Chapter 72.
A pair of hurried feet appeared against the sky.
The hem of his clothes swayed with his steps, and the camera slowly panned up. The middle-aged man, whose face showed slight anxiety, finally came into view.
He strode into the palace, and in the setting sun, the silhouette of a middle-aged man standing with his hands behind his back was revealed.
Xiao Jianhe strode in, and before he could even see the other person's face, he immediately bowed deeply: "Your subject greets Your Majesty!"
The man slowly turned around, and was not surprised to see Xiao Jianhe. He smiled and asked, "Zhiping, do you have something to say?"
Without hesitation, Xiao Jianhe declared loudly, "Your subject is guilty!"
Emperor Zhongzong seemed to have anticipated his arrival. He stepped forward, took his hand, and said kindly, "What does the matter of Prime Minister Xiao have to do with you?"
The two held hands and looked at each other in silence for a moment, their minds racing with countless thoughts, which finally culminated in Xiao Jianhe's choked voice: "Your Majesty, I am ashamed to have failed you, Your Majesty, in causing my grandfather to do such a thing. I am truly restless day and night."
In fact, the only favor Emperor Zhongzong showed him was by handing him over to Zhong Cong.
But Zhong Cong is undoubtedly the future emperor, and the current petty squabbles seem more like deliberate actions by the present.
Therefore, Xiao Jianhe truly regarded it as a favor.
Encouraged by King Jungjong's gaze, he continued, "It is not that my grandfather is unwilling to serve Your Majesty, but that he is old and frail... I am willing to die for Your Majesty!"
What does it mean for the ruler and his subjects to be perfectly harmonious? This is it!
The clever Xiao Jianhe found a perfect balance between his personal desires and the emperor's needs. Although Xiao Yichun, who was tricked by him, sounds incredibly unlucky…
The video on the screen suddenly disappeared, replaced by a blurry image of a middle-aged man raising his hand and cursing, with several large characters written on it.
"This brain-dead kid...?"
Someone stared at the sky and read it out word by word.
Xiao Jianhe paused for a moment. Just now, Tianmu had shown him communicating privately with Zhongzong, and the way he acted made it seem as if he was doing something heinous.
Although he didn't really think it was a big deal, he still felt a little ashamed that it was being publicized all over the world.
Especially in front of his grandfather.
Before Xiao Yichun could recover from the emperor's blow, he discovered that his grandson had betrayed him and defected to the enemy.
For the first time, the refined and cultured Lord Xiao chased his grandson through the streets, brandishing his weapon and beating Xiao Jianhe until he was covered in bumps. However, he had to admit that Xiao Jianhe's defection was devastating. As the heir of the Xiao family, Xiao Yichun had spared no effort in paving the way for him; all of this had become the best evidence of the Xiao family's betrayal of the aristocratic clan!
Unfortunately, the Xiao family was a prominent clan and the leader of the group. Xiao Jianhe's downfall instantly caused panic among them, with many suspecting the emperor was about to kill him—and sometimes their intuition is quite accurate.
All of Xiao Yichun's political enemies came to life at that moment, exclaiming with boundless energy, "If Xiao Yichun hadn't been so scheming, where would Xiao Jianhe have gotten the audacity to do this?!"
"The Xiao family really knows how to put on an act..."
"Prime Minister Xiao is as vigorous and energetic as a young man, hehe..."
Amidst a chorus of sarcastic remarks, only Ren Heng's questioning voice stood out: "Why is the Xiao family the leader, while our Ren family is also a centuries-old clan?!"
Ren Duan was speechless.
Yes, the Ren family could be a representative, but the problem is, didn't the Ren family collapse a long time ago? Why wait until now?
Xiao Jianhe is indeed a talented person. After taking over Xiao Yichun's work, he was able to complete the tasks in an orderly manner even though his job level was not up to standard.
Everything was going smoothly until June of the seventh year of the Jinghua era, when Gu Jingshan's body was discovered. After being dismissed from his post and exiled, Gu Jingshan was now a commoner, and everyone knew that he had offended the emperor.
Gu Jingshan himself was of no importance, but Xiao Jianhe was an intelligence intermediary. He received the news in July that Gu Jingshan's body had been taken home and remained in a coffin until now, without being buried.
Gu Jingshan: "..."
Won't this stink?
Half a month in the sweltering summer heat—their bodies would probably rot by now, right? Even if they didn't, they'd probably be on the path to emitting some strange odor.
Moreover, he offended the emperor, and his daughter... could not be relied upon, so who would take his body back?
Aren't you afraid of retaliation?
Gu Xunhui's expression was equally complicated.
She felt her father was arrogant and reckless, but that didn't mean she could truly watch him die. How could she sever family ties? But in the face of power…
Even Zhong Zhun gave a soft snort: "Given Gu Jingshan's temper, it's truly rare that someone would risk their life to collect his body."
A man like him, who is a fence-sitter, is incredibly lucky to encounter someone bold like him.
The sky soon revealed the answer:
As is well known, in the sixth year of Jinghua, after Zhong Huang returned to the capital and met with Emperor Zhongzong, he went to find Gu Jingshan.
Gu Jingshan and his grandson had a huge argument, the reasons for which were clear yet somewhat absurd. One insisted that he ascend the throne, while the other refused to seize it. After this argument, the two went their separate ways and never saw each other again.
It wasn't until June 19th of the seventh year of Jinghua that Gu Jingshan died violently in the street, and Zhong Huang came to collect his maternal grandfather's body. Who else would dare to collect the body of a criminal official who had been beheaded by the enraged emperor?
This grandfather and grandson are quite strange.
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