Fulan Garden, where homeless children live within a radius of more than ten miles, as old as fifteen or sixteen years old, and as young as a few months. Mr. and A-Niang are very meticulous, Mr. is responsible for the children's homework, strictly responsible; A-Niang takes care of life, gentle and loving.

In fact, according to the regulations, when the children here reach the age of fourteen or fifteen, they can choose to stay. But many children choose to stay at this age and become new husbands, and some choose to come back after a few years away.

It's not in the middle of the city, so it's very quiet, and the surrounding area is surrounded by large expanses of lush tall grass, which makes it seem isolated. The strange thing is that there are not many flowers and plants in the yard, only large and small locust trees.

When my brother and I arrived, tender buds, withered branches and shallow leaves were emerging from the trees, which made the yard show an inexplicable stubbornness and persistence.

Many years later, until I met Cheng Hao, I didn't know that so many locust trees were to miss someone.

During the years I waited for Mu Zixiao, Sister Yu and the others lived with me, and they became the most dependent people in my life besides my relatives. Sister Yu is our teacher Xi, she taught us to practice female red and learn etiquette.

I learned to paint beautiful makeup, recite many poems, and fly needles and threads in a pillar of incense to embroider a magnificent picture of mountains and rivers.

Yuan Qing - my younger brother, when he entered the place, was changed by the deacon in charge of registering information, and he also felt that the dog really did not look like a name - after living with me for half a year and going through the adjustment period, he was taken to the front yard, which is the boys' training home. There he practiced mounted archery, read the art of war, and learned medical skills.

It is said that it is a male and female division, but in fact it is not so strict. They are all children who have lost their support, where can they take care of the difference between men and women? After completing Sister Yu's task, I often ran to the front yard to find Yuan Qing. Watch him ride and shoot and help him dry the herbs. But my favorite is the books in the study in the front yard.

Unlike the backyard notebooks and old-fashioned moral admonitions, there are many national chronicles, local chronicles, statecraft strategies, various military books, military defense essentials, and weapons building history.

I often took a book of soldiers to study, and it was most of the day I read it, until the night dew soaked my clothes, and then I left in Yuan Qing's urging and complaining. In addition, I also begged Yuan Qing to teach me to ride a horse. So the two of us secretly snuggled aside, and waited until everyone had finished training before daring to pull out a horse that didn't look too tired. Although there are only three ponies in Fulan Garden.

My friends often laugh at me, saying that I have a beautiful face, but I am a wild boy in my bones.

I didn't care, because I always remembered the man who came to pick me up after that cholera, he was dressed in a military uniform and riding a horse and whipping. I firmly believed that he would come to me. If he doesn't come, I'll go find him. I hope that at that time, the woman named Jinse standing in front of him will make him remember and make him like it.

At the age of fifteen, all the people of Fulan Court came to attend my ceremony. Bathing, lavender, curling hair. After the ceremony, it is customary for the teacher to ask the recipient questions about his or her whereabouts.

Sister Yu was standing opposite me, she was twenty-four years old, but she was extremely beautiful.

Today, she wore a moon-white slanted skirt with a concubine-colored belt in the middle, and a gauze of the same color, on which was finely embroidered with golden osmanthus flowers, and on her head there was only a sandalwood hairpin with dots of coral. She looked at me, nodded, and waited quietly for me to answer.

I smiled, shook my head at her, and looked at everyone. Say, "I'm not leaving." This was the expected answer—because everyone knew that I must have to wait for Yuan Qing to come of age—but it also won a burst of ceremonial cheers.

I saw Yuan Qing standing across from me from afar, grinning as well.

In the past six years, he has grown into a clear and pure teenager!

According to the regulations, when you become an adult, you don't need to attend Mr. Xi's classes anymore, which means that you can already decide your own life. It turns out that in this world, no matter where, in which way, and with whom, you can't refuse to grow up!

I'm waiting, but I'm not just waiting for Yuan Qing.

I often sit in the tall grass in front of the gate of Fulan Garden, and I sit for most of the day.

There is a locust tree in front of the door, and in spring, the locust flutters, quietly, full of clothes. The locust flowers bloomed eight times and fell eight times, and the tall grass in front of the door was green eight times and withered eight times.

At the age of seventeen, I'm still waiting.

There was a sound of rustling beside him, and someone sat down next to him. I opened my eyes, and the glow of the sky was falling on the young man's face and body—it was Yuan Qing. He didn't speak, just looked at me, his eyes shining.

"Sister, in four months, I will be fifteen years old."

I was taken aback. So fast! yes, four months to go.

"Sister, I'm getting out of here. Men are determined to help the world and save the people, or put on armor to fight, we are studying here, isn't it just to live independently one day? Sister, I'm going outside, you go with me! ”

I looked at the determined and ambitious man in front of me, this is Yuan Qing, my younger brother, the younger brother who stared at him with wide eyes and tears falling silently, but today, I seem to have just met him for the first time! However, how can I tell him that I stayed here to wait for Mu Zixiao?

Yuan Qing saw my hesitation, and he gradually calmed down, not as excited as before: "Sister, Mu Zixiao wants to come to see you, he has already come, why wait until now?" ”

I was shocked, it turned out that Yuan Qing, he knew everything. "How do you ......"

"He sent us here that day, you stood outside alone for so long, and then you liked to come here, standing for half a day, the posture was exactly the same as back then, others don't know, how could I not know?"

"Why don't you say that?" I don't know what it's like.

"Sister, Mu Zixiao and we are not all the way, I don't mention it, it's to wait for you to break your thoughts."

If you break your thoughts, how can you say that you will break it! I will never forget that when my brother and I were dying among the corpses everywhere, it was Mu Zixiao who rescued me, and at that time, he was dressed in military uniform and his eyebrows were clear.

He was the dream of my youth.

……

It's just that, as Yuan Qing said, Mu Zixiao hasn't come to see me for eight years.

He will forget me.

That being the case...... Why don't I go to him?

So, I looked at Yuan Qing, "Okay, in four months, we'll leave together." ”

Yuan Qing was very excited, hugged me, and shouted again and again: "Sister, I will protect you in the future, and we will never be separated!" ”

We leaned together, and he painted me a picture of the future life, dancing with his hands and eyes shining with stars.

It's just that I don't know, that was the last time I saw him so innocent and pleasant. Because before we had waited for four months, we had to leave in another way.

It was the tenth day of the fourth month. I will always remember that day. It was the first time in my life that I was separated from my brother.

It was also the busiest day since I arrived.

The gentlemen put on their usual garments, and directed the servants to sweep all the corners, and we were told to dress neatly and cleanly. After that, he stayed in his room in a regular manner, waiting for the summons.

Throughout the morning, there was a lot of noise in Fulan Garden, and there was a lot of noise and noise that I had never felt since I came here.

Finally, at the end of the day, we were called out by the ladies and specially told us: keep your feet light and keep smiling.

We were taken to the front yard, where the six gentlemen were already neatly arranged on either side, facing the direction of the gate. I raised my eyes and saw Sister Yu, who was still in the concubine-colored clothes I had when I was in the middle of the day, and the red coral on the hairpin was quietly and softly lit in the sun.

The boys stood neatly in a row behind the gentleman, and we stood quietly in a row behind them.

Steward Wang began to lecture us, and he was the old man who greeted us when Yuan Qing and I were sent here. Eight years later, his face is still kind and kind, except that his hair is grayer, and his voice is still strong.

Only then did I know that the person we were going to greet was King Ning Yuan.

I have read it in the national chronicles before, and Wang Chenghao of Ningyuan is the youngest son of our lord of the country. Before him there were five sons and three older sisters.

Legend has it that Ningyuan Wang Chenghao's mother is of a different race, so he was born with purple eyes.

The book says that on the day of his birth, two purple lightning bolts were seen in the sky, but there was no thunder. Li is still purple, so everyone says that he is a purple dragon in the sky, and he will definitely rule the world in the future......

Thinking like this, I didn't even listen to what Steward Wang was saying, but suddenly I saw Yuan Qing raising his eyebrows and looking at me, I knew that his expression was asking me and asking for my consent. He nodded instinctively. I will support his ideas!

I only heard the king's steward say: "You must do your best, but don't force it, your fate is determined!" ”

A majestic male voice came from the door: King Ning Yuan has arrived!

The sound of combat boots colliding with the ground and weapons rubbing against armor pierced the eardrums, and two columns of officers and soldiers rushed in, neatly arranged on both sides of the high steps.

I raised my eyes curiously and poked my head out between the two heads in the front row, wanting to see this legendary purple-eyed prince.

It seems to be the sound of wheels turning, getting closer, closer and closer.

I see it! A pair of legs appeared first at the doorway, a pair of legs in a wheelchair!

Then, the owner of the legs appeared, but in his early twenties, his eyes were like torches, and his expression was indifferent.

I was far away, and I couldn't see the color of his eyes, but I could clearly feel the cold breath on his body.

It was the breath of the blade that had been contaminated with people for many years—the breath of danger.

I couldn't help but shrink my shoulders.

For me, that's the breath of death. And I know how much I have feared death since the plague.

At the signal of the cold prince, several soldiers set up a row of haystacks at the end of the courtyard. Another man with a bow and arrows was placed at the other end of the courtyard.

Then, he shouted to the boy who was standing upright: Those who are willing to participate in the selection will be listed!

I was shocked, it turned out to be a selection!

But what surprised me even more was that Yuan Qing was the first to step out of the team!

I looked at his back in distraction, remembering the raised eyebrows just now, I see!