The next day, Chen Qiu originally planned to go and see Jixiang off, but she was stopped by a few housekeepers early in the morning and had to ask Xing'er to go on her behalf.
Ye Chen threw Chixia and Baihe into the dungeon of the Dark Guard Camp. He wanted to see if there was anyone in Luojiazhuang who would come to rescue them. Since Baihe's status in Luojiazhuang was so high, he would keep her to catch other fish.
With so many branches of Luojiazhuang, Ye Chen didn’t believe that there would be any that slipped through the net.
Ye Chen was handling government affairs in the study. He handled very few government affairs during this period. Apart from teaching Chu Jingyi in the palace every two days, he went to the palace much less frequently.
"Master"
"Come in"
"Master, the emperor summons you to the palace." Mu Qing came in from outside.
In the palace, in the upper study.
"Uncle, are you looking for me?" Ye Chen and the emperor were still like ordinary uncle and nephew as always.
"Well, someone in the court mentioned the issue of establishing a crown prince recently. Have you heard about it?" The emperor directly stated the purpose of looking for Ye Chen.
"I heard about it, but it's not good for me to interfere, right? If the ministers in the court find out, they will impeach me every day. And as for the imperial concubine, I won't interfere." Ye Chen picked up the teacup and drank tea.
"I'm not asking you to interfere, but I want to hear your opinion." The emperor sat on the chair next to Ye Chen, staring at Ye Chen, which made Ye Chen feel uneasy.
"Uncle, you don't want to wait for me to leave here and then issue an edict, right? You actually already had a plan, right?" Ye Chen felt that his uncle was deliberately trying to trick him.
"It's not something I've planned now. I've planned it when Yier was born. I didn't intend to let Yier take over the throne. I've suffered the pain of being an emperor. This position is too cold and too lonely. I can't bear to let him suffer too. But if Jingyan becomes the crown prince, I'm afraid it will be bad for you in the future. After all, Jingyan is not close to you. Emperors have always had to eliminate some people when they came to power, firstly to establish their authority and secondly to consolidate the power in their hands. I'm afraid!" The emperor himself was in this position and knew very well what people in this position thought. When he ascended the throne at a young age, his sister treated some ministers in the same way. It's not that they were necessarily treacherous ministers, but they had to do so.
"So, uncle, do you plan to let Yier take over this position? In fact, letting Yier take over this position is the best. It is the best protection for both him and the empress. I can't guarantee that the eldest prince will not take action against Yier after he succeeds to the throne, but Yier will not take action against the eldest prince after he succeeds to the throne. As for me, no matter whether Yier or the eldest prince succeeds to the throne, I just want to be an idle duke, read books, grow flowers, and take Qiuer around the world. I recently got several rare travel books, and I plan to take Qiuer to see them one place at a time. As a duke like me, no matter who succeeds to the throne, there is no reason to touch me. The property in my hands is enough for me to live a carefree life for several lifetimes." Ye Chen told the emperor his analysis and plan. Chu Jingyi and Chu Jingyan are the emperor's sons. The emperor prefers the legitimate son Chu Jingyi. No matter who is enthroned, Chu Jingyi will be the first consideration.
"Well, you are free, the sky is big and the earth is vast, you can fly freely. But I am different. I will always be trapped in this small piece of land. I seem to be high and mighty, and can decide life and death with a word, but what is the reality? Aren't I still alone? If it weren't for the queen, I probably would have abdicated early and traveled around the beautiful rivers and mountains of Dayin." The emperor sneered. With his personality, he was really not suitable to be an emperor, but fate played a trick on him. His sister spent so much effort to keep him alive, and so many people died because he sat in this position. Whether he wanted to or not, he could not let those people down.
"Uncle, you should make the best of it. You should make the best of it since you are in this position. You have your mission, which no one can replace. When I go out to play, I will send you some local specialties wherever I go to comfort your lonely life." Ye Chen's words asked for a beating, as if he was eating meat in front of a puppy in a cage. The puppy was drooling and barking heartbreakingly, but he just didn't give him a bite and even provoked it from time to time.
The emperor glared at Ye Chen fiercely and said, "Your kindness is unnecessary. If you want to go, I'll go by myself. Humph! Just keep showing off. If I don't find you something to do, I'm not the emperor." The emperor angrily scolded Ye Chen, but Ye Chen didn't care at all and just smiled at the emperor.
"Okay, okay, get out. I asked you to come to the palace to relieve my worries, but you come here to cause me trouble. Get out." The emperor was so angry that he started to chase Ye Chen away.
"Oh, oh, oh, I got it. I'll leave right away, right away." Ye Chen came out of the study with a grin on his face, but he unexpectedly ran into An Ning.
"Cousin!" An Ning took the initiative to speak.
"Your Highness the Princess" When Ye Chen saw An Ning, he put away his smile and saluted respectfully.
"Cousin, did you just finish talking to our father?" Princess An Ning no longer had any of her original feelings towards Ye Chen.
"Yes, I'm about to leave. Princess wants to see the emperor?" This was the first time Ye Chen took the initiative to ask An Ning.
"Yes, I want to go to Binzhou for a while and see the outside world. If I stay in the palace for a long time, I will miss the freedom and breadth outside." An Ning looked at Ye Chen. It seemed that the two of them had not talked so calmly for a long time.
"Well, I won't delay the princess. I'll take my leave now!"
"Okay, by the way, cousin, how is An An? Did the last poisoning have a big impact on him?" An Ning only left the palace to visit An An once at Ye Mansion after settling down in Kyoto after the New Year, and she never went there again.
"It's okay. The doctor is treating him and he's well now. Thank you for your concern, Princess." Ye Chen was still as distant as ever.
"That's good. Take care, cousin. I'm going to find father." An Ning bowed to Ye Chen as a salute.
"Take care, Princess." Ye Chen bowed in return.
As Ye Chen expected, the next day after the court session, the decree to appoint a crown prince was issued. The legitimate son Chu Jingyi was made the crown prince, and the eldest son Chu Jingyan was made Prince Ning. His fief was in Jianzhou in the southeast, and he was to set off for his fiefdom on a chosen day, which directly cut off the possibility of Chu Jingyan becoming the crown prince.
However, Ye Chen miscalculated one thing. In order to avenge his arrogance yesterday, the emperor issued an imperial decree to Ye Chen, making him a tutor and teaching Crown Prince Chu Jingyi every day, thus cutting off his chance of a carefree life. Ye Chen was so angry that he wanted to go to the palace to argue with the emperor, but the emperor didn't even let him in.
There has been no movement in the Ye Mansion these past few days. Ye Chen did not have anyone torture Chi Xia and Bai He, nor did he have anyone treat their injuries, leaving them to fend for themselves in the dungeon.
Chixia couldn't hold on for much longer, but Bai He was different. Apart from a broken tendon, she had no other injuries.
"Bai He, do you think we can get out alive?" Chi Xia leaned against the wall. She no longer had the desire to live, but she couldn't die. She couldn't bring herself to do it, so she just wasted her time like this day after day.
"I don't know if you can get out, but I can definitely get out, and I must get out." Bai He was unwilling to give up. Luojiazhuang had been established for more than a hundred years and was deeply rooted. She had royal blood in her body, and those people would not leave her alone. If they wanted to have a name to do this, they would definitely not leave her alone. They had no control over Mei Qi at all. He was too powerful for them to control, otherwise she would not have had the chance to take the throne.
"I don't care whether I can get out or not. This body is already full of holes. Death will be a relief. It's not a bad thing for me." Chixia looked at the very small window above the dungeon. It was the only place where light could penetrate.
"Hmph, I will definitely not die. They will definitely find a way to save me." Bai He believed it firmly.
"Haven't you noticed? It's a lot quieter here than when we first came in. In the first few days, we could hear the guards talking and laughing, but since yesterday, there's been no sound at all, as if there are only the two of us here." Chixia was still looking at the small window, as if she was very satisfied just by looking at that small piece of sky.
"Yes, I also discovered that they want us to fend for ourselves, but I believe that the people from Luojiazhuang will come to rescue me." Bai He always thought that someone would come to rescue her.
Chixia, however, believed this was a trap. No matter who came, or how many came, they would all remain here, regardless of life or death. Someone who could wipe out so many Luojia Villages in two months was not a merciful person, much less one who would be so careless.
The dungeon was quiet for several days. Apart from someone delivering three meals a day, they had not seen anyone else. The Ye Mansion was also peaceful for several days. Except for Mei Qi coming to Qiuchen Court from time to time and asking to be An An's master, the Ye Mansion had been very quiet.
Everyone was sleeping soundly that night, with only guards patrolling outside from time to time.
By the end of midnight, many figures were moving around in the Dark Guard Camp, and at the same time, many people also came in from Qiuchen Courtyard.
Were these people trying to disperse their forces? Or were they trying to rescue people and seek revenge at the same time? Or perhaps both?
After all the figures landed, the lights in the main house suddenly lit up.
"It's a trap!" By the time the people reacted, they had been surrounded, and hundreds of archers appeared on the wall of the yard.
However, they were able to escape even when Ye Chen was clearing out Luojia Village. One can imagine how skilled they are; they must all be top masters.
These people showed no fear at all and went straight to the main house. The archers on the wall saw the people below moving and immediately shot arrows, but some people still rushed into the main house.
An An was left by Chen Qiu with the old Duke and the old Dowager. Xiao Mu and Bai Li had been living in the next yard for the past few days, all for this day.
When Chen Qiu saw people coming in, he drew his sword and stepped forward. After a few rounds, Chen Qiu kicked out everyone who rushed into the house. After kicking people out, Chen Qiu did not go out himself.
Who knew that this group of unscrupulous people would actually throw so many poisonous fireworks into the house, and the house was instantly filled with poisonous fog of various colors.
There was no other way, Chen Qiu had to pull Ye Chen out of the house. Now the archers were useless, and Chen Qiu and Ye Chen could no longer shoot arrows as recklessly as before.
Chen Qiu protected Ye Chen behind him and fought with those people while protecting Ye Chen.
Suddenly, several sharp sword energies shot out from the air. Chen Qiu looked up and saw that it was Mei Qi. Chen Qiu knew that Mei Qi's martial arts were powerful, but he hadn't expected it to be so strong. Wherever his sword energy struck, it either killed or injured. In a few breaths, those people were lying in the yard, arms and legs broken, not a single body intact. In contrast, the elegant and graceful Master Mei, dressed in white, was completely unstained by blood. "How cruel!" Chen Qiu muttered as he looked at the man rolling on the ground.
Mei Qi heard it. He knew that he might have scared his Huaer, but it was difficult for him to comfort her in public. However, it was really damnable that so many people bullied his Huaer.
"Master" Mu Qing came in from outside, took a look at the broken legs and hands all over the ground, and swallowed unconsciously.
"explain"
"A lot of people went in from the Dark Guard Camp and set the fire. A lot of people who stayed outside were also captured. But..." Mu Qing said with a flicker in his eyes.
"Just what? Did someone escape?"
"No, it's just that Mrs. Chen seemed to be among the people who went in, but I can't be sure. I just saw that her back looked a bit like her." This was really unexpected.
"That Madam Chen?" Shen Qiu asked subconsciously, hoping that it wasn't the one he was thinking of.
"It's Gu Ruojin, the wife of Prime Minister Chen Qingyun." Mu Qing answered affirmatively this time.
"How could it be? Didn't she leave?" Chen Qiu didn't expect that even though he saved her, she still chose to come and seek death. It seemed that she was destined to die in the sea of fire.
"Let's go and take a look!" Ye Chen thought that Gu Ruojin chose to stay with Chen Qingyun in order to repay Chen Qingyun's deep affection, but he didn't expect that he would be involved in this matter in the end.
In the dungeon of the Dark Guard Camp, Ye Chen had people bury some kerosene. Although it wasn't much, as long as it was ignited, the people inside would have no chance of escape.
Mu Qing led them to the secret guard camp, where flames were already ablaze. The secret guards on one side were just trying to prevent the fire from spreading to other places, but no one went to put out the fire.
"Has anyone come out from inside? How many people went in?" Ye Chen stood there looking at the flames in the sky. He originally thought that since Qiu'er chose to save Gu Ruojin, as long as she stayed in Chen Mansion and didn't come out, he would no longer care about her. However, this person was looking for death, and you couldn't stop her.
"Seven people went in, and no one came out yet." The secret guard on the side answered Ye Chen's question.
"Madam, don't be sad. Her status does not allow her to do otherwise." Mei Qi suddenly said this behind Shen Qiu, without deliberately lowering her voice, so almost everyone heard it.
"Why?" Chen Qiu turned around and looked at Mei Qi and asked, because she really couldn't think of why Gu Ruojin appeared again. Was it just because of the so-called dream of restoring the country?
"Because she is the best spy in the entire Luojia Village, almost everyone in Luojia Village knows her. As long as she is not dead, she will always be a member of Luojia Village. As long as those who are keen on restoring the country are still alive, she will not be able to start a new life. She will always be found. This ending may be the best for her." Mei Qi naturally knew Gu Ruojin. Gu Ruojin had no choice. She did not have the skills like him. She wanted to escape but was powerless, not to mention that she had to protect the man who gave her love.
Mei Qi went to see Gu Ruojin and knew that she was powerless. Chen Qingyun loved her deeply. She had the bargaining chip to force her to surrender when the people from Luojiazhuang were caught one day. Who made her fall in love with them?
When she doesn't fall in love, she is still the indestructible spy of Luojiazhuang. When she falls in love, she is just an ordinary woman with weaknesses everywhere, even more fragile than an ordinary woman.
Chen Qiu didn't say anything, just looked at the fire, a little sad. This Luojiazhuang incident can be considered a successful conclusion here? She didn't know that too many people had died in the past few months. Shouldn't it be the same in the future?
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