From the far side of the imperial garden came two imposing teenagers, followed by a group of palace people.
The taller one was the fourth prince, and the shorter one was the fifth prince. They had just returned from work outside the palace, and rushed back to the palace in the dark.
The fifth prince, who was still immersed in the outside of the palace, said with great interest.
"Unexpectedly, it's quite fun outside the palace, fourth brother, let's go out of the palace tomorrow and have a look."
Compared with the lively fifth prince, the fourth prince seemed to be more restrained. He shook his head in disapproval and replied.
"Leaving the palace without authorization is a serious crime. Today, the emperor ordered us to go out to try an urgent case. Don't obey the emperor's order and sneak out of the palace and make him angry."
Even though the members of the royal family are all young and mature, the fifth prince still has some youthful spirit left in him, he said sullenly, with his head downcast.
"But I heard them explain that there will be a lantern show in the evening market. It must be very interesting."
The Fourth Prince could hear his reluctance, and there was a warning in Bo Nu's voice.
"Yuan Xu."
The fifth prince has always been close to him, and often listens to his words, knowing that he was really angry when he called his name, so he reluctantly responded.
"Okay fifth brother, I just don't go out."
When they walked around the rockery to the bedroom, they saw a few palace people not far away in the other direction, carrying bright palace lanterns, reflecting a vague light.
The fifth prince suddenly became curious and poked his head to look over.
"what is that?"
The fourth prince sent a palace official to investigate the situation, and the palace official came back soon, bowing his head respectfully.
"Back to your Highnesses, the crown prince's sparrows are swinging over there. The sky is too dark, so the palace people lighted the palace lanterns to take care of it more carefully."
Prince's sparrow
What immediately came to their minds was the little doll carved with jade that appeared outside Shang's study many years ago. The fourth prince immediately grabbed his arm after seeing the malice on the fifth prince's face, and stopped him in a deep voice.
"Fifth brother, don't worry about it."
The Fifth Prince shook off his hand wittily, walked towards that side with interest, and said casually with disdain.
"I heard that the elder brother of the prince never let him out after he was brought back to the East Palace. It seems that he is hiding some rare treasure. I want to see what kind of fairy the bird who can fascinate the elder brother of the prince has grown into."
The fourth prince, who was well aware of the prince's eccentric temperament, was afraid that the fifth prince would make the prince angry because of that sparrow man, so he hurriedly followed.
When the fifth prince got closer, he saw clearly that the palace people around the swing were holding palace lanterns in their hands, and they were staring at the happy people on the swing with trepidation. Look nervous.
They were all too concerned about that sparrow man, and they didn't even notice the Fifth Prince walking over.
The faint candlelight shining through the thin lantern paper dyed the drowsy surroundings with a layer of blurred beauty. There were too many people in the palace, and the fifth prince could only see the violet robes fluttering and fluttering with the swing, like Zhuang Zhou's drunken dream. Like the phantom butterfly in the book.
The fifth prince impatiently kicked away the palace man who was blocking his view, and the clear and clear youthful voice broke into the silence.
"Get out of the way!"
The belated palace people hurriedly knelt down to salute, and the palace people pushing the swing also quickly stabilized the swing rope, and then knelt down.
The dark eyes disappeared immediately, and the fifth prince finally saw the bird sitting on the swing and looking back at him.
That sparrow man was only a young man, and there was already an indisputable amazement between his delicate eyebrows and eyes, his dark eyes were dimly lit by the candlelight around him, and there was a little cinnabar red in the center of his brows. , It really looks like a ghost in the mountains and fields that specializes in charming people's hearts.
But his expression is extremely innocent, and that day is also mixed with the unknowing style soaked in love for a long time, just a glance is thrilling, and you can't stop.
The fourth prince who followed closely frowned when he saw the dumbfounded fifth prince, and his puzzled eyes shifted to the boy on the swing stand, and he was also stunned.
After a long while, the fourth prince looked away in embarrassment as if he had just woken up from a dream, and then pushed the fifth prince hard, and his voice, which barely maintained his composure, cracked.
"Fifth brother, we should go back to the palace."
The fifth prince was still staring at the young man obsessively, as if his soul had been taken away. The wanton teasing many years ago and the frivolous thoughts just now disappeared without a trace in an instant, and what filled his heart was only the unexpected heartbeat.
He unconsciously took a step forward, his heart beating like a drum, and his stammering voice was very soft, as if he was afraid of scaring the boy.
"You, are you the bird of the prince's brother? What's your name?"
Just when he stepped forward, suddenly a kneeling palace man hurriedly moved up to him, and said fearfully.
"Fifth Prince! His Highness the Crown Prince has ordered...."
The fourth prince, who ignored him, kicked him away fiercely, his obsessive eyes still stuck to the young man.
It was superfluous for him to ask this question, every young man would put a grain of cinnabar on the center of his eyebrows to show his distinction from the court man when he was ten years old, the cinnabar red on the center of the young man's eyebrows was like begonia flower juice, it was amazingly scorching.
And the fifth prince just found a clumsy excuse hastily, he just wanted to talk to the boy.
Startled by his deliberate approach, the young man immediately got off the swing, then grabbed the hanging rope wrapped in silk uneasily, and looked at him timidly without speaking.
The fifth prince's heart was numb from his ignorant gaze, he was stunned for a while, suddenly turned around and ran to the following palace people, and then hurriedly searched for the things he bought from the folk market from among the things they were holding. Gadgets come.
After throwing all the things he didn't like on the ground, the fifth prince was pleasantly surprised to find a small clay figurine made by a craftsman. He walked towards the boy attentively and quickly, not daring to get too close to him. He stopped not far away, and then raised the little clay figurine to ask.
"Do you like this? If so, I'll give it to you."
The little clay figurine was originally brought back in a brocade box, so it was not damaged at all. The clay figurine made into Chang'e is vivid and lifelike. Although it is a very common gadget in the folk, it is impossible to see it in the palace. .
Sure enough, the young boy's curious eyes immediately stuck to the clay figurine, and he was so engrossed that he didn't even notice that the Fifth Prince approached him quietly.
The fifth prince's chest was full of love and pity, and he took the initiative to move the clay figurine closer to him, and coaxed him in a low voice.
"I sent you off, you hold it yourself."
Hearing his words, the young man raised his head and glanced at him hesitantly, his long eyelashes flickered like a feather fan, his delicately carved face showed obvious joy, and there were beautiful dimples on his cheeks.
His voice was as thin as a mosquito, but soft and touching.
"Really?"
The fifth prince was so impressed by him that he really wanted to give him all the treasures in the world. He was so close that he could even smell the faint fragrance of the young man, as if leaking from the cracks in his bones. The whole body is crispy.
The Fifth Prince swallowed with difficulty, his tone was gentler than ever before.
"As long as you tell me your name, I'll give it to you, okay?"
The boy's expression showed a trace of hesitation, he seemed a little embarrassed, but he was really reluctant to part with the clay figurine he was about to get, and muttered distressedly.
"But the prince brother won't let me tell others."
"You tell me secretly, I don't tell others."
The fifth prince shook the clay figurine lightly in front of him on purpose, and the young man's straight eyes followed the clay figurine, completely looking like a child who was bewitched by something.
The boy's tone really softened, with a bit of nervousness that he was afraid of being discovered by others.
"Then I'll tell you secretly, you are not allowed to tell others."
The fifth prince hurriedly nodded his head desperately, and then his ears were surrounded by the warm breath that suddenly approached, and that faint fragrance also rushed into his nostrils, it was fragrant and sweet.
The voice that was trying to suppress was small, light and fast.
"My name is Jiang Fu."
When he was in a daze, the fifth prince's hand was empty, and the clay figurine was snatched by the boy.
He raised his eyes blankly to chase after him, and saw the young man who was holding the clay figurine cautiously and hid back to the side of the swing, looking down at the clay figurine intently, smiling very happily.
The fifth prince looked at him in a daze, and then the fourth prince grabbed his arm and pulled him back, his voice full of inexplicable emotions was full of urging.
"Fifth brother! We should go!"
The fifth prince reluctantly refused to leave, and kept evading.
"Stay a little longer, fourth brother, let's stay a little longer before leaving."
When the fifth prince sent the young clay figurine to him just now, the fourth prince not only didn't stop him, but even repelled the young man's palace servants, because he also wanted to take a few more glances at the young man after a glimpse, to see if he would laugh.
Then he saw the sweet smile of the young man, this smile was like an addictive drug, and after staring at it for a few more times, he couldn't leave it.
It's just that he is older than the fifth prince after all, and he has heard more secrets in the palace. He has long known that this sparrow is the crown prince's favorite treasure, and he can't take the risk to give birth to more coveted hearts. So promptly persuaded the fifth prince to leave.
The fifth prince stubbornly insisted on staying and continuing to talk to the young man. When he got annoyed, he pushed and yelled at him. The fourth prince became increasingly anxious, and his hasty tone became severe.
"Yuan Xu! Hurry up and go with me!"
The fifth prince, who was inspired to be somewhat rebellious, also shouted angrily.
"I won't go! I want to play with Jiang Fu!"
As soon as the words fell, he noticed the sudden stagnation of the air, which was so tense that it made one's scalp tingle.
The fourth prince's face also froze, he turned his head subconsciously, and then his suddenly changed face showed a bit of fearful panic.
"Brother Prince."
After saluting, he tugged hard on the stunned Fifth Prince, and the latter hurriedly saluted too, then bowed his head with a pale face, not daring to speak.
Those who walked past them were already weak, their handsome faces were filled with lingering gloom, and their deep black eyes were like unfathomable abysses, which made people feel chills all over without even daring to look at them.
The thin lips are often indifferently pursed into a straight line, and only when they look at the boy will they bend slightly and shallowly.
But at this moment when he looked at the boy, there was no smile on his lips.
Noticing the prince's sudden appearance, the young man subconsciously hid the clay figurine in his hand behind his back in a panic, his timid eyes dodged slightly, and then he yelled in a low voice.
"...Brother Prince."
The prince walked straight towards him, and then touched his head. Although his tone was gentle and loving, there was no warmth at all.
The low-pitched voice can be heard clearly by everyone around.
"Why are you being naughty again? I told you not to tell others your name."
The fifth prince froze.
The young man with his head down trembled violently, then he stuffed the clay figurine behind him into the prince's hanging hand in panic, looked up at him flatteringly, and said eagerly.
"Yes, I want to give it to the prince's brother."
The prince lowered his eyes and looked at his timid expression hidden in anticipation. He squeezed the boy's hand tightly with the stuffed clay figurine's hand, and then pulled the clay figurine stick out of his hand inch by inch with the other hand, and threw it on the ground casually.
The boy's face turned pale.
As if he couldn't bear to see the poor boy about to cry, the fifth prince gritted his teeth to hold back the deep fear of the prince, summoned up the courage to speak out, and took all the blame on himself.
"Brother Prince, I used clay figurines to lure him, and it's none of his business."
The flimsy explanation was blown away by the wind, the prince caressed the cinnabar between the young man's brows without paying attention, and the drooping eyelashes covered the rolling coldness in the black eyes.
He still only spoke to the boy, with a calm tone.
"Chengcheng, you are disobedient."
The young man wrapped in a purple robe timidly grabbed the corner of his clothes, the misty tears in his eyes fell like dewdrops rolling from the lotus leaves in the morning, and the voice of crying was twitching, grievances and tears. Panic.
"Brother Prince, I was wrong, I know I was wrong."
The prince didn't speak, but bent over and picked him up lightly, then passed over the crowd of palace people kneeling in the dark and the two princes with ugly faces.
Until the prince's figure completely disappeared in the dim imperial garden, the fifth prince seemed to be able to hear the sobbing sound of a docile young kitten.
Fragile and touching.