There is a dragon in the backyard of the palace

Before coming here, the little prince had already made plans.He originally wanted to say that he would let him go from here, but when he remembered the man's maniacal laughter just now, he became inexplicably timid, and his words turned sharply:

"And what do you think of yourself?"

The man raised the corners of his mouth and gave the little prince a sarcastic smile:

"If I say I want to leave, will you let me go? Forget it, let's be realistic and stop saying such hypocritical things. You know what I want, and I also know that you can't give it to me. What's the point of saying that. Now that I'm in your hands, I just want to ask—"

When the man said this, he stretched out his hand and opened the neckline, revealing a large piece of snow-white skin, but there was some sarcasm in his eyes:

"—what are you going to do to me?"

The little prince didn't expect him to have such a skill, and this really frightened the little prince.The little prince often hangs out in the Qinlou Chu Pavilion, but he has never had any intimate contact with men.Thinking that the man in front of him was probably used to being intimate with the old prince, the young prince felt quite unhappy.

The man saw the disgust on his face, pulled up the loose neckline indifferently, and said in a soft voice:

"Don't mind, I've been locked up here for a long time, and my mind is confused. You come over and let me see you. I have dragon ropes on me, and I won't do anything to you."

His voice was very gentle, and the madness and gaffe just now could not be heard at all.But the little prince didn't have time to pay attention to his voice, he was thinking about what he just said.

He just mentioned the dragon binding rope, the little prince remembered that he had heard of this thing before, it seemed that it was a family treasure, a chain that could lock the dragon.I think that when Gaozu founded the country, he used this chain as a weapon, which was better than many fierce generals.Later, the dragon-binding rope was passed down from generation to generation. When the first emperor won the throne, he gave the chain to the old prince's town house.But the little prince has only heard of this thing, but has never seen it.At this time, I was surprised to hear this person say that the family-legal dragon-binding rope was actually on him.

The little prince took a closer look, and sure enough, he saw a chain tied to the man's body. The material of the chain was neither gold nor jade, neither copper nor iron.

Who is this man?Why did the old prince imprison him here and tie him up tightly with dragon ropes?If he is really some kind of extraordinary person, why does the old prince treat him like a prodigy?

The little prince was surprised that things might not be as simple as he thought at first, there might be some stories behind it, and perhaps some dangers.He began to regret it, perhaps he shouldn't have come here so hastily.

The man in front of him was still looking at him expectantly, as if he wanted to get him closer.He cautiously took a few steps forward, came to the man, took a futon and sat down.

Just now he didn't feel that he was far away, but now he was getting close to that person, the little prince suddenly felt an indescribable strange feeling.

Something seems wrong... The man in front of him... doesn't seem to be human.

What made him feel this way, the little prince couldn't tell.The man looked at him across from him, scrutinized his appearance carefully, and then smiled:

"It's skinny and tender, and the eyelashes are quite long... It's a pity that it's not as good-looking as your father when he was young."

The man's words annoyed the little prince, before he could say anything, the man's finger touched his cheek.

His hands were extremely cold, so cold that they were about to freeze. Normal humans would never have such a body temperature.The little prince froze, looked at the beautiful face in front of him, and said in panic:

"What are you...?"

The man laughed:

"Didn't you see my real body when you first came in?"

real body?

The little prince thought of the green dragon he had just seen.But he originally thought it was a moment of blindness...

He looked at the man in front of him in disbelief, the man smiled and put his hand in front of him.The little prince saw that hand was quickly covered with blue scales, grew long claws, turned into a dragon's claw, and then returned to the shape of a human hand.

This change happened right in front of my eyes, clearly and without doubt.

Is this person... a dragon?

Thinking of the legendary creature sitting in front of him at this moment, the little prince shivered, unable to tell whether it was fear or excitement.

But Qinglong ignored him, took the food box brought by the little prince, and opened the lid.

Seeing the lonely bowl of wontons in the food box, Qinglong curled his lips, obviously dissatisfied.

"Tsk, it's actually wonton."

The wontons were already cold, but Qinglong didn't mind it too much, he picked up the spoon and ate a bowl of wontons in a few strokes.After he finished eating the wontons, he threw the spoon away, pushed the food box towards the little prince, and raised his eyes to look at him.

Obviously not full.

The little prince also realized that this food was obviously not enough for a Qinglong who had been hungry for several days, so he took the food box and stood up:

"I'll get you something else."

Qinglong nodded, as if satisfied with his understanding:

"I haven't eaten for a few days, and now I'm hungry. You try to get as much chicken, duck and fish as possible. After that, you come to me every three days to bring me a meal. The amount doesn't need to be too much. It's four or five times more than an ordinary person's meal. Double is enough, I mainly eat meat, but fish is also fine.”

The little prince agreed and went out with the food box.I didn't forget to lock the door when I left.

His little servant Yunxiu was waiting outside the small courtyard at this moment, seeing him coming out, he rushed forward to meet him.The little prince handed him the food box in his hand, and asked him to order the kitchen to make more chicken, duck and fish, but he left the gate of the palace alone and walked to the side alley.

The little prince wanted to inquire about Qinglong.

The old prince locked the green dragon in the mansion and forbade anyone to see it.Naturally, the people in the mansion would not know the origin of the green dragon.But the young prince knows that there is someone who has been by the old prince's side since more than 20 years ago. I am afraid that the old prince will not hide this matter from him.

There are two rows of houses in the alley next to the Wangfu. Although these houses are not within the courtyard walls of the Wangfu, they are all properties of the Wangfu.Most of the people living here are staff members of the palace.Those with higher status can live in a room by themselves, and there are maids to sweep and clean the room; those with lower status just have a bunk and eat a living.

The person that the young prince was thinking of was among these staff.The man's surname was Gu, but the little prince didn't know his name, and everyone in the palace, including the old prince, called him Mr. Gu.This person has a smart mind and a tight mouth. He has been with the old prince for almost 20 years. He is treated differently by the old prince on weekdays. No matter what he does, he is indispensable.Mr. Gu lived alone next to the palace, only served by a little maid, and he didn't even go back to his hometown during the Chinese New Year.I don't know if he is worried that his family will be hurt if the errand is broken, or if he really doesn't have any family.

The little prince inquired with the children at the alley, and then knocked on the courtyard door of a family.

A cry came from within:

"Xiaoyu, go and see who is here."

The little prince heard a little maid answer, and after a while, the door opened.

The little prince looked down at the servant girl named Xiaoyu. This maid was only fourteen or fifteen years old. She was summoned from the palace by the nanny in charge. She always knew the little prince. He timidly bowed his head and saluted, then ran into the yard like flying.

There are quite a lot of little maids like this in the mansion. They are young and don't know the rules, and they don't usually see any serious masters.Occasionally seeing the little prince, I was so panicked that I couldn't remember any rules.The little prince has always been tolerant of such little maids, and he didn't blame him, he just walked into the courtyard gate.

Mr. Gu's small courtyard is not big, and there are some flowers and plants in it, but it is neatly tidied up.The little prince stopped and looked around, and saw Mr. Gu coming out of the room.

Mr. Gu is about [-] years old. Although he has a long mustache and looks like a man born in the world, his appearance is so ordinary that it is almost impossible to remember his appearance.He has been wearing an old green shirt that has been washed all year round, and has never changed into anything else.The little prince hadn't looked at him carefully before, but now he looked carefully, he only felt that the old man was very thin, he looked a bit weird, and he wasn't lovable.

When Mr. Gu saw the young prince, he bowed slightly and gave a salute.He didn't speak, just waiting for the little prince to ask questions.The little prince smiled at him:

"Mr. Gu probably knows why I'm here - the old prince left in a hurry and left many things unexplained. The old prince has always kept everything from you. There are some things I want to ask."

Mr. Gu obviously knew that the young prince was coming to him, so he was not surprised, but nodded solemnly.

The little prince smiled and said:

"It's not a very important matter, I just want to know, what is the origin of the man locked in the backyard by the old prince?"

When Mr. Gu heard this, his expression changed.Seeing his expression, the little prince knew that he really knew something.

Before he had time to ask, Mr. Gu raised his head and called out to the little girl who was sweeping the floor in the yard:

"Xiaoyu, you go out and stand guard at the gate of the upper courtyard. No matter who comes, don't call in. Just say that I am meeting guests."

Xiaoyu agreed, and walked out of the courtyard gate. After seeing Xiaoyu go out, Mr. Gu invited the little prince into the house, and closed the door carefully.

This reaction is a bit interesting. There should be a lot of secrets in the palace, but I am afraid that there are not many people who can make this Mr. Gu so cautious.The little prince sat down on the chair while thinking about what made his father's chief aide so nervous.

Mr. Gu came back after closing the door, and confessed to the young prince, then he also sat down, opened his eyes wide, and asked the young prince:

"Young master, have you seen that man?"

The little prince didn't know why, so he just nodded.

Mr. Gu's tone was still a bit hesitant:

"The little prince must have noticed that that person... is a little different from ordinary people..."

Hearing his tone, the little prince seemed to know about it, so he replied:

"I've seen that person's real body, but... still feel a little unbelievable."

Hearing what he said, Mr. Gu seemed relieved, and sighed:

"Just now, I was afraid that the little prince would be afraid, so I didn't dare to say it. Since the little prince has already met, then I have nothing to hide—yes, the thing was indeed brought back by the old prince. It is... a green dragon."

Although just now the young prince had seen Qinglong's real body with his own eyes, and had heard him admit it himself, he still had some doubts in his heart, suspecting that what he saw was some kind of illusion, but at this time Mr. Gu said these words, the little prince's heart A little doubt was also dispelled.

"So...why did the old prince bring back a blue dragon?" The little prince asked with a frown.

"Have you heard about the battle between the old prince and the late emperor?" Mr. Gu didn't answer directly, but asked rhetorically.

The little prince nodded, only to hear Mr. Gu say again:

"The late emperor won the victory by presenting the White Dragon Screen to the ancestors. The old prince has always been unwilling to do so. So..."

When Mr. Gu said this, he stopped and didn't dare to say any more. He opened the cabinet next to him, rummaged through it for a while, and then took out a few pieces of paper from it, and handed it to the young prince:

"Young Lord, let's see these things by himself."

The little prince didn't know, so when he unfolded the paper, he realized that these were letters from the old prince.The little prince looked at the contents carefully, and his face turned pale with shock.

The author has something to say:

Ah... accidentally a little late...