Make peace with the Lord of the Prairie

Tuoba Hong's slightly lowered voice was mixed with misty smiles, probably because he had heard too many rumors, which made Ming Heng preconceived, and always felt that even the lazy and casual tone of the person in the pavilion revealed a serious meaning.

Seeing that he was too late to go, Tuobahong spoke again: "Your Highness, the scenery in the pavilion is very beautiful, why don't you come for a drink?"

"..." Mingheng sighed inwardly, and walked over resignedly.

He didn't take big steps, and walked extremely slowly on purpose. He thought that with Tuoba Hong's impatient temper, he would be somewhat impatient. Leaning lazily against the railing, a pair of eyes are moving with him.He seemed to be in a good mood, even the corners of his mouth were slightly raised, his two thin lips were lightly closed, and his lips were as red as fire.

Mingheng looked at Tuobahong carefully through the mask, but the more he looked, the more confused he became.Even if the man in front of him was wrapped in a fox fur coat, he couldn't hide his thin and well-proportioned tall figure, which was very different from the rumored image of a strong warrior with a strong back and a waist. Even the half of his face that was not covered by a mask was delicate and fair, with red lips and white teeth The appearance of her looks like a good girl, not the appearance that a rough man should have at all.

Although Tuobahong's whole appearance is covered by a mask, it is impossible to know, but the slim and tall figure alone is already pleasing to the eye and has an extraordinary temperament.

Ming Heng was astonished, he could no longer combine the man in front of him with the rumored brutal Tuoba Hong.Observing too carefully, I didn't realize that I had already entered the pavilion, and the distance from Tuobahong was one step away.

Tuoba Hong was still leaning on the railing, not intending to get up, slowly raised his head to meet Ming Heng's gaze, and asked with a smile: "Have you enjoyed watching it, Your Highness? But do you think this king looks pretty good too?"

"..." Ming Heng realized that he had lost his composure, and hurriedly apologized in a low voice, then took two steps back.

At this time, Tuobahong said unhurriedly: "If Your Highness likes to watch it, I will let you watch it every day when I get back. Is that good?"

"……"not good at all.Mingheng replied in his heart, keeping calm on his face, decided to pretend that he didn't hear this sentence, and changed the subject calmly: "Why did Da Khan invite me here?"

"It's nothing." Tuoba Hong stood up and took Ming Heng to sit down at the stone table in the pavilion, "I just want to invite Your Highness to taste the kumiss we kneaded."

It was only then that Mingheng noticed that there were two empty wine glasses and a silver wine jug on the stone table. The patterns on the jug should have been brought from Yerou, and a small plate of snacks.

Tuobahong picked up the jug and poured wine for the two of them: "The kumiss is warm in nature and not easy to get drunk. Your Highness can taste it to your heart's content."

"..."

For a moment, Mingheng was a little surprised.Unexpectedly, Tuobahong's eyes were so bright that he could easily hit his own weakness.

Anyone who is familiar with Mingheng knows that he likes to drink but he can't handle it well, so he doesn't dare to drink too much of the best wine.It was the first time he had seen kumiss. The color of this wine was different from that of clear sake. It was a rich white, and it could smell slightly sweet when you got close.As expected, Mingheng was immediately attracted by this strange color, and he was not polite to Tuobahong's invitation, he thanked him and took a sip of the wine kindly.

The taste of wine is very light and light, but it is rich in milk.After drinking, the lips and teeth are fragrant and the aftertaste is sweet.Mingheng put down the cup to savor it carefully, and was amazed by the novel taste all of a sudden, his eyes couldn't help but widen, and at the same time, there was a look of joy in his eyes, and then he raised his cup and drank the second mouth.

On the opposite side, Tuoba Hong rubbed the wine glass, observing Ming Heng's expression all the time, and when he saw him smile, he slowly raised the corner of his mouth to smile, and refilled the second glass after he finished drinking: "Do you still like it, Your Highness?"

Ming Heng nodded frankly: "It's a very special taste."

As soon as he finished speaking, he saw Tuobahong suddenly get closer, the gilt mask was almost close to his eyes, and the breath belonging to Tuobahong suddenly came from the tip of his nose, and at the same time, Tuobahong's chuckle was heard in his ears.

"There is plenty of kumiss in the grassland. When His Highness returns to the grassland with the king, you can drink as much as you want."

"..." If it wasn't for his reminder, Ming Heng was so immersed in the joy of discovering fine wine that he almost forgot that the man sitting across from him was only thinking about marrying him back to Ye Ruan.

As the saying goes, the hands are short, but the mouth is soft.He just drank the other party's two cups of kumiss, so he couldn't say anything at this time, so he could only pretend to be stupid and laugh twice.

However, Ye Rouren has always been straightforward, and he speaks up when he has something to say.Tuobahong didn't pay attention to Mingheng's reluctant and awkward smirk at all, and asked himself: "Your Highness, when will we get married?"

"Ahem!" Ming Heng choked on alcohol in shock.

"Why are you so careless." The culprit didn't seem to realize his problem, and said intimate words, and reached out to pat him on the back.

Ming Heng broke out in sweat, and hurriedly dodged to avoid it: "Don't worry about sweating, I can do it myself.

Fortunately, Tuobahong didn't insist, he sat back quickly, served him some desserts, and said: "This is a dessert made from mare's milk. Would you like to try it, Your Highness?"

Mingheng picked up a piece and tasted it, the taste was similar to kumiss, but the taste of alcohol was removed, so it was not bad, so he picked up another piece after eating one.

Seeing that he likes to eat, Tuoba Hong smiled lightly, and commented concisely: "Not bad."

"?" Mingheng didn't know why, what's good?

Tuobahong explained: "At first, I was worried that Ye Ruo would not get used to the food there after going down, but now it seems that at least there is no need to worry about food."

"..." Ming Heng really admired how Tuoba Hong could transfer every word he said to the matter of getting married, so he simply opened up and talked about it.

Mingheng put down the dessert, raised his head and looked at Tuobahong seriously, and asked seriously, "Khan, why did you choose me?"

Tuobahong was stunned for a moment, then lowered his head and smiled softly, and asked Yoyo, "Why can't it be you?"

"..." Why can't it be me?Is it because I'm a man, so many beautiful girls don't want me, but you must have me. Could it be that you are a broken sleeve?Ming Heng kept complaining in his heart, but he didn't dare to tell him.

Fortunately, Tuobahong didn't have to wait for an answer from him, seeing that he couldn't say it, he didn't insist any longer, and reached out to gently touch the hair that fell to his forehead, the gesture was very affectionate.

Mingheng's body was as stiff as a piece of wood, and he suppressed the discomfort in his heart so as not to let himself dodge.

Tuobahong poured him another glass of wine after fiddling with his hair, and comforted him in a slow voice: "Your Highness, don't worry, if you don't want to get married..."

"Are you going to give up?" Ming Heng couldn't wait to answer.

But Tuoba Hong shook his head, and slowly added the last half of the sentence: "Let's spend more time together. I believe that after we get along better, you will agree."

What an idiot!Ming Heng could no longer maintain his demeanor and elegance, the smile on his face faded, and his expression was not particularly good-looking.

Tuobahong pretended not to be aware of it, and continued to serve him refills and dishes with a smile.

It was already two hours after Ming Heng tasted desserts, Tuoba Hong refused to let him go, and half-forcibly invited him to have lunch at the embassy, ​​after lunch he said he wanted to go around the capital , so he asked Mingheng to go with him on the pretext that he was not familiar with Anling.

Ming Heng had no choice but to take Tuoba Hong around the capital for a whole day, and it was not until the sunset that Tuoba Hong sent him back to the palace.

Tuobahong's carriage stopped at the gate of the palace and did not go in. Mingheng and Tuobahong stayed for a whole day, and when they saw the familiar palace gate, they almost couldn't maintain the prince's demeanor and hurriedly got out of the carriage.

"Khan, thank you for your hospitality today. It's getting late, so let's go back to the embassy early to rest."

"You too, you must be tired after walking with me for so long." Tuoba Hong leaned half out of the carriage, ignoring the people coming and going around, took out a handkerchief from his arms and wiped it affectionately for Ming Heng. Wiped the sweat from his brow.

"..." Ming Heng stood motionless on the spot, and his expression remained calm, only the corners of his eyes twitched slightly.At the end of the day, Tuobahong kept making small movements, and whenever he had the opportunity, he made physical contact with himself in the name of wiping sweat, lifting hair, and supporting him.Ming Heng didn't hide, firstly because Tuobahong's actions were like wind, and his shots were like lightning, and Ming Heng often let him succeed before he could react, and secondly because... too many times, Ming Heng was already numb.

Tuoba Hong wiped Ming Heng's sweat, stuffed the handkerchief into his bosom, and said to Ming Heng with a smile: "Thank you for your company today, Your Highness, I had a great time, see you tomorrow."

"..." See you tomorrow, when did he agree!

Ming Heng yelled loudly in his heart, but the carriage had already left, and there was no chance for him to refuse.

"Your Highness," Qing Feng, who had been following Ming Heng and the others, came to him in his own carriage, obviously heard what Tuoba Hong said just now, looked at him sympathetically, and reminded, "Go back first. "

"Ah."

As soon as Mingheng returned to Chonghua Palace, the little fan who was left in the palace and failed to follow him posted over, asking warmly: "Your Highness, you are back? King Yerou didn't make things difficult for you, did he? Are you thirsty? Are you hungry? Hungry? Would you like some pastry pad first?"

Mingheng had dealt with Tuobahong for a whole day, but now he didn't want to say a word, he waved his hands feebly, and hurriedly sat down to rest.

The little fan quickly brought him a cup of tea, seeing his master's emaciated appearance, he felt distressed to death: "Your Highness, where have you been? Why are you so tired?"

Ming Heng drank two cups of tea in a row before he felt alive, and said with a long sigh of relief: "It's nothing, I just climbed the mountain with Tuoba Hong for a long time."

"Mountain climbing?" The little fan felt even more distressed when he heard it, and murmured, "What's wrong with this King Yerou, why did you think of climbing a mountain?"

Mingheng was also complaining in his heart, and he didn't care about the small fan's treason, but he really didn't want to mention Tuobahong again, so he ordered the palace people not to mention this matter again.

However, things backfired, as soon as his order was issued, Emperor Qianyuan's servant came to pass it on—Emperor Qianyuan urgently summoned His Royal Highness King Hui.

Mingheng was not surprised, Tuobahong sent him back with such a high profile, as the emperor, Emperor Qianyuan naturally knew about it right away.

Mingheng changed his clothes and went to the Imperial Study Room as a courtier.In the study, apart from Emperor Qianyuan, there is also Yuanxi.

After Mingheng went in, the palace man who brought him closed the door and left.He walked into the study and saluted first.

"My son sees my father."

"Get up." Emperor Qianyuan sat behind the imperial case, gave Mingheng a seat, and asked Yuanxi to serve him a cup of tea.

"Thank you, father-in-law." Ming Heng took a sip of the tea cup and put it down, quietly waiting for Emperor Qianyuan's question.

Sure enough, not long after, Emperor Qianyuan asked straight to the point: "I heard that you and Tuobahong went to Mount Li?"

Mingheng didn't dare to hide anything, and replied in a straightforward manner: "Yes, Tuobahong said that he had never seen the scenery of the capital and wanted to take a look, but he was not familiar with the terrain of the capital, so he asked Erchen to accompany him."

Emperor Qianyuan asked again: "What else do you do besides climbing mountains?"

Mingheng explained everything that he had done since he stepped into the embassy and what Tuobahong had done this day, but he concealed some ambiguous things that Tuobahong had said to him.

Emperor Qianyuan fell into a long silence after hearing this, and asked after a long time: "What do you think of Tuobahong?"

Ming Heng didn't answer immediately, and after lowering his head and thinking for a while, he answered cautiously: "Tuobahong seems to be somewhat different from the rumors."

"Oh? How do you say that?" Emperor Qianyuan leaned back in his chair and looked at him with interest.

Mingheng thought for a moment and replied: "Before I met Tuobahong, I always thought that he was a rough warrior just like the rumors. But after spending a whole day with him, I didn't see any recklessness in him. On the contrary, he speaks elegantly and eloquently, not like a warrior but like a literati."

Emperor Qianyuan smiled and said, "It sounds like you have a good impression of Tuobahong?"

"..." Mingheng was silent.

Frankly speaking, getting along with Tuoba Hong is generally quite comfortable.Tuobahong is a very complicated person. He has the boldness and ease of a prairie person, who speaks straight and without coyness, but also faintly carries the delicateness and elegance of a Central Plains person. He can always easily see his emotions at the moment, and then don't Make him happy with a little joke.

Tuobahong is not a simple and powerful warrior, his talent is also impressive.Although Ming Heng only met him once, during the conversation with him, he could clearly feel the extraordinary talent hidden under the peerless martial arts.

In fact, he should have realized earlier that if Tuoba Hong was a reckless man who only knew how to use force to suppress, how could he become king at a young age, and then use just three years to change the face of Ye Ruo, who was poor and weak at the time? , Become the king of the grassland today.

Maybe it's the connection between father and son, these thoughts of Mingheng are exactly the evaluation of Emperor Qianyuan for Tuobahong.

Tuobahong is the real lord of the grassland, the most powerful and dangerous wolf.It is best not to be an enemy of this kind of person, otherwise the final end may be to be eaten by him.

Therefore, since he said that he wants to get married, the sixth prince of Anling, it means that he is bound to win.

Thinking of this, Emperor Qianyuan couldn't help sighing, and looked at Ming Heng with more complicated eyes - although he didn't have much affection for this son, at least he was his own flesh and blood.When he first heard that Tuoba Hong was going to marry his son, his first reaction was anger.After all, Mingheng is still his son, the sixth prince of Anling, how can he marry like a woman.However, under the temptation of the north of Taze, the anger that was full of anger could not be vented in the end.

There is no emperor who does not want his kingdom to expand its territory and stretch for thousands of miles.At this point, Emperor Qianyuan's ambitions were even greater than those of his ancestors.It's a pity that the adjacent Ye Ruo is too powerful, as long as Tuoba Hong survives, this big bone will be hard to chew.

As time went by, Emperor Qianyuan's feelings about Ye Ruo became more and more complicated.In order to defend the territory, he had to treat him with a smile and maintain a friendly relationship with Ye Ruan; but in his heart, he couldn't give up the desire to conquer, and he always regarded him as the strongest enemy and was always on guard.

Ye Ruan did not hesitate to cede the north of Taze this time in order to get married, and finally made Emperor Qianyuan breathe a sigh of relief, because he felt that this would make Tuoba Hong shorter than him.

Therefore, out of emotion and reason, Emperor Qianyuan wanted to make this marriage, but he was afraid that it would be self-defeating and cause Mingheng's fierce resistance, so he dared not show it.

But in fact, how could Ming Heng not know what he was thinking, he also understood that this marriage is just a matter of time, he has no right to choose at all.It's just that he didn't want to accept his fate until the last moment, and maybe he felt guilty towards himself. Emperor Qianyuan, who had always been indifferent to him, had unexpectedly eased his attitude towards him these days, and talking to him was no longer a high-ranking boss. It's more about discussing and asking.

Every time Ming Heng saw Emperor Qian Yuan's worried look that hesitated to speak, he felt extremely happy, and simply took advantage of the twitching wind to accept the cautiousness of the people around him with peace of mind.

Regarding Tuobahong, Mingheng didn't say anything more, and Emperor Qianyuan didn't ask him what he thought of the marriage, and he asked him to go back after caring a few more words.

Mingheng left the imperial study room and slowly walked back to Chonghua Palace.On the way, I met the prince who was going to the royal study to face the saint.

"Sixth brother!" The crown prince stopped him from a distance, walked quickly to Ming Heng, and asked concerned, "I heard that you went to see Tuoba Hong today?"

"Yes." Ming Heng did not deny it.In fact, it is estimated that the meeting between him and Tuoba Hong has already been rumored at this time, and no one will buy it if he wants to deny it.

The prince asked: "What did Tuobahong ask you to go to the embassy for? He didn't make things difficult for you, did he?"

The prince's tone was sincere, and his expression was a little dignified, as if he was really worried, but Ming Heng didn't dare to believe it.He was assassinated in the Northwest that day, and he has not yet found the person behind the scenes, but he still has a heart for the genius doctor's words, "You might as well ask your brothers." He doesn't want to believe that it was his brothers who did it, but Well, his trip to the northwest was originally an unannounced visit, and no one in the court knew about it, so it couldn't be someone sent by officials.The father is even more unlikely, after thinking about it, he still put the target on a few brothers, and among them, the crown prince is the most suspected.

Emperor Qianyuan trusted the prince very much, and the prince would review all the memorials submitted by officials, and let him handle the ones that could be dealt with.Therefore, he should have read the memorial to impeach the prefect of Chengzhou.Even the decisions made by Emperor Qianyuan were discussed by the prince.Therefore, the crown prince should know about Mingheng's trip to the northwest.

It's just that he still doesn't want to believe that the prince secretly did it, because he can't find a reason for the prince to kill him.To this day, Ming Heng no longer wants to guess who is behind the scenes, but he has to guard against these brothers.

Therefore, regarding the prince's sincere or hypocritical concern, Ming Heng only said indifferently: "No."

"That's good," the crown prince pulled Ming Heng to prevent him from leaving, and continued, "I'm going to see my father."

Ming Heng wished that he would leave quickly, so he said: "Then brother of the crown prince should go over quickly, lest father be in a hurry."

"It's okay." The prince was not in a hurry at all, and he still had the heart to argue with Ming Heng, "Sixth brother just came back from the emperor's place."

Ming Heng nodded expressionlessly.

The prince asked: "What did the emperor tell you?"

"It's just some common words." Ming Heng was getting impatient.

The prince didn't seem to see Mingheng's getting worse and worse, and said to himself: "It should be because of Tuobahong's matter. Sixth brother, don't blame the emperor for hesitating, Yerou is powerful, and we can't get along with you for the time being." They fought each other with swords. Besides, the land north of Taze has always been a thorn in my father's heart. Tuobahong is willing to cede it for free this time. Anyone would be tempted. You have to understand the difficulty of your father. , Sixth brother."

Ming Heng lowered his eyes and raised the corners of his mouth: "I understand, everything is for An Ling."

Ming Heng left after saying this, and this time the prince did not keep him.

Watching Ming Heng's figure gradually walking away, the prince put his hands behind his back, slowly raised the corners of his mouth, turned and walked towards the imperial study.

Liu Fu, the chief eunuch of the Eastern Palace, was half a step behind him, leaning over and asked softly, "Your Highness, do you think His Highness King Hui will agree to a marriage?"

The crown prince shook his head, and said coldly: "It's just an unfavored prince, so it's not up to him whether he agrees or not to this matter."

On the other side, Tuobahong's carriage returned to the embassy in the evening after leaving the palace.

Ashinahan, who was staying at the embassy, ​​had been waiting at the door early in the morning.When Tuobahong got out of the car, he went up to meet him and whispered in his ear: "Big Khan, Mr. Xiaohe has been waiting in the house for a long time."

Tuobahong frowned, and asked in a low voice without moving his lips: "He came alone?"

"He came alone," Ashinahan said, "Master Xiaohe came in in disguise, and no one noticed."

Tuobahong nodded, stepped into the embassy, ​​and went straight back to the house.

Tuobahong pushed open the door, and the man in Tsing Yi in the room was drinking tea with his back facing his room.After waving his subordinates back, Tuoba Hong walked in alone, and closed the door by the way.

"Waiting for a long time? Why didn't you find someone to pass it on?" Tuobahong went to sit opposite the person and poured himself a cup of tea.

He Zexi pursed the corners of his mouth, his two sword eyebrows were furrowed tightly at this moment, and there was no trace of joy on his face.He didn't exchange pleasantries, and went straight to the topic: "Why do you want to get married?"

Tuobahong smiled softly, took a sip of tea and muttered in a low voice: "Finally can't hold back anymore?"

"I'm asking you, why do you want to get married!" Facing his beloved younger brother, He Zexi lost his tenderness for the first time. At this moment, his face was full of anger, as if he was about to scold him bloody at that moment, "You know I don't know what you're doing!"

"know."

"You see, don't you know that you are crazy!" He Zexi scolded angrily, "You actually want to cede Zeta for a Mingheng, aren't you crazy to do such a thing?"

Tuobahong accepted his brother's criticism calmly, and asked calmly: "You don't want me to marry Mingheng?"

"Why should I be willing?" He Zexi asked back, "Not only am I unwilling, but my father is also unwilling. If I hadn't stopped him these days, he would have rushed to the embassy to break your leg!"

Tuobahong smiled wryly, with an expression that I knew.

Seeing that his younger brother did not repent, He Zexi became even more impatient, and suddenly reached out and tore off the gilded mask on Tuobahong's face, held it up in front of him and asked angrily: "You have been wearing a mask since you were a child and dare not show your true face to others, isn't it just to hide yourself? Open your face, isn't it just to prevent Emperor Qianyuan from knowing your true identity. But what are you doing now? You want to marry his son back home! You want to let the prince of Anling know that Ye Ruo's lord is actually Wei Is it the second son of the Duke?"

Tuobahong hesitated and said: "Mingheng... even if he knew the truth, he would not tell Emperor Qianyuan."

"Why do you replace him? Do you think you know him well?" He Zexi also realized that his tone was harsh, closed his eyes, and tried to calm down, but, "Han Huan, you have been very assertive since you were young. My father and I have never interfered with your decision, but this time, you really messed up!"

Tuobahong held his forehead and smiled wryly: "Brother, I admit that I was indeed sloppy, but I can't help it. Mingheng, I must get it."

"Why," He Zexi sighed helplessly when he thought of the bad relationship between his younger brother and Ming Heng, "I didn't expect your feelings for him to be so deep."

"Not only because of this, but more importantly—" Tuobahong lowered his eyes, slowly caressed his slightly swollen belly through the fox fur coat, and said in a hoarse voice, "The child... cannot live without a father."

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