Chapter 31 The Thirty-First Kill

Xiaoyu increasingly felt that the events in Qizhou were closely related to the Wu family, and even Uncle Wu's family.

"Sister Qiutang, if Brother Jing knew that the Wu family accepted you because of this incident, and not because of your joint efforts, do you think he would feel good?"

Qiu Tang's eyes were somewhat withdrawn.

After a long while, she smiled bitterly and said, "Xiao Yu, I am narrow-minded, please don't take it to heart."

She knew Jing Ge well, so she naturally knew what Jing Ge liked and hated. If Jing Ge knew what she did today, he would be disappointed in her.

Xiaoyu held her hand as she tried to pull it away, and held it tightly: "Sister Qiutang, is Qizhou very dangerous? Why don't you stay here for now? Anyway, there is a place for you to stay in the capital. With me and the prince here, we will definitely be able to protect you."

Qiu Tang shook her head: "That is my and Jing's hometown. No matter it is good or bad, it is a place we care about in our hearts."

Xiaoyu knew she couldn't persuade her, "Then you should hide these banknotes and don't let anyone else know. Not even Brother Jing, understand? If anything happens in the future, it can help you a little."

Qiu Tang agreed and put the banknote close to her. "After today, I don't know if we will see each other again. Xiaoyu, take care."

Xiaoyu's eyes were filled with sadness. "Yeah, you too, have a safe journey."

Xiaoyu sent Qiutang to the carriage. Mrs. Wu had already got on the carriage. After Qiutang got on, Wu Jing and Uncle Wu sat on the carriage, raised the whip, and the carriage moved forward.

Xiaoyu watched the carriage going farther and farther away, feeling melancholy in her heart. Suddenly, she heard a voice in her ears, "Alas, all good things must come to an end."

Xiaoyu touched her chest and said, "Guardian Zhou, you scared me to death."

Zhou Yi chuckled and said, "You're scared by this? I thought you would be scared by the way I interrogated you in the private prison last night."

When he said that, Xiaoyu thought of the time when he interrogated Tian Xiaohui, his face was frightening and blood was even dripping from his chin. She said, "You are more frightening now when you are playing tricks on me."

Zhou Yi touched his smooth chin, thinking: "Really?"

Xiaoyu asked him, "Guardian Zhou, I want to ask you something."

"Um."

Xiaoyu said, "I remember that in the palace yesterday, didn't the prince hand over the Qizhou matter to His Majesty?"

Why does Qiutang ask to come to the prince now?

Zhou Yi's words were mixed with some disdain, and he said simply: "Your Majesty is not experienced in the world, how can he understand the twists and turns of this."

Xiaoyu realized that Zhou Yi looked down on Emperor Wen and Jing.

No, it was not just Zhou Yi who looked down on him. Even the Wu family, a family of officials in Qizhou, understood that Zhou Xunran was the only one in the capital who had a say in the court.

No wonder Emperor Wen Jing was so anxious to build up his own power.

Xiaoyu followed Zhou Yi into the mansion.

Thinking about going to the kitchen to prepare the silver thread tofu soup, she asked casually, "Guardian Zhou, has the prince had his breakfast? Tell him not to eat so much and save some food."

Doctor Chu once said that Zhou Xunran was weak, so he should eat small meals frequently and take nourishing foods slowly and not too hastily.

Zhou Yi said "ah" in confusion, "You mean the prince? He is discussing something in the study room. It seems to be a military matter. He even refused to let me in."

Xiaoyu didn't doubt him, "That should be very tiring. Guard Zhou, you go ahead and do your work. I'll go cook soup for the prince."

Watching her walk away, Zhou Yi patted his chest guiltily, then pretended to guard the study door.

Xiaoyu was unaware of his little trick. She returned to the kitchen and was focused on making the silver thread tofu soup that Zhou Xunran wanted to eat.

But before she even entered the kitchen, Xiaoyu felt that Zhang Chuanjiang and the other chefs and maids who were cutting vegetables and lighting the fire were all looking at her with concern.

Xiaoyu felt strange, but when she walked into the kitchen, she saw Nanny Zhao standing in front of her chopping board, staring at the tofu shreds that Xiaoyu had cut. She looked sneaky and suspicious no matter how she looked at her.

Perhaps she heard footsteps. Madam Zhao turned around and saw Xiaoyu. She took a breath with lingering fear, then came to her senses. "You cut this? Oh, your knife skills are so poor, and you dare to show off in front of Chef Zhang. Who gave you the face?"

Xiaoyu, relying on the fact that she was taller than her, crossed her arms over her chest and held her head high, looking down on Nanny Zhao with contempt.

"The prince gave me a face, so why do you still want to slap the prince's face? Of course, you are the prince's wet nurse, and everyone knows that you are the mistress of the palace. If you want to slap the prince's face, it's just a matter of raising your hand. Who can control you?"

Nanny Zhao always thought she was the most disciplined person in the palace, and she would always discipline the maids and old women by following the rules. Now Xiaoyu ridiculed her as a wet nurse for daring to violate the rules and beat her master. If the news got out, she would be dead.

"You're talking nonsense! When did I ever hit the prince?"

Xiaoyu raised her eyebrows and said, "How could we know this? We are not watching you all day long. Besides, you dare to openly question the prince's gaze, insult me ​​who is valued by the prince, and dare to attack the prince in private. It is understandable."

"You!" Nanny Zhao pointed at Xiaoyu, her body shaking with anger.

Xiaoyu stared at her finger and gently reminded her: "If you point again, I will break your finger."

Madam Zhao shrank back abruptly. "Humph, I want to see what delicacies you can make."

She swung her sleeves, put her hands behind her back, and walked away cursing under her breath.

There were people gathered in the kitchen. After all, Nanny Zhao was the head nanny of the palace. She needed to be dignified to manage the palace, otherwise how could she scare so many servants? Therefore, Xiaoyu did not provoke her again.

Ignoring the admiring looks from the people around him, Xiaoyu returned to his chopping board, took the tofu again, cut it into strips, and continued to make his own silver tofu soup.

By the time she carried the bowl of soup to Qingwu Courtyard, nearly an hour and a half had passed.

Zhou Xunran was sitting at his desk, looking down at something. Seeing Xiaoyu coming in, he put down what he was doing and watched her movements intently: "Is the silver thread tofu soup ready?"

Xiaoyu put the tray down and wanted to say something to him about how he loved to torture herself, but when she looked up, she saw that Zhou Xunran's face was pale and his spirit was much lower. He seemed to be forcing himself to sit still.

She was a little worried and reached out to touch Zhou Xunran's forehead. It felt a little cold, and the hair on his temples was wet with sweat and stuck tightly to his skin.

"What are you looking at, Your Majesty? You don't even care about your own body?"

Zhou Xunran sat quietly and let her move: "The emperor wrote this, expressing his views and suggestions on the affairs of Qizhou."

Xiaoyu took a thin blanket from the couch beside him and covered him with it, her brows furrowed. "This morning, Wu Jing and Sister Qiu Tang came to say goodbye to me. They are leaving for Qizhou today. Does the prince know about this?"

Zhou Xunran nodded. Perhaps this action touched some nerves. He lowered his head and coughed twice.

Xiaoyu quickly reached out to help him calm down, "You were fine yesterday, why is it so serious today?"

Zhou Xunran just focused on coughing, and his face turned a little red because of this action.

Xiaoyu looked at Zhou Yi who was standing by and said, "Guardian Zhou, have you asked Doctor Chu to come over?"

Zhou Xunran grabbed her wrist, took a breath, and then said, "It's okay, just take a rest."

"If you can get well by just taking a rest, then what's the point of having a doctor?" Xiaoyu muttered a few words, but in the end she didn't disobey him and handed him the silver thread tofu soup: "Eat something first."

Zhou Xunran took it, scooped some with a spoon and put it into his mouth.

While he lowered his head to eat, Xiaoyu looked at Zhou Yi.

Zhou Yi explained: "This matter is actually the fault of Tian Xiaohui. The prince kindly opened a separate courtyard for her to take care of her lover. Unexpectedly, she escaped in the middle of the night and wanted to assassinate Cao Shipeng. How could she assassinate Cao Shipeng so easily? In the end, she was caught. The prince took great efforts to rescue her."

He finished speaking in a few words, but Xiaoyu knew how hard it was. It was almost impossible to rescue someone from Cao Shipeng's clutches without being skinned alive by him.

Xiaoyu looked at Zhou Xunran, who had already finished the soup in the bowl. He pursed his lips and said, "It's okay. He is no match for me."

He glanced at Zhou Yi lightly, as if blaming him for being too talkative.

Zhou Yi held the bowl and walked out dejectedly: "I'll send it to the kitchen."

Xiaoyu reached out and touched Zhou Xunran's hand on the table. After drinking a bowl of hot soup, his body temperature rose a little and his palms felt warm.

There is not much meat on the hands, only skin and bones.

After Xiaoyu touched his hand, she let go and stuffed it under the thin quilt.

"My Lord, you can't keep going like this. You're always busy with this and that, and you never think about your health. Be careful or you'll die young."

Zhou Xunran laughed: "When I finish dealing with the affairs of state, His Majesty will be able to take over. It doesn't matter whether I die early or not."

"Puh, puh, puh!" Xiaoyu reached out and tapped him on the forehead three times. "What unlucky words are you saying? Follow my example and say them away."

Zhou Xunran widened his eyes slightly and looked at her quietly, without moving.

Seeing that he did not move, Xiaoyu asked, "My Lord, what's wrong?"

Zhou Xunran asked, "This is what your master taught you, right?"

This was the first time Zhou Xunran mentioned their master since he had forbidden her to call him "Junior Brother". Xiaoyu was stunned for a moment and nodded: "How did you know?"

Zhou Xunran's voice was long and deep, as if he was lost in memory: "When I was a child, I was very naughty, jumping up and down every day. One time, I fell from a tree and got hurt. I thought I was going to die. My mother came to see me, and when she heard me say that I was going to die, she pouted three times and asked me to hit myself on the forehead three times, saying that what I just said did not count and hoped that the gods would not blame me. Later, I also hit my master three times in the same way."

But now, the Master is gone, and the mother is gone too.

He was no longer the innocent boy in front of his master and mother.

He is the Regent King, who was entrusted with the care of the late Crown Prince when he was dying. He cannot relax for even a moment and is in charge of the entire court and is responsible for the people's livelihood.

Xiaoyu could see the loneliness and sadness in his heart without him having to say it out loud.

Xiaoyu didn't want him to fall into such an emotion. She thought for a moment and whispered, "Prince, since there is no one around, you can treat me as your mother and I will pat you three more times to help you recall your memories."

Zhou Xunran stared at her: "You are really good at giving points to your elders."

Good, no more sadness.

Xiaoyu said with a playful smile, "Thank you for the compliment, Your Majesty."

Seeing such shamelessness and unawareness, Zhou Xunran raised his voice helplessly and said, "Get out of here!"

His voice was full of energy and his face was rosy.

Xiaoyu stood up quickly: "Okay~"