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Guangdefang, Jingzhaofu Prison.
"Tell me! Who is behind you?"
The firelight shone from behind the interrogator. Lu Zhaolin could not see the other person's face clearly, so he could only smile bitterly: "Who is behind you? I really don't know what you mean by asking?"
"Are you still pretending to be confused?" The interrogator laughed, and the laughter was full of coldness: "Lu Zhaolin, do you know where this is? This is Jingzhao Mansion Prison. Once you enter here, even a wooden person can Let him open his mouth! Tell him who in the end instigated you to openly slander Zhou Guogong’s new book!”
"A new book that slanders Zhou Guogong?" Lu Zhaolin was stunned: "Are you talking about the "Thirty Kingdoms Spring and Autumn"? But it was clearly Zhou Guogong who invited scholars from all over the world to come and taste the book that day. He also said that if anyone found any fallacies, I rewarded you with a thousand gold coins, and I did point out several errors in the book. This shouldn’t be considered as slandering Duke Zhou, right?”
"Hmph!" The interrogator sneered: "You have a clever tongue. Well, let me ask you, Lu Zhaolin, why did you return to Chang'an this time?"
"Of course I hope to make progress in my official career!"
"Okay! Then let me ask you, who did you meet on the first day after returning to Chang'an?"
"Prince Deng and Li Jiong!"
"Why did you meet him first?"
"I once served as a clerk in the palace of Prince Deng Li Yuanyu for more than ten years. Although the late king is no longer here, it is only natural for me to visit him when I next return to Chang'an!"
"Well, write it down!" the interrogator shouted to the clerk on the side: "After Lu Sheng confessed and returned to Beijing, he immediately went to Deng Wang Li Jiong and had a long conversation."
"This -" Lu Zhaolin was shocked when he heard this and said quickly: "How can you accuse someone of innocence out of thin air!"
"A person who is innocent is innocent?" The interrogator sneered: "When you go to Prince Deng's Mansion, has Prince Deng seen you?"
"Yes!" Lu Zhaolin could only reply.
"Then how long have you seen each other?"
"About an hour or so!" Lu Zhaolin explained: "But we were just talking about some poems and paintings at that time?"
"Didn't the confession say that what you were talking about was not about poetry and paintings?" The interrogator sneered: "You are so anxious, do you have a guilty conscience?"
Lu Zhaolin was speechless when asked, and was speechless for a moment. The interrogator sneered upon seeing this, his laughter full of pride, like a tabby cat catching a mouse.
"What about the next day?" asked the interrogator.
"The next day?" Lu Zhaolin was stunned.
"Yeah, what did you do the next day? Don't tell me you can't remember!"
This time Lu Zhaolin did not dare to answer casually. It was obvious that the interrogator in front of him wanted to implicate innocent people and lay out accusations. Seeing that Lu Zhaolin was silent, the interrogator sneered: "You're not talking, are you? It doesn't matter, just write it down. Lu Sheng didn't answer, presumably to protect the person behind the scenes!"
"Wait a minute!" Lu Zhaolin became anxious upon hearing this and said quickly: "I'm not protecting anyone behind the scenes!"
"Then why didn't you answer? Did you do something shameful the next day?" the interrogator sneered.
"No, I just can't remember it all at once. It's been a long time!"
"Okay, I'll give you half a quarter of an hour to think about it!" The interrogator picked up the cup on the side and took a sip of water: "But if you think about it clearly, everything you say will be recorded. If you lie, you should know What consequences will there be!”
The interrogator's last words made Lu Zhaolin tremble. His forehead was already covered with beads of sweat the size of soybeans. After a few minutes, he carefully answered: "The next day I went to visit Mr. Hao Xianggong, the Minister of Dongtai!"
"Meet him?" The interrogator laughed: "Why?"
"Asking for an official!"
"He met you?"
"See you!"
"Who gave you the letter of recommendation? From Prince Deng?"
"Not bad! Xiaosheng also brought some poems written by himself!" Lu Zhaolin felt sweat sliding down his face. He had a feeling that he was trapped in a quagmire. The harder he struggled, the faster and deeper he fell. Not only He will be ruined and many others will be implicated.
Time passed quickly, and in a blink of an eye it was five o'clock, and the sound of a rooster crowing in the distance came from outside the window, and the night passed like this. The interrogator took the recorded confession from the scribe on the side and let out a tsk-tsk sound of admiration while flipping through it. Finally, he carefully collected the documents, put them into his sleeves, and said to Lu Zhaolin: "Lu Sheng, you are a smart man, and you should know very well what will happen to you after this confession is delivered. Your only way to survive now is to Tell the whole story clearly and identify the people behind the scenes. Not only will you be able to escape the crime, but you will also receive a heavy reward! Think carefully about where to go! "
"Yes, but what I did that day really has nothing to do with the people I met earlier!" Lu Zhaolin replied desperately.
The interrogator smiled, waved his hand, and the clerk on the side quickly and carefully retreated. He and Lu Zhaolin were the only two people left in the cell.
The interrogator smiled and said: "After you returned to Chang'an, you found that these people were a thorn in the queen's side and a thorn in the flesh. Who is Zhou Guogong? The queen's nephew, given the surname Wu, inherited the title of the queen's father. You said he was in Hongwen Whose idea was it to compile "Thirty Kingdoms Spring and Autumn"? Whose face did you offend by pointing out his fault in public? You said that no one instigated you in this matter, and that it was all said casually by yourself. What do you think of this? Does the emperor believe it? Does the queen believe it? Does everyone in the world believe it? Well, even if what you say is true, no one is really instigating you behind your back. It is you who does not know the heights of heaven and earth, and talks nonsense in front of Duke Zhou. What do you think will be your end? Does it matter whether many things in this world are true or false? The important thing is that you have to survive, rise step by step, wear red and purple. Don't think that you are the first person to say something against your will, in court If all the ministers were in your situation, they would only make the same choice!" At this point, he gently patted Lu Zhaolin on the shoulder: "Think about it! I'll see you again in the evening!" After that, , and walked out the door.
Seeing that the interrogator was about to disappear at the door, Lu Zhaolin opened his mouth and asked, "Dare you ask me for your name?"
"Wannian County Magistrate Zhou Xing!"
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East Palace.
"Your Majesty Wang Wenzuo pays homage to His Highness the Crown Prince!"
"Without ceremony, Sanlang comes in to talk!" Li Hong waved his hand, his face full of joy: "Come here, give Wang Qing a bowl of buttermilk!"
"Thank you, Your Highness!" Wang Wenzuo bowed his hand. He was already very familiar with him in the East Palace and said with a smile, "Why is the prince so happy today? Is there something good going on?"
A blush flashed across Li Hong's face, but he did not deny it. He nodded: "Yes, there is indeed a good thing!"
"Oh?" Wang Wenzuo was stunned. He didn't expect that he guessed it right: "Really? What a good thing?"
Li Hong did not answer. A favored young eunuch next to him laughed and said: "General Wang doesn't know something, but His Highness the Crown Princess has already chosen her!"
"Oh?" Wang Wenzuo was stunned for a moment, then laughed: "Yes, this is a great thing that everyone is celebrating! I congratulate His Royal Highness the Crown Prince!" He bowed to Li Hong and said with a smile: "May I ask which company it is from? Is this woman so lucky? She was chosen by your two majesties and you!"
"The daughter of Si Wei Shaoqing Yang Sijian!" Li Hongdao, his face full of joy: "My father and mother gave me two candidates. The other one is the daughter of General Zuo Jinwuwei Pei Judao. In the end, I still feel that Yang Your daughter agrees, so I chose her!"
Wang Wenzuo smiled and said: "I think Yang Qing's daughter Derong Shuxian is more suitable to be a concubine!"
"No!" Li Hong shook his head: "Pei Qing's daughter is also very good, but I still think Yang Qing's daughter is more desirable!"
"I guess the daughter of the Yang family is more beautiful! Understand, understand, men are all visual animals!" Wang Wenzuo thought to himself, but said: "No matter what, this is a happy event, but I don't know when we will get married. ?”
"The specific time has not been determined yet, the Ministry of Rites is discussing it!" Li Hong smiled bitterly and shook his head: "It will probably be in the autumn? But I am still a little confused. Really, how should I put it? Does Wang Qing understand what I mean?"
"Haha!" Wang Wenzuo said with a smile: "It's not surprising, this kind of big event has happened before more or less. Prince, there is no need to be nervous, there must be a road to the mountain!"
"Really? That's great!" Li Hong glanced at Wang Wenzuo and suddenly smiled: "What about you, Wang Qing? Will you be like a widow before your wedding?"
"How is that possible?" Wang Wenzuo said with a smile: "Before I got married, I had been fighting in Japan and Baekje for almost ten years. What kind of battles have I never seen? You have several children, how can you be nervous?"
"Ah?" Li Hong was surprised when he heard this: "Would Wang Qing's wife be very angry?"
"No!" Wang Wenzuo said with a smile: "Shan's wife is the daughter of the Cui family in Shandong. She is very particular about etiquette and law. As long as the children born before I married her will not affect the inheritance of the family business, she will not be angry."
"So that's it!" Li Hong said with a smile: "That's true. Fortunately, Wang Qing, you didn't marry the daughter of the Li family, otherwise it wouldn't be so easy!"
Wang Wenzuo laughed twice and said nothing. Li Hong didn't pay attention to Wang Wenzuo's reaction. Like all young people who were about to get married, his heart was filled with longing for happiness at this time, and he hoped that the people around him could share it with him. He smiled: "By the way, Saburo's wife probably doesn't have a royal decree yet, right? How about finding an opportunity next time and asking the officials to give her a gift?"
"Isn't this necessary?" Wang Wenzuo shook his head: "Does she have any merits? She doesn't get rewarded for her merits!"
"She has no merit, but you can do it if you have!" Li Hong said with a smile: "Besides, this gift is originally given to the family members of ministers who have meritorious service!"
"That's not good!" Wang Wenzuo said with a bitter smile: "I haven't made any achievements recently, have I? Besides, I just returned to Chang'an, and the prince asked the officials to give my wife a gift. People in the world may say that His Highness the prince is unfair. Give personal love to the famous imperial utensils!"
"Really?" Li Hong thought for a while and then said: "Then let's wait until the Autumn Queen! Originally, I was going to bestow the title of Eastern Palace ministers on my wedding! Then the world would have nothing to say! And now there are still a few days until the Autumn Queen. It will take a few months, maybe you will have already made some achievements by then!”
"Your Highness really thinks highly of me!" Wang Wenzuo said with a wry smile.
"Hahaha!" His Royal Highness the Crown Prince smiled and said, "Really? But since I met Saburo, you have never let me down!"
While they were talking, an eunuch came in from outside to convey the message. After the prince listened to the message, he said: "Since this is the case, let him come in!"
When Wang Wenzuo saw someone asking for an audience, he was about to retreat first, but was stopped by Li Hong: "Sanlang, you don't have to retreat, they are all members of the family, and the one who came was Wu Minzhi, Zuo Sanqi's constant servant. After all, I am still his cousin!" "
"Wu Minzhi?" Wang Wenzuo's heart skipped a beat and he asked cautiously: "Based on the name, is this the nephew of Her Majesty the Queen?"
"He's a nephew!" Li Hong said with a smile: "His real surname is Helan, and he is the child of his mother's sister. It was his mother who gave him the surname of Wu! He has excellent literary talent and is a bachelor of Hongwen Museum. Sanlang, you are a warrior, so you happen to be close to me! "
"I just heard about it last night, and now I have seen the real person. Isn't Chang'an too young?" Wang Wenzuo thought to himself, but said: "I obey the order!"
While he was talking, an unusually handsome aristocratic young man came in from the outside, with a medium build, elegant clothes and a chic demeanor. He smiled and bowed his hand to the prince, then said with a smile: "Ahong, I heard that you have chosen Yang Sijian's daughter, why not choose Pei Judao's daughter? Could it be that the daughter of the Pei family is the same as her father?" Ordinary? Hahaha!"
"That's not true!" Li Hong smiled bitterly: "Pei Qing's daughter is also very good, but Yang Qing's daughter is more to my liking!"
"Hey!" Wu Minzhi smiled and shook his head: "That's how you are! You don't tell the truth! Pei Judao always looks like he thinks his family is great, who would choose his daughter as his wife!"
Wang Wenzuo frowned. The visitor's rudeness and frivolity left a very bad impression on him. No matter how close he was to Li Hong, Li Hong was also a prince. Sooner or later, such behavior would cause big trouble. Could it be that this person Is it relying on Queen Wu's favor? But the problem is that Gaozong is not dead yet. Although Empress Wu holds great power, she does not threaten her eldest son as fiercely as she did later, right?
Li Hong's face was a little ugly. He looked at Wang Wenzuo on the side and already regretted not letting Wang Wenzuo retreat first. Seeing Wu Minzhi's look, he coughed and changed the subject: "If we don't talk about this matter, this person will It's Wang Wenzuo, you should have heard of his reputation, he is currently commanding six troops in the East Palace!"
"Oh, oh!" Wu Minzhi glanced at Wang Wenzuo and smiled nonchalantly: "I heard that it seems that you were the one who commanded the polo team of Donggong Liu to defeat the North Gate Imperial Army a few years ago, right? There will be a polo match next time When the time comes, come too!”
"Yes!" Wang Wenzuo responded. He could see that Li Hong was subconsciously afraid of this cousin who was more than ten years older than him. Although he didn't know the reason, he still didn't want to be involved in the complicated relationships in the palace. He lowered his head and said to Li Hong: "Your Highness, I still have some things to do, so I will leave first!"
"Okay, okay!" Li Hong obviously breathed a sigh of relief: "Wang Qing, let's go on errands first!"
Wang Wenzuo bowed and exited the hall, but did not leave. Instead, he stayed outside the hall and waited. About half an hour later, he saw Wu Minzhi coming out of the hall and went to greet him.
