Chapter 15 Petty People
When the carriage arrived at the gate of the imperial city, Liu Xi was once again frightened by the scene before her.
I originally thought that the grand send-off at the departure was just a whim of His Majesty, but I never expected that the welcome back to the palace would be just as high-profile.
Liu Xi helped Huo Lin down from the carriage, and the Empress Dowager immediately reached out and took Liu Xi's hand.
"Good child, you must have been frightened. Look at your little hands, they're so cold."
Upon hearing this, the emperor immediately ordered a maid to bring a fox fur coat and wrap Liu Xi up completely.
"I will definitely have someone thoroughly investigate this assassination attempt and give Xi'er an explanation."
As Liu Xi listened to the incessant mutterings in her ears, she looked up and met several unfamiliar faces with strange appearances on the city wall, and immediately understood the reason behind it all.
It turned out that the foreign envoys had arrived in the capital for the grand court assembly, and they were taking this opportunity to put on a show to demonstrate that the emperor was such a temperamental person.
Liu Xi understood perfectly, and then tearfully recounted her story to her father and grandmother.
Since I've already put on an act, I might as well make myself look more genuinely pained, hoping to soften the Empress Dowager's and the Emperor's hearts and give me more compensation and rewards.
"If it weren't for General Huo risking his life to protect her, Grandmother might never have seen her grandson again!"
Liu Xi didn't forget to pull Huo Lin back, so that he wouldn't be questioned by the emperor right away.
Seeing this, the emperor didn't say much.
"Huo Lin, although your failure to protect the emperor is a serious crime, considering that you escorted the princess back to the capital safely, your merits and demerits can be considered to offset each other, so I will not pursue your mistakes any further."
The Empress Dowager also hurriedly greeted them.
"Don't stand here any longer! Someone, take the princess back to her palace to rest properly, and summon the royal physician to examine her pulse."
Liu Xi was once again surrounded by a group of people and boarded a sedan chair, which headed away towards Yi Huai Pavilion.
The Yi Huai Pavilion has been completely renovated, and Zhi Xiang is eagerly waiting at the entrance.
The moment Zhixiang saw Liuxi, she disregarded all propriety and rushed into Liuxi's arms, crying and shouting how terrified she was.
Liu Xi patiently coaxed her as she shuffled towards the palace gate.
Before Liu Xi could even move into the hall, Zhi Xiang suddenly wiped her nose and knelt down in front of Liu Xi.
“Please, Your Highness, grant me death. Yesterday, the Seventh Prince somehow learned of your assassination attempt outside the palace and insisted on going to the Fifth Prince to plead your case before His Majesty so that he could personally leave the palace to find you, Your Highness.”
"But for some reason, the Seventh Prince went to Jinle Palace and never came back."
"What?"
Liu Xi paused, hurriedly scooping the roasted incense from the ground.
"Wasn't Liu Yan under house arrest? How come he was released from the Censorate so quickly?"
"This servant does not know. Perhaps the Imperial Concubine whispered something in His Majesty's ear, because the Fifth Prince was only imprisoned for one night before being released."
"Ah Yu is really something. He just lost his mind and didn't care about anything. It's my fault for not giving him more instructions before I left."
Liu Xi's feet hadn't even warmed up at Yi Huai Pavilion before she hurriedly stepped out of the archway, followed by Zhi Xiang, who was staggering along.
His Majesty has decreed that the Imperial Concubine will preside over this year's Grand Court Assembly, so she is not in Jinle Palace at this time.
Ignoring the maid's attempts to stop her, Liu Xi forcefully entered the inner palace. At that time, Liu Yan was practicing archery in the garden.
Liu Yan was slightly surprised to see Liu Xi.
As soon as he opened his mouth, harsh and unpleasant words came out.
"You actually came back alive."
Since that's the case, Liu Xi doesn't need to continue putting on a fake nice face.
She cut to the chase and asked, "Where is Liu Yu?"
"There's someone like that in the palace?"
Liu Xi snatched the bow and arrow from Liu Yu's hand.
"Don't play dumb, I know Liu Yu came looking for you."
Liu Yan's face turned completely ugly, and he looked down at Liu Xi with a provocative and evil smile.
"Oh, you mean that little bastard? He disguised himself as a guard and tried to sneak out of the palace. He's already been caught by the Imperial Guards and thrown into prison, hasn't he?"
"With the grand court assembly approaching, these rats running rampant in the palace should be locked up."
Liu Xi glared angrily.
"Liu Yu is a prince! He's your brother!"
"What a load of rubbish about a prince! Look around the palace, who recognizes him, who treats him as a master?"
Liu Yan suddenly took a step forward, closing in on Liu Xi.
"Instead of wasting your time, sister, you should pity yourself. Now that I have gained the Emperor's favor, my future is bright and promising. On the other hand, look at you, tsk tsk tsk."
“I know that Yi Huai Pavilion is deserted. Forgive my bluntness, but my elder sister would not stoop so low as to associate with that bastard.”
"After all, you are my sibling from the same mother. Even if you don't care about your own reputation, you should at least consider mine."
Unable to bear it any longer, Liu Xi swung her arm and slapped Liu Yan across the face.
Liu Yan was stunned in astonishment. "You dare hit me!"
"Let me tell you, I hit you because I was being polite!"
Liu Xi pointed at Liu Yan's nose, "You are so ignorant of your place, how dare you dream of standing in such a high position!"
"Liu Yu has the blood of the imperial family flowing in his veins. How is it any different for you to humiliate him than to humiliate yourself!"
"Have you forgotten the days after Mother was falsely accused of being a demon concubine and executed? How many cold shoulders and scornful meals did you and I endure? How were you any different from Liu Yu back then!"
Liu Xi narrowed her eyes, her face full of disdain and mockery.
"Once you climbed to the rank of Imperial Concubine, you forgot the path you came from and willingly recognized your enemy as your mother. Your mother has truly given birth to an ungrateful wretch."
In her past life, Liu Yan always said that she forced her to curry favor with the powerful concubine. Liu Xi felt guilty and was overwhelmed by the accusation of recognizing a thief as her mother.
If Heaven had not given her a second chance, she would never have known that even without her own schemes, Liu Yan would have held onto the Imperial Concubine tightly.
He's a complete and utter scoundrel.
Liu Xi's few words left Liu Yan speechless.
He could only grit his teeth and glare at Liu Xi, his eyes practically popping out of their sockets.
"I'll ask one last time, where is Liu Yu!"
In prison, Liu Yu leaned against a haystack, looking up at the sliver of light streaming in through the skylight.
In this palace, bad news always spreads faster than good news.
The fourth princess was assassinated, and her fate was unknown. Upon hearing this news, Liu Yu stopped making a fuss and became as quiet as if she were dead.
Even when he heard hurried footsteps outside, he had no intention of turning around to see who it was.
From a distance, Liu Xi shouted loudly.
"Ayu, Ayu!"
Liu Yu looked sharply in the direction of the sound and saw Liu Xi gripping the cell door with both hands, angrily cursing the jailer beside her for unlocking the door.
It wasn't until Liu Xi rushed into the cell and started pinching Liu Yu's shoulders and arms that his expression changed slightly.
"Sister?"
"It's because my sister arrived late that A-Yu has suffered."
It was cold, and the prison was damp and chilly. Liu Yu was only wearing a thin shirt and almost froze to the point of numbness.
"Is it really my elder sister, or am I about to die and she has come to take me with her?"
Liu Xi opened her mouth and spat repeatedly, wanting to give Liu Yu a hard knock on the forehead, but she couldn't bring herself to do it.
"Ayu is still alive, and she must live well with her sister."
Liu Yu's body went limp, and he placed his hands on Liu Xi's shoulders, affectionately resting his head in the crook of her neck.
"Sister..."
In just a few days, Liu Yu had grown taller and was now shoulder-length with Liu Xi.
Liu Xi did not come here rashly.
She was delayed for a while, but after obtaining an imperial edict from the Empress Dowager, she rushed over to rescue Liu Yu.
Because of their disrespect for the prince, all the palace servants involved were severely punished and expelled from the palace. This can be considered the most sincere explanation the Empress Dowager gave to Liu Yu, the unfavored prince.
Liu Xi rubbed Liu Yu's head. "I sent Zhi Xiang to look for Yao'er."
She's gone.
Liu Yu's voice was faint, revealing no emotion; only the force with which he spoke revealed his undisguised weariness.
“Yao’er has only suffered a lifetime of hardship since she followed me. I’m sorry to her.”
Actually, she was mentally prepared when Liu Xi said those words.
The truth was often crueler than she imagined; the girl had been tortured to death by the clerks of the Imperial Prison.
"Sister, only now do I understand what you really meant when you said that day, 'Not fighting or grabbing is incompetence.'"
"Power and status are the only means of survival for those in royalty."
The air was quiet for a moment, and then Liu Xi heard a firm response from Liu Yu.
"Sister, please help me fight for it."
"certainly."
Liu Xi helped Liu Yu up, and the oil lamps hanging on the walls of the prison cast long shadows of the two of them.
It was certainly a good thing that Liu Yu made up his mind, but Liu Xi still had other plans in mind.
She would never let Yao'er's life be taken away for no reason.
Not only that, but also the tragic death of Wang Shi. Liu Xi will personally demand justice from the evildoers for these innocent people who died unjustly.
Half a month later, the grand assembly officially opened.
At noon today, His Majesty will lead a group of princes to the Longding Steps to welcome the envoy into the Taiping Hall.
Early in the morning, Liu Yu put on the gorgeous clothes that Liu Xi had prepared for him in advance and followed Liu Xi to Shou'an Palace to pay his respects to the Empress Dowager.
As the saying goes, clothes make the man and a saddle makes the horse. The brand-new Liu Yu caught Liu Xi's eye and she almost didn't recognize him.
Liu Xi wore a proud expression and couldn't help but admire.
"With such a good foundation, who knows how handsome A-Yu will become when he grows up."
"Am I the way my older sister likes me now?"
Liu Xi nodded, "Yes."
"That's good. It was worth getting up early and dressing up."
When Liu Yu said this, his tone was flippant and smug.
On the way to Shou'an Palace, Liu Xi unexpectedly bumped into the dejected Liu Yan.
It seems he was turned away by the Empress Dowager.
In her previous life, the Imperial Concubine somehow learned that one of the foreign envoys at this grand court assembly had a life-or-death friendship with the Empress Dowager.
So she sent Liu Yan to curry favor with the Empress Dowager, hoping to get the opportunity to attend the grand court assembly with her.
Without Liu Xi, Liu Yan can only dream of taking down the Empress Dowager, that tough nut to crack.
Liu Yan was clearly unaware of Liu Xi and her companion's purpose, and upon encountering them on the road, he even had the mood to make a few sarcastic remarks.
"Hey, you don't actually think that dressing up like a respectable person will give you a chance to show up at the Grand Assembly, do you?"
He harbored deep resentment towards Liu Yan.
To be honest, he was very jealous that Liu Yan had a sister like Liu Xi.
Liu Xi was too lazy to argue with Liu Yan. She knew that Liu Yan's smugness would not last long. From this day forward, he would keep making a fool of himself and losing face until His Majesty completely despised him.
However, Liu Xi still offered a friendly reminder.
"It seems that Ayan's injuries from the hunting grounds have fully healed?"
"Don't let it affect the competition in the next few days. If necessary, have the imperial physician prescribe a few more doses of medicine to nourish your body."
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