Chapter 0062 Bandits
It wasn't just the guards who didn't sleep well that night; the same was true in the palace as well.
Sun Renluan first gave the little emperor some instructions, and then when he left, he went to the empress dowager's bedroom. He startled the empress dowager Sun who was being affectionate with her male favorite. She hurriedly put on her coat and walked out in a hurry.
Sun Renluan: “…”
Having lived for more than forty years, there were almost forty women in the backyard. Sun Renluan knew at a glance what Sun Shannu had just done, and the anger that had been suppressed all burst out this time.
From ancient times to the present, there has always been a very strange phenomenon, that is, people are much more harsh on their own family members than on outsiders.
If an outsider behaved improperly, Sun Renluan might not even look at him, but when his own sister behaved improperly, Sun Renluan was so angry as if she had cheated on him.
He never agreed with Sun Shannu keeping male lovers. It was the business of other queen mothers to keep male lovers. His sister was already being watched by everyone. If she was so bold, she might harm the entire Sun family one day. In the past, she occasionally summoned a man from outside the palace, and Sun Renluan could not control her, so he turned a blind eye. But he had just searched the entire palace, and he knew that there was no outside man in the palace at this time.
The answer is obvious. It is either a guard or a eunuch. His good sister is becoming more and more bold.
A fleeting romance and long-term intimacy are certainly not the same thing; the former is just a plaything, while the latter may grow into a monster.
Sun Renluan ordered the palace door to be closed and once again vented his anger at Sun Shannu. Little did he know that Sun Shannu was also suppressing her emotions. She had heard a bunch of lies from Xiao Rong and now she stubbornly believed that it was Sun Renluan who framed her. Now, he was not only targeting her, but also her beloved Tan'er. Sun Shannu could not bear it anymore and started to make a big fuss on the spot. She also used her identity as the queen mother to suppress Sun Renluan. The sounds of clanging and banging and men and women yelling never stopped, and the palace people outside were terrified.
Originally, the identity of the male favorite should have been exposed after a month or two, and the way it was exposed at that time was not glorious. Sun Renluan witnessed the two of them making love with his own eyes, and his face almost turned green with anger. Sun Renluan wanted to kill the male favorite, but Sun Shannu refused to let him, and fell to the ground without any dignity as a queen dowager, with her hair loose. It seemed that Sun Renluan wanted to kill Tan'er, so he would kill her first.
The scene at that time was even more grand than it is now. Even the little emperor was alarmed and ran out crying to protect his mother. Sun Renluan looked at this group of people and did not suffer a cerebral hemorrhage on the spot, which shows that his physical fitness is still good.
Now, because the exposure was not so exciting, Sun Renluan did not cross Sun Shannu's bottom line. The two of them cursed at each other for a while. Sun Renluan's head was buzzing, and he waved his hand and ordered that the male favorite named Tan'er be imprisoned. As for the Queen Mother, tell the outside world that she is ill. As for when she will recover, it depends on when she will admit her mistake.
Sun Shannu was almost mad with anger, but she could only watch Tan'er being taken away. When Tan'er left, she kept looking back at her, with fear and helplessness in her eyes almost overflowing. She had never felt so distressed, but her hard-hearted brother was totally indifferent to this scene. He even snorted at her before leaving, as if breaking up the couple could not make him feel better.
Originally, Sun Renluan came to ask some questions about Xiao Rong, but now that such a big thing has happened, they have all forgotten about Xiao Rong. Sun Shannu sat in the palace crying, while Sun Renluan went back to relieve his buzzing head. In a corner where no one cared, the little emperor He Fu curled up on the bed, listening to the crying of his mother coming from not far away.
Generally speaking, children don't realize the concept of "shame or not". Maybe in a few years, he will find that his mother is indeed a bit unruly and his uncle is understandable. The problem is that this may take too long. At this time, he is still a little kid who depends on his mother and is devoted to her.
Accompanied by his mother's sad sobs, he slowly closed his eyes and fell into a dream that most children would never have.
To the common people, the imperial palace was a very mysterious place. It was magnificent with carved beams and painted rafters, and the rivers inside were probably filled with gold. Even if one lived at the foot of the imperial city, it was difficult for one to get any news from the imperial palace.
But for officials, the palace is a huge funnel, and the principle of good news doesn't go out, but bad news travels far and wide is also implemented. Yesterday's two farces reached the ears of officials of all sizes in Jinling in just one night.
Even Xiao Rong was no exception. He heard how the prince-in-law and the queen mother quarreled last night as soon as he woke up.
The person who passed this news to him was Song Erlengzi. …
It was not known whether he was kind enough to remind Xiao Rong to be careful or he wanted to show off to him that even though he held a low official position, he was still able to get important information. In any case, Xiao Rong was still very grateful to him.
He didn't expect that the wild mandarin ducks would be discovered so quickly. In Xiao Rong's expectation, this should have happened when he just left.
Sun Renluan was suspicious, so he would naturally conduct a carpet search of the places he had been to and the people he had met. He could not catch any evidence against Xiao Rong, but he could not hide any evidence against some people. However, in Xiao Rong's opinion, Queen Mother Sun should have become cautious after seeing Sun Renluan's behavior, so Sun Renluan would not be able to find out about her for a while, and even if he did, it would only be clues, and he would not be able to piece together the truth immediately.
Who knew that Empress Dowager Sun was so brave? Even when her own brother was scolding her son, she did not hide or avoid him. She was even flirting with her male favorite. Is she brave or just heartless?
In fact, Queen Mother Sun was provoked by Xiao Rong... In addition, her emotions had reached a critical point, and she wanted to find some physical stimulation. Many reasons prompted her to make such a move. People's hearts were so complicated, and Xiao Rong sometimes missed some things. Fortunately, for him, this was not a big deal and should not affect his plan.
Xiao Rong was just about to go to the palace to ask to see Sun Renluan, but Sun Renluan was one step faster and sent someone to invite Xiao Rong into the palace.
In an instant, all the people in the room stood up, and they planned to follow Xiao Rong together.
Xiao Rong: “…”
Although he promised to take them wherever he went, the scene would be a bit weird if he really took them all with him.
So after a moment of silence, he instructed Zhang Biezhi: "Take a few people to the city to search for mercenaries from other ethnic groups. We don't want the Xiongnu, Wusun, and Khitan people who went south that year, but you can hire the rest as long as the price is not too outrageous. But remember to find out about their respective situations. It's best if they have families or know a lot of people. We want to hire some from all ethnic groups. We don't want those who are alone, or those who are in a group of a few. As for the reason for hiring them, say that they are to protect me crossing the river."
After crossing the river, that will be the territory of their Zhenbei Army. Now that they are here, don't even think about leaving.
Zhang Biezhi was stunned. He had a question: "Let me go?"
Hasn't Xiao Rong been asking him to act like an idiot these past few days, always looking down on Xiao Rong in front of outsiders? Now he's asking him to hire someone to protect Xiao Rong. Isn't this a contradiction?
Xiao Rong heard the hidden meaning of Zhang Biezhi's words, and he couldn't help but raise his eyebrows. He didn't expect that the low-profile version actually learned to think.
He laughed and said, "Even if I want you to go, no one else knows where these alien races come from, only you know. Besides, no matter how long we stay, I will never see His Majesty again, and you don't have to keep your original appearance."
If that hadn't happened last night, he might have asked Zhang Biezhi to pretend for a while longer, but Sun Renluan was digging his own grave by having a fierce confrontation with the empress dowager at this critical juncture. Neither the empress dowager Sun nor the young emperor would listen to anything he said at this moment.
Xiao Rong even hoped that he would say something bad about him, because the more he said so, the less likely the two would believe it.
Zhang Biezhi seemed to understand, but not quite. He looked at Xiao Rong eagerly, wanting him to explain it more clearly. However, Xiao Rong had already turned and left. The others were glad that they were not the ones assigned to such a task. Of course, they would rather stay close to Xiao Rong to protect him.
Unlike them, Zhang Biezhi was not picky about missions, or rather, he did not have the concerns of Qu Yunmie's personal soldiers, so he was more willing to obey Xiao Rong's orders. Moreover, among these twenty or so people, he was the one who was least worried about Xiao Rong's safety.
It is these Jinling people who should be worried about me. Xiao Rong is willing to take such a big risk to accomplish something, and the future rewards must be amazing. Humph, it's a pity that they are too short-sighted and don't know that they are already in great trouble.
Sun Renluan sent someone to invite Xiao Rong to attend today's Eight Dukes Meeting.
Well, the word "participate" is not accurate. The correct way to say it is that Sun Renluan wants to use the Eight Lords to suppress Xiao Rong.
When Xiao Rong just entered the palace, the news that he brought a dozen guards with him had already spread. The group of old men burst into laughter on the spot. They were all educated people and naturally would not insult Xiao Rong, but mild sarcasm was inevitable. They evaluated Xiao Rong's behavior in the past few days from a high position. No matter whether it was good or bad, it was all bad when it came out of their mouths.
Even Xiao Rong's most eye-catching appearance was proof of his hollow nature in the mouths of these old men. He relied on his good looks to bewitch people, and the King of Zhenbei was probably mesmerized by his face. But how could you blame the King of Zhenbei? He was a man of humble origin, and he couldn't move his legs when he saw something good.
The person who said this sounded sarcastic, but the people who listened to it found it very funny. Laughter once again filled the entire palace. Sun Renluan looked at them, but suddenly felt that this scene looked familiar.
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