Zhu Heng at this moment was very different from before. Ever since Xia Xiao told him about the letter he had sent to General Wang Ji of Heitai City, he dared not speak.

As Xia Xiao said, Zhu Heng didn't want more people to know about this. Therefore, only he and Zhu Da knew the details. The letter was written by him. Zhu Heng didn't expect Wang Ji to not burn the letter. The latter would not be so stupid. He also left a way out for himself. If the news leaked out, he could take the initiative to report it with the letter and gold to ensure his own safety.

In troubled times, everyone has to be more careful. If you are not careful, you will die!

From Longgang to the imperial capital, the things Xia Xiao experienced were unimaginable. How did he get through all these difficulties? Even the ministers were calm and composed, but they couldn't help but speculate.

Even though Xia Jinghong and Xia Xu were quite capable, they heard that Xia Xiao and Shu Shuang had always been on their own. The fact that they had survived so many hardships and obstacles was truly a young talent.

"In my opinion, the reason Xia Xiao has been able to hold on until now, apart from his own strength, is Shu Shuang."

"Yes, Lord? The emperor arranged him to be next to Xia Xiao, there must be other intentions."

"I also heard that during the Rongcheng Spirit Hunt, His Majesty the Emperor showed up."

"So does Wanling City!"

"If His Majesty does not severely punish Zhu Heng, it will be difficult to convince the public if he encounters a man who protects his shortcomings."

…

Zhu Heng used to have some authority in the court, although he was only a third-rank general, which was not as good as General Lin Tian and the two second-rank generals, but they didn't have to do many things. Therefore, Zhu Heng had a lot of power, but now it seems that he was just accumulating swords, waiting to be inserted into his heart at this moment.

At this point, it no longer mattered what Zhu Heng's intentions were. In short, he was a bad man and should be convicted. But Xia Xiao had no intention of stopping and punishing him. He had said before that he would settle accounts with Si Buwen. Even if Zhu Heng hadn't asked the Great Elder to save his life, Xia Xiao would not have let him go!

Shu Shuang, who was sitting upright with her white swan neck raised, saw Xia Xiao shift his gaze and stared at Si Bu Wen. The latter cursed Zhu Heng inwardly, saying that calling him out now was equivalent to dragging him down into the abyss.

Zhu Heng gritted his teeth and had his own plans. It was difficult for him to survive, but with the help of the Great Elder, he could escape. As long as he didn't die, even if he became a beggar, he would have a chance to turn things around.

"Great Elder, your minions are asking you for help, why don't you respond?"

"What minions? Traitors, just kill them!"

Si Buwen's disdainful and indifferent attitude drove Zhu Heng crazy. He lay on the ground, groaning:

"Sir, you can't add insult to injury!"

"presumptuous!"

Si Buwen slammed the table, stood up and saluted Si Yi, but in the eyes of the latter, all the ambitions of the evil ministers were exposed, and they began to blame each other. Without Si Buwen behind him, how could Zhu Heng dare to be so rampant?

"Your Majesty, since things have come to this, and Young Master Xia Xiao has multiple identities, we should make a judgment as soon as possible to avoid worrying His Majesty and the people of the world!"

Si Yi did not speak, but signaled Xia Xiao to speak. The latter was not polite and took a few steps forward and walked to Si Buwen's side.

"Don't worry, sir. We haven't clarified what happened between us yet."

"Zhu Heng's evil ambitions have nothing to do with me."

Zhu Heng knelt behind him, regretful and helpless, but if he made a scene here, he would probably die faster. No one could be trusted at the moment, so he could only wait for the emperor to show some leniency. He had done a lot over the years, but the crime of treason was a bit serious...

When a person has a stain, it can cover up any light.

"The Great Elder is really humorous. Where do you think Zhu Heng's courage comes from?"

"Where did it come from? Did it come from my belly?"

Xia Xiao smiled evilly and replied:

"nature."

"You are upholding justice, so you deserve a reward. I also wrongly accused your Xia family, so this is compensation. What else do you want? Do you want to drag me into this?"

"Sir, if you weren't so self-righteous, I wouldn't be in such a dilemma."

Xia Xiao spoke ruthlessly, pretending to have a very low EQ. But the emperor wanted him to do so, so he did it. He could only feel at ease if the emperor protected the Xia family. Xia Xiao was afraid of being remembered by others, and even though his status was not low at this time, he was still a little uneasy.

"Since the lord is silent, I will continue to speak."

"At first, Zhu Heng devised a plan to cleverly drive away my Xia family, but after knowing that I could practice cultivation, he attacked again and again. At first, I believe that you were also unaware of it, otherwise you would not have let him be so presumptuous, but for your own benefit, you will not give up easily. To him, the Xia family and the Zhu family are natural enemies, and only one can survive. If the elder did not intervene, or if the incident in Wanling City did not happen, I would not have pursued it, but you are going too far, sir."

Using the most calm tone and saying the most arrogant words, this is what Xia Xiao is good at.

"After you knew that Zhu Heng started to assassinate my Xia family, you felt that you had no way out. My new identity scared you. If I returned to the imperial capital, you would be in trouble. Therefore, you colluded with Zhu Heng and launched a two-month-long encirclement and suppression campaign in Wanling Valley."

"In Wanling Valley, many people fight to the death because of a glance. Could it be that Master Xia Xiao is so narrow-minded?"

"Of course I have a small heart, but what did you do in Wanling City that caused my master to take action? Do you need witnesses and evidence for this matter?"

Xia Xiao turned sideways, glaring angrily. Hui Yue, who was standing beside him, grabbed the hem of her skirt and prepared to stand up. Even if she didn't have any sense of shame, she would still expose the ugly faces of these people.

"Sister Huiyue, don't be anxious."

Huiyue nodded, her heart beating very fast in her chest.

Xia Xiao confronted Si Bu Wen. There were three teachers present and the Pope was involved. He did not dare to confuse right and wrong and could only say:

"What do you want?"

These words were too weak, but Xia Xiao bowed to the emperor.

"This is for His Majesty to decide!"

If it were an ordinary person, he would never have fought to such a state, but behind Xia Xiao, after all, stood His Majesty. He destroyed his own retreat in order to take the longest road of His Majesty.

On one side, Eunuch Mu came over and leaned close to Si Yi's ear.

"It is indeed Zhu Heng's handwriting."

His face straightened, Si Yi said:

"The handwriting has been confirmed. It is indeed written by Zhu Heng."

The ministers were silent, Si Yi said again:

"Xia Xiao, the affairs of your Xia family are my negligence. Zhu Heng will let you take charge!"

When Zhu Heng heard this, he kowtowed repeatedly, his lips trembled, and he even stuttered.

"Your Majesty, please have mercy on us. Our Zhu family has served us wholeheartedly from the beginning to the end. We cannot let our family be destroyed just because of this incident."

The emperor stood up and the ministers sighed.

"This matter? Don't you know how serious it is?"

Si was easily angered, but the officials did not dare to call for calming down. This anger could not be calmed down.

"If you were an ordinary person, I would protect you as a general and spare your life. But the Xia family has been guarding the north for many years. When have they not made contributions? In the border war, the father and son of the Xia family fought to the death for a whole month, but your Zhu family left the battlefield without permission and spared the women and children in your family. Do you have the nerve to say one thing? And as for the collusion with the Southern Merchant Empire, do you know that the loyal soldiers of our Great Xia have died under their swords?"

After walking down the steps, Si Yi threw the wine cup in his hand. Then he rushed to him angrily and kicked him over.

"Come here, take him away and wait for your punishment!"

"yes!"

Clawing the red carpet on the floor, Zhu Heng screamed for mercy, and even when he was dragged down the steps in front of the palace, he still screamed. But Si Yi turned a blind eye and walked to Xia Xiao's side.

"What do you think we should do?"

"The dynasty is in need of manpower, so we need to replenish the frontiers and go to Longgang in the west to prepare for defense against the enemy."

Since it's not a capital crime? Si Yi was surprised, but also admired it.

"Uncle, you made a wrong judgment at the beginning, saying that Xia Xiao was unable to practice and wasted royal resources. What punishment did you give him?"

Si Bu Wen hesitated, bent down and said:

"The slaves shall be executed, their property shall be confiscated, Xia Jinghong and Xia Xu's positions as generals and the Xia family army shall be confiscated, and... they shall never be allowed to be generals, and can only be soldiers."

After taking a deep breath, Si Yi’s face turned pale.

"The Zhu family can be spared the death penalty, but they cannot escape the punishment of life. They will be beaten with a stick 500 times and driven out of the imperial capital in the same way!"

"yes."

Si Buwen nodded, but before he started to feel lucky, he heard Si Yi say:

"Uncle, you made a mistake in your judgment, which caused the Xia family to suffer for two years. Although Xia Xiao still walked back to the imperial capital, your position as the chief elder will be put on hold for the time being!"

"I will obey His Majesty's order."

Si Buwen knew the methods of the previous emperors. Si Yi said so on the surface, but in reality, the existence of the National Elders' Council was about to disappear. But even if Si Buwen knew, what could he do? He couldn't fight against Si Yi now. Xia Xiao alone had the Zou Shou Church behind him. And soon, there would be Ningshen College as well.

Si Yi was secretly happy. Although there were some twists and turns at the beginning, it was still going smoothly.

"Now that the truth has been revealed, from today on, a notice will be posted to announce to the world that General Xia will be welcomed back to the capital and promoted to the rank of Second Rank General of the State!"

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

After Xia Xiao finished speaking, he turned around and walked towards his seat.

Two years, just for this moment, he felt like a stone had fallen from his heart, and was instantly relieved, but the hundred people from his Xia family would never come back.

The ministers watched with awe. Xia Xiao was only fifteen years old, but he had done such a thing, which was really shocking. Those who were slightly older than him and advanced to the final selection looked at each other, knowing that they should not provoke him in the future.

In the eyes of everyone, Xia Xiao sat upright with a calm expression, but little did they know that he was extremely excited in his heart. The grievances suffered by his Xia family must be made known to the world!

"Xia Xiao, I'll toast you a glass."

Si Yi raised his glass, quite respectful. At Xia Xiao's age, he was still tightly controlled by the National Elders' Council. He seemed to be the emperor, but in fact he was a puppet.

With a move of his eyes, Si Yi saw that the maid beside Xia Xiao wanted to step forward, but Shu Shuang was already kneeling beside her. As a member of the Zoushou Church, Shu Shuang's status was not low, but in front of Xia Xiao, she would rather take off her vain cloak and lean over to pour wine for him.

In the hall, the young Shu Shuang, dressed in a black robe, sat quietly, her long hair covering her jade back, holding a wine pot. She poured a full glass of wine to toast the guests, then sat quietly to the side, watching Xia Xiao pick it up and clink it with the emperor in the air.

When the wine reached his lips, Xia Xiao tilted his head back and drank it all in one gulp. It was hot in his throat and also flowed into his heart.