Xiao Qinghuan

"I will go."

Ning Zongyuan backed away from the left and right, and nodded with his usual expression.

"Your Majesty—it can't be done!" The old servant knelt down and tried to persuade him repeatedly: "Let's not talk about your majesty's physical condition, it is too dangerous to go out of the palace in modest clothes. Now that the crisis is on the cusp, what should you do if something happens to you."

Ning Zongyuan didn't want to say more, he raised his hand and made a warning gesture to silence.

The old servant still refused to compromise, he couldn't speak, so he knelt at Ning Zongyuan's feet silently, this was the only way to express his wishes.

"I will go there on time." Ning Zongyuan looked at His Highness Yan Qing: "I will lock the Yushitai as previously agreed. You can pick up Jiang Xiaohan the night after tomorrow."

Yan Qing slightly nodded his head.

Ning Zongyuan lowered his eyes, lifted the old servant's arm with his toes, and said calmly: "It's useless to kneel here, go and make arrangements for me to leave the palace."

Before the old servant could speak, a figure flashed out from the corner of the hall. The man knelt heavily in the hall, his voice hoarse: "Your Majesty, you can't leave the capital."

This person was dressed in a black outfit, and most of his face was covered tightly by a cloth scarf.His breath was long and deep, if he hadn't jumped out by himself, even Yan Qing would not have noticed that there were other people in the hall.

——It’s the Shadow Guard.

Yan Qing looked at the backs of the two possessed and kneeling figures in the palace, only to realize that he had thought about this matter too simply - he had always regarded Ning Zongyuan as a person who was no different from himself and Lu Feng, he could not leave the palace, go to Seeing an old friend is just a result, but I don't want to have to persuade even the shadow guards who don't die or show up.

When he was in Pingjiang, Jiang Xiaohan once had a drink with him, and talked about Ning Zongyuan in a joke.Jiang Xiaohan once said that although Ning Zongyuan had a bad temperament and less attractive methods in this life, he can still be regarded as a wise king who can be passed down through the ages.

At that time, Yan Qing didn't understand what he meant, so he questioned her.Jiang Xiaohan only smiled and said, at least in his life, he never did anything that an emperor should not do.

After these days in the court, Yan Qing managed to find some ways.Everyone in the world has a last resort, and it is true for a minister, and it is even more important for a king. The framework of putting the overall situation first is here. In many cases, will is the most insignificant thing.

It seems that it was only at this time that Yan Qing vaguely understood Lu Feng's phrase "in his place".In fact, the significance of Ning Zongyuan's representative is far more than him alone. His every move is related to the world, and what he carries on his shoulders is the vast and prosperous world.

It's just that Ning Zongyuan's lifelong willfulness seems to be used here. He looked at the black-clothed man kneeling on the ground, and said in a trembling voice, "You want to stop me?"

The man's back stiffened.

Yan Qing saw it clearly in the palace, Ning Zongyuan's hands in his robe sleeves were shaking like sifting chaff, he asked again without giving an inch: "Or do you think you can stop me?"

The man leaned over and kowtowed, but didn't say anything.

Ning Zongyuan really meant what he said.In the early morning of the second day, Fan Rong's retainers handed over the leave notice to the cabinet, saying that Mr. Fan had broken his body last time, and he might not be able to get out of bed for a month or two, so he had to temporarily ask for leave and transfer the affairs of Yushitai go out.

Ning Zongyuan was quite worried, and sent an imperial doctor to make a diagnosis and treatment.The imperial doctor's reply was not much different from that of the Fan family's retainers. He said that Mr. Fan was getting old, and he rolled down more than ten steps in the freezing cold. It will also fall into a lame problem.

It didn't matter to Fan Rongyi, all the things at Yushitai were left there.

The officials who clearly supported Ning Zheng's faction before are now all plucked quails, and they dare not speak at court meetings. People from Jiang Xiaohan's faction have already received his instruction and cannot intervene in this matter, while people from Ning Yu's faction Because of my master, I dare not move without authorization.As a result, the civil and military forces of the Manchu Dynasty looked at each other in blank dismay, and no one wanted to pick up this hot potato.

As the year approached, the performance check of officials had not yet begun, and the Ministry of Officials could not come up with an idea. In the end, Shu Chuan came out to say something, saying that the affairs of Yushitai were not much different from those of the Ministry of Justice and Jing Zhaoyin, so he called The adults of the two families took care of each other first.

Before Xing Shuo could speak, the Secretary of the Ministry of Punishment hurriedly evaded, saying that the Ministry of Punishment would accept difficult files from various states and counties at the end of the year, and there was really no time for him.

The abacus in Shangshu's mind was crackling, he thought that there was still an untouchable person locked up in Yushitai, Ning Zongyuan seemed to have completely forgotten about Jiang Xiaohan, but he was still thinking about it. Ning Yu has not dealt with it on the other side, and it is inevitable that he has other plans.No matter how you think about it, it's safer to avoid it.

Most of the officials in the DPRK and China had the same thinking as the Shangshu of the Ministry of Justice, and they only thought that Jiang Xiaohan, who was Xing Shuo's leader, would throw it back to him.

Poor Mr. Yin Xing of Jingzhao Mansion suffered from his slow talk, he didn't have time to say anything, so he threw himself such a big job.

In the afternoon of the same day, news came out from the inner palace that Ning Zongyuan was caught in the wind and became seriously ill, so he had to stop court for three days and let the cabinet take charge of court affairs temporarily.

Ning Huaijin and Ning Yan were sent to the palace to serve the sick, while Ning Yu was sent to the Taichang Temple to handle the New Year's End Sacrifice.

In two days, it took only 24 hours to count. Compared with 24 years, it was as short as the blink of an eye.

The eighth day of the winter month happens to be the winter solstice.

Originally, there should be a palace banquet in this heavenly palace, and the emperor will give vegetables, and drink winter wine with the officials to show the meaning of the officials' blind date.It's just that Ning Zongyuan was seriously ill this year, and he didn't mention which prince to supervise it. There seemed to be a tacit understanding between the monarch and his ministers, and Taichang Temple simply skipped this matter intentionally or unintentionally.

A double carriage with pentagonal copper bells hanging out from the side gate of the imperial city, circled around the inner city, and left the city silently at sunset.

The other courtyard in the suburbs of Beijing was secretly cleaned up by the shadow guards yesterday, and the servants who were guarding the other courtyard were also excused away. Now this huge courtyard is brightly lit, as bright as day, but there is only one person inside. nothing.

Ning Zongyuan left all the shadow guards beside him outside the other courtyard, and walked slowly into the other courtyard by himself.

This Zhuangzi is not very big, there are only three courtyards for people to live in, and the rest have been expanded into back gardens, and an open-air pool has been built with hot spring water. Begonia trees have been planted lushly in half of the courtyard, and the flowers are in full bloom at this time. ,

Ning Zongyuan has not been to this other courtyard for 20 years.He walked around each courtyard with nostalgia, and finally walked to the back garden, and stopped to look at the crabapple flowers for a while.

The crabapple flowers are delicate and beautiful, and they are made even brighter by the red candles. The branches are trembling slightly in the cold wind, but the flowers are blooming more and more colorful, don't be a bit stubborn inside.

Ning Zongyuan stood too far away for fear that he might not be able to see clearly, so he didn't give up until he walked to the hot spring pool. His calf was slightly scorched by the steam from the hot spring pool, and he didn't take a step back, looking at the tree full of crabapple flowers almost greedily.

The flowers bloom so well every year, it seems that they will never grow old.Unlike him, time flies, and he is already in his twilight years, and he feels powerless even standing for a long time.Ning Zongyuan stood by the woods for a long time, then looked away reluctantly, turned around and walked slowly towards the main courtyard.

The main courtyard is brightly lit, and several pieces of tulle are hung in the house, which are almost transparent through the flame of the candle.The silver carbon charcoal was burning vigorously in the stove in the corner, and a thick layer of velvet blanket was spread on the bottom, which was soft and comfortable to step on, and made no sound at all.

Ning Zong sat down on the main seat in a self-conscious manner. The string of beads he used to wear before had been broken, but now he changed to a pair of sandalwood beads, and he always felt a little swaying.

Today, Ning Zongyuan is no longer in a hurry.He originally thought that the final touch would be difficult, but when he was actually sitting here, he felt calm instead.

If Lu Feng agrees, he will always come.

At the second watch, the crabapple tree outside the window swayed, and the candle close to the rear window was tilted for a moment, and soon stood wobbly again.

Ning Zongyuan opened his eyes, there was no one in the room, only half a figure was reflected on the hanging tulle.The figure swayed with the candlelight, and even the outline was not very clear.Only a faint sigh in the air was left to convince Ning Zongyuan that this was not a hallucination in his dream.

"...You want to go out, why don't you bring the shadow guards with you."

Ning Zongyuan squeezed the beads in his hand, and said coldly: "With you here, what shadow guard do you want?"

Lu Feng smiled lightly.

That laughter was so close, it seemed to be right outside the door in front of Ning Zongyuan.

Ning Zongyuan stood up and took two steps towards the door. He raised his hand halfway, already making the gesture of pushing the door, but he just froze in place, and finally did not push the door open.

He withdrew his hand and said in a hoarse voice: "It's all here, don't you want to come in?"

Lu Feng was actually lying on the beam of the corridor at the door, holding a pot of Lihuabai in his hand, staring at the shadows on the door that were near at first and then far away.The candles in the room were brightly lit, and Ning Zongyuan's figure was clearly reflected on the doors and windows. He was hunched over, and he was short of breath when speaking. He always had to catch his breath before he could finish a sentence.

Ning Zongyuan thought it was well hidden, but Lu Feng heard it clearly.

Lu Feng turned his eyes away and looked at the sky beside him.It stopped just before the heavy snow, and the moon was bright and the stars were sparse in the sky. Lu Feng squinted his eyes and looked at the star map, and finally sighed after a long time: "It's not necessary."

I haven't seen each other for more than [-] years, and now there is a layer of veil as thin as a cicada's wing, and a door that opens as soon as I push it, and I don't know who it is.

"Lu Feng!" Ning Zongyuan was stung by his words, and the calm he had been trying to maintain collapsed in an instant. He gritted his teeth and said in a hateful voice: "Sounding high-sounding! You don't have the guts to see me at all, you are afraid that I will see you!" After coming out, you have practiced for so many years, but your heart is still not calm!"

Lu Feng was speechless.

What Ning Zongyuan said was absolutely correct, if he really let go, he should enter the house openly and attend this appointment for Yan Qing as an old friend.But Lu Feng selfishly didn't want to pick himself clean, he only thought of the last moment, and all the grievances and entanglements were still between him and Ning Zongyuan.

"It's been 20 years, it doesn't matter if it's necessary or not." Lu Feng closed his eyes: "Why do you want to see me?"

"Then why are you willing to come to see me?" Ning Zongyuan retorted: "Back then you walked away without saying a word. I want an explanation. What's wrong?"

Ning Zongyuan's self-proclaim changed quietly, but neither of the two inside and outside the house noticed.

The pot of pear blossoms was turned upside down in Lu Feng's hands, but he didn't dare to drink at all - his mind was not clear after drinking, and he was afraid that he would say something impulsively.

"Differences do not conspire." Lu Feng simply put the pot of wine on the beam, and the star map in the sky slowly shifted. Lu Feng stared at the flickering glowing star, and said slowly: " I thought you figured it out 20 years ago."

"I'm suspicious and ruthless." Ning Zongyuan didn't smile like a smile, and didn't cry like a cry: "But Lu Feng, ask yourself, do I have the slightest suspicion of you, have I ever thought of killing you for a moment! "

"So what... I trained Haitang Guards for you back then because you said that the royal family had serious strife, and I did it to protect you." Lu Feng sighed lightly: "But what did you do? You stole me The random medicine turned Haitang Guard into a shadow guard who has never seen the light, killing people and setting fire for you... The royal family is fighting, brothers are killing each other, you really didn't lie to me, but you didn't tell me that you were one of them .”

"Then what can I do!" Ning Zongyuan turned his face away: "I am also a prince, why can't I fight for the great cause of this world!"

"So you took my hexagram lottery, brought the destiny of the Lord of Kunlun's personal letter, and your invincible Haitang Wei, and ascended the throne step by step, right." Lu Feng said: "It is true that the emperor's Trust is more precious than imperial love - but I don't think it's enough. I want to be wholehearted, not second-best."

"Ning Zongyuan, the imperial city is so cold." Lu Feng said: "...I once said that I would take you away."

It was he himself who did not choose this path, Ning Zongyuan admitted.

"Lu Feng!" Ning Zongyuan knew that he was wronged, but he still resented his decision indescribably, and hissed, "Don't forget, you were the one who provoked me first!"

This decayed and tattered body couldn't stand such great joy and sorrow, Ning Zongyuan staggered and fell on the soft blanket, coughing heart-piercingly with his back arched, blood oozing from his fingers, shocking.

Looking at his swaying shadow, Lu Feng felt empty in his heart.

Ning Zongyuan was wrong, but he never gave up thinking that he could change him, and indulged him again and again, until he reached the point where he couldn't end it.

At this time, there is no conclusion to argue about what is right and what is wrong.Between him and Ning Zongyuan, there is an unclear account, even if the ashes return to the ashes in this life, there will be no way to tell who is right and who is wrong in front of the palace of the king of hell in the future.

Lu Feng himself could see clearly that both he and Ning Zongyuan were stubborn people at heart.

In the end, no one is wrong.Ning Zongyuan is a prince, so it is understandable that he is interested in the great cause. The relationship between the two of them is just a pale and inappropriate sentence in the final analysis.

To put it a bit more vulgarly, the family is not right—he disagrees with what Ning Zongyuan approves, and Ning Zongyuan who he likes scoffs at him. The two have struggled and entangled for four years, but no one has convinced the other.

Ning Zongyuan almost coughed up his heart and liver, there is no follower here, no servant, not even someone to pour a glass of water for him.Ning Zongyuan slowed down for a long time before he took a breath.

He had just walked through the gate of the ghost gate, and his muscles and bones were all weak, and he didn't even have the strength to rage.

——He is old, Ning Zongyuan thought, and so is Lu Feng.

This idea cannot be erased together, Ning Zongyuan smiled mockingly, wiped the blood from the corners of his lips, and felt that his noisy appearance just now was really like a joke.

He was thinking about Lu Feng - he was thinking about it when he dreamed back at midnight, and he was thinking about it when he couldn't help himself.He would think countless times of the upright and handsome Lu Feng standing in front of him, holding out his hand to him with a beautiful bay red horse, and asking him if he wanted to go with him.

But just think about it, Ning Zongzi admits that he has never regretted it in his life.It's just that the scene appeared in his dreams countless times, and it almost became an obsession that haunted him all his life.

Thinking about it carefully, it was nothing more than regret and unwillingness.

"You're right." Ning Zongyuan said suddenly: "I'm in the house, you are outside, it's been the same for so many years. I'm willing to be chained in the imperial city, and you are free in the vast world outside... In the end , we are not all the way."

"Lu Feng." Ning Zongyuan struggled to get up from the ground, moved to the side of the tea table, propped up his body on the legs of the table to barely sit still, he looked at the bloodshot eyes in his skinny palm, and said desolately: "Do people have souls? "

He hadn't talked to Lu Feng in such a peaceful manner for a long time, and the years had distorted his memory until it became blurry, but he vaguely remembered that he had asked this question once a long time ago.

Lu Feng answered quickly: "Yes."

"That's bad. You people in Kunlun claim to communicate with yin and yang. If I die and refuse to leave, wouldn't it be embarrassing to pester you day and night?" Ning Zongyuan smiled and shook his head. Before Lu Feng could answer, he Stopped first: "But it's impossible to think about it. Even if the emperor dies, he will be crushed in the imperial tomb to guard the evil spirits. After thousands of years, when the last wisp of soul is exhausted, it will be scattered in the wind to dry up. Clean, no need for reincarnation... It's very boring to think about it."

Lu Feng whispered: "No."

Ning Zongyuan couldn't laugh anymore, he gasped for breath with difficulty, his throat made an unpleasant hissing sound like a leak, his throat seemed to contain a mouthful of blood, every word and sentence was forcefully squeezed out from the flesh and blood: "What, are you going to lure my soul?"

"I know, you won't. You can see better than anyone else, and understand what is meant by going to the end better than me." Ning Zongyuan sighed: "If you live such a chaotic life in this life, you won't have to see it in the next life." ... If there is a next life, tell me to be a flower or a grass, so that I can live a life that I don’t have to choose.”

Ning Zongyuan's present calm and peaceful appearance made Lu Feng's heart ache even more than the insane appearance just now - he knew that today was the last time he would see each other. Whether it hurts or not.

The door was still not pushed open in the end, Ning Zongyuan stared at Lu Feng's shadow obsessively, trying to overlap that shadow with the figure in his memory.

"In the end, I won... I have been a wise king for a lifetime. I have made contributions to the society and have no faults in the government. Every inch of the country you step on has my name. Under the bright moon, you are all my subjects." Speaking of this, Ning Zongyuan was relieved: "The rest are not important. It doesn't matter if love, love, or disappear. But as long as Kunlun is still passed down from generation to generation, and the history books are compiled a hundred years later, your name will always be in my book superior."

Lu Feng was silent for a long time, and then said softly: "...that's fine."

The author says:

Regarding the ending of Lu Feng's line, I thought about it a long time ago, including meeting and this way of meeting~ I personally always feel that Ning Zongyuan's character design cannot be simply referred to as "scum or not", including The relationship between him and Lu Feng, although it is undeniable that Ning Zongyuan was more wrong, but it is not as simple as black and white.It took me a long time to write this part of the meeting and farewell, and there was an overthrow and start again. It seems to me that I can barely write out what I want, so I can count it as a pass.In short, this is the ending of the line between Lu Feng and Ning Zongyuan. There should be a side story about their stories~ *so2azj51r fed the fish food~Thanks to the catnip fed by Chen Ye~Thanks to the canned cat food fed by the steamed crab~