Chapter 75: Ali went to the city to seek refuge with relatives
An autumn wind blew, dark clouds covered the sky, and a drizzle began to fall in Kyoto City.
The Pacification Office and the Ministry of Justice interrogated Shi Tao overnight. As soon as Xuanfeng learned the whereabouts of the weapons, he rushed to the palace to report.
East Palace, Mingde Hall.
"According to Shi Tao, the Second Prince colluded with King Wu, and the coveted military equipment was secretly transferred outside the city, and then sent to Yunmo County by a special person. Before forcing the emperor to abdicate, the Second Prince wrote a letter to King Wu, but for some unknown reason, King Wu did not lead troops to support him." Xuanfeng bowed and reported.
The side hall was quiet and cold. Xiao Mingyi sat behind the ebony desk, tapping the memorials with his long fingers from time to time.
"The King of Wu is ambitious and unwilling to remain inferior to others. When two cubs quarrel, the fisherman benefits. He wants to use Xiao Du to get rid of me and my father, and finally put on a show of coming to the rescue. But Xiao Du's men are as stupid as pigs. They can neither stop me nor harm my father."
"The news of Shi Tao's arrest will soon reach Yunmo County, and King Wu should be worried." Xiao Mingyi said sarcastically.
Xuan Feng hesitated: "What does Your Highness mean?"
"I have issued my order. The King of Wu has colluded with the rebels and smuggled military equipment. He deserves death, but I, mindful of our blood relationship, will grant him a lighter sentence if he surrenders the stolen weapons. Also, have the General of the Cavalry lead his troops to Yunmo County. Anyone who dares to resist will be killed without mercy."
It has been less than a year since the pirates in Danyang County were pacified, and the disaster situation in the east has just stabilized. A lot of money has been taken away from the disaster relief this time. If another war breaks out, not only will the national treasury be unable to bear the cost, but the people will also suffer.
The King of Wu was ambitious, but he valued his life more. Once the General of Cavalry led his troops to the border, he knew that there was a huge gap in strength between them and would definitely hand over his weapons.
"yes."
"Your Highness, I have something else to report." Xuan Feng frowned and said, "News has come back from Linzhou that a farmer had seen Miss A Li and escorted her to Kyoto on the day she ran away."
Xiao Mingyi narrowed his eyes slightly: "Entered the capital city?"
If the person has been staying in Kyoto City, why has the Pacification Office not been able to find his whereabouts?
"According to the farmer, Miss Ali came to the city to live with her relatives."
Xuanfeng was puzzled. Since Miss Ali had relatives in Kyoto, why didn't she tell the Crown Prince directly? Could it be that she felt that the Crown Prince's identity as a bandit was not something she could handle?
Since he could think of this, Xiao Mingyi naturally thought of this as well, and his face instantly turned as dark as the bottom of a pot.
"Send them back." Xiao Mingyi's voice was cold, and a hint of gloom flashed across his narrow eyes. "The person we have been looking for for so long is actually right under our noses. Keep searching. Even if we have to turn Kyoto upside down, we must find him."
"...Yes." Xuanfeng replied with his head lowered.
…
The sky cleared up after the rain.
Bishui Yunju held a poetry gathering and invited many literati and scholars from Kyoto to attend the banquet.
Pei Zhao was a talented man famous in Kyoto, so he was naturally among those invited.
The Lu and Pei families were discussing a marriage, and Sima Daru had recommended him to serve as an official in the court. Pei Zhao was now overwhelmed with work and had no time to recite poems and enjoy the moon. However, the people who organized this poetry gathering today were his peers from Wenlushan Academy, and out of courtesy, he could not refuse.
The poetry reading had just begun when an unexpected guest arrived, followed by a number of young men from wealthy families.
As soon as these young men from aristocratic families entered the waterside pavilion, they acted in a disorderly manner, making jokes and playing around, and it was obvious that they were there to cause trouble.
But they happened to be of prominent status, and the literati at the banquet were either from humble backgrounds or from the same aristocratic families. They either could not afford to offend them at all, or their circles overlapped, and they did not want to ruin the relationship, so they had to swallow their anger.
Pei Zhao sat at the head of the table, his expression calm as he watched the young man in brocade robes walk to the opposite side of his desk and sit down with his legs bent in a casual and uninhibited posture.
"Young Master, do you have something to say to me?"
Lu Qian scoffed, "Song Lingyi went to Jingjue Temple, and you went to Jueshui County. Pei Zhao, why didn't I realize you were such a jerk before, rushing to lick the Lu family's people?"
The situation at the table was chaotic and no one noticed their tit-for-tat confrontation.
After two breaths of silence, Pei Zhao smiled faintly. "So, the young master came to me just for this matter. A beautiful lady, a gentleman's dream. It's clearly a matter of mutual consent, but why does the young master make it sound like I forced Lingyi to agree to the marriage?"
What a mutual consent.
Lu Qian's dark eyes were sinister, and he sneered softly, "You want to be my brother-in-law so badly, aren't you afraid that I'll trip you up?"
"I don't know where the young master's hostility comes from, but even the Duke and his wife have no objection to this marriage..." Pei Zhao tilted his head slightly, a rare look of contempt in his eyes. "Can you stop it?"
“…” Lu Qian’s jaw was tense, and dark clouds rolled in his eyes.
With his deadpan personality, saying these words to his face was considered a falling out with him.
When their eyes met, neither of them was inferior to the other in momentum.
"You've only met her a few times, how much do you know about her?"
Lu Qian slowly curled his lips: "She is not someone who will keep to herself. There are so many rules in the aristocratic families. She can pretend at first, but as time goes by, her true colors will be exposed..."
"Don't worry, young master." Pei Zhao frowned and interrupted Lu Qian, as if trying to prove something. He added, "I've met Lingyi long before you. She's a little eccentric, but genuinely kind. As your cousin, you don't know her very well."
After he finished speaking, the anger in Lu Qian's eyes grew stronger. He directly reached out and grabbed Pei Zhao's collar. If there were no other people present, he would have punched him.
"I don't care what happened between you two before. If you know what's good for you, go back and cancel this marriage. Otherwise—"
Pei Zhao calmly pushed away Lu Qian's hand that was grabbing his collar, his expression calm, as if he didn't take the other person seriously at all.
"If that's all you want to say today, I'm sorry I won't keep you company."
The atmosphere was tense, and it was hard for others not to notice.
Especially when they saw the young master rudely grabbing Pei Erlang's collar, all the scholars present were shocked and then angry.
The people invited to the Wenlushan Poetry Festival were all well-known talents in Kyoto. They only considered their literary talent, not their family background. The children of noble families headed by Lu Qian were not on the invitation list. Not only did they come uninvited, but they also bullied Pei Erlang in public.
It's really intolerable.
Pei Zhao leisurely straightened his clothes and then left the waterside pavilion, leaving Lu Qian sitting beside the table with a gloomy face.
The atmosphere in the building did not ease at all after Pei Zhao left.
This group of scholars and children of aristocrats stood on both sides and confronted each other silently. Suddenly, a brush flew over and hit Lu Qian on the back of the head.
Lu Qian came back to his senses, and his pair of auspicious phoenix eyes suddenly widened.
"Who did it?!" The young man glanced at the people behind him fiercely.
The whole room was silent for a moment.
"I saw it, it was lost by Lian He!" One of the young men from the aristocratic families raised his hand and pointed to the opposite side.
"Nonsense, why didn't we see it?"
"Still playing dirty! Whoever throws it will get hemorrhoids on their head and pus on their feet!"
"He's full of foul language, so vulgar!"
"You are vulgar, your whole family is vulgar, a bunch of sour scholars!"
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