When they returned to the Imperial Palace, it was already early in the morning.
Mingde ate meatballs and yuanxiao, watched the fireworks, and went to the Lantern Festival. He played all the fun he owed over the years in one night. On the way back, he fell asleep in the carriage. When the carriage stopped, he opened his eyes slightly and asked, "… Have we arrived?"
Qianwandi said, "En."
Mingde was about to fall asleep again. Suddenly, he heard a voice ask with a sigh, "Mingde."
He gave a small hum, "En?"
"… If you had the chance to choose, would you go to your fragrant March Jiangnan or stay in the Imperial Palace with me?"
Ming De had already fallen into a semi-confused state. He only made a sound of acknowledgment in his throat before he fell into a deep and sweet sleep.
He was too happy tonight. He was like a little dog that had been locked up for a long time and was running around excitedly asking for this and that.
He was too tired.
Qianwandi gently covered his eyes with his large hand and said in a low voice, "Sleep."
He carried Mingde out of the carriage and strode into the bedroom.
In the night, the Hall of Clear Frames was filled with a sweet and light fragrance. The luxurious water lilies in the pond bloomed under the corridor, as if they could emit a faint moonlight.
Qianwandi placed Mingde on the giant dragon bed and then turned to walk out of the bedroom.
The Rong Shiba in the corridor outside the door knelt on the ground and asked in a low voice, "What orders does the Emperor have for me?"
Qianwandi strode in the direction of the side hall, "The spring examination papers are stored in the storehouse of the Hall of Imperial Learning, right?"
"Yes."
"The shadow guards that have been on duty near the Hall of Imperial Learning recently, are they honest?
Are they tight-lipped? "
"In reply to the Emperor, they are all experienced shadow guards. I can vouch for them."
"Call them over for me."
The Rong Shiba nodded slightly and stood up to leave. In the blink of an eye, he disappeared into the night. Even the guards on both sides of the bedroom did not notice anyone coming and going.
After half a cup of tea's time, he led two black-clothed and silver-masked secret guards over. He kowtowed and said, "Your subject pays his respects to Your Majesty!"
Qianwandi stood by the handrail of the corridor and looked into the distance. His voice was indifferent, "… You two, I have something to instruct you. If you do it well, you must immediately report. But you must let people know one word …"
He turned around and slowly smiled, "Then you can bring your heads to me …"
On the fifteenth night of the first lunar month, the Hall of Supreme Learning caught fire.
In the storage room where the examination papers were stored, 3,568 of them were burned to ashes by a fire.
Everyone in the Hall of Supreme Learning was shocked. Everyone hurriedly crawled out of their beds to carry water to put out the fire. The entire Hall of Supreme Learning was in a state of chaos.
Unfortunately, because the evil fire burned in a strange way, the doors and windows were tightly shut and there was no way out, so no one was able to enter the blazing fire.
In the end, those Imperial College officials with white beards could only watch as the entire majestic hundred year old hall collapsed under the raging fire. Not even a single piece of wall was left intact.
When the imperial court opened on the sixteenth day of the first lunar month, Qianwandi was furious when he heard the news. He ordered people to interrogate the relevant personnel who were on duty that night. He also reprimanded and dismissed a group of old and muddle-headed officials from the Ministry of Revenue.
Among them, the Imperial College official Xie Hong Jie, who was strict in his studies, was in the prime of his life, and had the potential to become a pillar of the Imperial College. He was appointed as the head of the Imperial College, a second-rank official. The Minister of Revenue, Ding Huang, did not do anything wrong and was punished. He was fined half a year's salary.
In the palace, an imperial edict announced to the world: Because the Hall of Supreme Learning caught fire, all of the examination papers were burned. In Qianwandi's eighteenth year, no one passed.
When Zhang Kuo came in, Mingde was sitting in front of the window. He was motionless as he looked outside the window at the sound of raindrops hitting the banana leaves.
The dim light shone down from the tall window lattice. It reflected his face, which was clearly ambiguous, tactful, and cold.
Zhang Kuo bowed deeply and said with a face full of smiles: "Young master Mingde, would you like to serve dinner?"
Mingde turned his head and stared at him.
In an instant, Zhang Kuo felt a chill on the back of his neck, as if he had been slashed by a knife.
He raised his eyes to look at Mingde. Suddenly, the youth laughed: "… Eunuch Zhang, have you eaten?"
Zhang Kuo said in a small voice: "Thank you young master for your consideration. This servant would not dare to eat before master."
"Then if I don't eat, won't I implicate you?"
"Young master's kindness and benevolence, this servant cannot thank you enough."
Mingde elegantly raised his hand: "Then serve dinner."
His hand was very beautiful. The bones were elegant and slender, the fingers were delicate, and the fingernails had a very faint greenish-white color, like the color of jade.
That hand must be very cold, stained with blood that could not be washed away. Even between the fingers there was a faint, cold, and bloody smell.
Zhang Kuo silently bowed and retreated, slowly closing the door of the hall.
Qianwandi did not dare to enter the door of Qing Zhen Hall for a day, but Zhengtai Hall had sent an edict, telling the palace servants to "take good care" of young master Mingde.
What did "take good care" mean?
— It meant to entertain him with good food and drink, and serve him regardless of whether he was beaten or scolded. But they had to watch over him and not let him leave.
Zhang Kuo carefully locked the door of the hall, and then went to serve the eighty-one exquisite dishes that had been specially prepared for Mingde.
When he led a group of palace servants in with three gold lacquered boxes, he found that Mingde had already disappeared.
Zhang Kuo's legs turned to jelly, and he suddenly held onto the palace door.
The little eunuch scrambled over, crying: "Eunuch!
Eunuch!
Young noble, he … he … "
Zhang Kuo raised his hand and gave him a slap: "Where is he?
Where is he?
Do you all want to be dragged out and beheaded by the Emperor? "
The little eunuch cried: "We listened to eunuch and guarded the door, but when we opened the door and let the people from the imperial kitchen in, the young noble, he, he was already gone …"
Zhang Kuo's hand trembled for a while, and then he sharply scolded: "Why aren't you reporting to the Emperor?!"
Liu Yu Zhai, next to Zhengtai Hall, used to be a temporary gate for the armed imperial bodyguards to rest for a while when they changed shifts. Gradually, no one went there anymore. Qianwandi did not have people clean it up, and just left it there.
In reality, that side hall had already been changed into a place for the hidden guards to drink tea, sleep, and rest for a while when they changed shifts. The outside was covered with dense willows and flowers, so outsiders could not see anything.
One of the hidden guards who had been monitoring the Hall of Imperial Learning for an entire night was already extremely tired. Even if he was an expert, he was still mentally and physically exhausted.
He ate a good meal and slept. When he woke up, it was already dusk of the next day.
"Why is it still raining?"
He muttered a complaint and put on the silver mask. Just as he was about to walk out of the hall door, he suddenly felt a sharp object whistling through the wind from behind him.
The hidden guard had already been trained to be incomparably sensitive. In an instant, his nerves were stretched taut. He suddenly turned around and kicked away the dagger through the air. Then, a hidden guard wrapped in a short black cloth and wearing a silver mask kicked over his head.
The hidden guard shouted: "One of us!"
However, the person who attacked him did not hesitate at all and kicked him in the stomach in midair.
The kick that could break gold and break stone did not have any buffer. The hidden guard's entire body heavily smashed into the wall.
"What was with the fire in the Hall of Imperial Learning last night?!"
The hidden guard was stunned, and then his throat was grabbed.
The other person's mask was only a foot away from him. At this distance, as long as a finger moved, his throat could be immediately broken.
"Why was there a fire in the Hall of Imperial Learning last night?
Who set the fire?
Speak! "
The hidden guard forced himself to gasp for breath. He suddenly pulled out a dagger from his waist and stabbed it to the side of the person's waist.
In principle, hidden guards did not kill each other. However, special situations required special treatment. The actions of the attacker in front of him were completely different from the principles of the hidden guards.
Mingde suddenly bent down and covered the wound. Blood spurted out from between his fingers.
That hidden guard was just about to retreat when he was grabbed by Mingde. The bloody hand broke his wrist with a crack.
Mingde's speed was so fast that the person only had time to stuff the whistle into his mouth. Then, the sharp alarm sounded through Flowing Jade Hall.
Who knew that Mingde did not retreat at all. Instead, he reached out with both hands and grabbed that person's neck: "Speak!
What was with the fire!
Why did the Hall of Imperial Learning catch fire!
If you don't speak, I will kill you right now! "
That hidden guard coughed twice and said coldly: "You … you can just kill me."
The blue veins on the back of Ming De's hand stood out. At this critical moment, Rong Shiba flew in from outside the door of Liuyu Pavilion. The first palm grabbed the back of the secret guard from Ming De's hand and threw him far away. The second palm grabbed Ming De's body from three feet away from the wall and pushed him back. Then Rong Shiba pushed Ming De's body directly to the wall. Rong Shiba's elbow hit Ming De's chest and suspended him against the cold wall.
Mingde cursed loudly: "Rong Shiba, why are you so f * cking immoral!"
The Rong Shiba leaned over and whispered in his ear: "This time, brother owes you. However, I have to obey the Emperor's orders … I will definitely pay you back next time when I have the chance."
Mingde grabbed his hand. He used so much strength that it seemed like he wanted to break the Rong Shiba's hand: "You will pay me back?
How can you pay me back!
You are all just saying nice things! "
The Rong Shiba was pushed by him and staggered a step. Then, a dagger came at his face.
The Rong Shiba's skill was much better than Mingde's. However, Mingde was so angry that he used all his strength in every punch. The two of them fought until they were outside the hall. Mingde was one step ahead and forced the Rong Shiba to the edge of the stairs. Then, he chopped down with one hand.
Rong Shiba knew that things were not good. Although Mingde's internal strength was not cultivated by himself, it was poured into him by others, but he used it very well. With such a palm, even if it was not enough to split his head open, he would be smashed into a coma or even a fool.
beqege.cc
Just as he was about to risk his life and jump down, a hand suddenly grabbed Ming De's waist from behind and lifted him several feet away.
The Rong Shiba only had time to look back and was shocked: "Your Majesty?"
Qianwandi grabbed Mingde and quickly retreated. Mingde only felt the wind whistling in his ears. When he came back to his senses, he had already retreated out of the courtyard.
He turned his hand into a claw and grabbed. Qianwandi could not dodge in time and was slashed from his chin to his chest by an eagle claw fist. Then, the two of them staggered and fell to the ground.
Mingde turned over and knelt in front of Qianwandi's chest. His fingers holding the hilt of the dagger were trembling: "Li Ji, you … you bastard!"
Qianwandi lay on the ground and quietly looked at the tip of the dagger: "Mingde."
The veins on the back of Mingde's hand were bulging and his knuckles were turning white.
"You don't want to see the Crown Prince get married?"
The fine rain at dusk hit Mingde's face. The young man's fine hair was wet and drooped down. The water droplets dripped onto Qianwandi's face and then slowly flowed down along his temples.
It was like tears.
Mingde slowly let go of his hand and then stood up.
Qianwandi sat up and stayed in place. He watched Mingde take half a step back and then turn around.
Qianwandi wanted to say something, but nothing came out.
He just sat there on the damp ground, watching Ming De wobble away step by step in the gray rain.
The wind and rain were dark. The cold wind of early spring quickly swept over and swept away the last bit of warmth the young man left on his body.
"This little thing …"
Qianwandi reached out to wipe the raindrops on his face. It was cold to the touch, just like the person in his arms that gave him the same feeling.