Forbidden City, Yonghe Palace.

Concubine De said to Honghui: "When I go back, remember to tell you Amma, you are also old now, and you have lived in the palace for so long, I don't think you are a stupid child, and it is also your luck to be able to go back to the house at this time." It's just that you can't slack off in learning. ”

Honghui bowed and said, "Grandson must remember Niangniang's instructions." ”

He knelt down and kowtowed, and Concubine De, who was at the top, suddenly regarded the person kneeling below as the fourth master of the year.

Honghui got up, Concubine De came back to her senses, and she was in no mood to speak, so she waved her hand and said, "Okay, you can go out quickly." Don't keep the people out there waiting. ”

It was still dark outside at this time, and Feng Sheng's four haha beads from the Ulanala family were standing outside the hall, and as soon as Honghui came out, these four people stepped forward to give a small salute. Honghui nodded at them, and before he could say more, he waved his hand, and several people hurried out of the palace.

On the way from Yonghe Palace to the palace gate, Fengsheng and several people were secretly looking at Honghui's back. Concubine De deliberately left Brother to speak before leaving the palace today, presumably she confessed something, right?

Honghui has his own agenda.

In the middle of last year, there were rumors in the study that several of them were old enough to live and study in the palace, and it was not good to continue to live in the palace, so they were to be asked to leave the palace and return home.

is groundless, since someone has spread this word, of course Honghui will not take it seriously. He talked to Amma, and Ama said that this depends on the emperor's meaning, if it is true, then there are only two possibilities, one is that they don't have to go to the study anymore; Or you can still go to the study to read, but you have to go every day and go back on the same day.

Which is better, Amma didn't tell him, but told him to think about it himself, just comforted him that if he didn't go to the study, he could ask him to ask for a husband at home, and besides, they wouldn't ask him to rely on reading to get into his life. Reading is to learn, not to earn a future by relying on it.

Amma patted him on the shoulder and said, "You're old enough to do Amma a favor." ”

said that his heart fluctuated, and he felt that it was better to leave the study at that time.

But when he returned to the palace and chatted with his classmates Hongxi and others, Hongxi smiled, and saw that Hongjin and Hongsheng were just laughing.

Honghui naturally felt that he had something to say, his face was upright, and he was calm and light, but he was already beating the drum in his heart.

Hongsheng belonged to the third uncle's family, he touched his nose and said with a smile: "Honghui, in fact, I was thinking about this two days ago, and I also talked to my two brothers. ”

"You say." Honghui smiled, and poured him a glass of wine with a pot and pushed it over.

Hongsheng said: "The two of us are a little similar, Eniang is both Fujin, and they are not favored, and there is a younger brother who is standing behind him with Fujin." ”

Honghui's face is no longer good-looking, and he was about to ask him to stop, after all, as a son talking about the backyard affairs of his parents in front of outsiders, it may also involve selfishness and competition for favor, it will be too ugly.

Hongsheng didn't wait for him to say to Hongxi and Hongjin: "Look, look, I'll just say that Honghui doesn't want to listen." He continued, "I said this by treating you as a brother, and you think that if others want to hear it, I will say it?" Besides, those things in my family are disgusting, and I'm ashamed to say it. You just treat me as a lot of nonsense, anyway, they only laugh at me, what's the matter with you? Just listen. ”

Honghui didn't tell him not to say it again, in the bottom of his heart, the other side Fujin and Hongyu also had some unspeakable secret feelings. One is an elder and the other is a brother of the same father. But in his heart, why not hope for their downfall? If Fang Fujin can lose this title, if Hongyu can return to Eniang's house, his big stone that has been hanging in his heart for many years can really be put down.

And where they were, they made him troubled.

It's just that this kind of thought is too terrible, so that he doesn't dare to admit that he gave birth to this thought, so when he heard Hongsheng mention it, he became as excited as if he had been pricked by a needle.

Hongsheng sighed: "I've been thinking about this for a long time. You have also seen my Amma, and I am Amana, a soft-hearted man. I don't usually see it in the palace, and when he sees me, he loves me so much that he is willing to give me any good things. But I'm not in the house, he only cares about loving my second and third brothers. Now that I am called to me, I don't know if I am heavier in my Amma's heart, or if my two younger brothers are heavier. ”

Honghui's expression inevitably became heavy, Hongxi saw it, patted his arm, and sighed: "In my opinion, the third and fourth uncles will not say what they want to do with the two of you." Both of you are from Chang Fujin, as long as there is no big mistake, it will not be easy to get you down. ”

Hongsheng slapped the table and said, "That's it. So I'm not particularly worried, not to mention that my mother and I are pretty good, and the second and third brothers are not the same mothers, and the two of them are pinched every day. I, Amma, love and pity women, and that's enough for them to worry, and I can take the opportunity to catch my breath. ”

Hongjin slapped Hongsheng with a smile and scolded: "Even take out the matter of your Ama and say, you are an unfilial son." ”

Hongsheng let his hand and parried: "The upper beam is not right and the lower beam is crooked, he is romantic, and I can do the same...... Hey, hey, hey, my mother said she was picking a girl for me, you have it too, right? You're older than me. ”

Hongjin was taller than him, with long arms, and he was able to pat Hongsheng's head at once, and said, "You want a girl too?" Has the hair grown! ”

These two are fighting, Hongxi and Honghui are still sitting in the same place, Honghui has been distracted since he called Hongsheng to talk about the center just now, Hongxi looked at him worriedly from time to time, while the two were making trouble, he patted Honghui and whispered to him: "You really don't have to worry, your brother is three years younger than you, and when he grows up, you will be married." I'll have an errand here to go back, so I'll just get you along. ”

With this sentence, Honghui was grateful in his heart, but he didn't dare to agree easily, and said, "Brother Xie." This love brother received it, but it was just an errand, and I think Amma probably arranged it for me earlier. ”

Hongxi nodded: "That's fine." He patted the edge of the table lightly and shouted to Hongjin and Hongsheng: "Don't make trouble, be careful to sweat again, this kind of wind and cold is not fun." ”

Hongsheng ran back, sweating with Hongjin, and wanted to pick up the herbal tea in the cup to drink, but Honghui held his hand down and asked someone to take it down and change it to boiling tea. Hongxi also said: "Do you dare to drink cold tea when you sweat, do you want to have diarrhea?" Sit down, and the sweat will fall in a moment. ”

Hongsheng sat down next to Honghui, and when he saw that his face still didn't come, he came over embarrassedly and said, "Brother, I was talking nonsense just now, don't worry." I'm just it......" The smile on his face was gone, and his expression had become dazed, "I'm just a little afraid to go home...... Over the years, when I go back, I always feel that it doesn't feel like my home anymore. ”

Honghui is like stepping into the abyss black hole under his feet.

He, like Hongsheng, has only a small amount of time to go home to live in the past few years, more often in the palace, he almost grew up here, and the family is becoming less and less acquainted, when he goes back, he lives in his yard in the front yard, but he feels that Hongyu is more like the owner here, he is a guest.

Afterwards, Hongxi said to him: "If you still come in to study in the future, then it will be convenient for us to meet." If you don't come in from now on, don't forget that there are still me and Hongjin in the palace, we have been together for the past few years, and I treat you as my own brother. In the fourth uncle's house, I will recognize you as one. If there is something difficult and you want to ask someone to do it, ask your people to come in and hand me the words, it is very difficult, I will refuse, I dare not be your big brother again. ”

Honghui was warmly said by Hongxi.

When he first entered the palace, Amma motioned for him to get closer to Hongxi. Even if he knew that it might be Hongxi or the prince behind him who made the ghost, he was resistant at first, but over the years, Hongxi took care of him in everything, and he had already resolved that bit of mustard.

In the mansion, Hongyu is also the son of Amma, Li Fangfujin began to wait for Ama earlier than Eniang, with such a strong enemy on the side, his heart is also full of worries about returning to the house. With Hongxi's words, no matter how much truth there is, he has the bottom in his heart.

This year, the emperor didn't say anything before going to Zhili, but the will to send them back to the palace last month included the words to tell them to leave the palace. Although there have been rumors for a long time, it is still surprising that it is so sudden.

He didn't have time to tell the mansion that after returning to the mansion this time, he didn't have to enter the palace again. The emperor's decree is to let everyone go back to the house to study, if you still want to call the gentleman in the study to teach, the holy decree does not prohibit everyone from going to the teacher in private.

Honghui didn't linger on the gentleman in the study, and he was even more reluctant to be his cousins who had been classmates for several years. Fortunately, after class ended yesterday, Hongsheng invited him to go to his house to play after returning home.

"We're not in charge now! I'm going to tell my Amma, don't ask for a gentleman just yet! I'm going to have a good time for a year and a half! Hongsheng said.

Hongxi just laughed, and Hongjin came up and grabbed Hongsheng's neck and said, "You just went out, didn't you want to study hard?" I also play for a year and a half, and tell you, you are allowed to play for half a month, at most a month. Then come into the palace to see me, and then bring your homework, and my brother will reluctantly show it for you. ”

Hongsheng was stuck by him and sighed, kicked and kicked: "you! If you want to teach the master's homework, you are not qualified enough! Don't you see who I am, Amma? This time, I don't get him on the head and read it every day, and my name is written upside down! ”

Thinking that the third master was a well-known literati in the clan, a group of juniors laughed. Even Honghui has to sympathize with Hongsheng, not to mention anything else in the third uncle's study, the books are the most, and Hongsheng is asked to read one in ten days, and he can read until he is fifty years old.

Thinking of these cousins, Honghui's tense expression relaxed a little, and he unconsciously smiled a little.

Feng Sheng's forehead, who was following along, saw it and secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

They have long known that the eldest brother is going to return to the house, and he has discussed with Amma, and the most troublesome thing is that after the eldest brother returns to the house, they are likely to live in the mansion as well.

"It's been a long time since the second elder brother was alone in the fourth beyler's mansion, and I heard that he also had a guard last year, so you live in the mansion this time, remember not to have a conflict with the second elder brother's people. Otherwise, it is very likely that the one who will suffer is the big brother. ”

Feng Sheng said, "Amma, I understand. The eldest brother is the eldest brother, and the second elder brother is young, we quarrel with the second elder brother's people, and the fourth Belle is likely to play fifty boards each, but the second elder brother is young and takes advantage, and the eldest brother owes some. I will explain to others, I will definitely not cause trouble, others are looking for trouble, we will also let it go. ”

He Ama said: "It's good to back down, but you can't back down indefinitely. If they deceive Amma in the face, Brother is not careful, but you can come out. is desperate to be punished afterwards, and he can't let Brother be wronged. ”

Thinking of this, Feng Sheng's heart couldn't help but sink. He is the eldest in the family, he is older than Elder Brother, and in terms of relatives, he is Elder Brother's cousin. Brother usually treats him with three points of respect.

With Brother Brother's intention to treat him and the relationship between the two families, he can't make Brother lose face.

When you go out of the palace gate, you can see the cars from various prefectures to pick up Brother. Su Peisheng of Sibeile Mansion was waiting at the gate of the palace, and when he saw Honghui coming out, he hurriedly stepped forward and kowtowed, and the little eunuchs took all the suitcases sent out from the palace and carried them to the car.

Honghui helped him and said politely: "Father-in-law doesn't have to be polite, my father-in-law has come to pick me up." "Then look for Amma.

Su Peisheng said: "This is all the duty of a slave. At a glance, he saw Honghui looking around, secretly wiped his sweat, and whispered: "Big brother, there are guests in the house today, and the master is not free......"

Honghui was a little disappointed, but still smiled: "Then let's ......" Before he finished speaking, he saw a person coming out of the car parked next to the palace gate.

Hongyi.

Su Peisheng stepped aside and said with a smile: "The master will call the second elder brother to come over and take you back to the house." ”

Hongyu has already stepped forward quickly, it is not easy to run around in front of the palace gate, not to mention that he is too old to be unruly like a child.

Honghui was only stunned for a moment before laughing happily and greeted him.

Feng Sheng's forehead looked at each other several times, and they all avoided each other first.

"Big brother!" Hongyu was two points faster, and when he saw Honghui coming up, he almost trotted, rushed up and hugged Honghui hard, and then retreated and saluted neatly. Honghui hurriedly grabbed him, "Don't be polite." After saying that, he replied.

The two brothers saw the salute, Honghui stepped aside, and several people stepped forward to salute. Hongyu stood and accepted it, only bent down and helped him, and then dragged Honghui's arm to the car: "Hurry up, Ama asked me to pick you up quickly, we are going to Zhuangzi." ”

Honghui also quickened his pace when he heard this: "Go today?" ”

The two got on the horse, Hongyu saw that Feng Sheng's forehead also followed, Fu Er said a few words to Honghui, and Honghui said to Fengsheng and others: "You go home first, wait for my letter." ”

Leaving Fengsheng and them, the two brothers galloped on horseback, Su Peisheng walked slowly with Honghui's luggage, and the two of them only followed the guards. All the way back to the house, Hongyu said: "Big brother, let's go and see Chang Eniang first, Ama is also there with Chang Eniang." ”

Hearing this, Honghui was overjoyed, threw the reins of the horse to the eunuch and went to the house.

In the main courtyard, Ama was really waiting for him with Eniang.

He knelt down first when he entered the house and made a big salute, and the fourth master helped him up with his own hands, looked him up and down carefully, patted him on the shoulder and said, "Sure enough, when you get to Zhuangzi, Ama will test your kung fu well." ”

I haven't seen him for more than a month, and Honghui also misses Amma, so he immediately said: "My son can shoot fifty steps now!" ”

"Good!" The fourth master praised, turned his head to Fujin and said, "Tell Honghui to take a break, use a bowl of tea, you can also talk, and ask him to go to the front after half an hour." ”

Honghui hurriedly followed Eniang to send Ama out, and when he saw Ama disappearing in a blink of an eye, a sense of sadness suddenly surged in his heart. Ama came to E-Niang to wait to see him, and his concern for him was unquestionable, but his affection for E-Niang was like the dry spring.

He looked at Eniang again, but found that Eniang was not sad.

Yuan Ying pulled Honghui to sit down, asked someone to serve him tea and snacks, didn't say a word of nonsense, and said directly: "You use a little bit, E-Niang asked someone to pack up your things, you Ama means that we want to live in Zhuangzi for a long time." His homework is taught by him, and the master of the mounted archery is Burgen, the leader of your Amma's guards. ”

Honghui didn't care about drinking the tea, and interjected and asked, "Eniang, is there something wrong?" Why did Amma suddenly want to go to live in Zhuangzi? He remembered that this time they were also suddenly called out of the palace, could there be any connection between the two?

Yuan Ying didn't know it herself, so she had to say: "This is all something that adults have to worry about, so don't ask more." Where to get there and listen to Amma? ”

Honghui hurriedly put down the tea bowl, held her hand and asked, "E-niang, aren't you going?" ”

"E-niang went, just a few days later than you." Yuan Ying immediately comforted him and said, "The affairs in the house are not just said to be gone, you have to clean up." Besides, as soon as the fourth master leaves, she closes the door, and she doesn't have to care about the posts and people from outside.

Honghui wanted to ask Li Fangfujin if he would go with Ama first, but E-Niang had always been reluctant to tell him about the backyard, and even if he asked, he would only be scolded.

Yuan Ying saw that the time was almost up, asked someone to fill him with snacks, and said, "Go quickly, don't make you Ama and your brother wait for a long time." ”

Honghui had no choice but to go. When he arrived in the front yard, he found that there was also Hongyu waiting for him.

Seeing that his two sons had arrived, the fourth master looked at the clothes on Honghui's body and frowned slightly, and said, "Do you want to change your clothes?" You have all the boxes, so you can find convenient clothes? ”

Honghui is returning home today, and even if he rides a horse, he only rides a short distance. So he was wearing regular clothes, but when he saw that Ama and Hongyu were wearing riding clothes at this time, he knew that he was afraid that he would have to pass the horse all the way to Zhuangzi.

He smiled: "No, it's more troublesome to change." After speaking, he pushed his braids to his waist, tied the corners of his robe to his waist, tied his trouser legs tightly, and said, "That's it." ”

The fourth master looked at it and smiled: "This is also what your master in the palace taught, right?" I also learned this when I was a kid. ”

Before the full people entered the customs, the clothes were not divided into regular clothes or riding clothes. After entering the customs, the sinicization gradually deepened, the corners of the clothes became longer and longer, the fabrics became more and more gorgeous and light, and the style became gradually inconvenient for horseback riding. When the fourth master was a child, he wore two kinds of clothes in the palace in turns, and the riding and archery master taught them how to make inconvenient Han clothes more convenient.

He still remembered that the emperor was also dressed like this at that time, and smiled at them: "If this is for the Han people to see, we have to say that we have insulted Sven." ”

At that time, the third master also showed a sentence: "They will say that this is called untidy clothes, which is a very rude thing." It will be laughed at when people see it. ”

The emperor smiled: "The Han people are just afraid of being laughed at too much, what is the Heavenly Empire, you can't learn this." People can't be lawless, but the so-called rules and etiquette control their hands and feet, which is putting the cart before the horse. ”

There is only one rule in the world, and that is that the winner is king.

The fourth master suddenly felt that he was restrained by something called. Until you reach that highest position, you don't need to worry about anything. And when he actually sat in that seat, he had to make all the rules.

He exhaled a depression that had been stored in his chest for a long time, as if he had unloaded a big burden.

"Get on the horse." The fourth master whipped and said.

Zhuangzi had already prepared everything, so that the masters would be comfortable as soon as they came. Honghui found that it was only the two of them who came with Amma, which made him breathe a sigh of relief.

As long as E-Niang is not left alone again.

The layout of the Zhuangzi is the same as that in the city, except that the place is much larger.

As soon as the fourth master arrived, he asked Honghui and Hongyu to sort out their respective luggage first, and then prepare for lunch, and practice martial arts and archery together in the afternoon.

After sending the children away, he said to Su Peisheng: "Go and invite Mr. Dai." ”

After a while, Dai Duo came in behind Su Peisheng.

After he knelt down, he burst into tears, "Master, the slave finally sees you again!" ”

Seeing him so excited, the fourth master was also a little moved. Such a loyal slave is hard to find, and he picked up Dai Duo with his own hands, and the fourth master called Mr. and said, "Mr. Dai doesn't need to be polite, please sit down." ”

Outside the house, Wang Yicheng handed the tea to Su Peisheng and took it in and retreated. The one in the house didn't look ordinary, and Grandpa Su personally delivered the tea, and he didn't let others in.

After serving tea, Su Peisheng also retreated. There were only two people in the house, the fourth master and Dai Duo.

The fragrance of tea was lingering, and the two did not speak for a while.

It was Dai Duo who broke the silence and asked the master to speak first, especially a master like the fourth master, who was too stupid to be a slave.

He said first: "The slave's letter to the master, has the master read it?" ”

The fourth master nodded lightly, if he hadn't read the letter, he wouldn't have asked Dai Duo to come back.

Dai Duo showed a relieved and inexplicable expression, knelt down from his seat again, kowtowed, and said: "The slave is outside, hanging for the master day and night, and borrowing the courage to write such a letter to the master, and the slave will die without redemption." ”

After that, he knocked his head down again.

The fourth master saw that blood came out of his forehead after a few blows, and finally opened his mouth to call him up, sighing: "...... You are also loyal to me, so you dare to speak out. ”

Dai Duo kowtowed a few more times, and raised his face, as if he had been knocked on the head a few times.

He said quietly and quickly: "Master, the slave letter is full of heart, I hope the master must think twice!" ”

The fourth master closed his eyes and calmed down, stretched out his hand to help him, and said, "You get up and speak." ”

Only then did Dai Duo dare to stand up.

The fourth master remembered Dai Duo's words in the letter, but he still didn't dare to speak out, but said: "What you said is what you thought for yourself?" ”

Dai Duo nodded, and the fourth master asked again: "...... You haven't seen the emperor, how dare you speculate about the emperor's heart? ”

Dai Duo affirmed: "Please forgive the master for the sin of disrespect of the slave." ”

The fourth master nodded.

Dai Duo then said: "Master, although the slave has never seen the emperor, he has been with the emperor for a long time. The emperor's eloquence is strategic, and his heavenly posture is heroic, which is a hundred times better than that of mortals. ”

The fourth master sighed: "Huang Ama has indeed built immortal achievements, carrying on the past and forging ahead into the future, I don't know if the emperor in the future can match the ...... of Emperor Ama in case"

When Dai Duo heard this, he immediately slapped his ass: "Why should the master be arrogant? According to the slaves, the only one who can inherit the emperor's great cause is naturally the master. ”

Although the fourth master was scratched by the itchy flesh in his heart, his face sank, and he shouted: "Presumptuous, I am loyal to the emperor and the prince, if I say this kind of thing again, I won't be able to spare you." ”

Dai Duo knelt down and kowtowed again, and repeatedly asked for guilt, before the fourth master allowed him to get up.

But then the fourth master was much more relaxed, and Dai Duo could also speak more deeply.

Dai Duo said in a low voice: "According to the foolish opinion of the slaves, although the emperor is majestic and heroic, he is only a person. If you are human, you have weaknesses. ”

Hearing this, the fourth master was a little unstable, but he calmed down, and just unconsciously kept rubbing the knuckle of his right finger and the place where he was wearing a wrench, "You continue." ”

Dai Duo's voice became lower and lower: "The weakness of the emperor is ...... Old. ”

The fourth master exhaled slowly.

Dai Duo continued: "Emperor Chen Bing may have the intention of deterring others, but more importantly, he can only sleep peacefully by relying on heavy soldiers. ”

Without the comfort of holding heavy soldiers, the emperor can no longer sleep peacefully.