Chapter 165 Awkward Amnesty
Before Xue Sui could speak, Xue Yuechen shook his head to deny this speculation.

“The prince has always been sensible in his actions and would not be so foolish. And if he really had intentions, he would not hide away…”

Xue Sui smiled unchanged, “Sister, you are right to think so. No matter what the princess’s intentions are, she is not someone the prince values ​​at the moment…”

Friendship is as thin as a piece of paper.

In the power struggle between Li Huan and Li Zhao, Rui, an orphan with no foundation and whose parents had both passed away, could only rely on the compassion of the Queen Mother and His Majesty.

But if she gets involved with Li Huan, all of this will be lost…

“The prince never wants love. Sister, you only need to take care of the palace’s internal affairs and firmly control the palace, and you will have fulfilled your duty… Love between men and women is like quicksand on your fingertips. The tighter you hold it, the easier it is to slip away… Sister, you should be more open-minded and not cause yourself trouble…”

Xue Yuechen looked at her seriously, held her hand, and a look of gratitude appeared on his face.

“Sixth sister, I feel at ease with you by my side. Now that I think about it, I’m lucky I found you and brought you back that day, otherwise I wouldn’t know how to deal with this situation now…”

The drizzle outside the window hits the banana leaves, making a rustling sound.

Xue Sui smiled slightly, looking at Xue Yuechen’s eyes full of trust, “It is Xue Liu’s blessing to be able to share his sister’s worries. But…”

She lowered her eyes and looked at Xue Yuechen’s belly.

“Still no news?”

Xue Yuechen frowned slightly, revealing a hint of helplessness.

“The prince is busy with official business, so he stayed overnight at Muyue Residence for a long time. He and I had this happen once, and that night he came back from drinking…”

She seemed a little embarrassed, and lowered her head to look at her flat belly, “Maybe it’s not fate, I can’t force it.”

Xue Sui smiled and said, “It’s good that you think this way, sister. As long as the prince is willing to come to Muyueju, sister will be the biggest winner in this mansion.”

Xue Yuechen thought about it, and her mind seemed to be touched. She suddenly looked up and looked at Xue Sui, “You and I are sisters. If you have something to say, just say it directly. If it’s abrupt, don’t mind it, sister.”

After saying that, she pursed her lips and her eyes flickered.

“The prince has been coming to Tanqiu Courtyard frequently in the past few days. Has your sister…”

“No.” Xue Sui quickly replied, “I treat the prince as my brother-in-law. The prince treats me… He interrogates and tests me like a criminal. He asks about the old mausoleum and talks about official business… He never has any personal feelings for me.”

After saying that, he smiled softly, “Perhaps he wants to use my sister as a shield to shut up those gossiping people in the mansion. That’s why the prince deliberately treats me with some consideration outside…”

Xue Yuechen let out a long breath.

“My dear sister, if you hadn’t been honest, I would have almost believed it…”

The two chatted for a while. Before Xue Sui left, Xue Yuechen said gently, “Autumn is coming soon. I asked the needlework room to make a batch of autumn clothes. I will go to each courtyard to measure the size in the next two days. If you like any color or material, just tell the embroiderer.”

Xue Sui bowed and said, “Thank you for your kindness, sister.”

Xue Yuechen took an umbrella and walked her to the door. Xue Sui smiled and bowed goodbye, turned and walked into the path, returned to Tanqiuyuan along the lake, and then slowly stopped smiling.

She hesitated again and again, undressed and lay down, but she was unable to sleep. She stood up, picked up a pen and wrote a piece of paper, then hugged Lingyu over.

“Go.”

The night sinks like water.

The East Palace was as quiet as ink after the rain.

When Ling Yu fluttered and knocked at Li Zhao’s window, Li Zhao was feeding another pigeon under the lamp…

Hearing Lingyu’s cooing sound, Li Zhao opened the window.

Ling Yu leaped up and landed on his desk.

Li Zhao casually took down the letter tube and was silent for a moment before opening the plain paper that Xue Sui had brought.

It depicts a bird with its wings entangled in silk thread, and next to it is a line of neat and beautiful small characters.

“The wind and rain are dark, and the cocks are crowing.”

When Lai Fu came in holding the medicine bowl, he saw the prince holding the letter tightly in his hand, his brows cold and motionless.

In the candlelight, the cloud patterns on the light robe flickered, and the coldness at the corners of his lips was even colder than the withering white orchid on the desk.

“Master, it’s time to rest after taking the medicine…”

Li Zhao didn’t look back and gently stroked the pigeon’s feathers.

“There will be a grand court meeting tomorrow, and I need to prepare the memorial. You may leave first…”

Lai Fu bowed his head and slowly backed out, but he kept thinking about the calligraphy and painting he had just seen in his mind.

The wind and rain are dark, and the roosters are crowing?
Did Lady Ping An want to tell His Highness that she, a weak woman, was waiting alone for her lover on a stormy night? Or did she want to say that she was in a difficult situation and asked His Highness to keep her faith and wait for the cock to crow and the sun to rise?

The prince’s face looked so ugly…

Obviously, it is not the former, but the latter.
–
The next day.

As soon as dawn broke, Xue Sui got up, washed and dressed, and went to Muyue Residence with a radiant look on his face. He invited Xue Yuechen to go to the garden to enjoy the flowers and relax.

The two of them walked slowly along the winding path, talking in low voices, and were enjoying themselves when Guixi’s family came to say that Princess Wenjia’s maid wanted to see her.

Xue Sui was slightly startled, looked at Xue Yuechen, and asked someone to call him in.

In front of Xue Yuechen, Dong Xu cried and knelt at Xue Sui’s feet. “Princess, Madam Ping’an, please… help the princess.”

Before Xue Sui could speak, Xue Yuechen asked with concern.

“Tell me quickly, what happened to Wenjia?”

Dong Xu glanced at Xue Sui and said with bright eyes, “Late last night, Princess Pingle suddenly brought people into the palace and accused our princess of being unfaithful to her husband. As a widow, she seduced her husband, causing him to become alienated from her and breaking up her happy marriage. She asked the Queen Mother to make the decision to marry the princess to the bitter and cold land in the north…”

After a pause, Dong Xu twitched and choked.

“She also snatched away the embroidered scroll of the Medicine King Sutra that Princess Wenjia prepared for the Queen Mother’s birthday…”

Xue Yuechen was furious: “What a rude and unreasonable person.”

The cursing faded away towards the end, and she was caught in an awkward dilemma.

“When the prince comes back, I will ask him to come forward to administer justice and make the decision for Princess Wenjia…”

Dong Xu shook her head repeatedly and cried, “Princess, you have good intentions, but our princess really can’t bear it, and can’t afford to offend His Highness Pingle… Now, we just hope that things can be settled peacefully, and the Medicine King Sutra can be taken away. But the princess and Prince Consort Lu are innocent. If her reputation is ruined because of this, and she is married far away in the northern border, how can she live in the future…”

Pingle is going to destroy Wenjia.

It’s not enough to accuse her of adultery, she must also be brought to ruin.

“Get up now.” Xue Sui helped Dong Xu up. “Go back and tell Princess Wenjia that she doesn’t need to take the rumors to heart. Instead of arguing with Princess Pingle, it’s better to wait for the Queen Mother to make the decision…”

Dong Xu nodded, thanked him again and again, then left wiping his tears.

Xue Yuechen was filled with righteous indignation, and he complained to Xue Sui again, telling a lot of stories about Pingle’s bullying and arrogance in the past. He spoke up for Wen Jia, but also warned Xue Sui not to provoke her easily, so as not to cause trouble for himself…

When the sunlight pierced through the clouds, Xue Sui sent Xue Yuechen back. He found an excuse and took Xiao Zhao out of the house to meet Wen Jia.

The carriage passed Dongsheng Street and happened to run into an official from Jingzhao Prefecture posting a notice in front of a notice board:

“The Holy Ceremony for the Empress Dowager Chengqing’s 70th Birthday, the Imperial Edict to Bless the World.”

“All crimes such as theft, litigation, and evasion of labor service will be exempted from punishment.”

“All the labor service silver owed by the porters and cooks will be exempted.”

“For those detained in prisons in prefectures and counties for more than three years, their sentences will be reduced by one level…”

“…”

In front of the notice board, the old scholar squinted his eyes and read the notice.

People around listened attentively. A few children were running and laughing among the crowd, shouting excitedly, “There will be amnesty for the whole world.”

The vendors on the street didn’t care about soliciting business, they all crowded over, stretched their necks to look in. In front of the tea stall, a few old men were fanning themselves with palm leaves, shaking their heads and sighing about the impermanence of life.

The whole street was instantly filled with bustle, excitement and noise.

“What’s this amnesty? Amnesty will benefit Pingle and the Xiao family the most…” Xiao Zhao leaned against the car window, looking at the noise outside, angrily lowered the curtain, and cursed in Xue Sui’s ear.

“Miss, could it be that the dog emperor issued the imperial decree of amnesty just for Pingle and the Xiao family?”

Calling him “dog emperor” made Xue Sui’s mouth curl up and he couldn’t help laughing.

“Don’t talk nonsense, the walls have ears.”

Xiao Zhao’s guess is true, but not entirely true.

A monarch values ​​profit, and Emperor Chongzhao was not a foolish monarch who would disregard state order for the sake of personal relationships.

He has his own considerations.

He could use the Crown Prince to suppress the power of Xiao’s in-laws and make them crawl on the ground obediently, but he would definitely not watch Li Zhao kill all the Xiao family members and disappoint the old ministers in the court.

The prince is a knife.

The Xiao family is also a knife.

The rise and fall of one thing is exactly the emperor’s balance technique.

Compared with the Xiao family’s relatives who are ready to make moves, allowing the prince to dominate will make the emperor even more uneasy – under the emperor is the prince, and there can’t be two tigers in one mountain.

Emperor Chongzhao played this game more cleverly than anyone else…

Xiao Zhao sighed softly again, “It’s a pity for Princess Wenjia’s Medicine King Sutra. Princess Wenjia and Concubine Wan spent so much time and effort to embroider it… Are they really going to just let it go like this?”

Xue Sui smiled faintly, adjusted the green jade hairpin on her temples, did not answer Xiao Zhao’s words, but lifted the curtain and looked at the crowd on the street.

In the crowd, a familiar figure was reining in his horse and stopping under the flag of the tavern. His gold-woven python robe made his frame look even straighter and more heroic.

The moment their eyes met, there was no emotion in his eyes, his brows were as cold as iron, and the corners of his tightly pursed lips were as cold as ice.

Xue Sui unconsciously clenched the car curtain and squinted at him.

Being so indifferent, he really looks like a debt collector…

Li Zhao: Haha, see if I will pay any attention to you.

Xue Sui: If you ignore me, thank you very much…

Li Zhao:……