long friend

At dusk, the sunset is infinitely beautiful.

There was an archery target set up beside the racecourse in Shanglinyuan. Su Yan drew his longbow, which caused pain in his abdominal injury. He forcibly shot the remaining feather arrows in his bag, and the results were disastrous.

Su Yan frowned, untied the waist guard, and then unwrapped his outer shirt nonchalantly.There are still traces of sutures on the scar of the wound, which cannot be seen inside, so it must still not heal.The so-called "healing soon" is just to comfort Xiao Qichen, this injury will inevitably take a year and a half to rest for others, even if Su Yan is young and strong, he can't heal within half a year.

He let out a faint breath, and thought a little irritably, "Will this continue to accumulate old wounds?"

After staying in the front line for two years, Su Yan suffered from injuries all over his body. If he wants to continue his military career like this, he may be prematurely aging like Su Zhi—after forty, those old injuries will start to worsen , Cloudy and rainy days are nothing to worry about, and you will feel tired if you are overworked on weekdays.

The title of General of the Fuguo sounds like one person is less than ten thousand people, but he also has to pay the price.

Su Yan put away the bow and arrow, and walked back slowly.He stared at his toes all the way, and when he walked near the Luyun Pavilion, he suddenly heard voices. Su Yan wondered if Xiao Qichen had returned, and couldn't help showing a little smile on his face.

But when he walked over and saw Xiao Qichen, the other party didn't notice him at all, his face was covered with clouds, his brows were tightly furrowed, and the person who was talking to him, who was facing Su Yan at this time, was wearing a black robe, and his figure was very strange.Su Yan raised his eyebrows, walked over unobtrusively, hid quietly by the side and held his breath, and actually listened to the corner of the wall.

There was a smile in the man's words, and he said very relaxedly: "...these words are true, Your Highness, a good bird chooses a tree to live in, and I hope your Highness will not have too much prejudice against me because of Sikong."

Xiao Qichen said coldly: "According to what you said, Emperor Father has already seen Sikong's intentions, and he will retire and return to his hometown soon. According to the current situation in the court, the person who will take over at that time must be King Zhao's henchmen. When he snares After taking over the entire Tai Chi Hall, will there still be a place for me?"

The man said: "King Zhao's followers will be cut off one by one by His Majesty. If His Highness wants to cultivate his own power, it will be a good opportunity. I hope His Highness will not let it go."

Xiao Qichen smiled politely: "Look at what you said, you don't take my brother seriously. I am really not as powerful as you think in the court, and I always look up to others. If you want to cooperate, Mr. Liu will find the wrong one." people."

willow?Su Yan frowned, quickly screened out the courtiers he knew, and finally fished out a name from the depths of his memory. He thought in disbelief: "... Liu Wenyuan?!"

The next moment, I heard Liu Wenyuan say: "I like to challenge the impossible."

Xiao Qichen's ending voice suddenly rose: "I'm afraid Mr. Liu has something else to tell me, isn't he? How can anyone put his peace and don't want it, but like to take the edge of the sword and bet his own life every time?"

Liu Wenyuan didn't put on any airs, and immediately said: "Since it's a secret, please stop asking, Your Highness."

"That's right. But I still can't help but want to ask a question." Xiao Qichen got Liu Wenyuan's tacit approval, resting his chin with one hand, in a posture of leaning towards him, "Father has loved and trusted you a lot these years, even Some confidential documents will not avoid you...Master Liu, the ciwu repays you, and the beasts know how to repay you, but you are so eager to target my father...Unless it is profitable, I really can't figure out why."

When this question got to the point, Su Yan, who was eavesdropping not far away, became more and more puzzled. He didn't know what kind of medicine he was selling in the gourd. He just felt that this aggressive Xiao Qichen was not the same person as the Xiao Qichen who acted like a baby next to him the night before. .

Liu Wenyuan's silence lasted for a long time, he said:

"I have always done things for His Majesty, and the words I said to Da Sikong this time are also ordered by His Majesty. If it is really for fame and fortune, it is the best choice to keep one's own place. Your Highness, if you and I want to cooperate, we should do it for each other." Leave some room—didn't I ask His Highness about the general staying in Shanglin Garden many times?"

Su Yan's mind went blank for a moment, and then exploded with colorful lights.

Could it be that Liu Wenyuan is really supernatural, will he tell the emperor about it?At that time, Xiao Qichen...

He was still in confusion, when he suddenly heard Xiao Qichen say without hesitation: "There is nothing to hide about the matter with Ayan, I will not deny it, let alone lie. Master Liu, please go back."

From his perspective, Liu Wenyuan seemed to be nodding, and their voices gradually became quieter.Not long after, Liu Wenyuan got up to say goodbye, and Su Yan noticed that he seemed to be throwing a meaningful glance at her side.

Liu Wenyuan's figure quickly disappeared, Su Yan turned out from her hiding place, and walked in front of Xiao Qichen with a longbow in one hand.He hadn't made up his mind whether to tell Xiao Qichen that he saw it all, but the other party said first: "It was Liu Wenyuan just now, he wanted to cooperate with me, but I didn't want to... He hid half of his words, it's really annoying."

Su Yan got off the donkey: "I heard something when I came here."

"Lord Sikong may be implicated by me." Xiao Qichen said indifferently, "I don't know when my father realized that I was quite ambitious for that position. Liu Wenyuan told me that today Sikong was called by my father to ask a lot about me. However, he is partial to everything, and my father always suspects him, and wants to force Sikong to leave Jinling."

Su Yan: "Just because Zhong Mi likes you?"

Xiao Qichen spread his hands and said: "I don't know why my father started to target me overnight...In the early years, not to mention my mother and concubine, he still favored me. At first, I was abused by the queen, and he was very distressed. He allowed me to return. After entering the Chenglan Palace, I often asked about the current situation... I managed to get Zhong Mi to stand here, and he noticed it so quickly."

Xiao Yan's attitude towards Xiao Qichen has always been changeable, and Xiao Qichen claims to hide it very well, but he can't escape the eyes of his father and emperor. Would he not hesitate to break his confidant and important minister to make Xiao Qichen selfish?

Seeing that Su Yan was thinking, Xiao Qichen added: "Now I can barely figure it out. Liu Wenyuan said it's because I scare him now. I don't know the specific reason... Don't you find it funny that he is afraid of me?" ?”

Is there any reason in the world for a father to be afraid of his son?

And although Su Yan himself is a master who is afraid of his son, his fear of Su Heng comes from the fact that the other party cries when he sees him, and the quarrel makes him a headache. It is impossible for him not to hurt Su Heng.He thought about it, and finally said: "Could it be related to Empress Ronghua? Your Majesty has always had a lot of affection for her..."

Xiao Qichen shook his head: "His current attitude... is a bit like... suddenly discovering that I'm not his own?"

As soon as this idea was uttered, Su Yan was still in shock. Tian Hui, who had listened to the whole conversation, said, "Your Highness, you are worrying too much, this is impossible."

Xiao Qichen forced a smile: "I really hope I'm worrying too much. If I'm not his flesh and blood, then the change of father's attitude and saying to Brother Ping that 'the throne will not be handed over to Qichen anyway' would be a big deal." It can all be explained."

It seemed logical and there was nothing wrong, but Su Yan felt that this guess was too unreliable.

Zhou Ronghua was a servant girl in the Queen's Palace back then, and she came from a commoner background. In the second year of Tongning, she entered the palace as the Queen's dowry girl.Xiao Qichen was born in Tongning 15 years ago, this suspicion is really untenable.

What's more, Zhou Ronghua is a maidservant, and it is considered a serious crime to have a secret womb. Could it be possible that he dared to blatantly lie about being a dragon?

Su Yan expressed his worries, and Xiao Qichen sighed heavily: "If he really doubts me, he can find countless reasons. I just think it's too strange."

"Let's go with the flow." Su Yan said.

This matter troubled Xiao Qichen for a long time, but at the Great Court Meeting five days later, Da Sikong Zhong Mi outrageously asked to retire and return home.

He left without a sound, and the rest of the memorial was presented to the Tai Chi Hall.Xiao Yan didn't seem surprised by this, calmly agreed, and gave a lot of things casually, as if calmly helping Zhong Mi'an spend his old age.

Of the three important ministers when His Majesty had just succeeded to the throne, in a blink of an eye only the most ineffective Wang Di remained.

Xiao Qiyu was overjoyed, but he was smart enough not to rush to the point of the sword, and never mentioned the candidate to succeed Sikong first.This is a big matter, and not one or two people can make a decision.Because of Liu Wenyuan's appearance, Xiao Qichen felt late for Xiao Yan for no reason, and didn't make any noise, standing himself like an exquisite decoration.

The position of Da Sikong was vacant, and the courtiers couldn't discuss it for a while. Finally, Wang Di tremblingly suggested that Dr. Guanglu should act as his agent for the time being, and then hand over the position after a person is selected.

As if this was the only way to go, Xiao Yan sighed, and suddenly called another person's name: "Su Yan."

Su Yan, who was buried in the pile of generals, came out of the line without being humble or overbearing, and motioned to listen attentively.

Everyone thought this was just a routine question, but Su Yan hadn't been to court for a few days after he recovered, and he didn't know as much about the war situation in the northern border as the people in the Ministry of War, so he might not be able to answer the question suddenly.Xiao Qichen secretly sweated for him, feeling more and more that his father's temper has been unpredictable in recent years.

Unexpectedly, when Xiao Yan opened his mouth, it turned out to be a more shocking decision than asking questions.

He wanted to take back the Tiger Talisman in the hands of General Fuguo, the reason being that since it was peace after the war, there was no need for frequent troop deployments, and it was better to return the Tiger Talisman first if something happened.

Since the beginning of Emperor Wen, the Tiger Talisman for Dispatching Troops has always been divided into two. The emperor has one half, and the other half is held by the generals of the Fuguo. Except for those years when Emperor Gaozong cut power, there has never been an exception.Even in peaceful times, the tiger talisman held by the general is only used for mobilizing troops for defense, but only when the two halves of tigers are combined into one can the whole territory be mobilized.

As soon as Xiao Yan opened his mouth, he wanted Su Yan to return the remaining half of the Tiger Talisman, taking away his power in a disguised form.If Su Yan handed it in as he said, he would only be able to mobilize three thousand cavalry guards in the future.

"Strange," Xiao Qichen thought blankly, "Why did it come so fast!"

The eyes of the officials also became complicated, only Su Yan who stood in the middle looked as usual.He only hesitated for a moment, as if digesting the deep meaning of the words, then took out a small object from his arms, knelt on one knee and raised it above his head.

The eunuch Xu Zhengde took the tiger talisman and presented it up, Xiao Yan held it in his hand and looked at it for a while, then said: "You don't ask me why?"

"My merciless request." Su Yandao, "The border has not yet been settled, but as a general of the auxiliary country, I have left my post for too long without authorization. I was cared for by Your Majesty when I was recovering from my injuries. Now I think I have recovered from my injuries. I hope Your Majesty will grant me your favor." Go back to Yanmen Pass and defend the border for the country."

Xiao Qichen suddenly raised his head, not caring whether others noticed, and looked in Su Yan's direction.

He knelt in the hall with his back straight, without the slightest humility of a courtier. Although he was not wearing armor, his whole body was still like a bowstring stretched tight, and the long-sleeved court uniform could not hide his vigor.

Xiao Yan expected that Su Yan would say so, and pondered: "Since it is within the duty, why would you please say so? You can leave at any time after the injury is healed—Su Yan, if your father is half as considerate as you... "

He stopped here and said no more.

Only then did the courtiers come to their senses, Chen Youyou said: "Think twice, Your Majesty, taking back the military power is also a major event. Now that the northern border is not peaceful, if something unexpected happens..."

And they chattered for a long time, but they still couldn't get enough of the sentence "I've made up my mind".

Xiao Qichen shook his head very slightly, he raised his head to meet Xiao Qiyu's obscure gaze, his heart was shocked, and he wanted to say something, but he swallowed it down in the end.

It couldn't be Xiao Qiyu's fault, he still had to rely on Xiao Qiwei.At this time, Su Yan's military power was taken back, which did not benefit him at all, so it must be Xiao Yan's own decision, thinking of what Liu Wenyuan said that day...

Xiao Qichen thought in a blink of an eye: "It seems that the heir has been decided. Father is indeed paving the way for Xiao Qiming. This is just the first step. He will not let Xiao Qiyu and me get close to the military power."

From then on, he might gradually weaken the power of Zhao Wang's party, suppress Xiao Qiyu, and then use all his energy for the rest of his life to carve out a clean land for his youngest son.He was really paranoid, for the sake of Xiao Qiming, he even did not hesitate to hurt the hearts of courtiers and thousands of soldiers.

Everyone in the court hall hesitated to speak, and no one dared to say a word.

The child who couldn't speak clearly, relying on his good background, immediately left him and Xiao Qiyu behind easily.Why is he?Xiao Qichen's hands were tightly clenched in the wide sleeves of his robe, and he couldn't even feel the pain.

When the courtiers dispersed, Su Yan walked last, he didn't know what to dawdle.It was inconvenient for Xiao Qichen to talk to him in front of others, so he could only keep a foot away from him, and the relationship seemed alienated and polite.

Su Yan turned his head towards him, Xiao Qichen caught a glimpse from the corner of his eye, thought he was going to talk to him, he was about to take a few steps towards that side, when Su Yan suddenly heard Su Yan say: "Lord Liu has been there for a while."

Xiao Qichen looked in the direction he meant, and there was indeed a bridge on the west side of the square, where Liu Wenyuan was standing.His and Liu Wenyuan's gazes were caught off guard, and then Liu Wenyuan slightly raised her chin to another position.Xiao Qichen frowned, realizing that he might want to say something to him, and gestured to Su Yan cryptically.

Su Yan bent his lips towards him, and quickened his pace towards Donghua Gate.There were no other eyes and ears around, so Xiao Qichen looked around, took a long detour, and finally found Liu Wenyuan in a corner southwest of Taicheng.

No one knew what they talked about that day, Xiao Qichen left Taicheng within a quarter of an hour, as if they just met by chance and exchanged casual greetings.When he met Su Yan outside the Donghua Gate, he never mentioned Liu Wenyuan.

"When are you leaving?" Xiao Qichen asked Su Yan in the carriage.

Once in a century, the other party showed a bit of fragility, leaning his head on Xiao Qichen's shoulder, as if he couldn't bear the sudden pressure.He was still too young, only in his early twenties, and suddenly encountered such an accident, he pretended to be calm when he was in the Tai Chi Hall, but when the rest of the people left and only him and Xiao Qichen were left in the square inch, Su Yan's collapse was immediately manifested .

Su Yan said: "Actually, I can't figure out why, my ancestors...throwing their heads and blood for this country, and now the world is not really peaceful, so they want to hide the birds with their bows?"

Xiao Qichen rubbed his earlobe, but couldn't say comforting words, he was still sad, so he could only lean against Su Yan quietly.Breathing slowly, Xiao Qichen buried his head and kissed the tip of Su Yan's nose.

The car was so quiet that only the two people were breathing slightly. Xiao Qichen was silent, took Su Yan's hand, and pressed each of his knuckles carefully, with little force, as if he could bear the other party's pressure by doing so. half.

The last time he felt this way was when they met again when they were 15 years old, but at that time Su Yan was in high spirits, wearing red clothes and soft armor, leading a black horse to meet him.

Xiao Qichen thought he felt the same way, but he couldn't describe it.Only later did he know that this is dependent on each other.

In the early winter of Tongning 34, Su Yan left Jinling.

The first snow fell that day, and Xiao Qichen sent him to Lao Lao Pavilion.He once joked that the name of this pavilion was unlucky, and it was from the east to the west, but he didn't want it to be a prophecy at that time——

The three springs are already in the evening, and the flowers follow the wind, leaving nothing to be pitiful with anyone.

The author has something to say: I will take a leave of absence tomorrow, and I will go to my graduation defense!

In addition, I wish everyone who is still a child at heart a happy holiday tomorrow (′?ω?`)

Explanation for constant updates:

I usually write articles during the day + after 10:[-] pm, so if there is something in the afternoon and evening, the update will be very pending. I hope everyone can understand, there are too many things in the graduation season, and I bow to everyone (Doxia seat.