Young Master Ye, who was wrapped in white fur, waded through the snow up to his calves, chasing his two companions and running along the canal towards the palace.
It’s almost New Year, and lanterns have been hung up everywhere in Mulu City. The bright red spots on the roofs and the white snow on the streets make a beautiful contrast. The city has not experienced such severe cold weather for several years, and even the weather does not freeze all year round. A thick layer of ice formed in the canal, making it impossible to sail. However, this made the children so happy that they could go out early in the morning and play until nightfall without returning home.
More than three months have passed since the life-and-death battle between the children and Luo Jianli. The underground palace of human bones in the east of the city was completely filled in by Duke Ye Guo, and the General Temple was also moved to the city and became a A truly empty tomb. As time went by, the three of them gradually forgot about this horrific experience.
After that day, there was no major commotion in the city. It was as if the mysterious man disappeared after obtaining the map and left Mulu City. But there were still extra people in King Ye's Palace, including Mo Ling on duty. Wei's number has more than doubled compared to before. However, Xiang Baili has never explained the reason to the children.
"Oh Ziyin, are you walking too slowly? Haven't you been learning martial arts from Uncle Baili for more than a month, how come you are not as good as me?"
Ning Yue stood up to the heavy snow and turned around with a smile and teased. At the moment, her whole body was hidden under the thick cotton coat, with only a pretty little face exposed from the hood.
"The strap on my right foot has just come loose, and I don't know where the snowshoe has been lost. It's really difficult to walk with one foot deep and one foot shallow!"
Qi Ziyin was so anxious that he was sweating all over. The so-called snowshoes he mentioned were just a few small bamboo strips that the three of them had stolen from Jiayunzhai earlier. As for being stuck in the snow and having difficulty moving.
"Then you can wear mine."
After Ning Yue heard this, she turned around and walked back to her companion who was struggling in the snow. She took off the pair of bamboo strips from her feet and handed them to the other party's hands.
"I can't wear your snowshoes, otherwise how are you going to walk?"
The boy in white shook his head vigorously, but did not reach out to pick it up.
"It doesn't matter to me at all."
The girl jumped up high in the snow with a smile, and her movements were not affected at all. The hood on her head was turned open, and her red hair was blown by the wind in the snow, as if A blazing fire.
Seeing Qi Ziyin still looking at her blankly, Ning Yue smiled and bent down to lift one of his feet, planning to tie the snowshoes on for him. She urged him while doing so:
"There will be fireworks in the palace after dusk today. You told us this news! If we don't walk faster, we may not be able to catch up!"
In Mulu City, there is an inner lake called Huaqinchi. This lake is located to the north of Nanshi and west of the palace city. The southern end of the lake happens to be connected to the canal. Every New Year's Eve, gorgeous fireworks will be played inside the palace wall. Colorful fireworks bring joy to the people in the city. Huaqin Pond, with its wide view, has become the best place to watch this spectacular scene.
However, when the children hurriedly and slowly arrived at the lake, they saw that a crowd of people who had braved the snow from all over the city to enjoy the fireworks had already gathered on the shore. They gathered in groups of three, two, five or six, almost All the places where they could set foot were crowded. The three children walked half a circle around the lake, but could not find a suitable place. The crowds of people and the tall dead trees by the lake completely blocked their sight. , not to mention being able to enjoy the spectacular scenery of fireworks.
"Oh, why are there so many people! Humph, I don't think there's anything unusual about these fireworks. I won't watch them anymore! I won't watch them anymore!"
Ning Yue was a little unhappy. She pouted and turned away, but her tone was full of deep disappointment. The boy in white couldn't help but regret that he hadn't thought of a way to bypass Mo Lingwei on duty and quietly bring his companions into the palace. , just when she wanted to persuade her a few words, she heard Jiang Yan's voice coming from high up:
"Come on, come on, come on, climb up this tree!"
Qi Ziyin turned around and saw that his companion wearing a black coat of Mo Lingwei had climbed to the top of a big tree. It was a weeping willow that had lost all its leaves. The withered and slender willow branches were like a curtain, covering the entire tree. The boy's body was completely covered with only half of his head exposed.
A smile finally appeared on Ning Yue's face. Soon, one of the two teenagers held her feet below, and the other held her arms on the tree, and easily sent the girl to the tree. At the highest point of the summit, the girl climbed up and looked into the distance, and found that the view here was really different——
Huaqin Pond, which usually does not seem very big, seems to have become wider overnight. A thick layer of light blue ice has formed on the lake surface, glowing under the night sky, but no one dares to step on it easily. . Sometimes the wind blows up the snow on the ice, like a curl of smoke, floating and flying.
Suddenly, there was a loud thunder-like sound, and several round light spots pierced the silence of the night sky. They rose into the sky from the palace like meteors, and then exploded with a "bang". The dazzling fireworks were like a A huge golden chrysanthemum bloomed in the night, lighting up almost half of Mulu City, and also illuminated the faces of three children under the starry sky.
There was a burst of cheers from the crowd, and then several more bright lights rose into the sky, but they were green and red lights. More and more fireworks flew into the sky above the palace city one after another, and the order of lighting was quite regular. , like a well-prepared drama, with ups and downs, and many shocking climaxes.
The three children stood on the top of the tree, completely shocked by the scene in front of them, as if these fireworks were specially prepared for them. Even Qi Ziyin, who does not miss the New Year's Eve fireworks show every year, felt as if he was the first to do so. Looking back at such a grand scene, my heart was filled with excitement and I couldn't help but clapped my hands vigorously.
"It's so beautiful - it's a pity that each firework can only see the light for that moment, and then it ends in a hurry."
Ning Yue admired sincerely, her blue eyes reflected the colorful light in the sky, as if a beautiful nebula lit up in her eyes.
"Fireworks get cold easily. This may also be a reminder to the world to cherish the present and the hard-won peace in front of us."
The young man in white suddenly lowered his head and looked at the dark crowd under the tree in a daze. Since the winter months, the number of refugees entering the city to escape the war has continued to increase. Tonight may be the most crowded night in the history of Huaqin Pool. It seems that everyone urgently needs this brief moment of beauty to drive away the suffering they have experienced over the past year.
Jiang Yan's smile gradually froze on his face. Seeing the strange behavior of his companion, the girl guessed that he might have remembered what happened in the human bones underground palace again. She immediately secretly pulled Qi Ziyin's sleeves and reminded in a low voice:
"Zi Yin, just watch the fireworks. What are you talking about?"
"Yes, yes, blame me for talking too much."
The boy in white clothed his mouth knowingly. However, the boy with black eyes shook his head and looked back into the dark night behind him: "It has nothing to do with you. Just from now on, I feel like someone has been staring at us from behind. .”
Ning Yue smiled playfully and looked back: "Little Stutter, are you worrying too much? We climbed so high and saw the fireworks so clearly. People below are jealous, so what are we afraid of if we roll our eyes a few times?"
With the fleeting light of the fireworks, she suddenly saw two strange figures in cloaks standing under a few old locust trees far away from the lakeshore outside the crowd. These two people seemed to be aware of the children on the treetops. They had discovered their presence and immediately took refuge in the alleys of nearby Fangshi.
"Yue'er, are you okay? I didn't mean to scare you on purpose -"
Seeing that the expression on the girl's face became a little strange, Jiang Yan was afraid that he would disappoint her, so he immediately scratched his head in embarrassment and apologized. Fortunately, Ning Yue was not sure whether the figure she saw just now was an illusion, and looked at her. After his companion smiled back, he turned his attention back to the fireworks that were still rising one after another in the night sky.
"I didn't expect you to be able to find the whereabouts of the red-haired girl so quickly. What a great achievement!"
"Master Kunjie, thank you for your praise. According to the observation of my subordinates, the whirlwind in the Baisha Camp of the Marine Corps and the fireball in the dense forest to the east of the city were all caused by Miss Ning Yue's desperation. I'm afraid that even other people will be affected at this time. I still don’t know what this powerful spiritual power hidden in her body can be used for.”
"It doesn't matter. As long as we know what we plan to do with the power in her body, that's enough."
Two figures in cloaks who took refuge in the narrow alley were talking to each other. The former had a high-pitched voice and sounded like an older woman. The latter's tone of voice was as cold as the air, without any trace of emotion. No emotion.
"It's just that, with our current strength..."
The woman wanted to say something more, but was interrupted by a man named Kun Jie: "Needless to say, I know that after many sieges, some of the surviving followers will inevitably start to have random thoughts. But now that we have found Now that we know the whereabouts of the high priest’s daughter, we must make good use of this advantage!”
"Then what will Master Kunjie do next?"
"Perhaps I should ask you what you plan to do? After all, you entered the city to investigate for more than half a year in advance, but why didn't you take any action?"
Kun Jie suddenly changed the subject, causing the woman opposite to become frightened: "My lord, there is no need to doubt the loyalty of my subordinates!"
"If I really doubted you, I would not have allowed you to cast a spell without authorization that day under Gan Yuan, using a water-hiding spell to bring the chief priest's daughter to the shore. But after all, you had a relationship with her parents, so you were a little hesitant. It’s normal. However, hesitating may be the worst attitude for us now.”
"Please rest assured, my lord, I will do my best to live up to my trust."
"This is the best. You are the best choice I can think of at the moment. Now that you are dormant in the city quietly, all you need to do is wait for an opportunity to get close to the opponent as soon as possible. Wait until we gather strength again After that, I must make that red-haired girl willing to be used by me! As for the two landmen boys beside her——"
Kun Jie paused for a moment and seemed to be thinking about countermeasures in his mind, "It can be seen that the three of them get along very well. But in order to avoid trouble in the future, it would be best for her to cut off these unnecessary relationships herself.
"
"My subordinates are well aware of this, please rest assured, Lord Kunjie!"
The woman immediately bowed and saluted, but when she raised her head again, she was the only one left in the narrow alley. She sighed silently, walked towards the depths of the city, and soon disappeared into the night, never to be seen again.
Out of sight.
At the beginning of the new year, the heavy snow was beginning to clear. In the Jinghaihou Mansion in the north of the city, the housekeeper hurriedly came to report: "Master Hou, the Crown Prince, it is the Crown Prince who is here! The villain does not dare to stop him, the door has been opened to let him in."
Qi Shouyu, who was sitting in the front hall, slowly picked up the tea bowl on the table and took a sip before raising his head. He seemed to have expected this in his heart: "I'm here as soon as I come. What are you doing in such a hurry?"
"Yes, my nephew is here to pay Uncle Wang New Year's greetings. Why should Butler Feng make such a fuss?"
As soon as he finished speaking, a young man in plain clothes led the servants into the front hall. The servants carried more than ten exquisite gift boxes of various sizes from the burden on their shoulders, and placed them on the ground, as if they were piled up.
Red hill.
"Xian Nephew Zixiu, you finally came to my house, why did you bring so many things?" The short and fat Marquis Jinghai put down the tea bowl in his hand unhurriedly, stood up and greeted me with a smile on his face.
"My nephew has been working in Xiyin for more than six years, and he has not been celebrating the New Year in Mulu City for a long time. This year I finally have this opportunity, so I should prepare a few small gifts. I hope Uncle Wang will accept them."
Qi Zixiu stepped forward respectfully and bowed his head. He did not have the majesty that a prince should have, but was as flattering as a common man.
Qi Shouyu stepped forward and reached out to open several of the gifts. He saw that there were exquisite carvings made of precious purple coral, a box full of fine pearls the size of pigeon eggs, and even more.
There are clams, tortoise shells and other precious ornaments produced in the sea.
It can be seen that the smile on the man's face immediately faded when he saw these gifts:
"Xian Nephew Zixiu, I heard that during the years you served as the guardian of Xiyin City, the city's money and food were in short supply year after year, so that my brother, the king, had to use the treasury to make up for you. The things in these gift boxes are priceless, where did you get them from?
?Take them all back to me!"
Seeing that the other party refused to accept the gift, Qi Zixiu finally lost his temper and hurriedly explained: "Uncle Wang, these things are all high-quality goods that my nephew selected from the tributes in his palace. They are by no means unknown.
Something."
"That's not okay. It is the duty of a minister to take care of the country's worries. If you are really serious, send these things to Xiyin City to exchange for some money and food, so that the people in the city can solve their urgent need to survive the winter!"
"Yes, yes, that's what Uncle Wang taught me. My nephew will do it as soon as he gets back!" Qi Zixiu was rejected and quickly waved his hand and ordered his men to carry out all the gift boxes.
"Your Majesty came to see the king in person today. He must have something to do. There is no need for you and me to be so polite between uncles and nephews. Just tell us directly."
Marquis Jinghai asked loudly, as if he had already seen through the other party. Qi Zixiu nodded and got to the point: "I wonder if Uncle Wang has heard about it. Last autumn, a captain of the navy died tragically in a human skeleton in the east of the city.
In the underground palace—"
"The good nephew is talking about the story about Luo Jianli in Benhai Ying."
"Exactly this! Uncle Wang should know that at that time, my father announced that I would return to the court overnight. Although he did not blame me, Luo Jianli was the Xiaoqi Captain who had just been transferred to Xiyin. As a city official, my nephew
He also committed the crime of ineffective supervision. Therefore, from that day on, I was always worried that this matter would make my father feel resentful."
"My dear nephew, are you afraid that the king will depose you as heir apparent and appoint someone else?" Qi Shouyu narrowed his eyes, as if he had already anticipated what the other party was going to say next.
Qi Zixiu became more and more frightened: "Uncle Wang didn't know something. After the morning court that day, Ziyin went directly to meet his father. In front of me, he wanted to ask General Baili to be his martial arts teacher!"
"So what? Zi Yin's talent has never been as good as that of the nephew. Even if Xiang Baili teaches him, there is no way that my brother-in-law will have the idea of abolishing the eldest son and establishing the younger brother, right? You are too worried about my nephew.
!”
"There are no absolutes in anything! My father felt guilty because of Concubine Jin's death, so he has loved my younger brother the most since he was a child and followed him in everything. What's more, he has such a pair of beautiful pupils!"
Speaking of this, Qi Zixiu couldn't help but get excited, "You must know that the amber pupils represent the most orthodox Qi family of our Ye Kingdom, originating from the blood of our ancestors who were brave and good at fighting! There are a total of sixteen children under the father's knees, seven boys and nine girls.
But he is the only commoner born with such eyes! Uncle Wang, tell me, how can I not think too much about it! Besides, this matter of abolishing the elder and establishing the younger had already happened in the previous dynasty——"
In desperation, the young man blurted out without thinking, and then suddenly realized that his words might have touched Qi Shouyu's pain point. But the short and fat prince in front of him just twirled the beard under his chin with his hand, still not upset.
anger:
"The late king has been headstrong since he came to the throne. He abolished the elders and established the younger ones for good reasons. My brother, the king, is now running the country well and will never act like this."
"But Uncle Wang——"
"Your Majesty, there is no need to say more. I understand that in this situation, it is normal for you to be a little worried. But I advise you not to spend too much time on this matter right now. After all, who is suitable for this matter?
To be a prince, you need to rely on your political achievements in front of the king."
"Yes. My nephew will follow Uncle Wang's teachings!"
Qi Zixiu bowed and saluted again, but his face could not conceal his disappointment. Unexpectedly, the other party did not finish what he said:
"However, if the king does have the idea of abolishing the elders and establishing younger ones, I will do my best to dissuade him and report the news to my nephew as soon as possible. After all, the child Ziyin is still too young, and he spends all his time with two unknown people in the city.
The bastards of their origins are mixed together. In the eyes of this king, only my nephew is the best choice to be the crown prince and new king of my country Ye!"
Marquis Jinghai changed the subject and openly stated his position and promised to support the crown prince's succession. These words made Qi Zixiu immediately surprised and happy. After all, he could get this master who holds the boat.
Bingfu's support from Uncle Wang is the best result he hopes to achieve during this trip.
Watching his nephew leave, Qi Shouyu sat down again in the front hall, picked up the slightly cold tea cup, and moistened his dry throat.
"Did you hear what I just said?" he asked without looking back.
A figure slowly walked out from behind the side door of the main hall. He was wearing black leather armor with the pattern of the sea falcon of the navy master. He had a pale complexion and two round eyes. He had actually caused trouble to Jiang Yan several times. In the Benhai camp
The youngest captain Yurei!
Yu Li pressed the handle of the knife and walked to Jinghaihou's side, cupped his hands and said:
"Father, when you transferred Luo Jianli to Xiyin earlier, I didn't understand the reason. I didn't expect that it was to force the prince to take the initiative to seek our help. This move is really brilliant!"
"Things are planned by people, and things are accomplished by God. I didn't want to have contact with the prince so soon. But it's better to force him to make plans early than to wait until the day when the king really decides to abolish the eldest son and establish a young son.
, responded in a panic, resulting in being at a loss.”
The pudgy prince nodded, but suddenly his face became serious, "How many times have I told you that you are not allowed to call me father at any time? How come you always forget?! I have never married a wife yet.
Concubine, I have no heirs. If your relationship with us is known to others, it will only increase the number of variables!"
There were not many fluctuations in his tone, but Yu Li was so frightened that he fell to one knee on the ground:
"Yes, General - remember!"
"As for the remaining galloping wolves—"
"The general has personally supervised the situation and will make those beasts completely disappear from this world. Please rest assured, Lord Governor!"
"Although it is a pity, it may be more beneficial to us if we cut it off. If you take your mother's surname, you must remember not to let yourself follow her impulsive and reckless character. You must always remind yourself that your husband is determined to
In this world, the first thing you must learn is to be patient. Only by enduring things that others cannot tolerate can you achieve great things that others cannot!"
After saying this, Marquis Jinghai finally stretched out a hand and helped the frightened young man up on the ground.
Thanks for supporting my work, please welcome to follow the VX of the same name "The Fox Who Grows Barley" and participate in the interaction