Chapter 37: Golden Platform Clash of Ideas
Zhao Yan didn't want to go out because he was feeling weak, and he was also afraid that Yong Shaolan would notice something was wrong. After two days of staying in Zichen Palace, he couldn't stay any longer and asked Xiao Zhouzi where they could go to play.
Xiao Zhouzi had just brought Zhao Yan's tonic in when he heard Zhao Yan was about to leave. He quickly advised, "Your Highness, you get dizzy after taking two steps. You can't go anywhere."
“…”
"Okay," Zhao Yan breathed a sigh of relief, finished drinking the medicine, and felt a little stronger. He asked Xiao Zhouzi to bring him the work report sent from Guanyang.
Most of the schools in Guanyang are almost finished. The schools in the existing locations have already hired teachers and started classes. Only some of the more remote villages are still repairing the houses, but classes will be able to resume normally by September at the latest.
Zhao Yan put the letter down with satisfaction. "What a coincidence, it's also September."
Little Zhouzi watched Zhao Yan's face turn a little rosier after taking the medicine. Thinking back to what had happened in the Heavenly Palace recently, he couldn't help but feel sad for his Highness. So he asked, "Your Highness, how about we go to the Imperial Concubine's place at noon?"
"Queen Mother?" Zhao Yan waved his hand. "Queen Mother has been inseparable from Father since she came to Yujing. I don't want to be a third wheel."
When Xiao Zhouzi heard Zhao Yan calling the wrong title, he cautiously reminded him, "Your Highness, you can't call me mother now. You have to change it to mother concubine..."
Zhao Yan realized it belatedly and glanced at Xiao Zhouzi: "Huh? Oh, I remember now."
Seeing that Zhao Yan was not angry, Xiao Zhouzi sighed and spoke more boldly: "Last month, at the birthday banquet of His Majesty, the envoys of the Oirat sent several exotic dancers. A few days ago, His Majesty favored one of them and made her Yingpin. His Majesty has been with Yingpin these days."
"..." Zhao Yan nearly spit out the fruit he was chewing when he heard this. "Is this true? Father is already seventy years old, and he's favoring someone again?"
"Oh, Your Majesty is the Son of Heaven, vigorous and powerful, it's normal for him to favor a concubine." Xiao Zhouzi said: "Your Highness, are you going out? If you go, I will be chased away by the carriage."
"Alright," Zhao Yan nodded. "Since my father is not with my mother, the queen, or my mother's concubine, I'll go see her."
…
Zhao Yan left as soon as he said he would. Xiao Zhouzi prepared a sedan chair. It was only half an hour's walk from the Purple Palace to the Pepper Palace. When Zhao Yan arrived, Concubine Nangong was selecting fabrics in the yard.
When Zhao Yan entered the room, he didn't let the eunuch know. He brought Xiao Zhouzi in by himself. When he reached Concubine Nangong, he was noticed: "A Yan?"
"You've come just in time," Noble Concubine Nangong's expression was just as Zhao Yan had guessed, not at all sad about the dethronement. "The weather is about to turn cold, and mother was just about to choose some fabrics for you to make clothes. What kind of clothes do you like?"
"Let's take this one, the cyan one, I like it," Zhao Yan said, rummaging through it again and selecting a few more sets: "This material is also good, let's make two sets, and I can even give one set as a gift."
"..." Upon hearing this, Noble Concubine Nangong's expression darkened. She raised her hand to signal the Clothing Bureau and the maids around her to leave, then pulled Zhao Yan to sit in the pavilion. "Mother has been too busy to take care of you these past few days. Have you been running to Prince Yong's Mansion all day?"
Concubine Nangong looked at her wimpy son and said, "You need to make two more sets of clothes. Who are they for? Does Prince Yong's Mansion need anything from you?"
“…”
"Mother, you are not angry, why do you say that on purpose?" Zhao Yan had already understood his mother's temper. He could feel that his mother liked Yong Shaolan, otherwise she would not have been so upset when Yong Shaolan refused to marry him.
Zhao Yan could understand why his mother was angry. After all, in modern times, his mother would be the kind of person who would ask if my child could be a child model.
Zhao Yan had no choice but to change the subject: "Let's not talk about outsiders, let's talk about our business. When will mother take me back to Jinling?"
"Want to go back?" Nangong Guifei's face brightened a little after hearing this. "Mother thought you had a lover and forgot about me. After the ceremony of conferring the title of Queen to Concubine Shu is over, your father will confer the title of King on you. Mother and your father have already discussed it and decided to send you to Hangzhou. It's rich and close to Nanjing. I think you'll like it."
"Okay," Zhao Yan said, not being picky about his fiefdom: "Shouldn't we leave now?"
"Yes." Concubine Nangong patted Zhao Yan's hand and said, "Your father is old, and your mother wants to spend more time with him in Yujing. You too, now that the country is stable, you should stay in Yujing for a while."
"Okay," Zhao Yan knew that his mother's words about the "border being stable" were meant to tell him that Yong Shaolan could also stay in Yujing. "Then my mother would like to thank my father on my behalf."
Concubine Nangong: "Well, it's still early, let's go for a walk in the Imperial Garden with my mother."
…
After the beginning of autumn, the flowers in the Imperial Garden began to slowly wither, but fortunately they were still blooming brightly at this time. Concubine Nangong liked roses and took Zhao Yan to the Imperial Garden to see the roses.
As a result, as soon as he walked to the pavilion he usually went to, he saw several palace maids and eunuchs surrounding a woman dressed in brightly colored robes who was playing a hand drum.
The young eunuch in the Pepper Room was tactful and went over to take a look before returning to report, "Your Majesty, that is the newly-wed Yingpin, who is rehearsing something."
Concubine Nangong: "Forget it, then let's not rest, let's take a walk."
Zhao Yan accompanied Concubine Nangong as they passed by the pavilion and took a look inside. As Xiao Zhouzi said, it was a new face, an exotic woman with a high nose bridge and deep eye sockets, but she looked younger than him.
Fortunately, the emperor didn't look too old, otherwise Zhao Yan would feel uncomfortable. Zhao Yan looked away and focused on the flowers: "The flowers there are really beautiful, mother, please look."
At this time, a woman's singing voice was heard in the pavilion.
The female official who accompanied Concubine Nangong and Zhao Yan to appreciate the flowers was furious when she heard this: "Your Majesty, the people in the harem are really becoming more and more unruly. They don't even greet you politely when they see you, and they even dare to make indirect accusations."
The girl sang a poem called "Gong Gong Ci" lamenting that the women in the harem were not favored by the emperor and had to wait for his favor in the palace until dawn. It wasn't that Concubine Nangong didn't understand, she just thought it was ridiculous and didn't bother to pay attention, but she acquiesced to the female official beside her to teach her a lesson.
If you don't punish small mistakes, you will inevitably make big mistakes.
Concubine Nangong: "Let's go. There are plum trees planted by your father. Mother will take you to water them."
Zhao Yan nodded, then heard an argument coming from the pavilion behind him. He looked in the direction of the sound and saw the exotic girl coming towards them angrily: "Your Majesty, I am practicing music for His Majesty, and you are punishing me without any reason. Why is that?!"
Zhao Yan: “…”
"Bold barbarian slave——"
At this time, a deep male voice came from not far away. Everyone looked over and saw who else but Emperor Yuanwu: "How lawless! How dare you shout at His Highness the Seventh Prince and the Imperial Concubine? Take them away and beat them to death with sticks."
"Your Majesty."
"My son has met his father."
Upon hearing this, Concubine Nangong squeezed Zhao Yan's hand, sighed, and then went to meet Emperor Yuanwu and knelt down. "Your Majesty, a foreign woman doesn't understand the etiquette of our Great Yan. She should be confined to her home. Why bother making a big fuss and causing you displeasure?"
"Qingqing, you're just too kind and soft-hearted, which is why these slaves are so unruly and willful." Emperor Yuanwu patted Concubine Nangong's hand and helped her up. "I saw everything that happened just now. The fault lies with her. Besides, a little slave is hard to discipline without killing him."
After Emperor Yuanwu finished speaking, he raised his hand slightly, and the young girl was pulled away by the guards. Before she could even scream, her mouth was blocked.
"Your Majesty, please spare my life—"
Emperor Yuanwu waved towards Zhao Yan as if nothing had happened. "Ah Yan, come here. Let your father see if you've grown taller."
Zhao Yan originally wanted to say a few words to help his mother, but before he could open his mouth, his mother gave him a sidelong look, signaling him not to say anything more.
Zhao Yan lowered his eyes slightly: "...Father."
The young man lifted his clothes and walked to the side of Emperor Yuanwu, "My child is already eighteen years old, how can he grow any taller?"
"Hmph, you've lost too much weight," Emperor Yuanwu pinched Zhao Yan's cheek. "You haven't been taking care of me these past few days. You haven't even eaten properly. Are you sick? Have you asked the imperial physician to see you?"
"I ate well, I'm not sick." Zhao Yan pursed his lips and pondered what he said for a long time. He couldn't help but lift his robe and kneel down: "Father, mother is right. That young lady didn't do anything wrong. Why did you kill her so casually..."
"Ah Yan!" Concubine Nangong walked up to Zhao Yan and said, "Your father has his reasons for doing this. A barbarian girl, if one dies, then one dies—"
"What are you doing?"
"Why don't you get up quickly?"
Upon hearing this, Zhao Yan suddenly looked up to see Concubine Nangong's expression.
He understood the hidden meaning of his mother's words. Should one of them die to save the remaining foreign hostages?
But she was just too young and had a bad temper.
Zhao Yan suddenly felt a chill on his back.
Zhao Yan bit his lip tightly and said after a while: "Father, I know I was wrong..."
"Um."
"Get up," Emperor Yuanwu helped Zhao Yan up, his tone becoming a little colder. "You are young, and your father does not blame you."
Emperor Yuanwu: "I will accompany my father to have lunch."
Zhao Yan nodded woodenly and looked around. Except for him, everyone else was standing there in silence, as if they were afraid of what he would say.
It seemed that they had forgotten the living Yingpin just now.
Zhao Yan: "Yes."
…
After Zhao Yan finished his lunch in the Taiji Hall, he found an excuse to return to his residence.
On the way, Xiao Zhouzi noticed that Zhao Yan looked a little off, so he kept talking to him and trying to comfort him: "Your Highness, do you want to go to Prince Yong's Mansion this afternoon? We still have several sets of clothes from the Clothing Bureau that haven't been sent over yet."
Zhao Yan turned his eyes and glanced at Xiao Zhouzi. Seeing that no one was around, he leaned over and called out to him, "Do I look very bad now?"
Xiao Zhouzi nodded: "Hmm..."
Zhao Yan knew it: "I feel so uncomfortable and want to vomit."
Xiao Zhouzi: "...Your Highness, foreigners were sent here to serve as slaves. A slave, relying on the favor Your Majesty has shown once, dares to mock the Imperial Concubine. He simply has no regard for the etiquette and laws of our Great Yan."
"You don't have to feel bad."
"You can tell at a glance that I'm uncomfortable with this, so why can't Father? You don't feel terrible either... don't you?"
Little Zhouzi shook his head: "As slaves, once we enter the palace, we know that our fate is like floating duckweed."
"You are too kind."
"Forget it, I can't explain it to you clearly," Zhao Yan waved his hand and slumped down in the sedan chair: "Let's go, pack up and go to the palace, I want to complain to Brother Lan!"
"yes."
…
Zhao Yan rushed to Prince Yong's Mansion and expressed his thoughts in one breath. Yong Shaolan's expression was not as ugly as he had imagined.
Zhao Yan blinked: "Isn't that outrageous?"
"So, you're upset because of this?" In the tea room of Prince Yong's mansion, Yong Shaolan was playing chess. After listening to what Zhao Yan said, he casually placed a piece: "As for?"
"Oh my god?" Zhao Yan looked at Yong Shaolan in surprise. "What do you mean by 'it's that serious'? Man, that was a real life. And His Majesty just married her, and you beat her to death just for such a small matter. Beat her to death!"
Zhao Yan repeated it seriously: "Beat him to death!"
Yong Shaolan lowered his eyes and looked at Zhao Yan's wrinkled little face. Seeing that he was in a bad mood, he swallowed what he was about to say and said "hmm" lightly.
Yong Shaolan: "Your Majesty is indeed a bit extreme."
Marquis Wenquan was brewing tea beside the two of them. When he heard his prince say this, his heart couldn't help but skip a beat. Previously, the foreign prisoners of war in Liaodong had amounted to over 100,000 casualties...
Wenquan: "Sir, Your Majesty, the tea is ready."
After saying that, Wenquan retreated.
Only Zhao Yan and Yong Shaolan were left in the room with chess.
"It's so frustrating!" Zhao Yan held the teacup, swallowed it in one gulp, and slammed the cup on the table angrily: "It's so frustrating!"
Yong Shaolan pushed his cup of tea over and said, "Find something to do to relieve yourself?"
“…”
"How can I alleviate it?" Zhao Yan looked at Yong Shaolan, whose expression was calm, and then realized that Yong Shaolan had also lived in a feudal society since childhood: "No need to alleviate it - I'm just too well protected by my family."
Yong Shaolan lowered his eyes slightly: "You are kind-hearted, which is a good thing."
Zhao Yan held a white piece in his hand and looked at Yong Shaolan with a raised eyebrow. "Is this true? Why do I feel like with Brother Lan, kindness is a derogatory term?"
"But there's no point in worrying about this," Zhao Yan started talking to himself without waiting for Yong Shaolan to reply.
This is still a feudal society!
Zhao Yan didn't want to complain too much, so he changed the subject: "Brother Lan, are your eyes better?"
"Much better," Yong Shaolan said calmly, "The medicine is very effective. Thank you, Seventh Prince, on my husband's behalf."
"..." Zhao Yan snorted: "Why are you calling me husband? It's so corny."
"Oh, no, it seems today is the day to pick up the medicine..." Zhao Yan slapped his forehead. In order to hide it from his father, he specifically told Doctor Sun to prepare the medicine in secret, so he took Xiao Zhouzi to pick it up in person on the appointed day. "It's still early, let's stop playing and go back to the palace!"
Yong Shaolan: “…”
"No rush, take it tomorrow and leave it for tonight."
"That won't do." Zhao Yan quickly stood up, took his veil and put it on his head, and hurried out: "Brother Lan, you take a rest first, I'll be back soon."
“…Well,” seeing that he couldn’t stop the person, Yong Shaolan simply put away the chess pieces.
After seeing Zhao Yan off, Wen Quan came in to clear the chessboard. He discovered that the game they were playing wasn't Go. Why were the four pieces blocked? It was as if the rule didn't allow five pieces in a row. "Your Highness, what are you playing?"
Yong Shaolan took a look at the chess pieces Zhao Yan played: "...Maybe he figured it out himself."
What a cute way to play.
…
There are many palaces in Taiji Palace, with a building every five steps and a pavilion every ten steps. Zhao Yan and Xiao Zhouzi took the medicine and walked out of the Imperial Medical Bureau. Before they went out, they heard the young eunuchs whispering outside.
"Have you heard? His Majesty was supposed to go to the Imperial Garden today to listen to Concubine Ying playing the drums, but somehow he ended up beating her half to death. She was then dragged bloody to the Imperial Prison of the Northern Pacification Division."
"It seems she offended the Imperial Noble Consort and the Seventh Prince. Although the Imperial Noble Consort has lost her position as empress, she still assists in managing the six palaces, and the Seventh Prince is a genius. How dare a young girl like her do that? In my opinion, she deserves it."
"Stop talking now. This place is secluded but not deserted. What if someone hears us..."
Zhao Yan listened to everything he said. He originally wanted to choose to forget it, as he alone could not change the entire feudal society. But now that he heard it unexpectedly, he still felt uncomfortable.
Seeing Zhao Yan frown, Xiao Zhouzi went out and called out to the chattering eunuchs, "You idiots, how dare you gossip here—"
"This slave deserves to die, Your Highness, spare my life!"
"This slave deserves death. Please have mercy, Your Highness the Seventh Prince!"
Seeing this, Xiao Zhouzi rolled up his sleeves and was about to grab the man and beat him up: "I'll beat you to death!"
"Wait a minute," Zhao Yan held Xiao Zhouzi back, "Never mind, they're just gossiping, it's nothing serious."
"Thank you, Your Highness the Seventh Prince!"
"The servants will leave immediately! Thank you for your mercy, Your Highness."
"..." Zhao Yan looked at the eunuchs kneeling on the ground and trembling. For some reason, he called out to them, "Wait a minute... You just said he wasn't dead? He went to what... What Pacification Office? What does that do?"
Xiao Zhouzi: "Your Highness, the Northern Pacification Division is a prison for serious criminals of the imperial court. People who go there basically don't survive."
"Isn't she alive?" Zhao Yan pursed his lips and blurted out, "She didn't commit a serious crime. Can't we find a doctor to see her? She's only in her teens, right?"
"There's still a long way to go."
Xiao Zhouzi: "The Northern Pacification Division is now under the jurisdiction of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince... When His Majesty threw her over, he had no intention of letting her live. Your Highness, Seventh Prince, please don't get involved in this matter."
Zhao Yan also knew that he shouldn't care: "Ahhhh! I get it."
"All of you go down."
Upon hearing this, the eunuchs on the ground quickly ran away with their brooms in their hands.
After leaving the Imperial Medical Bureau, Zhao Yan took a carriage out of the Taiji Palace and headed back towards Yujing City, heading towards Prince Yong's Mansion. Halfway through the journey, Zhao Yan couldn't help but call out, "Well, I haven't seen my brother, the Crown Prince, for several days. Turn around and go back. Let's go to Wenhua Palace first."
Little Zhouzi: “…………”
Usually, Zhao Yan would meet Zhao Cheng halfway, but this was the first time he took the initiative to go to Wenhua Hall. When he arrived in front of Wenhua Hall, Zhao Yan got off the sedan chair and walked in.
At that time, Zhao Cheng was discussing the ceremony of crowning Concubine Shu with the Ministry of Rites.
The eunuch from Wenhua Palace came in and announced, "Your Highness, the Seventh Prince is here and wants to see you."
Inside the palace, Zhao Cheng knelt before his desk, facing the Minister of Rites and his two assistant ministers. Upon hearing this, the three of them first glanced at Zhao Cheng's expression, noticing that he didn't seem annoyed by the Seventh Prince. They tactfully offered to leave, "Your Highness, it's getting late. How about we come back another day?"
Zhao Cheng was indeed a little surprised that Zhao Yan actually took the initiative to look for him.
Finally, Zhao Cheng waved his sleeves and signaled to the young eunuch: "Let him have some tea first, I will be there later."
"yes."
…
Zhao Yan waited in the side hall of Wenhua Palace for a while before Zhao Cheng came over alone. "Brother, you're here. I just have something I want to ask you for."
"Oh?" Zhao Cheng's eyes fell on Zhao Yan's wrinkled little face, and he asked, "What's the matter? Why is Ah Yan so anxious?"
"that is……"
Zhao Yan told Zhao Cheng about the Imperial Garden incident. "Brother, isn't that Northern Pacification Division under your jurisdiction? Can you find someone to take a look at her? It's just a small matter..."
After hearing Zhao Yan's intention, Zhao Cheng frowned: "So, Ah Yan came here to ask about that barbarian slave?"
Zhao Cheng: "She's just a little barbarian woman. If she dies, she dies. Even if I go there now, I'm afraid she'll be left with only a layer of skin in the imperial prison."
Zhao Yan: “…”
Before Zhao Yan came, he also felt that he was a little neurotic. Even if he could save one person, he couldn't change this broken feudal society, but he was still very upset!
Zhao Yan pursed his lips: "Is there really no other way? Then forget it."
"..." Zhao Cheng was of course not lying. The Imperial Prison was a place where the Imperial Guards could not even last an hour, let alone a barbarian woman who was beaten half to death. However, Zhao Yan was a bit stupid and pitiful, and he couldn't bear to refuse him: "Then, I'll send someone to check on her. If she's not dead, I'll save her."
"Really?!"
"Thank you!" Zhao Yan sighed, "Thank you very much, brother."
"Yeah, no big deal." Zhao Cheng: "Are you free tonight? Do you want to stay here for dinner?"
"No, brother," Zhao Yan shook his head. "I have to go to Prince Yong's Mansion. I'll host a banquet at Fanlou some other day and treat you to a meal!"
"Okay," Zhao Cheng didn't keep Zhao Cheng, "Brother will take you out."
…
Although it was a matter of no consequence, Zhao Yan felt much more at ease after it was resolved. Returning to Taiji Palace delayed him, and when Zhao Yan returned to Prince Yong's Mansion, it was already past the hour of You, and the sky had completely darkened.
Yong Shaolan was waiting for Zhao Yan to have dinner. During the meal, Zhao Yan told Yong Shaolan about his trip to Wenhua Hall: "Brother Lan, was it a bit foolish for me to do this?"
Yong Shaolan put down his chopsticks and looked up at Zhao Yan: "..."
Before dinner, Zhao Yan gave Yong Shaolan the antidote he got from the Imperial Medical Bureau. After eating it, Yong Shaolan's eyeballs became one, and he should be able to see clearly again.
The candlelight in the yard was very bright, and there was a full moon. When Yong Shaolan's cold gaze fell on Zhao Yan, Zhao Yan immediately realized that the other party was angry.
Although Zhao Yan didn't want to believe it, he still asked hesitantly: "Brother Lan, are you jealous?"
Brother Lan doesn't know that he is Zhao Yan yet. He goes to ask for connections but doesn't even ask him for help, so he's naturally jealous.
Yong Shaolan: "It's just a small matter, why didn't you tell me?"
Zhao Yan explained seriously, "I just went to the Imperial Medical Bureau and happened to run into some young eunuchs gossiping. They said the Northern Pacification Division was under the jurisdiction of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, so I went to beg them with all my might... Sorry, I didn't think that much."
Yong Shaolan frowned and added, "The Seventh Prince is really good to you. Even the Crown Prince listens to you."
Zhao Yan: “!!!”
"I'm sorry!"
Zhao Yan raised his hand to signal the servants in the yard to leave. When they were gone, he walked around to Yong Shaolan, knelt on one knee in front of him, tilted his head and apologized: "Brother Lan, I really didn't think too much about it. Besides, there's nothing between the prince and me. We're just ordinary friends."
Yong Shaolan pursed his lips, lowered his crow feathers, and his eyes fell on Zhao Yan's face: "Get up."
"Not angry anymore?" Zhao Yan stood up, grabbed Yong Shaolan's sleeve, leaned over and looked at him with his head tilted: "Can I sit on Brother Lan's lap and kiss him?"
Yong Shaolan didn't say anything, but Zhao Yan knew he agreed. He sat down, hooked his arms around his neck, and kissed him on the cheek: "I'm not leaving tonight!"
Yong Shaolan raised his eyes and pinched Zhao Yan's pointed chin: "I told you, I am very possessive."
As soon as he finished speaking, Yong Shaolan gave him a somewhat forceful kiss. Zhao Yan felt his lips being forcibly pried open, and a flexible tongue came in. After sweeping around his mouth, it sucked on his tongue and pushed it hard into his throat.
"Hmm..." Zhao Yan's hands were not restrained, and his lower back was resting on the white marble table. Yong Shaolan only gave him a moment, then pinched his chin and kissed him again.
“Stop… stop kissing me…” Zhao Yan obeyed for a while, until his brain was almost deprived of oxygen, and then he struggled to push Yong Shaolan away: “You’re going to eat my mouth!”
"I know you are a pervert," Zhao Yan was not angry that Yong Shaolan kissed him like that. He was indeed lacking in what he did today.
Nervous, impulsive, brainless, and a naive person.
Zhao Yan reflected on it and thought, life is only 30,000 days long, wouldn’t it be nice to lie down and live like a lazy fish?
Zhao Yan leaned obediently on Yong Shaolan's shoulder, gazing at the full moon in the sky. He sighed, "Brother Lan, I'm starting to want to leave Yujing, this troubled place. When I was in Jinling, my mother never let me witness such bloody things."
"Everyone in the mansion is happy and cheerful, but Yujing will eat people and won't even spit out a bone."
Zhao Yan thought, out of sight, out of mind.
Zhao Yan held Yong Shaolan's head and asked seriously, "When your eyes are healed, I'll tell you a secret, a secret that will drop your jaw!"
After Zhao Yan finished speaking, Yong Shaolan pinched his knuckles and said solemnly: "Zhao Yan,"
"Hmm?" Zhao Yan lowered his eyes and looked at the man seriously: "What's wrong?"
"Want to be the savior?"
-----------------------
The author has something to say: Thank you all for the nutrient solution (o^^o)
There will be more plots in the later chapters, so Lao Han will add some spicy ones. Remember to leave your paws in the comment section tomorrow [cat paw][cat paw]
Go to bed early! Good night~
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