In the twelfth year of Fengwu, Emperor Huan Xin died of the palace. The funeral edict is imminent, the whole country mourns, and the marriage song and dance are banned in the territory of the Great Heart for a month, and the people are not allowed to gather meat and eat within seven days, and circulate and buy. Local officials must wear plain linen filial piety clothes, and the ministers of the capital must enter the palace every day to mourn, hang their heads in front of the golden coffin and cry bitterly.

In the forbidden palace, after the sound of cloud boards and crying, there was the loud whipping of the eunuch in front of the Yuanwu Palace.

Miyahata ascended the throne.

For more than ten days, the palace banner did not send anyone to pick me up in the Taopin Building, or Guan Ju and Pujia were intimate, knowing that I must be anxious every day in the Taopin Building, so they came to visit me every other day, and brought me some news from the palace from time to time.

According to them, now the former emperor's Zigong has only gone down to the imperial mausoleum, the palace banner lives in the palace, and the courtiers' folds are piled up into a hill, and countless things are waiting for him to deal with...... As they spoke, seeing that I was still frowning, they persuaded me to settle down, and when the palace banner was finished, they would definitely take me into Zhongfu Palace and be his queen.

Seeing that it was not easy for them to persuade me, I had to squeeze out a smiling face to face each other. In fact, I really don't care if the back position is not in the back position, but the separation of more than ten days has given birth to a strong uneasiness in my heart.

I myself could not figure out the real reason for this uneasiness, perhaps it was the rain for days; Perhaps it was the emperor's new mourning ban on singing and dancing, and the Taopin Building was dead silent; Or perhaps, it was because he witnessed the death of the emperor and the palace in the ghost prison that day.

The closure of the peach sales building has made everyone have free. Aunt Hua saw that I was frowning all day, so she instructed Wanqiu, Sarong and Duan Ming to talk to me every day. But even though she wished I could show my face, she didn't seem to be happy with Guan Ju and Pu Jia's frequent visits. Several times when she entered the house and saw the two girls there, they all turned around and left without saying a word, and their faces were not very good-looking.

However, I didn't have the heart to think about the reason for this, and the daily memory of the palace flag was enough to make me not think about tea and dinner, and I couldn't sleep at night.

On this day, the weather finally cleared completely, and I was still asleep, so Zhuo Ying woke me up and said that Duan Ming had been waiting in the outer hall for a long time.

I didn't bother to put on my makeup, so I put on a dress and walked out.

The outer hall does not have the curtains of the inner room to shade the light, but the sun is warm and sunny in the first room. Duan Ming heard the movement, and when he turned around and saw that I was disheveled, the bright smile on his face immediately turned into a green shyness. He himself stood in place for a long time, and when he saw that I looked blank, he had to sort out his mind and smile at me again.

"You're awake, Wanqiu has already brought someone to deliver breakfast, and when I saw that you didn't get up, I put it on hold first." Duan Ming looked at the breakfast that was already cold on the table, "I see that you are not hungry, why don't you go to the courtyard with me to relax!" ”

I was tired: "What are you going to do in the courtyard this morning......?"

"This one!"

Duan Ming waved his hand, and I saw that he was holding a small kite in his hand. The kite was very simple, and there was no ornamentation at all.

"Ah," I smiled tiredly, "early in the morning, you're in a good mood." ”

"It's still early in the morning, and it's noon in another hour! When the wind stops, you won't be able to play if you want to! ”

"Oh... You go and play with Sarong, I don't have the strength to ......"

"-Oh, let's go, if you stay in the room any longer, people will get moldy!" Duan Ming's tone was soft and glutinous, and he shook the kite in his hand, "I made this paper kite for you with my own hands!" Today is cloudless, write your wish on it, God will definitely see it, and then it will come true for you! ”

I couldn't help but laugh – I didn't really want to fly a kite, and I didn't believe in the idea of a kite wish. It's just that Duan Ming's coquettish tone today is so cute and cute, it is really far from the image of a tall and strong man of others, which is difficult to refuse.

He pushed his back and ran downstairs, and sure enough, he saw the good spring light in the courtyard, and the leaves of the peach tree that had only pulled out the buds a few days ago had grown long and green after a few days of rain, reflecting the cobalt blue sky, which was particularly full of vitality and hope.

"Pretty good, isn't it?" Duan Ming smiled comfortably beside him, "Such a good spring, I really disappointed if I didn't come out!" ”

As he spoke, he pulled me to the stone table under the peach tree in the courtyard, and saw that the ink on the table had been ground at some point, and even the brush had already been prepared. I looked back at Duan's eyes that were as clear as an April stream, and unconsciously laughed, picked up the brush, and held it in my hand.

Seeing me pick up the pen, Duan Ming hurriedly spread the kite on the stone table, carefully pressed it with a paperweight, turned his head and smiled brightly at me: "Write, anything is good, put it in the sky, it will definitely be realized!" ”

As I bit the pen, I thought of Miyahata. However, Duan Ming's eyes around him were so clear and full of enthusiasm, I couldn't help but think of the time when I brought Gong Wan to Taopinlou, Sarong had mentioned to me, Duan Ming's thoughts on me.

I've thought about this myself. It's just that we're too close and familiar with each other, and there are some things that we can't ask.

Duan Ming saw that I refused to write for a long time, as if he understood my thoughts: "You are thinking about the emperor, aren't you?" ”

I was shocked for a long time, and only then did I realize that the emperor Duan Ming said was the palace flag. This kind of title is really unaccustomed, and to put it bluntly, I feel that I am much farther away from Miyahata.

"Gui Hotaru, I understand. In fact, since the last time he came to Taopinlou, I have understood that you have to be with each other. Duan Ming's tone was light and light, as if he had thought about these words in his heart for a long time, "I have also been dissatisfied with him, critical of him, and secretly observed his thoughts on you. But I regret that he didn't reveal a single fault that would have led me to break you up. ”

"Duan Ming, you ......"

"I admit that I have admiration for you, but this affection is not the same as between you and the emperor. This is true for you, and it was the same for Wen Ling at the beginning, if there is any difference, she and I are subordinates and superiors, apprentices and masters. With you, we are friends and partners. ”

I don't know what to say, but there is already an infinite warm current in my heart. Partner, this is not a strange word, but at this moment, it makes me feel warmer and more grounded than ever. Maybe this is the biggest benefit of Duan Ming, he is always so delicate and considerate of my thoughts, and he really shares my worries big and small.

"But Sarong said, 'You ...... me."

"She's right, in fact, even I couldn't figure out for a long time whether I had that kind of mind for you. You are indeed very different from Wen Ling, you do not have her indifference and cruelty, nor her alienation and restraint. You love and hate clearly, and you are happy to hate and hate. This kind of you is indeed fascinating. ”

"What about you?"

"Gui Ying, if I hadn't met Wen Ling in my life, if she hadn't saved my life in Yuan'an, passed on my martial arts, blended with me, and was born and died together for ten years, maybe when I met you, I wouldn't have thought of her uncontrollably, and I wouldn't have been able to clear her shadow from my mind."

"Duan Ming, you still have affection for her, don't you?"

"I don't know, Hotaru, at first, I did have a hard time accepting the fact that you took possession of her body, and I was expecting her to return. But it didn't take long - perhaps it was after teaching you the Nine Styles of the Spirit Rhino here that I completely changed my mind, and I decided to forget about her and embrace a new life. It's been difficult, and I'll admit that I haven't been able to do it until now. But to this day, I can tell you clearly, Gui Ying, the relationship between you and the emperor is blessed from the bottom of my heart. ”

"Really? Can you really be completely free of resentment against Miyahata? ”

"I never said that I had no grudge against him, after all, it was my master, my superior, and the indispensable Gangfeng Banner Master from me. If you become his queen, the Tail Cult will lose you forever. Leaving aside the irreparable damage of the Tail Sect, if the Sect Master is to blame, then it is likely that I will complete the task of killing you......"

"No, it won't! Even if the Sect Master executes me, he knows our relationship and will definitely not choose you to do such a thing! ”

"Either he asks me to kill you, or he lets someone else kill us both." Duan Ming smiled helplessly, "I talked to Sarong about this matter, and with her relationship with us, the sect leader naturally wouldn't choose Feiyan Banner; The Thunder Banner Shocking Stone Martial Arts is unfathomable, and his possibilities are extremely great; And although the Tang Banner Lord doesn't know us, we can't gamble our lives with this friendship; And Bai Xiaohan of the Water Reclamation Banner is already like fire and water with us, as long as the sect leader does not abandon him, then whether it is the Thunder Banner or the Red Flame Banner to kill us, he will definitely intervene. ”

"Anyway, Qu Xi has also returned to Lingguang Mountain for a long time, and the sect leader should also know about Bai Xiaohan's apostasy, why hasn't the general altar moved for a long time?"

"I have already checked this matter, You Yong sent back the letter of the dead soldier of the Gangfeng Banner who was stationed in the main altar, which said that the Tang Banner Lord did return to Lingguang Mountain early in the morning, but the sect leader has not returned for a long time, and even his phoenix clone is missing. Tang Qi Master did not have the opportunity to report Bai Xiaohan's matter to the sect leader. ”

"Looks like he's out there with something else to attend to." I said in a deep voice, "Since he can't pull out, why should you worry about thinking about what hasn't happened?" I always feel like... Miyahata won't take me back to the palace so easily. ”

"It's not easy, it's not all a matter of time." Duan Ming smiled sadly, "If there is really a fight, some things have to be deployed in advance. Fortunately, our Gangfeng Banner dead soldiers are all extraordinary in martial arts, as long as it is not for the Red Flame and Thunder team, we should win this battle. ”

"If they do join forces... Or, maybe Bai Xiaohan came out to muddy the waters. At that time, the three flags will besiege us, won't the defeat be a foregone conclusion? ”

"I had this concern, but Sajon told us not to worry." Duan Ming's smile became warm and bright again, "She said that just by virtue of the fact that we spoke for the old man in the first place, the Feiyan Banner will always be the backing of the Gangfeng Banner. Three banners are the main ones and three banner masters, plus the strength of the imperial court, we may not have no chance of winning. ”