Chapter 76 Chapter 76 The Ruler and the Minister
Nan Xu slept very uneasily that night.
Half asleep and half awake, I keep dreaming of many people and events from my youth. The night rain weaves together a series of bizarre dreams...
In the dream, lights and shadows flickered, mist filled the air, and the imperial city and the Yong'an Marquis's Mansion alternated back and forth, finally freezing on a haughty and serious face.
A voice echoed across the open horse farm, "Brother Yi Wang, I can ride a horse now! Look, I really can ride a horse now! Haha ...
Some applauded, others praised. Prince Yi approached, lifted the little girl from the horse, and turned to boast to the people who came, "I told you Ah Xu was smart, but you still didn't believe me. How about it? In just half a day, you can ride a horse by yourself. This is unique among all the imperial sisters I've taught!"
The young Nan Yiling bowed, his face filled with pride and arrogance, but he said modestly, "Your Highness is too kind. How can I compare with the princesses? It's all thanks to your good teaching, and even more so to the careful guidance of the Imperial Concubine."
The man behind him laughed heartily, the vibration of his chest shaking the plump cheeks of the little girl in his arms. King Yi stepped forward and patted Nan Yiling on the shoulder, feeling very pleased. "Yuanzhi, you always speak to my heart. I am lucky to have a minister like you."
Thick fog gradually rose, obscuring vision. The little girl in the dream waved her hands vigorously, vaguely seeing her second brother hunching his body even lower...
*
In the palace, Cining Hall.
“Kneel down!”
"As a princess, you actually harbored a criminal wanted by the imperial court. Jun Yurong, you are tired of living, aren't you?"
This was the first time that Emperor Xuanwu scolded Princess Jingyi by name.
The palace maids in the hall were frightened by the dragon's might and knelt down one after another.
Princess Jingyi was not frightened by Emperor Xuanwu's anger.
She brushed off the invisible dust on her palace dress and slowly sat down opposite Concubine Yu'an and Concubine Shu.
Today, Emperor Xuanwu took Concubine Shu to eat hotpot in the Cining Palace of Concubine Yu'an, which was a rare occasion. When he heard the rumors outside, he was furious and summoned Princess Jingyi to the palace to report.
The pot was boiling with steam, and the cooked ingredients were floating on the surface of the soup. Jingyi picked up the clean chopsticks that the palace maid had laid out, picked up a piece of meat, and was about to put it into her mouth when there was a "bang" sound, and the meat and the chopsticks were knocked to the ground by the flying ring.
Oil spots suddenly splashed on the complicated and dazzling palace dress.
"Brother Royal won't even let me eat a hot meal?"
Emperor Xuanwu laughed angrily, "You still have the nerve to eat! You knew when I ordered people to search for Zhao Huaijue at the fire scene, and you also know what he means to me, but what did you do? You actually hid him in the princess's mansion! He is a criminal who assassinated important officials of the court, and you knew he was still alive but you didn't tell me anything. Jingyi, what do you want to do!"
Rumors were rampant, but Emperor Xuanwu knew his sister. She didn't even like Li Zhan, so how could she like Zhao Huaijue, whom she had barely met?
Then there is only one explanation, she kept Zhao Huaijue for other purposes.
"You're keeping him... what? Do you want to take over the Zhao family for your own use? Or, in other words, you want to take my place!"
As soon as these words were spoken, the hall fell into deathly silence.
Concubine Yu'an and Concubine Shu looked at each other, both surprised as to why the emperor would say such a thing.
He actually suspected a princess of plotting to usurp the throne.
On the other hand, Jingyi's amber pupils shrank slightly, and she finally stopped being indifferent. Instead, she slowly stood up and walked to the front of Emperor Xuanwu, knelt down, and opened her red lips softly, "My royal brother, you are joking."
Seeing her surrender, Emperor Xuanwu finally let out the breath he had been holding in his chest. However, this time he wasn't going to let Jingyi fool him. "Hmph! Are you kidding? I hope it's a joke. So, tell me, why did you keep Zhao Huaijue?"
Although they were siblings, the emperor usually indulged her, but when it came to the foundation of the country, Jingyi knew that life and death depended on Emperor Xuanwu's decision.
So she had to answer this question well and make Emperor Xuanwu satisfied.
"Saving Zhao Huaijue was actually a coincidence."
Jingyi raised her head slightly and looked the emperor in the eye with a frank expression. "That night, a fire burned half the street. I was worried that the Jingzhao Yin and the Wucheng Bingmasi were short of manpower, so I sent people to put out the fire. When the servants came back, I learned that they had saved Zhao Huaijue from the fire."
Upon hearing this, Emperor Xuanwu called Guo Huai over and asked him to send someone to the princess's mansion to inquire whether what Jingyi said was true.
Watching Guo Huai's receding figure, Jingyi calmly glanced towards the back of the hall. An inconspicuous eunuch quietly exited the Cining Palace. Jingyi raised an eyebrow and continued to explain calmly, "It's not that I want to keep Zhao Huaijue, but his injuries are too severe, and I don't know if he can be saved. Brother, I didn't want to disappoint you, so I didn't inform you of this matter in advance."
Every word she said was for the consideration of Emperor Xuanwu.
She neither deliberately cried out for injustice nor accused Emperor Xuanwu of misunderstanding her.
She seemed a little confused as to why her closest royal brother would attack her for such a trivial matter.
Emperor Xuanwu stared at the man in front of him, who had a face that was three-quarters similar to his own, for a long time before sighing silently, "Really?"
"Absolutely true."
"If it turns out that what happened that night was not what you said, I will not tolerate it."
Jingyi smiled and said, "I'll leave it to my royal brother to deal with."
Emperor Xuanwu's tense expression relaxed, and he shook his head as if he was helpless with her. He raised his hand to signal her to stand up, and then pointed at the pot, "You just wanted to eat, come and sit down. Come, tell the imperial kitchen to serve some dishes that the princess likes."
The palace maid took the order and left.
Seeing that the tense situation was resolved in an instant by Jingyi's calm words, Concubine Shu couldn't help but look at her a few more times.
She was a sensible person. While ordering the palace servants to fetch a new set of bowls and chopsticks, she walked over and personally helped Jingyi up, scolding her, "Your Majesty has been weighed down by the events of the previous dynasty and hasn't slept well for several nights. When he heard those rumors, he urgently summoned the princess to the palace because he was worried about her. I've heard it all in the palace. The Zhao family is very vicious. If they hurt the princess, it's no wonder Your Majesty would be worried."
Jingyi looked at Concubine Shu who took her arm in a familiar manner, and felt a little disdainful of her warmth. She caught a glimpse of Emperor Xuanwu looking at her with satisfaction from the corner of her eye. Jingyi had to put away the unnecessary expression on her face and responded with a forced smile.
Just as they sat down and were about to start eating, Guo Huai walked in and whispered in Emperor Xuanwu's ear.
Emperor Xuanwu was in a good mood. He waved his hand and said that there were no outsiders here, so Guo Huai could just speak his mind.
Guo Huai nodded and said loudly, "Master Li, the Prince Consort, and Wei Yangbo have arrived and are waiting in Chongzheng Hall."
Emperor Xuanwu asked Guo Huai to pass on the message, asking them to wait and he would summon them after he finished having dinner with the concubine.
Everyone had different expressions. Concubine Yu'an waved her hand first to tell the emperor not to pay attention to her.
"Business is urgent. If it is delayed, it will be my fault. Your Majesty, you don't have to accompany me. Go."
Filial piety comes first. After Emperor Xuanwu pretended to refuse several times, he saw that the concubine insisted, so he had to stand up and bow to take his leave, intending to take Princess Jingyi to the front court with him.
Jingyi didn't want to see Li Zhan and sat there without moving. The emperor gave her a sidelong glance, "You've made enough trouble! Don't forget, there are rumors out there that you've fallen in love with someone else. Jingyi, you asked for Li Zhan, you wouldn't even give up this little bit of dignity, would you?"
These words were like a thorn stuck in one's throat, which could neither be swallowed nor spit out. Jingyi's face looked a little ugly, but she had to get up and follow him.
Concubine Shu also wanted to go with him, but Emperor Xuanwu held her back and said, "Once the princess and I leave, you will leave too. Are you going to eat this meal, Dowager Concubine?"
Although Concubine Shu was not very happy to stay in the Cining Palace, she could only smile and agree. As soon as Emperor Xuanwu left, her smile disappeared, and she bowed perfunctorily as if she had changed her face. Without waiting for the Concubine Dowager to speak, she led the palace people out of the Cining Palace.
The nanny beside the Concubine Dowager was a little unhappy and pointed in the direction where Concubine Shu left and was about to curse, but was stopped by the Concubine Dowager.
"Why scold her? It's more important to send someone to the front court to monitor the emperor's movements."
The nanny didn't dare to delay and quickly turned around to make arrangements.
In the Chongzheng Hall, Emperor Xuanwu offered them seats, but Li Junji and Li Zhan stood still.
Li Junji did it voluntarily, and Li Zhan was forced by Li Junji.
"I failed in disciplining my son, so I brought this unfilial son to apologize to Your Majesty and the princess." Li Junji said this in panic as usual, then supported his old waist and kicked Li Zhan's knee hard, making him kneel on the ground, and he knelt beside him.
This was a matter between the husband and wife, and Emperor Xuanwu did not want to interfere. He gave Li Junji a look and said nothing.
Li Jun understood and pushed Li Zhan to kneel a few steps in the direction of Princess Jingyi, saying respectfully: "Li Zhan is here, please punish me, Princess."
Jingyi had never laid eyes on Li Zhan and his son since she entered the hall.
Seeing Li Junji and Li Zhan approaching so humbly, she curled her lips coldly and turned to look at Duan Wenpei who was standing aside. "Long time no see. I wonder how the uncle and the mistress are doing recently?"
Duan Wenpei was not surprised by the princess's greeting. He sat upright, bowed slightly in the princess's direction, and said calmly, "Very well."
Jingyi covered her lips and giggled, "Really? Uncle is quite generous. There are rumors outside that Ah Xu can't even compare to a prostitute. Uncle, aren't you angry at all?"
Comparing a noble lady with a prostitute was fine if it was spread among the people, but it was not acceptable in a formal setting. Coming from the mouth of a princess, it was a bit harsh no matter how one looked at it. Emperor Xuanwu frowned, but thinking of his ministers being present, he finally held back.
Duan Wenpei's expression remained calm. "Rumors stop at the wise. Princess, you're worrying too much."
Seeing him act as if nothing had happened, Jingyi snorted coldly, "I don't know if Uncle really doesn't mind, or if Uncle doesn't care about Ah Xu at all."
She pretended to be surprised and said, "Oh! Look at my memory. Ah Xu got this bad reputation because her childhood sweetheart, Mr. Li Zhan, was always hanging out in red-light districts and staying with courtesans. Even if the master wanted to blame her, how could he say it in front of the main character? It was my fault for not being considerate enough."
Duan Wenpei stroked his scabby forearm through his sleeve and ignored Jingyi's words, but his drooping eyelids hid the cold light that flashed across his eyes.
Li Zhan, who was kneeling on the ground without saying a word, turned pale every time Jingyi said something.
It wasn't until Jingyi mentioned that she had stayed overnight with an Oiran that he finally looked up at her and said, "I didn't."
"You don't have it? Empty learning doesn't bring wind. Who can prove it to you?"
Jingyi mocked, not even looking at him.
"I can't find anyone to prove it, but what about you, Princess? Zhao Huaijue is in the Princess's mansion. How can you prove that you're not in love with him and are taking your anger out on me?"
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