Painting Doctor Jinhua

Chapter 188: A hilarious chapter, Gao Xiaowan's crisis

Gao Zhan pondered for a long time before looking at He Shikai and said unhappily: "Yantong, you are just itching to poke my sore spot now, right? You always give me bad ideas, so that I can see but not get them. Now you have forced him away, and I can't even see him anymore!"

He Shikai, who was still looking at "Xie Zhen" with a gloating look just a second ago, suddenly changed his expression. He acted as if he was terrified and aggrieved, slapped himself in the face and said, "Your mouth is mean, I won't mention it again!"

Li Mi raised his lips wildly, trying his best not to laugh out loud.

Gao Zhan turned his gaze to "Xie Zhen" again: "Xie Qing, do you think that Princess Lanling really ran out of Yecheng to find Prince Lanling?"

"Uh...I don't know!"

Gao Zhan was stunned. No one in this room dared to laugh out loud, but there was constant laughter in the hall outside and in other rooms.

At first, only a few words could be heard, but later the discussions and laughter became louder and louder, so loud that Gao Zhan in the top room could hear every word clearly:

"Don't you think it's funny? His Majesty wanted to choose a beautiful woman, but he didn't want any young concubines or queens. Instead, he wanted a woman who could be his mother, and she's Lanling Wang's biological mother. When he meets Lanling Wang in the future, what should he address her as? Don't you think it's awkward?"

"What do you know? Women in their thirties and thirties are at their most charming. A woman in her middle age can still be charming. Haven't you heard of that?"

"Besides, Minister Xie doesn't feel embarrassed, so why are you embarrassed?"

"That's right. As long as he doesn't feel embarrassed, you will be the ones who are embarrassed! Hahaha..."

Gao Zhan was stunned by the deafening laughter. He couldn't help but glance at "Xie Zhen" on the side, but he saw that this Mr. Xie was so calm and composed that he turned a deaf ear to it.

I don’t know if he really wasn’t listening!

"Thank you, dear Lord. Did you hear what they said?"

Xiao Jinyu nodded and answered politely: "Your Majesty, I heard it!"

"Don't you have any feelings?"

"I didn't. I think Zu Zhongshu is right. As long as I am not embarrassed, they are the ones who are embarrassed..."

He Shikai took a breath and swallowed it hard, rolling his eyes. Gao Zhan laughed:

"So the one who laughed the most filthy just now was Zu Zhongshu!" After saying that, he looked at a guard beside him and said, "Go, bring me the old pervert who laughed the loudest!"

"Yes!"

When the imperial guard came to Zu Ting, Zu Ting was painting a nectarine. In the painting, there were several beauties half-covered in tulle. A group of scholars gathered around to watch, and some of them were describing with saliva flying the situation of the emperor giving beauties to his favorite ministers.

He was slapped on the arm, so that a stroke was crooked, leaving a mole on the beauty's face. Zu Ting was furious and was about to slap her, but he saw that the person who slapped him was none other than the most terrifying person around His Majesty - Liu Taozhi!

Zu Ting's legs were so weak that he almost fell to his knees, but at Liu Taozhi's suggestion he dared not say a word. He put down his paintbrush and came to the No. 1 room dejectedly.

Seeing Gao Zhan, Zu Ting immediately knelt down. Before he could say anything, Gao Zhan waved his hand and said, "Alright, alright, stop shouting with your loud voice. Just call me Lord Jiulang!"

"Yes, Your Majesty...Oh no, Kuro-kun!"

"Get up!"

Gao Zhan said this, and then mocked, "It's really strange that Zuqing's family is doing this today. You didn't go to Fengyue Tower to be a prostitute, nor did you use your big patterned silk to trick the noble ladies in the capital to come to your house to have fun. Instead, you have some elegant taste and come here to play?"

Zu Ting chuckled.

"Your Majesty, you don't know this. This is an elegant place opened by Princess Lanling. People who come here don't come to enjoy the scenery or have fun. They come here specifically to admire the stunning beauties!"

Seeing Zu Ting's smirk, Gao Zhan could not help but understand what he meant, so he asked, "Did you see that stunning beauty?"

Zu Ting's face darkened and he immediately lowered his head: "No, but didn't I hear that Lanling Wang's wife left the city and followed Lanling Wang to Jinyang?"

"Whether he really went to Jinyang, I will send people to Jinyang to investigate!" Gao Zhan suddenly stopped and asked in a low voice, "Who else came here today?"

Zu Ting said, "There are Zhaojun Wang Gao Rui, Hejian Wang Gao Xiaowan, Guangning Wang Gao Xiaoheng, Duguan Shangshu Bi Yiyun, Taifu Gao Guiyan, and many other dignitaries in the capital. After all, the Xinghua Yanyu Tower is only open for two days a month. If you miss it, you have to wait for half a month. So everyone who should come has come today!"

"Oh? There is such a rule? Then isn't it the perfect time for me to come today?"

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Zu Ting said with a flattering smile.

"What were you drawing just now?" Gao Zhan changed the subject again, "Show it to me!"

Zu Ting's face suddenly turned pale and sweat broke out on his forehead. Under the guidance of Liu Taozhi, he honestly walked out of the room, took the half-painted scroll outside, and handed it to Gao Zhan, looking like he was waiting to die!

After Gao Zhan finished reading in silence, he suddenly praised: "What you just said was very good! Who has heard this said before?"

Can I still be praised?

Zu Ting smiled and quickly took credit: "Your Majesty, I figured it out myself!"

"Very good, don't say that again next time!"

After Gao Zhan finished speaking, he suddenly became furious:

"I wish I could give you a hammer, but you almost drew me in this painting, right? Are you mocking me?"

Zu Ting fell to his knees with a thud!

"I dare not!"

Gao Zhan suddenly became curious. These ministers usually bowed down to him and flattered him. He wondered what they talked about him in private. Thinking of this, he listened with even more interest!

Xiao Jinyu was wondering what He Shikai was planning.

……

The news that Gao Zhan was going on an incognito tour with several ministers reached Lu Lingxuan's ears at a very fast speed.

"Mother, the rumors have spread. Let's see how Xie Zhen will end up and how he will explain to Lanling King. No matter how famous he is, he has become a laughing stock in Yecheng now!"

Lu Lingxuan asked: "How did he react when he heard the rumor?"

Mutipo lowered his head again: "Very calmly, saying that as long as he doesn't feel embarrassed, it's others who will be embarrassed!"

Really... so shameless!

Mutipo cursed in his heart and looked up at his mother, but saw that his mother's face was not so good.

"It seems that Princess Liyang can't hurt his relationship with Prince Lanling. He just needs to explain to Prince Lanling that he rescued Princess Liyang from His Majesty. Prince Lanling will not only not blame him, but will be grateful to him!"

"What should I do?"

"If Princess Liyang can't hurt him, then let's go with Gao Changgong's brother... Gao Xiaowan!" Lu Lingxuan said with a slight curl in her lips, "Gao Xiaowan is the eldest son of Emperor Wenxiang Gao Cheng. If Gao Cheng doesn't die, Gao Xiaowan will most likely inherit the throne of Qi. That's why Gao Zhan is very afraid of Gao Xiaowan!

And as long as we add a little more fuel to the fire and let His Majesty kill Gao Xiaowan, or even let Gao Xiaowan die at the hands of Xie Zhen, then, this hatred stained with the blood of their closest relatives will surely create a rift between the two of them, right?"

Mutipo's eyes lit up after hearing this: "That's a good idea! But how do we start this fire?"

Lu Lingxuan's eyes flickered, and after thinking for a while, she ordered someone to bring pen, ink, paper, and inkstone, wrote a line of words, and handed it to Mu Ti Po.

"Since rumors are an extremely useful knife, why not add another rumor!"

"Find a way to get this message to Minister He, he will know what to do!"

"Yes! Mother, I'll send someone to do it right away!"

Just as Mu Ti Bo was about to leave, Lu Lingxuan called him back.

"Also, find that slave girl Anu as soon as possible, otherwise I don't know when Xie Zhen will use this slave girl to report me to His Majesty again!"

"Yes!"

……

The discussion in the Xinghua Yanyu Tower continued, but the protagonist of the discussion had shifted from Xie Zhen to Emperor Gao Zhan. Someone snorted and said, "Minister Xie risked his life to go to Yubi for peace talks with Lanling Wang. Not only did he seek a truce with Zhou, but he also raised the prestige of Qi and made Zhou send envoys to Yecheng, Qi to bring back Yuwen Hu's mother, Yan, and presented 500 dan of grain and silk.

Despite such an achievement, people don't discuss it, but instead insist on discussing some shameful and absurd things.

Furthermore, if it weren’t for the fact that Your Majesty suddenly showed his bestiality and insisted on abducting Lanling Prince’s mother, Xiao, into the palace, I’m afraid Minister Xie would not have done this!”

Hearing this, Gao Zhan's face turned completely dark, and Xiao Jinyu and Li Mi couldn't help but become nervous.

"Who is this person who is speaking?" Gao Zhan asked with a stern face, his eyes looking murderous.

Zu Ting lowered his head and replied, "It seems to be... His Royal Highness Prince Hejian!"

Hejian King Gao Xiaowan?

Changgong’s elder brother?

Xiao Jinyu suddenly had a bad feeling in her heart, and suddenly thought of Gao Xiaowan in her previous life who had passed away at a young age, and it seemed that he was killed by Gao Zhan. Could it be because of this incident?

Gao Zhan clenched his fists in anger and almost slammed them on the table.

"Taozhi, go and bring this kid to me!"

Just as Xiao Jinyu was about to step forward to stop him, Gao Zhan said, "Forget it. I'll just listen to what else he has to say."

Then someone asked, "What Prince Hejian meant was that because Your Majesty abducted Xiao into the palace, Minister Xie asked Your Majesty for her because Xiao was Prince Lanling's biological mother. In fact, he wanted to save face for Prince Lanling!"

"It's also to save your majesty's face! In my Qi State, the Queen, as the mother of the country, shook hands with ministers and scholars, showing no etiquette of a mother of the country. And your majesty wants to snatch the wife of his brother and nephew, showing no etiquette of an emperor. It's ridiculous that the king of Qi is like this, but no one dares to advise your majesty to take the right path. If this continues, the country will no longer be a country!"

What he said seemed to make some sense. As soon as King Hejian finished speaking, no one dared to discuss Xie Zhen's affairs anymore. Instead, they began to ponder the emperor's behavior.

In fact, everyone knows very well what kind of person the current emperor is. In the past, Henan Prince Gao Xiaoyu and Zhao Prince Gao Rui had advised him against it, but Gao Xiaoyu was poisoned to death. Now Zhao Prince has also been stripped of his military post and returned to Yecheng to serve as the Minister of the Chancellery.

So what Gao Xiaowan said undoubtedly touched people's hearts, but no one who listened dared to express their opinions. What if they ended up like Gao Xiaoyu?

Gao Zhan's face looked very unhappy, and He Shikai, who happened to have returned from the hall to get a pot of wine, started to add fuel to the fire.

"Your Majesty, this Hejian King is proud of being the legitimate son of Emperor Wenxiang. He has always been disrespectful to Your Majesty and does not take anyone seriously. I heard that after the death of Henan King Gao Xiaoyu last time, this Hejian King resented Your Majesty and deliberately made a straw man and shot it with arrows every day. The straw man refers to Your Majesty!"

"Earlier, there was a rumor in the Northern Wei Dynasty that grain grown in Henan grows in Hebei, and a golden rooster crows above a poplar tree. The Henan and Hebei refer to the rivers, and the golden rooster means that Gao Xiaowan is going to set up a golden rooster and grant amnesty to the world!"

"Gao Xiaowan's rebellious intentions are clearly revealed!"

This He Shikai slandered others without even blinking an eye, and Li Mi and Xiao Jinyu were both stunned.

With such a treacherous minister around, many loyal ministers and good generals will fall into his hands!

Li Mi was about to step forward to say something, but Xiao Jinyu stopped him and stepped forward first, saying, "Your Majesty, I think that rumors and a straw man alone are not enough to prove that the King of Hejian has a rebellious heart.

If rumors can convict people, then I can now fabricate rumors that He Shizhong spread rumors, deceived Your Majesty, and framed loyal officials. In that case, can I also convict He Shizhong?"

"You are talking nonsense!" He Shikai was so angry that he blew his beard and glared, "You want to excuse King Hejian because he is Gao Changgong's brother, right?"

"Your Majesty, I don't care who the other person is. I only stand on the side of justice. If Gao Xiaowan really has a rebellious heart, I am willing to execute him immediately for Your Majesty. If not, please don't kill the wrong loyal minister!"

He Shikai laughed and said, "So, Minister Xie, are you going to guarantee Gao Xiaowan? If Gao Xiaowan really has the intention of being disloyal, will Minister Xie be punished along with him?"

Xiao Jinyu ignored him and just looked at Gao Zhan and said, "If your majesty trusts me, I am willing to investigate this matter!"

Gao Zhan's eyes were already filled with displeasure, but after hearing what Xiao Jinyu said, he calmed down a little and said, "Okay, you will investigate this matter!"

"What a bummer! What was supposed to be a good incognito trip turned out like this. I'm a little tired. Let's go back!"

"Yes!"

……

After Gao Zhan finished speaking, he stood up and strode out of the Tianzihao room with Liu Taozhi and seven or eight imperial guards. Zu Ting, He Shikai, Li Mi and Xiao Jinyu followed closely behind him. Although the discussions outside had stopped, the cheers from the game of tossing pots had already begun.

Gao Zhan no longer concealed himself, and walked out of the Xinghua Yanyu Tower with his head held high in front of everyone.

"Zu Xiaozheng, you don't have to follow me. Just have fun here with the other nobles!"

"Yes!"

Hearing this, Gao Xiaowan, who was about to pick up an arrow to play pot-throwing, turned pale and cast his gaze towards Gao Zhan who had already strode out of the door.

"Zu Zhongshu, who was that person just now?"

Zu Ting looked at Gao Xiaowan as if he were looking at a dying man, nodded and sighed, "It's Your Majesty!"

The arrow in Gao Xiaowan's hand fell suddenly!

"However, Minister Xie has already found a glimmer of hope for the prince. I hope the prince will seize it well in the future!"

……

After leaving Qidilifang, Gao Zhan wanted to take a carriage to the imperial palace in Yenan City. However, just as he stepped on the stool, a group of masked men with knives suddenly rushed over. The leader shouted, "Stupid emperor, today I will let you die!"

Led by Liu Taozhi, seven or eight imperial guards immediately surrounded Gao Zhan and protected him. In addition to Xiao Jinyu and He Shikai who stayed beside Gao Zhan, Li Mi also rushed forward and fought with the group of people.

Gao Zhan was somewhat frightened and nervous. After all, he was travelling incognito today and did not have many imperial guards with him. Moreover, this was also the first time he had encountered such an assassination attempt outside the palace.

The man who came seemed to be very skilled in martial arts. Liu Taozhi and several imperial guards found it a bit difficult to deal with him. They just told His Majesty to get on the carriage and leave quickly!

Gao Zhan was frightened out of his wits. When Liu Taozhi shouted, his only thought was to get on the carriage and run away. But at this moment, Xiao Jinyu saw archers lying in ambush not far away!

Just as he noticed it, an arrow came flying through the air!

A thought suddenly flashed through Xiao Jinyu's mind!

"Your Majesty, be careful!"

Before Gao Zhan could react, he felt a figure blocking his way. He heard a "pop" sound and smelled blood.