"My eldest prince, I am sorry for your

loss." The five-year-old child knelt in front of the mourning hall in heavy mourning clothes. He was very handsome at a young age. Now, such a child was kneeling in front of the queen's coffin. Although he was thin, he insisted on straightening his back and pursing his lips stubbornly and coldly. People who came and went saw such a scene, and they all sighed secretly.

But they just sighed, because the affairs of the royal family were not so easy to deal with. If the queen who died of illness due to anger was the daughter of another family, the royal family would have been in turmoil by now, and the queen's father and brothers would have justified their trusted colleagues to impeach her, but... the queen's surname was Qi. This is a bit subtle. Apart from talking about it in private, the various dukes and marquises shed a few tears at the empress's funeral and comforted the eldest prince who lost his mother at most. The rest has nothing to do with them. As for standing up for the empress, that's even more ridiculous.

The empress's maiden family, the Zhenbei Marquisate, doesn't care about it themselves, so why should they interfere? Besides, I'm afraid this matter is not over yet.

Qin Yi knelt in front of his mother's spirit, almost numbly listening to the people around him coming and going, their lips moving, saying some words that were itchy and painful.

Oh, it's not that itchy, at least they were pitying him.

Qin Yi was sarcastic in his heart, but he couldn't show any emotion on his face. His beautiful and noble mother was dragged to death by a villain. Qin Yi was so angry that he almost went crazy, but he thought hard for several days and couldn't find anyone to ask for help. The emperor didn't have to count on the fact that the princes and elders who came to pay their respects wouldn't wade into this muddy water. His natural wings, his maternal ancestors' Zhenbei Marquis Mansion, were also accomplices in forcing his mother to death. How could he expect them to stand up for his mother? Qin Yi also thought of the most influential inner cabinet and the most troublesome Inspectorate. If these officials were willing to help, they would be of great help. However... Qin Yi was just a prince in the deep palace. Where could he go to meet foreign officials of this level?

The young Qin Yi thought around, but couldn't find anyone who could help him. Qin Yi was filled with anger, which eventually turned into deep grief and hatred for his own incompetence.

From that moment on, Qin Yi determined the obsession that had affected him for many years. Go to a high position, get power, get a lot of power, so that no one can disregard his wishes.

Then the naughty eldest prince, who was like a devil, suddenly changed his nature, and was very well-behaved in reading and eating. The palace servants were surprised and happy, and even the Taifu was amazed. They did not think deeply about it, but just attributed it all to the death of his mother, and the child naturally became sensible.

At the age of ten, Qin Yi's performance was unanimously praised by the Taifu and the cabinet, and it was proposed that he be made the crown prince. The prince and the children of the royal palace are of the same level, and the crown prince and the prince are of another level. Qin Yi obviously felt that the previous dynasty only proposed this idea, and the attitude of everyone in the harem towards him immediately became much more restrained.

Qin Yi once again reaffirmed his belief that the status of the crown prince was his lifeline, and he must hold on to it tightly. Therefore, he not only wanted to become the crown prince, but also to maintain his status as the crown prince for a long time.

Qin Yi's background was impeccable, and his performance also met the expectations of the court officials for the crown prince, so there were no twists and turns. Qin Yi was officially canonized as the crown prince and put on the crown and clothes that were of great importance in his life.

People inside and outside the palace no longer called him the eldest prince, but respectfully and carefully called him "Your Highness the Crown Prince."

"Your Highness, I know you were so angry that you did this impulsively. But it was wrong of you to resort to cold war in front of the Emperor and the Empress, not to mention that you caused blood to be shed on the spot. Now both the palace and the army are talking about it. The Emperor is furious, and the Empress has suffered such a shock, so naturally she is unwilling to give up. Regardless of emotion and reason, Your Highness should take the initiative to admit your mistakes. I heard that the Empress is still in bed because of the shock. Your Highness, take this opportunity to attend to the sick and admit your mistakes. I will go to the Emperor to plead for you, and this matter can be reduced to a small matter and be over with."

"Serving the sick?" Qin Yi, who was already sixteen years old, was no longer the helpless child in front of his mother's mourning hall. He became sharp and aggressive. Hearing the words of the Taifu, he just sneered and said bluntly, "She is not worthy."

The Taifu was slightly stunned for a moment, vaguely remembering that it seemed that it was when the prince was serving Empress Wenxiao that he discovered the affair between Empress Xiao Qi and His Majesty. Now it was inevitable that there was some irony in letting the prince serve Empress Xiao Qi. In fact,

this little discomfort was not a problem for the Taifu at all. He had been in the officialdom for half his life, so how could he care about this kind of bending and stretching? Unfortunately, the prince in front of him was young and aggressive, and he was picky even when others thought there was no problem. If others felt a little aggrieved, Qin Yi would probably never bow his head.

The Taifu sighed. How could the prince have grown up to have such a temper after all the careful teaching and strict discipline over the years? He was almost eighteen hundred miles away from the gentle, cold and dignified character they had expected.

But even so, the final punishment still shocked the Taifu.

Send the prince to the border? Not to mention that the prince is only sixteen this year, just a half-grown child, even if he is twenty-six years old, none of the Taifu and court officials can rest assured to let the prince go to such a place.

The Taifu worries about Qin Yi more than his own grandson, but now the Taifu is muttering inappropriately, is the prince the emperor's biological son?

The Taifu can't sit still anymore, and the other teachers of the prince also think it is too outrageous, and they all write to the emperor to ask him to revoke his decision. The emperor was very dissatisfied with the prince. Several old ministers could see that the emperor was using this to intimidate the prince and make him go and apologize to Empress Xiaoqi. The tutor tried to persuade him earnestly, but Qin Yi packed his luggage and left the palace without looking back.

Gone.

The emperor was furious again. At this point, even the inner cabinet was powerless to save the situation. Qin Yi, the second most noble prince in the country, was actually exiled to the border. You have to know that in this world, even if the most destitute children of the rich and powerful offended someone, they would not end up there as long as they were willing to make connections.

Qin Yi had just arrived in Datong Prefecture and was not used to anything.

For example, there was no ground heating in winter, so they had to burn charcoal. Qin Yi burned red charcoal, which was used by low-ranking concubines in the palace, and it produced a lot of smoke. For another example, there was always a strange smell in the barracks, and it was hard to tell whether it was damp or horse urine. There were also eating, drinking, sleeping... and many more.

However, these external gaps could always be overcome. What Qin Yi couldn't stand was the psychological one.

He thought he was the crown prince. Although he had a bad temper and patience, everyone in the capital was terrified when they saw him. He grew up listening to flattery and praise, but when he came to the border, Qin Yi found that he might not be as powerful as he imagined.

No one here took him seriously.

Qin Yi's character was naturally like a thorn in his throat. He barely endured it for a month, but when the Tatars harassed the border again and the general ordered not to pursue, the suppressed emotions finally broke out.

Qin Yi did not argue with these people, nor did he scold them by relying on his status as a prince. He directly took his men on horseback and rushed out of the city gate to the outside of the pass.

Facts proved that the general of Datong had some reason to say that there was no need to pursue. He left the protection of the city wall and went deep into the enemy's hinterland. He had no supplies and no firearms. He could see everything on the desolate plains. The enemy was a nomadic people who were good at cavalry. It was completely expected that he would not get any advantage. Later, the Tatars somehow found out his identity, and during the retreat, Qin Yi was ambushed and fatally injured. He lost a lot of blood and fell into a coma not long after.

He didn't know how long he had slept, and when he regained consciousness, he was woken up by someone. This was a rare good sleep for him, and someone actually dared to make noise when he was asleep. He was really impatient to live.

Qin Yi opened his eyes unbearably and was about to scold when he suddenly felt something was wrong.

Even though his body was not very agile after just waking up, it shouldn't feel like this. Qin Yi had a high talent for sports since he was a child, and he exercised more and more frequently in the military camp, so he was very confident in his control and strength. But now, his arms and limbs felt wrong, empty, as if they had no substance.

Qin Yi was secretly startled. His heart was surging with shock, but his face became more and more expressionless. He looked around quietly and found that his vision was also wrong. Why was he so short?

Qin Yi was multitasking, quickly assessing his current situation while listening to the words inside: "...Send her away, I don't want to see her. I won't have a daughter like her. Where's Miao'er, go call Miao'er over!"

The woman's voice was low but could not hide her old age. Qin Yi was very familiar with this tone. She must be a wife of an official who was well-fed but not young. Although the Duobao Pavilion in front was full of furnishings, the wood quality was not good. It was estimated to be twenty-year-old pear wood. It can be seen that although they are an official family, they are not rich. It is estimated to be around the fourth rank. And listening to the woman's accent, there is a Shanxi accent but it is not from Datong Prefecture. Combined with the furnishings in their home, this can only be Taiyuan Prefecture.

Qin Yi subconsciously analyzed the useful information around him, but before he finished analyzing, he suddenly heard strange noises coming from above his head. It seemed that someone was covering his mouth to hold back the sound?

No, why is there someone above him! Want to punish all nine clans?

Qin Yi's inner anger was ignored for a while. He could only see the scene in front of him quickly retreating, and the sound above his head became more and more obvious. It can be seen that the other party was running. When she arrived at a room that looked like a woman's room, she immediately threw herself on the bed and finally released her emotions, but even so, she did not dare to cry out loud. She could only bury her whole face in the quilt and cry with her shoulders twitching.

Yes, Qin Yi saw "her" and finally saw his current situation. He was in a jade pendant and hung on the neck of a little girl.

It was really ridiculous.

Qin Yi had a blank expression on his face. His Royal Highness the Crown Prince did not have any extra emotions. No matter what the result was, he could calm down immediately and analyze rationally what to do next to get the greatest benefit... As for why it was like this, is it useful to think about it?

But this time, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince's thinking did not proceed as usual, and his thoughts were interrupted again and again. Qin Yi listened to the lingering weak crying in his ears, and felt angry and depressed for the first time.

Stop crying, what's there to cry about? It's just that your mother said a few harsh words. He was attacked like this by the emperor every day, and he had never seen him cry.

In just a moment, Qin Yi roughly analyzed what was going on. He came to Taiyuan inexplicably, in the mansion of a local senior official, and leaned over the jade pendant of the daughter of this senior official. And this local official of the Great Yan Dynasty probably did not manage his inner court well.

Undoubtedly, the middle-aged woman just now was the mother of the little girl in front of him. For some reason, this little girl had just returned and was not well received.

The longer Chu Jinyao buried her face in the quilt and cried, the longer Qin Yi's mind was buzzing. At that time, Qin Yi didn't know the name of the woman in front of him, nor did he know who she was. He just wondered why the little girl was so troublesome now.

Qin Yi's impression of women is that they are troublesome porcelain, no matter if they are in the palace or outside the palace, they are all different in size, but without exception, they are as delicate and fragile as porcelain. Qin Yi had no interest in them in the past, so no matter they were palace maids, ladies, or his sisters and cousins, he disdained them all and avoided them from a distance. But now, Qin Yi entered a girl's bedroom for the first time, came into close contact with a woman for the first time, and saw a woman cry for the first time. He had lived for so many years, and today was the day that all the emotions came back to him.

Although Qin Yi felt that Chu Jinyao was quite pitiful, what did this have to do with him? He silently absorbed a strand of red fluff from Chu Jinyao's jade pendant, and laughed softly in his heart. Look at this fool, the pattern on his jade pendant has been reduced, and she hasn't even noticed such a big change.

When it was night, Qin Yi felt a little embarrassed. He is indeed the prince, and he will have three palaces and six courtyards in the future, but this... is not so good.

Qin Yi has a bad temper, is arrogant and domineering, and will do anything when he gets serious, but he is also proud in his heart, disdains dirty tricks, and will not do anything to women. But Chu Jinyao has to take a bath and change clothes at night, and Qin Yi can't reveal his identity. In this way, it seems that he deliberately hides the girl from doing dirty things.

Qin Yi felt so suffocated in his heart. He was a prince, and so many women were flocking to him. How could he be like a playboy who was peeping at a lady from a noble family? He could only close his eyes and forcibly block out the sight of Chu Jinyao changing clothes.

Fortunately, Qin Yi was a jade pendant, so thank God he didn't have to go into the water. He was put on the table and breathed a sigh of relief.

But this sigh of relief was only half. Who could have known that Chu Jinyao, as a lady from a noble family, would have to sleep with a jade pendant at night at such a big age.

Qin Yi was almost going crazy. For the first time, he felt that he might as well die on the grassland. Killing people is just like cutting flesh with a soft knife. There is no end to it!