The prince is very fierce

At dusk the next day, the Queen Mother's chariot left the palace in a light carriage and returned to her parents' home on the pretext of visiting relatives.

The Xiao family mansion in the middle of Kuaishou Street is directly opposite the Lu family. Like the Lu family, it is only a temporary residence for family members who come to Beijing. Strictly speaking, it is not a serious prime minister's residence.

The Queen Mother got off the carriage in front of the two stone lions and entered the palace with the accompanying maids. Due to her status, even the family elders who were originally called uncles had to come out to salute and greet her.

However, Xiao Ting, the Empress Dowager's beloved nephew, was hiding somewhere at this time, and no one could be found in the whole house.

Naturally, the Queen Mother came here not to vent her anger on Xiao Ting. After a few polite words with the housewife, she came to the residence at the back, where Prime Minister Xiao Chuyang lived.

The Xiao family worshiped the prime minister for generations throughout three dynasties, and their status was aloof and in line with the world. However, they were not as extravagant and lustful as the merchant princes, and they were even a little simple because of their strict family education. There are no cluttered mountains and seas and treasures in the house. Once the school, school, and residence are thrown away, there will be no place left to visit.

Xiao Chuyang's official status has always been hard to find fault with. He gained some fame in his teens. Because he was the second son, he was promoted to an official position like other Xiao family children, starting from the bottom and slowly working his way up.

At first, Xiao Chuyang was just the county magistrate of a small place near Lingnan. The mountains and rivers were so poor that even a horse could not escape, so Xiao Chuyang walked around in the high mountains and ridges of the county. Because he had learned medical skills, he also carried a small medicine box with him. Treat the poor people who lack medical treatment and medicine.

There are many children in the Xiao family, and there are even more with the surname Xiao. Xiao Chuyang never disclosed his background when he was the county magistrate. Even his immediate superiors did not know that the barefoot magistrate was actually the legitimate son of the Xiao family in Huainan.

Later, Xiao Chuyang's father and eldest brother got sick one after another, so they called Xiao Chuyang back from other places, and immediately became the prime minister after entering the capital, where he remains today.

The courtyard where Xiao Chuyang lived only had his wife and two old servants. Most of the rooms were empty. The remaining rooms were filled with various books and files. Because it was getting dark, only the study room had a light on.

The Queen Mother was Xiao Chuyang's youngest sister and was very familiar with the courtyard. After asking the accompanying maids to wait outside, she entered the courtyard alone and knocked on the door outside the study.

"Second brother?"

Soon, Xiao Chuyang, who was wearing a Confucian shirt, opened the door. He first raised his hand and saluted according to the rules: "See the Queen Mother." Then he turned and walked back, sat down behind the large desk, picked up the half-read file, and raised his eyebrows. Didn’t even raise it:

"Why are you back again? Can't you stay in the palace?"

As the saying goes, 'The eldest brother is the father.' There was a huge age difference between the Queen Mother and Xiao Chuyang, so as younger sisters, they were naturally a little scared. At this time, he entered the study with an upright posture and closed the door. He walked to the chair next to the desk and sat down. He hesitated for a moment:

"I'll come back and take a look... Well, a few days ago, the Holy One seemed to be appointing the top ten warriors. The warriors are already powerful, and all the vassal kings and generals have heavy troops..."

"Personal bravery has nothing to do with the overall situation. The Shiwu Kui is just trying to appease the people who practice martial arts in the market. They fight secretly all day long and will do anything to gain a reputation. It's better to give them a name and let them fight for it."

"oh……"

The Queen Mother nodded, thought about it for a moment, and chuckled: "Xu Buling is good at martial arts, can you be ranked in?"

Xiao Chuyang said calmly: "Eunuch Jia admires Xu Buring very much, and originally wanted to rank him tenth. However, it would be beneath the status of the vassal king's son to compete with Jianghu Han, and the warrior would be dissatisfied if he decided directly. If Xu Buring had Just let him fight for it."

The Queen Mother smiled and looked like she was recalling: "Xu Buling was infected by the dragon-locking poison, and his martial arts skills are incompetent. It is a bit difficult to compete for the top ten martial arts leaders. I don't know when I will be able to get rid of the poison... By the way, I I remember that during the Jiazi period when Baiyue was defeated, my grandfather led troops to annihilate the bandits. Locking Dragon Gu was rare in the world. Did my grandfather keep some at that time? "

After speaking, the Queen Mother carefully observed Xiao Chuyang's face.

What the Queen Mother didn't expect was that Xiao Chuyang remained as calm as ever, turned the page of the book, and said casually:

"At that time, I kept one in Huainan. It's just a poisonous insect. I haven't found any way to raise the poison, so it's useless to keep it."

"!!!"

The Queen Mother's eyes were full of astonishment. She was stunned for a long time before she came back to her senses and said slightly confused:

"Hmm...Xu Bu Ling was poisoned, and the court has been checking for dragon poison. Is it related to my Xiao family?"

Xiao Chuyang shook his head: "Originally, I just kept him at home. When my father was still there, banditry was rampant in the rivers and lakes. In order to prevent the loss of too many manpower, I secretly used it several times. Until the spring of the second year of Zhaohong, the Imperial Iron Eagle hunted deer. , all the masters came out but still couldn't do anything to Zhu Silk Mountain. The Cui family in Youzhou is a family friend of my Xiao family. When I was a military advisor with my grandfather, when I knew about this, I came to ask me to borrow the Dragon Lock Gu. , I wrote a handwritten letter asking your sister to hand over the Locking Dragon Gu to the Cui family. "

"ah?"

The Queen Mother's eyes showed a bit of seriousness: "Could it be that the Cui family poisoned you?"

Xiao Chuyang sighed softly: "After Zhu Cishan committed suicide, there was an accident on the way back transporting the dragon-locking Gu. There is no news about the dead man and the dragon-locking Gu. There is no news yet."

The Queen Mother was anxious when she heard this: "Then why don't even I know about this? If the dragon-locking Gu in Xu Buling comes from my Xiao family, if I don't explain it clearly in advance..."

Xiao Chuyang closed the book and shook his head: "The soldiers suffered heavy casualties when they defeated Baiyue. Emperor Xiaozong issued an imperial order to eradicate such poisons. My grandfather leaving them without permission is tantamount to disobeying military orders. If outsiders find out, my grandfather's reputation will be ruined." .

And the Dragon-Locking Gu is not only in our Xiao family. Before the Dragon-Locking Gu was lost, there were several cases of people dying from being poisoned by Gu in the martial arts world. There must be a way to raise the Gu. It is difficult to determine which Dragon-Locking Gu Xu Buling was infected with. Telling it in advance will not only damage my grandfather's reputation, but also cause trouble for no reason.

Secondly, my grandfather and father have studied for half their lives. There is no medicine to cure the Dragon-Locking Gu in my Xiao family. If Xu Buling was really infected with the Dragon-Locking Gu in my Xiao family, he would be a useless person even if he did not die. Even if he confessed, he would be pissed off. How can you let me confess? "

The Queen Mother's heart sank, hesitated for a moment, and asked: "Do you know who robbed the Dragon-Locking Gu?"

Xiao Chuyang frowned slightly, tapped the table with his fingers, looked in the direction of the imperial city, and shook his head again:

"If Xu Buling was infected with the one in the Xiao family, it might be very involved, and I can't see the situation clearly... Don't let this matter spread, it will do more harm than good. "

"If the emperor or the Xu family finds out in the end..."

"The poison was not given by my Xiao family. Even if my Xiao family is implicated in the end, I have my own way to deal with it. I can just wait and see."

"Oh..."

The queen mother nodded. As long as the poison was not given by the Xiao family, it would be fine. After chatting for a while, she stood up and said goodbye and left the study...