It was already late at night and Zi'an had woken up again. Murong Jie felt relieved and asked everyone to go back and rest first.
Zhuangzhuang looked at Xiao Xiao and breathed a sigh of relief, "It's great that you're back."
Xiao Xiao cupped his hands, "Thank you, Princess, for your concern."
"I'm not thinking about you. Someone else is thinking about you." Zi'an said with a smile.
There was a hint of tenderness in Xiao Xiao's brows as he stared at Zhuangzhuang.
Zhuangzhuang said softly: "Let's go."
"Okay!" Xiao Xiao said, his voice as soft as clouds, indescribably gentle and comfortable.
Zi'an looked at the two people's affectionate gazes and their backs as they left. He felt that they were a perfect match and couldn't help but envy them.
After everyone left, Murong Jie hugged Zi'an tightly, burying his face in her hair. His arms were as strong as iron, strangling Zi'an so tightly that she could hardly breathe.
Zi'an knew that he was terrified and had been in a coma for three days. He didn't know what disease he had. It was indeed terrifying.
She patted his back gently and whispered soothingly, "I'm fine."
Murong Jie let her go and said seriously: "I reiterate again, no matter what happens to you or what you think in your heart, you must tell me, and you cannot hide anything."
"I see."
Zi'an looked at his sunken eye sockets, thinking that he must have been exhausted in the past few days, and a warm feeling welled up in his heart.
She took his hand and promised, "I swear, no matter what happens to me in the future, even if I lose my appetite, I will tell you."
"Zi'an, nothing is more important than you." Murong Jie reached out and stroked her thin face. She had only drunk rice soup for three days, and she had lost a lot of weight. He felt very distressed when he saw her.
"Don't worry, I won't let anything happen to me, and I won't do that in the future." Zi'an's heart was in turmoil, thinking about his previous suspicions about her, it was really pointless!
She looked up suddenly, "Xiao Xiao is back, when will the celebration party be held?"
"It has already been held tonight, don't worry," Murong Jie whispered in her ear, "Linlin is safe, Lao Jiu sent him to Hanshan."
"Really?" Zian said excitedly.
"Well, sending him to Hanshan is just a temporary solution. Next, I will arrange for him to leave here."
Zi'an nodded and said, "Yes, he must be sent away. He can't stay in the capital any longer. But, where can he go?"
"I already have a plan. My uncle will be back soon. I thought I would let him take him away and take care of him temporarily."
"King of Yuedong?"
"Yes."
Zi'an felt relieved. The King of Yuedong was someone he could trust. If he was willing to help, Linlin would have someone to take care of him.
The emperor never imagined that the King of Yuedong would take him away.
Now that his biggest worry was gone, Zi'an was finally happy.
However, Murong Jie did not relax, because the reason why Zi'an had been in a deep sleep had not been found yet.
He sent many people to investigate overnight and check clearly everyone who had contact with Zi'an during this period.
Intuitively, he felt that Zi'an had been poisoned, but he didn't know what the poison was, not even Zi'an himself.
After the Night King sent Xia Lin to Hanshan, he asked the toothless fat man to take care of him, and then returned.
He went to the palace to report that the old prince and the Empress Dowager did not allow him to stay in the mountains, and said that if Xia Lin recovered, they would send a letter to pick him up.
The emperor was a little surprised to hear that the Empress Dowager was still in Hanshan, but he didn't say anything.
The emperor had calmed down. He summoned the third prince and asked him many questions. The third prince was well prepared and there was no flaw in the conversation. Moreover, the third prince had indeed gone to Xiwei Palace to play with Xia Lin before. They were childhood friends. When Xia Lin was sick, he went to visit him and could not find any fault with him.
He also went to find Sun Fanger with a gloomy face.
Sun Fang'er was a good liar, but Xia Lin's absence from Xiwei Palace did not benefit her in the slightest. Without one person's blood, she could only use her blood to feed the Gu. Would such a selfish person be willing to sacrifice herself to help others? To help a fool at that.
Therefore, the emperor's suspicion of Sun Fang'er was quickly dispelled.
After Xiao Xiao came back, his marriage with Zhuangzhuang was put on the agenda.
Because the Empress Dowager had passed away less than a year ago, even though Zhuangzhuang was only a younger sister, out of filial piety, Zhuangzhuang felt that he should discuss marriage after the New Year.
This move was exactly what the emperor wanted. He did have some concerns about the Xiao family. In particular, Marquis Xiao was also a man who had returned with merit, and they had too close contacts with Murong Jie, so there was no guarantee that they would not form a clique for personal gain.
Zhuangzhuang is not in a hurry now. She doesn't want the Xiao family to be accused of false charges because of her.
Murong Jie wrote a letter to the emperor, asking him to allow Prince Nan Huai to return to his fiefdom.
But the emperor was already wary of Prince Nan Huai and would not let him go easily. However, he did not directly reject Murong Jie. He only said that he would find a marriage for Prince Nan Huai and would leave Beijing for the Southern Kingdom after he got married.
The emperor stole someone else's wife, so it is reasonable for him to compensate her with one.
But everyone knows these are all excuses.
The emperor, however, became busy with this matter and ordered the daughters of officials of the fifth rank and above to enter the palace for selection.
This time the selection was to choose a concubine for Prince Nan Huai.
Moreover, the mansion where the previous king lived was given to King Nan Huai, and the Ministry of Works had already begun decorating it.
As the southern country is close to eastern Guangdong, it is temporarily under the jurisdiction of the King of eastern Guangdong.
This is equivalent to taking back the fiefdom of King Nan Huai. Now the people of the Southern Kingdom still recognize King Nan Huai as the local emperor. However, after King Yuedong has been in power for a few years, the people's hearts will submit to King Yuedong. The emperor's wishful thinking is very real.
He did not formally take back the Southern Kingdom, but only gave it to the Prince of Yuedong for temporary jurisdiction. Prince Nan Huai was retained in the capital because of his great talent. Therefore, no one stood up for Prince Nan Huai. On the contrary, they thought that he would rise to a high position.
Lord Cui was promoted to prime minister and took charge of the cabinet.
Lord Cui trusted Murong Jie very much, but he did not completely submit to Murong Jie, nor could it be said that he had submitted to Murong Jie. He was a loyal official of the Great Zhou, so the emperor first won him over.
This was to gradually weaken Murong Jie's power. Moreover, a regent did not hold any other official position. The emperor was now in good health and in charge of the government, so the position of regent seemed useless.
It seems that he can control everything, but in fact, his power has been officially transferred to the emperor, and he is just an idler.
Anyone with a discerning eye in the court can see this clearly.
However, Murong Jie would not lose power so quickly.
This is because it is impossible for his connections and achievements to be completely exhausted in a short period of time.
King Nan Huai visited once, looked at Murong Jie with resentment, said a few bland words, and then left with Shangqiu.
The purpose of his coming was to tell Murong Jie that you owe me a favor. I saved your princess, but you didn't do anything for me.
Murong Jie just pretended to be stupid and asked him to hand over the person who drugged him.
You said I owed you a favor, but you didn't help me get things done.
Before leaving, Prince Nan Huai said to Murong Jie quietly, "Seventh brother is becoming more tactful in his dealings now."
Murong Jie also said to him dimly: "Well, I learned from you. Next, I have to learn from you how to bend and stretch."
King Nan Huai stretched his neck, as if trying to swallow his words with difficulty.
(End of this chapter)