The setting sun hung on Maple Leaf Mountain.

There is a night wind.

Xiahou Zhuo suddenly shuddered, feeling a little cold.

He looked at Ning Chuchu, grinned, and actually stepped off the chariot, without taking the knife he had hung on the chariot that had been with him for many years.

He stood about ten feet away from Ning Chuchu.

He bowed respectfully, and his dark face actually showed a look of love at this moment.

"Your Highness, we haven't seen you for ten years!"

"His Royal Highness has grown up. Seeing him is as if the empress is here in person. This old slave is very relieved."

After saying these few words, Xia Houzhuo seemed to have suddenly aged.

His face no longer looked as strong and courageous as when he was conquering all directions. His face now looked a little decadent, a little lost, and a little bit seemed to be relieved.

Ning Chuchu is kind-hearted after all.

She seemed to be reminded of her childhood.

When Xia Houzhuo returned to Beijing to report on his duties, his mother had already passed away.

In the East Palace of the prince brother, he knelt down and swore to the prince brother that he would ensure that the prince brother ascended the throne and became the emperor!

This is his belief.

He did not change because of his mother's death.

He firmly grasped the military power of the western frontier army and has been trying his best to build momentum for the prince brother.

Even in order for the crown prince brother to keep the pressure on the second emperor brother, he gave up Jiuyin City despite the infamy, causing Jiuyin City to fall into the hands of the deserters.

He originally thought that if his father could agree to the crown prince's brother's personal expedition, he would definitely assist the prince's brother in retaking Jiuyin City and give him a great military merit.

However, my father never came back from Changle Palace.

The Jitai family in the court held great power and did not send the prince's brother's request to his father.

He could only hold on to the northern frontier troops and look at the lost Jiuyin City in the distance.

He gave up leading his troops to recapture Jiuyin City because it would cause heavy losses to his troops.

He can't have enough soldiers!

He hoped that with the soldiers in his hands, Ji Tai and others would be afraid.

His purpose was somewhat effective, and the prince's brother was relatively stable during those years in the East Palace.

Of course, it may be that the generosity and harmlessness shown by the prince's brother in the East Palace did not directly infringe on the interests of Ji Tai and others.

Or maybe Ji Tai was waiting for an opportunity.

The prince's brother died in the Kyoto Incident last year. He left Yanyunguan with 30,000 elites...

This is a capital crime of treason!

But he still did it.

Just to avenge the prince brother.

He believed that Li Chen'an benefited the most from the incident in Kyoto. He believed that the prince's brother died in Li Chen'an's hands...or died because of Li Chen'an.

He believed that the culprit was Li Chenan, so after he heard that Li Chenan was going to Shuzhou via Jiangnan, he led his troops there without hesitation.

Did he do something wrong?

If we look at it from the perspective of national justice, if Huang Ren seizes that first-line opportunity and really captures Yanyunguan... he will bear the infamy for eternity!

But if you look at it from the perspective of a domestic slave's loyalty to his master, he has undoubtedly fulfilled his duty of loyalty.

He kept the promise he made to his mother and the prince's brother, even if he suffered a lifetime of infamy.

Ning Chuchu took a deep breath and her tone became softer.

"Do you regret it?"

Xia Houzhuo grinned and shook his head: "I have never regretted it."

"When the news of His Royal Highness's death reached the northern frontier army, I closed my door and thought about it for three days."

"His Royal Highness the Prince is a kindhearted man, how could he be killed?"

“Why can’t good people live long lives?”

"He is the crown prince of our Ning Kingdom!"

"In the future, he will be the emperor of our Ning Kingdom!"

"He ascended the throne and became the emperor, and many ministers were able to die a good death. Even if Jita did this to him... His Highness the Crown Prince did not have the intention to kill him."

"But those ministers couldn't tolerate him!"

Xia Houzhuo turned to look at Li Chenan, "Even if you want to steal the country, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince said in his letter to me that he regards you as a confidant... It doesn't matter whether you become the regent or you ascend the throne and become the emperor... kill a human or animal.

A harmless prince, or a prince who treats you as a friend...are you feeling complacent?"

Li Chenan sighed slightly, looked at Xia Houzhuo, and said very sincerely:

"If I say that I have never wanted to kill His Highness the Crown Prince, would you believe it?"

Do you believe it?

How could Xia Houzhuo believe it?

Since ancient times, it has been extremely normal for brothers to kill each other for the dragon chair, not to mention that Li Chenan is still an outsider!

If he, Li Chenan, wants to hold on to that power, he will definitely kill the orthodox Crown Prince.

This is not some conspiracy thought, this is the most normal thing!

Xia Houzhuo laughed at himself: "If you win, you can say whatever you want. If I lose, I will be convinced if I lose!"

"I never expected that old guy Xi Wei would dig a huge hole in front of me and let me jump into it willingly..."

"If it weren't for Xi Wei's persuasion, I wouldn't have cooperated with Xie Jing at all."

"I'll hold!"

"Wait until your people start fighting with Xie Jing's people."

"I have plenty of time to wait, because you have to go to Shuzhou, and I... don't have to go to Kyoto!"

"I will wait until the result of the battle between your thousands of people and Xie Jing, so as to observe the combat effectiveness of your thousands of people...or I will wait until the ambush you laid appears."

"But that old guy Xi Wei lied to me!"

"If it weren't for him, even if I were defeated, I could have gone away and waited for another chance."

Li Chenan was slightly startled. He didn't expect that Xi Wei had done a lot of things behind his back for this matter.

He looked at Xiao Baozi, then turned to look at Xia Houzhuo. Instead of asking what Xi Wei had persuaded him, he talked about something that surprised Xia Houzhuo:

"Do you know why I didn't ascend the throne as emperor?"

"Because I don't have much interest in that stuff."

"Before the incident in Kyoto, His Royal Highness came to visit the plum garden where I live."

"It was autumn, and of course the plum blossoms were not in bloom, but we chatted for a long time in the plum garden."

"I also think he is a very good prince and will become a very good emperor in the future. As for being soft-hearted... He can be soft-hearted. I originally wanted to help him become a villain."

"Whatever he can't make up his mind to do, I will do it."

"I will lift the knife that he cannot lift."

"I will kill those who he can't bear to kill...some people must be killed, otherwise there will be big problems in Ning Guo. I think you should know this too."

"He is too fat, which is not good for his health. I even made a weight loss plan for him."

"It's just that I didn't expect that the changes in Kyoto would come so quickly, nor did I expect that the people who attacked him would be so decisive."

"He did not die because of the death of the late emperor, he was indeed murdered!"

Xia Houzhuo never expected that Li Chenan did not deny the cause of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince's death. His pupils shrank:

"Who harmed His Highness?"

"I don't know. I may investigate it, or I may not care about it... The deceased is gone, and I still have a lot to do."

"You...you want to avenge him. That's understandable. You left Yanyunguan without authorization. This is a capital crime!"

"No one can save you."
Chapter completed!