Chapter 150: Mutual Appreciation
When Master Shangguan saw his second brother sitting down and met his calm eyes, he stammered and wanted to say something, but then stopped and just looked at him with a smile.
After Mengxi sat down, she wanted to ask about what had happened since the two of them parted. She looked up at Shangguan's smiling eyes, and her heart was flustered. She was speechless. After a long silence, Shangguan nodded to Mengxi and said:
"I hope you are well, my second brother. I haven't seen you for a few months. You have lost a lot of weight. I thought you had no hope of surviving this time. Fortunately, you came back in time. Thank you very much."
"You and I are brothers. Ever since I last met you, I have always considered you my confidant. Your words are a little too polite."
"It has been more than a few months since we last saw each other. I have been worried about you and have sent people to search all over Da Qi to find you, but I have never found you. If it weren't for Yichun Hall and the frequent correspondence between you and me, I would have really thought that you were not from Da Qi. This time when you come back, you must stay in Pingyang for a while. When you recover, I am willing to travel with you. What do you think?"
After hearing Shangguan's words, Mengxi recalled his care for Yichuntang in the past few months, and felt ashamed. She said:
"Hearing what you said, I feel really ashamed. I have no virtue or ability to deserve your concern. Thank you for your care for Yichuntang. It's just that your illness was sudden, and I rushed back in a hurry. There are still many things to deal with. After I finish, I will definitely come back to Pingyang to see you. You and I will travel all over the mountains and rivers of Daqi together."
Shangguan heard this, a hint of disappointment flashed across his eyes, but he soon regained his smile and said:
"Okay, I will wait for you in Pingyang. I hope you won't keep me waiting too long."
Hearing Shangguan say this, Mengxi smiled and said:
"No, in one month at least, or two months at most, I will definitely come back to look for you, big brother!"
Shangguan listened, a gleam of light flashed in his eyes, nodded, pondered for a moment, and said with a smile:
"My second brother is the best in the world in medical skills and medicine, unrivaled in the Great Qi, and can be called the God of Medicine of the time. I am so lucky to be able to be sworn brothers with him in this life. It is a pity that such a genius as yours has ended up in the wilderness. I think that at a time when the Great Qi is in need of people, your second brother is not as good as..."
"Brother, I have been weak since I was young, and I am always afraid of straining my mind and body, so I am really not up to the task."
When Mengxi heard Shangguan urging her to go into politics again, she quickly stopped him from speaking, not wanting to hurt their friendship because of their different ambitions.
Shangguan felt a chill in his heart when he saw his second brother's resolute attitude. He stared at him blankly for a long time without saying a word.
Mengxi saw this and couldn't help but sigh in his heart. After thinking for a while , he asked;
"The poison that Big Brother was poisoned with this time is rare even in the Western Regions. The person who poisoned him must be no ordinary person. I wonder how Big Brother could have provoked such a powerful enemy?"
Shangguan's expression was shocked, and a trace of cold hatred flashed in his eyes, but he regained his calm in an instant. He just looked at Mengxi for a long time without saying a word.
Mengxi saw this and thought to herself, my elder brother must have some unspeakable secrets since he was bewitched by someone. It was really a bit abrupt for me to ask this question. Just when she was about to speak, she heard Shangguan hesitantly say:
"Second brother, um, um, the last time I met you, I had something to hide from you. Today you brought it up, and I don't want to lie to you again."
After hearing Shangguan's words, Mengxi gently stroked the strings of the zither with her bare hands. She said nothing, but just looked at Shangguan calmly.
"My second brother, my surname is Shangguan, my courtesy name is Honghui, and I am the crown prince of the current dynasty. The last time I saw you, I was not able to tell you the truth because of something else. Later, I could not find you, so it was inconvenient to write to you. I have been hiding the truth until now. I hope you can forgive me."
After Shangguan finished speaking, he looked at Mengxi with forced calmness.
With a "clang" sound, the strings of the zither were plucked unintentionally by Mengxi, making a crisp sound, like a warning thunder, trembling through Mengxi's heart. Mengxi only felt a "wang" sound, and tinnitus for a long time, and could no longer speak. The two people just stared at each other silently, as if they had experienced several reincarnations like this.
No way, there is only one prince in the world of Da Qi with billions of people. She won the jackpot with just a light touch. A feeling of tiredness and a slight chill came from the bottom of her heart, making Mengxi want to leave here as soon as possible.
Finally, Mengxi stood up, walked in front of the prince, lifted his clothes and knelt down: "I didn't know that Your Majesty was here, please forgive my disrespect."
Zhiqiu was so scared that he knelt down as well.
The prince forcibly lifted up his second brother. He looked at the alienation that flashed across his second brother's eyes. It was as if there was a kind of sadness that he could not see. A trace of pain ran through his heart. He grasped her hand tightly and called out in pain:
"Second brother, we are brothers in life and death. You are my second brother and my only confidant."
When Mengxi heard the prince's slightly hoarse voice, her heart suddenly became clear. She blamed herself for being too narrow-minded and lacking in generosity. It was hard to find a true friend, so why should she be too harsh on him? Thinking of this, although she still felt sad in her heart, the smile on her face returned:
"Okay, okay, big brother, I will only regard you as my big brother."
Upon seeing this, the prince finally let go of his worry and laughed heartily.
"Ha! Ha! Ha! Good! Good! This is my good brother. Qingqing Ziyin, my heart is filled with longing. In this life, we don't care about power or status. You and I are just good brothers who are loyal to each other. Let's go back. Today, you and I, brothers, will talk by candlelight and sleep side by side."
Zhiqiu opened her eyes wide in shock. The prince wanted to sleep with her second wife? She hurried forward and said:
"Second Master, you can't..."
Mengxi thought Zhiqiu was making a fuss, so she glanced at her, pulled her hand out of the prince's, leaned forward and said:
"Brother, you have just recovered from a serious illness. You should rest now. How can you do anything that will make you upset? Besides, I heard that you were ill, so I rushed back. There are still many things that have not been dealt with in the pharmacy. Brother, we have a long way to go. I will say goodbye to you today. When we meet again, I will definitely talk to you."
The pair of slender and weak hands suddenly left his grasp, which made the prince feel a little disappointed. After hearing this, looking at his second brother's pale face, he remembered that he had just vomited blood to save him, so he no longer insisted and nodded and said:
"My second brother is right. I must stay longer in Pingyang this time. I will visit you in person someday."
Just as he was about to raise his leg, Meng Xi suddenly remembered something and turned around to ask:
"My eldest brother is the crown prince. Is the young master Li that I met today one of the four young masters of Pingyang, Li Zan, who is famous for his writing?"
"That's right. Brother Zan has long admired my talent and has wanted to make friends with me. It's just that my whereabouts are so erratic that we can't meet him. Brother Zan is waiting in the house with Doctor Li. Let's go, my brother, let's go back first."
Hearing Zhiqiu's inhalation beside him, Mengxi smiled and said to the prince:
"I have read Mr. Li's articles, which are very elegant. He always points out the current problems and makes a lot of sense. Today I have read them, and I think they are really like his writing."
The prince was in a good mood when he heard Mengxi's high evaluation of Li Zan.
"What you said is exactly what I want. It is true that people of similarity have always valued each other. Let's go back and talk to Master Li."
