C68

"Yun Mo?"

Zhao Qingyan turned around and asked in surprise, "You're already here?"

Jiang Wuyan said with a smile, "I have nothing to do here, so I came a few days earlier. What? "Lu Sobbing said he went to find you. Didn't he come back with you?"

Zhao Qingyan said, "He said that he still had something on, so I came back by myself."

Jiang Wuyan didn't ask any further questions and only said, "It can be considered a great victory for you. Congratulations."

Zhao Qingyan smiled. "Thank you." He was not in the mood to say anything else and walked towards the study.

Jiang Wuyan followed suit, "What's wrong? Was it because Tang Xiao was unhappy again? Or is it because of your family's little problem? " The words "your family" naturally referred to the imperial government.

Zhao Qingyan said, "There are all of them, and they are especially serious." Seeing Jiang Wushang looking at her with an inquiring look, she could not help but sigh, "It's a long story. It's not easy to figure out royal brother's thoughts, but the empress doesn't know what to do anymore."

Jiang Wuyan said with a smile, "I heard what Lu Sobbing said."

Zhao Qingyan was stunned for a moment. "The two of you are really strong. You dare to say anything."

Jiang Wuyan said with a sly smile, "Anyway, you need our help, don't you? I think I can guess that you must have some motive for calling me here. "

Zhao Qingyan laughed involuntarily, "You misunderstood me. I am not an immortal, how could I have known that such a thing would happen? "You're right, the two of you are really going to help me with this, otherwise I'll go crazy."

Jiang Wuyan pretended to be worried, "It wasn't easy for me to rest and enjoy myself for a while, in the end I ended up running errands for others. My life is so bitter."

Zhao Qingyan smiled and said, "No need for that. You have something nice to eat for you. How can you say that you're just running errands?"

When Jiang Wuyan saw the forced smile on his face, her playful mood faded as she accompanied him into the study. She found a place to sit down and asked, "Are you afraid?"

Zhao Qingyan did not answer and casually mentioned another matter, "Royal brother has been in the palace for many years and has never been conferred the title of crown prince. Last month, before we attacked the Puppet Palace, he was conferred the title of Crown Prince. "

Jiang Wuyan was stunned for a moment before she asked, "What do you mean by that?"

Zhao Qingyan was silent for a moment, "Let me put it this way for you. What happened in the recent past few months: Royal Brother became Crown Prince, Royal Uncle became weaker and weaker, I want to be crowned, and I want to get married. "

Jiang Wuyan immediately understood and asked, "Are you saying that your uncle's body is no longer healthy? That's why he gave up and prepared to pass the throne to the crown prince. And it just so happens that you have won the championship, so you will definitely be involved? "

Zhao Qingyan said, "To be precise, I'm afraid that the Manchu Mansion will be implicated. After all, I'm a prince, and they wouldn't go so far as to target me for fear of my identity. But the Mansion of the Trojan Horse … There was wealth and power, and the influence of the martial arts world was great. "I think I won't be able to marry Mu Qing Han that easily."

Jiang Wuyan teased, "You never wanted to marry her, but this time you're worried that you won't be able to?"

Zhao Qingyan ignored his joke. He took a deep breath and slowly said, "The empress wants to kill me."

Jiang Wuyan was stunned and didn't know what to say.

Zhao Qingyan smiled, picked up the paperweight on the table, and lightly asked: "Between me and the empress, who will royal uncle, royal brother, ninth uncle, and thirteenth uncle choose? Furthermore, even though the Queen dared to kill me, I didn't dare to touch her. At the very least, their relationship is close, but the moment I make a move, they will be pushed towards the empress. "

"Me? I don't dare to kill her, nor do I dare to die." Zhao Qingyan held his head and said with a wry smile, "Father, King and Mother only have me as their only son. They really value me more than anything." What am I going to do with them now that I'm dead? Between their royal father and empress, what choice did their royal uncle have? I don't want to die, and I don't want my royal father's life to be ruined as a result. "

Jiang Wuyan didn't say anything as she silently looked at him.

Zhao Qingyan sighed, "Looking at how you are now, it can't be that Lu Qing has already told you this, right?"

Jiang Wuyan nodded her head, "I did, but I'm not sure how far I've progressed." Seeing your reaction, it seems that you are a lot more serious than I had expected. "

Zhao Qingyan murmured, "I can't win against the empress." After a moment of absent-mindedness, the worry on his face could not be seen. He quickly moved on to another irrelevant matter, "Second Brother will be coming over for dinner tonight. Do you have anything special you want to eat? I told the kitchen to do it earlier. "

Jiang Wuyan was slightly taken aback. "There's nothing to eat. Just make the arrangements."

Zhao Qingyan leaned forward on the table and ran his fingers across it. "Let me think of something delicious. I always feel like there's something I want to eat, but I can't think of anything." His expression was somewhat troubled, moreover, it was purely due to the "what do you want to eat tonight", as if he completely forgot about the matter of life and death.

Jiang Wuyan looked at him and said faintly, "There are many times when I am really afraid of you."

Zhao Qingyan looked up at him with a hint of a smile in his eyes, "Why? Because I can't guess? Or could it be that someone like me, who disguises himself and deceives his family and friends, makes people wary? "

Jiang Wuyan said, "I don't know. Maybe I can't bear it?" I can't say if it's because I can't bear it or because I'm afraid. "

Zhao Qingyan sat up straight and said with a smile, "Don't say that you pity me. I will sympathize with you too."

Jiang Wuyan ignored his joke and asked, "I count as one of the people you trust the most, right?"

Zhao Qingyan said, "Of course. As for friends, one third."

"There's still Tong Xuan and Lu Sobbing, right?" Jiang Wuyan lowered her arm, and her expression turned serious, "It's been twelve years. We've gone through too many similar experiences, but as a child, you've borne too much of a burden."

Zhao Qingyan did not say a word and waited for him to continue. There was no impatience or disgust on her face.

Jiang Wuyan turned around and looked at the painting on the wall, but she could feel Zhao Qingyan's attitude. She paused slightly before continuing, "Of course, I'm not using the tone of an elder to speak, but purely out of the intentions of a friend. If you can't take all of this on your own, the holes in your heart are far bigger than you can imagine. "

"I know." Zhao Qing did not seem to care about her tone, but Jiang Wuyan understood that she was only pretending not to care about it. "There are a lot of people who would say that to me."

Jiang Wuyan said, "They have a reason to kill you, and not just because of their great merit. Yun Mo, I think the scariest person is not the kind of person you know you can't defeat. The scariest people are the ones who can guess people's hearts, hide themselves, and give up everything in order to achieve something. I have seen many of those people, but I am very glad that one of them is a good friend that is worth my life, and the other is the trust of this good friend of mine. "

Zhao Qingyan smiled and said, "Thank you."

Jiang Wuyan turned around and looked at him deeply, "Tang Xiao is a fool who would never hide his ambitions. He sees guessing people's hearts as a pleasure. It was the same with Weeping Lu. His heart was ruthless. He viewed human life as grass, and since he dared to take the risk, he had absolute strength as well. It can be said that they were originally as hard as iron, but you aren't. Even if you could become like that at any time, at least for now, you're not. Without concern, without insistence, what will happen to you? "

"I think even I would feel nauseous." Zhao Qingyan smiled faintly, but her eyes were as calm as water, "I don't plan on making any excuses for myself, because I know very well what kind of person I am. From the age of seven until now, I can't be a normal person. It's already amazing that I can still live like this. "

Jiang Wuyan remained silent. She looked at his gentle smile, not knowing how to respond.

Zhao Qingyan stood up and slowly looked around the study room. "My home is still there, my heart is still there. This family might be my last concern. Two months ago, you asked me if I could still keep my heart. I'll tell you sorrowfully, I'm afraid I can't do it now. If someone were to destroy my home, what would become of me? I don't even know the answer. "

Jiang Wuyan asked, "How confident are you that the empress must kill you?"

Zhao Qingyan narrowed his eyes and smiled, "Based on my words, the pastries that I gave her have been thrown away by the empress. Does that count as more than fifty percent?"

Jiang Wuyan said in a daze, "Zhao Chou …"

Zhao Qingyan said, "I know what you want to say. Queen only has one daughter left, compared to killing me, she cares more about my son's safety. "But, relying on Xun Er to protect me will only make the empress hate me even more."

Jiang Wuyan pondered for a moment, "Yun Mo, try it. Let's take this opportunity to see the empress's intentions. As long as there is a slight possibility, we should not push the matter to the worst. "

Zhao Qingyan said, "I'm not thinking about the worst. I'm just afraid that something might happen, but I'm not prepared for it."

Jiang Wuyan smiled and said, "Anyway, no matter what happens in the end, just tell me where you need me. I will do my best to help you."

Zhao Qingyan revealed a smile as well, "I won't be polite." He tilted his head and said, "I'm going to go to the kitchen to see if there are any fresh ingredients. Do you want to join me?"

Jiang Wuyan asked with a smile, "Are you going to do it yourself?"

Zhao Qingyan said, "I don't know. It depends on your mood."

— —

"Drunken fish from the West Lake?" Zhao Baiyi tasted a piece and looked at Jiang Wuyan, "It can't be that you made it, right?"

Jiang Wuyan pointed at Zhao Qingyan, "He did it. I taught him."

Zhao Baiyi picked up another piece and carefully chewed it. "Yes, it's really delicious. Mu Qinghan will be lucky in the future."

Zhao Qingyan raised an eyebrow. "I'm not sure if I'm willing to do it for her."

Zhao Baiyi snorted, "You can just say what you want. I don't believe that you won't do it."

Zhao Qingyan took a small piece and tasted it, "It's not bad. It doesn't taste as good as the restaurant I ate a few years ago. It should be better to leave less wine next time."

Zhao Baiyi said, "Prince Xiaoyao is so free and unfettered, you must be at a certain level. Wasn't it better to do something else while I was trying to figure this out? "For example, practice sword arts?"

Zhao Qingyan took a sip of his wine and leisurely said, "I have Hao, that's enough. I'm too lazy."

Zhao Baiyi made a jealous face, "Wasting your talent is an extremely shameful thing to do, do you know that?"

Zhao Qingyan said, "I have no talent in martial arts. At most, I just picked up some cheap inner strength. I'm only interested in medical and mechanical skills. "When my medical skills become strong enough to kill people …"

Zhao Baiyi asked, "How is it?"

Zhao Qingyan said dejectedly, "It doesn't seem like it can do much either."

Zhao Baiyi gloated with a smile, "Medicine might be a good way for others to become famous in the martial arts world, but for you, it's just an interest."

Zhao Qingyan ate a few mouthfuls of fish and said, "As long as I'm interested, I'll be happy."

Zhao Baiyi said, "I've been organizing a hunting party these past few days. Are you going?"

"Surround and hunt?" Zhao Qingyan thought about it and said, "I'm not going."

Zhao Baiyi sighed and said, "People don't flaunt their youth. Why don't you have some fun with us?" He added, "Lord Jiang and Marquis Lu can also go."

Zhao Qingyan laughed without giving face, "Lord Town? What was this? Why are you being polite with him, second brother? Just call him by his full name. "

Jiang Wuyan helplessly looked at Zhao Qingyan, who was smiling so hard that she seemed to be on the verge of bursting out in laughter, "Don't laugh that much. "You really are too lazy, let's go this time to hunt. It just so happens that I can give it a try too since I haven't fought any wild animals for so many years."

Zhao Qingyan did not object this time and asked, "Who else will be going? Thirteenth Uncle and Royal Brother are going? "

Zhao Baiyi said, "Thirteenth Uncle said he will definitely go when he has time. No, Imperial Brother. Zhao Xu said he wanted to go with me, and I agreed. There were also a few people in Beijing who were close to me on a daily basis. How about it? Go? Go and take the three of you, oh no, with Hao. I'll take the four of you. The horses and bows have been prepared, if you don't mind, you can prepare them yourself. As for the other dishes and drinks, I will instruct you. "

When Zhao Qingyan saw Jiang Wuyan staring at him, he could only nod his head, "Alright, then let's go together."

Zhao Baiyi laughed, "That's great, we have enough people now. It's a promise. After ten days, you're not allowed to find excuses not to go. "

Zhao Qingyan answered, "Yes, I understand."

Zhao Baiyi pouted and complained, "I waited for you to come back after so long, and I still want to hear some interesting things about you. Yet, you immediately became displeased upon returning. "

Zhao Qingyan smiled tiredly, "Second brother, I am really tired, not unhappy. "Interesting. Zuo only fought with Tang Xiao at his place, and then stayed with my master for a few days."

Zhao Baiyi casually said. Naturally, he didn't force him to say anything funny. "In short, you can come over after a few days of hunting."

Zhao Qingyan nodded. She took a sip of the rice soup and stopped talking.