Yun Duqing thought that he was the kindest and most considerate prince in history. He was afraid that his fourth brother would be lonely in the clan prison, so he sent his third brother in, and considerately arranged his third brother's cell next to that of his fourth brother.
However, Yun Yanze, who already knew the truth, did not welcome this new neighbor.
The two brothers, no longer in the limelight, sat across the wall from each other, looking at each other with eyes filled with nothing but hatred.
"You deliberately copied Ming Jiuzhu's painting for me to see. Was it to take advantage of me?"
"Who made you so stupid that you were fooled so easily?" Jing Wang mocked him, "I originally thought that I would use more tricks to lure you into the trap, but I never thought that Wu Shuangquan's good fourth brother would rush into the trap without even baiting you."
"Third brother, you don't have to laugh at me. I've had my fair share of glory. How about you?" Even though he was down and out, Yun Yanze still maintained his elegance in his bones: "From childhood to adulthood, you've been less talented than me, less skilled in martial arts than the eldest brother, less handsome than Yun Duqing, and even less likable than the second brother. Although it is said that the victor is the king and the loser is the enemy, even if you lose, I won't even look at you for a few seconds."
"Shut up!" Jing Wang's facial features twisted, like a monster crawling out of hell: "You are as good as Pan An, so what? Sun Caiyao did not encourage the Sun family for you to achieve your ambitions. Instead, Yun Duqing, whom you looked down upon, married Ming Jiuzhu, who treated him wholeheartedly, and in the end, even the Ming family became his helper."
In the past, he always thought that the Ming family was not satisfied with this marriage forced upon them by the royal family, so they were picky about Yun Duqing, their son-in-law, and their attitude was so bad that even the officials of the Ministry of Rites could not stand it.
It was not until Yun Duqing married Ming Jiuzhu and Yun Duqing often accompanied Ming Jiuzhu back to the Ming family that he realized that the Ming family had abandoned their daughter for the sake of family purity and that the Ming family was disgusted and cold towards Yun Duqing. All of this was done by the Ming family to show off to the outside world.
He should have thought of it earlier. Given how much his father valued Yun Duqing, if the Ming family embarrassed him everywhere, why did he confer the title of Earl on Ming Jingzhou before the two of them got married?
“But you are not so lucky. If Sun Caiyao had been allowed to marry Yun Duqing, you would have been the one to marry Ming Jiuzhu. The Ming family would have supported you, and you might have been the crown prince now.” Prince Jing saw Yun Yanze’s expression suddenly change, and thought that he cared about this matter, and he felt even happier in his heart: “Old Lian is unwilling to help you, this is your fate!”
The conversation between the two brothers ended in hatred between them.
Yun Yanze ignored King Jing. He lay down on the hard brick bed and fell asleep with resentment and resentment.
"Your Highness, your wedding dress is ready. Would you like to try it on?"
Yun Yanze opened his eyes and saw himself sitting in Prince Qi's palace. Beside him, the palace maids and eunuchs stood with their heads bowed, all of them were respectful and careful.
He wanted to speak, but found that his body spoke out of his control.
"Let's try it." King Qi looked out the window and asked, "Is father feeling better?"
The eunuch shook his head: "The imperial physician said that when the Fifth Prince left, His Majesty was so angry that he vomited blood and fainted. I'm afraid... he won't recover."
"My eldest brother murdered my fifth brother, was demoted to a commoner, and is imprisoned in the clan residence. My father is in such a bad condition, I am worried." Prince Qi looked up and saw the clothes department, holding a bright red wedding dress, with a worried look on his face: "Forget it, my father is in a bad condition, and as a prince, I don't have the heart to try on the wedding dress, take it away."
"yes."
Yun Yanze saw hypocritical sadness and filial piety on this familiar yet unfamiliar face.
Yun Duqing died, and Yun Liuan was demoted to a commoner?
It turned out that he was dreaming.
Only in dreams can he find everything he wants.
The dream continues.
Prince Qi went to the palace to visit the emperor. The emperor, who had once been benevolent and wise, was now lying on the dragon bed in a daze, with sunken eye sockets, like an oil lamp that was about to burn out.
His mouth opened and closed, as if he was muttering something.
Prince Qi looked at Liu Zhongbao who was waiting beside him and said, "Eunuch Liu, what is the emperor saying?"
He approached the dragon bed and finally heard what he was saying.
"My son."
He stood up, left a few caring words, turned around and walked out of the empty Taiyang Palace.
On the way, he accidentally ran into Concubine Su Guifei, who gave him a sharp voice that made him kneel on the bluestone road.
This woman went crazy from the day she lost her child.
The King of Qi was not afraid of her punishment. In fact, the crazier she was, the better it was for him.
He knelt on the ground for a short while, until Concubine Su left, then he slowly got up from the ground.
"The Imperial Concubine is really too much. Your Highness, you are getting married in three days, and she is making things difficult for you!"
"Concubine Su is sad to lose her child. As a junior, I should understand her feelings." Prince Qi was lenient: "Let's go back."
When he passed by a jewelry shop in his carriage, he said tenderly, "I have new jewelry in my shop. I will send someone to deliver it to you, young lady."
Yun Yanze looked at his own face which showed a bit of sincerity, and felt extremely weird. He didn't have many feelings for Sun Caiyao, so why did he show such an expression?
While he was in shock, the scene suddenly changed color, and he was already standing in the wedding room with red candles shining. Under the candlelight, the double happiness characters were particularly gorgeous.
"Your Highness, the auspicious time is approaching."
Prince Qi walked to the gate of Prince Qi's Palace and saw the sedan chair slowly approaching in the distance. He could not help but take a few steps forward.
"Your Highness, you are of royal blood. You cannot come down the steps when you welcome your bride. This is against the rules."
His feet stopped at the last step.
The sedan chair landed, the groom opened the curtain, and the bride came out wearing a wedding gown, a phoenix crown, and holding a round fan to cover her face.
"Ming Jiuzhu?" Yun Yanze looked at the girl holding the round fan with a dragon and phoenix pattern and muttered to himself, "Why is it her?"
Suddenly, the fan-holding girl turned her head and looked in the direction where he was standing. Her eyes were emotionless and even cold.
No, Ming Jiuzhu is not like that.
In his memory, Ming Jiuzhu's eyes were sparkling, not like this... cold and heartless.
"Congratulations to His Highness and Miss Ming."
He followed her involuntarily all the way to the bridal chamber, where he saw her tearing off her tiara by herself, with a few strands of hair breaking off on the tassels, and she didn't seem to feel any pain.
She threw the round fan embroidered with auspicious patterns of dragons and phoenixes on the ground and stepped on it with a stern face.
His favorite incense was burning in the room. She walked to the incense burner, stared at it for a long time, picked up the teapot on the table, and put out the incense. Her dark pupils merged with the darkness. Even the wedding candles all over the room could not illuminate her eyes.
She has the same face as Ming Jiuzhu, yet she is so different.
In the wedding hall, Prince Qi entertained the guests with great grace, and it seemed that everyone was praising him as a wise king.
The excitement continued until dawn, when the high-spirited Prince Qi returned to the house and brought the princess, who was alone in her empty room, to the palace to pay her respects.
"That's Mingyue Palace. You shouldn't go there."
"The Imperial Concubine is in charge of the harem and is the most honorable woman in the palace. It would be inappropriate if I didn't go to pay my respects to her."
Ming Jiuzhu's palace dress was complicated, but perhaps in order to please King Qi, she specially chose clothes in very light colors today.
With her wide sleeves swinging in the air, Ming Jiuzhu held the hand of the palace maid and walked towards Mingyue Palace without hesitation. She didn't seem to care that King Qi disagreed with her decision.
Yun Yanze saw that he was being gentle, but he knew that he must be furious at the moment.
But for the Ming family's status in the court, he endured it.
He wanted to follow Ming Jiuzhu to Mingyue Palace, but the scene changed again.
The second prince was mediocre in ability and unable to assist in the administration of state affairs, so numerous court officials recommended the Prince of Qi to temporarily take over the administration of state affairs on behalf of his father.
The King of Qi repeatedly refused, saying that he lacked talent and virtue.
Yun Yanze stood beside the dragon throne, carefully touched the dragon head on it, and sat on it.
The moment he sat down, he felt cold and hard, and looking around, he took in all the expressions.
Those who are fawning, ingratiating, and...who restrain their emotions and whose thoughts cannot be seen.
Yun Yanze discovered that the Sun family, the Chen family, the two brothers of the Ming family, and the six ministers all had expressions on their faces, but they did not see them in their eyes.
But the complacent King Qi did not see through this.
He said that his talent was mediocre, but he could not hide the vigorous ambition in his eyes.
Yun Yanze finally understood that Xu's disguise in the eyes of others was not as perfect as he had imagined.
Even the dragon chair beneath him felt no different from his chair when he sat on it; it was even a little too wide and empty.
Sitting here, he even had the energy to think about what Ming Jiuju was doing at the moment?
The cold-blooded Ming Jiuzhu and the real girl standing next to Yun Duqing with her head in her arms and brows furrowed, seem to be of the same skin.
That day in the jewelry shop, he watched her quarreling with Yun Duqing and thought she was likable.
But he didn't like the fact that her shining eyes contained Yun Duqing.
But she is my fifth brother's wife, what does it have to do with him?
He raised his head again, wanting to see the expressions of his courtiers once more, but then he saw the crescent moon in the night sky.
"May the Three Pure Ones bless His Majesty the King of Chen with peace and prosperity in the next life. I am willing to sacrifice my remaining life in exchange for His Majesty the King of Chen's peace in the next life."
Under the moonlight, Ming Jiuzhu twisted the incense in her hands, bowed to the moon for a long time, and finally inserted the incense into the blooming mint bush, her eyes filled with murderous intent.
Yun Yanze suddenly felt a chill in his heart.
Just at this moment, she turned her head and looked over, her ink-black pupils were stained with a little moonlight.
He looked into her eyes, and it even seemed to him that she saw him.
"Miss, this is mint candy sent by the Shangshi Bureau."
She took one and put it in her mouth, frowning slightly: "Sister Chunfen, the candy tastes wrong."
"Miss, what flavor do you want to eat? I'll ask the kitchen to make it for you."
"No." She shook her head and looked up at the dark night sky: "It doesn't matter anymore."
"Sister." She looked at the woman standing beside the table and said, "Prince Qi has evil intentions. You should remind father to be more careful with him. I have a letter here. Please go to the palace and deliver it to father."
"Okay." The woman took the letter and looked at her hesitantly: "Miss, you treat King Qi so indifferently. I am worried that King Qi will be violent to you."
"Use violence?" She sneered, "Don't worry, he will never have the chance to lay a hand on me."
The woman left with the letter, returned to the room and walked towards the incense burner.
Yun Yanze saw her take out a box of spices from her sleeve.
Yun Yanze recognized this kind of incense; it was a kind of incense that Queen Jing's mother, Consort Wei, liked.
There were footsteps outside the door and she lit the incense.
King Qi pushed open the door and accused her angrily. She remained indifferent to his anger, as if it had nothing to do with her.
Until she asked King Qi who had killed King Chen.
King Qi looked at her in amazement.
"Tell me, if you and I were poisoned to death in this room at the same time, which prince would the emperor suspect?"
That fragrance is poisonous.
Yun Yanze understood what was going on. He saw himself turning around and preparing to escape, but Ming Jiuzhu blocked his way.
King Qi leaned weakly in his chair. He heard the footsteps of patrolling guards outside the door. However, he opened his mouth wide, but no sound came out. He could only listen to the footsteps fade away in despair.
"You must be wondering why I do this."
"Your Highness is of high status, so you naturally don't remember the child your maternal grandfather threw into the river and drowned years ago." She walked to the chair and sat down, as if she and the King of Qi were an ordinary couple, sitting together and chatting: "I am that child. To your disappointment, I saved him."
"It was His Royal Highness Prince Chen who saved me."
She said, "I have been praying for His Highness in front of the Three Pure Ones for a whole year, hoping that he would have a smooth and peaceful life, but you have ruined it all."
King Qi's pupils trembled.
She thought that it was he and his mother who killed Yun Duqing?
"You want to kill him." She took out a peace charm from her sleeve and put it against her chest: "The masters said that I have no affinity with cultivation. I cannot repay you for saving my life, so let it be."
The King of Qi's mind was slowly fading away.
"I forgot to tell you that my master has already started treating the emperor. I hope he will get better."
"Even if you die, everything you have done will be known to the world."
Yun Yanze watched himself in his dream die in the incense lit by the woman herself.
He remembered that he had planned to let Yun Duqing die from the incense poison.
The self in the dream died, Ming Jiuzhu died, but he still couldn't wake up from the dream.
He saw his father getting better little by little, and saw Ming Jingzhou find out everything he had done. Then he asked his father to issue an edict to allow Prince Qi and Ming Jiuzhu to divorce.
In order to repay the life-saving grace, the daughter of the Ming family thoroughly investigated the truth of the murder of Prince Chen. In the end, the story that the third prince, Prince Jing, was poisoned to death in the room has already spread throughout the capital.
So when the truth about Prince Chen's murder was revealed to be related to him and Prince Jing, everyone sympathized with her and even wrote sentimental poems for her, praising her gratitude and misfortune.
It is absurd to let a dead couple reconcile, but it does not explain that Jingzhou's behavior is excessive.
In the end, Concubine Su Gui decided not to bury Ming Jiuzhu with Prince Qi, but to bury her not far from Prince Chen's tomb.
The maid who served her said that she liked to eat mint candy, so a lot of mint was planted next to her tomb.
The mint grew more and more, and finally grew next to the tomb of Prince Chen, full of vitality and green.
Yun Yanze didn't know how long he had spent in the dream. It seemed like a long time, but also like just a moment.
When he opened his eyes and saw the cell door, he thought for a moment that he was still dreaming.
Outside the cell door there were the voices of jailers speaking, as well as the painful howlings and begging for mercy of several inmates who had just been locked up.
"Your Majesty, today is His Majesty's birthday. His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is kind enough to allow you to wear the cangue and kowtow to His Majesty outside the Taiyang Palace at night."
After being locked up in the clan's mansion for more than half a year, he stared at the cell door that suddenly opened, stunned and without any reaction.
Fearing that he would commit suicide, the jailers not only put shackles on him, but also a gag on him.
Wearing clean new clothes, he stood at the side door of the clan mansion and began to fear the sunlight outside.
He was escorted into a blue cloth carriage. He opened the curtain of the carriage with his tied hands and looked greedily at everything outside.
The carriage suddenly stopped and the voice of the prison guard driving the carriage was heard inside.
"The carriage ahead is Sun Xiangjun's. Let's get out of the way for now."
"Miss." The maid lifted the curtain and took a look: "The carriage parked next to it seems to have the emblem of the clan mansion."
"Don't worry about it." Sun Caiyao looked at him and said, "Today is your majesty's birthday. Although it is not appropriate for me to enter the palace, I should go to the Taoist temple to burn incense and pray for your majesty. I can't delay on the road."
"yes."
The carriages passed each other, and the people sitting in the carriages did not lift the curtains to look at each other.
They were not meant to be together, and even if they forced it, it would be in vain in the end.
At the longevity banquet, Yun Duqing finished talking to his two brothers, turned around and saw Ming Xiaozhu drinking sweet wine happily.
"How many cups did you drink?" Seeing that her cheeks were a little red, he snatched the cup from her hand, picked up a piece of food with chopsticks and fed it to her mouth.
"I drank three cups." Jiuzhu stretched out her palm and made a five: "Your Highness, this is sweet and delicious, you try it."
"You said three, but your hand was showing five..." Yun Duqing sighed and held her hand that was about to take the wine glass: "You are drunk."
"Your Highness." Jiuzhu looked at him eagerly: "I want to drink."
"No, you don't want to." He refused mercilessly. As soon as he finished speaking, Jiuzhu took a sip and kissed him on the face: "Give me a cup."
Prince An and his wife, who were sitting nearby and watching this scene, lowered their voices. When they saw Yun Duqing looking over, they quickly lowered their heads and pretended they saw nothing.
"You actually sold your beauty for a glass of sweet wine, Ming Xiaozhu, you are capable." After saying this, he felt his face being held and the other side being kissed.
"Your Highness." Jiuzhu looked at him with her big watery eyes, and her pitiful look softened her heart.
"Half a cup is enough." Yun Duqing sighed and poured half a cup of sweet wine for Jiuzhu himself: "After drinking this half cup, you can't drink anymore."
"Your Highness is the best." Jiuzhu reached out and hugged him, then held the wine glass and drank happily.
Finally, Jiuzhu drank a few more "half cups" and leaned on his shoulder in a daze before she calmed down.
The couple of Prince Huai and Prince An sitting next to them were already talking secretly. Yun Duqing ignored them, sighed, and put his arm around Jiuzhu's waist to make her lean more comfortably.
Princess Huai suddenly became inconsolable. She turned her head and looked at Prince Huai with disdain, then stretched out her hand to pinch his waist.
"Hiss!" Prince Huai almost jumped up in pain.
He's fine, why are you bothering him?
He finally understood that Wu's previous virtuous appearance was all just an act. Now that she was hanging out with Princess An and the Crown Princess all day long, and with the support of her sisters-in-law, her sinister true face finally showed up!
But the Crown Princess is very close to her, what else can he do except endure it?
What's more... What's more...
The princess was quite nice to him except that she was a little mean to him.
"Did you see how the Crown Prince treated the Crown Princess?" Princess Huai took away the wine glass from the King with a stern face and replaced it with a cup of hangover soup for him: "Learn from that."
"The Crown Princess can kick a 200-jin man away with one kick. How dare the Crown Prince mess with her?" Prince Huai said angrily, "Now you are slapping me in the face for no reason, I can't bear it?"
"What do you know?" Prince Huai said with a wronged look: "Although the Crown Princess is good at fighting, have you ever seen her get angry at the Crown Prince?"
Prince Huai nodded in understanding: "That's right, why do you think this is the case?"
Normally, when the fifth brother's wife sees the fifth brother, she becomes as beautiful as a flower, and her voice becomes soft and gentle, saying "my prince" on the left and "the prince is the best" on the right, as if the fifth brother is omnipotent in her eyes.
Strangely enough, the fifth brother who used to be lazy, playful and had a bad temper, was gentle and considerate in front of his sister-in-law, and even said that he should be more gentle.
"Why?" Princess Huai looked at the two people snuggling together, her face very gentle: "Of course it's because they are sincere to each other and have a close relationship."
Giving your heart and knowing how to cherish it is the best love.
The longevity banquet was over, and the drunk Jiuzhu obediently let Yun Duqing hold her. When she walked out of the main hall and went down the stairs, she almost missed a step and fell down, but fortunately he caught her in time.
"Your Highness." But she said no and smiled at him.
Seeing this, Yang Yiduo whispered, "Your Highness, please send a servant to bring the sedan chair."
"No need." Yun Duqing bent down and carried Jiuzhu on his back: "She is drunk. If she falls off the sedan chair, she will definitely cry."
Yang Yidu glanced at the Crown Princess who was lying on the Crown Prince's back with her eyes half closed, and quietly stepped aside.
Blame him for being too talkative.
"Your Highness."
"Um?"
"The moon is bright tonight."
"Um."
"So I'm here to bask in the moonlight with you." Jiuzhu leaned her head on his shoulder obediently: "Your Highness is the best and most wonderful Highness in the world."
Yun Duqing paused, looked up at the bright moon in the sky, and said softly: "Well, thank you for accompanying me to watch the moon."
"You're welcome. I'm happy to do anything with you, Your Highness." Jiuzhu rubbed his back and then kissed his earlobe.
"Since I am the best prince in the world, am I your favorite one?" Yun Duqing continued walking forward with her on his back.
The silence on his back subsided, and the expression on his lips gradually faded.
"Master said that liking someone means being happy and joyful, and love means integrating into the soul." Jiuzhu gently hugged his shoulders and whispered in his ear, "I don't just like you, Your Highness. I love you the most."
Yun Duqing spoke again, and everyone could hear the happiness and satisfaction in his voice.
Noticing that Jiuzhu had fallen asleep leaning on his shoulder, Yun Duqing whispered, "It's not you who accompanied me to watch the moon, it's me who watched the moon with the pig on my back."
Suddenly, he stopped and looked to the end of the corridor.
Yun Yanze, wearing a gag, stood in the dark where the lantern could not reach, watching him silently. Behind him stood several guards with knives, keeping a close watch on him.
The two brothers looked at each other, neither of them spoke, there was nothing to say.
One of them is His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, and the other is a sin to be removed from the royal family genealogy.
The guards saluted in unison: "Greetings to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."
Yun Duqing nodded to them modestly, not realizing that there was anything wrong with carrying his own Crown Princess on his back, and walked past them leisurely.
Yun Yanze glanced at Yun Duqing's back. His rosy cheeks were still full of satisfaction. He was so happy that he didn't seem like he was in the palace.
Jiuzhu turned her face dazedly and turned it to the other side, leaving him with the back of her head.
The night breeze blew, bringing a faint minty scent to both of their bodies.
He remembered the large patches of mint that grew beside Ming Jiuzhu's tomb in his dream and spread all the way to Prince Chen's tomb.
"Zui Yanze, you're not leaving?"
He looked away and down at the shackles on his wrists.
Dreams are just dreams.
Dreams are fake and can never come true.
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