How can I bow my head and serve the powerful officials?

He felt a pair of hands gently holding his face pretending to sleep, telling him over and over again in his ear that he couldn't leave him, saying almost paranoidly that he would stay in the capital forever, by his side forever, and that he would protect him forever...

But the voice seemed to be in the voice change period, and Xie Chengze couldn't tell who it was.

But he felt the fear that was constantly rising in the Second Prince's heart.

It was a fear that went straight to the depths of the soul, so sudden that it made people feel confused.

Why is this so?

Even if he was imprisoned in the capital, he would be well fed, well clothed and well fed. Besides, the Second Prince was not a very outgoing person in his youth. He preferred to be alone rather than go out for fun. The so-called "staying in the capital forever" would not scare him to such an extent, right?

Or maybe, what he fears is not the “stay” but the “person” who is speaking?

Who is this person who is speaking?

He always felt that this must be related to the Second Prince's important secret. As long as he could see who was speaking, he would be able to solve more doubts about the Second Prince...

Xie Chengze tried hard to open his eyes, but he couldn't. However, he did not give up. Just as the hands on his face left and he felt that he was about to open his eyes, suddenly, a cold wind blew into the room, and the next second, someone rushed in.

"My son! Ze'er! You died so tragically! How could you leave your father?"

Xie Chengze woke up suddenly.

The dream faded away, Xie Chengze: ...

Dog Emperor!

Why don't you come in at any other time? Why do you have to come in now?

You bastard who is holding us back!

Xie Chengze was so angry that he wanted to pound the table, but before he could open his eyes to curse, he felt a cold body hugging him. The other person was so angry that he cursed, "Who put my son's body on the warm kang! Are you dissatisfied that Ze'er won't rot fast enough?! Wuuuu my Ze'er, you love beauty the most. How sad you will be if you get stinky and rotten——"

Xie Chengze: ...

Nervous!

Xie Chengze kicked him away, "Who died? Don't you want to know for sure? Or do you, father, wish for my death so that you can take advantage of the money that your son will earn next time?"

"Oh, Ze'er, you are not dead?" Emperor Jian wiped his tears and said in surprise.

When he entered the county government office, he clearly asked the bailiff... Oh, he seemed to have only asked where Xie Chengze's body was placed, and didn't ask anything else.

No wonder the bailiff had such a strange look in his eyes at that time.

"Ahem." Emperor Jian covered his lips and looked away guiltily, "It's all the fault of the people of Tianshui City. Why are they hanging white hemp for no reason? I thought..."

It is said that it is easy to spread rumors but difficult to dispel them. Overnight, everyone in Tianshui City knew that the second prince had died suddenly. However, the news that the second prince had just fainted took three days to spread and some people even thought that this was a way for the government to appease the people. In fact, Xie Chengze was really dead.

Some even portrayed Xie Chengze as a bodhisattva who worked hard for the people and who, after completing his merits, attained enlightenment and ascended to heaven.

Simply outrageous.

but……

Looking at Emperor Jian's red eyes and the tears flowing out, his sadness seemed genuine, and Xie Chengze felt an indescribable emotion in his heart.

In the second prince's memory, he has learned that the second prince is not the real "Xie Chengze". He suddenly traveled through time when his original body was nine years old, and seemed to be from another ancient world.

As for the real Xie Chengze... could it be me?

Is he Xie Chengze, or just the second wandering ghost who has traveled through time and space into the body of the second prince?

If it's the former...

Then the Emperor Jian in front of him can be considered as his godfather.

If it's the latter... then what was the reason for being worn?

Will he be replaced by a third soul in the future? If he is transported, will he be able to return to his original world?

Countless new mysteries made Xie Chengze feel upset and irritable. He just wanted something to comfort himself, so he stretched out his hand to Emperor Jian and said, "My son's heart is very upset. Father, please grant me a house in Liaozhou. It must be a super big one."

Emperor Jian:?

He wanted to stay at home right after meeting her? Why didn't he praise him for coming all the way to Liaozhou to show his support?

"Why do you suddenly want the outer house in Liaozhou?" Emperor Jian asked puzzledly.

"My son will soon be of age, and it's time for me to be given the title of prince and live in the outer city." Xie Chengze said as a matter of course.

"That's right..." Emperor Jian pondered for a moment, "You have made great contributions in the trips to Yizhou and Liaozhou. You should be made a prince. Oh, what title should I give you? What title do you want, Ze'er?"

Xie Chengze:?

Don't think I can't hear you trying to change the subject. "So where is my son's palace?"

"Forget about the house in Liaozhou. I can build you a luxurious palace in the capital so that you can go to court every day." Emperor Jian grinned and said, "As for going to court, don't even think about escaping."

Xie Chengze: ...

He almost forgot that Emperor Jian would never allow himself to be lazy and not attend court, after all, the dynasty was still poor.

Looks like we'll have to wait a little longer.

Xie Chengze thought that sooner or later he would be able to lure out the person in his dream who wanted to imprison him.

-

The New Year's Day is finally here.

On New Year's Eve, as the sun set, countless lanterns were hung high, lighting up the entire ice rink area. Local people in Liaozhou who lived nearby all sat on the wooden terrace built outside the ice rink, staring into the rink together with business tycoons from all over the place.

Under the building, there are many small stalls and carts with small ice lanterns, wooden tops, animal skin coats and many other northern characteristics, attracting the interest of common people and business tycoons.

Emperor Jian, officials, concubines, and business tycoons who donated silver to help with the disaster relief efforts stood at the entrance of the ice rink, and they were the first to enter the rink to admire the ice sculptures.

When I first entered the ice rink, I saw the ten-foot-tall human-shaped ice sculptures of Xie Chengze and Li Dongyao standing on each side, one wearing a palace robe and the other an official robe. One was smiling brightly, and the other was smiling heartily and generously, as if they were welcoming the people who came in to visit. It made people feel comfortable and dispelled a lot of anxiety.

Going further in, you can see many ice sculptures as tall as people. The wooden plaques below indicate their identities. They are all businessmen who donated money for disaster relief in various places. Their expressions are kind and reserved, which makes people feel grateful. And beside them, there is a huge wooden board with two writing tools, which can be used by scholars to write poems for them. The best one will be selected by the Minister of Rites himself and rewarded.

Such an arrangement can be said to have greatly satisfied the vanity of those wealthy businessmen who paid the money.

After walking past the ice sculptures, the inside is even more dazzling, as if you have accidentally entered the animal world of ice and snow. Ice sculptures of wild tigers, ice sculptures of white rabbits, ice sculptures of deer, ice sculptures of yellow dogs and even various other animals are all harmoniously leaping on the ice rink, dyed with colors by candles and lanterns, as if they were alive.

Here, there are many painting supplies for wealthy businessmen to use. They pay painters to paint portraits of themselves and the ice sculptures.