Chapter 72: Double Dwelling 6 Ah Xuan is the best baby in the world. ...
In the middle of the night, Zhu Song dressed in night clothes and sneaked into the Prince Xian's mansion.
The weather was cold and the Xianwang Mansion was silent. Even the servants on night duty were not outside, so Zhu Song entered the Xianwang Mansion smoothly.
Tonight, Zhu Song and Gu Huaiyu carefully studied the layout of Prince Xian's Mansion and circled the three places where people were most likely to be hiding.
One is the backyard, one is the lakeside pavilion, and one is the study.
But this study does not refer to the usual study we see, but rather to the dark room that may be under the study.
The reason is simple. The Xianwang Mansion usually receives many dignitaries. If the Xianwang really keeps a medicine man in the mansion, building a dark room is the safest way to be on the safe side.
Zhu Song had been to Prince Xian's Mansion before and felt that the dark room was the most reasonable option, so he went straight to the study after entering Prince Xian's Mansion.
The study was filled with things; the shelves for storing treasures alone took up two walls. Only then did Zhu Song fully understand Zhu Jingchen's words, "The royal family possesses countless treasures."
According to the custom of Mohist mechanical engineering, the switches of the secret room doors would be on these treasures. Zhu Song was fully prepared to try them one by one, but unexpectedly, his luck was very good. When he moved the first white porcelain vase, he heard the "creaking" sound of the door opening in the room.
As the sound rang out, a faint yellow light shone from the wall, eerie and mournful. Zhu Song walked over and saw a dark staircase. Along with the light came a rotten smell.
Zhu Song walked down the stairs carefully. The fishy smell became stronger as he walked. Zhu Song could tell that it was blood mixed with other foul smells.
Then the sound of "rustling" came into his ears. Zhu Song couldn't help but slow down his footsteps and even tried his best to hold his breath. After turning a corner, what he saw made Zhu Song, a man who often saw torture, vomit.
The darkroom was large, divided into small rooms like a prison cell. Each room held a number of people, some three or five, others one or two. Without exception, they were all young men. Broken limbs and remains were scattered throughout the room. Many people slept cradling their severed limbs, some already reduced to bones.
The three people in the room closest to Zhu Song were hugging each other for warmth. Their faces were all bitten and had pits. Suddenly, Zhu Song heard a "crack" sound. A man looked up at Zhu Song. In his mouth, he still had the bloody ear he had just bitten off.
Zhu Song widened his eyes, but he didn't move. The man laughed at him, and when he moved his mouth, half of his ear fell to the ground.
The strange thing was that the man he bit was still sleeping soundly, as if nothing had happened. Zhu Song was sure he was still alive because he not only turned over but also muttered, "It's so hot."
Zhu Song walked over one by one. Those who were originally asleep all opened their eyes and stared at him. Zhu Song asked in a low voice: "Where... are you from?"
"Hahaha."
Someone suddenly started laughing, which was so eerie and scary in the quiet dungeon that Zhu Song felt a chill on his back. The others also laughed out loud when they heard the sound. No, it wasn't laughing, it was shouting.
Zhu Song was certain that these people had serious problems with their brains and should be the drug testers captured by the Yuling Sect. Even if they were not, the virtuous king could not escape the blame for maliciously imprisoning so many people.
Now that he had the evidence, Zhu Song didn't linger for long and turned around and went up the stairs.
The further he walked, the more things seemed wrong. When he turned the last corner, Zhu Song met Jiang Shen's vicious gaze from afar. He brought his men to block him at the door.
Having seen so many hellish scenes, Zhu Song wasn't afraid of Jiang Shen now. Instead, he felt strangely relieved. However, he didn't show it on his face. He said coldly, "Jiang Shen, you are guilty of heinous crimes. Do you still want to resist?"
"Then go to Yama Palace and judge me." Jiang Shen sneered and waved his hand, "Kill him."
The guards following Jiang Shen rushed forward. Zhu Song took a quick look and saw that there were about thirty of them. Although he could not defeat thirty well-trained guards, since he dared to break into the palace at night, he would not be unprepared.
As the guards rushed forward, Zhu Song pulled out a packet of chili powder from his pocket and, holding his breath, threw it around. The bright red chili powder exploded in the air, and the guards immediately started coughing. Zhu Song then sprinkled a large dose of a drug, causing the guards to cough violently and unable to stop. As soon as they inhaled the drug, they quickly became dizzy.
Zhu Song casually picked up a knife from the ground and walked towards the door. Jiang Shen was forced to retreat under his imposing manner, saying fiercely as he retreated, "Zhu Song, don't be complacent. There are elite soldiers outside. You will die if you come out."
The stairs were filled with the smell of drugs. Zhu Song couldn't hold his breath. He took a shallow breath and his legs felt weak for a moment, but he forced himself to restrain himself so that Jiang Shen wouldn't notice anything unusual.
Without any obstacles, Zhu Song quickened his pace and was out of the dark room in a few blinks of an eye. His vision suddenly opened up and he saw the virtuous king sitting not far away, staring at him deeply.
Although Zhu Song already knew that he was the mastermind behind this incident, he was still shocked. The virtuous king had always been elegant and humble in the court, and was polite and courteous to others. He really couldn't believe that he was such a brutal monster in private.
But now is not the time to talk about this. Zhu Song rushed out of the room with a knife in hand, took out a whistling arrow from his body, and fired it at lightning speed, making a sharp sound.
Jiang Shen was horrified when he saw this. "He has helpers. Quick, kill him."
Zhu Song said loudly, "The previous epidemic was caused by the virtuous king. The officers and soldiers of the Dali Temple are outside the palace. If you still obey his orders, you will be regarded as traitors."
The guards didn't dare move, looking at each other. Seeing this, Jiang Shen said hurriedly, "Don't listen to his nonsense. He has trespassed into the palace with ill intentions and is trying to make excuses. Capture him and hand him over to the emperor for the final decision."
Everyone was right, and the guards couldn't afford to offend any of them, so they pretended to pick up weapons and surrounded Zhu Song. Under normal circumstances, Zhu Song would definitely not take such an attack seriously, but he had taken the drug and was holding on, so he fell to the ground with a slight touch from the guard.
The guards were all shocked. How could the usually majestic Lord Zhu look like a piece of paper?
At the same time, the sound of uniform footsteps could be heard outside the palace. The next moment, the palace gate was knocked open, and Gu Huaiyu led the yamen runners in. Seeing Zhu Song half-kneeling on the ground, he immediately panicked, "Zhu Song."
"Gu Huaiyu, it's good that you're here. Aren't you good brothers? It's just right for you to accompany Zhu Song to the underworld so that he won't be alone." Jiang Shen said and ordered the guards, "Go."
Gu Huaiyu shouted coldly, "Who dares to act rashly? The Dali Temple already has sufficient evidence to prove that the virtuous prince and the Jiang family are in cahoots and treat human life with indifference. The emperor has already ordered me to apprehend the murderer. Why don't you all lay down your weapons immediately?"
Jiang Shen sneered, "Nonsense! You have an imperial decree and you still break into the palace at night. That's pure nonsense."
Gu Huaiyu was worried about Zhu Song, so he stopped arguing with Jiang Shen and directly ordered the yamen runners, "Go ahead, arrest them."
Jiang Shen rushed forward with his sword in hand, and the guards followed him, and the two sides started fighting.
Gu Huaiyu took the opportunity to run to Zhu Song and helped him up. "How are you?"
Zhu Song leaned against Gu Huaiyu and said weakly, "I took too much drugs and I feel dizzy. Pinch me now."
Gu Huaiyu said: "If you smoke too much, you will feel dizzy. I am here."
Zhu Song was worried, "We have few people and cannot win. Let's go to Jingzhao Prefecture to ask for reinforcements."
Gu Huaiyu looked up and saw that it was just as Zhu Song said. The other side had more people and more power, and the Dali Temple officials were already at a disadvantage.
Gu Huaiyu shouted, "Old Wang."
Constable Wang heard the noise and came to Gu Huaiyu while fighting and retreating. He hurriedly asked, "Sir, what's wrong?"
Gu Huaiyu said: "Go to Jingzhao Prefecture to ask for reinforcements."
"good."
Constable Wang received the order and hurried over, but Jiang Shen had been keeping an eye on him and knew he was going to get reinforcements, so he couldn't let him go. He chased after him, "Where are you going?"
When Captain Wang saw him chasing him, he ran even faster, leaving behind shadows with his legs. There was no way Jiang Shen could outrun him, but he knew that he absolutely could not let him go, so he raised his knife and threw it at Captain Wang.
With a "clang" sound, a sharp blade flew out from the darkness and knocked Jiang Shen's knife to the ground.
Jiang Shen shouted, "Who?"
As soon as he finished speaking, Captain Wang knelt down and said, "Your Majesty."
Jiang Shen's heart trembled, and he chased out to see that he was facing Wen Fengxuan's gloomy face. Behind him were the imperial guards led by Zhu Lingye.
Wen Fengxuan ordered coldly, "Capture him."
Zhu Lingye led the imperial guards in. Wen Fengxuan dismounted and asked Constable Wang, "Where is Zhu Song?"
Constable Wang replied, "The master is inside."
At this time, Zhu Song, who was in the palace, saw Zhu Lingye coming and knew that the danger was over, so he finally fainted. He fainted so quickly that he scared Gu Huaiyu. "Hey, Zhu Song."
When Wen Fengxuan came in, he saw Zhu Song lying in Gu Huaiyu's arms. His originally worried face instantly turned dark.
With the imperial guards, the situation was already one-sided. Now that Wen Fengxuan came in person, the guards of the palace laid down their weapons and knelt down to admit their mistakes.
The exciting and dangerous night ended here.
Zhu Song opened his eyes and saw the familiar rooftops, knowing he was back in the Hall of Mental Cultivation. But why was he there?
Just as he was wondering, he heard Wen Fengxuan talking outside.
"He Yi, do you have a man you like?"
Heyi is Xue Caining's title.
Xue Caining replied, "Your Majesty, when I was in Jizhou, Lord Zhu promised to take me in."
Wen Fengxuan raised his voice, "Oh? Which Lord Zhu?"
Xue Caining said, "Master Zhusong, the Junior Secretary of the Dali Temple."
There was a "snap" sound, and Zhu Song guessed that something must have broken.
Wen Fengxuan said: "I understand. I will find you a good marriage. Go back and wait."
Xue Caining's tone was somewhat cheerful, "Thank you, Your Majesty."
After a while, there was a sound of a door closing, followed by a crackling sound of porcelain breaking.
Zhu Song let out a long sigh and sat up from the bed. When he put on his coat and walked out, he saw Wen Fengxuan spreading out the imperial edict and was about to start writing.
Zhu Song thought he really wanted to marry Xue Caining to him, and hurriedly bowed and said, "Your Majesty, when I was in Jizhou, I did not know the princess's identity. I was investigating the case at that time and my words were slightly inappropriate. I have no personal relationship with the princess. Please understand your majesty."
Wen Fengxuan raised his head and looked at him, his voice calm and somewhat dark. "I know. So I plan to marry He Yi to Gu Huaiyu."
Zhu Song's eyes widened in shock, "What?"
Wen Fengxuan stared at him straight in the eyes. "Although He Yi's life back in the palace was not easy, she has a kind and gentle personality, and Gu Huaiyu is gentle and refined. They are both of marriageable age. I think they are a perfect match."
"Your Majesty, please revoke your order." Zhu Song knelt down without saying a word, and begged with his hands clasped. Wen Fengxuan subconsciously wanted to go forward to help him, but stopped himself.
Wen Fengxuan asked: "Why not?"
Zhu Song said: "Gu Huaiyu and Princess Heyi are not familiar with each other at all, and Gu Huaiyu has great ambitions and aspirations. It is absolutely impossible for him to marry the princess."
Wen Fengxuan snorted coldly, "In your heart, he is good in every way."
Zhu Song continued, "The Marquis's Mansion has a solid foundation in the capital. Your Majesty should not force him out of a momentary impulse."
Wen Fengxuan frowned, his voice getting colder, "Are you threatening me?"
Zhu Song said, "I dare not, but the Marquis' Mansion is well aware of Princess Heyi's past. If she really marries into the Marquis' Mansion, she will definitely feel resentful, which will not be a good thing for Princess Heyi."
Wen Fengxuan said, "No matter how many faults she has, she is still my sister, a noble princess of Daliang. How dare he, a mere Marquis Ping'an, mistreat her?"
Seeing that his explanation was not convincing, Zhu Song changed his approach, "But the person Princess Heyi loves is not Gu Huaiyu, right?"
Wen Fengxuan said coldly: "What do you want to say?"
Zhu Song took a deep breath and bowed his head, saying, "If Your Majesty insists on granting Princess Heyi a marriage, I am willing to marry her."
"How dare you." Wen Fengxuan swept his hands across the table, and everything on the table fell to the ground. He rushed forward, squatted down, and grabbed Zhu Song's collar. "Zhu Song, admit it, you just like Gu Huaiyu. For him, you can do anything."
Zhu Song looked him in the eye, a bitter taste in his mouth. "Your Majesty, this is an unprovoked disaster for him. What do you want me to do?"
Wen Fengxuan gritted his teeth, "What if I insist on granting him a marriage?"
Zhu Song said, "Since Your Majesty has made up his mind, I have nothing to say. I have already written my resignation and I hope Your Majesty will grant my approval."
Wen Fengxuan widened his eyes and stared at him in disbelief, "You want to leave for him?"
Zhu Song explained, "Gu Huaiyu and I have a pure and innocent relationship. I have no feelings that go beyond the pale. I resigned for my own sake. Your Majesty, take care."
Zhu Song brushed off Wen Fengxuan's hand, stood up and left. Wen Fengxuan fell to the ground and shouted, "Zhu Song, stop."
Zhu Song stopped but did not look back. Wen Fengxuan's voice was a little panicked. He clutched his stomach tightly and said, "Zhu Song, my stomach hurts."
Zhu Song lowered his eyes and said, "Your Majesty, I am not a doctor." Then he left the Yangxin Palace.
The sky outside was still dark, and the cold wind made Zhu Song's face hurt. Snowflakes fluttered down. Zhu Song took a deep breath and walked towards the exit of the palace. Halfway there, he was stopped by someone.
"Blessings, sir."
Li Qiuting came in a hurry, and sweat was running down her face in such a cold day.
"I have said everything I need to say. Lord Li, there is no need to persuade me anymore." Zhu Song said and left.
"If Master Zhu doesn't listen, you will regret it for the rest of your life."
Zhu Song stopped and turned to look at Li Qiutong.
Li Qiutong said, "Master Zhu, please come with me to a place."
Changqiu Palace.
The most secluded area of the palace, reaching it from the central Hall of Mental Cultivation, took less than half an hour's walk. True to its name, it was desolate and bleak, the palace gates mottled and flaking, the paint peeling off, revealing the yellowed wood underneath.
Zhu Song didn't know what this place was originally used for, but he knew that no one had lived here since Wen Fengxuan left.
The door was not closed. I pushed it and it opened with a creak.
Zhu Song followed Li Qiuting inside. The inside looked even more dilapidated than the outside. It was hard to imagine that this was also a palace.
Li Qiutong said, "It looks quite small."
Zhu Song took a quick look and found that although this place was called Changqiu Palace, it was indeed small, with only three or four rooms. The yard was also pitifully small, only about ten steps on either side. It would be more appropriate to change the name to Changqiu Pavilion.
Li Qiutong said: "Actually, I have never been here before. I just heard about it."
Zhu Song looked at him, and Li Qiutong explained, "From what His Majesty said, I only followed him after he went to the Eastern Palace. People say that the late emperor saw His Majesty's appearance during the rain-praying ceremony at Mount Tai and was reminded of the late queen, so he named him Crown Prince. But that's not the case. His Majesty was already very ill at the time, and he went to Mount Tai just to see the late emperor one last time. It was the Imperial Master who used magic to allow the late emperor to see the late queen, and the late queen fought for him to be named Crown Prince."
Imperial Master? Zhu Song suddenly remembered that Wen Fengxuan had said he had an uncle. Could he be the Imperial Master?
Li Qiutong continued, "After His Majesty moved to the Eastern Palace, I followed him. At that time, he was very resistant to contact with others and didn't even talk to us. He squatted in a corner and talked to himself every day. There were rumors that he was panting every three steps and coughing every five steps, and he would vomit blood from time to time. Lord Zhu may think the rumors are exaggerated, but the actual situation is more serious than this.
Xie Ningyuan and I followed him every day and listened to him talk.
He didn't talk to people, but he would talk to ants, leaves, and all kinds of dead things. He said that the nanny beat him and didn't give him food, so he ate a lot of leaves and had frequent stomachaches. He vomited blood but didn't dare let the nanny know, so he had to clean up the mess himself.
Zhu Song's ears were buzzing, his heart was suddenly constricted, and he felt suffocated. He looked up and saw two bare trees under the pale moonlight. The snow weighed down the branches, which also turned pale.
"Stop talking." Zhu Song didn't even dare to listen carefully. Whenever he thought of how little Wen Fengxuan had suffered here, his heart ached as if it were cut by countless thin threads.
Li Qiutong said, "Master Zhu, His Majesty has never told you this. He wants to show you his best side, but how can you only love the best side of someone? He's never been loved, so he doesn't know how to love. You think he's unreasonable and paranoid, but in fact, he's just afraid that he's received too little in his life."
Zhu Song stopped talking. He had nothing to say, only a feeling of suffocation that was about to drown him.
Li Qiutong said, "Later, in the East Palace, he nearly died several times. If it weren't for my superb medical skills, his grave would be overgrown with weeds by now. I took great pains to pull him out of hell, and I don't want you to push him back."
Zhu Song pursed his lips and said, "Sorry."
Li Qiutong said, "To save his life, I tried everything. He took countless medications and took countless medicinal baths in those two years, causing his body to become different from that of a normal person. If you find out about this in the future, even if you can't accept it, please don't hurt him."
Li Qiutong then looked at Zhu Song and said, "If you're determined to leave, please don't appear in front of him again. I can save him once, and I can save him twice, but I can't save him forever."
Zhu Song turned and left in a hurry. Li Qiutong pursed her lips slightly at his anxious back, then sat down in the snow. He actually had a lot more to say, but he wasn't going to say it. Wen Fengxuan wanted to leave a good impression on Zhu Song, so he couldn't keep exposing his past.
When Zhu Song returned to the Yangxin Palace, he was so hot that a thin layer of sweat broke out on his face. He ran into the palace panting. Wen Fengxuan was lying on the bed resting. He turned around when he heard the voice. His eyes were red and the corners of his eyes were still tearful. Zhu Song felt guilty when he saw this.
"sorry."
Zhu Song walked over to his bedside and sat down. Wen Fengxuan lowered his eyes and stopped looking at him. He just asked, "Did Li Qiutong tell you?"
Zhu Song nodded and said sincerely, "I will not resign. I will stay in the capital forever and stay by your side."
Wen Fengxuan raised his eyes to look at him, "Then you don't think I'm a monster?"
Zhu Song quickly said, "How could that be? Ah Xuan is the best baby in the world."
Hearing this, Wen Fengxuan finally smiled, "Are you happy?"
Zhu Song said quickly: "I am very happy. I am extremely happy."
"Then kiss me."
Zhu Song leaned over and touched the corner of his lips lightly, but couldn't help but feel worried for him. He said, "Ah Xuan, but you just succeeded to the throne. Let's keep our affairs secret for now, okay?"
Wen Fengxuan blinked and asked reluctantly, "How long do we have to keep this secret?"
It was hard to say what this congratulation meant. He felt that if their affair were made public, it would definitely cause an uproar. But now he really didn't want to say this and spoil Wen Fengxuan's mood, so he said, "Let's take it one step at a time."
"Oh." Wen Fengxuan responded reluctantly and then asked, "Then will you stay in the palace tonight?"
Zhu Song asked, "How is the matter with the virtuous king going?"
Wen Fengxuan said: "He was arrested and is now being held in the clan residence."
Zhu Song asked again, "Have you confessed your guilt?"
Wen Fengxuan replied: "I don't know, no one cares about him."
Zhu Song laughed at Wen Fengxuan's childish words and then said, "This matter cannot be delayed. The virtuous prince and the Jiang family must resolve it immediately. I will go back tonight and compile the evidence and present it to you. It would be best if it is resolved at tomorrow morning's court."
When Wen Fengxuan heard that he was leaving, he immediately became unhappy. Zhu Song coaxed him a few more times before letting him go.
Zhu Song whispered, "I'll be quick."
Wen Fengxuan said to him, "You are not happy at all."
Zhu Song nodded in agreement, "It wasn't fast before, I'll try to be faster this time."
Wen Fengxuan didn't say much, and Zhu Song continued, "Has anyone from the Xianwang Mansion gone to investigate?"
"No."
Zhu Song said, "Then your Majesty, grant me a token, and I will go and raid the Xianwang Palace."
Wen Fengxuan said, "There's one on the shelf, go get it yourself."
"Okay." Zhu Song kissed him again, "I'm leaving."
Wen Fengxuan responded, "Yeah."
Seeing how well behaved he was, Zhu Song softened his heart again, "How about I wait until you fall asleep before I leave?"
Wen Fengxuan said, "Then you're going to stay up late again. Li Qiutong said staying up late is bad for your health, so you should go quickly."
Zhu Song said, "It's okay. I'm in good health. I spent three days with Gu Er reading files, and I was fine. He almost fainted."
Wen Fengxuan's face darkened when he heard the name Gu Huaiyu. Zhu Song also realized that he shouldn't have brought this up, and quickly explained, "He and I are just good brothers. It's really nothing. Even if we had a private affair, we would have been together a long time ago."
Wen Fengxuan narrowed his eyes, clearly not believing him. "What if your old house catches fire?"
Zhu Song said helplessly: "The old house is on fire because of you."
Wen Fengxuan pushed him in annoyance and said, "Go do what you need to do. Come back soon after you're done."
"Okay, I'll go take care of things first."
"Um."
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