"Daddy, save me, I'm afraid." The boy grabbed Ning Xiuyun's sleeve and made no further movements, as if he could draw strength from that small piece of fabric.
This was a very restrained and polite gesture. Perhaps this was the way he interacted with his unknown biological father, with respect and admiration but not warmth.
So much so that in front of "Daddy", no matter how scared he is, he still holds it.
This child is a little thin, and even the baby fat on his cheeks is not obvious. His chin is pointed, and he seems to be malnourished. However, the clothes he is wearing are very fine in fabric and workmanship, and he does not look like a child from a poor family.
Ning Xiuyun was called "Daddy" twice, and he was stunned for a moment. But when he looked up and saw Jian Xun's hesitant expression, he came to his senses and knew that this person was thinking wrongly.
The original person had never left the capital before his southern tour. Not only was there no crown princess in the East Palace, there was not even a concubine. On the first day he came here, he asked the little eunuch next to the original person in a roundabout way, and he was sure that the original person was not related to anyone. People have had skin-to-skin contact, otherwise Ning Xiuyun might be so disgusted that he would vomit.
In Ning Xiuyun's past life and this life, Jian Xun was the only one.
To put it bluntly, even if he was not sure whether the child was related to the original person, he could not give up at this time. Any slightest hint of guilt would leave seeds of doubt in Jian Xun's heart.
Ning Xiuyun held the boy's shoulders and pushed them out gently. His tone was so gentle that he said, "Look carefully, am I your father?"
As soon as he finished speaking, the eyes of the boy and Jian Xun fell on Ning Xiuyun's face.
The boy blinked with tears in his eyes, as if he was carefully studying Ning Xiuyun's appearance. After a while, he opened his mouth in surprise.
The young child had just escaped from danger, and the fear in his heart had not completely subsided. He pulled Ning Xiuyun's sleeve with one hand and said a little scared: "It seems... no. My uncle looks very similar to my father. "
It was such a similarity in appearance that made him recognize the wrong person when they met each other. It also made him panic in his heart. He didn't want to let go even though he knew this was a stranger. It seemed that he naturally had some secrets with this young man. closeness.
Ning Xiuyun breathed a sigh of relief. He was really a little afraid that the child would indiscriminately identify him as his father.
Ning Xiuyun took out a handkerchief, squatted down, held the boy in his arms with one hand, patted his head comfortingly, wiped the tears on his face, and asked in a low voice: "How old are you this year?"
The boy was comforted by Ning Xiuyun's gentle attitude, and the panic in his heart dissipated a lot. He found that this uncle had a faint scent of incense, which was not pungent and could calm people's mind.
The boy didn't know that it was the scent of Ning Xiuyun's soothing incense. He couldn't hold it back and leaned into Ning Xiuyun's arms again, pulling at his fingers and making a "four" sign while sobbing.
Ning Xiuyun nodded approvingly and asked, "Where is home? I'll take you back."
"It's in Nanjiang City. I remember the way." He made a sad face and failed to tell the details of his home after several attempts. Describe the location.
But a four-year-old child can be considered very smart if he can have such clear logic and response capabilities.
Observing that the child's mood was completely stable, Ning Xiuyun asked: "Do you know those two people? Why did they arrest you?"
The boy clenched Ning Xiuyun's sleeves again, breathing rapidly. The past events were recalled in his arms.
"I don't know them. I followed my grandma out, but she disappeared. They covered my mouth, got in the carriage, and walked for a long time before being rescued by my uncle."
After saying these words, he looked at Jian Xun on the other side, then suddenly remembered that I didn't say thank you, and hurriedly gave a less than standard salute.
Jian Xun also squatted down with Ning Xiuyun and asked a very important question: "What is your name?"
The boy seemed a little afraid of him, maybe because Jian Xun's fierce fight with the thief scared him, he shrank back and said, "Ning Xuan. My name is Ning Xuan."
Ning Xuan. As expected, this child's surname is Ning, which is the surname of Daqi. Only people in the royal family have the surname Ning. This child looks somewhat similar to the prince.
The answer is ready to come out.
In the southern border of Daqi, Ning Chuqing, the fifth prince of the current dynasty who was known as the God of War, was stationed. Although Jian Xun had never seen this fifth prince, he had the same father as the prince, so it was normal for him to look similar.
This child may be Ning Chuqing's son.
Ning Xiuyun and Jian Xun looked at each other and saw the same answer in each other's eyes.
However, Ning Xiuyun guessed more than Jian Xun. He was convinced that the Jiaxing Emperor only had a biological son, the original person, otherwise he would not be so accommodating to the prince, and the original person's fake face was based on the appearance of the Jiaxing Emperor. It was made for a model, which means that the fifth prince Ning Chuqing and Emperor Jiaxing look very similar...
If they are not biological father and son, then they are similar to their elders? Whose son is Ning Chuqing?
"Alright, Xuan Xuan, let's take you back to southern Xinjiang." Ning Xiuyun shook off the miscellaneous thoughts in his mind, stood up and wanted Jian Xun to carry Ning Xuan down, but unfortunately Ning Xuan kept holding on to his sleeve and wouldn't let go. .
The pampered Crown Prince could only carry Ning Xuan out of the carriage himself, and carefully covered his eyes with his hands to avoid seeing the scene where the thief was stabbed to death by Jian Xun's long knife.
Jian Xun walked to the woman who fell to the ground and found that the woman was motionless and had expired.
He pulled out the long knife and lowered his gaze. Only then did he realize that there was blood on his waist far away from the knife edge. This man had injuries on his waist and abdomen. No wonder he was a little weak when he struggled with Jian Xun. It turned out that he was already at the end of his strength. .
Jian Xun couldn't find anything to prove his identity on the man, so he could only shake off the blood on the blade, put the knife into its sheath, and led his horse to the prince's side.
Ning Xiuyun was a little worried.
The carriage was unusable. The two thieves were running so fast, and there must be pursuers behind them. It was uncertain whether they were enemies or friends, so Ning Xiuyun would not take any risks.
Ning Xuan didn't want to be separated from him, and was a little afraid of Jian Xun, but Ning Xiuyun himself was average in riding skills and was afraid that the child would be injured if he stumbled with Ning Xuan.
"Are you taking him with you?" As soon as Ning Xiuyun asked, Ning Xuan's little hands tightened his cuffs and moved behind him.
Ning Xiuyun raised his eyes helplessly, and Ning Xuan also took a peek. The two people, one large and one small, looked at Jian Xun eagerly. Jian Xun felt as if an arrow had been hit in his heart.
He turned his face to the side in a disguised manner, scratched his cheek and said, "It doesn't matter, we are not in a hurry. You can take him and walk slowly."
Ning Xuan looked up at Ning Xiuyun with bright eyes. Ning Xiuyun felt that It was funny, I leaned over and scratched his little nose with my fingers, and said with a smile: "Okay."
So the three of them walked slowly on the road.
The nearest village to here is Yunwu Town. After walking slowly for an hour, Ning Xiuyun and Ning Xuan chatted while walking and almost got to know Ning Chuqing's family thoroughly.
Ning Chuqing's family of five has an extremely simple composition. Apart from Ning Chuqing himself, there are only Ning Chuqing's maternal grandfather and grandmother, Ning Chuqing's wife Meng, and her son Ning Xuan.
It is worth mentioning that Emperor Jiaxing treated everyone equally. Except for the crown prince's position, the third and fifth princes were not crowned kings. Ning Chuqing only had the position of General Zhenyuan, but she was the veritable leader of Southern Xinjiang and held the military power in Southern Xinjiang. .
Ning Chuqing had a mansion in southern Xinjiang, which was General Zhenyuan's Mansion. Ning Xuan grew up there. There were not many servants in the mansion, but they were all kind and loved Ning Xuan.
Ning Xuan has been frail since he was a child, and looks thinner. He has no energy on weekdays. Meng's strict supervision of him made Ning Xuan a little rebellious at a young age. While Meng was handling the internal affairs of the house, he took his grandma with him. Grandma slipped out of the house.
As a result, his first rebellion in life was met with misfortune. Ning Xuan was kidnapped by two thieves whose origins he didn't know, and then he met the two of them.
These were all summed up by Ning Xiuyun from trivial conversations. Before entering Yunwu Town, Ning Xuan fell asleep in his arms.
Ning Xiuyun patted Ning Xuan's back gently, trying to make him sleep more peacefully.
When queuing up to enter the town, Jian Xun suddenly asked with a complicated expression: "His Highness likes children very much?"
"Huh?" Ning Xiuyun looked at him sideways and suddenly laughed: "I don't like it. The cubs are very fragile, and they can happen if you don't pay attention. The risk of death, I don't like the feeling of taking on other people's lives."
Ning Xiuyun didn't like children, but that didn't stop him from taking more care of the fragile human cubs.
"...Oh." Jian Xun responded slowly, and the depression he had felt as he watched the prince and Ning Xuan getting along harmoniously along the way dissipated a lot.
The streets in the town are not wide, and there are vendors on both sides of the road, making it unsuitable for riding horses.
The two of them turned over and dismounted. Ning Xiuyun held the sleeping Ning Xuan, while Jian Xun held their horses. The noisy sales on both sides of the main road failed to wake Ning Xuan up. He must have been stressed out for too long. Now that I suddenly relaxed, I couldn't stop feeling sleepy.
"Find a place to rest." Ning Xiuyun lowered his voice subconsciously and said.
Jian Xun nodded, looked around, and chose the most conspicuous inn in the town.
When I went in and asked, I found out that because the business was so booming, there was only one room left.
The shopkeeper looked embarrassed in front of the main counter: "This is really unfortunate, but it's not a big deal for lovers like you two to share a room with their children."
Jian Xun suspected that he just wanted to promote his home . The room only said this on purpose.
He and the prince were completely different in temperament. How could he think they were "lovers" just by looking at the two of them holding a child?
He frowned and was about to get angry, but Ning Xiuyun didn't want to waste any more time. Driving a horse was also a tiring job. He just wanted to rest now, anywhere.
Jian Xun glanced at him, as if he wanted to refute but couldn't find a good excuse.
Ning Xiuyun immediately decided before he could think about it, took out a few pieces of broken silver and handed it to the shopkeeper.
"I want that room."
"Okay." The shopkeeper happily accepted the room fee and asked the waiter to lead them upstairs.
The service in this inn is good, and everyone is smiling from top to bottom. They are probably preparing to let the guests experience the feeling of being at home. The waiter is also familiar with himself, and he introduces the layout of the inn to the two of them, which is a three-story wooden building. Lou can also ask him to tell a story.
This made Jian Xun, a clumsy-tongued person, envious.
As soon as they reached the first level, the heavy and messy sound of horse hooves suddenly came from outside the inn, and someone shouted loudly: "Southern Xinjiang is sealed off for three days to arrest and arrest, and no one without the leader of General Zhenyuan is allowed to leave southern Xinjiang without permission within three days!" "
Ning Xiuyun paused in his steps and glanced outside the inn.
The waiter noticed this and comforted him: "Don't worry, sir. There are often Xizuos sneaking in in Southern Xinjiang. They are only temporarily blocked. They will be unblocked after they are caught."
Ning Xiuyun smiled at him, "Okay, thank you for letting me know, it puts my mind at ease."
Having said that, Ning Xiuyun didn't think this matter would be revealed lightly.
The entire southern Xinjiang is sealed off. With such a large number of troops and people mobilized, there was a vague feeling that a storm was about to come.
And the specific reason is in his arms at this moment.
Jian Xun secretly asked the prince with his eyes whether he wanted to contact the Southern Xinjiang army. Ning Xiuyun shook his head.
He felt that Ning Xuan's abduction was a bit strange. Would General Zhenyuan's Mansion really allow a four-year-old child like Ning Xuan to slip out of the house easily? He was afraid that there was really a spy mixed in, and he planned to seize Ning Xuan as a bargaining chip to force Ning Chuqing.
After a brief hesitation, the sound of horse hooves outside the inn faded away.
At the same time that southern Xinjiang was blocked, a carriage stopped at the newly opened sweet water shop at the gate of Jiangcheng City. A thin young man got out of the car. He sat down in the corner and ordered a bowl of mung bean soup.
He was wearing a curtain hat, and there was a clear charm in his movements. The Jiangcheng family was almost completely wiped out, and now I am afraid no one would be able to recognize him. This was Mr. Yun, who was once famous in Jiangcheng and was rumored to be dead.
Two customers were talking in the shop.
"It is said that this boss used to work in Zui Feng Building and his skills are very good."
"Really? Zui Feng Building was closed down. It's very pitiful that the boss lost such a good way of making money."
Mr. Yun held the teacup in his hand. Shaking, the pair of peach blossom eyes under the curtain hat were full of shock.
"Master Yun" is dead and Zui Feng Tower is gone. He has only left Jiangcheng for more than a month. Jiangcheng has changed.
Jian Xun: He seems to like children, but I can't have one.
Ning Xiuyun: What is this? A human cub, so fragile. Protect it.