The little dark guard who travels between two lives

Shen Tuo looked at the queen and said proudly: "Do you think that I will lose everything just because I've made preparations in advance? You underestimate me, Shen Tuo."

He glanced at Zi Yuan and said, "Your Majesty only knows that Zi Yuan is a maid of the Prime Minister's Mansion. She has been with you for a long time, so she naturally gained your trust."

"However, Your Majesty, you don't know that this girl has a sickly brother who was lost when he was young. This is the saddest thing for her family and the one they are most reluctant to talk about. This girl and her parents have never told anyone about it." "Therefore, even though Your Majesty is so close to this girl Ziyuan, you don't know that she has a brother she misses so much. It was me who helped her find her brother, and it was also me who paid for her brother's recovery and made proper arrangements for him to ensure that he would have no worries about food and clothing for the rest of his life."

After that, Shen Tuo asked the Queen: "Your Majesty, even if you treat this girl as a sister, you still can't help her as much as I do! Your Majesty, you think it's not too much to ask me to let her be a secret agent and play a role at a critical moment, right?"

The Queen glared at Shen Tuo and did not respond. Xin He, who was standing next to her, watched Aunt Ziyuan's expression change several times as Shen Tuo spoke, and finally she couldn't help but shed tears. She knew that this matter was not as simple as Shen Tuo said.

Xin He stepped forward and glared at Shen Tuo: "May I ask, Lord Shen, when you said that Aunt Ziyuan and her brother would have no worries about food and clothing, did you mean that you would release him and return him to his hometown, or have you already taken him hostage to force Aunt Ziyuan to do your bidding?"

Hearing Xin He's words, Zi Yuan finally couldn't help crying out loud: "My Lady, he kidnapped my brother, and now I don't know where he is hiding. He threatened me to take action when necessary, otherwise I will never see my brother again."

"My parents couldn't let go of my lost brother. Before they died, they told me to find and take good care of my family's only descendant. I had no choice but to betray you. I will come back to apologize to you when I find my brother!"

Yu Shen also stepped forward and looked at Zi Yuan: "Aunt is confused, how can you believe what Lord Shen said? If you had informed the queen in advance, we might have been able to rescue your brother, but now that you have taken action, you are committing treason and are sentenced to death. You and your brother's lives are in jeopardy, so how can there be a future?"

Zi Yuan's face turned pale. She looked helplessly at the Queen. The Queen sighed with tears in her eyes: "Zi Yuan, we have been together for so many years, don't we even have this little trust between us?" Zi Yuan kept shaking her head: "No, no, Queen, I..."

When Shen Tuo saw that Zi Yuan was about to waver, he shouted, "Stop talking nonsense! It's too late to say anything now." He glared at Zi Yuan and said, "Don't forget the token of your brother that I gave you. If you don't care about your brother's life or death, just go away. I won't beg you!"

Zi Yuan's hand holding the dagger kept shaking, but it didn't leave the prince's back. Shen Tuo smiled slightly: "My queen, don't worry about that servant. Let's talk about the terms."

The Empress wiped away the tears on her face and looked at Shen Tuo: "What does Lord Shen want?" Shen Tuo laughed wildly and complacently: "Hahaha... What do you want? Of course you want the world? The emperor takes turns, and today it's my turn!"

He looked at the prince: "If your Xiao family can be the emperor, why can't our Shen family be the emperor? Our Shen family has been working like a slave for your Xiao family for so many years, but the emperor is suspicious and afraid of us, and he almost wants to get rid of us. I don't accept it, I want to fight for justice for our Shen family!"

The prince looked at him coldly and was about to speak when an old voice sounded from behind the crowd: "What kind of justice is this? You want my Shen family to be branded as a traitor and a traitor, and be cursed by people from now on."

Then, a path was made in the crowd, and two young palace maids supported the Empress Dowager and walked up to the hall step by step. The Empress Dowager looked pale, and it seemed that she was indeed weak from long-term illness. Even with the two young palace maids supporting her, the Empress Dowager was still staggering, and she had to hold on to her breath to reach the hall.

The Queen Mother quickly stepped forward and supported the Queen Mother, "Mother, you have been ill and have not recovered yet. You should rest well first. It is too dangerous here. You should go back."

After all, the Empress Dowager is the Empress's adoptive mother. The grace of raising a child is greater than the grace of giving birth to her. Moreover, in the fierce struggle for the throne, the Empress Dowager single-handedly supported the Emperor in ascending the throne. The Emperor has always been grateful for her upbringing and support. Therefore, he has turned a blind eye to the Shen family's actions over the years.

The palace is in such a mess now, and the Empress Dowager has been ill all the time, so the Emperor's affairs have not alarmed the Empress Dowager for some time.

No matter how rampant Shen Tuo was, he would never attack his own sister. Therefore, the Queen advised the Queen Mother to return to the palace to avoid this palace turmoil. If anything happened to the Queen Mother, it would be difficult to explain to the Emperor.

The Queen Mother glanced at the Queen and said, "I am just sick, not dead. The palace is in such a mess, and you hid it from me. I knew nothing about it. Why, you all thought I was dead?"

Then, the Queen Mother looked at Shen Tuo coldly: "Lord Shen said that he was following my imperial decree. Please show me the imperial decree."

Shen Tuo's face changed: "Empress Dowager, if our Shen family doesn't fight back, we will be exterminated by the emperor you raised with your own hands! My dear sister, don't you consider our Shen family at all?"

The Queen Mother was so angry that her face turned red: "How many times have I told you that the Emperor will not kill the Shen family. I raised this child and I know his character. As long as you live peacefully and be a good subject, how can the Emperor destroy our Shen family? Why don't you listen?"

Shen Tuo sneered: "The Queen Mother only cares about protecting the Emperor, but you know that the Emperor is unwilling to let me go and let the Shen family go. He keeps sending people to collect evidence of my crimes. If I don't take action, am I going to surrender and wait for death?"

At this time, Qin Mingxuan spoke up: "The Grand Commandant arranged his own followers in Jiangnan to embezzle Jiangnan tax silver, and the people of Jiangnan suffered terribly. The emperor wanted to find evidence to seek justice for the people of Jiangnan. The emperor was not prepared to arrest the Grand Commandant. At most, he would dismiss him from his post and investigate him."

"But, Lord Taiwei, you actually assassinated court officials and destroyed evidence. Not only did you not repent, but you also privately opened an iron mine in southern Xinjiang, secretly refined weapons, and hid many private soldiers in the mountains of southern Xinjiang."

Qin Mingxuan said this and looked at the soldiers behind Shen Tuo. "If I'm not mistaken, the soldiers that Lord Shen brought into the palace are the private soldiers from Southern Xinjiang, right?"

When talking about assassinating ministers and destroying evidence, Shen Tuo's expression remained unchanged. He just glanced at Prince Cheng who was standing silently opposite him, and then turned his eyes away.

But when Qin Mingxuan talked about the affairs of Southern Xinjiang, Shen Tuo's face changed. How did Qin Mingxuan know these things? The affairs of Southern Xinjiang were all arranged by Prince Cheng. The prince also told him that the affairs of Southern Xinjiang were kept secret and no one knew about it.

Shen Tuo looked at Prince Cheng with suspicion again. He would never believe that Prince Cheng would betray him. Prince Cheng hated both the late emperor and the emperor very much, so how could he turn to the emperor and reveal the secret between them?

Prince Cheng remained hidden behind the crowd, saying nothing and with no expression on his face. Even the suspicious look from Commandant Shen did not change his expression at all.

Qin Mingxuan continued, "Even though Lord Shen committed such a crime, the emperor was grateful for the Queen Mother's support and never thought of killing you. The emperor once promised the Queen Mother that as long as you plead guilty, the emperor would only punish you and would not implicate the Shen family. It's a pity that you are not a grateful person, and now you are fighting with swords."

Shen Tuo shouted loudly to stop Qin Mingxuan's words: "What gratitude, what confession? If I confess my guilt, how can the emperor let me go? Even if he spares my life, I am a great general who is second only to the emperor. Why should I bow my head and confess my guilt and live on his charity? I don't accept it! I don't confess my guilt!"

He looked at the Queen Mother again: "Your Majesty the Queen Mother only cares about protecting the Shen family, but you didn't think about the fact that without me in the court, what future would the Shen family have? Will they just rely on the Emperor's charity to survive? My Shen family fought hard for his kingdom, why should he just sit back and enjoy the fruits of his labor while we have to live like dogs relying on her charity? Your Majesty the Queen Mother, are you doing this for the good of the Shen family? You are doing this for yourself to enjoy the position of Queen Mother."

The Queen Mother was so angry at Shen Tuo's words that she coughed and gasped, pointing at Shen Tuo and unable to speak. At this time, the Fourth Prince ran out from the inner room and threw himself into the Queen Mother's arms: "Queen Mother, please save my mother, she is dying!"

When the Queen saw the Fourth Prince almost knocking the Queen Mother to the ground with his pounce, she quickly helped the Queen Mother to sit on the main seat in the hall and patted her back gently. It took a while for the Queen Mother to feel better.

The Queen Mother looked at the Empress: "What happened to Concubine Shen?" The Empress hesitated to speak, and the Fourth Prince cried and said: "My grandfather poisoned my mother and indirectly poisoned my father. My grandfather also gave my mother a packet of poison to kill my father. My mother couldn't bear to kill my father, so she took the poison herself. Wuuu... Wuuu... Queen Mother, please save my mother!"

The Queen Mother began to pant again. She pointed at Shen Tuo and said, "Ning'er is your biological daughter. How could you bear it? I've seen it a long time ago. You and your wife only have eyes for your useless son. You..."

Seeing his sister angry, Shen Tuo muttered in a low voice with a guilty conscience: "I am also considering them and their son!" The Queen Mother heard it and became even angrier: "You are not considering them and their son at all, you are trying to send them both to a dead end. You are unworthy of being a father, you are ashamed of our Shen family ancestors, you..."

The Queen Mother was so angry that she couldn't speak. She covered her chest and gasped. The Fourth Prince quickly wiped away his tears and gently patted the Queen Mother's back. The Queen Mother turned her head to look at the poor child and sighed, "Good boy, it's hard for you. Your great aunt will never let your mother die."

The Queen Mother looked at Shen Tuo: "Now I ask you for Ning'er's antidote, will you give it to me or not?" Shen Tuo looked at the tearful Fourth Prince, glanced at the inner room where Concubine Shen was lying, and quickly retracted his gaze.

He gritted his teeth and said, "I can give Ning'er the antidote, and I can also give the emperor the antidote, but I want an imperial edict from the emperor to abdicate to the fourth prince. I want the fourth prince to be the emperor. He is a member of our Shen family. Only when he is the emperor can our Shen family rest in peace."

At this time, Shen Tuo also knew that he could not take the throne himself. Only by proposing to leave the throne to the fourth prince could he clear himself of the charge of treason.

Empress Dowager Shen gasped again: "You...are you crazy?!" The fourth prince cried out: "I don't want to be the emperor, I want to be my mother!"

Shen Tuo ignored the Queen Mother and the Fourth Prince, and just looked at the Queen: "Queen, do you accept this condition? You must know where the imperial seal is. You write the abdication edict for the emperor and seal it with the imperial seal. Give the edict to me, and I will immediately give the antidote to the Queen."

The Empress shook her head gently: "I really want to take the antidote to save the Emperor and Concubine Shen, but I can't make this decision to abdicate for the Emperor! But I can plead with the Emperor on behalf of General Shen. As long as General Shen stops and gives the antidote to the Emperor and Concubine Shen, I can guarantee General Shen's life and the Shen family's safety."

Shen Taiwei laughed loudly: "No worries about his life? Imprisoned until death or exiled to the frontier? I must let the fourth prince sit on the throne. This is the greatest life-saving talisman for my Shen family!"

The fourth prince kept shaking his head: "I don't want to be the emperor, grandpa, don't use Jingyu as an excuse. Father and the crown prince are very good to Jingyu. Jingyu only wants to save mother, please give me the antidote."

Xin He looked at the crying Fourth Prince and felt sad for her friend. The Fourth Prince just wanted to be a little foodie, but he had such an ambitious grandfather, who really pitted the innocent Fourth Prince to death!

Shen Tuo looked at his crying grandson without any sympathy and snorted coldly: "As incompetent as your mother! Grandpa is doing this for your own good!"

The fourth prince finally couldn't help but said: "No, Grandfather is not doing this for Jingyu's good. You are thinking about yourself. You are a selfish grandfather. You have harmed my father! You have harmed my mother. I hate you! I hate you!"

Yu Huaian couldn't stand it any longer: "Shen Tuo, you traitor! If you don't take out the antidote, I will order my archers to shoot you all to death! Anyway, my men can also make the antidote, it doesn't have to be your antidote."

Shen Tuo looked at Yu Huaian with contempt: "Reckless man, you know that this poison is a secret poison from Southern Xinjiang. Even if you can make an antidote, the herbs needed must come from Southern Xinjiang to make it successfully."

"Not only that, Lord Yu, do you know that once this poison is administered to a person, there is no cure if it is not detoxified within a month. I wonder if Lord Yu can find the herbs in southern Xinjiang within a month and successfully refine the poison to save your emperor?"

Yu Huaian looked at the leader of his secret guard camp, who nodded slightly, proving that what Captain Shen said was true. Yu Huaian's face darkened. The emperor and Concubine Shen had been poisoned and were unconscious, and now they didn't know what poison the emperor had been poisoned with. Even if they knew what the poison was, it would be difficult to go back and forth smoothly in southern Xinjiang even if they could find herbs in southern Xinjiang within a month.

Shen Tuo looked at Yu Huaian's face and knew that he was afraid to act rashly. He couldn't help but look smug: "How about you, should you consider my conditions carefully?"

Empress Dowager Shen was so angry that she covered her chest and gasped: "Are you going to watch your daughter die without saving her?"