Meng Zhaiyue is a frequent visitor to the Dali Temple.
　　Since the princess became interested in the cases tried by the Dali Temple in previous years, she asked for the emperor's will and often came and went, flipping through the files and reading the laws. In just over a month, her mastery and understanding of the "Da Yin Law" was better than that of the new officials who had just come to the Dali Temple.
　　The princess was taught to read, read, and know etiquette since she was a child. Because of Dong Lingjiu's urging and special instructions, she also read the Four Books and Five Classics for a period of time.
　　Meng Zhaiyue is good at debate and is more talented than her brother in discussing the profound and polishing the sharpness of her words. However, the status of Qing Tan in the Great Yin Dynasty is not high. Since Emperor Mingde ascended the throne, he has attached more importance to the practical way of governing the country and believed that Qing Tan would harm the country, so the princess's talent has not been fully utilized and has been covered up since she was fifteen years old.
　　Light snow fell under the eaves.
　　When Xu Xiang entered the hall, in addition to the bureaucrats who were checking the records, the princess was sitting not far away, and a young talent in his twenties was talking to her.
　　This man was called Wang Zhaohe, the legitimate son of the Dali Temple Minister. He worked under his father and was also called "Yanei."
　　Meng Zhaiyue had not asked anyone to climb the ladder by herself to check old books. She accidentally fell from the ladder and sprained her foot, unable to walk. She wanted to go back after the imperial physician's treatment, but she thought that today was the day when the inner factory delivered the torture records, so she waited.
　　After the inner prison confessed his true feelings that day, the two did not meet again.
　　Every ten days, the inner factory would come to the Dali Temple to deliver official documents and records, and she often saw Xu Xiang from afar.
　　Xu Bingbi's words were the same as before, and his face was always calm to the point of being covered with a layer of frost and ice. Therefore, Meng Zhaiyue never made a loud noise to disturb him, and only asked one more question when she occasionally handed over the documents. The one
　　extra question was just: "It is cold and freezing in this season, please take care of yourself, Xu Bingbi."
　　Xu Xiang usually bowed in silence, and was extremely humble, and replied: "I thank you for your concern, Your Highness."
　　Look, even in a simple conversation like this, he had to be so solemn that he had to "bow his head to thank you". Even if Meng Zhaiyue exempted him from the bow, she could not exempt him from the constraints of repeatedly suppressing and being restrained.
　　But Meng Zhaiyue still looked forward to this day. This almost became her motivation to study hard in the face of boring laws and files, as she was playful by nature.
　　After Xu Xiang entered the hall, he seemed to glance at her inadvertently, and his sight was blocked by the back of the young official.
　　He quickly retreated, took out the documents in the wooden box one by one, and talked with the officials of the Dali Temple.
　　Meng Zhaiyue had been staring at him since she saw him come in. However, the man in front of her was usually tactful, but today he was buzzing like an annoying fly.
　　She was a little anxious, raised her head and said proudly, "I don't like to hear it, stand further away."
　　Wang Zhaohe was very resistant to Princess Zhaoyang's arrival at first, but later, as he frequently came into contact with the files, he not only gradually changed his mind, but also developed admiration for the princess who was quick-witted, lively and beautiful, and coveted the identity of the prince consort. In the
　　past few days, he used the difficult cases of the past as bait to make the prince interested in it, so he talked more about it, which usually worked well. This was the first time he was scolded by the princess.
　　Wang Zhaohe was stunned for a moment, and quickly stepped aside, saying, "I am rude. Your Highness is a daughter of a rich family, please don't be angry because of me."
　　"Who is angry because of you?" Meng Zhaiyue frowned and muttered, "Don't flatter yourself."
　　Wang Zhaohe's face froze and he looked embarrassed.
　　But Meng Zhaiyue didn't care what he thought. She adjusted the hem of her skirt to cover her ankle, which was wrapped and medicated. Then she adjusted the gold hairpin on her temples and said to the eunuch of the Princess's Mansion beside her, "Go and tell Lord He on duty that the official seal for the handover is with me. Lord He signed and asked Xu Bingbi to come here to stamp the seal."
　　The little eunuch hesitated and asked in confusion, "Your Highness has difficulty walking, why don't you let me take it for you..."
　　"You are so stupid," Meng Zhaiyue said, "Just go if I tell you to go, why are there so many whys?"
　　The little eunuch didn't dare to say much, so he had to step forward to answer.
　　The two sides were far apart, and Meng Zhaiyue could only see the side face of Xu Xiang talking to the young eunuch. After not seeing him for a few days, he seemed to be thinner than the last time he saw him. Although his figure was still as tall as a pine in the snow, his figure was more lonely.
　　Meng Zhaiyue thought that perhaps his loneliness was just a kind of meaningless imagination of hers, which was unnecessary and non-existent. Her one-sided silent concern was even more beneficial to Xu Xiang.
　　Then, Xu Xiang came over with the documents that needed to be stamped.
　　For internal officials of his level, even the official uniforms of eunuchs were mostly complicated and gorgeous, with heavy embroidery, to show the master's love and reuse of these people. Just like a beautiful pug, they have to dress up carefully to show their status.
　　Therefore, most eunuchs like to wear bright and rich clothes to reduce the contempt of others.
　　But Xu Xiang is always very low-key. It must be said that such plain and solemn colors can really set off his rigor and appropriateness.
　　Meng Zhaiyue watched carefully, and when Xu Xiang came to her and bowed respectfully, she retracted her gaze, coughed softly, and said to Wang Zhaohe beside her: "Little Wang, you go back first."
　　Wang Zhaohe didn't understand, but he didn't suspect that there was any private affair between the princess and the eunuch. He thought that he had annoyed the princess just now, so he had to leave.
　　After Wang Zhaohe left, there were only two people nearby, and a eunuch serving the princess.
　　Meng Zhaiyue exempted him from his gift, took out the seal that the temple minister had given her from the fish bag, and stamped it with her own hands. While stamping the seal, she asked: "The weather is so bad, why is it snowing to send you off?"
　　Xu Xiang whispered: "It snowed halfway through the journey."
　　Meng Zhaiyue said: "That's because God is not kind, and he always makes things difficult for you."
　　"Although there are difficulties, there are also mercy."
　　Meng Zhaiyue's hand paused, and looked up at his face. The two people's eyes collided for a moment, and he immediately restrained and avoided it. This handsome face was like an unchanging painting, without even color.
　　She recalled the look on his face when he landed on her shoulder while catching butterflies in the garden - surprised, slightly surprised, but very patient. She recalled several times and felt that Xu Xiang had shown an unusual tenderness, not to her, but to the butterfly that landed on his shoulder.
　　Meng Zhaiyue said slowly: "What is the mercy? Are you saying that your mother transferred you from the lowest eunuch to the inner factory?"
　　Xu Xiang said: "I can never repay the kindness of the Queen Mother." Meng
　　Zhaiyue said: "But this mercy is far worse than suffering."
　　She stamped the seal but did not give it to him.
　　The princess closed her hands, pressed her palms on the official document, and after a while of thinking about her words, she said: "I have read the Zhu Mo case."
　　Xu Xiang's eyebrows did not move, and he was speechless. He just stretched out his hands and pretended to take back the official document.
　　Meng Zhaiyue did not give him the money and continued, "Father is a benevolent and wise ruler. He is an eternal sage praised by all the gentlemen and scholars. However, I am afraid to say something that would offend the emperor. I think this case involves a lot of people. If a family member has any contact with the traitor, they will be punished and imprisoned. Under heavy punishment, it is easier for them to speak nonsense and make random accusations, implicating innocent people. As the supervisor of the inner factory, Xu Bingbi is not unfamiliar with this, right?"
　　Xu Xiang replied, "Yes."
　　She continued, "In the Zhu Mo case, thousands of people died in prison. Including those whose property was confiscated and exiled, or who were enslaved as eunuchs or maids, there were a total of more than 27,000 people. Among such a large number, more than half had no evidence to prove their guilt and were only implicated. This is really not what a benevolent monarch would do. "
　　Xu Xiang said, "Princess, the late emperor was a holy emperor."
　　Meng Zhaiyue smiled and said, "Are you afraid that my words will be heard by the censors and they will accuse me of being unfilial? There is no need to think about it, because I will be 'unfilial' in the end!"
　　Xu Xiang raised his eyes and looked at her, his brows slightly furrowed, revealing his worry.
　　Meng Zhaiyue continued, "It is because all the officials think that my father is the Holy Son of Heaven that they have unshakable faith in the laws he promotes. I have gradually had an idea in my mind these days. It is immature and absurd. Xu Bingbi may think it is a joke."
　　Xu Xiang said in a gentle tone, calm as water, "I will not take the princess' words and deeds as a joke."
　　Meng Zhaiyue smiled with emotion and whispered to him, "I want to change the Great Yin Law, abolish the punishment of collective responsibility, and limit all crimes to one person, without harming his parents, wife and children."
　　Xu Xiang was stunned.
　　All along, his thoughts about the princess have been too superficial.
　　In his heart, the favor of the golden branches and jade leaves is no different from honey wrapped in honey, sweet on the outside, but harmful to others and himself on the inside. He can't bear the love, let alone make mistakes because he knows he is wrong, and bring trouble to the princess and the queen mother who saved him.
　　Meng Zhaiyue can be willful, arrogant, and reckless. She can think of one thing today and another tomorrow. She can not love anyone for a long time. Even if she marries someone, she does not belong to that person. The princess belongs only to herself.
　　In this case, if Xu Xiang responds to her feelings, has any unrealistic delusion and desire to get close, he will end up dead.
　　This is not allowed by the whole world.
　　So he just looked at her from a distance and told himself that you have been loved so much. After depriving him of most things, God gave him a little bit of mercy that he could not respond to.
　　But at this moment, Xu Xiang reflected deeply on himself. He felt that he was the arrogant, naive, and ignorant person. He naturally thought that Meng Zhaiyue's power was limited and could not change the dilemma between the two in his lifetime. He stubbornly believed that her love was short-lived and a fleeting playful act.
　　He felt deeply ashamed of his previous thoughts.
　　Meng Zhaiyue did not notice his stunned look, and said with great interest and challenge: "I myself - I am afraid I can't, but I was born a princess, which is a great honor. When I have some results in my research in the Dali Temple, I will propose this matter to my mother, but you and I both know... It is difficult for the words and deeds of the Holy Emperor to change. Just thinking about this matter, you know that the road is long and difficult, and it will take a long time. You must have the perseverance to practice it for a lifetime."
　　She patted her palms and smiled lightly: "Xu Bingbi, I heard that great practitioners will make great wishes. What do you think about this as my great wish?"
　　Xu Xiang slowly came back to his senses, and his heart was not in line with his words. He could only adhere to his usual cautious advice and whispered: "Please think twice, Your Highness."
　　"I have thought about it three times, four times, and even ten times." She said, "Don't think I am doing this for you! You... you are not worthy. I want to be a good princess and let this country remember my name. What's so difficult about this? I can pick the moon in the world."
　　In fact, both of them knew that this was very difficult, as difficult as climbing to the sky.
　　As soon as she said this, she regretted it, fearing that her habit of blurting out disdain for others would hurt Xu Xiang's self-esteem.
　　However, Xu Xiang was not hurt. He agreed with the princess's remarks - let His Highness change his behavior and set a great ambition for him. He was just a eunuch and slave, and he was not worthy at all.
　　Xu Xiang knelt down, bowed and apologized, and said humbly: "Your Highness will never do this for me. I am as humble as a blade of grass and never dare to think of this."
　　Meng Zhaiyue was choked, as if something was stuck in her throat. She was so angry that she raised her foot and kicked him lightly, but she forgot that her foot was still injured. She hissed in pain and bent over and fell down.
　　Xu Xiang hurriedly supported her, and said in a slightly hurried tone: "Your Highness? Your Highness, don't move around, and focus on healing your injuries..."
　　Meng Zhaiyue slapped him hard, sweat oozing from the corners of her forehead in pain, and squeezed out a slightly annoyed and coquettish sentence from between her teeth: "Shut up!"
　　Xu Xiang immediately shut up.
　　Meng Zhaiyue took a long time to relax, and tears came out of her eyes in pain. She wiped her red eyes with a handkerchief, returned the stamped document to him, and asked: "Xu Xiang, do you have any important matters in the inner factory?"
　　Xu Xiang said: "For the time being... No."
　　Meng Zhaiyue said: "Carry me out to see the snow."
　　When he hesitated and did not move, the little eunuch next to him came up to him attentively: "Your Highness wants to see the snow, don't bother Lord Xu, I can carry you, and then ask the governor of the palace to make a wooden wheelchair for you, and I will push you-"
　　Meng Zhaiyue's face turned cold, and said sinisterly: "If you say more, I will break your legs, and you can use this wooden wheelchair."
　　The little eunuch swallowed his saliva and shrank back.
　　Xu Xiang then obeyed silently, lowered his body and waited for her to climb onto his back.
　　With him, the two of them did not need to be cautious about the differences between men and women. After all, everyone felt that Xu Xiang was not a complete man, there was no need to be cautious, and he could not be a competitor to other men.
　　Meng Zhaiyue climbed onto his back and lay on his broad spine.
　　It was not noticeable at first glance, but when she got closer, Meng Zhaiyue realized that although he was thin, he had broad and straight shoulders, and he felt very safe.
　　She rested her chin on Xu Xiang's shoulder and whispered in his ear, "Are you hiding from me?"
　　Xu Xiang just stood up, and a warm and fragrant breeze blew behind his ears. He closed his eyes, opened them again, and walked out.
　　"When the princess asks, you must answer. If you do, you will be punished by kneeling. This is the rule of the princess's mansion." Meng Zhaiyue whispered, "I'm going to punish you."
　　He finally said, "I didn't."
　　"Oh--you didn't." Meng Zhaiyue said, "You just never dared to look up at me when we met. Humph, you didn't. No wonder it's the powerful King of Hell. I can't say such nonsense."
　　Xu Xiang said, "I..."
　　"Okay." She said, "Don't make excuses. You just think I'm naive, you think I have a bad temper, you think I'm a fool, and you don't believe there will be any good results."
　　Xu Xiang cleared his cough to cover up his previous prejudice.
　　"Forget it, I'm generous, I won't care about you." She waved her hand and said with a smile, "Let's go to see the Xiezhi statue in the courtyard of the Dali Temple."
　　Xiezhi is a judicial beast that distinguishes right from wrong and represents "uprightness and fairness". There is a large Xiezhi stone sculpture in the Dali Temple.
　　After leaving the hall, the young eunuch who was accompanying them opened a red umbrella. Meng Zhaiyue took the umbrella personally and said, "I'll do it, you go back."
　　Snow was falling on the umbrella.
　　She was carried steadily, and the other person's steps were very steady. Meng Zhaiyue said that she was going out to see the snow, but her eyes never left him, until Xu Xiang stopped in front of the stone sculpture of Xiezhi, she gently reached out her hand and touched Xu Xiang's hair.
　　His whole body stiffened.
　　Meng Zhaiyue said: "Xu Ziqian, I have checked the Zhu Mo case, and I have also seen your volume, Tanhualang, Yushi, prisoner, criminal slave, powerful eunuch." Ziqian
　　is his courtesy name. Qian means "soaring" and "high", but at the same time, it also means "flaw" and "loss".
　　He has been separated from this word for a long time.
　　This is his hidden pain. Most of the people who can call him by this name affectionately have gone to the underworld. His former friends and friends regarded him as a bandit, a claw, and a Yaksha beast that they wanted to get rid of as soon as possible.
　　But this was also his last innocence before he was convicted. The first few years of having this word are worth remembering and commemorating.
　　He felt that Meng Zhaiyue buried herself in his shoulders little by little, and her voice was filled with a resolute and innocent smile.
　　"The punishment of collective responsibility is actually torture." She said, "With me here, there will be fewer and fewer people suffering like you. You have to believe in me. I can do anything."
　　He stood in the snow for a long time.
　　When Meng Zhaiyue thought Xu Xiang didn't believe it, she heard a sentence.
　　"I believe in Your Highness."
　　The author has something to say:
　　Qian. It should be a common word, but it is easy to get stuck when it is first mentioned. Note the pronunciation.
　　The eunuch in the princess's mansion: Because he has no eyesight, he is scolded several times a day QAQ