Chapter 166 Chapter 166 is the only genuine version...
What does it mean to frame someone? Can you speak?
Gu Zhizhuo shook his index finger and argued with him seriously, "The marriage talisman was obtained from Changfeng. Changfeng and Prince Jin are in cahoots. I'm right to say it was Prince Jin who instigated this. How can this be called a frame-up, right?"
Chen Xu looked at her out of the corner of his eye, his peach blossom eyes shimmering like waves. A cold snort escaped his lips, making it clear that he did not believe her sweet words.
The young eunuch respectfully presented the tea and Gu Zhizhuo's ice bowl.
The ice bowl is made of glass, with a thin layer of smoothie at the bottom, filled with cheese and fruit, and a circle of golden honey poured on top. It looks icy and delicious.
"You feel comfortable."
"Thanks to you." Gu Zhizhuo picked up the small silver spoon and happily scooped a mouthful of the cheese inside.
These eunuchs treated her preferential treatment undoubtedly out of respect for Shen Xu.
"Master, have all the people in Hanzhang Palace been replaced?"
Gu Zhizhuo remembered that the faces seemed different from the last time he saw them, even Li Deshun was gone.
"Changed."
Chen Xu sipped his tea slowly, his eyes lowered.
He couldn't move the Jinwu Guards for the time being, but all the eunuchs in Hanzhang Palace were replaced, from top to bottom.
He said, "Li Deshun is still here."
The cat tugged at his hand, indicating that it wanted more dried fish.
"Ask her."
"Meow~"
Chen Mao went to find Gu Zhizhuo again to act coquettishly.
Gu Zhizhuo picked up a small dried fish and offered it to the cat. The cat's eyes lit up and its whiskers curled up. She said casually, "Why don't you take it?"
"dirty."
Chen Xu's ten fingers were spotless. He brushed his sleeves, stood up, and walked away.
"Meow?"
Gu Zhizhuo raised his eyes slightly: "The cat asked where you were going?"
"Aren't you asking me to frame you?" Chen Xu raised the corner of his mouth in a mocking tone, the cinnabar mole at the end of his eye glowing bright red in the sunlight.
"I've already told you this, this is called reporting the truth!"
Shen Xu snorted lightly, not bothering to pay attention to her.
Sheng Jiang stood there with her head lowered and her eyes submissive. She admired Miss Gu to the core. She was definitely the first one who could chat with the Governor so freely and frankly.
"Meow."
The cat finished eating another small dried fish, meowed at her, stuck out its little pink tongue, and wanted more.
The dried fish are baked over charcoal fire and are only as long as a finger. The kitchen specially selected a fish with few bones and carefully removed all the bones from the fish head, preparing it especially for the cat.
The surface of the dried fish was a little greasy. Gu Zhizhuo had just wiped his fingers with a handkerchief and didn't want to take it anymore, so he simply gave the whole bowl to the cat.
The tabby cat meowed coquettishly and ate with relish.
Perhaps fearing she might be bored, a middle-aged eunuch at the side asked attentively, "Young lady, if you don't want to listen to the music, would you like to see some acrobatics? The bell and drum department has found a troupe that's quite skilled in rope tricks, and their new acrobatics are quite entertaining."
"How interesting?" Gu Zhizhuo asked excitedly.
"Erect a windlass more than ten feet high, tie a rope to it, and the dancer can dance on the rope."
Gu Zhizhuo's heart was moved.
"Forget it." She said with some regret.
The eunuch was quite perceptive and said jokingly, "Why not let them go to the palace and perform for you?"
“That’s fine.”
Okay!
"I'll go tell the bell and drum department right away."
The cat ate half a bowl of dried fish, its belly was bulging, and it squatted on the coffee table and licked its paws. Its paws, which were sticky with the smell of fish, left several greasy plum blossom marks on the coffee table.
It cleaned itself up and Shen Xu came out.
He is the only one there.
He brushed his sleeves with disgust and impatience, feeling that his whole body was covered with that sour and rotten smell. His gloomy face made the eunuchs around him dare not even breathe.
Sheng Jiang hurried forward and skillfully handed over a white handkerchief. Shen Xu wiped his fingers irritably, snorted at Gu Zhizhuo, and strode out.
What a bad temper! Gu Zhizhuo shouted "Stop", and then threw a sachet over. Shen Xu caught it and a faint mint fragrance filled his nose.
Other herbs were added to the mint scent to dispel some of the odors that made him feel uncomfortable.
Shen Xu's expression relaxed slightly.
"Where are you going?"
"Prince Jin's Mansion."
Gu Zhizhuo thought for a moment and said, "I'll go with you."
Chen Xu didn't say anything and just walked away. Gu Zhizhuo thought he had agreed. She asked the eunuch who was fanning her to tell Gu Yican later, picked up the cat on the coffee table, and followed briskly.
After leaving Hanzhang Palace, the carriage headed straight for Prince Jin's Mansion.
Gu Zhizhuo didn't ride his horse, but took his carriage and said, "Sister Yin's pulse is much calmer, but her vitality is seriously damaged, and she won't recover in three or five days."
Yin Xiyan cannot move and still lives in the small courtyard behind Tianxi Building. She went to have her pulse checked yesterday.
"You have to take the medicine I prescribed every day. Remember to have someone watch over you. If you don't take good care of it, it will shorten your lifespan."
Chen Xu said: "Her face..."
Gu Zhizhuo admitted, "There's nothing I can do. It's been too long."
There are always things that cannot be done in this world, just like in her previous life, she couldn't save her own face.
Chen Xu nodded and stopped worrying.
After ten years apart, I am lucky to be alive.
He leaned on the pillow, stroking the small jade pendant on his wrist. The carriage passed through Zhaowu Street, and the surroundings suddenly became quiet, as if it had suddenly walked from the market into a dark alley. Gu Zhizhuo glanced outside and saw that the entire Zhaowu Street had been blocked by the Jinyiwei. Only this carriage was moving slowly.
She remembered that the people living here seemed to be the Qi family.
"Qi Guangping was appointed General of Yongzhou in the 20th year of Taiyuan." Chen Xu said calmly, "The King of Jin was under his command back then. Shortly after Qi Guangping arrived in Yongzhou, he transferred troops from various cities under the pretext of suppressing horse bandits."
Shen Xu's voice was his usual nonchalant tone.
"This person was transferred back to the capital by Gongzi Chen."
The cooperation with Gongzi Chen was quite pleasant.
There was no need to say much, Gongzi Chen could make arrangements that satisfied him, including Qi Guangping.
"Now, the person has been recruited."
"No matter how hard you talk, you can't survive three rounds of torture at the Dongchang, or the pain of having your bones pulled out and your skin peeled off."
Chen Xu stared at his ten fingers, his pupils seemed to reflect bright red blood, and there was still a nauseating sticky feeling on his fingertips.
He wanted to wash his hands again.
Chen Xu wiped his fingers carefully with a brand new white handkerchief.
Gu Zhizhuo looked back and asked with interest, "What did he say?"
The two looked at each other, their eyes were clear and their expressions were frank, without any reluctance to be "tortured and interrogated".
As if everything is taken for granted.
There is no such hypocrisy.
Chen Xu curled his lips, wiped everything with his ten fingers, and threw the handkerchief aside. "At the end of the 20th year of Taiyuan, Prince Jin brought a letter to Qi Guangping. It was a private letter with the seal of Prince Rong."
"Prince Rong asked him for a favor, asking him to transfer all the troops from the cities. He didn't tell him the reason, but only promised him 100,000 taels of silver. Qi Guangping, being so short-sighted, agreed."
In the 20th year of Taiyuan, one hundred thousand taels... In the 20th year of Taiyuan, Ji Shi embezzled more than 100,000 taels. I'm afraid the whereabouts of this money have been found. Gu Zhizhuo sneered.
She tapped the coffee table lightly. "The Emperor knew everything about the Blackwater Castle incident from beginning to end."
Actually, this is not difficult to understand.
The deeper the interests involved, the closer the relationship. If the Prince of Jin wanted to rise to the highest position in the government, he had to let the then Prince of Rong know what he had done for him.
With enough evidence, he wouldn't be afraid of being kicked out by Prince Rong in the future.
"Just as damnable." Chen Xu spat out these words, "right?"
He smiled gently, his red lips slightly raised, there was a madness and wantonness on his charming face, and the corners of his eyes were filled with faint bloodshot.
Gu Zhizhuo answered without hesitation: "Of course."
Shen Xu was very satisfied.
The previous cooperation with Xie Yingchen only reached the Prince of Jin, but now it seems that it can be changed.
"Meow."
The cat didn't understand, but that didn't stop it from responding loudly.
It leaned limply against Chen Xu's chest, its golden cat eyes looking at him cautiously.
thump.
As he was leaning, he suddenly lost his balance and fell on the coffee table, his eyes wandering with embarrassment.
Oh.
"Stupid cat."
Shen Xu muttered unhappily, his fingertips stroking the soft fur. Shen Mao lay on all fours in comfort and let him touch her belly.
The carriage stopped.
When the Jinyiwei surrounding the Prince of Jin's Mansion saw the emblem on the carriage, they immediately opened the main gate.
Everything in Prince Jin's mansion was in perfect order. All the guards who had been kneeling behind the screen wall were locked up in the waterside pavilion and detained separately from the servants in the front yard of the mansion.
The factory guards did not enter the backyard, but only guarded the ceremonial gate and did not allow anyone to come out.
The carriage didn't stop until it reached the main hall.
Chen Xu got off the carriage holding the cat, and Gu Zhizhuo jumped down as well.
"Master Governor."
The factory guards all greeted him with respect and admiration.
Sheng Jiang followed closely behind and said to the Jinyiwei standing beside him, "Go and bring Prince Jin here. The governor wants to see him."
After saying that, he stepped into the main hall.
The Jinyiwei acted quickly and soon the Prince of Jin arrived.
Prince Jin walked into the main hall with a gloomy face. Seeing Shen Xu sitting carelessly in the main seat, he laughed in anger: "Lord Shen, are you usurping the throne?"
The palm of the King of Jin was wrapped in a piece of white cotton cloth, through which blood could be seen, staining it with red spots.
Gu Zhizhuo was too lazy to get up, so she pretended to bow as a greeting.
Prince Jin looked directly at Chen Xu, and this condescending gaze made him particularly uncomfortable.
He sneered, “Lord Shen, long time no see.”
Shen Xu said casually: "The emperor is awake."
What? !
Prince Jin's pupils shrank, and he looked at him in disbelief: "Are you telling the truth?"
Chen Xu just smiled and said nothing.
Hehe. Prince Jin laughed, his chest shaking. He said as he laughed, "Is it the Emperor who asked about me? Lord Shen, you are deceiving the Emperor and fabricating the Imperial Edict. You can't suppress it anymore, right?"
"No wonder you, Lord Shen, have condescended to finally step into my palace again."
Prince Jin has been staying in his own courtyard these days, and the factory guards have only sealed the mansion and have not made any unnecessary moves, nor have they harassed the female members of the family.
The King of Jin was actually not worried.
He is a prince with real power, a member of the royal family, and he also holds military power. What can Shen Xu, a person in the inner court, do to him?
It’s not a question of whether you dare or not, but whether you can’t.
Unless Chen Xu can disregard the lives and future of his subordinates and fight to the death with him.
He locked himself up for the past few days but never took any action. Even after sealing off his mansion, he only used Changfeng as an excuse.
This meant that he was crossing the line, and also that he cared deeply about his subordinates. In this respect, he lacked a bit of ruthlessness, and was just as naive as he was back then.
"Lord Shen... Young Master Yin."
Prince Jin laughed provocatively, "After ten years, you still possess this innocent kindness?"
"To tell you the truth, back then, it was just a game for me, a game to pass the time in the boring military life."
In the past few days, King Jin remembered a lot of things.
then……
Back then, Changfeng chose the girl from the Yin family as the center of the formation and sent the bandits on horseback to occupy the Black Water Fort first.
His original plan was to send troops in the name of suppressing bandits, but on his way to Blackwater Fort, he met a young man who had sneaked out of Blackwater Fort, but he was not running away, but asking for help.
The King of Jin had instructed that the other people in Blackwater Fort could be left to the bandits to deal with, but they were not allowed to touch the Yin family to avoid complications.
It was the young boy of the Yin family who was not implicated who risked his life to leave the city in order to save those who had nothing to do with him.
"General, I came from Blackwater Fort. A group of horse bandits occupied our city and killed many people. Please help us."
The young man is bright and clear, like the bright moon, and full of righteousness.
The King of Jin looked at him and found it very interesting.
He came from the prosperous capital to Yongzhou, a remote place, and was feeling very bored. He wanted to see how this young man, as bright as the moon, would step into despair.
How interesting.
King Jin agreed to his request.
The sky was dark at that time, and the sky in Yongzhou was always gray with dust. King Jin clearly remembered that he had a joyful voice.
"Thank you, General!"
The boy led the way for them on a pony.
Such joy disappeared when he saw him drinking and chatting happily with the bandit leader.
When he told the people in the city that they could save their lives as long as they pointed out the collusion between the Yin family and the horse bandits, it turned into a plea.
When he executed all 120 members of the Yin family in the name of horse bandits, he turned into hysterical regret and despair.
Prince Jin stared at Shen Xu intently.
The boy at that time was just a game for him to play when he was bored, and he was too lazy to even remember his appearance.
Who would have thought that this young man would crawl out of the underworld and appear in front of him again after more than ten years.
At the most critical moment, he suffered a great loss.
Prince Jin narrowed his eyes and covered his aching hand.
At most, Shen Xu could only imprison him and couldn't do anything to him. In contrast, King Jin was more worried about the backlash.
Not only was the wound from Chen Xu's dagger, but even the small scrape on the back of her hand hadn't healed in days and was bleeding profusely. Yun'er's condition was even worse, with the other half of her face almost gone, a life worse than death.
He was eager to leave the house.
"Now that the Emperor has awakened, Lord Shen, you've missed the perfect opportunity to control me. If you're smart, just let me go." Prince Jin chuckled. "Lord, as a member of the inner court, you can only rely on the Emperor to stand above the court. For the sake of your subordinates, you should obey His Majesty's will."
"The Emperor can lift you up, but he can also step on you."
Prince Jin spoke coldly, with a hint of coercion: "After all, you are not the only eunuch in the inner court. Stop while you are ahead, Lord Shen."
Chen Xu clenched the small jade token in his palm, his knuckles turning slightly white.
The calming talisman on the small jade token was soothing the endless anger in his chest.
Shen Xu curled the corners of his lips, his eyes were so cold that it made people's hair stand on end.
He clapped his hands lightly three times, and a soldier came in from outside.
The guard held a tray in his hand, and inside it was a bloody hand. Prince Jin paid no attention, but then his pupils suddenly shrank as he discovered a small red mole on the little finger of the hand.
It’s Qi Guangping!
Shen Xu smiled slightly.
"The Emperor has awakened."
His voice was soft and pointed, "However, the Emperor believes that it was you who instigated Ji Shi behind the scenes, casting a witchcraft spell on him, causing him to do these absurd things."
As soon as these words came out, King Jin's face suddenly froze, and he blurted out: "Did you do it?"
Shen Xu leaned back on the armchair and said with interest: "I came here today on the emperor's orders to ask you, Your Highness, how you colluded with the Ji family."
"Your Highness, do you want to recruit him, or do you want to be like him and experience the methods of our East Factory before recruiting him?"
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