Neverland

Meng Wanqing died of a wound that never healed.

Her death was simpler than Song Xueyao's. It was voluntary and self-inflicted - she cut open her own flesh and blood, dug out her own bones, made it into a bone flute, and gave it to Song Xueyao.

But now, this flute is lost.

Xu Muzhou put the charcoal stick he had just picked up in the imperial kitchen back into his bosom, and folded the soft cloth used to summarize the clues in his hand, and stuffed it in the small space reserved under his belt.

Yan Cen realized that he was done with his work, so he said at the right time: "Have you figured it out?"

"Part of it." Xu Muzhou wrote as he walked, the paper was filled with messy arrows like ghostly symbols, no one except him could understand it, so he didn't take it out.

Everyone in the deep palace is a lady, with a heart like a needle in the sea.

Song Xueyao's obsession was as tactful and reserved as her own character, the progress bar returned to a quiet and quiet appearance, and she didn't provide any information except telling Xu Muzhou that their matter was indeed related to the bone flute.

"But to be honest, regardless of why Meng Wanqing gave Song Xueqing such an item, if it were me, I lost this item in my hands, and I would like to find it and return it to her." Xu Muzhou After a pause, he said, "...Even if you die."

"After all, it was Meng Wanqing's life." Yan Cen said.

Xu Muzhou sighed.

They were walking on a lengthy palace road, with tall brick-red palace walls on both sides of the narrow palace road.The dazzling sunlight of the day faded, and a damp and cold atmosphere appeared on the ground, climbing up along the hem of the person's clothes.Desires and evil thoughts that seem to be hidden in the darkness are ready to move, and as soon as the light disappears, they will come out of every hole.

The straight lines cut the sky into pieces. As night fell, even the sporadic birds flying in the sky disappeared. Only the smell of moist soil lingered at the bottom of the city.The smell is like a fragile but tough soft silk thread, which seems to disappear at any time, but it has been tied to everyone, like a string of puppets inside the palace wall.

The looks of Gong Dao are all similar, Xu Muzhou lowered his head and wrote for a long time, during which time he followed Yan Cen left and right with only his peripheral vision, and now he doesn't know where he is going.

But he was not in a hurry, and walked beside Yan Cen like a stroll in the courtyard - anyway, the final destination was there, and he would arrive there no matter how he walked.

Xu Muzhou's face was heavy. When they came out of the palace just now, the maid of the foreign race followed behind him a few steps in a daze. She didn't know what they were looking for, and she didn't understand what Meng Wanqing's death meant.

Before going out, Xu Muzhou asked a little more about how the other maid got here, and the foreign maid talked for a long time with gestures and jumping words, and then reluctantly told Xu Muzhou everything she knew.

The foreign maid said that the maid was assigned inexplicably, and not long after the other was assigned, Meng Wanqing, who was always at ease, suddenly became depressed.She locked herself in the house for several days, refusing to see anyone, and finally dug out her leg bones with her own hands.

The second day after Meng Wanqing started to fight, Wei Wenxuan got the news from nowhere, and with a light order, he moved the person to the side hall.

Meng Wanqing didn't care about her sudden downfall. The innocent and free-spirited prairie girl had a wolf-like blood in her bones. She wrapped a white cloth around the wound on her calf in that small side hall, and then held a small dagger in her own hand. Polish it smooth, and cut out the flute holes to make a beautiful flute.

Xu Muzhou now understands that suicide is a serious crime for a concubine, and self-mutilation shouldn't be too much of a problem.Meng Wanqing's relegation wasn't because she was held back by her mother's family, but because her behavior offended Wei Wenxuan.

——In the final analysis, Wei Wenxuan felt that these concubines in the harem belonged to him, and even they themselves had no right to dispose of their bodies.

"I really admire Meng Wanqing." Xu Muzhou said, "Being self-reliant and self-reliant is very assertive. Although self-mutilation is not worth advocating, her personality is tough and independent, and she has not become a harem flower. .”

"Yes." Yan Cen agreed: "Much better than Wei Wenxuan."

"You don't seem to like Wei Wenxuan very much." Xu Muzhou looked sideways at him, and said with a smile: "You have never looked down on him since then, he can be an emperor anyway, and he is considered a character, how did you provoke him? is you."

No wonder Xu Muzhou asked this question, although Yan Cen is arrogant, he rarely shows his dislike for something over and over again, after all, dislike itself is a kind of emotional ups and downs.

Yan Cen did not answer, but asked instead: "Is it difficult to be an emperor?"

"Is it simple?" Xu Muzhou thought it was amused: "Managing a huge territory, with tens of thousands of people waiting to eat, if one is not careful, it is easy to bear the name of a faint king. No matter how you look at it, it is a high-risk occupation."

"These are two things." Yan Cen said, his figure looked extraordinarily cold under the moonlight, and his shadow formed a long strip on the palace wall.When he spoke, he looked straight ahead as always, his amber pupils were a little darker in the night, and a thin moonlight fell into his eyes, becoming the only firefly in Yan Cen's eyes.

——What is he thinking, Xu Muzhou thought.This was his first reaction, he always felt that at that moment just now, something completely irrelevant to the mission flashed past Yan Cen's mind.

"Becoming an emperor is not difficult - there are only two situations, one is the elders' preference, and the throne is inherited; the other is fighting with brothers, after fighting to the death, the final winner will be the emperor." Yan Yan Cen paused as he spoke, Xu Muzhou kept turning his head to look at his side face, and found that Yan Cen's eyelashes were trembling, and he blinked quickly, before continuing: "But whether you can be a good emperor is the most important thing." The important point. To learn the art of vertical and horizontal for the emperor is to make good use of other people's weaknesses, rather than tearing up your own weaknesses and weaknesses on the surface and making them known to everyone. People like Wei Wenxuan have been in high positions for a long time. Fear is taken as a matter of course, so he will not hide his thoughts... He has learned the wrong way, so it will not last long."

"No dynasty lasts forever." Xu Muzhou said gently: "History is like a wheel, it rolls in and out, but it goes round and round, and there are always similarities."

Yan Cen paused, and seemed to feel that he had said too much, so he said, "...Indeed."

Xu Muzhou thought about it, and asked in a relaxed tone: "You are quite familiar with this process...Why, can Neverland give such a bug an optional identity? It makes me want to try it too."

Yan Cen turned his head to meet his gaze, smiled slightly, and stretched out his hand to pinch the back of his neck.

He is used to using such small gestures to appease people, Xu Muzhou originally thought that he would not answer, but Yan Cen really took this temptation.

"I almost did it once." Yan Cen said with a smile: "It's a pity that by mistake, I didn't get into this addiction."

Xu Muzhou was slightly taken aback.

Yan Cen's forward steps naturally turned to the side, reached out his hand to touch Xu Muzhou's shoulder, and pulled him into his arms without hesitation.

This posture was properly maintained by him in the middle of the boundary between "intimacy" and "shoulder hooking", Yan Cen frivolously rubbed Xu Muzhou's chin with his index finger, and said softly: "The wound hurts, lean on it for a while... Tsk, Inconsiderate."

Yan Cen's voice was cold and indifferent, but Xu Muzhou heard some complaints from it for no reason.

— Fuck, Xu Muzhou immediately jammed.The upright boyfriend suddenly acted coquettishly, who could resist it.

Probably the omnipotent man's occasional coquettishness is particularly lethal, Xu Muzhou was dizzy, and was immediately led away by the nose.

It wasn't until Xu Muzhou was led around the imperial garden three times by Yan Cen that he managed to regain his sanity.

The Changqiu Palace will not be cleared until Haishi, so it is useless to go there early, so Yan Cen took Xu Muzhou for a walk in the imperial garden.

It is undoubtedly more interesting for two people to perform tasks than one person, because two people are bound to communicate when they are together. While completing tasks, they actually build a very small social group network.

In other words, as long as there is only one person left around, people will always find an opportunity to communicate in communication.

Xu Muzhou looked at Yan Cen's handsome side face, and thought wildly about whether to go back and give Zhong Lu some advice. In the future, Neverland will be changed to a partner system. This is an important channel to protect the mental health of the staff.

He accompanied Yan Cen around the palace like a foolish king for several hours before Yan Cen checked the sky and finally took him to Changqiu Palace.

Fortunately, there were no mosquitoes in this weather, otherwise the two of them would have fed all the mosquitoes in Miyagi City by hanging around like this outside.

Xu Muzhou's ability to recognize the way is good, but he couldn't stand going back and forth, he forgot where he was, and followed Yan Cen through a T-shaped intersection, only to realize that they had been in Changqiu Palace all along Spin around not far away.

The time of Hai had passed, and the main hall of Changqiu Palace became quiet again. On the porch outside the main gate, there were two little eunuchs sleeping on the left and right.

The long candlelight spread in from outside the door, so bright that even the moonlight shunned.

Yan Cen let go of the hand on Xu Muzhou's body, his relaxed expression slightly retracted, and he walked towards the main hall first.

The cause of Song Xueyao's death is still strange, but as long as she finds out why she died, then it can be determined whether it has anything to do with Liu Yingying.

The progress node given by Hydrangea shows that this mission is related to the bone flute, but no one can be sure of the specific function of this bone flute—whether it is to leave the whole body for Meng Wanqing before burial, or whether it is the bone flute. Dizi is the decisive evidence to avenge Song Xueyao's grievances, and they cannot be sure now, so they can only be ruled out one by one after obtaining more information.

Xu Muzhou followed Yan Cen a step away, he walked lightly, and did not disturb the eunuchs who were watching the night outside the door.

The gate of Changqiu Palace was ajar, and there were lights and shadows in the house, Yan Cen stretched out his hand to push the door open, only to find that besides Song Xueqing's coffin, there was another person waiting for them.