C218

"Young master, you don't have to do this."

Zhao Qingyan shivered because of the cold. A fox fur coat wrapped around her body as a familiar voice rang in her ears. He lowered his eyes and whispered a moment later, "I am a little reluctant."

Ran Hao walked to his side and stood in a position where the young master could see him, "Young master, you are still determined to kill aren't you?"

Zhao Qingyan smiled and said, "If you had not come with me, I might really have killed him."

Ran Hao was startled: "Me?"

Zhao Qingyan tightened his grip on the fox fur coat, then quickly withdrew it back into his sleeves. "Both Tang Xiao and teacher told me a story." I suddenly remembered this story today. "

Ran Hao quietly waited for him to explain.

After getting used to his silence, Zhao Qingyan paused for a moment and started to tell a story, "There used to be a person who hated people, but he was timid and didn't dare to hit them. So he sent his dog to bite the men, and then stood in the dark to rejoice. And when the bitten people came to him, he killed his dog and told them, 'Look, I killed the dog that bit you.' Instead of resenting him, those people are grateful to him for killing their dog. "

After a while, Ran Hao asked, "Am I the dog?"

"No, you're not." Zhao Qingyan raised his hand, covering his palm with his sleeve. Snowflakes fell on the cyan light, looking exceptionally beautiful.

Ran Hao said: "As long as you want, young master, I am willing to be that kind of dog."

Zhao Qingyan looked at the snowflake in his palm quietly and said, "I don't need it. What I need is a proper person."

Ran Hao shook his head, "Young master, please don't become the kind of person you don't like because of me."

"Heh, the kind of person I don't like." A trace of self-mockery appeared on Zhao Qingyan's lips. "I just don't want to look at myself directly, so I forced all the shadows in my heart onto you, making you my shadow — a shadow that can't be exposed."

Ran Hao's eyes narrowed, and after a moment he replied: "I just want to stay close to Young Master, I do not need to see the light."

He lowered his eyes and said, "I just want to see if I can become the kind of person I want to be without you bearing the burden of the darkness for me." If you no longer have me to arrange everything for you, can you become a complete person? "

Ran Hao heard the answer in his voice, and after a short silence, he asked again: "Young Master, did you find the answer?"

Zhao Qingyan raised his head to look at him who knew the answer and laughed, "What do you think?"

Ran Hao also revealed a slight smile, "As long as I stand side by side with the young master, we will always be the kind of people that we want to be."

Zhao Qingyan watched him quietly for a while before turning away. "Don't you feel angry that I've tried so hard?"

"Angry?" Ran Hao was stunned. With a puzzled look on his face, he said, "I, will not be angry with young master."

Zhao Qingyan sighed: "Master and servant, master and servant, you and I do not seem to be on equal footing. If you change, it will be betrayal. If I change, I will abandon you. "

Ran Hao was startled, he lowered his head and said: "I will not betray the young master. If there comes a day when Young Master no longer needs me, I will leave … "

Zhao Qingyan smiled. A bit playfully, a bit helplessly: "Hao, there won't be that day."

Ran Hao was stunned: "Young Master?"

Zhao Qingyan threw the fox fur coat into his arms and turned to walk in the direction of the grass garden, "Remember, there won't be that day. It's good to speak less of such idiotic words. "

"Why?"

Hearing his question, Zhao Qingyan casually replied, "Because a pitiful appearance like yours would easily remind me of that dog in the story."

Ran Hao: "I will only become the shadow of young master, and not anything else."

Zhao Qingyan smiled at him and nodded, "Alright, put on your fox fur coat. Let's go back."

Ran Hao said: "I gave it to young master, I'm not used to wearing it …"

Zhao Qingyan looked at him snappily, "After you fell sick, I fried all the medicine before feeding it to you. If you became cold, wouldn't it be hard on me? "Put it on!"

Ran Hao: I can't, I can only put it on. Cultivating martial arts all year round, he was used to wearing only a light cotton robe even in the cold winter. His originally tall figure had become obese after wearing a fox fur coat. "It was a strange feeling to have his hands and feet tied. Ran Hao reached out and grabbed it, but it was still very uncomfortable.

Looking at his clumsy appearance, Zhao Qingyan could not help but laugh out loud. "You're quite skilled at changing my clothes. Don't you know how to do that by yourself?"

Initially, Ran Hao did not feel the cold, so he took off his fox fur coat and hugged it. Seeing that the young master wanted to speak, he rushed to the front and said, "The young master doesn't usually return to his room to rest. He suffers from the cold, and I fried the medicine in order to feed it to the young master."

Zhao Qingyan glanced at him and said, "It's normal for you to serve me. Of course I'll go along with your temper." Your young master has served you once or twice, and you still want me to serve you? If you get sick again, I'll get Chen Huayi to throw you back to the Qi King Manor, and anyone can give you medicine to boil. "

Ran Hao was speechless for a moment: "I …"

"I'm tired. Let's go back." Zhao Qingyan stopped joking with him and placed the fox fur coat on top of her, "The patrolling guards will be here soon. Their footprints from the Privy Council were seen, and they were covered when I came. So... I'll have to trouble you when we get back. "

Ran Hao carried him on his back and walked towards the garden. Zhao Qingyan and Ran Hao, who were as heavy as two men, had only left a shallow footprint on the ground as they walked. When the patrolling guards arrived, the footprints he left behind would be completely covered.

If someone else paid attention to this, they might even see the young prince, who usually walked on the snow and dug holes everywhere. He stayed here for a long time, but there were no marks left on the snow that were deeper than the footprints of his feet.

The southern gate once again returned to silence.

— —

"Your Majesty." A black shadow soundlessly descended and knelt on the ground.

Ren Zong raised his eyes and asked calmly, "Has he already been released?"

The black shadow lowered his head and replied, "Yes, they left through the south gate in a short while. Subordinate ordered some people to follow them."

"Let's go, there's no need to follow." Ren Zong closed the imperial report in his hand and placed it aside before opening another book.

The black shadow was startled. "Your Majesty wants to?"

Ren Zong said, "There are guards at the city gate. There is a high chance that they will take Mo'er's carriage and leave the city." What I want is not these few people, but the person who is helping them finish this prison break. Find that person and bring him back. "

The black shadow replied in a low voice, "Yes." Pausing for a moment, he then asked, "What if those caught are the people of the young prince?"

"What do you mean? Are you trying to say that my nephew is in cahoots with the grass of the martial arts world and wants to rob the prison to save people? " Ren Zong raised his head and looked at him, his eyes burning with a stern light.

The black shadow quickly replied: "This subordinate dares not. "However, the one who let him go tonight is indeed the young prince. His help to these martial artists is already …"

Ren Zong gave a cold laugh, "Ridiculous. Merle was meticulous and careful in everything. If this matter was really set up by him, then he definitely wouldn't have risked his life to let them go this easily. He did this because he feared that if they were caught, they would be put to death. "But I cannot punish Mo'er, and that would mean I have to take into account his feelings and let those people live."

The black shadow asked in a low voice, "Is Your Majesty being too lenient towards the young prince?" "He is after all a royal descendant and shouldn't have mixed with the martial arts people. But now, he relied on His Majesty's love to block arrows for the martial arts people. If this goes on …"

Ren Zong asked, "What will happen?"

The black shadow said, "I'm afraid he will find out what His Majesty is trying to hide. At that time, even if His Majesty wishes to save them, you will be unable to do so. "

The Ren Sect suddenly fell silent upon hearing this. After a moment, he said slowly, "Let me think about this carefully. Don't say anymore."

The black shadow spoke in a low voice, "Your Majesty, we shall not let this matter go, we will not let it go!" The young prince was born with a good character, so he was easily taken advantage of by adulterers. His Majesty has forgiven them time and time again because he has given these villains an opportunity, and not because he is giving young prince a chance to repent! "

The man frowned, "Mo'er is not wrong."

The black shadow said, "But he was used by someone."

Ren Zong said, "I used him too."

"His Majesty had no choice but to do so, and has no intention of harming His Majesty. His Majesty's use would at most hurt the young prince's heart. But those people used the young prince's life in exchange for their own peace. " The shadow knelt straight up and said, "Your Majesty, think twice!"

Ren Zong looked at him and suddenly said, "It has been so long, the only person who dares to interrupt us is you."

The shadow's eyes were unperturbed. "This subordinate's heart is filled with sincerity. I only hope that Your Majesty hasn't chosen the wrong path."

Ren Zong smiled slightly, "Are you saying that I'm confused?"

The black shadow crouched down. "This subordinate doesn't dare, I'm just a spectator."

"The spectator sees clearly … Well said. This game of chess is getting harder and harder for us to see clearly. " Ren Zong was startled for a moment before he shook his head slightly, his eyes showing traces of fatigue.

The black shadow said, "Then Your Majesty might as well stand out and watch the other side of the game from the outside."

Ren Zong thought about it silently for a moment before asking, "Mo'er, are these the pieces on the chessboard?"

The black shadow nodded his head, "The young nobleman is undecided in this game of chess. With victory in his hands, with mistakes, he would lose. It might be at the mere thought of Your Majesty, when you are able to sweep away an entire army to look at the world together with His Majesty, or when you are careless and become an abandoned son. "

Ren Zong muttered, "How can I protect him?"

The black shadow said: "In order to protect a child, it is fine to give up a hundred chess pieces, but you cannot give up this game of chess for the sake of preserving a chess piece. Your Majesty needs to know that only by winning this game can we keep the chess pieces that we want to keep. "

Ren Zong coughed a few times as pain showed on his face, "But I don't dare to use this chess piece."

The black shadow said, "His Majesty's opponent has never cared about his life."

Ren Zong slowly nodded his head, "I know."

The black shadow knew that it had said what it needed to say, so it said no more.

"I'm tired. You can leave now." After a long period of silence, Ren Zong sighed.

The black shadow lowered its head and said, "Yes, your subordinate will take his leave …"

"Wait!" Ren Zong suddenly called out to him, "Yen Yan, I'm not very comfortable with the people you sent. Go and capture them yourself. "Remember, you can injure, but you can't kill."

The shadow was startled, but didn't ask any further questions. "Yes, I understand." He stood up and took a few steps back, then silently hid himself in the darkness.

Ren Zong looked at the candlelight reflected on the lantern for a long time before muttering, "Another worrying night has passed, right?"

— —

"Young prince, Han Yan requests an audience."

Zhao Qingyan's hand that was holding the saber paused slightly. She put down the half-carved piece of wood in her hand and said, "Come in."

Ran Hao walked to the door and pushed it open, stepping to the side: "Sir Han, please."

Han Yan gave him a slight nod of thanks before walking in and kneeling on one knee. "Han Yan greets Young Prince."

"Why did you become so courteous after not meeting for the entire night?" Zhao Qingyan raised her head with a smile in her eyes. "Get up. There's no need to be so polite."

Han Yan stood up and said with a helpless expression, "After all, there were too many unforeseen events this night. It would be better to be more polite than to be rude."

Zhao Qingyan smiled faintly. "Unfortunately for me, I had already started to do so every night a few months ago. I've almost mastered my ability to remain calm."

Han Yan said, "To young prince, last night was indeed a small change. I made a fuss over nothing."

Zhao Qingyan smiled and no longer exchanged meaningless greetings, "You went to see Thirteenth Uncle, right? Did he say anything? "

Han Yan had a strange expression on his face, but he replied truthfully, "My lord, you said that it was hard on me. Let me recuperate."

Zhao Qingyan chuckled, "Why? Are you surprised? "

Han Yan wanted to say something but hesitated. In the end, he only said, "It was a surprise."

Zhao Qingyan picked up the piece of wood and the carving knife again and slowly carved with a blade. "Thirteenth Uncle's help is ultimately limited. I wonder if they will be able to safely escape." There were bits of wood on the table. He must have been carving for some time.

Han Yan's gaze fell on the sawdust, and he could not help but ask, "Has the young prince been up for a long time?"

"It's been nearly four hours since I woke up." Zhao Qingyan answered casually with a smile on her face as she glanced at him, "I feel very frustrated. I just barely rested for two to four hours, so I don't feel sleepy at all." From the looks of it, you probably haven't rested for the entire night? "

Han Yan felt a little awkward. "I fell asleep just after the ninetieth hour yesterday. When I came back in the morning, I saw my lord and rested for an hour. "Seems like he must have slept for even longer than the young prince."

Zhao Qingyan smiled, "I have always been a light sleeper, sleeping less is not a problem. "It's hard for you to stay up with me all night for Hao."

Han Yan was slightly taken aback, as she understood what he meant, "Could it be that the imperial bodyguard was also here last night?"

Ran Hao said, "I left a little later, Han was about to leave before I arrived."

Han Yan then glanced at the smiling and silent young prince, and laughed involuntarily, "No wonder I can't hide my ability from the young prince. In the future, I will have to learn from the Ran guards."

Zhao Qingyan raised his eyebrows slightly, "You really want to learn? Or are you just going to lie to me? "

Han Yan said, "If Young Prince doesn't mind me stealing your master, I naturally want to learn it."

"Alright, come to the Qi King Manor then."

Han Yan was stunned. "What?"

Zhao Qingyan looked at him playfully. "The investigation results of the Mansion of the Trojan Horse have not been recorded. I promised Chen Huayi that I would do this. All of you should just leave this matter for me to do. In half a month's time, there will be an amnesty, and the list will have to be checked once more. Then, the secret envoy will be added to the Qilin Hall for the record — I will have to do all of this myself. "

Han Yan didn't understand too much, so he wisely kept quiet and waited for him to continue.

In the Privy Council, Zhao Qingyan had always been in charge of coordinating the allocation between the Qilin Pavilion and the inner court. As soon as the two envoys from the Qilin Pavilion left, Prince Huan threw the civilian duties to Zhao Qingyan.

Thus, Zhao Qingyan shifted his attention to Han Yan. "I had already started arranging the amnesty list a few months ago. I was just checking it out at the side, so I don't feel any headache." But unfortunately, I may not have the heart to go to the duke Mansion. Sir Han handed over those glyph words to me, so I'll have to trouble Sir Han and I to organize them into a file, how about that? "

Han Yan could not help but twitch at the corner of his mouth. "This lowly official is a military official. Fighting and killing are not a problem, but to organize the documents, this …"

Zhao Qingyan smiled and shook his head, "You don't need to organize the files. Your concealing technique needs to be improved, Hao Wu needs someone to help him train his moves. The guest rooms in the Mansion of the Crown Prince were there, and if you thought there was too much etiquette, you could stay in the empty room next to Hao's. It's quiet and no one is disturbing me. "

Han Yan was stunned for a long time before he said with a wry smile, "Young Prince's orders, I can only follow them."

Zhao Qingyan smiled and said, "Just take it as a trip to hell, an additional ten percent for your monthly salary."

Han Yan forced out a smile and seriously considered it before probing, "What about less than a month?"

Zhao Qingyan raised his brows. "Of course, we should fill in the gap after a month."

Han Yan immediately replied, "Yes, but at Master's command."

"Then come back to the manor with me today." Zhao Qingyan sat up on the table and asked casually, "Is Thirteenth Uncle in the Privy Council right now?"

Han Yan nodded his head, "Yes, my lord has been staying in the palace for the past few days."

Zhao Qingyan asked, "Have you enjoyed breakfast today, Uncle Thirteen?"

Han Yan thought for a moment and shook his head. "Since yesterday, my lord has not had a proper meal."

Zhao Qingyan was not surprised. She gently put down the carving knife and ordered, "Hao, help me change. Follow me to the kitchen."

Amnesty is approaching