The Rebirth of the Deposed Empress

Mrs. Xu was a little confused:

"Master, it's already midnight, why don't you go to bed and rest?"

Xu Shangming frowned and shook his head.

"I'm not sleepy. You can take a rest by yourself."

Hearing this, Mrs. Xu stopped talking and just rested, muttering to herself.

Normally Xu Shangming wouldn't stay up late at night, so why is he acting so strange today?

It was late at night and very quiet.

Hearing no movement coming from outside, Xu Shangming felt uneasy in his chair.

About half an hour later, Xu Shangming had completely lost his patience.

"This person hasn't come yet! Does he not intend to take revenge?"

he said to himself.

"No, I have to go discuss this with Hua Jingqian!"

Thinking of this, Xu Shangming immediately stood up and opened the door. As soon as he stepped out, he heard a commotion coming from the front yard:

"Oh no! Bandits are coming!"

Hearing this, Xu Shangming was shocked and immediately shouted:

"Quickly call all the soldiers in the mansion over to protect the Madam and the Young Master and Young Miss! And you also have to protect Minister Hua's yard!"

The family soldiers were originally in the front yard resisting the bandits. When they heard Xu Shangming's order, they hurried to the front yard again.

Seeing this, the bandits took the opportunity to rush into the mansion.

The guards brought by Xiao Liqiu were all in a remote courtyard. When they heard the noise, they immediately rushed to Xiao Liqiu.

As a result, he was intercepted by Xu Shangming halfway.

Xu Shangming looked anxious, blocking the guard leader's way to Xiao Liqiu's yard and said:

"Sir, please go to the front yard quickly. The soldiers in my house can't stop those evil thieves!"

The guards looked solemn:

"We are sent by the Emperor to protect Master Xiao. Master Xiao's safety is our top priority!"

The leader of the guards was about to bypass Xu Shangming as he spoke, but Xu Shangming moved a step to the left and blocked him again.

The leader of the guards wanted to get angry when he saw this, and he had half drawn the knife in his hand but was pushed back by Xu Shangming.

"If these bandits are not eliminated and allowed to roam around in the city, they will definitely harm the people! Lord Xiao is dedicated to the people. If he knew that the official did not help them, he would probably blame the official!"

"Besides, as long as the bandits are eliminated, Lord Xiao will be safe."

The leader of the guards thought about it and felt that what Xu Shangming said made sense. Anyway, Xiao Liqiu was in the mansion, so there would be no danger as long as the bandits couldn't get in.

Then he led the group in a different direction and headed towards the front yard.

When we arrived at the gate, we found only a few servants there dealing with the bandits.

Without even thinking about why the prefect's household soldiers were not there, he led his men forward.

I thought these bandits could be captured in just a few moments, but I didn't expect them to be so cunning. They would run away if they couldn't win. When they saw that the guards didn't chase them and wanted to retreat back to the mansion, they continued to provoke me.

After going back and forth like this for a few times, the leader began to feel a strange feeling in his heart.

Why do I feel like these bandits don't come here to burn, kill and loot, but instead seem to be deliberately delaying time?

Thinking that the prefect's family soldiers were not here, the head of the guards' heart skipped a beat and he shouted hurriedly:

"Quick! Go and protect Lord Xiao!"

No matter how the bandits outside the door provoked them, they ignored them and went straight to Xiao Liqiu's residence.

As soon as I arrived outside Xiao Liqiu's house, I found that the door was open.

I knew someone must have broken in, but I didn't hear any sound from Lord Xiao calling for help, and I didn't know whether Lord Xiao had been killed.

He was terrified and was about to lead his men in when Xu Shangming and Hua Jingqian also came over with their men.

The door was open, but no one came out, and I didn't know whether the bandit leader succeeded or not.

Hua Jingqian gave Xu Shangming a look, indicating that he should delay for a while to prevent the bandit leader from succeeding.

Xu Shang understood what was going on, and immediately surrounded them with the prefect's soldiers.

"Sir, why are you running to the back instead of fighting the bandits in the front yard?"

The leader of the guards was very anxious and had no intention of paying attention to him. He pushed Xu Shangming away and went into the house.

"Some thieves must have taken the opportunity to break into Lord Xiao's house! The thieves in the front yard are just trying to delay time. They are nothing to be afraid of. Get out of my way!"

The push made Xu Shangming stagger.

Seeing that the plan to lure the tiger away from the mountain had been discovered, Xu Shangming narrowed his eyes and immediately ordered his family soldiers to surround these guards.

"Keep them under my watch. Don't let them go anywhere!"

The guards were shocked:

"What do you want to do!"

Xu Shangming sneered and said:

"As you said, bandits have already entered Lord Xiao's courtyard!"

"When Lord Xiao was murdered, you, as his guards, were not by his side. This is a serious crime! As a group of criminals, I must keep you under close supervision and report you to the court!"

The leader did not expect Xu Shangming to confuse right and wrong so he immediately refuted:

"It was you who asked us to go to the front yard to fight the bandits! Otherwise, how could we have given the thieves such an opportunity to take advantage of us?"

Hearing this accusation, Xu Shangming sneered and looked at him with contempt.

"Master Guard, you are joking. You were assigned to Master Xiao by the Emperor himself. I do not have the right to order you around."

"You were on your own to suppress the bandits for the sake of the people, and delayed protecting Lord Xiao. This has nothing to do with me."

The leader of the guards was furious at Xu Shangming's words of destroying the bridge after crossing it, but he had no way to refute it.

After all, not everyone can command the guards in the palace. If he had not listened to Xu Shangming's words earlier, he would not have ended up like this.

I didn't expect that I would fall into the hands of a small-time prefect of Longcheng.

The guards' faces turned red and their necks became thick, they were very unconvinced, many of them were ready to draw their swords and fight this shameless prefect.

Seeing a guard drawing a sword, Xu Shangming's eyes widened and he unconsciously took a few steps back.

These guards are all first-rate elite soldiers, completely different from the prefect's household soldiers who are only capable of fancy moves.

If a real fight breaks out, the family soldiers will definitely be no match for them.

Xu Shangming was afraid that these people would become desperate, but he couldn't lose his momentum at this moment.

He pointed at them with a trembling finger and shouted angrily:

"What! What do you want to do? Lord Xiao is dead, and you are now guilty! Do you want to make your crime even worse?"

As soon as Xu Shangming finished speaking, he heard a voice coming from the originally quiet room.

"Who is it that is saying that I am dead?"

As Xiao Liqiu said this, he walked out of the house, followed by his personal attendant, who was holding a man who was covered in wounds and tied up.

It turned out to be the bandit leader who colluded with Xu Shangming to take Xiao Liqiu's life in order to avenge his elder brother who had committed a crime and died at the hands of Xiao Liqiu while fleeing.

Seeing Xiao Liqiu coming out safe and sound, Xu Shangming and Hua Jingqian were stunned for a moment.