After listening to the visitor's report, the atmosphere in the pavilion, which was still full of smiles, suddenly turned cold. Everyone including the prince changed color instantly, especially Xi Fengyao, whose face was pale and even his body was pale. He began to tremble slightly and repeated one sentence unconsciously: "This... how is this possible?" He really couldn't believe that things would happen like this!
After the prince's face changed several times, he finally stared at Xi Fengyao: "Didn't you say that everything was foolproof today? Or is it obvious that you, Xi Fengyao, have colluded with others and want to put Gu Gu to death? "The sudden change has made him frightened and angry, and his speech has become extremely straightforward.
Hearing this, Xi Fengyao became even more frightened, and hurriedly defended himself: "Prince Mingjian, even if I have the courage, I would not dare to plot against you. There must be something fishy about this matter, I..." But the prince obviously didn't want to give him another chance to explain, and immediately shouted: "Come here, take down Xifeng Yao for me!"
As soon as the order was given, more than a dozen personal guards who had previously had no presence outside the pavilion rushed in like cheetahs. Before Xi Fengyao could react, they quickly pushed him to the ground and tied his hands behind his back. . At this moment, Xifeng Yao did not dare to resist at all, but kept shouting: "The prince is wronged, I have always been loyal to you, there must be another reason for this..." But no one cared about it. , because the prince has set his sights on the two confidants: "Now that Mo Chihe has gone to the palace, he obviously went to complain to his father. What should we do?"
"Prince, don't panic, the matter has not reached the point of irreversibility." A staff member's mind was turning quickly. At this moment, he was already thinking about it. After looking at Xifeng Yao who was pinned to the ground, he said: "This is In the final analysis, it is Xi Feng Yao who makes his own decisions. As long as the prince enters the palace immediately and explains everything to the emperor, I understand that Namo Chihe will not be able to do anything to the prince."
"Yes, I have to enter the palace immediately!" The prince also understood at this time, and immediately stood up and walked out of the pavilion. He was blown by the cold wind outside and sneezed immediately. Only then did he realize that he was here Wearing only a thin shirt in the warm pavilion, we can't stand the cold wind.
Fortunately, someone had already taken the thick brocade coat and put it on him quickly. It was Helian Jinshi, the most trusted personal guard around him. While he was tying the big cloak on the prince's chest, he said in a deep voice: "Prince, just going to see the emperor about this matter is not enough to reverse the unfavorable situation. The person who tied the bell must also untie the bell. If you want the emperor to believe that you are doing this, It has nothing to do with it. People from the Xi Feng clan must stand up and speak. Just say that all this is just a dispute between their own families, especially Sun Qianli, and he must not be allowed to talk nonsense in front of the emperor." At this point, he He glanced at Xi Fengyao again, and it was obvious that he had to bear all the consequences.
The prince was convinced when he heard this, and nodded: "You'd better be more careful. This matter really should be resolved by the people of the Xifeng clan. Fortunately, Xifeng is far away here, so I'm not afraid that they won't agree. I'll leave this matter to you. I'll do it for you, go see Xi Fengyun and let him get the matter done." After saying this, he didn't dare to delay at all and walked out quickly. Now that Mochihe was one step ahead, he didn't dare to go too late, otherwise once the emperor believed Mochihe's words, his situation would be quite unfavorable.
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After the prince's chariot drove out quickly, several more riders quickly took to the streets at dusk, heading towards the Xifeng clan's mansion along the now deserted streets. In just one meal, Helian Jinshi Several people have arrived at Xifeng's mansion. At this time, Xifeng Yun, who had just returned from the Yamen, had not had time to change into casual clothes at home.
When he heard someone reported that Helian Jinshi came to visit, he was slightly stunned: "Why is he here at this time?"
Also as one of the original eight surnames of the Party, the Helian family is now far less powerful in the Xixia Kingdom than the Xifeng family. Although it seems that the Helian clan has more officials in the court than the Xifeng clan, it actually just means that they are more loyal to the court. However, the Helian clan has lost the territory of its own clan and can only act like other officials. Born to depend on the imperial power.
As days like this continued, the Helian family became more and more loyal to the Xia royal family, which made the Xifeng family have considerable opinions on this secretly. For this reason, Xifen Yechang even wrote a letter specifically to ask his eldest son not to be too deeply involved with the Helian family, so as not to make the same mistakes again.
But today, since Helian Jinshi, the most outstanding talent of the younger generation of the Helian family, and a celebrity around the prince suddenly came to visit, Xi Fengyun couldn't avoid it, so after a slight hesitation, he still ordered someone Invite him in to talk.
"Brother Helian came today at the right time. I just bought a jar of good wine from Liuyunju in the city two days ago, and I was worried about having no friends to drink it with. Today you and I will never get home without getting drunk, so we have to drink it well. A few drinks." Xi Fengyun said with a smile as soon as he saw the other party, acting very affectionate and friendly.
If it had been in the past, Xi Fengyun would certainly not have refused Helian Jinshi's invitation, but it was different today. Hearing this, he just shook his head and said, "Brother Xi Feng, I will leave this wine for another day to drink." Well, I have something important to do today so I took the liberty to come here." As he said that, he glanced at the servants in the room who were placing wine, dishes, cups and plates, and his intention was obvious.
Seeing the solemn look on his face, the smile on Xi Fengyun's face faded slightly, and then he waved his hand and asked the servants to retreat. It wasn't until they were the only two left in the room that he said seriously: "What happened that made Brother Helian come to see me in such a hurry?"
"It's for the crown prince... You may not know it yet, but this afternoon..." Since only Xi Fengyun could help settle this matter, Helian Jinshi did not hide anything and quickly told the whole story. Of course, From his standpoint, he naturally placed all the blame on Xi Fengyao, and determined that it was him who had made such a big decision that had brought so much trouble to the prince.
Even though Xi Fengyun had always been calm and had been called the father of Youno, his face suddenly changed in shock after hearing the other party's story, and he couldn't recover for a long time. When he calmed down, a look of anger appeared on his face, and he slammed the table with a rare gesture: "Absurd! How dare he do such a thing!"
In addition to anger, he was actually more filled with doubts and uneasiness—does his third brother really have the courage to commit such a blatant murder in the capital? Or is it that he was clearly ordered by the prince to do it, and now that the matter was exposed, he was pulled out by the prince's people and used as a scapegoat? And once you really want it
For him to bear all the charges would have a huge impact on the Xi Feng clan...
"Brother Xi Feng, the matter is urgent, so I won't say those false words. Now Xi Feng Yao has been captured by the prince, and he has also admitted his crime. But the matter is far from being solved that easily, because Zhongshu Ling has already He knew about this and had just entered the palace because of it. If the emperor really believed that all this was instigated by the prince, the consequences would be serious. The prince is the foundation of our Xia Kingdom, so we must not make any mistakes..." See the details Feng Yun fell into deep thought after being angry, and Helian Jinshi quickly revealed his true purpose.
How could Xi Fengyun not know what the other person was thinking? In fact, as soon as the other party came, he guessed that it must be related to the prince, but he didn't expect that the matter would be so complicated and dangerous. At this time, his face also turned a little cold: "So Brother Helian, your purpose of coming here today is to let me convince Xi Fengyao to confess all the crimes, and to let my eighth brother also blame him? "
"Now that Sun Qianli is still in the hands of Mo Xihe, the only one who can prevent him from being used is Xi Fengchang. And the only one who can make Xi Fengchang do this is brother Xi Feng." He Lian Jinshi nodded.
After seeing the other party's face becoming more and more gloomy, he added: "And if this matter is related to the prince, of course it is a big deal, but if Xi Fengyao pleads guilty, it will be just an internal dispute within the Xi Feng clan, and it will only be regarded as a serious matter." It’s a small matter. When the time comes, not only will the crown prince be safe, but even Xifengyao, we will leave it to you to handle. Brother Xifeng, whether the stability of our Xia Kingdom and the Central Government depends on your thoughts!"
Xi Fengyun glanced at the other party with a smile but not a smile. Although there was some truth in what he said, there was actually something hidden. Because in this way, Xi Fengyao still committed a serious crime. Even if it was just a dispute within the clan, the emperor and the court would not ignore it. After all, the imperial power of the Xia Kingdom is getting stronger now than it was a few decades ago.
The only advantage was that Xi Fengyao's life was saved. Otherwise, if he was really convicted of collaborating with the prince to rob the treasures presented to the emperor, he would probably be dead. And in order for the prince to prevent him from talking nonsense, I am afraid that tonight he will never be able to speak!
In this way, the fault was all the fault of the Xi Feng clan, and the prince's party stayed out of the matter. Moreover, they also completely offended the more powerful Mo Xifeng... After all, the Xi Feng clan's loss-making business was too big.
Helian Jinshi also knew that his request was a bit excessive, so he then said: "I know that this will definitely cause a lot of harm to you, the Xifeng clan, but your efforts today will definitely be rewarded in the future. This kindness The prince will definitely take note of this, which will be of great benefit to you!
"In addition, I also heard that you, the Xifeng clan, are lobbying some officials in the court to advise the emperor not to get involved in the dispute between Song and Liao. As long as you help us in this matter, the prince will definitely help you. You have achieved your wish. Brother Xi Feng, time is tight, I hope you will make a decision quickly!"
Xi Fengyun quickly made trade-offs in his mind, and after a long while, he finally said: "As a minister, I should help the prince when he is in trouble. Well, I will go to see the eighth brother right now, hoping to persuade him to stop Sun Qianli from talking randomly. !" It seemed that he was finally convinced by the other party's words and wishes.