That day, before dawn, Shen Zi'an was woken up by a commotion outside the house, and only heard a series of laughter, saying, "Get up quickly!" The door was slammed open. Before he could get up, a swarthy figure rushed in front of him and made a gesture to lift the quilt. Just when Shen Zi'an was sleepy and confused, Mother Li also followed into the house and told repeatedly, "Little young master, slow down, be careful of tripping!" Then he lit the candle next to the bed.

"Changjing?" Only then did Shen Zi'an see the visitor clearly, and saw the child standing next to the bedside with his hair tied up, wearing a frost-colored silk robe, with a little baby fat on his childish face, and the excitement in his eyes was almost overflowing. "When is this time, you go away and let me sleep again." As soon as Shen Zi'an closed his eyes, he was about to retract back into the quilt again. Seeing this, Mother Li walked straight over, took him out, and said, "It's already five or three o'clock, if the young master can't afford it again, the master will enter the palace by himself." Shen Zi'an listened, and had no choice but to sit up and ask Li's mother to help dress and wash.

After cleaning up, Shen Zi'an still felt dizzy and his feet were weak, and the energy that begged his father for entering the palace last night had already been thrown out of the clouds, and he just wanted to get back into bed and meet Zhou Gong again. Mei Changjing didn't care about the sleepy insect with a dull face beside him, and ran to the guest hall lively, walked a few steps, and when he looked back, Shen Zi'an had already fallen far away, staggering, moving three times at a time, as if he was about to fall asleep on the ground. "Hey!" Mei Changjing was so anxious that he stomped his feet, walked back quickly, grabbed Shen Zi'an and dragged him forward, and kept muttering, "I haven't seen you since I was a child, your father and eldest brother, and my father, but they are all waiting, you are good, your eyelids are almost glued together!" ”

Pushing and shoving all the way, I finally arrived at the hall. Shen Xiao and Mei Ye were talking very happily, and Shen Zizheng was also waiting aside, interjecting from time to time. The two visited their parents separately, Mei Ye took Shen Zi'an to his side, took his hand, and said with a smile: "The tiger father has no dogs, and Brother Shen's sons are getting better and better." It's just that I'm stupid by nature, Zi'an, you are the same age, and I will trouble you to take care of him more in the future. Shen Xiao laughed, "Brother Mei, what are you talking about!" Shen Zi'an raised his face to look at his father, and then at his eldest brother, at a loss for a while. Looking left and right, he suddenly saw Mei Changjing on the side, pouted angrily, tilted his head and rolled his eyes, staring at him directly. Seeing this, Shen Zi'an couldn't help but burst out laughing, deliberately putting on a complacent look, raising his face and looking at Changjing from top to bottom. The provocative eyes were so angry that Mei Changjing almost jumped up, so he rushed to his father, tore Shen Zi'an's hand away, and said, "Daddy, it's time to go." Mei Ye's face sank, thinking about how this kid was so ignorant, so he wanted to teach a lesson, Shen Zizheng saw this, and hurriedly stepped forward to play a round and said: "Uncle, it's really not early, the carriage and horses outside the door have been prepared, why don't we leave now?" Mei Ye sighed, ignored Mei Changjing, and went straight out with Shen Xiao to get into the car.

Because the Son of Heaven has always been simple and complicated, Shen Xiao only ordered people to prepare two carriages. Since Mei Ye and Shen Xiao had already taken the first car together, Mei Changjing hesitated in front of the door for a long time, so he had to get into another car indignantly. Sitting down, Shen Zizheng looked at the two stinky boys in front of him, especially one of them, who looked out of the window with a face and anger, and couldn't help but have a headache. After thinking about it, he was still relieved, and said: "The palace is not like other places, the discipline is strict, and you can't make mistakes." You must remember that from the first step into the palace gate, you do not take many steps or say a word. Zi'an, you follow me closely, and Changjing follows Uncle Mei together. If an adult asks you something, don't be awkward, how to answer and how to answer, understand? Hearing this, and then looking at the gradually receding neighborhood scene outside the window, Shen Zi'an finally became excited in hindsight, and said with a smile: "Brother, don't worry!" Mei Changjing still puffed out her cheeks, unwilling to deal with these two people. Seeing that he didn't speak, Shen Zi'an stretched out his fingers and smashed his arm, and asked tentatively, "Changjing?" What happened to you? Unexpectedly, Mei Changjing shook his arm violently, and simply twisted his whole body and turned his back to Shen Zi'an. When Shen Zi'an saw him like this, he was also annoyed, and he turned his back with a snort.

Shen Zizheng felt that his head hurt even more.

There was no word all the way, until the pedestrians outside the window gradually became scarce, the carriage stopped, and the coachman came and opened the curtain, and said, "Three sons, please get off." The awkward atmosphere eased slightly. Shen Zizheng took his younger brother's hand and followed behind his father, Mei Changjing also pouted, and reluctantly grabbed Mei Ye's clothes. Shen Xiao arched his hand, "Brother Mei, please." Mei Ye didn't shirk either, and said "please" repeatedly, and entered the Fengtian City Gate with Shen Xiao.

Shen Zi'an trotted all the way, barely able to keep up with his father and brother's steps. Looking around, I saw that there were neatly lined up on both sides of the road with black carved dragon stone pillars that could not be seen at a glance, and the buildings on both sides were blue tiles and yellow walls, which were neat and tidy. After walking like this for a long time, he entered another door, and wrote the word "Cheng Qian", and then entered the palace inside. The front suddenly opened up, and the Praetorian Guards wearing gray armor stood along the road with halberds on their faces, with a majestic face, Shen Zizheng lowered his head and whispered: "In front is the Chengqian Palace, which is the place where the ministers of the Son of Heaven will discuss state affairs. Shen Zi'an looked up, the dome of the hall not far away was towering, with black glazed tiles, brick and red walls, corridor waists, and high eaves and teeth, which was really majestic.

There were already several people in front of the hall, Shen Xiao and the others straightened their clothes, and were about to step forward, but there was a shout behind them, "Lord Shen and Master Mei are really early." Looking back, it was Chu Lian, the younger brother of the Queen of Chu, and several people hurriedly stepped forward and said, "Uncle Chu." Chu Lian looked down at Shen Zi'an, who was standing behind the eldest brother, and asked, "I have long heard that Lord Shen has three sons in his family, all of whom are extraordinary, who is this little son?" Shen Xiao was just about to open his mouth, but saw Shen Zi'an take a step forward and salute: "If you return to your uncle, the cheapest son's surname is Shen, his name is Zi'an, he is five years old, and he ranks third in the family." Chu Lian was very surprised when he saw that he was young, but he was articulate and generous, and thought that this child would become a great weapon in the future. So he squatted down and wanted to ask something more, but he saw a little eunuch running over in a hurry and said, "The emperor has an order, please go to the back garden, you don't have to wait here." Chu Lian listened, so he had no choice but to give up.

Shen Xiao was busy greeting people, and the task of taking care of Shen Zi'an naturally fell on Shen Zizheng's head. It's just that although Shen Zizheng is the eldest brother, he is still young, and he is a high-ranking and powerful person, once he talks, he naturally doesn't dare to slack off, so he has to rack his brains and resist left and right, so he has no time to take care of the third brother, and accidentally let go of his hand. Shen Zi'an was a small man, and after a while, he mixed in the crowd, and he couldn't see his brother or father, so he was left alone not long after. When I was anxious, I saw a child walking not far in front of me, looking like Mei Changjing from the perspective of clothing and figure. Shen Zi'an was overjoyed, and hurriedly rushed over, feeling that he was finally saved. Who knows, although it looks like there is only a stone's throw away, the paths in the palace are intricate, and you actually get lost when you go around and around. "It's over!" Shen Zi'an was panicked, his heart was beating like a drum, and he looked around, but there was no one, so he had to walk forward, hoping to meet a palace maid or eunuch so that he could be sent back.

I don't know how long I walked, around the green pines, a palace was finally exposed, a bird cried, flowers fell on the ground, the bushes were complicated, and the courtyard was full of depression. Seeing this, Shen Zi'an didn't know whether to get close to here for a while. When he was hesitating, he only heard the sound of crisp music, so he stomped his feet to give himself courage and walked in. Following the music, around the corridor, a young man wearing a jade crown and plain clothes was sitting on the mossy steps, holding a leaf in his hand and playing it in his mouth. Hearing that someone was coming, the young man turned his head, and Shen Zi'an saw his appearance clearly. The nose is like a hanging beam, the mouth is like Zhu Dan, a pair of peach blossom eyes are like cold stars, and two sword eyebrows are like paint.

So he stepped forward and asked, "This brother, do you know how to go to the back garden?" The boy did not answer, but raised his eyebrows, squinted at him, and opened his mouth for a long time, "Who are you?" Shen Zi'an realized that he had messed up the etiquette, so he bowed deeply and said: "Brother forgive, under Shen Zi'an, the son of Dingyuan General Shen Xiao, today he originally entered the palace with his father and brother to enjoy the flowers, but he was separated unexpectedly." Dare to ask my brother's name? ”

The boy sneered, "Who did I say?" It turned out to be the son-in-law of Lord Shen's family. If you hadn't been separated, how could you have come to my Changming Palace. ”

Shen Zi'an heard the words "Changming Palace", and suddenly remembered that his father had mentioned at home that this was the residence of the second prince Gu Xuan, so he quickly knelt on the ground and bowed his head and said: "Zi'an is stupid, I offended His Highness, and I hope that His Highness Haihan." Gu Xuan raised his eyes and looked at the round child in front of him, not only saluting clumsily, but also speaking official clichés in a matter-of-fact manner, he couldn't help but feel ridiculous and cute, and the corners of his mouth couldn't help but hook. But when he thought of visiting the garden today, his father still didn't think of himself, and his expression darkened again.

Shen Zi'an saw that his face was back to loneliness, and he couldn't bear it, so he got up from the ground and sat on the stone steps tentatively, seeing that he didn't care, he moved a little more to his side, and asked softly: "Your Highness is sad that this spring color in the city has nothing to do with you?" Gu Xuan's body trembled, his whole body was numb, he turned his head sharply to look at the child in front of him, and said in a low voice: "You are bold!" Shen Zi'an was not afraid, "Your Royal Highness is a prince, but no one in the palace has come to visit, and no one has cleaned it, and even the stone steps have moss." The Mo Sang flowers in the imperial city are in full bloom, but His Royal Highness is just sitting here secretly hurting himself, and the reason is self-evident. ”

Gu Xuan was shocked, only to say that the delicate mind of this yellow-mouthed child was even intimidating. He knew that there were some things he couldn't say to outsiders, but the children in front of him were smiling, cute in winter, exquisite, and could say a word, and he was really depressed in his heart. He lowered his head and pondered for a while, and said, "Since I was born, I have never won the favor of my father. The sorcerer said that I would kill my father and my brother in the end, and my father also thought that I was a wolf and had a cold nature. The queen was wary of me everywhere, and my mother was also coldly scolded. My eldest brother Gu Heng has been reading with me since I was seven years old, and I have been carefully taught by my master, I am ten years old this year, and I have not read a few books. Actually, I don't want to fight with my eldest brother at all, let alone be a monarch, I just want to see my father smile at me. Speaking of this, Gu Xuan smiled self-deprecatingly, "The Shen family is famous for their fatherly and maternal love, brothers, friends and brothers, what am I talking to you for, you don't understand." ”

Shen Zi'an looked at him in a daze, only feeling extremely distressed. couldn't help but take Gu Xuan's hand, let go of his tightly twisted fingers, and said softly: "I only know that the royal supremacy is supreme, and I never thought that there would be such a sad thing." It's just that every family has a scripture that is difficult to read, and I am not as carefree as His Highness thinks. My mother died because of my birth and me, and soon after my death, my father straightened the side room, and Aunt Jia treated me as her own, but in the end she was not as kind as her mother. The Shen family has been a military general for generations, and my generation should be like this, but I have been weak since I was a child, and I am afraid that I will not be able to take on this heavy responsibility. Although my father and brother didn't force it, I couldn't let go of it. And ......"

Seeing that Shen Zi'an wanted to speak and stopped, Gu Xuan asked without thinking, "And what?" ”

"And it's my mother who killed me."

Gu Xuan hurriedly hooked his shoulders and said loudly: "Don't think like this, birth, old age, sickness and death are human nature, how can I blame you!" ”

Shen Zi'an said with a smile, "Obey Your Highness's words and don't think about it anymore." I just hope that His Royal Highness will be relieved, how can there be a father in the world who does not love his children, if His Royal Highness wants to please the king, he can't cry and mourn every day. As he spoke, he took off the jade bead hanging around his neck from his clothes and stuffed it into Gu Xuan's hand, "This bead was asked for by my father for me, saying that it can keep people safe." I give it to Your Highness, may the gods bless you. ”

The two of them were talking on their knees, but Shen Xiao was in a hurry. Shen Zizheng found that his younger brother had disappeared after a long time, and he didn't dare to alarm his father, so he hurriedly sent someone to find him. When Shen Xiao came to ask, the third son had not been found, and the eldest son hesitated and did not dare to speak, so angry that he sighed. It was almost evening, and a palace maid found Shen Zi'an in Chang'an Palace, and when she saw that Gu Ying was also there, she hurriedly saluted, and then leaned over to Shen Zi'an and said, "Son, come with me, Lord Shen is in a hurry." Shen Zi'an then remembered what he was doing today, and stood up in fright. The palace maid took his hand and walked out, Shen Zi'an walked a few steps, turned around, and found that Gu Xuan was still looking at him, so he squeezed his eyebrows and grimaced. Gu Xuan looked indifferent, turned around and entered the house, and the child flattened his mouth and obediently followed the palace maid.

Gu Xuan didn't take off his shoes, and fell on the bed all of a sudden. His eyes were fixed on the roof for a long time, and he burst out laughing.

"Childish."