February in Jiaosong County is the end of winter and the beginning of spring, and there are few calm and windless days.
That morning, there was not a sound of wind at all.
The gate of the palace faces the flowing Yue River. An early-rising boatman wrapped in a cotton coat sails across the river. The pointed bow of the boat cuts through the mirror-like water surface, like cutting a piece of silk.
A layer of black ash now floated on the once clear river water, the ashes from the burning sky lanterns. Much like the current atmosphere along the banks of the ancient river, there was a sense of loneliness after the revelry, as if last night's bizarre and magnificent festival had been but a dream.
A lamp was lit at the head of the ancient bridge. The candlelight had not yet gone out, but its brilliance had been overshadowed by the morning light, making it look weak and pale.
No other carriages could be seen on the spacious official road. Only a man and a horse stood alone at the bridgehead of the Huangshi Ancient Bridge, seemingly looking at the river flowing eastward.
Only the man himself knew that what he was looking at was not the river surface, but the high platform above the river.
In just ten days, tens of millions of beams and pillars were transported to the river surface to build the magnificent platform, but in the end, it was only a short-lived glory for one night.
The fishy smell of the river water wafted into Xiao Zhun's nose, bringing his thoughts back to the high platform last night.
Before the ceremony began, the lights were not yet fully lit, the surroundings were dim, and the ministers were whispering to each other. He stood alone at the bridgehead, never expecting that the emperor would suddenly appear in front of him.
The emperor was wearing a moon-white dress. This color slightly reduced the oppressive feeling on his body, but inexplicably gave off a hazy and ambiguous light under the moonlight.
"Qing Huai Hou, long time no see."
The other person's expression was indifferent. In Xiao Zhun's memory, that face seemed to have looked like this many years ago.
He has always been a little evasive about this king of Tiancheng.
He ascended the throne young, without any merit or fault. He seemed conservative, yet no one could influence him. Over the years, he had brought down countless powerful officials, both in government and in public, while appearing particularly lenient towards military commanders.
And all this is just a prelude to regaining the blue land.
The first time he saw him was after all his relatives were killed.
As the only remaining bloodline of the Xiao family, he was summoned into the Yuanhe Hall, while the other party was a young emperor who had just ascended the throne, and it was also the first time that he summoned a minister in private.
The eunuch lowered a long gauze curtain to separate him from the emperor. After paying his respects, he stood up and looked.
He was older, but in comparison, the emperor seemed too thin. The long gown looked empty on him, giving people the illusion that the woman was "unable to bear the clothes".
He sat upright behind the gauze curtain, and the wind blowing through the hall made his figure a little blurry, like a ghost.
Just this first glance left a complex and deep impression in Xiao Zhun's heart.
It was a feminine and cold breath that would stick to your body if you got close to it, slowly seeping into your bones and lingering for a long time.
He didn't like the new emperor.
The son of a general, he was a man of strong character. At the time, he was young and had just experienced a dramatic change in his family. He was eager to know the truth. During the short interrogation, he contradicted the emperor several times.
The palace maids and ceremonial officials on both sides gasped frequently, and finally knelt down and trembled.
But no matter how he provoked or questioned, the person behind the curtain always seemed to behave the same way, and even the tone of his voice did not change at all.
Finally, he was tired, and his grievances and resentment subsided a little, and he finally fell silent.
"Xiao Lang, do you know the story behind the question about the bridge?"
Xiao Zhun was stunned.
Although the Xiao family was a military family, they were not ignorant of poetry and literature. He had read many books when he was a child, but the two words "ask the bridge" had no impression on him.
He didn't know in his heart, but he didn't want to admit it, so he gritted his teeth and said nothing.
The young emperor saw through his embarrassment with a single glance, but his words lacked any sarcasm. "Asking about the bridge is an allusion from the scriptures, so it's common sense that you haven't heard of it. How about I tell you about it?"
Xiao Zhun remained silent, and the other party's calm voice sounded again.
"This bhikkhu was very poor and wanted to go to a great alms-giving center. On the way, he asked all sorts of foolish questions about what he saw, such as who built the bridge, etc. He asked 7,800 questions, which delayed his arrival at the center. As a result, he lost everything he needed and returned empty-handed. Xiao Lang thought, what is this man like?"
Xiao Zhun didn't know why the other party told such a story, and he just frowned: "All the questions you ask are stupid..."
As soon as he said this, he suddenly realized that the other party was using this as a metaphor for him, and his face suddenly became a little embarrassed.
"The matter of asking about the bridge has nothing to do with me, how can you be compared with me?"
The voice remained calm, "I believe this is no different. When good or bad things happen, one feels joy and resentment. Trying to understand the cause and effect, one cannot reverse the situation, as the bridge is already there. Everything in the world is like this, repeating itself. I advise Xiao Lang to put aside the many questions in his heart as soon as possible, so that he can cross the bridge and reach the other side as soon as possible."
These few short sentences, seemingly just Zen sayings, pointed out a way out for the Xiao family, which was isolated and had a bleak future at that time.
The decline of Prince Shuo's Mansion is a foregone conclusion, and he is still young. It is not the right time to seek revenge for the past. The right thing to do is to retain his strength and wait for the opportunity to make a comeback.
After the emperor finished speaking, he didn't wait for his reaction and stood up and disappeared behind the gauze curtain.
More than a month later, the imperial edict was issued, stating that His Majesty had personally decreed that Prince Shuo's son Xiao Zhun be granted the title of Marquis of Qinghuai, and that he had chosen a fiefdom to build a palace on, and had bestowed numerous rewards.
During the next five years, he rarely met the emperor alone again.
But every time he glanced at her in the court, or in those countless times he looked at her through the veil, he could always feel that cold and ruthless aura.
Serving the king is like serving a tiger.
Even though he had been given some pointers in the past, he never dared to let down his guard.
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