Painting Doctor Jinhua

"Li Mi said in the letter that the Queen Mother's death was a bit strange. Since we came to Shuozhou, the Queen Mother has stopped talking to Your Majesty and stayed in the North Palace all day to worship Buddha. But on the day when Crown Prince Gao Wei ascended the throne, Duan Shao went to Yecheng to see the Queen Mother. At that time, he saw that the Queen Mother looked a little dazed and wrong. She kept crying and seemed to be regretting something!

Four years passed, and the Queen Mother's health became worse and worse. In the end, she no longer remembered anything and died just like that!"

Having said that, Xiao Jinyu looked at Gao Changgong and made a rather cruel guess.

"Chang Gong, my grandmother Xiao Yuan was poisoned by Princess Yunyin and suffered the same symptoms. She was a little crazy at first, and then gradually lost her memory. This poison will turn a person into an idiot and eventually die!"

After a pause, Xiao Jinyu continued, "According to Nie Yinniang, Lu Lingxuan also asked her to give this poison to Princess Yunyin!"

Gao Changgong's expression also changed in horror.

"Could it be that my grandmother was poisoned by someone? Who could that person be?"

Gao Changgong still felt a little uncomfortable when he heard the news of his grandmother's death.

"Except for the people around her, no one would have the opportunity to poison the Queen Mother. However, maybe I am just overthinking it!"

Xiao Jinyu thought for a moment and said, "Li Mi also said that His Majesty wants to take this opportunity to summon us back to Yecheng, first to pay our respects to the Queen Mother, and second to meet His Majesty!"

"Then you can't go back. Gao Zhan must be setting a trap to trick you into going back!" Xie Yuxuan said.

At this time, Xiao Jinyu said, "I heard that the Emperor Gao Zhan is dying!"

In her memory, Gao Zhan seemed to have died in this year. Once Gao Zhan died, the Northern Zhou Dynasty would once again launch a large-scale war against Qi.

If they leave Beishuo Prefecture at this time, Jinyang will face their army head-on, which will be extremely dangerous.

But we can’t ignore Uncle Xian’s affairs!

After much deliberation, Xiao Jinyu could only entrust the task of rescuing Xiao Xian to Xie Yuxuan, and gave her nearly a thousand cavalrymen. These thousand cavalrymen had been strictly trained by Gao Changgong in the past four years, and were not much different from the Baibao Xianbei soldiers!

"Ah Xuan, my uncle Xian...I really leave it to you!"

"Don't worry. You've seen me fight with the prince in the past few years and have made many contributions. Prince, don't you think so?"

Gao Changgong nodded and smiled.

"Yes! Ah Xuan is indeed very powerful. She is a heroine who is no less heroic than any man!"

Xie Yuxuan nodded happily and said, "And you must leave this opportunity to me. I don't believe that after I rescue him, he will not agree to marry me!"

After saying that, Xie Yuxuan led the thousand soldiers and horses and quickly set off from Shuozhou, rushing quickly towards Xuzhou Pengcheng, which is the border with Southern Chen.

The letter to Xiao Jinyu came from Gusu City and was sent by Bai Yi, a former subordinate of the Xie family. The letter said that the Southern Dynasty Emperor Chen Xu wanted Xiao Xian to marry Princess Ningyuan as a consort, but Xiao Xian decisively refused, which angered the emperor, so Chen Xu ordered the Censorate to thoroughly investigate Xiao Xian.

However, Xiao Xian was an honest official. He was strict in administration and achieved outstanding results in every state he was appointed to. He was deeply loved by the people of the state and county, and no faults could be found in him. Not to mention corruption, even the fruits and vegetables sent by the people were not accepted by him except for the first time when they were distributed to the soldiers. He also often provided porridge for disaster relief. When the court could not provide enough disaster relief food, he would make up for it himself.

Such popularity among the people made Chen Xu feel frightened and daunted.

Since the Censorate could not find any fault, he asked some political enemies of Xiao Xian to investigate his privacy in private. However, they could only find out that during his diplomatic mission to Qi State, he had been to Lanling Prince's Mansion, and later accompanied Lanling Prince and his wife to Shuozhou. After that, he had frequent correspondence with Shuozhou and recommended several people to Gao Changgong. There was nothing else!

Even this little thing could make Chen Xu make a big fuss about it, wanting to convict Xiao Xian of treason! Not to mention that Qi and Chen are still in an alliance, it is their freedom to choose who to join and who to serve!

Xie Yuxuan rushed to Jiankang without stopping. At that time, Xiao Xian, who was in Gusu City, was receiving an imperial edict from the court envoy. The content of the imperial edict was to order Xiao Xian to return to Jiankang immediately and accept the investigation of the Censorate.

This was the third imperial edict issued by Chen Xu.

Some of Xiao Xian's advisers disagreed. Xiao Yuanshi, Xiao Ruoling and Yuan Rujing also advised him not to go to Jiankang. However, the tone of the court envoy was very tough. They said that if Xiao Xian did not go to Jiankang, His Majesty would send troops to suppress him. When the troops entered the city, the people would suffer.

After much deliberation, Xiao Xian ordered his men to quickly take Xiao Ruoling, Xiao Yuanshi, Yuan Rujing and others away from Gusu and go to Xuzhou first. The people in the city were also resettled, while he himself went to Jiankang to meet the emperor first!

When Xie Yuxuan arrived in Jingkou, she happened to meet Bai Yi, who was leading a group of Xiao family's followers and several women and children who were about to cross the river.

Although she didn't know the other people in the Xiao family, she knew Xiao Shiniang and Xiao Ruoling, so she recognized at a glance that they were the people brought here by Xiao Xian.

Seeing Xiao Yuan crying sadly, Xie Yuxuan asked, "What's going on? Didn't Xiao Xian come with you?"

Xiao Ruoling replied, "Your Majesty threatened to send troops to Gusu, but Uncle could not bear to see the people in the city suffer from the war, so he had to give in and ordered Bai Yi to bring us to you, while Uncle went to Jiankang alone to meet the Emperor!"

"Seventh Uncle is extremely famous. He is not only respected by those poor scholars and honored as the leader of famous scholars, but also loved by the common people. In the past few years, he has helped Your Majesty implement many policies and made the treasury of Southern Chen full. Your Majesty summoned him to Jiankang alone this time. It is obvious that he wants to destroy the bridge after crossing it and deal with our Xiao family like he did to my aunt before!"

Bai Yi also said: "There is another thing. Your Majesty saw that the newly enthroned emperor of Qi was absurd and unjust, and wanted to form an alliance with Zhou to jointly attack Qi. Master Xiao has always advised Your Majesty not to tear up the alliance with Qi, so he angered Your Majesty!"

Xie Yuxuan became more and more angry as she listened. Time was running out, so she did not hesitate any longer and just ordered, "Bai Yi, take them to Shuozhou to find my sister! This is my token, take it first!"

As she spoke, she threw a copper token into Bai Yi's hand, and then said, "Don't worry, I will bring him back!"

After Xie Yuxuan finished speaking, he led a thousand soldiers and rushed to Jiankang.

At this time, Xiao Xian, who had arrived in Jiankang, was being interrogated by Emperor Chen Xu. Chen Xu ordered his men to imprison him in a mansion in Jiankang. The stalemate lasted for about seven days, and the censors could not find any evidence to convict him. So, some villains made up some words in the letter that Xiao Xian wrote to Xiao Jinyu, and pieced together a charge of treason and treason.

Xu Ling pleaded for him: "Your Majesty, Xiao Xian has made outstanding achievements in government and has been an honest official with almost no blemishes. You are using this trumped-up charge to convict him, which will chill the hearts of scholars all over the world!"

Jiang Zong then continued, "It is precisely because Xiao Xian is deeply loved by the people that he is a great scourge to our Southern Chen. I heard that Xie Zhen is actually Lanling Prince's wife Xiao Jinyu in disguise. This person is very smart and almost like a demon, not like an ordinary person. Now he and Lanling Prince divide the three states of Shuo, Heng and Yan and rule them separately. I am afraid he has the intention of rebellion, and Xiao Xian is secretly helping them. Who can guarantee that he will not rebel with them in the future to attack our Southern Chen?

This man is a sleeping dragon, he can be killed but not raised, he must be killed to purify the people's morals!"

Jiang Zong was originally an official in the Crown Prince's Eastern Palace. Although he was knowledgeable and talented, he spent all his time drinking, visiting prostitutes and having fun with the Crown Prince Chen Shubao. The Crown Prince praised him in every way, and thus he was promoted to the position of Minister of the Left and Minister of the Secretariat.

Xu Ling despised this man, but what he said touched Chen Xu's heart.

As expected, after hearing his words, Chen Xu's eyes became even more murderous and he would not listen to anything else. He quickly sentenced Xiao Xian to death and said that he would kill him in front of all the scholars. This would serve to intimidate those scholars from poor families and make those literati who respected Xiao Xian more than the emperor serve the court wholeheartedly!

After learning of the crime that Chen Xu had convicted, Xiao Xian was not surprised. His subordinate Yu Lun wanted to take him away, but he said, "There are some things that need to be said to the people of the world, so what if I go to the execution ground?"

Yu Lun could only worry and pray in his heart that the girl in Beishuozhou would send someone over as soon as possible after seeing the letter.

When Xie Yuxuan rushed to Jiankang, he heard the wailing of the people in the city. Many scholars were pleading for Xiao Xianji, but the king seemed unmoved.

She measured out the envoy's cane and entered the city as an envoy of Qi. Without stopping for a moment, she ran straight into the execution ground, swung her sword and killed the judge who wanted to kill Xiao Xian, and pulled Xiao Xian onto her horse.

The people who were watching and crying suddenly cheered and immediately made way for them.

Xie Yuxuan rode away with Xiao Xian, shaking off the pursuers until they reached a secluded place, then ran straight to the gate of Jiankang and shouted, "I am the envoy of Qi, Xie Yuxuan of the Xie family of Chen County, and I beg the Emperor of Chen, Chen Xu, to come out and see me!"

When this was reported to Taiji Hall in Taicheng, the whole court was shocked. Jiang Zong could not help but said angrily, "How can this be possible? This Qi envoy is so arrogant. As soon as she entered Jiankang, she kidnapped the prisoners from Chen State. Now she is even calling on the emperor to go out and see her?"

"Your Majesty, I think we should just kill her!"

"No, she didn't start the fight first, so we have no reason to kill her!"

There was an endless debate in the court, but Chen Xu's eyes flickered, and he fell into deep thought because of the words "Xie Yuxuan of the Xie family of Chen County".

General Fan Yi of the Left Guard volunteered to go out and greet the envoy at the Duanmen Gate.

But when they arrived at Duanmen, they saw Xie Yuxuan shooting out a bid and shouting, "Chen Xu, you keep saying that others are collaborating with the enemy and betraying the country, but what about you? Who are you?"

"You deceived my elder sister and took advantage of the power of my Chenjun Xie family to get a chance to enter the government. Later, when Southern Liang was facing internal and external troubles, you killed my elder sister and used her body to win credit from the enemy. What a vicious plan. Now that your Chen family has gained power and you have become the emperor of the Southern Dynasty, can you use this power to judge others at will?"

"What basis do you have to say that Xiao Xian is guilty? He just contacted his relatives in the north, wrote a few letters, and recommended a few poor scholars. Good birds choose trees to roost in. The talents you can't keep chose to go somewhere else. Isn't this because you are unpopular?"

"Because he is talented and popular among the people, you want to kill him. Is this your tolerance as a king?"

Xie Yuxuan cursed Fan Yi again and again, leaving him stunned. Fan Yi wanted to order people to arrest her, but for a moment he was unable to move at all.

Finally, she even said, "Xiao Xian is my Xie Yuxuan's man. You Chen family are not worthy of him. So from now on, he is not a member of your Chen family. You are not qualified to convict him. I am taking him away!"

"If you want to stop me, just come and fight me!"

After saying this, Xie Yuxuan rode away on her horse amidst the astonished gazes of a crowd of onlookers. Just as she turned around for the last time, Chen Xu, who had already arrived in front of the Duanmen Gate, was stunned when he saw the familiar figure that was almost exactly like Xie Yuqing!

Fan Yi was about to give the order to chase after him, but he heard a voice behind him: "No need!"

Fan Yi turned around and saw that it was the emperor who had come behind him. He knelt down and saluted: "Your Majesty!"

Chen Xu looked a little strange, and he asked hesitantly:

"What did she just say?"

Fan Yi didn't dare to answer.

Chen Xu walked forward and caught a glimpse of a piece of bidding paper scattered on the ground. He picked it up and looked at it. Surprisingly, he saw that it was full of insults against him!

The people outside Duanmen were talking about it even more. It was obvious that every word she said was heard by the common people and scholars from poor families who had gathered in the city!

Was that familiar figure I just glanced at her?

Otherwise, why would she know what happened so clearly?

Chen Xu had been suffering from headaches. Five years ago, Xiao Jinyu suppressed the symptoms with acupuncture. But at this moment, he suddenly felt a splitting headache again. His throat felt sweet and he spat out a mouthful of blood!

"His Majesty!"

Fan Yi was shocked, and more ministers came rushing over, causing chaos!

After Xie Yuxuan finished cursing, he led a group of knights to run out of Jiankang city in a very casual manner. When he turned around, he met Xiao Xian, who was wearing a veiled hat and led several soldiers to meet them.

The two men avoided the soldiers in the city and came to a small alley.

"Why are you so stupid? He asked you to come to Jiankang, so you came to Jiankang? You have to be on your guard against this kind of villain at all times!"

Xie Yuxuan scolded Xiao Xian angrily, but after she finished scolding, she saw Xiao Xian's miserable expression, and her heart softened again, saying: "I also know that you are kind-hearted and for the people of Gushu City, but he, as the emperor of a country, doesn't care about the lives of the people, and you...

Don't tell me about being loyal to the emperor and defending the country. You even advised the prince about this before!

When I was young, my elder sister told me the story of Guan Zhong and Duke Huan of Qi. Zigong asked Confucius, "Guan Zhong was first the teacher of Prince Jiu, and later assisted Prince Bai. Was he a benevolent person? Was he loyal to the king?"

Confucius replied: "Guanzhong assisted Duke Huan of Qi, dominated the princes, and corrected everything in the world. The people benefited from his kindness and loyalty! If there was no Guanzhong, there would be no stable life after that. Would we still be like ordinary people, guarding small rules and small trusts, and no one would know if we hanged ourselves in the mountains?"

Tears suddenly welled up in Xiao Xian's eyes, and he said with a smile:

"Yes, you are right! To enable the people of the world to live a stable life, this is true benevolence and loyalty!"

After praising him, he suddenly lowered his voice and asked:

"Did your eldest sister die at the hands of Chen Xu?"

Xie Yuxuan was slightly stunned. She didn't expect that the words she had just said to Chen Xu in front of Duanmen were actually heard by him. So had he been following her all the time?

"Yes! That's right, Chen Xu is not a good person. If it weren't for my elder sister using herself as bait to lure away those enemies, my brother Azhen and I probably wouldn't have grown up!"

"If we fall into Chen Xu's hands, I'm afraid it would be worse than death!"

When she said this, she actually smiled.

"Okay, enough talking. Come with me to Shuozhou. My sister is probably in some trouble. She's worried about you too. I have to bring you alive to see her!"

After saying this, she ordered the knights to clear the way, suggesting that Xiao Xian run with her towards the Qingxi Gate of Jiankang City.

As soon as the group of people walked out of Qingxi Gate, Xie Yuxuan heard Xiao Xian say:

"Xie Yuxuan, I would like to marry into your Xie family!"