Xiao Yan looked at the person kneeling in front of him with a sudden look on his face: "So it's you."
He had met the person in front of him once at Cao's house. Although he just passed by in front of Cao's house, Xiao Yan was deeply impressed by him.
One is that the Cao family is a noble family, but a man with a disfigured face and a rickety body is left to serve in the house.
The second was the way Xu Yu looked at him in front of Cao Fu's door that day.
Xiao Yan remembered that his father had a chamberlain named Xu who was in charge of the internal affairs of the East Palace, and most of them walked in the back courtyard of the East Palace. The affairs between the East Palace and other palaces and palaces were handled by another chamberlain beside his father, Zhang Lin'an. .
Compared with the eunuch Zhang who was known to be the most important person in the prince's employ and who was favored by the imperial court, eunuch Xu was a low-key person and did not like to show his face in front of the emperor. He was extremely humble whenever he saw his master.
Although Xiao Yan was familiar with him, at that time, Waiter Xu had an upright appearance and looked very young. He was not as gray-haired, stooped, and full of ridges on his face as he is now.
The half of his face that was covered in wrinkles seemed to have never recovered after being burned, making him look older and more frightening.
No wonder he only felt vaguely familiar that day, but didn't recognize the person.
Xu Yu's eyes were red: "The old slave is incompetent. He never protected His Highness, nor was he able to save His Highness the Crown Prince. He could only escape from the imperial city with the help of Cao Gong and survive to this day."
"Thanks to God's blessing, His Highness can return safely, and His Highness the Crown Prince's injustice will hopefully be vindicated."
He banged his head on the ground several times, and when he spoke again, his voice was choked with sobs.
"Your Highness, His Highness the Crown Prince has never rebelled. He was wrongly accused."
"When the old slave escaped, he took away the prince's belongings. Cao Gong ordered people to investigate and found out that the prince's temperament changed drastically because he was harmed by others. Someone also tampered with the prince's side. The old slave was responsible for the internal affairs of the East Palace but found nothing. Known.”
"It's all my fault. It's my fault that I didn't find out that someone was plotting against His Highness the Crown Prince. It's my fault..."
As Xu Yu spoke, tears flowed even more fiercely.
He knocked his head down hard, wishing he could make a hole in the ground. He was so full of regret, guilt and torment that he wished he could leave with his former master.
Xiao Yan took a step forward and leaned over to stop him.
"What happened back then was a deliberate plot, and it was not just one force. My father had affected the interests of too many people. They didn't want to see the throne fall into my father's hands, so they naturally tried every means to harm him. These things were not done by you alone. It can be stopped."
It wasn't that my father didn't realize something was wrong back then, and his temperament didn't change overnight. However, neither Grand Tutor Rong, nor the father himself found the person who was responsible for the murder.
Xu Yu is just a chamberlain, what can he do?
Listening to his words of comfort, Xu Yu couldn't help but choke in his throat: "Your Highness..."
Xiao Yan supported the person: "You don't have to feel guilty. I will seek justice from the culprit for the death of my father and bring justice to everyone in the East Palace. As for the rest..."
He whispered: "I am very happy that someone can survive in the East Palace Palace."
After the usual cold and frosty weather faded away, Xiao Yan's features were clear and his eyes were gentle. His face was obviously very unfamiliar, and he could not see the appearance of the emperor's eldest grandson at all, but Xu Yu seemed to see His Highness the Crown Prince standing in front of him.
This is his Royal Highness, the eldest grandson of the emperor.
It is the only bloodline in the East Palace.
Old Xu Yu burst into tears and fell in front of Xiao Yan, resting his forehead on the back of his hand and crying loudly, as if he wanted to vent all the dangers of the past and the years of forbearance.
Tang Ning sat by the brazier and looked at it with a sore nose and red eye circles.
…
After a long time, Xu Yu calmed down. He did not follow Xiao Yan's instructions and sat down, but stood aside like an old servant.
Xiao Yan asked: "How did you escape back then?"
Xu Yu said hoarsely: "When the fire broke out in the East Palace, the old slave was not in the palace. When he hurried back to save people, he was hit in the face by a broken beam."
"The old slave passed out for a moment, and was later awakened by the screams. He discovered that in the fire, Xu Chunrong, the deputy envoy of the government led by Zuo Wei, not only failed to save anyone, but instead led his men to take advantage of the chaos to commit murder and blocked the building where His Highness the Prince was. Qing’an Hall.”
The fire was so intense that what he saw were all the palace residents who died tragically. Those people did not die in the fire, but were silenced. Xu Yu only thought that Xu Chunrong was bribed to plot rebellion, so he escaped in embarrassment and wanted to find someone. The Imperial Guard came to the rescue.
How did he know that after escaping, he found out that the "rebellious" one was the Crown Prince? The imperial army and the Crown Prince's rebel army were fighting in the palace. No one came to the east palace due to the fire. Xu Yu watched helplessly as the fire turned half of the night sky red.
Xu Yuman's eyes were red: "It's too late for me to return to the back hall. I happened to meet Duke Cao and found out that His Majesty had already charged the East Palace. Everyone knew that the Crown Prince was treasonous, and His Majesty even promised to kill him without mercy."
"Cao Gong said that the old slave could not go back. He also said that His Highness had escaped. He said that if he could not hide his traces, he might be hunted down. The old slave had been in the palace for many years, so he and Cao Gong sent someone to replace His Highness, and then followed Cao Gong out. Imperial City.”
He spoke with gratitude: "If I had not been saved by Duke Cao back then, I would have died long ago. In recent years, thanks to Duke Cao's protection, I can stay in the capital and wait for His Highness to return."
Xiao Yan whispered: "Thank you, Mr. Cao."
"You don't need to thank me." Cao Dejiang shook his head: "I didn't have any good intentions when I saved him that day. Waiter Xu should also know that."
The affairs of the East Palace were too involved, and his hasty marriage was not perfect, and there were many flaws in his actions.
Of course, he was afraid that someone would find out what he and Rong Qian'an had done, which would bring disaster to him. Therefore, after finding out that Xu Yu was not dead, his first thought was that the servant of the East Palace could take advantage of him.
After Cao Dejiang took Xu Yu out of the palace, he "imprisoned" him in a remote place on the outskirts of Beijing. He also found a beggar who was about the same age and stature as the emperor's eldest grandson and put him aside.
If the palace notices something unusual and sends someone to investigate, someone will lead them to Xu Yu.
At that time, the people who stayed there in advance would take action to deal with Xu Yu and let him take the beggar to "die for the Lord" and end the matter completely.
Cao Dejiang said to Xu Yu without covering up: "When I rescued you, I just wanted to use you to help the Cao family escape. You have been imprisoned by me for three years. If you hadn't ruined your face and body shape, and the people in the East Palace, Even if things calm down, I won’t let you go back to the capital.”
When Xu Yu heard this, he said anxiously: "That's not the case. You have never concealed your thoughts. I am a slave who is willing to stay there. If someone really pursues His Highness, the eldest grandson of the Emperor, I am willing to die to end my thoughts in the palace."
"After the incident in the East Palace subsided, if Mr. Cao really wanted to escape for the Cao family, he could have directly killed the slave to avoid future troubles, but you kept the slave by your side in the name of surveillance."
He looked at Xiao Yan as he spoke, fearing that he might misunderstand Cao Dejiang.
"Your Highness, this old slave has been by Mr. Cao's side all these years. He has never treated him harshly. Moreover, when the late emperor bloodbathed the court, Mr. Cao tried his best to secretly exchange the bones of His Highness the Crown Prince and the Crown Princess, so that the old slave can be treated these years. I have to go and worship.”
