diseased bone

In the 17th year of Qingyuan, it is still late autumn.

Chu Shao followed the wind and knelt down in the Chaoming Palace where Emperor Qingyuan met his courtiers. Emperor Qingyuan often handled memorials in the Chaoming Palace. Now he is sitting on the dragon chair behind the desk. In the palace, there are only the emperor and an old man beside him. Apart from the eunuch, there is no one else.

After Feng Xie and Chu Shao kowtowed three times, Emperor Qingyuan's voice sounded in his ears, because there was no one there, it sounded a little unreal: "Ah Shao is here too, let's all get up."

Accompanied by Prince Zicheng, he and Feng Xie are almost inseparable, so there are many more opportunities to meet Emperor Qingyuan than before.Emperor Qingyuan also took great care of him. In Chu Shao's heart, he has always been a kind and kind old man, and he has never felt so oppressive and heavy today.

Feng Xie listened to the order, but did not get up, and said in a respectful tone, "Father, I heard that Duke Qi colluded with Lord Xiao in an attempt to..."

"I ordered you to enter the palace in the near future and talk about this autumn's exam. How are you preparing?" Emperor Qingyuan's voice could not hear any joy or anger, "The rest of the things are not yours, so don't worry about them."

"It's not something else," Feng Xie breathed lightly, but he was not afraid, "If there are really rebels, the minister should also understand the ins and outs of the whole matter, so as to relieve father and emperor's worries."

He kept his head down and didn't hear Emperor Qingyuan's answer. After a long time, he felt that Emperor Qingyuan was standing in front of him and reached out to stroke his hair crown: "You get up first."

Only then did Feng Xie dare to get up, and Chu Shao followed him up, standing behind him with his hands down, not saying much.The emperor sighed, and held Feng Xie's hand, the hand was very cold, Feng Xie raised his head to look at him, but saw him staring at his hand in ecstasy, and sighed softly: "Ah Shao... Ru Xue I miss you so much, you go out first."

The "Ruxue" in his mouth is the younger sister Feng Lu who is a compatriot with Feng Xie, the most honorable first princess of Great Yin.In the past year, Feng Xie has been friends with Chu Shao, and Feng Lu seems to be very interested in him, always pestering him to play together.

When Emperor Qingyuan said this, he must have something to say to Feng Xie alone, Feng Xie nodded sideways, so Chu Shao saluted ignorantly, and retreated from the hall.

The eunuch behind the emperor also retreated at some point. In the huge palace room, only the sound of breathing of the two could be heard. Accompanied by the slight sound of the hourglass placed on the case, it made the space even darker and quieter.

Emperor Qingyuan sighed, bent down and held Feng Xie's hand, his hand was very cold, Feng Xie raised his head to look at him, but saw him staring at his hand in ecstasy, and sighed softly: "Chengyang...Although you are precocious, you are still too young. There are many things in politics that you cannot understand now."

"Father's words...what do you mean?" Feng Xie caught the subtle emotions in his words, stared into his eyes without flinching and said, "Father knows something strange about this matter, doesn't he?"

The emperor is not considered old, and he is not yet fifty years old. He is well maintained, and only a few strands of white hair on his temples add to his vicissitudes of life.Hearing this sentence, he sneered, quickly withdrew all the warmth he had shown just now, and let go: "Is there anything strange about this matter, you don't need to ask me - even you can tell There is something strange, do you think others can't see it?"

Feng Xie didn't expect him to answer like this, knelt on the ground blankly, and murmured after a long time: "But... But, I have always been on good terms with the eldest son of the Qi family, and I know that they have no intention of treason!"

"The eldest son of the Qi family..." The emperor looked at him sarcastically, and laughed again, "Ha, Chengyang, speaking of this matter, the eldest son of the Qi family cannot get away with it."

He flicked his pale gold sleeves and sat back on the chair again. His tone of voice was normal, but for some reason, Feng Xie shuddered: "The Qi family is different from the Wei family and the Zhou family. They are not on the same level. You think I really care about whether they have rebelled or not—Chengyang, you have to study hard. What you should care about is whether you suppressed them if they rebelled. spare energy?"

"Qi Zhao, Wei Xu, Zhou Shengqian, and Shen Wang from many years ago... These people all grew up with me. I know their temperament better than anyone else! Now that Shen Wang has gone, there is no one in Sheng Qian's family. Master, you can't make a big deal, Wei Xu... Uncle Qing was half a dandy back then, but now he is devoted to seeking immortals and asking questions, addicted to chess and music, and there is nothing wrong with it. Only, only Qi Zhao..."

His complexion suddenly darkened, and he no longer called himself "I", but replaced it with a cold and majestic word like "Zhen". Feng Xi has rarely seen such a bloodthirsty and terrifying look on his father's face in so many years: " The Qi family has been ignorant of restraint for many years, and has dominated the market in Zhongyang, allowing its power to grow steadily! The Wei family's children are all useless, and the Zhou family's children even quit the officialdom early, and your eldest son... is both civil and military. , is well-known in Zhongyang, and even I have heard about it—what does he want to do? Now the northwest of Great India is unstable, the Jiwang River burst its embankment, and there are floods in the east—internal and external difficulties, if there is anyone, What was on your mind at this moment, you told your father, how to fight, is it because of your ridiculous morality and benevolence?"

"So, so..." Feng Xie knelt on the spot, and it took him a long time to find his voice, "That white jade ruyi..."

The emperor smiled contemptuously, and readily admitted: "Xiao Chen is my confidant, and the white jade ruyi was originally ordered by me to secretly put it in the Qi family's mansion. He wanted his son to leave the palace and voluntarily sacrificed his life for me. , I agree, it can be regarded as a reward for his kindness."

"Father!" Feng Xie looked at him in disbelief, as if he was looking at someone he didn't know, "Then...Chu Shao's father, the Lie Wang back then..."

"The emperor's art is like this." The emperor didn't even lift his eyelids, his eyes were lowered, and he couldn't see the joy or anger. "If you don't strike today, you will be the one who will be killed tomorrow." own."

Feng rested on the ground, feeling an irresistible cold attacking his whole body, completely enveloping him.

The emperor sighed softly, approached him and gently lifted him up, his sentimental tone was the same as that of all fathers in the world: "Chengyang, you are almost young, why haven't you grown up yet?" ? Could it be that I... protect you too well on weekdays?"

When Feng Xie came out from the Chaoming Palace again, he was obviously restless.

Even Chu Shao, who was waiting for him outside the hall, noticed something was wrong. He got up and helped the other party's arm, but found that his face was pale, and even his arm was trembling unconsciously: "Brother Prince, what's wrong with you?"

Feng Xie slowly turned his head to look at him, his eyes were complicated, filled with pity and anxiety, and finally became a deep helplessness: "Ah Shao, I'm sorry."

Chu Shao's eyes flickered for a moment, and then he said in astonishment as if nothing had happened: "Why did brother suddenly say such things..."

"I... can't do anything about this matter," Feng Xie grabbed his arm, as if wanting to draw some strength for himself, "I can't do anything except beg my father...to save the lives of Yi Feng and Qi Lang, I--"

He swallowed the words tremblingly, every word the emperor just said in his mind was like dense needles——

"You are the one who has the best chance of saving them in this matter..."

"If the eldest son of the Qi family is not so sharp, he doesn't seem to have a close personal relationship with you as everyone has said - besides, I also heard that there is no difference between his six great evils in Zhongyang, and he didn't do it for the sake of getting close to you." become what it is today?"

"Chengyang, think about the history books you have read - the way of benevolence and decisiveness, what can make an emperor's name last forever?"

He blankly supported Chu Shao's hand and walked towards the carriage he was riding in. He was only 17 years old, and he was protected too well since he was a child. This is the first time he has come into contact with such a cruel and cold-blooded political struggle—maybe this matter, It was originally made by the emperor on purpose for him to see.

Chu Shao has been silently supporting him by his side, until he stepped into the carriage with one foot, and then asked in a very low voice: "If today... it's me..."

Feng Xie thought deeply, barely heard the other party's question clearly, and naturally did not answer.

"Would you be powerless too?"

Feng Xie stopped suddenly, turned around and got off the carriage, grabbed his heavy dark red cloak with one hand, grabbed Chu Shao's wrist with the other, and ran towards one direction regardless.

The guards who followed him hurriedly chased him over, shouting "His Royal Highness", but Feng Xie didn't seem to hear it.He dragged Chu Shao, walked faster and faster, and finally even ran. The two walked west from the south gate of the Jinting Imperial City, and finally came to a somewhat dilapidated, but still neat palace gate. stopped.

Chu Shao raised his head, and saw under the blazing sun, the sign hanging on the palace gate was impressively "Suxi".

Suxi Palace...was the palace of the empress of Great India and the biological mother of Feng Xie.

At the beginning, Emperor Qingyuan married Princess Xi, the daughter of a feudal lord far away in Suzhou, in order to seize his heir. Princess Xi gave birth to him a son and a daughter. , and because of this reason, Feng Xie was sent to Suzhou to be educated at a very young age.

It's a pity that Princess Xi's health has deteriorated day by day since she gave birth, and she died of illness during the six years Feng Xie went to Suzhou.

The harem is now jointly run by Mrs. Mei and Mrs. Wei.But Mrs. Wei has no children, and Mrs. Mei's son Feng Shuo is cowardly and cowardly. Although Emperor Qingyuan has other heirs, Feng Xie is famous and favored, so there is no threat at all.

It is useless to meet each other, and it adds to the weakness. Emperor Qingyuan never allowed Feng Xie to come to worship on weekdays, and only issued a handbook on New Year's Day, allowing him to come to see his mother's spiritual side.

When the guards saw the plaque hanging on the palace gate, they didn't dare to chase anymore, and knelt in a row at the gate of the palace.

The guard at the gate didn't seem to have expected that Feng Xie would barge in suddenly at this time, and stopped him in a panic: "His Royal Highness, you may wish to take the Sacred Hand..."

Feng Xie stopped at the palace gate, stared at the closed door for a while, and Chu Shao heard his voice: "I haven't worshiped my mother for two years..."

He was stunned for a moment, and suddenly stretched out his hand recklessly, trying to push the door open, but the palace guard was startled, and screamed to stop him: "Your Highness, no!"

Earlier, the guards had gone to notify the emperor, and when the emperor hurried over, Feng Xie had already been firmly held down by several guards guarding in the dark, while Chu Shao was kneeling beside him, not knowing what happened at all.Emperor Qingyuan swept his eyes away, and his eyes fell on Feng Xie: "Chengyang, what are you doing?"

As he approached step by step, Feng Xie raised his head and looked at him with a pair of clear eyes without flinching: "I'm here to pay my respects to my mother."

That gaze was too stubborn, Emperor Qingyuan stared into his eyes, and frowned tightly: "Greetings to your mother? Didn't you hear a word I said to you just now?"

"I heard it, but..." Feng Xi gritted his teeth and replied in a low voice.

Emperor Qingyuan didn't hear clearly, so he had to ask again: "What I just told you..."

"I heard it, but I didn't bother to do it!" Feng Xie raised his head and roared at him, "If my mother was here, she would definitely not allow me to do it... Is this the way I have been a king since elementary school? ?"

The palace guards buried their heads extremely low, and they didn't even dare to breathe hard. Chu Shao lowered his head, only daring to look at the two from the corner of his eye——Emperor Qingyuan was definitely not a kind person, he just faced Feng Xie on weekdays. He will be gentler, now...

Sure enough, the remaining warmth in the corners of the emperor's eyes disappeared, and even the little bit of flickering eyes turned into ice: "Chengyang, you really let me down today."

Feng Xie knelt in front of him, lowered his head, but refused to admit defeat: "Father, you have let me down too much today."

"Disappointed?" The emperor was suddenly furious, grabbed his young son by the collar, and pulled him up from the ground, "Do you think that everything you own is so indestructible? Do you think that the throne is right in front of you? ? If not, how could I have snatched these things from many brothers back then, and how could I have you today?"

Chu Shao raised his head and tried to call out: "Your Majesty..."

As if the emperor had never heard of it, he threw down Feng Xie with a livid face, pointed at his face with his hand, and said angrily: "You don't have to go out of the palace today, so go kneel in front of Tongtian Temple and think about you carefully." Do whatever you want!"

Feng Xie raised his eyes indifferently, stretched out his hands to straighten his collar, bowed deeply to the emperor, and said word by word: "My son, obey the order—"

The emperor walked away.

Tongtian Temple is the palace in charge of sacrifices in the palace. The Chonghua people believe in the god of spring, and there is also a statue of the God of Spring in Tongtian Temple. The five grains are enshrined in front of the table, in order to pray for good weather and a good harvest.

There is a cushion under the statue in the hall for worship, but Feng Xie stubbornly refused to enter the hall, and knelt down under the high steps in front of Tongtian Temple.

Chu Shao knelt down beside him, and the censer in front of the temple was filled with smoke.

"Ah Shao, this matter has nothing to do with you, go back." Feng Xie looked at him sideways, and said in a low voice, "If you kneel with me, maybe you will be angered by your father..."

"Your Majesty, what does it matter if I am angry or not, and I don't often appear in front of him?" Chu Shao stuck out his tongue at him, and said with a smile, "Brother Prince wants to kneel here, and I don't mean much by myself. How about Kneel down with your brother."

Feng Xie didn't reply, and after a long time, he heard Chu Shao's low voice again: "Brother, don't blame yourself, they won't blame you."

With the tip of his nose sore, Feng Xie only felt a strange emotion occupying his heart, but his eye sockets were dry, and there was nothing.

Someone told him since he was a child that gods and emperors should be dignified and compassionate, and never shed tears.

If you are bound by the secular world, you will not be able to be a god statue high above you with peace of mind, nor will you be a judge without sorrow or joy.

But...can you really become the shelter of the world if you can't feel the suffering of the world, the seven emotions and six desires?

Feng Xie closed his eyes, but his cold hands were covered with a touch of warmth. The 14-year-old boy grabbed his hand and smiled so hard that he showed two small canine teeth: "I'll be with you, brother, don't be sad."

The two held hands tightly.

I don't know how long he knelt, but even though Chu Shao practiced martial arts since he was a child and his body is strong, he couldn't help but feel dizzy and his knees felt faintly sore.Feng Xie was much thinner than him, but he still knelt straight in front of him without even bending his waist.

Chu Shao finally said worriedly: "Brother, you can still hold on..."

"Hey--"

Before he finished speaking, he heard a woman's voice, Chu Shao turned his head to look, and sure enough, he saw Feng Lu sneaking over carrying a wooden delicacy box.

"Ruxue!" Chu Shao was a little surprised, but still a little happy to see her here, "Why are you here?"

"Not long after you left this morning, I heard that you and Brother Huang came to Tongtian Temple to kneel for punishment," Feng Lu took off her hood. She was the same age as Chu Shao, and she was only fourteen at the moment, so she was innocent , although there is arrogance, but it is also cute, "Brother Huang is a very hard-headed person, so I don't know how to say a few nice words to Emperor Father to make him happy..."

In late autumn, although there is no snow falling, it is already cold. When the wind breaks less, people usually live in warm places, so they are a little afraid of the cold.

"No compromise." He was shivering with cold, but still gritted his teeth. "This matter... is different from usual. If a precedent is set, it will be irreversible..."

"Okay, okay, I knew I couldn't say no to you," Feng Lu pouted, turned her head and lifted the lid of the food box, a gust of hot air rushed towards her face, "Let's eat something first, the red beans I stole from the imperial dining room Food porridge and pearl emerald glutinous rice balls will not taste good when they are cold!"

Chu Shao took a bowl first, and couldn't wait to swallow a white jade-like glutinous rice ball, then covered her mouth and exaggerated: "Hey, this black sesame stuffing is too hot! My tongue is going to burn off!"

Feng Xie was amused by him, so he couldn't help reaching out to take a bowl of porridge, and took a few sips slowly.

Satisfied, Feng Lu brought out a plate of emerald jade bean cake from the lower floor, and ate it together with the two of them.Chu Shao reached out to snatch her bean cake, snatched it and said with a smile: "Little girl can't eat so many snacks, be careful—I heard that you won't be able to wear the clothes you made last year, this year?"

"I want you to take care of it!" Feng Lu turned sideways holding the plate, and complained to Feng Xie, "Brother Huang, this person is always like this, why don't you take care of him?"

Feng Xie hugged the bowl of porridge, felt that it was very ironed, so he pretended not to hear, and let the two of them quarrel in front of him.

No matter how many years it takes, it is hard for him to forget this moment in late autumn. In front of the Tongtian Temple where the cigarettes are smoldering, the three of them kneel and sit together. It can make people feel warm.

At that time, the Sanskrit sound of Tongtian Temple was ups and downs, and the statue of Shangchun Shenjumang in the main hall lowered its compassionate eyes.

The author has something to say: In the future, I will update ho~ every day at [-] noon~