Chapter 84

The next day, the first ray of sunlight shone on Li Yin's eyes. Although Li Yin was conscious, he did not open his eyes. He habitually looked for Luo Sanrong with his arms, but there was no one by the bed.

Li Yin opened his eyes and thought about Luo Sanrong's appearance last night. He had a bad feeling in his heart, but he still held on to a glimmer of hope and called out to the outside of the hall: "Luo Rong, Luo Rong."

No one responded outside the hall, so Li Yin called out again: "Come here——"

At this time, the voice of Eunuch Ma came from outside the hall, and Li Yin suddenly fell silent.

Eunuch Ma, carrying a spittoon, tiptoed into the hall and asked cautiously, "Your Highness, are you ready to wash?"

Li Yin stood up, and eunuch Ma signaled him to put on his court robes.

Li Yin suppressed his inner panic and asked again, "Where is Luo Neiguan?"

As Eunuch Ma straightened his clothes and smoothed his jade belt, he replied, "I haven't seen him since this morning. I don't know where he went."

Normally, things like this are done by Luo Neiguan. If he hadn't been repeatedly told last night that he should help His Highness with his grooming, he would not have done this bad luck.

Li Yin was tidying up his clothes when he suddenly heard a commotion outside the hall. He followed the direction of the noise and saw the palace maids lined up in a row, walking towards the back hall under the escort of the imperial guards.

Li Yin walked over and found a member of the Imperial Guards who looked like the leader. He asked sternly, "What are you doing? Where are these people going?"

When the imperial guards saw that it was His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, they quickly put on a flattering expression and replied, "Has Your Highness not received the imperial edict?"

Li Yin showed a puzzled expression, "Imperial edict? Please tell me in detail."

At this time, Sun Xing came over and took over the conversation: "It's to find out the assassins. Didn't we say it before? Hong Jingxiu's daughter is hiding in the palace as an insider of the Red Maple Society. Now we have found detailed information."

Li Yin looked at the panicked expressions of the palace maids, sighed inwardly, and asked helplessly, "So we have to start the investigation from the palace maids, right?"

Sun Xing bowed and said, "Yes."

Li Yin waved his hand and said, "Then you can continue with your work!"

Just as Sun Xing was about to leave, Li Yin seemed to remember something and stopped him, asking, "But what information did you find? Does Hong Jingxiu's daughter have any obvious facial features?"

Sun Xing bowed and replied, "Your Highness, there are no obvious facial features, but she is approximately eighteen years old. It is said that her name is Hong Luozhen. Therefore, all girls around eighteen years old in the palace must be investigated."

When Li Yin heard the word 'Luo Er', his heart trembled, and he couldn't hide his eagerness and said, "Repeat it again."

Sun Xing repeated, "All palace maids around the age of eighteen must be screened..."

Li Yin interrupted directly and asked, "What is the name of Hong Jingxiu's daughter?"

Sun Xing recalled: "It is said that her childhood name was Hong Luozhen. Of course, it is not ruled out that she has changed her name..."

It seemed as if after listening to Luo Yu, His Highness was frozen in place. Sun Xing cautiously stole a glance at him and found that his face was abnormally pale. Sun Xing was about to express his concern, but unexpectedly, Li Yin just waved his hand and said, "Back!"

Seeing this, Sun Xing bowed and said, "Then I will take my leave first."

Before leaving, looking at Li Yin's expression and the way he was standing unsteadily, he couldn't hide his disdain in his heart.

Li Yin recalled every moment he had spent with Luo Yu while walking quickly towards the inner chamberlain's hall. His walking gradually turned into running...

——What do you think I call you as a girl?

——My name is Hong Luozhen, you can call me Luozhen.

At this time, Luo Sanrong was disguising herself and leaving the palace. She was about to reach the city gate, but she saw that the gate was undergoing strict inspection. A young woman was questioned for a long time and was finally ordered not to leave the city.

Luo Sanrong clenched the pass in his hand, gritted his teeth and decided to take a gamble. Just as he was about to hand over the token in his hand, a familiar voice came from behind him.

Ji Zeming stepped forward, holding Luo Sanrong behind him, shielding her face, and said to the guards guarding the city: "Does he need to be checked separately? He is my companion."

The guard quickly reacted, put on a polite smile, and said, "Please forgive me, sir."

In this way, under Ji Zeming's cover, Luo Sanrong quickly left the city gate. Ji Zeming wanted to hold her and say something, but seeing her expression, he said nothing in the end.

Three days later, when Eunuch Ma had become accustomed to serving His Highness every day, His Highness would always ask if he had found any trace of Luo Neiguan, but the result was always the same.

At this time, His Highness would fall into some kind of deep thought. Looking at His Highness's appearance, even Eunuch Ma couldn't bear to give any answer that would disappoint His Highness.

When attending court, the ministers seemed to have noticed that His Highness was in a bad mood and always answered cautiously.

Li Yin glanced at the ministers and snorted inwardly. He was tired of seeing them pretending to obey but actually disobeying, and he was too lazy to start dealing with them.

Li Yin asked sharply, "Minister Xu, do you know that conscription has begun among the people?"

.

Xu Jiang stepped out, not understanding why His Highness brought up the issue of conscription, but still replied, "Yes."

As expected, Li Yin continued, "Does our dynasty's laws stipulate that conscription should begin with able-bodied men over sixteen, or should it start from childhood? And if someone dies, we still have to collect a death tax."

Xu Jiang gritted his teeth and replied, "Officials who manage military records do make mistakes occasionally."

Li Yin taunted, "Minister Xu, you're truly adept at shirking responsibility!" He then issued orders, "From now on, immediately provide me with a strategy to compensate for the unnecessary taxes levied."

Zhao Wanyong stepped out and suggested, "Your Highness, the treasury is currently in a tight spot. Rather than offering compensation, it would be better to use other methods of punishment to make up for it."

Sun Xing, standing aside, retorted, "But if we reduce the tax revenue collected to punish them, the national treasury will be even more strained."

Seeing the court officials trying to decline, Li Yin threw the memorial on the table and said sarcastically, "You court officials are truly concerned about the country and the people. If that's the case, starting from this month, everyone's salary will be reduced by half!"

Upon hearing the phrase "salary cut," the ministers looked at each other and stepped forward to stop it, saying, "Absolutely not! Everyone in the court is going to have their salaries cut? This is absolutely not allowed! Your Highness, please reconsider."

Seeing this, the other ministers echoed, "Your Highness, please reconsider."

Li Yin angrily questioned, "Now, because of the mistakes of officials, the people are even having to pay taxes for the dead. You officials who claim to be the foundation of the country, why are you making such a fuss? Do you think you have the nerve to accept salaries from the court?"

The ministers looked at each other in confusion.

As soon as Eunuch Ma returned to the inner chamber, he slumped down on the table. The other eunuchs came over and asked with concern, "Eunuch Ma, what's wrong? You look so tired."

Eunuch Ma held his chin in his hand and said helplessly, "I don't know why, but now your Highness's face is as cold and ruthless as an ice storage in winter."

The other eunuchs also nodded.

Eunuch Ma said worriedly, "It doesn't matter if I'm in pain or something, but His Highness has been dealing with official business all night, and I'm worried about him."

One of the eunuchs asked, "Where is Eunuch Luo?"

The mention of Eunuch Ma made him angry, and he replied unhappily, "Who knows where he's been? I haven't seen him in a long time. His Highness was asking me about him this morning. He usually jumps around like a rabbit, but disappears at the critical moment. I miss him a little bit."

Then he whispered, "Really? Disappeared just like that."

Other eunuchs who had been tortured by Li Yin also began to complain: "I miss him a little too..."