Ci Jinzhi

 “You bastard!” Emperor Xingyuan slapped the case and got up, furious.

"Bastard?" King Xiu pulled Xinyou into his arms, and the short blade that was against her pierced the cotton-padded robe and hit the soft skin.

 She instinctively frowned at the pain.

Emperor Xingyuan's anger was frightened away.

King Xiu's mood increased, and he stared at Emperor Xingyuan with red eyes: "It was you who forced me to be a bastard! I can bear being ignored for nearly twenty years, and I can bear being pushed down by Chen Yi. Chen Yi is done, you My eyes were only on Xin You, and I could bear it. But I didn’t expect that you were going to establish a heir, and you would appoint a queen at this time just to make Chen You the crown prince! You know that since the news of the establishment of the heir spread, I can bear it How many looks of pity and ridicule have you received? How many ugly gossips have you heard? You know, you just don’t care!”

 The more King Xiu talked, the more he hated him, and he grabbed Xinyou's hand harder and harder.

“Yes, I ignored your feelings...but Ayou is innocent—”

"She is not innocent!" King Xiu roared angrily, "How could she be innocent? Isn't it because of her that you chose Chen You? She is kind to Chen You. In order to give her a worry-free future, you would rather choose a small child. Baby, don’t choose me as your eldest son!”

Seeing King Xiu's madness, Emperor Xingyuan was frightened: "No matter what, you put down the sword first, I can pretend that what happened today never happened... I have the right words and I will never coax you."

"Hahaha." Xiu Wang laughed, full of sarcasm, "If I cared about this life, I would not enter the palace today. Don't you understand by now? I just want Xinyou to die with me. You watched your and Queen Xin’s daughter die tragically in front of you, and you feel helpless!”

"I... have something to ask." Xin You spoke again.

To Xin You, King Xiu was patient: "Ask."

“Later it was reported that Mr. Songling was the Queen’s man. Was it His Highness King Xiu who spread the news?”

"That's right." King Xiu's tone revealed a bit of satisfaction, "Jinlinwei took the portrait and looked around for the person. By chance, I recognized that the person in the portrait was the young man who entered Qingsong Bookstore at night. At that time, Gu Changbo suddenly He was killed by a rod, and hundreds of officials made various speculations about the cause of his death. Gu Changbo, Qingsong Bookstore, Jinlin Guard...put these together, it is not difficult to make this inference, right?"

“His Royal Highness King Xiu is really sharp and perceptive.” Xin You praised and then asked, “Then the news that Miss Kou controlled Mr. Songling was also spread by you?”

"Yes. Ayou, shouldn't you thank me for helping you make up your mind and walk in front of others?"

“Your Highness, Zhang Shoufu and Sun Shangshu really help each other.”

"Don't get me involved with them." King Xiu seemed to be insulted and pressed Xin You's hand harder, "It's just that Queen Xin wanted to implement the New Deal and offended so many people. Those people wanted to break her bones." Flying ashes. I don’t have to do anything, I just spread a few messages, and they can’t wait to take various actions..."

Emperor Xingyuan couldn't help but open his mouth: "You have colluded with those greedy silverfish, and you still don't admit it?"

"Why should I collude with them? They can take advantage of Chen Yi's biological mother, Concubine Shu, and his biological uncle, Gu Changbo, and they don't care about the fate of these fools. I, a down-and-out prince with a humble biological mother and an unloved father, can't get along and become a puppet? What's more, if the New Deal can be implemented smoothly, the treasury will be full, the people will live in peace, and the Great Xia will last longer, wouldn't this be a good thing for me as the prince? Furthermore, those who work hard for the New Deal will have their own Ayou, and those who offend the gentry will have their own. There’s Ayou, hehehe—”

King Xiu suddenly turned his head to look at the door, and pulled Xin You back two steps, leaning his back against the red lacquered column.

 He Qingxiao walked in.

 He looked pale and was cautious, fearing to irritate King Xiu who was going crazy.

Xin You looked at He Qingxiao and her expression changed slightly.

Outside the palace, she "saw" King Xiu die from the swords of the imperial guards, and thought that King Xiu had a conflict with the man, which led to his death.

 But it turned out that he was coming for her.

 Her eyes never saw a scene in which she was present, and there was no He Qingxiao in that scene. Was it because he suddenly decided to enter the palace that the picture was different from the actual situation?

 The appearance of He Qingxiao made Xin You's calm mind rise.

King Xiu looked at He Qingxiao and raised his eyebrows: "Is Marquis Changle here to see Ayou?"

 “I have something to report to Your Majesty when I enter the palace.”

“Don’t hide it.” King Xiu sneered, “You were afraid that I would see your feelings for Xin You, so you shouldn’t have come. Now that you’re here—”

King Xiu paused for a moment, with a joking look on his face: "Father, would you like your son to give it a try for you? How sincere is your prospective son-in-law towards Xin You?"

King Xiu did not wait for Emperor Xingyuan's response, his eyes were unabashedly evil: "Marquis Changle, if you cut off your right arm, I will let Xin You go."

“Is this true?” He Qingxiao asked.

“Whether it’s true or not, you have to try it before you know. Who let Xin You be in my hands?” Xiu Wang smiled coolly.

 He Qingxiao glanced at Xin You steadily.

 “Okay.” He stretched out his hand to one of the guards.

 The guard holding the long sword was at a loss for a moment.

"Give me."

The guard loosened his grip, and the long knife was in He Qingxiao's hand.

 He lowered his head to look at the sharp knife, then raised his eyes to look at Xin You. Xin You blinked lightly and bit her lip hard.

 “Why, you can’t do it?”

Facing King Xiu’s cold eyes, He Qingxiao said calmly: “I hope His Highness King Xiu will keep his promise.”

 After saying this, he turned his left wrist and slashed at the outstretched right arm with the long knife.

 At this time, there was silence in the palace, and everyone's attention fell on He Qingxiao, including King Xiu.

While He Qingxiao raised his knife, two words suddenly sounded in the ears of King Xiu, who was waiting for the result: "Sour plum."

  King Xiu dodges out of control.

 This short period of time is enough for both Xin You and He Qingxiao.

Xinyou raised his foot and kicked it back, then used the force to pounce forward to the left.

 Originally King Xiu was holding her arm with his left hand and holding the dagger in his right hand. If she lunged forward to the right, Xiu Wang, who was holding her with his left hand, would be turned sideways in that instant. If you choose the left front, the body of the show king will be moved to the smallest extent in a very short period of time.

The long knife dropped without hesitation and passed by the outstretched right arm. At that moment, he threw it out of his hand and pierced King Xiu like an arrow.

All this is a long story, but in fact it is just a flash of lightning.

King Xiu staggered back, looking down at the sharp knife that was embedded in his chest.

The knife passed through the chest, with only the handle exposed.

 The dagger hit the gold bricks and made a sound of gold and stone, which woke everyone up.

Emperor Xingyuan stood up and shouted: "Take down King Xiu!"

All the guards gathered around him. Seeing King Xiu vomiting blood, they didn't know whether to chop him or tie him up.

Emperor Xingyuan also reacted. He quickly walked down the steps and ordered the imperial guards to move away.

King Xiu pressed his back against the Zhu Zhu, supporting him without falling. His gaze crossed Emperor Xingyuan and landed on Xin You.

Xin You had stood up and stood firm, turning to look at King Xiu.

He Qingxiao was beside her, standing shoulder to shoulder.

“Ayou—” King Xiu shouted, and blood continued to pour out of his mouth.

Just now, when Xin You and He Qingxiao looked at each other, she blinked her left eye lightly to remind her of the direction in which she was going to dodge, and the number of blinks represented the number she was silently reciting in her heart.

The tacit understanding between each other allowed her to escape successfully, but looking at the show king like this, Xin You felt uncomfortable.

 This discomfort is not entirely due to King Xiu.

 At the center of the whirlpool of imperial power, who can guarantee that he will not become another show king?

 She walked over step by step and stopped not far from King Xiu.

"Ayou." King Xiu called out again, and asked the girl whose face became blurred in a warm voice, "What's wrong with the sour plum?"

Xinyou answered him: "On the way back from Guangcheng, His Highness King Xiu gave me sour plums to eat. I always remember the taste."

At that time, she took the plums handed to her by the gentle young man. They were sour and sweet, and produced fluids and quenched thirst.

For a moment, she couldn't help but wonder if her alienation and vigilance were out of sheer care. Did King Xiu really regard her as his younger sister?

King Xiu curled his lips after hearing this. Although the face of the girl in front of him became blurry, he kept looking at her and said intermittently: "Ayou...I heard that you can read fortune tellers...is it true?"

 After a brief silence, Xin You nodded: "Yes."

"Before entering... before entering the palace, you said that you would let me enter the palace another day... did you see that my death was coming?"

Xin You watched the blood pouring out of the corner of Xiu Wang's mouth and condensed into blood lines, and her throat was sore: "Yes."

"Ayou...thank you..." Xiuwang raised the corners of his mouth and slid down against the pillar.

 (End of this chapter)