[Chapter 4, Volume 4]

Section 473

Imperial capital.

In the bright summer, the streets and alleys often smell roses, jasmine. Li's floral scent.

But the situation is like the sky at this moment, and the heavy clouds are hanging low like a curtain, pressing on the top of the head and on people's hearts. Let the entire magnificent imperial capital be shrouded in indescribable gloom.

In the secluded place in the south of the city, there is a Zhumen mansion, which occupies a small area, but the layout inside is very exquisite.

It's just that the people in the neighborhood know that the owner of this place doesn't come to live often, and occasionally comes and sits for a while without saying anything, and comes and goes in a hurry, never meeting the neighbors, which seems to be very mysterious.

If it weren't for the fact that no one came, the whole mansion would be empty, and some people would have wondered what kind of hiding place this was.

But in fact, this is the late Zhou Baolin's dowry industry - although Zhou Baolin entered the palace and could not be regarded as marrying a saint, she was the daughter of the Zhou family, and her parents were reluctant to give her the dowry originally prepared for her when she left the cabinet. Among them, this favorite courtyard of Zhou Baolin before leaving the pavilion is among them.

After Zhou Baolin was murdered by Empress Gu, this place was owned by Shenbo.

And Shen Bo is getting older, although there is no shortage of houses inside and outside the palace, he often comes to see the property of his biological mother's marriage. Seeing things and thinking about people is one, and it is also a place to be secluded, to meet some people who are inconvenient to contact openly.

However, sometimes when it is difficult to make a choice or something helpless, Shen Bo will also come here to live outside the house where his biological mother lived before leaving the pavilion.

For example, this day.

Shen Bo was dressed in civilian clothes, leaning on the glass couch next to the west window, pillowing his arm, and staring at a gloomy cloud outside the window...... He always thinks of many years ago, when his biological mother Zhou Baolin was still there, Baolin liked to hold him on the couch of the west window to watch the clouds in the afternoon.

At that time, Shen Bo, who was only four or five years old, was hugged by his mother and concubine, smelling the fragrance of Baiyu on her clothes, and only felt that the whole world was so stable and peaceful.

It's just that this kind of peace and tranquility will never be there again after Queen Gu led people into Weiyue Palace and dragged Zhou Baolin away.

Later, he had a mother, Mrs. Zhenyi, who had no son and was not bad to him. But not long after adopting him, Mrs. Zhenyi also had an accident, although she was not as miserable as Zhou Baolin, she also fell out of favor and took care of herself, not to mention sheltering her adopted son. Moreover, Mrs. Zhenyi was very gentle to Shen Bo in the days when she had not fallen out of favor, but she never held him on the couch in the west window to look at the clouds at noon, and told him all kinds of interesting stories in the gentlest whisper...... Mrs. Zhenyi is not very literate and can't tell any stories, and Mrs. doesn't like to watch clouds, and she doesn't know that Zhou Baolin has a hobby of taking her son to watch clouds.

After that, he nominally had his adoptive mother, Mrs. Zhenyi, and his mother-in-law, Queen Gu, but in fact, he knew very well - he had nothing - Mrs. Zhenyi's most distressed at the critical time was her own daughter Princess Anji, and Queen Gu was the enemy of her mother...... After that, whenever he wanted to watch the clouds from the west window, Shen Bo could only find a trace of peace when he returned to this house and found a trace of peace on the couch where his mother often lay before leaving the pavilion......

In the heavenly home where flesh and blood are as indifferent as water, this glimmer of peace is so precious and rare.

So much so that Shenbo often comes, and he doesn't want to leave.

What's more, in this situation now, even if he returns to the East Palace, he doesn't know what to do?

tried her best to marry the crown princess, but married the wrong person; The woman who was accepted as a side concubine really liked it, and she was pregnant with her own flesh and blood, but she was suspected by the saint because of this; Nominally, both the saint and the ministers let the prince listen to the government, but he was suppressed and guarded by Queen Gu before, and he had never been in contact with political affairs, and now he is in turmoil in the world, and in the face of the mountains of official documents and urgent documents that are still flying like snowflakes, Shenbo is completely at a loss.

At this moment, he suddenly had a little understanding of his father, who was still in the mood to enjoy singing and dancing in the harem and the young and charming concubines: who doesn't want to be the master of the Ming monarch and sage who is competing for generations? But he has the intention to kill the thief and has no power to return to the sky...... In the face of the world full of flames, Shenbo felt dazed and powerless.

The same is true when you want to come to the Holy Majesty to ascend the throne...... It's not that I don't want to be a Ming Jun, it's because I want to be a Ming Jun, so when I see the erosion and decadence of the whole world, and my talent is not enough to turn the tide, that kind of weakness from the bottom of my heart...... It's better to get drunk, it's better not to watch......

Taishi Duanmu Xing and Situ Weiyu, old ministers who have been in politics for many years, have also been tortured by the current situation to the point that they have fallen ill and are barely supporting, let alone Shenbo, who is young and has no experience in political affairs?

But Shenbo still has a trace of clarity in his heart, so that he will not be like the saint, and immediately want to use wine and beauty to forget this desperate world.

He just wanted to lie down and lie all the time......

He didn't know how long it had been before he felt his sleeve being gently tugged.

A layer of anger immediately surged between Shen Bo's eyebrows, and he didn't look at the waiter who was trembling and kneeling on the edge of the couch: "What's the matter?!" ”

"Your Highness, the palace gate is about to close, if Your Highness wants to spend the night here, the slave will send someone back to say something?" The chamberlain was able to be brought here, since he was a close confidant of Shenbo, because he knew that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was in a very bad mood today, so that he usually got up after lying down for an hour or two, and today he actually lay down without drinking or eating for a whole day, which must be a great annoyance. It's really worrying about his life when he comes up to disturb him, but he doesn't dare not say it, "After all, the queen mother is there ......."

Queen Gu's biological son was seized by Shen Bo - although this can't be blamed entirely on Shen Bo, it is also blamed on Shen Xun for his own lack of anger, but Shen Xun moved out of the East Palace, Shen Bo replaced him, the latter's biological mother still died in her own hands, and the queen's disgust and defense against Shen Bo can be imagined.

If you don't go home at night like today, and you are caught by Queen Gu, maybe it's another turmoil......

After all, Shenbo has not been a reserve for a long time, and the foundation is not solid. Although the queen only has one biological son, there are still several princes in the palace. The former crown prince Shen Xun is not virtuous, but his son Shen Lin is said to be very intelligent......

Deng Guifei had already told Shenbo to be careful to sail the ship of ten thousand years, not to ascend the throne for a day, and not to relax for a day!

This chamberlain was also advised by the concubine to remind the master at any time, so he took the risk of pulling his sleeves and recalling Shenbo's mind.

Shen Bo thought of Queen Gu, and the anger between his eyebrows became heavier, and he couldn't help but clench his fists hard...... The chamberlain fell to the ground in fear and waited for orders.

After a long time, when wet marks appeared on the outer robe of the chamberlain, I heard the prince say very tiredly: "Send someone to the palace gate to tell me, and there is still Concubine Deng." ”

"Yes!" The chamberlain secretly breathed a sigh of relief, hurried out to give orders, and came back to serve, but saw that Shen Bo had already sat up slowly from the couch - because he had been lying in the same position for too long, he was obviously sore and numb in several places, so his movements were very slow.

The waiter took the jade hammer from nearby with great eyes, quickly stepped forward and knelt on the side of the couch, and thumped his arms and legs for Shen Bo.

Shen Bo closed his eyes and let him beat him for a long time, Fang said, "Okay." ”

He stood up and moved his hands and feet, and the chamberlain asked cautiously: "Your Highness, it's not early, Your Highness came out of the palace this morning and hasn't eaten yet, is it...... Isn't it something to use? ”

Shen Bo shook his head, and the chamberlain still wanted to persuade him again - but he heard him say faintly: "Shi An, have you been serving Gu for more than ten years?" ”

Shi An, the waiter, was stunned for a moment, and then said: "If you go back to Your Highness, the slave and maid have the honor to serve Your Highness, which is fifteen years and seven months." ”

"Fifteen years and seven months? You slave has a good memory. Shen Bo squinted, but didn't look at him, just stared at the candle flame that had been lit not far away, and muttered, "Lone still remembers that you were a little waiter running errands in front of the mother, because you helped Lone catch a finch and Lone liked it very much, so the mother gave you to Lone." ”

Shi An lowered his head and said in fear: "Yes." After thinking about it, he added, "Your Highness also has a good memory. ”

The mother concubine that Shen Bo said was not Zhou Baolin, but Mrs. Zhenyi.

After Zhou Baolin's accident, the palace people who served her either went to serve others or were buried with her. Including Shenbo's nurse, she didn't stay - at that time, Mrs. Zhenyi was still in full swing, and Queen Gu did this, and she also sold her a favor.

But Shen Bo, who lost his biological mother, has not spoken or smiled in the Doujin Palace, and Mrs. Zhenyi regards him as an old man to rely on, and tries her best to make him happy, but she can't succeed every time. One day, Shi An, who was still a small chamberlain, caught a sparrow, and wanted to take it to the kitchen, but in a blink of an eye, he saw the eleventh prince standing under the corridor, and quietly looked at the finch struggling and fluttering in his hand, without blinking.

Shi An also tried his luck and stepped forward to offer the sparrow to him. I don't want Mrs. Zhenyi to make people specially collect colorful parrots that can win people's speech and sing failed to attract Shen Bo's interest, but it was an ordinary sparrow, so that Shen Bo grabbed it in his hand and stroked it for a while, and then smiled.

After Mrs. Zhenyi found out, she didn't say a word and assigned Shi An to serve Shenbo.

Even though Mrs. Zhenyi fell out of favor soon, Shi An always served this master carefully...... At first, it was for the warmth that had never been extinguished in the deep palace, and I couldn't bear to snub the young and helpless Shenbo; Later, the eleventh prince gradually won the attention and love of the saint, and no one dared to be disrespectful, but Shi An became the confidant of the notoriously difficult prince because of his warmth and duty in the midst of tribulation......

Shen Bo suddenly thought of this past, Shi An didn't know why, but he felt a heartbeat for no reason......

But I heard Shen Bo say: "Do you know why Lone didn't tease the parrots in the palace at the beginning, and preferred the finch you caught?" ”

Shi An said tremblingly: "The slave is stupid. ”

"Because Lone used to be held by his biological mother under the west window to watch the clouds, the most seen were sparrows." Shen Bo smiled lowly, his expression was strange and complicated, and said, "Lone has heard that sparrows can't fly high, do you know?" ”

Without waiting for Shi An to answer, Shen Bo said, "Yanque An knows the ambition of the bird? Isn't that what that means? Solitary...... In fact, it's just a sparrow. ”

"Your Highness is a heavenly nobleman, how can you compare it with a bird?" Shi Anxin was taken aback, and hurriedly said, "Your Highness is the dragon and phoenix among people!" ”

"Dragon and phoenix?" Shen Bo looked at the candle flame, but just sighed, "Lone also hopes that he is a dragon and phoenix...... Pity...... Pity! ”

Shi An only felt cold sweat, and was racking his brains to think about how to answer, only to hear Shen Bo say: "It's just that the ants are still greedy, not to mention the finches that are not much bigger than the ants?" You said...... Is it? ”

“…… Chattered...... Ge ...... "Shi An wanted to say something, but he felt that he couldn't say a word, he heard that the bones of his whole body were trembling!"