Linque

On New Year's Eve and the reunion night, the auspicious drum on the turret of the imperial city is played every half an hour.

At the beginning of Haishi, the sound of music came for the fourth time, and Chu Heng looked at Jiuzhong Que across the wide sky street.Everyone in the imperial capital knows that the gates of the palace are locked at night and only open at the beginning of the day. Without His Majesty's decree, no one is allowed to enter the inner imperial city, regardless of whether you are a prince, general or relative.

Chu Heng is also aware of these.

But, but—

He and Ling Ye had agreed to come back on the first day of the lunar new year. Does that mean that the palace gate can be opened when he waits for Zishi?

He tried to approach with a wishful thinking that he knew was impossible to realize, but he was stopped by the guards of the imperial city on the tower before he could pass through Tianjie.

……

It was two quarters before the hour of Hai, Ling Qi came out from the Xing'an Gate on the westernmost side of the Jiuchong Tower, but in no hurry to return to the mansion, he turned to the south wall tower.

This year is the New Year, just in time for the Empress Dowager Qianqiu to celebrate her birthday, all the princes and princes of the four directions have returned to the imperial capital, and the southern palace wall is adjacent to the outer imperial city across a sky street, which is the most likely to cause trouble - that's when King Qi's Duanwu Palace change began. - New Year's Eve is a time when the defense is easy to slack, Ling Qi was worried, so he checked the gates one by one.

The journey was safe and sound, and when we reached the city wall of Danfeng Gate, we suddenly heard the noise of guns and arrows being sheathed, Ling Qi frowned slightly, and jumped up to the tower in a few steps.

"What happened?"

When the Danfeng Gate guard saw him, he breathed a sigh of relief, clasped his fists and saluted, and explained, "I want to report to the Commander, there was a person who intended to approach the palace gate just now, and he was repelled by the brothers, but this person is a bit strange..."

Danfeng Gate is the main gate of Jiuchong Que, and the security is the strictest, even if they intend to make trouble, they will definitely not come here.Ling Qi felt suspicious, walked quickly to the side of the watchtower, and glanced in the direction pointed by the guard.

That person hadn't gone far, the street corner stone lamp was dimly lit, outlining a lonely and desolate figure.

...Chu Heng?

Ling Qi narrowed his eyes and pupils, turned around quickly, nodded to the guards, and said: "Thanks for your hard work, everyone, I'll stop by and have a look at that man, you don't have to worry about it."

Yingshou handled it personally, and the guards of Danfeng Gate couldn't wait for it.Ling Qirong looked calm, took off his cloak as if nothing had happened, and comforted the guards, then turned around and went down the tower, and walked towards the corner of Tianjie Street.

On the New Year's Eve reunion night, Chu Heng was not in Zhongpinghou's mansion to watch the new year with his younger siblings around the stove, but was alone blowing the cold wind on the Tianjie Street. It didn't look like a good thing.

He was Dong Jun, but it wasn't until Ling Qi approached him that he belatedly realized that someone was coming, and slowly recovered his senses and raised his head.When Ling Qi saw his expression, he immediately frowned. There was really no need to ask now. He handed the cloak to Chu Heng, motioned him to put on the hood, and said briefly: "Follow me."

In front of Xing'an Gate, the guards on duty couldn't help being surprised to see the leader of the Shadow Guard leaving and returning.

Although Ling Qi was deeply trusted by the emperor, there were palace rules in the palace, and the gates of the Jiuzhong Palace had already been locked. When Ling Qi left the palace just now, it was sent out by the two father-in-laws in front of the imperial court with His Majesty's warrant.Let alone bringing along a person whose face cannot be seen clearly and whose identity is unknown, even Ling Qi himself has no reason to go back.

Unscheduled opening of the door is not a small matter, but only relying on His Majesty's oral order but without a letter, the guards of Xing'anmen didn't have the guts, so they politely refused.

Ling Qi knew the rules here, but it was getting late, he glanced at Chu Heng who was wearing a hood behind him, stopped discussing with the guards, and simply took out the gold medal bestowed by the shadow leader.

"Your Majesty's secret decree, this person should immediately enter the palace to face the saint, and don't ask the guards at the palace gate."

The guards present looked at the gold medal, and immediately knelt down on the ground.

Starting from the Xing'an Gate at the outermost edge of the imperial city, Zhiriying Gate, Suzhang Gate, Guangshun Gate... the key-locked palace gates were buckled and opened by the gold medal in the hands of the leader of the emperor's shadow guard, until the Mingcheng Palace, the emperor's bedroom.

Ling Ye looked at Chu Heng, who was covered in frost, appearing in the courtyard in a little astonishment, and glanced at Ling Qi, who was holding a cloak beside him, and guessed the whole story in an instant. :"come over."

The extremely simple two words seemed to have knocked on the gate of emotions. Chu Heng stepped up the steps of the palace and threw himself into Ling Ye's arms. Ling Ye's neck and shoulders.

Ling Ye's hand trembled suddenly, and he almost couldn't hold back his emotions. He hugged Chu Heng tightly, looked over Chu Heng's shoulder and looked at Ling Qi, "Thank you, Commander."

Ling Qi smiled very shallowly, shook his head and said: "Your Majesty, rest in peace, and I will take my leave."

The bandit Gao who was standing beside him immediately followed, and escorted Ling Qi out of the palace with a few servants.

Yehan in the imperial capital, along the way, the cold frost that had formed on Chu Heng's clothes was covered by Ling Qi's cloak, and turned into frosty water, so that his whole clothes were damp, and he didn't know how long he stayed outside.

Ling Ye was worried that Zhong Pinghou felt that Chu Heng was "not happy for the emperor" and would embarrass him as a father, so he tried every means to add some glory to Chu Heng a few years ago, so that when Chu Heng went to the Hou's mansion on New Year's Eve, he would not be in front of his family. , Zhong Pinghou didn't give him a good face.

But looking at it now, why does it seem to be worse?

If he had known that there would be such a result, he would never let Chu Heng go back.

Ling Ye let go of the hands around Chu Heng's waist, held his face in his hands, looked at the redness in his eyes, and suddenly felt a deep pain in his heart.

Ling Ye knew that Chu Heng had just been wronged in the Hou Mansion, and felt sad. He didn't want to poke his scar at this time, so he temporarily suppressed the doubts in his heart, and instead kissed Chu Heng's cheek, and kissed the tears from the corners of his eyes for him. net.Holding his hand and walking back to the hall, he said in a warm voice: "The dumplings in the Hou's Mansion are not tasty, and I won't eat them next year. It will be time later, don't be sad, otherwise the New Year will not be smooth enough."

Chu Heng lowered his eyes, looked at the hand wrapped in the palm of Ling Ye, and responded in a low voice: "No..."

"What?" Ling Ye asked sideways.

Unexpectedly, as soon as these two words came out, Chu Heng's eyes were instantly covered with mist, and he almost couldn't hold back tears again. He shook his head, buried his face into Ling Ye's neck and shoulders, and let out an indistinct moan from his throat. choked up.

Ling Ye's thoughts turned, his brows twitched fiercely, and he asked tentatively, "...you didn't have dinner at Zhongpinghou's residence?"

Chu Heng leaned on his shoulder and did not refute.

"..." Ling Ye immediately became angry, he didn't even eat the New Year's Eve dinner, and now it's the right time, so didn't he come out of the Hou's mansion an hour ago?

Why is Zhong Pinghou making such a fuss?

Zhu Geng, who was standing next to him, went out to order the dining room to cook the dumplings.Ling Ye barely suppressed his anger, patted the back of Chu Heng's shoulder, took off his wet cotton robe, and put on a thick cloak.The ginger tea was still brewing, and the ready-made sweet soup was simmering on the red clay stove. The maid filled a bowl and warmed up Chu Heng first.

It is now the number nine days in the imperial capital, if Ling Qi hadn't just happened to see Chu Heng when he was passing by Tianjie just now, then...

In Ling Ye's heart, he was full of anger for Pinghou's mansion, and full of distress for Chu Heng.He got up and looked around, trying to find a letter with enough weight. He raised his eyes and saw the emperor's gown that he would wear tomorrow when he was congratulated at the Tai Chi Hall. There is nothing better than this, Ling Ye walked quickly. Walking over, he took off the jade pendant with nine dragon patterns and gold beads, weighed it in his palm, walked back to the couch with satisfaction, and bent over to tie it around Chu Heng's waist.

The weight of the jade worn by the emperor is self-evident.

"His Majesty?!"

Ling Ye interrupted loudly, pressed Chu Heng's hand that was about to untie Yupei, looked into his eyes, and said seriously: "It's my fault, I didn't even think about it, and when I go home, there will be no one at any time." Stop you."

"I won't go to Zhongpinghou's mansion anymore, we will go home for the next New Year's Eve."

Chu Heng looked back at Ling Ye's eyes, and the hot feeling in his heart rushed all the way to his eyes. He tried his best to restrain the urge to cry, nodded vigorously and said, "Okay."

Ling Ye leaned over and kissed the corner of his eyes: "Stop crying, I'll be here from now on."

"Ah."

……

The dumplings and various side dishes on New Year's Eve were put on the dining table of Mingcheng Palace at the moment of Haizheng.

Qing Yan was sitting on the velvet blanket in the inner room playing alone, seeing that his father hadn't come back for a long time after going out, he couldn't help feeling puzzled, he poked his head outside, and only then noticed that Chu Heng had actually come.

Dabai Tuanzi's eyes lit up, he put down the pile of things in his hand, and ran over from the inside. When he got closer, he found that Chu Heng's eyes were red.Tuanzi quickly looked at his father, and he was relieved when he saw Ling Ye was serving food for Chu Heng—it was better if his father punished him.

Dabai Tuanzi stood a few steps away with his eyebrows twisted, Chu Heng looked sideways, smiled slightly, and beckoned: "Ayan, come here, do you still want to eat dumplings?"

Tuanzi shook his head, walked to Chu Heng with a serious look, grabbed his sleeve, and asked, "Who bullied you?"

Chu Heng was stunned for a moment, looking into Tuanzi's clear eyes, Ling Ye was making vinegar dishes for him, and he didn't speak, as if he was waiting for his answer.

Frozen three feet is not a day's cold, not to mention the son does not say anything about the father's fault, there are some things Chu Heng has countless grievances and sadness in his heart, but he still has no way to speak.

He avoided talking, only held the corner of his lips: "No."

"But you're crying!" Tuanzi stood in front of him, clenched his fists and said, "I can beat him for you!"

Chu Heng laughed, rubbed the head of the dumpling, and said: "No."

"Hmm." Tuanzi still didn't quite believe it. After thinking about it, he lowered his head and grabbed a large handful of gold and silver pistils from his pouch and piled them on the table. It was the lucky money he collected from the elders during the Chinese New Year. To Chu Heng's hand: "I'll share it with you, don't be sad."

After speaking, he ran back to the inner room, and came back with a handful of crisp candy after a while, and said in a childish voice, "I'll give you the candy, too."

Chu Heng didn't know whether to laugh or cry for a while, looking at the serious and lovely Tuanzi in front of him, he took out a few gold coins from his sleeve pockets, put them in Tuanzi's pile of lucky money, and put them back into his pouch together with the ones on the table Li, touched his face and said, "Thank you, Ayan, I'm fine."

"Really?" Qing Yan was worried.

"Really." Chu Heng rolled his eyes, "I'm not lying to you."

Only then did Qingyan feel a little joy in collecting the New Year's money, and with his pouch in his pocket, he went back to the room to count the money again.Before leaving, he yawned and did not forget to remind Ling Ye: "Father, call me when you are a child. Father keeps his word."

"En." Ling Ye responded, and handed the prepared vinegar dish to Chu Heng.

The dumplings on New Year's Eve came late, but they were still in the best place with the best people, like a late New Year's gift, delivered to Chu Heng.

……

The bell at Zishi rang on time, Ling Ye walked into the room, Qing Yan counted the New Year's money until he fell asleep lying on the blanket, Ling Ye walked over and patted him on the back.

"Mmm...mm..." Qing Yan pursed his mouth, hummed twice reluctantly, turned over, and continued to sleep soundly.

Seeing him like this, Ling Ye didn't know how to make a fuss after being awakened, so he simply called the female officer of the East Palace and carried the group to the side hall.

Tusu wine was warmed on the red clay stove, Ling Ye poured two glasses, walked to the window sill and handed them to Chu Heng, the salute was fired from the corner tower of Jiuchong Que, and a large expanse of gorgeous fireworks bloomed violently.

Xuanxi nine years.