Chasing death and chasing north

A gray-haired hare jumped out from the grass not far away. I saw him nodding an arrow, and I relaxed my grip on the bow.The feathered arrow shot out and landed barely a foot away from the rabbit's tail. The hare got into the grass and disappeared in a short while.

This was the fifth time he missed today, the sun had already set, and the sky was getting darker. When he turned his head and saw the only thin goat hanging behind him, his elder brother gave the bow to the servant with a muffled click.

"gone back?"

He glances at me. "Otherwise what else?"

"You're just a freshman, it would be nice if you do it a few more times."

"Insincere words," he muttered unhappily, turning his horse around.

I laugh.In the past when my brothers went hunting together, I used to be reserved, and today I only surrounded the prey for him, and I only shot three or four arrows, which seems to have hurt someone's self-esteem.

I chased after him on horseback, but he was still brooding and said angrily, "This hunting ground is not good!"

I agreed: "Yes, there are too few prey, and I am not interested. When the Cangshan hunting ground is completed, I will be able to enjoy the joy of field hunting."

"Over Cangshan, when will it be completed?"

"It will take a year and a half."

He stares. "So long? I remember that it took only three months for my father, the Supreme Emperor, to build the Xiashan Palace."

"The government has reduced corvée, and the manpower that can be collected is limited."

He curled his lips, "Isn't it just a matter of spending a little more money to hire someone? You have always been frugal, why don't you indulge a little?"

I thought so too, seeing that he was about to ask for an explanation, I hurriedly said: "I will go to court tomorrow, and I will talk to them."

"I wish I could have gone sooner!"

He showed his face and smiled, and the newly lit torch illuminated the young face in front of him brilliantly—unconsciously, I took it as his original appearance.

Yuanyu is in the outskirts, out of the forest, you can see the Ru River, a tributary of Qushui.Now it’s time to light up the lanterns. Rujiang is very close to the night market, and it’s quiet and open. It’s a scenic spot for night tours in Kyoto. There are many beautifully painted boats moored far and near on the river. Stop and watch.

The sound of the pipa came from a painting boat in Jiangxin, which happened to be Hu Yue, which my brother loved to listen to.

After a while he frowned and said: "This musician is not very good, and he can play such a simple part wrong."

I approached him and asked, "Would you like to play a piece? I'll find someone to make a pipa."

My words were purely out of flattery, but he raised his eyebrows high and scolded in a low voice: "Are you kidding me!" After speaking, he clamped his horse's belly and rushed out first.

After returning to the palace until after dinner, his expression was still not good.I still couldn't figure out why I offended him without the slightest malice in that sentence, and I felt a little depressed, so I was not happy to show my kindness first by lowering my face.

After absent-mindedly correcting today's memorial, I ordered my left and right to get ready for a bath.Zheng Bingzhi said that he was also in the pool, I asked so what, Zheng Bingzhi was speechless.

Because he was angry, others reminded me to be careful to avoid it - a joke!Is the owner of this Chengtian Palace and this imperial palace me or him?

However, the anger was only for a moment, and then he could only smile bitterly. Who gave him the right to play with his temper, and what made the surrounding people predict that I must tolerate him?This is the so-called self-inflicted evil.

I ordered the maids in the court to stop and walk into the smoky bath alone.He was the only one inside, leaning on the neck of the water-spitting golden dragon to doze off, the mask had been removed, and his face, which had not seen the sun for a long time, was so white that it was almost transparent.

Stepping into the bathtub from the steps opposite him, I acted as if I was the only one here. I took the bath beans and smoothed my body, then rubbed them with a bath towel. I couldn't help catching his expression from the corner of my eyes, but he was just completely indifferent.I was bored, and while washing my body, I hummed a song casually.

After all, he glanced over coldly and was caught by my gaze without avoiding it, the two of them stared straight at each other.

Since leaving Hui Feng Yuan, there are not many days when he took the initiative to vomit with me. I didn't know how to deal with it all of a sudden, and the ditties in my mouth became scattered.Instead, he spoke first.

"I'm a person who can only live in the shadows, go to the paddock, play the pipa, and be elegant."

He also went hunting by himself, and now he blames my hospitality, which is really unreasonable.My heart was ablaze, and I pushed back unceremoniously: "So, do you want to stand in front of everyone and accept worship with me?"

He suddenly stood up from the opposite side, and many traces of passion on his body were still visible in the mist. Because of this, my heart softened, and I walked over slowly, trying to say a few good words to comfort him, but he actually grabbed the wooden basin by the pool It was thrown towards me, this time I didn't expect it, although I dodged, I was still hit on the forehead, and the wooden basin fell into the pool, splashing big water.

His forehead was in severe pain, and I reached out to touch it, but fortunately there was no blood. I went to his side in a rage, grabbed his waist and threw him into the water.

"What are you crazy about?" How many times have you been hit by him these days?Is it true that the king of my country has no temper at all?

He struggled to stand up, coughing and laughing while holding the pool wall, his whole face flushed red, as if he was going to die in the next moment.

"Grassmen...cough cough...damaging the dragon's body...cough cough...follow the law, cut it off!"

"What did you say?" I was horrified in my heart, why did it involve death?

He couldn't stop stroking his chest, panting for a long time before slowly calming down. "Do you know? Today is the first time I have left the palace in many years. When I entered and exited the palace gate, everyone was respectful and said that the prince was a thousand years old. Now I put on this male favorite mask, and it is the honor of my ministers, Weitu and the people along the way." In his eyes and in his mouth, there was nothing but ridicule and contempt.

"The garden outside the city, I have been there before. At that time, the angry horses in fresh clothes cheered and embraced. Even if I blew the bowstring in vain, there would be flattery. I don’t know, but the song just now came from the flute music in the Donghu court. I personally translated it into a pipa song and handed it over to the public for singing.

"Those kind of happy days, now think of them as if they were things in my previous life, are so vague and unbelievable. Don't you think it's too strange that I have changed from a majestic crown prince to this immortal state, and I can still beg for nothing Can you live?" He frowned and slowly shook his head, as if he really felt that this was incredible.

I looked at him deeply, and said lightly: "It's not surprising. Prince Si, Sun Zhaogong, has long since died. His head hung on the top of the city for seven days and seven nights, and everyone in the world knows about it."

"Ah? Really?" He seemed very surprised, staring at me blankly.

"You misremembered. You are clearly a country scholar who came to Beijing to take the exam. You were taken into the palace by the eunuchs around me. You were deeply ashamed of being under a female man and refused to give in. You were imprisoned by me in Huifeng Garden Three In [-], now that you have finally loosened your mind, you were placed in the Chengtian Palace—this matter was extremely secret back then, but now it is known to everyone, how can you forget it yourself?"

The more I said it, the more I felt that what I said was the truth. I held his shoulder and looked into his absent-minded eyes. It seemed that the more determined I was, the more real the matter would be.

"is that so?"

"Of course, you're not joking! What you just said is probably all in a dream, so naturally it can't be true. I killed too much, and it was my fault that I caused the person next to my bed to be infested by evil spirits and become insane. But You are definitely not Sun Zhaogong, and this matter must not be forgotten."

"Jiro, you—"

I laughed helplessly, and pampered his nose: "You are here again, this is the name used by those family members who are not close to me, you should call me Zhao'an."

He looked up at me with his mouth half open, and his expression was full of loveliness. I held up his buttocks, played with his legs around my waist, and stepped forward to enter his body.

He grunted as if in pain, and pressed his fingers tightly into my shoulders.

I laughed and said, "What did you say about damaging the dragon's body? I've been scratched by your two claws all day long, dripping with blood, and I haven't seen you receive any punishment."

I slowly exited and entered deeply, the warm bath water was continuously pushed and squeezed out with the back and forth movements, and the inside was also wet, not as suffocating as usual, which made me very comfortable.

"Hmm... Jiro—"

"Call me Zhao'an." I put my hand around his penis, which was gradually erecting at the front, which made him writhe unbearably.

"Zhaoan, Zhaoan!"

He cried out, and under my careful attention, he splashed Yang Jing into the pool not long after.I looked at his absent-minded appearance, the agitation beneath me was still there, but my heart gradually calmed down.

There is too much resentment in this deep palace inner courtyard, maybe it's time to move to another place.

I proposed to Xu Bo and Yao Wenci to move the capital, and they were both very strange.After all, Beidi has been busy with civil strife these years and has rarely violated borders. The people's livelihood in the Central Plains is generally stable, and it is really impossible to see the necessity of moving the capital.

I don't want to be blunt, I only said that the ancestral mausoleum was in the old capital of the previous dynasty, and the palaces in the old capital were more complete, but I was refuted in a few moments.Not to mention Xu Bo's fierce words, even Yao Wenci, who has always been prudent, strongly opposed it, so I had no choice but to put the matter on hold for now.

Since the proposal of moving the capital is still unfeasible, I will order people to renovate the Chengtian Palace, and I will not stop until the utensils left by the emperor's residence are wiped clean.

My elder brother never mentioned that he wanted to go hunting with me again, but every time after I bowed down, as long as I noticed his eyes flicking to the outside of the palace gate, I felt uneasy again and again.

The Cangshan paddock was successfully built in May. It was mid-autumn, which was the season for Makino hawks. I took the royal family and Beijing and central officials to the largest autumn hunting since the founding of the People’s Republic of China.

The new enclosure is expensive, and it is really worth the money.The prey is complete, the palace is also beautifully built, and there are all kinds of places for entertainment and banquets. My brother is very happy to see it.

This place doesn't have any old scene, and he is obviously in a much better mood. When I deal with state affairs every day, he is not by my side, and I go out for a walk by myself.The little eunuch who was serving by his side came back and reported that the concubines and princes in the palace only greeted him lightly when they saw him, but the officials had a lot of contemptuous words and deeds, and he just turned a deaf ear to this and walked past.

That day I hunted a full-grown tiger, and during the banquet to celebrate, Lu Shuanghu suddenly praised Yuan Qi for his skillful bow and horse, just like I did back then, and the officials of the Queen's faction hurriedly discussed Yuan You's recent article, praising Yuan You's ability to manage the world in time In Jiguo, Yuanzhen was already fast asleep in Qin's arms.

Yuan Qi and Yuan You are thirteen and 12 years old respectively. They are already at the age of cranky thinking. Yuan Qi is good at martial arts, Yuan You is good at literature, and their respective mothers are well-educated. I don't have any dislike for either one.The war ended shortly after Yuan Zhen was born. I watched him grow up and became closer emotionally.

"Are they talking about Prince Li?"

My elder brother bumped me with his elbow, the mask looked more childish in the daylight-bright firelight, and his tone was utterly innocent.

His voice was not low. Although the ministers were excited to speak during the banquet, they were always distracted and focused on my reaction. Seeing this "irrelevant" person closest to me suddenly explain what they dared not speak out, they couldn't help but be silent. I responded with a sound.

"Yeah, what do you think?"

"I think it's very good. You see, you have never established a prince. Someone will come to trouble me one day."

"Why bother you?"

"I don't know how to have children, no matter how hard you sow and cultivate, is it still fruitless?"

He patted his stomach jokingly as he said that, the concubines and ministers all frowned, and I also felt a little embarrassed to step down, but he didn't seem to notice it, just looked straight at me.

"I can't give birth, but I have the best chance to sleep with you. If they don't ask me to blow your pillow, who will they look for?"

Before I answered the question, Yushi stood up and said, "Your Majesty! This person's words and deeds are extremely vulgar and unseemly. What's more, he is not an official, has no rank or rank, and is inappropriate to hear about major affairs of the government. I think he should be imprisoned immediately. expulsion."

After listening to the other party's speech, he stood up with a smile, bowed to me and was about to leave.

I hold him. "Tonight is just my family banquet, it's not a court, just let everyone eat, drink and talk."

"Is that so?" He sat down with a half-smile.

The censor was dragged by his colleagues, and returned to his seat angrily, not forgetting to give him a glare.

My brother toasted me with a glass of wine, and said softly, "I thought you would yell, 'Since that's the case, I'll give him a rank now, and you don't have to say anything in the future'."

I glanced at him. "So that you can seize the opportunity to get angry and leave the table?"

He smiled and said nothing.Wherever he goes these days, he is full of sarcasm full of disdain. He has accumulated a lot of anger, and he is worried that he has no place to vent it. Otherwise, the queen will sit aside. How could he agree to be at the same table with me? It's annoying.

He raised his voice and said: "Come, come, we haven't finished talking about the prince, I think it's good. From now on, the two princes will take turns supervising the country for half a year, and whoever manages it properly will be the prince."

The officials looked at each other, and then laughed.

"The selection of a prince in this way has never been heard of in ancient times."

"The Crown Prince's business concerns the country, does he think he's just playing around?"

"What is his identity, he dares to talk about Li Chu casually, it's ridiculous!"

"What kind of bad idea came out, it's a big joke in the world."

"Don't you think it's okay?" He drank another cup, wiped his mouth and said, "Then it's better not to have the two older ones. The third prince is young and it's easier to cultivate an adult. His Majesty took him by his side and trained him personally to ensure that Grind out a wise prince."

The ministers were silent, and then they all accused him, saying that he deceived the public with evil words, disturbed the audience, and ignored the family law of the ancestors.

He didn't refute, just smiled and Mimi drank and ate.

The turbulent discussion subsided a bit, Yao Wenci stepped forward and asked, "What the nobleman said, was His Majesty's order?"

My brother picked up the mutton from my plate, put it in his mouth, chewed and said, "I'm talking nonsense, he didn't know it beforehand."

Yao Wenci said in a deep voice: "The left history records the words, and the right history records the actions. Although this place is not a temple, it is also a place for the monarch and his ministers to countermeasures. Every word you say will be recorded in the treasury of national history and Tibet. Please don't play tricks. .”

As soon as this remark came out, even I was shocked. It is difficult for anyone to calmly face the merits and demerits of thousands of years.

"Thank you, Prime Minister Yao, for your advice. I'm here to teach you."

He made a solemn bow, but Yao Wenci returned to his seat without returning the salute.

For a moment, no one dared to speak loudly, but my elder brother leaned closer to my ear and said, "Anyway, I want to live here, you can do whatever you want."

I suddenly understood the meaning of what he said just now, but I didn't know whether to be happy or worried.

He doesn't want to go back to the palace himself, but he is willing to let me accompany him. This is undoubtedly something to be happy about.But if I live in the palace all the time and hand over all the state affairs in Beijing to a child in his early ten years old, how can I feel at ease, and it is even more impossible for the ministers of the court and China to agree to this matter.

He seemed to have seen through my struggle, lowered his head and played with the little ball I made of rabbit fur, and said: "Isn't it necessary to take a year or a half, try it for a month or two? Your servants are very solid. What to worry about."

Seeing that I didn't respond, he lowered his face.

"I'm going back to sleep." After speaking, he was about to get up.

I took his hand and sighed helplessly.He hugged my arm and smiled very nicely.I scratched his nose.In front of the civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty, the two were so intimate that there was no one else present.

The next day, when I was sick, I issued an edict that my second son, Yuanyou, would be in charge of state affairs, with Xu and Yao as assistants.Half a month later, most of Qiushou's entourage returned to Beijing together, but he and I stayed.

These days were just like a dream. He seemed to have really become the rural scholar in our imagination, trying his best to resist my fierce offensive, but in the end he couldn't restrain his physical and mental sinking.He will still be strong and angry, but it is not like before, with a dead heart and no will to survive, but more like an awkward and coquettish under the help of shyness, self-loathing and helplessness.

He refused my courtship again and again, but he was always moaned by me under the half push and half resignation. The obscene and provocative words can be blurted out unconsciously without me seducing and coercing them, which makes my blood boil and my concentration is gone.

Huo Enquan is always the moment when he is at his lowest afterward, kicking me, beating me, scolding me, and sometimes crying bitterly, but facing him like this, I just laugh.

This is the first time I have such a real him, I can rest assured that I can pamper and pour out my heart and soul, I don't have to try my best to prove my feelings for him, and I don't have to work hard to win even the slightest response from him other than indifference.

I was so intoxicated that I didn't know my way back, and I gradually neglected government affairs. I was not unaware, but I had no intention of correcting it.

"Why aren't you asleep yet?"

I was working in the study that night, and he opened the door and came in, carrying the new tea that Lanling paid tribute to this year.

"You go to bed first, there are some memorials to read."

He got up too late in the morning, and after lunch, he rode horses and hunted with him, and when he came back for dinner, it was already the beginning of the day, and then he remembered that the memorial sent by the fast horse in the capital a few days ago had not yet been opened.

The government affairs are handed over to the prime minister and the prince's team, and they will still report the results of all kinds of affairs on time. Among them, there must be several memorials accusing me of abandoning the country and urging me to return to Beijing as soon as possible. If you want to unpack it, it will be consumed until now.

If you don't pay any attention to it, I'm afraid Xu Bo will come to the door to scold people in person again, so I thought about going to rest after reading it, but who knows, he came to find someone not long after.I drank the fragrant tea brewed by him, and my heart was warm and harmonious.

He looked at me, pursed his lips and said nothing.

"What’s wrong with you?"

His lips moved, his voice was so soft that I didn't hear what was said.

Seeing my bewildered expression, he bit his lip and said, "I can't sleep alone, are you satisfied?"

"……what?"

His ears and neck were all red, and he was about to leave with a flick of his sleeves. Only then did I react, and I hurriedly dropped the memorial and ran over to stop him.He knew that as long as I got serious, he would never be able to struggle, but he waved his hands indiscriminately and bumped his head against my chest desperately.

"Let go!"

"Say it again and I'll let it go."

"You think beautifully!"

"If you don't tell me, I won't go back to the room. Are you feeling bad?"

He looked up at me in astonishment, and suddenly stretched out his hand to cover my eyes. That hand was also warm, not as cold as it used to be when autumn came.

"It's your fault!"

This embarrassing accusation made the corners of my lips curl up. "It was my fault."

"I don't want to do this." His tone was full of self-loathing.

I held him tightly in my arms, resting my chin on the top of his head. "Don't be afraid, I will treat you well."

He stretched out his arms around my waist, but the little warmth pulled out a sigh of satisfaction from me.

"Go back to the room?"

"……Um."

There are tiny stars shining in the watery eyes, and I forgot to breathe for a moment.

Back in the room, he was even more anxious than me. He took off the clothes of the two of them and pushed me onto the bed. At the mouth of the acupuncture point, the two groaned at the same time.

He was enthusiastic, but my sanity was not completely ignorant.These days, he obeyed as if we should be together for granted. Although his attitude softened step by step since he walked out of Huifeng Garden, he was still not like the Sun Zhaogong I knew. His temperament had changed drastically or he had other plans. It is impossible to judge for a while.

Looking at his eyes full of spring, I cast the shadows in my heart, turned into a wild beast, and pulled him into the wild wave of desire.