I couldn't believe my eyes.

The river is not turbulent, at this time it is more like a pool of still ice, the sun shines on the surface of the river and reflects a little light, shaking my eyes, I squinted slightly, only looking at the almost brilliant light, a flat boat slowly, towards us.

At the bow of the boat, there was also an emaciated figure, standing against the wind.

I stood at the head of the trestle, I couldn't move my footsteps, I don't know if it was because of the wind brought by the flat boat, the water waves were blowing, wave after wave of lapping on the river bank, the waves under the trestle gradually rose, and the splash of water almost wet the corners of my skirt.

The icy wetness came back to me as if I had wandered step by step by the river outside Kichijo Village that day and made that difficult decision.

I couldn't help but squeeze the corner of my skirt with one hand.

Han Zitong, who was standing on the side, was originally stunned and looked at the boat that had sailed to the center of the river, but at this time she felt something strange around her, turned her head to look at me, and looked at me almost distractedly, she frowned slightly, and looked at my pale face suspiciously.

At that moment, a thick wind curtain fell on my shoulders.

The warmth hit, but for some reason it made me tremble slightly, and when I turned around, I saw that Pei Yuanxiu had walked behind me for some reason, with a gentle smile on his face, he held my shoulders with both hands, and said softly: "Don't stand here, go back and sit." ”

Han Zitong on the side had already turned around and left silently.

I hesitated for a moment, and then looked back at the leaf boat that had sailed to the center of the river: "But-"

"You promised me, come today, you must be obedient."

“……”

"It's cold on the river, I don't want you to catch a cold."

“……”

"Qingying, obedient."

Under his gentle voice and strong palms, I knew that he would not let me stand at the head of the bridge to meet the ship today, so I finally relented, turned around and followed him step by step towards the pavilion.

When he walked over, he had already followed the attendants and walked to the trestle and waited quietly.

When we walked back to the pavilion, Han Ruoshi was sitting there, and when she saw us walking in, she gently put a cup of hot tea in front of me and said softly, "Sister, let's have a cup of tea." ”

"Thank you."

Speaking of which, I was indeed a little uneasy, not only did my heart beat hard, but my hands and feet were also very cold.

Just as I was picking up my teacup, I faintly heard a gust of wind, and something was leaning against the trestle.

The voices of the two squires were in the wind, and they sounded a little faint.

I was sitting with my back to the trestle, I couldn't see what was going on there, I only saw Han Zitong sitting opposite me with cold eyes, with a hint of sharpness looking behind me, her eyes moved slowly from far to near, and in the sound of the wind and water waves, she also seemed to hear a burst of footsteps, which was slowly approaching us.

The water in the teacup rippled slightly, almost overflowing.

Finally, the footsteps stopped behind me.

"Son, madam, two young ladies, Lord Yin Liu of Yangzhou Mansion has arrived."

As soon as the words fell, Pei Yuanxiu, Han Ruoshi, and Han Zitong all stood up one after another, and arched their hands behind me: "Lord Liu." ”

"Meet the two princesses of Jiangxia......"

The voice......

As soon as I heard this voice, I only felt as if someone had punched me in the chest, and my heart was about to burst.

This voice, low with a hint of hard texture, seems to be able to feel the roughness and fortitude of the rock from the words, obviously so familiar, but so far away, once accompanied by day/day, night and night, at this moment have become a world to meet, as if it is already the memory of a previous life.

As soon as I heard this sound, I only felt that the blood in my whole body was congealed into ice in an instant, and when it flowed again, I could almost hear the sound of blood rushing in my body, and it was like a drum in my ears, and the roar was endless.

After a while, I suddenly understood that it was the surging river.

Again, it's like my heartbeat.

I was still sitting there, motionless, holding the cup of tea in both hands, which was clearly placed on the table, but the tea was already overflowing with the trembling of my hands.

And as soon as I looked up, I saw Han Ruoshi standing opposite me.

At this time, she was looking at the person behind me, and I saw that her eyebrows were slightly frowned, and her eyes were full of shock, as if she had seen something very amazing and terrifying, and even Han Zitong next to her had her eyes wide.

They're - what's wrong?

I subconsciously wanted to turn back, but I found that my whole body was so stiff that I couldn't even move.

And by this time, the voice had sounded behind him again-

"Meet Childe."

Hearing this, Han Zitong was the first to react: "Childe? Lord Liu, as an official of the imperial court, don't you know who is in front of you?! ”

"Of course I do."

"Know? Then should you call Childe, or - Prince?! ”

The river became more and more urgent, and it hit the trestle, stirring up a splash more than one person high, as if the feeling of heartbeat at this moment was surging and intense.

I don't know why he can really cross the river alone, but before he crosses the river, he must and must think clearly about what he will face.

Then, a sigh that seemed to be chuckling was heard.

"Please forgive your sins."

Pei Yuanxiu didn't speak, the expression on his face was not so much calm as a kind of solidification, no matter what others said or did, it couldn't affect him, his eyes stared at the person in front of him, his eyebrows frowned slightly, and even slightly distorted.

I don't know what he saw that would make him so stunned.

"Of course, the official knows who is standing in front of him. It's just that a month ago, the current saint had issued a holy decree to make the emperor's eldest son the crown prince. When today's crown prince is the emperor's eldest son Pei Nianshen, as an official of the imperial court, he naturally understands the truth that there are no two days in the sky and no two kings in the country. The crown prince is also only one. ”

Han Ruoshi and Han Zitong both changed their faces.

As I listened, my heart chuckled.

Pei Yuanhao has already made Nian Shen the crown prince?!

……

For some reason, maybe I had such a guess in my heart for a long time, so I wasn't too surprised to hear the news, but I was also a little surprised.

When I left the palace, Chang Qing was already pregnant, and she should have given birth a long time ago, could it be that she gave birth to a princess? That's why Pei Yuanhao will have a deep thought?

For some reason, I feel a little uneasy.

When my heart was still a little chaotic, I had already heard his voice sound behind him again - "Please forgive my son." ”

It was only at this time that Pei Yuanxiu smiled faintly: "You are an official of the imperial court, and you act according to the rules of the imperial court, what is the crime?" ”

"Gongzi Xie."

With that, he paused, as if he was about to speak, but fell silent again.

For a while, the entire Wangjiang Pavilion was quiet, leaving only the sound of wind and water, filling the humid air around it.

I never looked back, I didn't even get up, in the eyes of others, I naturally didn't know how to advance or retreat, and now even with my back to him, I seemed to be able to feel his gaze on me, and there was a crisp/numb feeling behind me, which made me tremble slightly.

"This is—"

“……”

Finally, the time has come when we can't help but face it.

I stood up, took a deep breath, and slowly turned away.

The moment I met his gaze, I froze.

The man in front of me—

This person!

The person in front of him is Qinghan! Still the same as in memory, dark skin, bright eyes, rough and resolute temperament like rocks, these have not changed.

But his face-

I couldn't believe my eyes, but I couldn't believe it, what I saw in front of me was a large hideous and terrifying scar on his left cheek!

How so?

I thought I was wrong, blinked desperately, and even stepped forward to him, only to see more and more clearly the uneven scar on his face, which spread almost half of his forehead and the left half of his cheek, and the scar extended all the way to the corners of his eyes.

Fortunately, his eyes are still intact, but because of the intact and bright eyes, the scars around him are even more hideous and terrifying!

How, how could it be?

How so?!

No wonder just now, Han Ruoshi and Han Zitong's eyes were so shocked, they were both shocked by this scar!

But why would his face be—

I stared at the hideous wound on his face with stupid eyes wide, and suddenly, what Yang Jinqiao had said to me before flashed in my mind-

"In particular, he was injured."

"I heard that the palace went to water and poured a large hall, and he was in it, and he happened to be hit by a fallen beam, so-"

……

Could it be that this is what he was injured?!

This is why he burned the Jixian Hall in order to save me, and was hit by the fallen beams and pillars, and burned his face?!

"Why, it's ...... like this"

I looked at him, all the hatred, anger, and unwillingness that was constantly surging in my heart before came to naught at this moment, and only distress, sourness, helplessness, and bursts of heart.

No wonder......

No wonder, the people of Yangzhou City said that he was "as strong as a yaksha and as kind as a bodhisattva", and the original sentence was true.

The face is strong, like a yaksha...... Compassion, like a bodhisattva......

It turns out that Yaksha and Bodhisattva can exist in a person's body like this, but why-why is it you? Why are you, for my sake, being hurt like this?

At this moment, I only felt that my heart was wrenching, and I couldn't say anything, so I only subconsciously raised my hand, trembling and wanting to touch his face, wanting to know how much he was hurt and how much he suffered for me.

But as soon as I stretched out my hand, I was about to approach his cheek, when Qing Han suddenly frowned and took a step back, a look of displeasure flashed on his face, and he seemed to glare at me.

That glance was like a basin of cold water, pouring it head-on.

My sourness seemed to be extinguished by the cold look in my eyes, and my outstretched hand froze in the air, and I couldn't recover my senses.

He's - why is he looking at me like that?

Is he blaming me?

"Light—"

I was about to open my mouth to call him, but as soon as the words came out, I saw his face straightened, and then he waved at me: "Laugh." ”

Light Cold ......

I looked at his calm eyes, my heart was so painful that I couldn't speak, I almost couldn't hold back the tears in my eyes, and at this moment, he turned his head and asked Pei Yuanxiu: "I don't know who this one is-"