The Beloved in the Palm

Chapter 264 "Gathering Together"

When Hou Qiyun first received the news, his heart skipped a beat. He was a little afraid of seeing Emperor Liang De.

After leaving Golmud, his breathing became smoother and his speech became much more fluent.

Hou Qiyun immediately looked at He Songning, who was leaning on the pillow in the carriage, and suggested: "I think Mr. Xue's injury is still very serious. I'm afraid he should walk slowly on this road..."

As a patient himself, He Songning said: "No, we should walk faster."

Hou Qiyun frowned, and he couldn't see through his thoughts: "Isn't Mr. Xue afraid that his injury will worsen on the way?"

He Songning looked at him and asked back: "General Hou is old, and he has forgotten that as a minister, he must rush back regardless of life and death after receiving the imperial edict?"

"You... are right." Hou Qiyun's face changed, and he was even more surprised.

How could such a young man, who had just entered the officialdom, have such thoughts?

He understood He Songning's intention.

If you can't do things well, it's because you are not capable enough.

If you still drag your feet when admitting your mistakes, your attitude is different. To put it in a bigger way, it means you are disrespectful to His Majesty and ignore the majesty of the imperial power.

The former still has a chance to survive, but the latter may really have his head chopped off.

Hou Qiyun shuddered, turned his head and sighed: "I am old, old..."

He Songning said coldly: "Yes, I am old. General Hou is so timid, how can he not be defeated?"

Hou Qiyun felt a little embarrassed when he heard this. He thought to himself that even if you are the elder brother of Princess Xuan, you are young and you are only a military commander in the army. You are an assistant officer. How dare you comment on me like this?

"Mr. Xue..." Hou Qiyun just raised his head and met He Songning's cold and gloomy eyes.

It is obvious that He Songning is not afraid of him at all.

Not only is he not afraid, but he also has the posture of suppressing him.

He Songning said, "Since you are afraid of death, you must be a smart person. If you want to escape punishment after this trip, you may have to rely on me."

Hearing this, Hou Qiyun's chest was filled with anger and blood, and he scolded, "Young boy, why are you so arrogant?"

"Because you were hesitant, you bet on the wrong treasure on the King of Wei. Now you want to escape punishment, you want to please the King of Xuan, right? But does the King of Xuan need you? Does he think highly of you? At that time, the army was flooded and the food and grass were destroyed. How did you ask the King of Xuan for food and grass? When the King of Wei was captured, how did you shamelessly come to his door and use the righteousness of brotherhood to force the King of Xuan to send troops to rescue people?" He Songning spoke one sentence after another like a string of cannonballs.

Hou Qiyun was exposed without any face left, and his face was blue and purple. He wished he could jump up and kill He Songning.

But in the end, he just squeezed out a sentence from his throat: "You don't have to do this... Just tell me directly, what do you want to do? You are the elder brother-in-law of King Xuan. Are you saying this to teach me a lesson for King Xuan? Or..."

Hou Qiyun paused: "Do you have other plans?"

He was just dragged down by his temperament, not really stupid. The person in front of him said so much, so Hou Qiyun certainly had some guesses.

"Come closer to my ear." He Songning was still leaning there steadily, just raising his chin towards Hou Qiyun.

In an instant, Hou Qiyun felt that he seemed to have seen a little bit of the momentum of the superior from him. Even a little... the shadow of the emperor.

Ten days passed in a blink of an eye.

The army of King Xuan crossed the Tuohe River and saw that it was getting closer and closer to the capital of the Meng Dynasty...

He Songning finally arrived in the capital at this time.

Hou Qiyun couldn't help but look back at He Songning with a complicated expression.

This young man...

Now he looks half dead...

But he doesn't care at all.

Such people...are exactly the most terrifying.

"But General Hou?" Someone came up to him at the city gate.

Hou Qiyun restrained his thoughts and turned back to answer: "That's right, but did His Majesty send you to wait here? We will go to the palace to see His Majesty immediately."

But the man said in a cold tone: "No need to go to the palace, just follow me."

Hou Qiyun's heart sank.

Could it be that he would be thrown into prison without even seeing the emperor?

This shouldn't be the case!

He suppressed the urge to turn back and look at He Songning...

Hou Qiyun wanted to ask him, what would he do if the situation did not develop as he said?

But he knew he couldn't turn back.

An old general, at this time, showed a tendency to ask a young official for help in his words and deeds. Anyone with eyes would see that there was something wrong.

The man didn't seem to care what they thought at all, he got on his horse and led the way.

Hou Qiyun was stunned: "Why go outside the city?"

The man just said: "The army will stay outside the city, General Hou and Master Xue will follow me."

Hou Qiyun had no choice but to suppress his anxiety.

He Songning's carriage naturally followed closely behind.

On the other side, Liu Yuerong was also preparing to go out.

She asked the maid beside her: "How is mother's illness?"

The maid bowed her head and said: "Not very good, three doctors have been changed."

"Then send the imperial physician from the Prince of Wei's mansion..."

The maid said: "Previously, the princess brought some maids from her natal family to the palace, which caused rumors..."

"What rumors? It's just that the old nanny who talks nonsense all day long. Now she is gone, who dares to discuss it?" Liu Yuerong said unhappily.

But she said this, but she knew in her heart that after Nanny Xiao was executed in public that day, the atmosphere in the palace became more tense and weird. When the palace maids saw her, they were afraid to show too much respect.

But what does it matter?

Wouldn't it be better if I could establish my power?

Liu Yuerong looked at her maidservant who came with her as a dowry. She lowered her head and said nothing. Liu Yuerong felt irritated and had an incredible guess... Could it be that her mother wanted to distance herself from her after the failed assassination attempt on Qiao Xinyu?

Liu Yuerong felt even more irritated.

Thinking that Qiao Xinyu had not returned to the mansion until today, all her efforts were in vain... Liu Yuerong was even worried that Qiao Xinyu would report her to the emperor...

In short, everything was not going well.

It was not as smooth and proud as she had imagined.

Liu Yuerong let out a heavy sigh: "My father ordered me to accompany him for dinner... I'll go there early."

She thought to herself that at least this honor was still worth showing off.

For a while, people from all sides rushed to the manor on the outskirts of the city.

When had this small manor ever accommodated so many nobles at the same time?

Some guests could sense the extraordinary bustle before they even approached, as well as the solemn atmosphere of the heavily guarded manor...

"The manor does not accept outsiders today." The people in the manor had to wait a hundred meters away, waiting to reject the guests who came today.

These guests were smart. How could they have the opportunity to act arrogantly under the emperor's feet?

Looking at the guards outside the manor, they could not offend them.

So only one person asked a few more questions: "May I ask which distinguished guest is here today?"

The people in the manor raised their mouths, desperately suppressed their desire to show off, and pretended to be calm and said: "You are all knowledgeable and should be able to see something."

Fortunately, Xue Qingyin told them before leaving that if the emperor came, they must not mention it to others. It is none of their business if others see it themselves.

Otherwise, if the emperor's whereabouts are leaked, if there is an assassination, then all their nine clans will be in trouble.

At this time, Hou Qiyun arrived first. He was stunned and said, "What is this place? There are so many people around, it seems like a banquet."

The other guests looked.

Wow!

Isn't this General Hou? How did he come back from Yizhou?

At this time, He Songning also lifted the curtain, looked out, and was also stunned.

He pointed at the manor and asked, "Is it here?"

The guide replied coldly, "Well, follow me in."

This side entered the door.

The carriage of the Prince of Wei's Mansion also arrived.

The guests who were refused entry couldn't help whispering, "I heard that His Royal Highness the Prince of Wei was gone in Yizhou... Why did the Prince of Wei's Mansion still have the mind to come to the manor to eat and drink?"

"It can be seen that the person who organized this table of banquets is not an ordinary person."

After a while, people from Princess Changning's Mansion, Shangzhuguo Mansion...all came.

These are not the new nobles in the court today, but they all have great backgrounds.

It's really dazzling.

Gradually, they also had some guesses in their hearts, and they dared not stay any longer and left in a hurry.

But what they saw today would become a great topic of conversation in their mouths in the future.

Let's talk about the inside of the gate.

Liu Yuerong walked through the pavilions and towers step by step, and couldn't help sighing: "This manor is quite ingenious, with a scene at every step. The inscriptions and paintings should all be masterpieces..."

Liu Yuerong was very discerning in appreciation.

But the maid who accompanied her couldn't help but look embarrassed when she heard her words: "The inscription was written by Liu Xiuyuan."

Liu Xiuyuan was a member of the Liu family's side branch, and had some conflicts with the main family.

Liu Yuerong's face darkened when she heard it.

The maid said again: "Didn't the princess recognize it? This farm... is the Xue family farm before. It was only after Xu Zhi gave it to Xue Qingyin that it became Xue Qingyin's property. After that, the farm was renamed and it became what it is now."

Liu Yuerong: "..."

Her face suddenly became darker.

That's not all.

A eunuch soon came out of the farm and led her to the table.

After a while, Liu Yuerong saw various princes and nobles...

It turned out that she was not the only one summoned today...

"Hello, princess." Qiao Xinyu's voice suddenly sounded not far away.

Liu Yuerong looked at it and her face couldn't be darker.

Not only was she not the only one summoned!

Even Qiao Xinyu was summoned!

What exactly is the father going to do?

"So you are the concubine of the King of Wei." The man sitting next to the upper pillar suddenly spoke to Qiao Xinyu.

Liu Yuerong looked confused.

Why would such a person know Qiao Xinyu?

Is it because she had unauthorized contact with men outside the family?

Liu Yuerong looked around, but saw that most of the men sitting at the table were described as unruly people.

They seemed a little out of place here.

Liu Yuerong couldn't help but grab the curtain hanging in front of her.

In fact, those princes and nobles also found it strange.

Why are there two more female relatives?

How did their son know the concubine of King Wei?

And... His Majesty?

Emperor Liang De sat in the flower hall with the window in front of him half open.

The cool breeze from the mountains and forests came in from the window, which immediately relieved the summer heat.

He still remembered that he sat in this hall in the past and wrote a calligraphy to Xue Qingyin... In a flash, now everyone is not around.

"Your Majesty, the person is here." The eunuch walked into the door carefully and whispered.

"Well, bring him in."

"Yes."

On the other side, He Songning walked along and found that there were fewer familiar faces. Nine out of ten people couldn't recognize him as the eldest son...

Was this something Xue Qingyin did on purpose?

The Xue family was replaced silently.

Waiting to be helped to walk outside the flower hall.

Two strong strong men suddenly came forward, grabbed his arm without saying anything, and took him in in an escorting manner.

He Songning's face turned pale with pain, and even his heart sank.

...What happened?

Waiting to step into the door.

He saw Emperor Liang De sitting there, holding a teacup in his hand, with a lukewarm expression.

The next moment, He Songning was pressed heavily to the ground by the strong men.

His face was forced to stick to the ground.

His limbs twitched instinctively because of the pain.

He Songning's heart was cold, and he tried his best to suppress the gloom in his eyes.

Sitting here is his biological father.

His biological father is the emperor.

And he was pressed to the ground by these lowly people, kneeling in front of his biological father in such a shameful and lowly posture.

...It is simply a great shame!

Hou Qiyun was half a step behind. When he saw this scene, he was shocked. He didn't need anyone to stop him. He knelt three times and kowtowed nine times. Then he pressed his head tightly to the ground and dared not lift it.

Only a crisp sound was heard.

That was Emperor Liang De putting down the teacup in his hand.

He asked in a cold tone: "Xue Ning, did you kill the King of Wei?"

What?

Hou Qiyun froze. How... how could this be possible?

He Songning was also like a basin of cold water poured from head to toe. He clenched his finger bones and his back suddenly straightened. The whole person was furious, and the surging emotions seemed to turn into a raging flood.

... Qingyin, is this your second killer move?