The veins on Yong'an's forehead bulged out, and even makeup couldn't cover them up.

They kept saying "clumsy" on the left and "clumsy" on the right. Even their excuses were so dishonest. Were they afraid that I couldn't hear them and were deliberately slapping themselves in the face? !

Jingle sneered and said, "Your Highness, what's the point of embarrassing a little girl? If you have anything to say, you can come to my Zhenbei Palace."

Jingle's heart ached. When his father died in the battle, Achen was just sixteen years old and was in the northern border.

She only knew that her father died tragically, and that Ah Chen later led his troops into the enemy camp in order to retrieve his father's body, leaving him covered in wounds.

This was the Achilles' heel of the Zhenbei Palace. Every time she thought about it, it was like digging into her heart.

Jingle's peach blossom eyes are full of murderous intent.

She knew that she was a hostage in the capital. For the sake of her son and the people of Zhenbei Palace, she would endure it as much as she could, but there were some things that she could not endure.

Seeing that Jingle was about to slam the table and stand up, Sheng Xiyan smiled at her. Her smile was peaceful and seemed to have the power to soothe people's hearts.

But when his eyes turned to Princess Yong'an, they were filled with a sharp edge.

"The princess said no, but His Highness insisted that she wear flowers." Sheng Xiyan raised the corners of her mouth, still smiling, but the smile had become much colder: "Could there be some mystery behind this apricot blossom?!"

There was silence again. The people in the pavilion exchanged glances and were secretly shocked.

Of course, they had all heard about the apricot blossom incident, but no one dared to speak it out loud.

Isn't this accusing Yongan of deliberately humiliating the Zhenbei Palace?

Yong'an almost crushed the wine glass in her hand, and a few drops of amber wine splashed onto the back of her hand, which was as white as a girl's.

The Zhenbei Palace is a meritorious official for the Darong Dynasty, at least for now. She can secretly set a trap for Jingle, embarrass Jingle, and make Jingle bow to her, but she must not let this layer of window paper be broken. Otherwise, if Yu Shi and those generals who only favor the Zhenbei Palace report her, she will definitely be reprimanded by her mother and the emperor's brother.

Sheng Xiyan smiled faintly. Her tone remained calm, but her eyes were startlingly bright: "I heard that in the Northern Frontier..."

"That's enough." Yongan interrupted her with an unpleasant look.

She bit her back teeth and spoke word by word: "It's my fault. Since Jingle doesn't like apricot blossoms, then don't wear it."

When she said the last four words, her eyes almost burst into fire.

Sheng Xiyan's lips curled up. Princess Yong'an was just relying on the fact that Princess Jingle was unwilling to mention this heart-wrenching matter in person, so she would bring it up!

Although she had never had the honor of meeting the King of Zhenbei in both of her lives, not everyone could talk about a hero like the King of Zhenbei who died fighting for his country.

What's more, Princess Jingle had just helped Yang'er, and she remembered whoever was nice to her.

Yongan almost suffocated herself to death with one breath.

Sheng Xiyan smiled and glanced at the broken apricot blossoms: "What about... these flowers?"

The nanny who brought Sheng Xiyan over winked at the maids serving in the flower pavilion, and the maid who was holding the flower basket quickly squatted down and picked up the petals on the ground.

Jingle: “…”

She smiled, looking at Yong'an's frustrated and forbearing look, and the resentment that was pent up in her chest burst out.

She waved to Sheng Xiyan and asked her to sit down next to her.

This little girl is so nice.

She had thought about what kind of daughter-in-law she wanted to find before, but Chu Yuanchen had been in the Northern Frontier for many years and seemed to care nothing about her life-long affairs, so it was delayed year after year until now.

Maybe it's fate.

This little girl looks delicate and gentle, but she is very tough. She won't give in easily, but she also knows when to stop. It's like she knows where the opponent's bottom line is, and then she tramples on it madly.

I will not cross the line, and I will not allow myself to be bullied.

Their Zhenbei Palace is in turmoil right now, and this little girl is the most suitable candidate for the Crown Prince's Consort.

Jingle took her hand, patted it gently, placed it on her knees, and said, "Come to my house in a few days and talk to me."

Sheng Xiyan responded coquettishly: "I have long wanted to listen to the pipa singing and playing you mentioned last time. I recently bought a new storybook that is very interesting. Let the female teacher tell us."

Jingle's mood became better and better. She just treated what happened just now as the barking of a wild dog.

In the flower pavilion, no one else dared to speak, and only Jingle and Sheng Xiyan seemed not to feel the terrible silence. They became more and more cheerful as they talked, from storybooks to drama scripts, and even made an appointment to go to the theater to watch a play in a few days.

The apricot blossoms on the ground were quickly picked up and put back into the basket. However, the apricot blossoms were in full bloom just now, but now they had become a pile of broken petals, just like Yongan's embarrassed face.

"Miss Shengda." Yongan didn't want to see the affection between the mother-in-law and the daughter-in-law, so he said coldly, "They are all playing at Wenxin Lake. You should go with them."

They were referring to the noble ladies and gentlemen invited by Yong'an's hairpin invitation.

After they paid their respects, they were taken to Wenxin Lake, that is, Sheng Xiyan. Yongan originally wanted to use her to isolate Jingle, but he didn't expect that she was the one who was so angry that she almost vomited blood.

Originally, Yongan thought that what the Queen Mother had asked her to do was very simple, and she thought that Miss Shengda would not dare to refuse, but now, she no longer had any confidence.

I don’t know what means Jingle used, but she has already captured me before I even got married.

She needs to think about it...

Sheng Xiyan looked at Jingle, who nodded to her with a smile and said, "Go play."

She stood up, bowed to Yong'an, and said, "I'll take my leave."

So, a maid led her to Wenxin Lake, and Xigui followed behind her.

Princess Yong'an invited quite a few people to the hairpin invitation, both men and women, most of whom were of similar age. When Sheng Xiyan arrived, they were playing pot-tossing and cover-shooting in the waterside pavilion, chatting and laughing.

The separation of men and women in the Dayong Dynasty was far less strict than in previous dynasties. As long as a man and a woman were not alone in the same room, it was not considered impolite.

Seeing her coming, Cheng Chuyu's eyes lit up, and she waved and greeted her from a distance: "Sister Yan, here, here!"

Cheng Chuyu grew up in the border area and was always lively, which made the noble ladies around him look at him sideways, and some even frowned in dismay.

"Ayu." Sheng Xiyan walked over quickly with a smile on her face.

"I knew I'd see you today." Cheng Chuyu said happily, "I'll go and help you put on some makeup in a few days."

Sheng Xiyan said with a smile: "When you get married, I will go and help you with your makeup."

Cheng Chuyu clapped his hands, smiled, and nodded vigorously.

This made Sheng Xiyan's mind move, and she asked, "But your family is going to arrange a marriage for you?"

Cheng Chuyu will be coming of age at the end of the year, so it's not surprising that she's engaged.

Cheng Chuyu's face was slightly flushed, and then she hastily changed the subject, lowered her voice, and whispered, "Sister Yan, have you heard that Princess Yong'an plans to choose a concubine for Prince Zhao today?"

Sheng Xiyan raised her eyebrows. Cheng Chuyu was not the type to be shy easily.

She smiled and followed Cheng Chuyu's words and said, "What do you mean?"

"I only heard about it after I came here today." Cheng Chuyu muttered, "If I had known, I wouldn't have come."

King Zhao was of high status, but most of the noble ladies here were also of high status, qualified to be the prince's principal wife. But now they had to be picked and chosen like objects for a concubine. How could they be happy about that?

But if you are chosen by bad luck, it will be difficult for anyone to say "no", unless you dare to confront the Queen Mother like Sheng Xiyan, then there may be some hope. However, Sheng Xiyan had grasped the Queen Mother's soft spot, and someone else might not be so lucky.

"Besides." Cheng Chuyu raised his chin, motioned Sheng Xiyan to look ahead, and said, "Now who doesn't know that King Zhao only has that person in his heart?"

Sheng Xiyan looked in the direction he was looking and saw a familiar figure, slender and graceful, chatting and laughing with a group of people under the moon and stars.

It’s Zhao Yuanrou.

Ever since she found out that the protagonist of the fight between two men for one woman in the garden was Zhou Jingxun, Cheng Chuyu had disliked Zhao Yuanrou. In Cheng Chuyu's opinion, any person with decent character would not keep arguing with the other person even though they knew he was engaged to his cousin. At least they should avoid suspicion.

She curled her lips and said unhappily, "I don't know how she got this hairpin invitation."

Princess Yong'an's invitations, in addition to being lenient towards handsome young men, also placed great emphasis on family background. For example, the Sheng family, although Sheng Xing'an was a third-rank minister of the Ministry of Rites, the Sheng family originated from Old Lady Sheng, and their foundation was too weak. In the eyes of the nobles in the capital, they were just mud-legged peasants who had not yet washed clean, and they could never get her invitations.

The Zhao family's family background is even inferior to that of the Sheng family, but Zhao Yuanrou also has a post.

"Maybe she is favored by Princess Yong'an." Sheng Xiyan said casually.

Cheng Chuyu thought about it and it was true. Princess Yong'an has always been a very casual person.

Sheng Xiyan looked around and said casually, "Prince Zhao didn't come?" Didn't they say that today was the day to choose a concubine for Prince Zhao?

"It was just here..."

Just now, King Zhao was still sticking to Zhao Yuanrou, not caring that she was already engaged, and Zhao Yuanrou didn't seem to have any intention of avoiding him. At that time, Cheng Chuyu was still looking forward to whether Zhou Jingxun would come, maybe they could watch another good show.

As a result, Zhou Jingxun did not come, and King Zhao was missing.

Cheng Chuyu was a little bored and felt that today's hairpin banquet was less interesting than before!

As they were talking, the two of them walked over. At this time, Zhao Yuanrou also saw Sheng Xiyan. Their eyes met. She bowed and called out, "Cousin Yan." Her voice was dry.

Sheng Xiyan smiled and returned the greeting: "Cousin Rou."

They were speechless.

The cousins ​​looked so distant that they seemed even more unfamiliar than strangers.

Cheng Chuyu took her arm and was about to walk past Zhao Yuanrou, saying, "Sister Yan, let's play the game of shefu. I always guess wrong..."

"Cousin Yan." Zhao Yuanrou called out, her eyes deep, and said, "I always thought you were gentle and graceful, but you really disappoint me."

Sheng Xiyan raised his eyebrows with interest.

Zhao Yuanrou looked as if she couldn't agree with him. She shook her head and said, "It's okay if you dislike me, but why do you have to target Prince Zhou?"

Cheng Chuyu blinked curiously, and seeing how lively it was, he tugged at Sheng Xiyan's sleeve without thinking too much of it.

Sheng Xiyan smiled slightly and said, "Prince Zhou was taken away by the North City Military Department. If Cousin Rou feels that the North City Military Department has violated the law, whether it is the Jingzhao Prefecture or the Drum of the People's Court, Cousin Rou can go and complain about the grievances. What's the use of telling me? My family doesn't run a government office."

Only a few people knew that Zhou Jingxun was taken away by the North City Army. When Sheng Xiyan said this, many people looked over.

Cheng Chuyu suddenly realized that it was no wonder that Zhou Jingxun was not there today. It turned out that he was taken away! I can't watch the excitement anymore. I'm so disappointed.

Zhao Yuanrou: “…”

The corners of her rosy lips were pressed into a straight line. She really had mistaken Sheng Xiyan.

I originally thought that she was a gentle and virtuous person. Although she was old-fashioned, she was also kind. However, I didn't expect that she was not only unreasonable, but also vindictive. She was not only like this to me, but also even more cruel to Zhou Jingxun. She framed him and caused Zhou Jingxun to be beaten.

Even so, she didn't feel the slightest bit of guilt. She just acted as if she was being thorny when she spoke to her nicely.

Zhao Yuanrou's eyes were dim.

Yes. Sheng Xiyan thought she would soon become the Crown Prince of Zhenbei, so she set her sights high.

But she didn't think about it. If she and Zhou Jingxun hadn't been in love with each other and hadn't been granted marriage by the Queen Mother, how could she have successfully cancelled the engagement and had the opportunity to become the Crown Prince's consort? Now she had to nitpick over those trivial matters and make a fuss.

Zhao Yuanrou sighed softly. The last time she fell into the lake, Zhao Yuanrou told herself that she no longer owed Sheng Xiyan anything and she didn't need to be humble in front of Sheng Xiyan anymore.

Throughout the dynasties, which vassal king who held military power could have a good ending? Sheng Xiyan was indeed short-sighted. He could only see the wealth in front of him, but could not see the danger behind it.

Zhao Yuanrou originally wanted to remind her, but it was obvious that she had been blinded by personal grudges and would not listen.

Since Sheng Xiyan was so stubborn, there was no need for him to rush over to get to her.

Zhao Yuanrou looked at her sympathetically and said calmly, "Cousin Yan, everything is better in moderation than in excess."

After saying this, Zhao Yuanrou bowed, turned around and left, never looking back.

Cheng Chuyu was puzzled and couldn't help asking, "Does she always talk to herself like this?"

Sheng Xiyan thought about it seriously and nodded, "It seems so."

She didn't feel anything before, but when she thought about it carefully, Zhao Yuanrou always seemed to look at others with a pity, as if she was standing at a height that no one could reach, and others were just ants in her eyes.

"Forget it, ignore her, let's play by ourselves," Cheng Chuyu pulled her to play Shefu, "I've lost several games, Sister Yan, you have to help me win back."

Shefu is a game in which an object is covered with a bowl or other implement, and then a coded message is given for people to guess.

The girls played the game of Shefu. The loser did not have to drink wine as a penalty, but just had to offer a prize.

Cheng Chuyu pouted and said, "I lost all my new pearl flowers."

Sheng Xiyan said with a smile: "I'll go and win it back for you."

She was the best at this game. She guessed eight out of ten correctly, which made Cheng Chuyu clap his hands in joy. Not only did she win Cheng Chuyu's prize, she also won two pearl flowers and a rope.

She was about to continue to encourage him when someone came over and said, "Miss Zhao is going to perform sword dance with Princess Qingping. Do you want to go and watch?"

So, a few girls who were having a great time excitedly said "I don't want to play anymore" and ran to watch.

"Let's go too." Cheng Chuyu looked at the crowd eagerly.

Sheng Xiyan agreed with a smile.

Cheng Chuyu happily took her arm and walked over.

There were quite a few people gathered by the Wenxin Lake. They stood there in twos and threes, chatting and laughing.

Zhao Yuanrou and Princess Qingping each held an unsharpened sword and stood facing each other.

They were originally discussing poetry and lyrics together, and then Princess Qingping said that she had obtained a pair of good swords, and someone urged her to dance. Princess Qingping was a flamboyant person, so she agreed when someone urged her to.

Swords come in pairs, so one cannot dance alone, so Princess Qingping asked Zhao Yuanrou to join in.

"Yuan Rou." Princess Qing Ping made a sword flower, her eyes suddenly lit up, and she said, "I heard from my mother that you wrote a good poem in Qingming Tea House a few days ago. Why don't you improvise another poem, and we can use the poem to set the music, and then do the sword dance, okay?"

Zhao Yuanrou also thought this was a good idea: "Who will play the music then?"

"It's a pity that my uncle is not here. I don't know where he went." The uncle that Princess Qingping mentioned was Prince Zhao. She muttered, "My uncle is a good whistle player."

Even though Prince Zhao was not around, the sword still needed to be danced. Princess Qingping asked someone to call a musician who was good at playing the qin in the palace and asked, "Yuanrou, what piece of music do you want?"

"You decide." Zhao Yuanrou said confidently, "I'm fine with either."

Princess Qingping groaned and said, "Then let's sing a song called "Ambush from All Sides."

The musician's ten fingers were gently gathered together to slowly twist the strings, and the empty sound of the piano flowed out from his fingertips. A kind of chilling aura of fighting and iron horses came to his face, just like two armies facing each other, the sound shook the sky, and the momentum was vigorous.

Zhao Yuanrou and Princess Qingping each held a sword and danced with their swords to the intense music.

Zhao Yuanrou opened her red lips and recited to the rhythm of the music: "Zhao Ke's hair is as long as a beard, while Wu Gou's hair is as bright as frost and snow."[1]

She leaned sideways and swung her sword, her long skirt fluttering with her movements, like a blooming peony. The two women's swords intersected, their figures as light as flying swallows, beautiful as a painting, but even more beautiful than a painting.

For a moment, everyone's attention was focused on the two girls.

The sword is steel, the dance is soft.

The swords they wielded were beautiful but somewhat limp, suitable only for viewing.

"Ten Sides of Ambush" is an exciting piece of music, which does not actually match the graceful sword dance. However, the heroic verses sung by Zhao Yuanrou make the sword dance and the music blend perfectly together, adding a bit of majesty.

"The silver saddle shines on the white horse..."

Every time Zhao Yuanrou recited a sentence, she swung out a sword, and her movements went from slow to fast. When she reached the point of "killing one person in ten steps", the sword's momentum suddenly accelerated again. Her skirt fluttered, and her sword moved with her dance. The sword light was like a swimming snake, as if, just like the music, there was murderous intent everywhere.

“Good poem.”

“Nice dance.”

"Nice sword."

Someone clapped his hands and said something applauding, breaking the silence.

Everyone present was attracted by the sword dance, and only then did they notice that King Zhao was walking with a middle-aged man. The man was nearly forty years old, with a short beard under his chin, a handsome face, and his eyebrows and eyes were about five or six points similar to King Zhao. He waved a folding fan nonchalantly, his eyes were dark, and he had the arrogance of a superior.

King Zhao accompanied him, talking and laughing, with a respectful look on his face.

Behind them were three other men, two of whom had swords on their waists, their steps steady and they were serious. The other one had a pale face and no beard, and he held something in his hands as if he was holding something out of habit.

Sheng Xiyan guessed that the person coming was most likely the emperor of the Dayong Dynasty.

Zhao Yuanrou and Princess Qingping were still dancing. The heart-stirring verses coming out of Zhao Yuanrou's mouth were even more thrilling amid the passionate music.

He put away his folding fan, tapped his palm lightly, and showed appreciation on his face.

With the last line "White-shou Taixuan Jing", the piano music comes to an abrupt end at the hero's end.

"good!"

He praised it again, and then asked, "What is the name of this poem?"

Zhao Yuanrou had already put away his sword, clasped his fists and said, "This poem is called "The Hero's Journey"

"Who did it?"

Zhao Yuanrou smiled faintly and replied, "It was me. When the piano music of "Ten Sides of Ambush" sounded just now, I had some insights in my heart."

"Xia Ke Xing... What a great poem "Xia Ke Xing"!" King Zhao looked at her with a burning gaze, full of admiration and praise. "Brother, let me tell you, Miss Zhao is extremely talented, and not something that ordinary people can match."

That middle-aged man was indeed Emperor Darong.

After the Queen Mother arranged the marriage, King Zhao was still unwilling to give up. He pestered the Queen Mother for a long time but to no avail. So he found another way and asked the Emperor to come forward. After much persuasion, he brought the Emperor here.

The emperor's eyes were fixed on Zhao Yuanrou. He was really impressed by the fact that this little girl could compose such a majestic poem.

King Zhao's call of "Big Brother" made everyone present guess this man's identity.

The originally relaxed and cheerful atmosphere suddenly changed. Everyone was silent and their behavior became a little stiff.

Zhao Yuanrou's eyebrows moved, and she looked at King Zhao, sighing silently. She understood King Zhao's feelings for her, but she only treated King Zhao as a friend. She had already made it clear to him, so why was he unwilling to give up?

"Uncle." Princess Qingping ran over happily, "How was my dance?"

The emperor finally took his eyes off Zhao Yuanrou and praised her: "Not bad, not bad. Qingping's dance made me... impressed."

Qingping held the sword and said in a naive tone, "Would you like to give me something as a reward, uncle?"

The emperor tapped her forehead and said lovingly, "I have some newly acquired golden cicada wings. You can use them to make clothes." He paused, looked at Zhao Yuanrou with burning eyes, and added, "You and Miss Zhao will each get two horses."

Qingping was favored and often visited the palace. He knew that Jiangnan had offered a new kind of cloth called "Golden Cicada Wings" this year. It was as thin as a cicada's wing, with gold and silk threads interwoven, and it shone brightly under the sun, which was extremely beautiful. This kind of material was extremely rare, and it was said that only six pieces were obtained this year.

Qingping was happy and said to Zhao Yuanrou, "We'll each take half. You choose first."

"Brother." King Zhao followed the emperor and whispered, "Go talk to our mother for me."

The emperor paused and said perfunctorily, "I'll think about this matter again."

King Zhao was delighted and felt that there was hope. He believed that as long as he continued to encourage others, he would be able to succeed.

"Well, it's settled. You must think about it carefully..."

As they were talking, a group of people surrounded the emperor and went to the pavilion. Cheng Chuyu asked, "Do you want to play Shefu again?"

Sheng Xiyan said meaningfully: "I guess not many people are in the mood to play anymore."

When the emperor came, even if he was visiting incognito, many people would gather around him. Besides, who would dare to laugh and joke when the emperor was around? I'm afraid it would be difficult for the atmosphere to return to the way it was before.

However, Sheng Xiyan did not look at the emperor, but stared at Zhao Yuanrou's back.

This poem, titled "Xia Ke Xing", was also seen in the novel after her death. It was also written by Zhao Yuanrou. However, it was written several years later. The Zhenbei Palace had been destroyed. Beiyan broke through the pass in one fell swoop, successively captured several cities in Darong, and approached the capital.

Zhou Jingxun was already the commander-in-chief of the 3,000-man Imperial Army at the time, and he was ordered to rush to the front line in times of crisis.

On the day when the army set out, Zhao Yuanrou composed the poem "Xia Ke Xing" for him at Shili Pavilion.

Sheng Xiyan: “…”

Although Sheng Xiyan was not good at composing poetry, she knew that poetry and songs both required artistic conception to be inspired. However, the sword dance just now and the military expedition in the previous life were clearly two different artistic conceptions, yet Zhao Yuanrou composed poems on the spot, and not a single word was different.

Especially since Zhao Yuanrou just said in person that she gained insights after listening to "House of Flying Daggers", but "House of Flying Daggers" is clearly about "the hero's end" and "suicide at the Wujiang River". It is impossible that she also felt the "miserable defeat" and "suicide" when she sent Zhou Jingxun to the battle, right?

Hmm...

It seems interesting.