Autumn goes to winter, and the world is cold.

No matter how the outside world changes, it seems that there will always be only one color in Akiyama Alley.

It's not black that soaks into the bones, it's not white that is dazzling and pure, but it's gray that covers the sky.

Obviously, there are trees and flowers in the alley, but even in spring and summer, it is a gray and isolated gray when you fall into the eyes.

In the innermost courtyard, a young man in his early twenties, dressed in a short jacket and holding a long axe, stood in the corner of the courtyard to chop wood.

His movements are very standard, his power is very good, and he is clean and neat with an axe.

"Yes, Father."

Or maybe it was the death of the eldest prince that dealt too much blow to his father, so it was difficult for him to make up his mind to experience a white-haired person to a black-haired person again.

The critical period of Li Zongjian's growth was precisely the most difficult stage for Li Duan, probably from ascending the throne to becoming emperor two years ago.

Li Duan continued: "I know that you are not angry in your heart, and think that I am too mean to you, and I don't have the slightest father-son affection. Before you complain about me, you should think about it, you have always thought about the word family affection. Aside from me and your two brothers, you should know how the queen treats you, although I don't like her doting on you very much, but you should put filial piety to the queen first, but how do you do it? ”

The young man turned his head suddenly, his expression was slightly stunned, and he hesitated: "Second brother? ”

Li Zongjian forced himself to calm down, thought for a while and replied: "Father, the son has indeed done a lot of wrong things, but the son has never been disobedient...... Yes, Erchen coveted the position of the prince with a desire for profit, and even did the stupid thing of sending someone to assassinate Lu Shen on the street, which was indeed a disobedient act from this matter, but Erchen was just unwilling and never thought that it would be unfavorable to his father. Ning Yuanfu and others conspired to rebel, if their sons were in the same league with them, wouldn't they be disloyal and unfilial? ”

Since it is a forbidden place, there will definitely not be too good conditions, and the furnishings in the house are very simple, nothing more than tables, chairs and benches, and there is not even a decent central hall.

"Third brother."

"Son-in-law, see father!"

And Li Duan obviously didn't have much energy to take care of Li Zongjian, so he could only hand him over to Empress Xu to bring up, so he developed a bad temperament that was completely different from that of the other two princes.

Li Zongjian only felt that his mouth was full of bitterness, and said with difficulty: "Father, the sons and daughters no longer have those delusions. ”

Li Zongjian slid directly from the chair, knelt on the ground with a "plop", and bowed his head and said: "Father, the son already knows that he is wrong, and I implore the father to spare the life of the son!" Erchen will live in Qiushan Lane wholeheartedly in the future, and will never take half a step again, let alone cause a trace of damage to Daqi, please father Mingjian! ”

The two of them should get down, and then take Lu Shizhou out of the courtyard.

A voice that Li Zongjian missed very much but didn't dare to miss sounded at the courtyard gate.

Li Duan watched quietly, and when Li Zongjian lifted the teapot slightly embarrassed, and didn't know whether to use the tea bowl here, he said, "Pour a bowl." ”

He looked at his young son, who was sweating profusely and looked panicked, and sighed faintly: "If the boss is alive, why should I go through this." ”

He walked slowly out, without looking back.

Li Zongjian knelt down and saluted a little cramped and nervous.

Mo said that compared with the palatial Jianwang Mansion, Li Zongjian had never even set foot in such a shabby house before, let alone lived here permanently.

"Get up."

In any case, it can be shown that in the heart of the father, his existence seems to be a mistake.

Li Zongjian was very surprised by the arrival of the crown prince, since he was imprisoned in Qiushan Lane, he completely lost contact with the outside world, and even the queen wanted to visit without the permission of the Son of Heaven. Even if he very firmly rejected the invitation of Ning Yuanfu, the former minister, on the night of the rebellion of the Beijing army, he did not impress the Son of Heaven, and then made the guards here looser.

Li Duan was noncommittal, and said to the prince and Lu Shen: "You go and wait outside." ”

There was a hint of sarcasm in the laughter.

Li Zongjian walked over and sat down with half of his buttocks.

Li Zongjian seemed to be able to hear his own heartbeat.

Looking at the prince's regular clothes on his brother's body, Li Zongjian had both envy and loneliness in his eyes, rubbed his hands and said, "Your Highness, please sit in the room." ”

Of course, he didn't want to be trapped in Akiyama Lane for the rest of his life, but he also knew that his father seemed to be gentle, but in fact he was extremely determined, and the things he decided would not change his course, not to mention that he did a lot of stupid things at the beginning, such as using a dead man to assassinate the prince on the street - this is completely different from his usual domineering behavior in Beijing, but the arrogance and ignorance that he did not take his father in his eyes at all.

He also knew that the queen mother could not save himself either.

There was silence in the room.

If the eldest prince did not die in the rebellion, his father would not be worried that the crown prince would not be able to support himself when he ascended the throne in the future, so he, the third child, would naturally be dispensable.

Li Zongjian's pupils contracted suddenly, and he smiled reluctantly: "Father...... Is my father here? ”

The anger in Li Zongjian's heart slowly faded, and he raised his head to look at his father.

The crown prince Li Zongben stepped forward, helped him up, and said indifferently: "No need to be polite. ”

Li Zongjian poured the tea until it was seven minutes full, and served it with both hands respectfully.

Li Zongjian's mind turned quickly, and he understood the deep meaning of this sentence.

As for the word loyalty and filial piety, it may have an impact in this regard, but at best it is only a small part.

"Live well, don't be like your big brother."

Li Zongjian's heart was shocked, he looked at the thin cheeks of the middle-aged man, and suddenly realized that his father, who had once stood up to the sky, was already so weak.

Behind the Son of Heaven was the great eunuch Lu Shizhou with a concerned face, and then Lu Shen, the Marquis of Shanyang, who made Li Zongjian unforgettable.

Li Duan's tone was light, he glanced at the slightly cramped courtyard, as well as the dry firewood pile behind Li Zongjian, and said with slightly narrowed eyes: "It's not a bad thing to be self-reliant. ”

Li Duan laughed at himself and sighed lightly: "You are not like me in many ways, but you are very similar to me in one thing, that is, stubbornness to the extreme." It's just that I use stubbornness in my business, and I always think that Daqi can return to the old capital, and you are staring at the chair in the palace. No matter how docile you behave, if you see the slightest opportunity, you will immediately eliminate everyone who stands in your way. ”

Now seeing that he skillfully pulled out a chair and carefully wiped it with a clean handkerchief a few times before inviting Li Duan to take a seat, it can be seen that he is very accustomed to this kind of life.

Li Duan picked up the teacup, took a sip of it, and then said: "You are right, I will not kill you, because I am just a layman, a vulgar and vulgar person, who is delusional about the family and family affection." ”

Li Duan stood up with the handrail, looked at the young son who was still kneeling on the ground, and said softly: "I came to tell you in person today, don't have him for the rest of your life, the prince will definitely spare your life." Otherwise, when you have that kind of mind and take a step beyond the bounds, the people I arrange will kill you without hesitation. ”

In less than a stick of incense, a large stack of firewood appeared in the corner.

As soon as he thought of this, Li Zongjian only felt a strong sadness welling up in his heart, so he kowtowed and said, "Thank you, father." ”

Li Zongjian was silent.

"Yes, Father."

The crown prince shook his head and said softly, "My father has come to see you." ”

"Can't I come?"

He put down the steaming tea bowl, pointed to the stool next to him, and said, "Sit." ”

However, he quickly reacted, hurriedly put down the axe, and respectfully saluted: "The minister greets His Royal Highness the Prince!" ”

He subconsciously swallowed his saliva, turned his head to look, and saw that the Son of Heaven was walking slowly in his regular clothes, obviously losing a lot of weight compared to half a year ago, and his face was not very good.

Li Duan walked towards the house, and Li Zongjian followed closely behind.

Therefore, even though the eldest prince and the second prince had shortcomings, they did not deviate in essence, thanks to Li Duan's teaching to them back then.

Regarding Li Zongjian's answer, Li Duan actually didn't believe it at all, the reason why this young son refused the invitation of Ning Yuanfu and others was mainly because he could see that those people had no chance of winning.

Li Zongjian's face turned slightly pale, and he said in a trembling voice: "Father, the son doesn't want to die." ”

The young man was Li Zongjian, the third prince who was stripped of the title of prince, and his current title was the lowest-ranking lieutenant of Fengguo in the clan.

Li Zongjian hurriedly explained: "Father, the son's food, clothing and daily life have not been treated harshly, but the son's minister wants to move his body, so he took the initiative to discuss with the people in charge here, and some of the work can be done by himself." ”

Although Li Duan didn't say it thoroughly, with Li Zongjian's understanding of him, unless he had sensed that the passage of life was irreversible, he would never show such an indescribable twilight aura.

Li Duanmo rubbed the teacup and said slowly: "Before I came to Qiushan Lane today, I was hesitant to find an excuse to kill you. Let you live, it may not become a hidden danger of Daqi in the future, but the previous matter has been settled, and you have behaved very docile during this time, and forcibly killing you seems to be punished without teaching. People in the world often say that tigers don't eat children, and some people say that there is no family affection in heaven, which sentence do you think I should believe? ”

"Get up."

Li Duan laughed suddenly.

Li Duan seemed to know this young son's thoughts very well, and asked calmly, "Why did you reject Ning Yuanfu that night?" ”

A wave of resentment and sadness filled Li Zongjian's heart.

The young man raised his hand to wipe the beads of sweat from his forehead, and suddenly heard a calm voice behind him.

Li Duan raised his eyes to look at him and was silent for a while.

Li Duan looked at him fixedly and said, "Don't want to die? ”

Li Duan said expressionlessly: "You know that she doesn't want to see you do something to the boss, and she doesn't want you to drag the Xu family into the abyss, but you still set the blame on the boss, and let the people of the Xu family assassinate Lu Shen." Now the Xu family can't even keep the wealth and wealth, and many people have died, this is the price they must pay for meddling in the court, all because of you. ”

Originally, this desperate mood would always envelop him, until today, the sudden arrival of his father and emperor made him can't help but have a trace of hope.

Li Duan looked down, the tea leaves were very ordinary, compared with the tributes in the palace, they were like clouds and mud, at most they just had a little more astringency, and there was no fragrance at all.

In the past ten years, he has to deal with the Jiangnan clan, support the border army to deal with strong enemies, and develop his own henchmen without alarming the gate valve, racking his brains almost every moment, and his body is slowly being dragged down because of this extreme work.

Many times, silence is also an answer.

Li Zongjian turned around and knelt down for a few steps, a touch of sadness appeared on his face.

"The son sends off his father."

(End of chapter)