Mikago

After hearing the word "date", Zhao Yang's fierce expression disappeared immediately.

"That's him?" He pointed to Lu You, his eyes shining with curiosity.

Lu You understood that there was no way to escape what happened next, so he decided to take the initiative to take off the burlap covering his head.

"and many more!"

Zhao Yang suddenly screamed, and then reached into the pile of flowers and patted it hard.

"Don't hurry up!"

I saw a white and naked woman suddenly emerged from the pile of flowers. She was so ashamed that she lowered her head and "plopped" into the water, and then swam away vigorously.

Everyone around the pond was quickly dismissed.Only then did Zhao Yang let Lu You walk up to the flower boat, took off the burlap from Lu You's head with his own hands, and then took a deep breath.

"how can that be?!"

"This face is made after acquired corrections."

Speaking of lies, Qi Yunchu didn't even blink his eyes: "This shooting salute is no more trivial than the previous ones, and everything must be perfect. Your Highness, you don't want to be exposed on the spot, do you?"

Zhao Yang was the one with a rebellious bone, and opened his mouth to retort: ​​"But I hate people with my face! Bring a knife, I'll cut it with my own hands first!"

not good.Lu You gasped.

Qi Yunchu didn't say a word, obviously he didn't intend to help him out.

Lu You understands that you can't rely on others for everything, no matter what, you must first make your own voice.

"Your Highness, since the villain followed Master Qi into the palace, everything from head to toe is at your disposal. But before you make a decision, Your Highness, please listen to the villain."

Then Zhao Yang raised his eyebrows: "Oh? If you have any nonsense, let's listen to it."

What should be said?

Lu You was anxious in his heart, his eyes wandered in private, and suddenly found a string of bright red bracelets on the flower boat, which must have been left by the maid just now.

There was a sudden "thump" in his heart, and he leaned over to pick up the bracelet.

"Your Highness, please take a look."

He brought the bracelet in front of Zhao Yang: "Does Your Highness know what kind of material this bracelet is made of?"

"Coral!" Zhao Yang glanced impatiently and reported the answer.

Lu You shook his head and said, "Your Highness has a body of ten thousand gold. I have seen all rare treasures. I naturally thought it was a string of beads polished by red coral. But in fact, it is just a string of ordinary red beans."

"Red beans?" Zhao Yang was slightly surprised, but frowned again: "What's the point of saying this?!"

"The meaning is that corals and red beans, although similar in appearance for a while, are different in value and inferiority. In the end, they are no match for the postgraduate entrance examinations of time. Your Highness, you are the precious South China Sea red coral. A human is just a red bean, even if it can be bright for a while, it will eventually decay and fade, and it cannot be compared with coral.”

"Oh?" Zhao Yang raised his eyebrows: "Your statement is new, but after all, is it to tell me not to touch you?"

Lu You said modestly: "How dare a villain influence His Highness's mind. The villain just thinks that since His Highness needs this, it is better to make good use of it before it decays and fades. The villain is willing to go through fire and water for His Highness, and he will do whatever he wants."

Zhao Yang is a careless master, his face is already full of complacency.But his mouth still refused to let go: "But you look so much like me, what if you take my place while I'm not around, so what?"

"Your Highness, you don't need to worry about this matter." Qi Yunchu finally said: "Lu You is already a middle man. If he has the will to presume, I will be the first to spare him."

"The body of a middle man?"

Zhao Yang's eyes lit up again, and he suddenly made a ridiculous request: "Take off your pants!"

"..." Lu You was really caught off guard, "Your Highness, you..."

"Where does all this nonsense come from, take off!"

Of course, it is impossible to disobey King Duan's order.Lu You was heartbroken, and could only take off his clothes, and took off all his clothes, revealing places that he didn't even dare to look at on weekdays.

But Zhao Yang asked Qi Yunchu to get a candle and shine it on that place.

"Cut. Another half-assed one."

Zhao Yang snorted disdainfully.

"I have told my father several times that these middle-class people, if they want to be cut off, they will all be cut off. As many as they die, as many as they die. Anyway, there are so many people rushing into the palace in Daning. yes."

Having said that, he reached out and flicked Lu You's things abruptly.

"You really don't feel it?"

Lu You was embarrassed and shy; "...it will hurt."

"Will it hurt?"

Zhao Yang nodded, but suddenly grabbed the thing again and squeezed it hard.

"what--"

Lu You's eyes turned black from the pain, and her legs almost went limp, but she covered her mouth and didn't make too much noise.

Zhao Yang didn't know how long he held on, and finally let go, looking at Lu You's painful expression in his spare time.

"Look at your bear, you are really a slave for the rest of your life. This king will spare you today, remember! Be good to me on the day of the shooting ceremony. If you dare to spoil this king's good deeds, be careful that I will take you from the beginning. Cut the feet into pieces and throw them to the dogs!"

After saying that, he didn't look at Lu You any more, and went straight to the Huiqing Palace after leaving the boat and landing.

"How about it."

Qi Yunchu stood aside with his hands behind his back, and asked softly.

Lu You quickly tidied up his clothes, and then let out a sigh of relief: "It's much easier to deal with than I thought."

"It just caught up with him when he was in a good mood."

Qi Yunchu smiled slightly.

"Of course, among the princes in the current court, the most difficult person to deal with is definitely not the Xuan Wang Zhao Yang."

--------

On the third day of the cold food, the rain took a break.Every family went out for a spring outing, a hundred flowers bloomed in the Zichen Palace, and the voices of people were noisy.

At three o'clock in the morning, Lu You quietly walked into the back bedroom of Huiqing Palace, and met Xuan Wang Zhao Yang who was waiting there.

"Give me a good shot later, and I will decide how long you can live based on your performance."

After saying the final warning, Zhao Yang ordered Lu You to hand over his coat, and slipped out dressed as a little eunuch.

Lu You was the only one left in the huge bedroom, and he was at a loss as to what to do when he suddenly heard a palace maid outside greeting him.

"Your Highness, the hour is approaching, please change your clothes, Your Highness."

Wearing a luxurious purple tufted silk gown with gold hooks and jade belts around the waist.Through the precious mirror held by the waiter, Lu You seemed to see himself, and seemed to be facing the real King Xuan.

He felt his hands tremble a little.It may affect on-the-spot performance.

But now, there is no way out.

The ceremony of shooting swallows was held in front of Wude Hall on the east side of Zichen Hall.When Lu You dressed and rushed over, there were already many people standing on the square in front of the hall.

The emperor and empress were still sitting under the south eaves of the Wude Hall in the north, and the Duke of Changqiu, Qi Yunchu, personally waited on them; on both sides of the throne were the seats for the princes. Kang Wang Zhao Jing and others had already taken their seats, but the figure of Duan Wang Zhao Qing was not seen.

Under the watchful eyes of everyone, Lu You's heart beat like a drum.But he soon discovered that no one noticed his abnormality.

Compared with the banquet the night before, Lu You originally wanted to go to the right side of the throne.But there was already a young man more than ten years older than him sitting there, looking at him with a sullen expression.

Lu You's heart skipped a beat, and then he realized that this should be the Crown Prince Zhao Yun.

Prince Zhao Yun and Xuan Wang Zhao Yang are both descendants of Empress Xiao, they can be regarded as blood brothers.However, right now, Lu You could clearly feel the prince's hostility towards him, and it seemed that the relationship between the two brothers was not that great.

Worried that there would be trouble, Lu You didn't look at the prince again, but turned around and came to the throne to greet the empress.

As expected of the most beloved youngest son, Empress Xiao smiled when she saw him.

"Has Yang'er practiced well recently?"

Lu You knew that Zhao Yang usually spoke boldly, but he still didn't dare to be presumptuous. He just nodded and said: "For the empress, I have practiced hard every day recently. I just hope that I can live up to the expectations of the empress."

"Humph."

The emperor, who had not spoken all this time, suddenly let out a chuckle: "Before, I invited you a master of riding and archery to let you practice in the forbidden garden. Didn't you immediately hide without a trace? Why, it makes sense at this moment Is it better than singing?"

Lu You could hear that there was no real sense of blame in these words, and hurriedly replied: "Father, the emperor has learned from it. It's all because I am too young to do anything, and I have neglected the rules of etiquette and music. Now I know my mistake, please forgive me. Father, just let it go."

What he said was really euphemistic and docile, which made the emperor and Xiao Hou look at each other in dismay.

Fortunately, his appearance is so similar to Zhao Yang, that the emperor and the empress did not become suspicious, instead they jokingly said, "I will find the reason on myself. Why, don't blame that General Qianniu for being stupid and reckless, I can't teach you Is this ice and snow smart person?"

"If you go back to the father, I don't blame the general."

Lu You replied: "There is a saying in the Book of Rites: Shoot to correct yourself, and then shoot if you are upright. If you fail to hit, you will not blame the winner, but ask yourself. How can my son go away for his own laziness?" Blame someone else?"

"Oh?"

The emperor's eyes widened, apparently surprised by "Zhao Yang"'s performance today.

"I really want to look at you with admiration. Go and sit on the side obediently. I want to see what flower you can shoot today."

Lu You nodded and said yes, and when he turned around, an eunuch came to lead him to a seat beside him.As soon as I sat down, I heard drums beating a few times, indicating that the auspicious time had come.

Since ancient times, the ritual of shooting swallows has followed the old system without much change.

Amidst the sound of drumming in unison, the courtiers who were invited to participate in the shooting ceremony will come to the steps of Wude Hall.After drinking for the second round, the civil servants headed east, and the military generals headed west, and took their seats on the seats on the south side of the palace.The next step is the official shooting.

Qianniuwei on the left and right presented the imperial bows and arrows, and the emperor stood up from the throne and walked to the shooting position to the west.The band began to play "Zou Yu", which is a piece of music that reminds the emperor when to shoot an arrow.

All eyes were on the Ninth Five Lord and the bearskin archery target in front of him.Only Lu You looked across the entire archery field, looking at the ministers sitting opposite.

A total of 25 people's names were recorded in Qi Yunchu's handbook, but the number of people present was obviously far more than this number.

Because almost all the invited courtiers brought their families.Some are brothers, some are uncles and nephews, but most are father and son.

Without much effort, Lu You saw the person he was looking for.Tang Quan, Minister of the Ministry of Officials, was sitting in the first row of seats under the east steps, and sitting next to him was the only son of the Tang family——Tang Ruilang.

That day was a hasty farewell, and in a blink of an eye it was more than a hundred days and nights.

I remember the last time I saw Tang Ruilang, it was in the Qinglong Temple, through the small hole in the paper window.The gloomy and desolate scene at that time is still vivid in my memory, but Tang Ruilang's facial expression is blurred.

Lu You took a deep breath to get rid of the gloomy memories.He squinted his eyes and looked at the person in front of him.

The 14-year-old Rui Lang has a tall stature and a deepened profile, and he already has the shadow of a handsome young man.Even though he is sitting upright among the ministers at this moment, his energetic appearance will never lose to any prince.

Lu You was staring intently at Tang Ruilang, while Ruilang's eyes fell on the emperor who was bending his bow and nodding his arrow, with a trace of expectation in his concentration.

Lu You still remembered the feeling when Tang Ruilang stared at him.

It was a kind of throbbing that made the heart beat faster, a kind of panic intertwined with sweetness and sorrow, and it was a beautiful memory that I tasted a little bit.

But all this is just memory.

...It's all because of that man!

Lu You turned his attention to Tang Quan again.

If he had a bow and arrow in his hand at this moment, he thought he couldn't help but shoot through the man's throat.

This man not only ruined his family, but also indirectly changed him into what he is today!

Displaced, living under the fence, parting from life and death, half disabled... all the sufferings of the past are on the front line one by one.

Lu You shivered intermittently, and his chest kept rising and falling.Although the rationality keeps telling myself "don't make mistakes", the body is like a radical and angry general, refusing to obey the command of the weak rationality.

In the ear, the music of "Zouyu" is constantly urging, as if a warlike man is bewitching from the side.

Just when Lu You was dizzy, he seemed to feel a line of sight, as if someone was watching him.

He managed to come back to his senses, and unexpectedly found that Tang Ruilang was looking at him.

Lu You's thoughts became blank at this moment.When he came back to his senses, he had already met Tang Ruilang's eyes for quite a while.

The sun at the beginning of time fell on Tang Ruilang's face, making his eyes glow with a soft amber color.His eyes are as gentle and steady as amber.

When was the last time they looked at each other like this?

It was the dilapidated kiosk by the water, Tang Ruilang held him in his arms and let him cry loudly.

"Cry. I know you must have suffered a lot..." The words in the painting booth that day still cannot be erased from the bottom of my heart after several years.

Suddenly, the chaos in Lu You's heart began to settle.Like a blizzard that quickly subsides.

But when the blinding wind and snow calmed down, Lu You suddenly found that he had reached the edge of the cliff.The lofty court that is like walking on thin ice, once it falls, it will be beyond redemption.

How did I get to this point?Lu You was in a trance, like having a big dream.

But he knew that he must not fall.

Because Qi Yunchu said: When rain falls on the ground, it will turn into sewage, and only when it accumulates high in the clouds can people look up to it.

"The person Tang Ruilang saw was not me, but King Xuan Zhao Yang."

Lu You warned himself like this, and at the same time turned his face away coldly.

Just when he was in a trance just now, all four of the emperor's arrows had been shot.The arrow branches on the bearskin archery butt were also all removed.Although Lu You didn't see the results, it was not difficult to see from the emperor's expression that he was not satisfied.

After the emperor, the second person who stepped forward to shoot arrows was naturally Prince Zhao Yun.I saw the sound of music, and the prince bowed his bow and set his arrows, full of posture.

Yanshe's bearskin archery target has five colors of targets, from the inside to the outside, they are red, white, blue, yellow and black.

Prince Zhao Yun shot the first arrow and hit the second white square.The second arrow hits the pale blue color, and the third arrow hits the vermilion mark in the center.

Such a result is not bad for a prince.Lu You turned to look at the emperor's expression, and it turned out to be a little softer than before.

At this time, the prince raised his last arrow.

wrong!Lu You frowned.

Hearing the sound of the strings, the arrow flew towards the bear target, but it passed the outermost black grid and hit the screen used by the target singer to avoid arrows.

It is not a good omen for the last arrow to miss the target.

Not only the emperor, but even the eunuchs present and the ministers who watched the ceremony showed astonishment and embarrassment.

Only the prince himself laughed out loud, handed the bow and arrow to the waiter at the side, and walked straight back to his seat.

He did it on purpose.

Lu You could see clearly that the last arrow, the prince deliberately picked up the tail of the arrow, naturally it missed the target.

Is he expressing his disdain or dissatisfaction in this way?

Lu You had no idea for the time being.

The next archer was Kang Wang Zhao Jing, and his performance was mediocre.Lu You didn't look carefully - because it was his turn to compete next.

Under the guidance of the little eunuch, Lu You walked down the steps and came to the west gate of Wude Hall.

Here, he took off his left sleeve, exposing his entire left arm and half of his chest, and put a white jade openwork finger on his right thumb.Then he took the bow from the archer's hand and put three arrows in his belt.

The bow was about the same weight as he used in his usual practice, and the strings glistened slightly in the sun.He picked up the bowstring and plucked it twice, hearing a crisp buzzing sound.

Passing through the west gate, he could see Kang Wang Zhao Jing had returned to his throne.He took a deep breath and walked towards the shooting position.

The drums sounded, but the time to shoot the arrow had not yet come.Lu You took a deep breath and looked around calmly.

The emperor and Empress Xiao seemed to be sitting leisurely on the throne, but their eyes showed concern.Prince Zhao Yun was drinking tea, King Kang Zhao Jing was wiping the sweat from his forehead.

The ministers watching the ceremony in the south were very quiet. Dozens of pairs of eyes looked at this side without emotion, not expecting or nervous, it was just a routine.

Lu You saw Tang Quan again, and this gloomy and dangerous man was also looking at him.That gaze was like a blade, wandering around Lu You's neck.

do not mind him.

Lu You warned himself to stabilize his mind, and at the same time slowly drew the bow and arrow, and placed the arrow on the string.

He tried his best to control his breathing, minimize the shaking of his wrist, and began to move his eyes to the target bit by bit.

At this moment, he saw Tang Ruilang again from the corner of his eye.

Wait a minute, Tang Ruilang's expression...

Unlike any of the spectators present, Tang Ruilang stared at Lu You's face with his eyes wide open, and even his lips were slightly parted, as if he would suddenly stand up and shout something in the next second.

What's the matter with him? !

There was a "thud" in Lu You's heart, and then he heard the music of "Beaver Head" rushing in his ears, and he had reached the rhythm point where he had to shoot an arrow.

No time to make adjustments.

In the panic, Lu You was in a state of chaos, and he shot the arrow just based on his feeling.Unexpectedly, at the same time as the string sounded, there was a sudden sharp pain in the tiger's mouth in his left hand.

There was another wave of low shouts from the crowd watching the ceremony.I saw the arrow branch slanted across the target and landed in front of the civil servant's seat, only five or six steps away from Tang Quan.