20demayo Chapter 116 All the beautiful memories are with him
Chapter 116 All the beautiful memories are with him
"Who is this?" Jiang Mian asked.
Xiao Hengzhi walked to her side, and after a moment of silence, he said, "He is... my friend..."
"Friends? When did Your Highness make friends?" Jiang Mian asked, puzzled.
Xiao Hengzhi was always a loner, and I never saw him get close to anyone.
When did a friend suddenly appear?
Just as Xiao Hengzhi was wondering how to explain, Gui Ye suddenly spoke up: "I have known the prince since childhood. Recently, something happened, and I fled here. Fortunately, the prince rescued me."
He spoke with such conviction that Xiao Hengzhi nodded in agreement.
Upon hearing the words "childhood friend," Jiang Man didn't think much of it.
After all, she didn't know anything about Xiao Hengzhi's life before he was eight years old.
All she needs to do now is confirm that he hasn't entered the palace.
The doctor arrived shortly after.
Jiang Man retreated outside.
......
In the Crown Prince's palace.
Duan Zhian and Ning Zhi sat facing each other.
Today's court assembly was a small one and ended early. The emperor only kept a few key military and political officials behind to discuss the sealing of Yuguan Pass in private.
Ning Zhi has recently felt that the emperor seems to be intentionally removing him from core political affairs.
He also remained vague about his marriage.
Whether it was Jiang Mian or Chi Yu, the emperor refused to make a judgment, as if he was just waiting for him to finish.
"Teacher, can you figure out what it says?" he asked Duan Zhian across from him.
Duan Zhi'an, while flipping through ancient books, casually asked, "Did Your Highness notice anything different during your last two court sessions?"
"Different?" Ning Zhi pondered for a moment before answering, "The military reports from Fengyu Pass in the past two days have all been bad news, and Father is furious. It's no different from any other day."
"Didn't you notice that there's an extra person among the council ministers?"
"There's one more person? The teacher is talking about... Li Zhijing, the heir of the Marquis of Pingnan?"
Duan Zhian nodded.
Ning Zhi smiled and said, "The Marquis of Pingnan is seriously ill, and the heir apparent has been granted special permission to attend court in his place. This is a common occurrence. Does Teacher see anything wrong with it?"
Duan Zhian remained silent. Ning Zhi pondered for a moment and then asked, "Does Teacher think that Father Emperor wants to use this to balance the power under the Crown Prince?"
Duan Zhi'an shook his head: "The Crown Prince naturally cannot suppress the power of the princes. But there are no other princes in the court now, so the Emperor asked the Crown Prince to discuss matters in private, which is to give His Highness a warning."
Ning Zhi frowned: "It must be because when I went to ask for a marriage decree for Miss Jiang last time, it made Father Emperor wary."
Duan Zhian clicked his tongue and said, "Now is not the time to think about Miss Jiang."
He closed the book in his hand, looked up and said, "Last night, Xiao Hengzhi took away that Red Slave and also killed the Beast Farm Owner. This man is more difficult to deal with than we imagined. It seems we need to find another better plan."
Ning Zhi guessed that he wanted to kidnap Jiang Mian to threaten Xiao Hengzhi.
This was his last plan, as he had mentioned before.
So he said, "Please, teacher, do not use Miss Jiang as bait. There must be other ways."
“Jiang Wan is a good bait.” Duan Zhian paused for a moment, then said, “But I will not touch her. What Your Highness and I should be most worried about now is that Xiao Hengzhi will come to take revenge on us.”
"Revenge? He doesn't know that you and I were the ones who set this up, so how can he seek revenge?"
"How could he not know? Did you think he couldn't guess that His Highness and he were fighting in the restaurant that day?"
Ning Zhi frowned, his expression darkening.
Seeing his expression, Duan Zhian said no more.
He rose and bowed: "Please stay in the Crown Prince's Palace for the next few days and observe the situation."
After he finished speaking, he walked out, while Ning Zhi sat there silently for a long time.
After leaving the Crown Prince's Palace, we passed the Xuanzheng Hall.
Duan Zhian happened to run into Li Zhijing coming out from inside.
He strode forward and called out, "Your Highness."
Upon hearing the voice, Li Zhijing cupped his hands in greeting and said, "Greetings, Grand Tutor."
Duan Zhi'an smiled and said, "I haven't attended court these past two days and didn't even know you were here. It's quite a coincidence that we've run into each other here."
"I am only here for a few days on behalf of my father. I am truly ashamed to have troubled His Majesty."
Seeing that his words made sense, Duan Zhian joked, "It's been a long time. The young master has indeed developed some of the demeanor of a marquis."
He raised an eyebrow and smiled, clapping the book in his hand against his palm.
Li Zhijing felt inexplicably uncomfortable.
There was nothing wrong with what he said, but the way the Grand Tutor looked at him seemed to be trying to figure something out.
He asked directly, "Does the Grand Tutor have something to say?"
Duan Zhian withdrew his gaze and said with a smile, "It's nothing. I was just wondering if Qianqian would be bored at home while the young master is at court."
Li Zhijing frowned slightly and replied, "I am grateful for the Grand Tutor's concern for the Princess Consort. However, I have some free time tomorrow and am planning to take her boating on the lake."
"Boating on the lake?" Duan Zhi'an asked rhetorically, "You're taking her boating in the dead of winter?"
"What's wrong?"
"She agreed to go?"
"Of course I agree."
Duan Zhian choked up and didn't say anything more, only handing over the book in his hand.
"Please take this ancient book to Qianqian, Your Highness."
Li Zhijing took it and glanced at it; it was an ancient book on health preservation.
He didn't ask any further questions, agreed, and then bowed to take his leave.
Duan Zhi'an sighed and turned to walk towards Xuanzheng Hall.
The Prince of Beiqin's residence has been unusually quiet these past few days, as the Empress Dowager, as usual, has been sending letters every day.
Xiao Hengzhi would return every few days, maintaining a very respectable demeanor.
That night, Jiang Xun returned home.
The winter wind outside carried a biting chill, and a light drizzle occasionally blew, wetting the ground, and the cold seeped into every inch of the air.
The renovation of the Jiang residence was not slow, but because the house was destroyed by fire, all the reconstruction work had to start from scratch, and the rainy winter caused repeated delays in construction.
Currently, only half of the renovation is complete, and the staff will have to stay at the Prince's Mansion for a while longer.
But he thought that Xiao Hengzhi would eventually marry Jiang Mian, so he wouldn't be so formal.
As the year draws to a close, the fighting in various places is gradually subsiding, but bandits and outlaws are rising up everywhere.
He is going to lead a troop of soldiers to Qingzhou tomorrow. If the road conditions are good, he will be able to return in time for the New Year.
But if things don't go well, I'm afraid I'll have to spend the New Year on the road.
She wasn't surprised when Jiang Man was told.
From childhood to adulthood, she has rarely spent New Year's with her family.
After her mother passed away, she was not as favored at home as Jiang Li. Later, she married into the Xie family, and New Year's Eve was the most tiring day for her as she had to take care of the whole family.
Later, after entering the palace, his duties included paying respects to the various imperial concubines and then performing dances in the main hall.
Once she became empress, she was constantly being worshipped by others, or watching the newlyweds perform a dance with Ning Zhi.
For her, the happiest moment on New Year's Eve was watching the fireworks over the entire city from the tower on Hualing Street...
A series of images flashed through Jiang Wan's mind, and she suddenly realized that all those wonderful memories of the New Year were actually shared with Xiao Hengzhi.
Who knows how many more years he has left to live...
Her heart suddenly felt heavy and somewhat suffocated.
Jiang Mian went outside and took a few deep breaths.
My gaze fell on the long corridor in the front yard. I strolled over slowly and saw that the candle in Xiao Hengzhi's room was still lit.
When I got to his door, I wanted to knock, but I didn't know what to say.
Perhaps sensing someone at the door, the door was suddenly pulled open.
Xiao Hengzhi stood at the door and saw her standing in the wind, wearing a white velvet cloak, her hair disheveled by the wind, with a few strands falling to her forehead.
His eyes softened, and he asked gently, "Why are you standing at the door instead of coming in?"
Jiang Wan felt a little awkward and lowered her head to answer, "I was just passing by and didn't intend to come in."
Xiao Hengzhi didn't ask any questions, but simply reached out and pulled her into the house.