Xu Gongqiu saw many people who were astonishingly talented and beautiful in his life.
Xiao Min, count one.
When the speaker fell down on the steps, blood splattered on her eyebrows. She raised her eyes and met the gaze of the returning prince - the gaze she had seen in the eyes of the snow fox in the hunting ground of the Northern Dynasty, weighing and testing, as if he was assessing whether she could be used.
"Xu Ling is good at swordsmanship."
She was silent. He leaned over and picked up the blood-stained Buddhist scripture - it was originally to be presented to the emperor - and said, "Since it is dirty, I will burn it for Your Highness."
The prince dies and the prince returns. The emperor twirled the Buddhist beads and listened to her return: "The ancient ones have been eliminated, but the remaining sins of the five beetles are not yet gone."
Buddha beads paused. The emperor didn't care much: "Is Xiao Min suspicious? He has been in the North for many years and has been separated from me for a long time. Please pay more attention."
She took the order.
When leaving the palace, Xiao Min stood at the foot of the steps and asked His Majesty in a low voice how he was doing with his holy bow. She said it was disrespectful to arrogantly explore the holy bow. He changed his smile and asked His Majesty what sutras he was reciting.
"The Lotus Sutra"
He curled his lips and said, "Thank you very much, Commander Xu."
She didn't meet his eyes. Leaving only a trace of his back, he walked calmly. She heard him look back, probably because he believed it.
——Those who can use it also have their own uses.
On the night when he ascended the throne, the fire on the city wall reflected half of the sky red. The tip of her sword was pressed against his heart.
He smiled: "It is indeed you."
"The layout has been planned so far," she said, "I choose the dragon chair, not you."
There were stars in his eyes, and he said, "You are so cruel."
Then he said: "I deliberately let you miss the calculation of those three hundred elite cavalry."
The empress lowered her eyes and looked at him. The dark iron chains were wrapped around his ankles, and he couldn't break free, nor would he break free anymore.
She suddenly remembered the look in front of her many years ago - a calculating and probing look, as if he was calculating whether she could be used or not.
Now she used him.
Not willing to kill.
On the day when the censor hit the pillar and remonstrated, she threw a memorial and turned around to meet Xiao Min. He was wearing an old royal robe and standing on the porch of the pepper room making tea, with half a Tang pear floating in the ice-cracked cup.
She said nothing.
He just looked at her.
According to historical records, when the empress was on the throne, candles were lit in the pepper room every night. Palace attendants saw that Emperor Ai of Liang Dynasty often put on his old royal robes to cook tea. The empress paid a night visit and came to court the next day, and the sleeves of her uniform were often stained with stray pear petals.
That gorgeous color turns into the fragrant dust that was first seen on the Yuzhou Post Road when it encounters snow.
She later thought about it many times——
What would have happened if the Buddhist scriptures had not been burned at that time?
Can't think of anything.
Don't think about it anymore.
Reading guide: 1. An imaginary story about the Southern and Northern Dynasties. Except for some characters that are used as historical facts, the rest are fictional. It's not completely imaginary because I'm too lazy to count the time.
2. For the needs of the plot, Xiao Yan's reign was shortened.
3. No historical figures are whitewashed. All appearances only serve the plot and can be viewed as fictional characters.
4. Don't be too particular. Being too particular will only make you sad.
Intention: To become a responsible person
