The quiet and magnificent bedroom was disturbed by the sound of hurried footsteps.

"Your Highness! Your Highness! Great joy, great joy..."

Before the young eunuch could finish his shout, he was interrupted by the head palace maid Hongdou at the door.

"What are you yelling about! His Highness is still asleep. Let's talk later."

"......"

The sound of whispering came from outside. The person on the bed couldn't help but pull up the quilt, curl up into a ball and cover his ears.

After a while, the young man's sad voice couldn't help but come out from inside.

"Red Bean——"

The head palace maid guarding the door glared at the young eunuch, turned around and walked inside. Inside the spacious and luxurious bedroom, there were several pots of silver charcoal on the ground. The whole room was unusually warm, as if it were spring.

Zhou Huaiyan lay on the bed, his black hair scattered everywhere. The early morning light slanted in, outlining the young man's beautiful profile. Zhou Huaiyan looked very much like his mother, and there was a bit of the Jiang family's heroic spirit between his eyebrows. He really had a very good appearance.

Hongdou was distracted and tried hard to look away from her master's face.

He seemed to be still unconscious, sitting motionless on the bed, his fingers unconsciously playing with the jade beads on the curtain.

Ding ding dong dong, the sound of the collision is particularly crisp and pleasant.

Soon, palace servants carrying toiletries, with their eyes lowered, streamed in.

Zhou Huaiyan was being helped to dress and wash, looking lazy.

"It's so early. If it's not a great joy, I will punish you by not allowing you to sleep for three days."

The little eunuch knelt on the ground, looking frightened but more excited.

"Your Highness the Ninth Prince, Duke Wei arrived in Beijing last night and entered the palace early this morning!"

"Uncle is back?!"

Zhou Huaiyan woke up instantly.

His biological mother was the younger sister of Duke Wei, Jiang Yi, but unfortunately she died early in childbirth. To comfort him, the emperor sent the newly born Zhou Huaiyan to Duke Wei to be raised for a few years, and also took this opportunity to recall Duke Wei, who was stationed in the northern border, back to the capital.

But five years ago, foreign tribes began to constantly invade the border, and Duke Wei was ordered to tour the north, and now he has finally returned.

"I'm really happy, reward me!"

The boy's eyes lit up. Hongdou couldn't help but remind him,

"Your Highness, you still need to take medicinal food."

"No more, no more!"

"This is..."

"--no!"

The last two words were drowned out by the stern and deep voice of Duke Wei. Before Zhou Huaiyan could react, the palace maids in the bedroom knelt on the ground.

Duke Ning was born into a family of generals. He joined the army at the age of fifteen and guarded the border for decades. His tiger eyes were very intimidating.

"uncle!"

Zhou Huaiyan was not afraid, and smiled as he pulled the person over to sit down, trying to get away with it.

"I am anxious to see you. I haven't seen my uncle for such a long time. Huai Yan really misses you."

Duke Wei snorted lightly, sat down beside him, and his tone softened slightly.

"Humph, you're becoming more and more slick."

Zhou Huaiyan is extremely thick-skinned.

"Thank you, uncle."

Duke Wei drank a sip of tea and carefully looked at the only child left by his younger sister. After not seeing him for five years, the child had grown a lot taller and looked like a handsome young man.

Duke Wei stroked his beard with satisfaction.

[Well, at 18 years old, I am considered an adult. But my body is still a little frail.]

The uncle squeezed the boy's thin shoulders.

Hongdou took the opportunity to wave her hand, and the kneeling palace servants retreated as if they had been pardoned.

The maid quickly served Duke Ning his favorite hot tea and also brought the ninth prince's medicinal food.

Zhou Huaiyan: “........”

Good job, Red Bean!

Duke Wei looked at the young man's reluctant expression and his expression darkened slightly.

The younger sister's child was born prematurely, and she had a serious illness ten years ago. The other princes were good at both civil and military affairs, riding and shooting, but Zhou Huaiyan had to take medicine every day.

But Zhou Huaiyan himself was not worried at all, because he did not have to get up early and go to school and practice riding and archery like other princes. He only needed to eat, drink and have fun every day, and even if he did something wrong, the emperor would be particularly tolerant of him.

——It would be better if I didn’t have to take medicated food every day.

Zhou Huaiyan fiddled with it but refused to drink. He asked with a smile,

"Uncle, did you bring back a lot of exotic treasures from the North this time? Did you bring some exotic beauties for Huai Yan to see?"

It was fine at first, but when he heard about the beauty, Duke Wei slammed the table, annoyed that the couple had failed to make it.

"I am neither good at literature nor martial arts, and I think about these things every day!"

Zhou Huaiyan immediately lowered his eyebrows and eyes, looking like he had suffered a lot of injustice.

"My uncle is so stingy now that he won't even give me a few little toys. Huai Yan is worried about my uncle's safety every day and can't sleep every night.

If uncle likes those princes who are accomplished in both literature and martial arts, he should go find them and claim them as his nephew. Huai Yan is inferior to them in every way and is not worthy of being your nephew."

Duke Wei: "......"

He is putting the blame on someone else.

Although he knew that it was just childish sweet talk, Duke Wei finally lost his temper.

He had been a soldier for half his life, and both of his sons died on the battlefield. His younger sister also died for the sake of the royal heir. In terms of loyalty, the Jiang family was also very loyal. As for Huai Yan, he did not ask the child to go to the battlefield. It would be best if he could live a rich and smooth life.

"Forget it, forget it. Come back with me later and choose whatever you like."

As he said this, he stood up and straightened his clothes.

Zhou Huaiyan also stood up.

"Uncle is taking me away now?"

"No, this time I'm going to the palace to see His Majesty."

I should have gone directly to the Xuanzheng Hall, but I couldn't bear to leave my children, so I took a detour and took a look first.

Zhou Huaiyan understood the hidden meaning of his uncle's words. His heart sank, and he went up to him to be nice.

"I knew that my uncle really loves Huai Yan the most, but next time my uncle comes, he must go see the emperor first, otherwise he will be reported by some villain, and Huai Yan will not want my uncle to be punished."

"Humph, His Majesty will not care about these trivial matters."

Duke Wei was delighted.

Zhou Huaiyan sighed. His uncle was said to be invincible on the battlefield, so how could he not understand what he said?

When a minister went to the palace to meet the emperor, he did not go directly to see the emperor, but instead came to see a prince.

——The emperor is being too suspicious.

"Hurry, hurry, I'll take my uncle to see my father as soon as possible, so that you can take me out of the palace to play in the afternoon."

Duke Wei waved his hands.

"No need for you to send me off. It's snowing heavily outside."

Zhou Huaiyan did not insist and just watched him leave from the door.

After the tall figure disappeared from sight, Zhou Huaiyan heard Hongdou's voice.

"Your Highness, the Duke just ordered me to reheat the medicinal meal."

Zhou Huaiyan: “…”

After all, he is still my uncle.

The little prince's face suddenly fell.

However, in the afternoon, Duke Wei sent a message saying that he had something urgent to do and there was a convoy waiting outside, so Zhou Huaiyan didn't have to wait for him. But the young man still went to ask for the emperor's permission before leaving the palace.

After all, this father, the emperor, appeared to be the most kind and loving to him among the princes, but only Zhou Huaiyan knew that the prince his father disliked the most was himself.

——Because he has the blood of the Jiang family.

As soon as he left the palace, Zhou Huaiyan saw the convoy of cars waiting at the Duke's Mansion from afar. They said they had followed the Duke in the morning and had been waiting until now.

"Ah, after all, my uncle is the best to me."

Zhou Huaiyan smiled.

The luxurious carriage was specially modified to be windproof and waterproof, and it was lined with velvet and filled with hot springs. It was warm and comfortable.

The Duke's convoy traveled in a mighty manner, but unfortunately, after leaving the city gate, they ran into a group of merchants transporting cattle, horses, and slaves.

During this era, slave trade was legal, and most of it was even government-run.

Those people were all half-dressed, dirty and filthy, but their faces and bones were very three-dimensional, and they didn't look like people from the Zhou Dynasty. There were only a few slave channels, and thinking of his uncle who had just returned to Beijing, Zhou Huaiyan guessed that these slaves were probably from the northern foreign tribes.

"Your Highness, be careful not to let the cold air enter your body. Those are all dirty animals. Don't let them pollute your eyes."

Hongdou helped him cover the car curtain and frowned.

"The people in the Municipal Office are becoming more and more unruly. Don't they know who can walk this path?!"

Zhou Huaiyan did not answer, he knew that this was the norm in feudal dynasties.

On one side was the convoy of the Duke of Wei's mansion, and on the other side was a team transporting hundreds of slaves and livestock. Although the road was wide, they were still blocked. The noise outside became louder, disturbing Zhou Huaiyan's eyelids.

Suddenly something flashed through his mind, and he grabbed the senior palace maid beside him.

"Hongdou, what did you just say?!"

"Mo...Mo polluted His Highness's eyes?"

"No, the latter part!"

"The people in the city office have no rules. How could they transport slaves to this road..."

Before she could finish her words, Hongdou immediately realized that something was wrong.

call out!

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh——

The next second, the sound of several arrows breaking through the air was shocking and piercing.

"Jiang Yi, give me your life!!!"

The author has something to say:

The alien race in the article is a private setting

Equivalent to the ancient northern Xiongnu, barbarians, Hu people, etc.