After I got into the drama, I led the plot astray

I touched Yiping's head and said, "I'm lucky I'm not dead. Why are you crying? You should smile that you can still see me."

Yi Ping rolled his eyes at me and said, "The fact that you can still be so talkative proves that you are not going to die."

Jinping also said distressedly: "Ah Man, how come you have lost so much weight all of a sudden? Is the food in the palace not good? Why don't you come back to the mansion and let Yi Ping make some nourishing soup for you."

After hearing this, Yiping nodded vigorously.

I said, "When I return from the Imperial Mausoleum, I will return to the mansion to accompany you."

Jinping said, "The academy has started classes. I want to go back to the academy to study. When you return to Beijing, please send someone to the academy to tell me that I will find time to come back to see you."

I thought about it and said, "The spring entrance exam for the Royal Academy should be coming soon, right?"

Jinping nodded and said, "The exam is scheduled for the second day of February, which is less than a month away."

I patted Jinping on the shoulder and said, "Brother, come on!"

Jinping nodded heavily and said, "I won't let you down. My father is the Grand Marshal, I can't lose face for him."

I looked at the boy in front of me who had grown taller, with a handsome face and a determined gaze. He was completely different from the Tofu Lang he appeared to be when I first met him.

I nodded with satisfaction and said, "I believe in you. You have always been our most powerful elder brother. The Zhao family's success depends on you."

After hearing this, Jinping lowered his head in embarrassment.

Yiping nudged Jinping with his elbow. Jinping seemed to suddenly remember something and quickly took out a brocade box from his sleeve and handed it to me, saying, "Today is your birthday. I don't know what gift to give you, so I asked my third sister to pick it out. I hope you like it."

Yiping also took out a box and opened it, revealing a jade pendant inside.

Yi Ping handed me the box and said, "I don't usually see you wearing jewelry, but I heard that this jade pendant was blessed by a high monk and can keep you safe. I spent a lot of money to ask the shopkeeper Chen of Xingyaoxuan to find it for me. You must wear it around your waist every day, so that you can go out safely and come back safely."

I took the box, took out the jade pendant and examined it carefully, and said, "You weren't cheated by Shopkeeper Chen, were you? I don't believe in the blessing of a high monk."

When Yi Ping heard this, he said "Pah" and said, "Don't talk nonsense, or the gods will hear it and they will not bless you."

I had no choice but to shut up.

Jinping held the brocade box in the air and handed it to me, saying, "Ah Man, open it and see if you like the gift I gave you."

I took the box handed to me by Jinping, opened it and saw that it was actually a top-quality mutton-fat jade hairpin. It had a soft color and exquisite workmanship, and it was obvious that it was very expensive.

I touched the hairpin and said, "I like this hairpin very much, but it looks very expensive. Where do you get the money to buy such expensive jewelry?"

Jinping said a little embarrassedly: "My father gave me some money, and I borrowed some from my third sister to buy it together. But don't worry, Ah Man, I will study hard and find a good job in the future. When I earn money, I will definitely return the money to my father and third sister."

I smiled and nodded, saying, "Okay, then you mustn't break your promise."

As they were talking, a guard came over and urged them to leave.

Yiping touched my face and said to Yingchun who was standing behind me, "Yingchun, you must take care of my second brother. I still like her when she was plump and white. She was pleasing to look at."

Yingchun wiped her tears and nodded in agreement.

The carriage rumbled away, but Jinping and Yiping were still standing there waving at me.

Yingchun pulled me back, lowered the car window curtains, and said, "Don't look. It's cold outside. Don't get frozen."

Yingchun took out the hairpin from the box and put it on my head, then pinned the jade pendant given by Jinping around my waist, and then put the two empty boxes back into the secret compartment.

Yingchun stuffed a hot water bottle into my hand and a cushion behind me before she spoke: "The Second Young Master received five birthday gifts today, but there is none from your Majesty. Your Majesty usually takes good care of the Second Young Master, but he didn't even give him a birthday gift. It's really strange."

After hearing Yingchun mention this, I realized that Zheng Xian really didn’t give me a birthday present, and didn’t even say “Happy Birthday” to me.

I lay sideways in the carriage, took a book Gongsun Wen had given me, and said, "Your Majesty is very kind to me on weekdays, so don't think about these empty and meaningless things."

Yingchun also felt that she had said something wrong, and quickly covered her mouth and whispered, "It was my fault, Second Young Master, please don't let your Majesty hear these words."

Seeing Yingchun was so frightened that she couldn't even speak straight, I said unhappily, "Is your Second Young Master the kind of person who would tell tales behind someone's back?"

Yingchun came over to massage my legs in a flattering manner, saying, "I know that the best person in the world is the Second Young Master. It is my blessing to serve the Second Young Master..."

This flattery made me feel overwhelmed, so I quickly said, "Stop, stop, stop. I want to read a book quietly. You can go and take a rest too."

Yingchun said, "Oh," and said, "Then I will just wait on the side and help the Second Young Master read."

The promised service meant stuffing food into my mouth non-stop. I almost ate to death along the way.

As the funeral procession was large and most of the people were walking, which was very difficult in the snow, the procession was very slow.

Originally it would take only one day to reach the imperial mausoleum by horseback riding, but now we walked for a whole day and only reached the outskirts of Beijing.

As it was already dark, Zheng Yan ordered them to find an inn to rest and set out again the next day.

Fortunately, after the 15th day of the lunar year, most businesses have resumed operations, otherwise we would have to ask local people for help.

The spies found a fairly large inn and let everyone stay there.

The guards all lived on the first floor, and Zheng Yan and I lived on the second floor. The two rooms were right next to each other. Dinner was brought to my room by the waiter, and Zheng Yan came over to eat with us.

My appetite was not very good, so I ate very little. Zheng Yan might have been hungry, so he ate three bowls of rice in a row, almost finishing all the food. Then he touched his round belly and said, "I've been starving these past few days. I haven't had a full meal."

I asked in surprise, "You are a prince, and someone doesn't give you enough food to eat?"

Zheng Yan rolled his eyes at me and said, "What are you thinking about? I've been so busy with official duties lately that I don't even have time to eat. As a result, my mother passed away before I finished my official duties. I stayed in the mourning hall every day until my knees were swollen. I couldn't eat anything I wanted to, otherwise I would be considered unfilial. You don't know how hard it was for me these past few days."

I looked at Zheng Yan. When he talked about his mother's death, his face did not show much sadness. I knew I shouldn't ask these questions, but I couldn't help my curiosity, so I asked: "Your mother died, are you sad?"