A guard reported in a solemn voice: "Your Highness, the eldest lady of the Yuan family is here."

There was silence in the room for a moment before a low voice came: "Please come in."

The guard then stretched out his hand to lift the curtain for Yuan Jianing and said respectfully: "Miss Yuan, please come in."

Jin Xin and Jin Ying also wanted to follow in, but were stopped by the guards with their hands.

Jin Xin called out worriedly: "Miss?"

Yuan Jianing looked back at the two of them, shook his head and said, "I'm fine, just wait here."

Yuan Jianing understood that His Highness the Crown Prince was no longer what he used to be. He had a distinguished status and no one else could be in the same room with him.

After Yuan Jianing stepped into the house, the guard immediately lowered the curtain, and the inside and outside of the house were suddenly separated into two worlds.

The room was silent, except for the pale color. There was a cypress coffin parked in the middle of the hall, and a young man was kneeling on the straw mat next to the coffin.

His Royal Highness, who is just fifteen years old this year, is about the same age as Yuan Jianing. He is still a slender boy. The youthfulness on his face has not completely faded away, and there is still pain in the gloominess of his eyebrows that young people cannot hide.

Xuan Yuan wore a blue satin robe. The satin was plain and without any patterns. This was probably the simplest clothes he could find.

Due to his status, he could not publicly pay homage to his biological mother, let alone mourn her at the funeral. Secretly coming to worship his biological mother was probably the limit of what he could do. No matter how much he did, he would be interfered by Xuan Yu.

When Yuan Jianing came in, Xuan Yuan raised his head, and their eyes met. The calm and humble young man in Yuan Jianing's impression was gone. She was surprised to see the young man in front of her with a cold face, cold eyes, and even a bloodthirsty light of a wounded beast. This made her heart tremble slightly.

The palace is indeed a place where human nature is twisted. How could her originally elegant and upright brother Yuan Lang be twisted into this state in just two years?

But looking at Xuan Yuan's face that was slightly blue from the cold, Yuan Jianing finally couldn't bear to step forward, put the coat in his hands on his back, and said softly: "Your Highness, it's late at night, you'd better go back."

Not to mention whether it was etiquette for Xuan Yuan to go out of the palace privately to worship his biological mother. According to the rules, the prince was not allowed to stay outside without any reason.Although Xuan Yuan's reason for sacrificing his mother was very reasonable, it could not be explained publicly to outsiders. Moreover, there were officials from the East Palace where the prince lived. They were always watching the prince's words and deeds and could not tolerate any mistakes from him.

However, Xuan Yuan kept his head lowered and did not reply. Just when Yuan Jianing was about to continue persuading, her hand was suddenly grabbed by someone. In her exclamation, she was hugged tightly and staggered to kneel in front of Xuan Yuan. Xuan Yuan's hand tightly strangled her back.

"Miss? Miss?" Hearing her exclamation, Jin Xin, who was guarding the door, hurriedly rushed in, but was stopped by the guard with one hand.

"Yuan Lang." The young man buried in Yuan Jianing's shoulder said dullly.

"What?" Yuan Jianing was puzzled.

"Call me Yuan Lang."

"Ah?" Yuan Jianing was a little confused and said, "You are the prince now, how can I still call you Yuan Lang? That would be too disrespectful and would cause trouble."

"Call me Yuan Lang!" The young man whispered hoarsely: "Please, Sister Ning."

Yuan Jianing felt his unspeakable loneliness and sadness, as well as the depression and despair brought about by that embarrassing status. She couldn't help but reached out and touched his head, just like she did when she was a child, and said, "Brother, you are now of noble status. Stop being stubborn and be more open-minded."

Yuan Jianing originally had three younger brothers, Yuan Lang, Yuan Jiayan, and Yuan Jiaheng. She usually liked to follow her elders and call them eldest brother, second brother, and third brother. She liked the sense of intimacy brought by this title.

It's just that from now on, there will no longer be a "big brother" in her impression, right?

"Call me Yuan Lang." His Highness the Crown Prince still stubbornly requested.

Yuan Jianing smiled helplessly. He had been like this since he was a child. Although he looked elegant and looked like a little adult, he would never change what he believed in. He was so stubborn that it gave people a headache.

"Yuan Lang." She called him softly.

Chapter 1(2)

Xuan Yuan hugged Yuan Jianing's hand tightly for a moment, and then he hugged him even tighter, like a drowning man hugging the last piece of driftwood that can save his life, never wanting to let go, and unable to let go.

She is his only salvation at the moment. If he lets her go, that cruel and cold despair will probably completely destroy him, right?

No one knows what Yuan Jianing's appearance at this time means to Xuan Yuan.

When he had just been made a prince, and when he was surrounded by the noise of congratulations, no matter how calm and humble he was, the fifteen-year-old boy could not help but feel a little carried away by the compliments. However, at this moment, he suddenly received the news that his biological mother had passed away. This news was like a bolt from the blue, shattering his dream of vanity. He fell from the sky into hell. He instantly understood why his biological mother died suddenly - this was the price for his becoming the prince!

If the world knew that the prince's biological mother was the minister's concubine, and that he was the illegitimate son of the emperor and the minister's concubine, could the prince's status be preserved?Not to mention the guarantee, whether the crown prince can be established is still a question.

Xuan Yu would not allow the prince he appointed to have an embarrassing biological mother, let alone let his parentage become a scandal, so Aunt Ye must die.

If Xuan Yuan was just an ordinary prince, perhaps Xuan Yu would have allowed Aunt Ye to survive, but once it was established that Xuan Yuan was his heir, then Aunt Ye would have no way to survive.

Yuan Xiuzhi also saw this very clearly, so he did not stop it.

As long as Xuan Yu establishes Xuanyuan as the crown prince, then executing Aunt Ye must be done. Otherwise, the status of the crown prince will be unstable and there will be more troubles in the future.

Xuan Yuan knelt in front of Aunt Ye's coffin and understood more clearly than ever what "no family affection in the royal family" meant.

It was freezing cold, but his heart was even colder.

He was more confused than ever.

Is his future destined to be the path of a ruthless emperor?His first step to becoming a prince was in exchange for his biological mother's life. So if he were to formally ascend the throne as emperor in the future, how much more blood and lives would he need to sacrifice?

Just when he was immersed in his strange and cruel thoughts, Yuan Jianing suddenly came, with her usual tenderness and considerateness, which was a tenderness that made him more attached and indulgent than his biological mother.

The girl who was only half a month older than him, but who had loved to consider herself an elder sister since she was a child, had brought him so much warmth and beauty since he was a child. If there was only one thing in Yuan Mansion that he couldn't let go of, it was Yuan Jianing, right?

The fifteen-year-old boy is standing at the most dangerous fork in the road in his life. If he goes forward, he may go to heaven or to hell.The young man's emotional impulse is greater than his reason. If Yuan Jianing's arrival had not awakened his reason, perhaps the dark obsession would have stayed deep in his heart from then on, waiting to destroy him one day.

But at this moment, he was holding Yuan Jianing in his arms, feeling the girl's unique softness and fragrance. His cold and twisted heart finally had a trace of human warmth.

The room fell silent again, except for the howling wind outside.

"Call me Yuan Lang," he murmured after a long time, "I am willing to be your brother forever."

He is the prince now, and he will be the emperor in the future, but in his heart, only Yuan Jianing is his only relative. He will protect her as a younger brother for the rest of his life, not allowing her to be bullied by anyone, and protecting her peace and happiness throughout her life.

Three days later.

Yuan Jianing was sitting on the beauty couch under the flower window doing needlework. Two braziers were burning under the couch, making the room warm.

It's no longer snowing outside, but when the snow melts, the weather is even colder. People usually don't go out and hide in their houses.

Yuan Jianing was sewing a plain white cotton undershirt for Yuan Lang. This was Yuan Lang's request that night. He couldn't openly observe filial piety for his biological mother, so he wanted to wear the filial piety clothes inside.Fortunately, Yuan Jianing has started making clothes for her younger brothers and sisters since she learned to be a female celebrity. Such simple needlework is not difficult for her.

She could understand why Yuan Lang didn't want people from the Palace Clothing Bureau to make underwear for him. After all, the less people knew about his privacy, the better.

However, Yuan Jianing is still a little troubled. After all, Yuan Lang is no longer her brother. His name is Xuan Yuan, and he is the noble prince who is inferior to one person and superior to ten thousand people. Is it really not a problem for her to make underwear for him?