In the Spring Orioles Palace in early autumn, hibiscus and iris are in full bloom, making them colorful.
Li Yuezhen traveled all over the country and saw many mansions of wealthy people, but this place was different from those extremely luxurious mansions. The gardens that displayed various styles in different seasons were always refreshing.
During the reign of the late emperor, the gardens here were even more gorgeous than they are now, and the gardens also changed as the palace changed hands.
"Lord Li Yuezhen...?"
When Li Yuezhen was looking at the white hibiscus absentmindedly, a soft call came from the corridor.
Even without looking back, I know whose voice it is.
Li Yuezhen lowered her eyes, then slowly raised her head.
Chunxiang ran over with a smile on her face.
"You're back……"
"I just came back……"
It has been half a year since I said goodbye to Chunxiang before setting off for Chouzhou.
When I first met Chunxiang, she still had a childish look on her face, but every time I see her recently, I can feel that she is gradually becoming a mature woman.
"I planned to report to the emperor, but I heard that the emperor has returned to the palace."
"Yes, the Emperor is drinking tea with the Queen."
Chunxiang's face was full of smiles, like blooming flowers, and Li Yuezhen narrowed her eyes slightly.
Several people... proposed to her during her business trip.
Yes, she is so cute, it would not be surprising if someone proposed to her.
Chunxiang was about to take him to see the emperor, and he couldn't help but follow him, but suddenly stopped.
"Lord Li Yuezhen?"
"Well, I'd better talk about it some other time..."
"ah?"
"I just came back and I didn't even have time to change my clothes."
In front of the increasingly beautiful Chunxiang, he suddenly became concerned
own clothing.
Chunxiang tilted her head slightly.
"The emperor and the queen will not care. Besides, they will be very happy to see you come back safely."
"..."
"Let's go!"
Hearing Chunxiang's energetic voice, Li Yuezhen couldn't help but take steps forward.
"Lord Li Yuezhen, you haven't met Princess Meiyan yet, right?"
Before departure, when he came here to say goodbye, the Queen Empress Shui Xinyuan was about to give birth. He heard during the trip that the Empress had given birth to Lin'er after the birth of Prince Long.
The princess was named Meiyan.
"Princess Meiyan is super cute, but the Emperor is a little dissatisfied..."
"So, does Princess Meiyan look like the emperor?"
"Yes! But the empress is very happy and said that she will be a beauty from now on."
As the prince grew up, he became more and more like the emperor. Therefore, the emperor hoped that the child born this time would look like the queen. Unexpectedly, the queen's wish was fulfilled and he looked like the emperor.
It was not difficult for Li Yuezhen to imagine the emperor's dejected look. He couldn't help but raise the corners of his mouth, and Chunxiang also laughed happily.
Chunxiang's usual light fragrance drifted into his nose.
Has someone really proposed to her?
Although Li Yue was really confused, he didn't dare to ask casually.
…
"...Although she doesn't look like Shui Xinyuan, I think the girl is cuter."
As Chunxiang said, the emperor didn't care that he was dressed for the journey. After inviting him to sit down, he asked the queen to bring him tea and asked Li Yuezhen if he wanted to give the princess a hug... Li Yuezhen politely declined, and the emperor said something happily
Unable to tell whether he was complaining or showing off, Li Yuezhen could only listen on the sidelines.
"I think the princess is very cute."
"But because he looks like me, he lacks a bit of cuteness and timidity. Especially Long Sheng, he still doesn't get along with me. Even if I play with him, I can't tell whether he is happy or unhappy."
"..."
I'm afraid it's because the emperor is immature and always competes with Long Sheng to occupy the queen.
"I originally hoped that Meiyan could inherit Shui Xinyuan's cuteness."
"I believe... no matter how your facial features look, you will still be able to relate to each other as you grow older."
"you're right."
Although the emperor sounded dissatisfied, he still loved his children very much.
When Shui Xinyuan took Meiyan to bed just now, the emperor also let Long Sheng ride on his shoulders and play.
I heard from Chunxiang that recently Long Sheng often felt lonely because his mother was taken away by his sister. The emperor often took the initiative to play with Long Sheng... Maybe it was just that the father and son, who felt lonely without the Queen's company, were just trying to warm each other up.
"correct……"
Lu Fusu changed the subject and looked away from Shui Xinyuan, who was playing with carved wooden animal toys with Long Sheng.
"I receive reports from you from time to time, but I didn't expect the situation in Chouzhou to be so troublesome."
"It took me a little longer to handle it. Please forgive me, Your Majesty."
"No, it's amazing that you were able to solve such a troublesome investigation within half a year."
But... Lu Fusu said, holding his chin with one hand and exhaled.
"To this day, we still receive petitions from people who charge excessive taxes. Don't those people expect that their greedy behavior of overcharging their own pockets will be exposed sooner or later, and their reputation will be ruined?"
"Everyone thinks they can get away with it without being discovered."
"If this continues, the Censor will never have any leisure time."
Lu Fusu took a sip of tea and smiled bitterly.
"Li Yuezhen, you work in the field all day long, do you have any plans to settle down in the capital?"
"As long as the emperor needs me, I am willing to go through fire and water."
This is Li Yuezhen's sincere words.
He is grateful to the Zhuge family father and son who saved him from the difficult days, to the emperor and his colleagues in the imperial censor who trusted him and entrusted him with important tasks...
Therefore, he worked hard to repay... If he could make up for the sins of the past, he was willing to go through fire and water.
"……How old?"
"ah……"
"How old are you?"
Lu Fusu asked abruptly, and Li Yuezhen couldn't answer for a while.
"……twenty one years old……"
"Yes! You are two years younger than me."
Lu Fusu quietly put down the teacup and said as if chatting: "Chunxiang is seventeen years old this year."
"..."
"You haven't decided yet?"
Li Yuezhen felt her cheeks feel hot and her head felt cold at the same time.
He searched for Chunxiang's figure from the corner of his eyes, but Chunxiang was not within his sight range.
"I have no intention of forcing it..."
Lu Fusu lowered his voice slightly, at least Chunxiang was not in a place where he could hear their conversation.
"It seems... you haven't thought about it at all."
"..."
I just returned to the capital today, and two people have already mentioned this topic... Li Yuezhen guessed that maybe someone really proposed to Chunxiang, otherwise, leaving aside the nosy colleague, the emperor, who has never interfered in the private affairs of his ministers, would not have mentioned this.
thing.
Seeing that Li Yuezhen was silent, Lu Fusu deliberately said in a cheerful tone: "Anyway... you have a good rest for the time being. The capital is safe now."
"yes……"
"When you are in the back office, even if there is nothing special, you will occasionally come here to walk around and share the situation outside with Shui Xinyuan and the maids."
"..."
Li Yuezhen stood up, bowed and left.
"Your Majesty, excuse me for disturbing you. I'm going to leave first."
"Thanks for your hard work……"
Seeing Li Yuezhen preparing to leave, Shui Xinyuan immediately stood up and walked over.
"Remember to come and play some other time."
"yes……"
Shui Xinyuan found Chunxiang and told her to send Li Yuezhen away.
Although this has become a routine, Li Yuezhen suddenly felt heavy.
“What kind of place is Chouzhou?”
Walking side by side in the corridor, Chunxiang's attitude was no different from usual. Li Yuezhen felt that the idea of someone proposing to her seemed groundless.
"It rarely rains there and the land is very dry."
“Aren’t crops easy to grow?”
"There is a big river that can supply agricultural water, and water control is very good..."
"Really? But if it doesn't rain often, the weather should be very hot, right?"
Although Li Yuezhen answered as if he was reporting, Chunxiang still took the trouble to chat with him, which made Li Yuezhen couldn't help but admire him.
Although he tried hard to think of topics to talk about, he didn't know what to talk about, so the conversation continued every time.
"Yes! This is my first time to go to Chouzhou in summer. Compared to the north, it is indeed hotter there."
"I used to be envious of the many places the censor could go, but later I found out that I couldn't choose the place freely. No matter how cold or hot it was, I had to go out and run around, so it was very hard..."
Li Yuezhen once heard Chunxiang say that she was born in the capital and grew up in the capital. She only left the capital once... That was three years ago, when she and the queen were involved in the Xishen Pass Rebellion.
"...where do you want to go?"
"ah?"
Chunxiang turned to look at him with wide eyes.
Chunxiang usually asked questions, and Li Yuezhen answered her questions. She seemed surprised that Li Yuezhen took the initiative to ask questions.
"Well... I don't know where I want to go specifically... I just want to go to the beach."
"The beach?"
"I have never seen the sea."
There is no sea in the capital city. In Shenzhou, you have to go all the way east to see the sea.
"I hope I have the opportunity to go there in the future..."
"yes!"
Chunxiang's face was filled with a bright smile, as if all the sun was shining on her face.
Although it's so close, I can't reach out.
No matter how slowly you walk, the road has an end.
...failed again...
Chunxiang watched Li Yuezhen, whom she hadn't seen for half a year, leave and clenched her hands.
The most important thing is that I still can't ask, and every time I just talk about irrelevant topics.
...Lord Li Yuezhen...
What I want to ask most is about myself.
I don’t want to hear other people’s narrations, I just want to hear you say it, I just want to hear it from your own mouth.
I want to know your thoughts...
"..."
The autumn wind took away her sigh.
Although I really wanted to ask, I couldn't.
He couldn't ask, because if he did, it would probably... touch things he didn't want others to mention.
"Huh? No progress again."
"Seems to be……"
Hearing the disappointed conversation, Chunxiang turned around in surprise and found two maids hiding behind the pillars.
One of them is the same age as her and the other is younger than her.
"Fengxia, Caiju..."
Chunxiang stared at them, Fengxia stuck out her tongue, and Caiju walked out with her neck shrinking in embarrassment.
"You are going too far. You are hiding there and peeking."
"Because some people haven't come back, so let's take a look at the situation."
"You still can't change your bad habits."
Li Yuezhen has disappeared.
Chunxiang smiled bitterly and walked back, Fengxia and Caiju also followed behind her.
"What should I do? That censor hasn't spoken yet. He should know your thoughts, right? Even if you marry someone else, doesn't it matter to him?"
"I won't marry!"
Chunxiang quickened her pace in the corridor, trying to avoid this topic.
"Isn't your hometown always urging you to go on a blind date? And that official from the Ministry of Revenue."
"Didn't you reject someone from the Ministry of Industry last time?"
"So I said, I won't get married..."
Chunxiang likes the job of maid.
The queen is kind to others, and the prince and princess are also very cute.
If possible, she hopes to be a maid here for the rest of her life.
The only possible exception...
"But I think that censor is a bit scary. Chunxiang can actually chat with him."
"Yes, yes! I have no idea what he is thinking."
…I don’t think he’s scary at all…
Although Li Yuezhen's face showed no expression, this expressionlessness was suitable for the work of supervising the censor.
In order to expose the corruption and perversion of the law by officials in various places, the supervisory censor must disguise himself and carry out reconnaissance work. If his inner thoughts are written on his face, it will affect his work.
Moreover, even if his expression is not rich enough...even if he is taciturn, it does not mean that others cannot feel his feelings.
...I know he has a kind heart...
"Do you want to consider changing your options? Officials from the Ministry of Household Affairs or the Ministry of Industry are also good! At least they won't be away from home for half a year..."
"Fengxia, then you can consider dating them!"
"I'm asking you to marry me, what does that have to do with me? I hate it."
...Someone did propose marriage...but I refused on the spot.
"I won't get married!"
Chunxiang said happily and left even faster.
Fengxia and Caiju ran behind her.
...I will not marry...unless that person wants me to marry him.
…
In the dark and damp corner of the small room, a little boy squatted on the ground with his knees in his arms, staring intently at the rotten wooden door.
The little boy was waiting for the wooden door to open, but prayed that the door would never open.
The strong wind blowing from time to time shook the wooden door, as if mocking the little boy's inner timidity.
The little boy was terrified every time, thinking they were back.
...I really want to escape...
Where to escape?
Not here, but somewhere far away.
But how to escape?
I don't know. You can't go anywhere alone. Besides, the little boy doesn't know where he comes from, how he got here, or why he is here.
It's impossible to escape.
Because they said so too.
Even if you run away, you can't change the situation, it will only get worse.
No food, no clothes, not even a place to sleep... nothing.
……Help……
I really hope someone comes to save me.
I really hope someone gets me out of here before they come back.
If there is a place in this world where you have food, clothing, and a place to sleep, and no one will beat you up, I hope someone can take you there.
If you can go there...there is nothing else you can do in this life.