Chapter 719 Mother and Child Connected (Two Updates)
Shangguan Yan was taken away by the people from the Commandant's Office, along with Prince Ming.
The people of the Jingzhao Prefecture were so angry they were convulsing.
They were the ones who arrived first, but in the end, all the credit went to the people from the Commandant's Office!
On the carriage back to the palace, Prince Ming was filled with immense bitterness.
If he had known this would happen, he would have been better off sitting upright in the side room. At most, he would have been known as an idler. But why was he hiding in the cellar?
It looks suspicious.
"I would like to trouble you, Prince, to accompany us back to the palace to meet His Majesty," said Wang Xu, who was escorting us on horseback outside the carriage.
What is the purpose of the Commandant's Office? It is to serve as the emperor's eyes and ears. If they discover that Prince Ming is sneaking around in the cellar, how could they not arrest him and bring him to the emperor's court?
Others dared not arrest him, but the Commandant's Office was not afraid.
Prince Ming felt deeply that he had been wronged by Shangguan Yan.
She must have done it on purpose, knowing she couldn't escape, so she dragged him down with her.
This aunt tricked his father last time, and now she's trying to trick him again.
Prince Ming and Shangguan Yan had not seen each other for many years. Prince Ming no longer recognized Shangguan Yan, so he wondered how Shangguan Yan recognized him.
What happened to the promised amnesia?
No, he has to go and tell his grandfather!
It is said that Shangguan Yan is faking amnesia, and that Shangguan Yan is deceiving the emperor!
After the officials from the Commandant's Office and the Prefectural Government left, Xu Fengxian greeted the guests with a smile: "Let's continue! Let's continue! Girls! Sing!"
Tianxiang Pavilion has returned to its former glory.
Gu Jiao also made an excuse to leave the cubicle and go upstairs.
"Didn't they notice you?" Gu Jiao asked Xiao Heng.
Standing by the window facing the street, Xiao Heng looked in the direction Wang Xu and his group had left and said with a complicated expression, "Those were people from the Commandant's Office."
Gu Jiao murmured, "The Commandant's Mansion?"
The Zhao Kingdom did not have a Commandery.
This is a military government office unique to the Yan Kingdom. She had heard Mu Chuan introduce it to her on the day she entered the palace. In the outer court of the palace, the Dali Temple and the Six Ministries are on the right, and the Imperial Clan Court and the Four Commanderies are on the left.
However, Gu Jiao wasn't quite sure what the Commandant's Office actually did.
"The official on the right side of the carriage is Wang Xu, the Commandant of the Pass. He is a man of the King." Xiao Heng had investigated the information of various officials in the Great Yan Dynasty, and Wang Xu happened to be among them. Wang Xu was the eldest son of the Wang family and the nephew of Consort Wang.
Consort Wang had no sons, only two princesses. The Wang family did not participate in the struggle for the throne and were wholeheartedly loyal to the monarch.
Gu Jiao said thoughtfully, "So it's the king who's arresting people, and that woman just now is related to the king?"
Why are you dressed so poorly?
However, upon closer reflection, her appearance certainly lived up to the description of her ethereal beauty.
And her eyes.
She seemed to have a pair of standard phoenix eyes, but they were partially obscured by her messy hair, so Gu Jiao couldn't be completely sure.
"You..." Gu Jiao noticed that Xiao Heng was staring blankly at the carriage that was getting further and further away. "What are you thinking about?"
Xiao Heng handed her the watermelon he was holding: "She scooped it out, saying it was for me."
As he said this, he felt a little down. He thought of her eyes, which were filled with fear of rejection, and the fleeting hurt that crossed her eyes when she lowered them as he didn't reach out to take her hand.
Finally, the people from the Commandant's Office arrived, and she simply stuffed the watermelon into his arms.
The watermelon was icy cold, but when he held it in his hand, it felt scalding hot.
"And this too." Xiao Heng said, handing a golden object to Gu Jiao. It was the piece of gold that Gu Jiao had broken off and shared with Shangguan Yan. "She gave it to me, telling me to pursue my wife well."
Gu Jiao: "..."
Did she realize I was a woman disguised as a man?
I was speaking to her in a boyish voice, and even after we went inside, I didn't switch back to my own voice when I talked to Xiao Heng.
Even if she suspects that I have an improper relationship with Xiao Heng, she should think of it as homosexuality.
Of course, it could also refer to pursuing a male wife.
Hmm, do I really resemble that one below?
Uh, we've gone off-topic!
Who is that woman? Why does she seem to know Xiao Heng?
...
The Imperial Palace.
The king already knew that the wicked boy had been caught by the Commandant's Office and was on his way back to the palace to be punished.
He had gathered all his firepower, ready to launch an attack on Shangguan Yan, but unexpectedly, the Commandant's Mansion also brought back a Prince Ming.
Prince Ming sneaked into the place where Shangguan Yan was hiding. At this critical juncture, his behavior was too suspicious.
The fact that Prince Ming went to Tianxiang Pavilion had absolutely nothing to do with Shangguan Yan.
But sometimes the truth is not important; what matters is what the ruler thinks.
However, Prince Ming could not reveal that he had gone to fetch a certain expert on behalf of the Crown Prince.
The way the king looked at Prince Ming was practically asking, "Did you go to assassinate your aunt?"
Prince Ming was practically in tears: "You didn't announce to the public that Aunt was missing! How was I supposed to know—"
The king nodded: "That's right, I didn't announce it to the public, so you've planted a spy next to me!"
Prince Ming: "I didn't!"
Shangguan Yan added fuel to the fire: "You have it, I saw it all."
What did you see? You saw it!
How can someone lie so blatantly?!
Prince Ming gritted his teeth and pointed: "My aunt remembers me! She calls me nephew! Her amnesia is fake!"
The king scoffed and said, "Shangguan Yan calls you nephew? She must have lost her memory. She never pays any attention to you."
Prince Ming: "..."
How could you fall into a trap like that?!
The king ordered Prince Ming to return to the Crown Prince's residence and confine him for three months. He also summoned the Crown Prince to the palace and gave him a severe scolding.
The father is to blame for not teaching his son properly. Regardless of what Prince Ming was doing at the theater, it was his fault as the father who failed to discipline him.
The Crown Prince thought to himself, "Then isn't it Father Emperor's fault that I'm like this?"
It's fine to just think about it; if he actually said it, the king would kill him.
With Prince Ming sharing the burden of the king's attacks, Shangguan Yan's punishment wasn't so severe; at least, the king didn't actually kill her with a single sword stroke.
However, she was also placed under house arrest.
After all, the king would never easily forgive someone for causing him to go bald.
"Where is Qing'er? Tell me, and I will treat you leniently."
Shangguan Yan didn't say anything.
The king said coldly, "Shangguan Yan, I am keeping you in the palace not to protect you, but because the truth about the damage to the imperial mausoleum has not yet been found. Once the truth comes out, you will immediately get back to the imperial mausoleum!"
Suddenly, someone from the outer court came to report: "Your Majesty! There's progress on the matter of the imperial mausoleum!"
monarch:"……"
The king nearly choked on his breath.
Shangguan Yan wasn't much better off.
She cannot return to the imperial mausoleum yet.
The king waited for her to beg for mercy.
She stubbornly refused to beg for mercy.
The atmosphere became awkward for a moment.
Zhang Dequan quietly withdrew, exchanged a few words with the Ministry of Justice officials in the outer court, and returned with a smile to report: "There was a mistake, it's not a case about the imperial tombs."
"Oh."
"snort!"
The king and Shangguan Yan simultaneously turned their faces in different directions.
Shangguan Yan returned to Zhaoyang Palace and was confined to her quarters. The king summoned Wang Xu from the Commandant's Office and ordered him to investigate Shangguan Qing's whereabouts.
"yes."
Wang Xu accepted the order.
The king leaned back wearily in his chair; the weather was sweltering, and sweat poured down his head.
Zhang Dequan dismissed the palace maids and eunuchs, then looked up at the emperor's head and said, "Your Majesty, please remove this."
The king gave a faint "hmm".
Zhang Dequan walked over and took off his wig.
The king was certain that Shangguan Yan had lured him out to save Shangguan Qing. Of course, she hadn't expected that the other party would chop him bald with a single sword strike, but it would be a lie to say that she wasn't angry.
The king said coldly, "Couldn't she just tell me directly that someone wants to harm Qing'er? Do you think I would just ignore Qing'er's life or death?"
Zhang Dequan thought to himself, "You wiped out her maternal family and expelled her from the royal family, demoting her to a commoner. Do you still expect her to have any trust in you, whether it's between a father and daughter or between a ruler and his subjects?"
Everyone understands the logic, but no one accepts it.
Zhang Dequan poured the king a cup of cool tea: "Please calm down."
It's impossible to calm down.
The king took a sip of tea, thought of the young princess, and asked, "Has the young princess not returned yet?"
Zhang Dequan hurriedly said, "You were worried that she would fall behind if she went to the prodigy class, so I found a tutor for her at an academy."
"Yes, that is true." The king remembered and stopped urging him.
But when asked to approve memorials, he couldn't get them approved.
He paused, then said to Zhang Dequan, "Bring me my thrush."
The king had two great hobbies: playing polo and raising birds.
He had recently had a colorful thrush bought from the State of Jin, and he loved it dearly, going to see it every day.
Zhang Dequan went to the door to give instructions to the young eunuch. Before long, the young eunuch rushed over, looking frightened, and said, "The thrush... is gone!"
"Who has been to the birdhouse?"
"Besides the bird trainer, there is only... the little princess."
...
The young princess had promised to have a bird-racing contest with Xiao Jingkong yesterday. Being a woman of her word, she put His Majesty's bird in her pocket and took it out of the palace.
"I... I just wanted to borrow it for a bit. I told His Majesty, and he didn't object!"
—A certain young princess climbed into the emperor's bed in the middle of the night and spoke to the sleeping king.
After bringing the bird out, the young princess put it in her schoolbag and didn't take it out again until she went to her tutoring class.
Xiao Jingkong whistled with his finger (without making a sound) and summoned Xiao Jiu (by shouting).
The two children did not reach a consensus on the rules of comparing birds. Xiao Jingkong thought that comparing birds was about comparing size, while Xiao Junzhu thought that comparing birds was about comparing beauty and ugliness.
Both of them were full of confidence in their birds!
Then, when the two birds met, the two were dumbfounded.
Without a word, Xiao Jiu pounced and swallowed the colorful thrush in the little princess's hand in one gulp, leaving not a single feather behind.
Xiao Jingkong: "..."
The little princess: "..."
...
Tianxiang Pavilion.
After finishing his performance tonight, Gu Chengfeng went backstage to take off his costume and makeup, changed back into his light blue long gown, and went upstairs.
Xiao Heng and Gu Jiao were in the room.
Xiao Heng remained standing on the terrace, gazing in the direction the carriage had gone.
Gu Jiao didn't disturb him, but quietly stayed by his side, eating the watermelon that Shangguan Yan had scooped out for her.
It's icy cold, sweet, and refreshing.
What Xiao Heng needs at this moment is not guidance or heart-to-heart talks, but companionship.
"I'm sorry, I neglected you." Xiao Heng came back to his senses and said to Gu Jiao with remorse.
Gu Jiao puffed out her cheeks and shook her head.
The woman not only scooped the watermelon into pretty little balls, but also removed all the seeds.
She enjoyed her meal very much.
She would be happy when she was with her husband.
Two people don't necessarily need to say a lot to be together; silent companionship is also a form of tacit understanding.
There are two left.
Gu Jiao thought for a moment, then scooped one up and fed it to him.
Xiao Heng ate it.
"Isn't it sweet?" Gu Jiao asked.
"Yes," he nodded. "It's very sweet."
Gu Jiao fed him the last one, then she held the watermelon, tilted her head back, and gulped down the watermelon juice.
Her face was covered in wine, making it look like she had grown a little red mustache.
Xiao Heng was amused by her, and the faint melancholy that had welled up in his heart dissipated in an instant. He took out a clean handkerchief and gently wiped her face.
His movements were gentle, and his eyes were tender.
Gu Jiao didn't move, but raised her face so he could wipe it, being incredibly obedient.
This was the scene that Gu Chengfeng saw when he arrived at the door.
He sneered and muttered sourly, "You brat, you're so well-behaved when you're with this boy, but you're a little devil when you're with me!"
Knock knock knock!
He knocked on the door without any hesitation.
Xiao Heng had just finished wiping when he heard the sound and took the handkerchief back from his hand.
Gu Jiao glared at Gu Chengfeng resentfully, "You're asking for trouble again!"
Gu Chengfeng received a death stare from Gu Jiao. He gritted his teeth and thought, "You brat!"
He stepped into the room, sat down at the octagonal table, poured himself a cup of tea, and hummed indifferently, "Don't blame me for not reminding you, the inner city gate will be closing in half an hour."
Xiao Heng gently squeezed Gu Jiao's hand.
Gu Jiao also pinched his nipple.
Gu Chengfeng was caught off guard and was fed another bowl of dog food, so full that he wanted to slam the table!
You two, don't go too far!
This is my house!
They need to be all lovey-dovey...
No, you two aren't allowed to be all lovey-dovey!
"Let's get down to business," Gu Chengfeng said seriously. "I've found out what that Prince Ming was here for today."
Xiao Heng and Gu Jiao left the terrace and walked over.
The two sat down opposite him, looking at him intently, gesturing for him to continue.
Gu Chengfeng didn't keep him in suspense and told him what he had overheard: "...The Crown Prince sent him here to wait for someone. It is said that he is a very powerful expert. However, as you can see, he has already left, and I did not see any expert appear. Perhaps his information is wrong."
Neither Gu Jiao nor Xiao Heng had any evidence for this, so it was not appropriate to draw any conclusions.
"That's all?" Gu Jiao asked.
“That’s all,” Gu Chengfeng said.
Gu Jiao asked, "Who was the woman who was taken away today?"
Gu Chengfeng sighed, "The officials who came were all very tight-lipped, and we haven't found anything yet."
Gu Jiao looked at Xiao Heng.
Xiao Heng remained silent.
...
Xiao Heng returned to the inner city before the city gates closed, while Gu Jiao took Gu Xiaoshun back to Yangliu Lane.
Zhong Ding, Zhou Tong, and the others stayed overnight at Tianxiang Pavilion. They paid for the accommodations and called the girls, unaware that Gu Jiao and Gu Xiaoshun had actually left.
After leaving Tianxiang Pavilion, Xiao Heng felt strange, as if there was some invisible force pulling him along.
"Young master, young master, young master!"
The coachman called him three times.
Xiao Heng regained his senses and asked, "What's wrong?"
The coachman whispered, "We're almost at Lingbo Academy."
The implication is that you should change your clothes.
Xiao Heng changed back into the Canglan Academy uniform, put on a veil, and went to Master Cheng's place at Lingbo Academy to bring Xiao Jingkong back.
Little Jingkong got into trouble today.
He rubbed his little hands, too afraid to speak.
In the past, Xiao Heng would have been able to see through his little scheme at a glance, but today he was somewhat distracted and did not notice Xiao Jingkong's unusual behavior.
Xiao Jingkong had already eaten. After returning to Linglong Pavilion, Xiao Heng immediately fetched water for him to take a bath, without saying a word during the entire process.
Despite his usual taciturn nature, Xiao Jingkong still sensed something different about her bad brother-in-law.
He looked at his wicked brother-in-law with a puzzled expression: "Did you get last place again today?"
No matter how many times Xiao Heng got first place, the memory of him being last would always linger in Xiao Jingkong's mind.
“No,” Xiao Heng said.
He brought some dry clothes and dressed Xiao Jingkong in them: "Go to sleep."
"Oh." Little Jingkong, unusually quiet, climbed onto the bed, rolled over a few times, and fell asleep.
The night was dark and the wind was high. The weather was hot and dry. Cicadas chirped incessantly in the trees, and frogs croaked from the lotus pond.
The entire academy fell into a deep sleep.
Xiao Heng tossed and turned on the bed.
The assassination attempt last night, Zhang Dequan's shouts, and... the woman he met today kept flashing through his mind.
The image of the woman holding the watermelon, fearing his rejection, became increasingly clear in his mind.
And the feeling of being pulled in his heart grew stronger and stronger.
He clutched his chest, his breathing slightly rapid.
He didn't know how much time had passed before he finally drifted off to sleep amidst a jumble of random thoughts.
midnight.
A flash of light, followed by a deafening clap of thunder from the horizon.
Xiao Heng's heart skipped a beat, and he abruptly opened his eyes and sat up!
The window frames were blown open by the gale, and the plain-colored curtains swayed wildly amidst the lightning and thunder.
He got out of bed, went over and closed the window again, accidentally knocking over a teacup on the table.
The teacup shattered, and he took a step back, intending to avoid it, but still stepped on a shard.
Fresh blood trickled from his pale, thin feet, flowing all the way to the corner of the wall.
...
The next day, Xiao Heng took Xiao Jingkong to Lingbo Academy. Just as they reached the academy gate, they overheard two Lingbo Academy students saying—
"Have you heard? Something's happened to the deposed crown princess!"
"What could possibly happen to her?"
"She seemed to be trying to escape the palace last night, but then there was a sudden clap of thunder, which startled her so much that she lost her footing and fell down the hillside behind the palace. She was seriously injured and broke her back! She's almost gone!"
"Really?"
"Of course it's true! There's an imperial physician living next door to me. He was summoned to the palace overnight to save the deposed crown princess, and he hasn't returned yet! Now everyone's saying that the deposed crown princess's morals were so bad that even the heavens couldn't stand it anymore and sent down heavenly lightning to punish her!"
...
Xiao Heng suddenly felt a little breathless; he didn't know how he had left.
When the carriage stopped, he was already at the entrance of Tianxiang Pavilion.
The coachman looked at him with concern: "Young master, we've arrived at Tianxiang Pavilion. Are you... alright?"
"I'm fine, how about Jingkong?" Xiao Heng asked.
The coachman was taken aback, then replied, "You took him to the academy and personally handed him over to Master Lü. Please ask Master Lü to pass on a message to Master Cheng: if you cannot come at noon, please trouble Master Cheng to take care of him."
"That's good." Xiao Heng got off the carriage.
The driver was completely bewildered.
Did something happen to you, young master? You seem quite lost and dejected.
Even so, the young master still made proper arrangements for Jingkong.
Xiao Heng never wore the uniform of Canglan Women's Academy to Tianxiang Pavilion; this was the first time.
Gu Jiao was also there.
She had also heard about the Crown Princess; she heard it from Mu Chuan.
She came to Tianxiang Pavilion to find out the truth from Gu Chengfeng.
Given Mu Chuan's status, it's unlikely he would lie if he said something like that.
Gu Chengfeng closed the door, and the two sat down. He then sat down at the table and solemnly said, "I have two things to say. First, it is true that the deposed Crown Princess is seriously injured and her life hangs in the balance. The people in the Imperial Preceptor's Palace have also been alerted. The Imperial Preceptor entered the palace overnight and is still in critical condition this morning."
"How did you get injured?" Gu Jiao asked.
"It is said that he accidentally fell down the hillside," Gu Chengfeng said.
"The second thing."
Gu Chengfeng paused at this point before saying, "The woman who was taken away by the Commandant's Office yesterday was the deposed Crown Princess."
Xiao Heng's fingers clenched tightly.
...
The Imperial Palace, Zhaoyang Hall.
This palace, which had been abandoned for many years, had lost its former splendor and become deserted.
But starting from midnight last night, it became bustling with visitors once again. More than ten imperial physicians and more than twenty medical students and nurses were summoned to Zhaoyang Palace. The Imperial Guards surrounded Zhaoyang Palace, and Wang Xu from the Commandant's Office also led his capable soldiers to guard outside Zhaoyang Palace.
The king stood in the corridor, watching basins of bloody water being carried out, his expression extremely grim.
Zhang Dequan invited the Imperial Advisor over.
The Imperial Advisor went into the room to examine Shangguan Yan's injuries, and then shook his head slightly after coming out.
The king, his veins bulging, exclaimed, "Is she faking it again? I knew it! What else can she do besides pretend!"
The Imperial Advisor remained silent.
The king said coldly, "Why do you remain silent, my dear minister?"
The Imperial Advisor met the King's sharp gaze: "I'm afraid it cannot be as Your Majesty wishes. She is indeed injured, and her injuries are serious."
If the Imperial Advisor says something is serious, then it's not a matter of how serious it is; it's a matter that can't be saved.
The king clenched his fist: "Grand Preceptor, heal her."
The Imperial Advisor said, "I cannot do it."
The king roared, "You are the Imperial Advisor! The most skilled physician in the Great Yan Kingdom!"
The Imperial Advisor calmly said, "I don't have the medicine she needs, and even if I did, the chances of curing her are extremely slim."
The king asked in a deep voice, "Where can I find the medicine?"
"It's not a place, it's a person," the Imperial Advisor said. "Xiao Liulang from Tianqiong Academy."
Please give me a monthly pass and bless the Crown Princess.
(End of this chapter)
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