After becoming a widow, I raised my traitor brother

23 years ago.

On the night of Shangyuan Festival, there was a night banquet in the palace, with fish and dragons dancing wildly, and lanterns filling the sky.

Zhou Shuo was crowded in the crowd of spectators, and no one noticed him because he was small and frail.

He tightly wrapped his cold hands in his sleeves, and his face was filled with the excitement of a young man. He followed the dancing lions and dragons all the way from Qinghe Gate to Longqing Hall, surrounded by the laughter of the palace people. The sound floats in the ears, bustling with the excitement of the new year.

On the white marble square in front of the Longqing Hall, the eunuchs had prepared plum blossom piles at various heights for the lion dance performance. The late emperor, together with his ministers and their families, were waiting under the eaves of the palace with a smile.

Both sides of the square are hung with lanterns of different shapes.

As a giant lotus lantern slowly bloomed, a young girl walked out of it. She was dressed as the fairy Chang'e in a white gauze skirt. She held a small flower basket in her jade arms and held a delicate octagonal tassel hydrangea in her hand. She is beautiful and elegant, with a delicate smile, and her long eyelashes are like the tail feathers of a white peacock. She dances solo in the lantern to the music, her steps jingle and her body graceful. The maids scatter petals all over the sky, and the lantern shadows are swaying all over the place, and the fragrance is exquisite and unparalleled. wonderland.

It's Rong Yuelan.

At that time, Rong Yuelan was only 15 years old. She came from a well-known family and was well-educated. She was known as the "most beautiful woman in Beijing". When she appeared on the stage to perform a dance, the onlookers were amazed and amazed.

Zhou Shuo also secretly fell in love with Rong Yuelan.

He squeezed in the crowd and stood in the shadows, his eyes greedily following the girl who was as bright and shining as the moon, reluctant to move away even a little bit.

As the drums beat, the lion and dragon dance teams came over.

The leader of the awakening lion suddenly flashed round eyes that were bigger than a copper bell, and nimbly jumped onto the plum blossom pile. As it jumped up and down, its golden-red lion fur was lifelike and domineering and beautiful. Its various complex acrobatic moves attracted people outside the field. Cheers.

The drum beats get louder and louder.

Rong Yuelan smiled brightly and threw the octagonal hydrangea into the air.

The awakening lion jumped up!

Behind it was a huge full moon. It was frozen in mid-air, as if it could not touch the hydrangea. Just as its slow fall caused disappointed sighs from outside the venue, the waking lion then turned over in mid-air. He fought vigorously and grabbed the hydrangea in his mouth neatly and neatly. His four claws were like flying clouds and mist, and he flew to Rong Yuelan's side, holding the hydrangea on his head to tease her.

The lion dance performance was so exciting that the whole place was filled with screams and cheers.

The applause gathered into a sea.

When the drum beat ended, the lion woke up and took off his hood, revealing a young boy's face with a young and heroic spirit.

It was Zhou Wuyan who was only 15 years old.

He was handsome and handsome, with a pair of narrow fox eyes that seemed to be born with affection, which made the ladies in the boudoir blush. They shyly hid behind the round fan and looked at him quietly with adoring eyes.

He stood side by side with Rong Yuelan and bowed neatly to the late emperor: "Tonight the moon is full, I wish my father the eternal prosperity of the country and the health of the country! Year after year, we will be like this dynasty!"

Behind him, thirteen young men from well-known families, including the young master of the Rong family who had known him since childhood, took off their lion-awakening hoods and bowed with their hands like stars over the moon. The scene was spectacular.

The late emperor was overjoyed and waved his hand and said: "Well said, I will reward you with a thousand taels!"

Zhou Wuyang smiled boldly and said: "My son has never been fond of gold and silver treasures. I sincerely ask my father to exchange the bounty into copper coins and ingots to reward the palace servants who have worked hard tonight."

At that time, he had already been crowned king, so all the people in the palace began to shout excitedly the name "King Dingbei".

Strings of copper coins were scattered out, mixed with countless silver coins. The eunuchs and palace maids bent over and desperately picked up on the floor tiles. As huge fireworks bloomed in the night sky, the palace city was bustling tonight. pole.

Zhou Shuo lowered his head and picked up money with the palace people.

He was not like Zhou Wuyan. His mother-in-law was just an unpopular palace maid who died shortly after giving birth to him.He was helpless, not to mention his wealth and money, and even the clothes he wore in winter were of the lowest quality.

If he could pick up a little more money, he could at least add more charcoal to the rest of the cold night, so it wouldn't be so difficult.

He picked up a bag of copper coins and quietly looked at the White Marble Square through the gap in the crowd. Under the lanterns, Zhou Wuyao was like the most dazzling pearl. He wore deerskin boots with a thousand gold fur, and a jade-inlaid satin bandage on his forehead. The noble sons and daughters of the noble families were chatting and laughing around each other, and Rong Yuelan was standing beside him, her beautiful eyes always looking at him with a smile.

He was making trouble, she was laughing.

They are like the most perfect couple in the world.

Zhou Shuo hugged the copper coin string tightly, his hands were stiff with cold but he didn't feel anything.

Immediately, like a demon, he followed the light of the lanterns and walked step by step towards the young girls in bright clothes and angry horses——

But he was hit by someone unknown, and he fell to the ground in a panic. All the strings of copper coins in his pocket were scattered, attracting people from the surrounding palaces to rob him.

"My money! My money!"

He shouted with red eyes and tried to stop the palace man, but it was all in vain.

In the chaos, someone didn't know who stepped on his finger hard, causing him to grin and almost suffocate in pain.

When he was lying in the dust in embarrassment and humiliation, a pair of exquisite and luxurious deerskin boots appeared in front of him.

Zhou Wuyang bent down to help him up, and when he saw his appearance, he was slightly surprised: "Brother Imperial?"

Zhou Shuo was stunned. He caught a glimpse of Rong Yuelan behind him from the corner of his eye. His face turned red and he lowered his head in panic and said, "You...you have recognized the wrong person!"

Zhou Wuyan glanced around with an unkind look: "The people in the palace are used to downplaying the superiors and flattering the inferiors. The emperor has been bullied by them. If you don't say anything, the days in the future will only be more difficult. Someone, please help the slave who just stepped on the emperor." , drag him down and hit him five times!"

Zhou Shuo still lowered his head, clutching the corners of his clothes tightly in embarrassment.

They are all obviously princes.

But Zhou Wuhuang was more capable than him and had more status than him.

As soon as he gave the order, the guards immediately did what he said.

A feeling of inferiority quietly spreads in my heart.

At this moment, Rong Yuelan stepped forward and handed him a handkerchief and said softly: "Your Highness, would you like to wipe your face?"

Her hands are probably very fragrant and soft.

Zhou Shuo held it in his palm and was reluctant to wipe his dirty face with it.

Since then, he has been noticed by Zhou Wuxu.

Although he is his younger brother, he always takes special care of him, helps him complete his homework, helps him teach the palace officials who bully him, helps him fight against other brothers, and helps him show his face in front of his father.

On a late spring night, the two brothers sat on the top of the Forbidden City, drinking and talking.

Zhou Wuyang stared at the distant horizon, saying that he didn't like going to Beijing, and that he would go to the border to join the army after autumn.

"Brother Imperial," Zhou Wuyang rested on the eaves of the tiles with one hand and held a wine gourd with the other. The bright moon was reflected in his pupils, and he smiled unrestrainedly, "I see that among all the brothers, you are the most homely. You have a kind heart. In the future, when you ascend the throne and become emperor, I will guard the borders for you and protect the country for you, okay?"