Chapter 62
Chapter 62
The moment he heard the announcement of the meeting with Prince Jing, the right prime minister's face suddenly changed. The prince had set up a tight net in the south city, and not even a bird could fly out. How did he get into the East Capital?
But it's no use thinking about these things now, because Prince Jing has already walked in, dressed in golden royal robes, with a straight posture, and walked briskly inside.
Ever since Prince Jing went to his fiefdom in Zhongzhou, many people in the court have not seen this prince. After ten years, the young man who galloped on the battlefield back then is now middle-aged. Although his face is no longer young, his spirit and energy are not diminished at all. Instead, he has become more steady and calm, which makes people not to be underestimated.
When he arrived in front of the palace, Prince Jing knelt down and said, "Your Majesty, I pay my respects to you. May your Majesty live long and be healthy."
From the moment he entered the palace, the emperor's eyes were on him, and his face slowly revealed relief, as if he saw that his hard work and teaching over the years had finally been rewarded.
The emperor collected his thoughts and asked directly, "Some people say that you failed to manage well, so that your deputy generals had the intention of rebellion. What is the situation? Please tell me in detail."
This sudden change instantly disrupted the situation in the court.
The minister who had just threatened to punish him as well, bent his head and lowered his head, not daring to look up. He originally saw that the situation was hopeless, and wanted to take the opportunity to make a fuss behind the scenes so that he could ask for a favor from the new master in the future.
I didn't expect to be caught by the real owner. The emperor's attitude now is really unpredictable, and I can't help feeling panic in my heart.
Prince Jing knelt in the hall and kowtowed, saying, "Father, please be clear. I am loyal to Dafeng and the court, and I have no second thoughts."
The emperor smiled and said, "Did I question you? I was asking your Deputy Envoy Xie why he wanted to rebel against you."
Prince Jing said, "Father, no one is plotting rebellion."
After these words came out, the courtiers looked at each other in bewilderment, "What's going on..."
Without waiting for the emperor to ask again, Prince Jing said, "Deputy Envoy Xie did not plot treason, he was just following the emperor's orders."
"By order?" The emperor pretended not to know and asked, "By what order?"
Prince Jing replied: "Reduce the power of the vassal states."
Everyone in the court took a deep breath.
Prince Jing continued, "I should have surrendered and died to prove my innocence, but because of the doubts over this matter, I had no choice but to come and ask for confirmation from my father. If the decree is true, I am willing to die without complaint."
As soon as he finished speaking, the emperor above him suddenly shouted, "Ridiculous!" This time he was really angry, "When did I ever issue an order to arrest Prince Jing?" He turned around and asked Liu Kun behind him, "Have you seen him?"
Liu Kun hurriedly said, "I have never seen your majesty issue such an order."
The emperor sneered: "Great! I am not dead yet, but someone dared to forge an imperial edict. Is the next step to seize my throne?"
All the civil and military officials in the hall were terrified and knelt down with their foreheads bowed to the ground.
From the moment he saw Prince Jing, the Right Prime Minister knew something was wrong. At this moment, as all the ministers knelt on the ground, a thin layer of sweat broke out on his back. However, as a man who had been in the position of Right Prime Minister for so many years, he had his own determination and shrewdness. In the silence, he raised his head and said calmly, "Your Majesty, I think this matter is very strange."
The emperor raised his eyes from his rage and looked at him, his tone inevitably unfriendly, "My dear Yuan, if you have anything to say, please speak."
Yuan Mingan calmed down and looked at Prince Jing. "I know that His Highness Prince Jing has great righteousness in his heart and has always trusted his subordinates. However, the imperial decree to reduce the number of vassal states is an important decision of the court. How could they order a deputy envoy to carry out the reduction of vassal states? Such a story that cannot stand up to scrutiny is something he could make up. I think that now Xie Daoyuan is desperate and has jumped over the wall. Otherwise, how can he just rely on the imperial decree to just say that he did it?"
It has to be said that Yuan Mingan is a man of great thoughtfulness. He had seen through Deputy Envoy Xie's stupidity from the beginning and had anticipated this day.
Since you said it was an imperial decree, then where is the imperial decree?
The eunuch who went to announce the imperial edict had destroyed it long ago. How could it be kept until now and used as evidence? There was no way to prove the crime. The Xie family could not escape, and Prince Jing could not protect them even if he wanted to.
"What the Right Prime Minister said is absolutely right. I have had such concerns before. Fortunately, when the eunuch in the palace announced the decree, the third son of the Xie family was also present. He saw that something was amiss and came with me to the East Capital to ask for an audience with the emperor. The imperial edict is in the possession of the third son of the Xie family, Xie Shao. He has now arrived in the South City, waiting for the emperor to summon him."
After these words came out, the calm right prime minister's expression finally broke down, his eyelids twitched, and he looked sideways at Prince Jing, rarely flustered, "It's not easy to make an imperial edict temporarily."
Upon hearing this, Prince Jing turned around, his face solemn: "Master Yuan, be careful with your words."
Prince Jing's eyes and brows do not have the majesty of a military commander. Instead, he seems to be as calm as the wind. However, when he looks at people, he has a deterrent power that can penetrate people's hearts.
Yuan Ming'an was silent for a moment when he was stared at by him. When he reacted, his palms were already wet. He kowtowed to the emperor, "Your Majesty, you should know that I have no other intentions. What I mean is that since Deputy Envoy Xie dared to rebel, what else does he need? Prince Jing should not be deceived by him."
Prince Jing turned back to look at him again, "Master Yuan, don't worry about this. The handwriting and seal on the imperial edict are all there. Once they are in your father's hands, we will know who did it once we check."
He spoke with confidence, and looked as if everything was under his control, which made Yuan Mingan uneasy. He couldn't help but wonder whether the eunuch had destroyed the imperial edict.
He didn't dare to say anything more until he had figured out the situation.
The court fell silent, and the emperor said, "Summon the third son of the Xie family to the palace." He then said, "Prince Jing will stay in the East Capital until the matter is fully investigated."
Originally, today was the day when his Xie family would die, but he did not expect the situation to suddenly change and was completely out of control. As soon as he left the hall, Yuan Mingan whispered to the retainers around him, "Inform the Crown Prince immediately, how Prince Jing entered Dongdu, we need to investigate, if he lets someone from the Xie family in again." Yuan Mingan thought of the situation when the Emperor had just kept Prince Jing, his face was heavy, he took a deep breath and said, "I'm afraid he will never be able to return to Dongdu."
The messenger hurried out of the palace.
At the same time, the emperor also sent people to Nancheng to pick up Xie Shao and his party.
Wen Shuse slept very deeply. When he opened his eyes, there was already a faint light in the sky.
She felt herself being bumped around and slowly opened her eyes. She saw that the forest in front of her was not the same one from last night. She looked down and found that she was already on her lover's back without knowing when.
Xie Shao turned his head and asked, "Awake?"
Wen Shuse looked guilty, "Why didn't you wake me up, my dear?"
"I saw that you were sleeping soundly, so I didn't have the heart to wake you up. If you are still sleepy, sleep a little longer."
She saw everything last night. He was covered in wounds. She didn't know how long he had been carrying her on his back. How could she feel comfortable sleeping again? "I'm not sleepy. My dear, put me down."
"I can carry you even if I'm not sleepy." The man had no intention of putting her down, but fearing that she would refuse again, he said, "I like carrying you."
Overhead, I heard the clear sound of birdsong, which sounded very much like an oriole. Just like the words spoken by my lover, it was extremely pleasant to the ear.
It is true that people learn to cherish things only after they lose them.
Although both parties are fake, they are a formal couple after all and have a lifetime to walk together. It's a good thing that he can realize his importance to me in time.
It's the same for me. After surviving a disaster, I cherish the person in front of me even more. After such a life-and-death separation, even the back of my husband's head looks good.
Thinking of how much she missed him yesterday, after losing him and getting him back, she felt at ease only when they were close together. She put her arms around his chest and leaned over to lie on his shoulders. "Then I will reluctantly let you carry me on your back for a while longer?"
He was at the end of his rope, and the prince was determined to kill his Xie family. He should have been nervous and sad, but with this young lady around, he seemed to be unable to be sad at all. He did not hesitate to give her a boost of prestige, "Thank you for your help, madam."
"You're welcome." She went on to say, "My dear, you don't know how many people wanted to carry me when I was a kid."
He really didn't know this, so he blurted out, "Why?"
The young lady choked up, "My dear, what you said is too sad. Don't I have the charm to make people want to carry me?"
Realizing that she had made a mistake again, she corrected herself in time, "Isn't it true? The most handsome man in Fengcheng is begging to carry me on his back." She said this shamelessly, and before she could make a teasing remark, she changed the subject, "Madam, can you tell me how glorious it was back then?"
"It's not that glorious." The journey to escape was too long, and talking helped to relieve fatigue, so he was generous in sharing with him, "Once I sprained my ankle and was carried back by a companion. To express my gratitude, I gave him ten taels of silver."
As expected of a man who had squandered two mountains of gold, he had potential since childhood.
Lang Jun asked: "And then?"
"When I woke up the next day, there was a long line of people squatting in front of the door. As soon as they saw the people in the mansion, they asked." Wen Shuse cleared his throat and said in a low voice: "Second Madam Wen, did you sprain your ankle today?"
Suddenly, he felt a tremor on his back, and Wen Shuse paused, "My dear, you smiled."
Xie Shao gritted his teeth: "No."
Wen Shu didn't believe it, and tilted his head to stare at his upturned mouth, catching him in the act, "I saw it, your mouth is almost split to your ears."
The young lady suddenly came over and rubbed her cheek against his neck, like a feather passing by, but with great power. The temperature penetrated into his skin, and instantly the bud in his heart grew into a towering tree. He looked radiant and even his steps became much lighter. He assured her, "Don't worry, lady, I won't charge you any money."
He wanted to carry the young lady on his back until the end of time, but Wen Shuse couldn't really tire him to death, so after a while she climbed down from his back and walked side by side with him in the woods.
Wen Shuse only walked a short distance along the road that Prince Jing took, and had no idea how far the rest of the journey would go. Even if he knew, since Prince Jing could walk, they couldn't.
The only way now is to find a place to settle down first, avoid the prince's city search, and then wait for news from Prince Jing.
The young lady didn't want him to carry her on his back, so he held her hand. As they walked in the woods, he slowly realized that something was wrong. This was not an escape, but a journey with the young lady under the moonlight.
Thinking back to the night before they left, the two of them got dressed up carefully for their date. She wore silk and satin, with her hair tied up high, looking bright and beautiful. However, she did not get to see the moon and was accidentally caught in a whirlpool.
Looking at her now, she was wearing a men's robe, which was wide and long and obviously didn't fit her. The embroidered shoes on her feet looked unrecognizable.
This is the only outfit I have, and it was given to me by another man.
Although he didn't mind, his self-esteem was still greatly hit. He suddenly understood the feelings of those who made empty promises. He was also shameless for once, and squeezed the young lady's hand tightly, "When we get to Dongdu, I'll pick out some clothes for you."
It's not really wishful thinking.
In Fengcheng, apart from being on duty, he had been copying books and secretly saved more than ten taels of silver. Now he kept it with him and would give it to her when he arrived in Dongdu.
But a few sets of clothes are not enough for the young lady.
There were towering trees everywhere in the wilderness, and occasionally a small animal could be seen. At first, Wen Shuse thought it was novel, but after running away all the way, he was completely tired of it and missed his big house. "I want a big house, a big bed, a big carriage..."
I'm afraid that a dozen taels of silver won't be enough to accomplish all these. I was just about to persuade the young lady to lower her requirements a bit.
The young lady suddenly hugged his arms with both hands, looked up at him, and said, "So, my dear, you must become a high-ranking official in the future, and I will be your official wife, so that we can enjoy a lifetime of wealth and glory..."
After a nap, the young lady regained her spirit, her eyes were clear, her cheeks were flushed, and her fair skin was illuminated by the sunlight in the forest, revealing a thin halo.
Small mouth...
His heartbeats went "boom boom" a few times, and he realized that after he had kissed her once, he could no longer simply look at her lips. Some unspeakable images popped up in his mind uncontrollably.
The young lady really has no guard at all. Doesn't she know that such an attitude can easily arouse people's bad intentions?
He glanced forward and saw that ever since they had seen the two of them being intimate last night, the others had tacitly moved away and given the two of them enough space.
I don’t know if this kind of opportunity can be considered as the absence of others.
When he became bolder and bolder, he felt as if thousands of ants were biting him in the heart. He was so restless that he couldn't even breathe. He had to kiss the girl again before he could calm down.
"Okay." He responded dazedly and tilted his head to muster up courage.
"Don't move." A sudden scolding came into my ear.
The courage that was hanging in the air was suddenly half broken by fear, and it quickly raised its head and looked forward with a very bad expression. Then it saw Pei Qing, who was not far away, with a knife in his hand on the neck of a girl.
The girl also had a scimitar in her hand, which was stained with blood. Looking at the cut on Pei Qing's arm, it should have been from him.
The sudden change made everyone alert.
"Don't make a sound." Pei Qing pushed the girl forward with such force that the girl almost fell to the ground. Pei Qing pulled her up in time and held her in his hand without any mercy, "I ask you a question, and you answer it."
The girl seemed to be frightened by him and nodded repeatedly.
"Who are you."
The girl shook her head but said nothing.
Pei Qing lost his patience, pushed her again, and continued to ask: "Where do you live?"
The girl's face turned pale, and she raised her hand with all her strength, pointing to the hill opposite.
Xie Shao exchanged glances with Min Zhang, who immediately went over to check. After a moment, he came back and reported, "There is a farmhouse ahead."
Nancheng, Dongzhou Prefecture.
The lights in the military mansion were on for two whole nights and never went out, but there was no result at all.
The prince himself found it ridiculous. "He entered my South City and was able to slip away right under my nose. Tell me, is it that Prince Jing can fly into the sky and hide underground, or is it that the third son of the Xie family has some extraordinary ability to disappear on the spot?"
There was a group of people kneeling below, and no one dared to say a word.
It's really embarrassing.
Thousands of guards closed the city gates and tried to catch the turtle in the jar, but they didn't catch any one and even lost the person.
A bunch of good-for-nothings, their mouths are louder than anyone else's, and none of them can help when something happens. The prince didn't even want to look at them, and cursed them inwardly for being useless. With a sweep of his sleeves, everything on the table fell to the ground, "What are you still standing there for? Do you really want me to search it myself?"
A group of people filed out, with Pei Yuanqiu at the end.
The prince suddenly stopped him, his face looking unhappy, "Master Pei, please don't disappoint me again."
After the palace army returned, the prince naturally heard about what happened in the forest. If it weren't for his son Pei Yuanqiu's interference, the third son of the Xie family would have been shot to pieces.
Pei Yuanqiu was panicked and knelt down to plead guilty. "Your Highness, please be magnanimous. I will definitely give you an explanation."
Just as he finished speaking, someone from Dongdu arrived and hurriedly reported: "Prince Yuan has brought a message to Your Highness that Prince Jing's people have arrived in Dongdu. They met with the emperor this morning and cleared the Xie family of the charges in front of all the civil and military officials. The emperor has sent people to Nancheng to pick up the third son of the Xie family."
The prince's face changed suddenly.
"And..." The man paused, "The emperor left Prince Jing in Dongdu."
The messenger lowered his head, not daring to look at the prince's furious expression, and continued, "Prime Minister Yuan said that the third son of the Xie family might have an imperial decree on him. If Your Highness still wants to return to the Eastern Capital, you must stop the third son this time."
Countdown, I estimate there are only three chapters left before entering Beijing. (One hundred red envelopes~)
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