The Flourishing Tang Dynasty: Beginning with Marrying Yang Yuhuan

Chapter 226 Harmony
Li Heng was divorced twice in one day and was hesitant and undecided for a while.

Seeing Li Heng's expression, Zhang Liangdi said, "Your Highness, if you don't make a decision, you will suffer the consequences. After your Highness divorces, you need to report it to the emperor immediately and ask the people from Jingzhao Prefecture and Marble to search the East Palace. Only in this way can the emperor be at ease."

"I..." Li Heng stood up, was silent for a long time, and said: "I will do as you say."

After Li Heng finished speaking, he walked out resolutely.

Apparently, they were going to discuss divorce.

Zhang Liangdi was both happy and sad when she saw that Li Heng really agreed to her proposal.

She was happy because Concubine Wei and Di Du Liang, the two people who had been blocking her from ascending to the throne, were finally gone, and she would soon become the new Crown Princess.

The sadness came from seeing Li Heng's ruthlessness.

Other women would be abandoned by Li Heng for the sake of profit, so why not her?

From then on, there was only interest between her and Li Heng, and no longer any affection at all.

……

Xingqing Palace, Chenxiang Courtyard.

Li Longji leaned on the dragon throne with his eyes slightly closed. Concubine Mei Jiang Caiping was massaging his back. Li Guinian was playing the flute and Li Henian was playing the piano. In the middle of the pavilion, several stunning dancers were dancing gracefully.

Gao Lishi led Li Heng to the front of the court and asked him to wait there while he went forward to report.

When Li Longji heard Gao Lishi's report, he opened his eyes and looked at Li Heng outside the pavilion. He said nothing and closed his eyes again.

It was not until the end of the song that Li Longji waved his hand to let Li Guinian and his brothers and the dancers leave first. Then he slowly sat up straight and asked Gao Lishi to call Li Heng forward.

Li Heng followed the order and stepped forward, bowed to Li Longji, and said, "Father, I came here today to report something."

"What's the matter?" Li Longji asked in a cold tone.

Li Heng said: "My son, Wei and Du Liangdi are not on good terms and have divorced."

"Oh?" Li Longji was surprised.

Mei Fei behind Li Longji was more surprised than Li Longji himself.

Over the years, Jiang Caiping has always been thinking about her relationship with Li Heng. She has always felt that Li Heng is a sentimental person and will also think about her.

But now, hearing that Li Heng was divorcing the Crown Princess and Du Liangdi at the same time, she was a little confused.

The cutting speed is a bit too fast.

If Li Heng really values ​​friendship and loyalty, even if he didn't just plead for Wei Jian and the others, at least he wouldn't have to cut ties so quickly, right?

Li Longji was very satisfied with Li Heng's approach and said, "Since the relationship is not harmonious, then we can divorce."

"Yes." Li Heng knelt down, his eyes red with grievance, and said, "I heard that Liu Ji sued Du Youlin for claiming that he was a prophet, and he framed the Crown Prince and accused him of lying. I am innocent and cannot be slandered like this. I ask Jingzhao Prefecture and Dali Temple to search the Crown Prince's Mansion as soon as possible, so that they will not slander me and destroy the evidence again if time goes on."

Li Heng was a suspect before, but Li Longji did not use force like he did against Li Ying. The reason was that Li Heng's Eastern Palace Guards were not as large as Li Ying's before.

Li Longji was confident that Li Heng would not be able to launch a military coup for the time being.

Now Li Heng took the initiative to cut ties and asked to prove himself. At this point, Li Longji's goal had been half achieved. The remaining half would be left to Li Linfu and Li Heng to weigh.

Li Longji stood up, helped Li Heng up, and said, "We father and son don't have to doubt each other. If you are innocent, justice will be served. You can go back first."

"Yes." Li Heng bowed to Li Longji and stepped back.

When he turned around, he glanced at Jiang Caiping out of the corner of his eye and saw that there was no longer the affection in Jiang Caiping's eyes as before when she looked at him, but indifference instead.

Li Heng suddenly felt extremely lonely, and for a moment he felt like he was abandoned by the whole world.

He walked in silence, under the gaze of those around him, passing through pavilions and bypassing corridors.

He walked out of Xingqing Palace with difficulty and looked up at the dazzling sun. Things in the world change, but the sun rises in the morning and sets in the evening, which never changes.

Li Heng stood there for a while, and a force surged out from the depths of his soul.

Now that you have chosen this path, you should move forward courageously.

Although loneliness is unpleasant, why can't loneliness itself become a weapon?
He is a powerless prince without any influence. He is the most pitiful prince, but also the prince that Li Longji trusts the most.

As long as the position of crown prince is preserved, everything will return to normal.

……

in prison.

The light was dim and the smell was overwhelming.

Li Ying and Zhang Guangsheng walked all the way to the torture room. Before they even entered the room, they heard the sound of whipping and bursts of miserable screams coming from the prison.

I just heard the jailer ask: "Where did you hide the things?"

"I can't bear to part with such a beautiful woman." Ji Wen said, "But if you don't tell me that I can't complete my mission, as long as you tell me, I can protect you from death."

What Ji Wen meant by protecting her from death probably meant taking her as a concubine or a slave.

After hearing what Ji Wen said, the woman sneered and spit on Ji Wen's face.

"Damn it! You don't know what's good for you!" Ji Wen grabbed the whip and started whipping the woman hard.

At this time, Li Ying and Zhang Guangsheng walked in.

When Ji Wen heard the footsteps, he turned around and saw that it was Li Ying. He ran over quickly, bowed to Li Ying, and said with a flattering smile, "Oh, His Highness Prince Shou, you are so precious, how come you are in this prison?"

Li Heng glanced at the woman being tortured, and then replied to Ji Wen: "I am here to listen to this case by order of my father. It's alright, you can judge it."

"Uh..." Ji Wen was stunned and said, "This bitch is very stubborn. She won't confess even under torture."

Feudal society was not ruled by law, and whether torture was used to extract confessions depended entirely on the kind of person the emperor was.

Li Zhi was relatively lenient. During his reign, he issued the "Edict that the Judicial Officials and Other Judges Must Follow the Law", which reprimanded judicial officials for not following the law of interrogation and committing cruel acts. The interrogated persons were subjected to cruel punishments such as hanging in shackles, freezing, starving, and binding. He required the judicial officials to strictly follow the law when conducting interrogations.

Later, when Wu Zetian came to power, torture became stricter. Not only did she set up another prison at Lijing Gate, she also employed a large number of cruel officials.

Among these cruel officials, Lai Junchen was the most famous, and the torture manual "Luozhi Jing" edited by Lai Junchen was even more well-known.

And Ji Wen is a person similar to Lai Junchen.

Li Heng did not care about Ji Wen's torture, but asked: "Where are the Chief Censor and the Supreme Court Justice? They are not here for the joint trial of the three courts?"

"This..." Ji Wen was stunned.

Ji Wen was afraid that Li Heng would be present during the trial by the three courts and might be forced to confess, so he interrogated him privately. Since it was a private trial, how could there be people from the Censorate and the Dali Temple?

Li Heng stared at Ji Wen for a long while, causing Ji Wen to break out in a cold sweat. Then he smiled slightly and asked, "Who is this lady?"

Seeing that Li Heng did not pursue the matter, Ji Wen hurriedly said, "Your Highness, she is Aunt Du."

"Oh." Li Heng nodded. "If you beat her to death before the class, I can't see her when I'm listening, so I can only report the truth to my father."

Li Ying's words not only reminded Ji Wen not to interrogate the person privately, but also hinted to Ji Wen not to kill to silence the witness. At the same time, he also said that as long as Ji Wen did these two things, he would not pursue the matter.

Ji Wen said quickly: "How dare I? I will act according to the law."

"That's good." Li Ying glanced at Ji Wen, then at Aunt Du, turned around and left the prison.

(End of this chapter)