Qingling and Luo Yao drifted in the water of Fuyu for another two days, and on the evening of the seventh day, they finally entered the Yansui River.

At the mouth of the river, there were already people from the Hou Mansion waiting, who stepped forward to help stabilize the boat and lead the prince and the emperor ashore.

Qing Ling and Luo Yao temporarily released their previous suspicions, and the last period of their time in Mizusawa was also a lot more relaxed. The two of them were in the same boat, chatting and joking, and gradually got along with Chongwu in the past The familiarity and casualness of the past, passing by the island where there is a red maple, they will also stop the boat and go ashore, catch a few fresh fish to taste. Even on the last night before leaving Mizusawa, Qing Ling leaned on the couch in the cabin, staring at the starry sky through the open canopy window, Luo Yao lay down beside her quietly, looking up at the flowing clouds and night together in silence, and no one felt that there was anything wrong.

But as soon as she returned to the Imperial Marquis's Mansion in the Windy City, Qing Ling quickly realized that it was really difficult for her and Luo Yao to restore the ease and unguardedness they had when they used to get along.

As soon as she stepped into the inner courtyard of the mansion, Xun, who had moved into the mansion of the Marquis of Daze as her close guard, handed over a secret report, detailing the movements of the court in the past few days.

Qing Ling hurriedly finished reading it, and couldn't help frowning.

Long before she got married, in order to deal with the possible offensive of the Lieyang people from the West Sea, Emperor Hao ordered half of the military strength in Chaoyan to be stationed in Daze to consolidate the military defenses along the coast.

Because Mu Chen was implicated in the matter of Emperor Gu Yuechang and lost power, he was seized by the Fang Shan clan and won important positions in the Daze garrison for many of the family's staff members, which was almost equal to Mu Chen's power left in the southern army.

Qing Ling originally thought that after he honestly married Daze as a pawn, Emperor Hao would more or less choose one of Mu Chen's supporters to lead Daze's military defense out of compensation. But he never expected that the person he sent this time was Mo Ninghao, whom he hated deeply!

Qing Ling clenched his fingers, smashed the jade slip with the secret report, looked up at the crescent moon that had appeared in the sky at some point, and was silent.

Xun saw Qing Ling's mood change, and said with relief: "According to the subordinates, this is not a bad thing. The Mo Nan clan is now very close to His Royal Highness Mu Chen. ”

Qing Ling bent the corners of his mouth when he heard this, but his eyes were full of gloom.

How much she hates Mo Ninghao, Emperor Hao doesn't know. He sent this person under his nose, just like the purpose of letting Gu Yue's family come to see him off on the day of marriage, just to remind himself that she, a daughter, must act according to her father's wishes for the rest of her life......

Qing Ling suppressed his emotions and asked, "Is there any other news?" ”

Mu Chen had always been reluctant for her to get involved in too many court calculations, and the news that she could allow Sun to bring to him was mostly inconsequential or impossible to hide. For this reason, Qingling once raised his identity and said a cruel thing to Xun, asking him to promise not to hide it from her in major matters. Although she also knew in her heart that these coercion and intimidation would not have much effect in the end......

Sure enough, Xun shook his head, "No." ”

After a pause, he said, "Your Highness asked me to tell the emperor, please take good care of yourself." ”

Qing Ling smiled a little vaguely, "um", and then turned around and continued to walk inside.

When I entered the inner room, I saw Xu Di, a female official who came from the Suzaku Palace, directing the maids to make up the bed and drape.

The feather satin mattress contains a sweet smell of incense, reflecting the glow in the candlelight, bright and bright. Outside the screen of Biluo Zhu Shadow Veil, the Ding furnace is full of smoke, and on the low table of purple lazuli inlaid treasures, there are various kinds of delicate supper snacks.

Xu Di stepped forward and saluted Qing Ling, "The slave has seen the emperor. ”

Qing Ling was preoccupied, lowered his head, and thought about his thoughts silently.

Xu Di is a character who has been in the Vermilion Bird Palace for many years, and she knows how to observe words and feelings, so she helped Qingling to the mirror, and while taking off her headdress, she said: "Your Highness is afraid that you have been tired outside these days." The slave maid has prepared a hot bath, and it will be much more comfortable to take a bath later. ”

Qing Ling said "um", and said: "You are a person appointed by your father, and you are a tasteful female official, don't call yourself a slave in front of me in the future." ”

Xu Di smiled, "It's not good to mess with the rules." Picked up the comb and combed Qing Ling's long hair, while lowering his voice slightly, "Did he use what the slave maid gave to the prince last time?" ”

Qing Ling was stunned for a moment, and then remembered the pack of silk handkerchiefs, "You mean those handkerchiefs?" ”

"Yes."

Qing Ling was a little surprised. I thought that the female official had pretended to be the wrong thing and used the silk handkerchief as clothing, but I didn't expect that I guessed wrong......

Xu Di asked again: "Has the prince used it?" ”

Qing Ling was full of doubts and replied truthfully: "Once I went to the island to soak in the hot springs, I used a few photos. ”

She raised her head, and was about to ask what the purpose of the silk handkerchief was and what it was worth asking repeatedly, but she saw Xu Di smile with relief, and said, "That's good", and lowered her head to get closer to herself, with the peculiar caution of the people of the Vermilion Bird Palace, and admonished: "Just acting in the hot springs is not beneficial to conception." Your Highness needs to pay more attention in the future, so as not to waste the opportunity to get along with the prince. ”

Qing Ling's mind exploded, and his face immediately turned red, and he reprimanded with a straight face: "What did you say? ”

Xu Di's posture was still respectful, but there was no concession between her words, "Your Highness is angry." The slave maid was instructed by His Majesty to help His Highness conceive an heir as soon as possible. The slave maid knows that His Royal Highness's golden branches and jade leaves will inevitably have a shallow face, but this matter of having children is a natural thing, and there is nothing to avoid. ”

Qing Ling heard that she had moved out of Emperor Hao, and the hidden worries that had been accumulated in her heart added to the weight, biting the corner of her lip, and she was silent and no longer spoke.

After taking a bath and freshening up, Qingling retreated from everyone and leaned against the window alone in a daze.

The bright moon hanging on the night does not seem to be any different from what I saw in the boat last night, but the mood of this moon watcher is very different.

She thought about the conversation with Emperor Hao the night before her wedding, the complex and entangled relationships around her, and thought that if she stayed in the boat, kept going down the river, and went all the way west along the Yansui River, away from the right and wrong behind her, and went to a completely unfamiliar place, would she really be able to be freed?

After a while, Luo Yao also stepped into the bedroom with a light robe.

Qing Ling turned his head to look at him, then withdrew his gaze and looked out the window again.

If he knew that she was thinking about whether to tell Emperor Hao about his deal with the people of Lieyang in exchange for some of his own freedom and benefits, how would he feel?

Qing Ling sighed silently in his heart.

When did you become such a shameless person?

Luo Yao glanced at the untouched snacks on the low table, bent down and selected a few with a silver spoon, put them in the porcelain plate, and brought them to Qing Ling.

"Didn't my senior sister keep complaining about the lack of drinks and snacks in Fuyu Shuize? These are your favorite foods, don't you want to taste them? ”

The green spirit let out a faint breath, turned around, and smiled forcefully, "No. You eat it. ”

Luo Yao didn't push back, and chose a piece of jade hibiscus cake and ate it with his head down.

Qing Ling stared at him for a while, and then slowly spoke: "Didn't you receive a position as a supervisor in the army before?" Right now, the army is stationed in Daze, and defenses are being built everywhere, don't you have to go to the barracks to have a look? ”

Luo Yao stood by the window, leaned against the window slightly, and said slowly: "It stands to reason that I should go and see." But didn't I just get married? In other words, if you are an ordinary general, you can also have a few days of vacation, not to mention, I am married to the emperor of the dynasty. ”

Qing Ling said: "Aren't you the best at pretending to be loyal and dedicated to Chaoyan?" Now is your chance. ”

The movements in Luo Yao's hand slowed down, and then he put the porcelain plate in his hand aside, raised his eyes to look at Qing Ling, and said with a smile: "Senior sister wants to drive me out, you can say it clearly." Although Windy City is not as prosperous as Sky City, there are many places that can give me a place to stay. ”

When Qing Ling heard him say this, he didn't feel a slight embarrassment, looked away, his voice was slightly lowered, and said, "I'm also for your good......"

Luo Yao looked at her silhouette in silence, only to feel that the graceful and moving silhouette in the light and shadow seemed to be coated with a layer of heavy haze, similar to the woman who was watering and frolicking with herself on the edge of the island pond that day.

He was thinking about the promise he made in the water, and planned to take her to the harbor west of the Windy City the next day, buy some seafood that she loved, and bring it home to eat with osmanthus rice wine.

In this season, the water is clear and the breeze is peaceful, and the blue bells and red maples are reflected in the scenery. If she wants to take a boat ride on the lake again, it will be good. If you don't want to take a boat, you can also stroll along the Yansui River to see the three autumn laurels and enjoy the smoke of the bridge. In the market in the west of the city, there are many small stalls set up by merchants from the Western Continent, selling all kinds of novelties that cannot be seen in the Central Plains, and she should and will like it very much.

It's a pity......

Luo Yao hooked the corners of his mouth and said lightly: "I know." ”

When it was nearly three watches, the two of them went to bed.

After spending a few days on the boat, sharing a bed again is not as awkward as the wedding night.

Qing Ling wore a long tussle dress, wrapped in satin and tossing and turning. Luo Yao turned his back to her, sleeping on his side on the outside of the couch, looking very calm, but there was no restless thoughts hidden in his heart?

One night, no sleep.

Early the next morning, Luo Yao went out to the garrison barracks south of Pingfeng City, and said to the people in the house, saying that he was going to visit a few old friends in the army, and maybe he would stay in the camp for a few days.

When Qing Ling heard the news, he couldn't tell the taste for a while, and seemed to feel a little guilty and melancholy, but more of a sigh of relief.

The female official Xu Di showed worry and anxiety, and asked Qing Ling about the hidden reason for the sudden departure of the prince.

Qing Ling said coldly: "The legs are long on him, can I care where he likes to go?" Could it be that you want me to be the emperor of a country, chasing him and begging him to stay? ”

Xu Di was speechless, but she had other plans in her heart.

It is true that she is in awe of Qingling's identity and status, but this awe is far less intense than her fear of His Majesty Emperor Hao.

Judging from the experience she has accumulated over the thousands of years of her service in the Suzaku Palace, Her Majesty's eagerness to look forward to the birth of her grandson is not just for the sake of continuing the royal bloodline......

For ten days in a row, Luo Yao never returned home.

When he was young, he had a period of rebellion that he had been closed all year round, and then he ran away from home and traveled around. Although he has begun to take over the family affairs in recent years, he is extremely efficient in doing things, and he often goes out for business needs, and the people in the Hou Mansion seem to be accustomed to his disappearance and are not surprised.

Until one day when he had breakfast, Bai Liyu glanced at Qingling, who was immersed in eating, and finally couldn't help but ask Ning Yan, "Where has your brother been these days?" Still busy in the barracks? ”

After Ning Yan sat on the table, the appearance of eating was as pleasing to the eye as her father and brother, and the movements of lifting chopsticks and drinking water and chewing were all elegant. Hearing her father's question, she put down her chopsticks, took the silk handkerchief from Nian Hong's hand and wiped her mouth, before she replied slowly and indifferently: "I heard that my brother has lived in Xiaoxiang Pavilion for the past two days. ”

Bai Liyu frowned, and stopped talking.

Qing Ling realized the slight change in the atmosphere and said, "What kind of place is Xiaoxiang Pavilion?" ”

Ning Yan slowly raised his glass and took a sip of tea, turned his head, and looked at Qing Ling calmly, "It's the same place as the Red Moon Fang in Lingxiao City." ”