One hundred and three
Xia Maoan's secret escape from prison caused quite a stir in the court. Xiao Weishen began to panic again before he had even had a few days of good life. He summoned Xiao Weixin to the palace to discuss the matter for several days in a row, determined to capture him as soon as possible.
"I will not show mercy this time. I will never show mercy even if the Queen Mother begs for mercy!"
Xiao Weishen spoke with great confidence, as if he had already made up his mind to kill him.
"I will do my best to search, and report back immediately once I find the whereabouts of the criminal." Xiao Weixin lowered his eyebrows and looked very respectful, keeping his sincerity very low.
Xiao Weishen now had full trust in him. Seeing that he was still as obedient as before, he said with satisfaction, "Seventh brother, I really didn't misjudge you."
"When this is over, I will reward you handsomely. You can have whatever you want."
Xiao Weixin knelt down and kowtowed: "Thank you for your grace, my brother."
In the next few days, all the people in the capital city began to become extremely nervous. Prime Minister Xia escaped from prison, the court was arresting people all over the city, all shops were searched one by one, and anyone who was even slightly suspicious would be taken in for questioning. The city gates were closed to prevent outsiders from entering or leaving. The year-end holiday, which should have been a lively one, suddenly became deserted. Everyone was in danger, fearing that they had made some mistake and would be arrested.
There were even rumors that the traitor Xia Maoan was colluding with the Western Rong and preparing to launch a rebellion.
All kinds of true and false news mixed together, causing panic among the people in the city. They began to buy things and planned to stay at home.
"Has the news been released?"
In the study, Xiao Weixin nodded after listening to Xie Feiyuan's report, "As long as they don't go out randomly, Xia Maoan's people will not be a hindrance. Find a way to make them stay at home."
"Yes." Xie Feiyuan agreed, "Then there was news from Su Tu that he was ready to take action."
"Let Yang Qixian cooperate with the operation, but don't lure the enemy too deep to prevent them from turning against us."
Xiao Weixin planned the next action carefully, and Xie Feiyuan hurried out again on the snow. The New Year was approaching, but they were all busy. Xia Maoan would not wait too long, and they probably would not be able to have a good New Year.
You Shu was practicing sword in the yard. Although he had only recovered 40% to 50%, he still couldn't sit still. He got up early to do morning exercises in the yard. Xiao Weixin was busy in the study room, and he didn't want to disturb him, so he just exercised alone to prepare for what was to come.
"Brother You, there's a girl outside looking for you." Xiaoyue ran over with Snowball in her arms, her round face flushed and pretty, "Do you want to go and see her?"
You Shu casually swung his sword into a flower shape and sheathed it, his mind full of doubts: "Girl? Are you sure you are here to see me?"
"Yes!" Xiao Yue nodded hurriedly, and then said hurriedly: "And she is very beautiful! I have never seen such a beautiful girl!"
Although You Shu was still confused, he still followed Xiao Yue'er to check it out. He didn't remember when he had offended any girl, and why she came to his house and asked to see him. Fortunately, his prince was not there, otherwise he would have no way to explain it.
Xiaoyue brought him to the most secluded backyard of the mansion, pointed behind the door carefully and said, "That sister insisted on finding a secluded place to talk, so I brought her here. There are usually no people here, and no one will know you are talking here. It's very safe."
She was probably afraid that the prince would think too much, so she really found a safe place. You Shu found it funny. How could this make it seem like she had cheated on him? "Then you wait here for me, I'll be there soon."
Xiaoyue nodded seriously and stood guard at the gate of the courtyard to keep watch.
You Shu touched her head, pushed open the gate and walked in. As expected, he saw a girl in a lotus root pink dress standing with her back to him. She was wearing a hat and a veil on her head so her face could not be seen clearly. When she heard the door open, she turned around, and the face under the mask was truly stunning.
"Miss Xia?" You Shu was surprised. "Why are you here?"
When Xia Yinxiu saw him coming, he immediately stepped forward and bowed: "Greetings, sir."
In ancient times, there was a difference between men and women. Especially since they were both unmarried and Xia Yinxiu was a rich lady, You Shu couldn't help her up, so he could only bow and say, "Miss, please stand up."
He still couldn't figure it out. He and Xia Yinxiu had only had a brief encounter when they went shopping together last time. Although she was once the goddess in his mind, because of what happened later, he hadn't regarded her as the heroine for a long time. He never thought that she would come to him secretly in private. What kind of big deal had happened
After Xia Yinxiu stood up, You Shu looked at her face carefully. She was pale and frightened. It was obvious that she had been nervous and had not rested well recently. But think about it, seeing what happened to her father, it was impossible for her not to be anxious.
"It's indeed a bit abrupt for me to come here uninvited..." Xia Yinxiu was a little nervous, her slender white hands tightly grasping the hem of her clothes, with a slight struggle in her eyes, as if she was making a great decision. "Sister Nanruo once told me that you are the apple of the prince's eye, Master You, and it's right to talk to you about anything."
"I-I'm not here to plead for my father."
Xia Yinxiu bit her lip and took something out from her sleeve: "I, I have something to give you."
You Shu suddenly remembered the plot in the original novel and knew what she was going to give him.
"My father committed treason and wanted to make a deal with the Xirong people." Xia Yinxiu's eyes were full of pain, but she said firmly: "He did many, many wrong things and killed countless people. I, I don't want to admit that he is my father."
You Shu lowered his head and looked at the small tiger talisman held in the handkerchief. For the first time, he looked so seriously at the girl who was struggling in extreme pain because of betraying her father. He said softly, "Although I shouldn't say this, I also feel that... he is not worthy of being your father."
Xia Yinxiu shook himself, was silent for a while, and then continued, "When he escaped from prison, he went home at night. I overheard his conversation with others. They planned to attack the city in five days and massacre the palace."
"My sister is still in the palace, but he doesn't care about her life or death at all."
She raised her hand and quietly wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes, trying to act calm, but she revealed a bit of weakness as she spoke: "I sneaked into the study while he was out and stole this tiger talisman. I know it's something only someone who leads troops in battle can have. Without it, Dad can't mobilize the army."
"I don't know who to give it to. If Sister Nanruo isn't here, I... don't have anyone I can trust."
Xia Yinxiu finally raised her head, her beautiful phoenix eyes looked at You Shu seriously, and said solemnly: "Sister Nanruo admires His Royal Highness Prince Ling very much, but I am very afraid of him and don't know how to talk to him, so I can only come to you quietly."
"You'll give it to him, won't you?"
You Shu held the small tiger talisman in his hand and assured Xia Yinxiu: "Don't worry, young lady. I will definitely live up to your trust."
After hearing his assurance, Xia Yin Xiucai felt relieved and asked softly, "Then, then my father will not attack the city? Will he be unable to rebel?"
The naive little girl thought that without the tiger talisman, her cruel father would not dare to commit chaos and wreak havoc on the world again. However, she didn't know that this would only have a small effect. The desperate Xia Maoan would still rebel at any cost. The loss of the tiger talisman would only mean the loss of some soldiers and horses for him, which was of little significance.
What's more, Xiao Weixin was deliberately forcing him to take action, otherwise this game of chess would be meaningless.
"I can't promise you." You Shu said guiltily, "But the prince will definitely protect the people of the city from being implicated."
Xia Yinxiu was a little disappointed, but she managed to keep her composure. After all, she was a girl from a big family, so she would not lose her composure no matter what. "My father said that he would make his move in five days, and would come in from the south of the city at midnight."
She spoke slowly and firmly, as if she was just talking about other people's affairs. You Shu looked at her pale and fragile face, and suddenly he associated her with the heroine in the original novel who was wise and kind-hearted. It turned out that no matter how the plot changed, the heroine's strength remained unchanged.
She should know what kind of ending will be waiting for her if her father fails. Since ancient times, no rebel has left a good name in history books. Their Xia family will become the object of everyone's scorn and shame, and she may be exiled as a slave and a prostitute for the rest of her life, and she will never be able to turn things around again.
Xia Yinxiu knew all these consequences as written in the original novel, but even though she was afraid, she still chose to stand on the side of her conscience. She didn't want to see her father actually do such a heinous thing, nor did she want to see the scene of rivers of blood in the city and chaos in the dynasty, so she chose to abandon her father and herself.
It’s a pity that she was born in the Xia family, but can never leave the Xia family.
You Shu didn't understand how a family could give birth to brothers and sisters with such different personalities. That little beast Xia Huaizhang was not even considered a human being, but he could still have a good sister like Xia Yinxiu. It turned out that bloodline didn't count.
"I will give it to the prince safely, don't worry young lady." You Shu paused, and then said, "Young lady, please be careful on your way back."
"The prince is a man who knows right from wrong. Even if the prime minister is causing trouble, he will not vent his anger on you."
His words were equivalent to making it clear that he would leave her a way out in the future, but Xia Yinxiu did not show any joy on her face. She just quietly bowed to thank him, then dropped the veil from her hat brim and went out through the back door.
You Shu watched her leave and felt very sorry for this weak girl. Fate was not good to her at all. She was born in the family of the villain Xia Maoan.
He carefully put the tiger talisman into his arms, opened the gate and went out, intending to give it to Xiao Weixin. When Xiao Yueer heard the door open, she immediately turned around and said, "Brother You, are you done talking? Is that sister gone?"
"Gone." You Shu touched her head, and suddenly remembered Xia Yinxiu's back as she left alone, and sighed softly.
Fortunately, Xiaoyueer still has him to rely on. I wonder what Xia Yinxiu will do in the future. Can Yang Nanruo really protect her