I'm the substitute and I'm with the real master

Chapter 22

The palace where the palace banquet is held is the Shuixi Hall. The Shuixi Hall is brightly lit, and the gold and jade are knocked out. It gets darker and darker as you go out, especially along the lakeside.

Xueya didn't see He Xulan when she came out of Shuixi Hall, but he saw a figure swaying around the corner, and saw that the clothes seemed to be Yi Yefeng, so he immediately chased after him, and a figure seemed to flash past a corner in front of him, so he continued to walk along the road. The Red Knee Promenade goes forward, but there are no lanterns hanging on this road, and it is only illuminated by moonlight.

The sound of the wind in the ear and the sound of the lake water rippling merged together.For a moment, he seemed to be able to hear his own footsteps, and Xueya's footsteps gradually slowed down.

He looked ahead, feeling timid, and couldn't help turning his toes back. This turn, he was almost so frightened that he fell limp to the ground.

Not far away stood a young man in a dark blue robe, looking at him.

Xue Ya recognized this person as He Xulan after being frightened, and the fright in her heart did not lessen.He bowed to the other party with a stiff face, "My servant greets the Queen Mother."

"Pingshen, why did you come here?" He Xulan's tone was light, as if he was just asking a very ordinary question.

Xue Ya tried her best to calm down and said: "The slave came out to change clothes, but it seems that he went the wrong way, and just wanted to walk back."

He Xulan turned his face to the outside of the corridor, where was the lake.The water waves were blown by the cold wind, and the moonlight was shattered into thousands of pieces.

"Have you ever heard a rumor?"

He Xulan's sudden question stunned Xue Ya, and he followed He Xulan's gaze to look at the lake, "I don't know what rumors the Queen Mother is talking about?"

"Shuixi Palace is not far from here, but there is no light on this part, because according to rumors, this part——" He Xulan looked at Xue Ya, "haunted."

Xue Ya's pupils dilated involuntarily, and he stared at He Xulan's face, wondering if the other party was lying to him, but He Xulan's expression and tone were too serious, he didn't seem to be lying.He was scared enough to see He Xulan at first, but now he heard about ghosts, he stammered, "There is Your Majesty in the palace... a real dragon protecting the body, why...how could there be ghosts?"

"Because His Majesty is a real dragon, some ghosts and ghosts are hiding in the palace, but they can't hurt His Majesty, so they stare at the palace servants in the palace, especially those who serve His Majesty with a little dragon aura. People." He Xulan glanced at Xueya, "But it's just a rumor after all, maybe it's false, but every year, some palace people drown in this lake. At first, this area was lit, but the dead palace people There were too many, and the palace felt ominous, so they stopped lighting the lamps, and since then, only one or two palace people died in this lake every year."

Xueya's face turned pale when she heard "a palace man tainted with a little dragon spirit". He looked around, at first he just thought it was too dark, but now the more he looks at it, the more eerie it is, not only the lake, but also the other side of the promenade. On one side the bushes and flower-beds gaped in the shadows like monsters.

"Huh? Is there a white shadow there?"

Before He Xulan could finish his words, the young man not far away screamed and rushed towards him, and quickly hid behind him, with both hands tightly wrapped around his arms, and his body was tightly pressed against him.

Xue Ya trembled violently. Although he closed his eyes, a white shadow appeared in his mind, and even Xu Pingnan's face was still on the white shadow.This frightened Xue Ya even more. When he realized that He Xulan wanted to break free from him, he hugged him even tighter, his voice was crying, "Brother Empress Dowager, don't leave me, I'm afraid."

He was afraid that He Xulan would leave him to face the terrifying ghosts and evil spirits, so he immediately changed the "Queen Dowager" in his previous address to "Elder Brother Queen Dowager", as if there had never been any rift between the two of them.

"You're afraid, why are you holding me?" Xue Ya was stunned by He Xulan's words, and she couldn't help but lose some strength in her hands.

"You should see if my feet are still there? I heard that ghosts and evil spirits don't have feet."

He Xulan's words scared Xue Ya into a fool. His face was pale, and he looked down tremblingly. He closed his eyes halfway through, let go of his hands, turned around and ran, and within a few moments, he was caught by the collar.

When she was pulled back by a force, Xue Ya's body went limp.

He Xulan scooped up the man, and said helplessly, "First, see if I have long legs."

"I...I don't...look!" Xue Ya closed her eyes tightly, "Let's pretend we haven't seen each other tonight, please let me go, I don't have any dragon spirit, I just came to serve His Majesty, it's not good at all food."

He Xulan snorted, "Then I can eat you after a while?"

"No, it's not, I've never tasted good food." Xue Ya said in a panic.

"Since I'm afraid of this, why go to a dark place?" He Xulan said in a serious tone, "Open your eyes and see clearly whether I am a human or a ghost."

Xue Ya paused, he slowly opened his eyes, turned his head to look at the young man who was holding him, saw that the other party did not turn into a grimace, then lowered his head to look at his feet, saw that the other party had feet, and sneaked a handful of the other party's feet. The hand on his waist was warm.

It's not a ghost, it's a human.

The breath that Xueya held was suddenly relieved, he took a few breaths, and his rationality began to return, and he immediately broke out of He Xulan's arms, and said respectfully on the surface, but actually said in fear: "The slave did not mean to offend the Queen Mother, please Queen Mother!" forgive."

He Xulan glanced back, then looked at Xue Ya, "Don't come this way next time, go back."

Xue Ya nodded hurriedly, and walked away almost without touching the ground. When she was far away, she took a bold look back. He Xulan seemed to be still standing still, but Xue Ya no longer dared to catch He Xulan and Yi Yefeng. Let Cui Lingjing wear that green hat.

No, He Xulan hasn't been with Cui Lingjing yet, so it doesn't count as cuckolding Cui Lingjing.

Xueya turned her head and continued to walk. When she was approaching the Shuixi Temple, there was a loud noise in the sky, and the fireworks exploded in the night sky. They merged into a colorful picture and scattered like broken stars.Xueya seldom watched fireworks, let alone such beautiful fireworks, so she poked her head out from the corridor to look out.

The fireworks are one after another, decorating this little eve with excitement.Xue Ya suddenly closed his eyes, put his hands together, and silently made a wish in his heart.

His mother said that if he made a wish on a shooting star on his birthday, the wish would come true, but he grew up so old that he had never seen a shooting star. Today, when he saw the fireworks falling like falling stars, he took the fireworks as shooting stars.

May he be well-clothed and well-fed for the rest of his life, so that both his mother and he can get rid of their humble status.

Xueya thought in her heart.

Back at Shuixi Hall, the little eunuch who was grabbed by Xue Ya's arm before immediately walked over in small steps, "Why have you been here for so long? Your Majesty has asked where you have been."

"I'm not familiar with the terrain in the palace, so I accidentally went the wrong way." Xue Ya said the words to lie to He Xulan again, and at the same time, he looked at the second table from the right side of the outer hall without showing any trace.

Yi Yefeng hasn't come back yet.

This caused Xueya to feel that the crown on Cui Lingjing's head was green when she saw Cui Lingjing from behind.

Cui Lingjing noticed that Xue Ya's eyes were always sweeping over his head, and his face became more and more ugly. He beckoned to Xue Ya, and when Xue Ya came over, he pinched his face directly, "It's been so long since you came back, how dare your eyes be messed up?" look."

Xue Ya was pinched on the side of her cheek, and her voice was inevitably slurred. He wanted to hide but couldn't dodge, "Your servant went the wrong way."

"You're so stupid, what do you think you have a brain for?" Cui Lingjing's expression didn't soften at all.

Xueya, who just watched the fireworks, was very happy at first, but now she is not happy anymore.It was too much for Cui Lingjing to pinch his face on his birthday, "But he doesn't have a brain, it's scary."

Cui Lingjing: "..."

He laughed angrily at Xue Ya, "Idiot."

At this moment, the roller blind was rolled up, Cui Lingjing thought it was a palace official who came in, so he didn't let go, when the person who came in walked a few steps forward, he glanced at the hem of the clothes from the corner of his eye, only to find that the person who came in was He Xulan.

Cui Lingjing quickly let go of his hand, and when he looked at He Xulan, there was a smile on his brows, "Yafu, you are back."

He Xulan came back covered in cold air. Regarding Cui Lingjing's enthusiasm, he just nodded, and his tone was even more indifferent, "It's getting late today, so I'll go back to rest first. Your Majesty will go to court early tomorrow, and go back to rest earlier. Don't do it today." Drinking." He looked at the eunuch.

The eunuch understood, "The hangover soup is ready."

"Well, don't make His Majesty tired any more tonight." He Xulan turned and left after finishing speaking.

Cui Lingjing stared at the back of He Xulan's leaving, the joy in his eyes was even heavier, but he was obviously suppressed, and he didn't even look at Xueya after that, which made Xueya somewhat disappointed. He even dressed up specially because of his birthday today. After a while, I still take a shower before coming back.

This disappointment made Xue Ya indignant, and even thought sourly that Cui Lingjing was so happy that she didn't even have to wear a cuckold.

A few days later it was New Year's Eve.

Another palace banquet was held on New Year's Eve. This palace banquet was more lively than the small one. Ministers could bring their families into the palace. Among them, there was a very important event on New Year's Eve——

The emperor needs to step on the ninth floor of the high-rise building. At the moment when New Year's Eve reaches the New Year, the Kongming Lantern is lit, and the Kongming Lantern flies into the sky with a message, praying that the gods can see it.

After the emperor released the Kongming lanterns, the ministers could also release them, because the Kongming lanterns were open flames, and the Submarine Fire Army had already prepared in advance, and some of them were transferred from the Imperial Forest Army. Except for the heavy guards around the emperor, there were fewer patrolling soldiers.

Xue Ya is not qualified to go up to the tall buildings with Cui Lingjing, he can only watch from the upstairs.Compared with the bustle of climbing high buildings, the downstairs is deserted and deserted. Xue Ya stared at the plum branch not far away, walked over to pick one, put it in the palm of her hand and looked at it carefully, and saw that the plum blossom was beautiful, but only he noticed it, quite There was a sense of sympathy for each other, but not long after he felt sympathy, he suddenly heard a bell ringing in his ear.

The sound of the bell seemed to come from the Thousand Buddha Temple. The long and solemn bell echoed in the night sky, and people's hearts seemed to be baptized.Xue Ya listened blankly, and when she heard the third bell, she stuffed the plum blossom in her hand into her mouth and swallowed it in a few mouthfuls.He looked up at the night sky, and the first Kongming lantern had already been let go, slowly leaving the deep palace like a bright night bird.

Xue Ya stood there for a while, and wanted to go into the hall to have a sip of tea. He drank some wine to warm up his body today, but it wasn't warm enough, and now he felt a little frozen again.

This palace banquet was also held in Shuixi Hall, so he walked to Shuixi Hall.Although he remembered what He Xulan said, there was a way to pass by the lake, but Xue Ya specially took a palace lantern.

He walked forward with the palace lamp lighting, and when he reached the lake, he still couldn't help being a little scared. He didn't even dare to look around, because he was afraid of seeing something he shouldn't see.Xu Pingnan's death was always entangled in his heart. Although he thought he had nothing to do with Xu Pingnan's death, he was afraid that Xu Pingnan's death would be unwilling and wanted to drag him down together.

Fortunately, there were no accidents along the way. Xueya wanted to find tea to drink, but she couldn't find it, only wine.Now there are only a few palace servants left in Shuixi Palace to clean up the mess, Xue Ya secretly took a look at those people, found a clean cup, and poured herself a glass of wine.

He was serving Cui Lingjing before, so he set his sights on this jug of wine, it smelled very fragrant.No one drank the jug of wine, it was poured into the cup the whole time, so it was considered clean.Xue Ya didn't think it was enough after drinking one cup, so she greedily drank another cup.

After two cups, my stomach warmed up.After destroying the body and removing the traces, Xue Ya picked up the palace lantern and went to the tall building.Just now all the way was fine, this time Xueya was not so nervous, but she still quickened her pace when passing by the lake.

When walking on the arch bridge, Xueya heard a gust of wind. Before he could react, he suddenly felt someone hit his lower back hard, his center of gravity became unstable, and he fell directly into the lake.

This moment was discovered so quickly that Xue Ya was surrounded by the icy lake before she even had time to turn her head.The palace lantern fell into the water together with the snow buds, and quickly went out.

After panicking at the beginning, Xue Ya started to swim to the surface of the water, but just as he swam to the surface, his legs suddenly cramped. Although he wanted to swim to the shore, he couldn't do it, and his body gradually sank again.

The sound of "crashing" sounded, Xueya was soaking in the water, and seemed to see someone swimming towards him in a daze.

Is it human?It doesn't seem like a human, like a water ghost, or a beautiful water ghost.

This is Xue Ya's last consciousness.

When he woke up again, he was woken up by choking.Xue Ya spit out a mouthful of water suddenly, his body was too cold, he couldn't help hugging the source of warmth beside him when he woke up, and only after hugging him did he focus on looking at the person above.

It's...that beautiful water ghost.

Xue Ya blinked her eyes, a little aggrieved, "Am I dead?"

Seeing that Xue Ya could speak, He Xulan brushed back her dripping hair, "Not yet."

"How could I see you if I'm not dead?" Xue Ya was about to cry, "You're lying."

He Xulan paused, then looked at Xueya, "Who am I?"

"Water ghost." Xue Ya uttered the words clearly, making it difficult for He Xulan to mishear.

He Xulan touched Xue Ya's face, and found that her face was hot, but her body was cold, so she frowned, "How much wine have you drunk?"

"A little bit." Xue Ya felt that the person in front of her was a water ghost, so she stopped hugging her, turned over and crawled forward flabbily, "I don't want to stay with the water ghost."

He didn't climb very far before he was caught and brought back.

Xue Ya met He Xulan's face again, this time he seemed to recognize He Xulan, and hesitantly called out He Xulan's name, "He... He Xulan?"

He Xulan was called by Xue Ya's name directly, her expression did not change at all, "You are very courageous."

Xue Ya was drunk, and could hardly understand He Xulan's words, and his mind was in a mess. All of a sudden, the clips of being knocked down on the arch bridge and being drugged by He Xulan flooded into his brain, his eyes widened instantly, without confidence He Xulan threatened He Xulan, "Don't even try to kill me again, Your Majesty loves me so much, I'm already...very close to His Majesty."

"How intimate?" He Xulan asked.

Xue Ya didn't dare to say that her hands were sore and her waist hurt this time, but in order to prove this intimate lie, he made up another lie.

"Your Majesty kissed me." He was still afraid that the other party would not believe me, so he said, "After kissing me several times, Your Majesty also said that my tongue is soft."

Xueya overheard the last nonsense in the building.

This time, He Xulan couldn't verify it anymore.

The author has something to say:

Cui Lingjing (angry): There is always green surrounding me.

Emperor Xian (sneering): Brat, you are not worthy of saying that.

Cui Lingjing (weak): ... yes, father.