When Lu Shen came out of Li Mansion, it was not yet noon.

He glanced up at the bright sunshine, and his heart could not be calmed for a moment.

People are not plants and trees, who can be ruthless, not to mention that he and Li Bingxue have too many memories of the past.

He sighed secretly, and then saw a middle-aged man walking not far away.

"See Master Hou."

The person who came saluted respectfully was Shi Dunan, the governor of the Prime Minister's Mansion.

Lu Shen asked, "What does Du Changshi have to say?" ”

Dunan lowered his head and said: "My prince wants to invite Hou Ye to Moyuan to talk about it, I wonder if Hou Ye has time?" ”

Although the Son of Heaven specially gave Lu Shen a ten-day holiday, the things at hand are still very complicated, and there are still many trivial matters to deal with in the Jinwu camp, even if there is Chen Lanyu, a competent assistant, Lu Shen can't be a hands-off shopkeeper, this is not his character.

However, the prince in Dunan's mouth is the second prince, and now the government and the opposition have already tacitly acquiesced that this is the prince, just waiting for the Son of Heaven to hold a canonization ceremony.

Seeing that Lu was silent, Du Nan hurriedly explained: "Today, Moyuan is closed to thank guests, and the prince did not summon idle people, but only asked for a clean place to chat with Hou Ye for a while. ”

Lu Shen bowed his head and said: "Your Highness's invitation, how can the minister not obey?" ”

Dunan smiled and said, "The carriage is ready, Master Hou, please." ”

About a quarter of an hour later, the carriage drove straight into the interior of the ink garden, and Lu Shen's guards were naturally in charge of entertaining, and Dunant led him to a somewhat familiar courtyard.

Green courtyard.

The second prince, Li Zong, himself wore regular clothes and took the initiative to greet him.

"Knowing that you were in the palace in the morning, this king asked Dunan to wait outside the Hening Gate, and then invite you after you dispersed. Later, he said that you went to the Huai'an County Mansion, and I don't know if you will have lunch over there, so the king simply asked Dunan to continue to wait, and if you come out in a while, I will invite you to come here for a drink or two, and if you have dinner there, then make an appointment for another day. ”

The second prince said as he walked, and in a few words, he explained the ins and outs of the future, to show that he didn't mean to let people follow Lu Shen, otherwise how could he just bump into Lu Shen outside the Li Mansion?

Lu Shen smiled and said: "Your Highness is a little outward, but in fact, you only need to ask people to greet you in advance, and you don't need to work for Du Changshi." ”

The second prince shook his head and said, "The ceremony cannot be abolished. ”

The two came to the side hall, where a table of wine banquets had been prepared, and there were many delicacies from the mountains and seas.

After sitting down, the second prince took the initiative to ask, "Do you want Xue Susu to come over?" ”

Lu Shen suddenly felt that his head was big, the reason why he happily agreed to the invitation of the second prince was that he didn't have the intention of relaxing his mood, after all, he had made a bad feeling in the Li Mansion before, and he couldn't go to his senior sister to arrange - that would be too shameless.

However, just after sitting down, the second prince didn't open the pot, Lu Shen immediately shook his head and said: "No need, His Royal Highness must have something to say today, she is not suitable next to her." ”

The second prince heard the song and knew the meaning of the song, so he stopped mentioning the matter and poured his own wine: "As you said, this king does have a thousand words, but I don't know where to start now. ”

Lu Shen also poured a glass of wine and asked, "Your Highness is upset?" ”

Perhaps in the eyes of the world, at this point in time, the second prince is the least qualified person to be sad.

The eldest prince died, the third prince was imprisoned, he is now the only prince who can inherit the great treasure, the position of the prince is certain, it is the spring breeze when the horse's hooves are sick, why is it boring?

The second prince looked at Lu Shen's eyes and sighed lightly: "The eldest brother is gone, I am very sad." ”

Lu Shen was slightly stunned.

He didn't think that the second prince was deliberately showing his brother, friend and brother in front of him, first of all, if the other party really wanted to perform, it should be in front of the Son of Heaven, and secondly, the attitude of the second prince could easily make the people below think that he was too hypocritical, and finally he and Lu Shen had different identities, so he should pay attention to maintaining his princely demeanor.

Therefore, the second prince is not pretentious, he is indeed sad because of the death of the eldest prince.

The second prince continued: "Maybe you can't understand that the eldest brother and I are not compatriots of the same mother, and we are not necessarily very close in the past, let alone an opponent in the battle for the crown. Now that he has sadly passed away, even if I can't be full of joy, I won't put on such a posture. For this reason, I don't even know who to talk to, my father may be able to understand me, but I can't mention the matter of the eldest brother in front of him. I know that my father is as usual on the surface, but in fact he is very sad about the departure of the eldest brother. ”

At this, he laughed to himself and drank the wine from his glass.

After a moment of silence, Lu Shen muttered: "Your Highness, although you and Your Highness are not compatriots of the same mother, after all, you have been brothers for more than 20 years, how can you have no feelings?" And you were not involved in the dispute between the princes before, and you didn't have a direct falling out in the past half a year, and now that Your Highness has died young, it is normal for you to be sad. ”

"I really didn't see the wrong person."

The gloomy look on the second prince's face dissipated, and then he said: "My father informed me yesterday that the imperial court will hold a canonization ceremony at the beginning of next month. ”

Lu Shen calculated the time and said with a little regret: "Congratulations to Your Highness, Your Highness, it's just that the minister should have been on the way to Shazhou at that time, and he couldn't witness this great ceremony of the country with his own eyes, so please forgive Your Highness." ”

"My father told me about your itinerary in advance, so I just asked you to talk about it today, and you will definitely be very busy in the next period."

The second prince explained a few words briefly, and said: "To tell you the truth, before the dust settles on this matter, I am extremely looking forward to it, especially when I vaguely perceive my father's thoughts, I am so excited that I can't sleep for several nights. However, when this day was approaching, my heart was full of trepidation and anxiety instead of much joy and excitement. ”

"Uneasy? Why is that? ”

"Because I thought about it carefully, my father helped Sheji in such an unfavorable situation, turned the situation around with unimaginable perseverance and patience, and purged the Qing Dynasty before the establishment of the prince, and laid a very solid foundation for the successor monarch. If...... If I need to carry this burden in the future, will I be able to live up to my father's expectations? ”

The second prince poured another glass of wine, but did not drink it immediately.

Lu Shen was slightly surprised.

Compared with the previous meetings, today's two princes can be described as extremely honest.

Perhaps because the position of the prince has been decided, he no longer has to wear a heavy mask, and he can slightly unguard in front of certain people.

Thinking of this, Lu Shen said slowly: "The minister can understand His Highness's worries, and he is grateful for His Highness's trust. In fact, His Highness does not need to worry too much, even if His Highness has doubts about his own ability, he should not doubt His Majesty's vision. ”

This sentence made the second prince's eyes light up.

He tasted the wine in the cup, his face finally returned to normal, and said admiringly: "No wonder my father said that your mind is different from ordinary people, and it is really a word to wake up people in dreams." ”

Lu Shen said humbly: "Your Highness, this is just a mystery of the authorities. ”

The second prince gradually became interested and asked, "My father plans to let me enter the court to observe politics after a while, what do you think I should pay attention to?" ”

He looked at Lu Shen with blazing eyes, his eyes full of anticipation.

Lu Shen's heart moved, and he said calmly: "Your Highness, the minister is just a martial artist who can only lead troops to fight, how dare he talk nonsense?" When it comes to military affairs, the ministers may be able to talk a few words, and when it comes to major affairs of the court, the ministers really don't know about it. If His Highness has any confusion in this regard, he may wish to go to Li Xiang and Xue Xiang, and the minister believes that they will definitely be able to give His Highness some reasonable advice. ”

The second prince pondered for a moment, smiled and nodded: "This is reasonable. ”

The two chatted for a long time, until the second prince was a little drunk, and Lu Shen got up to say goodbye.

The second prince sent him outside the door of the small courtyard, and then returned to the wine table to sit quietly for a long time.

At this moment, there was no wine in his eyes.

Looking at the table in front of him that had basically not been touched, he whispered to himself: "Be proud and not forgetful, climb high and not be complacent, face like a flat lake and have thunder in your heart, and have the wind of a general." ”

"I hope you can become the mainstay of Daqi."

"If you don't live up to Daqi, this king will definitely live up to you."

……

When the sun was setting in the west, Lu Shen returned to the Marquis of Shanyang's mansion.

When he came to the back house, he asked Chen Shu to fetch something, and then walked to the courtyard where Lin Xi lived.

As soon as he stepped into the courtyard gate, he saw Lin Xi sitting alone under the porch thoughtfully.

"Senior sister?"

Lu Shen gathered his thoughts, put his hands behind his back, and said with a smile: "Guess what I have in my hand?" ”

Lin Xi looked at him with a look of offering treasures, and said, "The holy decree of marriage." ”

"Huh?"

Lu Shen was stunned, and then said angrily: "Chen Shu! I'm not done with you! ”

Under normal circumstances, he would call this big housekeeper Uncle Chen, after all, the other party is an old man next to Lu Tong, and he always has to maintain some respect, and at this moment, he is so angry that he naturally can't take care of these details.

Lin Xi chuckled and said, "Okay, don't embarrass Uncle Chen." Don't forget, the guards around you are all brothers of the Seven Star Gang, how can they hide something from me? If you ask someone to send the holy decree back, they will immediately ask the maid to tell me that Uncle Chen is naturally not good at concealing it. ”

Lu Shen shook his head helplessly, then sat down on the trunk and put the holy decree aside.

Lin Xi didn't care, and after a little hesitation, he said, "Senior brother, will you stay in the capital next?" ”

"Your Majesty asked me to go to Shazhou."

Lu Shen briefly explained the cause and effect of this incident.

Lin Xi's eyes drooped slightly, and he said softly: "Then I'll send you to Luzhou, and then I'll return to Jiangbei." ”

It's hard to say goodbye when you're together.

A short time together was followed by a separation.

Lu Shen couldn't persuade her to stay, because although the Son of Heaven let him choose his own marriage date, he couldn't delay it for too long, and Lin Xi, as the daughter to be married, naturally had to return to Baotai Mountain.

After Lu Tong, Lin Jie, and Wang Shao confirm the marriage date, she and Lu Shen can meet again.

Lu Shen knew that Lin Xi's mood was a little low, so he was relieved: "Senior sister, when I come back from Shazhou, no matter how big things happen, I will put it aside for the time being and marry you wholeheartedly." ”

Lin Xi smiled reluctantly, and there was a little unbearable in his clear eyes: "Actually, I want to say that you really can't convince the emperor to let Sister Bingxue marry you?" ”

Lu Shen was stunned.

Since Lin Xi knew about the marriage and knew that he was sending Li Bingxue home, it was not difficult to guess Li Bingxue's mood at this moment.

She seemed to be afraid that Lu Shen would misunderstand, and then explained: "I know you have me in your heart, and that's enough." I also know that Sister Bingxue also has deep feelings for you. Maybe she will be strong in front of you, but if you don't understand the thoughts of your daughter's family, even if she says it to you with a smile, she will have tears in her heart. I...... I'm not asking you to leave me, I just don't want to see her upset. ”

"Senior sister, I understand."

Lu Shen sighed lightly and held Lin Xi's hand.

Lin Xi shook his head and said, "No, you don't understand, one of her daughters' family stays in the barracks all day long, and it looks infinitely beautiful, but in fact it is extremely lonely." ”

Lu was silent for a moment, and said softly: "Her identity is very special, so there are some things that cannot be done for the time being. But I will continue to work hard to stop having so many scruples in the future. ”

Lin Xi raised his eyes to look at him and said seriously, "Then don't forget your promise." ”

Lu Shen responded, hesitated for a moment, and then mustered up the courage to ask, "Senior sister, are you really not jealous?" ”

Lin Xi tilted his head and thought for a while, then smiled softly and said, "Don't be jealous." ”

Lu Shen couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

However, the next moment, Lin Xi said, "Only Sister Bingxue, not others." I know why the emperor must send you to Shazhou because you have a friendship with that Shazhou woman, but you have to remember that you are not allowed to mess with flowers and grass when you go to Shazhou this time, otherwise-"

Lu Shen pretended to be nervous and said, "Otherwise, what? ”

Lin Xi bit his lips lightly, his eyes were as bright as the moon, and he raised a finger and pointed at Lu Shen's forehead.

"Otherwise, I will take Sister Bingxue and join forces to challenge the invincible Marquis Lu!"

(End of chapter)