Black blood spewed on the purple grapes, dripping down to the ground, wet the ground illuminated by the lights. The second prince lowered his head, opened his mouth halfway, his chin was covered with blood, and his eyes were downcast. He didn't look at Fan Xian, and directly raised his hand to stop him from coming over.
"The moment you entered the mansion, I took the medicine." The second prince squatted on the chair with his head lowered, and said quietly: "I know you are Fei Jie's student, but the toxin has entered your heart, you always I can't save him... I don't want you to save me either. You must know that although you are powerful, you can't stop me from dying."
As long as a person has the will to die, no matter what method is used, it is impossible to save his life. Fan Xian understood this and looked at the other person calmly, his heart was empty, without any thoughts, but he still did not intend to stand by and watch, not because He has a bit of brotherly affection for his second child, but he can't let the other die in front of him.
"Don't worry about anything. I have already written a suicide note. The palace will not blame you. No one will think that you poisoned me." The second prince lowered his head and fumbled for a letter in his arms with bloody hands. Letter, gently placed on the table.
He didn't expect that when he was dying, he would even think of what Fan Xian was worried about. Fan Xian's heart was slightly frozen, knowing that the other party was really as good as he said, and he was also ruthless to himself to a certain extent, cutting off any survival. hope.
The second prince raised his head, looked at Fan Xian with envy, and vomited out a mouthful of black blood. He wiped his lips carelessly with his sleeve, and carefully broke off the bunch of grapes stained with poisonous blood with two slender fingers, leaving a small half clean, and sent it to his mouth again.
The sweet and juicy grapes were chewed to pieces in his mouth. The second prince spit out the grape seeds with a sound of porphyring, and spit it out on the ground, still with black blood.
After eating the grapes, he wiped his hands clean on his body, sighed, looked at Fan Xian who had been silent and motionless, and said faintly, "I don't want to continue living as a joke."
Fan Xian nodded, showing that he understood what he was thinking.
"Actually, you are also a joke." The second prince's face gradually showed a layer of dead gray, his eyes were a little slack, he didn't know what he remembered, and said: "There are many people who want to kill you in this capital. Yes, the one who did it first It's me, but how gentle do you think Chengqian is to you? The Qin family didn't kill you in the valley, he was so angry that he danced all night in the East Palace...but why?"
He stared into Fan Xian's eyes: "Why... your attitude towards Cheng Qian is completely different from that towards me?"
Fan Xian himself could not understand this point. The second prince was about to die, and his words were straightforward, piercing his heart. Why has he always been tolerant and gentle to the prince, but he stalks the second child so hard, at all costs
The second prince's eyelids drooped weakly, and his voice was extremely low: "You don't like me, you didn't like me from the very beginning. Of course, I don't like you either... We are so similar, but I never had you Such good luck. No one will allow another self to exist in the world, and will subconsciously get rid of the other party first."
His eyes were cold and helpless: "If you are Mr. Jia in Rongguo Mansion, I can only be Zhen Baoyu in Jinling City. I will never get a few chances to appear in the book...but I am the real one." , I am the real one!"
The second prince was coughing up blood while talking, the blood was smeared all over his front, looking very bleak.
Fan Xian looked at the scene in front of him, his body was a little stiff, unable to react. The second prince raised his head for the last time, stared at Fan Xian's face, and said with some difficulty: "I always thought that Cheng Qian was the most cowardly of the brothers, but it wasn't until I was about to die that I realized that I was also very cowardly. I would rather die and humblely leave Linger and mother than have the guts to face... "
"After I die, you will take care of Ling'er for me... As for my mother, her best ending is probably to be thrown into limbo. Please take care of me for me."
The second prince's chest heaved violently, as if something was about to rush out. He stared into Fan Xian's eyes, and forcibly finished speaking. Without giving Fan Xian any chance to speak, he opened his mouth and vomited loudly. There was a big pool of black blood, and he couldn't breathe anymore.
After the death, the second prince was still squatting on the chair, with his left hand on his knee, his handsome face was covered with dead ashes. A moment later, his body fell under the chair with a bang, but his eyes still refused to close up, staring wide.
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…
Fan Xian looked at the second prince's body numbly, and suddenly felt that this early autumn night, how could it be so cold
He shuddered, his mood was very complicated, he didn't know what kind of exclamation he should express to the body in front of him, perhaps silence at this time was the best attitude? The second prince, the real prince, is dead. How should I continue with my fake soul in this body
His face was a bit ugly, not because the second prince committed suicide in front of him, nor because of the heart-wrenching words that the second child said before he died, but because the second child finally confessed that he would take care of Ling'er and Concubine Shu for him.
Don't you give yourself a chance to say no? Fan Xian thought in his heart, with a lonely expression on his face. When the eldest princess died, she entrusted Wan'er to herself, and the crown prince knew that he would die, so he entrusted the families of those rebel soldiers and ministers to him...
Why? Don't you know that I am your sworn enemy? Didn't I cause your death? Why do you throw so many burdens on me before you die? You want to crush me to death? You bet that I will help you
You dead people! Just die, but you want me, a living person, to live in pain
He lowered his head, incomparably numb, his body trembling slightly, walked to the side of the Second Prince's corpse, glanced at it, picked up the thinly-issued suicide note on the table, put it in his arms, and walked out of the gloomy room .
Walking to the bedroom in the back garden of the palace, under the cold light of the blue light, Ye Linger still sat dumbfounded, not knowing what happened behind the garden. Fan Xian sighed inwardly, walked directly behind her, slashed down with his palm, and knocked her unconscious without giving her any chance to react.
If she wasn't knocked out, once she got to know the news that the second prince committed suicide by taking poison, he might also go away. Fan Xian could only use this relatively direct method to delay the matter.
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…
Gong Dian greeted him. Fan Xian lowered his head and thought for a while, then handed him the suicide note in his arms, and at the same time handed Ye Ling'er on his shoulder, and said something in a low voice. Gong Dian was already terrified when he took over the unconscious Ye Ling'er, and frowned deeply when he heard the news of the second prince's death.
"Second brother wrote a suicide note, His Majesty will not blame you or me." Fan Xian sighed, and then said seriously: "Before the princess wakes up, tie her hands and feet first, and then tell her the news. If she refuses Just feed me rice soup when you eat... No matter what, let her drink it!"
The last two sentences were already roared out through gritted teeth, extremely cold. Gong Dian was startled, thinking that this is indeed the only way, but he didn't notice Mr. Tan Bo's gaffe, and after thinking about it again, he said helplessly: "But young lady's nature is like a fire, you can't bind her forever."
"Fire is not terrible. It comes and goes quickly. It's not as good as ice lumps like myself and the second child who sting people." Fan Xian thought in his heart, and said in a low voice: "In a few days, when things calm down, I will come again." Advise her."
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After dealing with the affairs of the palace, the night in the capital had gradually receded, and it was already early morning, and there was a faint tinge of white belly in the far east. However, Fan Xian had no way to rest. He still had too many things to do, so he made a detour back to Fan's mansion from the palace, and then went directly to the palace.
Although Fan Shangshu said that these matters should be handled by the Taichang Temple of the Ministry of Rites, it is impossible for Fan Xian to forget his status as the supervisor of the country and pretend that these things never happened, not to mention that he himself is also the Shaoqing of the Taichang Temple , Zhengqing Ren Shaoan followed His Majesty to Dongshan to worship heaven, and it is not known whether he will survive.
He stood side by side with the First Prince, looking at the three black coffins in front of him, the two brothers were silent.
Only one day ago, the two of them were still standing on the imperial city, worrying about the safety of the palace. In the world of the Qing Kingdom, who would have expected that at this moment, the victory and defeat have been divided, and the person who wrote the history of the world has changed his name. Who would have thought that when the imperial city was in crisis, the black coffin that Fan Xian stepped on had already begun to contain the skins of losers.
The eldest princess and the second prince were lying quietly in the coffin at this time, and there was another coffin that was empty, and it was unknown who was lying in it next.
"It's not in accordance with the rules of etiquette." The First Prince's expression was serious, and he was trying not to show sadness in his eyes. That's all for the eldest princess, but the relationship between the second prince Li Chengze and his brother cannot be faked. Although the two brothers have gradually drifted apart in the past two years, looking at the scene in front of them now, thinking of the person in the coffin, the eldest prince Still heartbroken.
Fan Xian nodded wearily, and said: "The officials of the Ministry of Rituals are all scared away. It seems that if His Majesty does not return to Beijing for a day, the six ministries will not be able to get together. There are not many people in Taichang Temple. They are only temporarily settled. After all, the face of the Tian family needs to be taken care of, so we can't just stay in the mansion."
The eldest prince sighed, without saying anything else, he turned around and walked towards the inside of the imperial city, his back looked extremely desolate compared to the team of imperial guards holding the coffin beside him.
Fan Xian looked at him quietly and shook his head, knowing that in the face of repeated pressure and the news of his death, the eldest prince was almost unable to hold on. As soon as he thought of this, Fan Xian felt the exhaustion coming from the deepest part of his body, and he almost couldn't lift his eyelids. He frowned, patted his cheek, and said to the subordinates beside him, "Go home."
Returning home four times in one night, but there was no moment of peace. Fan Xian calculated carefully that he had not slept for two days and two nights since the preparations before breaking out of the palace. I dare not eat anymore, my mental and physical strength has indeed reached its limit.
After returning to the mansion, looking at everything in the dark night, Fan Xian didn't go to see Wan'er who lived in Liu's place. He sat on the bed with his head bowed in silence for a while, kicked the black box under the bed, and his clothes Before taking it off, he laid down in a big horoscope.
He was obviously extremely tired, yet he couldn't fall asleep. He stared at the dark roof with his bright eyes open.
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…
He woke up after not sleeping for a long time. After all, the capital is still in chaos. As the supervisor of the country, it is impossible for him to leave himself too much time to rest and be sad. After waking up, he ate something indiscriminately, scalded his face with a hot towel, and forcibly regained his energy.
When he went out, he subconsciously glanced under the bed. That deadly box, that box that stayed in the dust all year round, just lay quietly under the bed like that, like the eldest princess and the second child lying quietly in the coffin, and no one would bother them again. Whether it is a box or a person, perhaps only by becoming an inconspicuous existence and placing it in an inconspicuous place can we obtain real peace.
When he left the mansion, he subconsciously glanced at the mansion. After returning from Taiping Bieyuan, he hasn't seen Wan'er yet, so he doesn't know how his wife is feeling now. Thinking of this verse, a gloomy look appeared on his face.
When entering the palace, he subconsciously glanced at the palace gate. The vermilion palace gate is full of traces of fire and smoke, and the cracks caused by some weapons are grinning, revealing the sawdust inside. And those copper nails that were knocked off have been cleaned up long ago, leaving only countless ugly scars on the door.
At this moment, Fan Xian confirmed certain things—this palace, this city, this country, after all, is the place where he has lived for twenty years, and he has developed deep feelings for it. Even though this palace is so gloomy and cold, no matter how many people this city has failed, no matter how big mistakes this country has made, it is still his country.
He has always regarded himself as a person from the Qing Kingdom. Before many things have been investigated and clarified, he does not mind trying his best to maintain the peace of the people in this country while living a good life, just like he has been doing all these years. .
So many people died, he wanted to live well. Unless... some people don't want him to live.
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Please Hu and Shu, two bachelors, go back to the mansion for a rest. These two ministers have been drafting imperial criticisms in the imperial study room for one night, and some important memorials from various roads in the Qing Dynasty have finally been sorted out, but the two university scholars are not iron men after all, and their spirits are even worse than Fan Xian's. Extremely far away, I have been frightened one after another, and I have never slept, so I am already exhausted.
Sitting in the empty imperial study, Fan Xian couldn't help shaking his head. Usually, when the emperor Lao Tzu was around, although this imperial study was still quiet, it was always full of a different smell. Is majesty? then what? Anyway, it was completely different from the imperial study room he felt at this moment.
He didn't know how the emperor Lao Tzu came down from Dadong Mountain alive, but he knew that his performance would satisfy His Majesty. It seems that the position of power minister can be secured, but... the thought of the unification war that will start in two or three years' time makes Fan Xian feel a bit bitter in his mouth.
The so-called gentleman does not deceive the dark room, but Fan Xian is not a gentleman. At this moment, he was sitting alone in the imperial study, looking at the mountains of memorials on the low platform, looking at the soft couch, thinking that the emperor has always controlled the whole world from there. Qing's government moved his heart a bit.
He stood up and looked there quietly. He tilted his head slightly, thinking about how it would feel if he sat on it by himself. But he immediately shook his head, his thin lips slightly curled up, revealing a trace of self-mockery.
After being a prisoner for a day and a night, he was almost exhausted into a big yellow dog in the summer. Looking at the embarrassment of Hu Shu and the two academicians being supported by eunuchs just now, Fan Xian confirmed that the job of the emperor must be more than that of the emperor. The young Huangdi worked harder.
As the old saying goes, there are only three kinds of people in the world, men, women, and emperors, but anyone who can be a real king is... not a human being.
"His Highness, please come here."
Fan Xian smiled, and said something to the little eunuch outside the imperial study, and immediately thought that Hong Zhu and some of the characters involved in the rebellion were still imprisoned in the cold palace, and wondered how His Majesty would deal with this matter when he came back. However, in the eyes of outsiders, Hong Zhu basically did nothing, so there should be no serious problems.
Not long after, the third prince Li Chengping, who had gradually grown into a boy, came outside the imperial study, accompanied by an old woman and several eunuchs. Fan Xian glanced at the old mother, waved them away, took the hand of the third prince, and came to the desk where the memorials were kept.
Li Chengping's hands were a little cool, and the way he looked at Fan Xian was a little different from when he was in Jiangnan, showing a little awe.
Fan Xian had already noticed this scene from the corner of his eye, and didn't pay much attention to it. Awe and awe, but no more feeling of alienation. He knew that his performance this day and night had left a deep impression on this emperor, and he was afraid that he would never be able to get rid of this mark.
This is a question of pedagogy, except for Fan Xian, no one in this world understands it. To cultivate a prince who dared to open a brothel to kill people at the age of nine, and to become a benevolent king, pure moral teaching is not enough to complete the task. It is necessary to let Xiaosan understand that many things in the world can be solved in a more honest way. can also achieve the goal.
The third prince needs a role model, so from the trip to the south of the Yangtze River, Fan Xian set himself up as a role model for the other party, because he is a poet, he is a strong man, he is a minister of power, he is the lifesaver of the third child, and in Qing In the eyes of most people in the country, he is... a good person.
Fan Xian hoped that the emperor of Qing Kingdom would be a good person in the future, just like...the crown prince
"Sir... I heard that Father..." Li Chengping looked at Fan Xian with some trepidation.
Fan Xian laughed: "The temple is above, His Majesty has the destiny to protect him, and those who are young will naturally not be able to hurt him."
"Oh." Li Chengping also had a look of joy on his face. Although he knew that if his father died, he would become the next emperor of Qing with the support of his husband and elder brother, but he was still just a young man after all. , the mind is not so severe.
Fan Xian didn't seem to care, but he paid close attention to the emotional changes in Li Chengping's pupils, thinking that he was right.
"In the future, Your Majesty will probably ask His Highness to come to the Imperial Study Room to listen." Fan Xian was startled after saying this, and said slowly, "Your Highness, let's get acquainted with the place first."
The third prince has been to the imperial study, and he also knows that the prince's brother, the second elder brother, the elder brother, and even the gentleman, usually listen to the royal father and the ministers' discussions in the imperial study after the court meeting is over, but after today, this imperial study may be closed There is a lot of space.
"There are a lot of things that no one would dare to say to His Highness." After thinking for a while, Fan Xian said calmly, "But I must tell you something."
His Majesty the Emperor is coming back soon, and Fan Xian has to make his own explanation to the third child, because he knows that this child is actually extremely delicate, so he used to call him His Highness before, but now he just calls you you.
"His Majesty is martial by nature, and he will eventually be sent to the border gates to garrison in the future." Fan Xian's expression darkened, and he described His Majesty's future arrangements in his own words, "His nature is straightforward, and he will never take the initiative to do anything harmful. Regarding the matter of brotherhood, you have to rest assured and don't be suspicious."
The third prince's hands trembled. Looking at the face of the gentleman, he didn't know why he suddenly said this.
"As for me, I will always leave in the future. The world is so big, and it is worthwhile for me to go to the ends of the earth to have a look." Fan Xian smiled slightly, "So don't doubt me, Even when you grow up... don't doubt me."
The third prince opened his mouth wide, feeling a trace of fear for some reason.
"This is not something that a courtier should say." Fan Xian suppressed his smile and said calmly, "But I want to tell you. After twenty years of my life, I am already tired of guessing and testing each other's minds. No matter how you grow up in the future Believe it or not, but please remember this sentence."
As he said, such words violated the taboo of the emperor's family, let alone said by a courtier, but Fan Xian said it so calmly and so naturally. Li Chengping stared blankly at his gentleman's originally handsome face, but today he was somewhat haggard, and nodded subconsciously.
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Three days later, the capital was pacified, and the three cavalry entered the capital again, announcing to the world the news of His Majesty's return from offering sacrifices to heaven. The shocking people in Kyoto jumped for joy, but Fan Xian, who was standing above the imperial city, didn't know why they were still happy after suffering so much.
His Majesty the Emperor's scheduled return to Beijing was three days late. During these three days, military reports from the Dingzhou Army continued to be sent to Beijing through the channels of the military and the Overwatch Council. , holding His Majesty's seal with both hands and covering it indiscriminately.
On this day, the news finally came. Fan Xian took the third prince, together with the eldest prince, and the surviving royalist veterans, walked through the streets where there were still traces of weapons, walked out of Zhengyang Gate, and stopped ten miles away.
Thousands of people knelt down densely, and there was no room for them to stand on the official road. Many people knelt directly in the wheat fields on both sides of the road. At this time, the autumn harvest has not yet arrived, and the golden ears of wheat have survived the trampling of the horses, and they are swinging in the breeze with the heavy harvest. Countless people's moods were swaying like ears of wheat, watching the Ming Huang Yujia coming from afar.
Fan Xian looked away from the wheat field, and smiled at the nervous and happy third prince beside him.