long friend

Xiao Qichen's sleep was unprecedentedly stable, and he even had half a sweet dream.He slept comfortably until the sun was high, and he just woke up, and the pain in his back was gone.

He looked around sleepily, the candles had been cut, but there was no one else except himself.

Xiao Qichen thought for a while, and suddenly remembered Su Yan.He hurriedly got out of bed and put on his clothes. As soon as he opened the door, he collided with the green clothes who came with hot water.With great difficulty, the green clothes stabilized the water basin, and said in surprise: "Your Highness is up? Why did you run out so recklessly?"

"Have you met Su Yan?" Xiao Qichen asked eagerly.

The green clothes coaxed him back into the room, put the water basin away, twisted the veil for Xiao Qichen, and said: "This morning, I saw the young master, and he seemed to have said something to Aunt Cuiyu, who is close to the prince. I left...Your Highness, what's the matter?"

Xiao Qichen pursed his lips and said, "I'm probably worried about his errands. I don't understand, a big Simamen, standing guard, he works hard as if it's such an honor... Forget it, don't mention this. Green clothes, you see After seeing him, do you think it has changed a lot?"

The green clothes smiled and said: "Don't say it, just now when the young master passed by, the servants didn't recognize it, they thought it was some lord's son who came to visit His Royal Highness early in the morning. After asking Aunt Cuiyu, I found out that it was Mr. Su Yan. Your Highness, the young master has become more and more handsome in the past few years. The young lady who came to the East Palace in the morning saw Mr. Su, and the young master smiled at her, and her face turned red..."

Lu Yi spoke happily, but Xiao Qichen's expression was joyful at first, then the smile gradually faded away, and finally fixed on an unfathomable expression.

Xiao Qichen asked: "Which little maid... is she pretty? What is Su Yan laughing at?"

The green clothes didn't know what he said, and said honestly: "It's the maid who the Empress gave to His Royal Highness the day before yesterday. His Highness is nineteen years old, and the Empress is choosing a concubine for him. Now it's normal to want a maid. Your Highness, you There must be this step in the future, so don’t be shy.” At the end, it was actually a joke.

Being teased by her so that his face became hot, Xiao Qichen quickly retorted: "I don't want a hooker girl!"

In the end, the well-thought-out remarks were watered down by such an outburst, Xiao Qichen refused to mention it again, and wiped his face in self-denial.

He remembered the sweet-scented osmanthus cake that he had told Xiao Qiping the day before yesterday, so he planned to go to the Imperial Dining Room to get a plate first, and he walked fast on the road, so he wouldn't get cold when he returned to the East Palace.

After the East Palace lost power, the servants of other palaces in Taicheng also fell into trouble. It was purely because Xiao Qiping had no chance to make a comeback, and what Xiao Qichen said to Su Yan about "human nature" was all taught by Xiao Qiping.

Xiao Qiping is not his elder brother, but since he was a child, whether it was to please his father or to maintain his image as a prince who is gentle, courteous and thrifty, he is good to him.After so many years, he still often mentions and advises, as if he wants to teach Xiao Qichen the ways of governing the country that he has learned and has nowhere to use.

It's a pity that Xiao Qichen was not very willing to learn, and he didn't want to make him sad, so it was extremely uncomfortable to be caught in the middle.

Going out with a complicated heart, Xiao Qichen was just about to turn out of the East Palace when he suddenly caught a glimpse of two figures by the pond in the garden.He looked familiar, walked over lightly, leaned behind the pillar, and peeked openly.

I saw that one of the two men was dressed as a general, with a neat bun, and the other had a long gown with wide sleeves, facing each other with their backs, and they were quite thin.Xiao Qichen bit his finger and said to himself: "Isn't this Brother Ayan and Heping? Ayan didn't leave?"

The sycamore tree by the pool dropped a withered yellow curly leaf and gently fell on the water surface, causing a circle of ripples.

The sound of falling leaves was too subtle, but Xiao Qiping suppressed the sound of rippling water, and suddenly said: "Whether it's good to go to Nanyuan to garrison, or to obey the emperor's wishes to go to the imperial army, no matter how you look at it, it's not what you should do." Something. Did you quarrel with the general?"

Su Yan thought about it for a while, and said from left to right: "Father, his thinking is different from my minister's. Since the Turkic prince entered Jinling as a hostage, their khans have stopped a lot. But I feel that this is not obeying the destiny. On the contrary, it's like Taizong's time...replenish energy and store up energy, and only wait for the opportunity to fight back. They are wild wolves in the grassland, greedy enough, how can they be content to guard the north of the Great Wall? It’s really distressing to become a climate.”

Xiao Qiping smiled and said: "Since this is the case, you shouldn't be angry with the general. It is much faster to be taught by him earlier than to fumble by yourself - the generals in my Daliang still need to be recognized by foreign troops."

He spoke very naturally, but Su Yan remained silent for a long time. When Xiao Qichen couldn't help but want to go out and scare him, he said slowly: "Originally, I really thought so. I want to ask the general to give a military trainer Opportunity, the current situation has happened suddenly—in fact, it is not impossible, but the minister met His Highness the Sixth Highness that day, and remembered many things from the past."

Xiao Qiping said with great interest: "Oh? What happened to Qichen?"

Su Yandao: "I have an appointment with my father, and I will go to the Xiaoqiguard during the winter training this year to see if I am qualified to join. But the sixth highness is too simple to compete with others, and I am afraid that he will suffer. After seeing him once, this This feeling is getting stronger and stronger, maybe it is selfishness, and I want to stay with His Highness for a few more days."

"You," Xiao Qiping turned around, handed one hand to Su Yan to support him, and walked towards the main hall, rarely jokingly said, "I have missed him for so many years, and now I care about him so much. Thanks to Qichen being the prince, if a Princess, I'm afraid you will come to propose marriage in a few years."

Su Yan nodded and said, "His Royal Highness is joking."

Xiao Qiping waved his hand, motioning him not to say more, and said to himself: "It's a good thing to have such a heart, but you are still young, if you really want to achieve a career, you need to let go of such personal affairs. A man has ambitions everywhere How can Yu Xiaoxiaotai City use his hands and feet? There are no major changes in my life, I just hope that Qichen will not repeat the same mistakes and continue to be so dull without fighting or grabbing."

What does it mean?Did he really see through it all?

Xiao Qichen, who was eavesdropping in the corridor, frowned, his fingernails got stuck in his palm, and it hurt him a lot.

Xiao Qiping said again: "I understand what my father means, the position of the crown prince will not last. Before that, I will find a way to help Qi Chen, my father still loves him, and I will definitely agree to let him go back From now on, you don't have to look at people's faces in Chenglan Palace. You won't go out of Beijing to guard the border for the time being, so Qichen will entrust you."

Su Yan could hear the faint ominousness from his words, but he didn't dare to think about it, he just said: "Yes."

The sound of their footsteps gradually faded away, Xiao Qichen had just walked from the corridor to the courtyard.He bent down to pick up a small stone, looked at it for a moment, and then threw it into the pond. A golden carp was frightened, and its almost transparent tail fin flashed on the water surface, almost hurting its eyes in the morning light.

In the autumn of the 29th year of Tongning, the emperor abolished the crown prince Xiao Qiping on the grounds that "God's will has played tricks, and his body is disabled, not enough to be the crown prince".The emperor was sympathetic to the frame-up of his eldest son, so he avoided the ceremony of abolishing the crown prince. He was named King of Chu and enfeoffed in Yingzhou.

In Tongning's 30th Qingming Festival, Xiao Qi paralleled the crown ceremony, and then moved out of Taicheng.There were only two maidservants accompanying him, and he took nothing away from the East Palace where he had lived for ten years, except for a set of pens, ink, papers and inkstones.

Xiao Qichen returned to the Chenglan Palace, and from then on, he and Lvyi and several other eunuchs guarded the huge and deserted palace. Fortunately, he was allowed to go to court and start to listen to the government, so he wouldn't be idle all day long.

As for Su Yan, as early as the beginning of the year, he was transferred to the Xiaoqiwei directly under the general because of the letter from the general Su Zhi, and was stationed in North Xuzhou.

Xuzhou has been a battleground for military strategists since ancient times. In the past, the emperor Taizu also approached Qingzhou and Langya through this place, marched all the way west, and finally took Chang'an.At that time, the army that took Xuzhou was Xiaoqiwei, and then it was directly controlled by the generals of the past dynasties, and was called the elite of Daliang by the people.

Since it is named "Xiao Qi", the troops commanded by Marquis Ping Yuan are all cavalry, well-equipped and well-trained.There are only three thousand people, but each of them can count as ten.

The Xiao cavalry guards are directly under Pingyuan Hou, and Ping Yuan Hou has privileges. He can mobilize the Xiao cavalry guards to patrol the four regions at any time without touching the imperial power.The world has been peaceful for the past ten years, so they usually take turns stationing in the three directions of Jinling, northwest and south. When necessary, they can advance, attack, retreat or defend.

Su Yan was successfully selected, firstly because of the back door opened by his own father, and secondly because of his own fighting spirit. In last year's winter training, relying on the close combat kung fu taught by Ran Qiu, he overthrew several lieutenants, and won the first place in riding and shooting. , not to mention still so young.The lieutenant was so convinced that he lost, and he even said the words "It really is true that the tiger father has no dogs".

After arriving in Xuzhou, Su Yan either followed the military training all day long, or continued to study military books hungrily in his own tent.The atmosphere in the army is different from that of the forbidden army, with strict work and rest rules. In spare time, everyone exchanged fists and kicks, or practiced marching on the sand table. After staying for several months, Su Yan understood the fun here, and became more and more immersed in it.

There are two north and south gates of Xuzhou city gate, and Surabaya passes through the city.Zhang Li, one of the four lieutenants of Xiaoqiwei, inspected the north gate, but saw a familiar figure under the city.With a long bow, a sword, and an eye-catching red dress and silver armor, who is it but Su Yan?

He said loudly from the top of the city tower: "Young Lord, why do you have time to come to the city gate today?"

After hearing this, Su Yan looked around for the source, and then he looked up and found Zhang Li, and said with a smile, "Come around, and change the guards' shifts by the way, I'm used to this job."

Zhang Lixiang remembered that he had guarded the Da Sima Gate before, and he smiled noncommittally, and said: "Don't forget to practice duels later, that kid Shen Chengjun even said he would give you some flair, young master, don't let it go." he!"

Su Yan nodded and smiled, as he answered the verbal letter of war.Zhang Li retracted his head from the city wall, and Su Yan really focused on checking everyone's ID for the guards entering the city.

After a long time like this, Su Yan stepped aside and stood leaning against the wall.After he glanced around aimlessly, his eyes fell on a group of people in the distance.

The group of people was travel-laden, as if they had traveled for a long time, and the leader was a big bearded man, dressed in clothes that were completely different from those of the Han people.Although Su Yan had never been outside the customs, he was influenced by his father since he was a child, so he reacted quickly, frowned immediately, and said to the guard next to him: "These people are weird."

While speaking, the team had already reached the gate of Xuzhou City. Su Yan raised his hand, and the guards on both sides ran forward and stopped them.Xu, the leading man, didn't expect to be treated like this, and didn't know what to do for a while.

Su Yan stepped forward and said solemnly: "Who is your surname, where did you come from, where will you go after passing Xuzhou, and where is your degree?"

He asked questions like a cannonball, and there was a younger girl in the team who grabbed the hem of the person next to her and cried out aggrieved.Su Yan was speechless for a moment, and ignored her, only looking at the big man.

The leader knew that he didn't look like a Han Chinese, so he didn't deny it, and said fluently in Chinese: "We are a group of people who came from outside the customs, and we are going to Jinling and Lin'an to do some business. We are Hu merchants, Uighurs, Daliang and Uighurs have been friends for generations, so why should the little general be like this?"

Su Yan frowned, thinking who asked you which country you are from, but he said: "Really? But from Uighur to here, we should first go to Yumen Pass, then to Tongguan, to Jiangling and then to Jinling within a day. Why bother to detour here?"

The leader was at a loss for words, and stammered: "General, we are businessmen, we come from outside the pass, and we don't care which side is closer..."

While he was explaining over and over again, Su Yan had already read the content of the Du Die, said a few words of "um" casually, put the Du Die into the hand of the person next to him, and said in a deep voice: "There is no seal of Yumen Pass on the Du Die, so I can't help but want to ask Now, you come from outside the pass, is this pass 'Yanmen Pass' or 'Yunmen Pass', can you enlighten me?"

After he finished speaking, he didn't listen to those people's explanations, and stepped back to the guards: "Lock it up first, and ask the general to question you later."

Seeing that the suspicious person was taken down, a guard asked Su Yan, "Young Lord, what if you catch the wrong person?"

Su Yan said: "Look at the girl's clothes among these people. The pattern on the belt is actually a black wolf's head. This is the totem of the Turkic Huyan tribe—oh, it's the group who were beaten up by the general before—the Uighurs were driven out by the Turks. When I went to the Western Regions, I hated it to the bone, so how could I wear the totem of the enemy? These people must be Turks, neither envoys nor imperial merchants. I am afraid that I will be deceived if I enter the city at this time."

After finishing speaking, Su Yan shouldered the quiver placed by the city gate, led the big black horse beside him, turned over, and rode away after whistling, leaving a few guards looking at each other.

Su Yan reported the matter to Su Zhi, who said he would go to interrogate him later.After reporting the business, Su Yan was thinking about Shen Chengjun's letter of war, and was about to leave when Su Zhi suddenly called him: "Yan'er, there is a letter from the palace."

Su Yan was full of unclear questions, but still took what Su Zhi had in hand.A thin letter, since it is a letter from the palace, the only person who can write it to him must be Xiao Qichen.

It is rare to say that this is the first letter written by Xiao Qichen after he left Jinling.

Xiao Qichen's writing was written by a famous artist in the former dynasty, but he lacked experience, and although the framework of his writing was good, he always felt a little rotten.The two thin sheets of letter paper were full of petite lowercase letters. Su Yan struggled to read them and read them over and over several times before he could follow the man's logic.

Xiao Qiping is married, and the concubine is He Shi, the eldest daughter of Duke Anguo, who is in the right family.

At first, Miss He's family knew that King Chu was blind and refused to marry, so she got on the sedan chair weeping, but when she returned to the door, she was smiling like a flower, saying that His Highness is gentle and considerate.Three months after they got married, the two couples respected each other as guests, they fell in love with each other, and the rest of the people were also in harmony. The palace was full of vitality that had not been seen for a long time.

The letter also said that the Zhao Wang Party headed by the left minister Xie Ke intentionally or unintentionally reminded Xiao Yan to establish the East Palace again, but the Taifu Zeng Xu strongly opposed the rapid establishment of the crown prince, and the two quarreled in the court all day long, which made Xiao Yan very angry. Three days without morning——

Seeing this, Su Yan couldn't help laughing, and murmured: "I told you to listen to the government. If you don't learn well, just care about these trivial matters."

Afterwards, he babbled, saying that the peach blossoms in Chenglan Palace were in full bloom and thanking them; he said that he met the Taifu at the next court meeting, but he couldn't answer the words in "The Doctrine of the Mean", and he gave him a good meal; he said that Brother Ping always had a smile on his face. Yes, Mrs. Wang must have been very kind to him; she also said...

"That day, I sneaked out of the palace and went to Qixia Mountain to play the game of flowing water with a group of literati. It was dark on the return journey. I passed by your mansion, and I immediately missed you. I repainted a painting of ink plums, which is better than before. progress?"

After reading the last sentence, Su Yan pinched one end of the envelope and fell it over, and really took out another piece of paper from inside.

This plum blossom is even more perfunctory than that of the past. It has changed from writing form to freehand brushwork. A few ink ideas are scattered freely, and the end is a willful and comfortable one.With a thought in his mind, Su Yan spread the plum blossoms on the table, thought for a while, and added a few words to the side with a few strokes.After finishing writing, Su Yan looked at it for a long time, and his whole heart was sour with unknown joy.

But when the written words are paired with Xiao Qichen's paintings, it really looks a bit immature.

"May the year and thank you, and long friends."