After Shen Chen left, King Linjiang sat down behind the long table with a headache. Suddenly, he reached out and slapped the table heavily, and said to the person behind the screen who had been silent the whole time: "Come out."
Xu Anying's second son flashed out from inside and knelt down respectfully in front of Prince Linjiang: "Thank you, Your Highness, for saving my life! The Xu family will never be able to repay you even if they die. From now on, we will follow your lead!"
King Linjiang's eyes did not become any gentler. He looked at him and laughed coldly, "You are like trees that fall with the wind. When the emperor valued you, you didn't make such a promise. Although you were close to us, you were also sneaky and unwilling to put all your eggs in one basket. Now it's different. The emperor clearly hates you because you hurt Master Zhang. You have no other way out, so you come to surrender to me."
Master Xu II pursed his lips and seemed a little embarrassed. What King Linjiang said was the truth. In fact, even now, surrendering to King Linjiang was just a helpless act. Xu Anying himself had always wanted to be a loyal minister, but these young people naturally wanted to find a way out in advance.
This time it was because he and Princess Linjiang teamed up to almost kill Shen Chennongqu Fangshan, and their plot to murder the Prince of Linjiang was exposed. Xu Anying did not want to lose two sons at the same time, and Emperor Longqing no longer had the same attitude towards the Xu family, so he asked him to come and ask for help from Prince Linjiang.
He did not deny it, but smiled bitterly and said, "Your Majesty, our father is very hesitant even now. It's just that parents are pitiful. My eldest brother has already been hurt, so he can't let me be like this..."
This was actually the truth, and King Linjiang's eyes softened when he looked at him. When looking for a partner, no one likes someone who is particularly cunning. They always prefer someone who has some weaknesses that can be controlled.
He looked down upon the Xu family's previous surrender, because after all, the real boss of the Xu family was Xu Anying. If he didn't stand up, no one would dare to make any guarantees, and the first and second masters Xu would not be able to accomplish anything.
But now it is different. The situation is extremely unfavorable to them. If they don’t find a backer to deal with, they may really be wiped out under the relentless pressure from Prince Zheng and the disgust of Emperor Longqing.
King Linjiang, who can extend a helping hand to them at this critical juncture, will become their life-saving straw, and they have no choice but to give him their whole heart.
At the same time, Prince Linjiang valued Xu Anying a little more. To be honest, if this incident had not happened, Xu Anying might not have been willing to surrender. This shows that she is a nostalgic person.
All these factors combined, King Linjiang raised his eyebrows: "This king knows everything in his heart. You go back and tell your father that this king knows the situation. You ask him to stay away from it and submit a letter of apology first. Stay away for a while."
Master Xu Er listened respectfully. When he heard Prince Linjiang say this, and thought about what Prince Linjiang had said to Shen Chen before, he felt relieved and nodded quickly: "Yes, thank you Prince for your consideration. We will never forget your great kindness."
As soon as the matter was settled, he hurried back to discuss it with his father.
Xu Anying seemed to have aged ten years these days. In fact, he was considered young compared to Jiang Zining and others, but now he looked not much different from Jiang Zining, with all his hair white. After hearing what Master Xu Er said, he stood up from the kang, frowned with fatigue that could not be concealed, and said, "In that case, let's do as the prince said. Have you asked someone to check on the housekeeper?"
Master Xu II stood respectfully in front of his father. When he heard his father's question, he hurriedly followed him and said, "Yes, we have sent people to check it out, but they can't get in. Young Master Lin is in charge, and the people under him don't dare to act recklessly in front of him. We gave a lot of money, but it was like a drop in the ocean, there was no movement."
"This is as it should be. Whether it's for public or private reasons, Young Master Lin will not show any leniency to us. We don't know what he will say in there." Xu Anying took out a pen and paper and wrote quickly, laughing sarcastically: "I thought I could keep myself out of trouble, but now I'm old and my reputation is ruined!"
This sentence was said in a particularly sad way. Master Xu Er's face was burning. Seeing his father's appearance, he immediately knelt down and said, "It is all because of my unfilial son. I did not listen to you, which led to this day... It is my son who put my father into this embarrassing situation..."
Emperor Longqing raised his eyes, glanced at him, and laughed at himself: "Get up. After all, my sons are grown up, and I can't make the decisions for you. You all refused to listen to what I said, which led to this disaster. Since ancient times, only sons are unfilial to their fathers, and there are no fathers who don't take care of their sons. Your eldest brother has already died, and the trouble you have caused is even bigger than your eldest brother's. I can't just watch you die. Since things have come to this point, there is no point in talking about those useless things. Let's look forward. I hope that your father can make the right bet this time, and at least he can use his reputation to win wealth for your descendants."
He finished writing the letter of apology in one breath, then stood up and asked the second master Xu who had already stood up: "Is Shen Chen back? Has he made any moves?"
Master Xu II responded, and when he mentioned Shen Chen, he unconsciously carried some hatred with him: "Not yet, I just arrived in the capital and entered the palace..."
He repeated the conversation he had heard to Xu Anying, and at the end he said, "Shen Chen has really screwed the prince over. If he hadn't been so nosy for a woman and offered that magic medicine, the emperor wouldn't have changed his mind. Now the prince is in a dilemma, but he just patted his butt and said nothing."
Xu Anying seemed to be thinking about something. She sat in the armchair with her eyes closed. After a long time, when Master Xu coughed a few times, she opened her eyes again and said to Master Xu, "I remembered something. I need to write a letter to the prince. You should go now and give the letter to the prince for me. This letter is very important. No one except the prince can know it, otherwise we will all be in trouble. Did you understand?"
Seeing that he was speaking so seriously, Master Xu Er subconsciously straightened up and said hurriedly, "Yes, don't worry, I know everything. I will definitely hand it over to the prince personally and will never let anyone else see it."
Xu Anying nodded, wrote a letter with a solemn expression, and pondered for a long time. After confirming that it was correct, she sealed it with wax and handed it to her son, repeatedly reminding him: "You must hand it to the prince in person." (To be continued)