Chapter 78 Hairpin "Shushu, do you also feel... Xie Heng...

When Xiao Yu arrived at the dungeon, the chief jailer came to greet him.

Hearing Zhou Tong behind him say that the king wanted to see the Yan State Taizhu who was sent in yesterday, he led people in attentively.

After entering the deepest solitary stone cell, the dim candlelight spread across the mottled stone walls. The air still had the scent of moist moss. Xiao Yu lowered his eyes and saw Xie Heng leaning against the wall with his eyes closed to rest.

Hearing the sound of the prison door being unlocked, the young man in the prison immediately raised his head. When he saw King Xiao in a black robe, his brows suddenly frowned.

That day, he was inexplicably knocked unconscious by several men in black in the Yan State Prison. When he woke up, he found himself lying in an unfamiliar carriage. A few days later, he learned that he was about to be sent to the Xiao State.

After arriving in Xiao State yesterday, he was taken to this prison.

Looking at King Xiao in front of him at this moment, Xie Heng was even more puzzled.

"Your Majesty, the King of Xiao, seems to have no grudges against me. Why did Your Majesty go to such great lengths to bring me to the Kingdom of Xiao? What is your intention?"

Upon hearing this, Xiao Yu just chuckled, walked a few steps closer, and when he stood there, he narrowed his eyes and looked down at her with a condescending look.

It was only then that Xie Heng noticed the mottled marks on the neck of His Majesty King Xiao.

Such an ambiguous position is obviously not caused by mosquitoes.

Xie Heng immediately understood why King Xiao was targeting him so much.

Seeing his gloomy expression, Xiao Yu's smile deepened. He raised his hand, and his slender fingertips seemed to be casually stroking the mark on his neck. His tone seemed calm, but there was a hint of darkness in his dark eyes.

"Of course there is no grudge. Today I am just here on behalf of Shushu to reminisce with Master Xie."

After Xiao Yu finished speaking, he paused deliberately, then looked at Xie Heng's slightly changed expression and slowly completed the second half of the sentence.

"Now, it's time for Xie Taizhu to call her the Queen of Xiao Kingdom."

Xie Heng curled his fingertips slightly when he heard that, but before he could speak, he heard Xiao Yu continue.

"Oh, right."

His Majesty Prince Xiao spoke with a calculated nonchalance, as if recounting a trivial matter. "Madam Hui has already been brought to Xiao Gong from Yan State. She will have a safe life and no worries about food and clothing. Naturally, there's no need to trouble Grand Master Xie for her care."

Having said that, the intention of showing off and declaring has become obvious.

If Xie Heng still fails to hear the hidden meaning in Xiao Yu's words, then the past twenty years have truly been wasted.

However, upon hearing that Madam Hui had come to the Kingdom of Xiao and Princess Chaohua had become the queen, Xie Heng's brows relaxed a little. His tone remained gentle, but a little more serious.

"Your Majesty, Prince Xiao, you are overthinking it. From the beginning to the end, I, Xie, and Princess Chaohua have only been old friends. There has never been any inappropriate romantic relationship between men and women. When I, Xie, took care of Madam Hui in the past, it was simply out of consideration for our old friendship."

"Old friendship?" Xiao Yu chuckled, the gloom in his narrow eyes growing thicker. "Xie Taizhu, do you believe what you said?"

The young king took a step forward, and the shadow in the cell almost covered Xie Heng, and suddenly a low voice sounded.

"But I will believe her."

Xiao Yu naturally believed in his Shu Shu, but he also had a natural man's intuition about Xie Heng.

After all, his Shushu was so beautiful. How could Xie Heng not have shamelessly coveted her when he was with her?

This turn of events came suddenly. Xie Heng looked up at him, only to see that Xiao Yu had retracted his arrogant attitude and turned his back to him. His black robe exuded a gloomy air in the dim light of the dungeon.

"You have an old ties with the Queen. Today, for her sake, I will spare your life."

He paused after saying this, and a sinister warning tone entered his voice.

"I just want to advise you to put away those inappropriate thoughts as soon as possible. From now on, I will provide Shushu with a stable life."

Xiao Yu did not look back, leaving only a tall figure behind as he walked straight out of the prison, leaving Xie Heng staring at the prison door that had closed again. A complex expression flashed across his eyes, and finally turned into a sigh.

…

Ever since Madam Hui was brought back to the Kingdom of Xiao, Yan Shu has been much happier every day.

However, Madam Hui's status was special. After the fire in the Yan State ancestral temple, King Wen of Yan announced to the public that Madam Hui had died. Now, if she wanted to live in the Xiao Palace permanently, she must first find a suitable identity for her to conceal her identity.

Xiao Yu had suggested to Yan Shu that they publicly announce that Madam Hui was an old friend of Ning Guojun's who had left the palace for spiritual practice, and upon her return, she would be honored as the Grand Concubine. Yan Shu initially thought this was feasible, but Madam Hui refused, stating that it violated etiquette and that it would be better for her to find a quiet retreat outside the palace.

Although Yan Shu longed to be with her mother day and night, she could not bear to go against her wishes and had to obey.

So Xiao Yu chose a place in Yongcheng that was closest to the Xiao Palace and built an elegant outer residence. He also selected a group of reliable and capable palace maids from the palace and sent them to the house to serve him carefully.

And because the house was not far from the Xiao Palace, it was very convenient for Yan Shu to leave the palace to visit Madam Hui at any time.

After Madam Hui settled down in the house, Yan Shu finally felt relieved. Later, when Xiao Yu was busy with government affairs, he would go out of the palace to visit Madam Hui. For a while, her life was particularly comfortable.

After the fall of Empress Dowager Zhao Jing, her allies within the court were purged. Although the Xiao Kingdom's political situation was now stable, it was experiencing a decline in talent. To recruit more talented individuals, Xiao Yu established a system of recruiting and recommending talented individuals, recruiting knowledgeable individuals from across the country to fill the court.

Just as the talent recommendation policy was being implemented, the newly appointed Imperial Censor unexpectedly recommended a person whom Xiao Yu was surprised by and angered by.

…

Yan Shu had just returned from Madam Hui's residence today, and saw Xiao Yu already waiting for her in her Baohua Palace.

When he saw the girl, the young king, whose eyes were originally cold, softened instantly.

Yan Shu also walked forward quickly with her eyes bent, hugged Xiao Yu's neck as usual, and sat in his arms.

Xiao Yu raised his hand and scratched the girl's rosy cheek. "Did you have fun today?"

Yan Shu nodded, and then her almond-shaped eyes curved in a smile.

"I'm so happy. My mother and I went shopping together and bought a lot of things." Yan Shu suddenly remembered something and immediately looked up at Xiao Yu happily, "I also bought something for you."

As Yan Shu spoke, she sat up from Xiao Yu and opened the bundle that had just been placed on the small table and flipped through it.

Then he took out a dark jade hairpin and handed it to Xiao Yu.

"Do you like it?" Yan Shu's cat-like eyes showed some hope.

Xiao Yu's eyes fell on the hairpin, and his heart was filled with sweetness.

Although he had never worn such a hairpin before, he was still happy that the girl was thinking of him when she went out.

"I like it. I like everything Shushu gives me."

Hearing Xiao Yu say that he liked it, Yan Shu immediately smiled, then picked up the hairpin and shook it at him: "I'll put it on you."

Xiao Yu naturally lowered his head obediently, allowing the girl to pin the hairpin into his hair.

It really fits.

Yan Shu nodded with satisfaction.

The Xiao State respected the color black, so the king's clothes were mostly black.

The dark color also suits Xiao Yu very well.

After all, King Xiao Wei also wore a black robe in the past, but he was bloated and looked like a fat cabbage worm, covered in fat and greasy substances that made people sick just by looking at him.

But Xiao Yu was different. He was as handsome as jade, and his dark robe only highlighted his noble aura.

And this black jade hairpin was just as Yan Shu had expected. Not only did it retain the aura of a king, it also made his face look more handsome.

"I originally had a white jade hairpin of the same style, but I still think the black jade one suits you better." Yan Shu held her chin and looked at the young king in front of her, her pair of clear cat-like eyes seemed to be fascinated by him.

And Xiao Yu heard the word Bai Yu.

The white jade hairpins that some people wore in their hair suddenly appeared in my mind, and my heart sank immediately.

He never wears a hairpin.

But Xie Heng always brought it with him.

Shushu said that the white jade hairpin is not suitable for him. Could it be that she thinks there is someone else who is suitable?

Xiao Yu couldn't help but think darkly.

He knew Shushu would not lie to him, but because of what happened in the court today, jealousy inexplicably surged up in his heart.

So he lowered his eyelashes, hiding the darkness in his eyes.

"Why does Shushu think the white jade hairpin doesn't suit me?"

Yan Shu was stunned by Xiao Yu's question. Seeing that he seemed lonely, she thought that Xiao Yu liked the white jade hairpin more, so she hugged his neck and asked confusedly:

"Do you like white jade hairpins? Then I'll buy you a white jade one next time I leave the palace."

Although Yan Shu felt that ink color suited Xiao Yu better, since Xiao Yu liked white, she naturally had to follow his preference.

But after hearing this, Xiao Yu just lowered his eyes, hugged her, and said nothing more.

Even someone as slow-witted as Yan Shu could sense that something was amiss.

"What's wrong with Brother Xun? Why do you seem unhappy today?"

When Xiao Yu heard Yan Shu's words, he subconsciously wanted to gloss over it, but then he remembered what the girl had said in the past, that she hoped they could be honest with each other in the future. So he hugged the girl and told Yan Shu everything that happened in the court today.

After hearing this, Yan Shu realized that the Imperial Censor and the Prime Minister had jointly recommended Xie Heng to the court. It was precisely because of this that Xiao Yu felt so unhappy.

The reason why Xie Heng was recommended by the court officials was because his mother came from the Wei family, a prominent family in the Xiao State.

Back then, the daughter of the Wei family insisted on leaving the family and marrying far away in Yan State. For many years, there was no news from her. Now that Xie Heng has left Yan State, the Xie family of Yan State has also removed him from the family tree. When the Wei family learned about it, they called him back to recognize his ancestors and return to the Wei family.

Now that Xie Heng was a descendant of the Wei family and possessed outstanding talent, the court officials naturally vied to recommend him to serve in the court.

If it were anyone else, Xiao Yu wouldn't have had much of an objection, but it was Xie Heng, and that made him feel like a huge rock stuck in his heart. Although he now knew that Shu Shu and Xie Heng had no relationship, he still couldn't bear the thought of someone else coveting her, especially when this "someone else" was a gentle gentleman praised by everyone.

Thinking of this, Xiao Yu felt an inexplicable sense of unwillingness welling up in his heart.

Yan Shu's words just now, that the white jade hairpin was not suitable for him, were still ringing in his ears. The feeling of inferiority hidden in his heart now surged up like a tide, almost swallowing him up.

He lowered his eyes and stared at the green jade in Yan Shu's hair. His throat rolled and his voice was slightly tense, even mixed with a hint of grievance that he himself was not aware of.

"Shushu, do you also think...Xie Heng is better than me?"

Yan Shu's heart softened at Xiao Yu's appearance. She reached out and gently stroked his fair cheek, her voice as soft as if soaked in honey.

"In terms of talent for governing a country, Xie Taizhu is indeed exceptionally capable. Recommending him to the court is a good thing for the Xiao Kingdom, but it's not the same thing as what I feel good about."

After saying that, Yan Shu put her arms around his neck again, and her dark eyes looked at Xiao Yu with sparkling eyes and a very serious expression.

"Brother Xun has his own responsibilities, and he is also sincere and loving to me. In my eyes, you are a person a hundred times more precious than the elegance, talent and reputation of others. You have always been good, and there is no need to compare yourself with anyone else."

Xiao Yu was stunned when he heard this, and then his heart was filled with waves of enthusiasm and ecstasy.

He thought that in this life, the next life, and all the lives to come, he would love and cling to his Shushu until death.

-----------------------

The author has something to say: Update and offer [dog head]

In fact, Xiao Yu did not doubt that there was anything between Shu Shu and Xie Heng. He was just a little bit inferior [dog head] because he felt that Xie Heng was the type of gentle gentleman that Shu Shu liked.