long friend

In the first month of the 26th year of Tongning, the festival was not over yet, but the atmosphere in Taicheng was dignified, and there was no festive prosperity.

Xiao Qiping, the eldest son of His Majesty today, the Crown Prince Xiao Qiping has been well-mannered since he was a child, diligent and modest, and has the demeanor of an emperor. He was originally expected to be high.Seeing that at the age of sixteen, he will be able to attend the court and participate in the government affairs of a country as the crown prince. It has to be said that everything is developing in the direction expected by the emperor.

At this time, on the thirteenth day of the first lunar month, nothing unusual could be seen at all.

This day Xiao Qiping got up, but suddenly knocked over the tea brought by the maid, grabbed the hand of the close maid, and asked: "But the sky is not yet bright? I feel that the eyes are dark, and the objects in the room are only shadows. Can't really see."

The maid immediately lost her position, but fortunately an elderly aunt stabilized the situation, first sent someone to play the queen, and then invited the imperial doctor.When the queen came to the East Palace, the imperial doctor knelt down on the ground, and no one dared to speak first.

In the end, an old imperial doctor said a lot tremblingly, to the effect that the prince's eyesight was ill, maybe he had been poisoned, and now the situation will only get worse, even the national players are powerless to recover.

The prince turned blind, and the queen fainted on the spot in shock.This matter could not be hidden from the emperor, Xiao Yan hurried over and confirmed again and again that Xiao Qiping was indeed suffering from eye problems, Long Yan was furious.

This matter has been investigated in a mess for more than a month, and everyone around the prince has not let it go, and the truth finally came to light.

The little eunuch who showed Su Yan that day fled over the wall, but was captured by the Imperial Army on the spot and sent to the East Palace.At this juncture, escaping was really too strange, Dali Temple did not dare to neglect, after a long interrogation, coupled with coercion and temptation, torture and torture, the little eunuch confessed to poisoning the prince.

He didn't admit who was the instigator, but committed suicide by taking poison, and there was no evidence for his death.

The Queen naturally refused to let it go, but there was nothing to be done if the matter was investigated further.The little eunuch was born in a lonely life. After his parents died, he was sold into the palace by his uncle, and he was in the East Palace from the beginning.He was handsome and had a comfortable voice, so Xiao Qiping pampered him and allowed him to read and read, and occasionally listened to him read articles for himself.

Perhaps even Xiao Qiping himself could not have imagined that this little eunuch who stayed by his side all day would slowly poison his food and drink, eventually causing him to be blind and completely unable to see.

For what reason, he wanted to break his head, but he didn't know how he had treated him badly.

People with disabilities are not allowed to be the emperor. Even if the emperor did not mention the matter of abolishing the crown prince and establishing another crown prince after sorting out the ins and outs, and still let Xiao Qiping live in the East Palace, anyone with a discerning eye could see that his position as the crown prince was useless.

Just after the Grain Rain, the emperor prayed to heaven for a year of good weather. After returning to the palace, he suddenly issued an order to send all the children of the aristocratic families who accompanied the prince to study in the east palace back to their original homes, but they could continue to monitor and study in the prince.This edict was like a bolt from the blue, completely extinguishing the queen's last thought.

At that time, the gentry were stubborn and hierarchical.All the officials above the fifth rank in the imperial court were from aristocratic families. If a scholar from a poor family wants to become an official and make a fortune, it is more difficult than ascending to the sky.

Letting the children of the aristocratic family accompany the prince to read, on the surface, it is to relieve the loneliness of the East Palace, but in fact it is a good move by the emperor to cultivate the henchmen for the prince.If you have been a playmate and classmate since you were young, you must do your best to assist the prince in the future.And the children of these aristocratic families waited until the crown prince came to the throne, and they were courtiers, so they could be regarded as knowing their roots.

Once the emperor and the courtiers, now the eldest son of the emperor has a lot of followers, instead of waiting for Xiao Qiping to grow his wings before cultivating his confidants, it is better to act first and clear the obstacles for him.

But people are not as good as heaven, no matter how farsighted Xiao Yan is, he never expected that the prince he carefully cultivated would die in the hands of a young eunuch.

"When are you going back to the mansion?" Xiao Qichen sat on the round drum stool, seeing Su Yan packed his luggage and didn't answer, he asked again, "Why don't you come to a servant to do these things for you?"

After folding the last piece of clothes, Su Yan said: "I'm just a subject, unlike Your Highness, I have someone to do everything for me. Right now, the East Palace is in a mess, and everyone wants to be saddled with His Highness the Crown Prince. We are going to leave soon. People, why is it worth the people worrying about?"

Xiao Qichen thought for a while, and calmly said: "After you return to the mansion, can you still enter the palace?"

Su Yan moved slowly, staring at a white crane embroidered on the mattress, his heart suddenly shrank.With his current eloquence and knowledge reserves, he couldn't express that complicated melancholy.

According to the usual practice, the prince lived in the inner palace and lived with his mother and concubine before he became king.Eighteen kings, when the crown is weak, His Majesty personally bestows the title of king and fiefs, but the fiefs are scattered across thousands of miles of rivers and mountains, and there are county guards and prefects to manage them.If he hadn't made a big mistake and was sent to the fiefdom by the emperor, the prince would still live in Jinling City after he became an adult.

Although the Guozijian is also located in Taicheng, it is not in the deep palace. In addition to the prince, there are also children of aristocratic families who are studying here.If the children of these aristocratic families were not accompanying them, they would naturally not be able to enter the palace at ordinary times, nor would they be allowed to study with the prince.

But as soon as they get along well, they get used to being together day and night, so they have to separate.Afterwards, Su Yan was not allowed to enter the palace, and Xiao Qichen was also not allowed to leave. The palace walls were separated by ten years, who knows what will happen when they meet again?

Thinking of this, Su Yan couldn't help feeling sad.It's just that he was young, and the deepest pain of parting was the sudden disappearance of the brother who slept with him every night. Now when he thinks about it, he feels sad belatedly.But Xiao Qichen...he is still a living person, and without Su Yan behind him, his life will not be bad.

It seemed that only Su Yan would care about these melancholy. He looked over and saw that Xiao Qichen was still sitting on the stool with a bewildered expression on his face, as if he didn't care about these things at all. He was so relaxed that even Su Yan felt that he was just going home for a night, and he would still be the same tomorrow. He will come to Chenglan Hall, feed the fish and birds with him, and read in the garden.

Over the past two years, they have often taken walks around the rest of the palace together.Xiao Qichen loved exploring in it since he was a child, leading Su Yan through the long, gray corridor, pointing to the corners of the cornices and pavilions, and telling him where this place is and what it's called.These dazzling nouns gradually built up an imperial city in Su Yan's mind, with a round sky and tall buildings. He still had a young man in his eyes, so he wouldn't let himself be overwhelmed by the heavy pressure.

After school in spring, I put paper kites in the imperial garden, and the paper kites got entangled on the willow tree, and Su Yan finally climbed up the tree to take it down;

When the lotus pond was in full bloom, Xiao Qichen asked for a small painting boat from the prince, jokingly saying that the imperial lake here can be regarded as the Qinhuai River for three miles;

When the autumn wind blows and tributes from all over the country pour into Taicheng, and the emperor bestows them on the palaces, Su Yan will be dragged to Chenglan Hall every day.He remembered that Xiao Qichen liked Huainan oranges, and he dutifully peeled them for him.

How can the piles and scenes be forgotten in an instant?People are not plants, so how can they be ruthless, even though he is still young, he also knows the sadness of parting.

... Xiao Qichen is so smart in other things, why is he so calm now?

He took a deep breath and said, "Your Highness Six, there is a difference between you and me. Your Highness treats me as a playmate, and it's my honor. If there is no minister around in the future, Your Highness should also take care of himself."

Xiao Qichen didn't expect him to say such cold and polite words, and he couldn't get used to it for a while: "Ayan, I don't treat you as a playmate, you..."

He couldn't think of a suitable wording, and the confession was so embarrassingly broken in half.Xiao Qichen pursed his lips tightly and said nothing, Su Yan stood on the spot, no one backed down, but the words got stuck between the two of them again.

Finally, the maidservant Lvyi standing outside the door said softly: "Your Highness, are you going to visit His Highness the Crown Prince today?"

Su Yan tried his best to force a smile: "The minister will leave first, and His Highness will take care of himself in the future."

The word "take care" replaced "goodbye", Su Yan watched Xiao Qichen leave with the green clothes in a daze, then turned around and picked up his luggage.

He was the only one left in the room, and the bed that was originally tidy and full of life became empty.Su Yanbi's fashion is ignorance, and he doesn't know what the emptiness in his heart is for.

When Su Yan walked out of the East Palace, he couldn't help but think of the first time he came here.

At that time, autumn was thick, he walked through the path in the garden, and accidentally picked up Xiao Qichen who was beaten into a mess.

Su Zhi sent an old housekeeper to pick him up. He was waiting for Su Yan at Donghua Gate.Carrying his luggage alone, he walked through the empty palace road. Su Yan was still struggling with the reason for his sadness, when suddenly someone called his name behind him.

Su Yan turned his head, it turned out to be in green.She trotted all the way to catch up, and when she saw Su Yan, she greeted him first, and then said: "Young Master also walked too fast, Your Highness went to His Royal Highness's place for a while, and I didn't see you when I came back, so I was very worried. But Madam Ronghua shouted He went, but he couldn't get away, so he hurriedly asked the servant girl to see if you had gone far."

There was a slight ripple in his heart, and the corners of his mouth slightly raised, but he said, "What are you looking at me for?"

Only then did the green clothes take out the hands behind their backs, and handed the things they were clutching all the way to Su Yan: "Your Highness and Young Master have been eating and living together for more than two years. Although His Highness doesn't say anything, he cherishes Young Master very much. Let's say goodbye now, maybe we will see each other later when we grow up. His Highness is afraid that Young Master will forget him, so he ordered the servant girl to bring this to Young Master."

The hand was stuffed into a soft ball, and Su Yan looked down, it was a delicately embroidered purse.He couldn't help feeling hot on his face, and said, "What does he mean?"

Lvyi covered her mouth and smiled: "My lord, don't misunderstand, Your Highness doesn't know how to express your feelings - these purses were embroidered by Empress Ronghua when she was young, there are only two of them in total, one is given to His Majesty, and the other is here with His Highness. Your Highness thinks this is the most precious thing, so... oh, what Your Highness said is, 'Give it to Ayan, so that I won't recognize him in the future', it doesn't mean anything else."

After she finished sending the message like a cannonball, Su Yan's face became more and more uneasy.He was full of joy thinking that it was given to him by Xiao Qichen, but it turned out that he only recognized and used it in the future.

... You shouldn't have any expectations of this person, how can someone fail to recognize after not seeing him for a few years?

Su Yan secretly rolled his eyes, but put it away solemnly: "Thank you, Sister Luyi, and thank you, Your Highness, for remembering me."

Seeing his mature and prudent appearance, Lu Yi couldn't help but patted Su Yan's head, and said softly, "Your Highness, he grew up in a deep palace. No one taught him how to grow up. Although he is usually naughty and playful, he is a good boy, and so are you, son."

Su Yan nodded, and said in green: "The servant girl is going back first, young master, take care all the way."

"Sister, pay more attention too." Su Yan said, watching Lvyi turn past the palace gate before continuing to move forward.

The purse in his hand was light blue, like a lake reflecting the clear sky, with a lotus flower embroidered on the front with fine stitches.The purse is very small, it can only hold a few copper coins.Su Yan pinched it and found that there seemed to be something inside.

Opening the purse, Su Yan poured out two stones from it. He looked at it, and suddenly burst out laughing.

This was picked up from the flower garden when he and Xiao Qichen were in the Imperial College.Although the two stones are ordinary in quality, one is black and the other is white, they are both round and lovely. Xiao Qichen kept his habit of picking up junk and kept it privately.

It seems that I really gave myself all the things I like, Su Yan thought.Putting away the purse, the steps are much lighter.

Outside the palace gate, the rain sprinkled light yellow wicker wet.

In the days when she was a companion, although Su Yan often went home, she didn't stay long and then left again. She really didn't have a chance to communicate with her parents.Now that he arrived on the front foot, he was immediately called to the study by his father.

Su Yan went in without knowing it, but when he went to the study, he found that Su Zhi was not the only one in it.

Standing under the window was a big man, about [-] years old, seven feet in length by visual inspection, although not burly, he was imposing, and when he looked over, his eyes were so bright that Su Yan couldn't help but flinch for a moment.He was about to step back, but his father's palm was pressed on his shoulder: "I said earlier, you started to practice martial arts when you returned home. And martial arts requires a good teacher to lead you in. Although I don't expect you to be able to stand alone in martial arts Or anything else, you won’t be able to fall if you touch it on the battlefield in the future.”

Su Yan looked up at him and said, "Father, is this what you call a good teacher?"

Hearing the contemptuous words, the big man smiled instead of anger: "Young master, I am the former deputy commander of the imperial city's secret guards. He and your father used to be good friends. He has already settled in Chang'an, and your father has persuaded him many times to come back for now." I will teach you for two years——in Xia Ranqiu."

Su Yan made a "huh" sound, and said first: "Then from now on, don't I have to address him as master?"

Ran Qiu laughed loudly: "No, I'm only taking you to the beginning, besides marching and fighting, there is no need to count one as ten. Your father is really too anxious."

Su Yan nodded half-understanding, and then looked at Su Zhi. The other party gave him a tolerant look, but his words were not gentle: "You don't have to go to the Imperial College these two years, I will teach you personally. Wait until the [-]th Five-Year, Let's go to the army."

The heart that was eager to try just now suddenly turned cold, and Su Yan couldn't believe it: "Father, do I have to join the army?"

Su Zhi said: "The Marquis of Pingyuan was trained on the battlefield from the very beginning. It is different from other powerful clans. I don't need to say much about it. Ayan, I know that you may not want to, but you were born in this family. , since I was a child, I have been in rich clothes and rich food, and I have been in contact with the royal relatives, and there must be a price to pay-no one can live a life without worry, and do whatever they want. There are all kinds of involuntary things in the world, you have to get used to it. "

He couldn't remember exactly how Su Yan walked out of the study that day, and how he returned to his residence and stayed in a daze all afternoon.Only the four words my father said were deafening.

"Involuntary".

He didn't want to go to the East Palace to study with him, to smile at Xiao Qichen at first, and to listen to Master Zeng's lecture drowsily.Later, he was going to be allowed to leave, go home to practice martial arts, and never go to the Imperial College again...

He still didn't want to, but he couldn't resist.

Su Yan sat by the couch, thinking of someone irresistibly in his mind.This person likes to be next to him, holding snacks in his hands at any time, such as melon seeds, peanuts, preserved fruits and candies, he always needs to eat something to be comfortable. He has endless things to say. He also disliked Chenglan Palace for being too cold.

I have been quarreled by him for too long, and for a while, I feel a little lonely when no one is talking to my ear.

Su Yan looked out of the window. When he was born, his father planted an apricot flower in the yard. Now he can just see a branch of the tree from the window, which is covered with complicated flowers and is weighed down.

It's a pity that only he can appreciate such a beautiful scenery, and he soon lost the mood to appreciate it.