When Ling Xiao returned to the room, he lay down on the beauty collapse, squinted his eyes slightly, and said to Qi'er: "You can tell me what happened to me in the past, anything goes." ”

"Yes, Miss," Qian Er replied, "Then let's talk about the fact that the Seven Princes of the North Yue Kingdom were fined two months of confinement in order to carry the black pot for you." At that time, you just made a small accident, that is, you beat the official service on an errand on a street in the imperial capital, and the eldest lady punished you to be confined to study, but you secretly slipped out with the seventh prince, and as a result, you met the emperor's favorite concubine, and accidentally had a quarrel, you accidentally scratched her fair and immaculate face with your fingers, and the defendant went to the emperor, although the eldest lady was the crown princess, but she couldn't protect you, and finally the seventh prince came out to confess, saying that it was all his fault, and the emperor looked at his beloved son stupid enough to do this kind of thing, He was only sentenced to two months of confinement......"

Ling Xiao listened to all this quietly, thinking that he was afraid that he would never do these things in his life. Gradually, when I got tired of listening, I fell asleep.

I don't know how long I fell asleep, and when she opened her eyes, she saw a man's delicate face, about twenty years old, who was quietly looking at her, and when she woke up, he showed a beautiful smile.

Ling Xiao sat up and asked suspiciously, "Who are you?" Why is it in my room?"

"The people in the house said that you had amnesia, I still don't believe it, now it seems to be true, you little conscienceless, you forgot your third brother, I used to hurt you in vain." Zhong Limu pretended to be angry and said, and stretched out his index finger to scrape Ling Xiao's nose, but Ling Xiao instinctively dodged back, and the scene was instantly embarrassing.

In order to resolve the embarrassment, Ling Xiao then said, "Third brother, I'm sorry. ”

"Little girl, how can I really give you general knowledge? The third brother is also uncomfortable when he sees you sick. It's just that why did your temperament become so cold and have a bad time in North Vietnam? Zhong Limu's tone was full of concern.

"I'm fine. I heard my father say, "Don't you have a few days to come back?" Why did you come back early? Ling Xiao asked.

"The official business was done ahead of schedule, and I also wanted to see you, I haven't seen you for six years, I didn't expect to grow so tall. It seems that our little girl has also grown up. I can't bully you anymore. Although Zhong Limu said regretfully, there was a little joy in his tone.

"You talk less, you used to be nagging in my ear all day long, and suddenly you are a little unaccustomed." Zhong Limu continued.

"The third brother is used to it." Ling Xiao smiled and replied simply, Zhong Limu couldn't do anything about her, but he still told her a lot, and it took a long time to leave.

After about a month of such life, the peach blossoms in the courtyard have gone, and now they have grown tender green leaves, which is refreshing. Ling Xiao reads books when he has nothing to do a day, and recites "Book of Songs" and "Chu Ci".

One afternoon, she was called to the study by Zhong Liyi.

"Father, what's wrong with me?" She asked.

"Can't I call you if it's okay? It's getting more and more unruly, and I don't know how to say hello to my father. Although Zhong Liyi was reproachful, his tone was doting.

"I'm sorry, it was my negligence." Ling Xiao really forgot that in ancient times, children had to greet their parents every day, so he could only blame himself.

"Are you so distant from your father? Don't want to say more?" Zhong Liyi said a little iron.

Ling Xiao didn't know how to answer, so he simply didn't say anything. "I heard that you have been studying very hard recently, and the master praised you in front of me, you really impressed your father, and you were able to calm down." Zhong Liyi said with a smile on his face.

"That's not hard." Ling Xiao replied.

"Your third brother said that you cherish ink like gold now, I think it's true." Zhong Liyi sighed.

"Your ears are clear, aren't they?" What Ling Xiao said was the truth.

These words made Zhong Liyi completely speechless, and after a long time, he said: "The six princes have won the flag, and the class has returned to the court, and tomorrow night there will be a banquet in the palace for the six princes to catch the wind, and you and your father will go together." ”

"No, no." Ling Xiao simply refused.

"Do you want to resist the decree? The emperor specified that I would take you with me, but if you dare not go, break your legs, and be lawless. Zhong Liyi deliberately scared her as a child, but she felt the father's love that had been missing for twenty-five years, and couldn't help but have tears in her eyes. Don't be afraid to go to the palace tomorrow night, there is a father! ”

"Okay, I'll go." Ling Xiao couldn't bear to worry about him, so he had to say this.

The subordinate sent Ling Xiao the clothes for the palace banquet, which was a pale pink tulle with peach petals embroidered on it, which looked very fresh, but she didn't like this color and pattern, but she still accepted it, after all, she was now living as Zhong Liyuan.

For the palace banquet in the evening, after lunch, the maidservants began to dress up Ling Xiao, which lasted for several hours, and was not finished until the sun was about to set, and at this time the carriage had been waiting outside for a long time.

Ling Xiao walked out of the mansion and saw Zhong Liyi and Zhong Limu waiting for her there, Zhong Limu was holding a horse and saw her come out, "Come, the third brother will take you to the palace on horseback." As he spoke, he wanted to help Ling Xiao get on his horse, but Ling Xiao stepped back and shook his head. She couldn't accept it, not to mention the safety issue, she still believed in Zhong Limu. It's just that she feels dirty, and although there is a groom to bathe the horse, she still can't overcome her psychological resistance. Riding on a living animal, she was disgusted by this kind of thing.

"Nonsense! What kind of horse to ride, on the street, it hurts, and your sister is just sick, so she can't stand your tossing like this. Zhong Liyi said with a straight face.

"Didn't you always pester me to take you on horseback? Why don't you want to ride now?" Zhong Limu said to himself.

"That's all when I was a child, people change." Ling Xiao replied lightly.

"Alas! Oh well, you don't ride, I'll ride myself. Zhong Limu said with a disappointed tone. After that, he turned over and got on the horse, and Ling Xiao and Zhong Liyi also got into the carriage. On the way, Ling Xiao half-lifted the curtain of the car with his hand, watching the afterglow of the sunset disappear little by little, and the pedestrians on the road became fewer and fewer, and gradually deserted. Although there is no curfew in the imperial court now, it is not lively on the streets every night, and there is a night market only on a single day, which is also because the country is prosperous and prosperous, so that people can go out at night and do what they like, such as eating tea, drinking, enjoying singing and dancing. This is much more advanced than the development of modern history, in modern history, before the Song Dynasty, but there has always been a curfew, prohibiting people from going out at night, one is because of economic restrictions, and the other is not safe to go out at night. In the Song Dynasty, although the army's national defense was not very good, the economy was at its peak, and there was a night market. It's just that after the Song Dynasty, it was explicitly curfew. This also made Ling Xiao have to admire the open-mindedness of the rulers of this dynasty.

The carriage entered the palace gate, and after a while, it finally stopped. Ling Xiao got out of the carriage with the support of Qian Er, and it was completely dark at this time, but there were palace lights lit on the road, so it didn't feel dark. The palace banquet was set up in the peony garden of the imperial garden, not far from a peach forest, and then there was a lake, and one side of the lake was planted with lotus. Now in early summer, the peach blossoms have turned away and green leaves have grown. Before the palace banquet began, Ling Xiao didn't want to sit there and listen to Zhong Liyi talking with those dignitaries, so he walked into the peach forest with Qi'er. The construction of this palace covers a wide area, Ling Xiao listened to Zhong Liyi said, here is a whole two although not very high, but the area is very wide, so there are mountains and water, especially in winter, after heavy snowfall, the red plum blossoms in the back mountain are in full bloom, that is the real beauty. However, this was not built in a day, but took hundreds of years to form gradually, and successive kings were more virtuous and would not spend a lot of money to build palaces for themselves.

Ling Xiao continued to walk forward, letting the breeze blow through her hair and clothes. The night in early summer is so cool, the sound of frogs and insects around the night is more silent, at the end of the peach forest, she accidentally saw a man standing by the lake, he quietly looked at the calm lake, the well-cut clothes set off his perfect long figure, and only a side face could be seen against the backdrop of the palace lamp, but even so, it can still be seen that his instrument is extraordinary. At the moment when Ling Xiao looked at him, to her surprise, the man turned around and looked at her as well. Ling Xiao saw his face clearly, it was a face that was as calm as water, but so handsome. Ling Xiao couldn't help but be stunned, and didn't come back to his senses for a while. He looked at Ling Xiao and smiled, but Ling Xiao was startled by this smile, came back to his senses, and found that he was so rude, so he lowered his head, turned around and left in a hurry. She secretly rejoiced in her heart, fortunately it was far away, otherwise she really couldn't imagine how to face that person, after all, it was her own rudeness first.

Ling Xiao returned to Zhong Liyi and sat down, but the scene just now was still in his mind, just like the person in the painting.

The palace banquet has begun, melodious, melodious melodies accompanied by the graceful dancing of the dancing girls, setting off the atmosphere here, and a group of singing and dancing.

At this time, there was a man sitting in several places on the opposite side, and to Ling Xiao's surprise, he was the person Ling Xiao saw by the lake. The man turned his gaze to Ling Xiao's side, Zhong Liyi saw this, and bowed his hand, and the man also returned a salute.

Zhong Liyi looked at Ling Xiao and whispered to her, "That person is the Sixth Prince, Yanling Zhan. Ling Xiao listened to Zhong Liyi's words and nodded, indicating that he understood, and didn't say anything, just sat there quietly.

During this time, Ling Xiao'er also heard a lot of things about the royal family to her, although she had never seen the true face of the six princes, she also knew a lot about him. The people of Jundu say that he is talented, gentle and elegant. And there are no concubines so far, but there are many side concubines. Even so, I don't know how many daughters of princes and ministers still have a crush on him.

The sound of silk and bamboo stopped, Zhong Liyi pulled Ling Xiao to stand up, and saw everyone saluting in the direction of the main seat. Ling Xiao raised his head slightly, only to see a middle-aged man dressed in a black embroidered dragon straight jacket walk out, followed by a young father-in-law holding a whisk, that father-in-law was his personal eunuch Chai's father-in-law, and he was the emperor of the Central Plains Kingdom.

The emperor sat down, and then a warm voice sounded: "Excuse me, tonight is a family banquet, don't be too restrained." ”

So everyone sat down, the music began again, the graceful dance began again, and the crowd was very happy in the staggered lifting of the bottles, without the slightest restraint.

His eyes looked at Ling Xiao and Zhong Liyi, revealing a father-like kind smile, and beckoned to Ling Xiao: "Yuan'er, come to my father's place, I haven't seen you for six years, let my father take a good look at you." ”

Ling Xiao was a little stunned, and Zhong Liyi hurriedly said to her, "Go ahead and salute the emperor." Ling Xiao got up, walked over with a strange feeling, and bowed down: "The little girl greets the emperor." ”

The emperor listened to her words and frowned slightly: "Called father, I haven't seen you for six years, and Yu'er is so angry with her father." ”

Ling Xiao didn't know what to say for a while, so he had to apologize and say, "It's Yu'er who is not good." ”

"How could I blame you? For so many years, you must have suffered a lot, and my father feels sorry for you. I was sick a few days ago, but now I'm feeling better?" His eyes were full of concern.

Ling Xiao replied seriously: "It's just that I felt cold from the rain on the way, and now I have recovered, thank you for the emperor's concern." ”

"It's called Father. Your father said you had amnesia, what do you remember now?" The emperor continued to ask with concern.

"Nope." Ling Xiao's answer was simple.

"It's really hard for you, with my father here, I will never let you be hurt again in the future. Sit down next to my father. As he spoke, the emperor gave up part of the bamboo mat. Ling Xiao hesitated, it was too rude. She looked at Zhong Liyi, Zhong Liyi nodded to her, gave her an affirmative look, and motioned her to do what the emperor said.

Halfway through the singing and dancing, the emperor looked at Zhong Liyi and said to Zhong Liyi: "Yu'er is about to be married, and it is not small, it is better for me to marry her and Zhan'er tonight, and the wedding date is set on the day of Yu'er and Lu, so it is better to have the children's wishes as soon as possible." What about the sub-single-mindedness? ”

Zishan is Zhong Liyi's words, and Zhong Liyi said after hearing it: "This is naturally good, just follow Brother Yanling's meaning." ”

The emperor smiled heartily and said, "Then it's decided." ”

Yan Lingzhan got up and saluted the emperor, "Thank you father Emperor Longen, I will definitely not disappoint Yu'er." This made Ling Xiao a little difficult to accept, she thought to herself: "Just like this, I was married to a person I don't know, without asking my opinion at all, I think this is the sorrow of ancient women, I should have thought that my fate is different from Zhong Liling?" It's just a tool for political marriage. What the six princes said is really ironic, but now I can't even resist the decree. ”

Ling Xiao knelt on the ground: "Thank you for the emperor's kindness, but I don't want to get married so early, next month is my time, but I haven't fulfilled my filial piety in front of my father and mother, so I hurriedly married another woman, which is really unfilial." The elder sister of the courtier's daughter married far away from the North Yue Kingdom early, the eldest brother guarded the border pass, the second brother entered the Nanzhuan State as a concubine, and the third brother had a lot of things in the court, and it was rare to return home. Now that there are only one courtier left by my father and mother's side, I hope the emperor can understand the heart of a daughter and let me be by their side for a few more years. "These are things that Ling Xiao deliberately said to remind the emperor, the Zhongli family can be regarded as doing their best, the emperor has nine princes, but there is no princess. Zhong Liling's sister Zhong Liling married Beiyue for the sake of the peace and prosperity of the two countries, and was willing to give up her beloved. The eldest brother Zhong Liji guarded the border at the age of fifteen, and he guarded it for decades. The second brother Zhong Lihuan entered the southern country of Zhuan and saw each other once a year. The third brother Zhongli Mu is in the third rank, and he rarely sees him dealing with the affairs of the court. Ling Xiao mentioned these things to the emperor just to have a high-sounding statement, and these were only told to her by Qian'er, she didn't have much affection for these relatives, and she had only seen her third brother a few times. But she was sure that her words were useful, after all, filial piety was admired throughout the court. Although you can't resist the decree, it's good to delay it for a few years, and you can also think about how to make the emperor willingly take back the order, there is always a way.

Sure enough, the emperor's eyes were moved after hearing this, and his words were also gentle: "Yu'er is really getting more and more well-behaved." According to what you said, this wedding date will be postponed for three years, and then your father will definitely give you and Zhan'er a beautiful wedding. It's just that this will be a bitter stack, and I will have to wait for you for three years. As he said the last sentence, his gaze turned to Yanlingzhan. Then let the palace maid help Ling Xiao up and sit beside him again.

Ling Xiao inadvertently glanced at Yan Lingzhan, only to see that he was still as calm as a windless lake, and he couldn't see any emotion, nor could he spy on what he was thinking.