This sleeve is broken secretly

The inner supervisor led Xie Ling to the dripping eaves in front of the Wenhua Hall, and said softly: "Mr. is still inside. After this section is finished, I will invite you in. Please wait here later."

Xie Ling was not in a hurry, and nodded in response.

Just after the 25th year of Hongwu's new year passed, the decree of Xie Qin's transfer to the prince's attendant was handed down. Today is his first day in office.At this time, he was standing under the edge of the corridor, and while waiting, he raised his eyes to look around the courtyard, not only admired secretly in his heart.

Perhaps because of the prosperity of the country in recent years, the trend of extravagance and essence has gradually emerged in this dynasty, especially in the past two years, the way of gardens and landscapes has become popular all over the country.Literati and refined scholars do not want to be ridiculed as vulgar, but also want to show their strong family background, so they will work hard on this garden.I heard that some nobles in the south of the Yangtze River have gardens with exotic flowers and grasses, and they still love to raise and cherish wild animals.The lone wolves from Mobei in the north and the flamingos in southern Xinjiang are all housed in the same yard.The money spent on building a yard is worth the two-year expenditure of some remote villages and towns.The restoration of the palace in Xiyuan, which caused a lot of noise last year, was also somewhat affected by this extravagant trend.

However, now that Xie Qin came all the way in, looking at the courtyard and garden layout of the East Palace, there was nothing exciting or eye-catching.The most common ones are regular pine trees, which are evergreen all year round; a circle of holly is planted at the base of the wall, which is easy to take care of; the pond is empty, not to mention lotus, and there are no koi.

All kinds of details seem to tell the visitor that the owner here is not good at things outside his body.

Xie Qin stood on the porch for a while, finally there was some movement in the hall, and after a while, the door of the hall opened and the inner prisoner let him in.

Xie Ling pulled up his clothes and entered the room, and from the corner of his eye, he saw two figures who were drinking tea on the seat, bowed their heads and fell to the ground: "Mr. Xie Ling, I have seen His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."

"My lord, please stand up." A youthful voice came from the top of the voice, "My lord will be my husband from now on, please be sure to avoid this great gift."

Xie Jin stood up and raised his head, only then did he see clearly the 15-year-old Crown Prince sitting there.

This crown prince was born of Empress Xiaoyichun. After the empress died, he was brought up by Imperial Concubine Jiahuang.It is said that the Empress Xiaoyichun was also a beautiful woman who was famous in the capital. Although that beauty has disappeared with the beauty who died young, it has been more or less inherited to her only son.

Although His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is only fifteen years old, he is still youthful, but the sky is full, his eyes are bright, and his lips are like pearls.Except for the light and fine white pockmarks on the cheeks, he does not resemble his father Hongwudi.

The prince watched Xie Ling take his seat curiously, and the first thing he said was to ask: "So sir, did you really see Lamei that night last year?"

Xie Ling was taken aback for a moment, and then couldn't help laughing out loud.

Since he and Shen Yu returned from a snowy night in Nanshan Forest at the end of last November, a piece of "Looking for Plum Trees in Nanshan" written by him has been widely praised in the capital.The article begins with the narration of the rare calligraphy that the two of them got by chance in a wine shop, and writes all the way about them entering the mountains, traveling in barren mountains, encountering wind and snow, falling off horses, hiding in caves, and making campfires. After reading the article, my intuition is hearty, and I am eager to know what will happen next.

However, such a fascinating article ended abruptly when the two woke up the next day and looked out of the cave together.The article seems to imply that they saw some wonders, but it doesn't say it clearly, which makes readers want to scratch their hearts and lungs.

After this article spread, Nanshan Forest first became a resort for outings in the season.I don't know how many literati and inkmen followed the path they walked that day, and re-explored the Nanshan forest, and even the wine shop where they ate wine that day was also booming.

Seeing the little prince's expectant eyes, Xie Jin couldn't help but smile again, and asked back: "Your Highness, did you see, what did you see, is it so important?"

"Why is it not important?" The prince was stunned, "Mister's article is called "The Story of Looking for Plum Blossoms in Nanshan". Shouldn't it be the focus of the narrative whether you saw plum blossoms at the end?"

Xie Jin hadn't spoken yet, but he heard Wang Dan beside him say leisurely: "Master Xie is clearly borrowing things to praise people. Since people have finished writing, if you cling to things, you will be fascinated."

This Wang Dan is a great Confucian of the generation, he is handsome and suave, he was an official when he was young, but he resigned because he didn't like the chaotic style of the officialdom.During the years of hermitage, she never talked about state affairs, but she taught many students who were admitted to the imperial examination. The year before last, Emperor Hongwu invited him out of the mountain, entered the court in white clothes, and taught the prince alone.

Hearing Wang Dan point out the deep meaning of his article at this time, Xie Ling smiled and stopped talking.Mentioning this article at this time reminded him of all kinds of things that night, and even the corners of his mouth deepened.

The prince's curious eyes fell on Xie Ling's smiling face, and he couldn't help sighing: "Nowadays, people in the capital say that the 'friendship of Lan Yu' between Mr. Shen and Mr. Shen is comparable to the 'friendship of Guan Zhong'. It is enough to have a friend like this in a lifetime. carry on."

Xie Ling keenly caught a hint of envy from the little prince's tone, and suddenly felt a "thump" in his heart.

Maybe he was completely suspicious, maybe the little prince, as a half-dozen children who lived in the palace for a long time, was simply envious of others having such a good friend.

However, Xie Ling still subconsciously...not feeling well.

He has never been a broad-minded person. The purpose of writing "The Story of Seeking Plums in Nanshan" and spreading it throughout the capital is to make people remember that Xie Ling and Shen Bing are inseparable.How much he hated people mentioning "Tinglan Langyu" when he didn't meet Shen Bing before, but now he likes to hear people discussing him and Shen Bing together.Walking on the road, even if I caught a little word related to "Lanyu", I would stop and stretch my ears.

Now the little prince—

At this time, Wang Dan was almost adding fuel to the fire, and said with a smile: "The prince likes Shen Xiu's poems and essays very much, and even collected his calligraphy. Let it be, if this attendant asks the prince to come If you choose, it may not be your turn."

Xie Ling: "..."

Seeing the unpredictable expression on Xie Jin's face, the crown prince thought that Wang Dan's words had offended him, and hurriedly said: "Sir, don't get me wrong, I also admire your talent and learning... I just like Mr. Shen better in private."

...that was of no consolation at all.

Xie Ling used all his strength to warn himself that he was only a half-grown child and that he was still the master he wanted to serve, so he reluctantly bowed and didn't say anything.

Wang Dan sat for a while, then got up to leave.The palace door was closed again, and the remaining two came to the desk, Xie Ling began to explain the Four Books to the prince.

----

In the blink of an eye, one month passed.

The little prince is smart and studious, and he is even more humble and considerate. It is hard for Xie Qin not to fall in love with this future monarch.Xie Ling and several other attendants read and tutored the Prince's Four Books and Five Classics, while Wang Dan explained to the Prince every seven days the way of being a king, the customs of the whole country, and so on.

Today is the day when Dan Wang gives lectures again.After Xie Ling picked him up, he went to the Wenhua Palace to give lectures, but when he came out, he found that the great Confucian had not left, but was waiting for him in front of the East Palace Gate.

Xie Ling also respected this emperor in white clothes very much. Seeing that he seemed to have something to say, he bowed and smiled and said: "Mr. Wang, if you have something to tell me, just ask someone to pass it to you. I will definitely come to listen to the training in person. .”

"Hey, what training are you listening to, I just want to chat with you." Wang Dan laughed.With a free and easy temper, he waved his hand casually, beckoning Xie Ling to walk side by side with him, and the two walked out together.

After a few chatters, Wang Dan finally got to the point: "So you have always had a good relationship with Mr. Shen Liangqing and Mr. Shen?"

"Yes." Xie Ling nodded, and then hurriedly said, "If Mr. Wang wants to get acquainted with Liangqing, I can recommend you two."

Wang Dan smiled and said, "That's okay. I've always liked this little friend, but it's a pity that I don't have the chance to meet him. But I don't want you to introduce us to each other when I ask you this."

A bad premonition suddenly surged in Xie Ling's heart.

"My good friend Yang Lian, the left censor of the Inspectorate—I think you have heard of him—has always admired this little friend Shen." Wang Dan said with a smile, "His youngest daughter will be fifteen this year. I’ve seen it before, she’s not bad, and she’s good at poetry, calligraphy, piano and painting, so I’m sure I’ll be able to talk to Shen Xiaoyou.”

Xie Ling confirmed the bad premonition in his heart.

"So——" Dan Wang said, "——Yang Yushi wants to ask me to ask you to ask Xiaoyou Shen if you want to marry him? Hahahahaha."

Amidst Wang Dan's hearty laughter, Xie Qin's face was stiff, his heart was like the roar of thousands of beasts, the howling of a hurricane, the movement of the earth, the raging fire... as if ten thousand firecrackers were in his body at the same time There was an explosion in the air, and his brain and ears were buzzing. After a long while of dizziness, he managed to regain his voice: "... Liangqing is only twenty this year, isn't it too early to talk about marriage?"

Wang Dan looked at him very strangely: "Twenty is still early? And I heard that he doesn't have any other concubines in his family, right? The male college is about to get married, twenty is a good age."

Now Xie Qin only wished to take a knife, and first dug out the idea of ​​proclaiming marriage to Shen Yi from Wang Dan's mind, and then ran to pry it out from Yang Lian's mind: "But Liangqing's official career is not yet determined, and he doesn't want to start a family prematurely. ..."

"There must be someone who takes care of him in the family." Seeing his reaction, Wang Dan was even more strange, and he couldn't help asking, "Is it he - think Yang Yushi's family is a bit low?"

Xie Ling froze, unable to speak: "No, no, no, that's not what it means."

"Hey, we also know that Xiaoyou Shen is a good son-in-law." Wang Dan sighed, "Princess Guxiang under your aunt's knee is also in the right age. If the concubine Duan concubine speaks, it is they who are talking about this relationship. Get closer—"

Duan concubine!Princess Guxiang!

If Xie Ling was setting off firecrackers just now, then now thousands of troops are beating the drums together.

No wonder—no wonder!During the Songfeng in Wanhe, concubine Duan was so kind to a foreign minister, so it turned out that she was waiting for him here.It turned out that he wanted to marry Gu Xiang to Shen Yi!

But my aunt never mentioned it to him—no——if my aunt skipped him and told the emperor directly, wouldn't the matter be settled?Is there any room for him to intervene?Aunt wouldn't be so hasty, why don't I rush to the palace and ask her——

Wang Dan didn't know the turmoil in Xie Jin's heart, he still sighed to himself: "But if Xiaoyou Shen favors the princess, his official career will definitely be worse in the future...Yang Yushi is also a second-rank official and a scholarly family. It is more suitable for Shen Xiaoyou who came from a poor family than any prince or noble."

The "princes and nobles" who stood aside silently spat blood in their hearts.

"Anyway, go ask him." Wang Dan patted Xie Ling's stiff body, "Whether it's successful or not, please tell me."

After saying that, Xie Ling was left standing alone at the gate of the East Palace in a daze. The Confucian who loves to be a matchmaker waved his hand and retreated, got on the brocade sedan chair and walked away.