Pei Yan appears very "timely" every time, which makes people think that the other party is very indifferent, but for Shen Qi, she thinks this person does it on purpose.
Shen Qi saw clearly that from the moment the person at the window was replaced by Pei Yan, His Highness the Crown Prince immediately looked away, as if he had seen something that hurt his eyes.
Ning Xiuyun held his forehead with one hand and asked, "What's the matter?"
Pei Yan smiled lightly, but didn't say that he did it on purpose. "Does Your Highness know about the death of Jiangcheng guard Han Lin?"
Pei Yan did not disturb others at all. Feeling so excited, he held the reins with one hand and skillfully controlled the speed so that he could always block the window.
Ning Xiuyun couldn't help but glance at his hand.
There are a few calluses on the fingers, which look like they must have been left over from riding horses for a long time.
This Mr. Pei was not what he said, a weak scholar whose shoulders could not resist his arms and could not lift. At least he had never slacked off in his riding skills.
"I know. I have asked Mr. Fu to draft a memorial and report it back to the capital. I think the Ministry of Revenue will choose the successor." Ning Xiuyun said calmly.
He didn't seem to care at all how Han Lin died or who would take over the post of guard.
Pei Yan raised his eyebrows, this was somewhat different from what he expected.
Pei Yan groaned and said, "Why go to such trouble? Your Highness can just refer to anyone as you like. This will prevent the Jiangcheng defenders from being leaderless for a long time and causing trouble. Your Highness should also consider the people of Jiangcheng."
Ning Xiuyun leaned back in his chair, knowing that Pei Yan was testing him.
Pei Yan simply did not believe that Han Lin's death was caused by any "righteous man" sent by Fu Rushen. Once Ning Xiuyun showed concern about the position of guard general, it showed that the matter was indeed related to him.
Ning Xiuyun suddenly raised his lips, thinking that he should let Pei Yan guess whether the matter was true or false.
So the people in the carriage were silent for a moment, and suddenly said with great interest: "Oh? What Pei Qing said is true."
Pei Yan frowned immediately, maybe he had been denied by the prince too many times recently, and suddenly heard a voice of agreement, He thought there was something wrong with his ears.
"I will think about it carefully."
A sudden chill ran down Pei Yan's spine, and an ominous premonition filled his heart.
Facts have proved that his premonition was accurate. Before the official start of the hunt that day, the prince sat on the main seat and stirred up a storm with just one sentence.
"Today Pei Qing said that Jiangcheng's guard position cannot remain vacant for too long, and he hopes to choose a single person to temporarily take charge of the general affairs."
Ning Xiuyun looked down at the soldiers below, and they all had different expressions.
The two original lieutenants of the Jiangcheng garrison's eyes lit up and they stretched their necks forward, hoping that His Highness the Crown Prince would turn his scrutinizing eyes on them. After being oppressed by Han Lin for so many years, how could it be possible once they had a chance to stand up? Not excited, even a grateful look towards Pei Yan.
His Royal Highness the Crown Prince clearly had no intention of selecting anyone the day before yesterday. He must have listened to Mr. Pei's advice and said that he was their Bole.
However, several military generals who followed the southern patrol team from the capital clearly wanted to give in and hoped that the Crown Prince would not give up. The idea hits me.
Although their military positions are not high, they still serve in the capital. Jiangcheng is adjacent to the border. Even if the taxes are generous, it is not as comfortable as the capital.
Besides, they still have children in the capital. If they were appointed by the prince to serve as officials in Jiangcheng, wouldn't they be promoted openly and demoted secretly? It would be a complete mess.
Thinking of this, a few careless generals inevitably complained more when they looked at Pei Yan.
Pei Yan's face froze with laughter. If he had known that the prince would use his strength to gain strength, he would never have tried such a word beside the carriage.
He didn't care about the mediocre people in Jiangcheng, but Pei Yan was born in the civil service and had no close relationship with these generals. After this incident, these people would inevitably have a grudge against him.
Prince, this is a good strategy to kill two birds with one stone.
He missed the final move.
Pei Yan was sitting at the first position. He sighed softly in his heart, picked up the wine glass on the table, and saluted the prince, which was considered as a voluntary admission of the matter.
Ning Xiuyun was very satisfied with Pei Yan's rare insight. He lifted his robe and said: "I am not familiar with several generals. I will consider it for seven days. I hope all generals will perform well."
At this moment, the generals below and the heads of the aristocratic families who raised many guardians followed suit and saluted: "Yes! Your Highness is wise!"
Only Pei Yan played with the empty wine glass in his hand, thoughtfully, and turned to look at the generals. There is a little more dignity in their sight.
The prince did not say what he was considering, nor did he say how he wanted to see how the generals would perform. Such ambiguous words gave the generals a very aspirational psychological hint.
It's like hanging a bait in front of a plowing cow. The cow will chase the bait hard, but it may not be able to eat the food in the end.
What a trick to play with people's hearts.
These people seemed to be guided by the prince and thought that the current hunt was a good opportunity to show off.
Pei Yan glanced at the young man in the main seat with his chin propped up. He was not wearing riding clothes and looked the same as any other person he had seen on a daily basis.
Well, their Crown Prince doesn't seem to think so.
With a few words, the prince ignited the enthusiasm for the hunt. After offering several plates of tribute to the mountain gods, the hunt officially began.
A group of people were gearing up and hurried into the mountain without giving in to each other, as if they were afraid that others would steal their prey.
Especially those who are interested in the position of guard, their emotions are very high. Before entering the mountain, the stares in each other's eyes are full of sparks, full of gunpowder.
The prince did not require everyone to go into the mountains, so many civil servants stayed in the camp. They were not good at riding and shooting, and they only went into the mountains for a walk.
Naturally, Ning Xiuyun did not go into battle in person. He stayed in the camp and detained Jian Xun casually.
The two of them sat sideways on the couch, with a chessboard placed on the short table in the middle, and played slowly.
Ning Xiuyun held the white piece and looked up at him and asked, "Don't you blame me for stopping you from entering the mountain?"
Jian Xun's expression was not dull at this time. He frowned while watching the chess game, thinking about where to land the next piece.
The two have played for more than a dozen games, but Jian Xun has never won once. He was aroused to be a little competitive.
Upon hearing the prince's inquiry, Jian Xun said nonchalantly, "I have no intention of fighting over the generals."
Jian Xun also understood the prince's previous speech, but he really didn't want to be Jiangcheng's guard, and he was not interested in hunting.
Perhaps he had lived in the mountains for too long while practicing martial arts, and was always rescuing some small beasts near Zhuangzi, so he didn't really want to pick up a bow and hunt.
——I always feel that more and more animals will run into his village, and it will be bad if I scare Xiu Yun in the future.
Ning Xiuyun didn't know that this man was still thinking of himself. He raised his hand and raised his eyebrows: "Why is this? When you become the guard general, you will have the opportunity to clear the guard camp and successfully protect the people of Jiangcheng. ."
Jian Xun paused when he was about to make a move, and said with some trepidation: "Indeed, being a general of a city can only guard the people of a city, but not the people of a country." These words were ambitious, Jian
Xun I felt something was wrong as soon as I said it, so I quickly made amends.
"Moreover." Jian Xun straightened up and said seriously: "I believe that His Highness will choose a person with a pure mind to take over the position of Jiangcheng's guard, and he will not let the people of Jiangcheng suffer because of this again."
This is a tribute to him. Top hat, right?
When did Jian Xun learn such compliments? Maybe he learned a few tricks from Pei Yan.
But even if Jian Xun's words were sweet and sweet, Ning Xiuyun felt that they were much more pleasant to the ears than others.
Ning Xiuyun chuckled softly: "You said so, I will do it with all my heart."
As he said that, he clicked.
Jian Xun took a closer look. Very good, he lost again.
The two of them played around the chessboard for a few more games, and Ning Xiuyun became a little tired.
When he announced the stop, Jian Xun was still a little unfinished, always feeling that he had discovered some secret to playing chess.
It's a pity that Ning Xiuyun didn't give him a chance. He wanted to go out of the camp to relax.
The hunting location was chosen at the foot of the mountain in the western suburbs of Jiangcheng. There were two or three villages nearby, surrounded by mountains and rivers. The moat of Jiangcheng reached here and flowed east and west along the foot of the mountain.
The camp is also set up by the river. If you look to the side, you can see the gurgling river and the air is slightly moist.
As soon as Ning Xiuyun came out of the camp, he saw Pei Yan surrounded by several generals from the southern patrol convoy, who seemed to be discussing something anxiously.
He made a distinction and it seemed that the generals were begging Ning Xiuyun not to blame him for choosing the new Jiangcheng guard.
--very good. This is how you should find something for Pei Yan to do, so that he does not have to focus on him all day long and test him again and again without getting tired.
"Go this way." Ning Xiuyun waved to Jian Xun and led him from the side to the back of the camp.
Pei Yanruo, who was in front of him, felt something. He suddenly turned around and saw only the slightly swaying curtain at the door of the camp.
Ning Xiuyun fled with Jian Xun, even the guards on the left and right retreated.
Jian Xun was patted on the shoulder by several guards one after another, received a series of "protect His Highness the Crown Prince" looks, and was finally stuffed with a bow and arrow by Shen Qi.
Jian Xun put the quiver on his back, took the bow and arrow in his hand, and followed the prince step by step.
Ning Xiuyun walked aimlessly in front. On his left was the forest hunting ground and on his right was the river bank. He had not yet decided where to go.
"What animals are usually found in the mountains and forests around here?" Ning Xiuyun asked casually.
Jian Xun thought for a moment and was about to answer when he saw a snow-white rabbit jumping out of the forest.
Ning Xiuyun was startled by the white shadow running past, and subconsciously stretched out his hand to grab Jian Xun's sleeve. Pointing at the rabbit's back.
Jian Xun suddenly held his breath because of this action. This action was very familiar. It reminded him of the man who always pulled his sleeves like this in the elegant room of Zui Feng Building. He didn't say anything, but seemed to have said everything. .
"So white." Ning Xiuyun said sincerely that there was not a single hair on the rabbit's body, it was smooth and smooth.
Jian Xun, who was staring deeply at the prince's back, was so shocked by these two words that he came back to his senses. He shook away the messy thoughts in his mind. After thinking about it for a while, he felt that the two words "so white" are roughly equivalent to thinking "want".
So he stepped forward, stretched out his hand to draw a few feather arrows, and drew the bow to guide the arrows.
Ning Xiuyun was about to say that he didn't want to eat rabbit meat yet, when he saw that Jian Xun's feather arrows had already come out of his hand, and three arrows landed in a row, accurately blocking the rabbit's attempt to jump into the bushes.
He blinked and knew what Jian Xun wanted to do, so he stopped trying to stop him and followed slowly.
Jian Xun just forced the rabbit to the river bank and caught it easily.
Ning Xiuyun took the rabbit from Jian Xun's hand and stroked it twice. The fur was as soft as he imagined.
He raised his eyes and was about to say a few words of praise when he saw Jian Xun looking upstream of the river, his whole body falling into an unusually tense state.
There was a faint smell of blood in the wind.
A blood-stained copper coin attached to a red string floated in front of the two of them along the current.
Ning Xiuyun: (tearing sleeves)
Jian Xun: Catch!