Chapter 54 Killing Zhou Rong

As soon as Prince Huo Yu of Ning arrived, the crowd outside the court immediately made way for him.

Huo Yu was about twenty-four or twenty-five years old, and was very gentle and handsome. He wore a brocade robe, a jade crown, and held a folding fan. At first glance, he looked like a graceful young man.

As soon as the Prince of Ning arrived, Zhou He and Zhou Rong, father and son, immediately felt confident.

The Crown Prince will not allow Prince Chang'an to sentence them to death.

Huo Yu walked into the courtroom gracefully, waving a folding fan in his hand. "What case are they trying? It's so lively."

The attendants who came with Prince Ning all bowed to the person in the hall and said, "Greetings to the Prince of Chang'an."

Jiang He and the secret guards present gave a half-bow, "Prince."

"What case made our Qilang so angry? Look, he even threw away the gavel."

Huo Yu picked up the gavel on the ground with a smile, walked towards Huo Zheng step by step, and put the thing back on the table.

Huo Zheng glanced at him and asked, "What are you doing here?"

"Of course I came to see you." Huo Yu closed his folding fan and said with a smile, "Qilang has been in Nanzhou for quite a few days now. He's been busy investigating cases and hasn't even had time to have a meal with me, his cousin. I was afraid you'd forgotten our appointment at Zuixianlou today, so I came to see you specially."

Prince Ning was born with a pair of fox eyes. When he looked at people with a smile, it seemed like he was planning something.

At this moment, Huo Zheng looked at Huo Yu and knew that he was definitely not just here to find him.

But he was too lazy to talk nonsense with Huo Yu.

"It's not convenient to chat in the courtroom," Huo Zheng said, "If you have nothing else to do, please leave first."

Huo Yu smiled and said, "What a coincidence! I actually have something else to do."

Huo Zhengyi said simply, "Speak."

Huo Yu said, "The son of the prefect Zhou has committed a crime, bringing trouble upon me. There's nothing much to say. But this is Nanzhou. If you want to bring the Zhou father and son to justice, shouldn't you go and greet my father first?"

The fiefdoms of the vassal kings were almost independent countries.

It is an unwritten rule that all matters in Nanzhou must be consulted with King Ning.

But when there was trouble in Nanzhou, Prince Ning did not deal with it himself and did not allow others to deal with it. It was really hateful.

Huo Yu did not say that the Zhou father and son could not be killed. He only told Huo Zheng that he had to ask King Ning's opinion first.

Huo Zheng was ordered to inspect Nanzhou. If he wanted to do something, he had to ask King Ning's opinion. What was the point of the rectification?

Huo Yu was smiling all the time when he spoke.

It is said that you should not hit someone who smiles at you.

But Huo Zheng really felt that Huo Yu deserved a beating.

Huo Zheng said expressionlessly, "I have already sentenced the Zhou family father and son to death. You already know about this. Just go back and tell Uncle Ning."

Huo Yu smiled helplessly and said, "How can this be the same?"

Huo Zheng pretended to be confused and asked, "Why is it different?"

Huo Yu naturally knew that Huo Zheng must understand the difference.

If Huo Zheng had mentioned this matter to King Ning before sentencing the Zhou father and son to death, King Ning could have opposed it and saved the lives of the Zhou father and son.

But if Huo Zheng sentenced these two people to death first and then sent someone to inform Prince Ning, then the matter would be set in stone and could not be changed.

Huo Yu wanted to say something to Huo Zheng, but he knew that it was useless.

Although they are cousins ​​and playmates when they were young, they have already developed their own positions after growing up.

Huo Yu could only say, "Beheading him in three days is too soon. Zhou He has been the prefect of Nanzhou for ten years. There are many things in Nanzhou that need to be explained by him before we can continue... How about this, we put him in jail first and execute him in the autumn!"

Huo Zheng couldn't stay in Nanzhou for that long. When he returned to the capital in autumn, it would only take a word for King Ning to release the Zhou father and son.

Alternatively, find two death row prisoners to replace the Zhou father and son and behead them, then give them new identities, and these two people can cause trouble in Nanzhou again.

Huo Yu spoke in a tone as if he was ready to negotiate with Huo Zheng.

Huo Zheng stood up and said, "Executing him three days later is indeed ill-considered."

Huo Yu thought he had changed his mind, and the smile on his lips became even bigger. "Really? Then let's do as I say..."

Before he could finish his words, he saw Huo Zheng suddenly stand up, draw out the secret guard's sword, and kill the Zhou father and son with one sword.

Blood splattered three feet.

The whole room was silent.

Huo Zheng threw the blood-stained sword in his hand to the secret guard and turned to look at Huo Yu. "This person who has committed such heinous crimes should be executed on the spot."

Huo Yu looked at the bloody cuts on Zhou Rong and Zhou He's necks. The two men fell to the ground at the same time, and blood was still oozing out. He was shocked and almost vomited.

Huo Zheng said in a deep voice, "Zhou He and Zhou Rong have already been brought to justice. Their residences have been confiscated as per the law. The proceeds from the confiscation will be used to subsidize the victims and turned over to the national treasury."

"Thank you, King Chang'an!"

"Long live the King of Chang'an!"

All the victims knelt down one after another.

"Everyone, get up."

Huo Zheng reached out and helped the blind old woman, and ordered the secret guards to send her back home safely.

Soon someone dragged the bodies of Zhou He and Zhou Rong, father and son, away and brought water to wash away the bloodstains on the ground.

As Huo Yu watched the scene in front of him, he felt that Huo Zheng was truly cruel and ruthless.

The prefect of Nanzhou kills people if he says so.

He took two lives with one sword without even blinking.

Huo Zheng took the handkerchief handed to him by Jiang He, wiped his hands, and glanced at Huo Yu. "Are you still eating?"

"Eat." Huo Yu's smile was a little stiff. "I came here just to have dinner with Qilang. Let's go to Zuixianlou."

The carriage of Prince Ning's mansion was parked outside the court.

Huo Zheng and Huo Yu got on the carriage together and headed towards Zuixianlou.

On the other side, there is Zuixianlou.

Chunzhi got up early in the morning and took a boat to Nanzhou City.

Zuixianlou was extremely famous, and she found it quickly after asking around.

The manager who came to the door yesterday was waiting for her in the building. As soon as he saw her, he immediately took her to meet the boss.

The owner of Zuixianlou is surnamed Su, a very young man with a fair complexion and a slightly plump figure, who looks very easy to get along with.

However, Chunzhi did not dare to underestimate him since he was able to run such a big restaurant like Zuixianlou at such a young age.

The owner of Zuixianlou said, "My last name is Su, and my name is Yutang. We met in Linshui Town, but you may not remember me."

Chunzhi smiled and called him "Shopkeeper Su."

Su Yutang said, "Today, Zuixianlou is entertaining distinguished guests, so we asked you to make tofu. The two taels of silver that Manager Li gave you yesterday is a deposit. I will pay you another five taels after you finish making it. Is that okay with you?"

Chunzhi said, "The money issue is easy to discuss."

Su Yutang said, "There's no time to lose. Go make the tofu now. The beans are soaked. Do you want help? I'll call two for you."

Chunzhi said: "No, I do it alone at home."

Su Yutang said, "Okay, I'll have Steward Li take you to the back hall. We have a distinguished guest today, and I have a lot of things to do, so I won't say any more."

Chunzhi nodded: "You go ahead and do your thing."

Manager Li took Chunzhi to the back hall, where a stone mill and a big pot were all available. Chunzhi asked Manager Li to get busy and started grinding beans and making tofu.

It took about an hour and the fresh tofu was ready.

Su Yutang paid Chunzhi another five taels of silver and gave her another 100 yuan for hiring a carriage.

When Chunzhi walked out of Zuixianlou, she happened to see the carriage from Prince Ning's Mansion coming towards them...