Time moves forward again unknowingly, and it seems that the spring season has arrived in an instant.
The flying catkins made people drowsy, and Qingxue often dozed off in front of the painting pillars in the corridor outside the study, fearing to disturb the little master who was studying hard in the room.
At first she thought that this young master was just pretending to be like other young masters from aristocratic families, leaving a reputation for being "scholarly" to outsiders, and just trying to be elegant.
But who knows that this little master seems to be really different. He has plunged himself into those old papers with an obsession that is beyond ordinary people.
No matter early in the morning or late at night, no matter whether it’s spring snow or drizzle, every time Qingxue looks into the room, the young prince sits in front of the desk in the same posture like a stone sculpture. He is so absorbed that he almost forgets himself. The wisdom and warmth in his eyes are The persistence makes it impossible to imagine that this is the "silly prince" that outsiders call him.
Fortunately, there is only Qingxue, a "full-time slave", waiting outside the study, and outsiders are not allowed to peek into the situation here. Otherwise, the rumor about "Xiao Yu loves to study" will spread all over the sky again, and may even spread on the streets of Jiankang City, becoming A new topic for people to talk about after their boring lives.
Being with Qingxue all day long also made Qingxue notice some different things. His little master seemed to be a little biased in reading. He never read the precious collections of classics and history in the study. The Buddhist scriptures were also shelved in a high cabinet. All he dabbled in were some miscellaneous historical books. .
In addition, Prince Consort Pan Duo never dabbles in military books such as "Sima Fa" and "Six Tao", which are only for collection. He studies them carefully. While reading, he also draws some crooked and incomprehensible graphics on the paper from time to time. .
As for those figures, the young prince even forgot about food and sleep, and never tired of them. He even stared at the figures of a self-portrait for half a night. The ever-changing fiery brilliance in his eyes puzzled Qingxue who was waiting on the side. Those figures were What's so wonderful about strange patterns?
And this time, the young prince stopped drawing those strange patterns. In addition to reading, he started writing.
He seemed to be imitating the consort Pan Duo, and began to make some eyebrow tattoos on the blank spaces of the pages...
Qingxue always pays attention to those annotations when helping him organize his books, but these annotations seem very strange.
Xiao Yu seems to be used to writing from left to right, and every time he leaves a lot of ink marks on his wide cuffs, he never cares.
And the fonts he wrote are even more confusing, they look like words but don't look like words.
Qingxue also asked, but Xiao Yu just said lightly that it was "simplified Chinese characters", but he never paid attention to the maid's surprised expression. It seemed that everything was as he expected.
In Qingxue's eyes, he is not stupid, and is even smarter than the average person. He is just a little weird, disrespects common sense, and does some deviant things. It is this "weirdness" that makes him "stupid" reputation.
At this moment, Qingxue was standing outside the study door as usual, watching Xiao Yu in trance.
A loud yawn came from inside the house, and the maid quickly composed herself.
The young prince stretched his waist, put down his pen, turned his head and looked out the window.
The tumultuous catkins shone with a drowsy warmth in the morning light. Many books he had read were scattered on the desk in front of him, and he had already added many annotations to the books.
He continued to yawn and stood up from his desk, pacing around the room.
At this time, Qingxue hurriedly walked in from outside the room and laid out the refreshments prepared in advance.
"Little prince, we haven't rested for another day. Eat something and take a rest!"
While she was talking, Qingxue came to the bookcase to tidy up as usual. She picked up another piece of rice paper on which Xiao Yu had written. The young prince's handwriting became more and more neat and beautiful, but... she still couldn't recognize what was written on it. .
"Qingxue, what time is it?"
"It was just now."
"It was just now..." Xiao Yu said to himself. He picked up the teacup and took a few sips. He seemed to realize something, "By the way...how long have I been here."
Qingxue was stunned for a moment. In her memory, ever since she discovered this study room when she was playing in the courtyard that day, the young prince seemed to be possessed by a maniac. They were all sent elsewhere, leaving her alone to serve.
"Young prince, you haven't stepped out of this study room in more than two months. You have been eating, drinking, housing and traveling here. During this time... I'm afraid everyone in the house will have something to say..."
"Explanation? What explanation? Does the Prince of Jiangxia only favor his little maid Qingxue?"
Seeing Xiao Yu's cynical expression, Qingxue's face suddenly turned red.
It seems that such frivolous words should not come from the mouth of such a noble prince, but it is understandable that they come from such a unique little prince, which makes the girl feel a little vain in her heart.
Although in the eyes of outsiders they are masters and servants with very different statuses, it would not be a big deal even if the young prince wants her body. However, this young prince seems not to know much about men and women, and is only focused on those things. There are things that people can’t understand.
Just as Qingxue was thinking of this, her thoughts were interrupted by her little master again.
"Qingxue, what are you laughing at?"
"Slave...Slave doesn't have..."
Xiao Yu didn't seem to care. He stepped out of the door and looked at the spring scenery in the front yard of the house.
“The weather is so nice, the branches are sprouting buds, it’s time to go out for a walk!”
Finally, I no longer have to wait in front of this boring study door all day long! Qingxue felt a hint of joy in her heart.
"The young prince doesn't want to study anymore? That's right. If you shut yourself up in this study all day long to study knowledge, and suffer from illness sooner or later, it's naturally not good for your health..."
"That's right. I haven't exercised much during this period. The fat on my stomach has grown out, and my abdominal muscles can hardly be touched."
Qingxue's face turned red again: "Little Prince... Are you going to exercise in the back garden? Manager Cui said a few days ago that he had already found someone to order the military bag that the Little Prince wanted. I don't know. It’s not the style the young prince wants.”
We’ll talk about the camping bag and stuff later, we’re not going to the lake in the back garden! I want to go for a walk, go outside! "
"Go outside?" Qingxue's eyes widened, and she couldn't believe her ears.
The young prince, who had been reclusive in the palace, actually mentioned going out for a walk for the first time, which made her feel a little at a loss for a while, but the prince's trip was a big deal after all.
"Did the young prince just say to go outside?"
"Yeah, that's right!"
"Slave... I'm going to report to Manager Cui now and ask him to arrange carriages, horses and entourage. I wonder where the young prince is going?"
"No need to go to so much trouble. Just find someone to inform him later. You don't need anyone else, just stay with me."
"But...but the young prince..."
"Is there a problem? Did Your Majesty say you won't let me leave the house?"
"That's not true." Qingxue's eyes changed, "The princess said that the young prince will decide all matters in the house, and the slaves must serve the young prince with all their heart..."
"That's it! Let's go out now!"
…
Jiankang City, this ancient capital with few records in historical materials, finally appeared in front of Xiao Yu.
In this season of fireworks and catkins, a city with architectural styles different from those of the Ming and Qing Dynasties seems to only exist in dreams.
Along the Qinhuai River, there are fireworks and willows, carved boats, ten-mile royal streets, porters and pawns, bustling with people, Buddhas and Buddhas, thousands of temple bells ringing, and Sanskrit music lingering.
The river network between cities here is dense, and the rivers are mostly connected by floating bridges. Everything looks so chaotic, but there seems to be order in the chaos. There seems to be no clear lane here, but some areas are forcibly divided either by rivers or by some wooden fences.
Wandering in the bustling Shili Royal Street, looking at the rows of restaurants and shops and the bustling pedestrians, Xiao Yu felt like he was in a dream. This kind of experience is probably indescribable in the modern world. In short, in his eyes , it’s all so novel.
At one moment he wanted to buy preserved fruit snacks, at another moment he wanted to show Qingxue a bracelet and pendant, and at another moment he wanted to reward a juggler with a handful of money.
Qingxue was exhausted along the way. She took out her delicate purse again and again to pay for her master's various expenses. As long as Xiao Yu was happy, she felt happy.
After wandering in the market for a long time, Xiao Yu's physical strength was still good, but Qingxue had unknowingly distanced herself from him. It seemed that the little girl's physical strength could not keep up. She wiped her forehead from time to time. of sweat.
"Qingxue, I feel a little hungry. How about we find a restaurant and have something to eat?"
"Everything is at the discretion of the young prince." Qingxue's eyes flashed with tenderness.
Just diagonally to the two of them, there was a two-story restaurant with a rather impressive gatehouse. The flag in front of the door was flying high, and the signboard read "Qingyangju".
"This one looks good, why not go to this one."
…
Not far behind the two of them, an ordinary black-covered box carriage suddenly stopped there.
A pale and slender hand gently opened the curtain, revealing the sinister face of a pale, beardless middle-aged man.
His voice was high-pitched, as if he was holding his nose when speaking: "Is it him? The rumored son of a traitor."
And in the darkness behind the curtain, a masculine voice replied: "Back to Eunuch Mei, it's him..."
"Are those rumors true? He looks like a fool."
"Well...he did fall from the tree that year. He didn't wake up for three days and three nights. When he woke up later, he was still dumb and couldn't even speak. This is what the villain witnessed with his own eyes at the residence of the rebellious minister Xiao Ziqian. Saw it before."
"Xiao Ziqian was originally deep and cunning. The late emperor didn't know that he had been deceived by him until his death. It is reasonable for him to let his son pretend to be crazy and act like a fool." The feminine man said with a little disappointment, "Originally, I really thought that Master Sanqing was The spirit appeared and sent retribution on his son.”
"If that's the case, father-in-law, then I'll kill him and it will be over!"
"Kill him? Killing him is easier than squeezing an ant to death. Let him live first! Sometimes a living person is more useful than a dead person."
The pale hand retreated into the darkness inside the curtain, and the carriage moved slowly, submerged in the bustling street.
