red cliff top

The next day, the King of Jin led the team to go northward for more than 300 miles, and did not return to Jinyang City until the sun was westward. Unexpectedly, not long after entering the city, they were stopped by crowds of people who were crowded on the street to watch the excitement. on the way.

The few people riding on the tall horses could see clearly. Among the crowds of people, a handsome young man in red was grabbing a scrawny young man and kept scolding him, "You said you didn't steal the purse. If you didn't steal it, why would it be held in your hands?"

Behind the young man in red was a group of well-groomed attendants with red lips and white teeth. Seeing that they were not very old, they yelled at the young man one by one: "It's you, it's useless to deny it to death. If you don't learn well at a young age, run to Being a thief is really abominable! You should fight, you should fight!"

The young man was grabbed by the collar, so he had to argue pitifully, puffing out his chest, "I didn't steal it, I picked it up from the ground, and I don't know who dropped it..." He is short and has a low voice, and the moment he speaks, he is caught off guard. The other party's scolding voice was drowned out.

Pulling back and forth several times, an object accidentally fell out of the boy's arms, the young man in red quickly snatched it away, and after a closer look, it turned out to be a cowhide wine bag with a silver mouth inlaid. The young master was even more reasonable: "You also said that you are not a thief. Looking at your poor appearance, how can you be worthy of carrying such a good thing? Hmph, it must have been stolen!"

Shen Si recognized at a glance that the wine bag was used by himself. He vaguely remembered that there was a young boy outside Ningcheng who was very hungry and choked on raw jerky. At that time, he thought it was fun, so he threw his wine bag He gave the other party first aid.The figure in memory gradually merged with the boy in front of him, and he couldn't help laughing again after thinking about it, it turns out that even God likes to bully him because he looks like a wimp, so he wants to make him angry everywhere.

Seeing that the wine bag was taken away by the other party, the boy rushed to grab it: "I didn't steal it, it was, it was a gift from a general!"

"Gift from the general? Your nonsense is outrageous!" Naturally, the young man in red didn't believe it, and threw the young man to the ground. "Every general who can be called a name in this Jinyuan area, this county... this young master recognizes all of them." , can you tell me who it is?"

Seeing the other party's sleeves waving, the young man couldn't dodge, was swept to the face by the wind of the palm, immediately stepped back a few steps and sat on the ground with a "gu dong", blood flowed from his mouth and nose, and blood beads trickled down his chin.At this point, he couldn't bear to think about it, and got off his horse and walked into the crowd.

The young man in red raised his horsewhip and was about to give the young man a few more lessons, but he was not careful when someone grabbed his wrist. When he raised his head, he saw a tall man with a dark complexion standing beside him. What was even more annoying was that the man only Three fingers caught him and it was hard to move.How could he have been so angry before, and his brows immediately stood up: "Where is the dog who came here, dare to take care of this...my son's business!"

While speaking, he pulled his hand back vigorously, but he couldn't pull it out no matter what, he gritted his teeth tightly, and frowned in one place.

Shen Si firmly restrained the other party, and explained calmly: "My lord, please stop first. The wine bag was given to this little brother, and it was not stolen by him. As for the money bag, there may be a misunderstanding. I hope you can allow him to explain." One or two."

The young man in red didn't listen to him at all, he just turned his head and ordered the followers behind him: "Are you all stupid? Why don't you give me a hard lesson for this ignorant black boy!"

Those people were about to roll up their robe sleeves and wave their fists, but they were blocked by a white shadow.Gu Zhuozi, who was dressed in white, walked up to the young man in red, held a feather fan and bowed deeply, and whispered in a voice that only each other could hear: "Gu Zhuozi sees the princess. The princess calm down, this Mr. Shen is The noble guest of the prince unintentionally bumped into the princess, the so-called ignorant is not guilty, please don't blame the princess."

The young man in red was startled when he heard the words, and quickly looked towards the crowd. When he saw King Jin and a group of guards riding in the distance, he secretly stuck out his tongue weirdly, and showed a flattering smile along the way. , while King Jin snorted softly with a slightly sullen expression.

Gu Zhuozi spoke again at the right time: "My lord has something to say, saying that it's really... ahem, in a word, please return to the palace as soon as possible."

The young man in red, known as the princess, pouted "Oh", then glared at Shen Si angrily, and finally left reluctantly after being greeted by his followers.Shen Si suddenly realized, and wondered that this young man was short in stature and somewhat feminine, so he was actually a woman disguised as a man, and based on this, he inferred that the servants behind him should also be disguised as maids.Although King Jin has only one daughter under his knees in his thirties, he has indulged too much with this daughter. It is better to keep away from such a savage and hateful little girl in the future.

When the crowd dispersed, Jin Wang Fanglai explained embarrassingly in front of Shen Si: "The one who was dressed in red just now is the little girl Honghong. She just happened to be a disaster star and was sent by the princess to Chongshan Temple to fast. That's why I haven't had the chance to meet you. This child was spoiled by me and the concubine, and his temper is indeed a bit arrogant, but his nature is not bad, so don't take it to heart."

He raised his eyebrows thoughtfully: "It turns out to be His Royal Highness the princess." He glanced at the young man who shrank aside and was bleeding from his mouth and nose, "It's the prince who should be concerned, right? His soldiers beat even a woman. But shouldn't you be ashamed?"

The King of Jin was taken aback, and turned his eyes to the young man. The young man tremblingly looked at this and that, and then hurriedly knelt down in front of the King Jin: "The little one, the little one pays homage to the lord, and the little one is from General Zhang's camp. In short, I was ordered to go to the city to handle errands, I don't want to...don't want to..."

Seeing him hesitating and hesitating, he didn't dare to say more, so he interrupted him thoughtfully: "What's your name?"

The boy's head and neck were deeply buried in his chest: "The little one is called Golden Gourd."

Shen Si nodded: "Why do you want to be a soldier?"

"It's... all because of the famine in my hometown. I couldn't survive anymore. I heard that Prince Jin's team can eat enough to eat, so I joined the army with a few fellow villagers." Jin Hulu's voice became weaker and weaker, "Who knows I was trapped in Ningcheng a few days ago, and those fellow villagers were all shot to death by random arrows..."

Shen Si snorted disdainfully: "With your ability, you can only be shot to death when you go to the battlefield. It's a good fortune to live up to now." After a short pause, he lowered his head and asked, "Would you like to follow me?" ?”

As soon as these words came out, not only the young man was stunned, but even King Jin was very surprised.Seeing that the young man was trembling and did not dare to answer, the King of Jin simply decided for him: "Yes, Nianqing, you are new here, and you are short of someone to serve you. Since he came out of the military camp, he must be more comfortable with it than the little girls." Bar."

"I have hands and feet, and I don't need others to serve me yet. It's just that this kid is really incompetent, and he died in vain on the battlefield. I can't just let him die." Jin Hulu said, "Follow me and learn some self-defense skills for now. Even if you can't make contributions and become famous in the world in the future, at least you can protect yourself and you won't be hungry again."

Jin Gourd was stunned for a moment, then hurriedly kowtowed and said, "Thank you, General Shen! Thank you, General Shen!"

Jin Wang watched from the side and couldn't help but smile: Shen Xiaowu'er had such a quirk, he liked to pick up things, first he was a little fox, and then he was a golden gourd. After three years and five years, he didn't know how many weird things he would stuff into his palace. , I think it will not be long before I come here, I will change to a bigger yard.

After returning to Prince Jin's mansion, after Shen Si settled the golden gourd, the dinner was delivered.

Shen Si was not polite, he took a bowl and ate as soon as he sat down at the table.Half a bowl of rice was eaten, and seeing Jin Gourd still standing stupidly by the side, he pointed to the big bowl full of hot rice on the opposite side in puzzlement: "Why, wait for me to invite you to a seat? Silly boy, in the beginning, I Eat fast and have a big appetite, if you don’t rush to grab it, you will only be hungry in the future.”

Jin Gourd slowly moved to the chair, he was a little afraid to sit down, seeing Shen Si eating a delicious meal by himself, he couldn't help swallowing his saliva, tried to sit on the edge of the chair, and looked at Shen Si His expression didn't change, so he stuffed his head into his mouth and began to pick up the rice.Shen Si casually picked up a chopsticks dish and sent it to his bowl, while eating, he scolded: "You look like a chick, what do you use to fight the enemy? A man can't even take care of himself, so how can he defend his home and country?" .”

When Jin Gourd heard the words, he swallowed like he was thinking.He didn't want to stuff his mouth too full, and he didn't have time to chew, all the food was stuck in his throat, and he almost choked.Shen Si suppressed a smile and pushed the cup in front of him. This time, the golden gourd learned to be smart. He first smelled it to confirm whether it was tea or wine, and then poured it down hastily. With a big face, he wiped his mouth: "It smells so good!"

After the two living people had enough to eat and drink, Shen Si took a plate of raw chicken and walked towards the hut at the end of the west wing, where the little fox was locked up when he was away.

They've gotten to know each other for a while now, and the little fox knew that the person was pensive just by the sound of footsteps, so he started circling excitedly in the house early on.It ate two pieces of chicken, its nose twitched slightly, and smelled the smell of strangers in the yard, so it rushed out of the house without paying attention, and rushed towards the golden gourd.The golden gourd only felt a flash of red light, and then something fluffy rubbed against his face, and there was a "hissing" sound of breathing, which frightened him out of his wits, and he screamed "Mom", He closed his eyes and raised his hand, waving wildly in mid-air.

The golden gourd was so noisy that it frightened the little fox. It fell to the ground and scratched with its four sharp claws. It ran wildly in a panic, and finally ran out of the yard with its big tail.Shen Si had no choice but to chase out quickly.

At first, the little fox was scared and wanted to run away quickly. After running for a while, he forgot about being frightened by the golden gourd earlier. Seeing that Shen Si didn't keep up, he stopped and waited. Seeing that Shen Si was approaching, he started running again.Fortunately, Shen Si is physically strong enough, and the more he chases, the more vigorous he is.

Running and running, the way was blocked by a tall courtyard wall tangled with vines. The little fox shrank back and burrowed in through the small hole under the wall that was overgrown with weeds.Shen Si stopped her feet, took two steps back unhurriedly, jumped up to the top of the wall, aimed at the hiding place of the little fox, and swooped down with her big hands, finally caught this naughty little thing, patted it Dust stuffed it into his arms contentedly.

One person and one fox were about to leave when they heard rustling footsteps and a woman's soft voice outside.Shen Si felt a little annoyed for a while, complaining that he shouldn't just barge in like this, he didn't even know where he was at the moment, if he bumped into the female relatives in the mansion, it would be troublesome.After thinking about it, he simply jumped up and climbed up the tree trunk nimbly to the roof, lay down there to hide his figure, and prepared to find an opportunity to slip away without making a sound.

As soon as the courtyard door opened, the person who came was Princess Jin.The princess left several attendants outside the courtyard, and only brought a personal maid into the room holding incense candles and money.The sky was a little dark, and it was not completely dark yet. Not long after the princess entered, a thick scent of incense ash wafted through the crack of the door.

Shen Si couldn't help being curious, quietly lifted a piece of tile and looked inward, and at a glance, he was shocked. This unremarkable place turned out to be a Buddhist hall, which enshrined hundreds of Thousands of tablets, most of those gloomy and heavy tablets are not engraved with writing, they are stacked up along the long table, the highest row reaches the ceiling, which makes people feel chills.

The concubine knelt down on a soft cushion in the middle, respectfully offered incense, and said slowly: "Father, elder brother, brother Qing, Hong Hong came back from the temple today, and everything was done according to the master's instructions. Please be safe and well, and please take good care of her. Brother Qing, you don't have to worry about you over there. The prince takes great care of our mother and daughter, and treats Hong Hong as his own. Sometimes, he is so spoiled that I am a mother. I can't even look at you." The princess chuckled lovingly, as if thinking of something again, "By the way, I heard that the emperor intends to give a marriage to Hong Hong recently, but don't worry, the prince has agreed with me, I will definitely marry Hong Hong to a family that I am satisfied with..."

Unprepared to hear this shocking secret, Shen Si hurriedly buckled up the tiles and lay down on the roof without daring to move, for fear of being noticed by others.Although there have long been rumors in the outside world that Princess Crimson is not the biological son of King Jin, he never imagined that a number one person like Wei Lu would willingly raise Princess Princess despite the criticism of the world when she knew she was not his daughter. , and doting very much, this guard... what kind of guy is he?

After the concubine left for a long time, Shen Si tiptoed down to the ground and quietly turned out of the yard.When he came out, he was dumbfounded again. He forgot to look at the road when he was chasing the little fox before. The palace is already surprisingly large, with criss-cross paths and dense shadows of trees. He just lost his way.

Coincidentally, the usual hordes of eunuchs and maids disappeared for a while, and there was no one around to ask for help, so Shen Si had to rush towards a bright spot.Faintly, you can still hear the melodious sound of the piano.

The light gradually approached, and it turned out to be a small pavilion with lamps hanging by the lake. In the pavilion, there was a man with his back sitting, concentrating on playing the piano.The sound of the piano flows out from the fingertips, mixed with the sound of water, it feels more ethereal and ethereal.Shen Si walked a few quick steps before he could speak, the sound of the piano suddenly stopped, the man playing the piano covered the corner of his mouth and coughed, he seemed to want to get up, but his legs and feet weakened, and he tried his best to hold on to the stone platform so as not to fall to the ground.

Seeing this, Shen Si hurried over to help him up: "Young Master, do you feel unwell?"

When that person turned around, it turned out to be Jiang Yunsheng, the luthier who was carefully cared for and cared for by the prince at the banquet.Mr. Jiang waved his hand weakly to Shen Si: "It's okay, it's just an old problem, just take a rest."

Thinking of the "fairy" words that the little girl said the day before yesterday, Shensi looked at Jiang Yunsheng curiously. This person's face is thin and pale, his eyelids are downcast and his eyes are misty. It seems that it is late autumn, and he is actually wearing a loose single dress. The sleeves are swaying in the breeze, which really smells of otherworldly fireworks.

Shen Si is a warm-hearted person, and couldn't help reminding: "It's cool at night, the young master's clothes are too thin."

Jiang Yunsheng smiled weakly at him: "Little boy went to get the cloak and will be back soon. Are you Mr. Shen Nianqing? I didn't have time to say hello at the banquet that day, so Jiang Yunsheng."

"Mr. Jiang's name has been heard for a long time, and the famous musicians in the north and south of the river are really extraordinary." Shen Si smiled frankly, "Although I have no research on the rhythm, I just heard it clearly during the journey. The sound is surging', it's nothing more than that."

Jiang Yunsheng was rather humble: "Mr. Shen is over-reputed. If Mr. Shen thinks the sound of the qin is pleasant, then only half of it is due to his skill, and the other half is due to the credit of this qin. This qin is a gift from the prince, and it is called 'Duyou'. The ancient famous qin has a deep and majestic sound, it is suitable for playing big tunes, even if it is used by ordinary people, it can also play the hidden sound of the mountains and forests. If you don’t believe me, give it a try, Young Master Shen.”

Shen Si doesn't know how to play the qin, but he knows the name of "Duyou Qin", and he has also heard of "The Qingsexi of the Fuyunmen, the Duyou of Mourning the Ears". Looking closely at the qin, there are indeed very rare words printed on the qin. "Plum Blossom Broken Pattern", on a whim, he raised his hand and slid across the strings at random. Although it didn't make a tune, it was already clanking fir fir, metal and iron, which made people's hearts move.

Just as he was admiring himself, there was a sudden shout from behind: "What are you doing?" Shen Si and Jiang Yun turned their heads in unison, and Jin Wang and Hu Buxi stood under the steps.

Seeing that Jiang Yunsheng was only wearing an unlined garment, the King of Jin quickly took off his robe and put it on the opponent's shoulders, and said softly, "How can you sit in the wind and play the piano? I have said it several times and always don't listen. I teach this king every time." Worrying about you, I really should punish you! Have you ever drank the medicine? You need to go back and rest quickly." He cast a pensive glance, then reprimanded Hu Buxi coldly, "Duyouqin is a gift from me. How can someone tamper with it casually? This piano is a treasure handed down from generation to generation, and it is priceless, if there is any damage... Hu Buxi, this king will just ask you!"

These words were clearly meant to teach Hu Buxi a lesson, but anyone could tell that they were alluding to meditation.Shen Si felt as if she had been slapped hard, and her face turned red immediately.

After getting along with King Jin for the past few days, he has gradually let go of his guard. He doesn't know where the confidence comes from, thinking that it's okay to be a little presumptuous in front of King Jin.Unexpectedly, just touched Jiang Yunsheng's piano today, King Jin was so furious that he turned his face and refused to recognize anyone. This situation inevitably made Shen Si feel ashamed and ashamed, and his breath was stuffed in his heart.

He was about to get angry, then secretly smiled bitterly, sighing that it was unreasonable for him to be so angry, after all, he is the host and he is the guest, the guest will not look at the host's eyes, isn't it just asking for shame?In the end, I had no choice but to cup my hands neither humble nor overbearing: "It's Shen Si who is being rude, and I still hope Mr. Jiang Haihan, then meditation will not disturb the prince's elegance!"

Speaking of this, King Jin didn't even look at Shen Si, he just carefully helped Jiang Yunsheng up, and said to Hu Buxi: "Send Mr. Jiang back to the room for me, watch him drink the medicine, and serve him so that he can sleep well." Talk back later. Don't call someone irrelevant to disturb the young master's rest."

Hearing the words in deep thought, he turned around with a snort and walked away, a gust of wind was picked up by his clothes, and he disappeared at the end of the path in the blink of an eye...