Chapter 1250 The rabbit dies, the fox grieves; things of the same kind grieve.
The entire dining hall fell silent in an instant.
Although it was early morning and the sun was rising in the east, everyone felt a sudden darkness before their eyes, especially Shang Ruyi, whose heart skipped a beat.
Even though she was prepared, when it actually happened, the heavy weight that had been hanging over her heart for so long still sank heavily into her heart.
As expected, Yuwen Yuan still intended to kill Xiao Yuansui.
When Xiao Yuansui was brought back to Chang'an by Yuwen Cheng beforehand, Yuwen Ye had already foreseen this. Especially after they all returned to Chang'an, Yuwen Yuan rewarded so many people, but he didn't do anything to Xiao Yuansui. They couldn't even see his face. This made them even more certain that Xiao Yuansui had become a knife in Yuwen Yuan's hand.
This knife was specifically designed to target Yuwen Ye.
When Yuwen Ye went to Luoyang this time, he brought back more than 100,000 troops, many of whom came from Wanggang Village, such as Jiang Yan and Liang Youying; some had followed him in Luoyang and were captured after the city fell; and others were brought back after he swept through Hebei. Almost all of them were captured by Yuwen Ye in the Battle of Hulao Pass, such as Shi Yuxin and Shi Yutao.
Although these men no longer belonged to him, the mentality of surrendered soldiers has always been the most sensitive throughout history.
Moreover, these were over 100,000 surrendered soldiers!
If Yuwen Yuan were to kill Xiao Yuansui, how much unrest would it cause? And if Yuwen Ye were to take these people to Luoyang, how much trouble would it cause? It's simply unimaginable!
This is almost a radical solution!
That's so poisonous!
Thinking of this, Shang Ruyi couldn't help but grit her teeth. She looked up at Shen Tu Tai and Jiang Xing again, and sure enough, both of them looked solemn. Jiang Xing's brows were furrowed into a knot, and his hands were clenched into fists.
But he was able to hold back, and even though the veins on his forehead were throbbing, he didn't say anything. On the other hand, Shen Tu Tai clenched his fist and slammed it on the table with a "bang": "How can this be!"
Yuwen Ye looked up at him and said, "Shen Tu Tai."
"Your Highness!"
Shen Tu Tai said indignantly, "If it were just Xiao Yuan Sui's life, I would still protect him. After all, we were brothers, and I can't completely abandon him—of course, whether I can protect him or not is another matter; but this time, it's not just about his life. If His Majesty the Emperor really kills him, can't you imagine what chaos will ensue in the Twelve Guards!"
"..."
"How can you possibly get to Luoyang under these circumstances? Even if you do go, chaos in Luoyang is only a matter of time!"
Yuwen Ye didn't speak, but just frowned.
Jiang Yan took a deep breath and finally said, "Your Highness, we feel sorrow for the fallen, just as we feel for our own kind. For both the sake of sentiment and the situation, we cannot allow His Majesty to kill Xiao Yuansui!"
The rabbit dies, the fox grieves; animals grieve for their own kind…
These words also resonated with Shang Ruyi. She reached out and stroked Yuwen Ye's hand, saying in a deep voice, "I will accompany you to the palace to plead with Father Emperor."
Yuwen Ye frowned: "You're going too?"
It seems he has already made his plans.
Shang Ruyi said, "After all, I am a hero in this battle of Luoyang, so I can at least save face for him. Besides, even if I am not good at anything else, I can still try to please my father. It's a pity that Yuangan is a little better, otherwise bringing him into the palace would probably be more effective."
Yuwen Ye gave a wry smile. He had always been a very pragmatic person, but he was still a bit inferior to Shang Ruyi. She could even make the most of her own son.
So he waved his hand and said, "Alright, there's no need to bring him all along."
After the agreement was reached, the group quickly ate breakfast, and Shang Ruyi quickly dressed herself before following Yuwen Ye into the palace.
The two boarded the carriage at the entrance of the Prince's Mansion. Before leaving, Yuwen Ye lifted the curtain and looked at Shen Tu Tai and Jiang Yan, who were watching them leave, and said, "Send down the order to summon everyone else to the Prince's Mansion. Regardless of whether we succeed in pleading for mercy in the palace today, we must discuss our next steps after we return."
Shen Tu Tai immediately replied, "Yes!"
Then, with a shout from the driver, the carriage sped away.
Watching the carriage disappear at the end of the long street, Shen Tu Tai immediately turned around and ordered the men from the Prince's Mansion to harness him to a horse right away. Jiang Yan asked, "Where are you going?"
Shen Tu Tai said, "Didn't the King of Qin order everyone else to come back? I'll go find Shen Wuzheng myself!"
At this point, his breathing became even heavier, and he said, "It was his idea to have the emperor give Shangdang and Puban to the Prince of Qin. Now that things have escalated to this point, he can't stand idly by!"
Jiang Yan glanced at him: "Seventh Brother, didn't you agree with his idea when he came up with it?"
Shen Tu Tai was practically jumping up and down: "I had no choice. From beginning to end, I didn't agree with Your Highness going to Luoyang! Now look what's happened, not only are you going to Luoyang, but you can't even protect your men. What kind of mess is this!"
Jiang Xing, however, was not as anxious as he was. He said, "But I think that with Lord Shen's intelligence, he should have been able to foresee this outcome and should have a plan to deal with it."
"Hmph, I hope it's as you wish."
As Shen Tu Tai spoke, the horse was already harnessed. He mounted the horse, gave a shout, and immediately spurred it on and galloped away.
After he left, Jiang Yan ordered the guards of the Prince's Palace to notify the others, while he himself stayed at the Prince's Palace, waiting for the Prince and Princess of Qin to return, as well as for everyone else.
Before long, Shen Wuzheng, Pei Xingyuan, Shan Tong'er, Liang Youying, and others arrived at the Prince's residence. The Prince and Princess Qin had not yet returned, and everyone gathered in the main hall as they had when discussing important matters before. Although the weather was hot and the sun was shining brightly, the atmosphere in the hall was as oppressive as a dark cloud, making it hard to breathe, and everyone's face was gloomy.
The only one who remained calm and composed, even sitting there leisurely drinking tea, was Shen Wuzheng.
Shen Tu Tai couldn't help but say to him, "Lord Shen, you came up with the idea, so you have to solve the problem!"
Upon hearing this, everyone looked over. Before Shen Wuzheng could speak, Pei Xingyuan immediately said, "Hey, General Shentu, weren't we talking about the Emperor wanting to kill Xiao Yuansui today? Why are we bringing up things from before again?"
Shen Tu Tai said, "If Shen Wuzheng hadn't suggested that the Emperor hand over Shangdang and Puban to the Prince of Qin, thus angering the Emperor, how could things have turned out this way?"
"..."
"Lord Pei, do you dare say that the Emperor didn't want to kill Xiao Yuansui because of those two places?"
Well—
Pei Xingyuan rolled his eyes and then said, "One thing at a time."
No sooner had he finished speaking than Shi Yuxin on the other side said, "One thing can't be separated from another."
Pei Xingyuan said, "General, why are you here too—"
Shi Yu thought to himself, "General Shentu is right. The Emperor's decision to kill Xiao Yuansui was indeed caused by the Prince of Qin's demand for Shangdang and Puban. Otherwise, why wasn't Xiao Yuansui killed after being brought back for so long, but only now, after the Prince of Qin has taken those two places?"
"..."
"Moreover, this killing is a decisive blow."
"..."
"Even if I can rest easy now that Xiao Yuansui is dead, and my brother can rest easy, how can our subordinates be at ease?"
"..."
"If we kill Xiao Yuansui today, who will we kill tomorrow?"
"..."
"If everyone continues to live in fear like this, it will inevitably lead to disaster sooner or later."
Shen Tu Tai immediately said, "That's right!"
Hearing them say that, even Pei Xingyuan, who was eloquent, couldn't say anything. He could only wipe the sweat from his forehead and look down to see Shen Wuzheng beside him still calmly drinking his tea, as if the argument in the hall had nothing to do with him.
Pei Xingyuan also got anxious: "Old Shen, say something!"
Shen Wuzheng lifted his eyelids and glanced at him, then looked at Shen Wuzheng and the others who were anxiously blushing, and slowly put down the cup in his hand, saying, "It's no use talking about this now. Let's talk about it when the Prince of Qin and the Princess return from the palace."
Shan Tong'er said, "They won't be back so soon, will they?"
Shen Wuzheng shook his head, glanced at the sun outside which was not yet high in the sky, and said, "Don't worry, we'll be back soon."
As if his words had come true, a moment later, they heard someone outside shouting, "The Prince of Qin is back!" Everyone got up to greet him and saw Yuwen Ye leading Shang Ruyi, the two of them walking in with solemn expressions.
Just by looking at their expressions, you could tell that the outcome was not optimistic.
Seeing everyone gathered there, Yuwen Ye didn't say much. He waved his hand, indicating that those who came forward to pay their respects didn't need to be so polite. He then led Shang Ruyi inside and sat down. Shen Tu Tai was the first to ask, "Your Highness, how is it?"
Yuwen Ye remained silent with a somber expression. Shang Ruyi then said, "The Emperor refuses to see us."
"..."
Everyone's brows furrowed even more deeply.
Shang Ruyi herself was also extremely heavy-hearted—they rushed into the palace in a great hurry, but the emperor still refused to see them, citing a headache as the reason. He made the two of them wait outside the Liangyi Hall for a long time without showing up. Later, it was only after Eunuch Yu quietly signaled to them that they did not need to wait any longer that the two of them left the palace and returned.
It seems that Yuwen Yuan is really going all out this time.
An emperor is, after all, an emperor. He cannot tolerate others bullying him again and again, even if that person is his son who conquered half the country for him. The supreme power of the emperor is often manifested in the people closest to him.
Shen Tu Tai became even more anxious. He turned to Shen Wuzheng and said, "Lord Shen, you have to give us an explanation this time. We can't just stand by and watch the emperor kill Xiao Yuansui. If that happens, the Twelve Guards will be in chaos. Not to mention whether we'll go to Luoyang, it'll be hard to say whether we can even survive!"
Yuwen Ye and Shang Ruyi also turned to look at Shen Wuzheng.
He silently raised his head, his clear eyes like a tranquil blue lake, and said calmly, "If Xiao Yuansui is killed, the Twelve Guards will be thrown into chaos?"
Everyone looked at each other, finding the question utterly ridiculous.
Shen Tu Tai said, "Of course!"
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