Wuli Pavilion outside the city.

A luxurious carriage parked there.

There were several servants dressed in the carriage guarding each other, but there was no movement in the carriage.

Passers-by saw it and consciously stayed away.

The carriage waited until it was dark at noon before turning back to the city.

The next morning, I came out of the city early and waited here.

As noon approached, a guard in front of the car came forward and was about to persuade the people in the car to go back, the sound of galloping horse hooves sounded in the distance.

The guard turned around, and the rider made a gesture from afar. The guard immediately reported, "Your Majesty, the old man is here."

In the carriage, the emperor, who was resting with his eyes closed, suddenly opened his eyes.

The sound of horse hooves accompanied by the sound of wheels from far to near, and soon approached Wuliting.

The guard strode over and blocked the car.

The coachman suddenly grabbed the horse, and the old man in the carriage leaned forward. Before he could sit firmly, the voice of the guards sounded outside, "Old man, please invite him."

The old man expected that the emperor would plead for him, but he didn't expect that he was blocked here before he entered Beijing. "Please tell the emperor that Xu has been rushing back all the way and has not washed up for several days. After Xu returns to the mansion and washes, he will go to the palace to pay homage."

"I'm afraid it won't work..."

As he spoke, the guard walked to the side of the carriage, lifted the curtain, and let the old man see the carriage in the distance, "The Lord was waiting for you here yesterday."

The old man squinted his eyes.

He signaled that the others should not move, got off the carriage by himself, and followed the guards to the side of the carriage. Just as he was about to salute, the emperor got off the carriage and personally helped him, "Old sir, I am apologizing to you on behalf of that rioter."

The old man took a step back and gave a big gift, "The emperor's words are heavy, and Xu can't afford it."

"I know that the old man is angry. Don't worry, I will punish the rebellious son well, but can the old man come to the pavilion and listen to me?"

The emperor was able to condescend to this place to wait for him, but he had already given up his face. If he refused again, he would be ungrateful. The old man understood in his heart, "Please, please."

The pavilion has been wiped clean, and there is a pot of tea and two tea cups on the stone table.

After sitting down, the emperor personally poured a cup of tea for the old man, "I have heard from the rebellious son about Qingping County. He was encouraged by the Duke of Qi and wanted to seize several secret recipes for the Gu family's business. He did not want to kill anyone. He was completely unaware of the Gu family's murder. However, now that the Duke of Qi is dead, I seem to be shirking responsibility for the rebellious son, but the fact is indeed the case. The reason why I wait here is to firstly avenge the old man for the rebellious son, and secondly, I want to ask the old man to show mercy and save his life. As long as the old man lets go, I promise that he will punish him severely and will also compensate the Song family."

Along the way, the old man thought about the emperor's reactions, thinking that he would favor the third prince, thinking that he would clear the third prince of the crime, but he did not expect that the emperor would directly admit the third prince's crime, which made the anger in his heart subsided a little.

"The emperor does not need to apologize to me, the third prince is sorry for the 113 people of the Gu family. They are just ordinary merchant families. They have earned the family business through decades of hard work, but they are all burned out overnight and they have lost their lives. If the emperor does not impose a heavy punishment, it may be a heart of the whole world."

"I know, I promise you that I will never spare him easily! I will send him to a bitter and cold place and never let him return to Beijing. I only want to leave him alone."

beg?

The old man's face was as usual, but his heart was filled with storm.

It is said that the emperor favors the third prince, but he didn't believe it before. After all, there are two princes above, each with extraordinary abilities. He has helped the emperor do a lot since he was not a man, but the third prince has never made any achievements.

If I were just suspicious before, but now I believe it completely.

If they insist on asking the third prince to pay for his life, the fate will end up...

"What does the emperor want me to do?"

...

Half an hour later, the emperor got off the pavilion and got on the carriage and returned to the palace.

The old man sat in the pavilion for a while before returning to the carriage.

Seeing his heavy expression, Mr. Xu Er knew that things were indeed as he had guessed, and the emperor was here to put pressure on his father.

"Father……"

The old man waved his hand and told the coachman, "It's not far from the city, there are many people, just walk slowly."

The coachman responded, raised his whip high and gently fell down, and the horse walked slowly.

In the carriage, the old man said what the emperor had just said.

"Not to mention whether the third prince is saying true or not, the Duke of Qi is dead, and it is easy for the emperor to put all the charges on him. Now, the emperor can come to Wuliting to wait for us in person, which has given us great face. If we are not jealous, I am afraid..."

He didn't say the following words. Mr. Xu Er and Xu Yan also understood that since ancient times, no one who became emperors had a generous person, and could destroy the Xu family in a blink of an eye with just one excuse.

"Don't you just let him go?"

Xu Yanxin was unwilling to accept it.

"We will be demoted to the bitter and cold land and will never be allowed to return to the capital. We will never have the chance to be with the throne again. The third prince will be considered as the retribution we deserve. We will consider the Song family in the long run."

There was a silence in the carriage.

Several people went directly to Nancheng.

Song Wanyue guessed that the old man and his group were about to arrive, so she asked Song Si to take a leave and wait for her at home.

Hearing the sound of horse hooves, the two of them quickly came out of the yard and happened to see the old man and his group get off the carriage.

When they were rushing to the road, the few people looked very bad, especially the old man. After all, he was old and could not cover up his fatigue even if he covered him.

Song Wanyue stepped forward to support him and said to Xu and Song Lin, "Dad, mother, you can help grandmother to rest in my house first, and I will help grandmother to the eldest brother's house."

The old man did not refuse and allowed her to help him to Song Si's house.

Mr. Xu Er and Xu Yan also followed in.

After sitting down, the old man was about to tell her about the emperor's visit to Wuliting, and Song Wanyue spoke first, "Yesterday, the emperor asked Empress Xian to be a lobbyist and told us to give in. I agreed."

Several people were slightly stunned.

Song Si brought in a few plates of snacks, put them on the table, and then turned around to serve tea.

Song Wanyue took a piece of pastry to the old man, "It's just out of the pot, please try it."

The old man took a bite and nodded, "It's delicious."

Song Wanyue sat down, "That day I was galloping back to Beijing. I wanted to beat Dengwengu to complain to the emperor with the idea of ​​killing me. Even if I gave up my skin, I would still seek justice for the Gu family. But yesterday's words from Empress Xian changed my mind. She was right. The deceased had passed away, and we had to consider the living. In the face of imperial power, we were not even as good as ants. The Gu family had passed away and we could not take more lives. I thought about it and took the opportunity to make some conditions, such as asking for compensation of one million taels of silver."
Chapter completed!