Chapter 259 Relatives Become Enemies
Interrupting Zhang Bo's words, the old lady asked in a trembling voice:
"Is it possible that none of the Crown Prince, the Prime Minister, and the ministers in the court would speak a fair word for the Second Master, and allow these treacherous villains to fabricate accusations and frame him?"
The eldest master's face was ashen at this time, and the muscles on his cheeks were shaking. After all, he was a man. Seeing that Li Bo was embarrassed, he hurriedly persuaded his mother:
"Mother, please calm down. Your Majesty only said that he was imprisoned pending trial, but he did not convict him. Let's let Guard Li finish his words first."
Seeing that the old lady had calmed down, the master signaled Li Shiwei to continue, and Li Bo continued:
"Originally, they listed ten charges against Mr. Xiao, including bullying the market and bribing officials in Pingyang. They also produced a letter from the prefect of Xiao Mansion to Mr. Xiao in the court. With the strong support of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and the Prime Minister, His Majesty kept it in the palace, but restricted the people in the Xiao Mansion from leaving Pingyang for the time being, in case they were summoned at any time... His Royal Highness sent a letter asking Mr. Xiao to leave Pingyang as soon as possible before the imperial edict was issued and prepare to go south. His Royal Highness the Crown Prince also said that he would come to the palace in person after the meeting, and asked Mr. Xiao to prepare to leave the palace first."
"A letter from the Second Master?"
Hearing that the private letter of the Xiao family was taken out in the court, the eldest master was secretly shocked. Those who could enter his study were all confidants, so how could the letter leak out? As soon as Li Bo finished speaking, he asked, and Li Bo hurriedly replied:
"His Highness specifically instructed me to do this. His Highness suspected that there was a spy from the King of Yan around Mr. Xiao, and asked Mr. Xiao to be more careful about the people around him."
After hearing this, the old lady and the master looked at each other, shook their heads, and the old lady asked:
"What does His Royal Highness want Jun'er to do in the south?"
"His Royal Highness the Crown Prince didn't say anything, he just said to pass on the message, Mr. Xiao will understand. The message has been delivered, I have something else to do, so I'll take my leave first."
Seeing Li Bo was leaving, the master did not try to keep him. Instead, he thanked him again, forced a hundred-liang silver note into his hand, and walked him to the door before turning around and leaving.
When the master returned to the hall, he saw that the old lady had a pale face, and the servants were pale and trembling. Even the naughty and lazy Xiao Yun was at a loss. Xiao Qing came from a career in officialdom, so he was also calm and was whispering to comfort the old lady.
He waved his hand to send all the servants out, and asked Xiao Ang to guard the door. Then the master advised:
"Don't worry , mother. My second brother has only been imprisoned temporarily. He has not been convicted yet. I believe that our Xiao family has received great favor from the emperor, so we will be able to turn danger into safety this time. Although we will lose some money, fortunately Jun'er has set up a new business in the south. Most of the Xiao family's funds are there, so the foundation will not be affected."
"Second brother has established a new family in the south?"
Xiao Yun, who had calmed down, asked after hearing this. Xiao Qing also looked up at his father. The master heard this and said to the two of them:
"Jun'er went to the south a year ago to set up a new family. I'll talk to Qing'er and Yun'er about this later. This time I'm sending you to the south for one reason: first, to seek refuge. If the crown prince is deposed, the Xiao family will be hard to escape. You can stay in the south in hiding, which will at least leave a root for our Xiao family. Second, if something happens to the Xiao Mansion in Pingyang, you can use the power of the south in time to help the Xiao family out of trouble. Yun'er, go to Xiaoxiang Courtyard and tell your second brother what the crown prince said, asking him to come to Shouxi Hall to discuss immediately. Qing'er, go down as well. Everyone should prepare to leave the mansion today."
"Father, grandma's birthday is in 5 days, son..."
"Qing'er is so pedantic. The catastrophe is right before your eyes, yet you still cling to these things. You will really destroy the foundation of your ancestors, which is a great act of unfilial piety. My birthday party doesn't matter. Go down and prepare quickly. Leave the Xiao Mansion tonight. I'm afraid that if the emperor issues an edict tomorrow, no one will be able to leave..."
As expected of an old lady, after calming down, she was decisive in handling matters. Seeing that Xiao Qing wanted to wait until her birthday before leaving, she interrupted him before he could finish speaking, with a clear tone that left no room for doubt.
Seeing that the old lady was angry, Xiao Qing and Xiao Yun hurriedly stood up and walked out.
The two grandsons went out, and the old lady looked at the eldest master and asked:
"How could the master's private message be spread out?"
"I don't know either. I'll check it out later."
"It seems that there really is a traitor in the Xiao Mansion. It is time to clean it up carefully. Some of the secret letters in the eldest master's study should be destroyed in the next two days. Leaving them will always cause trouble."
"Yes, my son thinks so too. I will start cleaning tonight. Don't worry, mother. The prince is kind-hearted. Good things will come to those who are lucky. As long as we get through this difficult time and these days, everything will be fine."
"Ever since the strange phenomena appeared in Da Qi, the prime minister was impeached, and the crown prince was caught in rumors, I have been worried that this day would come. The King of Yan would deal with the Xiao family and would start with the second master. This was all expected, but I didn't expect that Censor Zhang would be the first to bear the brunt. After all, they are relatives and have always had close contacts. The Xiao family has supported him financially for many years. It would be fine if he didn't help at this time, but he took the lead in impeaching the second master!"
"Mother, at a critical moment of life and death, there is no family affection to speak of. It's all a matter of serving the master."
At this point, the master suddenly had an idea and said:
"Mother, Xiu'er married Prince Yan. She has lived in the mansion for such a long time. Will she..."
After hearing this, the old lady shuddered, but then shook her head and said:
"Xiu'er is a little sinister, but she is still a girl, so she can't reach into your study. The master should check the people around her. However, the servants in the courtyards who are close to Xiu'er should be cleared out..."
"Mother is right. I will tell Cui and General De tomorrow."
"Don't tell the first wife about Censor Zhang's matter for now. I don't think her illness can be cured. She is usually very close to her sister, and I'm afraid she can't stand hearing about this..."
"Mother is right. Yes, mother, I want Jun'er to organize people in the south in the name of Shangguan Jun to jointly guarantee my second brother. Even if it's just for the time being, we can slowly think of a solution."
"Well, let the three brothers go to the government to make arrangements when they arrive in the south, so that the Second Master and his family don't suffer. We should also make some preparations in the mansion in the next few days, and..."
As he was speaking, the secretary knocked on the door and came in and said:
"Replying to the old lady and the eldest master, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has entered the palace."
When the old lady heard this, she hurriedly said, "Please come in." She didn't say anything else and directly invited the prince to Shouxi Hall.
Accompanied by two guards, the prince followed the servant to the Shouxi Hall. The old lady and the eldest master had already been waiting outside the door to greet him. When they saw him coming, they hurriedly knelt down and kowtowed to the prince, saying:
"I, the humble Shangguan, pay my respects to the Crown Prince"
"I, Xiao Chen, pay my respects to the Crown Prince"
When the prince saw this, he gave him a helping hand and said:
"Mrs. Xiao, Mr. Xiao, there is no need to be polite. Please stand up quickly."
The old lady and the eldest master stood up in response, exchanged a few more words of greeting, entered the hall, separated themselves as host and guest, and served more good tea.
After the prince sat down, he took a sip of tea and said without further ado, simply recounting what Li Bo had said and how the emperor had asked him to go to the south to look for the God of Medicine. Finally, he said:
"Don't worry, Old Lady Xiao, Master Xiao. The current situation is only temporary. Father is only worried because of the floods and plague in the south. With the strong recommendation of Nan Huaizhong and the Prime Minister, Father did not believe the rumors in the market, otherwise he would not have sent me to the south. As long as I find the God of Medicine and cure the plague, the people will be settled and the rumors will be broken. Master Xiao, during the time I am in the south, as long as you hold on to the Xiao family's industry and don't let it be crushed by the joint suppression of the Ouyang family and the Li family, we will have a chance to turn the tables. As for Prefect Xiao, I will take good care of him when I go to the south."
"I thank the Crown Prince for his kindness. My second brother's affairs are all dependent on you."
"Even if there was no impeachment by Censor Zhang, Prefect Xiao is also to blame for the flood and plague in the south. As the saying goes, war is fought for food and grass. The 500,000 troops in the north consume food every day, and the south has no harvest due to floods. The court is already stretched to the limit. Master Xiao has been running a grain and silk business in the south for many years. If the Xiao family can open a charity granary to assist the court in resettling the victims, control the migration of the victims to the north, quell the riots of the refugees, and make the first contribution, perhaps Prefect Xiao's life can be saved."
The old lady's eyes lit up, then dimmed, and she said:
"Your Highness is right, but Your Highness doesn't know that in the past two years, most of the Xiao family's business in the south has been transferred to the Fulishan Copper Mine. This year's grain storage is not much. A few days ago, Jun'er sold it to the government at a fair price to supply the disaster victims in order to assist the second master. I'm afraid we can't open a charity granary even if we want to."
After hearing this, the prince's heart sank. He had originally had great hopes, wanting to persuade the Xiao family to open a charity granary and control the refugees. He and the God of Medicine would then control the plague, and when the south was stable, his crisis would be alleviated. In the north, he already had evidence of Prince Yan's collusion with the enemy, and the time would come for him to turn around and overthrow Prince Yan.
But at the critical moment, the Xiao family said they had no food and could not help!
After a long silence, he said:
"Speaking of the Fulishan Copper Mine, I heard that Shangguan Jun also released grain at a fair price. Just now, my father and I discussed the disaster in the south. My father mentioned him and thought highly of him. He praised him for not colluding with profiteers to drive up grain prices during the national crisis. He was discussing issuing an imperial decree to commend him, but this man is a man of deep thoughts. He plays both sides between me and the King of Yan, so he cannot be used by my father."
After hearing this, the master pondered for a moment and said:
"I heard from Jun'er that he and Shangguan Jun are quite close. If Jun'er can persuade Shangguan Jun to join forces with the Xiao family to open a charity warehouse and jointly guarantee my second brother, what do you think, according to the prince?"
The prince heard this and shook his head and said:
"If that's the case, that's great. I'm just afraid that at this time..."
"When the Xiao family transferred the business, Shangguan Jun promised Juner that if the Xiao family had any problems, Fulishan would definitely help them. I heard that this man is broad-minded and upright. Let Juner give it a try. If he is really a man who keeps his promises, maybe it will work."
After hearing this, the prince's expression lightened and he said:
"In that case, let Xiao Jun give it a try. If it really works, it will be a blessing for this king and the people of the world. By the way, why don't you see Xiao Jun?"
"Jun'er is preparing to go south according to your Highness's wishes. If your Highness has something to say, I will send someone to tell him."
Seeing that the master was about to pass it on, the prince stopped him and said:
" Master Xiao, there is no need. I will go find him myself."
After he finished speaking, the prince stood up. The old lady and the eldest master saw him off, but didn't dare to stop him. They quickly responded, stood up and followed him out. When they reached the door, they saw Xiao Yun standing there with a worried look on his face. When he saw the prince coming out, he quickly knelt down and kowtowed. The servants on both sides also knelt down one after another.
Seeing Xiao Yun kowtow, the prince stopped and said, "No need to bow."
Xiao Yun stood up and stood aside, looking at his father and the prince, his face hesitant, as if he wanted to say something but stopped.
Seeing Xiao Yun like this, the eldest master's heart moved. He asked Xiao Yun to find Xiao Jun. Could it be that Xiao Jun was indifferent to the prince's message? It was already this time, the second master was in prison, and the disaster of extermination of the family was in sight, and he was still angry because of a woman. Thinking of this, his face darkened. Seeing that the prince was about to move, he was afraid that his son would bump into the prince again and offend the emperor, so he asked:
"Why are you here alone? Where's Jun'er?"
