Zhao family
Zhao Li hurried to the study room at home and bowed to the man behind the desk.
"Father, it's bad, something happened to Concubine Zhao."
Zhao Shoufu held the bamboo slip in his hand. Hearing this, his eyes moved and he raised his head.
He is a hale and hearty old man with gray hair, but his eyes are secretive, revealing a shrewd and sinister undertone.
He slowly rolled up the bamboo slips and said, "What news did you hear?"
"This afternoon someone from Yikun Palace sent a message. The imperial concubine brought someone to identify the champion Hou Qiye, who had an affair with Ji Rong's daughter Ji Shu. But things didn't go smoothly. I didn't receive a letter after dusk. Please ask again. At that time, the imperial concubine had been ordered to be grounded by the emperor. Even the sixth princess was the same."
Zhao Shoufu raised his eyebrows and said, "Well, what is she going to do with Qi Ye? Have you sent someone to ask the third prince?"
Just as Zhao Li was about to reply, there was a sound outside the study door, "Sir, the Third Highness is here."
Zhao Shoufu walked out from behind the desk, and it happened that Xie Lian pushed the door in at this moment.
"I have met His Highness."
"Uncle and grandpa, this is a private residence, so there is no need to be polite."
Zhao Li: "Your Highness is here just in time. I was just telling my father that it was quite strange that the imperial concubine was grounded."
"I already know the cause and effect of this matter. It is precisely because I know that I came here to inform my uncle and grandfather."
The three of them closed the door and had a careful conversation. After that, no one in the study spoke.
Xie Lian frowned and turned the jade ring on his thumb. After a long time, he said:
"This time, my mother and concubine were impulsive. Not only did they fail to touch Qi Ye, but they also fell into trouble in front of the father. I came to look for my uncle and grandfather, and I also hope that you can avoid the limelight at the moment and not bring trouble to the father. "
Zhao Shoufu: "That's true. The emperor is suspicious. Now he must prove that His Highness has no intention of snatching the military power from Qi Ye."
Zhao Li looked ugly, "The previous arrangements can only be postponed."
Xie Lian glanced at the door. It was quiet outside. He lowered his voice and looked gloomy.
"There's been no news over there for a long time. It started with the Beijing camp drill."
Zhao Shoufu: "Your Highness, don't worry too much. They are all veterans. From the ambush in the Dragon Tiger Army to the pro-army troops entering Qiye, there are no traces of our intervention. Even if Qiye investigates, nothing can be found. It should only be in recent days. The wind is tight, so there is no news."
"Qi Ye is cunning. Now that the mother-concubine incident has happened, I'm afraid that he will think of us and affect the plan."
"Keep your eyes peeled and see if there's any movement at the connector."
The three of them planned a curfew before they knew it.
Xie Lian originally wanted to ask someone to carry a lantern and clear the way back to the prince's mansion, but Zhao Shoufu said that it was dark and the road was difficult, so he asked him to stay at Zhao's mansion and freed up an upper room for Xie Lian.
Xie Lian spent too much energy today and fell asleep quickly after extinguishing the candle.
The moon was dark and the wind was high. In the middle of the night, Xie Lian was awakened by the urge to urinate. He pulled the bed curtains and shouted:
"Come here, hold the lamp! We are going to get up at night!"
The servant who had been sleeping at night quickly woke up, lit a candle and went up to help Xie Lian get up.
"Your Highness, the latrine is outside. I will help you there."
The two walked out of the inner room, the little eunuch walked in front, opened the door and stepped out of the threshold first. He was about to turn around to help Xie Lian, but when he raised his eyes, he was stunned.
Snapped--
The copper candlestick in his hand fell to the ground, and the weak flame went out instantly.
Xie Lian felt dizzy before his eyes, and only the 'moonlight' shrouded the courtyard.
The little eunuch blocking him remained motionless.
Xie Lian curled his lips and scolded him angrily, and stepped forward to slap him: "You dog slave... you can't even hold the candle firmly——"
Before he could touch it, the little eunuch fell down limply without making a sound.
Without his cover, the scene in the courtyard fell into Xie Lian's eyes.
His pupils shrank and he took in a sharp breath, making a roaring sound in his throat.
Two 'people' were kneeling in the square courtyard.
They can no longer be called human beings. Through the moonlight, it can be seen that their faces are distorted and their naked bodies are covered with traces of severe torture.
The two of them were kneeling under the steps, their eyes widened, pain and fear still lingering in their gray pupils, their mouths wide open and torn below their ears.
It can be seen from above that they all seemed to have something poured into their bodies to keep the corpses standing. The stuff was poured into their mouths, and it was these that supported the candle wicks that burned slowly.
Xie Lian's body was stiff for an unknown amount of time. When he reacted, his body was already wet and cold.
He was shaking all over and breathing with great difficulty. He wanted to lift his legs to leave, but lost his balance due to the stiffness of his limbs and fell down.
I had a face-to-face encounter with the secret agent who made adult wax.
"Ah ah ah ah ah!!!"
The entire Zhao Mansion was woken up by this scream.
Zhao Shoufu and Zhao Li rushed out of the door, followed by another roar of ghosts.
At the same time, the imperial city and palace were extremely quiet.
Concubine Zhao was sleeping soundly in her bedroom, but in her dream she always felt an unpleasant smell lingering at the tip of her nose, which disturbed her sweet dream. She opened her sleepy eyes——
A head was hanging on top of her head, with a pair of bulging eyes that refused to rest in silence! !
The moonlight filtered through the bed curtain and shone on this gray face. There were only two bloody holes left on his ears, and his eyes were filled with horror.
It's not the eunuch Zhou Qing who worked for her before! Who else could it be!
Concubine Zhao opened her mouth wide, and after taking a few deep breaths, she screamed——
"Ahhhhhh!!"
She rolled out of bed and crawled. When her aunt from the previous night rushed into the room, Concubine Zhao was so frightened that she huddled in the corner and screamed non-stop.
"My dear! My dear, what's wrong with you? My dear!"
"Bed! There's a dead head on the bed! There's a dead head on the bed! Come on! Come on -"
Concubine Zhao climbed out of the inner bedroom. When she heard someone was coming, the guards outside the palace did not dare to relax and rushed in one after another.
As soon as she opened the bed curtains, the girl was stunned, "My dear, no, my dear! My dear, are you having a nightmare?"
Concubine Zhao was so frightened that she hid behind the screen and refused to come out.
He murmured, "Dead head, dead head...don't come to me! Don't come to me! It wasn't me who killed you! It wasn't me -"
The palace was noisy. Concubine Zhao's blood surged, she rolled her eyes and fainted from fright.
…
When Xie Lian woke up, there was no one in the house. He recalled the scene before he fainted. His hands were shaking so much that he quickly lifted up the quilt and rushed out of the door.
Zhao Shoufu happened to come up from the corridor, and their eyes met. Zhao Shoufu's face was also pale, but better than Xie Lian's.
Xie Lian's lips trembled, "Grandpa, grandpa..."
"Come into the house and talk."
Zhao Shoufu urged him to come in and ordered someone to close the door.
He said solemnly: "The corpses have been moved to the dark room. Several servants saw it, and your uncle will take care of it. You also have two or three secret guards there, and my grandfather has cleaned it up for you."
Zhao Shoufu's wrinkled face was expressionless and his eyes were full of ruthlessness.
"The secret guards around you, as well as the people in my house, need to be replaced. A bunch of useless trash, and they let people come and go freely!"
