long friend

The sixth son of the emperor was assassinated in the outskirts of Jinling. Fortunately, the young prince of Xiao Qiwei protected him properly and delayed the time to let His Highness go first. The number of assassins was not many, and it was not intended to kill Xiao Qichen.

But since the first year of Tongning, no assassin has dared to assassinate the prince at the foot of the imperial city.This incident spread all over the streets and alleys of Jinling early in the morning of the next day, and several versions were improvised.Xiao Yan heard about it just after he woke up, and then made a big fuss at the court meeting.

Xiao Qichen who was assassinated was not there, so he couldn't hear how he vented his anger.

I heard from the maid in charge of the Chenglan Palace, the lady in green, that His Highness the Sixth Highness was sent back to the palace by Wang Zhen, and she didn't sleep all night. Occasionally, there was a turbulence at night, and she would get under the covers and refuse to show her head. Her eyes were always red, and she spoke louder. Crying without a sound, no matter how coaxed she can't be coaxed well.After all, he was only 16 years old, not to mention Xiao Qiping was also at this age.

After the court meeting, Xiao Yan went to visit Chenglan Palace in person, his father's love was inspired by Xiao Qichen's pitiful appearance, and his heart softened immediately.Xiao Yan's three sons had no chance to worry him before, but after coaxing him for a while this time, seeing that Xiao Qichen was still unhappy, he said helplessly: "Chen'er, don't be afraid, we are at home."

Xiao Qichen raised his head and asked with tears in his eyes: "Will Father really catch the assassin?"

The voice was still trembling, and it seemed that it really left a deep shadow. Xiao Yan rarely let go of the emperor's face, rubbed Xiao Qichen's head, and said softly: "Go and investigate now, let the hidden guards investigate, and won't call me The emperor is wronged."

Xiao Qichen's eyelids drooped slightly, hesitantly flashed across his gaze, and said: "...Who are the dark guards? I've never heard Father mention it before, are they very powerful?"

"That is the closest guard to the emperors of all dynasties in my dynasty. It does not distinguish between day and night, and only protects in secret. Only the chief and deputy commanders have names and surnames, and the rest are all code names." Xiao Yan patiently explained, "They are all thousands of miles away. Pick one good player—how about this, I'll send two hidden guards to protect Chen'er until the matter subsides, how about it?"

Xiao Qichen wiped his eyes, pursed his mouth and said: "Father said so, so be it."

Seeing that his mood finally improved, Xiao Yan said something else, and before leaving, he told the green clothes to serve him with food and drink, so that His Highness should not be frightened any longer.Everyone in Chenglan Palace dared not talk too much, and took the order first to be safe.

When Xiao Yan left, the Chenglan Hall was quiet again, Xiao Qichen who was sitting on the couch still had tears on his cheeks, but his expression was already calm.He waved to the green clothes, and the other party handed over a handkerchief.

Xiao Qichen wiped away those tears, and asked: "Is the acting okay?"

The green clothes admired: "His Highness's tears really don't cost money, they come as soon as they say it... After all these years in the palace, this servant has never seen His Majesty's fatherly love like a mountain."

"That's good." Xiao Qichen dipped the handkerchief into the water basin and stared at his own reflection inside, "I'll go out of the palace later, and if I don't go to see Su Yan, I'm always anxious. Something will happen."

Lu Yi couldn't dissuade him, and he didn't know what kind of medicine this young master sold in the gourd. Just now he was crying to death, but now he calmly acted as if nothing happened, so he had no choice but to accept it.She helped Xiao Qichen change into darker clothes, and helplessly sent him to the palace gate.On the road, I felt someone was following behind, presumably the rumored hidden guard. Lvyi turned her head to look, but saw nothing.

They were like two quiet shadows, lingering not far behind Xiao Qichen, refusing to show their faces.

Xiao Qichen went out of the palace this time in a low-key manner, took off the prince's complicated and luxurious hair crowns, simply tied his hair up, dressed in a dark blue gown, and took a carriage to Pingyuanhou's Mansion.

He seldom comes here. When he opened the door and walked in, he looked at the poor furnishings inside, and sighed, "Everyone thinks that the general serves the country and the people, and he doesn't even have time to pay attention to his own house..."

Looking around unconsciously, Xiao Qichen turned his head and saw a person sitting under an apricot tree in the courtyard, resting on a wicker chair.

Su Yan usually looks at him with a serious look, so that no one can connect him with the word "dandy".He has straight eyebrows, often frowning slightly, always bitter and bitter, as if he is always concerned about the country and the people.But Xiao Qichen knew that if he smiled sincerely, he would be gentler than spring mountains and streams.

At this time, Su Yan's left hand was wrapped with a bandage and placed on the armrest of the rattan chair, his right hand was propping his forehead, his eyelashes were drooping, and he was breathing long, sleeping comfortably.There were few people in Hou's mansion, Wang Bo was just about to wake him up, but Xiao Qichen stopped him.

He walked over slowly and knelt down in front of Su Yan.Seen from this angle, Su Yan's eyebrows and eyes seem to look better, and the eyelashes cast a small shadow on the eyelids.Xiao Qichen blinked, and found out silently that his playmate since childhood... seemed to be a beautiful boy who didn't grow up.

Maybe when he grows up a bit, he will be like Xie Hui in the past, and become the target of the Huaichun girls in Jinling City throwing fruit carts, right?How many people would be proud to marry into the Hou's mansion?

Thinking of this, Xiao Qichen suddenly felt sore, very uncomfortable.

He didn't understand where the taste came from, but Su Yan blinked and woke up from a short nap.His eyes wandered away for a moment, and he suddenly saw a person squatting in front of him. He was in a state of stress, and reflexively fell back, almost turning over with the rattan chair.

Xiao Qichen stood up: "Accident?"

Su Yan made a swallowing movement, and the eyebrows that were stretched in the dream just now frowned a little: "Aren't you... in the palace... why did you come out suddenly, is anyone following?"

Xiao Qichen motioned him to look at the door, where several guards of the imperial army stood neatly there.Su Yan got up and gave him the wicker chair to sit on, moved a stool by himself, and poured tea for Xiao Qichen.Because his left hand was inconvenient, Xiao Qichen took the teapot as soon as he lifted it up.Xiao Qichen poured tea for the two of them, seeing the persimmons on the table, he did not take them for the first time.

"Don't like to eat?" Su Yan asked.

Xiao Qichen shook his head: "I'm not in the mood to eat, what happened to your hand? Didn't you say you weren't injured yesterday?"

Su Yan said: "Accidentally got cut by a knife, the wound was not deep, it was dealt with when I came back last night, Uncle Wang was too worried, he wrapped me around several times... It made it very inconvenient to move, it's really okay."

Hearing what he said, Xiao Qichen only said "um", and then stopped talking.

He was too reticent today, Su Yan thought to himself that he might still be frightened by the assassin, so he spoke more softly than usual, and paired up with Xiao Qichen what he heard after the court meeting, it was both funny and distressing at the same time—— Xiao Qichen's tears were faking, but the nightmare was real.

"...I dreamed that you were cut in half with a knife, dragged behind a horse by the two of them for more than ten miles, and your hands and feet were cut off, and you were placed on the side of the road... I couldn't see it when I closed my eyes. Fragments of various limbs—”

Su Yan's scalp was numb when he heard it, and his limbs and bones were aching from what he said, so he couldn't help but interrupted: "Okay, don't say any more, it's all a dream, you see, I have all beards and tails, so don't worry about it." Think again."

Xiao Qichen poured out a lot of bitterness incoherently, finally calmed down, and said to Su Yan: "Those two people fought on the outskirts of Jinling yesterday. They must have no intention of taking my life at all. They may have followed me for a long time before they knew that I had gone. Brother Ping’s house, and he didn’t bring any followers—but since it’s such a good opportunity, why didn’t we attack on the way back to the city, because there’s no place in front of the village or back of the store, so we really can’t escape.”

Su Yan had thought about a lot of things the night before, and said when he heard the words: "And they ran away when they heard the voice of the Jinwu Guard. I fought against them, and my skill is not bad, so it's not..."

Xiao Qichen said vigilantly: "Don't you just want to warn me?"

Su Yan understood what he meant, dipped his fingers in some tea, and wrote the word "Zhao" on the table, Xiao Qichen shook his head: "With his means, he will definitely hit him with one blow, how could I have the opportunity to be in the hands of Emperor Father?" Crying in front of you for a long time."

"If this is a warning... what is it a warning? Could it be that you...don't go to Chu Palace again?"

As soon as this remark came out, Xiao Qichen had an epiphany: "They just want Brother Ping to stop asking about worldly affairs. Although the crown prince has been deposed, there are still those who are loyal to him. They want to cut off my connection with Brother Ping, and then isolate me. .What can a little prince do, not just obey him!"

Su Yan was secretly surprised, he only mentioned one thing, but Xiao Qichen thought of this, which is really impressive.It's just that Xiao Qiping said some of the words to him just now, if he didn't hear them, how could he grasp them so accurately?

"It should be Wan Qing." When Su Yan was about to speak, Xiao Qichen said firmly, saying everything he wanted to say, "I'll try to find out about her right now. It just so happened that the emperor sent me two secret guards. Except for a sect called... in the martial arts, they are the best assassins, and they must be very good at spying on information."

The dark guard, Su Yan suddenly thought of Ran Qiu.The three-year agreement has come, but he has not returned from Chang'an.Thinking of this, he felt a little uneasy, but in the end, this uneasiness failed to overcome the urgent task.

There were not many other gossips, Xiao Qichen was just about to return to the palace, but it started to rain.

What kind of rain can be in late autumn, but this one is particularly powerful, almost catching up with the thunderstorm in midsummer.Black clouds overwhelm the city, but there is only a golden light in the sky. This scene is really strange.Xiao Qichen couldn't leave, so he had to stay on the porch with Su Yan, quietly admiring the courtyard at the turn of autumn and winter through a rain curtain.

"...Ayan, I'm not here for your birthday this year." Xiao Qichen suddenly sighed.

The rain was so loud that Su Yan couldn't hear it clearly. He leaned slightly towards him and said seriously, "What?"

Xiao Qichen thought of the way he was taking a nap just now, the corners of his lips lightly raised, and he said with a smile: "It's nothing, I only realized my fear after returning to the palace yesterday... About when you were here, I..."

Just believe that it will be protected safe and sound.

He didn't say anything, but picked up the cup and took a sip of tea. Su Yan stopped asking, and changed his tone: "Do you want candy? Persimmons are also quite sweet. I remember you used to like them."

Sitting together on a rainy evening, if the two of them were not full of worries, Xiao Qichen would really think that time has gone back.

It's a pity that they were oppressed by the halo of the family, so they had to carry forward anyway.The carefreeness of youth disappeared quickly after a few years, as if it was just a pillow, and when I woke up, I could only regret it and never go back.

Jinling City has never seen such a heavy rain since autumn, and Xie Hui was caught off guard just as he packed up the rest of his luggage from the academy and was drowned.He stared bitterly at the wet shoes for a while, and finally decided to hide for a while.

He was ready to go back with the hope of being beaten by Xie Ke, but his grandfather only held onto him and burst into tears. Xie Hui was treated like this, and the last bit of resentment in his heart was completely buried.After he lost his temper, he has really grown a lot, and he also knows that the deceased is dead, if he doesn't cherish the person in front of him, maybe it will be too late to regret it someday.

During this period, his mood was complicated, and he was trapped in a tavern by the heavy rain. His worries added to his worries, and Xie Hui suddenly became even more depressed.

He ordered two taels of wine to warm his body, and just after taking a sip, he suddenly heard a clear female voice from a table behind him: "Xiaoer, bring the best wine here!"

Women generally don't show their faces in public, let alone in taverns where big men gather.Xie Hui shifted his position indiscriminately, and took out a piece of polished copper from his pocket—this was originally used by him to amuse the group of brats in the academy, but he didn't expect it to come in handy by accident, so he happened to be able to see The shadow of the woman behind.

Xie Hui couldn't see the truth, he saw her in white clothes and a bamboo hat, she looked like a widow in mourning.Curious, he quickly moved to the other side of the square table while the waiter was serving the dishes, and peeped like a thief.

The woman took off her bamboo hat and put it by the table, revealing Zhang Jiao's beautiful face, a small tear mole under her eyes reminded Xie Hui of Xiao Qichen.The woman concentrated on drinking and eating vegetables, as if she was very hungry. After sweeping like a storm, she took out an ingot of broken silver and put it on the table, and said loudly: "Xiaoer, pay the bill!"

Then she stood up and walked out. Just as she reached the door, she was suddenly bumped into by two big men approaching her.With her back turned, Xie Hui couldn't see clearly, but he clearly saw the woman tremble and then backed away.

Just as he was about to stand up, he suddenly realized that one of the big men was very recognizable - a one-eyed man.

The one-eyed dragon roughly grabbed the woman's arm, and said viciously to the people around him: "What are you looking at! My master's concubine sneaked out to elope with her lover. This shameless bitch, who enjoys all the glory and wealth, thinks about it now." Run?! How can it be so easy! If you are sensible, go back with me, the master will not punish you!"

The woman was as light as catkins in spring, and was dragged away by them.The sound of the rain outside was getting louder, Xie Hui bit the rim of his wine glass, thinking that he had seen a one-eyed dragon somewhere.

What this person said just now shows that he may be a big hand, and his master is either rich or noble.

Xie Hui quickly went through the people he knew. These days he seldom visited dignitaries, so he must have met them before he left.And he has such a deep impression, which means that Cyclops' master has been to the Prime Minister's Mansion more than once, and he is probably a very rich and powerful person... In this way... in his memory, it seems that all the clues have been sorted out——

The wine glass slid down suddenly, and the sound of broken ceramics awakened Xie Hui's rationality. He paid the bill in a hurry, regardless of his luggage and the heavy rain outside, he hurriedly put his head down and ran into the rain curtain.

Xie Hui trotted all the way, as if he was afraid of delaying the important event, he first headed towards Taicheng, and felt that he might not even be able to enter the Xiye Gate in such a mess, so he hurriedly changed to Pingyuanhou's Mansion.After coming and going, when Xie Hui arrived at the Hou's Mansion, his whole body was completely soaked, and his clothes were sticky to his body, as disgusting as he could be.

He didn't care about the cold, his heart was beating like it was about to jump out of his throat, leaving a string of wet footprints, and he shouted: "Su Yan! Su Yan! I have something to do—"

Xie Hui turned a corner, saw Xiao Qichen and Su Yan sitting on the porch, and immediately felt relieved.He gasped for breath in a hurry, and then said as if he had discovered Xintiandi: "I was in the tavern just now, and I saw that one-eyed dragon under Zhao Wang!"