Chapter 105 A Common Enemy So, even that little bit of beauty...
After three days of lying in state, the weather grew increasingly hot, and no amount of ice placed under the coffin could help.
Although Yu Nie had sent a messenger on horseback to Lang Xi, three days had passed and Lang Xi had not returned.
All she could do was to grant Fang Xiangshi a permanent official position and bury A Hui.
The burial site was chosen in a vibrant area on the outskirts of Jian'an West City, surrounded by winding streams, a place even princes and ministers might not be able to obtain.
This is the very piece of land that Gu Xiangzhi initially chose.
Unbeknownst to Yu Nie, Huan Xun had secretly sent people to select another burial site.
While at Chongyue Tower, she pondered for a long time, feeling that it would be too impolite to directly refuse Gu Xiangzhi's kind offer, and it was not appropriate to tell him directly.
Moreover, Gu Xiangzhi has devoted a lot of effort to this matter, and it would not be good to abandon it easily.
Therefore, before Lu Jinshi arrived as ordered, she still decided to explain her thoughts to Huan Xun.
There was no need to trouble Lu Jinshi any further, since Gu Xiangzhi had already prepared this rare place. If they chose another place, it would be a waste of the other party's efforts.
Huan Xun, knowing her predicament, smiled knowingly and did not press her further, but instead asked her to choose again.
And so, the burial site was chosen by Gu Xiangzhi.
On the day the coffin was carried out, the sky was bright and clear.
Ah Hui didn't know many people in Jian'an, so there weren't many people attending his funeral.
Huan Xun, Gu Xiangzhi, Xiao Chengyan, and a few others arrived, along with six or seven servants from Hongzheng Pavilion. Sparsely scattered, they barely managed to form a funeral procession.
However, halfway through his journey, Gu Xiangzhi was hastily summoned away by someone sent by Chang Yushan, forcing him to leave.
During the funeral procession, Yu Nie reduced the entourage as much as possible, keeping it very low-key.
Xiao Chengyan, having somehow learned of this, told her that some ministers outside the palace had submitted a memorial to Zhao Yunfu, impeaching her for "disregarding propriety, overstepping the bounds of etiquette, and mobilizing a large force for a mere eunuch, showing no royal demeanor whatsoever."
If it were based on her personality from the previous two days, she wouldn't have listened to a single word of these rumors.
Since she had decided to give it to him, she wasn't afraid of what others would say.
She originally wanted to hold a grand funeral so that her junior brother could leave in peace.
In the end, however, she chose to restrain herself.
This restraint wasn't because she was afraid of being impeached.
Rather, since she had agreed to be Zhao Yunfu's spy, she thought that a willful and reckless "pawn" who would give others a handle against her would make an emperor like Zhao Yunfu uneasy.
At this moment, the more she expresses her grief and indignation, the more likely she is to lose the emperor's trust.
She wasn't afraid; rather, she understood that only by concealing her talents could she continue playing this game.
Only by continuing on this path can she possibly bring a ray of light to all those who have suffered oppression and humiliation in the future.
She watched as shovelfuls of yellow earth fell, slowly engulfing the coffin containing Ah Hui, piling it into a mound.
Song Ai sent the rest of the servants back, leaving only himself and a few others behind.
A breeze picked up on the hillside, and the sun moved unnoticed.
Her shadow stretched very, very long, almost reaching the new grave.
She finally moved her stiff legs and walked to the stone tablet, tracing Ahui's name with her fingertips again and again.
Huan Xun and Xiao Chengyan were both watching her.
After an unknown amount of time, she finally stood up and, turning back every few steps, boarded the carriage that Song Ai had prepared in advance.
Huan Xun sat on the horse that Xie Cheng had prepared in advance, and returned to Hongzheng Pavilion with her carriage.
On the other side of the carriage were Xiao Chengyan and his attendant Han Jie.
After escorting her back to Hongzheng Pavilion, Huan Xun dismounted and bid her farewell.
After speaking, he left Lu Jinshi behind to handle the remaining matters, then mounted his horse and rode back to Jiheng Mansion with Xie Cheng.
There are still important matters in the government that need to be dealt with urgently, and delaying until now is the limit.
As the sound of horses' hooves faded into the distance, Xiao Chengyan, who was standing quietly outside the door, briefly followed Huan Xun's figure as he disappeared at the end of the long street, before turning to look thoughtfully at Yu Nie beside him.
During the funeral, he had vaguely sensed that there was something unusual between the two.
This unusual quality was more evident in Huan Xun himself.
Xiao Chengyan believed he understood Huan Xun's character to some extent.
Whether male or female, in his view, as long as Huan Xun himself was unwilling or did not want to, no matter what changes the other party encountered, he would never give him a second glance.
Leaving aside distant examples, even in the Chongyue Tower, countless dancers and singers vied to offer themselves as his bedmates, yet he remained unmoved. No matter how beautiful their faces or how graceful their figures, they could not sway his heart in the slightest.
But this time, he actually did so many things for her on his own initiative, which was really unlike his usual behavior.
From Xiao Chengyan's perspective, they clearly didn't have much interaction.
However, he had already guessed seven or eight parts of the reason why Huan Xun was behaving so strangely.
The thought that his best friend was in love with the same person as him made him feel heavy-hearted.
What weighed even more heavily on his mind was the secret letter he received last night.
He had learned everything from Han Jie about the dramatic changes that had taken place in the court these past two days.
Although this was a struggle between the aristocratic families and the poor military households, he understood that the Southern Yin dynasty was involved behind the scenes.
His identity is special; he is not only a native of Nan Yin, but also a direct descendant of the royal family.
His elder brother, Xiao Daozun, was the emperor of a nation, while he was the emperor's only half-brother born of the same mother. The sensitivity and importance of this identity were self-evident.
Xiao Daozun had repeatedly sent secret letters urging him to return to Nanyin immediately.
However, he could not bear to leave. Firstly, his beloved grandmother was old and her health was declining. He did not want to leave her when she was alone and lonely.
So it was postponed again and again.
This delay greatly displeased his hot-tempered elder brother.
In his letter yesterday, Xiao Daozun bluntly issued an ultimatum.
The letter detailed how he sold the intelligence provided by Yan Yue's subordinate Sang Yueshi to the Xiutu Khanate, which led to the annihilation of Hou Chong, a general under Yan Yue, and his tragic death at the hands of the Xiutu people.
At the end of the letter, Xiao Daozun bluntly stated that Yan Yue would soon investigate the matter thoroughly, and it was only a matter of time before Nan Yin was drawn into it.
The defeat of the Xiutu people is inevitable, and a battle between Beiye and Nanyin is unavoidable.
Whether the world will belong to the Zhao or the Xiao family at that time can only be decided by victory or defeat.
If he, a prince of the Southern Yin, were to remain in Beiye, given Zhao Yunfu's character, he would undoubtedly be taken hostage. At that point, his situation would be extremely precarious.
He must now find an opportunity to leave Beiye and return to Nanyin.
Having lived in Beiye for many years, Xiao Chengyan had long regarded it as his second hometown.
But his elder brother Xiao Daozun's tone couldn't have been clearer.
It is now inevitable that the two countries will clash.
At this moment, he was not faced with a choice, but with an inviolable royal decree.
Can……
But how could he abandon the person in front of him, abandon his grandmother who had been so good to him...?
Unaware of his thoughts, Yu Nie turned and walked back into the building.
He followed in her footsteps, breaking the silence first: "Master Shen... has he replied to Qiqi?"
The letter was sent the day before yesterday, and whether or not Langxi has caught up with us is just two words.
She said, "Not yet. It will probably be a few days before she receives the letter."
The two walked side by side under the corridor, and she continued, "You've worked hard these past few days, cousin, running back and forth to the building."
Xiao Chengyan was also busy. He had to return to the palace to appease the Empress Dowager, and he also had to spend time with her at Hongzheng Pavilion. Finally, he was also worried about whether or not to return to Nanyin.
He's certainly busy.
He felt inexplicably unhappy that she was being so distant with him: "Qiqi, what are you saying? With such a big thing happening to you, it's nothing for me to run around like this. It's all my duty." His tone carried a hint of impatience from being rejected.
Compared to Huan Xun and Gu Xiangzhi, who were both deep in thought, Xiao Chengyan was more lively and unrestrained.
He was eager to prove his heart to her, to prove that he really didn't care about such things, and that it was what he should do to make sacrifices for her.
Given his status, it's already quite remarkable that he was able to get involved in this matter.
Not to mention, he can also attend funerals.
She understood his good intentions in saying that.
But she couldn't just take advantage of him and then act innocent, taking everything he did for granted.
She looked at him with concern, her eyes filled with worry: "Those people...didn't report you to His Majesty?"
They could impeach her on the grounds of "disrespect for royal decorum," and naturally they wouldn't let him off easily either.
Moreover, he was a prince of the Southern Yin Dynasty, making his situation inherently precarious.
Xiao Chengyan, however, raised a bright smile, as if telling an amusing story: "Alas, they didn't bother to pay attention to my outrageous behavior at the funeral."
He paused, his tone relaxed:
"But because of my forced entry into the Li family and my beating of Li Yunsheng, some officials have already submitted a memorial, saying that my behavior was 'extremely violent, unbecoming of the national dignity, and may damage the brotherhood between the two countries and ruin the overall diplomatic situation.'"
Her heart, which had been hanging in suspense, eased slightly: "Then... what did His Majesty say?"
Xiao Chengyan said, "His Majesty did not make things difficult for me. He only said that I was unruly and acted on impulse, and suppressed their discussions on the spot. Afterwards, he sent Feng Changshi to tell me to visit Li Yunsheng and express my attitude."
A sly glint appeared in his eyes: "But I pretended to be sick and said I would go after I recovered."
She realized that his feigned illness was just an excuse.
He definitely won't come to the door in the end.
After saying that, he comforted her, "Don't take what those people say to heart, Qiqi. Now that Master Hui's funeral is over, you've barely slept these past few days. After lunch today, lie down and get some sleep, and stop overthinking."
She nodded softly, but her heart was still filled with concern for her martial uncle and Aunt Liu. While sending a letter to Langxi, she also wrote another one and sent it to Huaiyuan.
Such a major event had to be brought to the attention of Cui Miaochang and the others sooner or later. Given the current situation, whether it was told sooner or later was of little consequence.
If Ahui and the others do not return for a long time, given Cui Miaochang's personality, it would be expected that she would personally come to Jian'an to find them.
Besides that, she had another concern weighing on her mind.
She chose Huan Xun as an ally, but is he truly worthy of her trust?
He was infamous in history books, but throughout his life, he never actually rebelled.
Overthrowing a dynasty is no easy task, and the word "treason" is something that ordinary people cannot bear.
Many powerful ministers are not necessarily willing to usurp the throne themselves.
She knew this couldn't be rushed, and she could only proceed cautiously step by step.
But in any case, they now share a common enemy—the samurai class.
What she needs to do now is to remove this rotten flesh and pull out this malignant tumor.
When eating fish, you can't just swallow it whole; you have to take it one step at a time.
Gao, Wang, Chen, Li...
Gao, Wang, Chen, Li...
These surnames, like intertwined roots of a giant tree, draw upon the lifeblood of this dynasty.
When she thought of the Chen family, a complex mix of emotions welled up inside her.
Although the Chen family had no grudges against her, Chen Qing, the female head of the Chen family, had even taught her and served as her female tutor.
With a patriarch like Chen Qing, she once thought that the Chen family might still have a chance to be saved.
However, the Chen family's involvement in the impeachment of Yan Yue made her realize that local good deeds could no longer cover up overall corruption.
So when that day comes, she will definitely do what needs to be done.
Those that should be eradicated should be eradicated as well.
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