Chapter 453: This King Is the Most Useless
Xie Mao first handed the umbrella to the maid, then unfolded his cloak and put it on Gu Nianting with his own hands, and finally bowed.
"Your Highness, the Prince of Chen, is here to stay."
"The prince summoned me, and I hurried over. Unexpectedly, I learned that the prince was caught in the rain, so I ran over and put on my clothes first. This is against the rules and is really disrespectful. As Yin Sicheng, I knowingly committed the crime, which is aggravated. If the prince investigates, I am willing to accept the punishment."
Every word touched Gu Nianting's heart.
He couldn't bear it and immediately reached out to help.
"Thank you, sir. Please get up quickly."
"Rules and etiquette are very cruel, but thank you for your kindness and righteousness. Seeing this, I am deeply moved to tears."
As he spoke, he instructed the maid beside him.
"Stand beside Lord Xie and hold an umbrella for him. You don't have to worry about me."
Xie Mao raised his hand to stop the maid.
"How can your noble body be damaged? I am humble and it doesn't matter if I get wet. This is just a gift from the God."
The words were heartwarming, and Gu Nianting's gloom was swept away, and he was overjoyed.
"Thank you, sir. You are the Prime Minister of the Eighth Palace. How can you be humble? At worst, you and I can hold the umbrella together."
Hearing this, Wu Yan knelt quietly in the rain, feeling upset.
Xie Mao showed a hint of panic.
"Your Majesty is so noble, wouldn't that embarrass me?"
In order to stabilize the hearts of Yin Sitai, Gu Nianting tried his best and was very enthusiastic.
"You are so polite. It's really inappropriate. In my heart, Lord Xie is more honorable."
Xie Mao smiled awkwardly.
"Thank you for your kindness, Your Majesty. I will obey your command."
The maid followed the instructions and held an umbrella for the two of them.
Looking at their shoulders, one side of which was exposed outside the umbrella, Gu Nianting immediately made a suggestion.
"One person's umbrella cannot accommodate two. To save Mr. Xie from suffering, let's go inside and talk."
Seeing that the prince had completely forgotten about his "close friend", Wu Yan could no longer bear it and spoke out.
"Your Majesty."
Xie Mao lowered his eyes and pretended that he had just seen Wu Yan.
Gu Nianting's mouth drooped and he responded indifferently.
"What's the matter with you?"
The crows trembled slightly, and their appearance was particularly pitiful.
"I am cold, and I beg Your Majesty to give me an umbrella."
Gu Nianting refused mercilessly.
"How dare I, a humble person, ask for Mr. Xie's umbrella?"
Xie Mao was polite and sincere in his request.
"Lord Wu is weak and can't stand the cold. I dare to ask for his mercy. If there is a justifiable reason, please let him go, Your Majesty?"
Gu Nianting agreed without thinking.
"Thank you, sir. I will naturally agree to it."
Wu Yan was pleasantly surprised and kowtowed to express his gratitude.
"Thank you, Your Majesty. Thank you, Your Excellency."
He made up his mind and asked weakly.
"I am on leave today, could you please ask for a favor from me, sir?"
Gu Nianting was immediately angry.
"Are you done yet? You're pushing it further, aren't you?"
Xie Mao's question extinguished all of Gu Nianting's anger.
"Your Majesty likes to occupy the rest days and force the officials to work?"
Gu Nianting smiled awkwardly, looking extremely unnatural.
"No, how could this king be such a person?"
"He took a rotation a few days ago, so he should have been busy today, but he suddenly changed his mind and insisted that he didn't remember."
"Forget it, forget it. Since Sir Xie has asked for mercy, I will grant him leave."
While Xie Mao was out of sight, he glared at Wu Yan fiercely, gritted his teeth, and gave instructions reluctantly.
"Wu Yan, go back home and have a good rest. We'll see you tomorrow."
Wu Yan had a vague feeling that something was wrong and his heart was beating fast.
"Thank you for your understanding, Your Majesty. I will take my leave."
"Thank you for your kindness, sir. I am deeply grateful to you."
Xie Mao responded with a smile.
"It's just a small favor, Lord Wu, you don't have to be polite."
"Master Wu, please go slowly."
Wu Yan performed the ceremony of taking his leave again and left with trepidation.
"Yes, I resign from my humble position."
Gu Nianting withdrew his gaze and looked at Xie Mao. His expression changed and he smiled.
"Thank you, sir. Please go to the hall to talk."
Xie Mao said politely.
"Your Majesty, please go first."
The two pushed and shoved each other, and finally reached a nearby hall, where they sat down one after the other.
Xie Mao took the initiative to show concern.
"I heard that the Secret Secretary Su has re-initiated the issue of allocating funds for military farms, which has solved the urgent problem of Prince Chen's Mansion. Why is Your Majesty not happy, but standing in the rain, feeling sad?"
Gu Nianting's smile disappeared and he sighed with disappointment.
"Alas, it's because Xi'er went to sleep in Prince Dijin's mansion yesterday."
Xie Mao smiled helplessly, pretending to be ignorant of what was going on.
"It's such a small matter, but it makes His Majesty worried? Prince Dijin just talks about it, but he won't actually do anything."
"During these days together, I can see that Prince Di Jin has no romantic thoughts towards the princess. The two of them have always been innocent from the beginning to the end."
Gu Nianting frowned deeply.
"It is precisely because there is no love between men and women that this king is worried."
Xie Mao didn't understand what he meant and asked in confusion.
"Where do you start talking about this?"
"Could it be that the prince hopes that they can accomplish their mission?"
"Could it be that the prince thought that the princess had a crush on him and wanted to fulfill her wish?"
Without waiting for Gu Nianting to answer, he clarified the misunderstanding first.
"Your Highness is wise. The princess and I have a deep friendship. I know who the princess admires best. Don't listen to her. She keeps calling me brother and addressing me respectfully. In my humble opinion, it's all just words spoken in anger."
Gu Nianting responded in a gentle tone and patiently.
"I know Xi'er's intentions very well."
"She is unwilling to submit, and I am even more unwilling to see my uncle succeed."
"To be honest, I just found out that Xi'er stayed overnight and the uncle succeeded."
Xie Mao was stunned, his eyes filled with disbelief.
"what?"
Gu Nianting felt a little guilty, a little distressed, and even a little regretful.
"You and I have both seen that the Emperor's uncle is not sincere and has no love for her. So you can imagine how much humiliation she went through last night."
"Even, Xier took a leave today and was unable to go to Yirenqingcheng."
After saying this, he buried his head in his wide sleeves, looking extremely painful and ashamed to face the crowd.
Xie Mao followed him and acted bitter.
"Perhaps the princess is just a little tired?"
The wide sleeves gradually fell, revealing Gu Nianting's miserable face.
"Xi'er has always been able to endure hardships. If she hadn't had difficulty walking and was exhausted, she would never have asked for leave so easily."
"The emperor's uncle must have plundered her wantonly and did not let her go at all. Perhaps, he would even use his feelings to beat her with a stick."
"Physical pain can still be healed, but how should she recover from the trauma she has endured?"
"It's all my fault for my rude words, which caused my uncle to misunderstand that I was trying to seize the power of the Eight Terraces. In the final analysis, Xi'er was implicated by me, and I harmed her."
"Among all the people in the world, I am the most useless. I can't even protect the woman I love."
In a state of regret, Xie Mao understood his intention and sneered secretly, but remained respectful on the surface.
"I know that Your Highness has never had the intention to fight for it, but for the sake of saving the princess from suffering, Your Highness has to fight for it."
Gu Nianting declined hypocritically.
"But I am not a member of the Yan clan, so it is not right to say so."
Xie Mao used an analogy to persuade others to move forward.
"People with virtue replace those without virtue. This is a principle that has been passed down from ancient times to the present. Why should Your Majesty be so obsessed with nonsense?"
Gu Nianting strongly agreed.
"Thank you, sir, what you said is very true."
"According to your opinion, what should I do?"
Xie Mao gave suggestions.
"In my humble opinion, Your Majesty can call together all the high-ranking officials under your command to discuss the matter and come up with a feasible plan as soon as possible."
Gu Nianting couldn't wait and gave an order.
"Someone, go and invite the adults."