The prince came to offer his condolences.
Ever since Xie Yun returned to Beijing to open the mansion ten years ago, the crown prince had never passed the gate of the Imperial Army Commander's Mansion once. Today, for the first time, he arrived uninvited, stunned everyone in the Xie Mansion.
Ma Xin opened the gate of the mourning hall with his own hands. The prince was dressed in plain clothes, his face was pale, his head was still wrapped in bandages, and his body was covered with multiple wounds. He was supported by his confidant eunuch, and he staggered across the threshold.
Xie Yun watched him walk into the mourning hall, the expression in his eyes can be described as stunned. Immediately afterwards, the prince stood in front of the coffin, tremblingly picked up a stick of incense, and bowed down in person.
Shan Chao: "..."
Rao Shanchao already knew the prince's weak and kind heart very well, but seeing this scene with his own eyes was still very shocking, so that he didn't recover for a moment.
Immediately afterwards, before he had time to make a move, Xie Yun stretched out his hand and lifted it up, with the palm facing upwards, and the invisible energy immediately firmly supported the prince's bent knee.
"Xiao Wang is here to mourn the deceased, Commander Xie is so rude, why?"
The prince blushed slightly from holding back, clenched his teeth, and the tone of the question was a bit stern. Xie Yun raised his palm upwards, and the crown prince involuntarily stood up straight, only to hear him say calmly: "Miao Rong went crazy in the palace confinement, causing His Highness to almost die, so I feel very guilty. But now the deceased is gone, Your Highness will save this obeisance, lest she will not rest in peace under the Nine Springs."
The prince excitedly said: "Since the deceased is already dead, it doesn't matter if there were any big mistakes in his life, Xiao Wang, why not express his grief in his heart with a bow?!"
Xie Yun frowned slightly, and looked Li Hong up and down.
In fact, not only Xie Yun, but even Shan Chao felt a little suspicious. What kind of madness did the prince go today
"Your Highness has a kind heart, and he came to pay respects to Miss Yang. I think the deceased is also pleased. But after all, the status is different, and a stick of incense is enough. I think..."
Shan Chao hadn't finished the round, and the prince interrupted dissatisfiedly: "Brother Shan!"
There was a stalemate in the mourning hall, and Xie Yun said coldly for a long while: "His Highness came to Xie's mansion today, is it to make trouble?"
If this is normal, the prince will inevitably show a bit of timidity when facing Commander Xie.
But today, for some reason, the Crown Prince did not show any weakness, and immediately turned his head to stare at Xie Yun: "Xiao Wang came to worship sincerely, but Commander Xie kept making things difficult. Is it the duty of a courtier?!"
"...Duty." Xie Yun slowly repeated these two words, with obvious mockery at the end: "Your Highness came to pay homage to a civilian girl who committed a felony in person today, is it also out of duty as a prince? ?”
The prince couldn't explain his behavior, and immediately choked up there.
"Ma Xin," Xie Yun said, "bring tea and see off the guests."
"Xie Yun, don't go too far!" The prince was furious, and he flicked his sleeves: "This king is here today for Miss Yang, not for you! Could it be that all the kings and lands in the world are kings and ministers, how dare you Chase me away!"
Xie Yun opened his mouth to refute, but following the sudden movement of the prince's sleeves, a vague and slightly weird fragrance floated into his nose, causing his heartbeat to speed up suddenly, and an indescribable discomfort rushed straight up. Throat.
"..." Xie Yun took a deep breath, and said lightly: "Your Highness misunderstood. I didn't drive you away, but... It is well known that the minister and His Highness have different political views. If something happens to His Highness in the court today, the world will What do people think about humble ministers, huh?"
The prince froze.
The confidant eunuch of the Eastern Palace was about to cry, and secretly pulled his sleeve forcefully, but the crown prince said angrily, "You dare—"
"Besides," the corners of Xie Yun's pale red lips curled up, showing a hint of malice: "If His Royal Highness, who has never been to the door for ten years, suddenly came here uninvited today with a serious injury, and then suddenly appeared in front of my eyes. There was an accident... This is what will the Holy Majesty and the Empress think when they try the case in the future?"
—You don’t know that your time has come, so you came to my house to touch porcelain, right
If it was just a threat just now, it is simply a blatant threat of backlash now.
The prince's face suddenly changed color, and it seemed that he was extremely angry in an instant - he had never been threatened so much in his life. But just when Shan Chao thought he would yell at him, the prince clenched his fists and suppressed his anger forcefully, and replaced it with a "Huh!" Don't have the guts!"
"I didn't come here alone today. The sixth prince, King Yong, is now stationed outside the alley with the guards of the East Palace. Commander Xie, do you want to go out for a meeting?"
Ma Xin walked over quickly, leaned over to Xie Yun's ear and whispered a few words, "Yong Wang", "Weifu" and other fragmentary words and phrases faintly floated in.
Shan Chao's ears were sharp, and his eyebrows jumped immediately - he could hear clearly, what Ma Xin said was: Yong Wang Li Xian led hundreds of guards from the East Palace, and forcibly surrounded the entire Imperial Palace Commander's Mansion!
What is this for, copying the house? !
Shan Chao took a few steps in Xie Yun's direction, and quietly pressed the hilt of Long Yuan's sword beside him. However, immediately after, Xie Yun pressed his palm on the back of his hand, that movement was very subtle and forceful.
"Wait a minute," he said softly.
At that moment, the two looked at each other, and Shan Chao suddenly felt a very strange and numb feeling in his heart.
For the first time, he felt that the person in front of him who raised him up, but also severely suppressed and controlled him, was not always superior and flawless.
There are moments when this man is weak, tired, and longing for protection, and now the only person who can protect him is himself.
Xie Yun turned his gaze, raised his chin and looked down at the prince condescendingly, and asked after a long time: "Oh? So is the prince here to worship today, or to raid the house?"
"Your Highness... Before leaving the palace today, His Highness deliberately scented and bathed, and even changed into plain clothes..." The East Palace eunuch trembled and said, "It's just to mourn Miss Yang..."
The prince stood beside him with the corners of his mouth tightly pursed, his face was uglier than Xie Yun's due to his unhealed injury, but there was a bit of stubbornness similar to his mother's in the silhouette.
"So that's how it is." Xie Yun said with great interest, "His Royal Highness nearly died at the hands of Miao Rong, and the other side rushed to offer incense to her before she recovered from her illness. If the news spread, the Holy Majesty should praise His Highness for his benevolence." Forget it—as expected, it was a good plan, and even the humble minister couldn't help but praise His Highness a few words."
"Your Majesty doesn't know about my going out of the palace today!" The crown prince finally couldn't help it, and stepped forward to grab Xie Yun's lapel: "Although Miss Yang hurt me, she didn't mean it, and I know it very well! Don't use your The heart of a villain can measure the belly of a gentleman!"
Shan Chao immediately grabbed the prince's hand and pushed him away: "Your Highness!"
Shan Chao's low drink was full of warning, and the prince was full of grievances: "Brother Shan, I really..."
At that moment, Xie Yun's figure swayed, his vision suddenly lost sight, and his heartbeat rushed to his throat.
—he smelled the aroma again.
Although it is extremely subtle and light, if you don't smell it carefully, it will almost be lost in the smell of burning paper money and incense in the mourning hall, but the moment the prince approached, the hazy and absurd fragrance still seeped into Xie Yun's nose bit by bit.
He staggered back, leaned against the altar with his lower back, and pinched his own man heavily with his nails, the stinging pain made his mind suddenly clear.
Immediately afterwards, a deep uneasiness flashed from the bottom of my heart.
... what does it smell like
"Although Miss Yang and I just met by chance and didn't even say a few words, Miss Yang is gentle and kind, and I won't kill Boren, Boren died because of me..."
"Prince," Xie Yun said suddenly.
The prince's hoarse and rapid voice stopped.
"If you really just came to bid farewell to Miaorong, then there's no need to surround the mansion with heavy troops. In broad daylight, no matter what, I won't do anything that is detrimental to the current crown prince."
Xie Yun raised a hand to stop the prince's unspoken excuse.
"Besides, Miaorong is just a civilian girl wearing a sinful body. Even this mourning hall was set up privately at my risk. Come as you come, but if you are still worshiping in front of the spirit, in case it gets out in the future, you will be killed." It will cause her to be opened and killed, how can you bear it?"
The prince fell into silence.
When he came here, he was full of thoughts of crying and kneeling before the coffin, but it was only at this moment that he realized that as the current prince and future heir, there are so many things that cannot be done in the world, even this simple Bending of the knees is not allowed.
If he was just an official son, he could cry freely at this moment; even earlier when the two met for the first time, he could let go and pursue the love in his heart without any scruples, then the ending of the story may be from now on. Very different.
That month, the woman who picked plums and put hairpins on her temples left forever like this, and he even wanted to burn a stick of incense secretly, and he didn't dare to announce it to the public!
The prince only felt that all the misfortunes and tribulations in his life in the past twenty years came to his mind, and he was suddenly disheartened, and he almost lost the strength to speak.
"You're right," he finally smiled wryly after a long while, and the laughter was worse than crying: "If you become the crown prince of Laoshizi, you can't do anything... you can't do anything!"
—The confidant eunuch trembled immediately, and even Shan Chao's expression changed.
However, before he could say "Your Highness be careful!" roared out, the prince had already struggled forward and stuck the incense in his hand into the ashes: "It is the prince who has nothing to use, and the prince has nothing to use!"
The prince laughed bitterly, turned around and staggered towards the door.
The eunuch was sweating profusely, and hurriedly ran to help him: "Oh, Your Highness! Oh, Your Highness, wait a minute—"
Ma Xin, who was guarding the door, turned pale. He watched the prince stumbling past him as if he saw a monster.
Shan Chao realized that it was impossible for the prince to leave Xie's mansion like this, so he turned his head and looked at Xie Yun inquiringly, but Xie Yun seemed to be unaware of the prince's absurd behavior, and was staring at his hand.
"what happened to you?"
"...It's nothing." Xie Yun gently held his palm, raised his head and looked as usual: "I suddenly feel a little dizzy, you can help me see the prince off."
Shan Chao stared at him for a moment, then nodded.
·
Outside the Xie Mansion, the guards of the Eastern Palace holding iron halberds stood in a row in the sunlight, facing the Beiya imperial guards who were on duty in the Xie Mansion at a distance.
Li Xian paced back and forth anxiously, suddenly his eyes lit up: "Brother!"
This was the first time that Shan Chao faced the sixth prince, the current King Yong, so closely. However, he has already heard all kinds of rumors about this prince—
Eight years ago, at the night banquet of Qingning Palace, Mrs. Wei Helan stopped Xie Yun by the lake. That was the first time Shan Chao heard the name of the sixth prince from her mouth.
Li Xian, nicknamed Aren, was born on the way to worship Zhaoling when Empress Wu accompanied the saint to Beijing in the fifth year of Yonghui.
It has been rumored in the harem for a long time that his biological mother is actually Mrs. Han, the widowed sister of Empress Wu.
·
Xie Fu.
The dark mourning hall is empty, the setting sun is slanting, and there are tiny dust floating in the air.
Xie Yun spread out his palms slightly unsteadily, and his sleeves hung down his arms, revealing the faint tattoos under his skin.
The fragrance left by the prince lingered in the void, and Xie Yun's chest heaved violently. For a long time, he held his fast-beating heart pulse tightly, bent over and curled up his body.
This scene should be very rare in the eyes of outsiders. No one would have thought that the powerful, cold, and ruthless commander of the Imperial Guard would show such an overwhelmed, even weak posture.
The long hair slid down from the side of his face, Xie Yun let out a breath after a long while, reached out and brushed his temple hair behind his ears, and straightened his spine again.