Chapter 43 No Longer Royal Zhao Yinqin
The voice echoed in the pavilion. Su Rui turned around and saw no trace of Yun Ji.
Only the pen still holding ink showed that he had just left.
I walked to the long desk where Yun Ji had just sat, and saw a note under the paperweight with only two words written on it - go ahead.
Looking at the Black Bodhisattva who was playing with bells in the corner with his eyes distracted, it would not be easy to find Yun Ji's trace.
Yun Jiying will not go back on his word.
Su Rui simply calmed down and went to the Buddhist village at the foot of the mountain alone to relax.
“Tsk…tsk.”
As soon as they walked into the archway at the entrance of Fozhuang Village, Ruirui, who was only wearing a small bellyband with his little butt exposed, shouted incoherently and ran towards Su Rui with only one chubby hand open.
"It's 'sister', not 'dede'." Ruirui's mother, who was following beside him, corrected him patiently and said to Su Ruili, "Miss Su is here."
Seeing Rui Rui's mother holding a basket covered with cloth, Su Rui asked, "Are you going out?"
"He's not going out. He's going to the mountains to bring food to his father. The village chief said that a group of bandits have recently arrived in the nearby mountains, and all the young men in the village have gone to patrol the mountains."
In recent years, due to the exploitation of the upper class, the lives of the lower class people have become increasingly difficult, and more and more people have become bandits.
There has been a bandit problem in remote prefectures and counties, and the imperial court ordered local troops to suppress the bandits at the beginning of the year. It is normal for these bandits to roam around and reach the vicinity of Shengjing.
But Fozhuang has its secrets. Everyone is on high alert, fearing that bandits will break in and attract the attention of the government, so they will naturally be vigilant.
"Ruirui, let's go, the pancakes will get cold soon."
Ruirui's mother reached out to pull Ruirui, but Ruirui immediately hugged Su Rui's thighs and shook his head, saying, "No! Ruirui, Bu, go, Ruirui and Dede, play together."
Rui Rui's mother wanted to stop her, but Su Rui waved her hand and said, "You go and deliver the food. There's no one in the village anyway, and having him accompany me is just the right way to relieve my boredom."
Since Su Rui said so, Rui Rui's mother was naturally happy to see it.
After all, walking on a mountain road with a little baby is not an easy task. It takes one and a half hours to walk a distance that should take half an hour.
But the people in the village were either out or busy with other things, and she was afraid that Ruirui would get lost again, so she had to tie him up by her side.
Su Rui was Yunji's person, and Ruirui's mother trusted her instinctively. She immediately picked up the basket and ran away, as if she was afraid that Su Rui would regret it if she was a step slower.
Su Rui even wondered if she had taken on a hot potato.
But the person had already run away, and the little kid was holding her thighs, raising his head, and blinking at her with his puppy eyes.
"Where are we going? You lead the way."
"Field! Play in the field. There are so many bugs, so many." Ruirui gestured excitedly while fiddling with his little feet impatiently.
When Su Rui caught up with Ruirui, there was a heavy silence in the Yangxin Palace of the imperial palace.
Abbot Kongming felt the emperor's pulse, and a look of indelible sorrow crept over his usually kind and smiling face.
He looked at Yun Ji standing beside him, then at the emperor lying on the dragon bed, and seemed to be hesitant to speak.
"Ahem... the abbot speaks frankly."
Abbot Kongming placed the emperor's arm back on the quilt, stood up and bowed, saying, "The emperor has a chronic lung disease that is difficult to cure. Years of overwork have left his body empty and his vital energy is already scattered. I'm afraid it will be difficult to make up for it."
The emperor showed no joy or sorrow about his illness, but only asked, "How long can I live?"
"Your Majesty, if you take your medicine regularly and don't overwork, you will probably be fine for about three months."
March?
Yun Ji's pupils trembled. He didn't expect that the emperor's condition was so serious that he only had three months to live.
Looking at the emperor lying on the couch again, he was even thinner than the last time they met. He was completely emaciated, like a withered stick. He was completely different from the wise, brave and high-spirited prince in Yun Ji's memory.
He thought that after years of seclusion, he had become indifferent to worldly ties and could accept life and death.
But I don't know whether it's because Su Rui has disturbed his mind during this period, or he just can't let it go.
Seeing the emperor like this, I felt sad.
"But rest assured, Your Majesty. I will personally lead my men to the north to find the thousand-year-old snow mountain ginseng for Your Majesty."
"Thank you for your hard work... cough cough..." Before the emperor could finish his words, he started coughing uncontrollably again, and the eunuch beside him immediately brought him a spittoon.
After coughing up a mouthful of blood, the emperor's face turned even paler.
Upon seeing this, Abbot Kongming signaled Yun Ji to stay, and he led everyone in the hall out.
The emperor weakly took the handkerchief and wiped his bloody lips. He leaned back on the soft pillow, looked at Yun Ji with weak eyes, and suddenly smiled: "Time flies by so fast. I still remember that when you were a child, you were not even as tall as the table. You followed me every day and insisted on going horseback riding. In the blink of an eye, you are this tall now."
Yun Ji’s memories of his childhood were already vague, but he remembered that he was always running after the tall figure of his brother, the Crown Prince.
I also remember how the prince would carry him to pick grapes; how he would let him ride on his neck to touch lanterns that seemed out of reach to him; how he would make a little wooden horse for him, but when he was having fun, he would suddenly push him to the ground and make him cry...
As more and more memories came flooding back, Yun Ji suppressed them and said calmly, "Time flies, as it always does. Your Majesty should not work too hard. It is better to lie down and rest."
The emperor seemed not to hear Yun Ji's words and continued to mutter to himself, "You are my father's last child and my mother's most precious treasure. On the day you were born, colorful clouds filled the sky, and then a downpour of rain fell in Hebei, ending the drought. Everyone said you were a god or Buddha sent down to protect our Great Zhao."
"I don't believe in these things about ghosts and gods. If gods and Buddhas existed, could they care about the sufferings of the world? In my eyes, you are my younger brother."
"But as you grow older, you're truly incredibly intelligent. You learn everything quickly, and even in terms of martial arts and strategy, if I were your age, I wouldn't be able to compare to you."
Yun Ji interrupted: "Your Majesty, why bring up the past again?"
"You and I are brothers, and it's rare for us to talk. Just think of it as accompanying me." The emperor seemed a little tired, but still insisted: "Those civil and military officials, and the aristocratic families are all old foxes, each with their own thoughts, trying to alienate you and me, but you are my brother, what difference does it make who becomes emperor?"
"But everything is beyond my control. The courtiers of the Eastern Palace and the nobles behind me treat you like a snake. If you stay, you and I will be forced to fight. Mother risked her own life to find a way out for you. Although it was hard for you, there was nothing we could do."
"But things are different now, Yinqin. We no longer have to be forced to do this, and you don't need to continue suffering. Besides, you wouldn't want me to die with regrets like my father did."
The soft pleading look in the emperor's eyes struck Yun Ji's determination. As long as he let go, as long as he took this step, everything could be solved.
Everyone will be happy.
"Forgive me for disobeying the imperial order. From the day I started cultivating with my hair untied, I have been Yunji, no longer the royal Zhao Yinqin."
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