After wearing the book, the regent quit.

Chapter 6

Xiao Fan tilted his head with a cold face, his black eyes flickered, and the corners of his mouth were straightened. He said something well, but his strong and cold tone made him speak fiercely, so it was better not to say it.

Shen Mu, who was a few steps away, looked at the awkwardness and embarrassment in his eyes, and smiled slightly.

Xiao Fan is always described as "cold and violent" in the book, but what Shen Mu saw with his own eyes was always a young man with emotions and thoughts written all over his face.

He always retaliates, and he is merciless in the face of the enemy; he also does not miss the old evil, even in the face of the "abnormal" kindness of his old enemy, he will respond in a blunt way.

It is good to have a clear distinction between love and hate. This is the first time Shen Mu sincerely hopes that Xiao Fan will not become a "cold-blooded and ruthless" bloodthirsty animal in the book.

"Okay," he slightly raised his voice, and there was a trace of connivance in his tone that he hadn't noticed, "Then thank you, Your Majesty."

There were rustling footsteps in their ears, the two turned their heads and saw a young man of sixteen or seventeen walking towards them, seeing Xiao Fan's eyes flashing, they hurriedly knelt down to salute, and said respectfully,

"Your Majesty, my brother is here to visit the emperor's grandmother, but the servant said that the old man has already rested, so he won't wake her up."

The young man in Tsing Yi was very handsome and handsome, with a graceful figure, a jade belt loosely tied around his waist, and a smile in his eyes. It was an appearance that people couldn't help but want to get close to.

It's just that compared with Xiao Fan, his momentum alone is more than a little bit worse.

"Ninth brother."

Xiao Fan looked down at the young man, and responded coldly, his tone so indifferent that he couldn't find a trace of his youthful appearance just now.

Xiao Huan got up, and when his peach blossom eyes swept over Shen Mu, a trace of surprise flashed across him; seeing Xiao Fan was silent, he leaned on him slightly, and said in a gentle voice, "I haven't seen Your Majesty for a long time, and I miss you very much, but Your Majesty I'm busy with government affairs, so I won't disturb you."

The subtle polite words always make people unable to see where they are going wrong. Shen Mu has been worried all morning, and now he just wants to go back to the house to have a meal and rest, following Xiao Huan's tone,

"It's already noon, it's inconvenient for the minister to delay His Majesty's meal, why not—"

"No delay."

Shen Mu was stunned for a moment, and forgot to hide the doubt in his eyes; Xiao Fan frowned, and after thinking for a moment, he said in a low voice, "Didn't Father Ya want to have dinner with Gu yesterday?"

"Gu is not busy today, Yafu doesn't have to feel guilty."

Shen Mu: "..."

It's quite empathetic at the moment.

After finishing speaking, I glanced at Xiao Huan, who was silent and obedient, and Xiao Fan added: "Ninth brother, come together."

Xiao Huan: "..."

Inexplicably like this, Shen Mu and Xiao Zhan came to Mingcheng Palace "thankfully", looked at the dozens of full banquets in front of them, and each smiled helplessly.

Xiao Fan, who was "not busy with government affairs", sat in the main seat, strictly adhering to the rule of "no talking when eating, no talking when sleeping", and concentrated on eating without saying a word. Let the already embarrassing atmosphere become more solidified.

He didn't speak, and the other two didn't dare to speak. Shen Mu only wanted to go back to the house to rest, but Xiao Huan who was opposite was smiling all the time. It was rare that Xiao Fan could answer kindly when he asked him a few words.

The Ninth Prince Xiao Huan was the only son of the current Empress Dowager, so he should be the one who sat on the dragon chair, but Xiao Huan, who was only seven years old at the time, was really young, and with the strong support of the original body for Xiao Fan, As the eldest son, he missed the throne.

This person did not appear a few times in the book, Shen Mu thought that he either held a grudge against Xiao Fan, or avoided him out of fear.

But Xiao Huan seemed not afraid of Xiao Fan, and Xiao Fan had no hostility towards him, and the two of them could discuss political affairs very peacefully during the dinner.

After chatting with Xiao Fan for a few words, Xiao Huan suddenly turned his head to ask Shen Mu, "I don't know what the regent thinks about corrupt officials?"

Years of severe droughts in the northern region have caused famines in the northern wilderness, which has not produced much in recent years. Coupled with the serious corruption in the local area, even though the capital has dispatched food aid from the south several times, very few of them have finally reached the hands of the people. , There have been many deaths this year.

Xiao Huan's status is noble, and he only stays in the mansion to recite poems and paint pictures on weekdays. Apart from going to North Korea to seldom interfere in government affairs, it is indeed the best choice for Xiao Fan to send him out.

Putting down the silver chopsticks in his hands, Shen Mu looked at the full banquet of man and Han who had not moved a few mouthfuls, sighed in his heart that it was a waste, and looked at Xiao Fan, "As your Majesty said, I also think that it is best to establish anonymous reporting channels among the people and capture typical corrupt officials. Methods."

"Catch a typical corrupt official..." Xiao Huan pondered for a moment, then read out a long list of official names, looked at Shen Mu intently, with a smile on his face,

"There are many high-ranking officials and nobles among them. If all the ministers are arrested, I'm afraid they will be hated by others."

The young man's peach-blossom eyes are full of affection, when he looks at people with a smile, there is always a flirtatious and frivolous smile that seems to be a smile that is not a smile.

Slightly recalling the list of names mentioned by Xiao Huan, Shen Mu suddenly noticed that many of them belonged to the same party, and only then did he realize that what the young man said was intentionally speaking to himself.

Xiao Fan beside him also put down his chopsticks, and looked towards him with black eyes, as if waiting for another answer.

"Eliminating corrupt officials is what the people want, and His Majesty is behind it." Shen Mu smiled and said indifferently, "Don't worry, my lord, no one will dare to go against you."

"Sure enough, I have been staying in the mansion for a long time, not only the government and the current situation are not clear," Xiao Huan nodded, raising his eyebrows quite unexpectedly, "Even the words can't tell the truth from the false."

The young man took the initiative to offer a toast to Shen Mu, and sighed indifferently, "I used to hear people say that the regent was not in harmony with His Majesty, and I still had doubts in my heart, but I just found out today that it was all rumors."

Frowning, Shen Mu looked at Xiao Huan's harmless smile, and for a moment didn't know how to speak.

It is well known that the regent king and the new emperor are not in harmony with each other, but they have maintained a delicate balance until now; Xiao Huan's vague words, I don't know if they are sowing dissension, or just talking casually.

No matter whether he intends to or not, and no matter how Shen Mu answers, the "listener" Xiao Fan will inevitably recall the bad memories of the two of them in the past.

While hesitating, only a soft "ding" sound came from his ear, Xiao Fan put down the silver spoon in his hand without changing his expression, his tone became completely cold,

"It's a capital offense to talk about the monarch. Who did Ninth Brother listen to these rumors?"

The sense of oppression brought by Xiao Fan was too heavy, Xiao Huan paused with his fingertips, the smile on his face disappeared instantly, and immediately apologized when his face turned pale, "My brother also heard what people said a long time ago. wrong."

"Xiao Huan, you have been keeping yourself safe all these years, today I don't care about you alone," Xiao Fan said without looking sideways in the suffocating silence,

"Next time if you pretend to be smart again, don't blame Gu for not remembering old love."

After Xiao Huan left, only Xiao Fan and Shen Mu were left in the huge golden palace. Shen Mu lowered his eyes and said nothing. Seeing Xiao Fan lift up his chopsticks several times and put them down again, he finally said impatiently,

"It's all withdrawn."

After giving an order, more than a dozen servants rushed to take away the dishes immediately, followed by Jing Wen who came with a bowl of soup, and after saluting, carefully placed it by Xiao Fan's hand, whispering,

"Your Majesty, Imperial Physician Xu specifically told his subordinates that you must drink this tonic, otherwise the wound on your hand will heal very slowly."

Xiao Fan, who was not in a good mood, didn't raise his eyelids, and gave a lazily hum, motioning for people to back off.

Jing Fan hesitated to speak, "But you didn't..."

The young man made a sharp look and said sharply, "Why, do you even dare to point fingers at Gu?"

As soon as the words fell, except for Shen Mu, everyone in the hall knelt down on the ground together, and even Xiao Fan's seldom-trusted Jing Wen gritted his back teeth, not daring to say a word.

"Your Majesty," Shen Mu saw the anxious atmosphere, and quickly said bravely, "Your body is very important to the whole country, and Jing Fan also said something wrong in a moment of anxiety."

Thinking of the injury on Xiao Fan's hand, Shen Mu somewhat blamed himself, stood up and saluted, "Your Majesty was injured, and I have committed the crime of failing to protect you, and I feel extremely guilty."

Xiao Fan gave him a displeased look, but his brows and eyes were slightly loose, "Then Yafu thinks Gu blamed him?"

Shen Mu brought the medicine bowl over, "I dare not, but please Your Majesty, for the sake of the kindness of the minister and Jing Wen, drink some while the medicine is still hot."

A young court lady in the corner couldn't help but quietly raised her head and looked at the man beside the monarch in disbelief.

If she hadn't seen it with her own eyes, she wouldn't believe it even if she was killed. The most indifferent and harsh regent in the rumors would personally deliver the medicine to the king's mouth. The young monarch spoke.

As if persuading a disobedient child, there was a hint of pampering in her gentleness.

The little maid looked at the two people in the center of the golden palace again, feeling very puzzled.

The older sisters at court used to say that whenever the Regent and His Majesty were together there were bound to be quarrels.

But she thinks that quarrels are all about pointing at other people's noses and scolding, no matter how bad it is, she has to shout a few words.

Do grown-ups quarrel with such gentle voices?

After Shen Mu left, Xiao Fan was the only one left in the empty golden palace again.

The bitterness slowly dissipated in the mouth, and the pungent bitterness lingered on the tip of the tongue for a long time. Xiao Fan frowned, looking down at the empty bowl with some crumbs left, and half a table of candied desserts.

He thought of the concern in the man's eyes, and his order to bring candied fruit to relieve his suffering on his own initiative.

More than a dozen boxes of various candied desserts were neatly placed, occupying almost half of the wooden table, and just looking at them gave a toothache.

When he was very young, he was greedy, and someone bought him endless candied fruit. Within half a month, he suffered from a toothache and could not sleep, but the candy delivery man ignored him.

Since then, he has never tasted a candied dessert, and he has never accepted other people's unreasonable advances.

"Your Majesty, Mr. Gao is asking to see you in the imperial study."

Jing's low voice interrupted his thoughts, Xiao Fan's black eyelashes trembled, he got up and went to the imperial study.

"I came today to plead guilty to His Majesty."

The skinny man knelt on the ground and saluted, his face full of fear.

Xiao Fan knew that he was in charge of matters related to the Ministry of Etiquette, so he was very tactful in his dealings.

"Your Majesty asked me to take charge of the Royal Ancestral Hall." Seeing that Xiao Fan's mouth was tense and did not speak, and Gao Ying, who was kneeling on the ground, did not dare to get up, he swallowed nervously, "But this minister has failed His Majesty's trust and committed a crime." commit heinous crimes."

Xiao Fan looked at him coldly, and tapped his fingertips on the table, "In that case, Mr. Gao should go to the Ministry of Punishment to end himself."

"I know that I deserve death, but I am afraid that the whole family will be affected." Xiao Fan's cold gaze seemed to be able to pierce people, Gao Ying's back was sweating, and his hands trembled as he handed over a booklet, "Your Majesty, please help me." The minister is in charge."

After taking the booklet and opening it, Xiao Fan looked at the extremely familiar content, his pupils shrank slightly, and a trace of murderous intent flashed in his eyes.

The words that insulted his mother in the brochure were exactly the same as what he showed Shen Mu in the morning.

"The words on the booklets are all written by the regent king; the minister will never disrespect your majesty, so the regent will use the minister's family as a coercion."

Gao Ying's voice was buzzing in his ears like mosquitoes and flies, and Xiao Fan's hand under the table was tightly clutching the armrest of the dragon chair, his veins were bulging, and he heard himself bite out a sentence, "You mean, these are all Shen Mu forced you to write it."

Gao Ying kowtowed again and again, and the sound of the impact was very clear in the extremely quiet room, "The Regent summoned the minister to the palace last night, seeing that the minister refused firmly, he directly blasted the minister out."

"Every sentence of the minister is true. If His Majesty doesn't believe it, you can send someone to investigate."

After finishing speaking, the man raised his head, and there was an obvious red mark on his shriveled face, as if he had been hit on the face by something.

The temples jumped uncontrollably, Xiao Fan threw the booklet in front of the man, and said coldly,

"Gao Ying, if you lied to Gu, Gu will definitely let you live and die."

Cold sweat wets his back, Gao Ying has more resentment towards Shen Mu than the new emperor who showed his sharpness; the two had planned long ago, first to humiliate Xiao Fan on the grounds of their status, and then to use the seriously ill Nalan Wan to make him suffer. Xiao Fan's biological mother could never enter the ancestral hall.

Shen Mu, who was manipulating behind the scenes, was very happy, and Gao Ying, who was charging at the front, also sold the queen mother's favor.

This is a win-win game.

But Shen Mu changed his plan without warning, and the humiliation last night made it clear that he had murderous intentions. If he knew that Gao Ying had written the exact same letter overnight and handed it over, Gao Ying would not have escaped death.

That being the case, it is better to give it a go and simply stand behind the sharp new emperor, so that he will no longer be subject to either the regent king or the queen mother.

Thinking of this, Gao Ying's heart became ruthless, and he took out the prepared envelope from his arms, and knelt down and handed it over.

Opening the envelope, the letter paper was inlaid with gold, and ten vigorous and powerful characters were written in the center. The ink has faded, and it has been placed for a while.

"Use Nalan Wan skillfully, and the nine kings can become emperors."

Xiao Fan looked at the contents of the letter, and felt that someone slapped his face hard, and it hurt hot.

This is Shen Mu's handwriting, he will never admit it wrong.