Curious, Xie Lian asked, "What can't I drink?"
The Empress pinched the small jade cup.
He poured out a little and pressed it on the handkerchief.
Wiping his face a few times, he said, "A few days ago, Mount Taicang presented a batch of fresh fruits. I don't like to eat cherries, but there was a recipe that said it could be mashed into pulp to apply to my face, so I squeezed some for fun.
It was useless.
Just as he was about to order someone to fall down,
How can it be drunk by humans? "
Xie Lian smiled when he heard this, but he suddenly remembered what happened yesterday. Mu Qing's mother only ate cherries a few times a year.
Even when Mu Qing was picking cherries on Mount Taicang, he still had to be poked and pointed at.
He could not help but feel a little emotional, afraid that Mu Qing would not feel good after hearing it.
He smiled and changed the topic.
"Is there anything you can give me to eat?"
The Empress laughed and said, "What you said, if outsiders heard it, they would think that I starved you.
Actually, you've been a picky eater since you were young, so I couldn't feed you well. He had been on the mountain for so long that he had become so skinny.
Today, just eat whatever Mother tells you to eat. Don't be picky. "
The mother and son talked for a while.
The Empress asked about the accident on the Heaven-worshipping Swim.
He was rather worried, "From what the Imperial Tutor has said, this matter seems to be quite serious. What should we do? Will you be punished? "
Before Xie Lian could answer,
Qi Rong interrupted, "Humph, this matter isn't Cousin Crown Prince's fault. The one who fell from the city walls wasn't him. Even if someone has to be punished, it should be that little bastard. "
Xie Lian thought to himself, "What is a little undead?" Before he could correct Qi Rong, the Empress had already laughed. Coincidentally, she noticed the two people outside the hall and asked, "Who's that kid beside Feng Xin? This is the first time I've seen another person by your side. "
Thus, Xie Lian cheerfully said, "This is Mu Qing. Yesterday, he was the one who acted as the demon on stage."
Qi Rong raised his eyebrows slightly. The Empress said, "Eh? Let him come up and take a look. Feng Xin, come in as well. "
Thus, Feng Xin and Mu Qing entered the palace and half-knelt in front of the Empress. The Empress scrutinized Mu Qing for a while before saying to Xie Lian, "Yesterday, I saw him fight pretty well. He's actually a respectable child. Looking at his face, he looks just like a refined Prime Minister. I didn't expect that when he used a knife, his momentum would be so fierce."
Xie Lian smiled. "Right? I also think he's not bad. "
At this time, Qi Rong said coldly, "Oh? Was he the demon from yesterday? "
As soon as Xie Lian heard this, he knew the situation was far from good. Sure enough, in the next moment, Qi Rong suddenly exploded. Snatching the jade cup from the small table, he splashed it on Mu Qing's head and said, "This is your reward!"
Xie Lian's eyes were sharp and his hands quick as he slapped away Qi Rong's hand, preventing the water from splashing onto Mu Qing's face. Xie Lian picked him up and said: "Qi Rong, what are you doing!"
Qi Rong was lifted up by him and was still making threatening gestures. He said, "Cousin, I'm helping you teach this restless servant a lesson! Yesterday, when you weren't here, he was having a great time acting all by himself, and trying to make a name for himself. What the hell was this? Did he think he was the main character of the Heaven Sacrifice? You want to overturn the heavens?! "
The Empress was dumbfounded. "Rong, what … what are you doing?" Mu Qing didn't get splashed on his head, but his clothes. But because the Empress didn't call him up, he still knelt on the ground, his face pale and dark. Xie Lian handed Qi Rong over to Feng Xin and said, "Don't let him hit people." Feng Xin single-handedly restrained Qi Rong, but Qi Rong continued to kick and hit him. He spat, "Who the hell are you? You have so much dog guts that you dare to use your hands to touch me!"
Xie Lian felt a headache coming on. He said, "Qi Rong, you've been making more and more trouble lately!" He then said to the Empress, "Imperial Mother, I forgot to tell you something. You should take back his golden carriage."
Qi Rong was startled and shouted, "No, no! Why! That was a birthday gift my aunt gave me! "
Xie Lian said, "You have to take it back no matter what. Just now, you almost caused an accident on the street. Before you can drive properly, it's best if you don't touch it. "
The Empress let out an 'ah' and said, "Almost caused an accident? What accident? "
Xie Lian then told her about Qi Rong's crazy driving behavior. Qi Rong was so angry that his eyes turned red. He said, "Cousin Crown Prince is wrongly accusing me! I clearly didn't hit a single person! "
Xie Lian didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He said, "That's because someone was holding you back!"
Qi Rong suddenly broke free from Xie Lian's hand and angrily ran out of Phoenix Perching Palace. The Empress shouted for him a few times, but he didn't come back. She could only helplessly say, "I'll go talk to him about taking back the carriage tomorrow. Ai, this child has wanted a carriage for a long time. A few days ago, it was his birthday. I saw that he really wanted one, so I gave it to him. Who knew it would turn out like this? If I had known earlier, I wouldn't have given it to him. "
Xie Lian asked, "Why does he insist on a carriage?"
The Empress replied, "He said that this way, he can go to Mount Taicang at any time and bring you back to the palace."
Xie Lian was silent as he thought about how the Empress had good intentions towards him. After a moment, he said, "You should find a teacher for him and properly teach him to control his temper. If he continues like this, he absolutely cannot continue."
The Empress sighed and said, "What kind of teacher would be able to teach him? He has always listened to you. Don't tell me you want him to go up the mountain with you to cultivate his character? The State Preceptor wouldn't accept him as a disciple no matter what. "
Xie Lian thought about it and felt it was both funny and scary. He shook his head and said, "With Qi Rong's temper, if he entered the Huang Ji Temple, I'm afraid the entire Mount Taicang would be in chaos."
Both mother and son had a headache over this problem. They couldn't think of a solution, so they temporarily put it aside. In the evening, Xie Lian met with his parents. After a short chat, he was about to leave the Imperial Palace.
Everyone knew that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was obsessed with cultivation. Ever since he entered Mount Taicang and entered the Huang Ji Temple, he spent more time away from his parents. Regarding this, the King didn't say much, but the Empress was always reluctant to leave. After leaving the Imperial Palace, Xie Lian casually walked around the Imperial City. In passing, according to what he said yesterday, he accompanied Mu Qing back to his home.
There was often only a small alley between a wealthy family and a slum inhabited by the poor. Mu Qing's original home was in a dark alley in the most prosperous part of the Imperial City.
Just as the three of them arrived at the entrance of the alley, five or six shabbily dressed children surrounded them and said, "Gege. Gege is back! "
At first, Xie Lian felt it was strange. Why did they call him 'gege' whenever they saw a stranger? However, he soon discovered that the 'gege' these children were calling wasn't him, but Mu Qing. The children sweetly called out to him, but Mu Qing ignored them and said, "Not this time. Don't randomly call me. "
Although his face was wooden, his tone wasn't really cold. After he finished speaking, he turned to Xie Lian and said, "Your Highness, please don't mind them. They are children from nearby." However, that group of children were obviously familiar with him. They were used to playing around and not afraid of him at all. They surrounded them with smiles and giggles, stretching out their dirty little hands to beg for food from Mu Qing. In the end, Mu Qing still took out a bunch of ruby-like cherries from the bag and gave them to them.
Seeing this, Feng Xin was quite surprised. He seemed to think that Mu Qing doing this kind of thing was very strange. After all, Mu Qing had a pretty face that looked extremely cold. Even if passersby were to starve to death in front of him, they would still hold onto their rations tightly. Xie Lian, on the other hand, wasn't surprised. Originally, he also wanted to find something to give to this group of children. However, he didn't carry candy on him all year round. If he told Feng Xin to directly give him some money, it would seem like he was dismissing a beggar. In the end, he felt that it was inappropriate. Unexpectedly, right at this moment, they suddenly heard a loud 'da da' sound. A long string of horse neighs could be heard, followed by a scream coming from the main street.
Everyone's expressions turned cold. Xie Lian rushed out of the alley. Both sides of the main street were swaying left and right as people and horses were thrown into a complete mess. Pedestrians fled one after another, and red apples and yellow pears rolled all over the ground. Before they could clearly see what was going on, they heard a youngster laugh wildly and say, "Get out of the way, get out of the way, all of you get out of the way! Whoever doesn't have eyes to look, I won't care even if you trample them to death! "
Feng Xin cursed and said, "It's Qi Rong again!"
Sure enough, Qi Rong was standing on his gorgeous golden carriage. His face was filled with anger as he raised his horsewhip and randomly lashed it, causing the white horse to neigh. Xie Lian said, "Stop him!"
That golden carriage whistled past in front of them. Feng Xin said, "Yes!" and rushed forward. Xie Lian was just about to check on the pedestrians and stalls that had been knocked over by Qi Rong's carriage. He wanted to check if anyone was injured, but he suddenly felt that something wasn't right. He abruptly turned his head to look and saw that behind that tall golden carriage, there was a long and thick hemp rope being dragged. At the end of the rope, there was a sack tied to it. There seemed to be something inside that sack that was still struggling endlessly. It seemed like there was a person inside.
In a split second, Xie Lian felt his blood run cold. In the next moment, he rushed forward.
That white horse was madly galloping after being whipped by Qi Rong, and even the carriage's wheels were spinning. Feng Xin went to the front to stop the horse, but he was afraid that he wouldn't be able to do so for a while. Xie Lian caught up to the carriage in three steps. Unsheathing his longsword, he swung it down. That hemp rope was cut off, and that sack also fell to the ground. After rolling a few times, it stopped moving.
Xie Lian bent down to examine it. He didn't know how long this sack had been dragged on the ground, but it had been badly worn out. It was extremely dirty and bloodstained, as if it was a corpse bag. With another swing of his sword, he cut off the rope that was tied to the sack's mouth. Opening it, he took a look inside. Sure enough, there was a person inside. Moreover, it was a young child!
Xie Lian tore open the entire sack. That young child was curled up into a ball inside, tightly hugging his head. His dirty clothes were covered with footprints that were too big for him, and his hair was also bloody and tangled. It was a complete mess. It was obvious that he had been beaten up by someone, to the point that he couldn't even be recognized as human. Looking at his figure, he was only seven or eight years old, an extremely small child. He was shaking so violently that it was as if a layer of his skin had been peeled off. It was hard to imagine how he was able to survive after being beaten up and dragged on the ground.
Xie Lian immediately used his hand to check the child's neck. Feeling that the pulse wasn't weak, he let out a sigh of relief and immediately picked up the little body. Turning his head, he angrily shouted, "Feng Xin! Stop Qi Rong for me!!! "
He had never imagined that such a thing could happen in Xian Le Country. In broad daylight, on the streets, a nobleman carried a living person in a sack and dragged it behind a carriage! If he hadn't seen and stopped him, wouldn't this little child have been dragged to death today?!
In the distance ahead, the sound of neighing and Qi Rong's angry roars could be heard. In a flash, Feng Xin loudly shouted, "I've stopped him!"
Xie Lian took a few steps forward, just in time to hear Qi Rong's blood-curdling screech. Angrily, Xie Lian said, "You daring servant, you actually dared to injure me! Who gave you the courage?!!"
It turned out that Feng Xin couldn't stop him, so he went to grab the reins of the horse. Of course, Qi Rong wouldn't give it to him. After snatching it back and forth, he was accidentally pushed off the carriage by Feng Xin. He fell to the ground and rolled a few times, scraping his knee. Seeing that there were onlookers all around him, he only felt angry and embarrassed. However, Xie Lian said, "I gave it to him!"
Qi Rong opened his mouth and said, "Cousin Crown Prince!"
Xie Lian angrily said, "Look at what you've done! Qi Rong, I really … … "
At this moment, he suddenly felt the child in his arms shrink back a bit. It seemed that the child had slowly let go of his head and was peeking at him through his elbows.
Xie Lian immediately restrained his anger. Lowering his head, he softly asked, "How do you feel? Does it hurt particularly? "