East Palace.

Huo Wensong's coffin stopped in a side room, Huo Wenqing was dressed in plain filial piety clothes, and knelt here without eating or drinking for two days. She was more like a ghost than Huo Wensong, her face was pale, she didn't cry or laugh, she just knelt on the wet and cold ground and burned paper.

The golden flame of the paper money shone on her eyes as if it were shining on a bottomless well.

Bai Huan walked into the side room and looked at Huo Wenqing's thin but straight back.

"I've found your second brother." Bai Huan lied and didn't change his face, saying, "He's very good, and he has special people to take care of him." But you can't see him now. ”

Huo Wenqing glanced back at him, with a bloodstained crimson in the corner of his eyes, "What does Your Highness want?" ”

"Chinese New Year's Eve palace banquet, the father and the emperor will give marriage to you and me."

Bai Huan said coaxingly: "When the palace banquet is over calmly, this palace will let you see your second brother." This palace will marry you with the etiquette of a wife, and I will treat you wholeheartedly in the future, and I will not let you suffer hardship. Whether you want to give soup porridge or study, this palace will not stop you. If your brother wants to achieve a career and revitalize the Huo family, this palace will also help. ”

Huo Wenqing's expression seemed to be loosened, as if the ice had melted, and his eyes trembled slightly.

Bai Huan made persistent efforts and said: "Miss Huo, your eldest brother's business, I can't stand you." But the people are gone, and everyone has to look forward, right? Why not turn hostility into friendship? ”

Huo Wenqing's pale and sharp chin fell together, and his voice was hoarse: "Then as His Highness said." ”

——

"The eldest lady's face is so ugly." Yuzhu combed Chu Zhixia's hair, pulled up her hair one by one, looked at Chu Zhixia's bloodless face from the bronze mirror, and said worriedly, "Did you encounter something?" ”

Chu Zhixia took a deep breath, covered his face and shook his head.

Tonight was the Chinese New Year's Eve Palace Banquet, and she didn't think of any way.

The prince did a very good job, or rather, it was done very cleanly, although it was found that the post guard and the maid were killed before they walked out of the water, but there was no clue to the murderer, let alone the matter to the prince.

Although the prince was suspicious, he could not find evidence to accuse him.

The only good news was that after Yan Jue informed the emperor of the suspicions in the case, the emperor dropped the cup.

Maybe the person who denounced the prince was replaced by Chu Zhixia, and there was a glimmer of opportunity in this matter.

"Since coming to the imperial capital, the eldest lady has frowned more and more times." Yuzhu put a velvet flower on her hairpin, smoothed the wrinkles between her eyebrows, touched her face and said, "Leaving the prince and the second son, the eldest lady is like an adult." ”

"Should adults frown?" Chu Zhixia was joking with her.

"Adults hold back their hearts and minds, thinking that they can carry it alone, just like the eldest lady is now." Yuzhu clothed her with a crane feather coat, patted her on the back and said, "Let's go." ”

——

East Palace.

Huo Wenqing is like a puppet in colorful clothes, at the mercy of the maid behind him. Her family is newly mourned, it is not suitable to wear red and green, tonight is the Chinese New Year's Eve palace banquet, it is not good to be too plain and white, so she chose a lilac and almost white skirt, and the skirt is embroidered with a large piece of lotus flowers.

The maid hairpinned her hairpin, and Bai Huan just entered the door. The maids retreated knowingly, and Huo Wenqing met Bai Huan's gaze from the reflection of the bronze mirror. Bai Huan took out a golden phoenix from his sleeve and shook it in her hair.

"This is a gift from my mother, do you like it?" Bai Huan put his arm on her shoulder and asked.

"The folk girl thanked the queen mother."

"It's beautiful." Bai Huan praised her.

"Wen Qing knows the posture of a person, and His Royal Highness loves it." Huo Wenqing said lightly.

"No matter how beautiful a beauty is, there will be a day when she will grow old, and I don't care about that." Bai Huan's knuckles tightened and held Huo Wenqing's shoulders tightly, "I really want to spend my life with you." ”

Wen Qing believes. Huo Wenqing's fingers hidden under the layers of brocade clothes pinched into his palms hard, and his nails left deep nicks in his palms, almost seeing blood.

"At the Ye family's begonia banquet, your poems are well written, and you are different from those frivolous and contemptuous women. Only such a woman is worthy of the position of the crown princess of the East Palace, the queen of the Great Zhou. Hongu will make it up to you with the best in the world. ”

Huo Wenqing smiled dumbly.

Bai Huan frowned and asked with some displeasure, "What are you laughing at?" ”

Tonight is very important, Huo Wenqing's wind and grass are in his eyes, and he can't help but not be nervous. Huo Wenqing is very different from ordinary women, he appreciates this difference, but also fears this difference. This means that Huo Wenqing is not so easy to be handled by him.

"I remember that His Highness praised me at that time, although I was a woman, I was worthy of the name of a gentleman." Huo Wenqing asked harshly, "Could it be that in the eyes of His Royal Highness, a 'gentleman' should be born a man, and a 'villain' should be born a woman?" How useless and unbearable the woman in the eyes of His Royal Highness is, but His Highness has to step on the woman's bones and move forward, and the woman is willing, which is ridiculous. ”

Bai Huan was furious and was about to have a seizure, but Huo Wenqing quickly said again: "Wenqing has trespassed, please punish His Highness." ”

The palace banquet is about to start, and with a word or two of offense, Bai Huan doesn't want to make any extraneous branches. Bai Huan glared at her twice, and coldly brushed his sleeves away. Huo Wenqing obediently followed his footsteps, and stepped into the golden phoenix's eyes, and the red gem flickered slightly.

——

Layers of snow accumulate on the glazed tiles, and the compacted snow melts and solidifies into ice, and the snowflakes fall down with a thin sound. The palace people swept the snow off the road, and the red lanterns that came and went illuminated the road in the wind and snow.

In addition to the emperor, concubines, princes and princesses, there are also princes and their families, important ministers and family members. Before the feast began, the marigold cups glittered in the candlelight, and the charcoal fire smoked the hall as warm as late spring.

Chu Zhixia stood under the eaves and saw the carriage of the East Palace stop from a distance. Bai Huan took the lead in jumping out of the car, and condescendingly helped Huo Wenqing, who was a step slower, down.

"Huo Wenqing is really blessed, a poem makes His Royal Highness the Crown Prince so desperate. I heard that on the day of the fire in the post house, His Royal Highness immediately got the news and rushed over to save people! ”

Whether to save people or extinguish the mouth, only Bai Huan himself knows. Chu Zhixia thought indifferently.

Everyone praised the Ye family's begonias blooming in winter, but she wanted to ridicule them. It's just grandstanding, otherwise, with her appearance, how can His Royal Highness the Crown Prince look down on her Huo Wenqing? ”

This sour tone made Chu Zhixia Ya sour. Before Chu Zhixia turned around and saw whose daughter it was, he heard a cold and noble reprimand.

"Presumptuous. The Huo family is a noble family, and there are countless children in the family, and there are too many champions to count. Miss Wen Qing is famous on both sides of the Yangtze River, and she is a distinguished guest at today's palace banquet, how can you slander her? ”

Chu Zhixia looked at this person with some surprise.

It is the sister of Empress Chen, the young daughter of the regent, and the arrogant Miss Chen Liu of the Chen family. Chu Zhixia came back to her senses after realizing it, in terms of generation, Miss Chen Liu, who was the same age as her, was the prince's aunt, and if Huo Wenqing married into the East Palace, she would be her nephew and daughter-in-law.

It's quite short. Chu Zhixia thought.

But she didn't mention the prince between her words, but seemed to be sincerely defending Huo Wenqing. Chu Zhixia was also a little unsure for a while.

Miss Chen Liu blew those people away in a few words, turned her head to meet Chu Zhixia's gaze, and the eyebrows that had just been lowered raised again, "What are you looking at?" ”

Chu Zhixia spread out his hand and asked innocently: "Can't you see it?" ”

Bai Huan led Huo Wenqing over, and the two stopped tacitly, without saying a word. Miss Chen Liu thought that she and Chu Zhixia hated each other, but Chu Zhixia didn't take the contradiction of the little girl's bickering to heart.

"Miss Chu, it's been a long time." Huo Wenqing said suddenly.

Bai Huan grabbed Huo Wenqing's hand a little tighter, but the public was wide, and he couldn't forcibly stop the two from talking.

"Miss Huo, the festival mourns smoothly." Chu Shixia said, "The ancestors of the Huo family have accumulated good deeds, and they must be blessed by gods and Buddhas." Let the Brotherhood be safe. ”

Huo Wenqing's eyelashes twitched imperceptibly.

"I heard that Miss Chu wears a string of Buddhist beads from time to time, but I didn't expect that the Chu family was warlike and some people converted to Buddhism." Miss Chen Liu glanced at the Buddha beads on Chu Zhixia's wrist and said sarcastically, "Will the Buddha bless the person who created the karma of killing?" ”

Chu Zhi Xia Pi smiled and said, "This Buddha bead is not to bless me, it is to suppress me." Would Miss Chen Liu want to try it? ”

"Okay, Wen Qing hasn't recovered yet, it's windy here, let's go in and say something." Bai Huan interrupted the two people.

——

A man's forearm length fish is opened whole, the fish fillet is folded up to maintain its original appearance, the fish meat is so tender that the chopsticks poke it and spread out, and there is a natural fragrance and sweetness in the mouth; The white porcelain cup contains hot soup, and there is no trace of greasy meat in sight, and it is as bright as clear water, but it is full of the fragrance of dried scallops, seasonal vegetables and chicken.

A table of delicacies, but Chu Zhixia didn't move much.

She listened to the movements of the ladies around her, and observed Huo Wenqing from the beginning of watching the song and dance. Bai Huan looked at Huo Wenqing very closely, and even arranged Huo Wenqing's seat beside him when he was not yet famous, and the maid who served him was also from the East Palace.

Huo Wenqing lost a lot of weight, like a broken wind lamp that would go out at any time. She leaned towards Bai Huan slightly, as if listening to him, with a bit of intimacy.

Now that it has been spread all over the imperial capital, the prince fell in love with Miss Huo at first sight, and took care of Miss Huo, who was devastated by the bad news. They say that this is a good story, a beautiful talk, a match made in heaven, and a good relationship.

"Your Majesty, Niangniang is here—"

Everyone bowed to the ground, and the emperor and queen sat in the most honorable position and ordered everyone to get up. Chu Zhixia exchanged a look with Yan Jue, who was beside the emperor, and Yan Jue shook his head at her slightly, the line of his chin was as cold and hard as a stone. Chu Zhixia shifted his gaze to Bai Ziche again, and Bai Ziche also shook his head lightly at her.

Something has changed.

Chu Shixia took a deep breath, but the emperor spoke first: "Is the prince's side the daughter of the Huo family?" ”

"Back to Your Majesty, the people's daughter Jiangnan Huo, Huo Wenqing." Huo Wenqing broke away from the prince's hand and walked to the middle of the hall and knelt down.

"When I was young, I also studied your grandfather's "Evening Pavilion Fu". The emperor said, "Good boy, if there are any difficulties in the future, tell me." ”

This is to finalize the marriage.

Huo Wenqing seemed to suddenly lose his voice and did not answer.

Bai Huan just breathed a sigh of relief, and then became worried again, "Wen Qing, my father is talking to you." Thanksgiving? ”

"Back to Your Majesty, the people are ......"

Between the lightning and flint, Chu Zhixia's pupils shrank suddenly, and he quickly threw out a silver cup. But it was too late, Huo Wenqing quickly pulled out the phoenix step in his hair and stabbed it into his heart. The exclamations of the ladies and the pouring of cups were chaotic, and Chu Zhixia flipped over the table and rushed to her side, holding down the hand that she was about to pull out.

At this time, he pulled out the step, the blood was gushing like a spring, and Da Luo Jinxian was powerless to return to the sky when he came.

"What's going on? Pass on the Imperial Doctor! The emperor shouted as he slapped the table.

"It's too late, who's going to lead the way?" Chu Zhixia picked Huo Wenqing up horizontally, strode out of the palace and rushed towards the Tai Hospital.

Bai Ziche reacted the fastest, snatched the umbrella from the palace maid's hand, followed Chu Zhixia closely, and held the umbrella to cover Huo Wenqing in her arms.

Bai Huan stood stiffly in place.

The emperor's expression was gloomy.

"Miss Wenqing, you hold on." Chu Zhixia shook off the big fro, it was cold, but she was sweating.

"My second brother...... Still alive? Huo Wenqing's bloody fingers grabbed Chu Zhixia's placket and asked intermittently.

"He's still alive, you hold on, and when you get through, I'll take you to see him." Chu Zhixia only felt that Huo Wenqing in her arms was too light, as light as a piece of paper, like a dry butterfly, no matter how she fought bravely in martial arts, she couldn't catch or hold it.

"That's good." Huo Wenqing spat out a mouthful of blood, staining her plain white neck, "My parents are old, we are gone, they can't stand ......"

"Don't say it, don't say it." Chu Zhixia's tears were uncontrollable, and they fell on Huo Wenqing's eyelashes one by one.

"I, my eldest brother said, for the grace of the day, my Huo clan will repay it with a grass ring." Huo Wenqing's voice was weak, "Miss Chu, I believe in you, I believe in the person you choose." That's the last thing I can do for you. ”

The imperial doctor who rushed over after hearing the news rushed up and took Huo Wenqing from Chu Shixia's arms with all hands and feet.

"I want to see Your Majesty," Huo Wenqing's lowered eyelashes suddenly raised, and his eyes were like candles burning to the end, shining brightly, "I want to see Your Majesty!" ”

The waiter was frightened by her, and subconsciously looked at Chu Zhixia and Bai Ziche.

"Go and tell Your Majesty, Miss Huo asks to see you." Bai Ziche said decisively, "Why don't you go quickly, delay Miss Huo, how many lives do you have to lose?" ”

The chamberlain crawled to the palace banquet.

Bai Ziche looked at Chu Zhixia's hanging hand, soaked in blood, and curled up weakly. Bai Ziche restrainedly touched the back of her hand, which was as cold as a dead person.

Chu Zhixia's face was pale, as if the blood shed was not Huo Wenqing's, but hers.

"Leave the door open." Chu Zhixia suddenly burst out, grabbed the door that was about to be closed, and said viciously, "I'm just here to watch, if anyone dares to do anything, I will cut off his head and give it to him as a gift to his family." I, Chu Shixia, do what I say, if you don't believe it, just try it. ”