Tide beat empty city

Chapter 11

When Yongnian entered the palace to meet him, Zhao Zhen liked it very much and ordered a banquet.The banquet was not as solemn as the court hall, the young man had lived in Guijie for more than ten years, singing the wind and the moon was no problem, and he was eloquent, and Long Yan was very happy in a short time, allowing him to invite him to reward him in court.

The young man left his seat and kowtowed: "It is already a great favor for the emperor to bestow a title on his minister. I dare not ask for anything more."

Zhao Zhen smiled and said, "It's not that I don't want it, but I dare not. Speak boldly, don't be afraid."

The young man bowed his head and said, "The emperor has given everything he should have, and I don't need anything. It's just that I was chased and killed a few days ago, and I was really scared. I... dare not go on the road."

Zhao Zhen pretended to be displeased: "You mean that my Great Song Army can't protect your body, and can't defeat those sneaky killers?"

The young man kowtowed again, and said, "Of course not. It's just that I think... can I choose the guard of honor for my entourage?"

Zhao Zhen pointed at him: "What kind of idea is in my mind, to be honest."

The young man was aggrieved and said: "I dare not make any foolish ideas. Although my father's family lives in South Vietnam, I have never left Tokyo since I was a child. I have seen new faces every time I go here. I am alone and have no one to rely on. So I think, I think if Accompanied by someone close to me, I will not be lonely on the road, Your Majesty, you are taking care of everything in court, so you don't need to be distracted by thinking about your safety."

Zhao Zhen nodded and sighed: "That's right. This can be considered as going to a foreign land alone. You grew up in Tokyo, and you must have a few close people. Tell me, and try to arrange for you."

Xuan Zhaoxuan entered the imperial study, Zhao Zhen ordered him to give him a seat, told Yongnian what he said, and asked, "What do you think?"

Zhan Zhao's face was neither happy nor angry: "I would like to obey the holy order."

Zhao Zhen sighed: "I didn't expect that he only ordered you, and he had no alternatives. It's hard for me to refuse. But it's not useless to send you to go."

Zhan Zhao knelt down: "What is the order of the Holy One, I will never refuse to die."

Zhao Zhen shook his head and said: "There is no real evidence at the moment, so I can't make an order. Why do you think Tang Di killed his adopted son at this time? I suspect that he knew Yongnian's life experience and was ordered to do it."

Zhan Zhao hesitated, "Your Majesty is saying..."

Zhao Zhendao: "I suspect that Tang Di colluded with the Nanyue royal family to create chaos in Tokyo and plot to destroy our country. If Nanyue has rebellion, Xixia will definitely be involved. I tried my best to stabilize the situation, but there are still undercurrents of instigating rebellion. This is the truth. As long as the traitor is at ease, the hidden danger will not be eliminated. Therefore..."

Zhan Zhao thought to himself: Wouldn't it be a crisis after such a long time?If he is not killed by heresy, he will turn his back on him and become a minister of rebellion. In the end, he will die in two places.For such a big government, the emperor sent me, which is really flattering.

Zhao Zhen continued: "Therefore, going to the territory of South Vietnam and getting closer to the inner court will have the effect of getting twice the result with half the effort. Yongnian's recommendation has reminded me that Qing's going here is a matter of course. On the one hand, the throne will be stable, and on the other hand, we will also find out some insider truths. Don't worry, the local government I will order them to coordinate conveniently and arrange for backup. If the situation changes later, I will call you back."

As soon as the palace gate enters and exits, the hands are empty when they come, and they are still empty when they go.It seems that everything has not changed, but in fact, the vicissitudes of life change in a blink of an eye.

Oral orders, sent to thousands of miles.

On the way back, Zhan Zhao tried his best to judge what might change.In the end, it was all to no avail.

Like the winter wind sweeping across the field, it is empty.

Bai Yutang didn't expect that if he went to the appointment happily, he would be so choked that he couldn't eat.

He grabbed the cat's arm vigorously: "The cat took off this official skin, and walked with the master; back to you and my rivers and lakes."

"It's just a business trip, Brother Bai doesn't need to make a fuss." Zhan Zhao said.

Always act like a normal person.Bai Yutang was stunned, and nodded repeatedly: "Okay, okay. I don't care about your bullshit errands, you have promised me ten or eight things, and I will inform you today that ten or eight of them will go with me! How dare you break your promise Seeing Zhan Zhao's silence, he tossed the flagon in his hand and sighed: "Zhan Zhao, do you have the right to promise others something? As long as you give back this robe, you will never be able to do it."

After a long silence, Zhan Zhao whispered, "Sorry."

Bai Yutang shook his head and smiled: "Mao'er, when can you not say sorry. Do you really want to go? Don't you want to go with me? You know it in your heart. I can't see you wronging yourself like this."

Zhan Zhao smiled and said, "Everyone has their own destiny, so why bother?"

Bai Yutang sarcastically said: "What is your fate? For the common people, do you have to be the one? Kaifeng Mansion, the Song court, Nanyue Kingdom, if every place had to be you, you should have cut yourself into a thousand pieces, dripping with blood." Scattered along the way."

Zhan Zhao frowned, how could it become like this.Having a good drink and saying goodbye, being disturbed by him for no reason made me feel heavy, like the last night, never seeing each other again.He lowered his head and thought about it, and said, "Brother Bai is exaggerating. It's not the first time Zhan has gone out to handle a case, and he will be back sooner or later."

"Come back?" Bai Yutang sneered: "If you can say this freely, then it would be nonsense to go out under the order. Not to mention what kind of order was served, the oral order, it is clear that there is no evidence for it, what to do at the critical moment Convenience? Luckily, if you succeed in the future, it will benefit his Zhao family; if you fail, you will swallow the belt and bones, and posterity will not know what is written on the tablet! Send you to death and don’t want to give a title, such an emperor, you can do it for him Sell ​​your life?!"

He became more and more sad as he spoke, and finally smiled bitterly: "Mao'er, I don't want to be like this either. But you know in your heart that you can bear it, but I can't. Does it feel uncomfortable to hear what the Lord said?"

How could it not be uncomfortable.It's just that no matter how uncomfortable it is, the road has to be chosen and walked.Zhan Zhao couldn't say what he used to say in normal times.Was it really revealed by Bai Yutang's mouth, was it shaken and disturbed?He knows not.

I can't go back to the free and easy way of walking alone in Qianshan, not because of anything I have to face, but because this person is sitting in front of me.

He has carefully built embankments inch by inch, not realizing that the most peaceful embankment leads to the most violent and ruthless collapse; when and where is never predicted.

Why is this so, Zhan Zhao thought.During so many days and nights together, he let himself sink in with one foot and one foot, let his reason do nothing, and stood by willfully; he was greedy for something at that time, but he could ignore today's gloomy mind and all thoughts turned to ashes.

He had also imagined that everything was safely hidden in his insufficient heart, preventing it from flooding.But the protection that exploded in an instant, bloody and festering, existed so grandly, even if he returned his past, it would be full of holes, so how could it be loaded.

If he is his fate, how can he still expect to take care of everything after everything?

Two hearts, double torture.When I knew it, I couldn't take it back.

Bai Yutang leaned down and covered his face with his palms: "The most reconciled thing is that you will go no matter what. No matter how wronged you are or how unwilling I am, betting on our two lives and two futures is not enough to change you A change of heart."

"So", he took his hand away, and his expression gradually softened: "You can't come with me, I will go with you, okay?"

Zhan Zhao's blood boiled, and it took him a long time to say anything: "Since you said you were wronged——you have wronged me, how can you wrong you again."

Bai Yutang laughed, with tears in his eyes: "I know, you are not allowed, so I can't go. Because you will be unhappy, and I don't want to make you unhappy. I, Bai Yutang, thought that the things in the world were things I wanted since I was a child. If I want it, I can have it; when I met you Zhan Zhao, I realized that I actually can’t want anything. I can’t even follow you without will.”

Zhan Zhao stepped forward to hold his shoulder, shaking his head sadly.But he couldn't say a word.

Bai Yutang half turned around and hugged him tighter, and said with a smile, "Mao Er doesn't want me to talk about it? Okay, if you don't talk about it, don't talk about it. From now on, we will only drink."

Drink until you can't see the sun in your eyes, just want to sink.

Bai Yutang leaned on the table, looked sideways at Zhan Zhao who was also lying beside him, and smiled lightly: "Those just now don't count. I really just want to say one thing---Does Mao Er know which sentence it is?"

Zhan Zhao didn't move, he was so drunk that he passed out.

Bai Yutang stretched out his hand to caress his hairband, and said in a low voice, "Cats are the most cunning, they pretend not to hear; if they really can't hear, I won't say anything. Never say anything."

Not to mention he was just reluctant.

It's not that I don't have the courage to bear the consequences of what I said; it's that I don't want him to bear it.

As Zhan Zhao fell asleep, a tiny tear rolled down from the corner of his eye.

Say it or not, it's all reluctance.

Don't give up, still have to divide.

When Zhan Zhao woke up, he slept in his own room, and Gongsun Ce sat by the bed, wiping off his sweat.

His temples throbbed with pain.Zhan Zhao forced himself to sit up, and said apologetically, "Sir, I have caused you trouble again..."

Gongsun Ce shook his head: "Don't talk about that. How do you feel now?"

Zhan Zhao smiled: "It's okay." He couldn't help but look around and asked, "How did I get back?"

Gongsun Ce said: "Bai Shaoxia brought it back. Don't worry, he's fine, he's going home to rest."

Zhan Zhao let out a sigh of relief, and leaned back on the pillow: "Sir, don't be upset. At most, in the future..."

Gongsun Ce patted the back of his hand: "I'm not annoyed. Your body knows it's gone so far, you can't control it..."

Mr.'s voice was a little choked.Zhan Zhao held him with his backhand, and after a while, he only said one sentence: "Zhan Zhao knows."

Gongsun Ce sighed, and pulled the quilt up: "If you know it, don't drink on an empty stomach. Don't start today. If you don't breathe well, how can you travel long distances?"

Seeing him fall asleep and close his eyes tiredly, Gongsun Ce was stunned again.

The body is really not as good as before.Still so young.

After Yongnian took over the title, the emperor bestowed entourage in the other hall, and moved out of Kaifeng mansion.Thinking of the unpredictable road ahead is scary, but I can't stop the excitement. I count the departure time every day.

Finally, it was a day to leave. I woke up early in the morning before dawn and couldn't fall asleep. I got up and ran to the door to see if Zhan Zhao had come.Anxiously waiting, he slipped out of the house and went to Kaifeng Mansion alone to look for it.

Zhan Zhao just got off the dinner table and was about to reach the gate of his own courtyard. He saw him rushing in panting, and said in surprise, "Yongnian?!"

The young man's eyes lit up, he wanted to pounce on him, but he stopped, and he opened his mouth in a child's voice: "I thought you didn't want to talk to me, and refused to go to me."

Zhan Zhao stood still, and bowed solemnly: "Zhan has just spoken recklessly, please forgive me, my lord."

The boy was disappointed: "You, you still don't want to talk to me?"

Zhan Zhao looked up at the sky, and explained: "Let's go at the time of Chen, and the sky is not yet at Maozheng..."

The boy looked down at the ground: "Will you still be called Yongnian..."

Zhan Zhao secretly sighed.After a pause, he said softly, "Come out so early, have you eaten yet?"

The young man ate quickly, his face buried in the porridge bowl: "Strange, the food in Kaifeng Mansion has improved. Has the cook changed?"

Zhao Hu stood waiting to collect the bowls and chopsticks. He heard the words and said, "My lord is so tricky, the cook didn't change. This porridge was cooked by Mr. Gongsun himself on a small stove. Here..."

Zhan Zhao interrupted him in a harmonious voice: "Zhao Hu, the time is coming soon, please go and see if the horse is ready."

When Zhao Hu went out, the young man put down the bowl and asked, "Why didn't you let him finish? Don't think that I don't know that this is a medicinal meal. Mr. Gongsun cooked it for you." When he was full, he looked at his face carefully, he was a little haggard, the young man Then he said, "Tell him, I will definitely take care of you well."

Zhan Zhao smiled, slightly lonely: "Let's take care of yourself first and then talk about it."

After ten miles out of the city, those who saw him off at the end turned around, and the horses and chariots moved forward at a constant speed.The boy poked his head out to look around from time to time, looking restless.Zhan Zhao rode a horse to protect him, and asked respectfully when he saw this, "What does your lord want?"

The young man looked at him, lost in thought: "Nothing. Let's see who else hasn't come to see him off."

Zhan Zhao smiled, and said, "The person who should come has already come. Your lord, please get back in the car. If someone comes, Zhan will report it to you soon."

The boy nodded, but did not put down the curtain.After a while, he asked, "Zhao, are you willing to go?"

Zhan Zhao smiled lightly, but didn't answer.

Is it important whether I want to or not.

It doesn't matter.Sitting back in the car, the boy frowned.What matters is that you go.

Continue for a few days, and gradually leave the jurisdiction of Tokyo.Every time the young man begged, riding a horse was uncomfortable, and he asked you to come up to sit with me, but he was gently turned back by a sentence of "it is not suitable for etiquette".He didn't insist either, and insisted on asking again after a while.Zhan Zhao returned completely calm, not disturbed at all.Rejection, whether it should or should not, is at its root always contrary to nature.

The young man seemed to know it, so he continued to pester him day by day.

Stay overnight in the post house, after settling down, the moon is quiet and the courtyard is empty.Zhan Zhao stood alone in his cold clothes, suddenly feeling exhausted.Wuxin continued to watch as usual, went back to the room and turned off the lights, and lay down on the bed with all his clothes on.

Not long after, the window pane cracked softly, and Zhan Zhao's heart skipped a beat, almost suspecting it was a dream.Opening my eyes, I saw a figure in white clothes entering through the window, and I couldn't help laughing: I made this dream come true, so I am ashamed.

When he thought about it, the white clothes were approaching. He lifted him up and sat up, and said with a smile: "The official cat is so arrogant. Come here, I will help you."

Zhan Zhao was held hostage by him to the table, and when he held the lamp to shine a light, he realized that Bai Yutang had really come.At this time, ignoring his eyes, Bai Yutang focused on taking out one after another small flower pots from his long bag, spread them out on the table, looked up and said, "I found it after searching for five days, and it looks like a cat." .”

Zhan Zhao looked at the three young shoots in the flowerpot that had apparently just been planted, and was speechless for a while.like me? !

Bai Yutang shook his head and laughed loudly: "Don't look, you are not as fresh as a green house. Your brothers have similar names."

Zhan Zhao smiled wryly, a bit reluctant to know what the names of the three little brothers were.

Of course Bai Yutang would not do what he wanted, moved closer and whispered in a whisper: "Monstera." Then he explained seriously: "A thousand-year-old tortoise, Snow Empress Bamboo. Like it?"

Zhan Zhao went to look at the three unformed small plants again, but smiled and said nothing.

Bai Yutang sat down, waved his fan and told Xu Xu: "Give it to the master, and bring back the dense leaves. Water more, don't let worms grow, and change to a bigger pot when it grows older. If you plant it directly in the yard, Don't accidentally let the sun burn to death..."

Since he came in, Zhan Zhao has been in a trance, not sure whether he welcomes this 'Monstera' or not.He has seen a lot of plants; but he has never thought of planting them himself.I don't know where to start asking, why did it take Bai Yutang five days to find such a small thing.

But he knew for sure that it was given to him by Bai Yutang.He is responsible for them, raising them to become real plants.

Zhan Zhao is never afraid of taking responsibility.Hearing Bai Yutang's words, he nodded his head hard: "Water more? Make a note. The soil needs to be damp, so you can't always bask in the sun. Well, what should I do if there are worms? Catch them one by one, what should I use to catch them, can Zhanlu do it... ..."

Bai Yutang smiled and looked at him sideways.The cat has a serious expression, which is the way he likes him the most.Sometimes it's what he hates the most.

The desolation surged up, wave after wave.Bai Yutang clapped his hands and stood up, and said with a smile, "There is no permanent banquet in the long pavilion. Mao'er, my master is gone. Take care of yourself."

There was a flash of light in Zhan Zhao's eyes, and then he turned away: "Where does Brother Bai want to go? Back to Tokyo?"

Stupid cat, I thought I liked Tokyo so much.Bai Yutang shook his head: "It's almost Mid-Autumn Festival, if you don't go home, my sister-in-law will nag." He pulled his ears and stopped mentioning it.

Zhan Zhao lowered his head and touched the little heart-shaped leaf: "I will take care of it." Looking up at him again, he gradually smiled: "Brother Bai, can you go back to Tokyo before you go home? Mr. Zhan also has something for you. I've been looking for it in the past few days." If you don’t come to Brother Bai, stay with Mr. Gongsun.”

Bai Yutang looked at him in surprise, feeling excited and curious.What can a poor and uninterested cat give him?

Whatever it is, didn't he give it away?Bai Yutang was so happy, and laughed at himself because of this happiness: "My master is so romantic, who has he pretended to be in his eyes?"As for what.

But just happy, what to do.

I was so happy that I forgot to go out the window.Heading towards the door, Bai Yutang used ten times more strength to control his steps.Only then did he hold back and finally did not look back.

Two days later in the Kaifeng Mansion, Gongsun Ce put a small tabby cat the size of a palm into Bai Yutang's hands, shook his head and said, "Guard Zhan brought it back and didn't say who it was for. If you want to ask him what he left behind, this is it."

The kitten meowed and licked everywhere, and picked one of Bai Yutang's fingers to hug and chew.Not a single tooth has grown, so the cat's head is crooked.

Strange squirming is connected to the heart, fragile and warm.Bai Yutang stood there in a daze, with mixed feelings.