Li Xiuyun snuggled in Xu Zhi's arms and told him what happened. At this time, Zhou Chen turned over from the window and entered, saw Xu Zhi hugging Li Xiuyun, and exclaimed: "Xu Zhi, you are so bold, you dare to desecrate the princess's reputation again! Xu Zhi turned sideways slightly, waved his palm, and received a punch from him.

Li Xiuyun hurriedly stopped: "General Zhou must not be reckless, Brother Xu has no evil intentions!", and stood up from Xu Zhi's arms after speaking.

Zhou Chen argued: "Princess, you are just too infatuated to be deceived by Xu Zhi." Do you see, this palace is full of straw robbers he brought, and you are still talking for him. Now princess, how can you escape from this Chang'an City?"

Li Xiuyun didn't pay attention to Zhou Chen's words, but asked Xu Zhi softly: "Brother Xu, did you come to kill us on the orders of Huang Chao's father and daughter?"

Xu Zhi shook his head and said: "Don't misunderstand, princess, Xu Zhi and Yuan Zhi have no such intentions! If the princess can be trusted, she is willing to escort the princess out of the city in person!"

Zhou Chen shouted: "Princess, don't believe Xu Zhi's rhetoric!"

Li Xiuyun muttered: "Even if I die, I am willing to die in the hands of Brother Xu! By the way, what did Princess Ben do to prepare for you?"

Zhou Chen saw that Xu Zhi was present, and he stopped talking a little. Li Xiuyun said: "Brother Xu is not a bad person, General Zhou, you don't have to say it!"

Zhou Chen had no choice but to bow down and say: "The subordinates have transferred the important books and materials in the palace out of the palace in accordance with the princess's decree and hid them in a hidden place, just waiting for the day of recovery, and then move them back to their original places." ”

Li Xiuyun praised: "Very good!"

Zhou Chen replied again: "That matter, that thing is not very easy to handle! As soon as the subordinates arrived at the river, they met He Mengjiao, and we were entangled for a while. Seeing that she was invincible, she jumped on a big tree and disappeared without a trace. The subordinates are afraid that she is secretly following us, so they don't dare to act rashly!"

Li Xiuyun glanced at Xu Zhi and sighed, "Since that thing can't be done, don't do it, and this princess doesn't want to do these dirty things anymore, not only harming others, but also harming herself!"

Xu Zhi stood aside and listened to the conversation between Li Xiuyun and Zhou Chen, but the more he listened, the more confused he became, not knowing what the thing they were referring to was something that could not be seen in the light.

Li Xiuyun said again: "General Zhou doesn't have to follow Princess Ben and wait for death, it's better to take advantage of the fact that the main force of Caokou has not arrived, go out of Chang'an City overnight, and follow his father!"

Zhou Chen hurriedly knelt down and said, "My subordinates have been with the princess since she was born. Now that Chang'an is in chaos, how can there be no guards around the princess?

Li Xiuyun sighed: "General Zhou, why is this difficult? In this case, this princess will no longer force you. The father left the palace too hastily, and he did not notify the hundred officials to accompany him. Now those too often in Guanglu Temple have fled without a trace as soon as they hear that Caokou has entered the city, but the tablet of the ancestor is still in Taimiao, which must not fall into the hands of thieves. Please also ask the general to take the gods in the temple out of Chang'an, temporarily placed in the Bao'en Temple on the outskirts of the city, and after the rivers and mountains are recast in the future, then use the heavy salute to invite the god card of Gaozu Taizong back to the temple!"

Zhou Chen agreed: "Princess, please rest assured, my subordinates will do it!", after speaking, he turned out of the window and disappeared into the thick night.

After Li Xiuyun saw Zhou Chen leave, Xu Zhi was a little embarrassed standing beside him, and turned to him and said: "Brother Xu, there is a secret passage in this palace, which can lead to the royal garden by the Jiuqu Pond outside the palace, which used to be the place where Xiuyun played when he was young, and we once built a grass hut there, which contains fragrant tea and spirits, is the eldest brother willing to accompany Xiuyun and his party!"

Xu Zhi didn't know how to deal with it, but when he saw Li Xiuyun's extremely expectant eyes, he had no choice but to say: "Then it's better to be respectful than to obey your fate!"

Li Xiuyun was full of joy when she heard this, and smiled at Xu Zhiwaner: "Thank you, Brother Xu, for accompanying my little sister for a night trip!", and after speaking, let Hongye light the red candle, open the secret passage, and lead the way in front.

Xu Zhi and Li Xiuyun followed the red leaves and walked about a pillar of incense before they drilled out of the hole at the other end of the secret passage. By the faint moonlight, Xu Zhi saw that the palace walls around him had been destroyed, and a few plum blossoms in full bloom were swaying in the breeze between the ruins of the broken walls. The three of them stopped in front of a grass hut that was about to collapse along the path overgrown with dead grass, and Xu Zhi saw that there was a winding and rugged stream not far from the thatched hut, and a few green pines and cypresses and fine bamboos were planted behind the house.

Li Xiuyun asked Momiji to open the hut, light the red candle in the room, and light the brazier. Xu Zhi saw that the four walls of the grass hut were covered with cobwebs, and several tables and chairs were covered with dust, knowing that no one had come to live here for a long time. Li Xiuyun asked Xu Zhi to sit down in front of a table in the east, and he sat on the main seat to accompany him.

Hongye asked, "Do princesses and Xu Gongzi drink tea, or do they drink wine?"

Li Xiuyun was wearing a thin dress, although she was facing the brazier, she was still shivering, and she said to Hongye: "This thatched hut is cold at night, or drink wine to keep warm!"

Momiji hesitated: "Princess, you never drink, wouldn't it be embarrassing if you get drunk in front of your son?"

Li Xiuyun said: "Drink less, you should be fine! Besides, Brother Xu, how can you drink tonight without one to accompany you?"

Momiji heard this, so he had to prepare the wine utensils and put the hot palace wine up.

Li Xiuyun raised his wine glass and said, "Brother Xu, please!", after speaking, he covered his face with his sleeve and drank the water and wine in the cup. Xu Zhi saw that Li Xiuyun was not used to drinking spirits, coughed constantly, and persuaded: "Princess, the night is long, please drink slowly!"

Li Xiuyun nodded slightly at Xu Zhi and said, "Please also ask the eldest brother to drink the wine in the cup first, and Xiuyun will talk to you again!"

Xu Zhi had no choice but to pick up the wine glass and drink all the wine in the glass.

After Li Xiuyun drank a few glasses of wine, her face was flushed with a faint red, which looked even more charming and moving in the candlelight, she curled her somewhat scattered bun, and sighed: "This grass house was originally a retreat for the little sister after the world was calmed down. Being able to drink with my eldest brother here today is really the biggest pleasure in Xiuyun's life!"

Xu Zhi replied: "Xu Zhi is a grass people, it is a big encroachment to be able to sit opposite Her Royal Highness the Princess, not to mention that it is the greatest honor in Xu Zhi's life to be able to drink in the same room with the princess today!"

Li Xiuyun drank a glass of wine alone and sighed: "Brother Xu, now that Chang'an has fallen and the country has overturned, where is there any difference between a princess and a grass people." This honorable status is all fleeting, and it can't match a love word!"

Hongye saw that Li Xiuyun had drunk a lot of wine, and was afraid that she would lose her words after drinking, so she persuaded: "Princess, you have already drunk a lot of wine, don't be greedy!"

Li Xiuyun said angrily: "Hongye, is it not okay for this princess to be upset in her heart and talk to Brother Xu about her heart?", Hongye saw that Li Xiuyun was a little angry in his words, and retreated to the side with the wine jug, and didn't dare to speak anymore.

Xu Zhi saw that Li Xiuyun was a little drunk, and also persuaded: "The princess doesn't know how to drink, so let's drink again tomorrow, don't hurt your body!"

Li Xiuyun waved her hand and said with a smile: "Brother Xu, if there is an afterlife, the little sister really hopes to be born in a civilian home, to know the eldest brother earlier, to be happy with the eldest brother, and to spend a dull life together in this grass house!"

Xu Zhi saw Li Xiuyun's true feelings, and didn't know how to answer, so he had to drink another cup alone. I saw Li Xiuyun put down the wine glass, and said: "Brother Xu, don't blame the little sister for being abrupt! What the little sister said is if, in fact, in this life and this life, the two of us have different positions, and it is destined to be a mistake if we meet from the beginning, even if there is no Miss Zhou, we can't have a little emotion between us, this is our fate! Alas! No matter how beautiful, noble, and versatile you are, you are so small in the face of fate, so worthless!"

Xu Zhi saw the sadness that Li Xiuyun said, and stopped his cup and persuaded: "The princess has a noble status and is in the mood for love, and Xu Zhi is just a grass citizen, how can she climb high, so the princess doesn't have to worry about this feeling, but should be positive and spend the most difficult moment in her life!"

Li Xiuyun stroked her hair, didn't pay attention to Xu Zhi's words, but continued to talk to herself: "Big brother may not know: When Xiuyun was young, he especially admired the heroic deeds of the heroes of the previous dynasties, so my father also raised me as a man. The younger sister also wants to help her father revive the dynasty, weaken the feudal town, and clarify the thieves. But people are not as good as heaven, no matter how hard you try, you can't resist the arrogance of the rogue, a good splendid country, it will be wiped out, wouldn't it make people feel sad!"

Xu Zhi saw that Li Xiuyun didn't think about the reason for the failure of the imperial court, and blindly blamed the success or failure of the victory and defeat on the fate of providence, and defended: "Princess, Xu Zhi said a long time ago that the imperial court regards the world as cattle and horses, and the people will inevitably regard the imperial court as an enemy. The imperial court has been weak for a long time, and it does not think about reviving the dynasty and winning the trust of the world, but it only thinks about restrictive and tyrannical extortion and the selection of beautiful women, and the officials will inevitably force the people to rebel, and the people have to rebel, how can the thieves in this world be eliminated? Princess, how can she use the likes and dislikes of one person to cut off the hope of thousands of people to survive!"

Li Xiuyun was drunk by Xu Zhi, and finally sobered up a little, and replied: "Brother Xu, these things have passed, what are we still arguing about! Tonight is a rare beautiful scenery and delicacies, and it is the winter solstice, so please take the eldest brother and the little sister to the river for a visit!"

Xu Zhi saw that Li Xiuyun's mood was calmer, and he hurriedly nodded yes.

Xu Zhi and Li Xiuyun took the wine buds, and the red leaves came to the creek with the palace lamp. Xu Zhi took advantage of the faint moonlight to see the trickling stream slowly flowing out of the palace through a broken broken wall, along the bare plum forest, flowing into the distance.

Li Xiuyun said to Xu Zhi: "Big brother knows: when Xiuyun was in the palace, he was very playful, and he especially liked to imitate the elegant things done by the ancient literati, one of which was to invite the brothers and sisters in the palace to sit on the ground along both sides of this stream, and let the eunuchs and palace maids place a bottle full of wine on the curved stream, let them go downstream, and when they flow in front of which brother or sister to spin or stop, they will improvise poems and drink!"

After listening to this, Xu Zhi also felt that it was a very elegant event, and praised: "It is elegant and refined!

Li Xiuyun replied: "The eldest brother doesn't know what the younger sister pioneered! As early as the Eastern Jin Dynasty, Wang Xizhi and other literati held it and called it Qushui Liuzhen!"

Xu Zhi praised again: "What a meander! It is a graceful rhyme!"

Li Xiuyun bent down and gently placed the wine in his hand in the stream. Surrounded by fallen leaves, the wine sprouts swirled along the whirlpool of the stream, and then slowly flowed into the distance.

Li Xiuyun finished putting away her wine utensils, and smiled at Xu Zhi again: "Brother Xu, you can put it away too!"

Xu Zhi also let go of the wine in his hand according to Li Xiuyun's practice. Li Xiuyun suddenly asked Hongye to take a few red candles, light them, place them in several empty wine jars, and let them go down the stream in turn.

Li Xiuyun looked at the candlelight gradually moving away with the stream, and suddenly burst into tears and said, "Big brother, this may be the last time my little sister lets go of her wish!"

Xu Zhi was puzzled: "Princess, why is this?"

Li Xiuyun said with tears in her eyes: "Actually, Xiuyun let go of the wine buds back then, hoping to be like this flowing wine utensils, he can come out of the deep palace, pass through the beautiful plum forest, and flow to a place where his father can never find it, and live the life he wants!"

Xu Zhi glanced at Li Xiuyun's teardrop-filled eyes in the moonlight, and didn't know how to comfort her.

Li Xiuyun sobbed again: "But as Xiuyun grew up, the brothers and sisters who used to play together left one after another, leaving Xiuyun alone. Now that his father has also left Chang'an, Xiuyun has no relatives around him!"

Xu Zhi saw that Li Xiuyun said so miserably, and his heart was also very unbearable, and he persuaded: "Princess, why don't you go with me to see the Yellow King, I beg the Yellow King, maybe I can let you leave this Chang'an City with us?"

Li Xiuyun smiled bitterly and said: "Thank you Brother Xu for your kindness, how can my eldest brother give up a bright future and a happy marriage for me? Isn't Xiuyun too selfish, loving someone is not only to think about him everywhere, but also to think about him everywhere! Xiuyun also wants to be with his eldest brother, but Xiuyun will never miss his eldest brother's life for his own sake!"

Xu Zhi saw that he couldn't persuade Li Xiuyun to let go of his worries for a while, and he was depressed in his heart, and asked again and again: "Princess, since you don't want to listen to your brother Xu, how should this matter be over?"

Li Xiuyun couldn't help but smile and said to Xu Zhi: "Tonight, with the full moon tonight, accompanied by Brother Xu's confidant, the little sister is already content, and she doesn't dare to ask for anything more." The eldest brother should not persuade the little sister, in fact, when the little sister and Brother Xu let go of the wine together just now, the little sister made a good wish!"

Momiji asked curiously, "Princess, what kind of wish is it?"

Li Xiuyun looked at the stream in the distance and muttered: "These two wine glasses were used by the younger sister and the eldest brother, maybe they will be together forever, until they yearn for a place where there is no strife, live a happy life, and never have to return to this sad earthly world!"

When Hongye heard this, he was also very sad, and cried bitterly: "Princess, princess, why do you want to suffer yourself like this? Why don't we leave this Chang'an City with Xu Gongzi and Miss Zhou?"

Li Xiuyun shook his head again and said: "Where can you hide when you leave Chang'an? This world is too dark, and this is also the sin that our court has done itself, so I am afraid that I will have to suffer a lot with Brother Xu and find that paradise in the dark, so I deliberately lit a lot of red candles to go with us, and I don't have to be afraid of the darkness along the way!"

Xu Zhi saw that Li Xiuyun was immersed in the dream she had woven and couldn't extricate herself, and she didn't know how to persuade her for a while, so she had to stand beside her and listen to her quietly!

Li Xiuyun finished his thoughts to Xu Zhi, and Fang woke up from his dream. Xu Zhi persuaded: "The loss of this splendid country is the result of years of tyranny by the imperial court, and the princess must not blame it on herself, thus mistaking her youth and happiness!

Li Xiuyun shook his head again and said, "Brother Xu doesn't need to persuade him, my little sister has already died of red dust, and I want to find a secluded place to spend the rest of my life!"

Hongye hurriedly said: "Princess, don't be disappointed for a while, just have the idea of escaping, and ask the princess to take back her life and think twice!"

Li Xiuyu waved her hand at Hongye and said, "Hongye, you have followed me for many years, but unfortunately I haven't found you a good home." I still have a few gold and silver artifacts here, so I'll leave them for you as a souvenir!", after speaking, he took off the gold hairpin from his body, earrings, jade bracelets and other items and handed them to Momiji.

When Hongye saw it, he quickly knelt down and cried: "Hongye is unwilling to leave the princess, even if the princess abandons the world, the slave is willing to follow the princess all the time and serve the princess for the rest of her life!"

Li Xiuyun saw that Hongye said with deep affection, and sighed: "Silly girl, why is this so painful?"

Seeing that Li Xiuyun had turned around, Hongye changed his crying to laughing: "Regardless of life and death, Hongye just doesn't want to leave the princess!"

Li Xiuyun sighed and said, "Silly girl, it's okay!", and after speaking, he picked up the red leaves with both hands.