Xiao Yan stood in the corner of the hall, his cold eyes falling on the fifth prince. This bastard is always sowing discord, so disgusting!
The fifth prince felt a burning gaze. It turned out that "Xiao Yun" was flirting with him. The look seemed to have substance, making him feel itchy.
After not seeing her for many days, Xiaoyun seems to have become more beautiful, with charming eyes and eyebrows. Today is the end of the matter, and Xiaoyun is his!
Ji Yunhuan still lowered his head respectfully. If it were Xiao Yan, he would definitely ignore such boring provocation, but Ji Yunhuan knew very well the power of a slow knife cutting meat, so he immediately retorted.
"Fifth brother, you are wrong. There was no disagreement between me and the Emperor. I was just unwell, so I came a little late. How can that be considered as dissatisfaction with the Emperor?"
The Fifth Prince was stunned for a moment. When had Xiao Yan become so sharp-tongued? In the past, he would not bother explaining such trivial matters, which was why his father gradually alienated him.
"What do you mean there were no conflicts? Everyone knows that you disobeyed the emperor three years ago and defended the Qi family. If you hadn't angered the emperor, how could you have been deposed as the crown prince?"
"And Queen Qi is just like you, disrespecting the emperor and siding with the rebellious Qi family..."
Ji Yunhuan suddenly raised his head and sternly rebuked, "Fifth brother, be careful what you say! The late Empress, feeling guilty towards Your Majesty, committed suicide in the Hall of Supreme Harmony. Is this something to be happy about? My father was deeply saddened by this and suspended court for three days. Have you considered my father's feelings when you mentioned this?"
The emperor's face showed sorrow, and he glanced at the fifth prince with dissatisfaction, "Today is the Spring Festival, there is no need to talk about the past."
The fifth prince also knew that he had said the wrong thing.
At the New Year's banquet three years ago, the Qi family forced the emperor to abdicate and was apprehended on the spot. Queen Qi pointed at the emperor's nose and cursed him, every word hurtful, and then she drew her sword and committed suicide in front of the Hall of Supreme Harmony.
This matter was not glorious, so the emperor naturally wanted to whitewash it and announced to the outside world that Queen Qi committed suicide because she felt guilty towards the emperor. For this reason, the emperor also suspended court for three days to express his grief.
Concubine Wu immediately stepped in to smooth things over. "Peng'er is young and impulsive. He can't stand anyone being disrespectful to Your Majesty, so he made a slip of the tongue. This is also an act of filial piety. I hope Your Majesty won't blame him."
The emperor softened his tone, "Look how scared you are. I don't blame him. They are all my sons. How could I blame my own sons?"
"Come here, give the eldest prince a seat!"
Liu Xi guessed the emperor's intention. The emperor didn't say where to sit, so it was natural that he didn't want to give the prince a good position. It would not be easy for the prince to win the emperor's heart.
He arranged the eldest prince to sit next to the eighth prince, letting the two brothers keep each other company. It was better than sitting alone.
Xiao Yan stood silently behind Xiaoyun. The table assigned to Xiaoyun was small, and the dishes on it were cold and greasy. Just one look at them made him lose his appetite.
The chair is small and the paint on the back is peeling. It would be better to just sit in a wheelchair to save myself the trouble.
From beginning to end, Ji Yunhuan didn't touch the food on the table. Who knows if Concubine Wu would put something in it?
Xiao Yan took out the water bag he brought with him and fed it to Xiao Yun's mouth. He then carefully wiped the corners of her mouth and said softly, "When it's over, let's go back and eat something delicious."
Ji Yunhuan rolled her eyes at him in annoyance, "I'm the one who made all this. You can only light a fire and can't even cut the vegetables neatly."
Xiao Yan coughed awkwardly, "I'll be fine after I practice more."
The eighth prince, Xiao Mu, came over with a bowl of hot soup and handed it to Ji Yunhuan. "Brother, it's windy here. It's windy. Drink some to warm yourself up. Don't...don't catch a cold."
Ji Yunhuan listened patiently to the eighth prince finish speaking, took the hot soup and warmed it in his hands, saying with a smile: "Thank you, eighth brother, it's amazing that you still think of me."
Xiao Mu was flattered. He had been a stutterer since he was a child, and his other brothers disliked him. Even his mother, Concubine An, was disliked by His Majesty.
In contrast, his elder brother treated him equally and even taught him his lessons. He admired his elder brother in his heart, but his elder brother was very cold and he didn't dare to get close to him.
Big Brother seemed to be particularly gentle today. Xiao Mu's face flushed, and he stuttered even more. "Big... Big Brother, you... you don't have to be polite... We are... we are brothers, we should help each other... "
"Meow~~" A little kitten came out from Xiao Mu's sleeve and climbed onto Ji Yunhuan's legs.
Ji Yunhuan's eyes lit up. The soft kitten felt so good to her touch that she couldn't let it go. "Why did you bring the cat up to the main hall?"
Xiao Mu was almost crying with anxiety!
He was still a child, only thirteen or fourteen years old, and his eyes turned red and he was about to cry.
"Shh~ Big brother, keep your voice down, don't let anyone hear you. Xiaohua went out to play and never came back. Later, I heard from mother that Xiaohua was killed. Mother asked me to keep the kittens under control and not let them run around."
"Later, Concubine Wu said she wanted to clear out the cats and dogs in the palace. All my kittens were taken away, except Xiaoxiao. It was the youngest and Xiaohua's baby. I hid it in my arms and that's how it escaped."
"I didn't dare leave it alone, for fear that someone would catch it, so I carried it with me. Xiaoxiao, shhhhh~ Stop yelling, or someone will hear you."
Xiao Mu spoke incoherently, with tears in his eyes. Ji Yunhuan took out a piece of meat from the soup and fed it to Xiao Xiao. Xiao Xiao really quieted down and obediently crawled into Xiao Mu's sleeve.
"It was just hungry. It couldn't help but run out when it smelled the meat."
Xiao Mu breathed a sigh of relief, rubbed his red eyes, and smiled embarrassedly.
Ji Yunhuan couldn't help but reach out and rub Xiao Mu's head. The Eighth Prince was so adorable. It was rare for him to maintain such a pure heart despite suffering discrimination in the deep palace.
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