Yan Cigui

Chapter 448: He can hide better than anyone else (two updates combined into one, asking for monthly votes)

 Amidst several thunderstorms, summer entered the capital.

The weather suddenly became hot, making people uncomfortable and irritable.

 There were two heated debates in the Jinluan Palace.

They insisted on making a big splash and investing a lot of manpower and material resources. No matter what, they wanted to see the person alive and the body after death, and they would not give up until Li Du was found.

Some people also think that it is time to slow down, not to involve too much for Li Du, and to re-prioritise.

 “If you’re not afraid of thieves stealing, you’re afraid that thieves will miss you. If you can’t find Li Du, who can feel at ease?”

"He has no shortage of money. Give him enough time to recruit troops and recharge his batteries. This is called letting the tiger return to the mountain! He must press forward step by step. It will be difficult for him to do anything."

“Well, it’s easy to find someone in the beginning but difficult in the end. I didn’t find any trace in the first ten days, and now I’m just looking for a needle in a haystack.”

"I think he is hiding. He escaped from the capital. Even if there are still some people around him, he can't make a big storm. I'm afraid he just wants to stay anonymous and survive, and he may not have the intention to fight again."

“If you can find it, it’s best. If you can’t find it, it’s a waste of energy.”

"Yes, be it the capital city or the lower state capitals. Each government office has countless things to do. Rather than arresting Li Du, who doesn't know when he will show up, we should step up internal affairs to promote agriculture and promote business. The vibration quotient.”

“I’m not saying that I won’t look for Li Du anymore, but I’m saying that everything must be progressed steadily and we can’t lose sight of one thing or the other.”

“If we delay people’s livelihood just to find him, won’t that give Li Du the opportunity to laugh at us behind his back?”

　You say something and I say something.

 Each has its own position and its own reasons.

 Xu Jian did not speak, but stood in the queue with a serious look.

 Li Shao listened very impatiently.

 He was not one to soften his temper, and he was full of complaints about Li Du's escape.

  In the past few days, I have been talking about this topic over and over again in the morning, but the progress has been very small, so that it is all nonsense, and not much new truth can be said.

A large group of people were standing in the main hall. It didn't take long for the heat to become unbearable, and mosquitoes were buzzing and flying around, making it even more irritating.

The emperor pays attention to posture and appearance. Li Shao couldn't move freely even if he wanted to swat mosquitoes. If he didn't pay attention, there was another bag on the back of his hand.

Li Shao quietly pinched the mosquito squirrel with his nails and muttered: "If I had known this, I should have hung Li Rong on the city wall and then done whatever I had to do!"

There were courtiers talking at length, but Li Shao's voice did not spread. Only a few people around him heard it.

Li Yan glanced at Li Shao and then looked away.

Prince Ping turned his head, looked at Li Shao for a while, and shook his head slightly.

Li Shao noticed it and followed his gaze. When he saw it was Prince Ping, he could only lower his head for the time being.

 There are differences in generations.

Even his father was polite and courteous to Prince Shangping, but Li Shao only looked at him twice and did not dare to show off his great uncle in the Jinluan Palace.

 As of this morning, the final result has still not been discussed.

The Holy Emperor withdrew from the court and asked Xu Jian to go to the imperial study.

Li Shaoyuan also wanted to go over, but when he saw Prince Ping coming with a cane, he backed away.

 It’s better not to get into trouble.

In case his grandfather was in a state of his father, he said that he had no mouth, and had to take two more sentences.

Prince Ping also wants to go to the imperial study room.

 Xu Jian helped him walk together.

Since he fell ill the previous time, Prince Ping rested for a while and just returned to the throne these two days.

“I’m old,” Prince Ping sighed as he walked unhurriedly. “I’m very useless. If I want to do anything more for the Holy Father, my body can’t bear it.”

Xu Jian said: "The imperial doctor said you should rest more."

“I want to raise him too, but how can I calm down in this situation?” Prince Ping sighed, “Li Jun was poisoned and Li Du escaped from the capital. I get a headache just thinking about it.

 The late Emperor entrusted the Holy Spirit to me before he left. Since I accepted the errand of assistant minister, I also want to do a good job.

 The first few years went very smoothly, and I thought I would be able to live a long life, but something suddenly happened. "

 At this point, Prince Ping looked around to make sure that no irrelevant people would hear it, and then asked Xu Jian in a low voice: "The Lord and you both have other considerations that you didn't discuss in the morning, right?"

"Yes," Xu Jian nodded, "I do have some ideas. If I think too little, I'm afraid of being caught off guard. If I think too much, I'm afraid of making people panic, so I don't talk about it."

 Prince Ping knew what was going on.

 Just ask the Holy One later, there is no need to make it difficult for Xu Jian to say this.

 The two of them went to the imperial study room together.

Prince Ping asked about the situation, and the Holy Emperor nodded, and Xu Jian mentioned Gu Yue's situation and some subsequent thoughts.

The more he listened, the uglier Prince Ping's face became. His dissatisfaction with Li Du was clearly written on his face.

"Those things he did before, I can barely say that he had his own ambitions and goals," Prince Ping said coldly, "As a prince, he wants to be the emperor, even if he fails, he will not be reconciled. Who gave him the last name?" Where is Li?

 He has reason to be unwilling!

But just because his surname was Li, he definitely shouldn't have any internal and external cooperation with Gu Yue. If he dragged Shang Xiliang back, it would be even worse.

 Throughout the ages, those who try to borrow someone else's hand to sit on the dragon's throne will never end well!

Not only will he lose everything, but his ancestors’ inheritance will also be ruined! "

The Holy Sage said: "In the opinion of the emperor, how should we make a decision now?"

“I have been listening and thinking these past two days. All the arguments have their own truths,” Prince Ping said matter-of-factly. “The Holy Spirit’s thoughts should be consistent with mine.”

 If it is so wrong that it is untenable, just refute it directly and it is not worthy of discussion at all.

Just like what he heard Li Shao say before, "hang Li Rong on the city wall" just to vent his anger.

 What can be discussed repeatedly is that there are pros and cons that can be discussed.

Prince Ping thought for a while, considering and analyzing.

“Li Du rarely acted in a high-profile manner. Even when thieves attacked Baoping Town and burned down Dingguo Temple, he hid himself very well, not to mention the grievances between him and Concubine Dong.”

"He is very alert. The more you guard against him, the tighter he becomes."

"It wasn't like there wasn't a detailed investigation back then? Wasn't there insufficient evidence? In the end, the late emperor only punished Li Jun and Li Mi. Li Du escaped unscathed, which is considered a kind of skill."

“We have to look for him and catch him in a tight manner. I dare say he can hide better than anyone else.”

"Looking at it this way, we should still let all government affairs go as usual and step by step. We can't let Li Du neglect his business for his sake."

“At the same time, we must also be vigilant. We will not proactively look for him with great fanfare, but we must be on guard against his sudden cold arrows.”

“On this point, I agree with Xu Jian’s opinion and lead the snake out of its hole.”

“It’s not that the capital is really exposed for Li Du to target, but it’s more appropriate to leave some room for Li Du to turn around. When he moves, there will be ripples on the water surface, and he will be exposed wherever he is.”

“But then again, this is all based on the premise that Yumen is at war.”

“With Li Du in a weak situation, it’s up to two people to say whether Su Yi is still willing to join forces with him.”

"If Your Majesty doesn't want to be completely passive, you can also consider instigating a rebellion against Su Yi and strengthening the connection with Gu Yue. We Dashun and Gu Yue will do business well, join forces to defend Xiliang, and cut off Li Du's foreign aid."

 In the imperial study room, the three of them have been discussing for more than half an hour.

 Prince Ping looked exhausted when he exited.

The Holy Spirit was worried about his health, so he prepared a small chariot, and Xu Jian accompanied him to the Jingxin Hall.

 Because Prince Ping wanted to meet Li Rong.

 In the meditation hall.

Li Rong has been recuperating for many days and is now much healthier.

 After getting permission from the imperial doctor, he walked around the yard to stretch his muscles and bask in the sun during the day.

 Hence, mother and son have more opportunities for contact than before. This was also with the tacit approval of the Queen Mother.

Since Princess Jin is going to stare at and judge Li Rong, how can she not be given the opportunity to listen and feel up close?

 Coming out of the side hall, Li Rong walked across the courtyard in a few steps, stood at the foot of the steps, and looked up at Princess Jin in the corridor.

 Princess Jin was lost in thought and did not notice him.

“Mother,” Li Rong called softly, “the wrinkles between your eyebrows are deep. I see that you have always been worried.”

Hearing the sound, Princess Jin came back to her senses and smiled at Li Rong.

Li Rong asked: "Are you worried about your father?"

Princess Jin couldn't help but squeeze the handkerchief tightly. She looked deeply at her son and nodded for a long time: "I'm worried, I'm very worried."

Li Rong asked again: "Are you worried about him coming back, or are you worried about him not coming back?"

"I'm all worried," Princess Jin reached out to touch her son's head, "I just hope this will end soon."

No matter what Li Du wants to do, as long as she and her family are not harmed, Princess Jin doesn't care.

What she is really worried about is that Li Du's plan is too deep and involves Rong'er.

At Rong'er's age, she can't participate in big things, but she can't do small things. Being coaxed and persuaded by Li Du to do something irreversible is really a knife in her heart!

In the past few days, Princess Jin kowtowed in front of the Buddha, praying for Li Du to be defeated like a mountain, to be defeated quickly, and to die early!

As long as Li Du dies and Li Rong doesn't do anything inappropriate, then the two of them can live a good life.

 The Empress Dowager promised her.

  She knows that placing your future on others is not foolproof.

 But being in such a situation, Princess Jin had no good solution other than trusting the Empress Dowager.

Princess Jin reached out to hold her son in her arms and gently stroked his back.

If she just wanted to be safe for herself and her family, she was not at a loss now. She could just leave Li Rong behind. Everything Li Rong did had nothing to do with her, and she was kept in the dark from beginning to end.

 But how could she let it go?

 Rong'er is her biological son!

How could she turn a blind eye whenever there was an opportunity to save Rong'er?

“Mother,” Li Rong lowered his eyes and asked, “Don’t think about anything, don’t do anything, we just wait slowly. Anyway, we can only wait.”

 Princess Jin’s eyes turned red.

yes.

 Can only wait.

 Waiting for Li Du’s outcome, and also waiting for their mother’s outcome.

The nun who was looking after him came over and said, "Prince Ping and Duke Fu are here."

Princess Jin hurriedly let go of Li Rong and wiped the corners of her eyes to make herself look less embarrassed.

Li Rong looked at the door and said hello to the two people who came in: "Uncle Ping, auxiliary Duke."

 Facing the younger generation, Prince Ping is very generous.

He asked someone to bring a chair to sit down. He took Li Rong's hand and asked many questions in detail.

　What was the situation like on the day we left the city, what was it like in Zhuangzi, how we escaped, and how much hardship we endured in the mountains...

Xu Jian stayed with him and listened to Li Rong's answers one by one.

 The more I listen to it, the more strange I feel.

 There is nothing wrong with Li Rong’s answer.

He is an eleven-year-old boy who is smart and speaks like an adult. His speech is clear and organized, and he speaks smoothly from beginning to end.

 But it’s so smooth.

 It was so smooth that it was almost the same as when Xu Jian came to ask questions a few days ago.

 This "little" does not only refer to the content, but also includes the rhetoric.

 Xu Jian couldn't help but look at Li Rong a few more times.

 Having stayed in Shuntian Mansion for a long time and accumulated a lot of experience, Xu Jian had some experience in "confession".

 There are bound to be some differences between a confession today and tomorrow, between a small official and a governor.

 This is an extremely common thing.

 Oral narration has always been a supplementary process.

 If it’s the same every time…

 In Lord Shan’s words, “Do you, my boy, endorse this official?”

Now, Li Rong gave Xu Jian the feeling of reciting.

　　Obviously many days have passed, and the identity of the person asking the question is obviously completely different.

His question to Xu Jian was to investigate a case. When Prince Ping came to ask, it was like an elder chatting with a younger person, with a very different tone of voice.

With such an obvious difference, Li Rong’s reply was almost the same. How could he not be a “weird”?

Of course, it is not sufficient to judge that Li Rong has problems just based on this.

 First of all, grandnephews and great uncles are relatives, but it’s not necessarily how close they are. It’s not surprising that the elders want to talk about family affairs, and the younger generation responds rigidly.

 Furthermore, Li Rong did prepare a complete set of rhetoric.

Since the matter was serious and he had escaped, it was understandable that he would be suspected.

In order to prove his innocence, he must summarize everything and remember it clearly to ensure that no matter who asks, there will be no mistakes.

 Young man, if you have the heart, you can naturally do this.

 If you want to seek peace and security, endorsement is also a way.

Prince Ping asked a lot of questions, and finally patted Li Rong on the arm: "You've endured hardship, please take a good rest during this time.

Your father is your father, and you are you. Since you don’t want to rebel with him, you should draw a clear line with him in the future.

Uncle dare not say anything else, but he can only promise you one thing.

You should be filial to your mother and concubine and have nothing to do with your father and the king. Your uncle can protect you and your mother and concubine and live a good life. "

Li Rong bit his lip and nodded.

 Beside, Princess Jin thanked her with tears in her eyes.

After Prince Ping finished speaking, he stood up and left.

 Xu Jian sent him out all the way.

On the small chariot, Prince Ping closed his eyes and opened them again, and whispered to Xu Jian: "Eleven years old, he is not young anymore. He understands everything he needs to know. As for whether he can have a transparent heart after understanding it, it depends on himself. ”

Xu Jian watched Prince Ping leave, turned around and took another look at the Jingxin Hall.

At this moment, what he was thinking of was the advice the old prince gave to the Holy Emperor in the imperial study.

 “Incite rebellion”.

 Prince Ping suggested instigating rebellion against Su Yi.

 He came to Jingxintang with some intention of rebelling against Li Rong.

 He clearly put it out precisely because Prince Ping also believed that Li Rong's return was not innocent.

 Happy weekend everyone~~~

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