Yu Linzhi thought he hadn't dreamed for a long time.
He worked very hard every day, and he was weak and never got enough sleep. Once he fell asleep, he would fall into a deep sleep and rarely dreamed. But for some reason, even though he had drunk a lot of wine, he actually had a dream today.
In the dream, he seemed to be a young boy accompanying the prince in Fengzao Palace. He would get up at the hour of Mao every day, go to the residence of the eleventh prince and wait , and then accompany the eleventh prince to the study. The weather in the dream was very bad, and the heavy snow did not stop. The Grand Tutor did not order a suspension of study, so he had to go to the study anyway.
The day before, in a side hall of Fengzao Palace, several princes of similar age were having so much fun that they all slept together. Yu Linzhi and the tutors of the other princes were waiting in another room. They waited all night and went straight to the study when they woke up.
"Fengzao Palace is far from the upper study, you have to be careful." He took the umbrella from the eunuch next to him and was about to go out with it when he heard someone talking in front of him. He looked up and found that it was Mu Lingsu standing in front of her.
For some reason, on the one hand he felt that Mu Lingsu's face was blurry, but on the other hand he felt that she looked very beautiful in her red cloak, and against the white snow, she looked like a fairy walking on the snow.
He said, "I see." He walked to the door and opened his umbrella. He asked again, "Didn't you leave the palace? Why are you still serving the Queen in Fengzao Palace?"
Mu Lingsu turned around and opened the door. The wind and snow blew on his face, and he felt cool. Mu Lingsu walked out of the door with her back to him and said, "I have received an imperial decree to marry His Royal Highness Prince Yi Yang. In a few days, I will be carried into the palace in a wedding sedan and be made Prince Yi Yang's concubine."
Yu Linzhi in the dream already knew the result and was not shocked by this sentence. He walked side by side with her, and the flying snow covered the red walls and yellow tiles in his sight. He said: "In order to enter his house, you still condescended to be a concubine. Is love really so obsessed? If he really loves you and respects you, he will never let you be a concubine."
"Why not a concubine? She can still be surrounded by pearls and jade, and enjoy wealth and splendor." Mu Lingsu wrapped her cloak tightly in the cold wind, seeming to be a little chilly. Her eyes were always fixed on the ground. Although she answered Yu Linzhi, she did not make eye contact with him. She lowered her head and smiled, "Some things you can't force. No matter how much you like me, I still can't keep you in my heart. His Royal Highness Prince Yi Yang is a child of destiny. Compared with you, he is more suitable for me."
"Yes." Yu Linzhi only felt the snowflakes hitting his face and freezing his cheeks. He didn't have the energy to refute Mu Lingsu. "Maybe I'm being too sentimental. You should have been with him."
Mu Lingsu smiled again: "There are not so many people who pledge their lives to each other in this world, nor are there so many immortal couples. Your parents' matter is the biggest lesson. If you and I were to get married, I'm afraid it would be even more difficult."
The wind was getting stronger, blowing up snow all over the sky, just like a summer breeze blowing up a beaded curtain. The sound of the wind was a bit harsh, and the road was still very long, and there was no way to see the end. Yu Linzhi estimated the distance somewhat feebly, and was also in a dilemma. When did the Fengzao Palace become so big?
"My sister will marry the prince in a few years. By then, the Mu family will have two emperor's daughters-in-law. It's an incomparable honor. The prince and his brothers are both brothers and sisters-in-law. It couldn't be better." Mu Lingsu was very satisfied with this result, and her tone was rising. After she said this, she finally raised her head and looked at Yu Linzhi, "I hope you can bless me."
Yu Linzhi looked at her face, which was as pure as snow, and said, "You know that my heart is with you, so why do you force me to falsely bless you?" He raised his hand to touch the face within reach, "Mu Lingsu, do you love me?"
Unfortunately, when he raised his hand, there was nothing.
When Yu Linzhi woke up from a hangover the next day, Mu Lingsu was sleeping on the inside of the bed.
Why is she in her room?
Yu Linzhi was flustered for a moment . He tried hard to recall every scene of last night, but his mind was blank. The only thing he could remember was the scene of Mu Lingsu and the housekeeper helping him back to his room after he got drunk.
He really couldn't remember too much, and could only stare at Mu Lingsu in a daze. She was still sleeping soundly, as if she was in a sweet dream, with a faint smile on the corner of her mouth. Yu Linzhi looked at her sleeping face, unconsciously fascinated, and forgot what he originally wanted to do. He never thought that there would be a day when he and Mu Lingsu would "sleep in the same bed", and he never thought that her sleeping face was peaceful and beautiful, much more moving than Mu Lingsu in his eyes.
For some reason, he suddenly had the urge to touch her cheek.
Mu Lingsu was dreaming, maybe she dreamed about something that annoyed her, she suddenly moved, Yu Linzhi was frightened, and he suddenly put down his raised hand, afraid that she would find him looking at her, so he turned his head away immediately. He was indeed startled by her action, and even though she was not awake, he was still panicking, his heartbeat was very fast, and his palms were a little sweaty.
The headache after the hangover tortured Yu Linzhi, and his vision was hazy, and he could not see the face of the woman in front of him clearly. He slowly closed his eyes, and then opened them again, and found that he and Mu Lingsu were both still dressed, sleeping on their own sides.
It seems that nothing out of the ordinary happened last night. Knowing that everything was fine last night, he finally put his mind at ease.
Yu Linzhi got out of bed quietly and was about to pour a cup of tea to quench his thirst when he heard the housekeeper knocking on the door: "Master, the Prime Minister's letter has arrived again."
He put down the teacup and took a few quick steps to open the door to let the housekeeper in. When he remembered that Mu Lingsu was still asleep, he turned back to the bed, lowered the bed curtain, took a look and still felt it was not enough, so he moved the six mahogany screens to the side to block the bed tightly before going to open the door for the housekeeper.
After Yu Linzhi received the letter, he wanted to close the door directly, but the usually taciturn housekeeper suddenly stopped him and said, "Master, please don't fail to read this letter."
On the day Yu Linzhi left for Nanjing, someone from the Prime Minister's Mansion came to the family and said they were waiting for the young master to come back. The housekeeper guessed at that time that the Prime Minister must have told the young master something. But the person from the Prime Minister's Mansion left soon, and the young master came back safely. In addition, the Prime Minister's Mansion sent this letter again today, so he knew that the young master probably resisted the Prime Minister's order last time.
"I know my limits." Yu Linzhi looked up at the housekeeper, closed the door and went into the house.
He turned over the front of the envelope. There was no word on it, only a "Gu" emblem, indicating that it was a letter from the Prime Minister's Mansion. Last time, he tore up the letter without reading it, and he didn't know if his grandfather was angry. He gave up the idea of ​​not reading the letter and tore open the envelope.
In the letter, Gu Cheng did not ask him directly about not reading letters, but for the first time, he asked whether he was healthy and whether his old illness was frequent. After writing nearly a page, Gu Cheng mentioned that Yu Jianwu was detained and could be beheaded at any time. Gu Cheng's intention in the letter was to tell Yu Linzhi that his uncles had mediocre achievements, and his cousins ​​only knew how to enjoy themselves all day long and had no knowledge. Only he had the best qualifications, and he hoped that he would return to the Prime Minister's Mansion, inherit his ancestors' influence, and serve as an official in the court.
Of course, everything has a prerequisite. Gu Cheng hopes that he can announce to the world that he and Yu Jianwu can sever their father-son relationship from now on, and go to the Ministry of Households to move out of his household registration and register it in the Prime Minister's Mansion. In this way, he can propose to pardon Yu Jianwu and everything will be fine.
Everyone is happy?
Yu Linzhi sneered. Where in this world is there such a thing as a "happy ending" at a very low price? Grandpa was probably waiting for the father and son to become alienated before he would feel comfortable.
However, judging from the meaning between the lines of his grandfather's letter, as long as he did not explicitly refuse, his father's life would not be in danger for the time being. Knowing this fact, the string that had been tense in his heart for a long time suddenly relaxed, and the sense of responsibility that always oppressed him also disappeared.
He was somewhat lucky, and felt happy that he didn't have to be caught between his grandfather and his father for the time being . He had always been in poor health, and had been working hard for his father's safety for several months, and had been critically ill several times. If it weren't for the fact that his father and grandfather had been at odds over the years, his sense of responsibility had driven him to constantly maneuver between the two and do his best to ease their relationship. Perhaps, he would have already wanted to die.
Yu Linzhi's hand holding the letter loosened weakly, and the thin paper floated to the ground. He was extremely tired and didn't care about the letters at all. He stepped over them directly, and the shoe prints were clearly visible on the few words signed by Gu Cheng.
Yu Linzhi walked to the bed, moved the screen back to its original position, and wanted to continue to put up the bed curtains. The bed curtains were made of imported Western items, and the semi-transparent gauze material could block a lot of light. Inadvertently, he glimpsed Mu Lingsu's shadowy sleeping face through the bed curtains. Although he couldn't see clearly, Yu Linzhi felt that she was beautiful beyond words.
In the past, they were still young, and the two families were in opposition, so even though they often met in Fengzao Palace, they rarely spoke . When they met again later, they were already outside the palace, one broke up with his grandfather, and the other's family fell into poverty. Each of them had their own miserable life stories and their own difficulties.
In the past few years outside the palace, they only met when they had something to ask for, and the time they spent together was always rushed. If it weren't for this glance, he would never have noticed that Mu Lingsu had grown into a stunningly charming girl, and was no longer the thirteen-year-old girl when they first met.
He had never noticed that there was a red mole on the left corner of Mu Lingsu's eye. When she slept, her lips would be tightly pursed, and her two red lips would be stretched into a line. It seemed that she was nervous even when she was sleeping. Mu Lingsu might have dreamed of something bad. She moved her body and tilted her head to the side. The broken hair in front of her forehead spread to her cheeks, making her feel a little itchy.
However, such a subtle movement was actually a bit cute and playful in Yu Linzhi's eyes. His heart seemed to be tickled by a few bugs, and he felt an itchy feeling he had never felt before.
Maybe he was possessed.
He shook his head, cleared the distracting thoughts from his mind, opened the bed curtains, and woke Mu Lingsu up: "Xiao Mu, Xiao Mu... wake up, don't sleep anymore."
When he said this, he was somewhat reluctant. But his reason told him that it was getting late, and the servants in the mansion would gradually come out and walk around, and soon someone would come to his room to serve him in the wash. If he didn't wake Mu Lingsu up, the maids and servants would see him, and for Mu Lingsu, a girl, there would be no good consequences.
"Hmm?" Mu Lingsu woke up sleepily, thinking that it was a maid calling her, but when she opened her eyes, it was Yu Linzhi standing in front of her.
She rubbed her eyes to make sure she had seen it right, and was horrified for a moment: "Why are you..." Before she could finish her words, she realized that the furnishings in the room were wrong. She looked closely and found that she had slept in Yu Linzhi's bed all night. Her face immediately turned red with shame, "Why am I in your room?"
Yu Linzhi sat at the table calmly, holding the hangover soup he had just seen, which still smelled burnt even though it was cold: "I only know that I drank too much yesterday and I want you to take me back to my room."
Every word he said was true. These were the only things he remembered. He remembered nothing else.
Mu Lingsu tried her best to recall, but she only remembered that she wanted to coax him to drink the hangover soup, but she fell asleep inexplicably. It would be fine if she fell asleep, but how did they end up sleeping in the same bed?
Mu Lingsu held her forehead helplessly, and her face, which had been a little better, turned red again. She quietly turned her face to the side, trying to avoid Yu Linzhi's sight and prevent him from noticing how red her face was.
Yu Linzhi saw this action and he actually thought it was cute. In the past, Mu Lingsu gave him the impression of being free and easy, and she didn't care about these little details, but now it's different, it turns out that she is also a person with childish thoughts.
He was not blind, how could he not see that she was blushing? I didn't expect that she would try to hide this from herself, which was indeed a bit funny.
He suppressed his smile and asked Mu Lingsu, "There is nothing serious right now. My health is still okay. There is nothing that requires you to work hard day and night. Do you want to go back to Suzhou?"
"Don't you care about your father's affairs?" Mu Lingsu knew that Yu Linzhi had always been very responsible and would never ignore his biological father's life and death. When he suddenly said "it's no big deal", she would subconsciously feel that the situation was not good.
Yu Linzhi poured the hangover soup into a pine pot and said leisurely, "My father won't be in danger for a while. Although I'm still fine, I can't muster up the energy anymore. Since he's fine for the time being, I want to take a rest."
He had spent too much energy between his father and grandfather, and he wanted to take a break, so he got a chance.
Mu Lingsu also knew that he had been in an awkward situation for many years, so she didn't say anything more, and just said, "Okay, if that's the case, I'll go home and take care of it."
That night, Yu Linzhi held a banquet at Wulin Dream to see off Mu Lingsu.
Yu Linzhi had not yet recovered from drinking the day before, so he did not drink, but used tea instead of wine to entertain the guests at the table - the guests were Mu Lingsu, Shen Qingyu, Shen Hanyan and Su Tijia.
"Although I only met Miss Mu briefly, I have long admired her name." Su Tijia walked to Mu Lingsu with a glass of mare's milk wine, poured a cup of tea into her cup, and lowered his own glass politely. "I have come to Yu Mansion several times but have never seen Miss Mu in person, but my senior brother always mentions you."
Mu Lingsu felt embarrassed whenever she heard someone mention Yu Linzhi in front of her, and her neck turned red in the blink of an eye.
Sutijia has traveled around the world for many years and is very experienced in human relationships. How could he not notice the change in her expression? He pretended to glance at Yu Linzhi casually and continued to say to Mu Lingsu: "Miss Mu, when will you come to Lin'an again after returning to Suzhou this time? Even if I'm not here, my senior brother is looking forward to your coming."
His teasing was quickly responded by Yu Linzhi. Yu Linzhi took a dried fruit in his hand and threw it at him lightly. He said nonchalantly, but his eyes were fixed on Mu Lingsu who lowered her head shyly: "Don't talk nonsense."
He is an upright man and he doesn't care no matter how Sutijia makes fun of him . But Mu Lingsu is a woman, Yunying is unmarried, and she had stayed with him all night yesterday by chance. She must have felt uncomfortable for a long time.
He was fine with anything, but he was worried that Mu Lingsu would feel burdened by it.
"Xiao Mu is not married yet, so you should be more careful, Junior Brother." Yu Linzhi was a little angry and put a piece of jellyfish into Sutijia's bowl with chopsticks, "Eat more and talk less."
He didn't want to let Mu Lingsu and him have a rift because of Su Tijia's outspokenness. After thinking about it, he decided to let Su Tijia be sensible and shut up: "Brother, what else do you want to eat? I'll ask the waiter to add a dish for you." Then he turned around to take care of Mu Lingsu, "I'll give you a bowl of rice dumplings with red beans and fermented rice wine. Do you want any?"
Before Mu Lingsu could respond, the sound of arrows breaking through the air was heard from a distance.
Yu Linzhi was used to this sound, and knew without hesitation that it was the sound of a high-speed moving arrow. He hugged Mu Lingsu and lay on the ground without hesitation, and quickly twisted Mu Lingsu's body with both hands, so that her back was facing him, and used her body to block the arrow that was shot from somewhere. With a "swoosh", a peacock feather brocade cloud-piercing arrow broke through the window and shot straight into the pillar in the room.
Yu Linzhi wanted to stand up and find out what was going on, but soon, before he completely let go of Mu Lingsu, countless arrows shot in from the window, forcing him to step back and hold Mu Lingsu towards the door.
The scene was chaotic, and he had no time to care about anything else, and naturally he didn't notice that Sutija was much calmer than him, hiding behind the screen without moving. Arrows were shot everywhere, but none of them landed around Sutija.
"Don't be afraid." While dodging the arrows and retreating, Yu Linzhi did not forget to comfort Mu Lingsu, who did not dare to raise her head in his arms, "We will leave this room soon..."
"Bang!" Before Yu Linzhi finished speaking, the door was forced open. He and Mu Lingsu looked back and saw that there were quite a few people at the door. They were all dressed in Western clothes and holding scimitars. It was obvious that they were not friendly. If nothing unexpected happened, they were probably in cahoots with the archer.
Shen Qingyu protected Shen Hanyan and hid under the window. When he saw the face of the bearded leader , his memory was awakened. Three years ago, he went to the Western Regions and was robbed when passing through the Kushan Kingdom. The leader of the robbers was this bearded man. In order to save the lives of his group, he not only gave up the goods, but also took out the treasures from the imperial storehouse. As a result, no one in the caravan was spared, and his head was also injured.
But what surprised him was why he could still see this bearded man in the Central Plains after all these years? This bearded man was obviously a bandit leader, who would hire him to come all the way to the Central Plains to kill people?
Before he could think about it, he heard several robbers falling down with screams. He looked up and saw that Yu Linzhi, who was standing at the door and closest to the robbers, had fought back without him knowing when, releasing the hidden weapon in his sleeve and seriously injuring the other party.
Shen Qingyu carefully took Shen Hanyan to the place where he hung his sword, wanting to retrieve his weapon to help Yu Linzhi. As he was observing the surrounding situation and moving, a knife was placed on Shen Hanyan's neck.
"If Your Highness wants to save Her Royal Highness the Princess' life, it is better not to act rashly." A robber suddenly appeared behind the brother and sister, and put the big knife in his hand on Shen Hanyan's neck. The position was extremely dangerous. If Shen Hanyan took a wrong step, she might lose her life.
Shen Qingyu held Shen Hanyan's hand tightly. In the past, he could remain calm in any danger, but now his sister's life was threatened. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't calm down. Shen Hanyan lost her father when she was young, and her mother also died of love. Her life was very pitiful. If he killed her with an inappropriate behavior today... Even if his mother didn't blame him, he would find it difficult to let it go.
Shen Qingyu thought for a moment and asked, "What do you want to do?"
He could only obey the robbers' intentions and ensure Shen Hanyan's safety.
"Your Highness really knows how to deal with things." This man seemed to be well prepared. While being careful not to hurt Shen Hanyan with the blade, he forced Shen Qingyu to let go of Shen Hanyan's hand and stepped away from Shen Hanyan. Then he turned the back of the knife over, hooked Shen Hanyan's neck, brought her to his side, knocked her out with a knife, and stretched out his hand to stop her from falling.
The robber looked at Shen Qingyu, who dared not speak, with a half-smile and said, "Thank you for your cooperation, Your Majesty. Please rest assured, Your Majesty, our goal is not to take the princess' life, so we will not hurt her in the slightest."
The purpose is not Shen Hanyan's life. Thinking about it carefully will only make Shen Qingyu more uneasy and worried: "What is your purpose?"
Shen Hanyan grew up in the palace and deep palace. Except for the two times he took her out of the palace, she had never had any contact with the outside world. A princess hidden in the boudoir, in the Guanghan area of ​​the Western Regions, who could get news about her and specifically target her?
Shen Qingyu was full of doubts. While he was alert to the robbers' next move, he was also quickly recalling the various people he had come into contact with along the way.
The robber couldn't wait to claim credit, and said to the bearded man who was fighting with Yu Linzhi at the door: "Brother, Princess Yongjia succeeded, let's retreat quickly!"
Yu Linzhi was distracted by this sentence, and he subconsciously looked for Shen Hanyan's trace. The bearded man saw that he finally relaxed and immediately took a knife to chop Mu Lingsu in his arms. Yu Linzhi noticed everything from the corner of his eyes. He dodged and hugged Mu Lingsu and turned around, using his body to block the knife for her.
"Yu Linzhi!" Mu Lingsu was shocked and scared. She tried her best to hug him, but she couldn't muster any strength. Her whole body was shaking, and she could only fall to the ground with him.