After hugging each other for a moment, Shen Qingzhuo pinched his disciple’s earlobe and said, “Alright, stop being so coquettish. Master hasn’t finished drinking the medicine yet.”
Xiao Shen took a deep breath of the cool fragrance, then loosened his arms which were bulging with veins, and pulled his face out of his master’s arms.
“I’ll feed Master.” He turned over and sat on the edge of the bed, reaching out to take the medicine bowl on the bedside table.
Shen Qingzhuo looked at him and said, “Forget it, I’ll do it myself.”
“Didn’t Master ask me to serve you?” Xiao Shen scooped a spoonful of medicine and steadily handed it to the pale lips, “Don’t worry, I promise to serve Master well.”
Shen Qingzhuo curled the corners of his lips helplessly and opened his mouth to take the medicine fed to him by his little apprentice.
After finishing the drink, Xiao Shen picked up the preserved fruits from the plate and motioned for his master to open his mouth: “Ah—”
Shen Qingzhuo obediently opened his lips, his warm tongue rolled over his fingers, and he rolled the sweet dried fruit into his mouth.
Xiao Shen’s fingertips tingled and he quickly withdrew his hand. Subconsciously, he sucked on the remaining icing and wetness on his fingertips, feeling a cloying sweetness.
“Xiao Qi, you go back first. I’ll fully recover after sleeping.” Shen Qingzhuo advised in a vague tone, his lips and tongue wrapped in candied fruit.
“I won’t go! “Xiao Shen furrowed his brow immediately. “These days, I’ll be guarding Master’s side and not going anywhere.”
Shen Qingzhuo didn’t know whether to laugh or cry: “Master is not even a criminal. Why are you guarding me?”
“Since the imperial physician has told Master to have a good rest, Master is not allowed to go to Beizhen Fushi tomorrow.” Xiao Shen said unhappily in a low voice, “The dignified Beizhen Fushi, will it stop working without Master?”
“That’s not the case.” Shen Qingzhuo smiled helplessly, “It’s just that the case of deposing the Crown Prince was handled by me from beginning to end, and many things had to be handled personally.”
Especially…
Junior Preceptor Pei was still in prison.
Xiao Shen pursed his lips and said nothing, with the corners of his mouth stretched long.
“Why are you making such a sullen face again?” Shen Qingzhuo teased him, “It’s still early in the morning, Master can have a good sleep.”
Xiao Shen looked worried: “Is your body really okay, Master?”
Recently, his master’s appetite seems to be getting worse and worse, and his body is getting weaker and weaker. This time he was so tired that he fainted.
“I don’t think so…” Shen Qingzhuo frowned. “The imperial physician has examined me several times and said that there is no big problem. I will just recuperate slowly.”
The original owner was born prematurely, and had been weak and sickly since childhood. He was also raised to be pampered and could not stand even a slight cold. His constitution was probably weaker than others, so it was not surprising that he fainted.
Xiao Shen walked over and gently brushed his master’s scattered hair. “Then I will send someone to Changle Palace to get ginseng to stew chicken for Master.”
Shen Qingzhuo couldn’t help but laugh: “I haven’t even eaten the thousand-year-old ginseng that the Empress Dowager gave me last time yet.”
“I’m really useless…” Hearing this, Xiao Shen bowed his head in dismay, “Then…what can I do for Master?”
“Why do you think so?” Shen Qingzhuo was slightly surprised and didn’t know how to answer for a moment.
Xiao Shen put his palm on his cheek and said in a low voice: “It has always been Master, who taught me, cared for me, and devoted all your energy to me, even…”
After a while, Shen Qingzhuo finally organized his words, “These are all what Master wants.”
The young man remained motionless, with a depressing aura surrounding him.
“Do you remember what Master told you three years ago? I never make a deal that would result in a loss.” Shen Qingzhuo put his hand on the youth’s thin shoulder. “It’s not that I don’t want anything. As for what I want, you will know when the time comes.”
Xiao Shen slowly raised his face and stared at his master in a daze.
“I treat you well because I want to treat you well, so your sincerity in return is enough.” Shen Qingzhuo did not shy away from the youth’s burning gaze, trying to alleviate his guilt. “As for the other plans, Master did have selfish motives. Do you understand what I mean?”
After a long time, Xiao Shen nodded heavily.
Shen Qingzhuo rubbed his disciple’s hair, trying to break the tense atmosphere. “Besides, there are still many days to repay back to Master. Why are you in such a hurry?”
Xiao Shen finally smiled and threw himself into his master’s arms and acted coquettishly, “As long as it’s what Master wants, I will do my best to bring it to Master!”
“Really?” Shen Qingzhuo lowered his eyes and held out his little finger, “Let’s make a pinky promise.”
Xiao Shen seemed to find it very novel. He stretched out his hand obediently and hooked his finger around his master’s gentle, jade-like finger.
“Let’s make a promise, and it won’t change for a hundred years…” Shen Qingzhuo smiled and pressed his disciple’s hand, and stamped a seal with his thumb, “Stamped successfully!”
When the fingertips touched each other, a mysterious electric heat flowed along the fingertips to every part of the body, and the youth’s heart was filled with an unprecedented sense of satisfaction.
This is an agreement between him and his master, a little secret that belongs only to them.
***
After a few more days, the case of deposing the Crown Prince, which had been a hot topic for a long time, was finally settled.
On this day, the Crown Prince’s birthday arrived as scheduled. It should have been a lively day with a grand banquet, but no one in the palace dared to mention the name of the deposed Crown Prince. Even the maids in the Eastern Palace were killed or scattered, and some were sent to other palaces.
That night, the moon was dark and the wind was strong, and a black shadow flashed into the Forbidden Palace.
Xiao Yichen curled up on the hard bed, staring numbly at the darkness ahead.
Emperor Guangxi gave the deposed Crown Prince enough dignity. He neither tortured him nor threw him into death row. However, this dilapidated and silent Forbidden Palace was still like hell to the Crown Prince, who was once the Crown Prince of a wealthy family.
Nothing is more despairing than falling into a quagmire overnight when you are closest to the pinnacle of power.
But he couldn’t die. He was unwilling to die like this…
A “creak” sound was heard in the silent Forbidden Palace.
“Who?” Xiao Yichen raised his body vigilantly.
“It’s me, Second Brother.” Xiao Shen pushed open the door and walked in holding a lantern.
“It’s you?” Xiao Yichen stared at the newcomer and asked in a bad tone, “What are you doing here?”
“Today is Second Brother’s birthday. I think no one else would remember it except me.” Xiao Shen sighed, “I secretly brought some food for Second Brother.”
After saying that, he put the lunch box on the table and opened the lid.
The aroma of hot food wafted out instantly, and Xiao Yichen couldn’t help swallowing his saliva.
The Forbidden Palace was far from the Eastern Palace, and there were only leftovers. He didn’t want to eat a single bite at first, but in the end he was so hungry that he had to swallow the humiliation and eat the pig-like food.
But he did not lose his mind and remained vigilant. Could Lao Qi be so kind?
“After all, Second Brother gave me such an expensive birthday gift. I will give Second Brother a meal in return as a small token of my appreciation.” Xiao Shen placed the food in order, then took out his chopsticks, picked up a piece of fish meat, and put it into his mouth to chew.
Seeing that he was fine after eating, Xiao Yichen let down his guard a little, stood up and walked to the table, and ordered: “Take a bite of each dish first.”
Xiao Shen followed his instructions and took a chopstick each. He then spoke again, “Second Brother was framed this time. I feel really bad for Second Brother.”
When this was mentioned, Xiao Yichen slammed the table and angrily cursed: “It’s all caused by that bastard Shen Qingzhuo! When Gu get out, Gu will definitely cut him into pieces to relieve my hatred!”
Xiao Shen lowered his eyelashes and handed him another pair of chopsticks. “There is a long way to go. As long as the mountains remain, there will be no shortage of firewood.”
Xiao Yichen immediately took the chopsticks and started to eat with relish, as if he was not eating food but the flesh and blood of Lord Shen.
Xiao Shen stood in front of the deposed Crown Prince, looking down at him, “This is your last meal, Second Brother, eat slowly.”
Xiao Yichen stopped his unclear curses, “What do you mean—”
The dishes were knocked over, and he clasped his hands tightly around his neck. A strange “hehe” sound came from his throat, but he couldn’t speak no matter what.
The next moment, he fell off the chair.
Xiao Shen walked up to him slowly, his eyes were cold and scary, but there was a weird smile on the corner of his lips, “Second Brother, I’m here to see you off.”
After speaking, he stepped on him and first broke his five fingers.
With ten fingers connected to his heart, Xiao Yichen rolled on the ground in pain, but couldn’t even make a mournful cry.
Xiao Shen’s smile grew even stronger as he pulled out a dagger from his waist and crouched down. “I’ve always had a question, how many bones are there in a human body
As soon as he finished speaking, he stabbed Xiao Yichen’s knee with a dagger in his backhand, “Why not start counting from here?”
……
That night, the Forbidden Palace was as dead silent as usual, with only the occasional “sizzling” and “puffing” sounds, but they never reached the ears of the imperial guards guarding the gate of the outer palace.
As Yinshi13-5am was approaching, Xiao Shen heaved a long sigh of relief, lit a candle, and casually at it at the deposed Crown Prince, who had long lost his human form, and then quietly climbed out of the window.
***
The Forbidden Palace caught fire and the deposed Crown Prince was buried in the sea of fire, with no trace of his body left.
After investigating the scene, Shen Qingzhuo found several suspicious points. When he was about to report them in detail, Emperor Guangxi waved his hand with a tired look on his face.
In just a few days, Emperor Guangxi’s temples were covered with white hair, as if he had grown old overnight. He lay on the dragon bed and said weakly, “That’s it. This case ends here.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.” Shen Qingzhuo responded with a bow.
“Aiqing2Beloved minister ah…” Emperor Guangxi looked at him, his expression was hard to tell, “What do you think? Should Zhen release them all?”
Shen Qingzhuo’s heart skipped a beat, and he replied calmly, “Your Majesty must have made proper considerations in his mind already.”
“Retreat.” As expected, Emperor Guangxi waved his hand again, obviously he had made the decision already.
A few days later, Emperor Guangxi issued several imperial decrees in succession, conferring upon the Third Prince, Xiao Hongyao the title of King Chu, upon the Fourth Prince, Xiao Shaoyuan, the title of King Liang, upon the Fifth Prince, Xiao Jingrui, the title of King Qi, upon the Sixth Prince, Xiao Chengyun, the title of King Yan, and upon the Seventh Prince, Xiao Shen, the title of King Jin.
There was another imperial decree, which specially appointed King Jin as the General of Suixi, and ordered him to set out for Suixi immediately to fight against Xirong and pacify Suixi.
As soon as the imperial edict was issued, the court and the harem were all shocked.
After receiving the imperial edict, Xiao Shen went crazy. He ran all the way from Changle Palace to Jiyue Pavilion, “Master, Master! Master!”
“Calm down!” Shen Qingzhuo got the news almost at the same time and grabbed his disciple’s shoulders, “Calm down.”
“I…” Xiao Shen panted quickly, his tone decisive, “I won’t go!”
Shen Qingzhuo did not answer him directly, but pulled him to the table and poured him a cup of warm tea.
After his little disciple calmed down a little, he replied: “You have to go. You must go.”
Xiao Shen stood up suddenly, “I won’t go!”
“Do you think His Majesty is discussing this with you?” Shen Qingzhuo’s face turned cold and he scolded in a low voice, “Do you want to disobey the emperor’s order, or do you want to end up like the deposed Crown Prince?”
Xiao Shen was speechless for a moment and looked at his master helplessly.
Shen Qingzhuo ordered: “Sit down.”
Xiao Shen sat down again as if by reflex, murmuring eagerly: “Master, I don’t want to leave…”
Shen Qingzhuo asked: “As soon as the Crown Prince died, His Majesty immediately sent all of you out of the palace. Why?”
“Because…” Xiao Shen clenched his hands, “He is afraid that we will fight for the crown prince position and the court and harem will not be at peace.”
“Good.” Shen Qingzhuo gave his affirmation and then asked, “Then why do other princes either live in Shengjing or have fiefs close to Shengjing, but only you are sent far away to Suixi?”
Xiao Shen asked in bewilderment, “Why?”
“First, you are a puppet chosen by the Empress Dowager. He is afraid that the Empress Dowager will directly attack him one day, and then naturally support you to take the throne, so he sends you as far away as possible.” Shen Qingzhuo analyzed calmly to his little disciple, “Second, the Xirong has been growing stronger in the past two years and has frequently harassed the border of Suixi. Although it is not enough to pose a huge threat at present, it still causes considerable trouble and losses to Suixi. Sending a prince to guard Suixi at this time can not only shock the Xirong, but also calm the hearts of the military and civilians.”
Xiao Shen silently digested this analysis and finally calmed down completely.
“So you have to go this time.” Shen Qingzhuo held his shoulder and suddenly smiled again, “However, when you enter Suixi, the emperor will be far away, by then, many things will not be decided by your Emperor Father.”
Xiao Shen suddenly raised his eyes and almost instantly understood what his master meant.
In the autumn of the 26th year of Guangxi, King Jin, Xiao Shen led 30,000 elite troops and set off from the imperial palace to Suixi Town to guard the border.
On the day of departure, the young general Fuxi, dressed in heavy and majestic armor, bid farewell to Emperor Guangxi, mounted his precious horse in a handsome and neat manner, and galloped away in the rising sun.
The palace gate was wide open, and he rushed away without looking back. He could no longer see a thin and tall figure on the high gate of the imperial city, staring at him for a long time, until the youth’s high-spirited back completely disappeared from his sight.
Last night Shen Qingzhuo told him that he would not see him off, but would be ready to greet him at the gate of the imperial city on the day of his triumphant return.
Don’t look back, don’t miss.
His master said, go ahead and fly, go ahead and fight, you have Master behind you, and Master will protect everything you deserve.
The author has something to say:
Okay, it’s finally time for the time law that you all have been waiting for.
It’s okay, two years in the book is one day in reality. We will see the adult version of Xiao Qi in the next chapter, hahaha!
