The most romantic little emperor

However, the beautiful and happy time was broken by an unexpected incident.

Just when the two were deeply in love, the shadow guard passed on the message that Su Yong was on a hunger strike in the secret room, and the leader who burned the letter committed suicide in the secret room.

Qin Hao felt the seriousness of the matter and hurried to the secret room with A Yue.

When they arrived at the secret room, Old Feng had already arrived and was carefully examining the man's body.

After a long while, Old Feng slowly stood up, walked to Qin Hao, and said in a deep voice: "Your Highness, after careful investigation, I found that this person did not commit suicide, but took a slow-acting poison in advance. When the time came, he died immediately, giving the illusion of suicide."

"Moreover, I found a lotus on his body. Generally, the number of petals of a lotus is indefinite. A single lotus has about 15 to 20 petals, a double lotus has 20 to 50 petals, and a triple lotus has more than 100 petals. However, the lotus on his body has only nine petals. It is a nine-petal lotus."

Qin Hao didn't know what it meant, so he asked, "Master Feng, does this nine-petal lotus have any special meaning?"

Elder Feng nodded and continued, "The nine-petal lotus originally symbolizes the source of color between heaven and earth, which encompasses everything. When the lotus blooms, it gives people a sense of elegance and cleanliness. The nine-petal lotus symbolizes elegance and holiness."

"Later, the nine-petal lotus has come to represent holiness, feminine beauty and purity, resurrection, elegance, and the sun."

"Also, there is a nine-petal lotus in Buddhism, which symbolizes the growth and transcendence of the Buddha in life. The lotus grows out of the mud, symbolizing the Buddhist teaching of finding liberation from suffering."

"Except for Buddhism, few people use the nine-petal lotus as an object of worship, and I have never seen anyone tattoo a lotus on their body. But this person actually has a nine-petal lotus tattooed on his body. It must not be a coincidence."

"I assert that this person is definitely involved with the White Lotus Sect that is currently endangering our Great Xia Dynasty, and his position in the sect is not low."

"White Lotus Sect?"

Qin Hao was familiar with this church in his previous life. He did not expect that the White Lotus Cult also existed in this world. He asked doubtfully, "Is this cult related to our Great Xia?"

Elder Feng nodded and said slowly: "Your Highness, to talk about the White Lotus Sect, we have to start from the fall of Daliang in the previous dynasty. This involves the secrets of the previous dynasty and is also closely related to your grandfather, Emperor Taizu."

"You can speak freely, and I will forgive you."

Old Feng continued, "The previous dynasty, the second emperor of Daliang, Emperor Yang Xiao Wudao, was incompetent and unjust. He favored evildoers and imposed heavy taxes, causing chaos in the country. Uprisings broke out in various places, and the people suffered terribly."

"And your grandfather, Emperor Taizu, in order to save the people of the world and enforce justice, subdued the various rebel armies. After three years of continuous fighting, he fought all the way to the capital and destroyed the Liang Dynasty."

"At that time, when our Great Xia army invaded the capital of Daliang, the palace was in chaos. Most of the Xiao royal family members committed suicide, and the remaining royal family members were either arrested or killed. I was fortunate enough to participate in this battle."

"Later, when we were collecting the bodies of the Xiao royal family members, we discovered that a pair of twin babies were missing. One was Emperor Yang's ninth prince Xiao Tianyang, and the other was Emperor Yang's ninth princess Xiao Tianyue."

"Later, after much investigation, we learned that the two babies were taken away in advance by Eunuch Hua, who was the best expert in the palace at the time, and their whereabouts were unknown afterwards."

"Over the years, Emperor Taizu and your father have been searching for them in secret, but their whereabouts remain unknown, and it has since become a mystery."

Hearing this, Qin Hao asked, "What does this have to do with the White Lotus Sect?"

"It is said that when Emperor Liang Yang's favorite concubine Wang Jingshu gave birth to twins, the lotus flowers in the imperial garden suddenly bloomed overnight. Emperor Liang Yang was very happy and ordered the palace guards to pick all the lotus flowers in the imperial garden and send them to Concubine Wang. He also covered the entire bedroom with lotus petals inside and out to show his favor."

"After our army entered the palace, I accidentally learned from a palace maid that before sending the two babies out of the palace, Emperor Liang Yang had nine red lotus petals tattooed on their bodies to prove their identities so that they could be recognized later."

"Moreover, it is said that Emperor Liang Yang also planted a curse, and when a nine-petal red lotus was born, the Central Plains was filled with blood and rain."

"I have just carefully observed that the nine-petal lotus on this person's body, whether in the location of the embroidery or the shape and number of the petals, is extremely consistent with the nine-petal lotus on the children of Emperor Liang Yang that we learned from the palace maid. The only difference is the color and number of the red petals."

"Emperor Yang of Liang's two children have nine-petal red lotuses, while this person has six-petal red lotuses, and the other three petals are white."

"This time, I was walking in the martial arts world, and I heard that the White Lotus Sect was stirring up trouble, killing officials, and trying to overthrow our Great Xia. I once tracked down a group of White Lotus sect members and killed them. I also saw this kind of nine-petal lotus on their corpses, but the color of the lotus on their bodies was white, so they should be the most ordinary sect members."

"So, I boldly guess that the number of petals on the red lotus represents one's status and rank, while the number of petals on the white lotus represents ordinary followers."

Qin Hao nodded, agreeing with his statement, thinking to himself that Wu Youwei and Wang Hu were actually colluding with the White Lotus Sect, and behind Wu Youwei was Hedong prefect Wu Liang, and behind Wang Hu was his father, the Right Battalion General Wang Dahai. Maybe his uncle, the Minister of War Wen Tai, was also involved. Then how many civil and military officials in the court were colluding with the White Lotus Sect.

Qin Hao was frightened at the thought and couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat. So, he quickly told Feng Lao in detail what happened last night.

After hearing this, Old Feng was also shocked, and he advised Qin Hao to take quick action. Otherwise, if there really were accomplices of the White Lotus Sect in the court, once they took the opportunity to cause trouble, the consequences would be disastrous.

Qin Hao nodded in agreement. After thinking for a moment, he solemnly said to Feng Lao: "Feng Lao, I plan to set up Jinyiwei. What do you think?"

"What is Jinyiwei?"

Feng Lao asked doubtfully: "Is there any difference between it and the Shadow Guard?"

"There is no difference between the Royal Guards and the Shadow Guards in essence. If there is a difference, the Royal Guards are the Shadow Guards in public, and they have many more people than the Shadow Guards. After all, there are only a dozen of you in the Shadow Guards, which is not enough!"

Qin Hao patiently explained, "The Jinyiwei are my personal guards, and are not controlled by other officials. They report directly to me and are responsible to me."

"The main responsibility of the Imperial Guard is to monitor the officials and the royal family. Once they have found evidence of their crimes, they can arrest anyone except my father and me, no matter how high their official position is or whether they are royal family members, and conduct a closed trial."

"In addition, the Royal Guards are also involved in collecting military intelligence and inciting enemy generals to defect."

"The Jinyi Guard and the Shadow Guard are one in the light and one in the dark. They are here to protect the safety of this prince and maintain the stability of the court. I hope you can lend me a helping hand."