Pick all the cold branches

In the blink of an eye, Shangyuan, the outer dynasty hosted a banquet in Fengtian Hall, and the monarch and ministers had fun together.

According to the rules of the previous dynasty, all the wives of the inner court also had to hold a garden lantern festival, and the palace people had a busy year, so they had to take a day off, so it was very festive.

But now there is only one concubine in the inner palace, and the number of people serving the palace is far less than that of the previous dynasty, and they don't like extravagance. Since becoming the throne, this inner garden lantern festival has not been held again.

It coincides with this year's auspicious snow, I don't know which god and Buddha changed His Majesty's mind, and specially ordered the inner court and the royal family members, and foreign wives of the third rank and above to have a feast at the Green Palace under Jingshan Mountain, and to put lanterns on the North Sea. meeting.Immediately, the palace was beaming with joy, and everyone became energetic and made intensive preparations.Only the imperial concubine Cui's face was scorched.

On the night of the Lantern Festival, the Son of Heaven returned from Fengtian Hall, and brought His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, His Royal Highness King Rong, and close confidants to a boat through the ice to enjoy the beautiful scenery of the Lantern Festival.

It was the first time for His Royal Highness to see such a Lantern Festival in the Inner Garden. With a curious and excited face, he stood by the window and looked around. The maid Shi, who was accompanying her, was so nervous that her hands were sweaty, and she stared closely at it with prickly eyes.

Rong Wang Jiayu had been bored in the palace for a long time, and it was rare for him to come here, but he still looked uninterested. Wearing a thick peacock velvet cloak, he stayed in the crowd like a cold flame, unable to get close.

The prince watched Zhongyuan on the boat for a while, but he was not satisfied, longing came out of his eyes, and he repeatedly begged his father to allow him to see the lanterns made by his mother. In fact, he just wanted to find an excuse to go ashore and play.

Jia Fei actually agreed.

"Second brother is in such a good mood today, why don't you go ashore by yourself?" Jia Yu leaned on the soft cushion in the shelter from the wind, watching the back of the little prince happily jumping ashore with a bunch of tail-like attendants.

"I'm not going. I'm going. They don't have anything to play with anymore." Jia Fei raised the corners of his lips slightly, and put his hand on a delicate hand stove to cover it for a while, feeling that the temperature was right, he stuffed the stove into it In the hands of Zhen Xian beside him.

The tails of Jia Yu's eyes flew up, she looked at this small gesture of intimacy, and pulled the corners of her lips, "What's so difficult about this? Master Zhen is the most intelligent and intelligent. The emperor wants to go ashore to have fun with everyone, but he doesn't want to disturb If everyone is interested, I will ask Mr. Zhen to give me an idea."

In the thick night of early spring, there was still cold air on the lake. Zhen Xian couldn't bear the cold wind at first, and was holding the hand stove to keep warm. When he heard this sentence, he was stunned for a long time before he realized that His Royal Highness King Rong was "buying out" again. "He couldn't help smiling bitterly.

"If Your Majesty really wants to go for a walk, all you need to do is change into clothes and put on a mask like everyone else. What can I do?"

Jia Yu curled her lips, "I have a pair of cat-eye butterfly gold masks donated by the Portuguese last year. But if I don't borrow Master Zhen's golden mouth, my second brother won't accept it."

He said and motioned Xiao Hengwu, who was serving beside him, to take out the things.

Xiao Hengwu responded by holding a gilt box with both hands and presented it.Sure enough, there was a pair of Western tribute masks in the box, inlaid with agate stone and opal, very delicate and gorgeous.

Jiafei just glanced casually, then pulled Zhen Xian sideways and said: "The night is cool, if you are tired, forget it."

Zhen Xian was taken aback for another moment, and finally realized that the two brothers had been in collusion for a long time, and they were actually trying to abduct him from the boat.

But since the sage had already spoken, and it was the Shangyuan Festival, he couldn't refuse.

Zhen Xian couldn't laugh or cry, so he got off the boat with Jia Fei.Jiafei was afraid that he would catch the cold, so he added two layers of fur cloaks to his body, but he was not at ease, and was robbed by Jiayu who was beside him, saying, "What mistake did Master Zhen make? If the Holy Majesty wants to heat him to death, he should be crushed to death." He should just give it a good time, he can't torture and kill loyal ministers like this", which made Yu Qing and the few Jin Yiwei walking in front of the imperial court couldn't hold back their laughter.

After landing on the shore, the lake wind blows head-on at night, and immediately makes people drink wine, and their cheeks are hot.

Zhen Xian himself didn't have much interest in this Neiyuan Lantern Festival, he only vaguely remembered that he came here with his father a few times when he was young.One year later, I came with Jiafei, also on the North Sea.At that time, both of them were children, and he was more curious, curious about the lanterns hung up by the palace people, but Jiafei already looked like a little adult, holding his hand and knowing how to pretend to be steady and deep.

Later, he still remembered that Jiafei took him to put a lamp on the ice, and the two of them almost fell into the ice hole together.

At that time, Jiafei was not the emperor who is now aloof, but his Second Highness...

A bit of old nostalgia gradually emerged from the depths of memory. Zhen Xian followed Jia Fei as he walked slowly in the royal garden with long mountains and green waters.

He didn't quite remember what he saw, or who it was. All he could see in his eyes was the person whose fingers were intertwined with his, which became more and more dazzling amidst the brilliance of lights.

It wasn't until Jiafei pointed to a lamp hanging on a branch for him to look at that he woke up a little bit.

The lamp is different from the others, the color is elegant and pure, showing a three-point coldness, a white crane is painted on it, the brushwork is exquisite, he has seen it before, it is exactly the same as the scroll painting that Yuqing brought back to him a few days ago.

Zhen Xian was suddenly surprised, but didn't say anything.

On the contrary, it was Jia Fei who specially asked someone to invite the owner of the lamp to see him.

Seeing Xie Wanzhi, Zhen Xian was even more astonished. He hurriedly saluted and thanked him, and talked about the scroll of paintings donated by the academy.Xie Wanzhi also responded with modesty and courtesy.

If so, the two will inevitably say a few more words.

Xie Wanzhi is a talented woman with elegant words and a sense of humor.Zhen Xian was not very talkative originally, but he was able to have a harmonious conversation with her, not to mention some kind words.

Jia Fei watched silently from the side, thanks to wearing a mask, he didn't know what his expression was.

When the corner of the sky showed white light, the lantern festival was gone, and all the wives, both inside and outside, followed the imperial concubine to pray for blessings in the Yingcui Hall on the west bank.Jiafei had already ordered someone to warm up the Ninghe Hall on the east bank, and asked the prince, Jia Yu and Zhen Xian to rest in the hall with him.

His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was young, and after playing around for most of the night, he had already fallen asleep lying on the back of the serving officer.On the contrary, it was His Royal Highness King Rong who worked his temper up and the Son of Heaven personally coaxed him for a while before gradually quieting down.

Jia Fei guarded Jia Yu for a long time, making sure that he had fallen asleep safely, and then got up to look for Zhen Xian.As soon as he entered the door of the small pavilion, he saw Zhen Xian waiting for him on the soft couch with a hand stove in his hands. He seemed to be in a good mood, with a faint smile on his lips. When he saw Jia Fei coming, he got up to respond.

Because it was a holiday, Jiafei asked the eunuchs and maids serving in front of him to rest as well.Zhen Xian naturally stepped forward to help him take off his cloak, snow-stained boots, and heavy coat, while talking to him about the "new thing" about the academy.

"I just found out today that the person who donated the money and donated the painting turned out to be the princess of the county. Your Majesty's new policies and styles over the years have shown results."

He said it with a smile on his face, and praised Xie Wanzhi several times.

Seeing this, Jia Fei became more and more sour. Even though he knew that this was actually premeditated, he still didn't care, and couldn't help but lower his voice.

"Do you like painting, or a person who likes to paint?"

He suddenly felt that he could understand Jiayu's mood these years, and his complexion was so delicate that he couldn't hide it, it was cloudy.

Zhen Xian was very surprised by this thorny appearance, he didn't know what was going on with him at all, and felt that this question made no sense, so he just smiled and didn't respond.

But is this the default or what...?

Jiafei couldn't wait for an answer, and felt more and more on pins and needles, and was even more annoyed at his uncontrollable narrow-mindedness, so he let out a cold "hum".

"You are so happy today."

Zhen Xian looked at him in surprise, thinking that the sour smell in the small pavilion was about to overflow.

"I just think that the Son of Heaven has virtuous and virtuous people around him. He does not fight for selfish desires, but shares the worries of the monarch with one heart. This is a sign of great governance. I am happy for His Majesty."

He didn't know whether to laugh or cry, so he had no choice but to explain.

"Happy for me?" Jiafei was stunned for a moment, then looked up at him abruptly.

Zhen Xian was originally helping him to wipe off the icicles that did not fall from the cloak, when he heard this sound, his hands paused, and his voice was no longer hoarse when he spoke again.

"Being able to stroll through the garden with His Majesty and see the lights of the flourishing age... is also a joy."

He lowered his head slightly, a ray of red leaked from the back of his neck.

Jia Fei stared at him blankly, for a while, suddenly rushed forward with two steps and hugged him tightly, almost knocking down the clothes hanger in front of him.

"Your Majesty..." Zhen Xian let out a low gasp that was close to a moan, and he didn't know if it was hurt by the bump, or he wanted to push back, or something else.He turned his head to look at Jiafei, his black eyes were stained with morning dew, and his slightly parted lips were bright red.

Jiafei couldn't bear it anymore, and directly picked her up and put him down on the bed, the kisses fell like a storm.

Zhen Xian then embraced him, not resisting as before, but obediently unfolding his body for him, breathing out a moving pant.

During the ups and downs, Xie Wanzhi's words suddenly emerged from the depths of his mind, skimmed across the water, and caused cascading waves.

"Your Majesty has really figured out what His Majesty wants?"

There was a sharp pain in the apex of his heart, and Jiafei involuntarily tightened his arms, almost holding Zhen Xian in his arms until he couldn't breathe, biting tooth marks one after another on that fair body with red eyes, as if to show everyone... …

But it's done, and it's too hard to pretend it never happened.What's more, even if the emperor feels remorse and refuses to do it, His Royal Highness King Rong is not so easy to talk back and talk about it.

If half a year passed, the family members of the Prince's Mansion came to the door to send several posts, euphemistically asking about the horoscope, etc., Zhen Xian suddenly understood what was going on, and that the emperor was speaking in a strange voice that night in Shangyuan. Eating a jar of vinegar all the time, I was so angry that my stomach hurt, and I immediately went to the palace to face the saint.

"The concubine of the county is a well-known talented woman. It is a pity that she is young and determined. If she can find a good match again, it would be a good thing. Your Majesty is not a stale person. I believe he will be able to make a clear decision."

He came here in a rage, and said as soon as he opened his mouth, Jia Fei was so frightened that Zhu Pian's imperial pen was dropped, and hurriedly asked someone to lift the seat to push him in, coaxing him in every possible way, even humiliating.

If so, Zhen Xian was taken aback.

He had never seen His Majesty panic like this in his life, he lost all face and pride, half kneeling on the ground, begging him with his arms around him, repeatedly blaming himself.

Zhen Xian is the one who prefers to be soft and not hard. Seeing this situation, no matter how angry he is, he can't vent his anger, and he gritted his teeth and endured it into a grievance.

"In my whole life, I have already had my own heart, and I don't intend to deceive myself. Although the beautiful woman is good, I am not a good match. Please don't make such jokes with me again. Or, I angered His Majesty without knowing it, and His Majesty just You have to punish me like this—" He didn't want to say any more when he said this, he just frowned and bit his lip until it bleeds.

Seeing the tears welling in his eyes, but he refused to cry no matter what, Jia Fei was worried and flustered, denying again and again.

"You didn't! It's not like that! I'm just... I'm just afraid—"

I'm just afraid that you will be harmed because of me, and I just want to protect you.

But Jiafei couldn't say this sentence.Even if he said it, he knew that Xiaoxian would definitely not agree.

Jiafei couldn't help but hide his face and sigh.He heard Zhen Xian asking him hoarsely:

"Then, does Your Majesty want to break up with me?"

Jiafei trembled all over, grabbed Zhen Xian's arm with both hands, just wanted to deny it, but was held down by the back of his hand instead.

"I can't pretend that you are in the same bed with other people as a husband and wife. I can't lie to the world, and I can't lie to myself. And if those people His Majesty is worried about, if they really insist on me, they won't because I changed my mind after doing such a thing. If Your Majesty insists, I feel that the relationship between me and Your Majesty..."

Zhen Xian's eyes were full of exhaustion, and he choked up several times.

"Stop talking..." Jiafei was full of remorse but had no choice but to bury his face in Zhen Xian's lap like an ostrich.

He heard Xiaoxian ask him again in a low voice:

"I'll just stay with you like this, one day is one day, okay? I swore that I will never leave you again in this life. I will be where you are, unless I—"

"Stop talking nonsense!" Jiafei couldn't bear to hear him say that word, and finally couldn't bear it anymore and yelled.

Xiaoxian's hands were dry and warm, gently caressing the top of his head, and rubbing his fingertips through the fine hair, it was the temperature that a fresh life should have.Accompanying him was a long sigh.

"I'm not afraid, what are you afraid of, Your Majesty?"

It is because you are not even afraid of death that I am even more terrified...

Jiafei couldn't say anything, so he could only bury his face in the man's heart, listening to the beating of his heart, he refused to let go of his hand no matter what.

The imperial concubine of Zhuangmin county asked for an order to leave Beijing and return to her hometown in Jiangzuo, and the memorial was handed over quickly.

The emperor thought that the princess of the county was in her prime, and gave her a dowry, allowing her to return home and allow her to remarry.

Since the beginning of the Holy Dynasty, it has been common for royal wives to be divorced, but no one has been able to reconcile with the kings. As for the death of a husband, it is even more normal for wives and concubines to keep their chastity.The daughter of the Xie family refused to do it and returned home after being a good county princess, and the emperor was willing to play it. There were a lot of discussions in the court and the public, some praised the emperor for being enlightened and reasonable, and some blamed the deviant for damaging the reputation of the royal family. There are also those who ridiculed Xie Wanzhi for being a fool who threw away the rich and noble for nothing... Only His Royal Highness King Rong sneered when he heard this, laughing at himself that he wanted to employ someone, but turned him into a stepping stone.

Before leaving Beijing, Xie Wanzhi deliberately went to the academy in the south of the city to say goodbye to the children of the academy. I don't know if it was intentional or a coincidence, but it happened that Zhen Xian took the time to come to give lectures to the children.

Xie Wanzhi dressed in a plain robe and brought a slender maid to salute Zhen Xian.

"I've wanted to leave the capital and go back to the south of the Yangtze River for a long time. Now my long-cherished wish has been fulfilled. Thank you sir for fulfilling it. It's just that I won't be able to come to the academy again in the future, and I don't want to part with these children. But since my husband is here, I think they will all be well."

Since Xie Wanzhi donated money to the Chengnan Academy, and saw that the academy accepts only boys, and some poor daughters secretly hid outside the courtyard wall to listen and peep, so he discussed with the court judge to set up a new school in the academy. He set up a women's school together, making this academy the number one place in the capital willing to accept female students to study.

Zhen Xian realized later, deeply ashamed.Now, after hearing what Xie Wanzhi said to him, she knew that she was worried, fearing that these poor women who had managed to come to the academy to study would be lost after he left, but she was also afraid that her words would offend him, so she said So tactful.

"The concubine of the county is a bodhisattva." Zhen Xian couldn't help but sigh, "In the future, other academies will also set up girls' schools. As long as the little girls want to come to the academies to study and practice calligraphy, I will tell them to treat them equally and teach them well. They must never be treated differently by men and women. Shut out."

Xie Wanzhi got the promise, and bowed her knees to salute Zhen Xian again.

"I'm just trying my best to protect myself, what kind of Bodhisattva heart. But you, sir..."

She seemed to want to say something, but she swallowed the words again, hesitated for a moment, finally let out a long breath, and slowly raised her eyes.

"I'm an outsider, so I'm not qualified to criticize, and I'm not so arrogant that I can persuade you. But you are a swan and a crane, why should you be so obsessed with mortals and birds? If you don't give up, you will know that you are willing to open the way for you. From now on If you have made up your mind, I know I can't change your mind. I just hope that you will take care of yourself. If there is any emergency in the future, if you know later, you will be able to share your worries. Please come to the door Come, don't be shy."

Zhen Xian was stunned when he heard this, and when he understood, he could only smile wryly.

The next day, the princess of the county set off to return home.

Chatting in the tea house in Beijing, it is said that someone was outside the pavilion in the south of the city. He saw a woman in plain clothes and a hat, a cart and a maidservant, standing for a long time, as if waiting for someone, until the sky was getting dark, and finally did not wait, so she turned around with a flick of her sleeves, floating in the air. and go.