"Your Majesty doesn't want the minister to talk about the past, but the minister still has the courage to start with the past. At the beginning of the year, the princess came to me, indeed suffered a great grievance, everything is the fault of the minister's family, I still feel sorry for this matter, the nephew of the minister should be the same, after the princess left, many searches, starting from Ganliang, all the way, found the princess's old residence, fruitless, the deadline is approaching, helpless, can only temporarily interrupt the search, and turn into Beijing. Subsequently, it was also a coincidence that he was able to meet the princess again in Chang'an. ”

"The minister remembers clearly that he wrote to the minister at that time, the purpose of which was to inform the minister of this matter, so that the minister could rest assured, but between the lines of his letter, the minister still read infinite joy."

"Your Majesty, the nephew of the minister has been with the minister since he was eight years old, and it can be said that he grew up in front of the minister's eyes. He has a depressed temperament, takes things seriously, and is the most difficult word for young people to control the word 'love', but he is also self-disciplined and never cares about it. For the first time in many years, Chen is the first time to perceive that he would be so worried about one person, and even completely swayed by her. Since that day, the minister has understood that this nephew of the minister has someone in his heart, and that person is none other than Ye Xiaoniang, who was still a painter at that time. ”

"Don't hide it from Your Majesty, the hearts of the ministers at that time were half happy and half worried. The joy is that the minister thought that I Pei Jiaerlang, who would be lonely for a lifetime, finally had the person I wanted, but I was worried, but he was clumsy, and his heart was heavy, I was afraid that he didn't know what to do. Later, the minister learned that His Majesty planned a trip to Cangshan, and guessed that the little lady might also go along, so he called He Jin to come, in addition to sending a letter of accusation on behalf of the minister, he also wanted to ask him to pay attention to the actions of some ministers and nephews for the minister, so that the minister could be prepared. Chen Wei never thought that the identity of the little lady turned out to be so unattainable. After knowing the news of the princess's return to the court, the minister also completely gave up the idea, but after thinking about it, he still couldn't let it go. ”

"Those who are married are also the great people of man. Among the sons and nephews of my Pei family, he is now the only one left, and he cares about the princess, and the ministers don't think about him, who thinks about him? If the minister does not do his best for him, how will he meet his underground parents in the future? ”

His Majesty asked him if he knew, but the princess's return to the court was too sudden, and the minister knew it too late, and when the minister wanted to discuss with his nephew, he was sent out by His Majesty to do things again. The minister originally planned to discuss the matter after his return, but when he learned that several other lords had sent marriage proposals, the minister was not talented, and in order to show the sincerity of the minister's family, he also rushed over first, and the nephew of the minister expressed his desire to marry the princess to His Majesty. When the nephew returns, the minister has proposed to His Majesty on his behalf, and he will gladly obey his fate. ”

"Your Majesty, the minister also knows that the other people who courted this time are all handsome sons, and all of them have noble identities and extraordinary family backgrounds. The ministers know that their nephews are far inferior to them. But in terms of sincerity to the princess, the nephew was not inferior to any of them. Therefore, the minister was courageous, in addition to visiting His Majesty, he also took the liberty to propose to the princess on behalf of his nephew, and begged His Majesty to give his nephew a chance. ”

Pei Ji's words were moving. The corners of the emperor's lips pursed tightly, and his expression wandered, and at this moment, accompanied by a slight sound of footsteps, a voice said: "Pei Gong has a heart." ”

Pei Ji turned his head and saw that it was the princess who came over with a smile, bowed to him, and said, "I am very moved by Pei Gong's affection for his sons and nephews. How can I be as good as Pei Gong said, so overrated, I am ashamed. I have received the thoughts conveyed by Pei Gong on behalf of Pei Langjun, and Your Majesty will definitely consider it solemnly. Pei Gong, please get up. ”

Pei Ji hurriedly returned the salute, and saw the princess bowing to the emperor who had never said a word on the seat: "Aya, it's not too early, Pei Gong came from afar, and he must be sleepy tonight, if you monarchs and ministers have anything else to say, why don't you talk about it tomorrow?" ”

The emperor's eyes turned around the princess's face a few times, showing a faint look of unhappiness on his face, but he finally endured it, sighed, called Zhao Zhongfang inside, and led Pei Ji down to settle down.

Pei Ji bowed to the emperor again, and then retired with Zhao Zhongfang. Su Yu still saw him off in person, sent out of Qingrong Palace, Pei Ji thanked him again and again, Su Yu stopped outside the palace gate, and watched his back with Zhao Zhongfang leaving along the palace corridor, until he couldn't see it, turned around and went inside.

The emperor was still in the outer hall where he had just received Pei Ji, with his hands behind his back, pacing slowly around the hall alone, when he heard the sound of Su Yu returning and telling him to rest, he stopped and looked sideways: "Why don't you send him to his residence and serve him to rest again?" ”

Obviously, the emperor was displeased with his daughter's attitude of respecting Pei Ji.

Su Yu smiled, came up to help him, and slowly walked to the dormitory while accompaniing, and said, "Aye, what you said!" At the beginning of the year, I went to Ganliang, and Pei Gong treated me very kindly, like a daughter. Now that he has come from afar, I just sent him off, why did he make Aya so unhappy? ”

The emperor snorted, and finally stopped talking, but his face was still a little uncertain, until Su Yu sent him to the bed, and served him to bed with Yang Zaien, he was still frowning, and suddenly said, "You all go out." ”

"Sister-in-law stays."

Yang Zaien knew that the emperor had something to say to the princess alone, so he hurriedly responded and retreated with the rest of the people.

"Aya has something to say, but it doesn't hurt to say it." Su Yu stood in front of the emperor, and when he saw his gaze fall on his face, he didn't make a sound for a long time, and said softly.

"What do you think about Pei Ji's mention to me for his nephew tonight?" The Emperor finally asked.

"Aye, why don't you think about it." Rain should be.

The emperor probably didn't expect his daughter to deserve it so quickly, he was stunned at first, and then his face showed unhappiness again: "Pei Ji is Pei Ji, Pei Er is Pei Er!" Sister-in-law, don't you even know the difference? ”

"Aye, this time you asked Pei Er to clear Chen Sida's remaining party, naturally out of consideration of his identity, and took a fancy to his appeal to the old departments of the former Divine Tiger Army scattered everywhere, and asked him to go, getting twice the result with half the effort, this is not wrong. But Aye, you sent Yuan to serve as a military envoy! Aya, don't use suspicious people, don't doubt people, I still say the same thing, how can you make him truly loyal to the court and submit to Aya like this? ”

The emperor choked for a moment: "Aya has his own considerations, you don't have to care!" ”

"Aye, you removed the people who were spying on him!"

Su Yu was silent for a moment, and suddenly said.

"Don't you want a scabbard to take him? Why don't you let me make Aya's scabbard? ”

The Emperor looked at her in surprise for a moment before he finally seemed to react.

"Are you telling Aya to give you to him in marriage as a sign of Aye's trust and favor to him?" The Emperor's brows immediately furrowed, followed by shaking his head.

"Sister-in-law! It's your only daughter! No matter how capable Pei Er is, no matter how he can be the important weapon of the country in the future, here in Ayah, ten of him will not be as good as you! ”

The Emperor paused, remembering a conversation in the mass grave in the eastern suburbs of the city that night before, and his eyes became more and more gloomy.

"Aye, tell you the truth, Aya once gave him a chance! Aya once asked him personally, can you protect your life, guess how he replied? He shouldn't! ”

"Why did Aya marry you to a man who wouldn't even give a verbal promise? Because his uncle came to propose marriage, he gave you to him, that he might look down on you, and think that he must be the one who has chosen my royal son-in-law. ”

The more the emperor thought about it, the angrier he became.

"Aya knows you like this guy, so what? Don't be fooled! There are many good sons in the world! I'm looking at that Lantai very good! As for Pei Er, he can be disloyal to me, as long as he doesn't make any unfavorable moves against our dynasty and doesn't commit crimes, I can endure anything, why would I force you to marry him and buy his heart! ”

"You don't have to think about it!" The Emperor flicked his hand heavily, and said categorically.

Compared with the emperor who was emotional at the moment, Su Yu seemed extremely calm.

"Aye, my daughter really likes Pei Er and is willing to spend her life with him, which my daughter does not deny. But if Aya thought that her daughter had made such a decision in a hurry because of Pei Ji's arrival tonight, she would be wrong. ”

She met the two suspicious glances cast by the emperor.

"Why does he have a grudge against Aya, and why do you always guard against him, Aya, you must know better than me. I don't know that I may not be able to play much of a role in it. But that day, from the moment I told Aya that I was willing to return to the court to be a princess, I was ready to take on everything I should do as a princess. ”

"I know exactly what I mean by what I mean and what I want to do. I am willing to give Pei Langjun a chance, because it is also like giving myself a chance. I only plead with Aya and promise me one thing, when Aya thinks it is appropriate, I must pursue the merits of General Pei Da and the eight hundred martyrs, and return them to the name of their worthy posthumous death, so that their descendants will have something to support in the old and have little to rely on, and hold their heads high in front of the people of the world, and be proud of the deeds of the deceased. ”

"That's not Aye, it's the court, it's Aye, you owe them!"

After she finished speaking, she knelt down to the emperor who was sitting on the bed and bowed her head.

The Emperor looked fixedly at his daughter, who was kneeling solemnly at his feet, and slowly, like a deflated ball, after a moment of silence, a hesitant look appeared on his face.

"Sister-in-your-"

He paused, his expression still showing unwillingness, "You also saw it yourself!" That kid surnamed Pei is stinky and hard! You asked me to agree to Pei Jizhi's request to marry you to him? I'm really ......."

"I don't need Aya to forcibly give you a marriage, this is definitely not my intention." Su Yu said.

"What do you mean, sister-in-law?" The Emperor looked at her puzzled.

"Didn't all the families come together to propose to Aya?"

"My daughter also said it, just to give him a chance. At that time, if he gives up himself, his daughter will naturally not force it, and from now on, he will not mention this matter again. ”

She groaned and said.

……

Ten days later, Pei Xiaoyuan, under the supervision of Yuan Zhi, returned the talisman used to temporarily dispatch the Tianning army, and hurriedly returned to Cangshan, when the season was already the end of August.

This trip is poor, and the process is considered smooth.

Chen Sida has a brother of his own family, named Chen Sirong, who served as a festival envoy in Qizhou, and Chen Sida was going to go to Qizhou to work together. In addition, Liu Chang, the envoy of Weizhou Jiedu, has had a continuous personal relationship with the Chen brothers over the years, and Liu Chang was also a deputy general under the Shenhu Army in the past.

Over the years, Chen Sida has enveloped Liu Chang in every possible way, and made Chen Sirong form a family with his children, thus tying the two families together. After the failure of Chen Sida's mutiny, the imperial court ordered Chen Sirong to enter Beijing, Chen Sirong knew that if he went, it would be a dead end, while looking for an excuse to delay, he secretly contacted Liu Chang, and planned to use Li Yan, the emperor's grandson who supported the Jingsheng Dynasty, as the banner to raise an army.

Under the Shenhu Army back then, there were many brave and good generals, and Liu Chang was one of them.

Unlike Chen Sida, he has always been loyal to Pei Gu, but he was forced by the situation back then, and he followed the trend, plus Chen Sida has a prominent position in the court over the years, and has close contacts with the prince Liu Ceye and others, he thinks about the future of his family, so he naturally can't help but rely on it. But every time I think of Pei Gu and those eight hundred comrades who died in battle, I feel a little ashamed. This recalls Chen Sirong's appointment to start the incident, and he is surprised and inevitably hesitates. From there, it is really not his original wish, if he does not obey, the two families are already inseparable, and I am afraid that the court will not tolerate him. When he was undecided, he unexpectedly saw He Jin who had sneaked in, and only then did he learn that the envoy sent by the imperial court to urge Chen Sirong was actually the son of his old master. He Jin conveyed Pei Xiaoyuan's words, persuaded him to rein in the precipice, not to make a big mistake, and promised that as long as he assisted in purging Chen Sirong and other remnants, the imperial court would not investigate his former relationship with the Chen family brothers.

Although Liu Chang served in the local government, he had already heard of Pei Xiaoyuan's name, not to mention his identity, since he came to persuade him to surrender, he immediately stopped hesitating, immediately obeyed, secretly met Pei Xiaoyuan, bowed his head, and then, pretended to allow Chen Sirong to get up, stabilized the other party, and led the soldiers and horses to join a Tianning army temporarily taken over by Pei Xiaoyuan, and arrested and killed Chen Sirong and his henchmen in one fell swoop.

After solving this matter, Pei Xiaoyuan embarked on the return journey non-stop.

The reason why he was in such a hurry to return was because he had already learned that his uncle Pei Ji had also gone to Cangshan, and he was afraid that it would be too late and too late to meet, so he would have to return to the Eastern Capital again. In such a hurry, I finally met Pei Ji at the post house at the foot of Cangshan on this evening at the end of August.

When he arrived, Pei Ji was playing against King Ning by a forest spring behind the post house, and Cui Daosi was watching chess on the sidelines, wearing a deer scarf on his head, dressed as a hermit, and looking at the fairy wind bones. Li Yu led two boys to make tea from the spring, Qingtou was busy fanning the fire in front of the stove, and the young Guo Guoer was wearing a knife and waiting quietly under an ancient tree at the intersection.

The setting sun passed through the forest, leaving a sparse slanting light. In the sound of the gurgling spring, there was occasionally the sound of one or two chess pieces falling on the stone plate. This scene was so leisurely that Pei Xiaoyuan didn't dare to approach for a while, for fear of disturbing the people in it, and signaled Guo Guo'er to silence, but the slight sound still alarmed people. Li Zhi looked up, with a look of surprise on his face, and shouted softly: "The master is back!" ”

His voice alarmed King Ning and the others, and they all turned their eyes. Pei Xiaoyuan walked over and greeted them one by one. King Ning and Cui Daosi knew that if Pei Ji wasn't waiting for him, he would have already left to return to the Eastern Capital, and today he finally came back, and after a few words of greeting, they left together.

Li Zhi naturally understands the looks, and after personally delivering the tea, he immediately took people to avoid it.

Pei Xiaoyuan hasn't seen his uncle for half a year.

It's only half a year, which is indeed not a long time, but for him, sometimes looking back on various experiences, he always feels as if half of his life has passed. Or perhaps, because of himself, looking at the uncle in front of him, he always felt that he seemed to be thinner than when he was separated at the beginning of the year.

"My nephew only came back today, so my uncle has been waiting for a long time."

Pei Xiaoyuan went up, bowed his head and wanted to kneel down to worship the elder, but Pei Ji stopped him, helped him up, looked at his appearance, saw him in the dust, asked a few words about the situation on the road, and learned that it only took him six or seven days to walk the original ten days, and rushed back from Qizhou, he couldn't help but show a distressed look, blamed a few words, and said that there was no need to be in such a hurry, this time he came by himself, and was treated by the emperor, and did not stipulate the day of return, he could walk slowly, and it would be okay to wait a few more days.

"My nephew was anxious to see his uncle, so he walked a little faster. The nephew is not tired. Pei Xiaoyuan explained with a smile.

Pei Ji looked at him, his eyes flashed with kindness, and finally shook his head with a smile, and then led people to sit in front of the stone table where Fang had just played against King Ning, and asked about Qizhou, and after listening to Pei Xiaoyuan's story, he nodded: "It's good if it goes well." I also have an impression of Liu Chang, and he finally knew that he had lost his way back. You've done a great job of this. ”

"The nephew's size is all dependent on his father's prestige."

Pei Ji saw his nephew say this sentence in a calm tone, paused for a moment, and said with a smile: "Your father's residual power is certainly there, but you yourself are also outstanding." It's not that my uncle is boasting, don't say that the younger generation is the younger generation, or if you look at the entire court, I think you are not inferior to others. Don't be presumptuous. ”

Pei Xiaoyuan smiled slightly: "Thank you uncle for the compliment."

Pei Ji poured tea for his nephew with his own hands, Pei Xiaoyuan saw this, and hurriedly got up to snatch it, Pei Ji said: "It's okay, there are no outsiders here, how about letting your uncle pour you a cup of tea made by your disciples." ”

Pei Xiaoyuan stopped, retracted his hand, turned to the nearby stream, leaned over to wash his hands, and cleaned the spring together. After removing the dust from the road, he came back and sat upright, picked up the tea in both hands, and took a sip.

Pei Ji looked at him and said, "Uncle came to Cangshan this time, in addition to visiting His Majesty's illness, he also did something. ”

"Uncle has officially courted the princess on your behalf in front of Your Majesty."

Pei Ji smiled on his face, and his voice was very calm, as if this was something that could not be found.

Pei Xiaoyuan's face flashed with a complex and indistinguishable look, and he couldn't tell whether it was joy or surprise, or even a little confused. His hands, which were full of thorns and calluses because he had mastered weapons all year round, held the teacup like this, frozen in mid-air, and after a while, he moved and slowly lowered the teacup.

"Uncle—" He uttered with a little difficulty, his voice a little dry.

"My nephew doesn't understand, why does my uncle act like this?"

"Are you still in the same mood as at the beginning of the year, don't you want to marry Little Lady Ye?" Pei Ji asked rhetorically.

Pei Xiaoyuan's face showed a strange look, and for a while, it seemed that there were countless words that were about to be spoken, but in the end, he didn't say anything, his eyes fell on the broken chess pieces on the stone table, and he only said: "Why do you knowingly ask, uncle." She is no longer Ye Xiaoniang. ”

"Yes," Pei Ji nodded, "She is indeed no longer the original Ye Xiaoniang, but for those who know her, is there a big difference?" Erlang, will you turn from love to anger because she has become a princess now, and never see each other again? ”

Fine sweat oozed from Pei Xiaoyuan's freshly washed forehead. He looked a little cramped, as if a thorn was piercing his back.

"Of course I won't." He answered.

"But if she becomes a princess, how can I afford to climb it? I know that you are for my own good, uncle, but this time is different from last time......"

He paused, raised his hand, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and then said in a slightly aggravated tone: "If I had been here some time ago, I would not have agreed to my uncle to come to His Majesty for me to do such a thing." ”

"You don't have to worry about it." Pei Ji responded, "I see that the sage is also angry with you, and he may not be willing to accept the princess to you at the request of his uncle." ”

Pei Xiaoyuan raised his eyes and looked at the opposite side.

"This time it's different from the last time you were married. The reason why your uncle is courting you is entirely for the princess's sake. ”

"Erlang, ask yourself, if a woman like a princess is begged to leave and becomes someone else's wife, will you really hold a grudge for life?"

"You were brought up by me, I know that you are too preoccupied and worried about something. I'm afraid that you won't regret it in the future, so I will fight for a possible opportunity for you while Your Majesty has not yet made a decision, and that's it. In the end, whether it succeeds or not, it is not whether I propose marriage for you, but on yourself. ”

The sun slowly fell from behind the trees, and the sky seemed to be enveloped in a dark night light in an instant, and the homecoming jays began to hover around, making bursts of noise.

Pei Xiaoyuan sat in this heavy twilight, looking at the remnants of the chess in front of him, his figure condensed.

"Uncle." After a long time, he slowly raised his eyes again and looked at Pei Ji.

"In the first battle of Beiyuan back then, was the emperor the culprit? Uncle, how much do you know? ”

"This sentence, my nephew has wanted to ask for a long time, can I ask my uncle to tell me truthfully?"