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Chapter 769: Unjustifiable

By the time the officers and soldiers rushed into Xixiang Pavilion, the two guards had already run away, leaving Jingfeng lying on the ground screaming.

Bu Shengyan gave the two guards an ingot of silver as a reward for their hard work.

"You should go back to the Marquis' Mansion. Don't go out too much these days to avoid being seen by others."

The two guards took the money and smiled, "We know. Thank you for the reward, Miss."

Bu Shengyan took a carriage back to the palace and passed by General Zhongwu's Mansion on the way.

She saw white lanterns hanging at the door of the general's mansion.

The entire General Zhongwu's Mansion was filled with gloom and sorrow.

Xiao Lingfeng was ordered to escort winter supplies to Fengyang County. He encountered robbers on the way. Not only were the supplies robbed, but even the escorting horses were killed or injured. Xiao Lingfeng's whereabouts are unknown and there has been no news to this day. Many people say that he was killed by robbers and his body was taken away by wild wolves, so his body could not be found.

Xue was so grief-stricken that she fell seriously ill.

Xiao Zhilan endured the sadness and served his mother by her bedside.

Xiao Qiming was unwilling to believe the news that his father was dead. Despite being stopped by others, he rode a horse and took a team of guards to track down his father's whereabouts.

In the end, I came back empty-handed and found nothing.

Xiao Qiming returned home in despair.

The housekeeper began to prepare for General Xiao's funeral, and white lanterns were hung at the gate of the general's mansion.

The spy who was hiding in the dark saw this scene and turned around to tell Prince Jing about it.

The General Zhongwu's Mansion has already started preparing for the funeral, so Xiao Lingfeng must be really dead.

Xiao Qiming knelt in front of his mother's bed, knocked his forehead heavily on the ground, and begged with sobs.

"Please take care of yourself, mother. Although we no longer have a father, we still have our son and Xiao Lan. You can't abandon us!"

Xue looked extremely haggard, her eyes were red and swollen from crying, and she was almost blind.

She stretched out her hand tremblingly: "Qiming, Xiaolan, from now on, you are the only ones left to me."

Xiao Qiming and Xiao Zhilan crawled over on their knees and held Xue's hands tightly.

The mother and her two children hugged each other and cried bitterly.

It was the third day.

The emperor still did not return to the palace and the rumors did not stop.

The people and court officials all needed a reasonable explanation from the emperor.

But the emperor never showed up, and the court officials became anxious as they couldn't see him. One of them went to Prince Jing's mansion and asked him to come to the palace to meet the Empress Dowager, who would then summon the emperor back to the palace.

This proposal has received support from many people.

Prince Jing Luo Yanzhi was pushed out just like that.

He followed everyone's wishes and went to the palace to ask for an audience with the Empress Dowager.

The Empress Dowager has been absorbed in Buddhism recently and is not very concerned about what is happening outside.

After listening to Luo Yanzhi's explanation of his purpose, she realized that so many things had happened outside in just a few days.

The Empress Dowager summoned the emperor back to the palace due to illness.

The imperial edict was sent to Yueying Villa and handed over to the emperor.

Luo Qinghan just took a look at it and threw it aside without paying any attention.

He asked someone to set up the chessboard and asked Xixi to play chess with him.

Xiao Xixi asked as she casually placed chess pieces on the board.

"How long do you plan to stay here?"

Luo Qinghan asked back: "Don't you like it here?"

Xiao Xixi: "I like it very much. Not only is there food and drink here, but it's also very quiet. There aren't so many messy things. It's very comfortable to stay here."

Luo Qinghan: "Since you feel comfortable, then stay a little longer."

Seeing that he was calm and composed, as if everything had been planned out, Xiao Xixi stopped asking questions.

She played chess as fast as ever, placing the chess pieces wherever she wanted without having to think about it at all, relying entirely on her intuition from beginning to end.

Luo Qinghan knew that he couldn't think too much when playing chess with her, so he just went with the flow.

But even so, he couldn't guarantee winning every game, and the two's winning rates were basically half and half.

Luo Qinghan looked at the expectation in front of him and suddenly smiled.

"I prefer being the one playing chess to being a chess piece."

When he was still the prince, he could only be a pawn in the hands of others, controlled by others, with no control over his fate.

But now it’s different.

He is no longer the chess piece that can be manipulated by others.

…

The Empress Dowager issued three imperial edicts in succession to summon the emperor back to the palace, but never received a response.

This made the Empress Dowager very angry.

She called Princess Hua'an and gave instructions with a serious face.

"The emperor lives in Yueying Villa outside the city. You go there on my behalf and bring him back no matter what. He is the ruler of a country. No matter how big the problem is, he can't just walk away like this!"

Princess Hua An responded respectfully: "Yes."

The next day, the eldest princess' carriage stopped at the gate of Yueying Villa.

Upon learning that Princess Hua'an had arrived, the emperor did not react much and spoke in a calm voice.

"Bring her in."

Eunuch Chang came forward personally and led Princess Hua'an into the warm room.

Princess Hua'an is 31 years old this year. Although she is already the mother of two children, she is still in her prime and has a graceful demeanor.

She paid her respects to the emperor.

Luo Qinghan glanced at her calmly: "Are you here to lobby for the Empress Dowager?"

Princess Hua An smiled bitterly and said, "Your Majesty, can you listen to me?"

Luo Qinghan remained silent.

Princess Hua'an glanced at Eunuch Chang.

"I would like to speak to Your Majesty alone for a few words."

Seeing that the Emperor had no intention of objecting, Eunuch Chang led the others out of the warm room.

Only the emperor and Princess Hua'an were left in the cabinet.

I don’t know what the two of them said to each other at the end. When the door of the warm room opened and Princess Hua An walked out, her expression was very ugly.

She ignored Eunuch Chang who bowed to her and left Yueying Villa without looking back.

Princess Hua'an returned to the city in a carriage, entered the palace to see the Empress Dowager, and said crying.

"I have said everything I could, but the emperor didn't listen at all. He even mocked me without any hesitation. Mother, although he is the emperor, I am his aunt after all. How can he say that to me? Wuwuwu!"

The news that Princess Hua'an had met the emperor but returned empty-handed quickly spread beyond the palace and reached the ears of court officials.

The court officials increasingly felt that the emperor was confused and willful, and was not a wise ruler.

At some point, rumors began to spread in the capital that the current emperor was not Emperor Sheng Yong's biological son, and that Emperor Sheng Yong had once considered abolishing the crown prince. Some even said that Emperor Sheng Yong's death might be related to the current emperor.

In a nutshell, the current emperor's throne was not obtained in a legitimate way.

There is an undercurrent in Shengjing City.

Recently, more and more people have been entering and leaving Prince Jing’s Mansion.

All of this was seen by the guards hiding near Prince Jing's palace.

A list was secretly sent to Yueying Villa and handed over to the emperor.

Luo Qinghan looked at the name on the list, sneered, and threw it into the brazier to burn.

He looked at Zhao Xian who was kneeling on one knee on the ground and asked in a deep voice.

"Still no response from Fengyang County?"

Zhao Xian: “Not yet.”

Luo Qinghan: "Keep watching, and notify me immediately if you have any news."

“Here!”

…………

Good morning everyone!

The strong woman shed tears just to ask for a monthly ticket!





(End of this chapter)