long friend

A few days later, Su Yan received a post from Xie Hui, inviting him to meet at Qixia Mountain during the Shangsi solar term to enjoy the beauty of spring together.

He pinched the post, feeling a little suspicious in his heart, feeling that everything was full of strangeness, but he didn't feel anything strange for a while, and still sent someone to reply to Xie Hui, saying that he would definitely arrive by then.

On the morning of the third day of March, Su Yan took his horse to Zheliu Pavilion at the foot of Qixia Mountain.This place is far away from Jinling City, and there is a post house and an inn. A few years ago, it was inaccessible, and there was a murder case. Now the aristocratic families in Jinling City are surrounded by Xie Hui, a group of idle dudes, and what kind of outings are they? The wilderness is also full of tourists.

Shangsi, the ancients once said that "the spring clothes are completed, bathing in Yi, dancing in the wind, singing and returning."After hundreds of years of evolution, today's tourists often gather in groups of five or six to have a banquet by the water, and young men and women among them occasionally exchange glances secretly.

Su Yan looked around outside Zheliu Pavilion, but he didn't see Xie Hui, but saw an unexpected person——

Xiao Qichen sat bored on the table and stool outside the post house. When the spring color is thick, everything recovers, and the sun gradually warms up.He was wearing a light blue shirt, the color of water, which made the whole person gentle.

Sitting outside the post house, there was a tea bowl in front of him. At this moment, Xiao Qichen was staring at the tea bowl intently, not knowing what he was thinking, turning a blind eye to the crowd around him.Standing next to him was Tianhui, who was stuck in place like a human-shaped wooden stake. He didn't say hello when he saw Su Yan, but took a step back silently.

Su Yan instinctively wanted to run, but at Tianhui's step back, Xiao Qichen noticed something strange and looked in his direction.

The eyes of the two met unexpectedly in the middle, and then turned their heads tacitly at the same time.Xiao Qichen picked up the tea bowl and took a sip, as if he had prepared himself enough, then looked at Su Yan again.

With his glance, Su Yan no longer wanted to run away.

Patting the horse's head casually, Su Yan slowly passed through the traveling crowd, moved to sit down opposite Xiao Qichen.Knowing what was going on, Tianhui simply turned around and signaled to herself, "I can't hear anything, I can't see anything."

"Why are you free?" Xiao Qichen started the conversation first, he spoke flatly, as if there had never been a gap between them.

Su Yan looked at him seriously for a moment, and said, "Xie Hui asked me to enjoy the spring."

Xiao Qichen nodded and said: "He also asked me out, he must have run away by himself. Yesterday he asked me if I had any arrangements, and I said that I was free, and my father was so annoyed by the reduction of military pay recently that I didn't have time to talk to me. I asked Xie Hui what he was doing, but he didn't say anything, he just asked me to come early in the morning and said that the flowers in the mountains are in full bloom recently, and it is worth seeing."

Su Yan said "Yes", wondering why it wasn't the Shangsi Festival, when he suddenly remembered that today seemed to be Xiao Qichen's birthday.

On the third day of March, spring water flows, which is a good day.He was born when Xiao Yan's heirs were weak, and when he was one year old, Liang Jun won a big victory. It was a good start, but unexpectedly there were twists and turns along the way.

"...I was in Xuzhou at this time last year." Su Yan said softly, "I didn't have time to give you a gift."

Xiao Qichen laughed when he heard the words, put his chin on one hand, and moved closer to him: "What gift do you think I want? No one can afford what I want, so I can only get it myself."

The topic was so lightly turned to the day they had a disagreement, Xiao Qichen deliberately said this to provoke Su Yan to see his reaction.Unexpectedly, Su Yan, who was filled with righteous indignation that day, seemed not the person in front of him. He nodded slightly and admitted his mistake without warning: "Achen, it's my fault that I said such things without thinking for you."

He became Xiao Qichen in astonishment, he never seemed to think that Su Yan was someone who could apologize - it's not that Su Yan was so proud, but that he never did anything wrong - as soon as these words came out, Xiao Qichen was immediately stunned .

Seeing his eyes flicker, Su Yan suddenly became anxious, and continued: "You have your considerations, but I didn't understand, and I said harsh words to you. But do you really only know how to use feelings? I thought you were not such a person .”

Xiao Qichen raised the corners of his lips with great interest: "Then who do you think I am? Now the courtiers say that His Royal Highness is scheming and good at showing weakness, knowing when to advance and when to retreat, coaxing His Majesty into submission, It’s even worse than Zhou Ronghua back then—it’s a coincidence, it’s exactly the same as what Liu Qingyan said back then, do you still remember him?”

Of course Su Yan remembered Liu Qingyan.

The day he first met Xiao Qichen, he was fighting with Liu Qingyan, a small dumpling, his face was covered in ashes, but his expression was haughty, and in the blink of an eye he was in front of Xiao Qiping, and shed tears of aggrievedness.

Seeing Su Yan's confirmation, Xiao Qichen said: "You know, he also entered the imperial court recently, and when he saw me outside the Tai Chi Hall that day, it was as if he had seen a ghost, and he said that His Highness the Sixth Highness is not an ordinary person."

"Don't pay attention to him." Su Yan said, "He is not worth your consideration."

Xiao Qichen was noncommittal, and turned to say: "Ayan, I said that I don't understand feelings, I don't know love, I only remember hate, I do whatever it takes to achieve my goals, I want Jiangshan - did you secretly speculate what I want to do before? Now I told you, can we still be the same as before?"

That sentence lay between the two of them, both a promise and an obstacle.When Su Yan said it, he didn't realize that one day their ideas would diverge and he should choose what to do. He valued affection and commitment, while Xiao Qichen valued profit over righteousness.

He said something: "Whatever you want, as long as I can afford it, I will give it to you."

How he took it for granted at that time, when this kind of thing really happened, he had a conflict with Xiao Qichen.If you still insist now... Su Yan closed his eyes and didn't answer.

Xiao Qichen seemed to have guessed such a response, sighed lightly and said: "Forget it, let's not talk about it on a very happy day, you haven't celebrated my birthday with me for several years, since Xie Hui said that the winding water on the mountain is just right to enjoy the flowers, why not Go for a walk and relax?"

He gave the steps, and Su Yan naturally went down the donkey: "That's fine."

After starting again, the mountain flowers only show a little shy and timid flower buds. Before they are in full bloom, they are better than here with gurgling streams and green pines and cypresses. Away from the hustle and bustle of the imperial city, it is a good place for meditation and cultivation.

Su Yan and Xiao Qichen took two steps into the mountain, went upstream, and found a clean stone in a place where there were fewer and fewer people.Xiao Qichen suggested to rest, and they sat down on it.Tianhui brought wine with her, the taste was light, Xiao Qichen took the gourd and took a sip, seeing the purse on Su Yan's waist, he couldn't help but reach out and grab it.

"My mother sewed it." He smiled, showing a few small white teeth, his eyes were bent, with a nostalgic expression, "I almost forgot about it, you didn't seem to like wearing it in the past."

"I wore it when I was in the Taiwan Army, and later I was stationed in Xuzhou. I kept this next to my body. I occasionally put calming pills in it, so that I can sleep more comfortably at night." Su Yan said, untied it and handed it to Xiao Qichen, " Smell it, if you like the smell, I will bring you some someday."

There is a fresh medicinal fragrance on the tip of the nose, like bluegrass, but more refreshing than it.Xiao Qichen raised his eyebrows: "It smells good, where did you get it? There's no taboo about this, right?"

"Oh, it was General Zhang Li from Xiaoqiwei who sent me to him. His ancestral home was in Kuaiji. There was a young famous doctor there. He heard that people in the village would come to see him when they were sick. There was no fee for the consultation and the medicine cured them. General Zhang last year When I went back to my hometown to visit relatives in autumn, I remembered that my father could not sleep well at night, so I asked the little gentleman for a prescription. My father tried it, and it seemed to be very effective. The medicinal materials are very common, mild in nature, and should not be harmful to the body. Harm."

Xiao Qichen put the purse up to the tip of his nose and sniffed it again, and said: "That's kind, you can copy a prescription for me some other day, I'll try it, and if it's really useful, I'll bring some to brother Ping, so that he doesn't get old at night. It's a nightmare."

Su Yan asked, "What's wrong, Your Highness?"

Xiao Qichen said helplessly: "Didn't something happen to Wan Qing? He somehow felt guilty towards that woman... Wan Qing asked to be killed after this autumn, Brother Ping has been bored all day since the beginning of spring, and there are so many nightmares at night, Mrs. Wang can't help it." .”

Speaking of this, Xiao Qichen's expression could be described as sad. Seeing that Su Yan still couldn't understand, he simply waved his hand and ended the topic on his own: "If you don't mention this, it will annoy me..."

"It's rare that you will find it annoying." Su Yan said, snatched the wine gourd from his hand, and took a sip. The wine had no taste, it was purely used to coax children.

Xiao Qichen looked up at the blue sky and white clouds, with the gurgling stream behind him, he listened silently for a while, then closed his eyes: "I have a lot of troubles... The most troublesome thing is, did that brat in the Pingyuan Hou Mansion really love me?" angry."

Hearing this, even Tianhui, who had always had a face full of joy, anger, sorrow, and joy, couldn't help but "puchi", Su Yan was suddenly embarrassed, if he didn't hold the wine gourd, he wouldn't know how to put his hands and feet.

"I'm not really angry." Su Yan lied guiltily, seeing Xiao Qichen's brows stretched, and the color of the little mole of tears became vivid, he suddenly felt that this lie was nothing.

He was born not to tell lies, and this time he broke the precept, as if a gap had been loosely opened along with those old pedants who had been stubbornly insisting on him in his heart.

So the following words seemed not so difficult to say, Su Yan continued: "I made a mistake that day, I shouldn't say that about you. Even if you made this decision for yourself, there is nothing wrong with this decision."

Xiao Qichen stared at him strangely, after a while he seemed to accept the man's sudden apology, and nodded stiffly.

The atmosphere was a little awkward for a moment.

At this time, there was a change in the woods, Tianhui's hearing was excellent, when he heard it first, the dagger stuck in his waist was about to be unsheathed, but Xiao Qichen suddenly said: "Don't be nervous, you are not a bad person."

Tianhui and Su Yan asked for answers with the same puzzled expressions, Xiao Qichen coughed twice: "I just saw a man and a woman who came down the mountain road into the forest, and there were peony flowers in their collars. They must be on a tryst... It's not considered open, but Shangsi is a special day, so naturally he can be more open-minded, have you two met?"

Tianhui grew up in the palace since she was a child, and she stood at attention when she heard the words, and said solemnly: "Return to Your Highness, I have never had a tryst with others in my humble position."

His sternness made Xiao Qichen flinch. He clearly knew it was an act, but he was still very happy. He pointed at Tianhui and said, "It's almost there! How can you be so stupid? You and Tianyou will be allowed to leave for another day. Go out and play, Qinhuai Shili Scenery, wouldn't it be a pity if I never saw it in my life?"

Tianhui smiled: "Your Highness is really considerate."

Seeing the two of them, Su Yan suddenly remembered something, and said to Xiao Qichen: "Have you returned these two hidden guards to Your Majesty?"

Xiao Qichen said as it should: "The assassination case has not been concluded yet, and the murderer has not been caught. What if Tianyou Tianhui leaves and I don't stop those who want to be killed or cut on the road? I'm very scared."

Hearing that he started talking nonsense again, Su Yan couldn't help itching, and pinched Xiao Qichen's cheek.The Sixth Highness's skin was tender, and he immediately pinched out a red mark, covering the spot and glaring at Su Yan.

With this stare, Su Yan just stayed where he was.

Xiao Qichen looks like Zhou Ronghua, with beautiful features, even quite feminine.

When he was a child, he was a soft, waxy and snow-white dumpling with crooked black eyes when he smiled. Later, when he grew up, he became a beautiful boy with red lips and white teeth. He was coldly abused by the queen in the palace. A frightened cat, only occasionally showing a hint of lazy nature.I didn't see him for a while, but Su Yan didn't feel that he had changed. I don't know if it was because of his contact with the government these days. As soon as he met, Su Yan noticed Xiao Qichen's change.

His facial features seem to have opened up, his eyebrows are picturesque, the corners of his lips are slightly raised, the tear mole and the broken hair on his forehead make him look very deceptive, and he looks like a good son of Zhuoshi.But there are too many things hidden in his heart, and he can't relax no matter what.

Xiao Qichen seemed to have buried his contented or lazy appearance in the past, and he tried his best to make himself stable, but the look he just gave was a little angry.

Su Yan's heart trembled suddenly because of this look, and he suddenly thought: "What if he has changed? The expression just now is clearly the same as before. As long as he still has the shadow of the past, I can trust him."

"What's the matter, Ayan?" Xiao Qichen asked him.

His voice has also changed a bit, not as clear and clear as when he was a child, but when he deliberately lowered it, he seemed like an adult.

"I've found that you like to be lost in thought recently," Xiao Qichen leaned closer to him, with the tip of his nose almost touching the tip of his nose, with a narrow and malicious smile on his face, "Do you have a sweetheart? Tell me, and I'll help you find out...? "

Su Yan hurriedly exchanged glances with him, he had never whispered to others so close, even if Xiao Qichen used to stick directly to his ear, it would be as lethal as a whole person leaning over.Su Yan was caught off guard by a guess, and his whole mind became a mess, and it boiled quickly, and the heat burned all the way to his ears.

He was still organizing his words, and said in a panic, "I don't have... How can there be such a person... Don't get so close to me!"

At the end of the sentence, he pushed Xiao Qichen on the shoulder.Xiao Qichen was also teasing him at first, but when he saw this, he knew it, so he pursed his lips and said: "If you don't have it, then you don't have it, tell me which girl you like some other day, and help you hold your eyes, so that Ayan won't come to you foolishly." Time to be lied to."

When the atmosphere brought up such romantic topics, Su Yan suddenly became more lively, and Su Yan relaxed, nodded with a smile, and regarded him as agreeing to him.

With Chunxi behind him and spring breeze blowing in his face, Xiao Qichen took out a pack of pumpkin seeds from his arms, spread them out on his lap, and asked Su Yan to take them if he wanted to eat them.He talked about some interesting things recently, but didn't mention a word about his troubles. He asked Su Yan how he was doing in the army, and Su Yan answered them one by one. It seemed that there had never been a dispute between the two of them.

It wasn't until the sun was setting that Xiao Qichen and Su Yan walked back.Most of the tourists would not stay so late, and there were few other people on the return journey. Tianhui was far away from them, moss grew darkly on the stone road in the mountain, and it was covered with dew in the evening.

Su Yan walked a little ahead, holding Xiao Qichen with one hand - they were like this since they were young, and Su Yan didn't notice something wrong for a long time - he focused on finding a road that was not so slippery, and reminded him softly from time to time, not knowing Xiao Qichen's His eyes wandered and fell on the overlapping hands of the two, and the smile could not be hidden on his lips.

From time to time, there are small flowers growing beside the stream, light yellow and light purple, not a strong color, born in this world, but it has a wild charm.Seeing the fun, Su Yan leaned over to pick a yellow flower.

He turned around to show Xiao Qichen, just in time to meet his smiling eyes, raised his hand like a ghost, and inserted the little yellow flower on the side of Xiao Qichen's bun.

Xiao Qichen: "..."

Seeing him holding the flower with a questioning face, Su Yan thought for no reason of those girls flirting with their lovers by the stream. At first she couldn't help laughing, but finally couldn't help it, turned her back and squatted down, her shoulders kept shaking.Xiao Qichen came to his senses, first instinctively wanted to pick the flower, then stopped in mid-air, as if he was quite reluctant.

In the end, Xiao Qichen didn't pick it off, and he didn't pick it up, so he simply raised his leg and kicked Su Yan, leaving a neat footprint on the clothes on his back.

The author has something to say: The Shangsi Festival is recorded in "The Analects of Confucius", here is a quote~

The custom of picking peony to express love was prevalent during the Cao Wei period.