Chapter 15: The Tranquility Before the War
The next day, Yidu, the imperial city. Pen & Fun & Pavilion www.biquge.info
In the study room of the Second Prince's Mansion, a man and a woman can be vaguely heard writing poems.
"When the swallows come, the green water is around." The man chanted.
"Circling the boat and the moon river is cold." The woman quickly answered.
"Autumn of the chilling cicada and green trees."
"The autumn shade does not disperse, and the frost flies late."
"If you want snow in the evening, you can drink a glass of nothing."
The ......woman thought for a moment, but she didn't come up with a poem that began with "nothing".
"It seems that today's words are going to be written by you first." The man spread out the rice paper on the table and said to the woman.
"Okay." The woman smiled and walked to the desk, picked up the brush and dipped it in some ink, wrote the word "belt" on the upper right side of the rice paper, and while putting down the brush, she chanted a new verse, "Last night's idle dream fell into flowers." β
"'Flowers'?" The man seemed to think of something, and suddenly laughed.
"What are you laughing at? If you don't say anything, you'll lose. β
"I just remembered what I said in your ear last night...... The flowers can be folded straight and must be folded. β
"Nasty!" The woman said coquettishly.
"How can the word 'fold' be the word 'ask'?"
"It's all your ......"
"Good, good. Then count on me this time. The man said, while picking up the pen and connecting the word "month" under the word "belt", "The falling flower water is late." β
"The sunset and the rain will harvest the sky."
"Ji ......"
"If you can't think of it, don't force it."
"Is this a punishment for me to practice calligraphy?" The man took the word "lotus" under the word "moon", and then said, "There is no orchestra to drink wine." β
"The strings drown out the sound of thought."
"Sijun is like a full moon, and the night is less bright."
"I should say that, I think it's awkward to hear you say......" The woman said with a wrinkle in her nose.
"Why, can't you come out, you want to cheat?"
"Who's cheating? Get out of the way! The woman ignored the man's smile and pushed him away, and then his word "lotus" wrote the word "hoe", "The frost in the air does not fly." β
"Where are the flying flowers?"
"It's a place where the red decay and green are decreasing, and the things are resting."
At the same time as the "......" man completed the word "return", he had already come out with the next sentence, "Husband fights, courage also." One blow of strength, then decline, three and exhaustion. β
"Jieshi Xiaoxiang Infinite Road."
"Isn't this 'Jie' the other 'exhausted'?"
"At least it's a homonym. Count it as mine this time, and it's right to start next time, okay? β
"Hmm."
"Hey, hey. Tears were spilled with a hoe. As she spoke, the woman wrote the word "but" to the left of the word "belt".
"Tears and rain and zero bells will never complain."
"Resentment...... May the moon shine on you. β
"I won't take this, lest you say I'll rob you of what you're going to say again." The man had already picked up the brush as he spoke, and took the word "make", "At the end of the song, be careful to draw." β
"Painting is idle, and there will be red tears in the silence."
The man ......shook his head helplessly, and wrote down the word "wish", "The phoenix flute blows off the water and clouds, and the song is all over again." β
"The east wind is thin all night."
"Skinny horse neighing waning moon."
"The moon is falling and the sky is full of frost."
"Heaven and earth are a sand gull."
"The gulls and herons are still flying."
"Three thousand feet down."
"The ruler is still thin."
"I'll have to use a homophone insteadβlook northwest, shoot the wolf."
"Hmm...... Lang rode a bamboo horse and went around the bed to make green plums. This suits us perfectly. β
"yes. Plums...... Plum and snow are three points white. β
"Singing during the day must be indulged in alcohol."
"When I wake up, I see the crimson dance."
"Dancer Yan Ruyu."
"The Jade Mansion Banquet is drunk and spring."
"The tide of the spring river is even the sea level."
"The flat forest desert is full of smoke."
"Weaving?" The woman didn't think of what sentence she could answer, so she had to pause, "It's hard to pick up such a long ......"
"Your Highness, the fifth princess is here." At this time, a guard outside the study reported.
The man in the study is the second son born to Emperor Jing of Yi Guo and the concubine, Xiu Yuan. And the woman is the daughter of Emperor Jing's sister Princess Jing and the cousin of Xiuyuan's childhood sweetheart. The two just got married a month ago.
"Got it. Invite her to come right here. The second prince Xiuyuan said.
"Second brother, cousin!" Not long after, a purple-clothed girl walked into the study from the courtyard.
"Xiuyan, why are you free to come over today?" Sun said happily.
"Let's see if the second brother and sister-in-law are newly married."
"Spirits!" Xiu Yuan said, tapping the tip of the girl's nose. And when Sun Qiqi heard the word "second sister-in-law", his face instantly turned red.
"What were you guys just doing?"
"To the poem."
"That's good. When the Mid-Autumn Festival banquet is held in two months, let's just play this! β
"Whatever you want, my father doesn't listen to you for everything." Xiu Yuan dotingly looked at Xiu Yan, the pearl of Emperor Jing's palm and his own sister, and said.
"Why are you the same as the concubine said......" Xiuyan was halfway through her speech, biting her lower lip lightly, and stopped talking.
"Did the concubine ask you to help her pass the word again?" Xiu Yuan still maintained a faint smile on his face, and said, "It's just that I just want to get that position." β
"You've guessed it, so I'll be straight to the point. You should know that the person who fought against the lonely country this time is Shu You, the eldest son of Shu Taifu, right? β
"Hmm."
"The mother concubine asked me to ask you, do you remember the relationship between Mrs. Shu and the queen, and do you remember the marriage contract between the third son of Shu and the ninth sister."
"I know...... The queen and Mrs. Shu have known each other since childhood and grew up together, and that friendship is enough for Mrs. Shu to support the eldest brother or fourth brother to ascend the throne. In addition, although the tenth brother is young, his father is still in good health, if the father finds the ninth sister in the past few years and fulfills the marriage contract of the year, the Shu family will turn to support Concubine Man and the tenth brother. β
So the mother said...... This time, Shu You must not be allowed to return victorious, and even if he wins, he must not be allowed to control the army's heart. β
"......" Xiu Yuan lowered his gaze silently when he heard this.
"Brother Yuan." Sun Qiqi exclaimed softly.
Xiuyuan and Sun Qichu glanced at each other, and when they saw the understanding in her eyes, the pain in their hearts instantly turned into tenderness like water.
At this time, Xiu Yan saw the words written by Xiu Yuan and Sun on the table, and it was easy to guess what the whole sentence was by following the first eight words, and she immediately understood that Xiu Yuanzhi was not here:
"Bring the moon and hoe back, but make a wish...... No violation? Let the mother concubine see it, she doesn't know how angry she is. β
"Consider, didn't you not come up with the 'weaving' just now? I came up with a homonym: those who know me say I am worried, and those who don't know me say what I want. Xiu Yuan looked out the window as he spoke, his eyebrows were unconsciously stained with a touch of sorrow, and he paused for a while before he spoke again, "Xiuyan, tell my mother that I promised her...... Will do. β
"Good. Then I'll go back to the palace. Xiuyan turned around and took two steps, then stopped and said softly, "Second brother...... I'm sorry. β
"Silly girl, it's me who should apologize. It's hard for you to be caught between us. β
Xiuyan wanted to say something, but she didn't say it after all, and quickly rushed out of the door and ran into the garden.
"Princess!"
"Eagle? Didn't you wait for me in front, why did you stay here all the time? β
"The subordinates promised the emperor that they would not leave the princess for more than fifty zhang." Xiuyan's personal guard, Chang Ying, said respectfully.
"Are you afraid that I will disappear like the ninth sister...... This promise began when I was seven years old, and you have been keeping it for seven years. I'm not a kid anymore. β
"But for subordinates, it's not just a promise." Changying was a little stubborn in his words.
"What's that?"
ββ¦β¦ When he was 12 years old, he met the princess for the first time, and from that day on, the princess was the noble master of his subordinates and the most important person in his life. Even if there is no order from the emperor, his subordinates will stay by the princess's side. β
"Can I do anything for the important people in my life?" Hearing this, Xiu Yan looked at Chang Ying Dao.
"As long as the princess wants, the subordinates will do their best to complete it."
"So...... Because the mother concubine is an important person in the second brother's life, whether the second brother likes it or not, he will work hard to realize the mother's wishes, isn't it? β
"It's inconvenient for my subordinates to talk about the affairs of the masters."
"What if it's me?" Xiuyan stared into Changying's eyes and asked, "If the mother concubine asks me to marry someone I don't want to marry for the sake of my second brother, should I also do what she says?" β
"......" The eagle lowered his gaze and fell silent.
"You're a big fool!" Xiu Yan shouted angrily at Changying, and before she could spot Changying's tightly clenched fists, she turned around and ran away.
This time, only this time, the eagle did not immediately catch up, he stood in place, his heart rising and falling, until he bit his lip white and dug his nails into the palm of his hand.
~~~
On the second day, in a restaurant in Yiguobian County-
Guan Shu and Chan'er sat at a table in the corner of the first floor of the restaurant, sipping tea while quietly watching the three men sitting in the other corner of two empty tables.
"Very suspicious." Chan'er wore a water-colored long skirt and a green veil on her face, and muttered.
"Yes, the war in this county is about to start, and ordinary people avoid it, but looking at their appearance, they have been hurried here for several days." Guan Shu bowed his head slightly.
"Who do you think they are?"
"Not a person in the rivers and lakes, but extraordinary skills, especially the person in the middle......"
"If you say they're not from the rivers and lakes, then they must not." Chan'er has absolute trust in Guan Shu's eyesight and said.
"I'm more concerned about that baggage." As Guan Shu spoke, his gaze swept lightly over the bag that the man in the middle had placed on his hand, which was more than three feet long and about nine inches wide, "That size reminds me of something." β
"I'm a little worried, they can't be coming for my uncle, right? As you said, the various forces of the Yi royal family are complex now, and they are also inextricably linked with the ministers of the DPRK and China. So if you want to know what the purpose of their trip is, you must first find out which force they are. β
"Not bad."
"Little Er, check out." At this time, the man to the left of the man in the middle shouted.
"They're ready to go, shall we follow?" Chan'er looked at Guan Shu.
"You stay here and wait for me." Guan Shu said, "Before you go back to the lonely country, you can't make any extraneous branches." β
"But ......"
"Alright, obedient. It's easier for me to run away alone, isn't it? β
"You still have the heart to laugh!"
"Little two." Seeing that the three of them had left, Guan Shu immediately beckoned Xiao Er to come over, took out a piece of silver and said to him, "Give us a quiet private room, come to the table with light wine and food, and don't let anyone disturb this girl before I come back." β
"Yes, don't worry. Girl, upstairs please. β
"Then be careful yourself." Chan'er instructed Guan Shudao.
"Hmm."