When I went out of the palace and went back, it was getting late, and the palace gate was about to close, and most of the officials had already left the palace, and there were few pedestrians on the road, only the Wenchen in the four-grade uniform rode a thin horse out of the palace gate before me.

When the officials in Beijing went home, there were often domestic slaves waiting outside the palace gate, and when they saw the master coming out, they went up to greet them, and then they hugged the land back to the house. The rank of the fourth rank is not low, but there is only a manservant fifty miles away who greets the Wenchen outside the door, and after he leaves the palace gate, he walks over quickly to lead the horse for the master, and calls him "Xiucai".

However, those who have an official position and a half-position often like to hear people call themselves by official titles, and many people will deliberately use a higher official rank to address the Venerable in order to please others. However, this old servant called himself the master of the fourth rank official "Xiucai", in addition to being able to see that he had served his master for many years, it can also be thought that his master must be humble and not vain, so the Xu family servant is still called by his previous title.

I led the horse behind them and walked a long way down Suzaku Street, which gave me plenty of time to observe his back. He must have been simple and not pleasure-conscious, his harness was old and even broken, and the horse was old and thin, but he was so tired that he was tired and gasped for three times, and at last he was on his knees on all fours.

The incident happened suddenly, and the officer on the horse was caught off guard and fell off his horse. The servant was frightened, and hurried to help him, and I immediately dismounted and ran, and with the help of the servant, I lifted the official up.

He was thin and in his forties, and as soon as he stood firm, he turned to me and said, "Thank you, thank you!" ”

Then, he looked up and smiled at me in a friendly way. And this time, my eyes touched a face that remained in the depths of my memory, and I was so shocked that I forgot to salute him for a while.

Although more than ten years have passed, there is more traces of time on his face than when he was young, but it does not prevent me from recognizing him, this benefactor of my youth, and later guided the official to give me a severe rebuke - Sima Guang.

And he didn't seem to recognize me right away, still smiling kindly at me. After all, after more than ten years, I have changed from the thin teenager I was to a thirty-year-old adult.

"How many times have I told Xiucai that the horse has lung disease, and it should be sold for a good one, but you don't listen, and you keep riding. Look, what's going on now? The servant complained as he patted the dust on his clothes, "I must not ride this horse again, so I will go back and find a horse dealer and sell it." If Xiucai refuses again, I will tell Madame about this today......"

Sima Guang shook his head with a smile and said, "Alas, okay, I won't stop you if you want to sell the horse, but there is one point, before you sell the horse, you must make it clear to the buyer that this horse has lung disease." ”

The servant sighed, "If you tell me so, who would want to buy it?" ”

Sima Guang said: "If you can't sell it, forget it, it's a big deal to keep it at home until it dies." In short, you must be honest in your dealings with others, and you must never do anything to deceive others. ”

The servant sighed again and again, but said no more, and patted and pulled at the horse before urging the horse to stand up again. When I saw that the horse was so sick and weak that it was no longer possible to ride it, I took my horse and asked him to ride it.

The servant was very surprised, and thanked him first, but Sima Guang refused to accept it, saying: "The nobleman who has come out of the palace now, must have official business, and he wants to go to a distant place, how can I borrow your horse and let you walk." ”

I shook my head and said, "I'm working in a noble relative's house, and I'm not traveling today." ”

"Where is the nobleman in the middle of the world? Can you tell me your first name? Sima Guang immediately asked, and began to look at me with a smile again.

I was speechless, unable to answer his questions. After my long silence, he was also a little confused, and his smile faded, and he began to frown and observe my face.

"Have you and I seen each other before?" Probably I felt something, he asked me.

I could have had other options, such as telling a lie and prevaricating the past, but I didn't do that. I bowed my eyebrows, saluted him sincerely, and then said to him: "Jade Jue Fu waved, although the ceremony is remembered in the past; The clouds are easy to disperse, and the poor should be forgiven to the people. ”

He stood with bated breath, the air around me that seemed to freeze and I felt the heat in his eyes dissipate, and finally, with a heavy flick of his sleeve, he turned around and strode away as the swirling air swept across my cheek like a sharp slap.

That evening, the princess sent me to see her, saying that there was something important to discuss with me, about Jiaqingzi's marriage.

I hesitated. Now I keep a distance from her, and I never stay in her bedroom after dinner, and I never have any contact with kisses or anything like that, so I wonder whether to go now.

Before today, I would not have accepted such an invitation, but when I remembered the events of the day, I suddenly had a new decision, so I was ordered to get up and go to her appointment.

The princess's bedroom in the Pony Garden was built deep in the bamboo forest, and the main material for the building was bamboo. Now it is winter, the interior should be very cold, but because of the construction of Cui Bai's design, in the room floor to dig the ground to control the furnace, charcoal fire buried under it, there is a passage to guide the smoke, it is covered with marble pear double floor, and in the room with plum blossom paper tent to separate a warm pavilion, so the inside is as warm as spring, and there is no stove smoke.

When I entered, I saw the princess sitting on a low couch in the warm pavilion, and in front of her lay a silver wire knot laventer cage with a diameter of about two feet, and in the lavender cage there was a green and white glazed fragrant duck from a Yue kiln, and incense was burned in the furnace, and there was hot water stored in the plate under the fragrant duck holder. The mist and the cigarette blend with the lavender, but the clothes can not be wet, and the fragrance will last for a long time, and the princess is reclining on the lavender cage, spreading her big sleeves and covering the silver wire, letting the incense mist linger.

She caressed the lavender cage with one hand and supported it with the other, thoughtfully. When she saw me come in, her starry eyes were shining, and she immediately leaned over and smiled at me: "Huaiji, come here!" ”

When I came forward to salute, she waved all the maids to stand down. This made me a little uneasy, so I took a step back and asked her, "The princess summoned her ministers to discuss Jiaqingzi's marriage?" ”

"It's not." She replied simply, "Her marriage has been arranged, and there is nothing to discuss." ”

I frowned: "Then why is the princess ......?"

The corners of her mouth lifted slightly, and she smiled smugly: "If you don't say that, you won't come." ”

I asked helplessly: "Why did the princess summon her ministers over at this time?" ”

"I just wanted to talk to you." She said, then beckoned to me with a smile and gestured to the empty space of the couch next to her, "Come, sit here." ”

I bowed my head and declined: "The minister cannot sit at the same table with the princess." ”

She simply jumped off the couch, came over and forced me to sit down on the couch, and then pretended to be angry: "I said yes!" ”

I lowered my eyes and neither spoke nor looked at her.

She regained her pleasant expression, sat down next to me with a smile, and said in my ear: "I have made a new incense today, which is made of Suhexiang and tulip and Duliang. ”

She blew like an orchid, and the gossamer-like breath that accompanied the whispering brushed in my ears, and I began to shiver slightly. Without waiting for me to answer, she raised her hand to me and asked me to smell the scent of her sleeve.

The aroma was rich and gentle to the point of ambiguity, and I wondered if this was the effect of those three spices.

Through her cuffs, you can see the small sleeves of her midshirt that are as soft as smoke clouds, and under the undulation of her gestures, the small sleeves receded like water, revealing a section of her elbow, smooth and smooth like jade, and with a warm fragrance.

I was in a trance, my heart was beating restlessly, and I almost wanted to hug her, touch my lips to the skin under her sleeve, and explore the deep mystery of the beautiful fragrance.

And my apprehension should have been expected by her. She was still smiling, her eyes sparkling, she lowered her incense sleeves, no longer asking me about the effect of the incense, she hugged me slowly, her pink neck drooped slightly, one side cheek lightly pressed against my chest, closed her eyes, and listened to the sound of my heartbeat as before.

The beauty gave me Su Hexiang, why do you want the green mandarin duck...... I gradually tasted the bitter taste, and struggled to regain my sense in the quietly warming incense curtain, maintaining my original posture and not touching her. At this moment, the sobriety turned the thousands of love threads drawn out before into a heart-piercing sword, she smiled and clinged to my arms safely, but she didn't know that my heart was bleeding like a river.

Sensing my stiffness, she opened her eyes in confusion, looked at my beard for a moment, and suddenly smiled again, lifted a slender hand, and her fingers made a climbing position, starting from my chest, climbing along the placket of my garment, then across my neck and chin, and finally her fingers fell on my lips, where they caressed slowly and gently.

Her eyes were misty, her lips were lightly opened, and her half-shy smile concealed unspoken instructions, but this time I was no longer obedient.

Pushing her away abruptly, I quickly retreated under her panicked eyes, adjusted my breathing to restrain my mind, and then bowed to her, and said kindly: "Princess, the minister has not been incense for a long time, and I dare not comment on the princess's incense at will." Recently, I heard that the horse had purchased some high-quality real wax water tablets, and the princess might as well invite him to come over and steam the products together. ”

The princess stared at me in astonishment for a long time, and a hint of anger grew in her eyes.

"What did you mention Li Wei for?" She asked me, "What does this have to do with him?" ”

Seeing that I was silent, she became more and more annoyed, and said angrily: "Why are you so strange recently, often mentioning Li Wei to me, saying good things for him, and asking me to see him often?" And you, you avoid me all day long, so that if I want to see you, I have to find an excuse to trick you! ”

I tried to explain to her in a calm tone: "The concubine and the princess are husband and wife, so naturally they should get together often, and the minister is only the princess's slave, if the princess has nothing to tell the minister to do, please ask the princess to allow the minister to hide elsewhere and be lazy." ”

"Why do you say that? You know very well what I have done to you, why do you humiliate yourself like this? The princess was angry, and her voice was a little choked. After suppressing her emotions at this time, she asked again: "Is it my father and my son who want you to stay away from me?" persuaded me to treat Li Wei well, and they also taught you to do it? ”

I shook my head.

"So, it was Li Wei and his mother who forced you?" The princess asked again, and this speculation aroused her anger again, "Seeing that they can't help me, they will start with you and force you to leave me?" ”

"No," I immediately denied, "when I came back, they were all very kind to me and never persecuted. ”

"If you are not persecuted, you are bought by them?" She sneered hatefully, "No wonder you actually chose Li Wei to drink with you at the banquet that day and night, 'communicate with friends and have faith', what kind of ecstasy soup did he pour you, and what kind of promise did you make to him?" ”

I'm just heading up. It is very difficult to explain the content of the long conversation with Li Wei that night, not to mention that it must be something that the current princess cannot understand and accept.

The princess stared at me with tears in her eyes, and before she could wait for my clear answer, she came to her own conclusion: "I understand, Li Wei asked my father to summon you back, and the condition was that you would alienate me and leave me. ”

I denied it again: "The princess must not blame the captain, everything has nothing to do with him, it is I who feel humble and lowly, and dare not accept the princess's wrong love." ”

"Is that really the case?" The princess half-lowered her eyes, two tears slipped down, and she whispered in a sobbing voice, "In that closed imperial city, I am the princess, and you are the minister. But in my heart, how have you ever been inferior to me...... You are my brother, my teacher, my friend, the only person I can rely on in this boring life. Do you know why I went mad with despair during the days you were banished? Because your departure made me realize that all the happiness I have in marriage comes from you. ”

The emotions that I imprisoned were crying with her, and I turned my head abruptly, not facing her teary eyes, for fear that the defense line that I had built up with great difficulty would break the embankment again.

She covered her mouth with her hands to suppress the sound of sorrow, but her thin shoulders still trembled slightly. After a moment, she stopped her tears, looked at me quietly, and said, "What about you?" I still remember that you used to say that you were afraid that one day you would not see me because I would take away all your happiness. In that case, why are you still avoiding me and pushing me a man I hate? ”

I was silent. She continued to ask, "Why don't you want to get along with me anymore?" Why can't we live as intimately as we did in the past? ”

My long silence did not bring her abandonment, and she waited patiently for my answer with a confrontational persistence. I couldn't avoid it, and, knowing that there would be no more time to delay, I finally turned around, walked up to her, met her burning gaze, looked at her for a moment, bowed my head slightly, and let my forehead touch hers.

"Princess," I said to her softly, in a whispered voice, in this intimate distance, "well, now, let me tell you why. ”