The evening wind is howling and the night is as cool as water. Silent cold light, the lonely moon shines brightly.
The light inside the prison was dim and gloomy, and the occasional screams were chilling.
Ling Yun, accompanied by Prison Leader Li, came to the cell where Lu Wenzheng was held.
Through the bars, Ling Yun silently stared at the tired and weak figure on the haystack, speechless for a long time.
"Lu Wenzheng, Mr. Zhou has something to ask you!" Leader Li glanced at him with disdain, looking arrogant.
Lu Wenzheng said without raising his head or opening his eyes: "Why don't you, Master Zhou, be disrespectful to Master Zhou? Lu doesn't bother messing around with unknown people."
Li Laotou teased: "Lu Wenzheng, you are so arrogant! Do you think you are still the arrogant Minister of the Ministry of Justice? Now that you have reached this level, are you still claiming to be noble?"
Ling Yun waved his hand at him, "Brother Li, you go and do your work first. I'll treat you to a drink another day. I'm here, on Master Li's order, and I have a few words to say to him."
Li LaoTou snorted dissatisfied, turned around and went out.
There were only two people in the cell, Lu Wenzheng and Ling Yun.
Lu Wenzheng still lowered his head and dismissed him, but he could feel that the other party was looking at him intently.
He finally couldn't stand the unspeakable silence, raised his head and glanced at the person in front of him, and said coldly: "If I guessed correctly, you must be the lobbyist sent by Li Zhishan again, right?"
Ling Yun didn't speak, just stared at him helplessly. A thin layer of redness slowly spread to his eyes like rising water in a river, extinguishing the light in his eyes.
Lu Wenzheng said lazily: "If this is the case, then I would like to advise you: don't waste your time on me! Please come back, I am as stone-hearted and will not change my mind!"
Ling Yun clenched his teeth tightly, but the courage and strength to speak out were all gone.
Lu Wenzheng said: "What's going on with you? Why don't you speak?"
"Why don't you ask me who I am?" Ling Yun said in a thick voice.
What a familiar voice. Lu Wenzheng wondered if he heard wrongly? He raised his head in astonishment, staring into Ling Yun's tearful eyes without blinking, and said in a trembling voice: "You... you are..."
Ling Yun's whole body trembled. He plopped down and knelt down in front of Lu Wenzheng. He grasped the iron window tightly with both hands and choked: "My lord, it's... me..."
Lu Wen was looking at his tear-stained face, and was so excited that he didn't know what to say for a moment. After a while, he said incoherently: "Ling... Yun... Zhichao, is it really you? I... wasn't I dreaming? …”
Ling Yun burst into tears and said: "Sir, you are not dreaming, it is really me..."
The two of them held hands and looked at each other, speechless.
After a long time, the two of them were separated from the atmosphere of grief and anger. Lu Wenzheng asked: "Zhichao, why are you here? And why do you describe it like this?"
"It's hard to explain in one sentence." Ling Yun sighed softly, and then briefly recounted the whole story of how he sneaked into the palace and investigated the prince's case; finally, he told Lu Wenzheng about Yang Zhenfei's letter and the urgent matter.
After saying that, he raised his sword eyebrows and looked at Lu Wenzheng with a scorching gaze: "My lord, now Ding Jinzhi is colluding with Tian Xiao's people and is planning a plan to kill you; your current situation is very dangerous, and there is no other choice. Get out of here now!"
Lu Wenzheng was stunned: "Do you mean you want me to escape from prison?"
Ling Yun said: "That's the only way. They are not on guard now. I just told the prison boss that Li Zhishan is going to interrogate you. Let's get out of the prison first..."
Lu Wenzheng's eyes were serious, as if there was a sharp chill that was fleeting, and he said flatly: "No!"
Ling Yun was stunned for a moment, "Sir——"
Lu Wenzheng's expression was solemn, his lips pursed into a straight line, and he said in a decisive tone: "Lv was innocent all his life and was loyal to the Holy Emperor and the court. Although he is being framed by powerful officials now, I believe that one day he will be vindicated!
"What does it matter if I let you escape now? They are worried about not being able to catch evidence of my crime. Wouldn't this just give others a clue? Ling Yun, you don't need to persuade me anymore. In short, I will not leave here even if I die. of!"
Ling Yun said: "But sir, the situation now is different from before. They are extremely vicious and are about to kill you. Can't you just sit here and wait for death?"
Lu Wenzheng said: "Even if I just sit back and wait for death, I am willing to do so. Even if Lu is killed, he will not disobey the imperial court or do anything disobedient!"
"Sir, why are you doing this?..." Ling Yun raised his head and took a deep breath, his lips trembling slightly.
"If you are really harmed by them, no matter how loyal you are to the court, what's the use? Sir, please listen to me: don't wait for death here with your loyalty unforgettable. You first Follow me and leave here, and one day your grievances will be cleared up, and won't the court be able to restore your innocence for the rest of your life?"
"Ling Yun, shut up! If you dare to say these treasonous words to me again, I will crash to death here!..." Lu Wenzheng's face instantly turned black, and the words coming out of his mouth were so cold that they dropped ice.
"Listen to me and leave here immediately; don't worry about my business yet..." As he said that, he weakly let go of the hand that was holding Ling Yun tightly and turned his back to ignore him.
Ling Yun was extremely sad and said in a trembling voice: "My lord——"
Lu Wenzheng still turned his back to him and said indifferently: "Life and death are small matters, but integrity is big. If God has eyes, I will be lucky to be able to let Lu Mou out alive; if Lu Mou really cannot escape this disaster and dies in prison Yes, that is God's will. As long as the grievances can be redressed one day, I will be smiling!..."
When he said this, his voice was very unstable, like mottled brush strokes carved in the air. It was obviously a light feather-like texture, but it made Ling Yun feel a pain like a knife or an ax in his heart.
Lu Wenzheng said dullly: "It's getting late, you can go! - If you come to see me next time for this reason, I won't pay attention to you anymore!"
Ling Yun's expression was blank for a moment, as if something had broken apart, making no sound.
Time seemed to have stopped for a moment. At this time, the sound of Li Laotou's footsteps came from outside.
"Sir, I'm going back first. Please take care of yourself." Ling Yun lowered his eyes silently and clenched his teeth uncontrollably, as if all his efforts were in vain, and his heart was filled with disappointment and helplessness.
He cupped his hands at Lu Wenzheng's back, slowly stood up from the ground, sighed softly, then turned around with some difficulty and walked out.
It wasn't until Ling Yun's footsteps faded away that Lu Wenzheng slowly turned around.
The emotions on his face progressed layer by layer like turbulent waves; the part of his heart was numb, as if it was being cut with a knife, and the pain was so painful that he could hardly breathe.
Staring blankly at Ling Yun's retreating back, his eyes were filled with tears...
The spring wind carries the impatience of coming, making the leaves rustle. A light rain came suddenly, falling on the window lattice.
In the study room of the Jinling Palace. The red window was half-opened, letting in a hint of coolness; the sound of light rain was mixed with a few shocking thunders.
Zhao Fu, the prince of Jinling, was crouching in front of several cases and writing furiously.
He was writing a memorial to Emperor Zhao Yu, describing the recent progress of the ongoing investigation of the prince's case: "As for Lu Wenzheng's murder of the prince, there are many doubts, the motive is unclear, and the evidence is insufficient. Everything is still open to question. "
"I beg you, Your Majesty, to think twice before you act, and don't let a moment's oversight lead to regrets, hurt innocent people, and hurt loyal ministers by mistake. By then it will be too late to regret..." Prince Jinling finally wrote.
At this time, family member Zhao Wei came in and reported: "Your Majesty, the two father-in-laws in the palace outside have urgent matters to see."
Prince Jinling was stunned for a moment, and his brush strokes suddenly stopped. A large pool of ink dripped on the memorial, like a flower blooming, spreading little by little.
Looking at the memorial that was stained with ink, Prince Jinling shook his head in annoyance.
"Prince..." Seeing the sluggish look on Prince Jinling's face, Zhao Wei coughed suggestively.
"Oh, please come quickly." Prince Jinling calmed down and said hurriedly.
After a while, two palace servants dressed as eunuchs hurried in with panic on their faces.
Prince Jinling glanced at the two of them and said, "You two father-in-laws are so handsome. What do you call them?"
One person said: "We are people close to the Queen Mother, and we have just entered the palace. Because Eunuch Liu has something to do in the past two days, so the Queen Mother sent us two to see the prince."
Prince Jinling's heart suddenly sank, "It turns out that the Queen Mother sent you here. Tell me what's wrong?"
The man said with fear on his face: "Princess Huanyu...she suddenly got an emergency..."
"What?..." Prince Jinling felt a bang on his head, and his face instantly turned pale.
The man lowered his head and looked away and said: "The princess was fine this morning, but she suddenly complained of pain in her chest. It was so scary! The Queen Mother has already asked the imperial doctor to diagnose and treat the princess. What is the specific situation? The younger one didn’t know it yet, so he hurriedly came to report to the prince on the orders of the Queen Mother..."
Prince Jinling said anxiously: "Zhao Wei, hurry up and prepare the sedan, and come with me to the palace right away!"
Zhao Wei responded and quickly went out to make arrangements.
The father-in-law glanced at his companions and said to Zhao Fu, "In this case, I will take the first step." After saying this, he bowed, turned around and hurried away.
Prince Jinling here had no time to think about anything and hurried to the Ouchi Palace accompanied by Zhao Wei and others.
When he arrived at the palace, Zhao Fu got off the sedan chair and rushed inside in a hurry. Seeing the anxious look of Prince Jinling, the maids in the palace dared to stop him, but they just looked at him in surprise.
Prince Jinling soon arrived at Princess Huanyu's palace. Not seeing Huan Yu, he asked a palace maid next to him, "Where is the princess now? How is her condition?"
The palace maid was startled: "What, the princess's... condition? The princess has been well, and the servant even greeted her just now!..."
Prince Jinling was confused for a moment. Only then did he calm down and look around. It was in good order. Although the palace maids were waiting with breathless concentration, their expressions were calm and there was nothing unusual. He couldn't help but wonder.
At this time, footsteps sounded outside, and Princess Huanyu walked in slowly, accompanied by Xiangyun and other maids. Seeing Prince Jinling, Huanyu's eyes flashed with surprise and joy, "Dad, why are you here?"...
