The place chosen by Xie Bufeng was a blind spot for the guards.
They looked around a few times and saw no one, so they returned to their original positions.
At this time, Xie Bufeng finally slowly put down his hand that was pressing on Wen Qingci's lips, but the corner was narrow and their bodies were still tightly pressed together.
Through the thin clothes in early summer, Wen Qingci could even feel Xie Bufeng's heartbeat and the curve of his muscles.
He subconsciously moved forward, trying to dodge.
But the young man's arms, as strong as cast iron, did not give Wen Qingci this opportunity.
"Wait a little longer. They will leave here in about half a cup of tea."
A bitter aroma permeates around the corner.
Xie Bufeng's voice became deeper and deeper without him noticing.
Wen Qingci nodded slowly.
"Okay..." After he said this, he felt that his tone became a little hoarse and strange.
Perhaps to cover up the increasingly loud heartbeat, Wen Qingci couldn't help but lower his voice and said, "Your Highness is quite skilled."
Xie Bufeng concealed his presence very well, and Wen Qingci had no idea where he came from.
The boy's movements to get him to the corner were also exceptionally neat and swift, and it was obvious that he had practiced well, unlike himself who only knew light skills and the use of hidden weapons.
In fact, after the two of them became familiar with each other, Xie Bufeng no longer tried to hide this fact.
But only just now did Wen Qingci clearly realize that Xie Bufeng's martial arts... might be better than he imagined.
A large part of his stubbornness and humiliation when he first entered the palace was deliberately disguised.
Although Wen Qingci asked, he did not expect Xie Bufeng to answer his question in detail.
However, after a pause of a few seconds, Xie Bufeng said softly, "I learned it when I was guarding the mausoleum in Suzhou."
In the cramped corner, the young man only needed a few words to make Wen Qingci understand the whole story.
—The guards of Suzhou Mausoleum are rotated every few months.
Concubine Lan observed for a long time and finally sent her own people to infiltrate in order to find out exactly what happened to Xie Bufengguo.
The young man took the opportunity to tell her that he wanted to study and learn martial arts.
Of course, Concubine Lan agreed to Xie Bufeng's request.
She took a desperate risk and secretly arranged for someone to deliver the book to Xie Bufeng.
There were many people in Lingyi, so the people sent by Concubine Lan did not dare to have any unnecessary communication with Xie Bufeng.
After all, he was a prince. The guards of Suzhou reluctantly taught Xie Bufeng to read.
Xie Bufeng relied on that little foundation to read through the books one by one...
Even Wen Qingci couldn't help but marvel at such perseverance.
Similarly, Xie Bufeng's words finally answered a doubt that Wen Qingci had previously had.
Due to limited circumstances, Xie Bufeng and Lan Fei would only exchange letters every few years, and the content of their communication was almost always about his studies.
The thirteen years in Suzhou Lingyi were a natural success.
The complete lack of emotional communication forcibly stripped all normal emotions from Xie Bufeng's body.
Maybe it was not the original intention, but this strange communication ultimately led to Xie Bufeng in the original novel only having respect for Concubine Lan, but no affection.
Xie Bufeng spoke softly in a voice that only they could hear.
He had nothing to do when he was guarding the mausoleum in Suzhou, so he learned a lot of different things. In addition to classics, history, and military tactics, he also learned things like arithmetic and craftsmanship.
Wen Qingci listened carefully, nodding slightly from time to time.
Soft long hair brushed across the boy's cheek. If Wen Qingci got closer, he would be able to feel that Xie Bufeng's heart was not as calm as his tone.
—This was once the boy’s secret, but Wen Qingci wanted to know, so he told him.
Facing Wen Qingci, Xie Bufeng felt the desire to open his heart for the first time.
As they were talking, half a cup of tea had passed.
Along with the sound of armor colliding, the guards on one side all walked to the other side as Xie Bufeng said, as if they were going to change shifts.
"Walk."
As soon as Xie Bufeng finished speaking, he jumped over from one end of the high wall with Wen Qingci, then pushed open the door and flashed into the side hall where Xie Guanzhi was imprisoned.
At 12 p.m., it was still light outside, but there was no light on in the side hall, and it was so dim that it was suffocating.
Before Wen Qingci and Xie Bufeng could take action, they found that the guards guarding here had been knocked unconscious at some point.
The two glanced at each other quickly.
"Your Highness, let's go in and take a look." Wen Qingci said.
After he finished speaking, he walked around the screen and arrived at the living area.
The next second Wen Qingci saw—
Xie Guanzhi, dressed in purple, sat on the couch with an expressionless face, his eyes red as if he had just cried.
In his hand, he held a long sword that he had snatched from a guard. His knuckles had turned white due to tension and force.
There was a new bloodstain on the boy's wrist, and his face turned pale due to blood loss.
He was just like what was written in "Fu Ming Tang", he planned to commit suicide!
Wen Qingci's heart instantly rose to his throat.
Silver light flashed through the hall.
Before Xie Guanzhi could react, the sword in his hand had been snatched away by Xie Bufeng.
"What are you doing?!" Xie Guanzhi stood up and asked sternly.
Xie Bufeng didn't reply to his words. He just glanced at Xie Guanzhi and said two words in a contemptuous tone: "Idiot."
"As expected of you, His Majesty's most admired prince. You committed suicide before he could even make a move."
After he finished speaking, he looked at Xie Guanzhi with a slightly mocking smile.
After hearing this, the second prince instinctively wanted to refute.
But before he could open his mouth, he realized... Although what Xie Bufeng said was unpleasant, it seemed to be true on the surface.
The emperor wanted to get rid of him, but before he could find a good reason, he committed suicide in a "considerate" way.
Isn't this exactly what he wants
The second prince's face turned pale in an instant, and for a moment he even forgot his grief and anger.
Xie Bufeng threw the sword aside.
He should have cut the roots and watched Xie Guanzhi die...
But today, he actually came here with Wen Qingci and stopped Xie Guanzhi.
Restrain your instincts and hide your bad nature.
The hall suddenly became quiet.
It was not until this time that Xie Guanzhi finally noticed that Wen Qingci had not spoken a word since he came in. He just looked at his wrist which was still bleeding.
The young man couldn't help feeling guilty and slowly hid his hands behind his back.
At this time, Wen Qingci finally spoke: "Your Highness, do you know what 'death' is?"
The smile on his face was rare, and his tone was calm but not as gentle as usual. Instead, it carried a sense of oppression that he had never had before.
Xie Guanzhi slowly clenched his palms.
This was a question he had not expected.
What is “death”
The hall suddenly fell silent.
Xie Guanzhi couldn't help but follow his words and fell into deep thought.
Then, a drop of blood fell from his wrist to the ground with a "pop".
The emperor might have been hoping that Xie Guanzhi would "escape from prison" so that he could use it to make a fuss.
Therefore, although there were a lot of guards around the Second Prince, the guards were not strict.
Xie Bufeng had already figured out the rhythm of the palace guards' shifts.
After an incense stick of time, the sky gradually darkened.
Several figures flashed out from where Wen Qingci and Xie Bufeng had just entered the courtyard.
Wen Qingci said he would take them to a place.
The two followed him in silence, and soon they arrived at the foot of the hill where the temple was located on the edge of the palace.
Wen Qingci did not take them up the mountain, but instead led them around the hill and out of the palace.
An inconspicuous little temple appeared in front of several people.
"What is this place… "
Just now Wen Qingci simply bandaged Xie Guanzhi's wound with a silk handkerchief. At this moment, the young man was holding his wrist tightly and asked him with a confused look on his face.
Wen Qingci did not answer, but gently pushed the door open and walked in.
"This—" Xie Guanzhi couldn't help but exclaimed in a low voice.
In the moonlight, he saw that this small temple was actually... full of people
No, it's a dead person.
There are dozens of wooden boards densely packed here, and they are covered with corpses!
Xie Guanzhi couldn't help but take half a step back.
Seeing this, even Xie Bufeng couldn't help but frown.
"Generally, there are such Buddhist halls around large temples," Wen Qingci's eyes slowly swept over here, and he said softly, "This is where the monks in the temple use it to pray for the souls of the homeless dead."
After he finished speaking, he coughed lightly a few times.
In other words, this is the place where they perform voluntary salvation.
Some of the ownerless corpses that the original owner had dissected came from here.
Xie Guanzhi's expression turned extremely ugly.
But for the sake of face, he stood there and did not go out.
None of these ownerless bodies were covered with white cloth.
In the moonlight, you can see the purple skin at a glance.
The instinctive fear spread instantly.
Wen Qingci didn't say anything. He walked slowly to one of the corpses and reached out to help him tidy up his messy hair.
There was silence in the Buddhist hall.
The night wind blew in, blowing the hems of clothes.
Finally, Wen Qingci stood up and looked around, then said to Xie Guanzhi calmly, "Your Highness, this is 'death'."
“Death means losing all hope, all possibility, all joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness vanishing into thin air, and all you can do is lie here, unconscious and without feeling.”
Wen Qingci walked towards Xie Guanzhi step by step, and finally stopped half a meter away from the young man.
“It’s the same for all the kings, princes, generals, and common people.” The dark eyes looked at Xie Guanzhi, “If His Highness had not taken the sword from you just now, you would be lying somewhere like them, unconscious.”
"No one can be missing in this world. Even if they die, time will still move forward."
“… But everything that happens from now on has nothing to do with the person lying here.”
Quiet, a lifeless corpse is as silent as grass and trees.
Xie Guanzhi had never been so close to death before.
When he thought about how he almost ended up like these people... Xie Guanzhi's body suddenly began to tremble uncontrollably.
"Your Highness, do you still want to commit suicide?" His tone was still so gentle.
Wen Qingci never thought that death was a cowardly choice.
But an ending like Xie Guanzhi's, which was done in a moment of impulsiveness or even out of anger, is playing with one's life.
It's not worth dying for the emperor.
Xie Guanzhi's teeth chattered slightly, and he couldn't utter a word for a long time.
Unlike him, Xie Bufeng's gaze was always on Wen Qingci.
He heard helplessness and a deep respect for life in the words of the person in front of him.
Xie Bufeng suddenly remembered what Wen Qingci once said to him - if there really is "destiny" and gods and Buddhas in the world, perhaps only by practicing medicine can one confront them head-on.
The boy's heart began to beat heavily.
This is the Wen Qingci that only I know...
A secret joy arose in his heart.
To get to this point, Wen Qingci relied on more than just his superficial love for medicine.
It is also a reverence and cherishment for life.
The greatest temptation behind all the rules of medicine is to fight against fate...
Xie Guanzhi finally couldn't hold back his tears.
I was suppressing my emotions at first, but then I couldn't help crying out loud.
The pair of beautiful fox eyes inherited from Concubine Hui now turned red and no longer had the arrogance of the past.
"Okay, let's go." Wen Qingci glanced at the moonlight from afar, and finally led the young man out of the Buddhist temple.
The thin wooden door closed gently behind me.
Isolate the other world on the other side.
The summer evening breeze also brings a little warmth.
When the breeze blew on my body, my originally heavy mood finally felt a little relieved.
Wen Qingci's tense nerves slowly relaxed.
It was not until this moment that he realized... Xie Guanzhi seemed to be able to cry more than he thought
The second prince covered his eyes with his hands, trying hard to control himself and not let others notice his loss of composure.
Wen Qingci sighed helplessly, took out an unused silk handkerchief and handed it to Xie Guanzhi.
“Thank you… ahem, thank you…” The young man took the handkerchief.
Just when Wen Qingci handed over the handkerchief and wanted to take it back, Xie Guanzhi suddenly stretched out his hand and instinctively wanted to grab Wen Qingci's sleeve.
Wen Qingci was stunned.
In a vulnerable moment, the boy couldn't help but recall the memory of crying on his mother's shoulder as a child.
But before Xie Guanzhi could figure out what he was going to do, Xie Bufeng, who had been standing next to Wen Qingci, suddenly stepped forward without saying a word to stop him, and pried open his fingers that were clutching Wen Qingci's sleeve.
Xie Guanzhi looked up subconsciously.
Then he saw that Xie Bufeng was looking at him with a smile—but his eyes were frighteningly cold.
"Let's go, Second Prince," Xie Bufeng reminded with a hint of sarcasm, "If you don't leave now, you don't have to commit suicide. Your father will probably send you here directly."
Xie Guanzhi was stunned.
At this moment, he actually saw a glaring hostility in Xie Bufeng's eyes that he had never seen before.
strangeness…
I'm clearly already in a bad state, so why is he hostile to me at this time
(End of this chapter)