My wife has a secret

Chapter 78: First Meeting with Chunsheng
"Everything that happened in the past two days was related to Xu Qing... This is enough to prove that this boy is a huge disaster."

Prince Kang's words were agreed upon by General Ji and others.

Thinking of his child whose life or death was in danger, General Ji felt his blood boiling and he could hardly suppress his grief.

He followed behind Prince Kang, gnashing his teeth as he stepped forward and said, "I have served three dynasties and devoted my life to the Great Qi until my death. Now my son has met with an unexpected disaster and has been killed by a villain. I beg Your Majesty to see clearly and seek justice for us, my old ministers!"

The little emperor behind the pearl and jade curtain clenched his fists, not knowing how to deal with the situation in the palace.

Although Dongwan Prince Kang Yuwen tried his best to belittle the Xu family, he hoped to use this incident to eliminate future troubles.

But the young emperor knew clearly that even if Empress Dowager Xu passed away, the Prince of Dongwan would still be the regent, and the two were essentially the same kind of people.

If he wants to take control of power, he must at least postpone the current situation until he reaches adulthood and the coming-of-age ceremony.

"I think... Xu Qing has been locked up in the prison of the Ministry of Justice and can't make any more waves. The key point is where did the woman who committed the crime escape to after being injured, and whether there was anyone who provided her with shelter."

Kang Yuwen glanced at the little emperor and knew that he did not want to fall out with the empress dowager and make things too ugly.

But General Ji would not think so much, after all, it was his own son who died in this incident.

"Your Majesty, give him what he has given you. As an emperor, you must not be soft-hearted!"

"Yes! We must not be soft-hearted!"

Seeing Kang Yuwen and Ji Taiwei leading the way, other officials knelt on the ground and begged the young emperor to severely punish the Xu family.

The young emperor was forced into a corner and asked, "Since all the ministers hate the Xu family so much, they should be driven out of the Meridian Gate tomorrow and executed at 3:30 pm... But who should be in charge?"

The noise in the hall suddenly disappeared, and even General Ji, who had previously had the loudest voice, did not want to take on this hot potato.

Although the royalists had gained a firm foothold, the Queen Mother was still powerful and possessed considerable influence in the court and local areas.

I have other young children at home. If I really offend them, will they attack me?
Although the position of Taiwei was ranked among the Three Dukes, he had no substantive power and was just an honorary position.

The others looked at each other, and no one dared to agree to this matter.

It was not until Kang Yuwen cleared his throat that he broke the silence in the hall.

"Your Majesty, after much thought, I feel that the Xu family has brought chaos to the government. Justice must be done to the ministers and officials."

The little emperor asked, "What does the Prince of Dongwan mean?"

"I believe that the person in charge of this matter must be Liao Yue, the Minister of Justice. As long as there is enough evidence, there is no reason to bend the law for personal gain. The emperor should be punished the same as the common people if he breaks the law!"

General Ji and others in the palace did not think that Kang Yuwen's proposal was a good idea.

Liao Yue is an old fox who hides his true strength. Based on everyone's understanding of him, he is definitely unwilling to get involved in this matter.

But Kang Yuwen was confident in his statement, as if he had some key evidence in his hands.

"It's too late today... Shen Nianyan and other key members of the court have not entered the palace yet. Why don't we discuss this matter after the court session tomorrow?"

Most of the ministers who rushed to the Golden Palace at night were those affected by the fire in the Moon-Watching Tower.

Seeing that there was no conclusion to tonight, they all gave up struggling, knelt down and bowed their heads, respectfully seeing the little emperor off.

As soon as Kang Yuwen walked out of the door of the Golden Palace, he was stopped by General Ji.

"General."

General Ji was silent for a moment, then asked in a low voice: "Prince Kang, what evidence do you have that can prove Xu Qing's guilt?"

Kang Yuwen smiled faintly and asked, "Why? The commander doesn't even trust my words?"

"I just want to remind the prince that the excuse of bringing Xu Qing here from Suzhou is no longer sufficient... Last night, the girl surnamed Lu stirred up the scholars in front of the Imperial Academy and changed the trend of the literary world."

General Ji spoke slowly, "If you want to use poetry to convict someone, I'm afraid it will be hard to convince the public!"

Kang Yuwen obviously also knew the other party's concerns and worries, and said with a smile: "Don't worry, Taiwei, I am definitely not that kind of foolish person. When I go to court tomorrow... I will definitely destroy the Xu family!"

General Ji lowered his sparse brows and stroked his beard on his chin.

Prince Kang is behaving in this way, which obviously shows that he is sure of victory, so I should also show some appreciation.

"The Xu family and I are enemies who killed our sons. If Prince Kang is willing to not fear power... then I will help you overthrow the Queen Mother even if I risk my life."

……

The faint firelight was swallowed up by the boundless darkness, lighting up several broken mud walls around it.

The dark and damp atmosphere in the prison makes people feel depressed and have difficulty breathing.

"here."

The jailer who led the way opened the iron gate and let Xu Qing, whose hands and feet were bound with chains, in.

Xu Qing's cell was a rectangular open space covered with a layer of straw.

In the corner of the cell, there was a smelly wooden barrel.

"go in."

"Thank you, jailer..."

Before Xu Qing could finish his words, the prison door was closed and locked by the jailer.

Xu Qing turned around and saw a middle-aged man with white hair sitting on a straw mat, looking forward with empty eyes.

His brows showed signs of aging, his body was hunched, and his face was full of vicissitudes.

Xu Qing had seen the portrait sent by Chengxuanfang before. After comparing the two, he found that the middle-aged man had many more scars on his face, and he must have experienced harsh and cruel torture.

The space in the cell was quite spacious. He found a place to sit down and heard laughter coming from the cell next door.

"Hey, there's a newcomer here."

Xu Qing was attracted by the strange sound. He turned his head and saw that the prisoner in the next cell was hiding in the darkness and he could not see his size and appearance clearly.

"Look at this pair of beautiful, snow-white hands, without any calluses at all. They must be the offspring of some noble family, right?"

Xu Qing was shocked. He was about to ask who this strange man was, when the Chunsheng envoy sitting deep in the cell suddenly spoke and revealed Xu Qing's identity.

"Someone from the Xu family."

"Xu family?"

As soon as these words were spoken, the cell next door fell silent.

After a moment, he realized which Xu family Xu Qing was referring to.

"Old man, the Xu family you are talking about, isn't it the Xu family of Suzhou, the empress dowager's family?"

Xu Qing was stunned for a moment, and his heart skipped a beat.

He originally came to the prison as a spy, hoping to extract some secrets of the White Lotus Sect from this messenger Chunsheng.

But he didn't expect that the old man would recognize his identity at a glance as soon as he entered the cell.

Where did the flaw appear?

"My friend, when you entered the cell just now, none of your jade pendants were confiscated."

Xu Qing lowered his head and took a quick look, only to find that he was indeed as the other party had said, dressed in fine clothes and not even in prison uniform.

The jade pendant around her waist is water-colored, exquisite and translucent, with a large peony carved on it.

Peony was designated as the family flower of the Xu family by her aunt a few years ago. It doesn't seem strange that the old man could recognize her. Xu Qing looked at the old man and asked curiously, "Your eyesight is strange, isn't it?"

"After spending several years in a dark dungeon, your night vision will become very good, just like mine."

After answering Xu Qing's question casually, Chunsheng closed his eyes, as if he was resting.

Xu Qing asked some irrelevant questions again, but got no response.

At this time, the sound from the next cell came again.

"Hey, little guy, give up resisting. If this old man doesn't want to say anything, it's useless even if you cut off his tongue... Why don't we just have a chat and talk about everything?"

The thick iron door of the dungeon was pushed open with a creaking sound, and the dim light of the torch illuminated the bottom of the cell.

The jailer holding a fire in one hand and a food tray in the other walked into the depths of the cell.

When he arrived in front of Xu Qing's cell, he placed the iron plate in the gap of the iron bars and pushed the things in.

There were big fish and meat on the rice plate, as well as a small pot of sake.

The jailer also reminded in front of the cell: "The Minister ordered us to prepare this specially for Master Xu. If there is anything missing... you can ask us for more before the next meal."

"Tsk, tsk, tsk, tsk, you are the first one among us who can drink wine and eat meat in the death row."

The jailer heard the weird noises coming from next door and banged the iron bars with a torch, making a harsh buzzing sound.

"You! Keep your mouth shut! If we find out you're not being honest, you'll be punished tomorrow!"

"Yes, yes! Sir, I was wrong!"

The prisoner next door seemed to be afraid of the threats from the jailer, and he apologized and begged for mercy with a low attitude.

After examining the other prisoners in the cell, the jailer walked out with a torch and locked the iron door.

When the surroundings returned to calm, the person next door couldn't hold back his desire for delicious food and asked anxiously, "Boy, can you throw the chicken drumstick on your plate over here so I can enjoy a feast? I haven't seen this for a long time."

Xu Qing looked at the sumptuous meal on the plate and an idea came to him.

He walked forward, picked up the chicken leg, and asked, "I can give it to you, but I can't give it to you for free... First tell me your identity, why are you in this death row?"

"Boy, you want to get something out of me..."

The prisoner next door persisted for a while, but finally gave up resistance under the temptation of delicious food and revealed his whole story.

"My ancestor was the famous Fa Qiu Zhong Lang Jiang."

"General Faqiu?"

Xu Qing hesitated slightly, and then thought of the four factions of tomb robbers collectively known among the people, namely, Fa Qiu Tian Guan, Mo Jin Xiao Wei, Ban Shan Dao Ren, and Xi Ling Li Shi.

Among them, the Fa Qiu Tianguan is represented by the Fa Qiu Seal, a bronze seal that has been passed down from generation to generation.

The seal is engraved with the eight words "Blessings from heaven, no taboos".

"You said you are the General of the Faqiu Sect, you should show me some substantial evidence, right? Otherwise, how can I know whether you are telling the truth or not?"

"I can't prove it, you can believe it or not!"

The mysterious man who claimed to be from the Faqiu Palace said in shame and anger from deep inside the cage: "Do you want me to dig three feet into the ground to dig a hole for you?"

Seeing that this man had a bad temper and was about to get angry with what he said, Xu Qing changed the way he asked the question.

"Then how did you get in?"

The man paused for a moment and replied, "I accidentally dug up the tomb of the late emperor and was discovered by the tomb keeper. I was then taken to this dark place."

Xu Qing knew that this guy's careless words were most likely bluffing.

No matter who is robbing the tomb, they will survey the Feng Shui and topography of the tomb in advance.

The late emperor had been buried for only seven years, and was buried in the same place as his younger brothers from the neighboring Qi dynasty. Anyone with a little common sense should be able to guess... that the tomb being robbed was the imperial tomb.

Since he knew in advance that it was an imperial tomb, there was no such thing as carelessness.

However, although this man was not honest, he told me his identity and the reason for his imprisonment.

Xu Qing threw the chicken leg to the next person, then sat back in his previous seat with his rice plate.

The people next door were eating with relish, and the sizzling sound could be heard all the time.

Xu Qing simply took a few bites, then placed the pot of sake beside him and said to the old man, "This pot of sake is for you."

After saying that, he no longer cared about the attitudes of these people, but lay down directly on the straw mat, closed his eyes and prepared to sleep.

To be honest, Xu Qing no longer had any hope for the information Chunsheng told him.

The mental fortitude of a man who survived torture in prison for more than a decade without giving in is evident.

Apart from the specially provided wine, fish and meat, he had nothing to offer.

Where does this leave him?
……

"drive!"

The horses neighed as two border soldiers dressed in strange clothes rushed into the gap between the mountains, one in front and one behind.

The cliffs on both sides were covered with green plants, covering their figures layer by layer.

"Uncle Li..."

The latter galloped on his horse, speeding up and finally catching up with the person in front.

His voice was blown away by the strong mountain wind, and he could only shout to increase the volume so that it could be barely heard.

"Uncle Li! If you keep running like this... the horse will die of exhaustion!"

The figure in front did not pause for the slightest.

The man he called Uncle Li shouted and replied, "Before tonight, we must send the news back to Huangling Pass to let the general know about Suzhou."

Seeing Uncle Li was so persistent, the latter didn't say anything more, but tightened the reins and continued to squeeze his hips to speed up.

The two of them were moving as fast as a gust of wind, but the terrain here was winding and Uncle Li didn't hold the horse well, and he and his horse were rolled sideways and fell to the ground.

"Shut up!"

Uncle Li's sudden fall made the border soldier following behind him panic. He quickly stopped his horse and rolled over sideways.

"Uncle Li! Uncle Li!"

Just as Uncle Li was about to get up, he felt a sharp pain in his knee joint, probably because he had broken a bone.

He made a prompt decision, turned around and shouted, "Xiao Wu! Bring the news about Master Xu back to Huangling Pass."

"Uncle Li, don't be ridiculous. It was snowing when we arrived... If you stay in the wilderness for one night, you'll probably be frozen into an ice sculpture."

Because of the urgency of the matter, the two did not bring a tent for overnight warmth when they left the team.

Uncle Li is over fifty years old, how can he withstand this kind of weather?

"Xiao Wu, listen to me... Master Xu is our benefactor of Huangling Pass. He not only helped us recover a batch of stolen weapons, but also dispatched personnel and sent someone to transport food and fodder."

(End of this chapter)