Chapter 27 Chapter 27 They were once husband and wife!
The first time she called him Brother Jing was on New Year's Day of that year. The Crown Prince accompanied the Emperor to receive congratulations from all officials. She was invited to the East Palace as an accompanying official to attend the luncheon.
After the grand celebration was over, she brought a rabbit lantern to welcome him back.
"Is this a gift for me?" He took it with both hands, his eyes showing unconcealed joy.
"Yes!" Shangguan Xu nodded, his eyes curved. "This is my favorite rabbit lantern. They say it symbolizes good luck, so I gave it to my prince. I wish him a happy and healthy new year."
He concealed his inner joy and asked, "But you gave me your favorite, what will you do?"
Shangguan Xu was proud and open-minded: "Ah? It's okay, Seventh Brother and I did a lot together before."
"Seventh Brother?"
"He's Uncle Su's son, the seventh son of the Su family. We often play together."
"Ahem..." The young man coughed suddenly, then put his fist to his lips in a mature manner. He slowly raised his eyes, "Sister Ah Xu, can I discuss something with you?"
Shangguan Xu listened carefully.
"Can you please stop calling me Prince Brother?"
"What's that called?"
"Call me Brother Jing."
Prince is just a status, while Jing is just a name.
Their marriage was arranged when their parents were still alive. Although they were childhood sweethearts and loved each other, he had always been polite, respectful and caring towards her. Sometimes, even the shyness he showed in front of her was just an excuse for her to tease him.
On the eve of her wedding that year, she entered the palace and was familiarized with the wedding rules by the female officials of the Shangyi Bureau.
On the day she was leaving the palace, he sat side by side with her under the osmanthus tree, his hands awkwardly placed on his knees, and he couldn't help but lift up the hem of his clothes.
But he remained calm and said, "The wedding process is complicated. Have you been tired these past few days?"
She looked at the golden osmanthus tree and responded with her usual smile: "Not bad."
He then asked, "Have you been getting used to the food in the palace lately? Is the accommodation comfortable? Is there anything you need to improve?"
She still shook her head: "No, everything is fine."
"What about the dress? Does it fit? Do you like the style? Is there anything that needs to be altered by the Fashion Bureau?"
"Also, have you been to the Lizheng Hall? Is there anything you want to buy?"
"You like peonies. I've already had the embroidery and incense prepared. Do you have any..."
"No, no, nothing at all." She finally couldn't help interrupting, "I think everything is fine, very much to my liking."
She knew that he kept chattering and asking questions because he was afraid that he had not taken her into consideration in some way, but she really thought it was all good.
She tilted her head to look over and asked softly, "Brother Jing, are you nervous?"
He grabbed the hem of his clothes even tighter: "I, I'm just worried about you..."
"What are you worried about?"
"I'm worried...I've neglected you somewhere."
She laughed softly.
The boy was puzzled: "What are you laughing at?"
She pretended to be thoughtful and said, "Now that Your Majesty has reminded me, it seems that I am indeed missing something."
"What is it?" he asked seriously.
He was so focused that he didn't even notice her deliberate change of address.
The time was quiet, she looked at him, then suddenly leaned over and touched her lips to the side of his face.
His whole body stiffened, and then his face turned red.
And she smiled and said, "It's no longer needed now, Your Majesty, don't be nervous anymore."
In the afterglow of the setting sun, with the fragrance of osmanthus in the air, he could no longer hide his smile.
…
However, time has passed, and in the dark side hall, the kiss from the same person has become very different.
His eyes had slowly adapted to the darkness. Xu Qing'an kept his eyes open and watched the person in front of him kiss him with her eyes closed.
Why do you close your eyes? Are you just going to sink into it?
A surge of anger suddenly rose in his heart, and he suddenly put one hand on her waist and put the other hand around her arm and clasped it behind her head.
He stood up with her!
He stepped on the seat, straddled the back of the chair, and with a powerful force pushed her back against the window.
With a bang, the window was knocked open.
Shangguan Xu felt pain in his back and frowned, but he swallowed all the words.
However, he still didn't care, holding her with extremely aggressive and coercive force and kissing her.
He just remembered that they were once husband and wife! He was the one who knew every inch of her!
Shangguan Xu was breathless from his kiss, and she sobbed in his arms with her eyes wide open. She resisted terribly, but he closed his eyes and refused to let her go no matter what, and she couldn't move him away.
Finally, while he was changing, she took back his tongue, and then found the right opportunity to bite his lips hard!
"Hmm!" Xu Qing'an groaned in pain.
As the strength in his hands weakened, Shangguan Xu immediately pushed him away.
“That’s enough!”
After pushing him away, Shangguan Xu lost his support and could only cling to the windowsill to support himself, gasping for breath.
Xu Qing'an's breathing was also not yet calm, and there was still madness in his eyes when he first raised them.
He slowly calmed down and stroked the wound on his lip with his finger. The window had been knocked open a crack by the shoving just now, and the silvery moonlight seeped in, illuminating the blood-red stain on his lips with incredible clarity, so cold, yet so crazy and dazzling.
He only took one look at the blood on his fingers and smiled leisurely, "I saw Your Majesty with her eyes closed, and I thought you liked it this way."
She likes this?!
She closed her eyes clearly because she didn't want to see his face!
It was obvious that he was overwhelmed with desire and couldn't control himself, so he actually said that she liked him. Shangguan Xu was almost amused by his words.
But let him think so. If he really believed that she had any romantic feelings for him, he might be able to help her more sincerely.
Her breathing returned to a steady state. Shangguan Xu let go of the window sill and stood up straight. She followed up Xu Qing'an's words with a sarcasm, "Xu Qing seems so familiar with these matters, but is there a place for Xu Qing on the list of elegant men of pleasure in Pingkangfang?"
Xu Qing'an smiled and said, "Your Majesty, you're joking. Even if other gentlemen occasionally invite me to sit in Pingkangfang, I don't like to go there."
As he spoke, he suddenly hissed, and rubbed his chest with his hand, as if complaining: "Your Majesty was really strong just now, and it hurt my heart."
Shangguan Xu looked at his slightly contrived expression of pain in the moonlight and asked suspiciously, "Were you really kicked by Xue Hong?"
She always thought that what was spread outside was just something he deliberately spread to cover up.
Xu Qing'an felt wronged. "Of course, Xue Hong is a veteran with nearly thirty years of service. Who can stop him when he goes crazy? I am no exception."
You can't stop it, but you can definitely escape.
Others thought that Xue Hong had suddenly gone crazy and perhaps was unable to react in time, but Xu Qing'an had completely expected it. He was kicked, and it was obvious that he was the one who caused it.
But Shangguan Xu thought again. He had been imprisoned and whipped dozens of times for the matter of the Censorate. Now, it was not surprising that he got kicked in the face in order to get rid of suspicion.
But he continued, "I have put in a lot of effort to complete the task entrusted to me by Your Majesty. Now that I have been kicked, I am even weaker. Do you think Your Majesty will give me any response?"
"What does it mean?" Shangguan Xu asked.
Xu Qing'an's eyes lit up: "Please help me apply some medicine."
As he spoke, he actually took out a medicine bottle from his sleeve.
But Shangguan Xu didn't take it. He just frowned and took a look, then returned to his seat and sat down.
"Doesn't Xu Qing have a miracle doctor at home? It would be better to let that miracle doctor apply medicine to you. Besides, Xu Qing's injury should have almost healed, right? Otherwise, he wouldn't have been unable to push you away for a long time just now." Shangguan Xu looked up at him and said jokingly.
Xu Qing'an's brows twitched. Of course, he wanted her to apply medicine to him, but now her words hinted at a refusal. He was not angry, but sat down next to her, leaning over with his hands on the table.
"It's almost healed, but the doctor said I still have to keep applying the medicine. But if your Majesty doesn't want to, then don't worry. The wound is just on my chest anyway, and I can apply it myself when I get back."
Shangguan Xu turned her head in surprise. She had thought that he would pester her for a while like before. She was ready to deal with him, but she didn't expect that he would give up so quickly this time, and his mood was obviously much better than before.
"What's wrong? Your Majesty, do you have anything else to say to me?" He raised his lips and leaned over to look at her.
Shangguan Xu turned his head and stopped looking at him because he didn't want him to notice anything unusual.
She said seriously, "Of course, Xu Qing and I have been joking for so long, it's time to talk about some serious business."
Xu Qing'an sat up straight and nodded cooperatively, "Well, your Majesty is right. Let's get down to business then."
Xue Hong died suddenly in prison, and his generals were naturally unwilling to give up easily. The loyal ones would shout a few words and ask the court to give an explanation, while the ambitious ones would naturally want to take this opportunity to replace Xue Hong.
This is naturally a mess.
Fortunately, someone rushed to clean up this mess.
Su Wang also wanted to take advantage of this opportunity to swallow up Xue Hong's military power, but because of the conflicts between him and Xue Hong, Xue Hong's old subordinates would not allow him to subdue them so easily. So if he took this opportunity to replace his own people, Xue Hong's old subordinates would definitely cause chaos. And if Xue Hong's old subordinates replaced Xue Hong's position, then Su Wang's sword to kill Xue Hong would be in vain.
So the two sides fought against each other, each side was afraid that the other side would gain some advantage.
So Shangguan Xu and Xu Qing'an, who were watching the fight from the shore, conspired together that night and chose one person for their two sides -
Finally, the court decided on the successor to the Grand General of the Jinwu Guard, Xie Qian.
In the past, Lord Yuhua died young, leaving behind only a daughter, Su Yi. This Xie Qian is Su Yi's husband.
Xie Qian has served as the deputy envoy of the local governor in recent years, but he was also a member of the imperial guards in his early years and had some acquaintances in the imperial guards, so he had some foundation when he came to the Jinwu Guard.
Xie Qian was the son-in-law of Lord Yuhua, so naturally he was also a close relative of Su Wang. Although Su Wang did not support the person he wanted to support the most, he reluctantly accepted it considering the relationship.
As for Xue Hong's former subordinates, although they all put pressure on Su Wang at the same time, they actually had their own plans internally.
Although Xie Qian was transferred from the local area, he had military merits and was qualified for the position of general. Secondly, everyone knew that although Xie Qian was the son-in-law of the Su family, he did not have much contact with Su Wang. So the position of general did not fall to Su Wang, nor to the other subordinates of Xue Hong who were competing with them, so they were secretly happy.
Although neither side achieved its original goal, fortunately the other side did not gain any benefits, so naturally, they also gained an advantage.
Xie Qian is not Shangguan Xu's man either.
However, she understood Lu Qian.
Lu Qian did not get involved in party disputes and was a neutral minister who was loyal to the country.
To those with wolfish ambitions, a neutral minister might be called pedantic, but what Shangguan Xu did now was indeed enough.
Zhong is immediately loyal and reasonable.
——
The matter of the Jinwu Guard was settled with the issuance of the promotion edict, and the matter of Youzhou was also revealed. The court gave a reasonable judgment and made the culprit Xue Yongxing receive the punishment he deserved.
Now that March is almost here, spring hunting is on the agenda.
Hunting was a royal affair, so the person in charge only needed to report the details to the empress dowager. As a representative of the Ministry of Justice, Xu Qing'an was sent to report the results of the Youzhou case to the empress dowager.
Everything went on as usual. The officials in charge of organizing the spring hunt reported their respective responsibilities one by one, and Xu Qing'an reported on the affairs of Youzhou last.
During this time, he often made eye contact with her, and each of them smiled imperceptibly. However, who among the people present knew that so many calculations and plots were involved in just one case.
After all matters were reported, Shangguan Xu gave a few more instructions, and his eyes met with the young man who was the only one in the crowd who raised his eyes, and there was another tacit understanding between them.
Just as everyone finished their ceremony and prepared to leave, a palace attendant arrived outside the hall to report, "Your Majesty, Minister Su of the Ministry of Rites has sent a letter on horseback, saying he has arrived in the capital and will be on his way to the temporary palace."
Xu Qing'an turned around and paused, his eyes fixed.
Su Shang, Minister of Rites.
Her seventh brother.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
