The boy didn't dare to disturb the people around him.
As if he was afraid that his actions would disrespect him.
A faint bitter fragrance wafts around the nose.
Its body is as white as the moon, brighter than the silver plate in the sky.
In an instant, Xie Bufeng's entire shoulder felt as if it had been struck by a weak electric current, causing a slight numbness.
Restless mind.
The breath that was originally held, at this moment, became disordered along with the heartbeat.
Wen Qingci rested his forehead lightly on Xie Bufeng's shoulder. It was a cold and dewy night, so he did not sleep well.
Xie Bufeng also frowned slowly.
He wanted to carry Wen Qingci back to the side hall, but he was afraid that he would hurt the people around him because he did not know the seriousness of the matter.
I stood there for a long while, not knowing what to do.
During the first ten years of his life, Xie Bufeng was extremely willful and reckless, always doing whatever he wanted.
Growing up in an evil mindset, he developed a disposition that didn't care about other people's feelings. When had the boy ever been so cautious
Another breeze blew, creating ripples on the pond.
Although it is summer, the night wind is still cold.
Wen Qingci's body also trembled slightly because of this.
A delicate feeling spread along the forehead and shoulders that were pressed against each other, and spread to every part of the body.
Xie Bufeng finally turned around slowly, held Wen Qingci's shoulders and thighs, and carefully picked up the person next to him.
I didn't dare move my hands at all.
The person in my arms is as light as a feather.
Xie Bufeng subconsciously thought of the night of the Taishu Palace coup.
Just like that, I walked out of the sea of fire step by step, holding Wen Qingci, who was covered in blood.
The image of the lamb on a snowy night appeared in his mind again.
The panic of losing something enveloped Xie Bufeng tightly, making it difficult for him to breathe.
The boy subconsciously hugged the person in his arms tightly.
However, the next moment, seeing Wen Qingci's slightly furrowed brows in his arms, Xie Bufeng couldn't help but relax the strength in his hands.
For a moment, he didn't know whether to use force or let go. It was as if his whole body no longer belonged to him and he didn't know what to do.
Wen Qingci fell asleep and subconsciously chased after the source of heat.
At the moment when the young man carried him into the side hall, the nose of the person in his arms accidentally rubbed against the young man's arm.
The string in Xie Bufeng's heart broke into two with a "clang" sound.
Since the last palace coup, the distinction between "title" and "official" in the Wei Dynasty has become increasingly clear.
Although the Second Prince Xie Guanzhi had a high status, he had never worked in the six ministries and did not even hold a nominal position.
This did not change after he began to take charge of state affairs.
Xie Guanzhi didn’t think there was anything wrong before, but after handling official business for a few days, he finally realized that everything he did was restricted in every way.
No important decision could be made.
One day later, in De Zhang Palace.
It was not yet dawn, but Xie Guanzhi, dressed in a purple robe, was already waiting outside the palace.
Official business from Yongdu has to be delivered every few days.
There was a lot of backlog during the period when the emperor had just "fallen ill" and had not yet ordered the second prince to take charge of state affairs.
In order to deal with these matters, the second prince has been working almost non-stop in recent days and has lost a lot of weight.
Although he had learned from famous teachers and worked very hard, he was only a seventeen-year-old boy after all and had no experience in dealing with these things.
Suddenly, the affairs of the court were placed on his shoulders, and physical and mental pressure came upon him at the same time.
The boy's beautiful fox eyes were filled with fatigue, and there was a hint of dark circles under his eyes.
“Second Prince, it’s not that we don’t want to let you in… It’s just that His Majesty is recuperating and cannot see you.” Eunuch Xian stood outside the palace, saying helplessly.
Xie Guanzhi was stopped outside the door by him and had difficulty getting in.
After saying this, Eunuch Xian sighed heavily and said, "You know, His Majesty's condition is not very good this time... If His Majesty's health was still the same as usual, you wouldn't have to be so busy recently."
Eunuch Xian's tone was extremely sincere, and at first glance it seemed that there was nothing wrong.
But when he heard this, a hint of impatience flashed in Xie Guanzhi's eyes.
He suddenly looked up and sneered at the eunuch: "Then I can't go in to visit my father, take care of him at his sickbed, and show my filial piety?"
“Uh… this…” Eunuch Xian’s expression suddenly changed.
This was the first time the second prince wanted to see the emperor, but he was stopped outside the door and could not enter.
He is not like Concubine Hui, who believes everything others say.
Xie Guanzhi only knew that if the emperor was really as seriously ill as the legend said, as his most favored prince, he should be able to go in and see him even if he didn't ask about official business.
—Unless the emperor deliberately avoids him.
This thought, which had long been buried in Xie Guanzhi's heart but which he had never wanted to think about, suddenly popped up again.
The boy slowly clenched his palms.
After all, he was the prince who was in charge of state affairs, so at least Xie Guanzhi was not stopped at the gate like Concubine Hui.
At this time, he had already entered the courtyard where the emperor lived, but was always blocked from entering the palace.
Xie Guanzhi has been pampered by the emperor and Concubine Hui since he was a child, and has always been a man with a bad temper.
As he spoke, his voice became much louder.
Fearing that they would get into trouble, the eunuchs and palace maids around them all lowered their heads like quails.
Xie Guanzhi looked around and said in a deep voice, "Since we can't go in, I'll just speak out here. An urgent report just came from Yongdu that the Northern Di invaded our territory and requested reinforcements. This matter is urgent and of great importance. I must see my father in person."
As he spoke, the boy's brow was filled with anxiety.
Although the Wei Dynasty had a vast territory and there were fertile areas like Dengcheng Prefecture in the south, most of the area had not yet been developed. Not only was the climate humid and full of miasma, but it was also sparsely populated and the land was divided into small pieces by low hills, making it difficult to use.
In comparison, the North, which has a thousand-year farming history, is much more stable.
The only major threat is the Northern Di.
When the territory was rich in water and grass, the Northern Di would keep to themselves and the Wei Dynasty, and even engage in friendly trade.
But if the weather is not good, the Northern Di will move south in large numbers and plunder the towns of the Wei Dynasty.
This winter, Yongdu had auspicious snow that heralded a good harvest.
However, a "white disaster" struck the areas further north. The grasslands of the Northern Di were covered with thick snow. Due to the low temperature and lack of water, livestock soon died in large numbers.
Now, the Northern Di people have finally reached the point where they have no choice but to move south to make a living.
Both the Wei Dynasty and the Beidi knew that there was not much difference in strength between them.
Therefore, the Northern Di never dared to invade on a large scale. They would rob enough of what they needed for life, fight a few symbolic battles, and then return to their own territory.
Generally speaking, when faced with such a situation, the Central Plains dynasty would send more troops to several checkpoints they frequently passed through to ease local pressure in order to get through this period smoothly.
For many years, these two forces have maintained a strange balance.
It's not difficult to deal with this.
However, as Xie Guanzhi was only a prince and did not hold any official position, he had no right to mobilize troops.
Things came to a standstill for a while.
Every word Xie Guanzhi spoke was powerful and sounded particularly serious.
But after hearing his words, the old eunuch opposite still smiled and said, "When your Majesty's condition improves, I will convey this matter to you."
His attitude really irritated Xie Guanzhi.
"After His Majesty gets better?" Xie Guanzhi couldn't help but repeat his words and took a step forward.
Eunuch Xian was shocked.
Seeing the young man's actions, the guard standing beside him suddenly became nervous, and he subconsciously tightened the long sword hanging at his waist.
However, the second prince just glanced at him with disdain and did not move forward.
"I can wait, but can Beidi wait any longer?" He couldn't help but raise his voice.
Xie Guanzhi suddenly felt that everything before his eyes was ridiculous.
The father who had spoiled him since he was a child seemed like a completely different person.
Not only did he refuse to see me, he even made jokes about state affairs.
Eunuch Xian had raised me since I was a child. Whenever he saw me, the old eunuch's face was always filled with kindness and concern.
But today, he pretended not to understand what he said, frowned and said in distress: "Your Highness, you are embarrassing me. I am just a eunuch and don't understand the affairs of the court. I really don't understand what you said..."
The virtuous eunuch followed the emperor to court every day and was a most shrewd of men.
How could he not understand this
He really lived too clearly.
The virtuous eunuch, who had long seen through the emperor's mind and firmly stood on his side, no longer even did his superficial work.
And through his attitude, Xie Guanzhi finally confirmed a certain guess in his heart...
My father became wary of me.
Even more than that.
"Okay." Xie Guanzhi said fiercely.
He was too lazy to argue with the eunuch in front of him, so he turned around and walked quickly out of the courtyard.
Since he was a child, Xie Guanzhi felt that his father was especially good to him.
Whenever he had nothing to do, Xie Zhaolin would come to the palace to play with him, and the emperor never pursued the little mistakes he made.
Even the first time the emperor was angry with Guan Zhi was because of the incident when the third prince smuggled trapped animals into the palace.
That's right. Xie Guanzhi always thought that the relationship between him and his father was no different from that between ordinary fathers and sons among the people.
The boy was too lazy to think about it, nor did he care how he had suddenly made the emperor so wary of him.
He only realized belatedly that he had never been a future crown prince or an ordinary son to his father.
But... like a pet.
When he has nothing to do, he might come to amuse himself, play around and have fun.
But at the end of the day, pets are just pets.
If one day he is made unhappy or his interests are involved, the emperor can immediately turn against you.
Xie Guanzhi felt a chill in his heart.
He couldn't help but think of his grandfather... On the day of the palace coup, he seemed to have been casually thrown aside by the emperor. Thanks to good luck, he was able to survive.
From then on, he, who had always admired the emperor, became very secretive when mentioning this supreme ruler.
Now it seems that everything has been traced.
It's just that I... have been blinded by the so-called hypocritical "fatherly love" and "family affection" and can never see it.
Perhaps in the emperor's eyes, there is no essential difference between him and Xie Bufeng.
Xie Guanzhi clenched his teeth.
This is different from Xie Bufeng, who grew up alone in Suzhou and never felt this kind of family affection since childhood.
After realizing this, Xie Guanzhi's heart sank.
He walked quickly out of the yard in silence, not wanting to stop for a moment.
Although the emperor had no health problems, he was still "recuperating" and he still put in a lot of effort to keep up appearances.
For example, almost every day, he would call Wen Qingci into the palace, pretend to take his pulse, and then prepare some medicine for him.
As luck would have it, when Xie Guanzhi was leaving the hospital, Wen Qing was leaving the back hall to take the patient's pulse.
The imperial physician, dressed in moon-white and carrying a medicine box, slowly walked out of the side hall and walked towards Xie Guanzhi.
Seeing that the boy's eyes had turned red at some point, he couldn't help but be slightly startled.
"Second Prince?"
Wen Qingci paused, put down the medicine box and bowed to the young man.
Seeing this, Xie Guanzhi just gave Wen Qingci a fierce look, without even nodding his head, and continued to move forward.
At the same time, he clenched his fists silently.
As luck would have it, during the rare embarrassing moments in Xie Guanzhi's life, he would always meet Wen Qingci.
The moment they passed each other, he couldn't help but recall the other person's look full of compassion a few months ago.
Now it seems that Wen Qingci's expression was correct.
I really should be pitied.
"Your Highness, wait a moment." Wen Qingci suddenly turned around and called out to Xie Guanzhi.
Before the young man could react, he handed over a brand new white silk handkerchief, nodded slightly, and walked quickly into the hall without saying another word.
Xie Guanzhi subconsciously took the thing in his hand.
The slightly cool silk handkerchief still carried the bitter scent of that person.
Xie Guanzhi turned around and wanted to throw it away, but then he finally realized... He felt a little chill on his cheek without knowing when.
It's tears.
The young man suddenly lowered his eyes, clenched the handkerchief in his hand, and walked out of the hall quickly.
When there was no one around, she slowly raised her hand and wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes as quickly as possible.
The next second, he returned to his usual arrogant look.
—
The battle report was sent directly from the north via Yongdu.
The person who delivered the letter was not an ordinary postman, but a soldier.
He has been waiting here for a long time.
"Second Prince, may I ask what His Majesty says?"
As soon as Xie Guanzhi returned to the study, the soldier who delivered the letter walked up to him quickly and asked him anxiously.
The boy was silent for a moment and shook his head slightly.
The other party didn't understand what he meant and looked at him suspiciously.
Xie Guanzhi didn't say much. He walked straight to the desk, picked up a pen and quickly wrote down the specific arrangements for the reinforcements.
Sending reinforcements to Beidi was an extremely common thing.
Even though Xie Guanzhi was acting as the state affairs officer for the first time, he was able to handle it quickly.
The soldier's eyes couldn't help but fall on the paper.
"This..." He paused, raised his head hesitantly and asked, "Don't you want to ask His Majesty?"
He saw that the letter was written entirely by Xie Guanzhi in his own tone, rather than on behalf of the emperor.
There was nothing wrong with what Xie Guanzhi wrote, but... if he remembered correctly, the prince in front of him did not have the authority to mobilize troops.
"Your Majesty's illness has not yet recovered." The young man said coldly.
Xie Guanzhi wrote very quickly and finished the content in no time. He put it in an envelope, sealed it with wax, and handed it to the soldier.
"Just pretend you didn't see what I wrote and take it with you. Open it when you get there."
The Beidi issue must be resolved as soon as possible, but it has been delayed for several days.
Although the Northern Di and the Central Dynasty had been testing each other for thousands of years, they had reached a tacit understanding between the changes of war and peace.
But sometimes, it only takes a small thing to break the balance.
If the Wei Dynasty fails to respond in time to this invasion, the desires and ambitions of the Northern Di will likely expand in an instant.
Xie Guanzhi can't go gambling.
The soldier hesitated and took the envelope back.
When a general is away from his king's orders, he may accept some orders and may not.
Even if he directly stated that he knew Xie Guanzhi had exceeded his authority, the emperor, who was known for his virtue, might only give him a light punishment.
What's more, Xie Guanzhi asked him to pretend he didn't know...
The soldier saluted solemnly to Xie Guanzhi and quickly retreated.
When there was no one around, the boy finally gritted his teeth and swept everything on the table away.
There was a sharp noise in the study, and the palace maids and eunuchs guarding outside were all so nervous that they watched their noses and hearts.
But Xie Guanzhi, who was standing in the mess, gritted his teeth and smiled.
Who would have thought that I had been living in a scam for the past decade
Xie Guanzhi was in charge of state affairs, and his act of exceeding his authority to increase troops in an emergency situation might be considered a gray area of behavior.
Whether to pursue the case or not is entirely up to the emperor.
The young man was too lazy to think about how much of the emperor's serious illness was true or false.
He only knew that since the emperor chose not to see him, the answer was very clear.
—He is forcing himself to overstep his authority.
Not only do I intend to investigate this matter, but I intend to investigate it to the end.
"Your Majesty, someone has already left with the Second Prince's letter," Eunuch Xian stepped forward to salute. He smiled and added, "From the looks of it, the Second Prince should have bypassed you and sent reinforcements to Beidi."
Wen Qingci had been unknowingly classified into the emperor's camp, and the two men did not avoid talking to him at all.
Hearing this, the "seriously ill" emperor slowly raised his eyes, smiled and said, "That's good."
His smile was full of relief and joy, no different from the wise monarch in folk legends.
But at this moment, Wen Qingci just felt creepy.
His hands, which were giving acupuncture, paused.
Xie Zhaolin would do anything to consolidate his throne.
The emperor knew very well what kind of person Xie Guanzhi was.
I am even more certain that he will make such a choice.
—Although the boy had a bad temper, he had received the most orthodox education of the royal family since childhood.
His way of thinking is completely different from that of him who gained his throne through scheming.
In fact, the emperor had already received war reports from the north and learned about the white disaster on the grassland last year.
According to convention, he should have sent reinforcements to several dangerous passes long ago.
However, instead of doing so, the emperor even transferred part of the original garrison.
This is the moment he has been waiting for.
The emperor is now "seriously ill" and the prince is in charge of state affairs.
It would be fine if nothing happened, but if something unexpected happened, the person who would bear the eternal infamy... would be Xie Guanzhi.
He had no choice at all.
Xie Zhaolin smiled and said in a slightly hoarse voice, "Doctor Wen, my illness should be cured."
Wen Qingci: “…”
"Yes, Your Majesty." He slowly removed the silver needle from the emperor's forehead.
At this moment, Wen Qingci completely understood the emperor's intention and felt a chill down his spine.
The emperor's move is completely a gamble on the country's destiny!
What if Xie Guanzhi was like him and chose to be selfish and self-protective.
Then the entire Wei Dynasty would be plunged into a huge crisis.
Xie Zhaolin is a madman and a gambler...
The imperial physician, dressed in moon-white, could not help but look at the jade incense burner in the corner of the back hall.
The smoke is still rising.
The incense burning in the incense burner was the same red incense ball he saw that day.
In the past few days, Wen Qingci has been thinking about who poisoned the emperor, and couldn't help but focus on several characters in "Fu Ming Tang" who were not on good terms with the emperor.
But now Wen Qingci feels that... this problem seems to have become more difficult.
Not to mention that they don't get along on the surface, if they recognize what kind of person the emperor is essentially, everyone here may take the risk and try to kill him.
Not long after the soldier left, news came from the palace that the emperor's condition had improved.
As if to verify this, the food delivered to the back hall at noon was also much richer.
However, "recovery" does take some time. The emperor still has not shown up, and Wen Qingci is temporarily unable to leave the side hall.
Late at night, the lights are dim.
Wen Qingci, who was not feeling sleepy, sat at the table, flipping through the medical book that Xie Bufeng had sent him last night.
Next to him was a letter from Yongdu. In the letter, the old doctor Yu Guanlin asked Wen Qingci several questions about prescriptions and asked him to buy some rare medicinal herbs when he passed by Songxiu Mansion.
Logically speaking, Wen Qingci should reply to this letter as soon as possible.
But unlike usual, today he was distracted for a rare time.
He had no time to think about it when he was beside the emperor during the day, but when he had some free time late at night, Wen Qingci finally couldn't help but recall... How did he get back to the side hall last night
Wen Qingci's memory stopped at the moment when he and Xie Bufeng sat side by side by the water.
I can't remember anything that happened afterwards.
All he knew was that when he woke up, he was already sleeping on the couch in the side hall with his clothes on.
The ink condensed into beans at the tip of the brush and fell onto the paper with a plop.
The black ink spot finally brought Wen Qingci back to his senses.
Obviously, he didn't drink last night, so there is no possibility of blackout.
So, there seems to be only one answer.
Wen Qingci: …!!!
I actually fell asleep next to my future big boss
There was a buzzing sound in Wen Qingci's ears, and for some reason, his cheeks turned a light red, which he didn't even notice.
Guilt and fear came over me at the same time.
Along with this, the feeling of resting my head lightly on the boy's muscular arms also became clear.
Help.
Not only did she fall asleep next to him, but he even carried her back
Wen Qingci stood up suddenly and opened the window to let in the cold wind.
Calm down. You must calm down this time.
At the other end of the palace, a young man was also sitting on the roof, looking towards the moon and Dezhang Palace.
Xie Bufeng couldn't help but gently touch the wool rope chain on his wrist, and a faint smile appeared on his lips, which even he himself was unfamiliar with.
Today he learned from Concubine Lan that in a few days when the ship arrives at Songxiu Mansion, it will be Wen Qingci's birthday.
Xie Bufeng, who had never cared about this matter before, had the idea of giving him something for the first time.
(End of this chapter)