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Chapter 42 Innocent

On the Tower of Heaven, the emperor looked down at his son on the ground. The other's hair crown had fallen completely just now while he was giving chase. With his back facing towards the this side, his long hair that was blown and scattered wildly by qi gradually became obedient and calm again. Every frenzied cell in his body was calmed because of Song Song. Every drop of boiling blood within his veins quieted because of Song Song. Like a furious male lion that just rediscovered its lost treasure, he instantly became docile.

His hands that were pressed against Song Song's face finally moved. His thumbs caressed Song Song's cheeks. Song Song instantly let out a long breath, reached out his hands and hugged him. Raising his head and blinking away his terrified tears, Song Song stroked Li Xiao's long hair over and over, saying: "Everything is fine. Everything is fine."

Li Xiao looked down and held him within his arms, allowing that warm soft hand pet him over and over. He was briefly at a loss, the memory in his head slowly gathered. He looked up, his sharp gaze looking straight ahead.

In front of him were numerous commoners. Their faces carried joyous expressions from narrowly escaping death. However, in this group, madam Song's figure couldn't be seen.

Not very far, Qin Ning who rushed over after receiving the news held a grave expression on his face.

Song Song noticed that Li Xiao's body started tensing up again and hurried to attract the other's attention: "Your highness, I'm injured."

Li Xiao immediately looked at him. His thumb rubbed away the bloodstains at the corner of Song Song's mouth. Inside his eyes, a storm began brewing again. He said with restraint: "Are you in pain anywhere?"

"If your highness look at me some more, then I won't be in pain."

Maybe it's because his mouth was sweet, Li Xiao's eyes clearly brightened by a degree. Song Song took the chance to say: "Some of these commoners might have been injured. Your highness, look "

Li Xiao received his hint and said: "Quickly bring over doctors. Check if anyone was injured."

Zhao Yin immediately turned to instruct. Li Xiao continued to say: "Today, this king was bewitched and frightened everyone, please forgive me."

He seemed like a completely different person from the moment before. In the end, he had his identity to support him. Inside the crowd, there were plenty of scholars mixed in. They saw him behave with such insight, and said instantly: "Just now that madam's words and actions were rude and disgusting, deliberately trying to provoke you. This thing we don't blame your highness."

The group of people agreed one after another.

In the end, no one was really hurt during this incident. With one person standing forward to speak reasonably, then others soon followed. Li Xiao nodded, then brought Song Song away first to look at his injury.

The crowd was still restless, someone said: "Where did that vicious woman go?"

"I really feel like what happened today isn't simple. Why did she pick today of all days to provoke the mad king?"

"Maybe she's crazy?"

"Really?"

"Looked like she didn't want to live."

This incident made the emperor's dragon heart very displeased so he left the Tower of Heaven early and returned to the palace. His personal gonggong presented over a token and said to the emperor: "This object was searched off of madam Song's person. Commander Fu already captured her alive and is waiting for your majesty's orders."

The emperor looked at that token for a long time and said: "That crazy woman spoke crazily, started rumours and created trouble, slandered the royal family, insulted the wangfei, and almost caused wangye to lose control and kill people. However in the end, she's crazy so it's not easy for me to pass judgement ah."

"Your majesty means?"

"Present this token to the empress. See what she decides to do."

With madam Song captured, Qin Ning already sent over the news ahead of time. At the moment, the empress didn't do much. If the emperor inquired, she already has her explanation ready. She just waited calmly and quietly. However, she didn't expect that instead of the emperor, the person who came was Dou gonggong.

She froze for a second and then asked: "Why is gonggong here?"

"His majesty asked me to bring this. Please take a look, your majesty."

The empress received that token, and instantly felt a shock in her heart. How could it be the imperial guard's token?!

"I want to see his majesty."

"His majesty was very busy today. His body is unwell so he's already retired." Dou gonggong said: "His majesty's original words were 'that crazy woman spoke crazily, started rumours and created trouble, slandered the royal family, insulted the wangfei, and almost caused big trouble. However in the end, she's crazy so it's not easy for him to pass judgement'."

The empress considered briefly, her face even whiter. Dou gonggong acted as he didn't see anything and said: "If your majesty has no other instruction, then this servant will return."

"Gonggong, farewell."

She turned around, squeezing that token in her hand, thoughts spinning around in her head. Hearing movement by her side, she suddenly whipped out her palm and slapped her personal maid. The maid instantly knelt: "Your majesty!"

"This kind of thing, you actually didn't hand it to madam Song with your own bare hands, and let someone secretly switch the token midway, causing the emperor to become suspicious of me. You deserve to die!"

"Your majesty, please forgive me! This servant didn't complete your task well. Please punish me!"

The empress inhaled deeply, and sat on the couch weakly, her face looking ugly. Originally she planned for the mad king to lose control. Even if he didn't manage to kill madam Song, she would have still had to face the emperor's wrath. Even if these two conditions above were both unfulfilled, the empress could have found someone else to silence her. But now, madam Song was actually captured. The token was also changed.

No matter what choice she made now, all would be wrong.

If she killed madam Song now, she would implicate the Qin estate. If she let her go, it would seem unreasonable. Plus, the emperor even hinted at her, that crazy woman

Madam Song curled up in the imperial prison, secretly praying the entire time. Finally, the person she wanted to see came. Her expression instantly turned joyous: "Big sister!"

The empress ordered someone to open the prison door. The jailer left. She said: "How did you get the token for the imperial guards?"

"Didn't big sister give that to me?" Madam Song said with a smile: "Big brother always followed elder sister. You gave big brother's token to me to represent that we siblings are comrades. No matter what happens, we'll move forward and withdraw together."

The empress blanked for a while then suddenly broke into laughter: "Sister, I knew you were stupid before, but I never knew you could be this stupid. I'm the crown prince's birth mother. Qin Ning is the commander of the imperial guards as well as the head general of the cavalry troops. Why would we move forward and withdraw together with an idiot such as yourself?!"

She continued to ramble and berate: "As soon as you received the token of the imperial guards, you should have understood. Someone wanted to use you to drag Qin Ning and I into the water! Yet, I only discovered this from the emperor after you were captured."

Madam Song was shocked: "I understand what big sister means. Our family is more important but, but at that time, I really didn't think that much."

She only thought that her sister gave her that token to represent that no matter what happened, she would have her sister and brother to stand in front of her and protect her.

The empress pulled the corner of her mouth, expression twisted as she laughed: "Everyone knows that the crown prince is most important. Everyone knows that I'm the most important. As long as there's the crown prince, as long as there's me, then the Qin family will have a future. Only you only an idiot like you didn't know."

Madam Song also knew that this time she made a huge blunder. Although she was unhappy inside, she still had to depend on the empress. Therefore, she only glanced towards the prison door and said: "Alright big sister. I understand. Didn't you come to bring me out of here? After we leave, you can keep scolding me."

The empress didn't think that even with their conversation reaching this point, madam Song still lacked any sense of danger. So angry she could spit up blood, she suddenly turned and walked out, saying coldly: "Someone come."

A maid walked forward, carrying a pot of wine. The empress turned around, walked back and said: "Drink this, then I can save you."

What did it mean to enter a prison and bestow wine? Madam Song never saw it but still heard of it. Her face color finally changed: "You want to abandon me?"

"This is for the Qin family."

The empress turned her head. Immediately someone came up and held down madam Song. She began to panic: "Qin Qinghe! You want to kill me? How could you kill me? I'm your own sister!"

"I won't kill you."

The empress held her chin and poured the wine inside. Madam Song struggled wildly, closing her mouth tightly. Hair a complete mess, she shook her head forcefully, pupils contracting. However, the liquid still slowly entered into her throat.

She suddenly remembered the scene when Qin Ning raised his sword and killed Song Shi. Her tears surged out violently. As it turned out, ever since that time, she already lacked value to them.

Inside the king's estate, Song Song curled up in bed. Today he was forced to cough blood from Li Xiao's qi blast. Luckily the injury wasn't heavy. His chest just hurted a little and he probably needed a few days to recuperate.

Steward Qi was standing at the entrance saying something to Li Xiao. The man turned around and slowly returned. Song Song immediately asked: "Is it news from the prison?"

"Father gave this case to the empress. It's likely that there's no way she can stop this midway now."

Song Song said: "The emperor how will he deal with the empress?"

"It'll depend on how the empress ends up resolving this."

"If I were the empress, I wouldn't kill madam Song."

Li Xiao narrowed his eyes and said: "She deserves to die."

Song Song laughed and reached out his hands to pull at Li Xiao. Li Xiao wordlessly sat next to him and was held in his arms. Song Song said softly: "She still can't die. The empress is very smart, there's no way she wouldn't understand the emperor's wish."

Li Xiao looked down, his brow furrowed. In the end, he didn't say anything.

Madam Song went insane.

When she was released from prison, her hair was in disarray. She hummed a tune from who knows where from her mouth. On the road, she was bumped into by some careless guy, and instantly fell to the ground and began to make an unreasonable scene, cursing obscenities right there on the street. She wandered around by herself for an entire afternoon until everyone in the capital knew she was crazy. Then the people from the Song family finally seemed like they just received the news and took her home.

"She really did go crazy. I heard it was caused by her son's death"

"I was just saying, why would she suddenly run to the Tower of Heaven and cause trouble there. That day was so dangerous ah! Luckily Ping wangfei was there!"

"I still think this thing was directed by someone malicious. If she was already insane, then why let her out to provoke the mad king?"

"Since she's crazy, if she accidentally ran out, who could keep track of her?"

"Poor Ping wangfei. He's innocent in all this. For no reason whatsoever, he gets slandered and given a bad reputation by this crazy woman. Good thing his highness didn't mind, otherwise we wouldn't even be alive right now."

"I heard this crazy woman treated wangfei poorly before in the Song estate. Do you guys remember that time the mad king brought the wangfei to Fuxiang restaurant for the first time? His little face was all shriveled. Who could he have seduced? A crazy woman is just crazy. She dares to spout off without thinking."

"Not just that, I not only remember wangfei's appearance from last year. I remember his appearance from ten years ago!"

"Yo, you saw him before?"

"Of course. In the past, Fu Guoshang and his daughter were the capital's well known benefactors. The kid that she lead around was Ping wangfei!"

"Here, I'll give you guys a look at this treasure. My dad specifically commissioned someone to draw this before. It just happens to be a portrait of that family of three!"

The person unrolled the painting and spread it out. Instantly someone cried out in surprise: "This little kid was Ping wangfei in his youth? Aiyo yo! That crazy woman is really something! How could she torment such a cute precious little gongzi like that!"

"You guys don't know. Someone in my family used to be a seasonal worker at the Song estate. Before that crazy woman went crazy, she was extremely poisonous. She even grabbed a thick wooden stick and hit the wangfei. You guys can just imagine what kind of life wangfei lived after his mother died!"

"This thing I also knew. In the past, my dad and I sold caramel apples not far from the Song estate. Once I saw the little gongzi dressed in rags running out to ask for help, but people like us, how could we meddle in that kind of thing... "

"Are you sure that was wangfei?"

"It was definitely the wangfei!"

"It seems like for the wangfei, the hard times are over and the good times are just beginning "

"Not only the wangfei, before the mad king was poisoned, he was also very clever and quick-witted. It was only later that he became like this. I heard before when he was in the Imperial Tutor's estate, he was locked in a cage like a dog. Even though people say he's loved by the emperor, the life he lived was different like heaven and earth."

"Good thing there's wangfei now who can cure his illness. The two can be considered a match made in heaven."

The discussion in the streets was bustling with noise and excitement. Over the course of time, they reached Song Song's ear. As Song Song said, the empress was indeed a smart person. As long as madam Song was crazy, then what she did could no longer be counted as premeditated. The issue with the token can be written off as something she stole in her madness.

The emperor also understood. As long as madam Song was crazy, then that day, the dirty water she poured on Song Song can gradually be washed clean in the people's eyes. Otherwise, after one passed to ten and ten passed to 100, by that time, everyone would think Song Song was a very promiscuous person.

After completely removing herself from this incident, the empress even ordered Qin Ning to temporarily give up the position as the commander of the imperial guard. However, because of this, the capital's strengths gradually changed into tightly winded bow, waiting for action.

The empress wouldn't hibernate too long with all the different strengths in the capital starting to peek their head out and examine, considering if there were other options now.

But all of this, Song Song was too busy to consider temporarily. After he rested all these days, he still felt somewhat unwell. So he called Ji Ying over to check his pulse.

This guy was always very confident in his abilities, claiming that he doesn't need to even examine pulses, that he could tell someone's condition just by looking at their facial color. However, after Song Song insisted about 3-4 times times for him to check the pulse, he suddenly became very strange, slipping away without saying anything. On the following day, he actually braved the freezing wind to come over. As he entered, he immediately asked: "Are you still unwell today?"

Song Song said honestly: "A little dizzy."

"Did you eat yet?"

"Ate a little. My stomach is a bit upset." Song Song was somewhat worried if he was broken somewhere by Li Xiao's qi blast: "What's wrong with me?"

Ji Ying said: "You, give me your hand to examine again. I'll check again."

Song Song gave him his hand, quietly searching his expression. He saw Ji Ying's expression held a bit of discomfort, embarrassment, as well as a hint of incredulousness. Song Song suddenly felt a jolt in his heart, and asked with anticipation and nervousness: "Am I, am I pregnant?"