I see the snow

In the hustle and bustle of the gentleman building.

This is the tallest building within a ten-mile radius of the Capital of the Stars and Fields. Not to mention the overhanging eaves and corners, the crystal clear glazed tiles are piled up as if they don't cost money——

If any dignitaries and dignitaries entertain guests, they choose this place, which can't be more grand and lavish.

At this time, in the Accord on the second floor.

"Come on, Zhao Shangshu, don't be polite, drink, drink!!"

"Lord Qin, don't be too polite, you can do whatever you want."

Dozens of voluptuous dancers sang in the center of the room, and the melodious sounds rang through the ears, and the guests exchanged glasses.

In addition to the graceful woman's figure, there are also beautiful and lovely faces hidden behind the feather fan.

All the guests were radiant and full of spring breeze, as if they had encountered some great happy event at the same time, asking them to enjoy the wine here.

Prince An, Shangshu of the Ministry of Rites, wealthy merchants from Jin Dynasty, the Shijue surnamed Qin... and a large number of officials in the court, almost half of the civil and military officials in the prosperous court, all gathered here.

"If you want me to say, this is what Han Shang did to himself and suffered retribution!!"

A senior official wearing a third-rank official robe said, his words were filled with the resentment of being bullied for a long time, and the joy of justice being finally done: "Is it all right now? - only son, only son!! I just want to give one The untouchable has paid for his life, but the heavens opened his eyes and told Han Shang to taste the reincarnation of karma!!"

"Hey," another person said. The person squinted his eyes slightly, looking very comfortable, and said in disapproval, "Not necessarily."

"—I heard that the presiding judge of this case is not the elder brother of his favorite student Lin Kun?...It is also possible to make an exception and award a fine or something."

"But isn't the Lin family the most known for being upright and honest, and they will never bend the law for personal gain?"

The Ministry of Rites smiled in writing. With a big belly, he lovingly touched a charming singer beside him, and said half inadvertently and half intentionally: "If Lin Xu does such a thing, how can he be worthy of the Lin family's selfish desires?" , Mu Xianxian, look up to the world and have a clear conscience' family motto?"

"If Lin Xu is acting selfishly, we will go to His Majesty to read his book!"

Qin Yuqing said, "Let them also suffer from the method they used to get rid of us!"

"In this matter, whether he rebels or not, it is beneficial to us and not harmful."

The senior member of the third rank at the beginning analyzed: "If you are sentenced to beheaded, then let the old man Han Shang experience the heartache of losing a son in his old age and sending a white-haired man to a black-haired man; It gave us a great opportunity to sue the Lin family and Han Shang—no matter how we choose, it will be a dilemma for them!"

Since Han Shang became an official, many people seldom had such a happy time, they couldn't help raising their glasses to each other, laughing and joyful.

"Lord Mo, I'll be counting on you to play Han Shang and Lin Xu during the introduction."

The Shangshu of the Ministry of Rites held the lamp, and said politely to a civil official beside him: "There are all pedantic and sour people in Yushitai, and the only one we can count on is Mr. Mo."

Mo Bihuan immediately got up to return the gift, as if flattered, he said humbly:

"Where, where. It should be the villain thanking the prince and Lord Shangshu for their love."

"Since Ye Qingming left, Hanlin and Yushitai have fallen into Han Shang's hands."

Prince An, who has never spoken much, spoke leisurely: "But I think that there are many more talented and virtuous people than Han in this imperial censor platform. As ministers, we should serve your majesty." Share your worries, and help the imperial court to select talented young people."

There are other metaphors behind every sentence of a high-ranking and powerful person.

Mo Bihuan was suddenly shocked by the unspoken promise of Prince An, and then he was so happy that he couldn't add it——

The others also reacted, and immediately raised their lamps and said, "Congratulations, Lord Mo, congratulations, Lord Mo!"

"Lord Mo must seize this golden opportunity, don't let the prince down!"

Mo Bihuan couldn't help but knelt down and bowed his head immediately:

"The villain is willing to do the work of a dog and a horse for the prince, and only the leader is the leader!!"

The atmosphere of the banquet became even hotter in an instant, and the courtiers who should have read all the sage books shouted "serve the wine, serve the wine!"; or slowly rolled under the table with the beauties in their arms.

In order to please Prince An, some senior officials even pretended to be fools in colorful clothes to entertain their relatives——

For a while, someone stepped onto the food table with a fat and naked body, twisted and pulled his shoulders, pretending to be squirming and making people laugh; someone hugged a slender young woman in his arms, and shouted "Mom, mom"... Note 1]

Abnormal obscenity, abnormal absurdity.

"My lord, this is the interest for this month."

When everyone on the field was in a daze, drunk and dreaming, a merchant dressed extravagantly walked up to the window, respectfully and quietly handed Prince An a small box.

The small box was about half the size of a palm, and what was contained was not gold or silver, but a key that could open a certain house outside the city.

Prince An slightly opened his eyelids and took a look, then asked casually:

"How much."

"This number."

The wealthy businessman put his hand into his sleeve and had a sleeve talk with Prince An.

Prince An slightly closed his eyes and smiled, and only said:

"good."

"The batch of 'thin horses' imported from Yuzhou sell for a very good price, and many restaurants are vying for them."

The wealthy businessman surnamed Zhu said with a low laugh: "Next time I go to the east, I can buy more... Besides, the money invested in the 'Qian Kun Chang' has also started to be paid."

In the prosperous Far East, it has always been poorer than in other places.But because it is connected to Jiangzhou and Qinhuai, the women of Yuzhou have somewhat of the gentle charm of the water town.If you buy young girls from poor families in the Yuzhou area, train them carefully, and sell them after arriving in the capital of stars, you can get a high price.

The richness of this has made many people-trafficking toothpaste desperate.

This method of buying at a low price and selling at a high price is similar to the way merchants sell horses.Therefore, those young girls from poor families who were bought were also called "skinny horses".

As for the "Qian Kun Casino", it is a large-scale gambling hall opened in the capital of stars and fields.

It's just that the dealers of this kind of gambling house are relatives of the emperor, and all the money has flowed into the hands of wealthy and prominent families.

——The imperial court issued a decree to build the dam, but Prince An teamed up with wealthy businessmen to shoddy it and swallowed all the money that should have been used to build the dam into his own hands.

Then, when it was time to go to Yuzhou's Yindai Forest to quarry stones and make pulp, the opened freight channels were used to purchase a batch of "Chu Guan lean horses".

In the end, the huge profits obtained by the "skinny horse" are used to open casinos, and the money is used to make money again, squeezing the last drop of blood and sweat from the people.

Such a "one-stop" eating method can be said to eat Shengyang civilians from head to toe without leaving a trace.

It's very thoughtful, and it doesn't leak any water!

However, such evildoers are calm.

He even felt that the Accord was hot and stuffy, Prince An slightly opened the window, and poured the unfinished nectar and jade dew from the wine cup out of the window——

Downstairs, squatting in a row of beggars, when they heard the movement, they immediately raised their heads.

They watched the unfinished soup fall to the ground, and immediately scrambled over to lick it.

Some of them didn't occupy a good position, and they still looked up, trying to open their mouths to pick up some leftovers.

Prince An didn't care.

He was just throwing it casually, but he was indifferent when he saw it. He just looked at the dirty boy in ragged clothes, looked away lightly, sat down where he was, and said:

"Fortunately, something like this happened to Han Shang's family."

"—Otherwise, this year's flood season will be here soon. If it wasn't because of his son's affairs, he would have to talk and talk about things in front of His Majesty again."

"My lord said yes."

Zhu Changzhong echoed: "It seems that God... is also on our side."

"God, what's the use."

But Prince An said.He narrowed his eyes slightly, and said with a smile: "Sometimes, people's wealth is still up to them to fight for—!"

"Yes, yes, what the lord said is true."

Seeing that Prince An raised his hand, Zhu Changzhong hurriedly raised his cup to touch it respectfully, and said flatteringly: "For the next six months, please take care of Prince An..."

The extremely delicate sterling silver wine glasses collided together. Not far from the gentleman's building, there was a dark alley full of dirt and mud.

There is disease, hunger, and poverty...

Soon, the flood season of this year will come again.But the dam has not yet been repaired, so many crops will suffer, how many fields will lose their harvest, and how many ordinary families will be separated from their wives.

Probably, when the spring breeze blows next year, there will be many homeless people in the dark alley again, right?

...But, above this rich cloud, who cares?

[*Note 1]: In ancient times, some people called mother, but it was more colloquial, similar to "Niangqin".

When Li Sinian found Lin Kun, he was in Gujiu Temple.

Whenever Lin Kun was unhappy, he would go there to drink.

No one could find him, only Li Sinian knew he was there.

"Pillow wind, pillow wind."

Li Sinian called him softly.

However, Lin Kun was lying on the table, the dark blue scholar's uniform was crumpled, and the edge of the sleeve was wet.

Li Sinian sniffed it closer, and there was an extremely strong smell of pure wine.Mixed with the coldness and pungentness of Su Hexiang, it makes people feel that this is an amazing scholar who can get drunk to the death of a street alcoholic, rather than a stunning scholar whose poems are sung by everyone in the Hanlin.

Gujiuan is a restaurant hidden in the deep alleys and Changgan. It is different from other exquisite restaurants with carved beams and painted buildings in the capital of stars and fields. The storefront here is so small that it can almost be regarded as shabby.Not to mention the fact that there is no sign of inviting guests and drinking wine, only the two peach blossom trees in front of the door can be found by people with difficulty.

Usually, the people who come here to drink are traveling businessmen passing through the capital of stars.Looking for a place to stay warm in a foreign land suffering from hunger and cold.

When Lin Kun comes here, almost no one will recognize him as the legitimate son of the famous Lin family, let alone Lin Zhenfeng, the most talented and poetic scholar in the Imperial Academy.

Probably because of this, Jiaogujiuan became the most ideal place for Lin Kun to get drunk.

"You're so drunk, you probably don't know when 'Mingyue Xin' was used to pay for the drink?"

Li Sinian smiled wryly.

He tidied up the snow-white rice paper on Lin Kun's case——

Sure enough, there were some scribbled poems on it that no one could recognize except Lin Kun himself.

Li Sinian sighed:

It doesn't matter if these poems are seen by myself, if they are taken by someone with ulterior motives, I am afraid that there will be some exaggerated and excessive interpretations, which will bring unwarranted disasters to the Lin family.

Although Lin Kunzui was drunk, he was still holding a pearl the size of a thumb in his hand. He was lying on the shore, and the pearl was in front of his eyes, which was very close——

"Moon Heart."

He could only hear him whispering, looking at the bright and flawless pearl, through the thin outer skin, he could see a crescent moon inside.

"The more it is in the dark... the more pure it is."

Lin Kun whispered: "...Really?"

"Yes."

Li Sinian had no choice but to reply, "Zifeng, what happened to you today?"

Lin Kun let out a low "huh", and then asked as if he had just discovered it:

"...Ah, Sinian, you're here."

Li Sinian touched his head, Lin Kun closed his eyes like a child, and said:

"Brother Sinian."

Since he was 14 years old, Li Sinian seldom heard Lin Kun call him that, so he couldn't help but feel a little bit of a pause in his heart.

"Have you encountered any unpleasant things?"

Li Sinian said very lightly: "Because Uncle Lin... still doesn't agree with you entering Yushitai?"

Lin Kun lay on the table and shook his head.His pupils were slightly absent-minded:

"...No. It was my teacher...the only son who killed someone."

"Oh."

Li Sinian responded, but then thought in his heart, what does it matter.It wasn't our only son who killed someone.

But he still continued to ask very cooperatively: "And then?"

"I do not know what to do……"

Lin Kun said slightly vaguely: "What he committed was murder...he will be sentenced to death."

"—But my teacher is old. He can't bear the pain of the white-haired man giving the black-haired man."

Lin Kun was like a sad child at this time, and Li Sinian could see the sadness in his expression.

"My elder brother said... that he could be sentenced to exile... In this way, at least his life can be saved. In the future, the teacher misses him, and he can also visit him after he retires.... But, I know in my heart that this is not right .”

Li Sinian: "..."

Lin Kun has many troubles.But when he was a child, his worries were how to go to Jinling, and compete in poetry with that young master of the Ye family; after entering Linlang Academy and Yushitai, his worries suddenly increased.

Sometimes, even Li Sinian doesn't know how to soothe the sadness that frowns slightly between his brows.

"You know that girl... she was only 14 years old. She died, but she couldn't die in vain."

The 16-year-old drunken scholar looked at the bright moon heart in his hand and said in a daze.

Li Sinian quietly looked at this pale young man who was as cold as jade. Sometimes, his sense of right and wrong was much easier to judge than Lin Kun's.

Because, he has already seen many dirty sins in this world, before he was ten years old, he had tasted all the bitterness and indifference.

However, Lin Kun did not.

His eyes were clean and spotless, and he also wanted to chase the bright moon that almost no longer existed in the dirty world; Li Sinian knew it, but Li Sinian couldn't bear to tell him.

Because in Li Sinian's heart, Lin Kun is the only bright moon in the long night that he wants to protect.

"Pillow wind."

After a long silence, Li Sinian finally spoke.But he didn't follow Lin Kun's train of thought, but picked another angle that no one had thought of:

"Have you ever thought about it?"

Li Sinian said: "What if you enter Yushitai one day and you can't do it alone."

"Well……?"

Lin Kun's eyes widened.

"Your teacher is a loyal and upright person, but this matter... No matter how difficult it is, it is difficult to let it go. It is even more impossible to pretend that it never happened."

Li Sinian said: "And you know the current situation in the court. The villains are rampant, and all the officials are working for their own interests. Sleeping on the wind...you can't lose your teacher."

You can't lose your teacher.

Lin Kun muttered these words, and after a long time, he asked Li Sinian:

"Are you... afraid that I will hurt the teacher's heart?"

Then he broke up with me?

Li Sinian smiled slightly, rubbed Lin Kun's forehead lightly, and said:

"No, maybe in every sense...you can't lose your teacher."

At that time, Lin Kun thought that Li Sinian meant that the imperial envoy might not be as loyal and impartial as he and Lin Kun said.

But based on decades of getting along with the teacher, he felt that the teacher was not such a person.

Li Sinian looked at Lin Kun's dazed pupils, thought for a while, and felt that he could only remind him tactfully.

"Okay, don't think about it. Go back to sleep."

I can't bear Lin Kun's thin robes, even though it's summer, I'm worried that he'll be caught in the cold at night.Li Sinian took Lin Kun's hand and wanted to carry him on his back: "This is something that has nothing to do with you... Go to my barracks tonight. Don't let Uncle Lin find out that you have been drinking again..."

However, Lin Kun was limp, and it wasn't until Li Sinian pulled him off the wine couch that he almost staggered that he heard the person on him suddenly laugh.

"Did I gain weight?"

The young man who always looked gloomy and unapproachable asked with a rare smile in his voice, "You won't be able to carry me on your back."

"I can move my back."

Li Sinian also smiled: "I can recite it when you are 80 years old."

He hugged Lin Kun dotingly to stay on the bed, and then asked him to stand up and lean on himself:

"Catch it, don't fall."

Lin Kun gave a vague "hmm", and then pressed his cheek against Li Sinian's back.

Li Sinian's back was very hot, and it was wide and reliable when lying on it, with a magical power that made people feel at ease.

Lin Kun listened to the strong heartbeat through the thin clothes, and the worry that he could not forget after drinking just now seemed to gradually fade and dissipate.

He leaned on Li Sinian's back and fell asleep without knowing it.

Li Sinian, on the other hand, stepped on the moonlight, walked around Changgan and alleys, and slowly walked home with Lin Kun on his back.

At that time, he was not the commander of the Imperial Palace of the Habayashi Army, nor was Lin Kun the incorruptible censor of the Yushitai.

They were just childhood sweethearts. He looked at the moon with the person he liked behind his back, feeling full of treasure and peace.

Every step is taken carefully and happily.

Later, after a long, long time, Sheng Yang was no longer there, and Lin Kun also left for a long time.

Li Sinian guarded this for the rest of his life, and often thought of those nights.

It seemed that he was still carrying Lin Kun on his back, it wasn't very heavy, but he walked carefully, fearing that he would bump Lin Kun.

He always thought that it would be nice if that night road could not end.