Chapter 189 Missing

　　On the third day after Xie Xiaogong left, there was still no news.

　　Jiang Zhu was busy with various matters in the studio as usual, but Ye Anyian was already a little anxious.

　　When the old man left, he said he would be back in two or three days at most.

　　It is now the third day, and the woman has not returned, and there is no news from the palace.

　　He was sitting in the study making wood carvings. Zimo lay aside and watched, and comforted him: "Maybe the old emperor is seriously ill. Besides, they are brothers. It's okay to get together and chat for a day or two." It's normal."

　　This made sense, so Ye Anyian temporarily suppressed his uneasy heart and waited for a few more days.

　　But there is still no news from Xie Xiaogong.

　　It was as if this person disappeared out of thin air after entering the palace.

　　Now not only him, but also Zimo and Ziyu couldn't sit still.

　　Jiang Zhu sent someone to deliver a letter to the palace, but the reply said that the old man had left long ago.

　　But Ren did not return to Baihezhai.

　　The letter was answered by Eunuch Zhou. Eunuch Zhou was an old man next to the old emperor and would never lie about this kind of thing.

　　When Ye Annian saw Jiang Zhu's expression, he knew that this incident was probably not what he expected. The old man disappeared suddenly without saying hello to him in advance.

　　"Could it be Wei Zhihuai's fault?"

　　Jiang Zhu shook his head: "Wei Zhihuai's men and horses alone cannot stop him."

　　"Maybe it happened suddenly and he didn't have time to tell us." Ye Anian said.

　　Jiang Zhu was startled, turned around and walked out.

　　"Where are you going?" Ye Anyian asked, chasing after him.

　　"Go to Qiyun Pavilion and have a look."

　　The two of them went to Xie Xiaogong's yard next door and went straight to the old man's room upstairs.

　　Xie Xiaogong's bedroom is quite large and faces the sun.

　　The room was divided into two rooms, inside and outside, by a screen. There is a large round table and a few chairs outside, and then there is a whole wall of medicine cabinets.

　　In the back room were a bed, a cabinet, and a long desk with a pile of books and papers scattered around on it.

　　Jiang Zhu walked over and looked through it, but found nothing special.

　　Ye Anyian went to rummage on the bed.

　　Not long after, he came over with a small medicine bottle: "I only found this."

　　Jiang Zhu opened it and smelled it. The smell was familiar. It was a pill to help him suppress poison.

　　Put the medicine bottle directly into your sleeve, and then pull the person out.

　　"Aren't you looking for it?" Ye Anyian asked.

　　"The old guy only took away his medicine box. Everything else is still there. He didn't leave any letters or notes."

　　Jiang Zhu said: "I probably didn't expect that I couldn't come back, so I don't need to look for him anymore."

　　When he said this, Ye Anyian became a little uneasy.

　　The only string left in my heart was broken with a snap.

　　Originally, with Xie Xiaogong around, he would have felt that Jiang Zhu's poison could be cured, but now that he was gone, only a bottle of medicine was left.

　　Seeing his frown, Jiang Zhu pressed his forehead: "Don't worry, the old man is very tough and will come back."

Ye Anyian said "hmm" and said nothing.

　　After returning, Jiang Zhu continued busy with his work, seemingly not taking the matter to heart.

　　But Ye Anian saw him several times secretly ordering people to enter the palace to inquire about information, and went everywhere to find Xie Xiaogong's whereabouts.

　　After several days in a row, Ye Annian always felt that he seemed to have relaxed a lot all of a sudden, and his face also looked a little bad.

　　He advised Jiang Zhu to take more rest, but this man always promised well, and then disappeared early in the morning. He was busy all day long and didn't come back until late at night.

　　If they could have breakfast and lunch together before, recently the two of them have rarely been able to see each other awake, let alone have meals together.

　　Often in the morning, when Ye Anyian was still in a daze, Jiang Zhu would already leave in a hurry. Sometimes, he wouldn't come back until midnight, after Ye Anyian had woken up from his sleep.

　　He also wanted to wait for Jiang Zhu to come back and sleep together at night, but maybe because of his pregnancy, he felt sleepy and often fell asleep while waiting.

　　On this day, it was rare for the two of them to have breakfast together.

Ye Annian saw him eating a few hastily before leaving, so he reached out and grabbed his sleeve.

　　"What's wrong?" Jiang Zhu sat down again.

　　"Have you got a clue about Senior Xie's matter?"

　　"Not yet."

　　Seeing him frowning, Jiang Zhu patted the back of his hand gently: "Don't worry, I'm sending someone to look for him, but it may take a little longer."

　　Ye Anyian glanced at the bowl in front of him. The porridge in the bowl was almost untouched.

　　"I think you should take a break."

　　Jiang Zhu was slightly startled, but quickly smiled: "I'll be able to have a good rest in a few days."

　　He had said this many times. Ye Anian sighed and took his hand out of Jiang Zhu's.

　　"Go and do your work and come back early."

　　"Yeah." Jiang Zhu wanted to say something, but after hesitating for a moment, he still responded, leaned over and kissed him on the forehead, stood up and left.

　　After Jiang Zhu left, Ye Anyian sat at the table for a long time.

　　He was not in the mood to make wood carvings, but he remembered the signal tube Liu Zhuo gave him.

　　After thinking about it again and again, he waited until evening, when everyone in the restaurant was having dinner, and then he ran to the back mountain alone and pulled the fuse of the signal tube.

　　In an instant, a beam of light shot straight into the sky, and finally exploded in the dark night sky. It flashed briefly and then disappeared.

　　Although there was no sound, Ye Anian still felt a little guilty for some reason. He turned around and looked around to make sure there was no one around, then he grabbed a handful of wild flowers and walked back pretending to be nonchalant.

　　When he returned to No. 1 House, Jiang Zhu was already sitting in the hall on the first floor drinking tea. When he saw him coming in, he raised his eyebrows: "It's rare that I came back early today, but you were later than me. Where have you been?"

　　"Go for a walk in the back mountain." Ye Annian said, handing over the wild flowers in his hand casually.

　　Jiang Zhu didn't answer, but held his hand, put it together with the flower at the bottom of his nose and smelled it. The flower was very fragrant, and there was also a strange smell mixed in lightly.

　　"It's getting dark. If you want to take a walk, why don't you go alone?"

　　Ye Annian was sprayed on his hand by his warm breath, and coughed slightly uncomfortably: "I just walked around casually. Besides, you are so busy, I can't always disturb you."

　　"Oh," Jiang Zhu nodded thoughtfully, "Is it because of this?"

　　"What?" Ye Anyian was startled.

　　"Nothing, let's eat first." Jiang Zhu took his hand and went upstairs, "Today the canteen made a stewed seabass soup, it was very fresh."

　　Ye Anian was pulled upstairs by him and suddenly breathed a sigh of relief.

　　…

　　A few days ago…

　　Xie Xiaogong entered the palace in a carriage sent by Eunuch Zhou, and was led by the chamberlain directly to Qingxin Hall.

　　When Xie Xiaogong arrived, it was already evening, and the last rays of the setting sun were setting in the west, blocked by the tall palace walls.

　　After Eunuch Zhou finished his announcement, he led him into the palace.

　　The main hall is spacious and decorated gorgeously and solemnly, but it looks very deserted.

It is already May, but there is still a charcoal fire burning in the palace, and the doors and windows are closed.

　　Entering the inner hall, a choking, bitter medicinal smell hit my face.

　　"Cough cough cough..."

　　A violent coughing sound came from within the bright yellow bed tent.

　　Eunuch Zhou sang "Ei" and then retreated.

　　"You're here."

　　The voice of the person inside the bed tent was hollow, and he slowly spoke.

　　Xie Xiaogong came forward with the medicine box and saluted: "Common people see you, Your Majesty."

　　"Why are you still called the Emperor..." The man on the dragon bed sighed and struggled to sit up.

　　Xie Xiaogong quickly put down the medicine box and gave him a hand.

　　"Thank you, junior brother, I can't help you." Wei Tingzhou leaned back on the soft pillow behind him.

　　Xie Xiaogong didn't say anything and took his pulse through the bed curtain.

　　"Your Majesty, your body is still weak and cannot be replenished. Let the common people give you a gentler prescription."

　　"That's all," Wei Tingzhou waved his hand, "How long do I have to live in this old life?"

　　"It won't be a problem to hold on for another two months."

　　"Then thank you, junior brother, for helping me again. If Bingzhe (the second prince) doesn't come back, I'll still be worried." Wei Tingzhou took out his hand, held Xie Xiaogong's hand behind his back, and squeezed hard.

　　Xie Xiaogong: "Your Majesty, don't worry, the common people will do their best."

　　As he spoke, he wanted to take his hand out, but Wei Tingzhou held on to him and refused to let go.

　　Xie Xiaogong smiled bitterly: "Your Majesty, why are you doing this?"

　　"You still blame me." Wei Tingzhou sighed, "It's my fault. It was me who... harmed you, Xiao Ji and Jiang Shengwan."

　　"If I hadn't..."

　　He boasted that he was deeply in love with the queen and his wife, and he wanted to make the eldest prince Wei Honghui the crown prince.

　　He did not hesitate to provoke an internal fight between Wei Zhihuai and the second prince Wei Bingzhe to pave the way for the eldest prince.

　　But in the end, his precious Wei Honghui couldn't be helped up. In the end, he also separated from Wei Bingzhe and his son, and forced Wei Zhihuai to do whatever it took to turn the court upside down.

　　In the end, he ended up like this.

　　Xie Xiaogong remained silent. In the empty inner hall, only Wei Tingzhou was chattering.

　　"Thank you, junior brother, do you think I am not worthy of being the emperor?"

　　"Perhaps you don't know how much I envy you and Chenjie. When I was young, I thought that the Nine-Five Supreme Being, who is above ten thousand people, is the most glorious. But sitting in this position, I know how heavy the burden is on my shoulders. "

　　"I know you blame me. But someone has to take responsibility for what happened in Yueliang City. If it is spread that the crown prince of Dongling Kingdom slaughters people wantonly, then where is the prestige of the royal family? Even if he is removed from the position of crown prince, he will be replaced by a new one. How can others win the trust of the people?"

"You and Chen Jie are both doctors and Buddhists. You don't understand the way of being a king. The foundation of a country is the people of the world. He who wins the hearts of the people wins the world. It's a pity that my third son doesn't understand."

　　"Junior brother, I... regret it!"

　　"Now what's the use of your Majesty telling me all this." Xie Xiaogong smiled, "That's how people are, they always realize their regrets only after things have happened, but there is no medicine for regret in this world."

"Even though I have great medical skills and can cure all the difficult and complicated diseases in this world, including living dead human flesh and white bones, I am still not worthy of this regretful medicine."

　　"I was wrong, very wrong."

　　Governor Wei Ting sighed and suddenly lowered his voice sadly: "Junior brother, after this encounter between you and me, I'm afraid we will never see each other again in this life. You know that I am depressed, so you took this as my last worry."

　　Xie Xiaogong listened quietly, and finally sighed: "Senior brother, you want to get this forgiveness from me, but I can't give it to you."

　　Through the thin bed curtain, the glimmer in Wei Tingzhou's eyes quickly dimmed.

　　Xie Xiaogong just pretended not to see it: "Because of Wei Zhihuai, Xiaoji lost his life. Wanwan's poison has now penetrated his heart and lungs. I'm afraid he won't be able to survive this winter."

　　"Speaking of it, there is a good thing. Wan Wan married her husband and has a good child, and now she is pregnant."

　　Wei Tingzhou's face turned gray little by little.

　　Xie Xiaogong looked at his increasingly ugly expression and continued: "So, I'm afraid my junior brother won't be able to give you this forgiveness."

　　He stood up and patted Wei Tingzhou on the shoulder: "We are all this age, and we have to bear the consequences of what we do wrong."

　　"I'm ready, senior brother, you have to do it too, you must do it."

　　After he finished speaking, he didn't stop any longer, put the medicine box on his back and walked out.

　　Wei Tingzhou looked at his leaving figure and became furious, spitting out a mouthful of blood.

　　He wanted to ask Eunuch Zhou to stop Xie Xiaogong, but before he opened his mouth, Eunuch Zhou's voice rang out first.

　　"Reporting to your Majesty, the Crown Prince would like to see you."