Raiders of the Duke and Duchess

The emperor's face darkened little by little with Ning Xiuyuan's words. In the end, it was so dark that it looked like it could drip with ink.

He lowered his eyes and looked at Li Yuqi standing below expressionlessly, without saying anything for a long time.

In the huge court hall, one could hear the sound of a needle dropping quietly, and the officials had already held back their breathing, for fear that they would become the fish in the pond due to some unnecessary noise of their own.The emperor, who had been coughing from time to time just now, was not coughing now. He was staring at people with cold eyes, and the aura of being in power for a long time could not be hidden in his laziness. At this moment, he seemed not even "slightly ill".

After a long while, he spoke in a low voice, "Prince, do you have an explanation?" His voice was still hoarse, with a sense of powerlessness, indicating that he was indeed still ill.

Li Yuqi stood first, acting like an outsider from beginning to end, as if it was not him who Ning Xiuyuan was suing.

At this moment, when the emperor called him by name, he raised his hands and raised the corners of his mouth with a somewhat unclear smile. "If you want to accuse me, there is no reason to hesitate. Father, Lord Ning has sued your son and minister, and also asked Lord Ning to provide evidence." Come. If the evidence is conclusive, no matter how I explain it, it will be in vain. If there is no evidence... Then I don’t have to explain Master Ning’s groundless and false accusation."

"The prince's words are reasonable." Li Yiwei stood up with a smile, "Father, I am finally relieved to see that my father looks good today. Father, although I believe that the prince is a human being, Lord Ning will not be careless. "Pan Jie, maybe it was something that happened in Fengchenju before that caused Mr. Ning to misunderstand..."

"Fengchenju?" The emperor who had been bedridden for many days was naturally "not clear" about this matter. Hearing this, he frowned and said impatiently, "It's just a wine shop, how can the prince and my emperor have anything to do with each other? Misunderstood? Tell me."

"It's not a big deal, but His Highness the Crown Prince felt that Fengchenju was harboring gangsters, so he had the steward of Fengchenju arrested, and Fengchenju was also sealed... Although the seal was later unsealed, this person was a real person. Now that I have taken it, there is no conclusion yet about the gangster." After Li Yiwei finished speaking, he raised his hand again, "Father, you also know that the manager of Fengchenju has a good relationship with Ji Wuyan, and the emperor likes him very much. Ji Wuyan naturally paid more attention to this matter. This matter is strange. The prince took the person and did not send him to the Yamen. He did not know where he was imprisoned. This must be why Mr. Ning felt that the prince had secretly set up a secret prison. Bar?"

After saying that, there was another pause, "By the way, I heard that the steward returned to Ji's house yesterday. Someone was watching and said that he was... seriously injured and unconscious. He doesn't know whether he is alive or dead."

After saying that, he turned around and looked at the prince, with a meaningful smile on his lips, "You think so, Your Highness?"

Their eyes met, and there seemed to be silent gunpowder smoke filling the hall.

In the invisible light and shadow of swords, everyone was as silent as a cicada.

Li Yuqi sneered, "Before, I always thought that Prince Pingyang had no interest in political affairs, but now it seems that I have misunderstood the prince. The arrests and release of people in the East Palace have not escaped the prince's eyes. Presumably...this matter in the court , naturally, no matter how big or small, they can’t escape the eyes of Prince Pingyang.”

"Your Highness, the Crown Prince, is overly worried. The defense of the East Palace is impregnable, and even though I have the will, I am powerless. Otherwise, I would be the one to take part in the Prince's plan to raise private soldiers and set up secret cells today." Li Yiwei grinned softly.He was handsome and had the appearance of the empress, and he was particularly uninhibited when he smiled like this. He explained with a smile, "It's just a coincidence. Yesterday I was dining with my grandmother at Bai's house, and I met Bai, who had just returned from Ji's house. Okay, I just heard about this. I heard that just such a pretty woman was beaten to pieces, and all ten fingernails on her hands were pulled out... Tsk, His Highness the Crown Prince really doesn’t know how to show mercy to women. ." All the ministers looked at each other. At that time, the prince took Chaoyun away, and it seemed that he deliberately made the matter a big deal. There were many people who saw it. Even if they didn't see it at the time, it was passed down by word of mouth later. It was unmistakable.

It seems that the evidence for lynching is conclusive.

"Prince." The emperor called in a deep voice. Although his voice was hoarse, he was full of momentum. He asked with a dark face and a serious expression, "Now, do you want an explanation?"

"It is indeed true." Li Yuqi said calmly, "Go back to the emperor. I received a report from the common people that Fengchenju was harboring bandits... For such a big matter, it is natural to arrest the person for questioning. Could it be that the Prince of Pingyang County When encountering such a thing, did you first hold back or secretly collect evidence to confirm the reliability of the news before taking action?"

Li Yiwei ignored his last tit-for-tat and continued to ask, "Then, Your Highness, you might as well tell me where the bandits that Fengchenju is harboring come from?"

Li Yuqi cupped his hands again and faced the emperor, "Father, the emperor has verified that the fact that Fengchenju is harboring bandits is a fabrication. Now, Fengchenju has been unsealed and the manager has been put back. The person who spread the rumor has been I have also been warned and admonished by my son, but...my son is inexperienced and has gone too far, but he is really worried about the safety of the imperial city...please, father, take a closer look."

The emperor remained calm and did not speak.

Bian Dongchuan glanced at his side. The other party understood what he was thinking. He took a step forward and bowed to the prince and the prince like a peacemaker. Then he turned to the emperor and saluted and said, "Your Majesty. This matter may not be a big deal or a small matter. . If it is an ordinary wine shop in the market, and someone reports it as harboring bandits, it will be taken directly without escaping interrogation. If it is a man, rough-skinned and thick-bodied, it does not matter. Now it is a girl’s house... everyone knows , Our Highness the Crown Prince is the one who knows how to show mercy to others."

After saying that, he laughed and looked like he didn't care much.

Naturally, someone started laughing loudly, and the solemn atmosphere in the hall was dispersed.

The man added, "Mr. Ning and the county prince usually take care of everything and take good care of themselves. I'm afraid they won't visit those ordinary wine shops once in a year and a half... Now this Fengchenju has also borrowed a few points from Tongji's Wuyan family." Friendship is what attracted the attention of these two noble gentlemen. Otherwise... if I dare to say another word, just because of her status as a manager of a wine shop, I'm afraid she wouldn't be qualified to be brought to court, right?"

This is an allusion to Li Yiwei and Ning Xiuyuan's favoritism - the prince is doing it for personal enmity, and you two are doing it for personal affection, half a pound is against half a pound, fifty steps makes a smile a hundred steps, no one of us is more righteous than the other.

"Not qualified?" Ning Xiuyuan sneered, "This lord really has a really powerful mouth. He can talk about life and death. It seems that being relegated to the Ministry of Punishment is really wronging you. But, in the whole world, could it be that Loess, under the emperor, could it be that he is a subject, who is more qualified than the other, whether he works as a steward in a wine shop or earns a salary in the Ministry of Punishment?"