Xue Changshi quickly opened the door, wearing a coat, looking drowsy as if he had just been woken up from sleep.
The chief guard glanced at him and hurriedly asked him to put on his clothes: "The prince has something to ask you to go over."
Xue Changshi woke up instantly, yawned in response, closed the door, put on his clothes and went out.
The captain of the guards seemed to hear the sound of something heavy falling into the water, with a dull splash, and he could not help but stop and listen carefully.
Although the snow has melted at the beginning of the new year, the weather is still terribly cold. If someone jumps into the icy river...
After waiting for a while, there was still no movement, so he stretched his head and looked outside in confusion.
The water and the sky meet, and under the moonlight, it is all white and nothing can be seen.
There was no one.
He breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that he was being overly suspicious.
It's so cold today, even if they are really pursuers from the imperial court, there is no need to go to such great lengths and risk their lives.
Xue Changshi had already turned around and asked him: "Captain of the Guard, is there anything else?!"
He quickly shook his head and strode to catch up with Xue Changshi.
The King of Jin had been waiting for him for a long time. As soon as he saw him, he could not wait to tell him all the news that the chief guard had just reported. He frowned and said, "It seems that this King must die."
As he said this, his hands were still shaking slightly, and even his voice was trembling violently.
Xue Changshi quickly stepped forward to support him and asked anxiously, "Your Highness, could it be that... could it be that we really got it right?"
The Prince of Jin covered his face and slumped back in his chair, nearly crying out of annoyance and panic: "People from the capital have come. The officials went to see me the day after we left. The princess blocked them once, and I don't know if she can block them the second time..."
Xue Changshi frowned tightly, obviously extremely worried. After a moment, he said, "Your Majesty, what do you want to do now?"
He saw King Jin suddenly look up at him, and he looked at King Jin without dodging and reminded him: "If our guess is true, then it will be useless even if we escape to the fiefdom."
He said: "All under heaven belongs to the king, and all the people in the world are his subjects..."
As long as Emperor Longqing has the final say in this world, the Prince of Jin, who has become a thorn in his side, will never be able to escape.
This reminder made Prince Jin even more anxious and irritable, and he became very angry.
But even though he was so angry, he still hesitated and shook his head: "What can I do?! I am the fish on the chopping board..."
There was one more thing he didn't dare to say. He couldn't rebel, could he? !
A hint of disappointment flashed across Xue Changshi's eyes.
I knew that Prince Jin was timid, but I didn't expect him to be so timid. He really doesn't have any backbone left.
Even the life and death of his beloved son could not shock him.
Xue Changshi coughed, cleared his throat and said, "Your Majesty, do you want to sit and wait for death?"
This was of course impossible, otherwise he would not have gone to such great lengths to escape, and even left his wife and beloved cousin at the previous dock as scapegoats.
He shouted in annoyance: "Of course not!" Then he was very upset: "But now that things have come to this, what else can I do?!"
He has always been a pessimistic person and only thinks the worst of everything.
When something goes wrong, they don’t think of ways to deal with it and usually just passively accept the consequences.
Xue Changshi had already figured out his personality thoroughly, and gave him another push without hesitation: "I know your concerns, Your Majesty..."
He sighed, lowered his voice in a soothing tone, and made a suggestion: "In that case, why don't you write a letter of apology?"
The King of Jin raised his head quickly.
By now, apart from fear and terror, all other emotions had become numb, so numb that he had no mind to think about anything else.
Perhaps fatigue and escape always make people's thinking slow. He was completely attracted by Xue Changshi's words and regarded him as his last straw: "Write a letter of apology?"
Xue Changshi nodded righteously, "Yes, since the emperor said that the fourth prince was murdered by the young master, the matter involves our palace. No matter what, the matter cannot be separated from you. But we can also submit a letter of apology to defend ourselves! You can confess your guilt before the emperor makes a move, saying that you were wrong and that you indulged your son..."
Xue Changshi persuaded him patiently: "As long as you speak more beautifully and write a more beautiful memorial... the emperor and the cabinet will read it... then you can ask someone to lobby for help... maybe the matter can be resolved..."
The King of Jin quickly understood what Xue Changshi meant.
He took the initiative to admit his mistake, and before Emperor Longqing could accuse him of a bigger crime, he first charged himself with lax discipline. By then, the most that Emperor Longqing could do was to issue an edict reprimanding him for not being able to teach his children.
At most, the children will suffer a little and have a hard time in the capital.
At worst... he still has many sons, four or five in total.
Besides, my cousin is still young...
He was thinking too far ahead. He shook his head, trying to calm himself down, and nodded repeatedly at Xue Changshi: "This is also a solution. Now that things have come to this, we have no choice but to give it a try!"
In his opinion, if he could save his life and continue to be a rich and idle person, any price would be worth it.
What he fears most is fighting and killing.
The cost of making a fuss is too high and he can't afford it.
He urged Xue Changshi to write a memorial: "Just write it for me to see! Do your best!" He reminded him: "You often write memorials for me, you know best what the superiors like..."
That is true.
Xue Changshi nodded respectfully, bent down and thought carefully, then picked up his pen and wrote a letter of apology that was ornate and sincere.
Even the Prince of Jin himself seemed to want to shed a few tears of sympathy.
In this memorial, Prince Jin was completely portrayed as an innocent father who was kept in the dark. He was unable to discipline his sons, and his sons did not take him seriously as a father.
This memorial deeply and sharply examined the problems of the Prince of Jin himself - favoring his concubine over his wife, being dissatisfied with the legitimate and illegitimate children, being partial to each other, and many other crimes.
He almost said openly that he was a waste, unable to manage the affairs of his fiefdom or his son.
Finally, he took the initiative to propose reducing the number of guards.
If the number is reduced further, the guards of his fiefdom will be the smallest among all the princes, less than 5,000.
But he couldn't care about so many things now, his life was almost in danger, and it was all meaningless whether he stayed or not. Prince Jin stroked his beard, slapped the table, and immediately ordered someone to send the memorial to the capital.