Only this green, not disappointing the spring

He moved so quickly and spoke so quickly that Concubine Jing barely had time to think. She had no time to hide the panic on her face, which was clearly seen by Xuanyuan Yan.

He had originally just been testing the issue on a whim, but he hadn't expected to ask the right question.

More than a decade ago, Qingqing was just a baby in swaddling clothes, and Uncle Shangguan was just an insignificant official in the Imperial College. It was impossible for them to have any conflicts of interest with my mother!

Xuanyuan Yan raised his foot and slowly walked towards Concubine Jing. Concubine Jing's heartstrings trembled with every step he took.

This was the first time she felt the pressure from her own son.

"Yan, Yan'er, what's wrong with you? The disappearance of that wild girl in those early years had nothing to do with me, how could it be my fault?!"

Xuanyuan Yan still said nothing, and limped forward without looking embarrassed at all. Instead, it made the people who were close to him feel more difficult to breathe.

When she was less than five steps away from Imperial Concubine Jing, she finally couldn't bear it anymore and cried out:

"Come, come, come quickly!"

The door was suddenly pushed open, and several eunuchs rushed in. They walked lightly and moved quickly, and it was obvious that they were martial artists.

Xuanyuan Yan suddenly laughed out loud, his voice clear and loud but filled with deep sorrow. He covered his abdomen and stopped only when tears of laughter rolled down his cheeks.

He fell to his knees on the ground with a thump, his eyes red, his face half crying and half laughing.

"I have told you before that I have lived for you for the first eighteen years. For the rest of my life, please forgive me for being unfilial and living for myself!"

After saying that, he kowtowed three times on the ground, then stood up and walked out without hesitation.

A eunuch who was hesitantly standing in front of him was kicked away by him and fell onto the beauty couch, which was made of golden nanmu wood and immediately broke into pieces.

Concubine Jing froze in place and opened her mouth several times but no sound came out.

Looking at her son's receding back, she suddenly had a feeling that perhaps this would be the last time they would meet in this life!

As soon as this thought came to her mind, she shook her head vigorously, muttering:

"Impossible, absolutely impossible, how is this possible..."

Seeing the somewhat crazy Imperial Concubine Jing, Madam Rong was extremely anxious. She waved her hand to send the eunuchs away and said anxiously:

"My Lady, what's wrong with you? Please don't let go of this old slave!"

Concubine Jing suddenly paused.

"Yes, yes, yes. I am a noble concubine of the highest rank. Even if I lose this son, I still have other options. What's there to worry about?"

After Xuanyuan Yan walked out of Jingyue Palace, he stopped at a garden. It was the most beautiful season when all the flowers were in full bloom, and the palace was full of pleasant scenery.

He took several long breaths, as if to let out all the turbid air in his chest. When he finally felt better, he walked in a certain direction again.

Emperor Mingde was handling government affairs with the Crown Prince in the Imperial Study. Although his son was a little weak, his ability to govern the country was no less than that of the Crown Prince. He even had the potential to surpass his father.

Therefore, even though the prince had been married for five or six years and still had no children, he had never thought of deposing the prince and appointing another crown prince.

The throne can only be passed down to the son born to him in Zi Tong. At worst, he can just adopt a son from the clan in the future!

The father and son discussed and discussed, and the imperial study was in harmony. At this time, a eunuch came in and reported:

"Your Majesty, His Royal Highness the Third Prince requests an audience."

Emperor Mingde was a little displeased at being interrupted suddenly. The prince immediately said:

"There have been rumors that my third brother has a lame leg, but I have never believed it. Today, my third brother may have come here to tell Father the good news that his leg injury has healed."

Emperor Mingde felt a little guilty after hearing this.

He had very conflicting feelings towards his third son. The child was as talented or handsome as the crown prince, but the only thing that made him unhappy was that he was not born to the queen.

At that time, he and the queen were deeply in love, but under pressure from the court he had to expand his harem.

It was not until the queen gave birth to two sons and the eldest son was made the crown prince that he reluctantly visited the concubines in the harem.

In order to consolidate his eldest son's position as crown prince, the princes born to concubines were raised by their mothers personally, and he almost never raised them personally.

But even so, his third son grew up with his husband's praise, and most importantly, he is very healthy.

There is no doubt that this son has become the biggest threat to the crown prince's succession to the throne in the future. Therefore, it has always been difficult for him to get close to his third son.

A few days ago, news came out that the other party had a limp, but he not only didn't care, he even felt happy deep down in his heart.

But now that I think about it, the third son who has lost hope of taking the throne suddenly feels a little pitiful...

Thinking of this, he put down the red brush in his hand and instructed the eunuch:

"Let Yan'er come in. If he has difficulty walking, you can help him a little more."

The chief eunuch Wang Fu was obedient and understood the emperor's meaning immediately. So when he went to see the third prince again, he was more respectful and humble.

Xuanyuan Yan looked at the old fox in front of him and couldn't help but raise his eyebrows. It seemed that his father was in a good mood today.

After entering the hall, he first respectfully paid his respects to Emperor Mingde, and then exchanged greetings with the Crown Prince.

Emperor Mingde looked at his third son who limped in with a complicated expression, and felt even more guilty.

He frowned and asked:

"How can your leg be so lame? I will call all the doctors in the palace to come and take a look at you."

Xuanyuan Yan suppressed the bitterness in his heart and refused calmly:

“Your Majesty, there is no need to mobilize so many troops. My son’s leg was treated personally by Uncle Nanrong. Your Majesty should be very familiar with his medical skills.

The wound was too deep and injured my bones and tendons. Later, an accident made the injury worse. If it weren't for my uncle, I might never be able to stand up again."

The prince frowned upon hearing this and immediately asked:

"But was it caused by the accidental fall into the river during the Lantern Festival? At that time, Third Brother simply closed the door to visitors, so I did not send anyone to disturb him, but I did not expect the consequences to be so serious."

Emperor Mingde's guilt had almost reached its peak at this time. He had heard about the Lantern Festival from his servants, but he didn't pay much attention to it.

His biggest thought now was how to make up for the loss of three sons and one or two. He ordered someone to bring Xuanyuan Yan an extremely comfortable chair and also had someone serve him nourishing ginseng tea.

The prince also showed meticulous care for his younger brother, constantly asking about his well-being.

Facing the sudden warmth, Xuanyuan Yan did not react much. It is said that belated affection is cheaper than grass, and the same is true for family affection.

He has been alone for eighteen years and now he no longer needs any family affection.

However, now was a very suitable time to state his request.

So he stood up from his comfortable chair and knelt on the ground with a thump.

It was not until this time that Emperor Mingde suddenly remembered that his third son was not here to express his father-son relationship with him.

"My prince, what do you mean? If you have something to say, just talk it out. There are only three of us in the study, so there is no need to go through all this formality.

"Wang Fu, hurry up and help the Third Prince up. He has a leg injury, how can he kneel like this!"

Xuanyuan Yan shook his head at the hand that Eunuch Wang extended, still kneeling and saying seriously:

"Your Majesty, please ask your attendants to leave."

Emperor Mingde already wanted to make amends, and after hearing what he said, he felt relieved and nodded slightly.

After all the servants had left, Wang Fu closed the palace door lightly. Emperor Mingde looked at his son deeply, no longer insisting that he stand up, and asked:

"Yan'er, just tell me what you want. As long as it's reasonable, your father will satisfy you."

"I want to be a vassal."

Seeing that Emperor Mingde and the eldest prince were both a little stunned, he continued:

"I am already quite old. I will be an adult in one year. I should have gone to serve as a vassal and help stabilize the territory of Da'an."

Emperor Mingde raised four sons in total. The eldest was weak, the second died young, the third is now lame, and the fourth is cowardly and incompetent.

As for the fifth brother, he was relatively well behaved in the past few years, but has become more active in recent times.

Emperor Mingde actually had the idea of ​​sending his other three sons to fiefdoms a long time ago, but because he had few children and his eldest son was weak, he was worried about opposition from his ministers, so he kept delaying the idea.

However, ever since Imperial Concubine Jing and the Fifth Prince became increasingly close, his idea of ​​driving his other sons out of the capital resurfaced.

The third son's initiative to request to be a vassal was exactly what he wanted.

However, the emperor was very suspicious and could not help but want to know the details of everything that was not within his expectations.

"Yan'er hasn't started a family yet, why are you in such a hurry to become a vassal? I originally wanted to keep you brothers for a few more years."

Xuanyuan Yan's lips curled slightly, with a smile in his eyes, and he replied respectfully:

"Father, I already have someone I like, but she is still young, so we have to wait a few more years before getting married.

This time, I came here to ask the Emperor to grant us a marriage and to settle the marriage first."