King Jiangling left Princess Jiangling to accompany Sima Yue, while he got into the carriage with a robe and planned to enter the palace to ask for guilt.

The wheels were rolling, he sat upright in the carriage, listening to the sound of people coming and going on the street outside, after all, he couldn't help it, reached out and lifted the curtains of the car, and quietly looked out.

His childhood, adolescence, and youth were spent in the capital. When he was fine, he often went out to walk around the capital with his brother, the current Emperor Qinglong, because he was very familiar with all parts of the capital. And now he looked at the streets outside, and he only felt familiar, but unfamiliar.

I haven't been to the capital for 20 years, where can everything remain the same? The shops and trees on both sides of the street are like this, and so are people's hearts.

Knowing that he would arrive in the capital today, Empress Dowager Li sent someone to the city gate early in the morning to greet him. It's just that despite this, the first thing he did after entering Beijing was to see his daughter, and then he entered the palace to see Empress Dowager Li.

Along the way, it was clear that it was the most familiar scenery before, but now it seems that there is always a sense of alienation and strangeness.

The big tree on the right side, he still remembers when he was young, he and Emperor Qinglong stood under the tree and looked at the bird's nest on the tree. At that time, he wanted a bird that had just come out of the shell in the bird's nest and was chirping non-stop, but Emperor Qinglong heard it, and he didn't care about his identity as the prince, he rolled up his sleeves and ran up, and scared the palace and the inner eunuch who followed him half to death.

He still remembered that when Emperor Qinglong held the fluffy, yellow-brown bird in both hands and handed it to him, his heart was happy.

"Ah Ye," he called to him, his robe was crumpled and dirty, and he didn't have the majesty of a prince, but the smile on his face was so bright and sincere, "for you." ”

He took the bird back to his dormitory, found a delicate bird cage, and took care of the bird to eat and drink every day. It's just that the bird that has just come out of the shell is not so easy to take care of, even if he takes the most precious milk, it refuses to drink, and the bird dies within a few days.

At that time, he was crying very sadly and sadly, but Emperor Qinglong took his back and comforted him: "Ah Ye, don't cry." My brother can catch another bird for you. Or if you want something else, if you say it, my brother will find it for you. ”

He diligently handed him the mutton fat pixiu jade pendant he was wearing, and said, "Ah Ye, don't you like the jade pendant I am wearing?" To you. ”

This jade pendant was the last time Emperor Qinglong took the first place in the academy, and his father rewarded him, and Emperor Qinglong loved it very much. But now, in order to comfort his younger brother, he took it out without hesitation.

King Jiangling took the piece of mutton fat Pixiu jade pendant handed over by Emperor Qinglong, and then together with him, found a delicate wooden box, put the body of the little bird in the wooden box, and buried it under a tree.

Looking at the tree in front of him, King Gangneung didn't know why, and suddenly felt that his nose was a little sour.

At that time, the two brothers were squatting under the tree, and he was still crying with a sob, sad about the death of the bird, and Emperor Qinglong had been comforting him like a little adult on the side.

At that time, the brotherhood was deep, but later because of his power, he was so suspicious of him.

As for the piece of mutton fat Pixiu jade pendant, when he knew that Emperor Qinglong was suspicious, he actually had the idea of smashing the jade pendant, but later he was still not willing to smash it, but he just found a wooden box, locked it firmly, and buried it under the tree where they buried the bird together.

Twenty years later, the tree is already lush and growing beyond the roof.

King Gangneung stood under this tree for a long time, reaching out to touch the dark brown tree, and for a moment he felt mixed feelings in his heart.

The inner eunuch who had been following him naturally did not dare to urge, but just stood aside with his hands respectfully and waited.

After a while, King Jiangling withdrew his hands, calmed his emotions, and then took the lead in raising his feet in the direction of Changqing Palace.

And Empress Dowager Li was directing the palace ladies and internal supervisors in her palace at this time.

"Ah Ye's favorite drink of cloud tea, you go and find out the can of cloud tea that is tributed. Besides, you need snow water to make tea, so you go and dig up the plum blossom snow water that I personally collected in the urn that has been buried under the plum tree for five years. Ah Ye likes to eat sweets, have you done the abalone snails and snowflake cakes I ordered before? Tell them that don't forget to sprinkle another layer of sugar when the snowflake cake comes out of the pan. And incense, how to order this incense? Ah Ye likes to smell agarwood, so he went to find those few pieces of cliff incense that paid tribute and lit them. ”

At this time, an inner supervisor outside the palace hurriedly came to report, saying that the king of Jiangling was coming and was about to arrive at the palace gate.

When Empress Dowager Li heard this, she immediately got up from her chair and walked to the door in a hurry. A palace lady beside her rushed forward to help her, but she didn't catch up with her.

Thinking that she was about to see her most beloved youngest son after a long absence of more than 20 years, Empress Dowager Li only felt that her heart was pounding, and even a layer of fine beads of sweat oozed from her palms.

In fact, in the past 20 years, she has written from time to time, saying that she wants King Jiangling to return to the capital, but no matter how sincere she is, King Jiangling always refuses. She also said that otherwise, she would go to Gangneung to visit him by herself, but the king of Gangneung did not agree.

She also knew that what happened back then really hurt him deeply, so she never dared to really force him. And this time Sima Yue had something like that in Luochuan County, causing her to lose her sight, so she sent another letter to the past, and this time he finally came.

From afar, Empress Dowager Li saw King Jiangling.

Twenty years ago, when he left the capital to go to Jiangling, he was still just weak and weak, and his body had the unique thinness of a young man, but now more than 20 years have passed, and his figure is much stronger.

Tears blurred her eyes, and Empress Dowager Li reached out to hold the door frame, stabilizing her body that was shaking with excitement.

And King Gangneung had already walked into the courtyard at this time.

At a glance, he saw the Empress Dowager Li standing against the door frame.

When he left the capital in anger, Empress Dowager Li was not yet forty years old, with black hair, and now more than 20 years have passed, even if she is well maintained, no matter how many pearls and greens are piled up on her head, she still can't hide the gray hair on her head.

King Jiangling's eyes were astringent, his steps became slower and slower, and he suddenly lifted the hem of his clothes and knelt down in the direction of Empress Dowager Li.

"Queen Mother, my son is not filial, I see you are here."

The daylilies at the bottom of the stairs bloom, and the long, slender stems are covered with pale yellow six-petal flowers, which are warm and serene. When the breeze blows, the slender branches sway gently.

Daylilies give birth to the hall steps, and the wanderer travels to the end of the world. The loving mother leaned against the door of the hall, but there were no daylily flowers. In the past 20 years, I think my mother has often leaned against the door like now, looking forward to seeing him as soon as possible.

King Gangneung suddenly fell to the ground with his hands on his hands, kowtowed deeply, and couldn't stop crying.

No matter how powerful he is today, he is a prince who dominates one side, but now here, he is just his mother's son. A son who hasn't seen his mother for more than 20 years.

And Empress Dowager Li had already held her mouth with a handkerchief, crying so much that she couldn't speak.

When the palace ladies and inner supervisors on both sides saw it, they couldn't cry.

After a long time, it was Empress Dowager Li who came back to her senses first, and ordered the inner eunuch on the side in a hoarse voice: "Go and help the prince up." ”

The inner eunuch agreed, leaned down and bowed down, respectfully held King Jiangling's arm, and said, "Lord, please get up." ”

King Jiangling immediately stood up and walked to the side of Empress Dowager Li.

Empress Dowager Li trembled lightly and reached out to hold his hands, rubbed the back of his hand a few times, and then asked in a low voice: "Have you been doing well all these years?" ”

When you get closer, you can see the wrinkles on the forehead at the corners of Empress Dowager Li's eyes. That's something that no matter how good the powder is, it can't hide it. And the hand that was rubbing the back of his hand was soft. But he still remembered that the queen mother's skin was firm, her face was like a flower, and her smile was more gorgeous than the morning glow in the early morning.

King Gangneung felt a sour feeling in his heart for a while.

"Okay," he held the hand of the Empress Dowager Li with his backhand, and suppressed the sourness that was surging up in his heart, and forced a smile on his face, "My son has been doing well over the years, you see, he is stronger than then." ”

Empress Dowager Li was wiping away the tears on her face with a yarn handkerchief, and when she heard his words, she couldn't help but be amused by him.

Reaching out and patting the back of his hand, Empress Dowager Li sighed: "Yes." My Ah Ye is growing and strong. I still remember when you were a child, thin and weak like a little girl, the most disliked to eat, but liked to eat some sweets, the queen mother made sweets for you every day, ate too much, but the teeth were not good, and the pain all day long. How, have your teeth hurt all these years? ”

Hearing Empress Dowager Li mention the past, King Jiangling also laughed, laughed on one wall, and said on the other: "My son is now older, he is a father, and he also has his own children, where can he be as willful and squeamish as when he was a child." I can't say it, for the sake of my children, I have to take good care of my body. ”

As soon as Empress Dowager Li heard him say what he said about his children, the smile on her face immediately became a little reluctant.

She forgot that the reason why he was willing to return to the capital this time was actually for Sima Yue's business.