Spring thunder rumbles.

Spring rain is like a crisp.

The overnight spring rain, warm, soft, misty, with a layer of rain silk as thin as a cicada, under the background of the spring breeze and moonlight, came as scheduled, falling in the capital under the heavy night; Tonight's spring rain is not like a downpour of rain, nor is it as cold as the autumn rain, but there is a unique sense of clarity on a rainy night, as if putting on an ethereal coat for this lonely world.

This is the first rain since the beginning of spring, but also the first spring rain in six years of Yongxing, like the rain silk of the practice, after a few faint spring thunder, accompanied by the sound of the rain, gradually tearing open the dense rain fog like a spider web, sprinkled in the sky above the imperial city palace, gently knocking on the glazed blue tiles one after another, from far and near, one after another, just like the girl's slender fingers like beautiful jade, quietly stroking the strings, playing a wonderful melody and movement.

The gentle rain, the sound of the rain, and the pleasant air bring a lingering spring rain; The wet mist, with the warm night breeze, is like smoke and clouds, as if to envelop this magnificent nine-story palace in a hazy artistic conception.

Despite the spring rain, this did not hide the grandeur of the palace itself; After a night of spring rain, at dawn, the rain gradually decreased, and the gray sky, although the fog had not yet faded, however, a glimmer of light hidden in the gap in the clouds had already been quietly cast, reflecting the outline of countless palaces and palaces.

From Yong'an Palace to Changle Palace, it is magnificent, at a glance, it is full of endless palace buildings, colorful blue bricks and tiles, pavilions and pavilions with carved beams and paintings, and gilded beasts with high eaves and teeth, which are washed fresh by the rain, as if they have just been completed.

Standing on the high place of the imperial city, looking far away, a bird's-eye view of the layout and spring color inside and outside the entire palace, you will find at a glance that Yong'an Palace and Changle Palace, one is located in the southeast of the imperial city, and the other is located in the northwest of the imperial city.

Taiji Palace, Yong'an Palace, Changle Palace, three palace cities, built magnificently, thousands of palaces stand in the meantime, occupy one-third of the area of Shangjing, there is also a royal road that only the Son of Heaven can drive through in the middle, from the East Palace to the Fanglin Gate, and even go straight to the main hall of the Wude Palace, almost across the Taiji Palace in front of the heyday can accommodate 100,000 tigers in the big square and the long double road, almost covering most of the inner city of the palace, extremely full of the heavenly family temperament of the corridor waist back.

At this moment, a lakeside palace leaning against the Taiye Pool, under the drift of the light drizzle, looks quiet and simple, standing on the west bank of the "Beihaizi" in the depths of the palace; I saw that the palace is surrounded by clear water, the sky is the same color, the moist sea breeze, gently blowing through the wide poolside, steaming up a piece of dense water vapor, making people feel comfortable, as if they are in the water moon cave that only appears in the picture scroll, enjoying the moisture from nature at will.

On the surface of the lake, the rain fell gently, as thin as a cow's hair, silently, like a pearl that had been torn off the thread, falling continuously in the lake, but did not set off a big splash, but after rolling up a circle of ripples of white flowers, it quickly returned to calm, very much like the eye waves of a pair of lovers.

The sparkling lake, under the blowing of the drizzle and breeze, ripples and flows, like a mirror that can be seen by the light, reflecting the magnificence and wonder of the main hall, and also reflecting the empty mountains in the distance......

Here, it is Xiao Changling's residence in the palace, and it is also known as the first of the "three major halls of the West Garden", and the inner court palace ,—— "Zichen Palace".

According to the Great Zhou ritual system, except for the crown prince who lives in the East Palace, the other royal children, only the princes who have been named princes or have reached adulthood, are eligible to go out of the palace to open the palace, and before they reach the weak crown and the crown, they must live in the palace; Although Xiao Changling, who was sixteen years old at the time, was already the commander of the Beida Battalion, who was famous for the three armies, and the general of Zhenbei who had made great achievements, he was only a county king after all, and he was not officially crowned prince, although everyone knew that it was a matter of time before Xiao Changling became the king, but for now, he couldn't break the rules of the court for him. Therefore, before Xiao Changling's weak crown was crowned king, he still had to live in the palace, and Xiao Changling's residence in the palace was this Zichen Hall located on the side of the "Beihaizi" pool.

Zichen Hall is built near the lake, divided into the front hall and the back garden, the vision of the front hall is extremely broad, there is a tide viewing pavilion outside the hall, stand in the pavilion and look up, the water is rippling in front of the Beihaizi, and then the distance is the broader Taiye Pool, a little farther away, is the endless green mountain, the lake and the mountains are in full view...... Around the main hall, there were a large number of royal forest soldiers, scattered rain silks, floating on their shining golden armor, shining with a bright luster, and the luster of the lake was integrated.

Compared with the vast world of the front hall, the back garden of the Zichen Palace, but it is another different kind of scenery, this is a slightly quiet garden, the rockery in the garden is distributed, the civil engineering is prosperous, there is a stream in the middle, the gurgling stream flows down along the edges and corners of the mountain stone, until it merges into a small spring, making a "lala" water sound.

This garden is called "Lin Garden", which is the back garden personally selected by Xiao Changling, and it is also the place where Xiao Changling stayed in the Zichen Palace; The forest garden is full of flowers, especially under the corridor of Tianxin Pavilion, planted with pink peach blossoms, although at this time, the flowering period of peach blossoms has not yet arrived, but a few apricot blossoms in the flowers, but have already competed to bloom, under the flutter of the spring rain, exude a faint fragrance of flowers, and by the breeze blowing, roll up a large area of petal rain.

Behind the rockery, there is a rather elegant pavilion, which looks antique, if you sit there, you can just get a glimpse of the rich spring color of the apricot blossoms in March, which makes people forget to return.

Spring rain, breeze, apricot blossoms, all the good things in the world, all in the forest garden.

Rain sends dusk.

The flowers are striking.

Under the gazebo, Xiao Changling held a book and stood against the railing, letting the rain stick to the full forehead; I saw that he was dressed in white today, with a graceful demeanor, two heroic broken sword eyebrows, obliquely inserted into his sideburns, his eyes were shining, like a bright star shining in the night sky, clear and clear, sweeping away the iron and blood of the decisive killing on the battlefield, but it reflected the young prince's noble look, Xuan Ang's instrument, and handsome appearance, coupled with his demeanor of holding a scroll, it is even more eye-catching, in the masculine wildness, adding a bit of elegance.

In the impression of many people, Xiao Changling's image has always been that of a white-clothed general riding a horse and a sword, and everyone is often accustomed to his heroic posture of fighting with a sword, but rarely seen him studying; Perhaps, in the eyes of the courtiers, he is the rising star of the Great Zhou Dynasty and the mainstay of the empire; In the eyes of foreign enemies, he is an invincible general, a Great Wall guarding the gate of the Northern Zhou Dynasty, as everyone knows, take off the armor stained with dust, take off the weathered robes, the god of war on the horse, and a man of temperament, this is his Xiao Changling, a flesh-and-blood Xiao Changling.

The strings of rain curtains in the sky, mixed with a little drizzle, blew with the wind to the position where Xiao Changling was standing, and slowly hit his handsome face, leaving a layer of wet water marks, as if the facial features were covered by raindrops, and as if the eyes were covered with dew, shining with incomparably bright water; The petals of the apricot blossoms fluttered all over the sky in a chic manner, falling on Xiao Changlingling's white clothes and on the ancient book with a faint ink fragrance in his hand.

At that time, Xiao Changling was dressed in white, standing quietly under the pavilion and reading, the expression on the whole person's face was very obvious, it seemed that this annoying apricot blossom spring rain did not disturb his reading Yaxing, but made him feel like water, not alarmed; It's just that Xiao Changling's gaze, although he was focused on the scroll in his hand, a trace of afterglow in the corner of his eye faintly moved out of the book and glanced at the hazy sky in the distance.

The spring rain has not stopped.

The rain and mist are pervasive, and the raindrops that are as clear as pearls are strung into countless colorful bead curtains, and like ten thousand silks, slowly fall, falling in the colorful flowers in the forest garden, falling in the stream under the rockery, and falling on the green and fluffy grass, making a "rustling" sound, and a blurred water curtain will emerge in a short time.

Listening to the sound of the rain, Xiao Changling's thoughts gradually departed from the excellent words and gorgeous poems in the book, and stepped into an ethereal illusion; He raised his eyes slightly, through the silver lines of drizzle like silk, staring deeply at the sky, the mountains and rivers in the distance, like a lifelike ink painting, reflected in the depths of the eyes of the young man in white, and the gaze that was as cold as a sword in the past was as gentle as a river of spring water at this moment, not at all like a commander who swept thousands of armies, but more like an amorous young man......

At this moment, in front of Xiao Changling's eyes, there were suddenly shallow ripples, and between the dimness, a graceful girl, a beautiful shadow, dressed in a plain and refined tulle, with a bright smile under her lips, walked towards herself; The delicate face, the slender figure, the long flowing hair, the fair wrists, the soft pupils, the delicate and gentle like the natural carving, make people sink at a glance; The girl is so beautiful that she is incomparably beautiful, with what kind of national color and fragrance, the country and the city, the sinking fish and geese, are no longer enough to describe her beauty, in Xiao Changling's eyes, she is the snow lotus on the top of the Tianshan Mountains, is the poet's pen is like a dazzling shadow, is the only woman in his life who makes his heart move.

Although she only has a one-sided relationship with her, since that day, her smile, a look back, and a smile have been deeply imprinted on Xiao Changling's heart, just like her name, and she can't get rid of it, as if it has become a part of his life.

The moment he saw that graceful figure, Xiao Changling smiled.

It's her.

That's right, it's her!

Did she really come?

So, Xiao Changling slowly stretched out his hand, wanting to gently caress the girl's thin cheek, but he couldn't touch it; Just as his hand was about to touch the woman's body, he saw that the wind was blowing, and the icy and jade figure gradually became blurred, and suddenly turned into a stream of frost and scattered in the vast sea of clouds.

It was not until this moment that Xiao Changling suddenly woke up, on that handsome face, there was no longer the madness of the mad demon just now, it turned out that all this was just an illusion, it was just his own wishful thinking, but he was so depressed, he couldn't help but disdain his own lack of interest, this young and famous prince of the heavenly family, in the bloody battlefield, in the face of the ferocious Rouran Iron Horse, he never retreated half a step, and he couldn't imagine that today...... The heroes of the world are all sad, and now it seems that this is true.

Xiao Changling laughed at himself, his eyes stared straight ahead in a daze, and his face was also covered with a melancholy color, full of heavy sadness and lovesickness, among them, especially the men's lovesickness, which was the most obvious.

"Your Highness......"

"Your Highness......"

Dong Yu, the female official in charge of Zichen Palace, saw Xiao Changling with her back to her, looking at the rainy day and being distracted, and even the book in her hand almost fell off; Therefore, while she was arranging the breakfast, she whispered to the distracted King Ren Cheng.

After a moment, Xiao Changling concentrated, his mood slowly eased, and he turned his head to look at Dongyu.

"Your Highness, breakfast has been prepared." Dongyu said softly.

"Okay."

After that, Xiao Changling held the scroll, slowly walked to a stone case in the pavilion, put the book on the desk, and then slowly sat down.

Breakfast has been prepared, a bowl of porridge, a plate of steamed buns, three home-cooked side dishes (pickled melon, pickled bamboo shoots, snow fern), a pot of honey syrup similar to apricot blossom wine, and a silver glittering wine glass next to it, presumably a wine vessel used to pour wine.

However, Xiao Changling was not in a hurry, he dusted off the rain stains on his body, wiped the rain on his cheeks, brushed his fingers over the smooth bluestone tabletop, and his deep eyes still looked at the continuous spring rain outside the pavilion, without the slightest movement, as if it was just a change of place to enjoy the rain scene, only to watch the rain by the railing, and now it is to listen to the rain, the same rain, but a different state of mind.

Seeing Xiao Changling looking at this rain with love, Dongyu, who was standing aside to serve, pursed his lips and smiled slightly, and said softly.

"Such a beautiful rain scene, didn't it arouse His Highness's poetry?"

As soon as he heard this, Xiao Changling was stunned for a moment, and then immediately retracted his gloomy gaze, those bright eyes, against the backdrop of the two handsome sword eyebrows, were clear and distinct, and the corners of his mouth showed a smile.

Speaking of which, this female official named Dongyu, her biological mother Liang, was once the personal maid of Queen Dugu Yuanji, and also Xiao Changling's nursing mother, and later received the queen's gift to be able to go out of the palace to marry, and add the title of Mrs. Sanpin, even with Xiao Changling's current identity, if you meet your own nursing mother, you must respectfully call "Mom"; And Dongyu is the daughter of Mrs. Liang, two years older than Xiao Changling, and has been by Xiao Changling's side since he was a child, watching him grow from a little prince who is ignorant of the world to a young commander who is now dominant; Therefore, Xiao Changling naturally treated her more kindly than other maids.

"That's what a scribe does, I don't have such a Yaxing." Xiao Changling smiled pleasantly and stared faintly at the wine utensils on the table.

Dongyu smiled and said nothing, pouring a cup of freshly brewed honey syrup for Xiao Changling.

Xiao Changling picked up the silver cup, looked at the golden wine pulp in the cup, and couldn't help but feel curious, so he sniffed it under his nose, only to feel that the taste of this wine pulp was different from ordinary wine, with both the elegant aroma of apricot blossoms and the mellow agarwood of Jiangmi.

"Is this wine?"

Unexpectedly, Dongyu actually smiled, "Your Highness, you are confused, you can't drink alcohol early in the morning, it is easy to hurt your stomach, this is the fruit pulp I asked people to mix with apricot nectar and Jiangmi soup, Your Highness tastes it, how does it taste?" ”

"Oh, that's interesting, too." Xiao Changling smiled, with a look of surprise on his face.

As soon as he drank it, the mellow and rich honey syrup was in his mouth, Xiao Changling only felt that the taste was really different, sweet and sour, sweet and fragrant, a different taste, wandering between the lips and teeth, and instantly dispersed into the lungs, making the whole person feel refreshed.

"Okay, the ups and downs, the flavors of life, you have to taste it after all......"

Speaking of this, the expression on Xiao Changling's face suddenly changed subtly; This change is not surprised by the sweet and sour taste of honey syrup, but a kind of tenderness and honey that has never been seen before, infinite affection and affection, flowing out along the tip of his eyebrows, merging into an endless river and sea, and in his eyes, there is no confusion and confusion, there is just the gentle elegance of a man.

But he saw that Xiao Changling put down his wine glass and looked at the winter rain on his side with a solemn face.

"Sister Dong, do you believe in love at first sight?"

Faced with Xiao Changling's sudden words, Dongyu was a little at a loss, she looked at her highness in a fog, and she didn't react for a long time, and only asked timidly for a while.

"Your Highness, what did you say?"

However, Xiao Changling didn't seem to hear it, like a tall iron tower, sitting quietly in front of the desk, letting the damp wind pass by his cheeks and rub past his ears, lining off the bearing of the jade tree on his body.

Looking at this man who was two years younger than herself, Dongyu looked at him silently, in her eyes, King Ren Cheng was not only her master, but also her younger brother and her relatives; At this time, she smiled and spoke.

"Your Highness must have a sweetheart."

Xiao Changling still didn't say a word, he was dressed in white, sitting alone in the pavilion and listening to the sound of rain.

"The slave maid is just curious, which girl can make His Highness haunted by dreams like this?"

Thinking of the scene when the two first met in the Yudai River that day, the temperament of the fourth lady of the Xie family like a hibiscus out of the water seems to be as vivid as yesterday; Xiao Changling smiled again, his eyes were like the snow that had just melted under the spring sun, with a hint of tenderness in the brightness, and a hint of affection in the coldness.

"She is a strange woman in this world, and Lone has never seen a woman like her."

The rain is dripping down, the crisp sound of the rain, the dense rain, is the girl's clear and graceful singing, is like a trickle of lovesickness.

……

Approaching dusk, this spring rain that lasted all day finally stopped.

At dusk after the rain, the air is fresh, humid, cool, pleasant, mixed with the faint fragrance of fragrant grass, and a faint earthy smell, abundant rain, infiltrating all creatures in heaven and earth.

A red sunset like blood, hanging obliquely in the air, reflected in the rain after the Great Zhou Shangjing; The slightly dark purple sky, floating with large white clouds, they gradually spread out of the sky under the glow of the sunset, blending into the depths of the sunset, bringing this world-famous Huanghuang imperial capital into the flaming red.

At this time, there was still half an hour before the lights came on, but the sky had already sunk faintly, and it was so gloomy that it was extremely depressing.

East of the city, Situ House.

This is a magnificent mansion, the owner of the mansion is the leader of the court, ranked as the third duke, known as the "Great Zhou Wenzong" of the famous minister - Situ Xie Hao.

A spring rain has just ended, the cool breeze is blowing, from the various courtyards of Xie Mansion, the wings, to the pavilion, and then to the garden, you can clearly feel the coolness on your face, which is a cool feeling sent by a golden wind.

In the direction of the west wing, there is the boudoir of Miss Xie Wanxin - "Yuqiong Garden".

In the Yuqiong Garden, the lights and shadows are beautiful, the layout is extremely elegant and natural, the windows are bright and clean, and there is a little less of the drunken gold fans of the family gate, but there is a little more of the unique bookish atmosphere of the house of poetry and books; In the smoker carved with dragon and silver carving, the best incense is burning, and the green smoke curls up, blending into a quiet and quiet atmosphere.

Xie Wanxin was wearing a pale cyan gauze skirt and a shawl with long hair, leaning lazily on the soft couch, leaning on a ten-incense pillow, holding a book in her hand, and beside her, a bed of mandarin duck brocade was stacked.

The light in the boudoir is slightly dim, and the shadowy lights are swaying on the screen; Mingyu stood in front of the candlestick, adding the wick little by little, and the other maid, Xiang'er, half-knelt beside Xie Wanxin, gently pinching the legs of the fourth lady.

Xu has been reading for a long time, Xie Wanxin's eyes can't help but be a little tired, and there is a hint of sourness; She put down the book in her hand, blinked her eyes slightly, and when she saw a painting hanging on the wall facing her, the pair of tender eyes appeared for a moment of confusion and surprise, and her eyes were full of the ten thousand styles of being a girl.

It is a beautiful painting, not so much a painting, but a portrait: the man in the painting, handsome, chic, elegant, with sword eyebrows and starry eyes, dressed in white and winning snow, riding horses and fighting swords, between gestures, showing a heroic and awe-inspiring posture; Just by looking at the painting, you can see who the man in this painting is drawing? The delicate brushstrokes and exquisite painting work all contain the self-evident affection and longing of the painter for the man in the painting.

At this time, Xie Wanxin slowly sat up straight, staring at the man in white in the painting, her bright and clear eyes seemed to be jumping with a cluster of passionate love fires, which could not be extinguished for a long time, but burned more and more.

Na Yingxiu's sword eyebrows, handsome face, upright facial features, tall nose bridge, and straight body shape, all the time, do not affect Xie Wan's mood of the first spring love, and stir the deer in the girl's heart.

Recalling that day, the Jade Belt River, in the face of the horse bandit attack, he was fearless, and waved his sword in front of him without hesitation.

That night, Xie Wanxin lay in bed, tossing and turning, unable to sleep at night. In the mind of the fourth lady, she couldn't forget the handsome figure, and when she remembered that when she was leaving, he smiled back, "As long as there is fate, I will see you again"...... She couldn't sleep anymore, so she lit the candle alone, spread out the rice paper in front of the desk in the dead of night, and swayed it according to the flowing white clothes in her dream.

Standing in front of the portrait of the man in white, staring at the cold eyes that shimmered with the sun, moon and stars, Xie Wan's handsome face showed a touch of spring light, just like the morning glow in March, sprinkled on the warm earth; She slowly stretched out her white jade-like soft wattle, gently stroked the eyebrows of the man on the painting like the bright moon and the breeze, and muttered to herself.

"What did you ...... by stealing my heart?"

……

This night, for him and her, was destined to be a sleepless night.

A pair of infatuated people, can meet in the rolling red dust, what a blessing in this life!