"I want to make a few paintings when I'm idle lately, but do you have any drawing paper to recommend?" Zhao Zheng asked.

"Naturally, Lord Seven, please here." Hu Yawen made a gesture of please.

Zhao Zheng followed Hu Yawen to the second floor. After stepping a step, he turned around and handed me to Shen Yuexi. Shen Yuexi also followed Zhao Zheng to the second floor.

The paper on the second floor is much more delicate than that on the first floor, and it is all famous paper and ink from the rice paper production area.

Hu Yawen instructed the guy to make tea, and then asked Zhao Zheng and Shen Yuexi to sit down, and he took the recommended rice paper and spread it on the table, so that Zhao Zheng could see the fineness and touch of the paper, and introduce the beauty of the paper.

Zhao Zheng listened, nodded occasionally, chose a few kinds of rice paper, let Hu Yawen wrap it, and then asked: "There were a lot of disaster victims in the capital a few days ago, and the men went to work as housekeepers everywhere, but what about the women?" There are a lot of people who have been taken captive and sold into fireworks, as you know. ”

Hu Yawen smiled, "The Seventh Prince has something to do, but please tell me clearly." ”

"About half a month ago, there was a woman who fled and came, eighteen years old, suddenly disappeared outside the capital, you help the king to check the whereabouts of the woman, anyway, the people who do these things are nothing more than those gangs in the capital, it should be easy to find out, this king is inconvenient to come forward, so he has to have a shopkeeper."

"The Seventh Prince is polite, when he has an eyebrow, Hu will send the news to the Seventh Prince." Hu Yawen's face was still a calm smile.

Shen Yuexi watched from the sidelines, and knew that this shopkeeper should be a very well-connected person.

Out of Yawenxuan's door, Zhao Zheng and Shen Yuexi did not get into the carriage, but walked around the market.

"The shopkeeper just now has some magical powers." After walking for a while, Shen Yuexi asked Zhao Zheng.

"He has a background in the rivers and lakes, and the brothers who are righteous all have their own powers, and the bastards in the capital respect him and are afraid of him, and he is the only one who wants to inquire about the news." Zhao Zheng replied in a low voice.

"I can't imagine that Seventh Master, you don't go out all day long, but you still know such a god." Shen Yuexi was surprised.

Zhao Zheng smiled, "When I was young, I spent a few years in the capital, and I made many strange people, and the story was enough for a few days and nights." ”

Shen Yuexi's eyes showed a look of yearning, "Strange people, I want to know everything I said." ”

"I'll show you when I have a chance in the future." Zhao Zheng responded.

Shen Yuexi nodded, looking at Zhao Zheng's still flat expression, only then did she feel that this Seventh Prince was by no means as simple and calm as he seemed. He is like the surface of the sea without waves, but under the deep sea, there is an undercurrent that others cannot see.

"That tower," Zhao Zheng pointed to a tower after walking for a while, "it is located in the middle of the capital, standing on it can overlook the entire capital, do you want to go up and have a look?" ”

Shen Yuexi said well, "When I left the capital, I didn't have that tower. ”

"It was built in the second year after you left the capital, and the name mentioned by the emperor himself is called Wanshou Pagoda, which means that the rivers and mountains of Nanxia will last for thousands of generations." Zhao Zheng explained.

"The emperor is really ambitious." Shen Yuexi said such a sentence lightly, and she couldn't tell whether it was praise or sarcasm.

Zhao Zheng turned around and beckoned to the coachman, "Let's take the carriage over, the tower is not far away, and it will take some time to walk." ”

Shen Yuexi followed Zhao Zheng into the carriage and was silent all the way, thinking about what Zhao Guang had said in the palace: How can the daughter of a criminal minister be free from the world.

She felt a lot of pain in her heart, her father, even if he died, was still charged with the crime, and this crime was just Zhao Guang's trumped-up crime, the Shen family, it was really wronged.

When he arrived at the foot of the Wanshou Tower, Zhao Zheng helped Shen Yuexi get out of the carriage.

There were some ideas for the construction of the Wanshou Tower, and it was winter, so there were not many people under the tower.

The tower has a total of nine floors, Shen Yuexi lifted the corner of her skirt, and followed Zhao Zheng to the top of the tower layer by layer.

Standing at the top of the tower, Shen Yuexi took a deep breath, and the nine-story tower came up, her legs trembled a little, but when she looked out from the top of the tower and saw the panoramic view of the capital, she immediately forgot that she was tired, threw herself on the parapet, and looked around happily.

"The rivers and mountains of Nanxia are really magnificent." Shen Yuexi sighed sincerely.

Zhao Zheng stood beside Shen Yuexi, looking into the distance, the rivers and mountains were picturesque, the momentum was like a rainbow, as a member of the royal family, this prosperous scene, he was a little proud in his heart. also has a sincere admiration for Zhao Guang, both admiration and vigilance, the relationship between the two brothers has always been very complicated.

Rotated around at the top of the tower. Zhao Zheng pointed to a certain direction and told Shen Yuexi that it was her mansion when she was a child.

Shen Yuexi stared at it, and the vague memory of the eight years ago came to mind, and it seemed that they were all laughing, swinging carefree, looking up at the sky, and the sky seemed to be always bright at that time.

Directly north of the Manshou Pagoda is the Imperial Palace. The main hall of the emperor's early dynasty is far away from the longevity tower. From the top of the tower, you can see the entire palace, which is spectacular and majestic.

"Seventh Master, have you ever wanted to reign over the world?" Shen Yuexi looked at the palace and asked Zhao Zheng softly.

This question was too sensitive, Zhao Zheng looked around, there were only two people at the top of the tower, he and Shen Yuexi, and then he said in a low voice: "Being an emperor is a matter of shouldering the livelihood of all people, it is too important, I think I have an idle temperament, and I can't be a good emperor." ”

This question was asked by the emperor to the young Zhao Zheng. His answer is the same as it is now.

If at that time, Zhao Zheng replied that the first emperor wanted to reign over the world, then whether the current emperor is Zhao Guang still has to say.

"But the emperor has supreme power." Shen Yuexi said.

"I'm not a power-chaseer."

"I didn't think there was anything to chase for power before, but now it seems that power is a good thing, it can turn black and white upside down and do whatever you want, it can make my father bear the charge of a lifetime, and turn me into the daughter of a criminal minister."

These words made Zhao Zheng a little embarrassed, and if it wasn't for Shen Qingshan's family to be good friends with him, he would not have aroused Zhao Guang's jealousy, and then found a reason to send the Shen family to the frontier.

"Rights are a double-edged sword." After thinking about it, Zhao said.

"If you were the emperor at the beginning, would you also eliminate dissidents?"

"That's natural, every dynasty and every new generation of kings ascend the throne in order to consolidate their power."

"But the father of the Seventh Princess is still the prime minister of Southern Xia, and my father will be assigned if he befriends you, so why is Prime Minister An your father-in-law still being valued?" Shen Yuexi was a little puzzled.

"Prime Minister An has always been the emperor's right-hand man, and he has been secretly assisting when the emperor was still the crown prince, my marriage was pointed out by the queen mother, the emperor did not agree at first, and it was the queen mother's strong insistence to promote this matter." Zhao Zheng paused, "The reason why I am so amiable is because she is the biggest victim in this marriage. ”

Victim? Shen Yuexi was stunned, "How do you say this?" ”

"Yiru wants to have a child, but she won't get what she wants in this life."

Shen Yuexi was even more puzzled, she looked at Zhao Zheng and waited for him to continue.

"The emperor is suspicious, afraid that An Peiquan will turn to help me after having my heir, An Peiquan has a huge influence in the court, and he has a heart, so before Yiru's wedding, the emperor asked An Peiquan to give Yiru a decoction to express his heart." When Zhao Zheng said these words, his tone was still flat.

Shen Yuexi was taken aback, "That An Peiquan really did what the emperor wanted?" That's his own daughter. ”

"As you say, power is dehumanizing." Zhao Zheng sighed slightly.

Shen Yuexi suddenly sympathized with An Yirulai, a woman who was calculated by her own father, who was too miserable.

"So there are some things that I mean to do wrong, and I have indulged her as appropriate."

"How do you know these things, Seventh Master?" After a moment of silence, Shen Yuexi asked. What a secret thing this is.

Zhao Zheng smiled, "How can there be anything unknown in this world?" As long as you have done it, there will always be clues, not to mention the kind of place in the palace, which is the most complicated. ”

"I didn't expect that the Seven Princes were not in the palace, but the things in the palace were known so clearly." Shen Yuexi looked at Zhao Zheng's calm face, and felt more and more unfathomable.

"I grew up in the palace since I was a child, so how can I not understand the things in the palace." Zhao Zheng said in general terms.

Shen Yuexi didn't ask any further. She knew that she didn't have to ask, she now had nine points of certainty in her heart, although this Seventh Prince looked like an idle cloud and a wild crane, but he had his own intertwined network behind him, he would really protect her, so if she did something unforgivable in the future, the Seventh Prince should be able to settle down.

"What are you thinking?" Zhao Zheng saw Shen Yuexi's eyes looking at a place in contemplation, and couldn't help but ask.

"I didn't think about anything, I just felt that the future was blank and my mind was empty." Shen Yuexi smiled.

"With me, your future will not be at a loss." Zhao Zheng's voice was soft, but his tone was unquestionably determined.

Shen Yuexi looked at Zhao Zheng, then snuggled into Zhao Zheng's arms, said nothing, and reached out to wrap around Zhao Zheng's waist.

Zhao Zheng froze there, and Shen Yuexi's sudden intimacy surprised him a little.

But it was only a moment of stiffness, Zhao Zheng stretched out his hand and hugged Shen Yuexi's shoulder, Shen Yuexi's delicate body made people feel a desire for pity, Zhao Zheng's heart was filled with gentle emotions, and the love that had been cold since Yue Xi's death was all awakened by Shen Yuexi.

Hu Yawen's news reached the Kangping palace two days later.

According to the clues left by Zhao Zheng, there are four people whose characteristics match, and the names of the places where they are sold to the land of fireworks have naturally changed, and no one cares what they were called before, so which one is Chen Lingxiu, Zhao Zheng still needs to verify it himself.

Zhao Zheng read the letters, wrote down the names of the Qinglou, and burned the letters.

In and out of the fireworks venue, it was not very convenient for Shen Yuexi to wear women's clothes, so Zhao Zheng ordered the housekeeper to send a new set of clothes, the smallest size, and Shen Yuexi was still a little wide in dress.