The winter of Yicheng came very early this year, and there was a heavy snowfall before the beginning of winter, and the old people said that this is not a good sign, and this year may be a year of many disasters.

At the beginning of the heavy snow, the vast expanse was silvery white, the mountains in the distance seemed to be covered with snow-white cloaks towering over the clouds, and the vigorous pines and cypresses faced the cold north wind, standing in the white snow. Wrapped in silver, a gorgeous crimson is particularly dazzling in the snow, like a flame burning in the ice and snow.

The girl lay behind a snowdrift in the pine forest, motionless, with a slender neck, a smooth forehead, a beautiful and fair face, and long silky hair half tied and half draped over her shoulders. She held a bow in her hand, this was a bow specially made for her, the bow arm was a thousand-year-old yew wood on the Holy Immortal Mountain, and the bowstring was the tendon of the rhinoceros caught in the ice lake of the Holy Immortal Mountain.

The girl's bright and agile eyes were now staring closely at the grass in the distance, the grass had long since withered and yellowed, and the dead grass was covered with frost and snow. A faint rustling sound came from the grass, shaking off the frost and snow on the dead grass, and the girl's eyes narrowed slightly, and a trace of excitement flashed in her eyes. She carefully lowered her body and pulled the strings full, just waiting for the moment to strike.

There was another rustling sound, and the head of a yellow antelope cautiously poked out of the grass, this was a newly grown yellow antelope, the antelope horns had not yet fully grown, the little head poked left and right, gnawed a few mouthfuls of withered yellow grass, and then half of the body was drilled out of the grass, and the nose contracted a few times in the cold air, as if it smelled a trace of danger.

At this moment, with a snort, the arrow in the girl's hand was off the string, full of strength, and a silver light was drawn against the ground, hitting the neck of the yellow antelope. There was a burst of cheers, and the guards who were in ambush in the forest immediately rushed out and dragged back the yellow antelope who had been hit by the arrow.

The girl in red chuckled, her crisp laughter as pleasant as a nightingale, and she hung the rope tied to the yellow antelope on her saddle, shook her whip fiercely, and galloped away in the direction of the palace.

This is the hunting ground of Xiaoshan Palace thirty miles west of Yicheng, and every winter, the most enthusiastic activity of the children of the royal family of the Jin Kingdom is to come here for winter hunting.

In the octagonal pavilion, a young man stood with his hands in his hands, looking at the white mountains in the distance surrounded by mist and was stunned, and there seemed to be a faint gloomy color between his eyebrows. The winter that came in advance was particularly cold, he was wearing a dark brocade robe, and he was wearing a moon white fox fur, and the cold was still pervasive, but he didn't realize it, until a rapid sound of horses' hooves came, and he retracted his gaze and looked back.

A brilliant crimson sped towards him in the snow, and the cold wind lifted her skirt like a blazing flame burning in the snow and ice. As the horse approached, the girl did not stop the horse, but jumped lightly from the horse, falling like a butterfly, laughing and flying into the man's arms.

"Jinyun ......"

The woman hooked Yan Xu's neck with her arms, stood on tiptoe and hung herself on him, the smile on her face was like the hibiscus embroidered on her dress, blooming beautifully and moving.

Her voice was especially excited, "Jinyun, look! That's what I shot, it's Huang Ling, we can eat roast Huang Ling tonight! ”

Yan Xu stretched out his arms and gently supported her, lowered his eyes to look at her, his expression was cold and did not distinguish between joy and anger, "Xiyue, you forgot again." ”

Xiyue stuck out her tongue, put her hand down, stood up straight, lowered her head, and said aggrievedly: "I'm overjoyed to hunt the yellow antelope." ”

He has always liked women who are gentle and demure and have dignified manners, and his requirements for her in this regard are simply harsh, and she has suffered a lot for her because of her out-of-character character. Whenever she got carried away and behaved in a manner inconsistent with grace and dignity, he punished her for copying scriptures, practicing the piano, and painting, or asked her aunt in charge of the palace to teach her etiquette until he was satisfied.

Xiyue's little face was red from the cold, and she looked a little pitiful with her head hanging down, Yan Xu was silent, and took off the big coat on her body and draped it on her. His fingertips touched her cheek, it was cold, she shivered, snatched the big from his hand, and couldn't help but put it on him again, tiptoe to fasten the button for him, "I'm not cold, I ran in a hurry just now, and I was sweating." ”

Now that he is not in the palace, he probably won't be as harsh as before, she breathed a sigh of relief, a little glad in her heart, and put his hands in her palms. Her hands were small and couldn't cover his hands at all, but she didn't care, rubbed his fingertips hard, put them to her mouth and sighed, "Jinyun, are you still cold?" ”

He said lightly: "It's not cold." ”

Her eyes widened and she said angrily, "It's not cold, it's the same as ice cubes." On such a cold day, I don't wear a little thicker, what if I get sick? ”

He didn't actually feel cold, his body temperature was different from ordinary people, because of the internal strength he practiced, but her nervous appearance made him feel funny, so he tossed by her, "When have you ever seen me sick?" ”

She looked up at him, as if thinking, she had been by his side for three years, and she had indeed never seen him sick, she disagreed, "That can't be taken lightly, this year's snow is abnormal, it's better to be careful." ”

He hummed, looked at her with half-lowered eyes, a red face, bright eyes, a small nose, and moist lips, her appearance was not stunning, but she had a vigorous vitality, as if there was always endless energy and never-ending enthusiasm.

Completely different from that person...... He was a little distracted, and he couldn't help but think of another woman's face, beautiful, sad, and cold...... Another sound of horses' hooves pulled his thoughts back.

In front were three fast horses, followed by a group of guards. Running at the front was a young man of about sixteen or seventeen years old, his clothes were embroidered with the peonies unique to the royal family, his body was a little weak, and his appearance was handsome, but the yin look on his face was extremely inconsistent with his age.

They were followed by a man and a woman, the women with beautiful faces and extremely luxurious clothes. The man running beside her had a round face, fair complexion, and a slightly chubby body, panting.

"Hua Yuan, wait for me ......" The round-faced man's riding skills didn't seem to be very good, and he soon fell behind.

Hua Yuan, who was running in front of him, was a little impatient, and she didn't look back, "Cousin Mu, hurry up, we can't let that little slut of Xiyue compare today." ”

When the young man at the front heard this, his face couldn't help but sink, and he twitched the horse's back hard. When they gradually ran closer to the octagonal pavilion and saw the crimson in the pavilion, they couldn't help but be deflated and their speed slowed down.

Seeing them coming back, Xiyue let go of Yan Xu's hand and asked happily, "His Royal Highness the Prince, what did you hit?" ”

The young man known as the prince snorted and waved his hand, and two guards jumped off his horse, one carrying a hare in his hand and the other a pheasant.

Xiyue looked at the two skinny prey, and immediately forgot Yan Xu's warning just now, and laughed: "The three of you have been fighting for a long time, and you have hunted these two pitiful small things?" Your Royal Highness the Prince, you have lost again, your words must be counted, and your sweaty and bloody BMW with four hooves and snow belongs to me. ”

Hua Yuan pouted and whispered to Yuan Mu: "It's all your fault, you're clumsy, and you can't help anything." ”

Yuan Mu scratched his head sneeringly, "Yes, yes, it's all my fault, it's me who is stupid." ”

The prince blushed, looked at the yellow antelope on the ground and glared coldly, and didn't look at Yan Xu, leaving everyone and leaving by himself. The prince's perverse temper, everyone was no longer surprised, seeing that he was gone, Lord Hua Yuan and Yuan Mu hurriedly saluted Yan Xu, "I have seen the prince." ”

Yan Xu nodded at the two, looked at the sky again, and said, "It's not early, go back." ”

As he spoke, he turned around first, and Xiyue followed with a smile, taking his arm and walking to the carriage on the side of the road.

The pines and cypresses on the side of the road are vigorous, the treetops are covered with snow, the layers are like pine waves, the blue and silver and white reflect the sky, the male posture is straight, the female waist is graceful, the crimson skirt is intimately next to the moon-white da, looking at it is a pleasing scenery. Hua Yuan looked at the backs of the two in a daze, and she was indescribably lonely and envious.

It was night, the moon was shining, but the cold was worse than the day. In the garden of the palace, a curtain has been hung to block the wind, and a bronze tripod is burned in ten steps, and a charcoal fire is burned in the tripod to keep the cold out.

There is a food table in the garden, one case per person, the table is full of melons and fruits, snacks and alcoholic wine, the cooks set up the stove in the open space, the fat yellow antelope is roasted on the stove, the fat on the sheep body makes a sizzling sound, and the aroma is overflowing.

The prince hasn't come over yet, probably still annoyed that he lost today's hunt to Xiyue. Xiyue and the county lord of Hua Yuan were playing arrowpot and fighting wine, Xiyue always won, and Hua Yuan's face turned black when she lost. Several nobles of the clan were carrying out the wine order, but Yan Xu did not participate, only tasting wine on the side, a little absent-minded.

After a while, Yun Shan hurriedly came to Yan Xu's side, respectfully handed over a sealed copper pipe, Yan Xu glanced at it, and ordered, "Open it." ”

Yun Shan responded, opened the copper pipe, and handed the small sheepskin scroll inside to Yan Xu. Yan Xu glanced at it silently, then kneaded the small sheepskin roll into a ball and threw it into the stove on the side. Yun Shan saw that he had no other orders, so he bowed and retreated on his own.

Yuan Mu on the side saw that Yan Xu had no uncertain look on his face, and said tentatively: "Shizi, I don't know how the battle situation is on the front line?" ”

Yan Xu looked at the ashes in the furnace, and only said lightly: "Great victory." ”

When Yuan Mu heard this, he said happily: "Finally recovering Liangdi, congratulations." Zheng, Liang, and Wei, now there is only one Wei left, presumably within next year, His Majesty will send troops to recover Wei, and then the prince will have to work hard again. Congratulations to the son, after this time the army is class, His Majesty will definitely reward the son. ”

Yan Xu was noncommittal, put down the wine cup in his hand, "The Yuan family has made meritorious contributions to raising food, and I will make a statement to His Majesty." ”

He patted Yuan on the shoulder, got up and left on his own.