After all, Fang Bo was very old, and he had suffered for more than two years before, and his body was weak. After this toss, Feng Yu went to see and treat himself, but it was of no avail. By the next morning, he had lost his breath.
When the news came into the palace, Chu Ning was both sad and angry, not only for Uncle Fang, but also for the other Chu family members and servants who had been secretly removed by Xiao Yu in the past two years.
She wished she could take out Uncle Fang's letter on the spot, questioned Xiao Yu fiercely, exposed his hypocritical face over the past two years, and made him pay for everything he did.
But she knew it wasn't time yet. Facing his seemingly gentle face, she could only try to suppress the anger and hatred, and only show the sad and weak side.
Xiao Yu didn't say much in front of her, only a few words of relief, and said, "It's just an old servant, it's not worth you to feel sad for him like this."
Chu Ning didn't agree with him in the bottom of his heart, but he knew in his heart that he was a little impatient, so he had to restrain his emotions, took more silver taels in private, and asked Zhao Yanzhou to take care of the funeral on her behalf.
In the evening, Xiao Yu called Xu Rong into the hall alone, and closed the door to inquire about what happened yesterday.
Seeing his expression, Xu Rong knew that he was in a bad mood and seemed to be angry, but he didn't intend to hide this, so he said bluntly: "His Royal Highness, it was indeed made by the minister."
Sure enough, when Xiao Yu heard this, he was furious and stood up abruptly, "When did you learn to make up your own mind? I clearly told you to keep him first!"
Xu Rong was not in a hurry, his attitude was neither humble nor arrogant, he cupped his hands and said: "His Royal Highness has indeed ordered this. But the minister got rid of this person, but also obeyed His Highness's wishes, His Highness asked the minister to deal with the past and leave no one behind. The handle, Your Highness, have you forgotten that our biggest handle is the Chu family's affairs at the beginning, and His Highness kept him, aren't you afraid that he will leak the matter out?"
When the words fell, Xiao Yu's face became more and more ugly.
Xu Rong stopped for a while and continued: "Your Highness, it is better to kill by mistake than not to kill. Take a step back and say, even if he just let the Crown Princess know about it, would Your Highness be willing?"
Xiao Yu pursed his lips tightly and did not speak, but Chu Ning's sadness and tears slowly emerged in his mind.
Those water-like eyes were originally just looking at him softly, but in the blink of an eye, they were suddenly filled with pain and hatred, staring at him, making his heart tighten suddenly.
This was the secret he had kept in his heart for a long time, and the secret he least wanted her to discover.
"I saved her." He said subconsciously, not knowing whether he was comforting himself or justifying himself.
Xu Rong slowly stood up straight, looked directly at him, and debunked: "It was also His Highness who killed the Chu family."
Xiao Yu closed his eyes silently.
Xu Rong is right, he can't tolerate the existence of a little risk, the Chu family servant, it's better to get rid of it.
"I was negligent, you did a good job." He sighed lightly, and put aside the slightest reluctance in his heart, "Just remember to be careful next time, don't attract attention."
As soon as Xu Rong heard this, he knew that he had figured out the power of it, and he immediately felt relieved. Before leaving, he did not forget to remind: "His Royal Highness, the Crown Princess is gentle and obedient, and she is indeed a model among women. But people are separated from their hearts by the belly, and there is something about the Chu family, and Your Highness has to guard against it."
These words hit the most sensitive part of Xiao Yu's heart. He couldn't help but feel a little irritable. After nodding hastily, he waved him down.
…
On the other side, in the Hall of Ganlu, Liu Kang was also reporting the news that he had just ordered to inquire about to Xiao Kezhi one by one.
"...I don't know who is living here, but I heard that he was beaten to death. Now Zhao Sizhi of the East Palace will take care of the funeral. As for the person who broke in and beat people, it seems that Xu Shidu of the East Palace arranged it." Liu Kangshi He explained what he heard in great detail, but in his heart he wondered how strange this matter was.
The man in Yongchangfang was clearly from the East Palace, but the person who broke in and beat people was also from the East Palace.
Xiao Kezhi obviously noticed it, and asked with a frown, "That Zhao Yanzhou, I remember that he has a close relationship with the Chu family."
Liu Kang hurriedly replied: "Yes, Zhao Sizhi of the East Palace is a distant relative of the Crown Princess Chu's family, and she is quite favored by Chu Qianyu. Later, after the Chu family became the Crown Princess, he was also recommended to enter the East Palace Zhan Shifu."
Xiao Kezhi nodded "um" and then fell into thought.
From this point of view, Zhao Yanzhou should be the person of the Crown Princess, while the other Xu Rong is undoubtedly Xiao Yu's person. One wants to put the people in the house to death, while the other asks Feng Yu to heal him, which shows that there must be a contradiction.
And the Crown Princess is a sinful official daughter, and the person she wants to protect has nothing to do with the Chu family.
But why did Xiao Yu act against the people of the Chu family
Slowly, he had some guesses in his heart.
The beautiful face that flashed in my mind from time to time has changed its expression, and it has changed back to the gentle and stubborn look when I was by the mountain pool yesterday.
He remembered her words, word for word.
"He did save me, but I don't owe him anything."
He was almost certain that his nephew was not as good as others thought, how good he really treated her as a princess, otherwise, how could someone get rid of the Chu family
For some reason, he was inexplicably relieved, but at the same time, another guess came up—she took the initiative to approach his husband's uncle, maybe she had other plans.
A strong sense of contradiction was intertwined in his heart, but he did not feel too much anger, but only felt a cluster of flames ignited in his body.
She is indeed a different woman.
The weak face became bright and moving under the reflection of the firelight, and it was smiling at him through the hazy veil.
There was a hint and temptation in that smile, which made his heart ache, and the whole person tensed up with excitement, as if he urgently needed to find a place to vent the heat that was surging in his body.
"Everyone?" Liu Kang waited for a while, but before he could be ordered, he couldn't help but remind him.
Xiao Kezhi stood up abruptly from the couch, put on his robe, took off the bow and arrow hanging on the wall, and said, "Go, let someone prepare a horse in the back garden, and I will run a few laps."
Liu Kang was taken aback. I don't know why he suddenly went to the backyard to run a horse at night. After being stunned, he ordered a small servant to go out and prepare. When he arrived, the horse was ready.
Without saying a word, Xiao Kezhi turned on his horse with the bow and arrow on his back and galloped northward.
The Taiji Palace occupies a large area. In addition to the garden scenery, the backyard also has enough flat and open slopes. Not to mention one person running horses, it is not a problem to hold two polo matches at the same time.
Xiao Kezhi didn't stick to the horse's direction, he just kept running against the cool autumn night breeze. Occasionally, with his excellent eyesight, when there were hares and wild pheasants in the grass, he quickly released an arrow and ran straight for a short distance. After a thin layer of sweat on his body, he pulled the reins and returned to the original place.
The prey that he just shot had already been brought back by his accomplices, and at this moment they were placed in front of him waiting for him to fall.
He rolled over and dismounted, looked at the prey, and pointed at one of the hare that was not shot, but was still moving: "Give this to Vimalakirti, and send the rest to the pantry."
The guards immediately responded "Hey" and left first with their prey.
He took off the arrows and bows on his back and handed them over to the chamberlains, then stretched out his hand and tugged at the front of his clothes, letting the cool wind from outside blow in.
After running down for a while, the dry heat in the body was finally suppressed temporarily, and even the mind was much calmer than Qingming just now.
Under the cold moonlight, he stopped and looked up in the direction of Shenlongmen.
It was pitch-dark, with only a few palace lanterns adorning it.
In the still air, he seemed to be able to hear the growing impulse in his heart. But before taking the first step, he had to figure out what the woman really wanted.
…
On the second day, from the Baifu Hall where the Queen Mother Qi lived to the Wanchun Hall where Xiao Yu temporarily lived, they all ate the hares and wild pheasants hunted from the back garden during Xiao Ke’s night at lunch, and even came to Taiji Palace to worship The courtiers were also rewarded by him with roasted rabbit meat and soup.
While everyone was surprised, they not only wondered why the sage suddenly hunted at night, but also marveled at his excellent riding and archery skills, which can even hunt so many prey at night.
Those generals who have been neglected in the imperial court in recent years and can only hold idle titles have faintly seen hope, and the new emperor's move seems to have the meaning of reusing generals. And the civil servants, who have always regarded themselves very highly, all have to sweat for themselves, for fear that they will be despised from now on.
Xiao Yu saw all this in his eyes, and only felt that the bad premonition in his heart was getting stronger and stronger.
Seeing that the January period is coming to an end and the national mourning is over, everyone will take off their filial piety, and the entire empire will return to its previous order. The eldest son, the Crown Prince of Great Liang had no idea how the new emperor would deal with him.