Chapter 37: One woman serving two husbands? I don't want to
Xiao Lingzhao had no idea what the emperor and Shen Yuanwei were thinking.
He thought Shen Yuanwei was urging him to go home because she was afraid of the suffocating palace with tight security. He thought the emperor asked him to stay because he had something important to tell him to do.
He squeezed Shen Yuanwei's fingers to comfort her gently, and whispered, "Don't be afraid, I'm here. Let's first listen to what the emperor has to say."
Then he looked at Xie Junlin, "May I ask what the emperor wants me to do? I will go through fire and water, and die without hesitation. Please give the order, Your Majesty!"
Xie Junlin glanced at the couple's tightly clasped fingers, and a hint of sadness flashed across his eyes.
He said nothing, slowly walked around to the back of the pillar and personally untied Xiao Lingzhao's chains, so that he wouldn't be bothered by it.
"I have always felt that someone is secretly watching me these past few days, but the Dragon Scale Guards have not caught anyone. I suspect there is an assassin scouting the area in secret, and I am worried that the Dragon Scale Guards around me are not strong enough. I am worried that I will die at the hands of the assassin at any time."
"I have been worried about this for two days. I didn't expect that you, Ling Zhao, would suddenly recover at this moment. It's really God's blessing."
Xie Junlin threw down the chain, walked around the pillar and came in front of Xiao Lingzhao.
He stared into Xiao Lingzhao's eyes, "Lingzhao, I want to ask you to stay in the palace and protect me for a few days. You are the best fighter in Dayong. If I have your close protection, the assassin will not be able to hurt me at all. After getting rid of the assassin, you can go back to the mansion, how about that?"
Xiao Lingzhao frowned fiercely.
How could an assassin sneak into this forbidden palace?
Even the Dragon Scale Guards failed to find the assassin. How good is that assassin's martial arts?
If he didn't stay to protect the emperor, the emperor would really be in danger...
At the side, Shen Yuanwei narrowed her eyes and looked at Xie Junlin suspiciously, then looked at Xiao Lingzhao who was persuaded.
She thought to herself that her foolish husband was too loyal to the emperor and never suspected that what the emperor said might be a lie!
Shen Yuanwei looked up at the emperor.
"Your Majesty, please allow me to ask you a few more questions. The Dragon Scale Guards are all highly skilled in martial arts, and they didn't notice the assassin. How did Your Majesty know of the assassin's existence?"
“…”
Xie Junlin glanced sideways at Shen Yuanwei.
A smile flashed across his dark eyes.
Did they know he was lying and were desperately trying to find loopholes in his words to expose him?
Before answering Shen Yuanwei's question, Xie Junlin first corrected Shen Yuanwei, "Mrs. Xiao can call herself a concubine, but it's a bit awkward for a girl of seventeen or eighteen to call herself a concubine—"
Shen Yuanwei doesn't.
Of course, she knew that the minister's wife could call herself a concubine in front of the emperor, but she had seen too many concubines calling themselves "concubines" in palace fighting dramas. Now if she was asked to call herself a concubine, she would have the illusion that she was the emperor's concubine...
So shameful.
Shen Yuanwei didn't say anything, and Xie Junlin didn't force her. He answered Shen Yuanwei's question.
"Madam Xiao asked me how I sensed the assassin. Well, Madam Xiao, you have never practiced martial arts. You don't know that martial artists have more sensitive five senses than ordinary people. Someone is hiding in the dark and staring at me, releasing murderous intent. This malice is directed at me, so I can naturally feel it more clearly than the Dragon Scale Guards."
Shen Yuanwei speaks frankly.
"But Your Majesty, if the assassin was so powerful that the Dragon Scale Guards could not detect him, why would he need to hide and slowly tread the line? Wouldn't he be able to escape unscathed if he just rushed in and assassinated him? So, could it be that Your Majesty is wrong?"
Xie Junlin looked at Shen Yuanwei with some amusement.
Look at this nitpicking person, does he dislike him so much?
He said calmly, "Well, of course I hope that I am wrong, but what if there is really an assassin? I can't just wait for someone to take my head, right, Madam Xiao?"
Xiao Lingzhao squeezed Shen Yuanwei's fingers and said softly, "Yuanwei, the emperor's safety is more important than anything else. Our Xiao family has been blessed by the emperor for generations, and we must not let the emperor make any mistakes."
After saying that, Xiao Lingzhao turned to Xie Junlin and said, "Your Majesty, I am willing to sacrifice my life to protect you and eliminate any dangerous people around you!"
Looking at this loyal and fearless young general, Xie Junlin had a complicated look in his eyes.
What a good minister...
Even if he wanted to be a tyrant and snatch my wife, he would be unable to do it...
He closed his eyes and tried hard to recall the adorable little prince in his dream. Using his longing for his own flesh and blood, he gradually suppressed the guilt and self-blame in his heart.
He hid his emotions, reached out his hand to help Xiao Lingzhao up, and said with a loud smile, "Good! I knew that my general is loyal!"
He then turned his eyes to Shen Yuanwei and said, "Madam Xiao, your husband has to stay in the palace to protect me, but he needs you to stay by his side to comfort him. In this case, you have to stay in the palace as well. I will let Chen Hai take you to a nearby palace and ask you to stay there for a few days."
Shen Yuanwei stared at Xie Junlin and really wanted to curse him for being ridiculous.
Which emperor in history allowed the wife of a minister who had nothing to do with him to live in the palace?
The women living in the palace are all his wives and concubines. Why does he keep his subjects' wives here?
Shen Yuanwei refused to stay.
At least not now.
She bowed and declined, "Your Majesty, please forgive me for not being able to stay here. The harem is full of your concubines, and it would be inappropriate for me to stay there."
Xiao Lingzhao also nodded and said, "Your Majesty, it is indeed inappropriate for Yuan Wei to live in the palace. It is easy to attract criticism."
Xie Junlin stood with his hands behind his back and looked at the two of them.
He asked Xiao Lingzhao, "If you don't let Madam Xiao stay with you, what will happen to your illness? If you go to the General's Mansion to pick up Madam Xiao, and there is a delay on the way, you will be sick before Madam Xiao arrives. How can you protect me? Not only can you not protect me, but you have to let the Dragon Scale Guards protect you. Wouldn't it be easier for assassins to take advantage of the situation?"
Xiao Lingzhao was speechless for a moment.
His illness really requires Yuan Wei, but Yuan Wei really cannot stay in the palace.
Shen Yuanwei glanced at Xie Junlin who was determined to keep her.
Oh, you really want her to stay? Then don't blame her for being rude.
"Your Majesty, Ling Zhao is ill now and cannot leave me for too long. It is really inconvenient for me to stay in the palace. Why don't you find a few generals with strong martial arts to protect you? There are so many capable people in your court, there should be more than just Ling Zhao who can protect you, right? If you ask me to stay in your harem, I will never dare to stay."
"After all, Your Majesty, you just told all the officials in the court today that you would take away the women of anyone who angered you to sleep with you and give birth to your children... You just said this in the morning, and I stayed in your harem at night. If this gets out, won't everyone misunderstand that you took me into the palace? Where is my innocence?"
She bowed gracefully.
"Your Majesty, please forgive me, a weak woman. I really don't dare to bear the stigma of serving two husbands."
"Besides, I think that Your Majesty is wise and brave, and you are the greatest king in the eyes of the people. You don't want to ruin your reputation just because of such a small matter and suddenly be labeled as a tyrant, right?"
Xie Junlin didn't expect that Shen Yuanwei would use this to evade him.
He was speechless, yet found it somewhat amusing.
The words he used to scare ministers in the court were now used by Shen Yuanwei to scare him.
Does this count as digging your own grave?
However, to think that he would change his mind based on just these few words would underestimate the determination of this childless emperor to have an heir.
He raised his hand and tapped his brow, then nodded and said, "It's my fault for forgetting this. If Madam Xiao hadn't mentioned it, I would have forgotten it."
He added, "Mrs. Xiao's concerns are reasonable. How about this? Mrs. Xiao, you move into the Queen Mother's bedroom and say that the Queen Mother likes you and has summoned you to the palace to accompany her. This way, no one will gossip about you. What do you think?"
Shen Yuanwei stared at Xie Junlin who was pressing forward step by step and was unwilling to give in.
How does she look?
She has refused several times. Is what she said useful?
Shen Yuanwei took a deep breath, "Your Majesty, can't you let other generals come into the palace to protect you? Ling Zhao's martial arts are better than theirs, but if you find two, three, or four generals, won't they be as good as him alone?"
Xie Junlin put his hands behind his back and smiled, "Madam Xiao is right. To be on the safe side, I should call a few more generals into the palace to protect me. How about this? I will summon General Chen and General Gao to the palace to protect me together with Ling Zhao, and ask their wives to also enter the palace to accompany the Queen Mother and Madam Xiao—"
He asked Shen Yuanwei, "Madam Xiao, do you have any objection to this arrangement?"
Before Shen Yuanwei could speak, the emperor said slowly, "I have already made such proper arrangements. If Madam Xiao still does not let Ling Zhao stay to protect me, then I will inevitably think that Madam Xiao is dissatisfied with me as an emperor and wants to see me die at the hands of an assassin?"
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