When the thirty sticks were finished, the white marble stone steps were already stained with bright red blood.
The Jinwu guards took their sticks and entered the hall to return to their lives. Only Xue Yan was left, kneeling in front of the steps alone.
He lowered his head a little, took a breath and stretched out his hand, barely supporting it on the stone steps. Jun Huailang subconsciously wanted to step forward, but saw that he was already supporting the ground and slowly stood up.
He suddenly remembered what Xue Yunhuan told him today.
The city of Yan County was destroyed. He took hundreds of cavalry and the Turkic army to deal with it. After that, the entire army was wiped out. He just climbed out of the pile of dead people, ran for thousands of miles, and returned to Chang'an.
He watched Xue Yan turn around and left alone. He walked very slowly, with a vague stagger, and walked a long way. No one came to help him. Only he seemed to be unstable, and raised his hand and pressed it on the white marble armrest of Panlong.
When Jun Huailang regained his senses, there was only a dark red blood stain left in front of him.
In the education he received since childhood, heinous people are blamed for themselves.
But no one ever told him that some wicked people, in the long years that others could not see, walked alone in desperation for many years, and no one ever reached out to him.
He himself had become accustomed to it.
—
After Jin Wuwei was reinstated, the banquet ended unhappily. Concubine Shu hurriedly sent Dian Cui, the maid next to her, to support Jun Huailang and send him back.
Xue Yunhuan also hurried over with Jun Linghuan. Seeing Jun Huailang standing alone under the palace lantern, her lips turning white, Xue Yunhuan was startled and rushed forward: "They beat you too?"
Jun Huailang glanced at the bloodstain again. There are already eunuchs carrying buckets to wash the stone steps. The bloodstains faded under the flushing of the water and were easily wiped off.
"I'm fine." Jun Huailang returned to his senses and said softly.
Xue Yunhuan was still worried, and he just sent him back to Concubine Shu's Mingluan Palace in person. Although such a big mistake happened today, Jun Huailang and Jun Linghuan still had to move to the palace.
Mingluan Palace is luxurious and has an excellent location, and it will arrive in no time.
Jun Huailang looked up in front of the palace gate, and saw gold and jade piled up everywhere, even the dougongs were carved with tangled peony and painted with gold powder. Bypassing the delicate small garden in the courtyard is the main hall of Mingluan Palace, with four side halls in the front and rear, connected by a veranda.
After Xue Yunhuan returned, Jun Huailang and Jun Linghuan were led to the side hall on the east side. The side hall is the closest to the main hall, the windows face the sun, and the ground dragon in winter is also connected to the main hall.
It was getting dark, and Jun Linghuan started to doze off halfway. Not long after returning to the room, he fell asleep. Jun Huailang waited for her to fall asleep, and then returned to his palace.
The palace maids cleaned and washed him, and then let him change into bedclothes, and then they all retired. Jun Huailang didn't feel sleepy. He lit the lamp alone, sat under the window, and looked at the moonlight outside.
Xu was that he had never seen anyone tortured before, and he was stunned by the blood all over the floor. For a while, he didn't know how to settle the old accounts of his previous life with such a person.
He thought he had to be quiet.
Just then, someone knocked on the door from outside. The palace maid whispered that Concubine Shu was here.
Jun Huailang walked over to meet her, and saw that Concubine Shu had also taken off her makeup and hair. She was wearing pajamas and a brocade cloak adorned with fox fur, and walked straight in.
"I think you haven't slept yet. Are you scared today?" Concubine Shu sat down with him by the window and said. "Your Majesty is also true. Do you have to teach him what to do?"
Jun Huailang knew that although his aunt was beautiful and domineering, she had no scheming and was very simple. It is thought that she has always been favored, not only because of the support of the family, the queen's protection of her, but also because of what she listens to and believes, which is quite confusing to the emperor.
Jun Huailang didn't say much, and said softly, "... I'm really scared."
Not because he was afraid of Xue Yan being beaten, but because he was afraid of the hearts of those he had never seen in his previous life.
Concubine Shu raised her hand and smoothed his hair: "It's alright, with my aunt, you don't have to be afraid of anything."
Jun Huailang nodded and smiled at her.
"People and things in the palace are much more complicated than at home," Concubine Shu said. "You've always been a cautious child, I'm relieved. It's a pity that I don't even have a child so far, and I have to make it difficult for you and Huan'er not to see their parents for so long."
Having said that, she lowered her eyes and sighed: "Although that woman Yijieyu is annoying when she speaks, there is something she said right."
Jun Huailang was stunned, remembering what Yi Jieyu said lightly when she was in the apse of Yongle Palace today.
She said that there is a child by her side, even if it is not her own, it is not a hindrance.
At that time, Jun Huailang felt that there were other meanings in the words, but the people in the harem always made three twists in a sentence, and he didn't think it through for a while. It wasn't until this time that he suddenly noticed Concubine Shu's thoughtful appearance.
That sentence may seem inadvertent, but in fact it is very deliberate. She was reminding Concubine Shu that she could raise a son of another concubine by her side.
In the previous life, Jun Huailang knew very little about the affairs in the palace, but it was indeed during this year that Concubine Shu raised a child of another concubine under her lap. However, Concubine Shu seemed to be extremely dissatisfied and made a scene, and sent the prince back not long after.
Jun Huailang asked tentatively, "What do you mean..."
Concubine Shu paused and hesitated: "I want to ask the emperor for grace and raise a young prince in the palace. I am getting older, and I also want to have someone to rely on in the future..."
Having said this, she smiled again and said, "Sister Dian Cui also persuaded Ben Gong in the same way."
Jun Huailang knew that Concubine Shu had never been scheming, so she always listened to Cui's ideas. He pretended to understand, "Oh", but he was thinking about which prince Concubine Shu would keep under her knees.
Among the princes in the palace today, those who have no mothers, and those whose biological mothers have a humble status, are only Xue Yan and the seventh prince. The seventh prince had just been born and had not yet been weaned, and his mother was a humble palace maid. She thought it was the best choice, and Concubine Shu would never object.
So... Could it be that it was Xue Yan who was raised under Concubine Shu's knees in the previous life
Thinking of Xue Yan, Jun Huailang's eyes flashed the dazzling dark red in the night. He hurriedly focused, forcing himself to get the scene out of his mind.
After regaining his senses, he wondered why there was such a ridiculous replacement. But before he figured out the reason for the replacement, his instinct told him that he should speak out to stop Concubine Shu. Xue Yan is extremely dangerous, and he is disgusted by the emperor. To be kept by Concubine Shu's side will definitely be harmful to nothing.
What's more, the most dangerous thing is that when Xue Yan came to Concubine Shu's palace in the previous life, Jun Linghuan was also here. It is very likely that Jun Linghuan provoked Xue Yan during this period of time.
Over there, Concubine Shu was still thinking to herself and said to him, "The seventh prince is not bad. He is young, and his mother is not able to raise him... What do you think, Lang'er?"
Jun Huailang had no way of persuading Concubine Shu to give up her thoughts.
Although he was afraid that the events of his previous life would happen again, not letting Xue Yan move to Mingluan Palace would not solve the problem.
In his previous life, he thought that it was because his father was feared and Xue Yan was tyrannical and surly, that the end of his family was caused. But now it seems that there is a hand behind it, who is controlling the situation and pushing them in the direction of their previous life.
The seventh prince inexplicably became the fifth prince, his family became feudal with Xue Yan, his father and aunt died, and the Jun family was destroyed... Under the appearance of pushing the boat, the coincidence was extremely strange. It was obvious that someone pushed the Jun family off the cliff step by step without leaving a trace.
If he wants to find the person behind him, he has to follow the direction of his previous life to find his trace, instead of disrupting the other party's plan and bringing variables to himself.
"Of course it's good." Jun Huailang looked at Concubine Shu and smiled gently.
He was reluctant to admit that there was another reason in his subconscious that made him unable to say no.
That is, he still can't forget how cold the stone steps at the entrance of Yongle Hall on the Mid-Autumn Festival night.
—
In a remote palace in the southwest corner of the palace, the red maples outside the palace were like fire, and the palace was lively wrapped in it.
A solitary candle flickered in the main hall, illuminating the outdated palace room somewhat eerily.
There were repressed sobbing, shaking violently, melding with the throbbing candlelight.
At this moment, a voice came from the bed curtain. It was obviously hoarse, a little bit out of breath, but also calm and lazy, with a coercion that could not be ignored.
"Shut up when you cry enough, it's very noisy," he said.
"I brought those dead soldiers back from Yan County. Without my order, I won't touch anyone in your family."
It was Xue Yan.
He was lying on the bed, his back exposed, the lines of his shoulders were smooth and strong, and the waist was curved with tenacity. It's just that his back was full of vertical and horizontal wounds, which looked particularly terrifying, exuding a strong bloody smell and a pungent medicinal smell.
Emperor Qingping didn't even announce the imperial doctor, he used the wound medicine he brought back from Yan County.
Lying on the pillow, he turned his head sideways and squinted, looking at the little eunuch who was slumped on the ground, like a cheetah perched lazily.
This little eunuch was the one who broke the jade arrow today, called Jinbao, who used to be a coolie in Yongxiang, and was assigned to serve Xue Yan closely.
He originally thought that it was unfortunate enough to be assigned to such a master who was not welcome and treated like a servant. He didn't expect this master to show his true colors and be such a terrifying god.
Jinbao is an ordinary person who is greedy for life and fears death. He is waiting to earn enough money in the palace and go home to buy two shops for himself to spend his old age in peace. Unexpectedly, this evil spirit actually let his subordinates hidden in Beijing find his family, and used them as threats to do things for him.
This master can't save his own life, isn't he the first to die by doing things for him!
When he stretched his head out and stabbed his head, the whole family would be stabbed. Jin Bao was paralyzed on the ground and didn't dare to cry. He was so shivering that he almost collapsed.
How could his life be so hard!
Xue Yan looked at him for a while, but saw that he was crying endlessly. He clicked his tongue impatiently and said, "Cry again, your brother will die tomorrow."
That is the only root of Jinbao's family!
Jinbao let out a whimper with a changed tone in his throat, and swallowed the choking.
"You have no choice. It's better to do my business well, and maybe you can save your own life." Xue Yan moved his stiff shoulders and neck, and immediately touched the wound on his back, causing him to frown and tut.
As soon as he frowned, Jinbao's tears began to fall again.
"Okay." Xue Yan continued impatiently. "I know you're a waste, but I'm short of people right now. I'll use it temporarily. I won't ask you to do anything important."
Jinbao didn't retreat at all. Hearing what he said, he could only whimper and say, "Please ask the master."
Xue Yan said slowly and lightly: "When I return to the palace, every time I am humiliated, someone will send a letter out. You can see clearly where the letter was sent."
When Jinbao heard it, it didn't seem too difficult. After all, there are only these few people in their palace, and they just need to be careful when they look down.
Jinbao breathed a sigh of relief and quickly got up. Although he is timid, he is also clever. Now that his entire family is in the hands of others, he is naturally more attentive: "The servant will go to fetch water for you..." After speaking, he got busy.
"Stop." Xue Yan said coldly, rubbing his brows.
What a fool. he thought.
Jinbao stopped quickly, not daring to move.
"What happened in the past, what will happen in the future." Xue Yan reluctantly gave a half-warning command. "Do what you are asked to do, and do what you are not allowed to do. Don't make assumptions."
Jinbao nodded again and again.
"Go away." Xue Yan didn't give him another word.