Ch 29 “I really don’t like you when you’re like this.”
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The next morning, Xie Chaoyuan and Xie Chaoling were having breakfast. Wang Rang came in, took a look at Xie Chaoyuan, and bowed his head in silence.
Xie Chaoyuan ignored him, Xie Chaoling smiled and said: “Your Highness, this Gonggong has something to tell you.”
Xie Chaoyuan handed him soup: “Eat.”
After breakfast, Xie Chaoyuan went to the front study. Xie Chaoling continued to write and paint, while Lu Fu helped him grind ink, and handed him the letter she got early in the morning.
Xie Chaoling unfolded it and read it quickly, then threw the letter into the brazier.
While copying in the book, he asked Lu Fu in a low voice: “Did the letter go in and out through the kitchen guy?”
“Yes, according to your instructions, it was delivered to the silk shop on North Street, and it was also taken from there. ”
Xie Chaoling said: “There is no need in the future, tell the guy not to come again, and tell him to go to Ding Wang’s mansion to get the money and leave the capital to go elsewhere.”
After today, Xie Chaoyuan should suspect that there are other people in this mansion helping him with things. Wang Jin and Lu Fu were the people who served him, and he was able to keep them, but if the other people were caught by Xie Chaoyuan, they might end up being covered with a white cloth and carried out.
In the study, Wang Rang was reporting the events outside: “Your Royal Highness, the two people you left in the East Palace before have been taken care of this time, and they were accused of stealing from the storehouse of the East Palace and thrown into the Department of Criminal Justice. I’m afraid they won’t be able to escape.”
Xie Chaoyuan seemed to have known this beforehand. Staring at the spot of sunlight falling through the window sill, he remained silent for a long while.
Wang Rang waited quietly for a while before he heard him say: “Arrange it then.”
Although Xie Chaoling didn’t go back, he did the same things that should be done. The East Palace must have been checked, and the nails that need to be pulled out will be pulled out. Xie Chaoyuan had already expected this.
“Wang Jin hasn’t been able to get up until now, how did he send the message?” Xie Chaoyuan squinted at Wang Rang.
Wang Rang lowered his head: “Your servant will investigate.”
“Is there anything else?” Xie Chaoyuan lowered his voice, his crown prince brother doing such a thing and alarming the emperor, presumably it was not just to pull out a few nails.
Wang Rang said: “His Majesty’s people are still investigating the matter, but news has spread that this matter may have something to do with the Guangchu of the Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. It is not the first time someone has done this. The Guangchu Division should indeed have had a hand in it.”
“Guangchu Division,” Xie Chaoyuan said these words once, and suddenly laughed when he thought of something, “So that’s how it is.”
Inside Huai Wang Mansion, Guangchu division’s head Zhong Liang knelt in front of Xie Chaoqi, begging him to save him.
Xie Chaoqi ignored him, sitting in a chair and carelessly played with his ornamental thumb ring. This ring was the one that killed Jiang Shi before, and he gave it to Jiang Shi. Later, Jiang Shi pleaded guilty and died. He went to the commander of the imperial army who handled the case to get the ring back, and he wore it on his hand and it never left his body.
“Your Highness, please help me, please help me, I have sold things from the palace, but the matter of the East Palace has nothing to do with me, it is clear that someone deliberately wanted to blame me for this matter. If the previous matter, if they are all exposed, I will die!”
Zhong Liang sniffed his snot and burst into tears. Xie Chaoqi turned a deaf ear until Song Shi beside him reminded him in a low voice: “Your Highness, the incident of the theft from the storehouse in the Eastern Palace did not happen until early yesterday morning, yet today, they investigated it to the head of Guangchu division, isn’t this speed too fast?”
“It has nothing to do with me,” Xie Chaoqi looked at Zhong Liang who was still kneeling on the ground kowtowing and said coldly, “Didn’t you go to Xing Wang’s mansion first? He refused to save you, so you turned your head to beg this king?”
Xie Chaoqi’s words pierced through him, and the person kneeling on the ground looked extremely embarrassed. He could only bite the bullet and continue begging him: “Your Highness, please for my old wife’s sake, please help me, please.”
This person was the husband of the milk nanny of the crown prince. The three children who were raised in the Yuan Empress’s palace, the former crown prince, Xie Chaohui and Xie Chaoqi, all had his wife’s milk. In the past, when the former crown prince was still there, he lived a very good life but when there was an accident in the East Palace, this person hid faster than anyone else. Although he was also implicated and lost his position as the head of the House of Internal Affairs, Emperor Qianming still left him a vacancy to be the head of the Guangchu Division because of his lack of support. Yet, he actually dared to steal and sell the tributes from the palace and now that something important happened, he is begging Xie Chaohui and Xie Chaoqi in a panic?
Zhong Liang crawled forward on his knees, weeping, trying to talk to Xie Chaoqi. Xie Chaoqi’s expression became colder, and he asked him, “Did you tell King Xing about the former crown prince?”
Xie Chaoqi suddenly mentioned this, so Zhong Liang panicked: “No, I did not, Xing Wang himself found out. He came to ask me, I dare not tell lies, I…”
Xie Chaoqi sneered.
Back then, he was detained by the Jingwei army and forced to reveal the whereabouts of the former crown prince. In the end, the former crown prince jumped off the cliff, and his mother and two sisters died to show their sincerity. Those who knew the truth blamed him, but who thought about his situation at that time ? None! Never! They would only say that he killed his elder brother and his mother, so he should be struck by lightning, but why? !
Zhong Liang raised his head suddenly, and tightly grabbed the hem of Xie Chaoqi’s clothes: “Your Highness, save me, save me, I have something to tell you, that day in the Dongshan hunting ground, after the prince fell off the horse and fell off the cliff, I saw someone go in and leave something in the forest…”
Xie Chaoqi’s expression changed suddenly, he grabbed his collar and dragged him up from the ground: “Speak! Who was it?!”
“It’s King Xing, the guard next to King Xing. Your ring was put into the forest by King Xing’s people!”
Xie Chaoqi was stunned at first, then furious, and kicked out forcefully, his eyes turned red in an instant: “Good, good, King Xing, it turned out to be King Xing. Since you saw with your own eyes that his people did it, why didn’t you tell me?!”
Zhong Liang laid on the ground and couldn’t get up, so he kowtowed, begging Xie Chaoqi to appease his anger.
How can Xie Chaoqi calm down? As long as he recalled that his Jiang Shi was killed because of this cowardly rat in front of him, by Xie Chaohui, Xie Chaorong and the others, he desperately wanted to kill everyone and have them buried with Jiang Shi.
Song Shi reminded him at the right time: “Your Highness, time has changed and there is no evidence. Just relying on this person’s casual words, even if you report it to His Majesty, it is useless.”
Xie Chaoqi gritted his teeth and paused at every word: “You are right. “
Their father didn’t care what the truth was. As long as he can control the court, anyone can die, so his Jiang Shi was just a scapegoat.
Closing his eyes and opening them again, Xie Chaoqi’s eyes had returned to calm, and he motioned to Zhong Liang coldly: “You go back first, I have to think of a way to save you.”
Zhong Liang was not sure whether what he said was true or not, but that was the only option so he kowtowed three more times before retreating in his sorry state.
King Ke Residence.
Xie Chaoling was looking at the invitation that Xie Chaoyuan casually threw aside. It was an invitation card from King Xiao’s mansion to other houses. Ten days later, the old official in the manor will have his 90th birthday and he invited all the princes and nobles in the capital to attend his birthday banquet.
This was the first time that the always low-key King Xiao’s Mansion hosted such a grandiose banquet for guests after receiving the imperial decree from Emperor Qianming.
“Is Your Highness going?” Xie Chaoling asked Xie Chaoyuan.
Xie Chaoyuan said casually: “I’ll go if I have time.”
If it was in the past, there might not be many people accepting such an invitation from King Xiao’s mansion, but now that the imperial edict of marriage was issued, there were many people who wanted to go to the Xiao mansion to investigate. There will be many people going this time. Of course, in the past, the Xiao family would not have been so high-profile, so such an uncharacteristic thing made things even more curious.
“Want to go?” Xie Chaoyuan looked at Xie Chaoling with a smile.
Xie Chaoling naturally thought about it, and nodded: “Can Your Highness take me there?”
Xie Chaoyuan stared at him for a moment, the smile on his lips retracted: “No.”
He had already said last time that he would not let Xie Chaoling step out of the house again. Xie Chaoling was already able to contact people outside without any scruple in his mansion, so being unreasonable, he would not let the person leave.
“Your Highness has made another mistake. I won’t like you if you are so domineering.”
Xie Chaoling reached out and tapped his shoulder, but Xie Chaoyuan grabbed his hand: “Why do you want to go outside? Do you just think about going outside like that?”
“People always have to go out to catch their breath. I’m not the woman in your backyard.” Xie Chaoling frowned.
“No.” Xie Chaoyuan still said.
Xie Chaoling endured it, suppressed his dissatisfaction, and showed a smile on his face: “Your Highness will take me there, and I will promise Your Highness one thing, you can mention it as you please.”
He turned over and sat on Xie Chaoyuan’s lap facing him: “Is this okay?”
Xie Chaoyuan stared at him with dark eyes, without expressing his opinion.
Xie Chaoling had no choice but to lean in and kiss him on the cheek: “Is it okay?”
Xie Chaoyuan still didn’t say a word. Xie Chaoling could only continue to kiss him, the kiss slid across the bridge of his high nose and fell on his thin lips: “Is it really not possible?” “
Xie Chaoyuan leaned back and leaned into the couch without moving. Xie Chaoling had no choice but to lie forward, kneeling on Xie Chaoyuan’s body. He held his face and insisted on kissing him, whispering: “Your Highness is not cute like this.”
“What will you promise this Lord?” Xie Chaoyuan finally spoke.
Xie Chaoling was very obedient: “Your Highness can have whatever you want.”
Xie Chaoyuan put his hand on his cheek and repeated this sentence slowly: “Whatever you want?”
“As long as I can give it.”
Their eyes met, and after a while, Xie Chaoyuan held Xie Chaoling into his arms. He lowered his voice: “It’s enough for older brother to treat me better in the future.”
Xie Chaoling was startled, he didn’t expect Xie Chaoyuan to say this.
It’s easy to talk about other things, but he can’t make this promise; what happens in the future depends on Xie Chaoyuan himself. If Xie Chaoyuan doesn’t violate his taboo, he will find a way to protect him, and it’s okay to give him wealth and glory for the rest of his life, otherwise, everything today will be nothing but passing smoke.
Xie Chaoyuan didn’t hear Xie Chaoling’s answer, so Xie Chaoyuan clicked his tongue: “Linlang should stay in the mansion, so that I won’t worry about you all the time, you cause trouble every time you go out.”
With Xie Chaoyuan like this, there was no room for negotiation.
Xie Chaoling said: “If Your Highness really insists on this…”
“What?” Xie Chaoyuan looked at him.
Xie Chaoling smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes: “I really don’t like you when you’re like this.”
The two of them were in a stalemate, neither of them willing to back down.
Xie Chaoling got up from Xie Chaoyuan’s body, but was held back by him with one hand. Xie Chaoyuan turned over and pressed the person onto the couch, with his hands resting on the sides of Xie Chaoling’s body, looking down at him from above.
Xie Chaoling grabbed his wrist, bit it hard, and glared at him viciously.
Xie Chaoyuan didn’t even wrinkle his brows, and let him bite until Xie Chaoling was tired and let go: “Your Highness, don’t bully people too much.”
“Will you come back after leaving the house?” Xie Chaoyuan asked suddenly.
Xie Chaoling said: “Your Highness is so unconfident? Do you think that you will not be able to keep me, that I will run away from you and never come back?”
“Will you?”
“No.” At least not now.
Xie Chaoyuan stared at him silently, while Xie Chaoling looked back calmly.
He could see that Xie Chaoyuan was struggling, that he didn’t want to let him out of the mansion at all. The little beast’s plan at the beginning was probably to lock him up in this King Ke’s mansion without seeing the light of day. It was only when he lost his memory and they had some spring nights did Xie Chaoyuan give birth to more thoughts.
“I will believe you once,” Xie Chaoyuan finally said, staring at Xie Chaoling below him the entire time, speaking very softly, “Linlang, don’t lie to me.”
Xie Chaoling was softened by his tone for a moment. He was quiet for a moment, then he raised his hand to hook his neck and kissed him: “Yes.”
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