In full view of the crowd, Prince Jing was escorted in by several Jinwu Guards. The leading Jinwu Guard even grinned at the prince.
"Your Majesty," Empress Su whispered in Emperor Longfeng's ear, "Whatever the matter is, after the sacrificial ceremony is over, the Dali Temple and the Imperial Clan Court will come to investigate. What do you think about detaining them today?"
No matter how useless Prince Jing is, he is still of royal blood. It is the royal family that is embarrassed by his making such a scene in front of all the civil and military officials.
Emperor Longfeng was furious. He didn't even dare to think about what the consequences would be if Jiuzhu had not stood by the empress today.
He looked coldly at the three people kneeling in front of him. After a long time, he closed his eyes and sighed tiredly.
"Father." Yun Duqing held his arm and said, "This is the first time I have brought your daughter-in-law to participate in the Grain in Ear Sacrifice Ceremony. You can't give up halfway."
"Take these people away first." Emperor Longfeng opened his eyes again, and his mind was clear now: "The sacrificial ceremony will continue as normal."
"Jiuzhu." Queen Su handed the peach wood gourd in her palm to Jiuzhu: "Help the Queen Mother tie this up."
"Is this... the peach wood gourd that my daughter-in-law carved for my mother?"
The peach wood gourd carried the warmth of Queen Su's palm. Jiuzhu knelt down and tied it for Queen Su carefully. She smiled and looked up and asked her, "Does Queen Su like this gourd very much?"
Su Hou bent down, grasped her wrist, and helped her up: "This is a good thing you made by yourself to protect me from bad luck. I like it very much."
"As long as the Queen Mother likes it."
Yun Duqing stood by and silently stretched out his hand, using his wide sleeves to cover Jiuzhu's other hand.
Noticing her son's actions, Queen Su laughed out loud. She let go of Jiuzhu's hand, turned around and walked to Emperor Longfeng.
The two of them turned around to look at the Crown Prince and Crown Princess following behind them. Emperor Longfeng stretched out his hand, and Empress Su placed her hand in his palm.
The emperor and the empress stepped onto the altar again.
On the altar, the Crown Princess's long black hair fluttered in the wind, but no one said her posture was indecent.
The ceremonial officer wrote down a few words on the pages of the book.
The Ming family had a beautiful daughter, who looked like a bright pearl. The emperor and empress loved her and were close to the prince. In the 16th year of Longfeng, during the Grain in Ear Festival, he pulled out his hairpin and bravely rescued the emperor and empress, protecting them with his own body, showing both loyalty and filial piety.
Despite the absurd royal assassination, after the sacrificial ceremony, everyone present acted as if nothing had happened and worked hard to create a lively atmosphere of a good harvest.
Under the warm sunshine, Yun Duqing changed into a short tight outfit, rolled up his trousers, held the seedlings in his hands, and started planting the seedlings in a serious manner.
"Your Highness." Jiuzhu changed into a narrow-sleeved aqua dress with a corset. Her long black hair was braided into a simple braid, like a new leaf with pointed corners just grown in a lotus pond. Anyone who saw her would feel a little fond of her.
She stood at the edge of the field and waved to him, as if she was particularly fond of her sunlight, which cast an extra layer of golden light on her.
Yun Duqing straightened up and looked at her in a daze.
Smelling the fragrance of the earth, basking in the warm sunshine, and looking at her lively smile, an indescribable sense of satisfaction suddenly surged into my heart.
She always said that he was the best prince, a fairy man who fell from the sky.
In fact, she didn't know that she was the little fairy who fell in his heart.
When we first met that day, the hairpin in her hair was sparkling.
She was also shining in his eyes.
Later, he always became so shining in her eyes.
"Come." He walked to the edge of the field and opened his arms to her.
She threw herself into his arms without hesitation and stepped into the mud that could produce countless food.
"Legend has it that if newlyweds light each other with mud from fertile fields on the day of Grain in Ear Festival, they will be blessed by God." He stretched out his muddy index finger and tapped it lightly on Jiuzhu's forehead: "May God bless our little pig Ming to always be illuminated by the sun, safe and happy, and not troubled by worries and crying."
As soon as he finished speaking, his forehead was tapped.
"I also wish that your Highness will be healthy and free from illness. May you live a long and healthy life. May you always be with me, may the moon always be full, may everything go well for you."
Two hands stained with mud held together: "I wish the world will be peaceful and full of joy and happiness."
Under the shade of the tree, Emperor Longfeng looked at the scene in the field and said to Ming Jingzhou who was standing behind him: "I made Jiuzhu Duqing's princess out of selfish motives. After Jiuzhu was with Duqing, she helped him a lot."
"Your Majesty, my daughter grew up in the countryside and has a naive personality. Fortunately, Your Majesty and the Empress are understanding." Ming Jingzhou bowed and said, "I have neglected to teach her, and Your Majesty is ashamed of me. I am incompetent and incapable of serving as a Duke. Please withdraw your grace, Your Majesty."
"Why do you say that, my dear minister?" Emperor Longfeng turned and looked at him: "The Ming family is full of loyal and honest people, I understand."
Ming Jingzhou fell silent.
"Over the years, I have let you, the Ming family, down." Emperor Longfeng patted Ming Jingzhou's arm and said, "I owe you."
"Your Majesty is a benevolent monarch that is hard to come by in a thousand years. It is our honor to meet Your Majesty." Ming Jingzhou bowed to the bottom: "There are many good horses, but there are few good horse trainers. A man will die for his friend. Your Majesty has given the Ming family the greatest trust. The Ming family is willing to serve Your Majesty and protect the world's peace."
Neither the king nor his minister mentioned the matter of Master Jiuzhu.
The emperor never harbored any suspicion towards the Ming family, and the Ming family also knew how to cherish the emperor's trust.
Because Master Jiuzhu’s identity and background are not important.
"Look at these youngsters." Emperor Longfeng pointed to the fields. At some point, Prince Huai and Prince An and their spouses had entered the fields, throwing mud at each other, showing no royal etiquette at all.
Ming Jingzhou turned his head to glance at the smile on the emperor's face and started smiling too.
When he saw the prince holding his daughter in his arms with his back covered in mud, the smile in his eyes became even bigger.
After the Grain in Ear Festival, the aristocratic families in the capital that had been lingering on finally collapsed. All the evil deeds they had done were exposed.
The more corrupt a family is, the more evil and sin it has committed.
Du Qingke, who was imprisoned, laughed happily as he listened to the final fate of these noble families.
Those who wander around in aristocratic families all day long are no longer human beings, but corrupt monsters in the skin of aristocratic families.
He looked at Yun Duqing outside the prison door and stopped laughing: "Your Highness the Crown Prince, are you here to thank me for helping you get rid of a brother with ulterior motives?"
"Tsk." Yun Duqing sat down on the chair and asked, "Do you think I need it?"
"I was wrong. The prince really doesn't need it." Du Qingke looked at Yun Duqing through the prison door. "Perhaps some people are born to be loved by God and can always turn danger into safety. Your Highness the Prince is such a lucky person."
Yun Duqing played with the peach wood carving on his waist without making any comment.
He shamelessly asked Ming Xiaozhu for this mahogany carving. If his mother had it, how could he, as a husband, not have it?
"Your Highness, would you like to hear about my plan to overthrow the aristocratic families in recent years?" Thinking of those aristocratic families falling one by one, Du Qingke showed a satisfied smile on his face.
"I don't really want to hear it."
The smile on Du Qingke's face froze.
Yun Duqing was not born to be a kind-hearted person who would make others happy. He stood up lazily and said, "I will come to listen to your story next time I think of you."
"Don't worry. You will be locked up in the Dali Temple Prison for the rest of your life. You can always wait for the day when I feel better." After saying that, Yun Duqing turned around and left.
He had no interest in listening to the trivial stories of a man who was trying to send someone to assassinate his mother.
He can't hold it to death!
At the innermost part of the Dali Temple, there are several secret and secure cells, where people of extraordinary status are often imprisoned.
King Jing was imprisoned here.
When Yun Duqing saw Prince Jing, he was still wearing the prince's robe he had worn on the Grain in Ear Festival. The hem of his robe was a little dirty, but his hair was neatly combed.
He took off the disguise of mediocrity and silence, his expression was very gloomy, and there was undisguised hatred in his eyes when he looked at Yun Duqing.
Yun Duqing seldom interacted privately with his brother, and their relationship had always been neither salty nor indifferent, and they could not be said to be very close.
Looking back now, that day at Zhangliu Palace, the five brothers sat around eating hot pot together, which was the last time they could spend time together in friendship.
"Third brother, do you regret it?"
"The victorious king defeats the enemy. I planned for so long, but in the end I was defeated by a woman and the Jinwu Guards. I can only blame God for my bad luck." Prince Jing laughed at himself, "You didn't die in the Royal Horse Farm. I sent people to poison the spices you used, but I didn't expect you didn't even use spices. I originally planned to kill Yun Yanze, but not only did he not die, but he made my father lock all of us up in Zhangliu Palace."
Is this fate?
How unfair is God?
"You did all this?"
"The Royal Stables incident was not my own achievement. The Xu family, the Lu family, and Yun Yanze all wanted you to leave the stables alive. Look how many people wanted you dead?" Prince Jing was very unwilling to accept this incident. "You love riding and training horses so much, but you clearly said that you wanted to train horses that day. Why didn't you even touch those horses in the end?!"
Looking at the anger in his third brother's eyes, Yun Duqing remained silent.
It was because that day, he was working as a horseman, leading a dwarf horse and taking his little pig for a walk in the stable.
"Why?" Prince Jing asked angrily, "Why are you not only favored by the emperor, but also favored by the emperor?"
“Maybe I’m lucky.”
After hearing this, Prince Jing's eyes became even angrier.
Yun Duqing touched the peach wood carving on his waist and said, "Besides, I have the help of fairies, but you don't."
It's so boring. Maybe he shouldn't come here today. He should be painting with Ming Xiaozhu in Qilin Palace.
"Where did the Jinwu Guards who captured me that day go?" Seeing Yun Duqing getting ready to leave, Prince Jing asked the last question.
"I saw that he was smart and agile, so I appointed him as the leader of the Qilin Palace's Golden Armor Guard." Seeing that Prince Jing was about to get angry again, Yun Duqing raised his hand and said, "You don't need to say more. I won't listen even if you say it. Your opinion is not important to me."
Watching Yun Duqing's receding back, Prince Jing fell to the ground in anger.
Yun Duqing paused slightly, without looking back, and then strode out of the Dali Temple Prison.
When the sun shone on him again, he jumped on his horse and rushed into the palace.
He missed his piglet.
Outside the city gate, two masters were riding on donkeys and walking leisurely.
"The feng shui of the capital is really bad. I won't come next time."
"Senior sister, you really aren't coming?"
"If you take over the ritual, you can come and see it on the way."
"I'm a little reluctant to leave Jiuzhu."
"You and I are outsiders, so we shouldn't take this separation so seriously."
"Senior Sister, since leaving the Ming family, you have looked back nineteen times..."
"Shut up."
"oh."
Qilin Palace.
Jiuzhu took the letter left for her by the two masters from Chunfen's hands.
In the letter, the two masters praised the prosperity of the capital and also praised her prince.
【When the world is peaceful and the people are prosperous, it is a sign of prosperity. But the two of us have long been accustomed to a life of leisure and leisure, and the capital is ultimately not suitable for us.】
[This is not a farewell, remember to add more clothes in winter and more food when you are hungry. ]
[The fifth son of the Yun family has a clear mind and a kind nature, and is worthy of you.]
Although she knew that her two masters would leave the capital sooner or later, Jiuzhu still felt a little disappointed. She carefully folded the letters and put them away, then leaned on the window frame, waiting for His Highness to come back.
She is a little sad now and wants to see His Highness.
"Pig."
As if knowing that she was thinking of him, the next moment, Yun Duqing appeared in the yard.
"Your Highness." Jiuzhu lifted the hem of her skirt, climbed out of the window amid the exclamations of the palace maids and eunuchs, and ran into his arms.
Yun Duqing caught Jiuzhu steadily and held her in his arms. He kissed the top of her head and smiled softly, "Do you miss me?"
"Yeah." Jiuzhu hugged him: "I miss your highness."
Missing someone cannot be measured by the length of time.
If you keep someone in your heart, you will miss them all the time.
"We really have a tacit understanding." Yun Duqing whispered in her ear, "I miss you, too."
Jiuzhu buried her head in his chest and laughed softly.
"On the way back to the palace, I passed by the Shangshi Bureau and took out the mint candies that I loved to eat when I was young." Yun Duqing took out two mint candies from his purse: "Do you want to taste them?"
"want."
Two pieces of candy, one for each of you.
Legend has it that mint has a beautiful meaning.
I hope to meet you again and never be separated from you.
“It still tastes like it did back then.”
“Is it sweet?”
"Sweet." Jiuzhu looked up at Yun Duqing and smiled, "Very sweet."
The mint candy ten years ago was sweet.
This mint candy is even sweeter ten years later.
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