there is a king in the palace

When it was time to go to bed, Zhao Xianao sat in front of the desk and folded the pictures he had drawn in half, carefully binding them together with needle and thread.

The end product is a seemingly ordinary book.

Zhao Xianao nodded, he was quite satisfied with his work, he put this book and several scriptures similar to Legend of the Gods and Beasts under the pillow in the bedroom, and then sat on the side of the bed and began the long wait.

It's very strange, the place where the king lives is in the back porch of Qianqing Palace, it stands to reason that he should come here.

Zhao Xianao got up and anxiously wandered around the bedroom, when he heard movement outside, he rushed to bed, covered the quilt, and casually picked up a book to read.

"Hiss—" the king limped in, he just fell outside and sprained his ankle.

No way, the day was quite warm, but it snowed heavily as soon as it got dark, and even the eaves were covered with icicles. When the king came out of the house, he looked at the icicles and was greedy. He wanted to pick one off and play for a while.

The clothes are bloated, the eaves are high, and there is snow on the ground. The king took off the ice pick when he jumped like this.

The more the king thought about it, the more stupid he felt, and the more angry he became, he took a broom and knocked down all the icicles on the eaves.

He would not tell Zhao Xianao about this matter.

"What happened to your feet?"

"I fell a bit, it's okay."

Hearing that he fell, Zhao Xianao got off the ground and gave him a clean shirt, "Have you showered yet? Put it on."

The king took the coat and nodded, "I've already washed it, after lunch."

When he was changing clothes, Zhao Xianao suddenly saw his red, swollen and swollen ankles, and frowned, "Did you fall like this?"

The king was also very helpless. He said depressedly, "It's really troublesome to be a human being. When I was a tiger, it was fine to jump off the cliff."

Zhao Xianao helped him fasten the buttons, and helped him to sit on the chair, knowing that he might be twitching somewhere, jumping and falling, so he was embarrassed to say it, and didn't ask any more questions.

He half-kneeled on the ground, gently took off the king's cotton socks, revealing a white and tender foot, "Heh..."

"I'm like this and you still laugh..."

Zhao Xianao didn't dislike him for being dirty at this moment, so he lightly stroked the soles of his feet twice with his fingertips, and the five round and pink toes curled up slightly, but he didn't dodge.

"Aren't you ticklish?"

The king raised his head, "There's nothing to be afraid of."

Zhao Xianao smiled, and lightly pressed his fingers on the king's ankle.

"Ah, it hurts~"

"It's nothing serious, it'll be fine in two days." Zhao Xianao sighed, although the bone was not injured, but it would take three to five days for his foot to walk properly, and he planned to take the little fat tiger to the North Sea for ice play .

Forget it, ask someone to make a bigger ice truck for him tomorrow, and it will be ready in a few years.

Thinking of this, Zhao Xianao stood up, threw a shoe to the king, "Go to bed."

Zhao Xian'ao was only less than half a head taller than the king, but his feet were as slender as his hands, the king put on his shoes as soon as he stretched out his feet, and jumped onto the bed.

This time, Zhao Xianao didn't put an extra layer of mattress on the bed.

Because the king who becomes a human will not shed his hair.

"Wow! So many books!" As soon as the pillow was lifted, the king's eyes lit up, as if he had imagined a wonderful story in his mind.

"Uh... you can flip through it casually, I'm going to wash my hands."

"I'm illiterate, what can I read..." The king got into bed, waiting for Zhao Xianao to come back.

Hey, this quilt is so soft, so light, so dry.

The king held the quilt and sniffed it vigorously. There was a faint smell of ambergris, which was pleasant and not pungent.

When Zhao Xianao came back, the king was already drowsy on the bed.

He didn't sleep last night, his eye sockets were already blue, and when he lay down here, his eyelids were glued together.

Zhao Xianao pushed him, "Didn't you say you couldn't sleep?"

The king narrowed his eyes, "Now I can..."

Can what can, not allowed to.

"Look at these, they are all found by Wang Xing, very interesting."

The king yawned and pulled out a book at random, "This is it."

"I'll take a look."

Zhao Xianao lay sideways beside him, leaned on the pillow and opened the storybook called Journey to the Underworld, "This is about how to build a strong bridge."

Is this boring enough?

Zhao Xianao's eyes skipped over the books he didn't read carefully, and landed on the face of the king, who was looking at himself expectantly, as if he was curious about how to build a bridge.

Zhao Xianao cleared his throat, "I don't think this one is interesting, can I change it?"

"It's very interesting. You guys are amazing. The bridges are so beautifully built. When I was in Hutou Mountain, I could only push stones into the river."

Zhao Xianao didn't have the ability to explain how to build bridges to Travels in the Underworld, "I don't like it, so I change it."

The king can't help it, he doesn't like it and it's impossible to read it to himself, "Okay...then this."

Zhao Xianao opened it and glanced at the king, fearing that he would find out something, he said, "This is about a snake demon who cultivated into a human form and fell in love with a man in the world."

This king likes it so much, "Let's talk about this! Just talk about this!"

"Hmm... Once upon a time, there was a black snake who practiced in the mountains for many years, and soon he would be able to transform into a human form. Unexpectedly, one day, an old Taoist priest went up the mountain to collect medicinal materials. He happened to meet a black snake and wanted to catch him for medicine... "

Zhao Xian'ao's story was not as vivid as Furong's, and when it came to exciting things, his voice was calm and low, but the king felt that what he told was much better than Furong's.

Zhao Xian'ao, who whispered in his ear with a straight voice, looked gentler than Aunt Hui Xin.

The king unconsciously arched into his arms.

Zhao Xianao's story paused for a moment, he looked down at the king who was staring at him with those sparkling eyes, and raised the corner of his mouth, "The black snake was shocked, the scholar stood in front of him, yes The old Taoist stared angrily, and kept saying, don't kill, don't kill."

"The old Taoist is really bad..."

Zhao Xianao listened again, and asked softly, "Have you never killed a living creature?"

"That's different. I do it to be full. If I don't eat, I'll starve to death. He does it to refine medicine. If he doesn't refine medicine, he won't die."

Rough words are not rude.

Zhao Xianao nodded in agreement, and continued, "The scholar rescued the black snake from the hands of the old Taoist priest, and then released the black snake back into the mountain... After many years, the black snake took the shape of a human and went down the mountain to play around. The snake was dazzled... It rained heavily that night, and the black snake hid in the ruined temple to hide from the rain. He happened to meet a scholar who was going to Chang'an for the exam. Change into dry clothes if you don't mind."

The king interrupted again, "Is the black snake a man?"

"Yeah, what's wrong?"

The king pursed his lips. Just now Zhao Xianao said that the black snake in human form was wearing a black robe, with beautiful eyebrows and eyes, and smooth skin. Brother, the king can no longer imagine the scenes in the story.

"I don't want to hear it anymore, I'm going to sleep." The king sniffed and rolled over.

Zhao Xianao's face darkened all of a sudden, "I haven't finished talking yet."

Seeing that the temple was destroyed in the middle of the night, why didn't you listen.

"Let's talk about it tomorrow, talk about something else, I'm so sleepy..." The king didn't speak quickly, and had already let out a long breathing sound.

Zhao Xianao took a deep breath, threw the white snake in his hand to the ground, turned around sullenly, turned his back to the king, his eyes widened with anger.

What's wrong with Black Snake being a man? !

Forget it, the days are still long, don't worry.

Ever since he got to know the king, Zhao Xianao has been giving in non-stop, thinking about forgetting it.

After painting for two days, Zhao Xianao was also a little sleepy, and fell asleep after a while.

While half asleep and half awake, Zhao Xianao felt a leg resting on his body, and soon his arm was also resting on his body.

Zhao Xianao was hugged tightly by him, feeling sweet in his heart.

Then, he heard the little fat tiger next to him talking in his sleep, "Don't move, this is my king's pork knuckle..."

Zhao Xianao woke up completely, he gritted his teeth and stared at the king.

It's really food protection.

He was about to push the king away when he heard him say, "Eat it quickly, your majesty, what a big pork knuckle..."

……

The king woke up before dawn the next day, but Zhao Xianao woke up earlier than him, and was already leaning on the bed and reading by candlelight.

The king stretched his waist, looked up and smiled proudly at Zhao Xian with his eyes bent.

He was originally juicy, but his face became even more fair after he was full of sleep. This smile was painful, "Your Majesty, I want to eat pork knuckles."

Zhao Xianao's only thought at the time was, don't say you want to eat pork knuckles, even my knuckles, I will chop them off for you.

"Let the imperial dining room do it later, and just say that I will reward you."

The king was so moved that he was about to cry. For such a vengeful little tiger, he had long forgotten who pointed an arrow at him, who made him eat dog food, who put a knife against his neck, and even more I swear by myself who said that I will suffer through hardship.

29 On this day, the palace began to prepare for the new year, and Zhao Xianao was also busy.

Because the king hurt his foot, it was inconvenient to walk around, so he ate his elbow alone in the house.

"Little Eunuch Yuan! Are you in the house?"

"Here, come in."

The little house is the little eunuch who lives next door and is responsible for cleaning the palace. He opened the door and came in, holding a tray in his hand. The tray was covered with a bright yellow cloth, and the contents inside could not be seen.

But the king knew that what was covered like this was bestowed by the emperor.

"what?"

"Congratulations, Eunuch Yuan~ These are the eunuch uniforms just sent by the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and you and Director Li have one each!"

His Majesty opened it, and inside was a red and blue four-toed python robe, with a shoulder-length round neck, large placket and wide sleeves, and the robe was as long as his feet. A four-toed python was coiled around the chest, and the whole body was covered with gold and silver embroidery and colorful thread auspicious clouds.

In the Great Song Dynasty, being bestowed with such a python robe by the emperor meant that a high-ranking official was honored and wealthy. So far, only Director Li, the Director of the House of Internal Affairs, and the elders of the two dynasties in the court have such honors.

The king tore off a piece of meat from the elbow, and said to the little house, "Just put it there, I'll try it after eating."

"..."

The king is a celebrity around the emperor, and the little house has always been very fond of him, and now he leans forward even more, "Eunuch Yuan, do you know what this python robe represents?"

"What?" Dawang wiped the oil from his mouth with a puzzled expression.

He was spoiled by Zhao Xianao when he was the king of beasts, Zhao Xianao would love to dress him up, sending tiger shirts and shoes to the Tiger Pavilion like water, the king really didn't have any idea about clothes.

"Hey, little Eunuch Yuan, Lord Yuan! Maybe the little one will call you Manager Yuan in a few days!"

The king came to his senses, and he smiled, "No, what should you do?"

"Why?"

"The emperor is not stupid..."

He doesn't have this ability, Zhao Xianao knows it.

In the blink of an eye, on New Year's Eve, every year the emperor would let Manchu civil and military officials bring their main wives into the palace to celebrate the new year. At first, it was just to let the concubines in the harem who left home and entered the palace at a young age have a chance to meet their parents. Now it has evolved. There is a custom.

Zhao Xianao also liked this kind of scene, it was lively.

The lights in the palace were brightly lit, singing and dancing were peaceful, the king couldn't stay in the room anymore, and he came out wearing his new clothes before his feet recovered.

The emperor held a banquet in the Hall of Supreme Harmony, and all the people in front of the imperial court went to work. The Qianqing Palace was empty, and the king could hear the music of the Hall of Supreme Harmony in the Qianqing Palace. He glanced over there, wanting to join in the fun, but was afraid Being arrested and sent to work by Manager Li, I was a little entangled for a while.

After thinking about it, the king went to the tea house.

Fu Rong led the two maids who were busy there. There were many ladies who didn't drink alcohol at the banquet today, and the tea had to be served from the tea house. Seeing the king, Fu Rong took a moment to ask, "Why did you come out?"

"Oh, it's boring to stay."

too cheap.

Furong made a gesture to hit him, but the king smiled and avoided, "I'll help you, I'll help you."

"That's about the same. You sit there and watch some water, and I will lead the two of them to serve tea."

Since Hui Xin left the palace, Fu Rong's words and deeds have become more and more similar to Aunt Hui Xin, and she has become more stable and capable.

The king sat in front of the charcoal fire, dried his hands, took out the water when it was boiling, poured it into the teapot beside him, added some water and put it on the stove again.

After a while, Fu Rong came back, "The Hall of Supreme Harmony is busy and chaotic, why are there so many people, but those dancers are so beautiful."

After hearing this, the king wanted to join in the fun even more. He got up and took the tray in Fu Rong's hand, and said with a smile, "I'll go and deliver it~"

"...Come on, be careful, don't fall your foot before it's healed, this is hangover tea, one portion for the emperor, one portion for Duan Wang, and one portion for the general."

The emperor is familiar with King Duan, but he doesn't recognize General Fu, "Who is the deputy general? Where is the general?"

Fu Rong had no choice but to say, "Give it to me."

"No, no, I want to see~"

"Then, you give General Fu this cup to Wang Sheng... Forget it, you can ask Manager Li when the time comes, he happens to be next to the emperor."

The king nodded, and walked towards the Hall of Supreme Harmony unhurriedly with tea in hand.

Furong looked at his speed, and guessed that the tea would be cold by the time of the Supreme Harmony Hall...

However, he was wearing this python robe, General Fu and King Duan would not embarrass him, the emperor... let alone.

The ladies and eunuchs serving the banquet all entered through the side door of the Hall of Supreme Harmony. As soon as the king entered, he was shocked by the people in the room. It was the first time he had seen such a big scene. The emperor was wearing a red Jifu sitting on the upper seat, with his left hand On the side are concubines and officials' wives, on the right are civil and military officials from the Manchu Dynasty, on the left are two court ladies standing by each table, on the right are eunuchs in the palace, and in the middle are more than [-] dancers, dressed in scarlet flowing fairy clothes. skirt, dancing to the music.

The king roughly counted around, feeling that there must be at least three or four hundred people.

The emperor is really majestic.

Thinking about it, the king walked slowly towards the emperor, and put the hangover tea on the table in front of him.

Zhao Xianao was stunned when he saw him, "Why are you here?"

"Hee hee, join in the fun."

Zhao Xian'ao whispered something in his ear, "Come over to my side after the tea is served, after a while there will be fireworks outside, that will be lively."

"I know~"

The king stood up and asked Director Li solemnly, "Which one is General Fu?"

Manager Li looked at his python robe jealously, "I won't tell you."

"I told the emperor that you bullied me."

"You little man."

"The old man can be more open-minded."

Manager Li pouted at the emperor's right hand, "The third table, the one with the scar on his face."

The king squeezed his eyes and walked down with the tea.

Although General Fu Yong was old, he was a man who fought with the former emperor on the battlefield after all, so he was very imposing when he sat there casually, and the little eunuch next to him lowered his head and didn't dare to look at him.

The king put the tea on the table.

Fu Yong was drunk a long time ago, so he could still taste whether the tea was hot or cold, and swallowed it in big gulps, making a gurgling sound.

Seeing how fast he drank, the king simply stood by and waited. When Fu Yong finished drinking, he brought it over.

Fu Yong glanced at him and said nothing.

The last cup belonged to Duan Wang, who sat behind Fu Yong.

As soon as he saw the things on Wang Duan's table, the king wanted to send him the elbow he had gnawed.

It's so miserable, on this day, there are vegetarian dishes on his table, and the green king's eyes hurt.

Duan Wang also thought that he was in extreme misery, but he took a sip of the tea and his face became as green as vegetables.

It could have been worse...

King Duan put down his teacup, took a deep breath, turned his head to look at the king, and recognized at a glance that he was "colluding" with the emperor in the council hall and smashed his eunuch with a chair. Face said, "This tea is cold."

The tea was cold and had to be replaced with a hot cup, and the king was not unwilling to change it for him, but Zhao Xianao just said that the fireworks would be set off in a while, so he asked him to watch it together, so he persuaded King Duan, "I sprained my ankle. , walk slowly, make it a point, okay..."

King Duan had been insulted all night, from the seats, to the food and drinks, and now the general, King Duan was so depressed that he spat out a mouthful of blood, and a few drops splashed on the king's feet.

The king was stunned.

Although most of the people in the hall were slightly drunk from drinking and chatted enthusiastically with the people around them, King Duan vomited blood and focused everyone's attention in an instant, and the music in the hall stopped.

Zhao Xianao, who was sitting upright, was also dumbfounded. Director Li realized it before him, "Quickly send the imperial doctor!"

This is the emperor's coolie. If something happens, the emperor will not die from overwork.

"What's wrong with Duan Wang?" Zhao Xianao was pulled back by Director Li, and asked quickly.

Duan Wang's physical fitness is not bad, and he is obviously more comfortable after vomiting blood, "I'm fine, I just feel a little unwell recently, and I drank too much alcohol for a while..."

King Duan took a deep breath, and couldn't continue the story, "It's good for my brother to go out and sober up, Brother Huang, don't worry."

"Then go."

After King Duan left the table, the music rang again, as if this incident had never happened.

The king held the tray and returned to Zhao Xianao with a guilty conscience, "I might have caused trouble..."

Zhao Xianao smiled and drank, his voice came out of his throat, "What feat did you do?"

"He said the tea was cold...I told him to make do with it..."

No wonder.

His younger brother has always been proud and arrogant, and he can endure all his tortures without changing his expression, but a eunuch wants him to make do with it, which is a complete insult.

"You are so powerful, you vomit blood alive."

The king pouted, but he was still not happy, "Prince Duan is too angry, it scared me, I thought there was poison in the wine..."

Zhao Xianao smiled and said nothing.

When the hour came, Director Li stood on the right side of Zhao Xianao, and said in a loud voice, "The Spring Festival is celebrated all over the world. You don't need to be too polite. You can go to the plum garden to enjoy the fireworks and the cold plum blossoms."

Yimei Garden is the largest plum garden in Chang'an, on the far left side of the imperial palace. Every winter, all kinds of plum blossoms bloom together in the cold snow, like a red cloud, and it is even more beautiful together with fireworks.

However, this kind of excellent scenery did not attract the elderly officials, only some young officials accompanied Zhao Xianao to leave the banquet.

The king followed Zhao Xianao, still thinking about the matter of King Duan vomiting blood, Zhao Xianao was dissatisfied with his worried look, "What are you thinking about?"

"Where did King Duan go? He won't get angry and die outside the more he thinks about it."

"On a day like this, can you say a few nice and auspicious words?" Zhao Xianao laughed after finishing speaking.

Manager Li moved two steps to the side with a numb expression, trying to prevent himself from hearing the two people talking.

This little Yuanzi and the emperor must have some unknown secret.

The less you know, the better.

The king will speak auspicious words, he put aside Duan Wang who was vomiting blood from his own anger, and said auspicious words to Zhao Xianao with a smile, "The emperor lives a long life~"

Zhao Xianao was not satisfied, and corrected him with a stern face, "Long live."

"All right, long live..."

"What's your tone? You think I'm not long live."

The king sighed and stopped talking.

Zhao Xianao suddenly became curious, he glanced at Mr. Li who was walking further and further away, and asked in a low voice, "How long can you live?"

This great king is not very clear, but he is sure that he will live longer than Zhao Xianao, "It should be more than 1."

"..."

Zhao Xianao had to say that he did not vomit blood, which proved that he still had the hope of living to ten thousand years old.