Chapter 86 Revealing the truth
Chapter 86 Revealing the truth
Yang Zhao was in a hurry to go back and report to his father. After meeting his brothers, he went straight on board the boat.
Yang Zhao did not return to Chang'an, but went to Luoyang. His father, Prince Jin, currently lived in Luoyang and would soon follow his royal grandfather to Jiangdu, but his father needed to understand the situation in Jiangdu in advance, especially the situation of his third brother in Jiangdu.
Chai Shao was going to deliver food to his wife, so he left first.
Xiao Xia got on Li Min's carriage and headed to Qiyun Inn.
"What does Brother Li want to tell me?"
Li Min smiled and said, "Do you know that the King of Han, Yang Liang, is in Jiangdu now?"
Xiao Xia nodded. "I saw him before. He didn't leave. Why?"
"He came to Jiang because the emperor asked him to come. It can be considered as an outpost. Let's arrange the reception."
"It seems that he is very favored!"
Li Min sneered and said, "That's the problem. He's the youngest son! Being favored by his parents, he started to be ambitious and had unreasonable wishes. Especially since even Yuwen Shu started to support him and support him to inherit the throne, you can imagine how ambitious he is now, so he always wants to achieve something."
Xiao Xia thought for a moment and said, "Is the achievement he wants to achieve related to the Xiao family? Or is it related to me?"
Li Min looked at him approvingly, "You are very smart. The achievements that the King of Han wants to achieve are related to the Xiao family and also to you. His target is still your father."
"Why? My father has been demoted. What's the point of the King of Han keeping an eye on him?"
Li Min smiled faintly, "This is related to why the emperor came to Jiangdu. Your father was in charge of Jiangdu for ten years and did a lot of things to ease the relationship between the north and the south, so that the Sui Dynasty truly unified the world. Your father also suggested continuing to dig the Grand Canal to connect the north and the south with waterways, which would further promote the integration of the north and the south. The emperor also adopted your father's suggestion three years ago and ordered the digging of Shanyang Du.
So the emperor's inspection of Jiangdu this time was nominally to understand the integration of the north and the south, but in fact it was to clear your father's name. Simply put, your father will be reinstated."
Xiao Xia nodded silently, he had known this for a long time.
"So the King of Han wants to find something to hold against my father to prevent him from being reinstated!"
Li Min nodded, "That's right, his target should be Xiao Cong, the last emperor of Western Liang. If your father has been in private contact with him in the past few years, this is colluding with the Jiangnan forces, which is a serious crime. Do you understand?"
"What about me? How can I influence my father?"
Li Min said slowly, "There was a premise for demoting your father back then. He was asked to go to Luoyang to reflect for five years, until the end of this year. Your grandmother, Empress Dugu, died in October last year, and then in December your grandfather decided to inspect Jiangdu at the end of next year. Then a lot of things happened, including your assassination in early February this year."
"Why do you want to kill me?" This is something Xiao Xia couldn't figure out.
"It was because of your existence that your royal grandfather and royal grandmother were furious, thinking that your father had been pretending to be a gentleman and deceiving them, and your father was demoted because of this.
So when your father was first demoted, he hated you to the core and said angrily that you should have been executed long ago. The surveillance recorded this and reported it to the emperor, so the emperor knew that your father had a motive. If you suddenly died this year, all the evidence would point to your father. Do you understand?"
Xiao Xia was unable to utter a word. Even a tiger would not eat its own cubs. Once Yang Guang was charged with the crime of killing his own son, he would be completely finished.
Li Min sighed and said, "The struggle for imperial power was very cruel. Your father knew they wanted to kill you, so he asked my mother-in-law, your aunt, to protect you. After you were stabbed for the second time, your aunt went directly to the emperor to complain. The emperor warned his sons, and they restrained themselves."
"But Yuwen Shu still wants to assassinate me?"
Li Min sneered and said, "This is the struggle for imperial power. No matter how hard it tries, the first time on the boat it was the prince who wanted to assassinate you. The emperor vaguely guessed it, so the King of Han ordered Yuwen Shu to attack you again, intending to frame the prince. Do you understand now?"
Xiao Xia took a deep breath and said, "Is Yuwen Shu also killing Ma Xun to avenge the crown prince?"
Li Min appreciated Xiao Xia's reaction very much.
"Yuwen Shu's surrender to the King of Han made the Crown Prince very angry. The Crown Prince killed Ma Xun to warn Yuwen Shu, but it was not just for warning. The Crown Prince also wanted to take down the Jiangdu County Lieutenant, so Yuan Shirong was appointed as the Jiangdu County Lieutenant. The Emperor will come to Jiangdu for inspection, and the Jiangdu County Lieutenant is more important than at any other time."
The cruelty and weirdness of the struggle for imperial power made Xiao Xia feel overwhelmed. After a while, he sighed and said, "What can I do?"
Li Min looked at Xiao Xia and said, "My mother-in-law sent me here to stop the King of Han from doing something bad to your father. You must help me." Xiao Xia smiled faintly and said, "But my brother told me to hide my actions and not to let me get involved in anything. It seems that you didn't communicate in advance!"
Li Min smiled slightly and said, "That was your father's instruction, not your eldest brother's idea. Why is your eldest brother in such a hurry to go back? He doesn't want to stay for a moment. He just doesn't agree with your father's idea, but he doesn't dare to disobey his father's order, so he left immediately after conveying it. What you want to do has nothing to do with him."
So that's the reason. No wonder my brother was in such a hurry to leave.
Xiao Xia nodded. His own interests were at stake. How could he ignore it?
He hesitated for a moment and asked again, "Besides the King of Han, could there be anyone else who did this?"
"I don't know! But there must be one. Your father's reinstatement will pose the greatest threat to the crown prince. I believe he will not accept this. I estimate that Wei Lihu will take action this time."
In the governor's mansion, Governor Wei Lihu fiddled with the jade pendant in his hand. This was the only token given by the emperor to Xiao Xia. It first fell into the hands of the King of Han, and now it fell into his hands by accident.
Zhou Lu, an aide, advised: "Your Excellency, let Yuan Shirong do it! Your Excellency has not given him a chance, which will not only make His Royal Highness unhappy, but also make the Yuan family unhappy. Besides, Yuan Shirong's target is the county magistrate, and he cannot threaten your Excellency."
Wei Lihu said coldly: "How do you know that his target is the county magistrate and not me? That guy is very ambitious. After he was promoted to county magistrate, he wants to replace me next. Can I give him a chance?"
"Your Excellency, at least you should pretend to give an explanation to the Crown Prince, lest the Crown Prince thinks that you are intolerant, which will affect your future."
Wei Lihu pondered for a moment and said, "Okay! Let him go and talk to Xiao Xia, but the jade pendant cannot be given to him. It must be held by my confidant. If he gets the jade pendant, he will kick me away."
"this is okay too!"
...........
Xiao Xia returned to the cottage in the south of the city. He habitually took out the key from under an earthen jar and was about to open the door, but was stunned. Both the key and the lock had been changed to the previous lock and key.
Xiao Xia suddenly had a bad feeling and quickly opened the door and went in.
The room was tidy. The dozen or so wine gourds piled up in the corner were gone, and the toilet was cleaned and placed behind the door.
"Master! Master!" Xiao Xia shouted twice.
Yuan Shoucheng liked to lock himself in the house, but there was no response. Xiao Xia suddenly thought of something and hurried to the inner room to look under the bed. The soul-calling banner, whisk and peach wood sword that had been thrown under the bed were nowhere to be seen.
Xiao Xia stood up slowly. Master Yuan had actually left, silently and without any warning.
Xiao Xia looked around again, and there was no trace of Yuan Shoucheng anymore, as if he had never been there and had never left a single word for her.
Xiao Xia felt a sense of loss and slowly sat down. Why did he leave?
Could it be that something happened?
No! He still owed me twenty lessons! He just left like that?
Xiao Xia smiled bitterly in his heart. The old Taoist priest was really casual and spontaneous. He just left without any worries. He himself couldn't do that.
.........
After Yuan Shoucheng left, Xiao Xia walked back to the Warrior Academy listlessly. When he arrived at the gate, he saw a carriage parked there.
A servant beside the carriage suddenly saw Xiao Xia and ran towards him, but Xiao Xia stopped.
The servant stepped forward and bowed, "My master invites you to get in the carriage and have a chat!"
"Who is your master?"
"Sir, just go and take a look and you'll know."
(End of this chapter)