"Why did Your Highness bring your ministers here—"

Outside the Chongwen Hall of the East Palace, the prince motioned for the chamberlain to step forward and open the door, and replied to Xiao Mu's words: "This place is quiet, and it is suitable to talk to Xiao Jie's envoy." ”

Xiao Mu didn't say a word when he heard this, and followed the prince in.

The people of the palace were signaled, but they only stayed outside the door and did not follow.

"When I was a child, I was studying here, and it was very lively every day." The prince's eyes looked around the hall: "In recent years, I have never set foot here again, although there are often palace people who sweep it, but sure enough, only the eyes are full of desertion." ”

Xiao Mu also raised his eyes.

At this time, the Chongwen Pavilion in the night is very different from the place where he remembers to study—the change of scenery is secondary, and the change of mood may be the root cause.

"I still remember this plum tree, Xia Cicada especially likes to be noisy here, and the palace people can't catch up." The prince looked at the lush tree under the corridor, and there was a hint of a smile between his eyebrows: "When I read in the morning, my voice was weaker, and the young master wanted to say that the young man Langjun was studying, and his strength couldn't even compare to the cicada's song, how to govern the country and assist the government in the future——"

So, they howled loudly, making the young master uneasy, and they wanted to cover their ears but felt that they couldn't stand Fang Cai's precepts, so they could only keep their faces unchanged - Xiao Mu also remembered.

He always took a step behind the prince, and the two walked into the corridor and stood still under the corridor.

"The matter of Jiaque is over, and this sword is returned to His Highness." Xiao Mu presented the sword.

The prince lowered his eyes and looked at the sword, but said, "No need, this is not my thing." ”

Xiao Mu was slightly stunned, and his movements did not change for a while.

"Xiao Jie's envoy can dispose of it himself." The prince said again.

"Yes." Xiao Mu withdrew his hand and held the sword at his side.

"Does Xiao Jie know who Immortal Master Puzhen is?" The prince asked suddenly.

"The minister only knows that he is extremely trusted by the saints, and as for the rest, he is not clear."

The prince said: "Then the envoy of the Xiao Festival can guess——"

Hearing this, Xiao Mu looked at him.

The four looked at each other for a moment, and the prince nodded slightly: "That's right, Immortal Master Puzhen is the henchman I arranged by my father's side earlier." ”

Xiao Mu was slightly surprised.

What surprised him was not the sentence itself, but the fact that the prince chose to speak directly with him about such things at this time.

"My father has been ill for several years." The prince looked at the night outside the corridor and said slowly: "Under the long-term treatment, people will always become more and more irritable and drowsy...... In the past two years, due to illness, my father has made many wrong decisions, and there are more people with other intentions around him. Later, my father even pinned his hopes on Fangshu, thinking about the court and myself—so I arranged for Puzhen Immortal Master to appear in front of my father. Gain the trust of my father and act as my eyes and ears. ”

The prince said, his eyebrows narrowed slightly, and his voice lowered: "I have never been a pure and good person, and I also have selfish calculations. ”

"Your Highness is the prince." Xiao Mu said in a calm tone: "You don't need to be pure and good as a monarch, and if you don't have the means, you can't protect yourself, let alone protect the common people." ”

Even in the highest position, it is the fault of pure goodness and mediocrity.

The prince turned his head to look at him: "I can't hide it, I think so too." ”

They looked at each other, and they both smiled silently.

After a while, the crown prince gradually put away his smile: "At first, I arranged for Master Puzhen Immortal to come to my father's side, just to prevent my father from being too addicted to the magic pill and mistakenly believing others. But just a few days ago, Immortal Master Puzhen made a guess to me...... The emperor's illness may have been deliberately done. ”

This time, Xiao Mu's accident was real: "Someone poisoned and murdered? ”

"And this poison is very clever and obscure...... If it weren't for the fact that Puzhen Immortal Master was good at alchemy and knew some out-of-the-way medical theories, he would not have noticed it easily. The prince's tone was a little solemn: "How long has my father been sick, how long has this poison been laid...... For several years, the patience and means of the other party are very comparable. ”

Xiao Mu Zhengse asked: "Your Highness, can you know who is poisoned at the moment?" ”

The prince shook his head: "When I first learned about this, I didn't dare to startle the snake, but now I just secretly checked whether there were any suspicious people in the palace around my father, and then I went to investigate the people behind the scenes——"

"Does Your Highness have any doubters?" Xiao Mu asked again.

"Don't hide it from Xiao Jie's envoy-" The prince smiled slightly bitterly and said self-deprecatingly: "Since I learned about this, the people I saw at the moment, from my siblings to ordinary palace people, all felt suspicious and untrustworthy. If you think about it this way, you may also become the suspicious and hateful monarch in the future. ”

Xiao Mu: "Suspicious people never think that they are suspicious, Your Highness is sensitive to self-reflection and will not become them." ”

The prince looked at him, and after a moment, smiled: "I hope so." ”

Xiao Mu lowered his eyes slightly: "Your Highness can't trust anyone now, why do you want to speak clearly to your ministers?" The suspicion of the minister is no less than anyone else. ”

"No, Xiao Jie's envoy is different from others after all." The crown prince turned sideways, looked at Xiao Mu, and said, "Besides, I know that Xiao Jie, like me, is extremely difficult to trust anyone now, and he can't even trust me-"

"My words, or since I stepped into this Chongwen Pavilion, or even earlier, my every move, word and deed, in the eyes of Xiao Jie's envoy, are all suspicious, with ulterior intentions, and it is worth thinking about and being vigilant again-"

"It's normal for Xiao Jieji to feel this way." Speaking of this, the prince's voice was slightly low: "If I were Xiao Jie's envoy, I would definitely be like this, even more than that." Even if you don't mention that the road ahead was too bumpy, just saying that in this world, people's hearts are changeable, which is the norm. ”

"But it doesn't matter." There was a heavy guilt and indebtedness in his eyes when he looked at Xiao Mu, and a trace of happiness that was difficult to suppress, that gaze no longer seemed to be looking at a prince general, or even a courtier-

"The coming day is long, and one day, I will let Xiao Jie's envoy believe in me again." The prince finally said.

Xiao Mu, who had been just listening, never spoke.

He raised his hand holding the sword and silently saluted the man in front of him.

At the moment, he couldn't say anything more, and he didn't need to say more.

Although he has seen and heard, or all appearances, he has any chance to make a mistake, and the road under his feet cannot be wrong for half a step.

Only time and truth can guide him.

The cool breeze passed through the corridor, the branches and leaves outside the corridor made a rustling sound, and the shadows of the moonlit trees swayed and fell on the two people in the corridor.

After saluting, Xiao Mu slowly withdrew from the corridor.

Looking at the figure walking away, the prince did not leave for a long time.

On this night, the mourning lights in the palace were bright.

After returning from the crown princess, Hengyu fulfilled his promise and stayed overnight with the county lord of Jiayi and stayed in the East Palace.

The next day, the mourning music in the palace began, and the funeral was carried out in an orderly manner.

After waking up, the county lord of Jiayi's mood was much calmer, and he was no longer as uneasy as yesterday.

Thinking that tomorrow would be the day he agreed to meet Yan Ming, Heng Yu thought about it and didn't want to stay in the palace anymore, and was about to leave the palace, but saw his brother hurriedly looking for him.

"Ah Heng! Yongyang Eldest Princess's Mansion, I'm afraid something has happened-"

------Off topic------

The second update time is not guaranteed, after all, it is really slow to write...... Let's see tomorrow morning~

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