Peach Blossom.

Si Xiu took the imperial edict with both hands, and kowtowed to the ground with Chen Ji and Xu Mu, shouting "Long live the emperor".

"This imperial decree... can only be a secret order. I am not sure whether it can be carried out. The emperor disappeared today, and Chen Xi was busy looking for him and had no time to look around. When he turns around and meets Zhou, I am afraid he will soon realize that there is something fishy." Meng's voice was low, and a hint of sadness was written on her slightly wrinkled face.

Chen Ji responded, "The Empress Dowager is right. To avoid any more trouble, it is better to deal with it quickly. It is not difficult to start a rebellion, but we need to find the right time."

Mrs. Meng lowered her head and thought for a moment, then smiled at Si Xiu: "The palace is preparing for my 60th birthday. That is a good day, and my relatives near and far will come to Beijing to celebrate my birthday. Si Xiu is my grandson, and he happens to be in Beijing now, so he should also come to the palace to attend the birthday banquet."

Si Xiu had no choice but to reply, "Thank you, Grandmother, for your love. I will obey your order."

"My east wind has arrived. As for the rest... it's up to you all. Get up now."

Si Xiu waited for Xie En to stand up.

Meng said again: "I still have something to say to Chen Ji alone, the others can leave first."

Si Xiu, Xu Mu, and the two maids brought by Meng all obeyed the order and went out.

Here, Meng asked Chen Ji: "You should have evidence that the emperor is not the descendant of Emperor Xiaozong, right?"

Chen Ji had expected that this was what Mrs. Meng was going to ask after dismissing everyone, so he nodded, took out the hidden medical records from the secret box in the hole in the wall behind the screen, and presented them to Mrs. Meng with both hands: "Grand Empress Dowager, please take a look."

Meng took it and read it, only to find that it detailed Emperor Xiaozong's many illnesses, and it ended abruptly at the record about fertility issues.

She had summoned the imperial physician to see patients many times in the past, so she naturally recognized the imperial physician's handwriting. Moreover, none of Emperor Xiaozong's concubines had any children, except Zhou Yu Niang, who gave birth to a son. However, she was pushed to the throne by Chen Xi. Afterwards, Chen Xi paid great attention to every matter of the emperor's family. All these things made Meng believe that the so-called rumors were true.

Closing the medical records, Meng couldn't help but sigh: "Did you tie up the imperial physician's order?"

"If the Empress Dowager wants to meet with the Imperial Physician in person to verify the authenticity of this medical case, I can arrange it for her." Chen Ji answered calmly.

"No need, I believe you." Meng stretched out a hand to stop him. She closed her eyes and shook her head, sighing, "Xiaozong is the child I raised. No matter what the truth is, I cannot admit to the public that he was cuckolded. It's too shameful..."

Chen Ji remained silent, but suddenly thought of Yongchang Prince Si Yuan. Si Yuan was very concerned about his reputation. After all, Emperor Xiaozong Si Yu was Si Yuan's brother. Perhaps Si Yuan would be even more unwilling to admit such a shameful thing to the outside world?

"During these turbulent times, it is better not to let the imperial physician show up. Otherwise, if he is silenced, it would be a waste of his medical skills." Meng added.

Chen Ji leaned forward and replied, "I obey your order. I will definitely protect the imperial physician's order."

"I have one more request. Even though swords have no eyes, when the two sides meet in battle, your people must not harm Yao'er. If something happens to Yao'er, don't blame me for turning my back on you and accusing you of treason." When Meng said these words, her tone was heavy and her expression was very serious.

Chen Ji couldn't help but frowned: "Then...what if it's the Grand Marshal's people who are doing something bad to the princess?"

"He is your biological brother, can you not do anything to him?" Meng smiled coldly, her eyes full of threats.

Chen Ji thought about it carefully. Chen Xi has always been a heartless man who treats women as playthings. He could not be sincere to Queen Mother Zhou. The only person he cares about could be his illegitimate son Si De.

Mrs. Meng reminded him again, "You know, the emperor often runs out of the palace. At least eight of these ten times were in Meixiang Pavilion."

Chen Ji smiled and nodded: "I understand."

"I shouldn't stay any longer, let's stop here for today!" Meng threw the medical record on the table and slowly stood up holding the handle of the chair.

Chen Ji hurried forward to lend a hand.

Meng took Chen Ji's hand and walked out. Just as she was about to leave, she suddenly remembered something and turned her head to smile at Chen Ji: "Because the court judge is from the Zhou family, I have always had spies in the court judge's mansion. It is said that the second jailer of the Imperial Censorate was not even opened from the time he was sent there to the time he hanged himself. He was so smart that he was covered with scars. "

This seemed to be a compliment to Chen Ji, but Chen Ji was a little confused.

After the jailer from the Censorate was sent to the Imperial Court, Chen Ji expected that the jailer would be silenced, but he did not expect to see scars all over his body. When he was in the palace just now, he had always thought that the scars were probably deliberately inflicted by Meng to deal with Zhou... or that the Imperial Court habitually used torture during trials...

Meng stepped out of the door and left the inn with her two maids.

Chen Ji suddenly fell into deep thought. He felt that something was wrong. The cell door had never been opened, but the two jailers were covered with scars and then hanged themselves. This showed that the wounds were inflicted by the jailers themselves, and even the suicide was real suicide, not a way of silencing them.

If the jailer voluntarily sacrificed himself to protect the mastermind, why would he give out the mastermind when he was in front of the Censorate?

Thinking of this, Chen Ji suddenly felt that the person who ordered the jailer in the Censorate to poison him and the Chen family members was not Chen Xi...

Chen Ji was lost in thought when Xu Mu rushed in from outside, followed by Si Xiu who was trying to hold Xu Mu back.

But Si Xiu was young after all, so he didn't hold Xu Mu back.

Xu Mu had already entered the room. He grabbed the medical records on the table and shouted at Chen Ji, "What is this? Why did Queen Mother Meng come here suddenly? Why did she give us such a gracious decree?"

Chen Ji came to his senses and went forward to take back the medical records.

Xu Mu hid and put the medical records behind his back: "General Chen, what are you thinking? Why was such an important piece of evidence kept so secret in Yongchang? Why was it spread so widely in Jiankang?"

"I work for the king, why should I explain everything to you? I have achieved the king's goal and I am the greatest hero. What qualifications do you have to yell at me?" Chen Ji sneered and glanced at Xu Mu indignantly.

Xu Mu was furious and grabbed Chen Ji by the collar: "What kind of merit have you achieved? The king asked us to investigate the murder of Emperor Xiaozong. The rebellion should be in the name of revenge for Emperor Xiaozong, not the government's attempt to confuse the royal bloodline!"

Si Xiu quickly pried Xu Mu's hands apart and advised with a smile: "Two brothers, calm down. If you have different opinions, just discuss them properly. We are all family. Why argue and hurt the harmony?"

Xu Mu snorted and loosened his hand, but stuffed the medical record at Si Xiu: "Such important evidence should be handed over to the prince for safekeeping."

Chen Ji was also very angry, but he couldn't snatch things from Si Xiu.

Si Xiu put away the medical records, still smiling: "Thank you, brothers. I will put it away now."

Xu Mu bowed to Si Xiu and explained, "I am not looking for trouble on purpose. Prince, think carefully. Queen Mother Meng is only concerned about the safety of her mother and daughter. She is afraid that the Grand Marshal will threaten their lives, so she asked you to attend the banquet. If you are present, if the Grand Marshal finds out that things are not going well, you will definitely be the first one to be used as a shield! You can't go!"

"Ah?" Si Xiu looked confused.

Chen Ji curled his lips, revealing a look of contempt: "No venture, no gain. If the prince doesn't go, are you and I worthy of appearing at the Empress Dowager's birthday banquet? If neither of us goes, will the jade seal and tiger talisman grow wings and fly over?"

Si Xiu hesitated and said softly, "This matter is of great importance. I think... I should report it to my father and ask him to make the decision. What do you think?"

Of course, neither Chen Ji nor Xu Mu could refute this method.

Then, they sent a message to King Yongchang in the old way. As it was getting dark, they received a reply from King Yongchang, which read: "According to Meng Chen's plan, reinforcements will arrive in due time."

When Si Xiu received the letter, he called Chen Ji and Xu Mutong to read it. Chen Ji couldn't help feeling a little proud.

Xu Mu looked at the handwritten letter from Prince Yongchang and felt even more upset. He lamented, "The king has only one son, the prince, but he allows him to take risks again and again. If the prince dies, even if he seizes the throne, who will inherit it in the future? How could he agree to this?"

Ma Da, who was standing outside the door, glanced inside and said, "Military Advisor Xu may not know..."

Xu Mu looked up, not knowing what Mada meant.

"The last time Princess Si Rong came to see me secretly, she told me that Madam Han was pregnant when she left Yongchang, so the king insisted on keeping her by his side. Just ten days ago, Madam Han gave birth to a baby boy." Mada's voice was very low, and he kept an eye on Si Xiu's face while speaking.

Si Xiu's gaze seemed to freeze, and tears appeared slightly at the corners of his eyes, but soon returned to his eyes.

"Don't be sad, Prince. I swear to protect you until my death." Xu Mu held Si Xiu's arm with a firm look in his eyes.

However, Si Xiu couldn't help crying after Xu Mu's comfort.

Chen Ji felt that the crying was cowardly and noisy, so he left the inn and walked towards Meixiangxie in the moonlight.

Meixiangxie was still as lively as ever, so Chen Ji had no choice but to wait patiently for the guests in Taoye's room to leave before he paid a large sum of money and went upstairs to find Taoye.

He stood outside Taoye's door again. Taoye was still as charming and graceful as ever. Although they had not seen each other for only a few days, he felt as if he was in a different world.

"Chen Ji?" Tao Ye also saw Chen Ji and walked over quickly, her joy evident on her face: "I have been worried about you these days. I asked Boss Shen to help you, and she said you had a way to escape, and you really came out safely."

"That's great. You finally care about me again." Chen Ji concentrated, looking at Tao Ye's beautiful smile, and couldn't help but move closer.

Tao Ye could hear the deep warmth in Chen Ji's words, and subconsciously took a step back, suddenly becoming polite: "We went in together, I came out, but you are still trapped in it, I should care about you."

Seeing Tao Ye being so polite, Chen Ji naturally felt uncomfortable: "We have also shared hardships many times. Am I not even your friend? Can I only ask you to care about me out of moral obligation?"

"No..." Tao Ye seemed to think that what she said was too cold. Thinking about it carefully, Chen Ji had been nice to her for so many years. Maybe she shouldn't be like this: "If you don't do bad things in the future, we can still be friends."

"What counts as doing something bad?"

"At least, you can't kill anyone, right?"

Chen Ji couldn't help but want to laugh: "Little girl, I am a general leading troops, and you actually told me not to kill people?"

"If it's a battle between two armies and you're fighting the enemy, that's a different matter."

"What if someone hurts me?"

"If it is self-defense, then it is understandable."

Chen Ji burst out laughing again.

Tao Ye knew that what she said might seem childish and ridiculous in Chen Ji's eyes, but she came from the modern civilized and legal world and would never approve of any killing other than in war and self-defense.

"Okay, I promise you." Chen Ji finally gave her a positive answer.

Tao Ye smiled knowingly, went into the house and picked up her pipa: "Can I play a song for you too?"

"No rush, I came here today for something important." Chen Ji followed Tao Ye and entered the house.

He pulled Tao Ye's sleeve and whispered in her ear, "Does the official have a special relationship with a girl in Meixiangxie?"