When Zheng Mi roughly finished talking about the affairs of these days, Bai Yi no longer deliberately looked for anything to talk about, and the atmosphere cooled down again.

Zheng Mi simply stood up - he came today for two things, to see how Bai Yi was, and then to see how Bai Ling was.

Anyway, now that I have the answer, I can go back and report the news.

"Wait," Bai Ling on the bed suddenly spoke, she supported the edge of the bed with one hand, and slowly straightened her upper body, "What about that Heng Yuanjun?" Where is he now and what is he doing? ”

“…… Who? Zheng Mi showed a blank expression, and then frowned and thought for a while.

The word "Hengyuan" sounded too familiar, but for a while he couldn't remember its origin.

Bai Ling's gaze dimmed, and judging from Zheng Mi's reaction, he probably didn't know this person.

So Bai Ling lay down again.

"I'll send Master Zheng out." Bai Yi also stood up.

"No, no." Zheng Mi smiled and waved his hand, "That's it." ”

……

"Duke Ming, Grandpa Qiu is here."

Han Chong walked into the courtyard - after the change of the Heart Cultivation Palace, his identity has been officially changed from Baihu to the old king's guard.

In this turmoil that shocked the government and the opposition, Heng Yuanjun, the son of the first prince, surfaced, and he took Emperor Jianxi's long-prepared Shenji Battalion to appear at the most critical moment and delay the rhythm of the rebel attack in time.

If it weren't for this sudden rise, when Chen Yicong returned to Beijing, he would probably only be waiting for the bones of his father and mother......

But so far, this news has only stopped at the cabinet.

Before Emperor Qitai issued a clear reply on the disposition, no one planned to take the lead in this matter - most of the old ministers still remembered the sudden death of the former prince in Qinyuan.

There are rumors that Emperor Jianxi also haunted Qinyuan that night, but everyone who talked about it, whether civilians or ministers, was invited by Jinyiwei to drink a good tea.

The old ministers took Heng Yuanjun's matter to heart, and they had to wait for Emperor Qitai to give some clues before deciding their respective attitudes.

Heng Yuanjun is still playing chess in the courtyard at the moment.

The palace maids and eunuchs here have changed again, and these subordinates no longer have gloomy faces, and their faces carry the humility and caution that most of the slaves and maids in the inner palace have.

The furnishings in the house were replaced, and they took or carried the furniture to Heng Yuanjun one by one, asking if these things needed to be kept—

Without exception, the reply was to shake the head.

Heng Yuanjun didn't look at these people more, and he didn't have the slightest nostalgia for all the furnishings in this courtyard.

He just stared at the backgammon on the board, contemplating a new forbidden move that would curb the sunspot's advantage—the source of happiness that had fascinated him the most lately.

It wasn't until Han Chong brought the news of Qiu Shi's arrival that he barely raised his head from his own world.

"What is he doing here?" Heng Yuanjun asked.

"It's supposed to be a reward." Han Chong replied expressionlessly, "Gonggong Qiu brought a lot of people and a lot of things. ”

"There's no room in the yard anymore." Heng Yuanjun said in a low voice, "Thank you for your kindness for me." ”

Han Chong got the order and walked straight out.

The courtyard was quiet again, Heng Yuanjun looked at the black and white confrontation on the dilapidated chessboard, and it was impossible to pick up Fang Cai's clue again, so he got up alone and walked to the side under the swing frame to close his eyes and rest.

……

In Sanxi Hall, Zhen is still taking care of her husband all night as she did in Prince Gong's Mansion before.

He had less and less time to be awake.

In the sleeping state of Emperor Qitai, Zhen often sat on the edge of the bed and stared at him. His face was pale and blue, and he gritted his teeth from nightmares from time to time—and at every occasion, Zhen gently wiped his face with a hot towel to iron out his frowning brow.

The deserted escape of the night in the Heart Cultivation Hall gradually faded, and Zhen looked at her husband and only felt infinite pity.

Everything from the past resurfaced, his cowardice, his incomposure, and his dull thoughts...... These shortcomings seem to be clouded with a layer of water and blurred.

He's not a bad guy after all.

He was honest, he had never done anything unreasonable, and he had never made any truly irreparable mistakes - he knew that he was stupid, so he had always respected and humbled old ministers like Master Zhang and Master Sun.

He was cowardly, but he was aware of his cowardice. He can also cry and stand up when others need him.

He had no particular hobbies, never drank for pleasure with other princes, and was keen to be frugal in all sorts of minutiae - although Zhen once thought that this was just a deliberate attempt to please Emperor Jianxi.

But he pretended to be frugal all his life, so he was really thrifty.

…… And he also kept his promise to himself for the rest of his life.

All the preciousness suddenly became so obvious and prominent, Zhen suddenly felt that maybe he had indeed looked down on him a little in the past - this man's biggest misfortune was actually to become the son of Emperor Jianxi.

There are few people in the entire Great Zhou who can withstand the uncertain emperor, not to mention that as the only adult son of Emperor Jianxi, the pressure he is under is unimaginable to outsiders.

It was also in such an impenetrable oppression that he lost all the courage to resist, like a person who has always been on the verge of drowning, for fear that he would be sunk by the waves if he was not careful......

When Zhen thought of this, his heart was full of sighs for everything in the past.

Emperor Qitai, who was lying on the couch, seemed to be aware of Zhen's gaze, and he slowly opened his eyes and saw his wife sitting on the edge of the bed.

He didn't say anything, just squeezed Zhen's hand.

Today's Emperor Qitai seemed to be much more conscious, he didn't cry, he didn't shout, he didn't see any strange hallucinations, he just stared into Zhen's eyes.

The palace maid brought the medicinal food prepared by the imperial dining room, but Emperor Qitai was so weak that he could barely sit upright, and could only rely on more soft pillows under his head and shoulders to barely support his upper body.

Zhen fed him porridge, he didn't have much appetite, but he reluctantly drank a little bit.

After a while, he opened his mouth and signaled that he didn't want to eat anymore, and Zhen handed the bowl to the palace people on the side, helping him remove the pillow under his shoulders and lie down again.

"Junping, Junping......" Emperor Qitai muttered as he leaned on his side, he took Zhen's hand and put it on his face, "Don't ...... Don't look down on me...... I ......"

Zhen's hand trembled slightly, she lowered her eyes, and forcibly held back her tears.

"Forgive me...... Forgive me...... All right. ”

Zhen nodded, and she leaned over beside Emperor Qitai, her forehead lightly touching him.

“…… Want...... Forgive me......" Emperor Qitai was still whispering, "don't blame me...... I'm really ...... Too...... Scared...... Don't blame me ......"

Zhen hugged her husband's arm and shook her head to signal that he didn't have to say any more.

"I don't blame you," Zhen whispered, "I never blamed you......"

。