lover in the mirror

The sixth day of October in Hongwu's 21st year

The obscene rain was falling, covering every corner of the imperial city like a continuous fine net, and it seemed that no one could break free from this net.

Looking at the imperial city of Shangdu from outside the Yonghua Gate, it is full of flying eaves, and the golden, emerald and green glazed tiles sparkle like dazzling golden waves in the sun, making people unable to open their eyes. It is a prosperous and peaceful world. Gorgeous atmosphere, in the rain there is indeed a kind of beauty washed away by lead, which makes people feel melancholy.Qimu carved beams, jade curtains and Qionghu, palaces and terraces, these gorgeous dead objects have trapped many pairs of eyes that were once full of vitality.

Chu Yunqi walked outside the Yonghua Gate, pulled the reins, got off his horse, shook off the rainwater floating on his body, and walked straight to the gate. Immediately, a servant stood behind him at the palace gate and held an umbrella for him.

On both sides of the brick-red passage leading to the palace, which symbolizes the pride of the royal family, two rows of palace guards in armor lined up vertically, and guards kept saluting to him along the way.

Going further in, there is a group of court ladies and eunuchs, who smiled coquettishly when they met each other.Although it was summoned by the emperor, Chu Yunqi did not go to the imperial study room, but bypassed the main hall and went west through the long corridor doorway to Xiefang Palace.

Xiefang Palace is a small palace, which stands quietly in the southwest corner as the decoration of Chonghua Palace. On the west side, there are Jingyi Pavilion, Guxiangzhai, and Miaolianhua Room near the palace wall. It is a courtyard with two entrances.

The dougong and beams under the eaves are decorated with exquisite color paintings, which are unique among the rich and gorgeous buildings.After entering the door, there is an empty courtyard, which is the main hall, Yingxin Hall, and there is a small garden behind the Yingxin Hall.

All kinds of flowers and plants are planted in the garden, which is worthy of the name of Xiefang. This solar term is the time when chrysanthemums are in full bloom. Hangbai chrysanthemums, September yellow, and Nijin Nine Rings are swaying slightly in the autumn rain. Chu Yunqi has no time to enjoy the flowers. Meaning, went straight to the main hall.

"Royal father." Chu Yunqi simply bent down slightly and went straight to sit next to the emperor, and the emperor didn't care about his rude behavior.

"If you supervise the water conservancy work this time, if you succeed, you will be loved by thousands of people, and if you fail, you will stay in fame and fame. Be careful not to be tripped by your third brother. Although he is dull, he can't stand the Queen's advice behind his back. If you can It would be good to catch some handles on them."

"What if it's not just grabbing the handle but putting it to death?"

"When I was young, the Taifu told me an allusion, which is called "Disregarding the dead body, attacking each other with armor", which means that when the emperor is dead, his sons leave his body alone, but for the sake of the throne I started fighting. At that time, I didn't believe that this kind of thing would happen. But now, I believe that this kind of thing will definitely happen to me. Although they are both my children, only you and Yunteng are the ones I really recognize Son, you can destroy them yourself. It's just that although your third brother is at odds with you everywhere, if he can get rid of the influence of the queen and the Qi family, he will not be able to become a great weapon. It is not impossible to keep him an idle prince, but your second brother With a deep scheming mind, the power of the Yu family in the court has surpassed that of the Qi family, and his wolf ambition cannot be underestimated."

"My son knows."

"In half a month, I will order you to go to Yanjiang to inspect it. There is a side line of Yu's family in Yanjiang, which has long been at odds with Yu's main family. You can take this opportunity to take it for your own use."

The middle-aged emperor sighed, but the next tone had a sense of vicissitudes and decadence, "I failed to keep your mother back then, but now I want to keep you and Yunteng no matter what, it's just the Qi family and the Yu family. There are many parties in the ruling family of the great family, although I am an emperor, I still have more than enough energy, so I will leave this burden to you in the future."

"My son will live up to my father's expectations."

Chu Yunqi walked out of Xiefang Palace for a few steps, then looked back at the misty garden. When his mother was alive, he often played games with his father in this small garden.

Although the imperial garden is full of flowers, elegant and luxurious, it can't match the warmth and plainness in the small garden. The flowers and plants in the garden are all grown by ordinary people. When the gate of the garden is closed, it seems that all the intrigues and intrigues in the palace are shut out. I just nest in this garden to be a dull and happy couple.

It's just that the envy of others' happiness can't be tolerated in the dark and turbulent struggle. The death of the queen mother is too involved. bring people.Moreover, if the mother can't keep the queen, the father is also to blame.

Chu Yunqi was only four years old at that time, and his impression of the empress was already blurred, and he could only hear the palace people talking about it.His father, Emperor Chu Xuanyu, was married when he was 13 years old, and he married He Minshen, the cousin and niece of the current Empress Dowager.

The queen mother and the emperor father were childhood sweethearts, and they were very affectionate after marriage, which was considered a good talk by the people of the time.Unexpectedly, after five years of marriage, the mother died of dystocia while pregnant with Yunteng, and even the third brother almost failed to keep.

Dystocia, I'm afraid it's more than just dystocia.When the mother was pregnant in June, the father loved the current queen Qi Shiyun, instead of singing every night, although he knew that the father was also forced by the situation, the mother was also very sad at that time.

I remember that one month after the death of the mother, the father was drunk and kept calling "Shen'er" and "Shen'er" in the garden.Min Shen, Min Shen, sensitive to things but cautious in words, even such a delicate person can hardly survive this bloody struggle.Although the father is a wise monarch, he can't even keep his beloved in vain, Chu Yunqi will never be like this.

It's just a beloved person, will he have such a person?Fu Xiaochen's face suddenly flashed in his mind, Chu Yunqi touched his chest subconsciously, felt his heart still beating vigorously, thinking that after all these years, his heart would stop beating a long time ago Woolen cloth.

Then he thought of the third prince, Chu Yunfei, and he didn't hate him, on the contrary, he felt pity for him.

Living in the emperor's house but with a simple mind, being manipulated by the queen to fight against him everywhere, and being forced to be involved in this doomed bloody struggle, he is really a pitiful person.

The queen is also getting old. She is a woman after all, and she is still a strong woman. She is even more sensitive to age than ordinary people and the huge anxiety that accompanies it. What's more, there is a concubine Zhen who can compete with her in the current harem , so she had to be anxious, she just had to wait for the opportunity for the actions of the queen and the third prince.

When Chu Yunqi traveled to Chonghua Palace, he happened to meet Chu Yunyang, and the other party greeted him courteously, but the smile on the corner of his mouth became more and more dazzling.

The second brother is the most difficult one to deal with, even if he can take over the offshoot of the Yu family in Yanjiang for his own use, it is only a drop in the bucket against the power of the Yu family's main family both inside and outside the court.Chu Yunyang is young and precocious, diligent in learning and undisputed, he is indeed a powerful figure.

It's a pity that there is only one dragon chair, and everyone has the right to dream, so someone is destined to pay the price for dreaming.

Their biggest failure lies in ignoring the love of the father and the queen. No one would believe that a seemingly romantic emperor would love the queen who died young wholeheartedly. For this love, he would even sacrifice his other children at will His own son, only to protect the son born to the only woman he recognized.

As I get older, the usual riding and archery courses are gradually reduced, and the frequency of teaching some insignificant courses such as piano art and song Fu is gradually reduced. I want to be trained by my father to be a qualified emperor The heir is not a general or a poet.

Compared with those princes who have to learn poetry, songs, horseback riding and archery every day, I naturally have much more energy. I am afraid that even the arrangement of these courses took a lot of thought from my father.

Trying my best to get rid of my own flesh and blood and married wife, this kind of thing can only happen in the royal family.

Chu Yunqi didn't want to think about it anymore, he couldn't think about these things, he could only think about how to eradicate dissidents, clean up the government, and uproot those aristocratic families who were rooted in the government and the opposition.

He needs to become strong, strong enough that no one can threaten him in the future, strong enough to keep his beloved in this endless struggle.If he can have a so-called beloved.

It was already time to light the lamp when we returned to the bedroom. Chu Yunqi sat in front of the mirror and picked up a volume of books from the bookshelf to read. The rain was still falling, mixed with the autumn wind, giving people a feeling of loneliness and depression.The candlelight was dim, and it was rare for Chu Yunqi to read the book, and looked into the mirror from time to time, why hasn't Fu Xiaochen come back yet?

As soon as Fu Xiaochen came home, he happily threw his schoolbag on the sofa, walked to the mirror while eating strawberries, saw Chu Yunqi who was looking down at the book on the other side of the mirror, and felt a little better.

"Hi, I'm back."

Chu Yunqi had already sensed Fu Xiaochen's return before he stepped into the scope of the mirror, and he didn't know why he could feel it, but he still pretended to concentrate on reading.Looking up and seeing Fu Xiaochen's smiling eyes, he suddenly felt that his eyes were particularly attractive.

"Why are you so happy?"

"Ah, I got into the top 40 of my grade in this monthly exam, an improvement of more than [-]."

Although Fu Xiaochen didn't seem to care much about his studies, he was actually very serious about his studies. Besides, there was no high school senior who didn't care about his grades.

"Well, congratulations."

Although Chu Yunqi's tone was calm, Fu Xiaochen, who had become familiar with him, knew that the other party was really happy for him.

"In this way, I will be very sure that I will be admitted to university h in city h, and I will not be far from home."

"You will leave here after you pass the university entrance exam?"

"That's right. Generally, even if you don't leave the province, you will go out of the city after you go to university. Don't worry, I will definitely take the mirror with me."

"...En" Even though he heard the answer that made him feel at ease, Chu Yunqi still felt inexplicably flustered. He couldn't help but look out the window. The rain was misty, entangled with thousands of thoughts in his heart.