ABBLEIP Chapter71

“What do you mean by a single man and a single man?” Shen Qingzhuo frowned slightly and tugged at his little disciple’s sleeve, “Master is discussing countermeasures with Lord Lin, so don’t talk nonsense.”

 

Xiao Shen retracted his gloomy gaze and turned to look at his master, his tone slightly slower: “What countermeasures need to be discussed in the middle of the night?”

 

“Your Highness King Jin.” Lin Jinyu secretly put away the medicine bottle, bowed, and smiled, “I have heard of your great name for a long time.”

 

Xiao Shen glanced at him, “So it’s you.”

 

Lin Jinyu raised his eyes and observed His Highness King Jin calmly, then asked, “Why did Lord Shen say that I had met His Highness before? May I ask where we have met?”

 

When he was young, he entered the palace as Xiao Luchi’s companion. Later, when King Qin left for the east, he rarely walked around the palace. Naturally, he had no chance to meet the Seventh Prince, who grew up in the cold palace.

 

Two years ago, he entered the palace again to serve, and His Highness King Jin went to the Suixi front by chance, so this should be the first time they met.

 

“Cough, cough…” Xiao Shen couldn’t help but think of the time when he left the palace disguised as a woman and immediately cleared his throat uncomfortably.

 

“Don’t you remember?” Shen Qingzhuo obviously remembered the same scene and said with a smile, “It was our first meeting, and it was also your first meeting with His Highness King Jin.”

 

Lin Jinyu’s face showed a trace of confusion. “First meeting…”

 

He first met Lord Shen at the night market outside the palace. He remembered that he had saved a pink-dressed girl at that time, but the girl had a slightly bad temper—

 

Xiao Shen bluntly said, “This king has never seen you before, so there is no need to try to get close to this king.”

 

“It’s you?” In a flash, Lin Jinyu finally remembered where this inexplicable sense of familiarity came from: “Are you the girl in pink?”

 

Xiao Shen: “……”

 

“That’s him ah, hahaha!” Shen Qingzhuo laughed, rubbing his waist. “You’re right, His Highness King Jin is that ignorant young lady.”

 

Lord Lin looked stunned, as if he couldn’t accept that the young lady in pink had grown up to be the tall and mighty His Highness King Jin.

 

Xiao Shen’s face turned dark. “Now that you have finished discussing this, Lord Lin, please go back. I won’t see you off.”

 

“Well…” Shen Qingzhuo quickly regained his serious expression “Lord Lin, you can go back and rest for a while and act according to the plan tomorrow.”

 

Lin Jinyu replied, “I understand.”

 

Before leaving, he looked at King Jin with an incredulous look and then pushed the door open and walked out under the other party’s cold gaze.

 

Only the master and his disciple were left in the room. Shen Qingzhuo returned to the desk and wrote again, “It’s so late, what are you looking for Master for?”

 

“Can’t I come to see Master if there’s nothing?” Xiao Shen said in a gloomy tone, “I thought that Master would have rested, but I didn’t expect there was a guest in the room.”

 

“I asked Lord Lin to try to hold your sixth uncle back tomorrow. Do you think it’s a serious matter or not?” Shen Qingzhuo said slowly, “But you sneaked into Master’s room in the middle of the night. You have bad intentions.”

 

Xiao Shen wrapped his arms around the thin waist from behind, leaned over, and rested his chin on his master’s shoulder and complained softly, “I can’t sleep.”

 

“Worry about tomorrow?” Shen Qingzhuo understood and raised his hand to touch his little disciple’s handsome face. “Don’t worry, Master promises you that it will be absolutely safe.”

 

In fact, Xiao Shen couldn’t sleep because he missed his master so much, but he didn’t tell the truth. Instead, he asked, “If that’s the case, why can’t Master sleep too?”

 

“Maybe I slept too much during the day.” Shen Qingzhuo joked to himself, “Master is old, and my sleep quality is not as good as before.”

 

“Nonsense!” Xiao Shen instantly tightened his arms and retorted in a serious tone, “Master, you are young, and you will always be young in my heart.”

 

Time flies, he has grown from a skinny boy to a man of his own, and his master is still as handsome and elegant as when they first met.

 

It seems that the years have never left a trace on his master’s face.

 

Shen Qingzhuo laughed: “Forever young, forever eighteen? Master is not an immortal monster.”

 

Xiao Shen held the soft hand with his palm, rubbing it against his lips with affection, “Master will live a long life and have no worries.”

 

The brush paused slightly, and Shen Qingzhuo coaxed softly, “Alright, Master knows. You go back and have a good sleep, and everything will be settled tomorrow.”

 

“I won’t…” Xiao Shen hugged his body and shook it. “I will go back after Master falls asleep.”

 

Shen Qingzhuo couldn’t persuade his little disciple, so he finally put down his brush and lay down on the bed.

 

Xiao Shen sat on the edge of the bed, staring at him motionlessly with his eyes downcast.

 

“Xiao Qi, if you stare at Master like this, Master won’t be able to fall asleep.” The look on his face was hard to ignore, Shen Qingzhuo smiled.

 

Xiao Shen patted the quilt gently. “Then I’ll tell Master a bedtime story and coax Master to sleep.”

 

In the past, when he couldn’t sleep, his master would tell him bedtime stories. Although they were all strange and bizarre stories that he had never heard of before, but they often made him more energetic.

 

“Alright, then you tell.” Shen Qingzhuo’s peach blossom eyes curved slightly, “If you can make Master fall asleep, you are amazing.”

 

“Once upon a time there was a king who was very lucky to have three beautiful and lovely little princesses…” The young man deliberately lowered his voice and slowed down his speech. His voice, as mellow as wine, was pleasant and hypnotic.

 

Unconsciously, sleepiness invaded, and Shen Qingzhuo’s breathing gradually became slow and even.

 

Xiao Shen stared at his master’s beautiful and peaceful sleeping face for a long time, then bent over and gave him a feather-light kiss on his fair and smooth forehead.

 

“Have a good dream, my Master…”

 

***

 

The next morning, Shen Qingzhuo got up, changed into a bright red Feiyu uniform, and put the Xiuchun Sword on his waist. He first confirmed that the patrols of the Jinyiwei were in place.

 

According to the custom of the Dayong Dynasty, the banquet for all officials was held at the hour of Youzheng (5-7pm) on the sixth day of the first lunar month. The emperor used this opportunity to show favor to win over the court officials. The banquet followed the etiquette of the royal family banquet, and the princes and nobles attended the banquet together.

 

After noon, Lord Shen led Kong Qianhu to Zichen Palace to greet the emperor.

 

Emperor Guangxi was seriously ill and could hardly attend the banquet, so he set up a couch in the inner hall of the Fengtian Palace and celebrated the banquet with the princes and ministers in another hall.

 

After entering the palace, Consort Yuan had already put on a bright yellow dragon robe for Emperor Guangxi, but the emperor was now skinny and had lost his former majesty in the dragon robe.

 

“Your Majesty.” Shen Qingzhuo knelt down and saluted, “Everything is ready.”

 

Emperor Guangxi said weakly, “Stand up.”

 

Just then, Eunuch Su ran in in a panic, “Your Majesty! Your Majesty, something bad has happened. The edict to appoint the crown prince is missing!”

 

“Cough, cough…” Emperor Guangxi started coughing when he was agitated, “You… you put the edict cough, cough…”

 

“The old servant also doesn’t know why the edict disappeared!” Eunuch Su knelt down and kowtowed, knowing that he had made a big mistake. “Your Majesty, please forgive me!”

 

“Don’t worry, Your Majesty. The imperial edict will not be lost.” Shen Qingzhuo said calmly, “Eunuch Pan, do you know where the imperial edict is?”

 

Eunuch Pan, who was waiting on the side, responded, “Don’t worry, Lord Shen, the imperial edict is in the humble’s custody and will not be lost.”

 

“Edict—” Eunuch Su finally realized that something was wrong and stood up suddenly. “Xiao Pan, I, how dare you—”

 

Shen Qingzhuo clapped his hands, and two guards with swords came in from outside the door and held Eunuch Su up without saying anything.

 

“How dare you!” Emperor Guangxi hadn’t reacted yet. “Shen Qingzhuo, why don’t you hurry up? Hurry up and take this… this dog slave…”

 

“Your Majesty, calm down.” Shen Qingzhuo looked at Emperor Guangxi, who was leaning against the bed. “The crown prince appointment will be established smoothly at today’s banquet, but I’m afraid the crown prince is not the one that Your Majesty has in mind.”

 

“What did you say…” Emperor Guangxi was shocked, and then he said angrily, “You, you dare to cough, cough, cough…”

 

After a violent cough, Emperor Guangxi fell on the dragon couch out of breath.

 

“Your Majesty, please take care of your body.” Shen Qingzhuo took two steps forward. “Your Majesty, don’t worry about the matter of appointing the crown prince.”

 

Emperor Guangxi panted and said, “How dare you… King Qin’s army is just outside the city. Today, if it weren’t for, for Lao Wu, Zhen…”

 

Unexpectedly, as if foreshadowed, Emperor Guangxi did not choose to make King Chu, Xiao Hongyao, the crown prince.

 

“King Qin?” Shen Qingzhuo smiled slightly. “King Qin should still be in a dream at the moment, Your Majesty should not worry about him.”

 

It was true that the Shuodong army was stationed outside the city, but without Xiao Luchi’s order, no one could command these tens of thousands of soldiers.

 

Emperor Guangxi rolled his eyes and almost fainted.

 

Consort Yuan took out a pill and forcefully fed it into his mouth. “Your Majesty, take care of yourself.”

 

“Imperial Guards… Imperial Guards!” Emperor Guangxi suddenly grabbed Consort Yuan’s hand. “The three major battalions are on standby at all times… There’s no room for you, scoundrels, to stir up trouble!”

 

“The three major battalions? Does Your Majesty still remember the 20,000 elite soldiers that King Jin brought back from Suixi?” Shen Qingzhuo said calmly, “That’s right, and there are 30,000 troops that just returned to Shengjing a few days ago. The humble minister also wants to know who is better, the Fuxi Army that has fought many battles on the battlefield or the three major battalions that have been pampered?”

 

“Cough…” Emperor Guangxi didn’t even have the strength to cough, but he had connected all the causes and consequences: “King Jin, King Jin, so that’s how it is… so that’s how it is!”

 

Su Huai’an, who was restrained by the Jinyiwei, knelt on the ground as if exhausted. “Your Majesty, this old servant misjudged people ah…”

 

Shen Qingzhuo stood with his hands behind his back and gently advised, “Your Majesty, the humble minister do not want to see a river of blood. The best outcome is to successfully establish the crown prince today and avoid fighting.”

 

“You are disloyal and unfilial…” Emperor Guangxi used all his strength to point at him and scolded him, “Your father and brother have been loyal to the country all their lives, but you dare to… deceive the emperor and plot to usurp the throne! Zhen was blind at the time and nurtured, nurtured a tiger to cause trouble…”

 

“Your Majesty is wrong. My father and brother are loyal to the Dayong royal family. I, Shen Qingzhuo, am still loyal to the Dayong royal family. This has never changed.” Shen Qingzhuo lowered his eyelashes. “Your Majesty has always been worried that the power will fall into someone else’s hands after the new emperor ascends the throne. Now Your Majesty should be happier.”

 

Emperor Guangxi looked pale: “You think…”

 

“In order to allow His Highness King Jin to ascend the throne legitimately, the Imperial Household Department will draft a new edict.” Shen Qingzhuo turned around and said, “The humble minister is going to summon Xie Gelao on behalf of Your Majesty. Please be prepared.”

 

“You, don’t even think about it—” Emperor Guangxi was about to slap the bed agitatedly, but his voice suddenly disappeared, and he could only make loud noises.

 

“Your Majesty, please rest in peace.” At this time, Consort Yuan suddenly shook his hand away. “Lord Shen will arrange everything properly.”

 

Emperor Guangxi’s pupils shrank, and he looked at his beloved consort in disbelief, waving his hands like dry wood in the air.

 

But Consort Yuan didn’t look at him again.

 

***

 

Half an hour later, Shen Qingzhuo settled Emperor Guangxi and then slowly walked to the outer hall.

 

The princes and ministers had entered the hall one after another and were greeting each other in groups of three or two.

 

The hierarchy of the ministers’ banquet was strict this time. The princes and ministers sat in order according to their status. Officials below the third rank were seated outside the palace, with the exception of those who had made contributions or were appointed by the emperor.

 

“Lord Shen.” King Chu sat in the seat closest to the main seat and waved to Shen Qingzhuo.

 

Shen Qingzhuo smiled faintly, walked over, and bowed: “Does Your Highness King Chu have any advice?”

 

“Thank you for your hard work at today’s banquet for ministers, Lord Shen.” Xiao Hongyao had a fake smile on his face. “It’s a pity for Seventh Brother, who was absent from such a lively occasion due to illness.”

 

“Is Third Imperial Brother talking about me?” The next moment, a deep and magnetic voice sounded from behind the two of them.

 

The smile froze instantly, and Xiao Hongyao blurted out, “Why is he here?”

 

Shen Qingzhuo’s eyes moved slightly, and he turned around and looked at His Highness King Jin in the center of the hall.

 

At the same time, the people who were whispering in the hall fell silent.

 

His Highness King Jin was wearing a black robe with golden patterns, a golden crown tied around his hair, and he looked very imposing. Just standing there with his hands behind his back, he exuded an intimidating aura that made people dare not even look at him directly.

 

But in those dark, obsidian eyes, a clear and upright figure was reflected.

 

After the two looked at each other, Shen Qingzhuo bowed and said, “Your Highness King Jin.”

 

The only protagonist of the day came on stage, and the show was finally about to begin.

 

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It’s here, it’s here! The most exciting moment is finally here!