Chapter 349: Don’t Call Me Big Brother

The Qianqing Palace in the evening is as quiet as ever. The big orange creeps under the door to nap, I don’t know where to blow the osmanthus flowers, mixed with the wind fell a few under the threshold, ghostly aroma.

Huo Xiu stepped into the palace door, the ambergris scent coming from the hall immediately filled the nostrils again. A few beams of sunset were cast into the room through the openwork windows, and the floor of the table that was illuminated turned golden, while the rest of the place was set off dimly.

The emperor was sitting on the Luohan bed under the beams of light, wearing a loose Taoist robe, his right hand holding a volume of books, beside which a furnace of incense was rising. This quiet and warm picture was like an extremely fine brush painting.

“I kowtow to Your Majesty.”

Huo Xiu knelt down and saluted.

The emperor raised his hand, “Give Marquis Wei Yuan a seat.”

Waiting for Huo Xiu to do so, the emperor’s side also puts down the book, “I heard that sister Yu was injured in a fall?”

Huo Xiu nods: “Two days ago, she was naughty and climbed a ladder to pick osmanthus flowers, and fell off the ladder, bruising her leg. However, there is no major problem, has passed the female doctor has seen, also served the soup medicine. Thank you for your thoughts, Your Majesty.”

“Nothing is good.” The emperor gathered his hands: “I remember that she has always been quiet, how could she be so adventurous?”

“That’s because the emperor doesn’t understand her. This girl is actually naughty.”

The emperor smiles slightly and then says, “If that is the case, then you two siblings can really be described as having very different personalities, she is naughty as hell and you are prudent as hell, sometimes it is a bit too prudent.”

Huo Xiu raised his words and looked up.

The emperor stroked the trigger finger on his hand. With his right hand resting on his coiled legs, a small section of his barefooted left calf was exposed, a new scar looming beneath his sarong.

Huo Xiu remembered what Long San had mentioned, and his heart moved slightly as he asked, “Is this wound healed through, Your Majesty?”

“Wound?” The Emperor followed his gaze to his calf and let out a laugh, “It’s not a major injury, it’s already healed. However-”

He left a tail when he said this.

“But what?”

“If it wasn’t for that Big Orange that the Empress Dowager kept suddenly leaping out that day, there wouldn’t have been that accident. But why would the big orange suddenly leap out at that time?”

Huo Xiu was silent.

The emperor slightly stretched his back and then continued, “The next day I found Big Orange and then realized that he was actually injured. Based on the condition of the wound, he should be the one that landed when you and I fought. This matter is a bit strange,” the emperor hissed and raised an eyebrow, “In the palace, who would hurt an imperial cat? And why did the cat scurry over this side of the wall after being injured?”

Huo Xiu unconsciously held his breath.

The emperor seemed oblivious and continued on, “These days I’ve pondered over and over again, according to the cat’s nature, after being frightened it would only look for a remote place to hide, and at the time the commotion of our fight was so loud, it shouldn’t have run there. Either it was desperate, or, it was just thrown right in.”

Huo Xiu’s body couldn’t help but stiffen.

“But who would dare to make such a move right under my nose?” The Emperor’s brows were furrowed in a frown, and he looked as if he was in a state of utter bewilderment over this.

Huo Xiu looked at him with a sideways gaze and slowly swallowed a mouthful of saliva.

“By the way,” the emperor suddenly looked up, “Is there anyone in the Forbidden Guards Department that you recognize? You go and make a side check for me to see if there are any clues?”

Faced with the emperor’s unfluctuating gaze, Huo Xiu slowly raised his hand, “I will comply.”

After speaking, he straightened up and exited the palace door.

The emperor looked at his back through the window for a long time before withdrawing his gaze.

……

When Huo Xiu returns to the mansion, Duan Shu is already waiting for him under the gate of the main courtyard, and with him is Long San – Duan Shu looks at Long San, who has already broken an arm, with a shocked face, and doesn’t move a muscle, as if he’s even holding his breath.

“What are you guys doing here?”

Long San bowed and saluted, “When I was preparing my carriage to leave the capital, I let Master San find out.”

“Big brother! How did he end up here? Shouldn’t he be doing business in the south?!”

Huo Xiu has pursed his lips tightly to come back to the two of them, lifting his steps and saying, “Come in with me.”

Duan Shu snatched the lead and followed him into the house, “What the hell happened? Why is he here? And an arm was cut off? …… And what’s the matter with Imperial Sister’s fall? Why do I feel like it’s all extremely weird lately?!”

Huo Xiu sat down behind the bookcase and took turns looking at the two of them, “Long San entered the capital for his mother. If you want to know exactly why he ended up like this, you go back and ask yourself. But right now, things don’t seem to be going well.”

When he reached the end of his sentence, he cast his gaze at Long San.

Long San looked grave: “What has happened?”

Huo Xiu sank his breath, “His Majesty summoned me to the palace just now, talking about the incident where I mistakenly injured him during the fight that day. He suspects that someone is deliberately using the imperial cat to cause trouble, and the object of this suspicion seems to be me.”

Long San’s heart lifted, “How could this be?”

Duan Shu was even more bewildered!

Huo Xiu inhaled deeply, “The one who fought against the Emperor was me, and the one who was injured was the Emperor, isn’t it normal for me to be suspected? What’s not normal is that the Emperor didn’t suspect me until today.”

“Did he say anything?”

“Really to the point of saying something, can I still come back?” Huo Xiu glanced at him.

Long San silenced his voice.

Huo Xiu muses for a moment, then adds, “But I don’t think he’ll think I have the ability to stick my hand into the palace, he’s always been sober and not easily confused, so if he did this, he either sensed something strange behind the scenes, someone using the cat to create trouble, or, he’s using the excuse to be testing me.”

“Why would you test it?”

Duan Shu really couldn’t help himself.

Long San glanced at him and sank his breath to pull him out.

Huo Xiu sat silently for a moment and got up to call someone, “Where is Yao Lin?”

A tall and thin man soon comes in, bending down in front of him, “The matter of the remnant armor has dragged on for so long, there must be some progress, you immediately go down and make arrangements.”

Yao Lin bowed: “Underling will go now.”

“Big brother!”

Yao Lin has just left, Duan Shu rushes in, panting, eyes wide open as he looks at Huo Xiu: “I actually didn’t know about all these things from start to finish, such a big thing, you actually hid it from me?!”

Huo Xiu’s gaze is like water, “It’s not just you, Sister Yu also only just found out.”

“Why!”

“Because I don’t need you all to be buried with me.”

“Have you never treated me as a relative?!” Duan Shu jelousies, one pair of eyes already bloodshot.

Huo Xiu Ding sits behind the case and raises his eyes a moment later, “Yes. So from now on, you should still stop calling me big brother. And I will also write another paperwork declaring that you are no longer related to my Huo family.”

“Big brother.”

“I said I’m not your big brother!”

“Huo Xiu, you’re crazy aren’t you!” Duan Shu rushed to him.

Huo Xiu stands up in a deep voice: “Someone come, serve me with pen and ink!”