Chapter 50
After hesitating for a long time, Xie Ling couldn't help but call Qian Ming. When Qian Ming came over, he asked:
"Xiao Qian, there seems to be a Firefly at Qinghua Terrace, do you want to go see it?"
Qian Ming, who had been instructed by Eunuch Wang a long time ago, pretended to be unaware of the situation.
"OK."
"It's still early now. If you want to go, let's go together."
Xie Ling was immediately happy, changed his clothes and followed him out.
…
In the Wannian Pavilion, it was unknown how much time had passed before Xiao Huan put down the military book in his hand and looked at Wang Bao indifferently.
Wang Bao understood and said, "Your Majesty, Master Xie has already gone out."
Xiao Huan glanced at the teasing old slave and felt a little uncomfortable.
"Let's go."
"I haven't relaxed in a while."
Wang Bao: …
I understand, I understand. Your Majesty did it to relax himself. It was definitely not because of Master Xie that he had people capture Huo Jingu for a long time and drove her to Qinghuatai.
Well, it's all what Your Majesty wants to see. Wang Bao felt that he understood, and his expression remained unchanged.
After Xiao Huan walked to Qinghuatai, he saw Xie Ling playing happily with a net bag, but he became a little hesitant.
Tsk, this guy rarely relaxes, wouldn't he be restrained if I went over there? Just as he was frowning, Xie Ling turned around and saw His Majesty.
Normally, it's a little hard to see people clearly in the dim lights at night, but there are too many fireflies here.
Groups of fireflies roamed the wild grass of Qinghua Terrace, lighting up the night sky. At this time, in the darkness, Xie Ling saw His Majesty at a glance.
For a moment, neither of them reacted. It was not until Qian Ming had already saluted that Xie Ling came back to his senses.
cough
"that."
"Your Majesty."
Why would His Majesty come here so late at night? This place is quite far from Wannian Pavilion, right? Could it be that he is bothered by government affairs and came here for a walk? Xie Ling was making all sorts of guesses in his mind, but he didn't notice that the eunuchs around him had already left.
After Xiao Huan collected his thoughts, he said calmly: "I'm just taking a walk."
He paused: "Are you catching Huo Jin Gu?"
Xie Ling nodded: "Just play with it for a while."
After a moment of hesitation, Xie Ling saw His Majesty looking at him and asked subconsciously, "Is Your Majesty coming too?"
As soon as the words came out of his mouth, Xie Ling wanted to slap himself.
What nonsense is he talking about? How could Emperor Wu play with fireflies? He is clearly a horseman shooting arrows, and has nothing to do with fireflies.
Just as Xie Ling was about to take back what he had just said, he heard His Majesty say, "Since you said so."
"I'll give it a try."
Xiao Huan paused for a moment and said, "The captured firefly can be placed in front of your bed as a night lamp."
“Release it the next day.”
There are special net cages in the palace that will not suffocate the fireflies.
Xie Ling suddenly raised his head, his eyes lit up:
"Is what your majesty said true?"
Xiao Huan felt a little uncomfortable being stared at and coughed.
"Don't joke."
Only then did Xie Ling forgive Emperor Wu and happily handed the fishing net to His Majesty.
"Your Majesty, please give it a try."
"I just tried to catch it for a long time without success."
He had just let it go, but he didn't expect someone else to come.
Xiao Huan took it and moved closer under Xie Ling's gaze. To be honest, Xiao Huan didn't like these bugs because he had mysophobia, even though the Fire Gold Gu was slightly better than other bugs.
But after all, he wanted to make Xie Ling feel at ease, so he still frowned and caught a net bag.
Having been riding and shooting for many years, his eyesight and reaction speed were not comparable to Xie Ling's. He caught a lot in just one go. Xie Ling came over instantly, and the seal applauded:
"Your Majesty is amazing!"
There was suddenly a presence of someone around him, and he was so close. Xiao Huan's body stiffened slightly, but Xie Ling, who was immersed in shock, didn't notice it at all.
"Your Majesty, catch another net bag."
"That'll be enough for now."
Just when Emperor Wu agreed, a palace servant brought a special small wooden cage. The gap design was very beautiful, which could set Jin Gu on fire without suffocating her. When Xie Ling picked it up from the ground, he was a little impressed by the efficiency of the palace servants. At this speed, it would be unreasonable not to get promoted.
Hearing the host's sigh, the system hesitated to speak after overhearing the palace servants say that it was arranged in advance by Emperor Wu, and for a moment, it didn't know whether it should expose Emperor Wu.
Seeing that the host was clueless, the system had no choice but to swallow the words in its mouth.
The first net bag was full of fireflies, and a few more were caught later, so the small wooden cage was filled with more than a dozen fireflies. Xie Ling picked it up and took a look, and the corners of his mouth were raised and never lowered.
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
"But where did this cage come from?"
There is such a thing in the palace? It seems to be different from your Majesty's style.
Xiao Huan paused, recalling something.
"When the previous emperor was in power, many concubines in the palace liked to catch fireflies, so the Ministry of Internal Affairs made a lot of these wooden cages."
All in all, it is still the remnant of the former queen's harem.
So that's how it is, Xie Ling nodded. Thinking that all the concubines had been moved out of the palace, it shouldn't be a big deal for him to take this wooden cage, right?
After catching fireflies, the awkward atmosphere disappeared. Although Xiao Huan didn't like the fluorescent powder on Huo Jin Gu's body, his eyebrows relaxed a little at this time.
Just then, Xie Ling raised his head and said, "Your Majesty, it's so late, shall we go back?"
After traveling so far and catching fireflies for half a day, he was actually tired a long time ago. If it weren't for this small wooden lamp, he wouldn't have persisted for so long. Now that he was satisfied, the belated sleepiness came over him.
Xiao Huan glanced at him and saw that he was really done playing, so he said:
"Let's go."
The two of them walked along the palace road back to Qianyuan Hall. When they reached the door, Xie Ling was about to bow and take his lantern, but he heard His Majesty suddenly ask a question.
"Are you feeling better?"
Um?
Xie Ling was stunned for a moment, and hesitated for a long time before reacting.
"Your Majesty, did you come here specially to accompany me?"
He originally thought that Emperor Wu was upset because he was reviewing memorials and came to take a walk. Wait, did he come to see him on purpose?
He blinked, his mood subtly complicated.
"Much better."
Xiao Huan did not answer Xie Ling's question just now about whether he came here specially to accompany him. After hearing Xie Ling's response, he just said: "Then go back and rest early."
"You will continue to be on duty tomorrow."
Uh oh.
"Yes, Your Majesty."
By the time Xie Ling realized what was happening, he had already agreed. It was not until he returned to the palace and looked at the freshly baked firefly wooden cage that Xie Ling could not help but realize:
"Tongzi, why do I feel like I've been tricked?"
System: ...You just discovered it?
The system remained silent.
Xie Ling stared at the small lantern opposite for a long time, watching the fireflies flying around inside. At this time, he simply covered his head and thought: Forget it, no matter whether it is a trick or not, he still has a firefly, right?
Doesn’t seem like a loss?
…
The next morning, Xie Ling came to work in high spirits. Well, because of the gift from His Majesty last night, he acted as if nothing had happened this morning, which made Wang Bao look at him a few more times.
Your Majesty is really capable. He has indeed coaxed Master Xie into submission.
Wang Bao nodded and said, "Master Xie, please come in. His Majesty is waiting for you."
Wait for him?
Hmm? What are you waiting for him to do?
Xie Ling was inexplicably alert. When he arrived at the hall, he saw His Majesty sitting on the dragon throne. He raised his eyebrows when he saw him come in.
"Just now, the Minister of Rites in charge of the provincial examination came."
This sentence went back and forth in Xie Ling's mind for several times before Xie Ling suddenly reacted.
"The test results are out?"
He realized something was wrong after he said it, and smiled awkwardly: "Your Majesty, please forgive me. I was just too excited just now."
"Somewhat out of control."
He looked intently at the pile of scrolls on His Majesty's desk, extremely curious.
Xiao Huan glanced at him.
"It has indeed come out, but the notice will be posted tomorrow for public notice."
"We'll know when the time comes."
Xie Ling: …
So Your Majesty said this just to tease him?
You can’t see it anyway.
Xie Ling hesitated to speak, his expression changing constantly.
Xiao Huan put away the scroll and asked Wang Bao beside him to put it away.
"Okay, pour me a cup of tea."
Of course, there is no need to point to Wang Bao for such words. This old servant is very smart, so it can only be Xie Ling.
Xie Ling twitched his lips, came over and obediently poured a cup of tea.
"Your Majesty, is this all right?"
Xiao Huan took a sip and was a little surprised: "Well, the water temperature is OK today."
Of course, he had learned the lesson from yesterday when His Majesty said the water he poured was too cold. Xie Ling was very proud.
Xiao Huan originally thought that this guy would be very curious about his provincial examination results, but after waiting for half a day, Xie Ling didn't say a word, and didn't even ask again.
Xiao Huan felt a little strange.
"Aren't you curious?"
Didn’t he want to know when he saw Xie Ling coming in just now?
Xie Ling: …
Who wouldn't want to know the results after taking the exam, especially since he had put so much effort into the exam. But judging from the look on His Majesty's face, today's results were only presented to His Majesty by the Minister of Rites, so he still didn't look at them.
It’s just a day’s wait, and he can wait that long.
Xie Ling said righteously: "I don't want to embarrass Your Majesty."
"It's just one day. There's still time to read the notice tomorrow."
Anyway, if you win, you win, and if you don’t win, you don’t win. Looking at it in advance won’t change anything. Just be positive and you can sleep well tonight.
Xiao Huan didn't expect him to be so "righteous" and was silent for a moment.
"I underestimated you."
Xie Ling: …
“No.”
He was indeed quite panicked when he first came in, but he didn't expect the examiner to correct it so quickly and was not affected by the events of the past few days at all.
But it is also true that if you fail to handle such an important matter well, you will be held accountable.
Who would want to joke about their life and property?
Xie Ling muttered to himself for a long time, and Xiao Huan saw that this guy suddenly became absent-minded again, and he raised his head casually to take a look. Just now he found that the novel above Xie Ling's head seemed to have been updated.
As expected, the novel that had been delayed for a few days because Xie Ling had an exam appeared above his head again after a long absence.
Xie Ling's update tonight was very important, because the turmoil in the court during this period reminded him of some things recorded in history books, which gave him more inspiration and made him write like a god.
So Xiao Huan had just finished teasing Xie Ling when he looked up and saw the golden words on Xie Ling's head.
——"Three sentences to make His Majesty fall in love with me"
Well, it’s still the familiar cliché title, but at the beginning, the tone of the story suddenly takes a sudden turn.
Xiao Huan's eyelids jumped when he saw the first sentence written.
"Oops, after arguing with Prince Cheng all night, I woke up and remembered that Prince Cheng was going to die soon."
Xiao Huan was stunned for a moment.
Prince Cheng was going to die? If he remembered correctly, the novel was still in the Dali Temple prison at this time, but how could Prince Cheng die at this time?
Having not read it for a few days, Xiao Huan thought he had missed something important.
He narrowed his eyes slightly, and just when he had some guesses in his mind, the young medical officer gave him the answer.
"So why is the host so stubborn? Why not just ignore him? Now when the cellmate next to him dies, the Eagle Guard will not suspect that it was the host who did it, right?"
"God knows how this guy died suddenly overnight."
“How strange.”
"But wait, I suddenly remembered that the history books seem to have recorded the death of Prince Cheng, and even mentioned one thing specifically - saying that Prince Cheng was poisoned to death by a cup of poisoned wine from His Majesty."
Xiao Huan: ...Ridiculous!
"How is that possible!"
"The host is not a fool. Prince Cheng has been imprisoned in the lower level of the Dali Temple for so many years. He has no power to resist. If His Majesty wanted to kill him, he would have been killed long ago. How could he be killed at this juncture? Moreover, Prince Cheng is not like Empress Dowager Sun, who still has the upper hand in filial piety and was not sentenced to death back then. Prince Cheng is guilty of treason. Your Majesty does not need to be afraid of him at all."
"So, based on my shallow speculation, there is something wrong with the cause of death of Prince Cheng!"
"After Prince Cheng died in the ninth year of Qianyuan, the people were talking about it. Afterwards, the prince of Zhou from the royal family seemed to have submitted a memorial to Emperor Wu. I don't know what was written, but the next day someone in the court openly wanted to welcome Queen Mother Sun back to the palace, and they used words like "I'm worried that the Queen Mother's safety could not be guaranteed because she was out there alone."
"I didn't dare to say this originally, but now that Prince Cheng has died, Your Majesty, who is suspected of poisoning his own brother, will have a hard time dealing with this stepmother."
The young medical officer's speculations, one after another, were exactly the same as the thoughts that Xiao Huan came up with in a flash.
It's the clan again. They can hold their ground. Queen Mother Sun is just a cover now. In order to prevent me from sending troops, those people are determined to find a reason to bring Queen Mother Sun out to suppress me.
He had a blank expression on his face, but suddenly he laughed out of anger.
Good, it is good indeed!
Although Xiao Huan was not afraid of these means, he was really fed up with these endless calculations, and his face had turned cold at this time.
Just as Xie Ling was regaining his composure, he saw the Emperor Wu across from him, whose expression suddenly became gloomy. He was a little confused and didn't know what was going on.
Well, wasn't it fine just now?
Knowing that there was still time, Xiao Huan finished the things in his hands with an expressionless face and looked to the side: "Let Liang Chun come over."
The Eagle Guard in the dark immediately disappeared silently.
Tsk, it’s time for Lord Liang to take action.
Xie Ling realized that something was wrong. Could it be that the memorial just now contained something against Tiangang?
No, he's still not here.
"Your Majesty, I shall leave first then?"
Xiao Huan pressed his brows and said, "Go down."
He paused for a moment before looking at Xie Ling and said, "Don't worry, it's not a big deal."
"I will accompany you to see the list tomorrow."
Xie Ling nodded and left.
It was not until Xie Ling left that Xiao Huan looked at Liang Chun and said calmly:
"Go to the Dali Temple to check on Prince Cheng."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Become a prince?
Something happened in Dali Temple?
Liang Chun took the order and left thoughtfully, returning to report after an hour.
"Your Majesty, Prince Cheng is still in custody."
"But I see that there seems to be something wrong with several of the jailers in the Dali Temple?"
He glanced at His Majesty cautiously as he said this.
Xiao Huan said coldly: "Don't be surprised."
"Someone has reached into the Dali Temple."
Liang Chun realized that His Majesty had known about this for a long time, and lowered his head slightly.
The Eagle Guards were not monitoring everywhere at all times, so it was normal that there were places they could not see. Xiao Huan did not blame Liang Chun.
At this moment, I tapped my knuckles on the table, and suddenly thought:
"Speaking of which, Xiao Xun probably doesn't want to die no matter what."
The fact that his royal brother had been imprisoned in the Dali Temple for so many years and had never sought death showed how much this useless person valued his life. Unexpectedly, although he did not seek death on his own initiative, the royal family wanted to kill him.
I don't know how this idiot will react when he finds out?
He closed his eyes, thought for a moment and said, "Send someone to secretly transfer the Prince of Cheng and place a replacement in the Dali Temple prison."
"I want to see what qualifications the royal family has to argue with me when we catch them red-handed."
Rather than watching these members of the Xiao clan jumping around and causing trouble, it would be better to take this opportunity to clean them up all at once. When he said this, he had already made up his mind.
Upon hearing His Majesty's words, Liang Chun immediately obeyed the order.
"But what about those bribed jailers?"
"Never mind."
"Just let them continue to pass on the message."
Xiao Huan sneered: "Remember to let my brother take a good look at who wants to kill him."
Although he didn't care about the reputation of killing his own brother.
But whoever did it should take responsibility.
…
Prince Zhou didn't know that the royal family had already known about it before they took action. Ever since Prince Shun was severely reprimanded that day, they knew that it was impossible to expect His Majesty to retreat on his own.
It is imperative that Empress Dowager Sun return to the palace.
Since the case of the real and fake students was not working, the royal family turned their attention to the Dali Temple. Prince Cheng was also a descendant of the Xiao family. Now that he had been imprisoned for many years, there was no difference between being alive and dead. At this time, it was natural for him to make a contribution to the stability of the Xiao family. Several princes of the royal family were still hesitant about poisoning Xiao Xun.
King Zhou made up his mind: "Your Majesty has been in control of the court for so many years, it is not an exaggeration to say that no one disobeys. If Your Majesty directly says to send troops to the Xiongnu, do you think those fence-sitting officials will object? I am afraid they will compromise after a few struggles. The only ones we can rely on are old bones like us. When the late emperor was alive, he asked us to take care of the Xiao family. Now that Your Majesty is determined to do it, how can we ignore the late emperor's will?"
"The only place we can take action now is Prince Cheng. If we don't take action now, when will we take action? We should act quickly this time, while His Majesty is not paying attention to this place. Then we can bring up the Queen Mother and bring her back to the palace with justification."
As long as Empress Dowager Sun can return to the palace...it will be easier to plan for the rest of the things.
The other princes of the royal family were able to sit here, and they didn't think they should go to war with the Huns. Whether it was out of selfishness or really for the stability of the country, they looked at each other.
Your Majesty's movements must be restricted.
King Zhou glanced around and relaxed his brows: "Don't worry, everyone. The people from the Dali Temple have been sent in. When the time comes, they will mix the poisoned wine into the food."
"Your Majesty will not have any obvious evidence to find us."
He said expressionlessly: "When the time comes, I will collect the body of my nephew King Cheng and perform a ritual for him."
"What time?" someone asked hesitantly.
The date for this incident must also be chosen carefully, preferably a day related to the late emperor, so that it will be easier to persuade the emperor with emotion and reason.
After much deliberation, they decided on a date ten days later, which happened to be the anniversary of the late emperor's death.
Prince Cheng has passed away at this time, and the royal family is worried about the safety of the late emperor's widow, the Empress Dowager. It is neither moral nor reasonable for Your Majesty to refuse to welcome her back to the palace, right?
After discussing, several princes stood up and left. It was not until King Zhou, who was in charge of this event, left that Prince Shun looked outside with some hesitation.
"Is this really necessary?"
"Wouldn't this mean that we have completely broken with His Majesty?"
Prince Shun had not said a word before. He had already disobeyed His Majesty in the case of the real and fake students. After being dismissed from office, he seemed to have aged a few years.
He did not speak during the conversation between several members of the royal family just now. After a while, he slowly said: "My father has already broken off with His Majesty."
"But do you think it's really right for us to stop His Majesty?"
He had previously firmly believed that it was not appropriate to mobilize troops at this time, but now, seeing a group of royal family members who were just waiting to die and using all kinds of tricks, he began to doubt his previous actions.
Do these people really think the same as he does?
Prince Shun was silent. Prince Shun pressed his forehead and sighed after a while:
"Forget it. Prince Shun's Mansion will not be involved in this matter."
"etc."
"Let's wait and see." If the Huns really have to fight... he will wait and see.
"Yes, father."
"Don't worry too much, go back and rest first."
Prince Shun carefully helped his old father up and returned to the backyard.
…
Xie Ling originally thought that the emperor's expression suddenly changed yesterday, and something big must have happened today. However, when he came out after washing up the next day, he found that the emperor seemed to be the same as usual, as if nothing had happened?
Hmm? Could it be that he had misjudged what happened yesterday and it wasn't something serious?
system:……
In fact, it was quite serious, but His Majesty Emperor Wu handled it quickly.
Seeing this guy staring at him, Xiao Huan frowned: "What's wrong?"
"Well, it's nothing. Your Majesty, are you really going to accompany me out of the palace today?"
Does your majesty have time?
Xie Ling looked a little doubtful.
Xiao Huan glanced at him and said, "There's still time to go out and read the notice."
Xie Ling: …
Damn it, His Majesty clearly knew about it yesterday, and he wanted to go with him to see it, it was definitely intentional. Xie Ling hesitated for a long time, but the desire to see the results prevailed, so he silently held back his words and got on the carriage.
At this time in the morning, the results had just come out and someone was already posting the list. When they were leaving the palace in the carriage, they could see the crowd in front of them from afar.
Xie Ling: Damn, I’m so nervous.
System: "Host, where is your calmness yesterday?!"
Xie Ling: "I was calm yesterday, what does that have to do with my nervousness today?"
The system was choked by the host and was speechless.
Xiao Huan: "Let's go down and take a look."
“Oh.”
Xie Ling turned around and looked at His Majesty, then jumped off the carriage, and when he reached His Majesty, he tiptoed as hard as he could.
Well, the first place in this provincial examination is clearly listed.
It was Zhang Jing, the son of Ningguo Duke.
A series of names were listed one after another. Xie Ling opened his eyes wide and searched for a long time, and actually found him among the top ten!
It happens to be in the third row, and it is - number nine!
"System, am I dreaming?"
The system was also shocked.
I was originally laughing at the host's nervousness, but now looking at the results notice, I was in a trance: "Host, am I dreaming?"
Everyone was in a daze and watched it again in disbelief.
Well, I’m not seeing things, there’s no same name or surname, it’s just number nine!
"Tongzi, I have returned to my ancestral nature and brought honor to my family!"
Is he also the legendary genius? Xie Ling woke up as if from a dream, and the system immediately attacked the host who was about to drift away.
"Host, calm down. There will be a joint examination in the spring, and then there will be a palace examination."
With these words, Xie Ling immediately put away his desire to ascend to heaven, and he coughed lightly to remind her:
"System, it's too early." Shouldn't you at least wait until tomorrow to strike?
However, he happily admired his ranking again, and then returned to the carriage happily.
Just as Xiao Huan was thinking about how arrogant this guy was, he saw Xie Ling suddenly remembered something after laughing and came over. With dimples, he asked, "Your Majesty, were you also very happy for me after seeing the results yesterday?"
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