Chapter 967 Dowry (Liao Chen VS Qingfeng Daoist)

Xuanyuan Qi was so shocked that he could barely speak.

As a symbol of the Shadow Lord's identity, the Shadow Token has always been more precious than life itself. As long as the Shadow Token exists, the Shadow Clan can continue to be passed down.

This is why, when Xuan Yuanqi was being hunted down by Shi Tian, ​​he insisted on passing the Shadow Token to Xuan Yuanzheng, who was only eight years old at the time.

In Xuanyuan Qi's heart, what else could this be but a family heirloom?

Such a valuable item would never be out of one's sight.

Master Qingfeng recognized its importance, which is why he had Chen pledge it to him.

He didn't know what had happened; he only came out to check because he heard that Chen seemed to be in some trouble.

He was determined to kill Liao Chen, but no one else could touch him; he wanted to die by his own hand.

Then he saw Xuanyuan Qi.

Xuanyuan Qi had finished reading the Shadow Order. He was shocked, extremely shocked. He also wanted to know where this Taoist priest came from, who was so powerful that he had managed to steal his son's soul.

He looked up.

oops!

He's a male Taoist priest?!

Master Qingfeng?

They fought alongside each other on the border. Even if they weren't very familiar with each other, they had at least met a few times. How could he not recognize the valiant and skilled Taoist Qingfeng, who fought alongside his son?

He once remarked to Shangguan Yan that the younger generation was truly formidable.

His heart felt like it had been struck by 100,000 volts; he was completely paralyzed.

He looked at his unfilial son with a pained expression: "Is this the reason you said you wanted Jingkong to carry on the family line?"

Liao Chen was stunned. "No, Father, I've said so much to you, how come you only remember this one sentence?"

I mean I don't want to get married. I like to be a carefree monk, wandering the world at my own pace!

well.

Even jumping into the Yellow River wouldn't clear my name.

Xuanyuan Qi looked at Daoist Qingfeng with a complicated expression: "When did you two get together?"

Of the father and son's previous conversation, Master Qingfeng only caught the part about the family heirloom. After thinking for a moment, he said truthfully, "He had been hiding from me, which is why I found him. To prevent him from escaping, I had him leave the Shadow Token with me. Since it is a family heirloom, then I will return it to the Grand Marshal."

Xuan Yuanqi didn't rush to retrieve the Shadow Token. Instead, he turned and glared at his son, gritting his teeth and whispering, "Are you still hiding from him?"

Scumbag!

Master Qingfeng didn't understand the misunderstanding between the father and son. He said seriously, "Grand Marshal, I have a personal grudge against him. Since you have witnessed this today, I might as well tell you the truth. I am determined to take his life."

Xuanyuan Qi was dumbfounded. Was his daughter-in-law's love for him so deep that it turned into hatred?

No, no, no!

What daughter-in-law?

He's a man!

Master Qingfeng continued, "I chased him from Yan to Zhao, and then from Zhao to here. It was not easy to catch him. Even though the Grand Marshal intervened, I had no choice but to offend him."

They chased them all the way to the Zhao Kingdom...

Could it be that the daughter-in-law Qing'er mentioned is really Master Qingfeng?

It's absolutely confirmed!

Xuanyuan Qi felt as if he had been struck by ten thousand arrows in his chest, and he staggered and almost fell to the ground!

Just as he was wondering what to do with the young couple, Xiao Yan burst into tears inside the house.

—You adults are so slow! The baby is hungry!

Xuanyuan Qi only remembered his son saying they had a baby when he heard the child crying. He looked at the two people in the doorway with a trembling expression and asked the soul-searching question: "...Who is the father of the child?"

Liao Chen: "..."

Master Qingfeng: "..."

...

Xuanyuan Qi had followed the Lord of Shadows for many years and was more familiar with the small medicine box than Liao Chen, so he recognized it at a glance.

Then, looking at the twins, a replica of Xiao Jiaojiao and a replica of Xiao Aheng, he roughly understood their identities.

Hearing that they had fallen from the sky along with the box further solidified his suspicions.

He said to the two of them, "I will take the child back. You two keep this matter to yourselves and don't ask any other questions."

"I have no objection," Liao Chen said, glancing at Daoist Qingfeng.

Master Qingfeng said, "I will obey the Grand Marshal's order."

Xuanyuan Qi hired a carriage, carried the twins in his arms, and brought along a small medicine box.

“I’m leaving,” he said.

Liao Chen seized the opportunity to slip away: "Dad, I'll go back with you."

Xuanyuan Qi kicked his son off the carriage, then rode away!

Liao Chen, who was forced to remain in the hands of Daoist Qingfeng: "..."

...

After the twins disappeared into thin air, the palace maids immediately reported to Wu Sixi. Wu Sixi went to the scene and interrogated everyone in the pavilion before rushing to the Imperial Preceptor's Hall.

However, since the first-aid kit was missing and the passage connecting to the operating room was closed, Ye Qing opened the door to find an empty, secluded room.

After Gu Jiao returned to the palace, she heard the news and immediately went to the Imperial Preceptor's Hall.

Since the first-aid kit isn't here anymore, the twins must have been teleported somewhere again.

"Where did they go?" Ye Qing asked.

Gu Jiao analyzed, "From what I know so far, the small medicine box usually only teleports to the vicinity of the coordinates. There are two fixed locations: one is the operating room of the Imperial Preceptor Hall, and the other should be Dark Night Island. There are also two moving coordinates: one is me, and the other is my former godfather. Now there may also be the twins."

Ye Qing said thoughtfully, "So, it will either teleport to your side or go to Dark Night Island?"

Gu Jiao thought for a moment and said, "No."

It is known that tearing space with a small medicine box requires energy, so there is another possibility.

It ran out of energy and randomly fell halfway through.

Ye Qing, after hearing her idea, said, "This..."

Just as Gu Jiao and Ye Qing were about to lead the people from the Imperial Preceptor's Hall to search for the twins separately, Xuan Yuanqi arrived in a flurry, carrying an adorable baby in each hand.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing that the two little ones were safe and sound.

"Grand Marshal." Ye Qing greeted Xuan Yuanqi.

Xuanyuan Qi nodded: "National Preceptor Ye."

Ye Qing: Give me one of the children so I can hold him/her.

Xuanyuan Qi: I won't give it to you, come and try to take it from me.

Gu Jiao took the dusty little medicine box from the driver.

Wu Sixi has already found out that it was a man named Zhao Yu who harbored malicious intentions and wanted to harm the twins.

Considering that it had saved the twins once, Gu Jiao suppressed the urge to chop it into firewood.

Gu Jiao took the small medicine box to the secret room, which was connected to the operating room, and then the group went in to visit Shangguan Yan.

Shangguan Yan is asleep.

Xiao Heng stood up and looked at everyone. He cupped his hands and bowed to Xuan Yuanqi, saying, "Uncle has also come."

"Mm." Xuanyuan Qi nodded, holding the twins tightly in his arms.

Even my own father wouldn't give it to me.

Sigh, I can't compete with them, I can't compete with them.

Xiao Heng asked Gu Jiao and Ye Qing, "What happened just now? The operating room door suddenly wouldn't open."

If it can't be pushed open, it means the passage is closed, just like when Gu Changqing hid here to recuperate from his injuries.

Gu Jiao told Xiao Heng about the twins' half-day trip to the capital, and Xuan Yuanqi promptly added information about their journey.

Only then did they realize that the twins had fallen into the hands of Liao Chen and Daoist Qingfeng.

Gu Jiao pouted and muttered, "You really know how to pick people."

When its energy is depleted, it locates the nearest familiar aura—has it become a spirit?

The fact that the twins are safe and sound is a testament to their good fortune; if it were any other child, they would likely have met their demise at Zhao Yu's hands long ago.

Thinking of this, Xiao Heng's eyes turned cold: "Mother was just worried about not having a chance to deal with the Dong family, and Zhao Yu delivered himself to our doorstep. He really handed us a good knife!"

...

That night, Xiao Heng personally went to the palace dungeon to interrogate Zhao Yu.

Zhao Yu couldn't withstand the torture at all. As soon as the cangue was applied, he was forced to confess. He cried out loudly that he was acting on the orders of the Dong family.

To plot against a member of the royal family is a crime equivalent to treason, punishable by beheading, let alone when the target is Her Majesty the Empress's most beloved grandson.

"I am innocent, Your Majesty!"

The head of the Dong family knelt on the solemn and majestic Golden Palace, filled with grievances and weeping bitterly!

Shangguan Yan, exuding an aura of authority, declared, "Bring Zhao Yu to the palace!"

Zhao Yu was brought in by the Imperial Guards and pointed at the head of the Dong family in court: "Head of the Dong family... why do you still refuse to admit it even now? It was clearly you who sent me into the palace... to plot against His Majesty... because I was not favored and could not get close to His Majesty, you set your sights on the young princess and the young prince... you said... kill them... to throw His Majesty into disarray... and then you would find a way to poison His Majesty... to create the illusion that His Majesty was depressed and died peacefully!"

The head of the Dong family roared, "You're talking nonsense!"

Zhao Yu said resentfully, "You know perfectly well whether I'm lying or not! You're using my family to blackmail me! You're making me brutally harm two infants in swaddling clothes! Patriarch Dong! How vicious you are!"

"You...you...you..." The head of the Dong family was furious. He stood up abruptly and rushed to Zhao Yu, pulling out the sword of a nearby Imperial Guard!

Xuanyuan Qi sent him flying with a single palm strike. He didn't even have the strength to fight back before he crashed heavily onto the cold floor, spitting out a mouthful of blood.

Shangguan Yan slammed her fist on the armrest of the dragon throne and said coldly, "Drawing a sword in the palace is an even greater crime! Guards! Drag him away and await his fate!"

The head of the Dong family was no pushover. When he was searching for the young princess in the forest, he ruthlessly tried to kill her and Gu Jiao.

Shangguan Yan had long wanted to take his life!

The Imperial Guards ruthlessly dragged away the Dong family head, whose dantian had been shattered by Xuan Yuanqi.

Behind him, a shocking trail of blood was left.

In the imperial court, all the officials remained silent, trembling with fear.

They understood that the Dong family's days were numbered.

If the downfall of the Han and Nangong families was due to treason and their own faults, then the demise of the Dong family was the first blow the Empress herself had dealt to the major aristocratic families.

Her Majesty the Empress's crackdown on the aristocratic families... has officially begun!

...

After the court session, Xuanyuan Qi called out to Shangguan Yan.

"His Majesty."

"Uncle, what's wrong?" Shangguan Yan's tone was less sharp than it had been in the main hall, and more affectionate like that of a junior.

Xuanyuan Qi looked at her solemnly: "Has the operation against the aristocratic families begun?"

Shangguan Yan nodded: "Back then, when the Xuanyuan family was murdered, none of the ten great families were clean."

Xuanyuan Qi said, "It cannot be shaken; it is the foundation of the nation."

Shangguan Yan readily agreed, saying, "I understand. I won't go to extremes. Some aristocratic families will make amends for their past mistakes, and I will deal with them according to their merits."

For example, she originally wanted to eradicate the Su family completely, but Mu Qingchen was loyal to the emperor and loved his country, and made great contributions on the border. For his sake, she would keep the Su family, on the condition that the power of the Su family must be handed over to Mu Qingchen.

In addition, there is the Wang family. Wang Xu and Wang Man are loyal to the court and are also capable people.

Xuanyuan Qi hesitated for a moment: "That..."

Shangguan Yan smiled and said, "Uncle, please feel free to speak your mind."

"The Feng family," Xuan Yuanqi said, "is it possible to save the Feng family?"

"The Feng family?" Shangguan Yan nodded thoughtfully. "Feng Wuming also made great contributions in the war against Jin. I will credit these contributions to the Feng family."

All the elders of the Feng family have passed away, leaving only two legitimate sons.

When the Xuanyuan family was in trouble, the two eldest sons were still young and had not participated in their fathers' crimes.

She said, "I will not touch Feng Wuming and Feng Wuxiu, but I will eventually take back the Feng family's business."

"And then what?" Xuan Yuanqi asked.

“Give it back to my uncle,” Shangguan Yan said matter-of-factly.

The things that were divided up from the Xuanyuan family should naturally be returned to their rightful owners.

Xuanyuan Qi calmly said, "Oh, well, I've used it."

Shangguan Yan looked at her uncle strangely: "What do you mean by 'not needed'?"

Xuanyuan Qi explained, "You gave it back to me, but I still want to send it over."

Shangguan Yan was completely confused.

What's all this talk about sending and receiving things? She's getting more and more confused.

Xuanyuan Qi straightened his back and said with great pride, "The betrothal gifts."

Shangguan Yan: "???"

I ate eight custard lava buns this morning, and I'm now on the path to gaining weight for winter with no turning back o(╥﹏╥)o

(End of this chapter)