Chapter 335 Human Relationships

"Brother Emperor, why are you summoning me to the palace in such a hurry?"

In the night, Yan Yuze, dressed in black, stepped into the Ziyun Palace, saluted to Emperor Liang and said. Although his steps were hurried, his behavior did not seem flustered.

Emperor Liang put down the memorial and asked, "How is the matter of the crown prince?"

Yan Yuze lowered his head slightly, his two handsome eyebrows tightened, and his voice became a little lower.

"They are... still investigating and have not found any substantial evidence yet."

Right now, the truth of the matter has not yet been revealed. If the birthmark is revealed rashly, it will probably immediately make Emperor Liang suspicious of the crown prince, causing turmoil in the government and the country.

Emperor Liang did not speak, but just looked at him quietly with deep eyes.

Yan Yuze continued in a low voice: "If your Royal Brother has nothing else to do, I...I will take my leave first. Changwen has also sent people to keep an eye on them, and they may take action tonight."

There was another silence.

Emperor Liang coughed a few times, picked up the warm tea bowl, and gently blew on the tea leaves floating on it.

"I didn't expect that my sixth brother would start hiding things from me."

Yan Yuze's face changed slightly, and he knelt down quickly, "Your Highness dare not."

Emperor Liang sipped his tea slowly, seeming to be weighing something.

After a long time, Emperor Liang put down the tea bowl and said calmly: "Ouyang Ye is alone in handling the affairs of the academy, and it is difficult for him to do it alone. You are also the principal of Longchang Academy, and it is not appropriate for you to be away for a long time.

From today on, you don't need to ask about the prince's affairs anymore, go back to Jiangzhou."

Yan Yuze raised his eyes, a trace of surprise appeared on his delicate face, and after a moment he bowed again and said:

"Your Highness obeys my command."

…

The carriage drove out of Yuxiang Pavilion and drove silently towards the north gate of the capital. The voices of Zhu Lan and Chen's mother and daughter talking could be heard from the carriage.

"I have prepared the pass for you. We will return to the north gate later and you can go out at dawn.

Take this letter and the silver and head directly to Yunzhou. Don’t delay on the way, or you may risk your life.”

Chen Li asked hesitantly if she would never be able to return to Jiangzhou in the future.

"It's hard to leave your hometown. I understand how you feel, but..."

Before Zhu Lan could finish his words, he was interrupted by Old Lady Chen.

"This lady gave me so much money, it's enough for my mother and I to spend our whole lives. We can live a good life no matter where we are."

Chen Li said nothing more.

Zhu Lan added: "Remember your new names and identities. When you get there, don't let anyone know about the birthmark, otherwise I won't be able to save you."

"Yes, we remember it."

The dark shadow on the top of the carriage disappeared at some point.

…

After walking for about half an hour, Zhu Lan estimated that they should be almost at the north gate.

Zhu Lan gently lifted a corner of the carriage curtain and looked out. There was no one on the empty street. Only the bluestone road reflected the faint moonlight and there were glowing lanterns in front of several shops.

Zhu Lan's face changed - No, this is not the way to the North Gate!

She leaned forward and pulled aside the curtain of the carriage, only to see that the deaf-mute coachman who had been hired had disappeared at some point, and the driver was actually a man in black!

"Who are you!?" Zhu Lan asked sternly.

The man did not turn around, nor did he reply. Instead, he whipped his horse whip violently.

The horse felt pain and started running straight away!

The carriage suddenly accelerated, Zhu Lan's body leaned back and fell into the carriage, and at the same time Chen Li's scream was heard.

At the current speed of the carriage, jumping off the carriage was extremely dangerous. Not to mention Zhu Lan and Chen Li, even for Old Lady Chen, at her age, if she jumped off the carriage, she would most likely be in danger of death.

The man in black who was driving the carriage was also sure of this and was not worried at all that they would escape.

Not long after, the carriage finally stopped.

"We're here, get off." The hoarse voice of a man in black came from outside the car.

Zhu Lan's face looked very bad. She leaned out of the carriage and saw that several people were taken to an extremely desolate place. Looking around, there were abandoned and dilapidated houses under the moonlight. It was obvious that no one had lived there for many years.

Zhu Lan had been in the capital for several months, and he had never known that there was such a dilapidated place in the capital.

Something moved in the woods not far away. Zhu Lan looked carefully and noticed that there was a carriage parked in the darkness, as if secretly spying on something.

A round but dignified figure walked out of the woods.

"Nice to meet you again, Zhu Xiuzhuan." Yan Changwen said with a smile, narrowing his eyes.

Zhu Lan got off the carriage with a cold expression and said with a folded hand, "I wonder why His Royal Highness Prince Qi invited me here so late at night?"

"Zhu Xiuzhuan is just pretending to be ignorant even though he knows the truth." Yan Changwen continued to smile.

Zhu Lan remained silent.

Yan Changwen walked slowly to Zhu Lan. Under the moonlight, his smile seemed meaningful.

"Zhu Xiuzhuan is the current number one scholar and holds an important position in the Imperial Academy. I have always believed that Zhu Xiuzhuan is a man who values ​​friendship and loyalty and will repay a favor.

In the past, Zhu Xiuzhuan insisted on interfering in the affairs of Anju Property Bank. If I had not shown mercy and had someone deliver Chen San personally, did Zhu Xiuzhuan think that his good friend in the Ministry of Revenue could get away with it?

This is all for Zhu Xiuzhuan's sake. If Zhu Xiuzhuan doesn't appreciate this kindness, then this king will be really sad."

"I will never forget your help in the past." Zhu Lan said calmly, "However, today's incident involves the safety of innocent people. I hope your Highness can make it clear what you want, and perhaps we can find another solution."

Yan Changwen shook his head slightly and turned his gaze towards the carriage. His tone was calm, but it seemed as if there was no room for negotiation.

"Zhu Xiuzhuan, what I want is actually very simple. All I need is for you to hand over the people in the carriage to me. These two people are very important to me, and the favor you owe me can be settled today."

"What if I don't want to?"

Yan Changwen chuckled, and glanced casually at the desolate scene on both sides. "I don't think you have a choice."

Zhu Lan fell silent.

From the very beginning, Yan Changwen wanted to use his own hand to investigate Yan Xiuyun's background. Sure enough, he found Chen's mother and daughter through clues in the "Collected Annotations of Various Philosophers". Now he came out to intercept them, which was a shrewd plan.

If Old Lady Chen and Chen Li were handed over, Yan Changwen would probably make a big fuss about it and try every means to prove that Yan Xiuyun was Chen Zao, and then let everyone in the court and the country know about it and put pressure on Emperor Liang.

At that time, no one could compete with him for the position of crown prince.

Zhu Lan frowned deeply, but Yan Changwen did not urge him and was not in a hurry at all, as if he had already expected the result.

A gust of night wind blew, raising the fallen leaves on the wasteland, and finally Zhu Lan spoke in a deep voice:

"Your Highness, Prince Qi, if I hand over the two people in the car, will we be even?"

"Of course." Yan Changwen's narrowed eyes revealed a satisfied look, "Of course, if Zhu Xiuzhuan is willing to come to the Qi Palace to work, this king will be even more eager."

Zhu Lan smiled faintly, "Your Highness has a far-reaching plan, why should I add unnecessary details?"

She turned around and walked to the front of the carriage and said to the people inside:

"Come down."

The carriage curtain was opened, revealing two figures, one tall and one short.

It was Zhu Qingyan and Chu Xin.