Hualing Snow

the end of the year.

No one went to Jizhou.

This no one includes not only Qin Zhixun and Pei Shiqing, but all the subjects of Daliang.

The flames of the beacon ignited suddenly, and the smoke rose straight up. Beiyan, who had been entrenched outside the customs for a long time and had been coveting for a long time, sent troops southward.The king of the foreign country declared that it would take half a month at most to capture the capital of Daliang.

The aged emperor was at a loss what to do, and the court was already in chaos.Daliang had been singing and dancing for decades, and the sound of war drums was too far away. No one could have imagined that war would break out at this time.

It wasn't that there were no main battlers, but the hematemesis and cries of those few people were quickly submerged in a wave of hastily begging for peace.The important ministers who have been at ease for a long time are all convinced that Daliang's soldiers and horses are powerless in the face of Beiyan.

Qin Zhixun looked at the chaos with cold eyes, and his enthusiasm for fighting for the reason of sending troops had long been extinguished by the weak emperor and the courtiers who were struggling to make peace by throwing a basin of ice water, unwilling but helpless.

After several years of ups and downs in the officialdom, it was the first time that he felt this kind of exhaustion emerging from the deepest part of his heart.

"Just do as the prime minister wants..."

The farce finally ended with the old emperor's compromise. The gray-haired old man was terrified of being kicked off the throne by foreign cavalry.He was old, and he just wanted to sit in the palace peacefully, surrounded by pearls and greenery, and listen to the drums and zither.

"Ceded the Jizhou area to Beiyan, and sent envoys to send 10 taels of silver every year. If the monarch of Beiyan has other requirements, I allow you...to decide on your own."

In the court hall, some people stroked their beards and smiled happily, some clenched their fists full of grief and indignation, some lowered their heads and breathed a sigh of relief, and some were dazed and tearful.

The old emperor looked around, as if being stung by something, he added a sentence to cover up.

"I have made up my mind, if anyone dares to speak falsely again, they will be executed together!"

Jizhou...?

Qin Zhixun stood in a daze, he opened his hands, as if he wanted to grab something, but in the end, he could only put it down in vain.

He can't take that step.

He still has an unscheduled appointment.Even if you can't keep the appointment, there is still someone you want to see.

he can not.

That night.

Qin Zhixun didn't know how he came home in a daze, when he regained consciousness, he was already lying on the bed with a high fever.

The bedroom door was pushed open with a "squeak".

The person you want to see walks in.

Pei Shiqing leaned over slightly, stretched out his hand to test the temperature on his forehead, and silently changed a new cool handkerchief.

Their breath blended briefly, but they were separated at the touch of a touch.

Qin Zhixun vaguely smelled that there seemed to be a pleasant fragrance of plum blossoms on the handkerchief.

"sorry."

"sorry."

The two spoke at the same time, and they were both taken aback.

Qin Zhixun frowned and smiled bitterly.

"This sentence should be said by me... You also got the news, right? I'm sorry, but I couldn't keep Jizhou in the end."

Pei Shiqing looked at his slightly aggrieved expression, chuckled lightly, and patted his temples.

"It's not your fault, the matter has come to this point, and no one can recover."

He paused, then looked down at Qin Zhixun, the expression on his face was so complex that it was difficult to distinguish.

"I'm sorry...in fact, I'm saying goodbye to you."

"Farewell? What farewell?"

Qin Zhixun's face suddenly turned pale. He stretched out his hand from the brocade quilt and held Pei Shiqing's wrist tightly. He had a bad guess in his heart - he knew him too well, too well.

Pei Shiqing held his hand instead, rubbed it once or twice, and patted him comfortingly.

"...Even if I can't recover, I just want to be clear of my heart. I will go to the palace tomorrow, and I will fight for the main battle."

Qin Zhixun opened his eyes wide, clear, but lifeless.

I really know him too well.

Pei Shiqing let go of his hand, stood up and stood by the window with his hands behind his back.Under the dim light of the falling moon, the usually proud and unrestrained figure unexpectedly showed a trace of determination.

"Walking around, avoiding political affairs for so long, I still have to come back. It's just that I didn't expect that the first time I went to court was because of..."

Qin Zhixun didn't speak.He was silent, as if he had lost the ability to speak.

"I originally thought that if I was willing to go to court one day, it must be to ask for a marriage."

Pei Shiqing turned around, his eyes traced his face carefully, the sharp-edged eyebrows and eyes showed a rare gentle expression.

"Although I hate officialdom, I still carry the official position that my father and brother secretly obtained. I have been traveling for so many years, and it is time to do something serious. It's just a pity... I prepared two white horses for Jizhou to enjoy the snow. , I’m afraid it will be difficult to use.”

Qin Zhixun's usually calm and steady voice trembled.

"Why do you... You know that there will be no result other than death!"

Pei Shiqing didn't answer, blew out the lamp, and walked out the door.When he was about to push the door open, he was silent for a moment in the dark, and finally turned around and spoke.

"I just hope that when the next person wonders if Jizhou Feixue has Hualing's Meibai, he can have a chance to see it."

The wind blew all night outside the window.

Qin Zhixun opened his eyes and counted the falling plums all night.