old friend wine

Chapter 65

Today's crown prince Xu Zhiyuan is 29 years old. He has both ability and political integrity.He and Xu Qinghan grew up together, and they were still good friends with this little Uncle Wang when they were young, but as they grew older, the two began to have their own paths, and gradually became estranged from each other.

When Xu Qinghan opened his eyes, he saw Xu Zhiyuan's eldest son, Xu Chenlan. The seven or eight-year-old boy was lying on the bedside, blinking and staring at him. When he saw him wake up, he happily turned his head and shouted, "Father, father!" , my uncle is awake!"

Xu Zhiyuan leaned over to look at Xu Qinghan, and put the cool back of his hand on his forehead, "The fever is finally gone. Little Uncle Wang, don't you know you have a fever?"

Xu Qinghan had a splitting headache, and frowned his slender eyebrows in pain. He glanced at the dark sky outside the window, his voice was hoarse due to the high fever, "What time is it, how long have I been asleep?"

"Counting from the day you fainted, it's already the third day of time." Xu Zhiyuan shook his head and sighed, "Father is going to die of anxiety, and I always wondered if it was because he punished you to kneel for a quarter of an hour. It’s broken. If all the imperial physicians hadn’t said in unison that you were just too sleep-deprived, I don’t know how much my father would have blamed himself.”

Xu Qinghan propped up his upper body with his elbows, leaned against the head of the bed, frowned and said, "Where is this place? I want to go back to the palace."

"This is the East Palace. My father asked me to take good care of little Uncle Wang. If Uncle Wang doesn't lose weight by two catties, he will ask me to settle the matter." Xu Zhiyuan sighed, "Uncle Wang, please relax. My heart is staying here with my little nephew, eating delicious food and gaining a few catties of meat so that my father will praise me, the old man is very irritable if I don't see you this year, and scolds me every now and then. gone."

Xu Qinghan didn't have the heart to listen to his nagging, so he turned his head impatiently and said, "Does that mean I won't be allowed to go back home?"

Xu Zhiyuan was slightly embarrassed by his question, covered his lips and coughed lightly, and said vaguely, "When little Uncle Wang recovers and has a peaceful mind, of course he can go wherever he wants. Now you need someone to take care of you like this."

Xu Qinghan asked again, "Then where can I go?"

It was difficult for Xu Zhiyuan to answer these words, the intention of house arrest had already been expressed so clearly by him, it would be ugly to say it bluntly.He held back for a while, and then said helplessly, "Uncle Wang can't go anywhere except the East Palace for the time being. I heard Eunuch Wang Xi say that you threatened Father with your life, Father is angry and scared, let you think about yourself for a while time."

"I see." Xu Qinghan lowered his eyes in disappointment, lifted the quilt and moved under the bed.Xu Zhiyuan supported his arm and asked, "What is little Uncle Wang going to do?"

"I want to take a shower."

The Tangquan Pool in the East Palace is two feet long and wide. The pool water under the cover of rose petals is full of curling heat. Xu Qinghan retreated from the servants who were serving him, undressed himself, and stepped on the white marble steps to slowly sink into the pool water.

He leaned against the wall of the pool with his white porcelain back, and absently splashed the water to rinse his arms.Warm water drives away the chill and fatigue, and the light fragrance of flowers refreshes the heart and soul, blooming the comfort of spring flowers in the cold winter.Xu Qinghan felt even more sad in his heart, he was comfortable, food and clothing were all carefully enshrined, but his sweetheart was still suffering in the dark cage.

Xu Qinghan stared blankly at the apricot-yellow petals swirling slightly on the water, and scenes of Shen Ci suffering in prison appeared in front of his eyes.Was he beaten, bullied, frozen, starved?The more Xu Qinghan thought about it, the more uncomfortable he felt, his heart ached so badly that he couldn't straighten up, so he could only hold his chest and tentatively inhale wisps of air.There were bursts of blackness in front of his eyes, and it took a long time for him to recover from his dizziness.

Be strong, although he is restricted everywhere, but he is already A Ci's last support, he can't fall down yet.Xu Qinghan gritted his teeth and splashed the water on his face, the water flowed over his face and made him more awake.He slid down against the wall of the pool tiredly, his long hair was soaked in the water, and spread out softly like ink falling into clear water.

Xu Qinghan stretched out his fair and slender ten fingers and inserted them into his hair, and with a single stroking, he took off the hair all over his hands. There were dozens of long hairs hanging between each finger, and there were also a few white hairs mixed in here and there. miscellaneous.Xu Qinghan's hair has always been one of the most beautiful, black and thick as silk and satin, he doesn't lose his hair often, let alone gray hair, so it turns out that just ten days is enough for a person's black hair to be stained with frost? ?

Xu Qinghan twisted the fallen hair into a ball and threw it on the steps with a blank expression. How could he care about it now, let alone hair loss, even if he lost his head, he would not make too much trouble now, all he had in his heart was Shen Ci.

As a result, if you throw away a handful of hair, you will still lose more if you wash it again. Gently smoothing the hair from top to bottom will wipe off a lot.Xu Qinghan was already in a bad mood, so he immediately patted the surface of the water angrily, held his breath, plunged his head into the water, rinsed it carelessly, then hurriedly gave up, crawled out of the pool dripping wet, put on his clothes and went out.

Xu Zhiyuan was still waiting in his room, blowing hot tea slowly while flipping through a few Buddhist scriptures on the table.He raised his eyes and saw Xu Qinghan walking in with wet hair hanging loose, stood up and knocked on the corner of the table, "Little Uncle Wang, Father wants you to copy the "Great Compassion Mantra" ten times every afternoon to meditate, otherwise you won't have dinner."

"No, it happens that I don't want to eat either." Xu Qinghan glanced at him indifferently, and continued to lie on the bed silently with his eyes open in a daze.

Xu Zhiyuan was greatly surprised, no matter how pampered and willful this little Wang uncle is, he never prevented him from listening to his father's words. In the past, he would obey his words as long as he used his father's name, what happened today?

So Xu Qinghan didn't eat any rice that night, and even curled up on the bed the next morning and didn't get up to eat.Xu Zhiyuan sat on his bedside and persuaded him, "Little Uncle Wang, it's fine if you don't eat at night, but you have to eat something at noon in the morning, right? Father didn't say that you are not allowed to eat at other times."

Xu Qinghan closed his eyes without saying a word, even though Xu Zhiyuan's mouth was worn out, he didn't eat a single grain of rice.Linghu was ordered by the Holy Spirit to investigate Xu Qinghan's situation. When he heard the situation, he was really sad, thinking about how he was worried because the prince didn't eat or drink a few days ago.

Before noon, Xu Zhiyuan came again to persuade Xu Qinghan with nice words, "Little Uncle Wang, you don't need to copy the books when the father sends an order, why don't you get up and have some food?"

Xu Qinghan waved his arms to chase him away, and said lazily, "I can't eat, don't bother me, I have a headache."

Xu Qinghan didn't eat for three meals, and even alarmed Sheng Jia at night.Xu Qinghan got up from the bed weakly, lowered his eyebrows and bowed slightly, and said weakly, "Brother Emperor." The emperor pressed his shoulders and pushed him back to the bed angrily and distressed, "Lie down. Why don't you want to eat, Zhiyuan Wasn't it well taken care of?"

The prince who stood aside with lowered eyebrows and obedient eyes smiled bitterly, "Return to father, I have tried my best to please little Wang uncle, but..."

The emperor patted the edge of the bed and stared at him, "Did I ask you?" He took Xu Qinghan's hand and patted the back of his hand to comfort him, "Did Zhiyuan bully you? Tell me, brother Huang will uphold justice for you!"

Xu Zhiyuan was a bit dumbfounded, he was two years older than Xu Qinghan, and it was a childhood thing that he secretly bullied him, and it has been more than twenty years since his father still remembered his old debt.

"The prince has a heart, brother, don't blame him." Xu Qinghan reluctantly knelt up on the bed, his body was not strong enough after being hungry for too long, and he was trembling all the time, praying earnestly, "Brother, my brother misses you." Chengji, I beg you to ask my younger brother to see Shen Ci, and I promise to have a good meal after seeing him."

It's the Lantern Festival again.

A small palm-sized window was opened near the top of the cell for ventilation, and Shen Ci could see the sky outside when he raised his head.Tonight, there is light snow in the mountains and rivers, the sky is as dark as ink, and there is no moonlight to be found.

Shen Ci has been trapped in the prison for four or five days, and the courtiers are on vacation around the Lantern Festival, so they can only take him into custody for trial after the festival.The jailer didn't find any money from Shen Ci's changed clothes, and no family members came to take care of them.

Xu Qinghan hadn't shown up these days, and Shen Ci still had to play and worried about him all the time.When we parted, he hadn't had a good meal for a long time, and he didn't want to sleep peacefully. He was so thin that his eye sockets were sunken, and his cheekbones were particularly prominent.Did something happen to him, otherwise how could he bear not to see him for several days?

"Da, da..." A series of footsteps suddenly sounded in the dead silent corridor, walking hurriedly from far to near.

It was Xu Qinghan, and Shen Ci could recognize it just by the sound of footsteps that were neither light nor heavy.He stood up from the straw, walked a few steps to the cell door and looked out while holding the fence. After a while, he saw the familiar figure getting closer.He waved his hands and called out, "Xu Qinghan!"

Xu Qinghan refused to let others follow, and Linghu, who accompanied him, agreed after a little thought. After all, not only did he not know martial arts, but he hadn't eaten for a few days and was so hungry that he didn't have much energy.Xu Qinghan didn't know which cell Shen Ci was locked in, so he could only identify them one by one while walking in a hurry.After hearing Shen Ci's voice, he paused, carrying the lacquered wooden food box and ran to Shen Ci in two steps.

The two stood still, staring at each other without blinking, wishing that this moment would last forever.Xu Qinghan stretched out his right hand very slowly, Shen Ci raised the corners of his lips, and stretched out his left hand to clasp his fingers.

Even though both hands were cold, the two felt a hot current from each other's hands directly to the bottom of their hearts.They said in unison, "You've lost weight again."

The two were slightly startled, and said in unison, "I'm fine."

Xu Qinghan lowered his eyes, stared at the back of Shen Ci's scarred hand and said, "You lied to me."

Shen Ci said seriously, "I didn't lie to you, it's already very good, it's impossible to go to jail without suffering at all."

"They haven't been convicted yet, how dare they use lynching?" Xu Qinghan pursed his lips tightly, and turned to find someone to settle the score. "Who is it? I'll chop off his head right away!"

"Calm down, calm down!" Shen Ci quickly grabbed his arm and said, "Why are you going, the wound on my hand was accidentally bumped, how can there be such a slight flesh wound?"

Xu Qinghan stood still, then turned his head to find someone again, muttering, "It still doesn't work, I have to make a brazier, it's so cold here."

"Hey, just tell the jailer a few words when you go out later. I can live a lot better and don't need to make such a fuss." Shen Ci dragged him back dumbfounded, "Just stop busy and talk to me. I'm about to germinate in loneliness."

The person who thought about it day and night stood in front of him, Xu Qinghan was at a loss for words for a moment, he didn't know what to say, he could only stare blankly at Shen Ci and smile.Shen Ci stretched out his hand and scraped his face, sighed and said, "The bones are broken, have you not eaten for a few days?"

"Eat it when you get back. You can eat it before I can feel at ease." Xu Qinghan squatted down and opened the lid of the food box, took out the cold bird's nest, held it in his hand and said disappointedly, "It's already cold, the road is too far."

Shen Ci took the bowl from him, took a spoonful and took it into his mouth, showing a satisfied expression, "It's delicious, why do you care about hot or cold?"

Xu Qinghan looked worried, "Ah Ci, all officials will go to court tomorrow, and the Ministry of Punishment will resume operations. Your interrogation should also be scheduled for tomorrow."

Shen Ci asked suspiciously, "Should? Don't you know when I will be interrogated?"

Xu Qinghan shook his head, leaned his forehead against the fence and said in a low voice, "Brother Huang didn't let me take part in this matter, and kept it from me. Ah Ci, am I useless, I can't help you with anything."

"How could it be? If it wasn't for you and taking into account your feelings, His Majesty would have eliminated me a long time ago. Is there still a need for interrogation? You gave me a chance to appeal my grievances. Besides, if you didn't take care of me Now, how can I eat this kind of delicacies from mountains and seas, and no one can order the jailer to take care of me."

"But I'm in a panic right now. I can't find any news about the case. The emperor won't even let me go back to the palace." Xu Qinghan held Shen Ci's hand, unknowingly exerting more and more force, sweat dripping from his palm Come on, "A Ci, I'm terrified, what should I do if Brother Huang sentenced you to death?"

Shen Ci said without hesitation, "Of course you lived a good life for me. You are my beloved. When I am gone, you will take care of Shen Che for me, as well as Cui Er and two children who are outside the customs. Qing Han, life is coming to an end , the two of us will definitely not be able to stay together forever. Sooner or later, one of us will go first. I am already 27 years old. I have lived everything that should be lived, and I have experienced everything that should have been experienced. Haven't you died yet?"

Shen Ci hugged Xu Qinghan's back to comfort him and said, "You have to be prepared for this, I am indeed in danger, don't collapse all of a sudden, and get used to it slowly."

"What nonsense, what are you getting used to!" Xu Qinghan pinched his arm and cried, "You are not allowed to say such things, how can you let me accept it, how can you let Shen Che accept it? Anyway, you can't die!"

Shen Ci smiled and said nothing - he didn't want to die either, but there was no other way, there was really no way out.