Chapter 350 Treason
What?
When Xiao Ji said this, the eldest princess and the third prince Xiao An were shocked. They never thought that it was related to this.
Treason is a crime punishable by the death of nine generations of the clan!
The princess quickly recovered from her shock and asked, "Are you sure? Who is the traitor? Do you have any evidence?"
After a pause, he continued, "This matter has nothing to do with Xuan Yue."
She does have this confidence in judging people.
The third prince also hurriedly said: "It should have nothing to do with Master Xuan." He still remembered all the teachings that Master Xuan had given him since he was a child.
A monarch should love his country and his people, and as a subject, Taifu Xuan is even more loyal to his monarch and patriotic.
Master Xuan may have his own selfish motives, but he would never commit treason.
Xiao Ji said: "It's the second young lady of the Xuan family."
No matter who it is, as long as his surname is Xuan, Xuan Yue and others cannot escape responsibility.
Although the Princess and the Third Prince tried their best to explain that Xuan Yue and Master Xuan had nothing to do with the matter, they could no longer say anything about releasing them.
It still needs to be investigated.
After the eldest princess and the third prince left the Palace of Tranquil Longevity, everyone knew that the situation of the Xuan family had not changed.
The Xuan family is really in trouble!
Soon, rumors about the Xuan family's treason spread in the capital.
Originally, there were many people who were speaking up for the Xuan family, but once this rumor came out, everyone fell silent instantly!
No one dares to get involved in such a thing!
If you are not careful, you will be in trouble.
The public opinion in the capital changed instantly, and the Xuan family became the target of public criticism, with everyone able to curse them.
Until three days later.
Xuan Yue, the eldest daughter of the Xuan family, stood up and announced publicly that Xuan Shu would be removed from the family tree and the Xuan family would no longer recognize Xuan Shu as the second daughter.
Xuan Yue and Master Xuan were finally released from the prison.
In just three days, Master Xuan had lost a lot of weight. Xuan Yue looked at him with a sour heart, "Daddy..."
Master Xuan's eyes fell on Xuan Yue somewhat stiffly, with an extremely complicated expression.
He loved both daughters equally. He didn't believe that Xuan Shu would do such a thing, and was even more disheartened by Xuan Yue's actions.
But he also knew that Xuan Yue was trying to protect him, his wife, and their entire family.
This was originally something he should have done, but he let Xuan Yue do it. He was unwilling to do it, but he couldn't blame his daughter.
After all, it's all his incompetence.
But he still avoided Xuan Yue's hand that was stretched out to help him. He said, "Shu Shu is weak and delicate, but she would never do such a thing."
Master Xuan felt that all this was revenge from the new emperor.
The new emperor was taking revenge on him for his previous cold treatment, so he deliberately targeted Shushu.
Or maybe, Shushu was captured by the people of Northern Frontier, and the new emperor was unwilling to send troops to rescue him, so he framed him with such a crime...
He doesn't believe it. He absolutely, absolutely doesn't believe it.
But unfortunately, Xuan Yue compromised.
"Do you know how people will think of you if you behave like this?" Master Xuan looked haggard and exhausted. "I have taught you sisters to love each other since you were young, but..."
Bang!
Master Xuan raised his hand and slapped himself hard in the face.
"Dad!" Xuan Yue's eyes turned red.
Master Xuan avoided her hand again and said, "I didn't teach you well."
Even now, he still couldn't bear to hit his beloved daughter, so he could only hit himself.
"Dad." Xuan Yue knelt in front of Master Xuan, his voice choked with sobs.
However, Master Xuan didn't want to look at her again, and staggered away in the opposite direction.
Xuan Yue raised her red eyes and looked in the direction where Master Xuan had left, her eyes full of regret.
Master Xuan had just walked a short distance when he was stopped by someone from the Third Prince's residence. "Master, His Highness has ordered us to pick you up."
Master Xuan paused and said, "No."
"Tell him he won't go there again unless I die."
The servants in the Third Prince's Mansion looked at each other in dismay. They naturally did not dare to let anything happen to Master Xuan, otherwise His Highness would definitely take their lives.
Seeing Master Xuan's staggering steps, the leader immediately waved to the people behind him, signaling them to report the matter to His Highness as soon as possible, while he himself followed Master Xuan.
Same as Master Xuan.
The people from the Princess's Mansion also approached Xuan Yue cautiously, "Miss Xuan, the Princess..."
Before the man finished speaking, Xuan Yue said, "Please inform the princess for me. I cannot go to the princess's mansion to serve her for the time being. Please forgive me."
Xuan Yue's expression was firm. She didn't go to the Princess's Mansion to protect the Princess.
After all, she and even the Xuan family are now the target of public criticism. If she goes to the Princess's Mansion again, she might implicate the Princess.
Besides, Pei Chen is the commander on the front line. If she goes to the Princess's Mansion, it will only encourage those with ulterior motives to incite people.
The people from the Princess's Mansion paused and said, "Before we came here, the Princess had instructed that if Miss Xuan didn't want to, we didn't have to force her."
"But the princess also said that the door of the princess's mansion will always be open to Miss Xuan."
Xuan Yue was moved. She lowered her eyes slightly to cover her red eyes, replied yes, and then turned and left.
…
The news from the capital quickly spread to the northern border.
Now that winter has arrived, the north is ravaged by snow and howling winds.
On the city wall, Zhao Ying was wearing a thick fox fur coat. In comparison, Pei Chen was wearing much thinner clothes, as if he didn't feel the cold.
Zhao Ying finished reading the letter and handed it to Pei Chen. The two looked at each other, and Pei Chen ordered the guards around him, "Spread this."
Ever since they received the last letter from the capital, everyone in the Northern Border had been searching for Xuan Shu openly and covertly, until a few days ago, when they found Xuan Shu among the Northern Border Army.
After discussing with Gui Xia, Zhao Ying arranged for a female general under Gui Xia's command to ambush and rescue, but was instead exposed by Xuan Shu.
From then on, Xuan Shu was disliked by everyone in the North, and everyone called her a traitorous witch.
Now that this matter is spread, it can reassure the people in the North.
As expected, once the news spread, everyone in the North cheered, and some even clamored to kill the traitors!
However, the Xuanshu people were even able to walk freely in the Northern Frontier military camp, which showed that they had extraordinary status and were naturally not that easy to kill.
Zhao Ying and Pei Chen never took such rumors seriously.
"Yingying." Pei Chen looked at Zhao Ying with concern, "Have you been feeling better these days?"
"Yeah." Zhao Ying nodded, pulled her fox fur coat closer, and said, "Maybe it was because of the sudden drop in temperature that I couldn't adapt to it for a while, so I felt unwell. Now it's been almost a month, and I'm fine now."
A month ago, she didn't know why, but she suddenly felt uncomfortable, short of breath, and listless. She has been feeling much better in the past few days.
Of course, Zhao Ying didn't mention these things in the letters she sent home, so as not to worry her family.
Pei Chen looked at Zhao Ying with a slightly darkened look in his eyes, with a subtle hint of heartache in his eyes. His tone was also a little heavy, "That's good."
Zhao Ying smiled and said, "Now that the new emperor has ascended the throne, the support for the northern border is more sufficient. You have more power in your hands and more things to do. Pei Chen, you don't have to worry too much about me."
The two seemed to be keeping a distance, but in fact their hands were quietly pulled together under their sleeves.
Pei Chen asked back: "Lord Zhao, do you think I am disturbing your business?" Zhao Ying was naturally not playing in the Northern Territory. She also had a lot of things to do, but as long as she was not on the battlefield, the two of them would still find an opportunity to meet each other every day, hug each other, and say a few words.
Just these have made both of them very satisfied.
Zhao Ying glared at Pei Chen, but couldn't help but smile, and talked about business, "Pei Chen, do you feel that the offensive of the Northern Frontier has weakened a lot in recent days?"
Pei Chen nodded, "Yingying also noticed it."
"Seven days ago, the old emperor of Northern Frontier passed away." Before Pei Chen could say anything, a clear voice came.
A lithe figure then landed beside the two of them, dressed in black, with black hair tied up high, looking bold and unrestrained.
It was Wei Chan.
Pei Chen's face darkened.
The next second, Zhao Ying let go of his hand, hugged Wei Chan, and put his fox fur coat on Wei Chan, "Ah Chan, you're here, are you cold?"
Wei Chan was wearing thin clothes and was pulled into the fox fur coat by Zhao Ying. The two of them were very intimate and left Pei Chen aside.
Pei Chen: “…” He knew it would be like this again!
He suspected that Wei Chan did it on purpose. She was like this every time, deliberately wearing so little to be close to his Yingying.
Wei Chan obediently let Zhao Ying pull her into the fox fur coat, "With Yingying here, I don't feel cold at all."
Pei Chen just felt that he couldn't bear to watch it, so he changed the subject very abruptly, "The news from seven days ago?"
His question was full of obvious dissatisfaction.
The message was sent seven days ago, but it's only been delivered now? This efficiency is really not good.
Wei Chan raised the corners of her lips slightly, "Northern Frontier claimed that the old emperor passed away three days ago, but I have inside information that the old emperor passed away seven days ago."
Four days is enough time to do a lot of things.
Pei Chen quickly understood Wei Chan's meaning, "So, the current chaos in Northern Xinjiang is just a pretense. In fact, the situation in Northern Xinjiang has long been secretly stabilized."
Pei Chen said, looking towards the north.
The weak attack launched by Northern Xinjiang in recent days, which has obvious flaws, seems to have ulterior motives.
"The new emperor of Northern Frontier is the second prince Huyan Ye." Pei Chen's tone was not one of speculation or inquiry, but of certainty.
Wei Chan nodded, "Yes."
"Three days ago, Hu Yanye had already led the army to the northern border in person, and Xuanshu is now by his side."
He personally led the army to fight right after ascending the throne?
Pei Chen frowned, "Hu Yanye's brothers..."
"They're all dead." Wei Chan said calmly, but there was a hint of fear on her face.
Hu Yanye is so cruel.
Pei Chen had a deeper understanding of Hu Yanye's ruthlessness. Having an opponent like this... Pei Chen's eyes were burning with fighting spirit.
Since Hu Yanye set a trap for him, don't blame him...
Zhao Ying saw the importance of these pieces of news and immediately looked at Pei Chen, "Pei Chen, there is no time to lose, you go and get busy first."
Pei Chen naturally wouldn't be jealous or pretentious at this time, and immediately nodded and said, "Okay."
Pei Chen left quickly, leaving only Zhao Ying and Wei Chan on the city wall.
Wei Chan, who had originally felt a little chilled by the cold winter wind, was now being warmed by Zhao Ying.
"Yingying." Wei Chan asked, "I heard that you were not feeling well a few days ago. Are you feeling better now?"
Zhao Ying raised her lips and smiled, "Don't worry, it's not a big deal. Why are you all so worried? I'm not a porcelain doll."
Wei Chan was silent for a moment, "I'm glad you're okay."
The two did not stand on the city wall for long. They soon went down the wall hand in hand. Wei Chan left quickly because of something.
Zhao Ying stopped where he was, looking at Wei Chan's back, his eyes flashing slightly.
These days, she always felt that Pei Chen was a little strange. He paid special attention to her and was always concerned about her emotions.
Originally, she thought it was because she had been unwell some time ago and Pei Chen was concerned and paid special attention to her.
But Wei Chan is like this today, so... it’s not that simple.
Their unusual concern gave Zhao Ying a bad feeling.
"Come here." Zhao Ying gave an order, and immediately a female general came forward and stood beside her, "Lord Zhao."
Zhao Ying paused and swallowed back the words that were about to come out of her mouth.
These people were all under General Gui Xia's command, and belonged to the Princess. If Pei Chen really had something to hide from her, these people would definitely not let it slip.
Zhao Ying's eyes turned slightly and she said, "Pei Chen might be very busy today. I'm afraid he won't have time to eat, so I thought about buying some snacks."
The female general was stunned for a moment, but still nodded, "Yes."
Zhao Ying soon arrived at the only dim sum shop in the city. Even though there was a war outside, there were still civilians and children in the city.
Zhao Ying stopped at the door, looked at the female general, and said, "There are guests inside, you can wait for me outside."
The fact that the female general is wearing military uniform will not scare the people living on the border, but it may happen that the people are too enthusiastic.
The female general answered yes and parked outside the store obediently.
Zhao Ying stepped into the room, gave a look to the shopkeeper at the counter, and then the two of them went to a corner away from the female general.
While Zhao Ying was selecting snacks, she asked, "What happened at home recently?"
The shopkeeper's eyes flickered and he answered quickly, "Nothing's wrong, everything is fine."
Zhao Ying's heart skipped a beat and she felt that something was wrong.
Her voice was slightly lowered, "I already know."
W-what?!
The shopkeeper raised his eyes suddenly. Didn’t that person tell him that this matter couldn’t be allowed to happen to the young master…
Before he could finish his thought, the shopkeeper met Zhao Ying's eyes and knew that the young master was trying to trick him. His reaction...
The shopkeeper lowered his head and wanted to explain, "Young Master, seriously..."
"If you still recognize me as the young master, then tell the truth." Zhao Ying's voice was slightly deep and warning, and it was obvious that he was really angry.
Her people will hide it from her.
The shopkeeper hesitated.
Zhao Ying's eyes were much colder. The shopkeeper had to endure such a look, so he finally spoke, "To answer the young master, it's... the old lady..."
Zhao Ying's heart skipped a beat, and thinking of the palpitations and discomfort she had felt a few days ago, she immediately asked, "What happened to grandma?"
"The old lady passed away a month ago..."
Snap!
As soon as the shopkeeper finished speaking, the box of snacks in Zhao Ying's hand was knocked to the ground with a dull sound.
"Young Master!" the shopkeeper exclaimed.
The female general guarding outside the palace heard the noise and rushed in, "Master Zhao!"
Zhao Ying was stunned, his eyes slowly shifted from the shopkeeper to the female general. So... these people all knew.
She was the only one who was kept in the dark by everyone.
The shopkeeper lowered his head, not daring to look at Zhao Ying's appearance at the moment, "I am guilty, please punish me, young master."
Zhao Ying did not respond.
She even forgot to breathe and her heart stopped beating.
The female general quickly pinched Zhao Ying's philtrum. The pain made Zhao Ying sober up, and she seemed to come back to her senses from a dazed state.
The female general obviously understood what had happened at this moment, and her expression became very complicated, "Lord Zhao..."
Zhao Ying raised her hand to stop the female general from speaking, paused, and said, "Don't tell Pei Chen about this."
The female general and the shopkeeper looked at each other and agreed at the same time, "Yes."
Zhao Ying turned and walked out.
The female general followed subconsciously, and then she heard Zhao Ying's vague voice, "Don't follow me, leave me alone for a while..."
The female general could only stop and watch Zhao Ying leave her sight.
"Master Zhao..." The female general was still a little worried, and the shopkeeper said, "Don't worry, Master, the young master just wants to be alone."
He was one of the first people to follow the young master, and he witnessed how the young master grew from a little girl to where she is today.
Even if the sky falls, the young master can hold on.
But the young master has always valued his family, so after something like this happened, we still have to give him some time.
After hearing this, the female general had no choice but to give up.
Having followed Lord Zhao for such a long time, she had some understanding of his temper and did not dare to ignore it casually.
After a pause, the female general asked again: "Did you really keep this matter secret from the Marquis?"
The shopkeeper nodded, "Of course, if you don't listen to the young master, you don't have to follow him in the future."
The female general felt sad when she heard this.
After the female general left, the shopkeeper turned around and started writing the letter.
The young master said not to tell the marquis, but he did not mention the young master and the queen... In this case, he naturally had to hurry and report this matter back to the capital.
A few days later.
Xie Yao learned about this.
She looked at the contents of the letter, sighed softly, and her expression was somewhat complicated.
She knew that Sister Ying was smart, and she also knew that this matter could not be kept secret from Sister Ying for long, but Sister Ying found out earlier than she expected.
She looked at Zhu Qing, "Does Brother Hao know about this?"
There is no need to talk about the other elders of the Zhao family, but Zhao Hao needs to know.
At this moment, footsteps were heard at the door of the palace.
The person who was able to come in without notifying anyone was naturally Xiao Ji. Xie Yao raised her eyes and looked at him.
Sure enough, behind Xiao Ji was Zhao Hao, who was frowning and looking worried. Obviously, both Zhao Hao and His Majesty knew about this.
"Yaoyao."
Xiao Ji reached out and held Xie Yao's hand, saying, "I already know what happened, so don't worry too much."
"My cousin is a calm person who has seen many storms. Even if she is sad, she will not lose her mind."
"Yeah." Xie Yao nodded. She knew all this. She said, "I just... feel sorry for Sister Ying."
They all saw their grandmother for the last time and received advice. Having someone by their side during their grief somewhat eased the sadness in their hearts.
In contrast, Sister Ying is alone at the moment and she needs to bear and digest all of this on her own.
Xiao Ji held Xie Yao's hand tightly.
Zhao Hao stood aside and didn't know what to say. He lowered his head in frustration.
He...can't do anything.
"Brother Hao." At this moment, Xie Yao spoke up, looking at Zhao Hao and said, "Sister Ying is far away at the front line, so some of the burdens are on your shoulders."
ah?
A look of bewilderment flashed across Zhao Hao's face. What burden? What could he do?
Xie Yao said: "In order not to make Sister Ying worry more, in addition to your official duties, you must also take good care of your grandfather, uncle and aunt."
Zhao Hao's expression was stern, and he immediately said, "Yes, please rest assured, cousin!"
Xie Yao said, "When you leave the palace later, take the imperial physician with you. It's cold today, and grandpa is much weaker. He needs to be carefully taken care of."
When mentioning "grandfather", a hint of worry flashed in Xie Yao's eyes.
My grandparents had a very close relationship. Since my grandmother passed away, my grandparents' originally strong body has gradually weakened. When the temperature suddenly dropped in winter, he even caught a cold.
Xie Yao ordered the imperial physician to check her pulse every day and take good care of her.
But judging from the feedback from the imperial physician, my grandfather's condition was not very good.
Zhao Hao quickly left with the imperial physician.
Xie Yao looked at Xiao Ji and said, "Your Majesty, the imperial physician said that grandpa's condition is not very good. I am wondering whether I should tell Sister Ying about this."
We can't just bully Sister Ying alone.
Especially since my grandmother’s affair has been discovered, it would be really... unacceptable to continue hiding it.
"Queen, take a look at this."
Xiao Ji took out a letter from his sleeve and handed it to Xie Yao.
Xie Yao was a little surprised, took it and opened it, "Hu Yanye is really as ambitious as his name suggests."
Not only has he secured his throne as the Emperor of Northern Frontier, he also wants to take this opportunity to plot against the Xia Kingdom and Pei Chen.
Hu Yanye wanted to break off relations with the Xia Kingdom and turn the fight from a fake one into a real one. On this basis, he also wanted to deliberately show weakness and trick the Zhenbei Army.
"Pei Chen is not a fool." Xiao Ji said, "Since he has discovered the problem, he must have a way to deal with it."
Xie Yao nodded. On this point, she still trusted Pei Chen very much.
But her question just now has no substantial connection with the content of this letter, right?
Xiao Ji said: "With the war imminent, it is reasonable for my cousin to return to the capital to deliver supplies."
Xie Yao suddenly realized.
In this way, it would not delay important business and Sister Ying could return to Beijing to pay homage to her grandmother and visit her grandfather.
"His Majesty……"
Xiao Ji looked at Xie Yao with a smile, "Write a letter."
Xie Yao nodded, and without wasting any time, she started writing the letter in front of Xiao Ji.
Soon, she folded the letter and handed it to Zhu Qing, "Send it to Sister Ying in the North."
Zhu Qing immediately turned around to make arrangements.
Xiao Ji then said: "Besides this, there is one more thing."
"The spies in the northern border sent a message saying that Xiao Ning was found in the northern border." When mentioning "Xiao Ning", Xiao Ji's voice was extremely cold.
Xiao Ning is the real traitor!
However, after Xiao Ji came to power, the original border defenses had been changed, and what Xiao Ning knew before had become useless information.
Even so, Xiao Ji was not prepared to let Xiao Ning go.
Traitors...he must kill them.
"So, even without Hu Yanyuan, Xiao Ning and Hu Yanye have reached a cooperation?" Xie Yao pondered, "What capital does Xiao Ning have now to cooperate with Hu Yanye?"
Xiao Ji shook his head, "I don't know for now."
"But I think Huyan Yuan must not know about this." Now, all the princes in the Northern Frontier except Huyan Yuan and Huyan Ye are dead!
Even Hu Yanye’s nephews were gone.
These two brothers are the only ones left in the Northern Frontier royal family.
"As the younger brother of the current emperor of Northern Frontier, I think Hu Yanyuan should know about this. What do you think, Your Majesty?"
Xiao Ji nodded in agreement, "What the Queen said makes sense."
The couple looked at each other with smiles on their faces. Xiao Ji said meaningfully, "Huyan Yuanke is still a hostage sent by Northern Xinjiang to Xia Kingdom."
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