auspicious time has come

"Why did Your Highness bring the ministers here—"

Outside the Chongwen Hall of the Eastern Palace, the crown prince signaled the servants to come forward and open the gate, and replied to Xiao Mu's words: "It's quiet here, and it's suitable for talking with Jieshi Xiao."

Xiao Mu didn't say anything, and followed the prince into the room.

A man from Ying Palace got the signal and just stood outside the door, not following up.

"When I was studying here when I was young, it was very lively every day." The prince looked around the library: "In recent years, I have never set foot here again. All that was left was deserted."

Xiao Mu also raised his eyes to look.

At this time, the Chongwen Museum in the night is very different from the place he remembers reading with him - the change of scenery is second, and the change of mood may be the root cause.

"I still remember this plum tree, Xia Chan especially likes to make noise here, and the palace people can't keep up with it." The prince looked at the lush tree under the corridor, with a smile on his brow: "The voice was weaker when I read in the morning. , Shao Fu wanted to say, when the young gentleman was studying, his vigor could not even be compared with the singing of cicadas, how will he govern the country and assist the government in the future—”

So, they howled at the top of their voices, causing Young Fu to feel restless. He wanted to cover his ears but felt sorry for the admonition just now, so he could only struggle to keep his face unchanged——Xiao Mu also remembered it.

He was always one step behind the prince, and the two walked into the long corridor and stood still under the corridor.

"The matter of Jia Que is over, return this sword to His Highness." Xiao Mu presented the sword.

The prince looked down at the sword, but said: "No need, this is not mine."

Xiao Mu was slightly startled, and his movements did not change for a moment.

"Xiao Jieshi can handle it by himself." The prince said again.

"Yes." Xiao Mu withdrew his hand, holding the sword by his side.

"Does Xiao Jie know who Immortal Master Puzhen belongs to?" the prince suddenly asked.

"I only know that he is extremely trusted by the saints, but I don't know anything else."

The prince said: "The envoy Xiao Jie can make a guess—"

Hearing this, Xiao Mu looked at him.

The four eyes looked at each other for a moment, and the prince nodded slightly: "That's right, Immortal Master Puzhen is the confidant I arranged by my father's side earlier."

Xiao Mu was a little surprised.

What surprised him was not the words themselves, but the prince chose to speak to him about such matters at this time.

"Father has been ill for several years." The prince looked at the night outside the corridor, and said slowly: "After a long time of treatment, people will always become irritable and drowsy... In the past two years, due to illness, Therefore, the father made many wrong decisions, and there were more people with ulterior motives around him. Later, the father even pinned his hopes on alchemy, thinking for the court, but also for himself—— So I arranged for Immortal Master Puzhen to appear in front of my father, gain my father's trust, and act as my eyes, eyes and sword."

The prince said, his brows and eyes narrowed slightly, and his voice was lower: "I have never been a pure and kind person, and I also have selfish calculation methods."

"Your Highness is the crown prince." Xiao Mu said calmly, "One does not need to be pure and kind, and one cannot protect oneself without means. How can we talk about protecting the common people."

Even in the highest positions, mediocrity and mediocrity are faults.

The prince turned to look at him: "To be honest, I think so too."

Looking at each other, both of them smiled silently.

After a while, the prince gradually put away his smile: "In the beginning, Immortal Master Puzhen was arranged to be by Father's side in order to prevent Father from being too addicted to alchemy and medicine and mistrusting others. But just a few days ago, Immortal Master Puzhen and I made a guess... the emperor's illness, or someone did it deliberately."

This time, Xiao Mu's accident was real: "Someone used poison to murder him?"

"And this poison is extremely subtle... If it wasn't for Immortal Master Puzhen's proficiency in alchemy techniques, he would not be able to detect it easily." The prince's tone was a little dignified: "How long has the father been ill, this poison will be released How long... for a whole year, the other party's patience and means are very comparable to others."

Xiao Mu asked seriously: "Does Your Highness know who the poisoner is?"

The crown prince shook his head: "When I first learned about this, I didn't dare to scare the snake. I just secretly checked whether there are any suspicious people among the palace people around my father, and then followed the clues to find out who is behind the scenes—"

"Then is there anyone who doubts His Highness?" Xiao Mu asked again.

"Don't lie to the envoy Xiao—" The crown prince made a wry smile, and said in a self-deprecating manner: "Since I learned about this, everyone I saw right now, from siblings to ordinary palace officials, felt suspicious and unreliable. Thinking about it this way, I might become that suspicious and hateful monarch in the future.”

Xiao Mu: "Suspicious people never think that they are suspicious. Your Highness is sensitive to introspection and will not become them."

The prince looked at him, and after a while, he smiled: "I hope so."

Xiao Mu lowered his eyes slightly: "Your Highness can't trust anyone now, so why do you want to speak out to the minister? The suspicion of the minister is no less than anyone else."

"No, Jieshi Xiao is different from others after all." The prince turned sideways, looked at Xiao Mu, and said, "Besides, I know that Jieshi Xiao is the same as me, and now it is extremely difficult to trust anyone, not even me— —”

"What I said just now, or since I stepped into this Chongwen Museum, or even earlier, my every move, every word and deed, in the eyes of Xiao Jieshi, is suspicious, has ulterior motives, and is worth thinking about again and again. vigilant—"

"It's perfectly normal for the envoy Xiao to feel this way." Speaking of this, the prince's voice was low: "If I were envoy Xiao, I would definitely feel the same way, even worse than that. Let alone the past The road ahead is too bumpy, just saying that in this world, people's hearts are fickle, which is the norm."

"But it's okay." He looked at Xiao Mu with heavy guilt and indebtedness, as well as a trace of joy that couldn't be suppressed and concealed. His eyes no longer seemed to be looking at a prince or general, or even a courtier——

"The future will be long, and one day, I will make Xiao Jieshi believe in me again." The prince finally said.

Xiao Mu, who had been just listening, never spoke from the beginning to the end.

He raised his sword-holding hand and silently saluted the person in front of him.

At the moment, he can't say much, and he doesn't need to say much.

Although what he has seen and heard may be all appearances, he has no chance to make a mistake, and he can't make a mistake in the path under his feet.

Only time and truth can guide him.

The cool breeze passed through the corridor, the branches and leaves outside the corridor rustled, and the shadows of the trees reflected by the moon swayed and fell on the two people in the corridor.

After saluting, Xiao Mu slowly exited the corridor.

Watching that figure walk away, the prince did not leave for a long time.

This night, the mourning lights in the palace are always on.

After returning from the concubine's place, Heng Yu fulfilled her promise and spent the night with Princess Jiayi in the East Palace.

The next day, mourning and music sounded in the palace, and a funeral ceremony was carried out in an orderly manner.

After waking up, Princess Jiayi's mood was much more stable, and she was no longer as anxious as yesterday.

Thinking that tomorrow would be the day when he agreed to meet Yan Ming, Heng Yu thought about it, and didn't want to stay in the palace any longer. When he was about to leave the palace, he saw his elder brother hurried over.

"Aheng! Yongyang Princess Palace, I'm afraid something happened—"