many worries

In the many years since the palace was built, except for one heavy snowfall in the capital, most of the houses in the Taiqing Palace were crushed and collapsed, and it has never been repaired once.The place inside the Taiqing Palace is not small, but it is cold and deserted, overgrown with barren trees and weeds, and it is impossible to find a way.More than half of the tiles on the roof of the side halls on the east and west sides have been overturned, only the green tiles on the main hall seem to be still tightly covered, barely able to accommodate people.

Jing Yan only asked Qiao Yu a word, without further words, turned around and walked down the steps towards the main hall.

Qiao Yu withdrew her hand in aggrieved manner. If it was normal, the prince would have hugged herself on the bed and made cakes to make her happy.But he thought that now is different from the past, the empress has just passed away, the prince is sad, his temperament has changed, and it is only natural that he can't take care of himself.

He has thought very clearly these past few days. In the past, His Highness the Crown Prince took care of him. From now on, he will take good care of His Highness the Crown Prince.

The rain had stopped, and the branches and leaves of the tall trees were still waterlogged and ticked as they fell to the ground.

The weeds and shrubs in the courtyard hadn't been pruned for many years, and they grew very tall and flourished, spreading to the road. Jing Yan's height was not bad, but as soon as Qiao Yu entered the courtyard, her whole body was submerged in the grass, only a small Eunuchs are used to wearing hard headbands.

He was carrying the bedding for tonight's rest, and he was still struggling in the weeds, but suddenly there was a light on his wrist. It turned out that it was Jing Yan who turned around again, and took the package from his hand. He brought Qiao Yu up to him and fiddled with the weeds in front of him with the other hand, letting him go first.

Qiao Yu didn't feel sad at all anymore, he thought, His Royal Highness still couldn't bear to part with him.

The two of them walked all the way to the main hall in silence. Qiao Yu was already soaked through, and he didn't care about the little rainwater when he came here, so he stepped back and opened the door, choked his nose full of ashes, and beat him several times. a sneeze.After Jing Yan shook off the rain, he carried him to the back and stepped into the main hall of the Taiqing Palace.

There was no good furniture here before, and the Ministry of Internal Affairs used some low-quality wood to make up for it. Anyway, the nobles in the palace would never set foot here in their lifetime, and they would never worry about being discovered.After so many years, the furniture inside has long been rotten and rotten, falling apart with the slightest touch.

Qiao Yu has never seen such a dilapidated place since she grew up so big, she covered her nose, and asked Jing Yan in a low voice: "Your Highness, how do we live in this place?"

Facing the dilapidation in front of him, Jing Yan's expression remained unchanged, he raised his hand, used the handle of the lantern to stir up a few cobwebs blocking the way, walked in, took a look at it, and then entered the bedroom beside him, dusting off the cobwebs. After dusting off the dust, he casually put the bedding on the bed, sat on the edge of the bed, and waved to Qiao Yu.

He said, "Xiaoyu, come here."

Qiao Yu originally followed Jing Yan's buttocks like a little follower, but now she leaped happily to the bedside, and sat next to Jing Yan without asking the prince to call her.

The two of them were very close, almost facing each other, and Jing Yan could see the eyebrows and eyes that Qiao Yu missed when he wiped his face indiscriminately just now.

Qiao Yu was spoiled by Jing Yan, she had no rules from the day she entered the East Palace, and Jing Yan didn't need him to have rules.

Jing Yan's phoenix eyes were half-opened and half-closed, as if he was thinking about something, Qiao Yu couldn't see his expression clearly when he raised his head, and wanted to get closer, so he put his hands on the bed, tried to lift his upper body, and planned to say something Words of comfort in the throat.

It's a pity that Qiao Yu has never practiced martial arts, her hands and feet are weak, and she will fall backwards after holding on for a while.

Jing Yan suddenly opened his eyes. He supported Xiaoyu's crumbling body, carefully took off Xiaoyu's drenched coat, hung it on the hook of the curtain beside him, dripping water drops on the ground, and asked: " Xiaoyu, how did you get here?"

He asked Qiao Yu, his phoenix eyes were raised slightly, and the corners of his lips were smiling, calm and appropriate, couldn't be more gentle.

Just like usual when they faced each other day and night in the East Palace.

Qiao Yu shook her snow-white feet, shrunk back to the edge of the bed, rolled herself into a ball, tilted her head and smiled brightly at Jing Yan, and slowly talked about the events of the previous few days.

Jing Yan put his left hand on his slender waist, moved towards him, and listened attentively.

Qiao Yu was sent to the eunuch's office by the imperial guards at noon three days ago.At that time, the East Palace had been sealed off, and no one was allowed to enter or leave without the emperor's personal order.People in the East Palace were in a state of panic, and there was a young maid and servant newly selected this year crying in a corner, worrying for their lives.Qiao Yu went to the small kitchen, where the firewood had been extinguished, and there was no one there. There was only a plate of cold snacks left on the stove, and he secretly tasted a small piece. Even though it was cold, it still tasted good.He resisted the urge to take another bite, swallowed a lot of saliva, and walked along the corridor all the way to the study in the side hall. Jing Yan was sitting by the wide open window reading, with rain falling in, the empress followed Chief eunuch Zhou Mingde.

Zhou Mingde looked at Qiao Yu with cold eyes.

Qiao Yu was always a little afraid of him, but with the crown prince in front, he had a big backer. He stood up straight, thinking that he didn't have to be afraid of anyone.

He knew that there was something wrong with the East Palace today, it was not Xiu Mu's day, but the Taifu didn't come to teach.But Qiao Yu doesn't care about the outside world, so what does it have to do with him?

Qiao Yu didn't salute, but walked up lightly. Because of her short stature, she went around the road and stood on tiptoe to take a picture of Jing Yan's back. She reluctantly handed over the snack in her hand. The sweetness of the milk that he drank in the morning was still in his small hands, "Your Highness, are you hungry, here is a snack for you."

Jing Yan supported his forehead, turned another page of the book, and waved his hand to the back, "I'm not hungry, you can eat by yourself."

Qiao Yu was not obedient, he carefully broke off a piece of snack, tried his best to raise his hand, passed it to Jing Yan's mouth, and persuaded him softly, "Your Highness is lying, it's useless to go early tomorrow morning, now it's all It's afternoon."

His Highness treats him well and is willing to feed him snacks, so he also treats His Highness well and watches him eat well.

No matter how hard-hearted people are, they can't refuse such Qiao Yu.

Jing Yan had nothing to do with him, so he opened his mouth to eat, and conveniently stuffed the remaining large piece to Qiao Yu. His mouth was as small as a pastry, and his cheeks swelled up after swallowing it, like a beast raised in a royal beast garden. Golden squirrel.

Qiao Yu watched the prince staring at her for a long while, not understanding anything, and leaned over to read the prince's book, but was pushed back to where she was.

After a while, the prince gave Zhou Mingde a few words to be beside him, and Zhou Mingde finished changing Qiao Yu's clothes. The palace servants, the others will be sent back to the Ministry of Internal Affairs first, and then arrangements will be made.

Jing Yan sent him to the heavy door of the inner hall. Before leaving, with a smile on his lips, he patted Qiao Yu's head, straightened his tangled bun, and said: "Xiaoyu, find someone Opportunity, after seeing your aunt early, I asked the emperor for a favor, saying that I missed my relatives in my hometown and wanted to go back to Longnan to worship my ancestors."

The banana leaves on the side were covered with raindrops, flowing down like a cascade of rapids, almost covering Jing Yan's soft voice.

Jing Yan took another deep look at Qiao Yu.

At the end, I added a sentence, saying: "One farewell and two leniency, Xiaoyu, it's best not to see each other again in the future."

Although the Qiao family is in decline, the ancestral property is still there. No matter how long and greedy the old hands of the clan are, if they take all the old houses of the Jitian as their own, it will be unavoidable. With Qiao Yu's temperament, there will probably be no glory in the future. Wealthy, but it's not so difficult to be a carefree country gentleman.

Qiao Yu opened his mouth wide, and before he could argue, Zhou Mingde wiped a handful of black ash, covered his mouth and nose, and half dragged and half hugged him to the outer hall.

But, but, when he returned to Longnan, he would never see the prince again.

Qiao Yu thought tearfully, he didn't want to see the prince again.

Zhou Mingde couldn't have done his job properly, so he stuffed Qiao Yu into the group of little eunuchs who were washing dishes in the backyard. Qiao Yu was mixed among the people in the East Palace, and was sent to the Internal Affairs Department under strict guard by the imperial guards, and then was driven to the eunuch's office .

He was vaguely aware that his big backer was about to collapse again.

Recently, there have been major incidents in the palace, the empress was deposed, the imperial concubine accidentally fell into the lake and died a few days ago, the palace people died, and the palace rosters were in chaos. There are so many little eunuchs in the palace, no one can tell which palace it is.When the superiors sent someone to ask, Qiao Yu's heart was in her throat, fearing that she would show her feet, she got wise in a hurry, and said that she was from the Palace of Concubine De, and was only sent here today.Because of the heavy rain, he fell at the door and mixed with the people sent by the East Palace.The eunuch asked a few more questions, and Qiao Yu relied on what the prince had told him before, and managed to get away with it, and was assigned to the Tongpu in the west.

They were all temporarily resettled, and there was no room for the eunuchs. There were many beddings in one room, and more than a dozen young eunuchs had to live there.As soon as the lights were turned off, there were whispers all around, there were people who were afraid of being implicated in the death of Concubine Jinde, and some courageous and well-informed, but worried about their future.

As they talked, they talked about the crown prince being abolished, the empress being imprisoned in the cold palace, and the life of the little eunuchs in the East Palace would be worse than their own, and they seemed to be more interested.

Only then did Qiao Yu understand what was going on.He didn't want to share the quilt with others, so he huddled in a corner by himself, silently wiping his tears with the sleeve of his jacket.He is very self-aware. When he grew up to such a big age, he was pampered by his grandmother when he was a child, and he was raised by the prince when he was a little older. He has no ability, can't endure hardships, and can't bear sins. He is just a waste snack and can't help the prince. .

But he heard the group of young eunuchs say that according to the grandfathers, after the prince is abolished, he is afraid that he will be imprisoned in the Taiqing Palace, so he has to choose a young eunuch to accompany him.I don't know which one is so unlucky that he will be selected, and will be ruined in the Taiqing Palace with the deposed prince for the rest of his life.

Qiao Yu's heart moved, thinking about what to do next.

He has never been wronged at all, he is afraid of suffering, he is afraid of suffering, he is afraid of wolves and tigers, even the puppy in the Royal Beast Park can scare him into hiding behind Jing Yan, but he is even more afraid of never seeing the prince again.

Probably because she had thought about the future and had a belief in her heart, Qiao Yu lay on the hard bed and looked at the deep night outside, but she was no longer afraid.

Jing Yan just listened, didn't move, still maintained the original posture, but Qiao Yu instinctively leaned towards Jing Yan's body exuding warmth because of the rain just now.

He covered his face and sneezed a few times, like a pitiful little animal.

Jing Yan asked: "Xiaoyu has such courage, dare to come here?"

Qiao Yu let go of her hand, exposing the tip of her red nose, staring at her round eyes, as if there were countless grievances inside, "Why does the prince look down on me? Me, me too, I am very powerful. I recommended myself and tricked that fat eunuch, but he didn't even recognize me." Come out to me."

Not to mention the eunuch's office, in fact, even in the East Palace, few people could recognize Qiao Yu. He had been hidden in the inner palace by Jing Yan for the past three years, and he faced each other every day except for the prince and the prince. The palace people don't know anyone.

Jing Yan patted his little head with his right hand as if soothing, "I haven't seen you for a few days, Xiaoyu is indeed much braver."

He paused, "But there's nothing here, I'm not the prince, and you're not the attendant, so what are you doing here?"

Qiao Yu was startled when she heard the words, and stared blankly at Jing Yan.

A gust of cold wind blew in through the window sills, and the burning candles in the broken lantern crackled. The flames of the candles leaped up, riding the wind, and suddenly became much bigger, illuminating half of the bed, and Qiao Yu could be seen vaguely. A cold light flashed from the back of his waist, and a swaying shadow was reflected in the corner of the wall, in the shape of a dagger, and it was very air-conditioned.

Qiao Yu looked around, his eyes filled with tears, and he bit his lips tightly to keep the tears from falling out. This was too difficult for him, and finally stammered, choked with sobs, "I've been, I've been, I've been You know, they all said that there is nothing in the Taiqing Palace. But, the prince, no, you are here. With the prince here, nothing else, nothing else matters to me."

As far as Qiao Yu was concerned, no matter how many beautiful silks and satins and delicious delicacies outside, it couldn't compare to the crown prince.

He understands that the prince is no longer the prince, but he doesn't know what to call him, his mind is in a mess, and he only speaks according to his own heart, and he can't make up those beautiful words anymore.

The object held in Jing Yan's left hand fell slightly, and then stabilized immediately.

The more Qiao Yu talked, the more wronged he was. He was just a crying bag. He didn't know how much he had suffered in the past few days. He doesn't cry or make noise, and doesn't talk about his grievances, because he wants to make Jing Yan happy.

Once tears left his eyes, he couldn't stop it anymore. Qiao Yu cried so pitifully that he couldn't catch his breath for several breaths. Jing Yan had to pat him on the back to tell the truth bit by bit. Come out, "The empress is gone, you, don't be sad. The empress and my grandmother are so good, they must have gone to the Western Bliss to accompany the Buddha. I am here, thinking in the eunuch's office, the prince used to treat me well , take care of me, now that I'm grown up, I'm going to take care of you, take care of you."

After finishing speaking, he gave Jing Yan an aggrieved look with eyes full of water, full of sincerity, "I, I want to treat you well, but you still don't believe it."

Qiao Yu is still a child, and she can't even take care of her well.He never knew how to wear silk socks when he got up, and ran around barefoot. Every time he was caught by Jing Yan, he refused to correct him and could not be reprimanded. In the end, even Jing Yan gave up teaching him, and ordered the maid beside him to carry Qiao Yu's silk socks with her. , is a conclusion.

Jing Yan rarely nodded seriously, "I know."

Once Qiao Yu started to cry, she couldn't stop crying, not to mention there were people coaxing her around, which almost wet Jing Yan's shirt.

Jing Yan coaxed, not knowing whether to laugh or cry, he wiped the corner of Qiao Yu's eyes and asked, "Isn't Xiaoyu here to take care of me? How can you take care of me after crying like this?"

Qiao Yu was crying so hard that she couldn't breathe, her body trembled when she heard these words, she almost couldn't catch her breath, and she stumbled and said: "I, I, don't cry..." I have to take care of the prince.

After speaking, he tried his best to hold back his tears and rubbed his eyes with his rough cuff.

Jing Yan grabbed his hand and pulled Qiao Yu into his arms, "Forget it, Xiaoyu is so sad, she can't even let her cry."

Qiao Yu choked her nose, tears fell on Jing Yan's shoulders, and the two small dimples on her cheeks were filled with tears.

He didn't cry so hard because of his grievances, but because he was sad for the prince.

Finally, Qiao Yu was tired from crying and almost fell asleep.His long eyelashes trembled slightly, as if they couldn't bear the weight of the water droplets hanging on them, they gradually closed.

Jing Yan lowered his head, brushed Qiao Yu's long hair, and asked softly beside her snow-white earlobe, "Xiaoyu, will you stay with Gu from now on?"

Qiao Yu seemed to be in a dream, and the answer was also like a raving in a dream, "Well, all, all are with the prince."

Jing Yan moved slightly, put away the dagger behind Qiao Yu's waist, and slowly cut a piece of soft fabric from the middle coat, before pressing the dagger behind his back.He found another clean place, put Qiao Yu on it, took off his fine linen clothes and covered it up, only half of his face was exposed, and there were still tears in the eye sockets.He bent down and wiped it off carefully, extremely gentle.

Just like the dagger just now, from the beginning to the end, the sharp blade is facing Jing Yan himself.

When Qiao Yu fell into a deep sleep, Jing Yan knocked on the head of the bed, making several dull sounds, and within a short while, a shadow appeared in a dark corner, kneeling on one knee.

He raised his head slightly, with a normal expression, and there seemed to be a shadow of prey in his long and narrow phoenix eyes, and he ordered casually.

"Burn the roster of the eunuch's office."

He paused again, "And the eunuch who brought Qiao Yu here cut off his tongue and kneecaps."