Fake concubine, real queen

Before the King Ke could react in the distance, an official in a green robe with a round collar walked past beside the emperor's chariot in front of him. When he took a closer look, it turned out to be the prince next to the Holy One. The prince smiled and walked up to Ke. Wang's side, and said something to him, the two turned around and walked towards the direction of the imperial chariot.

He just didn't take a few steps, but King Ke over there stopped again and looked back at He Gu who was on the horse.

He Gu was taken aback.

Although it was very short, He Gu could still see it clearly. The coldness between King Ke's eyebrows eased a little, and he showed him a gentle smile, then quickly turned his head back, and followed the prince to find the emperor.

The sky is clear and the air is clear, the wind is gentle, and the beauty smiles at him from a distance——

After recognizing his own intentions, he was a little nervous when he saw the Third Highness He Gu, not to mention he smiled at him like this, the mind of Lord He Xiaohou was a little stunned by King Ke's smile for a while, and kept buzzing buzzing.

For a while he felt that he didn't know where he was, and for a while he felt a little more confident in his heart, and he felt confident.

Haohao Tangtang's guard of honor, after traveling for a day, finally arrived at the vast grassland where the Xishan Bow Horse Conference was held. The crowd and horse team began to settle down one after another and set up camp.

When everything was ready to stop, it was already the bright moon hanging high, half of the long night was over, and He Gu was tired from tossing around. The two of them shared a tent, and he and He Cheng arranged in the same tent. The son-in-law was trusted by the emperor, so naturally this tent was also taken care of by the emperor. It was arranged in a position close to the emperor's tent, and as soon as He Gu just lay down, he fell asleep and had a dreamless night, very sound and sweet.

He woke up early the next day, had a good night's rest, slept soundly and refreshed, but it was the first time for He Cheng to live in such a tent, obviously he was not used to it, and he didn't know when he rested last night , At this moment, he is still sleeping in the dark, and the personnel are not awake.

He Gu was not in a hurry to wake him up, he just got up and cleaned up. The place where he was stationed was very close to the Chenghe River, and it was very convenient to get water in the morning. For this trip, I asked Lan Xiao to choose good cloth from the silk and satin shop, tailor-made new clothes, the dark blue satin surface has a faint brilliance, the hunting suit made of this material is the most comfortable, the most close-fitting, and the best Look, it stretches well, and a horse can cost more than a hundred gold. In the past, He Gu was not extravagant, and he was never willing to wear such expensive materials. After all, he still had to save money for the Third Highness, but today he solemnly exchanged it. up.

As soon as He Cheng woke up in a daze, he saw his elder brother standing in front of the water basin, looking back and forth looking at himself in pity.

Gu Ying should be narcissistic.

He Cheng: "..."

He Gu heard the sound of him waking up, turned around and smiled at him, and said, "How about it, my clothes aren't bad, are they?"

He Xiaohou is wearing a dark blue satin riding suit, with narrow waist and narrow sleeves. The waist of a young man is already vigorous and powerful, containing infinite vitality and vigor. Today he put on a high ponytail and saved a Bai Yuguan, talking and laughing, looking forward and looking forward, is vivid.

He Cheng said sincerely, "It's pretty."

He said again: "Brother is dressed like this today, but he wants to win a lottery in front of the saint. Is it better to use it? But I remember that the first three days of the bow and horse meeting are not all celebrations, the martial arts competition has not started yet?"

He Gu smiled and said, "I dress up like this, not for the sake of being useful, but because I'm going to meet someone today..."

Paused, but did not continue.

He is a broken sleeve, and he has the idea of ​​being the prince of the dynasty... It's better not to tell He Cheng about this kind of thing. Scholars may be like the second brother Wang, who can't tolerate sand in their eyes. I'm afraid He Cheng won't be so easy to accept...

Alas, this will be a problem in the future, but today, he is not sure whether he can embrace the beauty, or be rejected, or wait for King Ke's approval, and then talk to brother Cheng.

Anyway, it will be said sooner or later, the incense of the He family can only be counted on Brother Cheng in the future.

He Cheng didn't know what he was thinking, but he looked at him furiously, and was about to ask a question, He Gu said: "Such a good dress, I'll ask Miss Xiao to arrange it later, and make you a suit, so that you can wear it right after the curtain. Tea, don’t let other girls dislike me, thinking that our family is shabby.”

He Cheng knew that his eldest brother was worrying about his marriage recently, but he had never heard it mentioned by He Gu. He couldn't help but blush at this moment, and said: "Big brother..."

He Gu thought about it very seriously, and said: "I have taken care of two young ladies for you, one is the eldest daughter of Xuanhuai Boyan's family, she is educated and reasonable, decent and generous, one year older than you; Si Commander Feng's youngest daughter is lively and cheerful, and she is two years younger than you. I have visited these two elders, and they are both reasonable and love their daughters. I have also made an agreement with them. Let's find a date. I asked you to have tea with the two young ladies across the curtain, so you can see for yourself which one is better. Nervous, why does a man have to worry about not having a wife? Brother Cheng is not in a hurry now, if there is a relationship or not, and when the time comes, you will know after reading it."

During the founding years of Taizu, the folk customs of Da Yue Dynasty were very open and open. Marriages of men and women would arrange a "tea meeting across the curtain". If the conversation is pleasant and agrees with each other, the man can give the girl a hairpin as a gift. The man's family can give the woman two pieces of high-quality colored silk, which is called "suppression".

It's just that in recent years, the folk atmosphere has become more conservative again. There are not many families who are so open-minded and willing to let their young children see each other. Only noble generals retain this tradition.

The two ladies that He Gu favored for He Cheng were indeed from the general family. It wasn't that he didn't want to find a talented woman from a scholarly family and well-read poetry for He Cheng, but Qingliu really didn't want to be with He Cheng. He Gu could only settle for the second-best if he was afraid of causing gossip for such an honorable family--

After all, He Cheng is a man anyway, so he wouldn't be chased and beaten by his wife after marriage, right?

He Cheng was silent for a while, and suddenly said in a low voice: "But I'm a useless person, I don't know if my eyes can be fully healed...I'm really willing to take the jewel in my family..."

Seeing his appearance, He Gu felt a little distressed, so he quickly comforted him, told him not to think too much, and said: "Brother Cheng's life experience, when the case was tried by the yamen of Bianjing Prefecture, the honorable nobles in Beijing You know, I didn't hide the matter of your eyes when I visited, and they also knew, so they didn't say much, Brother Cheng, don't worry too much, Dr. Yan's medical skills are superb, your eyes will definitely get better."

After speaking, he smiled loudly, patted He Cheng on the shoulder and said, "That's why I listened to Dr. Yan's words and asked you to come and see the mountains and rivers, so that your eyes will heal soon, change clothes and wash quickly, today is a celebration On the first day, the Horse Bow Conference was really fun!"

He Cheng's voice was a little muffled "Mmm", but he tried his best to cheer up his spirits, got up, changed his clothes and washed his hands.

After tidying up and using the goat milk and roasted meat buns brought by the accompanying attendants for breakfast, the two brothers opened the curtain of the tent. , like rouge with a hint of crimson, the morning light gradually became brighter from Xi Wei, and a beautiful day began like this.

The school grounds on the grassland have already been set up. The imperial tent of the emperor is at the top. On the endless grassland, a long pole is erected at intervals. The banner above the emperor's tent is bright yellow, which is particularly conspicuous.

He Gu pulled He Cheng to sit down. Not long after, the emperor and empress sat in the imperial tent, surrounded by the palace people surrounded by stars. If you come today, those who can sit near the emperor's imperial tent, In addition to family members such as He Gu, there are princes, King Ke, and several important generals in the court, such as Wei Ning Bowen Xiuming, Ji Hong, commander of the fifth division of the capital, and Li Qiushan, commander of the Xuanji Twelve Guards. and others.

It's just that when He Gu saw Yan Zhiya standing beside the queen, he was still slightly startled——

He knew that His Majesty brought the Empress Empress to relax at the Horse Bow Conference, but he didn't know that the Empress Empress actually brought Miss Yan with her...

It seems that during the half a year he was not in Beijing, Miss Yan has probably gained the trust of the empress, and she has become the empress's personal doctor, so if she goes out this far, His Majesty must be worried about the empress's body. Only then will she be allowed to accompany her.

That's good, after all, they are all their own people, it's better than letting some people with ulterior motives stay by the empress's side.

The emperor stood up, held up the silver cup containing kumiss, smiled and said a few words and congratulations, the ministers and the banquet stretched far away, and the nobles and young disciples who couldn't see clearly were also like a wave , stood up, toasted and said respectfully: "Your Majesty, the country will last forever, and the sun and the moon will last forever. Please thank you."

He Gu also drank the kumiss.

Then everyone sat down one by one, the emperor turned his head to look at the crown prince sitting at the bottom, and said with a smile: "It's rare that Yuan'er is here today. In previous years, the horse bow and horse meeting was the first prey I took in this ritual, and I shot the first one. One arrow, today I will give you a chance to win the jackpot for me, how about it? Is Yuan'er sure about it?"

Hearing the words, the crown prince quickly stood up, lowered his head and cupped his hands, and said, "Thank you father, emperor Long En, I will definitely try my best."

He walked from behind the case to the school yard, and took a longbow and an arrow with colorful bird feathers on the tail handed over by the internal officer.

The crown prince nodded to the inner officer next to him, and the inner officer saw this and shouted loudly into the distance: "Let go!"

Sure enough, in the school yard more than a hundred paces away, a palace man released an antelope, the beast had a red silk around its neck, and it only took two breaths to run seven or eight paces away.

He Gu was startled——

If he remembers correctly... Aren't the big prizes at the bow and horse meeting all because of the embarrassment of the emperor's old age and blindness, and the embarrassment of not being able to shoot?Why is this one so lively and full of energy this year?

It wasn't just He Gu who was puzzled in his heart, that surnamed Ji, acting as the commander of the five divisions of the Imperial Army in Beijing, looked a little strange——

On such a grand occasion, a grand event held every three years, the emperor gave the crown prince such an opportunity to perform. In addition to the courtiers and distinguished talents, there are also several northern Yi tribe leaders who are vassals of the Dayue Dynasty. If Pei Zhaoyuan is a dignified The prince of the East Palace, in front of so many people, shot crookedly, that would be a great shame.

Ji Hong knew very well that although His Majesty has always valued the Prince's bow and horse riding skills, His Royal Highness has followed his wife's family, the Chen family, and is good at reading and writing, but this martial art is really not passable, not to mention that he has no talent at all. Well, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince himself doesn't like to practice. In the past, the emperor's inspections were all improvised and tricked.

But with so many pairs of eyes today, how easy is it to fool them?

The prince was obviously also nervous.

His demeanor has always been smiling, calm and friendly, but now the smile is on his face, his cheeks are trembling slightly, and a thin layer of sweat is dripping from his forehead. Pei Zhaoyuan tried his best to aim at that damned alive and kicking dog Antelope, but he has said that he has not touched the bow and set the arrow for at least two or three months. Before that, he never thought that Junfu would bring him to the bow and horse meeting. Naturally, he never put his heart into practicing. Although he found out later, he hugged him urgently I have mastered Buddha's feet, but my kung fu is not perfect after all, so it is not solid at all, and now I have to shoot such a live target that is moving around and so far under the eyes of everyone, and the psychological pressure is naturally different from that of ordinary days——

But he has been aiming for too long, the arrow is on the string, and he has to shoot.

Pei Zhaoyuan gritted his teeth, and finally opened his bow and arrow.

"Whoosh" sound.

Missed.

Everyone just watched the arrow shot by the crown prince, which happened to miss the antelope's neck by less than a few inches, and the antelope was still alive and kicking in the distance.

There was a dead silence on the field.

This scene was so embarrassing that everyone dared not show their anger.

The smile on the emperor's face on the throne gradually faded away, and his complexion became pale, neither sad nor happy.

The prince grasped the handle of the horn bow so hard that his knuckles were turning white. He quickly walked back to Junfu's royal case, lifted his clothes and knelt down and said, "I... I am not good at bowing and horses, and I didn't shoot well. In the process, my son is convicted."

If the prince didn't understand what he said, he might still feel that it seems a bit heavy after hearing what he said. It's just that he missed the shot. What kind of crime is it?

But the first arrow of this bow horse meeting has a meaning and is to win the prize. If the first arrow fails to hit, it will be a first-class bad luck in any year, and it is completely unlucky.

So the crown prince pleaded guilty, but in fact he was considered astute, and took the blame himself before his imperial father got angry.

But the emperor was not angry.

He glanced at the kneeling prince indifferently, and said: "Forget it, let's be flat, it's not your fault, I forgot that Yuan'er doesn't like horseback riding and shooting."

He said again: "The first arrow still needs to be shot, how about this, Heng'er, go and try."

King Ke paused for a moment, glanced at the prince who still hadn't stood up, and was still kneeling. After a long while, he stood up and cupped his hands and said, "Your servant obeys the order."

He walked down and stopped beside the prince without making a sound, only helped the prince up, lowered his head and gave him a slight salute, and then received a new set of bows and arrows from the palace man.

He didn't dawdle or hesitate for a long time, he just opened the bow and set the arrow neatly, and he didn't even seem to aim at all, so he quickly let go of the feathered arrow.

Although it took only a short moment for King Ke to shoot the feathered arrow from the bow, He Gu was sitting in the distance, but he still saw the side face of King Ke when he held his breath and concentrated in his eyes——

This is so beautiful!

Lord He Xiaohou’s heartfelt reflection——

Why was he so obsessed with it before?

Why is he not like this, he has appreciated it well, why does he lack a pair of eyes to discover beauty——

Even though he has become a man, His Highness's bowl of soft rice seems to be a bit delicious...

I don't know how the Third Highness will respond to him tonight. If he agrees, then...then...

Otherwise, in this life, it is better to leave the second highness a little life, so that in the future, even if the third highness and him break their sleeves, won't the second highness's child inherit the throne of his family?

The problem is not big.

He Xiaohou was traveling thousands of miles away, but there was an antelope screaming in the distance. He turned his head and saw the antelope was hit by an arrow in its front foot, and it was falling to the ground, struggling unceasingly.

This... This was not directly shot to death, the sheep was still kicking its legs on the ground, struggling like this, and the internal officials in the distance couldn't directly hold it to announce the good news to the emperor. It was really a dilemma for a while.

King Ke turned around and knelt down and said: "My son is not good at shooting, and he missed the mark. Please punish him."

Seeing this, Li Qiushan, the commander of the Twelve Guards of Xuanji, smoothed things over and said: "Your Majesty, although he didn't hit the target, His Royal Highness King Ke was shot anyway. Now that the lottery has been won, there is no need to punish His Highness the Crown Prince and His Royal Highness Ke, right? "

The emperor's expression didn't seem to be very happy, he just snorted and didn't answer.

Everyone knew that in such a situation, it would be a ghost for the emperor to be happy. He brought two of his three sons to the bow and horse meeting, but two of them were useless, making His Majesty lose it in front of outsiders. face--

But having said that, many generals present also saw that something was wrong. His Highness the Crown Prince's action just now was indeed useless, but His Highness King Ke seemed to have done it on purpose, deliberately not hitting the target.

Warriors have sharp eyesight, they have dealt with bows and horses all year round, and they can tell that they have some skills with just one action of raising the bow, pulling the string, and flipping on the horse, so they can also see that King Ke has reservations.

As for why he did this—

Presumably it was to save some face for the eldest brother, the crown prince...

It can be regarded as being kind-hearted and sympathetic to my brother.

Someone smoothed things over, seeing that this scene was about to be revealed, but unexpectedly, not far from the imperial tent, a girl's crisp voice came from the audience.

"It is said that the Yue Dynasty is the kingdom of heaven, and His Majesty the Emperor is unparalleled in martial arts. Why does His Majesty's prince only have such abilities?"

Everyone was so scared that their scalps went numb. Turning their heads, they saw a girl from the Yi nationality with deep eyebrows and outlines, big eyes flashing and flickering, red lips, and a good-looking person. Sitting next to her It was a fat man of the Yi nationality who looked like the leader of an unknown tribe. After hearing what his daughter said, his face turned green with fright, and he quickly covered her mouth.

It's a pity that it was too late, and all that should be said has been said.

The fat man had no choice but to come out and kneel down with a bitter face, wanting to cry without tears, and kowtowed to the imperial tent repeatedly, saying: "Please don't be angry, Your Majesty, Duo Muqi is only 12 years old this year, she doesn't understand anything, and she is young and angry." Sheng, you don't know the heights of the sky and the earth, and you talk nonsense, I will punish her severely when I go back."

Perhaps his attitude of admitting his mistake was quite good, but the emperor was really not very angry. He just smiled and said, "It doesn't matter, it's just a little girl's words. King Khan doesn't have to be so nervous, and I won't bother with her."

He looked down at the little girl again and said: "You are the daughter of King Hupeng Han, I have countless brave generals in the Great Yue Dynasty, today is just a grand meeting celebration, the competition has not yet started, you can look at it later, don't be so easy assertion."

Unexpectedly, the little girl named Duo Muqi blinked her eyes, but continued to say boldly: "Really? Is His Majesty the Emperor lying to me? Father Khan said that he would marry me to a warrior from the Yue Dynasty, but If they are all soft-footed sheep, Duo Muqi would rather die than marry."

As soon as she said this, the emperor was still there, but King Kupeng Khan was so frightened that he rolled his eyes and passed out. He wanted to explain, but he didn't know how to speak, and his two thick lips kept trembling. , the emperor was not angry, he only raised his eyebrows, and said with a smile: "Oh? Is King Khan planning to choose a son-in-law at our dynasty's bow and horse meeting? Why didn't you tell me earlier?"

Hu Peng hurriedly said: "Xiao Wang just had an idea, who would have known that this girl Duo Muqi would... actually..."

The emperor waved his hand and said with a smile, "That's all, King Khan is at peace, don't be so nervous."

After this episode passed, the celebration finally officially began.

He Gu was thinking about what happened at night, and he couldn't see those bearded girls dancing, let alone a group of elders performing drums. He took advantage of the opportunity to leave the banquet while everyone was drinking, and passed through like a loach. The crowd finally reached the king's tent under the emperor's tent.

Sitting in the king's tent is naturally His Royal Highness Ke.

He had already prepared a note for Pei Zhaoheng, and asked him to meet him at the bonfire party after the evening celebration. Now, as long as it is given to him, he can wait for him by the river at night.

Master He Xiaohou couldn't help swallowing his saliva——

After a long while, he bravely opened the back curtain of Wang's tent and got in.

The sitting back of His Highness the Third Highness is also very tall and straight. He has a good body that makes people can't help but think about what his front looks like just by looking at his back.

Just as He Gu came up behind him and wanted to poke him, King Ke immediately seemed to feel something, grabbed He Gu's wrist without looking back, and pulled it hard——

The space in the king's tent was small, and He Gu was a little unprepared for a moment, so he fell straight forward. Fortunately, he had quick eyesight and quick hands, and his left arm supported the front, but he only supported Gui, but he was a little embarrassed when he raised his head.

Pei Zhaoheng obviously also found out who this sneaky guy came in from behind, he was startled, and said: "...Zihuan? You..."

Fortunately, the case is quite high, and the performance in the field is also very exciting, so the empress in the imperial tent and the prince in the opposite tent are not paying attention here, and no abnormalities have been noticed.

He Gu coughed dryly, and his embarrassment was so embarrassing for a moment that his face turned red. Fortunately, he remembered the business, and hurriedly stuffed the small note into Pei Zhaoheng's hand, and said, "...Your Highness will know after reading it."

When he pulled his hand back, He Gu accidentally touched the fingertips of His Highness the Third Highness's fingertips. His heart jumped suddenly, and his face couldn't help getting hotter. He was about to run away from the entrance of the back curtain of the king's tent. way, so as not to be discovered——

But when he was half-climbing and half-supporting to stand up, he suddenly saw a very familiar piece of suet jade lying on the ground in the tent.

He Gu's mind went blank for a while, and when he came back to his senses, his pupils narrowed slightly, it was unbelievable——

This...how could this thing be here? ? ?

Pei Zhaoheng also seemed to have noticed what he was looking at. He looked down at the piece of jade, was slightly taken aback, then picked up the piece of jade, and made a gesture to put it back into his sleeve.

He Gu grabbed him and said, "Wait..."

Pei Zhaoheng was obviously a little surprised by him, and asked, "What's wrong?"

He Gu said: "This... this jade belongs to His Highness?"

Pei Zhaoheng said: "Not bad."

He Gu said: "Then...when did His Highness get it? I used to...why have I never seen His Highness wearing it?"

Pei Zhaoheng said: "When my sister and I were born, we were born with this jade in our mouths. It was just a moment of carelessness, and I couldn't find it for some reason. I lost it for more than a year, and it was not until a few days ago that it was found again in Qingyu. I found it under the bed in the palace."

After he finished speaking, seeing He Gu staring at him blankly without saying a word, he was slightly puzzled and asked, "Why, but what's wrong?"

He Gu was still staring at him, and after a while he managed to squeeze out a few words, "It's you..."

"……Is it right?"