Is the emperor cremated today?

Xiao Qi just walked to the entrance of Fengyi Palace, but slowly slowed down until he stopped. He raised his eyes and looked inside, only vaguely hearing the cheerful laughter of children, and then he walked towards the palace. Go.

The sunshine was just right in the winter afternoon. Xiao Lin and Ah Wan were playing with flower ropes under the eaves of the palace. When they saw Xiao Lin coming from a distance, they stopped, pulled Ah Wan and said, "Ah Wan, your Majesty, come down here." ”

The two people who were having fun just now stood solemnly under the eaves of the palace. When the palace servants beside them saw Xiao Qi approaching, they all knelt down and saluted.

Xiao Qi walked up to the two of them, glanced at Aunt Liang next to Xiao Lin, then looked at the flower rope in Xiao Lin's hand, then turned his attention to Awan beside him, and said softly: "Everyone is doing this." Get up!"

Then he gently held Ah Wan's little hand and said pleasantly, "Does Ah Wan like living in the palace?"

As he spoke, he took the little man's hand and walked towards the palace. Someone from the palace had already come in to report, so Xu Miaoyin, who was sitting on the couch reading a book, got up and wanted to go out to greet her. Before she could walk out of the Nuan Pavilion, she saw Xiao Qi walked in holding little Awan.

Xiao Qi picked up Ah Wan and sat down on the soft couch. He placed Ah Wan next to him, but without looking at Xu Miaoyin, he continued to ask: "What if I let you go into the palace to accompany your aunt?" willing?"

Although little Ah Wan was eight or nine years old and had experienced a lot, she was no longer as ignorant as when she first came to Yujing. She glanced at her aunt who was sitting down, blinked her big eyes, and replied politely: "I'm very happy to be with Aunt Awan, but Awan is naughty and is afraid of making His Majesty unhappy and causing embarrassment to Auntie."

Xiao Qi glanced at Xu Miaoyin opposite him and saw that she had her eyes lowered and wondered what she was thinking. He continued to talk to Ah Wan, "A Wan is the most sensible person. Your aunt will be a little happier with you here. If my uncle If you make your aunt angry, can you still make her happy?"

Xiao Qi kept looking at the little girl, and after speaking, he winked at little Ah Wan. Ah Wan understood immediately, looked at his aunt beside him, and said, "My aunt said that you have to apologize if you do something wrong. As long as you are sincere, It will be understood.”

Xiao Qi pinched Ah Wan's chubby little face with appreciation. This little girl was really smart. He just gave a little hint and she knew what to say.

Xu Miaoyin didn't want to see him using the child as a raft, "Ah Wan, I haven't practiced calligraphy today."

After saying that, he signaled Yushu to take Awan to the side hall.

Ah Wan also obediently got off the couch, bowed politely, and followed Yu Shu to the side hall.

Yu Qiao and others also wisely withdrew from Nuan Pavilion.

Xu Miaoyin poured a cup of tea for Xiao Qi and said in a gentle voice: "Your Majesty, this is the tea that Qi Yue brought me from Shu. Although it is not a famous brand, it still has a sweet aftertaste."

She handed the tea to Xiao Qi. Xiao Qi took the tea cup and drank it slowly. No one said anything for a while.

Xiao Qi drank the tea absentmindedly and placed the tea cup gently on the table, but kept glancing at Xu Miaoyin aside.

Xu Miaoyin was drinking slowly with a teacup. When she raised her hand, she revealed the coral bracelet on her wrist. The bracelet was a tribute from Dongyi. The color was bright but not sexy, and it perfectly complemented Xu Miaoyin's complexion.

Xu Miaoyin casually glanced at Xiao Qi and saw that although he was facing her, his eyes were elsewhere. The somewhat infatuated look in his eyes made Xu Miaoyin curious for a moment. Following his line of sight, she discovered that he had been looking at her wrist.

"I like this coral bracelet very much. Thank you Your Majesty for the gift."

Xiao Qi seemed to suddenly come to his senses. He raised his eyes to look at Xu Miaoyin and saw a slight smile on her lips, but nothing more.

He was a little disappointed, but also a little unwilling. He felt bitter in his heart, but he didn't dare to ask her more, so he got off the bed and said, "I still have some government affairs to deal with. I will come to accompany you another day." Xu Miaoyin sighed secretly. , when he turned around, he said warmly: "Your Majesty, I have already told them to prepare dinner. Just eat with me first and then go. No matter how busy you are, you must pay attention to your health."

Xiao Qi stopped immediately. Knowing that she was willing to keep him, the bitterness in his heart was gradually washed away. He turned around and walked to her, holding her hand and saying, "Okay, I'll eat with you."

So, Xiao Qi sat back on the couch again, but this time he was no longer across the table, but sitting next to Xu Miaoyin.

With Jiao'e in his arms, Xiao Qi felt comfortable. He remembered the scene he had just seen, played with Xu Miaoyin's hand and said, "Miaomiao, I plan to let Xiao Lin move out of the palace."

Xu Miaoyin wondered: "How could you think of letting him leave the palace? He is only twelve years old and has not yet reached the age to open a mansion."

Xiao Qi looked at the emerald green in her hair and said, "He is too old and it is not suitable to keep him in the palace, and the people in this palace are either maids or chamberlains..."

His words stopped here, and Xu Miaoyin also understood his intention. The majestic prince really couldn't just be kept among the women in the palace, but she was also a little surprised, "Why are you suddenly attracted to A Lin?"

Xu Miaoyin looked at him, her eyes full of confusion, but Xiao Qi lowered his eyes, covering up the dark light in his eyes. He fiddled with the coral bracelet on her wrist and said, "I just don't want you to be too tired. What's more, if I raise the noble prince to death, the censors will come to bother me every day."

Xu Miaoyin looked down at him, glared at him and said, "Are you saying that I will teach Alin bad things?"

Xiao Qi was stunned and realized that he had said the wrong thing. He smiled and coaxed: "My fault, I said the wrong thing."

Xu Miaoyin also hoped that Xiao Lin could be well-educated, and she didn't care too much. She just told him: "If you really want to educate him well, then hire some civil and military gentlemen."

Xiao Qi responded one by one, and the anxiety and hesitation accumulated in the past few days seemed to have come to an end. He was enjoying the peace and comfort of the moment, telling her about his family affairs, just like any ordinary couple in the world.

Such a peaceful feeling made Xiao Qi's lips slowly turn into a smile.

Xu Miaoyin then asked: "Your Majesty, what did Duke Rongguo say to you when he asked for an audience half a month ago?"

Xiao Qi's hand rubbed her wrist for a moment, but the smile on his lips did not diminish, and he said: "Miaomiao, don't worry, no matter what he does, I will be there."

This was meant to fool her, but Xu Miaoyin didn't want to be fooled. She turned around and looked at him firmly, "I want to know."

Seeing her looking at him so steadily, Xiao Qi hugged her again in a compromising manner, "Okay, if you want to know, I'll tell you."

"On the day Duke Rong Guo came to see me, I met with Feng Ling first. The Yangzhou garrison embezzled military pay and colluded with the local government gentry, resulting in the tax revenue in Jiangnan being less than [-]% of previous years. In addition, the Yangzhou garrison wrote a letter saying that pirates frequently attacked The disturbance caused the tax money paid by Jiangnan, which had always been prosperous, to be robbed. Fengling, who had been operating in Jiangnan for many years, noticed something was wrong, so he asked himself to investigate the matter, only to find out that the Yangzhou garrison had already colluded with Rong Guogong, and most of his corrupt officials All the money was shipped to Yujing, but there was no substantial evidence. Fengling only knew that Yangzhou Guards had a ledger in his hand, but he did not find it during the inspection. At the same time, he asked Qiao Zhi to go to the Yangzhou Navy. He planned to let Qiao Zhi take over the post of Yangzhou garrison. I wanted to follow suit, but he brought me the account book that day. There were dozens or hundreds of officials involved in the account book, and they were linked one by one. If we want to conduct a thorough investigation, then no one in the entire court will be available, do you know what this means?"

There was a haze in Xiao Qi's eyes, "This means that the country is not far away from being destroyed. He used this to negotiate terms with me and asked me to recruit concubines. If I don't give the order, he will make this account book public."

Xiao Qi looked at Xu Miaoyin and said, "Miaomiao, I can't understand more and more what he wants to do?"