bastard returns

Li Lianyu knelt in the queen's hall, looking at the emperor and the queen tremblingly, shaking like a dustpan, and he was getting old, as if he would faint at any moment.

"That's how it happened... At first, Concubine Yue bought off several servants around Concubine Hui, poisoned the emperor and put the blame on Concubine Hui. The old slave was assigned to work in the residence of His Royal Highness the Second Prince. The concubine Yue was worried that the old slave would say something she shouldn't say if she stayed in the palace, but she kept the old slave's life because she thought that if One day Concubine Hui has the opportunity to return to the palace, and she will use the old slave again to put Concubine Hui to death." Li Lianyu cried as she said, "On the day the empress returned to the palace, a madman took the empress's body The object slandered the empress because the concubine Yue knew that the servant was taking the things that the empress used to have and forced the servant to take it out, but although the servant was afraid, she didn't want to help them frame the empress, so she tampered with that little dress... ..."

Li Lianyu stumbled as she spoke, and her heart was pounding. Although he was old, he was greedy for life and afraid of death since he was a child. Concubine Yue took a fancy to him and left him for her own use. Concubine Yue just underestimated this kind of thing. People who are afraid of death can be used by her, so they can also be used by others. Ning Yuan just quietly led Zhou Shi into the second prince's mansion, and caught Li Lianyu's threats and lures, and he obediently turned the tide.

What's more, now that Concubine Yue has fallen from power, Li Lianyu knows that what she did in the past is already a capital crime, so in order to save her life, she has to obey Ning Yuan's words and enter the palace to express her feelings to the emperor and empress and expose Concubine Yue's actions.

He also knew that if he didn't do this, Concubine Hui was gaining power at the moment, and it couldn't be easier to kill him, an old slave.

"Your Majesty, the Lu family is so rampant. It really shocked me." After hearing Li Lianyu's words, the queen stared wide-eyed and said to the emperor, "How can the Lu family be so vicious, and even endanger the emperor's dragon body for the sake of jealousy in the harem? Targeting Concubine Hui twice is really abominable."

The emperor lowered his voice and asked, "Do you have any evidence for what you slave said?"

"If your majesty doesn't believe it, you will find out after arresting the former palace servants of the concubine Yue in the Fuyue Palace for trial." Li Lianyu said: "Concubine Yue is relying on her power to threaten her family status and life, and she is the master. , no one dares to disobey her!"

Concubine Yue made such a big mistake, she should have been given death, the emperor cared about the past friendship and left her alive, but now he learned from the eunuch that all those friendships are fake, and the emperor can tolerate many things, But alone can't tolerate someone daring to murder him!

"Come here, give me a strict trial of the palace servants of Fuyue Palace. Let them tell you everything that Mrs. Lu has done in the past!"

With the emperor's order, the originally deserted Fuyue Hall became lively again. When the news reached the Huanqing Hall, all the eunuchs who had prepared to go to the Lenggong Palace to ask the concubine had already left.

"What did you say, Mrs. Lu committed suicide?" Mrs. Shu was sitting in the front yard drinking tea with Sikong Xuan and Ning Yuan. When she heard Mammy Li come in to pass on the words, her hand holding the teacup paused in the air. action.

Ning Yuan and Sikong Xuan looked at each other.

"Yes." Nanny Li said with a strange expression: "I heard from the father-in-law who went to the cold palace to arrest someone, that Mrs. Lu strangled himself to death with his own hair, stuck out his tongue, and stared at him. The boss probably knows that he has no way out, so he should kill himself first."

"What did the emperor say?" Shu put down the teacup in his hand.

Li Nanny said: "What can the emperor say? No matter what the emperor does, it is the empress who handles it. The Lu family was abolished and committed suicide. He is not qualified to posthumously, let alone enter the mausoleum of the concubine. The empress So he issued a decree to take the body to a mass grave and bury it, without doing any funeral rituals."

"Mother Li." Ning Yuan suddenly said, "Mrs. Lu is in the cold palace, has anyone met before?"

"Mr. Lu has offended many people in the palace, so who can go to see her?" Li Nanny sneered, "I heard from Nanny Gui, who is in charge of the Leng Palace, that the Fourth Highness went down, presumably it was my adoptive mother. When you are in trouble, it is not appropriate for you to ignore it, it is just a formality to gossip, and when you leave, tell Nanny Gui that Lu Shi is too frightened and needs to rest, don't bother for now, who knows that Lu Shi will kill himself. After a pause, Mother Li continued: "The Fourth Highness was still kneeling outside the Emperor's Hall of Mental Cultivation to intercede for Mrs. Lu. When he heard the news of Mrs. Lu's suicide, he cried and passed out, and was carried back by the palace servants." After entering the Prince's Mansion, there are now discussions in the palace, saying that His Highness the Fourth Highness is a person of deep affection and filial piety, and Lu Shi is clearly not a mother and son, but it is really filial piety to be able to do this step."

"Understood." Shu waved his hand and sent Madam Li off. After thinking for a while, he suddenly said to Ning Yuan, "I guess you and I must be thinking about the same thing."

Ning Yuan nodded, "Sis Lu is selfish and arrogant, and she is greedy for life and afraid of death. With her temperament, it is unlikely that she will commit suicide. Our Fourth Highness will just cross the river and tear down the bridge. In the end, I won a 'filial son' for myself." ', I don't know what Lu's spring will think if he knows it."

"Your Majesty values ​​filial piety, and if His Royal Highness makes such a fuss, maybe he can skyrocket again." Shu looked at Sikong Xuan again, "Compared to others, Xuan'er is still a little immature, and I don't know when he will become mature. .”

Sikongxuan didn't know that the topic of the two would suddenly be brought to him, he was a little embarrassed for a while, and argued, "I'm really immature...?" Seeing that Ning Yuan and Shu Shi were both laughing, he realized that he was Being teased, she couldn't help turning her head away with a reddish face.

Compared with his taciturnity outside the palace, after returning to the palace, Sikong Xuan probably felt exasperated and became much more cheerful, but it was also like this, exposing some shortcomings that hadn't been revealed much before.

"Although His Royal Highness is no more scheming than others, it is rare to have a pure heart. People with such a true temperament are rare now." Ning Yuan said: "Besides, I also believe that His Royal Highness will one day be enlightened and become a The pillars of the country."

"As a mother, I don't ask him to be outstanding, as long as he can live a peaceful and happy life." Shi Shi shook her head, "Like the Fourth Highness, you are a prince. Even if you have no power, you can choose to stay away from the influence of power and live a peaceful and peaceful life, but it's a pity that your highness and ambition are too high..." At this point, Shu looked at Ning Yuan, "I know that you and the four Your Highness has a complaint. I don't know much about him, but I also know that he is good at restraining his edge. In fact, he is a very difficult person to get along with. Now even if he loses the backer of Yue Concubine, he can still use Yue Concubine's death in front of the emperor. If you want to deal with him, no matter what you do, you must think twice before acting."

"Your Majesty is serious. In fact, I have never taken the initiative to deal with anyone. From the beginning to the end, those people dug a hole for themselves. At most, I just pushed behind." Ning Yuan smiled, "It's like now Let me tell you, the Fourth Highness who has always boasted of being smart has dug a big hole for himself again, Madam, tell me, should I push or not."

Mrs. Shu was surprised: "Are you going to expose that he killed Mrs. Lu?" Mrs. Shu shook her head while speaking, "This is not right, not only is there no evidence, Mrs. Lu is also a damned person. When you are bitten back again, wouldn't it be trouble for you."

"Your Majesty, I'm worrying too much. I'm not referring to this matter." Ning Yuan waved his hand, beckoned Li Mama not far away, and whispered something in his ear. Shu Shi heard it from the side, and was surprised at first. expression, then shook his head helplessly.

"Trouble Madam Li, just tell me so that the most gossiping maids in the palace will know." After speaking, Ning Yuan smiled.

Nanny Li gave him a strange look, then saw Mrs. Shu nodding towards her with a tacit expression, and then bowed away.

"It's thanks to you that you can figure out such a shameful method." Seeing that Nanny Li walked away, Shu Shi shook his head helplessly at Ning Yuan.

Ning Yuan pursed his lips and smiled, "Since the Fourth Highness wants to give himself a reputation of being affectionate and sexual, and even acted in front of the emperor, if I don't finish the play for him, I will be too disrespectful .”

That night, Changsheng Hou's Mansion.

"With the death of Concubine Yue, we have no one to talk to the emperor." Pang Song showed a disappointed expression, "Fortunately, the old man was very happy when he heard that Concubine Yue was pregnant, but why did this happen? thing!"

"That stupid woman was self-willed and wanted to die by herself, so she can't blame others." Sikong Xu looked gloomy, raised his head and took a sip of wine, "Fortunately, she died when she died, and we are not implicated, which is considered a great luck among misfortunes."

"Then what should we do next." Pang Song said: "Originally, with the support of the concubine Yue in the palace, the subordinate officials consolidated their power outside the palace. They can not only make profits, but also be called the backing of His Highness against the faction of His Royal Highness, but now they are lost. Concubine Yue, it is also a loss to our future plans, do you want to step down and find some young and beautiful women..."

"Before thinking about placing someone next to Emperor Father, there is one more important thing to do." Sikong Xu said gloomyly: "The accident with Concubine Yue was not accidental, it was all because Concubine Shu Hui was stirring up trouble after returning to the palace."

"Could it be that you want to get rid of Concubine Shu Hui?" Pang Song was surprised: "It's just a concubine, what can she do with us, she is just jealous of the concubine last month, Your Highness should put the overall situation first."

"No, it's not Concubine Shu Hui that I want to deal with." Sikong Xu took a deep breath, "I can't believe that with Concubine Shu Hui's ability, I can discover the mystery of Concubine Yue and make use of it, but I know that there is someone who is always against me. He is the best at doing this, and this person happened to be by Concubine Shu Hui's side when the accident happened, so he must be using Concubine Hui's hand to take revenge on us..."

Sikong Xu has always felt that after getting rid of Gao Yu, he is no longer qualified to fight against him as Ning Yuan, and after he has completely gained power, he can naturally pinch Ning Yuan at will. He regarded Ning Yuan's closeness to Ning Zhongkun and other behaviors as dying struggles, and he didn't take it to heart at all. He didn't realize until Concubine Yue suddenly suffered a disaster. Ning Yuan, who is a commoner, is not idle, and the people who fight together are even more powerful than himself, the prince.

First the Ningguo Mansion, then the Hall of Huanqing, if this momentum continues, in time, even if that smooth boy can accompany the emperor into the Golden Luan Hall, he will not be surprised.

In the past, apart from treating Ning Yuan as a thorn in his side, Sikong Xu also had an inexplicable possessive desire in it. Even though Ning Yuan always rejected his lure proposals and even ridiculed him, Sikong Xu's possessive desire was not Not weakened.

For this reason, even though he wished to get rid of it quickly, he couldn't do it.

But now, Sikong Xu feels that this is no longer a reason for her to be indecisive. What he pursues in his life is the highest position and the submission of everyone. For this, he can give up everything, even a small Possessiveness is nothing!

"You mean that kid?" After learning about Sikong Xu's thoughts, Pang Song's face became serious. After all, he had been held back by Ning Yuan several times, "I understand His Highness's mood, but that kid doesn't It's easy to deal with, if it's an assassination, not to mention himself, the guards around him are not bad, ordinary people are useless, plus he never leaves the city, and it's not convenient for a powerful assassin to act in the imperial city. As for framing... I always I think that kid is very wicked, maybe he will shoot himself in the foot with a stone."

"Opportunities have to wait." Sikong Xu pursed his lips and smiled. At this moment, the butler of Pang's residence knocked on the door of the room, pushed the door open a crack and said, "Master, there are guests."

"What kind of guest, didn't I tell you that you are not allowed to disturb me when I meet with the Fourth Highness!" Pang Song was obviously quite impatient with the butler's sudden appearance.

"But that guest came to look for His Highness the Fourth Highness." The steward whispered out a name, and both Sikong Xu and Pang Song were taken aback for a moment. It's really a rare visitor, I should see it." After speaking, he stepped out of the room, and Pang Song immediately followed.

The two walked around from the backyard to the front yard, and entered the main hall for receiving guests. In the main hall, facing them stood a noble young man in brocade clothes. He was wearing a dark red satin gown. The collar and cuffs were inlaid. A circle of gorgeous black fox fur, the hair is carefully coiled with a white jade crown, revealing the white and slender nape of the neck.

"I heard that the son has something to see me, but I am very surprised." Before Sikong Xu entered the hall, his voice had already entered.

Hearing the voice, Mr. Huafu turned his body around slowly, revealing Meng Zhifan's elegant and elegant face, bowed slightly and said, "Your Highness, Zhifan is being polite."

****

In the palace, because he interceded on behalf of the concubine Yue, many people praised him as the fourth prince whose filial piety moved the heavens. The enthusiasm for admiring him for his filial piety has not yet passed, and a new gossip swept the court with lightning speed, almost It replaced all the praises of Sikong Xu in an instant, and the extent to which the palace people talked about it greatly exceeded the former.

The source of the gossip is no longer traceable. Anyway, there are so many court ladies and eunuchs in the palace, and they like to huddle together to exchange conversations when they have nothing to do. Gradually, these gossips detailing the affair between the fourth prince and the concubine Yue have not only become palace officials. People like to talk about things in private, and they are spread with nose and eyes, as if they are true.

According to the gossip, Lu's concubine Yue and the fourth prince Sikong Xu have long been in love with each other, but one is a concubine and the other is a prince. Going in and out of the Fuyue Palace in a grand manner made the unethical and adulterous relationship between the two people even more intense.But this time when the concubine Yue was in trouble, Sikong Xu begged for mercy, what he did was not a mother-daughter relationship at all, but a relationship between a man and a woman.

This kind of statement has been recognized by many people. At the beginning, Sikong Xu was so sad and fainted in front of the Hall of Mental Cultivation because of the death of the concubine Yue. It was witnessed by many palace people. Everyone was still wondering that they were not the biological mother and child. Well, Sikong Xu didn't think this stepmother had been around for a year, so why was he so sad?Rather than being sad because of filial piety, it is more reasonable to say that it is because of adultery.

Rumors have one thing in common, that is, no matter how speculative the rumors are, they will be believed to be true after a long time, until one day, Sikong Xu was urgently recruited into the palace by the emperor, and what did the two of them say in the Hall of Mental Cultivation? I don't know, but when Sikong Xu came out, apart from his ugly face like a stone, there was also a red palm mark on his left cheek.

Even a fool could guess this time, the slap print must have been made by the emperor.

Now that concubine Yue is dead, there is no proof of death, and the emperor's slap print is tantamount to confirming that Sikong Xu, as a prince, slept with his father's concubine. It was only then that a decree came from the queen's palace without any pain, and the palace people were not allowed to discuss it any more.

In the past, if there were such rumors about members of the royal family in the palace, the Queen's Palace in charge of the harem would definitely issue a ban immediately, but this rumor of Sikong Xu has been going on for so long, and the Queen's Palace is quiet, just waiting for the emperor to get angry It was only later that the imperial decree was issued, which was equivalent to putting the Queen's attitude there. Although the rumors were eliminated, everyone from the officials to the maidservants secretly began to laugh at Sikong Xu. He once worked hard outside the Hall of Mental Cultivation The image of filial piety that moved the heavens created naturally disappeared.

In such a tumultuous atmosphere, the end of the year finally came unexpectedly.

In the Huajing post house, early in the morning, Huyan Yuanchen took Yan Fei out dressed up and got into the carriage.

On New Year's Eve, Huajing City seemed very quiet. Even during the day, many shops were closed, and everyone stayed at home preparing for the evening reunion dinner.Huyan Yuanchen sat in the carriage, touched a brocade box in his arms, couldn't help but smile, and turned to look out the window.

The carriage turned the corner of the street and stopped in front of a vermilion gate that was not imposing but definitely very important. The two large characters of "Zhao Mansion" on the gate were very vigorous and powerful. martial arts.

Yan Fei went up to knock on the door, and handed over the invitation card to the person who called out. The servant glanced at the post, quickly opened the door, walked to the carriage and respectfully said: "My lord is here, our general has been waiting inside for a long time. gone."

Huyan Yuanchen just got out of the car, gathered the luxurious wolf fur cloak on his back, and strode into the mansion.

Seeing that Huyan Yuanchen seemed impatient, Yan Fei wanted to laugh, but as a qualified guard, he still didn't laugh.

The architectural pattern of General Zhao's Mansion is very in line with the military style. Everything is straight, which saves a lot of detours. Hu Yanyuanchen followed the servants who led the way to the backyard. After a long distance, he saw what he was looking for. people.

Ning Yuan didn't wear the blue shirt he usually wears today, but changed into a white shirt, his hair was still simply tied with a headband, and holding a slender branch in his hand, he was competing swords with a tall young man.

The young man's swordsmanship looks very superb, like a twig, it seems to become ever-changing in his hands. Fortunately, although Ning Yuan's moves are not as good as others, he is more flexible in his movements, and his inner strength is also behind him. For a while, he was evenly matched with the other party, and the fluttering appearance of his clothes made Huyan Yuanchen a little dazed.

"Hey, brother Huyan is here." Zhou Shi came from behind with a wooden basin, saw Huyan Yuanchen, and couldn't help saying: "The young master has been here for some time, and I'm bored, so I compared swords with the second young master, by the way, young master He also said that we are all acquaintances here today, so I told Brother Huyan not to wear that mask all the time, it makes you shiver."

After finishing speaking, he cheerfully took the wooden basin and walked to the well not far away, and started to draw water.

Huyan Yuanchen showed a dry smile, then took off the silver mask on his face, and walked forward. At this time, the competition between Ning Yuan and Zhao Mo had reached its climax. Zhao Mo pulled a sword flower, and unexpectedly Grasping Ning Yuan's extremely small opening, the branch narrowly brushed against the back of Ning Yuan's hand and squatted at his throat.

"My good brother, I see that your internal strength is good, but your swordsmanship is far behind." Zhao Mo laughed and threw away the branch in his hand, "If you are willing to learn from me humbly, I can teach you a few tricks."

Ning Yuan rolled his eyes, and said: "I've seen you make an inch, but I haven't seen someone who is as arrogant as you after making an inch. It's just that I slipped my hands just now. This time it's no longer a sword. Look at the palm!" After saying that, he raised his right hand and patted Zhao Mo's face just like that.

Zhao Mo seemed to have expected that Ning Yuan would have this move, stepped back, full of confidence and wanted to dodge, why suddenly blurred in front of his eyes, Ning Yuan's palm disappeared, replaced by a tall figure in front of him , "As early as in the Sixth Prince's Mansion, I saw General Zhao's superb martial arts skills, and Hu Yan also asked for advice. General, be careful!"