"Why did Your Highness suddenly become interested in checking the accounts?" Yan Ke's voice pulled me back from my low feelings—and I saw her walk in with a large group of cold-faced guards, with a smile on her lips, but a look of solemnity in her eyes.

"It's just a momentary idea...... "I closed the ledger and watched as she waved the rest of the room away, leaving only the few guards she brought, "Aunt Ke, this is?" ”

"Your Highness, I have received the news that this time I will go to Xining to worship the heavens, and the journey will definitely not be smooth - these people are the good ones I selected from the guards, and they will be escorted by His Highness at any time on the surface, and I will also send people to follow me in secret, please rest assured." She pointed to the several guards lined up, raised her chin in the direction of the Lanyue Palace, and said a little ambiguously, "As for the accompanying princes, you can't be sloppy, Your Highness might as well choose a few from those thirty beauties." ”

"Uh, this, I'm afraid it's not convenient?" I turned my face away, hid my embarrassment, and refused as little as possible, "This trip to Xining, the journey is long, the journey is tiring, if you encounter any sudden emergency, wouldn't it be a burden to take these people with you?" ”

"Your Highness is thinking about it very much," Yan Ke looked at me with satisfaction, nodded, and had a feeling of "my family has a girl who has just grown up", and then the conversation changed, and his smile turned cold, "But it's not a big deal—if you encounter an ambush, you can throw these burdens away, and you can delay for a while, why not?" Anyway, they are all spies sent by the emperor, so it's better to make the best use of them, so you don't have to worry about guarding against them, right? ”

“…… This king understood. I sighed, not intending to continue the conversation with her - even though I understood that Yan Ke was thinking about me and that she had the right intentions, I still couldn't accept her idea of treating human life like a mustard.

The huge difference in thinking patterns and three views has caused me to be different from her in how I treat people and things, and this difference is an irreconcilable contradiction in the short term - I don't expect her to understand my thoughts and become a supporter of the concept of "everyone is equal"; I can't even imagine that one day I will be like her, so take it for granted that I am superior to others, trample on and even take the lives of others.

Although I strongly objected to her suggestion, I finally gave up arguing and chose to acquiesce - because my primary goal was to play the role of "King Ling" without leaving a trace rather than implementing what I believed to be the "correct" ideas and definitions.

To put it bluntly, I am still a person who is greedy for life and afraid of death, whether it is humility or glory, I want to live...... I don't deny it, and I'm not ashamed of it.

-- If a person is dead, there is no meaning in a single qiē.

"Your Highness wants to promise me that when I go out, I can't be willful, and I can't leave the protection of these guards for a moment, okay?" Yan Ke didn't seem to worry about me, and told me repeatedly.

"This king promises you." I nodded, suddenly remembered something, and immediately asked, "By the way, among the people accompanying me this time, is there a Jiang guard?" ”

Yan Ke frowned, a little puzzled: "Your Highness's meaning is to bring that Jiang Zhuo with you?" ”

"Hmm, this king thinks that Jiang Guard's martial arts are strong, and he is also steady and careful, yes

"Thank you, Aunt Ke." As soon as I was happy, I unconsciously brought a smile to my face.

When Yan Ke saw it, he shook his head helplessly, and sighed with a smile: "I don't know what kind of soup Jiang Zhuo poured into His Highness, teaching you to be so attentive?" If you use this enthusiasm on those servants and give birth to His Royal Highness as soon as possible, I will be satisfied. ”

"Huh...... Well, follow the fate, follow the fate......" I can't think of any other way to deal with it except for smirking and sloppy eyes.

When I rushed to the side hall where Jiang Zhuo lived to tell her the news, she didn't have too many expressions, just a solemn face like Yan Ke, and said quite worriedly: "In the Xining area, the bandits are flowing along the way, and it is not peaceful, Your Highness needs to be careful." ”

"So, will Guard Jiang protect the safety of this king all the way?" I stared at her sculpted face, and I couldn't help but be fascinated.

"This is Jiang Zhuo's responsibility." She bowed her head lightly, turned her face, and saw that I was looking at her intently, and her expression was as calm as ever, as if the smile that seemed to be absent for that moment was just my illusion.

Although she said that it was only based on her duties, it was also true that she took the initiative to care about me...... As a friend, I can't ask for too much - if she is willing to treat me as a friend who can enjoy the flowers and the moon in her free time, and talk until midnight when she rises, then I will be as content as Yan Ke.

Counting up, the royal family of the Great Wu Kingdom has a history of nearly 100 years. However, it took decades to defeat Rouran and the Kingdom of Yu and unify the world.

When Yongjia Emperor Kuang Yunwei was in power, Mu Qinglan, the general of Qingyuan, beheaded Xia Rudu, the lord of Rouran, in front of the battle, and then the Great Wu Kingdom became the Great Wu Dynasty, and the Great Wu Emperor became the lord of the world - since then, there are annual tribute to the Rouran slaves and treasures of the country, and there is also the tradition of each generation of emperors to worship the heavens at the Xining Imperial Mausoleum.

This time I went to Xining, which can be regarded as tolerance, although Kuang Xihan has no official position, but the prince's title is destined to travel The honor guard can not be too shabby; And he traveled on behalf of the Son of Heaven, and he also had to be met by officials along the way, and it took a month or two to say the least--this was really a big test for Kuang Xihan's delicate physique.

The closer I got to departure, the more anxious I felt; But I could neither disobey the will to avoid this trip, nor could I control the slower flow of time.

On the day of departure, Kuang Xiqing led the civil and military officials to personally send me to the gate of Guanlan City.

Along the way, she took my hand, and the palm was so hot and painful that it hurt me, as if to convey to me some unspeakable message—but I couldn't understand the emotion in those ink-deep eyes, just as I couldn't fathom the complicated look in Jiang Zhuo's eyes when he occasionally looked at me—maybe I was a dull person.

In the end, Kuang Xiqing let go of my hand, smiled slightly, raised her head and drank all the practice wine, and said softly: "Han'er...... Treasure. ”

Just a simple sentence, there is no follow-up, as if all the unfinished meaning is melted into these four words.

I can't tell you how I felt at that moment--I was deeper than loss, more than melancholy, as if I would never see each other again-probably Kuang Xihan's residual feelings were at work, after all, it was a girl who had never traveled far from home, and it was natural to leave a familiar place suddenly, and it was natural to feel some parting.

The carriage drifted away until the face became blurred, and I lowered the curtain.

Three days later, dressed as an ordinary business traveler, I sat face to face with Jiang Zhuo in the teahouse seat of Siyang City, watching with great interest the large group of people and the critical pedestrians and traders slowly passing downstairs.

At the two tables behind me were eight guards sent to me by Yan Ke, pretending to be servants and bookkeepers - I originally intended to pretend to be sisters with Jiang Zhuo as a merchant outsider, but she strongly objected and finally gave up.

The mighty guard of honor of the prince occupied almost the entire long street, and also attracted the attention of countless people, I think, if I were the person in the carriage, I am afraid that I would be so nervous that I would be uneasy.

It all started when I left Mission Hills on that day.

At that time, after saying goodbye to Kwong Xiqing, I left the inner city in a carriage and went to the nearest Merlin City; When I entered the post house in the evening to rest, I saw Yan Ke, who was supposed to stay in the palace of Guanlan City, sneak into my room with a young woman who was very similar to my body and appearance, and startled me who was about to change clothes.

She quickly closed the door, and with a palm knife slashed the little cicada that was about to scream, and the speed of the body was so fast that I was almost stunned.

"Ke, Aunt Ke? What are you doing here? What happened? I patted my heart for fear and calmed down, and then asked in a low voice.

"For the safety of His Highness, our soldiers went to Xining in two ways - I and this stand-in marched with the large army, while His Highness and several guards disguised themselves as business travelers, and hurried unknowingly, and then met at Xining Post Station." She pointed to the young woman and said to me.

But ...... "I could not help but hesitate—would not this young woman bear all the dangers in my place?"

But I also know that this is the safest option, and there is no reason to oppose it at all - neither for Yan Ke nor for Kwong Xihan himself.

So, I silently changed into the clothes of an ordinary business traveler, and quietly left the post house with the guards appointed by Yan Ke at night—because of my insistence, Jiang Zhuo was also on the accompanying list.

Unable to resist me, she stepped back and disguised herself as a steward to follow me.

"Your Highness......" Seeing me staring at the honor guard below, Jiang Zhuo coughed lightly, as if he wanted to say something.

I came back to my senses, raised an eyebrow at her and smiled, and raised my hand to stop: "When you go out, you want to call me the owner, but don't forget this stubble...... Steward Jiang. ”

“…… Yes, the proprietor. She paused and whispered yes, but did not continue with the topic she had been talking about.

- After a moment of silence, she raised her eyebrows and drank tea, as if to hide the fleeting embarrassment.

I also took a sip of tea, but I was secretly amused by her reaction.

…… Perhaps, such a journey is not bad.