In the wing room of the main courtyard of Prince Zhou's Mansion, Mrs. Lin's wife was humming a tune to coax Shangguan Wan'er to sleep. Suddenly she saw the door curtain move and she hurriedly raised her head. Seeing that Li Xian had arrived, she hurriedly stood up to greet her.
"Shh..."
Li Xian was worried about disturbing Shangguan Wan'er, so he quickly raised a finger and put it to his lips. He shushed softly and signaled the Lin family's wife to be quiet. He took a few strides to the bed and looked at her lovingly.
Shangguan Wan'er in dreamland.
Poor child, in the end, he still can't escape the life of an orphan! Looking at Shangguan Wan'er's rosy little face, Li Xian felt a wave of pity and guilt in his heart - Li Xian never concealed his love for Shangguan Wan'er
, even if it was the fate of the previous life, as far as Li Xian is concerned, there is no substantial difference between the previous life and this life. From the bottom of his heart, Li Xian never wants Shangguan Wan'er to be harmed in any way. This is also true.
This was the reason why Li Xian was willing to take the risk of being a gangster to keep Shangguan Wan'er in his house last year. If possible, Li Xian wouldn't want to save the lives of Shangguan Yiman's family. Unfortunately, this matter is beyond Li's control.
Under the obvious limits of his abilities, he could not and did not dare to directly confront Empress Wu without sufficient preparation. He did not even dare to remind Shangguan Yi. He could only watch Shangguan Yi and his family being so confused.
Needless to say, his death was not in vain, and the guilt in his heart was so heavy that it oppressed Li Xian to the point where he had the urge to look up to the sky and scream.
"Your Highness."
Just when Li Xian was dumbfounded, the door curtain moved and Gao Miao hurried into the room. Seeing Li Xian standing in front of the couch, he hurriedly and cautiously came closer and called out in a low voice.
"Um?"
Li Xian woke up from his emotions. When he looked back, he saw the strange expression on Gao Miao's face. He couldn't help being slightly startled, and then he said softly.
"Your Majesty, your Majesty, the prince has returned and said that His Majesty, the Crown Prince, invites you to come to the palace for a talk."
Seeing that Li Xian's expression was not right, Gao Miao did not dare to neglect him. He quickly bowed and reported the report in a low voice.
Talking? What kind of tricks are you doing? When Li Xian heard the prince's invitation, he couldn't help but feel something in his heart. Although he couldn't figure out the purpose of the prince's summons, he had a vague feeling that this invitation might not be a good thing.
I don't want to go, but I'm worried about some kind of enchanting child on the other side of the prince. After all, the prince is in charge of the country at this time, and it's really not easy to deal with someone who has a little shoe to wear.
"You go and use your mouth first, and you'll be gone in a while." Li Xian pondered for a long time, but still felt that his heart was not at ease, so he considered his tone and gave a calm order.
"Yes, slave, I obey."
Since Li Xian had given the order, Gao Miao did not dare to ask any more questions. He hurriedly agreed and went to deal with Wang De without even mentioning it.
There's something fishy, there's definitely something fishy! Could it be that he still doesn't give up? It's possible, very likely! After Gao Miao left, Li Xian paced back and forth in front of the bed, pondering over various possibilities.
After some discussion, I have already deduced the purpose of the prince's invitation - although the prince now has a team and has won the hearts of important officials in the court, after all, as a prince, even if he oversees the country, he must live in the palace for a long time, and there are many problems.
He couldn't come forward to handle the matter himself, so he urgently needed a helper, or a thug, who could help him do things secretly. Obviously, among the brothers, only Li Xian was the most suitable. The reason is simple. Those half-mothers
The brothers have all died long ago. The prince has no friendship with those brothers at all, so it is impossible to trust each other with private matters. Besides, even if the prince wants to, it will still be impossible. After all, all the half-brothers are
He was far away from home and had no influence on the affairs of the court. He could not help even if he wanted to. His younger brother Li Xulun was still too young to be used, and Li Xian was not on good terms with him. As a result, he had publicly announced his abandonment.
Li Xian, who was a civil servant and a martial artist, became the only helper Li Hong could choose, and this was the reason why Li Hong persisted in trying to lure Li Xian to him!
The matter is really troublesome, and it looks like it won't work if I don't go! Although Li Xian has guessed the intention of the prince's invitation, when it comes to the countermeasures, he really doesn't have a good idea in his heart - surrendering is not a good idea.
He may have given in, but how to refuse gave Li Xian a headache. Declining politely has been proven to be unworkable. Say "no" directly? That is purely self-inflicted. This kind of control is not inferior to Li Xian's.
My head suddenly swelled several times. After wandering around the room for a long time, I still couldn't make a decision. I was upset and simply didn't bother to think about it anymore. I stamped my feet and didn't care about the lady of the Lin family who was standing uneasily at the side.
After waiting for the expressions of the maids, he strode towards the front yard.
"Your Highness."
In the hall at the second door of the front yard, Gao Miao was chatting with Wang Dequan when he suddenly noticed that Li Xian had come out. He stood up quickly and hurriedly said hello. At the same time, he rolled his eyes a few times, and then
Inadvertently, he shook his head slightly, indicating that he could not get anything out of Wang Dequan's mouth.
"Prepare the car and go to the palace now!"
Although Li Xian saw Gao Miao's hint, he didn't show any expression at all, and he didn't find it strange at all. After all, Wang Dequan was favored by a thoughtful person like the prince. How could he be a simple person?
Of course, since Li Xian had guessed the purpose of the prince's summons, he didn't mind Gao Miao's incompetence at all, so he nodded noncommittally, waved his hand, and gave an order.
"Yes, slave, I obey."
Seeing that Li Xian had no intention of blaming him, Gao Miao secretly breathed a sigh of relief and hurriedly agreed. After making a gesture to Wang Dequan, he went to arrange relevant travel matters without mentioning it.
"My lord, thank you for your work. I feel sorry for you having to rush back and forth on such a hot day."
After Gao Miao left, Li Xian smiled and bowed his hands to Wang Dequan, who was standing aside, and apologized in an easy-going tone.
"I don't dare, I don't dare. It's a great blessing for me to be able to serve your two highnesses. It's a blessing I've cultivated over many lifetimes. I don't have time to cherish it, so how can I dare to complain? Haha, your highnesses, please."
Wang Dequan was previously worried that Li Xian would not go to the East Palace for excuses. He was really worried. Now that he saw Li Xian happily attending the appointment, the big stone in his heart finally fell to the ground. After exchanging a few pleasantries with a smile, he went on to
He urged me cautiously.
"Well, that's good, I'll let you help me lead the way."
Since he had to go early and late, Li Xian was very straightforward. As soon as he finished speaking, he flicked his sleeves and walked towards the gate. Wang Dequan saw this and hurriedly followed him.
back.
Wow, this time the trouble is big! The carriage has arrived outside the East Palace Gate. When Li Xianfang got off the car, before he could tell Gao Miao to hand over the sign, he saw the prince Li Hongzheng in bright yellow robes standing in front of the palace gate with a smile on his face.
She couldn't help but shudder, knowing that the prince's polite gesture could only mean one thing, that is, the prince had made up his mind, and Li Xian could not be allowed to go beyond his control!
"My younger brother came to see my elder brother, the prince, and my brother laborer came to greet me. My younger brother was frightened."
Seeing the prince in such a posture that he was sure to win, Li Xian felt quite uneasy. However, no matter how uneasy he was, he couldn't skip the courtesy that was required, so he hurried forward and said,
Bow down to the end and salute and say hello.
"Seventh brother, you don't have to be like this. We are all our brothers. Why should we be so indifferent to outsiders? Come, let's go for a walk with me."
Li Hong glanced at Li Xian meaningfully, smiled and raised his hand to signal Li Xian to excuse himself, then turned sideways and made a "please" gesture.
"My brother obeys your orders. Brother Prince, please do."
He knew that this was a difficult time, but at this point, Li Xian couldn't escape. He could only laugh along with him and make a "please" gesture to indicate that the prince would invite him first.
"Um."
Li Hong smiled and nodded, without saying any more greetings, he slowly walked into the palace. Seeing this, Li Xian hurriedly stepped back half a step and followed behind. The two brothers had their own thoughts.
, although there was constant chatting and laughing along the way, the atmosphere was not really harmonious. On the contrary, it made the vague gap between them even more obvious.
"Seventh brother, come on, sit down. Haha, my brother is weak and not as strong as the seventh brother who practices martial arts. He can't breathe hard even after walking a few steps. I'm ashamed, I'm ashamed."
The two young brothers wandered all the way to a small pavilion near the pond in the back garden. Li Hong walked into the pavilion and sat down, then waved his hands with a smile and explained something like a self-mockery.
.
"Thank you, Brother Prince, for sitting down."
Li Xian practiced martial arts all afternoon, and was made trouble by Li Hong twice. By this time, he was really tired, and he was too lazy to be polite. After thanking him, he sat down opposite Li Hong and said calmly.
He smiled softly, but refused to say anything else, just because Li Xian knew that the prince was going to have a showdown with him, and before he figured out the prince's trump card, Li Xian didn't want the prince to have any bad associations.
, he was sitting upright and respectfully listening to instructions.
"This time, the whole family of Shangguan has suffered misfortune. I am deeply saddened. I have sent an order to the Ministry of Rites to ask for a posthumous title for me. The discussion has not yet been decided. I wonder if my seventh brother has any opinions on this?"
When Li Hong saw Li Xian acting like this, he couldn't help but squint his eyes, but he didn't say anything else. He just nodded thoughtfully and used Shangguan Yi's story as an introduction.
"Everything is up to the prince's brother. I have no objections."
Although Li Xian sympathized with Shangguan Yi's experience, he never wanted to get entangled in this matter. In Li Xian's view, everyone was dead, and no matter how hard he tried, it would be in vain, not to mention that he was not trying to reverse Shangguan Yi's case at this time.
It was a good opportunity, no matter how hard it was, it was just useless work, so I naturally refused to pick up Li Hong's topic.
"Oh? Seventh Brother, don't you have any other ideas about the cause of Mr. Shangguan's death?"
Seeing that Li Xian didn't answer, Li Hong refused to give up. He smiled playfully, then his face suddenly sank, and he brought up some interesting topics, which immediately made Li Xian's heart sink slightly and his eyes couldn't help but