14

On the 14th of December.

A day had passed, the news of Prince Cheng assassinating the children and grandchildren of Shuyang Marquessate Mansion and Prime Minister Wei had spread throughout the streets and alleys of the capital.

Old Prime Minister Wei, who was recuperating in the mansion, and Marquis Of Shuyang, who never attended the morning court, appeared in the throne room at the same time. The courtiers who had heard a little about it saw their secretive expressions, and then looked at Prince Cheng, whose gloomy face was even more resentful than the victim's family. They couldn't help but have different thoughts.

The old emperor, who had taken three days off due to illness, came to the court. After the courtiers cheered for him three times, he opened his old turbid eyes and looked down. His gaze stopped for a moment on Old Prime Minister Wei and Han Zhan, father and son. He raised his hand and said, "Rise. Come, prepare seats for Minister Wei and Marquis Shuyang. "

He waved the wide sleeves of his dragon robe and said, "My two beloved ministers are my backbone. Unfortunately, time doesn't spare people, and the heavens don't pity my love. I haven't seen you two in this hall for a long time. Today, I'm afraid you wouldn't come to the Three Treasures Palace without a reason. What do you want to report? Speak. "

While speaking, he coldly glanced at Prince Cheng.

Old Prime Minister Wei supported himself on the armrest and stood up to salute. The emperor allowed him to sit and talk.

Old Wei repeatedly thanked the emperor before sitting down. He sighed and said, "Old Minister is ashamed of Your Majesty's grace. I know that Your Majesty's health is not good recently, and I really shouldn't have worried you with this matter. However, children are more important than the heavens. Wei Family has served the Lord for thousands of years and has never encountered such a shocking matter. I have no choice but to ask Your Majesty to make a decision. "

Old Prime Minister Wei had been an official for many years and had his own way of speaking. After expressing his feelings, he sighed and said, "Presumably, Your Majesty has heard about it. On the day of Yuxiao, Old Minister Wei was sitting at home waiting for my grandchildren to come back from ice fishing. I didn't expect that in just a few hours, Old Minister Wei was almost separated from my grandchildren …"

Speaking of this, Elder Wei paused sadly, raised his hand to wipe his tears and said, "In broad daylight, there were more than a hundred killers committing murder in the manor granted to me by Emperor Taizu. If it weren't for Prince Shuyang and my good-for-nothing grandson who fought off the enemies and protected my sister-in-law's life, I would have died with them yesterday and put an end to all troubles."

"My beloved minister, you will live to a hundred years old. Don't say such depressing words."

The Emperor consoled.

"Many thanks, Your Majesty." Old Prime Minister Wei raised his hand and bowed in greeting. Then, he said with a serious expression, "Although there was no danger, this old minister feels as if his heart is being cut by a knife. Now that this official is old and useless, I can't even protect my descendants. Emperor, please give this old official justice. "

Marquis Of Shuyang also spoke up, "This humble subject also asks Your Majesty to make a decision! When this official was ten years old, I was ordered by Your Majesty to kill the enemy on the battlefield and guard Tianyang territory. I don't know how many life and death experiences I have experienced, but I never thought that in this peaceful capital, there would be someone so daring to slaughter the loyal martyrs of my Shuyang Marquessate Mansion. Things worse than pigs and dogs. You can pick up a knife but don't go to the border to kill the enemy. Instead, you flaunt your power to a young girl. It's really hateful! "

The Emperor coughed. Although he was dissatisfied with his choice of words, he didn't complain. He only raised his voice and said, "Where are the Ministry of Justice and the Supreme Court?"

The Minister of Justice and the Minister of the Supreme Court quickly stepped out, "This humble subject is here!"

The Emperor said, "How is the task that was given to you yesterday going? Did you find any clues on the bodies of the assassins? Who did it?"

Hearing this, the two people looked at each other. The Minister of Justice bowed and said, "Reporting to Your Majesty, those assassins weren't reared soldiers, but Jianghu killers. Their identities have been confirmed. They came from an organization called Yan Luo Dian in Jianghu."

"But this subject sent troops to Yan Luo Dian yesterday. That place had already been set on fire. This subject was incompetent and couldn't capture a single person alive. Fortunately, this subject bought a clue from Thousand Gold Pavilion. According to the owner of Thousand Gold Pavilion, ten days ago, there was someone in Yan Luo Dian who paid a thousand taels of gold as a deposit to take the lives of Shizi Shuyang and young master Wei XuanMing. But four days ago, the buyer withdrew the order for some reason. "

The Emperor said, "Who was the buyer?"

Hearing this, Prince Cheng's hand that was hidden under the wide sleeves of his Qinwang robe suddenly clenched. His heart suddenly jumped.

"This … …" The Minister of Justice said with difficulty, "This subject still hasn't found out. Thousand Gold Pavilion isn't willing to reveal the other party's information. It's just that we don't know if the buyer went back on his word or if the person who hired the assassins was someone else. This can be considered a clue. I ask Your Majesty to give this subject two more days. This subject will do his best to find out the identity of this person. "

"Since the head of the assassins was taken out from Prince Cheng's residence, why are you asking about Thousand Gold Pavilion?" The Emperor sneered and looked at his five sons. He said in a deep voice, "Prince Cheng, tell me, do you know the person who hired the assassins?"

Prince Cheng hurriedly went forward to kneel and said, "Imperial Father, please understand. This subject son doesn't know. This subject son has nothing to do with this subject son!"

"What this subject son said to the Board of Justice yesterday was the truth. That assassin really barged into this subject son's residence for no reason and slit his throat before this subject son's people arrived. At that time, this subject son was also confused. It was until I heard that there was someone who was crazy enough to assassinate the children of the Wei Family and Marquis Of Shuyang. That assassin was one of the people who luckily escaped. This subject son then knew that someone was deliberately framing this subject son! And now, because of someone's deliberate misdirection, the people in the capital have identified this subject son as the assassin. This subject son has no way to defend himself. "

Prince Cheng looked viciously at his old rival, the Third Prince, Prince Ding. He then kowtowed heavily and said, "Imperial Father is wise. Please make a decision for this subject son and give this subject son justice. Don't let some despicable person succeed!"

When Prince Ding saw this, he also went forward to kneel and said, "Imperial Father, this subject son has something to report. This subject son also knows some inside information regarding the assassination of the Han and Wei Family."

"Oh? Tell me. "

The Emperor looked at them deeply.

Prince Ding said, "Ten days ago, this subject son's subordinate unintentionally discovered a suspicious person in Prince Cheng's residence and took note of it. That subordinate is the trusted aide of Fifth Imperial Brother's most valued third son, Xuanyuan Ming. He is definitely not an ordinary person. Ten days ago and four days ago, he had appeared at a gambling den in the West Street. The Board of Justice has already verified that this place is one of Yan Luo Dian's halls. This subject son has thought about it and this timing is too much of a coincidence. It might be helpful to the case and I don't dare to conceal my personal feelings. Imperial Father, please make a decision. "

"Third Imperial Brother, what do you mean by this? Could it be that just because a greedy servant went in and out of the gambling den, you can casually accuse this Prince of plotting an assassination? Don't you think that Imperial Brother's words are too absurd! "

Prince Cheng glared angrily but in his heart, he was scolding Xuanyuan Ming badly. He was really unable to accomplish anything but was good at spoiling things!

Prince Ding did not care about his anger as he smiled and said, "Imperial Brother's words are too serious. I am only stating a fact. When I reported to Imperial Father, I only suggested to bring that subordinate to the Board of Justice for interrogation so as to avoid missing any clues. I did not say that he was instructed by Third Imperial Brother. If Third Imperial Brother is upright, why are you in such a hurry? "

Prince Cheng said, "This matter has nothing to do with this Prince. I have a clear conscience. I am only afraid that some people are making things up out of nothing."

He looked at Prince Ding and his eyes were filled with anger.

He had already determined that Prince Ding was the one behind this matter. He knew his own seed and he did not believe that Xuanyuan Ming had the guts to go against him. However, since Prince Ding knew that Xuanyuan Ming's men had contacted Yan Luo Dian, it was easy for him to create obstacles and make a false accusation against him.

In just one day, there were so many unfavorable rumors about him in the capital. Even a fool would not believe that there was no one behind this!

In the entire capital, other than Prince Ding, who else had the motive to deal with him by hook or by crook?

The two of them argued back and forth. The old Emperor's eyes were filled with anger as he said sternly, "Both of you, shut up! The main hall is not a place for the two of you to argue. How can you be so noisy! "

Prince Cheng and Prince Ding shut their mouths and quickly apologized to the Emperor in fear and trepidation.

Seeing that they had quieted down, Han Zhan who had been silent all this while spoke, "Your Majesty, this subject has something to report."

The Emperor did not expect that he also had something to say. He could not guess whether it was Prince Cheng or Prince Ding's weakness that had fallen into his hands and his heart tightened. No matter how this matter ended, he really did not want this matter to be related to the imperial family and cause animosity between the Xuanyuan Family, the Han Family, and the Wei Family. However, since Han Zhan had already brought it up, he had no choice but to listen. He could only wait and see.

Han Zhan stood up and said, "Reporting to Your Majesty, although this subject does not know who wanted to buy this subject's and Chang Ning's lives, but yesterday, before this subject went to Yan Luo Dian to destroy the corpses, this subject had already caught a total of 30 people from Yan Luo Dian. After interrogating them overnight, this subject is now presenting a confession. Your Majesty, please take a look."

He took out the memorial and handed it over with both hands.

All the subjects were shocked. The Supreme Court Chancellor could not hold back his anger and said, "Since the Heir has already obtained such an important witness, why didn't you send someone to inform us? Is it because you don't trust this subject's and Lord Li's ability to handle the case?"

The Great Eunuch hurriedly came down to collect evidence. The Emperor did not stop the Supreme Court Chancellor's questioning. Seeing that Han Zhan had turned a deaf ear to this, he became even more concerned.

When he saw the confession, even though he was already prepared, he still jumped up from his dragon throne and said furiously, "Despicable! That wild dog has gone too far! "

"Your Majesty, please quell your anger."

The officials did not expect this and hurriedly knelt down to ask him to take care of his imperial body. The Emperor did not tell them to rise. He looked at the half-kneeling Han Zhan and said, "General Han, how certain are you that this confession is true?"

"If this subject was not completely certain, how would this subject dare to present this confession to Your Majesty?" Han Zhan said, "When we were facing off against those assassins two days ago, this subject discovered that their martial arts were related to those of the outer realms and went to investigate. Because this matter involves military secrets, it is inconvenient to disclose it to the public before it is confirmed. I ask that Lord Li and Lord Wang do not take offense. "

The Minister of Justice and the Supreme Court Chancellor knew that this matter was serious, so they did not dare to fuss over Han Zhan's lack of information. They hurriedly said that it was fine.

The Emperor allowed the officials to rise and began to discuss the matter of Xi Mang's assassination in Tianyang.

For a moment, everyone in the throne room was of one mind. Even Prince Cheng and Prince Ding abandoned their previous enmity and focused on discussing this matter. Xuanyuan Xu, who had been waiting in front of the Green Dragon Gate for half a day, could not help but be surprised when he did not see any movement inside.

He said, "I thought that this time Third Imperial Brother and Fifth Imperial Brother would definitely insist that it was the other party's assassination. I heard that they even met with many of the court's henchmen yesterday. They must have turned the world upside down. Why is it so quiet?"

Gou Liang leisurely smelled the fragrance of the tea and said carelessly, "Since Your Highness is not the fisherman, why do you care about how the sandpiper and the clam fight?"

"I am not the fisherman, but there must be someone who is." Xuanyuan Xu said regretfully, "If not for Imperial Father, who did not want to complicate this matter and insisted on removing me from it and not allowing me to ask about it, I could still be inside and listen to the excitement."

Seeing that Gou Liang was completely uninterested, Xuanyuan Xu rolled his eyes and said, "Well, no matter who it is, the target will not be an idle prince like me. Since I was not implicated, those matters have nothing to do with me. But … "

Xuanyuan Xu moved closer to Gou Liang and covered his face with his hand. He lowered his voice and said, "The day before yesterday, I heard you call Han Zhan your wife? Is there really such a thing? You guys … Hmm? "

He raised his eyebrows ambiguously, the unfinished meaning in his eyes.

Gou Liang looked up at him with a slight smile in his eyes. It was not much different from before, but Xuanyuan Xu did not know why, but he suddenly thought of how he looked when he killed people yesterday.

At that time, Gou Liang moved freely among the hundreds of assassins and cut off several people's necks with his sword. Xuanyuan Xu would never forget it for the rest of his life. Even though there was a distance between them, he could still see the faint interest on Gou Liang's face. He was clearly smiling, but it was extremely cold.

Just like now.

He instinctively stepped back and saw the smile in Gou Liang's eyes deepened. He could not help but touch his nose embarrassedly.

Gou Liang saw that he was tactful and did not scare him anymore. He put down his teacup and said, "So what if I am? What does it have to do with you?"

Xuanyuan Xu said, "I used to think that there was something wrong with you. It turns out that you are not interested in girls. I say, this prince is also handsome and handsome. Don't tell me you also have some thoughts about this prince? "

Gou Liang did not answer first, but looked up and down at Xuanyuan Xu meaningfully. Then he sneered and said, "Let's not talk about how you were before. Even now, I don't like you."

Xuanyuan Xu was a little nervous at first, but when he heard what he said, his face turned red with anger. He said loudly, "What's wrong with me now? You don't know how many people dream of me. I don't think I am worse than Han Zhan. Why am I not good enough for you? "

Gou Liang paused and said in surprise, "You actually compare yourself to Han Zhan?"

He laughed. It was not mockery, nor anger. It was purely as if he had heard a funny joke and was amused.

Gou Liang waved his hand. When Xuanyuan Xu blushed and asked him why he was laughing, he did not explain. He patted him on the shoulder and said, "Okay, you are still a child. You will understand when you grow up. They probably won't come out until noon. I want to sleep for a while. You go back first. "

"Wei Xuanming, what do you mean? I was already 20 years old last year. You …"

"Do you want me to ask you to get off?"

Gou Liang sat up and put away his smile. His temperament had an aura of ruthlessness that had been built up over the years on the battlefield, just like Han Zhan's. Xuanyuan Ming was stunned for a moment. Before Gou Liang could "invite" him to get off the car, he flicked his sleeves and snorted before leaving.

Gou Liang laughed and shook his head. He did not care that Xuanyuan Ming was muttering about him outside the carriage. He leaned on the couch in the carriage and supported his head.

With a blanket on his legs, he propped his head up and looked at the big blind spot in the system monitor. He stood there motionlessly. The civil and military ministers in the hall were already red in the face and neck as they argued about whether to take the initiative to go to war with Western Mang after the New Year. They yawned disinterestedly. Retracting his gaze, Gou Liang rolled the fox fur blanket over his body, leaned against the pillow, and closed his eyes to rest.

Inside the carriage, the tea curled up in spirals and was warmed by the heater. Gou Liang unconsciously fell asleep.

He had a dream.

In the dream, he turned into his original appearance. He raised his furry white claws and split a mountain in half. Gou Liang recognized that it was the Heavenly Slash Pusan.

He nestled in the cave under Pusan and slept. His head was lying on the man's lap. The man's fingers shuttled through his hair and combed him. He was so comfortable that he snorted. He happily swung his tail and sent the two round Pixiu pets nestled beside him flying.

The two pets whined and crawled back pitifully. Then, they obediently lay down next to him and huddled together.

The man chuckled and said, "Didn't you say that you wanted to learn from me and raise them? When did I bully you like this?"

"Woof ~"

Gou Liang licked the man's hand and arched his head coquettishly on the man's chest.

The man said obediently, "It's okay. You can do whatever you want. I won't restrict you."

"Woof woof ~"

Gou Liang laughed happily.

The man touched his head and was about to discuss with him the problem of not being allowed to learn to bark when he suddenly frowned.

He got up and said to Gou Liang, "You sleep. I'll be back soon."

"Awoo?"

Gou Liang's ears suddenly stood up. He opened his mouth and bit the man's sleeve. The power of the law flashed by, but it didn't hurt Gou Liang at all. The man said patiently, "I'll be back soon."

Gou Liang reluctantly let go of his teeth. The man came back soon. His expression was still calm, but his body was wrapped in black power. His forehead was covered in cold sweat.

Dark power?

He participated in the battle? Was he injured?!

Gou Liang's heart tightened, but he didn't feel anything in his dream. He raised his head and jumped at the man.

The man hugged him. Gou Liang curiously ate a bite of the dark power on his body and stuck out his tongue in disgust, "It has no taste. It doesn't taste good."

The man touched his head and said with a smile, "If you don't like it, then don't eat it."

Gou Liang arched his shoulder. Seeing that his Law Cannon had dimmed and the fragrance on his body was fainter than before, he asked in surprise, "What's wrong with you? … Does it hurt? "

He raised his paw to touch the man's face and cried out anxiously.

The man held his paw and easily picked him up and sent him back into the cave.

After sitting for a while, the black gas on his body dissipated and his Law Robe returned to normal.

The man touched his head and suddenly said, "Xiao Kener, I need to leave here. I'll come back to pick you up after I've taken care of things."

"… How long?"

Gou Liang opened his large black eyes and looked at him with a bit of fear.

The man paused and said, "At least a hundred years, at most a thousand years. It's enough for you to sleep for a while. Wait for me to come back and wake you up."

Gou Liang's paw dug into the ground and said, "You won't throw me away again, right?"

The man gave him an affirmative answer.

Gou Liang watched him leave. Even if it was only for an instant, the man's back seemed to stretch endlessly in his eyes and slowly became blurry.

"Wu wu …"

The man turned around and saw large drops of tears falling from his eyes. The man quietly looked at him for a long time and suddenly sighed softly. He opened his hands to him, "Xiao Kener, come here."

"Ao wu!"

Gou Liang flew towards him, but he didn't know why he couldn't reach that short distance. He used all his strength to pounce, pounce — —

"Si!"

Gou Liang fell from the couch and hit the burning stove with one hand, crying out in pain.

Han Zhan, who was walking out of the Green Dragon Gate with Marquis Of Shui Yang and Old Prime Minister Wei, frowned and flew towards the carriage.