Extra six

That night, candles were still flickering in the East Palace.

There were only a few lights on in the empty hall. A man in white was sitting at a desk. His hair was not tied up in a bun, but fell down at his sides like a waterfall. A few strands stuck to his jaw, outlining his thin, sharp features.

The man held a wolf-hair brush in his slender white wrist and lowered his eyes as he copied a passage of Buddhist scripture on rice paper. It was unknown how many times he had written it. His strokes were fluent and he never paused. The difficult Sanskrit words flowed out naturally from the tip of the brush.

The serving palace maid subconsciously slowed down her breathing. The prince had started copying after dinner and had been sitting there for nearly three or four hours. His back was still straight, his expression calm, without any sign of impatience. He looked silent and motionless, like a silently blooming white water lily.

Seeing that he had finally finished writing a page, the maid couldn't help but step forward and advise: "My Lord, you should rest early, or your body will be damaged by overwork."

Xiao Ziyu was also a little tired. He put down his pen quietly and was about to get up when he heard hurried footsteps outside the hall. The person was stopped by the eunuch guarding outside the door.

The maid stepped forward and opened the door: "Don't worry, my lord. I will go and see what's going on first."

The man was a young eunuch serving in the Golden Throne Hall. He was running out of breath at the moment. "Sister Huayuan, His Highness lost his temper in the palace again. He threw down the memorial and said...he also said he would chop off the head of the Right Prime Minister. Master sent me to ask the prince to persuade him!"

The prince's health has not improved since the spring. He is as thin as paper. His new clothes are loose and empty on him. With this body, how can he stop His Royal Highness the Crown Prince even if he goes to the Golden Palace?

Hua Yuan was thinking about her own king: "The king has gone to bed. It's late at night and the dew is heavy. If I wake him up again, what if he gets frozen?"

The young eunuch was in a dilemma. His master was an old official who served the prince. He had been by his side since the prince was young and knew the prince's temper best. If the prince could not persuade him tonight, the situation would not end well.

Just as he was feeling embarrassed, a cold voice rang out from behind the door: "Hua Yuan, prepare your cloak. I'm going to the Jinluan Palace to take a look."

"Your Majesty!" The young eunuch hurriedly bowed when he saw the man, almost kneeling down and kowtowing: "Thank you, Your Majesty, for your permission!"

Hua Yuan had no choice but to turn around and get the bright red fox fur cloak and put it on Xiao Ziyu.

The prince likes plain clothes, and most of the clothes he wears are light blue and white. This fox fur coat was custom-made by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. The fur is thick and the color is bright, especially the circle of reddish-brown fox fur at the collar, which makes his face look like jade and makes his overly pale skin look a little rosy.

Since the beginning of winter, only this one cloak has been brought into the East Palace. It must be Yuan Heng who forced him to do so.

The young eunuch came in such a hurry that he didn't even have a sedan chair ready. Xiao Ziyu followed him with one foot deep and one foot shallow. By the time he reached the Golden Throne Hall, a thin layer of sweat had already appeared on his forehead, and he could feel a faint pain as his chest rose and fell.

He pressed his chest tightly, frowned and endured the pain. The poisonous insect was about to break out in the next two days. It was moving around on the surface of the skin, and even the smooth bulges could be seen through the skin.

The young eunuch seemed to have noticed something and stopped: "Lord Wang, are you feeling unwell?"

"No problem," Xiao Ziyu breathed out, "Go and report it."

The young eunuch nodded. Before the palace gates were opened, he heard the voices of the eunuchs kneeling and begging for mercy. He said in a trembling voice, "Report! The prince is here!"

Although Shijun was a member of the harem, she was also given the title of Shangshu in the previous dynasty, in charge of documents and memorials from ministers. She had to accompany the emperor and serve him with writing when he went to and from court.

A year ago, the incident of Xiao Ziyu's assassination of the crown prince was suppressed. Yuan Heng allowed him to come and go freely in the palace, while at the same time humiliating him behind his back by labeling him a criminal. In the eyes of the old ministers of the previous dynasty, he was probably still that plaything with only a pretty face, but the voice of the right prime minister in the hall became more resolute.

Xiao Ziyu stood at the bottom of the stairs, staring at the man in the hall.

Seeing him coming, Yuan Heng's lips curled up, but his face was still gloomy, and his eyes were dark. He kicked the memorial on the ground and looked at the right prime minister who was kneeling on the ground: "My servant is here, what did you just say? Say it again."

The Right Prime Minister was old, his gray beard trembling, and he seemed to have given up. He gritted his teeth and said, "It is not right for a man to be in charge of the harem. Your Majesty, please think about the country and appoint a good woman to the throne so that there will be more offspring!"

Although he was smiling, Xiao Ziyu knew that Yuan Heng hated it most when others pointed fingers at his actions. The court officials had been shouting the slogan of abolishing the king for a long time, and they came to the emperor to see him late at night. He must have disturbed the prince's good time, which made him so unhappy.

Xiao Ziyu sighed secretly. It was definitely not the old eunuch's idea to call him here for such a matter. It was clearly the prince's personal instruction.

If the Right Prime Minister continues to be isolated, Yuan Heng might really kill him on the spot in a rage.

He walked to the right prime minister and advised, "Right prime minister, please stand up. The prince's decision is not something you and I can interfere with."

The Right Prime Minister glared at him from bottom to top. He was obviously a man, but he wore such gorgeous and dazzling clothes. How could he not be a foxy womanizer who brought disaster to the country?

He spat, and said sarcastically, "A real man should either serve as an official in the court or as a general in the frontier. If you only know how to be good in bed, what else can you do but seduce your master?"

Not far away, Yuan Heng had a smile on his face, as if he was trying to embarrass him. Ever since he knew that Xiao Ziyu approached him for a mission, he would humiliate him like this from time to time. Seeing him have to bear the name of Wang Jun and be stabbed in the back by others, he seemed to feel particularly happy.

Xiao Ziyu had seen through his intentions long ago, but the Right Prime Minister was a good minister of two dynasties. He spoke bluntly, but he was also well versed in the way of assisting. He didn't want to cause discord between the emperor and his subjects, so he simply agreed to the plan: "Your Highness has been reluctant to marry a beautiful girl, and it was all my fault. Is the Right Prime Minister satisfied?"

Under the flickering candlelight, the smile on Yuan Heng's face seemed to deepen.

The right prime minister widened his eyes in shock, obviously not expecting that he would not even bother to cover up, and trembled, "You, you..."

"My dear minister, you have heard it too," Yuan Heng walked down with a smile and stood beside Xiao Ziyu, "It's not that I don't want to be the emperor, but the East Palace already has a master who is arrogant and domineering. If a good girl from a good family comes in, I'm afraid she won't be able to defeat him."

Xiao Ziyu remained silent, his face calm and composed, without even a trace of fluctuation.

In the end, the Right Prime Minister was helped away tremblingly. The farce was over. Xiao Ziyu had no intention of getting entangled. He bowed politely and left coldly, saying, "If there is nothing else, I will..."

Unexpectedly, as soon as the palace gate was closed, Yuan Heng ignored all propriety and stepped forward to clamp his wrist directly: "Did I say you can leave?"

Xiao Ziyu's expression remained unchanged, and he let him hold on, even though Yuan Heng's strength was so great that it seemed like he wanted to cut off his wrist: "Your Highness, do you have any other instructions?"

Yuan Heng smiled lightly, but his eyes were filled with sarcasm: "As the master of the East Palace, you should naturally do your loyal thing to the emperor."

If this doesn’t work, there’s still time to run away!