Xia Youxiangyun

Xia Rui was sitting in the imperial garden, he fell in love with this corner the first time he entered the imperial garden, and in the past, no one came, it was quite quiet.Before, he did not have the right to freely enter and leave the imperial garden, and he could only come here for a stroll during the banquet. Since he was "specially cared for" by Qin Yao, he can freely enter and exit the imperial palace. Even so, he is quite responsible. Except for strolling in the imperial garden occasionally, she rarely appears in places other than the imperial study and Qin Yao's bedroom.

"Lord Xia?" A palace man's soft voice came from not far behind: "Your Majesty called our family to take you to have lunch."

Xia Rui said: "Please tell your Majesty, Eunuch Gao, please share the lunch with the Empress Dowager, and you can use it by yourself in the afternoon." Banquet." Most of the emperor's breakfast meals were served with the concubines in the palace, and he would find his favorite concubines for lunch and dinner, and occasionally stayed with officials who came to the palace to report their duties for lunch.Dining without courtiers is called a private banquet. The relationship between Xia Rui and Qin Yao is special, as long as there are no other courtiers present, Xia Rui never eats with Qin Yao.

Xia Rui stood up, walked around the shadows of flowers, and saw the palace man who was waiting for him, "Please ask Eunuch Gao to lead the way."

Fu Qingyan hardly ever had a meal with Qin Yao. Fu Qingyan was a low-key person, and there were many things to do every day. After entering the officialdom, Fu Qingyan realized that the court was indeed a place where all kinds of dirt were hidden, whether it was other officials or the emperor. In addition, he already has someone he likes, but he has never married. Many people are interested in this, and eating with him is just a chance to talk about it. Fu Qingyan has always been respectful and insensitive.

Xia Rui entered the door without looking at Fu Qingyan, but knelt down and saluted Qin Yao.Qin Yao walked up to him and helped him up: "They are all from my own family, and you should pay attention to these things when doing what you do." Fu Qingyan was at a loss, although he knew that Xia Rui was appreciated by Qin Yao, but he had no idea about their secret relationship. I don't know at all, so I don't understand where Qin Yao got the phrase "my family".But even though he didn't understand, he didn't ask, just lowered his head, pretending he didn't hear.

"I call you for dinner on weekdays, but I never agree, but today I finally came." Qin Yao took Xia Rui's hand very naturally, Xia Rui tried slightly to break free, but Qin Yao increased his strength , with a very tough attitude, but with a smile on his face, he brought him to the table: "A few days ago, I sent someone to find a cook from Jiangnan. I heard that it is very famous in Jiangnan. Many diners call it God of Cooking, I made a lot of your favorite dishes before, but you never come here. The dishes in Jiangnan are too bland and too sweet. Let's see if these are the ones you like to eat?" Qin Yao smiled at Xia Rui like offering a treasure.

Fu Qingyan was still in a daze. He always felt that the relationship between Qin Yao and Xia Rui seemed unusual, but he couldn't tell what was wrong, so he sat aside and remained silent.

Xia Rui seemed to be a little angry, but she was not as sneering and sarcastic as usual, she just lowered her head and said, "It's true that the officials like to eat, Your Majesty, don't worry about it." Qin Yao didn't care about his entangled mood, he was happy on his own "That's good. You can eat it if you like it. Come, try this. The eight-treasure duck I specially asked you to make. Can you try it?" into Xia Rui's bowl.

"Your Majesty." Xia Rui said in a low voice, his voice was a little tough, and there was a hint of gnashing of teeth.Qin Yao was unmoved, and continued to do his own thing: "This roasted bamboo shoot looks delicious, try it."

Fu Qingyan sat on the side with her head down, wishing she could tangle herself into a ball, only feeling that her body was out of tune with the atmosphere here.

After a meal, both Fu Qingyan and Xia Rui were covered in sweat, especially Fu Qingyan.After finally finishing eating, Fu Qingyan left the palace almost as if fleeing. He was not stupid. After the meal was over, he finally saw the undercurrent between Xia Rui and Qin Yao, but he did not expect that Qin Yao There is such a delicate relationship with Xia Rui.

"Angry?" Qin Yao raised his head with one hand and looked at Xia Rui.With a gloomy face, Xia Rui cupped her hands to Qin Yao: "I dare not." "Why are you angry?" Qin Yao was relentless: "Because I did this in front of others?" Xia Rui didn't answer, turned her face away Said: "I was tired in the afternoon, and I will leave first." Qin Yao grabbed his hand and said, "You never get angry with me, and you never express your feelings to me, why? You must settle everything with me like this Is it clear?"

Xia Rui said in a low voice: "There are differences between monarchs and ministers."

Qin Yao seemed to be discouraged, rubbed his eyebrows and said, "You miss that Li Cheng so much, but because he was beaten to death by your mother?" Xia Rui trembled when she heard Li Cheng's name , Hearing Qin Yao say "beaten to death by your mother", he couldn't turn the corner for a while: "beaten to death by...?"

"The name Li Cheng has indeed been heard by the lower officials." Fu Qingyan replied, "But I didn't tell it to me." Qin Yao was a little curious. People like Fu Qingyan would probably know him if he was picked up from a small town. , but Fu Qingyan knew about the "Li Cheng" that Xia Rui was talking about, so things were not that simple. This person named Li Cheng should indeed have something extraordinary.

"Although the younger brother didn't tell me, it has a great relationship with the younger brother," Fu Qingyan paused, thinking about whether saying all of it would affect Xia Rui's career. After a few calculations, Fu Qingyan decided to tell the whole story: " Li Cheng was involved in a huge turmoil in the city. He was beaten to death by the mistress of the Xia family, Mrs. Xia, the mother of the younger brother. It's just that the Xia family is quite wealthy in the city, and Li Cheng is alone without father or mother. So the public suppressed it."

Qin Yao asked: "Beating to death by Xia Rui's mother?" Fu Qingyan nodded: "Indeed, I heard that there was an agreement with Mrs. Xia. After nearly an hour of beating, he was beaten to death by the back door of Xia's house. When it was transported out, many people gathered to watch, and heard that the stench wafted through the four streets, and the corpse was bloody and bloody, which was horrible."

"Killed to death?" Xia Rui looked at Qin Yao: "Who? Who was beaten to death by whom?" Qin Yao knew in an instant that he had said something wrong or done something wrong. Looking at Xia Rui's appearance, he was afraid He didn't know that Li Cheng died at the hands of his biological mother, but now that he knew, his mood would be even worse.

"Who said it?" Xia Rui was very anxious, almost unable to stand still: "Fu Qingyan? Did he say it?"

"Xiangyun, please calm down first." Qin Yao stood up quickly, and wanted to reach out to hug Xia Rui into his arms, but Xia Rui pushed him back. Xia Rui seldom reveals his refusal so clearly, Qin Yao Yao was stunned for a moment.With a pale face, Xia Rui took two steps back, and bowed respectfully to Qin Yao: "Your Majesty, I'm not feeling well, I'm afraid I won't be able to serve His Majesty today, I hope Your Majesty will understand, and I will leave first. "

Qin Yao looked worried, but he didn't stop him anymore, just watched Xia Rui stumble out of the door.

"When did you ask me?" Fu Qingyan looked up at the sky: "I can't remember clearly, I only vaguely remember the year, which was a year after we were admitted as a scholar. Didn't you rest at home for half a year at that time?" ? But I really can’t remember the month. Don’t you know anything? At that time, the city was full of trouble.”

Xia Rui's face was pale. Of course he didn't know anything. After he left Li Cheng's house and returned to Xia's mansion, he rested in his room for more than three months. I couldn't move, and I didn't know how I managed to walk home from outside the city while holding my breath.

"Junior Brother?" Fu Qingyan asked cautiously: "That Li Cheng, and you?"

Xia Rui felt that he was getting more and more capable, and he could also make a smile in this situation: "I told you before, don't you remember?" Fu Qingyan didn't react for a while, only heard Xia Rui say again: "On our way to the exam, let me tell you that I liked a man before, and then I was kicked out by the Xia family, and he abandoned me again."

Fu Qingyan opened his mouth, dumbfounded: "He? Then how could he be beaten to death by Mrs. Xia?" Xia Rui clenched his hands tightly and then loosened them. He grabbed a handful in the air, but clearly he didn't catch anything. "Who knows," Xia Rui lowered his eyes, "I'm afraid something went wrong?" Fu Qingyan tidied up his memories, and said, "I heard that he and Mrs. Xia seemed to have an agreement." Head, observing Xia Rui's expression.Xia Rui sneered and said, "They're all dead, what else do they do?"

Fu Qingyan lowered her head, pursed her lips, and asked: "Then you and Your Majesty?" Xia Rui was taken aback, and smiled bitterly: "Your Majesty, it's Your Majesty, where is it your turn to criticize me?"

"Your Majesty." Eunuch Gao said softly: "It's almost the time of the day, Your Majesty should rest early." Qin Yao looked at the file on the table, rubbed his fingers lightly, and asked, "Gao Yan, tell me, Xia What kind of person is Rui?" Eunuch Gao raised his eyes, looked at Qin Yao, and then lowered his head again: "Master Xia, he is naturally a hero among men. He is not only good at learning, but his writing is three times that of Song Taifu. , and the eyebrows and eyes are quite similar to Song Taifu."

Qin Yao exhaled: "Quite similar."

Eunuch Gao still lowered his head: "Your Majesty, it's late at night, please rest." Qin Yao asked: "Has Xia Rui come back?" Eunuch Gao replied: "Your Majesty must have forgotten that Master Xia is not feeling well today. Go back to my house and rest." "Yes." Qin Yao nodded: "Clean up, it's time to rest." Eunuch Gao tentatively said: "Your Majesty, are you going today?" "It's so late, why don't you go?" Stop visiting the harem." Qin Yao waved his hand.

Eunuch Gao said softly: "Today, I should have gone to the empress's place."

Qin Yao was stunned: "It's been a long time since I went to the queen's place." Eunuch Gao replied: "It's been about half a month." Qin Yao lowered his eyes: "Then let's go today."