The smile on Yan Xiu's face gradually solidified.
It's good to go out to Wei to rescue Zhao, and it's good to make insinuations.
A play was sung in its entirety, and Yan Xiu's good mood for leaving the palace tonight was completely ruined by this troupe who didn't know the heights of the sky. The wind and snow in Xijing City were so blinding that anyone dared to sing such a play at the feet of the emperor.
It's time for another blood show.
Yan Xiu walked straight towards Yan Wei's Prince Xiang's Mansion.
…
At midnight, the Lantern Festival, which should have been in full swing, suddenly fell into dead silence. Zhu Sijia and Zhu Ya hurried back to Xuanwu Gate, but pedestrians on the road bowed their heads in silence and hurried home with disheveled faces.
The new wind is blowing, leaving only the strange sound of swaying and colliding colorful lights all over the sky. The first snow after the new year falls from the sky. The most prosperous street in the world suddenly feels desolate, which is really strange.
Zhu Sijia didn't think much about it until she passed by an open space covered with blood, and was so frightened that she turned pale with fear. There were officers and soldiers dragging down several broken corpses in the open space.
She stopped a passerby at random and asked him about the situation, but the passerby avoided talking.
Could it be that Yan Xiu was assassinated on the night of Shangyuan? Zhu Sijia only had this thought in her mind.
Zhu Sijia sped up her pace and ran back to Xuanwu Gate.
In front of the Xuanwu Gate, what was waiting for her was not Yan Xiu alone, but a whole group of cold-armored iron guards. Yan Xiu stood at the front of the crowd on horseback, looking at her coldly.
Standing next to him on horseback were Yan Wei and Bai Heng, who was kneeling on his knees and soaking in the snow silently.
Zhu Sijia walked to Yan Xiu's horse: "Your Majesty, may I ask what happened -"
"Where did Zhu Jieyu go between Xu Shi and Hai Shi?"
Yan Xiu interrupted her directly.
It had been a long time since I heard the word "Zhu Jieyu" from his mouth. Zhu Sijia was not used to it for a while, so she forced a smile and said:
"I was walking around in the Xijing City. When I realized that it was almost Haishi, I had already reached the East Market, so I came back a little late."
Yan Xiu raised his whip and pointed at Bai Heng: "Why did you get rid of him?"
Zhu Sijia: "I didn't intentionally throw away Mr. Bai. By the time I found out that I was separated from Mr. Bai, it was already too late."
Yan Xiu: "Really? That means he didn't protect his master well enough. He pulled him down and whipped him twenty times."
Bai Heng's face froze: "My lord, thank you for not killing me."
Yan Wei jumped off his horse, knelt down with Bai Heng, and begged anxiously for Bai Heng: "Please, Your Majesty, for the sake of Master Bai's countless contributions, let Master Bai go!"
The whips at Yanxuelou are extremely severe punishments. A normal dragon guard would be half dead if he received five whips. He would not be able to get off the bed for ten days and a half, let alone twenty full whips.
But this was an internal matter in Yanxue Tower, and Zhu Sijia naturally didn't know about it. Therefore, seeing that Yan Xiu remained unmoved, Yan Wei could only look at Zhu Sijia with resentful eyes, signaling for her to come forward to intercede.
Zhu Sijia understood immediately. She stretched out her hand and tugged at the hem of Yan Xiu's clothes. She raised her face to look at him. The snowdrops fell on her eyelashes and melted quickly, like new tears from her crying. She whispered:
"This matter is my concubine's fault and has nothing to do with Lord Bai. Please take back your majesty's order. If your majesty wants to punish me, then punish me."
Yan Xiu pulled back the hem of his clothes, causing Zhu Sijia to stumble and almost fall. He gently raised her chin with the long whip in his hand and sneered:
"Zhu Jieyu, you have been favored and arrogant for a long time, and you think that I really can't bear to punish you, huh?"
The whip was rough and seemed to spark fire when it rubbed against her chin, but Zhu Sijia did not dare to complain.
She was in a trance and looked at Yan Xiu at a loss. She had no idea what kind of changes had happened in Xijing City during her absence.
Why did Yan Xiu suddenly treat her like this, why did he suddenly get angry? It was clear that he was so gentle before the two separated.
"Jieyu Zhu's family, who relies on pampering and pampering and neglects etiquette, has been banned for one month and her salary has been suspended for three months."
"The palace maid Zhu Ya has caused trouble in vain, has failed in her moral conduct, and is in danger of causing a catastrophic disaster that will damage the power of the royal family. She must be executed according to the law of Qin. In recognition of her meritorious service, she has withdrawn her palace evacuation token and fined her three years' salary. Changle Palace You are not allowed to leave the palace without permission."
Yan Xiu personally issued the order, tightened the reins, glanced at Zhu Sijia coldly, and walked into the Xuanwu Gate with a large group of silver-armored guards without looking back.
The snow was falling heavier and heavier, and Zhu Sijia lost all her strength and was on the verge of falling. Zhu Ya, who was also recovering from the disaster, did not forget to support her and whispered in her ear: "This...could someone have discovered our whereabouts?"
But she and Zhu Sijia were already cautious enough.
Zhu Ya was in shock, and Monk Zhang Er was even more confused. She had no idea when she had offended Yan Xiu, and actually made him want to kill her.
She has felt the power of imperial power countless times, but never once has it been as thrilling as tonight.
The king's flip-flop is like flipping through a book, it is by no means a joke.
Before Yan Wei took Bai Heng down for execution, he glanced at Zhu Ya fiercely:
"Miss Zhu next to the emperor's sister-in-law has really opened my eyes. I wonder if there is really a theory of cause and effect in the world. Otherwise, the more than 30 innocent souls in the West City will probably enter your dreams day and night."
Zhu Sijia pulled him and asked, "Please, Your Majesty, kindly tell us, master and servant, what happened tonight?"
Yan Wei gave her a thoughtful look: "The emperor's sister-in-law herself should know best what she does."
Zhu Sijia still wanted to ask more questions, but was stopped by the eunuch in the palace, who ordered her: "Zhu Jieyu, please."
She had no choice but to grit her teeth and get on the carriage.
…
It snowed heavily in Shangyuan, and before midnight, the bloodstains in Xishi were buried by the heavy snow before they were washed away, as if all the tragedy had never happened.
Late at night, Prince Yi's Mansion.
A simple carriage stopped at the back door of Prince Yi's Mansion. In the moonlight and snow, a frail young girl was sent to the back door by Yan Xing himself. Before leaving, she kowtowed to Yan Xing again to thank him:
"Daughter of the people, thank His Highness King Yi for saving his life!"
This Wang Wei is the biological daughter of the leader of the Wang family. She said she was sick and stayed at the inn tonight, thus escaping the disaster.
When she knew that everyone in the Wang family had been executed on the spot under Yan Xiu's order, she spat out a mouthful of blood and couldn't calm down for a long time.
It was Yan Xingxicai who had heard of Wang Jiaban's reputation before. He was afraid that she would be implicated and be traced by the officers and soldiers, so he secretly sent someone to take her to Prince Yi's Mansion for refuge.
Yan Xing handed her the baggage with his own hands: "Miss Wang, there is no need to be polite. When you arrive in Chudi, you will change your name and surname. Live a good life and don't do anything stupid."
Wang Wei smiled bitterly and said: "Stupid things? What stupid things can a citizen girl do? It's just that this tyrant is stupid and his enchanting concubine is causing harm to the country. Even if a citizen girl has hatred, who can she seek revenge on!"
The culprit of all this was the mysterious young master who funded the Wang family group to sing "Besiege Wei and Save Zhao".
It wasn't until tonight that Wang Wei understood that ordinary people like them were just the most insignificant pawns in the struggle between powerful people. Human lives were as cheap as ants. Would those in power care about her life and death?
She wished she could enter the palace to assassinate him and kill Yan Xiu under the unfair sky.
Yan Xing comforted her with a sad expression on his face: "My condolences, girl. I am incompetent and can only help the girl to this point. I have to ask the girl to walk the rest of the way alone."
Wang Wei left in a carriage.
As a prince who was not reused, what Yan Xingneng could do for her was already very good.
