There is a saying in the "National Law": "All officials will have a meeting every two days, and a rest every ten days." "Although Gu Yan is not the master of the early dynasty, he is also conscientious, and he finally got free, so he wanted to take a boat to have fun, and then find some musicians and singers to play a few small songs. Why didn't the sky be beautiful, but it rained all night without stopping.

It's cold outside, and no one wants to go out and be cold for no reason. The maid set up the brazier early, and as the charcoal fire crackled, the room gradually spread a lazy warmth, which was pleasant but also uninteresting. Meng Xiangzhi saw his disappointment, so he proposed to invite a painter to make a portrait of him to remember his heroic appearance, and Gu Yan readily agreed. It's just that simple painting is boring, and if there are one or two people to chat and play chess with you, it will really relieve boredom.

In today's court, there are three powerful ministers in Zhenghong: Pei Yongqing, Xiangguo, who governs state affairs and is in charge of hundreds of officials; Fengchang Chu Lian, the ritual of the temple, the politics of Lingxian County, and the teaching of Taixue; and the internal history of Lu Qingming, the main grain food, money and goods, salt and iron taxes.

Pei Yongqing and Gu Yan have always been teachers and friends, and their respect is mixed, if they discuss state affairs, they must be indispensable to him, but whenever they want to have some fun, Gu Yan only needs to think about Pei Yongqing's serious face, and his interest will go to seven points. Lu Qingming is good at having fun, and his mouth is very sweet, but he is just flattering, and occasionally he is pleasant to hear, but he is a little tired when he is too much. Speaking of which, the Lu family is an old nobleman of the Qi Kingdom, but this Lu Qingming doesn't know if he has been entangled with money for a long time, and he always has a businessman's slippery gestures.

"In the end, Uncle Guo can go to the temple and enter the music workshop." Gu Yan snorted, as if he had smelled the copper smell on Lu Qingming's body again.

As soon as Shen Zi'an arrived at the gate of Xingchang Palace, he vaguely heard bursts of laughter and laughter coming from inside. "Childe will wait here for a while." Rong Xing said, and pushed the door into the house. The rain had gradually stopped, and occasionally the cold wind blew, and a few shrubs in front of the courtyard swayed, and the rain on the branches fell and smashed on the bluestone slabs, making a series of crisp sounds.

This is what Gu Yan once planted for Chu Yu with the Mo mulberry flowers in Pingjing City. Everyone knows it, and of course Shen Zi'an knows it. In about a month, it will be at its peak. It's just that the Mosang in Pingjing City is still blooming brilliantly every year, why is it that there are only a few sporadic plants left in the royal city? Shen Zi'an was a little puzzled.

The laughter in the room suddenly stopped, and after a while, Rong Xing pushed open the door and smiled at him, "Childe comes with me." ”

Xingchang Palace is very large, after two screens, and then through a long corridor, I arrived at the place where Gu Yan usually meets his ministers-Yangxin Hall. Taking advantage of the maid's efforts to lift the curtain, Shen Zi'an quickly glanced around, only to see Gu Yan wearing a black robe, lazily sitting on the couch, with half of the chessboard in front of him. Chu Lian was sitting cross-legged opposite, holding a chess piece in his hand, unhurried, and even comfortable. Meng Xiangzhi waited on the sidelines, as before.

"Xiaomin Shen Zi'an, meet the king." Shen Zi'an straightened his clothes, stepped forward and knelt down three steps away from Gu Yan.

Gu Yan was thinking about the next move, but at this time, he raised his head suddenly and looked at him with a little surprise. Shen Zi'an's elegant words are so good that compared with Gu Heng, who has been instructed by famous teachers since childhood, he is still slightly better. Gu Yan's heart suddenly liked it, sat up and said, "Get up and let me see." ”

"King Xie." Shen Zi'an stood up and looked down. There are seven ancient rites, "Whoever sees the court, the body must be upright, and the action must be upright." If there is no official or title, then the body should not be within seven feet, and the eyes should not be regarded as a king for no reason" is one of them. The Qi Kingdom has been in existence for more than three hundred years, and even the famous families have mostly forgotten these old rules, and Gu Yan has always advocated the rule of literature and etiquette, so he couldn't help but be overjoyed at this time, so he stretched out his hand to beckon him to the front. I saw Shen Zi'an's eyebrows like ink paintings, his eyes like willow leaves, his nose like Xiufeng, his lips like the moon, wearing a moon-white round-necked robe, and a bamboo-patterned white jade hairpin. Although he is dressed in plain clothes, he has the innate bearing of the old aristocracy in his gestures.

"Keep your head up and don't have to be restrained." Gu Yan said.

"Yes." Shen Zi'an responded, and then raised his eyes to look at Gu Yan.

If Fang Cai only felt that Shen Zi'an was good-looking, when the four eyes met, Gu Yan was really stunned for a moment, and a sentence suddenly appeared in his mind-"There is a trace of sickness on his face, and his eyes are full of romance." ”

For Shen Zi'an, this was the first time he had seen Gu Yan so closely. Compared with the vague impression ten years ago, the king in front of him has become a lot more bloated, and the majestic posture on the Chengqian Palace has also disappeared by half. Just looking at his pot-bellied appearance, he looks like a wealthy official.

"What books have you read?" Gu Yan asked with a smile.

"Back to the king, I haven't read many books, but a few historical books and wild biographies."

"Where's the tutelage?"

"Mr. was invited by my father from the school in Pingjing, he is not very famous, and he has taught Xiaomin a few articles, and he is not a master."

Shen Zi'an also told the truth, but Gu Yan was suspicious. The so-called famous teachers produce high apprentices, there are no famous teachers, and they have never read poetry and books, where do they come from? If what he said is true, where did the "born talent" referred to by the previous masters come from? If he did not tell the truth, then what he had in mind could not help but make people suspicious. Gu Yan was thinking left and right, but was interrupted by Meng Xiangzhi.

"The portrait of the king is finished."

Gu Yan took a look at it, and immediately showed joy on his face, but instead of complimenting or disparaging, he turned his head to Chu Lian and asked, "What does Uncle Guo think?" ”

Chu Lian leaned his head over and glanced at it, then stroked his palm and smiled, "This painter's technique is really superb, and it is not bad to paint the momentum of the king." ”

"What is Zi'an's opinion?" Gu Yan asked again.

Shen Zi'an took the painting, looked at it a little, and said with a smile, "Xiaomin feels that there are a few deficiencies. ”

Gu Yan was interested for a while, "Let's hear it." ”

Shen Zi'an then said, "As the lord of the Ninety-Five, the lord of all vehicles, the king is not evil but strict, not angry but arrogant. Although this painting is exactly the same as the shape of the Great King Longwei Yan Jaw, the god has missed most of it. As the ancients said, the expression is hidden inside. If you don't paint people and bones, you will be ruthless, and if you don't paint bones, you will have no spirit. The so-called 'portrayal of the gods, all in the Ah', Mr. The former is already excellent, and the latter is still a little worse. ”

"Is there a way to fix it?" Gu Yan asked.

Shen Zi'an didn't shirk it, spread the paper on the table, picked up the ink pen and tapped it twice on his eyes, and then presented it to Gu Yan again. If it is said that the portraits in the previous paintings were already vivid, but now they have been slightly modified by Shen Zi'an, and there seems to be a real light in their eyes, and they are lifelike for a while.

Gu Yan couldn't help but be overjoyed, held the painting and looked at it for a long time, and said with a smile, "I didn't expect you to work so calligraphy and painting, no wonder you have a talent for birth." ”

"The king has won the award, but the people only know a little bit about it." Shen Zi'an arched his hand and said.

"Why do you still call yourself a small people?" Gu Yan smiled all over his face, and said to Meng Xiangzhi, "Pass on my will, seal Shen Zi'an as the Huangmen squire, and from today onwards, live in the side room of Xingchang Palace." ”

Shen Zi'an never expected Gu Yan to make such a plan, and couldn't help but be stunned for a while, finally came back to his senses, hurriedly bowed, and said, "Thank you, King." ”

Chu Lian also said on the side, "The children of the Shen family are all outstanding, congratulations to the king, and he has another virtuous talent." ”

"Get up." Gu Yan said with a smile.

"Shen Shilang has just come to the palace, I'm afraid that many things are inconvenient, why don't you send an attendant to him, so that he can take care of him?" Chu Lian said with a smile.

Gu Yan pondered for a moment and said to Shen Zi'an, "Uncle Guo is reasonable. There is a man named Rong Xing under Mr. Meng, who is very quick in his work, so let him follow you in the future. You are about the same age, and you can speak easily. ”

Shen Zi'an thanked him again and again, and then withdrew.

Here, Shen Xiao and the others waited restlessly in the mansion for a few hours, and when they were anxious, they only heard Shen Yan shouting in front of the door, "My lord! There's news! ”

Before the words fell, he saw the servant who went out with Shen Zi'an rushing into the house, Shen Xiao hurriedly greeted him, grabbed his arm and asked, "How is it?" ”

The servant ran out of breath and said intermittently, "Go back...... Back to the ...... of adults"

"What kind of adult, say it quickly!" Shen Xiao was so anxious that he stomped his feet.

"Little ...... Little Boy...... He was named the Yellow Gate Squire by the King!" The servant finally finished speaking, and suddenly lost his strength, and sat on his knees, panting.

"Ancestor bless!" Shen Xiao let out a sigh and clapped his hands happily for a while.

The news spread quickly all over the inside and outside of the Shen Mansion, and everyone rushed to tell each other, overjoyed. Aster heard the movement outside the house and knew that it must be her son-in-law who had news, so she was busy going out to ask. A maid happened to come over, and Aster stopped her and asked, "This sister, is there something important?" ”

"Big deal? It's a great thing! The third son of our family has been named the Yellow Gate Squire. ”

Aster didn't know what the official position of the Yellow Gate Squire was, so she only asked, "When will that son come back?" ”

"What are you going to do when you come back? I heard that the king likes the prince very much, and he left the son in the side room of his bedroom. The maid said with her eyebrows fluttering, glanced around a few times, and whispered in Aster's ear, "Other people's sons don't have this blessing, but our sons have it." I'm afraid I'm going to soar! ”

Childe must be unhappy in his heart, he is weak and has no one to take care of, what can he do in the future? Aster's ears rang, and she thanked the maid in a daze, turned and entered the house. Qi Yuanjin was also waiting for news in the house, and when he saw Aster leaning against the door and trembling, he hurriedly asked, "How is it?" ”

"Qi Bo......" As soon as these words came out, the tears in Aster's eyes could no longer be held back, and said in a trembling voice, "Childe can't come back." ”

At night, the lights in the side room of Xingchang Palace have not been extinguished. The Shen family sent someone to send clothes and bedding, and Rong Xing was busy with work, and finally cleaned up before Shen Zi'an fell asleep.

"Rong Chang Waiter go and rest, I'll take care of the rest of the bits and pieces myself." Shen Zi'an said with a smile.

"Hey, just call me Rongxing." Rong Xing put down his rolled sleeves and said with a smile, "If I call Gongzi an adult all day long, and Gongzi calls me a regular attendant, wouldn't it be too awkward?" ”

"Then I will call you Brother Rong from now on."

"It's all good, it's all good." Rong Xing smiled and folded the futon for Shen Zi'an, "His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has gone out these days, and when His Royal Highness comes back, he should come to see the prince." ”

Shen Zi'an smiled, "Only I went to see His Highness, how can His Highness come to see me?" ”

"Childe doesn't have to be formal, Your Highness values you very much." Rong Xing looked around again and said with a smile, "Then I won't bother, Childe is also tired this day, let's rest in peace early." ”

"Okay." Seeing Rong Xing coming out of the house, Shen Zi'an turned a few more pages, and a wave of sleepiness came up. I was about to turn off the candlelight, but suddenly I felt a cold wind blowing behind me.

"Who!" Before Shen Zi'an turned around, his arms were grabbed violently, and his mouth was covered by a strong and powerful hand. "Hmm......" Shen Zi'an desperately tried to break free, but he only heard the person behind him lower his voice and said, "Don't make a sound!" It's me, Gu Xuan. ”

Gu Xuan.

The old memories seemed to have suddenly revived, and when he heard this name, Shen Zixin shuddered violently, and then stopped struggling. The man whispered again, "I'll let go, don't make a sound." ”

Shen Zi'an nodded slightly, and the man really let go of his hand and said with a smile, "Zi'an, don't come to harm?" Shen Zi'an turned around and saw that he was wearing a black night suit, and his face coincided with the paranoid and naughty second prince of Qi in his impression in an instant.

Although Shen Zi'an hadn't seen him for many years, he knew inexplicably in his heart that this person was Gu Xuan. "Don't come unharmed." Shen Zi'an felt that his throat was a little tight.

Gu Xuan made a silent gesture, pointed outside the house again, then waved his hand to extinguish the candlelight, took a step forward, walked to Shen Zi'an's side, and whispered, "Since you recognize me, it's better for this light to go out, be careful that the wall has ears." ”

Shen Zi'an suddenly felt a little grateful for this night when he couldn't see his fingers, for some reason, a layer of cold sweat appeared in his palms, although he couldn't see it, he knew that the expression on his face must be extremely distorted.

What he didn't know, however, was that at this moment, the man beside him was equally grateful for the night. Although Gu Xuan had tried his best to restrain himself, his body still couldn't stop trembling slightly. The person in front of him, he has been thinking about it for ten years. From that day on, he asked around, only to know that Shen Zi'an barely picked up a life, but other than that, there was no news. He had no way to ask, and no one wanted to tell him.

Thinking like crazy, I'm afraid that's how it feels. Gu Xuan thought to herself. But when he finally saw Shen Zi'an, there was only one thought left in his heart, "Zi'an's eyes are still as good-looking as before." ”

The two were awkwardly silent for a long time, and Gu Xuan finally opened his mouth astringently, "Shi Nan in front of Changming Palace has opened two rounds. ”

"Your Highness came to me just to talk about this?"

"It's just over a month before the Shangsi Festival, and my father ordered me to take someone to check the altar, and I sneaked out."

"Then you ......"

As soon as Shen Zi'an started speaking, he heard the footsteps of Xi Suosuo outside the house. Gu Xuan grabbed Shen Zi'an's arm, led him to the side of the bed, and said, "Zi'an, I'll just say one thing to you, you listen." Rongxing is not credible. ”

When Gu Xuan jumped out of the back window, the sound of footsteps had already reached the door. Shen Zi'an hurriedly got into the futon, and heard the front door being pushed open a crack, and after a while, he gently closed it again.

The people who came have left.

Shen Zi'an lay on the bed staring at the beams, unable to sleep. After calming down, Gu Xuan's words kept ringing in his ears.

"Rongxing can't be trusted."

But is Rongxing not credible, or Gu Xuan, you are not credible?