The years I was in the human world

"Why did you go to embarrass him?" After Lu Zhouxue came back, Chu Zhaoli looked at him and smiled, casually placing a bowl of noodles in front of him. He had no intention of pursuing the matter, but felt that there was no need to argue with the Third Prince.

"You are kind-hearted. Others may not know when to stop. It's you who don't care. It's just that I have a bad temper and can't stand his self-righteous look." Lu Zhouxue also smiled and mixed the noodles in the bowl, "Eating noodles again?"

"What can a teenager know?" Chu Zhaoli said in a mature manner, while letting go of his sleeves. This ordinary action made him look like he was dressing up. "You don't like noodles? What does Mianmian want to eat?"

"You are also a kid, not much older than him. If you are immature, you are immature. Don't give him any more excuses." Lu Zhouxue pretended to be angry, as if he would be unhappy if Chu Zhaoli said another word to his ignorant third brother. "It's not that I don't like it. I'm not picky."

Lu Zhouxue doesn't care about his appetite. It doesn't matter what he eats, but the taste of things made by his lover is different. For some secret reason, he is narrow-minded and doesn't want to let others eat the things made by Chu Zhaoli.

"Okay, I won't say anything." Chu Zhaoli was used to pretending to be good, so he responded to Lu Zhouxue's words at this time. The two of them ate a bowl of noodles each in peace, leaving the dishes and chopsticks to the palace maids to deal with.

The night falls late in autumn, but the wind suddenly blew in the evening. Dark clouds gradually gathered in the sky, and it was a sign of rain. Chu Zhaoli simply pulled a recliner under the eaves, curled up lazily on it, and stared at the branches in the courtyard swaying in the wind.

"Be careful not to catch a cold from the draft." Lu Zhouxue pinched his drooping forearm, put a thin blanket on Chu Zhaoli's legs, pressed his pulse, concentrated on feeling his pulse for a moment, and his expression became more serious, "You should take good care of your body."

"Got it." Chu Zhaoli smiled at him, shook out the thin blanket and covered his legs. Seeing Lu Zhouxue's worried face, he couldn't help but poke his eyebrows, blinking his eyes like a lazy cat, "Don't be so sad, it's an old problem, I know it myself."

"You're only a few years old, but you already have old habits." Lu Zhouxue glanced at him and couldn't help but stretched out her hand to rub his hair. Chu Zhaoli also rubbed his palm and said angrily, "Mianmian doesn't look that old, why do you look like an old man?"

"You little bastard, do you think I'm nagging you?" Lu Zhouxue pulled his ears. Chu Zhaoli quickly covered his ears and begged for mercy: "I'm wrong, I'm wrong, Mianmian, my good brother, stop pulling. My ears are going to fall off."

The word "brother" startled Lu Zhouxue. Chu Zhaoli shrank away, rubbing his ears and looking at him in a wronged manner, which showed a bit of playfulness for his age. Lu Zhouxue found it funny: "Don't pretend, there is no use of force."

"I'm sixteen, not six. How can I pull your ears like a child?" Chu Zhaoli instantly put away the aggrieved look on his face, reached out and grabbed Lu Zhouxue's hand, pinched his palm, and shook it, "I was joking, Mianmian, pinch it if you want."

Lu Zhouxue let him hold her hand. After a moment, she suddenly said, "The Sixth Prince's house incident has caused a great uproar in the city. The Third Prince has been implicated and impeached by the Du family. He probably won't be able to go to Jiangzhou."

"Mianmian's move is very clever, killing two birds with one stone." Chu Zhaoli yawned lightly, looking a little sleepy. He closed his eyes and suddenly seemed to remember something and said, "My second sister has been traveling around these days. She seems to be interested in taking up the post in Jiangzhou."

"It will not be easy for the Second Princess to go to Jiangzhou without going past you, the crown prince." Lu Zhouxue was stunned. He didn't know this. He had met the Second Princess once before at the Third Prince's mansion. He never thought that the dignified and virtuous princess had such an ambitious side.

"What's so difficult about it? I'm afraid that the title of princess is not as influential as her title of the princess." Chu Zhaoli said calmly, "Now my brothers have to stay in the mansion and behave themselves. Father also intends to reduce the power of the Du family in Jiangzhou.

Second sister's uncle's family is close to Xie's. If she dares to argue, the emperor may not refuse to let her go. But she is a daughter after all, and there is always a layer of separation between her and her uncle's family, so it is not easy to send someone. The emperor will probably let Xie Yang go. "

"Xiao Li'er can see clearly. Do you really not want to go to Jiangzhou?" The sky gradually darkened, and the wind blew more and more urgently. Lu Zhouxue lowered half of the curtain, and the sound of wind chimes jingled in the wind. "You also said that the emperor wants to reduce the power of the Du family. The autumn harvest is an opportunity.

Now that the Third Prince cannot go, and you don't have a noble family to rely on, the Emperor can only send you more people. If you go to Jiangzhou, you will be a pure minister of the Emperor, and the Emperor will be more assured. If you want to go, you are not without opportunities."

After Lu Zhouxue finished speaking, he fell silent and looked at Chu Zhaoli quietly. The latter also looked at him intently. It began to rain outside. The rain was blown in by the wind and some fell on the corridor. Chu Zhaoli's eyes were filled with water, like a pool of ripples in autumn.

"Forget it, I won't join in the fun." Chu Zhaoli smiled, raised his hand and rubbed his eyes, the tears blown out of his eyes wet his eyelashes, and his whole body had a wet and fragile feeling, "I have no knowledge of classics, and I have never made any contribution to the study of classics. The affairs of Jiangzhou are related to the livelihood of my country and family, and I cannot afford to be perfunctory."

"Why do you think so little of yourself? The Third Prince is narrow-minded, and the Fifth Prince is arrogant. Little Li'er is definitely not worse than them." Lu Zhouxue frowned. She didn't like his discouraged look.

The rain outside suddenly poured down, splashing mud and dust all over the ground. In the sound of the drizzle, Chu Zhaoli sighed softly, revealing a bit of helplessness and exhaustion: "Mianmian, the rumors all over the capital are half true and half false, but I am indeed mediocre. It's not that I can't do anything, but it's the narrow-mindedness of the Du family. If I succeed, they will definitely hinder me, which will only cause trouble."

"You can't always compromise like this." Lu Zhouxue squatted down, put her hands on Chu Zhaoli's knees, and looked at him with sadness and pity. "Whether it's the post of Jiangzhou or the position of crown prince, as long as you want, I can pave the way for you, Xiao Li'er, I will help you."

These words were spoken earnestly and sincerely. Chu Zhaoli thought, his mother would never say such words when she still loved him, but now a stranger said them out loud. How could he be so worthy of such words?

"I know you're doing this for my own good, Mianmian. I know that." Chu Zhaoli said softly, grabbing Lu Zhouxue's hand on his knee and slowly tightening it. The tears in his eyes blown out by the cold wind seemed to become real. "But it's lonely at the top. I don't want to be above everyone else."

"I don't know how deep the cold palace is, and how many layers of curtains there are. Even my father is a prisoner, and there are too many things he cannot control." The rain poured down quickly and rapidly, like some kind of rushing melody. Chu Zhaoli seemed a little cold, and he gathered his clothes casually.

"Mianmian, my mother died here and could never be freed from the pain in her life. I want to go out to the forest where the fragrant wind blows through the fields. I don't want to be trapped here forever."

Lu Zhouxue looked at this unique young man. In his eyes, he only saw mountains and rivers, not palaces. "Okay, take off your royal robes, bow down to the court, and paint mountains and rivers everywhere. I will follow you."

"Mianmian is like this, it seems like she loves me deeply." Chu Zhaoli moved closer, his breath on Lu Zhouxue's face, as if they were going to be together in the next moment, "It makes me want to be together forever."

"Xiao Li'er, if you don't love me deeply, you don't have to agree to be with me. If you haven't made up your mind, don't talk nonsense." Lu Zhouxue raised his head. He could easily kiss the boy in front of him, but he was only sixteen years old, and there was still anxiety between his eyebrows. He was afraid.

"It's clearly what you said, a mutual love." Chu Zhaoli said, as if he felt unfair about Lu Zhouxue's inconsistency, but he was indeed wavering. He wanted to get a definite answer from Lu Zhouxue, but he was afraid that the oath he made was just his own promise.

His mother had forgotten to love him when she was mad, and she hated and despised him even more when she was sober. In the end, she died with hatred for him. So he didn't dare to gamble whether everything now was just an unattainable dream. It would be a sad thing to sink into someone else's dream while sober.

Chu Zhaoli's thoughts were written all over his face. Lu Zhouxue could see it clearly and understood his concerns. Lu Zhouxue finally sighed and thought, "Forget it. Why make things difficult for him? After all, he is just a teenager and can wait slowly."

……

Lu Zhouxue's words turned out to be mostly correct. The third prince and the fifth prince lost their qualifications to go to Jiangzhou. The emperor didn't want to take advantage of anyone, so he set his sights on Chu Zhaoli. Chu Zhaoli had no one to rely on, so if he went to Jiangzhou, he could only obey the emperor's arrangements. He was a rare and clean candidate.

Madam Du heard the rumors coming from Chengming Palace, gritted her teeth, and accidentally broke the cup worth a thousand gold. She said angrily: "I have been law-abiding for so many years. I thought I was honest, but I never thought that I was waiting to reap the benefits."

"Your Majesty, calm down. It's not entirely true. Lord Du said..." The personal maid calmed her down and whispered to her the secret message sent by Prime Minister Du. Madam Du's anger gradually faded as she listened, and a smile appeared on her face: "Are you serious? Has everything been arranged in Jiangzhou?"

Autumn gradually passed, and the weather became colder day by day as the autumn rains fell one after another. On this day, Chu Zhaoli sat on a recliner under the eaves watching the rain as usual. Lu Zhouxue sat on the ground with his legs against his, chatting with him casually: "The emperor seems to be interested in you going to Jiangzhou."

"Mianmian doesn't seem happy. Doesn't she want me to go again?" Chu Zhaoli tilted his head to look at him on the recliner and reached out to hook Lu Zhouxue's hair to play with it.

"It's not a question of whether I'm happy or not." Lu Zhouxue looked at him helplessly, pulled her hair back from his hand, and said slowly, "I don't believe that the emperor can't see your situation, but he still wants to drag you into the vortex of power struggle, and it's obvious that he wants you to pave the way for others."

"Mianmian, are you feeling sorry for me?" Chu Zhaoli sat up upon hearing that and stared at Lu Zhouxue with a smile, like a satisfied cat.

"Yes." Lu Zhouxue loved his cute and playful look and couldn't help but hold him in his arms and rub him. Looking at Chu Zhaoli's sparkling eyes, Lu Zhouxue suddenly felt that he might not be able to wait any longer. He wanted to kiss him and tell him that he loved him.

"What are you feeling wronged about?" Chu Zhaoli smiled softly, and he comforted Lu Zhouxue in turn, "Father is the emperor, his love is for the common people, for the concubines in the harem, and for my brothers and sisters, so naturally he has very little for me. Maybe he still cares a little bit about me——"

Chu Zhaoli's words got stuck in his throat, because Lu Zhouxue was looking at him with a look of disappointment. Seeing that he had given up, she stretched out her hand to pinch his face, gritting her teeth and saying, "That's all you can do. But you suddenly remembered to ask the imperial physician to come and see you, and you're trying to make up for him?"

If the emperor cared about Chu Zhaoli even a little bit, he would not have made a helpless prince like him the target of public criticism, nor would he have intentionally let the rumors spread throughout the capital to ruin his reputation. Chu Zhaoli had seen through all these things in the past.

It's a pity that the emperor sent a royal physician to check on Chu Zhaoli half a month ago, and then rewarded him with some ordinary things one after another. Chu Zhaoli's originally well-trained iron heart softened soon, and he began to take the initiative to find excuses for the emperor's indifference and harshness.

"Mianmian, I know what you mean." Chu Zhaoli rubbed against Lu Zhouxue's arms in a flattering manner, but raised his pair of sparkling eyes and said softly, "But he is my father after all."

Someone once said that parents who love their children will plan for them in the long run. Because of this sentence, Chu Zhaoli always had expectations for his emperor and father. Although he was disappointed time and time again because of his emperor's indifference, as long as the emperor showed him a little kindness, his admiration for his son would grow like weeds.

He wanted to respect and love his king and father, and hoped that his king and father would love him as well. Lu Zhouxue got this message from Chu Zhaoli's words and expressions.

Facing such a Chu Zhaoli, Lu Zhouxue suddenly felt helpless and sad. He hated him for being wishful thinking, for being indecisive, and for not turning back until he hit the wall. However, Lu Zhouxue could not blame him because the fault was with the emperor, not him.

But even so, Lu Zhouxue felt a sense of pain, pitying his misfortune and being angry at his lack of fighting spirit. He knew that Chu Zhaoli would definitely get hurt, but that was exactly the situation he didn't want to see.

"Mianmian, what are you thinking about?" Chu Zhaoli gently tapped his eyes and looked at him with worry in his eyes, "You look like you're about to cry."

"Nothing." Lu Zhouxue forced a smile at Chu Zhaoli, then thought of the way the latter had made his mind suddenly unclear, and said unhappily, "I want to beat you up, turn around and take off your pants!"

Chu Zhaoli was stunned for a moment, then he smiled: "If this can make Mianmian happy, then go ahead and hit her, but be careful and gentle, and be careful not to hurt your hands."

As he said this, he really started to untie his belt.