Chapter 28 The Twenty-Eighth Kill

The little fish still has reason.

She quickly woke up from the beauty and listened to the movement inside.

From Zhou Xunran's scolding and the kneeling courtiers begging for mercy, Xiaoyu summarized what made Zhou Xunran angry this time.

The cause was an old couple from Qizhou who filed a complaint with the Dali Temple. They said that the Qizhou City Supervisor had abducted their daughter, tortured her and killed her, and dumped her body. Their daughter's body was torn apart by wild beasts, and now only half of her body was left. The officials in Qizhou protected each other and did not do anything about it.

They were helpless and had nowhere to turn to, so they had to come to the capital with great difficulty.

Xiaoyu was skeptical about this. It was not that she had no empathy, but according to what they said, the officials in Qizhou protected each other and almost forced them to death. Then how did they, an old couple who were powerless, get out of Qizhou?

Even if they could escape from the encirclement of Qizhou officials and come to the capital with great difficulty, how could they meet the officials of the Dali Temple and convince them to bring the old couple to file a complaint?

There must be someone behind this.

But Qizhou, this name sounds familiar.

Xiao Yuzi thought about it carefully. Qizhou! It was Qiutang and Wu Jing's hometown. They were happily packing their luggage, preparing to follow the Wu siblings back to Qizhou to get married.

Thinking of what Zhou Yi had said, Wu Jing's father seemed to be an official in Qizhou, but that position was too long, so Xiaoyu forgot it after hearing it once. Now, looking at the movements inside, Xiaoyu was a little worried, whether this matter would involve the Wu family.

When he looked up again, Xiaoyu saw three officials walking out of the hall with their heads lowered.

They did not see Emperor Wen Jing and Xiao Yu. The three of them supported each other, wiping the sweat from their faces from time to time, and walked slowly away with slightly hunched bodies and trembling legs.

Looking at it, it is indeed quite pitiful.

Xiaoyu pushed Emperor Wen Jing's arm away and walked into the hall carrying the food box.

Seeing Zhou Xunran leaning on the back of the chair, his body still tense, Zhou Yi stood beside him and noticed Xiaoyu first, "Xiaoyu, why are you here?"

Zhou Xunran quickly opened his eyes.

Emperor Wen Jing also walked in behind Xiao Yu. Zhou Yi bowed to him and said, "Greetings, Your Majesty!"

Zhou Xunran raised his hand, signaling Xiaoyu not to speak, and then pushed the file in his hand forward: "Your Majesty, please take a look at this matter first."

“Yes, teacher.”

Emperor Wen Jing had already heard most of what was said outside, but that was all eavesdropping. Seeing Zhou Xunran like this, he had no choice but to pretend that he had just arrived and picked up the file to read it carefully.

Zhou Xunran pointed to the desk opposite him and said, "Go over there. I want to hear your opinion on this case in half an hour."

Emperor Wen Jing walked to the desk on the other side with the file in his hand and sat down.

Zhou Xunran finally had time to look at the little fish: "What is this?"

Xiaoyu put down the food box and took out the soup bowl inside: "I made the medicinal porridge for you. The guards at the palace gate made me wait for more than an hour before letting me in. It might be a little cold."

Zhou Xunran touched the soup bowl with the back of his hand: "It's still warm, it's okay."

He picked up the soup bowl, stirred it with a spoon, lowered his head and took a sip.

Zhou Yi moved a stool for Xiaoyu and retreated to the door.

Xiaoyu didn't bother to be polite with him. She sat down and watched Zhou Xunran drink the porridge quietly. "It tastes good, right? The ingredients and medicine in it are carefully matched by me."

"Um."

Xiaoyu chuckled and her eyes fell on the Buddhist beads he placed on the table. She reached out and took it, put it on her wrist, and fiddled with the beads.

After playing for a while, Xiaoyu felt bored and his eyes turned to Emperor Wen Jing who was concentrating on reading the files opposite him.

By this time, the setting sun had already risen, the evening mist was heavy, and a pink glow shone in through the window edges, falling on the corner of Emperor Wen Jing's robe that was draped on the ground. Such a noble young man was truly dazzling.

He looked serious, his brows were slightly wrinkled, and his red, petal-like lips were tightly pursed, as if he was suppressing some anger.

Xiaoyu wanted to continue reading, but she felt someone tap her shoulder. She turned her head and looked at Zhou Xunran, who looked impatient, and asked, "What's wrong?"

"What's wrong? Do you know that facing His Majesty like this is a serious sin?" Zhou Xunran said.

Xiaoyu is now not afraid of his threat at all.

"Everyone loves beauty. Who doesn't like young and pretty things? I am no exception. Your Majesty, please stop blaming me for this and that all the time. It's really boring."

"Boring?" Zhou Xunran was amused by her words, "Why haven't I ever seen you look at me in such an 'interesting' way?"

Xiaoyu didn't even think about it and said, "You're too old."

Zhou Xunran: “….”

Yes, he remembered that she used to curse him in her heart for being an old man.

Zhou Xunran still wanted to save the situation: "I am only ten years older than you."

Xiaoyu held up two fingers and said, "Your Majesty is two years younger than me."

Zhou Xunran raised his head and drank the porridge in two big mouthfuls. "I'm done, and your mission is also completed. Hurry back to the palace."

[Tsk, you chased me away after saying nothing, how can you be so stingy? The emperor is younger and more beautiful than you~]

"Hurry back." Zhou Xunran urged her.

Xiaoyu refused: "I won't leave. I am your maid, so of course I have to follow you everywhere. You said it, and you are the regent. How can you go back on your word? What will you do if it gets out?"

Zhou Xunran stared at her and asked angrily, "Do you want to accompany me, or do you have another purpose?"

Xiaoyu smiled guiltily: "Isn't this just a chance to look at some pretty things and cultivate my eyes?"

Zhou Xunran wanted to say a few more words, but Emperor Wen Jing had already stood up and walked towards them: "Teacher, I've finished reading."

Zhou Xunran raised his hand, signaling him to stop, and then said to Xiaoyu: "Go wait at the door first. What I talked about with His Majesty is confidential, you can't listen."

Xiaoyu also knew that the more she listened, the faster she would die. But she still had reasonable reasons to suspect that Zhou Xunran did it on purpose!

Emperor Wen Jing was present at the moment, and Xiaoyu could not deny his face, so she had to stand up, walk outside the door angrily and sit down.

The door was far away from the hall, and she could neither hear nor see what Zhou Xunran and Emperor Wen Jing were doing.

But one could see court officials coming and going, walking into the hall with their heads lowered, and from time to time one could hear Zhou Xunran's rebuke, the court officials' panicked cries for mercy, or the court officials being so silent that one could hear a pin drop.

Finally, when they were released, some wiped their sweat and some breathed a sigh of relief.

Xiaoyu recalled Zhou Xunran's cold expression and couldn't help but feel more pity for these court officials.

When it was getting dark, Zhou Xunran finally came out. Xiaoyu stood up and walked towards him: "Prince, are you going back home?"

Seeing her jumping around, Zhou Xunran's stern expression turned back a little: "You've been sitting here for an entire afternoon, aren't your legs numb?"

Xiaoyu shook her head: "I'm not that stupid to sit still for the whole afternoon."

"Then you are really smart."

Xiaoyu followed him out proudly, "Prince, what were you talking about in there? I saw several adults leaving, and I was so scared that my collar was soaked with sweat."

By this time they had already walked to the square in front of the temple. Apart from the guards in the distance, there were only the two of them and Zhou Yi.

Zhou Yi held the lamp and walked in front.

The night wind was mixed with a chill, not biting, but enough to penetrate the clothes and soak into the skin.

Xiaoyu walked side by side with him, leaning sideways to block some of the cold wind blowing on him.

Zhou Xunran said: "In recent months, pirates have been rampant, hijacking many passing merchant ships, killing people and robbing goods, and southern merchants have suffered heavy losses. Some court officials have suggested a maritime ban and no longer trading with other countries."

Without thinking, Xiaoyu directly rebuked: "How can this be allowed? The pirates' behavior is the fault of the incompetent officials, not the merchants. Those people don't think about how to get rid of the pirates, but instead want to ban commercial trade. How shameless! Are they so shameless?"

As they got closer to the palace gate, the light beneath their feet began to turn from dark to light.

Zhou Xunran looked at the expression on her face, which was still filled with anger and condemnation towards those officials, so vivid and so bright.

"Prince, what did you say?" Xiaoyu asked unwillingly.

Zhou Xunran said: "As you said."

"I knew you were a righteous man, Your Majesty!"

The night lights at the palace gate reflected in her smiling eyes. Zhou Xunran withdrew his gaze from her face and asked, "Now you don't say I'm an old man?"

The two of them got on the carriage together. Xiaoyu laughed and said, "There is no conflict between righteousness and age."

Faced with her "frankness", Zhou Xunran glanced at her and said nothing more.

Xiaoyu rubbed against him, still remembering the old couple: "Your Majesty, how are you and His Majesty going to deal with the matter in Qizhou?"

Zhou Xunran said coldly: "You seem to be very concerned about this matter."

"Yes, Sister Qiutang and Wu Jing will be returning to Qizhou soon. I heard that the Wu family is also an official. Will they be implicated?"

Zhou Xunran lowered his eyelids. "The matter is still under investigation. If he is implicated, it is what he deserves."

Xiaoyu sighed, and Mrs. Wu gave up. She always felt that Uncle Wu was not as simple as he seemed.

I really hope they have nothing to do with this.

The carriage, which was moving steadily forward, suddenly stopped in silence. A woman's sharp cry came from far away at the end of the street, "Help! Someone come quickly! Someone is going to die!"

Zhou Yi sat in the carriage and asked Zhou Xunran for his opinion: "Prince?"

According to Zhou Xunran's usual character, he would just ignore it and walk away. But now Xiaoyu was sitting in the carriage, so Zhou Yi was a little undecided.

Sure enough, the next moment Zhou Xunran said, "Ask what's going on."

Xiaoyu lifted the car curtain and opened a tiny gap to look out.

The person stopping the car was a peasant-looking woman. Her clothes were slightly disheveled, and her hair was loose, with her black hair hanging down on her back and chest.

When she looked up, Xiaoyu saw blood at the corner of her mouth, as if she had just been beaten severely.

The weak and helpless peasant woman would not have stopped the car so late at night unless she had nowhere else to go.

Zhou Yi jumped off the carriage and stood in front of it, blocking the woman and the carriage. "Where are you from and what happened?"

The woman knelt down in front of the carriage, kowtowed repeatedly, and cried, "I ran away from home. If I don't leave now, I will be beaten to death. My husband lost money gambling outside at night and drank alcohol. He came back and beat me to vent his anger. Please save me, young lady."

After kowtowed dozens of times, her forehead was already red and swollen.

Xiaoyu put down the curtain, turned around and said to Zhou Xunran with certainty: "Prince, she is lying."

Zhou Xunran's Buddhist beads were still on her wrist. Zhou Xunran thought she had also acquired the ability to listen to her inner voice. His heart skipped a beat, and he asked with all his strength, "What do you mean?"