Eunuch Xia held the golden sword tightly and said in a deep voice: "No matter what you say, the Zajia family will not let you disturb His Majesty's peace today. If you have the ability, just step over the Zajia family's corpse!"
Wang Qiuyu snorted coldly: "If you know better, get out of here! Otherwise, we will really wonder if His Majesty has been murdered by a eunuch like you!"
Eunuch Xia was so angry that he gritted his teeth: "You are so slanderous!"
"Whether I'm slandering others or not, we have to confirm His Majesty's safety in person!" Wang Qiuyu ignored the golden sword in his hand and strode forward, seriously intending to break in by force.
Eunuch Xia was about to attack him when a hoarse voice suddenly came from behind the screen.
"What are you arguing about? I can't even sleep peacefully."
Hearing this, everyone was stunned, especially Wang Qiuyu. His face became extremely surprised. He stared at the vague figure behind the screen with wide eyes, as if he still didn't believe that the emperor was really in the palace.
inside.
Eunuch Xia immediately put down his golden sword and knelt down facing the screen: "If you disturb your majesty's rest, I will be punished by death!"
When he said this, everyone else also came to their senses, fell to their knees one after another, and begged for sin in unison.
"Okay, I have heard what you just said. I understand your loyalty and will forgive you for this time. If you do it again, I will never tolerate it!"
Everyone quickly kowtowed and thanked him.
"If nothing happens, you can go back. I have a bad headache and I need to sleep for a while. Call me again during dinner."
Everyone agreed in unison. Except for Eunuch Xia, everyone else hurried away with their tails between their legs, fearing that His Majesty would change his mind and punish them.
When everyone was gone, Eunuch Xia stood up. He closed the door, looked back at the screen, and whispered: "They are all gone, you can come out now."
A figure walked out from behind the screen. This person's eyes were like peach blossoms, with a romantic look at the ends of his eyes. The corners of his mouth were slightly raised, which seemed to be a smile but not a smile. He was actually the fifth prince Xiao Shen!
Eunuch Xia stepped forward and bowed his hands in salute: "I would like to express my greetings to Prince Cheng, and I would like to thank you for your help. Otherwise, I really don't know how this matter will end."
A year ago, at the suggestion of the officials, Xiao Feng gave all his brother princes the title of prince. Xiao Shen was named Prince Cheng. He was the only one among all the princes who could stay in Wushuang after being awarded the title.
People in the city could see how much Xiao Feng trusted him, so Eunuch Xia must be extremely respectful when he saw him.
Xiao Shen took out the folding fan from his waist and shook it with a smile: "It's a trivial matter, it takes a little effort, it's not worth mentioning."
Eunuch Xia lowered his head and said respectfully: "Fortunately, Your Majesty arrived just in time, so this matter can be passed smoothly. I owe you a favor, and I will repay you if there is an opportunity in the future."
He walked to the window, pushed it open slightly, and looked outside through the gap to confirm that the difficult group of officials had gone away. He closed the window, turned to look at Eunuch Xia, and asked casually: "My king
It was only after receiving the emperor's brother's secret letter that I found out that he was not in the palace. It just so happened that I heard that Wang Qiuyu was contacting the old officials of the family in the past two days. I guess these old guys must be discussing some conspiracy again. I am worried about the palace.
Something happened in the Central Association, so I came to take a look. Unexpectedly, I happened to bump into a group of people outside clamoring to see the emperor brother, so I took advantage of it and made a fool of myself."
Having said this, he suddenly folded the folding fan and showed an exaggerated depressed expression: "Speaking of which, this king has deceived the king, right? If the emperor finds out later, will he directly slap me?
"
Eunuch Xia laughed dryly: "How could it be? Your Majesty just made an expedient measure. Even if Your Majesty finds out, I believe that Your Majesty will not blame Your Majesty."
"With your words, I feel more at ease." Xiao Shen's expression immediately changed from gloomy to bright, and he smiled brightly, "Besides you and me, who else knows about the emperor's brother leaving the palace?
"
Eunuch Xia was silent.
Xiao Shen immediately understood that he meant that he could not say it. Xiao Shen did not force him, but changed his way of speaking and continued to ask: "Censor Song Huaicai often goes to the palace to meet the saints. So, this Song
The censor should know the inside story?"
Eunuch Xia neither admitted nor denied, and remained silent.
This was regarded as his acquiescence, and Xiao Shen felt convinced, and asked again: "Now that the imperial grandmother is in charge of Fengjian in the middle palace, all the affairs in the harem are handled by the imperial grandmother. It is such a big matter for your majesty to leave the palace privately.
It’s impossible for the Imperial Grandmother not to know, right?”
Eunuch Xia replied in a low voice: "Your Majesty has never told the Empress Dowager about this matter."
"Brother the Emperor didn't say it, but the Grandmother may not know it. She has lived in this palace for most of her life. Although she doesn't talk about some things, her heart is more open than anyone else."
Eunuch Xia smiled: "For Prince Cheng to say such words, it shows that Prince Cheng is also an open-minded person."
Xiao Shen pointed at him with a folding fan and said with a smile: "As expected of someone who has been with the emperor for so many years, it really makes people feel comfortable to talk!"
"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your compliment."
Xiao Shen asked again: "Tell me the truth, why did the emperor leave the palace this time?"
Eunuch Xia smiled and asked, "Your Majesty didn't tell you in the letter?"
"If he told me, why would I ask you again?!"
Eunuch Xia said: "Your Majesty won't tell you, so there are reasons why he can't tell you. Even if you ask me, I can only say that I don't know."
Xiao Shen showed a boring expression: "You won't say anything, right? When the emperor comes back, I will ask him face to face. If he continues to refuse to tell me, don't come to me again if anything happens in the future."
The king! Hum!”
Seeing that he spoke so childishly, Eunuch Xia could only laugh or cry.
In order to prevent other accidents, Xiao Shen did not go back tonight and stayed in the palace. Eunuch Xia brought dinner on time. After Xiao Shen finished eating, Eunuch Xia took the empty bowl out. This caused a huge loss in the eyes of outsiders.
There is an illusion that His Majesty is still recuperating in the palace.
However, the more this happened, the more Wang Qiuyu felt that there was something fishy about this matter. Ever since he left Jinhua Palace, he had been thinking about the voice he heard in the palace claiming to be the emperor. The voice sounded hoarse and unrecognizable.
It is impossible to be sure that this sound must have come from the emperor himself. The emperor must not be in the palace now!
Wang Qiuyu is very sure about this matter. Unfortunately, there is no evidence for this matter. He cannot let everyone believe what he says. The failure to successfully break into the palace this afternoon to see His Majesty must have aroused the vigilance of Eunuch Xia.
, the guards near the palace will definitely be strengthened again. If he wants to break in again, the possibility of success is very slim. He may even steal the chicken but lose the rice. Instead, Eunuch Xia will beat him up and accuse him of deceiving the public with his evil words and committing rebellion. When the time comes,
He was really speechless.
Anyway, for Wang Qiuyu, it is not important whether he can expose His Majesty's lies. The most important thing at the moment is to take advantage of His Majesty's absence in the palace to quickly win over all the power that can be gathered to completely remove him as the emperor.
Let him never have any way to go against the aristocratic families in the future.
In the following days, Wang Qiuyu ran around, trying his best to win over people, and the aristocratic families also secretly helped him. On the surface, Wushuang City was still calm and peaceful, but secretly, there was an undercurrent, and there was an approaching danger floating in the air.
breath.
After entering the city, Qu Le and others immediately found an inn to stay and wash themselves off.
The next morning, Qu Le got up relatively late. When she walked out of the room, the monk and his apprentice who lived next door had disappeared. She looked around and was about to knock on the door when she saw them.
The door to the room was suddenly pushed open from inside, and she saw a strange man walking out of the room.
The other party glanced at her, bowed slightly and made a half salute, then turned around and left silently.
Qu Le's eyes followed his back and disappeared at the stairs. Li Changfeng walked out of the room and saw her, looking slightly surprised: "Why are you standing here and not coming in?"
"I just arrived. Before I could knock on the door, I saw the door opened." Qu Le smiled, "Have you had breakfast?"
"Not yet, let's go together?"
Qu Le nodded immediately: "Okay!"
They went downstairs to the lobby and sat down at a random table. The innkeeper came forward with a smile and asked eagerly: "What do you two guests want to order?"
Li Changfeng scalded the dishes and chopsticks with hot tea and asked, "Are there any crystal dumplings?"
When the waiter said yes, Li Changfeng said: "Then let's have a crystal dumpling, a cage of crab roe soup dumplings, and a few refreshing and delicious side dishes. You can decide on the details. Also, have a pot of mung bean porridge. Put less rice and more rice."
Mung beans must be boiled until they are rotten. If you eat them well, I will give you a reward."
The waiter responded quickly and quickly turned around and walked into the kitchen to report the menu.
Qu Le took the tea cup from Li Changfeng's hand. The tea in the cup was just right. She couldn't help but said in surprise: "What you just ordered are all my favorites. So we all have the same taste? This is great. From now on,
It’s great that we can eat so many delicious foods together!”
Li Changfeng smiled slightly and looked at her intently: "As long as you like it."
His look was so affectionate that Qu Le was stunned for a moment, as if she had returned to the deep palace again, as if the person sitting in front of her was still the obsessed Xiao Feng.
Li Changfeng asked aloud: "What are you thinking about?"
Qu Le came back to her senses immediately. She picked up the teacup and put it to her mouth, covering up her absence, and said casually: "It's nothing, I just remembered some things from the past."
She took a sip of tea and asked more questions when she saw Li Changfeng. She then asked: "I went to find Master Miaoben and Xiao Jueyu just now and found that they were not in the room. Do you know where they went?"
Li Changfeng was obviously dissatisfied with her sudden change of topic, but he couldn't dig into it any further, so he had to answer: "They went to the Chenghuang Temple to pay homage to the Buddha. They said they didn't have to wait for them to come back for lunch at noon."
"Oh," Qule asked again, "Then the person who came out of your room before was your friend?"
Li Changfeng replied casually: "That's my servant. Something happened at home, and the housekeeper asked him to come to me." (To be continued)