Shen Zhu looked towards the main entrance, and the housekeeper said in a low voice, "The Son of Heaven is here." ”

Rao Di was shocked in her heart, and Lu Zhiming stepped forward and said, "Please Lord Shen go to greet the guests first, and leave with Mrs. Rao first." ”

As soon as the words fell, I heard a majestic voice say: "You don't have to retreat, I also want to see the strange masters that Shen Qing has befriended on weekdays." ”

Two men walked out of the darkness, their actions were windy, and their aura was extraordinary, especially the elderly, although their temples were white and faltering, they had the majesty of dominating the world.

Prince Yu and the Emperor.

Shen Zhu hurriedly took a few steps forward, raised his sleeves and wanted to make a big salute, the old emperor held his arms and sighed: "At dinner, I heard that Shen Qing was white-headed, and fell to the ground in front of the gate of the mansion on horseback and did not wake up. I didn't believe it at the time, but now when I see it, my hair is really frosty, why is this? ”

Shen Zhu said in a low voice: "Weichen is fine. ”

The old emperor's eyes were blazing, he glanced at Rao Di, and asked Shen Zhu, "This is the lady you newly married?" Sure enough, even my harem is not so stunning. No wonder Shen Qing would rather throw away his official hat and court clothes than marry into the family. ”

Rao Tu has never seen the emperor, and she doesn't know how to salute. Shen Zhu said lightly: "The concubine doesn't understand the rules, please don't blame the emperor." ”

A sentence reminded Rao Di, and she hurriedly knelt down and said, "The people's daughter greets His Majesty the Emperor." ”

The old Yellow Emperor waved his hand, "Get up, I am here in Weifu, so I don't have to be so restrained." ”

Lu Zhiming saluted with one hand, "Cultivator Lu Zhiming has seen Your Majesty." ”

Prince Yu next to him hurriedly said: "Presumably it is the folk rumor that Mr. Lu can be deducted from the finger to ask the immortal, and Mr. Jiuyang's name." ”

The emperor looked him up and down and asked with a smile: "Such a young living immortal? ”

Lu Zhiming replied modestly: "Your Majesty's words are serious, and you can't afford to be a fairy." ”

Shen Zhu invited the emperor and Prince Yu into the house, and the two dignitaries were not polite and sat down at will. Prince Yu said: "Today, Xiao Wang hunted a deer in the mountains, and he was going to set up a family banquet in the palace to barbecue and enjoy the snow, and his father heard that Lord Shen was injured, so he said that he wanted to visit the lord, and he brought a few pieces of venison with a stingy attitude. ”

The emperor laughed and said: "Lie'er feels that he can't take it on the table, but I think that the gold, silver and silk are not Shen Qing's favorite, so it is better to bring some venison to afford, quickly, and order the venison to be roasted." ”

Prince Yu smiled and said: "Father, you are so anxious, and you are still worried about the venison you sent out, no wonder Erchen feels stingy." ”

Rao Di listened to Prince Yu's tone on the side, and was shocked, she knew that Prince Yu was deeply respected by the old emperor, but she didn't expect the conversation between father and son to be so warm and casual.

Compared with the miserable situation of the five kings Xiao Yanning, it is simply different.

Prince Yu personally presented the quaint wooden box containing venison to Rao Di, "Mrs. Lao. ”

Rao Tu came back to his senses, stood up and looked at Shen Zhu suddenly, he nodded slightly, and said to the emperor: "Where is the emperor coming to visit Weichen, it is obviously lonely on a snowy day, come to Weichen's house to rub the stove and wine." ”

The emperor laughed, "I also want to borrow your splendid poems so that I can drink." ”

Rao Tu took the venison box from Prince Yu's hand and withdrew into the courtyard to instruct the cook.

The venison was sent to the stove to be smoked, and instead of immediately returning to the house, she stood under the porch and listened to the conversation of the people in the house. The emperor and Prince Yu had a lot of conversations, and Shen Zhu only answered when asked. And Lu Zhiming closed his eyes, didn't listen, didn't smell, didn't ask.

In her impression, the emperor was majestic and solemn, but she didn't expect to be so peaceful and approachable. She could perceive that under the old emperor's simplicity was a deep and noble elder kindness; And Prince Yu's gag is completely a true expression of the younger generation's feelings for the elders.

Rao Di sighed secretly, she knew that the five kings Xiao Yanning and the old emperor got along, and I was afraid that they would not have the current one-ten-thousandth harmony.

She suddenly felt a little pity for him.

From time to time, the venison is roasted, and the fruit wood is roasted, showing a golden brown and burnt color, and there is a faint fruit wood fragrance. She brought the venison into the house, and Prince Yu smiled casually as if unintentionally: "Mrs. Rao is gentle and graceful between actions, Lord Shen is so beautiful, what more can a husband ask for?" ”

Rao Tu replied with a gentle smile, "Prince Yu has praised it falsely, Lord Shen doesn't know how much right and wrong he has provoked for me, and now the Confucian students in the Guozijian are afraid that they still hate me to the bone!" ”

The emperor shook his head on the side and said, "The view of a pedantic scholar! This is like the monarch who died in the country, but put the responsibility on a woman, and brought disaster to the country and the people, it has never been only for the faint monarch, what does it have to do with a woman who has no power to restrain the chicken? Those sour people can't turn a corner, so I want to give you a decent one myself. ”

Rao Tu lowered her head and said nothing, only to hear the emperor smile and say: "Let's not talk about this matter for the time being, how about tasting this venison first." ”

Shen Zhu personally raised chopsticks to pick up a piece of venison for the emperor, and the emperor took it and chewed it carefully, nodded and said, "It's very delicious, you can taste it too." ”

Shen Zhu and Prince Yu each sandwiched a piece, and the emperor looked at Lu Zhiming and personally poured a glass of green ant wine, "Mr. Lu doesn't eat meat, how about drinking?" ”

Lu Zhiming got up and took the wine glass, without any fear, he actually accepted it safely.

The emperor smiled at Rao Tu again, "You also eat venison." ”

Rao Tu bowed her head and said, "The folk girl doesn't dare." ”

He smiled, "You don't have to be restrained today, Shen Qing and I are called Junchen, and we are really good friends who have forgotten our years, and today I am just an old friend who comes to the door." ”

Hearing him refer to himself as "I" instead of "I", Rao Tu hesitated slightly, and raised her chopsticks to pick up a piece of venison.

Shen Zhu's expression was indifferent, and he couldn't see what he was thinking.

The emperor sighed: "The deer is an animal, in a sense, a symbol of power. Back then, Qin lost his deer, and the world chased him. What a troubled time. Now although my Liang has no internal worries, there are external troubles, the north is ready to move, the Eastern Wu and the south collude, and the west Shu is restless. I dwell in it, and one day I will be treated as a piece of venison. ”

Shen Zhu didn't take a stubble, Lu Zhiming drank quietly, and Prince Yu seemed to be a little taboo when he heard the word right, and he didn't say much. Rao Tu was even more silent.

The emperor looked around and smiled: "Look, it's going to be serious again, don't talk about this, don't talk about this." What do you think of this venison? ”

Prince Yu was shocked, the meat on the chopsticks fell into the bowl, how did the venison taste? He secretly wondered how to answer, his father had just compared the girder to venison.

"Huh? Why don't you speak? Shen Qing, you speak first. ”

Shen Zhu put down his chopsticks when he heard this, and said calmly: "Although the venison is beautiful, Weichen prefers the fruity aroma that makes it tasteful. The minister thought that it was very wonderful to smoke and roast fruit wood. ”

The Emperor nodded, and looked at Rao Tu again. Rao Tu was slightly panicked in her heart, the first time she saw the saint in her life, it was like sitting on pins and needles, how could she carefully describe what venison tasted like, so she had to rely on her feelings and said: "It tastes a little ...... Sweet. ”

The emperor smiled slightly, and Prince Chaoyu asked, "Lie'er, what do you think?" ”

"Back to my father, my son has no taste in his mouth these days, and he hasn't tasted it yet."

The Emperor nodded, and suddenly sighed, "I just asked such a simple question, why are you so nervous?" ”

"Father's ......"

The Emperor waved his hand and sighed, "You and Shen Zhu are both familiar with me, but no one is willing to tell me the answer, I just want to know what this venison tastes like." You two are not as good as a woman. ”

Rao Di's heart was shocked, and she was silent.

Shen Zhu was still silent.

Prince Yu asked uneasily, "Father, is there anything wrong with this venison?" ”

"No problem." The Emperor waved his hand, and his demeanor suddenly became desolate, reminding Rao Tu of the dead leaves that had been blown off by the wind at dusk in autumn.

"It's because I'm old, and my tongue is useless."

Lu Zhiming finally looked at the old emperor, he squinted his eyes, listened carefully to the flow of the old emperor's breath, as if he had made some surprising discovery, and slightly clenched the wine glass in his hand.

"When I was young, I was also high-spirited. Stepping on the five countries, it has won the grand territory of today's beams. I've been fighting for a lifetime, but in the end, it's the things I don't care about the most that leave me first, my tongue is broken, my legs are not very good, and I always dream of the scene of battlefield fighting, and I dream of the soul of the dead who died under my knife to ask for my life. In a few days, I should go and see them. ”

"Father, these are all ordinary minor illnesses, you must not be so depressed!" Prince Yu bowed his head to the ground and knelt down.

"Lie'er, you get up, that little bit of scheming in your heart, think I don't know?"

Prince Yu's shoulders trembled slightly, and he got up and sat down, his face like earth.

The emperor looked at Shen Zhu and smiled slightly: "I have six sons, but only Lie'er is the most similar to me. Although he has not experienced a battle array, he has forbearance and scheming, and I will need such a monarch in the future. ”

Shen Zhu finally spoke, "Weichen, I understand." ”

"I will discuss this matter with the old ministers of the palace again, but I will give you the bottom before I do, and I have already made up my mind. After the beginning of spring, the crown prince ceremony will still be organized by you. ”

"The minister advised, the remaining five princes, after the crown prince's ceremony, should immediately go to the fief to become a vassal."

"Shen Qing thinks, how to arrange it?"

"The eldest prince went to the north and refused the king of the north; The second prince went to the east and was crowned the king of Guangling; The four princes went to the south and were crowned the king of Xinjiang; The six princes went to the west and crowned the king of Shuliang. ”

Rao Di's heart was pounding, she didn't expect Shen Zhu to be so conceited in front of the emperor. Such an important four decrees can only be summarized in four sentences, and they are so categorical that they do not even have a trace of discussion.

She didn't know how much attention was actually spent on these four sentences, and how much layout was consumed.

The emperor was silent for a while, and said: "The king of the north, the king of Guangling, and the king of Linjiang are all things that come naturally. It's just that the sixth son has just reached the crown, and he went to the Xishu land, which seems inappropriate. What do you think...... How about the Five Kings? ”

"The five kings are lazy and promiscuous, and they are not enough to achieve and more to lose, and it is even more inappropriate."

Rao Tu frowned slightly.

The emperor said slowly: "Then it is okay to leave the five kings in the capital?" ”

"The emperor has his own plan to decide this matter, and the ministers dare not say anything."

The emperor waved his hand and said, "Good Shen Yanbing, I know." Since you're not in good health, you don't have to send it. ”

Prince Yu stepped forward to support the old emperor, and the two of them walked out of the house.

Shen Zhu followed, or stepped on the snow to send it to the gate of the mansion, he watched the quaint carriage parked in front of the mansion slowly drive away, this scholar who was destined to become a powerful person in the temple sighed softly, and muttered: "Forbearance and conspiracy? The three kings are inferior to the five. ”

Hearing his words in the back, Rao Di couldn't help but say, "Since you understand in your heart, why do you want to harm the five kings so much?" ”

He turned to look at her, "Pit? ”

"The other four kings are all divided into feudal domains, but Lord Shen bluntly said in front of the saint that the five kings are lazy and lascivious, and they are not enough to succeed and more than to lose, could it be that they hold grudges against old enemies and deliberately take revenge?"

He smiled indifferently, "It turns out that I am such a sinister villain in your heart?" ”

"If it is bright and open, why do you need to embarrass me everywhere as a woman?"

He shook Rao's hand, "Yes, I'm just a sinister villain, I'm going to be in trouble everywhere, you can't escape." ”

Rao Di looked at his clear eyes, and suddenly felt a little sad. Those eyes were empty, but they reminded her of the first time we saw her.

She gathered her mind and asked, "How will the emperor place the five princes?" ”

"Placement? Where did the placement come from? Not killing is already an amnesty. ”

Lu Zhiming, who had been silent, spoke: "What Lord Shen said today is to save the five kings. ”

Rao Di's heart moved, and she immediately realized that Xiao Yanning was deeply disgusted by the emperor, and living was already a kind of forgiveness, if Shen Zhu told Xiao Yanning to be the king of Shuliang today, the emperor would definitely suspect that Xiao Yanning would be clumsy in hiding every day, and then he would really kill him.

Rao Di withdrew her hand from Shen Zhu's hand, "You want to help the fifth prince?" ”

"I just don't want the emperor to suspect that I have colluded with the Five Kings. Instead of worrying about the Five Kings now, you should worry about yourself. ”

"I, how am I?"

"Mr. Lu has a finger to ask the immortal Xuantong, and he can take the glass of wine; How can you dare to hold chopsticks in front of the saint? ”

Rao Tu bit her lip, and secretly felt that things were not good, so she had to justify: "The emperor already said that at that time, how could I not accept it?" Maybe the emperor doesn't think about anything, but you have a lot of thoughts......" She said in the end, and even she didn't believe it very much.

Shen Zhu coughed a few times, leaned on the door frame and gasped, "Wait for tomorrow's holy edict." ”

Lu Zhiming said goodbye and returned to the guest house, Rao Tu was about to leave, Shen Zhu said: "You stop." ”

"What else do you have to say?"

"Where are you going?"

"Naturally, it's back to Plum Blossom Dock."

"Help me back to the library first."

Rao Di looked at Yang Qian next to him, "The adult is too heavy, I don't have the strength." You will help the adults to rest in the library. ”

Shen Zhu frowned, "Go to the library, I have something to say." As he spoke, he coughed and walked straight back.

Rao Di looked at his back that was slightly rickety because of coughing, hesitated for a moment, stepped forward to his side and supported him, "For the sake of your kindness to save the five princes today, help you." ”

He reached out and held her hand tightly, "You are my woman, help me for the sake of other men?" ”

Rao Tu bit her lip and sent him back to the dormitory. He looked at her cold side face, and held her hand for a long time without letting it go.

Rao said: "I'll go first, my lord rest in peace." ”

"Ah, what do you want from me?"

"I want you to die."

"For ...... Why? ”

"No, I can't get used to it."

He was silent for a moment, then suddenly laughed at himself, and said slowly: "For a person like me, it is not a pity to die. Since you want me to die, then half a year later...... Take my life. ”

Rao Tu stared into his eyes, and there was an indescribable desolation and relief in them. She unconsciously covered her heart, she hadn't let go yet, how could he be relieved?

"Half a year? If you are not afraid of death, why do you have to live for half a year? She scoffed.

He stretched out his hand to brush the snow from her shoulder, "As soon as the capital changes hands, I can't die immediately; Again...... I'm going to find out where Ayu's bones are. I, Shen Zhu, am not afraid of death, but I am afraid that I will not find her after death. ”

There was a momentary blank in her mind as she stepped out of the room, and a strong wind blew through her, engulfing her in a raging storm.

Shen Zhu stood quietly in the room, watching her erratic shadow disappear into the long wind and snow. He coughed violently, and the fingers on his lips were stained with red blood.

He didn't care, just muttered and repeated: "Ah Yu painted bamboo, five sections and nineteen branches, five sections and nineteen branches......"

Yang Qian really couldn't see his family standing at the door like that, dressed in a green shirt and thin clothes, and stepped forward to persuade: "My lord, let's rest first." ”

"Yang Qian, do you say that in this world, is there such a thing as death and resurrection?"

"My subordinates never believed."

He smiled and nodded, "yes, I don't believe it either." Send someone to Qingzhou to check on someone. ”

Rao Tu rocked the boat back to the plum blossom dock alone, but encountered a bamboo raft on the waterway, and a person on the raft lay his head on his back, letting the wind blow and the water, he drifted with the waves.

Rao Tu didn't speak, and walked around the raft with the oars. He didn't get up, he didn't breathe, he looked like a dead man. After rowing more than ten zhang, Rao Di suddenly turned his head to look at the raft.

After struggling for a long time, she opened her mouth and shouted: "Fifth prince? ”

He did not respond. Rao Di was secretly frightened in her heart, turned around and rowed to the side of the raft, and saw that he was lying stiffly, as if he was dead. Rao Tu was shocked, and her first reaction was that Lu Zhiming's treatment of poison was ineffective, Xiao Yanning died of poison, and hurriedly pushed him with an oar, and he was even more frightened, his body was really stiff.

She hurriedly found an anchor from the boat, threw it on the bamboo raft and hooked it, and rowed hard towards the shore of the plum blossom dock. When they reached the shore, they dragged him off the raft with great difficulty, and felt the pulse in his neck with trembling hands.

There is no pulse!

The mountain ghost who had been waiting on the dock for a long time hurried over after hearing the movement, and said in surprise: "Girl, this is the fifth prince?" ”

He ...... He seemed to be dead. Rao Tu was a little incoherent, she couldn't help shaking the shoulders of the five kings, for some reason, she felt that he couldn't die.

If he died, who would she ask for so many mysteries?

The mountain ghost hurriedly squatted down to touch Xiao Yanning's pulse, and the little girl "huh" with a strange expression, "This ...... How is this possible? ”

"What to do? Can you save him? "Rao Di is anxious.

The mountain ghost shook his head and said, "The fifth prince is not dead, this is the sleep of turtle breath." It's really strange, how can the five princes have the unique anti-poison method in our department? Don't...... Could it be that he is also a dead man? ”

Hearing that he was not dead, Rao Di breathed a sigh of relief and hurriedly said, "Don't worry about these for now, what now?" ”

The mountain ghost took out an elixir from his arms and stuffed it into Xiao Yanning's mouth, "Wait a minute, you should wake up." Rao Di waited for a long time, and sure enough, he coughed lightly and opened his eyes.

"What does the prince think?"

Xiao Yanning was a little helpless, "No, I'm lying on the lake, what are you dragging me up for?" ”

Rao Tu was sullen, endured it for a while, and sneered: "The next time I see the fifth prince lying on the lake, it will not be a big deal." ”

Xiao Yanning sat up and slowly spit out a few times before he asked Rao Di, "Today, has the emperor come up?" ”

Rao Di said "um", and said lightly: "The emperor is going to hold a ceremony for the crown prince in the spring." ”

He smiled slightly: "It seems that the third brother is going to get his wish." ”

Seeing him laughing casually, Rao Di couldn't help but feel a little pitiful in her heart, and asked, "Where is the prince going?" ”

"I just don't know." He stood up, and Rao Di found that the back of his clothes was soaked, and there was still a bloody stain on the back of his heart.

He turned his head to look at her, who was a little stunned, and said with a smile: "The king of Shicai is healing poison and blood stasis in the water, and the girl has recklessly blocked the flow of my breath, and now the poison is accumulating in the heart." ”

Rao Di realized that she had done something wrong with good intentions for a while, and said with some shame: "That...... Then I'll send you back to the raft. ”

He shook his head, "How can it be that simple?" He took a lantern from the mountain ghost, grabbed Rao's wrist, and carried her onto the raft. The raft burst out of the water like an arrow and quickly cut into the thick fog.

The raft slowly stopped, he took out a knife from his bosom, stuffed it into Raodi's hand, and then sat cross-legged, "Please let the girl bleed for me." ”

The lantern lay quietly on the raft, and he unbuttoned his jacket to reveal his muscular back.

Rao Di's hand holding the knife trembled slightly, and she saw that there was a big wound in the back of his heart, new and old, as if it was a terrifying scar accumulated by constantly digging up meat for many years, and she was shocked.

Xiao Yanning sneered: "This king once told you that when I was eight years old, I was poisoned in food and ate it for three years in vain, and it damaged more than one eye?" ”

Rao Tu bit her lip and looked at the wound, this handsome man like a demon was, is, and will be going through purgatory-like torture.

"My life, even if I don't live long, I have to be buried with the entire royal family!" His voice was different from the frivolity of the past, and he gritted his teeth and said it word by word, and Rao Tu could feel the murder and hatred revealed in each word.

"Why, tell me?" Rao asked softly.

He looked back at her, and after a long time, he said slowly, "Because in a way, you are the same person as this king. It doesn't matter who your person or body belongs to, but your life is mine. ”

Rao Tu smiled miserably: "What is the use of the prince wanting my life? ”

"Seeing that you are still alive makes me feel that there is hope. A person who has come back from the dead is struggling, I am not dead yet, why should I admit defeat? ”

Rao Tu bowed her head and said, "I don't want to get involved in these things. ”

"Your surname is Xu, and you are destined to not escape."

"For ...... Why? The Xu family of Qingzhou has never been involved in the imperial power. ”

He closed his eyes and didn't answer, and after a long time, he said lightly: "Bleed for me." ”

Rao Di stared at the wound in his heart, shook his head and said, "I can't ......"

"Do you know where these wounds come from?" He said slowly: "For so many years, I cut it out with a knife behind my back. ”

Rao Tu covered her mouth, and the dagger in her hand fell into the raft with a clatter.

He grinned, picked up the dagger, and slashed his backhand at the place on his back where there was no wound.

Blood flowed out of his back, down his back, onto the raft, and into the water.

"Rao, this king wants to tell you that in this and right place, in the end, only those who are ruthless can live for a long time."