In the evening, as the young soldiers began to line up in the greenhouse to receive meals, Xiyuan, which had been bustling with excitement during the day, finally gradually became quiet. There were only the sounds of gobbling, the sound of chopsticks hitting the large porcelain bowl, and even the sound of whispering.
None. Because in today's military discipline, you are not allowed to talk while eating, and if you don't finish eating within the prescribed time, you are not allowed to use chopsticks even if you are half full. Therefore, everyone has to lower his head and eat hard, for fear that he will not eat when the time is up.
full.
But Xu Xun was not supervising in the big shed at this moment, but standing on the sidewalk behind the small school ground. There was a burning rosin torch beside him. On this cold day, the sun rose late enough and set early. In total, he
Just practicing archery like this, naturally I don't dare to waste time.
Although no one among his subordinates dares to question the toughness of his subordinates, and the officers recommended by the commander-in-chief Sun Xu Guangzuo are also very good at using them, he cannot always rely on words to fool people.
At this moment, he calmly shot another arrow. Hearing the thud, he breathed a sigh of relief, stretched out his three fingers to touch the inside of the quiver he was wearing. As soon as the arrow was in hand, he couldn't help but look down again, but
I found that there were already ten arrows in this quiver [First published on Baidu Post] and only one was left. Counting now, two bags of twenty arrows had been shot [First published on Baidu Post]. I raised my head again and faced the arrows.
Target, he slowly put the arrow into the bowstring, leveled his right elbow and was about to guide the bow to shoot, but suddenly he heard a burst of shouting not far away.
"Commander Xu, Commander Xu!"
Distracted, Xu Xun subconsciously let go of the bowstring. Seeing that the arrow was wrong, it was deflected by a gust of wind not far away, and shot diagonally on the muddy ground. He couldn't help but shake his head, and then shot
Turning his head, he saw a person who should never have appeared here at this time.
"Commander Xu, the young Marquis said that there is something important and he must see you no matter what!"
Because Xu Xun was afraid that too many people would get into trouble, so only Ma Qiao knew about his archery practice in Chidao, so that this black man could be honest. However, being honest does not mean being dull. At this moment, Ma Qiao
Qiao glanced at the master behind him who had just lost his temper with lingering fear. After saying these words, he immediately bowed deeply and said, "I still have to watch over there in my humble position, so I'll resign first!"
Seeing Ma Qiao running away faster than a rabbit, Xu Xun realized that Zhu Houzhao's face was so dark that it was indeed a bit scary. However, he was more worried about the impact of the dignified prince running out like this, so he hurriedly rushed forward to greet him.
, just after he called His Highness the Crown Prince, Zhu Houzhao suddenly stretched out his hand, intending to pull his collar. He quickly dodged back and avoided the grab, but his sleeves were not spared and were grabbed by the little prince.
I caught it in one fell swoop.
"Xu Xun, why did you ask someone to return my jade pendant?"
"What?"
Xu Xun was confused by this vicious questioning at first. However, when Zhu Houzhao repeated it again, he finally understood a little bit. Although he still didn't know what the matter was, he knew that Zhu Houzhao was the target of the question.
A spoiled, willful child needs to be coaxed. He immediately spread his hands and explained helplessly: "Your Highness, you must know that I have never left Xiyuan these days. I have no idea what happened outside. You must tell me the cause and effect."
Hou Hei, tell me something?"
Zhu Houzhao had previously persuaded Empress Zhang to allow him to summon Qi Jiliang into the palace, and after questioning everyone about the origin of the jade pendant, he was immediately annoyed and went straight to Xiyuan regardless of it. At this moment, he saw Xu Xun With that look, he said angrily: "What's the cause and effect! How did the jade pendant I sent out fall into the hands of Xing'anbo? Xing'anbo gave it to Li Yifeng of Beizhen Fusi, and what did he say to others? Give it to me, Li Yifeng met Qi Jiliang again, and somehow asked Qi Jiliang to pass the things to my aunt to return the things to me! Tell me, what on earth is going on!"
This statement has no logic at all, and it may be confusing to the ears of uninformed people, but Xu Xun is well aware of the nature of Shen Yue and Xu Liang, and when Qi Jiliang is involved, he immediately understands seven points. After thinking about it carefully, he almost understood the profound meaning of this statement, and immediately took a deep breath.
"I didn't expect this, but I can explain the reason to His Highness. But I won't be able to explain it for a while. It's dark and it's windy outside..."
Zhu Houzhao was very curious about Shen Yue, whom he had only known for most of the day, because she was different from any woman he had ever seen before, not like Queen Zhang, not like the eldest princesses, and not like Zhang Jingxuan and Jianchang Hou The cousins in the palace were not like those obedient or coy palace maids, even what he saw in the play were different. At this time, what annoyed him was that the things he gave away were returned. This was simply It’s Fu Ni like I’ve never seen before!
"Don't think about it, don't say it's windy outside, even if there is a knife outside, you have to explain it clearly to me first!"
"Okay, okay!"
Xu Xun really had nothing to do with the little prince, so he took Zhu Houzhao to the fir bench where he usually rested when he was tired from practicing archery, and sat Zhu Houzhao down. Seeing that although Zhu Houzhao was wrapped in thick clothes, He was wearing a big cloak, but his nose was sniffing hard and it seemed a little blocked. He was afraid that the other person would catch a cold and fall ill, so he simply took off his sheepskin cloak and put it on Zhu Houzhao.
"Your Highness, this is a long story. Please tell me a story."
Seeing that Zhu Houzhao's eyes were unblinking, Xu Xun thought for a while and started talking about it from the time when he woke up for the first time in Jinling City. From being seriously injured and jumping into the water to save others, but being saved by others, to being robbed of his family property. Shen Yue was so angry that he always mistook her for a girl when she disguised herself as a woman to report the news. She then went to Kuiyuan Tower to receive a message from Fu Rong, asking how to defeat the coercive plan of Zhao Qin, Mr. Xu and others in the ancestral hall. In the end, Zhao Qin forced Shen to marry, Shen Yue jumped on the Wende Bridge, how he faked his death and escaped, how he found the person, how the final big case was tried and concluded... He has always been good at eloquence. It was excellent, and it was so vividly told. Zhu Houzhao asked a few questions from time to time at first, but when he heard the end, he didn't say a word. It was obvious that he was completely immersed in it.
"There is such a thing, there is such a thing!"
Zhu Houzhao grew up in a deep palace. The most he saw was the petty squabbling among the eunuchs and maids. The most he encountered was the criticism and admonishment of the courtiers. The most he heard was the scolding of his parents. One or two rumors depressed him for a while. At most, he just couldn't get used to the faces of his two uncles. He never knew that there would be such things among the people that he had never heard of. And Xu Xun, whom he thought he knew very well, could stand here. It is the result of going through hardships and dangers.
"Then Miss Shen will come...just come"
Zhu Houzhao had only finished speaking half of his words when he saw Xu Xun nodding towards him. He first took a deep breath in amazement, and the next moment he violently waved his fist and shouted: "It's so... so amazing, so awesome." ...So powerful! Xu Xun, I thought you had many evil ideas, but I didn’t expect you to be so bold! And Sister Shen actually dared to jump into the river!"
After being stuck for a long time, Zhu Houzhao finally gave up his efforts to express his admiration in words. He handed the jade pendant to Xu Xun and said without hesitation: "You can return this thing to her later and say that the thing I gave you has never been given." There is no taking it back!”
The reason why Xu Xun was willing to take the risk and let Shen Yue come to Beijing was to bet on the possibility of Zhu Houzhao. Only this arbitrary prince could accept or even admire him. If it were anyone else, he would have been labeled as a crime of deceiving the emperor. At this moment, he didn't refuse, just put the jade pendant in his arms, and said solemnly: "Your Highness, no one else knows about this matter except my father. Please do it for me." We keep it secret, otherwise Miss Shen will be in a worrying situation."
"Of course!" When Zhu Houzhao thought about the big secret he had shared with Xu Xun, which no one had told at first, his eyebrows lit up when he heard this, and his chest beat loudly.
But the next moment, he rolled his eyes and said with a smile, "But why go to all the trouble? Why don't you go ask your father to grant a marriage to you and my sister?"
"Absolutely not!" Xu Xun knew that the young prince had a temperament that could be said and done, so he hurriedly shook his head and said, "Your Highness, although the emperor is the emperor, there are some things that he does not do as he pleases. This incident caused a storm in Jinling at first, but now The news has not passed yet. If another Miss Shen appears to be alive at this moment, there will definitely be another uproar. Your Highness should also know that last time, even with such a trivial matter, I was almost worried."
Zhu Houzhao couldn't help but patted his head in annoyance: "Ah, yes, those old men are so nagging that it's hard to deal with them!"
"So, this can only be a secret between the two of you, Your Highness. When the time is right, it won't be too late to reveal it to the Emperor."
Although he was a little regretful, Zhu Houzhao still frowned and agreed, and then sneezed loudly. Just at this time, Liu Jin's voice calling the young marquis in a low voice came from the distance. Xu Xun saw the sky turning. It became darker again, and he hurriedly urged Zhu Houzhao to return to the palace. Who knew that the little prince stood up after patting him, and suddenly looked at the bow and arrow Xu Xun put aside, and then suddenly left him behind and rushed to the side quickly. An archery target.
"Okay, Xu Xun, you actually practice archery secretly!"
Zhu Houzhao stood on tiptoe and looked at the densely packed archery target, which contained at least one arrow. He suddenly turned his head and looked at Xu Xun fiercely and said: "I'm not leaving. I've been practicing for a few days. You can compete with me first! Liu Jin !”
When Liu Jin, who was watching from a distance, ran over with a smile on his face, he was stunned when he heard such a request. It took him a long time to agree with a sad face, but he was helplessly calculating in his heart how furious the pair of emperors and empresses would be when they met later. However, at this moment, when he saw Zhu Houzhao slowly drawing his bow and setting an arrow under the rosin-pointed handle, his posture was very similar to the same thing, and he was still in a daze.
Except for these days, this master has never done anything so seriously and wholeheartedly in his life!