Xiao Yue was very surprised to see Emperor Yongping, because the royal family has its own temple dedicated to worship, and although Izumo Temple is full of incense, it is just a folk temple.

There was no one else in the courtyard, Xiao Yue and Gu Nian knelt down to bow to Emperor Yongping, and Emperor Yongping waved his hand to let the two of them get up.

Xiao Yue thanked him and got up with Gu Nian, Xiao Yue thought of when he asked Emperor Yongping for leave yesterday, Emperor Yongping asked him why he asked for leave.

At that time, he didn't want to hide it, but calmly said that he wanted to accompany Nian Nian to offer incense to his father.

I remember that Emperor Yongping was silent for a while, so he let him withdraw.

Gu Nian quietly glanced at the tablet that Emperor Yongping pointed to, a simple tablet, there was not a word on it, she guessed that it was probably the tablet of Emperor Yongping.

Since Emperor Yongping is still alive, the one who died is not able to enjoy the incense offerings, why do people in the world have to give birth to sons, is afraid that the incense will be broken, and no one will worship the incense.

She thought about it for many days, but she didn't understand why Emperor Zhen Yongping would pass the throne to Xiao Yi, and asked Zhang Chunzi, but he couldn't say why, when he was arrested to treat Emperor Zhen, he was already lacking in skills.

I don't know what's going on.

Emperor Yongping was very calm about meeting them, and Gu Nian followed Xiao Yue to respectfully give the tablet of 'Xiao Yi' and the tablet that Emperor Yongping said was incense.

Gu Nian quietly glanced at Xiao Yue, seeing that his expression was as usual, he couldn't see what he was thinking at the moment, just lowered his eyes and said respectfully to Emperor Yongping,

"If nothing else, the minister will retire first."

Emperor Yongping glanced at the two of them and said, "Xiao Jiu, you stay, I have something to say." ”

Father-in-law Yu walked to Gu Nian's side and said to Gu Nian, "Your Majesty has something to discuss with the prince, and the slave and maid will accompany the princess and wait like this." ”

Father-in-law's tone was very respectful.

Gu Nian hurriedly said, "Father-in-law is polite, you go to serve Your Majesty, I can wait alone." ”

Xiao Yue squeezed Gu Nian's hand and said in a low voice, "I'll come when I go, don't you want to go around Izumo Temple?" I'll be with you later. ”

Gu Nian nodded and said in a low voice, "You go." I'll wait for you. ”

Although Izumoji Temple is a folk temple, the incense is at its peak, and it is neatly trimmed everywhere, and it is summer at the moment, and the cicadas are not out, but the big trees in the mountains are covered, and it is much cooler than the bottom of the mountain.

Xiao Yue followed Emperor Yongping to another room, standing at the door, Emperor Yongping stood with his hands in his hands, his expression was stagnant.

It took him a long time before he turned and pushed the door in, "You come with me." ”

Xiao Yue followed him inside, the doors and windows of the house were closed, the light was dim, the air was dull, and there was a faint smell of dust in his nose.

He stood at the door, watching Emperor Yongping slowly walk to the front of the first case, there is a tablet on it, a very simple material, on which is written the position of Yun Niang, there is a pillar of incense on the incense burner, and the green smoke is curling, and it is about to burn out.

Emperor Yongping seemed to be distracted by the tablet, and did not speak for a while.

After a long time, Emperor Yongping turned around, looked at Xiao Yue, and said lightly,

"I've been thinking about it for a long time, and I want to release the four princes from the palace, what do you think?"

"This is the emperor's father and son, and the minister has nothing to say." Xiao Yue said respectfully.

Emperor Yongping was silent for a moment, and then said, "I know that you belong to the prince, and you stand firmly on the prince's side, but the prince's health has not been good since he was a child. ”

"I had to do something else."

He paced slowly, walked to the window, turned his back to Xiao Yue, and stopped for a moment.

Xiao Yue choked, hesitated for a moment, and said cautiously,

"Since ancient times, the eldest brother has been the foundation of the country, although the eldest brother was not in good health in the past, but in recent years he has been much healthier, and he also has a grandson under his knees."

"Speaking of which, many dynasties and dynasties have the beginning of chaos because of the lack of distinction between the descendants and the concubines."

When Emperor Yongping heard this, he was not angry, he stroked the tablet, thought for a long time, and said, "I heard that your mother is not very good now. ”

Xiao Yue pursed her lips, "Since the beginning of the year, my mother has been sick because of the cold, and because of the death of her cousin who she brought up since childhood, she was hit, and at this moment, she is recuperating in the house. ”

Emperor Yongping let out a 'hmm' and asked Xiao Yue, "Do you hate her?" ”

Xiao Yue shook his head, "Just repay her for her birth and nurturing grace at that time." ”

This is indeed Xiao Yue's true thoughts, in the past, he tried to live a little warm, but now, he doesn't need it, the best revenge is not to kill people and maim people, but to ignore them, ignore them from the bottom of their hearts.

*

On that day, Xiao Yue and Gu Nian did not go down the mountain to return to the palace, but stayed in Izumo Temple for one night, just because Gu Nian wanted to watch the sunrise.

Although the two are husband and wife, they are in the temple, so naturally they can't live in the same room, Xiao Yue accompanied Gu Nian back to her residence, watched her sleep, and went out of the house to the place where he stayed tonight.

The courtyard of the two was only separated by a wall, and Gu Nian had already visited it before returning to his residence and helped him make his bed.

In the dead of night, the astragalus, Qingye, and Mama Qin who came with them had already fallen asleep, and Gu Nian was tossing and turning in bed.

Thinking of the tablet that Emperor Yongping asked them to kneel and worship during the day, she wanted to know the truth of the matter back then, but she didn't have her own manpower to investigate.

Whether it is a grandmother or a father, if they knew about this matter, the court would probably make an earth-shattering commotion.

And Xiao Yue, how should he deal with himself?

She doesn't care who is the emperor in this world, all she cares about is her man, he hasn't come out of the shadow of the Ji family yet, if he faces such a truth again, he will collapse.

Gu Nian closed his eyes, listening to Mama Qin's snoring, thinking about Xiao Yue, who was separated from him by a wall at the moment.

She felt that he should not be asleep at this moment, she couldn't help it, quietly got up from the couch, got dressed, and opened the door.

Astragalus heard the sound, woke up in shock, touched her hand under the pillow, and saw that it was Gu Nian, she breathed a sigh of relief, Gu Nian raised her index finger and 'shh

Where can Astragalus sleep, she got up, gently followed Gu Nian, and went to the courtyard next door together.

It was pitch black, and there was no light.

Gu Nian stood lightly under the porch, hesitated for a moment, and then heard Xiao Yue's voice inside, "Come in." ”

She was wearing soft-soled embroidered shoes and walked quietly, but she didn't expect Xiao Yue to hear it.

The corners of Gu Nian's lips hooked, pushed the door in, and saw Xiao Yue standing in front of the window, the window was open, heard the sound, turned around, and looked at her.

The room was dark, his figure was not in the dark, and the lantern in the hand of the astragalus outside, the faint light shone in, reflecting half of Xiao Yue's deep face.

He looked at her with a gentle gaze.

Gu Nian walked up to him, he took her hand, and said softly, "Why don't you sleep yet." ”

"You didn't sleep either." Gu Nian retorted in a low voice.

Xiao Yue's whole expression was surprisingly soft, "I'm about to go to sleep, you can go back too." ”

Gu Nian just looked at him.

How violent Xiao Yue was in the past, how gentle he is now, his hand gently put on Gu Nian's shoulder, kissed her on the forehead, and said softly, "What's wrong?" I'm fine. Go to sleep, good girl. ”

With that, he took her shoulders and led her towards the door.

For so many days, although he behaved as usual, he went to the court step by step, returned home, and accompanied her to the old lady to say goodbye and talk.

But he knew that he couldn't hide anything from her, including the suppressed emotions in his heart.

Gu Nian turned her head to look at Xiao Yue, she wanted to accompany him, but she was comforted by him.

Her heart was sour, she only felt stunned, she stopped, refused to go out, gently tugged at the corner of his clothes, and looked at him stubbornly.

With a stubbornness that has never been there, and a little bit of the coquettishness of the little daughter's family.

Xiao Yue lowered his head and rubbed her soft face, tapped her forehead with his finger again, and then smiled helplessly.

He took Gu Nian and turned around and returned to the inner room, the mountain was cool, Xiao Yue took his outer robe and draped it over Gu Nian's body, brought in warm water from the small red clay stove outside, made a cup of tea, and then sat on the chair and motioned for Gu Nian to come over.

Gu Nianpi walked over with her robe, Xiao Yue hugged her and sat on her lap, and the two of them squeezed into a chair.

Outside, Astragalus hung the lantern under the porch and stood vigil with the dark one.

Gu Nian was quietly nestled in Xiao Yue's arms in this silent night, the light of the lantern outside the house came in, and the tea and smoke curled on the table, she felt the silence she had never felt before.

She listened to Xiao Yue's heartbeat, drowsy, and she whispered, "I will always be with you." ”

Xiao Yue sighed softly, touched her face, and looked out the window.

The closer he got to the emperor, the more clearly he saw his methods, as well as the emperor's checks and balances.

Whether it is the imperial court or the harem, he has his means of balancing, holding everything firmly in his hands, and will not let either side suddenly increase and tilt the chips.

This is a qualified emperor, but it is even more terrifying.

The British Duke and Yang Ge Lao fell, and in the court, now that the crown prince is dominant, how could he sit back and watch such a situation continue to develop, at this time, it is natural to release the four princes to check and balance.

It's just, the four princes......

*

In the study room of the Four Princes' Mansion, the Four Princes sat up from the couch where they rested, their heads were in cold sweat, and their hands trembled slightly.

"Lord Wang......" Rong Yue, who was waiting outside, hurriedly came in, poured a cup of tea and handed it to the four princes.

Since the four princesses went crazy and made a fool of themselves at the winter solstice banquet last year, the four princes have all rested in the study and have never set foot in the backyard for half a step.

Many of the officials who used to be vassals around the four princes have stopped interacting, and the tea is cold before they leave.

But the fourth prince didn't care at all, and spent time in the study every day.

The fourth prince waved the teacup in Rong Yue's hand, his eyes were fierce, he looked at Rong Yue, his face showed disgust, and he said, "Get out." ”

Rong Yue's face turned pale, since the day she served by the side of the Fourth Prince, he had never spoken so harshly to himself.

Her eyes were red, and she hurriedly closed the door of the study and withdrew.

The fourth prince did not catch up, but slowly lay back, closed his eyes, but did not feel sleepy.

In his mind, the scenes in the dream flashed over him.

He actually dreamed of Princess Jin, Gu Nian.

This dream has been haunting him for a long time, at first, he thought that he was unwilling to ask for it, so he would think about it day and night.

The dream is very strange, at the beginning, it is only sporadic and not filmed, with different identities and different faces, but the ending is always miserable.

Not only is the woman in the dream having a miserable ending, but even himself will become depressed because of the woman's death.

Once, he had already ascended the throne, but he did not like the woman who helped him ascend the throne, and after ascending the throne, he gave the woman a glass of dove wine, and then made his beloved woman his queen.

But it didn't take long for him to be overthrown.

Another example is one time, she was his favorite concubine, but she was killed by his wife who cut off her legs, and after that, his official fortune suddenly became bleak, and finally ended up on the border.

At first, he thought he was thinking too much, but gradually, as the dreams flashed again and again, he faintly began to realize that those dreams should be the past lives he had experienced.

The woman who had an entanglement with him was Gu.

It's just that this time, she married Xiao Yue, the only person he was afraid of in this world.

In the past, in so many worlds, she has always been her concubine, or wife, but this time, unlike before, she married someone else.

In the past, although he was afraid of Xiao Yue, he never thought of getting rid of him quickly, but today, after experiencing those complete dreams, he, Xiao Yue, will be a stumbling block on his road to glory.

Only by bringing him down can he get the woman who is closely related to his fate and make her his own prison.

Originally, there was no conflict between them, he was talented, he was the prince, his father favored him, and the courtiers supported him, which can be described as a collection of thousands of favors.

But he was not conceited, because he had someone in front of him to chase, and that was the prince.

However, as he got older, his father became more and more fond of Xiao Yue. Although his temperament is violent, he is moody, and he kills innocents indiscriminately, but with the protection of his father, he does whatever he wants.

He is very good, he is very favored by his father, but he will never be able to compare to Xiao Yue, and by Xiao Yue's side, he is destined to be eclipsed.

Such a person stood firmly by the prince's side.

Now, it is even more of a woman who has taken away him.

The fourth prince opened his eyes again, jumped up from the bed, strode to the bed, the night air was very bright, he took a deep breath, and then exhaled a long breath of turbid air in his chest.

He has one more goal in this life, one is to ascend to the throne, and the other is to be taken care of.

But at this time, it was not an opportunity for him to act rashly, this dream-like dream made him refreshed, swept away the dullness of being confined, and made his inner ambition stronger and stronger.

Compared with a prince who is subject to others, he longs more for the pleasure of ascending to a high position, looking at the world, and being the only one like in that life.

It's just that this time, he won't repeat the mistakes of the past, he will definitely crown Gu Nian as the queen and give her endless glory and wealth.

She was born to be his person, he died, and she was also his ghost.

Although she is far away from him now, he knows that sooner or later she will still be his own, which is destined for life and life.

She can't escape.

*

After returning from Izumo Temple, Gu Nian heard that the four princes had been released.

After the four princes received the will, they immediately went to Emperor Yongping, cried bitterly at Emperor Yongping, and said that they would sincerely reply, and at the same time be optimistic about the inner courtyard, love their brothers, and take care of their younger brothers and sisters.

I only hope that Emperor Yongping can be prosperous for a thousand years.

Emperor Yongping looked at him silently, admonished him, and then asked him to visit Concubine Cheng in Chaohui Palace.

Cheng Guifei gave birth to two sons and one daughter, the fifth prince was also locked up in the palace, and the third princess went to the royal temple to think about it, but fortunately, the fourth prince was finally released.

Seeing the four princes, Cheng Guifei's tears rolled down like pearls, and she kept saying, "Okay...... It's good to come out...... Come out and have a chance. ”

The fourth prince comforted Concubine Cheng in a low voice, saying that he would often visit her in the palace in the future.

When Cheng Guifei thought of the fourth princess, she said hatefully, "Why do you still keep that woman, you should let her die of illness, if it weren't for her, you wouldn't have been locked up for so long." ”

The fourth prince smiled, "Erchen has checked, she is also deceived by others, her temperament has always been very good, besides, isn't she still carrying Xiangrui?" You can't die now, it's still useful. ”

If the fourth princess dies at this time, not to mention the emperor, even the mother concubine will definitely have to find a new princess for him, rather than doing something else at that time, it is better to let the Xu family stay in the position of the princess, and wait until the day he succeeds, and then as her death, which is not bad.

The mother and son said a lot, and the four princes talked about the emperor's favor for Xiao Yue.

Cheng Guifei said lightly, "As long as the emperor still thinks about love, he will always love him." She sighed, "King Jin grew up with the emperor back then, and King Jin naturally has a lot of weight in the emperor's heart, not to mention that he died because of the emperor in the end, maybe this is the reason why the emperor loves Xiao Yue." ”

The fourth prince's heart moved, he felt that there was no such favor in the world for no reason, everyone knew that the emperor's love for Xiao Yue had exceeded people's imagination, it was really abnormal, it should not only be the legacy of his father, there was definitely something else.

Perhaps, there is something significant about this? If you can know, maybe you can target this point and let Xiao Yue fall out of favor with the emperor.

When he was confined in the palace, he had thought about it countless times, and after seeing Cheng Guifei, he retreated and talked about these questions with Cheng Guifei in detail.

Cheng Guifei listened and nodded, "This palace has also thought about it before, although King Jin died under his escort, this favor is too much. The emperor can rest assured, the mother concubine will find out about this matter. ”

Cheng Guifei actually didn't say anything to the four princes, she felt that such a private thing and her son were a bit too much, these ten years, although the emperor said that he would often come to Chaohui Palace to rest, but he never spent the night, nor did he spoil himself, she thought that the emperor disliked her old pearl yellow, but when she vaguely pushed the delicate and beautiful palace people to the emperor, the emperor did not come to herself.

This made her think about it, as long as the emperor favored her on the surface, it would be enough. In the end, she is the favorite concubine of the harem, and Cheng Guifei is also a decisive person.

However, fortunately, in the past ten years, there has been no new favorite concubine in the harem, and a new prince has arrived, which is a good thing for himself and the emperor.

The fourth prince nodded, with Cheng Guifei's help to investigate in the palace, plus he was investigating outside the palace, he could always find out clearly.

Before the Dragon Boat Festival, the Four Princes' Mansion sent a post to Gu Nian, saying that it was the birthday of the Four Princes' Princesses Xu, and Gu Nian was invited to the banquet.

When Dark One sent the post in, Xiao Yue was also there, he snorted coldly, took the post and flipped through it casually, and asked, "In addition to me, who else did the fourth child invite?" ”

Secretly bowed down and replied, "Several highnesses and family members have been invited, as well as the prince of the clan, and the powerful families with heads and faces in the capital have been invited, oh, and the princess's maiden family, the Xu family." ”

Xiao Yue threw the post on the small table and sighed twice, "This is strange, it is said that the fourth child's temperament is gloomy, he has just been released, and he celebrates his concubine's birthday with such fanfare?" It's still so extravagant. ”

Xiao Yue grew up with the four princes, and he has a clear understanding of the temperament of several princes, but he didn't expect that the four princes would play their cards out of common sense this time.

Dark Yi hesitated, and weighed the news he received, "It seems that the four princes didn't want to make a big deal, but the four princesses felt that she was recovering from a serious illness and needed to go to bad luck, so she invited a lot of people, and it seemed that she had the emperor's consent, and the emperor said that it was not a big deal." ”

Xiao Yue sneered and asked Gu Nian, "Do you want to go?" ”

Gu Nian didn't like this kind of banquet very much, but looking at Xiao Yue like that, "You can go if you want." ”

Xiao Yue smiled and said, "Okay, then let's go and see the excitement." ”

The time on the post is the day before the Dragon Boat Festival, it is enough to prepare the birthday gift, Gu Nian has no good impression of the four princesses, the four princes were locked up, it is completely to blame, she has bad intentions to let people prepare a jade carved pomegranate, big, the pomegranate seeds are carved one by one.

Pomegranate means many sons and blessings, but the fourth princess has not even laid an egg so far, I wonder if she will be angry and sick again when she sees this gift?

However, this gift is very valuable, and the meaning is also very good, even if the four princesses sue the queen mother, they can't find a mistake.

Maybe, even God doesn't look down on the four princesses, and it was a thunderstorm on the day of her birthday banquet, which is not a good sign at first glance.

Before Gu Nian set off, he looked at the slippery ground and imagined the appearance of the four princesses losing their temper in the palace, and suddenly felt that this trip should be extremely happy.

After arriving at the Four Princes' Mansion, there were not many carriages and horses stopping at the door, and the steward of the palace stood there, and when he saw the carriage with the sign of the Jin Palace, he hurriedly stepped forward and bowed his waist.

"At this moment, our prince is talking to the princess in the backyard, thinking that the prince and our prince grew up together, and was accepted by the emperor as the ninth prince, that is, the closest relatives, there is no need to avoid anything, let the slave lead you and the princess to the inner courtyard to talk."

Xiao Yue looked at the steward with a smile and said, "This is strange, doesn't it mean that your princess invited a lot of people today?" Why didn't the fourth master come out to greet him and accompany the princess in the backyard, what is the reason? Did he change sex? ”

The steward was embarrassed, "Our prince and princess have been getting along for a long time, and their feelings are strong, and besides, the prince has not been in court for a long time, and today he suddenly went to court and felt tired, so he rested in the backyard." ”

The steward took Xiao Yue and Gu Nian through a series of verandahs, and arrived at the garden, in the middle of which was a semicircular lake, which was the season of lotus blooming at the moment, and it looked green and pleasing to the eye.

Xiao Yue took Gu Nian's hand and said, "This garden is good, we will dig a lake like this in the house another day, plant lotus flowers, see flowers in summer, eat lotus root in winter, and have lotus pods in spring......

"Let's go, let's take a look, anyway, I'm free today, I'm tired, and I have a table to eat anyway."

Seeing Xiao Yue talking to Gu Nian warmly, the steward's eyes flashed, and soon pretended not to see it, lowered his head, and said with a smile, "This pond was dug by our prince later, and the prince was afraid that the stagnant water would have a foul smell, so this water was brought in from outside, and some koi fish were raised below...... You see......

The steward was explaining on the side, while secretly looking at the couple.

The three of them walked slowly around the stone road by the lake, and the steward did not urge them to meet the four princes, when suddenly, they heard a commotion in front of them.

Gu Nian raised his eyes and paused.