Born short-lived

By the time he finally finished his work, the unintentional appointment in front of the princess hall was almost forgotten.

He looked at the official calendar and counted the days, and suddenly thought that Zhou Zirong's birthday would be in a few days.

The two grew up together, and it was commonplace to send gifts to each other on some special day, so it was like hanging a clock in Dong Sheng's mind, which would ring every year when it was Zhou Zirong's birthday. non-stop.

After giving away all kinds of jade and swords, Dong Sheng couldn't come up with any new tricks after much deliberation. Later, because of a servant's sigh, "There are almost no people in General Zhou's house, and it's strange that it's deserted." It doesn't make sense to always send some dead things.

I heard that there is a kind of eagle in southern Xinjiang. The first person it sees when it opens its eyes after birth is the one it has identified for a lifetime. No matter where it flies to, it will definitely fly back to that person again.

Dong Sheng thought about it and then his heart moved. He pinched his fingers and counted the days. If he came and went quickly, it should not take half a month. It would be too late, so he wrote an express letter and sent it to Nanjiang.

His Royal Highness is living a leisurely life, eating or sleeping every day, half a month passed in a blink of an eye.Hearing the news from outside the pass that the eagle sender was about to pass through the city pass, the joy was not over when he heard an edict from the emperor.

——It is said that the prince will immediately enter the Changming Palace to face the saint.

"Why did Your Majesty suddenly call Gu Gu?" Ever since Dong Sheng returned to Huajing, the Queen had hardly summoned him again. Dong Sheng thought that she was probably still angry, and would not touch that bad luck if she had nothing to do on weekdays.

The father-in-law who delivered the decree smiled dryly, and said cautiously: "The slave doesn't know either."

So Dong Sheng didn't say any more, and went straight to follow the father-in-law.

Most of the incense in the hall hadn't been broken, and the smoke of ambergris had drifted outside along the window panes, and Dong Sheng's nose had already been stuffed by the woody incense when he was waiting outside the door.

"Your Majesty, the prince has arrived."

A lazy voice came from inside: "Let him in."

"Yes." The father-in-law smiled, his small eyes curved into two slits, "Your Highness, please come in."

Dong Sheng nodded, tidied his lapel a little bit, then nodded and entered the hall.

"My son sees Your Majesty."

He kowtowed to the queen a few times according to the etiquette, and he slowly straightened up when he heard the queen say "flat body".Seeing his serious and distant appearance, the empress couldn't help laughing, and jokingly said: "You and I meet mother and son, why are you so serious, is it possible that the prince still holds grudges against me?"

Dong Sheng kowtowed again when he heard the words, he didn't listen to the Queen's words at all, and only said: "I dare not."

The queen clicked her tongue softly, raised her hand and sent away the face beside her who was helping to rub her shoulders, and said helplessly: "Don't ask for so many courtesies, get up and talk, I will give you a seat."

"Thank you, Your Majesty." Dong Sheng found a place to sit in the direction the queen pointed, and finally complied with the queen's wishes, and sat down firmly.

The queen stared at him sideways for a long time, and seeing her son's young face tense, she couldn't help sighing, half jokingly said: "General Zeng taught you well, so you know etiquette, but you don't know how to behave in your heart." Is your head secretly scolding me?"

Dong Sheng is not ignorant of fun, the queen handed him the steps, and he might not be able to get down if he doesn't go down, so he finally showed a little smile and said in a low voice: "How dare you, I just haven't seen you for a long time Empress Dowager, my heart is too excited, I'm afraid that if I don't tense up a little, I will lose my composure."

When the empress heard that the kid's mouth seemed to be smeared with honey again, even though she knew he was talking nonsense, she laughed a few times, and nodded at him dumbfounded: "You."

The queen shook her head with a smile, and sighed with emotion: "Speaking of which, when you were born, I was angry with your father and scared your father so much that he dared not come to see me for three days. , It’s almost the same rhetoric, the father and son really came out of the same mold.”

Dong Sheng has lived for nearly 20 years, and has never seen the biological father who gave his other half of his son's flesh and blood, so even if the empress said so, he didn't feel much, so he had to laugh along with him: "I always thought that my son and my mother are the same More like that."

The queen waved her hand and said, "You follow me in appearance, but in temperament, you mostly follow your father."

Dong Sheng smiled and nodded in agreement, only to hear the empress sigh again: "The time flies so fast, in the blink of an eye, you are also the one who will be crowned."

Dong Sheng couldn't figure out what she wanted to say for a while, and coaxed with a smile: "Your Majesty don't say anything, looking at His Majesty's appearance, I thought that the days are turning back."

The queen was taken aback for a moment, and then she burst into tears with laughter. She finally wiped away the water from the corners of her eyes, and raised her eyebrows in feigned anger and glared at him: "Who taught you to be so glib? Come, I will break his dog legs!"

"Yo," Dong Sheng shrank back quickly pretending to be afraid, and smiled apologetically, "My son is wronged, this is telling the truth, how can it be said to be glib."

The empress shook her head again and again, nodded at him and said: "Okay, okay, don't be stupid, you are not young anymore, I called you here today, just to ask, do you have any women you like?"

Dong Sheng was taken aback for a moment, wondering why the Queen suddenly mentioned this matter, after all, Hei Ling...

He smiled with some embarrassment: "I'm stupid, I'm afraid I'll miss all the girls."

"Tsk," the empress held her forehead with a look of resentment, "well, then don't look around blindly, Mrs. Li's granddaughter is also about your age, I think that girl is pretty good, why don't you go now Make a marriage arrangement, and it will be a gift when you crown yourself."

"But..." Dong Sheng frowned, "My son is Hei Ling, getting married... I'm afraid it will ruin the girl's family."

——What was the reason why Emperor Dongwen didn't get close to women all his life?

Since ancient times, Hei Ling's physique is different from that of ordinary people. Not only is Hei Ling short-lived because he has to support Tiangang Lingwu, but also Hei Ling has no heirs. And Beng let his nephew ascend the throne.

After all, who would want to marry a man who is short-lived and has no future?

"Those are old rules," the queen persuaded earnestly, "you will be a body of ten thousand chariots in the future, how can you be alone? And you are no better than Dong Wen back then. At that time, he fought for years, which made him worry so much. , now that Huozheng, the head of Gang Lingwu, is gone, and the world is peaceful again, if you take good care of yourself, it will not be a problem to live to your destiny."

Dong Sheng smiled wryly in his heart—live to his destiny?It is thankful to be able to reach forty, he knows his own body.

He has also seen Li Chongwen's granddaughter. She is a decent lady, well-educated and sensible, weak-willed and supportive, and good-looking. He is also an important cabinet minister, if they get married this time, it must be a strong alliance, and it will be of great benefit to the government and the opposition - but Dong Sheng always feels that he should not marry her.

Seeing the hesitation on Dong Sheng's face, the empress couldn't help but turn cold, and said in a deep voice: "Why? The prince doesn't like it?"

"Don't dare," Dong Sheng quickly waved his hands, "It's just... I feel that there is no need to rush this matter."

"Why are you not in a hurry? Isn't it a joke for you, a prince, to not accept the concubine after being crowned?" I have a sweetheart, dare not tell me and listen to me?"

Dong Sheng's heart skipped a beat, and he was about to say no, but for some reason, another vague shadow appeared in his mind, which made him dare not study it carefully, but he also dared not ignore it.So the words of denial were kept in his mouth for a long time, and the more he kept the more bitter, he couldn't say anything, and finally he could only stammer: "Your Majesty, don't make fun of me."

The queen stared, and said angrily: "Who is joking with you? You...you really have something to look for? Whose girl?"

Dong Sheng nodded and said: "My son... My son has no intention of talking about marriage at this time, please discuss this matter with Your Majesty later."

The empress slapped the table, causing a large amount of tea to overflow from the cup, and said anxiously: "What's the matter! This matter is settled like this. After your coronation ceremony is over, you will be a gift with the girl of the Li family."

Dong Sheng was almost kicked out of Changming Palace by the empress in the end, so he had no choice but to go back to the East Palace.

It's not that he never thought about finding a companion to spend this short life with him, but after thinking about it, this person shouldn't be the girl from the Li family whom he hardly ever talked to.

But the emperor's fingering of marriage was like an imperial decree, asking him to give him any reason to refuse.The queen insisted on forcing a girl for him, so he couldn't slap the queen in the face.

Dong Sheng only felt that his head started to hurt again.

However, there is still more than a year before Licheng, there should still be room for mediation. Although he is a prince, he is not an ordinary person. It is only natural for Hei Ling to be alone. .

The man who sent the eagle from Southern Xinjiang has arrived, he is a soldier under Luo Geng's command.That kid probably hadn't been out of the military camp much, let alone entered the imperial palace, so he was so cramped that he didn't even know how to put his hands and feet in the East Palace.After persuading him for a long time, he finally didn't let him stick in the yard like a stake.

In the end, he carried a gaudy birdcage in one hand, and sat on the stool with his face upright. The situation was weird no matter how you looked at it.

Dong Sheng went back to the East Palace with a dark face, when the little soldier saw him, he jumped up and frightened Dong Sheng: "What... what's wrong?"

The little soldier was stunned for a moment, then he reacted and saluted, and then offered the bird cage with both hands.

Inside the cage was a young eagle, judging from its skeleton, it should have been born less than a month ago, its black feathers hadn't grown neatly yet, and its eyes were covered with a black cloth, so it must have not been opened yet.

Dong Sheng nodded, and then asked worriedly: "Are you sure you haven't seen anyone yet?"

Xiao Bing quickly replied: "Not yet, I was blindfolded from behind when I was born."

"Success," Dong Sheng said with a smile, "you go and rest, and after you pass away, ask someone to treat you well."

Xiangsheng nodded in response, and asked the old slave in charge to invite him away.

Dong Sheng held the bird cage in his hand, and stretched his finger in through the crack of the cage to gently touch the back of the young eagle. As a result, the eagle turned around and gave him a beak, which scared Dong Sheng quickly. .

It's okay after looking at it, the chick's beak hasn't grown sharp yet, and it hasn't bled.

Dong Sheng shook the cage lightly, pretending to be angry, and scolded with a low laugh: "Little bastard, where did you get such a temper, see if I don't find someone to treat you in the future."

He asked someone to take the bird back to his house for a living offering, and he would carry it to Zhou Zirong's house two days later on Zhou Zirong's birthday.

Maybe it was something on his mind that day, Dong Sheng couldn't fall asleep at night, so he had to get up and go to the study, thinking that when he was a child, he always read books and fell asleep after watching, I don't know if this trick still works now.

It was almost after midnight that Dong Sheng finally felt a little sleepy, and when he was about to go back to sleep, he suddenly heard a muffled noise in the yard.

The movement attracted the guards of the Eastern Palace, and there was a sound of footsteps outside the door, only to hear his guard chief sternly shout: "Who is it!"

Dong Sheng was startled, took a sword and rushed into the yard. As soon as he pushed the back door, he caught off guard and smelled the strong smell of distiller's grains. He frowned and looked intently. The figure of the man in black surrounded by the guards was somewhat familiar.

What kind of thieves are so generous, and dare to climb the wall of the East Palace when they are drunk?

Dong Sheng pointed with his sword: "Take off the mask for me!"

The head of the guard stepped forward after hearing the order, and tore off the black mask of the stupid thief.

The sword in Dong Sheng's hand fell to the ground with a clang, and he was shocked like five thunders, his eyes widened and he couldn't speak a word for a long time.

——Zhou Zirong!

[The author has something to say: Don’t worry, it’s definitely a 1v1 HE, the hero won’t marry a wife and won’t die early, trust me. 】