Nian Shen accompanied me slowly out. The snow outside was getting heavier and heavier. A thick layer had already accumulated in other places except the corridor. The wind blew on my face like an ice skate.

Leaving the library, he slowly walked to the front. Caiwei was still waiting for me here. When she saw us coming, she hurriedly came forward: "Madam!"

I nodded gently and signaled that I was fine.

Then I turned around and asked, "Your Highness, where is Mr. Fu?"

"The teacher recorded the book all night last night, and I am very tired so I ordered someone to send him back to rest."

"Oh. That's good."

I nodded, but saw Nian Shen looking at me with big eyes without blinking, and his eyes seemed a little pitiful.

I couldn't help but say, "Your Highness..."

"Aunt Qing," he called me, hesitated for a long time before saying softly: "Can I still see Aunt Qing?"

I subconsciously frowned.

Before he could answer urgently, he saw him lower his head gently, his eyebrows filled with indescribable worry, and said softly: "I know that Aunt Qing finally left here and must not want to come back. Even her mother, she missed Aunt Qing so much, and she didn't want to take Aunt Qing into the palace, but I really missed Aunt Qing so much that I would send someone here today."

I looked at him gently: "Aunt Qing understands."

He looked up at me: "What about the future?"

“…”

"Can I see Aunt Qing?"

His eyes were big, black and white, and he could even see the clear loneliness from his clear eyes. I think he must have missed me very much over the years. Otherwise, his kind-hearted child would not have taken me directly into the palace to meet without his father and mother.

Faced with his longing, I felt a little guilty.

In the past four years since I left, I have thought of him, but I have not had such deep longing, because I have found Miaoyan.

Now, facing this child, I am speechless and even more shameless.

My eyes were a little red, and I smiled reluctantly, "Your Highness, when I left the imperial city, I thought I would never see You again in my life. I didn't expect to see You You Again today. And Your Highness has grown into an adult, knowing etiquette and keeping integrity. It can be seen that this is the case in this world. Although things in the world are impermanent, if you keep thinking about it, there will be a resounding."

If he had told him these words in the past, he would have been very grateful, but now that the child has grown up and is not that easy to fool, he still looked at me with his eyes wide open: "Then, can I still see Aunt Qing?"

“…”

I was silent for a moment and didn't say anything. At this time, I remembered the daily life note behind the door of the library that I kicked into the corner.

if……

Seeing me hesitating, Nian Shen took another step forward and looked straight into my eyes: "Aunt Qing, I know what Aunt Qing is worried about."

"……oh?"

"Aunt Qing, don't worry," he said, gently stretching out his hand to hold my sleeve. It looked like the child who was still a little slutty back then had full trust and dependence on me. He said, "If I let Aunt Qing enter the palace, I will definitely let Aunt Qing leave safely."

“…”

"I promise!"

It turned out that he also understood the worries in my heart.

In fact, everyone probably understood that otherwise the eunuch who came to pick me up today would not have said those words to me in private after I rejected him.

Actually, I may not really believe it.

It’s not that I don’t believe in him, but that I don’t have complete confidence in him yet.

After all, this imperial city, the person who speaks in the world is not the crown prince of the country, the supreme of the future. Even today, when I entered the palace, I think Pei Yuanhao may not have no idea, but just turned a blind eye. After all, in his identity and my situation, he would not be willing to break up with me. Otherwise, according to his past actions, I would have been locked up in an unknown place in the palace today.

so--

I thought about it, looked at Nian Shen with a smile, and said, "I am really moved by your highness to miss me so much. If Your Highness really wants to meet me again, if your Highness can pick me up from my house next time, I will come again."

Nian Shen was stunned by my words, but immediately reacted.

A smile suddenly appeared on that face: "I understand!"

I smiled and patted his shoulder gently. I felt that he was still too thin, so I told him softly: "Your Highness has grown up, but why is it still so thin? Your Highness should pay more attention to his body. If there is any disaster, Aunt Qing will be sad."

When he heard this, he hurriedly said, "I know, I will take good care of myself."

I smiled and patted his shoulder gently.

When I looked up again, the snow outside became tighter and tighter, and the time for me to leave was almost up. Nian Shen reluctantly pulled my sleeves and sent me to the door of Jixian Palace. Because the wind and snow outside were too heavy, I insisted not to let him go out, so he listened to me, stood in the gate, and watched us leave all the way.

On the long steps, Caiwei and I were left with thin footprints. When we got on the carriage and lifted the curtains to look up, we could still see the thin figure standing at the door of the hall, with wind and snow raging, but he stood still, like an ice sculpture.

The carriage finally drove out.

|

When she got home, Yang Jinyao had already left, but she left a message before leaving, asking Shui Xiu and the others to send someone to report to her after I returned home safely.

After I knew it, I asked Du Yan to send someone to do it and then went back to the house by himself.

Although the carriage sent by Nianshen was very warm and comfortable, it was a trip back and forth on a snowy day. With my heart on the cusp, I was still cold. As soon as I entered the house, Shui Xiu also came to serve. She saw Caiwei untied the thick wind flare from my shoulder, and snow foam fell on the ground, which immediately turned into water, and hurried forward: "Girl, I heard that someone from the palace picked you up."

"Um."

I nodded, not in the mood to speak yet, walked to the table and sat down, and said, "Give me a cup of tea."

She hurriedly poured a cup of hot tea and brought it into my hand, and asked again, "Yes, is it the Emperor?"

"No, Sister Shuixiu." Caiwei shook the wind flask and hung it on the shelf beside the bed, and turned around and said, "It's the prince, the prince."

"Your Highness the Crown Prince?"

Shui Xiu was shocked and looked back at me: "His Prince Prince took the girl into the palace?"

I took a sip of water, and the warm water had the illusion of boiling like red charcoal in my cold body. When I swallowed it, I made me tremble for a while. Finally, I felt a little conscious. I nodded: "I just went to Jixian Palace to meet him."

"oh……"

Shui Xiu breathed a sigh of relief.

I said with a smile: "Your Highness the Crown Prince has grown up."

After a sigh of relief, Shui Xiu came over to help Caiwei clean up, and then hesitated again, looked back at me and said, "At that time, the girl left, he was sad for a long time."

I looked at her and immediately turned around, and my busy back became silent for a moment.

After a while, hot soup and hot rice were delivered to the kitchen. I washed my hands and sat down and picked up the bowl. People were hungry quickly in the cold weather, and I was no exception, but my chest was a little stuffy. After eating a few bites of the meal, I couldn't eat it anymore.

I originally planned to wait until after dinner and rest in the house alone, but since I left the gate of the palace, the few words in the daily life notes have been circling in my mind and can't get rid of them.

What I miss the most is the western suburbs and Chongyun Pavilion.

That is, that day, Wu Yanqiu was avoiding people and evading to the place where he went. If I had not asked Du Yan to take people to follow him in advance, even if there was news from Yang Jinyao, he might not have been able to follow such a wilderness.

But obviously, when the country was founded, that place was not a wilderness, at least Emperor Gao had been lucky enough to visit here.

In other words, the Master of the Guardian might have been practicing in Chongyun Pavilion, the Western Suburbs when he was founded. In other words, even if he was not a Master of the Guardian, he was in their own sect and along the way.

As recorded in the daily life note, on the seventh day of the third lunar month, Emperor Gao sacrificed the Mingtang as a fruit. After seven days, the sacrifice was successful, and there must be some reasons for this.

So, why did he fail to sacrifice to the Mingtang?

If someone had to stop him, he had even defeated the entire Central Plains at that time. Seven days before he ascended the throne, the capital was definitely completely within his control, so it would be impossible for someone to stop him.

It would be even more impossible to say that he doesn't want to.

The first time he failed, he offered sacrifices again seven days later, which shows his determination to do this. In addition, he had not ascended the throne yet, offering sacrifices to the Mingtang must be a gesture. As a founding emperor, he would not give up easily.

Then, what else can the emperor not do?

Just as I was thinking, I heard a thud outside, as if something had fallen to the ground.

I was shocked. Before I could react urgently, I heard Caiwei cursing sounds coming from outside. I asked Shuixiu to go out to see it. It turned out that it was Xixi again, and hurriedly delivered hot soup. But the soup bowl fell on the snow and was not broken. However, the hot soup was spilled all over the floor. Caiwei cursed with regret: "Look at what you can do? Now you can't do it well if you only serve tea and water. In the future, you are the one who keeps your business. You are most afraid of crying when you keep your hands!"

I shook my head and told Shui Xiu that she would not scold me anymore. Cai Wei outside scolded her in anger: "I really can't go to the table."

Then, Shui Xiu walked over and persuaded her for a few words before she persuaded her.

And at this moment, my heart suddenly jumped.

Can't be put on the table?

Sacrifice to the Mingtang...

Sacrifice to the Mingtang is not an ordinary prayer or sacrificial ceremony. This is a very grand and ancient ritual passed down from ancient times. Take the present for example. Pei Yuanhao has no way to hold a sacrifice to the Mingtang, not because he lacks his ability, but because the ritual of the Mingtang has almost been lost. If he is not done well, he will only make people laugh, like a monkey.

Emperor Gao, they were grassland nobles, but after all, they were the barbarians in the eyes of the people of the Central Plains. They gradually began to merge with the ancient etiquette of the Central Plains many years after entering the Central Plains. Before that, they did not understand the many etiquettes of the Central Plains at all, and it also caused a period of disagreement. And it was even more impossible for them to know about the important and ancient etiquette of the sacrifice hall.

Therefore—"failure" is likely to be due to the incomplete ritual of sacrifice and failure to succeed.

However, on March 14th, the day before Emperor Gao ascended the throne, the sacrifice to the Mingtang was successful, and only seven days apart were separated by one another.

It is absolutely impossible to sort out the entire set of sacrifice rituals in these seven days from scratch. Even Fu Badai may not be able to recover the sacrifice ceremony until now. The Gao Emperor, the ministers and generals who followed him were probably brave and warriors. They could fight against a hundred on the battlefield, but I could almost assert that it was impossible to let them host such a grand ceremony.

Then, the only possibility is that during this period, a person who knew all the rituals of sacrifice appeared. He gave advice to Emperor Gao, restored the entire set of rituals of sacrifice, and allowed this Mingtang sacrifice to be realized.

Thinking of this, my eyes slowly looked out the door.

Shui Xiu was pushing the door and walking in. Seeing that I looked at her with a daze, she asked, "Girl, what's wrong?"

“…”
To be continued...