Xue Poye stood by the door and watched Eunuch Zhou take two steps forward. He seemed to be very respectful to this man and said cautiously: "Your Highness, your Majesty ordered me to come and deliver the meal!"

"Your Highness?" Xue Poye was shocked. Could this man be a prince? Could he be...

The person sitting on the ground said calmly: "So he still misses me." He slowly stood up, turned his head, and seemed a little surprised to see Xue Poye, but just for a moment, a strange look appeared on his face: "

Mr. Xue, it turns out you are here too."

This person is of course Prince Yin.

Xue Poye felt a chill in his heart. A noble man, a prince of the first generation, was imprisoned in such a place at this time.

Looking at Prince Yin's face again, I saw this face yesterday, but today, it is completely different from recognition. It is not the so-called disfigurement, but the color of Prince Yin's face has become as white as falling snow, without a trace of blood. It looks like

It was like a dead person's face, and his eye sockets were sunken, and the whole person looked decadent and depressed. Even the neat and tidy bun he had combed yesterday was now like a pile of tangled grass, tangled randomly on the top of his head.

"Your Majesty... Your Highness...!"

There was a sadness in his heart, and this sadness was revealed from his heart to his face, and all this was also seen by Prince Yin.

"I don't need your pity." Prince Yin said calmly: "I am a prince and a nobleman. I can only pity others."

Xue Poye didn't speak, just stood there quietly.

Eunuch Zhou said again: "Your Highness, can we bring in the meals?"

Prince Yin did not answer immediately, but looked at Eunuch Zhou with a very strange look. This look made Eunuch Zhou frightened, and even the smile on his face seemed extremely stiff.

"Are you Eunuch Zhou?" Prince Yin suddenly asked.

Eunuch Zhou hurriedly said: "Slave Zhou Bing!"

"Zhou Bing, I need to freshen up and change my clothes. Only if I wash myself clean and wear clean clothes can I eat." Prince Yin said slowly: "Can you prepare a wooden comb with clear soup for me?

"

Eunuch Zhou glanced at Xue Poye behind him and said with some embarrassment: "Your Highness, this...!" Seeing Prince Yin's eyes that were not very bright at first suddenly become sharp, he could only continue:

"My servant prepared clear soup and wooden comb, just clean clothes...!"

Prince Yin said calmly: "I have prepared the clothes, so I don't need to trouble you."

Eunuch Zhou pondered for a moment and finally withdrew. Xue Poye saw that Prince Yin didn't even look at him, and he had no intention of talking. Being here would only make him more embarrassed, so he had to go out.

The courtyard was silent, the icicles under the eaves were shining brightly, and the chill in the air became even colder as the cold wind blew.

Eunuch Zhou ordered several guards to prepare clear soup for wooden combs. This clear soup, to put it bluntly, is just bath water. It was not a difficult task. Not long after, the guards carried wooden buckets into the house and poured hot water into the large wooden buckets.

, prepared the vanilla rust towel for bathing, and then closed the door.

Xue Poye, Eunuch Zhou and two eunuchs carrying lunch boxes were waiting outside the door. They all said nothing and the atmosphere seemed very stiff.

I don't know how long it took, but when Xue Poye felt cold all over, Prince Yin finally finished bathing, and the guards cleaned up the house before retreating.

Eunuch Zhou immediately ordered two eunuchs to bring food, wine and food into the house. When Xue Poye followed up, he saw that Prince Yin had put on a brand new costume. His clothes were as white as snow and he looked noble. After taking a bath, he immediately looked like a man.

I feel refreshed, but my head is still a little messy. I am sitting on the ground, holding a bronze mirror in my hand to look at it.

"Master Xue, could you comb my hair?" Prince Yin did not look back, but asked calmly.

Xue Poye was startled. He wanted to say that he didn't know how to comb, but when he saw Prince Yin's appearance, he couldn't bear to refuse. He nodded, walked behind Prince Yin, picked up the wooden comb, and started combing Prince Yin's hair.

Xue Poye knew how to comb his hair. After coming to this era, he had long grown his hair and had to comb it every day.

Eunuch Zhou saw that the food and wine were placed on the small table, waved the two eunuchs to leave, and then respectfully said: "Your Highness, the food has been arranged. Please eat it early to avoid getting cold."

Prince Yin said calmly: "I will not waste the good wine and food given by my father. Eunuch Zhou, you go down first. In half an hour, you can bring people in to clean up."

Xue Poye only felt that the one-on-one exchange between Eunuch Zhou and Prince Yin was a little strange, but he couldn't figure out why he felt this way.

"Master Xue, do you know why my father sent you here today?" Prince Yin suddenly asked. He held the bronze mirror in both hands and kept looking at his face, with a strange smile on his lips.

Xue Poye carefully combed Prince Yin's bun, and said slowly: "The Holy Emperor's decree, I just obey it, I don't dare to think too much."

"Haha...!" Prince Yin let out a weird laugh and said slowly: "You are all afraid of him, everyone in the world is afraid of him, and I have been in awe of him all my life, but after a while, I will

You don’t have to be afraid of him anymore, not anymore.”

Xue Poye's eyelids twitched. This sentence seemed to imply something. He already had a bad feeling.

Prince Yin let Xue Poye gently comb his hair, and said slowly: "He asked you to come here just to let you see how I look now, and more importantly, to let you see what I look like after waiting for a while. His purpose is,

I just want you to understand that he is the real master of this world and no one can challenge his authority."

Xue Poye didn't speak, just listened.

"As your grace grows, your power will become greater and greater. I don't know why you are so favored by my father, but I know that the greater your power, the greater the challenge to my father's authority.

So my father wants to warn you with my fate, no matter how powerful you are, whether you are a prince or a powerful minister, it is still your father who ultimately decides your fate." Prince Yin's voice was full of contempt: "Or

It is said that the chair determines your fate. The closer you get to that chair, the more careful you have to be."

Xue Poye was the only one silent, and finally said: "Wei Chen is only loyal to the court and to the Holy One. As for challenging the authority of the Holy One, it is a matter of punishing the nine tribes. Wei Chen does not dare to think about it. Wei Chen does not dare to ask for power.

.”

Prince Yin laughed and suddenly said: "Master Xue, power is not a question of whether you want it or not. Once you set foot on it, you can't look back. Even if you are just starting out today, there are definitely not a few people who hate you. You

As long as the power in your hands is slightly loosened, you will be shattered into pieces. Regardless of whether you are willing or not, you can only involuntarily seize power and make yourself strong in the future. Only in this way, you

Only then can we survive in the muddy waters of Kyoto."

Although Xue Poye didn't want to believe it, he had to believe that Prince Yin's words were correct.

During these days in Kyoto, he has seen the cruelty of human nature and the dangers of power struggles. Under some seemingly peaceful surfaces, there are turbulent undercurrents.

Before the duel between the two princes, who would have thought that after so many years of management, the princes of the two powerful factions would be defeated by the Supreme Lord in an instant.

"I don't mean anything else when I say these words. I just want you to understand your situation and protect yourself." Prince Yin said calmly: "Because as long as you are alive, you can do what you promised me, and my mother-in-law can do it."

Be more peaceful."

Xue Poye carefully arranged Prince Yin's head and said softly: "Your Highness, do you think it's okay?"

Prince Yin looked at himself in the mirror and smiled: "If I had known you had such skills in combing, I should have asked you to do it for me earlier." He slowly stood up, faced the bronze mirror, and said softly: "This

It’s the Prince of Da Chu!”

He stared for a moment, finally put down the bronze mirror, walked to the small table, picked up his chopsticks, and started eating without hesitation.

The food was indeed rich, but the heat seemed to be gone, but Prince Yin still ate it with gusto.

After a long time, he took the silver cup, opened the wine bottle, filled it with wine, paused slightly, and finally drank it all in one gulp. He threw the chopsticks, stood up and shouted

:"happy!"

"How can the years and rivers be drunk, and a glass of fine wine can break one's heart!"

Prince Yin arranged his clothes, walked slowly to the cold bed, struggled to push away the moldy bedding, and made room for an empty bed, then lay down on it with an elegant posture.

"I am really honored to have you with me when I say goodbye." Prince Yin did not look at Xue Poye, but closed his eyes and whispered softly: "Xue Poye, please take care of yourself!"

Xue Poye looked at Prince Yin's strange words and deeds, and his hands and feet suddenly felt cold. He finally understood something and turned his eyes to the wine bottle that had been drained.

Prince Yin's body remained motionless, and he murmured as if in a dream: "Father, you are too cruel... you are too cruel... the people of this world... haha... the people of the world... the people of the world...!" The voice became louder and louder.

It got smaller and smaller, until it finally stopped talking to itself.

Xue Poye frowned and shouted softly: "Your Highness, Your Highness!"

Prince Yin indeed did not agree. Xue Poye walked closer slowly and listened carefully, but found that he could not even hear Prince Yin's breathing. He was shocked. After a slight hesitation, he finally stretched out his hand and gently sighed at Prince Yin's breath.

.

The tip of Prince Yin's nose was cold and he was no longer breathing.

"Ah!" Xue Poye's body trembled, and his hands and feet were cold.

There was a weird smile on Prince Yin's face, that smile was full of disdain and contempt, but on this face, Xue Poye could feel the pain that Prince Yin felt when he was dying.

"Father, you are too cruel!"

Prince Yin's words before his death made Xue Poye understand that Prince Yin's death was granted by His Majesty the Emperor, and that the bottle of fine wine was poison that penetrated the intestines.

Eunuch Zhou obviously noticed the movement in the house and gently opened the door. He saw Prince Yin lying quietly on the shabby and shabby bed, apparently dead, so he knelt on the ground and bowed three times before standing up and saying

: "Master Xue, you can leave now."

Xue Poye stood blankly until he heard Eunuch Zhou shouting, then slowly turned around and said calmly: "His Royal Highness has passed away."

There was a hint of sigh deep in Eunuch Zhou's eyes, and he said softly: "His Second Highness was suspected of plotting to assassinate the Holy One, and the Holy One gave him poisonous wine to kill himself."

"Did he already know that the pot of wine was poisonous wine?" Xue Poye asked coldly.

Eunuch Zhou nodded and said: "Your Highness is smart and sensitive, so he must know what your Majesty means."

Xue Poye didn't ask any more questions, just glanced at Prince Yin, then put his hands behind his back and slowly left this cold and cold little house. A noble prince died in such a place.

Although this place was shabby, Prince Yin still maintained the noble demeanor and dignity of a prince before his death!

What shocked Xue Poye was not the death of Prince Yin, but the fact that Emperor Deqing actually killed the assassin and gave poisoned wine to Prince Yin.

The assassination incident happened just last night. It didn't take long, and there was not even a trial. His Majesty the Emperor made a decisive decision and gave the poisoned wine without hesitation. From this, it seems that Emperor Deqing had already intended to kill Prince Yin.

A father who didn't even care about the feelings of his own flesh and blood and killed whenever he asked. This made Xue Poye feel cold all over. He finally understood what the so-called "accompanying the emperor is like accompanying a tiger" meant, and he also understood what "the emperor's heart is unpredictable"
To be continued...