The second year of Yuande was an eventful one.

The people of Beiliang survived the spring without a drop of water, the summer of locusts and the rainy autumn, and finally fell into deep despair. Seeing that winter was approaching and the days were getting shorter, the iron cavalry in Mobei naturally went south to search for the few remaining surplus grains in the city of Liangguo, and knocked on the Baishui Pass, the first line of defense on the border, in a few days.

The population of the Northern Liang was large, and groups of people fled with their families and meandered like a long dragon to Xiangdong City in the middle reaches of the Baizang River. For a while, the north wind howled, the countryside was deserted, and the sharp shouts and pleading voices drifted into the city in the cold wind, and the people who were preparing for the cat winter at home could not help but feel fear, wondering whether to finish this sad winter and move south. This situation did not improve until the imperial court finally decided to send people north to defend against the enemy and save a little face.

The migrated people stayed in the cities and villages along the road for the time being, and watched the king of Jingbei lead the soldiers with thick frost on their armor to the north, hoping for the triumph of the imperial relatives who would give them a place to stay.

In the spring of the fourth year of Yuande, when the people returned to their hometowns one after another and stepped into the dilapidated homes, the king of Jingbei arrived in Beijing, almost at the same time, the emperor Yan drove it.

*

Su Huihui heard the sound of a bell in a half-dream. A pair of hands picked her up and put her in his arms, and another hand was free to cover her eyes. The daylight leaked in for a moment, and her loosely closed eyes lit up, and she immediately woke up. She shook her soft hand away and met a pair of clear brown eyes.

The woman gently got into the carriage with the child in her arms, pointed to the brass bell hanging under the eaves, and immediately a burly guard came up to untie it and put it away.

The curtain was lowered, the sound of wheels ringing, and he rolled on the spacious seat, rolled onto his mother's lap, climbed next to her ear and whispered, "How long will it take?"

Her mother then replied in another language: "It will probably be the end of the month, and you will have to go faster, not long." stroked the soft fetal hair on the top of her daughter's head, "Fortunately, Nuan Nuan doesn't usually like to talk much, otherwise I wouldn't know what interesting things I could tell you in the car, and I finished talking about it." ”

Hui Hui immediately said in his mother's language: "That's Daddy's business." Mom just told the story in her own words. The woman laughed when she heard this, not like the gentle color on the face of the Central Plains people, and her face was as pleasant as a spring soaked in peach blossoms.

At the end of April, the carriage finally arrived in Mingdu.

In the capital, the willow color is thick and green, the flowers are in full bloom, the tall magnolia trees are holding snow-white lamps, the pomegranate flowers at the streets and alleys are like scattered flames, and the sweet fragrance of gardenias fills the city. Pedestrians are weaving, bustling and shuttling through the avenues and paths, and the citizens and businessmen are all happy and healthy.

He got out of the car and almost slipped on the bluestone slab. He stood up straight, but in front of him was another group of people. A little boy's head, about seven or eight years old, poked out of the window of the car at the head, looking at them curiously. When the people in the car stepped down, it turned out to be a gentle-looking and dignified lady, and saluted her and her mother.

Su Huihui listened to the lady's greetings while staring at the boy who had just looked at her, and at this time he had already gotten out of the car, his dark eyes as obsidian hid a hint of a smile, and pulled the corner of his mother's clothes. The lady smiled softly and softly, suddenly turned around and slapped his hand away, "Did you see the ceremony?" and said with a smile: "The concubine's youngest Ajin is the most naughty, and she can only rest assured if she takes it with her." His two elder brothers have entered the palace this morning, and they are waiting for us over there. ”

After that, the conversation was already blurred, and when I warmed up, I wanted to sleep again, so I was taken into another car and headed for Miyagi in a daze.

When she woke up, she was on a strange bed, wearing a undergarment, covered with a smooth and soft quilt, and secretly embroidering a few plum blossoms with silver thread. Warming up knowing why she was awake, she heard a very low sob. She lay open her eyes next to the glimmering glass lamp for a long time before she dared to pull back the curtain and quietly go down to see what was going on.

It was a large room, and she was in a warm pavilion, separated by a crystal clear beaded curtain. Fortunately, the beads were not long, and she bent down to pass underneath them, and her eyes looked behind a shelf, which was a good place for Tibetans. The sound of crying is not far away. The middle of the shelf was hollowed out, and when I looked at it from this angle, I could see a person sitting in the hall, and another person kneeling in front of her, it was her father.

The lights dimmed, the windows were completely closed, and the air in the hall seemed to be very heavy. Huihui has never seen his father like this, and his face should be a calm and gentle smile, and that smile makes her feel safe at a glance. But now it seems that something is happening, and she doesn't know what it is, which will make her father's face full of unrelieved solemnity and tiredness.

Almost the next moment, Su Jin frowned and turned his head to the side: "Warm up." ”

As soon as the crying stopped, the woman sitting on the couch quickly covered her face with her sleeve, and after a while slowly put it down.

Huihui had a feeling that he had done something bad and was discovered, so he had to step forward slowly, learn Su Jin to kneel, and hide behind his father's arm. When she saw the woman's face, it was difficult for her to guess her age, it seemed that she was no longer young, but she was very beautiful and kind, and she was dressed in an autumn-colored palace robe. She watched silently, without saying a word.

Su Jin coughed and said, "This is grandmother, make a salute." ”

He kowtowed three times, straightened up and continued to look.

Su Jin sighed, "Call grandmother." ”

Only then did he let out a small "oh" and did as his father said.

The woman laughed out loud, leaned down from the couch, picked up the short strands of hair behind her ears with her fair and warm right hand, and rubbed it, and said softly: "Nuan Nuan, I'm my mother-in-law, have you woken up?"

Huihui was very close to her face, and her beautifully shaped eyes could be clearly seen, and the corners of the eyes were moistened with water, and the fine lines were wet.

She didn't speak, she just leaned over her father. Su Jin understood that her daughter didn't like the atmosphere here, and it was indeed a very embarrassing scene at the moment. So he looked up and said, "Mother, I'll take her back first, her mother may not be able to cope with it alone." He whispered to his daughter to put on her coat. He ran into the warm pavilion with a cigarette in smoke, got dressed and rushed out again, making the curtains clang.

Su Jin really had no choice but to say goodbye to the Queen Mother. Empress Dowager Shen finally said to her son: "That girl's name is Aya, bring her to see me more in the future." He smiled at Hui Hui again, and Hui Hui turned his head and blushed a little.

Out of the Mingxin Palace, Su Jin walked towards the palace gate with the little girl in his arms, and the palace maids all bowed their heads at the right time along the way, as if they didn't see them. Lin Han, the general who was walking behind, said hatefully: "Lord Wang, they want to ......" Suddenly, he found that the two or three-year-old children were curiously listening to him, and suddenly shivered, and the general swallowed the words.

The lights in the Chengping Hall have faded sporadically.

Halfway through, the cold moon like a hook hangs on the top of the Biwa Feiyong, and the vast sky is as cold as a deep blue desert. The sound of the iron horses clashing with each other in the dimming light of the palace lamps came and went, and the wind of late spring passed through the long corridors, occasionally mixing withered white petals with their breathing, causing them to crush on the red trunk.

Huihui closed her eyes, her father's hands were strong, and she whispered, "Mom doesn't hold me often." When Lin Han heard this, he immediately smiled and said: "Don't feel wronged by the little county lord, the children in the West Night are not as fine as the big beams, the boys are on the horse at the age of three or four, and the girls are naturally not inferior." At present, the children of my dynasty are too pampered, and it can be seen that His Highness has good intentions. ”

Su Jin glanced at him, and Lin Han sneered. "Actually, you've been eating a bit too much lately and gaining a lot of weight. Hui Kai immediately opened his eyes and looked at him with burning eyes, "I'm a good man, you're mistaken." Su Jin and Lin Han burst out laughing.

"The little lord doesn't talk much on weekdays, but he's not necessarily a bully, is he?" the young general teased her, and he stopped talking again. In this way, the three of them returned to the Jingbei Mansion in silence, and Su Jin instructed Lin Han a few words, gave him the carriage, and entered the door by himself.

Zhenya was waiting for the two of them to come back in the bedroom, and after warming up, she ran to her mother and bit her ear. After Su Jin bathed and changed clothes, he called someone to take care of the little girl, although he had tidied it up before entering the palace, he still decided to wash the person again. Huihui reluctantly went out, shouting "I must sleep with my mother" before turning his head.

Zhenya cut the candle, the light brightened a little, and she saw that Su Jin had already changed into a tired and apologetic expression. In a not-so-standard official dialect, she said, "They're making you unhappy again." He was immediately taken into his arms by Su Jin. Her ears were still red, Su Jin looked at it, and suddenly said: "It's not good to be like you, it's too easy to bully." Did she just tell you that I think she's fat?" Zhenya smiled and nodded. Suddenly, he said: "At the banquet, many ladies and Mrs. Xu Guo got very close, but fortunately, Mrs. Helan and I blocked several glasses of wine. Su Jin bowed.

The candle flame flickered, and after a while, Su Jin said, "Aya, I may have to go on an expedition soon." There are too few generals that Liang can use, and His Majesty also hopes that I am not in Mingdu. Zhenya didn't know what to say, and finally she remembered: "My father and Uncle Wang are very good, maybe the tradition of a big country is not like this." Don't be too sad, at least Nuan Nuan and I will always be with you. What did you say to the Queen Mother today? She must miss you very much. ”

"You also know that since the first emperor died of illness, she is not in good health, and there are so many ministers and clans eyeing her. They wanted me to leave the capital forever, but they didn't expect me to come back safely, so at this time, they naturally walked closer to the Yuwen family than usual. His Majesty has just been in the extreme, and he is still biased towards the Yuwen faction. But he is also the biological son of the queen mother. ”

Zhenya patted him on the shoulder, "It's not easy for the Queen Mother. ”

Su Jin frowned and said, "She is also your queen mother." Zhenya sighed and didn't speak.

*

In mid-June, it is the Zezhi banquet in the palace. It is nothing more than the lotus flower blooming, but the Tian family always likes to be vassally elegant, and the name of Yu Zezhi is visited. Since the three dynasties, the royal family has withered, and the more people are thin, the more they must try their best to live, so the capital is like flowers from top to bottom, from the inside to the outside.

But at this time, Zhenya didn't have the slightest intention to take care of the affairs of the house, and it was thanks to the competent housekeeper who rectified the necessities of receiving and sending gifts and buying them, so she squeezed out a little time to worry about her in private. I am afraid that the Ming capital and even half of the Northern Liang Dynasty knew that after only two months of returning to Beijing, the king of Jingbei hurriedly led the king's order to garrison the northwest to deter Di Rong with his might. Zhenya didn't have time to prepare her clothes, so the holy decree went down into the alley.

Looking at the moon in the sky, she let her mother lead her to the mat. Several songs and dances provoked the shadows of the trees to flutter, the moonlight was mottled, and the poems that never began to be recited, chatting and chatting gradually stopped until more than half of the hour, and now the night is rewarded, and it is replaced with a full feast of delicacies.

Zhenya wore a sandalwood dress with begonia patterns and flowers today, which was very inconspicuous among the brightly colored ladies, but her foreign ancestry was particularly eye-catching. She walked slowly up the steps to pay homage to the queen in regular clothes, and she could only hear the whispering sound on the table below, and she was so annoyed that she couldn't help but glance at it slightly.

Empress Yuwen leaned back on the soft chair a little weakly, waved her cuffs embroidered with tangled branch lotus, and said with a smile: "The prince is so blessed to have such a beautiful woman as his wife." It's a pity that Madame was unwell and came late, and the palace is only now able to see her. The little niece is also really cute, so let Anyang treat this sister well. ”

Zhenya praised the host a few words in reverse, and the queen was a little surprised that her official words were good.

At the banquet, an elderly woman took the opportunity to say: "Niangniang doesn't know, Madame's mother is the clan of the Southern Qi Dynasty, married to the Western Regions, the Southern Qi is my Liang territory, more than a hundred years ago, the official language of the Xude Dynasty was unified, until now there are many people in Qi who can speak the official language of my court." ”

The queen seemed to understand on her face, and glanced at the old woman who spoke: "It's still lonely and unheard of in this palace." ”

Naturally, the bottom said that they didn't dare. Hui Hui frowned, and the conversation became louder.

Zhenya did not canonize the princess, Su Jin led the official position of the first rank and set out as a general, her identity is only equivalent to the lady of the Zhuguo from the first rank, obviously the court and the palace feel that this grade is a bit high. Zhenya didn't care too much about these things, and took her daughter to eat with peace of mind.

Mrs. Helan, who was at the same table, saluted a middle-aged lady next to her who had two taels of fat powder on her face, and then switched places with her as if she was juggling to get to the side of Huihui.

Mrs. Helan is married to Helan Province, the general of Jinwu in this dynasty, and her mother's family is the Li family of the East China Sea, and her husband's family is clearly not a lord of the Zhuguo class, but only offends others. At the moment, she bent down and teased the child, and when she saw that she was warm, she just said hello and didn't say anything, so she had to smile with Zhenya: "There is the shadow of her father, and I heard Ziwu say that the prince didn't like to talk much when he was a child." ”

Zhenya couldn't help but be a little stunned, which corresponded to the name given to him by the Queen Mother. She was always very bored when she first met him, and she was a little girl, but she shouldn't be like him. She said to Mrs. Helan, and the other party sipped the wine and smiled so much that she couldn't straighten her waist: "You have to be like the prince, and the peach blossoms will be prosperous in the future!" The ladies on the left and right felt that her words were inappropriate, and they couldn't help but think of the demeanor of King Jingbei when he was not married...... Now that they are nominally married, their nieces have hope, hope...... In a blink of an eye, she saw the queen smiling lightly, and immediately dispelled her thoughts, and got together in twos and threes to talk about the latest popular songs.

Zhenya finally laughed, she really looked good when she laughed, which made Mrs. Helan look at it for a long time, but sighed. "Girl, you can't be too similar, you're at a loss. He began to eat again, and gave a vague "hmm".

Suddenly, a little girl with drooping hair covered in flowers ran straight from a group of dancing girls to a high position, startling the dancing girls to mess up the formation. She reached out to pull the queen's sleeve, but before she could reach it, the maid immediately helped her aside and stood up. Huihui sat not far from the main seat, and saw that the little girl of the same age was very delicate and beautiful, with a pair of red phoenix eyes with three points of majesty, and the maid said something to her, she raised her eyebrows curiously and looked here. When he saw it clearly, he looked back.

Yu Wenwen Rui glanced at his daughter lightly, sat up straight and raised his wine glass: "Anyang is too ignorant, I apologize to you." The ladies stood up and drank.

Princess Anyang was one year older than Huihui, and despite her mother's warning eyes, she shook off the maid's hand, and shouted loudly around a few people: "Sister, ......" Seeing Zhenya's brown eyes looking over, she paused and continued, her voice was quieter: "I heard that people from the Western Regions are very good at dancing, can aunt dance for me?"

The queen shouted, "Go back!"

An Yang flattened his mouth, "I just want to ......" The latter words were covered by the maid's strong hands.

The queen held her forehead, "If the discipline in this palace is not strict, sister-in-law should not be careful." ”

Zhenya stood up and said it was okay.

The queen's gaze fell on the warm face again, "This child is two and a half years old, right...... The true image of life. Her tone suddenly became soft.

Everyone was silent, eating for what should be eaten, and toasting for what should be toasted.

Someone chuckled.

Yu Wenming Rui immediately stood up and knelt down in a solemn posture.

The evening breeze blew from the lake, and the wind with moist moisture swept through her crow-like sideburns, and the golden steps that had accumulated flowers and emeralds flashed in the lamplight, reflecting the snow-white cheeks, which were cold for no reason.

Empress Dowager Shen, who stepped on the jade steps, didn't look at her, and Liang Duzhi smiled kindly: "Niangniang, hurry up." The Queen Mother wanted to see what new tricks there were this year on a whim, and ordered not to disturb the interest of the ladies, so she came over. ”

Empress Yuwen invited the Queen Mother to take a seat, and she ordered someone to carry a new chair and sit on the left. An Yang called her grandmother, and Empress Dowager Shen nodded at her.

The musician, who had just attracted everyone's applause, was about to leave, but was pushed out again, and he couldn't help but blow the round sheng with tiredness.

Empress Dowager Shen listened for a while and said, "This is Qingjiang Yin, it's blowing well." Reward people with something. ”

The queen respectfully ordered someone to take the things, and the musician retreated overjoyed.

Empress Dowager Shen glanced at the queen: "It's just a whim, I'm sitting here, and you can't enjoy it." I see that the ladies are also a little tired, so let's disperse after eating. I'll order the last song, but it will save the ladies from feeling bad. ”

After she finished speaking, she just left, and Liang Duzhi had nothing to say, so she followed closely.

Zezhiyan naturally dispersed soon.

The thick clouds are like ocean waves, rolling to block the full moon, and the palace lights are shining, winding from the Qingyan Palace to the palace gate. From the tall building, it looks like a hot scratch on the dim earth.

An Yang quietly followed behind her mother, she didn't know what her mother was doing in the highest falling star tower in the palace at night. Yu Wenming Ruiping retreated to the attendant, leaning on the turquoise pillar, staring at Miyagi.

After waiting for a long time, she finally spoke: "Jinlan, there will be many such things in the future." Mother can't have a prince anymore, so you can't keep me from holding my head up. ”

An Yang was ignorant, just nodded.

"Your uncle is on the frontier, I'm afraid I won't be able to come back this time. ”

An Yang exclaimed, "Does Father know?"

Yu Wenwen Rui suppressed his irritability and clenched his slender fingers tightly, "Jinlan, you just need to study hard in the future, and your mother will arrange for you to meet your cousins and cousins more." Don't ask about the rest, don't care. ”

An Yang nodded again and again, couldn't help yawning, and the queen called someone to send her back to the palace first.

Yu Wenwen Rui is the eldest daughter, who has received the most rigorous education, and then enters the palace, and finds that no matter how strict it is, no matter how hard it takes, it will be overturned and restarted. She thought about it hard, but she couldn't remember what kind of flowers the cold young man who had not been crowned king handed over to the suburbs of the capital back then.

As the night breeze picked up, she stood alone upstairs for a while, her hands over her face, a little water oozing from under the long armor of gold and stone beads.