Chapter 67: Yan Guguan He turned sideways, lowered his head and gently kissed the girl...
How could Yan Qingwan know that King Xiao had gone so crazy that he dared to kill the ministers in the court on the spot just for Yan Shu.
With such tyrannical behavior, who would dare to say a word against him in the future?
Moreover, the methods are so cruel and brutal that people are already afraid of them.
Now that Empress Dowager Zhaojing has lost a crucial supporter, Jiang Yin, her strength has been severely damaged. If Yan Shu truly ascends to the throne of queen one day and settles old scores with her, and Empress Dowager Zhaojing abandons her as a pawn, her fate will definitely not be good.
Yan Qingwan felt deep hatred in her heart.
She didn't understand why a vicious woman like Yan Shu could be so favored by Xiao Yu.
The incident of killing the Xiao Kingdom's hostage was widely rumored in the Yan Palace.
Yan Ruxue had exposed the trip on the spot that day, yet King Xiao was still so indifferent.
Could it be that he has such deep feelings for Yan Shu?
Yan Shu would secure the throne of queen in the future, but she would be exiled to the ancestral temple to await her fate. Naturally, Yan Qingwan was unwilling to accept this.
She looked up at Empress Dowager Zhao Jing and tried to defend herself.
"Queen Dowager, Doctor Jiang was too impatient this time and that's why he angered the King. If Princess Qionghua had been the only one to give evidence at the banquet that day, Doctor Jiang wouldn't have died so tragically!"
When Yan Qingwan suggested that she only wanted to borrow Yan Ruxue's knife, she never expected that Jiang Yin would be so eager. He thought that since he was the Imperial Censor in the court and had the support of Empress Dowager Zhao Jing, he would not be harmed by Xiao Yu.
Who knew Xiao Yu was actually crazy.
Empress Dowager Zhao Jing did not expect this, and Yan Qingwan naturally did not expect this either. The current situation is like this, so it is naturally not her fault alone.
Empress Dowager Zhao Jing, who was leaning on the couch, was so angry when she saw Yan Qingwan kneeling on the ground and daring to quibble that she threw the empty medicine bowl at her.
Suddenly, the crisp sound of porcelain falling to the ground rang in Yan Qingwan's ears.
She was so frightened that she knelt on the ground and shrank back.
"Bitch! Do you mean I'm wrong?" Empress Dowager Zhao Jing raised her eyebrows and asked angrily.
Yan Qingwan immediately kowtowed repeatedly: "I dare not! Of course, this is not what I meant!"
Empress Dowager Zhaojing frowned impatiently and was about to order someone to drag Yan Qingwan to the ancestral temple for punishment when she saw her attendant enter the hall and report urgently.
"Her Majesty, the spies have returned and say they have something important to report."
Empress Dowager Zhao Jing was slightly stunned, and thought of the spies she had sent to investigate the secrets of Yan Palace, and her brows suddenly frowned.
Now that it is known that the framing of the Xiao Kingdom's hostage cannot shake the fact that Yan Shu will be crowned queen, what is the point of the spies investigating this matter more thoroughly.
Xiao Yu himself doesn't mind, so no matter how much others say, it's all in vain.
Empress Dowager Zhao Jing was about to wave her hand and say no, but the attendant stepped forward and said anxiously:
"Queen Mother, the spies said this matter concerns Young Master Jin. Are you really not going to see him?"
Upon hearing this, the Queen Mother's eyes widened and she immediately stood up from the couch.
"What? Is it about Jin'er? Call someone in!"
When Empress Dowager Zhao Jing heard that it was related to her dead son, she immediately stopped caring about how to deal with Yan Qingwan and asked her attendants to call the person in.
As soon as the spy entered the inner hall, he immediately knelt down before Empress Dowager Zhao Jing.
Empress Dowager Zhaojing immediately walked up to the spy with an anxious look on her face.
"Zhao Lin said you found out about Young Master Jin. What is it?"
The spy hesitated after hearing this, then slowly spoke, "Reporting to the Queen Mother, it seems that the incident of Young Master Jin falling into the water that year is related to the King."
The spy then told the Empress Dowager Zhao Jing all the clues he had found in the past few days. The Empress Dowager Zhao Jing shook her body for a moment, and her elegant face suddenly lost all its color. She then looked at the spy in disbelief.
"Are you saying that Xiao Yu killed my Jin'er?"
…
Maybe it’s because Mid-Autumn Festival is approaching, the weather has become much cooler in the past few days since I left the palace.
Although she said she was on tour with Xiao Yu, Yan Shu actually just changed her place and continued to lie lazily.
This time, the inspection of the important military locations in the capital was mainly focused on Yangu Pass of Xiao State.
After traveling for several days and arriving at the customs, Yan Shu and Xiao Yu moved into the residence that had already been prepared by the officials below.
This building had been renovated during the previous Xiao Dynasty, specifically for the emperor's visits to the pass. However, during the reign of King Xiao Wei, he rarely left the palace on tours, so the building hadn't been maintained for a long time. For this tour, King Xiao's men had meticulously spruced up the place, both inside and out.
The building contained several living quarters and a relatively simple meeting hall where the king and his ministers handled military affairs. The perimeter of the building was guarded by both the royal guards and the Yangu Pass garrison, ensuring security so tight that not even a fly could get in.
Moreover, Yan Shu only found out during the past few days on the road that although the patrol was said to take more than ten days, in fact most of the time was spent on the journey back and forth. After arriving at Yangu Pass, the official patrol only took three days.
Just like when Yan Shu took a carriage from Yan State to Xiao State, the carriage took more than four hours a day, and it took more than twenty days.
Yan Shu was not used to the bumpy ride, and she spent most of the twenty days sleeping.
Fortunately, this time I went out with Xiao Yu to Yangu Pass near Yongcheng, and the carriage arrived in three and a half days.
However, although it was only three and a half days, Yan Shu still felt exhausted.
So when they arrived at Yangu Pass and went to the guesthouse, Yan Shu hurriedly asked for water to take a bath, and then fell into a deep sleep on the bed in the bedroom.
Although the conditions of the residence were certainly not as good as those in the Xiao Palace, Yan Shu, who was exhausted from riding in the carriage, still slept comfortably.
But when Xiao Yu arrived at the building, he was not as relaxed as Yan Shu.
On the day of arrival, he summoned the commander of Yangu Pass and the quartermaster in the meeting hall of the guesthouse to listen to their reports on the deployment of troops and the repair of the city wall. Then he asked the quartermaster to count the food and arrow reserves in the army to confirm that they were consistent with the memorial Xiao Yu had seen earlier.
After the meeting was over, when Xiao Yu returned to the bedroom, he saw the girl's face flushed and she was sleeping soundly, so he did not disturb her anymore. After taking a bath, he hugged Yan Shu and went to sleep together.
The next morning, Yan Shu woke up in a daze and saw Xiao Yu sitting up on the couch. Yan Shu rubbed her sleepy eyes, hugged his waist out of habit, and rubbed her face against him.
"Why did you get up so early?" The girl murmured softly, thinking that she had gone to bed early yesterday and didn't even know when Xiao Yu returned to the bedroom.
Xiao Yu narrowed his eyes slightly, looking at the girl's clingy and coquettish appearance, a smile appeared on his face.
He turned sideways, lowered his head and gently kissed the girl's eyelids, which were slightly swollen from sleeping. His usually cold and jade-like face softened a little.
"I'm going up to the city wall to check the defenses. I'll be back to accompany you later."
Yan Shu was still a little confused when she heard this, but she nodded anyway, raised her hand to hook Xiao Yu's neck and pulled him down a little, then tilted her head back and kissed him on the chin.
"Then I'll wait for you to come back."
Xiao Yu's eyes suddenly darkened.
If he wasn't in a hurry, he would probably have pinned the girl down and pampered her again.
After Xiao Yu left, Yan Shu slept for nearly two hours before getting up.
It was almost time for lunch, but Xiao Yu had not returned yet.
Then he heard from his subordinates that the king had personally gone to the Yangu Pass tower early in the morning, inspected the beacon tower and crossbow positions along the Cheng Wall, and accompanied the garrison commander Li Yan to inspect the combat readiness of the defenders on the spot. He also immediately ordered the reinforcement of the weaker points in Guanzhong.
He did not return to the guesthouse until noon, and summoned all the generals stationed in Guanzhong to discuss matters in the conference hall. Before the meeting was over, he sent someone to tell Yan Shu to have lunch early and not to wait any longer.
Yan Shu had some cakes and tea earlier, so she wasn't hungry anymore. So she decided to just wait for Xiao Yu to come back for dinner.
So he sat on the small couch by the window, looking at the scenery outside bored.
Although the building where Yan Shu lived was not located on a very high ground, the entrance to the ancient road of Yangu Pass could still be seen through the window, with upright cliffs on both sides and a winding river channel.
It was afternoon, the autumn sun shining brightly, and Yan Shu could still clearly see the gate tower at Yangu Pass. Standing at the narrowest part of the ancient road, Xiao State garrison soldiers patrolled the tower. Merchant caravans from other countries lined up for inspection, including even the extremely rare Western Regions merchant caravan.
Yan Shu had never seen anyone from the Western Regions. She had only heard that they were different from those from the Central Plains, with more three-dimensional bones and exceptional beauty.
Yan Shu had the honor of seeing the Western Region caravan today, and couldn't help but take a few more glances at them.
Although it was difficult to see the faces of the people from a distance, just by taking a quick glance, I could feel that the men and women from the Western Regions in the team did have outstanding temperament.
Just as Yan Shu was staring at it in a daze, her cheeks suddenly felt cold, and then she heard a familiar low voice in her ears.
"What are you looking at, Shushu? You look at it so intently."
Yan Shu came back to her senses, and her fair little face was turned away by the cold big hand.
When she saw Xiao Yu, the girl's eyes curved immediately.
"You're finally back. I was waiting for you to have lunch. It was so boring."
Yan Shu did not mention that she was watching those people from the Western Regions. Otherwise, based on her understanding of Xiao Yu, no matter whether it was a man or a woman, if he got jealous, it would only make her suffer on the couch.
So he immediately got off the couch and took Xiao Yu's arm, saying that he was hungry and wanted to have dinner together quickly.
Xiao Yu just chuckled when he heard that. After glancing out the window casually, his gaze fell back on the girl in front of him.
The dishes were served quickly. Yan Shu tasted a few bites and felt that their cooking skills were not inferior to those of the chefs in Xiao Palace.
So even though I wasn't hungry, I still ate a few more pieces of roasted meat.
"Do you have anything else to do this afternoon?" Yan Shu asked while eating.
I thought that if Xiao Yu was free, it would be best to accompany her to stroll around the streets nearby.
Xiao Yu naturally knew what Yan Shu was thinking, so he picked up a few more pieces of meat for her.
"The Quartermaster General will deliver a list of food, fodder, and weapons this evening. I need to review it before I can allocate these additional supplies to the various military camps."
"Early tomorrow morning, we must issue an order to Li Yan clarifying the future defense of Yan Gu Pass. In addition to the existing garrison commanders, we must also leave two of the accompanying court officials behind to temporarily oversee Yan Gu Pass."
Although Xiao Yu spoke calmly, as if he was talking about something unimportant, Yan Shu knew that he had probably discovered many shortcomings during this inspection.
After all, when King Xiao Wei was in power, he indulged in pleasure and was extremely licentious. I'm afraid that the problems in the Xiao army have been accumulated for a long time.
Looking at the girl's furrowed brows, Xiao Yu curled his lips and chuckled.
"Is Shushu worried about me or Xiao Guo?"
Yan Shu was stunned when she heard this, and then gave him a displeased look, with a rather sarcastic tone.
"What are you talking about, Your Majesty? I am now a citizen of Xiao Country, so naturally I am very worried."
Since that day of heart-to-heart talk, Yan Shu rarely called him "Your Majesty" and "My Concubine" these days, and often called him "you" and "I" without any respect.
When she was happy, she called him Brother Axun, and when she was unhappy, she started calling him "Your Majesty" and "Your Majesty".
Just at this moment, the girl's face fell, and she was obviously unhappy again.
After all, she was really worried for a moment just now, but Xiao Yu actually had the mood to tease her.
I guess the problems in the army are not very serious.
Yan Shu angrily ate a few more pieces of roasted meat on the plate and decided not to leave even half a piece for him.
Xiao Yu narrowed his eyes and handed a few more pieces to the girl.
"After tomorrow morning's work, I'll be free to go out in the afternoon. Where do you want to go, Shushu?"
The little girl, who was still angry, immediately calmed down after hearing these words, and immediately raised her sparkling cat eyes to look at him.
"Will we be late returning to the palace if we go out like this?"
Xiao Yu finally couldn't help but pinch Yan Shu's cuddly little face and smiled softly.
"It's only a day or two. It won't delay us."
This time he went out of the palace for a tour, and he deliberately set the thirteenth day so that he could have a few more days to accompany her. Otherwise, if he were alone, it would take seven days to go back and forth, three days for the tour, and ten days would be enough.
Yan Shu felt relieved when she heard this. After lunch, she didn't want to take a nap. She sat down at the desk and flipped through the local gazetteer of Yanguguan Pass that she had asked someone to find. She planned to read it carefully and make a three-day trip plan.
Seeing this, Xiao Yu sneered and gave an order to the guard Li Yan when he went to the meeting hall. So when Yan Shu was wavering and hesitant, Li Yan's wife came.
At this time, Yan Shu was holding a brush and writing something on the blank silk. She heard the outside say that the wife of the garrison commander had arrived. Although she was a little confused, she still asked someone to invite her in.
As soon as Mrs. Xin entered the inner room, she bowed deeply without even raising her head.
Yan Shu immediately stepped forward to support her, and only then did Mrs. Xin catch a glimpse of her fair skin and beautiful face, and she was secretly surprised.
With such beauty, no wonder the king brought her along even when he came to patrol Yan Gu Pass. He really doted on her.
Thinking of her husband's special instructions today that Lady Yan would soon be officially crowned as queen, Madam Xin became even more respectful.
Only after Yan Shu asked her to sit down together did Mrs. Xin sit down with peace of mind. Seeing the local chronicle on the small table, she immediately spoke softly.
"I heard that the Queen is planning to go on a trip. I grew up in Yangu Pass since I was a child. If the Queen doesn't mind, I can introduce you to the local customs and people here."
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The author has something to say: In the next chapter, the young couple will have a happy outing [kiss], and then they will return to the palace to do some work. As for what they will do, I will keep it a secret for now [dog head]
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