Chapter 220: A Lost Plan, a Must-Win Game
As soon as Shang Yuwan finished speaking, Twelve was obviously stunned.
She was about to speak when she heard Shang Mingqi say firmly, "Don't be afraid."
Shang Mingqi looked straight at Shang Yuwan and said, "I am a descendant of the Shang family, and I am definitely not a coward."
"Yeah." Shang Yuwan's eyes softened, and a trace of heartache flashed across his brows, "My cousin knows."
Shang Mingqi saw the recognition in her eyes. Although he felt a little scared, he was more happy.
He was finally no longer the child who needed to be protected in his cousin's eyes.
"But you can't."
Twelve frowned slightly and suddenly interrupted this brief warmth. She knew what Shang Yuwan was going to do.
Shang Yuwan glanced over. Shang Mingqi, not understanding what Twelve meant, also looked over.
Ji Suxian frowned and continued, "You are not a member of the Shang family now."
Moreover, information about Ah Chan's background had not yet been delivered to them. If Shang Yuwan acted with them, how would they explain it to the world? What reason would Xiao Qingxu give?
The crime of harboring a criminal and the crime of deceiving the emperor, these two crimes added together, the entire Qiwang Mansion and Baijialou will face a catastrophe.
Most importantly, Twelve didn't want Shang Yuwan to drag down his beloved because of the Shang family's affairs. If Shang Yuwan dragged down Xiao Qingxu for his own selfish reasons, the pain in his heart would be several times greater than that of others.
"..." Shang Yuwan lowered his eyes slightly, "I will take full responsibility for the crime of deceiving the emperor."
Sooner or later, her identity would be revealed, and she had never considered keeping it a secret forever. Shang Yuwan had already thought of the reason to take all the blame on herself the day she recognized Xiao Qingxu.
Ji Suxian was slightly stunned. This person...had already made plans?
Shang Mingqi instantly understood what Shang Yuwan meant, grabbed Shang Yuwan's hand and shook his head at her.
Twelve's mouth twitched, and he wanted to say something to dissuade her, but Shang Yuwan suddenly changed the subject: "But we won't necessarily die."
"......?" The two, one big and one small, looked at her in surprise.
Shang Yuwan raised the corners of his lips, and the breeze blew up a corner of the car curtain. The worldly atmosphere penetrated through the gap and lingered in the air.
The carriage drove onto the busy street, and the people were discussing what they had seen and heard today.
"Hey, have you heard? The eldest master of the Xu family is still alive!"
"My third aunt's brother-in-law's niece told me that the late queen's death was caused by Queen Zhao! In order to track down the evidence, Master Xu had no choice but to fake his own death to escape! Now, the Zhao family is destroyed, the deposed crown prince has fallen, and the accomplice, the eldest princess, has been imprisoned. This is such a great opportunity, how could Master Xu let it go?"
"I heard that the old lady of the Xu family was very anxious and went straight to the palace."
"My husband, who had been dead for many years, suddenly came back to life. Even an old man like me would be extremely anxious."
"My grandfather said that when Mr. Xu and Mrs. Xu were young, they were childhood sweethearts. They were engaged since they were young, and after they got married, they were the envy of others. Although they had concubines, they were firmly suppressed by the mistress, and there has been no scandal for so many years. It's nothing like that Duke Lu's Mansion..."
"Don't you see what kind of aristocratic family Madam Xu comes from? Although the Qu family has always been low-key, they are indeed wealthy. They have also strictly disciplined the women of the Qu family since they were young. How could she be a simple person?"
"Oh right, and the young master of the Cheng family has been very popular recently..."
"I think Her Royal Highness the Princess also seems to..."
"Yes, Her Highness the Princess is deeply loved by the people. The second assessment is coming soon. I heard that the answers in the first assessment even got high praise from Imperial Censor Baili..."
Shang Yuwan lowered his eyelids and stared down, his eyes deep and his lips grinning.
He slowly uttered eight words: "The new emperor ascends the throne and a general amnesty is granted to the whole world."
This single word caused a huge uproar, but no one in the carriage dared to speak.
The new emperor ascends the throne and grants amnesty to the whole country...Then, Emperor Chengming?
After all, they all had awe for the imperial power in their hearts. Even though they felt a little excited that they couldn't suppress, they all tacitly remained silent at this moment.
They returned to Prince Qi's Mansion in silence. When they arrived at the main gate, Shang Yuwan just popped her head out of the carriage and saw Shen Lanlu holding a wooden box, standing outside the gate waiting for her.
Shen Lanlu also saw Shang Yuwan and bowed to her, "My Lord."
Before Xiao Qingxu met Master Xu, he specifically asked someone to bring Shen Lanlu out and asked Shen Lanlu to wait for her at the main entrance.
"......Hmph." Shang Yuwan pulled the corner of his mouth and a bitter smile appeared in the corner of his eyes.
He really understood her.
——
In the imperial palace, inside the imperial study.
Emperor Chengming looked indifferently at Master Xu who was kneeling below him. He was hunched over and looked dusty. It was obvious that he had suffered a lot and had lost all the dignity he had many years ago.
There were three people kneeling in the imperial study: Master Xu, the midwife's son, and Xiao Qingxu.
His gaze only stayed on Master Xu and the midwife's son for a moment, and then he looked at Xiao Qingxu.
After a long while, Emperor Chengming said calmly, "I understand."
"Just hand the evidence over to the Dali Temple and let it handle it."
There was no emotion in his tone, and he didn't care at all about how Xu Zhiyao was framed and poisoned to death.
In fact, ever since Xiao Qingxu was disfigured and engaged to Shang Yuwan, Emperor Chengming no longer had any real concern for him.
Emperor Chengming was equally unconcerned about Zhao Lan's fate. She was just a foolish woman, and she had never caught his eye.
If it were in the past, Master Xu would have said a few words to Emperor Chengming, but he was very calm now. After expressing his gratitude, he followed Cheng Xunzhi away.
Xiao Qingxu was kept and played chess with Emperor Chengming.
Master Xu was escorted to the palace gate by a guest, and he immediately saw the Xu family's carriage rushing towards him.
Old Madam Xu got out of the car in a hurry. Through her tearful eyes, the figure of Master Xu was particularly clear.
Master Xu was also heartbroken, but now was not the time to reminisce about the past. The two looked at each other for only a moment, and then Master Xu followed Cheng Xunzhi into the Dali Temple's carriage.
The Xu family carriage followed closely behind them. Cheng Xunzhi said, "Your Highness, please be blessed by heaven. Master Xu, don't worry."
A faint bitter smile appeared on Master Xu's face. "I hope so."
Those kids are much braver now than when they were young.
"It seems that you have already come up with a countermeasure and are implementing it."
Emperor Chengming held the black chess piece in his hand and stared at the direction of Xiao Qingxu's white chess piece.
"Thanks to His Majesty for promoting me." Xiao Qingxu replied indifferently, "If it weren't for Your Majesty's decisive decision, I wouldn't dare to act this way."
"snort."
Emperor Chengming chuckled lightly, "Aren't you afraid of failure?"
"Failure at the last moment? The sensible emperor is here."
Xiao Qingxu responded indifferently: "I will never lose to them."
As soon as he finished speaking, the two had already exchanged several moves on the chessboard. As Xiao Qingxu's white chess piece fell, it directly occupied the last breath of "qi" around the black chess piece, and even captured two black chess pieces of Emperor Chengming.
At this time, on the road leading to Dengwen Drum, two people were walking on the road pulling a cart, and a man was walking in front of them holding a wooden box.
There were three people, two adults and one child, all wearing white clothes and white scarves on their heads.
On the cart was a half-rotten corpse wearing the uniform of the Zhenxi Army. Shang Mingqi revealed his true face and pulled the cart with Twelve, following behind Shang Yuwan.
"This round."
Xiao Qingxu in the imperial study slowly raised his head, looked directly at Emperor Chengming, and curled his lips.
"We will win."
"...It seems you have other things to do." Emperor Chengming's eyes flashed with deep thought, "Go."
Xiao Qingxu stood up and saluted without hesitation, "Yes."
After he left, Emperor Chengming stared at the chessboard alone.
After a moment, a trace of blood flowed from the corner of Emperor Chengming's mouth.
Eunuch Kang was horrified, "Your Majesty! You..."
Emperor Chengming raised his hand to wipe the corner of his mouth, looked down and chuckled.
"That's perfect."
His body had been drained by the harsh medication and chaotic schedule over the years. He didn't have much time left.
"Bring me the scroll of the imperial edict. I want two copies."
"Your Majesty, I'd better ask a doctor to come and see..."
Emperor Chengming glanced over and Eunuch Kang quickly nodded in agreement.
After the scroll of imperial edict was retrieved, Emperor Chengming was about to write when a secret guard suddenly burst into the imperial study, knelt on one knee and said, "Your Majesty, the deposed crown prince of Fengsi Palace... has escaped."
Emperor Chengming raised his eyes and glanced at him, then responded faintly.
"So, those private soldiers must have already infiltrated before I started investigating."
He muttered to himself, but he didn't show any surprise.
If Xiao Qingji was really an utter idiot, he would have been dumped by Xiao Tong long ago.
What a pity.
His son just likes to make wedding dresses for others.
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