Please call me Your Majesty!

Chapter 220: The Prime Minister's Daughter May Be the Key to a Breakthrough
"They came here so quickly, which means that Chu Shiren's rescue was related to this incident."

"If I'm not mistaken, now that they know the location of the secret room, I'm afraid they won't let it go."

"But……"

Su Wan'er bit her lip and said, "I don't know anything about the secret room."

“Those words just now were all lies to Chu Shiren.”

"what?"

Chu Shizhao was stunned.

"My father did leave some words before he died, but he never mentioned any secret room."

Su Wan'er explained, "I just want to delay time."

Chu Shizhao murmured softly, as if thinking about something: "If that's the case, could it be that this secret room is not actually in the Su Mansion, but somewhere else?"

"I don't know about this either."

Su Wan'er shook her head, "Father only said that the key is in this mansion and asked me to keep it well."

"This palace..."

Chu Shizhao looked around and said, "Looks like we need to conduct a thorough search."

Just then, a maid ran over in a panic: "Miss! It's bad! The old lady fainted!"

Su Wan'er's expression changed drastically: "Grandma?"

The two of them quickly followed the maid to the old lady's room.

I saw the old lady lying on the bed, her face was blue and her breathing was weak.

"Where's the doctor?"

"I have already invited him."

Not long after, the doctor came and looked serious after taking the patient's pulse.

"The old lady has been poisoned."

"Poisoned?"

Su Wan'er was surprised, "How could it be..."

"It's the red crested crocus."

The doctor said, "If the old lady hadn't taken good care of her, she would have died long ago."

"Is there an antidote?"

The doctor shook his head: "This poison is so strong that ordinary antidotes are difficult to suppress. Unless..."

"Unless what?"

"Unless we can find the thousand-year-old snow lotus."

The doctor sighed helplessly and said, "But this thing is extremely rare. It is said to only grow on the top of the snowy mountains in the far north."

Su Wan'er's face turned pale.

Chu Shizhao comforted him: "Don't worry, I'll send someone to look for it right away."

"That's too late."

The doctor spread his hands helplessly.

"Given the old lady's current condition, she can only last three days at most."

It is impossible to go from the capital to the snow-capped mountains in the far north and back in three days.

Su Wan'er sat blankly beside the bed, looking at her unconscious grandmother, tears silently falling.

Chu Shizhao held her hand: "Don't give up, I will definitely find a way."

At this moment, the old lady suddenly opened her eyes and said weakly: "Wan'er."

"grandmother!"

Su Wan'er leaned over quickly.

"Go... go to your father's study..."

The old lady said with difficulty, "Behind the bookshelf..."

Before he could finish his words, he fainted again.

Su Wan'er and Chu Shizhao looked at each other, then immediately stood up and walked towards the study.

Everything in the study was the same as before, with a thin layer of dust on the bookshelf.

The two carefully checked every bookshelf but found nothing unusual.

"Could it be..."

Chu Shizhao suddenly thought of something, walked to the bookshelf in the middle and pushed it hard.

With a "click", the bookshelf slowly moved away, revealing a secret door.

Su Wan'er gasped: "There really is a secret room!"

The two walked in and found a small stone room with a vermilion lacquered wooden box in the middle.

Su Wan'er opened the wooden box, and inside lay a crystal clear snow-white flower, emitting a faint chill.

"This is."

"Thousand-year Snow Lotus!"

Chu Shizhao said in shock.

It turns out that the real secret has been hidden here.

No wonder Chu Shiren and the others couldn’t find it under the rockery.

The two of them quickly handed the snow lotus to the doctor.

The doctor prepared a medicinal soup and gave it to the old lady.

Not long after, the old lady's complexion improved a lot.

"Grandma really knew the location of the secret room a long time ago."

Su Wan'er sighed.

"Yes."

Chu Shizhao nodded, "It seems that your father left this snow lotus just in case."

"But……"

Su Wan'er suddenly thought of something.

"How did they know there was a secret room in the mansion?"

"Besides, why do you have to find it?"

Hearing this, Chu Shizhao seemed to have thought of something and couldn't help but raise the corners of his mouth slightly.

"It seems like it's time for me to go see my good brother whom I haven't seen for a long time!"

……

Chu Shizhao knew the seriousness of the situation. After saying goodbye to Su Wan'er, he went directly to the East Palace and found the former crown prince Chu Shixu who had been imprisoned by Emperor Yongjin.

Chu Shixu ended up like this because of Chu Shizhao's interference.

Now, seeing Chu Shizhao coming, he thought Chu Shizhao was here to laugh at him, so he didn't treat him well.

"Hey, isn't this the man that is very popular with the emperor, the great fourth prince of the Zhou Dynasty, His Royal Highness the Prince of Jin?"

Chu Shixu glanced at Chu Shizhao in a sarcastic manner.

"Why, do you think that what you have done to me is not bad enough, so you come here to see how miserable your big brother is now?"

Even at this moment Chu Shizhao knew in his heart that Chu Shixu did not like him.

But she was anxious to find out the truth, so she could only bear it for the moment.

"Brother, what are you talking about? There is actually no deep hatred between you and me."

"I actually had no choice but to do what happened back then."

"Think about it, if you were me, what would you choose?"

"One is my father, the other is my eldest brother!"

"So, it's me, as the eldest brother, who is stingy?"

Chu Shixu was still sarcastic.

Chu Shizhao knew very well that it would be useless to say more to the other party at this time.

He simply didn't bother to continue wasting time.

"To be honest, the reason I came to you today is because I have something important to ask you."

"I wonder if Big Brother would consider our brotherhood and let me have this opportunity..."

Without waiting for Chu Shizhao to finish speaking, Chu Shixu snorted coldly.

"I knew it!"

"I am now a drowned dog. If I were fine, why would you think of me?"

"But I'm wondering, given your intelligence, what could have made you find me?"

"Now, your elder brother is just a prisoner. I'm afraid I can't help you even if I want to!"

"Brother, why do you have to belittle yourself?"

"No one is perfect. In my opinion, Big Brother was just blinded by greed. I know very well that if he had not been bewitched by his subordinates, he would never have done such a thing!"

"Tsk, it's easier to talk while standing!"

"What do you want to say? What on earth do you want from me?" "Brother, I know you hate me, but now is not the time to dwell on personal grudges."

"Something happened to the Su family, I need your help."

Chu Shizhao took a deep breath and slowly recounted a series of events that the Su family had recently encountered.

“Brother, you may not know that the Su Mansion has encountered a series of troubles recently.”

"First, that bastard Chu Shiren relied on his status as a prince to harass Su Wan'er again and again."

Chu Shixu sneered.

"Oh, that kid has always been vicious and unlearned. Now that I'm down, this guy is shaking!"

Chu Shizhao continued, “Not only that, the Su Mansion was attacked by a group of men in black a few days ago.”

"They acted quickly and were clearly well-trained assassins. If I hadn't happened to be there, the consequences would have been disastrous."

"Oh?"

Chu Shixu raised his eyebrows, with a hint of surprise in his eyes, "It seems that you care a lot about the Su family."

Chu Shizhao ignored the sarcasm in Chu Shixu's words and continued.

"The most disturbing thing is that just yesterday, Madam Su was suddenly poisoned and her condition was critical. Fortunately, we found the antidote in time, which saved the old lady from danger."

Hearing this, Chu Shixu's expression finally changed slightly.

He frowned, as if thinking about something.

"What do you want to tell me by saying this?"

Chu Shixu asked coldly.

Chu Shizhao looked at Chu Shixu deeply, then took out an exquisite jade pendant from his arms.

This jade pendant is crystal white all over, with an exquisite word "Tai" carved on it.

"This is what I found from those men in black."

Chu Shizhao handed the jade pendant to Chu Shixu, "Brother, do you recognize this?"

Chu Shixu stood up suddenly and snatched the jade pendant.

"This... is a token of the Crown Prince's Mansion."

Chu Shixu looked at Chu Shizhao in disbelief.

Chu Shizhao narrowed his eyes and looked Chu Shixu up and down.

"So, I suspect that those who attacked the Su Mansion may be related to your staff, big brother, so I want to come to you to verify it!"

Hearing this, Chu Shixu fell silent for a moment.

After a long time, he sighed and motioned Chu Shizhao to sit down.

"Fourth brother, you know that knowing too much about some things is not a good thing."

"Brother, I don't want to think too much. I just want to know the truth now."

Chu Shizhao said firmly, “Not only for the Su family, but also for myself.”

Chu Shixu looked at Chu Shizhao and suddenly laughed.

"You are just as stubborn as ever."

He shook his head. “Well, since you insist on knowing, I’ll tell you something you don’t know.”

Chu Shixu walked to the window, looked at the palace wall in the distance, and began to narrate slowly: "In fact, there is an unknown entanglement between the Prince's Mansion and the Su family."

“This dates back ten years ago…”

Just as Chu Shixu was about to continue speaking, he suddenly heard a burst of hurried footsteps.

They both turned around at the same time and saw a eunuch running in in a panic.

"Fourth... Your Highness, His Majesty summons you!"

The eunuch said breathlessly.

Chu Shizhao frowned slightly. Seeing that Chu Shixu was about to talk about the key clue, why did Emperor Yongjin summon him at this critical moment?
He glanced at Chu Shixu opposite him with some confusion.

To be honest, he really didn't want to leave at this time.

However, now that Emperor Yongjin had personally sent someone to invite him, he had no choice but to go.

Helplessly, he could only stand up and say goodbye to Chu Shixu.

"Brother, it seems I have to go first."

"Regarding the Su family's affairs, when there is a chance, I hope that big brother can give me some advice!"

Chu Shixu waved his hand and said, "Go ahead. The emperor's order cannot be disobeyed."

"Besides, there's no rush for the Su family's affairs."

"There is a long way to go. You and I have plenty of time."

He paused before adding, "Fourth brother, however, before that, I must remind you that some secrets, once revealed, may be more dangerous than you think."

Chu Shizhao's heart trembled. Chu Shixu's words made him more certain that the secret hidden by the Su family was no trivial matter.

He bowed to Chu Shixu, then hurriedly left the East Palace with the eunuch.

After leaving the Eastern Palace, Chu Shizhao immediately rushed to the imperial study.

As he walked, he thought about what Chu Shixu had just said.

What is the dispute between the Prince’s Mansion and the Su family?
What is the leverage that the ancestors of the Su family hold?
These questions were like a tangled mess, entangled in his mind.

When they arrived at the imperial study, Emperor Yongjin sat upright with a gloomy face.

"Zhao'er, do you know why I summoned you?"

Emperor Yongjin spoke in a cold voice.

Chu Shizhao's heart tightened, and he knelt down quickly, "I don't know, please tell me clearly, father."

"Do you know that you went to the East Palace today?"

Emperor Yongjin said with a gloomy look on his face.

Chu Shizhao was shocked that Emperor Yongjin found out that he had gone to the Eastern Palace so quickly!

Since the other party already knew about it, Chu Shizhao simply stopped hiding it.

"Your Majesty, I did go to the East Palace to visit my elder brother."

Upon hearing this, Emperor Yongjin's expression became even gloomier.

He snorted coldly, and then asked sarcastically: "Visiting?"

"In my opinion, you are colluding with that rebellious son and trying to rebel against the emperor!"

As soon as these words were spoken, Chu Shizhao, knowing that the other party had misunderstood, quickly began to explain.

"Father, please understand. I have absolutely no such intention! I was just worried about my elder brother, so I went to visit him."

"Worry about him? Humph!"

Emperor Yongjin angrily shouted, "He was plotting a rebellion, his crime is unforgivable! And you are actually begging for him!"

Chu Shizhao was about to explain when Emperor Yongjin interrupted him.

"That's enough! I don't want to hear your explanation!"

"From today on, you are confined to this mansion. Without my permission, you are not allowed to step out of this mansion!"

Chu Shizhao was suddenly struck by lightning.

Grounded!

Doesn’t this mean that he can no longer continue investigating the Su family’s affairs?
He was extremely anxious, but he did not dare to disobey the emperor's order and could only kowtow and accept the order.

After returning to his mansion, Chu Shizhao was extremely anxious.

He was under house arrest and unable to continue his investigation. The Su family was in danger. What should he do?

Are we just going to watch the Su family being destroyed by those mysterious forces?

Just when he was getting anxious, suddenly, a figure appeared silently in his study.

Chu Shizhao looked up suddenly and saw a masked figure in black standing in front of him.

"who are you?"

Chu Shizhao asked vigilantly, his hand unconsciously reaching for the sword at his waist.

The man in black didn't say anything, but slowly took off the mask on his face.

Chu Shizhao was stunned.

"Wan'er? Why are you here?"

"It's too dangerous in the middle of the night!"

Su Wan'er looked at Chu Shizhao with an apologetic look on her face: "I know you are under house arrest, so I came to see you specially." "Are you okay?"

Chu Shizhao shook his head.

"I'm fine, I'm just a little worried about you."

"I wanted to help you, but I didn't expect that I could not help you, and I..."

Su Wan'er gently held Chu Shizhao's hand and said, "It's nothing. I'm actually more worried about my grandmother now."

"Today I snuck into my grandmother's room and found a letter she left behind."

As she spoke, Su Wan'er took out a letter from her arms and handed it to Chu Shizhao.

Chu Shizhao took the letter, unfolded it, and his expression suddenly became solemn.

(End of this chapter)