Opposite the entrance hall

As soon as the ceremony was over, the day was extremely hot. Although it was hot a while ago, it still rained from time to time, pouring out the fire in my heart, but when I stepped into the beginning of July, let alone rain, even I can't even feel the wind, and it's unbearably hot at night. Before I fall asleep, my clothes are already wet with sweat.

It is already like this at night, and it is even more difficult during the day, when the sun is like a big bright fireball, hanging high in the sky, I can’t wait to burn a layer of skin off people, richer people can still have crushed ice cattail fans The poorer ones can only do things in the sun with their shirts off.

The sun was setting and the heat was still there, Qi Ran put down his pen and rubbed his sore wrists, he heard the sound of footsteps, looked out of the window, and saw Liu Yuandao carrying the food box across the courtyard, his footsteps hurried He stepped over the threshold and walked over, raised the food box in his hand, and said a little funny: "Sweet soup sent by the servants of Ji's mansion."

After he finished speaking, he put the food box on the desk, and handed over the thin letter paper in his hand.

Qi Ran took the letter paper and opened it for a look, with a smile in his eyes, he folded it and put it aside, picked up the case file, opened it to check, and said in a flat tone: "Take it out."

"My lord this season is a bit interesting. I don't know what it means to send things to our Dali Temple every day." Liu Yuandao shook his head with a smile, and turned to go out. , let's not accept these small favors, it's better to stay away."

Hearing this, Qi Ran paused in turning the page, raised his head to call out the person, "Wait a minute."

"What are your orders?" Liu Yuandao stopped and turned around to ask.

"You said Ji Shilang made this sweet soup by himself?" Qi Ran asked.

"Well," Liu Yuandao nodded, "The servants of Ji's mansion said that his lord just returned home to make it, and he kept it iced all the way to relieve the heat."

"En." Qi Ran continued to look at the dossier with downcast eyes, and after turning a page, he said slowly, "Put it here."

"Ah?" Liu Yuandao was a little surprised.

"I happened to be a little thirsty."

"Oh."

Liu Yuandao went back to put down the food box in a daze.

Qi Ran put down the file again, opened the lid of the food box, and took out a blue-glazed porcelain bowl from the plate with ice cubes inside. It was hot outside, and the ice cubes melted a lot, and the bottom of the bowl was covered with a lot of water. When reaching the body of the bowl, the cold touch came over, and the hot and dry feeling really dissipated a lot.

The bowl was filled with mung bean and horseshoe soup. There were a few goji berries floating on the light brown syrup. When the lid was opened, the unique fragrance of mung bean came out with a chill. He took out the spoon and was about to see the person standing beside him. He asked puzzledly, "Why are you standing there? Are you not doing anything?"

"Yes." Liu Yuandao walked out with some confusion.

After going out the door, just after passing the corner of the courtyard, a person suddenly bumped into him, and the two collided head-on. The man supported her, and then said anxiously: "Princess, princess, are you okay, is there any injury?"

Liu Yuandao didn't see the person coming, but just hearing this address, his face turned pale and bloodless, his body trembled uncontrollably, his legs softened, and he knelt down on the ground with a "boom", his voice was so trembling that he couldn't even speak. Qing, "Princess... this minister... I didn't intend to collide... against the princess, I hope the princess will forgive...forgive me!"

"Okay, okay," Li Xi rubbed his sore shoulders and waved his hands impatiently, "I'm a little irritable, I didn't see anyone in front of me, so what does it have to do with you, let's get up."

"Thank you princess, thank you princess." Liu Yuandao let out a sigh of relief.

"Where are your adults?" Li Xi asked.

"Look at the dossier inside, I'm going to inform the princess." Liu Yuandao said and planned to go back the same way.

"No need," Li Xi waved his hand to stop him, "Go and do other things, the princess will find him by herself."

After finishing the words, she passed Liu Yuan and walked towards the house. When she arrived in the courtyard, she happened to see Qi Ran who was about to put a spoonful of sweet soup into her mouth, her eyes lit up, and she waved her hands and shouted, "Qi Ran!"

The voice passed, Qi Ran paused while drinking the soup, and turned around following the source of the voice, only to see Li Xi running with a goose-yellow palace skirt smiling like a flower, followed by several court ladies and eunuchs.

Qi Ran frowned, sighed, and hurriedly got up to meet him. As soon as he bent down, Li Xi stepped into the room and waved his hand with a smile, "I've said this a few times and it's over. How old are you?" I can't remember."

"The state owns the state law, and the rules can't be changed at will."

Li Xi pouted, looking unhappy, and muttered in a low voice: "Then I never saw you salute Brother Ah Si before."

As soon as the words fell, Li Xi came to his senses suddenly, quickly stopped his voice, and changed the subject, "By the way, the weather has been so dry these days, I boiled some sugar water for you to relieve the fire, and I was delayed on the way here. I don't know if the ice has melted, you should try it first."

She said with a smile, took the exquisite and small food box from the maid behind her, and walked to Qi Ran's side, the smile on her face froze when she saw the bowl of mung bean and horseshoe soup on the table , squinted his eyes, and smiled again in the next second, opened the lid as if nothing had happened, and took out the contents. There were a lot of things in the food box, and there were several plates of compact snacks and fruits. Ba Ba took up most of the table, so she moved the bowl of sugar water to the side.

Qi Ran saw her small actions, but didn't point them out directly.

Li Xi took out all the things, and with crooked smiles, he pulled Qi Ran's sleeves and pulled him over intimately, "These snacks are new ideas from the master of the imperial dining room. They are cold and delicious. , I brought some for you to taste, if you like it, I’ll bring you some some other day, and what’s more, I boiled that bowl of sugar water by myself, I learned from the master for a long time, it’s okay if you try it taste."

The back of her hand that was resting on Qi Ran's sleeve was red, with a few small blisters, one could tell it was scalded at a glance, maybe she came here in a hurry before even the medicine could be applied.

The two have known each other since they were young, and Li Xi is Li Si's younger sister, and Qi Ran naturally regards her as his younger sister, and treats her differently from other women, being more doting and tolerant, and Li Xi's love gradually grows. The feelings of a girl fell on him. He seldom gets along with women, but he clearly understands that he has only brother and sister feelings for Li Xi, and the person he misses in his heart is not her. She became alienated, and refused with righteous words, just like a little girl's heart, and it's over.

I don't know if the Li family members are all like this. Li Xi is very similar to Li Si in this point. He is a bit stubborn. If he believes in something, he will not give up until he dies. He has been struggling a lot in the past two years. , but with the identity of the princess here, Qi Ran really has nothing to do except refuse and hide.

Qi Ran sighed in his heart, and asked, "Did the princess take the medicine?"

Li Xi panicked, and hurriedly let go of Qi Ran's sleeve, hid his burned hand behind him, and replied with a smile: "It's nothing, it's just a burn, I applied medicine when I came here, it doesn't hurt much."

"Princess doesn't have to be like this," Qi Ran said softly, with a slow tone, "You are a rich man, how can I let the princess treat you like this? I can't afford it."

"I'm willing." Li Xi bit his lower lip with an aggrieved expression, "I have the final say on whether you deserve it. If I say you can afford it, then you can afford it."

"The princess is not young anymore. She is no longer the little sister who followed me and the little prince. The order is high and low. The ruler is superior and the minister is inferior. If there is no etiquette, the upper and lower will be chaotic. Since ancient times, there has never been a reason for the princess to curry favor with the courtiers." , inconsistent with etiquette, inconsistent with emotion, inconsistent with the laws of the country, the princess wants my minister to be condemned by the world's literary population."

"Have you finished?" Li Xi raised his eyes and stared at him with red eyes, "I want the person I like to like me as well. How can I please him and attract his attention, so why is it out of courtesy? This ceremony, This method, this feeling, is determined by you, you never think that love is wrong, but that I have wrong love for you, you just don't want my feelings."

"Yes," Qi Ran replied firmly, without the slightest hesitation, "I have never liked the princess, not at all. If I have no such intentions but still deceive the princess, that is the real deception. Heinous!"

"Qi Ziheng!" Li Xi yelled out sharply, his eyes were red and uncomfortable, as if he was about to cry in the next second, "Do you really think that this princess dare not touch you? I just need to go and say something to the emperor, he Immediately there will be a decree to bestow a marriage, it doesn't matter if you like it or not, at that time you can't help but not marry, could you still ignore your Qi family, resist the decree and fail to obey!"

"Of course I dare not disobey the orders," Qi Ran said in a deep voice, "The Qi family has been the country for generations and is loyal to the Great Jin Dynasty. The king made the ministers die and the ministers had to die. Sacrifice one Qi Ran in exchange for the lives of hundreds of members of the Qi family. Enough, then there will be no such person as Qi Ran in the future, the minister is just a dog that relies on the princess to breathe, the princess will let the minister die and the minister will die, and let the minister live and the minister will live."

"Do you have to talk to me like this!" Li Xi pointed to the bowl of mung bean and horseshoe soup on the table, his voice was full of tears, "Other people's thoughts are their thoughts, and mine are worthless, Qi Ziheng, you bastard, I hate it You, I hate you."

As soon as the words fell, the dishes on the table fell to the ground and shattered. The soup and snacks inside were scattered all over the floor. The cold sugar water wet one sleeve, and the scattered porcelain pieces flew into the air. When he arrived at Qi Ran's feet, the pattern looked familiar, so he couldn't help but take a second look, it was the blue-glazed bowl sent by Ji Si's

Just when he was thinking about which part of the bowl the fragment was, Li Xi had already rushed out of the room, followed by the court ladies and eunuchs shouting outside, and the courtyard, which had been noisy for a long time, finally fell silent.

Qi Ran bent down and carefully picked up the fragment, stared at the patterns on it, and sighed.

Liu Yuandao hurried over upon hearing the sound, and seeing the mess in the room, he had a complicated expression on his face, "Oh! Princess Shunping is really infatuated with your lord, it's a pity."

When the house was cleaned up, the sky was already dark. When Qi Ran returned to the mansion, Qi Xu had already taken a medicine bath and was enjoying the cool in the courtyard. Jin's footsteps stopped and he opened his eyes, looked at Qi Ran and smiled, then continued to fan his fan and said, "I'm back, I left dinner for you, and Anping will warm it up for you later and send it to your room. "

"Brother is in a good mood today? But what happened?" Qi Ran asked.

"It's nothing, but Yang Qin came earlier and said that the weather was dry and your sister lost her appetite, so she sent me a piece of tea cake from the new rain in the clouds. Think about it and ask your sister Everyone likes to eat anything, I said that your sister likes spicy food, and there is no one in the house who can't enjoy spicy food at home, this loss of appetite is probably because Yang's house has a lighter taste." Qi Xu raised the corners of his lips, smiling at all. Do not hide.

The food in the Qi family is light, less oil, less salt and less spicy, Qi Ran naturally understands what his brother's intention is, thinking of Yang Qin's stupid appearance, he also laughs out loud.

Qi Kuangshan came over with a smile on his face, "What happened? It's rare to see you both in such a good mood at the same time."

When the two heard the question, they quickly stood up and nodded, and said in unison, "Father."

"Sit down!" Qi Kuangshan waved his hand.

Qi Ran gave up his seat, poured a cup of tea and handed it over, "Yang Qin came here, and my brother and I were talking about him."

When it comes to his son-in-law, Qi Kuangshan can't say that he is very satisfied, but he can't say that he hates it too much. He is completely different from the son-in-law in his mind, but he did accept the favor of the Yang family at the beginning, and now he understands that he is sincere to his daughter. That's enough, so he drank a sip of tea and didn't say anything else. Instead, he asked another question, "What's the matter with your clothes?"

Following his line of sight, Qi Ran looked at the stained cuffs, handed the full teacup to Qi Xu before returning unhurriedly, "Princess Shunping went to the Yamen of Dali Temple."

It's such a simple sentence, but the meaning in the words is self-evident.

Qi Xu found a topic and skipped the matter, "Father just came back from the palace? How is the situation in the palace?"

Qi Kuangshan took another sip of tea with his eyes downcast, twirled his beard, and said solemnly: "The emperor's body is getting worse day by day, and he didn't go to court the day before yesterday. Even if I don't know medical skills, I can see that the emperor's face is livid and his breath is weak, which is a sign of a serious illness."

After finishing speaking, Qi Ran and Qi Xu looked at each other in dismay, and they both saw anxiety in each other's eyes.

"Didn't the emperor's illness have improved, why did it suddenly become serious again?" Qi Xu asked.

"The emperor's illness started from the root, and now he is only supported by medicine, so it can't be said whether it is good or bad." Qi Ran took over the words.

"Indeed," Qi Kuangshan nodded, "People's hearts in the court are unstable now, all forces are ready to wait, and other countries are eyeing them, and dangers are everywhere. If the emperor is really... the court may be in chaos."

Qi Xu pondered for a moment and then asked: "Father thinks who is the emperor more interested in letting the emperor succeed?"

"Prince, King Rui, King Liang, King Qin, and..." He stopped here and glanced at Qi Ran, "It's hard to say until the last moment. There are countless examples of people who are not the same person on the throne, and the world is unpredictable, which is beyond what you and I can say."

Qi Ran drank his tea calmly, without making a sound.

"That's all," Qi Kuangshan continued: "Don't talk too much about this matter, you and I just keep our duty. The royal affairs are left to them to fight for themselves. The Qi family has always been neutral and never involved in party disputes. I really need to pay attention to it." If you hit me on the head, it doesn't matter if this official doesn't work, you can farm and fish with ease."

Although he said that, they both knew that their father had been working hard for the people and the Great Jin all his life. He was really caught in dire straits, he was the first to worry, and these words were just to reassure the two of his brothers.

Qi Kuangshan sighed and said again: "There is one thing that is more troublesome now, Mr. Fang was chatting with me this morning."

"But about Kashgar?"

"Exactly, this matter is a bit troublesome, and it is difficult to advance or retreat. Didn't Xu'er already have a solution?"

"Ah Heng mentioned this matter to me a few days ago, he already has an idea in his mind." Qi Xu smiled.

"Oh, let's hear it." Qi Kuangshan stroked his beard.

Qi Ran put down his teacup, curled his lips into a smile, "Check and balance, decentralize power, and govern by dividing common customs."

"Checks and balances, separation of powers, separation of customs and governance."

There are only eight words, but there seem to be tens of thousands of words, and the meaning of them has been included in it. With the voice, the wind suddenly blew up, blowing a bit of coolness, making the city of Lin'an, which was scorching and hot all night, a little more comfortable. The two voices , in different places, facing different people, voices and figures overlap strangely, across the distance of space and place, and sound at a moment.

Qi Ran's voice was a little arrogant, while Ji Si's voice was more confident.

Du Heng looked at the smug expression on the face of the person opposite, and muttered these eight words in his mouth, he somewhat understood what Ji Si's method meant, raised his eyes and asked uncertainly: "How sure are you of this method?" ?”

"Dajin has never gone through the precedent of separation of powers and governance. If someone else implements it, it will only be [-]%; if it is me, it will be at least [-]%." Ji Si smiled and shook his hand at this person.

"You are confident."

"I've always been like this." Ji Si raised his eyebrows.

Du Heng was too lazy to argue with him, but asked something else, "I heard that you have been delivering things to the Yamen of Dali Temple every day recently? What is the purpose of this?"

"How did you know?"

"It has been spread in every yamen in the court."

"How did you pass it on?" Ji Si was a little curious, and looked at Du Heng with his hands on his chin.

"It is said that Qi Shaoqing of Dali Temple is beautiful and beautiful, and Ji Shilang of Hubu is ashamed of his appearance. If he wants to make friends with his colleagues, it is simply shaving the hair on the egg—wishful wishful thinking."

"..."

The author has something to say:

I almost didn't catch up with the time, originally scheduled for [-] o'clock, but Jinjiang was stuck, so I didn't make it.It's too difficult, I was going to play and update it together, but I can't stand it anymore, I will update it tomorrow