Several other officials also went to see the wound on Xiao's neck, saying in unison: "Fortunately, the wound is not deep, it should be just a superficial injury."
"Prime Minister Xiao, how do you feel?"
"Did you hit your head..."
“…”
The chaotic sounds around him seemed to penetrate into Xiao Shoufu's ears, yet they were both near and far away. In the confusion, Xiao Shoufu grasped the key words among them.
So, he wasn't seriously injured? Shocked, Xiao raised his hand to cover the wound, and felt warm and sticky blood. However, he could feel that the wound was not bleeding much.
So, his life was saved?! Soon, Xiao Shoufu climbed up from the ground with the help of two officials. His official hat fell off, revealing his gray hair and a slightly messy bun, with several strands of hair scattered around the bun.
Prime Minister Xiao, who was usually well-dressed and meticulous in his nearly twenty years in the court, was in such a miserable state for the first time.
Not only did the wound on my neck hurt, but all the bones in my body also hurt. I had just fallen pretty hard.
At this moment, Xiao Shoufu no longer cared about the pain in his body. He barely stood up, pointed with one trembling hand at the young eunuch in blue who had just knocked him down, and said in a trembling voice: "You...you..."
He glared at the other person fiercely, with the fear of escaping death in his eyes.
"Lord Xiao, what's wrong with you?" Chu Yi's gentle voice sounded again.
The voice as gentle as spring breeze gave Prime Minister Xiao goose bumps all over his body. His eyes were shifty, sometimes looking at Chu Yi, sometimes looking at the young eunuch, his finger still pointed at the young eunuch, accusing: "He wants to kill me, the eldest prince..."
In fear, Prime Minister Xiao even forgot to call himself "minister" and only wanted to accuse the eldest prince to kill people to silence them.
The emperor said nothing, but grabbed a handful of corn and fed it to the frightened parrot, which began to eat.
"No, no, no, how could I kill the Prime Minister?" The young eunuch waved his hands and explained hurriedly, "I saw that the potted plant was about to fall from the flower table, and I was afraid that it would hurt the Prime Minister, so I rushed over to protect him..."
"It was my fault for being rude, which frightened the Prime Minister." The young eunuch explained timidly, and it sounded reasonable.
Everyone couldn't help but look at the broken potted plant on the ground. A clump of green asparagus fern was broken in half, and some dirt and fragments of the pot were stuck on Prime Minister Xiao's robe.
There was still a hint of shock on Prime Minister Xiao's pale face, and a little blood was flowing out from the wound on his neck, which was shocking, as if he was scratched by the fragments of the flowerpot that just flew around.
Everyone frowned and thought about it carefully, but in fact most people couldn't remember whether the potted plant was shaking or not.
However, judging from the current situation, the eunuch should not have lied and should have told the truth.
Who would assassinate the Prime Minister in front of the emperor? Isn't this crazy? If he really wanted to assassinate Prime Minister Xiao, the eunuch could have waited until Xiao was alone before assassinating him. This would be more reasonable.
Everyone whispered to each other.
Soon, a young imperial censor took two steps forward and said to Xiao Shoufu tactfully, "Sir Xiao, were you frightened and did you see it wrong?"
What he said was quite polite, and the nonchalant expression on his face seemed to be saying that this was just a trivial matter and Prime Minister Xiao was really making a fuss out of nothing and making groundless accusations.
It was fortunate that the Prime Minister behaved unruly in front of the emperor, thanks to the emperor's good temper.
Several upright censors around also nodded and exchanged sympathetic glances.
Alas, these people from aristocratic families are like this, too proud. Even if they fall down and get a little dust on their bodies, it's as if their lives are taken away.
Xiao Shoufu's face turned green, his beard flew wildly, and his throat was choked with blood. He couldn't help but raise his voice to defend himself, "It was obviously this eunuch who stabbed me with a dagger."
"Who saw it?" the young censor asked lightly.
The others looked at each other. They had only seen the young eunuch suddenly pounce on Prime Minister Xiao and the potted plant fall onto the flower table. That was all.
Many people looked at the uneasy little eunuch again, only to see that he had empty hands and did not have the dagger that Prime Minister Xiao had mentioned. There was also some dirt on his robe, making him look a little disheveled.
Chu Yi said quietly, "Master Xiao, it is really inappropriate to accuse someone of assassination without any evidence!"
"Don't accuse innocent people."
Some people showed strange expressions, thinking that the eldest prince's words seemed familiar. Where had they heard it before?
"Your Highness," Xiao Shoufu said sternly, shaking with anger. He raised his hand and pointed at the bloody wound on his neck. "This wound was caused by a dagger. This is the proof."
"Could it be that a minister, a great Prime Minister, would deliberately cut myself just to frame a mere eunuch?" The anger in Prime Minister Xiao's heart was rising steadily, and his indignant face could not hide his arrogance.
Chu Yi did not answer Prime Minister Xiao. Instead, his calm and deep gaze turned to Feng She and Mr. Feng Sanye and asked, "What do you think, Lord Feng?"
“……” The Feng She brothers suddenly felt something was wrong and looked at each other, not knowing how to answer this question.
Just a cup of tea ago, they were still repeatedly questioning whether the eldest prince's injury was a deliberate self-harm to frame Feng He.
Prime Minister Xiao was a smart man and he quickly figured it out. His expression changed, his heart sank, and his eyes became sinister.
He was so frightened and emotional just now that he lost his composure. Only now did he gradually come to his senses.
Chu Yi sighed slightly and asked the young eunuch in green clothes in a gentle tone, "What's your name?"
"My name is Jiang Lun," the young eunuch in blue replied hastily, bowing his head and respectfully apologizing, "Your Highness, please forgive me for my impoliteness in front of you."
Chu Yi praised with a smile, and gently waved his sleeves, the action was indescribably beautiful, "Things have their priorities, and you gentlemen are the pillars of the court, so their safety must be the first priority."
"In the future, you must also keep your eyes and ears open like you did today, and when it's time to take action, don't hesitate."
These words were very pleasing to the ears of the upright censors present. They felt that the eldest prince had the demeanor of the current emperor, gentle and tolerant, and would surely be a benevolent monarch in the future. Many of them cast admiring glances at Chu Yi.
But to Prime Minister Xiao, every word sounded threatening.
Especially the last sentence, "When it's time to strike, don't hesitate", made Xiao Shoufu feel that there was a sharp edge in the words, which was meaningful. Did the eldest prince think that Jiang Lun's cut just now was not cruel enough? !
"Sir Xiao," Chu Yi looked at Prime Minister Xiao with a faint smile and greeted him with concern, "Is the wound on your neck serious? Do you want to summon the imperial physician?" He acted like a caring subject.
"I just suffered some minor skin injuries, it's okay." Prime Minister Xiao said hurriedly.
How could he dare to use the imperial physician sent by Chu Yixuan? What if the imperial physician poisoned the medicine?
To put it bluntly, when he returned home he died of poisoning, and there was no evidence to say that he was poisoned by the eldest prince.
Prime Minister Xiao instantly felt a chill as if a guillotine was hanging over his head, and his limbs became cold and numb.
"Help! Help!" After pecking at the corn, the parrot started screaming again on the gilded bird stand, its voice each shrill and piercing.
Prime Minister Xiao's heartbeat quickened, his face turned pale, and he became completely uneasy.
Chu Yi raised his hand and gently hooked the parrot's chin twice. The parrot was easy to coax and rubbed against his fingers affectionately.
Chu Yi said indifferently with a sympathetic look: "Lord Xiao is too tired, that's why he is so nervous."
"Speaking of which, Lord Xiao hasn't had a good rest since he started his career." Chu Yi looked at the emperor across the chessboard and pleaded, "Father, why don't you give Lord Xiao a long vacation so that he can have a good rest and recuperate."
"That's right." The emperor agreed without saying a word, his eyes filled with smiles.
The parrot imitated happily: "Every bush and tree looks like an enemy! That's right!"
These seven words are extremely ironic.
Madam Gu and Gu Jian standing by were almost stunned by the scene.
When Prime Minister Xiao was knocked to the ground just now, the mother and son had no time to react and could only watch in a daze.
Seeing that Prime Minister Xiao was forced to leave court for vacation by the emperor and his son with just a few words, both the mother and the son were in disbelief. They almost suspected that they were hallucinating and looked at Prime Minister Xiao with complicated eyes.
Xiao Shoufu's face became even uglier, and he quickly explained to the emperor: "Your Majesty, I am in good health and not sick..."
"Lord Xiao, don't hold on." A clear male voice suddenly interrupted Prime Minister Xiao.
Everyone looked in the direction of the voice. It was a middle-aged man in his forties, wearing a scarlet robe embroidered with peacock patches. He was of medium build, neither fat nor thin, with an ordinary appearance and smile lines at the corners of his mouth.
It was Mu Sheng, the Second Assistant to the Cabinet and Minister of Works.
Mu Sheng took a few steps forward and walked to the side of Prime Minister Xiao with a calm and dignified demeanor, forming a sharp contrast with the disheveled Prime Minister Xiao.
Mu Sheng said sincerely, "For the past ten years, Sir Xiao has worked diligently for the court, and it has been hard for you. Listen to my advice. Only if you are healthy can you have a future."
He acted very sincerely, but the others around him had strange expressions.
Mu Sheng was the top scholar chosen by the late emperor. He came from an imperial family and was a completely different type of person from those who entered the court through the Nine-Rank System. He worked steadily and steadily to achieve his current status.
Everyone knows that Mu Sheng is an ambitious man who has long wanted to replace Prime Minister Xiao, but he has never had the opportunity.
It is conceivable that if Prime Minister Xiao leaves the court for vacation, then Mu Sheng, as the second prime minister, can naturally take over the position of prime minister temporarily.
Prime Minister Xiao glared at Mu Sheng fiercely, his eyes twitching, and he cursed Mu Sheng in his heart for taking advantage of his misfortune.
Alarm bells rang in his heart, and he felt a strong sense of crisis. He said in a forced smile, "Thank you, Lord Mu, for your concern for me. I am in good health."
"It's just that I didn't sleep well last night, so I accidentally saw it wrong just now."
He spoke the last sentence with gritted teeth.
Without waiting for Mu Sheng to say anything else, Xiao Shoufu thanked Chu Yi again, "Thank you for your concern, Your Highness."
Chu Yi watched for a moment, then gave Prime Minister Xiao a gentle smile and suddenly turned the topic to Feng He: "Then what do you think of Feng He's assassination attempt, Lord Xiao?"
(End of this chapter)
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