Chapter 209: Guest Xiao Yuan
Zhu Qingyan beside him hesitated for a while, and suddenly asked: "Although I believe Ah Jing, you say... Is it possible that Cheng Hu lied to us? Is it possible that there is no such person as Ah Zhu?"
Zhu Lan spoke in a deep voice after a long while.
"Whether you have lied to us or not, we will know after tonight. I'll have to thank you for your hard work, so keep on blowing."
Zhu Qingyan nodded and put the leaf to his lips again. Just as he blew it, a woman squatting next to him suddenly rushed over like crazy, snatched the leaf from Zhu Qingyan's hand, threw it on the ground, and stomped it to pieces.
"Blow, I told you to blow! We're all going to die, why are you so happy!?" The woman seemed to want to vent all her fear and anger on the leaf.
Zhu Qingyan was startled and was about to grab it, but Zhu Lan gently raised her hand to stop her.
"Forget it, it's all been trampled. You've been bragging for so long, if that Ah Zhu is here, she should have heard it, so we just wait for the news."
Seeing that Zhu Lan was not in a hurry at all, Zhu Qingyan asked strangely, "What are you thinking? If Cheng Hu really lied to us and Ah Jing, and there is no such person as Ah Zhu, who will pass the message on for us? How can Ah Jing come to save us?"
Zhu Lan put his arms behind his head, lazily lay on his back on the dry straw, looked at the white sky and said:
"Didn't the King of Zhenbei say that he would mobilize troops to search the desert? He should be able to find us, too."
"Should?" Zhu Qingyan was a little anxious. "If they search aimlessly like that, if they don't find us or are late, they will have no choice but to collect our bodies."
Zhu Lan did not say anything but closed his eyes to rest.
Zhu Qingyan pursed his lips tightly in anger. Sometimes he really wanted to open this guy's brain and see what was inside!
Your life is at stake, why are you acting like nothing happened?
Forget it, I've already boarded this pirate ship, so I might as well give it a go.
At worst, let’s die together!
Zhu Qingyan simply closed his eyes and lay down angrily.
…
Capital city, Eastern Palace.
Yan Xiuyun was wearing court robes and a black crane cloak. As soon as he returned to the East Palace, he saw many servants in the yard climbing up the trees with ladders to pick lanterns.
"Your Highness is back." Eunuch Zhao came up to him in small steps and placed a small heater in Yan Xiuyun's hand. He also said, "This heater was made by Qin Liangyuan herself. She gave it to me early in the morning and repeatedly reminded me to remember to add more clothes for Your Highness. Don't let him get cold."
Yan Xiuyun glanced at Eunuch Zhao with a half-smile, but he was very pleased with Qin Yuwei's kindness.
"She has made up her mind. Go tell her. I will go see her later."
After Yan Xiuyun finished speaking, his eyes fell on the servants who were busy in the yard, and asked Eunuch Zhao: "What are they doing? The lanterns on the tree are hanging well, why take them down?"
Eunuch Zhao smiled and said, "It was Mr. Xu's order."
"Oh?" Yan Xiuyun raised his eyebrows.
"Mr. Xu predicted that there would be a strong wind tonight, and was afraid that these lanterns would be blown down, which would be disastrous if they burned somewhere. So he came to remind me to take down the lanterns in the yard first and hang them up again after the strong wind passed."
"Mr. Xu is really very powerful." Yan Xiuyun sighed, "Go and ask him to come over. I have something to discuss with him."
"Yes." Eunuch Zhao responded, "By the way, Your Highness, Mr. Xiao Yuan is back today."
Yan Xiuyun's eyes lit up. "He's back? Where is he now?"
"I'm already waiting in the side hall."
Yan Xiuyun immediately walked towards the side hall and said, "Let Mr. Xu come as well."
…
"Your Highness, are you looking for me?" Xu Shiming walked in from outside, saluted to Yan Xiuyun, and then took off his cloak.
Yan Xiuyun smiled and pointed at a young man sitting next to him.
"Mr. Xu, I want to introduce someone to you. This is Xiao Yuan, Master Xiao. He is a well-versed swordsman in both literature and martial arts. He is a famous swordsman in Longyou and also my retainer. Master Xiao went back to his hometown to visit his relatives and just came back today. You two will meet often in the future."
"My name is Xu Shiming, nice to meet you, Mr. Xiao."
Xu Shiming bowed politely. The young master Xiao in front of him was dressed in black, with an upright posture. He looked like a martial artist. He also had a handsome face, sword-like eyebrows, and bright eyes. He could truly be called a handsome man.
Xiao Yuan also smiled and returned the greeting, very humbly, "Just now I heard His Royal Highness the Crown Prince mention Mr. Xu, saying that Mr. Xu is a man of great foresight, a man of immortal bearing, a man of extraordinary appearance, and a man of extraordinary ability. His reputation is indeed well-deserved."
The two of them flattered each other for a while before Yan Xiuyun got to the point and talked about what happened in the court this morning.
"From what Your Highness said, it seems that the Sixth Prince wanted His Majesty to grant a special pardon to the two students so that they could take part in the imperial examination next spring and enter the officialdom as soon as possible, but was dissuaded by the Third Prince, the Prince of Zhenbei, and that group of military generals?" Xiao Yuan said after listening.
Yan Xiuyun nodded, "It seems that those two students offended the King of Zhenbei, but from what I have seen in the court, my Sixth Uncle and my father seemed to have discussed it beforehand, but it was temporarily disrupted by King Qi and King Zhenbei."
Xiao Yuan asked again: "Has His Highness expressed his opinion?"
"No, so I wanted to hear your opinions."
Xiao Yuan fell into deep thought, and Xu Shiming said, "Since Your Highness is competing with the Third Prince, then talents are also a resource that Your Highness should strive for. Shiming believes that Your Highness can stand on the side of the Sixth Prince this time."
Yan Xiuyun looked at Xu Shiming for a moment and said jokingly, "If I remember correctly, the Zhu Jieyuan that the Sixth Uncle wants to recommend is Mr. Xu's classmate, right? Why is Mr. Xu so anxious to speak for his friend?"
"It's because we are classmates and friends that I understand each other." Xu Shiming pretended not to hear the temptation in Yan Xiuyun's words and smiled.
"If His Royal Highness Prince Qi knew about Zhu Jieyuan's ability, he might not have spoken on his father-in-law's side, the Prince of Zhenbei. At this time, if His Royal Highness stepped in to help Zhu Jieyuan, wouldn't His Royal Highness have another talented person under his command?"
Yan Xiuyun frowned slightly, "That Zhu Jieyuan is just a woman, is she really so powerful?"
"If Your Highness has time, you may as well go to the Ministry of Rites and take her essays from the provincial examination and read them. Then you will know whether Shi Ming is lying or not."
Yan Xiuyun looked at Xiao Yuan with a hint of resistance, asking for his opinion.
Xiao Yuan agreed, "Your Highness, I think what Mr. Xu said is correct. It would be a pity if such a talented person could not serve Your Highness."
"Well, since both gentlemen say so, I will find an opportunity to make suggestions to the emperor. Whether it will work or not depends on what the emperor thinks."
However, Xu Shiming heard a hint of perfunctoriness in Yan Xiuyun's tone.
At this moment, Eunuch Zhao suddenly walked in hurriedly from outside the door with a look of joy on his face.
"Your Highness! The imperial physician just came to check on the concubines in the Eastern Palace. The Crown Princess... The Crown Princess is pregnant!"
"Really?!" Yan Xiuyun stood up suddenly, his face full of excitement and joy.
With a "clang", the teacup in Xiao Yuan's hand fell to the ground.
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