"Well," the girl leaned her head against Yan Xun's chest, her voice a little muffled, and she said with particular grievance, "You keep your word."
"It's definitely a promise!" Yan Xun promised solemnly, "A real man's words are as good as his words. Anyone who can't do it is not a man who walks on two legs."
"Okay then, go ahead."
"No, there is one more thing." Yan Xun suddenly said seriously, "This matter is very important, you must remember it carefully."
"Hmm?" Chu Qiao immediately raised her head and blinked her big misty eyes. "What's the matter?"
"As a friend who grew up with you, fought with you, and lived with you, I have a most sincere advice for you. You must always remember it."
Chu Qiao frowned. She seemed to have sensed a conspiracy. She asked doubtfully, "What are you going to say?"
"Be honest with me!" Yan Xun shouted, and suddenly bent down and kissed Chu Qiao on the mouth. A domineering aura immediately invaded Chu Qiao. The man pressed his hand on the back of the girl's head, and his lips and teeth intertwined. His tongue went in smoothly, domineering and powerful, breaking through the girl's fragile defense line in an instant, catching her off guard. His breathing suddenly became disordered and his chest heaved violently. The vast snowy plain was covered in silver. In front of the five hundred guards, the King of Yanbei kissed Mr. Chu from the General Staff Office...
Only when Chu Qiao was about to pass out did Yan Xun let her go. Seeing her blushing and looking around like a thief caught stealing, Yan Xun burst into laughter and said loudly, "What are you afraid of? The whole Yanbei is mine."
Chu Qiao immediately went berserk, her face flushed as she yelled, "Ah! You bastard! You've ruined my reputation!"
Yan Xun held Chu Qiao's waist and raised his eyes slightly, "Chu, don't you know? Ever since you followed me into Shengjin Palace, the word 'reputation' has waved goodbye to you."
“Asshole!” Chu Qiao was unable to finish her words. Seeing that everyone around her was looking at her with a smile, she became even more angry. She pointed at Ah Jing and the others and shouted, “Don’t laugh! Don’t tell anyone! I’m going to beat you up! And you, you, who is that? Your teeth are showing! What’s your name? Which unit are you from? Still laughing? I’m talking to you!”
"Ah Chu! Stop talking about other things!" Yan Xun said sternly, pulling her over. "You should be honest. You are obviously worried that I will go out and have affairs with other girls, so why do you come up with so many long speeches and act so righteous? I think you are the one who deserves a beating."
“Hey, hey!” Chu Qiao was embarrassed, blushing and jumping up and down, “Yan, haven’t I punished you in too long? You still want to beat me? Can you beat me?”
Yan Xun sneered, "I was just giving in to you, do you really think you are invincible?"
"Okay, I'll tear down the bridge after I cross the river. If you don't agree, let's have a competition!"
Yan Xun burst into laughter. "Ah Chu, are you reluctant to let me go? You are deliberately dawdling and wasting my time."
Chu Qiao glared and shouted angrily, "Who can't bear to part with you? Get out of here! I feel annoyed when I look at you for even one more second!"
"Am I really leaving then?"
"Get lost, no one wants to see you."
"Don't regret it!"
"Only a ghost would regret it."
"After I'm gone, don't cry by yourself!"
"Are you going to leave or not? So much nonsense!"
“Haha!” Yan Xun jumped on his horse and laughed loudly, “Ah Chu, I’m leaving. Wait for my triumphant return! Go!”
Hundreds of war horses suddenly galloped away, the pure white snow formed a straight line behind the horses' hooves, war eagles flew in the sky, the wind roared in the distance, the scorching sun was like gold, reflecting the departing silhouettes of the soldiers, like a huge painting, and in a blink of an eye, only a faint shadow was left.
Chu Qiao stood there, watching Yan Xun's departing back, her heart filled with tenderness. She silently clasped her hands together, slowly closed her eyes, and spoke in a calm voice with deep attachment and sincerity, "Almighty God, please bless my love, and bless him to have smooth sailing and a safe and triumphant return." It was freezing cold and snowing in Yanbei, but it was windy and rainy in Huaisong, and the day was gloomy.
There were no lights in the hall, only the shadows of candles. The empty Mo Ji Hall was filled with Su Qing gauze. The long corridors were paved with Baihua pear wood. It looked simple and rustic, but in fact every inch of wood was worth its weight in gold. Every step on it had a unique echo, lingering in the air, as if it had penetrated the ancient time and was chanting the ancient sacrificial tune at the end of the world.
All palaces had hung up pure white lanterns early in the morning. Today was the anniversary of the death of the late Emperor Nalan Lieda. The palace maids all changed into plain white mourning garments, and even the red chrysanthemums blooming in front of the palace gate were wrapped in white silk. The sound of rain was heard, and the scene was bleak.
The sound of rings and bracelets rustled as a woman in palace dress with a phoenix-shaped bun and a bun walked slowly in the hall. She had thin eyebrows, thin lips, bright eyes like stars, and a clear and bright demeanor. She was outstanding and unique. Although she was not stunningly beautiful, she was as quiet as an orchid, and her plain face was as white as snow.
At the end of the hall, there was a small table on the ground. Next to the table, several palace servants were shouting loudly. Their faces were full of veins and their foreheads were red. A young man in a deep robe with a dragon pattern also gathered with the others, dancing and gesticulating. Although he was obviously eighteen or nineteen years old, he looked like a naughty boy of six or seven years old.
The nanny on the left frowned and stepped forward and said, "The princess has arrived, why don't you bow?"
When the people who were playing heard this, they turned around quickly. Seeing the woman standing in the center, everyone rushed forward in panic, knelt on the ground, and shouted loudly: "Greetings to the eldest princess, may the princess live a thousand years and a thousand thousand years."
"Everyone, get up." The plain-clothed woman nodded quietly, her voice light and with a lingering fairy air as thin as morning mist. She looked at the young man in the bright yellow robe in the crowd and waved gently, "Yu'er, come here."
The young man scratched his head and walked over reluctantly. The servants beside the woman hurriedly bowed and said, "Greetings to the Emperor."
The young emperor didn't even look at them. He waved his hands randomly, raised his head, and drooled at the corners of his mouth. Like a child afraid of his teacher, he said to the woman in the middle: "Imperial sister, I didn't cause any trouble."
In the bright candlelight in the hall, the woman took out a handkerchief embroidered with orchids, gently wiped the saliva of the young emperor, and said, "Imperial sister knows."
The emperor lowered his head and mumbled something, but no one could hear clearly. The woman sighed and asked, "Today is the anniversary of the death of our father. Why is Yu'er unwilling to go to the temple to burn incense? And why did he ask someone to beat up Eunuch Lu?"
The emperor spoke in a low voice, lowering his head and saying, "I...I don't want to go..."
The woman lowered her head and asked patiently, "Why? Can you tell my sister?"
"Because... because..." The emperor raised his head, his fair and handsome face flushed red, and argued, "Because Prince Changling and the others always make fun of me... I don't like playing with them."
There was a crisp sound of rain outside, and the wind blew in through the corridor, bringing with it a damp smell. After a long while, the woman nodded and said, "If you don't like going, don't go." She said to the servants kneeling on the ground, "Play with the emperor well."
"Yes!" A group of teenagers aged twelve or thirteen responded in unison. The woman turned around and left with the palace maids. After a while, the noise behind them started again, and it sounded so cheerful and joyful.
Who could have imagined that the emperor of Huai Song, which occupied the richest region on the continent, was actually a complete fool? His mind will always remain at that of a ten-year-old child and he will never grow up. This matter was the top secret of the Huaisong royal family. Princess Huaisong had been planning it for many years and had kept it secret from the outside world. But now, as Nalan Hongyu grew up, the time for her to come of age and take power was delayed again and again, and the voices of opposition and doubt in the court were growing louder and louder. She finally felt that she could no longer handle it alone.
Back then, Nalan Lie, who had fought bravely all his life and created a vast sea territory in the east, looked at the young girl and the fool before his death, and sighed to the sky, "The sin of killing is too heavy!" Then he passed away sadly, leaving behind these vast hectares of majestic mountains and rivers, all falling on the shoulders of the girl who was less than fifteen years old at the time. In a blink of an eye, five years have passed.
Looking at the thin figure walking slowly in front of her, Aunt Yun felt dazed for a moment. Unconsciously, many years had passed. The young girl with two buns hanging down her shoulders back then was now in her twenties. Her blooming youth had slowly passed away in this deep palace. Although there were rumors outside about how shrewd and decisive the eldest princess was, and how wise she was, and even in recent years some people had secretly suspected that the eldest princess had abused her power and even placed the emperor under house arrest and monopolized power, she was the only one who knew how much pain the woman in front of her was carrying in her heart.
Five years. How many five-year periods are there in a woman’s life?
"Princess, it's late, go back to the palace and rest."
Nalan Hongye shook her head slightly, "Yuhe Palace still has some official documents that need to be approved."
Aunt Yun said quickly, "Then take it back to the palace for approval?"
Looking at the anxious face of the old nanny who had taken care of her since she was a child, Nalan Hongye smiled faintly and said, "Okay."
Aunt Yun was overjoyed and immediately ordered someone to go to Yuhe Palace to get the official documents. After a while, bright palace lanterns were lit up in Roufu Palace, giving it a magnificent and golden look. Although Nalan Hongye was not a prominent person, everyone in the palace knew who the real master of the palace was, so they were naturally very careful in serving him.
It was almost three o'clock in the morning. Aunt Yun sneaked in several times and finally saw that the unapproved documents on the table were gradually piled up. But in the end, she saw that the eldest princess was holding a letter from the frontier for a long time without writing. Finally, she couldn't help but walked in and frowned and asked, "Princess, what is so difficult to decide? It's three o'clock in the morning and you have to go to court tomorrow morning."
"Hmm? It's the business newspaper from Bianyi." Nalan Hongye was a little dazed. She was surprisingly embarrassed to be interrupted. She brushed away the hair in front of her eyes and said to the person closest to her, "Daxia has sent troops to attack Yanbei. Yanbei is in urgent need of medicine and food, and they want to exchange minerals for our weapons."
Aunt Yun was obviously not an ordinary woman or child. She frowned slightly and asked, "Didn't they just send a batch a few days ago?"
"These are just insignificant things, a drop in the bucket. Marquis Changle and Prince Jinjiang have been trying their best to stop us, using the excuse that a war is about to break out in the East China Sea. The supplies are greatly insufficient. Moreover, because of the war in the north, prices have skyrocketed. The gold I collected from Prince Yan before has been almost spent."
Nalan frowned slightly, and suddenly heard a commotion from the direction of Qin'an Palace. She stood up and asked, "What's going on outside?"
Aunt Yun went out in a hurry, and came back a little later and said with a smile: "It's okay, the little prince cried at night, and the queen was worried that the little prince would catch a cold and get sick, so she sent someone to call the imperial physician."
Nalan raised his eyebrows and asked, "What did the imperial physician say?"
"The doctor said it's nothing, the child was just hungry at night."
Nalan smiled lightly, his smile was light, his eyes were clear, and there was a bit of wisdom in them. "This child is the hope of our Song Dynasty. No wonder the queen is so attentive. Aunt has experience, so she should take care of him more when she is free."
"yes."
Nalan sat down slowly and let out a breath. Fortunately, fortunately Yu'er has such a child. Since it is impossible to help him to the position, he can only place his hope on this child.