Chapter 208 Xie Ning'an of the Xie Family Requests an Audience with the Emperor
As the year draws to a close, the weather is bitterly cold, and the streets are quiet in the early morning, with only a few people hurrying by.
Xie Ning'an walked towards the palace step by step with a blank expression, his mind flashing back to his childhood in the Xie family. He was precocious, able to recite the Thousand Character Classic when he was three or four years old. His grandfather was delighted and took him under his wing to teach him from then on.
His first teacher was a Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations) who had a failed official career. Later, his grandfather used his connections to get him a place as a student under a renowned Confucian scholar of the time. Needless to say, his daily life was one of extreme luxury and extravagance.
He was praised as the most outstanding talent in the capital, and he was once proud of this. He was also determined to lead the Xie family to a brighter future.
When he learned what his grandfather had done, he was shocked and it took him several days to recover. After much deliberation and struggle, he decided to follow in his grandfather's footsteps and offer him advice. He wavered many times along the way, but he persevered through it all.
Xie Lei's death brought him to his senses. If things continued this way, even more members of the Xie family would die, until the entire Xie family was wiped out. So, he made this decision.
A gust of wind blew, its chill biting against his face, but he paid no heed and continued walking towards the palace. Suddenly, a group of people rushed towards him; he recognized them—the Xie family's guards.
"Young Master, the Old Master wants you to go home," said Liang Dali, the captain of the guards, bowing with his hands clasped.
Xie Ning'an didn't even glance at him and continued walking forward. Seeing this, Liang Dali waved his hand, and more than twenty guards surrounded Xie Ning'an tightly.
“If you want me to go back, I’ll have to die,” Xie Ning’an said, looking at Liang Dali.
"Young Master, I have offended you." Liang Dali rushed forward to grab Xie Ning'an's silver-gray robe, but before his hand could touch it, a cry of pain came from behind him.
He turned around and saw a group of people surrounding them, one of his men already knocked to the ground.
Who are you?
Liang Dali shouted, but no one responded, and the two sides instantly clashed. Xie Ning'an ignored the fight and continued striding forward.
"Young Master!" Liang Dali broke through the encirclement and caught up, reaching out to grab Xie Ning'an again. But just as he reached out, an arrow flew over and pierced his shoulder. Liang Dali cried out in pain and retreated, then saw a group of men in black surrounding Xie Ning'an.
"Who are you?" Liang Dali asked the men in black.
He recognized those people; they were guards employed by the Xie family. Although they were all masked, he knew from the aura they exuded that they were not Xie family guards.
The man in black did not answer Liang Dali's question, but instead clasped his hands in a salute to Xie Ning'an, saying, "Young Master Xie, please."
Xie Ning'an gave him a deep look. "Thank you!"
These people must be from the Duke of Chu's mansion. He couldn't quite describe the feeling in his heart. Because of their scheme against Jiang Chengye, their two mansions had become mortal enemies, but in the end, he was using the Duke of Chu's mansion's power to reach the palace.
But he didn't have time to think too much now. After thanking them, he strode forward. Seeing that he couldn't stop him, Liang Dali could only lead his men to retreat.
The palace wasn't far from here; Xie Ning'an walked for a little over fifteen minutes and arrived at the palace gates. Looking up at the high palace walls, he lifted his robe, knelt down, and shouted, "Xie Ning'an of the Xie family requests an audience with His Majesty."
Although he was the eldest son of the Xie family and enjoyed a great reputation, he was still not qualified to have a direct audience with the Emperor. And in his current situation, he couldn't have someone escort him into the palace to meet the Emperor. Anyone with a good relationship with the Xie family would be known to his grandfather as soon as he brought it up.
Those who don't have a good relationship with the Xie family won't help him.
Upon seeing this, the palace guards immediately went to report to the commander of the elite guards on duty that day. If it were an ordinary person, kneeling in front of the palace early in the morning would have resulted in immediate detention, but since this person was Xie Ning'an from the Xie family, they had to report it.
A moment later, a man in his early twenties dressed in full armor walked over. "Oh, what is Young Master Xie up to?"
Xie Ning'an recognized this person; he was Ning Yunchuan, the eldest grandson of the Duke of Wei and the maternal grandson of the old Duke of Chu.
Xie Ning'an took out a memorial, raised it high with both hands and presented it, saying, "Ning'an wishes to see the Emperor, and hopes that you will grant her an audience."
Ning Yunchuan looked down at the kneeling Xie family's eldest son, pondering what to do. If he simply drove the man away, it would be within his duty; if he reported the matter, that would also be within his duty. He was well aware of the feud between the Xie family and the Duke of Chu's mansion.
He narrowed his eyes, about to order someone to attack Xie Ning'an, when a guard beside him approached and handed him a note, whispering, "This was sent by the steward of the Duke of Chu's mansion."
Ning Yunchuan didn't look at the note. Instead, he looked into the distance and saw Li Zhong standing in a corner, bowing to him from afar. Ning Yunchuan frowned, looked down, and opened the note. It read: "Help Xie Ning'an see the Emperor. Signed Jiang Yu."
After accepting the note, Ning Yunchuan stepped forward to take Xie Ning'an's memorial and strode inside. He hadn't had much contact with Jiang Yu, but he knew about the things she had done, and he admired his cousin Jiang Yu. Even though he wondered why he was helping Xie Ning'an, he knew Jiang Yu must have her reasons, so he did as she instructed without hesitation.
Although he was only the eldest grandson of the Duke of Wei and a minor commander of the Imperial Guard, many people still gave him face. Before long, he arrived in front of the Imperial Study.
The young eunuch standing guard outside immediately bowed upon seeing him, "Commander Ning, is there something you need here?"
Ning Yunchuan hummed in agreement. "Young Master Xie is kneeling at the palace gate, saying he wants to see the Emperor."
The young eunuch was taken aback. After what happened at the banquet hosted by the Privy Councilor Ning's family, everyone in the capital knew that the Xie family and the Duke of Chu's mansion had a feud, the Duke of Wei's mansion and the Duke of Chu's mansion were related by marriage, and Ning Yunchuan was the Duke of Chu's grandson. The young eunuch couldn't figure out why Ning Yunchuan would help Xie Ning'an.
However, this was not something a lowly eunuch like him could handle. He smiled and said to Ning Yunchuan, "His Majesty went to the Imperial Concubine's place last night and hasn't returned yet. Please wait a while."
"Alright, I'll wait here." Ning Yunchuan thought to himself that Consort Su had regained favor, and he would inform his family of this news later. He stood obediently outside the Imperial Study.
A little over fifteen minutes later, the Emperor returned in a sedan chair. Ning Yunchuan bowed to him along with a group of eunuchs, and then watched the Emperor enter the Imperial Study.
The young eunuch who had spoken to him earlier went inside and told the chief eunuch Zhao Fuquan. Zhao Fuquan was taken aback at first, then walked up to the emperor and said, "The commander of the guards at the palace gate has come to report that Xie Ning'an of the Xie family is kneeling at the palace gate and says he wants to see the emperor."
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