GSY Chapter67

In the Imperial Garden.

 

When Si Shaoying arrived, Yuan Heng was accompanying the Empress for a walk, with palace attendants following them from a distance. The Empress was six months pregnant and was holding her belly with one hand, and Yuan Heng leaned over and put his cheek close to her, showing a sense of deep love between them.

 

The new chief steward bowed and said, “Your Majesty, General Si is here.”

 

Yuan Heng raised his hand and touched the empress’s pregnant belly and said with a smile, “The little guy kicked Zhen again, it must be a little crown prince.”

 

The empress smiled and said softly, “Your Majesty, have a meeting with General Si first.”

 

Yuan Heng smiled and said, “Alright, then you go back and rest first, Zhen will come over later to have dinner with you.”

 

The empress bowed to Yuan Heng demurely and gracefully. The palace attendants waiting in the distance came to escort her immediately. After the group slowly left, Yuan Heng withdrew his gaze and said to the eunuch, “Pass it on.”

 

Si Shaoying and Yuan Heng sat opposite each other in an octagonal pavilion in the imperial garden. Si Shaoying said, “Your Majesty is truly a master at foresight. A secret agent has sent the news to the minister that someone from the Meng family entered and exited Rongxiang Fang a few days ago.”

 

Yuan Heng tapped the smooth stone table with his fingers and thoughtfully pondered the three words “Rongxiang Fang”.

 

Si Shaoying said, “Rongxiang Fang is a place of good and bad mixed together. The minister sent people to secretly monitor it, but they seemed to have returned empty-handed and did not find Cheng Huai.”

 

“Is the will not in Rongxiang Fang?”

 

Yuan Heng said, “Don’t worry, arrange more people to find it. How long can Cheng Huai, a lowly eunuch, hide?”

 

Si Shaoying replied, “Yes, Your Majesty.”

 

“The Empress Dowager will not have much time left.” Yuan Heng lowered his eyes, looked at his fingers, and spoke softly, “If she can’t see Yuan Zheng ascend the throne with her own eyes, she will die with regrets.”

 

Since Yuan Heng ascended the throne, he has placed the Empress Dowager under house arrest and searched the palace from top to bottom. Unexpectedly, he still missed a step and let them send the will out of the palace.

 

It’s really ridiculous. Even if Yuan Zheng had become crazy and stupid, these people still think for him in every step and even prefer to help a fool ascend the throne. It’s ridiculous!

 

Si Shaoying pulled the corner of his mouth and said, “The Seventh Prince is already crazy, do they still want a madman to be the emperor?”

 

Yuan Heng said indifferently, “The more they insist on this, the more it shows that Yuan Zheng may not be really crazy.”

 

“The minister heard that Young Master Zhao had brought trouble upon His Highness the Seventh Prince a while ago.” Si Shaoying said, “If he had not been insane, how could His Highness the Seventh Prince endure such humiliation with his domineering personality?”

 

Yuan Heng said, “After all, Ah Zheng was taught by Emperor Father himself. He is the crown prince in their eyes.” He emphasized the word crown prince. Si Shaoying snorted, saying, “But now it is you who sits on the throne.”

 

“Everyone knows that the Seventh Prince has been arrogant and dissolute over the years. How can such a person be worthy of being the king of a country? If not for—”

 

He paused, and his tone became more aggrieved.

 

Yuan Heng looked at Si Shaoying and smiled, “It’s all over.”

 

Si Shaoying was slightly startled, looked at Yuan Heng, exhaled softly, and said, “Your Majesty is right, everything is over.”

 

Si Shaoying added, “It’s all the minister’s fault for not being able to keep Yuan Zheng in the northern border. Otherwise, there wouldn’t be any worries today.”

 

“Shaoying, don’t be like this.” Yuan Heng patted his shoulder and said, “You have suffered with the northern border matter.”

 

Si Shaoying was stunned for a moment, then lowered his eyes and smiled, saying, “Why did Your Majesty suddenly say this?”

 

Yuan Heng said, “Although I have ascended the throne, but I am just a puppet in their hands. Marquis Ping An relies on his merits as a follower of the emperor and is ambitious. He also has the city defense battalion under his command and is domineering. In addition, the Empress is pregnant as well. Once she gives birth to a prince, there is no guarantee that Marquis Ping An will not have second thoughts or not.”

 

“Xiao Mengsheng is in control of the imperial guards. He is a man of great cunning and not someone you can easily deal with. His father, the old Grand Tutor Xiao, was also Yuan Zheng’s tutor and taught him for eight years. I must be on guard.”

 

“My Emperor Father ah.” He said with a faint smile, “Has always been biased. In his eyes and heart, there is only Yuan Zheng.”

 

Si Shaoying looked at Yuan Heng’s profile and couldn’t help but think of the time when he was abandoned by his father in the capital when he was young. In the huge Yandu, those noble sons of the imperial city looked down on him, mocked him as a little barbarian, and excluded him in everything.

 

Only Yuan Heng reached out to him.

 

Si Shaoying said, “Ah Heng…”

 

Yuan Heng suddenly said, “I haven’t heard you call me like this for a long time already.”

 

Si Shaoying immediately changed his words, but there was a relaxed smile in his eyes. “Your Majesty, please forgive me.”

 

Yuan Heng glanced at him, and the two of them laughed. After a moment, Yuan Heng said, “Yesterday, Xiao Shizi[mfn]Shizi is a title of the regent king’s son, the legitimate heir[/mfn] Yan Nan and Commander Feng both submitted petitions to return, and I agreed.”

 

“They want to protect themselves and not get involved in this mess.”

 

Yuan Heng smiled and said, “Xiao Shizi is young, and Commander Feng is even too busy to take care of himself, so let them go.”

 

Si Shaoying asked, “What about Cen Yelan? The minister heard that Cen Yelan and Yuan Zheng are very close. If he returns to the northern border, I’m afraid—”

 

Yuan Heng slowly said, “General Cen has led the troops to fight for years and has worked hard. It is not clear whether Cen Yi has rebelled or not either. Let him stay in the capital and recuperate.”

 

Si Shaoying’s eyes flickered. Although Cen Yi confessed his crimes outside the city gate and admitted everything, but he was still the Marquis Wangbei and was involved in treason, a serious crime punishable by the execution of nine generations of his clan. If the court wanted to investigate, Cen Yelan would not be able to stay out of it.

 

Si Shaoying said, “Your Majesty is wise.”

 

Yuan Heng looked at Si Shaoying, sighed, and said, “Shaoying, for so many years, you are the only one I can trust.”

 

Si Shaoying smiled and said softly, “Ah Heng, if you hadn’t helped me back then, I would have never been able to return to Hedong and would have been trapped in the capital for the rest of my life.”

 

“A scholar dies for his friend. The aristocratic family is no longer the aristocratic family it once was. The world is unfair, if you want to destroy this decadent aristocratic family, I will accompany you!”

 

It was a dark night. The night watchman walked along the long street, yawning and knocking his clapperboard a few times absentmindedly. Just as he was about to shout, he tripped and fell to the ground.

 

The night watchman cursed angrily, “Why sleep on the street when you can sleep anywhere else?” He fell flat on his face, kicked something on the ground in anger, fumbled to pick up the lantern, and looked at it, and immediately screamed in fear, “Dead… dead person!”

 

There was a corpse on the ground, with its neck slashed, and the blood was still hot and flowing.

 

He looked up and saw smoke and flames rising from several low houses in the distance. The night watchman was startled and suddenly realized what was happening. He shouted, “There’s a fire! Help ah! There’s a fire!”

 

Before he could even utter a word, he was met with a pair of eyes that looked like a trapped beast, stained scarlet and covered in blood. The dagger in his hand was dripping, with flesh and blood hooked in the grooves.

 

This young man has an ordinary face, but there is a red mole between his eyebrows, which adds a bit of charm to it.

 

In a moment, the night watchman felt a sudden chill in his throat, and the world was spinning. He vaguely saw dozens of black figures chasing over from a distance, carrying a strong smell of blood.