C90

I don't want to die, but I want to die." "Who knows?" With my life and death at this time of the time, worry for the son, the sun has no glory, but the wings, the west will return you. One step far away from the foot difficult to move, the soul disappear into the afterimages of love. "Ten out of ten, I know of three ways to beat the zither and tune the zither, or to stir up the intestines and guts of a person." .

"To return to your homeland is like following your heart, and your heart is as if it has grown hungry. All things come and go in four hours, only I am sad and do not temporarily move. You see no time, deeper into the night. In the dream, I hold a hand with joy and sorrow, and feel pain in my heart without rest. Four times out of ten, the river flows eastward with tears in its eyes, thinking to itself. "

The tone of Zhao Qingyan's voice rarely changed, but his deep, quiet voice perfectly blended in with the tune. From sorrow to misery, then to grief and indignation … The sound of the zither perfectly complemented the missing feelings in Zhao Qingyan's voice. Sometimes, the tune overshadowed the singing words, and sometimes, the singing sounds just overcame the zither sounds. This was not a complete zither song, nor was it a perfect low hum. However, to the unpicky audience, it was undoubtedly a great enjoyment.

The empress stopped outside the window and silently listened to the zither music in the room, a faint, gentle smile on her lips.

Zhao Qingyan's talent in zither arts was definitely comparable to a "heaven warping genius". At the age of eight, he played the zither at the age of nine, and at the age of twelve, he could barely play a song called "Hu Jia Eighteen Strikes" with his fingers that were not long enough at all. Zhao Shu was sitting not far away from Zhao Qingyan, holding a book and chanting along with the zither — because he had not memorized the entire 'Eighteen Hu Jia Strikes'.

Leaving his son, Zhao Shu, who had just gotten married but didn't even want to go back to the mansion, and Zhao Chou, who didn't even know how to read, hid in a corner of the palace to practice the zither with Zhao Qingyan. Amidst Zhao Qingyan's stumbling steps, she found herself looking for fun. The four siblings, who were old enough, were able to live together in silence for many years and were quite at ease.

The Queen, who was worried about her daughter and wanted to know what they were doing, found them from time to time, following the sound of the zither, and then hid to peek.

Most of the time, Zhao Qingyan was sitting on the ground with his zither in hand. He raised his head slightly and joked with his cousin. There was a quiet smile on his pale face. Actually... The reason why he was willing to stay with them and not spend all his time in the prince's mansion facing off against time was probably because he still cared a lot about his body, right? Only his cousin, the monk, who had grown up with him could ignore his legs. He would not be asked to sit in a wheelchair like the servants, and he would not even be allowed to try to stand up.

Sitting against the bamboo on the wet soil, squinting as he watched the faint light between the leaves, strumming the strings, listening to his cousin and cousin's chitchat, then smiling along … His requirements were truly very low and very simple.

He acted like he did not care about his elders, but in a corner where his elders did not know, he quietly smiled. He listened to his cousins talk about the scenery he did not have the time to see, and then he spoke like a child about what he must see in the future. His eyes were filled with loneliness and laughter, but it was not sadness. This smile was too heartbreaking.

If... How good would it be for him to always be like this?

The Empress sighed as she looked at Zhao Qingyan who was stroking the zither with her eyes. The scene before her gradually overlapped with the one in her memory, and then quietly shattered.

It was not hard to understand the changes in Zhao Qingyan's tone.

No matter who is injured all over the body, but can not get a look of concern can smile in response to it?

Anyone who cried with all their might but couldn't see a shred of hope would try to deceive themselves.

Who would be able to smile like the wind despite suffering from so much pain?

Who would be able to survive Yan Liang's misery?

An eleven-year-old child could not do it, and a thirteen-year-old youth could not do it either.

The only things that supported him to walk through everything was his will to live, and his desire to stay with his family.

The Queen slowly clenched her fist, which was hidden in her sleeve.

She was very clear that the smart, demonic youth she was looking at had long since seen through her plans. However, he still came to his palace to practice with Zhao Rui.

Either he was fearless or he cared too much.

Zhao Qingyan had been hiding from him since half a year ago, something that even Zhao Chou could vaguely detect.

Then, why did he come here?

Why was he no longer hiding?

The empress could not guess what he was thinking.

Huhua came out of the Hu, and the zither brought out the same tune. "Though the song ends at the end of the eighteenth session, the song echoes endlessly …" "…" ""At the last part, Zhao Qingyan's finger suddenly trembled, and the zither music abruptly stopped.

Zhao Qingyan seemed to have thought of something. She stared blankly at the zither for a while before regaining her senses. "I forgot to say something."

Zhao Chou appeared a bit skeptical. "Really?"

Zhao Qingyan nodded with a helpless look on his face, "Just a little bit more and I would've been able to drink less than half a bowl of porridge. "Let's discuss, I'll keep it until …" His gaze, which was originally randomly scanning, suddenly froze on the window. After which, he hurriedly stood up.

Zhao Chou had his back to the window and Zhao Qingyan was playing the zither with her eyes lowered. Naturally, she did not notice the Empress's figure. However, when Zhao Qingyan raised her head, she just so happened to see the Queen standing behind Zhao Zhuzhe. The empress saw him looking at her and decided not to hide any longer. She pushed open the half-open door and entered.

Zhao Qingyan bowed slightly as usual and said, "Good morning, Empress."

Zhao Zhuang's eyes widened in surprise as he got up and ran to hug the empress's arm, smiling sweetly as he asked, "When did the empress come?" Did you hear the tune that Brother Mo just played? "It's really too nice to listen to."

The empress looked at her daughter's smiling face and smiled. "Mm, I heard you. "If I hadn't heard such a wonderful song, how could I have been so captivated by it?"

Zhao Qingyan smiled and said, "Empress, you are flattering me. I dare not say you are worthy of my praise."

The empress looked deeply at Zhao Qingyan, whose expression was no different from usual. She then lowered her eyes to look at Zhao Duo, who was hugging her without letting go, and softly said, "Su'er, mother has something that I need to tell you. Would you mind lending your seventh brother to me for a while?"

Zhao Fuyan was stunned. He raised his head to look at the Queen, then looked at Zhao Qingyan and asked in confusion, "What business do you have with Brother Mo?"

Without needing the empress to speak, Zhao Qingyan opened his mouth and spoke with slight guilt, "Your nephew is the best. He should have come to the palace to pay his respects to the emperors. A few days ago, my body was exhausted, but I was too lazy.

Zhao Chou also didn't quite understand these etiquette, but since his mother and cousin had both said so, he reluctantly nodded and said softly, "Alright then. If Brother Mo is free in a while, can you come back and look for Xun Er? "

Zhao Qingyan replied, "Of course."

— —

"Nephew greets the Empress, and the Empress greets you." Zhao Qingyan kneeled on the ground with his eyes closed. Then, he knelt straight on the ground.

The empress slowly dismissed the palace maids from her left and right, then sat down at the head of the table. She looked at him quietly and didn't open her mouth to let him get up.

It was already the beginning of winter. There were no brazier set in the house, and the ground was icy cold. Even if Zhao Qingyan's legs were numb, if she knelt for too long, she would definitely feel the cold. Zhao Qingyan was a pampered young prince. Who dared to make him kneel for such a long time? But the empress didn't let him get up, so he stayed where he was, kneeling straight and staring down at the ground. His manners were perfect to the point where they were impeccable.

The light blue color made the clothes that couldn't be considered thick seem even thinner. His pale face and obedient posture was undoubtedly a sign of Zhao Qingyan's attitude. The Queen understands... He was showing weakness and making concessions. But the empress didn't know who Zhao Qingyan was representing. Was it his own, or was it from the Qi King's Manor?

After an unknown amount of time, the empress finally broke the suffocating silence. "Rise."

"Thank you, esteemed Empress." Zhao Qingyan slowly stood up. His face was calm without any emotion.

The empress said, "I can see that I'm very happy. Thank you for your trouble."

It was as if Zhao Qingyan had not heard the Empress's deep meaning as she lowered her eyes and said, "Empress, you're too courteous. This is something a nephew should do."

The empress lifted a teacup and looked at the teacup as she asked softly, "I remember that your medical skills have always been comparable to that of a group of imperial physicians, right?"

Zhao Qingyan said, "She's young, of course I wouldn't dare to compare myself to her."

The Empress laughed softly, "The most famous technique of Divine Doctor Xiao is to taste the medicine and identify the prescription. It was said that dozens of unrelated medicinal herbs were randomly cooked together. One only needed to take a sniff to know which medicinal herb was used. You are his only disciple. Even if you did not receive his true inheritance, you should at least have some skill, right? "

Zhao Qingyan's expression was still humble, but he continued, "Teacher's medical skills are unique in the martial arts world, and you speak so foolishly. Naturally, you do not dare to say that you are a true disciple."

The Empress didn't care how he tried to fool her, she continued to talk about herself, "I saw a prescription a few days ago. There were only ten or so types of medicinal ingredients, but two or three of them seemed to be missing. I wonder if with your powers, you can help me taste what kind of medicinal ingredient this is? "

Zhao Qingyan's expression did not change at all and he said in a calm voice, "If it's just two or three medicinal herbs, my ability will be sufficient. However, if the four ingredients on the prescription were to be replaced with a poison that would cause the four ingredients to be poisoned, then the poison would go from a large amount of nourishment to not being able to be cured at all … "The pharmacology has also changed greatly. I'm afraid you won't be able to learn anything from me."

The empress's expression changed slightly, but she quickly regained her composure. "Then, do you think we should use it?"

Zhao Qingyan said, "Geezer thinks that the world's medicines are never good or bad. Using poison to fight poison, poison was also a medicine. If there was no disease, he could only cure it. Good medicine was also poison. "Please forgive me for speaking bluntly. This side, should be used."

The empress nodded slightly and asked again, "Then if you give people poison and don't tell them about it, wouldn't that be tantamount to harming them?"

Zhao Qingyan said, "Doctors are kind. A benevolent heart, saving a person's life, and relieving a person's illness and pain. This was also a peaceful method of calming one's heart. If the first two are powerless, then it would naturally be sufficient to conceal the truth in order to have an effect of reassurance. "

The empress paused for a moment before asking again, "Concealing the illness is also a lie. What if it infuriates the patient?"

This time, Zhao Qingyan did not try to explain further. He raised his head and looked at the empress with a smile on his lips, "If you feel that you cannot do it, then there is no need to do it. Now that things have reached such a stage, there's no point in thinking about the right and wrong, and there's no point in thinking about the right and wrong. "

The Queen was silent. Zhao Qingyan's words were about himself, and also about the empress. Or perhaps … Zhao Qingyan's words had tied him and the empress together. He seemed to persuade her, but in reality, he was warning her. However, his words were very well-spoken. Even if the empress wanted to get angry, she could not do so.

The empress was the first to speak. "How did you know it was me?" There was a complicated look in his eyes.

Zhao Qingyan's eyes showed that he wanted to ask, "Empress, do you want to hear the truth?"

The empress looked as if she had aged ten years, and her deliberate grace was on the verge of collapse. She only let out a sigh and softly said, "Speak, speak."

"Your Highness, please forgive me." Zhao Qingyan bowed, then straightened her expression and answered her doubts, "Actually, your nephew is thinking the same thing as the Empress."

The empress frowned, puzzled. "What do you mean?"

Zhao Qingyan said lightly, "I can't bear to."