A black figure slowly hung down from the eaves, and with a slight sound of landing, Wei XIV appeared outside the window.

He stepped forward and picked up the small wine jar, pulled the cloth cover on his head, and looked down and sniffed.

"Good wine." Wei XIV said softly, "It's at least thirty years old. ”

Bai Ling looked at him with one hand on his chin, Wei Shiyi didn't smile much, but occasionally there was some gentle look in his eyes.

By the light of the moon, Bai Ling saw fine sweat on Wei Shixi's sides, and a few strands of his white hair were wet on his sideburns, looking like he had just finished a violent run.

"Where did you just go?"

"Over there in the Xuanqiong Palace." Wei XIV replied.

Bai Ling was a little surprised for a while, "It's the Xuanqiong Hall again, you seem to run over there often?" ”

"Hmm." Wei Shixi closed the wine jar again, and was silent for a while, then he suddenly looked over, "Do you want to go and see?" ”

……

The Xuanqiong Hall was originally a hall near the northeast corner of the Imperial Palace, adjacent to the Imperial Study and Jingyang Palace.

Originally, it was just an ordinary house in this huge palace, but when Jianxi was twenty-five years old, Emperor Jianxi, who was in his thirties, dreamed of a swallow falling on the Jinluan Palace for seven consecutive days, so he ordered Qin Tianjian to divinate the good fortune.

The conclusion given by Qin Tianjian is: "Heavenly Destiny Xuanniao, Great Zhou Shengchang".

In the same year, after some complex and detailed feng shui calculations, Emperor Jianxi demolished the palace of the Xuanqiong Hall and instead built a tall tower almost as high as the palace wall.

The interior of the tower is lined with wooden brackets – they are almost natural bird's nest skeletons.

In the spring of the following year, swallows flew in and settled here.

In the night, Wei Shixi, dressed in black, carried Bai Ling on his back, galloping on the eaves between the palaces and palaces, heading in the direction of the Xuanqiong Palace.

The golden glazed tiles of the palace looked like a shimmering lake in the moonlight, and Bai Ling looked up from time to time, and could always see some patrolling guards in the distance, their spears in their hands reflected the cold cold light, but no one seemed to see Wei XIV who was flying on the wall here.

The sound of Wei Fourteen's falling steps was completely hidden in the wind.

He was like a bird, passing lightly through the scattered palace courtyards.

Soon, Wei Shixi landed in front of the Xuanqiong Gate and whispered, "It's here." ”

Only then did Bai Ling raise his head, and saw the tall tower behind the door towering into the sky, which looked like an anomaly in this generally low and solemn building.

Wei 14 led Bai Ling in, there was a long and straight stone path between the Xuanqiong Gate and the Xuanqiong Tower, and there were stone lamps every two meters on both sides, and the red candles in them were obviously newly placed tonight.

The glowing candlelight reflected their faint shadows on both sides, and Bai Ling looked back and forth, "Why is there no one here?" ”

"Because no one is allowed here after dark, including the guards."

"Why?"

Wei Shixi looked up at the plaque of the Xuanqiong Tower, "This is the rule that His Majesty deliberately set when he was afraid that the movement of people would alarm the swallows and provoke the tired birds to dare not return to the forest...... Come with me. ”

Bai Ling followed Wei XIV and walked around the back side of the Xuanqiong Tower, and the two of them bent down and stepped into the tower through a low, half-hidden window. Bai Ling thought that a place dedicated to swallows should smell very bad, but surprisingly, the smell here seemed to be no different from other places.

The space inside the tower is so large that it reminds Bai Ling of the water tower in the community when he was a child, and children can even chase and fight here.

Standing at the bottom of the tower and looking up, I saw the moonlight pouring down from the countless windows on one side of the tower, shining on the wooden ladder embedded in the wall on the other side, forming many light white shimmer grilles.

By this light, Bai Ling saw that there were several places on the wooden ladder that were clearly different in color—probably the result of years of continuous repairs.

The tower had no roof—or rather, it was topped by a hollowed-out cavern with a blue velvety night sky on top.

"Shall I take you up and have a look?"

"Okay."

Wei 14 picked up Bai Ling again, he did not walk up the wooden ladder in an orderly manner, but jumped up continuously with the help of the raised wooden frames on both sides, and when he was only a few steps away from the exit from the top of the tower, he took Bai Ling directly from the dim shadows inside the tower and jumped into the moonlight at the top of the tower.

After this moment of light and darkness, Bai Ling saw clearly that the top layer of the Xuanqiong Tower was a circular rooftop, and along the curved half-height wooden fence of the rooftop, there were many potted flowers and plants.

Bai Ling couldn't help but exclaim, "Are these all raised by you?" ”

Wei Fourteen nodded.

Bai Ling sighed, no wonder Wei 14 had to come here from time to time, it turned out that he had opened a hanging garden here.

"I didn't expect you to like this......" Bai Ling leaned over to look at a tangled branch at his feet, and reached out and gently touched its leaves, "Why do you put flowers here?" ”

"There are too many cats in the palace, and it's inconvenient." Wei Shixi stood aside with his hands in his arms and replied softly.

He stood behind Bai Ling for a moment, then turned and went to the back of a trellis and took out a small iron stove. He skillfully threw a few pieces of charcoal into it and set up a pot to boil water.

Then, the wine was warmed.

Both of them sat on the ground, and Fourteen took two pockets out of nowhere, and took a few plums and some ginger slices from them, and put them into the wine jar together.

Bai Ling watched Wei Shixing's movements, and guessed that he probably often came here to cook wine and enjoy the flowers, and seeing that he only had one cup to prepare here, he knew that he always came alone.

After a while, the wine was already hot, and the air was filled with the aroma of wine, Bai Ling leaned over with some curiosity, "Can I taste it?" ”

"You're still young." Wei Shixi glanced at her, "If you're thirsty, drink this." ”

As he spoke, he untied the water bladder on his waist and handed it to Bai Ling.

Bai Ling smiled and had to take it.

The night breeze was blowing, and with the smell of wine, Bai Ling said with a smile, "I have finished reading the two scripts you brought me last time." ”

When Wei Shishi heard this, he looked up, "Is it the kind you want?" ”

"No," Bai Ling shook his head, "I may have to trouble Fourteen to help me look for it again, these two books today feel like down-and-out scholars writing their imaginary eunuch homes...... It doesn't really read true. ”

Speaking of this, Bai Ling thought for a moment and said slowly, "Is there such a small talking book where the writer himself is a witness?" For example, scholars write about scientific examinations, and down-and-out aristocrats write about the history of the rise and fall of their families...... Even if it's a fantasy of gods and demons, it's okay, as long as the market life in it is relatively real, I want to see it. ”

"Hmm...... I'll try it, but I won't necessarily find it. Wei Shishi held a bamboo clip in his hand, slowly turned the wine bowl that was heating in the water bath, and asked in a low voice, "Why do you suddenly want to see these things?" ”

"I'm just a little curious," Bai Ling said softly, looking into the sky, "I want to know how the people here live." ”

"Aren't you living here," Wei Fourteen raised his head again, "Curious about what?" ”