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Chapter 172: A relationship between ruler and subject? Brotherly love?

The moonlight is like water, flowing gently on the quiet lake. The candlelight casts irregular orange-yellow light and shadows in the clear lotus pond, and the water surface reflects the solemnity of Longxin Hall.

A gentle breeze blew by, and the golden dragon on the eaves of Longxin Hall slowly swam among the black branches of the withered lotus leaves...

"Your Majesty, Prince Yong'an requests an audience outside Longmen."

"Invite him in."

"Yes."

……

"It's winter now... The wind is so cold..."

The emperor and the prince wanted to have some private conversation, so Zhu Shengyuan closed the door, hunched over, shivered, and left with the lantern in hand and his neck shrunk.

The flickering candlelight of the lanterns could no longer be seen. A strange wind blew in the Longxin Hall. The black branches of the dead trees swayed in the dark night like a group of demons dancing wildly. The howling sound of the wind scared the fish so much that they dared not show their heads. After a long time, two people walked out of the Longxin Hall.

One of them was wearing a dragon robe and the other was wearing purple clothes. They were the current emperor Bei Zhenming and Prince Yong'an Bei Zhenting.

"I'm sure you understand my concerns. There's a threat of a major war in the north, and I'm guarding the capital alone, simply to provide peace of mind. You can carefully consider my proposal. I, your Royal Brother, will never force you to do anything you're unwilling to do."

"I will consider it carefully."

"Three days later, you will lead your troops north, and I will personally see you off."

"Thank you, Your Majesty. I will take my leave."

A cold wind blew, and only the man in the golden robe was left at the door of Longxin Palace. The coldness penetrated into his robe, making him feel a little cold.

The eunuch placed the lantern on the ground and covered the man with a plush cloak. "Your Majesty, it's cold. Come inside."

The man narrowed his eyes, his gaze shifting from the direction of Longmen to the bare courtyard. After a pause, he shifted his gaze to Zhu Shengyuan's face, "Will the plum blossoms bloom next month?"

"Yes, it won't be long. After the next snowfall, all the plum blossoms will be in full bloom."

The man nodded thoughtfully and turned to go into the house.

-

Three days later, the morning wind was biting cold, the dawn was just breaking, it was a rainy and foggy day, and the entire capital was shrouded in a gray haze.

Early in the morning, people who came to the city to do business lined up at Zhucheng Gate. The weather was cold and drizzling, so the flow of people today was bound to decrease.

Business will get worse if the flow of people decreases. When business gets worse, people’s mood will naturally not be good on such a boring rainy day.

There was no noise, the people lined up in silence, with one or two people occasionally talking in low voices.

"The city gate is open! Why is it open so early today?"

The people stretched their necks to watch. The city gate slowly opened and an ordinary carriage drove out. The carriage stopped beside the city gate and did not move.

It was not yet time to open the city gate for inspection, and the soldiers guarding the gate were neatly lined up on both sides of the gate, and no one was allowed to pass through.

The city gate was suddenly opened ahead of time, and the people were confused and talked to each other in low voices.

"Who is in the carriage? The official actually opened the door for him in advance."

"Yes, that carriage looks quite ordinary. What is the identity of the people inside..."

"Keep your voice down. Anyone who can please the official is definitely not an ordinary person. We ordinary people can't afford to offend him."

……

The sound of orderly footsteps came from the city. The people looked in the direction of the sound and saw a team of a hundred people marching out of the city in an orderly manner. Leading them was a general wearing silver armor sitting on a tall horse.

"Who is this general? Is there going to be a war somewhere?"

"It's almost New Year's Day, why are we fighting a war?"

"But you can't say anything..."

The winter rain lingers on the city walls, and the cold wind rustles the clothes; at the city gate, the general leaves the palace, and the cavalry is ready to set off; the king personally sees him off, with the cup full of strong wine, and he is reluctant to leave with deep affection.

What a picture of deep affection between the monarch and his subjects. Bei Zhenting looked at the three glasses of wine in front of him, feeling sad.

The emperor's words are unchangeable. He said he would not force him to do anything he doesn't want to do, and that means he won't do it.

There are three glasses of wine in front of me, two of which are non-toxic and placed in a row, and the other one is a single glass of the highly toxic Qianji.

Qianji, a drug banned by the royal family, was the deadly poison that the previous Emperor Xun used to kill his own brother when he usurped the throne... Is this the level of peace of mind that the emperor needs?

Bei Zhenting didn't want to see Bei Zhenming's current expression. He was afraid that he would not be able to help but sneer and destroy the tragic and solemn atmosphere.

Bei Zhenting picked up the poisoned wine, raised it to the emperor and drank it all in one gulp. After finishing the wine, the two men smashed their cups to say goodbye.

Bei Zhenming picked up the remaining glass of wine and poured it on the ground. "The frontier is burning with war, waiting to be quelled. Your Majesty's grace is deeply expressed in this wine. I hope you will return triumphantly so that we can enjoy the new spring in the capital together."

"Take care!" Bei Zhenming held Bei Zhenting's hand and placed something in his palm.

"Your Majesty, take care!"

Bei Zhenting took the thing Bei Zhenming put in his hand, his expression unchanged, jumped on his horse, and rode away.

The people didn't know what the general was going to do, but when they saw the general leaving the capital in military uniform, many people burst into tears.

Riding two miles out of the city with his back straight, Bei Zhenting handed Ye Qing a medicine bottle with trembling hands, and said in a trembling voice, "See...see if there is any poison..."

"Your Majesty?!"

Li Qingyun and Ye Xiaoqi flew forward and saw Bei Zhenting's appearance. They quickly ordered them to rest on the spot.

After walking two miles, they rested. The soldiers behind them, not knowing what was going on, kept looking around. Li Qingyun, Ye Xiaoqi, and several guards hid Bei Zhenting tightly, not giving them any chance to spy.

Bei Zhenting had blood flowing from the corner of his mouth, his face was pale, and he was shaking all over. He grabbed Ye Qing's sleeve, his eyes frighteningly gloomy.

Ye Qing had never seen him like this before. He pulled his sleeve and hurriedly poured out the pills from the bottle. He raised the pills to his nose with trembling hands and sniffed them carefully.

"It's non-toxic, but...but..." Ye Qing was sweating nervously, "I haven't checked it carefully, so I'm not sure if there are any side effects. I'm not sure if you can eat it, Qinxi..."

Bei Zhenting snatched the pill from his hand and swallowed it in one gulp.

After taking the pill, Bei Zhenting broke out in a hot sweat and all the strength in his body was drained away. He lost his strength for a short time, but at least Bei Zhenting's condition stabilized.

Seeing that he had calmed down, Ye Qing struggled to ask the question in his heart, "What happened to you? When did you get poisoned?"

Bei Zhenting bit his lips, his mouth turning pale.

"Could it be..."

Thinking of the three cups of farewell wine at the city gate, Ye Qing's heart skipped a beat and he quickly covered his mouth.

Bei Zhenting shook his head to signal him to keep quiet. After taking a breath, he rejected Ye Qing's suggestion to camp and recuperate. The team continued on their way...

In Ansui Street, Lin'an County, in an ordinary pastry shop, the boss Luo Yao and the boss Li Er got up early.

"Are you sure you don't want this?"

Li Er picked up the dough that Luo Yao had thrown aside and said, "Young Master, are you not satisfied with this new face? I can make a new one."

"No need, I won't need to do that anymore," Luo Yao casually tied his hair back, "They want my life, right? Come and take it if you can! If I hide again, I'll be their grandson!"

Li Er said he had no objection.

He couldn't hold it in any longer. Luo Yao didn't want to reveal his whereabouts, so they went south incognito, avoiding direct confrontation with those people many times. It was cowardly to the extreme!

He didn't take those people seriously from the beginning. If a fight really broke out, as long as he stayed by the young master's side, he wouldn't be afraid of any number of assassins. If the young master hadn't wanted to keep a low profile, he would have cleaned up those people long ago.

"What are we going to do next?"

"Have you finished what I told you to do last night?"

"We have already done."

"Stay in the store and help out today. Try to attract more people. You have to make your debut before returning to Luo Mansion."

"What does debut mean?"

"You don't know yet. To be honest, you haven't experienced the feeling of being treated as a superstar yet." Luo Yao looked Li Er up and down mischievously, "You can debut today."

Li Er felt a chill in his heart, not knowing what Luo Yao was trying to do, but he soon found out.

I forgot how many times the plum blossoms bloomed. Early in the morning, the streets and alleys were filled with the legend of the little fairy. As the streets became more crowded, countless portraits of the little fairy fell from the sky...

The people who got the "leaflets" were very excited.

"The little fairy is back home! The little fairy is back home! The fairy is back!"

"Oh my God! The gods are back. Wouldn't it be effective to pray at the Yong'an Temple today?!" A woman carrying a basket to buy vegetables looked at the portrait of the gods in her hand, holding the hand of her little child, her face full of surprise.

"A Fatty, let's go buy groceries tonight and go to the Yong'an Temple to pray first. You've always had a great memory and a smart brain. Your father plans to send you to a private school next spring. Shouldn't we pray to the little gods for blessings and hope that our Wenquxing will pass the imperial examination and become an official in the future?"

The fat kid said with disdain, "I don't believe it! Mom, you've been praying to the gods for Dad to make a fortune for a year, and it hasn't happened yet!"