Raiders of the Duke and Duchess

Chapter 911 He Came for You

When the Shangguan family migrated, it caused quite a stir in the city of Yanjing. For a long time, speculation about why the Shangguan family "destroyed their own future" became an enduring topic in the streets and alleys.

Finally, the theory that Imperial Concubine Bian was jealous of Young Madam Shangguan's beauty and secretly targeted her, forcing the Shangguan family to flee to the south of the Yangtze River and live in seclusion was accepted by many gossipers.

After all, compared to the truths hidden beneath the murky waters that are difficult to understand or detect, the unspeakable things between the ladies of aristocratic families and the emperors are obviously much more fascinating.

Li Yiwei had heard some of these rumors, but he had never believed them. If there really was such an absurd thing as "the emperor coveting the first wife of his minister" that damaged the reputation of the royal family, these rumors would never have appeared in the market. Moreover, now that he thought about it, the topic had lasted for too long, and it seemed as if someone was fanning the flames... Who would have the courage to fan the flames behind such a topic?
Li Yiwei had some guesses, but he still didn't understand why he did this until Li Yiwei saw Old Man Shangguan standing at the door, and the emperor who was pale but still struggling to sit up and asked the other party with an unhappy look why he appeared here without being summoned... Li Yiwei suddenly felt that the possibility that he had not dared to speculate before had finally come true.

The Shangguan family was driven out by the emperor, and he might even have issued an order that "no one is allowed to enter the capital without an imperial edict" - as to why there was no clear imperial edict to announce it to the world, but instead some rumors were used to cover up and mislead, Li Yiwei was puzzled. This anomaly made the matter seem to be full of ulterior motives.

Old Master Shangguan Shou, dressed in a dark blue robe, with white hair and beard, did not look old at all, and looked very strong. He did not kneel when he saw the emperor, but only glanced at Ji Wuyan's direction and then retracted his gaze and bowed slowly to the emperor, "Your Majesty. I heard that Your Majesty was ill in Jiangnan and couldn't sleep day and night. Finally, I was really worried, so I dared to... bring some Jiangnan medicinal herbs here. I will ask the imperial doctors to check and select the ones that are suitable for use later."

The emperor's face was dark, and he was obviously unhappy, but he didn't say anything like "get out with your herbs". Although the old man now called himself a "commoner", he was a powerful figure in Yanjing City in the past. Moreover, the Shangguan family is now the leading family in Jiangnan. The imperial doctors would not neglect him, and they turned around and bowed with more enthusiasm.

Ji Wuyan didn't understand why his grandfather came to the palace at this time. The old man was stubborn and had gradually begun to think of things in recent years. It was impossible for Ji Wuyan to leave under such circumstances. He glanced at the little eunuch kneeling in the corridor who was also interrupted by this sudden scene, and finally sighed and walked to the steps to wait.

The little girl's helplessness was obvious. Ning Xiuyuan saw it, raised his hand and touched the top of her head, and whispered, "He came here for you."

"For me?" Ji Wuyan was slightly stunned, and then thought of another thing, "Did you know that he came to Yanjing City?"

The little girl is still so sharp.

Ning Xiuyuan lowered his head and laughed, not hiding anything, "Yes... I received a letter from my grandfather before. He asked me to arrange some people to escort him into the city safely, and secondly, to confuse Brother Chu's line of sight. Otherwise, Brother Chu might have received the news before he left Jiangnan. Ningning, you know, my grandfather asked... I had no chance to refuse."

He called him "Grandfather" all the time, sounding very familiar... Ji Wuyan looked at Ning Xiuyuan who had a frank face, pulled the corner of her mouth for a long while, and reminded Ning Xiuyuan meaningfully, "You should know that my grandmother and grandfather have never gotten along. If the news that you have tried to please my grandfather gets to my grandmother, she will have a problem with you." Ning Xiuyuan choked and was speechless for a moment - why is it so difficult not to offend both sides?
Inside, given the eerie atmosphere, the imperial doctors had intended to leave after exchanging greetings. However, Shangguan Shou was standing by the pearl curtain door between the inner and outer halls, blocking the way in and out, with no intention of moving aside or coming in. So they could only step aside, lower their heads, and treat themselves as a porcelain bottle or a dead object in the room, unable to hear or see.

The emperor did not intend to say much, but just waved his hand, "Thank you for bringing me here from afar... But now you have seen my poor condition, it is really difficult for me to entertain you. If you have nothing else to do, you can start your journey back!"

Li Yiwei glanced at Shangguan Shou very quickly, then took a step forward and sat beside the emperor. He raised his hand and took the handkerchief from Zhang Dexian's hand. He lowered his eyebrows and wiped the emperor's hands while smiling, "Father, you are really a fool. The old man is so old and worked hard to deliver medicinal materials to us. Now he can't even have a cup of tea, and you chased him away. If it's inconvenient for you to entertain him, I will entertain him, right?"

As he said that, he turned around and told Zhang Dexian, "I have to trouble Manager Zhang to prepare some tea. Please ask Master Shangguan to sit outside for a while. I will come back to settle the old man after I deal with the damn servant outside."

At this moment it was Manager Zhang again.

Zhang Dexian did not agree directly, but just looked at the emperor and waited for his orders. The emperor, on the other hand, was looking at his son... the legitimate son of the royal family, the only one, who should have been the heir to the throne, but had always been relegated to the position of a prince. Was he really not unwilling or resentful, or even had any other thoughts? Ever since he fell ill, the palace servants who served him had already checked him several times. There was nothing wrong on weekdays, so why did something go wrong last night? And that servant harmed the emperor, so how could he not run away, just waiting for you to catch him?

Every time you catch one, you’re right?

He was already very suspicious, and now seeing Li Yiwei warmly greeting Shangguan Shou, he felt even more that this boy's previous obedient appearance was just an illusion. His face darkened and he snorted, "You are so warm and considerate, which makes me seem cold-hearted... Yi'er, are you familiar with Shangguan Shou?"

Li Yiwei was stunned, and the smile on his face faded at a speed visible to the naked eye. All his enthusiasm was washed away by the cold wind blowing in from the window, leaving only a layer of sticky cold sweat on his back.

He knew he was being too hasty.

He was indeed anxious these past few days... Maybe it was just due to negligence caused by his pride, or maybe he wanted to know too much about the secret of the Shangguan family's departure from Yanjing City. In short, he was anxious about Shangguan Shou's matter.