Chapter 68
Because of the right prime minister's request, the whole city of Yong knew that there was actually another imperial prisoner who escaped in the Xiao family's treason case ten years ago.
As for who escaped, it wasn't hard to guess. With the exception of Xiao Luochen, everyone in the Xiao family was executed in Yongjing. The one who survived was naturally the one who wasn't executed in Kyoto.
On the day the prison van entered Beijing, both sides of the street were filled with people watching the excitement.
Xiao Luochen rode in the prison van through the streets, and it felt no different from when he rode in a carriage through the streets and alleys.
He looked at the shops and the bustling crowds lining the road, secretly comparing them with the Yongjing City in his memories. The streets were still the same, but only a tenth of the shops he had visited as a child remained.
Many people in the crowd who were watching the excitement recognized Xiao Luochen, and they all shook their heads and sighed, saying it was a pity.
Ten years ago, they had seen the imperial examination results, and Xiao Luochen had chosen him as the top scholar. Unfortunately, less than three days after the results were announced, the Xiao family was implicated in treason. Instead of the top scholar's parade, the people of Yongjing witnessed the execution of the entire prime minister's family.
The people of Kyoto still haven't figured out why Prime Minister Xiao, who was at the highest position in the country, committed treason.
The Xiao family consists of seven sons. With the exception of the fourth son, who is unable to enter officialdom due to a leg disease, the others all have promising futures. What benefits could a family with such a prosperous life, enjoying the lavish lifestyle, gain by secretly collaborating with a hostile state? The emperor is not unpopular among the people, so could the Xiao family possibly plot to usurp the throne?
However, no matter how confused and puzzled they were, they had no choice but to accept it. After all, the late emperor was recognized as wise and benevolent, and the people could not believe that such a wise ruler would unjustly kill a virtuous minister for no reason.
Moreover, Prime Minister Xiao voluntarily confessed his guilt and accepted punishment, so the case did not seem to be a wrong. Therefore, although rivers of blood were shed at the time, no one mentioned it again as time passed.
Who could have imagined that ten years later, the most talented and renowned Young Master Xiao Qi would actually return alive. As a result, the doubts from that year resurfaced in people's minds.
When the prison van passed by Wangjing Tower, Xiao Luochen suddenly remembered the days when he and Su Musong had snacks here.
At that time, they would deliberately sit in a private room facing the street, brew a pot of good tea, set aside a table of exquisite snacks, open the window, and watch the bustling crowds on the street, guessing their identities from their expressions and movements. They never tired of this and would sit there for half a day.
But this time, Xiao Luochen became the one being watched.
When Xiao Luochen looked towards the private room where he and Su Musong often sat together, Su Musong happened to be looking at him with a smile on his face. Xiao Luochen tilted his head to look at Su Musong, and unconsciously smiled. He wanted to wave to him, but he couldn't move by himself under the shackles, so he could only wave his palm.
Su Musong had an idea, and he took a stack of black rice cakes with date paste, flew out of the window, and landed on Xiao Luochen's prison car amid the exclamations of the crowd.
The escorting guards thought someone was trying to hijack the prisoner, so they stopped and surrounded him, pointing their spears at Su Musong. But seeing that he didn't seem to have any intention of breaking free from the cage, they simply surrounded him without taking any action, waiting for Wang Zheng to come and make his decision.
Wang Zheng rode over and ignored the person when he saw it was Su Musong. At the moment, they were hoping that the Anguo Mansion would be involved in this case, and Young Master Su's actions in public would give them an excuse.
Su Musong completely ignored what others thought of him. Now he could not see anyone else except Xiao Luochen.
Xiao Luochen was wearing a shackle and his hands were not convenient to move, so Su Musong broke the rice cake into pieces and fed it to him.
"Luo Chen, try this, does it still taste the same as before?"
Xiao Luochen took a bite from Su Musong's hand
"Well, it's the same as before, but I can't handle it that sweet now. Next time, I'll have to ask Master Li to use less sugar."
After just one bite, Xiao Luochen knew that this was the craftsmanship of the master he used to like.
"Okay, I'll tell Chef Li to reduce the sugar content by three points when he makes cakes for you next time."
Su Musong fed him bit by bit, and Xiao Luochen ate it bit by bit. As their eyes moved, the two of them seemed to be in the scenic Nanhu Observation Deck, rather than in a noisy street market, separated by a cage.
The crowd watching looked at the two men in amazement. They had never seen anyone visiting a prisoner on the street, nor had they seen anyone smiling so happily while sitting in a prison van.
"Musong, it's too sweet. I want to drink tea."
Before Su Musong could say anything, the owner of Wangjinglou immediately served him tea.
After Xiao Luochen finished his tea, Su Musong realized he didn't want to eat the cakes. So, he took out a handkerchief and gently wiped the water marks from the corners of his mouth, carefully wiping the dirt off his face. Using his fingers as a comb, he combed Xiao Luochen's messy hair and tore off the hem of his clothes to use as a headband to tie his hair.
"Chi..."
"Luo Chen, what are you laughing at?"
"I remember when we came back from Yuelong. I injured my hands and feet, and you fed me water and food every day, and tied my hair for me. It's quite similar to the situation now."
"You let it slip."
"What's missing?"
Su Musong leaned close to Xiao Luochen's ear, lowered his voice, and whispered softly:
"I even bathed and changed your clothes for you."
Su Musong's warm breath hit Xiao Luochen's ears, and in just a moment, the tips of his ears turned red. Speaking of bathing and changing clothes, after their wild night on the cliff that day, although he was dazed the next day, he actually remembered how Su Musong helped him clean up.
"You said these things in public..."
"From now on, I will serve you tea and water every day, and help you bathe and change clothes."
At this point, Su Musong kneaded Xiao Luochen's earlobe in a vague manner. After spending the past few months in Qingzhu Village, he knew how to please Xiao Luochen too well. As a result, Xiao Luochen, who originally had only the tips of his ears red, suddenly had a blush on his cheeks.
After cleaning up, Su Musong looked at it carefully and felt that something was missing, so he took out the white jade hairpin on his head and put it on Xiao Luochen. After looking at it again, he felt satisfied.
Su Musong caressed Xiao Luochen's hand, playing with it and refusing to let go. Wang Zheng watched them flirt for a long time, his brow furrowed in a frown. Although he had seen from the beginning that their relationship was unusual, seeing it with his own eyes was a different feeling.
"Su Musong, are you done yet? Get out of the way now, or I will arrest you and put you in jail for kidnapping."
Su Musong looked at Wang Zheng with smiling eyes and said slowly
"The general and I were classmates. We haven't seen each other for many years. I just came here to reminisce about our old friendship. Saying that you're robbing a prisoner is really unfair to Mu Song."
Su Musong acted like the eldest son of the Su family, and he seemed to be a different person from the Su Musong who drew his sword and faced the enemy with a furious look at the king at the gate of Xizhou City.
If it weren't for the letters he received along the way, Wang Zheng would really doubt whether the Su Musong he met that day was the same one in front of him.
Su Musong poured a cup of tea and served it to Wang Zheng.
"General, you've been exhausted. Have a cup of tea to relieve your fatigue."
Su Musong smiled as if he were in the spring breeze, but Wang Zheng felt creepy. He gave Su Musong a cold look and rode his horse to the front of the team.
Seeing Wang Zheng leave, Su Musong grabbed the cage. Xiao Luochen knew that he had something to say, so he immediately leaned over to listen.
"Bu Yi is very good. The emperor has agreed to overturn the verdict. I will go to Biyun Temple to ask for help again."
Because of what happened just now, the escorting soldiers thought that the two were just talking about some unpleasant private things and did not suspect anything.
Although Su Musong only said this one sentence, it was enough.
Xiao Luochen tilted his head and kissed the palm of Su Musong's hand that was caressing his cheek, and everything was said without words.
The escort team walked away, the crowd gradually dispersed, and the streets returned to their former tranquility. At this time, the people in Yongjing City did not know that one huge event after another was approaching them.
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