Early summer is a rainy season, but the rain is always light and continuous, never heavy, and instead makes the air sticky and even more sultry, which is really annoying.

Yan Sikong sat at the table, looking out the window at the dusk and mist, and was inspired to write poetry, but there was no one with whom he could talk freely.

Ali was the only servant in the mansion, and he had been with him for four or five years. When the Yellow River flooded and people were living in poverty, he passed through a small county and saved the dumb man who was about to starve to death but still insisted on selling himself to bury his parents.

There was nothing special about Ali - at least I didn't see anything special about him at the time. I just thought that he shared the same suffering as me, and he couldn't speak or write, so it would be safer to have him around, so I bought him on a whim.

When he met Yuan Mao that year, wasn't it because of Yuan Mao's momentary thought that led to all the things that happened in the future?

It's all fate.

Later it was discovered that Ali was called Ali because he had unlimited strength. Although he was ugly in appearance, he was honest and obedient, never acted on his own, and was a loyal servant who could be trusted.

He took Ali with him to join the rebel army, but later found that it was just a mob of people who knew how to burn, kill and loot, and it was impossible for them to achieve anything great, so he took Ali with him and fled.

He traveled all the way south from Liaodong, and his footsteps covered half of the Dasheng River and Mountains. He knew that this dynasty was terminally ill and there would be no peace anywhere. However, being in the center of this storm was the only thing that could give him comfort, because he knew that he was one step closer to liberation every day - whether it was his death or mine.

——

By midnight, the food had already gone cold, so Yan Sikong called Ali and asked him to reheat the food and wine.

Ali didn't say anything, turned around and went to heat up the food, even though this was the second time he had done that tonight.

Yan Sikong sat calmly at the table and waited.

Before the food was brought back, the window creaked and a damp wind blew into the house. Yan Sikong put down the book in his hand and turned his head away: "Why didn't Your Highness go out?"

"You just gave me two empty wine jugs. You are not worthy of my visit." Feng Ye threw the two wine jugs on the ground. The wooden jugs collided with each other, making a dull sound, but there was no sound of liquid shaking.

Yan Sikong smiled slightly, stood up, and bowed: "This humble official has met His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."

Feng Ye curled his lips and ordered, "Why don't you wipe it for me?"

Yan Sikong took the towel and handed it to Feng Ye respectfully with both hands. Feng Ye looked at him arrogantly and slowly spread out his hands.

Yan Sikong smiled helplessly and used a cloth towel to carefully wipe the light rain off Feng Ye's face and clothes. Perhaps it was because Feng Ye was too tall, and standing next to him, there was always an inexplicable sense of oppression.

Feng Ye looked down at Yan Sikong: "What do you mean?"

"What do you mean, Your Highness?"

"Don't play dumb."

Yan Sikong smiled and said, "I think Your Highness doesn't like to make friends with others, so he naturally doesn't want others to know that you and I have ever met. That's why I'm inviting you with an empty pot. If Your Highness is willing to come, it will be an honor for me. If Your Highness doesn't come, it won't be too embarrassing for me, right?"

Feng Ye looked at the bowls, chopsticks and wine utensils on the table and narrowed his eyes slightly: "I think you predicted that I would come."

"I don't dare."

"Did you make a date with someone else?"

"On rainy nights in spring and summer, if His Highness doesn't come, I can drink with the saints and gods, which is also a pleasure."

As they were wiping, the door was pushed open. Feng Ye turned around and saw an ugly-looking, extremely burly man staring at them blankly, holding some food and wine.

Yan Sikong said, "Ali, go and have a rest after you're done."

Ali nodded, put the food and wine in his hands in order, backed out, and secretly glanced at Feng Ye a few times.

After Ali closed the door, Feng Ye frowned and said, "Why did you find such a servant?"

"What's wrong?" Yan Sikong took a step back and made a "please" gesture, "Your Highness, please take a seat."

"If he has evil intentions and wants to take your money, can you beat him?"

Yan Sikong laughed and said, "I am just a small seventh-rank editor, where would I get the money from?"

Feng Ye thought about it and it made sense: "The shabby house you live in is so thieves would avoid it if they saw it."

"This is the only way to be pure." Yan Sikong poured wine for Feng Ye, "I will offer a toast to the prince first."

Feng Ye watched Yan Sikong drink a cup alone, and he became more and more puzzled about this person. His eyes were naturally full of inquiry: "Why did you ask me to come here?"

"I..." Yan Sikong's expression was somewhat lonely, "A few days ago, Lord Yan proposed that I be the prince's tutor."

Feng Ye said calmly: "That's a good thing."

"Yes, there are constant invitations to banquets, all of which are to celebrate my birthday. If I hadn't been busy with my history writing recently, I wouldn't have been able to avoid any of them."

"In that case..."

"But I don't have anyone I really want to celebrate with." Yan Sikong smiled faintly, his eyes twinkling, "After thinking about it, the only person I can think of is the prince."

Feng Ye was startled, and his guard was immediately reduced a lot. However, when he saw Yan Sikong's trembling eyelashes and dim eyes, he felt an indescribable loneliness, and that look pricked him like a small thorn.

Feng Ye let out a sigh of relief, and finally put on a smile. He took the initiative to pour the wine: "Okay, I will celebrate for you today." He raised the glass and said, "Congratulations to Lord Yan on your promotion."

Yan Sikong also raised his cup: "Thank you, Your Highness."

Feng Ye thought of the last time they drank together and was quite dissatisfied: "Last time at my house, you ran away first. Today you have nowhere to run. I must see you pass out drunk."

Yan Sikong joked, "I'm afraid that His Highness will get drunk before I do."

Feng Ye raised his eyebrows: "Let's test the waters today to see who can drink better."

"I'll stick with you till the end."

The two of them drank and chatted, and soon they became more interested. However, Yan Sikong remained sober the whole time, pretending to be slightly tipsy, and chatted with Feng Ye: "That day, I followed my teacher to the East Palace to meet the prince. Although he was young, he had an extraordinary demeanor. It seemed that the years of cold treatment had not dampened his spirit."

"If it is a real dragon, then its auspicious aura will not be extinguished even after a thousand trials and tribulations." Feng Ye took a sip, "But he is so young, and Your Majesty is in his prime, so it is hard to say what will happen in the future."

"The world is changing so fast that it's hard to predict what will happen tomorrow," Yan Sikong said. "The current situation is so unpredictable that no one can escape it. Are you still planning to stay at home and not go out?"

"I was just planning to ask His Majesty for a job." Feng Ye looked at Yan Sikong, "What do you think I should do?"

Yan Sikong thought for a moment and said, "His Majesty will not give you an important position. If it is an idle position, I am afraid that the prince will be wronged. I am not sure what to do."

Feng Ye took a sip of wine gloomily: "That's right. Zhao Fuyi, the deputy general of Shuntian Prefecture, is an old subordinate of my father. I decided to go to him first."

Yan Sikong had guessed it in his mind, but he still pretended to be sure. He was familiar with the name Zhao Fuyi. It was this man who led 20,000 troops from Shuntian Prefecture to aid Guangning. He asked, "How many garrisons are there inside and outside the capital?"

"No more than thirty or forty thousand."

"In this way, Your Highness will not have to worry about having nothing to do." Yan Sikong thought to himself, with only 30,000 or 40,000 soldiers and horses, if there were no Prince Jingyuan to guard Datong, the Oirat Mongols would march down and Dasheng would be finished.

Yan Sikong naturally didn't dare to say this, but Feng Ye dared to say it. Feng Ye snorted heavily and said what everyone knew: "If it weren't for my father, Dasheng would have been lost long ago. Your Majesty keeps sending those civil servants to take care of this and that. My father wanted to rebel, but did he have to wait until now?"

Yan Sikong patted Feng Ye's knee and said, "Let's stop talking over wine."

Feng Ye didn't take it seriously, and a cruel look flashed in his eyes: "Now my father has finally taken control of the military and political power of Datong, but he wants me to be trapped in the capital."

"If not, how can His Majesty be at ease?" Yan Sikong looked deeply at Feng Ye, "Prince, this is not a bad thing. With your help in the capital, Prince Jingyuan will be even more powerful."

Feng Ye narrowed his eyes, seeming to sober up a little: "What do you mean?"

Yan Sikong smiled slightly, his eyes slightly bewitching: "I have said this when we first met, Prince Jingyuan is not in the court, if someone harms him, he will have a hard time defending himself, the prince should be self-reliant and help Prince Jingyuan to stabilize his position in Datong and protect the Central Plains."

Feng Ye snorted and said, "Of course. I joined the army when I was eleven years old. I have never been afraid of attacks, whether it is an open attack or a hidden attack. Whoever dares to plot against my father will be punished."

Yan Sikong sighed in his heart. Feng Ye was still too young and had an arrogant temper. It was obvious that he had never suffered any setbacks. He didn't know whether it was fortunate or unfortunate.

The two of them drank more and more, and the house was filled with the smell of alcohol, which made people drunk.

Feng Ye was too drunk to sit on the stool, and his body was about to slide down. Yan Sikong stepped forward and supported him: "Your Highness, let me help you to rest." He was also drunk and his legs were weak. He barely supported Feng Ye's body, but he was shaking and wanted to pull him away.

"I want... more to drink..." Feng Ye reached out to get the wine jug.

Yan Sikong felt that Feng Ye was worth a lot of money. His legs were shaking. He wanted to call Ali for help, but then he remembered that he asked Ali to go to rest. He really didn't have the strength to help Feng Ye to the guest room, so he had to stagger and throw him on his bed.

Just as he stood up to leave, Feng Ye grabbed his wrist with such strength that it was definitely not like that of a drunk person.

Feng Ye looked at Yan Sikong with a pair of misty eyes: "Where are you going?"

"Your Highness, it's time to rest."

"I haven't...finished drinking yet, and you dare to run away." Feng Ye blinked, "I'll call...my brother and bite you."

Yan Sikong wanted to laugh, but was too sleepy to do so: "You said it was spiritual, but it's still... uh, a beast."

"It is naturally spiritual. It will bite whoever I tell it to bite."

Yan Sikong grabbed Feng Ye's hand and tried to pry his fingers apart, but Feng Ye, like a child trying to show off his strength, held on tighter: "You are not allowed to leave."

Yan Sikong was helpless. He stood up staggeringly and tried to pull his hand out. Feng Ye suddenly exerted force, pulled Yan Sikong onto the bed, and threw him heavily on top of him.

Yan Sikong's head hit the bedpost and he swore twice. Feng Ye laughed loudly: "You dare to run, dare to run?"

Yan Sikong struggled a few times, becoming increasingly powerless.

"Don't run." Feng Ye hugged Yan Sikong tightly, buried his face in his chest, and murmured muffledly: "Sikong..."

Yan Sikong's body stiffened. He seemed to recall the hug when they said goodbye ten years ago. The only difference was that the child in his arms at that time was still a thin and soft child. Now, this person's bones were as hard as iron. He had become a general who had fought on the battlefield and experienced life and death, a real man.

Yan Sikong sighed and pondered over and over again the word "Sikong" that Feng Ye called out. It seemed as if he was not calling him, but was calling the little boy from ten years ago through his body and penetrating time.

"...Feng Ye." Yan Sikong's body slowly relaxed. Although their posture was extremely awkward and indecent, his dizzy brain made him forget about etiquette. He only felt the warmth that he had not felt for a long time.

"...You died, and I was sad for a long time..." Feng Ye hugged Yan Sikong even tighter, "For a long time..."

A sour feeling welled up in Yan Sikong's nose and he remained silent for a long time.

He heard the sound of even snoring and closed his eyes. At that moment, he suddenly forgot everything and just wanted to have a sound sleep in this warmth.