eighty seven
As dusk fell, Xiao Weixin rode in a carriage into the palace.
Xiao Weishen sat dejectedly on his dragon chair, staring blankly at the graceful and enchanting dancer below. He didn't even notice that the wine glass in his hand had spilled all over the table. He looked like a lost soul.
Xiao Weixin was led over by the eunuch. He straightened his clothes at the door before going in and bowed respectfully.
"You're here..." Xiao Weishen came back to his senses after a long while, pointed to the seat next to him and said, "Sit down."
Xiao Weixin sat down as he was told, with a rather unhappy expression on his face, but he did not speak after sitting down. Xiao Weishen stared at the dancers below the stage for a long time and felt bored, so he simply smashed his wine glass and drove them all out.
"Why don't you say anything when your seventh brother is here?" Xiao Weishen finally couldn't hold it in anymore, and his tone was not very good.
Xiao Weixin slowly put down his wine glass, then turned to look at Xiao Weishen, "My royal brother is so depressed, what do you want me to say?"
Xiao Weishen was speechless for a moment. After a while of silence, he suddenly raised his hands to cover his eyes and sighed heavily: "I haven't had a good night's sleep these past few days."
Thirty thousand lives were lost on the border. If he could really close his eyes, his ancestors would crawl out of the ground in the middle of the night to look for him.
Xiao Weixin didn't respond to him, but just lowered his head and continued to drink tea, looking like he was worried. After sitting for a while, Xiao Weishen found that he was also absent-minded, so he asked, "Seventh brother, what's bothering you?"
After hearing his question, Xiao Weixin put down his teacup, stood up from his chair and knelt in the hall: "I know that my brother is worried about the prime minister, but I have something to say."
"Please help me, my brother."
Xiao Weishen was startled by his serious attitude and said hurriedly, "Just tell me what you want to say. Why do you have to be like this? Get up."
Although he said so, Xiao Weixin refused to stand up and continued to kneel and said, "Brother Emperor, I beg you to cancel my engagement with Xia."
Xiao Weishen was stunned. "Engagement?" He remembered that there was such a thing. The Queen mentioned this to him two days ago, saying that the engagement had been postponed for so long, and now is the time to get married. However, he was so depressed because of his uncle that he didn't have the time to care about these things, so he didn't listen to the Queen.
Now that he heard Xiao Weixin's words, he remembered this matter, but he didn't expect that he came here to break off the engagement. Xiao Weishen was a little confused: "But aren't you... in love with that Xia family girl? Why are you suddenly talking about breaking off the engagement?"
Xiao Weixin silently grasped the hem of his clothes, and then said seriously: "Your Majesty must have misunderstood. This minister and Xia have only met a few times, and we have no relationship."
"What's more, given the current situation in the court, I don't want to marry into the Xia family. The Prime Minister has absolute power, and I, relying on my royal bloodline, will never allow him to be my father-in-law."
"Neither he nor the Xia family girl is worthy."
"Even if the Prime Minister blames me, I will never compromise."
Xiao Weishen fell silent again. His heart was touched by Xiao Weixin's words. He had been unable to eat in the past two days because of his uncle's series of actions. He always felt like there was a sword hanging over his head, ready to kill him at any time.
He stared at Xiao Weixin, who was kneeling in front of the emperor, for a long time before he spoke in a hoarse voice, "You should get up first."
"Since you don't want to, I can't force you." Xiao Weishen was full of panic. "The engagement is over, so let it go. I... don't have the energy to care about it right now. I think my uncle may not want to make this marriage happen. I haven't seen him mention it these days."
"If you have nothing to do, please leave first. I want to be alone and quiet."
Xiao Weixin looked extremely tired and waved his hand to let him go out. Xiao Weixin stood up, but did not leave in a hurry. Instead, he said in a gentle voice: "Thank you for your permission, my brother."
"My royal brother, you must take good care of your health and don't worry too much."
"After all, the imperial concubine has been pregnant for nearly five months, and there will be good news soon."
When Xiao Weishen heard this, he seemed to be reminded. Some light gradually gathered in his eyes, as if he had found the direction of his life all of a sudden. His face gradually became more radiant: "Royal Concubine... Yes..."
He stood up suddenly from his chair, "I almost forgot about the imperial concubine! She sent someone to tell me a few days ago that she was not feeling well. I haven't visited her for a while."
"Yes, I will soon have a prince, the first prince..."
Perhaps it was because there had been no good news for more than a month. When Xiao Weishen was feeling depressed, Xiao Weixin reminded him that he was about to have a son. Suddenly, all his worries disappeared, and things like the prime minister, the border, and the Western Rong were no longer the focus.
It seemed as if this son could sweep away all his troubles and bring him supreme glory.
Seeing that he was cheerful again, Xiao Weixin smiled slightly and lowered his eyelids to hide the cold sarcasm in his eyes.
For a poor fellow like Xiao Weishen, it is probably only this so-called eldest prince who can make him feel proud for a short time.
But soon, his last dream will be shattered.
Xiao Weixin left the hall and met the Queen after walking a few steps. When the Queen saw him, she noticed that his expression was a little different from usual and hesitated whether to come forward to talk to him, but Xiao Weixin didn't even look at him and passed by her expressionlessly.
The queen turned her head, but could only see his cold back.
She subconsciously called out to him, "Seventh Brother."
Xiao Weixin stopped and turned around to salute: "Sister-in-law."
Although she called him, the queen actually had nothing to say. She thought for a while before whispering, "You...are here to break off the engagement, right?"
"That's right." Xiao Weixin replied coldly. Although he didn't know why this woman could guess his thoughts, he really didn't have the patience to chat with her.
The queen's eyes were somewhat disappointed. "Are you really not considering it anymore? Yinxiu is different from others. Maybe you really need her."
"I don't need her." Xiao Weixin finally raised his head and looked directly at the dignified and beautiful queen, but there was something sinister in his eyes. "The person I need is missing. Queen, do you want to guess who did it?"
His expression was so terrifying that the queen couldn't help but take two steps back and stood there in a daze.
She was not stupid, so how could she not hear the deep hatred in these words? Even though she didn't know what had happened, she knew her cruel father.
"This palace..." Before the Queen could finish her apology, Xiao Weixin turned around and strode away impatiently, as if he found it disgusting to say one more word to her.
The queen stood there and watched him leave. When she raised her hand again, she realized that she was crying.
Perhaps there is no possibility for her and him in this life or the next.
When Xiao Weixin returned to the palace, he heard Qi Han running to inform him, "Vice-President Yang is here."
"Yang Nanruo?" Xiao Weixin was not surprised by her arrival. "Take her to the study."
When Xiao Weixin sat down in the study, Yang Nanruo was indeed led into the study.
As soon as she entered the door, she knelt down, "Your Majesty, Nanruo has something to ask of you."
Xiao Weixin could guess something in his mind, and hurriedly stood up to support her. After all, there was a difference between men and women, and he could only keep a little distance. Yang Nanruo stood up, with a serious face: "Your Majesty, I know that Your Majesty and the Emperor are not of the same kind. There are some things... It is not easy for me to say more."
"But since this matter concerns Yinxiu, I have no choice but to..."
Xiao Weixin said gently: "I know why you came here. It just so happens that I just came out of the palace and have something to announce."
"The engagement between this prince and Xia Shi has been annulled."
Yang Nanruo was stunned, a little bit unbelievable: "It's invalidated?"
"But..." Yang Nanruo said with a worried look on his face, "I originally wanted to ask the prince to treat Yinxiu well in the future, but now that you have broken off the engagement, Yinxiu's future marriage is in the hands of her father. If she is promised to a bad family, won't she..."
Yang Nanruo was not happy about this. She had originally thought that she had come here to ask Prince Ling to arrange the marriage as soon as possible so that Yinxiu could marry into his family. Prince Ling was a reliable person. Even if he did not love Yinxiu, at least he would not let her suffer. It seemed that Yinxiu would have someone to rely on for the rest of her life.
As for the deep blood feud between their two families, Yang Nanruo had no idea about it.
But now that the prince has broken off the engagement, how will Yinxiu cope with the future
Seeing Yang Nanruo in a dilemma, Xiao Weixin stepped forward and whispered in Yang Nanruo's ear as if to seduce him, "Deputy General Yang, I have something to say but I don't know if I should say it."
"Why don't you fight for a girl as good as Miss Xia yourself, instead of letting some vulgar man abuse her?"
Yang Nanruo was shocked and took a step back in panic as if he had been electrocuted. "What is the prince talking about?"
Xiao Weixin stood up straight with a half-smile, "General, do you really not understand?"
"There are not many men of marriageable age in the capital right now. I can count them for you right now. Even fewer are worthy of the Prime Minister's Mansion. The few remaining young masters from noble families are either playboys or spendthrifts. If your Yinxiu enters such a family, with her weak and uncompetitive character, I'm afraid she will be eaten to pieces by then, right?"
Yang Nanruo looked a little panicked. She clenched her fists silently and said in a deep voice, "They dare!"
"Why not?" Xiao Weixin sneered, "The general also came from a group of men. You should know what kind of people those men are."
"Once your Yinxiu enters those families' houses, she will definitely be put aside and kept in fear. You may never have the chance to see her again in your life."
"General, are you really willing to give up your beloved to someone else?"
After all, Yang Nanruo was born into the pedantic and rigid Yang family, and received a conventional education. Although she did love Yinxiu in her heart, she had been suppressing it and refused to reveal it. She didn't know how King Ling saw it, but every word he said was true.
Who would want to be so generous as to send the person they love into the arms of someone else
"But, but I... I'm a woman." Yang Nanruo lowered her head, her tone somewhat dejected, "How can this world accommodate us?"
"So what?" Xiao Weixin said coldly, "The general is a warrior from the battlefield, do you still care about this?"
There was some confusion in Yang Nanruo's eyes.
"I see that Xia Yinxiu is not uninterested in you. General, why don't you go ask her?"
Yang Nanruo thought deeply for a long time, "Even so, she is still in the hands of her father. Even if I want to fight for her, what can I do? I can't just throw everything away and elope with her."
"Perhaps I can help you." Xiao Weixin sat back in his chair and looked at her leisurely, "I have a deal, I wonder if Deputy General Yang is willing to cooperate."
"After this is done, I can guarantee that you and Xia Yinxiu will have a good outcome."
…
Coming out of the study, Yang Nanruo no longer had the hesitation and confusion he had when he came here. His eyes were full of determination, as if he had made all the plans, and his steps were firm and brave.
Xiao Weixin sat alone in the study, and he didn't come to his senses until Yang Nanruo left.
Although they are from the same family, Yang Nanruo is more likely to achieve greater success than Yang Qixian.
It’s a pity that if Xiao Shu was here, he would appreciate her more.
Thinking of this, Xiao Weixin stood up dejectedly and opened the window of the study. The pear tree not far away had already produced yellow fruits.
I seemed to remember Xiao Shu said before that he was thinking about the pears on the tree.
He has sent people to salvage the items in the lower reaches of the Yellow River. Although the hope is slim, it is better than just sitting there doing nothing.
If he's alive, I want to see him in person. If he's dead... I want to see his body, too.
———
You Shu closed the door in a thick down jacket. His sisters were already waiting at the gate of the yard. They had agreed to go shopping for New Year's goods together.
Suddenly I want to eat pears.