set of flowers

Outside the palace gate, the guards followed persistently. An Mingxi refused several times. When nothing worked, he couldn't suppress his anger any longer, and roared "Get out", but the guards trembled, but they didn't retreat. Just before the conflict intensified, Hua Qianyu appeared and said, "Leave the job of guarding His Highness to me."

Although the number of manpower is extremely small, after all, the general personally guards them. They have heard about Hua Qianyu's effort, not to mention that An Mingxi did not reject Hua Qianyu's proposal. In this case, Hua Qianyu is indeed the best guard Candidates.

An Mingxi took a step forward, and Hua Qianyu followed behind him.

"Where is your Highness going?"

An Mingxi didn't reply, just walked.

"Are you looking for me?" Hua Qianyu lowered his voice, his voice was soft, "That's why we need to avoid them."

An Mingxi did not deny it.

"But, Mingxi, have you forgotten? They belong directly to the emperor...now, they belong to you."

An Mingxi turned his head when he heard the sound, and the moment he met Shang Hua Qianyu's gentle eyes, his eyes were red: "I'd rather..." He choked up, unable to speak further.

"I know, I know." Hua Qianyu comforted her with soft words.He couldn't hug the sad person in front of him, so he could only comfort him with words—the future emperor should not be infected with gossip before he ascended the throne.

An Mingxi avoids the gentleness, walks towards the crowd, blends in and then leaves the crowd.

Passing by a wood carving stall, Hua Qianyu took a smiling face mask casually, and the broken silver fell from his hand and fell into the wood carving toy. Before the stall owner could react, he followed An Mingxi away.Arriving at a less-traveled place, Hua Qianyu put on a mask for An Mingxi, dragged An Mingxi into a deserted alley, turned a few corners, and suddenly turned around and hugged him——

"Are you going to cry?" Hua Qianyu asked, patting his back lightly with his right hand.

Such a scene cannot be seen by anyone, at least An Mingxi cannot be recognized by others.

An Mingxi didn't say anything, but just embraced Hua Qianyu's back in the same way.After such silence for a long time, An Mingxi opened his mouth and said, "I haven't talked to Father about us yet." His voice sounded very calm.

"Ah."

"Fortunately, at least he didn't let him go away with anger in the end."

"Yes." Hua Qianyu tightened his arms.

"But... what if it goes smoother than I imagined? If the father...he can't hear it anymore, he can never get an answer, forever..." An Mingxi choked up and fell silent.

Hua Qianyu felt the trembling of the person in her arms—what should I say to comfort her?Although he also lost a close relative, his mother passed away early, and it was too late to appear in his memories. Even though he was sad for Hua Qianshu's "death" for a long time when he was a child, since he knew it was an oolong, the sadness passed away in an instant. , he couldn't recall the pain, at this moment he just felt sorry for An Mingxi, he couldn't empathize with An Mingxi, no matter how nice the words were, he was just arrogant, all he could give was a hug.

"Sorry." Hua Qianyu said.

An Mingxi shook his head and said, "Thank you."

Hua Qianyu's kiss fell on the mask, and then remained silent, waiting for time to pass, and for the sadness to dissipate with the wind.

……

For many people with old-fashioned ideas, the eldest son is the chosen successor, but Gaozu swore to all living beings at the beginning of the founding of the country, that Da Ning chooses talents, and the emperor is the same.Therefore, the princes must be approved by the ministers to be eligible to become the prince. Even so, it does not mean that the prince who receives the most support can be the prince.The power of the king is bestowed by the gods, and only the emperor can replace the gods in choosing the next emperor.

This contest ended with An Qingxuan's death, that is, without other orders, An Mingxi was An Qingxuan's final choice, and he would inherit the throne logically.However, when the emperor passed away, all living beings wore mourning, and the enthronement ceremony could only be held after the funeral. During this period, the prime ministers discussed the state affairs together, and the crown prince was the final one. An Mingxi was also equivalent to the emperor in the true sense.

"Can I do well?" An Mingxi asked suddenly.

He was sitting in front of the bronze mirror, and Ah Jiu, who had already combed his hair, took a white cloth and tied it up.

Ah Jiu didn't know what he was going to do, but still said: "Your Highness has done well enough."

An Mingxi shook his head: "I am not the candidate my father expected."

"Your Highness is worrying too much. How can the crown prince be a trifling matter? No matter what His Majesty thinks, he must be chosen because he thinks His Highness can take on this important task." As he spoke, Ah Jiu sighed. It's too light."

Well, now is not the time to think about such things.An Mingxi turned to ask: "Where is the big brother?"

"Going to see His Majesty." Ah Jiu replied.He had reported this earlier, and when An Mingxi asked again, he was obviously absent-minded.

"Ah."

An Mingxi got up and walked out of the seat, opened his arms, asked Ah Jiu to put on the linen clothes for him, and then tied a white belt around his waist, then walked outside, bypassing the palace walls, and walked to An Qingxuan's body step by step forward.How many days have passed, and he still kept reaching out to test An Qingxuan's breathing, heartbeat, and body temperature, trying to find proof that he was still alive - but found nothing.

After standing quietly for a long time, a distant and solemn bell sounded outside the hall, and Wan San then shouted "The auspicious time has come", everyone in the hall knelt down in unison, and An Mingxi and the other three princes carried the body into the coffin, Pay respects to An Qingxuan's final appearance.

The scent of sandalwood mixed with the rotten smell of the corpse, in a daze, An Mingxi thought of 11 years ago... At that time, the mother and concubine were buried early, it could even be said to be hasty, and he was not allowed to visit and sleep when he was young For the mother and concubine in the coffin, the only memory of that funeral was sandalwood, which was so thick that it made people dizzy. At that time, there were no bells, and no one was crying. It took a long time to accept the reality that there are no more concubines in the world.

If he dies, who will remember him?

The Taoist priests shook the three clear bells in their hands, and the princes stepped back and knelt at the front, listening to the Taoist priests muttering sutras for salvation. Suddenly, the sound of bells, mourning, chanting, and copper bells mixed together. Unexpectedly, An Mingxi didn't feel noisy, because he couldn't listen to anything.

I don't know how long it took, and I don't know what Wan San said, the coffin lid was finally closed, and several coffin bearers carried the heavy coffin and walked out, and relatives got up and followed behind.

In front of the Xuanzheng Hall, the officials standing at both ends of the long steps knelt silently and lowered their heads, not looking at the coffin being carried into the Xuanzheng Hall.

The relatives were exhausted from crying, but the singers still sang dirges in unison.

The ceremony is far from over, and the funeral can only take place after the 27th. During this period, ceremonies such as ceremonies and posthumous posthumous ceremonies need to be held.Unlike when he sent his mother and concubine away, he has grown up and has a longer time to say goodbye to his father.

……

The palace servants withdrew from the door, only An Mingyang and An Mingxi were left in Nuo Da's bedroom, which was even more empty.

"I want to guard the mausoleum for my father," An Mingyang said, "to make up for it."

An Mingxi shook his head: "The Turks have just been pacified, and the emperor's brother went to northern Xinjiang for the sake of the country and the father...the emperor's brother is a proud existence." Before he knew it, An Mingxi lowered his head.

——And he is not worthy, An Mingxi thinks he is not worthy of the throne, but he doesn't know whether he should give up the throne, after all, An Qingxuan never mentioned the real candidate for the throne to him before his death.

"Since I was not able to accompany you during the last days, I should be the escort for the last journey." An Mingyang's tone was calm but firm.

"January, January at most, I don't think the father wants to trap the emperor's brother in the mausoleum."

"The matter in northern Xinjiang is over. Afterwards, General Peng can deal with it. My existence is not necessary."

Hearing this, An Mingxi suddenly said: "Is the eldest brother interested in the throne?"

An Mingyang smelled a hint of danger, but instead of avoiding the danger, he responded, "Yes."

I thought An Mingyang would say no, such an answer was beyond An Mingxi's expectations, but An Mingxi didn't shy away from it, and just said: "Brother Dahuang wants it, so I'll give it to you."

"So the throne is something that can be easily handed over to others? Have you thought about it?"

"Maybe not, but Brother Dahuang should be more suitable for this position than me."

"You don't like it?"

An Mingxi shook his head and smiled wryly: "I'm still nostalgic, the word 'for you' is insincere, but it's not mine, no matter how tightly I hold it, I can't feel at ease."

The bell outside still maintained its regularity, ringing again and again, overflowing from the temple, floating to the four corners of the capital, announcing An Qingxuan's death.

An Qingxuan left too early, he didn't have time to make real achievements, and he didn't want to end up in such a hasty way, but he didn't want to take advantage of An Qingxuan's death to take advantage of his death—is it possible that he should be grateful for this?

"You are the prince, the throne must be yours, why are you uneasy?"

An Mingxi still shook his head: "Father has already made it clear that I am not the final candidate."

An Mingyang smiled, this was the first time An Mingxi saw his smile since he returned to Beijing.

"I'm not interested in power. After the period of guarding the mausoleum expires, if there is no place that needs me, I plan to travel around..." An Mingyang said, "I don't think you know that when I come back this time, I also brought back Father's imperial decree."

An Mingxi's eyes widened slightly.

"I think you will be curious about the content."

An Mingxi's eyes were deep, and after a while, he asked, "Is it An Mingjing who announced his succession?"

An Mingyang regained his expression and became solemn again: "Yes."

As if falling suddenly from a high place, An Mingxi's heart sank to the bottom of the valley, and the sourness also sank into his stomach, his internal organs were corroded and sore and painful.Without this imperial decree, he could still deceive himself that he gave up his seat, but An Qingxuan's move made him clearly realize that he is an abandoned pawn and a stepping stone for An Mingjing...

He really is nothing.

"What will you do?"

An Mingxi raised his eyes and looked at An Mingyang, the corners of his mouth slightly raised, trying to hide his embarrassment, pretending to be calm, and said: "Observe the order."

An Mingyang got up, went to the closet, squatted down and found a roll of golden silk brocade from under his feet, walked over and handed it to An Mingxi.

An Mingxi was puzzled: "This is..."

"Whether to read it or not is up to you."

An Mingxi unfolded it, and saw that the content on it was the same as what An Mingyang said, so he still gave the edict back to An Mingyang.

"It's not the time yet. After the emperor's burial, the elder brother will announce the world in the Xuanzheng Hall in the morning." He seemed to have accepted his fate.

"You're not going to destroy it?"

Hearing this, An Mingxi thought there was something hidden, because he didn't think that An Mingyang valued him so much, and even violated An Qingxuan's intentions.He didn't express his confusion, and said solemnly: "This is the will of the father."

An Mingyang shook his head: "This is only a part... The throne belongs to you." He put the imperial decree on the table, stared intently at the person in front of him, and carefully observed An Mingxi's performance when he heard every word he said.

"This," An Mingyang patted the imperial decree lightly, "it's just a second hand—when you can't pass the test."

"test?"

"I don't want to say more about this. I think you know that the father doesn't like brotherhood. Perhaps your soft temper is the biggest reason why the father let you be the first candidate. I hope you don't hold the power when you are in power. It has changed. Of course, if you really don't want to sit there, you can also send this imperial decree before the enthronement ceremony." After speaking, An Mingyang sent out the silk brocade again.

An Mingxi's dim eyes flashed brightly for a moment, but he was pleasantly surprised only for a moment. After realizing An Qingxuan's true meaning, he suddenly felt a sore nose. He looked at the imperial decree and pondered for a long time, and said the plan that had been hidden in his heart for a long time.

After hearing this, An Mingyang frowned: "This is risky."

An Mingxi pushed back the imperial decree and said: "So this is in the custody of the eldest brother. If I have a different opinion, you can show it to the world."

An Mingyang did not expect that An Mingxi would not be defensive enough to only consider others, so he bluntly stated the risks An Mingxi would face: "If this decree is in the hands of Ming Jing, you will not be afraid that he will make a fake show and replace you logically." ?” This imperial decree should not be known by the fourth person.

"Brother Dahuang thinks he is that kind of person?"

"You don't think so?" Mingming An Mingxi and An Mingjing didn't seem to get along.

"I trust Hua Qianyu."

Knowing that the relationship between the two is very close, An Mingyang didn't say any more, but asked, "Do I need you to talk to Qianyu?"

An Mingxi shook his head: "It's best not to see each other."

Afterwards they will be enemies.