Chapter 81: Disaster Descends for Prime Minister Zhao

Chapter 81: Disaster Descends for Prime Minister Zhao

"Maternal grandfather, so your mother's father?" Yu Xiaoxiao asked.

Yu Ziming nodded before suddenly deflating. "After I leave, I won't be able to see maternal grandfather anymore."

Yu Xiaoxiao took some time to figure out who Yu Ziming's maternal grandfather was before realizing it had to be Zhao Qiuming. She halted briefly, at a loss. What if she couldn't hold back once they reached the Zhao Estate and set the houses on fire?

Yu Ziming hugged Yu Xiaoxiao's neck, his cheek pressed against her face as he said softly, "Eldest imperial sister."

"You really miss them?" Yu Xiaoxiao asked.

"Mhm," Yu Ziming said. "I want to find my older cousins to play."

Naturally, Yu Xiaoxiao would fulfill the wishes of a child, so she changed directions and headed for the Zhao Estate next door to Complacent Winery.

—

By now, a team of imperial guards had already set off from the palace. Their leader sat astride a horse while holding the imperial decree in one hand. He and his troops were heading straight for the Zhao Estate.

Gu Xinglang was carried out of the gates by Xiao Zhuang and Xiao Wei. As he prepared to get into a carriage, Gu Xingnuo chased after him and surveyed the group. "Xinglang, where are you going?"

"The palace," Gu Xinglang replied.

"His Majesty summoned you there again?" Gu Xingnuo wondered. Hasn't that father-in-law seen his son-in-law too frequently these days?

Gu Xinglang beckoned to his big brother until he bent down, then murmured in his ear, "Last night, the princess brought His Sixth Highness back to the estate."

Gu Xinglang staggered and almost fell into Gu Xinglang's lap.

Gu Xinglang added, "The princess is sending His Sixth Highness back, so I have to take a look."

Gu Xingnuo said, "Why did the princess bring His Sixth Highness to our estate? What does she want to do?"

There was too much inside information involved for Gu Xinglang to explain things clearly. He only said, "Eldest brother, wait until I come back. The princess has no intentions to hurt His Sixth Highness."

Gu Xingnuo weighed it over. Privately bringing an imperial prince out of the palace should be a capital offense, right? No, wait, isn't it a capital offense for the princess to sneak into the palace at night unannounced? Ah! Gu Xingnuo suddenly recalled something else. The princess and my brother's gone to the palace unannounced multiple times. Only then did Eldest Young Master Gu realize he had siblings who toyed around with capital offenses everyday.

"Big bro," Gu Xinglang said, "Did you get anyone to summon back second brother?"

Gu Xingnuo's mouth twitched as he finally recalled Ol' Second. "I sent people out first thing this morning. I'll come with you to the palace." He turned to tell the servants to prepare a horse.

"You're coming too, big bro?" Gu Xinglang asked.

"I won't be ease unless I come along," Gu Xingnuo replied.

By the time the old supreme commander received the news about his grandsons heading out and ran to the gates, the pair were long gone. He stood by the door and asked the steward, "What are they going to do?"

The two young masters had spoken too softly for the steward to hear anything. He shook his head in response.

The old patriarch ordered, "Send someone to chase after them and see what they're up to."

The steward made an affirmative noise before quickly sending off some servants to give chase. The old patriarch huffily went back inside, muttering to himself. "Not a single one fails to cause worries!"

Ironically, he himself had yet to remember that his second grandson was still on the run outside.

—

Yu Xiaoxiao brought Yu Ziming in a direct path straight to the doorsteps of the Zhao Estate. There was a commotion going on inside with many people crying out and women sobbing. The siblings cocked their heads to one side before Yu Ziming asked, "What kind of noise is that?"

To Yu Xiaoxiao, the cries weren't as tragic as that of humans meeting zombies, so she didn't think it was anything serious. "It's fine," Yu Xiaoxiao replied. "Didn't you want to play with your cousins? I'll take you to find them."

Hearing his eldest imperial sister say everything was okay reassured Yu Ziming, who nodded in agreement. Yu Xiaoxiao plucked him up by the collar again and pushed off against the group. Soon she was leaping past the Zhao Estate walls and inside the compound.

"Eldest imperial sister is so mighty," Yu Ziming clapped.

Yu Xiaoxiao looked around at where she was standing and found that she was by a waterside pavilion surrounding what looked like a flower garden. "Where do your cousins live, ah?" Yu Xiaoxiao asked.

"I don't know," Yu Ziming replied. This was his first time coming to his maternal grandfather's house. In the past, it had always been his cousins coming to the palace to play with him.

Hearing this, Yu Xiaoxiao said, "Then we'll find someone and ask them for directions."

"Okay," Yu Ziming said obediently.

—

In the front courtyard of the Zhao Estate, Zhao Qiuming was fully experiencing the effects of the saying "sitting at home with the doors shut, yet disaster descends from the Heavens." He knelt on the ground while reading and rereading the imperial decree that Xianzong had issued him before finally asking the lead commander in a dazed voice, "His Sixth Highness isn't in the palace?"

The commander wasn't part of Zhao Qiuming's faction, but neither did he want to offend the man. Consort Zhao might have offended His Majesty today, but who's to know whether she'd win his favor again tomorrow? Bending forward slightly, he muttered, "Prime Minister, these are serious matters. It's better for you to return His Sixth Highness to the palace soon."

Zhao Qiuming turned to look at the three sons kneeling by his side. Had any of them snuck out Yu Ziming from the palace? Did they even have the skills? His daughter wouldn't have tried to save her son without passing word onto him first.

The three sons remained kneeling with their heads bowed, afraid to meet Zhao Qiuming's eyes.

That's not right, Zhao Qiuming realized as he looked back and forth between them. Abruptly, he cried out in alarm, "Where's your eldest brother?!"

The three Zhao sons exchanged glances and shook their heads. They hadn't seen their big brother since last night. Cold sweat broke out on Zhao Qiuming's brow. It couldn't be, that bastard Zhao Beicheng Yu Ziming away?

The commander of the imperial guards also noticed Eldest Young Master Zhao's absence and said to Zhao Qiuming, "Prime Minister, if you can't hand over His Sixth Highness, we'll have to search the estate."

The entire Zhao clan was in attendance on their knees. When Lady Zhao heard these words, she burst into tears. Didn't searching the estate equate to confiscating their property, too? Half a stick of incense's worth time ago, she was still the stately and dignified wife of the prime minister. Now she was on the verge of turning into a common prisoner. Any woman would find the switch hard to bear. Once she starting crying, the rest of the estate's women broke into sobbing as well.

"Prime Minister?" the commander asked while staring at Zhao Qiuming.

Zhao Qiuming's brain quickly calculated the situation before he grit his teeth. "I did not see His Sixth Highness yesterday. I want to meet His Majesty-there must be someone out there who wants to hurt His Sixth Highness!"

Well, the commander thought, the father and daughter claims the same thing. But who would believe that? Who had the skills to steal away a little imperial prince from the palace without a word? If that really happened, then wasn't the palace security as good as a public marketplace? Then wouldn't guards like himself, in charge of protecting the place, lose their heads by His Majesty?