Ji Yannuo's sudden voice drew Ye Fulun's attention back, and he heard him say again, "When I left Yan Kingdom, my brother brought me here."
"He pointed over there," Ji Yannuo raised his hand and pointed far into the void, "and said Qi State is in that direction."
"He said that when he misses me in the future, he will come here to look at Qi State. He will remember that his closest brother was sent there. He will be the best prince and strive to take me back as soon as possible.
Return to Yan Kingdom."
Ye Fuxun listened quietly.
Ji Yannuo's voice was calm and calm, as if he was just describing something that had nothing to do with him.
But she knew that was definitely not the case.
"The scratches on this tree,"
Ji Yannuo's hand was dancing on the big tree beside him, "It was left by the emperor's brother. He said that as long as he comes here once, he will carve a scratch. When I return to the Yan Kingdom, he will talk to me again.
Come here."
Ye Fuxun followed his hand and looked towards the tree body, and sure enough he saw deep scratches one after another.
She stepped forward and squinted under the moonlight and counted: "One, two, three...ten. There are ten scratches in total."
"It has been exactly ten years since I left Yan State."
Presumably every year when he leaves, the emperor's brother will come here and look in the direction of Qi from a distance, thinking that he has a younger brother who is trapped in a distant country, homesick and unable to return.
"More than ten scratches." Ye Fuxun came closer, just as the moonlight hit the tree trunk directly, "This... there are at least dozens of scratches."
"What?" Ji Yannuo asked in a confused voice, and couldn't help but step forward and squat down next to Ye Fuxun.
He had been here three years ago after returning to China, and there were clearly ten scratches.
"Look, Your Highness," Ye Fuxun pointed at the tree trunk, "these ten horizontal scratches are deep and long, but under each horizontal scratch, there are many vertical scratches.
Look, under the first scratch there is..." She counted in a low voice, "twelve vertical scratches."
"That means that the late prince will come here almost every month." Ye Fuxun murmured in a low voice.
Ji Yannuo said nothing.
But his hand on the tree trunk was clenched tightly into a fist.
Ye Fuxun also silenced his voice.
A young man appeared in his mind, climbing to the top of a mountain alone, looking far away in a direction that was out of reach, thinking about his only biological brother.
It was mentioned in the book that Ji Yannuo had deep feelings for the former prince, but it was only mentioned in a few words.
But now that she was so close to Ji Yannuo, she deeply felt the loneliness and pain that Ji Yannuo radiated invisibly.
She tilted her head slightly and raised her eyes to look at the erect and tall face under the moonlight. His profile was very sharp and angular, and his extremely elegant peach blossom eyes were now covered with a thin layer of frost, making them unfathomable.
"Do you know what's in this box?"
Soon after, the two sat on the floor, and Ji Yannuo took out the wooden box from his arms.
Ye Fuxun shook his head: "I don't know who I am."
Ji Yannuo opened the lid of the wooden box, and there were two wooden figures lying inside.
"The taller one was carved during my first year in Qi, as a birthday gift to the emperor's brother."
Ye Fuxun took the wooden figure from Ji Yannuo's hand and looked at it carefully. It was a boy of fourteen or fifteen years old. His facial features were as gentle as jade and his expression was calm and peaceful.
"And this short wooden figure was carved by the emperor's brother. It's me back then."
Ji Yannuo whispered to the little wooden figure, "It's just that after the carving was completed, the emperor didn't send anyone to Qi State. He said in the letter that if he wanted to keep the wooden figure with him, he could see me all the time.
.”
"The former prince loves His Highness very much." Ye Fuxun was deeply moved.
Ji Yannuo's lips curved slightly.
Ye Fuxun took the wooden figure from Ji Yannuo's hand and looked at it carefully.
He was a pink and tender little person, full of childishness, but also had the maturity and poise of a young adult that did not match his age.
Her fingers lightly traced the little figure's body, and an indescribable hesitation filled her heart.
What a big kid this is.
He was sent to an unaccompanied enemy country to serve as a hostage.
I no longer have the love of my parents and the company of my elder brothers.
How scared was little Ji Yannuo at that time?
And how difficult it must be to live in a foreign country.
The books all say that Ji Yannuo was a murderous tyrant after he ascended the throne, but what kind of growth experience could turn a once innocent and lovely child into a cold-hearted tyrant?
Ye Fuxun couldn't help but said: "Did your Highness live a very hard life in Qi State?"
Ji Yannuo's body stiffened suddenly.
No one had ever said such a thing to him.
This timid woman.
He dares to say anything.
Ji Yannuo's lips curled up unconsciously.
"Gu..."
Waves of gurgling sounds rang out from Ye Fuxun's stomach, which seemed particularly abrupt in the quiet night.
"Ah..." Ye Fuxun blushed in embarrassment, covering his stomach and said, "Well, Your Highness, it's already past the meal time."
So her stomach growling is a normal physiological reaction.
Could you please stop looking at her with such a joking expression?
She also wants to save face.
Ji Yannuo nuzzled at the baggage hanging on her body: "Xu An gave you the baggage, open it and take a look."
Based on his understanding of Xu An, most likely the bag contained snacks.
The old guy always does these things carefully and thoughtfully.
Even though he never needed to.
But today, it came in handy.
The baggage Xu An gave her? Ye Fuxun was stunned for a moment, and then suddenly remembered that Xu An had indeed stuffed a baggage for her before leaving the Prince's Mansion, and she easily stepped on it at that time.
I took the bag off and opened it, and there was indeed an oil paper bag inside.
"Huh? There's something to eat." Ye Fuxun muttered happily, unfolded the oil paper bag and placed several pieces of pastries.
"Eunuch Xu is such a wonderful man."
Ye Fuxun picked up a piece of mung bean cake and put it in Ji Yannuo's hand, then picked up a piece and started to chew on it, "It's delicious!"
Ji Yannuo glanced at the mung bean cake on his palm with disgust.
"Your Highness, why don't you eat?" Ye Fuxun quickly gnawed away a piece of mung bean cake, then reached for a piece of osmanthus cake and stuffed it into his mouth.
"I'm not hungry."
Ye Fuxun finished off the sweet-scented osmanthus cake and looked at the last red bean cake in the oil paper bag: "Can I eat this red bean cake too?"
Ji Yannuo snorted obediently.
Ye Fuxun continued to eat.
After eating three pieces of cake, I finally appeased my stomach that kept protesting.
"Your Highness," she said earnestly when she saw that Ji Yannuo still had no intention of touching the mung bean cake, "no matter whether you feel hungry or not, you should eat something at meal time.
Otherwise, it will hurt your stomach. You can’t help but appreciate Eunuch Xu’s thoughtfulness in preparing food.”
Ji Yannuo: "Shut up."
Instead of listening to the woman's chatter, he would rather eat the mung bean cake.
Ye Fuxun watched Ji Yannuo finish the mung bean cake with a smile, thought for a while and asked: "Your Highness, why did the Queen Mother ask me to bring these two wooden figures to you?"