Qi Huang

According to Xie Xuan's memory, the last time he saw the emperor was more than ten years ago.

The emperor, who had been locked in a cage all his life, was most free when he was close to death.

Xie Xuan never looked at him carefully, only in the past, the ambitious courtiers put their blades on the flower crown and declared loudly that the emperor died of illness and it was time to establish a new king.He stood far away among the courtiers, and a courtier clung to his ear and said softly: "Your Highness, Your Majesty is seriously ill, please express your condolences."

The emperor stood in the high hall with his hands behind his back, as if standing on top of mountains.A generation of emperors had a gentle face, not like a ruler, but like a Confucian who had read sage books.

Xie Xuan looked at the emperor, puzzled: "Isn't father still alive?"

The courtier said with a sneer: "It looks fine on the surface, but it is actually very sick."

I don't know if it's the emperor or the country in the precarious wind and rain.

Facing the indifferent gaze of the emperor, the courtier knelt down on the ground, saying that His Majesty died of illness, but his face was full of smiles.They pushed Xie Xuan onto the throne and shouted: "Welcome to the new king—"

So Xie Xuan walked towards his destiny.

But right now, the former emperor is still alive, still young, and his face is still tired.

He is lofty and noble, but his body exudes an aura of decay.The robe on his body is bright yellow and expensive, and the patterns on it are also complicated, and the pattern of the real dragon is faintly visible.But it's only vague, and the dragon pattern, which is difficult to shine under the light, seems to show the vitality of the clothing itself.

The emperor's lingering sickness bed has really counted how many years.

It seems that from Xie Xuan's memory, the emperor's illness has been passed down by word of mouth among the palace people, and no one knows about it.

But to say that the emperor is really at the end of the road is not necessarily true.

He had never really suffered from a serious illness that could kill his life. Although he had this dull face all year round, he still lived well, and he still stubbornly watched the flowers bloom year after year inside the palace wall.

Until the twisted rope hangs over the throne.

The family banquet was full of grand scenes, the court ladies were dressed in red and willow green, table after table of good food was delivered to the table, and the emperor was surrounded by high positions, as if melting into a drop of faint water in colorful ink.

Xie Xuan glanced away, calmed down his emotions, and went to the banquet.

The banquet was not big, and Xie Xuan came late, and the seats were almost full.Looking around, apart from the idle princes, there are many young faces who are familiar or familiar. They chatted and laughed with each other, and the atmosphere was harmonious, as if they could really sit down and drink a glass of wine in harmony.

Xie Xuan searched for a while, finally found an empty seat, and sat down directly.

The person next to him was drinking with a cup, and caught a glimpse of a black figure out of the corner of his eye. He didn't notice it at first glance, but when he saw Xie Xuan clearly, he almost dropped the cup to the emperor's feet with a trembling hand.

"Thank you Xuan!"

Gritting her teeth, Xie Xuan was so close that Xie Xuan could almost hear the creaking sound of this man's mouth.

Xie Xuan grinned, "Brother Ten."

Tenth Prince: "Laughing fart!"

"Tenth brother be careful." Xie Xuan frowned, "If the emperor's grandmother heard it, she would twist your ears and scold you, 'You read all the sage books you read into the dog's stomach'."

The tenth prince didn't like this: "Come on less! Grandmother wouldn't say such vulgar words!"

Paused: "What are you doing sitting next to me! Go away!"

Xie Xuan: "Drink, otherwise what would I do sitting down?"

Usually the two of them had little contact, and the biggest conflict was that the Tenth Prince used Xie Xuan as an arrow target.It's just that Xie Xuan's mother and concubine have a great reputation for being unlucky, and the tenth prince is also a person who has grown up in a honey pot, so he naturally hates it.Or maybe it was because of the lunatic energy in Xie Xuan that day, the tenth prince didn't want to have anything to do with Xie Xuan.

He looked left and right, seeing that no one was looking this way, he was about to push Xie Xuan away.

But don't look at Xie Xuan's thinness, at this moment, I don't know what cleverness he used, even if the tenth prince, who is as strong as an ox, pushes him, he can still sit as still as a mountain.

Here the tenth prince was moving with a whimper, while Xie Xuan had already had a glass of wine over there, except for being shaken by the movement and dripping a few drops of wine on his robe, the rest had no effect.

He put down his wine glass, turned his head and asked in doubt: "What is Brother Ten doing? I am in good health and can drink. I don't need you to help me dredge my muscles and bones."

The tenth prince rolled his eyes towards the sky.

The more comfortable Xie Xuan is, the angrier the Tenth Prince will be when he sees it.He rolled up his sleeves and retracted his legs, as if he wanted to lift Xie Xuan away.

Unexpectedly, as soon as he opened his robe, before he stood up, he saw Xie Xuan, who was still as stable as Mount Tai, crooked, as if a hand in the void pushed him from behind, and the whole person fell over the low table and fell out. Swipe down the table full of bowls, cups and chopsticks.

The eager scene suddenly stopped.

This movement was not insignificant, and those present who were close were all eagerly looking over here.

The Tenth Prince was dumbfounded.

I haven't moved yet!The ghost threw you out!

If the atmosphere of the occasion wasn't right, the Tenth Prince would have stood up and applauded his superb acting skills.But there is no chance for him to react now, at Yaque's silent banquet, a beautiful female voice suddenly burst out.

"Xie Duan, what are you doing?"

Suddenly being called by a familiar voice, the Tenth Prince felt the nerves of fear in his head tense instantly, and the fear imprinted in his soul made him immediately kneel down: "I..."

Before he could utter half a word, Xie Xuan got up with lightning speed, and took the lead to bow down and bow: "See the emperor's grandmother, the emperor's grandmother, Wanfu Jin'an."

Tenth Prince: "..."

The late imperial grandmother, the only queen dowager today, who is also the emperor's nominal concubine, waved her sleeves and sat down on the vacant seat beside the emperor.

She still looks young, and there is no wrinkle between her brows and eyes, only a pair of twinkling eyes, which are both gorgeous and indifferent.If it wasn't for the name of the Empress Dowager, people who didn't know would probably think of her as a princess.

"Are you afraid that the banquet will not be lively enough, and you want to add some excitement to make me happy?" She said lightly.

The empress dowager was dressed in luxurious clothes, and besides a sick emperor, in contrast, she looked even more gorgeous and eye-catching, even her eyes were extremely aggressive.

The tenth prince trembled all over, presumably out of fear: "Grandmother forgives you, grandson... grandson is just..."

Xie Xuan knelt on the ground, his expression was hidden under the wide sleeves, he just kept silent, he didn't feel that the Tenth Prince's situation of being placed on a high place in public had anything to do with him.

Although he did see the Queen Mother entering the palace very early.But can it be blamed that he didn't remind the Tenth Prince, but took the opportunity to fall in front of the Queen Mother, and then put the blame on the Tenth Prince?

Obviously it is impossible, Xie Xuan thought confidently.

Although the Tenth Prince claimed to be "heroic", he was actually as courageous as a mouse.Presumably, he had learned the methods of the Queen Mother's punishment, and the emperor opened his mouth just in time, as he was about to burst into tears.

"It's just a joke between children, get up."

The Queen Mother snorted lightly, but she followed the emperor's advice and did not blame the Tenth Prince.She turned her eyes and fell on Xie Xuan who was still bowing down: "Don't kneel down, go back to the banquet by yourself."

"Yes."

Xie Xuan responded and stood up slowly.

Originally, he could turn around and return to his seat, but he pulled off his sleeve robe first.Xie Xuan was young and didn't have a jade crown, but such an important place as a banquet needs to wear hair accessories as a sign of etiquette. He raised his hand and brushed the broken hair behind his back, pausing for a moment.

At this moment of pause, Xie Xuan raised his head slightly, and met the Queen Mother's eyes that had not yet retracted.

No one knows whether he did it accidentally or on purpose.

The Queen Mother was stunned, her eyes were deep: "It's you."

She turned around, smiled and said to the emperor: "Qingshan, we may not see him for a long time."

"Huh?" The emperor looked puzzled, "Who?"

"The little prince you fished out of the cold palace, forget it now?" said the Queen Mother, "You had a fight with me because of that back then, and your old illness almost relapsed."

The emperor smiled and said: "I have so many little princes, which one is the mother and concubine talking about?"

The Queen Mother looked carefully at the emperor's face, as if she wanted to find out from his words whether the words were true or a lie.After a while, she smiled, stopped asking, and turned to Xie Xuan: "Xinglan, is your injury better?"

Hearing a familiar yet unfamiliar address suddenly, Xie Xuan was in a daze for a moment.But soon, he realizes that the Queen Mother doesn't really care about his injury.

Xie Xuan pretended to be puzzled and said, "What?"

"Didn't Xiao Ling say that you were accidentally injured in the martial arts training ground, and now you are lying injured?"

Xie Xuan: "..."

Xiao Ling said so?

He borrowed the strength of the ten princes to throw him out, in order to test the Queen Mother's reaction to that incident, but Xiao Ling himself confessed first?

Xie Xuan was speechless for a moment, and had no choice but to say: "Mr. Xiao has a kind heart and is worried about Xing Lan's injury, so he made it a little serious, but it's actually not a problem."

The Queen Mother meant to reproach: "Although it is common to be injured during martial arts practice, it is said that the arrows are embedded in the flesh... Xiao Ling, as the head teacher, unexpectedly caused such an accident in the prince's class. "

Her words were still loving and worried, but her eyes were emotionless. Xie Xuan had seen countless pairs of such familiar eyes, and naturally knew that compared with Xie Xuan's injuries, the Queen Mother focused more on "Xiao Xuan" The accident in Ling's classroom", or in Xiao Ling's body.

Thinking about the possible entanglements between the Xiao family and the royal family, Xie Xuan glanced at the tenth prince who bowed his head and said nothing, and smiled slightly.

"Going back to the emperor's grandmother, although it's a class, it's a martial arts training ground after all, and accidents are unpredictable. Xinglan believes that Brother Ten doesn't want to."

"Oh?" The Queen Mother raised her eyes suddenly, "Is this still related to Xie Duan?"

The tenth prince who had just sat down and was still panting: "..."