incomprehensible

The next day, the sky was still gloomy, but the heavy rain last night somewhat reduced the sweltering heat.

Ye Xuehuan went to the martial arts arena early in the morning, and Wei Yan led Lan Qi to the Yulin Army camp.

The ground was wet and slippery after the rain. Lan Qi wore a pair of waterproof cowhide short boots and stepped in the large and small puddles along the way, only to see slight ripples, but there was no sound of water.

Wei Yan walked beside him, although his face remained calm, his heart was beating all the time.Lan Qi has always been reticent in front of people on weekdays, and today he is even more silent. I don't know if it is an illusion caused by a guilty conscience.

He was too shocked last night, and before he had time to think about it, he agreed to Qi Yanqing in a moment of soft-heartedness; after returning home, he tossed and turned all night, the more he thought about it, the more chilling he felt, and he realized that he seemed to have done something terribly wrong.

When the Qi family was in exile, the young master was only six years old. Not long after leaving Donghai County, he developed a high fever that lasted for several days, and finally died of exhaustion.There were no conditions for funerals during the exile, and even the corpses were handled by the officers and soldiers who were in charge of escorting them, and they were hastily buried in a mass grave.Two rolls of straw mats and a handful of loess became the final destination of such a child prodigy.After he was pardoned and returned to his hometown, the Qi family tried their best to find his bones in the mass grave that year, and brought them back to Donghai County for a proper burial.

Yet he didn't die at all.

He joined Skylark and became a top spy, and then returned to the third prince's side to assist him in pushing Liu's family to the limit and hitting Skylark to the ground.

The bones dug up by the Qi family clearly contained his belongings from that year, so his identity was confirmed; if he is not dead, where did the bones come from?How likely is this to be a simple mistake?Who would believe it was just a mistake?

If there is someone manipulating behind this, who would this person be?Where did the calculation start?

Wei Yan didn't want to know the cause and effect of this at all—or rather, he didn't dare to know at all.He was not curious at all, but felt extremely terrifying, so terrifying that it made him tremble with fear, and he couldn't even imagine how furious Ye Xuehuan would be if he knew Lan Qi's real life experience and guessed these causes and effects.

Even though he was already walking in the Yulin Army camp at this time, he was still hesitant, not knowing whether or not to let Lan Qi and Qi Yanqing meet.

"...General Wei."

Wei Yan turned around suddenly, just in time to meet those almond eyes that were too distinct in black and white, and felt dazed for a while.There was a fleeting sense of familiarity when we first met, but it was ridiculous that he didn't grasp it and let the situation develop to this point.

For a moment, he even had some extremely dark thoughts; if he could do it all over again, he should have killed Qi Yanqing with a sword when he heard Qi Yanqing go crazy last night, and let him take this secret into the coffin, forever Not known to third parties.

"...You want to take me to see him."

Lan Qi's face was calm and unwavering, but his tone was very firm, obviously he had already seen through it.

Wei Yan took a deep breath and said shyly, "You... you really are..."

"It's impossible to hide it for a lifetime." Lan Qi looked at him, and there seemed to be two dark flames in his eyes, which made his heart ache. "It's just that I didn't expect...he would come to me through General Wei."

"I……"

Wei Yan wanted to explain a few words, but in front of Lan Qi's dark eyes, all explanations seemed very futile.It is an indisputable fact that he tricked Lan Qi into meeting Qi Yanqing. Although it is not a betrayal of Ye Xuehuan, it is still very disgraceful.Whether it is Lan Qi's calm eyes now, or Ye Xuehuan's words "Don't disappoint me" last night, they are all pricking his conscience.

Ye Xuehuan didn't know about Lan Qi's relationship with Qi Yanqing, so he never had any doubts; and although Lan Qi saw through his intentions, he couldn't take the initiative to mention it to Ye Xuehuan, and there was still room for redemption.

"It's true that I didn't think carefully about this matter." He stopped, gritted his teeth and said, "If you don't want to, I will send you back."

Frankly speaking, he now hopes that Lan Qi can just leave here, as if nothing happened; but Lan Qi shook his head and said softly: "Even if it is not General Wei, he will always find a way to meet me .There are some things that I really should clarify with him. Even if he is just a pebble, I will not let him trip His Highness."

His voice was always soft and weak, but it was resolute and vicious, as if he would go to see Qi Yanqing only because this person was a potential threat to Ye Xuehuan, not his own brother .

Wei Yan sighed, "You are sincere to Rong Cai."

"I don't want to lie to His Highness either, but this is the only thing that he can't know, otherwise..." Lan Qi lowered his eyes, his eyes dimmed slightly, "...Your Highness will hate me."

Wei Yan opened his mouth, but his throat was so sore that he couldn't make any sound, except for a long sigh.

The two were speechless, Wei Yan brought Lan Qi to an inconspicuous barracks, turned to him and said, "You go in. If there is any situation, you must call me."

Lan Qi glanced at him and said lightly, "He can't do anything to me."

Wei Yan was startled, then stopped talking, and stood silently in front of the door.

Lan Qi pushed the door open and entered, turned around and closed the door tightly, and silently closed the latch.

The light in the barracks was dim, which made Qi Yanqing's face even more gloomy and distorted.Sitting behind the short table, his eyes were bloodshot, he stared at Lan Qi who was walking towards him step by step, and slowly opened the corners of his mouth: "You are really promising."

"Award."

Lan Qi's eyes were indifferent, as if he was looking at an irrelevant stranger.

"I didn't expect that the little boy who is in the limelight next to the third prince would be you." Qi Yanqing squinted at him, "If the right minister hadn't ordered it again and again, I really want to kill you now, so that I can be considered worthy of your family in the Qi family's ancestral hall." That tablet."

Lan Qi replied: "If I were you, I wouldn't tell the right minister's order. Wouldn't you be a quiet dog even if you were a dog?"

"You are a loyal dog, but unfortunately your bones are soft." Qi Yanqing seemed to be irritated by his arrogant attitude, and his expression became vicious, "Do you know how many people in the Qi family have died in these years? You don't even think about it." Who caused my Qi family to fall into such a situation? Just because she spared your life, you are willing to climb her son's bed? "

Lan Qi automatically ignored his last sentence, and said flatly: "Daddy has done something wrong, so he will naturally be punished."

"Fart!" Qi Yanqing stood up abruptly, "How could daddy do such an outrageous thing! It's clearly the envoy of Empress Chu, so let him take the blame! Dad didn't do anything, if it wasn't for empress Chu's coercion, why would he confess? I'm afraid that with so many people in my Qi family and all the hardships I've suffered, it's all just in exchange for the safety of you and Luluo!"

"When you collapsed from a high fever back then, it was just a fake death, right? You even found someone to bury you in the ground for you, it's just a golden cicada escaping its shell!" He stared at Lan Qi's smooth forehead, every word seemed to be squeezed out from between his teeth, "What did you say that you are too young to be exempted from tattooing? It's just to prevent you from leaving a mark and to let you leave the Qi family completely!"

"You are a well-known child prodigy in Jiangdong. Empress Chu washed your background and sent you to Lark as an undercover agent to serve her third prince. I can understand that. If you want to live in an ignoble existence and are willing to be female, I have nothing to say. But what about Luluo? Why did Empress Chu protect her? As a maidservant for the third prince?"

He grinned wildly and contemptuously, "You and Lu Luo really deserve to be born of that slut, why, siblings serve one husband together?"

Lan Qi frowned, and said coldly, "Dirty."

"Why, did I say something wrong?" Qi Yanqing sneered and asked back, "If Lu Luo hadn't served the third prince and had some unreasonable thoughts, why bother to stay in the deep palace with a shameless face and not return home?"

"Family?"

Lan Qi seemed to be stabbed by this word, and finally looked at him with sarcasm in his eyes, "If you don't come from the same mother's womb, you are not a real brother. You said this yourself back then. Your Qi family, and sister , What has it to do with me?"

Qi Yanqing smiled and said: "I heard what you mean, but I am sorry for your brothers and sisters? I forced you to recognize the Empress Chu as the master?"

"I advise you not to make wild guesses about what happened back then." Lan Qi said lightly, "After all, you can't guess with your brain."

"Yeah, you have a good brain, you are a child prodigy praised by everyone in Jiangdong." Qi Yanqing laughed angrily, "So what? Isn't your ass the third prince's favorite? Could it be your brain that he fucked? "

Lan Qi heard that he insisted on messing around, and gradually felt impatient, shook his head and said, "Your master knows very well what I have done for your highness. If you think that my relationship with your highness is just this kind of relationship, it can only mean that your master is not very good either. trust you."

Qi Yanqing spat: "That's better than begging for mercy from your enemies!"

"You insist that the Queen of Chu is the chief envoy, but do you have any evidence?" Lan Qi said disdainfully, "No one knows what happened back then. Maybe Dad took the blame, maybe it was because we negotiated a condition with Queen Chu, but Does that matter? Anyway, what you hate in your heart is not Empress Chu who convicted the Qi family, but the father who saved me and my sister but failed to protect you."

"you……!"

Qi Yanqing was furious, kicked the short one in front of him over, and slammed it in front of Lan Qi with a bang.Wei Yan was shocked when he heard the movement outside. He wanted to push the door but found it was locked, so he had to pat the door hard.

Lan Qi didn't change his face, and continued: "Based on your current position, I have no obligation to explain anything to you, and I don't expect you, who have been kicked by a donkey, to figure it out. Who you want to work for is your business." , but if you want to commit rebellion, collude with the enemy and betray the country, it is best not to use the banner of revenge for the Qi family. Empress Chu did not forgive the Qi family, His Highness did not forgive the Qi family, and neither did Chongyang. Don't wishful thinking, do it You made a mistake and thought you were great, thought you were bearing the burden of humiliation for revenge, but in the end you were used as a gunman and dragged the Qi family to accompany you forever."

After hearing these words, Qi Yanqing calmed down instead, and smiled contemptuously: "You have to provide evidence for what you say. Do you want to pin such a big crime on me for no reason?"

Listening to his tone, Lan Qi roughly figured out his status in the Liu family, and also roughly estimated the amount of information he had in hand. He didn't want to talk to him anymore, so he took two steps back and deliberately provoked him: "Is it for no reason? , you know it well. After the Master Tai Tuo came here, my father told me that if I achieve something in the future, I must remember to help you. For the sake of this sentence, I will come to see you today , I advise you not to work for a tiger. Otherwise, how will you die and what will happen to you, what has it to do with me?"

If Qi Yanqing still had a sliver of reason before, the word "help" was like a blow to the head, crushing his strong but fragile self-esteem, and completely exhausting all his endurance.

"Yeah... Anyway, you and Lu Luo, and your bitch mother, have never paid attention to me." His eyes were red, and his face was full of struggles, hysteria, and resentment like a trapped animal. There was pain in his heart, "Daddy also thinks that I must not be as good as you, and can only be inferior to you, and wants you to help me in the future!"

"Since childhood, everyone has surrounded you, saying that your future is limitless, and they have praised you so much that they can't even look at others! What are you? If it wasn't for your bitch mother who hooked up with Daddy, How could mother die in depression, and where did you come from?"

"Why didn't you die? Why didn't you die?!"

He suddenly pulled out the long sword at his waist, and raised his hand to split the overturned short table in two. The loud noise made Wei Yan outside the door startled again, and he leaned against the door and listened. The movement inside did not even notice the person behind him.

Lan Qi felt the strong murderous intent on Qi Yanqing, but he was not afraid, "Hack me to death if you have the ability."

Qi Yanqing sternly said: "You treat me as if I dare not—"

Before he could finish speaking, there was a loud bang, and the closed door collapsed inward, instantly filled with smoke and dust.

Lan Qi's pupils shrank suddenly, and Qi Yanqing's murderous aura was too heavy, which distracted him, and he didn't even notice the extra breath coming out of the door.

— What's more, it was the breath he was most familiar with.

Ye Xuehuan stood in front of the door with his hands behind his back. He hadn't changed his military uniform yet. He was dressed in black and red, with snow feathers and silver armor. Just standing there without saying a word, he felt a sense of oppression.

No one expected that Ye Xuehuan, who was supposed to be in the martial arts arena, would suddenly appear. Qi Yanqing's long sword was even pointed at Lan Qi's nose, and he forgot to take it back for a moment.Lan Qi was even more confused, the calmness and indifference when he confronted Qi Yanqing just now was gone, only the panic and bewilderment was left on his face.

In and out of the room, there is no words for each other.

Wei Yan was behind him, with a little guilt on his face, but more shock and anger, and he shouted in disbelief: "You buried a nail in my Habayashi Army?!"

Ye Xuehuan didn't answer, just looked at Lan Qi, her phoenix eyes were clear, neither happy nor angry, and said softly: "Come here."

The voice was soft and deep, just like the little love stories he would tell under the quilt on weekdays, but Lan Qi was trembling all over when he heard it, and he didn't listen to his feet at all, and slowly moved to him, lowering his head and eyes, not daring to look His expression at the moment.

Ye Xuehuan seemed as if nothing had happened, a terrible storm was brewing in the calm.He stretched out his arms to hug Lan Qi, his movements were exactly the same as usual, but for some reason he seemed extraordinarily alienated.

——Perhaps it was because the armor on his chest was too cold and stiff, blocking the original generosity and warmth, which made Lan Qi's heart ache.

"Wei Yan."

Ye Xuehuan turned and left, leaving only an indifferent sentence, "I'm very disappointed."

From the beginning to the end, he never looked at Qi Yanqing, as if this person did not exist at all.

"Rong Cai...!"

Wei Yan also had no intention of meeting Qi Yanqing, and hurriedly chased Ye Xuehuan away, leaving him alone, with nowhere to go for his anger, he raised his hand and split the short table into four pieces.

Ye Xuehuan did bury nails in the Habayashi Army, but it was just in case, and he never used it.He knew Lan Qi and Wei Yan, because the two of them behaved too normal and ordinary last night, but they had a sense of disobedience.

After learning that Qi Yanqing had gone to the Yulin Army early in the morning, he had already guessed about it.It is impossible for Wei Yan to help Qi Yanqing and harm Lan Qi, so it is only possible that Qi Yanqing and Lan Qi have discord.

He only thought that it was Qi Yanqing who was holding grudges and wanted to settle accounts with Lan Qi privately, because Yixue was ashamed of last night's humiliation, so he asked Wei Yan for help with the last bit of affection from the Qi family; but he never expected that the truth would be Such.

Wei Yan chased after him, not daring to call him, not knowing how to explain, so he could only follow silently.This area of ​​the camp had been emptied, and there was no one left at this time, only the footsteps of the two people, heavy military boots trampling the puddles on the ground, the reverberation of the emptiness was even more desolate and chilling.

Lan Qi leaned on his shoulder with a stiff body, her mind went blank.He knew that this matter could not be kept a secret for the rest of his life, no matter his life experience or deed Gu, as long as Ye Xuehuan knew about one thing, he would be able to guess the cause and effect.It was the worst time, the worst occasion, and the worst way for him to break the entanglement with Qi Yanqing and involve Wei Yan today.

At this point, even a voluntary confession will become a weak excuse, and there will be no forgiveness.

Ye Xuehuan picked an empty barracks nearby, walked in with Lan Qi in his arms, and slammed the door shut, shutting Wei Yan out.Wei Yan felt ashamed, but could only sigh helplessly, and consciously guarded the door.

Both he and Lan Qi can only wait for the trial now, and it will be his turn for Lan Qi after the trial.But since the window paper has been pierced, it is better to say everything clearly.The situation in Yunshuiguan is unclear, and it is definitely not the time for internal strife.

"... Lan'er."

Ye Xuehuan put Lan Qi down, looked at his terrified expression, and said slowly: "It's hard for you to hide it from me."

Lan Qi clenched his lips, closed his eyes to cover his gloomy eyes, and said in a low voice, "...I'm sorry."

"You really deserve to be my good friend." Ye Xuehuan took two steps back, with a mocking smile on his face, "I told you about the Qi family case, but you didn't respond at all. Let me think about it, Lu Luo mentioned her brother's name...Qi Yanlan, right?"

Hearing this long-lost name, Lan Qi trembled all over, clenched his hands in his sleeves into fists, and his nails were almost embedded in his flesh.

"No wonder you care so much about Nuanwen." Ye Xuehuan stared at him, his smile enlarged little by little, and the chill slowly spread in the not spacious barracks, "Do you feel sorry for him? Debt repayment?"

He looked at Lan Qi's forehead, "Speaking of which, it seems that the queen mother did spare the second young master of the Qi family from getting tattooed. It seems that she had planned for a long time. She also gave you the name Lan Qi, didn't she?" ?”

Lan Qi closed his eyes in despair, and nodded slightly.

"The skylark was also sent by the queen mother, didn't she?"

Lan Qi nodded.

"Your body, which is invulnerable to all poisons, is also a trick of the empress, isn't it?"

nod.

Ye Xuehuan took a deep breath and managed to maintain a calm voice, "You will come to my side... It is also the arrangement of the queen mother, isn't it?"

Lan Qi trembled violently, struggling inwardly, but finally nodded.

Ye Xuehuan was silent for a while, then suddenly laughed, and asked softly: "What does the queen mother want you to do in Lark? What does she want you to do with me?"

Lan Qi didn't answer.

Ye Xuehuan's voice was softer and softer, "Be good, tell me, I don't blame you, I still love you like before, okay?"

He reached out to caress Lan Qi's cheek, but Lan Qi took two steps back, his lower lip was almost bleeding from his own bite, and he still shook his head.

Ye Xuehuan pursed the corners of her lips, her palms outstretched in the air froze, and finally clenched into fists, and slowly retracted them.

The kitten he loved on the tip of his heart turned out to be just a chess piece placed by his side by Empress Chu.It's ridiculous that after so many years of her death, she still has some lingering prestige, so that Lan Qi obediently fulfilled her promise, and she didn't even plan to give him an explanation.

He didn't know why he was still so calm. He should be angry, but there was no anger in his heart. Instead, it was as cold as if soaked in the cold spring of a glacier.

He was all too familiar with this feeling. When he was 14 years old, he took part in the spring hunting for the first time and won the first prize. When he was proud of the spring breeze, he found that the result of the spring hunting was arranged by Queen Chu, and everyone let him win.The most irritating thing is that this matter was mentioned by the other party as a conversation piece when he and Ye Xueyuan were arguing.

That year when he had just joined the army, at the time when he was the most surly, rebellious, and frivolous, he angrily confronted Empress Chu, but Empress Chu replied lightly: "Other people let you win, and that is also winning. Now these people You win by looking at me, if you can make them dare not even compete with you in the future, and surrender without fighting, it will be your ability."

Looking back now, Empress Chu's words are completely irrefutable truth.She was already seriously ill at that time, maybe she just wanted to make more preparations for her prince, maybe she just wanted to give him a taste of winning during the first spring hunt, or even just wanted to find a reason to give him the phoenix tail.She is strong by nature and wants to be in control of everything; and Ye Xuehuan undoubtedly inherited her desire to control perfectly, and has disliked being arranged by others since he was a child, even his own mother.

He has always respected Empress Chu, but since the spring hunt, the relationship between mother and child has been broken, and it has not eased until Empress Chu passed away.Even after many years, even if he has fully understood what Empress Chu did at the beginning, he still can't let go.

For him, the first betrayal and humiliation he encountered in his life came from his mother.

Everyone in the world said that he had been wearing the phoenix tail in memory of Empress Chu, but only he himself knew that it was a covenant, reminding himself never to be influenced by others again.

Now he encountered the second major betrayal in his life, also from his mother.

He thought he had picked up a little wild cat, thought he had domesticated him little by little, and was full of joy and love; however, this little cat was tied up by his queen and sent to him.

He can forgive Lan Qi for not telling the truth at the beginning. Lan Qi has Lan Qi's pride, and he wants to stay by his side with his own ability instead of the relationship with Queen Chu. He can completely understand and even feel happy.But now that the words have been spoken, Lan Qi still refuses to reveal the details. It can only show that in his heart, Empress Chu is an indelible shadow, whose influence even overwhelms his trust and dependence on him.

After the death of Empress Chu, Ye Xuehuan went to the northwest, fought hard for many years, and narrowly escaped death, before finally gaining her current power and status.Even as Empress Chu said back then, he was able to defeat others without fighting, making many people dare not confront him head-on, but he still failed to escape the control and arrangement of Empress Chu, and was still controlled by her. Even his most beloved kitten was firmly in her hands.Even though she has passed away for many years and is already a dead bone, the shackles left by her have never disappeared.

The last time Lan Qi was so frightened and helpless was when he forced him to ask about his life in the dark alley of Youling Flower Market.Now it seems that this is Lan Qi's only fatal flaw, and it is the truth that he dare not tell himself no matter what.

If he hadn't softened his heart at that time, but kept asking him until he told the truth, maybe the relationship between them would not have come to this point.

The love is not deep enough, there is still a way to solve it; but up to now, no one has retreated.

"You really deserve to be the queen mother." Ye Xuehuan smiled, "The whole world doesn't know about Yunque, but she was able to send you in with one hand. It's lucky that you can tell me seriously that you were trafficked, thanks to me And I thought I could see through your lies."

"No!" Lan Qi panicked, "After Empress Chu planted Gu on me, she did hand me over to human traffickers..."

The corners of Ye Xuehuan's eyes twitched, "Did she cast a spell on you?"

Lan Qi knew he had made a slip of the tongue and dared not speak again.Ye Xuehuan looked at his heart, frowned and asked: "Is the heart-eating pain you suffered related to this Gu?"

Lan Qi still didn't answer, it was a default.

Ye Xuehuan sighed deeply, and unconsciously softened his tone, "What kind of Gu, how to solve it?"

Lan Qi shook his head, "...I can't solve it."

I can't tell what his expression is at the moment, there is no unwillingness or resentment, only endless sorrow.Those dark almond eyes seemed to be covered with a layer of mist, so gray that they couldn't see the light, and they no longer had the same look as before.

"So that's how it is." Ye Xuehuan pulled the corners of his mouth, and the two thin lips appeared extremely sharp in an instant, "It is also said that the queen mother threatened you with Lu Luo, so the root cause is still in yourself. What you said will not betray, will not Leaving, all because of this Gu? That's really wronging you to be by my side, but also to warm my bed."

His tone was gentle and calm, but every word was ruthless and cold.

"...I'm not wronged." Lan Qi lowered his head and said softly, "It's all voluntary."

He hesitated for a while, and finally stretched out his hand slowly, and timidly grabbed Ye Xuehuan's sleeve, "I really... really like Your Highness."

"I won't lie to you...you, you know..."

Sleeping with each other every night, they have done many intimate things, and said "like" to each other countless times, but now it only makes Ye Xuehuan feel ironic.

He really liked this kitten, and even thought of marrying him; however, Lan Qi tried every means to come to him, but because of the Gu in his body, in order to survive, he had to obey the Queen Chu.

What he said he liked, what he said he would never leave, what he said life and death would accompany him, but it was all his desire to survive.

——It is true that he never lied, but he just lied about the worst thing he should have lied to.

"The queen mother didn't ask you to come to me to make you like me."

He shook off Lan Qi's hand, took a few steps back, turned around and stopped looking at Lan Qi's gloomy eyes, and whispered a word: "Get out."

There was no movement behind him, as if Lan Qi had disappeared out of thin air.

The dim sky fell into the room, and Lan Qi's voice came from the door, his voice was so hoarse that it was almost out of tune, "Your Highness said...every word I say, you will believe it."

Ye Xuehuan thought of Lan Qi who blushed and told him that he liked him at that time, and when he thought of the day and night together these days, his heart ached almost to burst, but he gritted his teeth with hatred.

"His Highness also said... No matter what, he will not let me go."

Ye Xuehuan's breathing was difficult, love and regret flooded the sky like a tide, drowning all resentment in a blink of an eye.He turned around abruptly, and blurted out, "Lan—""

The half-closed door shook slightly, but there was no sign of Lan Qi.

Outside the door, Wei Yan looked up at the direction of the roof, his eyes widened in astonishment; after a while, his eyes moved down, and seeing Ye Xuehuan's gloomy face, he hesitated and said, "He...is crying."

--------------------

Huan: I thought it was a free love, but in the end it was an arranged marriage, so angry

Lan: Lao Gong doesn't want me anymore, I'm going to run away from home, crying