Zhu Lan is dead

It was night, two teenagers sat side by side on the vermilion walls and black tiles. In the distance were rolling high walls and pavilions, layer upon layer hidden in the night, like giant sleeping beasts. Inside and outside the palace, there was a sea of ​​flames. , Against the backdrop of the gold and silver pink towers, brilliant and dazzling.

"Aim your finger at the air hole, hold the bottom of the xun with your little finger, don't open the damper too far, pay attention to the urgency!" Zhou Lixiao instructed the young man to hold the Tao Xun, his brows were tightly frowned, although he looked impatient, his expression But it is inevitable to show some seriousness.

Zhou Huaiqi followed the advice, but couldn't help but peek at Zhou Lixiao's expression, feeling funny in her heart, she didn't pay attention for a while and blew a few notes.

"Why are you so stupid!" Zhou Lixiao couldn't help but stretched out his hand and gave the young man a few chestnuts. Seeing his carefree appearance, he finally caught fire.

"Brother, don't be so fierce, it's just my first time..."

"First time?" Zhou Lixiao raised his eyebrows.

Realizing that she had slipped her mouth, Zhou Huaiqi quickly covered it up, "No, no, I mean it's the first time I've been taught!"

Zhou Lixiao was too lazy to believe his words, "Lie in front of me, you know what will happen!"

Zhou Huaiqi was honest, "I don't know, but I really want to learn, don't you wonder why I want to learn so much?"

"I care about you!" Zhou Lixiao was speechless, but he didn't want to talk to him any more in his heart. He took a step forward and was about to jump off the wall, but as expected, the person beside him grabbed his big sleeve again.

"Let go, or I'll hit someone!"

Zhou Huaiqi seemed to ignore him, still tugging on his sleeve and refusing to let go, the two of them just stared at each other, not long after, Zhou Lixiao sat back to his original position without saying a word, reached out to take Zhou Huaiqi's hand The Tao Xun in the air blew straight up.

The sound of xun is clear and melodious, but sometimes it is low and continuous, like wisps of breeze, lingering in the ear, full of ancient desolation and long time.

Zhou Huaiqi seemed to be in her mind, she stayed quietly by the side and didn't make a sound. After the lingering sound of the song was over, she said leisurely: "Who taught my brother's Xun before, it's so beautiful!"

Zhou Lixiao only glanced at him lightly, and said: "Guo Rong's men all know how to blow. In the hunting and animal husbandry mountains, the sound of the xun can confuse the prey, and in the dense forest and mountains, it can make the prey appear while being chased." Illusion, and this Xun was originally transformed from a hunting stone."

"It's amazing!" Zhou Huaiqi was surprised when he heard the words. He lived in the palace all year round, so he naturally yearned for the life outside. Go outside the palace and imagine that you can hunt and have fun in the mountains like your brother!"

"It's nothing special. The outside of the palace is just a place where common people live together. There's a lot of atmosphere in the market. If you really go out, it's unavoidable!"

Zhou Huaiqi didn't take it seriously: "My brother will be a prince in the future. As the future monarch of the Great Zhou Dynasty, he naturally doesn't envy this life in the city, but my younger brother is different. My younger brother wants to blend into this worldly circle. It's too lonely to have one palace and one room. From now on, I only want to be an idle person, and I have to rely on my brother to take care of me in my spare time!"

Prince?His expression was darkened, and the corner of his mouth overflowed with sarcasm, "Why do I have the ability to be a crown prince, maybe my father doesn't like me at all..."

His words were hard to lose, but Zhou Huaiqi stopped responding, and changed the subject: "Brother|Don't go out of the palace again in the future, come back more often, Madam Yuanshan is alone in the palace, it is inevitable that she will be lonely , she didn't know me because of my xun sound, she said that I was somewhat similar to my brother, so she saw me happy around me, so she asked me to play!"

"Hmph!" Zhou Lixiao said disdainfully, "It's hard for Da Zhou to give birth to a delicate Han Chinese like you!"

Hearing the sarcasm in the words, Zhou Huaiqi was helpless: "Yes, I am a cartilage soaked in spring flowers and autumn moons. How can I compare with my brother's iron bones? I only hope that my brother will never leave again in the future. After all, this Da Zhou's country cannot do without you..."

The man's old words from the past faintly sounded in his ears, but after all, they were nothing more than bitter frost buried under the spring flowers and autumn moon. Power and fame came first, and no matter how many good words were said, they were all false words...

Suddenly, there was a slight sound of footsteps, and Li Rongju, the guard just now, knelt down cautiously on the floor, and said tremblingly: "Your Majesty, the Prime Minister of the State is asking to see you outside the hall!" "

Zhou Lixiao came back to his senses, concealed the tiredness in his eyes, stood up, and his deep and majestic voice echoed in the hall: "Xuan!"

*

Yingru Palace——

"My lord, after such a tiring journey, my concubine has already prepared some meals, do you think it suits my appetite?"

Lin Cijing was wearing a water red engraved silk satin pleated skirt, covered with a light and soft double-breasted blouse with double lotuses, and a few hosta orchids were dotted in a Yaoyun bun.

At this time, the main room of the Wang Mansion was brightly lit, and the meals on the table were very common four dishes and one soup, all of which were light.

Yu Changqi didn't say much, just ate with the bamboo chopsticks quietly, so as not to talk about the way, the bumpy journey of more than half a month was really overwhelming, and the group of people Jin Yuanyi temporarily suppressed will arrive tomorrow , and A Yan also took Zhou Suyun down to rest early. At this time, only the husband and wife were left in the huge main room, but the atmosphere became inexplicably quiet.

Although Lin Cijing is the mistress of the palace, her family is quite distinguished, and she and Yu Changqi can be said to be in the same family, but it is a pity that the two of them are married relatives designated by His Majesty today, and Yu Changqi's heart is quite different. Because of the indifference, they have been married for so many years but have never touched Lin Cijing in the slightest. Now seeing other people|wives|concubines in groups and full of children and grandchildren, but looking at them in Yingru's palace, it's not just about the thinness of their children.

Lin Cijing's temperament can be considered calm and gentle, but seeing her husband leave home for so many days, but he still looks indifferent when he comes back, he couldn't help feeling a little annoyed, and said: "My lord has been away from home for so long, concubine I miss you day and night and become sick, even if the prince is unfeeling and widowed, doesn’t he have anything to say to my concubine?"

Yu Changqi heard the words, slowly raised his head, his cold eyebrows shone with candlelight, a clear light, but said plainly: "I told you what kind of person I am on the day we got married, you can choose to regret it or choose another Marrying someone else, since you have chosen the present, I have nothing to say!"

"Then the prince has been so affectionate and sexual up to now, it's really a trace of friendship and he has never touched the concubine?"

"No." After saying that, Yu Changqi got up and left the main room, and walked to the study in the back courtyard without looking back.

Looking at the ocher-red figure gradually disappearing into the night, Lin Cijing's tearful eyes suddenly became cold, and he clenched his fingers tightly in his sleeves, and parted his lips lightly: "In that case, my lord Don't blame me either!"

*

Among the hundreds of kingdoms of Yanhua, there are no less than millions of lands adjacent to the Great Zhou. Among them, only the Guo Rong family in the west has been friendly with the Great Zhou for generations. The reason is the same, that is, they are connected by blood relatives.

Since the turmoil and melee in the Central Plains more than 300 years ago, Guo Rong took the opportunity to go south and seize the key points of the Central Plains pass to become king in one fell swoop. From the beginning, the ancestors gradually became estranged from Guo Rong, and until the Zhou Emperor of this dynasty ascended to the throne, they frequently fought to the death.

Now the maintenance depends entirely on Emperor Zhou alone, the important officials of the Han people inside the pass, and the blood relatives outside the pass.

"Your Majesty, this Guo Rongxuan is fighting against me. There have been constant disputes at the border all year round, and the soldiers are all exhausted. If a conclusion is not reached sooner or later, this protracted battle may sooner or later become the last time for the border soldiers to break through their defenses." A string!" His Highness Ji He said, a veteran of the three dynasties, he is a second-rank minister and also a general of the auxiliary country, although he is over half a hundred years old, his words are no less important than the third.

In addition, he was originally born in Han, and most of the officials in the court were Han officials. When he said this, many ministers followed suit.

Zhou Lixiao looked at it coldly. Although these people were working hard for the Great Zhou, they had the blood of the Han people in their bones. After all, they were dissatisfied with living in a land ruled by foreign races. Now that the border war is stalemate, many people are waiting for him to make a decision to fight with Guo. Rong completely tore his face and fought to the death, but if this was the case, he would have betrayed his ancestors and he would be sorry for the Guo Rong blood in his bones.

There were many thoughts in my heart, and I was thinking about what to say, when the Prime Minister Lin Fu suddenly said: "You gentlemen, please stop first, can you listen to me?"

Lin Fu ranks first among the three lords, one person is below ten thousand people, so it goes without saying that he is of great importance, and he is also smooth and kind, so there are very few people in the court who are willing to enmity with him. As soon as he said something, the surroundings instantly fell silent down.

"Old Ji, Your Majesty hasn't made a statement yet, so what's the use of being anxious? When you say something, you must take the overall situation into consideration. You have to repeat this statement all day long in the court. What effect does it have?"

Ji He was quite straightforward, "The Prime Minister of the country is from a literati background. How can you easily understand the dangers of this battlefield? If this matter drags on for a day, it will be a disaster. Even if the people at the border are suffering from the war, they are displaced and time-consuming. It's not as exhausting as it is to fight quickly and get clean as soon as possible!"

What he said directly satirized Lin Fu, a sour literati who was powerless and had nothing to say. All the ministers here nodded and raised their heads together, but Lin Fu still said calmly: "Looking at Mr. Ji's appearance, there is something wrong with him." Guaranteed to win?"

Ji Yun choked when he heard the words, and said again: "As time goes on, people's hearts are exhausted, and we must have a showdown!"

"Elder Ji is gambling with the lives of the people of Da Zhou? It's been hard to keep the peace in this pass for more than ten years. If you break it with a single word, who should be responsible for the loss?"

His Highness and other ministers insisted on their own opinions, Zhou Lixiao suddenly interrupted with cold words: "Enough, this matter will be discussed after a long time, if you have any suggestions, just write a note and hand it over to me, the state's security is naturally not to be ignored, However, this court is not a place to start disputes!"

Having been in charge of the government for so many years, Zhou Lixiao has accumulated a lot of prestige. Even though he is still not recognized in the hearts of some ministers, his achievements and achievements over the years cannot be ignored. It calmed down in his hands, and no one dared to dissatisfy Zhou Lixiao's attitude like this.

His Highness was silent, after examining for a moment, Zhou Lixiao spoke again: "Today, Guiqing didn't come?"

The person he was talking about was Gui Fuyan, the minister of the Taichang Temple was also the prince's direct subordinate Taifu, but he had not come to the court since he was given the notice last month, Zhou Lixiao had always regarded him cautiously, and this question was inherent .

"Your Majesty!" Tian Ruwan, the Shaoqing of the Jingtang, said, "Your Majesty, I told my ministers that I want to beg for a job, and I want to be an official..." He said the last two words as delicately as a mosquito, and he understood Gui at the bottom of his heart. Fu Yan's weight in Zhou Lixiao's heart was only due to his repeated persuasion, but Gui Fu Yan ignored him, and in the end, His Majesty still had to go out in person.

"To become an official?" Zhou Lixiao raised his eyebrows, "Is Guiqing quit?"

Tian Ruwan nodded silently.

"Huh! He hasn't reached the age of seventy or eighty yet? This Ji Qing can stand up and discuss politics in the court. He is already weak and dares to become an official with me. Where is he now?"

Zhou Lixiao satirized calmly, how could the whole court fail to hear it, and Ji Yun's face immediately became a little ugly, but he didn't dare to get angry, Tian Ruwan on the other side said silently: "Return, return to your lord Now I'm idle at home, recuperating from illness..."

"That's all, Yu Qing." Zhou Lixiao turned to the other side. Yu Chang Qijia has the rank of military officer and general, so it is necessary to go to court every day, but he always stands on the side step by step, and never does anything if nothing happens. Discussing, at this time, seeing Zhou Lixiao calling out, he stepped forward and saluted, "The minister is here."

"I'll leave this matter to you. If you don't see Gui Fuyan coming back..." Zhou Lixiao paused, "Then you don't have to come back!"