The Gilded Cage

At that time, the palace of Ganzhou had not been built.

The artisans sent by Chang'an had already divided up the money for the construction of the palace and ran away. However, the local government of Ganzhou did not release the money that should be allocated.

Although Xiao Kezhi was the prince and king of Qin, he was not as good as ordinary people. He could only take the only a dozen guards around him to find an ordinary farmhouse on the outskirts of the city.

This stay is nearly three years. At first, Ganzhou provincial governor and other local officials treated him respectfully, but later, when it was discovered that he was a desolate prince no one cared about, even that little perfunctory was gone.

In the winter of the third year, Ganzhou was hit by a snow disaster that was not seen in two decades, and was also hit by a sudden onslaught by the Beirong people.

Like many ordinary people, Xiao Kezhi, who lives outside the city, faced the iron horses of the Bei Rong people, watching them use their iron hoofs to flatten the village, shoot cold arrows into the people's chest, and beat the people with long whips. They unscrupulously killed the people in Daliang and looted all the households they had accumulated after a year of hard work.

In the flying snow, the sky and the earth, the world that should have been wrapped in silver, was stained with shocking blood.

Fifteen-year-old Xiao Kezhi stayed far away from Chang'an, which was like a tiger's lair in Longtan, but saw a more straightforward and **** cruel reality on the border.

He was hidden by a dozen guards in the water tank in the farmhouse. He watched these closest and trusted soldiers fall one by one, but he couldn't make any noise, because he knew that if he also suffered, then these dozen people. All of his life was sacrificed in vain.

He stayed in the water tank for how long, until he felt frozen and stiff, he crawled out shivering in a dead silence.

There was a **** mess, but he felt a numbness, and he could only stumble in the wind and snow, and trudge step by step in the direction of the office.

The border is sparsely populated, the land is vast, and the villages are far apart. He walked for a long time, until his legs were soaked in the melting snow, and from the bottom of his feet, he was so cold that he lost consciousness, and finally fell into the snow unsupported.

In the desert without people, the snow is still falling.

He was lying on his back, no longer feeling the cold, only that the white in front of him was gradually dazzling, and suddenly turned into pitch black.

He thought that this was the end of his life.

In the dimness, he thought of the dozen or so guards who had died, and also of his mother who died in Chang'an. The last emotion in his heart was guilt and helplessness...

I don't know how long he woke up from a coma, half of his body was covered with snow, only the tip of his right finger, which felt numb, was warm and moist.

It was a small, gray wolf cub.

It is about to be separated from its mother, or perhaps it has lost its mother, just like that, appearing alone in the wilderness, watching him curiously.

Somehow, he remembered the story that he had heard from his neighbors that he could only see the Buddha's manifestation in a desperate situation. He didn't believe it, but today this little wolf pup looked like a light that pulled him back from the darkness.

He didn't want to die, he didn't want the dozen or so guards who were protecting him to die in vain, and he didn't want his mother's efforts to be wasted.

He struggled to get up from the snow, and with the last perseverance, he took the little wolf cub and continued to trek in the direction of the governance. When he was tired, he stopped to rest, and when he was thirsty and hungry, he picked up the snow on the ground and ate in.

The little wolf pup is very spiritual, and when he sees the signs that he is unconscious again, he will bite his hand with his ungrown teeth and pull him back from the trance.

After two days and two nights in this way, he finally fell outside the government office before he was exhausted.

...

"In that case, it really saved your majesty's life." Chu Ning felt sour when he heard him talk about these things. Although he knew that he might not have a good time there, he didn't expect it, even the palace. No, at a young age, he had to face cruel killings alone.

"Is the name of'Vimalakir' also given by your Majesty?"

"Yes," Xiao Kezhi nodded, took the reins to turn the horse's head, and walked on a snow-covered path. "When it appeared, it reminded me of the story of the Buddha. Vimalakīrti is a role model for the layman, even though he is in the world. , But not contaminated by the mundane and dirt. I still have the sacred fruit. I yearn for it, and hope that no matter what I will do in the future, I will not forget everything I experienced before, so I named it and brought it with me from now on."

"Vimalain" is the provincial name of Vimalakirti. It is a famous Mahayana Buddhist layman and is known for being clean and unsullied.

When he said these things, his tone was ordinary, as if he was not talking about himself at all, but telling other people's stories.

Chu Ning thought for a while and said, "Come on, it's ten years old, and it's not young anymore!"

In the cold wind, Xiao Ke carefully controlled the horse under his crotch, and sighed: "Yes, ten years, among the wolf cubs, he is also regarded as an old man in sixties. Now it is time to enjoy the blessing with me. "

The originally heavy atmosphere gradually eased, and Chu Ning laughed and said: "It is indeed a blessing. It is well raised in the Tai Chi Palace every day, and no one dares to bump into it."

"Next time, I will bring you closer to it. You have been frightened by it the last few times."

Chu Ning remembered the way the beast approached, and still shrank into his arms in fright.

Xiao Kezhi noticed her subconscious little movement, a smile flashed across her lips, and a feeling of being relied on by her also came into his heart.

"Don't be afraid, I am here."

After a while, the horse stopped on a narrow, slightly higher ramp.

Xiao Kezhi held Chu Ning and turned over, tied the horse aside, and dragged her forward.

"Your Majesty, where are we going?" Chu Ning looked around and recognized that this place should be a high ground west of Lishan Mountain.

Xiao Kezhi smiled without saying a word, and led her on a ramp that was not very wide, and pushed a pine and cypress branches into it. After a while, he went to a place with a wide view. Looking around, he could actually cover the entire Tangquan Palace. Panoramic view.

"I have only been to Tangquan Palace twice before, and then I could only take a sneak peek at a place. After seeing a lot, I would know where to walk up without difficulty, and I can see the best and most complete scenery."

Chu Ning couldn't help but took a step forward, his surprised eyes couldn't look away.

The Tangquan Palace was built by moving the mountain, and the shape is huge. Now it's the first clear after the snow, covered with a layer of white snow everywhere, it is magnificent, and people's minds are also broadened.

"When has your Majesty been here? They are so familiar to this day."

Behind Xiao Kezhi's hands, a tall and straight body stood in the snow, blocking most of the cold wind for her: "For the past eight years, every year has come."

"The past eight years? Your Majesty was not in Ganzhou..." Chu Ning retracted his gaze and looked at his silhouette in surprise.

"If you want to succeed, naturally you can't just be trapped in the closed place. Thanks to these years of obscurity, other people in the DPRK have long forgotten me. I entered the barracks smoothly so that I could walk unimpeded."

Over the years, no one took him seriously. Even the people who initially followed Ming Li to Ganzhou, who actually went to monitor him, left after only two years.

It sounds downright and ridiculous, but it is indeed giving him a chance.

"It's a blessing in disguise..." Chu Ning didn't know whether to feel sorry for him or to be lucky for him.

Xiao Kezhi looked at her, knew what she was thinking, and said in a deep voice, "Bring you here on a whim. It's just a matter of relaxation. People's experiences have their own destiny, but circumstances can be changed by their own response. Change. You only have a bad time in the past two years, and you will get better in the future."

After listening to his words, Chu Ning nodded lightly and took a deep breath, as if he had vomited out all the depression that had been accumulated in the past two or three years.

Compared with the hardships he experienced, hers was nothing.

"Okay, the time is almost here, it's time to go back." Xiao Kezhi stretched out his hand at her, as if waiting to hold her.

Chu Ning looked at the wide palm in front of him, startled, and slowly put his little hand on it.

"Go." A smile flashed across his lips, and then disappeared quickly, turning around and leading her back to the horse, riding the same ride and returning to the Taoist temple.

In the Taoist temple, Zhao Yanzhou and several servants and guards have returned.

He saw Chu Ning riding with a strange man with extraordinary temperament, his face stiffened, but fortunately, he managed to hold back the horror in his heart and did not show any strangeness. He just stood there and bowed in salute.

He had seen those guards before, and knew that the person who lived with her in the Seven Sacred Temples last night was the son of the day. At this time, he naturally guessed that the man with her was Emperor Xiao Kezhi.

He didn't know whether he was more horrified or more sad for a while.

"Your Majesty, the mountain road is clear and ready for passage." Jin Jiang knew the inside story long ago, and he was not surprised. Seeing Xiao Kezhi, he strode closer and gave a report.

"I see." Xiao Kezhi said, hugging Chu Ning and tidying up the cloak for her, "You go first, I will leave later."

Chu Ning suddenly understood that he was doing this to avoid suspicion, and immediately nodded, and after saluting him, he hurriedly walked to Zhao Yanzhou's side and said softly: "Let's go, it's time to go back."

According to Xiao Yu's temperament, I am afraid that people will come to find him. If he is met, it will be troublesome.

Zhao Yanzhou opened her mouth and pressed down what she wanted to ask, she led her to the carriage and walked some distance along the mountain road until she no longer saw the shadow of the Seven Sacred Temples, and then followed the carriage and asked softly: "Your Highness, just now Thing—"

He hadn't finished speaking, but his meaning was very clear.

There was a moment of silence in the carriage before Chu Ning's voice came: "Brother, Aning once asked you, if you do something wrong, brother will forgive me. Today, I was wrong."

Zhao Yanzhou was also quiet.

He understood that this was what she did wrong-as a prince, and her husband's uncle, the current emperor secretly communicated the song.

Wherever it is placed, it is a matter of shame that cannot be tolerated by the world, and it will be scolded and mocked by countless people.

But can he blame her? He can't.

He knows her intentions, and he has no right to accuse her of anything.

"I understand." His eyes flashed with bitterness and sorrow, and he said softly, "As long as you are well, brother will not blame you."

In the snow, there are only the rumbling of carriages and the sound of horses treading in the snow.

"Thank you." Across the curtain, her voice was low and choked with a hint of imperceptible choking, as if a drop of hot tea fell on his heart, making him hurt.

In a short while, Tangquan Palace approached, and as expected, a servant around the prince rushed to see the team, hurriedly greeted him: "His Royal Highness is finally back, the prince has asked the slave several times this morning.

"I know, go back, don't teach His Royal Highness to wait for a long time." Chu Ning smiled and asked them to get up, and immediately asked the coachman to hurry up, but he didn't feel expectant in his heart.