Chapter 114 Storm
"Your Majesty, please spare me, Your Majesty, please spare me!" A disheveled man was pulled off the bed by the secret guards.
Song Yuzhu pulled out the dagger for self-defense from her waist, raised the man's face and said, "Raise your head!"
The man raised his head tremblingly, his eyebrows and eyes were surprisingly similar to Zhao Xiao's, but he lacked Zhao Xiao's battle-hardened courage.
"What's your name and where are you from?"
The man was trembling with fear: "My name is Chen Xiao. I received a message from the eunuch, saying that I should serve the emperor, so I came to the palace."
"Eunuch? Which eunuch?"
The man raised his head and glanced at Eunuch Li next to him.
"Li Dehai!"
"I'm here." Li Dehai was so scared that he fell to his knees.
"Did you let this person in?"
Li Dehai quickly shook his head and said, "Even if I were to eat the courage of a bear or a leopard, I would not dare to do such a thing!"
There are very few people who know about the relationship between Song Yuzhu and Zhao Xiao. Li Dehai is one of them, but he really doesn't have the courage to do such a thing.
"Chen Xiao... Haha, even the names are somewhat similar. Who sent you? Tell the truth and I will spare your life."
The man insisted that it was Li Dehai who sent the message: "I am just a guard at the palace gate. Without the order from Eunuch Li, how dare I run to the harem without permission?"
Li Dehai rushed over and slapped him in the face, "What nonsense! I have been with His Majesty all day, how could I have the time to pass on the news to you!"
Song Yuzhu raised her hand to stop Li Dehai: "You said that it was Eunuch Li who gave you the news. Do you have any proof?"
The guard looked up at Song Yuzhu, then immediately lowered his head and said, "The eunuch who brought me the message said... that His Majesty doesn't like women, but prefers men, and that he likes my figure and appearance... If I can spend a night with the emperor, I will be promoted and rich in the future..."
Song Yuzhu sneered, "Do you remember what the eunuch who delivered the message looked like?"
Chen Xiao nodded: "She is not tall, has big eyes, and there is a black mole at the corner of her mouth."
Li Dehai was stunned: "Is it Xiao Qiuzi?" Xiao Qiu was a eunuch under his command. He was the sweetest-talker on weekdays and Li Dehai was willing to promote him. Who would have thought that the boy was so bold as to spread such news privately.
"Your Majesty, I am innocent. I have never said such a thing to Xiaoqiu."
Song Yuzhu said: "Send someone to find Xiaoqiu."
Soon the secret guards brought the eunuch named Xiaoqiu. The boy said nothing at first, and then suddenly bumped into the pillar next to him without saying a word.
Song Yuzhu was startled: "Stop him quickly!"
Because the incident happened suddenly, the secret guards had no time to stop him, and the boy actually hit his head and died!
Song Yuzhu hurried forward to check, only to see that the young eunuch's pupils had dilated and he could not be saved. What kind of thing could require death to be used to conceal it?
Once Xiaoqiu died, the clues were cut off. Li Dehai was so anxious that he burst into tears. He couldn't clear himself even if he jumped into the Yellow River!
"What should I do? This is not news from me..."
Song Yuzhu waved her hand tiredly and said, "Take the man away and deal with him."
"Yes." The secret guard dragged the guard out.
Li Dehai knelt beside him and said in a tearful voice: "Your Majesty..."
"You should leave as well. It's getting late and I need to rest."
"Hey..." Li Dehai got up and helped Song Yuzhu turn off the lights, then tiptoed to close the door. He was filled with hatred in his heart, wondering who was trying to frame him.
The bedroom was quiet, Song Yuzhu was lying on the bed with cold hands and feet. Today's incident was obviously aimed at him, but fortunately it was just a robbery. What if it was an assassination? With his skills, he might be killed before the secret guards came.
The comfortable life in the past few years made him almost forget what kind of era he was living in. If he was assassinated, all his previous efforts would be wasted. What would happen to his family and his lover who was far away in a foreign country?
Song Yuzhu didn't dare to think about it. He covered himself tightly with the quilt and curled up, feeling tired for the first time.
If only Zhao Xiao was here... Once this thought came up, it would not fade away for a long time. Song Yuzhu was not an emotional person, and being too emotional would not allow him to be a doctor, but at this moment he wished Zhao Xiao could be with him, at least he would feel safe.
After a long time, Song Yuzhu finally fell asleep. However, she did not sleep well that night and had many bizarre nightmares.
First, I dreamed that I was performing surgery on a person on an operating table. The knife was cutting open the body, but the person on the operating table suddenly opened his eyes and said, "You can't save me."
Song Yuzhu looked at the blood on his hands and shook his head: "No, I can save him."
The man smiled, lay back on the operating table and said, "I am already seriously ill, no one can save me."
"Then give it a try!"
"Young man, you are very brave and courageous. I hope you can save me..."
The scene changed, and Song Yuzhu returned to the bedroom. He saw lightning and thunder outside, and the bedroom was pitch black.
Song Yuzhu shouted, "Someone, turn on the lights!"
There was no one in the bedroom, as if all the servants had disappeared.
Song Yuzhu was a little panicked. He vaguely saw someone lying on the bed. Song Yuzhu slowly walked over, lifted the bed curtain, and saw that the person lying on the bed was Zhao Xiao!
Song Yuzhu rushed over in surprise and hugged Zhao Xiao: "Ah Xiao, when did you come back!"
The man opened his eyes and looked at him, then suddenly laughed softly: "Your Majesty, do you like your servant like this?"
Song Yuzhu suddenly let go of her hand and took a few steps back in fright. The person on the bed turned out to be the guard named Chen Xiao.
He got off the bed, walked to Song Yuzhu, took his hand and stroked it: "Isn't the emperor fond of men? How am I inferior to General Zhao?"
Song Yuzhu's hair stood on end. He pushed him and shouted, "You are not as good as him in any way! Someone, come quickly!"
Li Dehai, who was standing guard outside, heard the voice and hurried in with a lamp: "Your Majesty, I am here, I am here."
Song Yuzhu woke up from a nightmare, opened her eyes and looked at the people around her, then looked around, only then did she realize that she had a nightmare.
"What time is it?"
"Your Majesty, it is just past the hour of Chou. You should get some more sleep."
"I can't sleep. Please change my clothes for me." Song Yuzhu sat up and felt stiff all over. His back was soaked with cold sweat. It was true that what you think about during the day you will dream about at night.
Li Dehai took the clothes, helped Song Yuzhu put on his clothes, and poured him a cup of hot tea.
"Li Dehai, what kind of emperor do you think I am?"
"Ah? Slave...slave dare not say."
"You said, I acquit you." Song Yuzhu picked up the teacup and took a sip.
"I think you are the best emperor. Although I have never served other emperors, I think it is rare to find an emperor as dedicated, diligent and caring as Your Majesty."
Song Yuzhu smiled after hearing this. It turned out that everyone likes to hear nice words.
The reforms he had carried out in the past few years had affected the interests of many people. Although he wanted Daqi to become a better place, he was also a thorn in the eyes of many people. I don't know how many people wished he would die sooner.
"I think so too, so I should be more ruthless and more resolute, so that those evil thieves will be afraid of me, fear me, and stand in awe of me." The more they act like this, the more I must not let them get what they want!
Li Dehai glanced at Song Yuzhu and felt that the emperor seemed to have changed... It was hard to say whether he had changed for the better or for the worse, but he had become more like an emperor.
Song Yuzhu clenched his fist and coughed twice: "Cough, cough, cough, it's almost dawn, get ready to go to court."
"yes."
*
The death of Xiao Huangmen did not mean that Song Yuzhu would no longer pursue the matter. He would not be at peace if he did not get rid of the person who dared to place someone next to him.
After the morning court session, Song Yuzhu summoned Liu Yanzi into the palace and asked Xuanyi Tower to investigate the matter.
Seeing that he looked pale and coughed from time to time, Liu Yanzi could not help but said, "Your Majesty, please take care of yourself..."
Song Yuzhu looked up at him, and said with a smile in her eyes: "It's okay, I have already taken the medicine."
Liu Yanzi: "Let me send you a few more good men. I have already reprimanded those secret guards yesterday." It is really incompetent that they allowed strangers to break into the emperor's bedroom.
"Okay." Song Yuzhu was naturally willing. He was not afraid of death now, but he was afraid of dying unclearly.
He has not yet appointed an heir. If he is assassinated, Daqi will be destroyed. At that time, it will not only be his family members who will be implicated, but also millions of ordinary people.
"Those two men are highly skilled in martial arts, but their personalities are somewhat strange. I hope Your Majesty will bear with them if they say something wrong."
"It doesn't matter." Capable people all have strange personalities, but Song Yuzhu doesn't care about that.
"I will bring these two people into the palace this afternoon." Liu Yanzi said and then left. He still had to investigate who was behind Xiao Qiuzi's actions.
Song Yuzhu had no appetite at noon. Perhaps it was because of the mother-son bond, Jiang Rong actually sent someone to bring her some lotus shrimp dumplings. Song Yuzhu reluctantly ate a few, drank a prescription to dispel the cold, and fell into a deep sleep.
He had another dream during this sleep. In the dream, he seemed to be floating on the sea, and he saw the Hope sailing slowly not far away.
The sea was clear the moment before, and suddenly it was covered with dark clouds and strong winds the next moment.
The sea breeze blew up waves several feet high, which kept hitting the Hope. The huge ship seemed to have become a small boat swaying in the water, and it would sink into the sea if it was not careful.
Song Yuzhu was extremely anxious. He wanted to shout loudly, but no sound came out of his throat. He exerted all his strength and woke up from the couch.
Just then, Li Dehai walked in from outside: "Your Majesty, Lord Liu is here with two secret guards."
Song Yuzhu rubbed his face and said, "Let them in."
Liu Yanzi walked in with two men in shorts. Both of them had hoods on their heads so their faces couldn't be seen clearly, but their body shapes were very different.
One was nine feet tall and as strong as a mountain, while the other was short and slender, half a head shorter than Liu Yanzi.
The two took off their hoods and knelt down, saying, "I, the humble Heidao, and Baixiu, pay my respects to Your Majesty."
"Please stand up." Although Song Yuzhu didn't know these two people, she had heard Zhao Xiao mention Bai Xiu. At that time, the girl of Song Quan's family was kidnapped, and it was these two who helped to find her.
Originally these two were wandering knights in the martial arts world and were not under anyone's control. However, they had offended too many enemies in the martial arts world over the years and were hunted everywhere. They had no place to go so they came to Xuanyi Tower to seek refuge.
Liu Yanzi mentioned to them the mission of entering the palace to protect the emperor, and they readily agreed. After all, there was no place suitable for them to hide from their enemies.
The two were very skilled in martial arts, and ordinary people were no match for them. Especially Bai Xiu, who had five sensitive senses. Not only did she have a strong sense of smell, but her hearing was also much stronger than that of ordinary people. With her by her side, Song Yuzhu was like having a very sensitive alarm, and she would detect anything wrong.
Liu Yanzi said: "From now on, the two of you will stay in the palace to protect the emperor. You must not leave at will. Can you do this?"
Heidao was still hesitating, but Baixiu agreed immediately: "I can do it! As long as Your Majesty can let me eat well and dress well, I will stay in the palace~"
She had long been tired of the fighting and killing in the underworld, and now that she could find a place to retire, she was extremely happy.
Song Yuzhu's heart moved: "If you don't mind, you can pretend to be my concubine, and eat and wear according to your rank, how about that?"
Bai Xiujiao smiled and said, "Then I would be disrespectful to refuse it~"
When Heidao saw her staying, he quickly said, "I'll stay too, but I don't want to be a concubine."
Bai Xiu punched him and said, "Look at you, which concubine can be as fat as you!"
"What's wrong with being fat? I'm still strong!"
Liu Yanzi frowned and whispered, "Don't be rude in front of the emperor!"
The two of them shut their mouths in disappointment.
Song Yuzhu made the decision and said, "How about this? Heidao, you stay by my side as a eunuch, and Baixiu, you pretend to be a concubine and stay in the harem. I will allow you to receive 100 taels of silver as wages every month. How about that?"
When Heidao heard Qian's eyes widen, he didn't care that he had to pretend to be a father-in-law and nodded in agreement.
Bai Xiu smiled and threw a wink: "Thank you for your grace, Your Majesty~"
The two were taken away by Li Dehai to change clothes, leaving only Liu Yanzi standing by.
"I just checked the background of Xiao Qiuzi. He has been in the palace for four years. He sold himself to enter the palace when he was fourteen. The household registration says he has a younger sister, but she has not been found yet. However, I have sent people to look for her."
“Thank you for your trouble.”
"This is what I should do. Zhao Xiao... Is there still no news about General Zhao?"
“Not yet.”
Liu Yanzi said, "General Zhao has been gone for more than a year, and I don't know when he will be back. Before he left, he specifically told me to protect you."
Song Yuzhu didn't say anything. He thought of the dream he had just had and felt a little uneasy. He could only comfort himself that dreams are the opposite of what they used to be, and Zhao Xiao and the others must be safe and sound.
"If there is nothing else, I will withdraw first."
"Go ahead."
*
"Go clean up the water in the cabin!"
"yes!"
The huge raindrops hit Zhao Xiao's face, making it impossible for him to open his eyes, and his clothes were soaked.
Half a month ago, they set out from Andon Tep to England, the last stop of their trip, but they did not expect the weather to change suddenly.
This was the worst weather they had ever encountered during their voyage. The strong wind raised the sea water several feet high. The Hope swayed on the sea and the people on board could hardly stand firm.
It has been raining heavily since yesterday as if the sky was leaking. The tarpaulin in the middle of the deck was washed away, and the rainwater that could not be drained away in time flowed along the deck into the cargo hold.
The silk in the warehouse is afraid of water. Once soaked by water, the silk will become worthless, resulting in a huge loss of silver.
The soldiers were busy cleaning up the rain water, and Antonio and others also came to help.
I'm going home soon, I hope nothing unexpected happens.
He kept praying. It was the first time he had seen such strong winds and waves. The entire sea surface seemed like boiling water, rolling non-stop, and the boat was almost capsized several times.
Yao Qing, who was in charge of observation, shouted, "General, we found an island fifteen miles ahead. Should we go there to take shelter?"
If you approach the island rashly, you may run the risk of running aground, but if you stay on the sea, you may also be overturned by strong winds.
Zhao Xiao thought for a moment and said, "Prepare to go to the island to avoid danger!"
(End of this chapter)
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