Between the vast sea of ​​clouds

Since the beginning of autumn, the sky has been getting late and early, and some palace people have hung up the lamps before the time of You. The lights in the Chonghua Palace are brightly lit, and it looks like a bright and gorgeous heavenly palace in the darkening sky.

This is the place where the empress dowager lives. The present majesty was a concubine empress dowager when she was in the vassal, but she passed away before she arrived in Chang'an, so naturally there is no need to live in this hall.After being idle for nearly 30 years, Chonghua Palace has once again ushered in a new owner.

Because it is the residence of the young emperor, the luxurious furnishings in the palace, the golden utensils and jade cups, and the flying young phoenix all reflect the noble status of the user.The study room was elegantly furnished, and Hu Yu, who was in charge of the Chonghua Palace, presented the memorial and said: "Your Highness, this is played by the Ministry of Rites, please show me."

After finishing speaking, she stepped back cautiously, holding her breath.Out of the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of a plain white hand taking the memorial, and there was the sound of the paper being flipped open, and then she heard the empress dowager say, "Is there any news about the mission to Xirong?"

Hu Xun didn't dare to raise his head, respectfully said: "Yes."

Now the Holy Majesty is recuperating from illness, and orders the eunuch to supervise the country, with the assistance of the cabinet.The news revealed in it couldn't be more obvious. When Hu Xuan was promoted to be in charge of the Chonghua Palace, he had already been reminded by the elders in the family that he must be on duty under the empress's hands, and there must be some fortune in the future.

Before this, she had never seen this young princess, but she had only heard people say that King Xin Chujun prayed for his father in the mansion and rarely left the mansion, and almost no one knew her appearance and character.When this person was a prince, he never went out behind closed doors, and he never saw guests. Now he has become a young emperor, but not many people know his temperament. Take a breath; but what kind of person this new owner is, in detail, no one can say.I am afraid that the Holy Majesty also thought so, so he ordered the eunuch to supervise the country, so that he could get acquainted with all the ministers.

Hu Xun boldly glanced at the person sitting at the table, the purple robe made her complexion like jade, in terms of appearance alone, the princesses in front were indeed not as good as this one.The king of Yue lost his elegance, and the king of Qi lost his majesty.As for the county king, his body looked too weak, and he was on the verge of falling when the wind blew, and he could never bear the heavy burden of the young emperor.I don't know if it is her delusion, but it has not been half a month since she joined Chonghua Palace, every time she sees Her Royal Highness, she feels oppressed like she is facing an abyss,

She was thinking wildly, when she heard the princess say: "Master Hu, please send the notebook back to the Ministry of Rites."

Hu Xun reacted very quickly, took the memorial from the desk, and said: "I obey the order."

Chu Jun saw her go out of the palace gate, so he put down the vermilion pen, got up and walked a few steps in the study, loosening his muscles and bones.

The bright lanterns illuminate the palace like daylight.She picked up a directory of Chonghua Palace officials and flipped through a few pages. Now almost all factions are sending people to Chonghua Palace. Cannot be reused at this time.

She sorted through the list, put it back on the table, stood by the window, looked at the outline of the palace faintly visible in the night, and rubbed the center of her brows lightly.

A round of moon beads outside the window, full and bright.Flowing clouds whirled across the sky like a thin veil.There are many palaces in the imperial palace, which look like castles in the moon in the clear light, which is naturally extremely beautiful, but the dark tide is surging in the deep palace, but no one can see it.She has lived in the palace for nearly 30 years, and no one can understand this stormy calm better than her. The more peaceful it seems, the more murderous intent it hides.She lowered her eyes and was playing with a white jade pendant around her waist. At this time, a palace official came to report: "His Royal Highness, thank you for coming."

Chu Jun said: "Please come in."

Xie Qi hadn't seen her for almost a month since the imperial decree declared that the king of Xin was made the queen concubine.Chu Jun summoned the old man from the mansion to enter the Chonghua Palace, but with Xie Qi's qualifications, he really couldn't take up the post of in charge, so Chu Jun nominated her to be in charge of the inner palace, responsible for the entry and exit of the inner treasury.

The palace people led the people in and bowed to leave, Xie Qi came in to salute and said: "See Your Highness."

Chu Jun glanced at her, turned around and sat down at the table, and said, "What's the matter?"

After all, Xie Qi was young, and he couldn't hide things in his heart. After hesitating for a while, he said in a low voice: "Your Highness, there is no news about what you sent people to inquire about..." She glanced at Chu Jun as she spoke. , but saw that she was looking at him with a smile that was not a smile, and couldn't help but feel a sudden, stammering: "The whereabouts of Mr. Li is also unknown. The news from the spies said that the last time they saw the mission was at the edge of the golden tent."

Chu Jun's complexion was as usual, her eyelids drooped slightly, and there was a gentle smile on the corner of her mouth. She propped her chin with one hand, and casually stretched out her slender knuckles to knock on the table, and said lightly, "Really?"

Xie Qi bowed down and said: "That's right." She got up, with a little test in her eyes, and said: "Why don't you send some more people to look for it?"

"No need, let everyone come back." Chu Jun smiled slightly, looked at her and said, "Since you can't find it, you don't need to look for it anymore."

She said this lightly, which made Xie Qi almost suspicious.What is Li Qingping's position in Chu Jun's heart, and whether this person will become a variable, she has not yet figured out.She didn't dare to try to figure out what Chu Jun was thinking, and now hearing what she said so indifferently, it seemed that this intimate subject was just an indifferent plaything.

Xie Qi thinks about it again. After all, he is just a lucky minister, how can he compare with the overall situation?She then said: "Then follow His Highness's instructions, and I will do it immediately."

Before she left, she still felt a little uneasy, turned around and knelt down, and said, "Your Highness, the Eight Clans are loyal to you just for today..."

Chu Jun got down from his seat and looked down at her. Her pupils were like ink, and the room was full of lights, but she couldn't see any light in her eyes. Xie Qi suddenly felt an inexplicable chill. It was the same as before, and it seemed that some unknown place had changed.She seems to be an emperor who has ruled the world for a long time. She is not angry but arrogant. Xie Qi's little-known little thoughts seem to have nowhere to hide in her piercing eyes. Chu Jun said: "Xie Qing doesn't need to be too polite, Gu naturally knows what you want, go and tell Patriarch Xie."

Xie Qi got the answer, but in a trance, she remembered what her aunt often taught her, don't act too hastily, she vaguely felt that she shouldn't ask like this today, but the words have been spoken, and there is absolutely no possibility of taking them back.She reluctantly got up and saluted, and said: "The minister is leaving."

Chu Jun tapped lightly on the table three times, and a person came out from the corner of the hall, knelt down and said, "My lord."

Chu Jun turned to look at her, with no smile on her face, the corners of her mouth curled up mockingly, her lips were blood-colored, and said, "Where is the mission now?"

The man kowtowed and said: "According to the last secret report from Yuheng, Tianxuan and Tianshu have been mixed into the golden account due to some mistakes in the ceremony of offering sacrifices to the gods. It's just that Lord Li hasn't heard the news yet. Together with the mission, they were detained in the royal court."

Chu Jun closed her eyes slightly, then opened them slowly, she let out a breath slowly, and said, "If that's the case, then act according to what you said at the beginning."

The man said, "Yes."

Chu Jun waved her hand, and she approached the edge of the hall, her figure disappeared in an instant like a very faint ink stain washed by the rain.

After the man left, Liu Zhen walked in and said, "According to His Highness's instructions, the border guards in Yunzhou have been secretly mobilized."

Chu Jun hummed, and said: "Sister Guna is very interesting. She gave the border defense map of Yunzhou to the Xirong people. That's good. It saves some effort, and you don't have to make a fake map to fool the Xirong people."

Liu Zhen thought for a while and said, "But the court still wants to negotiate peace with Xirong. After all, Zhou Shuai has left Yunzhou."

Chu Jun smiled, Liu Zhen has followed her for many years, and now she is an internal affairs officer, complexly arranging the transfer of maids and servants in Chonghua Palace.There are some things that she shouldn't say, but the two have been together for many years, and Chu Jun has far more trust in her than Xie Qi and others, she said: "That's right, that's exactly the case."

"Xi Rong has coveted the six prefectures for a long time. If he wants to enter the customs, he needs a complete border defense map of Yun prefecture. Yuehe has been given up. I am afraid that the next step is to use the mission's visit to provoke disputes and find A reason to go to war." She stared at Liu Zhen, and said slowly: "If you have something to say, just say it."

Liu Zhen said softly: "...But, remembering that Qingping is still in the mission, this servant feels a little..."

The two masters and servants looked at each other, Liu Zhen realized that the person in front of her was already Her Majesty the Empress Dowager of the Chonghua Palace. Holding her, Liu Zhen's pupils shrank slightly, and her heart was filled with wordless fear. She wanted to kneel again, but Chu Jun said, "Get up."

"It's rare that you have the heart and still miss her." She said leisurely, but Liu Zhen felt her legs go weak. She has served Chu Jun for many years, and she understands her indifference far better than others. "The mission is now detained in the royal court. , if there is a war, presumably Xirong will take these people to the knife."

Liu Zhen's lips parted, but she couldn't speak a word. The candles in the hall were flickering, and the shadows around were shaking, forming all kinds of strange shapes.In the middle of the night, only the ticking of the water clock is heard, and the sound of watchmen's night watch comes from a distant place, and disappears into the depths of the palace with the leaves falling in the autumn night.

Chu Jun said: "It's late at night, go down and rest."

With lingering fears in her heart, Liu Zhen bowed and took her leave. Before leaving, she seemed to hear a slight sigh.It's just that the voice scattered in the palace before it landed, as if it never existed.

Before she left, she accidentally saw Chu Jun's face, half of her face was immersed in the light, and there was a gloomy look between her brows.Complicated emotions flickered in her eyes, and there was a little warmth under her alienated and indifferent appearance.

The last scene of Liu Zhen was to see her stroking the jade pendant around her waist. She walked through the deep palace and pavilions. This extremely gorgeous palace was so deserted. Out of the cool and lonely waves.

Thousands of miles away, the Erlan grassland was in a mess, where the royal court's iron cavalry passed, the grassland was in dilapidated condition.A full moon hung high in the sky, illuminating this miserable scene.

A group of people walked south in the night, under the sky, they were so small, and the grassland was boundless, as if it would never end.

"I'm afraid it's really going to be a war." The leader took a sip from the water bag and said.

Wu Ying pulled off her mask, panted, and said, "Juning Pass has elite soldiers and strong generals, and the Xirong people will not be able to attack for a while."

Qing Ping recalled Ding Qian's offer of pictures, and said in a low voice: "I'm afraid not necessarily, Wang Ting will not do things that lose money, and [-] cavalry will go south, and they will never return without success."

"You mean that Yunzhou will—" Wu Ying stopped suddenly, then shook her head, and said with a smile: "How could Yunzhou be breached? Xirong has been watching for a long time, and it keeps making big and small moves, but when can anyone break through Yuehe? "

Qingping said with a hoarse voice: "But we have already lost Yuehe."

In the moonlit night, the leader sneered, stuffed the water bag, and said: "Let the adults in the court worry about these things. How can it be us little people to guess?"

She urged: "Let's go, hurry to the border. When we get there, let's talk about the future."

Sitting on the horseback, Qingping looked back, the bright moon was thousands of miles away, gently stroking the broken grass, while the north was shrouded in a deep night, and there seemed to be a ferocious beast hidden in the bottomless darkness. Behind them, they will wake up at any time.

She knew in her heart that some things would not end like this.

The author has something to say: Aww, I'm going to sleep, let's talk~