40.
The little prince was twenty years old, and it was not suitable to continue living in the palace. He had previously ordered a house in the capital, and Ji Guan moved in today.
The little prince moved to his new house very low-key. He didn't even have a Hexi person. He only invited a neighbor who was a street away from his palace.
This neighbor is Mr. Yan.
After coming down to court, Lord Yan came to visit the door. When he entered the door, the little prince was making tea in the courtyard.
The courtyard of the entire palace is modeled on the Jiangnan garden, with stone bridges and creeks, as well as water pavilions. The little prince raised his chest proudly and said, "These are all designed by this prince."
When Mr. Yan saw a dozen orange-yellow koi raised in the pond, the little prince said, "This fish will bring good luck to people."
Mr. Yan saw a group of pigeons cooing over the courtyard again and asked, "What can these pigeons bring?"
The little prince said with a smile, "You can bring Brother Yan's letter."
Lord Yan laughed: "I can walk faster than a pigeon in such a short distance from the palace."
"That's different." The little prince explained, "I want to relive the feeling of brother Yan writing to me in the military camp."
After the little prince finished speaking, he thought of something, and asked Lord Yan with a blink of an eye: "Brother Yan, do you still keep the letters I wrote to you back then?"
Lord Yan was stunned for a moment, touched his nose and said vaguely, "Still keep it."
41.
The little prince led Lord Yan around all the corners of the palace, and was about to go back to continue making tea, but was blocked by Lord Yan's tall figure.
The little prince looked up at him in confusion.
Mr. Yan looked solemn, deliberately lowered the volume and asked in the ear of the little prince: "What is the matter with the guards outside the prince's gate? Those are all people in the palace. I recognize that the emperor is placing you under house arrest?"
The smile on the little prince's face gradually faded, and he bit his lip without making a sound.
Lord Yan waited for a while, thinking that he would not be able to wait for an answer like before. At this moment, the little prince suddenly opened his mouth and said in a low voice, "Brother Yan, if you want to listen, come with me."
Lord Yan followed the little prince into the bedroom, watched the little prince carefully close the doors and windows and checked it before returning to sit beside him, took a deep breath and said, "Actually, this prince is the one who should inherit the throne. people."
42.
In the autumn of two years ago, the old emperor suddenly became seriously ill. The imperial doctor went back and forth to diagnose for several months to no avail. The whole court knew that the old emperor was running out of time.
The old emperor has always loved the little prince the most, and the little prince will accompany him by the bed every day to take care of him. Wiping sweat and feeding medicine is all hands-on.
In the last days, the old emperor's consciousness was sometimes sober and sometimes confused. One day, when the prime minister was returning to his business, the old emperor suddenly stood up and said that he was going to be in the position of the little prince.
The little prince and the prime minister were both shocked and said that this matter was absolutely impossible, but the old emperor seemed to have made up his mind, regardless of the persuasion and insisted on setting up an edict. A few days later, the old emperor rode a crane west in a drowsiness.
After the death of the old emperor, in order to take care of the overall situation, the little prince and the prime minister wanted to hide the matter, but what they did not expect was that the matter was leaked overnight for some unknown reason, and it was spread throughout the palace as a rumor.
Later, although the current emperor ascended the throne successfully, he was always on guard against the little prince. As Lord Yan saw, at first he was kept in the palace and not allowed to go out without permission. Later, he used the daughter of the prime minister to prevent the prime minister from turning his back, and now he has sent heavy soldiers to monitor the little prince's every move...
43.
The little prince told Lord Yan all the ins and outs. After speaking, the two were silent for a long time, and the room was so quiet that only the sound of breathing remained.
From outside the door, Pearl's bluffing shout came: "Your Highness, your tea is ready."
The little prince sucked his nose, tried to calm his breath, and said, "Let's leave it for now."
When Pearl's footsteps were far away, Mr. Yan asked quietly, "Where is the edict now?"
The little prince got up and went to the bookshelf, and turned one of the jade bottles. A dark grid was immediately exposed in the middle of the bookshelf, and inside was a golden scroll.
Lord Yan was stunned on the spot, the little prince choked and grabbed Lord Yan's sleeve, his voice full of grievances and unease that no one had talked about in these years.
"Brother Yan, I never thought of grabbing the throne. I know that I don't have the foresight and foresight of the emperor's brother. I'm not suitable, but no one wants to believe me..."
The little prince's voice became smaller and smaller, and his eyes were staring at Lord Yan with tears in his eyes. At that moment, Lord Yan only felt a burst of soreness in his chest, and without thinking much, he hugged him into his arms.
Lord Yan understands the situation of the little prince. If this paper edict is not handed over, the little prince will always be the emperor's heartache. However, if it is handed over without the protection of the will, I am afraid that his life will be in danger.
Lord Yan closed his eyes, pressed the little prince's head tightly against his chest, and gently stroked and comforted him.
The little prince's body froze. Since the death of his father, he has not had such an embrace for too long. In such a huge capital, he could not find anyone he could trust. Now life is difficult, and only Lord Yan is his only support.
The little prince lay softly on Lord Yan's chest, the tears that had been accumulated for a long time finally poured out of his eyes unscrupulously at this moment, with fear and anxiety, wetting the front of Lord Yan's clothes little by little.
Lord Yan rubbed the top of the little prince's head with his chin, patted his back with his palm, and his chest vibrated slightly: "Don't be afraid, prince, I am here."
The voice was gentle and steady, and it went straight into the little prince's heart, and suddenly made him feel at ease.
The little prince wiped his tears, raised his head from Lord Yan's chest, and asked with tears on his face, "Brother Yan, can you call me Xiao Jiu in the future?"
The words were soft and soft, as if a feather had scratched across Mr. Yan's heart. Mr. Yan's eyes moved slightly, and the feeling of soreness in his heart was even worse.
He opened his mouth and said softly, "I see, Xiao Jiu."