many worries

After receiving the double gifts and carefully picking a few bell plants, Qiao Yu finally settled down and sat on the stone bench obediently, waiting for today's dinner.

This was the meal Qiao Yu had been looking forward to for a long time, but when he opened the food box, he was stunned when he saw the dishes inside. There were only two bowls of rice, and the portion was small. Not even chopped green onions.Judging from the color and smell, it is probably leftovers from yesterday.It's still summer now, and the food doesn't last long. Yesterday's food has been kept until today, and the taste has long since changed. It can barely be eaten, and it's even more unpalatable than those dry food.

This is a secret rule in the palace, no one can be favored, the above rules have been withheld and turned into oily water, not only can't get good things from the eunuch, even the food is left over by others, it is hard to swallow.

Qiao Yu stayed in the East Palace all the time, innocent and childlike, and knew nothing about the rules in the palace.

Jing Yan's face remained unchanged, he brought out two bowls of rice, put the fried vegetables and clear water tofu in front of Qiao Yu, blew on the candle again, and ate slowly, as if there was nothing wrong with the taste.

With the glass lamp in her arms, Qiao Yu looked at Jing Yan's movements, as if encouraged, she stretched out her hand and took two mouthfuls of rice in a daze, but couldn't hold any more.He was wronged all the time before, just because he had the thought of going to the imperial dining room to get delicious food in a few days, hanging in front of his eyes like a carrot, and he could barely hold on, but now he couldn't do it all of a sudden, sadly " Bababata" shed tears.

His tears were so many, he had been crying for so long just now, and it didn't take long to wet half of the table, and slowly soaked to Jing Yan's side along the sunken pattern on the stone table.

Jing Yan didn't try to coax him, but was half a table away from him, her eyes were calm and calm, and she fell on him casually, but the tenderness that just sent the glass lamp just now disappeared completely, as if it never existed, "Xiaoyu, Do you feel wronged? Regret it, want it, "

He paused, and his voice became softer, "Leaving?"

The shadows of the trees were dense and the lights were dim, covering most of the Jing Yan, and he seemed to be immersed in darkness.

Hearing this, Qiao Yu was stunned when she secretly wiped the corners of her eyes with her hands, the tears in her eyes dripped down her cheeks and landed on the rice in the bowl, and there was only this slight sound around.This is different from his usual. If he really feels sad and sad, he will not cry so much. Instead, he hugs his knees and buries his face in without saying a word, preventing others from seeing him. Curled up into a ball, the spine on the back is slightly protruding, covered by long black hair, looking silent and pitiful.

It was just sad, but now it is really heartbroken.

Jing Yan put down his chopsticks, he got up and stood where he was, hesitating for a rare moment, but he didn't move.

The night wind rustled, blowing through the branches, and the candle flame kept flickering. Qiao Yu's side was bright for a while, and dark for a while. He thought for a long time, but he didn't know what to say to express his heart. Crying and belching uncontrollably, he said word by word what he thought in his heart, "The food is not tasty at all, it's disgusting, I feel sad, but I never thought of leaving. Before coming here, I I have thought about everything, and I have also thought about being discovered, and I might die. But I still want to stay with His Highness, live and die together."

He has a very naive character, like all children, he likes the new and dislikes the old, likes what he sees, and he is a little heartless, as if he can't remember the kindness of others to him, but in fact he understands it in his heart.

After coming here, Qiao Yu never planned to leave, he was just sad and wronged, wanted to cry, wanted to coax, but never thought that Jing Yan would say that.

Jing Yan was startled, and stood in the distance. He knew that Qiao Yu could joke and play petty temper, but he would not tell lies sincerely.He seemed a little puzzled, the child in front of him, such a small ball, where did he get so much sincerity, and he wanted to give it all to himself.

He unconsciously took two steps forward, wanting to wipe away Qiao Yu's tears, but Qiao Yu was stubborn and awkward. He didn't want to, and Jing Yan didn't force him. He put his hand under Xiaoyu's knee and slowly grabbed her. That small hand, his palm was soft and hot, it seemed to heat up Jing Yan's chest.

"I said the wrong thing, I'm a villain," Jing Yan slowly bent down, squatted beside Qiao Yu's stone bench, raised his head and whispered in his ear: "Forgive me, okay?"

After a long time, Qiao Yu raised his face, glanced at Jing Yan secretly through the gap, and stammered back: "It's always, it's a villain! You still lie to me today, eat my bell grass, despise me, from, from When I first came, I hated it..."

It's really not big or small, and I like to turn over old accounts.

Jing Yan smiled, knowing that Qiao Yu was not too sad anymore.He was only three years older than Qiao Yu, but taller by a large margin. He stood up and easily picked up Qiao Yu who was in a ball. Then he sat on the stone bench and placed Qiao Yu on his body.

Qiao Yu struggled for a while, but she didn't use any strength, like a child making a fuss and asking adults to coax him, but Jing Yan tied his hands and feet tightly in his arms, so Qiao Yu could only stay in peace. Inside, it took a while before he pretended to say: "But, His Highness gave me another glass lamp, the lamp is so beautiful, so, I forgive you."

Jing Yan touched his back, and said naturally: "Thank you Xiaoyu for forgiving me, otherwise I don't know what to do."

Qiao Yu tilted his head, full of doubts and inquiries, "Really?" He has been with the prince for three years, and he has never heard of anything that the prince didn't know how to do.Probably because he cried too much today, his eyes were swollen like two peaches, his eyes were blurry, and he couldn't quite see Qing Jingyan's expression.

Jing Yan couldn't help being amused, and nodded seriously, "Of course it's true." But Qiao Yu couldn't be willful, Jing Yan got up, went to the well on the other side of Taiqing Palace to fetch water and put it on the stove, with a towel on the side.

Qiao Yu was the only one left beside Shiting.

There was only the faint chirping of summer cicadas around, and a big bird flew over the eaves, casting a huge shadow, which was a little scary. Qiao Yu hugged the glass lamp tightly in her arms, wanting to see it, but also a little scared, and finally stepped down from the steps. Jump up and down, and run towards Jing Yan.

As soon as he saw the prince's figure, he immediately jumped up and shouted loudly, "Your Highness! Your Highness!"

Jing Yan smiled, walked towards the light, and suddenly corrected him, "I'm not the prince anymore, you still call me Your Highness."

Qiao Yu walked through the grass and grabbed Jing Yan's wide sleeve, "The prince is the prince, even if it's not someone else's, it's mine."

Jing Yan stopped in his tracks, "Do you know my name?" He used to be a prince, his name was taboo and noble, so he was not mentioned easily, even Emperor Yuande and Empress Chen only called him "Prince".

Qiao Yu froze for a moment, then nodded, "Everyone knows." It's just that no one dared to say it.

He was very close to Jing Yan, and when he raised his head, he could see the prince's slightly lowered face, and he only heard the prince say: "Besides that, I also have a nickname, do you know?"

How could I know!He raised his head, his skin was as white as jade, and he was eager to hear what Jing Yan said next. If it wasn't really impractical, he would have climbed up Jing Yan's calf.

Jing Yan smiled incomprehensibly, half-closed phoenix pupils concealed most of his expressions, in which Qiao Yu was vaguely reflected with his arms around the glass lantern, which was the only light around.

He thought for a moment, and said: "That name was given to me by my mother. Since she left, no one knows it anymore."

"Call, Ah Ci."

No matter what the name is, it exists because it is known.

When Jing Yan was born, the emperor and empress loved each other, and Emperor Yuande went abroad to conscript himself. When he landed, he didn't forget to write a letter and hurried back to make him the crown prince.Si Tianjian made a fortune teller for Jing Yan, saying that he was born with the emperor's fate, and there is nothing wrong with it.Empress Chen just smiled when she heard it, but in a blink of an eye she sent someone to the Dabei Temple. The abbot didn't know that it was the prince's fate, and said that the day and time of birth were not good, the master murdered, the relationship between parents and relatives is weak, and there will be no peace for half a lifetime.Empress Chen didn't close her eyes for a few nights, she sincerely copied several Buddhist scriptures, invited the ever-burning lanterns, and enshrined them together in the Dabei Temple.He also gave him such a nickname and engraved it on the longevity lock, but no one told him, and he couldn't tell, the prince's fate would not and could not be bad.Only occasionally when Jing Yan fell asleep would he squat in front of his bed and softly say to him: "Ah Ci, grow up quickly."

She was afraid that she would not be able to protect Jing Yan from growing up, and she was also afraid that he would be alone in the future.

But now, Queen Chen passed away, but Qiao Yu knew the existence of this name.

When Jing Yan mentioned Empress Chen and was slightly stunned, Qiao Yu stood on tiptoe, touched Jing Yan's forehead with great effort, and solemnly promised: "Then I will definitely, keep it firmly in my heart, and never will." forget."

In the end, he added softly, "Ah Ci."

This is a secret that only he and the crown prince know. It is Qiao Yu's treasure, which entrusts the deceased empress's high expectations and blessings to Jing Yan.

He thought that this treasure was as important as the jade pendant that was given to him by his grandmother hanging around his neck.

Jing Yan was no longer distracted. He took Qiao Yu's hand and walked towards the stone table, "If you don't like the food, don't force it. There is still a steamed bun left at noon. You can eat it with the vegetable soup."

Qiao Yu nodded aggrievedly and stopped talking.

From that day on, every morning, Qiao Yu would go out to the imperial dining room to beg for meals for the day.Bai Xusan flattered others, but became arrogant and domineering in front of Qiao Yu. No matter what, there would be no good food.Fortunately, Anping was very popular in the imperial dining room, and the steamed buns made from white flour were not expensive, so he could often steal some of them for Qiao Yu, and Changle could only turn a blind eye, since it was not a big deal anyway.Qiao Yu was still aggrieved and sad, but the joy of being with Jing Yan was much more than the pain, so he would only be disappointed during the meal, and once the taste in his mouth was gone, he would be happy again.

The days always go by so fast, and summer is almost over.

Jing Yan looked at Qiao Yu's lively figure, the bones on the back were slightly protruding, but the long loose hair was no longer as black as usual with oil.

He turned his head and glanced at the sky through the window lattice, it was almost night.