long friend

Although the reward ceremony after the triumphant return of the army could be absent, Su Yan did not dare not to attend the court meeting the next day.He has not been in Beijing for nearly two years, and the courtiers have changed several times during this period, and the intricate interpersonal relationships need to be sorted out.

After the court was purged several times by Xiao Yan, the pillars of the court no longer dared to flirt with each other blatantly, and kept making small moves in private.Thanks to Xiao Qichen's blessing, few of Zhao Wang's party are currently in high positions, and they are all too busy to take care of themselves. The rest of the courtiers were silent when they stood in the Tai Chi Hall, and moved around more frequently after the court was over.

In Shi Yu's words, "Your Majesty's move is really unpopular, and everyone should criticize it."

When this person said this to Su Yan, he filled a pot of tea for him: "The things His Majesty asked you during the court meeting are not because you are worried about you, but because you are close to His Highness the Sixth Highness, and he is on guard against His Highness the Sixth Highness. "

"What?" Su Yan asked suspiciously, "Did Qichen do something that he didn't like?"

"Because he didn't do anything, His Majesty felt that His Highness Liu was thinking deeply, so he couldn't trust him. Speaking of which, Mingyu, is your relationship with His Highness really good enough to call each other by name?" Shi Yu laughed dumbfounded.

Su Yan nodded and said, "After all, we have known each other since we were young. Master Shi, I have a question... In today's court, there are more people who should support King Zhao. Why didn't you say anything today?"

At the court meeting, Xiao Yan routinely asked Su Yan about the battle situation in the northern border, and mentioned whether Xuzhou garrison was needed to go north for support.Before Su Yan made a statement, Xiao Qiyu came out and suggested that the distribution of military power should be reconsidered, but the emperor passed it on noncommittally, and this originally reasonable announcement did not get any approval from anyone.When Su Yan was still in Jinling last time, even if Xiao Qiyu didn't say anything, at least this kind of serious suggestion was seconded.

Could it be true that as Xiao Qichen said, Xiao Yan had run out of patience with him, and even completely disliked him, so the others acted on the wind and made trouble?

Shi Yu sighed: "Mingyu, you don't know something... Prince Zhao made a rude statement a few days ago, saying that His Highness the King of Chu could not give birth to a son. This word has somehow reached His Majesty's ears, you say this... can you Angry?"

Sons and heirs have always been a subject of never-tiring conversation after dinner. These old-fashioned nobles always bring up the Chu Palace with more teasing.Who doesn't know that Xiao Qiping has been married for several years, and has a princess under his knees. In May this year, the princess gave birth to another child, and it turned out to be a daughter. Naturally, Xiao Qiyu would not let this opportunity pass.

It's just that these words must have been said in private anyway, and it may not be too coincidental that Zhao Wang stumbled.

"It's Liu Wenyuan." Su Yan was thoughtful, "His eyes and ears are always everywhere... King Zhao is to blame."

"Isn't that right, the bright future was ruined just like that. Your Majesty was just talking about the matter, but Lord Yushi suddenly intervened, and mentioned that the palace maid poisoned the prince back then, and mentioned that the palace maid was the younger sister of King Zhao's concubine... This added fuel to the flames, His Royal Highness King Zhao was sent back to the manor on the same day, and he was forbidden to leave Jinling without an edict."

After hearing this, Su Yan had a rare inspiration and said: "Heart disease... I am afraid that he will repeat his old tricks against His Highness the Seventh Prince, but His Majesty doesn't think about it. Now he has no courage to give Prince Zhao ten courages."

Shi Yu deeply agreed: "It is said that seeing him set up a high platform, and now that the trees are falling and the monkeys are scattered, Prince Zhao probably can't afford a big storm. After His Majesty finished taking care of this, all eyes are on His Highness the Sixth Highness. I see that posture, I wish I could find a few more leaks. It's a pity that His Highness the Sixth Highness handles affairs seamlessly, and didn't give him a chance."

Su Yan: "What are you doing?"

Shi Yu: "Some insignificant but tedious chores, such as rebuilding the Zen Forest of Changlu Temple."

Su Yan's forehead twitched: "What does he think of Qi Chen..."

Shi Yu said helplessly: "As far as I know, there are quite a few people in the court who have objections to this matter, but His Majesty's estrangement and dislike for His Highness the Sixth Highness are too obvious, and no one dares to break ground on Taisui. You can also be regarded as a wise gentleman, why is he suspicious now, maybe he is really old—”

Relying on the fact that there were no mouths or obstructions around, he hadn't finished speaking when two coughs suddenly came from behind him.

Shi Yu was shocked, and closed his mouth stiffly. He was about to think of an excuse, but Su Yan, who was sitting opposite him, bent his eyes: "You are talking about you, so you came?"

The vacant side of the fourth plan was occupied by the visitor. He seemed not used to the half-kneeling posture, so he bent one leg and picked up the teapot and porcelain cup casually. Shi Yu smiled: "Master Shi, what a coincidence that you are here?"

Shi Yu hurriedly stood up: "Your Highness Sixth..."

Xiao Qichen waved his hand, and said enthusiastically: "No, no, you can sit down. It's not a meeting in the court, I don't bother to pay attention to these etiquettes, I also heard Ayan say that he was drinking tea here, thinking how this person still likes to be pure-hearted Let’s take a look, I didn’t expect to be with you—what are we talking about?”

"The general came back from victory, just a few words of greeting." Shi Yu explained in a superfluous manner.

Xiao Qichen smiled without saying a word, turned to chat with Su Yan: "Are you going home today?"

It was a strange question, Shi Yu hadn't realized the deep meaning behind it, Su Yan answered the words very naturally: "Father asked me to go to the mansion to explain something, you go back to Shanglinyuan first, and I will go to you when the matter is over .”

Xiao Qichen said yes, and then, as if he was afraid that Shi Yu would be left out in the cold, he chatted with him about some anecdotes about Jinling recently.

He is a generation shorter than Shi Yu, but there is no obstacle in the communication between the two, and they can even be regarded as having similar interests.Shi Yu didn't have much contact with him, and this opportunity was rare, so he seized the time to ask Xiao Qichen about the Guozijian, and the other party patiently answered them one by one.Su Yan became a display by the side, he didn't mind at all, he just drank tea by himself, and occasionally grabbed a candied fruit for Xiao Qichen.

But they didn't talk for too long, Shi Yu was about to leave soon, Xiao Qichen said goodbye to him politely, and didn't say anything about sending him off, which made Shi Yu feel comfortable.

After he left, Su Yan turned to Xiao Qichen, looked him up and down, and said straight to the point: "It's autumn, why are you still wearing unlined clothing, don't you feel cold?"

Autumn in Jinling has always been one layer of rain and one layer of coolness. Recently, the weather has been fine, and it is subtly between the heat that made Xiao Qichen uncomfortable and the cool wind in late autumn. It's all warm."

Xiao Qichen said such disgusting words as soon as he opened his mouth, and said them with great sincerity. Others might be embarrassed, but Su Yan accepted them all, just as he said a very ordinary greeting and didn't answer: "That's fine." .I’ll go back to the mansion first, and I’ll look for you later—don’t look, I’ll stay with you overnight.”

It turned out that there was such a tacit understanding, Xiao Qichen laughed: "There is one more thing."

Su Yan wasn't impatient at all: "Speak."

Xiao Qichen hooked his hand, and said flatteringly: "When you are resting, can you find a way to get General Shen to come to Shanglin Garden? Just say you buy him a drink, there is a nobleman here who wants to see him .”

Su Yan frowned: "A matchmaker?" Seeing Xiao Qichen hesitating, neither admitting nor denying, he understood a lot, and joked, "Who is going to work for our Highness to pull the red thread by himself?"

Xiao Qichen rubbed his toes on the ground, and blurted out a name: "Then who... Huiyang, last time you triumphed, she went to Nanyuan to take a peek, she seems to like... General Shen."

As soon as this remark came out, Su Yan was shocked at first, and then bent down laughing.

Princess Huiyang's boudoir list is full of words. She has not been very quiet since she was a child. She doesn't learn female celebrity and female virtues, but she is particularly interested in riding and shooting.The other princesses of the emperor married one after another when they grew up, but Huiyang was not married yet when she was old.

Because she is the youngest daughter, Xiao Yan dotes on her in every possible way, and specified that Hui Yang should choose it herself.In the end, after choosing for more than a year, either I thought this one was too weak, or I thought that one was very boring.

There was a time when Huiyang admired Su Yan very much, but Su Yan got married early, and then Xiao Yan's thought of bestowing marriage disappeared, so the matter was left alone.

"Isn't General Shen guarding the Cloud Gate later on? The folks portrayed him like a god descending to earth. Huiyang didn't know where he heard those stories, so he told General Shen..." Having said that, Xiao Qichen sighed and looked into the pavilion in the distance The couple secretly said to Su Yan, "I didn't want to get involved, I can't stop her acting like a baby every day."

Xiao Qichen's relationship with his brothers and several younger sisters is actually quite good, especially Hui Yang, who often goes to the Chenglan Hall during festivals, he is considered to be the person that the royal family likes Xiao Qichen the most besides Xiao Qiping.

Su Yan thought for a while, and said, "Looking at it this way, Brother Cheng Jun and the princess really do match."

Shen Chengjun, a bachelor of ten thousand years, didn't know that he had the princess' blue eyes. When he left Shanglinyuan that day, seeing Su Yan's complicated expression, he patted Su Yan's head inexplicably: "What are you laughing at with a strong face?"

Su Yan: "General, you and I have a long way to go."

Shen Chengjun became more and more puzzled, looked at Xiao Qichen, and said with a toothache: "Your Highness, has this kid eaten something wrong recently? How come he speaks so godly, who did he learn from?"

Xiao Qichen turned his head to look in the direction where Princess Huiyang left, and after confirming that she had left, he told Shen Chengjun the truth very honestly: "General, I don't know if you... have a family?"

These words are neither euphemistic nor reserved, and are really different from Xiao Qichen's usual speaking style. Shen Chengjun shook his head first, and then sweated all over his body belatedly, thinking affectionately: "The royal family still cares about the in-laws of important officials in the court." ? Is it possible that I have been alone for so many years, and I have alarmed His Majesty?"

Regardless of what he was thinking, Xiao Qichen said straightforwardly: "Since Huiyang met the general, he has admired him in his heart, and he doesn't think about food and drink. But I know that a twisted melon is not sweet, so I made a special trip to invite the general to come over and have a chat with you today. Now you and Huiyang will meet again After that, we talked about it, do you like her at all?"

Shen Chengjun was at a loss for words, he turned to Su Yan, who turned and left with a face of nothing to do with him.

In the next few days, Shen Chengjun was immersed in indescribable complex emotions, so that when Princess Huiyang appeared on the school grounds, he was at a loss and wanted to rub oil on the soles of his feet-then Su Yan grabbed him and threw him over to the princess as a cow do horses.

Shen Chengjun was speechless, stubbornly thinking that Su Yan was behind the scenes, and looked at him with hatred for a moment.His full of resentment was vented during the training, Princess Huiyang applauded beside him, and all the soldiers felt sorry for him, they didn't know how they got into Shen Chengjun's bad luck.

In contrast, Su Yan's attitude as a hands-off shopkeeper can be called spring weather.Singing in Xiaoqiwei|The red-faced and white-faced singers seem to have switched roles, tormenting the Taiwanese troops stationed in Nanyuan.

When autumn was in full swing, the Turkic general Ashina was imprisoned in Nanliang Jinling, and Huyantu was forced to sue for peace.

The Tai Chi Hall was full of joy inside and outside. To celebrate the long-lost victory, Xiao Yan went to Xuzhou in person to reward the warriors who returned to Beijing.Although the Turks have not yet surrendered, everyone feels that this is only a matter of time.

Su Yan and Shen Chengjun received the battle report from Yannandu, and all the Turkic troops outside Yanmen Pass retreated, and Fang Zhi also played, explaining that Yunmen Pass is not in danger for the time being, and everything is so peaceful.

When the first snow of the year covered Jinling City, Xiao Qichen pulled Su Yan outside the city.

There are beautiful scenery everywhere outside Jinling City, and there are places worth visiting in all seasons. I don’t know how many literati in the past and today have left popular chapters and pictures.However, Su Yan had been in Yanyun North for several consecutive winters, and was used to the overwhelming snow in the north. He was suddenly called to Zhongshan by Xiao Qichen, and he couldn't adapt very much.

The snow in the south of the Yangtze River is too graceful, the vegetation has not all withered, there are gray-green traces under a thin layer of white, and frost flowers hang on the plum branches.It was as long as rain, and when it fell on the palm of your hand, there was not even a sound.

Having been in the north for many years, Su Yan almost forgot that he was from Jiangnan.

His hand was held by Xiao Qichen at the moment, and his fingers intertwined into an extremely ambiguous gesture.When it comes to winter, although Xiao Qichen is much more energetic, the temperature of his body is a bit low, and the palm of his hand is even worse, as if holding an ice cube. Every time he has to cover it patiently for a while to feel a little warmth.

Su Yan gave him a hand: "Where are you going in such a hurry?"

"Changlu Temple." Xiao Qichen said with a smile, pointing to the eaves of the Zen Forest not far away between the bleak branches, "Construction will start after the Chinese New Year. I came here to burn incense before."

Su Yan was puzzled and said, "Why did I never know that you still believe in Buddhism?"

Xiao Qichen said: "I don't believe it, but I always feel that there are some things that I can't say to people, so let's say to Buddha. Zen Master Songlin is sincere to me, and you will be wise. Look, isn't it because you came to me?"

When he spoke, the ending sound was soft and waxy, light and floating, leaving a bit of clarity and coolness between the eyebrows like the light snow between the sky and the earth.Su Yan thought of his mother and the Buddhist hall at home. When he was helpless in the predicament, he often went there to sit and sit.

In the words, the gate of Changlu Temple is close in front of you. The old temple looks a bit dilapidated, but the monks come and go freely, and don't mind the spots caused by the falling off of the screen wall.

Xiao Qichen performed Namaste with a young monk, and after the two whispered a few words, he led Su Yan into the gate of the temple.

"Over there, as well as the Zen forest behind, will be rebuilt at that time. The former abbot passed away, and the emperor sent me to take care of it personally to show his respect for him." Along the way, Xiao Qichen explained, "So there will be a few years later. busy."

The place is quiet and quiet, and the red plum blossoms that are slowly blooming against the snow scene in early winter are extraordinarily beautiful. A place with few people seems to be especially suitable for romance.The monk didn't follow the two of them, Xiao Qichen stuck to him shoulder to shoulder after walking a few steps, they were more silent and taciturn, as if there was nothing to communicate through talking at all.

The blue tiles and white walls of the temple contrasted with the seven-story hexagonal pagoda. Su Yan couldn't help but look back when he stepped out of the mountain gate.

Passing by in a hurry outside the meditation room, I heard a few words of motto: Fate is determined by oneself, why bother?

On the way back to the city, it snowed again. Xiao Qichen was playful and didn't ask for the umbrella that Tianhui handed over, so his shoulders were soon wet.

His cloak was blue, and it became the only focus in the field of vision in the vast expanse of whiteness. Su Yan just stared at him as he stepped back and forth on the snow-covered ground. Thinner again.

Su Yan was suddenly a little afraid of him disappearing: "Achen!"

The person who was three or five steps away turned his head, and a strand of hair that was too long was hanging down the corner of his eyes, just covering his tear mole.Xiao Qichen's lips were light in color, but his eyebrows and eyes were as clear as ink paintings, almost blending into the monotonous colors of winter.

He showed a puzzled expression: "Why?"

There was a faint shadow in his eyes, and with a flicker of light under the sky, Xiao Qichen's appearance suddenly became vivid and real.The indescribable worry in Su Yan's heart seemed to be thrown away suddenly, he took a few steps quickly, and stepped forward to stand side by side with Xiao Qichen.

Faced with his lingering confusion, Su Yan raised his hand and brushed the broken hair behind his ears: "It's okay, I just want to call you."

Xiao Qichen's ears turned red, he coughed a few times and said seriously: "Go back quickly, it's so cold outside."

Su Yan nodded: "Okay."

The first snow fell in Jinling for two days, and the blue tiles of the imperial city and Fangshi were covered with a layer of white.The pool in Shanglin Garden is not frozen, the willow trees on the bank have lost their leaves, and occasionally a bird passes by, as if accidentally breaking into an ink painting.

The New Year's Eve came so steadily, Xiao Qichen thought that Su Yan could finally stay in Jinling, and they still had a lot of time to waste before worrying about trivial matters in court.

And he didn't know that for him, that once-in-a-lifetime turning point would soon come with great momentum.

The author has something to say: General Shen sells himself for glory... (not