The road was long and difficult to travel. Yuan Zheng had already thrown away the armor on Cen Yelan. He carried him on his back, and every step was heavy.
Cen Yelan, who was beside him, had never been so quiet and honest. He was so well behaved that Yuan Zheng felt uneasy. He could only talk to Cen Yelan non-stop.
Yuan Zheng said, “Cen Yelan, in a few days, the early spring flowers in Jingdu will bloom. Have you seen them?”
Cen Yelan’s breathing was weak and shallow, hitting Yuan Zheng’s neck.
“You haven’t seen it, right?” Yuan Zheng said, “I remember that the first time you came to the capital was in the middle of summer, and the next time it was in the middle of winter.”
“In early spring, when flowers begin to bloom on branches, the literati of the imperial city gather together to drink and compose poetry, expressing their love and interest. The Meng family’s private gatherings are open to both men and women, and sometimes women also participate. This is how my third brother’s princess consort met him.”
“Cen Yelan…”
Yuan Zheng almost wanted to stop, but heard Cen Yelan exhale, his voice was weak and hoarse, “Yuan Zheng, you are so noisy.”
Yuan Zheng’s heart suddenly relaxed, he wanted to laugh but also wanted to get angry. “General Cen is so ungrateful.”
“Having me carrying you and coaxing.” Yuan Zheng said, “And you still dare to complain that I’m noisy.”
Cen Yelan closed his eyes and said, “Thank you.”
Yuan Zheng paused and muttered, “Who needs you to thank?”
The sun gradually rose in the east. Yuan Zheng carried Cen Yelan on his back for a while, and his eyes were getting a little pale. Suddenly, he heard the sound of water and carefully put Cen Yelan down against a tree.
Cen Yelan looked pale, with his eyes closed. Yuan Zheng touched his cheek and whispered, “I’ll go get some water. Wait for me.”
Cen Yelan opened his eyes and looked at Yuan Zheng. There was blood on the young man’s face, half of his face was blackened by gunpowder smoke, his lips were dry and bloodless, and he looked extremely miserable.
Cen Yelan felt mixed emotions. He didn’t expect that Yuan Zheng would be by his side now.
He didn’t say anything. Yuan Zheng’s thumb rubbed the small mole under Cen Yelan’s eye and said, “I’ll be back soon.”
After saying that, he stood up and walked towards the sound of water. Cen Yelan looked at Yuan Zheng’s back. The clothes on his back could no longer be recognized. They were black, red, and extremely dirty.
Cen Yelan watched Yuan Zheng gradually disappear from his sight. The surroundings were silent. The winter in the northern border is always quiet. He thought of Cen Yi and the devastated Beicang Pass. Suddenly, he felt lonely and tired as if he was the only one walking alone in such a vast world, with no one around him.
Yuan Zheng didn’t dare to delay too long. He washed his face with water. However, the movement caused the numb wound on his back to hurt slightly, and he gasped in pain.
Yuan Zheng didn’t care much and filled the water bag. When he went back, Cen Yelan was sitting quietly under the tree with his eyes closed. His heart skipped a beat, and he called out to Cen Yelan, his hands shaking a little.
Fortunately, Cen Yelan opened his eyes again. Yuan Zheng’s nose felt sore, and his heart felt like it was weighing down. He couldn’t speak for a long time. He squatted in front of Cen Yelan, opened the water bag, and said in a hoarse voice, “Come, drink some water first.”
Cen Yelan did not move, his eyes were a little dazed, and he murmured, “I saw… Adoptive Father.”
Yuan Zheng squeezed the sheepskin water bag tightly: “… Cen Yelan.”
Cen Yelan said, “Adoptive Father said he regretted handing over the Northern Territory to me.”
Yuan Zheng said, “That’s all your imagination.”
Cen Yelan slowly lowered his gaze to Yuan Zheng’s face. Yuan Zheng said, “General Cen Xi is a very capable person. He must have thought it over carefully when he chose to hand over the Northern Territory to you. How could he have chosen the wrong person?”
“Cen Yelan, the failure of the Northern Territory today was not your fault. You don’t need to worry about it and take everything on yourself.”
Cen Yelan’s eyelashes trembled, and he said nothing more.
Yuan Zheng said, “Drink some water.”
Cen Yelan took a few sips of water from Yuan Zheng’s hand. The water was ice-cold, his stagnant lungs felt cool, and his consciousness became clearer.
Yuan Zheng sat next to Cen Yelan and said, “My emperor father praised you as the backbone of the country, and my uncle said you are the fortress of Dayan. You have done a good job over the years.”
He suddenly smiled and said, “Before I came here, my uncle specifically told me to learn more from you.”
Cen Yelan pursed his lips and said, “Your Highness, you don’t need to learn from me.”
But Yuan Zheng shook his head and said, “My uncle told me to open my eyes and take a good look at the country that the Yuan ancestors conquered hundreds of years ago and the people of Dayan.”
Yuan Zheng said, “I saw it.”
He changed the subject and asked Cen Yelan, “Do you know why my emperor father favors me?”
Cen Yelan shook his head.
Yuan Zheng carried Cen Yelan on his back again, holding the Liuhuo spear and his legs in his arms, and then he slowly spoke, “Emperor Father is making up for his regrets.”
“Everyone in the world says that the emperor and the empress were deeply in love, but my empress mother died of depression.” Yuan Zheng said with a bit of regret, “The mama1Nanny said that I should have had an elder brother, but he died, and my empress mother became ill because of it. I remember that my empress mother never smiled happily. She watched me day and night, afraid that I would follow in his footsteps.”
“It was not until Empress Mother passed away that Emperor Father finally came to his senses.”
Yuan Zheng always remembered his emperor father’s appearance at his empress mother’s sickbed, as if he had aged ten years in an instant. Yuan Zheng actually felt that the so-called supreme ruler of the world was pathetic and pitiful at that moment.
“I don’t want to be like my emperor father.”
“My uncle also wants me to be the master of the East Palace. I know that he is doing this for the Meng family in addition to me.” Yuan Zheng said. “The Meng family is the head of the aristocratic families, but now it is in decline, and the Zhao and Cheng families are eyeing it covetously.”
“He is my uncle, and he is also the head of the Meng family.”
Cen Yelan raised his eyes and looked at Yuan Zheng’s profile. The young man had a taut jaw and a sharp face. He was unwilling to be manipulated by others but also a little lonely.
This is not how a dandy should look like, Cen Yelan thought drowsily.
The two of them remained silent for a long time. After a while, Yuan Zheng jokes, “Actually, I think my third brother is more suitable to be the crown prince than me.”
Cen Yelan thought for a moment and said, “King Xuan?”
Yuan Zheng hummed and said, “Third Brother is gentle and kind, much better than Fifth Brother, who has eyes on the top of his head2To regard everyone as beneath one’s notice, but it’s a pity—”
King Xuan, Yuan Heng’s mother, came from a poor family.
Yuan Zheng did not finish his words. Cen Yelan was a general guarding the border after all, and he would not be completely ignorant of the affairs in the capital. He thought that as long as the position of the crown prince was not decided, Yuan Zheng would be in the vortex. Even if he wanted to stay out of it, it was just wishful thinking.
The situation will not allow it.
Both of them fell silent. Suddenly, Yuan Zheng heard the sound of horse hooves, and his expression turned cold. Cen Yelan’s body also tensed up. He said, “Put me down.”
Yuan Zheng hesitated for a moment but finally put Cen Yelan down, still holding one of his arms. Cen Yelan barely stood up with his help. He squinted his eyes and looked at him, then froze and frowned, “Hedong Army?”
Yuan Zheng said nothing.
The first to arrive was not the Hedong Army, but several cavalry crossed the army and headed straight for Yuanzheng and Cen Yelan.
“Your Highness!” Fang Jing suddenly pulled the reins. He looked at Yuan Zheng and crawled off the horse, wanting to pounce over. Yuan Zheng raised the Liuhuo spear, with the tip of the spear pointing in front of them. He had a cold expression on his face and looked at Fang Jing and the others indifferently.
Fang Jing was stunned for a moment and said, “Your Highness, I finally found you. When I came back, I heard about the fire at Beicang Pass, and I’m almost scared out of my wits.”
“It’s all Cen Yi’s fault for not letting us go back; otherwise, we would have gone back a long time ago.”
Yuan Zheng asked, “Where’s Cen Yi?”
Fang Jing showed hesitation on his face. They all looked in a disheveled state, no longer having the appearance of children from wealthy families.
Fang Jing glanced at Cen Yelan and whispered, “We settled the people and wanted to go back to Hanzhou, but as soon as we left, we ran into Yan Le.”
“Cen Yi, Cen Yi led people to lead the Hu people away in order to prevent them from going up the mountain.” Fang Jing scratched his hair and said, “We were separated and planned to go back to find you, but we met you on the way—”
As he was speaking, a clear voice was heard, saying, “The humble general is Li Jingchuo from Hedong, greetings to Your Highness.”
