Chapter 84: Beheading 3 My Zhou family still doesn't know how to write the word "be careful with your words"...

Time seemed to stop for a moment, and both of them were unable to react in time.

Su He smelled the smell of alcohol on Zhou Yuanze, but it seemed that it was not just alcohol, there seemed to be some strange smell mixed in.

She stared blankly at Zhou Yuanze's fat face, swollen eyes, and flat nose, and she suddenly regretted not putting deadly poison in the bracelet on her wrist.

Now she is in the deep palace, away from people's sight, and she can take Zhou Yuanze's life in an instant.

But after taking his life, she would definitely be caught, and Xie Wuhen would be implicated, which she did not want to see.

Thinking of this, she was glad that she didn't put poison powder in the bracelet.

Su He calmed himself down, took two steps back and bowed.

Zhou Yuanze staggered, his eyes falling on her face, as if he could pull it into a thread.

He not only looked at her face, but also her hair, her dress, her figure...

Zhou Yuanze asked, "Who is the lady?"

Su He replied, "I am the wife of Xie Wuhen, the Junior Official of the Dali Temple."

Zhou Yuanze took a step closer to her: "Why does Madam look so familiar to me?"

It was because she looked familiar that he noticed her from the moment she walked out of the palace gate, so he followed her here.

Su He replied, "You are joking, my lord. I have never seen you before."

"Really?" Zhou Yuanze seemed puzzled and studied her face again. "Your eyes, nose, mouth, and ears are exactly like the person in my dream."

Su He stepped back again and warned in a deep voice: "I am a stranger to you, sir. Please be careful with your words."

Zhou Yuanze scoffed, "To be honest, in this capital, even my Zhou family doesn't know how to spell the word 'careful with words'."

As he spoke, he moved closer to her again. His breathing was heavy, and there was a "grunting" sound in his throat. The smell of alcohol mixed with the strange smell became stronger.

After a careful examination, Su He suddenly realized that this was the taste of Hehuan Powder.

Someone actually put Hehuan Powder in Zhou Yuanze's drink?

Today is a grand palace banquet, and all civil and military officials as well as the emperor's concubines are present. Whoever secretly drugs Zhou Yuanze is the one who wants to bring shame to the Zhou family.

Su He actually felt a little happy when he thought about it.

She lowered her head and said, "Sir, you should have a good rest after drinking. Please excuse me for leaving first." After saying that, she tried to brush past him.

Zhou Yuanze propped his arm against the wall, blocking her path. "Madam, why are you in such a hurry?"

He added, "It's so hard to meet the lady, so I should be happy."

He said as he pushed her against the wall and tried to kiss her face.

Su He dodged and quickly slipped out from under his armpit.

Although Zhou Yuanze's body was not very flexible, he was strong. He grabbed her arm with his backhand and dragged her into the house.

The room was hidden from the eyes of others and had a soft couch for resting, which was convenient for him to do his work.

Su He felt heavy in his heart and struggled hard, grabbing the door frame with both hands.

Seeing he couldn't pull her away, Zhou Yuanze simply tried to pry her fingers from the door frame, saying as he did so, "Madam, just accept your fate. Today, you are destined to be mine."

Su He replied in a deep voice: "This is in the palace. Even if you are not afraid of offending the Shaoqing of the Dali Temple, aren't you afraid of offending the emperor?" Zhou Yuanze replied with a smile: "My father will handle such trivial matters for me. Madam, don't worry about them." He had pried Su He's hands apart, grabbed her arms and was about to drag her into the house.

Su He was still struggling desperately, but her strength was ultimately too weak. She was about to be dragged into the house. At the critical moment, Zhao Fu suddenly appeared at the other end of the corridor and announced loudly: "Madam Shaoqing, the emperor has ordered you to go to Weiyang Palace for questioning."

Like a divine soldier descending from the sky, the crisis was reversed in an instant.

Zhou Yuanze stopped and was stunned.

Su He breathed a sigh of relief and reminded in a deep voice, "Please let go immediately, my lord. I have to go see the emperor."

Zhou Yuanze still had some clarity in his mind. He let go of Su He and said meaningfully, "Eunuch Zhao's order came at the perfect time."

Zhao Fuxing approached with a faint smile on his face, but his tone was not very polite: "Master Zhou is wrong. This is not the will of our family, but the will of the emperor."

Zhou Yuanze snorted coldly: "Eunuch Zhao is the emperor's throat and tongue, all the same."

Zhao Fu didn't respond and turned to ask Su He, "Is Madam Shaoqing ill?"

Su He straightened her clothes briefly, bowed to Zhao Fu, and then replied, "Thank you for your concern, eunuch. I am fine."

"In that case, let's take Madam to see the emperor." After Zhao Fu said this, he glanced at Zhou Yuanze meaningfully, then turned around and led the way.

Su He was confused and didn't know why the emperor wanted to see her.

But going to see the emperor is better than staying with Zhou Yuanze now.

She also turned her head to look at Zhou Yuanze. At this time, Zhou Yuanze's eyebrows and eyes became redder and his breathing became heavier, which were obviously symptoms of the dissipation of the effect of the Hehuan Powder.

She said, "I hope you will take care of yourself, sir." Then she turned and left.

Zhou Yuanze looked at her back, a cruel smile appearing on the corner of his mouth.

Su He followed Zhao Fu and slowly walked through the corridor under the eaves.

On one side of the corridor were several connected rooms, from which came the sound of two palace servants talking.

One person said, "That Lord Zhou is truly audacious. He actually dared to violate the women in the palace."

Another person asked, "Should we go help that woman?"

"Come on, we ants can't afford to offend the Zhou family. After all, evildoers will be punished by heaven."

"That's true. I heard that Mr. Zhou has a very weak spleen and kidney, and relies on the pigeon blood soup from the Wu family's pigeon shop every day to recuperate. It's really..."

Zhao Fu couldn't stand it any longer and shouted, "Which fool is gossiping about court officials behind their backs? Is he itching for trouble or is he too old?"

The room suddenly fell silent.

Zhao Fu said to Su He cautiously, "There are many servants in this palace, and it's not easy to discipline them. I hope Madam Shaoqing won't laugh at me."

Su He replied, "It's okay, it's okay." But in her heart she was thinking about the pigeon blood soup from Wu's Pigeon Shop!

The two of them turned into several corridors and walked through a long hallway.

Taking advantage of the fact that no one was around, Su He opened her mouth to express her gratitude: "It is fortunate that you showed up in time today. I am deeply grateful to you."

Zhao Fu said calmly: "It's just a coincidence."

She took the opportunity to ask, "Does the emperor know why he wants to pass on his position to me?"

Zhao Fu smiled and said, "I dare not speculate on the emperor's intentions, but I see that the young minister is quite favored by the emperor, and my wife is the young minister's wife, so it is not surprising that the emperor summoned my wife."

Su He breathed a sigh of relief and asked, "I noticed that the gentleman seemed to have drunk quite a bit of wine. Should we ask a few palace servants to take care of him, to prevent him from hurting others again?"

After all, Zhou Yuanze drank the Hehuan Powder.

After all, there are many palace maids in the palace. If one of them is accidentally defiled by him, wouldn’t she regret it for the rest of her life?

Zhao Fu's tone was distant: "Madam, please don't worry. The affairs of the palace are the affairs of the royal family. It is not your turn to worry about it, let alone our family's turn to intervene."

Su He choked, lowered his head and replied "yes".

The two arrived at the gate of Weiyang Palace one after the other.

Zhao Fuxian went into the hall to report. A moment later, Xie Wuhen came out to greet him. Seeing Su He had changed her clothes, he couldn't help but wonder, "Where did the lady go?"

Su He smiled slightly and recounted the story of how she was splashed with wine and then taken away by the palace maid to change her clothes. Finally, she said, "Don't worry, my dear husband. I am doing fine."

She concealed the incident of her chance encounter with Zhou Yuanze, not wanting to arouse his suspicions.

Xie Wuhen breathed a sigh of relief, "That's good."

He led her into the palace, whispering as he walked, "The emperor said he wanted to see you."

Although Su He was mentally prepared, he was still a little nervous at this moment.

The palace is so majestic that it seems as if there is no end in sight.

The ground was like silk, reflecting the shadows of people walking on it.

Palace servants stood in rows, and the atmosphere was as imposing as a rainbow. Even in bright daylight, candles were still burning in the hall, illuminating every corner of the hall with splendor.

She used to be a slave, and meeting the emperor was harder than climbing to heaven.

Later, she pretended to be the legitimate daughter of the Li family, but it was still impossible for her to meet the emperor.

Now she is the wife of the Shaoqing of the Dali Temple, and the wife that Xie Wuhen married in a formal ceremony. She has the honor to enter the palace to meet the emperor and to walk into this towering imperial palace. An inexplicable sense of pride rises in her heart.

She is proud of her identity as the Shaoqing's wife, and also proud of the man beside her.

She asked in a low voice: "Is the emperor fierce?"

He replied in a low voice: "Don't be afraid, my lady, it's not fierce."

She then asked, "If I misbehave, will I be beheaded?"

He smiled: "As long as my husband is here, my lady will not lose her manners."

There is a second door after entering from the main gate, and you can enter the main hall after passing through the second door.

Su He saw the tea table in the hall from a distance. The emperor was sitting in front of the table making tea.

He had taken off his dragon robe and changed into a simple palace dress. Although he looked gray-haired, he also looked energetic.

The two of them entered the hall one after the other.

The emperor raised his eyes and looked over. He first glanced at Xie Wuhen, and then looked at Su He.

The moment their eyes met, Su He was stunned, and the emperor was also stunned.

The emperor had white hair and beard, and his eyes were bright. He looked exactly like Bai Jinan on Fuzi Mountain.

Su He suddenly realized and couldn't believe it.

By then the emperor had also stood up and walked slowly towards them around the tea table.

The woman in front of him had a beautiful face and picturesque features. She looked like a replica of Duofu from that year. The emperor suddenly realized the truth and couldn't believe it.

Xie Wuhen touched Su He's elbow and reminded him softly, "It's time for us to salute."

Su He came back to his senses instantly and immediately knelt down to pay his respects with Xie Wuhen.

The emperor slowed down and came to his senses.

He took a deep breath, his expression returned to normal, and said, "Get up quickly."

Both of them stood up from the ground.

The emperor smiled kindly, "What a perfect match! It seems my original decree granting them marriage was in accordance with Heaven's will."

Xie Wuhen's eyes were filled with shyness: "Your Majesty is wise."

The emperor looked at Su He again, his eyes filled with inquiry and scrutiny: "Your name is Li Shuli?"

Su He lowered his head and replied, "Your Majesty, yes."

"The daughter of Li Taian, the chief clerk of the Central Prefecture?"

Su He responded "yes" again.

The emperor continued to smile and patted Xie Wuhen on the shoulder, "Zi Yu is so lucky."

He led the two of them to the tea table and poured two cups of tea for each of them. "Come, have a taste of the tea I brewed myself."

The two took the teacups and took two sips obediently.

While drinking tea, the emperor asked casually, "Who is Miss Li's mother?"

Su He answered respectfully, "My mother was from a merchant family, her surname was Guo."

"Is Madam Guo in the capital now?"

"Your Majesty, my mother passed away last year."

The emperor was stunned when he heard this and said "Oh".

Xie Wuhen sensed something was wrong with the emperor: "Your Majesty, is there something... something?"

The emperor sipped his tea and replied nonchalantly, "Nothing much, I just noticed that Miss Li looked a lot like an old friend of mine, so I asked."

Xie Wuhen asked, "What is the name of the emperor's old friend?"

The emperor answered irrelevantly: "My surname is not Guo."