Chapter 26 Chapter 26 Kiss
Xue Hong died on the same night he went mad.
I heard that it was because he was too crazy and committed many acts of self-harm, and finally died of exhaustion.
This is the rumor circulating outside.
But Xu Qing'an was indeed injured.
When Xue Hong fell ill, he was conducting routine inquiries, but he was kicked and shouted for help in the cell.
The funny thing is that compared to the deceased Xue Hong, the officials seemed to have more sympathy for the injured Xu Qing'an.
After all, Xue Hong had a bad temper and was prone to going crazy for a long time. The court had long speculated about the outcome of his soul-leaving syndrome. In addition, his power had expanded in recent years and he had become increasingly arrogant. Many officials had suffered from his humiliation, so naturally, few people hoped that he would recover.
In this case, the kick Xu Qing'an received could truly be considered an unprovoked disaster.
After that day, Xu Qing'an stayed in the mansion to recuperate. He no longer participated in the affairs of Xue's father and son, but handed them over to other people in the Ministry of Justice.
But after just two days, Xu Qing'an could no longer stay there, so he found a good time and went out for a walk on the street.
Because of the Lishan Palace, the county town at the foot of Lishan was also well-built, with all the places for sightseeing, eating and drinking.
Xu Qing'an strolled around casually, feeling relaxed and comfortable.
"Master Xu." A man dressed as a servant stopped before him and bowed. "I wonder if Master Xu is available right now. My husband would like to see you."
Xu Qing'an tilted his head: "Your husband?"
The servant continued, "It is the current Prime Minister Su."
——
Xu Qing'an followed him up to the second floor of a teahouse. When the door of the private room was opened, the first thing that caught his eye was an embroidered screen. Through the silk satin on the screen, Xu Qing'an vaguely saw a person sitting by the window, drinking tea.
After Xu Qing'an stepped into the room, the servant immediately retreated and closed the door.
Xu Qing'an glanced back, turned around, and saluted the person behind the screen, saying, "Mr. Su."
Su Wang put down his teacup and stood up straight: "Master Xu is here, come and sit down."
Xu Qing'an walked in, bowed to Su Wang again, and then sat down.
"I wonder why Lord Su is looking for me?"
Su Wang was wearing a scholar's robe today with an ebony base and gold thread embroidered on it. It was low-key, but also matched his status.
He kindly poured a cup of tea for Xu Qing'an and said, "The weather is nice today, so I thought I'd go out for a walk. I didn't expect to run into Lord Xu. Then I remembered that we haven't met much since Lord Xu entered the government. So, since we met today, I invited Lord Xu to have a chat."
Xu Qing'an nodded. "So that's how it is." He said modestly, "In fact, I have long wanted to visit Lord Su, but I am humbled by my limited experience and humble status. I feel ashamed of myself and I am afraid to disturb Lord Su by visiting him rashly."
Su Wang became interested: "Oh? Lord Xu still wants to come visit me?"
Xu Qing'an smiled. "Yes, Lord Su's virtues are known far and wide, and his political reputation is far-reaching. He has always been a role model for students all over the country. When I was in Yangzhou before, I discussed your deeds with other students. Everyone yearned to meet Lord Su."
Su Wang stroked his beard and said with a smile, "Master Xu is not only good at handling affairs, but also good at speaking."
Xu Qing'an said sternly, "Master Su doesn't believe it? If you have the chance, you can go to Yangzhou and see for yourself. Hmm... perhaps you don't have to go to Yangzhou. Nowadays, students all over the world look up to Master Su as a role model. If you go to places frequented by students, you should be able to see what I just described."
Su Wang certainly believed it. Ever since he forced Su Silang to death because of the death of a slave, he had become famous. In recent years, he had always acted as a wise minister who was benevolent and loved the people. So he was indeed more happy to hear those words from Xu Qing'an.
Su Wang said, "Those are just empty names, so there's no need to dwell on them. On the other hand, Lord Xu, despite his young age, has made numerous political achievements, earning the admiration and envy of many. There's really no need to belittle yourself."
He responded with what Xu Qing'an had just said, that he didn't dare to visit him rashly.
"Look, after what Lord Xu went through in prison this time, all the officials who heard about it were worried about you."
Xu Qing'an smiled slightly, he knew that this was the reason why Su Wang came to see him today.
But he raised his brows, a look of worry or sorrow on his face: "Is that so? I should be worried indeed. After that incident, I didn't dare to return to Chang'an."
Su Wang asked: "Why is this?"
Xu Qing'an smiled bitterly, "Of course I'm afraid of retaliation." He sighed, "Speaking of which, this matter is indeed unlucky for me. It was clearly a routine inquiry, so how could such a thing happen to that great general? They say he has many old subordinates in the army. I'm really worried that those generals will pester me for an explanation."
Su Wang said nonchalantly, "General Xue suffered from the Soul-Separation Syndrome in his early years due to injuries and alcoholism. This incident cannot be blamed on Lord Xu. Although he has many former subordinates, they are all court officials, not fugitives. Lord Xu does not need to worry."
Xu Qingan breathed a sigh of relief: "With Lord Su's words, I feel relieved. I thought I had almost caused a disaster that would have left the army leaderless."
Su Wang raised his eyes, took a deep breath, and looked at him intently. "A group of dragons without a leader... Lord Xu is quite thoughtful. So, after this incident, who do you think should take over General Xue's position and calm the troops?"
Xu Qing'an was flattered and said, "How can this be discussed by a humble official? I have only recently entered the court and do not know many people. I cannot answer Lord Su's question. On the contrary, Lord Su has been prime minister for over ten years and should be more familiar with who can take on this important task. If Lord Su and I work together to stabilize the military morale, I believe this turmoil will be quelled quickly."
Su Wang smiled and said, "Master Xu is right. You are new to the court and a civil servant, so asking you to recommend a military general is indeed difficult for you. By the way, when you went to the prison last time to question the general, did you get anything out of it?"
Xu Qing'an thought about it carefully and shook his head. "No, we didn't get anything out of him during that time. And even though he was in prison at the time, everyone was considerate of his status and didn't give him any trouble. On the contrary, everyone did their best to meet his needs. So during the routine, the thing he talked about most was that he was out of wine and wanted to drink."
"That's certainly his style," Su Wang muttered. Then he raised his eyes with a smile and said, "Let's not talk about that anymore. The weather is nice today. Sir Xu, please have some tea."
——
Xu Qing'an stayed with Su Wang for a while before saying goodbye and leaving. Su Wang did not stop him and let him go.
Not long after Xu Qing'an left, Su Ran, who had been sitting in another elegant room in the building, came over.
"uncle."
Su Wang's kind expression was gone, and his eyes were filled with coldness and cruelty. He asked, "How are the Imperial Guards doing?"
Su Ran said, "Recently, there have been a few generals in the Imperial Guards who have been clamoring to confess. Perhaps they are vying for a position." He glanced at the teacup sitting across from Su Wang on the table and asked, "Did Uncle find out what you asked just now?"
Su Wang twirled his fingers, praising him slightly. "He knows when to advance and when to retreat. After the Xue Hong incident, he didn't participate in the Ministry of Justice's subsequent decisions. Just now, when I asked him what he thought of Xue Hong's successor, he avoided the main point and didn't say much." Instead, he suggested that he and Xue Hong's successor work together to stabilize the military morale. Su Wang recalled for a moment and continued, "As for Xue Hong, he just acted arrogantly and asked him for wine in prison."
Su Ran nodded. "That's consistent with what the jailer said." He suddenly cursed, "That scoundrel Xue Hong has become increasingly arrogant in recent years, relying on what happened back then. If he dies this time, my uncle will be able to seize his military power."
Su Wang glanced at the teacup on the table and said, "After all, we've worked together for so many years. I had no intention of killing him, but who made him talk about what happened back then?"
——
After nightfall, the palace was silent. Shangguan Xu wore a black cloak and walked quickly to a side hall in the dark without a lantern.
There were still no candles lit in the hall. The moon was full tonight and the windows were wide open, casting a hazy silver light over the entire area near the windows.
The young man who arrived first sat in his seat, and the moonlight from outside only outlined his silhouette.
Shangguan Xu stood at the palace gate and looked at him, and saw that he seemed to be taking a nap with his forehead resting on his hand.
"Master Xu, are you sleepy?"
A familiar voice came, and Xu Qingan slowly opened his eyes.
"Your Majesty is here." He smiled and straightened his posture again. "This palace garden, accompanied by the beautiful night scenery, is really pleasant. I have unconsciously felt sleepy. I am sorry to have embarrassed you."
Shangguan Xu vaguely saw the sleepiness in his eyes, so he didn't bother to care whether he saluted or not.
As soon as she sat down at the seat next to her, his voice came from behind her: "What do you think of the handling of Xue Hong's matter, Your Majesty?"
The voice was smiling and seemed to be asking for reward.
Shangguan Xu raised his eyes to look at him and said calmly, "I originally thought you were going to use his soul-leaving syndrome to draw out some evidence of his guilt, so that the Ministry of Justice could investigate him and force Prime Minister Su and the others to quickly convict him. I didn't expect you to let him die in prison."
Xu Qing'an shook his head and sighed, "It seems that Her Majesty is still too kind, believing that dealing with people should be done according to the law. But then again, Her Majesty is a princess, so it's best not to get your hands stained with too much dirt."
Shangguan Xu asked, "So you killed him?"
"No." Xu Qing'an said bluntly, "I just made him crazy, the rest was done by Prime Minister Su."
He said, "Your Majesty, do you want to know why he went mad?"
He asked himself and answered, "It's ephedra. Although ephedra has the effect of clearing the lungs and relieving asthma, it can also cause the blood to surge upwards, which is a big taboo for people with soul separation syndrome. And Xue Hong loves wine, so he added ephedra to the wine."
Xu Qing'an said nonchalantly, "As for what happened later, I stayed at the mansion after I was injured, so I don't know much about other things."
"Hmm... I heard that after Xue Hong fell ill, he kept shouting 'Shangsi Night' and 'Your Majesty'. He acted like a madman, and I don't know what he meant. Could it be that this made Prime Minister Su want to kill him?" Xu Qing'an asked sincerely.
Shangguan Xu turned his head away, lowered his eyes, and said, "I don't know. How could anyone else know the secrets between them?"
Shangguan Xu had basically investigated everything about Emperor Zhao. Xue Hong and Su Wang were in cahoots with each other, and it was their conspiracy to assassinate the king on the night of Shangsi.
Shangguan Xu clearly remembered that an assassin stabbed him before he fell into the water, and when his body was finally found by the Jinwu Guards, it was covered with wounds.
Xue Hong, who was the General of Jinwu Guard at the time, said that those were caused by sharp rocks at the bottom of the river.
Shangguan Xu knew that Xue Hong's purpose was to cover up the fact that he was assassinated.
Because of this, she had even wondered countless times whether those scars were, were... were they intentional!
It's completely disfigured, barely recognizable as a human! This is to obscure the marks of the assassin's wounds!
Today, when Xu Qing'an mentioned the past, those old thoughts flooded into Shangguan Xu's mind again. She suddenly trembled all over, feeling angry and painful.
But she leaned on the table with her hands, trying her best to suppress her emotions. She couldn't show these emotions.
Today, she let Xu Qing'an into the palace in the name of the little emperor. One reason was because of Xue Hong's matter, and the other was because today, on the way from Chang'an to the palace, A Zheng saw Xu Qing'an who was following the Su family's servants to accept the invitation.
Regardless of what he and Su Wang discussed, the fact that Su Wang had taken the initiative to invite him meant that Su Wang was interested in winning him over. This weakened his original reason for choosing her because Su Wang had many confidants and was a rare talent.
However, he was cold-hearted by nature and always valued power and profit. It was difficult for her to guarantee that his position would not waver, so she could not let him know some things, otherwise she might personally hand him the knife that would kill her when he turned to Su Wang in the future.
Xu Qing'an took in her expression at the moment. He saw her hands tightly gripping the corner of the desk, but her face was surprisingly calm, and her tone was as calm as ever.
Don't you know? Or is it because you're involved that you can't say?
He looked away, his robe on his legs already wrinkled, but he continued to follow her words with a smile, "That might be because the Shangsi Festival is coming soon. It's quite interesting that a madman still wants to celebrate the Shangsi Festival."
Shangguan Xu turned and looked at him.
Xu Qing'an tilted his head: "What's wrong? Did I say something wrong?"
Shangguan Xu withdrew his scrutinizing gaze and said softly, "No, the third day of March is coming."
"Well...it's time to get ready." Xu Qing'an suddenly said with anticipation.
Shangguan Xu was puzzled: "Preparing for what?"
Xu Qing'an said confidently, "The third day of the third lunar month is the day when young men and women meet, so naturally I want to spend it with the Empress."
He propped his elbows on the table, leaned forward suddenly, and said with a deep meaning in his words: "Your Majesty, I have completed Xue Hong's affairs. What about the things you promised me?"
——
Late at night, when everything is silent, any subtle sound can be heard clearly, such as the rustling of silk and the breathing of each other when two people look at each other.
She promised him...
It was that night when she avoided his lips, turned her head away and said, "Let's talk about it after we deal with Xue Hong's matter."
Now that Xue Hong's matter was settled, he came to her to ask for what she had promised him.
Shangguan Xu slowly stood up and turned to the window.
She held onto the window sill and looked up at the full moon: "The moonlight tonight is not as beautiful as that day."
Xu Qing'an remained seated, turning slightly to look at her sideways. "Tonight is the sixteenth. Logically, the moon should be rounder than that day, and the moonlight should be even brighter. Oh, I almost forgot. Your Majesty prefers the moonlight hidden among the clouds."
Shangguan Xu lowered his eyes.
Yes, that kind of moonlight won’t make people see too clearly.
But the voice behind her was clearly impatient: "What? Your Majesty, are you planning to continue admiring the moon like this tonight? Until the mist gathers and the clouds cover the moon?"
Shangguan Xu took a deep breath quietly.
Xu Qing'an was also staring at her from behind, with a full moon hanging high in the sky.
He didn't know how he came up with such a cold and harsh tone, and he didn't know what choice he wanted her to make.
He had long lost his patience with her repeated delays, and he desperately wanted her to come over and kiss him!
But he inexplicably hoped that she would continue to delay and prevaricate.
As long as she gives a reason.
However, he looked at her and saw her close the window. The last ray of moonlight brushed across her neck and across his eyes.
The hall was pitch black.
"What is your Majesty doing?" the young man sitting on the seat asked in a cold voice.
"Shh." Accompanied by a peony fragrance, the slender hand gently pressed on Xu Qing'an's lips.
She knelt behind him, put one hand on the side of his neck, and then slowly stroked his cheek with the other hand.
Darkness spread, and Shangguan Xu had not had time to adapt to everything in front of her, but she knew clearly that she had to give an explanation tonight.
It was not only because she had been hooking him for so long and needed to show some appreciation to ease his anxiety, but also because he met Su Wang today.
She had to give him what Su Wang couldn't give him.
Xu Qing looked up at her quietly.
She traced his outline, her cold fingers touching his lips, bringing warmth: "Didn't Xu Qing ask me what I promised you?"
Shangguan Xu smiled and said, "I'll tell you right now."
She leaned down and suddenly kissed him on the lips.
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