Chapter 62: On a rainy night, the small piece of cloth in Xiao Yu’s hand was nothing...
Just when everyone thought that Lady Yan would be refuted by the king, unexpectedly, the king just looked at her deeply and then ordered the release of Princess Qionghua.
The guard released Yan Ruxue's grip as ordered, and Yan Ruxue immediately collapsed to the ground in exhaustion.
Princess Qionghua managed to escape, but Imperial Censor Jiang Yin was not so lucky.
When Jiang Yin saw the gloomy king's dark and cold eyes, he shivered unconsciously.
Then he heard the harsh judgment that was like the Asura of hell.
"Grand Censor Jiang Yin, guilty of the crime of gross disrespect, was sentenced to corporal punishment and exiled to Lingnan."
Upon hearing this, Jiang Yin collapsed to the ground. He couldn't believe that he, an old minister who was once the confidant of Ning Guojun, would be treated so cruelly by Xiao Yu.
The whole banquet fell into silence, and everyone's faces turned pale with fear.
Who is Jiang Yin? He is the most trusted court official of Empress Dowager Zhaojing and is considered to be her right-hand man.
But now he was sentenced so severely just because of the matter of establishing a queen.
Not to mention how humiliating corporal punishment was, the Lingnan area where they were exiled was an extremely humid, hot, and humid place surrounded by miasma, where few people lived.
Being exiled there basically means certain death.
Jiang Yin naturally thought of it, so his old face, which was filled with righteous indignation before, turned as pale as paper. He couldn't help but tremble and kowtowed repeatedly for mercy.
"Your Majesty, please forgive me! Your Majesty, please forgive me!"
Jiang Yin cried out, but the king in front of him had an expression as cold as ice, and was not moved at all by his pleas for mercy. He could only look at Queen Dowager Zhao Jing at the table and beg desperately like a drowning man grabbing a piece of driftwood.
"Queen Dowager, please save me! I am doing this for you!"
Empress Dowager Zhao Jing frowned upon hearing this, and naturally she couldn't bear it.
Jiang Yin has always worked for her, and Xiao Yu's treatment of Jiang Yin is nothing more than cutting off one of her arms.
She originally wanted to use Princess Qionghua's knife to get rid of Yan Shu, but who would have thought that she would end up implicating herself.
Of course, she couldn't just watch Jiang Yin being exiled to that poor and remote place.
Empress Dowager Zhao Jing then looked at the king at the table and pleaded, "Your Majesty, Doctor Jiang is a veteran minister who has devoted himself to the state. Although he has made no contributions to the Xiao Kingdom over the years, he has also worked hard. If I punish him harshly now, I'm afraid it will chill the hearts of the veteran officials in the court."
As soon as Empress Dowager Zhao Jing made her plea, her faction in the court naturally came out to plead for mercy as well.
Only those who are neutral and want to protect themselves remain at their seats and dare not act rashly.
"Your Majesty, Doctor Jiang has worked diligently for many years, working day and night, devoting himself to the Xiao Kingdom and its people. But now he has met such a fate. This will not only chill the hearts of all officials, but will also cause widespread discussion among the people of the world!"
"Your Majesty, Doctor Jiang has served Lord Ning since his time, sharing the good and the bad. If you, as Lord Ning's junior, were to abandon him like a worn-out shoe today, wouldn't the people of the world laugh at your heartlessness and disloyalty? I hope Your Majesty will remember our past friendship and show some mercy."
"Your Majesty, in the past, King Zhou of Shang dug out Bigan's heart for the enchantress Daji, causing disunity among the princes of the world. Now, Doctor Jiang is offering sincere advice, comparable to the wise ministers of the previous dynasty. If you do not treat him well, you may repeat the same mistakes and regret it too late!"
The ministers gave advice one after another, and even compared Xiao Yu's current behavior to that of the King of Shang in the previous dynasty, and compared Yan Shu to the worrisome Daji.
When Jiang Yin saw the ministers pleading for him, he immediately felt more confident and said, "Your Majesty, I am only thinking about the Xiao Kingdom. Making Concubine Yan the queen will only bring harm to the Xiao Kingdom and no benefit at all!"
Looking at the courtiers kneeling on the ground, the king sitting on the high seat had a cold smile in his ink-black eyes.
Then the young but majestic and inviolable king stood up from the table and walked up the stairs step by step to the main hall.
King Xiao looked at the people kneeling on the ground, his narrow eyes drooping, and his thick black eyelashes covering the mist in his eyes.
"Do you and the Imperial Censor have the same idea?"
The ministers kneeling on the ground were all trembling in their hearts when they heard the cold tone, wondering what King Xiao meant.
But Xiao Yu ignored their reactions. Instead, he turned his head to look at the ministers at the banquet who did not come out to plead for mercy, and a strange smile appeared on his thin, crimson lips.
"What about you? Are you the same as the Imperial Censor?"
Everyone turned pale upon seeing this, and froze in place, at a loss as to what to do.
Just as the courtiers kneeling on the ground were about to say something, they saw King Xiao suddenly draw out the long sword from the waist of a guard beside him.
The next moment, there was the dull sound of a sharp blade piercing flesh. Before the Imperial Censor Jiang Yin could even scream, he fell heavily to the ground with his eyes wide open and unable to close.
Then there was the sound of a sword being pulled out from the flesh.
Killed with one blow.
The courtiers kneeling on the ground were so pale that they almost fainted, not to mention that everyone at the banquet was terrified.
Empress Dowager Zhao Jing covered her lips and exclaimed in surprise, her eyes widening as she looked at everything in front of her in disbelief.
Bright bloodstains splattered on the pale jade-like face of the young king, and his tall figure looked like a hellish Shura.
The long knife in his hand was still dripping with fresh blood, which dripped onto the floor of the main hall and instantly formed a pool of blood.
"The order to establish the queen has been issued. Anyone who disobeys will be treated like this person."
The low, cold, and heartless tone struck everyone's heart heavily, frightening everyone.
He was originally just exiled, but now he was killed by the king himself. How could one not be terrified?
At this moment, Jiang Yin's body was lying across the hall, as a sign to the world.
No one is allowed to disobey Concubine Yan's enthronement as queen.
At this moment, no one dared to come out and argue, as they were all afraid that they would be the next to die tragically.
Empress Dowager Zhaojing was already pale at the banquet. If Yan Qingwan had not supported her, she would have fainted.
Her face completely lost its color. She never expected that Xiao Yu would kill Jiang Yin on the spot.
They have completely disregarded the so-called ancestral etiquette and rules.
The behavior of such a crazy tyrant made Empress Dowager Zhao Jing's heart sink to the bottom.
Xiao Yu is no longer someone she can control. Jiang Yin's death today is just a warning to others.
Who in the court would dare to disobey him in the future?
Empress Dowager Zhao Jing sat dazed at the table, feeling lost and at a loss.
When Yan Shu saw Xiao Yu draw his knife and stab Jiang Yin in the heart, her face turned pale with shock.
This was the second time Yan Shu saw Xiao Yu kill someone.
He was still as fierce and decisive as he was on the day of the coup, but there was no emotion in his dark eyes.
The bloody long knife in his hand was thrown casually on the marble floor, instantly making a loud "bang" sound.
When the guards dragged Jiang Yin's body out of the hall, a long trail of bright red blood was left on the ground wherever they went.
The sobbing of fear and alarm of the palace ladies could be heard during the banquet, but it was eventually drowned out by the sound of stringed instruments that followed.
If it weren't for the bloody smell that still lingered in the hall, everything would seem calm and nothing had happened.
Yan Ruxue had already lost her soul. After seeing Jiang Yin being killed on the spot, she collapsed all over and was finally helped into the banquet room by a maid.
The princesses of Qi and Chu were so frightened by seeing how cruel and brutal King Xiao was that they lost all desire to be queens.
After the banquet, many people were frightened out of their wits.
Yan Shu also suffered from insomnia for several nights after the banquet.
When she finally fell asleep, she dreamed of the hall, with Xiao Yu pointing his sword at her coldly and gloomily.
As a loud thunder struck, Yan Shu woke up from her dream in shock. She opened her eyes and looked at the familiar green curtain above her head. The pounding heart in her chest gradually calmed down.
I don't know when it started to rain heavily outside, accompanied by flashes of lightning and thunder, which made people very nervous.
Yan Shu lifted the curtain, took a look inside the dark hall, and then quickly lowered the curtain again.
It is almost autumn now, and there is always continuous rain and occasional thunder, which makes it very difficult to sleep.
Just like now, when lightning strikes, it can actually light up the entire house.
No matter how thick the curtains of her bunk bed were, they would be flickered by the lightning.
After the lightning, there was a deafening explosion of thunder.
The sound made Yan Shu wonder if there was some mountain monster or goblin nearby that was trying to survive a tribulation, otherwise why would the thunder be so scary?
Yan Shu crawled into the quilt and covered her ears with her hands.
My mind suddenly recalled some things that happened before the Paradise Banquet in my previous life.
Those were also the nights when it was pouring rain. When there were lightning and thunder, she would always curl up in Xiao Yu's arms and let him cover her ears.
He would laugh softly at her cowardice, but would hold her waist tightly and let her vent her anger by biting his chest with her little teeth.
Although Xiao Yu's arms were always cold, they inexplicably made her feel at ease.
But Xiao Yu is not by her side now.
In fact, since the banquet that day, Yan Shu had not seen Xiao Yu for seven or eight days.
In the past, she had deliberately avoided Xiao Yu out of spite, causing him to be turned away several times. However, ever since she pleaded for Yan Ruxue at the banquet that day, Xiao Yu had never taken the initiative to look for her in Baohua Palace again.
At first, Yan Shu thought that Xiao Yu might just be busy with government affairs, but after five or six days passed and Xiao Yu did not come, Yan Shu realized that something was wrong.
Later she realized that Xiao Yu might not want to see her.
Although the decree to establish the queen had been issued, Yan Shu felt that her relationship with Xiao Yu seemed to have become more distant.
For example, the day before yesterday afternoon, she had taken the initiative to bring the cakes prepared by the small kitchen to Changming Palace, but she only waited for Zhou Tong to say embarrassedly that Xiao Yu was handling government affairs.
The refusal was so obvious that Yan Shu certainly could not fail to notice it.
She could only continue to ask Zhou Tong when Xiao Yu would have time, and Zhou Tong could only reveal that Xiao Yu would be going to inspect the important military locations in the capital in three days, and it would probably take him half a month to return to the palace.
Yan Shu was a little confused when she heard the news. Xiao Yu still didn't want to see her, so she could only give the cake to Zhou Tong and returned to Baohua Palace with a lonely feeling.
In fact, Yan Shu also vaguely guessed the reason why Xiao Yu didn't want to see her.
Six years ago, when he was still a hostage Xiao Xun, he knew about the grudge between her and Yan Ruxue, so when she pleaded for mercy yesterday, Xiao Yu must have known that she was not doing it for Yan Ruxue but for Xie Heng.
Last time, he took it to heart just because she and Xie Heng said a few words.
I'm afraid he must be extremely angry at this time.
But Yan Shu also felt that she was very innocent. After all, she had no feelings between men and women for Xie Heng.
If one had to describe the relationship between her and Xie Heng, Yan Shu felt it was more of a favor.
Xie Heng had done her a favor by taking care of her mother, so what was wrong with her not wanting his life to be threatened?
What's more, doesn't she hate Yan Ruxue?
Among so many people in the hall that day, who could hate Yan Ruxue more than her?
Not only had she been bullied by her since childhood, but she had also always threatened her with her mother who loved her the most. From childhood to adulthood, both she and her mother had lived under the shadow of her and Queen Yan.
Yan Ruxue took away everything she cared about.
She was forced to push Xiao Yu into the snake cave with her own hands, and almost made her a sinner for life.
Doesn’t Yan Shu hate it?
Of course she hated it more than anyone else.
If she had the chance, she would like to teach Yan Ruxue a lesson herself.
But she couldn't really ask Xiao Yu to cut off Yan Ruxue's tongue that day.
She couldn't send others into danger just because of her own grudges. If Yan Ruxue was punished in Xiao State, Queen Yan, knowing the reason, would not only not release Xie Heng, but also her mother.
So she can't be selfish and just think about herself.
But maybe she really only thought about herself, so she ignored Xiao Yu's heart.
He listened to her advice and released Yan Ruxue.
At the end of the banquet that day, Xiao Yu just glanced at her, and only that one glance.
But those narrow and dark eyes were filled with emotions that Yan Shu could not understand.
Disappointment or an obscure obsession.
At this moment, Yan Shu suddenly remembered what Zhou Tong had said the day before, that Xiao Yu was going to inspect the important military locations in the capital. Zhou Tong had said two days later, and now it was the second day. Doesn't that mean he would leave tomorrow?
Once Xiao Yu leaves, she will have to wait for more than half a month.
A trace of confusion and helplessness flashed across the girl's beautiful cat-like eyes.
Suddenly, I felt an urge to see Xiao Yu at this moment.
She didn't want to wait any longer, she didn't want to wait until half a month later.
A sudden impulse surged into Yan Shu's heart. She threw back the quilt, then lifted the curtain and got off the bed.
So, amid the exclamations of the night watch maid and the eunuchs, the girl rushed into the pouring rain with her waist-length black hair and her thin silk nightgown.
The maidservants immediately chased after them with umbrellas and cloaks, but they saw that their Concubine Yan just took the umbrella and cloak and left them, running towards Changming Palace alone.
Normally, it would take less than a quarter of an hour to travel by sedan chair, but Yan Shu ran for who knows how long.
On a night of thunder and lightning, the young eunuch who was guarding outside the Changming Palace was startled when he saw the soaking wet Concubine Yan in front of him.
But before he could react and bow to inform her, Lady Yan ran into the inner hall as fast as a butterfly.
He was about to chase after him to stop him but was immediately pulled back by another slightly taller guard standing beside him.
"Hey hey hey! You are so stupid! You dare to stop Lady Yan!"
"But the king said he would not see anyone..." The young eunuch scratched his head in confusion.
"Anyone is anyone, and Lady Yan is Lady Yan! Have you forgotten what Minister Zhou said again?" The older eunuch knocked on the young eunuch's head again, with a look of disappointment in his younger self.
"You should be more careful. If you offend the king one day, you will have your head chopped off!"
Upon hearing this, the young eunuch nodded repeatedly and never dared to meddle in other people's affairs again.
Yan Shu rashly ran into the hall, but stopped in front of the archway of the inner hall.
At this moment, the inner hall was already pitch black.
The layers of curtains hanging down from the archway made it impossible to see inside.
Yan Shu's heart was beating wildly. Even though she was completely drenched by the rain, she didn't feel the slightest bit of cold.
I just feel that I might have been too impulsive.
It was late at night and the candles were out. Xiao Yu must have fallen asleep.
Was she rushing over like this suddenly to wake him up?
But what should she say after waking up?
Yan Shu suddenly felt a little confused. The darkness, silence and indifference in the hall at this moment made her feel like retreating and running away.
Maybe Xiao Yu didn't want to see her at all.
Her sudden arrival would probably only disgust him.
The rain outside the temple was getting heavier, with flashes of lightning and exploding thunder alternating.
Yan Shu was about to cover her ears in fear, but suddenly she heard a low gasp.
She suddenly widened her watery cat-like eyes.
The panting sound seemed to become slightly faster, which made the little girl's heart jump.
Xiao Yu's breathing was obviously heavier than usual.
Is he sick?
Thinking of the times when Xiao Yu had felt inexplicably cold all over, Yan Shu no longer hesitated. She lifted up her wet skirt and, even though she couldn't see clearly, she relied on her intuition to lift the curtains and ran straight towards the bed.
But when she broke into the inner hall, in addition to the cedar scent that she was already familiar with, there seemed to be a strange musky scent in the air.
The people in the hall seemed to have not expected that the person they had been thinking about day and night would appear before them. Their hands paused slightly and their breathing became heavier.
The hall was pitch black and Yan Shu couldn't find Xiao Yu.
She could only stand there and listen to Xiao Yu's rapid breathing which became heavier, and her heart felt a little uneasy.
"Xiao Yu, where are you..." the girl asked in a trembling voice. She took a few steps in panic, but could not see any figure.
Even in the dark, Xiao Yu could see things just as well as in the daytime.
Xiao Yu looked at the soaked girl in the hall, her long hair disheveled, a few strands of black hair sticking pitifully to her snow-white cheeks. She was only wearing a thin nightgown and cloak, which at this moment outlined her plump and graceful figure, and her snow-white and plump skin could be vaguely seen.
The fire in his dark eyes suddenly became even brighter than when he was alone in the bedroom just now.
The movements of his hands inevitably became faster.
If Xiao only asked his Shushu to wait a little longer, he would put away his dirty and greedy attitude and go to see her as usual.
Listening to the increasingly heavy groans in the hall, but Xiao Yu ignored her, Yan Shu became more and more anxious. She could only stretch out her hands and grope in the dark to slowly approach the direction of the panting sound.
Before Yan Shu had taken a few steps, she stepped on something and instantly slipped. She screamed and fell forward uncontrollably.
Unexpectedly, what greeted her was not the cold, hard ground, but a chest with the scent of snow-covered pine wood.
Of course, there is also the rich scent of heather.
Before Yan Shu could wet her eyelashes and express her grievances, a bolt of lightning as bright as daylight struck, instantly illuminating the inner hall.
Yan Shu finally saw clearly the person under her.
The person I haven't seen for many days.
The young king's dark, fiery eyes stared at her without blinking, while one of his hands was holding the silk sword that had done so much evil to her through a small piece of cloth, moving it up and down.
The girl was stunned.
The successive flashes of lightning finally allowed her to see clearly.
The small piece of cloth in Xiao Yu's hand was nothing else but the little gauze dress that made her extremely embarrassed and which she thought she had lost long ago.
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The author has something to say: [yellow heart][yellow heart][yellow heart][evil smile][evil smile]
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