Chapter 229: Madness

She leaned on his shoulder, feeling a sense of security and peace she had never felt before.

After a while, Commander Zhao came out of the cave with a complicated expression, escorting a wounded man in black.

When Shen Anan saw that person, her eyes suddenly froze. Xiao Yuan felt her change and raised his hand to gently stroke her back.

He glared at Lord Li with cold eyes, and even without saying a word, it was enough to scare everyone.

"Master." Qing An stepped forward to report, "We found a lot of bodies in that cave. They were all officials from the Ministry of War."

"Lord Li." Xiao Yuan's eyes were cold and fierce. "You are destroying your bridges after crossing the river. You know what the charges are for poisoning an official of the imperial court and assassinating the emperor."

"I didn't kill those people. I want to see the emperor. I want to see the emperor." He struggled and shouted.

As for the other accomplice, his face turned pale when he saw Xiao Yuan coming back. He knew that he was probably doomed today.

Qing An kicked Lord Li in the knee with a whip kick, forcing him to kneel on the ground. "The evidence is irrefutable. Lord Li, do you still want to quibble?"

"I want to see the emperor. I want to see the emperor."

Xiao Yuan snorted and smiled coldly, "Don't worry, I will take you to see the emperor in a while."

Lord Li's eyes were red, his right arm hung limply at his side, and he stared at Xiao Yuan and Shen Anan in his arms with fear and resentment.

Shen Anan came here just to deal with him and avenge her seriously injured elder brother, but now that Xiao Yuan is back, she doesn't have to worry about it anymore.

She didn't even glance at Lord Li, but looked at Commander Zhao.

"Commander Zhao and the brothers of the Imperial Guards should have seen everything that happened today, as well as the scene in the cave. Such traitors must not be tolerated. When we appear before the Emperor later, I hope you will answer truthfully."

Commander Zhao's face looked uglier than if he had swallowed a fly, and he felt very disappointed in his heart.

He may not believe what the previous person said, but Lord Li is the emperor's confidant.

He has reacted now and can't help but suspect that today's assassination was really planned by the emperor. Wouldn't that mean he would become a knife in the hands of the Fourth Prince and his wife?

Help them get rid of the emperor's confidants?

Thinking about having to testify in front of the emperor, Commander Zhao's legs began to tremble and cold sweat ran down his back.

No wonder Concubine Liang didn't let him come, no wonder the Fourth Prince's wife followed him and instigated him to take action. It turned out that he was the grasshopper in it, self-righteous.

Commander Zhao wanted to die at this moment, "This...this...maybe there is some misunderstanding..."

"Could it be that Commander Zhao and Lord Li are in the same group? Someone, come here—" Xiao Yuan's voice became stern, and Qing'an and others immediately drew out their swords.

"No, no." Commander Zhao waved his hands quickly and dared not say a word for Lord Li.

"If not, then go back."

He came with full confidence, but returned in defeat. Commander Zhao hung his head, as if his mother had died. He felt like he was walking in the dead of winter, with no place warm.

There was a rough and difficult road down the mountain, so Xiao Yuan directly picked up Shen Anan by the waist.

"I can do it myself."

"Be obedient, don't move, and have a good sleep."

With so many people watching, Shen Anan couldn't refuse anymore, her face was burning.

Everyone slowed down the rest of the way, and it took more than an hour to reach the foot of the mountain, which should have taken two or three quarters of an hour.

"Take them to the Emperor first, I'll be there soon."

Qing'an immediately agreed, personally looked after Commander Zhao, and headed towards the emperor's tent.

Xiao Yuan, led by a little palace maid, carried Shen Anan, who had fallen asleep at some point, to her tent.

"Aunt...Uncle." Mo Xiang was dazed, then reacted and lifted the curtain in surprise.

Xiao Yuan carefully placed her on the bed and covered her with a brocade quilt. His rough fingertips stroked across her obviously thin, porcelain-white face, his eyes full of tenderness.

"My dear, you are finally back. You have no idea how difficult the life of the prince's wife has been these days. She has been worried all day long and dared not sleep well. Especially after coming to Lingshan, she was bullied by Concubine Liang."

Anyway, no matter whether Shen Anan was bullied or not, Mo Xiang kept complaining.

With every word she spoke, Xiao Yuan's expression grew colder.

He lowered his head, kissed the woman's smooth forehead, and said softly, "An An, I'm sorry for putting you through this."

As soon as he finished speaking, he met the woman's sleepy eyes, which were lazy and slack, a kind of laxity that Mo Xiang had not seen in these days.

"Lord Li, you tortured my elder brother." She must avenge this.

"Yeah." Xiao Yuan rubbed her head. "You can sleep peacefully. I'll let Qing'an watch over you. I'll take care of the others. I'll take care of them."

There was a sudden chill in his eyes.

"Everything today was planned by the emperor. You must be careful."

"Okay," Xiao Yuan held her hand to his lips, and rubbed it for a while before reluctantly letting go.

——

In the dragon tent, the emperor had already woken up and was sitting on the throne with a pale face. His expression was extremely calm, but it made everyone present terrified.

It seemed like a sign before a storm.

Ling Chenyi turned his head and looked towards the door again, extremely anxious.

The people have come back, haven’t they? Why haven’t they come yet? At such an important moment, why don’t you strike while the iron is hot and kill a few of them? What are you waiting for?

"Sir," the servant whispered in his ear, "It is said that the Fourth Prince and his wife are in the tent. It is said that the Fourth Prince's wife is sleepy, and the Fourth Prince is trying to coax her to sleep."

"..." Ling Chenyi's face turned red, and he tried hard not to lose his temper.

The only sounds in the tent were Liangpin's low cries of pain and her voice, "Your Majesty, I was murdered by someone. You must help me."

She was already talking till her mouth was dry, but no one paid any attention to her. General Zheng standing beside her was looking at her with a look of pity.

It's really pitiful. A good person was frightened to the point of going crazy and could only repeat one sentence.

Every time Concubine Liang was stared at with that look, she felt like vomiting. This is not the only sentence she can say, but she can't say anything else! !

The emperor looked at the witness Commander Zhao who was huddled in a corner. Veins popped out of his forehead. He coughed heavily and said, "What do you mean by not saying anything? What's going on? Why don't you tell me now?"

Commander Zhao shuddered and looked up secretly, but no one dared to speak.

"Commander Zhao, what's going on?"

“…”

He read the sinister murderous intent in the emperor's narrowed eyes.

He was so frightened that his whole body went cold. "I...I was ordered to guard the foot of the mountain, but I didn't find anything unusual."

He saw with his own eyes that Qingfeng led his men towards the foot of the mountain, but they searched the entire foot of the mountain but could not find anyone.

The emperor looked at him as if he were a piece of trash, "I am asking you, what is going on with Lord Li?"

"It's... it's a misunderstanding... right?"

Lord Li standing by let out a long sigh of relief, and the emperor's expression also eased a little.

"Misunderstanding? Commander Zhao is in charge of so many officials' bodies, and Lord Li shot an arrow at the Fourth Prince's wife, so this is a misunderstanding?"

The cold voice made Commander Zhao shiver again, and he closed his eyes resignedly.

"Father." Xiao Yuan walked in and bowed to the emperor, staring at Commander Zhao with a deep and cold gaze.

The emperor looked at him, a complex expression flashing across his eyes, "When did you come back? I didn't even hear the news?"

"I just arrived in the capital this morning. I heard that my princess came to Lingshan to hunt, so I hurried here without reporting to my father. But what I didn't expect to see was that Lord Li shot an arrow at my princess!"

"If I hadn't arrived in time, my princess would have died from Lord Li's arrow. I want Lord Li to give me an explanation for this matter!"

The emperor's eyes were cold, and Xiao Yuan didn't give in at all.

Both father and son knew that what Xiao Yuan wanted to explain was not only from Lord Li, but also from him, the emperor.

"Your Majesty was attacked by an assassin, but Lord Li appeared in Lingshan in black. There are also corpses of military officials in the cave. The evidence is irrefutable. Please judge your majesty impartially."

“…”

"Father, this matter is of great importance. If it gets out, it will damage the power of the dragon. Please issue an order immediately to severely punish Lord Li."

Xiao Yuan's aggressiveness made the emperor look extremely ugly.

"Master Li, what do you want to say?"

Lord Li looked ashen, knowing that the emperor was going to give up on him. He took a deep look at Concubine Liang beside him, shook his head and said, "I...will obey the emperor's orders."

The other man's pupils instantly dilated when he heard this, "Your Majesty, please save us. I have old and young people at home. I cannot die."

"Shut up, stop talking." Lord Li scolded in a low voice, but facing life and death, how could the man think so much.

Not only those involved in the incident were present, but also many important officials in the court. After hearing this, they all looked at the emperor with suspicion.

Lord Li saw the emperor's changed expression and said hurriedly, "It was me. I was blinded by greed because the emperor reprimanded me a few days ago. I held a grudge and assassinated the emperor. I also instigated those military officials. I was afraid that they would betray us, so I killed them cruelly. It was all my fault. I admit it."

"You're crazy." The man was dumbfounded and roared, "We will die."

Lord Li closed his eyes in despair, tugged at the man's sleeve, and spoke in a voice that only the two of them could hear.

"Think about your two-year-old daughter. Will she die alone, or will the whole family die?"

“……”The man was suddenly speechless, biting his lips tightly, and tears flowed out like a spring.

The veins on the emperor's hands, which were gripping the armrests of the chair, were bulging and his face was tense.

But even so, the ministers still remained skeptical about Lord Li's words. After all, his motives were too untenable, and there was also Concubine Liang, who could be considered the emperor's confidant.

If there was anyone who could protect someone with his life and property and take the blame, it could only be the emperor.

After realizing this, the looks of the ministers present became complicated and serious, and they began to ponder the emperor's intention of this self-torture tactic.

But Xiao Yuan didn't care about that. An An said that she just wanted Lord Li to die.

The evidence was irrefutable and had been witnessed by so many imperial guards, so the matter could no longer be covered up, and the emperor had no choice but to issue an order.

"Come here, take these two away and behead them immediately. The males of their clan will be exiled and the females will be enslaved."

For assassinating the emperor and killing a court official, such punishment is considered extremely light.

Lord Li kowtowed in despair and thanked the emperor, hoping that after his death, the emperor would remember his loyalty and treat his descendants well.

Don't be afraid of exile, there is still a chance to rise again.

The other person also stopped talking. He knew he was doomed and was afraid that the emperor would change his mind and implicate his family.

Commander Zhao watched the two men being pressed down and swallowed hard. He instinctively felt that his fate would be even more miserable than those two.

The emperor's face was extremely gloomy, but he still pretended to be nothing.

Liangpin, who was standing by, watched this scene with reluctance in her heart, but she was not stupid. She knew that her father could never be saved, so she wanted Shen Anan to die as well.

"Your Majesty, I have something to say." She dragged her injured body to kneel on the ground, "I was not injured by the assassin, but by the Fourth Prince's wife. And Jianqiu was also killed by the Fourth Prince's wife."

"Your Majesty, think about it. My father is an assassin. How could he be so cruel to me?"

The emperor narrowed his eyes and looked at Xiao Yuan, "Come here, summon the Fourth Prince's wife."

"No need." Xiao Yuan said calmly, "My princess was frightened and can't get out of bed. I will take care of it."

"How can you deal with the murder of concubines?" the emperor said in a cold voice.

Xiao Yuan smiled coldly, "Liangpin has been frightened and has gone mad. How can we trust her words?"

"I'm not crazy, you're talking nonsense, I'm fine, how could I be crazy!"

"Then why didn't you say anything when General Zheng was here just now?" Xiao Yuan glanced at her coldly, as if he was looking at an ant.

"Now you are saying that you were harmed by the Fourth Prince's wife. What do you want to do? Are you crazy, or are you dissatisfied with the execution of Lord Li and are deliberately slandering him for revenge?"

"I didn't," Liangpin screamed, "I didn't lie, it was Shen Anan, she was the one who stabbed Jianqiu to death, she was the one who harmed me."

"Madam Liangpin." General Zheng standing by couldn't stand it anymore and spoke up for justice, "The wound on your shoulder was clearly caused by a bow and arrow. The Fourth Prince's wife didn't carry any bow and arrows."

"What do you know?"

General Zheng was frightened by Concubine Liang's ferocious roar and said to the emperor.

"Your Majesty, Concubine Liang was talking nonsense on the mountain. This is indeed a sign of insanity."

What else could the emperor say? Today's game could be said to be a complete loss. The only success was that he kept Shen Yunbai, but he lost his confidant, Lord Li.

The ministers present have already had their doubts, and he must not protect Concubine Liang anymore.

"That's enough. Someone, escort Concubine Liang back to the palace and call the imperial physician to treat her. You are not allowed to step out of the Falling Cherry Palace until you recover."

This is what it means to be banished to the cold palace.

"No, Your Majesty, what I said is the truth. Shen Anan is a scheming and vicious woman. Your Majesty—"

Liangpin was dragged away, and her roars were still echoing in the tent.

"I'm tired, you all can go away." He rubbed his temples tiredly, as if he had aged ten years in an instant.

Without the emperor's vigor and awe-inspiring majesty.

Xiao Yuan was the last one to leave. The emperor's voice suddenly rang out, "You two are doing very well, very well."

He is truly better than his teacher. Even he, his father, has to admit that he is better than him.

Xiao Yuan did not turn around, but just tilted his head slightly and said, "Lord Li is dead. What father should think about now is how to train Shen Yunbai to be the next confidant to assist your beloved son."

Commander Zhao shivered and pretended not to hear anything, then quickly left the tent.

The emperor looked at him as if he was a dead person, which made him terrified and he almost became the next frightened lunatic.