Bring it to young people

Qiu Ling's Personal Extra

In the eleventh year of Dingyuan, summer.

The scorching summer light is blinding and makes people feel restless and unable to calm down.

"Your Highness! Your Highness!"

Qiu Ling walked quickly through the dense forest of embroidered flowers. Layer after layer of flowers passed by his pale fingertips, and the sweat raised by the flames soaked his navy blue robe.

He had only just brought a plate of pickled sweet plums to His Highness when he disappeared.

The Imperial Master is still waiting for Your Highness to attend the afternoon class in Chaoyue Palace!

Qiu Ling followed the direction of his memory, and a few red bricks and green branches piled casually in the corner of the wall attracted his attention.

He squatted down and moved the debris away, revealing a small hole.

He just knew it.

Your Highness must not have done his homework today, that's why he doesn't dare to go to the morning class.

Qiu Ling stood up helplessly and sighed. Although he still looked like a young boy, he inexplicably had an inappropriate maturity about him.

Outside the Yu Garden was Tiandu's Suzaku Street. He stepped on the red bricks and managed to climb over the wall, thinking that he would be punished again when he returned today.

But if Your Highness runs out alone, there will be many people in Tiandu, and if something happens, even if he has three heads, it will not be enough to atone for the crime.

There were hibiscus trees planted on both sides of Suzaku Street. At the end of the colorful flowers, he finally saw the bright yellow figure of His Highness.

"Let me go! I don't want to go to the morning class. Whoever wants to see his expression can go!"

Ji Mingxiu was caught after running only two steps with his robe in his hand. He was so angry that he acted like a hooligan in the street. His face, which was slightly red from sweat, looked even more charming and lovely under the bright sunlight. It was impossible to get angry at him, and people could only feel helpless.

"If you offend my highness again, I will punish you!"

Anyway, in this palace, no one dares to control him except his brother and father!

Even the Imperial Master, that little old man with white hair at such a young age, could only give him a cold look, humph!

"Your Highness."

Qiu Ling did not dare to use too much force, he could only half-kneel and gently hold His Highness' slender wrist. This was already a violation of the law, he did not dare to look directly into His Highness's eyes, he lowered his head and whispered kindly to comfort him.

"I dare not stand in your way, Your Highness, but it is very hot outside. Your Highness, why don't you wait until the sun sets, and then I will accompany you out to enjoy the cool breeze?"

"I don't want to hear it!"

Ji Mingxiu turned his head away, raised his chin proudly, and looked extremely proud.

"Your Highness is going out today, and no one can control me today!"

"Really?"

A steady and stern voice came from behind, and it was a hot day but it made people shiver.

"I can't control you anymore?"

"Father...Father Emperor?"

Ji Mingxiu was stunned for a moment, with a bitter face, and turned around carefully. He quietly raised his eyes to glance at his father's gloomy face and quickly lowered his head, secretly criticizing Old Man Su for complaining to his father again.

Ji Ning lowered her eyes and looked at the spoiled little son in front of her, her brows furrowed, her mind full of thoughts.

This was the last treasure Xieying left for him. He had been sick since he was a child and was terribly loved. He was frighteningly ruthless in everything he did, but he was reluctant to use any harsh measures on his youngest son.

It's okay for the child to be a little spoiled, as Mingyu will support him in important matters. But he must not raise her to be an unlearned playboy, otherwise how can he face Xieying in the afterlife?

"Don't you want to go to morning class?"

He stroked the cool jade ring with his fingertips, and secretly decided to teach this kid a lesson.

However, his eyes fell on Ji Mingxiu's thin figure.

If there really is a punishment, no one would have the heart to do it.

But if...

Ji Ning paced for a while with his hands behind his back, the hem of his black robe floating up and down, and he looked at the little eunuch who was kneeling beside him in silence with a scrutinizing look.

"He is lazy in his studies, disrespectful to his elders, and refuses to change despite repeated admonitions."

Every time he spoke a word, Ji Mingxiu's body trembled, and he lowered his head and dared not speak.

"According to the rules, he should be caned ten times."

"Father?!"

Ji Mingxiu raised his head in disbelief, his eyes slightly reddened. He had never thought that his father would actually punish him. Although his father was strict from childhood to adulthood, when it came to real kung fu, he had never touched him even with a finger. That was why he dared to be so arrogant because of his father's favor.

"But since you are a prince and have been ill since childhood, I will not punish you."

He stopped in front of Qiu Ling, glanced at him indifferently, then looked away. His tone was casual but firm, and he made a conclusion in just three or two sentences.

"Let your personal eunuch take the punishment for you."

"No... No, Father! This is all my fault. It has nothing to do with Qiu Ling!"

Ji Mingxiu leaned forward hastily but failed to pull Ji Ning's clothes. His father's cold voice reached his ears, which was firm and left no room for maneuver.

"From now on, whatever punishment you deserve will be borne by him."

The fragrance of flowers filled the air on both sides, making her look confused. Among the white petals, Qiu Ling, who had been silent all this time, quietly raised her eyes and barely noticed with her peripheral vision the tip of the little princess's drooping white finger.

"I am willing to do so."

He whispered this in his heart, burying it along with this little joy.

*

Birds and insects chirp, the mountain moon is silent. It is a sleepless summer night, and neither is he.

Qiu Ling lay in front of the bed, counting the squares where the moon was jumping on the ground.

The whip wounds on my back were burning with pain, and only the coolness of the night could provide some relief.

“Squeak—”

The sound of the old wooden door seemed particularly clear in the sleepy night. A sense of alertness suddenly rose between his brows, which was inconsistent with his childish face. However, it disappeared in the next moment after he saw who was coming under the bright moonlight.

"Your Highness?"

Qiu Ling half-raised himself. He did not have time to think about why His Highness would condescend to come to his room so late at night. He was just glad that he often cleaned the room on weekdays. Although it was still simple, it was tidy.

Cleanliness was the only thing he could offer despite his poverty.

"sorry……"

His Highness's voice was a little hoarse, and it made him feel shocked and at a loss as to what to do.

"I...I will never skip class again."

In the moonlight that filled the window, a hibiscus flower covered with snow was placed beside his bed. In contrast, he finally saw the corners of His Highness's eyes, which were red from crying.

For the first time, the young man tasted self-blame, the bitter taste of salty tears.

He took out the well-protected ointment from his arms and handed it to her. The pain could not be healed, so he could only do his best to heal it.

"It must be very painful... By the way, I asked my brother for some ointment. He said it's very effective."

The things that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince took out were naturally not ordinary items. It would be a waste of resources to use them on a lowly servant like him.

Qiu Ling did not take the box of ointment. His heavy gaze moved away from the gorgeous hibiscus flower and fell on the red corners of His Highness' eyes.

This was the first time he looked at His Highness so boldly, and also the last time.

Because I don’t know, because I know.

"Don't cry, Your Highness. It doesn't hurt. Really."

He didn't lie. The whipping on his back was very painful before, but now, Qiu Ling reached out his hand and clumsily and gently wiped the tears from the corners of His Highness' eyes.

The thin fingertips were burned red by the tears, and they looked sour and bitter.

He didn't know what was wrong with him, but just looking at His Highness like this, he felt...

My heart is broken.

*

I see flowers blooming in the morning and withering in the evening, the flowers are gone in a hurry.

He really wanted to keep this hibiscus flower, but the hibiscus blooms in the morning and withers in the evening, and it had quietly passed away before the wind had even stopped.

In this complicated palace, his fate was no different from that of the hibiscus; it was only reduced to dust in the blink of an eye.

But his feelings shouldn't be like this.

Qiu Ling stood in the wind, and the bright moon could be seen when he looked up. But he bowed his head and said nothing, and the moonlight did not fall on him.

In his ears was the sound coming from Chaoyue Palace, ambiguous and hazy. There was a crescent-shaped bloodstain engraved on his thin white palm, just like the gorgeous Shunhua on his sleeves.

He knew that this affection would eventually fade away along with the withering of the powder.

So he embroidered the hibiscus flower on his sleeve, hoping that this fleeting affection could last longer and longer.

And he only dared to embroider it inside his sleeves.

He didn't know when those secret feelings that could hardly be seen in the light of day took root in his heart.

But now, he can only hide everything in this small corner that never sees the sun, letting it bloom alone and then wither away.

It has been a problem for many years and is difficult to resolve.

*

At noon, I dream of thousands of mountains and an arrow in the shadow of the window.

His Majesty's figure became more and more handsome, but he always missed a step, like a silent shadow, calm and dull.

Li Qingyun once tested him, tested the passion hidden deep in his heart, to see if it would turn into bloodshed one day.

But he knows it himself.

He had never thought about it, not at all.

real.

Qiu Ling looked at His Majesty's back, and the hands that were slightly extended due to the obscure and hidden impulse were blown away by the breeze the next moment.

He is just a lowly, lowly and extremely boring eunuch. How can he be worthy of Your Majesty, and how dare he do that?

The warm summer light accidentally fell on him, and he was so frightened that he was afraid he would sink to the bottom of the abyss.

He had long understood that only when one has nothing will one not be afraid of losing.

So what he didn't dare to ask for, every little bit he got made him extremely afraid of the day he would lose it.

He was never one to indulge in love. It was a vast ocean that was frightening just by looking at it, and he had no boat to cross it.

But those loves, those drifting flowers without soil, from the moment they take root in the heart, are destined to seep out from every little crack even if they are not spoken out.

By the time he realized it, a huge wave had already risen that was enough to drown him completely.

When he knelt for a long time at the stone steps of Changning Palace, he leaned over and humbly prayed to the gods and Buddhas in heaven, secretly hoping in his heart that this could end at this moment, with his despicable love.

His Majesty's coldness as a knife was the most difficult thing for him to face.

And desolation withers everything because of the flower that should not exist in the heart.

During countless sleepless nights, this was the best ending he had ever imagined.

At least, it's clean.

Ten years have passed, and he is still the same as before.

This is the best thing he can come up with.

But when His Majesty helped him up, their cool fingertips inevitably touched each other, and all his high-built will collapsed at this moment.

What should I do, my Lord?

He couldn't bear to let it go.

He was willing to use everything he had, even if he had nothing to begin with, even if it was the abyss of life after life, even if he had to live a more humble life for the rest of his life, like a pool of rotten mud.

But if I could just look at His Majesty from a distance again...

Why not?

Your Majesty, I just want to...

He raised his head, his eyes filled with love that was boiling red.

I just want to be able to look at you forever.