Chapter 22 Chapter 22 It is indeed...shameless...
The emperor on the higher level stared at him with interest, and everyone's eyes also turned to him.
Ning Wujie felt like he had thorns on his back, as if he was being roasted on fire.
Is that so? Then everyone would naturally think that he had cured this tyrant of his love poison.
But if you refute it and say that Your Majesty has not had any relationship with anyone, no one will believe it.
After all, romantic rumors always spread faster than the truth.
That's why this tyrant deliberately said something ambiguous. Rather than letting people make up stories about it being about Wang Yian, it would be better to say it's about him...
Anyway, the relationship between them has long been unclear in the eyes of others.
This tyrant didn't leave him any choice at all.
He is indeed...a shameless and tyrant!
He took a deep breath, tightened and unclenched his clenched fists, and finally closed his eyes. He said in a dry voice with helplessness and difficulty, "That's right, Your Majesty."
As soon as he finished speaking, he saw Wen Xing smiling with satisfaction.
Ning Wujie laughed so hard that his teeth itched.
Everyone: ...
Why do I feel like I'm being shown off in affection?
Isn't it really too much for these two to admit to the love poison in a place like Xuanzheng Hall?!
Where is the majesty of the imperial power? Where is the solemn temple?!
The young emperor leaned proudly against the dragon throne, glancing sideways at the stunned Wang Xuanxuan. "The case is closed. What else do you have to say?"
"Oh, by the way, I guess you're going to say empty words are not enough."
"The Imperial Medical Bureau has the medical records showing that I was poisoned by Zui Gu Xiao, which is the evidence."
After hearing this, Wang Xuanxuan felt that there was no room for explanation and was stunned for a moment.
I had planned everything, but I never expected that these two people would be so shameless as to admit such a thing in public!
All the plans have failed, what should I do now?
Wang Xuanxuan looked at the Queen Mother for help.
Queen Mother Wang Fuwei's face was as gloomy as water, and she glared coldly at Wang Xuanxuan.
Useless thing!
Just now, Ning Wujie was clearly about to take the blame for the sake of the emperor's reputation, but the emperor just made it up as a romantic affair with a few words!
There was not even a question of his reputation being damaged. After all, it was common knowledge that the emperor loved Chongning Wujie and that they ate and slept together.
The opportunity to get rid of this person was missed, what a pity!
Wang Fuwei thought in annoyance.
Wen Xing looked at the chief officer of the Three Judicial Departments and asked, "What should be done if someone is found to have no grievances after beating the drum for reporting the case?"
The three judges exchanged glances, and seeing they couldn't refuse, the Grand Justice reluctantly bowed and said, "Give him thirty strokes of the cane in court."
Wang Fuwei stopped him loudly: "Wang Xuanxuan served the late emperor well, and now he is sixty years old. How can he withstand thirty strokes of the cane?"
"Besides, he beat the drum today simply because he couldn't bear the sudden loss of his beloved grandson. Although Wang Yian committed such a wicked act, I hope Your Majesty can show some understanding and forgive him this time."
Without waiting for the emperor to speak, she said to Wang Xuanxuan in a serious tone, "Since the report has been made, it cannot be left unresolved. I will demote you by one rank."
Upon hearing this, Wang Xuanxuan immediately took up the conversation, "The Empress Dowager is right. This is all my own fault. I misunderstood Lord Ning without knowing right from wrong. I am willing to accept the punishment."
Wen Xing frowned and was about to refute, but Ning Wujie said, "Your Majesty, the Prince of Pingyang is over sixty years old. Why not spare him the thirty strokes of the cane?"
Everyone was stunned.
Did they hear wrong?
Why is Ning Wujie speaking up for his opponent?
Wang Xuanxuan looked at Ning Wujie suspiciously. Would this kid actually repay evil with kindness?
Unexpectedly, the next moment, Ning Wujie said sternly, "The Huanhai Tower case is deeply implicated with the Prince of Pingyang. Why don't you let me arrest this man first?"
Wang Xuanxuan forced himself to remain calm and said, "Nonsense! What has this old man got to do with Huanhai Tower?"
Ning Wujie said, "The Huanhai Building's underground trading network has far-reaching connections. The owner of the building absconded with the list and was nearly murdered." As he spoke, he noticed Wang Xuanxuan's guilty expression and said coldly, "But fortunately, he was intercepted by my men."
Upon hearing this, Wang Xuanxuan was shocked.
Failed?
Why did his spies report that the poster was dead and the list had been destroyed?
Could it be that this brat, still wet behind the ears, had tricked him?
Thinking of this, Wang Xuanxuan felt as if a basin of cold water was poured over him, chilling him to the bone.
How could a seventeen-year-old boy be so cunning?
As Ning Wujie spoke, he gestured to Wang Xuanxuan, "Prince, please come in."
Seeing the situation take a turn for the worse, Wang Fuwei frowned and lowered her voice, "Huaiyu, this man was personally appointed a prince by the late emperor. According to my opinion, this matter can be tried by the three judicial officials. Why must he be sent to the imperial prison?"
The three judges named: ...
I dare not judge. I dare not judge.
But Jianwen Xing said without question: "The Supervisory Department supervises all officials, which naturally includes the prince."
Wang Fuwei frowned in dissatisfaction. She leaned close to Wen Xing's ear and lowered her voice to remind him, "Huaiyu, Wang Xuanxuan is the backbone of the Wang family in Luoyang. The Wang family has always followed Your Majesty's lead. Please give him some leniency."
When Wen Xing heard this, he seemed to finally understand why this prince dared to beat the drum to report his mistakes.
Since ancient times, the power of aristocratic families has been intertwined and complex, and many emperors have been constrained by them.
After traveling through time for so long, he finally understood why the original owner was unable to change the fate of this country.
It had nothing to do with the Taifu's indecisive governing philosophy, but simply because the emperor needed Wang's support to secure his position.
Wen Xing stared at the young man at the bottom of the stairs, and suddenly realized that he had allowed the other party to make drastic progress and reach the untouchable area.
The previous case of embezzlement of the national treasury had not caused any serious damage to the Wang family. They had already regarded Ning Wujie as a thorn in their side, so they used Wang Yian's death to set up today's situation.
What would happen if Ning Wujie captured this prince?
Seeing that the emperor on the high level had a gloomy face and seemed hesitant, Wang Xuanxuan curled up a complacent smile.
Ning Wujie seemed to have sensed the emperor's hesitation. He was just wondering if this foolish ruler was going to give up at the critical moment when he heard the emperor on the higher level say, "Ning Wujie."
"I am here."
"Let me ask you, what should we do if the game reaches a stalemate?"
Ning Wujie raised his eyes and met the gaze of the emperor on the higher level.
He had always seen a sense of laziness in the eyes of this incompetent ruler, as if he didn't care about anything. But today, he saw a look of complete seriousness and determination in it.
Without a second thought, he said in a deep voice, "I will overturn the chess game."
The resounding words were like a thunderclap that exploded in the hall, causing everyone present to look astonished.
The hall was silent for a few breaths.
Until the young emperor burst into laughter.
"Okay."
Wang Fuwei was shocked and shouted, "Huaiyu!"
Wang Xuanxuan's eyes widened in anger, "What do you mean, Your Majesty?!"
Before he could finish his words, two Jinwu Guards stepped forward and grabbed him.
Ning Wujie raised his hand and said, "Take him away."
Wang Xuanxuan was dragged away, turned his head and shouted: "Your Majesty! You can't treat me like this. I was personally appointed as a prince by the late emperor! Your Majesty! I am a king..."
The voice disappeared outside the palace gate.
Upon seeing this, all the officials and nobles were so shocked that they dared not speak.
Your Majesty, are you crazy to go against the Empress Dowager's family?
Wen Xing stood up and leisurely walked down the stairs. Behind him, Wang Fuwei suddenly stood up and said sternly, "Huaiyu, do you know what you did?!"
But Wen Xing turned around and looked at Wang Fuwei coldly, his voice lazy and indifferent: "Mother, who in this world has the surname Wen?"
Wang Fuyi was stunned, and her face suddenly darkened.
She saw Wen Xing's thin back as he walked down the jade steps leisurely. His figure was as light as a fairy, but more like a kite with a broken string, which could never return to her hands.
The emperor, dressed in a light bamboo green Taoist robe that dragged on the ground, walked through the crowd and stopped in front of Ning Wujie.
A burst of ambergris suddenly wafted to the tip of my nose.
"I allow you to overturn the chess game, but don't let me down."
After he finished speaking, the man in green robes walked away with a flick of his sleeves. Ning Wujie almost stood there, watching the light bamboo green color dissolve into the skylight outside the door.
*
The cold wind of late autumn blew into the house through the cracks in the windows and doors.
Winter is approaching, and even the wind blades are becoming much sharper.
Even after the trap was lit, Wen Xing's frail body still felt cold.
"Li Dequan..."
The silkworm pupa on the couch hummed.
The old eunuch hurried over, "Your Majesty."
"Is there a hot spring in the palace?"
He wanted to take a bath, and he missed the hot spring SPA in his previous life where he could stay for a whole day and have everything he needed for eating, drinking, and having fun.
It is especially suitable for hanging out all day in very cold weather.
The old eunuch was not surprised by His Majesty's forgetfulness and reminded him, "There is a hot spring pool in the palace, but it is not as big as the Hot Spring Palace in Lishan."
Wen Xing's eyes lit up, "Is Tangquan Palace far away?"
"At the fastest, it will take one day, at the slowest, it will take two days."
"Get ready."
Wen Xing stretched out an arm lazily: "Change clothes."
Li Dequan seemed a little embarrassed. "But, Lord Ning said that the mastermind behind the last assassination has not yet been found. Your Majesty, please do not leave the palace at will."
Wen Xing: ...
He even asked Ning Wujie about this after leaving the palace? Who was the emperor?
The silkworm pupa was very unhappy and said, "Let Ning Wujie come over here."
Li Dequan was a little embarrassed: "Lord Ning went to the imperial prison early this morning."
Wen Xing gritted his teeth.
This stubborn guy has an excuse to slip away every day. He has something to do during the day and something to do at night, so he's nowhere to be seen from morning to night.
Do you hate him so much that you avoid him all day?
What about the promise to take responsibility for his safety?
He was angrily saying, "Tell him to come and see me as soon as he returns to the palace!"
*
Supervisory Office Prison.
The prince, dressed in a green python robe, sat upright on a prison chair, with countless torture instruments behind him. He looked at the young man standing before him without any fear, and said coldly, "Doctors cannot be punished. This prince was personally appointed by the late emperor!"
Ning Wujie turned his back to the prisoner and did not respond. His fingertips brushed across the torture instruments on the table, finally landing on a steel needle that was more than a palm long. He picked up the steel needle and looked at it in the firelight.
His gaze was cold and frightening, and deep within his eyes were hidden emotions that were difficult to fathom.
"That Zui Gu Xiao is a drug commonly used by Huan Hai Lou to enhance sexual pleasure. How did your grandson Wang Yian get it?"
As he spoke, he turned around and walked towards Wang Xuanxuan with the steel needle in his fingertips.
The needle tip gleamed sharply in the light of the torch, and there was a faint trace of blood on the handle. Wang Xuanxuan's pupils shrank when he saw it. "You...you can't torture this prince!"
Ning Wujie sneered, "How could the prince be so naive? This is the imperial prison."
He raised his chin slightly, and two inspectors pressed Wang Xuanxuan's hands tightly on the torture table, and pressed his head down tightly against the table, forcing him to look at his right hand that was about to be tortured.
Under Wang Xuanxuan's horrified gaze, the tip of the steel needle in the inspector's hand was hanging in front of his index finger, almost about to pierce through.
"This needle went in, going straight from the fingertip to the metacarpal bone. No one in the imperial prison has ever been able to get a needle in all these years." An inspector said coldly.
"Don't worry, Your Majesty. Doctors are not subject to such punishment. This kind of punishment will only leave a needle hole and break a few bones at most. I guarantee you will be safe and sound."
Wang Xuanxuan was so frightened when he heard this that his hair stood on end and cold sweat dripped down his face. His pupils dilated and he struggled violently, but he was held down and could not move at all.
But he was still struggling: "How should I know? It's true that Yi'an is my grandson, but don't even think about putting his crimes on my head!"
But a voice chilling to the bone marrow said from above: "I will answer for you, because you are the real owner of Huanhai Tower, and you gave him the Zuigu Xiao."
Wang Xuanxuan was startled and blurted out, "Nonsense! Ning Wujie, don't even think about framing me!"
Ning Wujie sneered: "Do you think I can say all this without any evidence?" As he spoke, the steel needle easily pierced into his flesh.
Wang Xuanxuan let out a shrill scream. The severe pain was instantly transmitted from the nerves at his fingertips to his brain, causing him to stop breathing.
"I...I said!"
"I gave it to his servant on purpose."
Ning Wujie looked at Wang Xuanxuan, his gaze growing colder. "You're using your own grandson to set me up?"
Wang Xuanxuan angrily said, "That lunatic! He's been going berserk since he saw His Majesty three years ago! He insisted on not going to the Imperial Academy and wanted to serve His Majesty instead. How could such a worthless person be born into our Wang family?"
"Use him to set up a trap. If it succeeds, you can share His Majesty's favor with you. If it fails, you will be a murderer. Why not do it?"
Ning Wujie stared at the old man with gray hair and beard in front of him, his cold eyes revealing contempt.
He leaned close to Wang Xuanxuan's ear and said sinisterly, "King regicide means the entire clan will be exterminated."
"I didn't! I didn't commit regicide!"
Wang Xuanxuan endured the severe pain and frantically denied it, "I didn't expect him to assassinate me!"
But Ning Wujie said, "Oh?" and "You didn't kill the king?"
"Weren't you the one who hired the Half Moon Tower to assassinate me last time?"
As soon as he finished speaking, the needle tip penetrated another half inch.
Wang Xuanxuan's wails immediately resounded throughout the imperial prison.
His legs trembled, and he shouted in a trembling voice, "I didn't do that! I want to kill you! Not Your Majesty!"
The stench of urine emanated from his crotch. The two inspectors holding him down showed disgusted expressions.
Wang Xuanxuan's lips were pale and he was trembling in pain.
"Those idiots from Half Moon Tower! They attacked you as soon as they saw you board the carriage, completely unaware that the person inside was His Majesty!"
"I didn't... I really didn't kill the king." His voice gradually weakened, but he continued to deny it.
Ning Wujie narrowed his eyes, his expression not too surprised.
With his position, he has cut off the financial resources of countless people, and there are many people who want to kill him.
He stood up with disdain and said to the Supervisor beside him, "Continue the interrogation and make him confess all the influence of the Wang family in the army and make a list for me."
"yes."
Ning Wujie turned around and strode out of the imperial prison.
As soon as he returned to the palace, before he had time to change his clothes, he was called away by a eunuch.
The eunuch led him trotting along in front, saying apologetically, "His Majesty has ordered that Lord Ning should go as soon as he returns, without delay."
Ning Wujie was led to a palace. He looked up and saw the words "Ninghui Palace" written on the plaque with the help of the lamplight.
Ning Wujie was puzzled and turned to ask the eunuch, "Is His Majesty here?"
This foolish emperor usually just stays in his bedroom to sleep, or sneaks out of the palace to visit brothels. He even has to be coaxed into going to court. Why has he changed his nature today?
What is this Ninghui Palace used for?
The eunuch only lowered his head and smiled, "My lord, please come with me."
The eunuch held a palace lantern, creating a small circle of warm yellow light on the road ahead. A red carpet was laid on the lapis lazuli floor tiles.
Ning Wujie's boots stepped silently on the red carpet. He walked through the hall and turned around several landscape screens. The air suddenly became humid and heavy.
The warm scent of sandalwood mixed with sulfur hits your face.
He was first led to a cubicle to bathe and change into a tea-white robe with wide sleeves.
Then he was led to a curtain.
The view was obscured by a layer of translucent moon-white gauze, and the objects behind it were covered with soft light, with only outlines visible.
There is the sound of trickling water.
Ning Wujie had a bad premonition in his heart.
The eunuch paused in front of the curtain and reached out to open it, "Sir, please come in."
Water vapor suddenly rose from behind the curtain.
In the haze, a figure was leaning against the rock wall of the pool, with black hair hanging down, half of it falling into the water.
Most of the man's body was submerged in the water, with only the curve of his shoulders and neck exposed above the water.
Ning Wujie was stunned, realized what he had seen, and suddenly turned and left.
"stop."
The voice of the tyrant came from behind.
Ning Wujie closed his eyes and didn't dare to look back, "What is the matter, Your Majesty?"
The sound of splashing water was heard. Wen Xing turned around, rested his arm on the pool wall, and hooked his finger at Ning Wujie, "Come here."
Ning Wujie took a step back stiffly.
"Why are you going so far? Come closer."
Ning Wujie took a deep breath and took three steps back, "Is that enough?"
The distance was already very close; if he stepped back a little more he would step into the pool.
Wen Xing rested his head on his arms and looked up at him. He saw that his eyes were closed and his brows were furrowed.
"What are you hiding from?"
The tyrant emperor found it funny.
"Oh, are you going to say don't look at what's inappropriate again?"
"What's so taboo about this? I'll let you see it."
Ning Wujie still didn't move.
"How can you serve me without opening your eyes?"
Ning Wujie gritted his teeth, "I can't learn it."
"I command you."
Wen Xing sneered in his heart. Hiding from him, right?
He stood up directly from the water, and the splashing water splashed down, soaking Ning Wujie's boots.
Noticing his movements, Ning Wujie's brows furrowed even tighter.
Wen Xing walked up the shore barefoot step by step. The water in the pool outlined his body as it slid down, and his butterfly bones, like flapping wings, were exceptionally clear.
He walked around to Ning Wujie and stopped in front of him, looking at the boy's furrowed brows and closed eyes with interest.
A pair of eyelashes trembled slightly because of excessive tension.
His gaze swept across the tip of Ning Wujie's ear, which was slightly pink.
He smiled, curled his lips and said, "Open your eyes and look at me."
The eyelashes trembled, and the eyelids lifted slightly with difficulty.
Ning Wujie forced his gaze to remain fixed on the face of the tyrant.
But that face was covered with a thin layer of moisture, the hair on the forehead stuck to the cheeks wetly, tiny water droplets hung on the eyelashes, and the dim light was imprinted in the pearlescent light, reflecting bits of bright gold, which contrasted with the pair of gem-like eyes.
The hazy and moist gaze swept over, as if it had substance, causing Ning Wujie's Adam's apple to roll and his back to stiffen.
The foolish emperor lazily walked to the lounge chair by the pool and lay down, beckoning him with a finger: "Come here, massage my legs, and learn your way of serving the emperor well."
Ning Wujie clenched his fists.
......tyrant ruler!
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The author has something to say: Little 5j, if you are unwilling to learn how to serve the king now, you must not take the initiative in the future.
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