However, the emperor's sacrifice to heaven was on a large scale this time, and all Beijing officials above the fourth rank accompanied him, and Old Man Xu was naturally among them.
Before leaving, Old Man Xu specially called Xu Yixing over and gave him detailed instructions:
"Yan'er, the Emperor's Heavenly Sacrifice and the Mid-Autumn Moon Appreciation Party are too close together, and His Majesty will be staying at the temporary palace for a few days. So, I heard from the Ministry of Rites that His Majesty and all officials will return to the capital on August 14th, and this year's Moon Appreciation Party will be held on Drum Mountain in the south of the capital."
"Is that so? Doesn't that mean Dad can't return to Beijing until the Moon Viewing Party is over?"
It is now August 8th, and the Mid-Autumn Festival is only seven days away. If the emperor holds a banquet in the mountains south of Beijing, the defense will definitely be very tight.
His plan to have the bandits kidnap him was thwarted. It seemed he had to speed up the process or change the location, but was it possible that the bandits would break into the capital and kidnap hostages?
Xu Yixing really couldn't say for sure. After all, Yingba had just infiltrated the group of bandits and was not a real bandit. If the boss was unwilling to take the risk, then there was nothing he could do.
"Yes, so you can come to the banquet on the 15th by yourself. If it's really not possible, dad will tell the Seventh Prince to take you there..."
"Goodbye, Dad! Well, we haven't gotten married yet. If we're always this close, I'm afraid people will gossip about us."
Old Man Xu smiled knowingly. It seemed his daughter was just shy. That was fine. The family had guards anyway. Beyond the South Gate was Gushan, and the entire mountain would be under martial law. Nothing would go wrong.
"Well, you can make your own arrangements. This Mid-Autumn Festival party should be your last as the daughter of the Xu family. Show off your talents and write a dozen poems or lyrics!"
Well, Dad, do you think writing poetry is like killing people? And you have more than ten poems? You don't have any literary talent in your head, and you still expect me to write them.
But she also understood her father's intentions. To the outside world, Xu Yixing was now dead. The Xu family only had one daughter left, Xu Yiyan. After nine months, she would become the prince's consort and would no longer be able to claim to be a member of the Xu family.
"I understand, Dad. Just relax and go with the Emperor to offer sacrifices to the Heaven. I will make all the arrangements."
The family saw their father off, and Xu Yixing and Xu Yiwen, who had recovered from his injuries, returned to the backyard.
"Sister, look, my injury is completely healed!" Xu Yiwen even twisted his body a few times to prove it to her.
"It's been two months, it should be healed by now. I see you're so plump and white now, brother. If you don't go out for a walk soon, you'll turn into a peanut!"
"Hahahahaha, I want to too, but Dad hasn't lifted my grounding yet. I really envy you. I also want to go to the Moon Viewing Festival and take a walk."
"It's not interesting. After all, it's a palace banquet. We have to drink, eat and listen to hymns. We can't make any mistakes in the rules. It's too troublesome."
Xu Yiwen nodded. It was true. He wanted to go out, but the rules of this kind of banquet might be more complicated than those in the mansion, which would be very tiring.
"Sister, have you let go of what happened before?" He was referring to his sister's plan to break off the engagement with Lu Anyuan.
Although his sister had been quiet for a long time since the last time, Xu Yiwen still felt uneasy, as he always felt that his sister had a backup plan.
"Whether you want to open it or not, just leave it as it is."
"That's right! How wonderful it is to marry a prince. It's a blessing that so many people can't even ask for. Don't be ungrateful."
"Yeah. Brother, I'm here. You should go back soon." Xu Yixing stood at the gate of the courtyard, looking at Xu Yiwen with a harmless smile.
What's right about it? If I marry him, my life will be ruined.
Returning to the room, Xu Yixing glanced at the decoration with disgust - as the wedding date was approaching, the palace's rewards and the various arrangements made by the Ministry of Rites had made the room mostly decorated with bright red and crimson, which looked festive, but she just felt it was dazzling.
"Si Wen, go contact Ying Ba and tell him that we can't wait until August 15th to take action. Tell him to find a way to resolve the matter on August 14th. Don't delay."
Si Wen was terrified when she heard this. She didn't know Ying Ba had already infiltrated the bandits, but she could sense that the Second Young Lady seemed to be doing something dangerous.
"Second Miss, what are you talking about?"
"Kagehachi knows it himself."
Si Wen frowned, thought for a moment, and then retreated. However, he stood outside the door for a while before returning to the room.
"Second Miss, although I don't know what you are going to do, I have observed you these past few days with a cold eye. You are a smart person, but you can be stubborn sometimes. The Moon Appreciation Ceremony is a big day, and the Emperor is under tight security. If you don't do it right, I'm afraid you will bring trouble to the entire clan."
"Why do you think I'm going to assassinate someone?" Xu Yixing raised his eyebrows. At that moment, Si Wen realized that this action was too much like that of a young lady.
"Even if it's not, it's probably not much different."
"Okay, I get it. Put your mind at ease. I'm telling you, what I did won't hurt anyone, let alone our family's interests. If you ask me again, I'll get angry."
Si Wen reluctantly withdrew. Xu Yixing looked at her from behind and burst out laughing. As expected, she was his former girl; she still understood him.
This incident will indeed not hurt others at all, but it will cause great damage to oneself.
Oh! Isn't this all just to get rid of Lu Anyuan? When I'm free, I can eat delicious food and drink spicy drinks every day to make up for the grievances I've suffered these days.
The Mid-Autumn Festival is just around the corner. If we miss this opportunity, it will be difficult to find a legitimate occasion to do this later.
She hummed a little tune while taking off the pearl flowers from her head. What was the point of wanting these material possessions?
After arranging everything, Xu Yixing went to the front yard to inform Gu that he would go to Jingxi Temple to burn incense and pray on August 14th.
Although Mrs. Gu was a little puzzled as to why she had to go at this time, she couldn't think of a reason to refuse. Furthermore, her second daughter had been very well behaved recently and had been staying home the whole time, so perhaps she just wanted to go out and relax, so she agreed.
Early in the morning of August 14, Xu Yixing, accompanied by his coachman and musician, rode in a small carriage and headed straight for the north gate.
The emperor held a banquet in the south of Beijing. The south must have been cleared up by now, and the north might be a little more relaxed.
Moreover, Xu Yixing deliberately brought Siqin instead of Siwen this time because he was afraid that Siwen would stop him after finding out what he was going to do.
We have been planning for so long, we can’t let our own people disrupt it.
"By the way, Siqin, I'm going to go up the mountain to pay my respects in person. The carriage can just be parked at the foot of the mountain, and we can walk up."
"Huh? There are so many steps there. Why are you doing this? Why not drive the car outside the temple?"
"This is to show my piety. If you are afraid of getting tired, you can wait for me at the foot of the mountain."
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