For the emperor

When Cang Tiansu opened his eyes, he stared at the luxurious and bright yellow eyes for a long time, and his chaotic brain finally came to his senses.

The mattresses on the body and the whole body are silky and soft, soft and light, which is completely different from the crude cotton and linen cloth in Prince Yong's residence.

There was no sound of breathing in the room, Cang Tiansu sat up straight slowly, glanced out through the hollow decoration of the window, and found that it was already night and the moon was hanging high.

He was called into the palace at Si o'clock in the morning, and it was past You o'clock at this time. The eldest prince of the Cang Kingdom raised his hand and rubbed his swollen forehead, lifted the quilt and got off the bed.

The entire Panglong Palace was empty, and he was only accompanied by the most luxurious furniture and utensils in the room.Cang Tiansu stepped on the clog leather boots that were placed at the foot of the bed, put on the stone green silver mouse jacket that was baked by the stove, pushed the door and went out.

Li Quan held a white fox armpit cloak in both hands and waited outside the door. He stood there for an unknown amount of time in the icy cold wind. There was no trace of impatience on his round and chubby face. When he saw him coming out, he bent down respectfully. Go: "The servant greets the prince."

He is the first-class commander of the imperial palace who is honest and well-known, the most proud person beside Emperor Jing, and what he is holding is an imperial gift. Before he hit the ground on his knees, Cang Tiansu stopped him: "Father, hurry up!" Please, there is no need to be polite."

Li Quan smiled slightly, but without insisting, he raised his hands up: "The emperor will give a banquet in the Royal Fragrance Garden tonight, and ask you to go there after you rest."

The temperature dropped sharply at night, and the north wind blew harder than during the day. The sky was always kind, and he put his cloak on his body: "Eunuch Lao will lead the way."

Li Quan's unchanging smiling face for more than ten years finally had a tendency to freeze. He froze for three seconds, and it took him a while to remember that this young prince who was in the spotlight before him had never been eligible to visit the palace at will. Not knowing where Yuxiangyuan is is actually quite normal.

The chief steward of the palace immediately restrained his untimely surprise, made a posture of leading the way, took a palace lantern from the young eunuch who came over at the right time, and turned around first.

Li Quan inexplicably thought of the scene when they met for the first time. The little boy, who was shorter and thinner than his peers, stood against the light, with a peaceful smile, just like the melting spring water in the Jiangnan silk and bamboo water town.

Ten years ago, who would have imagined that the cold prince who was born from the marriage of the emperor and a prostitute would have a day when he would soar into the sky and dominate the world?

Ten years in Hedong, ten years in Hexi, never assert the future of a young man, he sighed silently in his heart, his already bent back was even more deeply lowered.

At this time, the Royal Fragrance Garden was extremely lively, there were quite a few people present in the morning, and Cang Tianci was still absent.Cang Tiansu listened to Li Quan's high-pitched and high-pitched singing, and felt that all the eyes on him were more complicated than in the morning.

Eyelashes as long as butterfly wings trembled slightly, Cang Tiansu didn't lift his eyelids, and knelt down respectfully to salute.He doesn't need to look to know what Cang Jinglan's wives and children are thinking, and he himself is still at a loss, unable to figure out the slightest clue.

In other words, he has been in a delicate state of being puzzled all day long. It is not once or twice that Emperor Jing played cards unreasonably, but it is rare to see such weirdness this time. Cang Tiansu really doesn't know what his behavior is. It touched this person's convulsive nerve that would go crazy when touched.

In the name of visiting a sick person, he ended up sleeping comfortably—or on the dragon bed—after His Royal Highness Prince Yong sincerely apologized to his father, he sat silently in the seat belonging to his father. in his seat.

Because it was a family banquet organized by the emperor temporarily, the seating arrangement was not formal and rigorous. Cang Tiansu's seat was arranged in a very interesting place. His head was Emperor Jing, who did not look weak in the morning. The first one is next to the eldest princess who ranks third among all Cang Jinglan's children, and the next one is Cang Tianrui who keeps squinting and looking at him with disgust.

The eldest princess of the Cang Kingdom, Yang Nuan, who had just turned 12 years old, was born beautiful and dignified. When she saw him approaching, she smiled and nodded in a very friendly way, as if she didn't know anything about the entanglement between her nominal fiancé and her elder brother.

Cang Tiansu nodded in return, also conveying his kindness, his eyes swept across the neatly arranged small tables, and he didn't seem to see the eagerly looking eyes of his fourth brother, let alone Cang Tian Ruiyang. A malicious smile, and a silent "whore" mouth.

Emperor Jing bent his right index finger and middle finger, and tapped lightly on the table. The sound was not loud, but the sporadic conversations disappeared immediately, and more than a dozen princes and princesses were sitting tight, waiting for him to speak.

"Qi Guolai's envoy will return to the country in a few days. I plan to prepare a hunting in the Shanglin Garden on the [-]th of next month to promote the national prestige of our Great Cang Kingdom." Rising, bringing out a taste of high spirits.

His gaze finally fell on Cang Tianrui, who was eager to try, and his expression was particularly pleasant: "Tianrui, I will leave this errand to you."

At this time, the first month has just passed, and the sky is freezing. Although the winter in Jingjing, the capital of Cang Kingdom, is always mild, and there is little snow, it is no better than spring and autumn. Cang Tiansu passed by there when he returned from the rebellion. , uninhabited, everything is quiet, extremely desolate.

Cang Tiansu swallowed the nuts in his mouth, wiped the corners of his mouth with a handkerchief that pinched gold and dug clouds, he couldn't figure out what kind of tricks Emperor Jing was playing.

But it doesn't matter, as long as this kind of irresponsible errand doesn't fall on him, everything has nothing to do with him.

Emperor Jing was in high spirits today. After the dinner, he dragged a dozen or so sons to visit several ornamental gardens near the Royal Fragrance Garden. , and waved them free.

Princess Yang Nuan led her five younger sisters to greet Cang Tiansu generously. Because foreign ministers participated in the Hundred Flowers Banquet, female family members other than the queen were not allowed to participate. Strictly speaking, this time is also after Cang Tiansu came back. 's first meeting.

The eldest princess put her position on the bright side, and the other princesses also behaved obediently and obediently, and were very respectful to him.

As for his younger brothers, they are not so friendly anymore. Cang Tianrui snorted contemptuously and provocatively, and left with his sleeves. The other princes look at me, and I look at you. Seeing his elder brother's interest in the princesses Obviously bigger than them, they stood quietly for a while, then said goodbye tactfully, and turned back to their respective palaces.

After dismissing Yang Nuan who seemed too eager, Cang Tiansu walked towards the palace gate, Li Quan had already left with the emperor, but he didn't forget to leave a little eunuch for the eldest prince who didn't know the way, and held a lamp in front to guide the way.

Cang Tiansu took it for granted that at least today he would never see Eunuch Li again, but he didn't expect to hear a call from behind as soon as he walked beside the prince's car: "My lord, my lord, please wait!"

Li Quan moved his fat body and ran over panting, holding a small package wrapped in bright yellow satin in both hands.

"The emperor saw that you had little food at night, so he specially gave it to you." After saluting, Li Quan looked at him with special meaning, as if intending to pass on to him the mountain-like paternal love from Emperor Cangjing through such actions.

The small package in my hand was heavy, and it was full.

As early as when Li Quan was approaching, he could smell the familiar smell, the unique fragrance of pastries, which was far away from mountains and rivers, and it was as if the years were passing by.

Cang Tiansu lowered his eyelids halfway, his eyes were calm and calm: "Thank you, Eunuch Li."

The dinner party just arrived at Haishi, after several delays, when Cang Tiansu returned to the Prince's Mansion, it was almost midnight, except for the mansion which was still brightly lit and waiting for the return of the master, the surroundings were dark.

Liu Quan, who had heard the sound of the ruts for a long time, saw the carriages and horses, immediately went up to him, waved away the attendants who came forward to greet him, and personally helped him down: "My lord, Young General Duan has been waiting for you in the room for a long time."

It has been a while since Duan De passed away. Duan Yu has been promoted from "Young General Duan" to "General Duan" after his predecessors. Liu Quan still uses his original title.

Cang Tiansu nodded, indicating that he could step back, and waited until Liu Quan led the two guards on duty at the door of the study to leave, before opening the door and going in.

Cang Tiansu was born prematurely and fell to the ground at the age of seven months. She was born with insufficiency symptoms from her mother's womb. She was especially afraid of the cold. When winter came, her hands and feet were cold and she was so stiff that she couldn't hold a pen, so she paid extra attention to keeping warm.

The room was burning warmly. Duan Yu was wearing a single coat and sitting on the jujube wood armchair in front of the desk. He leaned back and was about to fall asleep in a daze. When he heard the door open, he woke up suddenly: "Well, who?"

He rubbed his sore eyes sleepily, and after seeing clearly that it was him, he continued to be silly: "Why did you even eat and take something when you went out?"

He had never seen the beautiful cloak on his wife-to-be, and saw the package in Cang Tiansu's hand, and wondered, "Didn't you enter the palace today? Why are you treated so well?"

Duan Yu felt that he was definitely not trying to provoke the relationship between father and son, but every time Cang Tiansu entered the palace, there would be some accidents. Duan Yu was really surprised to see that his expression was calm and indifferent.

Cang Tiansu put the package on the table, and casually pulled a chair and sat down: "How is the matter of Qi Guo? Father suddenly said today that they are leaving soon. Have you received similar news before?"

Although it has been a while since the Qi State envoys arrived in Beijing, the peace talks have been delayed because Cang Tiansu was ill in bed. It has only been a few days since the mission was handed over to him. Before they had time to make a detailed agreement, Emperor Jing suddenly said that he was going to slap his ass and leave. Thinking back to all the strange things today, he couldn't help feeling a little restless.

"There is no shadow, the contract has not been finalized yet, didn't you say yesterday that it will take at least a month? Don't let your good father tease you again." Duan Yu didn't care much, the two of them had a clear division of labor, He is only responsible for physical work, and the tasks that require brains have always been Cang Tiansu's task.

It's not that Duan Yu doesn't want to help his daughter-in-law share her worries, it's just that he doesn't have enough brains to intervene, so he naturally learned how to do it so as not to cause trouble.

Cang Tiansu pursed his lips and did not make a sound. He slept on the dragon bed for most of the day. Now he only feels physically and mentally exhausted, even more tired than when he received the order in the morning.

Duan Yu looked up at him, consciously leaned over to help him rub his forehead, and said courteously: "I'll let someone make a hot bath, you should take a good rest and sleep well, if you have anything to talk about tomorrow, if it doesn't work, I'll go Ask Uncle Li."

"Li Renqiang?" Cang Tiansu smiled lightly and shook his head, "He can't help me this time, I have a hunch that this weird thing is aimed at me."

Duan Yu didn't pay attention, he still insisted, his honest and peaceful face was full of seriousness: "I'll talk about everything tomorrow, you have to rest well, I've heard what Liu Quan said, these few nights in your room The lights never went out."

"Well, I fell asleep with the light on." Cang Tiansu opened his eyes calmly and said nonsense, because he knew that Duan Yu would never believe it, so he changed the subject by the way, "Are you going back to the General's Mansion today?"

The words were a little ambiguous, Duan Yu blushed, and seeing him lower his head and take off his cloak naturally, he realized that he had made a mistake. He just asked him where he slept today, and whispered in a slightly embarrassed voice: "No Let's go, it's already this hour, Uncle Duan should go to sleep."

Uncle Duan is the housekeeper of Duan Yu's residence.Duan Yu is currently living in General Zhenbei’s Mansion of Duan De, who was given to him by Emperor Jing, who had just inherited the Datong 18 years ago, as the first help in winning the heir. They are all born in the Duan family, so Duan Yu can live with peace of mind.

Cang Tiansu nodded without making any comments.

The embarrassment on Duan Yu's face became more obvious. This is a problem that has troubled him for a long time. can barely accept it.

But what makes Duan Yu very painful is that Cang Tiansu likes to be quiet and doesn't like to move since he was a child. He is not interested in all strenuous sports, and a certain sport is indeed a strenuous sport.

Of course, Duan Yu is not the kind of person who insists on several times a day. He himself has to spend several hours a day to exercise his muscles and bones, wielding knives and guns. He is also half-tired and needs a good rest.

Major General Duan gritted his teeth countless times, repeating to himself that his prospective daughter-in-law was just too tired, it was definitely not that he had no interest in him at all.

For a person who can't sleep for two hours a day, it is unrealistic and inhumane to ask people to have too much interest in gun battles.

——But counting with fingers, the last time they had sex was two months ago, and his lover's attitude was so cold, he would inevitably feel frustrated that he was not attractive enough.

As soon as he was in a daze with self-pity, Cang Tiansu had asked someone to prepare water to wash up. Seeing that he was still standing there, he wondered, "What's wrong?"

It was too embarrassing, Duan Yu blushed and lowered his head to cover up his gaffe, saw the package on the table at a glance, took it over, opened it, saw the square cake inside was as red as blood, and said in surprise: " What is this, why is it this color?"

"Yin Yan Cake." Cang Tiansu also stared at the contents in a daze, then lowered his head casually to cover it up, "When I was young, this was my favorite thing to eat."

It is also Emperor Cang Jing's favorite food, and it is the cause of all tragedies in his life.

Cang Tiansu is now standing at a height that allows him to understand the fateful inevitability of some things. Four years ago, even if there was no Yin Yan Cake and Osmanthus Cake, the Queen could think of other ways to put him to death. A fledgling The unfavored prince, unfavored, immoral and incompetent, how can he compete with the powerful Liu family, how can he compete with the middle palace who is in charge of the harem?He will eventually embark on the road of being convicted and deported.

But Cang Tiansu is still not a saint. He may be able to be as dead as water and not be surprised by favor or humiliation, but he will never be impartial and selfless. Yin Yangao directly caused the subsequent tragedy, and he cannot be unrepentant.

Duan Yu pinched one and took a bite, his facial features wrinkled immediately: "It's bitter and salty, it's unpalatable, why do you have such a weird taste?" He threw half of the cake in his hand on the table and took a sip The strong tea suppressed the strange taste in his mouth.

Cang Tiansu chuckled silently, picked up the shattered pastry that fell to the corner of the table, and gently put it in his mouth.

What Duan Yu said, Li Mi said, and Cang Tianci also said.After four years, Cang Tiansu silently swallowed the pastry in his mouth.

It's really bad, bitter and salty, like the worst cook hastily made it with the worst and cheapest ingredients, almost unpalatable.

The eldest prince of the Cang Kingdom turned his head and looked out the window, the darkness was dark, and the silent night sky was speechless.

The stars change, things change, and he still remembers that when he was young, he held a small piece of blood-red pastry like a treasure, carefully took a small bite, and held it in his mouth until it completely melted, and then reluctantly let it go into the throat.

Sweet to the bottom of my heart.

But only four years, one thousand four hundred and sixty days, such humble nostalgia, such ignorant longing, such ardent expectations, and the little thoughts that belonged to children have inevitably gone forever. It's like a lifetime away.

He finally completely cut off the lingering ties with his childhood. At this moment, Cang Tiansu was wrapped tightly by the surge of relief and relaxation.

The silence was a bit long, Duan Yu already sensed something was wrong, and whispered his name: "Susu, what's the matter, what are you thinking?"

His Royal Highness Prince Yong of the Great Cang Kingdom raised his eyes, and the dark phoenix eyes shimmered brightly, "It's nothing, I was throwing out the trash just now."

Take out the trash?What's the meaning?Duan Yu looked at the half cake in his hand, nodded wisely, did not raise any doubts, but responded with the situation: "Have you lost it yet?"

"It's over." Cang Tiansu nodded, took a step forward, and gently pressed a kiss on his lips, "It's getting late, let's rest."