The beginning of the play
The young man on the couch spoke in a low and earnest voice, using a humble attitude he had never seen before: "Qin Shu, don't cooperate with him... okay?"
The tone didn't sound like dissuasion, but more like begging him. Qin Shu rarely heard the other party speak like this.
Qin Shu put his arm around the young man's shoulders soothingly and asked the same question for the second time, his tone a little softer: "What's wrong?"
Lu Xiyun didn't answer him. He seemed to be frightened by something, and buried his face in his arms in a daze.
The guy in his arms hugged him tighter and trembled even more violently.
Qin Shu was silent for a few breaths and stopped asking Lu Xiyun.
He lowered his eyebrows and looked at Yanshi who was still kneeling on the ground.
His eyes suddenly turned cold, and he asked, "What did you do to him?"
The Master Yan was confused and said, "Your Highness, please understand. This is the first time I have met this young master today."
Qin Shu stopped asking the Yanshi and patted Lu Xiyun's shoulder soothingly.
He said, "Don't be afraid, I promise you."
He agreed to Lu Xiyun without asking why: "I will not associate with this person."
"I promise."
As soon as he finished speaking, he turned around and drew the knife from Ren Xuan's waist.
The next moment, blood spurted out from the Yanshi's throat, staining the ground red.
The Yanshi fell straight to the ground, twitched a few times, and then fell silent.
It is naturally impossible for a dead person to cooperate again.
Qin Shu sheathed his sword, turned around and looked at Fang Ci, his tone calm: "Princess, I killed the man. The matter of the evil soldier ends here."
He looked at Xiao Jingxiu again and said in a cold voice: "Thirty strokes of the cane, go to the commander's office to receive the punishment."
Although this approach still treated Xiao Jingxiu with leniency, at least Qin Shu destroyed the evidence on Xiao Jingxiu.
Fang Ci had no objection to each taking a step back. She looked at the corpse on the ground calmly: "Thank you, Your Highness."
Xiao Jingxiu lowered his head, and also did not dare to have any opinions: "I obey your orders."
Qin Shu took off his bloodstained robe and threw it back to Ren Xuan along with the knife. He said calmly, "Clean up this place and send Wen Congren to my place."
Before he finished speaking, he leaned over, picked up the person on the couch, and left the room without saying a word.
Only when the door was closed did the air loosen slightly.
Ren Xuan stood there and narrowed his eyes.
Just because of Lu Xiyun's words, Qin Shu killed this hidden chess piece with great potential without even asking the reason.
This wasn't his style, but it was his habit. The emperor had always been able to put aside immediate and tangible benefits for Lu Xiyun.
Xiao Jingxiu looked worried: "Your Highness killed the only witness."
At this point, no one could continue to identify the Nan Mansion.
Ren Xuan looked helplessly at this old account that should have been forgotten long ago, but was actually stirred up by Xiao Jingxiu to the point where Qin Shu had to step in personally to settle the matter.
He sighed lazily: "Give up, General Xiao. It will be difficult for you to overthrow the Fang family again in this life."
"Lu Xiyun is alive and well, Qin Shu is not going crazy with you, and even Fang Ci is not something you can easily control. How can you be Xiao Jingyuan's opponent?"
Ren Xuan paused, blinked, and said sincerely, "Why don't you learn from Prince Fang and be a little more sunny? You're always so gloomy, like you've been holding a funeral in advance. Not to mention your brother, who wouldn't avoid you?"
“Shut up.” Xiao Jingxiu’s eyes suddenly darkened, as if a nerve was pricked: “I have always been like this. Why didn’t he dislike me before? He even promised to take care of me.”
His face was as dark as a thunder pool under a cloud: "But he has changed."
Xiao Jingxiu gritted his teeth and said hatefully, "It's just that loser Fang Che, who cries more, makes more noises, and pretends to be pitiful."
He spoke faster and faster, his defense becoming more and more broken. "People are like this. They clearly promised something, but they can forget about it without a care."
Xiao Jingxiu suddenly raised his voice: "He was the one who changed first! Between his own brother and Fang Che, he chose a waste!
He said sternly: "My own brother, according to the will of the Fang family, expelled me from the Nan Mansion. Shouldn't I take revenge?!"
Ren Xuan held his forehead and sighed, "Old Xiao... Shi'an once told me an anecdote. It said a man was caught stealing a rope. An acquaintance came to question him, and he said, 'I was just strolling around when I found a piece of straw rope. I thought it might be useful, so I took it.' The acquaintance asked, 'Why would you get caught just for picking up a piece of rope?' The man replied, '...there was a cow tied to the end of the rope.'"
He said in a gloomy tone: "You are just saying that because you stole a rope, your brother would turn you over to the authorities for the sake of justice."
"You have a plowing ox tied to your rope, dragging half the palace with you, and you don't even mention it."
He said, as if kindly reviewing an old score, "You attempted to assassinate Fang Che three times but failed. Finally, you poisoned him and nearly took down the entire palace, and you didn't mention it at all."
"What do you want your brother to choose? Accompany you and perish together with the Fang family?"
Ren Xuan sighed and lazily finished, "Guess why Xiao Jingyuan, the boss of the Nan Mansion, put all his skill points into healing and purification? To be honest, the fact that you can walk out of the Nan Mansion intact is not only a testament to our deep brotherhood, but also to Fang Ci's generosity."
Xiao Jingxiu finally couldn't help it, and suddenly said: "I killed the Fang family, what does it have to do with him?!"
His voice got louder and louder, and he finally couldn't hold it back anymore. "It makes Fang Che like his own brother! No matter how good he is to Fang Che, can Fang Che give up the throne to him?!!"
Ren Xuan silently mourned for Jamel Xiao for three breaths. He was so sad to have such a dark and damp male ghost brother with a weird brain circuit.
...It's not easy for Lord Xiao either.
When Ren Xuan saw his expression that said "I don't accept it, the Fang family is useless", he knew what he was going to say next.
Ren Xuan simply spoke first: "I know you are willing to give it, but the problem is - you don't have a throne now."
He spread his hands, looking helpless: "General, you are not even a Jiedushi now."
Ren Xuan said earnestly, "Think about your last life. You were willing to give it to me. Do you think I'll accept it? Do you want to cry while hugging the box again?"
As soon as the words fell, Jamel Xiao’s face turned ashen, and his teeth clenched and clattered: “Get out! I’ve never cried!!”
As he spoke, he began to break down his defenses: "He doesn't like it, but there are plenty of people willing to curry favor with me! I'm a high-ranking official, in charge of a region, above everyone else, why would I want to cry for him!"
Ren Xuan looked at him and felt that he was speechless. When Xiao Jingyuan's head was sent to the nine sides, I don't know which dark ghost was breaking the defense.
He shook his head and tutted, "Why are you pretending? Jiang En is my man. I went there to deliver something for you and almost died on the way back. Jiang En was just doing his job on orders from His Highness, but you almost chopped him off. I didn't settle the score with you because I thought you were pitiful."
He sighed, "...I don't know who was so gloomy and silent for those few months. Back then, you couldn't even deal with His Highness."
After all, in the previous life, even Qin Shu didn't realize that Xiao Jingxiu, who kept talking about killing his brother, was just a poisonous addict to his brother.
Xiao Jingxiu is a man who always carries a hellish filter with him. He has a vicious temper and harsh words. He is disliked by both civil and military personnel in the army.
He does not form cliques, stand in line, or flatter. Behind him, there is no grass growing except Qin Shu, and above his head, he only recognizes Qin Shu as the sun. He has tied his future, position, and lifeline all to Qin Shu's likes and dislikes. He is a complete lone minister.
For a person like Qin Shu, talking about trust is a luxury. In the eyes of the emperor, being a lone minister is an excellent status.
——Xiao Jingxiu is Qin Shu’s real confidant.
Qin Shu has always been generous to his own people.
If Qin Shu could have seen this back then, given his style, he would most likely have spared his brother's life for Xiao Jingxiu's sake, or even very likely handed him over to Xiao Jingxiu for disposal.
It’s a pity that Qin Shu didn’t see it.
The Dog Emperor simply followed his own style and sent the sealed box containing the head over.
In fact, Ren Xuan didn’t understand it at that time either.
It was all thanks to Jiang En who cursed at him, slammed the table and cried, "General, that bastard Xiao Jingxiu almost chopped me off, you have to take charge of this for me!"
Ren Xuan had always been protective of his brothers, so how could he tolerate them being bullied? He immediately exploded, and angrily took his men to seek revenge.
As a result, when he ran into someone who was breaking down his defense, he was sure - damn, this is a toxic fan.
Ren Xuan sighed: "Old Xiao, if you hadn't been so stubborn back then, your brother might not have died."
He spoke earnestly, "Your Highness, you used the forbidden technique of the Southern Palace with all your might, and your body is very weak. Your Highness will have to stay here for a few more days. The waters of the Southern Palace are very deep, so don't cause any more trouble."
Xiao Jingxiu didn't hear a single word of Ren Xuan's words.
The more General Xiao thought about it, the angrier he became. It was clearly Xiao Jingyuan who got bored with the old and fell in love with the new, and abandoned him after having an affair. Why did he say everything as if it was his fault?
Even if he killed Fang Che, what would it matter? Who made Xiao Jingyuan betray his trust and apologize to his wild brother outside?
Even if Fang Che died, he couldn't be blamed. It was all Jamel Xiao's fault!
Xiao Jingxiu thought about scolding Lu Xiyun again. What's the point of showing off? Just let Fang Che burn his life and become a short-lived ghost. How great! His whole chess game was wasted!!!
Anyway, he can't be wrong.
It must be Xiao... Never mind, it must be the Fang family's fault!!
With the resolution that it would be better to drive the Fang family crazy than to waste their own energy, Xiao Jingxiu began to tirelessly find trouble for Fang Ci.
Xiao Jingxiu is a native of Nanfu, and he knows very well how to make a member of the Fang family break down on the spot.
So, he calmly set up a stage in front of the Southern Prince's Mansion and sang "The Southern Prince's Rebellion".
The gongs sounded three times, a young man with a white face and silver armor mounted his horse, and the opera tunes rose high, the lingering sound lingering in the air:
"Fang Weian smiled brightly when he received the title, but when he thought of the events of the previous dynasty, his head rolled into the dust."
"I once swore to defend the pass to the death, but suddenly I changed my mind, changed my banner, killed the old master, and presented him to the new dynasty."
"Three bows and nine kowtows show your honor and fame. I have to say that it is difficult to go against the trend. Don't blame me."
"Offer your head, be granted land, and expand the borders for a hundred years."
"Who rules southern Xinjiang? A martyr's plaque on his head, a grave of blood beneath his feet."
"You asked me if I was afraid of settling the karmic debt in the afterlife?"
"All the former lords are now buried in the grass, the former master's soul ascends to the sky, only my golden seal will be passed down for generations."
"The curses rolled in like a tide. The officials of the thirty counties in southern Xinjiang congratulated me on my raising of the golden platform."
"Who dares to say I shouldn't?"
“…”
The play lasted three days, each act more dramatic than the last, and the palace gates were packed with spectators, all talking about it.
"This play... is too poisonous."
"Poison is poison, and there's nothing wrong with singing it."
"Be it a betrayal for fame or a wise man's wisdom, the thirty counties of Southern Xinjiang were all guarded by our Prince Fang."
"But the head of the former prince was also presented by Fang Weian. Tsk... the master I served for half my life betrayed me just like that..."
"Isn't this how I got the Southern Frontier Golden Seal, the first merit of the New Dynasty?"
"Hey, no one can explain the affairs of the royal family. Even if the higher-ups change their surnames, we can still farm and pay taxes. What does it have to do with us?"
On the first day of the opera, the commander of the Southern Palace's Black Cavalry whispered in Fang Ci's ear, "Princess... do you want to send someone to stop it?"
Fang Ci took a deep breath and slowly exhaled.
"If a dog bites you—" she said, "you can't bite it back."
The Black Cavalry Commander was silent for a while: "Don't worry about this matter, Xiao Jingxiu can let them sing until next year."
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