Chapter 688: Palace Gate Turbulence (I)

As the sky darkened, the bustling city of Lin'an gradually returned to its tranquility.

The streets are bustling with people, mostly ordinary people rushing home after a busy day, or young couples who are beginning to fall in love and are preparing for a night tour of the West Lake.

Lin'an is as prosperous today as Tokyo was back then.

From the back door of Prince Rong’s Mansion, a carriage slowly drove out in the cover of night, followed by more than a dozen sword-wielding guards on horseback.

Turning the corner, the slowly advancing team suddenly sped up, accompanied by a burst of unbridled shouting, and everyone whipped their horses, galloping through the busy streets without restraint.

When pedestrians saw this, they dodged and tried to avoid the attacker. They were angry but dared not say anything.

The carriage passed through the streets and alleys of Lin'an City, leaving a cloud of dust, and only slowed down when it approached the imperial palace.

A hundred meters away from the palace gate, there are three stakes placed in sequence, like three solid fortresses, surrounding the huge palace. Thousands of armored royal guards are guarding with guns, and countless archers are on standby on the city walls, observing the situation near the palace all the time.

The imperial palace should be strictly guarded, but it is not necessary to mobilize so many troops. Today, the situation is like facing a great enemy, all because of the jianghu people causing trouble in Lin'an, and the thieves sneaked into the imperial concubine's palace and left a sharp blade.

This incident angered the emperor greatly. To protect the royal family, he ordered the deployment of more imperial guards to set up defenses outside the palace, surrounding the palace like an iron barrel to prevent any more assassins from taking advantage of the situation.

"Stop! Who dares to approach the forbidden area of ​​the imperial palace?"

Before the carriage approached the first stake, a loud shout suddenly came from the imperial guards. At the same time, dozens of torches in front and behind the stakes were lit at the same time, illuminating the land as bright as day, and causing the guards around the carriage to subconsciously squint their eyes and wave their hands to block the dazzling light.

"How dare you, you bastards, stop my carriage!" A voice shouted from inside the carriage, "Go! Show these bastards my token!"

"okay!"

Another flattering and teasing voice came from the carriage. Then, a young man with a rabbit-like head and a roe deer head, kite shoulders and lamb knees got out of the carriage and walked towards the deer fort with a swagger.

This man's name is Rongfu. He is a servant of the Rong Palace and one of Zhao Yu's followers.
The commander of the Imperial Guards took the token and looked at it. His expression suddenly changed, and he hurriedly bowed to the carriage and said, "I pay my respects to the young prince!"

"Greetings, young prince!" After recognizing Zhao Xie's identity, the imperial guards around him bowed to him in unison.

After saying this, the commander of the Imperial Guards wanted to return the token to Rongfu, but Rongfu was arrogant, ignored him, and looked arrogant.

Seeing this, the commander of the Imperial Guards couldn't help but look embarrassed. After a moment's thought, he trotted all the way to the front of the carriage, carefully presented the token with both hands, and said respectfully: "Forgive me for not being able to kowtow while wearing armor."

"Move the barricades away and let us in!"

"This..." Facing Zhao Yu's order, the commander of the Imperial Guards couldn't help but look embarrassed, "May I ask why the young prince came to the palace at night?"

"A few days ago, my uncle asked me to learn an article of Han Yu's "On Teachers" and told me to recite it to him as soon as I learned it." Zhao Yu said disdainfully, "Why? Do I have to recite it to you first before reciting it to my uncle?"

"I dare not!" The commander of the Imperial Guards hurriedly explained, "Since the emperor has summoned you, does the young prince have the emperor's edict..."

"How dare you!" Zhao Yu's tone sank as he shouted, "Who the hell do you think you are? How dare you make things difficult for me? Do you believe that I will kill your entire family with one order?"

"Please forgive me, young prince. The problem of bandits has increased recently, and the emperor has issued a strict decree that anyone entering or leaving the palace must be checked again and again to prevent assassins from sneaking through..."

"How dare you!" Rong Fu shouted at the top of his voice, "How dare you suspect that the young prince is an assassin?"

"I would never dare to do that!" The commander of the Imperial Guards was terrified and apologized quickly, "I was only following the Emperor's orders and fulfilling my duties faithfully..."

"Forget it!" Zhao Yu said impatiently, "The emperor's uncle asked me to come to the palace to recite "On Teachers" verbally, not by imperial decree. If you suspect that I am falsely conveying the imperial decree, you may as well go in and ask."

"I dare not!" The commander of the Imperial Guards thought for a moment, then took two steps back and bowed to the carriage again, saying, "In that case, please get off the carriage, young prince, and walk into the palace alone. The other guards will stay here and wait."

"you……"

Finally, Zhao Xie, who could no longer bear it, got out of the carriage. Before Rongfu came forward to support him, he jumped out of the carriage and rushed to the commander of the Imperial Guards. Without any hesitation, he raised his hand and started hitting him.

"Snapped!"

"This slap is to teach you a lesson for not knowing the rules!"

"Snapped!"

"This slap is to teach you a lesson about not distinguishing between superiors and inferiors!"

"Little prince..."

Before Zhao He could reach out to hit again, a slightly restrained voice suddenly came from a distance, which made Zhao He stunned.

"Who called me?"

"it's me."

With a reply, a slender figure slowly walked out of the darkness. Seeing this, the guards' faces changed, and they drew their swords at the same time, and quickly surrounded Zhao Yu to prevent any accidents.

"Who is it?" Under Rongfu's questioning, Qin Wei with an expressionless face gradually appeared in front of everyone.

Seeing Qin Wei, Zhao Yu, who was full of nervousness, could not help but be startled, and then his face darkened. He stretched out his hand to push away the guards in front of him, and said in a bad tone: "What are you doing here? Xiao Wang gets angry when he sees you. If Tianji Hou hadn't protected you everywhere, I would have killed you for Sister Xin!"

"I know my crime, and I hope that the young prince will calm down!" Qin Wei knew that Zhao Yu was dissatisfied with him, but he still stepped forward and said humbly, "I came here out of necessity. This is related to Prince Rong and Princess Xinde, and I dare not neglect it..."

"What do you mean?" Zhao Xie frowned, his eyes full of suspicion.

"Young Prince, may I have a word with you?" Qin Wei looked around cautiously, his meaning was self-evident.

"This……"

Zhao Xie hesitated for a moment, but seeing that Qin Wei's words were serious, he simply made up his mind and followed him to a secluded place aside.

"If you have something to say, say it quickly, and if you have a fart, hurry up!"

"As you command!" Qin Wei was not angry, and answered calmly, "I would like to ask the little prince, what was the purpose of your meeting with Liu Xunyi in Langyuan, West Lake this afternoon? You met in the afternoon, and the little prince rushed to the palace in the evening. Is there any connection between the two? Also, is this matter related to Princess Xinde..."

"Wait!" Zhao Yu looked displeased and asked, "What does this have to do with you?"

"I would like to speculate that if the young prince entered the palace overnight, it was to pass on some information to Princess Xinde on behalf of Liu Xunyi..." At this point, Qin Wei's eyes changed when he looked at Zhao Yu, and his tone became more solemn, "I dare to ask the young prince to give me some advice. This will not only help Liu Xunyi, but also Princess Xinde and Prince Rong."

"I really don't understand. Liu Xunyi is obviously your friend, why do you keep tripping her up again and again?"

"It is precisely because Liu Xunyi is my friend that I don't want him to fall into an irretrievable situation because of a momentary impulse." Although Zhao Yu was vague, Qin Wei was certain from his expression that his overnight entry into the palace must be related to Liu Xunyi and Zhao Xin, so he said righteously, "What's more, he is not only my friend, but also the little prince's friend. Does the little prince want to watch him get entangled with Princess Xinde, thereby destroying the marriage and putting the Song Dynasty in danger?"

"This……"

"Young Prince, if you enter the palace now to deliver the message for Liu Xunyi, no one can predict what will happen next. If you do this, not only will you kill Liu Xunyi, but you will also implicate Prince Rong..."

"Qin Wei, you are so bold that you dare to tell me what to do?" Qin Wei's chattering annoyed Zhao Yu, and he was furious. "Xiao Wang is not a fool. He knows how to handle things properly. I don't need you to tell me what to do!"

"I don't dare!" Qin Wei was horrified and knelt down on the ground in a hurry, "I just..."

"That's enough!" Zhao Yu said angrily, "Don't try to be clever in front of me. Do you think I can't see through your mind? I might as well tell you the truth. Liu Xunyi did ask me to help him take a letter to Sister Xin, but I have read the letter. It poses no threat to the marriage, and it is not at all disadvantageous to Sister Xin and my father."

"Letter? What letter?" Qin Wei was startled and asked anxiously, "Can you let me take a look?"

"You..." Just as he was about to open his mouth to scold her, Zhao Yu suddenly came up with an idea. He raised his eyebrows and raised a sly smile, "Do you really want to see it?"

"Of course! It's about the marriage..."

"Alright! Stop talking nonsense. You can watch it if you want, but you have to promise me one thing."

Qin Wei was stunned and asked cautiously, "What's the matter?"

"Don't worry! I won't let you die, nor will I let you commit crimes. I guarantee you can do it easily." Zhao Yu deliberately kept it a secret, his words full of provocation, "What do you think? Do you dare?"

"If that's the case, let alone one thing, even if it's ten or a hundred things..."

"Stop talking nonsense! Just follow me." Before he finished speaking, Zhao Yu had already walked towards the carriage.

Although Qin Wei was full of confusion, he didn't care about much else in order to prevent Liu Xunyi and Zhao Xin from rekindling their old love.

"Tianji Pavilion is your territory. Zhao Yuan protects you everywhere, so I won't bother you." When he got closer, Zhao Yu grabbed Qin Wei's collar and pushed him between the guards, jokingly saying, "But I can't swallow your anger for bullying Sister Xin."

Looking at the guards around him who were watching eagerly, Qin Wei felt ominous and asked anxiously, "Young Prince...what do you want me to do?"

"You don't have to do anything." Zhao Yu smiled slyly, "Just stand here motionless and let these useless subordinates of mine 'serve' you for an incense stick of time, how about that?"

"My Lord, I..."

"Don't worry! I will order them to use only fists and feet, not swords, so they won't hurt your life."

After saying this, regardless of whether Qin Wei agreed or not, Zhao Yu suddenly turned around and ordered the imperial guards: "Listen, if he dares to resist... you will rush over and treat him as an assassin with ulterior motives and deal with him as you wish!"

"As ordered!"

After giving all the instructions, Zhao Xie, feeling very satisfied, jumped onto the carriage, acting as if he was watching a fun-filled and leisurely event.

On the other hand, Qin Wei, who was surrounded, faced the sturdy guards who were approaching from all directions, rubbing their hands and grinning, his expression became more and more solemn, and his breathing became more and more rapid.

"Rongfu, light the incense to tell the time!"

……

(End of this chapter)