The hatred in Zhu Xuxing's heart was solid, and his bright eyes were covered with a thick haze. Although he was drunk, he was extremely sober.
Xu Zhihuai raised his hand and stroked his face, wiping away some tears: "I know how much His Highness hates me."
Zhu Xuxing leaned against her palm drunkenly, speechless for a long time.
Xu Zhihuai took the initiative to touch his head and comforted him patiently.
That night, the two of them barely closed their eyes. After Zhu Xuxing sobered up, he only said that he wanted to listen to Xu Zhihuai playing the flute. The long and melodious sound of the flute resounded through the night sky.
Zhu Xuxing heard the deep sadness in her flute sound. He felt distressed and couldn't help but ask: "Huai'er, you never mentioned the past. It was the same last time when you returned to Huaizhou... Let's come back hastily."
"Your Highness, don't worry about me. The most important thing right now is the court affairs."
"No, you are important too."
Zhu Xuxing suddenly became serious: "Are you happy in the palace?"
"I'm happy, of course I'm happy. Huaizhou... I don't want to go back either. The place with His Highness is my home."
Xu Zhihuai put away his bamboo flute and tied the bag gently to hide his thoughts.
Zhu Xuxing drank half a cup of strong tea, changed his clothes and prepared to go to court.
His face still looked a bit haggard after a hangover, his eyes were slightly blue, and there were also faint red bloodshot eyes.
Xu Zhihuai sighed worriedly: "Your Highness must come back early today. It's never too late to take a nap no matter how busy you are."
Zhu Xuxing nodded gently, and finally returned in the night.
His face looked worse than during the day.
Xu Zhihuai felt extremely distressed. She held his arm and asked gently: "Has everything been resolved? I have been waiting for His Highness to come back."
"It's not over yet, it's still early."
For some reason, his tone was a little discouraged.
Xu Zhihuai sat down with him. Under the candlelight, his face looked lonely, and there was a faint dark color on the left cheek.
She was quite surprised and subconsciously raised his face and asked, "What's wrong with His Highness's face?"
Zhu Xuxing remained silent and lowered his head.
Xu Zhihuai looked at his side face with clenched jaw, and suddenly thought of something.
No way? No way……
The prince was beaten?
She looked carefully, and sure enough she could see a faint fingerprint of five fingers, which clearly looked like it had been beaten.
Xu Zhihuai frowned slightly, unable to speak out the words hanging on his lips.
Zhu Xuxing saw that she was silent, so he raised his eyes and saw her in tears.
"Why are you crying."
He drawled, helpless and tired.
Xu Zhihuai bit his lip before saying, "Did His Highness get beaten? There are still wounds on his face."
Zhu Xiuxing realized later.
The burning pain had long since disappeared.
"This is not an injury, it's okay."
"If it's hurt, it's hurt."
"It's okay, it doesn't hurt."
"I hurt...I feel bad."
Xu Zhihuai said with a cry in his mouth: "Why? What did your Highness do wrong? Is it wrong to fight for the imperial court?"
Zhu Xuxing was slightly startled after hearing what she said. His tired and gloomy eyes flashed, and he quickly put his index finger against her soft lips: "Huai'er, stop talking."
He pulled her into his arms, comforted her instead, and deliberately joked: "You cry like this, don't you make me lose face?"
Xu Zhihuai was just pretending to cry, sniffing and saying, "I'm not in good health, I've lost my sense of proportion."
Unexpectedly, Zhu Xuxing suddenly said something that sent chills down her back: "Why are you like the eldest sister? She was also like this in the past. Every time she saw me injured, she cried the most sadly."
Xu Zhihuai lowered his head: "How dare I compare with the eldest princess?"
"Like eldest sister, you are my dearest person."
Zhu Xuxing quickly regained his composure, got up and took a shower and changed clothes. After a while, he returned to his refreshing and elegant appearance.
He only slept for less than an hour, relying on strong tea to stay awake. He ate three meals a day carelessly, and most of the meals delivered from the imperial kitchen were always leftover.
The queen felt sorry for her son and sent someone to make up the soup.
Xu Zhihuai ordered Jinhua to warm it on the stove and wait for His Highness to come back before serving it to him. Unexpectedly, after boiling for most of the day, the soup was almost dry and the Crown Prince was still nowhere to be seen.
The whole night, Xu Zhihuai couldn't sleep well. It wasn't until dawn that he received the news that the prince had been punished to sit in meditation in Qianqing Hall for confronting the emperor.
Such a severe punishment is unprecedented.
Zhu Xuxing made his father furious, and he was still a little unconvinced.
After hearing the news, the queen immediately rushed to the Qianqing Hall and saw him kneeling there straight and motionless. She felt distressed and helpless and said: "Prince, why are you so impulsive! We are a family. If there is anything, we can't talk about it behind closed doors. You must contradict the emperor and your father in front of the ministers."
Zhu Xuxing lowered his eyes and sighed: "Mother, my son can endure anything, except the provocation and threats from the Turkic countries."
"You are the prince, you must endure it."
"How long can you endure? Until they block the capital and massacre, until they attack the city and seize territory, and commit all kinds of evil..."
"Prince!"
When the Queen saw him speaking arrogantly, she had to tighten her tone.
"How long will you continue to act on your own initiative? It was the same last time... Your father has already given you a chance. If you force him again, your relationship as father and son will no longer exist, and your position as prince will no longer exist. ?”
Zhu Xuxing lowered his eyes silently, restraining his patience.
The queen looked concerned and spoke earnestly: "Your father doesn't really want to punish you, he just wants to save his face. If you just admit your mistake tomorrow, everything will be fine."
Zhu Xiuxing remained silent.
The queen sighed helplessly: "If your eldest sister was in the palace, you wouldn't listen to her? You two siblings are both stubborn at heart."
Zhu Xuxing was punished quietly. The queen ordered the maids to put more layers of soft cushions on him, but he refused, as if he was angry with someone.
The queen had no choice but to come over and accompany him.
"There have been a lot of things happening outside the palace recently, and the prince's heart is a little confused. He usually loves you so much. At this time, you must be docile and obedient. Don't make him upset, and don't let him ignore your own health."
Xu Zhihuai bent his knees and agreed obediently.
In the empty hall, every word echoed.
The candles were brightly lit, illuminating the floor with radiance.
Zhu Xuxing was kneeling there alone, looking particularly lonely.
Xu Zhihuai took two steps forward and gave him a weak hand from behind: "Your Highness, the Emperor has not punished you to kneel down. Get up quickly."
Zhu Xuxing remained motionless and was not surprised by her arrival: "Huai'er, I am not kneeling to my father, but to heaven and earth."
"Your Highness...you can't fight for a moment's anger, and don't get deep for a moment's obsession. Can you take your time?"
"Huai'er, I don't have time to take it slow."
He suddenly said something meaningful, which made Xu Zhihuai nervous.
Could it be that he already knows?
Know the eldest princess's plan.
