The sky was gradually dyed with a faint shade of gray, and the clouds were so low that it looked as if it was going to snow again.

Chu Shaoyuan got off the carriage from Chongxing Gate and walked all the way back, and when the palace people who came and went on both sides of the palace road saw him, they either bowed their heads and saluted, or said respectfully, "Slave and maid to His Royal Highness the Third Prince, please be safe."

Chu Shaoyuan returned to Yunhua Palace, Zhang Defu hurriedly greeted him, lightly untied the big coat on his body, hung it on the hanger, and said with a smile: "You are back, today Concubine Zhuang sent someone to send two bamboo-blue carved silk moire brocade, saying that she is preparing new clothes for you for the New Year." ”

Chu Shaoyuan nodded, took the hand warmer he handed over, turned around and walked into the study, and picked up the "Da Yan Zhi" on the desk to read.

Zhang Defu took care of the lamp in the study, and brought two plates of dim sum and a bowl of honey bean cheese from Zhang Quanshun's hand, "It is made in the small kitchen according to your daily habits, and the cheese is rewarded by the emperor, you can taste it or not." ”

Chu Shaoyuan took it, stirred the cheese a few times indifferently, and asked softly, "Is there anything going on today?"

Zhang Defu bowed and replied, "Nothing special. ”

He saw Chu Shaoyuan put down the book, laid out a piece of rice paper, as if he wanted to write, he hurriedly took out a piece of ink from the brocade box, added water to the inkstone, and carefully polished the ink, "You asked the slave to inquire, the slave helped you inquire, there was a fire in Yunhua Palace back then, most of the palace people did not escape, and a small number of those who survived were also released a few years ago, and only two people remained." ”

As he spoke, Zhang Defu approached him and whispered: "One is Aunt Bai, and the other is Liu Shengping." Aunt Bai's family fell in the middle of the road, and there was nowhere to go, so she stayed in the palace, and now she is on an errand in the Huanyi Bureau, Liu Shengping originally said that he would send him to the other side of the Imperial Mausoleum, and then build the Imperial Mausoleum together, but he has not been in good health in recent years, and Chief Zhao is afraid that he will die in the Imperial Mausoleum, which will bring bad luck to the Heavenly Family, so he stayed in the Shangyi Bureau. ”

Chu Shaoyuan took out a little wolf pen from the pen stand, dipped it in ink and wrote two strokes on the paper, and after a pause, he said, "You go and send someone to pass them to Yunhua Palace." ”

Zhang Defu nodded in agreement, got up and ordered.

Chu Shaoyuan lifted the pen, the gesture was graceful like a dragon, it was written in the pavilion style, the aura was correct, the letter to Wang Jue was written, sealed it with an envelope, and casually picked up the honey bean cheese placed next to him and took a bite, with a secret smile floating on his face, such a sweet thing, only she would like it so much.

He finished eating the cheese, put down the bowl, got up and walked out of the study, the palace people at the door saluted him, he waved his hand, walked to the main hall, and rushed in with a faint incense of agarwood, mixed with the warmth of the room, and suppressed the irritability in his heart.

Yunhua Palace used to be where he lived with his mother, even if the repair after the fire, it was completely repaired according to the previous furnishings, not the slightest, he walked over and looked at the goldfish bowl placed on the flower table near the window, reached out and took the fish food and threw a few grains, the goldfish wagged its tail and pecked lazily a few times, and then sank to the bottom of the water motionless, he chuckled and shook his head, sat on the warm kang, stared at the shelf bed, the situation of that day seemed to come to mind again, he closed his eyes.

Zhang Defu moved quickly, and it didn't take long for him to bring people over.

Chu Shaoyuan looked at the two people kneeling in front of him, one was a chamberlain with gray sideburns, and the other was a palace man with a somewhat decayed face.

He stared at them for a long time, until the kneeling legs of the two trembled slightly, and then he said softly: "Let's all get up and talk back."

The two of them stood up tremblingly, but there was no eye contact between them, and they didn't look like they had worked together before.

Chu Shaoyuan said loudly: "Do you know why I called you here?"

Aunt Bai hung her head and replied, "The slave doesn't know. ”

Liu Shengping cautiously raised his eyes and glanced at Chu Shaoyuan, facing the pair of clear eyes, he panicked and hurriedly lowered his head, and said softly: "The slave can probably guess some." ”

Chu Shaoyuan smiled, "Then you can talk about it." ”

Liu Shengping said respectfully: "...... Eleven years ago, the slave was just a little eunuch doing chores, when the Yunhua Palace caught fire, the slave was fetching water in Qiandemen, and before the curfew every day, he always had to make two carts full of water to be enough for the next day, so if the third prince wanted to ask the slave why the Yunhua Palace was on fire back then, the slave didn't know much. ”

Liu Shengping's speech is clear, but it makes people believe it very lightly.

When Aunt Bai heard Liu Shengping's words, she seemed to understand, and said respectfully: "The slave was in charge of the flowers and plants in Yunhua Palace, and the slave and maid were watering the flowers and plants in the yard at that time, and when she didn't react, she saw that there was a fire in the hall, and the slave and maid took the shower to fight the fire, but she was stopped by a few sisters who were traveling with her, saying that the fire was too strong and could not be saved, and the slave broke free and poured a few buckets of water, but it was just like what the sisters said......"

Chu Shaoyuan's brows furrowed, how could they conclude that what they wanted to know was this?

He interrupted impatiently, "Do you know how Concubine Chen died?"

Aunt Bai was stunned, subconsciously raised her head, looked at Chu Shaoyuan with wide eyes, realized her transgression, and hurriedly lowered her head, and said, "Slave, slave doesn't know!"

Liu Shengping still hung his head, there was no trace of love in his voice, and he said calmly: "Concubine Chen died of an emergency. ”

After Chu Shaoyuan heard this, he just laughed softly, but that light laugh made people listen to it in their ears, as if it was a lurking lion, and the sound of rubbing his hands gently in the dark night seemed to be rushing forward to bite the neck of the prey in the next moment, making the two of them shudder the moment they heard it.

"Yes, since you are out of Yunhua Palace, are you two willing to go back to Yunhua Palace now?"

Chu Shaoyuan is the prince, and he can directly decide the life and death of these people, how dare the two of them say that they are unwilling, and they are busy kowtowing and thanking.

Chu Shaoyuan waved his hand, and the two of them were arranged by Zhang Defu.

He sat on the warm kang and pondered for a long time, looked at the dark sky, the death of the mother concubine is a taboo in the palace, if it weren't for his young age, the queen didn't avoid him, let him witness it with his own eyes, I'm afraid he would also believe what these palace people said, but this matter is full of unusual, even if the queen's power is great, if you want to poison a favorite concubine and be able to get out, I'm afraid it's not an easy thing.

After thinking about it for a long time, until his brain hurt, he didn't think of the cause and effect, so he simply stood up, picked up the big coat from the hanger and draped it on his body, and Zhang Quanshun, who was waiting on the side, helped him tie the belt.

After putting on the big hat, he walked out of Yunhua Palace and walked in the direction of Qianyuan Palace.

Outside the Qianyuan Palace, the emperor was striding out, followed by only one Zhao Yuande, because the sky was getting dark, the emperor was carrying a glass palace lamp in his hand, and when he saw Chu Shaoyuan coming in the night, he stopped.

Chu Shaoyuan curtsied: "Say hello to my father." ”

The Emperor walked over and pulled him up, looked at him for a long time, and asked, "What's the matter?" Then, without waiting for him to answer, he walked forward, saying as he went, "You come with me to a place." ”

Chu Shaoyuan hurriedly followed.

The long and narrow palace road followed his rapid walking, kept retreating, the eaves were flying, the carved owl kiss on the ridge of the temple, and the Bogu railing was getting farther and farther away from him, until in front of a tall building, the emperor stopped, and the building was written with three big characters - Stargazing Pavilion.

Walking in from the main entrance, step by step to the top floor, standing on the platform, the fireworks that have just risen in Yunfu City are all reflected in the eyes, dotted with warm yellow, as if carrying one warm dream after another.

The emperor casually pointed to the east, "From this place, you can see the lights of the Xia Mansion. ”

Chu Shaoyuan was shocked, and looked in his direction, the courtyard houses, the black buildings, did not indicate which one was which one at all, it was really difficult to distinguish with the naked eye, but from the warm light, he seemed to feel that the lights in that place were the brightest, as if shining into his heart.

Could it be that his father wanted to sue him, for so many years, he had been standing here, looking in the direction of Xia Mansion from afar, expressing his concern for him? Chu Shaoyuan felt a little inexplicable in his heart.

The Emperor glanced back at the son beside him, and saw that his handsome face was now a warm color that had fallen into memory, as if his eyes were gilded with a soft light, and he patted him lightly on the shoulder.

"What do you think?"

Chu Shaoyuan came back to his senses, looked at the emperor seriously, and said softly: "Erchen wants to go to the northwest." ”

The emperor smiled with satisfaction, "It's good to have a decision, and I will send you out of the clouds when the time comes." ”

The corners of Chu Shaoyuan's mouth twitched, some things were originally not intended to be said like this, but with this scene just now, he couldn't help but say tentatively: "Erchen feels that Erchen is probably incompetent alone, and wants to ask for another person with his father." ”

The Emperor asked, "Who do you want to go with you?"

“…… Erchen felt that the prince's brother was extremely capable, and if the prince's brother went with his son, he would definitely be able to do his errand. ”

The emperor's eyebrows raised slightly, looked at him for a while, and then suddenly smiled, patted him on the shoulder, a smile appeared in his eyes, and said a few "yes" in a row.

Is this a promise? Chu Shaoyuan couldn't believe it.

But he heard the emperor say: "If you want the prince to go with you, it depends on yourself, if you can force him to go with you, I will approve your mention." ”

"Yes, my son understands," Chu Shaoyuan lowered his head in response, and knelt down again as he spoke.

“…… Father, son wants to ask you for a favor. ”

The Emperor frowned, waiting for him to finish.

"Eleven years ago, it was my aunt who saved her son from the fire, and when the son did not return to the palace, he thought that one day if he could get ahead, he would definitely bring his aunt to serve Tiannian, and now the son has returned to the palace, and the aunt is still in the summer mansion, and the son wants to ask his father to reward his son with a Zhuangzi, and take his aunt to live in Zhuangzi. ”

The emperor looked at his face that resembled Concubine Chen, and sighed slightly: "You are a child who knows how to repay your kindness, but she is a concubine, if you want to promote her, it is not good to cross Xia Shijing, this thing is not appropriate, it is better for me to give her some rewards." ”

Chu Shaoyuan hurriedly said: "Father, Lord Xia's wife treats her son very well, if she only gives a reward to her aunt, I am afraid it will chill the hearts of others." ”

The emperor looked at him and smiled: "So, you are going to ask me for a reward for the Xia Mansion?"

Chu Shaoyuan looked up at the emperor, and saw that the emperor had a smile on his face, but his eyes were clear, and he said in a low voice: "My son has been taken care of by the Xia family for many years......"

If you haven't rewarded Xia Mansion since you returned to the palace, I'm afraid you will be suspicious of others.

The emperor obviously thought of this as well, pondered for a moment and smiled, "Then reward the old lady of the Xia Mansion with the title of the second grade, the lady of the third grade of the master of the Xia Mansion, and your aunt's words, you will be promoted to a noble concubine, so that you can satisfy your wishes?"

Chu Shaoyuan leaned over and bowed, "Son, thank you father for your grace." ”

[I'm sorry, it's late today, I have a cold, the whole person is in a bad spirit, my brain is swollen, I don't have any ideas, and I ask for your forgiveness!]