Chapter 384 Couple's Abuse of Scum (Two Updates)
"So the Imperial Concubine Jing was also on the imperial edict." Gu Jiao suddenly realized, "No wonder she stole the imperial edict and hid it."
Xiao Liulang nodded: "Firstly, it's to save my life, and secondly, it's to hold onto my last trump card."
Gu Jiao rested her chin on her hands, seemingly lost in thought, and said, "My aunt won't be threatened by anyone. Even if she really produced an imperial edict and said, 'If you don't agree to my conditions, I will publish the edict to the world and perish together with you,' my aunt wouldn't give in. So..."
Xiao Liulang nodded: "So her most dangerous step was to actually die together with her aunt."
Gu Jiao slammed her hand on the table: "That wicked woman!"
Looking at her flustered little face, Xiao Liulang felt a hint of a smile in his eyes, even though it was a bit inappropriate.
Of course, his smile vanished when he thought of his aunt's situation.
Seeing the imperial edict happened when he was a child, and it wasn't something he cared about at the time, so that memory had long been lost in the river of his memory.
If Gu Chengfeng hadn't brought it up this time, he probably would never have revisited that memory.
"We have to steal the imperial edict back." We can't let Consort Jing hold such a time bomb. Gu Jiao doesn't care whether Consort Jing lives or dies, but she can't let her aunt go to hell with her.
Xiao Liulang said, "Before that, don't push her too hard, lest she act impulsively and destroy both her and her aunt."
"Hmm." Gu Jiao finally understood what her husband meant by not acting rashly in his note. Given the current state of Consort Jing, it was indeed not appropriate for them to provoke her further.
This woman has gone mad; who knows what she might do in a fit of rage?
"Sigh." Gu Jiao sighed.
She placed her hands on the table, then drooped her head and rested it on the back of her hands.
Xiao Liulang couldn't resist and reached out to pat her fluffy little head: "It won't be long."
"Yes!" Gu Jiao nodded.
She believed him.
They trusted him so much that they didn't need to ask about his plans.
“Speaking of which…” she said, straightening up her small body as she pondered.
Xiao Liulang withdrew his hand without making a sound, the soft touch of her hair still lingering in his palm, and he gently stroked it with his fingertips.
Gu Jiao didn't notice his lingering gesture. She looked at him in confusion and asked, "What kind of person was the late emperor? Why did he order my aunt and Consort Jing to be buried with him?"
Xiao Liulang paused. His first reaction was to abandon the mother and keep the child, but after thinking about it carefully, he was not sure if that was the case.
He found it difficult to describe what kind of emperor the late emperor was. The late emperor had already passed away when he was born, and all his knowledge of the late emperor came from the late emperor's documents and some rumors he had heard.
However, judging from the series of arrangements made by the late emperor before his death, he was a man of skill.
The decision to have Empress Dowager Zhuang and Consort Jing buried alive with the emperor may have been due to the perception of their influence on the new emperor, a fear of powerful relatives seizing control of the court, or perhaps the late emperor had other plans.
The mind of an emperor is deeper than the sea; who can fathom it?
For example, he couldn't understand why Princess Xinyang would also have the Dragon Shadow Guard.
Finally, Xiao Liulang could only say to Gu Jiao, "The truth will come out one day."
He didn't say he didn't know, of course he didn't know, but if she wanted to know, he would find out the answer.
Xiao Liulang gazed at the endless night: "It's getting late, you should go back and rest."
Gu Jiao nodded: "Okay, then I'll come see you again tomorrow night."
Xiao Liulang looked at her and did not refuse: "Okay."
After Gu Jiao left, Xiao Liulang turned off the light and lay down on the rather thin bed. Gu Jiao asked Gu Chengfeng to quietly place the box of pastries that he had brought him on the bedside table.
The night was quiet, but his thoughts were far from calm.
Someone was running around in his mind unruly, and it took him a lot of effort to regain control of his own mind.
He began to ponder the matter of the imperial edict.
The imperial edict was left by the late emperor, and even the current emperor cannot disobey it. Although Empress Dowager Zhuang and the Zhuang family wield immense power, they are not yet capable of contending with the late emperor's will.
As a woman in the imperial harem, Empress Dowager Zhuang did too many things that were intolerable to society, the most prominent of which was ruling from behind the curtain.
The reason why the former emperor's former subordinates did not launch an attack on Empress Dowager Zhuang was twofold: firstly, Empress Dowager Zhuang did have the means to suppress them; secondly, during the last period of the emperor's reign, he was too ill to attend court, and the Liu family was ambitious. The emperor had no choice but to take a step to drive away the tiger and wolves—appointing a virtuous empress dowager to oversee the country.
The late emperor passed away before he could remove Empress Xiande from her position as regent.
Xiao Liulang guessed that the late emperor probably felt that since he had left an imperial edict ordering virtuous empresses to be buried alive with him, it didn't matter whether he revoked his power or not.
Unfortunately, they were outmaneuvered by one move, and the imperial edict was stolen by Consort Jing.
Empress Xiande was placed on the throne by the late emperor. After the new emperor ascended the throne, she continued to rule from behind the curtain, which did not provoke as much resentment from the late emperor's former subordinates.
But once this imperial edict is issued, the former emperor's old subordinates will surely devour Empress Dowager Zhuang like hungry wolves and drag her into the imperial mausoleum.
So Gu Jiao was right. The imperial edict could not continue to fall into the hands of Consort Jing. We had to find a way to steal it back and destroy it.
However, with the Dragon Shadow Guards around, it's difficult for them to succeed.
“Dragon Shadow Guard.” In the darkness, Xiao Liulang narrowed his eyes slightly.
The next night, Gu Jiao indeed arrived, bringing Xiao Liulang's favorite spicy beef, skewered on bamboo sticks and placed in a jar. The two sat in the house and enjoyed the skewers.
"Will I come again tomorrow?" Gu Jiao asked him as she was leaving.
Xiao Liulang chuckled softly: "I can go back after the exam tomorrow, I don't need to come over."
Gu Jiao: "Oh."
She really wanted to come.
It was fun to sneak out some skewers with him late at night.
Xiao Liulang was an invigilator who did not participate in grading the papers. After the exam, he packed his bags and left the examination hall.
It wasn't too late, so he went to the Hanlin Academy first to handle the official business that had fallen behind over the past three days.
Since his confrontation with Grand Tutor Zhuang outside the Hanlin Academy, few people in the Hanlin Academy dared to openly provoke him. Everyone knew he was there to supervise the examinations, not to fool around, and they didn't dare to assign him any official duties, which were nothing more than sorting out some classic texts.
He spent an afternoon organizing the text and then sent it to Scholar Han.
When he returned from Han Xueshi's office, he ran into Ning Zhiyuan peeking around near his office.
"Is there something you need?" he asked as he stepped forward.
Ning Zhiyuan turned around upon hearing this and said, "I just heard you're back. How was it? Did the proctoring go smoothly?"
Thinking of the scene of eating skewers with someone that night, Xiao Liulang couldn't help but chuckle and said, "It went pretty smoothly."
Ning Zhiyuan gave him a strange look: "You kid... your smile isn't normal."
Xiao Liulang suppressed his smile, his expression turning serious. "You came to see me just to say hello?"
When it came to serious matters, Ning Zhiyuan stopped joking with him: "That..."
Ning Zhiyuan scratched his head, looking rather embarrassed, and said, "I've brought my family to Beijing, just your sister-in-law and the rest of the family. Your sister-in-law asked me to bring some friends over for a visit, but I don't have many friends in Beijing, so I was just asking if you... are you free sometime..."
He was actually quite nervous when he asked this question. Although he and Xiao Liulang were both top three in the same examination, their status and experiences were actually very different.
He was someone the emperor valued, but the emperor treated him differently from Xiao Liulang. Of course, the main reason was the difference in their abilities. He was self-aware and had no jealousy.
It's just... I'm a little insecure.
Xiao Liulang not only gained the emperor's favor, but it is also said that he had a good relationship with the empress dowager, otherwise he would not have been able to keep Grand Tutor Zhuang in check.
If someone like that is my friend, am I not lucky enough to be friends with them?
Besides, he didn't have much money, his house was rented, and his home was quite shabby.
Thinking this, Ning Zhiyuan didn't wait for Xiao Liulang's reply and quickly declined on Xiao Liulang's behalf: "However, the Hanlin Academy is quite busy lately, and neither of us should have time..."
“Okay,” Xiao Liulang said.
"Huh?" Ning Zhiyuan was taken aback.
Xiao Liulang said, "I'll go back and ask my wife when she'll be free, and then we'll go visit her together."
Ning Zhiyuan was dumbfounded: "Ah..."
This...this...this means you've agreed?
...
Gu Jiao visited Xiao Liulang twice at the examination hall. Xiao Liulang learned some information about the current situation from Gu Jiao and decided to go to the palace.
"Your Majesty, Xiao Xiuzhuan requests an audience."
Inside the Imperial Study, Eunuch Wei reported in a low voice.
The emperor paused in his review of the memorials, rubbed his tired head, and said, "He hasn't come for a few days."
Eunuch Wei hurriedly said, "Xiao Xiuzhuan went to the examination hall to supervise the examinations for three days."
"Ah, the examinations of the Six Ministries." The emperor had almost forgotten about this. The Six Ministries held an examination every year, usually in June. This year, due to the visit of the Liang Kingdom's envoy, the palace examination was postponed by a month, let alone the examinations of the Six Ministries.
This assessment was not conducted by all officials, but only by random selection and was presided over by the Hanlin Academy, but it was still very rigorous.
"Let him in," the emperor said.
"Yes." Eunuch Wei went outside and led the person in.
Xiao Liulang bowed and said, "Your humble servant greets Your Majesty."
The emperor picked up a memorial and said calmly, "What brings you here to see me today?"
Xiao Liulang cupped his hands and said, "Your humble servant has something to report."
"What is it?" the emperor asked.
Xiao Liulang said solemnly, "On my first day of supervising the examinations at the Imperial Examination Hall, someone put arsenic in my dinner."
The emperor frowned.
"Your Majesty, I did leave the evidence behind, but the weather is too hot and the evidence has already spoiled." Despite saying this, Xiao Liulang still took out a small porcelain bottle from his sleeve.
Eunuch Wei stepped forward, took the small porcelain bottle, and uncorked it. A pungent smell of spoiled scallions wafted out, and Eunuch Wei quickly covered his nose.
Given the current situation, it's no longer appropriate to present it to the emperor.
The emperor asked, "How did you know it was arsenic?"
Xiao Liulang would naturally not say that Gu Jiao had been to the examination hall. Sneaking into the examination hall without permission was a capital offense. Even if His Majesty would not punish Gu Jiao, why would he want to ruin Gu Jiao's goodwill in His Majesty's eyes?
Xiao Liulang said, "Your Majesty has forgotten that Jiaojiao is a doctor? When we were in the countryside, there were rats in our house, so Jiaojiao made some rat poison with arsenic. I even assisted her with it."
That's a lie.
Gu Jiao forbade Xiao Liulang from touching any dangerous items.
But Xiao Liulang had thoroughly mastered the old chief minister's Machiavellian tactics in officialdom, and spoke without batting an eye.
Xiao Liulang continued, "That person disguised himself as a guard and brought me food. I recognized him as a stranger, not the guard from the morning or noon, so I became suspicious and discovered that the food had been tampered with."
The emperor frowned suspiciously: "Who would dare to attack you at the examination hall?"
The examination hall was heavily guarded, making it impossible for an ordinary assassin to sneak in, let alone poison Xiao Liulang's food.
The emperor stared intently at Xiao Liulang: "I have not heard any such news from the Imperial Examination Hall."
Xiao Liulang met his scrutiny without flinching: "Your Majesty, I have not made a fuss. I do not know who the murderer is and dare not make a scene, lest the murderer become desperate and do something rash."
The emperor thought it made sense, and he looked at Xiao Liulang and said, "You go back first. I will investigate this matter thoroughly."
Xiao Liulang cupped his hands and said, "This humble subject takes his leave."
As a precaution, after Xiao Liulang left, the emperor summoned the imperial physician and asked him to examine the scallions.
The scallions were picked out from the egg drop soup and had long since spoiled, yet the imperial physician still detected arsenic in them.
"Your Majesty, it is indeed arsenic," the imperial physician said.
The emperor's gaze turned cold: "I understand. You may leave."
That evening, the emperor summoned the chief guard of the examination hall and asked him if any suspicious persons had been found in the examination hall.
The head guard said, "It seems someone broke in on the first day of the exam, knocked out a guard, and even stripped him of his clothes. Unfortunately, I was incompetent and failed to catch him."
This aligns with Xiao Liulang's explanation.
The emperor ordered a thorough investigation into the matter.
Unexpectedly, before the truth of the poisoning case at the examination hall could be revealed, another incident occurred with Xiao Liulang the next day.
"Your Majesty! Your Majesty, something terrible has happened! Miss Gu and Xiao Xiuzhuan are injured!" Eunuch Wei rushed into the Imperial Study in a panic.
The emperor slammed down the memorial he was holding: "Where is he?"
Eunuch Wei said worriedly, "At the clinic... Miaoshou Hall... I saw Eunuch Qin rushing out of the palace, and I casually asked what was wrong. That's when Eunuch Qin told me that Miss Gu and Xiao Xiuzhuan had an accident!"
Xiao Liulang was a minister favored by the emperor, and Gu Jiao was even more so; in the emperor's heart, she was almost as important as his own child.
The emperor, no longer concerned with reviewing memorials, changed into casual clothes and rushed to the clinic with Eunuch Wei.
In the side room of the courtyard, Gu Jiao lay unconscious on the bed. Xiao Liulang stood guard by the bedside, his left hand wrapped in gauze and hanging around his neck, with bruises on the corners of his mouth and forehead.
This was the first time the emperor had truly seen the two injured before his very eyes, and he was stunned for a moment: "...What happened?"
"Your Majesty." Xiao Liulang stood up, intending to bow to him, but looked at his arm, which was in a sling, with an embarrassed expression, and instead gave a slight bow.
"No need for formalities." The emperor raised his hand, came to the bedside, looked at Gu Jiao who was unconscious with her eyes closed, and his breath hitched when he saw a pile of blood-stained clothes in a basket beside her. "How is the little divine doctor?"
Xiao Liulang said dejectedly, "Doctor Song examined her and said she lost too much blood..."
The emperor's gaze turned cold, and he looked down at Xiao Liulang's arm: "What's wrong with you now?"
Xiao Liulang lowered his eyes and said, "Your Majesty, I am fine. My arm was dislocated, but it has been set."
A dislocated arm and he's still okay? How could a frail scholar endure such pain?
The emperor's face darkened: "What exactly happened? Where were you injured?"
Xiao Liulang said with a pained expression, "It happened near Chang'an Avenue. On my way home from my duty at the Hanlin Academy, I encountered an assassin. Jiaojiao happened to come to the Hanlin Academy to pick me up, and we fought. Jiaojiao was no match for him and was seriously injured. Later, Jiaojiao used a hidden weapon to destroy the assassin's mask, and the assassin was able to escape."
The emperor asked, "Did you get a good look at the assassin?"
Xiao Liulang shook his head: "It was too chaotic at the time, and I couldn't see his features clearly. I only remember that he had a tattoo on his face..."
The emperor hurriedly asked, "What tattoo?"
“It looks like…it looks like…” Xiao Liulang tried hard to recall, then said, “Never mind, I may have seen it wrong.”
The emperor frowned and said, "Speak freely."
Xiao Liulang hesitated for a moment, then said, "It looks like a turtle, and also like a snake."
A turtle's body and a snake's tail.
Xuanwu (Black Tortoise).
The tattoos of the Dragon Shadow Guard!
The Dragon Shadow Guards are assassins, but not every assassin is qualified to become a Dragon Shadow Guard. Back then, the late emperor purchased a large number of assassins from the Yan Kingdom. When they were brought back, they were already powerful enough, but the late emperor was not satisfied with their strength.
They then invited a master to train the assassins with all their might, but out of more than a hundred assassins, only a dozen or so Dragon Shadow Guards emerged.
Some of the Dragon Shadow Guards died in the line of duty, and the youngest of them were left to the late emperor.
The first thing that struck him when he saw them was the Xuanwu tattoo on their faces. It was said that the late emperor had it tattooed on them to distinguish the Dragon Shadow Guards from ordinary assassins.
No one else in the world has such a tattoo.
The emperor's mood instantly became complicated: "Are you sure you didn't see wrong?"
Xiao Liulang thought for a moment and said, "Your Majesty... is not sure. I only glanced at it hastily at the time, and I may have misread it."
The emperor closed his eyes.
You must have misread it.
With the Dragon Shadow Guards now in the hands of Consort Jing, how could she possibly send someone to assassinate Xiao Liulang?
Although she was unwilling to be close to people from Empress Dowager Zhuang's faction, strictly speaking, Xiao Liulang was not from Empress Dowager Zhuang's faction. Xiao Liulang was a minister she had personally promoted, a protégé of the emperor, and one of her own people!
Consort Jing had no reason to deal with Xiao Liulang.
The emperor waited in the room for a while longer. During this time, Doctor Song came over and changed Gu Jiao's dressing, but Gu Jiao remained unconscious.
The emperor watched as basins of bloody water poured out from behind the screen, and he could hardly bear to look any further.
On the way back to the palace, he remained silent.
"Your Majesty," Eunuch Wei wanted to remind him that they had arrived at the palace.
The emperor suddenly sighed: "Consort Jing wouldn't do that, would she?"
"Huh?" Eunuch Wei was taken aback.
What's going on?
Does Your Majesty suspect that the assassin of Xiao Liulang was sent by the Empress Dowager?
The Dragon Shadow Guards always wore masks, so Eunuch Wei was unaware that they had tattoos on their faces.
"It certainly can't be her." It was unclear whether the emperor was speaking to Eunuch Wei or to himself.
How could Eunuch Wei dare to respond?
This is a matter between you and your son; I cannot interfere.
He recalled how His Majesty and the Empress Dowager had drifted further and further apart in the past. It seemed as if overnight His Majesty had become less close to the Empress Dowager, and gradually His Majesty began to quarrel with the Empress Dowager, blaming her for every little thing.
Sometimes he even felt sorry for the Empress Dowager.
So, the wheel of fortune turns, and now it's Consort Jing's turn?
Your Majesty, have you contracted a disease that's so infuriating it'll drive your mother to her death?
"cough!"
Before he could slip up, Eunuch Wei covered his mouth.
The emperor alighted from his carriage.
His thoughts were in disarray, with two voices in his head. One voice told him that Xiao Liulang would not lie to him, while the other voice told him that Consort Jing would not betray him.
"Who is it?" Eunuch Wei suddenly asked.
"What's wrong?" the emperor asked.
Eunuch Wei pointed to the end of the Imperial Garden and said, "This servant just saw a sneaky figure going that way."
Isn't that the direction of the latrine?
Perhaps someone was in a hurry to relieve themselves.
The emperor would not go to watch a servant relieve himself, but for some reason, he felt uneasy. He took a step and then turned and headed towards the latrine.
Since it was the privy chamber, the emperor didn't actually go inside; he simply watched quietly from a distance.
Unexpectedly, he heard a familiar voice.
"What? You...you failed again? You're supposed to be a Dragon Shadow Guard, how come you can't even kill a weak scholar!"
This is... the voice of Consort Jing!
Consort Jing said, "I've made another mistake."
Consort Jing also said that the scholar was so weak he couldn't even kill a chicken...
I must have misheard...
The sound continued.
"Does His Majesty know how useless you are? He didn't give you all to me to just loaf around and wait to die! You're just killing a cripple, not some martial arts master! Is this all the Dragon Shadow Guard is capable of?!"
"If I had known, I would have just hired a few assassins! They would have been much more efficient than you guys!"
The emperor could no longer deceive himself into believing that the voice did not come from Consort Jing.
He felt a chill rise from the soles of his feet and rush to the top of his head!
A beautiful woman's skill is evident from her first move.
Merry Christmas Eve.
(End of this chapter)
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