"Taishi..."Gong Wei said to Hou Ye in a daze, "What do you mean by this?" ”

"Don't blame the prince. Xu is an old minister who has been an official all his life, and it is inevitable that he will become sophisticated and indifferent, not as enthusiastic as your brothers. Hou Ye smiled bitterly, turned his head to the emperor and said, "Of course, the princes are all His Majesty's closest relatives and flesh, and there is no problem for His Majesty to choose anyone, that is, if you want to escort this person to Lifu, then my Praetorian Guard will also be guarded all night and share your Majesty's worries." ”

"Old thing..."The emperor squinted at the Hou Ye and smiled, "I understand what you mean, I don't need you for this matter, so you can go back to the house." By the way, I went to the Yuanwu Palace, let everyone go out of the palace, and they were all frightened, and helped me to comfort them. ”

"The old minister obeys."

Hou Ye finally smiled at the emperor, and went to the front of the Yuanwu Hall alone.

Everyone held their breath and waited for the emperor's orders. And the emperor was silent, his eyes wandering back and forth between his sons.

After a long time, he finally spoke, and said to everyone in an undoubted tone: "Okay, it's getting late, and the suspect will be temporarily detained in the palace under the care of the guards." You are all tired, don't go home, stay in the palace and rest for the night. ”

There is no doubt that no one has achieved their wish in such an arrangement. However, once the emperor's will has been issued, there is no room for further debate.

"Father, this eldest brother and sister-in-law have not yet married, if they stay in the palace overnight, is it inappropriate?"

The emperor glanced at the palace and said to me: "In order to avoid tongues, you can go back to the prince's mansion by yourself tonight." ”

Gong Wei reluctantly wanted to say more, but I had been pulled aside. I instructed in a deep voice: "Your Highness, tonight's events are strange, according to the concubine's body, someone must be coming at you." It doesn't matter if you stay in the palace, as long as you rest well tonight and don't act rashly, the emperor's suspicion of you will be dispelled, do you understand? ”

Gong Wei was frightened when he heard this, and when he saw my solemn expression, he also nodded solemnly: "Okay, Lian'er, thanks to your ice and snow cleverness, you reminded me." I'll do what you say! ”

I smiled and nodded at the palace clerk, and the royal family went back. My thoughts were chaotic, walking alone in the direction of the Yuanwu Palace, and when I walked to the palace road, I saw a sedan chair head-on, Guan Ju and Pu Jia stood beside the chariot, waiting for me anxiously.

"Girl!"

Guan Ju saw me first, and the two girls ran to me excitedly, holding my hands left and right.

“… Girl! Pu Jia helped me over my right arm, and when she saw the coagulated blood, she stared in horror, "Girl, you are injured!" ”

"It's okay to have a small injury." I shook my hand tiredly, "Why are you waiting for me here?" ”

"It turned out that the slave maid went to check in the rockery forest, and after going around for a long time, I saw a group of eunuchs beating a little palace maid." Guan Ju said, "That little palace maid was beaten and covered in blood, and half of her life was gone." The slaves and maids couldn't look at it, so they stopped the eunuchs. When the slave maid carries the little palace maid out of the stone forest, you are no longer outside the forest. ”

"I felt cold... I can't wait for you, so I'll go back to the Qingxuan Palace by myself......" I said in a trance with some embarrassment, "And then, where did you place that little palace maid?" ”

Where can she be placed, she has passed out, and the slave and maid can't ask where she is on an errand, so she fed her a ginseng Yangrong pill that she was carrying. I didn't know what to do, so I met Pu Jia head-on. ”

"The slave maid saw that the little girl was really hurt a lot, and she was afraid that throwing her down would kill her, so she wanted to carry her back to the Qingjiao Hall with Guan Ju first, so as to save her life." Pu Jia said distressedly, "The two slaves and maids carried her slowly, and before they arrived at the Qingxuan Palace, they saw the Luan of the ladies of the palace coming back in a hurry, and when they inquired about the palace people who accompanied them, something was really wrong." ”

"When the slaves and maids heard this, they were anxious and hurried back to find you, who knew that the first five highnesses would catch up." Guan Ju continued, "The Fifth Highness saw us carrying a palace maid with bruises all over her body in a hurry, so he asked. Who knew that as soon as we said that it was your person, His Royal Highness asked us not to go back to the Qingjiao Palace, but just prepare a sedan chair and wait for you here. ”

I knew in my heart that the palace had expected that the situation in the Qingyu Palace was critical, and the palace curtain might take the opportunity to make trouble. So I settled Guan Ju and Pu Jia first, and he himself hurried to help me.

"We didn't understand the intentions of the Fifth Highness, and when we saw that he was bluffing, we did so." When I walked to the chariot, Pu Jia lifted the cotton curtain and helped me up, "Now the unconscious little palace maid is still sleeping in the sedan chair, but I am afraid that on the way back, I will be wronged by the girl and squeeze her." ”

I climbed onto the sedan chair, and sure enough, I saw an unconscious girl lying inside. She was covered in bruises, and there was not a single intact piece of blood-stained clothing on her body. I couldn't help but be shocked when I saw it, what kind of mistake had been made to be beaten like this, so that such a young girl could still tremble and babble in her sleep.

As my gaze moved to her face, my heart suddenly contracted, and the blood pumped out almost burst through the veins around me, forcing me to cry out in pain.

"Girl," asked Pu Jia outside, "is something wrong?" ”

I tried to answer, but my voice froze in my throat. My heart was beating faster and faster, as if it was about to pop out of my mouth. The appearance of this palace maid is the same as one of the old people I thought about day and night—

"-Zhuo Ying...?"

Hearing my faint and trembling call, the palace maid's body twitched coldly, and the intense pain made her frown in the coma. Her eyelashes quivered, and then, with great effort, she opened her eyes.

"Return to Hotaru?"

Tears welled up in my eyes and Zhuo Ying almost at the same time. She struggled to reach out her blood-curdled hand to touch me, but a bump knocked her off her seat alive.

"-Girl! What's going on..."Guan Ju outside exclaimed, "Stop the sedan car!" ”

The sedan chair driver was ordered and hurriedly put down the sedan chair. I knelt down and hugged Zhuo Ying, hugging her tightly, and I couldn't cry anymore. The frightened Guan Ju and Pu Jia squeezed in, but they were stunned by the scene inside.

"Return to Hotaru... Gui Hotaru, is it really you? Tears crossed the scars at the corners of his eyes, and every inch of skin and flesh on Zhuo Ying's face twitched, "I thought... I thought I'd never see you again......"

"It's me, Zhuo Ying, I'm Gui Ying!" I felt as if a thousand knives had pierced my heart, "I'm late, I'm late, I've finally found you!" ”

"Return to Hotaru... I hurt so much...... It hurts, it hurts," Zhuo Ying's voice was so faint that she could barely hear it, "I'm here, I'm really dying, I... It's really coming, I can't stand it......"

Zhuo Ying finished the last sentence, and the hand that tugged at my collar loosened weakly. I cried and shook her weak body violently, but Guan Ju and Pu Jia hurriedly pressed down.

"-Girl! Don't get excited, girl, this girl is just weak and unconscious, and it's all right, and you're going to hurt her like this! Pu Jia soothed me while pressing, "Since this girl is your friend, the Prince's Mansion will definitely do its best to save her, don't worry about it first, everything will be said when you return to the house!" ”

I looked at Zhuo Ying who was held in Guan Ju's arms, and my blurred tears became clear. Guan Ju and Pu Jia were afraid that I would lose control of my emotions again, so they simply stayed in the sedan chair to accompany me. When my mood was completely stable, I told them everything that had happened in front of the hall tonight.

"So," Pu Jia listened to me, and said quietly, "It's very much like the handwriting of the Third Highness." ”

"It's not like, I'm sure it's him."

I recalled the secret look of the palace curtain tonight, and my heart became more and more determined. However, what I remembered together was the eyes of the emperor looking at his four sons. "It's just that I'm afraid of the emperor... He's suspicious of everyone. ”

"Suspicious of anyone?" Guan Ju frowned and said, "Does the girl mean His Royal Highness the Prince?" ”

"His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is so active in bringing the suspect back to the mansion, it will inevitably arouse suspicion." Pu Jia looked at me worriedly and said, "Today, the emperor is bound to be extremely sensitive to this catastrophe. I'm afraid that even the Fifth Highness who rushed to the Qingxuan Hall after hearing the news will be affected. ”

"What... No, it's all his own son! ”

"It's better if only one person is suspected, or none at all." I frowned, "Everyone is suspicious now......"

"Fortunately, the girl instructed His Royal Highness the Crown Prince not to act rashly tonight." Pu Jia comforted, "At this time, everyone is confused, and the emperor has left the princes in the palace, so he naturally has to keep an eye on everyone's movements." ”

"Pu Jia, give me your clothes."

"My... What do you say, girl? ”

"You put on my clothes and pretend to be me and go back to the Prince's Mansion." I took off my coat and said solemnly, "Guan Ju, you will get out of the car after leaving the palace, just say to deal with this palace maid, and then take Zhuo Ying to Taopinlou to settle down, and by the way, tell Aunt Hua, Wanqiu and Sarong everything that happened today." ”

"I... The slave obeys the order" Guan Ju looked at Zhuo Ying, who was still unconscious, turned his head and glared at me, "What about you, girl?" ”

"I'm going back to the palace and going to the pyrotechnic master to ask me what to say."

"-What!" Pu Jia shouted, then covered her mouth, lowered her voice and exclaimed, "Girl, what kind of crazy talk is this, the matter has just come out, the palace is already in chaos, but we have just come out!" ”

"It was because of the incident that everyone was in a mess that I had the opportunity to take advantage of it. It is precisely because we have only come out that we will not be suspected when we go back at this moment. I had taken off my shirt and bent down to untie my skirt, "Tonight's events are really strange, and the more I think about it, the more wrong my expression is. I'm afraid that it will change rapidly, and tomorrow I will be controlled by others. Take it off—"

"But even if you could see the master, how could you get him to tell you the truth?" Pu Jia refused to move, but still persuaded herself, "Even if you are not discovered by the guards at that time, how can you escape from the palace?" ”

"As long as he tells the mastermind behind the scenes, I will immediately carry him to face the saint." I stuffed all the clothes I took off into Pu Jia's arms one by one, "Guan Ju, when you arrive at Taopin Building, immediately let Sarong mobilize his men to help me find out where the craftsman's wife and parents live." I have my own way of getting him to spit out. ”