Raising Wolves

Under Duan Lingguang's persuasion, after the fifteenth day, Lu Qing stayed in Lin'an for another two days, then bid farewell to Duan Lingguang and the little donkey who had been with him for several years, and took the beauty master named Qian Mingming with him, On the grounds of visiting relatives, he mixed with a caravan going to the capital and set off.

The closer you are to the capital, the more rumors about the capital along the way. Lu Qing deliberately avoided the news of the capital for several years, and now it is very difficult not to hear it or not.

Many rumors are still related to his acquaintances.

For example, Jinyiwei is a big bully, and the commander of Jinyiwei Zheng Yao is as fierce as a bandit, killing people without blinking an eye, and can stop children from crying at night. It is said that two officials who hated him got together at night and called him a vicious dog raised by the emperor. The next day, Jin Yiwei knocked on the door.

Another example is Mr. Fan, who entered the cabinet at a young age. Mr. Fan was promoted by his father-in-law. It was a good talk, but now his relationship with his father-in-law is getting worse. One matter was related, and Feng Ge's son was beheaded because of this case.

Another example is General Shi, who inherited the legacy of General Shi, and guarded Mobei. The young general is reticent, but has strong martial arts skills. At that time, many people were able to see it, and they all sighed that the little general is really more and more like a general.

Lu Qing was always a little dazed when he heard these familiar names, feeling a little strange.

During the discussion, there were naturally some veiled mentions of the young emperor, but the closer to the capital, the fewer people dared to talk about Ning Juan.

After all, the place under the emperor's feet is different from the Lin'an mansion, every slight and slight disturbance will be discovered, if you dare to speak falsely about the emperor, aren't you afraid that Jin Yiwei will come to your door?

When the caravan stopped to rest, Lu Qing stayed on the horse and seldom got off. Hearing people chatting about the anecdote of the emperor and the hexagram divination by a Taoist priest, he couldn't help but lift the curtain and interjected. : "Everyone travels all over the world, don't you know if you know something?"

The people in the caravan were quite friendly, maybe Duan Lingguang had greeted them, and when they heard Lu Qing, they all responded, "Ask."

Lu Qing thought about it for a while: "Did Your Majesty recruit monks and Taoists into the palace?"

It was still hard for him to believe that Ning Juan would do such a thing.

Hearing him addressing His Majesty directly, everyone turned pale with shock: "My lord, you can't call the Son of Heaven like that, be careful not to let Jin Yiwei passing by hear you."

"I seem to have heard of this incident, but I don't know if it's true or not. After all, it's something in the palace..."

"I happened to pass by the capital back then, and I did see Taoist monks coming to the capital, but I don't know what they were doing. Anyway, it was rumored by the people, just for fun."

There are different opinions about this matter, and it is not clear why.

Lu Qing saw that they were not clear either, thanked them with a smile, and put down the curtain.

Although Lu Qingze wore a bamboo hat all the way and couldn't see his face clearly, the few people who spoke to him somehow felt that this frail-looking nobleman must be very good-looking, so they discussed him quietly for a while.

When approaching Gyeonggi, Lu Qingze and Qian Mingming bid farewell to the caravan and went to the suburbs of the capital by themselves.

Qian Mingming was very curious about Lu Qingze's identity, but when Duan Lingguang was around, he didn't dare to ask. Before, there were too many people in the caravan, so it was hard to ask. Now there are only two of them, so he couldn't help asking: "Lu Qingze Young master, I hear your accent, it looks like a person from the capital, why do you have to be so cautious when you return to the capital, did you offend some important person?"

With such a pretty face, it is a waste of money to have to paint it so ordinary!

Offended a big shot?

Lu Qing smiled peacefully: "Forget it."

Before leaving, didn't he just offend a group of dignitaries and ministers in the capital, as well as His Majesty the Emperor.

Qian Mingming pondered in his heart, it seems that he probably has a life-and-death enmity.

He secretly glanced at Lu Qingze's looming face under the bamboo hat, and suddenly his heart moved again, and he said sincerely: "But Mr. Lu, I don't think there is anyone in this world who really hates you."

Unless he is blind.

I don't know where Qian Mingming's confidence came from, but Lu Qing smiled: "I accept your good words."

Arriving near Gyeonggi, the defense is obviously much stricter.

The two were riding horses, while Lu Qing was in poor health, Qian Mingming's equestrian skills were average, and his speed was a bit slower, and he only rushed to the suburbs of Beijing when it was almost nightfall.

Looking from here, you can vaguely see the brightly lit, majestic and prosperous Yanjing.

There are many people and things that Lu Qingze is familiar with.

Lu Qing silently stared in the direction of the capital for a while, wondering what Ning Juan was doing in Qianqing Palace at the moment.

Based on previous estimates, Ning Juan should have just finished his dinner and digested his food at this moment, so he returned to the South Study Room to continue reviewing the memorials and dealing with state affairs.

It is also possible that several ministers were summoned to discuss an important matter.

Your Majesty, who was an impulsive young man back then, must have grown calm and mature.

What will it look like?

Lu Qing sketched Ning Juan's eyebrows in his heart, but it was still a little vague.

In the past few years, he would dream of Ning Juan from time to time. In his dreams, the boy was always standing alone on a tall building, looking at the bright moon hanging in the sky with a cold face, looking very lonely and lost.

Every time he dreams of Ning Juan, after waking up from the dream, Lu Qing is always absent-minded for a long time, thinking about everything in the dream, and then shaking his head.

It has been Ning Juan's long-cherished wish for many years to hold the world power in his hands.

Now that he will no longer be ridiculed and bullied, he should be happy.

Qian Mingming squinted his eyes and looked forward, saw what was there, overjoyed: "There is an inn over there, Mr. Lu, let's go there to rest!"

Lu Qingze's mood was inexplicably complicated and gloomy. He hummed lightly, looked away, followed Qian Mingming, and went into the inn to ask for two rooms.

After driving tiredly for a long time, he was finally able to lie down on the bed. Qian Mingming was very happy, kneading his sore arms, and whispered: "I heard from my boss, Mr. Lu, you are here to visit an old friend. When are you going to go?"

His appearance somehow reminded Lu Qingze of Chen Xiaodao.

When he left back then, in order not to involve Chen Xiaodao, he didn't tell him the plan. Presumably Chen Xiaodao was also very sad at that time.

Lu Qing sighed silently in his heart, and smiled slightly: "Wait a few more days."

Right now is a good time for spring, there are many men and women in the suburbs of Beijing, and there are many people worshiping General Shi, but Lu Qing doesn't want to bump into too many people.

It's fine that you don't need to leave immediately, Qian Mingming happily entered the wing room, ready to take a good rest: "Mr. Lu, you should rest early, it's really cold in the north, don't let the evil wind enter your body, you'll catch the wind and cold."

Lu Qing watched Qian Mingming get into the house helplessly, without even a chance to stop him.

I don't know if it's because of his bad luck, as long as he hears the words of "don't suffer from the cold", then he will probably get sick.

Lu Qing turned around and entered the wing room, pinching his forehead.

It's not that bad luck, is it?

The two stayed in the inn for a few days, listening to the recent anecdotes from the guests.

The most eye-catching thing is that the civil strife in Tatar is over.

Three years ago, the old Khan got up from the hospital bed and fought with the third prince who took over the power in Fanfu's loving son's nest, and now the fight is finally over.

No matter how brave the old Khan was, he was still an old goshawk, unable to flap his wings, and couldn't compete with his young son.

This civil strife ended with the old Khan "falling ill" again, and the third prince regained power.

It is clear that he can ascend to the throne by himself, and I don't know what the third prince thinks, maybe he has a conscience that has not faded away, and he didn't kill his father, but still let him stay in the position of Khan.

The civil strife in Tatar was over, and the internal vitality was seriously injured. For a long time, they didn't have the strength to jump up again and invaded the border of Daqi.

People near the capital talked about state affairs much more eloquently than people in other places.

Lu Qing came down to drink tea every day, and listened to the chats of passers-by in the inn, which was quite interesting.

In addition, there is another matter that has caused some controversy. His Majesty has set up the position of female officer in the court and appointed a female officer.

This is the first female official since the founding of Da Qi Dynasty.

When Lu Qing let women enter the school, he was pointed at the bridge of the nose by the Confucian scholars and scolded him. He felt that this was corrupting the atmosphere, and it was too difficult to write.

Because of this incident, the capital has been very lively recently.

Lu Qing didn't think that Ning Juan was influenced by him to choose a woman as an official.

His Majesty the Emperor probably simply thought that if this person could be used, then he would use it.

This is also a problem that Lu Qingze only discovered after he left the capital.

During the years when he taught Ning Juan, Ning Juan did listen to him very much, but in fact, Ning Juan's inner character did not change much because of him, but he was very good at disguising in front of him, which made him think that Ning Juan was serious Very harmless.

It was obviously the wolf who shrank its paws and hid its fangs, pretending to be an innocent and pitiful puppy in front of him.

After observing the passers-by for a few days, Lu Qing successfully waited for two little beggars who were about to sneak into the capital.

He bought some food, put on a bamboo hat, treated the two little beggars to a full meal, gave them a few taels of silver, and gave them some gentle instructions: "...can it be done?"

The two little beggars seldom had enough to eat. Seeing that there was still money to take, they naturally nodded hurriedly: "Yes, sir, don't worry, there is nothing we can't spread!"

Lu Qing smiled and nodded.

He was still not at ease with the private soldiers raised by Ning Cong. According to Ning Juan's temper, if he found out that something was wrong with Ning Cong, he would have taken action a long time ago. How could he let Ning Cong continue to expand.

One of the limitations of this era is that it is difficult to circulate information. He was worried that the news would not reach Ning Juan's desk until Ning Cong really rebelled.

Using the mouths of these little beggars to spread the news about Ning Cong to the capital will always arouse some vigilance first.

After waiting for a few days, there were not so many people outing in the lively suburbs. Lu Qing asked Qian Mingming to change his appearance, and went to the tomb of General Shi with two cans of wine alone.

Shi Rongfeng's tombstone was kept very clean, and people would come to enshrine it from time to time.

Lu Qing first burned two sticks of incense for the general, and then burned some paper, then patted the mud seal on the wine jar, and said with a smile: "General, I'm here to bring you wine."

The spring is cold, the slightly cold spring breeze is blowing, and the mellow aroma of the wine is pervasive, as if General Shi is really tasting this bowl of wine.

"Back then you chose to believe in His Majesty. If you had a spirit, you would not be disappointed with your choice when you see Daqi now."

Lu Qing raised the wine jar, sprinkled the wine on the side of the tomb, and opened another jar of wine, asking General Shi to drink it: "Although it is not as strong as Mobei's wine, it is also a carefully selected old wine. Good wine."

After finishing speaking, he got up slowly: "I am surprised by Xi Ce's growth, but you should know it before me. If there is a chance, I would like to see him again-but now is not the time, I should go back I'll come again next time, I don't know when it will be."

He talked for a while before leaving the tomb and walking slowly towards the inn.

During the Qingming Festival, there are many people who come here to worship. Occasionally, if someone meets someone on the road, they will not pay much attention to him if they glance at him.

Under Qian Mingming's tricks, Lu Qing now had a face that could only be regarded as handsome, and was dressed in a very ordinary green dress. At most, he had a good temperament and was not eye-catching.

Lu Qing was thinking, why not stay for two more days, wait for the two little beggars to spread the word, and then he will check the wind direction in Beijing before leaving to see the situation.

Just as he was thinking, he suddenly heard a cry of an eagle in the sky, and the sound of flapping wings came from far and near, something ferocious jumped down!

Lu Qing quickly retreated without hesitation, but the thing didn't really jump down. He raised his head in astonishment, and saw a majestic and handsome Hai Dongqing.

That sea dongqing folded its wings, stopped on a big tree in front, looked down at him condescendingly, tilted its head, seemed a little puzzled.

Lu Qing exhaled slowly, maintaining his composure.

Even if he hasn't seen him for three years, he can still recognize him.

... Isn't this Xiaoxue!

Could it be that Ning Juan is nearby?

I haven't seen you for three years, and Ning Juan has learned to walk the bird?

When I was in some confusion, I heard hurried footsteps and "Ouch" calls from a distance, and a familiar, slightly shrill voice came from the front: "Ancestor, have you seen the rabbit? So fast!"

Lu Qing immediately turned sideways, hid behind the big tree, and turned his head to look.

It really is Changshun.

We haven't seen each other for three years, but Changshun hasn't changed much. He still has a sad face, and ran over to quarrel with the falcon above his head: "Every time our family takes you for a walk, it will cost you a year of life! If it wasn't for His Majesty's order, Do you think our family will take care of you?"

Xiaoxue raised her head arrogantly and ignored him, as if she rolled her eyes.

Chang Shun saw it, and was furious: "Your Majesty ordered you to be released, but you flew back by yourself, eating His Majesty's food, and how dare you have such a bad temper!"

As he spoke, he took out this snack that Haidongqing liked, and tried to lure it away.

Xiaoxue was indeed attracted, but she couldn't stop looking at Lu Qingze.

In the end, he probably felt that this person looked familiar, but he was not very familiar, so he hesitated for a while, and then flapped his wings and left.

Lu Qing hid behind the tree, suddenly felt an itching in his throat, endured it for a long time, confirmed that Chang Shun should have left, and finally couldn't help but clenched his fist to his lips and coughed sullenly.

Ning Juan let Xiaoxue go, and then Xiaoxue flew back?

It was... beyond his expectation.

Perhaps Ning Juan regarded letting Xiaoxue go as his will, and the wish of a dead person must be fulfilled.

He was thinking complicatedly in his heart, feeling a little dizzy in his head, he didn't dare to stay outside any longer, and walked quickly to the inn.

Because he left in a hurry, he didn't notice that Chang Shun over there was dragged back by the eagle.

Chang Shun was so mad at this broken bird, but Hai Dongqing was much stronger than his slender arms and legs. He raised his head cursingly, and inadvertently caught sight of a figure going away.

Chang Shun's heart skipped a beat, his eyes widened, his voice stopped abruptly, and he almost thought he saw Mr. Lu.

His heart was shocked, and when he took a closer look, he felt that it didn't look so similar again.

That figure disappeared in the depths of the apricot blossoms, and when he turned around, he revealed a small half of his eyebrows, which was completely different from the Master Lu he was familiar with.

Mr. Lu had picturesque features, and his demeanor was outstanding. Even if he just glanced at him for a moment, his demeanor made people dare not look directly at him, and he would never forget it at first sight.

The person in front was quite ordinary, the kind who was thrown into the crowd and disappeared quickly.

It's just the back view at a certain moment, which is really similar, as if Mr. Lu came back to life.

Changshun couldn't help thinking of His Majesty.

Every year during the Qingming Festival and the anniversary of Lord Lu's death, His Majesty, who has always been diligent in administration, would turn off all the chores and go to Lord Lu's tomb, watching in silence for a long time without speaking, but the silent back made people follow him after seeing it. sad.

There was a dead-hearted silence permeated with despair.

It is clear that His Majesty is at the age of high spirits.

During the Ching Ming Festival this year, Chang Shun stayed behind, and finally heard His Majesty softly ask: "Teacher, are you refusing to come to see me?"

Fang knew that His Majesty had never dreamed of Mr. Lu in the past three years.

The person he cared about so much, but after a farewell, he has never seen him again, and the corpses are all charred black... Chang Shun can empathize with him just by thinking about it a little.

He couldn't help but wonder, if His Majesty saw this person, would he be a little happier and have some comfort?

After all, this person's back is somewhat similar to Mr. Lu's.

After thinking about it, Chang Shun still asked people to stare at the man from a distance, pay attention to the other's traces, but don't startle him, then changed back into the clothes of the chief executive, and hurried into the palace with a tooth card. .

His Majesty the Emperor is reviewing the memorial in the South Study Room.

The study is quiet, only the plum fragrance burning in the censer floats.

Chang Shun replaced An Ping, who was serving, and waited on the pen and ink with a low eyebrow.

Changshun was not on duty today, but he came back from outside the palace, it was different at first glance.

His Majesty the Emperor glanced at him indifferently, without opening his mouth, flipped through the smelly and long memorial in his hand, and threw it away displeasedly: "I see that you seem to have something to say."

Only then did Chang Shun smile and said: "My servant took General Xue for a walk in the countryside today, seeing the beautiful scenery, and the apricot blossoms on the shore were in full bloom, so I wondered if Your Majesty should also go out for a walk tomorrow to relax ?”

The emperor's majestic and indifferent eyes fell on his face, with a bit of inquiry.

Chang Shun's face stiffened with a smile.

In the past few years, His Majesty has become more and more serious, making people dare not breathe too much.

He couldn't mention Mr. Lu before His Majesty, saying that he saw someone who looked like Mr. Lu outside.

But looking at His Majesty's heavy-handed and gloomy form, he felt a little sad. If he could see a few traces of Mr. Lu, maybe His Majesty could sleep better?

After a long while, Chang Shun heard a voice from above his head: "Make arrangements, leave the palace tomorrow in micro-clothes."

Chang Shun was a little surprised, and breathed a sigh of relief: "Yes, this servant understands."

After returning to the inn, Lu Qing didn't feel so groggy anymore.

He has been used to walking outside in the past few years, and he has become more and more familiar with minor physical problems from time to time. According to his experience, it should be that a little cold wind blows outside, making him dizzy, and it doesn't matter.

However, he still asked Qian Mingming to help someone grab some anti-cold medicine and drink it. While drinking the medicine, he couldn't help but recall the scene in the apricot blossom forest in his mind.

Chang Shun is the chief steward of the imperial court, and he basically waits in front of Ning Juan, so he won't come out for a walk every day, and the possibility of encountering him again is very small.

But seeing his old friend suddenly still made him a little uneasy.

Lu Qing overturned his original decision and planned to stay for another day. Regardless of the situation in Beijing, he had to leave. The longer he stayed, the greater the possibility of meeting acquaintances again.

The next morning, Lu Qing woke up. The first thing he did was to stretch out his hand and touch his forehead without any heat. He was very relieved, feeling that he had become stronger, and asked Qian Mingming to help him change his appearance, and went for a stroll There are many places to listen to gossip about Beijing.

Sure enough, I heard from many people that a song has been circulating in Beijing these days, "Shu rice is fat, the prince is free, and he has nothing to do to practice, and the sound of gunfire soaring into the sky shakes Shu'an", which makes people suspicious.

But because it was spread from beggars and spread quickly, it is too difficult to explore the root cause.

Lu Qing got the answer and was ready to leave with satisfaction.

By the time Jin Yiwei came along to find him, he had already left.

He didn't plan to go back to Lin'an Mansion either, and walked north along the capital.

Anyway, he was walking aimlessly, and no one could catch him.

Thinking about leaving here tonight, Lu Qing is not in such a hurry as yesterday. In March in Yangchun, although the wind is cold, the ice and snow have melted, and the scenery is very good. He took a walk on the shore and met a flower seller. mother-in-law.

The old lady's hands and feet are not very agile, and the basket on her shoulder is full of fragrant apricot blossoms.

When Lu Qing saw it, he couldn't help being a little soft-hearted. He took out the broken silver, picked up a flower, and with a casual smile on his lips, he listened to the old woman talking, and heard a voice in front of him. He raised his head casually, and bumped into it unexpectedly. In a pair of cold black eyes.

The smile on the corner of Lu Qingze's mouth froze slightly, and his normally flexible mind suddenly clicked and froze.

It's like an eternity.

It was completely unexpected that when they met again, it would be here, under such circumstances.

He originally thought that after leaving the city gate, he would never see Ning Juan again in this life.

Not seeing each other for three years, Ning Juan has changed a lot.

Much bigger than he imagined.

When he wandered around in the past few years, he would occasionally imagine how big the little Guoguo who acted like a baby in his arms back then would grow up now, using the mentality of an elder watching a child.

But when he actually saw Ning Juan, the huge shock washed away his childish mentality.

The boy has grown into a young man, with slender limbs and a more upright figure. Wearing a black uniform embroidered with gold thread, he is unspeakably dignified. Even in the crowd, he is the most dazzling one.

When they parted, the greenness that still remained on Ning Juan's face had completely disappeared, and the majesty and arrogance of the superior had been restrained in his bones, making him look unattainable, handsome and indifferent.

If the young Ning Juan in the past was a sharp sword out of its sheath, but now it has been put back into the sheath, but the sharpness is still there, and the coercion is extremely strong.

This is a fully fledged Emperor His Majesty.

It wasn't the child in his heart who would lie in his arms and act like a good boy.

The stubborn impression deep in my heart was suddenly shaken by this unexpected meeting.

Countless thoughts ran through my mind, but in reality it was only a moment.

Lu Qing calmly turned away, as if he didn't see Ning Juan.

He is using another face now, it is impossible for Ning Juan to recognize him, at most he feels a little familiar.

Don't panic.

How can ordinary people know the emperor who is in a high position? If he chooses to turn around and run away in a panic, Ning Juan will have to doubt even if he doesn't doubt it.

Lu Qing, on the other hand, resisted the subconscious movement to avoid, lowered his head in confusion, pretended that he just looked at each other casually, and continued to pick flowers in the old woman's basket as if nothing had happened.

He didn't notice that the moment he turned his head away, Ning Juan was staring at his eyes, and the redness became deeper.

Chang Shun has served Ning Juan for many years, seeing His Majesty like this, he felt something was wrong and became uneasy.

Is he doing something wrong?In fact, Your Majesty doesn't want to meet someone similar to Mr. Lu?

Although this person's back looks somewhat similar to Mr. Lu's, his appearance is really mediocre. Perhaps His Majesty is not happy to see such a person.

Ning Juan felt as if he had been thrown into a ball of icy flames. His heart was scorched by the scorching fire for a while, and stung by the cold ice and snow for a while. He breathed and his body trembled imperceptibly. It tensed up tightly, like a ferocious beast locked in a paper cage, screaming wildly, ready to break through the fragile cage at any time, and rush out to bite the animal trainer outside.

He didn't even dare to take another look, for fear that his eyes would be too hot and compelling.

Chang Shun was panicking when suddenly he saw Ning Juan staring at the man with red eyes and smiled.

Laughing made his scalp go numb.

Before he could open his mouth, Ning Juan suddenly left him and the guards, as if he was afraid of a beast that would startle his prey, and walked slowly, step by step, to the side of the young man who seemed to be picking flowers seriously, with a mature and deep voice: "This son."

The faint plum fragrance brushed the nose, Lu Qing's eyebrows thumped non-stop, and his heart couldn't stop feeling weak. His heartbeat, which had always been calm, couldn't stop beating at this moment. With his fingertips clenched, he crushed an apricot flower. Infused with the fragrance of almond blossoms.

"Your figure resembles a person."

His Majesty the Emperor beside him stretched out his hand and brushed off the fallen flowers on his shoulders, and said in an inaudible voice, "Plum blossoms are more suitable for you."

The author has something to say:

Changshun: I wanted to find a meal replacement, but I found a regular meal(?)