Chapter 207 Support

Shen An looked at him quietly, frowning slightly, "People often say that even a tiger won't eat its own cubs. The emperor treats his own son and the woman who loves you like this, won't your conscience hurt?"

The emperor's face was visibly stiff for a moment, and then returned to normal.

"The imperial edict will be issued in half an hour. Chen Tian, ​​when will you hand it over to me?"

"What I used to exchange for the imperial edict was the piece of paper in the emperor's hand. What does it have to do with Chen Tian?"

The emperor's eyes were extremely gloomy, showing signs of being furious.

"There is something Chen Tian asked me to tell the Emperor."

"He said that he was nothing more than a product of your vileness and shamelessness. He hated you and never wanted to see you again in his life."

After saying that, Shen Anan bowed, "If there is nothing else, my daughter-in-law will take her leave first. I have been out for so long, my husband must be waiting anxiously."

She turned and left the imperial study.

The emperor's anger slowly dissipated after hearing Shen Anan's last few words, and his eyes gradually became deep.

"Ye'er, he said he hates me."

That sentence is so similar to what his mother said back then! !

"Your Majesty," the eunuch asked cautiously, "The clan office is here to ask what should be done with the second prince's body?"

The emperor restrained his expression, but a trace of sadness could not be suppressed in his eyes. "Issue an order to confer the title of King of Qi on the Second Prince Xiao Ze and bury him in the imperial mausoleum."

After paving the way for Ye'er, he will personally apologize to him a hundred years later.

"The Queen of Qi and the third daughter of the Duan family will be buried beside Ze'er, and the rest of the concubines will be buried with him."

Since he liked Duan Mengmeng, he would give her the honor and let her be buried with him.

"Then...what about Concubine Duan?"

He almost destroyed the entire Second Prince's Mansion by himself. He really has amazing skills.

The emperor's eyes were filled with anger, "Didn't you say you were crazy? Then stay in the Second Prince's mansion and be crazy for the rest of your life."

Death is too easy for that woman.

He wanted to make her neither live nor die.

——

When Xiao Yuan learned that Shen Anan was taken into the palace by the eunuchs sent from the palace, he immediately rushed over.

"Fourth Prince, the Emperor has specifically instructed that you cannot enter." At the palace gate, the guards tried to stop him with bitter faces.

"Go away."

He raised his foot and kicked the guard on the leg. His cold dark eyes scared everyone away, but they dared not let him go because of the emperor's order.

"I told you to get lost."

Along with Xiao Yuan's murderous voice came the sound of a sharp sword being unsheathed.

The sharp blade was across the guard leader's neck.

"Fourth Prince, please don't embarrass me. The eunuch beside the Emperor personally issued the order, so I really don't dare to let you in."

His legs felt weak and he was about to kneel down.

Xiao Yuan's eyes were filled with murderous intent. He turned his wrist slightly and was about to cut the leader's throat.

"Xiao Yuan."

A clear female voice suddenly sounded, and the sword in his hand immediately fell to the ground.

"Why are you here?" Shen Anan glanced at the scene on the ground and immediately understood.

"How are you? Did he give you any trouble?" He looked her up and down.

"Don't worry, not even a hair is missing. It's getting late, let's go back quickly."

She pulled him away from the palace gate.

Xiao Yuan came on horseback, not in a carriage.

Shen Anan looked at the tall horse with a frown on her face. The next moment, her waist was suddenly caught and a great force carried her onto the horse's back.

She was tightly surrounded by the people behind her.

The horses moved slowly along the long palace road.

"Urgent news——"

Soldiers on fast horses rushed into the palace holding documents sealed with wax in their hands.

"what happened?"

The man just pulled the reins when he heard the question. He turned around and saw that it was Xiao Yuan. He immediately said, "There was chaos at the border. A small country in the Western Regions launched a surprise attack. General Qi was missing. There was no one to guard the city. Two cities were lost overnight!"

"How could it be?" Shen Anan frowned and looked at Xiao Yuan, "Hasn't the border always been peaceful? How could something suddenly happen?"

Qi Jinping had been guarding the area for more than ten years and everything was peaceful. Now, such a thing happened as soon as he left? It's too much of a coincidence.

Xiao Yuan patted Shen Anan's arm soothingly.

Officers and soldiers, "Then I will report to the palace first."

After saying this, he rode his horse towards the palace gate, with the urgent reports shouting in the sky.

Shen Anan urged, “Let’s go and inform my uncle and ask him to leave Beijing immediately.”

Once the emperor receives an urgent report, he will quickly trace the case back to Qi Jinping. Not only will he be able to leave, but he will also be charged with the crime of leaving his post without permission, and he might even lose his life.

Even if his position was a sinecure for more than a decade, the emperor would definitely hold him accountable if something went wrong.

Neither of them mentioned what had happened in the palace, but rushed towards the Fourth Prince's residence with all their might.

Not long after returning home, Ling Chenyi and Qi Jinping were brought here by Qing'an.

Ling Chenyi looked haggard and in a very disheveled state, as if all his energy and spirit had been drained away, without any of his former elegance and dignity.

Qi Jinping's expression remained calm, without a single extra expression, but the bruises on his face did not make him look like nothing was wrong.

Xiao Yuan sat behind the desk with a serious expression, "On the way out of the palace just now, I encountered an urgent report with an express delivery of 800 miles. There was a surprise attack in the Western Regions and something happened at the border."

Qi Jinping's expression finally changed. "Impossible."

"Why is my uncle so sure?" Shen Anan asked.

Qi Jinping frowned, "I have some friendship with the Great Prince of the Western Regions. He is not a violent person and will never start a war easily."

"What about the other princes?" Xiao Yuan asked, "Is the eldest prince you are familiar with in charge of the Western Regions now?"

"The Western Region has a tradition of establishing the eldest son as the heir. Unless there are any unexpected events, he will be the next king of the Western Region."

"What if something unexpected happens?" Ling Chenyi said coldly.

Qi Jinping was silent for a moment, "The King of the Western Regions has many sons, so fighting is inevitable."

The eldest prince's scheming was not that clever, but he was upright and honest, a rare gentleman.

But in the center of power, this is the most useless thing.

"I'll go back to the border now." He turned and walked out.

"Wait." Xiao Yuan suddenly said, "It will take a month to get back to the border from the capital. By the time you get back, the situation may be even more serious. I will write a letter to the nearby officials to stop them and buy you a few days."

"Officials from all over the country will prepare fast horses along the way to help you arrive as quickly as possible."

"Okay," Qi Jinping said and was about to leave, but he stopped at the threshold and looked back.

"Chen Yi,"

Ling Chenyi raised his eyes and looked at him.

"As for Hua Sheng's matter, if I can come back, I will apologize to you."

Ling Chenyi's eyes were full of complexity, "No need."

He was sad and angry, but after calming down, he realized that Hua Sheng's death had nothing to do with Qi Jinping.

Qi Jinping said nothing and left without looking back.

At the gate of the mansion, Lin Ye was waiting there on horseback.

"General Qi."

Qi Jinping nodded slightly, jumped on his horse and was about to leave.

"Are you going back to the border?" Lin Ye asked loudly.

"What's up?"

Lin Ye pursed his lips and said firmly, "I want to go to the border, can you take me with you?"

Qi Jinping frowned, "There's unrest at the border, what are you doing going there at this time?"

"Fight wars and defend the territory."

Become a general as useful as Qi Jinping.

Like her, he also looked forward to the next life, hoping that he could grow up to be a man like Qi Jinping.

"The border is dangerous, not as prosperous as the capital. You grew up in the capital, so I'm afraid you can't stand the hardship."

After Qi Jinping finished speaking, he rode away on his horse.

Lin Ye looked at the direction he left, gritted his teeth, and followed him.

After Qi Jinping left, Ling Chenyi also staggered away. Xiao Yuan asked Qingfeng to notify Li Huaiyan to keep an eye on Ling Chenyi, fearing that something might go wrong.

The development of the situation did not give Shen Anan any chance to feel sad and grieving over Hua Sheng's death.

"What do you think? Will there be any trouble if there is unrest at the border?"

The two stood in front of the window, and Xiao Yuan gently hugged her, "Do you suspect that this matter has something to do with the emperor?"

"It's hard to say. Don't you think this incident at the border is too coincidental?"

"Yes, there are some, but it shouldn't be him." Xiao Yuan said, "No matter how foolish he is, he won't join hands with other countries to massacre his own soldiers and civilians."

He may not be a good father or a good husband, but he takes the throne very seriously.

"I hope so."

"Master." Qingfeng's voice came from outside.

Xiao Yuan let go of Shen Anan and walked out the door.

Half a quarter of an hour later, he came back again.

"What are you doing standing there?" Shen Anan looked at his dark eyes that suddenly turned dark. "What's wrong? Why are you looking at me like that suddenly?"

He said nothing and walked slowly towards her.

Under Shen Anan's confused gaze, he hugged her tightly in his arms.

Shen Anan was strangled by him and couldn't breathe.

"What’s wrong with you?"

After a long while, he spoke hoarsely, "You have escaped death so many times in Jiangnan, and in the end, you just changed an imperial edict?"

He knew it so quickly?

Shen Anan pursed her lips and said nothing.

"An An, you feel sorry for me, you have me in your heart, right?"

Shen Anan felt a little choked in her throat, not knowing what to say.

Finally, he said, "You have supported me so many times, it is only right that I return the favor."

Xiao Yuan laughed softly.

"How could the emperor agree to your request? Did he make things difficult for you?"

"It's inevitable to face difficulties. How can marrying into the royal family be smooth sailing?" Shen Anan said calmly, "But I have the leverage over him, so he has no choice but to agree."

Xiao Yuan sighed softly, "It's my fault. I'm sorry that you've suffered."

"Well...that's not what I meant." Shen Anan touched his nose.

"But your father is indeed not a good person."

When she came back this time, she was surprised to find that the relationship between the two seemed to have become inexplicably closer. It was not the kind of physical contact, but a psychological change.

Shen Anan herself couldn't figure out what went wrong.

"Yeah, you're right." Xiao Yuan actually nodded in agreement.

“…”

"Do you know that Chen Tian's mother, the woman the emperor loves, actually has a family. She was married when she was in Jiangnan. According to my uncle, the woman was not willing to be with the emperor."

"It was also confirmed in the Imperial Study today that the Emperor must have taken Cao Rou by force, and was afraid that people would talk about him taking my wife, so he kept Cao Rou hidden and didn't dare to give her a name."

"I guessed it." Xiao Yuan said softly.

"When?" She turned to look at him.

"I have been investigating what happened back then. There are too many loopholes. I guessed it when Chen Tian's identity was exposed."

"Then is it possible that those rumors about Concubine Shu were actually spread intentionally by the Emperor in order to get rid of Lord Shen?"

"Let's not talk about that." Xiao Yuan seemed to be very concerned about what happened that year and changed the subject, "Do you still remember what you promised me when you left?"

"What?"

"You said," he held her wrist and put it to his lips, "When you come back, tell me everything in your dream. We will be honest with each other, and there will be no more secrets or barriers."

Shen Anan was stunned.

Some things and some words, after going through hardships, can now be narrated with a normal mind, but it is not easy to do so without any grudges.

"I heard that Duan Mengmeng died?"

"Yes, he was killed by Xiao Ze." Xiao Yuan said lightly, without any fluctuation in his tone.

"Duan Yingying did it?"

"right."

Duan Mengmeng's identity as the girl of destiny was the last straw for Xiao Ze who was in prison, but Duan Yingying ruthlessly pulled this straw away.

How could Xiao Ze not go crazy when he found out that it was all a scam from beginning to end?

In other words, women have the most vicious hearts, and killing someone by destroying their heart is far more cruel than killing them directly.

"I underestimated Duan Yingying's fighting ability. I never thought she was so capable."

Shen Anan exclaimed.

"Aren't you talking about us? Why mention her?"