The third year after the death of the emperor

As if being nailed to the spot, the little emperor stared at Xie Wen with a stiff body as he rolled up his sleeves.

Several layers of sleeves were pulled up, and the blood gradually emerged.Xie Wen saw the intricate scars on the opponent's forearm. The latest knife wound was wrapped with a snow-white bandage, oozing a little bright red, and above the bandage, more old and deep wounds remained on his body, like years The scars worn off by rustling.

Xie Wen stared silently for a moment, then said: "...What am I, I didn't know you still have such a hobby."

The wrist he was holding was tense again, as if he wanted to withdraw his hand.Xie Wen's strength is so slight, it is clear that he can escape with a struggle, but Xiao Xuanqian still did not do that, even this embarrassing contact is like a hard-to-find antidote.

Xie Wen only knew that his bandaged wound looked very recent, and it might have been made only two days ago, but he didn't know that the wound had been left a month ago, and it had already healed seven to seven years ago. Eighty-eight, but when Xiao Jiu came to Luodu that night, his tossing and turning and crazily growing thirst were suppressed again by the golden wrong knife... The new flesh that had just grown with the tip of the knife was so sick , So incomprehensible, but it happened to him, but it was so familiar that it was almost numb.

The old doctor's entrustment went to waste.If he could always remain sober and rational, not jealous, not angry, not impulsive...then he wouldn't let Huaiyu leave him no matter what.

Xiao Xuanqian lowered his eyebrows and did not explain.

Xie Wen put down his sleeves, but saw the same unhealed burn on the palm of the other party. This is the writing hand. Xiao Jiu approves the memorials every day, so the marks here seem to heal much slower than the arm. Too much, when dealing with political affairs, he must be constantly rubbing, pressing, and not reminding him in the most direct way for a moment.

Pain is not a medicine, but an addictive poison.

Xie Wen let go, turned her head to look at the snow-covered buildings in the distance, and said with an unchanged expression, "Since I'm passing by, when will I leave?"

"Just...just stay for two days."

"Two days?"

"Is it too long?" Xiao Xuanqian looked at him and asked, "If you can't bear it, I..."

"Okay." Xie Wen nodded, "The climate in southern Xinjiang is changeable. When you go out, everything is no better than in the palace. You shouldn't be injured again."

Xiao Xuanqian stared at him, and at this moment, he suddenly and truly felt that his existence would not bring much benefit to the teacher, but would only cause him harm, pain, and torture. If he had a choice, he would not want to Let the side that will hurt the teacher exist.

Xie Wen didn't look at him, but intentionally avoided the other's gaze. He stretched out his hand from the cloak, and pulled the dagger from Xiao Xuanqian's waist lightly and nimbly. Put the golden knife in its sheath, thank you Wen held the handle of the knife with one hand, pulled it out with a little force, and the cold light of the blade flashed across his face in an instant.

Xiao Xuanqian's breathing tightened suddenly, he was very afraid that Xie Wen would play with such a dangerous thing, so he stared at the person in front of him intently.

Xie Wen just glanced at it, then took it back into the sheath, and didn't return it to him, but said: "I'll keep it for you, when you come back from the southern tour and pass by here, you can ask me to get it. If you don't hurt yourself If you can't survive, just die outside, and I will collect the body for you."

His words stopped, "This is the constraint I gave you. If you don't come back alive, today will be the last time you and I will see each other. Only by giving up the comfort brought by pain can we see me again."

"teacher……"

Xie Wen didn't respond, he turned around and was about to leave, when he was suddenly pulled by his sleeves, the little emperor's voice was hoarse and difficult: "How are you doing, teacher? Without me... it will be more Okay."

Xie Wen raised her head and glanced at the clouds, the snow around her was still falling, as if it would never end.

"What do you think?" He didn't answer directly, but gently brushed off the other party's hand that was holding onto the sleeve, but the other party seemed unable to accept so much resistance, and subconsciously turned his wrist and pressed Xie Wen's little one. Arm, the distance between the two shortened a lot in an instant.

"Don't have others, okay?" Xiao Xuanqian said in a hurry, "Don't be afraid of me anymore, I will become normal, I will get better... Huaiyu, I will do it."

The little emperor's familiar breath surrounded him, making people involuntarily afraid. Xie Wen frowned, and before he could reply, the other party's knuckles that held his arm slowly loosened and fell down. Xiao Xuanqian stared blankly. Looking at him, after a while, his eyes were lowered again, no longer asking for promises, looking for comfort, but whispered: "...Don't frown, I... I will go back, tomorrow... Can I come to see you?"

"I have something to do tomorrow."

"That……"

"Come back when the snow stops."

Xie Wen walked along the corridor to the Qingyu Tower. This section of the road was neither far nor near. At a glance, it seemed that the end of the road could be seen.

----

The golden wrong knife was placed on the table, and Xie Wen stroked the delicate lines and carvings on it, unconsciously lost his sight, and moved the handle of the inlaid jade with some distraction.

It was getting late, and a torch was suddenly set up next to it, and the candlelight fell softly.Xie Wen's thoughts turned, and she turned her head to look at Tong Tong who was leaning against the small case. While skillfully adjusting the position of the lampstand, the girl gnawed on the peaches, halfway through the gnawing, and said, "You've been restless all day. , hasn't the little emperor left?"

As soon as the protagonist left, Tong Tong immediately raised her tail again. She watched the Jade Lion lying on the bookshelf and pushed Xie Wen's book away. She didn't mean to stop her at all, but said lazily: "You don't know How did you scare me today, oh my god, why is Xiao Xuanqian so scary? When I saw him with this villainous temperament, I thought of him skinning his own brother at the end in the original book... It was terrible, by the way , how did you get this knife back, he gave it to you?"

Xie Wen took out a clean handkerchief and wiped the corners of her mouth: "I stole it."

"Pfft...cough cough cough cough..." Tong Tong took the handkerchief and covered her mouth, choking badly all of a sudden, she stared at Xie Wen with wide eyes, tears came out of the choking, she leaned over for a long time before saying, " ... snatched it?"

"Keep it on your behalf." Xie Wen said.

"Oh... why did he ask you to keep this knife?" Tongtong was puzzled, "You said nothing will happen this time, right? This time it was so exciting that even the daughter was released, and the little emperor didn't strangle it to death." I'm already very surprised... He actually put you back so lightly, and left?"

"You seem to be looking forward to what will happen." Xie Wen said quietly.

"Hey, no, I just find it incredible." Tongtong sat on the table, she was as unruly as the jade lion.This small case is only a foot and a half off the ground, with bamboo mats and a stove underneath, and a closed window opposite, "My dear father, when will you tell him the truth, or are you not going to tell him at all? But if you say it, he probably won’t believe it, so it’s better to just leave it like this.”

"Wait a little longer." Xie Wen said, "If he wants to know."

"Oh..." Tongtong nodded, then observed through the window screen, and said casually, "It's still snowing, it's almost a day and a night. The snow is so thick at the entrance of the building."

"Ah."

Xie Wen lowered her head and looked at the ledger in her hand again, but she couldn't help but rubbed the dagger. The old wounds on the opponent's body appeared over and over again in her mind. Finally, he threw the ledger on the table with a flick of his wrist, stood up with his hands behind his back, walked back and forth twice in the room, and finally settled down after a while, closed his eyes and lowered his head to exhale, to clear away the excessive and messy thoughts.

"What's the matter?" Tongtong, who was about to fall asleep under the candlelight, was awakened by him, and half of the peaches left on the corner of the table were spinning around.

"It's nothing." Xie Wen raised her hand to cover the upper half of her face, and said slowly, "I hate that iron can't be made into steel, and I don't want to collect the corpse, and there is...he has changed a bit too much, I can't figure it out for a while."

"What... What is iron, what is rigid, what is the corpse." Tongtong did not follow him, so she was not aware of the situation between them, she yawned sleepily, "Oh, it's okay, be calm, be happy and cheerful, don't Worried and anxious, the little emperor is the protagonist, an auspicious person with his own destiny, it's over, Dad, I'm going to bed soon."

The system is getting used to calling him dad.Xie Wen bent down to untie Tongtong's hair rope, tied it on her wrist casually, and then hugged the little girl to wash and change clothes. After extinguishing, Xie Tong nestled comfortably into her father's arms, so sleepy that he couldn't open his eyes and said: "Good night..."

Xie Wen tucked the corner of the quilt casually, and said softly: "Good night."

The Hongwa Xianglou is brightly lit all night, only the lights of the old small building have been turned off, the sky is full of snow, and the moonlight is as silver as ice.

Opposite the Peony Pavilion, where you can see the Qingyu Tower at a glance.The open windows were constantly pouring with howling cold wind, and the burning charcoal fire and copper stove in the house seemed so insignificant under the invasion of such cold wind.

Guo Jin added clothes for His Majesty, but no matter how warm the outer robe is, if his whole body is not warm, it will actually be useless.Guo Jin sighed, cupped his hands and said, "It's late, you should rest."

"I can't sleep." Xiao Xuanqian said, "Wait a little longer."

"Master Xie is already asleep. The lights in that building have been turned off."

"I know..." he whispered.

"Then what are you waiting for?" Guo Jin knew that this sentence was presumptuous. If he was in Ziwei Palace, he would never ask about it, nor would he question His Majesty's decision, but now that he has visited here and stayed in Luodu, He also inevitably felt a little emotional for a moment.

Guo Jin didn't think he could get His Majesty's answer, so he continued: "Forgive me for speaking bluntly, Master Xie took away the knife not because you were disappointed with Your Majesty, but because you wanted to save His Majesty's life... You have always been in trouble all these years. In a difficult and tormenting situation, it is reasonable to say that everything the emperor needs is often easy to get. But the emperor is not one of them. Afraid of power and status, Mr. Xie took back the golden wrong knife, out of love and pity for His Majesty."

"Ai Lian..." Xiao Xuanqian murmured, then smiled again, "I know he is the most soft-hearted."

"You are the monarch of the people of the world, you are the superior, but beside the emperor, in the affairs between you and Mr. Xie, His Majesty has to let go of everything you have... Only when Mr. Xie has a heart of compassion and love, can it be easy to seduce you." Remember the old days."

Xiao Xuanqian gazed at the night thoughtfully.

The night is vast, as if hiding all the secrets in the darkness.In the deepest and deepest place, the candle that has always worried him and made him unable to sleep is also extinguished. The bright moonlight is reflected on the flying snow. The quiet night is long and the snow is winding. result.

"The old slave discussed this matter arbitrarily, please punish him." Guo Jin bowed his head.

However, Xiao Xuanqian just waved his hands, not intending to punish or blame.He turned to ask: "Teacher has a daughter, you go and look it up."

"what do you mean……"

"Five years ago, in the several cases that the teacher went to Beijing to handle, who did you meet, and who was with him..." Xiao Xuanqian couldn't say those words, and continued, "It's death. Everything must be investigated, if I don't know the identity of this person, I will have trouble sleeping and eating."

"Yes."

"There is also Eleventh, the hidden guard, he..." Xiao Xuanqian paused, "Did he obey the teacher's instructions and not report back on Xie Tong's matter?"

Guo Jin immediately said: "The secret guard only obeys His Majesty. This is tantamount to treason, and as a rule it should—"

"No need," Xiao Xuanqian said, "If he listened to the teacher's instructions and didn't report back to me, this is not a betrayal."

Guo Jin looked at him hesitantly.

"...Huaiyu has worked very hard in the past ten years. I used to look down on Goulan Washe and Qinlou Chuguan, and felt that my Huaiyu was tarnished there. But now I think about it, when the teacher accepted me as a student ten years ago, My group of brothers and sisters who have their own ghosts, I am afraid that I have defiled Mr. in my heart. Not only that, my existence has also defiled them."

"His Majesty……"

Xiao Xuanqian laughed lowly, and he said: "No matter how much the teacher teaches me, no matter how much the teacher makes me love the world, I can't do it. I can only have him alone."

Guo Jin didn't know what to say for a while, so he could only lower his head and sigh: "...Does Your Majesty want to wait for the emperor to change his mind?"

Xiao Xuanqian was silent for a long time, the words "changing his mind" were a bit too far away, he seemed to have to walk for a long time before he could feel a little margin, just like the road that the teacher left from the corridor, it was obviously so short and ended at a glance, but When will he be qualified to catch up?

The drifting snow fell on the back of the hand, melting into wet water marks.

"I'm just waiting for the snow to stop," he said.