The years I was in the human world

"You are such a bold servant. You tried to seduce the prince but failed, and now you dare to kill him. Do you know your crime?" After the officials from the Dali Temple arrived, the eunuch who was trembling in the room was also taken out. Facing the Sixth Prince's stern questioning, he looked around in panic, then looked at the Third Prince pleadingly.

The Third Prince's heart skipped a beat when he saw that face. Looking at the Sixth Prince now, there was nothing he didn't understand. He regretted leaving the palace more and more. Not only would he get into trouble, but he might also be dragged into it.

"Your Highness, please save me. I have no..." Lu Zhouxue knelt on the ground, curled up, but raised her beautiful head, looking at the Third Prince sadly, begging the heartless man to save her for the sake of their past friendship.

The Third Prince was standing with the Sixth Prince. Others thought that Lu Zhouxue was begging for mercy from the latter, so they did not suspect anything. The Third Prince took a step back, determined to distance himself from the matter, and said with a little disdain: "Sixth brother, why are you still hesitating? Why don't you send this slave to the Dali Temple for interrogation?"

"Take him away!" The Sixth Prince was also busy trying to shirk the charges, so he waved his hand and gave the order. The officials from the Dali Temple were all shrewd men, and they could naturally see that today's incident must have been caused by another absurd incident involving the royal relatives, and they were looking for a scapegoat, so they dragged the naked eunuchs out on the left and right.

"Wait a minute." The gate of Chungui Garden opened, and two officials from the Dali Temple were about to carry the so-called criminal slave out. The Third Prince suddenly spoke again. The eunuch thought that things had turned around, and looked over with hope, but he only heard the Third Prince say, "Find a piece of clothing for this lowly slave. There are so many people coming and going from here to the Dali Temple. Don't you think today's incident is not big enough?"

The eunuch's eyes dimmed instantly, and he turned back with a dead heart. It turned out that the so-called deep affection in those days was just his wishful thinking. The third prince looked at the man who was almost unrecognizable being dragged out so roughly, and he felt a little uncomfortable for some reason.

He suddenly recalled the morning when he first met Lu Zhouxue. The sun was shining brightly near noon, and the young man with a handsome face was standing under the red wall. He also remembered the description of Lu Zhouxue in the information handed to him by his confidant: "Defying the frost and snow, Lu Zhouxue," what a good name. How could he have become like this now?

It seemed like it was because of him that she was taken into the palace by him and became a plaything for his beauty. After he used her, she was ruthlessly kicked out. Then she fell into the hands of the sixth brother and became a plaything for others to abuse... No, that's not right. How could it be because of him? With such a face, he would bring disaster upon himself no matter what.

How could it be because of him? The Third Prince thought, it was clearly a blessing for that servant to be favored by him. Otherwise, with her self-willed nature, how could she have lived such a good life in the prince's palace? She would have been eaten to the point where nothing was left of her bones. The one who did something wrong was her Sixth Brother, and he shouldn't have stopped him.

The people from the Dali Temple had just dragged Lu Zhouxue out when Chu Zhaoli and Xie Yang walked down from the teahouse opposite. The two of them made eye contact across the long street. Lu Zhouxue blinked slyly, but Chu Zhaoli looked at his disheveled appearance and slowly frowned.

Chu Zhaoli had lived in seclusion in Changle Palace for too long, and he had few people at his disposal. The only information he had obtained was that the Third Prince had driven Lu Zhouxue out of the palace, and then he was taken to Chungui Garden by the Sixth Prince. He thought he was just doing odd jobs, and he never imagined that his seemingly honest and loyal sixth brother would be committing promiscuity in another garden.

Even though Chu Zhaoli knew that it was a paper substitute and that the former was just acting, he was still unhappy to see Lu Zhouxue being bullied so miserably. So the man who was supposed to appear only after Lu Zhouxue threw herself on him according to the script couldn't help but speak out:

"What happened that has alarmed the Dali Temple to investigate?"

Hearing the voice, the Third Prince looked over with a little surprise, only to see his usually timid and dull eldest brother standing there waving a fan, dressed in moon-white clothes, looking like an immortal under the breeze and bright moon. For no reason, he had a bad feeling.

"Nothing, just..." The Third Prince was about to say something, but Lu Zhouxue, who was held by two officers in front of him, suddenly struggled. The two people beside him could hardly hold him down. While struggling, he shouted to Chu Zhaoli: "Your Highness, Your Highness, please save me. I did not assassinate Master Chen."

Although the people outside Chungui Garden were evacuated by the Sixth Prince, the opposite block was the downtown area after all, and there were always people coming and going. Lu Zhouxue's shout was so shrill that it attracted the attention of passers-by.

"You lowly slave, what are you yelling about? Hurry up and shut his mouth!" The Third Prince thought something was wrong and quickly gave orders. The two officers wanted to put their hands over his mouth, but Lu Zhouxue was not really powerless. While twisting his body so hard that the two officers could not hold him down, he bitterly accused the Third Prince:

"Third Prince, have I ever done you any wrong? I asked you to take my body for no reason, and then kicked you out when the novelty wore off. You said I was the second master, but it's clear that you asked me to be hypocritical on the Fifth Prince's side, right?"

"Third Prince, you don't want me. Sixth Prince bullied me and called me shameless and vulgar. But I was a decent person before I entered the palace. If it weren't for Marquis Guangping forcing me to die, why would I be willing to be a rootless thing in the palace?"

"Now that someone has died in the Sixth Prince's family, you are pushing the blame onto me. What did I do wrong that Your Highness would not even give me a chance to live?"

In three sentences, Lu Zhouxue mentioned that someone had died in the Sixth Prince's villa and that the Third Prince wanted him to take the blame. He also mentioned the Guangping Marquis incident that had been suppressed not long ago, which caused the people watching the excitement to talk about it:

"This Third Prince looks humble and kind, but I never knew he was such a cold and harsh person."

"Isn't it the same with the Sixth Prince? He is said to be a kind person, but when something goes wrong, he takes the blame for it. There is no good meat left on this servant."

"Didn't you hear him say that he was forced into the palace by Marquis Guangping? Could it be the case of Marquis Guangping snatching someone in the street that was widely reported a few days ago?"

"Well, now that you mention it, it's true. I saw them snatching people away at that time. That young man in white was truly extraordinary, not inferior to the Imperial Master. How did he become like this now?"

Naturally, some of the people's comments reached the Third Prince's ears. His face was already very ugly, and he coldly ordered the two officials: "Take him away quickly!"

"Wait a minute." Chu Zhaoli spoke.

"My royal brother, are you sure you want to meddle in my affairs now that you are in this situation?" The Third Prince was now unable to extricate himself from what Lu Zhouxue had said. He was extremely angry and he lacked his usual pretense when talking to Chu Zhaoli. There was a hint of threat in his tone.

"The sun and the moon are bright, the universe is clear, but the people have been wronged but refuse to complain, and insist on doing what they want. Where does your Highness place the dignity of the royal family?" It was not Chu Zhaoli who answered the Third Prince, but Xie Yang who was traveling with him. The latter looked at the Third Prince with his eyebrows furrowed tightly, wondering what the Emperor saw in him.

"Your Highness, please save me." Seeing this, Lu Zhouxue broke free from the two people holding him down, and rushed to Chu Zhaoli, tightly grasping his sleeve, and said sadly, "Your Highness, please save me. I really didn't kill Master Chen. He died of fright from his own madness. Everyone present can testify to this."

"Don't be afraid, I'm here and I won't wrong you." Chu Zhaoli knew that Lu Zhouxue was just acting, but he couldn't help but pat his hand to comfort him. He took off his outer robe and put it on him, then turned to Xie Yang and said, "Please trouble General Xie to ask them in detail. I'm afraid I can't order them around."

Xie Yang now understood the embarrassing situation of Prince Chu Zhaoli in the capital, so he naturally agreed and sent everyone back to Chungui Garden to question them one by one. The Xie family was second only to the Du family, and Xie Yang's father had a title, and it was not an empty title like Marquis Guangping that could be revoked at any time, but a real fiefdom.

The imperial power of the Western Dynasty was not strong, and the aristocratic families and the royal family were basically in a situation of confrontation, and sometimes the latter was even suppressed by the former. In other words, the Chu family was not so much a royal family as it was an aristocratic family that controlled the imperial power. In terms of family status, Xie Yang was the highest among those present, and even the third prince could not compare with him.

Therefore, when Xie Yang asked for punishment, everyone told the truth. Chu Zhaoli was also busy outside. With such a big incident, the people were not sure how they would criticize the royal family. In order to maintain the royal family's reputation, he had to say some high-sounding words to appease the people.

Perhaps it was because his moon-white clothes looked too pretentious, or perhaps it was because when Lu Zhouxue pounced on him, he was too gentle when he held her in his arms, that surprisingly, no one mocked him as the prince. Instead, they listened to what he said carefully and praised his noble character.

After that day, many people went back and said that previous rumors about the prince were mostly biased. The prince himself was not cruel or stupid. On the contrary, he was a gentle, kind and modest gentleman. But that was a story for later.

The absurdity in the Sixth Prince's private residence was eventually brought to the attention of the Emperor. Xie Yang found out the whole story and wrote a memorial to the Emperor. It was not to complain, but because Taifu Chen's youngest son had died, and Taifu's wife ran into the palace and cried and demanded an explanation from Madam Du.

After all, it was related to the Third Prince, and the Xie family was afraid of being implicated, so they wrote a memorial to the Emperor overnight to explain. Only then did the Third Prince feel lucky that his eldest brother brought Xie Yang with him, and they were able to investigate the matter on the spot and get a clear path to the Dali Temple.

Otherwise, when Madam Taifu makes a fuss in front of Madam Du, and then it is found that he is Du's man, and the Du family comes to investigate, won't they do their best to throw dirty water on him?

The Third Prince thought so, and the Emperor naturally thought so too. Not only was he angry at the Sixth Prince for being uneducated, but he also dragged the Third Prince into this. At the same time, he suspected that there might be something wrong with the Crown Prince who happened to be there that day - he was always sensitive and suspicious about the son he disliked.

Chen Taifu came to complain and demand an explanation. He threw Xie Yang's memorial along with the files from the Dali Temple to Chen Taifu. The emperor was the first to complain. Without waiting for the Taifu to speak, he started to scold him: "Look at how you taught your son. You are the prince's teacher. Your son has embarrassed himself so much that the whole capital knows about it. You want an explanation? I still want you to give me an explanation!"

After sending Chen Taifu away, the Third Prince and the Sixth Prince were summoned to give him a scolding. The Sixth Prince felt guilty and entered the palace cautiously. The Emperor became even more angry when he saw this, and he picked up the inkstone on the table and threw it at him: "You were not anxious when you caused trouble, but now you are afraid?"

"Father! I acknowledge my guilt!" The Sixth Prince was hit by an inkstone, and his entire collar was covered with ink. He fell to his knees on the ground, his face pale with fear.

"Know your guilt? I think you clearly don't know!" The emperor was so angry that he didn't know what to say. The mistake made by the Sixth Prince was actually harmless to him. He neither plotted to usurp the throne nor committed murder or arson. But he had to involve the Third Prince in it, which was very infuriating.

"You are disobedient, so why are you messing with your third brother?" the emperor said, and couldn't help scolding the third prince who was kneeling beside him. "And you, why are you running to your sixth brother's house for no reason? I spent so much effort to get you to Jiangzhou. Do you know how many civil and military officials in the court have impeached you now?"

"If the Crown Prince hadn't happened to bring Xie Yang with him, do you think this matter would have ended so easily?" The Emperor looked at the Third Prince and felt so disappointed that he couldn't help but say something harsh, "I spent so much time training you, but you're not as good as the Crown Prince in handling things."

The third prince, who had been lowering his head to listen to the emperor's scolding, couldn't help but clench his fists when he heard this. It was just this time that Chu Zhaoli got the advantage, so how could that loser be better than him?

The emperor naturally saw his little action. Seeing him like this, the emperor thought that he should not push people too far. Maybe the prince had planned today's incident. The emperor thought about it and waved his hand to let his two sons go down: "Yun'er, go back and think about it carefully."

After the two princes left, the emperor's expression suddenly became cold and cruel. He ordered the eunuch beside him: "Let the prince come to see me."

"Your son pays homage to His Majesty." Chu Zhaoli knelt down and saluted respectfully as soon as he entered the room. He spoke neither humbly nor arrogantly, and there was nothing wrong with him. However, the emperor did not say anything and still let him kneel while he processed the memorials.

The eunuch beside the emperor looked at him with pity, and just as he was about to remind the emperor that the prince was coming, the emperor spoke first: "Go and convey the decree that the Sixth Prince has behaved inappropriately and will be confined for half a year."

There was no mention of the Third Prince. It seemed that he was going to continue to protect him. Chu Zhaoli knelt there and thought, as a father, he was truly a loving father to the children he loved, but as for the ones he didn't love... ahaha, to call them enemies was an understatement.

After half an hour, the emperor seemed to notice Chu Zhaoli coming and said, "The prince is here? I didn't even notice it. Please don't be polite. Stand up."

"Thank you, father." Chu Zhaoli was too lazy to comment on the emperor's acting skills. If he had to say anything, it would be just a lie.

"Do you know why I called you here?" The emperor asked casually while reviewing memorials.

"Father, I don't know." Chu Zhaoli said with fear on his face, but he couldn't understand in his heart. On the one hand, his father thought that he was a piece of wood in the firewood pile, stupid and incompetent, and on the other hand, he used the tricks he used to treat people with deep minds to test him. Why?