Chapter 679: Helping the Situation
"Meet the young prince!"

As soon as they saw Zhao Xie, everyone including Zhao Yuan hurriedly bowed and saluted.

"Oh! The Marquis is my uncle, how dare I accept such a great gift?"

Zhao Yu ignored the strange looks from others, walked quickly to Zhao Yuan, helped him up personally, and said jokingly: "Uncles kneeling before their nephews, isn't that shortening my life?"

"I wouldn't dare to do that!" Zhao Yuan said modestly, "It's still dark now, how can the little prince ..."

"I just met Liu Xunyi in Prince Rong's Mansion. I wanted to take a nap, but I couldn't fall asleep no matter how hard I tried."

"Oh? Why?"

"I feel uneasy." Zhao Yu said seriously, "I summoned Liu Xunyi to the Rong Palace to reminisce about the past, but he told me that Tianji Hou punished him to reflect on his mistakes behind closed doors and not to go out. In this way, if he follows my order, he will break Tianji Hou's rules, but following Tianji Hou's rules is equivalent to disobeying my order. Isn't it a dilemma? After thinking about it, I think this matter is caused by me, and the prince cannot ignore it. I was worried that Liu Xunyi would be punished after returning, so I hurriedly got up and chased him all the way to find out. Sure enough, Liu Xunyi almost lost his hands and feet because of me. Haha..."

"Oh!" Zhao Yuan knew that Zhao Yu was lying, but he did not point it out. Instead, he pretended to be enlightened and nodded repeatedly, saying, "It turns out that he left Tianji Pavilion without permission on the orders of the young prince."

"That's right." Zhao Yu smiled innocently, "After all, Liu Xunyi is half my master. I miss him so much every day I haven't seen him. Now that I haven't seen him for more than two years, how can I not miss him day and night?"

Zhao Yu was neither good at literature nor martial arts, so his words often failed to express his ideas. He used all the idioms and colloquialisms he could think of to show off his "talent".

"Young prince wanted to talk to Liu Xunyi about the past, why did he choose the middle of the night?" Qiu Han frowned and questioned.

"Why? When does Xiao Wang want to meet someone to reminisce about the past? Do I have to ask you for permission?" Zhao Yu said unhappily, "I dreamed of Liu Xunyi, so I woke up in the middle of the night and suddenly wanted to see him. Is that okay?"

“This…” Qiu Han sensed the hostility in Zhao Yu’s tone and was immediately shocked. He hurriedly said, “Young Prince, please calm down. I have no intention of offending you. It’s just…”

"Shut up!" Zhao Yuan shouted, "When is it your turn to speak here? You have no respect for your elders. You will be punished with thirty heavy sticks tomorrow!"

"This...ask your majesty!" Although Qiu Han was unwilling, he did not dare to contradict Zhao Yuan.

"Marquis Tianji, Liu Xunyi's mistake was caused by me. It would be unfair for you to punish him. Why don't you... punish me?"

Hearing this, Zhao Yuan's face suddenly changed, and he hurriedly said, "I dare not! Since Liu Xunyi is following the orders of the young prince, my rules are naturally not valid. This is a misunderstanding, I hope the young prince will be magnanimous and don't mind it."

"Hey! The one who is truly generous is Tianji Hou." After saying that, Zhao Yu urged Liu Xunyi, "Did you hear that? Tianji Hou said that this was a misunderstanding. Why don't you thank him quickly?"

"Thank you, young prince! Thank you, Marquis!"

"Alright! Alright! Since this is just a misunderstanding, no one needs to mention what happened tonight anymore." Zhao Yu took the initiative to act as a peacemaker in order to calm things down. "It's still early, so if you have nothing else to do, go back to bed!"

Seeing this, Qiu Han and Qin Wei could not help but look at each other, and at the same time turned their gazes to the timid Zhao Yuan.

"Didn't you hear the young prince's order?" Zhao Yuan said solemnly, "Qiu Han, quickly dismiss the officers in the courtyard and go back to sleep."

"Yes……"

Qiu Han agreed reluctantly, then looked at Qin Wei, and the two walked out the door one after the other.

"You stay!"

Suddenly, Zhao Xie pointed at Qin Wei and his tone became very stiff.

"This……"

"The young prince has something to ask you." Facing the anxious Qin Wei, Zhao Xie ignored him and said without turning his head.

Seeing this, Zhao Yuan waved to Qiu Han inconspicuously, signaling him to lead the others to go first, and then walked forward slowly, bowed to Zhao Xie and said: "Young Prince, Qin Wei..."

"He has caused Sister Xin so much trouble." Zhao Yu said angrily, "I want to ask him in person why he lied to sow discord between Liu Xunyi and Sister Xin?"

Faced with Zhao Xie's questioning, Qin Wei was extremely terrified. He fell to his knees with a plop, without saying a word, and even dared not to breathe.

Zhao Yuan looked embarrassed and said thoughtfully: "This is a long story, and Qin Wei can't be blamed entirely..."

"Don't tell me you're involved too?" Zhao Yu asked in surprise, "Tianji Hou has always been mature and prudent, he shouldn't do something that would damage his virtue, right?"

Zhao Xie has a special status. He was spoiled and respected since childhood. Therefore, in his eyes, except for the emperor and Prince Rong, everyone else is a servant. From childhood to adulthood, he hardly takes anyone seriously. Over time, he developed the habit of saying whatever he wants and speaking without restraint, and he has no idea what "reservation" means.

At this moment, Zhao Yuan was being ridiculed so openly by a junior that he couldn't help feeling aggrieved and didn't know where to put his face.

"This matter... is not as bad as the young prince thinks. Qin Wei did this for his own reasons." Although Zhao Yuan was dissatisfied, it was Zhao Xi who asked him questions. He did not dare to walk away, nor did he dare to keep silent. He could only bite the bullet and answer, "This matter cannot be explained in a few words. I believe that Prince Rong can understand our good intentions."

Seeing Zhao Yuan using Prince Rong to pressure him, Zhao Xie couldn't help but pout and mutter, "Even if it was my father's intention, he shouldn't have made Sister Xin so sad."

"Yes, yes, yes." Zhao Yuan nodded repeatedly, "Qin Wei's methods were indeed inappropriate. I apologize to the young prince on his behalf." After saying that, Zhao Yuan changed the subject and said, "But now that things have come to this, there is no point in saying more. If we dwell on this matter too much, it may cause complications and be detrimental to the emperor, Prince Rong, and the princess."

"What do you mean?"

"Your Highness should know that the Mongolian envoys who are coming to pick up the bride...will arrive in Lin'an soon, so..."

Before he finished speaking, Zhao Yu had already heard his implicit meaning and nodded slowly, saying: "I understand what Marquis Tianji means, and I will not tell Sister Xin the truth about this matter. I'm just angry that a servant dared to fool the Princess of Song like this, so..." "Don't worry, young prince, I will strictly discipline Qin Wei in the future!" Zhao Yuan secretly breathed a sigh of relief and hurriedly continued the conversation according to Zhao Yu's meaning.

"Alright!" Zhao Yu said, "After all, he is from the Tianji Pavilion, and I can't overstep my authority."

"My young prince is very righteous, and I admire him!"

As Zhao Yuan and Zhao Xi talked, Liu Xunyi, who was listening silently, felt more and more sad. At the same time, his longing for Zhao Xin became stronger and stronger.

At the moment, both Zhao Yuan and Zhao Xie have regarded Liu Xunyi and Zhao Xin as sacrifices. For the sake of the overall situation, they can only sympathize with Liu Xunyi in their hearts, but no one can really help him contact Zhao Xin and offend the Mongols.

Liu Xunyi knew this very well.

Although Zhao Yuan and Qin Wei had told him all the pros and cons of the matter, and tried to persuade Liu Xunyi to give up Zhao Xin by appealing to his emotions and reason, using the interests of the country and the safety of the world as the basis for their support, knowing does not mean agreeing, and silence does not mean accepting.

At least in Liu Xunyi's heart, he never gave up on Zhao Xin from beginning to end.

Today, Liu Xunyi has seen the true face of reality and recognized the dangers of the world. Therefore, a bold and adventurous plan gradually emerged and took root in his heart, becoming stronger and stronger.

"Master Hou!"

When Zhao Yuan and Zhao Xie were talking, a cunning look suddenly flashed across Liu Xunyi's eyes, and he interrupted rashly, "I understand the good intentions of Lord Rong and Lord Hou, and I will not dwell on this matter anymore, and I will not have anything to do with Xin'er... and the princess."

Hearing this, Zhao Yuan's eyes lit up and he asked happily, "Are you serious?"

"Really!" Liu Xunyi said confidently, "But I have to come forward to solve this other matter."

"What's the matter?"

"Those Jianghu people who caused trouble in Lin'an City!" Liu Xunyi said seriously, "The emperor only gave the East Palace a one-month deadline. The Prime Minister and the Marquis may not be able to properly resolve this matter. Since the incident was caused by me, why don't I give an explanation to the emperor and the East Palace."

"What do you want to do?"

"Shoot the man and the horse; capture the thief and the leader. These people from the underworld seem to come from all corners of the world and have nothing to do with each other, but in fact, there must be someone among them who is secretly leading the group of heroes."

"You mean... Qingfeng from the Wudang Sect?"

"No!" Liu Xunyi shook his head and said, "Qingfeng is far away in Wudang, he will definitely not come in person. What I mean is that among those who caused trouble in Lin'an City, there must be a few core figures. As long as these people can be dealt with, the others will scatter like frightened birds."

"Do you know who is behind this?"

"I don't know." Liu Xunyi said frankly, "But I can check!"

"what do you mean……"

"Please give me my freedom, Lord. Allow me to leave Tianji Pavilion and thoroughly investigate these people in Jianghu!" Liu Xunyi knelt on the ground and said righteously, "If I can't give you an explanation within half a month, I am willing to be punished!"

"This……"

Hearing this, Zhao Yuan couldn't help but show hesitation. In fact, he was skeptical about Liu Xunyi's attitude at the moment. He wanted to use him to help the East Palace solve the troubles in Lin'an City. But he was also afraid that after he was freed, he would be unwilling to give up Zhao Xin and thus cause trouble again.

"Xun Yi, it's not that I don't trust you, but..." Zhao Yuan pondered, "How about this, after the Mongols take Princess Xinde away, I will order you to thoroughly investigate the people who caused trouble in Lin'an, how about that?"

"Right now, the Mongolian bride-picking party has not arrived yet. After they arrive, they have to wait for the emperor to summon them to discuss the many details of the marriage. Such a set of red tape will take at least 10 to 20 days, and at most one or two months. We really can't afford to delay." Liu Xunyi said calmly, "What's more, the emperor doesn't want the Mongols to see that Lin'an City is in crisis and chaos, and let them laugh at the weakness of the Song Dynasty and the incompetence of the court."

"This……"

"Liu Xunyi is right!" Before Zhao Yuan could hesitate, Zhao Yu suddenly spoke up, "Since he has figured it out, Tianji Hou doesn't need to keep him under house arrest anymore."

"But……"

"Have you ever heard of the story of Dayu controlling floods, Marquis Tianji?" Zhao Xi said with a smile, "My father said that the way to control floods is not to block them, but to drain them. The same is true for people. If Marquis Tianji doesn't trust Liu Xunyi and is worried that he might do something wrong, and therefore keeps restraining him and imprisoning him, the result will not only fail to educate him, but will make him more rebellious, and even force him to do some unexpected stupid things. By then, Marquis Tianji will regret it."

"This……"

"If we trust him, even if Liu Xunyi has evil intentions, he will consider the kindness of Tianji Hou and turn over a new leaf." Zhao Yu said confidently, "Liu Xunyi is the backbone of Tianji Pavilion, Tianji Hou should not let him down."

Seeing Zhao Yu take the initiative to rescue him, Liu Xunyi felt both touched and guilty.

In fact, Liu Xunyi deliberately chose to tell this matter at this time, with the purpose of getting Zhao Xie to speak and plead with Zhao Yuan on his behalf.

He knew very well that in Zhao Yuan's heart, no matter how many words he said, they could not outweigh Zhao Chen's one sentence.

"This……"

Faced with Zhao Yu's solemn promise and Liu Xunyi's sincere and eager eyes, Zhao Yuan hesitated again and again, and finally sighed and nodded slowly: "Okay! From now on, Liu Xunyi will be free again and can... enter and leave Tianji Pavilion at will."

……

(End of this chapter)