The moon was bright and the stars were sparse. The cold wind howled in the quiet night, like a giant beast lurking in the heavy oppression of the palace. The stars reflected the flashing torches, and the uniform footsteps became an indispensable embellishment of the entire imperial city.
The cold wind hit the shaking windowsill. The house was silent. The candlelight swayed enchantingly, casting two long slanted black shadows on the beams.
Chen Xin held onto Xiao Ming tightly to prevent herself from falling, but when she saw the people coming in, she couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief, fortunately they had escaped early.
“Ahem…”
The only sound in the luxurious and noble house was the old man's violent coughing. The man who came was wearing a jade crown and a golden crown. If you looked closely, you could see that he looked somewhat like the old man. At this moment, his face was gloomy, but there was still a bit of pride in his eyes. He just looked coldly at the old man who was hunched over on the dragon couch.
"Father, you have been wise all your life, how could you be schemed against by a remnant of the Gu family?"
The Third Prince narrowed his eyes, and suddenly took out a packet of powder from his arms and threw it on the bed, "This smell, are you familiar with it?"
Looking at the powder in front of him, the old man was stunned for a moment, but he still stretched out his hand tremblingly to pick up the thing, and looked at the person who came in disbelief, "How...how did you get this thing?"
Hearing this, the Third Prince suddenly laughed loudly, and paced in front of the bed with his hands behind his back, "So, Father, you are old, and even your mind is confused. Do you really think that only Gu Qin has this thing?"
At this point, he looked at the old man and said in a deep voice, "This is a medicine secretly grown by the royal family of the Western Region. A small amount can relieve pain, but a large amount will be like □□. Once it is cut off, it will make people live a life worse than death. Few people have heard of this medicine, but father should not succumb to the other party's tricks and hand over all military power to that remnant of the Gu family. Has father forgotten why his father died?"
"It was your order personally to behead Gu Qingan as a warning to the public!"
The sound seemed to echo in the room. Shen Xin, who was sitting on the beam, frowned slightly. She had heard a little about this matter. No wonder Gu Qin became so cruel and ruthless that he used such drugs to control the old emperor. If she guessed correctly, this should be considered a kind of opium. Therefore, no matter what Gu Qin did, the old emperor turned a blind eye.
“You...how did you know that..." The old man leaned against the head of the bed, panting, with an extremely ugly look on his face.
The Third Prince sneered, "If you don't want others to know, then you better not do it yourself. Gu Qin thought he did it perfectly, but your Majesty, staying in the Palace of Heavenly Purity all day long really makes people suspicious, so I had someone find this thing in the cabinet when you weren't paying attention. I didn't expect that this is how you were controlled by the remnants of evil!"
"But it doesn't matter anymore, because I have this thing in my hand. As long as my father hands over the will of succession, I won't have to be coerced by Gu Qin anymore."
Looking at the ambition that could not be concealed in his son's eyes, the old emperor suddenly coughed violently but did not say a word.
Seeing that he was unwilling to hand over the things, the Third Prince's face could not help but flash a trace of cruelty, "Father, who are you waiting for to save you? My brother is already busy with his own affairs. All the troops of Gu Qin have been mobilized. Even the seal for mobilizing the imperial guards is in my hands. Now the palace is full of my people. You should understand that the winners are the kings and the losers are the bandits. I am no worse than my brother. Why can he be the crown prince? Is it just because he has a legitimate mother, the empress?!"
Seeing him take out a red seal, the old emperor coughed even more violently. Even Shen Xin on the beam changed his expression. He couldn't help but glance at Xiao Ming beside him. He didn't know how the third prince got this thing.
The Third Prince took a step forward and grabbed the old man's collar, his eyes dark, "You are still unwilling to help me now?"
A trace of murderous intent flashed in his eyes. The old man closed his eyes and his face turned pale. Suddenly he raised his hand and pointed, then began to cough laboriously.
Following the direction he pointed, the Third Prince hurried to a landscape painting on the wall and tore it off. He saw that there was indeed a bright yellow imperial edict tucked behind it. He opened it impatiently, and suddenly his whole body tensed up when he saw the contents inside.
The people on the beams also saw the contents of the imperial edict. Shen Xin frowned and looked at Xiao Ming beside him. The latter also looked unhappy, with his fists clenched as if he was enduring something.
"Hahaha--"
The Third Prince grabbed the imperial edict and came to the dragon bed. He looked at the old man on the bed with bloodshot eyes and said in a cold voice, "Father is really a good father. You have paved all the way for my brother. What are we?"
She became more and more violent, but unexpectedly he suddenly grabbed the old man's neck with one hand, with murderous intent on his face.
The man on the beam seemed to be hesitating, but at this moment, footsteps suddenly came from outside the house, the door was suddenly kicked open, and a group of imperial guards armed with bows and arrows rushed in.
The Third Prince's expression changed, and he saw a calm figure slowly walking up from the crowd. Seeing him, the Third Prince suddenly took out the red seal and said, "Quickly take down the Crown Prince!"
Looking at the seal that could mobilize the Imperial Guards, all the Imperial Guards did not move, as if they did not recognize it.
The Third Prince’s expression changed drastically. This is impossible. This was given to him by the Grand Tutor. It must be true!
Xiao Jing took a step forward and looked at the people over there, frowning slightly, "Third brother, if you know your mistakes and can correct them, I believe that the emperor will not punish you too much."
——
The night was as dark as ink. The entire Xia Mansion was so silent that only the sound of the cold wind could be heard. Many servants were still guarding outside the house. The people inside the house had solemn expressions and no one knew what they were waiting for.
Without eating the food sent by the mansion, Xia Tong sat on the couch, thinking about something. It had been such a long time, why didn't Xifeng come in? He was so vigilant, he should not have thought of these things.
And how is Gu Qin doing? Why are the old ladies putting him under house arrest?
Until this moment, there were bursts of light suddenly coming from outside the house, and the sound of noisy and harsh footsteps, followed by screams one after another. The two Lius in the house hurriedly went to the window to look.
Until the door was kicked open with a bang, Xifeng suddenly walked in with a few people. The servant outside was as fragile as a kite in his hands.
"Why did you come just now?" Xia Tong's face lit up with joy and she quickly jumped off the couch.
Seeing that the princess was not hurt, Xifeng also breathed a sigh of relief and said respectfully, "The prince said that it would be a good idea for you to remember this lesson so that you won't run around again next time."
Xia Tong: "..."
So she was so worried, but it was all in vain!
Knowing that the princess must be in a bad mood, Xifeng could only quickly say, "The prince is in the front hall now."
After saying that, he couldn't help but look at Xia Zhian again. Fortunately, this Lord Xia was not so foolish as to get involved with the Grand Tutor's Mansion, otherwise even the princess would not be able to protect him.
Hearing this, Xia Tong hurriedly lifted her skirt and ran to the front hall. At this time, the entire Xia Mansion was brightly lit and had been surrounded by Gu Qin's men. She couldn't believe it. Wasn't there going to be a big commotion in the palace tonight? Why was he here?
In the front hall, a group of people from the Xia Mansion were kneeling on the ground, shivering with their heads down and not daring to speak. Sitting at the top was a man in a black robe with a cold temperament. The atmosphere in the whole room was so depressing that it made people feel breathless.
When Xia Tong arrived at the front hall, she saw her uncle and his men all kneeling on the ground with fear on their faces, surrounded by imperial guards holding swords and waiting. Gu Qin was sitting leisurely at the top, playing with the jade ring he had recently made.
"Why aren't you in the palace?" She quickly ran towards the man.
The woman was still wearing a furry fox fur hat, revealing only half of her fair face. After she ran over, the man took her cold hand and said in a low voice, "Why is the king in the palace?"
The internal strife within the royal family has nothing to do with him.
Hearing this, Xia Tong couldn't help but frowned and looked at him curiously, "So what did you do before?"
She always thought he was very busy. Since he didn't go to the palace, what was he doing leaving home early and coming back late every day?
"I have seen your Majesty."
At this time, Xia Zhian also came to the front hall. Seeing him, Xia Lin and others seemed to see some hope. They kept looking at him with pleading eyes, hoping that he would consider family affection and save them.
"Your Highness, we know we are wrong. It was the Emperor who issued the decree, and my father had no choice but to stamp it. This time, it was the Grand Tutor who threatened us. Otherwise, we would not dare to act this way even if we had ten times the courage!"
Xia Min and others knelt on the ground and could not help begging, as if they thought that the Regent would consider the fourth girl and let them go.
Looking at the group of two-faced people in front of her, Xia Tong felt chilled at this moment. Even if Gu Qin wanted to let them go, she was unwilling to do so. Everyone's tolerance was limited, not to mention that these people had done so many disgusting things. Keeping them would only indulge them more.
After looking at the sky outside, Gu Qin suddenly stood up, pulled Xia Tong and walked straight out without saying a word.
After everyone left the front hall, Xifeng waved his hand and said, "There was a fire in the Xia Mansion today, and no one was spared."
The Xia family is doomed, so even if someone knows the truth, no one will investigate further. Moreover, this is not the first time that has happened.
"No! You can't do this!"
Xia Lin and the others suddenly tried to run away frantically, but were all held back by the guards, leaving Xia Zhian standing there trembling with a pale face.
When Xifeng came to Xia Lin, he suddenly kicked him in the chest. "Back then, all 56 members of the Gu family died. Lord Xia should know this better than anyone else."
From the beginning to the end, the master never intended to let these people go, but they still wanted to fight back. It was really a pipe dream.
A group of people slumped on the ground, their faces full of despair. However, Xifeng suddenly turned around and glanced at Xia Zhian, "Didn't Master Xia move to a new mansion? Do you still want to stay?"
Given the master's personality, he should have killed everyone in the Xia Mansion. However, Xia Zhian was sensible and had always been trying to please the master. He had not gone along with the Grand Tutor's Mansion. The most important thing was the princess's father.
——
After leaving the Xia Mansion and getting on the carriage, Xia Tong couldn't help but glance at the gate to see if his parents had come out, but the carriage suddenly started moving.
After walking for a while, they saw a blazing fire in the sky not far away, which was the direction of the Xia Mansion.
Xia Tong looked back at the man who was reading a book and couldn't help but whispered, "Actually, there is something I haven't told you."
The man raised his eyes and looked at her quietly.
"Daddy just told me today that it was my uncle who betrayed your father." She felt it necessary to let Gu Qin know the truth.
Hearing this, the man's expression changed slightly, and he didn't seem surprised. He just took her hand and said softly, "Are you clear-headed today?"
Knowing what he was talking about, Xia Tong also discovered that the other party seemed to have known about this matter for a long time, but why did he only deal with the people in the Xia Mansion now?
"If that's the case, why did you save them last time?" She pursed her lips as if puzzled.
Continuing to read the book, the man opened his lips slightly and said, "Give your father a chance."
The carriage suddenly became silent. Xia Tong did not speak. There might be another reason, which was to let herself see the disgusting faces of that family clearly. In this way, even if he did something to the Xia family, she would not have any other thoughts.
The carriage was shaking, and she suddenly leaned over and rested her head on the man's shoulder, hugged his arm and whispered: "Actually, I have always wanted to say sorry to you."
One can imagine how much of a shock it was to Gu Qin when the Gu family was confiscated. He has been thinking about his own feelings, otherwise the Xia Mansion would have ceased to exist long ago.
"I want to pay my respects to my father-in-law some other day." She said in a serious tone, frowning.
Looking at the little head leaning on his shoulder, Gu Qin glanced at it and said in a light voice: "Father has always disliked these empty things, but if you can continue the Gu family's lineage, he will be pleased in the afterlife."
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