Chapter 200

Xie Chen brushed his hands over Lin Shuge's waist, buried his head in his waist, and said in a somewhat unclear voice, "Brother, although we have denied it today, we have been recognized by our nominal relatives, and there are so many people around who have seen us. I am afraid that the Ding family came prepared this time."

Lin Shuge hummed, "Last time we dealt with Ding Wenhong, the Ding family will naturally fight back, but we will fight back when the enemy comes, so are we afraid of them?"

This time it was really chilling.

Xie Chen raised his head and looked at him, "As long as my brother is here, I'm not afraid."

Lin Shuge lowered his eyes and held his face with both hands. "It's more important to do the work, don't act like a spoiled child."

“Coo-coo.”

The two looked out the window at the same time. Xie Chen stood up and walked to the window. A snow-white pigeon was perched on the windowsill. "Brother, Xiao Hei is too eye-catching. I have used your pigeon for a while."

"Is there anything going on?" Lin Shuge leaned over to look.

Xie Chen took the letter from the pigeon's legs, nodded, and was about to read it when he heard hurried footsteps outside the door. Xie Chen quickly put the letter away.

The two looked at each other and saw the servants running in in a panic.

"What's the matter?" Xie Chen asked.

"Sir, someone has come from the palace. Please enter the palace immediately." Just as the servant finished speaking, several soldiers walked in with unfriendly looks.

"Doctor Lin, Captain of the Guards, His Majesty invites you."

Seeing the fierce momentum, there must be something wrong with this trip. Lin Shuge smiled and said, "May I ask this lord, what important matter does His Majesty have that he summoned us at this time?"

"You'll know when Doctor Lin goes there." The soldier's voice was cold and emotionless.

This is not good. Today, the Wei family recognized me as their relative in public, and I have to go to the palace tonight. I'm afraid something big is going to happen.

"Brother, we heard..." Lin Xuan and Lin Shuge looked flustered, stumbling over. A ring-handled sword came across, and Lin Qingyuan and Lin Xuan were stopped outside. "If you are not there, please stay out of the way."

Lin Xuan's face changed drastically, and her lips trembled. Lin Shuge said, "Your Majesty summoned the two of us. It has nothing to do with my brother and sister-in-law. Please don't scare them."

The soldiers put down their knives, and Lin Shuge said to the twins: "Don't be afraid, Erlang and I will be back soon, you stay at home and remember to save some food for us, you must."

Lin Qingyuan's face turned pale. He was about to speak, but was stopped by Lin Xuan. "We understand, big brother."

"Then I'll have to trouble you to lead the way." Lin Shuge said. He gave Xie Chen a calm look, and Xie Chen nodded at him. The two followed the soldiers into the palace.

Outside the Yunfu Palace, the soldiers guarding the palace had serious and solemn expressions. Lin Shuge walked into the palace and saw that in addition to the Ding family and several members of the Ding party, there were also members of the Wei family, including Wei Shuo and Wei Shuo, and two unfamiliar men.

The situation doesn't look good, and it's obviously aimed at them, Lin Shuge thought to himself. He looked at Ruan Qingyun on the other side while bowing. Ruan Qingyun had an ugly expression on his face, and he seemed to be hesitant to speak as he looked at them.

"My two dear ministers, please stand up. I have summoned you here so late because there is an old matter that I need your help to verify," said Emperor Yongyuan.

Ding Wenqi looked arrogant and said immediately, "Today is still for Lord Wei, oh no, Lord Xie's life experience. My brother once pointed out that Lord Xie was the one who escaped from the Xie family's rebellion case. He didn't want to be refuted on the spot by you two, but someone found us and told me that you," he pointed at Xie Chen, "are the one who escaped by luck."

Lin Shuge stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, this matter has already been concluded, why did someone come here to frame Zhongxuan today? This kind of trend must not be tolerated..."

"Lin Huaiting, no matter how eloquent you are, you must tell the truth in front of His Majesty today." Ding Wenqi interrupted Lin Shuge loudly.

Lin Shuge still had a smile on his face, "Who is this gentleman?"

"I am the newly appointed commander of the Southern Army." Ding Wenqi said.

"It turns out to be the young Lord Ding. No wonder he looks so similar to the original Lord Ding. When I saw him from afar, I thought it was Lord Ding. But when I look closer, he doesn't look like him. Lord Ding is more handsome." Lin Shuge replied.

The Ding brothers have always been at odds with each other. This is something that everyone in the court knows. In front of Ding Wenqi, Lin Shuge not only mentioned Ding Wenbo, but also praised him openly and belittled him secretly. Ding Wenqi was immediately furious. He suppressed his anger and said, "Master Lin is so young, how can your eyesight be bad?"

"I think it's because he's been picking on us every day lately and hasn't gotten enough rest. But speaking of poor eyesight, the two Lords Wei over there really have poor eyesight. They even stopped us yesterday to ask for money for medical treatment."

"Lin Huaiting, you...you are talking nonsense. This is not the place where you can be so insolent." Wei Shuo was so angry that he was fuming. He cursed in his heart that he was indeed from a vulgar place. Not only were his behaviors not up to par, but his casual talk was even more vulgar. He didn't look like an important minister in front of the emperor at all.

"Master Wei," Lin Shuge bowed to Wei Shu, "Master Zhongxuan and I are magnanimous about what happened yesterday, so we won't bother with you."

"Lord Lin's skill in confusing right and wrong has become increasingly better, but the emperor did not ask you two to come here today just to talk. Wei Zhongxuan, look at these people in this hall. Do they look familiar to you?" Yi Chi said with a sneer.

Before Xie Chen could say anything, Wei Shu said earnestly, "Erlang, you refuse to recognize us. Do you still dare to deceive the emperor in front of him?"

A man next to him stepped forward and said, "Young Master, have you forgotten me? I used to be the left commander under your grandfather. Others may not know about your heroic battle against the Qiang people, but I know everything. You grew up in the army, and although I may be presumptuous to say this, I have watched you grow up."

Another man also said: "Who in the army can forget the young master's elegance in the past? I would recognize the young master's appearance even if he turned into ashes."

Ding Wenqi said proudly: "Xie Chen, what else do you have to say? Those are your mother's relatives, and these two are Xie Suwen's old subordinates. Both sides have testified, and you still dare to deny it?"

Xie Chen clenched his hands tightly, his face seemed to be covered with a layer of frost. He said coldly: "The Wei family did everything for power and interests back then. Now they are looking for me again. I don't know why they are framing loyal people for their own interests. As for these two adults, they betrayed their old master and changed sides. How can they identify my identity?"

"Xie Chen, you still dare to deny it," Ding Wenqi said, "Your Majesty, the witness is right in front of you, and Xie Chen still refuses to repent. He is really stubborn and unrepentant. I ask Your Majesty to deal with it impartially and severely punish this person to rectify the laws of our Great Yan Kingdom."

"Lord Ding's words are all for the sake of national law, but..."

"Lin Huaiting, I advise you not to sacrifice your family's lives for this man. The Xie family committed an unforgivable crime. Xie Chen refused to be punished and fled to the northwest. He survived until now. His crime is even more serious. If you help him like this, you are an accomplice."

"I know Zhongxuan's character very well. Thank you, Lord Ding, for your kind reminder."

"Since you are so stubborn, Your Majesty, we need to invite another witness." Ding Wenqi looked at Lin Shuge provocatively as if she had won.

I'm afraid it won't end well today. Lin Shuge glanced at Ruan Qingyun and saw worry in his eyes. Lin Shuge panicked for a moment and pinched his palms hard before he regained his composure.

A woman was brought up, "I, Zou, greet your majesty."

"Your Majesty, this Zou was the wet nurse of the Xie family. Both of Xie's sons were raised by her. You gentlemen may wish to listen to what Zou has to say." Ding Wenqi said.

Zou took a few steps forward, and after seeing Xie Chen's face, a trace of struggle flashed across her face. She said, "Young Master, is it really you? Are you still alive?"

"Zou, tell your majesty, what is his name?"

"It must be Mr. Xie. The little boy was born on the eighth day of the third month in the twentieth year of Kaiping. The Xie family was overjoyed and gave us several months' salary. I have been taking care of the little boy since he was born, and he left the Xie family when something happened in my family. When I left, Mr. Xie and his wife gave me many things. I have spent half of them over the years, but kept some. One of them was the jade ring that Mr. Xie gave to the little boy when he was one month old. This is it." As she spoke, she took something out of her arms. Ding Wenqi took it and presented it to Emperor Yongyuan.

Emperor Yongyuan sighed slightly in his heart and glanced at the jade ring. He saw the words "May my grandson be free from unnecessary illness and enjoy long-lasting happiness and health" engraved on it. Behind it was Xie Chen's name and date of birth.

"This item is precious and should not have fallen into my hands. The young master is a sentimental man. When he heard that my child was seriously ill and difficult to treat, he gave this item to me, saying that this item had protected him from illness and disaster for many years. He hoped that this item would protect my son from danger and misfortune." said Zou.

"This item was given to me by the young master in the past. I wonder if you still remember it?" Zou looked straight at Xie Chen.

Xie Chen closed her eyes. When Lin Shuge heard this, he wanted to tear her apart alive. He thought about how he would feel if the things that little Xie Chen gave away with blessings back then became sharp arrows piercing him many years later.

"Xie Chen, what else do you have to say about what Zou said?"

"My dear, when you were born, there was a sesame-sized birthmark on your right arm. My mistress and I saw it clearly..."

"Your Majesty, please allow me to check the birthmark on Xie Chen's body." Ding Wenqi said to Emperor Yongyuan, and then waved to the soldiers guarding outside the door. The soldiers immediately stepped forward, but Lin Shuge stopped them and said, "Your Majesty, this woman keeps saying that she is deeply indebted to the Xie family, but her actions today are obviously..."

"Lin Huaiting, you still want to protect him? The Xie family is guilty of treason and all their descendants will be executed. Since he dared to escape secretly, his crime is unforgivable. You have helped him again and again, but do you want to share the responsibility with him?" Yi Chi shouted sternly.

"Your Majesty, Zhongxuan and I..."

"Brother, that's enough." Xie Chen smiled at him, knelt down and said, "I, the descendant of the Xie family, escaped from the Xie family and went to the northwest many years ago. Doctor Lin was not aware of this. I fabricated my life story to deceive him. The officials of Ganzhou County can prove this."

Lin Shuge's heart ached suddenly, and he said in a hoarse voice: "Your Majesty, I would like to be with him..."

"Brother, Ayuan and Axuan are still waiting for you." Xie Chen said softly.

"Great, you finally admitted it." Ding Wenqi was overjoyed. "Your Majesty, since he has admitted that he is Xie Chen, please bring him to justice and punish him accordingly."

Xie Chen kowtowed to Emperor Yongyuan and said, "I, your guilty subject, have something to say today and I must make it clear."

Emperor Yongyuan rubbed his sore eyes and said, "You say."

"I also ask Your Majesty to thoroughly investigate the case of the Xie family's treason. The Xie family is full of loyal and brave people. They are worthy of the late emperor and their ancestors. However, they were framed and accused of treason. I ask Your Majesty to re-examine the case and clear the Xie family's name."

"The Xie family was convicted of treason by the late emperor. You are a guilty person, do you still want to overturn the verdict?" Ding Yanhe suddenly said.

"Your Majesty, Xie Gong's good name is known throughout the world. Please re-examine this case in consideration of Zhongxuan's contributions in the battle against the Huns, and do not let a loyal and good man be wronged." Lin Shuge also knelt down and said.

"Your Majesty, the court has strict laws. There must be some hidden story behind how Xie Chen escaped. I ask Your Majesty to interrogate him strictly and find out the person who helped him escape to the northwest." Yi Chi also said.

"Alright, everyone, get up. Put Wei...Xie Chen in jail temporarily and wait for your punishment." Emperor Yongyuan made the final decision, saying in a cold voice.

The soldiers stepped forward and were about to take Xie Chen away. Xie Chen looked at them coldly and said, "No need. I'll go by myself."

"Zhongxuan," Lin Shuge took a few steps forward.

Xie Chen gave him a soothing smile and strode over. Suddenly, he slipped and almost fell. Lin Shuge hurriedly held him up. Xie Chen took the opportunity to stuff the letter in his hand to Lin Shuge.

The two men overlapped their sleeves, Lin Shuge felt the warmth of his palm and put the letter into his sleeve.