sirius

The chessboard has nineteen vertical and horizontal pieces, which can accommodate heaven and earth.

"Both sides start with two consecutive stars, and the sunspots hang on the horns..."

Tang Ling and Princess Fifteen were sitting opposite each other in the side hall of Chengming Palace. Tang Ling was about to replay today's game with His Majesty when Princess Fifteen interrupted her just as she opened her mouth.

"Master Tang..."

"What orders does Princess Fifteen have?" Tang Ling sandwiched a white piece between them and hadn't placed it on the plate yet.

"I... I heard, I heard..." Princess Fifteen looked at Tang Ling hesitatingly, her expression was aggrieved with slight anger, resentment and shyness.

Tang Ling put the white piece in her hand back into the chess box, and sat upright, waiting for the fifteenth princess to speak.

"I... Mr. Tang..." The fifteenth princess was awkward for a long time, Tang Ling just waited, she finally couldn't help asking, "Why did you refuse to marry?"

His Majesty gave Princess Fifteen a dowry with [-] black iron ore, and wanted to "make a good relationship" between Tang Ling and Princess Fifteen. It had already been spread in the harem, and Tang Ling didn't say anything, as if she didn't know anything. Later, His Majesty Unable to resist Princess Fifteen's entreaty, she asked Tang Ling to teach Princess Fifteen how to play chess, and Tang Ling agreed, so Princess Fifteen could see Tang Ling every two days and spend an hour with him, she thought he was willing!It's just about the peace talks between the two countries, and it's not convenient for him to express himself!

However, today, Tang Ling refused the marriage in front of His Majesty.

Princess Fifteen was right outside the Chengming Hall. She would come early every time and wait outside the hall. Tang Ling knew about it, but he still refused, even in front of her!

And then can he just sit here and explain chess to her as if nothing happened? !

"Why?" Princess Fifteen clutched the corner of her clothes and stared at Tang Ling, her eyes full of grievance and unwillingness, she wanted to raise her hand and slap her in the face, what kind of thing is Tang Ling, dare to refuse her?Reject the emperor? !

"Tang Ling knows that she is not worthy of a princess..."

That's what Tang Ling said in front of His Majesty, it was clearly an excuse!The fifteenth princess didn't believe a word.

"Don't fool me, tell the truth!"

Tang Ling raised her eyes to look at Princess Fifteen, and said slowly, "Tang Ling has her own heart, and she has to live up to the princess' wrong love."

The fifteenth princess was stunned for a moment, then murmured: "Your heart belongs to you?" Who is it?Which is more beautiful than her?Nobler than her?Like Tang Ling more than her?Tang Ling is not engaged, where does her heart belong? !

"Who does it belong to?! I don't believe it!"

"Whether the princess believes it or not, I have made him a promise for the rest of my life, so there is no reason for me to go back on my word, let alone deceive and use the princess for profit.

The princess is the daughter of the heavens, and she should have a blessed marriage and a happy life together. "

Tang Ling's words were plain, but very serious. Princess Fifteen couldn't see the slightest bit of hypocrisy or concealment from his face. Could it be the truth?

"No, you can't! The marriage between you and me is the key to the peace between Zhou and Chen. How can you refuse if you say you don't want to? Do you want to watch the two countries fight again, and the lives will be ruined?!"

It doesn't matter if Tang Ling doesn't like her now, after marrying her, she will treat him well, better than anyone else!He will fall in love with her!must!The marriage between the two of them is not up to them to decide, Tang Ling can't refuse!

Tang Ling knew that Princess Fifteen had been pampered since she was a child, and his refusal to marry him in front of His Majesty would definitely make Princess Fifteen angry, but she was angry, she was a princess after all, wouldn't she have to hold on to the words "dignified and virtuous"?But I didn't expect that she would be unrelenting.

"Princess's words are only half correct. It is indeed a good thing to reconcile the two countries. Your Majesty intends to marry for the sake of reconciliation, and so is my refusal to marry."

Tang Ling looked at Princess Fifteen in a daze, and smiled gently, "Princess is smart, why is she willing to treat her life's happiness as a deal? Tang Ling is not the Princess' beloved."

trade?That's right, Tang Ling's refusal to marry wasn't because he wanted to belong to him, but because he, as Zhou Guo's proton, was afraid that his father and emperor would trap him in Dachen with marriage!

"Tang Ling, you and I have only known each other for a short time, and we don't get along very often. You may not like me now, but after a long time, you will know that I treat you sincerely, and it is not just a transaction! Father Emperor has promised to be with me, if you come back in the future Da Zhou, I will follow myself, I don't mean to imprison you!"

Tang Ling sighed, raised her hand to take the chess pieces, one black and one white alternately landed on the chessboard, one sound after another was unhurried and steady, and she stopped after a while after setting up a game of chess.

Just now, the round between Tang Ling and His Majesty has only reached the middle of the game, and it is not over yet.

"Life is like chess, and there is no regret when you make a move. Once I have made up my mind, I will never change it.

I also hope that the fifteenth princess will forgive me.

farewell.

"Tang Ling stood up, bowed deeply, and left.

"Stop! I'm not finished!"

Tang Ling walked out of the side hall without looking back.

There was a bang in the room, and Princess Fifteen flipped the chessboard casually, and the chess pieces were scattered all over the place.

"Tang Ling!"

Outside the side hall, Zhang Suian had already been waiting for Tang Ling to come out: "Young Master Tang, the mansion given by His Majesty has been packed, and you will be able to move in soon."

"Thank you, Eunuch Zhang."

***

Another major event happened in the capital of Yuan Dynasty, and rumors spread in the streets and alleys overnight.

Zhou Guo's proton resisted the decree and refused to get married, and has been placed under house arrest by His Majesty in the new house. Chen and Zhou's discussions have increased rapidly, and it may be difficult to reach an agreement in the short term.

Another matter has been discussed many times in the court. Ninth Prince Qi Xiao has already been crowned king. After Concubine Lin died of illness, she should return to Fuzhou. His Majesty followed this matter for many days, and finally approved the Ministry of Rites to allow King Chu to leave Beijing on a certain day.

The guild hall was extremely busy that day, the two people in Yangxizhai and Huaxi Bieyuan were packing and moving, one was leaving Beijing, the other was moving, and they chose the same day.

Guan Cheng couldn't help but take a look at the almanac, everything is going well, it's really a good day.

On the official road at the foot of Chen Shanshan, Qi Xiao led a group of people walking on horseback. Compared with the large number of people walking slowly, Qi Xiao just wanted to ride the horse and gallop, the faster the better, but there were still people in their team. The accompanying carts of goods and a carriage couldn't run fast, so Qi Xiao couldn't get up fast either.

A carriage stopped beside the official road in the distance.

Qi Xiao lightly clamped the horse's belly, making the horse run faster, leaving behind the people behind and heading towards the carriage, so close that he couldn't wait for the horse to stand still, he got off the horse and ran towards the carriage.

The carriage was empty, there was no one there, as if it had been left here, not even a coachman.

Qi Xiao's heart tightened, something must have happened, right? !

The carriage was well tied to the side of the road, and there were no signs of fighting around or inside the carriage.

There are some footprints beside the carriage, which is not messy.

Qi Xiao calmed down slightly, it shouldn't be an attack.

"Here it is!"

Qing Lan's voice came from the forest on the side, Qi Xiao followed the sound, and there was a small steep slope on the other side of the official road. The towering white birch forest blocked Qi Xiao's sight, and he couldn't find anyone for a while.

Qi Xiao flew up the steep slope and drilled into the forest, and found a small path not far away, with traces of people walking, and the direction leading to it was the same as the direction from which Qing Lan's voice came.

Qi Xiao heaved a sigh of relief, they walked into the forest by themselves, but before finding Tang Ling, Qi Xiao couldn't help but feel restless and worried.

"Qi Xiao."

Tang Ling walked towards Qi Xiao from the other side of the path, but it was only a few feet away, Qi Xiao couldn't wait for him to walk slowly, and used his lightness kung fu to fly over and hug him.

"Worried you?" Tang Ling leaned on Qi Xiao's shoulder and laughed: "Waiting was boring, so I went into the forest to have a look.

You can see the official road from there, I didn't go far, I just waited. "

Following the direction Tang Ling pointed, both Qing Lan and Ye Huai hid behind the tree, avoiding them consciously.

Qi Xiao took a deep breath, hugged Tang Ling and said nothing.

"No one knows that I left Yuanjing, let alone with Ye Huai here, what can happen in the bright sky?"

When Tang Ling was assassinated in Hukou Gorge, the sky was bright and the sun was bright, and there was a whole team of Huwei army guarding around. It was not an accident, if it wasn't for Qi Xiao, Tang Ling would have died at that time.

Qi Xiao felt a little bored, and still didn't speak.

Although it was troublesome for Tang Ling to deal with His Majesty in Yuanjing, he was able to handle it with ease, at least it was safe, but it was extremely difficult and dangerous to join the army, and Qi Xiao was reluctant to part with it, so he agreed, but he regretted it as soon as Tang Ling's carriage left the guild hall, even if They planned carefully and acted carefully, and when they fought, their swords had no eyes. Qi Xiao might not be able to protect Tang Ling, but just thinking about it, he was terrified.

Tang Ling held Qi Xiao's face in her hands, and said softly: "I didn't think it was a terrible thing that I couldn't practice martial arts before, but now I realize that I am useless. Will I drag you down?"

"nonsense!"

Tang Ling smiled: "Don't make me feel like I'm your burden.

I need you to protect me, but I am not a waste that can only be carefully protected. "

"...I'm sorry..." Qi Xiao forgot, he wasn't, never was.

It's just that after Concubine Lin's accident, Qi Xiao was very worried about gain and loss.

"We still have some time, right? Let's go."

"where to?"

"It's late autumn, and the leaves in the white birch forest in Chenshan are yellow and glowing. Didn't you agree to watch it together?"

Qi Xiao was stunned, as if he had just realized that he was in the birch forest, and there was a golden field in front of him.

Tang Ling led Qi Xiao to climb up the mountain along the mountain path, and after walking for a while, everyone else disappeared, only the two of them were left in the dense forest, surrounded by towering birch trees, enclosing them in a quiet world, A mountain path seems to have no beginning and no end, just walking forward with one foot high and one foot low, the two of them walked slowly with their fingers interlocked, as if they could walk for a lifetime.

Qi Xiao never thought that he would have such a leisurely way to climb Chenshan, or he never thought that he would be able to come.

When accompanying Tang Ling to read the chronicles of mountains and rivers, Qi Xiao just casually said that he wanted to see the birch tree, and thought it should be a beautiful thing, so he made a wish, but he didn't expect that one day it would come true, and it came like this quick.

Qi Xiao held Tang Ling's hand tightly and followed his footsteps up the mountain.

Chen Mountain wasn't too high or steep, and they didn't really want to climb to the top of the mountain. Tang Ling was not working hard, and after a short walk, she began to breathe heavily.

"Tired? Shall I carry you?"

Tang Ling smiled: "I'm fine, this journey is called hard work, how can I survive after entering Fenglin Mountain?"

Qi Xiao held Tang Ling's hand tightly: "Nonsense."

"This is no nonsense.

If I pamper you so much, I will really be a drag on you.

In the Great Zhou Dynasty, Qi is the plain, and Chen is the Taihua River. I have never tried to climb mountains and mountains with my father in the past. I have to learn from now on to march and fight in the mountains and forests.

Besides, we are going to enter Fenglin Mountain before the heavy snow closes the mountain, and we have to spend the whole winter in the mountain. With my body, let alone marching, I am afraid that I will not be able to survive the winter. "

"Tang Ling! With Qinglan here, you will be fine."

Tang Ling pulled Qi Xiao forward, ignoring Qi Xiao's anxiety alone: ​​"It's almost here."

The birch trees in front of them were sparser, and soon they reached a hillside. Although they were still far from the top of the hill, they could still see a golden circle at the bottom of the hill, as if they were stepping on a whole piece of clouds.

"It must be more beautiful at dusk."

Tang Ling turned around and hugged Qi Xiao, and laughed, "Winter must be beautiful too."

"Tang Ling..."

Tang Ling looked up at Qi Xiao, smiled and said to him, "Kiss me."

Qi Xiao bowed his head and kissed him, like the sweetness in his heart, which could drown all the bitterness of the previous 17 years.

Tang Ling noticed that Qi Xiao seemed to have grown taller, and it was only a few months. The young man in front of him seemed to have changed a lot, but in fact he hadn't changed at all, but Tang Ling got to know him better and liked him more and more.

"Qi Xiao, we have already left Yuanjing City, there is something you have to promise me first."

"You said."

"This battle is about the common people in the world. Winning is not allowed to lose. If you want to be the leader of the army, you have to know that everyone who followed you into Fenglin Mountain entrusted their lives to you, and you have to bear them. life and death honor.

If there is such a moment, you have to make a choice, and my life doesn't matter. "

"Tang Ling!!"

"It's Ye Huai and Xing Luowei's duty to protect me, so you don't have to worry.

So, can you promise me? "

"...Tang Ling..."