Ci Jinzhi

Chapter 431 Year-end
King Xiu lowered his head and stopped moving. A gentle smile was fixed on his handsome face, and the distorted and ferocious appearance was no longer there.

From the moment he was stabbed until he breathed his last breath, he did not say a word to Emperor Xingyuan, or even look at the man who had been calling "Father Emperor" for twenty years.

There was no sound in the hall, and there was silence.

Emperor Xingyuan remained motionless, staring at King Xiu.

He tried hard to recall King Xiu's appearance when he was a child, but found that it was just a vague shadow, existing in an inconspicuous corner.

This discovery made Emperor Xingyuan's heart sink even more.

I don't know how long it took before he said: "Drag him out."

Xin You was accompanied by He Qingxiao and left. The smell of blood in the palace seemed to linger in his nose for a long time.

"I can avoid it." She suddenly said, her steps a bit chaotic.

He Qingxiao looked at the pale girl quietly and held her damp, cold hand with his warm hand.

"The moment Xiu Wang took action, I wanted to see what he was going to do and what he was thinking." Xin You grabbed He Qingxiao's hand and stared at the ground, "I know now..."

"Ayou, don't think too much. What other people do is their own choice."

"I understand." Xin You nodded slowly, "But I still feel a little uncomfortable."

She had been a fish in the water and a bird in the sky. The red walls and golden tiles, and the deep palace door made her more and more unable to breathe.

After sending Xin You back, He Qingxiao returned to the palace to deal with the follow-up matters.

King Xiu's death could not be concealed, and it spread quickly.

All the officials were shocked.

"Prince Xiu, this is so irrational. Even if you don't become a prince, being a prince will mean you will be rich and wealthy for a lifetime. Why do you do such a thing in a hot head?"

"Maybe I couldn't accept such ups and downs, and I got into trouble for a while."

"But I haven't gotten over it yet."

"Ahem, maybe it's because of long-term depression..."

In the harem, Concubine An heard the news of King Xiu's death, screamed and rushed out, and was surrounded by the palace people.

"Let me go, let me go, I want to find my Ping'er, you can't let me see my Ping'er..."

The mournful and desperate cries of Concubine An could be heard vaguely in every palace.

Princess Xuan quickly walked into Concubine Li's bedroom and hugged Concubine Li.

"What's wrong, Xuan'er?" Li Fei was startled.

Princess Xuan buried her head in her biological mother's arms, tears falling from her eyes: "Mother, my eldest brother is dead..."

When she heard the news of King Xiu's death, Concubine Li felt uncomfortable. This is not because of her feelings for King Xiu or her deep friendship with An Bin, but because of the sadness of the rabbit dying and the fox being in the same situation.

"Mother, I'm afraid..." Princess Xuan's body was shaking and her voice was choked.

She didn't have much interaction with this brother, but she still couldn't control her sadness and fear.

Miss Xin was hunted down that day, and her eldest brother died today. Will bad luck befall her and the mother-in-law one day?
"Don't be afraid." Concubine Li stroked her daughter's back, "Just leave the cabinet, and then you can live your life in peace..."

The Queen Mother learned of the death of her eldest grandson and went to Qianqing Palace in person.

"Why is the Queen Mother here?" Emperor Xingyuan was in a depressed mood and looked languid.

"Aijia came to see you."

Emperor Xingyuan felt a little warmer in his heart: "Don't worry, Queen Mother, my son has been through a lot."

"How can it be the same?" The Queen Mother paused and then murmured, "After all, it is her own child, so it will be uncomfortable..."

She thought she wasn't sad at all since she had never gotten along with him before, but she was still uncomfortable. It was a piece of meat that fell from her body. She knew clearly that as long as she spoke, he might live, but she still remained silent and let him die.

It is true that I have no regrets, and it is also true that I feel uncomfortable.

"Son, let's make him a prince earlier, so that everyone will be at peace."

"My son knows that he will be crown prince as soon as spring comes."

The result of King Xiu's treatment was that he was deprived of his princely title and buried as a commoner.

Threatening to use a knife in front of the emperor, no matter what Emperor Xingyuan thought, punishment was necessary. This is not only a punishment for King Xiu’s wrongdoing, but also a warning and deterrent to others.

On the last day of the year, the New Year's Eve palace banquet went on as usual, except that there were fewer people attending, including King Xiu and An Bin.

An Bin went crazy, and everyone in the harem heard about it, and no one dared to discuss it. Empress Zhou sent reliable and honest palace officials to take care of her, and the news was not spread outside the palace for the time being.

Xin You didn’t come either.

As someone who was held hostage by King Xiu and saw King Xiu die with a knife, Emperor Xingyuan had nothing to say about her absence.

The Queen Mother seemed to have forgotten about this matter, and she hardly spoke at the palace banquet.

This was probably the quietest New Year's Eve family dinner ever. Even the youngest prince was careful not to make any loud noises while eating.

Xinyou's side is much more lively.

Shopkeeper Hu of Qingsong Bookstore and others, Kou Qingqing's nanny Fang, and some brothers from Wuyun Village headed by Xiaoba were all invited to Xinzhai.

There are still pictures to be drawn of Zhao and his son. As for other colleagues who get along well, they naturally can't come because they have families and families.

There were seven or eight tables in the hall, with a separate table separated by a row of screens. Shopkeeper Hu, Liu Zhou, Aunt Fang, Xiao Ba and others were all at this table, as well as He Qingxiao and Aunt Gui.

Xin You first greeted Aunt Gui: "I used to have Aunt Xia and the others to take care of me, and now that I've come to the capital, I have to have Aunt Gui take care of me. I'd like to take this opportunity to offer a toast to Aunt Gui today."

There were tears in Aunt Gui's eyes, but her smile came from the bottom of her heart: "It is a slave's blessing to be close to a girl."

Xin You paid tribute to Shopkeeper Hu, Liu Zhou and Zhu Xiaoyue: "Thanks to your support, our bookstore is prosperous and I have achieved what I wanted to do."

Shopkeeper Hu wiped the corners of his eyes: "I didn't do anything. The bookstore was half-dead when the owner didn't take over. It's all the owner's fault."

Originally, he was worried that his boss would get married and have children, which would delay his business, but he never expected that his boss would still be alone now.

The old shopkeeper sometimes felt guilty. Could it be that he had talked too much about not wanting his boss to marry, and Yue Lao had remembered it?

Liu Zhou opened his mouth and said a string of auspicious words, and Zhu Xiaoyue said: "It is only right that I respect my employer. If it were not for my employer, I would have long--"

Xin You touched the wine glass in Zhu Xiaoyue's hand and stopped her from talking.

More than a month ago, Yushi He asked shopkeeper Hu to propose to Zhu Xiaoyue as Baoshan. When the spring comes, it will be their wedding day, and there are still many good days ahead.

"Aunt Fang, I wish you all the best." At this time, Xin You didn't mention Kou Qingqing.

Aunt Fang's eyes filled with tears: "Thank you very much, girl, and I wish her all the best."

"Xiaoba, thank you for taking care of the farm."

Xiaoba now also has the title of military attache, but he still looked out of control in front of Xinyou: "It's not hard at all to work for a girl. Oh, it would be great if Sixth Brother and the others were here."

The Sixth Master and Xiaolian are still in Guangcheng and have not returned.

"Since I entered the Hanlin Academy, I have received a lot of attention from Brother Painter. Brother Painter has superb painting skills and is a warm-hearted person. I am honored to have you as my colleague."

Painting the imperial edict makes me want to cry.

It was obviously because of Miss Xin's favor that he had a better life, whether in the Hanlin Academy or at home.

After everyone paid their respects, Xin You looked at He Qingxiao.