Chapter 43 I accept

Seeing that Sui Yan was not in any serious trouble, Jun Jingxing did not keep him for long. He gave him a few instructions and left.

Jun Jingxing lowered his head and followed the palace maid out of the East Palace. However, the more he walked, the more he felt that something seemed to be wrong. He looked at the unfamiliar scene around him and smiled tentatively, "Eunuch, this doesn't seem to be the way out of the palace."

The palace maid tilted her head and smiled at him, saying calmly, "Mr. Yin, my prince wants you to come over and have a talk."

Jun Jingxing's pupils shrank.

Sui Yan was frightened enough by Jun Jingxing that he had no time to sit on the rattan rocking chair. He called a palace maid and asked, "Which plum tree in the Yu Garden is in bloom?"

Although it is already February, the capital is still covered with ice and snow. In Yu Garden, only the Plum Grove is good for viewing the scenery. It is not so good to view the snow in other places.

The palace maids took him there in a hurry.

After Sui Yan got Duan Mingchong's guarantee that he would be allowed to live a life of idleness and wait for death, he immediately started to act like a spoiled brat. He asked his men to carry all the roasted nuts and snacks brought from Sui An Hou Mansion over there, and the group went to the plum forest in the north of Yu Garden in a mighty manner.

The skies have been clear these past few days, and the snow in the Yu Garden has melted a lot. The pavilions are beautiful and small, and the branches of the ancient locust trees, pines and cypresses are covered with snow. A large plum forest is in full swing, like a gorgeous sea of ​​flowers. A few crabapple trees are blooming nearby, adding a bit of spring color to the cold surroundings.

The palace servants placed the snacks that Sui Yan had brought on the carved stone table in the pavilion one by one, filling the entire table with everything - if Duan Mingchong was here and saw these dishonest foods from the common people, he would probably have them all thrown away.

Sui Yan sat on a cushioned stone bench, peeling pine nuts while casually saying to the palace servant beside him, "Is there usually no one coming to this Yu Garden? It's so deserted."

The palace servant said, "Normally, several princes and the queen would come here to enjoy the view, but the Fifth Prince has been ill these days, so..."

He laughed dryly a few times and said nothing more.

Sui Yan nodded in understanding and said, "Does Your Highness come here regularly?"

The palace maid said, "Your Highness likes red plums and crabapples very much. He used to come whenever he had time, but he has been busy recently and has not come since the New Year."

Sui Yan ate pine nuts thoughtfully, and asked, "How long does the plum forest bloom?"

"The plum blossoms will probably fall in mid-February."

Sui Yan said "Oh" and stared at the fiery red plum blossoms on the branches.

After a while, he finally finished eating the pine nuts in his hand, patted the dirt on his hands, and said nonchalantly: "Go find me a pair of scissors."

The palace maid shuddered, mustered up the courage to look up at Sui Yan, and found that his eyes were always lingering on the crabapple trees and plum trees.

Perhaps thinking of his plan, the palace maid advised him with difficulty: "Young Marquis, the flowers in the Yu Garden cannot be picked at will."

Sui Yan looked at him blankly: "What did you say?"

The palace maid repeated it again.

Sui Yan: "What? Speak louder!"

Palace maid: “…”

Sui Yan muttered, "I can't hear it."

The palace maid whispered, "Yes, I will go now."

Sui Yan heard it clearly this time: "That's good, hurry up and find a sharper one."

Palace maid: “…”

Duan Mingchong had told the people in the East Palace the day after Sui Yan moved in that they were to obey whatever Sui Yan said. The palace people dared not say anything but were angry and lowered their heads to look for scissors.

Sui Yan ate some pine nuts for a while, and finally got the scissors. He stood up and jumped twice, shook off the pine nut skins on his clothes, took off his cloak, and threw his hair on the palace maid who was serving him.

He was wearing a purple robe and had a slender waist. He climbed up the ladder that the palace maid found for him, went up to a high place, and started cutting hair.

Outside the Yu Garden, Song Xian and Duan Zhisu were returning from court.

Song Xian wanted to talk but stopped all the way. He was not the kind of person who could not hold back. He looked around to see that there was no one around, and whispered to Duan Zhisu: "Your Highness, I heard that the fifth prince doesn't seem to be well."

Duan Zhisu tilted his head to look at him, and kept walking: "What?"

Song Xian said: "I don't know what happened a few days ago, he suddenly became able to move again, but his mind was a little crazy, and he was looking for things everywhere like a madman."

"What are you looking for?"

"I don't know," Song Xian said, "It is precisely because I don't know that things are even more strange. Duanxi... the Fifth Prince is a person who may not be very decent behind the scenes, but he is still a prince after all. He looks so crazy and evil that even the emperor would feel ashamed to see him..."

The end of the procession stopped.

Song Xian whispered, "Now everyone is saying that the fifth prince seems to be losing favor."

Duan Zhisu chuckled, his eyes full of a hint of sarcasm: "Father has spoiled him for so many years, it's time to wipe your eyes and see what kind of person he is."

Song Xian wanted to say something but stopped.

Duan Zhisu asked: "Anything else?"

Song Xian's voice became even quieter: "I also heard that... the fifth prince was fine before, but after Wang Gui went to see him once, he started to go crazy."

Duan Zhisu's eyes moved slightly: "Forgot to return?"

"Well, the Fifth Prince's people are all spreading rumors that the young marquis secretly poisoned the Fifth Prince. Empress Ning cries every day, and the rumors spread so much that even the Emperor seems to believe it," Song Xian saw that Duan Xichen looked a little worried, and said hurriedly, "But the Crown Prince tried his best to protect Wang Gui, because this matter almost caused a quarrel with the Second Prince, and he kept the news a secret and didn't let him hear it. Moreover, Duan Xichen and Wang Gui had no grudges, and there was no evidence. When Wang Gui left, many palace people were there to watch him. He didn't do anything at all, and the Emperor couldn't do anything to him."

Duan Zhisu was somewhat stunned: "Prince..."

As the two were talking, they passed by the Chuihua Gate and suddenly heard a series of screams coming from afar.

Duan Zhisu looked up and saw a shadowy purple figure in the distance, and heard faint shouting sounds.

"Young, young marquis! If you keep pruning, the tree will be completely bare. The emperor will definitely blame you if he sees it!"

The palace maids watched Sui Yan snapping away with the scissors from below, and they were so anxious that they almost cried.

Sui Yan stood on the ladder, holding a branch of fresh and juicy flowers in his mouth, and said incoherently: "I'll cut another one, and it will definitely not be visible."

His field of vision was too narrow to allow him to see clearly from above, but the people below only needed to look up to see a patch of bare branches, as if they had been gnawed by sheep. It was a horrible sight.

The palace maids who served Sui Yan were almost about to cry. No matter how they advised him, he wouldn't listen. It was so cold that they were sweating coldly.

Duan Zhisu and Song Xian turned into the Yu Garden, took a closer look, and their faces turned green immediately.

Sui Yan didn't know someone was coming, and secretly cut some pretty branches, muttering to himself, "I'll put them all in the vase in the side hall. Duan Mingchong likes plum blossoms so much, he will definitely stay for a few more days."

He was muttering when a voice came from the side.

"Forgotten to return home?"

Sui Yan looked down and met the gazes of Duan Zhisu and Song Xian who were looking up at him from under the tree.

Sui Yan: “…”

Sui Yan was stunned, and the flower in his mouth fell suddenly.

Song Xian's face turned pale, and he gritted his teeth and said, "You are really brave. You dare to cut flowers in Yu Garden."

Sui Yan blinked, quickly hid the scissors behind his back, and said with a smile: "Your Highness, Chonghui, what a coincidence, you are here to appreciate the flowers too."

Duan Zhisu's face was full of confusion and he didn't know what to say for a moment.

Song Xian glanced at the branches on the ground with annoyance and felt even more troubled: "Sui Wanggui, there are hundreds of plum trees in this plum forest. Why did you pick the only one, the most difficult to grow, the Vermilion Plum?"

Sui Yan said: "Wow, it's the only one, then I have a good eye."

Song Xian: “…”

Duan Zhisu couldn't bear to listen any longer, so he said helplessly, "Come down and talk first, be careful not to fall."

Sui Yan said "Oh" and climbed down the ladder slowly.

Song Xian said sarcastically, "Don't fall down, I won't catch you anyway."

Sui Yan glared at him and was about to say that he would not fall, but suddenly his foot slipped, he stepped on empty air, and fell directly off the ladder.

“Be careful!”

Song Xian, with a crow's mouth, was startled. He was just talking nonsense about not picking up Sui Yan, but now he instinctively took a few quick steps forward and stretched out his hand towards Sui Yan who fell down.

The next moment, Sui Yan brushed past his fingertips and fell straight down.

Song Xian: “…”

Sui Yan: “Ah——”

Duan Zhisu: “…”

Fortunately, Sui Yan had already come down several steps of the ladder, and he didn't fall very hard when he fell to the ground. He just covered his elbow that hit the ground and didn't get up for a long time.

Song Xian felt very guilty and quickly reached out to help him up.

Sui Yan looked at him with murderous eyes.

Song Xian said hurriedly: "It's not my fault. You fell down because you didn't step firmly."

Sui Yan looked at him sinisterly and said coldly: "Do you still want me to cry again?"

Song Xian: “…”

Song Xian said quietly, "You still have the nerve to bring this up. I was almost beaten to death by your brother last time. How can you be so shameless? You are already sixteen in the spring, and yet you shamelessly pretend to cry and act pitiful."

Sui Yan pinched him and threatened: "It was you who distracted me by talking to me, and now you dare to shirk responsibility?! If you say another word, I will cry immediately."

Song Xian: “…”

Song Xian looked at him in disbelief: "What's the point of you crying now? Your brother is not around. Go out and ask around. I, Song Chonghui, have I ever been afraid of anyone besides General Sui since I was a child?"

Sui Yan didn't know whether he was in pain or angry, he glared at him fiercely, tears welling up in his eyelashes and he was about to fall.

Duan Zhisu coughed heavily, interrupting the confrontation between the two: "Okay, stop making trouble, Wang Gui's hand was touched, or I will take you back to see a doctor."

Sui Yan felt no guilt towards the other party, and did not feel unnatural when they were together. He covered his arm which was hurt from the fall, stepped on the back of Song Chonghui's foot, and made him cry out, only then did he feel relieved.

Sui Yan only then had time to nod and salute Duan Zhisu, who waved his hand to indicate that there was no need for formalities.

Sui Yan ignored Duan Zhisu's words, trotted to the tree, picked up the flower branches on the ground, held them in his arms, and asked the servants to take them back to the East Palace for him, and said, "Hurry up, run faster, don't let anyone see you."

The palace maid was so sad that she could not even cry, so she had to obey the order and ran away.

Sui Yan heaved a sigh of relief when he saw him leave. He glanced at Song Xian and snorted, "Don't tell anyone about this, or I won't forgive you."

Duan Zhisu was not the kind of person who would gossip everywhere, so only Song Xian, who liked to gossip all the time, could spread this matter.

Song Xian jumped on the spot for a while, and the pain in his instep finally subsided. He rolled his eyes and said unhappily, "Why can't you forgive me? General Nian is not here now, and even if you want to complain, no one will stand up for you."

Sui Yan looked at him faintly: "That's what you said."

It's not that I want to complain.

When Song Xian saw his calculating eyes, he suddenly had a bad feeling.

The author has something to say: Sui Yan: I dropped it.

Song Xian: I’ll take it.

——No, no.

Sui Yan: Waste!!!! 【broken voice】

If this is to capture the prince, it will definitely work, it's safe.