After several months of trekking, Li Chengqian, the crown prince of Qingguo, and his party finally returned to Kyoto from Yao. The official road outside Kyoto is not paved with loess, sprinkled with clear water, and the blue and black stone road is smoothly attached to the ground, welcoming the return of the prince, and the dense willows on both sides of the road nod slightly with the hot wind, signaling to the prince.

Outside the city gate, the prince was greeted by the Chinese military officials, as well as the three princes who remained in the capital, and after seeing the ceremony, the prince gently helped the two brothers and the younger brother, held hands and looked at each other, and said softly about the aftermath.

The eldest prince looked at the crown prince with concern, and confirmed that this difficult journey did not make this younger brother suffer too much, and Fang Shi was relieved. He, like everyone else, was wondering why his father handed over this mission to the crown prince, but his status was different from that of other people, and he was indifferent, so he didn't want to think too deeply.

And the second prince, who had been silent in the palace for nearly half a year, greeted the prince's return with his signature smile, but there were some other things in the smile, and the prince was immersed in his heart little by little. The prince smiled at him, nodded, and said nothing.

Li Chengqian took the third child's hand, looked at the quiet and well-behaved face of the little boy beside him, and couldn't help but sigh in his heart, the situation has developed to this day, but this youngest brother has faintly become his biggest opponent, which is really incomprehensible.

He suddenly thought of the new lord of Nanzhao Kingdom. It seemed to be as big as the third child, and his heart suddenly trembled. The hand holding the third prince was subconsciously loosened. But before his index finger was fully cocked, he reacted, and took the little hand gently and seriously.

The prince is clear. His third brother is much smarter than Nanzhao's snot countryman, and his teacher is Fan Xian. It's just that the eyes of the third prince looking at the crown prince seem so calm, far more calm than a child should be. And there was no other emotion.

Several dragons stood outside the city gate, each with their own thoughts, and the prince bowed his head slightly. Looking at the lonely shadows in the sun. I thought with some sadness. Father-son cannibalism seemed inevitable. Do siblings have to chop each other around?

......

......

The prince entered the palace, saluted, and returned the book. Knock on the emperor and return to the palace.

The procedure was as normal and smooth as the regulations of the Ministry of Rites and the Second Temple, and there was no problem, at least no one would notice that His Majesty the Emperor and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince had the slightest abnormality. It's just that people noticed. His Majesty seemed to be a little tired, and did not leave the prince to talk more in the Taiji Palace. It's not at all like the look that a son who hasn't been for nearly half a year should look like when he comes home. He let the prince go back to the East Palace.

Under the leadership of Eunuch Yao. The crown prince came to the gate of the East Palace, and he looked up at the East Palace, which had been renovated. I couldn't help but sigh in surprise, this beautiful palace was burned by myself that day. It's only been a few months, and it's been restored again...... It seems that the father really doesn't make things too sensational.

He was suddenly stunned, turned back to Eunuch Yao and asked, "This palace ...... I want to go and say goodbye to the Queen Mother for a while, I don't know if it's okay?"

Eunuch Yao was stunned for a moment, he was responsible for sending His Highness back to the East Palace, and naturally he was secretly monitoring His Majesty's consciousness. It is important to ensure that the prince returns to the palace. It can only be in the palace. This is tantamount to a disguised house arrest, but the prince suddenly asked. With this kind of reason, Eunuch Yao couldn't say anything at all.

He smiled wryly. Slowly leaned down, and replied slightly: "Your Highness has scared the slaves, you are the master, and you are going to see the Queen Mother." How do you ask the minions?"

The prince smiled bitterly and didn't say anything. pushed open the door of the East Palace, but when he entered, he subconsciously glanced at the location of Guangxin Palace. He knew that his aunt had been confined in the royal courtyard, guarded by the people of the Supervision Yuan, and that he was very familiar with the Guangxin Palace...... It was already empty, but he couldn't help but look greedily over there.

Eunuch Yao watched the prince's expression carefully and unobtrusively.

But the prince looked at that place as if he didn't exist at all—he thought to himself, there are always so many demonic obstacles in the world. But he didn't know who was enchanted, who was crazy, he thought of what his aunt said, his heart began to beat, yes, people are crazy, the world is crazy, everyone in the royal family has a crazy factor, if you want to have this world, you must be crazy to the end.

Self-sustaining by madness. He turned around again and smiled gently at Eunuch Yao. Then he closed the gate of the East Palace.

According to the theory, the action of closing the door is naturally done by the palace maid and eunuch. It's just that today's eunuchs and maids in the East Palace are far less than the number of people rated in the etiquette system, a few months ago, hundreds of eunuchs and maids disappeared in the entire palace for no reason, no one knows where they went, and the prince knew that they went underground...... Although the current East Palace has been supplemented with many eunuchs and palace maids, these novices are obviously a little nervous.

With so many dead people in the palace, naturally they couldn't hide it for long, but none of the courtiers dared to ask without a long eye, first, this was not their business, and the courtiers were also afraid of death.

Along the way, there were palace maids and eunuchs knocking on the ground to ask for peace, but no one dared to come forward and wait.

The prince laughed self-deprecatingly, entered the main hall, and then ......

He frowned and sniffled, for he smelled a very strong smell of wine, and the disgusting smell of wine floated in the most noble palace of the Qing Kingdom.

The light in the hall was a little dim, only a few high-rise lamps were lit, Li Chengqian was stunned, and returned to his gaze, only to see a familiar woman lying on the couch, on the side of the screen, the large leaf fan of the inner library was shaking one by one, fanning the breeze, dispelling the suffocating smell in the hall.

The woman was dressed in a sumptuous palace dress, but the decoration was very bad, her hair was a little shaggy, she was carrying a wine jug in her hand, and she was pouring wine into her mouth, and her eyebrows were full of haggard and despair.

Pulling the big leaf fan was a small eunuch who couldn't see clearly.

Li Chengqian frowned in disgust, but then sighed. There was a hint of tenderness and pity in his eyes. Go ahead. He knew why the queen mother had become the way she was. is also disgusted with the other party's usual pretending to be mysterious, but once the incident happened, she was flustered, but she was her mother after all.

"Mother. The child is back. ”

The half-drunk queen was startled. I rubbed my eyes and looked at it for a long time. Only then did he see clearly that the young man in front of him was his own son. After a while, he suddenly burst out crying and staggered to his feet. threw himself in front of the prince, hugged him, and cried, "It's good to be back." It's good to be back. ”

The prince hugged his mother's body. Harmony smiled and said, "It's been a few months." Worried the mother. ”

A glimmer of joy flashed in the queen's eyes. Inarticulate said, "It's good to be alive." Just ...... I thought...... I'll never see you again...... Finish. ”

Since His Majesty sent the crown prince to Nanzhao, the queen's mind has been immersed in despair, and she and the emperor have been husband and wife for twenty years. Of course, I know how desperate and terrifying the man on the dragon chair is. She thought that the prince would go south this time. It's hard to come back. At this time, I saw the living son. I couldn't help but be overjoyed, and found a glimmer of hope in despair.

The prince smiled self-deprecatingly, hugged his mother, patted her on the back, and comforted her. To this day, the empress does not know why the emperor suddenly gave up on the crown prince, and the prince did not tell her the truth. The royal family is crazy though. But in terms of filial piety, it's not bad.

Therefore, the prince did not plan to tell his mother how many dangers he had encountered along the way. How much difficulty. If it weren't for someone secretly helping. Even if I can come back alive. I'm afraid that it will linger on the sickbed. It's hard to come back again.

Not long after. The half-drunk queen gradually fell asleep in the prince's arms, and the prince carried her to the couch. Pull on a very thin embroidered scarf. With a wave of his hand, he stopped the action of the eunuch who pulled the big leaf fan. I took a round palace fan and began to fan the queen carefully.

I don't know how long it took to fan. After confirming that the mother is asleep. The crown prince threw down the round palace fan. Sitting on the couch in a daze, he buried his head deep between his knees, and never raised his head for a long time.

......

......

He looked up. His face turned slightly pale, his eyes drifted to the side, looking at the only eunuch in this empty and lonely palace, and asked, "Niangniang often drinks these days?"

"Yes. The little eunuch stepped out of the shadows. He knelt down and bowed very respectfully.

Seeing the eunuch lift up and pet the ground, the prince was taken aback. He frowned. He mocked and said: "There are more than 100 people in an East Palace, and now you are still alive." ”

That eunuch is not someone else, it is the eunuch who was the head of the Didong Palace, Hong Zhu. A trace of guilt appeared on Hong Zhu's face, and he lowered his head and didn't say anything. That's it. The entire underground people in the East Palace were all exterminated by the emperor's order, and he was the only one alive. All the truths have been stated.

Although Hong Zhu has never told the emperor to secret, he has told Fan Xian, and all these things seem to have started because of this, so the guilt on Hong Zhu's face is not a lie, he is in the East Palace, the queen and the crown prince are good to him, especially the queen is extremely gentle to him, these days, he is strictly ordered by His Majesty to secretly serve and monitor the queen. Watching how this mother of the country turned from disappointment to despair, anesthetizing herself with alcohol day and night, it was inevitable that a little unbearable arose in my heart.

The prince looked at him quietly, suddenly laughed sadly, and said to himself: "I thought you had offended Fan Xian, but my father drove you over, it turned out that ...... The palace forgot that you are a native of the imperial study after all...... Is the enmity between you and the Duke of real?"

"Really. Hong Zhu bowed his head and replied: "It's just that the slaves are the people of Qingguo, so naturally the order of His Majesty comes first." ”

For some reason, the prince suddenly became furious. grabbed something next to him and smashed it, scolding: "You castration." and call themselves people!"

The thing he threw out was the round fan he had fanned the queen before, and he didn't smash Hong Zhu lightly, but floated down beside Hong Zhudi, and landed on the hem of the eunuch's clothes.

The crown prince was afraid of waking up the mother queen, so he calmed down his breath with great difficulty, and looked at Hong Xiu with resentment: "It seems that Your Majesty really likes you...... Knowing such a big thing, I actually saved your dog's life. ”

Hong Zhu kowtowed twice, and asked with some doubts, "Your Highness, what's the matter?"

The crown prince came to his senses, and after being silent for a long time, he suddenly said: "Now that the Didong Palace is no longer what it used to be, what are you still doing here? If you want to leave, I will go and tell my father." ”

Hong Zhu's face was a little hesitant, and after a while, he gritted his teeth and said, "Minion...... I want to stay in the East Palace. ”

"Stay in the East Palace to monitor?" the prince lowered his voice and sneered: "The whole palace is full of eyeliner, do you care about more of you?"

The situation has developed to this day, and the crown prince knows that His Majesty is going to abolish himself after all. In that case, why are you still acting in this secret palace?

"The minion wants to serve the queen. ”

The prince was silent for a while, then suddenly sighed. A look of pity appeared on his face, and he looked at Hong Zhu and said, "Xiu'er is also dead?"

Kneeling on the ground, Hong Zhu's body trembled. After a long time, he nodded sadly.

......

......

"In the past few months, what has happened in the palace?" the prince looked at Hong Zhu quietly, asking a question that would never be answered.

Hong Zhu was silent for a long time, and then said, "Your Majesty has been to Hanguang Hall several times, and every time you come out, you are not very happy. ”

The prince smiled, his mood was a little lighter, and he looked at Hong Zhu appreciatively and said, "Thank you." ”

Hong Zhu lowered his head and said, "The slave doesn't dare." ”

The prince sat on the edge of the couch and began to think. The father obviously did not tell the Queen Mother the truth about this matter. Although the emperor dominates the world and no one dares to stop him, an emperor like his father is still troubled by a trace of mental ties.

For example, the ground is like straw paper, such as the word filial piety.

Qingguo pays attention to ruling the world with filial piety. The emperor put a cage on himself.

Li Chengqian clenched his fists slightly, knowing that he still had some time, and his father would abolish himself and still need time to arrange his speech. Even if the eight divisions of the Supervision Yuan want to create that kind of noise. It's not that simple, either.

――――――――――――――――――――――

"Xiu'er is dead, I don't know how Hong Zhu feels. Fan Xian said softly: "If it was an ordinary eunuch, maybe I wouldn't think too much, but I know that Hong Zhu has never been a simple eunuch. He has read books and opened his mind. That's why he talks about grievances and attaches great importance to affection...... Let's talk about it. The reason why Xiu'er was killed was my problem, it was his problem, it was the two of us who single-handedly caused the deaths of hundreds of people in the palace. ”

He frowned: "For His Majesty's ruthlessness, it seems that our imagination is still lacking. Well, even if Hong Zhu doesn't hate me, he definitely hates himself, so won't there be any trouble?"

He said yes again, and then said sadly, "But I was always responsible for the deaths of those hundreds...... Yes. I'm a very weak and ruthless person, but after all, I'm not a monster like Uncle Wuzhu, and I still feel weird in my heart. I used to tell Haitang that if I kill dozens of people or hundreds of people, I may not blink my eyes, but I can't be an emperor because I can't do tens of thousands of people die in front of me, and I can remain calm. ”

"The emperor wants to abolish the crown prince, which I secretly influenced...... Of course, even if I don't affect it. Eventually, this will erupt. Fan Xian shook his head, "But now I want to ask the emperor not to abolish the crown prince so quickly." Why? Isn't that boring and ridiculous? What am I afraid of?"

"After the fire cooks the oil, it's the leftovers ......of the cold pot," he laughed self-deprecatingly, "If the crown prince and the second princess are finished, I will be the leftovers, even if Your Majesty really loves me and is willing to take me to the next big world...... But you know, I'm a pacifist, well, a hypocritical pacifist, I don't like wars, and I've done so much in the past two years, isn't it just to stay where I am?"

"So I have to drag it out, at least until I'm ready, I can't let the emperor enter the track of preparing for war, and when the time comes, let the boss lead the army, let me be the prison army, and kill the Northern Qi Dongyi, and the sword will be full of dead souls...... This kind of iron-blooded day feels sad when I think about it. ”

"This is the main contradiction that lurks, you know the ground. ”

After Fan Xian said this, he put away the piece of paper in front of him, put him back in the box, and then began to sigh, annoyed by his curiosity, and every time he couldn't help but take out his mother's letter and read it again, but every time he read it, he was troublesome to death.

He was in Hangzhou at this time, in Huayuan, and the big box at the door was still open, and the snowflake silver inside was shining beautifully.

Like Fan Shangshu, he also learned to speak to a piece of paper, but his father was looking at the portrait, and he didn't have that ability, so he had to speak to the letter.

There are a lot of things that can't be said to people, and the only few people who can speak are not around, so Fan Xian is very hard, and for a while in the past, he even regarded Wang Qinian as the best listener, but in order to keep Old Man Wang from being scared by his own words and becoming a myocardial infarction, he finally stopped the mental torture of Lao Wang.

Uncle Wuzhu is not there, if he is not there, Wan'er is not there, Haitang is not there, even if there are thousands of words, who will he confide in?

Fan Xian began to gradually feel the sense of loneliness, the meaning that the old lady was very lonely.

And he also had unprecedented self-suspicion about his second life.