When Hua Qi followed Zhang Shou and Zhu Ying, and Ah Liu followed reluctantly, to see the emperor and Zhao Guogong Zhu Jing again, he knew that the cousins must have said everything. At this time, there was a long distance between the two of them. The emperor had a calm face, but his eyes showed confusion. On the contrary, Zhu Jing did not show any emotion of surviving a disaster.
"There were rebels who broke into Baiyun Temple and intended to assassinate the Duke of Zhao and his son-in-law who were holding a ceremony here. After failing, they even set fire to the temple. Fortunately, the guards were loyal and brave, and they were all captured in the end. I have sent out orders to tell the world this."
The emperor spoke very slowly, and every word seemed to come out from between his teeth. When he found that Zhang Shou and Zhu Ying were silent, Ah Liu was like a wooden man, and there was also Hua Qi who had returned at some point, he pulled the corner of his mouth and smiled and said, "The current situation is all because of my indecisiveness over the years, and my negligence to the point of almost blindness. I can't blame others."
Having said that, his gaze fell on Zhang Shou and Zhu Ying's hands that were still clasped together, and when his gaze moved up again, he saw no confusion or fear on their faces, only calmness. Even though he had always known that Zhu Ying was the most carefree person and Zhang Shou was even more of a demon, he couldn't help but envy this young couple at this moment.
"Yingying, don't you have anything to say to me? Aren't you worried that I will investigate Zhang Shou?"
"Your Majesty, if you are going to be like some of those foolish men and women among the people, then A Shou and I will run away." When saying this, Zhu Ying seemed to be talking about a trivial outing in a relaxed manner, and her expression didn't even change.
She didn't care about her father's glaring eyes that felt like needles piercing her, nor was she afraid of the emperor's long cold face. She just kept talking to herself, "If you want to accuse someone, you can always find a pretext. Especially when it's just such groundless speculation? Ah Shou didn't take power, didn't get involved, didn't form a clique, didn't do anything for personal gain, but he almost lost his life because of someone else's suspicion. Isn't he wronged?"
"Most importantly, does he really have something to hide? Is he really like those famous doctors and craftsmen who secretly hide a skill as their trump card and think that teaching his apprentices will only make them starve to death? No! I only see him trying hard to teach others what he knows bit by bit, and I only see him treating every student with his heart!"
"If they can't even tolerate someone as gentle and harmless as him, then wouldn't it be even more difficult for me, who is outspoken, has a bad temper and explodes easily, to die without a burial place?"
"Yingying, what nonsense are you talking about!" This time, even Zhu Jing couldn't help but stop her, but the next sentence fully expressed his terrible mood as a father, "This is outrageous! How can you curse yourself like this!"
Knowing that Zhu Jing had always treated his daughter as the apple of his eye, and that he had always treated Zhu Ying as his own daughter, the emperor thought he could understand his cousin's anger. Especially knowing that Zhang Shou had just been carried out of the fire scene by someone himself, his feelings became even more subtle and complicated.
Therefore, seeing Zhu Ying glaring at him fiercely, Zhang Shou did not say anything, but continued to stand there calmly, as if he was not afraid that he was the emperor who could decide life and death, honor and disgrace, nor did he have any sense of having to wait for his fate. He could not help but think of the words of Chu Kuan that Zhu Jing had just repeated to him.