The next day.
"What happened yesterday was that Lu Buwei was incompetent and couldn't handle Madam." Lu Buwei looked at Zhao Ji with an apologetic face. After the palace banquet was over, Lu Buwei finally seized the opportunity to enter the palace for a while with Zhao Ji. When the two met, the first thing was naturally It was to comfort Zhao Ji. "Buwei, you don't need to say more. I understand your painstaking efforts. Although I serve the king, my heart has not changed for so many years. You should know."
At this time, Zhao Ji looked at Lu Buwei with affection in her eyes. After all, Lu Buwei is a mature man. When Zhao Ji stares at him like this, the scenes of love between the two of them in the past are reflected in front of his eyes one by one: his graceful body, his charming voice, his beautiful face, all of them are... Not tingling with Lu Buwei's heart. Thinking that there were important matters to be decided in the Great Dynasty Hall at this time, it was a remote place, and he couldn't care about etiquette and shame at the moment. Lu Buwei violently pressed her under him, and in twos and twos, he got rid of all obstacles and vented heartily.
At the same time, Zhao Zhengshang was practicing swordsmanship at Mengwu. "You don't need to give in. Be serious." Zhao Zheng clearly felt that his hands were weak during today's battle with Cheng Jiao. However, after the two fought for a while, Zhao Zheng was keenly aware of Cheng Jiao's abnormality: "What's wrong with your hand?" Out of concern for his opponent's condition, Zhao Zheng frowned and asked subconsciously.
"No...it's nothing. Brother Wang, don't ask." Cheng Jiao took a step back and shook his head like a rattle. Although there were fine beads of sweat on his forehead, he still couldn't control his heart when he heard that his brother Wang was concerned. The place is warm.
When he returned from the palace banquet yesterday, he was beaten by his mother. At that time, the queen was very angry: "You are a legitimate son, and you will be a prince and a king in the future. How can you waste your studies just to get involved with a concubine?"
Cheng Jiao felt that his mother never understood what he was thinking, and that was all if it was just that. What made him even more helpless was that his mother forced him to study and practice martial arts all day long. Apart from the throne, there seemed to be no topic between mother and son. As the relationship between him and his mother and queen became increasingly distant over the years, he increasingly felt that life in the palace was lonely and unbearable.
Zhao Zheng saw the guy with the brightest smile on weekdays. He vaguely guessed something about his appearance. He immediately pulled his sleeves open and saw that Chengjiao's delicate forearms were covered with bruises and bruises. Zhao Zhengwei He frowned inexplicably, then turned around and said to the palace maid who was waiting on Chengjiao: "Go and boil a pot of hot water and bring some cold water. Oh, by the way, don't forget to bring a clean cloth."
"Young Master...you..." The palace maid, who wished to be the queen, was naturally a little scornful when being ordered by Zhao Zheng, a concubine. Unexpectedly, Zhao Zheng glanced at him coldly and said, "Do you want to negotiate terms with me?" Those words were just ordinary questions, but they had a hint of calmness and self-reliance. After hearing this, the palace maid felt a chill in her heart and hurriedly approached him. As expected, he did as he was told.
Don't forget to apply a handkerchief soaked in cold water to the bruised area when you return home. When the pain subsides, switch to hot compresses. Repeat this several times, and the injury will be cured within two days. This is the method Xiao Gao taught him before. At that time, he was humiliated and injured by Zhao Qian and used it, and it was quite effective.
"Wang...Brother Wang?" At this time, although Zhao Zheng was as old-fashioned and cold as ever, he looked like... someone seemed to have forgotten the injury on his hand, staggered over and gave him Zhao Zheng gave him a bear hug. Although he was small in stature and had short hands, he couldn't wrap his arms around everyone, but he still gave him a firm hug. Zhao Zheng let him hold her without moving, but asked sullenly: "Your hand doesn't hurt anymore? I'll let her come back."
Cheng Jiao gave up as soon as he heard the conversation, standing still on the spot, neither advancing nor retreating. Even so, his face was already filled with a smile. Meng Wu watched the scene here from a distance without saying a word.
On the other side, the love of spring faded in the secluded room. As Zhao Ji put her clothes back on, she whispered in Lu Buwei's ear: "Buwei, that child A Zheng..." The voice as thin as a gossamer still carried the lingering emotion of time. Lu Buwei's anger was aroused again because of his retreat, but he calculated that the time was almost up and if he stayed any longer, he would be afraid that the matter would be exposed, so he said sternly: "Don't worry, madam, go back and tell the young master that right now he only needs to work hard in his studies. All matters in the previous dynasty will be handled by Lu Buwei."
After getting a satisfactory answer, Zhao Ji also arranged her clothes and stood up. When Lu Buwei also stood up, she fell into his arms again and said: "I understand, the king only comes to the Xinling Palace to stay overnight every five days. You I'll wait for you anytime if I'm free." Lu Buwei lifted her chin and kissed her lips, then nodded: "Okay, I'll go out first, and you can come out later."
Two years later.
With the trust of others, Lu Buwei began to gradually expand his power in the court from the day he took over. In the past two years, he has gone from being passively beaten to the point where even the Queen Mother of Huayang is afraid of him. And since Yiren was ill last month and his condition has been recurring, and the battle between the deputy chief and the deputy chief has reached a fierce stage.
However, the two people who were the subjects of controversy in the former harem...
"Brother Wang, Brother Wang, what does this mean?" Zhao Zheng casually glanced at the place pointed by Chengjiao, then looked back at his book and said: "It means that some people are far away from the monarch, but they are close to him; Some people are very close to the monarch..." Zhao Zheng explained patiently, while Cheng Jiao rested his head on his hands and looked sideways at his brother Wang, who was also listening intently.
In fact, Zhao Zheng knew that with Chengjiao's intelligence, he didn't need to explain these things himself, he understood them all. The reason why he was willing to waste words was because of his intentions. When they first met, Cheng Jiao always looked for various opportunities to get close to him every day. He was annoyed at first, but then suddenly one day Chengjiao didn't bother him, and he got used to it. When he took the initiative to look for him, he found that he was being punished by his mother for neglecting his studies and talking to her. Looking at his lonely figure at that time, Zhao Zheng went back without saying a word, and began to be patient with him the next day.
Cheng Jiao was originally a studious child, but his mother and Queen Mother Huayang pushed him too hard because of the prince's affairs, which made him feel disgusted and even began to exile himself. In the past, he couldn't figure out why Cheng Jiao would cling to himself, who is also a young master. When he asked him that day, he said with a wry smile: My father is busy with government affairs, and everyone else in the palace is afraid of me. Even the queen and the others... to them , Cheng Jiao is just a tool that can be used, only Brother Wang treats him sincerely from beginning to end.
After hearing this, Zhao Zheng felt really ashamed. At that time, he ignored his indifference to him and was actually considered to be sincere to him... In fact, what Zhao Zheng didn't know was that Cheng Jiao grew up in a good environment since he was a child. Although he rarely received care, he didn't He has experienced many storms, and after knowing his situation, I have always felt sorry for him and admired him. So as a younger brother, I am particularly concerned about him...
In class that day, Cai Ze accidentally twisted his waist. Zhao Zheng sent his attendants to escort him back, while he and Cheng Jiao chose to walk back to the harem alone if the weather was good. On the way, the two of them chose a detour that they didn't usually take. Cheng Jiao was still pestering him to talk, but a man came out on the road. The palace was always heavily guarded, but this man could easily get in, and everyone around him was sent away at this moment. Everyone knew who gave the order.
Cheng Jiao immediately stood up in front of his brother Wang. The assassin did not dare to hurt him, so he bypassed him and started fighting with Zhao Zheng. Although Zhao Zheng has mastered the art of riding and archery in the past two years, the opponent is an adult after all, and he can only deal with it for a while. However, he thought that as long as the commotion here became too big, this person would not dare to be so arrogant anymore, so he gave up the fight and tried his best to deal with it.
Seeing that the situation was not good for his brother Wang, Cheng Jiao came to help, but the assassin suddenly changed his mind and raised his knife to chop at Cheng Jiao. Seeing the situation, Zhao Zheng raised his hand to block him, but his own arm was cut with a bloody gash. The assassin was originally just testing, and never thought that Zhao Zheng would really protect him like this, and was stunned on the spot. Zhao Zheng seized the opportunity, pulled Cheng Jiao and ran away.
There are many palaces here, and once they run into them, it will not be so easy for the assassins to find them. After finally hiding in a safe and hidden place, the two finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Zhao Zheng took out a dagger from his arms and handed it to Cheng Jiao. Cheng Jiao asked him to take off his outer robe and middle coat, cut off his own clothes and bandaged him briefly. After bandaging, he helped him put on his clothes carefully. . After doing all this, Cheng Jiao suddenly turned cold. This is the first time that Cheng Jiao is so angry with Zhao Zheng: "Actually, Brother Wang, you should know that they are the queen's people, so it doesn't matter if you don't block them."
Zhao Zheng said indifferently: "How could you think so much at that time?" After he finished speaking, he said in his heart: Even if you want to, I definitely don't dare to gamble with your life. Recalling how Zhao Gao touched him in the past, he patted Cheng Jiao's head in the same way and comforted him: "Your brother Wang is okay. Come and see if they are coming after you?"
Cheng Jiao saw that his face was very pale and he didn't look like anything was wrong, but he didn't dare to delay his treatment and took a look outside. Just when they thought there was no movement outside, the two were about to walk out of the palace, but unexpectedly there was a noise from the other door, and they immediately shrank back.
However, the two of them never expected that the visitors turned out to be... Lu Buwei and Zhao Ji.
When he saw his mother and Lu Buwei entangled themselves impatiently as soon as they closed the door, he felt overwhelming anger and endless humiliation in his heart at that moment. Although he had already turned his eyes away and no longer looked at his mother who was fighting passionately and the man who claimed to be his "fake father", he could still hear the disgusting noise they made when they were entangled.
"Recently, the king is not in good health and has not been close to me. You are good, Ryoma is in good spirits, um... be gentle... be gentle..." The love words between the two people continued to reach Zhao Zheng's ears. At this time, he was already dilated. His face was red, his whole body was shaking, his eyes were burning with anger, and he couldn't find the ability to speak for a long time.
Although Cheng Jiao was also frightened by such a scene, he knew that Brother Wang still needed to be comforted by himself, so he hugged the trembling Brother Wang and added some strength to beg him to calm down and stop making any noise. The two stood like this in a long and uncomfortable situation for a long time, so long that Zhao Zheng was so numb that he didn't even notice when Zhao Ji and Lu Buwei went out.
After another moment, Zhao Zheng asked numbly: "Why did you stop me from killing him?" Cheng Jiao pretended to smile easily and replied: "In Cheng Jiao's mind, Brother Wang is the future prince, and the future prince's ambitions must not be Because of such a thing." Zhao Zheng's eyes had long lost focus. At this time, he smiled bitterly and said: "Have you never thought about becoming the crown prince? If something like this happens, as long as you tell it, the crown prince will be The seat is yours."
"But then I lost my only royal brother." After a pause, Cheng Jiao added: "Cheng Jiao is not really that generous. It's just that when I think about losing the throne, there is still a royal brother, but if I get it For the throne, Cheng Jiao really became a lonely man, so he felt that it was not worth it. Moreover, Cheng Jiao believed that he was fighting for the throne in a fair and just manner, and he was determined not to be able to compete with the king's brother. Furthermore, this lonely man was in a cold place, and he had to shoulder a huge responsibility. It was so strenuous. It’s better to leave it to Brother Wang to handle the unpleasant things.”
In Zhao Zheng's heart, Cheng Jiao was just a child, but he didn't expect him to be so clear-minded in his heart. He couldn't help but raise his eyebrows and asked in surprise, "Do you believe in me so much?" Cheng Jiao took his hand and asked, "Brother Wang's situation, Wang Brother Wang’s character, Brother Wang’s talents, Brother Wang’s mind and courage, Cheng Jiao has seen these in his eyes for the past two years, why don’t you believe him?”
"So Brother Wang, don't seek revenge against Prime Minister Lu, just pretend that nothing happened, okay?" Looking at Cheng Jiao's expectant look, he suddenly thought of someone. That man always had a soft smile on his lips, and he also placed great expectations on him, hoping that he could shoulder the important responsibilities of Qin and even the whole world. If all his previous efforts were wasted here, how could he have the face to see him in the future?
With a sigh, Zhao Zheng swallowed the endless humiliation and anger in his heart, and patted Cheng Jiao's hand and said calmly: "Cheng Jiao, please let me go." Cheng Jiao saw that although his face was still not good, at least his body was no longer shaking. , guessing that he must have figured it out, so he cheered up and smiled at him: "Let's go, let's go."
Along the way, Zhao Zheng let Cheng Jiao pull him and did not break away for the first time. He kept thinking about a question: If there were no Cheng Jiao and Xiao Gao today, would he be able to survive?
However, before they had gone far, the two of them were attacked again. This time they chose a crowded place and made such a big noise. The target of the sneak attack was not Zhao Zheng, but Cheng Jiao. Zhao Zheng was thinking about what was going on and didn't pay attention. He reacted and tried to stop it, but Cheng Jiao was still hit by the sword. It was just that the trajectory of the sword was a little off, so it didn't cause serious injury. It just made him faint from the pain. As soon as the man succeeded, he dropped his sword and disappeared.
The Queen Mother Huayang and the Queen arrived at the right time, and even the strangers were there. Looking at the sword on the ground, Zhao Zheng suddenly realized something. He looked at the Queen Mother Huayang and the Queen and sneered, thinking: Today is really lively.
A quarter of an hour later, Zhao Zheng was kneeling on the ground, and the doctor beside him was treating Cheng Jiao. The queen just took the stranger and just cried, what: at such a young age, she was so evil-minded that she actually attacked her own brother, why did the little boy and the king only have such a child for so many years, what should they do if something goes wrong...
The foreigner was already furious because of this, but now he was even more upset when the queen cried like this. He immediately burst out and said that he was a "traitor" and went up to give Zhao Zheng a slap in the face. That palm was 100% forceful, and even Yiren himself felt the palm of his hand burning and painful, let alone Zhao Zheng, a thirteen-year-old boy who received such a severe beating. Half of his face immediately became swollen and he felt dizzy. My ears are ringing.
With this slap, Zhao Zheng fell to the ground. When he fell, he calmly threw out the thing he had just taken out of his arms. When the stranger saw it and picked it up, he was stunned. That was the only thing he gave to their mother and son when he left Handan in the past. I heard that their mother and son were once poor and had nothing to eat, but they never thought of selling it for money? The foreigner couldn't help but look at Zhao Zheng blankly, and finally discovered the injury on his arm. The cloth wrapped on it was clearly torn off Cheng Jiao's clothes.
Lu Buwei and Zhao Ji arrived late. Seeing the two of them coming in one after another, Zhao Zheng lay on the ground, feeling as if he had been cut by a knife and eaten by ants, and was in pain. In fact, it is not that my father is sorry for me, but that I am sorry for my father. This slap can be regarded as repaying the father for the mother.
"This injury..." The stranger squatted down and asked uncertainly. "Your Majesty, please calm down. Zheng'er has been a good boy since he was a child. He would never do anything that would destroy his conscience." His conscience...is lost? Lu Buwei also said: "The injury on the young master's arm is also full of doubts. Please look into it carefully." Zhao Zheng did not look at the two people, but smiled to himself: What happened today is so ironic.
Zhao Zheng didn't know how he got back to Xinling Hall that day. The doctor bandaged his wounds and applied swelling-reducing medicine on his face. Although he felt pain, he didn't even moan at all. The doctor said some more things to pay attention to and left.
"Zheng'er, does it still hurt?" Zhao Zheng turned his back, his small body suddenly shrank into a ball, and he buried his head helplessly in the quilt. Seeing that he refused to speak, Zhao Ji felt helpless. She just said that he was in a bad mood, so he ordered the maid to watch and went out to discuss today's affairs with Lu Buwei.
When the sound of his mother's footsteps faded away, Zhao Zheng dismissed all the palace people and became lost in thought while looking at the roof. He stayed up all night that night...
