After the rebirth, I was picked up by the prince

Inside the room, Qi Zizhen let out a breath, took off the fox fur that Qi Zishan put on him, and walked to the desk.

Shi Qin, who was left on the sedan chair by him, has been moved back by the bearer, and is lying quietly on the desk.

The room where the brazier is burning is warm and warm, but Shiqin's piano case is still cold, like ice and snow that never melts all year round.

Qi Zizhen opened the piano case with one hand, and slowly stroked each key.

The dried blood rubbed against the cold stone key, causing fine and dense pain, especially in this warm room.

He frowned slightly, looked down at his fingertips, and in the end he didn't care about anything. He closed the piano case, and went to the bookshelf to pick out a sheet of music to read.

In the small room, only the crackling of the brazier and the occasional sound of flipping books are left.

The room was silent.

The next day was approaching Maochu, the candles in Qi Zizhen's room that had not been extinguished all night flickered to disperse the last light, and the whole room was instantly enveloped in darkness.

Qi Zizhen, who had been sleeping restlessly, opened his eyes suddenly at the moment when the candle was extinguished. His dark eyes almost merged with the night, and he was dazed with a bit of coldness.

He quickly regained his senses, put away the fragile expression he shouldn't have, got up and sat on the edge of the bed, and looked at the bright moonlight shining in front of the window.

Like hoarfrost, soaked in the coldness after heavy snow.

From time to time, the fire pot in the house made a "stabbing" sound, intermittently like broken silk threads that would not be connected.

The chill seeped into the room through the window, Qi Zizhen put on a coat casually, got up and lit a new candle.When it was flickering and flickering, the small room was relit, and the cold and warm light shone faintly.

He turned around and passed the curtain, and when he walked out of the inner room, he saw a basin of still warm water on the table.

For the past ten or so days, Qi Zizhen got up very early, so the servant always made hot water at Yinzheng time and put it in the outer room for him to wash in the morning.

Qi Zizhen washed up briefly, then found a thin velvet cape and put it on casually.

Warm light shone on the black cloak, outlining the fine silver auspicious cloud pattern on the hem.A silver-gray dark pattern can also be vaguely glimpsed, which is formed by a cluster of vivid epiphyllum, and a word "Wei" can be seen dimly.

This cloak was a birthday gift that Yuanchen received when he tied his hair, and the giver represented the Wei family—that is, the natal family of Yuanzhen's biological mother.

The ancestor of the Wei family was the founding hero of the Ling Dynasty and had a prominent position.But now it has faded out of the government and is hidden in the city.

The original biological mother, Wei Qingling, was the only legitimate daughter of the Wei family. Before marrying into the prime minister's residence, she was also a well-known talented woman in the capital.

So much so that her marriage was a sensation later on, and many people speculated that Wei's move was intended to come back out of the arena.

But today's results are even more embarrassing.

A generation of talented women finally married by mistake, and died of illness when the child was only five years old, and the only heir left behind was even more neglected.

Qi Zizhen breathed out a breath of air, and gathered his cloak.

After crossing over, Qi Zizhen inherited the sporadic memories of the original body, one of which was when he was five years old, the original body held Wei Qingling's hand and looked at Wei Qingling's weak and powerless smile.

Such a gentle and easy smile... just like his mother's before she died in this world.

It seems that what they are about to face is not death, but a different beginning.

Qi Zizhen fastened the cloak with downcast eyes, picked up the lantern and prepared to go out.

The heavy snow had already stopped outside the door, and a thick layer of snow had fallen, and the hazy warm yellow in the lanterns was dimmed, still dazzlingly white.

Qi Zizhen just wanted to go out for a walk this time, without informing anyone, when he turned around to close the door, he caught a glimpse of a snow-white figure curled up in the corner

It's Qi Zishan.

Maybe it was because the cold wind couldn't stop seeping into the fox fur, Qi Zishan almost rolled himself into a ball, and he couldn't even tell whether the plain white on his body was the color of the fox fur itself, or the snowflakes that fell later.

His younger brother actually stayed in front of his door all night.

Qi Zizhen stopped where he was, watched the video for a moment, and finally turned around and went back to the room, relit the brazier in the room and brought it out, and put it beside Qi Zishan.

Unlike Qi Zishan, his stepmother showed her real dislike for him on her face. If her precious son were to freeze to death in his place, he would probably be restless for a while.

He doesn't like to hear too much noise when studying the score.

After setting up the brazier, Qi Zizhen turned around and went out with the lantern in his hand, regardless of whether it was useful or not.

When we first arrived at Mao, the night had not yet faded, and a few morning stars hung in the boundless darkness, shining weak and faint light.

The new snow that fell in the middle of the night was flat, and I don't know how deep it is. "Kacha Kacha" stepped on it softly and firmly, and gradually printed a series of smooth and regular footprints.

Qi Zizhen, who only cared about walking aimlessly, didn't know that a quarter of an hour after he left his footprints, there was another series of cautious and messy marks next to his footprints.

He came and went by the moonlight, walking alone in the white snow, the lantern in his hand became the only warm color within a hundred steps, swaying in the cold morning wind, as if it might fall and go out at any time.

Qi Zizhen didn't know where he was going, but just kept moving forward based on his feeling.

He walked out through a small deserted gate on the side of the prime minister's mansion, and he met no one along the way, only the cold wind, white snow and bare tree trunks were his companions.

He walked all the way, and unknowingly came to the shore of Chengming Lake.

Chengming Lake is located in the northwest corner of the capital. It is named after "Chengjing Xinming". Every winter festival is held on the shore of this lake.The Winter Sacrifice is also the only sacrificial ceremony where ordinary people are lucky enough to see the deity of the national teacher, so this place represents the protection of the national teacher.

In winter, there will always be a thick layer of ice on the shore of the lake. After the winter festival, Guoshita will send special personnel to dig ice in special places, leaving a few holes for nearby people to fish for their livelihood.

It symbolizes the blessings bestowed by the National Teacher Tower, so it is often a place of prayer for the people.In the past, every time Qi Zizhen came back from rebirth, he also chose to commit suicide by the shore of Chengming Lake.

This is also the last bit of hope he has left in his despair, hoping that he can be a plain and happy ordinary person in the next life.

There is no need for mysterious and cool time travel, no need for rich and honorable status, no need for ups and downs of experience, no need for outstanding talent.

Ordinary, mediocre is enough.

However, even such a wish turned out to be a fantasy.

He was reborn over and over again, but he didn't even have the right to choose to give up.

Holding the lantern, Qi Zizhen stepped onto the ice slowly.

A warm yellow halo enveloped his side, reflecting the imperceptible cracks under his feet, unique and eye-catching in the dark surroundings.

Qi Zizhen was so absorbed in himself that he didn't notice that as he walked closer to the center of Chengming Lake, the ice under his feet was getting thinner.

He just kept going forward according to his own mind, as if he wanted to go to the unpredictable future and the end of time.

Dead silence, darkness, loneliness.

There is only one lantern that I light for myself, bringing out a few cold lights in the boundless silence.

The plain black cloth shoes stepped on the ice slowly and heavily.

"Crack-"

The small cracks on the ice suddenly cracked, and the clear and sharp sound cut through the calm lake like the tip of a knife.

Qi Zizhen snapped back to his senses, and realized that he had reached the center of the lake at some point, and there were cracks in the ice all around——

As long as he takes another step, the ice under his feet will collapse in an instant!

At this moment, an anxious cry came from the shore of the lake.

"Brother Zizhen!"

Qi Zizhen turned around subconsciously, but unexpectedly, one of them couldn't stand firmly, and his body fell straight backward!

"Whoa-"

The icy lake water instantly engulfed Qi Zizhen, and the lantern he held in his hand fell onto the ice surface, and the only light in the pitch blackness was completely extinguished.

Suffocation, cold, and dying all swept over him.

In just a split second, Qi Zizhen gave up trying to survive.

Anyway... the worst result is just being reborn again.

The cold lake water poured into the nose and mouth, and it seemed to penetrate deep into the bone marrow, so cold that it hurt.

He allowed himself to be constantly surrounded and swallowed by the boundless icy lake, and let his body sink bit by bit.

Just when Qi Zizhen thought he was going to be reborn again, there was a muffled "plop" that caused another snow-white spray.

In a haze, he seemed to see a clean and pure white figure passing through the spray, approaching and approaching him constantly.

When he was on the verge of losing consciousness, his body was pulled up again by a pulling force, and Qi Zizhen vaguely saw only the vague outline of that figure——

Is... the prince...?