Between the vast sea of ​​clouds

Qingping closed her eyes in the dark, since she stepped into Chang'an, this day will always come.She thought indifferently, her heart was like stagnant water, no matter how happy, angry, sad, or happy, she would not be disturbed. She said lightly: "Then please lead the way."

Although Tianshu didn't spend much time with her, he generally knew what kind of person she was. Now, he frowned after hearing her flat words and couldn't see her expression clearly.She did not intend to bring Qingping into the palace, but the sacred order cannot be violated, she suppressed the discomfort in her heart, and said: "Forbidden place in the palace, please trouble your lord to make up and change your appearance, so that you can go in with me."

While speaking, the lights in the backyard were turned on, and the dim light was fainted through the heavy rain curtain. Qingping's fingers shook, and he saw Tianshu's serious face, and the secret path was not good.In the rain, a person held a lantern and pushed open the door: "I didn't know that there was a distinguished guest visiting late at night, why didn't you tell me?"

It was the voice of a young man, Tianshu's face changed slightly, and he subconsciously grasped the long sword at his waist. She came here to serve Chu Jun's secret order, so naturally, the fewer people who know about it, the better.

Unexpectedly, Qingping alarmed Zhang Wei. The patient had always been a light sleeper, but now it was still raining outside. She went to help him into the hall, and complained, "You don't even open an umbrella when it rains. You are already weak, so be careful if you catch a cold again." .”

The intimacy between the words dilutes the stalemate in the air before, Zhang Wei was stunned for a few months, and he knew what to do, so he followed her words, saying: "It's nothing, just a little rain, not so delicate."

Who is she trying to misunderstand?Zhang Wei is not stupid, on the contrary he is very smart, otherwise he would not have gone to Beijing to hide his account book for revenge.The two appeared to be close to each other for a while, but in fact they just stood a little closer.Tianshu, who was standing by the door, stared coldly for a while, and said in a cold tone: "Master Li, don't waste time."

Seeing this, Zhang Wei whispered: "Go, don't worry about me."

Qingping nodded, gathered his cloak for him, and followed Tianshu out of the mansion.

The sound of the rain gradually became denser, and it didn't take long for it to pour down.The rain was getting heavier, and the palaces and pavilions were submerged in the vast water vapor. Qingping listened to the sound of the rain outside, but felt that his heart had never been so peaceful.

Tianshu suddenly asked: "Master Li, forgive me for saying a word, who is that person just now?"

Qingping in the carriage turned her head sideways to look at the steam rising outside the window, a drop of rain was picked up by the rotating wheels, and flew from the window to her open palm, she ignored Tianshu's vigilant eyes in the dark compartment, Suddenly his expression slowed down, and he said in a gentle tone: "I'm not afraid that adults will laugh at me, that's my fiancé, and I'm going to get married soon."

Tianshu was speechless for a while, and didn't know what to say. The carriage stopped at a certain place, she made a gesture of please, and exhaled gently, and got out of the car only to find that it was by a side door.

I don't know which palace's side door this is. In the bleak and rainy night, there is a lantern hanging under the eaves of the door, illuminating the mottled and peeling facade, and most of the red paint has faded. Tianshu pushed open the half-closed red door, and led her Entering a small room, all kinds of washing utensils are prepared in the room, a new set of clothes is placed in a wooden box on the table, and a waist card, Tianshu said: "Please change your clothes, my lord, I will guide you later." Go to the Chonghua Palace to meet His Highness. Please act quickly, I am afraid there is not enough time."

With his back turned to her, Qingping didn't answer, but just untied the corset and put it on the shelf beside him, signaling with gestures that she could step back.

Her actions were inexplicably similar to Chu Jun's, Tianshu almost blurted out His Highness, and when he realized it, he had already exited the door, and the door was also closed with a bang, almost hitting the head of the guard's nose.

After a while, Qingping came out. Her hair was pulled up with a red thread, and she was wearing an ordinary court lady's attire. Tianshu looked at her attire and found nothing wrong, so he led her through the remote palace road. The palace gate was unimpeded all the way, walking towards the bright palace in the rain.

Chonghua Palace is where the empress dowagers of all ages lived. In the night, there was the sound of rain, and the glazed lamps emitted a gentle and bright light, illuminating a corner of the water.The lotus leaf gathers a pool of clear water, and quietly submerges into the water along the edge of the leaf.Large and small ripples rippling on the surface of the water, vaguely reflecting the silhouettes of passing people.

Tianshu stopped suddenly, and said in a low voice: "Liu Shangnv, the lower officials have already brought you here."

Qingping looked up and happened to meet the man's eyes.

A look of joy flashed across Liu Zhen's face, she smiled at Qingping, and said, "My lord, please go to the side hall to rest first, Your Highness still has something to order you."

She said softly to Qingping: "Please come with me—"

Qingping bowed slightly and said, "Thank you."

Liu Zhen froze in place, suddenly unable to speak.

It was rare for her to be so at a loss. No one knew that Liu Shangnv, who was serving by the side of His Royal Highness the Empress Dowager of the Chonghua Palace, did things safely, so that no one could find any faults.But at this time, she didn't know what to do with her old friend who was estranged from life.

Qingping didn't speak, the two walked slowly one after the other, Liu Zhen wanted to say a few words to her, but there was so much inconvenience here, she had to hold back until she came to a door.There are intricate cloud patterns carved on the door. Hundreds of birds are circling, chasing the depths of the clouds, and the feathers and tail feathers of the birds are barely visible in the light.Liu Zhen knocked on the door lightly, and said in a low voice, "Your Highness, the person has already been brought."

It took a while for a familiar voice to come from inside, saying, "Come in."

Liu Zhen pushed open the door carefully, Qingping lifted his hem and stepped over the gate and walked in, the door behind him slowly closed.

The room is warm and fragrant, the decoration is extremely luxurious, and the light and elegant fragrance blows over the face.Qingping walked through the hanging curtain, but what he remembered was the scene in the study in the past.She never looked at the people on the seat, and knelt down in front of Majesty Dan without saying a word.

Chu Jun sat alone on the chair, and there were no accompanying palace attendants in the palace. Obviously, he had made preparations early in the morning and dismissed a group of irrelevant people.She stared at the kneeling and saluting person for a long time before saying: "Get up, Qingping."

Only then did Qingping straighten up, kneel down on the ground, and look up at her.

She is indeed different from before, Qingping thinks so.

Chu Jun was dressed in a golden crown, sitting in a wooden chair, with his hands resting on the carved phoenix bird on the armrest.Her dark pupils reflect the wealth and splendor of the room, but she is not intoxicated by power and power, but is as cold as a star in an autumn night.

It turns out that there is such a kind of person who is born to stand in the highest and most dangerous place, hold the power of the sky, and look down upon all living beings.

Qingping was a little dazed. In those intricate memories, the person who whispered to her in the night boat in Yunzhou under the sky full of stars has faded away, replaced by the person in front of her.

It was the first time she saw her appearance so carefully, not in the lonely late night, relying on some longing and memories, the blurred face was outlined a thousand times.She was completely visible in the brilliant lights, the strangeness was greater than the familiarity, and she was already the opposite of what she looked like in her heart.

Just for a moment, many thoughts flashed by, she bent down to bow again, but she was incomparably obedient, and said respectfully: "The guilty minister dare not."

For a while, only the sound of rain continued outside the hall, Chu Jun rubbed his forehead with his hand, let out a breath, and said slowly: "What are you going to do, get up and talk first."

Qing Ping was unmoved by it, and only said: "The guilty minister dare not."

Seeing that she was still saying the same thing, Chu Jun suddenly smiled and said, "I'll wake you up."

The coercion in her words was like a landslide and tsunami and could no longer be concealed. Qingping looked at her and said: "The criminal department is still wanted, and the crime of collaborating with the enemy and treason has not been eliminated. How dare the guilty minister stand in front of His Highness? It is better to kneel and speak more freely." .”

Chu Jun's face sank like water, and he said, "The arrest warrant from the Ministry of Criminal Justice will be taken down after the war, and the crime of collaborating with the enemy and treason will not be on your shoulders. If you have resentment in your heart, there is no need to do so... She was a little disturbed, she closed her eyes and said, "You have worked hard on the mission to Xirong, and in exchange for the peace agreement, and Ding Qian has defected to the enemy—"

Qing Ping suddenly said: "How does Your Highness know about Mr. Ding's treason and collusion with the enemy?"

Chu Jun opened his eyes, looked at her and said slowly: "Before the Xirong army attacked Anping County, the government and the public already knew about it."

Qing Ping's eyes trembled slightly, and he said in a low voice: "Your Highness has no plan left. I'm afraid you didn't know about it until then? You knew that Ding Qian would join the enemy, but you deliberately arranged her into the mission... .As a result, the mission was ambushed and all died on the grassland!"

She stood up suddenly, her lips moved, her teeth trembled, as if she was suppressing some emotion, Chu Jun looked at her red eyes, sighed: "Indeed, you have suffered."

"No, Your Highness, what's the point of this hard work?" Qing Ping laughed out loud as she spoke, a water mark slipped across her cheek, and she continued in a hoarse voice as if unconscious: "This is not counted. What... the suffering is that the [-] people who had to leave their homes and flee to other places when Anping City was destroyed were Sun Congshan who led his men in the city to resist and died! Killing the fugitives... The victims were displaced in the snowstorm, but the imperial court did not allow the two counties to open the gates, so they were forced to die!"

She originally spoke hoarsely, but gradually lowered her voice, and said with a snort: "It's ridiculous, Anpingping! How can I be safe and peaceful?"

Chu Jun didn't say a word, just sat on the seat and looked at her calmly.Qingping suddenly had the feeling that what she said was just a joke, she lowered her head, her face was mottled with tears, and her prickly face was in pain, she said: "I am so stupid, Your Highness must have already expected this, and I still need to Am I talking nonsense here, counting all kinds of things?"

Chu Jun folded his sleeves, and said calmly: "Although Anping fell, hundreds of thousands of Xirong troops were led into the belly of Yunzhou, making it impossible for them to turn back. Now that Juning Pass has been closed, there will be no such country as Xirong after the national war. The grassland can also be recovered, and the territory of our country can be expanded to the northeast to Damu Snow Mountain. The royal court is destroyed, the golden tent is gone, and the grassland tribes are no longer in harmony. Invincible hand, this is a grand event that has never happened in thousands of years! Qingping, you have made great achievements as an envoy to Xirong, and you will be promoted later—”

"Promotion?" Qing Ping interrupted her, suddenly laughed in a low voice, and said, "When I was in the Golden Tent, someone told me that I was just a thing, and was sent to exchange for another thing! If you want me to come back, no one thinks I can come back!"

She raised her head, water flashed in her eyes, and the traces on her face were dry. She sneered and said, "I really misjudged the person, and I was extremely stupid. I actually believed what you said, thinking that as long as I went to Xirong, I would be safe! How ridiculous! I fled day and night in the grassland, and my companions died one after another. What are you doing? When Anping fell, did you think about the original promise? As long as you are in Yunzhou, you must protect Is this place safe?!"

She stood on the steps and looked down at Chu Jun. Chu Jun stood up, put his hands on Qingping's shoulders, and said, "But at that time I had already returned to Chang'an, not in Yunzhou."

Her dark eyes rolled with complicated and unspeakable emotions, she looked at her with some puzzlement, and frowned, "The situation in the court was unclear at that time, if I hadn't rushed back to Chang'an at that time, my second sister would have been wronged a long time ago." I'm going to do it. Don't you understand, if you have no power, no power, and a corner, how can you and I meet each other?"

Qingping was dumb for a moment, shook off her hand, and said in disbelief: "I'm really crazy. When the Juning Pass was broken that day, I actually wanted to turn back and live and die with you. This is really... really ridiculous Extreme!"

She staggered back from the steps and fell to the ground. The red rope that tied her hair fell loose, and her long hair poured down, covering her face. Chu Jun wanted to help her, but saw her shoulders shrugged slightly, confused Looking at the tall crane-shaped lampstand beside Danbi, he hesitated for a moment, and finally withdrew his hand.

Qingping suddenly seemed to have thought through a lot of things. Those things that he was unwilling to distinguish carefully and think about clearly before, now vaguely surfaced, strung together by an invisible thread, seemingly irrelevant , In fact, it is a step that has already been buried.She is just a pawn in the hands of people, being pushed away, thinking that she is in control of her own destiny, but she is still walking on the established path, naively expecting something.

She got up from the ground with her hair disheveled, and said tremblingly: "...Indeed, in Your Highness's heart, I am a courtier on behalf of the country first, and I need to obey the orders of the Lord and dedicate myself to the country; then I am your subject , if the timing is not right, you can throw it away at will. But I don’t understand, if His Highness has an order, how can a courtier not follow? Why do you have to tell me something romantic and affectionate?”

She smiled miserably, stepped back step by step, and said, "Don't you think it's very interesting to see me lose my mind and lose my mind?"

Chu Jun's face was extremely ugly, his hands clenched the back of the chair, his eyes were filled with anger, Qingping didn't seem to see him, he turned around and walked away quickly, he stopped and looked back in front of the temple door carved with a hundred birds chasing the phoenix, through the heavy curtain, suddenly Said: "...On the boat that night, I really thought about it, if the mission was detained in Xirong, and I didn't see it again in 30 or [-] years, what should I do?"

The water stains submerged into the cracks of the bricks under her feet, and as soon as she finished speaking, she lost her soul for a moment, and then felt that she was empty inside, as if there was only this walking dead body left, and her soul had already been scattered with tonight's words.

"It's not difficult to come to hell to see you again, Your Highness, I'm never afraid of death, I can wait, it's just—"

Qingping suddenly stopped talking, and the last one disappeared as soon as the words came out. Her voice lowered, like a dream: "——It's just a fool's dream."

She opened the door and left, the night wind drove straight in, the candles in the hall flickered, the curtains swayed slightly, Chu Jun sat back in the chair, the idiot's dream still echoed in the hall, and merged with the sound of rain outside the window, blending into the long night.