Chapter 1448 Crouching Tiger, Coiling Dragon, Zhou Chen and Emperor Qing Confront Each Other

"Ah~, someone, someone!"

A scream of extreme fear came from the Queen Mother's bedroom, startling all the eunuchs and maids who were dozing around the bedroom to come back to their senses instantly, and rushed to the Queen Mother's bedroom in panic.

In just a short time, the Queen Mother's bedroom was already surrounded by people.

The Queen Mother was wrapped in a blanket, tightly wrapped around herself, and was surrounded by guards and eunuchs. The head of the eunuchs, Hong Sixiang, was also in the bedroom.

But even so, the elderly Queen Mother still felt cold all over, with a face full of fear, and completely lost her usual majesty and solemnity.

At this moment, she was not the Queen Mother above millions of people, but an old woman who was frightened and could only tremble in fear.

When she woke up from a sleep, she saw the three items, white silk, dagger and poisoned wine, placed at the head of her bed, and she would be as scared as she was, especially an old woman like her who stood at the top of power and didn't sleep well. Facing this situation, she was even more scared than ordinary people.

This fright almost made her soul fly away.

Hong Sixiang looked at the white silk, dagger and poisoned wine on the bedside of the empress dowager, and his heart was beating wildly, and he was terrified.

Everyone knew what these three things meant. Someone was threatening the empress dowager.

Who on earth had such courage and ability to come and go freely in the inner palace, sneak into the empress dowager's bedroom, and put down these three things?

Hong Sixiang thought of a possibility. The only person in the world who could do such a thing under his nose was.

Grandmaster!

Thinking of this, he was even more frightened. Although the outside world rumored that he was a hidden grandmaster in the palace, he knew what he was like. He just looked like a grandmaster. If he really met a grandmaster, he would be killed in one move.

He couldn't handle this matter, and he had to hand it over to His Majesty.

In just a moment, he understood that he had checked the Queen Mother's bedroom several times and found nothing. Except for the Grand Master, even the closest person to the Queen Mother could never do this.

Because the Queen Mother's bedroom incident, although it was still in the Yin hour, had caused a lot of chaos in the palace.

Emperor Qing, who had been studying arrows all night, was woken up in his sleep and was very angry, but after learning about what happened in the Queen Mother's bedroom, he shuddered and woke up instantly.

"Go to the Queen Mother's bedroom, quickly."

He didn't even have time to change his clothes, he put on a robe and ran to the Queen Mother's bedroom.

As soon as he arrived at the Queen Mother's bedroom, the old woman seemed to have found her backbone, and she threw herself on him with a wow and yelled.

"Emperor, Emperor, someone wants to harm me, son..."

Emperor Qing hugged the Queen Mother, his face full of helplessness. If it was someone else, he would have thrown him out long ago, but this was the Queen Mother, he could only endure it.

"Mother, it's okay, mother. I will take care of it. You go to another bedroom to rest first."

But the queen mother held his hand tightly, her cloudy old eyes were about to pop out, and she said excitedly: "It's her, she is back, it's her, it must be her, Ye..."

"Mother!"

Emperor Qing interrupted the queen mother loudly, looked at her deeply, and said in a deep voice: "She is dead, mother, she is dead, dead, and can't come back. Someone, take the queen mother to rest."

The queen mother was really scared, and she was left by the eunuchs and palace maids.

Emperor Qing waved his hand to let everyone else leave, leaving only Hong Sixiang.

"Hong Sixiang."

"Your Majesty."

Emperor Qing looked at the three objects with a gloomy look, and his face was extremely ugly.

"I asked you to guard the palace, and this is how you guard it?"

Hong Sixiang fell to his knees, kowtowed, and replied in fear and trepidation: "Your Majesty, I deserve to die, I deserve to die."

"You really deserve to die, and it's not too much to die ten thousand times, hum."

Emperor Qing's eyes flashed with cold light. He was really angry and wanted to kill Hong Sixiang, but he thought that he still needed Hong Sixiang now. If Hong Sixiang died, he would have no shield, so he could only suppress the anger in his heart.

"No abnormality was found, who do you think it was?"

Hong Sixiang didn't even dare to wipe the sweat, and hurriedly replied: "Only a grandmaster can do it."

"Grandmaster?"

Emperor Qing's face became more gloomy. This was not the first time such a thing happened. It happened once twenty years ago.

"Grandmaster, or Wuzhu? No, not Wuzhu, it's him, Zhou Chen."

Gritting his teeth and spitting out a name, Emperor Qing smashed the three items with a palm.

"It must be him. He is the only one in Kyoto now. Great, great, revenge has come to me. He is indeed lawless and despises the imperial power. What a great master."

There are only a handful of people who can do this. He thought about it and understood the reason.

Only Zhou Chen has this motive.

He had just transferred Zhou Chen's aunt and uncle to Kyoto a few days ago. They came to disgust Zhou Chen. A few days later, this happened. Obviously, Zhou Chen didn't really want to kill people. He was just threatening and deliberately scaring the queen mother.

Perhaps, this is Zhou Chen's response to his actions.

"Very good, young master, you are really young and vigorous."

"Hateful! Hateful! Damn it!"

Listening to the hideous roar of Emperor Qing, Hong Sixiang trembled all over, his head touched the ground, and he didn't dare to lift it up.

"Get out!"

Hong Sixiang escaped from the queen mother's bedroom as if he had been pardoned.

Only Emperor Qing was left. He no longer concealed his anger and exuded an astonishing murderous aura.

"Great Master, if you don't surrender, you must die!"

Li Yunrui was also awakened from her sleep. Like Emperor Qing, she was in a very unhappy mood when she woke up. But when the maid told her what happened, she was stunned for a moment, and then burst into hearty laughter.

"Hehehehahahaha..."

Li Yunrui hasn't laughed so heartily for a long time. She is really, really happy now.

"Okay, Zhou Chen, you really did something big that I wanted to do but didn't dare to do. That's great. That old woman deserves it. She deserves it for scaring her to death, haha."

"Your Highness, be silent, be silent."

The maid warned carefully, but the cheerful Li Yunrui didn't care at all and continued to laugh.

"Be silent, this is my Guangxin Palace. Anyone who dares to talk nonsense will be sent to death."

Then she remembered the key question and asked: "Are you sure there are no problems with those three things?"

The maid replied: "Don't worry, Your Highness, we will never be found."

"That's good."

Li Yunrui nodded with satisfaction. At this time, she had no sleepiness at all.

"Go and heat up two pots of wine for me. I want to have a good drink. It's a pity that Duke Zhen Guo is gone. Otherwise, it will be more enjoyable with him."

The maid said cautiously: "Your Highness, is this Duke of Zheng a little too courageous?"

"Big? If you are not brave, can you become a great master?"

Li Yunrui had a cold look on his face: "The Grand Master is already at the top of the world's martial arts, and Zhou Chen is a young man with soaring arrogance. Your Majesty thought he could be easily manipulated, but he didn't know that he was ignored at all. Haha, it's so interesting."

Suddenly, her expression condensed: "For some reason, I actually saw a trace of an old friend in him. No, they are completely different."

Although the incident in the Queen Mother's chamber caused a lot of commotion in the palace, under the order of Emperor Qing, no news spread out of the palace. Even those forces with spies in the palace only knew what happened that night. Something related to the Queen Mother, but very few people know what happened specifically.

It was slightly cool in the morning, and Zhou Chen stood in the pavilion, enjoying the breeze.

"It will be another sunny day today!"

Just after having breakfast with Sang Wen, a servant came over to report that someone from the palace came to see him.

Zhou Chen came to the front hall unhurriedly, and then saw Eunuch Hou next to Emperor Qing.

"Eunuch Hou."

"I've met Duke Zhen Guo."

As Emperor Qing's personal eunuch, Eunuch Hou knew much more than others, so he kept a very low profile in front of Zhou Chen.

He pointed to the two large boxes on the ground with a smile on his face.

"Your Majesty heard that the Duke of Zhen is fond of calligraphy, painting and engraving. Your Majesty personally selected this for the Duke. I believe that the Duke will like it."

Zhou Chen lightly clicked his tongue and said: "I usually stay at home, but your majesty actually knows that I like calligraphy, painting and sculpture. Your majesty is really wise and insightful into people's hearts. Then please ask Eunuch Hou to go back and report. I like your majesty's gift very much. It’s a pity that my family doesn’t have that condition, otherwise I would definitely give His Majesty a big gift.”

Eunuch Hou blinked his eyes, with an innocent and flattering expression on his face, showing no other emotions at all, and it seemed that he did not hear the sarcasm in Zhou Chen's tone.

"This old slave will tell His Majesty the truth about the Duke's wishes."

"That's good work, Tong Quan. I'd like to send you off to Eunuch Hou."

"I can't do it, I can't do it. I can go on my own, just go on my own."

Tong Quan sent Eunuch Hou away and returned to Zhou Chen. At Zhou Chen's signal, she opened the two boxes to check.

First, he opened the box containing the paintings and calligraphy, and opened several paintings in succession. Then he frowned and carefully handed them to Zhou Chen.

"Oh, nice calligraphy and nice paintings, but why are there so many works that describe loyalty to the country and loyal ministers and good generals?"

With a smile on Zhou Chen's lips, he knew that what happened last night would definitely make Emperor Qing guess that it was him, and it would definitely make Emperor Qing furious. His behavior also let Emperor Qing know about it, and there was absolutely no possibility of surrender. Only then would he Send him these.

Tong Quan opened another box, which contained a wooden sculpture. He only took one look at it, and his expression became extremely solemn.

"Master."

Zhou Chen turned his eyes to the wooden sculpture and was happy.

"This is a tiger. It's well carved, but the lying posture doesn't look very good. Crouching tiger, interesting, interesting."

The two of them haven't met yet, but they already understand each other's thoughts. Emperor Qing is reminding him and warning him not to go too far. When you should lie down, you have to lie down.

"Tong Quan, how about you, young master, give your majesty a wooden carving and make a coiled dragon?"

"Master, be careful that the walls have ears."

Tong Quan whispered nervously: "Your Majesty knows that the young master likes calligraphy, painting and wood carving, which means there must be someone else's spy in our house."

Zhou Chen said with an indifferent expression: "Even the imperial palace has almost become a sieve. What's so strange about someone else's spy in my palace? Besides, I've sent two boxes of gifts. Let him hear what I say." If so, what can I do?”

"Actually, your young master, I am not a difficult person to get along with. As long as others don't mess with me, I usually don't bother to cause trouble. But some people are just used to being aloof, and they just like to play with what they have and what they don't have. If I don’t fight back, I really think I have a good temper and am easy to bully.”

He had always felt that he was not the type that everyone disliked. Even if he traveled to this world and knew what Emperor Qing was like, he would not be able to understand him.

But at the beginning, he didn't think about being hostile to Emperor Qing. Anyway, the main task was not to oppose Emperor Qing. It was good for everyone to be safe. After all, there were many people he didn't like. He couldn't go looking for trouble with each one. He didn't have the time.

But Emperor Qing didn't want him to have an easy life. He started to plot against him before he returned to Kyoto. One after another, he was just passively counterattacking.

So strictly speaking, it was Emperor Qing who provoked first.

"No, I'm a polite person. If someone gives me a gift, I must return it. Tong Quan, go and prepare a suitable piece of good wood for me. I must carve an exquisite coiled dragon."

"Master, this is not necessary, right?"

Zhou Chen pretended to kick him: "Master, do you still need to teach me how to do things? Hurry up and find it for me."

Tong Quan went to find wood with a bitter face.

Zhou Chen looked towards the direction of the palace.

"Don't you want to keep a low profile and restrain your edge? I'm sure you will like this gift."

"Come here, put this crouching tiger wood carving in the most conspicuous place in the front yard, and make sure you can see it when you enter the mansion."

…………

Afternoon, 3:00 pm, the palace, the imperial study.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, Your Majesty..."

The panicked cry of Eunuch Hou interrupted Emperor Qing's thoughts, making him frown and stare at Eunuch Hou with cold eyes.

"If you don't have anything important to report, go and get the Ten Court Sticks later."

"Tell me, what's the matter?"

Eunuch Hou replied: "Your Majesty, just now, the Duke of Zhenguo sent someone to deliver a precious and rare item, saying that it was to be presented to Your Majesty."

"Hehe."

Emperor Qing stopped reviewing, put down his pen, and looked inexplicable.

"I just gave him a reward this morning, and he sent someone to present a rare item this afternoon. This Duke of Zhenguo is really getting more and more interesting."

"In that case, then have someone bring it over. I want to see what the rare item is."

Eunuch Hou opened his mouth and wanted to say something, but he didn't dare to speak. Emperor Qing saw it.

"What do you want to say?"

"Your Majesty, the box that the Duke of Zhenguo sent the gift in is the box that Your Majesty gave this morning."

Emperor Qing's expression froze, and he had a bad premonition in his heart, but he still gave the order with a stern face.

"Bring it up."

"I obey your order."

Under the command of Eunuch Hou, two guards carried the box into the imperial study.

Emperor Qing was only responsible for selecting the gift. As for what the box looked like, he didn't know, but Eunuch Hou said it, and he couldn't help but look at the box.

"Open it!"

Eunuch Hou opened it as he was told, revealing the items in the box, and he took out the items with great effort.

But when the object was fully revealed, his face changed instantly, and he fell to his knees, looking at Emperor Qing in horror.

Emperor Qing no longer cared about him, his eyes were fixed on the wood carving in front of him, his face as black as the bottom of a pot.

"Your Majesty!"

"Get out! Get out!"

Eunuch Hou was panicked, and he rolled and crawled out of the imperial study. After he went out, his heart was still beating wildly. He never expected that the Duke of Zhenguo would be so bold.

The dragon is a symbol of the emperor. The Duke of Zhenguo gave Emperor Qing a wooden dragon, which was lifelike and just like a perfect art, fascinating.

But the problem is that this dragon is coiled.

Coiled dragon.

In the morning, Emperor Qing gave Zhou Chen a crouching tiger, and in the afternoon, Zhou Chen gave Emperor Qing a coiled dragon in return.

Just thinking about it, Eunuch Hou trembled all over, and he wanted to take his eyes off. How could he see so many things he shouldn't see? It was too damnable.

In the imperial study, Emperor Qing stared at the dragon sculpture, his whole body exuding a terrifying murderous aura. After a long time, he suddenly took the arrow beside him, swung it hard, and shot it at the dragon sculpture.

"Bang!"

The dragon sculpture, which was like a work of art, exploded instantly, turning into countless scraps, flying in the imperial study.

But even so, Emperor Qing was still furious, gnashing his teeth, and moaning like a devil.

"Zhou Chen, you are looking for death..."

"Come here, check where Chen Pingping is, and ask him to return to Kyoto immediately."

In the Zhenguo Mansion, Zhou Chen was fishing by his own pond, thinking about what expression Emperor Qing would have when he saw the dragon sculpture. It must be very interesting.

"Hahaha..."