In the palace.

After Liao Chuxiu and Shao Jin were ordered to enter the palace, they went directly to the Royal Dragon Terrace, and several ministers of the court, such as Feng Qizhou and Li Fengqi, who had originally entered the palace because of the incident, were also left in the palace because of the sudden assassination.

When Liao Chuxiu and the two arrived at the Royal Dragon Terrace, the palace was still searching for assassins who had slipped through the net, and there was some chaos outside the hall, while Emperor Yongzhen was sitting there with a calm face and gloomy eyes in the main hall.

Several of Feng Qizhou's courtiers were standing aside, and in the back room separated by a curtain, the imperial physician who had been hurriedly summoned to the palace was treating the eldest princess An Yue, who was injured by the assassin.

When the two of them and Feng Qizhou staggered by, Feng Qizhou gave the two of them a look with a bad look.

Liao Chuxiu and Shao Jin's hearts were both slightly jumping, they both saw the worry in Feng Qizhou's eyes clearly, and they knew that Emperor Yongzhen was extremely angry about today's matter.

Liao Chuxiu and Shao Jin walked up to Emperor Yongzhen at the same time and knelt down to salute.

"Minister Liao Chuxiu (Shao Jin), see Your Majesty. ”

Emperor Yongzhen looked up at the two of them, his eyes full of gloom.

"You still have the face to see me?!"

Both of them half-hung their heads before they could speak, Emperor Yongzhen raised his head and looked at the two of them with an unpredictable expression and said: "The two of you, one is an important minister who is in charge of the defense of Gyeonggi and supervises the duties of the Hyogurt Division, and the other is a military general who commands the forbidden army in this palace and is responsible for protecting my safety, but tonight first the Hyogo Division caught fire, and then entered the rebels, and the palace and the palace were turned upside down, but where are you?!"

"You are really my good courtiers, and you are sharing my worries!"

Liao Chuxiu raised his head when he heard this, and there was no panic on his face, but he said in a deep voice: "Your Majesty is angry." The Hyogo Division was on fire, and the minister knew that he could not escape the blame, so he should have entered the palace as soon as possible to ask His Majesty for his guilt, but the things in the Hyogo Division were of great importance and could not be ignored. ”

"Therefore, the minister first went to the Hyogo Division to arrange the affairs over there, ordered someone to settle the losses in the Hyogo Division, as well as the damage to the property, and ordered someone to investigate in detail the person who set the fire tonight, and only after the arrangements were made properly, did he enter the palace, and asked His Majesty for forgiveness. ”

Emperor Yongzhen was furious when he heard Liao Chuxiu's words, obviously knowing that the Hyogo Division could not delay, no matter what happened tonight, but Liao Chuxiu's reaction and handling method was undoubtedly the best for the moment, not to mention that he also mentioned the arsonist in his words......

Emperor Yongzhen was angry in his heart, and he couldn't help frowning.

Shao Jin waited for Liao Chuxiu to finish speaking, and then said respectfully: "The criminal minister also went to the forbidden army first, and originally wanted to arrange for the people in the palace to close the four doors and arrest the assassins, but someone has already taken over the forbidden army, and told Weichen that His Majesty has let Lord Lu take over the forbidden army, and Lord Lu also ordered that everyone in the palace should not close the palace gate without permission. ”

"Your Majesty, the minister also knows that he is guilty, but at the moment, the assassin has not been brought to justice, and he is sure to be in trouble, so please ask Your Majesty to issue an order first, arrest the assassin first, and not let the assassin escape from the palace. ”

Emperor Yongzhen's face turned cold when he heard Shao Jin's words, and he turned his head to look to the side, Lu Xiao, who was standing there, changed his face instantly, and hurriedly stepped forward and knelt on the ground and said urgently: "Your Majesty, Weichen has ordered people to arrest the assassin, and the four gates of the palace are already guarded, and the assassin will not escape." ”

Emperor Yongzhen squinted at Lu Xiao slightly, and was about to speak, when there was a sudden sound of rustling behind the curtain behind him, and then the imperial doctor walked out with Princess Anyue.

The eldest princess of Anyue was married to two husbands, the first concubine and the eldest princess died in an accident for more than half a year, and the eldest princess has been widowed for several years, until the first emperor went, the new emperor succeeded to the throne, and took pity on the eldest sister for many years, so he specially hired a concubine for her, and the lord of Zhaoping was born to the eldest princess and the second concubine, but unfortunately the concubine only got along with the eldest princess for a few years, and then died due to illness.

The eldest princess of Anyue is two years older than Emperor Yongzhen, but she is very well maintained, she looks only in her early thirties, she is wearing a peony brocade skirt with a medium yellow background, a few strands of hair are scattered in a high bun combed between her hair, and her arms are tied with white muslin, and some blood stains can be faintly seen on it.

Except for her face being a little pale, Eldest Princess An Yue couldn't see the fright on her face after being stabbed by someone.

After she came out, she bent her knees towards Emperor Yongzhen and whispered, "Your Majesty." ”

"Sister Huang doesn't have to be polite. ”

Seeing the pale face of the eldest princess An Yue, Emperor Yongzhen turned his head to look at the imperial doctor, and said in a deep voice, "How is the eldest princess's injury?"

The imperial doctor hurriedly said: "Back to Your Majesty, the eldest princess only injured her left arm, fortunately, the wound was not deep, and it did not hurt the vital point, the minister has already treated the wound for the eldest princess, as long as she recuperates later, it will be fine." ”

Emperor Yongzhen waved his hand when he heard this, and after letting the imperial doctor retreat, he turned his head to look at Shao Jin and said, "Fortunately, the eldest princess is fine, otherwise even if she picks off your head, she won't be able to pay for your sins!"

The eldest princess An Yue whispered beside her and persuaded: "Your Majesty is angry, tonight's incident happened suddenly, and the assassin took advantage of the chaos to enter the palace, Commander Shao must not have expected it, but fortunately, I inadvertently broke through the traces of that person, otherwise if he was allowed to blend into the inner palace and hurt His Majesty, it would really be a dead death." ”

"Right now, the assassin is fleeing, and I am fortunate to be rescued by Lord Lu, so it can be regarded as not causing a catastrophe. ”

Lu Xiao hurriedly said: "The eldest princess has tormented Weichen, Weichen is just fulfilling the obligations of a courtier, even if it is replaced by someone else, when she sees the eldest princess being assassinated, she will definitely stand up to save Her Royal Highness the eldest princess in danger." ”

Hearing this, the eldest princess of An Yue shook her head and said: "Not everyone is as loyal and courageous as Lord Lu, and is not afraid of life and death..." ”

Liao Chuxiu and Shao Jin couldn't help but feel a chill in their eyes when they listened to the words of Eldest Princess An Yue.

Where could they not hear the deep meaning of her words, the words of the eldest princess An Yue just now seemed to be excusing Shao Jin, but in fact, they were reminding Emperor Yongzhen Shao Jin of his dereliction of duty everywhere.

There are countless forbidden troops inside and outside this palace, but the assassins have been mixed into the palace, and today it was because the eldest princess "unintentionally" broke through that person that she scared that person away, but if the eldest princess didn't bump into that person, wouldn't it be someone who would have been mixed with the emperor and took the life of Emperor Yongzhen?!

Emperor Yongzhen was the most life-loving person, and once he learned that the assassin might hurt him, how could he not be angry?

If the eldest princess of An Yue didn't say anything, what happened tonight was just an accident in the end, Emperor Yongzhen might be angry, but as long as she vented it, it would be nothing, but now that she repeatedly mentioned this matter, she was clearly poking in Emperor Yongzhen's heart.

Sure enough, anger appeared on Emperor Yongzhen's face, and he said coldly to Princess Anyue: "It didn't cause a big disaster, so is it a big disaster to let people kill me?"

"Your Majesty......"

"You don't have to intercede for him, he is in charge of the entire palace defense, I trust him even more, and I have given him my life and my life, but what about him, the commander of the forbidden army, but he doesn't even know that there are assassins in the palace, what is the use of me wanting this palace guard?!"

"That assassin can hurt you today, and he will be able to hurt the concubine and hurt me tomorrow, do you have to wait until one day when my head is cut off, and in your eyes it will be considered a catastrophe?!"

Emperor Yongzhen's words were extremely serious, and everyone in the hall was taken by his anger, and they held their breath and did not dare to speak.

Li Fengqian had long coveted the position of the commander of the forbidden army, and seeing Shao Jin's speechless appearance, he was thinking about how to relieve Shao Jin and Liao Chuxiu from the siege, and maybe he could recruit the two of them to the four princes, but he didn't expect that before he could figure out how to speak, Dong Nianzhi on the side had already taken the lead.

"Your Majesty is angry, although Commander Shao was derelict in tonight's matter, but it is not his fault alone, there are countless forbidden troops in this palace, how can he not be able to hold an assassin, and how could a good person suddenly have such a big mess, first the Hyogo Division was on fire, and then someone took advantage of the chaos to mix into the palace, which is inevitably not framed. ”

"The minister thinks that instead of pursuing the crime of dereliction of duty of Commander Shao, it is better to thoroughly investigate tonight's events first, lest anyone do anything in the meantime, injure the eldest princess, and deceive the Holy Hearing. ”

Li Fengqian listened to Dong Nianzhi's words, his face suddenly darkened, and he secretly cursed a fool in his heart.

Shao Jin is the commander of the forbidden army, and he can be said to be the closest minister to Emperor Yongzhen, and the most taboo thing is to get too close to the courtiers and princes.

Emperor Yongzhen has always been suspicious, Dong Nianzhi is the person of the eldest prince, he can't wait to intercede for Shao Jin at this time, not only will not let Emperor Yongzhen let Shao Jin go, but on the contrary, it will add fuel to the fire, making Emperor Yongzhen even more angry.

Emperor Yongzhen looked at Dong Nianzhi calmly: "Dong Qing thinks that Shao Jin is wronged?"

When Dong Nianzhi heard this, he didn't feel the condensation in Emperor Yongzhen's eyes at all, but said loudly: "Commander Shao has always been loyal to His Majesty, and he has also been conscientious in guarding the palace in the past few years. ”

After Feng Qizhou and Liao Chuxiu heard Dong Nianzhi's words, they secretly screamed in their hearts that it was not good, and Shao Jin also secretly scolded Dong Nianzhi in his heart.

As soon as Dong Nianzhi's words were finished, before he could see Emperor Yongzhen's reaction, a teacup smashed straight on the ground in front of him, splashing him with tea, and before he could come back to his senses, Emperor Yongzhen slapped the table with anger on his face, stood up and said angrily:

"Is it a trivial matter that an assassin has entered the palace?, or is it a trivial matter to hurt the eldest princess?"

"Dong Nianzhi, I see that your heart is too big, so big that I want to behave and teach me, so do you want me to give you this dragon chair and let you be the emperor for me?!"

Dong Nianzhi was taken aback by Emperor Yongzhen's sudden anger, and when he heard his words, his face turned pale instantly, and he knelt on the ground with a soft "poof" of his legs, and said urgently: "Your Majesty, the minister has no such intention, the minister just thinks that tonight's things are too strange, and the minister is just ......."

"Enough! Is it a coincidence, I will check, whether anyone has framed me, I will never let go, but Shao Jin's dereliction of duty is inescapable!"

Emperor Yongzhen's face turned cold, and he fell all his anger on Shao Jin, and said sharply: "Come on, pull Shao Jin down and beat me with thirty sticks to set an example!"

Shao Jin looked at the angry Emperor Yongzhen and couldn't help but smile bitterly and purse his lips, this Dong Nianzhi was afraid that he wanted to show favor to him, but who knew that the horse's fart slapped on the horse's leg, not only did not help him intercede, but also angered Emperor Yongzhen, making him suspicious of him, and he was tired in vain.

Shao Jin also knew that he would not be able to escape this beating tonight, so he whispered: "The guilty will be punished." ”

Guo Chongzhen stood aside, and when he saw Shao Jin being pushed out, he couldn't help frowning and wanted to step forward to intercede for him, but before he could make a move, he was pulled by Feng Qizhou next to him.

Feng Qizhou shook his head at Guo Chongzhen without a trace.

Let's not say that Shao Jin is guilty at the moment, let's just say that the most important reason why Shao Jin was beaten is because of Dong Nianzhi's intercession, who Dong Nianzhi is, everyone in the court knows it, and the relationship between him and the eldest prince Emperor Yongzhen knows it clearly, and Emperor Yongzhen is afraid that he is suspicious that Shao Jin is involved with the eldest prince, so he will be angry and scolded.

At this time, if Guo Chongzhen stepped forward to intercede for Shao Jin again, I am afraid that it will only add fuel to the fire, and then Shao Jin's fear will not only be thirty sticks.

Guo Chongzhen is also a thoughtful person, and he figured out the key in an instant, gritted his teeth and retreated.

Feng Qizhou glanced at Liao Chuxiu, he knew the relationship between Liao Chuxiu and Shao Jin, and saw the sound of the cane scolding from outside the door, but Liao Chuxiu just lowered his eyes and said nothing, Feng Qizhou couldn't help but let go of his heart.

He was worried just now that Liao Chuxiu would not be able to help but intercede for Shao Jin, Shao Jin was in charge of the forbidden army in the palace, and Liao Chuxiu was in charge of the defense of Gyeonggi, and now Shao Jin had made Emperor Yongzhen dissatisfied, if Emperor Yongzhen suspected that Shao Jin and Liao Chuxiu had a very personal relationship, and even the two colluded, then it would be a big trouble.

Feng Qizhou was silent for a moment, and then he stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty is angry, be careful of the dragon body." Shao led the two of them to be derelict in their duties, and they were punished at sentencing, if there is a mistake, His Majesty will punish him, don't hurt your body for these things. ”

Emperor Yongzhen listened to Feng Qizhou's words, his face was a little better, but when he looked at Dong Nian, the gloom in his eyes still made him cold: "Tonight's matter, I will definitely order someone to investigate it in detail, Liao Chuxiu, what do you have to say about the fire in the Hyogo Division?"

Liao Chuxiu raised his head, as if he hadn't paid attention to Shao Jin's accusation at all, and just said: "The minister has been to the Hyogo Division, and ordered someone to investigate all the places in the treasury in detail. ”

"The minister has ordered someone to take down the person who transferred the guards privately, and he can hand it over to His Majesty at any time, and the minister has no excuse for tonight's matter, I only hope that His Majesty can let the minister find out about this matter, and then punish the minister. ”