The mountain wind suddenly became stronger. Yu Shu turned his head, his eyes a little wet.
"Mother? What's wrong with you?"
Yushu forced a smile and said, "It's okay, I was blinded by the wind."
As he was speaking, he suddenly felt the wind had died down a lot. Yushu looked up in confusion, but saw only a tall figure standing upwind, just blocking the mother and son. There was a steep cliff in front, and the man stood facing the wind, with the corners of his clothes blown up by the wind. White snowflakes swirled around him. Although he was standing so close, it seemed as if he was thousands of miles away, as if no one could ever get close.
"Mother? Mother? What's wrong with you?" Yong'er saw that she was in a daze and called out anxiously.
Yu Shu knew he had lost his composure, so he quickly turned around and said, "It's okay, Yong'er, kowtow to your father."
The child stared, "I've already knocked it."
Yushu nodded, put in the last string of paper money, bowed three times, and stood up.
"Are you ready?" A deep voice sounded in front, and Yu Shu lowered his eyebrows and nodded quickly. Yan Xun said: "Then let's go together."
Yushu didn't dare to object and just nodded in agreement obediently.
Yan Xun came forward, took Yong'er's hand, and asked with a smile, "Can you ride a horse?"
More than ten guards ran forward, some of them were collecting the sacrificial vessels at the back, while others were guarding on both sides.
Yong'er often went in and out of the palace, and Yan Xun was always kind to him, so he was not afraid of strangers. He held the hand of the most powerful man in the world, looked up, and said with a bright smile: "Yes, Uncle Jiang taught me, but I am too young now, I can't ride a big horse, I can only ride a pony."
Yan Xun smiled and said, "When your father was your age, he couldn't ride a horse. You are better than him."
"Ah? Really?" Yong'er was stunned, his eyes widened stupidly, and asked, "Is father so stupid?"
Yan Xun smiled happily upon hearing this and said, "Your father is good at everything else. He is proficient in poetry and well-read, but he can't ride a horse. He learned horsemanship from me."
"Wow, isn't the emperor my father's teacher? Can the emperor teach me? I want to ride a big horse, not a pony. The pony Uncle Jiang gave me is too lazy. It can't even run, it can only walk in small steps."
"You are still too young to be taught how to ride a horse, but I can teach you something else."
"What else can the emperor do? Can he fight crickets?"
"I know a lot."
"Your Majesty, you are bragging. My red-headed general is invincible in the palace. Even the second prince's mighty green-headed king had his thigh bitten off."
…
On the narrow stone steps, two people, one tall and one short, were walking in front, chatting as they walked, having a great time. The wind and snow were around, but they seemed unable to get between them.
Yu Shu followed behind, staring at their backs in a trance, thinking vaguely that if the prince were still alive, he might look like this. Maybe he would take Yong'er out for an outing in his spare time, talk about some of his friends' embarrassing childhood memories, and then brag about how smart and powerful he was when he was young. Maybe, that's how it is.
She suddenly felt a little sad. Although she was a simple woman who only knew how to take care of her husband and raise children, she was not completely ignorant of what was happening outside.
In recent years, especially in the past two years, princes have been born one after another in the palace, but I have never heard that the emperor dotes on any of his sons. Subconsciously, Yushu also understood that the Yan Kingdom had just been established and the political power of each party was still unstable. There was also a small-scale war in the north. Moreover, before the queen married into the Yan Kingdom, Dayan had promised that the emperor of Dayan must be the son of the queen. Therefore, even if the queen did not have any children yet, the emperor could not be too close to his other sons to avoid arousing suspicion from the court and the public. After all, the old ministers of the Song Dynasty still have a certain amount of power in the court today.
The emperor spoke with such a gentle expression. Even his own son had probably never seen it before.
The emperor must be very sad as he cannot have his own son close to him even though he is right in front of him.
Yushu sighed foolishly, and a flock of birds flew over from the woods, flapping their wings. She raised her head and the wind blew on her face, feeling cold.
A burst of laughter came from the front, the sound was so joyful.
In the deep palace far away, Nalan Hongye threw a piece of flowery paper into the fire and watched it being swallowed by the flames bit by bit and turned into black ash. Faintly, I seemed to hear the wind blowing from the southeast, bringing with it an unfamiliar sound lingering between my eardrums.
In the cold and quiet palace, she was wearing gorgeous palace clothes, her back was straight but her shoulders looked slightly tired.
The sunlight shone on her, and tiny particles of dust flew up and down under the beam.
Everything is changing, except her shadow. For many years, it has been lonely and stretched so long by the endless time.
"Xuan Mo, another year has passed." In silence, she smiled slightly, but her smile was like mist, gently dissipating in the cold snow in late autumn. The wind was howling outside the window, and the empty hall was covered with heavy curtains. As soon as the imperial physician who took the pulse left, Aunt Yun came into the hall, wearing the court dress of a first-rank female official. She saluted Nalan Hongye in a proper manner but did not stand up.
Seeing this, Nalan Hongye smiled helplessly and asked, "Aunt, what happened?"
Aunt Yun was already very old, with a head full of silver frost and deep wrinkles. Her eyes, which usually looked dull and lifeless, were now as bright as a knife. She raised her head and looked sharply at Nalan Hongye, saying in a low voice, "The Emperor has gone to Yanxi Mountain again."
Nalan Hongye did not comment, but smiled quietly and nodded, saying, "Prince Xuan has made great contributions to the country. It is rare for the emperor to show sympathy to his meritorious officials. Isn't this a good thing?"
The hall was very quiet, so quiet that one could hear the sound of the wind passing through the corridor in the distance. Aunt Yun knelt there, just looking at her quietly, without saying anything, and her eyes were not particularly stern, but as she stared at her silently, the disguise on Nalan Hongye's surface faded away little by little.
She sighed helplessly, smiled bitterly and said, "What do you want, aunt? I am fine now, and the emperor has not broken his original oath. Why create trouble?"
"But the emperor hates you!" Aunt Yun suddenly said excitedly, "He hates you for taking away the military power of the Xuan King, hates you for withdrawing his personal troops, hates you for transferring him to the East China Sea, hates you for withholding the last letter written by the Xuan King to him. He thought that the Xuan King was his sworn brother who helped him. Over the years, he has hated you for a long time, don't you know?"
"Yes, he hates me." Nalan Hongye smiled slightly, with a hint of joy in her voice, and said happily, "Aunt, you see, he is not a heartless person. He is very good to me, his sworn brother."
"Princess!" Aunt Yun finally got angry. She stood up with the help of a cane, her face turning blue.
Nalan Hongye coughed twice, then sighed helplessly: "Aunt, you are so old, why are you still so angry?"
Aunt Yun didn't say anything either, she just looked at her steadily.
Nalan Hongye was still smiling, but that smile was filled with an indescribable bitterness. "Aunt, what do you want from me? Use this as a bargaining chip to beg for a little favor from the emperor? Aunt, who do you think I am? The country is destroyed, and Hongye has lost even her dignity?"
Aunt Yun was suddenly stunned. The candlelight in the hall shone on her old face, revealing a kind of helpless vicissitudes.
"I am not living for myself alone. Behind me, there are thousands of royal relatives. With the honorable position of the queen and the affection of Xuan Mo, we, the remaining ministers of Huai Song, will not have to live too hard."
Aunt Yun frowned and tried to argue: "But if the emperor knew the truth, he would treat you well. This is no different."
"It is different." Nalan Hongye turned around with a soft smile on her lips, "You understand."
The aroma curled up in the air, wisps of it swirled upwards. As the night deepened, the heavy curtains fell, making the entire palace seem even more silent and solemn. She turned around and never looked back, but just walked in step by step.
"He and Xuan Mo have a brotherly relationship, but it is just a brotherly relationship. Once the 'brothers' become husband and wife, the relationship will no longer exist."
The vermilion lacquered and gilded palace door creaked open slowly. The depths of the hall were empty. Nalan Hongye stood with his back straight, looking at the brilliant yellow palace. The fingers in his sleeves clenched and then opened one by one. Vaguely, he seemed to let go of something, and also seemed to acknowledge something.
What would happen if I told him? He doesn't love you, he just owes you.
In her heart, she whispered to herself. It turns out that admitting all this is such a simple thing.
What a kind and graceful woman she was, with a sharp mind and a sharp mind. She spent her whole life playing games and manipulating people's hearts in the court. She knew every way and technique to gain the greatest benefit for herself. The reason why she didn't say it and concealed it was because she knew clearly that even if she made everything known to the world, she would not be able to win his attention and favor in this life.
Rather than receiving one point of gratitude and two points of guilt, but still having to compete emotionally with the endless number of women in the harem, it would be better to let him go and give yourself a way out.
She had long understood that there are some things in this world that cannot be forced, and the human heart is the most powerful shackle in the world, just like Xuan Mo's attitude towards her, and just like her attitude towards Yan Xun, once trapped in it, there is no way to escape.
"Princess! If you want to protect the remaining ministers of the Song Dynasty, the most important thing is to give birth to a prince. It's been five years, five years already!"
The palace gate slowly closed, and Aunt Yun’s angry voice could no longer be heard. Wen Yuan and her servants also retreated, and she was the only one left in the hall. She walked calmly to the small table, slowly sat down with her hand on the gold-painted carved pillar, and poured herself a cup of water very quietly. The soup flowed out, all black medicine. She didn't mind the bitterness and drank it mouthful by mouthful. The medicine soup was still emitting hot steam, swirling upwards in circles. The orchid-carved patterns on the wall of the cup rubbed against my fingertips, giving me a warm touch. Just like on their wedding night, her fingers touched his skin, which was scarred and cold.
"There are only brothers who are equal and loyal to each other, and there are no husbands who have other lovers. I am the eldest princess of Huaisong, and I am Nalan Hongye."
In the silence, a low voice sounded slowly. She opened her eyes wide and two lines of tears flowed down.
Cold tears rolled down her pale, thin cheeks, along the curve of her chin and fell on her wrist, only two drops.
She sat like this for the whole night.
On the second day, Aunt Yun passed away. Yan Xun personally issued an edict to confer upon Aunt Yun the title of Madam Kanglu of the second rank, and to enjoy the funeral rites of a third rank imperial official. Aunt Yun never married and had no husband's family, so her mother's family was rewarded with all the honors, gold, silver, brocade, and blessings for future generations.
On the day of Aunt Yun's funeral, Nalan Hongye stood on the corner tower of the west city wall of Zhenhuang City, wearing a dark-colored Luan robe and a purple-gold crown on his head, quietly watching the long dragon-like wedding procession slowly leave Zhenhuang City and head south.
People return to their hometowns after death, fallen leaves return to their roots. Five years ago, Aunt Yun followed Nalan Hongye and traveled thousands of miles away from her hometown to this snowy land. Now, her princess has grown up and is no longer the child who would hide in her arms and cry. She finally let go of everything and left.
That evening, it started snowing again. The maid put a thick fur coat on her, but she still felt cold. She had a pale face and a thin body, standing alone on a tall building, like a frozen stone statue.