Chapter 17 Chapter 17 "Son, Wen Fengxuan is so...

Zhu Jingchen sighed leisurely, then put on his cloak and went to Gu's house in the heavy rain.

Gu Huaiyu didn't expect Zhu Jingchen to visit so suddenly. He thought something had happened to Zhu Song and hurried out to greet him. "Uncle, has something happened to Zhu Song?"

Zhu Jingchen said, "Let's go in and talk."

Gu Huaiyu quickly took him to the study, closed the door, and instructed the servants before saying, "There are no outsiders now."

Zhu Jingchen said, "Zhu Song used the Dali Temple's token to open the city gates and leave the capital last night."

Gu Huaiyu naturally knew about this matter, but it must be a big deal for Zhu Jingchen to visit him in the middle of the night, so he frowned when he heard it, "What is he doing out of the capital?"

Zhu Jingchen said, "This is a long story, but it's not a serious matter. He will definitely be impeached for leaving the capital without permission. Only you can help him with this matter."

Gu Huaiyu replied, "Don't worry, uncle. I will definitely help him. I will go to the palace later."

Zhu Jingchen nodded, "That's great."

Gu Huaiyu asked worriedly, "Where did he go?"

"Qingzhou Xu Family"

"Are you sick?"

"No, he said he was going to find some dragon bones to detoxify an unrelated person. He just doesn't have a good brain. I'll scold him when he comes back." Zhu Jingchen was afraid that the prince's affairs would be discovered, so he went home without staying for long. Gu Huaiyu was left with his lower lip almost bitten, and he had no idea how to excuse him in front of the emperor. However, Zhu Song left the capital last night, and the Censorate might have known about it. He must give the emperor an explanation tonight, otherwise the situation will only get worse.

Gu Huaiyu really couldn't think of a good excuse, so he could only stab himself in the shoulder with a sword, then asked the court doctor to give him a simple bandage and hurried back to the palace.

Gu Huaiyu met Emperor Liang in the Qinzheng Palace smoothly. Emperor Liang saw his bleeding shoulder and frowned immediately, "You're injured? What happened?"

Gu Huaiyu bowed and replied, "Your Majesty, last night I encountered an assassin in the dark. He stabbed me and happened to run into Zhu Song, who chased the assassin out of the city. I thought he would be back soon, but he hasn't returned all day. I am deeply worried and would like to ask Your Majesty for an order to lead people out of the capital to search for Zhu Song."

Upon hearing his words, Emperor Liang frowned even more tightly. He had received the memorial impeaching Zhu Song for leaving the capital without permission this afternoon. He didn't expect it was because of this matter.

Emperor Liang asked, "Do you have any clues about who sent the assassin?"

Gu Huaiyu shook his head slightly. "The Dali Temple hasn't had many cases lately. The biggest one was the Shuyun Villa case, but it's already closed. I can't imagine who would want to kill me."

Emperor Liang said, "Take your men and look for him. He dared to openly murder an official appointed by the imperial court. We must investigate thoroughly."

Gu Huaiyu bowed his hands in thanks, "Thank you, Your Majesty. I will do my best to find out who is behind this."

Emperor Liang nodded, and Gu Huaiyu took his leave and left the Qinzheng Hall. When he came out of the Qinzheng Hall, Gu Huaiyu breathed a sigh of relief. In order to make the play more realistic, Gu Huaiyu did not delay and went back to the Dali Temple to count the fifteen people and took them out of the city.

The heavy rain continued to fall. Gu Huaiyu pretended to search around the capital for three days and finally waited for Zhu Song to come back in a hurry. Gu Huaiyu calculated the time and waited for him on the pipeline.

Zhu Song had been running non-stop for four days, even losing two of his horses. He had lost a lot of weight, his beard was unshaven, and his clothes, soaked by the heavy rain, were sticking to his body. When he saw Gu Huaiyu, his eyes lit up and he jumped off his horse. "Why are you here?"

Gu Huaiyu held out the umbrella to cover Zhu Song. The heavy rain hit the oil-paper umbrella with crackling sounds.

Gu Huaiyu didn't say anything extra, but just informed him, "I told His Majesty that I was injured by an assassin. You chased the assassin out of the city. I asked His Majesty for permission to leave the capital and have been waiting for you here."

"Thank you." Zhu Song couldn't say anything other than thank you for Gu Huaiyu risking his life to help him.

Gu Huaiyu warned: "I'm fine, but you need to speak properly when you go to the palace and tell His Majesty."

Zhu Song nodded. This was not the place to talk, so the two of them hurried back to Beijing together.

When Zhu Song hurried back to the Zhu Mansion, Zhu Jingchen happened to be at home on vacation. Seeing his expression, he was extremely disgusted and said, "You're begging for food, but you still need a bowl. I'll have someone bring it to you."

Zhu Song was worried about Wen Fengxuan, so he ignored his bitterness and just asked, "Where's Wen Fengxuan?"

Zhu Jingchen was not in a good mood when talking about this matter. "Why? You think the commotion is not big enough?"

Zhu Song frowned and said in a serious tone, "Since I didn't get the dragon bone, I will take him to find Su Li."

Seeing how stubborn he was, Zhu Jingchen didn't want to lie to him. "The day after you left, the Crown Prince requested permission to leave the capital, saying he was seriously ill and wanted to go to Suzhou to recuperate. The Emperor granted permission."

Zhu Song's brows furrowed even more. "Didn't he fall unconscious from the poison? Who asked for the imperial decree on his behalf?"

Zhu Jingchen said, "According to the news from the palace, the Crown Prince personally requested the order, saying that he was in a very bad condition, but it was definitely not the poisoning and coma you mentioned."

Zhu Song still didn't quite believe it. "How...is this possible? I saw him eat oleander with my own eyes. The Divine Doctor Guigu told me personally that without dragon bones, he only had five days to live. How could he possibly ask for permission to leave the capital?"

Zhu Jingchen was speechless, but thinking that he was his own child, he still said to him, "Son, how old is Wen Fengxuan this year?"

Zhu Song didn't understand why he suddenly asked this, but he still replied honestly: "Eighteen."

Zhu Jingchen asked, "If Wen Fengxuan is really as innocent and harmless as you think, without any scheming, do you think he can survive well in the deep palace and successfully enter the Eastern Palace?"

Zhu Song recalled his two experiences in the Eastern Palace. Although he had doubts in his heart, he did not agree with Zhu Jingchen's guess. "Why not?"

"I told you that you are still too young and have seen too little." Zhu Jingchen laughed. He wanted to say something else, but looking at Zhu Song's innocent eyes, he gave up. "Forget it, there are some truths that you won't understand if you haven't experienced them. Even if I tell you, you won't believe me. I only want to tell you one thing, the prince is not as simple as you see. Well, now hurry back to the palace and apologize to the emperor. If it weren't for Huaiyu, you would have fallen flat on your face this time."

"Okay, I'll go take a shower first." Since Wen Fengxuan had already left the capital, he couldn't control him anymore. Zhu Song turned and walked away. After taking two steps, he suddenly realized something was wrong. He turned back and said to Zhu Jingchen, "When I went to the Eastern Palace that day, I really encountered an assassin in the Eastern Palace. Now Wen Fengxuan is not here, and there is no one in charge of the Eastern Palace. If the Dali Temple investigates this matter, won't the Eastern Palace follow me in and out?"

Zhu Jingchen didn't say anything. Zhu Song said, "Hurry up and sort out those hot potatoes of yours. Take this opportunity to replace all the fakes."

Zhu Jingchen's arrogance disappeared instantly. He raised his eyebrows but said nothing, which meant he agreed.

But the result was different from what Zhu Song had expected, because when he went to the palace to apologize, he was first scolded by the emperor and then punished with confinement for half a month.

Although there were reasons for this, we couldn't open this excuse, so we still punished him. This was only because Gu Huaiyu was seriously injured, otherwise the punishment would be even more severe.

But Zhu Song was unwilling to let such a good opportunity go to waste, so he argued, "Your Majesty, before leaving the capital, I was ambushed outside the Eastern Palace while pursuing the assassin. The thief must have been targeting the Crown Prince. I would like to ask Your Majesty for mercy, allowing me to thoroughly investigate this matter and redeem myself for meritorious service."

According to his previous mentality, Emperor Liang would not pay any attention to this matter at all, but when Wen Fengxuan came to see him that day, he looked like he was about to die, which reminded him of the appearance of the late queen on her deathbed. His heart softened again, but looking at Zhu Song and the memorial impeaching Zhu Song on the table, he rejected him.

"Is there an assassin in the East Palace? Let Gu Huaiyu investigate."

Zhu Song still pleaded, "Your Majesty."

Emperor Liang interrupted him directly, "I have already dealt with you leniently, there is no need to say more. It's a good opportunity for you to take a rest during this time. You must be exhausted. Go back."

Things had come to this point, so Zhu Song naturally would not be ignorant of the situation. He bowed to thank the Lord for his grace and then left the palace.

Zhu Song went home and was put in solitary confinement that day. When Xu Songlan learned that he had returned, she immediately went to look for him. Seeing that he looked listless and unhappy, she thought something had happened and quickly asked, "Master Zhu, is your trip not going smoothly?"

Xu Songlan still didn't know that he didn't get the dragon bone. Zhu Song looked up at him from where he lay on the table. "Hmm"

Xu Songlan was so anxious that she sat down directly in front of him. "What happened?"

Zhu Song replied, "The dragon bone was taken away by someone."

"What?" Xu Songlan was surprised. "How is this possible?"

Zhu Song raised his eyebrows. He didn’t believe it when he heard it, but almost everyone knew about the Medical Classic Competition that day, so it was impossible for everyone in Qingzhou City to lie.

Xu Songlan asked again: "Who won?"

Zhu Song said, "He claimed to be the descendant of Jinghua Peak. He was alone. After winning the dragon bone, he left in a hurry without leaving any trace. He seemed to not want anyone to find him."

"Jinghua Peak?" Xu Songlan repeated with a frown, "I feel like I've heard this name somewhere before."

Zhu Song no longer cared about dragon bones. He only knew that if he really stayed at home for half a month, the opportunity would be gone.

In the end, Xu Songlan still couldn't remember where he had heard of the successor of Jinghua Peak, and left in great distress. Zhu Song had something on his mind and didn't pay any attention to him.

Zhu Song thought about it for a long time, and finally put on his night clothes and went out through the back door to Gu's house in the middle of the night. In order to hide from others, Zhu Song climbed over the wall to get in.

Zhu Song has been running around the Gu Mansion since he was a child, and he knows where to go with his eyes closed.

It was late at night and all the servants in the mansion had gone to bed. Zhu Song went straight to Gu Huaiyu's yard. The light in the study was still on. Zhu Song came to the door of the study and took a look inside through the gap. He saw Gu Huaiyu standing in front of the desk, concentrating on painting. The dim light shining on his face was as beautiful as the painting.

Zhu Song raised his hand and knocked on the door. Gu Huaiyu raised his eyes and frowned slightly, his tone slightly cold, "Who is it?"

"I."

Gu Huaiyu was slightly surprised to hear Zhu Song's voice. He covered the portrait on the table with a white cloth in a panic, and then hurried to open the door. When he saw Zhu Song at the door, he quickly stepped aside to let him in, and asked with concern, "Why are you here?"

Zhu Song said, "I need your help with something."

Gu Huaiyu sat down with him face to face and asked while making tea, "Tell me, what's the matter?"

Zhu Song pursed his lips and was unable to speak. Gu Huaiyu noticed that something was wrong with him and looked up at him. "What's the matter? It's not like you to be so shy."

Zhu Song said: "Huai Yu, we are the best of brothers."

Gu Huaiyu nodded, "Of course, we are best brothers. If you have any problems, just tell me, I will definitely help you."

Zhu Song had originally decided to tell Gu Huaiyu about his family's situation and ask him to help him exchange the tribute, but now, seeing Gu Huaiyu's slightly anxious expression, he suddenly changed his mind. This was originally his family's matter. If the matter was exposed, it would be a disaster for the Gu family. He couldn't drag Gu Huaiyu into this vortex just because he had a good relationship with him.

So he smiled and said, "Aren't you injured? I was worried about you and came to see you."

Gu Huaiyu frowned slightly, "You took such a big risk just for this?"

Zhu Song said: "This is a big deal."

Gu Huaiyu said: "I'm fine, you should go back quickly. I don't know how many people are watching you now, you'd better be cautious."

Zhu Song didn't understand, "Why are you staring at me?"

Gu Huaiyu said, "If you offend Uncle Chen, you've offended Prince Jin. Of course, they'll watch you make mistakes and then use their evidence to show off to Prince Jin."

Zhu Song snorted disdainfully, "Three kings are competing for supremacy, and King Jin hasn't shown any signs of winning yet, yet he's already claiming credit for it."

Gu Huaiyu said, "Although the Emperor favors Prince Su the most, in recent years, Concubine Chen De has become the most favored concubine in the harem. Mother and son are like one, and more courtiers are leaning towards Prince Jin."

Gu Huaiyu did not talk about this matter too much. This was not what they cared about most at the moment. After all, the prince was still alive. Although he might die soon, they would have to wait until he died before talking about it.

"Hurry back, half a month will pass quickly."

"Okay." Zhu Song didn't stay any longer and turned around and left.