The year he met Shen Changyuan was also the gloomiest year in his life.
That year, my grandfather, who was in a high position, was massacred by the emperor on the charge of rebellion. My mother was so depressed that she knelt in front of the Buddha every day, chanting sutras and weeping.
And he had just turned twelve, and he was still a hot-blooded, reckless, simple boy who didn't understand conspiracy. When faced with the ridicule and bullying of other princes, he didn't know how to tolerate and give in. Therefore, he was often beaten with injuries all over his body.
That day at the training ground, because of his excellent test scores, he was blocked in a corner by the prince and a few thugs and beaten. When the palace people around him saw him, they pretended not to have seen him. They covered their faces and ran faster than anyone else.
It was at this time that Shen Changyuan appeared.
She was dressed in a maroon narrow-sleeved short coat, black trousers and long boots, with her hair pulled high on her temples. She looked like a dashing heroine in a storybook, coming on horseback with a red tassel gun in hand.
As soon as he opened his mouth, his voice was as clear as pearls falling on a jade plate: "Hey, you guys are bullying the few by bullying them. This is not what gentlemen do!"
The prince was used to being arrogant. Not only did he not restrain himself at all when he heard this, he even kicked Shen Changyuan again in front of him in a provocative manner.
"Hey, you can do it!"
Shen Changyuan sneered and casually raised his hand to throw out the red-tasseled spear. The spear with a cold light slightly penetrated the bun on the crown of the prince's head and plunged into the soil, making a "clang" sound.
The prince was so frightened that he peed his pants and fled in a hurry with his scoundrel, while he was like a wooden pile, shocked by Shen Changyuan's neat and agile skills.
Shen Changyuan raised his eyebrows at him, and the smile on his face was brighter than the sunshine that day, "Young man, are you okay?"
He shook his head, awkwardly patted the dirt on his body and stood up.
Seeing that he was fine, Shen Changyuan chuckled, turned his horse's head and left the training ground.
This is their first encounter.
One is like the bright sun in the sky, and the other is like the humble dust on the ground.
The second time I met Shen Changyuan was at the Queen Mother's birthday banquet.
At that time, he was the most disliked prince in Da Qi, and she was the most favored concubine by the emperor.
Their eyes met during the dinner, and Shen Changyuan smiled, still as bright as when they first met, like a bright red plum standing on the branch.
Later, he inquired with the palace people and found out that Shen Changyuan came from a family of generals like his mother. Because her mother's family held military power, the suspicious emperor took her into the harem and raised her like a caged bird.
Shen Changyuan was only seventeen that year, five years older than him.
After learning the news, he secretly cried for himself, crying for himself who was trapped and helpless, for his mother-in-law who was still alive but her heart had already died, and for the plum blossom that didn't know when it would wither.
It was also from that time that he learned to watch people's emotions, learn to be patient, and learn to hide his edge.
Behind the rockery in the Royal Garden, in the remote corners of the training ground... there are figures of him studying hard and practicing martial arts.
The third encounter with Shen Changyuan was at the training ground.
At that time, he dug out a set of archery techniques from an ancient book and was hiding in a corner to practice clumsily. When he was practicing a difficult move, he accidentally threw the sword away from his hand.
Shen Changyuan, who was passing by, took the sword and said with a smile: "Fourth Prince, this sword technique is flashy. If you want to win a fight, you can't practice it."
He asked: "Then what should I learn?"
Shen Changyuan raised the red tassel spear in his hand and smiled wildly, "Learn this and kill the enemy on horseback most easily."
By some strange coincidence, he said: "Can sister teach me?"
Shen Changyuan was stunned for a moment, then laughed loudly, "Fourth Prince, you are mistaken. I am not your sister. According to seniority, you should call me Empress Zhaoyi."
He didn't answer, but still asked stubbornly: "Then can you teach me?"
Shen Changyuan said: "You should practice on your own first. I don't have much free time. When I get some free time, I can come over and give you some pointers."
Since then, he would meet Shen Changyuan at the training ground from time to time. The two of them didn't communicate much. Most of the time, Shen Changyuan would sit on the horse and watch him practice. Occasionally, he would jump when he saw something he couldn't do well. Get off your horse and give me some advice.
Once after martial arts training, when they were sitting under the sunset drinking a pot of plum water together, he asked Shen Changyuan: "Do you have a dream?"
Shen Changyuan looked up at the vast sky and chuckled: "Of course, my dream is to be like my father, holding a red tassel gun and truly fighting a victorious battle."
He said: "I also have dreams, but my dreams are very small. I just hope that I can become strong enough to protect everyone I want to protect."
Later, he suddenly discovered that there was no difference between the small dream he talked about and the big dream Shen Changyuan talked about.
——It’s just a gorgeous and unrealistic delusion.
Time flies by in a blink of an eye.
Three years later, he grew into a handsome young man and developed good martial arts skills. Even Shen Changyuan, his former master, was no longer his opponent.
Perhaps out of selfish motives, he still deliberately made small mistakes every time he practiced, causing Shen Changyuan to sigh and ask him why he had not made any progress in so many years.
At this time, he would droop his head and admit his mistake, but when he turned his head, he would secretly laugh.
He thought that this warm and happy time could continue for a long time to come, but things went against his expectations. That autumn, General Shen returned victorious again, which aroused the emperor's suspicion and suppression.
In order to save his family, General Shen had no choice but to surrender his military power and claim to be ill at home. Shen Changyuan was no longer the wanton and idle concubine. She decided to fight for favor, climbed to a high position step by step, and changed the situation.
Shen Changyuan made an exception and stayed at the training ground for two hours that day, from the sunny afternoon to the sunset. Finally, he waved to him who was unable to lift his arms while dancing, "Come here, you idiot, I'll give you a gift." .”
He didn't know anything about it, and asked her with a smile: "Why are you sending gifts when you are so good? This is not like you."
Shen Changyuan smiled and handed him the red-tassel gun that had been with her for many years, "This is for you. Keep it well. I hope it can follow you into battle one day to kill the enemy."
He finally realized that something was wrong, and asked with hesitation: "What about you? Don't you want it anymore?"
"No, I can't afford it." Shen Changyuan exhaled, pretending not to care, "I won't come to the training ground to ride horses in the future. You can find a more powerful master... In fact, I can't teach you long ago."
His heart trembled, it turned out that Shen Changyuan knew everything...
Also, how could a woman as smart as her not see that he was pretending to be stupid?
"That's it, Fourth Prince, I'm leaving."
Shen Changyuan waved to him with a smile on his face, but he could read infinite sadness and loneliness from that smile.
Since then, he has never seen Shen Changyuan at the training ground, but news about her has spread in every corner of the palace.
I heard that Shen Changyuan created an original sword dance, and her enchanting figure attracted the emperor to stay in her palace for half a month.
I heard that Shen Changyuan could sing Northern folk songs, but she didn't speak easily. In order to coax her to sing, the emperor willingly pretended to be a musician and played the flute to accompany her.