Between the vast sea of ​​clouds

Qingping didn't take Liu Zhen's strangeness to heart, she turned and left, her sleeves were blown up by the wind as she walked, stained with a little falling snow.

The trance-like aroma fell into the air, wafted from her swinging sleeves, and was blown away by the wind.Liu Zhen stood outside the door for a while, opened the curtain and walked indoors. The room was very warm because of the earth dragon. Liu Zhen was wearing a heavy winter coat, steamed by the heat, and her nose was sweating a little.Chu Jun was inquiring about Yaoguang's affairs last night, when Liu Zhen came in and asked, "Qingping left?"

Her attitude is very natural, can not see any difference.However, Liu Zhen's hands were trembling a little, and she forced herself to be calm and said: "Yes, I just left not long ago, if His Highness wants to find her, there is still time to go after her."

Chu Jun put the medicine bowl back on the table, took a white handkerchief to wipe his mouth, and said casually: "No need, let's go."

Liu Zhen went to fetch the bowl respectfully, Chu Jun didn't notice that her movements were different from the past, she became a little sluggish, after giving instructions to Yaoguang, she stood up and said to Liu Zhen: "If anyone comes to visit today, they will all disappear. "

The aroma of sandalwood tainted by her robes in the movement room was mixed in the warm air. It was originally an elegant taste, but there was an imperceptible fragrance added.Liu Zhen has served her by her side for many years, and she knows very well what kind of incense Chu Jun usually uses. She needs to be careful with such close-fitting things. She has never dared to let others do it, and she dyes her robes herself.As the person who served Chu Jun personally, Liu Zhen was very sensitive to changes in the smell, and today was the second time she had smelled this smell.

The thought that made her unbelievable is probably about to become true.Liu Zhen exited the door holding the medicine bowl in her hand, the wind whizzed past the corridor, the cold breath outside the house made her a little clearer, she looked at the direction Qingping left, the shock in her eyes had faded, and turned into a trace of unsearchable depth .

It was only on the fourth day after Chu Jun returned to the mansion that Qingping found out what happened after entering the palace that night.

During the New Year's Eve, the empress summoned four imperial daughters to the palace to give a banquet. At the family banquet, several newly entered palace servants were also called as companions, and several trusted and important ministers were also invited to show her favor.It's just that the four princesses are all grown-ups, and it's inconvenient to have the same banquet with the harem, so the empress moved to the Changning Palace and held the banquet again.

However, on the way to the banquet, Hubu Shangshu Xie Ancai talked about an old case in the Wuzhao period. It was about the collusion between the steward and the officials in the Huangzhuang sacrificial field outside Beijing to deceive the upper and lower.In fact, it was nothing, it was just an old case, now it was brought out, and it was just a pretext to flatter the empress to rule well.But the eldest princess Chu Ming smiled and talked about Chu Jun’s opening of the mansion, saying that since she believed in Wang Chuli, there were naturally a few subordinate officials who had other ideas, relying on their own status and qualifications, but secretly moved in several villages. hands and feet.The empress questioned Chu Jun when she heard the words, Chu Jun had already caught the Dao Shuo mouse, but Gu Nian was sent by Chenghui Mansion, so she left a little face and dealt with it privately.

So there was no trouble, and the family banquet was overwhelmed by laughter and laughter.However, at this time a man dressed in a palace suddenly broke in and cried in front of the imperial court.This person is the servant of the Empress Xinna, who was originally pregnant with a phoenix descendant, but there was an accident before the Lantern Festival, and the child was not kept.At this time, the servant knelt in front of the imperial court, speaking with resentment, saying that someone confused the royal blood, doves occupied the magpie's nest, implying that the empress favored lowly people and was warned by her ancestors, resulting in the loss of phoenix descendants.

As soon as this remark came out, the audience was in an uproar.All the ministers knew who the servant was talking about, and it must be the fourth princess Chu Jun who was only found in recent years.The female emperor on the throne had a gloomy expression, and then signaled the palace servants to drag the servant away, broke up the banquet, summoned the hidden guards to inquire, and ordered a thorough investigation of the matter.

But Chu Jun didn't say anything, just left his seat, untied the jade crown, took off the royal robe and put it at his feet, and left with his hair loose.The only way is that if the reputation of the emperor's mother's virtuous virtue is damaged due to his own personal reasons, it is better to abandon the position of prince and leave.

Dressed in snow-white single clothes, despite the dissuasion of the palace people, she walked through many palaces alone on a snowy night, and finally passed out outside the palace gate, and was picked up by the palace carriage waiting outside the gate.

Qingping thought to himself, retreating as an advance, enduring the humiliation.In the eyes of the Empress, Xin Wang's move is a manifestation of the overall situation, which is naturally appreciated by the Empress. In addition, she walked across half of the palace in the snow with a lonely attitude. She clearly felt wronged but did not Outburst, just expressing dissatisfaction in this way, and it was spread out that Wang Xingchun was praised for his filial piety, and the identity matter was confirmed again under the auspices of Chenghui Mansion, this time it is really a certainty.The empress dealt with a group of courtiers vigorously and resolutely, dismissed the three officials, deprived the former chief of the palace, Shi He Zhou, of the rank of the house, demoted the descendants to common people, and exiled to the frontier.So far, no one in the court dared to doubt the identity of King Xin.

On the tenth day of the first lunar month, all kinds of property were rewarded from the palace, and they were continuously sent to Xinwang's mansion. Anyone with a discerning eye knew that this was the empress' compensation for the four princes.Xin Wang hadn't healed from the cold, his body was thin, and his face had no trace of blood. He knelt down and thanked him with the support of his servants, and he really earned a lot of sympathy.

Qing Ping stood aside to accompany the receiving order, watching Chu Jun with cold eyes. If he should be subdued, he should be subdued, and if he should persist, he should persevere. Suddenly, he felt that Chu Jun was not so omnipotent. She seemed to be no different from himself. It seems to be an instinct to give up the necessary sacrifice, just like a gecko's tail-docking at a critical moment.She imagined Chu Jun trekking through the dark palace in the cold night of winter, what kind of ambition did she have in order to trek hard in the snow?

She has no way of knowing, but one thing is very clear, people who are ruthless to themselves will only be more ruthless to others.

The next day, Qingping was ordered to count the imperial gifts and move them into the warehouse.Liu Zhen commanded his subordinates to put the things into the palace's inner treasury. There were many things going on in the palace these few days, and the two of them didn't have a good conversation, they just met each other and left in a hurry.Although Chu Jun was sick in bed, he had to open the mansion to welcome guests. When the wind and cold improved a little, he would arrange staff to receive visitors.The position of Chief History of the Wangfu was vacant, so Qing Ping took the position temporarily, and led all the officials to receive the officials who came to congratulate.

Because of the rewards in the palace at the beginning of the year, many more people came to pay respects.Qingping was busy going around, and spent all his time and thought on dealing with people. If he couldn't make a decision, he would ask Chu Jun for advice.After a period of busy work, she also had some understanding of the way of being an official, but Chu Jun calmly guided her how to act, which benefited her a lot.

The servants carried a pot of coral trees into the warehouse. After Qingping checked today's list, he handed it to Liu Zhen for signature.Liu Zhen looked at it carefully before he breathed a sigh of relief: "That's right, it's all right."

Seeing her nervous expression, Qingping couldn't help laughing and said, "Boss Liu, what if it doesn't match up?"

Liu Zhen said helplessly: "If you lose the gift from the imperial court, something serious will happen if you lose it. Then I can only hold my head up and go to His Highness to plead guilty."

As he said that, he went to get the copper lock and locked the door of the warehouse, Qingping waited outside for her to come out.Today, the sun and the sun shine brightly on the surroundings, and the snow on the eaves shines white in the sunlight, which is a little dazzling. Qingping stretches out his hand to cover his eyes, and looks at the lake covered by ice and snow in the distance.

When Liu Zhen came out of the warehouse, she saw her standing in the warm winter sun with a stack of things in her hands. The white light reflected by the snow made her face crystal clear. Just one look at the fine wine, and you will feel a little drunk.But she always had a gloomy look, which fell between her eyebrows, an indescribable melancholy temperament, revealing a delicate and graceful beauty. Her eyebrows and eyelashes drooped slightly, like the outline carefully drawn by an artist on a porcelain vase.Liu Zhen knew that Qing Ping was good-looking, so it was a pleasure to look at on weekdays.But today, this extraordinary beauty made her feel terrified.

She stepped on the snow and walked over slowly, Qingping closed his eyes, turned to her and asked, "Shall we go to dinner together?"

Liu Zhen looked at her, feeling regretful and puzzled. The ice on the corner of the eaves melted and was blown off by the wind. It ticked like a light rain. She said, "Okay."

After finally having time to take a breather, the two sat facing each other. After eating, they chatted while looking at the bright snow outside the window.

Qingping told her about the mistakes he made when receiving visitors recently. Liu Zhen laughed for a long time and said, "As long as it is not a big mistake, a small mistake is not a big deal. If something goes wrong, His Highness will stand in your way anyway, so why bother?" Are you afraid?"

Qingping squinted his eyes to see the dazzling light, and said calmly: "The lord humiliated the minister to death, the face of the palace is the face of your highness, it's better to be careful. If someone with a heart catches the handle, it is my negligence as a minister .”

Liu Zhen paused holding the teacup, then smiled and said, "His Highness has been bedridden for the past few days, have you visited?"

Qingping poured tea for herself, and turned her gaze back to her face, Liu Zhen suddenly felt a little nervous, a bit like looking at Chu Jun.Qing Ping said: "There are things in the government that need to be reported frequently, and when they come and go, it is unavoidable to ask His Highness for advice. It can be considered that I have visited it every day."

"What?" A sharp light flashed in her eyes, and she asked jokingly, "As the manager, aren't you serving His Highness?"

Liu Zhen was a little distracted during the probing exchanges, suddenly thought about it, and said: "I have a big business to be busy recently, so I don't have much time to serve His Highness."

Qingping clearly noticed that there was something in her words today, as if she was carefully probing something, she felt a little weird in her heart, but she didn't understand what she was going to say, she needed to be so vigilant, she asked kindly: "What is it?"

Liu Zhen smiled and said meaningfully: "It's His Highness's marriage."

After she finished speaking, she stared at Qingping closely, as if she wanted to see something from her face.Qingping smiled silently, and asked indifferently: "Which family's son is it that can win His Highness's favor?"

The tea in Liu Zhen's cup was shaking violently. She gently put the teacup on the table, and said hintingly: "It must be a marriage bestowed by the palace, maybe it is the son of some big family. Your Highness's father's family is not close. A little help is also good.”

So it was like this, she thought, no matter how careful Chu Jun was, he couldn't hide it from the servants around him.Sooner or later, Liu Zhen will know about this matter.But Liu Zhen obviously regarded her as the kind of sycophant who flattered the lord. With a little bit of beauty, she thought that she could gain power that did not belong to her.

Qing Ping didn't speak for a long time, he focused on the wood pattern on the table case, and smiled after a long while: "Liu Zhen, although you have been with His Highness for a long time, you still don't know her well enough."

She got up and left under Liu Zhen's astonished gaze, without any hesitation from head to toe, Liu Zhen suddenly stood up and said, "Qingping, you—"

When Qingping came to the door, he stopped, remained motionless, turned his head slightly to look at her, Liu Zhen's voice seemed to be cut off, and he couldn't speak a word anymore.

She turned her eyes, put her hand on the door, and said lightly: "I remember a long time ago, Your Highness told me that she said that people should not be too emotional. The so-called kindness only needs to repay the kindness, not the need to repay the kindness. I remember very clearly. You and I are just pawns, often involuntary, so, do you understand what I mean?"

Liu Zhen felt a cold and strange feeling in her heart. With a wave of her hand, the teacup fell on the table. The tea soon overflowed the grain of the wood and was stained dark brown.Liu Zhen didn't have time to help the cup, when she saw a piece of orange light slanting through the green tiles of the remaining snow and landed at her feet, reflecting her slender figure.

Qingping stepped out of the door and said: "The things you worry about will never happen, Liu Zhen, there is no difference between knowing and not knowing, this is not something you and I can control. Are you going to be a close minister to serve the wise lord? , none of this has anything to do with me, we are people who go on different paths, if you think you look down on me, of course you can part ways."

No matter how hard Liu Zhen could hide her astonished look, she shook her head in disbelief and said in a low voice, "No, that's not the case..."

Qing Ping said: "It doesn't matter." She was a little inexplicably sad, and spread out her tightly clenched palms, revealing the deep finger marks in them. "I don't care much anymore."

"No!" Liu Zhen suddenly took a step forward, grabbed her sleeve tightly, and said in a hurry: "It's not what you think, you can no longer stay by His Highness's side, those are all her—" two words on purpose Before she had time to say it, Qingping pinched her arm suddenly, then leaned out very naturally, and said, "Your Highness."

Chu Hao was wearing a gray feather cloak, standing in the corridor, a beam of light hit her shoulder, and the golden dots on the side of her face flickered in the light, she said: "What are you doing?"

Qingping said very naturally: "Just talk casually. Your Highness, are you feeling better?"

Liu Zhen's face turned pale in an instant, Qingping let go of Liu Zhen's hand, and walked slowly towards Chu Jun.There was no blood on Chu Jun's face, but the eyes were darker against it. She glanced at Liu Zhen, then turned to look at Qingping, nodded and said: "The doctor has already seen it, and there is nothing serious."

Liu Zhen froze in place and didn't move. Chu Jun's gaze was on her heart just now. It wasn't a warning from a superior at all, but a threat full of possessiveness, like... yes The silent shock of all who touch what belongs to her.In an instant, Liu Zhen's pupils shrank slightly, and she almost stepped forward to hold Qingping, preventing her from taking another step forward, but just as the thought came to her, she was frozen in place under Chu Jun's gaze, unable to move.

Liu Zhen finally realized that her guess was wrong. It turned out that all this was happening before her eyes, and there were already signs of it.She should have understood that from the beginning of the change of Chu Jun's attitude towards Qingping, the way she looked at Qingping was different from beginning to end.

She had never seen this calm His Royal Highness Xin Wang look at other people with such eyes.

Qingping knew nothing about all this, she was a little thankful that she just covered Liu Zhen's mouth and didn't let her finish her sentence.However, she vaguely felt that she seemed to have missed something important. Although she was puzzled in her heart, she thought about asking Liu Zhen next time what she had left to say.

However, Chu Jun grabbed her wrist and dragged her away.