nightmare
Nightmare-like memories flooded my mind.
Jiang Heng was covered in wounds, lying in a pool of blood, as Jiang Yunyan walked towards him step by step.
He held a knife in his hand, a smug smile on his face.
Jiang Yunyan squatted down in front of Jiang Heng, pinched his face, and forced him to look up.
"Such beautiful eyes..."
Jiang Yunyan chuckled as she finished speaking.
What followed was Jiang Yunyan's knife, which brutally destroyed Jiang Heng's eyes.
The image of Jiang Yunyan in his memories keeps switching between the image of Shen Wenqiu in front of him.
Finally, it turned into a blood-red mess.
Just then.
"Your Highness?"
A call pulled Jiang Heng abruptly back from his nightmarish memories.
Jiang Heng didn't have time to react. He immediately let go of Shen Wenqiu's hand and threw himself into Shen Wenqiu's arms.
"Qiuqiu, I'm so scared."
There was no explanation for the reaction just now, nor was there any explanation of why I was afraid.
Upon hearing this, Shen Wenqiu immediately conjured up countless childhood traumas in her mind.
The fact that Jiang Heng reacted so strongly must be due to something he experienced in his childhood.
Shen Wenqiu hugged Jiang Heng and patted his back gently as if coaxing a child, saying, "Don't be afraid, don't be afraid, it's all over now, don't be afraid, I'm here with you."
Jiang Heng had only intended to cover up his earlier unusual behavior, but now he was genuinely moved by Shen Wenqiu's reaction.
Shen Wenqiu didn't ask him why he had such a strong reaction, nor did she blame him for hurting himself.
What Shen Wenqiu did was to comfort him and tell him, "I am by your side."
Jiang Heng pressed the tip of his tongue against his teeth and gently bit himself, forcing himself to come back to his senses.
He then hugged Shen Wenqiu even tighter, as if he were embedding her into his very bones.
It must be that Heaven felt he had suffered too much in his previous life, which is why it allowed him to meet Shen Wenqiu.
This tutor, who is different from everyone else, is really great.
Jiang Heng thought.
Seeing Jiang Heng's reaction, Shen Wenqiu became even more certain that it was just as he had thought.
Overwhelmed with heartache, Shen Wenqiu was driven to move even more gently, patting Jiang Heng's back lightly and trying to coax him with a few words.
Before Shen Wenqiu could speak, Jiang Heng looked up at him and said, "Qiuqiu, I'm hungry. Let's eat first."
Seeing that Jiang Heng had recovered, Shen Wenqiu didn't bring it up again and simply nodded in agreement.
During the meal, a commotion arose outside. Shen Wenqiu glanced outside and muttered, "What's going on? Could something have happened?"
Jiang Heng didn't even lift his eyelids, only saying, "Perhaps so, but we'd better not get involved, lest we get caught in the crossfire."
Shen Wenqiu nodded, finding it very reasonable. He looked at Jiang Heng, who was picking and choosing among the food, and said, "Your Highness should eat more. You're already not eating well, so you can't be picky anymore."
Jiang Heng paused, opened his mouth, but swallowed his rebuttal.
He stopped picking at the food in his bowl and obediently ate it all.
Looking at Jiang Heng's appearance, Shen Wenqiu across from him felt a slight sense of pleasure in nurturing him.
He even started thinking about how wonderful it would be to establish his own government and go out into the world, or even go directly to his fiefdom and live a free and unrestrained life.
If possible, he would like to go with Jiang Heng and bring Aunt Qin over as well.
Since Jiang Heng said so, Shen Wenqiu did not ask any further questions.
On his way to school the next day, he overheard a palace servant say a few words.
It seems something happened inside the palace, and a group of people were arrested.
As for what happened and who was arrested, it wasn't explained clearly.
Shen Wenqiu racked her brains trying to recall what major events had occurred in the palace during this period, but she couldn't remember.
There's probably something different from the book, or something that wasn't written in the book.
Upon arriving at Zhaoming Hall, Shen Wenqiu, as usual, helped Jiang Heng set out all the utensils and books, and then pulled him to read together, mainly to ignore everything else.
Unfortunately, Jiang Yunyan had no intention of letting them hide like that.
Jiang Yunyan turned to look at Shen Wenqiu, who was huddled in the corner like a quail, and sized him up.
When he got back yesterday and thought about it, he realized that Jiang Heng's study companion might be wary of him, which was why he had acted that way earlier.
It should be interesting.
Moreover, after returning home, they had someone investigate and found that Jiang Heng's study companion was exceptionally intelligent, having passed the imperial examination at a young age.
If I take the exam again after a while, becoming a Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations) shouldn't be a problem.
Jiang Yunyan felt more and more that she had been played for a fool. As she was thinking, she walked up to Shen Wenqiu.
As soon as Shen Wenqiu looked up, his eyes met Jiang Yunyan's.
Why is the Crown Prince here again?
Shen Wenqiu was puzzled. He stood up, bowed respectfully, and said, "Your subject Shen Wenqiu greets Your Highness the Crown Prince."
Jiang Heng also stood up, greeted them timidly, and then grabbed Shen Wenqiu's hand, pretending to be scared.
Jiang Yunyan found the sight of the two holding hands irritating, and when she turned to look at her truly dull-witted study companion, she found him even more irritating.
He sneered and said, "I want you as my study companion."
Shen Wenqiu was taken aback for a moment, then pretended to be clueless and said, "Your Highness, isn't your study companion over there?"
Jiang Yunyan was dissatisfied that Shen Wenqiu did not agree enthusiastically, and said, "He is not happy with it, but I am happy with you."
Shen Wenqiu replied, "Your Highness is joking. As the Crown Prince, the best study companion in the world would naturally be given to you first. Besides, this was personally chosen for you by the Emperor. How could you not be satisfied?"
Seeing that Shen Wenqiu was no longer pretending to be a quail in order to reject him, Jiang Yunyan felt both uncomfortable and pleased.
He stared at Shen Wenqiu for a while, then snorted coldly and returned to his seat.
Shen Wenqiu stared at Jiang Yunyan's back, momentarily unable to believe it.
ah?
Is that all?
I thought we were going to have a long argument.
Thinking to himself, Shen Wenqiu squeezed Jiang Heng's palm to comfort him, pulled him down to sit, and pretended that the little incident had not happened, and continued reading his book.
Jiang Heng took this matter to heart, staring at Jiang Yunyan not far away, secretly plotting in his mind.
Jiang Yunyan's unusual behavior today seems to be just a trivial incident.
After class, he didn't cause any more trouble, but was summoned by the Emperor and even missed the afternoon's tutor's class.
Shen Wenqiu didn't take the matter to heart and returned to Zhaolin Palace with Jiang Heng, chattering about what they would eat that day.
"If only I could go out of the palace to play, that would be wonderful. I don't go out often when I'm at home. I only hope that after I pass the imperial examination and establish my own household, I can go out to play more often," Shen Wenqiu said, sounding like someone who still had a playful heart.
"If Qiuqiu likes it, she can go out now," Jiang Heng said with a smile, speaking in a seemingly childlike manner.
"Going in and out is too conspicuous, and aren't the palace gates closed early?" Shen Wenqiu shook his head; he didn't like unplanned changes.
“That’s true. Then I’ll take Qiuqiu out to play from now on.” Jiang Heng nodded thoughtfully and then smiled.
The topic was dropped, and upon returning to Zhaolin Palace, the usual routine of meals and studies resumed.
Shen Wenqiu always felt that Jiang Heng had fallen behind in his studies, so he was eager to catch up on all of it as soon as possible.
When he looked at Jiang Heng, it was as if he saw those who, for various reasons, were unable to go to school when they were young.
While he was taking extra lessons, he cursed the emperor in his heart. One thing at a time, how could he delay his schooling until he was over ten years old?
Although she didn't say it, Shen Wenqiu's emotions were written all over her face.
Jiang Heng was secretly pleased to see him so indignant on his behalf.
Not only was he happy, but he also secretly pieced together what he was thinking and how he was cursing.
Time always flies when you're focused on studying.
Soon it was time for school the next day. On the way, Shen Wenqiu and Jiang Heng went over what they had learned the day before.
On one hand, he was happy, but on the other hand, he was worried about what kind of trouble Jiang Yunyan would cause today.
When they arrived at Zhaoming Hall, they discovered that Jiang Yunyan had not come at all.
Shen Wenqiu was curious and wanted to ask others, but he was not very bold enough to do so.
After hesitating for a moment, Jiang Heng smiled and pulled him back.
"I heard it's due to flooding in the south, and the Emperor has sent the Crown Prince there," Jiang Heng whispered to Shen Wenqiu.
"Floods in the South?" Shen Wenqiu's memory returned. He recalled the plot of the book and showed a shocked and angry expression.
Shen Wenqiu remembered that during the floods in the south in the book, it was Jiang Yunyan's series of bizarre actions that caused many deaths.
Moreover, some of the survivors later went to the capital to appeal to the emperor, only to be imprisoned by that blind emperor.
He was tortured by Jiang Yunyan's men in prison and eventually died in the cell because he couldn't bear the torture and humiliation.
Thinking about it, Shen Wenqiu couldn't help but slap his thigh and mutter a curse under his breath.
"He's an animal."
Seeing Shen Wenqiu's indignant expression, Jiang Heng couldn't help but think about what was about to happen.
There hasn't been anything recently that could make Shen Wenqiu so angry, and even if there were, it wouldn't be related to the floods in the south.
He could be associated with the floods in the south, with Jiang Yunyan, and could also make Shen Wenqiu so angry.
It seems that only things that haven't happened yet can happen.
How could Shen Wenqiu know this? In his previous life, Shen Wenqiu did not live to this point.
Jiang Heng felt increasingly suspicious, but he didn't ask any further questions.
But he gradually began to suspect that perhaps the person in front of him was not the Shen Wenqiu of the past?
Shen Wenqiu realized her mistake only after she spoke those words.
He quickly covered his mouth in embarrassment and whispered, "Heaven is unfair, causing such a flood."
Jiang Heng smiled and nodded in agreement, without saying anything or asking any further questions.
Shen Wenqiu secretly breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that Jiang Heng didn't take it seriously.
He buried himself in the books on the table, chattering about his studies, trying to change the subject.
Jiang Heng went along with him and pretended to follow his lead.
Since the crown prince was not present, the next few days were relatively peaceful.
Winter Solstice has arrived again. Zhaoming Hall will not hold classes, allowing the princes to return to the palace to accompany their mothers, while the students will go home to celebrate the festival.
The palace also received dumplings, and Zhaolin Palace was not shortchanged.
As for the palace banquet on the winter solstice, it was said that because of the floods in the south, the emperor was worried about the people and did not hold such a large banquet in the palace.
While eating dumplings in Zhaolin Palace, Shen Wenqiu seemed restless but said nothing.
Jiang Heng noticed this and suggested with a smile, "I haven't been to Qiuqiu's house yet."
Shen Wenqiu suddenly looked up, his eyes lighting up, and asked, "Does Your Highness wish to visit my home?"
Jiang Heng nodded and said, "Wouldn't that be a bother? After all, the Winter Solstice is a family matter."
Shen Wenqiu shook his head and said, "My father... he respects the royal family the most. If Your Highness can go, the family will be very happy."
These words were spoken in a sarcastic tone. Shen Wenqiu did not want to say anything good about the Marquis of Huai'an, nor could he openly speak ill of him.
Jiang Heng immediately understood, and besides, he had already investigated Shen Wenqiu's family situation, so he was quite clear about this matter.
He pretended not to know anything, only saying that he was going to Shen Wenqiu's house and had sent someone to inform the Emperor.
However, the emperor did not stop him from going to his study companion's home.
The two then packed up and set off.
Inside the residence of the Marquis of Huai'an.
When the Marquis of Huai'an heard the report from his servant, he stood there stunned.
"You said the Ninth Prince is coming, and he's already on his way?"
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