Red Mansion and Crimson Pearl

Chapter 479 Xu E

Xue Baochai was sitting under the window embroidering.

His face remained expressionless, but his heart was in turmoil.

No matter how arrogant the prince is, he is not a fool.

Could I really hide my meeting with Xiangyun and Huaiyuan Hou from him?

impossible!

Therefore, he was unwilling to move himself at the moment, just to maintain the illusion of "living a leisurely life" until the news of Chang'an Posthouse was passed to the capital, and then he would take action.

Nothing much during the day.

But what about at night?!

Xue Baochai's fingers trembled slightly.

If you don't close the windows properly at night and catch a cold or get sick, you can't go outside. Without food, water or medicine, you will die in three to five days!

What's more, poisoning, assassination...

I am a weak woman, and if King Zhongshun is determined to kill me, I will not survive this night!

Finally, Xue Baochai closed her eyes, put down the embroidery of "Flowers in Bloom and Wealth" in her hand, and began to rub her temples in annoyance.

The girl carefully went up to her and asked her what was wrong.

Xue Baochai said weakly: "My head hurts so much..."

The maid considerately stepped forward and was about to cut her hair: "How about letting your hair down and I'll comb it for you?"

Xue Baochai quickly pushed her hand away and forced a smile: "My maidservant who came with me as a dowry caused such a thing...

"If the prince summons me later, I can't let him wait...

"Just rub my temple for me."

The maid obediently helped her rub it, and gently advised: "She is short-sighted and timid, what does it have to do with you, my master?

"Besides, she has only been in the mansion for a short time, so she doesn't know what's going on inside or outside, and she won't be able to say anything if she goes out.

"Don't worry, the prince loves the prince very much in his heart, so he will naturally not blame the prince's wife."

Xue Baochai responded absentmindedly. After a while, she said her headache was getting worse and she needed to go out for a walk to relieve it:

"Since the prince and the husband are in the garden, we should not go there. We can just take a walk along the wall in the back house."

The girl thought about it and made up an excuse for her: "That's right. The backyard is not big to begin with, and those concubines have taken up all the spacious space.

"It's just that the Crown Prince's Consort has been wronged."

"What's the big deal? If it weren't for the headache, I wouldn't bother going out at this hour." Xue Baochai said as she quickly dressed and strode out the door.

When they were about to reach the side door, the girl was still alert and hurriedly grabbed Xue Baochai and said, "Princess, the soldiers guarding there are dirty and smelly, don't go over there!"

Xue Baochai agreed, but she forcibly broke free from the maid's hand, quickened her pace, rushed to the door, and shouted to the guards:

"I want to see Marquis Huaiyuan! I am the Crown Prince's Consort of the Royal Palace, and I want to see Marquis Huaiyuan!"

The girl was so frightened that her legs went limp. She was horrified: "Prince, Princess...what are you doing..."

The guards pointed their spears and shouted at the girl, "Back off!"

The girl was so scared that she rolled and crawled and ran away

Only then did Xue Baochai breathe a sigh of relief.

The soldiers still gave Xue Baochai some face and found a secluded place in the corridor of the side door for her to wait quietly.

They went to report to Marquis Huaiyuan.

A quarter of an hour later, Marquis Huaiyuan came running in with rice grains stuck on his beard, just in time to meet Prince Zhongshun and his staff. Both of them were dressed neatly and came warmly.

Marquis Huaiyuan bowed to King Zhongshun outside the door in a dignified manner as a sign of greeting.

Prince Zhongshun's face darkened, but he couldn't get angry.

Then the staff member Xu E stepped forward, stretched out his hand from his thick cloak that wrapped him like a bear, and bowed:

"Lord Huaiyuan, please allow me to report. Our Crown Princess is concerned about her natal family and her uncle's family. She has been pestering the prince to help her plead for mercy these past two days.

"It's just that the case of the four princes and eight dukes is too big and involves too many things. Your Majesty and the Supreme Lord are not in the capital. Even if they are relatives, the prince can't show favoritism, so he didn't agree.

"Yesterday, the Crown Prince's Consort said something insinuating, saying that she wanted to tell everyone about the palace's secrets. But what secrets are there in the palace?"

Marquis Huaiyuan narrowed his eyes and looked at Xu E's young and handsome face: "So Master Xu means that what Princess Xue said was a frame-up, and she was taking revenge on the prince for not helping her rescue her family?"

Xu E smiled and said, "Xiao Ke didn't say that. It was you, Lord Marquis, who said that."

Marquis Huaiyuan looked Xu E up and down, snorted, and waved his hand to tell someone: "Since Princess Xue wants to see the Xue family, then take her to see them."

Prince Zhongshun and Xu E watched in astonishment as Xue Baochai was taken away by the imperial guards and put into a carriage that had been prepared long ago.

Huaiyuan Hou bowed to Prince Zhongshun with a fake smile and said, "Your Majesty, I went to the palace this afternoon and heard that Mr. Xu had damaged the items bestowed by the emperor, and the palace was about to arrest him.

"That's perfect. Since he has delivered himself to me, I won't be polite!

"Come here! Take it away!"

Xu E was shocked and quickly explained: "Your Majesty, I have never damaged anything given by the emperor! The emperor has never given me anything!"

"Bullshit! You are such a traitor to the emperor!" Marquis Huaiyuan cursed, "You are so shameless and frivolous!

"Your Majesty has given you a copy of the Book of Rites, and you dare to say no?!

"You were flipping through a book at night with wine in your hand, and half of it got wet, so you threw the whole book into the fire and burned it! But you secretly bought another one and pretended it was yours!

"How dare you say this didn't happen?!"

Xu E was speechless and had no answer.

At this point, even King Zhongshun had nothing to say, and could only stamp his feet: "Ji Qing, Ji Qing! You have ruined yourself! You have ruined me too!"

Four soldiers rushed forward, almost lifted Xu E up, and put him into another carriage without touching the ground, and drove away.

Queen Zhongshun's teeth were clattering, her fists were clenched, and her expression was extremely gloomy.

Huaiyuan Hou then breathed a sigh of relief and said goodbye to King Zhongshun with a smile: "My work is done, and I have to go back to eat."

King Zhongshun snorted coldly and walked away with a flick of his sleeves.

Marquis Huaiyuan puffed out his chest and went home humming a little tune.

Princess Zhaoqing said that as long as Xue Baochai and Xu E were sent to the Dali Temple, his trip would be considered a success!

When he got home and sat down at the dinner table again, he started to nag to the Marquis's wife, "It's such a pity for Xu Jiqing! After all, he was a newly-appointed scholar!

"Look at his classmates. Cao Yu will definitely be the governor-general of Liangjiang in the future.

“Ouyang Bao is also a capable official. He was just reported as a top official by the Ministry of Personnel at the end of the year.

"There is also the son-in-law of the eldest branch of the Jia family, Zuo Yi. The emperor personally asked about him a few years ago. He is considered to be in the emperor's heart!

"Only Xu Jiqing, because of a prostitution, was suppressed by the emperor and went astray..."

The Marquis's wife was stunned and asked what happened.

Marquis Huaiyuan then told them all, and sighed, "Actually, what he did happened before the exam, so it's not against the law. The emperor is a little too harsh."

Hearing this, the Marquis's wife was thoughtful: "According to what you said, whether it is a reward or a punishment, or an important task, who can tell at this time?"

Huaiyuan Hou was stunned: "What did you say?"

Madam Hou rolled her eyes at him and said, "I said a playboy who loves to visit brothels wouldn't dress himself up like a bear!"