Rehe Palace, northwest corner, Lanzao Xuan.

Bao Ya sat on the edge of the kang, set out the chessboard, and played against herself. is really idle, and the few little Geges who follow her, except for Tana, who is not compatible with her, is left with the prince's concubine Sangege. Sangege was twelve years old, and was taught by Eniang to be well-behaved, where is he willing to play with Baoya.

The big maid sparrow opened the door curtain and came in, and said with a smile: "Gege, Uncle Hao is back, ask someone to send a message to ask Gege to come over!" ”

Hearing this, Bao Ya hurriedly stood up: "Cao Hao is back, and I don't know where to go to play, so I don't even call me, it's really not righteous enough!" Although his words were reproachful, there was a smile on his face.

Seeing that Baoya was going out, the sparrow hurriedly shouted: "Gege, wait! As he spoke, he walked to the dresser, found a glass bottle of French perfume, uncorked the bottle, and clicked on Bao Ya a few times: "The mosquitoes on the grassland are terrible, and Gege can't count how many bags he has on his body!" ”

This is the perfume given by the mother of the palace, the fragrance of roses, Bao Ya thinks the smell is too strong, and does not like it. This time I came to the grassland, but I let the sparrow waste be used as a potion to repel mosquitoes.

*

Outside the palace, Xiao Man was waiting there, and when he saw that Bao Ya and the master and servant of the spirit sparrow had arrived, he smiled and stepped forward to make a thousand: "The slave asks Gege for peace!" ”

Baoya didn't see Cao Hao, and was a little strange: "Where is your uncle?" Didn't you come back, why didn't you see it? ”

Xiao Man responded: "Our master is over there in the stable, ask the slave to ask Gege to come over." ”

"The stable?" Bao Ya was a little puzzled, but she still followed Xiao Man to find Cao Hao.

*

Guard camp camp, northeast, stable.

Cao Hao's foal and the brown horse that the sixteenth elder brother had just picked were tied here, but Sukhbaru's black horse refused to enter the fence. Sukhbaru had no choice but to hold it.

The sixteenth elder brother looked at the black horse with a very unwilling face. Although Sukhbaru promised to send the dark horse to him, the dark horse did not say anything about it, and never let anyone else get close except Sukhbaru. The sixteenth elder brother had no choice, so he had to pretend that "a gentleman does not win people's love" and picked a brown horse.

The black horse seemed to notice the dissatisfaction of the sixteenth elder brother, and turned his head with contempt. The sixteenth elder brother was so angry that his teeth were itching, but he had nothing to do, and he couldn't get angry with a horse.

Although Cao Hao also likes the black horse to be strong, he knows that the horse is the most spiritual, especially the king of horses, and he is afraid that he will only recognize the person who tames it. Thinking that Baoya had been depressed since she arrived outside the Saiwai, which was too inconsistent with her usual smart temper, he picked a pony and wanted to make her happy.

"Cao Hao, why are you interested in horses?" With the sound of silver bells, Bao Ya Gege walked over. She also loves horses very much, and has a bit of a horse eye, and when she sees the black horse, her eyes light up, and she can't help but praise: "What a handsome horse!" ”

Sukhbaru, who was standing next to the black horse, saw a girl in a fancy costume coming, and hurriedly took two steps back. Bao Ya noticed that there was a strange boy next to the black horse, and when he saw him dodging, he was unhappy, and puffed out his cheeks and said, "What are you hiding, is Bengege a tiger?" ”

Sukhbaru was even more embarrassed and did not dare to answer. Cao Hao saw it on the sidelines and waved his hand to Baoya: "Gege, come here, take a look at this little foal." Speaking of this, he pointed to Sukhbaru again: "This is the same as the black horse, it was all brought by Prince Sukhbaru from the wild horse herd, I helped you come, do you like it?" ”

Bao Ya stepped forward with a smile and looked at the half-man-tall foal, full of rarity. Although the black horse is good, it is still too tall and powerful for a little girl like Baoya, but it is not as popular as this cute little pony.

While touching the satin-smooth fur of the foal, Bao Ya turned back to Sukhbaru and smiled, "You brought these two horses, they are amazing!" ”

"No...... No...... Don't dare to be a ...... Case... Praise it! Sukhbaru's face was flushed, and he lowered his head and didn't dare to look at Bao Ya again.

Bao Ya was stunned for a moment, then went to look at the black horse and said to Sukhbaru, "You have this good horse, who will win you in the future horse riding competition!" As he spoke, he turned his head again, and looked at Cao Hao and the sixteenth elder brother with bright eyes: "Cao Hao went to archery, and the sixteenth uncle went to wrestle, isn't he afraid of any competition?" ”

Cao Hao and the Sixteenth Elder Brother knew that Bao Yasu was a naughty person, and they didn't take her "arrangement" to heart, but Sukhbaru nodded there.

*

In the next half month, Cao Hao, who was lazy, and the sixteenth elder brother suffered enough.

Sukhbaru is really a good and hardworking and brave boy, and his vitality is really beyond words. Whether it was in the Rehe Palace or the Holy Driver's move to the grassland, Sukhbaru never stopped. Whenever he heard that there was an activity to try the courage, he had to pull Cao Hao and the sixteenth elder brother to go.

With the stay of the holy driver outside the Saiwai, more and more Mongolian kings came to the court, and there were more and more little princes, little beylers, and little gege. When the princes of the other tribes saw that Sukhbaru had a good relationship with the prince, they were very jealous, and they found a reason to embarrass Sukhbaru. But I didn't think that this was exactly what Sukhbaru was thinking.

Compared with each other, the trio where Cao Hao is located gradually became famous in the camp, and Cao Hao's archery has nothing to say, and no one has surpassed it so far. Sometimes, Cao Hao is inevitably a little complacent, is this the so-called heredity, because his father's archery is a strong point, so he has practiced for a few years and his achievements are not bad. Sukhbaru is like being born on horseback, and his mental strength is different after getting on the horse. The wrestling skills of the sixteenth elder brother are only in the middle and upper ranks, just because he is young and a prince, where do ordinary people have the identity to compete with him, and at the last time he is a prince or something. Although the Mongols are aggressive, they are very bold, and the older ones will not be cheeky to compete with the sixteen elder brothers, but there are few young ones who can win against him.

Unconsciously, Cao Hao and the three of them formed a hero in the eyes of a Mongolian girl. Among them, the sixteen princes have a valuable status, and not everyone can match them; Although Sukhbaru was a skilled horseman, his appearance was somewhat inferior; Only Cao Hao, with good looks, and the identity of the third-class guard in front of the emperor is not high, low or low, and has become the object of enthusiastic pursuit by all the girls.

Throughout the day, in Cao Hao's camp tent, there were maids sent by Mongolian Gege to deliver things, or a sachet, or an embroidered handkerchief, and some even sent wolf teeth. There are even bold girls who come directly to this side.

Mongolian girls are precocious, and it is common to marry at the age of thirteen or fourteen, and now these unmarried are the younger ones in their teens, and the older ones are thirteen or fourteen. Every time Cao Hao saw this little girl flirting with her eyebrows, she felt trembling in her heart, they were all young girls under the age of fourteen, how could there be men who liked this, sin, sin.

Sukhbaru was an honest young man, and he couldn't hide half distractions from his face. His admiration for Baoya, Cao Hao and Sixteen have long been aware of it. Although Sixteen had raised the issue of seniority, and Baoya was Sukhbaru's cousin and niece, Sukhbaru did not take it to heart. Manchurian and Mongolian marriages for several generations, this generation issue has always been unclear, as long as it is not a direct blood relative, what is the difference of one generation. Although Sukhbaru did not give up his admiration for Baoya because of his seniority, he never took the initiative to pursue Baoya because of his inferiority.

Bao Yaben was quite close to Sukhbaru because of Cao Hao's relationship with the sixteenth elder brother, but later, seeing that his surname was real, he did not flatter himself like other men, but treated him differently. When someone laughed at Sukhbaru's stammering, Bao Ya often stepped forward and reprimanded those people loudly.

*

On June 13, the 48th year of Kangxi, Karaqin camped.

Mongolia's Ao Bao is not only a symbol of the god in his position, but also a land lighthouse, guiding the direction for travelers, and is a sacred existence in the hearts of herdsmen, so the annual sacrifice of Ao Bao is the most solemn sacrifice of Mongolians.

The sacrifice of Ao Bao is usually based on the tribe as a unit, presided over by the patriarch of the sacrifice, the Mongolian tribes sacrifice Ao Bao is not the same, the six banners of the Horqin Department are mostly selected on May 13 every year, the Tumut Left Wing Banner is July 13 every year, and the Karaqin Right Wing Banner near Rehe is June 13 every year.

Every time Kangxi is stationed in Rehe, he will participate in the sacrifice of Ao Bao in Karaqin, and this year is no exception.

In the chanting of the red-clothed lamas, under the observation of Emperor Kangxi, the patriarch offered the cattle and sheep of the Hada and blood sacrifices, and then began to lead the clansmen to turn three times around Ao Bao from left to right, and everyone brought mutton, milk wine, milk snacks and other sacrifices to Ao Bao, praying in their mouths, asking the gods of heaven and earth to bless the wind and rain, the cattle and sheep are prosperous, and the country and the people are safe. Finally, bow in front of the Ao Bao, add the stone to the Ao Bao, and decorate the Ao Bao with wicker, hata, colored flags, etc.

During the whole sacrificial process, everything is quiet, and there seems to be only the sound of chanting and praying in the high heavens and the earth, which is so sacred and ethereal, shocking to people's hearts.

Rao Cao Hao, who doesn't believe in gods and ghosts, can't help but fold his hands at this moment, closing his eyes and praying that God will bless the Cao family and his family.

After the festival, it is a grand celebration as usual, with traditional cultural and sports activities such as horse racing, archery, and wrestling, and at night bonfires, singing, dancing, and all-night carnival.

Cao Hao was originally looking forward to a joke like "Ao Bao Meeting", but recently he was really scared of those crazy Mongolian female fans, and he really didn't want to show up.

At the last bonfire banquet where Kangxi entertained the king of Ordos Doro County, Song Alabuzi Kangyur, several bold Mongolian girls came to pull Cao Hao down to dance. Cao Hao didn't want to entangle with them at first, and then he didn't know anything about Mongolian dance - if he danced a waltz or something, he had been mixed up with the campus dance party in college, and he could deal with two steps, where would he know Mongolian dance - just put on his usual cold face and refused to accept the invitation, but was dragged off the stage by the sixteenth elder brother laughing and dragging.

The sixteenth elder brother knew that Cao Hao couldn't dance, so he laughed loudly and teased him, and several girls also laughed non-stop, and came over to pull and pull and say that they wanted to teach him to dance. Cao Hao was so troubled by these girls that he couldn't help it, so he finally ran away by urinating.

Tonight, Cao Hao didn't want to show up, who knew that this time the sixteenth elder brother would come to see Cao Hao in person, afraid that he would escape in advance.

Cao Hao racked his brains and failed to settle this difficult master, and was dragged to the table in the end. Although the sixteenth elder brother patted his chest and promised that he would only drink alcohol this time and would never let Cao Hao dance, Cao Hao looked at this kid's sly smile and believed him!

The red bonfire was lit, the fragrant whole sheep was roasted, the handsome men and women danced, and the big bowl of wine was drunk.

As usual, Cao Hao's seat was set behind the sixteenth elder brother. The sixteenth elder brother said that he would only drink alcohol tonight and never let him dance, but he actually did what he said, and several Mongolian girls came to invite him, but the sixteenth elder brother blocked it with a smile. The sixteenth elder brother walked over by himself, not to mention the left and right drinks, and the group of hardcore guards under him came to salute Cao Hao and disdainfully said anything, and even Sukhbaru, who was sitting on the side, raised his lamp frequently as if he was playful.

There is definitely a conspiracy, Cao Hao feels that something is wrong, but he doesn't know what this little sixteen is planning.