Lang Yi

Thinking of this, Ning Xingye couldn't help but said: "But big brother, he obviously only wants to be your bodyguard commander, he is so loyal to you..."

"Okay, where is the errand is not loyal to the king, he is loyal to the king, isn't he loyal to His Majesty? The king did that for his own good. Besides, when your elder brother first became the commander of the king's guards, he didn't respect you. How old are you now. Could it be that you are not as loyal to the king as your elder brother is?" Tian Zong stretched out his hand, jokingly pressed the boy's head and shook it wildly.

Ning Xingye was at his mercy, and when he let go, he straightened his hair and solemnly said: "This subordinate is no less loyal to you than my elder brother! I heard that my elder brother carried you back to death on the battlefield in the western region. I, my subordinates can do it too!"

Tian Zong nodded: "This king knows that you Ning brothers are the most loyal. Well, there is something to order you right now: this king is very thirsty, go and urge them to pour a cup of tea."

Ning Xingye stood up immediately: "Decree! Your Highness's rules for drinking tea. Your subordinates know that the teacup must be floated in hot water first, and the tea leaves must be washed three times."

Tian Zong looked at his back running and jumping, and couldn't help laughing: This boy followed his elder brother to work in front of him early on, and now he has become the commander of the guards, but he has never been calm; he is as obedient as a puppy in front of him, He defends himself in front of people and is as fierce as a wolf.

——Hey, Xinghe, he must be like this because of your influence.

Hearing Ning Xingye mention the past, Tian Zong couldn't help but think back to the battle in the western region that year.That year when the bandits in the western region were in trouble, I had never been on a battlefield at that time, and I was young and energetic; it just so happened that Xiao Tongxuan, who had befriended him, returned to Qingdu from the northern region, and he was majestic and heroic. Wanting to be a hero in military service, he stubbornly asked the emperor for orders to go to the west to suppress bandits.

I thought that after listening to Xiao Tongxuan's many battlefield experiences, I should be good; I never thought that the cruelty of the battlefield could not be predicted by seeing it with my own eyes.He underestimated his opponent, thinking that it was just a few gangsters and a mob; he stupidly and stubbornly ignored the dissuasion of others, and rashly pursued him. He didn't have enough soldiers, so he was ambushed by bandits.At that time, almost all the guards around him died. He was shot in the leg by an arrow and couldn't walk. Ning Xinghe, who was also injured, used both hands and feet to carry him on his back for several miles and hid in the mountains.

Just as the weather was entering winter, snow fell in the mountains, and there was no food. The two were wounded and not good at hunting, and almost died of freezing and starvation.When his life was hanging by a thread, it was Ning Xinghe who cut his wrist and fed blood to himself, and only then did the reinforcements come to the mountain to find him.

Ning's ancestors were originally merchants, and they donated a small official to become an official, and the official circles of the Qingdu family didn't even care about it.The Ning family had no side branches, and the family was in decline. After Ning Xinghe's parents passed away early, the three brothers were ignored, and they almost couldn't even eat when they were young.

However, Ning Xinghe, who was born in a poor family of aristocrats, relied on his meritorious service in rescuing King Lin, from an ordinary guard of the palace to the commander of the guards. In less than a year, because of Tian Zong's recommendation, he became the deputy commander of the palace guards. , It can be said that the sky is rising.In addition, Tian Zong then appointed Ning Xinghe's second younger brother, Ning Xingye, as the commander of the palace guards, and the Ning family became Lin Wang's confidants in a down-to-earth manner, and the people in Qingdu immediately looked at him differently.Ning Xingye must be so loyal because of his kindness to the Ning family.

Gratitude to Huaide and repaying kindness are the feelings that a qualified guard should have towards the Lord; making the best use of everything, giving both kindness and power, is the attitude that a rational Lord should have towards the guard.

——So, Xinghe, you can’t stay by my side no matter what.

Ning Xingye brought the tea, Tian Zong just took a sip when he heard the noise by the river, turned his head and saw the gold diggers stopped their work and looked upstream.Tian Zong got up and followed their gazes, but he didn't see anything unusual.

Ning Xingye had already signaled a guard to go and have a look, but after a while, the guard ran back panting, as if he was a little embarrassed to report: "Your Highness, there is nothing serious over there, but you should go and see how to deal with it. good."

Ning Xingye scolded: "What words! Tell His Highness clearly what is there, if there is danger, why not let His Highness go there?!"

The guard wiped off his sweat: "This subordinate has been there, and there is no danger, but... the upstream river beach was obviously deserted and shallow yesterday, and there was nothing there, but today, many, many flowers suddenly popped up."

Ning Xingye said disdainfully: "The climate of this Nanxu country is very different from ours. There are many flowers and plants. What's so strange about a few flowers? Make a fuss."

"Flowers?" Tian Zong frowned. The Nanxu Kingdom indeed has a lot of exotic flowers and plants, but why do these native gold diggers stretch their heads to look at those flowers as if they saw a rare scene? ——A flower growing in the river, "...is it a lotus?"

It should be known that the emblem of the royal family is a white jade hibiscus.The guard didn't dare to answer casually, but said: "It does look a bit similar, and my subordinates are not sure."

Tian Zong knew something was wrong, so he put down the tea bowl and walked over there to check.Along the river bank, turning a bend, Tian Zong involuntarily opened his eyes wide.

The scarlet flowers and the dark blue broad leaves stretch for a full mile above the turbid yellow river; the deep red color seems to be dyed by some kind of pigment, it is dazzling, like the river is glowing. A fire broke out, violently impacting people's sight.

Huge stretched petals, light and round leaves, and slightly convex stems—this is indeed a lotus flower.

Bloody lotus.

There was a gust of wind in the river, and those red lotus grinned their mouths wide as if mockingly, showing a strange and ominous smile at him, the heir of the Furong Dynasty.This shock was no small matter, even though Tian Zong usually had a relaxed and calm demeanor, he couldn't help but clenched his palms and trembled slightly at this moment.

Hibiscus stained with blood can be described as a bad omen.The following attendants all looked at each other in blank dismay, lowered their heads and looked away from the river, not daring to speak.

Some Nanxu people who were still watching from a distance didn't know what to do, and they were talking about it: "Strange, strange, how can there be lotus growing in this river? It is obvious that the Nuruo River flows down from the snow-capped mountains, and the water is cold. We stand in the water After a while, the hands and feet will be cold, and you have to go to the shore to rest; and here are all sand grains, how can there be flowers that can break through the soil and take root?"

"Besides, I passed by here yesterday, and there was clearly nothing here. Why is it suddenly full of lotus flowers today? It's really weird."

……

Seeing that Tian Zong was still in a daze, Ning Xingye quickly stepped forward and reminded him nonchalantly: "Your Highness, these wild flowers bloom in the middle and upper reaches of the river, and the underwater conditions are unknown, which will inevitably affect the gold panning operation. According to my subordinates, it is better to remove them all. "

Only then did Tianzong come back to his senses. Hearing his understatement, he deliberately described these flowers as wild flowers, so as not to make people associate them with the national flowers of the Daying. He understood his intentions, and nodded in agreement: "Alright, send some people to clean up immediately. Don’t delay the work on the river.” After finishing speaking, he glanced around and said indifferently: “The climate in Nanxu is different from that in Daying, there are some wild flowers growing here, so there is no need to make a fuss, tell those people to disperse, hurry up and get to work.”

Only then did the followers wake up like a dream, knowing that if the reaction is too big at this time, the matter will spread quickly and shake the morale of the army; it is better to take it lightly and uproot it as soon as there are not many people who see this scene , so that it will not cause waves—even if it spreads to the distant Qingdu in the future, everyone will just listen to it as a border anecdote; What a storm.

Seeing that everyone promised to leave, Tian Zong patted Ning Xingye on the shoulder to show his appreciation.I even walked through the tragic battlefield of the South Ruins. I shouldn't have lost my mind just because of a few red lotuses, but somehow I felt as if I was haunted by it; fortunately, this kid was clever and reminded me in time, so I didn't get hurt. The expansion of the situation caused unnecessary panic.

Tian Zong stood by the river, watching the soldiers by the river brought the boatmen, and after a while, they cleaned up all the red lotuses in the water, and fished them all up to the shore.Tian Zong inspected it and found that it was indeed an ordinary lotus rhizome from the beginning to the end. He felt that he was too suspicious, so he waved his hands and ordered to bury all the flowers and leaves as fertilizer for the tree.

Everyone also saw that these flowers are ordinary, but brighter in color; the climate in Nanxu Country is hot, and the flowers and plants are colorful, so it is not unusual.In this way, the novelty just passed, and the interest was lost, and the cleaning was quickly finished.

Tian Zong went back to rest under the tree, as if he was relieved, but he couldn't let go, he didn't want to think about the weird picture just now, but those weird red flowers kept opening and closing in his eyes, lingering go.He lowered his head to look at the hibiscus pattern on the silver armor on his chest. The petals stretched gracefully, the stamens were tall and flexible, holy and flawless. He pressed his hand on it, as if he could draw strength from the blood left by his ancestors, and finally he felt at peace. some.

Ning Xingye brought the tea again, and Tian Zong picked up the tea bowl to drink, only to realize that his wrists were shaking uncontrollably.Fortunately, Ning Xingye talked too much, interrupting him randomly, he just temporarily changed his mind.

Back at the Nanxu Palace, he saw Li Qiu waiting at the gate of the palace, looking uneasy.Seeing them and their party, he stepped forward to meet them in small steps, hesitating to speak.

Tian Zong saw that something was wrong, so he asked: "What's the matter? But in the Nanxu Palace, a maid was found to have given birth? Princess Qiluo has already mentioned this to the king, and the king has already agreed to send someone to take care of the baby, so don't worry too much This matter."

Li Qiu nodded and shook his head again, beads of sweat pouring out: "There is also such a thing, but it's nothing..." Ning Xingye followed Tian Zong, and said anxiously: "Then you should hurry up and make His Highness anxious on purpose. Is it?"

Li Qiu leaned over and put his ear on Tian Zong's shoulder: "Your Highness, it's Qingdu, and an urgent recall order has come eight hundred miles away!"

Tian Zong remained calm, and waved his hand to signal Li Qiu to lead the way.But although the pace is still steady, there are doubts in his heart: Liu Jinhe's harvest has always been reported to Qingdu honestly, and he has never deducted half of it privately, but after several months, the results are not as rich as Qingdu originally expected. , no wonder the father is dissatisfied.

But even so, if you want to go back and ask yourself, you only need to issue a normal order. Why did you issue an emergency order to order yourself to go back?