The shadow of the country

That day, Yilan walked alone in the plum garden outside the bedroom where the concubine mother used to live.Since the mother and concubine passed away, no concubine lived here anymore.Yilan would send people here every month to clean the inner hall and take care of the plum trees in the garden so that the place would not be barren.

Back then, the death of the concubine mother was related to the queen, and today she was finally able to avenge the concubine mother.Yilan clearly remembered that the concubine mother died of illness on the ninth day of December three years ago. Before she died, she told him to take good care of Yijin and try her best for the throne.Now, the prince has been deposed, and there is no one in the court who can rival him.Although his father has not made him the crown prince for a long time, Yi Lan also knows that it will be a matter of time before he inherits the throne.He has been trying his best to take care of Yijin.As for himself, he has also found a lover who can stay with him for the rest of his life.If the mother concubine has a spirit in the sky, she can rest in peace, right? ...

While thinking about this, Yi Lan walked in the plum garden, not noticing that a person had quietly appeared in front of him.When Yi Lan found him, she couldn't help being surprised and was stunned for a while, and then said to An: "I see my father Wan An."

The person walking in front was the emperor, but there was no eunuch following him.The emperor looked up at Yilan, didn't say much, but walked over to help him up, and said slowly: "Yilan, get up. Today I'm just a father, not an emperor."

Yilan didn't expect her father to use "I" instead of "Zhen"; she just walked over to help her up, instead of saying "Pingshen" as a high-ranking emperor, the emperor only talked to herself as a father. It was really the first time.After Yi Lan lost her mind for a while, she still said cautiously: "The emperor and his ministers are first the emperor and then the father and son. The emperor and the ministers follow the rules, and the sons don't dare to overrule easily."

The emperor smiled wryly, "The monarch and his ministers are in harmony? Isn't it that it cuts off the friendship between the father and son of the emperor's family? Power, is it so loved to the extreme, can't stop? Even the closest wife and son have to plan... Lonely, widowed, It really is a lonely family..." The emperor sighed with emotion, and continued: "Yilan, today you just think of me as a father, okay? Let's have a heart-to-heart talk with father and son. Father... There are many things I want to tell you."

It is rare for Yi Lan to see her father so lost and helpless, she nodded her head in disbelief, "What my father wants to say, my son just listens to it."

In the next two hours, the emperor talked with Yilan a lot, such as the noble concubine, Yijin Yijun, the empress and prince...even the emperor told Yilan a lot about how to be a king.At the end, the emperor asked Yi Lan seriously, do you want to be emperor?Yi Lan didn't answer, but said reverently: "If the father doesn't give it to me, the son will not take the initiative to grab it."

The emperor lightly patted him on the shoulder, looked at Yi Lan with deep meaning, and said, "Father has not made you the crown prince of the East Palace for a long time, just because he is afraid that some villainous minister will harm you. In fact, this son, sooner or later, father I will leave it to you." After the emperor finished speaking, he turned around and left the plum garden silently, while Liu Yilan stood there in a daze.

After Yilan returned to the Lanling Hall, she saw a large pile of treasures that almost filled the main hall, and she only found out what these rewards were after asking a maid.It turned out that it was Mu Yan who shot the assassin that night and saved him, and the emperor specially rewarded Mu Yan for his meritorious service.In addition, he was also granted the title of Marquis of Zhongning and given him a residence in the Marquis.Yi Lan smiled slightly after hearing this.Turning into the inner hall, unexpectedly Mu Yan was sitting in front of the desk, resting his chin on his hands with a gloomy face.

Yi Lan found a random place to sit down, and smiled at him, "Why are you so sad? Father has rewarded you so much, you should be happier."

Mu Yan had just been thinking about things in a daze, and he didn't notice that Yi Lan had come in. Now he came back to his senses, but his face was clouded: "Actually, the money is nothing more than enough. The emperor rewarded you." So much is wasted..."

Yi Lan frowned slightly: "You can't talk nonsense. Is there any reason not to accept something that the emperor personally rewards?"

"I know, I've received an order to thank you just now." Mu Yan said, and turned to face Yilan again, "But I just raised my hand for that arrow, and I won't get rewarded for nothing. Well. The emperor is also a feudal lord, and also bestowed on the lord's mansion. The prince is a foreign minister, how can he live in the palace for a long time?"

It was only then that Yilan realized that it turned out that he was frowning because of this.So he couldn't help laughing and said, "What? Can't bear me?"

When Mu Yan heard this, a blush appeared on his face, "No, of course not. It's just that I'm not used to living in other places for a while."

"Lie." Yi Lan tapped his head lightly with her fingers and smiled.

Mu Yan sighed lightly: "I'm about to move out, you still have the heart to make fun of me."

"Okay. If you still want to live in the palace, I'll go and tell Father. Why are you so sad?"

Hearing what he said, Mu Yan felt relieved, but couldn't help asking: "Can the emperor agree? After all, the royal ancestral system is here..."

"Don't worry, father doesn't care about these things. It's just that you have to be more careful in the future. Although Marquis is only a title, he has no fiefdom and no military power, but he is no different from his previous status as a personal servant. He can always be regarded as a prince. From now on You must be more careful in everything." Yi Lan reminded.

Mu Yan nodded, and after a while, he spoke again: "By the way, I only shot the assassin that night with an arrow. In fact, the main credit lies with you. Then, why didn't the emperor give you some rewards?"

Yi Lan smiled, and after thinking for a while, she said to Mu Yan, "I'll take you to meet someone."

"Huh? Who is it?"

"You will know when you go."

In this way, he took Mu Yan through a large plum grove first, and then entered an empty palace.The furnishings in the hall are very simple and simple, but very neat.Looking at the modest palace, Mu Yan couldn't help wondering, "Is the person you want to bring me to meet in this palace?"

Yi Lan didn't say much, but went to the semi-old cabinet next to her, and took out a wooden rectangular wooden box from it.He opened the wooden box, and took out the contents very gently and carefully—it was a painting mounted on a scroll.Yi Lan unfolded the scroll carefully, and on the painting was a beautiful woman with cheeks like snow.Her makeup is light, and the clothes she wears are simple yet elegant.Her faint smile reveals kindness and softness, and her eyebrows and eyes look a bit like Yilan.

Mu Yan leaned over to look at the painting, "This is?—"

"This is my concubine mother. This palace is where she lived all the time. Concubine mother doesn't like flashy things, so the furnishings in this palace are a little more simple." Yi Lan said while hanging the portrait up.He knelt down in front of the portrait again, and after earnest obeisance, he inserted three sticks of incense into the incense burner in front of the portrait, and then stood in front of the portrait: "Mother Concubine, today is the day when the queen will be beheaded. You got your revenge."

"Revenge? Wasn't the empress at the canonization ceremony when the concubine Ru concubine died of illness?" Mu Yan asked casually, only to feel inappropriate as soon as the words came out, but unfortunately it was too late.

Yi Lan didn't mind it, she still looked at the portrait on the wall thoughtfully, "My concubine mother was already critically ill, if there was an imperial doctor to treat me at that time, maybe my concubine's life could be saved But at that time even an imperial doctor didn’t dare to come. Later, I felt that the matter was strange, so I went to investigate it. It turned out that the queen issued a decree, saying that any imperial doctor who dares to come to treat my mother and concubine will be killed without mercy. What’s more What's more, my mother and concubine fell out of favor more than ten years ago, and it was also because of the empress's greedy words in front of the father." Yi Lan said this, and slowly closed her eyes: "At that time, I was just a prince who fell out of power, and I was also a prince. I can't help my concubine even a little bit..."

Mu Yan listened, and after a moment of silence, he said: "I'm sorry. I don't know these things... I shouldn't ask you these things that make you sad."

Yilan came back to her senses at this moment, and said warmly to Mu Yan: "Don't be sorry. I have never forgotten these things in the past three years. But now the mother and concubine's revenge has been avenged, and it finally comforts the mother and concubine's spirit in heaven. After that, he took Mu Yan's hand again, and knelt down to the portrait again: "Concubine Mother, this is the Marquis of Zhongning who was just conferred by the Emperor Father, and I brought him to see you today. He is innocent and kind, There is no half-distraction, it is not easy to have such a pure and peaceful existence in the palace. Although we are both men, my son... has already fallen in love with him, and he has long had affection for him. My son is not filial, but ...May the mother and concubine help us."

Mu Yan was very surprised when he heard this, and couldn't help feeling touched, feeling extremely emotional.He knew that he would not be able to give Yilan a child after all. "There are three ways to be unfilial, and having no offspring is the greatest." This is true in ordinary households, not to mention that Yi Lan was born in the royal family, and may be the future emperor.The dignified prince likes a man, and if it is rumored that he will be scolded by the world... But he never expected that Yi Lan would have the courage to admit it in front of his mother and concubine, and beg for his fulfillment.Thinking of this, Mu Yan finally couldn't hold back his tears, dripping down on the floor tiles.It is moving, and it is persistence.Even if thousands of people obstruct and thousands of people scold, he is willing to accept it completely—as long as he can still be with him.

Mu Yan held Yilan's hand instead, and kowtowed deeply towards the portrait: "Ms. Rufei, I know that same-sex love is not the norm between men and women. But I... sincerely want to be with him. If there is such a day , Yilan is caught in fire and water, and I will definitely protect him even if I give up everything, so as not to let him suffer any harm... So now, I beg you to make it happen."

Seeing him crying, Yi Lan panicked and hurriedly wiped away his tears.Wen Yan said: "The concubine mother is generous and virtuous, and she will definitely help us."

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☆, 25. Suiyou