"Tong Guan, help the mourning family up. The Queen Mother slowly got up with Tong Guan's support and said slowly, "Ji'er, since you came back desperately, the mourning family should always let you know what happened." ”

Tong Guan's hands tightened, and he said in a low voice: "Queen Mother, His Royal Highness Duanwang is ...... now"

"You want to say he's drunk, and you're afraid he'll get into trouble. The Queen Mother's lips rose, she smiled slightly, and her snow-white face was glowing with a youthful and soft luster, "But the mourning family has been talking to him for so long, and he didn't cause trouble at all, but told the mourning family everything he wanted to say but didn't dare to say. ”

Tong Guan had to bow his head and whispered: "Yes, the slave knows his mistake." ”

Zhao Ji was covered in sweat, he raised his head to look at the Queen Mother, the Queen Mother smiled and said, "Ji'er, can you move now?"

"Of course, Grandmother Don't underestimate me. Zhao Ji smiled, "Thanks to the blessing of the Queen Mother and the careful care of Gonggong Song, my health has gradually improved in recent years, and my grandson will no longer be sick every day like when he was a child." ”

Tong Guan lowered his head, gasped vaguely, and squinted his eyes again, as if he was a little incredulous about what he said. The expression on the face of the Queen Mother is unmoved, it is a beautiful jade, smiling all the time, but it is hard and unshakable, elusive inside, and moody and invisible. The Queen Mother smiled solemnly, with the shock of the world, she looked at Zhao Ji and asked, "Is this your memory from childhood?"

Hearing the Queen Mother ask this, Zhao Ji felt strange, he frowned slightly, obviously felt that the situation was not quite right, but he didn't know what to answer, so he had to respond obediently: "Yes, I remember that since I was a child, my health has been very bad, far worse than my brothers." My mother didn't know how to treat me, and then it was by drinking medicine every day that I slowly recuperated, and now it seems that the curative effect is very good, and I am not very sick, thanks to the father-in-law and mother in the palace, Ji'er can live well until now. ”

When talking about his mother, Zhao Ji's eyes dimmed, which was one of the few true emotions in his words. However, at this moment, he was a little suspicious of what he had just said, and many times the message was conveyed not only in the answer, but perhaps in the question, between the lines, and in a casual look. Zhao Ji has a lot of experience in this.

The Queen Mother's hand stroked his face and said, "Ji'er, you go with the mourning family, and the mourning family will take you to meet the emperor." ”

"Your Majesty ......?" Zhao Ji's smile stiffened, the snow silkworm helped him up, his legs were weak because of his distraction, but the snow silkworm's strength was not small, and he was steadily helped him up, leaving the surface of the ground He was shocked, only to realize that he was already an eighteen or nineteen-year-old boy, the prince who was in charge alone, and he could no longer rely on coquettishness to please others. When you enter the palace, you have rules.

"What, I'm afraid I can't walk? The place where the emperor is located is not far from the Longyou Palace of the mourning family, if you really feel tired, the mourning family will ask someone to carry you over in a sedan chair. ”

"Thank you to the imperial grandmother, Ji'er can go by herself. Zhao Ji said busily.

The Queen Mother smiled and said, "Okay, you go over." The mourning family has been tired for the past few days, and the mourning family has to take a sedan chair to pass. ”

“...... Imperial grandmother, imperial grandmother pay attention to your body, if you are tired, Ji'er will feel distressed. After Zhao Ji said this, his head was dizzy, and his temples and heart were beating suddenly and uncontrollably, but he tried his best to suppress this terrifying emotion, bowed his head and said to the snow silkworm: "Go and help the Queen Mother." The snow silkworm nodded, walked to the side of the Queen Mother, and helped the Queen Mother out with Tong Guan.

The door opened, and the white light shone in, a miserable white and blue cold light, completely different from the ambiguous and warm yellow of the Longyu Palace. Yinqiao, Forsythia and Su Can were chatting, and suddenly saw the snow silkworm, Tong Guan and the Queen Mother appear together, and they were so shocked that they were all broken, and hurriedly knelt down and said, "The Queen Mother, Tong Gonggong." ”

Su Can watched Zhao Ji walk next to the Queen Mother, tilted his head and thought for a moment, and took half a step forward, Zhao Ji turned around and shook his head at him. He nodded and retreated, seeing Tong Guan making people lift the sedan chair and drive, the doubts in his heart split into several possibilities.

And the Queen Mother's voice was calm, beautiful, and not mixed with emotion, she raised her head and said slowly: "Ji'er, you have to keep up." ”

Zhao Ji's face was gloomy at the moment, and after the Queen Mother said this to him, he immediately smiled, blushing, drunk, stupid, and heartless: "Imperial grandmother, wait for me...... I'll be right away. ”

The sedan chair walked very fast, but Zhao Ji couldn't walk too fast, took two steps and fell, and fell into the snowdrift.

Su Can walked over to help him up, and whispered, "I'll carry you over, right?" You are very drunk. Don't you feel that the Queen Mother is humiliating you like this? Isn't it good to tell you not to cause trouble, and to be quiet......

Unexpectedly, Su Can was meeting Zhao Ji's fierce gaze, which was like a sharp sword slashing at each other, and the two were intertwined, which was a sound that hit his heart, which was really terrifying. Although Su Can was shocked in his heart, there were people everywhere, so he tried his best to maintain a calm look, and Zhao Ji was about to speak.

"You think I'm very drunk, too. Zhao Ji thought slowly and whispered, "That's good, it's good." Come with me, if anything...... Who are you listening to?"

Su Can didn't expect Zhao Ji to ask him such a thing at this time. He also said without hesitation, "My life was given by the Venerable Master Liu Anshi, and I will not betray him." ”

"Good. Although Zhao Ji's voice smiled, it did not carry a trace of emotion, "With this position, it is enough." ”

Su Can's eyes glanced at the sedan chair in the distance, and said, "You want to go to the emperor?"

Zhao Ji nodded and said, "It seems that there is something to tell me." I don't know what the Queen Mother wants to do. He leaned slightly, and fell down dizzily.

Su Can helped him and said, "You really shouldn't drink too much." ”

"Out of the way. Zhao Ji held his head, gritted his teeth and said, "I, Zhao Xiaowangye, am not drunk with a thousand cups, and it is never the brain that hurts, but only the body." The body is a worthless thing. ”

When Zhao Ji finally caught up with the sedan chair and arrived at the emperor's palace, the queen mother had been in for a long time, and Tong Guan was responsible for greeting him at the door. The security here is extremely tight, the guards are all armed, tall and serious, surrounded by skilled doctors from all over the world, all anxious and urgent, the atmosphere can be called eerie and terrifying.

Only Zhao Ji's whole person's perception is completely different from here. When I saw Tong Guan in a hurry, I smiled, stumbled into his arms, and shouted affectionately: "Father-in-law Tong, please wait for me here!" I'm still worried...... I'm worried that I won't find you, so I'll have to ......."

Tong Guan frowned and looked at him with a smile, the sculptural bridge of his nose was sharper in the light, "What can I do?"

Zhao Ji pouted: "Then I can only cry - it's too late, it's too late, Father-in-law Tong, let me in, I, uh-"

He covered his chest, and he looked like he was about to vomit again, so frightened that Tong Guan hurriedly withdrew his hand, turned his back to his back, and said: "His Royal Highness Duanwang, it's so cold, you are careful of your body, you have walked for such a long time in the heavy snow alone...... If you're really uncomfortable, you're outside...... The slave is waiting for you, the queen mother blames, and the slave will explain. ”

Zhao Ji spit on the ground, the clear wine splashed on Tong Guan's shoes, Tong Guan's heart was alarmed, and malice swelled up, at this time the snow silkworm came out of it and asked, "Hasn't His Royal Highness Duan Wang arrived yet?"

"Ah......" Tong Guan calmed down and said, "Please go and talk to the Queen Mother, saying that King Duan has already arrived here, because he has a cold, so he vomits non-stop, and it has not been until now...... Your Royal Highness King Duan, are you feeling better?"

Snow Silkworm nodded, "I understand." ”

Zhao Ji raised his head with red eyes, and said with a reluctant smile: "Is the imperial grandmother in a hurry?" I'll come right away, I'll ......come right away," he said, he staggered over, and laughed with relief in a place where Tong Guan and the snow silkworm couldn't see.

The Longyou Palace is very deep, as deep as the tunnel that Zhao Ji followed Su Can before, but the depth of the tunnel is endless because of the darkness and unknown horror, and the deep sense of the emperor's Longyou Palace comes from this noble suppression, this unapproachable rule. Obviously, the emperor is his elder brother, and the queen mother is his imperial grandmother, but as soon as he arrived in the palace, Zhao Ji always felt that all relationships were separated by a cold membrane and could not be approached. He even became nervous, and the scene around him became a vortex and burrowed into his mind, and his eyes became more flowery and his head more painful.

When he walked to the end, the Queen Mother was already waiting for her at the end. didn't deliberately wait for him, the queen mother's entire attention was focused on the bedside she was looking at, her hand held a pale and blue hand, Zhao Ji knew at a glance that it was his brother, the current emperor Zhao Xu's hand. The Queen Mother's expression was full of forbearance and sadness, and she whispered Zhao Xu's name, expecting him to react

The snow silkworm walked up to the Queen Mother and bowed her head and whispered a few words in her ear. The Queen Mother looked up at Zhao Ji and said with a smile: "Ji'er, come." ”

Zhao Ji bowed his head and said resignedly: "Imperial grandmother forgive me, I'm late." He walked up to the Queen Mother and saluted, and the afterglow swept to Zhao Xu unexpectedly, he knelt down on his knees, and choked up: "Brother......"

He was not called the emperor, but his brother. This is a big disrespect, but the big disrespect disappeared in the face of great sorrow, and when he met Zhao Ji, who was drunk, he didn't care about his own temperament, so he went with him.

Only Zhao Ji knew that he was really sad. Only by getting drunk into a puddle of mud can he release his true emotions here, forbearance and restraint or free retraction, he knows it in his heart. The imperial doctors also noticed that he was full of alcohol, and they were a little surprised, and wanted to remind the queen mother of something, but the queen mother asked lightly: "Is the emperor's situation still stable?"

A imperial doctor said: "Back to the Empress Dowager, the emperor has just used a new medicine now, and the efficacy depends on the situation." ”

The Queen Mother said solemnly: "It won't get worse, and it won't necessarily get better, will it?"

"Uh......" replied the Imperial Physician truthfully, "it is true. ”

"That's good. The Queen Mother said lightly, "You guys stand down for the time being, the mourning family has some private matters to discuss here." ”

The imperial physicians stood up one after another and said, "Yes." ”

After they retreated, the Queen Mother sighed. Her voice was soft, she must have been as sweet as a lark when she was young, and the years had eroded her voice, and her voice had become a majestic proclamation that terrified most of the people in the palace at the first hearing, and no one could praise her for her good voice with all sincerity, which was a trivial regret that the years had passed.

"The emperor has been weak since he was a child, and he starts to have a headache as soon as it is cold, and he will have a fever when it rains. I wanted to ask him to exercise, but he was always prone to falling, and when he fell, he became a fracture, and he couldn't get out of bed for ten days and half a month, his body became worse, and even his lungs had problems, and gradually evolved into asthma, and he was sick for half a year. The Queen Mother sighed faintly and said, "It's too reluctant, it's really too reluctant, Your Majesty." ”

"Imperial Grandmother......" Zhao Ji's voice was weak, his expression was mixed with shock and incredulity, he slowly raised his head, tentatively, and asked word by word, "Imperial Grandmother, are you sure you remember correctly?"

"What's wrong? The queen turned her head to look at him expressionlessly, her eyes were a pool of calm stagnant water, her expression was deep, her tone was firm, it was a statement of an established fact, something she was used to, something she was accustomed to, and she would never remember, "Although the imperial grandmother is getting older, her memory is still very good." What kind of food she ate the night a month ago, the imperial grandmother remembers it clearly, how could she be mistaken?"

"Ji'er didn't mean anything else. Zhao Ji trembled, his eyes trembled and looked at the Queen Mother, when he spoke, his teeth were fighting up and down, and he said his doubts with difficulty, "But the imperial grandmother...... Headache in the cold, fever in the rain, broken bones when going out, asthma while lying down...... It's something that happened to me when I was a kid, it's something that belongs to me, and my brother ...... The emperor has always been in good health, since I can remember, he is a very good person, among the brothers, only I am the medicine jar, and they have always made fun of me. Don't...... Could it be that I am mistaken?"

"People who have been frail and sick since childhood and can't go one step more are the emperor. ”

The Queen Mother's tone was filled with undeniable determination and affirmation, but it jumped up like a firework, until it reached the back of Zhao Ji's brain, and exploded in the deepest part of his memory—burning, painful, confused, and mad.

If a person just wants to live, it is not difficult. And to live a meaningful life, if you don't want to become the walking dead, it's a lot more difficult, and it's very likely to be doubled down. That's what happened to Zhao Xu. He hated everything here, he hated himself for not listening to him. The heavy and gorgeous clothes pressed against him, causing him to breathe sluggishly, his life to be exiled, and he was suffering like purgatory, both in reality and in the spiritual world.

For example, the constant onslaught of the "nightmare" on him.

It is not so much that Zhao Xu was the eldest son of the royal family at that time and the first heir to the throne, but rather a survivor after natural and man-made disasters, but surviving does not mean lucky, and surviving is only the beginning of the disaster.

He started his nightmare from the day his fourth brother Zhao Shen completely disappeared. Prior to this, the fourth brother had always been considered the best heir to the throne, but this incident may take many years to happen, after all, when the last dynasty, everyone shouted "Long live the emperor", and no one has ever really owned these thousands of years since ancient times.

The dream is fake, and you will not be afraid when you wake up. This is the education that Zhao Xu has received since he was a child, and when facing a terrifying situation, it is enough to escape. But in the eyes of others, in the eyes of the adults who take care of him, these are all a flash of reflection, and as soon as he wakes up, it will disappear.

But what Zhao Xu's dream dreams of is the "reality" of the future.

Zhao Xu has been a sick man since he was born, and half of the first nine years of his life have been spent in dreams. He always looks sleepy, never wakes up, and the intelligence and calmness he occasionally shows will soon disappear in the deep sleep of weakness and upwelling, and soon swallow him up, Zhao Xu heard the most words: "Come on, the six princes have fainted again!"

It's okay, I can't die. Zhao Xu thought to himself, as long as I didn't die in my dream, my pain would not disappear for a moment.

He fell into the darkness, and saw a red blood light in the darkness, and he had nowhere else to go, so he crawled in this direction, and crawled over, until the light flooded his body, and his ears were filled with shrill chirping, and the red light pierced his eyes, and it became brighter and brighter, and he struggled forward, and his whole body disappeared into the brilliant light, and he fell again, and fell under a deeper, brighter cliff, and the light tore apart his body, and turned his spirit into a thin, sharp piece of light, which flew through the air, and built a splendid palace, and then became a tall throne, on which was an upside-down sword, dense like a thorn, the snow is bright and the cold light bursts, the broken light gathers to the dome and cracks, the galaxy in the sky is broken like a glacier, and the stars and sand are scattered into the throne, forming a thin human shape, which gradually has a clear shape, which is Zhao Xu's thin little face full of illness.

He lowered his head and covered his face. The palace swirled around with stardust, one by one bright spirals, they climbed up in circles, changing into the shape of tall or slender people, the appearance of adults, no different from the adults Zhao Xu saw in reality, except that they called Zhao Xu "king".

Zhao Xu put down his hand tiredly, looked at them through the thick dark circles under his eyes, and sighed, "You guys arrive on time every time, is there nothing else to do?"

The stout man at the head looked down at the gorgeous ground and said, "My king, we were born and exist because of you. Only when you come here will we wake up and breathe and receive this temporary life. ”

"But I could easily die in reality. Zhao Xu said faintly with some guilt, "You may not be able to exist for long, and you will have to go to another master." ”

"King. The man looked up and said, "You are our only king, the ruler of this world, you created this place, and you can change this place, including the world outside of it. ”