Longing for you all night

As night fell, candles flickered in the Qianqing Palace and it was so quiet that the only sound was the rustling of pages.

Today is New Year's Eve. According to the custom in previous years, the emperor would hold a banquet in Yonghe Palace to entertain his ministers. However, this year he was unable to attend due to injury, so this troublesome task fell on the head of the imperial teacher. After all, he was the most powerful person in the former court and the harem.

As for Qiu Ling, he was also pushed out to help the Imperial Preceptor deal with those difficult officials. The Imperial Preceptor was not good at talking, and with Qiu Ling's help, he hoped to offend less people. What he also wanted to do was to watch the Imperial Preceptor restrain Li Qingyun in the court in the future.

Moreover, we can use this opportunity to allow Qiu Ling and the Imperial Master to have more contact with each other and ease the relationship between them. It really kills two birds with one stone!

Ji Mingxiu thought that his arrangement this time was perfect, but he had no idea how the ministers and officials were feeling the torment of living day by day during the tense banquet.

But this has nothing to do with him anymore. What he needs to do now is to go out for a walk while no one is watching him, otherwise he will really end up lying on the grass.

In order not to alarm the palace servants guarding outside the palace, Ji Mingxiu tentatively called the young guard who had just been in office for seven days.

"Tianfeng?"

"I am here."

Before he could react to where the sound came from, a black shadow jumped down from the beam and landed lightly in front of the couch.

"What do you want, Your Majesty?"

"Why are you... on the rafters?"

"Your Majesty asked me to accompany you, so of course I have to stay close to Your Majesty at all times and in all places." Cheng Tianfeng tilted his head and answered calmly.

"No need..." Ji Mingxiu helplessly held his forehead. He was about to say that it was scary so late at night, but he swallowed his words after seeing Cheng Tianfeng's tearful and aggrieved eyes.

"It's ok during the day, but at night... just stay here at night." Ji Mingxiu smiled and patted the bed, "Is it close enough?"

"Yes, I obey your command."

Ji Mingxiu originally meant to make fun of this rigid little guard, saying that it was not so easy to get on the emperor's throne, but he did not expect him to respond so quickly, putting him in a difficult position.

Forget it, forget it. I just hope Qiu Ling won’t see me at night, so he won’t nag me anymore.

"Hey... I remember that you are good at martial arts. Why don't we test your skills today?"

Ji Mingxiu cleared his throat and began to set a trap for the innocent little dog.

The poor little guard thought that the emperor really wanted to test his abilities, so he happily patted his chest and agreed.

"If you can take me to the top of the Tianji Tower without alerting the guards, you will pass the test, how about that?"

"yes."

As soon as he finished speaking, Cheng Tianfeng hurriedly stretched out his hands to pick him up from the couch, fearing that if he was a step slower he would be identified as an unqualified little guard.

Ji Mingxiu hurriedly stopped him and said, "Wait, let me put on a cloak, it's freezing outside."

"I will help you."

"No, no, no, hiss, be gentle, I'm a casualty!"

After a lot of chaos, Ji Mingxiu was finally able to leave the hall.

The moon cannot be seen in the dark blue sky, but a few stars can be seen through the clouds.

Ji Mingxiu lay in Cheng Tianfeng's arms, with the sound of the wind whistling in his ears and the brightly lit Tiandu City beneath his feet.

The guard's Qinggong was quite good, to the point that he was extremely envious. His body was strong and his lower body was stable, which was very rare. Even among the martial arts masters he had met in the past ten years, he could be considered a leader.

His mother had a difficult birth and died, and he was left with a frail body. His father and brother wanted him to practice martial arts to strengthen his body, but he really had no talent. His three-legged cat kung fu was not enough to scare people, let alone such difficult moves.

While Ji Mingxiu was lost in thought for a moment, the two of them had already reached the top of the Tianji Tower.

Tianji Tower is located on Zhuque Street, the most prosperous street in the entire Tiandu City. It is the most grand time of the year, so it is even more magnificent.

Ji Mingxiu did not get up, still wrapped in a fluffy cloak and nestled in Cheng Tianfeng's arms. He stared for a long time at the brightly lit Suzaku Street below him, watching the surging crowds of people forming a myriad of fire trees and silver flowers.

Ever since Ji Mingxiu could remember, his brother would sneak out of the boring banquet every New Year's Eve, change into casual clothes and go shopping on Suzaku Street. Later, his brother became increasingly busy, and for a few years, Gu Zi'an would bring him here.

By this year, no one was taking him to sneak out of the banquet.

In that case, let’s take a good look at it.

I guess I won’t come here again in the future.

However, the cold wind in this winter was really biting. Even though Ji Mingxiu wrapped himself in a thick cloak, he still shivered.

He had been weak and sickly since childhood, and was afraid of cold weather on weekdays. The cold wind at the top of the Tianji Tower was even more biting. Ji Mingxiu was very cold but reluctant to leave, so he could only rely on Cheng Tianfeng's strong internal strength. He curled himself up as much as possible to avoid the cold, hiding in Cheng Tianfeng's arms, trying to get close to him and keep warm.

"Do your parents live in Tiandu?"

This was nonsense. The guards who could serve in the palace had clean family backgrounds and all of them worked in the imperial city. However, I don't know if it was Ji Mingxiu's illusion, but the little guard's arms around him seemed to tighten a little.

"Yes." Cheng Tianfeng responded in a low voice, and after thinking for a moment, he added, "I have always lived here."

"Then do you want to go home and have a look? I will grant you leave."

There must be no one who doesn't want to be reunited with family on New Year's Eve. Although he no longer has such an opportunity, the warm atmosphere of the world still touches the softest part of his heart.

Ji Mingxiu may not know that at this moment he looks paler than usual, with a fragile look like glass. Although he looks gentle, he makes people feel as if there is a huge distance between them.

"No, I don't want to." Cheng Tianfeng lowered his eyes and dared not look into Ji Mingxiu's eyes. He refused repeatedly in a panic. Fortunately, Ji Mingxiu did not notice his abnormality. He looked at His Majesty who seemed to be a little cold in his arms, and silently turned his internal energy to make his embrace warmer.

After a moment, he finally calmed down his tone.

"The relationship between the subordinates and their parents...is not that close. They also have younger brothers at home."

"Besides, Your Majesty is the most important."

"you……"

Ji Mingxiu was stunned. Who would think that a person who was not related to him was more important than his biological parents? Of course, such official words could not be trusted. Maybe Cheng Tianfeng really had a bad relationship with his family.

However, for Ji Mingxiu at this moment, even if this was just a nice word, it could not help but leave ripples in his eyes that could not be ignored.

For some reason, he no longer wanted to watch this lively New Year's Eve scene that had nothing to do with him.

"Go back."

"yes."

Ji Mingxiu suddenly realized that Cheng Tianfeng seemed to have never asked him why, and always did whatever he said. Even though he was a little silly sometimes, he was rarely sincere.

"Your Qinggong is amazing."

He stretched out his hands and hugged Cheng Tianfeng's neck tightly, not sparing his praise.

A sincere person will always make people treat him sincerely, even the emperor is not immune.

"yes."

"Why don't you be a little more humble?"

"…I admit my mistake."

"Hahaha." Ji Mingxiu couldn't help laughing when he saw Cheng Tianfeng's flushed face. His hearty laughter diluted the aloofness on him and tinged him with a bit of fireworks. "Then I will punish you by sending you back to warm my bed."

"Yes, I obey your command."