Shen Shiyun's eyes turned cold as she said, "Oh? Heroine Nangong, you still haven't changed. Are you going to stand up for justice? But I don't know what kind of crime my son has committed that even you, an outsider, can't stand it? In the eyes of the princes, dukes, and ministers, he has always been an obedient and clever child. "
Nangong Xue sneered, "Obedient and clever? If he was obedient and clever, he wouldn't have disobeyed the etiquette between master and disciple, and offended my martial brother! If he was obedient and clever … "Li Yijie immediately understood what she wanted to say. Although he didn't know how she knew, he didn't want to publicize it. Xuan Shu's behavior was out of line, it must be a great blow to Shen Shiyun. Unknowingly, he was still standing on Shen Shiyun's side. Even he didn't pay attention to this small detail.
Nangong Xue ignored his hints and waved away his hand to stop her. She continued, "Colluding with the Seven Malevolent Demons, killing people and setting fires everywhere, committing all kinds of crimes. When people of Jianghu mention him, they all curse him. How can this be called obedient and clever? Your son is still a child, he doesn't know how to distinguish right from wrong. As his mother, shouldn't you educate him? If you didn't turn a blind eye, how could things have ended up like this? "
Shen Shiyun said angrily, "Then what do you want me to do? In the past, to prevent him from leaking information to Young Marshal Yun, I have already put him under house arrest once. This child's intelligence, I don't know who he got it from, but in the end, didn't he still manage to escape? What can I do? "
Nangong Xue said, "It's not important, but you care so much! Let's not talk about whether you can do it or not, just whether you're willing to do it or not. Since you can't put him under house arrest, you might as well throw him into prison and send a large number of soldiers to guard him. Remember, your goal is for his future, it's to save him! If you really wanted to put an end to it, how could the many imperial guards in the palace not be able to control a child? "
Shen Shiyun's gaze was stiff and cold. She said indifferently, "I have my own plans for this matter, including temporarily tolerating Xuan Shuang's contact with him. This is all within my consideration." Nangong Xue sneered, "What, are you going to use your own son as bait?"
Shen Shiyun said, "There is a saying that goes, 'if you don't bear the child, you won't catch the wolf.' It's rare for the Seven Malevolent Demons to take special care of my child. Although I don't know if it's out of sincere appreciation or if he's using this to deal with me, the two of us are both in the dark. Neither of us can control the other. In the future, whichever side could turn the tables, he would win. Xuan Shuang was born to be the Crown Prince. If he doesn't live up to expectations and gives up on himself, no one can save him. "
Nangong Xue's pretty eyebrows creased slightly; she still wanted to persuade him, but under Li Yijie's persuasion, she finally gave up. After exchanging a few more pleasantries, she took her leave. Shen Shiyun looked at the two people's backs as they left. She spread out a scroll on the table, waved her brush, and splashed ink. She said to herself, "If you know what you can't do, then do it. If you know what you can't do, then stop." She called several Imperial Bodyguards over and whispered a few words to them. Everyone obeyed and left. As they turned around, they bumped into the horizontal scroll, only to see four large characters written on it: 'Success Achieved'!
That night, Xuan Shuang was resting in his room when a small hole suddenly appeared on the paper window and a stick of incense entered through it. Wisps of smoke quickly diffused in the room of various sizes.
Then with a 'bang' sound, the window opened wide and several men in black jumped in. They ran to the bed and took out a large gunnysack. They covered the head with it and quickly tied a bundle of incense. Then they tied a few tight knots around the top, middle, and bottom of the bundle of incense. They jumped out of the room and went straight to the Palace's secret prison. They untied the ropes and threw the bundle inside. Then with a 'bang' sound they closed the prison door and hung a heavy lock on it. In the quiet night, the sound of metal scraping against metal was particularly ear-piercing.
There was only a small window at the top of the prison cell. It was covered by a railing, so it was dark and gloomy. It was not until the sun rose to high noon that a faint ray of light penetrated the room. The sleeping incense gradually disappeared. Xuan Shuang woke up in a trance. She rubbed her eyes and felt sore all over.
His limbs were numb and weak, as if he had just done some physical work. Gradually he felt that something was wrong. His fingertips scratched the ground several times, and the gaps between his fingers were full of filthy mud. Not only that, he even grabbed a few tufts of straw. With great difficulty he finally understood the cause and effect. He immediately rushed forward and pounded on the door, shouting, "Guards! Hurry up and let me out! Are they all dead? "
After half a day, two prison guards came in, cursing and swearing. They kicked the door heavily and shouted, "Stinky kid, what are you doing? Don't disturb Daye's sleep. If you don't behave yourself, you'll suffer! "Xuan Shuang angrily said," Go to your granny, in front of me, you think you have the right to call yourself Daye? Why don't you go out and find out who I am? "
The prison guard laughed coldly and said, "I don't care if you are the Celestial King Laozi, in here we treat everyone equally." Xuan Shuang stretched his arms through the prison door's crack, he wished he could grab the prison guard's face. He angrily said, "If you dare to make me unhappy, tell me your name. When I get out, I will peel your skin, pull your tendons, and behead your whole family! Wrong, I am already unhappy, why don't you hurry up and curry favor with me? "
"Little demon," the other prison guard said, "Let me give you a piece of advice: it's early to stop blindly tormenting yourself. Those who come here, at first, which one is not a big character? But what about the end? A dried corpse, dragged out and buried carelessly, not a few of them. Of course I recognize you as Noble Consort Yun's son, but whether you can keep your title as the Lord Baylor, it's very hard to say. I heard it's you, haven't you recently become the Seven Malevolent Demons' Last Disciple? Colluding with rebel thieves, bringing disaster to the palace, your crime is not punishable by death. Right now we are temporarily imprisoning you in here, we are already giving you a lot of face. Don't refuse a toast only to be forced to drink a forfeit. "
Xuan Shuang's mood eased slightly, he changed his tone and said, "I know you don't have any deep enmity with me, you are just following orders. Let's go our own way, nobody should make things difficult for the other side, harmony breeds wealth! What do you think? Tell your Master to come see me, I'll reason with him. "
The former prison guard laughed coldly and said, "You don't know your own weight, do you think our Master is someone you can see just because you want to? Noble Consort Yun is ruthless enough to place righteousness above family, it's clear you won't be able to make a comeback. We remember you used to live like a prince, that's why we are showing you mercy outside the law, so that you won't suffer some physical pain. Don't think that the instruments of torture in here are for show. What do you think? Do you want me to take some of them to broaden your horizons? "
By this time Xuan Shuang understood; he thought that recently his vigilance had been greatly increased, if this group of people wanted to secretly plot against him, they must do it while he was sleeping soundly. And no matter what, he should not be sleeping so soundly like this, it must be because of the knockout incense. The more he thought about it, the angrier he got. "Turns out it's that woman? I have nothing to do with her, she has no right to detain me! You are all putting on airs, yet now you dare to act like a tyrant in front of me, but don't you remember how each and every one of you fought to curry favor with me in the past! How do you know that I'll never be able to make a comeback? A smart person won't let himself fall into a desperate situation. Humph, wait until I'm free, how I repay you will depend on your current attitude. I want to see the Emperor Ah Ma! He won't just stand by and watch me suffer injustice! "
"Wake up, wake up," the prison guard said, "Don't daydream. His Majesty has long heard about your behavior and behavior, and he is thoroughly disappointed with your unfilial grandson. The Great Qing can't possibly have such an Imperial Crown Prince. "
Xuan Shuang tightly gripped the railing with both hands, his fingernails were painfully carved. He knew perfectly well that these two people were just some henchmen who were ordered to guard him, so it was useless to say more. He simply crossed his arms over his chest and sat down. "Humph," he said coldly, "A wise man knows better than to fight when the odds are against him. Save your energy, I'm too lazy to argue with you. But don't think that I'll easily submit to you. From today onwards, I won't touch anything you send to me. You don't dare to poison me to death, but I want to see if you dare to starve me to death. If you're afraid that you won't be able to bear this responsibility, then tell your master to come and argue with me. "
The two prison guards sneered and shook their heads, as if they were looking at a madman on his deathbed. They disdained to say anything more and returned to their dreams. Xuan Shuang angrily lay down on his back. He remembered that last time Shen Shiyun deliberately put him under house arrest, this time she must be using the same trick again. Since she was able to do this, she must have believed that her precautions were foolproof. Thus, he didn't have any thoughts of escaping. He just had to wait for the other party to admit defeat and let him go. Being locked up in a prison cell, he didn't have to study anymore and was happy to be free.
While Xuan Shuang was trapped in a prison cell and suffering, Li Yijie and Nangong Xue were having a sweet time together. The two walked side by side, Li Yijie explaining the scenery of the palace as they walked. Nangong Xue was full of praise at first, but as they walked around, a layer of worry appeared on her face. Li Yijie saw this and gently put his arm around her shoulder. "Xueer, what's wrong? Are you tired from walking?" he asked with concern.
Nangong Xue shook her head and forced a smile. She looked at the beautiful blue sky and green fields in front of her. The sun shone brightly for thousands of miles, and the rows of pavilions, terraces, and pagodas were arranged neatly. She sighed, "Or rather, my heart is tired. The Imperial Palace is the most luxurious place in the world, but it's definitely not the most scenic spot. The people who live here are very fortunate, but also very unfortunate. Why can't they calm down and enjoy the scenery around them? Why must they scheme against each other and fight to the death? Is it really that important who sits on the throne? Can it make people lose their sense of ethics, even the affection between father and son? Can anyone be used and turned into a deranged demon? His Majesty should also understand this, but why is he still so obsessed? Doesn't he understand that in life, you can only gain something if you give it up first? "
After listening to her words, Li Yijie's heart was also filled with melancholy. He said, "Wherever there are people, there will be disputes. Since we're all born equal, who would be willing to live under others and be ordered around by others, unable to raise their heads for the rest of their lives? In life, most of the time, it's not for the sake of pleasure, but more often than not, it's a kind of responsibility, a responsibility to benefit the people. Actually, I've talked with His Majesty a few times. He's a good person. When he first ascended the throne, it was because the late Emperor died suddenly, and the country couldn't be without a ruler for even a day, so he was recommended to the throne by several important ministers. At that time, he was just a child who didn't understand anything. Later on, he's already a puppet Emperor who's power is just a figurehead. All the decisions of the country are in their hands. If the people want to resent, they're resenting the wrong people. You know, the competition in the imperial court is fierce between those factions. Because of His Majesty's face, they have to take each other into consideration. Even if they can temporarily maintain peace on the surface, it's still a good thing. If His Majesty abdicates now, won't it be exactly what they want? They'll also put the common people in danger … "
Nangong Xue said, "Not everyone is like you, caring about the country all day long. There should be a limit to sacrificing oneself for others. If he can even sacrifice himself, what can he do for others? Maybe I'm being too selfish by saying this, maybe you'll look down on me, but I don't want you to be a great hero in the eyes of the common people. I just want you to think about me a little more, just like a common couple. You don't understand, without the halo, behind the hero, there's often the deepest loneliness. Although this palace is big, it blocks people's hearts, and I don't like it. I'd rather have a warm little home, even if it's just a thatched cottage … Nothing can compare to a husband and wife loving each other for a long time, helping each other in times of need. "
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