jdhmnovel Chapter 259 A Conversation Between Father and Son
Chapter 259 A Conversation Between Father and Son
Emperor Sukang was dazzled by the sunlight reflecting off the lake. He squinted, his brows furrowed, and his expression became more serious.
This kid's gotten smarter; he actually dared to question me.
He abandoned his cryptic communication style; such maneuvering in conversation was exhausting.
"Don't play dumb with me. I already know you were at the ruined temple last night," Emperor Sukang said in a deep voice. "Tell me, how did you know there were evil spirits in the ruined temple?"
Those three were indeed Father Emperor's men.
But he had no prior knowledge of the existence of demons; he only encountered them after following Chu Qing. How could he explain this to his father?!
He only knew that he couldn't reveal Chu Qing's identity.
Even he only had a vague understanding of Chu Qing's situation. There were too many suspicious points about her, and if his father knew, he would definitely have doubts about Chu Qing.
Oh no, I really can't think of a reasonable excuse, what should I do?
"What? You haven't come up with an excuse to fob me off after all this time?"
Seeing that he hadn't replied for a while, Emperor Sukang bluntly exposed his thoughts.
"I don't dare."
Xiao Han felt a little guilty and dared not look Emperor Su Kang in the eye.
"If you don't know how to explain it, then I will answer it for you."
Emperor Sukang put his hands behind his back and continued walking forward: "The one who knew the evil spirit was hiding in the dilapidated temple was the woman who was traveling with you, wasn't she?"
"She can find the hiding place of demons and knows how to deal with them. She's not simple."
"If I'm not mistaken, this woman is the same female doctor who helped you remove the poison and saved the eldest brother from the brink of death. They are the same person, aren't they?"
Nothing escaped the Emperor's discerning eye; he guessed everything correctly.
She could deny it without batting an eye in front of outsiders, but not in front of her father. Now that he had guessed it, she could no longer try to fool him with excuses.
Silence is the best answer. Emperor Sukang raised the corners of his mouth slightly, revealing a barely perceptible smile.
It seems I was right all along.
"Father is wise..."
The fact that the Emperor first summoned him to inquire about the matter, rather than directly sending someone to investigate him, proves that the Emperor did not harbor any suspicion towards him because of this.
Rather than waiting for my father to expose me, I should just tell the truth.
Xiao Han recounted to Emperor Su Kang the things they had learned from the people when they went to the west of the city a couple of days ago.
"Because there were multiple cases of people falling into a coma at the same time, your servants felt that something was amiss, so we investigated privately and finally found that it was the dream demon that was causing the incident at the dilapidated temple last night."
"Our original intention was to help those people who had fallen into a coma and help them wake up as soon as possible. We had no other purpose."
After listening to Xiao Han's account, Emperor Sukang had a general understanding of the matter.
However, he still had doubts about the matter: Lao Qi had explained the whole story very clearly, but he always felt that he had missed some important information.
Only after careful consideration did I realize the blind spot he had deliberately avoided.
He started by asking about the woman, but Lao Qi glossed over her information, as if he was intentionally protecting her.
That was close; I almost fell for his trick.
To avoid Xiao Han continuing to evade the question, Emperor Sukang asked directly, "Have you investigated that woman's background? Where is she from? What's her name? Is she reliable?"
These issues are laid bare before us.
If Father Emperor wanted to know, he could have privately asked someone to investigate, but now he is asking in front of him.
He knew that this was a favor from his father, the emperor.
"Her surname is Long, and her given name is Chu Qing."
As for where Chu Qing is from, to be honest, even he doesn't know.
If the Emperor were to investigate this matter, he would surely find something amiss, because Chu Qing's household registration in the capital was arranged by him, and there is no record of him before that.
"Your subject believes her."
It's best to say less; the more you say, the bigger the loopholes will appear.
That brat? His words are still ambiguous.
Well, the child has grown up and has his own ideas. He should also have his own sense of propriety. As parents, we shouldn't interfere too much.
"Since you trust her, I won't say much. I'm just worried that you might get taken advantage of. It's best to be careful around people of unknown origin, so you don't end up being sold out."
"Your subject will remember your teachings, Father."
Unbeknownst to them, the two had already left the garden and soon returned to the Imperial Study.
Inside the imperial study, Emperor Sukang dismissed the other officials.
"There is nothing else important that I have called you here today."
Emperor Sukang walked back to the dragon throne, lifted his robe, and sat down.
"There are some things I may tell you today. The three people you met in the dilapidated temple last night worked in the Xuanji Pavilion under the Bureau of Astronomy. The Xuanji Pavilion is a secret department established by the court to suppress evil spirits that try to cause trouble in the capital."
Xuanji Pavilion? I've heard of them before, but I've never confirmed their existence. I didn't expect it to be true.
"It's good that you know about this, but don't go out and spread it around."
"Your subject knows."
"There is one more thing. Lord Wu of the Imperial Observatory said he wants to take the Dream Demon into the Xuanji Pavilion. You need to cooperate with this."
"As you command..."
After taking his leave, Xiao Han left the palace.
Autumn Water Pavilion
In the afternoon, Xiao Han returned to the Prince's Mansion and told Long Chuqing about the matter.
Long Chu readily agreed after listening, "Sure! I was just wondering what to do with it! Handing it over to the imperial court is the most suitable option."
"I thought I could keep it like a pet!" Qingzhou laughed. "It looks quite docile now, unlike how scary it was last night."
Besides Qing Tong and Qing Ying, who followed Xiao Han out, and Qing Song, who was on duty at Qinli Courtyard today, Qing Shan, Qing Zhou, and Qing Yang all came to Qiushui Pavilion to tease Meng Mo.
Since it's a rare sight, I wanted to take this opportunity to observe it more closely during the day.
When Xiao Han and Qing Qingying returned, they were still in the courtyard. However, they weren't just teasing the Dream Eater; they also helped Long Chuqing with chores.
"Have you forgotten how terrifying it looked last night?" Qingyang said. "You still want to keep it in captivity? You can't have that idea. Don't be fooled by how docile it is now; it's still a demon after all."
"Heh... I was just saying it offhand." Qingzhou chuckled awkwardly.
They brought fruits, vegetables, and some meat to feed the Baku, but the Baku didn't eat a single bite.
The Dream Eater grumbled and complained about their pet-keeping behavior, and after being teased and played with by them, it was quite angry.
Now he didn't even have the energy to curse, so he lay speechlessly on the ground, ignoring their pointless behavior.
Xiao Han felt helpless about the childish behavior of these big kids, and he didn't say much.
It's their time to rest now, and relaxing isn't a bad thing, especially since such rare and exotic animals are indeed uncommon.
“Chu Qing,” Xiao Han continued talking to Long Chu Qing, “If Father Emperor sends someone to notify the Imperial Observatory, someone will probably come to take it away tomorrow.”
“No problem, I’ll be staying in Qiushui Pavilion the whole time, they can come anytime.”
"Chu Qing... thank you."
If Chu Qing refuses to hand it over, her father will surely think that she has ulterior motives in keeping the evil spirit.
"What are you thanking me for? That's weird."
"nothing......"
Xiao Han smiled and brushed it off without offering any further explanation.