During the Mid-Autumn Festival, the moon is thousands of miles, and King Ning set up a banquet in the palace to entertain his ministers. Wei Nong also set up a small banquet on the second floor of Penglai Pavilion and waited for Yunchen.

He had arrived earlier than she had expected, and his expression was calm, with a hint of wine. At that time, she had just come back from folding flowers from the small courtyard behind Penglai Pavilion, holding a few cinnamon plants in her hand, and was arranging flowers in the hall.

Before Yunchen stepped into the attic, the cinnamon fragrance in the room came to his nose, and Wei Nong stood in front of the small desk of the main seat, fiddling with the cinnamon branches in the bottle with his bare hands. Long body and jade, long hair like satin, long eyebrows and clear eyes, long eyelashes slightly drooping, a plain pearl hairpin on the sideburns swaying slightly, setting off her quiet and serious face, a goose yellow palace dress under the orange light showed a bit of warmth, and her moist skin was a dazzling white.

In a trance, Yunchen seemed to have returned to the moment when she first saw her many years ago, it was such a blurry night, and it was also such a hazy light, she gently opened the door of the temple, raised a pair of clear eyes to look at him, like a branch of hibiscus that dewed in the morning, inadvertently blooming under his eyes.

It was also at that moment that he suddenly discovered that she was more vivid, vivid, and beautiful than in the portrait.

There are some things that you never dare to look back, and once you look back, it means parting.

There are some things that you never dare to recall, and once you do, it means loss.

"You're here." The three words were slightly thick, and he easily recalled him from the past, and she had a faint smile, but her eyes were like a quiet and deep lake, without a trace of waves.

is still the same person, the same face has not changed at all, but the jump in her eyes is no longer there, and it has become deep and introverted.

Maybe it becomes not her, nor him, but time.

He and her were separated by an open door, not close or far, their eyes met, and the past ten years were quietly flowing in front of them. Stepping into the threshold, everything returns to reality, and the years have been vicissitudes ever since.

In the short silence, some emotions crossed his heart like a flashing light, Yunchen slowly approached Weinong, and then a light smile floated, and three words came out of his mouth: "I've been waiting for a long time." ”

Wei Nong also smiled: "No, you came earlier than I thought." I thought King Ning wouldn't let you go until the time came. ”

"I drank a few more cups and withdrew from the table first," Yunchen explained with a smile, "He must have known that you and I had an appointment, and he didn't keep me." ”

"In this Ning Palace, nothing can be hidden from him." Wei Nong said as he put down the cinnamon branch in his hand and invited Yunchen, "I also set up a small banquet, just on the second floor, let's go up." ”

Yunchen bowed his head, and the two of them didn't say anything more, silently ascending to the second floor.

The small banquet is set up on the open-air corridor, a desk, two chairs, the furnishings are simple, only the corridor is surrounded by freshly broken cinnamon branches, and the fragrance is permeated.

This is Yunchen's favorite taste, and it has never changed over the years, just like he has always liked a certain person or an object, and carefully cherished it in his heart, but unfortunately, it can only be used for nostalgia from now on.

Thinking like this, Yunchen felt a bitter taste in his heart, and couldn't help but look up at Lanyue Tower not far away.

Wei Nong also looked at his line of sight, and vaguely saw that there seemed to be a figure on the fifth floor, wrapped tightly, looking in the direction of Penglai Pavilion. Wei Nong suddenly remembered that Lian Yong lived there, and wanted to salute him from afar, but saw Lian Yong's shoulders suddenly shrug slightly, and then turned around and quickly disappeared from her field of vision.

There was a slight sound of "bones" in his ears again, and it seemed that Lian Yong was pushing a wheelchair by himself. Wei Nong said regretfully: "It's a pity that you and I have something to discuss tonight, otherwise you can invite Mr. Lian to have a drink." ”

At this point, she remembered that Lian Yong was sick and couldn't blow the wind, so she said again: "But this little banquet is about to be moved to the house, but it is a disappointment to this Mid-Autumn Festival." ”

Yunchen listened to the words in his ears, and smelled the familiar cinnamon fragrance on the tip of his nose, but his thin lips were pursed, and he didn't react at all, and he said for a long time before he said: "Mr. Lian will stay to assist the new emperor." ”

Wei Nong remembered Lian Yong's pursuit in this life, and he didn't judge too much, so he invited Yunchen to sit down. Then she summoned the eunuch, the leader of Penglai Pavilion, and ordered: "A few dishes that Lord Yun and I ate tonight, you ordered me to go down and make another one, and send it to the distinguished guests of Lanyue Tower." ”

The chief eunuch immediately said yes, and gave the order to serve the food with great eyes.

Immediately, the four palace maids walked in with light steps, put eight cold dishes and a pot of good wine on the table, waved back to them with a slight wave, and personally poured a full cup of pure wine for Yunchen.

"Mid-Autumn Festival, drink this cup first and then get down to business." Wei Nong went straight to the point, and did not sense Yunchen's other emotions.

Yunchen bowed his head, still maintaining a faint smile on his face, raised his glass to touch it gently, and took the lead in speaking: "At the Mid-Autumn Festival banquet tonight, King Ning has officially announced his abdication and wants to pass the throne to Yuan Che. ”

So suddenly? Wei Nong was a little surprised: "At noon today, he specially summoned me, and I didn't see him mention it." ”

"I probably want Yuan Che to get started as soon as possible, and then the new dynasty will be more justified when he becomes the emperor." Yunchen guessed.

Wei Nong also thought about it and nodded in agreement. The two drank each other, and Wei Nong mentioned the business in his heart: "You must have heard the rumors, but what do you think?" ”

"For example?" Yunchen played with the wine glass in his hand, looking calm.

"Like, who spread the rumors? What is the purpose? How can we respond? Wei Nong threw three questions in a row.

With a soft "click", Yunchen put the wine glass on the table and answered the first question first: "The rumor spreader is Yuan Che." ”

Yuan Che? Wei Nong felt incredulous: "Why did he do this?" ”

"He wants to force me to publicly deny the identity of the Chu royal family, so that everyone in the world can be a witness, so as to cut off my back road to restore the country and prevent me from making a comeback in the future." Yunchen replied calmly.

At first glance, this seems to be in line with Yuan Che's position, but Wei Nong always has an intuition that this rumor is not Yuan Che's doing. Since the death of Nie Xingji and Qi Zhan, Yuan Che has changed, and she has seen him once before leaving for Youzhou. Yuan Che in that state doesn't look like a person who would do such a thing at all, besides, this rumor still involves her.

Wei Nong then asked: "I don't think it's him." For one, he couldn't think of such a clever way; Second, he has now become much more restrained, and his style has become gentle; Thirdly, this rumor is not only about you, but also ruins my reputation......"

"And I'm about to become his wife, what's the point of him doing this?" Wei Nong didn't want to say too much in front of Yunchen, so he brought Yuan Che's feelings for her in one sentence.

"Of course it makes sense," Yunchen reminded her, "When the rumors spread, you and I must clarify, and once we deny it publicly, we have to avoid suspicion...... He's trying to cut off the connection between you and me once and for all. ”

Having said that, there is also reason, but Wei Nong still feels that Yuan Che will not do this. Especially, after she had a long talk with him, he had already thought it through at that time, how could he make the relationship between them worse again? He didn't have to do any of these things at all.

Wei Nong thought about it before and after, but always felt that it was not Yuan Che's doing, so he objected again: "Could it be King Ning?" This kind of cutting off the back road is very similar to his style of acting. ”

When Yunchen heard this, he seemed to wake up suddenly, raised his eyes to look at the full moon in the sky, and then floated a thoughtful and enlightening smile.

Wei Nong didn't know why: "What?" What do you think of? ”

Yunchen's gaze turned to Lanyue Tower, and replied meaningfully, "I'm thinking about your words...... Cutting off the back road, that's really his way of doing things. ”

Weinong shook his head and sneered: "What is this?" Not sure about you? ”

"If a person has no long-term concerns, he must have near-term worries, and from his standpoint, it is not wrong to do so." Yunchen looked at it quite openly, and laughed self-deprecatingly: "At least he saved me face, and he didn't make it difficult publicly, but let me make my own choice." ”

"So what are you going to do? Do you really want to do what King Ning wants? Wei Nong felt angry for Yunchen.

"The beauty of this plan is that I only have one way to go, and that is to deny it to the end." Yunchen had already seen it thoroughly.

Yes, Wei Nong also knows that this rumor is full of traps, and even if Yunchen has the heart to return to the country, it is absolutely impossible to admit it. For one, the rumors involved her reputation, and if he did not deny it, her situation would only be more difficult than his; Second, once he acquiesces that the rumors are true, the world will only say that the Chu royal family is incompetent and wants to restore the country under the guise of someone else, which greatly damages the dignity of a royal family; In particular, he can't admit that he is Chu Li, if it is known that the prince of Chu, who has been dead for ten years, is still alive in the world, and it was his own brother who died on his behalf, what will the world think of him? Chu Li's reputation and prestige were completely ruined.

Looking horizontally and vertically, this rumor can only be denied to the end.

"But that's fine, I originally planned to operate as a Yun clan for a long time, and since he wants a public promise, I'll give it to him." Yunchen said easily, and took the initiative to clip a chopstick dish for Wei Nong: "As for you, you don't have to do anything, as long as I publicly deny the rumors, your suspicion will naturally be cleared up." Not long after, a new dynasty was established, and once the marriage of the emperor and queen was made public, everything was self-defeating. ”

Even though he knew that Yunchen had given up on returning to the country, hearing him say it so clearly at this moment, Wei Nong still felt unreal. She looked at the osmanthus sugar lotus that Yunchen gave her on the plate, and couldn't help asking, "You really decided to give up?" ”

"Well, give up."

"You won't regret it later?"

"I'm not used to regretting it." Yunchen also sandwiched a piece of osmanthus sugar root for himself, and put it directly in his mouth, he felt the fragrance of osmanthus and the sweetness of sugar root, and his heart was surprisingly calm and tasteless.

By now, he has been able to completely accept the reality: "The state of Chu has been dead for ten years, and the world is forgetful, so why should I go against the torrent of history again and uncover the wounds that have been healed for my own selfishness." ”

It turns out that the state of Chu has been dead for ten years! Time flies! Wei Nong's heart was full of bitterness and emotion, she raised her head, and happened to crash into Yunchen's deep starry eyes, and heard him whisper in her ear: "As I said, I can't lose anymore." ”