When a gust of wind blew by, Fengji suddenly said, “Shall…do you want to live in the Fourth Brother’s residence?”
Feng Duying couldn’t help turning his head to look at him when he heard the words, with black clothes and black hair, the person by the window seemed to be drawn as a black silhouette on the far side, unable to see his face, his expression clearly, I can’t understand his mind either. So she turned her head and closed her eyes, and said: “No, it will be inconvenient when the fourth brother marries the fourth sister-in-law.”
Hearing her answer, Fengji lowered his eyes and showed a slight smile, and with a faint melancholy, he spoke again, his voice was still calm and calm: “You really don’t want to go back to the palace?”
“I don’t want to.” Feng Duying’s voice was also calm, “Is there any way for the fourth brother to resolve the deadlock between me and the eldest brother?”
Fengji smiled softly, still facing the garden, “It’s not easy for elder brother to take care of you. When you write to the court tomorrow morning, please transfer to the southernmost Yecheng as a guard. Compared with the imperial capital, Yecheng is a The one who is far away in the sky, and the one who is close at hand, should be anxious then.”
As soon as this remark came out, Feng Duying didn’t reply, but turned his head, glanced at Fengji’s back, and then looked at Haitang outside the window in a trance.
After a while, Fengji turned around and said, “What? Don’t you like to retreat as an advance strategy?”
“Fourth brother.” Feng Duying looked back at him, “Actually, I have thought about what you said.”
“Oh?” Fengji walked up to her and sat down on the rattan couch.
Feng Duying was silent, turned his head and looked out of the window again, staring blankly at the bright crabapple tree.
Fengji beside her can only see her side profile, with graceful lines and well-proportioned muscles and bones, as if carefully carved by a famous master from the best white jade, but his expression is a little dazed. This somewhat soft look is extremely rare in her, and only the seven brothers can see it occasionally.
After a long time, Feng Duying said softly: “Fourth brother, what if the eldest brother agrees?”
“Huh?” Fengji was taken aback.
Feng Duying withdrew his gaze and looked at Fengji, with a slight sigh in his voice: “Fourth brother, I’ve been thinking a lot lately, will the eight of us be separated one day.”
Fengji’s heart skipped a beat, and he fixed his gaze on Feng Duying.
Feng Duying got up and walked to the window, under the bright sunshine, Begonia was in full bloom, her voice was soft but clear and sharp: “Fourth brother, the world is ours now, but we are not as comfortable and happy as before. “
After a moment of silence, Fengji got up and walked to her side, raised his hand to support her shoulder, but put it down again, and just called softly: “Seventh Sister.” The voice was soft, with a touch of comfort.
Feng Duying stretched out his hand through the window, broke off a branch of crabapple, stared at it for a long time, and then said: “Before…whether it was poverty when we were young, or this journey of killing and fighting, the eight of us are like one person, sharing joy and joy.” Miserable. The eight of us have even set a precedent never before in history: we live together in this palace that has always only lived in the royal family. It is like this flower, with the same root, the same branch and the same stalk.” She stroked the flower with her fingertips , so nostalgic, but at the next moment she tore off the petals one by one, “But… the past two years are no longer the same, we have become eight people, just like these petals.” She tore off eight petals and put them on the windowsill Arranged in a circle, although it looks like a flower, there is a distance between the petals, and there is no tie.
Suddenly, a gust of wind blows, and the petals on the window sill are blown up, some fly high, some fly far, some flutter down, and some circle on the window edge and then stop moving. .
Feng Ji and Feng Duying looked at the petals blown by the wind, they were startled at the same time, and then a slight coolness came over them.
“Fourth brother, when do you think the wind that will blow the eight of us away will come?” Feng Duying closed his eyes and sighed softly.
Fengji didn’t answer her, and he didn’t know how to answer her. She is not an ordinary woman, she can be relieved without any worries with a few words, her eyes are bright and her heart is clear, so she can see everything clearly. He just followed the petals that were blown away by the wind until he could no longer see them.
For a while, the study room was as silent as a deep pool, although the sun was shining outside the window, and the orange blossoms were like fire.
At that moment, the two stood side by side in front of the window, looking at the orange blossoms together, and their thoughts coincided with each other.
The eight of them are all orphans. They met Yu Wei when they were young. , Fighting the world with bare hands, after more than ten years, they ended the troubled times of fighting and separatism, sitting on the ground and establishing a dynasty.
What is rare is that they have gone through blood and cruelty along the way, and have acquired wealth and power, but they can treat each other with the same sincerity as they did when they were young. This is what the eight of them are most proud of.
On the top of the boundless mountain, under the star of Haoyue, they supported their elder brother Dong Shixiu as emperor.
Although the seven of them are also outstanding people, with extremely abundant talents, they are the best among the eight, but the seven of them have never had the idea of being emperors, and it has nothing to do with background, talent, martial arts, literary talent, strategy…they remember The feeling at that moment on the top of the vast mountain was completely devoid of selfish desires, and he naturally thought from the bottom of his heart: the eight of them conquered this country, and if there is one to be the emperor, of course it is the eldest brother. This thought has not changed until now, and the seven people all agree with this thought.
On that day, at the top of the vast mountain, the eldest brother didn’t shirk, so he agreed just like that, just like when the eight people said that he was the oldest, he should be the eldest brother, and he must take good care of his younger siblings in the future. Make the brothers and sisters feel at ease.
Although the identities of the monarchs and ministers were determined, the relationship between the eight of them has not changed at all. They are still close to each other and protect each other.
Dong Shixiu ascended the throne in the early spring of that year, with the name of the country “Dong” and the name of the reign “Yuan Ding”.
Also at the end of summer of that year, the new dynasty ushered in the first happy event: the second elder brother Huangti got married.
The reason why the brothers got married so late was because of the oath made by the eight of them back then: the great cause has not been accomplished, and there is no family.
After Huang Ti got married, the third child Ning Yuan, the fifth child Bai Yima, and the sixth child Hua Jingtai also got married one after another. For a while, the imperial capital was full of celebrations, and the palace was also very lively.
The eight of them relied on their own abilities to conquer today’s country, but in the early days, when they only had 20,000 to 30,000 soldiers and horses, they also obtained the financial resources of the five families of Liang, Chen, Wang, Xie, and Feng. Only with the help of troops can we get twice the result with half the effort.
The Liang family is the overlord of Yincheng, and they also have the heart to fight for supremacy. When they arrived in Yincheng, the Liang family saw that it was difficult to resist, so they sent people to make peace, willing to offer all the wealth of Yincheng and the Liang family, and the soldiers to help. The condition is to marry.
Yes and? Is it an attack?
The eight of them deliberated, and naturally they all thought that “harmony” was the most beneficial, but who would marry the daughter of the Liang family?
At that time, the brothers were all young and didn’t care much about marrying a wife, so the younger brothers conspired to push the oldest Dong Shixiu. Dong Shixiu was unwilling, so he drew lots, but the youngest eighth brother, Nan Pianyue, was caught. But Nan Pianyue was only ten years old at the time. He dragged his seventh sister, Feng Duying, along with him, purely for fun. .
Naturally, the lottery failed.
With no way to get it, the eight of them went to ask their teacher Yu Yantian.
Yu Yantian first asked eight people for their opinions, and the seven younger siblings all pointed to the elder brother Dong Shixiu. Yuyantian thought for a moment when he heard the words, and then looked at them for a long time, finally nodded, and said: “The power is inseparable, and the heart is inseparable. In the future, it will be the same as today.”
Under the order of the teacher, Dong Shixiu reluctantly agreed, and said to his younger brothers: “Okay, I’m married, but you have to obey me. In the future, when you marry a wife, you only marry the woman you like.”
Sure enough, since then they have grown stronger and stronger. The Chen and Wang families have surrendered, and the Xie and Feng families have come to vote. Later, in those few years of war, there were also beauties sent by all parties to curry favor, and Dong Shixiu also kept them by his side, so by the time he ascended the throne, there were already more than ten concubines in the palace, plus the current The wives of Huangti, Ningyuan, Baiyima, and Huajingtai, as well as the female historians and palace people who served each family in each palace, there are many women in the palace.
These women are not like the eight of them, each of them has one heart, and each has his own desires.
As a result, in the vast and magnificent palace, there were sudden waves of ups and downs.
When Dong Shixiu married the daughters of the Liang, Chen, Wang, Xie, and Feng families, they were all addressed as wives. Although this move balances the five families, the result of empty seats for the latter is that the concubines compete with each other and fight openly and secretly.
The wives married by Huangti, Tranquility, Bai Yima, and Hua Jingtai in their current status are not from poor families. Ordinary mediocrity.
Since then, the palace has been divided into households, concubines and concubines, concubines and concubines, concubines and concubines… Maybe it’s just for a reward, maybe it’s just for someone to show someone’s face, maybe it’s just for someone Today whose clothes are compared to everyone else, Xu is just because of whose background is more prominent, Xu is just because of the wonderful remarks made by his husband-in-law in court, Xu is just because of whose natal children got a fat job, Xu is just because of An unfounded rumor…they were jealous, hated, fought, plotted against each other, each had their own schemes, and the palace was filled with smog.
At first, the brothers tried to mediate, but there was only a moment of peace on the surface, and they failed to merge in secret. In the end, Huangti took the initiative to move out of the palace, and bought another house in the imperial capital to build a mansion, and then Ningjingyuan, Baiyima, and Huajingtai followed suit, so that the violent wind and waves in the palace finally subsided by half. After coming back, Fengji and Nan Pianyue didn’t want to be caught between the concubines, so they moved out one after another. Up to now, Feng Duying has also moved out.
In the past, the magnificent legend of the eight of them living together in the imperial palace, which attracted the attention of the world, finally turned into a cloud of smoke today.
Although they moved away from the palace to stay away from the battles in the palace, the battles in the court were unavoidable.
At the beginning of the new dynasty, a hundred officials are waiting to be promoted. When all parties are full of ambition and think that they will become the pillars of the new dynasty, Dong Shixiu’s imperial decree on the day of enthronement shatters the dreams of all parties.
That was Dong Shixiu’s first imperial decree, conferring official positions on his seven younger brothers and sisters.
Fengji Dazai, the head of all officials, is in charge of state affairs; Huangti is Tailu, the head of military officials, in charge of martial arts; Ning Yuan is the governor of the imperial capital, in charge of the government affairs of the imperial capital; In charge of punishments and government orders; Huajingtai is the Dasinong, in charge of land, household registration, taxation, salary, and financial revenue and expenditure; Feng Duying is the capital of the imperial city, commanding the imperial guards and the northern army, and in charge of patrolling the imperial capital; The moon is the capital of the forbidden center, commanding the southern army of the forbidden guards, and in charge of the guards of the imperial palace.
In such a huge dynasty, there are more than seven of them, there are thousands of officials, but the highest and most important official positions have been divided among seven people. At the same time, all seven of them have the title of first-class general; seven of them can carry the Sword Face Lord; seven of them can enter and leave the palace freely; and they lived together in the palace at the beginning… There is no need to count other rewards in detail, only these points are enough. It can be seen that the emperor has an extraordinary favor for the seven people.
People who stand on high places have always been the focus of attention, and they are also the targets of jealousy and attacks.
In the beginning, no one criticized the seven generals for their achievements, but as time went by, everyone naturally forgot the blood and sweat that the seven generals had shed for the dynasty, and they couldn’t see the seven generals’ hard work in the affairs of the state , They can only see the emperor’s “preferring one to another”, only seeing the honor of the seven generals, and only seeing “the highest position is occupied by seven people”, so they are jealous and dissatisfied.
The world is at peace and the people’s livelihood is restored. They no longer have to worry about wars and fear for safety. What they have to consider now is their own rights. What they want to plan is how to make themselves stand taller, how to win the Sacred Heart, how to win the support of all officials, how to get more and greater benefits for themselves, how to make their family more prosperous, and… the prince should be Who.
Days passed, and at the same time as the dynasty was rising, the officials of the court also stood firm, and for their own purposes, for the people who were jealous of each other, they had consciously or unconsciously made friends and helped each other. The five families of Liang, Chen, Wang, Xie and Feng are the most important. The daughters of the five families are all the sons and daughters of the emperor. The five families all believe that the emperor’s success is due to their own contribution. In terms of trust, it is far inferior to Seven Generals. The five families already have a deep foundation, and with these years of operation, they have already become a trend in the court.
The five families have different methods and fight each other, but their purpose is the same: since the son cannot be more precious than the mother, then the mother should be more precious than the son. Only those who have their own blood ascend to the throne of God can keep the family’s century-old prosperity.
Originally, with the status of the seven generals, the five families did not want to win over, but the five families also clearly realized that they could not succeed, and the seven generals only had one heart with the emperor. Friend or foe! Besides, as long as there are seven generals occupying the court, how can they have their own day in the first place!
Therefore, the seemingly harmonious and peaceful court, full of talented people, is also full of dark tides.
The seven of them were standing on a high place with a view, but they were attacked from all directions.
Since they moved out of the imperial palace, they have each built a mansion and a family, and each has children. In addition to the busy government affairs, it can be said that apart from official business, the eight of them seldom get together in private. Although their friendship with each other has not changed, they have to admit that there are more and more people they care about and are close to, and the most important ones are no longer just the eight people at the beginning.
If you stay longer, maybe you will drift away and the friendship will no longer exist.
This is so sad, but so natural… there is nothing to do.
“One heart and one mind, we will never be separated.” In the quiet study room, Feng Duying suddenly whispered softly, “Fourth brother, can we keep the promise of the past?”
Fengji’s chest was suffocated, and he was silent for a long time before he said in a light but firm tone: “To this day, until next year when he is born, the eight of us have the same intentions, so how can we be separated.”
Feng Duying heard it, and a slight smile appeared on his face, like a shallow ripple on the surface of a lake, which disappeared in an instant. “The world changes and never depends on the will of people.”
Fengji is silent.
After a while, Feng Duying suddenly said again: “Fourth brother, when will you marry? I heard that the eighth brother already has someone he likes, and maybe he will get married soon. When the time comes…” Her words were cut off here There was only a slight sigh left.
Feng Ji understands the melancholy in that sigh, because he knows that what she values most is the friendship between the eight people, and if one day the eight people will drift away…
“Fourth brother will accompany you. If you don’t marry, fourth brother will not marry.” He promised.
Ke Feng Duying heard the words but did not show a trace of joy. He closed his eyes to hide the bitterness in his heart.
“Boom boom boom!”
The moment the study door was knocked, the two of them had exhausted their emotions at the same time.
“Your Excellency, General, the chief executive is here to report that lunch is ready.”
Shi Yan and Du Kang pushed the door and entered, and they saw the two people in front of the window looking back and turning around, in front of the crimson begonia flowers, one black and one white, like jade trees growing side by side, with unparalleled appearance and equal elegance.
At that moment, the two loyal guards couldn’t help being stunned.
“Let’s eat first. After lunch, I’ll show you a new peony I planted.” Feng Ji led Feng Duying to the flower hall.
“Oh? What kind of peony? Can the fourth brother ‘Cangbilan’ grow it?” Feng Duying asked.
“There are no flowers in this world that I can’t grow.”
“Haha…”