After the rebirth, I was picked up by the prince

Before Qi Zizhen recovered from the astonishment of seeing Song Yaoxu, Song Yaoxu directly reprimanded him in a low voice: "You don't eat three meals a day, are you stupid or stupid? Do you want yourself to starve to death in prison?"

Just after the reprimand, he met Qi Zizhen's confused gaze again, ignorant, like a child who doesn't understand the situation.

Song Yaoxu's heart softened all of a sudden, he sighed, and said in a soft tone: "Even if you don't have much appetite, eat something first, be obedient, okay?"

He squatted in front of Qi Zizhen, and the light orchid scent dispelled the dark musty smell.

Qi Zizhen stared at him blankly, only came back to his senses after a long while, managed to avoid his caring eyes as always, turned his head and asked firmly: "Why does Your Highness still care about an assassin who hurt you?"

"But Zizhen can't be an assassin." Song Yaoxu frowned slightly, "Although they all said that you stabbed me after I woke up, when I asked who saw you stabbing my left shoulder with a sword, , and no one dared to answer."

Qi Zizhen clenched his folded hands on his knees slightly, and then heard Song Yaoxu continue to analyze.

"I asked everyone who was there, from the guards who arrested you to the eunuchs, all of them appeared after I was stabbed. I don't think what they saw may be true."

Qi Zizhen lowered his head, making it almost impossible to see his emotions clearly in the dark cell.

He listened in silence, then suddenly said: "But my attitude towards His Highness has not been very good all along, has it?"

"Huh?" Song Yaoxu didn't seem to realize what he meant for a while, and chuckled after a while, "Be respectful and obedient, and say what you say, isn't that a good attitude? You are better than my group of worry-free emperors." The attitude of the brothers is much better."

Qi Zizhen struggled and added softly: "That's different..."

"It's nothing different." Song Yaoxu interrupted him, raised his right hand and gently stroked his hair, "They are my younger brothers who treat each other sincerely, and you are my best friend who treats each other sincerely. the same."

However, the "sincerity" in Song Yaoxu's words just hit the point that Qi Zizhen has been avoiding all along.

【"Sincerely? You deserve it too?"】

【"How could I be a true friend with a white-eyed wolf like you? It's ridiculous."】

【“…”】

【"What are you, you dare to ask for the sincerity of my son?"】

【"A mere despicable abandoned child, it's really whimsical."】

【“…”】

Sentence after sentence of ridicule, curse after curse, endless pain engulfed Qi Zizhen like a surging tide.

"Sincerity, how could I have..."

His hands clenched tighter and tighter, and after a while, he suddenly waved away Song Yaoxu's hand, his voice became slightly hoarse, and he couldn't see his emotions clearly with his head down.

His voice was a little quiet, and his attitude changed suddenly. Song Yaoxu didn't even care about the back of his hand that was slapped sorely. After he was stunned for a while, his brows and eyes gathered more worries: "Zizhen, what's on your mind? Can you tell me? "

But Qi Zizhen could no longer hear what Song Yaoxu said.

In his mind, he played back over and over again the merciless words of Brother Chen in this life when he approached step by step, and Song Jiqi's verbal insults again and again when he was imprisoned in that small shabby house by Song Jiqi in his previous life.

Subtly, what they said was deeply rooted in his mind, and even he himself acquiesced to this fact.

"I'm just a filthy white-eyed wolf, a humble pawn."

"I also naively wanted to repay everyone who was kind to me, but what I waited for was betrayed time and time again, hurt time and time again, and my sincerity was trampled time and time again."

In the silent cell, the almost choked voice quietly occupied all the noises.

Qi Zizhen clenched his hands into fists, and even his body trembled uncontrollably.

His fate would be to die alone amidst the scolding of all.His hands have been stained with other people's blood, and his dedication is nothing but a joke. He can only freeze himself away from everything forever, reject everything indifferently, and choose to leave alone.

"Zizhen..." Song Yaoxu's heart twitched, and he reached out to touch her, but was slapped away by Qi Zizhen.

"Snapped--"

He raised his head in the ear-piercing sound, and stared at Song Yaoxu with red eyes: "I just want to pray for an equal sincerity, what is wrong with me?! How can I trust you if you are so despicable and lowly?" The so-called sincerity!"

The hoarse and choked voice cut through the dead silence in the dungeon, like a little beast that is on the verge of death but still pretends to be fierce, trying to drive away everyone who wants to get close, no matter whether the other party is malicious or kind, the only way to sink alone is his destiny.

But at the next moment, he was suddenly hugged tightly by a warm embrace.

Qi Zizhen was stunned for a moment, and then desperately struggled to get out, but Song Yaoxu hugged him tighter and tighter.

His face was still a little weak, but his voice was soft and firm: "I'm sorry, I don't know what you've been through, and I feel sorry for what happened to you, but I also hope you can calm down a little bit, and listen to me first, okay?"

Qi Zizhen, who was already on the verge of emotional collapse, couldn't listen to his words at all, and unintentionally pushed heavily on Song Yaoxu's injured shoulder.

"Hiss..." Song Yaoxu, who was pushed away, gasped in pain, his brows were furrowed, and the strong smell of blood fainted little by little.

Qi Zizhen was pulled back to his sanity by the large piece of warmth that was inadvertently touched by his palm, and looked at the pale face of the person in front of him, and gently curled up his fingertips stretched in mid-air.

After a while, he took a breath tremblingly, and Kankan turned his head away, with a tinge of red in the corners of his eyes.

Seeing that Qi Zizhen's expression was finally not so paranoid, Song Yaoxu sighed lightly, then raised his hand to gently tidy up Qi Zizhen's messy hair.

His other hand was slightly hanging down, and there was a red mark left by Qi Zizhen just now on the back of his hand, which stood out against his fair skin.

Qi Zizhen glanced at the back of his hand, and finally let Song Yaoxu move, but curled up and restrained himself in a small corner, and said hoarsely: "You go, anyway, I have long been determined to die, why do you bother so much?" .”

But then, his cheeks were suddenly covered with a slight coolness.

Song Yaoxu stretched out his fingertips and gently wiped away the shallow tear stains on one side of his cheek, his movements were gentle and delicate, as if he was treating some fragile treasure: "Then you have something to eat before I leave, okay?"

This time Qi Zizhen didn't refuse any more, and saw Song Yaoxu asking the "jailor" behind him to bring in the food box, and he realized that the "jailor" was actually Cui Liang's disguise.

Cui Liang put the food box in front of Qi Zizhen, opened it and brought out several plates of pastries inside.

The pastries are small and delicate, which Qi Zizhen had seen before in the National Teacher Tower.

Seeing Qi Zizhen's slight loss of focus, Song Yaoxu calmed down and explained in a soft voice: "This is made by the national teacher himself. He heard that you refused to eat, so he made some and sent them thinking that you like sweets. Maybe you will Would like to have a few bites."

Qi Zizhen paused for a moment, didn't speak, and silently picked up a piece of pastry and gently put it in his mouth.

The sweet but not greasy taste wrapped around the tip of the tongue, it was a mild taste that he had only tasted in Guoshi Pagoda.

It is the taste that only Ning Qingwei can make.

Seeing that his mood was finally better than before, Song Yaoxu sighed softly, and sat beside him, leaning his back against the cold wall.

"I don't know what you have been through, and maybe I can't empathize with you. But I hope you know that you are not wrong, and you are not some so-called despicable pawn. You are the most cherished person in my heart.

"I know it may be difficult for you to trust others now, but I hope you don't give up on yourself easily because of some people with bad intentions."

His voice was weaker than when he first came, but it was still filled with the warmth of spring, like a clear spring, constantly trying to melt the ice left by the cold winter.

"Whether it's me, Cui Liang, the national teacher, or Xiaoshan, we are all getting along with you sincerely. It doesn't matter if you don't want to believe it now, but I also hope that you can give us time to come. Proof of our sincerity."

Xiaoshan...

Ah.

Qi Zizhen kept his head down all the time, making it difficult for people to see his emotions clearly: "That's just what you think is true."

However, Song Yaoxu ignored the sarcasm in his words, and continued to say seriously: "Yes, I really can't judge whether others are sincere or not, but I can clearly say that I never intended to deceive your feelings.

"If I didn't treat you sincerely, do you think I would choose to believe you when everyone pointed out that you hurt me? Would I appear here again because you refused to eat?"

Qi Zizhen could not refute.He never doubted Song Yaoxu's sincerity from the beginning to the end, because Song Yaoxu was originally an overly gentle person.

What he was always afraid of was that Song Yaoxu would easily listen to other people's words and take back everything he had given him without mercy.

But Song Yaoxu didn't, and even trusted him.

He looked sideways at Song Yaoxu, seeing how pure the earnestness in his eyes was.

Just like every day we spent together, they are so gentle that you can't find a trace of fakery at all.

He looked at Song Yaoxu's injured shoulder again, the plain black cloth seemed to be soaked by something, and there was a dark stain.

For a moment, he almost wanted to believe that he could really desire a clean heart.

Qi Zizhen was silent for a while, then suddenly sneered: "Then if I say that this incident is related to King Guan, would you trust me?"

"Uncle? But..."

His topic changed abruptly, Song Yaoxu was stunned for a moment and subconsciously wanted to refute, but just as he said the word "ke", the light flickering in Qi Zizhen's eyes quickly dimmed.

Just this moment of hesitation can kill his faint hope.

Song Yaoxu felt his heart suddenly pricked by something, and the pain was sharp, and he couldn't utter a single word of his original rebuttal.

He pondered for a moment, and finally replied seriously: "Okay, I will investigate in the direction you said. But I have respected the emperor's uncle since I was a child, and until I find conclusive evidence, I will only treat the emperor's uncle as a suspect. ?"

Qi Zizhen lowered his eyes and did not respond.

Song Yaoxu couldn't figure out what he was thinking at the moment, but because the current situation was not suitable for staying for a long time, he gently rubbed the ends of his hair again, and said softly, "No matter what, I will pick you up as soon as possible."

"Also," he paused, and continued to add, "It's not convenient for me to come back these few days, you have to eat well, and if it's cold, tell Cui Liang to bring you something to keep you warm.

"If you still want to eat cakes, tell Cui Liang, and I'll find the national teacher to make it for you. The environment in the prison is cold, so don't squat in the corner all the time, remember to rest well."

He gave a lot of advice, and finally got to the point, lowering his voice slightly: "At least... at least please live well until the day when your grievances are cleared, okay?"

Qi Zizhen suddenly raised his head to look at Song Yaoxu, and met his almost pleading gaze.

After a while, he withdrew his gaze and replied in a low voice, "Okay."

The fluttering words almost disappeared with the flickering candlelight.

Song Yaoxu, who got the guarantee, was somewhat relieved, and after a brief farewell, he got up and left with Cui Liang.

On the second day, Cui Liang would still pretend to be a prison guard to deliver food to Qi Zizhen, but this time Qi Zizhen didn't refuse again.

Because Cui Liang bought off the real jailer, he didn't have to rush back and forth like yesterday, and chatted with Qi Zizhen, who was in a much better mood, during the meal. Qi Zizhen also asked about the change in Cui Liang's attitude back then. matter.

Cui Liang scratched his head, and said a little embarrassedly: "I saw Mr. Qi's attitude so bad at the beginning, and thought Mr. Qi was a bully. Later, when Mr. Qi ran away from the banquet in Guanwang Mansion, my subordinates and His Highness were in the capital together. Looking for you, His Highness has talked about Young Master Qi with his subordinates during this period."

"About me?" Qi Zizhen looked confused.

Cui Liang nodded: "Yes. Your Highness said that Mr. Qi's nature should not be like this, but maybe he has experienced something before, and Mr. Qi's mood was abnormal that time, um..."

He didn't continue talking, but Qi Zizhen understood.

Cui Liang should be acquiescing that he has encountered some very bad things, so bad that he will lose control of his emotions.

Qi Zizhen remembered the locked piano box when he returned to the room.

I have to say that Song Yaoxu is really a very caring person.He was obviously not at the scene the whole time, but he was able to deduce the reason for his abnormality based on some details.If he didn't really care about himself, he wouldn't be able to do this.

If you can let go of your guard against such a person, it may be a very pleasant thing.

Qi Zizhen lowered his head and took the last bite of his meal, and put the dishes and chopsticks back into the food box neatly, covering up his fluctuating emotions for a moment.

Seeing that he didn't stay long after eating, Cui Liang closed the lid of the food box and left.

Qi Zizhen nodded in greeting, and said casually, "Thank you for your hard work."

"It doesn't matter, this is what this subordinate should do." Cui Liang smiled, "Sure enough, His Highness is right. In fact, this subordinate feels that Mr. Qi who has relaxed is indeed much more friendly than before."

Qi Zizhen curled his fingertips slightly, lowered his head to avoid Cui Liang's sight, and did not respond.

Cui Liang didn't say much, he locked the cell door again with the food box and left.

Hearing the sound of dull footsteps moving away a little bit, he let out a light breath, and prepared to take a short rest on the straw pile.

But before he could take any action, he heard a series of footsteps coming back.

He thought that Cui Liang forgot to take something, and when he raised his head to ask, he saw Qi Zishan standing at the door.

Qi Zishan was wearing a large black cloak, his expression was hidden under the hood.He was holding a small box in his hand, his hands were clenched tightly, his joints were slightly white, and he looked very cramped and nervous.

Qi Zizhen had no intention of dealing with his younger brother, and asked indifferently, "What's the matter?"

The child bit his lip, looked around, put the small box in his hand in front of the cell, and said quickly in a low voice: "There is a note in it, please read it, brother!"

After speaking, he tugged on his hood and ran away in a panic.

Qi Zizhen was baffled by his actions.

Anyway, being idle in the cell was idle, so he simply walked over to see what monsters and monsters were written in the note that Qi Zishan said he must read.

He opened the little box to find a plate of pastries with a crumpled piece of paper tucked into it.

Qi Zizhen picked up the ball of paper and opened it, and there were only three words written on it——

do not eat.

The handwriting is very scribbled, vaguely with some bold and unrestrained running script, as if it was written in a hurry.

Qi Zizhen looked at the note with raised eyebrows.

He is very familiar with this handwriting, it belongs to Qi Zishan two years later.

He clearly remembered that in his previous life, when he first came in through the book, because he thought Qi Zishan's handwriting was too ugly, he forced him to practice calligraphy in the study every day.

At first, he wanted Qi Zishan to practice neat and orderly writing, but later he found that he seemed to be more talented in running script, so he guided him to practice running script.

Two years later, Qi Zishan, who was only fourteen years old, had already written some style of running script, and Qi Zizhen felt very relieved for a while.

But today's Qi Zishan has never been caught by him to practice calligraphy, there can only be one reason for being able to write such characters.

Qi Zizhen looked at the handwriting on the note, his eyes darkened.

……

About two quarters of an hour later, Qi Zizhen heard footsteps as quietly as possible while closing his eyes to rest his mind.

When the footsteps came to his cell, he became more cautious again, as if he mistakenly thought that he was resting, and was afraid of disturbing him.

Then he heard Qi Zishan lightly pick up the small box, take a deep breath, grasp the iron bars of the cell in a panic, and almost shout eagerly: "Brother? Brother!"

Perhaps because he was too anxious, Qi Zishan's voice was louder than at the beginning, echoing abruptly in the cell.

Qi Zizhen was afraid that he would invite a real jailer, so he opened his eyes before he yelled for the third time, and looked at the child in front of the cell coldly.

The word "Brother" that Qi Zishan was about to say got stuck in his throat and shattered.

Seeing that Qi Zizhen didn't seem to be in trouble, he breathed a sigh of relief after being stunned, and pulled his hood away from Qi Zizhen's sight: "Yes, I'm sorry, I disturbed my brother's rest, I'm leaving now."

"Stop." Qi Zizhen called out suddenly when he turned around.

He leaned against the cold cell wall, bent one knee, and his eyes were cold, like a beast dormant in a dark cell, as if it might leap up suddenly at any time and tear apart all enemies.

The candlelight in the dungeon flickered on and off, and the dim warm yellow made people feel chills on their backs.

Qi Zizhen looked at Qi Zishan who suddenly froze and didn't dare to move, took out the crumpled note and shook it, and said unhurriedly: "Don't you think there is something to explain?"

The thin sound of "哗哗" drifted fragmentarily in the dead cell.

There was silence.

Qi Zizhen was not in a hurry, anyway, he was doing nothing in the cell, folding the note again and again, and the rustling sound could be heard endlessly.

After quite a while, he heard Qi Zishan finally say: "This, this pastry is what Song Jiqi asked me to deliver in my name. I, I'm afraid it will be the same as the bowl of soup before, so, so hurry Busy writing a note..."

His voice was a little trembling, and his voice was not loud, as if he felt that his words were not credible, and his confidence had been weakened by seven or eight points.

"Writing." Qi Zizhen put one hand on his bent knee, his expression was indifferent, and he couldn't tell what his attitude was. "Tell me, what's the matter with your handwriting?"

Qi Zishan's body trembled, and he clenched his hands holding the box even tighter. He took a light breath, but he couldn't say anything.

Even if he is Chong Z, Qi Zishan is just a 14-year-old child who was raised warmly. Most of the time he was able to deceive Qi Zizhen in his previous life was because Qi Zizhen was not wary of him.

Looking at it now, it is actually very clumsy.

Qi Zizhen stood up, patted the dust and grass on the hem of his clothes, and approached Qi Zishan slowly.

The cloth shoes stepped on the floor of the dungeon, one step after another, dull and slow, not making much noise, but every sound would force Qi Zishan to subconsciously retreat a little bit.

Qi Zizhen didn't stop until he was three steps away from Qi Zishan, and asked, "I remember, you were with Song Jiqi in your previous life, right?"

"...Well." Qi Zishan didn't deny it, bit his lips and hesitated for a while, and finally said as if he was going all out, "But, but after the death of my brother in the previous life, I, I realized that my brother never hated me..."

Qi Zizhen raised his eyebrows lightly, put his hands on his chest and sneered, "Hate it?"

Xu Shi heard the sarcasm in Qi Zizhen's rhetorical question, Qi Zishan lowered his head and clenched his hands tighter: "In the previous life, Song Jiqi always told me that my mother took away my brother's father, and I also took away my brother's father." Status, so, so my elder brother hates me very much, and he only treats me well so that I can taste the feeling of being abandoned in the future... Song Jiqi just, told me, let me act first, and let my elder brother steal the chicken without losing money.

"But I didn't know until later that Song Jiqi had always lied to me. Brother, brother didn't hate me at all, but I, I..."

Qi Zishan's voice became choked up, and he couldn't say anything else.

He will never forget the feeling that a knife cut his heart when Song Jiqi told him the truth.

He knew from the time he was born that it was because his mother forced his brother's mother to death that he could have the status of a so-called legitimate son in the prime minister's mansion, and he was always afraid that he would be hated by his brother.

But when he strayed into his elder brother's yard once when he was a child, he was treated gently by his elder brother. At that time, he really felt that his elder brother was a very good person.

Later Song Jiqi found him, told him that his elder brother's kindness to him was all fake, laughed at his innocence, and kept telling him that he was the real and respected son of the prime minister's mansion.

He simply believed it, so he cooperated with everything Song Jiqi said, and brought a bowl of poisoned soup to his brother.The elder brother survived, and according to what Song Jiqi said, he knelt in front of his father's room for a day and a night in order to soften his elder brother's heart.

Later, according to everything Song Jiqi arranged, he pushed his elder brother to a dead end bit by bit.

But right after his brother died, Song Jiqi told him that Song Jiqi was the one who really lied to him.

That night, he died in a glass of poisoned wine sent by Song Jiqi.

Then he found that when he opened his eyes, he went back to the first day when his brother woke up again after drinking the poisonous soup when he was 12 years old.

He was very happy, he thought he could make up for the mistakes of his previous life, but the servants told him that his brother was gone.

He searched desperately, but only found a lifeless figure lying on the red snow by the Chengming Lake.

After that, he also uncontrollably passed out beside his brother, and when he opened his eyes, he found that he was heavy again.

This time he didn't hesitate, and rushed straight to the shore of Chengming Lake, but he still watched helplessly as his brother fell in front of him.

Then he repeated Z several times, but even if he ran to the shore of Chengming Lake with all his strength, all he saw was his elder brother who fell in front of him after committing suicide with a sword.

Every time, every time I can't catch up.

"I really... don't want to watch my brother die in front of me anymore..."

Hot tears rolled down one after another, no matter how Qi Zishan wiped them off, he couldn't stop, his sobbing and suppressed voice echoed around the cell.

Qi Zizhen did not expect that he would get such an answer.

He did vaguely hear someone calling him when he committed suicide a few times later, but at that time he thought it was because he was too obsessed with his previous life and didn't care about it.

He looked at the child's appearance of wanting to cry but couldn't help it, and finally softened his tone a little, and reminded: "If you continue to cry, the jailer is coming."

These words were indeed more effective than any consolation, Qi Zishan thought of his current situation, sobbing and holding back the thought of crying, leaving a few sporadic sobs.

Qi Zizhen couldn't guarantee that the child's words were completely credible, so he didn't say anything more.

On the contrary, Qi Zishan continued to explain suddenly: "Yes, yes, I am now Song Jiqi's accompanying reader, and His Royal Highness came to see me today, so I will tell His Highness what Song Jiqi did to his brother before without authorization. , Your Highness, Your Highness asked me to cooperate and help investigate whether this incident is related to Song Jiqi."

He wiped off the remaining tears on his cheeks, and after pouring out all the things hidden deep in his heart, he was obviously much more relaxed than before, but he was still a little timid, and said as firmly as possible: "Brother, don't worry, Your Highness, Your Highness will definitely replace you as soon as possible." You are innocent!"

Qi Zizhen looked at the child's still red eyes, lightly pursed his lips, and did not express his opinion.

After a while, he asked Qi Zishan to go back earlier, so as not to be noticed by the jailer on the way.

Qi Zishan obediently turned around to leave, but Qi Zizhen stopped him suddenly, and picked up a plate of untouched pastries from where he was sitting just now.

He lowered his eyelashes halfway, and said, "Put these back, otherwise he might be suspicious."

Qi Zishan was stunned for a moment, and after a while, his eyes regained some light, and he nodded heavily, showing a faint smile.

"Well! Thank you brother!"

Qi Zizhen still didn't say anything, after Qi Zishan took the pastry, he turned around and went back to his little corner, ready to continue resting.

Qi Zishan didn't bother him anymore, looked at the pastry in his hand that hadn't even been moved much, the corners of his lips were always slightly raised, and then slowly left.

Hearing the sound of footsteps gradually disappearing, Qi Zizhen, who pretended to be resting, looked up at the empty cell door, and silently put away the fluctuating thoughts in his eyes after a while.

After Qi Zishan came, Qi Zizhen stayed in the prison for several days, and every day Cui Liang would deliver three meals a day on time as usual, and occasionally some pastries made by the national teacher.

Qi Zishan also came here every day under Song Jiqi's order, but every time Qi Zizhen pretended not to eat, and then chatted with Qi Zishan about the progress of Song Yaoxu's recent investigation.

For five full days, Qi Zizhen lived quite comfortably in the prison except he could not go anywhere.

Until the morning of the fifth day, Qi Zizhen was still idly trying to figure out how long it would be before Cui Liang would come, when he heard a few crisp sounds at the door of the cell.

When he looked up, he found that the visitor was dressed as a jailer, standing at the chain and opening the door.

This time it appears to be a real jailer.

Leaning his back against the cold wall, he watched the jailer open the cell for leisure, and said to him respectfully: "Mr. Qi, the real culprit in the assassination of the prince has been arrested, and you can be released from prison."

Qi Zizhen stood up unhurriedly, brushed off the straw debris stained on the hem of his clothes, and calmly nodded to the jailer: "Thank you."

Seeing this, the jailer at the door seemed relieved, cupped his hands and said, "Your laborious Mr. Qi suffered a few days in prison for nothing."

Qi Zizhen replied politely, "It's okay." In fact, he really didn't feel that the prison these few days was a disaster for nothing.At least after being imprisoned this time, he saw some things and some people clearly.

He didn't continue to talk to the jailer in the prison, and followed the jailer step by step to leave this dark and cold place.

It was still morning, and the morning was bright outside the prison. When Qi Zizhen stepped out, because he was not used to the sudden light, he stayed at the door for a long time.

After his eyes got used to it, Qi Zizhen raised his head and looked at the clear blue sky.

The blue sky is like a clear and calm spring, clear and clean, with occasional wisps of white mist floating leisurely.

In his previous life, he also thought countless times whether he could still be cleared of his grievances, and whether he could see the same sky outside the prison again.

In fact, when he was in prison at the time of despair, he was unwilling.He was unwilling to let Song Jiqi end his life like this.

Until he found out that the guards in the prison had no intention of providing him with normal meals at all, they were all rotten and cold meals, and they didn’t even buy some warm items for him who was thinly clad during the cold winter, so he was imprisoned The coldest place in the entire prison.

At this moment, he knew that Song Jiqi and Song Ping really wanted to force him to death.

The night from New Year's Eve to Yuan's Day was very long for Qi Zizhen. It was so long that the only unwillingness left in his heart was wiped away, leaving only pain and despair.

He was so desperate that when he was imprisoned today, he never thought that he would see the light of day again.

The warm spring morning light fell on him, making him feel warm and harmonious.

This is the first time since the death of his real mother, he doesn't hate this kind of springtime.

Will what awaits him today after the spring day be the usual abyss?

Qi Zizhen looked at Yunjuan Yunshu in the blue sky, and finally buried this question deep in his heart, and stepped forward to go back.

In order to avoid bad luck, the prison was placed in a suburb outside the capital, surrounded by lush greenery and sparsely populated.

The jailer who led him out told him that as long as he went out along the path at the gate of the prison, he could see the way back to the city.

Qi Zizhen walked on the winding path paved with cobblestones as he said, feeling relaxed and at ease, like a walk.

It should be early now, and he knows which road sections in the capital have few people, so he is not in a hurry to go back as soon as possible, so he might as well take this opportunity to see the scenery of the suburbs.

"rustle--"

The morning breeze blew past Qi Zizhen's clothes, rolled up a few withered and fallen leaves, and fell on the side of the thriving wild flowers by the roadside.

The winding path twists and turns, and stretches forward unevenly, stretching out to the pure white figure at the end of the road.

"Crack."

Qi Zizhen turned the last corner, and suddenly stopped in place, just stepping on a dry leaf.

The crisp sound was accompanied by the breeze, blowing up a few finely broken leaves, which fluttered and landed on the side of the pair of black boots, and then a long white and slender hand gently picked up another complete emerald green leaf under the broken leaves.

Song Yaoxu lightly swept away the fine debris on the leaves, and when he saw the figure standing still in the forest path, he smiled slightly: "Good morning, I'm here to pick you up."

The pure white figure is shrouded in a piece of greenery, but it is not obtrusive at all, blending softly into the beautiful spring.

Qi Zizhen didn't know how to react for a while.

He could see that Song Yaoxu's lips were still pale, and his face was still somewhat tired. It was obvious that he hadn't taken a good rest in the past few days.

Lu Qi Zizhen, who came back to the palace from the suburbs, knew that Song Yaoxu, as the crown prince, did not need to wait here, but he came anyway.

He looked at the still soft smile in Song Yaoxu's eyes, and for a moment he didn't know how to describe his mood.

It's like driftwood that has been drifting on the rough sea for a long time, and finally floated on a peaceful and calm lake, and found the habitat he wanted most.

Qi Zizhen didn't stay where he was for too long, he quickly collected himself, stepped forward and said softly, "Your Highness."

His voice was very soft, a little softer than his previous indifference, much like a well-behaved child.

Seeing his distressed appearance, Song Yaoxu felt a little distressed, raised his hand and gently rubbed his head, and said in a warm voice: "I have ordered the servants in the East Palace to prepare hot water, so you can take a good bath after you go back."

After several days in the jail without being able to take a shower, Qi Zizhen felt extremely uncomfortable, but when he heard this, he nodded obediently, followed Song Yaoxu into his sedan chair, and went back to the East Palace together.

In the East Palace, Cui Liang had prepared a brazier for Qi Zizhen at the door early on, saying that it was to step over the brazier to get rid of bad luck.After returning to the room, he was asked to wash his hands with water soaked in grapefruit leaves, and then let him take a comfortable hot bath.

After taking a bath for a long time, Qi Zizhen felt much more relaxed. He simply wiped his wet hair, changed into a clean green dress, and sat down on the soft quilt of his bed.

To be honest, the wooden bed in the prison was hard and damp, and there was no difference between having the quilt or not, and it was really uncomfortable for people to fall asleep.

Qi Zizhen didn't care that his hair was still wet, he lay on his back on the quilt, feeling the soft touch under his body, he turned sideways in a daze, put it on his arm, and fell asleep without knowing it.

As soon as Song Yaoxu walked in, he seemed to have fallen asleep.

He had yelled many times before, but there was no response, and he was worried that Qi Zizhen was uncomfortable after soaking for too long, but it turned out that he was too comfortable, and slept half-lying on the bed with wet hair, not afraid of catching a cold.

Song Yaoxu shook his head helplessly and smiled, walked forward and sat gently beside Qi Zizhen, and when he was about to wake him up, he saw the black eyes of Qi Zizhen.

It must be very uncomfortable to rest in a place like a prison.

His eyes were filled with distress, and he raised his hand to gently caress Qi Zizhen's cheek.

"Hmm..." Xu Shi had been sleeping unsteadily, feeling the gentle warmth on his face, Qi Zizhen opened his eyes slightly in a haze, the bottom of which was still sleepy and dazed, "...Your Highness?"

His voice is very soft, mixed with the softness of half-dream and half-awake, he sounds ignorant and very obedient.

Song Yaoxu didn't have the slightest sense of waking people up, so he withdrew his hand naturally, and said with a smile: "Your hair is still wet, you will catch a cold if you sleep like this, don't go to sleep, okay?"

Qi Zizhen looked a little reluctant, but he still sat up obediently, and after yawning, he was still sleepy, as if he could fall back to sleep at any time.

Seeing his appearance, Song Yaoxu sighed helplessly, took a dry cloth and wiped Qi Zizhen's wet hair carefully.

It must have been a while before Qi Zizhen recovered from the half-dream and half-awake state. Immediately, he noticed that Song Yaoxu seemed to be wiping his hair for himself, and quickly raised his hand to stop it.

"Holding, I'm sorry, please trouble Your Highness, the rest is up to Caomin himself."

Song Yaoxu didn't refuse, and looked at Qi Zizhen whose ears were slightly red with a smile, and handed him back the muslin: "Are you finally willing to wake up?"

It sounded like he was teasing a child.

Qi Zizhen lowered his eyelashes halfway, responded softly to his nasal voice, took the fine cloth, and wiped it off bit by bit.

Song Yaoxu didn't continue teasing him anymore, and said with a chuckle, "The sun is just right in the yard, let's go to the yard to bask in the sun later."

"Ah."