Concubine Shu pondered for a moment and nodded.
The emperor has now begun to suspect her, so she has to take action as soon as possible to avoid being too passive later.
"Take this and contact Prince Duan," Concubine Shu took out a simple white jade hairpin from under her pillow, rubbed it in her hand for a while before handing it to Xiao Shize.
Xiao Shize was very familiar with this hairpin, as he often wore it when he was young. Later, when Concubine Shu asked for it for her birthday, he casually took off this white jade hairpin.
Xiao Shize took the white jade hairpin and placed it in his arms, saying respectfully, "I'll do it right away."
Concubine Shu warned worriedly, "Be careful and don't let the emperor's secret guards find you."
What the two of them didn't know was that they had long been under the emperor's surveillance.
When Xiao Shize left, the secret guards also left.
There were two secret guards monitoring Xiao Shize, one of whom went to the imperial study to tell the emperor about this.
[Should we contact Prince Duan? Xiao Shize doesn't even know where Prince Duan is, how can we contact him?]
This is also the question that the emperor is thinking about.
Prince Duan went to the trouble of disfiguring himself before leaving the capital. Now that he's returned to burn paper money, he must be planning to have Concubine Shu contact him before leaving Tianqi, so that he can then go off to other countries and pursue his own affairs.
[This way, once he grows up, we can coordinate with him from both inside and outside. What a good plan.]
[I wonder if Xiao Shize knows his nephew well enough to try and lure him into taking the bait.]
The emperor looked at the kneeling secret guards and said, "Follow him closely. Report back immediately if anything happens. If Prince Duan shows up, take him back to the palace."
…
On the other side, Xiao Shize left the palace and went straight to the Xiao Mansion.
Prince Duan knew about his relationship with Concubine Shu, so this news must have been leaked deliberately by Prince Duan so that Concubine Shu could find a way to contact him.
The most dangerous place is the safest place. Xiao Shize climbed into the Xiao Mansion and headed towards the ancestral hall where it was best to hide people without being discovered.
He and Prince Duan were of similar age. When they were young, they played hide-and-seek together, and Prince Duan liked to hide in it.
When I entered the ancestral hall, the tablets that were originally neatly arranged in my memory were lying on the ground in a mess, and the hall was filled with cobwebs and dust.
Xiao Shize bent down to pick up the tablet that had fallen on the ground, then walked in step by step.
"Aren't you coming out yet?"
Walking to a familiar corner and stopping, Xiao Shize squinted his eyes and looked at a piece of blue-gray clothing.
There was a rustling sound, and a man wearing dirty and tattered clothes and with messy hair, like a beggar, slowly emerged from the corner.
Seeing that the person in front of him was not Prince Duan, Xiao Shize frowned, "Who are you and why are you here?"
The man dressed as a beggar was a subordinate of Prince Duan. He pulled aside his messy hair and looked at Xiao Shize with some vigilance.
"Of course I'm waiting for someone who can feed me."
Xiao Shize narrowed his eyes slightly, squatted down, took out the white jade hairpin from his body and handed it to him, "This, take it back to Prince Duan, it will be enough for you to eat."
Their eyes met and they both became serious.
"For safety reasons, the prince will not come."
"Did you burn the paper money yourself?"
Xiao Shize felt a surge of anger in his heart, "Prince Duan is really cautious, even asking others to help him with this filial piety."
Prince Duan's subordinates did not hear the sarcasm in his words.
"Your Highness has suffered so much, it's always right to be cautious. I'll leave the letter for tomorrow's contact at the largest restaurant in the capital, so I'll take the lead."
After listening to the conversation between the two, the secret guard returned to the imperial study and told the emperor about it.
"Really cautious."
The emperor snorted coldly and asked, "Where is the beggar?"
Another secret guard knelt on the ground and said, "I am incompetent. The people from the Ministry of Justice were searching everywhere, and there were too many people on the street, so I lost them."
"Forget it, continue to keep an eye on Concubine Shu and his secret guards."
Unless Prince Duan never meets Concubine Shu.
After sending away the secret guards, the emperor called out to the door, "Eunuch Cao."
"The servant is here."
Eunuch Cao came in quickly and saw the emperor standing up.
"Take the box and follow me to Concubine Xian."
Eunuch Cao, not knowing why, picked up the box and followed the emperor out of the imperial study.
[What is that box for? Is there any treasure inside? ]
[You're being so secretive and not showing it to me. Are you trying to secretly show your affection to Mother?]
The emperor listened to Yu Yiluo mumbling in her heart all the way until she entered Concubine Xian's bedroom and then she calmed down.
[Stay awake, don't fall asleep like last time. I want to see what's in the Tyrant's box.]
Empress Xian looked at Yu Yiluo with a mixture of laughter and tears. Her eyes, like black grapes, were wide open without blinking, and she looked alert, as if she was afraid that she would really fall asleep.
"Your Highness, I pay my respects to you."
"My beloved concubine, please get up," the emperor said, looking at Eunuch Cao, "and give the things to Concubine Xian."
Looking at the box handed over by Eunuch Cao, Empress Xian looked puzzled.
"Your Majesty, what is this?"
The emperor motioned for her to sit down and sat down on the chair next to her.
"My dear, wait till tonight to see it."
When Concubine Xian saw the emperor's meaningful look, she understood instantly.
The emperor meant that it could not be seen in front of Luo'er.
She handed the box to Hua Rui and said, "Put it away first."
[I seriously suspect the tyrant's words are directed at me and he doesn't want to show it to me.]
[Mother, you are my real mother, why don’t you show me? We agreed that we would be in tune with each other.]
[I've kept my eyes open for such a long time without blinking, how come you can't see my little cutie's plea?]
Concubine Xian suppressed her smile and poured tea for the emperor, then took Yu Yiluo over to feed her.
[Forget it, if you don't want to show it to me, then don't show it to me. Curiosity kills the cat. I'm not curious at all.]
The two chatted for a while and hypnotized Yu Yiluo, who was full and satisfied, to sleep.
The servants around had already retreated. When Concubine Xian saw that Yu Yiluo had fallen asleep, she stood up and wanted to put her to bed, but the emperor raised his hand and made a gesture to silence her.
Luo'er is so cunning, what if he pretends to be asleep?
Concubine Xian looked at the emperor in confusion, only to see the emperor raise his hand and gently pinch Yu Yiluo's face.
Yu Yiluo was sleeping soundly when she felt someone pinching her. She raised her hand and patted the emperor's hand, then fell asleep again while smacking her lips.
"Take him to sleep, he really fell asleep."
Empress Xian carried Yu Yiluo to the bed, covered her with a thin quilt, and then turned and walked out from behind the screen.
When the emperor saw her coming, he handed her the box in his hand.
"I just asked the palace servant who was serving you to bring it over. Open it and take a look."
Under his gaze, Concubine Xian slowly opened the box. When she saw the bright yellow imperial edict inside, she raised her eyes and looked at the emperor in disbelief.
"What does the Emperor want to do with this imperial edict?"
"Open it and you'll find out."
Empress Xian raised her hand and took out the imperial edict. She slowly unfolded it and looked at the emperor in shock after reading its contents.
"Your Majesty, this..."
Before Concubine Xian could finish her words, the Emperor interrupted her.
"I have said that I will make Luo'er live happily and worry-free. I will order people to do the things mentioned in this imperial decree when Luo'er turns one year old. Luo'er should be very happy by then."
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