The wind and snow fell on Emperor Yin's strong beard, and the father and son faced each other in the snow, and the terrible silence spread between the two.

The saber on Chu Xiaohua's waist trembled, Chu Xianzhao almost thought that his father was going to draw his sword against him, his father had never looked at him with such a gaze, and he had never seen Chu Xiaohua so angry.

"I'm sorry Father...... But this is what Chu Xianzhao really looks like...... I hope that my father will be more merciful to the defeated in the future, so that I will feel better. ”

Chu Xianzhao's voice was full of apologies, and he sighed, "If it were me, I would rather fall from the pavilion with her in my arms than stand aside and be indifferent." ”

Emperor Yin's cold face became more and more stiff, and after Chu Xuanzhao finished speaking, he did not continue to be angry, but looked at his son with an extremely complicated gaze.

Eventually, his gaze slowly dimmed, and he waved his hand weakly, and old and weak appeared on his face again.

The most regretful medicine in the world.

He didn't speak, and turned his back to his son.

The snow was overwhelming, and he walked on this lonely snow, and he seemed to have become the boy he was when he first came to Shuyue many years ago.

When they met for the first time, the young princess smiled and said Where is the prince of Yinguo, it is clearly a drama on the street.

"My name is Chu Xiaohua, I am from Yinguo, and I am a person who likes to drink and sing. Ignoring the drunken blush on the girl's face, he took her hand and replied.

A cold wind in the depths of winter swept overhead, whistling the surrounding green bamboos, adding a little sadness to the scene.

Emperor Yinhuang put his hands in his sleeves and looked up at Fengxue, "Father is old, this burden will be very heavy, and our family will rely on you." ”

Chu Xianzhao suddenly knelt on the snow, silent.

Emperor Yin didn't turn around for a long time, as if he didn't want his son to see his old tears.

The hero is in the twilight, and the beauty has white hair.

A man dies like a lamp goes out.

......

......

The tranquility of the platform came from sleep, and the heavy snow outside the window scraped through the sandalwood window like a knife.

Before falling asleep, her mother sat on the edge of the bed with her, until she put her hand on her head and gently stroked it, she enjoyed her gentleness and slowly fell asleep, until now she suddenly woke up, but she did not see her mother.

She couldn't breathe for some reason, felt a lot of pain in her heart, curled up in the quilt and sobbed quietly, crying like a child that no one wanted.

"Mother, Mother!"

She buried her face in her knees until a soft hand rested on her head, and she looked up in amazement, and threw her face excitedly into the man's waist, and after a while she felt that something was wrong, and looked up at the man's face, and confusion covered her little face again.

The boy was wearing a heavy fox coat, his hair was covered with snow shavings, and the corners of his eyes were not as clear and clear as before, with a sadness and helplessness that she had never seen before.

She froze and said, "Brother Xiaozhao......"

She hadn't seen her since she returned to the city, and the mother said that Brother Xiaozhao was seriously injured and couldn't bother him casually, but at this time he was sitting on the edge of his bed, and he didn't know how long he had been watching her.

He whispered, "I'm sorry...... Aunt Ning is gone......"

She was puzzled and asked, "Where is the Mother Queen?"

"Just gone...... Never going to come back...... You know what I mean?"

"Won't come back...... The Mother said she wouldn't leave me!"

She was so anxious that she ran out without even putting on her coat, and the moment she pushed open the door, the fierce wind and snow blew her petite body crookedly, and no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't get out of the room

She finally fell to her knees by the door, and even her tears were frozen.

Not far away, she saw the white flags tied to the foreheads of the eunuchs and palace maids, their faces colder and harder than the wind and snow in the sky.

She wept and screamed, but she was answered by the roar of winter, and after the night she could no longer understand her mother's soft words.

"Mother Empress...... Why...... Why...... Is it my fault? I got mad at the Mother...... Woooooooo ”

She cried and fell by the door and tried to crawl out, but Chu Xuanzhao rushed over and hugged her tightly, raised his hand and closed the door.

The girl trembled and wept in his arms, but he trembled more than she did, as if he were afraid that someone would take her away from him.

......

......

In the blink of an eye, the wind and snow in Lijing City dissipated, but it was still full of snow.

This Shuyue civil war had just ended, and there was a big bad news.

The empress died, and the whole country was silent, and crying could be heard everywhere.

The people in the city had a circle of white cloth wrapped around their heads and wrists, and Tai Ningsu died in the city of Lijing, and the whole country mourned.

The people of Shuyue live in the grief of the death of their family members and the death of the empress, and they no longer have the heart to buy New Year's goods as in previous years, for everyone, this is the saddest year, and they are destined to spend it in grief.

Now there is only one choice left for them, the palace forbidden army is solemnly arrayed in front of the palace gate, together with the Yinguo iron cavalry who entered the city, the sky echoes with solemn music, and the officials of the Shuyue court knelt in front of the main hall in official clothes, holding their breath.

Above their heads, the eagle flag of the Yin Kingdom and the white python flag of Shuyue were staggered, dancing in the breeze.

Chu Xianzhao appeared, she held the hand of the tranquility of the platform, and walked towards the imperial chair in the main hall.

The ministers who were kneeling in front of the palace finally reacted, but they still bowed to the ground, looking at the girl in the python robe with a flushed face, and it was difficult to contain the excitement in their hearts.

Some of the courtiers who secretly supported Tantai Ninghua but were not summoned by Chu Xuan also knelt, but there was no longer anger on their faces, but more calm.

Chu Xuanzhao took her to the imperial chair, this chair was very high and wide, if she climbed up in front of so many people, she would inevitably lose her temper.

At this moment, in front of the hundreds of officials in the Shuyue Imperial Court, he held the quiet arm of the platform and asked her to sit on the imperial chair.

The girl glanced at him with some fear, Chu Xianzhao smiled and helped her straighten the jade crown, encouraging, "Don't be afraid, just treat them as white radish." ”

The newly enthroned little empress was amused by his words, and looked at the officials kneeling outside the hall, all dressed in white robes, and they really looked like big turnips.

The university scholar Sun Qipao presented the imperial seal and congratulated and said, "Her Majesty the Empress is in Shuyue, and my subjects are extremely happy." ”

Facing the jade seal that required two hands of adults to grasp steadily, Chu Xianzhao took it from the scholar's hand with a smile and said to Tantai Tranquility: "This jade seal is a bit heavy for you now." ”

He smiled and put the jade seal on the armrest of the imperial chair, if he had a choice, he didn't want this girl who should be carefree to inherit this heavy royal power, and he should be

When she cautiously asked her if she would like to go back to Yinguo with her, she replied to herself.

"I will go wherever the mother emperor is, although I really want to go to Yinguo with my brother Xiaozhao, but there is no mother emperor there, it is not my home after all. ”

When she said this, she was solemn and solemn, not as cute as usual, he looked at the face that looked like the Empress of Shuyue in a trance, with a belief that he couldn't refuse.

"In my lifetime, Yinguo will always be an ally of Shuyue, we will support each other and never abandon it, we will defend your royal power with iron and blood, including your happiness!"

The third prince of Da Yin slowly retreated from the jade steps and knelt down on one knee, extremely heavy.

This kneeling kneeled on everyone's hearts and made most people feel at ease.

The girl on the throne was rightly dressed in the clothes her mother had wore, a well-fitting but new and comfortable python robe.

Sit high in that chair.

Below him are the three princes of the Yin Kingdom who are kneeling, and behind them are the 300,000 Yin Kingdom Iron Horsemen who cannot be seen.

The girl was a little scared and looked at the kneeling figure outside the hall in front of the hall, and if she didn't say it, no one dared to get up, including Chu Xianzhao.

She uttered the words her mother had uttered to her subjects countless times.

"Zhong Aiqing is flat!"

"Long live Your Majesty, long live, long live!"

"Hooray, hooray—"

What a strange feeling.

She sat up straight and put on the posture of a king in Shuyue, and some of the older court officials saw this moment, thinking that they had seen the appearance of the first empress when she was young, and couldn't help but burst into tears.

On this day, the new empress of Shuyue officially ascended the throne with the year name Xiangping.

......

......

There was a spring thunder and rain.

With the return of the Yinguo Iron Cavalry, the entire Lijing City has really become peaceful, and tens of thousands of stone tablets are erected outside the city to commemorate the people who died in this war, their names have not been forgotten, no matter what choices they have made in this war, in the end they also carry out their beliefs until they die.

Children began to chase each other in the streets, wielding wooden spears in their hands, and the vendors began to busily go back and forth, putting the water-stained vegetables and fruits on the ground and began to sell, young women hurried past with vegetable baskets, their faces full of joy, idle young men began to talk and play cards and were not happy, and the sound of a baby crying sounded in a certain house......

The city is beginning to regain the vitality it should have, and everyone is trying to live, and they cherish the happiness of the moment more than the people who died.

There was a lively court meeting in the palace, and the officials began to discuss state affairs fiercely, and finally ended a fierce battle, until a new question was raised, and they began a new debate, such a scene would never happen when the power of the Tai Ninghua monopolized, and the newly promoted military department Shangshu Chen Pingxi was still the appearance of Lao Tzu who was not afraid of the little empress, and he couldn't wait to slap the gun on the table, and continued to fight with the protesting officials.

As for the girl who turned from a little princess to a little empress, sitting on the throne and listening to the fierce arguments of the courtiers, the old lady Zhang Fengrui bent down and stood on her left hand side with the appearance of being sent by the king, it was obvious that she still didn't understand many things, but she still pretended to be very serious, her little hands were a little nervous and held the armrests on both sides of the throne, and occasionally walked around, hoping that their discussion would end soon.

Although she is Her Majesty the newly enthroned Empress of Shuyue, she is still a ten-year-old child, and the first empress does not seem to educate her as the heir to the throne when she is alive, so that the palace maids accompany her to sing and play games as a whole, it seems that she is satisfied as long as she is happy, but now she can have such a calm and calm performance, which makes these ministers feel very gratified.

From time to time, the ministers' eyes would look at the long halberd standing next to the throne, and this terrifying murder weapon was fiercely inserted under the jade board, forming a strong contrast with the soft girl on the throne.

This long halberd with blood stains on it stood next to the throne, and it looked a little dazzling in the gorgeous and solemn hall, and they still remembered how serious the young man who set up this halberd was at that time, as if he was doing something very important.

This halberd was set up by Chu Xianzhao himself next to the throne, it was left by the empress before her death, or the heavenly halberd, his intention to set up this halberd next to the throne could not be more obvious, and now the cold light on the halberd blade made the courtiers chill from time to time.

The reason why the little empress can sit on the throne in a proper manner, even if she is sleepy, she has never shown irritability, in addition to the supervision of the old lady, the more important thing is this long halberd.

It was a halberd left behind by her mother.

It was as if her mother was still with her.

The thing reminds one of its owner.

......

......

After today's retreat from the dynasty, today's folds and files from all directions were sent to the Pingqing Palace, the little empress had to listen to the report of the old lady while eating, the place where she now lives is the queen mother's bedroom, now although the death of Ningsu and Ninghua, she is the only one in the entire Shuyue surname Tai, so there is no partisan dispute, the ministers know that the little empress is still young and overwhelmed, so she strives to use her energy on court affairs, and the court is also considered to be thriving.

Now she has to learn how to review the recital every day, and the most important thing for the old lady is to teach her how to deal with state affairs, although she is still very young, so the time for them is still very long, everyone does not need to be in a hurry, just take your time.

Before leaving, the three princes of Yinguo also instructed that if he knew that the little empress had been wronged at their hands, he would personally pull out the beard of his master, so frightened that his white beard trembled at that time, and he was afraid to speak.

Yinguo officially signed the eternal alliance with Shuyue and assisted Shuyue in post-war recovery, but still sent some people to supervise the situation on the side of the Shuyue court, which made the ministers of Shuyue bitter and couldn't say, who called the Yinguo fist bigger than them, but fortunately, this fist did not fall on their heads.

Since she has now changed from a princess to an empress, the restrictions on her personal freedom for various reasons are quite large, and she can no longer run out to play as casually as in the past, which makes her very distressed and aggrieved, although she did not say it, but the expression on her face cannot be faked. Seeing the thoughts of the little empress, the old lady couldn't help but smile bitterly, she hadn't let her go out of the palace for more than a month, and the little empress was naturally a little angry in her heart, and she was very angry, especially when she let the attendant come in with this pile of folds, she didn't use the chopsticks in her hand to prick her eyes, even if she gave herself face to the old lady.

Every time the little empress reluctantly uses the "thousand years" When the royal pen reviews the folds, he always looks at him with encouraging eyes, the old lady's two sons died on the battlefield, he naturally treats her as a daughter, and can't tolerate a trace of slack on her, but she always feels that her handwriting is crooked and not good-looking, so she hopes that he will review the folds for her, the old lady he just touched the girl's head lovingly, and said that the ugly point is ugly, anyway, no one dares to say that His Majesty is not, if someone dares to slander His Majesty in private, the old minister personally went to his house to scold the street, which made her laugh and reluctantly agreed。

But I heard the palace ladies say that she practiced calligraphy in private, and it used to be the empress who personally went out to let her read and write, and she cried and refused to be unwilling, but now the empress is honest after leaving, and she writes one after another, and after drying, she piles it in the corner, saying that when the prince of Yinguo comes back to see her, she will take it to him in person.

It is said to be small

The empress always likes to run to the Fengqing Pavilion to rest in private, and the first empress fell to her death in that place, of course she doesn't like her to always run to the attic, but she doesn't dare to stubborn this girl's temper.

She didn't allow her attendants to go up with her, and every time she was lying silently on the railing, lonely, looking north.

Only then did the old lady understand that it turned out that the heart of this girl let the prince of Yinguo eat to death, and he was the focus of the little empress's tea and dinner, so he didn't understand that there were so many good sons and daughters in Shuyue, why the little empress and the first empress were always so fascinated by these bastards surnamed Chu, and this unreasonable and chaotic relationship was afraid that it would last for many years.

The old lady looked at the slender figure in front of the table, and couldn't help but feel a little trance-like, as if she remembered some people and things many years ago, which made the corners of his eyes moist, guilty and sad.

"Old lady, are you crying?"

The girl lay on the table and blinked, the old man wiped away the residual tears and smiled softly, "I was just a little tired from reading last night, Your Majesty should also be tired, why don't you go out for a walk in the afternoon, and let the old minister do the rest for you?"

She smiled and showed two cute dimples, and replied, "Yes, the Queen said that if your eyes are uncomfortable, you should go outside more." ”

The old man smiled and nodded, his eyes were gentle, and the girl cheered as if she realized something, and said, "Old lady, you just said that I can go outside to play, right?"

The old lady put her hand on her head and stroked it gently, "Yes, Lao Chen's body is quite tough, and he is used to reading at night, so leave these boring things to Lao Chen." Your Majesty should go out for a walk more at a young age, to see the willow clinging, the grass grows and flies in the spring fields, so as not to live up to the youthful years. ”

The little empress smiled happily when she heard this, revealing her small white teeth like broken jade.

The old man stroked her silver hair gently.

Shu Yue, it's all good.

The spring rain sprinkled on the land of the palace, and after a long time, the old lady walked out of the little empress's bedroom with her back on her back, and the palace maid handed over the oil-paper umbrella knowingly, and he said thank you, and walked into the spring rain, and the rain and leaves flowed under his feet.

......

......

At this time, the spring rain has stopped, there is no longer that slight chill, and the air is full of fresh smell, but the tranquility of the platform is still holding a flower paper umbrella and walking on the wet streets, bouncing on the bluestone path, and the skirt is jumping in the air like a white bird spreading its wings. She was followed by several sturdy palace maids, and there were more dead men protecting her in places she couldn't see.

She couldn't go too far from the palace to play, she could only look at the scenery nearby, she walked around the outside of the palace, and then returned to the small bamboo forest by the bamboo leaf lake, watching the spring rain stained with stars on the green bamboo.

She looked at the bamboo forest and was silent for a long time, thinking that now she was the only one left, Brother Xiaozhao went back, and Sister Guan Ju was the same, and the mother died of death...... Now except for the old lady, there are only a handful of people around who can speak.

Many people have left themselves or died, people live for a lifetime, say that they will die, and do not let the living have any chance to react, if they can be concerned, it is excellent, if they are forgotten by everyone, then it is no different from not being in this world, living like floating clouds, and the wind blows away.

Above her head, she watched a rainbow cross the sky, and the rainbow fell on her dormitory, and there were birds flying low over the edge of the rainbow, and the scenery was excellent.

Behind the bamboo forest, through a large field of barren grass, there is a cemetery.

This cemetery buried many soldiers who died in the battle of Feiziguan, including the soldiers of Yinguo, the cruelty of that war was far beyond everyone's imagination, the high temperature of Longyan fused the corpses into one, it was impossible to tell who was who, so it could only be dealt with centrally, and there were several large monuments standing here, with the names of the deceased written on them.

She carefully walked through the barren grass and came to Guo Changfeng's tomb, took the loquat and bamboo leaves handed by the palace maid, put a few in front of the tombstone, folded her hands, and read silently.

Because the number of dead is simply too large. Many of the tombstones have not yet had time to be carved, and there are white wooden boards written with ink pens in front of the tombs.

She is not the only one here, and Hubu Shangshu also brought his wife to worship his dead son, the two old men supported each other in front of the tombstone, the old woman looked at her son's monument and cried so much that her eyes were swollen, but Hubu Shangshu found the little empress behind him, and hurriedly said respectfully, "I have seen Her Majesty the Empress." ”

The two old men really didn't expect to see her here, and after being shocked for a moment, the old tears suddenly knelt at her feet, kowtowing repeatedly. It made her eyes red, maybe she was crying too much, maybe it was because the mother said to herself that she was not allowed to cry in front of strangers, and she only felt numb in her heart now.

After Tobe Shangshu and his wife left, she asked all the maidservants who had come with her to leave the cemetery, and now she wanted to be alone.

She came to a tombstone carved from white jade, put down the last loquat and sat in front of the tombstone, singing "Spring Breeze", which she often sang when she was a child

The girl's voice was melodious and ethereal, and the song echoed through the empty cemetery.

This tombstone is not engraved with any name, and it can be described as a wordless monument.

But in front of this tombstone, her mood is the most peaceful and peaceful, and her mood is the most relaxed.

There was a slight spring rain in the sky, and she listened to the sound of spring raindrops hitting the tombstones, and the song slowly lowered.

Suddenly a wind came from the north.

She looked up and smiled.

But he was no longer by his side.

The spring rain hit her face, and she didn't wipe it away, but felt that the rain was a little warm.

Not far away, there is a bamboo that still looks green and pleasant in the wind and rain, she suddenly remembered that every year on her birthday, her mother will carve her height in front of a bamboo, and she wants God to bless her with health and happiness.

The memory of myself jumping in front of the bamboo, cheering and saying, "I will be so tall this year, and I will soon grow up." ”

The gentle woman shook her head and smiled, "It's good that you don't grow up, you can be the little princess of the mother queen for the rest of your life." ”

She raised her hands in joy and pointed to the top of the bamboo and said happily, "I want to grow taller and taller than the bamboo, so that I can protect the mother." ”

The woman smiled and nodded, watching herself clapping her hands and jumping around, and then laughed softly, "Don't worry, my little princess, you will grow taller than bamboo, taller than the mother queen, remember that life is a long, long ......"

She wiped the rain from her face, walked over to the bamboo, slowly pressed her back on, and scratched a white mark on the bamboo on top of her head with her fingernails.

She burst into tears and choked softly, "I'm that tall this year...... But you're gone. ”

"Mother, it is said that there is no snow in the winter in Nanriku, and it is as warm as spring, so if I have the chance, I would like to go and see it for myself with you. ”

"Mother Emperor, I secretly tell you that I like Brother Xiaozhao, can I marry him when I am fifteen years old, I like him alone in my life, okay. ”

"When the mother queen is old, I will take good care of the mother, and I will come to visit the mother every night, help the mother beat her back and wash her feet, just like the mother was as good to me as a child. ”

"The Queen loves me the most. ”

{Volume IV, Dragon Burning City, End}

(End of chapter)