Jiang Wuyan took a few sips of tea and asked casually, "Didn't you tell your father about the transaction between the queen and the puppet palace?"

Zhao Qingyan put away the smile on his face, and said lightly: "No need, I can solve it myself, try to let them know a little less." My father won't want me to be involved too much with the forces of the rivers and lakes. ”

Jiang Wuyan calculated: "Puppet Palace, Queen, and Xia Peng, you really have a lot of business." ”

Zhao Qingyan said with a headache: "That's right, I really don't have the patience to accompany Xia Peng to play his capture game." I really don't know why he is holding on to me?"

"That's right. Jiang Wuyan suddenly sat up a little straighter, "I happened to see Xia Peng a few days ago, do you think he looks very much like an old man?"

Zhao Qingyan didn't ask who the "old man" was, but nodded slightly after a while: "It's a little similar." ”

Jiang Wuyan hesitated: "But he doesn't seem to remember the past at all." ”

Zhao Qingyan pinched his eyebrows: "I have tried to knock on the side a few times, and he has indeed forgotten a lot of previous things, but he may not be completely ignorant. I think he must track down the Tsing Yi thief, I'm afraid it's also for this reason. ”

Jiang Wuyan asked, "Have you asked Chen Huayi?"

Zhao Qingyan shook his head: "I have asked, but he is just guessing now." ”

Jiang Wuyan frowned, and after a long time, he said slowly, "You shouldn't leave him in Ouchi. If he is really as you and I guess, he will not be able to co-serve with Chen Huayi. ”

Zhao Qingyan said: "But if Xia Peng is really his brother, can I ignore it?"

Jiang Wuyan asked rhetorically: "Why can't you ignore it?" You have nothing to do with the Remnant Feather Sect, so naturally there is no reason to help them clean up the mess. He continued to stay in Ouchi, and those old accounts would be found out by him sooner or later. ”

Zhao Qingyan nodded lightly: "I know, I want to find a way." ”

Jiang Wuyan asked, "Is it okay for you to directly say no to King Huan?" If you say it, it's not a problem to remove such a guard, right?"

Zhao Qingyan shook his head and said, "It's inconvenient now." Bao Zheng's matter has not passed, Xia Peng is the person sponsored by Bao Zheng, and it will be a shame if I remove him from his position at this time. ”

Jiang Wuyan pursed his lips slightly: "It's because I'm too anxious, and it's inconvenient to take care of such a trivial matter at this time." ”

Zhao Qingyan lowered his eyes and muttered to himself: "Brother Huang seems to be backing down now, but I don't know what he thinks." If he really wanted to kill me, I wouldn't be able to escape. ”

Jiang Wuyan asked, "He dares to touch you?"

Zhao Qingyan tilted his head and said, "It turns out that he doesn't even have the title of prince, and I'm still a prince." And I can become a prince at any time. Of course, the queen is not easy to offend, but it will not do him much good to push me into a hurry. But now it's different, he's already a prince. With the crown prince sealed, he can have a lot less scruples. If he can't stop the queen from harming me, then he will have to choose between the two of us in the future. ”

Jiang Wuyan asked, "Do you think he will choose you?"

Zhao Qingyan shook his head: "This is not accurate." To put it bluntly, he, the crown prince, is an empty shelf, and if he wants to go further, he is absolutely inseparable from the support of the prince and the queen. The queen killed me, not to mention my father and the thirteenth uncle, but the ninth uncle would also be wary of it. And if I offend the queen for me, I will fall into a situation where I have no mother to rely on, and no matter how I go, it is a risky move. ”

Jiang Wuyan continued his words and said, "Then after he ascends the throne, he will definitely be wary of you and the queen for this reason." The biggest is no more than the Son of Heaven, so you are afraid of Zhao Shu now, but you are not afraid of the queen who has the general's mother's family. ”

Zhao Qing said: "Yes, that's the truth. Now it looks like a game between me and the queen, because the strength we have is far stronger than the imperial brother. In other words, relying on the favor of the imperial uncle, under the protection of the imperial uncle, we can do far more than the imperial brother. With this relationship, it is impossible for the imperial brother to do something to us at the same time, at least one side will be left. To put it bluntly, it's just to kill the other party, and you can exchange it for the use of the future Son of Heaven. ”

Jiang Wuyan nodded, waiting for him to continue.

Zhao Qingyan said: "The imperial brother is already in his thirties, in comparison, the queen poses little threat to him, at most, he is rich and stable in another family." And I, obviously, will not be so easily impressed. Elect me, he is more likely to ascend to the throne, and he is more likely to be kicked out by me. The bigger the possibility, the greater the danger, it can only depend on how he chooses. ”

Jiang Wuyan smiled: "To be honest, there are not many times when you show such a heavy mind. ”

Zhao Qingyan glanced at him: "I cherish this hard-won peace more than anyone else. His expression was flat, and his tone was not too expressive, but his words were serious.

Jiang Wuyan asked silently, "Are you in pain?"

"What are you asking, do you count your relatives?" Zhao Qingyan rubbed his head, "Of course." ”

Jiang Wuyan said: "You don't believe that you can be a happy prince for a lifetime." ”

Zhao Qingyan denied: "No, I believe it, I just don't want to be fiddled with." Lost by the empress, hiding in a place where there is no acquaintance, holding enough money to squander a lifetime, guarding a rich fief?

Jiang Wuyan said: "You are still unwilling to settle for the next best, even if it is possible to lose your life." ”

Zhao Qingyan closed his eyes: "Yes, I don't want to." ”

I don't want to, I was tortured by the nightmares so much that I couldn't turn over for the rest of my life.

I don't want to, I can only rely on my parents to get by, and I can't find any traces of my own survival.

I don't want to, I really can't find the heart I worked so hard to protect in the end.

I don't want to, and I still compromise in the only Qingming years.

He couldn't do it after all.

If you can't do it, you can force yourself to become a person you don't want to be.

can't let his proud bones bend again and again,

can't make his life unbearable again and again,

I can't let my smile echo again and again.

A person who can't keep his heart, can't keep his sincerity, who has gradually forgotten why his smile exists, and a person who lets the years go by but talks about the future, no matter how much he is golden, he is really ruined.

It wasn't what he wanted.

Zhao Qingyan smiled bitterly, mixed with a little ease: "I'm tired, I can't pretend anymore." ”

"Yunmo, there are two places in this world, one is called Chaotang, and the other is called Jianghu. You belong to the former. Jiang Wuyan suddenly spoke, saying inexplicable words.

Zhao Qing was noncommittal, raised his hand and touched the scenery in the distance, and his voice was light and distant: "I was born in the princely house, grew up in the palace, and everyone treated me respectfully, like a Buddha statue." The royal brother, the thirteenth uncle, the second brother...... I am surrounded only by people who are similar to me and others. The rivers and lakes are too far and too far for me, but a nightmare pulled me into the rivers and lakes. ”

He turned his head slightly sideways and looked at Jiang Wuyan: "I don't belong to the court, nor do I belong to the rivers and lakes, so I don't know where to go." I was afraid of death, so I accepted the rivers and lakes. I covet the beautiful scenery of the garden, the silk beads, and the comfort and leisure in this palace, so I can't bear to leave. I'm just a timid and selfish person I don't dare to face and I don't want to let go. ”

Jiang Wuyan didn't speak, just accompanied him to look at the sparkling lake in the distance, and his heart was as calm as water.

Zhao Qingyan sighed lightly: "I have nothing to fear, I can't let go, I can't give up, it becomes a stumbling block." ”

Jiang Wuyan said slowly: "I suddenly remembered the two words you said when I first met you. You look down at the people who are climbing hard and sneer, and those who are climbing hard look up at you and are full of longing. You laugh at their stupidity and humility, but you wonder if they can laugh at you as a caged bird with gorgeous feathers. ”

Zhao Qingyan smiled slightly and asked, "Isn't it right? How many people can't get one of the ten thousand that I was born with in their lifetime, I have everything they have to pay for luxury, but I have lost the meaning of my life." I can only say that I don't want to live like them, but I also feel sad for my own life. ”

Jiang Wuyan tilted his head: "Did Tong Xuan comment on your words?"

Zhao Qingyan thought for a while: "I'm full." ”

Jiang Wuyan couldn't help laughing: "Concise and clear, not bad." ”

Zhao Qingyan also pursed her lips and smiled: "Even Qingfeng can say such vulgar words, and it is understandable that I, the little prince, am uncomfortable." ”

Jiang Wuyan understood it carefully: "Forgive me for being stupid, I didn't find the relationship between the two." ”

Zhao Qingyan pondered for a while, and said a little tiredly: "Forget it, don't talk about this." After all, there are few things in the world that have both worlds, and since I have chosen to be chic and happy, I have to admit that I am a canary who has been raised. ”

Jiang Wuyan looked disapproving: "Only canaries are willing to be raised, you were born as an eagle, how can you be locked in a cage?"

Zhao Qingyan smiled: "Eagle? Then I am also an eagle whose wings have been cut off before I can fly." ”

Jiang Wuyan asked, "Have you ever seen an eagle with folded wings?"

Zhao Qingyan probably understood what he meant, and his eyes were leisurely: "I really prefer to live in a birdcage made of gold wire than to die in the sky where I should have spread my wings." ”

Jiang Wuyan looked at him deeply: "Are you sure this is what you want?"

Zhao Qingyan's dark eyes couldn't see any waves: "I'm sure." ”

Jiang Wuyan smiled noncommittally: "Well, I'm looking forward to seeing the final result of the caged eagle." ”

Zhao Qingyan was indifferent: "Maybe you are wrong? I'm just a canary." ”

Jiang Wuyan asked, "What do you think is the difference between a canary and an eagle?"

Zhao Qingyan was careless, or didn't want to continue the topic at all: "The canary is good-looking. ”

Jiang Wuyan was angry by his words, and as he wished, he didn't say more: "There are two things in the eagle that are destined to become an eagle, arrogance and ambition. "Stand up, dust off your sleeves, and walk away.

Zhao Qingyan closed his eyes gently, as if he hadn't heard his words, and slept peacefully.