Shen Zhixiu said to Li Yunzhou, "Take your people and leave first. I will go meet His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."
Li Yunzhou nodded and left through the back window.
Shen Zhixiu took Su Qingyu out of the room. When they walked to the two bodies, Shen Zhixiu's eyes fell on Shen Zhiheng and did not move away for a long time.
He couldn't let go of his brother's shout. He was too arrogant, thinking he had everything under control. The sudden change left him no time to react, and his brother was tragically killed by the arrow.
Su Qingyu's gaze fell on Chen Zhao. To her, Chen Zhao's death was like removing a huge stone from her heart.
Not only did he avenge his death, but he also resolved the entanglements of his previous life.
From now on, she can be at ease as the third wife of the Shen family. The pain of her past life will slowly be diluted by time.
A moment later, the prince rushed in with his men, and Shen Zhixiu and Su Qingyu stepped forward to pay their respects.
"Your Highness, what is going on? Shen Zhao..." Shen Zhixiu pretended to know nothing.
Even if both parties know something clearly, they still have to pretend on the surface.
The prince looked at Shen Zhixiu deeply, then said, "Why is Lord Shen here too? I have found out the exact information that Shen Zhao is colluding with Xiyue and has secretly hidden firearms."
"We were afraid he might escape, and we were also afraid he might use firearms to injure others, so we strangled him first."
Shen Zhixiu's face was filled with anger. "Your Highness, aren't you being too impulsive? You have to investigate first and then convict. If you wrongly accuse someone, the dead cannot be brought back to life."
His anger wasn't fake; it was genuine. Originally, his eldest brother didn't have to die. The entire situation had come to this point because of the Crown Prince.
The prince waved his hand and ordered the guards around him, "Search for me. If it is unjust, I will go to the Shen family to apologize."
The result was certainly not unjust. The guards found more than 20 boxes of firearms in the back room, and a secret letter from General Xiyue Huaigu on Shen Zhao.
The prince said in a deep voice: "These were found on the Shen family's farm, and Shen Zhao is a descendant of the Shen family. What explanation does Lord Shen have for this matter?"
Even though he knew that Shen Zhixiu had already given the emperor a clear pass, the prince still couldn't help but question him.
Shen Zhixiu knew that after this incident, he and the prince had reached a situation where they would fight to the death.
So when the Crown Prince asked, Shen Zhixiu didn't hesitate, "It seems that I have to follow Your Highness into the palace. Shen Zhao is my nephew and the Junior Secretary of the Zhanshi Mansion."
"If the emperor thinks too much, it will be difficult for us to explain."
The prince had already made up his mind. After dealing with Shen Zhao, he immediately brought his belongings to the palace to apologize. After being told this by Shen Zhixiu, he felt embarrassed as if his thoughts had been exposed.
"I am open and honest, and I am not afraid of the emperor's questions."
Shen Zhixiu nodded and said, "I agree as well."
While the prince and Shen Zhixiu were talking, Su Qingyu entered the main room, looked at Chen, and then quickly retreated.
"Third Master, my eldest sister-in-law is gone too."
Upon hearing this, Shen Zhixiu closed his eyes, then opened them after a moment.
Seeing this, Su Qingyu said, "Third Master, please accompany His Royal Highness the Crown Prince to the palace. I will stay here to take care of the funeral arrangements for my elder brother and sister-in-law."
At this critical moment, Shen Zhixiu must enter the palace. The funeral arrangements for these members of the Shen family also depend on the emperor's wishes.
Rather than taking care of the funeral, it is actually just sending people to guard it first.
Shen Zhixiu nodded and said, "Thank you for your help, Madam."
Afterwards, the prince and Shen Zhixiu entered the palace one after another, and the prince's men also brought more than 20 boxes of firearms.
Emperor Xuande met the two men in the imperial study.
The Crown Prince knelt on the ground as soon as he entered the room. "Your Majesty, I have reported to you that the Junior Secretary of the Imperial Household, Chen Zhao, colluded with the Western Yue and secretly hoarded firearms. I have strangled him to death. I have failed to properly discipline the officials of the Eastern Palace. Please punish me, Your Majesty."
Shen Zhixiu also knelt behind the Crown Prince and said, "Your Highness cannot be blamed for this matter. As the head of the Shen family, I have failed to discipline my sons and nephews. Please punish me, Your Majesty."
Emperor Xuande showed no sign of surprise. He glanced at the two men and said, "Get up, everyone. This matter has nothing to do with you."
Afterwards, the Crown Prince withdrew, and Emperor Xuande and Shen Zhixiu went to look at the firearms and summoned the Military Equipment Supervisor. The most urgent task at hand was how to use these firearms so that the Military Equipment Supervisor could produce advanced firearms.
After the people from the Military Equipment Bureau left with these things, Emperor Xuande said to Shen Zhixiu, "Go and play two games of chess with me."
After thinking for a while, he ordered Hu Lu, "Let Yunzhou come into the palace. I will play chess with Shen Qing, and he will serve tea on the side."
The Emperor had been summoning His Royal Highness Prince Ning to the palace quite often recently, and Hu Lu had grown accustomed to it. So, upon receiving the order, he immediately sent someone to pass on the message.
When Shen Zhixiu was playing the second game of chess with Emperor Xuande, Li Yunzhou arrived.
As soon as he entered the room, he sat down and made tea, and gave Emperor Xuande advice from time to time.
Whenever this happened, Emperor Xuande would laugh and scold him, "Don't you understand the rule of watching chess without saying a word?"
But when he couldn't make up his mind, he would subconsciously look at Li Yunzhou.
Shen Zhixiu won one game and the two tied one game.
During the third round, Emperor Xuande suddenly spoke up, "Zhixiu, in your opinion, wasn't the Crown Prince's departure a bit too coincidental?"
"If he didn't go, you could have captured those people alive, right?"
Shen Zhixiu frowned, pondering the chess game before him. Upon hearing this, he casually said, "Your Highness the Crown Prince is very intelligent. I think he has discovered something."
Emperor Xuande asked again, "If I depose the Crown Prince, would he dare to take action?"
The black piece in Shen Zhixiu's hand fell, "Thunder and rain are all the grace of the emperor. The prince must understand this truth."
Seeing that he spoke without making any mistakes, Emperor Xuande said nothing more.
After three rounds, Li Yunzhou brought tea.
I rolled up my sleeves slightly because I was afraid that they would get wet while making tea.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
