Blood splattered onto the paper.
Drop by drop, drop by drop, blood splattered onto the paper. When Wang Chong lowered his head to take a look, he realized that because he had used too much force, the brush had stabbed into his palm, causing blood to gush out. However, Wang Chong didn't feel the slightest pain, as if the brush had stabbed into someone else's palm instead of his.
Blood dripped onto the paper. Looking at the words' First worry about the world, then delight in the world ', Wang Chong felt a stabbing pain in his heart. It wasn't from his palm, but from his heart.
Wang Chong had always thought that he had forgotten about it, that he had learned to be indifferent to it. However, when he saw the two lines of words and felt the throbbing pain in his heart, Wang Chong realized that the pain hadn't disappeared. Instead, it had been hidden even deeper.
Slowly retracting his palm, he wiped away the bloodstains, applied medicine, and bandaged his wound. Then, he switched to another brush and continued writing. It was as if nothing had happened at all.
…
Days passed, and in the blink of an eye, there was only half a month left until Wang Chong's imprisonment.
Wang Chong's second brother, Wang Bei, and little sister, Wang Xiao Yao, had also returned from the borders. This made the Wang Clan more or less joyous, and the gloomy clouds that had shrouded the residence also disappeared.
"Come, come, come, let's eat!"
Night fell, and lanterns were hung high in the Wang Clan's residence. The atmosphere was joyous, and everyone was gathered together. In the main hall, there was a long dining table, and it was covered with all kinds of delicacies. Under the bright red lanterns, everyone's faces were full of smiles.
Only when the Wang Clan ate was they at their most joyous and joyous, a time when they completely forgot about everything else.
"Come, let's get started!"
Wang Chong's mother sat at the head of the table, a smile on her face. Further down, on the left was Wang Chong, on the right was his second brother, Wang Bei, and at the end of the table was Wang Chong's little sister, Wang Xiao Yao. The others sat in order.
"I want to eat this!"
"And this!"
"And this!"
…
Wang Xiao Yao sat at the very bottom. The two specially made long chopsticks in her hands extended and kept moving on the table. He put all the most delicious dishes into his bowl. The dishes in her bowl were piled higher than the rice, and her mouth was stuffed to the brim.
"Alright, I won't forget about you!"
Madam Wang did not know whether to laugh or cry. The crowd burst into laughter. Compared to the others, Wang Chong's little sister, Wang Xiao Yao, always lived the most relaxed, the happiest, and the most carefree. She didn't have so many worries and was the easiest to satisfy. Ever since she was young, her hobby had never changed.
That was eating.
Seeing that everyone was putting food into her bowl, Wang Xiao Yao opened her stomach and ate with big mouthfuls. Even his little head was blocked by the bowl, so he couldn't see clearly.
With Wang Xiao Yao around, dinner would never be boring. Everyone sat together in a circle, enjoying themselves.
"Aiya, what's going on? Why isn't my favorite drumstick salted? "
Suddenly, Wang Xiaoyao picked up a drumstick and pouted. She frowned and looked very unhappy.
"Little Sister, don't be mischievous. There's salt!"
A voice came from Wang Chong, who was sitting at the head of the table, looking at his little sister and chuckling. As he spoke, he picked up a chicken bone and put it into the bowl used to collect the leftovers. His little sister's mischievous personality hadn't changed at all. He had already eaten one and didn't think there was anything wrong with it.
Moreover, the chefs of the residence were all renowned chefs of the capital, so there was no way they wouldn't add salt. His little sister was just messing around.
"No salt, no salt, there's no salt!"
Wang Xiao Yao shouted angrily. As she spoke, she angrily threw the chopsticks in her hand onto the table.
"Xiao Yao, don't mess around!"
At the table, Wang Chong's mother immediately hardened her face at this sight. On the side, Wang Chong's second brother, Wang Bei, also unhappily frowned. Unlike Wang Chong and his mother, Wang Bei's cold eyes were far more lethal.
"If you're not going to eat, then leave!"
"You don't believe me! I'm not messing around, there's just no salt! If you don't believe me, you can try it for yourselves! "
Wang Xiao Yao furrowed her brow and angrily glared at the crowd, showing no intention of backing down.
"Is that so? Young Miss, let me try. "
Seeing that their young miss was angry, Su Shixuan, Xu Keyi, and the others also took out their chopsticks and picked up a piece of chicken leg in order to alleviate the tension. This chicken leg had always been Wang Xiao Yao's favorite, and everyone had always let her have it, not touching it at all. At a time like this, she naturally had to try it.
But this one bite caused Su Shixuan, Xu Keyi, and the others to frown.
"What's wrong? Can none of you taste the salt?"
Wang Chong shook his head and chuckled.
When his little sister was messing around, Su Shixuan and Xu Keyi would sometimes accompany her to do so in order to curry favor with the little prince. Who told her to be the youngest?
"It … it seems like there's no salt …"
Su Shixuan and Xu Keyi looked hesitantly at Wang Chong.
"Nonsense!"
Wang Chong shook his head, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.
One, two, three … Seeing that the situation wasn't right, more and more people reached out their chopsticks to pick up the chicken leg. At this moment, footsteps came from outside. Under the astonished gazes of the crowd, the chef in charge of the Wang Clan's food and drink hurriedly walked in with a spatula in hand.
"Madam, Second Young Master, Third Young Master, I truly apologize. Just now, when I was copying the dishes, something went wrong. That bowl of Young Miss's favorite Dongting chicken leg was brought out by the servants without any salt added. I'll go back to the pot! Madam, I truly apologize! "
As the old chef spoke, he took the bowl of chicken leg from the table and hurriedly left.
"Buzz!"
For a moment, the entire hall was deathly still, everyone staring at Wang Chong, the mood frozen. All of them had tasted that bowl of chicken leg. It truly was tasteless, and because it hadn't been in the pot long enough, it still tasted a bit raw.
However, Wang Chong didn't seem to be able to taste it at all.
At that moment, everyone's expressions were complicated and their eyes were filled with deep worry. It had been some time since the incident. Everyone thought that Wang Chong had recovered and had forgotten about what had happened in court. Usually, he and Xiao Yao seemed to be chatting and laughing, as if he was fine.
But at this moment, everyone suddenly realized that everything was different from what they had imagined.
Wang Chong had never forgotten about it.
The air was deathly silent. Looking at everyone's worried gazes, Wang Chong suddenly understood something, and the smile on his face slowly faded. He had been trying his best to hide it, but he hadn't expected to be exposed in this manner.
"Mother, I'm going out for a walk!"
Wang Chong stood up, put down his chopsticks, and didn't explain anything. Then, he avoided everyone's gazes and calmly walked out. Behind him, Wang Xiao Yao shouted, "I said there was no salt, but you didn't believe me!" and "None of you believed me!" As he walked out of the room, a gust of wind blew in his face, and Wang Chong suddenly felt cold.
There were some things that he thought he had forgotten. He could deceive others, but he couldn't deceive himself. The mask he wore on his face would one day be inadvertently removed, and then the weakest corner would be revealed.
Wang Chong didn't want everyone to worry, and he didn't want them to worry about him.
It was just that there were some things that he couldn't let go of!
He couldn't understand, and he was lost. In the darkness of the night, he didn't know where he should go!
"Madam, we found this in Young Master's room."
Not long after Wang Chong left, a servant girl suddenly came forward and opened her palm. In her palm, apart from a blood-stained bandage, there was also a vermillion brush that had been broken in two. Seeing the bandage and brush, Wang Chong's mother's face suddenly paled.
"Mother, I'll go find him!"
Wang Chong's second brother, Wang Bei, suddenly stood up and said.
"There's no need. Let him be alone for a while."
Wang Chong's mother shook her head, her eyes dim. Wang Chong had already fainted twice, and no one could resolve the knot in his heart. In this period of time, they could only try their best not to provoke him. In the residence, they wouldn't talk about anything related to the court. Just like the imperial physician had said, this child's heart could only be resolved by himself.
… …
In the quiet night, Wang Chong walked alone in the residence. He intentionally circled around the place where his mother and the others were, and walked through the most remote plum blossom forest, the long corridors, and the fake mountains. He circled around again and again, but the pain in his heart didn't ease in the slightest. Instead, it became more and more stifling.
Clang!
Suddenly, the sound of the night watchman came from outside the walls. Wang Chong stopped, and he could faintly hear footsteps coming toward the Wang Family Residence. In the capital, there would be people announcing the time in every place late at night. Every time there was a night watch, there would usually be two people walking together.
"… The Wang Family Residence is up ahead!"
The voices of two night watchmen attracted Wang Chong's attention.
"Isn't that the King of Foreign Lands?"
"Haaa! You're new here, so don't say too much. "
One of the night watchmen had barely said two words when he was interrupted by the other. The two of them continued to make the night watchmen, gradually vanishing into the darkness. Wang Chong stood there in a daze. When he came back to his senses, he realized that he was standing in front of a tall courtyard wall.
This wall was like a mountain, standing in front of him and pressing down on his heart. At that moment, Wang Chong suddenly felt an intense urge to go out and take a walk. Whoosh! With a light push, Wang Chong floated down to the wall like a leaf.
Standing on the high wall, he could see the endless darkness, only the flickering of countless lanterns. At that moment, that familiar feeling once more surged into his heart. He was like a lone boat drifting in the boundless ocean, lost in the dark night, and had absolutely no idea where he should go.
Wang Chong turned his head and saw that the two night watchmen were already getting farther and farther away. With a long sigh, Wang Chong jumped off the wall and headed in the opposite direction of the other two.
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