“Your Royal Highness, have the assassins been caught last night?”
Su Muge gave Xia Houmo a bowl of porridge. She had woken up since Xia Houmo got up last night.
“One of them has escaped.”
“Is there anyone injured?”
“Just a little skin trauma; they can bear it.”
Xia Houmo didn’t say much, and Su Muge didn’t ask again.
Assassins broke into Jin Mansion at night. Xia Houmo had to report it to the Emperor. After breakfast, he went to the imperial palace.
“Your Grace, Miss Liu asks to see you.”
Su Muge raised her eyebrows. Why did Liu Rumeng come over at this time?
“Invite her in.”
“Yes.”
Yueru lifted the curtain and led Liu Rumeng into the room.
Liu Rumeng lowered her eyes, stepped forward, and bowed slightly. “Your Grace, pay my respects to you.”
“Miss Liu, don’t be over-courteous. Yueru, bring a small stool for Miss Liu.”
“Yes.”
Yueru brought a small stool for Liu Rumeng to sit.
“Thank you, Your Grace.”
After Liu Rumeng sat down, she kept silent for a while before saying, “I come here today for something I have forgotten to tell you before, Your Grace.”
Su Muge fiddled with the bonsai on the table gently. “What is it?”
“The Jin Mansion is originally repaired once a year. This year, they have come according to the time of previous years, and they are already waiting outside the mansion now. I’m here to ask Your Grace if they can be invited into the mansion.”
“It was repaired at this time in previous years?”
“Yes.”
“Because it snows every year and some places will be damaged by the snow, so I would always ask them to come when the snow starts to melt.”
“The snow has just begun to melt. Let’s wait for a few days.” Since the assassins had broken into the mansion last night, she didn’t want to recruit any unidentified people to the mansion the next day.
“Yes.”
“Your Grace, I’ve been free and at leisure recently, so I’ve made a cloak for you, Your Grace. I hope you would accept it.” Little Xue, who was standing behind her, took out a parcel and opened it on the table. Inside was a brand new gray cotton cloak.
Su Muge glanced at it lightly. “Miss Liu, you are so ingenious and thoughtful.”
Upon hearing this, Liu Rumeng lowered her head shyly. “Brother Qingyu said that His Royal Highness and Your Grace had been very kind to us. After brother Qingyu’s eyes get better, we will move to Huizhou, so I hurriedly finish making the cloak. I would be very content if you could accept it, Your Grace.”
After that, Liu Rumeng stood up. “I’ll stop disturbing you, Your Grace. Please excuse my retreat.”
“Yueru, send Miss Liu out.”
“Yes.”
After Liu Rumeng left, Yueru picked up the cloak on the table. “Your Grace, should I put it in the wardrobe?”
“Check it and put it aside if there are no problems.”
“Yes.”
Yueru unfolded the cloak, shook it hard, and touched it carefully. After making sure that there was no problem, she put it in the wardrobe in the compartment.
…
Inside the imperial palace hall.
The ministers were all bowing and standing in the hall.
Xia Houkun, wearing a purple golden embroidered robe, stepped forward and said, “Father, when I investigate in King Dingxi Xia Housheng’s mansion, I found some secret letters of his colluding with other countries in his study room that had not been destroyed in time.”
Xia Hourui was sitting on the dragon throne lazily. Hearing his words, he straightened up.
“Oh? Let me see.”
Xia Houkun handed over several envelopes, and Eunuch Yi took them over and sent them to Xia Hourui.
Xia Hourui narrowed his turbid eyes slightly. “Xia Housheng is so bold! How dare he collude with Nanban and want to destroy our country!”
Xia Hourui was irritated and threw the letters in his hand heavily on the imperial desk.
“Mo’er, how is the chase of Xia Housheng going?”
Xia Houmo replied with a poker face, “Xia Housheng has escaped from the Chu, and I have sent additional staff to continue the chase.”
“With so many people guarding the border, how can he escape from the Chu? Chase him! Capture or kill!”
“Yes, father.”
Thinking that Xia Housheng was still alive, Xia Hourui was extremely angry. And the ministers underneath were all too frightened to make a sound.
Seeing Xia Hourui sit silently, Eunuch Yi stepped forward and whispered to him.
“Really?” Xia Hourui focused on Xia Houmo once again.
“Was Jin Mansion broken in by assassins last night?”
“Yes, fourteen people have been caught, and one is still at large.”
“What? Jin Mansion was broken in? The assassins are so bold! How dare they break into Jin Mansion?!”
“Yes, they are so bold!”
The ministers were all surprised.
Xia Houkun looked up and glanced at Xia Houmo. “Father, the Prince of Xiliang Kingdom and the messengers of the East Qi will come to the capital soon. If they know there are assassins breaking into Jin Mansion, they will inevitably feel the capital too dangerous.”
As the commander-in-chief of the imperial guards, Xia Houmo had great military power. However, these assassins dared to break into Jin Mansion, indicating that Xia Houmo was so useless that he couldn’t even protect his own Jin Mansion, not to mention the whole capital!
“Yes, Mo’er will inevitably be ill-considered. From now on, Kun’er, you will assist Mo’er, so that he will have more energy to hunt down the criminal Xia Housheng. Mo’er, give Kun’er a phoenix token later.”
Xia Houkun revealed a flicker of a smile in his lowered eyes. Since Xia Hourui had made such an order in front of the officials, he had decided to let Xia Houkun take away some of the power in Xia Houmo’s hands.
Xia Houmo kept his countenance. “Yes, father.”
“Yes, father.”
“As for the assassins who dare to break into Jin Mansion, you must interrogate strictly, Mo’er. I want to see who is so presumptuous.”
“Yes.”
After the morning court, as soon as Xia Hourui arrived at the Imperial Study, Xia Houkun reached the door.
“Your Majesty, Second Prince asks to see you.”
Xia Hourui sat down on the dragon throne and took a breath.
“Let him in.”
“Yes.”
Xia Houkun walked into the Imperial Study and knelt on his knees.
“Father, please forgive me.”
Although the prince had to salute to the Emperor, he needn’t kneel except for some special circumstances.
Seeing his behavior, Xia Hourui restored his spirits. “What are you doing? What’s wrong with you?”
“Father, I didn’t take out all the letters in the hall.”
Xia Hourui, who was leaning on the chair, suddenly straightened up on the dragon throne. Because of his sudden tense mind, his mouth became more twisted.
“What do you mean?”
Xia Houkun lowered his head and took out a letter.
“Eunuch Yi, bring it to me.”
“Yes.”
Eunuch Yi took over the letter from Xia Houkun and handed it to Xia Hourui. As soon as he stepped forward, Xia Hourui couldn’t wait to open the envelope.
“I was so angry and shocked after reading this letter. I didn’t expect that there would be someone colluding with Xia Housheng in the court. This letter is evidence of the person colluding with Xia Housheng. But his identity has not been revealed in the letter, so I dare not to speak up in the hall.”
“Bang”
Xia Hourui kicked hard on the table. “So bold! Who is it? Find it out! You must find it out!”
“The person colluding with Xia Housheng must have not known that he has been discovered, so there must be evidence left in his house.”
After venting his anger, Xia Hourui slowly calmed down. “You are right. Xia Housheng is still alive. He may feel there is still hope. Come here, let me tell you how to do it.”
Xia Houkun stood up, walked to Xia Hourui, bent over, and listened to him. The more he heard, the more he smiled.
“Do you understand?”
“Yes, father.”
“Go ahead. Don’t let me down.”
“Yes, father.”
…
In the Imperial Guard Yamen.
Xia Houkun walked in with his hands on his back.
“Your Royal Highness, Second Prince is here.” Donglin walked to the outside of the study.
Xia Houmo replied with a deep voice in the study. “Let him in.”
“Yes.”
The door of the study was opened and Xia Houkun walked in.
Xia Houmo looked up from the booklet.
“Ninth brother, I’m here to take the phoenix token.”
A hundred years ago, there was no imperial guard in the Chu. There was only a phoenix team managed by the Empress to specifically protect the imperial palace. The phoenix token was the symbol of the highest power in the phoenix team. After a hundred years of evolution, the phoenix team had gradually become the current imperial guards, but the phoenix token had remained.
The phoenix token was divided into two parts, and now both were in the hands of Xia Houmo.
Xia Houmo pushed a small brocade box on the table. “The phoenix token is inside.”
Xia Houkun gradually withdrew his smile. Numerous people wanted to be the commander-in-chief of the imperial guards. How would Xia Houmo give him the phoenix token so easily?
Xia Houkun didn’t reveal his doubts and stepped forward to open the box.
Inside lay half the golden phoenix token.
Xia Houkun took out the phoenix token and looked at it.
The phoenix token was made of a special material, which couldn’t be forged easily. However … Xia Houmo was not an ordinary person.
“I’ve never seen a complete phoenix token. I wonder where the other half of the phoenix token is. Can I have a look at it?”
With cold eyes, Xia Houmo raised his fingers and threw the other half of the phoenix token onto the table.
Seeing that he treated such a precious thing as waste, Xia Houkun lowered his eyes.
He reached over to pick up the other half of the phoenix token and slowly combined them in his hands.
Everyone thought that there was a complete fire phoenix on the phoenix token, but Xia Houkun knew that it was not.
When the two parts of the phoenix token were put together, there would be a phoenix feather in the middle.
Xia Houkun looked at the phoenix feather in the middle and smiled.
“I find the other half more suitable for me. Keep this half for yourself, ninth brother. I have something else to do, so I’ll leave now.”
“You are sure this phoenix token is real?” Xia Houmo said in a cold voice without revealing his anger.
“Of course.”
“Farewell.”
After Xia Houkun left with half of the phoenix token, Donglin snorted with contempt, “Humph, a suspicious mind.”
Of course, Xia Houmo wouldn’t forge the phoenix token, which was equal to letting Xia Houkun get his vulnerable point.
Xia Houmo looked at Xia Houkun’s leaving back and frowned slightly. “Where are those assassins locked?”
“In the jail of the imperial guards.”
“Make them confess what they were doing in my mansion!”
