Dingjiangshan

Ning Yue fell in love with Shu Qiuyu at first sight.

Perhaps even Ning Yue himself didn't understand, when he first met Shu Qiuyu, how did he decide "this is the person" in a fleeting glance.

In the spring of the seventh year of Chonghua, the Shu Mansion held a flower feast, and invited all the princes and ladies from the rich and powerful families in the capital to enjoy the flowers together, including Ning Yue, who was young at that time.

The eldest girl of the Shu family was in the prime of life that year, and it was the first time in her life that she showed her face in the elite circle of Beijing, helping Mrs. Shu's housekeeping and entertaining the female family members of the inner courtyard.

Because of the tacit royal marriage contract, the Shu Mansion has kept Shu Qiuyu well hidden all these years, and behind closed doors, he has been teaching piano, chess, calligraphy, painting, literature and general affairs. Anyone who speaks of Miss Shu's family will praise her as "both talented and beautiful", "amazing bearing, worthy of being the mother of the country".

Ning Yue was not clear about the twists and turns in the hearts of the adults. He was only eight or nine years old at the time, and he still liked to play and play. The old "Miss Shu Family" went in the left ear and out the right ear, so I didn't remember it at all.

Back then, the Shu Mansion relied on Shu Chuan's shadow, and it was considered a big family with a garden of about ten acres, and a mighty group of people went in. After Shu Qinghui greeted this and that, it was inevitable that he couldn't cover everything.

Moreover, Ning Yan was still young at that time, and his enthronement year was still short, and most of the major affairs in the court were in the hands of Ning Huaijin.In order to avoid suspicion, Prince Gong seldom had much contact with other clan members, let alone Ning Yan's two brothers from the same branch who were still in Beijing.

When the clan was neglected by the royal family, it was inevitable that they would lose some power, so that Ning Yue fell to the end of the line, and no one noticed.

After the Shu Mansion's garden has been renovated, it's pretty elegant to put it bluntly, but it's a mess.

Ning Yue followed the brightly colored butterfly for two laps, and lost himself without any accident.

The servant who accompanied Ning Yue was sent away by him to get some tea and fruit before, but now there is no one around him.Coupled with the fact that Shu Qinghui's garden is extremely tricky, Ning Yue tried to walk around, but besides making himself more dizzy, he didn't see half a person.

But what kind of person is the young prince Yue? He just lost his way in the garden of a courtier's house. He didn't panic at all. Instead, he leisurely walked around with his hands behind his back, looking for the way while admiring the scenery. It looked like he wasn't in a hurry.

It stands to reason that there is a banquet in the Shu Manor today, and there should be quite a few servants serving in the garden, but I don't know whether Ning Yue's luck is good or bad, he walked straight for half an hour, but he still didn't see a single person.

After all, Ning Yue was young, he was a little tired after walking around for a while, and he was a little anxious, he just wanted to find a place to stay.

It happened that at this time he was wandering to the edge of a piece of water, and he could vaguely hear the sound of singing and dancing on the opposite bank.

If there are singing, dancing and banquets, there must be people. Ning Yue's spirit was shaken, and he looked around quickly, trying to find a shortcut to the opposite side.

However, at this moment, Ning Yue suddenly saw a young girl with picturesque features standing on the nine-curved wooden bridge not far behind him.

——That was the first time Ning Yue saw Shu Qiuyu.

Many years later, Ning Yue can still clearly recall the appearance of that glance. He still remembers that day when the wind was warm and the water was clear, Shu Qiuyu was standing half sideways on the bridge.The maid beside her didn't know what to say to her, so she pursed her lips and giggled, then raised her head and looked at the sunny sky above.

The sun was extremely bright that day, Shu Qiuyu narrowed his eyes slightly, subconsciously stretched out his right hand to cover the sun.

The sun was falling from between her fingers, and a ray was falling on her ear, reflecting the sparkle of the blue lake earrings she wore that day.

At that time, the young Ning Yue didn't know what it means to "when the golden wind and jade dew meet, they will win but there are countless people in the world", and he didn't know what it meant to "look back suddenly, but that person is in a dimly lit place".He just stood there in a daze, and instantly opened his spiritual aperture like a stubborn stone, as if the sky and water in front of him had begun to become colorful and warm.

The peach blossoms on the other side of the water bank were in full bloom, and the petals fell to the surface of the water as the wind passed.In Ning Yue's line of sight, there was a flower that happened to pass through Shu Qiuyu's fingertips and landed in the water, creating two circles of water ripples.

It would be great if I were that flower, Ning Yue thought abruptly, even if it doesn't really fall on her fingertips, just passing it in the eyes of the world can be regarded as a complete life.

Ning Yue didn't know where this thought of his came from, but it appeared naturally and logically, as if it should be so.

In truth, Shu Qiuyu's appearance is not the most exquisite and beautiful, but she looks warm and soft, in this situation, she is like a nine-day fairy falling into the mortal world, and there is almost nothing that does not suit Ning Yue's eyes edge.

At this moment, Ning Yue suddenly had a concept of "staying together forever".

He is young and has little experience. Although he has listened to a lot of operas and scripts since he was a child, most of them are just ignorant and do not understand the meaning.But only at this moment, Ning Yue suddenly understood why there are always talented men and beautiful women who are clearly separated from each other by family background, but they also stubbornly want to be together.

At that time, Ning Yue didn't know that the beautiful girl on the bridge was Shu Qiuyu, the eldest daughter of the Shu family. He stared blankly at her for a long time, and when he realized it, he had already stepped on the Jiuqu Bridge with one foot.

It was Shu Qiuyu who discovered him first, Shu Qiuyu didn't expect that an outsider would barge in from the inner courtyard, he was slightly taken aback when he saw this, first subconsciously looked around to see if there was an adult following Ning Yue.

It's a pity that she found nothing and found no one.

The banquet was held today, there were so many dignitaries in the mansion, Shu Qiuyu hadn't seen many outsiders before, so naturally he didn't recognize Ning Yue either.But fortunately Ning Yue is young, even if he accidentally broke into the inner house, it's nothing, it's not considered rude.

Shu Qiuyu tilted his head and thought for a while, then led the maid to Ning Yue's side, bent slightly, and asked softly, "This little guest, which family are you from?"

Shu Qiuyu wore a beautiful and elegant water pink dress that day, Ning Yue's eyes were wandering, he didn't dare to look at her face, he could only stare at the peach blossom at the hem of her skirt, and subconsciously put the Hiding the horsewhip behind his back, he stumbled a bit when speaking.

"I..." Ning Yue said, "This king is... Ning Yue."

He claimed that he didn't claim to be, and made a nonsense about his self-reported family. Fortunately, Shu Qiuyu was smart, and after a moment of stupefaction, he realized that he matched the child in front of him with a certain little county king.

"It turned out to be the little prince." Shu Qiuyu quickly straightened up and took two steps back, and gave him a blessing: "It's the little girl who has eyes but doesn't know Mount Tai, so don't blame the little prince."

"No, no, no—" Ning Yue became impatient, and quickly waved his hands, "No, no, no."

The little maid behind Shu Qiuyu was amused by his unpromising appearance, she chuckled and couldn't help covering her mouth with a veil.

Shu Qiuyu glanced at her complainingly, as if dissatisfied with her rudeness.

"Young prince, don't blame me. As a maid, I have never seen anything in the world, so I don't mean to offend." Shu Qiuyu said softly, "Young prince, did you go astray? I'll call a servant to take you to the place where the banquet is held."

Ning Yue didn't hear what she said at all, and just nodded madly in agreement.

Shu Qiuyu didn't care too much, she just thought the other party was shy, so after a few words of comfort, she quickly sent a nearby boy to lead him.

Ning Yue had already walked three steps away with the boy, but for some reason, he stopped boldly and turned his head to look at Shu Qiuyu.

"What's the matter, little prince?" Shu Qiuyu asked.

"Can you...can you..." In a short sentence, Ning Yue stammered, he gritted his teeth, before he could say anything, his ears turned red, "Can you tell me, are you Who's girl, what's her name?"

It is obviously impolite to ask a woman's boudoir name hastily, but Ning Yue looked young, and Shu Qiuyu didn't feel offended.

When asked by the clan's relatives, it is not easy for her to refuse directly as a courtier, so Shu Qiuyu thought for a while, and said tactfully: "The courtier is the daughter of the Shu family, and her maiden name is not easy to say with others. As long as the young prince knows, in three months, I will give you a good name." When the water under your feet reaches the shore, you will know the name of your servant."

It was not until a long time later that Ning Yue understood the ingenuity of this sentence.

Ning Yue and Shu Qiuyu's first meeting was hasty but profound, just like a flash of surprise, which he will never forget for a long time.

However, soon after that, Ning Yue found out about the marriage contract after inquiring, and also knew that the eldest girl of the Shu family was the candidate for queen appointed by the late emperor.

Although Ning Yue is young and ignorant of many things, the children of the royal family seem to be born with an innate understanding of what it means to seek advantages and avoid disadvantages, and how to protect oneself wisely under the eyes of the emperor.

The queen-to-be is not something a county king can think about, let alone a show of favor, even looking at it more than once is suspected of being out of order.Although Ning Yue was full of disappointment, there was nothing he could do.

Since then, he has never mentioned Shu Qiuyu again. Whether publicly or privately, he seems to have buried the glimpse of the depths of the spring scene in his heart, and only regarded it as an adventure bestowed on him by God. It can only be seen from a distance, not forced.

From then on, Ning Yue didn't accept invitations from outside. He no longer went to enjoy flowers and play, drink and compose poems. Instead, he found other fun and spent most of his time in horse farms and hunting grounds.

Because he has seen the most beautiful scenery in his life, the landscape in this world has lost some color in his eyes, making him no longer interested.

Because of this, he and Shu Qiuyu rarely met each other, only a few times when he bumped into Shu Qiuyu by chance, but they always glanced at him in a hurry and never spoke.

But just like "mountains and rivers are full of doubts, there is no way out, and the willows are dark and the flowers are bright and another village", Ning Yue never expected that his sixth brother, who was firmly seated on the throne, would not want Shu Qiuyu.