Chapter 11 Suspicion Arises, Probing, and a Spy Within a Spy!
Soon, Xie Yuanxun met up with Xie Xuanyin and the others.
Upon seeing him, he dismounted and strode forward, saying, "Your Highness! Your subject greets Your Highness!"
"I heard that the Crown Prince encountered bandits at Tianzhao Mountain today. Is he injured? Yin'er, let your uncle take a look!"
His face showed worry and anxiety, yet he did not deviate from the proper etiquette between ruler and subject.
"Imperial Uncle, I am fine."
Xie Xuanyin offered him a helping hand.
In the dead of night, Xie Yuanxun suddenly appeared, which aroused Xie Xuanyin's suspicion.
When Xie Yuanxun said that he had heard that the Crown Prince had encountered bandits in Tianzhao Mountain, Xie Xuanyin felt even more puzzled.
Given the long and arduous journey, how did Xie Yuanxun learn of this matter?
Besides, it was Shen Ruoli who encountered the bandits today, not him.
Xie Yuanxun's tone was certain, as if he had known all along that he would encounter bandits...
"Uncle, you've come all this way, thank you for your hard work."
Xie Xuanyin remained expressionless and did not directly address whether he was injured.
Xie Yuanxun raised his hand, his eyes solemn, "Upon hearing of the Crown Prince's assassination attempt, I dared not delay for even a second and rushed here immediately! I was afraid I would be too late!"
strangeness.
The crown prince looked completely unharmed, without a scratch!
Shouldn't he be seriously injured?
But the guard beside him was pale-faced, clearly injured...
Xie Xuanyin, that brat, has always had an "unfathomable" demeanor since he was a child, and no one can see through him.
Perhaps he was also injured, and was just pretending?
Xie Yuanxun was suspicious, but dared not show it. "It's good that the Crown Prince is alright! Otherwise, my uncle would be so worried that he wouldn't be able to sleep."
"By the way, I heard that the Crown Princess insisted on going to Tianzhao Temple to pray for blessings, which is why she encountered bandits and implicated the Crown Prince. Is the Crown Princess alright? Why would she travel so far to pray for blessings? Wouldn't Dongyang Temple be closer?"
Dongyang Temple was an imperial temple, located in the capital, so it was naturally closer.
At this moment, Shen Ruoli, inside the carriage, held his breath, listening carefully to what Xie Yuanxun had to say.
They've arrived!
Just like in my past life, he started blaming her without saying a word!
Shen Ruoli clenched her fists in anger.
Xie Xuanyin heard the rebuke in Xie Yuanxun's tone clearly.
Although his blaming of Shen Ruoli made Xie Xuanyin unhappy.
But then I thought, this woman is so ungrateful tonight, she even tried to whet his appetite with "good news and bad news," she deserves to be scolded!
Therefore, Xie Xuanyin did not stop Xie Yuanxun.
"Oh, right, I haven't yet paid my respects to the Crown Princess."
Seeing that Xie Xuanyin remained silent, Xie Yuanxun said, "I will go and give my regards to the Crown Princess."
"Your Imperial Uncle is an elder; there's no need for such formalities."
"Elders are one thing, but rules are another! Rules must not be broken!"
"Then, please, Imperial Uncle."
Xie Xuanyin twitched the corner of his lips.
Hearing Xie Yuanxun's approaching footsteps, Shen Ruoli gritted her teeth: Xie Xuanyin is a real scoundrel! He was just pretending to stop her, but it was clearly a feigned retreat to deliberately let Xie Yuanxun scold her!
"Princess."
Xie Yuanxun stood still outside the carriage.
With his back to Xie Xuanyin, his expression became meaningful.
"I heard the Crown Princess was assassinated. I wonder how badly she was injured?"
He claimed he came to pay his respects, but in reality, he was putting on airs and acting superior, which was quite unpleasant.
Shen Ruoli frowned, her dislike for the Prince of Zhenbei growing even stronger.
She was about to answer that it was nothing, but then changed her mind, "It's the Sixth Imperial Uncle..."
"Cough cough cough."
Shen Ruoli's voice sounded somewhat weak, "I'm so sorry to trouble Sixth Imperial Uncle to make this trip so late at night! I'm injured and can't stand the wind, so I hope Sixth Imperial Uncle will understand."
In a short while, she thought of a way to test Xie Yuanxun.
She remembered that before entering the Eastern Palace, she had complained about Xie Yuanxun to Xie Xuansong.
At that time, Empress Dowager Shen bestowed a marriage upon Xie Xuanyin, and Xie Yuanxun, feeling indignant on Xie Xuanyin's behalf, once spoke rudely in the Shou Kang Palace.
Therefore, Shen Ruoli was somewhat dissatisfied with him.
Perhaps because she was "one of their own," Xie Xuansong did not comfort her. Instead, he spoke a few words on Xie Yuanxun's behalf in a lukewarm manner and even blamed her for being too petty.
I didn't think anything of it before.
Having been reborn, upon seeing Xie Yuanxun again, Shen Ruoli was absolutely certain that there was something wrong between Xie Yuanxun and Xie Xuansong!
"Princess Consort, it's not that your uncle is blaming you! You know perfectly well that the Crown Prince is the future heir apparent and of noble status, so how could you insist on having him come with you to pray for blessings?"
Xie Yuanxun said sternly, "If something happens to the Crown Prince, can you bear the responsibility?!"
"Dongyang Temple is right in the capital, why insist on coming to Tianzhao Temple? Don't you know that bandits are rampant on Tianzhao Mountain? Your actions not only put the Crown Prince in a difficult position, but also make things difficult for me!"
After all, Tianzhao Mountain is not far from Fuzhou.
He knew the situation of the bandits of Tianzhao Mountain better than anyone else!
The imperial court launched several campaigns to suppress the bandits, but each time it failed.
What if the emperor blames us this time...
Xie Yuanxun gritted his teeth, his face already showing displeasure!
"I've heard that the Crown Princess is arrogant and spoiled, but when it comes to the Crown Prince's safety, she must not be reckless and willful! I don't care about the Crown Princess's past relationship with the Prince of Chu, now that you are the Crown Princess, you should put the Crown Prince first in everything!"
As he spoke, he glanced at Xie Xuanyin out of the corner of his eye.
His voice was loud enough that Xie Xuanyin could hear it clearly!
Seeing Xie Xuanyin's gaze darken, Xie Yuanxun withdrew his gaze with satisfaction.
"It is not that I am reprimanding the Crown Princess, but I have watched the Crown Prince grow up, and it pains me to see him injured. I hope the Crown Princess will understand!"
He thought his reprimand would anger Shen Ruoli.
After all, everyone knows how spoiled that brat is!
With the Empress Dowager's favor, Shen Ruoli hardly pays any attention to anyone!
Xie Yuanxun waited for Shen Ruoli to get angry.
If she gets angry, Xie Xuanyin will be even more dissatisfied with her, so how can he trust her?
By then, Xie Xuansong will surely suspect that Shen Ruoli is unfaithful to him!
The more chaotic the situation, the more advantageous it is for his Zhenbei Prince's Mansion!
To everyone's surprise, after Xie Yuanxun's reprimand, Shen Ruoli was not angry at all. Instead, she responded in a low voice, "Sixth Imperial Uncle is right. I will remember Sixth Imperial Uncle's teachings!"
Xie Yuanxun: "???"
The plot shouldn't have gone this way!
Shen Ruoli is not playing by the rules?
"Today, I was careless and implicated the Crown Prince. I have no face to face the Crown Prince!"
Shen Ruoli said pitifully, "Thanks to Sixth Imperial Uncle for waking me up..."
Xie Yuanxun: "???"
Seeing Xie Xuanyin approach with a gloomy expression, he quickly explained, "Your Highness, you've misunderstood! I'm not blaming you! I'm just teaching you not to be so willful in the future!"
"Thank you for your guidance, Sixth Imperial Uncle! Although I have an imperial grandmother, an emperor and an empress, parents, elder brothers and sisters, and His Highness the Crown Prince... Sixth Imperial Uncle did not mind my spoiled and willful nature, and patiently taught me the principles of being a good person. I am extremely grateful!"
Shen Ruoli choked up as she spoke.
Xie Xuanyin narrowed his eyes.
That makes sense—with them around, it's not Xie Yuanxun's place to lecture Shen Ruoli, is it?
He originally intended to deliberately see Shen Ruoli suffer a setback.
Hearing Xie Yuanxun's impolite reprimand, Xie Xuanyin couldn't suppress his subconscious desire to protect her!
Knowing that Xie Xuanyin was outside the carriage, Shen Ruoli slowly lifted the curtain, revealing her aggrieved little face. "Besides, coming to Tianzhao Mountain to pray for blessings today was not my own idea."
"It was... the King of Chu's suggestion!"
Shen Ruoli unceremoniously pinned the blame on Xie Xuansong.
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