long friend

Su Yan met Xiao Qichen by chance at the Yinmachi, but Su Yan didn't tell anyone, and sent him away after the other party finished changing and washing.Although later his father was curious about why he made the room full of water, but he didn't ask too much, and told Su Yan to take care of himself in the palace after a few days.

Taicheng is different from the Nanyuan garrison. Among them, there are aristocrats and civilians who guard the city. The guards of several gates belong to the forbidden army. There are undercurrents surging among each other, and they jointly maintain a peace that is not in harmony with their hearts.Wang Zhen, the current commander of the Forbidden Army, is able to convince the masses. In addition to his personal talents and virtues, he also has the title of Sima's son. The humble scholars have studied hard for ten years and can't make it to the top. They are the children of aristocratic families. Two wins.

Speaking of Su Zhi's worry, Su Yan already understood.In the whole country, only aristocratic families are too powerful, and it is really not a long-term solution.This remark was to beat him, telling him not to associate with those people.

"Be good for yourself", these four words Su Yan heard too much.He only smiled at Su Zhi, saying that he knew the seriousness.

The emperor's edict cannot be disobeyed, so Su Yan handed over Nanyuan's errand, and reported to Da Simamen in the early morning a few days later.The guard's name was Geng Meng, who was originally a son of an official family, but later his family fell into decline. Fortunately, he was appreciated by the eldest son of the emperor, he was not implicated, and he was able to earn this fat post.

This person's reputation in the army is not very good. Not long after Su Yan arrived, he heard from several other lieutenants that Geng Meng relied on his nepotism with the eldest son of the emperor. people take it seriously.

Su Yan failed to stand guard the first day, and Geng Meng sent him to patrol the city with others.There are so many people in the imperial army, but there are countless palaces in Taicheng, so naturally they have to do more work.

Apart from Su Yan, there are several other newcomers.After they got acquainted with the eight gates of Taicheng and the main palaces by looking at the map, they conducted a simple inspection and were led to the residence to settle down.

The residences of the defenders were mostly six people per room. Su Yan quickly got used to the common bunk in Nanyuan for more than a year. After finding his own place, he packed it up and lay down.Su Yan felt that he was obviously tired because he hadn't walked such a long distance for a long time, but his heart beat extremely fast when he lay down, and the uncontrollable unknown excitement quickly made him excited.

Su Yan sat up, thought for a while, and took out the purse from his arms.

He stared at the finely stitched lotus flower for a long time, and realized that it might be the only relic of Xiao Qichen's mother and concubine, his heart suddenly felt a little stuffy.Maybe it has to be returned to Xiao Qichen, Su Yan thought.

How can I contact him?

Just as Su Yan was thinking hard, the door of their room was suddenly pushed open.Geng Meng walked in neatly dressed, with a serious expression.Everyone thought there was something important to do, so they cleaned up their clothes one after another, but they heard Geng Meng say: "Su Yan, come out."

Su Yan has become famous because of his lectures on martial arts and archery.When he stood up, he clearly felt that the eyes of the people around him became quite complicated.Su Yan bit the bullet and followed Geng Meng out, and asked, "Commander, look for it late at night..."

He couldn't continue in the middle of his sentence, because Su Yan caught a glimpse of the apricot-white man standing at the corner door.He recognized the clothes, he had only seen them a few days ago, and he fell into the pond and was in a mess.

Geng Mengdao: "The Sixth Highness is looking for you."

After speaking, he respectfully bowed to Xiao Qichen, turned and left.Su Yan was still in a daze, Xiao Qichen smiled at him and said: "It's not convenient to talk here, come here."

When Su Yan got closer, he realized that Xiao Qichen came alone.He was holding a lantern in his hand, and the candlelight was flickering, reflecting the gray walls.Xiao Qichen was wearing thin clothes, it was already autumn, the night wind was blowing, and he didn't feel it during the day, but it was much colder after the sun went down.

Su Yan followed Xiao Qichen for two steps, turned around a palace wall, and stopped.He looked back and saw that the garrison's residence was lit with stars, and the palaces farther away were integrated with the night.

"How are you doing today? Did anyone bully you?" Xiao Qichen asked him as he put the lantern by his feet.

Su Yan shook his head, and couldn't help but said, "Why did you come out at night without bringing anyone with you, just in case later..."

Xiao Qichen interrupted him and said: "No one will do anything to me, just go back within half an hour. I just thought, when you are on duty today, those forbidden soldiers usually talk nonchalantly, and often look at people with dog eyes Low, it's okay to know that you are from the Marquis Mansion, but those who don't know see that you are young and easy to bully, maybe they will ridicule you, so I..."

After all, it is a prince. I came to look for you late at night, and your commander found out that he will be more considerate of you in the future.

These words ended, Xiao Qichen licked his upper lip, and smiled sincerely at Su Yan: "Anyway, as long as you understand what I mean."

Su Yan nodded and said, "Your Highness, you have bothered me a lot."

After he finished speaking, he suddenly remembered the previous agreement between the two of them, and looked up, and sure enough, there was an impatient expression on Xiao Qichen's face.Su Yan quickly changed his words in a polite manner: "Ah Chen, thank you."

So Xiao Qichen's impatience dissipated, he leaned over and picked up the lantern again, and said: "Okay, don't look outside. If you can really serve in the army in the future, I will rely on you more. It's late at night, seeing you as if you haven't been wronged, I will go back first. In the future...when you are not on duty, you can go to the East Palace and tell an eunuch named Shunde, he will let me know if he remembers you."

Su Yan asked curiously: "East Palace? Why does Your Highness know people there?"

Xiao Qichen said: "I often go to play chess with Brother Ping."

How to play chess with a blind person?Xiao Qichen's words were too strange, and he couldn't wait for Su Yan to ask again, so he left.Su Yan stood in place, the night was as cold as water, he realized it was cold, and when he looked up at the sky again, he found that there were stars in the sky of Taicheng.

It turns out that the Sifang Imperial City, no matter how solemn and inhumane it is during the day, is still shrouded in the same moonlight at night, just like the ten miles of red makeup on the Qinhuai River, and is not treated differently.

Su Yan returned to the residence, took off his shoes and got on the couch, preparing for an early rest.At the end of the city tour, Geng Meng told him to be on duty the next morning. If he didn't rest properly, he might lose his energy.

It's just that he just lay down when a young man came over to him immediately: "Su Yan, Su Yan, are you awake?"

Su Yan was startled, and sat up again.He looked around, everyone else had fallen asleep, only himself and this person were awake.After carefully looking at him for a moment, Su Yan recognized him as a recruit who patrolled the city with him during the day.He was not good at remembering people's names. He only remembered that the person's surname was Zhou, but he stared at him and couldn't call out.

The man smiled lightly, and said: "When I saw you, I forgot my name. I am Zhou Hongpu, from Linhai."

Su Yan said: "Linhai? That's a bit far away. You came to Jinling to make a living?"

Zhou Hongpu said: "My father always wanted me to be loyal to the emperor and serve the country, and I also felt that a man should join the army, and fight on the battlefield with gold and iron horses. When I was recruiting soldiers last year, I came to Jinling. I wanted to join the army in Nanyuan, but I was rejected It’s worth noting that you’re assigned to the imperial army—are you really from Pingyuanhou’s residence?”

Su Yan was not easy to refute, so he nodded silently. Zhou Hongpu lowered his voice so as not to disturb others, and said in surprise: "I heard that you were in the Taiwan Army before, why did you come to the Forbidden Army?"

The army of Nanliang was divided into the Chinese army and the foreign army. The foreign army was scattered in various strategic towns, led by the local governor, and dispatched by the central government in case of war.The Chinese Army, also known as the Taiwan Army, is stationed in Jinling, the capital of the country, and camped in Nanyuan outside the city. It is not the same as the young soldiers with thin arms and legs of the Forbidden Army. I have never heard of people from the Taiwan Army being dispatched to the Forbidden Army. No wonder Zhou Hongpu was so surprised.

Su Yan said: "Your Majesty's grace, I was originally an ordinary garrison, but I was promoted when I was in the imperial army."

Zhou Hongpu seemed to understand, but said: "The general...is he willing to let you come to this place to suffer?"

After hearing this, Su Yan smiled and said: "This is my own idea. As a general, only a soldier can understand the difficulties and hardships of a soldier. If the general can eat and live with the soldiers, lead the army When fighting, you can be united and invincible. On the contrary, you must not be superior to others just because you are born rich, so how can you convince the crowd?"

He spoke very earnestly, and Zhou Hongpu's eyes immediately showed admiration, and he joked: "This is really unbelievable. I will be colleagues with the young master in the future. Next time I write a letter and tell my father when I go home, he must Happy."

Su Yan finally couldn't help but pushed him, Zhou Hongpu fell to the ground, and said: "Little Lord, if you really want to lead the army to fight in the future, you can still see me well, you must take it with you." Me alone!"

He is pure, kind and upright, without utilitarianism, as if he is still a filial son.Su Yan briefly made a judgment and agreed: "Of course, how can those who have the heart to serve the country be buried?"

He chatted with Zhou Hongpu until midnight, and when he woke up the next day, Xu Shi was overly excited, but Su Yan didn't feel any discomfort at all.

Xiao Qichen's late-night visit had a great impact on Geng Meng. He thought Su Yan was just promoted casually by His Majesty, but now he saw that he also had friendship with the prince, so he dared not have any contemptuous thoughts.

In the first few days, Su Yan lived comfortably.The Nanyuan Central Army has drills, but the Forbidden Army seldom has similar drills. Su Yan went in without knowing it, and spent a long time worrying about it, for fear that something would happen someday. When it really comes to that time, how can this group of young soldiers be able to deal with it? .

But after that day, Xiao Qichen never heard from him again.Su Yan went to the East Palace when he was not on duty, and found the eunuch, but he went there a few times afterwards, but the other party said that His Highness the Sixth Highness hadn't come these few days.

It's easy for Su Yan to think too much, he still remembers the whip marks on Xiao Qichen's back, and he also knows how the queen treated him.Now that Xiao Qichen hadn't seen him for several days, Su Yan couldn't help thinking about it, and made up a complicated drama on his own, which made him worried when defending the city, wishing he could go directly to Mingfu Palace to find someone.

In the evening of that day, after Su Yan had dinner, he was really anxious to wait, so he simply pulled Zhou Hongpu over and said, "Wait for me to leave for a while, get the token, and if the commander asks, he will say that I have gone to the East Palace. "

Zhou Hongpu knew that his status was unusual, and he didn't expect to be able to enter and leave the East Palace at will. He was surprised and said: "What are you going to do? Although this is not AWOL, you will be punished if you are caught."

Su Yan said: "It doesn't matter, I will go secretly, and I will be back before dark."

Zhou Hongpu couldn't persuade him, so he could only let him go, wandering around in the courtyard of the residence, praying that the commander would not come to make rounds tonight.

Su Yan turned around a few long corridors familiarly. He didn't know much about Taicheng East. These days, he patrolled every day, and he had already drawn a complete map in his mind.He found that he seemed to be very talented in this way, and he remembered these bits and pieces very clearly, but he didn't have time to think about it for the time being, he just wanted to find Xiao Qichen.

Occasionally, he was interrogated on the road, and the imperial guards saw that he was wearing clothes of their own style, and after checking his waist badge, he let him go.Su Yan walked through several palaces all the way until he stopped at the side entrance of Mingfu Palace.

The first time he came to the queen's residence, the guards at the door were all unfamiliar faces.Su Yan looked around and saw that the palace wall was so high that the possibility of entering through the wall was cut off, so he couldn't help being a little discouraged.He stood a little further away, pacing back and forth.

Su Yan was about to break the pot, and when he thought about going directly to ask, a group of people was abducted not far away.Among those people, the leader was a familiar maid, Su Yan hadn't recognized her yet, the rest of them had already met at the gate of Mingfu Palace.

The shoulder car was surrounded by curtains, it looked very plain, not like the queen's ride, the maid lifted the curtain, and a pale hand protruded from inside the car.The maid carefully supported her, lowered her head and said something, Su Yan in the distance felt that the scene looked like it had appeared in memory, he took two steps forward, trying to see it more clearly.

The next moment, a figure emerged from the shoulders, light and faint, stretched by the evening light.The man was wearing a purple robe, but did not wear a crown, his long hair was simply tied up, and his eyes were covered with ribbons.

Su Yan's eyes widened in disbelief——

Xiao Qiping.

He thought that the other party was really as self-defeating as the rumors said, but when he glanced at it from a distance, Xiao Qiping was still the same as before, with a gentle and steady temperament, but his face was pale.

Su Yan didn't know whether he should go to say hello, he thought to himself that he and Xiao Qiping were fairly familiar.Thinking this way, his footsteps moved first. Su Yan was wearing light armor, and there was a sound when he walked, and he stopped awkwardly.The group of people over there was alarmed, the maid serving Xiao Qiping turned her head and met his eyes.

Then, even Xiao Qiping turned around, he and Su Yan were only ten feet apart, and he said loudly in his direction: "Who is it?"

Su Yan took a few steps forward and saluted, "Your Highness, my minister Su Yan."

He still followed the address he used in the East Palace, Xiao Qiping was obviously stunned when the name was announced.He frowned slightly, pursed his thin lips lightly, and said uncertainly, "Su Yan? Su Yan from Pingyuanhou's residence? Why are you here?"

Su Yan briefly explained his experiences these days, and expressed his intentions, looking at Xiao Qiping eagerly, even though he knew he couldn't see.

Sure enough, Xiao Qiping asked suspiciously: "Since that's the case, are you sneaking out now just to find Qichen?"

At the end of the story, there was a smile on his face.Su Yan only felt that Xiao Qiping was very familiar with him, and he was more courageous than before. He said, "Your Highness, His Highness Six told me to accompany him often. I don't see anyone for a few days. I'm afraid that he—"

"I'm afraid that my mother will punish him." Xiao Qiping said, but the smile on the corner of his mouth gradually turned cold, showing helplessness, and he sighed to himself, "I never thought that I would meet by such a coincidence after not seeing you for several years. He It's in Mingfu Palace, but recently...forget it, I will take you there."

Su Yan was so grateful that he ignored the meaning of Xiao Qiping's words.

With Xiao Qiping, entering Mingfu Palace is a matter of course.Xiao Qiping said to the guard that this is the person following him, and Su Yan was able to follow behind him smoothly.

The furnishings in Mingfu Palace are not luxurious, and can even be said to be a bit old.Xiao Qiping was supported by the court lady and walked through the courtyard. The evening sun was reflected in the corridor, stepping on it seemed to have crossed bridges.Su Yan didn't dare to look around, but just looked down at his boots.

The main hall was close at hand, Xiao Qiping made a gesture, and was about to ask Su Yan to wait outside, when both of them heard a hysterical female voice from inside:

"Even if I beat you to death today, no one will make the decision for you! But the son of a lowly maidservant, how dare you ask for anything else?! Your Majesty asked me to teach you how to raise you, so I will let you know what to do Well, there's nothing you can't do!"

With a slight sound of breaking through the air, Xiao Qiping's expression changed suddenly, and he took a step forward suddenly, almost falling down.He firmly grasped the maid's sleeve, disregarding himself, and said first: "Mother's queen!"

Su Yan's heart was in a mess, he hurried forward and took the opportunity to help Xiao Qiping to look into the hall.

But this glance can no longer be taken away, and the whole person is wrapped in shock——

In the main hall, Xiao Qichen knelt in the middle of the hall wearing only a plain white jacket, but he raised his head obediently.The woman in front of her was full of pearls and emeralds, and her elegant clothes couldn't stop her ferocious expression at the moment, holding a cane in her hand.Su Yan looked again, and on Xiao Qichen's back, there was blood oozing from the inside of the white jacket again.

He raised his head awe-inspiringly, without dodging or evading, and said: "Empress, why don't you teach Chen'er for the father today, and when the father investigates, please make up a decent reason. It is best to say that Chen'er is planning to rebel. You are optimistic." It's not good?"