When I talked to Wang Yanshu about this, they were in the study. The clouds are copying the calligraphy, and the clouds are also calligraphy.

Wang Yanshu put down the book in his hand and walked to her side.

"At the beginning, General Zhao Tuogu, had something to do with you?"

Yun Zhao put down the pen and snuggled in his arms.

"Well, when Ah Weng came to visit me for my injury, I told him about it, but he couldn't resist me, so he told me the reason."

"I just suspect that Master is not a person who will sell his daughter for glory, not to mention that when he is dying, he entrusts Ruyi to me, which is even more reliable than entrusting it to the royal family. That day, Ah Weng told me that when my father died, His Majesty intended to take me into the palace to raise me. ”

She narrated the words of Master Zhou that day.

——

Taishi Zhou sat on the edge of her bed, looking at her pale face, with infinite pity in his heart.

"I think that Sheng Gong left a book to pay Wang Yanshu back then, and this is why. His Majesty offered to admit you to the palace, but I politely refused on the grounds of Duke Sheng's wishes, so I kept you. ”

"Was this planned by my father?"

Master Zhou bowed: "Duke Sheng never wants you to be better than the court, he is thoughtful and skillful." ”

"I know it like the wind. He had a correspondence with me. His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has a good relationship with you, and His Majesty seems to be interested in marriage, and we are still thinking about whose girl is of the right age and worthy of the identity of the Prince. ”

"Master really let Ruyi enter the palace for me."

"Zhao'er, there is no right or wrong in this matter. We don't want you to enter the palace, one is your father's intention, and the other is that you are sexually free, and there is no concern behind you. But the daughter of this big family, how many people are staring at the position of the crown princess. In the future, entering the middle palace is not simply a name. ”

"Rufeng sent her into the palace, which not only protects you, but also protects the Zhao family."

Yun Zhao lowered his head: "But Ruyi is unwilling." ”

"Zhao'er, nine times out of ten things in this world have not been satisfactory. She is the daughter of the Zhao family, even if she does not die like the wind, her marriage cannot be willful. ”

——

Yun Zhao hugged his waist tightly.

Wang Yanshu touched her head: "What the Taishi said is not unreasonable. General Zhao Rufeng died, and the two sons of the Zhao family were not allowed to be reused. Miss Zhao's marriage to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince may not be a good thing for the family. ”

"Ruyi is a year younger than me, if His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has her in his heart, then naturally everyone will be happy, but ...... If His Majesty hadn't intended to let me enter the palace, Master might not have moved this thought. ”

"Zhao'er, it's not something you can control."

Yun Zhao sighed. What she didn't say was that the marriage was probably not only intended by His Majesty the Emperor, but also by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince...... The crown prince will be a bright monarch in the future, but he is by no means a good match.

His heart was too cold.

"Yanshu, prepare some gifts to send to the East Palace tomorrow, and I will ask for mercy."

Since that day, she and the prince have not seen each other for more than two months.

"Okay, I'll prepare it myself."

Yun Duo wrinkled his nose: "Sister, you see if my handwriting has improved." ”

Yun Zhao breathed a sigh of relief, walked over slowly, and said with a smile: "Let me see, your dog crawls." ”

"Sister is talking nonsense."

Early that morning, Yun Zhao went to Zhuguo Temple to offer incense as usual, and she met His Royal Highness the Prince in white clothes outside the temple gate.

Seeing her coming, he stepped forward, and a smile swept into his thin eyebrows: "I knew you would come." ”

"Hail to Your Highness." Yun Zhao wore a woman's long skirt and curtsied.

Ji Xingyan pulled her up and didn't get angry with her.

"I'll be with you."

They walked slowly up the hill, silent to each other. The quarrel in the Hou Mansion that day seemed to be still in front of us, but it seemed to be far, far away. Like their distance, in the blink of an eye, it became a thousand mountains.

"How are you feeling better?"

"Much better."

"Does the wound still hurt?"

"It doesn't hurt anymore."

He asked, and she answered. There's nothing wrong with that.

"Are you still mad at me?"

Yun Zhao glanced sideways at him and shook his head: "I'm not angry. ”

"I know you've always been cold, but you've never done this to me." He was a little aggrieved in his words, and completely put down the prince's shelf.

"I've always been grateful to you." Yun Zhao stared at his feet and walked up step by step, "From childhood to adulthood, I don't have many friends, and you are a very important one." ”

"Ah Zhao, apart from you, I have no friends."

Yun Zhao paused and looked at him with a look of surprise. Ji Xingyan pulled the corners of his mouth and smiled, his eyes were very sad: "I can't live without you." ”

Yun Zhao took a deep breath: "Your Highness, as a friend and a minister, Yun Zhao will not regret it in this life, and he will never betray him." There was a translucent light in her eyes, so affectionate and cold.

Ji Xingyan shook his head and lowered his head: "Ah Zhao, this is not what I want." ”

She lifted her skirt and continued to walk up the steps, took two steps and looked back at Ji Xingyan who was standing in the distance.

"Ah Yan, there's only so much I can give you." As a friend and a courtier, she gave him all her strength and faith, more than she could.

Ji Xingyan looked up with a kind of forbearance in his eyes, which made Yun Zhao frightened. She remembered the words of King Huai'an, the corruption case in the east, he died nine times for life. She couldn't believe it was to marry her.

The crown princess of the crown prince should be a noble woman, gentle and virtuous, with enough power behind her to support him and take care of his harem.

But apparently she wasn't the right person for that. Yun's honor comes from her merits, and there is no tree behind her.

The silence between them blends with the silence around them.

Yun Zhao was the first to turn around, and she climbed up. Ji Xingyan stared at her back, a thin and slender figure, and it took a long time to raise her heels.

The lanterns in the hall are lit, and rows of candles illuminate the entire hall.

Yun Zhao put on the incense and knelt down. She closed her eyes and could feel someone kneeling down beside her, it was Ji Xingyan.

Her heart was no longer at peace, and a haunting fear crept over her. Even if he desperately misses his father, he can't erase the trembling in his heart. For the first time in years, she wanted to escape.

There was only the occasional sound of sparks popping and the long breathing of two people in the hall.

Ji Xingyan's mind is not full of martyrs here. He turned his head to look at the woman beside him, she was very beautiful, her side face was beautiful, she had been darker in recent years, and her jade porcelain-like skin had a rough texture. Her large, clear eyes were now tightly closed, and her long eyelashes cast a shadow under her eyes. Hairy hair grows in front of the smooth and full forehead, adding a bit of softness and cuteness.

Battlefield.

He thought of the secret reports he had received over the years. She is on the battlefield, killing decisively. The girl who was silent at the Mid-Autumn Festival banquet, silver-robed and speared, whistling back and forth.

He imagined her for countless days and nights. The time of parting was long and painful for him.

But she seemed to be happy. Like a bird that breaks free from its cage, it seeks freedom in the frontier full of corpses.

Ah Zhao, the thing I regret the most is to give you wings and let you fly.

If he had been ruthless enough to keep her, maybe everything would have been different.

Yun Zhao opened his eyes, and Ji Xingyan turned his head away quietly.

Fighting broke out in the north. Gan Qing was transferred and followed the battalion of General Gan. Before leaving, he came to the Hou Mansion, which was the first time he had come since Yun Zhao was injured.

"I'm going to the North."

"Take care."

Yun Zhao said this, looking dry. Gan Qing just looked at her, and finally snorted: "Maybe in the future, I won't be able to return to the Yuyang Army." ”

"Well, it's a coincidence, I can't go back either."

He looked over in shock.

"The war in the north is urgent, don't be distracted by other things, take care." Yun Zhao's sparkling eyes stared at him with a smile in his eyes.

"Okay."

He got up to leave, but Yun Zhao suddenly said: "When you return from victory, enter the Hou Mansion or go to the main gate like today, don't always climb over the wall." ”

Gan Qing scratched his head uncomfortably, Yun Zhao just smiled and watched him walk away.

As winter progresses, the clouds excitedly await snow all day long. Yun Zhao reads the secret reports from the north every day, the war in the north is tight, and the weather is cold, so I am afraid that this winter will not be easy.

She stood under the porch and looked at the gloomy sky. Hearing the footsteps behind her, she asked, "Yanshu, do you think it's time for snow in the north?" ”

Wang Yanshu took the big coat and draped it on her body and stood beside her.

"Worried about the war in the North?"

Yun Zhao gathered his clothes and nodded: "Well, the spies have come to report these days, and the situation is very bad." ”

"The southern military camp of the Jin State and the Jialin Pass in the north are far away, and the Jin army has traveled a long distance, and the most difficult thing is the grain and grass."

"It's indeed a good idea to burn grain and grass, but our cavalry is not as good as the Jin people, and we are afraid that we will not be able to attack his grain and grass camp when we leave Jialin Pass."

Wang Yanshu frowned, Yun Zhao rubbed his fingers, and couldn't think of anything for a while.

"If you can't do it, you can only draw a salary from the bottom of the kettle."

They looked at each other and knew each other.

"Be careful."

"I will come back to spend Chinese New Year's Eve with you."

Wang Yanshu looked at her gently and touched her head: "As long as you are safe, everything is enough." ”

From the capital to the southern military camp of Lanzhou, it takes ten days to express the horse, and if you can't go to Jialinguan, it will take some time. I don't know if I can come back in time for Chinese New Year's Eve.

Yun Duo was clamoring to see the lanterns, Yun Zhao asked her to wait for the Yuan Festival, but she insisted that Sixteen buy materials and sit in the courtyard to tie up the lanterns.

She wore a pink silver fox fur collar jacket, a dark blue skirt, and her hair was tied in a child's bun, no matter how she looked at it, she still looked like a child.

"Yunduo, you've been with me for two years, right?"

The cloud raised its head and blinked. Is it only two years? She felt like half a lifetime had passed.

"yes."

"After the New Year, I will be fourteen." She smiled lightly, "It's time to find a good family for you, so that you can marry comfortably." ”

"I don't want to marry." Yun Duo dropped the lamp in his hand, stood up and ran over, "Sister, I don't marry, I want to be with you all the time." ”

There is starlight in her eyes, with the innocence and sincerity of a child. Yun Zhaowan smiled: "Okay, listen to you." ”

The clouds grinned and ran back to tie her lanterns.

Leaving Beijing without permission is not a crime, but if the prince knows, he will be angry.

Yun Zhao didn't take anyone with her, and when the city gate just opened in the morning, she mixed in the crowd and left the capital. It was only after walking two miles away that he took the horse from Thirteen.

"Inform Your Majesty of my itinerary, and remember not to let anyone else know."

"Yes, Lord Hou take care."