Chapter 240 The Man Behind the Scenes
"My princess has good taste." Xu Xiao's eyes showed undisguised admiration as he pointed at one of the maroon horses and said, "It's called Lightning. It was Qingyun and Sister Qingyun who gave it the name. It has followed me through many battles over the years and has made many contributions."
Hearing his name being called, Lightning let out a long breath and stomped his feet as if responding to his master.
Xu Xiao walked up to it, touched its cheek lovingly, and said, "Old friend, I'm sorry for putting you through so much these days."
Lightning rubbed his palm obediently, paced anxiously on the spot, and looked at its master with wide eyes, clearly expecting him to lead it out of the stable and run freely between heaven and earth.
Noticing its restlessness, Song Yanxi sighed, "It's such a shame to keep such a good horse in captivity like this."
Xu Xiao patted the horse's head soothingly and explained, "Lightning's leg was severely injured during a raid two years ago. Although it has since recovered, it has been left with sequelae. It can only walk slowly and cannot run fast."
"Doesn't that mean it will never be able to go to the battlefield again?"
"Well, two years ago, I received a transfer order to Southern Xinjiang, so I had to temporarily entrust the seriously injured Lightning to Elder Liu. Fortunately, he took good care of him."
Song Yanxi raised her eyebrows in surprise, "Two years ago?"
Xu Xiao nodded, and said with mixed feelings, "If I had left half a month later, the person who broke his leg in that battle would definitely not be His Royal Highness Prince Jin."
There was only half a month between them, how could it be such a coincidence?
As if guessing Song Yanxi's thoughts, Xu Xiao said bluntly, "This is not a coincidence. Someone is deliberately doing this in the dark, removing all the useful people around His Royal Highness Prince Jin."
Unable to contain her shock, Song Yanxi asked anxiously, "Uncle Xu, have you found out who is behind this?"
Xu Xiao shook his head, his eyes cold as he said, "This man has connections everywhere, and his influence extends throughout Da'an. In the past two years, whenever his men found even the slightest clue, they would find that the person they were looking for had been brutally murdered."
Song Yanxi murmured, "Who on earth could be so generous?"
Uncle Xu is a second-rank general who protects the country. In terms of power and connections, he is even not inferior to the princes in the court. However, he is always one step behind when he wants to investigate something.
Looking around Da'an, the number of people with such great power can probably be counted on one hand.
Glancing around warily, Xu Xiao lowered his voice and said, "This person is most likely a member of the royal family."
Without waiting for Song Yanxi to speak, he continued, "We are in the open now, and that person is in the dark. Until I find solid evidence and report it to His Majesty, you can only pretend that you have heard nothing today."
"Yan Xi has taken note of Uncle's words."
Xu Xiao grabbed a handful of horse grass and handed it to her, then changed the subject, saying, "The royal family has always been a den of wolves. Listen to your uncle and stay away from His Royal Highness Prince Jin in the future."
"What?" Song Yanxi was stunned and didn't react at all.
What does uncle mean? Didn’t he just tell her not to talk nonsense?
Xu Xiao sighed and said meaningfully, "You are a smart child. You should know that there is no true love in the royal family.
Now His Royal Highness Prince Jin has two disabled legs, and you happen to have medical skills, so he might treat you differently, but if one day..."
Song Yanxi continued his words, "When His Royal Highness Prince Jin recovers from his illness one day, he will kick me out."
"Kicking him away is good enough, at least you can save your life. If the prince is as cruel and ruthless as his father, not only you, but also the entire Yan family will be liquidated by him."
Xu Xiao asked gravely, "If that day ever comes, what will you do?"
If that day really comes, everything will be destroyed.
This was the answer Song Yanxi would have given in the past.
But after experiencing this assassination, she could not say such words against her conscience.
Putting aside those feelings that cannot be expressed in words, the fact that he risked his life to save her is enough for her to trust him once.
Perhaps one day in the future, they will be forced to stand against each other because of their status and power, but that is a matter of the future.
At the moment, she just wants to have a clear conscience.
Song Yanxi raised her eyes and met Xu Xiao's concerned gaze. Instead of answering, she asked, "Uncle Xu, what do you think is the foundation of a person?"
Xu Xiao's face suddenly darkened, and he said angrily, "Since you have made up your mind to ask for trouble, I will not say anything more. But if Qingyun asks about it when we return to the capital, you must tell the truth.
Don't let her misunderstand that I am deliberately watching you go astray and standing by as a spectator."
His tone was not good, and could even be said to be unpleasant.
Song Yanxi suppressed the strange feeling in her heart and just thought of it as an elder scolding a younger person for not fighting back.
She said, "Don't worry, Uncle Xu, Yan Xi is not a talkative person."
Xu Xiao said "hmm" stiffly, threw down a sentence "Take your time to choose", and strode away on the pretext of having military duties.
Even though his face was covered with cotton cloth, one could tell how ugly his expression was just from the aura of keeping strangers away.
Thinking about what her aunt Shen Qingyun once said, that Xu Xiao was a hot-tempered person and liked to teach others, Song Yanxi was puzzled for only a moment and then she no longer found it strange.
She took a few steps forward and tentatively put the horse grass to Lightning's mouth, but was startled by its heavy breath.
"Don't be afraid, I have no ill will towards you."
I don’t know if he understood what Song Yanxi said, or realized that she really couldn’t threaten him, but Lightning opened his mouth and ate the horse grass in her hand.
Seeing that she was still standing there in a daze, it hesitated for a moment, then raised its head slightly and rubbed her hand with its face.
Song Yanxi was immediately flattered and asked tentatively: "Do you want me to touch you?"
Lightning is a horse, and no matter how human he is, he cannot answer her question.
Just as Song Yanxi was hesitating whether to touch it, the voice of Doctor Liu suddenly sounded behind her.
"No wonder the princess couldn't be found anywhere. She actually went back to the general's mansion."
He held a bundle of grass in his arms and reminded her, "Princess, move aside to avoid getting your clothes dirty."
Song Yanxi leaned slightly to the side and heard Lightning snort.
Doctor Liu's eyes widened, and he blew his beard in anger and said, "You are so good, Lightning! After all these years, you still haven't changed your bad habit of liking beautiful women."
As he spoke, his eyes fell on Song Yanxi's face and he sighed, "You know what, your eyebrows and eyes look a bit like your uncle. No wonder Lightning likes you."
"My aunt often says this, and tells my cousin to visit me and my younger uncle more often if he misses my older uncle."
"That sounds like something she would say." Doctor Liu smiled and shook his head.
"I'm old. General Xiao Song has been dead for over 20 years now. I don't know what happened to his child with Qingyun."
Song Yanxi helped him put the hay into the stone troughs for the other horses and said with a smile, "My eldest cousin is now married and has a son. He works as an editor in the Hanlin Academy. He married the youngest daughter of the He family across the street."
Doctor Liu stroked his beard and said with a look of satisfaction, "Great! If your uncle knew all this, he would be overjoyed.
After all, the only thing he was worried about before his death was Qingyun."
He reached out and patted Lightning's head, saying meaningfully, "This is your uncle's old friend."
"Old Liu, isn't Lightning Uncle Xu's mount?
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