Chapter 56 Chapter 56 What, pregnant?
When Duan Wenpei entered the palace, the commanders of the Five Cities Army, Deng Lu and Cheng Guang, had already arrived.
Seeing him come in, the two looked at him for help.
Duan Wenpei walked forward without looking away and saluted Emperor Xuanwu.
Emperor Xuanwu was angry because these two people didn't know the answer to his questions, but when he saw that Duan Wenpei was still as calm as a rock, he finally felt better.
"Huaizhou, get up quickly. Someone, show Wei Yangbo a seat."
After being busy all night, Duan Wenpei was indeed tired. He bowed to Emperor Xuanwu and sat down as he was told.
Before he could even settle down, Emperor Xuanwu began to inquire, "Have you investigated thoroughly? Besides Zhao Huaijue, who else came? Are there any survivors? Is Zhao Huaijue dead or alive? What exactly was the bomb?"
The eagerness in the emperor's eyes was scorching. Duan Wenpei paused and answered in an orderly manner.
"We've investigated thoroughly. Besides Zhao Huaijue, the other person who came was also the eldest son, Zhao Huaian. Zhao Huaijue was unaware of the explosives and lured the ministers into killing him. As for Zhao Huaijue, his remains have not been found, so he must have perished in the fire. Furthermore, all three of the Tu Liao clans who came with the Zhao family were slaughtered, except for the scarred Yuan family member."
Does this mean no one was left alive?
Emperor Xuanwu was somewhat disappointed.
He had only read about these minions raised by the Zhao family in the book "Detailed Records of the Ancestral Family" written by his grandfather. He had always wanted to see how the Zhao family made them submit willingly in such a remote place like Shu.
"Killing him is a good thing." Emperor Xuanwu said with emotion.
As he spoke, he thought of the eldest son of the Zhao family and asked, "Where's Zhao Huaian? Did he escape too? I know your martial arts skills well. There are few rivals in the world. How could a child of a prominent family like him be able to defeat you?"
Emperor Xuanwu's intriguing tone made Deng Lu and Cheng Guang look sideways, and it was difficult to respond to this.
If he says that Zhao Huaian did escape, it means he admits that his kung fu is not good enough; if he does not explain, it means that there is something fishy about Zhao Huaian's escape.
Being watched by several pairs of eyes simultaneously, including the emperor's scrutiny, anyone else would have been terrified and at a loss for words. Unfortunately, the person being watched was the known heartless Duan Wenpei. He didn't even spare Deng Cheng and the others a glance. He simply raised his head and calmly said to Emperor Xuanwu, "I let him go."
The hall was completely silent. Deng Cheng and the other man looked at each other in amazement.
Cheng Guang had at least been around Duan Wenpei before, so he knew a thing or two about his habit of saying shocking things. However, Deng Lu had never seen him before, and was quite frightened.
The emperor sitting on the dragon throne leaned on the desk in front of him and looked at him coldly. His fingers touched the memorial that he had not finished reading, and he grabbed it without thinking and threw it at him.
“Bold!”
Long Wei should not be underestimated. Deng Lu and Cheng Guang hurriedly knelt down. In their peripheral vision, Duan Wenpei was still sitting there as still as a mountain.
"Your Majesty, I have reasons to do this." Duan Wenpei did not dodge, allowing the hard folded shell to scratch his forehead, leaving a faint red mark.
He stood up, bent down, picked up the memorial, sorted it out, and walked forward to hand it to the desk.
"Your Majesty, you know that the Zhao family is not only a national affair, but also a family affair for me. I don't want to hide any longer."
The two were only a few steps apart. Emperor Xuanwu stared at him with eyes so gloomy that it seemed as if tears were about to drip out. However, Duan Wenpei acted in a businesslike and open manner.
Emperor Xuanwu felt a lump of anger stuck in his throat. He stroked the dragon heads on either side of the throne and said solemnly after a long while, "All of you go out. Duan Qing stay."
Deng and Cheng looked at each other and hurriedly stood up to leave.
*
"Tell me, what do you want to do?"
Emperor Xuanwu stepped down from the dragon throne, stood in front of the window with his hands behind his back, and watched the sun slowly climb up the palace wall from the east, illuminating the sky red.
Duan Wenpei stood behind him, also looking at the increasingly bright red sun. "Your Majesty, do you still remember the first time I met you?"
Emperor Xuanwu raised his eyebrows and looked back at him, not understanding why this matter was brought up at this time.
"Remember, I was sent by the previous king to supervise the river. You came to see me, saying that you had learned great martial arts but had nowhere to display them. You asked me to take you with you so that you could find a job."
Duan Wenpei recalled the scene when he begged for help, and his voice slowed down unconsciously. "Your Majesty may not know that I did not tell the truth completely at that time."
"I was being hunted down at the time, and to save my life, I had no choice but to resort to this desperate measure. Having heard that Your Majesty is kind and righteous, I thought that this would allow me to find a way out while still serving Your Majesty. This is the best of both worlds.
Emperor Xuanwu did not expect that the old matter would be brought up again, but he was so frank.
He is not a mediocre person. He would not give a promotion to anyone who recommends himself. Naturally, he would check the person's background before hiring him.
From the very beginning, he was attracted by his lonely and despised background. If such a person was used well, he would be an excellent sword.
The facts were just as he expected. It was Duan Wenpei's credit to intercept the secret decree of the previous emperor and tamper with the edict of succession.
This is one of the reasons why although he was wary of him, he had to make use of him.
Emperor Xuanwu smiled, as if he didn't take his words to heart. "Huaizhou, if you hadn't told me, I would have been kept in the dark. At first, I only knew you were a wandering heir of the Zhao family, and I thought you were simply disliked by your clansmen, but I didn't expect such a thing to happen. Now that you've spoken out, I guess you know who sent people to hunt you down?"
Duan Wenpei was not surprised by the emperor's reaction.
He nodded and said affirmatively: "I know, I have always known."
Emperor Xuanwu asked knowingly, "Who is it?"
The court session was about to begin in half an hour. Hearing the drumbeats at the palace gates grow louder and louder, Duan Wenpei didn't hesitate, "It's Qin, and it's Zhao Mingcheng."
Emperor Xuanwu stopped talking.
He looked down at the palace servants coming and going on the palace road with a complicated expression.
In fact, there was another reason for keeping Duan Wenpei.
He has a similar life experience as him.
Didn’t the late emperor also dislike his son?
There was a rhythmic knock on the door outside the palace. It was Guo Huai reminding him that it was almost time to go to court.
Emperor Xuanwu retracted his gaze, turned closer, and patted Duan Wenpei on the shoulder. "I know what you mean. You want to go back and take care of them yourself. Huaizhou, it's not that I don't agree, but I already promised Li Junji that this matter would be left to him. You also understand that this is my only sister in this world, and it would be difficult to offend her."
This means that he is not allowed to enter Shu.
Duan Wenpei couldn't help showing a bit of disappointment on his face, but he quickly hid the emotions on his face and regained his composure.
He bowed his head and said, "Your Majesty, I obey you."
Emperor Xuanwu just smiled without saying anything, with an unshakable gloomy contempt in his eyes.
He doesn't like pleas with ulterior motives, he prefers to have control over life and death.
*
Before leaving, Emperor Xuanwu asked Duan Wenpei to stay, saying that someone wanted to see him.
As he spoke, Emperor Xuanwu left the hall, and a man came out from behind the screen in the hall.
Duan Wenpei didn't expect that the person who wanted to see him was Princess Jingyi.
"Master is surprised?"
Duan Wenpei watched her approach with a sweet smile, and calmly took a few steps back. "It's not surprising, Your Highness, but I didn't expect His Majesty to keep the princess here while he held a meeting."
Jingyi pretended not to notice his distance and took two more steps forward. The hem of her long palace skirt spun into a colorful flower on the shiny gold bricks because of her movements. "My Lord, you are really surprised by what you have seen. Let alone His Majesty keeping me here, even if he brings me to court one day, it wouldn't be a surprise."
Looking at her frivolous and arrogant face, Duan Wenpei shook his sleeves and moved away from her.
He reminded her in a deep voice: "Princess, if you have something to say, please speak for yourself. It is better not to express these thoughts in front of me."
Jingyi didn't want to let him go just like that. She took a few quick steps and stood in front of Duan Wenpei, looking up at him closely. "Master, you're so boring. I was just joking. Why take it so seriously? How could Nanxu bear to share a bed with someone as boring as you?" Her expression changed as she spoke, and she sneered, "Oh, look at my memory! How could I forget that you two haven't even had the formalities of marriage since we got married?"
"Hahahaha, Wei Yangbo, is it you who is incapable, or is there someone else in Nan Xu's heart?"
She couldn't help laughing, as if she had seen it with her own eyes.
Duan Wenpei couldn't help but think of those brothel madams who solicited customers in front of brothels and brothels. Although their identities were different, their actions were basically the same.
He thought so and said so.
"If the princess is interested, she can keep this smile and stand in front of Chunxiang Tower. It will probably become a 'good story'.
Jingyi's laughter stopped abruptly, and she shouted, "How dare you insult me like this? Someone..."
However, Duan Wenpei no longer wanted to waste time with her, so he turned around and left.
Jingyi hadn't said anything yet, so she quickly took a few steps to stop him. "Wei Yangbo, even if you and Nanxu are not actually husband and wife, she is still your wife in name. Are you just watching another man coveting your wife so much and remain indifferent? You saw it last night too. He didn't even care about his life, ah——"
She opened her mouth, but no sound came out.
Duan Wenpei withdrew his hand from the acupuncture point and said calmly, "Princess, you have no time to worry about the family affairs of your subjects. You should think about how to reconcile with your husband."
*
Nan Xu looked at Yin Ruizhu who was sitting in front of the window without saying a word, and felt a little anxious.
She had been sitting by the window for nearly two hours since the Royal Guards brought her back. No matter how Nan Xu teased her, she remained indifferent.
If you don't eat, drink or rest, something bad will happen.
The curtain rustled softly, and it was Madam Yin who came in with rice porridge. She glanced at Nan Xu gratefully, sat down next to Yin Ruizhu, and said softly, "Good girl, tell me what's on your mind. Just say it out loud."
"Look, Ah Xu has been sitting here with you for the whole morning. If you're not tired, Ah Xu will be tired too. You and her are such good friends, you definitely don't want Ah Xu to be tired, right?"
Yin Ruizhu's eyes moved, but she still looked straight ahead.
Her eyes were empty, like a soulless puppet.
Nan Xu's heart ached. She walked forward, grabbed her hand, and said in a serious tone, "Yin Ruizhu! Cheer up! It's just that you were deceived! What's the big deal? You used to be quite capable, didn't you? You said you wanted to walk freely and unfettered between heaven and earth like a real man." As she spoke, the bitterness in her heart welled up, and her voice lowered unconsciously. "Good Ruizhu, this is all my fault. If I had been more careful in Tianxiang Tower, I would have noticed the clues sooner, and you wouldn't have to endure so much alone."
Feeling the warmth of Nan Xu's palm, Yin Ruizhu finally reacted. She turned to look at Nan Xu, tears falling uncontrollably.
Mrs. Yin was so distressed that she quickly took out her handkerchief to wipe her tears. She forced a smile and said, "It's okay to cry, it's okay to cry. My son, you have suffered so much."
Nan Xu also thought that she had recovered and was about to ask someone to bring some water, but she was shocked by her earth-shattering words and was frozen in place.
She cried and said intermittently, "What should I do? I think I'm pregnant."
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