Fate
Zhao Qinglan put a river lantern into the water. This river lantern was obviously different from the others and was obviously made by the owner himself.
Since he ascended the throne, he would come to Penglai Villa every year to escape the summer heat, and every year on the Day of the Dead, he would pay tribute to his biological parents whom he had never met.
Zhao Qinglan found it a little ridiculous that as the king of a country, he could only secretly pay tribute to his parents on this day.
But who made my life experience so shameful?
Zhao Qinglan was raised by the empress dowager since he was a child and was made the crown prince as soon as he was born. He knew from a very young age that he would become the future emperor.
As for her aloof father, the emperor, Zhao Qinglan only knew that he lingered in the harem, was indifferent to the affairs of the court, and eventually died on a woman's bed.
As for his mother, he had heard stories about her from countless palace maids and eunuchs since he was old enough to understand. She was a woman who was born with good luck.
She was clearly of low status, a simple maid cleaning the palace. But because the maid on duty that day suddenly had an upset stomach, she was asked to fill in for half a day, and she was favored by the emperor. The emperor had clearly forgotten her completely after favoring her, but after just that one encounter, she became pregnant with a prince. Furthermore, she gave birth to a son, becoming the only concubine in the vast harem to give birth to a prince.
It is truly a blessing from heaven.
It's a pity that she died of heavy bleeding after giving birth to the prince. But so what? It was such a blessing for a palace maid to be named empress dowager by her own son after her death.
Blessing? After his enlightenment, Zhao Qinglan didn't think so. He was just a vessel for the Queen Mother's son.
He hated the Queen Mother for killing his own mother, and even after ascending the throne, when his foundation was unstable, he was ambitious enough to eliminate the Queen Mother's power.
But the Queen Mother's words alone made him lose all his strength.
"Do you really think you are the late emperor's bloodline? Do you think your mother is the only one in the entire harem so lucky that she could conceive a dragon fetus just by being favored once? Have you ever wondered why the late emperor lingered in the harem for so many years, yet there were only two children in the harem? I tell you, it's because the late emperor couldn't have children, hahahahahahaha. As for you, you are nothing but a bastard born from the affair between a lowly maid and a guard! Bastard!"
The Queen Mother's kind face turned hideous in that instant.
She pressed forward step by step. The figure of an adult woman seemed so tall to the ten-year-old Zhao Qinglan. Her outline was distorted in the candlelight, like an evil ghost that had just crawled out of hell, with its fangs and claws bared, trying to devour every inch of light.
Zhao Qinglan staggered backward, slipped, and fell to the ground with a thud.
She leaned forward, her shadow covering him completely, the heat of her breath splattering on his pale face. Her voice was low and hoarse, like the whisper of a demon.
"If those people who are kneeling on the ground and shouting "Long live the emperor" knew that the true dragon emperor they worshipped was nothing but a bastard of unknown origin, a lowly creature whose biological father was unknown... would you still be able to hold on to your position?
Those loyal ministers and generals who keep telling you to weaken the imperial relatives, will they continue to shout that the emperor is wise, or will they rush over and tear you off first? Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha."
Zhao Qinglan's breathing almost stopped, his heart was pounding wildly in his chest, and he was overwhelmed by the huge fear.
Even though eight years have passed, Zhao Qinglan still feels short of breath when he thinks back to this moment.
He was breathing heavily, as if he was suffocating, as if an invisible force was dragging him into a bottomless abyss.
"Ah! I got you!"
A crisp sound broke the stagnant air, like the first ray of sunshine after a rainstorm, breaking the dark sky and bringing the frightened Zhao Qinglan back to reality.
Zhao Qinglan turned her head and saw a beautiful face. The girl in golden clothes looked like a lively koi, and her two almond-shaped eyes looked at her with sparkling eyes.
The surroundings seemed to become quiet all of a sudden, the chaotic and noisy sounds suddenly disappeared, the passage of time became extremely slow, and it seemed as if only they were left between heaven and earth.
The moment their eyes met, Zhao Qinglan was caught off guard and fell into them. The light flickered in her eyes, so clear that she could see her own reflection.
He felt like a lonely boat drifting in a vast lake, and finally found his way home.
Zhao Fanghua blinked her big eyes and saw the mute staring at her intently. She stretched out her hand and waved in front of him: "Hello, it's me, I'm a koi."
Zhao Qinglan stared at her without blinking, saying nothing.
After the initial melancholy mood dissipated, looking at the lively Zhao Fanghua in front of him, Zhao Qinglan felt that he had been deceived again.
Didn't she say she was ill and needed to rest? He even specially arranged a place for her to stay in during the summer. But now she looked so energetic, how could she look sick at all?
You lied to me again, you big liar!
But why, Zhao Qinglan's expression began to become complicated, why, why every time he was depressed and about to lose control, he would meet her, why.
It is obvious that she knows nothing and understands nothing. She has stunning beauty but is actually a big liar with an empty head and sweet words.
But every time she appeared in front of him when he needed her most, it was like this on his birthday a few months ago, and it was like this again now.
Zhao Fanghua, however, thought he had truly forgotten her, so she stepped forward, put her arms around Zhao Qinglan's waist, and looked up at him, asking, "Have you forgotten? Qilin Pavilion, flames blazing to the sky, and you just held me and carried me out of the sea of fire."
Zhao Qinglan's ears turned red, and she struggled to break free from Zhao Fanghua's arms, turned her face away, and nodded.
Seeing that the person across from him still remembered him, Zhao Fanghua felt elated. She tilted her head to look at his face, staring at his chin, which looked like it was carved out of white porcelain. She asked the question that had always puzzled her: "Other people wear masks that cover their entire face or the lower half. Why are you wearing only the upper half?"
Zhao Qinglan: Because I have a mole at the corner of my eye, people will recognize me if I wear a mask covering the lower half of my face.
Zhao Fanghua saw that he was silent for a long time and scratched his head in embarrassment: "Little mute, don't speak. They say that the deaf and dumb are inseparable. Since you can't speak, can you understand what I say?"
Zhao Qinglan: I can speak and hear what you say, I just don’t want to reveal my identity.
Zhao Qinglan nodded helplessly again.
He looked around, frowning slightly. She hadn't brought any guards with her today. The Festival of the Dead was crowded with people, and it was easy for things to go wrong. What if something happened to a girl this beautiful, dressed so elegantly? Could she be so lucky that he would always be there to save her?
Zhao Fanghua clapped her hands, then suddenly leaned closer to Zhao Qinglan, excitedly saying, "That's great! So we really are destined to meet? They say meeting is destiny, and we've met twice in such a short time. Isn't that double destiny?"
Zhao Qinglan suddenly took half a step back and quickly turned his face away. He felt helpless that Zhao Fanghua always approached him unexpectedly.
Zhao Fanghua tilted his head and looked at the other person for a moment. Seeing that the other person did not respond, he said, "By the way, I also want to thank you for saving my life last time. They say that a life-saving grace should be repaid with one's own body..."
Zhao Fanghua deliberately stretched out her words, tugging on the corner of Zhao Qinglan's clothes and gently shaking them. "Why don't you come to my house? It's big and spacious, and it can easily accommodate ten of you!"
Zhao Qinglan's Adam's apple rolled, and he looked at the audacious woman in front of him, wanting to say something but stopping himself.
Last time, he at least knew how to cover up a little and pretended to be serious and said something about "being her personal bodyguard". Now, the words "hiding a beauty in a golden house" are written clearly on his face, and he doesn't even want to pretend anymore.
only……
Does she know that the person she is flirting with is her nominal younger brother?
Zhao Qinglan lowered his eyes, feeling an inexplicable sense of loss in his heart.
She doesn't know.
If she knew that the little mute in front of her was Zhao Qinglan, seeing how she had been avoiding her recently, she would probably turn around immediately and run away without stopping.
I don't know what I did to offend her that made her so distant from me.
It was clearly her who took the initiative to come and show her affection to me, but after achieving her goal, she quickly distanced herself from me. Humph, a big liar who would then destroy the bridge after crossing it.
Zhao Fanghua felt a pang in her heart when she saw Zhao Qinglan remained silent for a long time.
In fact, when Zhao Fanghua just said this, he felt that it was not a good thing to say. No matter how he thought about it, it felt like the tone of a greasy man coaxing an ignorant girl. Even if he was greedy for her figure, he couldn't be so straightforward.
Zhao Fanghua regretted that he didn't learn more teasing skills when he was surfing the Internet. Now he could only drool at the broad shoulders and narrow waist.
Zhao Fanghua knocked his head helplessly, but things had come to this point, and words spoken could not be taken back. No matter what the little mute thought, he had to at least give a response.
She nudged the mute's waist with her elbow and said, "How about it? Is it okay? Give me a definite answer!"
The charming atmosphere between the two disappeared completely in an instant.
Zhao Qinglan glanced at the girl who was barely as tall as his shoulders. How could such a nice person have such a bad mouth? She should be the one who should pretend to be mute the most in the world.
He closed his eyes, even though there was no blood relationship between them, even though at this moment he was just a nameless little mute.
But between them, it is impossible after all.
No matter what the truth is, in the eyes of the world, Zhao Qinglan and Zhao Fanghua are blood-related siblings.
As for the little mute...
There was no way he could give up his status as the emperor and become a guard in Zhao Fanghua's mansion.
Zhao Qinglan felt inexplicably annoyed. It was just a joke from Zhao Fanghua, so why was he thinking about it so seriously?
Zhao Fanghua didn't even know the little mute's name. It was just a spur of the moment action, but she took it seriously.
Zhao Qinglan laughed at himself, his clothes fluttering as his moon-white figure instantly disappeared into the crowd.
Zhao Fanghua racked his brains to say something else, but in the blink of an eye, the little mute disappeared from his sight.
Zhao Fanghua stamped her feet, feeling very regretful. She should at least have asked the other person's name, where he lived, and how to contact him in the future.
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