Chapter 53
Chapter 53
The night suddenly became quiet, leaving only the sound of turning wheels and clattering horse hooves.
The young lady's voice was like a bolt from the blue. Pei Qing was still on the horse. He had lost his mind. His face instantly turned red with nervousness and he was stunned.
After a long while, he whipped his horse whip and walked far ahead of the team. For the whole night, he never looked back at the carriage.
The sky slowly turned up, the sun began to rise, and the morning glow dyed a large area of the mountaintops red. The group continued to move forward and arrived at the pier at 12 o'clock.
If you take the water route, you have to abandon your carriage and horses.
Pei Qing had just taken the bag off the horse when he caught a glimpse of two people getting off the carriage behind.
After hiding for a whole night, he had to face her sooner or later. When she came to him, Pei Qing turned around and greeted her, "Sister-in-law."
Wen Shuse was so sleepy in the second half of the night that she took a nap. She remembered that she was leaning towards the car window with her bag in her arms before falling asleep, but when she woke up, she found herself lying in her lover's arms.
There were still a few fine wrinkles on one side of his face caused by the robe. When he smiled, he looked particularly gentle and kind, "Mr. Pei."
It seemed as if he was trying to put last night's conversation behind him.
Pei Qing couldn't ask for more.
Before she could breathe a sigh of relief, she suddenly saw her move to the side, reaching out to hold the hand of the man next to her, and not forgetting to smile at her politely, as if she wanted to clarify things with him.
Pei Qing:......
The embarrassment from last night resurfaced. He suddenly felt so ashamed that he glanced at his brother for help.
But he saw that the man opposite had one hand held by the young lady, and the other hand was behind his back. He held his head high and chest out, with a calm smile in his eyes. He seemed calm, but in fact he was very arrogant and had no intention of stepping forward to help him resolve the situation.
This is what happens when you talk too much.
He wished he could dig a hole in the ground and crawl into it. He didn't bother to give way to the other two people. He turned around, stepped onto the bow of the boat, and quickly went into the cabin.
Wen Shuse was not a person who held grudges. He just wanted to tell him that they had already held hands and there was no need for him to question Mr. Wen again.
The only one who benefited was Xie Shao.
The young lady's hand was still holding his, her delicate fingers wrapped around him, soft and tender. It was different from the previous times when he took the initiative to hold her hand. In addition to the pleasure, there was also a hint of smugness.
He even backed off a bit towards the young lady's dissatisfaction expressed late last night.
After the carriage left the city, he saw the young lady fell asleep holding her bag. In order to conserve his energy, he also closed his eyes for a while. When he was in a daze, someone suddenly kicked his thigh.
He's quite strong.
He opened his eyes with great pain and saw that the girl next to him was sleeping very uneasily, with her head facing to the other side, trying to lie flat, and her feet were trying hard to clear obstacles, as if she was going to kick him down.
Tonight, Mrs. Zhou was afraid of attracting attention, so she prepared a carriage for shopping, which was not spacious.
If she were to put herself flat, she would have no place of her own.
There was no way he could let her kick him like this, so he stood up, gritted his teeth, and turned her head around so that it rested on his chest with her feet facing the wall of the carriage.
Finally, it calmed down, but with a beautiful girl in my arms, I couldn't sleep and kept my eyes open until dawn.
Unexpectedly, when the young lady woke up, she didn't ask how she ended up in his arms, nor did she thank him. She pushed him away, only focused on picking up the bag that fell on the ground, and jumped off the carriage without looking back.
He was ungrateful and somewhat ignorant, and there was no good expression on his face along the way.
It was quite unexpected that not only did she not pursue the root of what was said last night, but she also took the initiative to hold his hand in front of her brothers, giving him enough face.
In comparison, the slight dissatisfaction in his heart was nothing.
He was even afraid that she couldn't hold on steadily, so he slowed down his pace and tried to make her hold his hand effortlessly. He wanted to hold her hand back and help her get on the boat, but the young lady didn't give him the chance. As soon as Pei Qing left, he immediately let go, lifted up his skirt and stepped over. He got on the boat neatly without anyone's help.
Apart from kicking him a few times last night, which prevented him from sleeping well, she really didn't give him any other worries.
Xie Shao followed closely.
Compared to Fengcheng, this place is closer to Xixia, and there are many passenger ships and cargo ships. In order to cover up their tracks, the few people did not rent a separate boat, but boarded a cargo ship heading towards Yangzhou.
One person was left in the team to take care of the carriage and horses, while the rest got on board.
It would take at least an hour to reach Lingjiang by water, but one would have to sit for a while, and there were no independent cabins, so everyone was crowded together. Even though Pei Qing wanted to escape to the horizon, he still had to face the two of them. Fortunately, Wen Shuse didn't embarrass him anymore, and sat quietly aside, watching the surging river outside the window.
The cargo ship stopped twice along the way, and at sunset, it finally reached Lingjiang River outside Fengcheng. As soon as the ship docked, Xie Shao immediately sent someone to the city gate to inform the prince.
Prince Jing had been stopped outside the city gate by Deputy Envoy Xie for more than ten hours at this time, and had no idea what was going on.
The retainers around him were quite annoyed and cursed, "Xie Daoyuan is a bastard. He has no ability at all, but he has great ambitions. If it weren't for the favor of the prince, he would never have been able to hold military power in his lifetime? Now he dares to point his gun at his master. Where does he get the confidence from?"
Prince Jing was calmer than him. He just wanted to know what had happened. He asked people to call out Xie Daoyuan several times so that he could ask him in person.
Deputy Envoy Xie refused to show up. At dawn, he still hadn't seen any troops from the imperial court. He was worried. After careful consideration, he finally walked to the city gate and said to Prince Jing, "Your Highness has come from afar, and I should welcome you from afar. What I am doing now is forced and helpless. I am deeply distressed..."
Mr. Wei, the retainer, really couldn't stand his expression, so he said "Pah" and raised his head to curse: "You traitor, you have done this, why do you still have to pretend to be so righteous?"
This was the person that Deputy Envoy Xie hated the most.
Because he had always looked down on me, after hearing this, he did not get angry but laughed, "Mr. Wei has made an indelible contribution to the prince's success today."
This sentence is even more confusing.
Deputy Envoy Xie did not keep the secret any longer and said to Prince Jing, "Your Highness always warns his officers and men to be loyal to the emperor and the court. But I didn't know that I failed to do so. I listened to the slanderous words of the little brother, secretly made weapons, and had the intention of rebellion, attempting to fight against the court. I feel deeply regretful and heartbroken. Today, considering that Your Highness has been kind to me, I kindly advise Your Highness that His Majesty has issued an imperial decree to strip you of your title. I hope that Your Highness will turn back and stop resisting. I hope that you will surrender as soon as possible."
Prince Jing understood it this time, and was more surprised than shocked.
I have just returned from Dongdu and heard the emperor's message with my own ears. His words were the same as usual, and every word was trustworthy. He even asked me to bring Princess Jing her favorite new tea.
How is it possible that he left and then sent people to reduce the power of the vassal state?
He was filled with doubts, but apart from this, he could not think of a better explanation as to why Xie Daoyuan had locked him up at the city gate.
Xie Daoyuan was the person he had promoted back then, and he knew his character better than anyone else.
Although this person does not have much ability and likes to pursue small profits, he does not have the courage to rebel privately.
He quickly guessed that it must be a conspiracy from the man in Dongzhou. After thinking about the intention carefully, he felt a chill in his back and raised his head to angrily scold Xie Daoyuan: "You really haven't made any progress in all these years. You can't even clean up a wall of dung. Even a pig's brain is better than yours."
Although Prince Jing has been fighting outside for many years, he does not look rough and rough. Instead, he looks elegant like a scholar.
His expression reflects his heart and he has a calm personality. Although he is very strict in ruling his subordinates, he rarely scolds people so openly. Now, he is scolding Xie Daoyuan in front of all the soldiers, which shows that he is really angry.
After being scolded by him, Xie Daoyuan stood on the city gate, feeling a little confused.
Prince Jing never looked at him again, nor did he enter the city. He turned around angrily, took Mr. Wei and his men, withdrew from the city gate, and turned back.
On the way, he met the troops sent by Xie Shao. He was relieved to learn that the third son of the Xie family had come out. He turned around and said to his close friends, "Go to Yangzhou immediately and make sure Xie Pushe is safe."
"yes."
Fengcheng was in chaos, and a major event also happened in Dongdu at this time.
After the morning court session, the emperor called the prince to the imperial study, threw a document in his hand at him, and suddenly became furious and asked, "Explain to me how the war in Luoan was caused."
Although there have been constant frictions between Dafeng and the Liao Kingdom in recent years, the interests of the two countries are closely linked and they have never really gone to war. This time, his prince actually has the ability to provoke a war on his own.
As there was no sign of this, the prince was panicked and knelt down in fear and said, "Father, please calm down. This battle is because the Liao army wants to occupy a mountain range behind Zhending. I have sent people to warn them many times, but the Liao army has not restrained itself and has also made wild statements. One day, they will definitely destroy Dafeng."
Who hasn't said such outrageous words on the battlefield? What about razing the enemy to the ground, dismembering them, killing the entire family, and even plundering their wives and daughters?
Most of them are done to irritate the other party and make them lose their sense of proportion.
But his prince did it.
The emperor sneered and pointed at the document in front of him, "Take a good look at it yourself."
The prince picked up the document in a panic.
It is a lawsuit document written by a Liao soldier to the Emperor of Dafeng. Every word in the document is written in blood, accusing the Prince of Dafeng of forcibly taking the daughter of Xiao, a Liao soldier.
The prince's face turned paler the more he looked. Before he finished, he slammed his forehead to the ground. "Father, please understand. I did get a daughter a few months ago. She was presented to me by an aide in the palace. I don't know the identity of this girl."
The emperor sneered, "Really? Does she have no mouth, or did you block her mouth and stop her from speaking?"
The prince really didn't expect that the document from the Liao general could actually cross his own Dongzhou and be delivered to the emperor. He was unprepared and speechless for a moment.
The emperor also understood, his eyes full of disappointment, and said weakly: "Since she is already in your house, send someone to Liao tomorrow to discuss the marriage with the Xiao family and give her a legitimate status. In my opinion, Liang Di is a good choice."
He was the crown prince, and if he wanted to marry, he had to marry a princess of the Liao Dynasty. General Xiao was just a fourth-rank lieutenant general. How could he be qualified to be his relative?
Having abducted his daughter, he had the intention of insulting her.
No matter whether she was a concubine or a lady, as long as he gave her the title, he would be slapping himself in the face and making others laugh at him, the Prince of Dafeng.
The prince was extremely unhappy, but the matter had already been reported to the emperor, so no matter how unwilling he was, he had no choice but to accept it.
Before the prince left the imperial study, General Yang suddenly came to the door again. Without waiting for the order, he knelt outside the imperial study door and said in a loud voice, "I have the audacity to come here today to ask for justice for my Dafeng soldiers with Your Majesty."
When the emperor led his northern and southern expeditions, the only people who followed him were his adopted son, Prince Jing, and General Yang.
General Yang also made great contributions to Zhou Yuan's conquest of the world. After he ascended the throne, he did not treat him unfairly and immediately appointed him as the General Zhenguo.
In recent years, Dafeng has gradually become peaceful, and it has been a long time since I saw him so excited, so I immediately invited him in.
General Yang had a bad temper to begin with, and now that he had learned the truth about Luoan's food shortage, he ignored the presence of the crown prince and reported to the emperor in detail, in front of him, how the crown prince's men had disregarded the lives of the soldiers and withheld the food and fodder. Because his own grandson was one of the victims, he inevitably brought up personal emotions and even exaggerated a little.
The prince's face turned red when he heard half of it. He wanted to speak out to stop them, but General Yang had fought for many years and had a good voice, so his voice drowned out the other's words. The prince tried to interrupt several times but failed.
The Emperor had already heard from the Crown Prince about General Luo An's trip to Fengcheng to borrow grain.
The prince said that Luo An had not expected a real war, and that he had used all the food to resettle refugees from Gyeongju. He also expressed his gratitude to Prince Jing for lending him the food.
Luoan was his territory as the crown prince, and the emperor never doubted it.
Now, after listening to General Yang's words, I realized that it was not because Luoan had no food, but because the prince's men were holding them back and deliberately not sending them out.
The soldiers of Luoan were desperate and looked for food everywhere. Finally, they got support from King Jing of Fengcheng in Zhongzhou.
The emperor was shocked and could hardly believe it.
Staring at the only legitimate son in front of him, after his anger subsided, his eyes were filled with disappointment.
In order to satisfy his momentary desire, he lost his temper and captured the daughter of the Xiao family, not only intensifying the war, but also confiscating the food and fodder of the soldiers who fought for him. What on earth did he want to do? !
As the crown prince of a country and the heir apparent of Dafeng, if he has such a virtuous character, how can he be worthy of such an important position?
How come the prince didn't expect that Yang Zhijing would dare to go against him in this way.
Sensing that the emperor was really angry, he knelt down again and apologized, "Don't worry, father. I will return to Dongzhou immediately and investigate this matter thoroughly. I will give you and the soldiers an explanation."
The emperor ignored him.
He sat dejectedly on the dragon chair, closed his eyes, and looked exhausted. "I have never neglected my teachings to you over the years."
When the prince heard this, his heart sank and he hurriedly called out, "Father!"
The emperor turned a deaf ear to it and was stunned for a moment. Suddenly he murmured, "How can there be such a huge difference in the same teachings?"
The prince's face suddenly changed.
"Your two elder brothers were not blessed enough to live long ago. You are my only son. I have high hopes for you and hope that you can become a talented person. But you have disappointed me so much."
The prince knelt down and walked forward, "Father..."
The emperor didn't even look at him. "Go back, go back to your residence in Dongzhou, reflect on your actions, and don't set foot in Dongdu without my permission."
Although the prince had a fiefdom, because of his status as the crown prince, he was kept in the Eastern Capital by the emperor and personally trained and taught in the palace.
Now, he was suddenly going to send the people back to their fiefdoms. Overnight, the court was in an uproar, with people speculating and saying many things about the emperor's move.
Most people were not worried. The emperor had three sons. The eldest and second sons died in battles in their early years. After the founding of the country, he married Empress Yuan, and then the current prince was born.
He does have a son, Prince Jing.
How can an adopted son be compared with a biological son? He was just given a lesson when he was angry, and would be called back to the East Capital after some time.
The prince didn't think so. When he came out of the emperor's study that day, he found the queen and was furious. "Who else has the ability to deliver the Liao army's letter to father? It was Prince Jing. Last time, father kept saying that vassal princes were not allowed to enter the Eastern Capital, and asked Prince Jing to submit a memorial if he had something to say. But he still sent someone to meet him privately. This makes me more suspicious of the rumor."
Although the armory incident did not succeed, it made him see clearly his father's attitude towards his adopted son.
Compared to his two uncles, Prince Jing is his real stumbling block.
Come on, my dears~ This chapter is off the plot. Also, Yueyuezi got the place where the male protagonist's parents went wrong. It was the ancient Fuquan family, so it was changed to Yangzhou. (Still one hundred red envelopes.)
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