Mountains and rivers fall into red

Chapter 63
one

A thunderstorm had struck, and there were dirty red brocade flowers all over the place.At this time, the sun was setting and Qiuyue entered the inner hall with a gold-carved teacup.

Xiao Kui was leaning against the carved window, the screen had been pushed aside, the night wind passed through the shade of trees in waves, blowing into the inner hall, stirring the sandalwood incense from the white jade censer, the smoke was suddenly clouded, like a wild dance of silver snakes.

Qiuyue exclaimed: "Your Highness, this wind can't blow like this." She hurriedly put down the tea tray, went to his side, closed the carved window, and drew down the curtain.

The wind calmed down, and wisps of dim yellow light leaked in.Xiao Kui got up slowly, and lay down on the bed with his clothes on.

The woman in the garden vaguely stood in front of him, her eyes as bright as snow fixed on Xiao Kui.The beautiful woman with delicate pink pink, but her face is full of pain and sorrow.

Qiuyue observed his movements suspiciously, and gently arranged the furnishings in the room with her hands.

Xiao Kui pondered in distress, silently reciting this familiar name in his heart.

Her name is Hugh.

From Xiao Hao's words, it can be heard that he and she once had a relationship.That being the case, why did he forget her completely?The headache started to hurt again, and it became more and more painful.He held his head tightly, tossed and turned on the bed, and couldn't help moaning uncontrollably.

Qiuyue ran over and put her arms around his head.Seeing his pale face, he wanted to call out to the palace servants, but he waved his hand to stop him.Qiuyue said softly: "Your Highness, take a rest and drink hot tea, maybe it will be better."

Xiao Kui sipped his tea, his expression relaxed.Qiuyue felt relieved, Fang wanted to get up, but he grabbed her.

Xiao Kui thought for a moment, then turned around and took out the white jade from under the fur pillow, spread it out, and presented it to her: "Qiuyue, tell me, what is this?"

Qiuyue picked up the jade and twisted it in her hands. The white jade was crystal clear, and she replied: "Your Highness doesn't know, and the servants don't know. In the past, His Highness always put it under the pillow, and looked at it from time to time. The day His Highness was injured, he kept it in your hands for some reason. I'm in my arms, maybe it's His Highness's sincerity that touched the heavens and made His Highness turn the danger into safety, safe and sound."

Xiao Kui remained silent and put the jade back in.

Qiuyue couldn't help laughing and said: "Your Highness is also a person of sincerity and sincerity, and it will be a blessing to the people of the world that you become emperor in the future."

"I'm afraid it's not luck, but bad luck." Xiao Kui's eyes became serious, and he said softly, "Qiuyue, tell me, who is Xiuxiu?"

Qiuyue's candle-lighting hand trembled, almost knocking over the candle.

"Your Highness is really forgetful." Qiuyue sighed softly, "Xiuxiu is Shen Xiuxiu, the daughter of Mr. Shen Buyu. His Highness once had a relationship with her for a while, but later he was jealous of her identity and gave up. .”

It turned out that she was Shen Buyu's daughter.

"What happened later?" Xiao Kui seemed to be listening to someone else's story.

"It's impossible for a maidservant to stay by His Highness's side every day." Qiuyue smiled, "The slaveservant doesn't know much about what happened afterwards, but I heard that Shen Xiuxiu got married. When the Mu family was pacified, her husband was implicated, so she came to the palace I begged His Highness. His Highness immediately let her go. Who would have thought that she would be robbed and killed by a strongman on the way back to her hometown with her husband, this story spread widely, and everyone in Jiangling knew about it."

Xiao Kui's hearing became more and more serious, thinking of the woman's eyes and the little white flower in her hair, a sour smile appeared on her face, and said: "No wonder. So it's like this..."

The sky was dark, and the candlelight was dyed layer upon layer, adding a touch of comfort to the gradually warm inner hall.At this time, a servant outside held his breath and said, "Your Highness, the Crown Princess, please come over at night."

"Call her over," Xiao Kui said.

Qiuyue beside her suddenly said, "Your Highness has even forgotten about this."

Xiao Kui was startled, looking at Qiuyue, Qiuyue said indifferently: "Your Highness never allows the Empress Dowager to come in, and she invites you every time."

Xiao Kui nodded suddenly, then took out Ruiyu from under the pillow, and strode out of the hall.

In the dark moonlit night, there was no sound.Xiao Kui stepped down from his chariot, the outside of the Crown Prince's Palace was brightly lit, although the courtyard was already full of flowers and trees, the owner set up a golden animal incense burner in the courtyard paved with red felt.Exotic agarwood was placed in the furnace, white smoke curled up and entangled, and the strong herbal smell couldn't be concealed in the gathering and scattering, which seemed thick but still strong.He frowned, waved lightly with the palm of his hand, and the person had strode inside.

The rich fragrance hits the face, but it is not that kind of agarwood. Looking closely, it turns out that there is a huge bunch of birds of paradise placed in the corner of the hall.This flower is exquisite and expensive, and it seems to be newly picked. The axils of the inflorescences are drawn out, higher than the leaves. The flowers are strange in shape and clustered together.

The candlelight was flickering, but it was not bright, and the red bird holding the lotus lamp was burning, and the petals were dyed layer by layer, like the bright red face of the woman in front of me.Because the hairpins on her head were all removed, half of her neat bun fell apart, and she couldn't hide her eager eyes looking at Xiao Kui, her eyes smiled like crescent moons, and there was a hint of charm.

Xiao Kui closed his eyes, stood beside the bed, let her unbutton his arms, and removed his coat.

Zheng Yizhen said leisurely, with a delicate voice: "Your Highness makes this concubine so annoying."

Under the wide sleeves with finely embroidered cloud patterns, Xiao Kui's fingers were cold and barely warm.Zheng Yizhen looked intently, Xiao Kui in front of him narrowed his eyes slightly, pursed his lips tightly, as if he was deep in thought, no one could guess what he was thinking about.

She slowly moved into his chest, slowly pressed her face close, listening to his somewhat chaotic heartbeat.Fascinated, she couldn't help wrapping her soft hands around his waist.

After a while, Xiao Kui slowly opened his eyes, as if he had just realized where he was, with a complex expression in his dark eyes, he gently pushed her away with one hand, took out Ruiyu from his lapel, and played in front of her like playing. shaking.

In an instant, Zheng Yizhen's face changed drastically, like ice hitting his face, covering the sky and covering the earth.She is cold from body to heart and soul.

She couldn't hold back the disappointment in her heart, and said sharply: "Your Highness is here to demonstrate to the concubine, you are thinking about her all the time."

Xiao Kui raised his eyebrows, his eyes were covered by darkness, and he couldn't see the slightest expression: "Is it so serious? It's just a small jade pendant."

"This is more important than your Highness." Zheng Yizhen's mouth twitched into a faint sneer, "Do you have to wait until she dies before you forget her?"

"Is she dead?"

Xiao Kui froze all over suddenly, and looked straight at Zheng Yizhen.The candlelight reflected on his face, which was sharp and indifferent, exactly the same as the day he fell off the horse.

Zheng Yi felt guilty in his heart, and turned his head away; "How does the concubine know?"

"Shen Xiuxiu came here yesterday." Xiao Kui said suddenly, paying attention to Zheng Yizhen's expression.

Zheng Yizhen was shocked, and pretended to be calm, humming: "Impossible, Your Highness, don't scare this concubine."

After hearing this, Xiao Kui picked up his robe and strode out of the hall.

Zheng Yizhen seemed to wake up with a start, and hurriedly grabbed his elbow sleeve from behind, and he swung her so hard that she almost tripped over.Xiao Kui's strides were so fast that Zheng Yizhen couldn't catch up for a while, and before she could leave the outer hall, a black shadow flashed beside the pillars, blocking her.

The Zheng Yi in front of him really lost her charm and beauty, her expression became extremely terrifying, her teeth were clenched, and she cursed at the shadow: "Jiang Chen, what are you doing here? Get out!"

Jiang Chen folded his arms around his chest, and said with a sneer, "Once the matter is settled, the empress will dislike the servant. If you look like this, it will be very difficult for him to like you."

Zheng Yizhen's brows were twisted, his long hair was sticking to his cheeks, his breathing fluctuated violently, and his voice seemed to come from the ground, deep and dark: "I really want to tell him that Shen Xiuxiu is dead! I want to see him cry !"

"Shen Xiuxiu is not dead." Jiang Chen said slowly, "I killed the wrong person again, I killed her husband."

Zheng Yizhen looked at him dumbfounded, then woke up in an instant, rushed forward and grabbed his front with both hands, with a breathtaking chill in his eyes: "How could she not be dead? How could you kill the wrong person? You are not very sure." Is it? You bastard!"

With a slap, Jiang Chen's face trembled slightly.She felt a sharp pain in her palm, and her face was a bit sad and sad: "You help me to kill her again!"

"It's useless. The fourth prince is investigating this matter, so I can't act rashly. Besides, the person I want to kill now is Shen Buyu, so you should hire another expert." Jiang Chen smiled coldly, his expression calm but calm .

Glancing at her, he said with emphasis: "They did meet yesterday. Now that Shen Xiuxiu is a widow, she can marry whoever she wants. It seems that her time in the palace will not be long."

Zheng Yizhen looked at him, his chest rose and fell sharply, and there were despair, grief and anger in his eyes, all kinds of colors were intertwined and precipitated.After a while, she did laugh.That smile seemed to come from a thousand-year-old frozen snow mountain, and it was so cold that it made people's skin crawl: "Okay, if you don't kill her, then I will kill her!"

The night was silent, and at first glance it sounded even louder.Xiao Kui was still standing on the jade steps outside the dormitory, as if he just stood there blankly in the night wind, letting the night go deep.

The silent shadow of Qiuyue is calm, and the palace lantern in hand is projected on the jade steps.

"Your Highness, it's time to rest."

Xiao Kui's fingers were tightly entangled with the jade pendant, he didn't know where his heart was wandering.Zheng Yizhen's voice just now pierced his eardrums like needles piercing his ears.

"What's wrong with me? I can't remember many things, especially some things before the injury." He frowned sleepily.

Qiuyue also looked worried: "Your Highness, you can try to find clues from the people around you, and those things will gradually connect together."

"It can't be like this. If I let the court know about my amnesia, it will definitely cause an uproar. The father is lying on the sickbed, and I can't add trouble to him. I am the prince now, so I have to pretend to be very good. As the days go by Go slowly, I will take care of everything, right?"

"Your Highness is a smart person, and he will definitely."

Xiao Kui finally smiled confidently, and picked up the jade pendant: "Yes. I have roughly guessed that its owner is probably her."

"Your Highness is referring to Shen Xiuxiu?"

Qiuyue didn't want to say it at first, but at this moment, she saw that Xiao Kui's eyes had become foggy, and her heart softened: "If it is really a deep sleep, what will your Highness plan to do?"

"I'm going to see her." Xiao Kui put away Ruiyu.

"Your Highness, human words are terrifying!"

"Even if she is Shen Buyu's daughter, why is she completely erased from my memory? When I saw her in the garden, she made my heart flutter for the first time. Could it be fate?"

Xiao Kui put away Ruiyu, his eyes were full of starlight, and said firmly: "I must pick up this piece of memory, and remember what happened between me and her."

"Jiang Chen, the crown prince has called you."

In the guard's courtyard, Jiang Chen hadn't stepped out of the threshold yet, the servant in the palace held him affectionately, and said with a light smile, "Jiang Chen, you should not have been summoned the day the prince was injured, and he didn't convict you, on the contrary, he valued you even more. You kid is lucky, don't forget us if there are any benefits in the future."

Facing the half-sarcasm, half-sarcasm, Jiang Chen smiled faintly, and walked away until there was no one else around, then his eyes became dark.

Xiao Kui was playing with his BMW when he saw Jiang Chen approaching and said, "Let's go to Shenxiu's house."

When he said this, his tone was very relaxed and slightly excited.

Jiang Chen couldn't help being suffocated, he was stunned, and then he handed over his promise.

Accompanied by the crisp sound of horseshoes, ten miles of willows are blowing in the breeze, thousands of families are bathed in spring greenery, and there are rare flowers and fine calyx poking out from the red fence of the rich families.

Xiao Kui looked at the scenery along the road, his mood was like this spring, and there was no haze from the past on his delicate and bright face, and he looked at Jiang Chen in a blink of an eye.

"Jiang Chen, how many years have you been with me?" He asked.

Jiang Chen was full of thoughts, but still lost his mind, he hurriedly replied: "It's been almost ten years since I returned to Your Highness."

"It's so fast." Xiao Kui said with emotion.

Jiang Chen's thoughts drifted to the distant past.I remember when I was very young, Shen Buyu stood in front of me with a slight kindness on my face.His warm palm brushed across his immature forehead, waking him up from the crying of losing his parents.

"Don't cry, don't be afraid, you are willing to listen to me, you are the one I never meet."

So, he really didn't cry or be afraid.

A few years later, he entered the palace.Concubine Rong took his hand, came to the young Xiao Kui who was carved in jade, and said, "Ku'er, his name is Jiang Chen, a poor child without parents. From now on, you will have a companion. When he learns to Wu Gong, he will always protect you."

Xiao Kui patted him on the shoulder generously, like a little man: "Come on, let's play together."

From then on, he was grateful to Shen Buyu, thinking that being loyal to him wholeheartedly was the best reward for him.Now, he is his biggest enemy, the murderer who killed his parents turned out to be him.

Thinking of this, Jiang Chen couldn't help tightening his hand to lift the rein.

"What's the matter? It seems a little out of mind." Xiao Kui asked, noticing something was wrong.

Jiang Chen was startled, he calmed down, cupped his hands and said, "I'm fine, just follow the prince's orders."

Xiao Kui was in a good mood, raised his whip and yelled, and with the sound of horseshoes, he ran all the way to the deep alley.

He fastened the horse's reins under the pagoda tree in the Han Garden, and there was a pair of swallows whispering on the courtyard wall.Xiao Kui went up the steps quietly, staring intently at the courtyard gate carved into a painting, but saw gold strands entangled in the branches, and the crabapple fruit inlaid inside was bright red in color, and there were a few very subtle rays of light, one thick and one faint. , like the water stains of weak and affectionate in his eyes.

Under the guidance of the gatekeeper, Xiao Kui entered the Han Garden.Walking to the pavilion, I saw Xiao Hao standing alone leaning on the railing, holding a jade flute, and the sound of the flute flowed from his lips.

Before the end of the song, Xiao Hao saw Xiao Kui and grinned: "Third brother, you are here."

Xiao Kui walked up to him, looked around, cleared his throat, and replied, "Why don't you see the man under the plum tree?"

"The man under the plum blossom is taking a nap inside." Xiao Hao pouted his lips towards the room and said with a smile.

Xiao Kui hesitated for a moment, and couldn't help but asked, "Would this be a presumptuous interruption?"

Xiao Hao had never seen Xiao Kui so careful before. He pondered and hesitated a little before answering softly: "Third brother, you know that her husband died unfortunately a few days ago. If it wasn't you, she wouldn't have seen anyone. .”

"Thank you fourth brother for introducing me, I hope my appearance will not be abrupt." Xiao Kui patted Xiao Hao's shoulder.

"Third brother, I want to say a few words."

Xiao Hao's face was solemn, and his eyes were extremely serious: "In the eyes of the third brother, she should be pure and pure, right? If you can't remember her now, it means that Shen Xiuxiu is not in your world. I only help this Once, please ask Third Brother not to disturb her again."

"Why?" Xiao Kui's face changed drastically, and the smile on his face froze immediately.

"I'm afraid the third brother will hurt her."

"Am I that bad?" There was an inexplicable light in Xiao Kui's deep eyes.

There was a slight coughing sound in the hall, Xiao Hao didn't want to break it, walked to the door of the hall, and tapped lightly: "Xiuxiu, third brother is here to see you."

"Ask him to come in." There was Xiuxiu's calm voice inside.

The multicolored coiled cotton curtain was slowly rolled up, forming another thick curtain that seamlessly separates the inside from the outside world.A gust of warm air blows towards the face, and a thin, thread-like smoke rises from the gold-painted lion-shaped incense burner.On the coffee table, there is a cup of tea, a few pills, and next to it is a small red lacquer fruit bowl, in which various fruits are cut and arranged finely and evenly.

Sunshine poured in through the carved windows, and in the soft and quiet light, Xixiu was lazily leaning on a wisteria and emerald chair, wearing a lotus-colored silk leather jacket on his upper body, and a light blue thin cotton skirt on his lower body. , her hair tied loosely in a bun.At this moment, she seemed to have been prepared for his arrival, and looked at him calmly.

There were only the two of them in the room, and it was so quiet that you could hear the sound of the wind blowing the curtains.Talented scholars and beauties seem to still have the same old style.

Xiao Kui also stared at Xiuxiu, his eyes were clearly burning like two burning flames.

Finally, she lowered her eyes and couldn't help lowering her eyes and coughing a few times.

He spoke slowly, his voice a little stiff because of the slightest pain in his heart: "Are you sick?"

"For those who are still alive, why should His Highness worry about it?"

Xiuxiu didn't dare to meet Xiao Kui's eyes, but just took a few steps forward and bowed his head in worship.

Xiao Kui immediately supported her by the shoulders, and helped her gently onto the chair.The distance between the two was so close, and the familiar scent of Ruinaoxiang and his hot breath slowly brushed past her, she couldn't help feeling a strange shudder.

"You..." He was a little flustered, and a blush suddenly appeared on his face, "You should know about me, right?"

Her complexion is as light as jade, her eyes are as black as deep pools, and a clear smile spreads across her lips: "That happened a long time ago. If His Highness doesn't mention it, the slaves will forget it too."

Xiao Kui, on the other hand, was [-] to [-] percent sure, so he spoke hastily: "Then why did you marry someone else?"

For a moment, Xiuxiu's breath was stagnant, and the thin layer of blood quickly faded away from his warm and rosy cheeks.Xiao Kui's eyes were fixed on her face like pins, and he couldn't move a bit, jumping anxiously.

She bit her lip lightly, raised her head slowly, her voice was still calm: "Because I am Shen Buyu's daughter, Your Highness played a very funny game. When selecting the third concubine, His Highness deliberately gave up on me."

For a moment, Xiao Kui only felt that everything in front of him fell to the ground with a bang, and then his mind went blank, and the smile on the corner of his mouth quickly disappeared.

Xiuxiu smiled sadly, thinking about the past, like in a dream, did he know that she was still sad in her heart?Many past events flashed by before her eyes, and she didn't want to think about it, because as long as she thought about it, the deep pain in her heart would be overwhelmed, and she would not want to live in pain.

She couldn't help coughing violently again.

Xiao Kui stared at her blankly, slowly raised his hand, and just about to land on her twitching shoulder blades, it seemed that something hindered him, and the raised hand stopped in mid-air.

"That's all Your Highness should know, no need to be reminded. It's something to be happy to forget about a lowly maidservant. Why should Your Highness bother to pursue it? Now that you already know, Your Highness, please come back." Xiuxiu was filled with melancholy After tossing and turning, it finally turned into a cold sentence.

Hearing the sound of coughing, the cotton curtain was raised, Xiao Hao strode up to Xiuxiu, put his arm around her shoulders, turned his head and said to Xiao Kui standing beside him: "Xiuxiu has already told you the answer that the third brother wants. She is not in good health, you should go back."

Xiao Kui looked at them with steadfast eyes, clearly enduring complicated pain in his eyes, his eyelashes flickered slightly, his lips parted slightly but he could not make a sound, he hesitated for a long time, and finally walked out of the hall with great strides.

Xiao Hao caressed Xiuxiu's back, which was constantly heaving due to the severe cough, with a full face of pity: "Why are you bothering? Why do you need to tell him?"

"I just want to tell him."

Xiuxiu smiled bleakly, her thick eyelashes cast fluffy shadows on her face, but the tears still flowed out, a big drop, slowly seeped into the silk handkerchief in her hand, and disappeared without a trace.

Xiao Hao let out a long breath of relief, and a smile appeared on the corner of his mouth.

He said softly: "It's good to tell him. From now on, he won't show up."

two

Ever since the wind and cold, Xiuxiu has been huddled up in the Han Garden.For the past few days, Han Garden has been quiet and there are few people, even Xiao Hao has disappeared.She sometimes leans on the railing and plays music, and sometimes stands by the window, her body gets better day by day.

As the weather gradually warmed up, Jiangling became a gathering place for business travellers.The turbulent flow of people scattered and gathered, and the rumors about the prince Xiao Kui spread throughout the market, mountains, fields, government offices and courts, and spread all over the place with the carriages of merchants and travellers.

(End of this chapter)