Raiders of the Duke and Duchess

Chapter 913 Take My Granddaughter Home

Ning Xiuyuan had no idea that he had already been disliked by the old man. Seeing the solemn atmosphere, he took a step forward and called out, "Your Majesty. I heard that Your Majesty finally woke up. Congratulations, congratulations..."

In the blink of an eye, he didn't know how he walked over, but he easily passed Shangguan Shou who was blocking the bead curtain door, and arrived in front of the emperor without any obstruction. His face was full of smiles, and he seemed to be so slow that he didn't notice the depressing atmosphere in the room at all. He even said with a smile, "Your Majesty is blessed with great fortune. I am finally relieved. By the way, the servant kneeling outside just now, did he... not serve Your Majesty well?"

He changed the topic with a few words, and also hinted to the emperor that the most important thing now was the present matter.

After years of relationship, the emperor still had some tacit understanding. He obviously understood what was said. He only hesitated for a moment, then waved his hand and ordered, "Take him out and chop him off."

Ning Xiuyuan was obviously startled, and then he heard Li Yiwei, who was kneeling beside him, let out a sigh of relief.

There was no thief who murdered the emperor. He was just a scapegoat after "carefully selecting". This matter needed to be answered and settled, otherwise he would always be suspected of murdering the emperor. Since no one stood up to question him at this critical juncture, he naturally had no chance to explain himself clearly. Even in the history books of later generations, he would eventually be labeled as a traitor and usurper.

Using the life of a servant to exchange for this reputation in the future, this life can be considered a worthy death. Moreover, there is also the old mother who owes a large sum of money and is trapped in poverty and unable to save herself. Naturally, he will keep his promise and give her a large sum of money to live out her days in comfort.

Li Yiwei knelt there, listening to the perfunctory pleas for mercy outside, he slowly pulled the corners of his mouth, and his tense nerves visibly relaxed. He felt that he was indeed merciful, fulfilling the last filial piety of a helpless servant.

The cries for mercy faded away and soon could no longer be heard.

Zhang Dexian ran in with his eyebrows lowered and his eyes lowered, and said in a low voice, "Your Majesty, everything has been handled."

The emperor leaned against the pillow and hummed lazily without any expression. It was obvious that the death of a servant was not worth mentioning to him... However, he knew that the servant might not know what happened at all, and it was even possible that he was not on duty last night.

But who would really care about the truth behind the death of a eunuch? Not the emperor, not Li Yiwei, not even the civil and military officials in the court. They would only say that the thief deserved death, that the prince was wise and brave, and that your majesty was blessed with great fortune.

And Ning Xiuyuan...underestimated the emperor's grudge, or fear, towards Shangguan Shou.

Even though the emperor had foreseen that he might not have much time left, he still had no intention of leaving the treasure to his son, the next emperor of the country. He had already figured it out: since he had found the treasure, it belonged to him, and even if he died, it would have to be buried with him in the imperial mausoleum. As for the army that had never been used, it would also have to be buried with him!
The emperor's pale and turbid eyeballs moved, and his gaze moved from Li Yiwei to Ning Xiuyuan, and finally slowly fell on Shangguan Shou. He examined him for a moment and suddenly smiled, "It seems that Master Shangguan is planning to stay here for dinner today. Zhang Dexian, you go and notify the kitchen to prepare a table of food and cook some Jiangnan dishes. You must make Master Shangguan feel at home... so that he won't criticize me for not entertaining him well in the future." It was a bit of a joke and a bit of a mockery, but no one dared to smile at this moment.

Instead, he became more and more timid.

Shangguan Shou seemed to have not heard the deep meaning of the other party's words at all. He just bowed slowly to express his gratitude, "Your Majesty, please forgive me. I am afraid that I have failed your Majesty's kindness. I came to the palace today because I heard that your Majesty was ill and sent some medicinal herbs from Jiangnan. Secondly, I came to take my granddaughter home."

Ji Wuyan suddenly looked up and was dumbfounded.

Everyone was also stunned. Granddaughter? This granddaughter is...Only after thinking about it did they remember who Shangguan Shou's granddaughter was. Only after they understood it did their hearts beat so fast that they dared not breathe - Shangguan's only daughter, the late Crown Princess, Shangguan Yuan.

How long has it been since the fire in Chongren Hall? After much investigation, the case was still closed as an accident. No one from the Shangguan family came to inquire, so that the three words "Shangguan Yuan" have completely disappeared from the gossip after dinner. But who would have thought that Shangguan Shou would come not earlier or later, but at the time when the East Palace was imprisoned and the emperor was seriously ill?

The emperor's face was completely black. He would not believe a word that Li Yiwei had not plotted against him! Even though he was still powerless now, he knew that he was no match for the already powerful Li Yiwei, so he endured it again and again. In the end, he just clenched his palms and "persuaded" Shangguan Shou, who was standing there with his eyes and noses and his heart after saying these words, "She is the daughter-in-law of the royal family. After her death, she will be buried in the imperial mausoleum and be worshipped by the royal family. This is the supreme honor. If I agree to your request today, it will not be a good thing for her or your Shangguan family."

All the doctors in the room were silent. Zhang Dexian was also stunned and lost his usual tactfulness. He looked like a quail caught off guard, which was a bit funny.

Li Yiwei was not too surprised. After all, Ji Wuyan had made the same request to him. He didn't know what was wrong with these two families. They didn't want to be rich and powerful, but they had to take back a woman who had been dead for so long that her body might have been eaten by moths... Wouldn't it be good to have another crown princess in the family? Although he didn't understand, he knew that the emperor would definitely suspect that he was the one who messed with it. So he bowed to Shangguan Shou and said, "Father is right. Old clan leader, you should think twice. The crown princess who was buried in the imperial mausoleum was carried out again. This is tantamount to whipping the corpse after death... I'm afraid that those people who don't know the truth will spread it by word of mouth, which will damage the reputation of the crown princess."

It was both a warning and a statement of one's position to the emperor - this old man was really not someone he had come to find!

But the emperor was already suspicious, and in his opinion, Li Yuqi's behavior was just a double act with Shangguan Shou. He glared at Li Yiwei and shouted in a hoarse voice, "Shut up!"

After scolding, he turned to look at Shangguan Shou, only to see that Shangguan Shou had slowly lifted his robe, knelt straight down, and said in a clear voice, "I have insulted the king, please forgive me, Your Majesty!"

"Boom——"