiao Longyu's numerous scars, he couldn't help being sad.When he frowned, Hao Ming who was following behind him would burst into tears. At this time, Xiao Longyu would always comfort Duan Qingyi and Hao Ming, he clenched his fists tightly and said, First Prince, Second Prince, Long Yu doesn't hurt!Don't be sad!Mother said that defending the royal family is the honor of a man in our Long family!

Duan Qingyi will never forget, this little boy who has protected himself as an honor since he was a child, and he will never forget his little brother who loves to cry, Xiao Haoming. When he was eleven years old, seven-year-old Long Yu and six-year-old Hao Ming walked across the snow together.The snow-capped ground is like a dream world. This scene is rare in Dali in a hundred years. Hao Ming was on his left side, Long Yu was on his right side, they put their little hands in his palm safely, they didn't know what would be waiting for them tens of meters away. Haoming Wenlongyu, you always say to protect my brother, but you are so small, how can you protect my brother?

Long Yu ran to Hao Ming's side, leaned against his shoulder, and said to Duan Qingyi who was smiling beside him, "Look, look, I'm taller than the second prince. Haoming started to cry and said, you are a bad person, I let my father put you in prison, I won't let you protect my brother anymore! Long Yu was very dissatisfied with Haoming and said, the sons of the Long family are born to protect the royal family, it is not you who give in or not! Hao Ming became even more angry, stomped his feet and said, Long Yu, you are a bad person!I let the wizard turn you into a woman, and the women of your Long family will not be able to defend the royal family.

Long Yu held Duan Qingyi's sleeve tightly, as if afraid of being abandoned, and said word by word, if I am a man of the Long family, I will protect Prince Duan; if I am a daughter of the Long family, I will also marry Duan. Prince! Duan Qingyi has always remembered Long Yu's words - if it is a man, he should protect the prince; if it is a daughter, he should marry the prince.Even many years later in Jiaopu, when he was holding the hand of a woman named Xiaoxian, he would often think that if Long Yu and Hao Ming were by his side, they should be past the age of weak crowns at this time, and how should they be? What a handsome figure.If they could be by their side, at this moment, the three of them, how should they use wine as a song and let their spirits flow.Moreover, he thought, Duan Haoming would definitely take Long Yu's old saying "If it's a daughter, she will marry the prince" and tease him; and Long Yu, how should he smile, saying that he is young nonsense?

It is a pity that all of this can only be lived as a hypothesis.On that day, in the snow field, after Xiao Longyu finished saying these words, what happened to his face was the legendary change of the Duan family's subjugation in Dali! That memory has become blurred because of too much dripping blood, knives and swords, life and death, fighting and screaming.Duan Qingyi still remembers that when his father died, he never closed his eyes, and kept staring in the direction of his mother's cold palace. It turned out that when his life was about to die, the mountains and rivers would eventually become illusory, and the only thing he could not forget was that moving A woman who lived her own heart and moved her heart for herself. When the queen mother risked her life and broke into the hall, the father's body was already cold, but she still hugged him, her tone was as gentle as before, and she wiped the blood on his body with her jade fingers, saying, why are you so unreasonable? Be careful, hurt yourself like a child?She said, wake up, it's too cold in the hall, why don't you go back to the bedroom and rest?She said, look, why are you so stubborn and just refuse to get up?She said, if you don't get up, I'll sleep with you here.Speaking of this, she looked at the man she loved but made her heartbroken with tears in her eyes, a trace of blood emerged from the corner of her mouth, the poison she had taken in advance finally broke out at this moment. At the moment when this man's body was cold in front of her, she even forgot that she was a mother and had two sons whose life and death were unknown; she only thought of herself as the girl who met him for the first time by the river. The face is like a hibiscus.As soon as he gently stretched out his hand, she followed him desperately.In front of this man, no matter how old the years have made her, as long as he smiles at her, she is a pure girl. Therefore, when he lives, she will live too, even if he is born in the confinement of the cold palace; therefore, when he dies, she will die too, and she can be so disregarded and desperate. The biggest thing about loving someone is that life and death go hand in hand. When Duan Qingyi talked about this, I was lowering my eyebrows, helping him bandage the wound on his palm caused by Mr. Liu's Jin Lingyu. At this moment, the wound on his palm, together with this past incident, hurt my heart. If there hadn't been that change in the imperial palace, he would have been a noble son of heaven in a fine attire with a beautiful concubine beside him.And me, which pair of big hands should pick me up?What kind of fate should they encounter? Or, in that case, my name at this time is not Ding Xiaoxian, but Cuihua, Osmanthus, Peony. Later, from Duan Qingyi's mouth, I learned that I was picked up from a big fire by a wealthy family when he fled from Dali and was living in the south of the Yangtze River. He said that he originally sneaked into the mansion, just to steal some food and money, because the five guards who came out to cover him and his younger brother Haoming, that is, later Yihuzhu, Liu Tudou, Jiang Xiazi, Wu Zhengfu, Liu Ben Zhu was badly injured and hid in a ruined temple, but he just ran out while they were unconscious.But what he didn't expect was that Xiao Haoming and Xiao Longyu also followed behind him.When he found out, he couldn't go back no matter how hard he rushed, so he had to sneak them into the back garden of the wealthy family, planning to wait until after dark before stealing to avoid being discovered. But after dark, there was a sudden fire. Under the light of the fire, there was a desolate and mournful smile of a woman in red, her voice piercing. Behind her is a group of masked men with swords. In the midst of this miserable laughter, under the light of the sword, the mansion of this wealthy family disappeared overnight.It is said that in Jiangnan at that time, because of the fire, for more than three months, screams for help would be heard floating in the sky.Others say the sound comes from the ghosts who died by those blades. And Duan Qingyi carried me out of the flames during that fire.He said that he sent Long Yu and Hao Ming out of the wall, so he could have just walked away.But in the sea of ​​flames, that huge house suddenly became lonely and weak, and in this empty burning house, the shrill cry of children reminded him of his brother who was almost lost in the recent changes in the palace. Haoming, at that time, he was sitting helplessly in front of the hall crying like this. So, he rushed into the sea of ​​fire desperately, searching frantically, and when he almost gave up, he saw the girl sitting on the bed crying, so, under the thick smoke, he pulled the girl up and flew out of the sea of ​​fire.At this moment, with a bang, the beam fell heavily. But when he jumped out of the wall with the girl, he realized that Hao Ming and Long Yu were nowhere to be found.Under the firelight, all I could see was the tear-stained face of the girl in my arms, and the water chestnut mole blooming like fireworks.He still remembered that when he jumped out of the wall, a woman holding a sharp blade looked at him with a smile, then lightly waved the sword in his hand, and let him go. Just like that, in a fire in Jiangnan, he saved me, but lost his dearest brother and most loyal bodyguard, Long Yu.And what disappeared in this fire was the famous Hanyu chess in the south of the Yangtze River, the beautiful apricot needle, and Han Ziqiu's wife Yudieer. Yes, Xiaoxian, the mansion compound that was destroyed in the fire is: Yumantang. When Duan Qingyi talked about this, he raised his eyes and looked at me, I don't want to tell you, I just want you to live your whole life without any worries, you don't have to be like me, always living in the memory, the pain is abnormal. If this is also hurting you, then Xiaoxian, I'm sorry. However, I have told you the truth now, and I only hope for one thing, that is, maybe, you are just the daughter of a servant in Yumantang's Han Ziqiu family, and have nothing to do with Yumantang's grievances. I hope that you are still the girl who can play around at will, and don't be like my mother, who fell into something in her mind and couldn't get out again.That's why I don't want you to accept orders for the Neon Sword, and why I don't want you to go to Jiangnan.I worry that one day, all the secrets will no longer be secrets, but your wounds.Now, I have told you everything, and I only hope that you can promise me that this place is still Jiaopu, you are still Ding Xiaoxian, and I am still Tsing Yi. After Duan Qingyi said this, he tore off his coat, put it on my shivering shoulders, and then pulled me into his arms. Looking up, Jiangnan is not like Jiangnan, farewell to the moonlight of the year.