During the court dispute some time ago, Yue'an disappeared because Xiang Chong took him to Hanzhou, known as the Snow Country.
Hanzhou is the ancestral land of the Xiang family and the jurisdiction of Beiyuan, but it is the coldest area in Beiyuan.
Yue'an travels back and forth between the capital and Hanzhou all year round, and is not afraid of the severe cold. Her rosy face and sparkling eyes carry a vitality that Yue'er has never had.
She is most afraid of the cold.
Yue'an is not as long as Yue'er like her two sisters. She has curly chestnut hair like Que Wu and a pair of amber eyes like Que Wu.
But her smile is very similar to Yue'er.
Her temperament is also gentler than that of her two sisters, and her calm demeanor is very much like Yue'er's.
Yue'er is gone, but her presence remains everywhere.
I looked at the front door of Xiao's house for a long time, then stepped in.
Yue'er, I'm back again, back to the place where we grew up together.
The Duke's Mansion holds the most memories of Yue'er and I. I didn't dare to set foot there in the past, but now I can't wait. It seems that as soon as I enter, I can see Yue'er sitting on the corridor, turning to look at me.
"Second brother, you are back!"
Suddenly, I seemed to see her again.
But I know in my heart that everything in front of me is just a dream.
In the days to come, I stayed in the capital and became the new Duke of Zhen. My eldest father and mother-in-law returned to Yunzhou to retire as they wished, and Yue'an temporarily lived with me in the Duke's Mansion to be married.
On the day when the snow melted in the capital, in the evening, a figure came to the Duke's Mansion.
It's a young man. The young man's appearance looks familiar to me, and he is very similar to Xiao Qilin Zhao Yan.
As soon as I came out of the study and walked around the corner from the corridor, I saw the young man grabbing Yue'an's hand. Yue'an was in pain and wanted to wave him away.
"Your Highness, Zhao Xiu! Let go!"
It turned out to be the prince Zhao Xiu, the eldest son of Zhao Yan.
Just as I was about to step forward, Xiang Chong ran in from the outside and knocked him to the ground with one punch.
"Don't think that because you are the prince, I won't dare to beat you. Even if you are the emperor, I will still do it!"
The Xiang family is still like this, protective and bold. As long as one of their own is bullied, they will dare to hit no matter who is in front of them.
The two guards following the young man stepped forward to capture Xiang Chong. Looking at the guards' skills, I knew that Xiang Chong was going to suffer, so I stepped forward to stop them.
Zhao Xiu stood up from the ground, saw me and called out: "Uncle."
I looked at the way he looked at Yue'an, and I knew he was another infatuated person.
It's strange to say, why do people from the Zhao family always fall in love with girls from our Xiao family?
Zhao Yelin was like this, Zhao Yan was like this, and even Zhao Xiu is like this now.
The three of them, grandfather and grandson, are all staring at the daughter of our Xiao family.
But it's a pity that neither the eldest sister Qingyu nor Jiaojiao Yue'an will fall in love with someone who was born in the palace and sits on the throne.
Because they are all the Xiao family, and the Xiao family yearns for the world outside. We are eagles and wolves, and the palace cannot trap us.
With my persuasion, Zhao Xiu returned to the palace.
Then he was scolded by Zhao Yan and was banned in the East Palace. He was not released until Yue An got married.
After all, little Qilin is half of the Xiao family. Zhao Xiu is not like his father, but his temperament is very similar to that of the late emperor Zhao Yelin. I heard that before I came back, Zhao Xiu was always obsessed with Yue'an.
Perhaps this is how the secret decree of the First Saint came out.
However, as long as there is one person in our Xiao family, we will never let Yue'an compromise because of imperial power.
Our Xiao family has already compensated the elder sister Qingyu, which is worthy of their Zhao family.
In the days that followed, I lived in my eldest father’s courtyard. The small courtyard where Jiaojiao and I once lived was always empty, but there were always maids to take care of it.
The day before Yue'an got married, I wanted to stand outside the courtyard and take a look as usual. As soon as I walked over, I saw Yue'an sitting by the window.
When I saw her profile, for a moment, I thought Yue'er was back.
I stood outside the hospital and watched for a long time. I couldn't hear any sound in my ears, and the moon looked like a moon in my eyes.
It wasn't until Yue'an turned to look at me that I came back to my senses and walked towards the courtyard.
It's been several months since I returned to the capital, and I haven't stepped foot into the courtyard once. It seems that if I don't go in, Yue'er will always be here.
"Second uncle."
Seeing me, Yue'an got up and walked outside the hospital.
I saw her look a little gloomy and asked her, "Why are you here?"
Yue'an lowered her head and held a Luban lock in her hand, which was Yue'er's favorite gadget in the past.
Yue'an's voice was a little more choked up: "I miss my mother-in-law."
My breath suffocated slightly, and Yue'an looked up at me, with tears in her eyes: "Second uncle, if my mother is still here, she will definitely put on the hijab for me with her own hands."
I couldn't say a word, and my heart was in pain.
After so many years, the pain of Yue'er's passing has not diminished by half, and has become more and more intense.
I looked at the old swings, skateboards and wooden horses in the courtyard, and the image of the moon appeared in front of me again.
"Second brother, this wooden horse is too high, I'm a little scared."
"Second brother, please make the swing bigger so that we can sit together."
"Second brother..."
"Second brother..."
I held my head, which was feeling a bit dull, and my heart seemed to be torn into pieces.
"Second uncle?" Yue'an saw my somewhat abnormal expression and suddenly said, "Second uncle, you must also miss your grandma very much."
I calmed down my expression, returned to normal, touched her head and said, "Many people miss her. Your mother-in-law has a gentle and kind temperament and has made many good friends."
Yue'an shook her head and said: "The longing I am talking about is different from other people, different from my uncle and aunt, and different from my grandmother, but..."
She paused and said softly: "But it's the same as the prince's cousin."
My heart was shocked. Looking at Yue An's penetrating eyes, I realized that she was the most thoughtful among the three children of Jiao Jiao.
She had a very good relationship with the Sixth Princess Zhao Yun, and also had a very good relationship with Concubine Xian, Concubine De, and she often went to the palace.
She actually also saw that Xiao Qilin once had feelings for Yue'er.
I didn't answer Yue'an, juniors like them shouldn't know about these things.
I looked at the sycamore tree outside the courtyard, leaning against the courtyard wall. After so many years, this sycamore tree was still full of vitality, but Yue'er would no longer sit outside the courtyard and look at it in a daze.
On the day of Yue'an's wedding, the Duke's mansion was very lively. My aunt brought Yue Xi and a group of relatives from the southwest.
Que Wu also came, but because of the quarrel between Beiyuan and Suoluo before, he came in disguise and couldn't let people in the capital know.
I haven't seen my aunt and Yuexi for a long time.
Compared with Yue'an, I see Yuexi less often.
Yuexi is the timidest and most squeamish of the three children. She always looks scared when she sees my eldest brother and me.
She is not afraid of her third uncle, probably because Qingze always makes her happy, and unlike me and my eldest brother, who always have a stern face, because of the constant fighting spirit with him.
Yuexi married Xu Yunjing, a disciple of Baicao Valley. Xu Yunjing received the true biography of the leader of Baicao Valley and was famous for his medical skills at a young age.
I looked at the bustling Duke's Mansion, but my heart felt desolate and silent.
After Yue'an was taken to the Xiang Mansion, the Duke's Mansion became quiet, and I went to the small courtyard again.
As soon as I passed by, I saw my aunt and Yuexi standing in the courtyard wiping tears.
After all these years, those who loved Yue'er are still sad for her passing.
Yue Xi cried very sadly in her aunt's arms. I looked at her crying and thought, no wonder they always say that Yue Xi is the most like Yue'er.
In the past, Yue'er was in pain most of the time and often cried because of illness.
Yuexi, who is already twenty years old, is still leaning in her aunt's arms like a child like Yue'er in the past, but her aunt is already old and has a head full of white hair.
"Grandma, I miss you so much..."
Yue Xi's sobbing look was exactly the same as Yue'er's in the past.
The aunt held Yue Xi and looked at the things in the courtyard with tears in her eyes. Yue'er was her only daughter, the daughter she had carefully held in her heart for more than 20 years. She missed her more than anyone else.
.
But fortunately, Yue Xi can accompany her until she grows old.
My aunt is able to enjoy her old age in peace, and I am sure Yue'erquan Xia Zhi will be happy.
But Que Wu just stood outside the yard and took a look from a distance before leaving.
Perhaps for him, these memories about Yue'er are something he dare not touch.
In the following days, Que Wu stayed in the capital for a few more days. He lived alone in the mansion where he married Yue'er.
I didn't want to take care of him, but I still sent someone to watch him to prevent spies from the capital from discovering him.
I heard from my subordinates that he often ran to Yunlu Mountain in those days and didn't do anything, just walked around and looked around.
I thought, what can he do?
I just want to see the place where the moon once existed.
After Yue Xi, her aunt, and Qingze left, Yue Chao, Xiao Lie, and her eldest brother and sister-in-law came to the capital to visit Yue'an. The Xiao family could only do what they had in the past and could not all gather in the capital.
As soon as they left, the Duke's Mansion became quiet again, and like my father in the past, I went to the military camp to patrol and train troops every day, and returned to the Mansion in the evening.
After Yue'an got married, she no longer lived in the Duke's Mansion, and often traveled between the capital and Hanzhou.
In the past, my eldest father, my mother-in-law, I, and Jiaojiao were with me. Now, except for some maids and servants who take care of the affairs of the house, I am the only one left in the mansion.
There are figures everywhere in the Duke's Mansion who Yue'er once lived in. I feel peaceful in my heart and not as lonely as staying at the border.