Abbot Liao Chi led his pretty-faced junior brother over, bowed to Gu Yun, and smiled with a bright dragon-claw chrysanthemum blooming on his face: "We haven't seen you for so many years, but the Marquis's style is still the same. It's really a blessing for me."

Gu Yun's stomach hurt because of the old man's ugly face, and he thought to himself, "Isn't that right? I haven't been cursed to death by you yet."

Of course, as the Marquis of An Ding, it was not convenient for him to indulge his temper and make unreasonable troubles. At least he had to live up to his reputation. At the moment, he just nodded slightly with an indifferent expression: "Thank you, Master."

The fair-faced monk with delicate features followed him to greet him, but he just smiled and said nothing. Gu Yun couldn't help but glance at him again.

Liao Chi explained: "Don't be surprised, Mr. Hou. Although my junior brother has excellent understanding and studies Buddhism diligently, unfortunately he is born to practice closed-mouthed meditation."

Gu Yun was stunned, knowing that he was actually mute.

Monk Ming Ran took a step forward and stretched out his hands to Gu Yun. This monk was so white that it was almost dazzling, and his eyebrows became darker and darker, like a piece of charred wood lying on the snow. If he were not a monk, he would have long hair as black as ink stains.

, plus her red lips and white teeth, she looks like a monster made of white porcelain.

Gu Yun frowned slightly and thought, "What are you doing, consecrating me?"

Monk Liao Chi said: "Master Hou is in the border area and is safe, and he will probably leave Beijing again soon. Junior Brother would like to pray for Master Hou and wish him well."

Gu Yun said: "Thank you, Master, there's no need for that - I haven't recited a single sutra or burned a stick of incense, so I won't bother the Buddha or his elders."

Liao Chi: "Amitabha, Buddha's Dharma is boundless and can save all sentient beings. What I said is wrong."

When Gu Yun heard the words "Amitabha", he wanted to hit them. His patience had reached its limit. He didn't want to talk nonsense with them anymore, so he said calmly: "The emperor is still waiting, so I won't delay any more and will visit another day."

Master, please stay with me."

After saying that, he dragged Chang Geng and Sui Zhu's little feet towards the palace. Chang Geng accidentally looked back and saw that the monk Ming Ran was not affected by Gu Yun's attitude at all. He was still as pious as kneeling before the Buddha and sat down, speaking silently.

He muttered the words, as if he wanted to involuntarily wish the blessings of prayer to Gu Yun, who was drifting away.

It's up to you to believe it or not, and it's up to me to save it or not.

Chang Geng was lost in thought when his hand was suddenly pulled. Gu Yun whispered angrily: "What's so good about the monk? Seeing too much will dazzle your eyes."

Chang Geng withdrew his gaze calmly and asked Gu Yun: "Father, the master said that you want to leave Beijing, is it true?"

Gu Yun: "Hmm."

Chang Geng asked: "When?"

"It's hard to say," Gu Yun said, "It depends on what the emperor wants - if I leave, you will be the biggest in the Hou Mansion and you will have the final say. If there is anything you don't understand, please discuss it with Uncle Wang."

Gu Yun didn't tell him to study hard and concentrate on practicing martial arts, because Chang Geng really felt that in this regard, he, as an elder, felt ashamed.

After Chang Geng heard this, he was completely stunned. After a long while, he asked with difficulty: "Don't your adoptive father plan to take me there?"

"Ah?" Gu Yun said inexplicably, "Why are we taking you there?"

Chang Geng suddenly stopped.

Before this day, Chang Geng had never thought that such a thing would happen.

Gu Yun had always taken him with him since Yan returned to the capital. Chang Geng had no idea that once his foster father led troops to the northwest again, he would be separated by more than half of the Central Plains.

In the blink of an eye, Chang Geng suddenly thought of a series of things in his mind - in the eyes of his adoptive father, he was probably just a child who was incompetent in culture and martial arts. When soldiers went to the frontier, they would carry knives, guns and armor. Who could do that?

Will you bring along a burdensome family member?

In the future, Gu Yun will go to the northwest border. If everything is safe there, he may be able to return to Beijing once a year to report on his work. If there is a little unrest, he might have to stay there until the Year of the Monkey and the Horse. Now he is fully prepared.

You are fourteen years old, how many years do you have left in your teenage years before being crowned?

When the time comes, he the protection of Marquis Anding and move out of the Marquis' mansion alone. He will live in the empty capital with an inexplicable name...

The adoptive father will eventually marry a wife and have children. When that time comes, will he still remember the little burden he left behind in the Hou Mansion?

They call each other father and son, but it turns out that fate is like an inch-long broken lamp that burns to the end as soon as it is lit. Only he is still immersed in an eternal dream.

Thinking about it this way, the entire palace seemed to have turned into a big ice cellar, freezing him completely inside.

Seeing him stop suddenly, Gu Yun turned around and looked at him doubtfully.

Chang Geng was a little anxious and blurted out: "I also want to go to the border with you. I can join the army!"

Gu Yunxin said: "Stop making trouble. It's so difficult to dig you out and take a walk. What kind of army do you belong to?"

However, after half a year of training, he probably found some tips on how to be an elder. He did not attack Chang Geng in person, but just encouraged him with an overly pretentious and exaggerated smile and said: "Okay, join the army for me in the future, your highness."

.”

Chang Geng: "..."

Apparently, Gu Yun found out how to be an elder to a four-year-old child and lived ten years too late.

Chang Geng's desperate attachment was swept away by the other party calmly, not taking him seriously at all.

The young man then calmly closed his mouth, stopped struggling pointlessly, and stared closely at Gu Yun's tall back, as if staring at a narrow door that he had to pass through in his entire life.

Emperor Li Feng of Long'an was Chang Geng's nominal brother, but from their appearance, there was no blood relationship between them. The emperor looked more like the late emperor.

It was the second time that Chang Geng saw him. Compared with the last time, he could see it more clearly. The new emperor had just passed by and he was at the best age in a man's life. He had a good and upright appearance.

, even if he is not an emperor, just looking at his appearance, he will never be in trouble in his life.

Chang Geng was very attentive, especially after arriving in the capital, and he was particularly good at observing people's words and expressions. Gu Yun mentioned little about it, but Mr. Shen did not have so many taboos. He complained a lot about the emperor in private, which easily reminded people of a mean and petty image.

, but it’s not.

Before Gu Yun even entered the room, Emperor Long'an had already ordered the servants on the side to get the brazier. He also said: "I told them earlier. The emperor must have come early. Come in and warm yourself up. I think you are cold."

Emperor Long'an called him "uncle", which was actually not very polite, because after all, Gu Yun's surname was not Li. At that time, the late emperor loved him in private and just talked about it casually, but the emperor took this familiarity habit from his childhood into consideration.

Saved.

He didn't call me "me" in front of Gu Yun, and his enthusiasm was somewhat casual and affectionate. He didn't treat him like a courtier, but as if he was a family member.

"Little Chang Geng is here too," Li Feng looked at Chang Geng and sighed, "This young man really changes his appearance every day. The last time I saw him he was not this tall. I have recently succeeded to the throne and I am always trembling with fear. These days

I've been so anxious for a month that I didn't even care about you, so I came here and let the emperor take a good look at it."

Chang Geng was already prepared to be unpopular, but unexpectedly the emperor's "unpopularity" was so hidden that he didn't feel it at all.

In this imperial city, all grudges and grudges are hidden. At first glance, everyone seems to be in harmony and joy with each other.

Gu Yun and the emperor chatted casually for a few words back and forth, occasionally reminiscing about their childhood past, and then Emperor Longan took out the "New Year's money" prepared for Chang Geng.

Chang Geng was a wild boy who grew up in Yanhui Town. He had little contact with the world and had never seen much of the world. He only knew that "no reward will be given for no merit". Listening to Zhu Xiaojiao's reward one by one, he almost became a little uneasy. I suspected that Gu Yun picked him up and took him into the palace early in the morning just to collect rent from the emperor!

Emperor Long'an asked Chang Geng pleasantly about his progress in studying and practicing martial arts, and then said: "You are a descendant of my Li family. You must be diligent and develop skills in the future, so that you can share your worries with the emperor in the future. What does Chang Geng want to do in the future?" ?”

Chang Geng glanced at Gu Yun and said: "In the future, I would like to serve as the commander's personal guard, serve An Qian and Ma Qian, and expand territory for the Emperor."

Emperor Long'an laughed, his heart seemed very happy, and he repeatedly praised Chang Geng for his ambition.

Gu Yun picked up a tea bowl and drank tea to moisten his throat. He didn't interrupt, he just laughed, and the corners of his eyes flew up when he smiled, which was so warm.

"Who serves whom?" he thought helplessly.

While he was helpless, he felt it was pleasant to his ears, and it felt good from his ears to his heart. Even the bad luck from meeting the monk just now was wiped away.

Emperor Long'an said again jokingly: "That's what I say, but the soldiers on the border are suffering very hard. How can your adoptive father be willing to let you suffer that pain?"

Gu Yun knew that the emperor was trying to beat him in a roundabout way, so he added with a wink, "If I dare to take the little prince to the battlefield, the emperor, as the first brother, will not be able to spare me."

Emperor Long'an was satisfied and beckoned Zhu Xiaojiao over: "Last time, the foreign pope's envoy sent a big clock. It was bigger than the rockery in the imperial garden. It looked like a small building. Every half hour there were puppets coming out to perform. The singing and dancing are very lively, you take Chang Geng to see what's new, and I will have a few more gossips with the emperor's uncle."

Chang Geng knew that they had something serious to discuss, so he immediately followed Zhu Xiaojiao in a sensible manner.

Zhu Xiaojiao was very attentive to this well-educated and complicated Fourth Highness, and led him all the way to the Nuan Pavilion.

"Nuan Pavilion" is a semi-enclosed garden, covered with strange glazed bricks on the outside, and steam braziers are installed in the ventilated areas. Inside, it feels like spring all year round, with flowers blooming like brocade.

The big clock that Emperor Long'an mentioned is placed in the middle, like a Western-style scene intruding into the mountain scenery.

Chang Geng sighed at the exquisite workmanship of the foreigners, but like most people from the Central Plains, he could not appreciate those rich and colorful paintings. After the novelty wore off, he quickly lost interest and his eyes fell on the corner of the Nuan Pavilion - there was a person there. It was the monk Ming Ran whom I met on the road just now.

Knowing that he could not speak, he made a few gentle gestures, and the little novice monk next to him immediately stepped forward to greet him and said: "Your Highness, Fourth Highness, I would like to wish you a happy father-in-law. My uncle and I have received the grace of the Holy One to stop and enjoy the imperial garden. On the way, we met King Wei. Master has gone to talk to King Wei, we are waiting for him here, hoping that we have not spoiled His Majesty the Fourth Highness."

Chang Geng said politely: "I'm disturbing Master."

Miao Ran made a few more gestures. No matter what he did, he had a flowing fairy spirit, which made people unable to feel the awkwardness of this mute monk at all. The little novice monk explained beside him: "Uncle Master said that when he saw His Highness the Fourth Highness, he would I feel that we are in harmony, so if you have time in the future, you can go to Huguo Temple and have a seat, and I will definitely serve you with good tea."

Chang Geng said politely: "Of course."

Monk Mingran stretched out his hand to Chang Geng. Chang Geng didn't know why, hesitated for a moment, and handed over his hand.

Knowingly, he wrote on the palm of his hand: "Your Highness, do you believe in my Buddha?"

Chang Geng didn't hate monks as much as Gu Yun. The peaceful and peaceful temperament of these monks made him fall in love with them as soon as he saw them.

But he also has no faith, because he has no concept and understanding, so there is no way to talk about belief or disbelief.

Chang Geng didn't want to refute it in person, so he just smiled.

It became clear immediately, and he did not feel dissatisfied. Instead, he showed a little smile and wrote word by word on the palm of Chang Geng's hand: "I don't know the suffering, I don't believe in gods and Buddhas. Fortunately, it is a great kindness."

Chang Geng was stunned. The young man met the mute monk's all-encompassing eyes. He suddenly felt that the serious illness in his heart was pierced by the other person at a glance. For a moment, Wu'er Gu, Xiu Niang, their true and false origins were difficult to distinguish, and they had unspeakable delusions.

Everything slipped through his heart like water, and was pierced by the words "Unknown suffering, no belief in gods and Buddhas".

Ming Ran gave him a namaste and was about to leave.

Chang Geng suddenly stopped him: "Master, I will go to Huguo Temple to visit you in the future."
To be continued...