The eldest princess bit her ear and said this joke, originally intended to make her happy, but suddenly she stopped, a layer of blush appeared on her cheeks, her expression was annoyed and ashamed, and she seemed to be a little panicked, stunned, and then quickly woke up.

After a night, although the princess also became a woman, after all, she was newly married and light-skinned, how could she compare to them?

Even if it wasn't for her daughter's business, she was bent on pleasing this niece who had been away for many years and was now returning. If it is said that the last trip to Cangshan was just a sign and did not dare to make people think about it, then this time the princess was married, and Empress Xiaoliu was also excluded, and it can basically be concluded that unless the emperor deliberately harmed his daughter, the prince's hope is already very small.

How the throne will belong in the future, the eldest princess does not dare to talk about it now. But judging from the degree of the emperor's love for the princess, such a major matter will be carefully planned, so as not to fall on the head of someone who may be unfavorable to the princess in the future. Therefore, instead of bothering to guess how the emperor is planning, it is better to make friends with the princess and make a good relationship in advance.

She was such a delicate person, and when she noticed that the princess was unwell, she immediately put away her playful attitude, gently shook the princess's arm, motioned her to wait, walked forward, coughed, separated everyone, walked to the horse who was also at a loss, blocked it, and then laughed: "What are you talking nonsense!" In the face of the newlywed couples, one by one is disrespectful to the old! It's spread out, I'm afraid that your group of people will really become a joke in the eyes of future generations! Shut up! The princess has set up a banquet for you inside, get out of the way, and tell the young couple to go out of the palace by order, and you all go to eat and drink! For fun, I'll tell you jokes myself! ”

The women did not expect her to speak so suddenly, and looked at her in bewilderment, and the laughter slowly stopped. Pei Xiaoyuan was finally able to get out, and he also saw Su Yu standing aside, and hurriedly walked over. The eldest princess took the lead and sent the two out.

Su Yu and Pei Xiaoyuan went out of the women's hospital and walked out along the palace road. At first, he only cared about walking with his head down, but after a while, Su Yu's mind finally settled down and secretly looked at the person beside him.

His eyes fell to the ground, and as he walked forward, he should have noticed that she was spying on him, and her eyelashes moved slightly, as if she was about to turn her eyes.

Su Yu immediately turned his face to the side, pretending to admire the flowers and trees on the side of the palace road. At this time, he walked to a fork in the road, and several palace people came to him, and when he saw them from afar, he retreated to the side of the road, bowed and saluted, called "princess" and "concubine", and waited for the two to pass first.

Interrupted like this, Su Yu stopped, turned his head to look at Yang Zaien and the others who were waiting a few steps behind, hesitated, and finally made up his mind, opened his mouth to tell everyone to wait, and whispered to Pei Xiaoyuan, "You come with me", and then took the lead in walking towards a palace road with flowers and trees.

Pei Xiaoyuan silently followed.

Suyu walked all the way to the depths of the palace road, and there was no one near the side, and Yang Zaien and the others couldn't hear the sound of talking here, so they stopped and stood under a brown maple tree on the side of the palace road.

Pei Xiaoyuan stopped in front of her.

At this point, she completely understood why Pei Xiaoyuan insisted when she said that she didn't need to enter the palace in the morning, and even seemed to be sweating in a hurry......

If she didn't make it clear to him, she wouldn't have to do anything else for the rest of the day. I just want to cover my face and find a hole in the ground so that she can get in.

"I'm sorry for you. In the morning, I didn't think about it properly. ”

Pei Xiaoyuan was stunned when he heard her voice, raised his eyes and quickly looked at her face, she lowered her forehead, and her eyes fell to the ground.

He immediately said, "I'm fine—"

He habitually wanted to say again, "I'm just afraid of damaging the princess's name", but suddenly realized that the two had been married yesterday, which seemed inappropriate, so he shut up.

She was silent. After a while, sensing that she still seemed to be in a slight depression and shame, Pei Xiaoyuan spoke again and said in an emphatic tone: "This morning's matter, as long as the princess doesn't go to her heart, I'm really fine!" ”

Inexplicably, when his powerful words came into his ears, Su Yu's mood suddenly became a lot lighter. However, thinking of the misunderstanding of others, for a while, after all, he still couldn't release it completely, so he hummed softly, and then fell silent again.

He seemed to be the same as her, faintly still a little uncomfortable, and he didn't speak anymore, just stood quietly opposite her.

The weather is cooler, and the palm-sized leaves of the brown maple gradually change colors of red, brown, gold and green in the alternation of day and night. A gust of wind blew through the palace road, and several half-withered colored leaves fell from the branches, and fell from the top of their heads, and one of them fell gently on the top of her beautiful skirt.

Her eyes were staring, and so was he. All eyes looked silently at the half-withered leaves that were on the hem of her dress.

Pei Xiaoyuan finally quietly took the lead in raising his eyes, glanced at her, and paused.

"Isn't the princess going to the Divine Palace to discuss the mural?" After a moment's hesitation, he finally spoke.

Su Yu heard his reminder ring in his ears.

Her eyes lifted to look at him. Seeing that his expression had returned to his usual calm state, he was smiling and looking at her.

She hasn't forgotten. Fang Cai had planned to go after clarifying the matter with him.

It is already October, and the emperor's longevity ceremony next spring is getting closer and closer, and who will paint the mural will be decided in these two days.

Previously, the painter Zhou He, who she had promised to carry and had good painting skills, had been introduced to the palace. Today, in addition to Zhou He and the painters in the courtyard of Jixian Palace, many celebrities and talents in Beijing who are good at painting or famous for appreciating paintings are also invited to come to evaluate the paintings and provide collective advice for the selection of the final main painter. Among them is Lantai.

She woke up: "Yes, I'll go." You ......"

She just wanted to say that he was still injured and told him to go back to rest first, but he cut off the words, only to hear him say, "I have rested enough last night." I'll send the princess there! When the princess is done, she will go back again. ”

His tone sounded normal, but there was no room for her to refute in his words.

Chapter 99

The rain fluttered the skirt, dragged away the colored leaf on it, and stepped forward. Pei Xiaoyuan walked with her unhurriedly, slightly half a step behind.

Yang Zaien, who was waiting at the fork in the palace road, saw that the two of them seemed to have finally finished speaking, and continued to follow behind with a group of people. The group turned to the Shenshu Palace, and Cao Eun, who was waiting outside, saw it from a distance, hurried up to meet it, bent down and saluted, and said with a smile: "The princess is newly married, if the princess is not at ease about this matter, the slave will send someone to report it at any time, how dare the princess come in person today?" ”

Su Yu originally thought that the matter of entering the palace in the morning would end early, and there was nothing to do when he returned to Yongning's house, but he happened to be in the palace, and the mural had progressed to this point, so it was not good to delay it any longer, so he arranged the matter on the same day, but he didn't expect to delay.

She said that it was okay, and while going to the Chongtian Palace, she asked Zhou He about his situation.

Cao Eun hurriedly replied: "The slave went to Chongrenfang to find it in person a few days ago, and when he arrived, he was no longer seen in the hotel, saying that the painting could not be sold, and he was driven away half a month ago because he could not pay the house money. After many inquiries, the slave finally found his whereabouts, and moved to an alley near the West Market, where he mixed with the merchants. On that day, he was pretending to be a slave of a scholar, and went to participate in the poetry banquet with the scholar, catching a knife and writing for people on the spot, in exchange for money, seeing the slave, he learned that it was the princess who called him into the palace, he still didn't believe it, and heard the slave say that the princess was the Ye Xiaolangjun he knew before, Fang Rumeng woke up, crying and laughing at the time, the slave almost thought he was crazy, fortunately he woke up quickly, removed the slave's clothes on the spot, and followed the slave. ”

The imperial examination of this dynasty is known as "thirty old Ming classics, fifty young jinshi". Jinshi is the most noble, but also extremely difficult to examine, often only twenty or thirty people are taken every year, the number is only one-tenth of the Ming Jing, if you can be on the list, you can be called the white-clothed minister, the career is immeasurable. Therefore, everyone in the world yearns for it, and they want to become famous in the capital, so as to get convenience in the examination and jump to the dragon gate in one fell swoop. Participating in poetry banquets is an important way to become famous, and some of them who are not talented enough will hire people to cheat on the spot and catch knives.

Su Yu remembered that when he went to find Zhou He in the past, he had indeed seen some messy poems and manuscripts in his house. At that time, it was just because he also loved to read, but he didn't expect that in addition to his painting skills, his literary talent was also good.

Without real talent and learning, it is impossible to be hired to catch knives on the spot and compose.

"What about his father's and grandparents?" Su Yu asked again.

"This slave has also checked. The Zhou family's generations of painters, the ancestors of the first generation, were punished as slaves for committing crimes, and became cave craftsmen, that is, they specialized in painting in the grottoes, and their descendants were also slaves from birth, and could not engage in other industries. It was to Zhou He's father's generation, because his painting skills were really outstanding, he was seen by Ye Zhongli, who went to the grotto to paint, Ye Zhongli cherished his talent, introduced Zhou He's father into the palace, helped remove slavery, and then became a court painter. After the chaos in the last years of Jingsheng, the saint ascended the throne, the court was renewed, and many old court painters who had been exiled before were also able to return to the palace, including the father of Zhou He. ”

Yao Xu was jealous of Zhou's father's appreciation of Ye Zhongli in the past, and deliberately suppressed it. After his father died of illness, Zhou He was also expelled from the palace. This person should have a little bit of talent, at first he also participated in a few court exams, failed, a few years later, he gave up, and then he mixed in Chang'an, selling paintings and literature to make a living. At the beginning of the year, the painting academy was recruited, and this week He also came to refer to it, and his name fell to Sun Shan, which was probably because of Yao Xu. If it weren't for the princess, the slave would have looked at him all his life, and I am afraid that he would only be able to wear slave clothes in the alleys to catch knives and sell documents for others. ”

"This person is also a little interesting, after coming, immersed in painting, I heard that day and night are not distinguished, do not eat or drink, almost crazy, know that the princess will come today, get up early in the morning to bathe and change clothes, waiting for the princess."

The Chongtian Hall was just in front of her, and Su Yu stopped on a side of the hall on a convenient staircase, groaned slightly, and ordered Cao Eun to take Zhou He to the Xiaoxi Pavilion, she saw it alone first, and then turned to the person behind her and walked towards him.

Pei Xiaoyuan was standing under the steps, looking ahead.

The entire Shenshu Palace, including the Chongtian Hall, the magnificent main hall in front of it, except for the one fresco to be made in the hall, the rest of the places have been completed. As far as the eye can see, there are carved railings and jade bricks everywhere, red columns of colored corridors, jade glazed tiles and bright yellow owls that stand on both sides of the temple ridge, reflecting dazzling light under the autumn sky with pieces of purple clouds.

About the princess did not arrive, a group of scribes dressed people were arranged in the east side of the Chongtian Hall in the Yuyun Building to make tea and enjoy the scenery, the wind faintly heard the sound of couplets chanting poems, the atmosphere was quite warm, but alone, leaning on the railing, white clothes in the wind, the figure looked a little lonely.

Pei Xiaoyuan's ears are outstanding, and his eyes are also keen, although the distance is still far away, but as soon as he came, he recognized it at a glance, this person is Lantai.

"The princess is busy. It's convenient for me to walk around the neighborhood or go to the Jinwuwei duty room. ”

Before she could speak, Pei Xiaoyuan looked at her and said with a smile.

He was no stranger to this place, and the duty room was indeed not far away. Su Yu told him not to overwork, and made an appointment to go back, and then went to Xiaoxi Pavilion.

Zhou He dressed as an ordinary painter in the palace and was standing in the corner of the pavilion. He tried his best to suppress his extremely nervous mood, and did not dare to take half a step, lest any misconduct would attract the contempt of the palace eunuchs standing outside the pavilion. Suddenly there was a long noise of "the princess arrives-" in his ears, he couldn't help shaking, and after exhaling a deep breath and calming down, he walked quickly to the back of the pavilion door, and then raised his head, and saw a young beauty in full costume accompanied by Cao Eun, who was walking this way.

Zhou He recognized it at a glance, and the princess in front of him was really the Ye Xiaolangjun he had met and had several contacts with before. It's just that at this moment, she is no longer the young man who Zhou He once thought was as down-and-out as him. She turned out to be the hairpin lord she had talked to about her, at this moment, I saw her decorated with gold and jade, all the way, the gorgeous skirt was swaying, so noble that people didn't dare to look at it directly.

Zhou He knelt on the ground on the spot, kowtowed respectfully, called to see the princess, after the salute, people did not dare to move, still bowed their heads deeply, until the princess approached, called him up, and walked past him, he slowly got up from the ground, turned to follow, saw the princess stopped in the pavilion, turned to him, looked at him with a smile, the appearance was beautiful, the temperament was luxurious, it was difficult to describe in words, for a while he was ashamed of his appearance, how dare he look at her, and kneel in fear again.

"Xiaomin Zhou He has eyes and does not know Mount Tai, if there was a place that offended the princess with inappropriate words and deeds in the past, I beg the princess not to blame!"

Su Yu told Zhou He to get up. Or her peaceful attitude made Zhou He feel that the princess in front of him had just changed her dress, and the rest was no different from the Ye Xiaolangjun he knew before, so he finally settled down and got up according to his words.

Su Yu glanced at him. I haven't seen him for half a year, and I am a lot darker and thinner, not only that, but my eyelids are red, and my face is tired. This should be the result of his recent continuous painting day and night, as Cao Eun said.

However, Su Yu also noticed that after the initial nervousness and panic subsided, he quickly returned to her impression, his eyes were shining, the tiredness on his face disappeared, and he quickly became energetic. Then, he bowed down again, and after kowtowing, he said: "Xiaomin is as humble as mud, just because he was fortunate enough to know the princess before, and he has only seen a few faces, and he has never done anything for the princess. Knowing that the princess got married yesterday, with the slight contempt of the small people, how dare she be rashly disturbed, she can only kowtow in her residence, and wish the princess and the concubine a good relationship, and a hundred years together. Not to mention, every time Xiao Min thinks about this recently, he feels that he is in a dream, how dare he believe that he has such a lucky day......"

Before he could finish speaking, his voice turned choked, and when he stopped, he kept prostrating.

Su Yu told him to get up again and take a seat. Zhou He only rubbed his eyes and got up, but he didn't dare to obey his fate no matter what. Su Yu followed him and said with a smile: "Your painting skills are good, I will naturally not forget it." Besides, I should have done to you before, how can I not believe what I said? I've been busy with other things before, and I can't take care of it here, but now that I'm finally free, I'll call you. ”

Zhou He was excited and deeply moved: "Princess Gaoyi! When the princess was still Ye Xiaolangjun, Xiaomin felt that the person in front of him was by no means vulgar, so he boldly speculated, which was really unexpected, and he never thought that the princess would take it seriously. Being able to get the princess's support is a great blessing for me Zhou He's three lives! ”

Su Yu asked him what he had been doing recently, and he thought he was copying the mural of the Yong'an Palace. Suddenly, after a hesitation, he walked in front of her and knelt down solemnly again: "Xiaomin has a lie, even a crazy word, I don't know if the princess can forgive me for my sins, let me tell it boldly." ”

Su Yu glanced at him and bowed slightly: "You say." ”

Zhou He fixed his mind and said: "It's not a secret, the villain was burdened by his ancestors, he was born a slave, humble as mud, it was his father who was lucky enough to get the favor of Ye Zhongli Ye Gong, so he got out of slavery and entered the palace to serve the painting." After Ye Gong left Beijing, his father was jealous of Yao Xu. Later, Yao Xu was even more appreciated by Queen Liu, and after my father left, he also suppressed me everywhere, and I was not allowed to inherit my father's business. These things were hidden from the princess before, and they were not informed, so please forgive the princess. Now, for the sake of my life, I have been reduced to the point of catching knives and painting for others, and even cheating and selling articles. If there is no princess this time, I will probably live like this for the rest of my life. ”

There was a bleak hint of self-deprecation on his face, and then he said: "The Yong'an mural of Ye Gong is about to be reproduced in the Chongtian Palace, and I have known about this for a long time, but I can only yearn for it in my dreams in the past. I never expected that this time I would be lucky enough to be called into the palace by the princess. In the past few days, I have heard that the person who painted the main painting has not yet been determined. I know that the princess is everyone. If the Yong On mural is painted by the princess herself, can the princess give me a chance to help me paint the mural? I will do my best for the princess. When the mural is completed, as long as I can leave a sum on it, I will not live up to the fate of Danqing in this life, and I will go back in the future, so that I can comfort my father, so that he can be proud of me, smiling Jiuquan. ”

He paused.

"And that's not all. Ye Gong had a great kindness to my Zhou family back then, and I admired Ye Gong even more. If I have this opportunity to participate in painting and get my wish fulfilled, it will be like my friendship with Ye Gongshen, which shows my infinite admiration and gratitude. ”

After he finished speaking, he solemnly kowtowed to Su Yu again.

Su Yu got up from his seat, walked to a pavilion window, stood out of the window for a moment, turned around and asked, "You just said, you have been copying the murals of Yong'an Hall for the past few days?" ”

Zhou He should be, and then immediately explained that although the original mural made by Ye Zhongli no longer exists, his father often painted with Ye Zhongli in his early years, and naturally saw the authentic work, and was very shocked. He studied painting with his father since he was a child, and naturally he also painted. After a few days of nothing, I did it again from memory.

"Show me." The rain commanded.

Zhou He immediately responded and withdrew to get the painting. Soon, he hurried back with a scroll and spread out the paintings he had painted in the past few days, explaining: "Time is short, and only part of it has been painted. Please give me advice. ”

Su Yu slowly looked at his sketches, pondered for a moment, and said in Zhou He's nervous bated waiting: "Painting requires full attention and no distractions, so that the pen can go with your heart and make a good painting." This is usually the case with small paintings, let alone such a masterpiece. I've been doing a lot lately, and I'm afraid that if I can't devote myself to it, I may not be able to draw well. And the murals of the Chongtian Hall are not ordinary, and there must be no accidents. If it's delayed because of me, it's a big deal. Therefore, I am thinking these days whether to choose another suitable person to paint, and I will help him, so that it may be more appropriate. ”

Zhou He was stunned, but soon, he reacted, understood the meaning of her words, trembled with excitement, and knelt on the spot: "If I have the trust of the princess, I can give me the opportunity, and on the day the painting is completed, I Zhou He will die without regrets!" ”

"When Ye Gong completed the mural in January, although I am far from being as peerless as Ye Gong, but within two months, I will be able to do it. We will never delay the longevity of the saint next spring! He added.

Su Yu's eyes swept over the sketches on the case again, and said, "When I first saw your paintings, I knew that you were very good and had extraordinary skills. However, the stakes are high. If I don't paint, there will naturally be people in the academy who want to paint, and they have been preparing for this for a long time......"

She groaned slightly, "It's better to be like this, today's original agenda is postponed to three days later." In the past three days, I called the people of the art academy to make Yong'an paintings, and then I will call all the famous people to exhibit them together with your paintings, and participate in the evaluation. If your painting wins, the main painting of the murals in the Chongtian Temple will be handed over to you. In this way, it will not be unjust. ”

"Thank you, princess, for giving me the chance! I'm going to do my best! ”

Zhou He was not disappointed, but the whole person seemed to be igniting a fighting spirit, his eyes were blazing, and he swept away all the previous malaise and depression.

The matter was decided, Su Yu came out of the small West Pavilion, and saw a group of people in the painting academy who were waiting, including Yao Xu, Fang Shanduan, Yang Jiming, Song Bokang, etc., announced that he had no intention of painting, and in the eyes of surprise or surprise, he asked the interested party to make a mural on paper within three days, considering that the time was urgent, and allowed to paint the part that he was most proud of, and three days later, he would come again with the painting. He climbed the Yuyun Tower in person, appeared in front of the literati and celebrities who enjoyed the scenery, apologized to everyone for today's accident, and asked them to move again in three days.

With the respect of a princess, she came to apologize in person, not to mention that this is not a big deal. Everyone greeted them one after another, and they accepted it.

Su Yu remembered Pei Xiaoyuan in his heart, this side of the matter was over, and he was about to leave, when he accidentally saw Lan Taili looking at him behind everyone, bumped into her gaze, paused slightly, and smiled on his face. She smiled back, and then didn't stay any longer, and hurried away amid the congratulations of everyone behind her.

"Why is Lantai here today?" Su Yu looked for Pei Xiaoyuan and asked Cao Eun who sent her by the way.

At the beginning, the list presented to her did not have Lantai.

Cao Eun explained that Lan Tai is now a disciple of a famous writer and calligraphy and painting critic in Chang'an, and that famous artist was a guest today, but unfortunately, he was unable to come due to illness, so he sent his proud disciple Lan Tai to enter the palace on his behalf.

Su Yu stopped talking, and walked straight out of the Shenshu Palace, and didn't see Pei Xiaoyuan nearby, thinking that he went to the Jin Wuwei duty room, and asked Yang Zaien, who greeted her, and was told that the horse had been waiting here, and he didn't go anywhere, but he was just now, and he was summoned back by someone sent by the sage.

"Do you know what's going on?" She asked hurriedly.

Thinking of Aya's attitude towards him today, her heart immediately lifted.

When she was there, Aya was like that, she was not there, and she did not know what kind of ugly things Aya would say or do.

"I don't know about this slave." Yang Jae-eun said.

How did Su Yu put his mind down, immediately turned around, and hurried back.

Pei Xiaoyuan was the only one in the Purple Cloud Palace, and when he entered, he saw that the emperor was still sitting on the original couch, and looked at him with a slight frown.

He stepped forward and was about to bow again, when the emperor flicked his hand at him slightly, and said impatiently: "Okay, don't kneel around again, there are no outsiders here!" Have a seat! ”

Pei Xiaoyuan saw Zhao Zhongfang dragging his stump leg, and personally brought a silver flat pestle for himself, which was to be placed only a few feet away from the imperial case in front of the emperor.