After picking up the White Cut Black Prince

That night, Fang Xiu, the eunuch who served Emperor Linghui, was not by his side. Instead, he was sitting with Taoist Qingxu, the Taoist priest favored by Emperor Linghui.

The two sat on the floor in a room facing each other. Qingxu looked younger than Fangxiu. One had a clean, white face without a beard, while the other had a long beard.

Qingxu poured Fang Xiu a cup of tea and pushed the teacup in front of him.

He saw Fang Xiu took the tea, sighed, and then said: "I'm afraid that the emperor will no longer take the old Taoist's elixir, and he will not need the rituals or anything like that anymore."

Even though Emperor Linghui went crazy after meeting Wen Chu that day, anyone with a discerning eye could see now that Wen Chu was Princess Huaihe Li Zhaoxi. Otherwise, why did she shield the Crown Prince from an arrow and enter the Kunning Palace? And why did Emperor Linghui want to see her the first thing he did after waking up?

In short, everyone already knows that Wen Chu is Li Zhaoxi.

Now that Li Zhaoxi is back, the Taoist priest is no longer needed by the emperor.

Fang Xiu knew what Qingxu was thinking, he was simply afraid that he would fall out of favor in the future.

Fang Xiu took a few sips of tea, then put down the cup and said, "It's just Huai He, it's no big deal, you just stay in the Imperial Observatory. Besides, even if the emperor doesn't value you, so what? Don't you know what we feed him every day? How long can he live? The most urgent task now is who will take that position, understand?"

The word "we" mentioned in Fang Xiu's words made Qingxu's complicated mood calm down a little. After he came here from Chaotian Temple, he became Fang Xiu's subordinate. Fortunately, Fang Xiu didn't want to get rid of him now.

However, Qingxu once again lamented the ruthlessness of this eunuch. After all, he had watched the emperor grow up, and he was ruthless when it came to cheating people.

August has come to the end. Although it is not as hot as before, there is still some heat in the air. Kyoto has been dry for more than a month without rain, so this August is more hot and humid than before.

Fang Xiu thought of the slap he received from Emperor Linghui that day, and his expression turned ugly. He glanced outside the house and said in an ambiguous tone, "Mid-Autumn Festival has passed, and it has not rained for a month."

When Qingxu heard this, his eyes widened a little and asked, "Are you trying to incriminate the emperor?"

Fang Xiu's expression remained the same as before, without any change, but a bit of viciousness flashed in his eyes. He said, "No, it's Huai He who is guilty."

Qingxu quickly understood what Fang Xiu meant. He agreed to the matter and thought about what happened to He Hong some time ago. He asked, "Master He's secret shop has been closed for some time. Could it be that Song Yusheng is still unwilling to let it go? If he keeps investigating, will this secret shop never open?"

Fang Xiu laughed twice and said, "You can't stand it anymore?"

Qingxu had also been to Anzhuang before. He was quite embarrassed when he heard what Fang Xiu said. He touched his nose and said, "You are just keeping one in the palace, it doesn't matter."

This sounded quite sarcastic. Qingxu saw that Fang Xiu's face was a little unfriendly, so he quickly changed the subject and said, "It's just a casual question. We can't let Song Yusheng control us all the time, right? I think he is just using the name of the Dali Temple to target the Second Prince's party. How can he get what he wants?"

Fang Xiu couldn't figure out what Song Yusheng meant. He didn't know what he wanted to do. Did he really want to find out the truth about the girl's body or draw his sword to attack He's party? He didn't know, but the only thing he could be sure of was that as long as he wanted to find out the truth, it would inevitably harm He's party, and harming He's party would be tantamount to harming him.

Fang Xiu waved his hands in annoyance, "I don't know what he wants, but he is just a scoundrel who looks down on everyone because he is famous at a young age and has a distinguished family background. When Huang Jian won the third place in the imperial examination, he was exactly the same as he is now. They both thought they could do something great, but in the end, not even a bone of Huang Jian's master is left, and the entire Wen family is dead. Huang Jian has ended up like this now, Song Yusheng is not afraid, he will come in the future."

*
The night was as dark as water. Wen Chu was walking on the way back to Kunning Palace, his mood becoming a mess because of Song Yusheng's appearance.

It was really sudden. She never expected to meet Song Yusheng today. It was really bad luck.

Song Yusheng was a terrifying person, just like a ghost, once you get attached to him, you can't get rid of him. Therefore, she was a little uneasy along the way, and kept looking back, afraid that she would see him as soon as she turned around.

It's not like she was sick. Song Yusheng's behavior could make her feel some deep affection for him. Now that she is away from him, she will only feel relieved. As for the other things, no matter how many, those inexplicable things will never exist again.

From now on, the two of them should go their separate ways, he on his sunny road, she on hers, and never see each other again. She didn't dare to think about everything that happened in the past, and just buried them deep in her memory.

She was once trapped in the early spring when Prince Li broke into the imperial palace. Now she is also trapped in Yuhui Hall?
It took her six full years to teach herself now that she should look forward and not look back.

What has passed should be passed, and the best ending is for both she and he not to look back.

The road from the Qianqing Palace back to the Kunning Palace is not long and can be reached quickly. The night wind finally brings a little coolness, and it is no longer as hot as during the day. The breeze makes people feel a little clearer.

There seemed to be a sound coming from the path, but Wen Chu was thinking about her own things and didn't notice it. No one was walking by, only the palace lanterns and the moon in the sky emitted a faint light, illuminating the road in front of her.

When the sound became clearer and clearer, Wen Chu gradually heard it and she came back to her senses instantly.

She was not too worried about what might happen. After all, this was the road where Kunning Palace and Qianqing Palace met. No one would dare to cause trouble here, and no one would be so stupid as to do this. She was just curious about where the noise came from.

Wen Chu could only hear the faint rustling sound of footsteps, which were fragmented and chaotic. She became a little alert and looked around.

I saw a figure swaying on the ground at another intersection with the palace.

Wen Chu followed the shadow as it moved upwards.

There really is someone there.

When she saw who it was, she was startled.

She was shocked, not because she knew this person, but because she had never seen him before, let alone knew him.

The reason for her surprise was that the person in front of her looked so "scary".

His whole body was white, his eyebrows, hair, and even his pupils were all different from those of ordinary people, they were frighteningly pale, and he was wearing a white shirt, which made him look even weirder. The man looked young, with a head of silver hair all hanging down. He was not even as tall as Wen Chu, and his appearance was androgynous, so Wen Chu couldn't tell whether he was a boy or a girl. The boy didn't even wear shoes on his feet, and he looked very embarrassed.

It was a dark, windy and moonless night. Under such circumstances, if a person like this appeared, like an invisible ghost, how could Wen Chu not be afraid.

Wen Chu tried his best to calm himself down. When he was with Old Man Wen, he heard Doctor Zhao say that there was a disease in the world called vitiligo. Although it was not common, it did exist.

She thought, maybe the person in front of her was not a ghost, but the patient with vitiligo.

Besides, doesn’t this person still have a shadow on the ground?
It's a human, not a ghost. What's there to be afraid of?

Seeing that person approaching him, Wen Chu had already calmed down. The person approached and knelt down directly in front of Wen Chu.

"Sister, help me!"

He spoke, and it was clear that he was a man.

Wen Chu's heart, which had finally been calmed down, was agitated again by these words.

She said, "Wait wait! Who are you and why are you here?"

This person's appearance here is really suspicious and frightening. What kind of place is this? This person appeared here without anyone noticing near Kunning Palace, and knelt in front of him and said such words for no apparent reason.

She became alert again.

But when she looked down, she saw that he was shaking violently all over, and he didn't dare to pull her clothes, as if he was afraid of getting her dirty. He just kept begging her. He seemed afraid that someone would come to catch him, and he turned his head to look behind him from time to time.

Seeing that Wen Chu was unmoved, he began to lift up his clothes.

Under his clothes, there were scars of all sizes, bruises, and even whip marks. These scars on his snow-white skin looked even more terrifying. His words did not seem to be false. The marks on his body showed that he was in danger at the moment and that he had been abused.

He cried non-stop, his voice revealing his fear. He said, "Sister, please save me! I escaped with great difficulty. If I am caught, I will really die!"

The young boy's voice was so shrill that it made people feel unbearable, or perhaps the word "escape" touched Wen Chu's heartstrings. She no longer stood there helplessly. She bent down and tried to pull up the person kneeling on the ground.

But the young man avoided it without leaving a trace.

"Sister, I'm dirty."

Tears were glistening in his eyes, and his look was even more heartbreaking.

When Wen Chu heard this, she felt as if she was punched in the face and her nose and eyes were sore. She was stunned for a few breaths, then reached out to him without hesitation and pulled him up from the ground.

She was like an older sister, patting the dust off his knees. The boy suddenly felt frightened and wanted to hide.

Wen Chu insisted on patting it clean. After patting the dust off his clothes, Wen Chu stood up and said to him, "Okay, it's clean now. It's not dirty anymore."

Not dirty.

The boy's pupils trembled violently.

They both knew what he meant by dirty, but she just said that the clothes were clean and he was not dirty.

He suddenly felt a little afraid that his appearance here today would hurt her.

Wen Chu finally took him away, because he was too conspicuous and dressed in white, it was difficult for him not to attract attention. Wen Chu could only take him back to Kunning Palace first.

Inside Kunning Palace.

As Wen Chufang stepped into the hall, he heard the queen's voice coming from inside.

She said, "You're back? Go wash your hands quickly. I just made you a bowl of red dates and longan water. Come and drink some."

Although Wen Chu can get out of bed now, her injuries are not fully healed yet. Every day the Queen finds ways to make some nourishing soups and drinks for her. Today it's red dates and longan soup.

Wen Chu came back just in time. Just as the soup was brought in, she returned from the Qianqing Palace.

The people in Kunning Palace had already recognized Wen Chu, and when they saw her coming back, they all bowed to her and said, "Greetings, young lady."

Wen Chu waved his hand as a sign of agreement.

Wen Chu did not let the young man into the palace, but asked him to wait outside first. She was still cautious. What if this man was a bad guy? Wouldn't it be harming others if she brought him to Kunning Palace?

After entering the hall, Wen Chu washed his hands and sat next to the queen, with soup already placed in front of him.

She picked up the spoon and scooped a spoonful of soup and drank it. It was very sweet.
Xiaoyi knew that Wen Chu liked sweets, so he asked people to put more sugar in. When she was little, she always liked to eat candy, but at that time, both Xiaoyi and Defei thought that she should eat less candy, and they always limited the amount of candy she could eat, and she was not allowed to eat more.

But Xiaoyi is not like this now.
She thought, life is so hard, we need to eat something sweet. If the child is happy to eat, let him eat.

Xiaoyi asked, "What did your father say to you today? Did he say when you will be reinstated as princess?"

When Xiaoyi looked at Wen Chu, there was both love and a bit of heartache in his eyes.

If Emperor Linghui and Li Weiyan were not in the palace, it would be easy to explain what happened back then, but Xiaoyi was always there. However, her father and brother were both in the northern border, and she was also under house arrest by Prince Li.

She asked for Wen Chu, but Prince Li ignored her. She heard that after Concubine De died, Wen Chu was also locked up in a pigpen.

After that, she was frightened by nightmares every day and night. She had thought about sending someone to rescue her, but Prince Li found out and killed everyone around her. He even warned her that if she came again, the general of the Qi family was outside, and he was not afraid to attack the remaining members of the Qi family.

Xiaoyi spent those months in agony. She knew clearly that Wen Chu was suffering, but there was nothing she could do.
None of them could forgive themselves, especially Xiaoyi, because it was Defei who abandoned Li Zhaoxi and saved her child.

When Wen Chu heard Xiaoyi's question, he raised his eyes and looked at her, just in time to see her slightly painful expression.

Wen Chu knew that she was thinking about the past again.

She replied: "Mother, I don't need to stay in the palace and don't need to restore my status. This is good."

Xiaoyi was stunned, as if she didn't expect Wen Chu to say this. She hurriedly said, "Child, don't be afraid. Don't be afraid. Your brother will be here in the future. When he grows up, he will protect you. What happened before will not happen again."

Xiaoyi's face looked a little old, but even so, he was still gentle and didn't look like a child from a military general's family at all.

She told Wen Chu not to be afraid, but she was afraid herself. What happened back then also trapped her, and she was afraid it would happen again.

Wen Chu smiled, held her hand, and said, "Mother, I am not afraid, not at all. Because I have you, father, and brother. But I can't get used to the life here. I will accompany you, just stay with you for a while, I can't stay any longer."

When Wen Chu said this, I knew that she really didn't want the name Li Zhaoxi anymore.

Xiaoyi hesitated to speak, but looking at Wen Chu's expression, he finally said: "Okay, I'll listen to you. I'll do whatever you think."

Wen Chu smiled and thought about how to tell her about the young man at the door. While thinking about this, she unconsciously stirred the soup in the bowl with a spoon. The porcelain spoon made a sound when it hit the bowl, but at this moment, she heard the announcement of the arrival of the crown prince from the door of the palace.

Li Weiyan strode up to the two of them, bowed to Xiaoyi first, and then sat down next to Wen Chu.

Ever since Wen Chu came to Kunning Palace, he would often come here to check on Wen Chu's injuries.

Li Weiyan glanced at the soup Wen Chu was drinking and joked, "Mother, you are so partial. I am also your child. When I was injured and couldn't get out of bed, you didn't do this. Now you make soup for your sister in different ways every day."

Xiaoyi glared at him and said, "Why are you fighting with your sister? If it weren't for you, your sister wouldn't have been hit by the arrow." At this point, she asked Li Weiyan, "Where are those assassins? Can't you find out who they are?"

Speaking of assassins, Li Weiyan sighed and frowned a little. He said, "Those people are all dead soldiers. Seeing that the matter was exposed, there is no one alive. Even if we want to investigate, there is no place to investigate."

Li Weiyan paused for a moment and continued, "Actually, these are not difficult to guess. I think they are from the Second Prince's side. This kind of thing has happened before."

As long as the crown prince died, the throne would naturally fall on the second prince. He was the most suspicious and only he would do such a thing. It was obvious that the assassination on the emperor's birthday was their work.

Hearing this, Wen Chu put down the spoon in his hand and asked, "They are so rampant now that they even dare to do something like assassination. What else are they afraid to do?"

Li Weiyan forced a smile and said, "You'll get used to it. Just place more people around him and he'll be fine. He's never succeeded before. But this time, you've been involved too."

Wen Chu waved his hand and said, "Brother, please don't mention this matter again. But, doesn't father care?"

Li Weiyan wanted to say something, but was interrupted by the Queen. She said, "How can we control it? Those people can't be caught, and they won't admit it even if they are caught. It's okay, as long as nothing serious happens."

The Queen didn't want Wen Chu to worry about this, so why did she come back and ask her to worry about it? The Second Prince and his men have been so rampant for a long time, and speaking out would only add to their troubles.

But Li Weiyan has been living like this for all these years. An assassin is an assassin. Even though one of them almost took his life once, Emperor Linghui didn't care.

Father didn't care about these things, and mother was always living in the painful memories of the past, and she didn't even care about the people around her. She had never treated him like she treated Wen Chu.

Even when his life was almost hanging by a thread.

Seeing the queen say this, Li Weiyan stopped talking about this matter. He stopped talking and just changed the subject, asking, "When I came in just now, I saw a person standing at the entrance of the palace, all white. I forgot to ask, but now I remember, who is that person? Was it brought back by my sister?"

Wen Chu saw Li Weiyan asking about it, and explained, "Why don't we send someone in to ask? I just came out of the Qianqing Palace and ran into him on the way back to the palace. I don't know who abused him. He was covered in wounds and kept shouting for me to save him. I couldn't bear to see him, so I brought him back."

Xiaoyi asked, "Then why don't you let him in?"

Wen Chu said, "Isn't it because of the last assassination attempt? I was afraid that he was up to something bad. I also thought that his inexplicable appearance was a bit strange, so I asked him to wait outside and discussed with my mother and my brother what to do later."

Wen Chu was not afraid of what he would do to her. After all, they had just walked together and he had never wanted to do anything to her. Wen Chu was just afraid that he was another assassin and his target was not her, but Li Weiyan.

With the lesson learned from Song Yusheng, she became more cautious when saving people.

Although she was somewhat wary of the young man, she could not just stand by and watch. If he was really harmed by someone, she would feel guilty about it.

Li Weiyan heard this and praised Wen Chu. He smiled and said, "Xiao Xi is really thoughtful. I didn't think of this. Mother, please wait for us inside. Xiao Xi and I will go outside to have the guards keep an eye on us. It will be safer."

After saying that, he and Wen Chu got up and went outside, and asked the guards to keep an eye on the young man to prevent him from having any ill intentions.

The young man was cowering on the ground, but when he saw someone coming out, he immediately stood up.

He saw that Li Weiyan was wearing luxurious clothes. Although he could not recognize the imperial robe, he could guess his identity by seeing the dragon embroidered on his clothes. He also knew that this was Kunning Palace, so the person living there must be the queen of the current dynasty. The elegant man in front of him might be the crown prince. Then the person he called "sister" just now must be the princess.

He is young, not from Kyoto, and no one in his family is an official. These are all we can guess.

Thinking of this, he saw them as if he had seen his savior, and knelt on the ground, saying: "Your Highness the Crown Prince, Your Highness the Princess, please save me!"

Li Weiyan and Wen Chu looked at each other, neither of them expected his sudden action.

This young man was so handsome, with silver hair and light-colored pupils, that it was hard to tell whether he was a boy or a girl. Who wouldn't feel heartbroken when seeing him kneeling and shedding tears?

In addition, because he was still young, Wen Chu thought of the injuries on his body, and his heart suddenly felt a little sour.

First, Li Weiyan asked, "You have to explain clearly what's going on. Otherwise, how can I save you if it's unclear?"

The young man finally spoke up and told the story. He wiped his tears and said, "Then I'll tell you. My name is Qi Mo. I'm not from Kyoto, and I'm not from the palace. My family used to live in Hejian Mansion. I don't remember it very clearly, but I remember that it was probably two months ago when I went out with my family's servant. I don't know why I was kidnapped by human traffickers. I don't know anything because I can't stand the light. Those human traffickers put a black cloth on my head. At first I didn't know where I was. I only heard a few words on the road and realized that they had kidnapped me to Kyoto."

He seemed to be talking about something extremely painful, and the expression on his face became a little distorted. He stroked his face with his hands. Wen Chu glanced at his hands and found that his nails were cracked.

Qi Mo said: "I seemed to be tied up and taken to a manor. There seemed to be many people of my age, both men and women. Later, every night, many strangers often came to this manor. Most of them were wearing beautiful clothes."

He choked up, as if he didn't want to continue recalling those things, but he knew that these things could not be hidden at all. Only by dragging them all out could they help him. He said: "They were all very scary. I didn't know what would happen at first, but later, my clothes were stripped off, and I was like an animal, being pressed on the bed."

"No, you don't need to continue. Just tell me how you got to the palace."

He wanted to continue, but Wen Chu couldn't listen any more. It was the same thing again. In fact, it was not difficult to guess the whole story. It was nothing more than being closely related to the He family.

Although she was still a little wary of this man of unknown origin just now, now, from his words, there was no sign of lying, and the He family had actually kidnapped children, so she finally let down her guard.

For Yu Qimo, he thought that what happened in Zhuangzi was already horrible, but what happened later was the real hell.

Wen Chu asked him how he got to the palace. He closed his eyes, sweat oozing out of his forehead. He said, "I stayed in the manor for ten days until one day, an old eunuch with a white face and no beard opened my door. He looked at me, looked me up and down, and finally laughed. Then, I was taken to the palace, I... I..."

He didn't know what to say, and was at a loss as to how to gesture, but the words seemed to be stuck in his throat, and he couldn't utter them for a long time. However, he wanted to say something, wanted to speak out about that man's evil deeds.

Just when he didn't know how to finish his words, a eunuch suddenly shouted shrilly from not far away, "Oh no! There's an assassin!"

The eunuch's voice was already sharp and piercing, and this shout, pulled from his throat, instantly spread throughout the night sky.

Another assassin?!
What is this palace? The assassin came here last time, and now he comes again?
But Wen Chu and Li Weiyan intuitively felt that this incident might be related to Qi Mo in front of them.

Wen Chu quickly pulled Qi Mo up from the ground. She said, "Go into the palace and hide first. Then the Queen will cover you. Hide well and don't come out no matter what happens."

When Qi Mo heard this, he was stunned for a moment. It would be inappropriate to go directly into Kunning Palace no matter what.

However, before he could hesitate, a person came in from the door of Kunning Palace, and several people looked up.

It was Fang Xiu.

After Fang Xiu returned to his residence, he wanted to check on Qi Mo who was imprisoned, but found that the house was empty.

He didn't even know how the person ran away.

But he knew that he must not let him escape. He knew so many things and it would definitely be trouble if he ran away.

He heard his men say that they seemed to have seen Qi Mo and Wen Chu heading towards Kunning Palace. He had no choice but to pretend to catch an assassin and use this opportunity to enter Kunning Palace.

Han Qi had also been called over by him and followed him. After all, there was an assassin in the palace, so it was not wrong for the commander of the Jinyiwei to follow him.

Fang Xiu winked at Han Qi and asked him to open the door of Kunning Palace. He wanted to go and see what Wen Chu was going to do after taking Qi Mo away.

And who let him go?
These confusions lingered in his mind, and he had no time to think about them.
Because the most urgent task is to bring the person back.

(End of this chapter)