Chapter 247: Xiao Duzhu
"Your Highness!" The people from the Second Prince's Mansion hurried forward to support him, glaring at the Fourth Prince: "Your Highness, my Highness is your elder brother. You are going too far..."
"Who are you to bark at my Highness?"
The Fourth Prince spoke without restraint, and the contempt in his words made the faces of those watching around him change. The Second Prince, who had been trying to persuade him in a kind way, also turned cold.
"Xie Guangzheng, stop now!"
The Second Prince stood aside, frowning deeply. He said in a deep voice, "I'm trying to persuade you with kind words for your own good. What good would it do to make a big fuss about what happened today?"
"Although Mr. Zheng was wrong, his crime is not punishable by death. You have already taught him a lesson. Do you really want to beat him to death? Besides, what they said is not glorious. Do you want to make it known to everyone?"
"What did you say?" The Fourth Prince glared at him.
The Second Prince refused to back down, speaking in a rare show of force: "Fourth Brother, you should understand what I'm saying. There are many people here, and if you continue to make a scene, you'll not only lose face, but if you're impeached by the Censor, will you have to explain what you said to others in the court? If Father knew, he would be furious."
"Are you using our father to threaten me?" the fourth prince said coldly.
The Second Prince frowned: "I'm not threatening you. I'm just reasoning with you."
The Fourth Prince did not appreciate what he heard at all. Instead, he felt that Xie Pingjia was deliberately humiliating him. He looked at the Second Prince viciously, and his anger grew even stronger.
He was the legitimate son of the Empress and had the support of a noble family, but Xie Pingjia was born to a lowly maid and had no status in the palace. In the past, whenever Xie Pingjia saw him, he would greet him with a smile, be dependent on him in every way, and keep his head down. He had never dared to speak like this in front of him.
Now that he had only lost some power, he dared to act like an elder brother and teach him a lesson in front of him. The Fourth Prince wished he could tear the man in front of him to pieces, and his eyes turned red with anger as he clenched his fists.
The two sides confronted each other, the atmosphere was extremely tense, and the people around did not dare to breathe, but at this moment, a voice came from behind.
"What are you doing, Your Highness?"
Everyone in the corridor turned around and saw Xiao Yan appear behind them at some point. Everyone in the crowd was surprised.
The Second Prince didn't seem to have expected to see Xiao Yan here. He quickly suppressed his anger, calmed his expression, and greeted him, "Lord Xiao."
Xiao Yan said calmly, "What happened?" He lowered his head to look at the person curled up on the ground. "But someone has offended the Second Prince. Do you want me to take that person back?"
The Second Prince quickly said, "No, it's just some misunderstandings."
"Your Highness the Fourth Prince?" Xiao Yan looked at the Fourth Prince.
The Fourth Prince originally had no intention of letting those people go. If it were any other time, he would have definitely smashed their mouths. However, the appearance of Xiao Yan was like a basin of cold water, which instantly calmed his anger.
Today, Xiao Yan suddenly asked him out for some reason, and it was still unclear whether he was an enemy or a friend. He had suffered repeated setbacks during this period, and even his mother was trapped in Fengxi Palace.
If this Zheng guy really entered the Privy Council and made a scene in the court, then the matter that he had suppressed with great difficulty would be known to everyone, and he would be the one who would lose face.
The anger in the Fourth Prince's eyes subsided: "It's a misunderstanding."
Those people all breathed a sigh of relief and quickly said, "Yes, yes, it was a misunderstanding. We were drunk and accidentally bumped into His Highness. Now that we have explained it clearly."
Xiao Yan frowned when he heard this: "Since it's a misunderstanding, let's just let it go."
Those people looked at the Fourth Prince with some trembling eyes. Seeing that he didn't say anything after hearing what he said, obviously he agreed with what Xiao Yan said. They felt as if they had been pardoned. They hurriedly helped the man on the ground with pale faces and trotted away.
Xiao Yan raised his eyes and glanced around. The people watching the excitement nearby felt their scalps tighten and they all dispersed.
After the other people left, the Second Prince said eagerly, "It's a rare opportunity to see Governor Xiao outside the palace. It's such a coincidence, why don't I treat you to tea?"
Xiao Yan said indifferently: "Unfortunately, this governor has an appointment with the Fourth Prince."
The Second Prince's smile faltered, and even though he quickly returned to normal, the Fourth Prince still caught him unawares. He said awkwardly, "I see. Since you've made an appointment with Fourth Brother, I'd be remiss to interrupt. I'll treat you next time when Governor Xiao is free."
"We'll talk about it later."
The perfunctory response that anyone could hear made the Second Prince's expression stiffen slightly. Anger flashed across his eyes, but he didn't say much because he was concerned about Xiao Yan's identity. However, his expression was not very good when he turned and left.
The Fourth Prince was originally very upset about what had just happened, but when he saw the Second Prince's appearance, he immediately felt relieved.
What good is it if the son of a lowly maid is a prince? Even a eunuch looks down on him and actually wants to compete with him!
The Fourth Prince turned to Xiao Yan and said in a much more friendly tone, "Superintendent Xiao rarely has time to spare. I should have invited him for tea..."
"I don't like tea."
The Fourth Prince: “…”
"This governor is also not idle."
The Fourth Prince, who had just been happy, had a frozen expression on his face, and the atmosphere suddenly became cold.
Xiao Yan seemed completely oblivious to the Fourth Prince's expression and simply said, "If the Fourth Prince wishes to have tea, he may seek help from others. I am here to see Your Highness today on His Majesty's orders."
Father?
Although the Fourth Prince was humiliated by Xiao Yan, he was still able to suppress his anger because of Emperor An's order. After he followed Xiao Yan to a private room, he found that there was someone else inside.
"Greetings, Your Highness." Tang Ning saluted.
The Fourth Prince was stunned for a moment, and after a moment's identification, he asked uncertainly, "Song Tangning?"
Tang Ning said: "I am no longer a member of the Song family. Your Highness can call me Yi Yang."
The Fourth Prince looked surprised.
He had met Tang Ning before. After she got engaged to the Lu family, she would often go in and out of Fengxi Palace and the Lu family. The Fourth Prince had seen her several times, but he had never spoken to her much.
In his impression, although Song Tangning was good-looking, her personality was not very likable. Moreover, Old Madam Lu looked down on her and occasionally mentioned her with disdain. As a result, the Fourth Prince also had a bad impression of her.
After the incident with the Song family, Tang Ning never entered the palace again. The Fourth Prince hadn't seen her for a long time. When he first saw the little girl with a straight back and a calm expression in front of him, he almost didn't recognize her.
"Master Xiao, what's going on with her?"
"What I want to discuss with Your Highness has something to do with her, so I have summoned her as well."
The Fourth Prince frowned upon hearing this. Since this was something his father had asked about, and it was also related to Song Tangning, he felt something was amiss. After taking his seat, he asked directly, "Then I wonder what Governor Xiao was talking about?"
Xiao Yan gestured for Tang Ning to sit beside him before speaking, "Your Highness should know that I'm investigating the collusion between Prince Cheng's Mansion and the Lu family."
The Fourth Prince nodded.
"Did the Queen tell His Highness that Prince Cheng was secretly having an affair with a member of the Lu family, and that Xie Yin is of Lu family blood?"
The Fourth Prince stood up with a startled look on his face: "What did you say?!"
Xiao Yan frowned: "Didn't the Queen tell you?"
The fourth prince opened his mouth and asked, "Does the Queen Mother know?"
Xiao Yan frowned, "This Governor told the Empress a few days ago. She begged me to keep it a secret for now, to allow her to investigate the matter secretly and try to distance herself from Your Highness. But she didn't tell Your Highness..."
He looked up at the Fourth Prince, his expression somewhat strange and indescribable.
"Your Highness, did you secretly meet with Secretary Lu yesterday? No wonder His Majesty was so furious with you after learning about the Lu family's affairs."
The Fourth Prince's face turned pale instantly. Did his father also know about this?
But the Queen Mother...why?
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