Chapter 116
If it had been any other royal grandchild, the Emperor might not have been so concerned. It was very likely that he would have used this opportunity to test it. People were always suspicious of unfamiliar people or things. However, the Emperor remembered that three of the children of King Jing looked very similar to King Jing when he was young, and the other one looked like Princess Jing. Was he blind to be suspicious of something so obvious?
What made him suspicious was the person who told Prince Li of the First Rank. Also, the Emperor had ordered Luo Ruisheng to suppress the news of Concubine Lu’s secret rendezvous. How did Prince Li of the First Rank find out?
The Emperor’s trust in Prince Li of the First Rank didn’t come overnight. It had been slowly accumulated since he was young. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have let his younger brother take charge of the Imperial Clan Court and hand over the royal family’s affairs to Prince Li of the First Rank. He was very sure that this wasn’t Prince Li of the First Rank’s scheme. Then, someone must have deliberately leaked the news to Prince Li of the First Rank.
First, there was the tell-tale letter. Then, Prince Li of the First Rank found out about Concubine Lu’s secret rendezvous. Naturally, Prince Li of the First Rank would attach great importance to the tell-tale letter and even come to the hunting ground to persuade the Emperor. Most of the time, the Emperor would listen to Prince Li of the First Rank’s words. If he didn’t know King Jing’s children very well, then it was very likely that the children and the Eighth Prince would be the ones to be tested.
The tell-tale letter had already been written about what would happen. Wasn’t it to prove that they weren’t King Jing’s children and weren’t part of the royal family?
In the past, the Emperor had experienced the struggle for the throne. He knew that there were many dirty tricks, and this was what made him angry.
No matter what the result of the test was, the Emperor would still hold a grudge against the Eighth Prince because of Concubine Lu. And if something happened to King Jing’s children, the Emperor’s relationship with King Jing would probably be over.
This was a vicious plan to kill two birds with one stone. If it succeeded, the Eighth Prince and King Jing would be deposed.
Fortunately, because he trusted these children, he saw through this vicious plan in time. Otherwise, if he was deceived, what would happen to Da Bao?
The Emperor didn’t dare to think further.
“Tian Chi, do you have any clues?”
The Emperor asked King Jing. He hoped that King Jing could see the same clues as he did.
King Jing had already thought about it several times. The Emperor’s protective feelings towards Dabao made King Jing realize that the original plan might have to be changed.
King Jing pondered for a moment, then asked the Emperor for a pen and paper. He quickly wrote: Using Concubine Lu as bait, someone intended to frame Dabao and frame your son.
The Emperor nodded. It seemed that King Jing was quite smart.
Since the Emperor asked, King Jing appropriately revealed another matter. A few days ago, a thief had sneaked into King Jing’s residence and wanted to take Dabao’s blood. In the end, he took someone else’s blood by mistake.
King Jing did his best to express himself cleverly so that the Emperor would not find out that he was beating the thief at his own game. As for who was behind the thieves, given King Jing’s position, if he directly revealed everything, he was afraid that he would be suspected. As for who would benefit from this plan, he believed that the Emperor himself would be able to guess without him mentioning it.
The Emperor was speechless.
The Emperor finally understood why Dabao and King Jing looked so alike when they were young, and why they were framed. King Jing’s words further confirmed that this was a long-planned murder.
What about Concubine Lu?
The Emperor now recalled that Concubine Lu had knelt on the ground and begged him. Concubine Lu had indeed caught a man in her tent, and she had admitted that she had known the man since they were young. However, Concubine Lu had repeatedly assured him that they had completely cut off contact after entering the palace. He really did not know why that man would suddenly appear at the hunting ground and even enter her tent. Could there be a problem?
Fortunately, he was angry last night and did not directly kill the man. Otherwise, the dead tell no tales.
Concubine Lu had been sent back to the palace that night. The Emperor decided to interrogate the man who had been beaten to death by the guards again. Perhaps there would be new clues.
“You stay here. There is no need to go back. Wait for me to find out the truth, “the Emperor said to King Jing.
It was not that the Emperor did not believe King Jing, but that the Emperor wanted to deliberately mislead the people behind the scenes. He wanted them to think that King Jing had been locked up so that they could continue to act.
King Jing understood that the Emperor must have other plans, so he quickly knelt down.
“Tianchi, what’s wrong?” The Emperor did not understand King Jing’s meaning.
King Jing pointed in the direction of his tent and looked at the Emperor.
The Emperor frowned. “Are you worried about Li Yu and the children? It’s okay. I can ask Luo Ruisheng to pass a message for you. ”
He was not just worried. King Jing slowly shook his head.
The Emperor recalled the lovey-dovey relationship between King Jing and Princess Jing. He said helplessly, “Then you can write a message and give it to Luo Ruisheng. That should be fine, right?”
King Jing hesitated for a moment and still shook his head.
The Emperor was speechless.
“What do you want?” The Emperor guessed several times and was a little annoyed. He unconsciously raised his voice. “Why don’t I also bring them here to reunite with you?”
The Emperor had just mentioned it casually, but King Jing actually bowed deeply and thanked him.
The Emperor was speechless.
The Emperor was almost angered to death by King Jing. He waved his hand and said, “Okay, I’ll ask Luo Ruisheng to personally make the trip.”
Steward Luo immediately agreed and came over to ask King Jing what he wanted to bring.
King Jing lowered his head and pulled out a silver bead tied with a red string from his collar.
Although the Emperor was flustered, he expressed that he could not be bothered with King Jing. He inadvertently saw that there seemed to be more than one thing hanging around King Jing’s neck. Other than the silver beads, there was also a … round stone.
The Emperor cursed silently. What the hell was this?
King Jing wanted to give the silver bead to the Emperor, but after thinking about it, he took it back and remained kneeling.
“Are you going back on your word again?” the Emperor said angrily.
King Jing’s eyes flashed. He apologized to the Emperor and made a real request.
After King Jing went to meet the Emperor, Li Yu stayed in the tent with the children. Because King Jing was not around, there was no one to discuss anything with. Li Yu was not used to it.
The children couldn’t sit still. Even if they didn’t know how to walk, the small tent couldn’t contain their childlike innocence. Li Yu had to play with them to distract them and himself.
King Jing still hadn’t returned. Li Yu felt the same worry and panic when he was left alone in the courtyard.
Calm down. You have to believe in him. Don’t act rashly …
Li Yu couldn’t help but take deep breaths and comfort himself.
“Dad, Dad!” Si Bao’s childish voice sounded.
Li Yu came back to his senses and found that the children were tightly holding onto the corners of his clothes.
There were still children. He couldn’t mess around.
Li Yu smiled and kissed them one by one. “Do you want to play hide-and-seek or tug-of-war?”
The children looked at each other. Tug-Of-War wasn’t very interesting. Whichever side the fish father went to, that side would win.
Thus, the four children unanimously chose to play hide-and-seek!
Li Yu led them to play. He covered the children’s eyes with a handkerchief and asked one of them to play while the rest hid.
The children didn’t know how to walk, so Li Yu didn’t make things difficult for them. He didn’t hide much and let them find him.
Soon, it was his turn to play.
Li Yu’s eyes were covered by Er Bao and San Bao.
The children didn’t know how to tie a knot with a handkerchief. Da Bao had an idea and pulled Wang Xi’s hand to help.
Eunuch Wang covered his mouth and laughed. He helped Li Yu tie a loose knot.
Da Bao, Er Bao, San Bao, and Si Bao spread out. If they couldn’t walk fast, they would crawl. If they couldn’t crawl fast enough, they would roll.
Da Bao ran straight to the curtain, lifted it, and hid behind it. Er Bao and San Bao found a bamboo basket and crawled into it together. They bumped their heads against each other and found that something was wrong. Then, they found a table and crawled into it together.
The two children rubbed their foreheads and looked at each other. They suddenly understood. One went under the table, and the other went into the bamboo basket.
Si Bao looked around, pulled open the brocade quilt, and lay down.
Li Yu counted from one to ten. It was time to start catching the fish. He pulled down the handkerchief covering his eyes a little and saw that the curtain had bulged out. The bamboo basket that was originally standing fell to the ground, revealing half of its small buttocks. Someone was hugging their head under the table.
Li Yu was amused. He coughed lightly. To make things more lively, he deliberately put the handkerchief back on and went to catch the fish with the handkerchief.
“I can find you even if I’m blindfolded!” Li Yu said mightily.
He accurately pulled out the fish in the bamboo basket and under the table. Then, he suddenly pulled open the curtain.
The children’s screams and laughter rose and fell one after another.
Li Yu had already found three and was preparing to find the fourth. The tent was not big, so the only place left to hide the children was the bed. Li Yu was very confident. He groped his way to the bed.
Suddenly, he felt something tall and hard. He wondered why there was such a thing in the tent.
The children’s voices gradually became louder. They all cried out in surprise, “Dad! Dad!”
Li Yu felt an arm and even a leg.
He quickly took off the handkerchief covering his eyes. Before he could see clearly who it was, he was embraced and passionately kissed.
Li Yu was startled. When he realized that it was King Jing’s breath, he immediately surrendered. He almost drowned in this sudden gentleness.
In front of the fish, the fish father completely became a braised fish.
Forget it. We’re all family. It’s not a big deal to kiss each other. Li Yu muttered like an ostrich.
He thought about how he and King Jing had only been separated for a short while. How could they be so lovey-dovey?
Of course, Li Yu didn’t know. Just now, in front of the Emperor, the Emperor directly asked King Jing if he knew anything. King Jing really did feel like he was standing on the edge of a cliff.
If he took one wrong step, it was very likely that he would be smashed to pieces.
However, King Jing survived and gained the Emperor’s trust. How could he not be happy when he saw Li Yu again?
It was just that he didn’t deliberately tell Li Yu about his feelings.
“Oh right, why are you dressed like this?”
Li Yu hugged King Jing’s arm. It turned out that King Jing had changed into a bodyguard uniform. It was very different from what he was wearing when he left. Li Yu couldn’t recognize him for a while.
King Jing curled his lips and tried to concisely write what happened to Li Yu.
“So it was Imperial Father … who asked us to go over?” Li Yu asked in surprise.
King Jing nodded. It was best to get up as soon as possible and not let outsiders know.
Li Yu didn’t understand. Since they were going to meet at the Emperor’s place, why did King Jing have to come back? He could have just sent someone to inform him. Moreover, he could have just come back. Why did he have to pretend to be a bodyguard?
Although Li Yu didn’t ask directly, his expression already said it for him.
King Jing held Li Yu’s hand under his sleeve and smiled as he pointed at his nose.
Li Yu:???
Was this because of what he wanted?
Li Yu’s heart suddenly brightened. Yes, why did he have to make this trip? Wasn’t it because he was worried about his and the children’s safety?
King Jing had specially asked the Emperor to conceal his identity and come to pick them up.
In front of the children, Li Yu was too embarrassed to give him a loving kiss even though he was very touched.
However, he was very happy that King Jing could be so considerate for him. Li Yu held King Jing’s hand tightly and shook it gently, indicating that he would always remember this in his heart.
Li Yu and Wang Xi picked up the children and were about to leave when they realized that one of them was missing. It turned out that Si Bao was hiding in the brocade quilt while playing hide-and-seek. When his father found him, he accidentally fell asleep. King Jing, who was disguised as a bodyguard, lowered his head and carried Si Bao out of the quilt. He pretended to be protecting him.
The group didn’t walk very far before they bumped into the Sixth Prince.
“Fifth Royal Sister-in-law, you seem to be in a hurry. Is something the matter? By the way, why don’t I see Fifth Royal Brother? ”
The Sixth Prince seemed to be taking a stroll. When he bumped into Li Yu, he couldn’t be more normal and asked this question.
However, Li Yu knew that this was most likely a test by the Sixth Prince. If he hesitated for too long, or if the Sixth Prince found out that the bodyguard beside him was King Jing, then it would be bad. The Emperor would create an illusion that he was angry with King Jing and it would be seen through.
However, how should he answer so that the Sixth Prince wouldn’t be suspicious and also get rid of him as soon as possible?
“Your Highness the Sixth Prince, His Highness hasn’t returned yet. The Princess Consort wants to inquire about him.” Wang Xi was eager to protect his master and rushed to answer for Li Yu.
After the secret meeting between King Liqin and the Emperor, the Emperor summoned King Jing. This was known to all. On the surface, there was no news about King Jing. Therefore, Wang Xi’s words were somewhat credible.
“He really hasn’t returned yet?”
The Sixth Prince’s eyes lit up. Did his plan work? Did the Emperor become suspicious of King Jing? Was that why he detained King Jing?
Li Yu summoned up his courage and nodded.
King Jing secretly clenched the sword in his hand. If the Sixth Prince dared to harm Xiao Yu, he would definitely make the first move to protect Xiao Yu.
Fortunately, the Sixth Prince’s full attention was on Li Yu and the children. With Wang Xi’s intervention, the Sixth Prince, who was wholeheartedly trying to get some information from Princess Jing, didn’t notice the guard’s strange behavior.
Each of them had their own thoughts. Li Yu wanted to end this quickly and naturally slip away. Dabao, who was holding his hand, suddenly cried, “Daddy, I want daddy!”
Li Yu had an idea. He took the opportunity to hug Dabao and coax him, “Dabao, don’t cry. I’ll take you to find him now!”
