Mu Zhuohua's heart suddenly twitched and his breathing stagnated.

Liu Yan still closed his eyes, but the corners of his lips slightly raised a curve: "Since you are here, why don't you speak?"

Mu Zhuohua then forced out a smile: "I thought the prince was asleep and didn't dare to disturb him."

Liu Yan slowly opened his eyes, glanced at the person who was bending and kneeling beside him, and smiled faintly: "What are you afraid of?"

Mu Zhuohua laughed dryly: "I am worried that the prince is not feeling well, so I brought him medicine."

Liu Yan straightened his back, leaned back on the back of the chair, and breathed a sigh of relief invisibly: "It's okay, I can still hold on." Seeing him stretch out his wrist, Mu Zhuohua stepped forward to take his pulse and examined it attentively. Liu Yan looked at Mu Zhuohua's profile inconspicuously in the candlelight in the side hall. She was always smiling and playful on weekdays, and it was rare to see her so serious. When he thought that she was so serious and focused on him, Liu Yan couldn't help but soften his heart.

Mu Zhuohua let go, took out the medicine bottle from her sleeve, and said to Liu Yan: "Your Highness, there are ten pills in this bottle. Take one pill a day. If you really feel uncomfortable, you can take it once a day."

Liu Yan took the medicine bottle. The celadon bottle was warmed by her body temperature. After handing the medicine bottle to Liu Yan, Mu Zhuohua turned around and poured a glass of water for Liu Yan to take.

Liu Yan enjoyed Mu Zhuohua's service with peace of mind. After swallowing the pill, he felt a warmth spreading in his stomach. He then teased, "No gain, no pain. This medicine is probably not cheap."

Mu Zhuohua's eyes swept across Liu Yan's moist lips, and he smiled awkwardly, "Your Highness, you're joking. This is what I should do."

Liu Yan smiled slightly, "When did you start to have this realization?"

Mu Zhuohua murmured in a low voice, "I have always been a good person..."

There seemed to be a sigh in Liu Yan's laughter, "Mu Zhuohua, you don't have to."

"Huh?" Mu Zhuohua was stunned for a moment, then looked up at Liu Yan with some confusion in his eyes.

"Zhijian has shown me the suicide note hidden in the box..." Liu Yan's expression darkened slightly, and his smile was a little bitter. "Your mother's death has nothing to do with you. Your maternal grandfather's family is also victims. I will not vent my anger on you."

Mu Zhuohua whispered, "It's not because of this..."

Liu Yan added, "If you feel guilty about the death of the late emperor, there is no need to do so." Liu Yan explained, "The death of the late emperor... was an accident, and you were also trying to save people. I am not ignorant of right and wrong, so... you don't have to try to please me deliberately."

Mu Zhuohua choked and lowered his head to pinch the corner of his clothes: "But the prince clearly wants to distance himself from me. Isn't he angry..."

Before entering the palace, Liu Yan thought he was facing accusations of regicide and treason, so he didn't want to implicate Mu Zhuohua, so he didn't let her follow him. However, he did not expect that the situation would be in his favor now.

Liu Yan felt a little relieved and said with a faint smile: "You approached me just for the box. Now that your goal has been achieved, why do you have to stay?"

"Who said that I approached the prince for the box!" Mu Zhuohua flatly denied.

Liu Yan's heart moved, staring at Mu Zhuohua, and asked softly: "Why else?"

Mu Zhuohua's heart skipped a beat when she saw Liu Yan's deep and moist eyes. She bit the bullet and said: "Actually, it's for promotion and wealth..."

Liu Yan was stunned, then laughed and shook his head: "This reason is very sufficient."

Mu Zhuohua raised the corner of her mouth, but heard Liu Yan say again: "Then you should go and flatter the new monarch. The eldest prince will ascend the throne soon. You and him have a master-disciple relationship for some time. If you are willing to put in some effort, you will surely have a successful career."

Mu Zhuohua pulled the corner of her mouth awkwardly, and said in a suppressed voice: "Thank you, Your Majesty, for your advice on how to be an official. I will remember it in my heart."

It was rare that she wanted to be nice to someone, but that person didn't appreciate it, which made people feel uncomfortable.

Mu Zhuohua twisted his fingers unconsciously, and said with a pain in his heart: "Your Highness, have a good rest. I will take my leave first."

Mu Zhuohua turned around to leave, but heard a low laugh from behind: "Come here."

Mu Zhuohua stopped.

Liu Yan whispered: "My king has a headache, come and see."

Mu Zhuohua immediately turned around and walked behind Liu Yan, pressing a pair of soft little hands on his temple. Liu Yan heard Mu Zhuohua's voice from behind: "Is it here?"

Liu Yan closed his eyes and whispered: "Yes."

The warm and soft fingertips began to rub the acupuncture points lightly or heavily.

Liu Yan suddenly remembered the feeling of the fingertips falling on his lips, numb and tingling, as if she was not pressing on his lips, but on his heart. He shouldn't have such thoughts, but sometimes people's hearts can't help themselves.

"Your Highness..." Mu Zhuohua said softly, "You saw me today in the late emperor's bedroom."

"Yes." Liu Yan said with his eyes closed, "You are so bold."

"Your Highness trusts Shen Jinghong and discusses everything with him, but Your Highness does not trust me and says nothing. I can only check it myself."

Liu Yan could imagine her expression of three parts grievance and three parts dissatisfaction just by hearing this voice, and a smile appeared on the corner of his lips.

"You are good at making excuses. Knowing too much may not be a good thing."

"I know it..." Mu Zhuohua was relieved when she saw that Liu Yan was not angry.

She learned one thing from her concubines - women who act like a spoiled child have the best life. Men in the world are the same. There is no need to go along with everything. Sometimes, acting like a spoiled child can have unexpectedly good results.

And she seems to be very good at acting like a spoiled child to Liu Yan, without any psychological barriers.

"Your Highness, have you seen the forged edict in the Imperial Ancestral Temple? Was it really forged by the second prince?" Mu Zhuohua asked.

Although Liu Yan said to the outside world that it was the work of spies from Northern Liang, the ministers knew in their hearts that this excuse was only to stabilize the court.

Liu Yan said: "This matter needs to be investigated in depth."

"The fire in the palace was an accident or man-made. Does the prince have any clue?"

"Although there is no evidence, I'm afraid the possibility of an accident is very small." Liu Yan bent his fingers and tapped the table unconsciously while thinking.

Mu Zhuohua said: "This humble official also thinks that someone did it on purpose. The Queen Mother is naturally the most suspicious. Otherwise, she was awake, so why didn't she escape from the fire?"

Liu Yan remembered the Queen Mother's crazy appearance at the time. It was really difficult to guess what a madman was thinking. If she set the fire, everything would make sense.

Liu Yan was full of respect for the Queen Mother Zhou. Only now did he know that everything was fake. He did not feel too much grief for the death of the Queen Mother Zhou, nor did he feel any pleasure of revenge. As for Emperor Zhaoming... he had died long before the fire. What he regretted now was that he did not take him away at the time, causing him to die without a complete body.

Liu Yan lowered his eyes sadly and sighed secretly.

Mu Zhuohua could naturally sense the change in Liu Yan's mood, and guessed what Liu Yan was thinking. She whispered, "Don't blame yourself, Your Majesty. This matter has nothing to do with Your Majesty."

Mu Zhuohua's fingers ran through Liu Yan's soft long hair. When she lowered her head, she unexpectedly saw a few strands of silver. Sure enough, the death of Emperor Zhaoming was a huge blow to him...

I heard that some people would turn gray overnight after being hit. Liu Yan was so handsome, it would be a pity if his hair turned gray early.

The man had broad shoulders and a straight back. He was carrying much more on his shoulders than she had imagined. In addition to responsibility, there were also feelings, the hatred of those dead comrades, and the blood-thicker-than-water family affection.

Mu Zhuohua's heart seemed to be stung, painful and sour. This feeling was probably called heartache. She vaguely felt that this emotion was not right, but the moment she opened the door and saw him, she didn't want to leave, and didn't want to leave him alone in the dark.

The dull pain in his head was slowly relieved by Mu Zhuohua's careful rubbing. A strong sense of fatigue surged between his eyebrows, pressing heavily on his eyelids, making it impossible for him to open his eyes. The faint fragrance lingered in his nose, making him relax unconsciously. He thought that closing his eyes would be another nightmare, but all the negative emotions were dispelled by this faint fragrance, like a small umbrella, blocking the wind and rain for him for a moment and sheltering a corner of peace.

The Dali Temple investigated for several days, but still had no clue about the matter of stealing the will. Liu Yu was still the only suspect.

Liu Chen thought this was natural. He had already determined Liu Yu's crime in his heart, and blamed Liu Yan for being soft-hearted and reluctant to convict him.

The day before the funeral, Liu Yan visited Liu Yu alone. After not seeing her for a few days, Liu Yu had lost a lot of weight, with swollen eyes and sunken cheeks, and she was no longer as beautiful as before.

Seeing Liu Yan coming, Liu Yu's absent-minded eyes slowly moved and his eyes fell on Liu Yan's face. He moved his fingers, knelt on the ground for a long time, and said hoarsely: "Uncle..."

He didn't want to kneel, but he didn't have the strength to stand up.

Liu Yan walked to Liu Yu and helped him sit on the chair.

"I didn't put you in the prison, but put you under house arrest here, just because I didn't want anyone to torture you privately, but now it seems that you haven't taken good care of yourself." Liu Yan frowned at Liu Yu.

Liu Yu smiled bitterly and lowered his eyes and said: "Uncle, you are kind, but I have something on my mind, I can't eat or sleep."

Liu Yan said: "You are here for the forged edict."

Liu Yu pursed his cracked lips and didn't answer.

"I have investigated for many days, but there is no clue. So far, you are the only suspect." Liu Yan's voice was a little cold.

Liu Yu smiled bitterly: "I knew it... But uncle, it really wasn't me!"

When Liu Yan first heard the content of the forged edict that day, he subconsciously thought that Liu Yu had stolen the edict, but after thinking about it carefully, he felt that this was not Liu Yu's handiwork.

Liu Yu was thoughtful and scheming, while Liu Chen was impatient and arrogant. The two princes obviously had very different popularity among the ministers. Liu Yu often used Liu Jin to provoke Liu Chen, causing him to lose his temper. The two fought, and Liu Yu won in the end. Liu Jin naturally knew Liu Yu's intentions, but the brotherhood of twins was different from that of others. He was willing to carry the sedan chair for his brother, even if it meant hurting the enemy by 800 and hurting himself by 1,000.

All of this fell into the eyes of Emperor Zhaoming.

Liu Yan looked at Liu Yu with some regret: "Second Prince, in fact, this will today is not completely false."

Liu Yu was startled, and suddenly raised his head to look at Liu Yan, and asked in a trembling voice: "Uncle, you...what do you mean?"

Liu Yan sighed: "The late emperor once intended to make you the crown prince."

Liu Yu widened his eyes and looked at Liu Yan in disbelief. He pulled the corners of his mouth, revealing an expression that he didn't know whether to cry or laugh.

Liu Yan said slowly: "You are intelligent, sensible, calm and measured, while Chen'er is proud and impatient, and is not the most suitable choice for the crown prince. The reason why the late emperor did not appoint a crown prince was because he was always hesitant. At the beginning, he had his eyes on you."

"But do you know what made him change his mind?"

Liu Yu's lips moved, but he could not speak.

Liu Yan shook his head and sighed: "You shouldn't have used Liu Jin. You let Liu Jin provoke Liu Chen and let them fight each other, both of them hurt. Liu Chen and you are not born of the same mother. You have been enemies since childhood. The late emperor understood, but you and Liu Jin are twin brothers. For the sake of fame and fortune, you are willing to hurt Liu Jin and let him harm himself to fulfill your reputation. Liu Jin has a brotherly love for you, but you don't have it for him."

Liu Yu froze, and a chill came out of his heart, paralyzing his limbs.

"You are too heartless." Liu Yan couldn't bear to look at Liu Yu's expression. He turned his head away and sighed, "The late emperor was the most affectionate person. Chen'er is more sincere than you."

Liu Yu slowly lowered his head and let out a hoarse bitter laugh after a long while.

"It turns out...it turns out that I did too much and did it wrong..." Liu Yu's shoulders trembled, and tears fell on his knees. "That's why father chose Liu Chen...uncle...did you choose him for this reason?"

Liu Yan looked at Liu Yu's lowered head, and Liu Jin's resentful eyes flashed in his mind. "I never knew that you brothers had such deep resentment and dissatisfaction with me. You may not believe it, but in my heart, you and Chen'er are the same."

Liu Yan said: "For twenty-six years, I have been loyal to the late emperor alone. What he values ​​is what I value."

"He treats you three sons equally, and I don't distinguish between relatives and strangers."

Liu Yu and Liu Jin have always admired their uncle, just like Liu Chen. That year, their 18-year-old uncle won a world-shaking victory and returned triumphantly, famous all over the world. The three children clung to the palace wall, their eyes shining, watching him riding back from afar.

He was the great hero in their minds.

Liu Yan brought them spoils from the battlefield. Yes, he treated them equally and gave them the same things, but why did he always feel different and always felt that Liu Yan was partial...

Later, Liu Yu figured out that it was not that Liu Yan gave less, but that they did not dare to fight for it.

He was not Liu Chen, not born by the main wife, and did not have Liu Chen's innate arrogance. Liu Chen could act like a spoiled child to Liu Yan and make requests to him, and Liu Yan always agreed with a smile. He taught Liu Chen martial arts and took him to fight, while he and Liu Jin could only watch from afar.

He never thought that as long as he asked, Liu Yan would not refuse.

At that time, he just thought that since his uncle had chosen to be loyal to Liu Chen, he could only rely on himself...

From then on, he began to go astray...

Liu Yan's hand fell on Liu Yu's shoulder, and he sighed softly: "I believe that you didn't replace that forged edict."

Liu Yu's shoulders trembled, and his voice choked: "Uncle believes me?"

Liu Yan nodded: "That man did it secretly, without leaving any clues, and it was difficult to trace. I didn't know whether he wanted to help you or harm you. But with Chen'er, I will protect you brothers."

Liu Yan lowered his eyes and said softly: "This is what I promised the late emperor... He has done so much for me... I hope that one day, you will also understand what brothers are."

After forcing himself to watch the burial of Emperor Zhaoming, Liu Yan fell into a coma when he returned to the mansion. Zhimo quickly invited Mu Zhuohua to treat Liu Yan. Liu Yan fell ill, not only because of overwork, but also because the death of Emperor Zhaoming dealt him a heavy blow. However, Liu Chen had not yet ascended the throne and was still willing to show weakness in front of others. Therefore, despite Mu Zhuohua's objection, he forced Mu Zhuohua to increase the dosage of the medicine.

Mu Zhuohua reluctantly agreed and left Liu Yan's room.

Zhijian and Zhimo were arguing in the corner and did not notice Mu Zhuohua coming out.

Zhijian said indignantly: "Why does Your Highness have to spend so

much time and effort on the eldest prince? It is most appropriate for Your Highness to sit in the throne of this world." Zhimo frowned and said: "Zhijian, don't say this in front of the prince. He doesn't have this intention, and he doesn't want his subordinates to think so."

"I know." Zhijian muttered, "I'm just telling you, the prince is too kind, that's why he was harmed."

Zhimo smiled bitterly and said: "The disaster back then was caused by the Zhou family. The eldest prince is innocent, not to mention that the late emperor also died for this. Our prince is the most loyal and righteous. He is not greedy for power, but if he wants to protect his loved ones, he is not afraid to sacrifice his life."

"The eldest prince is arrogant and conceited. Why do Emperor Zhaoming and the prince value him so much?" Zhijian was really puzzled.

Zhimo is slightly older than Zhijian, and his mind is more sensitive and delicate. He can more or less guess what Liu Yan is thinking. He sighed softly and said, "Zhijian, I have been with the prince since I was ten years old. Perhaps you have forgotten that the prince back then was not like this now. The prince back then... is actually very similar to the eldest prince now."

The eldest prince Liu Chen was born in a golden age, and grew up with the stars in his eyes. Emperor Zhaoming, the queen, and even Queen Mother Zhou and Liu Yan all loved him very much, which also cultivated his proud and conceited character. Wasn't Liu Yan the same back then?

He lost his mother when he was born, and Emperor Yuanzheng felt guilty about him, wishing to give him a thousand times more love to make up for his lack of maternal love. Perhaps because Queen Zhou did not regard the little child as a threat at that time, she also tried to play a virtuous role in front of Emperor Yuanzheng, and the two took care of him like a loving father and a strict mother. In addition, there was also the then crown prince Liu Ju, who gave him meticulous care, so that his childhood was always bathed in warmth and peace.

At that time, he was fifteen or sixteen years old, and he was also a young man in fine clothes and riding a horse, stunning the capital. He was both civil and military, extremely intelligent, and had been flattered and fawned upon. How could he not be sharp without setbacks? But in the battle three years ago, he was betrayed by his confidant, watched his relatives and friends die in front of him, and lingered on the edge of life and death for half a year. His martial arts skills were almost completely destroyed, his proud spine was broken, his wings were broken, and he could no longer fly into the sky. In the process of pursuing the truth, he was blocked again and again, and heard his subordinates repeatedly suspect that it was his most respected brother who did it.

Zhimo sighed, "The prince we see now has gone through too many hardships, but he has never let hatred devour his reason and conscience. It's just that the warmth of his youth has been healing the wounds in his heart. Even if Queen Mother Zhou is hypocritical, the late emperor is his true brother. Zhijian, the prince is very affectionate and will never do anything to let the late emperor down. Queen Mother Zhou is dead, and it's time to let go of our hatred."

Zhimo's words made Zhijian silent for a long time. His sharp eyes flashed, but eventually dimmed and he was convinced by Zhimo.

"I don't want the prince to be sad, but Queen Mother Zhou is dead, and the people of the Zhou family..."

"We should believe the prince." Zhimo interrupted him, "The prince knows what's going on."

Mu Zhuohua stood on the other side of the wall, listening to their conversation quietly, and suddenly realized that he didn't seem to know enough about Liu Yan. In her eyes, Liu Yan has always been a shrewd, calm and introverted superior. He holds great power but keeps his edge. He is capable of everything and remains calm even when facing a landslide. But now she understands that no one is born this way. Everyone was once immature, naive and stubborn, but was polished into a gentle appearance by suffering.

She once envied him for being high up and having everything he wanted, but it turned out that he and she were in the same boat. The only difference was that she had never believed in love, but he had believed in it and was deceived.