Suzaku Palace, Silver Que Palace.

The east-facing doors and windows were open, and tiny raindrops crackled all the way to the jasper-chiseled floor tiles of the pavilion outside the hall.

The lily incense in the indoor carved dragon pattern copper tripod curls up and smokes, lingering in the elegance of the surroundings.

The bead curtain embroidered screen, the feather satin brocade, everywhere reveals the luxury of the heavenly nobles.

But the figure sitting alone on the hibiscus was lonely and lonely, extremely lonely.

He held a crystal mirror in his hand, and his fingertips stayed on the mirror for a long time, as if he wanted to touch the person in the mirror through a thousand mountains and rivers.

This transparent treasure mirror, which can present the scenery thousands of miles away, took decades of effort from several water spirit masters, condensed with the ice crystals of the Northern Stygians, and later served as the dowry of Mu Chen's mother, and was brought into Chaoyan from time to time.

After Qiu Zhi went to Wutong Town, every three days, she took the water from the manor pool and sent it back to Lingxiao City. Once the water of the pool is sealed into the Mirror of Profound Spiritual Power, the mirror will always show the scenery reflected by the pool.

In fact, the green spirit does not appear by the pool all the time. She is just used to sitting in the water pavilion here every afternoon, sometimes drinking tea and chatting with Luo Yao, sometimes lying on the railing alone to think about problems, and sometimes meeting with visiting officials here.

Mu Chen also had a habit.

Every afternoon, he would go to the Silver Que Palace, abandon all his attendants, and stay alone for a while.

The Qing Ling in the mirror sat leaning against the pool railing, holding a paperwork in his hand, reading and commenting on it.

Luo Yao, who was beside her, seemed to be listening carefully to her comments and picking up a few words from time to time, but she was always thinking about taking one or two pieces of chopped fruit from the porcelain plate in her hand and feeding them to Qing Ling.

Qing Ling chewed the fruit, and his expression became more and more excited as he read the paperwork, and finally shook the document in his hand, and condemned something fiercely.

Luo Yao has always looked calm and leisurely, staring at Qing Ling with a smile on his face.

Qing Ling raised his eyes and glared at him, and said something fiercely.

Luo Yao replied lightly, lowered his head and fed Qing Ling a piece of fruit with a jade chopstick.

Qing Ling gritted his teeth and swallowed the fruit, continuing to count Luo Yao.

Luo Yao didn't know what to reply, which made Qing Ling's expression suddenly stagnate, and then he became embarrassed.

She threw the paperwork and pounced on it and beat Luo Yao.

Luo Yao hid and laughed at the same time, and finally threw away the chopsticks in his hand and hugged Qing Ling.

Qing Ling lay in his arms, hiding his face that was trying to hold back a smile, and gradually quieted down.

The two embraced each other silently for a long time.

Qing Ling slowly raised his head and gently kissed him on the neck.

Luo Yao's body stiffened, then he tightened his arms, raised his hand to pull Qing Ling's face, and bowed his head to kiss her deeply......

Mu Chen's fingertips trembled, and he quickly withdrew the image in the Tongming Mirror.

A wisp of burning in my heart, mixed with severe pain, spread out silently again.

He slowly stood up and walked out of the hall with a vague step.

At the foot of the stairs stood a group of guards from the palace, silent, bowing down and waiting in the breeze and drizzle.

Wei Yuan led a few attendants holding palace umbrellas to hurriedly step forward, protected Mu Chen's left and right, and said, "Patriarch Mo Nan has arrived at the Chengji Palace. ”

He peeked at the emperor, and saw that his face was pale and seemed to be extremely tired, and he secretly felt a little worried. It seems that every time His Majesty comes out of the Yinque Palace, he looks a little gloomy and lonely, and there is no trace of the cold sharpness that overlooks the ministers in the court on weekdays, and the beak cannot be ignored......

Mu Chen said "um" lightly, slowly stepped into the imperial court, and walked to his bedroom.

In the Chengji Palace, Mo Nan'an Mountain waited for the emperor's arrival with a slightly depressed expression.

In the past few months, Chun Yuyan was ordered to go south to Yinzhou and Liangxia to adjust the official system in the entire southern border.

Mo Nan'an Shan also knew very well in his heart that Mu Chen was using the implementation of the new policy and the reorganization of officials to purge the forces that opposed him.

At the beginning, the most severely suppressed in the process of purging was none other than the old department of the Fang Shan clan. For such a result, Monan Shore Mountain itself is also happy to see it. But later, he gradually realized that the personnel who filled the vacancy were all arranged by Chun Yuyan, and the Mo Nan clan could not take advantage of it at all. And not long ago, Mu Chen issued another decree, opening the border between Chaoyan and Jiuqiu in Wutong Town.

Once the border is opened, it means the retreat of the garrison. And once the garrison retreats, the military power that the Monan clan has worked so hard to stabilize in the south will be weakened.

This point made Demo Nan'an Mountain worry and tossing and turning, although his granddaughter persuaded him repeatedly, he finally couldn't help but come to Mu Chen to ask for an explanation.

He saw Mu Chen enter the hall from a distance, and greeted him and saluted, "Your Majesty." ”

Mu Chen had already restrained his emotions, and lowered his head slightly with an impeccable expression, "Has the patriarch seen the queen?" ”

The two took their seats in the side hall.

Mo Nan'an Shan took the tea cup from the palace maid, and his tone was as relaxed as possible, "The little emperor has been sick recently, and the queen has been busy taking care of it, so she doesn't have much time to talk to me, an old man. ”

Mu Chen smiled lightly, "It's indeed the queen of hard work." ”

Mo Nan'an Mountain also smiled, "This is the responsibility of a mother-in-law, how can you say that it is hard?" Not worthy of His Majesty's praise. After a pause, he continued: "I heard that the little emperor has always been close to her aunt, and since the green elder emperor went to the southern border, the little emperor has been crying and sleeping, and then she fell ill. ”

He raised his glass and took a sip of tea, and said after deliberation: "The eldest emperor Ji is busy presiding over the new policy, and now he is trying to negotiate peace with Jiuqiu, which can be regarded as tireless. Although she has that in-law relationship with Jiuqiu, she is so busy on the cusp of the storm, which is indeed very different from other royal nobles who only care about their husbands and children. ”

Mu Chen pondered for a moment and said, "Qingling is a descendant of the Zhang Gu clan, and he has been raised under the sect of Chongwu Shengjun since he was a child, so he naturally acts differently from other women. ”

Mo Nan'an said: "Having said that, a woman is a woman after all, and she lacks understanding of political affairs, and her decision-making is inevitably biased. Observing Mu Chen's expression, seeing that he was still cold and calm, he continued: "Just like the matter of Wutong Town, many colleagues in the DPRK and China feel that it is too dangerous to open the border, and it is difficult to ensure that Jiuqiu will not have a chance to take advantage of it. ”

Mu Chen raised his eyes, his eyes were dark and sharp, "The patriarch is the generalissimo of Chaoyan's soldiers and horses, and he has been fighting on the battlefield for many years. Judging from your experience, can opening a small town give the other party a chance? ”

Mo Nan'an Mountain paused, then smiled and said, "If there are still garrisons around to deploy, there is no need to be afraid. ”

Mu Chen stared at the teacup in his hand, and his fingertips slowly rubbed the rim of the cup, thoughtful.

Mo Nan'an Shan continued: "It is one thing for Your Majesty to pamper your sister, and it is understandable for her to try to help in government affairs, but everything needs to have a limit, even if she is allowed to mess around, she must take precautions in advance, so as not to make mistakes in the future and be difficult to remedy." ”

Mu Chen unconsciously tugged the corner of his lower lip slightly, and slowly raised his eyes.

"What the patriarch means, I see. Although the garrison retreats northward, the number of generals in the army will not change, and the power it should have will remain undiminished. ”

He put down the teacup and looked at Mo Nan'an Mountain, "The patriarch also knows that there have been frequent incidents in the south recently, and the number of people involved in prison has increased every day. At this time, the withdrawal of troops to the north was actually to preserve the strength of the Monan clan. Didn't the patriarch see this? At the beginning, I had an agreement with the patriarch that there would only be Shiyin as the queen in this life, and the son she would give birth to in the future would also be the only prince of Chaoyan. I have experienced too many sibling rivalries myself, and I don't want the same thing to happen to my children again, so I will always find a way to preserve the power of the Monan clan and let the future prince have something to rely on. I wonder if the patriarch can understand this truth? ”

Mo Nan'an Mountain is a person who has been immersed in the court for many years, and he knows that it is difficult to have a certain number of things in the world, and what he said to Mu Chen is just a doubt. But now, since he has received the promise that the military power will not be weakened, and he has tested Mu Chen's attitude, the purpose of this time has been achieved. After all, in terms of power, he doesn't have the same appetite as the mountain cultivator in front of him, and he also understands the importance of long-term consideration.

So when he heard that Mu Chen was showing his goodwill, Mo Nan Shan also hurriedly got up and said: "With Your Majesty's love, the Mo Nan family will live up to the glory and grace!" ”

After sending off Mo Nan'an Mountain, Mu Chen maintained the same sitting posture and continued to drink tea on the case alone.

The rain outside the hall was still dripping, and the gray fog shrouded the Wanzhong Palace in the haze sky.

The rain fell along the eaves of the temple, dripping on the white jade steps, making a monotonous crackling sound. The unique Du Heng incense in the Chengji Hall is quietly diffused between the jade curtain palace curtains.

A short conversation seems simple and straightforward, but in fact, how many temptations and speculations are hidden?

Balance containment, grace and power, and even deliberately woo and show favor, every sentence and every decision is repeatedly deliberated in my heart.

Who can use it, how to use it, when to use it, and which decisions will implicate who and those things, one by one, are full of thinking.

And these complicated thoughts and thoughts cannot be shared with anyone.

Everything can only be faced by him alone.

This is the life of an emperor.

Every day, every moment, is repeating the monotonous and never-ending deception......

Mu Chen took out the Tongming Mirror, and his fingertips lightly touched the mirror, but he refused to open the mirror.

He remembered what he had seen, the innocent and bright smile of Qingling, the smile that came from the bottom of his heart and was unique to people in love.

She'd laughed at herself like that, too, too?

But the memory of such a long time has finally faded a little.

He suddenly became a little jealous, jealous of his former self. The man who lived in the shabby courtyard with earthen walls and wooden doors, and smiled at her under the lamp every night......

At that time, why didn't he hug her tightly, kiss her, and say a few words of self-conscious and cheesy love? Even though there will still be sorrow and anger in the future, there will be less regret and unwillingness in the end......

Mu Chen held on to the mirror and sat for a long time.

Until Wei Yuan walked in softly and briskly, bowed down and presented a secret report in front of him, "Your Majesty, this is sent from Fuyang." ”

Mu Chen took the secret report, unfolded it and read it silently several times.

At the end, he destroyed the letter without moving, and instructed Wei Yuan in a flat tone: "Go and invite the queen to come over." ”