Changxi for four years.

In such a New Year, without the bright fireworks in the sky, without the wanton elegance of singing and dancing, the wine can no longer taste the mellow flavor of the past. Xihao City is deserted and lonely, the main street of Yuhe is closed, there are few pedestrians, and even the occasional sparse passing cars and horses are silent, as if they are afraid of disturbing this deliberate tranquility.

And every day at sunrise, there will be a team of guards in armor and strong armor surrounded by a luxury carriage from Chonghua Gate, along the silent Yuhe Avenue to Bolan Street, and finally stop in front of a gate with high eaves and bronze walls. And at sunset, the carriage will leave the gate of this mansion on time.

Except for the night banquet of the Chinese New Year's Eve and the sacrifice of the Taimiao on the first day of the new year, Emperor Yi almost stayed in front of the hospital bed of Bai Qi at the rest of the time. Bai Guang is also very well-behaved and sensible, most of the time lying on the lap of Emperor Yi, his dark eyes watched the imperial doctor Liu Wen busily shuttling in front of the hospital bed, raising his pointed chin from time to time to look at the emperor with a solemn face, and followed his line of sight to look at his father who had been fainting on the hospital bed, a child who was less than four years old, and did not quite understand the meaning of death and the pain of losing a loved one.

The only thing he ever asked about his father was, "Uncle Huang, will my father die?"

Although Liu Wenyu reported that the prince only suffered damage to his heart and lungs after being hit hard, and fainted due to blood stasis accumulating in his chest and abdomen, he could wake up as long as he applied an acupuncture to remove the blood stasis. But before he woke up, Emperor Yi's heart was always pinched together.

Emperor Yi favored Bai Guang even more than his own princes, and he gently patted Bai Guang's little head and said, "Your father, you didn't die so easily. ”

There are no other children of similar age in the palace, the emperor is afraid of the white light, and he also wants to distract him, so he called the seventh prince Wu Yi to the palace to play with him. The two were born on the same day, they are about the same size, and they are tireless in their age. The snow has not melted in the big year, and the palace garden is still a world of ice carvings and jade, and a gust of wind blows on the dwarf cypress on the side of the gravel road, and a large snowflake will fall down.

The palace garden is on the north side of the bedroom in the main courtyard, and there is a side door a hundred steps from the bedroom turning corridor, and there is a huge grass garden outside the door. Nie Bei patrolled around the main courtyard, and faintly heard some of his subordinates shouting something, so he followed the sound and walked over, and saw two children tangled in the snow in the grass garden in the distance, and two guards cheering on the side. When I got closer, I saw that it was the Seventh Prince Wu Yi and the White Light Little Prince who were wrestling in the snow.

The two rolled and rolled, one after another, Wu Yi shouted loudly to strengthen his momentum, Bai Guang was very focused in a muffled voice, every time Wu Yi pressed him under him, Bai Guang could always find a way to reverse the situation, and finally the exhausted Wu Yi could only beg for mercy under him.

Nie Bei leaned on the trunk of an evergreen cypress tree and watched from afar, seeing that Bai Guang pulled up Wu Yi, who was admitting defeat and begging for mercy, with both hands, the two slapped the snowflakes on each other's bodies, and walked towards the side door hand in hand with two guards......

Nie Bei looked at it, and suddenly felt that Bai Guang had more things on his body than Bai Qi.

And what it is, Nie Bei can't say clearly.

The royal children are not like ordinary people, and they have to learn all kinds of rules, court etiquette and the six arts of civil and military affairs since they can remember. Emperor Yi was stricter with the princes than his ancestors, Wu Yi had to learn to read and write at the age of two, and he had never been so happy in Huayu Palace as he was in the palace. The emperor wants Bai Guang to be happy, and the restraint on Wu Yi is naturally not as strict as on weekdays, and he doesn't have to ask how to play with the two children.

The sixth day of the first month.

The two dragged the corner of Emperor Yi's dragon robe and walked out, Emperor Yi looked at the white light on the right, and asked strangely: "Little guy, where are you dragging me to?" Emperor Yi laughed, "Okay, if you don't say it, let Yi'er say it." After speaking, he looked down at Wu Yi

"The two of us want to worship our brothers, and we want to ask our father to be a witness. Wu Yi said loudly.

"Oh, worship brother!" Emperor Yi thought it was funny, "Where to worship?"

"Ahead, it's good for my father to follow Yi'er. Wu Yi was a little excited, and his little face turned red.

Nie Bei followed Emperor Yi a few steps, and dozens of guards on both sides fanned out to protect the big and small.

As the two walked for a while, Emperor Yi was brought to a tall pine and cypress, and the snow was used as a platform on the side of the pine and cypress, and the square snow platform was beaten extremely tightly, as if it had been prepared.

"Here?" Emperor Yi asked with a smile.

"Father, do you think it's good here?" asked Wu Yi with his neck tilted.

"Do you think Guang'er is good?" Emperor Yi deliberately asked Bai Guang.

"The pine and cypress mean evergreen, and Guang'er thinks it's very good. Bai Guang raised his slightly pointed chin, and his pupils looked at the emperor with black and bright eyes, and the child's voice was so brittle that it made people's hearts tremble.

"Royal man, his identity is different after all, since he wants to worship, he can't be too casual. The emperor beckoned to Nie Bei behind him, gave him a few words, and Nie Bei bowed down to receive the order and arranged to go. In less than half an hour, the housekeeper Lao Ji walked over, holding a huge jade plate in one hand, on which was placed a delicate white jade entwined lotus pattern wine pot, two small and pure gold dragon pattern wine cups, a few fine incense, and a live rooster in the other hand.

Nie Bei took out the wine cup from the plate, gave one to Wu Yi and Bai Guang each, and then took the wine pot to pour sake in the wine cup, then grabbed the rooster from Lao Ji's hand, stretched out his left hand and rubbed it on the chicken neck, the fine hair on the chicken neck fell, and then pulled out the sword on his waist and crossed the sword, and the chicken blood dripped into the cup accurately, no more, no less, just one drop per lamp.

Nie Bei pinched the wound on the chicken's neck, and swayed wantonly on the snow in front of the two, he urged the internal force to control the speed of blood flow, or points or lines, as if painting on Su Xuan, and in the red dots, he actually left a statue of Guan Gong on the white and flawless snow.

The blood is like a dry one, no more, no less, just enough.

The housekeeper Lao Ji lowered his eyes, but there was a light flashing in the depths of his eyes.

Wu Yi looked at it, and he didn't remember to close his mouth wide, but his white eyes didn't leave Nie Bei's hand for a second, until Wu Yi pulled his sleeve, and then reluctantly withdrew his gaze.

Nie Bei used the silver knife to eliminate poison and cut a small hole in the middle fingers of the two, squeezed a drop of blood in the wine, and shook it gently until the vegan sake like water turned into a uniform light red, and then the two exchanged wine glasses in their hands, and struggled to drink the blood wine in the small cup with their delicate necks up.

The custom in Dayi is that no matter whether it is a folk worship, a river and a lake, or a nobleman's Jinlan Yijie, the wine that melts their own blood must be exchanged with each other, in order to show that they have heart and blood blending, and from then on, life and death will trust each other, and they will never lose each other.

The fine incense in his hand is still burning, and the immature children's voice is still echoing in his ears, "Father (imperial uncle) is above, green pine is the witness, and the two of us ...... From now on, there are good things to share together, and those that cannot be shared should be generously given to each other, and when they grow up, they must live and die together and share weal and woe as they do now...... I heard from adults that people who are seriously ill will be fine as long as they have a happy event, and our wedding is a great happy event......"

This bloody oath is three points serious, seven points childish, and a little witty, revealing a bit of childlike fun, but in the ears of the emperor, it is a different situation. He always thought that the two were joking, how could such a young child understand the meaning and weight of the word bow, but he still let them mess around, because he wanted to be happy in white light, not to mention that he was willing and hoped to see the princes get closer to his brother's son.

But what he never expected was that their original intention of worshipping their brother was to make their brother Wang get better as soon as possible.

Although it is normal for a son to care about his father, it still touches him very, very much.

The last thing he said was, "I will give you a golden orchid and jade score, and I will copy your oath on it word for word." I hope that you two will remember every word and word that you have said today, and prove it with your whole life. I also believe that every word you say is true, including your wishes. ”

The fourteenth day of the first month.

Noon.

King Dingbei, who had been unconscious for nearly twenty days, finally opened his eyes slowly, and he struggled to reach out to pat his daughter Bai Susu, who was sobbing low in his arms, but he felt that he couldn't even lift a piece of his nails.

The son's white and slender eyeliner bent upward, with an arc of excitement, and his lacquer-like eyes looked at his father who was searching for something with his gaze.

He actually understood his father's eyes in an instant, stretched out his little hand, pointed to the emperor who was closing his eyes and pretending to sleep, and said, "Uncle Emperor is there, Guang'er will invite him over." ”

Emperor Yi had already heard the movement at this time and rushed over, Bai Qi looked at the slightly tired but unscathed emperor, and wanted to open his mouth to speak, but two lines of tears oozed from the corners of his eyes.

On the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, the first day of the New Year's photocopying, the emperor announced three things: First, Ji Min, the secretary of the criminal department, was mediocre and inactive, and did not think of making progress, so he was removed from the post of Shangshu of the Xing Ministry and demoted to the general sentence of Lizhou. The second is that the period of meditation in the closed house of the imperial historian has passed, and he immediately entered the palace to resume his life after seeing the decree. The third is that Yuan Yue, the governor of Qingzhou, was not strict in governing the state, and was punished for one year and was not promoted within three years.

It should be said that the three edicts are all related to Bai Qi. Or to be precise, they all begged the emperor for nothing. From the first moment Bai Qi was able to speak, he begged the emperor not to lose fairness because of the private relationship between the two, and to completely remove the emotions of the two from the matter, and then make a judgment.

Bai Qi persuaded that although Tong Xian was reckless and disobedient to the saint, he only learned from history, and there have always been countless cases of powerful ministers seeking rebellion, and he risked his life to admonish and admonish the emperor wholeheartedly, and he was completely concerned with the rivers and people of Dayi, and he could not punish him with this loyalty alone. Yuan Yue also asked himself to protect the safety of Qingzhou along the way, because the minister himself told him not to take care of it, and since he did not obey the order, how could he bear the fault? Therefore, at most, it was a punishment for not governing the state strictly, and the punishment was given a verbal warning by Fenglu. As for Ji Min, fortunately, the emperor is fine, and he is fine, but the fact that he put the emperor in danger is already an unforgivable crime, but considering his past achievements, it should be more appropriate to demote him from Beijing.

Originally, according to Emperor Yi's intentions, he would never spare these three people, but he couldn't resist Bai Qi's bitter pleading, worried that not agreeing would increase his worries, which would be detrimental to his condition, so after weighing and considering, he had to reluctantly agree.

The three of them were very surprised by this result, but for the reason behind this result, the three of them almost unanimously guessed Bai Qi.

After learning the news that the king of Dingbei was seriously injured and woke up, the clan relatives and nobles, courtiers and nobles all handed over the stickers to visit the palace, and the housekeeper Lao Ji according to the meaning of Bai Qi, under the pretext that it was not suitable to disturb the illness, almost all blocked back, and met with a few people. Even Tong Xian, Ji Min and Yuan Yue, who wanted to express their gratitude by visiting the sick, met one in Bai Qi.

Tong Xian's greeting sticker was handed over at night, and he deliberately chose a time when the emperor could not be there. For Bai Qi to meet him, Tong Xian didn't feel the slightest surprise. He even brought a gift, which was a two-foot-long scroll, and Bai Qi only glanced at it, and then asked Lao Ji to put it away.

After the maid sat up for Bai Qi, she quietly retreated, and eight-year-old Bai Susu and her younger brother Bai Guang leaned on the thick cushions on both sides to beat their father's little hands on the back.

Bai Qi sat with his arms in his arms, looked sideways at Tong Xian, who was standing quietly, and said with a smile: "Master Tong came to see me, are you going to stand and leave like this?"

Hearing this, Tong Xian didn't respond for a while, and after glancing at Bai Susu again, a sentence suddenly popped up, "Xia Guan looked at the county lord carefully, his eyebrows and eyes looked like a princess, I am afraid that the title of the first beauty in Kyoto in the future will be none other than the county lord." ”

I didn't expect him to suddenly mention his deceased wife, Bai Qi didn't feel a cramp in his heart, lowered his eyes, hid all the sadness and sorrow in his eyes, and after a while, he raised his hand and motioned for Tong Xian to sit down, and said casually, "If you want to talk about beauty, I'm afraid there are few people in the whole of Kyoto who can compare to you Tong Dajin Wu Zangjiao." ”

"Tong has no gold house, and what he hides is not Jiao. ”

"Master Tong has always been honest and simple, forgive Bai for his gaffes. However, Master Tong is happy to have a daughter, and Bai has not come to your mansion to congratulate him, which is rude. ”

"The prince is serious, and the officials dare not be ashamed. ”

After saying this, Tong Xian was silent again. Bai Qi glanced at him, thinking in his heart, this child, is it so difficult to say a word of gratitude?

Tong Xian originally came to thank him, but when he came to Bai Qi, he found that it was really difficult for him to say thank you from the bottom of his heart. So he deliberately talked about Bai Susu just now, and wanted to talk about the topic by the way, but after only two answers, he said it to death.

He can talk eloquently about his thesis and court affairs, but he has an innate instinctive aversion to false courtesy. Although Bai Qi interceded for him in front of Emperor Yi, he still felt that he was not wrong, so deep down, he resisted.

But the truth is, Bai Qi did help him. I finally persuaded myself to come over, but I couldn't just say a few inexplicable words and leave.

Hearing Bai Qi's eviction signal, he had to bite the bullet and say, "Anyway, thank you to the prince this time." ”

This kind of hard thanks is very in line with Tong Xian's character, Bai Qihun didn't care, and said with a faint smile, "It's nothing, you just said what many people wanted to say but didn't dare to say, that's all." ”

"Maybe the lower official was wrong. ”

"Whether it's wrong or right, time will tell. ”

"When that day really comes, if the lower official is still there, and the prince is still the prince, the lower official is willing to admit that he is really wrong. ”

Only Tong Xian would say this, and in the same way, only Tong Xian would dare to say this, this colleague who does not know how to be flexible, disdainful of greeting, and would rather bend than bend, Bai Qi wants to protect him from the bottom of his heart, and wants him to not make a big heel as much as possible. This is not to say how deep the personal relationship is with each other, on the contrary, in addition to court deliberations and related official exchanges, it is the first time that the two have even sat down to chat like this, although this is not even a real chat.

knew that he was a strong donkey, but Bai Qi still held the idea of a dead donkey being a live donkey doctor, and tactfully reminded him, asking him to pay attention to the ways and means when admonishing, and not to be too impatient and rash and lose his square inch, etc. And Tong Xian's reaction told Bai Qi that not only did he not listen at all, but also seemed a little disdainful.

Because he finally said a few words that made Bai break out in a cold sweat.

"Lord Wang, I don't know if you noticed something. ”

"What's the matter?"

"Today's saint was also the seventh prince back then, and you have also played with him since you were a child......

Speaking of which, Bai Qi already understood what he wanted to express.

"Shut up!" Bai Qi interrupted him coldly, his eyes staring at Tong Xian like a cold blade, "If you don't want to die so quickly, in this case, don't even mention a word in the future!"

Such words are too sensitive and associative, and others are afraid to avoid them, so Tong Xian blurted out so without any scruples.

The tragic scenes of the royal family fratricidal still echo in front of many people's eyes, and the intense blood brought by the slaughter still hovers low in all corners of the palace. This memory is so cruel and profound that as time passes, you may feel like you have forgotten it completely, but in fact it is only temporarily hidden, somewhere deep in your heart. With a slight touch, a word or a simple action, it can flood up and refill every space of your memory.

Although there are too many coincidences between the past and today, the crown prince, the political atmosphere and the border situation back then are completely different from now, at least it seems to be the case now.

Bai Qi warned Tong Xian with a fierceness and caution that he had never seen before.

This time it seems to have made a difference.

After bowing his head and being silent for a long time, Tong Xian stood up, bowed and saluted, and said earnestly and sincerely, "Thank you for your kindness, and I will never mention it again in the future." ”

When Tong Xian finally got up to say goodbye, he asked Bai Qi to have time not to forget to look at the scroll he sent.

Under the careful conditioning of the miracle doctor Liu Wen, Bai Qi's condition gradually improved. After another half a month, I was able to walk slowly on the ground, but I still had a little hemoptysis, for this, Liu Wen was also a little puzzled, judging by the pulse image, Bai Qi's damaged lungs have almost recovered, and it stands to reason that there should be no such phenomenon.

Seeing Liu Wen's sad appearance, Bai Qi didn't seem to care, but comforted him and said that if such a serious injury healed too quickly, it would seem unspeakable, and asked him not to care too much about it, just do his best.

The fifteenth day of the first month.

It is the day of the opening of the dynasty, there are many folds that need to be reviewed when the court is dropped, and there are many things that need to be judged, and the emperor is busy reviewing the chapters and dealing with the government all day long, and the number of times he goes to the palace is naturally less. However, the divine doctor Liu Wen would tell him about the progress of Bai Qi's condition every day, and Emperor Yi would also let the prince and the princes visit Bai Qi for him.

Although Concubine Yue wished that Bai Qi would die quickly, the visit she should have never left. As long as Bai Qi is not dead, she will not dare to offend to death, on the contrary, she will have to show extreme concern and anxiety about his condition. Every time ten-year-old Wu Ye went to the palace, she would specially advise him not to lose his manners, reminding him that the prince was no better than other ministers, and that he must not use the prince's frame to treat him, and let her son be closer to Bai Guang.

In Concubine Yue's eyes, Bai Qi is like a towering giant tree lying horizontally, standing in front of her, trying to pull it out but can't pull it out, trying to go around but can't get around, wanting to hug but can't hold it. But even so, she is still preparing with both hands, if she can make Wu Ye and the prince of the palace do a good job, she can also receive the same effect.

Ideas are ideas, and reality is reality. Every time he came back, Wu Ye said that Bai Guang didn't like to play with him, and he couldn't get acquainted with him. Later, Concubine Yue stopped asking.

The prince is different, every time he comes to the palace, it seems to have a kind of meaning to visit on behalf of the Son of Heaven, the fourteen-year-old prince Wu Alcohol is already a long and jade young man, and his speech and demeanor have faintly carried a kind of prince style who dominates the world.

Every time the prince came, he would salute Bai Qi as a junior, and then he would take Bai Qi's hand, although he had already learned very much from Liu Wen, he would still ask about his condition with concern, and sometimes he would come up with one or two questions that were not difficult to ask Bai Qi, with an unusually friendly and humble attitude.

Not only is it true to Bai Qi, but even the rough servants in the palace, he also seems to be just as polite. The entire palace has a very good impression of the prince, every time he comes, everyone seems very happy, and one of them is probably Bai Susu. Her happiness is revealed in every visible part of her body, at the age of eight, she doesn't know how to hide her joys, sorrows, and sorrows, but it is precisely because she doesn't understand that people can experience it more realistically.

Seeing Bai Susu who was timidly following behind him, wanting to talk but not daring to talk, the prince would take the initiative to go over and pull her hand, rub her head, and take her and Bai Guang to play in circles in the palace garden north of the main courtyard when he was free, and often made the two little ones laugh.

As soon as the first month passes, it will be the day of the beginning of spring in a few days. Bai Qi's condition has improved by seven or eight points, but he will still have hemoptysis if he exercises too much, and Liu Wen has no choice, so according to the emperor's edict, he devoted himself to reading the medical books in the Tai Hospital to find an effective prescription for treating Bai Qi's hemoptysis.

The fifth day of the second month is a good day for Si Tianjian Xing Survey, and the ceremony of Bai Guang's canonization of the prince was held on the same day, after the emperor awarded the gold watch and gave the seal of the prince, it means that Bai Guang is already the title of the prince, and he can enter the court or lead the army to fight after the crown ceremony is held as an adult.

It was also on this day that Emperor Yi gave him and Wu Yi Jinlan a jade score, and the royal pen personally transcribed the oath of the two on the day and stamped it with the dragon seal. When transcribing, because Bai Qi was already well, he did not write down the part that hoped that Bai Qi's condition would improve, and each person had a copy of the jade spectrum and kept it separately.

On the first day of the first month of March, Bai Qi asked for an order to inspect the military affairs in the north and accompanied him with Bai Guang. Emperor Yi asked Bai Susu which palace he was willing to go to to accompany which lady, and Bai Susu blurted out "Zhengyang Palace" without hesitation

On the way to the north, Bai Qi made a detour to Zhongnan Mountain and handed over the white light to the Tianji Daoist of the Nanfeng Tianji Palace.

Changxi eight years.

Tong Xian appointed the auxiliary minister of the East Palace and awarded the title of prince and teacher.

Changxi ten years.

Mao Shouren was promoted to the commander of the city defense, and the former commander of the city defense returned to his hometown due to illness.

Sixteen years of Changxi.

Xing Danyou, the secretary of the military department, concurrently served as the commander of the Eastern Frontier Army and was the prince of the town.