Ten days later, the sky was clear, the wind was smooth, and it was bleak and cold.

Gyeonggi, Phoenix Mountain.

At this time, it is the season of early autumn, inside and outside Beijing, the autumn scenery is picturesque; For several days in a row, the sky fluttered with dense rain silk, gradually gathered into a dense rain curtain, washed away the gloomy clouds, shrouded in the Phoenix Mountain Palace of the magnificent palace sky, the layers of eaves teeth high peck, straight to the sky, close to the lead-gray clouds, unpredictable, stirring the sky full of wind and rain.

The first highest mountain in the south of Shangjing - "Phoenix Mountain", under the cover of autumn and stars and moon, it is like a steep jade, standing on the Phoenix Ancient Road that stretches for more than ten miles, the rain is like a thin veil, covering it down in a chic manner, setting off the dignity and arrogance of Phoenix Mountain, reflecting the mountains and mountains, worthy of the title of "Wang Mountain".

After the rain, the first sunshine, floating light and haze, the Phoenix Mountain, which has experienced the baptism of wind and rain, makes people suddenly feel refreshed in front of their eyes, and the fragrant and sparse air is mixed with cool water vapor, which makes people feel refreshed and relaxed; The rain-soaked soil is warm and moist, mixed with the faint aroma of grass.

In the early morning, the wind and the sun are beautiful, the waves of the Qinghe River are calm and the wind is calm, the sycamores along the coast are in rows, and the wild mountain chrysanthemums bloom among the peaks; The cool breeze starts at the end of the day, and the fiery maple leaves bring the slaughter and coldness of early autumn.

Under the lingering morning light, on the Phoenix Mountain, the grass and trees are cloudy, the clouds are steaming, and the shade of countless green trees is surrounded by rolling mountains, just like a fairyland on earth; The early morning on the mountain is slightly bright, and the bright sunlight passes through the layers of treetops, casting a large area of mottled light and shadow, sprinkled to the Phoenix Palace, sprinkled to the pavilions and corridors......

The mountain of Phoenix Mountain is very steep, with plank roads on both sides, cliffs behind it, and there is only one way up the mountain; Along the rugged mountain road of the stream, climb up for a long time, bypass the "Qinghu Waterfall" where the water flow is not as abundant as in spring and summer, and then see a huge temple that rises high above the clouds, suddenly appearing in front of everyone, standing on the stone cliff between the two mountains, bearing the disturbance from the mountain wind.

Phoenix Temple on Phoenix Mountain.

This is a hanging ancient temple built by the mountain, looking at the layout and structure of the entire temple pavilion, it is both mysterious and solemn; The tall and wide Phoenix Temple, with the stone pillars in front of the two hundred temple steps, layer upon layer, built on top of each other, even the widest place, is only more than two zhang, it looks like a mural that is waved up, and is randomly pasted on the bluestone wall by a pair of divine hands.

Nowadays, the autumn breeze in the mountain is strong, and the fierce wind blows through the golden wild chrysanthemum bushes until it blows in front of the Phoenix Temple that is lonely and independent of the top of the mountain, so that the viewer can't help but feel awe-inspiring, and always can't help but worry that this ancient temple on the edge of the cliff will collapse under the impact of the wind.

It is rumored that this is the largest temple in the history of the Great Zhou Empire, which was built by the local incomparably pious monks, nuns and Taoists with one stone and one tree, and it took a total of ten years before and after, and then later, because of the new policy of the Zhou Dynasty, this magnificent "Phoenix Temple" was taken into the royal family, and became a palace garden for the royal family of the Northern Zhou Dynasty outside Shangjing, for the children of the royal family to play here.

The early autumn morning was still so bright. A large expanse of red and gold sunlight leaked a looming phantom on the wide river, and there was no wind on the river, and there was not even the slightest ripple.

The antique Phoenix Temple, just located on the top of the lonely Phoenix Mountain, compared with the towering palace of the Imperial City of Shangjing, although the Phoenix Temple is slightly lonely, but still does not change the style of the ancient meaning, it is still the bright window and tile, all of them are decorated with apricot wood carvings, showing the tall and noble depicting the gold dragon foil, and the elegance of the jade of the ancient temple is more and more inlaid with the elegance of the ancient temple jade, and it has the quiet beauty of the ancient temple for thousands of years.

The high cornices, under the autumn sunshine, seem to be dressed in a colorful clothes, set off the quaint temple pavilion more dignified and solemn, and from the temple under the stone steps leading to the temple door, whether it is the residual rain, or the fallen leaves floating all over the ground, I don't know when, has already been cleaned clean, leaving no trace of dust, the light can be seen, as if it has just come out.

In the golden autumn of September, it is the season of chrysanthemums in full bloom; At this moment, on the Phoenix Mountain, the forests are dyed, the verdant mountains are all bright and dazzling mountain chrysanthemums, and a touch of the fragrance of the lonely standard and arrogant frost is blowing in the face.

Today, it is the forty-seven-year-old birthday of the Emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty, and the annual "Heaven and Thousand Autumn Banquet" is not held in the palace as usual, but is located here - Gyeonggi Phoenix Mountain.

As we all know, His Majesty the Emperor today, since his youth, is the proud son of heaven who led troops to conquer the south and the north everywhere, and laid down the rivers and mountains of the Great Zhou Dynasty, and is the "first general of the Eastern Continent" who commanded hundreds of thousands of athletes, expanded the territory, and subdued the four provinces, so he is active by nature; For this old and undiminished monarch, the cool palace can never satisfy his vision and ambition as an emperor, he wants to go further, see farther, and even, he once dreamed that one day, in his lifetime, he can lead the most majestic army of the Great Zhou, the most elite iron cavalry, to patrol the north and south of the river, to take a good look at the beautiful Jiangnan, the vast Saibei, and the vast Western Regions; All in all, his footprints will follow the soldiers and iron hooves of the Northern Zhou army to expand the border, step on every inch of mountains and rivers, travel every inch of fertile land, and the heavenly power of the Great Zhou Empire will also be spread all over the four seas and spread thousands of miles......

Therefore, on the occasion of this holy birthday, Emperor Xuan led the princes, dignitaries in the court, relatives and relatives, and harem ladies and dependents to move to Phoenix Mountain by the Imperial Forest Army, and held a "long banquet" here, enjoying with the people and sharing peace.

However, if you take it seriously, the royal family of the Northern Zhou Dynasty is not prosperous now, and the emperor only has three sons and one daughter, except for the prince Xiao Changyao, the princess Xiao Yingxue of Pingyang, and the three older princes and princesses of Qin, Xiao Changling, the youngest prince Yuzhang Wang Xiao Changche, is only nine years old this year; Moreover, there are not many siblings of His Majesty the Emperor.

Everyone in the world knows that Xiao Longxian, Emperor Xuan of the Great Zhou Dynasty, is the eldest son of Emperor Jing Xiao Li, and under him, there are four royal brothers, namely Xiao Longxu, King of Chu, Xiao Longzhi, King of Jin, Xiao Longqing, King of Han, and Xiao Longan, King of Song, among them, King Longzhi of Jin died early, and King Longan of Song died early because of excessive drinking, lingering in Huafang night and night, suffering from impotence and hidden disease, and has no heirs, King Longxu of Chu has only one daughter under his knees, but King Longqing of Han has many wives and concubines, and has eight sons and three daughters; From this point of view, among the Northern Zhou clan, the sons and daughters of the younger generation of the Heavenly Family, including the crown prince and the king of Qin, are full of more than twenty people.

Therefore, Emperor Xuan set up the birthday banquet in Phoenix Mountain, firstly, because he did not want to be confined in the deep palace and wanted to go out of Beijing to breathe, and secondly, he also wanted to take advantage of the big birthday, and when the prince was newly established, he took the opportunity to harmonize the conflict of interests between the prince and the king of Qin, appease the restless heart of Xiao Changling, the king of Qin, and at the same time, it was also to let the children of the royal family deepen their understanding of each other and enhance their feelings.

Of course, the emperor's birthday banquet, in addition to the presence of the emperor, concubines, princes, and clans, will also invite some in-laws of the royal family, and even the closest families to the royal family to participate. Needless to say, Xie Hao and Xie You brothers, one is Situ and Zhongshu Ling, ranking among the three dukes, and the other is a subordinate servant, and also leading the secretary of the ministry, who is in a high position in the court, besides, when Xie Hao was young, he was the old minister of the palace when Emperor Xuan was the crown prince, and the two had a great friendship; As for the Langya Wang family, they have always married the imperial family to stabilize their position in the court, so as to step by step into a prominent family with the same name as the Xie family, for example, Wang Xianfei, one of the "four concubines" in Emperor Xuan's harem, was born in the Langya Wang family and was favored by the emperor.

From Wang and Xie below, there are several old Guogong families who have made great contributions to the Great Zhou Kaiguo, as well as the noble families who deserve to enjoy the Taizu Temple Court after death and are posthumously crowned as princes with different surnames, as well as several new Guogong Mansions, such as Li Yunchao, King of Zhongshan, Pang Yu, King of Changshan, Liang Shiyan, King of Kaiping, and Ling Tao, Duke of Xuanguo.

At present, on the Phoenix Mountain, in front of the Phoenix Temple, the princes and nobles gathered, Luo Qi competed, the red silk was colorful, and the wild chrysanthemums in full bloom on the hill highlighted a charming and wealthy realm; In the northeast corner in front of the temple, there is an open space, there, there is a big carriage platform, in fact, this is a huge parking lot, with a radius of seventy or eighty zhang, in which the carriages of the major princes' mansions are parked.

The bright autumn sun, slowly rising, hanging high on the top of the Phoenix Mountain, instantly dyed the mountains crimson, gradually, gradually, the faint morning glow, penetrated into the depths of the mountains, a little bit of smudging, until the last touch of crimson, was also painted with a glow shadow, the entire Phoenix Mountain, so far completely shrouded in autumn.

The autumn wind is getting stronger.

At this moment, the then 20-year-old crown prince Xiao Changyao, dressed in a Xuandi vermilion yuan dress, stands on the second floor of the corridor pavilion of the Phoenix Temple, overlooking the railing, bird's eye view of the autumn colors in the suburbs of Beijing.

I saw that this handsome crown prince of the Great Zhou Empire, with his thin and sturdy figure, was motionless, with his hands behind his back, and he was contemplating with his eyes down; This is also the first time since he entered the East Palace that he appeared in front of the subjects of the world as the crown prince.

is different from the arrogance and coldness of Xiao Changling, the king of Qin, the prince Xiao Changyao's appearance has a different flavor. But it can be seen that this young prince, His Royal Highness, has a pair of narrow Danfeng eyes, deep and bright, revealing the nobility of being a prince who is difficult to hide, and the straight nose bridge gives people an unswerving faith; His figure is slender and tall, his shoulders are tight and powerful, but his body is slightly thin, which not only maintains the solemnity of the royal family, but also shows the personality and pride of the prince and the deputy.

Xiao Changyao stood silently under the corridor, his face was frosty, his eyes were heavy, and the Yuan dress he was wearing, the neckline and cuffs, were all embroidered with the most delicate silk threads, embroidered with colorful clouds and sea patterns, showing the dignified status of the prince of the Great Zhou.

The sassy west wind blew through Xiao Changyao's well-defined face; At this moment, his clear gaze, like the wind in the mountain, slowly swept across the Phoenix Mountain and looked at the endless mountains. In his broad field of vision, the foothills of the Phoenix Temple are faintly recessed inside, like a "well" shape, and in this mountain field, it is actually full of all kinds of chrysanthemums, with golden flower shadows, reflecting the deepest part of Xiao Changyao's eyes.

At this moment, a small yellow man with delicate eyebrows, holding a wine case, walked to the side of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince in small steps, and offered a rich chrysanthemum wine.

Xiao Changyao picked up the wine glass, sniffed the light and strong aroma of the wine in the glass, took a sip of chrysanthemum wine, and then put it back again.

However, the moment he put down the wine glass, Xiao Changyao's eyes were suddenly stunned; This Great Zhou Prince, who is under one person and above ten thousand people, his whole body seems to be frozen, and he falls into a moment of lost soul, and the eyes of the two sides are still as clear as obsidian, but at this moment, there is an inexplicable confused look, which is a gaffe that has never been seen before.

A touch of the beautiful shadow of the girl, like a peerless beauty who came out of the picture scroll, the fairy robe fluttering, the skirt covering the moon, Yingying appeared in front of the eyes of the prince of the Great Zhou, and it was overwhelmingly beautiful.

What kind of woman is this?

To be precise, this is a beauty who is extremely gentle and beautiful in a typical sense, at the age of fifteen, she is actually slim, slender figure, slender waist, long hair like a waterfall, frosty skin, coupled with two soft willow eyebrows, a pair of eyes with affection, how can people not indulge in her beautiful flowers and moonlight? No matter what kind of dress, as long as it is worn on her body, it will immediately show a unique temperament, dignified, elegant, quiet, not only the delicate and graceful of a Jiangnan woman, but also the grace of a northern girl.

Let's ask, when facing such an outstanding woman, even if Xiao Changyaogui is the deputy of the prince, will he not be tempted at all? Even if he has married a wife, even if he already has the crown princess who is being married by Ming Media, when he witnessed the graceful demeanor of the woman in front of him, he still couldn't help but want to take a few more looks. And at this moment, in his mind, two fresh poems jumped out,—— "clever smile, beautiful eyes".

Suddenly, Xiao Changyao became more and more obsessed the more he looked at it, and the whole person was like a green lotus in the wind, and he was trapped in it and couldn't extricate himself; A frenzy that had not been seen for a long time quickly seized the heart of His Royal Highness the Prince, the emotional fatigue caused by being with his wife Cao Qingxi for too long, the kind of scene play when he was grinding with other concubines, at this moment, he was immediately deeply attracted by the beauty of the woman in front of him.

"His Royal Highness the Crown Prince......"

"His Royal Highness the Crown Prince......"

Just as Xiao Changyao was immersed in an illusory dream like selflessness, an untimely call from the Huangmen attendant directly pulled her back to reality from the fantasy of thinking about right and wrong.

Xiao Changyao looked back slightly, with a little displeasure on his face, glanced at the yellow door, and then spoke lightly, his tone was as cold as ice.

"What's the matter?!"

"Your Royal Highness, the birthday banquet hall has been arranged, the crown princess sent someone to report, I want to ask His Royal Highness to come over and have a look, look at this ......" Huang Men said in a voice, as far as he could.

"Are you all here?" Xiao Changyao asked casually with a calm face.

"Hmm......" Huang Men hesitated for a moment, but still spoke cautiously, "Back to His Royal Highness, except for His Royal Highness King Qin, almost all of them have arrived." However, the guards of the King of Qin came to report that the King of Qin would arrive soon. ”

As soon as he heard the word "King Qin", Xiao Changyao's dark and thick eyebrows wrinkled slightly unconsciously, and the cold light in his eyes was great, but he soon returned to calm.

"Okay, the widow knows."

Then, Xiao Changyao retracted his cold gaze, reluctantly moved away from the girl, and then walked upstairs slowly without looking back, accompanied by several Huangmen attendants.

The autumn wind is rising again.

A small pond under the Phoenix Temple was originally calm and waveless, but under the blowing of the morning breeze, it gently rippled, rippling a large circle of beautiful ripples; The faint autumn light, reflected on the sparkling water, is like a brilliant wrinkled ripple of the stars, shining dazzlingly.

……

"Wan'er!"

A vibrating voice condensed with the power of Jin Ge's sword and halberd, in the sonorous cold, with a trace of rare gentleness, rose in the air, just like the sound of Huang Zhong Dalu, endlessly, gently heavy and gentle, echoing in the sky above the small pool, spreading all over everyone's ears.

The next moment, a beautiful girl who sat quietly on the edge of the craggy rocks in the pool and watched the fish, followed the clear voice, and slowly looked back.

This glance is a glimpse.

Reflecting the sunlight projected from the sky, a smile as bright as a peach rippled on Xie Wanxin's red lips.

At the same time, Li Yan, Ling Zhilan, Ming Yurou and other three girls also looked back at the past with the gentleness of Miss Xie Si's shocked eyes.

Under the shadow of the clouds rising in the early autumn morning, Xiao Changling was dressed in a white coat and wore an ink-colored coat on his shoulders, allowing the autumn wind to lift his black cloak and make the sound of hunting and rolling; The melting sunshine poured on Xiao Changling's fair and handsome face, outlining a somewhat unruly demeanor, as indifferent as ever, as sparse as ever, carved on that unearthly face, more and more showing this person's wind and spirit.

Under the long black drape, the white clothes are better than the snow, reflecting the heroic and proud figure of the commander of Jingbei, casting a long shadow.

Xiao Changling in the sun, his face is angular, his whole demeanor is calm, his demeanor is free and easy, and the corners of his lips are holding a warm smile.

"You're here!"

Xie Wanxin happily got up, those eyes full of autumn water contained incomparably clear tenderness, and when she got up and looked back, Xiao Changling's face was already very clearly presented in front of her, as if as long as he stretched out his hand, he could touch the man's tall nose and elegant sword eyebrows.

"Why did you come, I've been looking for you for a long time just now."

It can be heard that Xie Wan's soft voice obviously carries a little bit of the coquettishness of the youngest daughter's family, but it does not lose the unique style of a woman.

What is even more unexpected is that in the face of Xie Wan's undisguised complaints, Xiao Changling's face was unusual, and he lost the coldness of frost in Su Ri, and he had no iron blood when he commanded the Jingbei army, showing rare warmth.

"I'm sorry, Wan'er, these days, I have military affairs with me, and I really can't leave, no, I rushed over from the camp overnight yesterday, I wanted to pick you up, but I didn't expect you to come first."

"I came with my dad and them." Xie Wan smiled heartily.

"I see."

Xiao Changling let out a soft "oh", his face was as warm as a garden full of spring, as if he was about to melt away the stubborn ice; He slowly raised his hand and stroked Xie Wanxin's thin shoulders, his pair of dark eyes were full of doting looks, and he stared straight at the girl's beautiful jade face.

In front of the public, Xiao Changling's actions were obviously a little intimate, not to mention, in front of Wan'er and other close friends; I saw that Xie Wanxin's bright cheeks suddenly flew a large area of crimson, and she subconsciously turned her head slightly.

"Don't make a fuss, there's someone."

"I don't."

Unexpectedly, the more shy Xie Wanxin became, the stronger Xiao Changling's desire to conquer became, and the more it aroused the domineering spirit in the heart of the king of Jingbei; His big and powerful hand tightly locked Xie Wanxin's sparkling wrist, like a prey being caught in a net.

Seeing that the two of them were so crooked, Li Yan on the side couldn't stand it anymore, she looked at Xiao Changling, and a sparse smile appeared on her face.

"His Royal Highness King Qin, you can frighten our Wan'er like this."

Xiao Changling smiled self-deprecatingly, but his expression was still calm.

"Miss Ayan, you don't want to be lonely here, lonely, you have your own measure."

"Miss Xie Si."

Just when the young man and girl were still beside them, a slightly green woman's voice, faint as a breeze, stopped the two of them, and also stopped the movements of Xiao Changling's hands, and those powerful hands were released softly in an instant.

Xiao Changling looked back, and Xie Wanxin also looked back; But see, a young female official in palace clothes appeared behind the two.

"Are you ......" Xie Wanxin was a little surprised, but her face was still calm.

"Fourth Miss, slave Yunying, is a female official next to Her Royal Highness the Empress."

"Oh...... Is there something wrong with the girl? Xie Wanxin asked softly.

"Fourth Miss, Her Royal Highness would like to invite you to sit in the small building over there." Yun Ying replied.

What?

The queen wants to see herself.

Xie Wanxin didn't react for a while, in fact, when she was very young, she heard her father mention that Erlang's mother, this Queen Dugu, is a great heroine among women, as the eldest daughter of the Dugu family, she has inherited the tenacity and freedom exclusive to Xianbei women, someone once said that if the queen is a man, if she can lead the troops to fight like a man, I am afraid that his military achievements will not be inferior to the glorious Emperor His Majesty, then there is nothing to do with Xiao Yingxue and Xiao Changling.

After a while, Xie Wanxin was slightly stunned, and turned to Xiao Changling who was standing beside him with a look of help, as if seeking refuge.

Xiao Changling smiled softly and patted Xie Wanxin's jade arm gently.

"It's okay, the queen mother just wants to see you, don't worry, I'll go with you."

After that, Xiao Changling took Xie Wanxin's hand and was about to walk towards Xiaolou; But at this moment, Yun Ying moved and stopped in front of Xiao Changling, and said in a clear voice.

"His Royal Highness King Qin, the queen said, let Miss Xie Si go up alone."

After the words fell, Xiao Changling's footsteps slowly stopped on the spot, his face showed a slight incomprehension, and his eyes stared at the top floor of the Phoenix Temple.

"Can't you go up alone?"

"Yes, Your Highness." Yun Ying nodded and replied.

But soon, Xiao Changling's suspicious expression immediately disappeared, and there was a burst of joy in his heart, could it be that the queen mother wanted to meet her future daughter-in-law in advance? Thinking of this, Xiao Changling could no longer hide the joy in his heart, but his handsome face was still as deep as sea water.

Immediately, Xiao Changling laughed loudly, attached to Xie Wanxin's ear sideburns, and whispered.

"Don't worry, the queen mother is very good, you go, I'll wait for you here."

"Okay." Xie Wanxin's charming smile made Xiao Changling's heart ripple.

Looking at Wan'er's fresh and refined shadow, under the guidance of Yun Ying, gradually disappeared into the door of the black hole of the Phoenix Temple, the warmth in Xiao Changling's eyes was like a stone sinking into the sea, and it was calm little by little.

……

The cool breeze of hunting pulled the cloak on the shoulders of the king of Jingbei, sprinkling frost all over the ground.