The Queen Mother had originally been somewhat blaming Shang Rui for letting Xu Jingye go to the Southern Region to suppress the rebels so easily, but now she had lost all her anger and only scolded him, "How could you get your hands frozen for no reason? The same goes for you, Queen. How can you be the head of a household?"
Shang Rui sat down opposite the Queen Mother and said slowly, "It's not the Queen's fault. I was careless. These are all minor matters. It's just that Prince Huai is plotting rebellion. It's really a headache for my son. Every day, people in the court recommend my uncle to be the commander-in-chief to lead the troops to fight. I thought my uncle finally had some free time, so I wanted him to rest in his fiefdom for a while, but they didn't agree. They were very annoyed every day, so I had to agree." He took out a memorial from his sleeve pocket and said, "Mother, take a look. My uncle is about to go to the war. Ye Jun and several officials jointly recommended my uncle's only son Xu Zizhang as the deputy general. My little cousin has just reached the age of twenty. It's not like my Heavenly Dynasty is without soldiers, but most of the officials in the court have come to recommend him, and my son is at a loss."
The Queen Mother glanced at the memorial and held it in her hand angrily: "These ministers simply don't know who owns the world!"
Shang Rui remained calm and advised the Queen Mother, "Don't be angry, mother. Xu Yang's life or death is unknown now, so it is understandable that your uncle is worried. I just feel that if something unexpected happens to my cousin Zi Zhang again, I will be ashamed to face my uncle."
The Queen Mother sighed, "Then do as Rui'er said." The Queen Mother sighed, firstly because Xu Jingye had given up his military power, but now he was the commander-in-chief of the rebellion. Today, the Prince of Huai rebelled, and as long as he had power and soldiers, the next one to rebel would be Xu Jingye. Second, because the Queen Mother Xu felt that Shang Rui's mind was becoming more and more difficult to understand, and her worry gradually turned into uneasiness. She always felt that this Rui'er was not the child she had to hold tightly in her arms even if she was trembling.
Shang Rui pretended not to notice the Queen Mother's mood, picked up the memorial, and said, "Then I will go back first. I have many things to do in the next few days." He glanced at Wang Xiaoxiang and said, "Let the Queen stay here to accompany her mother."
The Queen Mother waved her hands and said, "Forget it, let the Queen stay with you. You two have become more and more distant recently. Why don't you give me a grandson soon?"
After listening to this, Wang Xiaoxiang's face remained calm. She bowed politely and said, "Then I will withdraw now." After that, she followed Shang Rui out of Chengfu Palace.
As soon as he reached the gate of Chengfu Palace, he met Xu Jingye who was coming towards him. Shang Rui stood with his hands behind his back, and said seriously: "My uncle will go to the battle in three days. I don't know how long this battle will end. I hope you can have a good talk with my uncle and mother." While speaking, Shang Rui's face was calm, but there seemed to be a thin layer of frost in his eyes.
After saying this, Shang Rui walked out of Chengfu Palace without caring about Xu Jingye.
He and Wang Xiaoxiang walked to the Imperial Garden side by side. The air seemed to be stagnant. Wang Xiaoxiang finally spoke and said, "Then I will go back to Jinde Palace first."
"Yeah." Shang Rui answered lightly without stopping.
When he returned to Kangning Palace, Tian Yuan was already waiting there.
"I just asked you to look after someone, and you're so flustered." Shang Rui teased, "What's wrong?"
"Miss Min is sick."
"What disease?" Shang Rui asked.
"It seems I have caught a cold."
"What now?"
"It should be fine. The doctor said I just need to stay in bed for a few days to recover."
Shang Rui glanced at him and said, "I asked you to keep her, and you came up with such a mean trick?"
Tian Yuan said aggrievedly: "Your Majesty, I am wronged. This is really beyond my expectation."
"How's the matter between you and Inspector Helan going?" Shang Rui raised his eyebrows and asked again.
“No news yet.”
"Xu Jingye is about to go to war, I can only give you two days." Shang Rui said.
Minglian handed over the tea and bowed, saying, "Your Majesty, the weather is cold, drink some tea while it's hot."
Shang Rui nodded, took a small sip and put it back on the table.
After Tian Yuan left, he met Wang Ji again.
It was already night. Ming Lian closed the window beside him, stoked the fire in the outer room, and when he returned to the inner room, he found Shang Rui asleep on the table.
Minglian took out a cloak and put it on Shang Rui.
At this time, someone outside reported that Jinde Palace had sent someone to deliver ointment. Ming Lian hurriedly told everyone to be quiet, and then went out to greet them.
Unexpectedly, Shang Rui had already woken up, so he asked Ming Lian to let someone in.
The maid said, "The Queen ordered me to bring some ointment to the Emperor to treat frostbite."
Shang Rui accidentally raised his eyes and found that this palace maid was the one who brought soup last time. Tonight, her earrings and rouge were obviously carefully dressed up.
"Did the Queen send you here?" he asked.
"The Queen said that I was careless last time and startled the Emperor, so she ordered me to come and make amends."
"She is very thoughtful." Shang Rui couldn't help but find it funny. Last time he just grabbed the hand of this palace maid and looked at her for a second longer, but his wife immediately took notice.
Not only was the palace maid unable to read people's expressions, she was also taciturn. She didn't dare to look up at him and could only stand there.
Shang Rui rubbed his brows and continued to review memorials. After a while, he said without raising his head, "Thank the Queen for me. As for you... don't come to Kangning Palace again."
The palace maid's face turned as pale as a sheet of paper in an instant, but she dared not say much. She bowed and thanked him and left slowly.
five
At night, Xia Yue had a fever again. Because of the previous experience, she didn't want to disturb the host again, so as not to disturb others all night. So, she didn't even call He Xiang, got up alone, and poured herself a pot of cold tea.
She didn't sleep a wink all night and only fell into a deep sleep the next morning.
Unexpectedly, she slept until noon and felt refreshed. After lunch, she wanted to say goodbye to Mrs. Tian and go home.
Having received her husband's instructions, Mrs. Wu did not dare to let Xia Yue leave at will. It happened that it was windy and snowing outside, so she took the opportunity to keep her.
"Mr. Hong is a good friend of my master. He said that he caused the girl's hand to be injured, so he entrusted my master with many words to take care of the girl. Besides, if I hadn't forced the girl to stay outside the house to talk with me that day, how could she have caught a cold. If the girl insists on leaving, she will blame me for not taking good care of her. When the master comes back, he will definitely punish me. If you think you can still live here, wait until your injury is healed before leaving. But if there is anything else happening at the girl's home, tell me and I will ask someone to take care of it." Mrs. Wu was so thoughtful and sweet-spoken that Xia Yue didn't know how to answer.
Wu said, "Look, it's so windy outside, and the road is hard to walk on. If you catch a cold again, that will be bad. Miss Hexiang, don't you think so?"
He Xiang was obviously persuaded, and called out: "Miss..."
Xia Yue nodded, "Then I'm sorry to bother you, Madam. The injury on my hand is not serious. I'll just go home and recuperate. We'll leave when the weather is better. But I don't know when Mr. Tian can come back. I want to thank him in person."
Mrs. Wu smiled and said, "It's okay, it's okay. I don't know what he's been busy with these days. There's no sign of him. He will probably be back in the evening."
But at night, Tian Yuan did not go back to see Wu, but hurried into the palace with Helan Xun.
In the Kangning Palace, Shang Rui asked, "Any news?"
"Got it." Tian Yuan said as he presented the Gao Xin jade to Shang Rui.
Shang Rui took the jade cicada and looked through it again, only to find that there was a small hollow hole as big as a needle tip on one side of the jade cicada. It must have been a hidden hole deliberately designed by someone and carefully sealed, so it would be very difficult to find unless someone was careful. Now that the seal had been removed, a secret was revealed without any cover.
He opened his palm and gently tilted it. There was a jade needle made of the same material as the jade pendant. Shang Rui carefully picked it up with his fingertips and squinted at the light. The surface of the jade needle was densely engraved with words. It would take a lot of skill for someone who is proficient in this to recognize them one by one.
Helan Xun handed a piece of paper from his sleeve to Shang Rui: "I have asked someone to write it down."
Shang Rui took the page of paper again and read it over and over again quietly.
"How many people are there in total?" Shang Rui asked.
"If it was ten years ago, there should be no less than a hundred people, all of them should be dead soldiers. We followed the contact method above and found fourteen people in the Imperial Capital. They don't know each other and never contact each other."
Shang Rui paced a few steps with his hands behind his back, looking at the slightly dark sky outside the window, and murmured: "This is the secret of Gao Xin Baoyu."
"If the emperor hadn't told me, I would never have guessed it."
"This is what the late emperor told me before he passed away. He was a little confused at the time and mistook me for someone else." After saying this, he couldn't help but sigh.
Neither Helan Xun nor Tian Yuan said anything.
"I have always thought that it was something my father made up. Before he passed away, he kept talking nonsense. One day he said to me: 'Son, if someone bullies you, shout three times at the Gao Xin jade, 'Father, save me!' Then the heavenly soldiers and generals will come to help you eliminate the demons.' However, he did not give me the jade, so he was not protecting me. How much he loved Xianchu, how much he hates me now in his grave."
Shang Rui stood with his hands behind his back for a while, then turned around and said, "What do you think? Should I kill them or keep them for my own use?"
Helan Xun wanted to say something, but he opened his mouth and finally closed it again.
"Bo Luan, you go ahead." Shang Rui said.
Helan Xun bowed and saluted, and replied solemnly: "Your Majesty, although these people all obey the person who holds the Gao Xin jade, the Gao Xin jade was given to King Yanping by the previous emperor. Now, the Gao Xin jade is still in the hands of Miss Min. If Your Majesty wants to use it for yourself, you must be careful."
Shang Rui asked again: "Do they know King Ping of Yan?"
Tian Yuan said: "Everyone only knows that King Ping of Yan was buried in the fire in the Prince's Mansion, and Gao Xin's jade should have disappeared with King Ping of Yan. But now King Huai is rebelling under the guise of King Ping of Yan, and it is not certain whether they recognize the master or the jade. But one thing is that King Ping of Yan was just a child when he disappeared, and now so many years have passed, no one can be sure."
The trump card that the late emperor left for the crown prince is now in his hands. Shang Rui does not feel relieved, but rather feels complicated.
After Tian Yuan and his group left, Shang Rui walked to the desk, removed the lampshade, and lit the paper. His face was reflected by the orange-yellow flame, and his expression seemed to be warmer, but his brows were still furrowed.
Shang Rui glanced at the jade cicada on the desk. This was the most important token that King Yanping could use to prove his identity, but he gave it to Min Xiayue. It can be seen that no matter whether he knew the secret of the ancient jade or not, Min Xiayue was extremely important in his heart.
He stared at the candlelight, thoughtful.
Tomorrow is the day when Xu Jingye’s army will set out.
This night, however, felt so long to him.