Chapter 80 Chapter 80 Revenge

Before dusk fell, the west part of the city was already decorated with lanterns and colorful lights. The streets were ablaze with lights and the noise of people gradually increased. Under the doors of various restaurants, courtesans in brocade clothes were soliciting customers in groups of three or five. The sounds of orioles and swallows and the lingering sound of stringed instruments were endless in the ears.

Li Zhen was leaning against the wall in a private room of a street-facing restaurant, leisurely stroking and playing with the white jade wine cup in his hand, with his trusted aides sitting cross-legged at his side.

Soon, the sound of a beaded curtain rustled softly, and the guard ushered in a middle-aged man in an indigo robe. He saluted and said, "Sir, the person has been brought here."

Li Zhen looked up at the voice and glanced at the hazy patterns on the screen. "Are you Zhang Zao?"

The man in green cloak clasped his hands in greeting and replied respectfully, "It is I."

Li Zhen looked him over and chuckled, "I heard that Mr. Zhang has been very popular in the theater lately. With a folding fan, he has a huge following and countless admirers. Ordinary restaurants and brothels can't even invite you to perform... Am I right?"

Zhang Zao lowered his body even lower and said cautiously, "Your Excellency, I am too kind to praise you. I am just a storyteller, and I cannot possibly deserve such praise."

He had just finished a show today and hadn't even had a sip of tea when he was "invited" here by the noble servant, who said that he was summoned by a noble.

At this moment, separated by the screen, he couldn't even see clearly whether the other person was round or flat, let alone why this noble man came to see him. He was afraid that he couldn't bear it, and he couldn't help feeling uneasy.

Li Zhen turned his head, raised his chin slightly, and gave his staff a look.

The aide understood and stood up, walked around the plain gauze screen, took out a purse from his sleeve, untied the string, and poured it on the small table in front of Li Zao. With a few clatters, five or six official silver ingots rolled onto the table, reflecting the candlelight, the silver light was dazzling.

Zhang Zao was slightly startled. He had never expected this noble man to be so generous. His Adam's apple rolled unconsciously, and he spoke with forced composure, "Excuse me, sir, what is this..."

Li Zhen asked with a smile, "A few days ago, the people of Western Qiang came to our Great Zhou to ask for marriage. Did you know?"

Zhang Zao was stunned when he heard this. The news of the Western Qiang people's marriage proposal had already spread throughout the capital, not to mention that he spent all day wandering around brothels and teahouses. That was the place where news was most circulated in the market, so he naturally knew all the gossip clearly.

After pondering for a moment, he nodded, "I have some knowledge of this. I wonder...why did you bring this up?"

Li Zhen asked, "Those Western Qiang people died tragically upon leaving Zhou territory. Do you know why?"

Zhang Zao had a vague feeling that something was wrong. He hesitated, weighed his words, and replied in a low voice: "...I don't know."

Li Zhen's ambiguous chuckle echoed from behind the screen. "It's not that complicated, actually. The young prince has been in love with a woman for years, even though Luofu is married, he still remains devoted to her. But who would have thought that the beautiful lady would catch the eye of the Prince of Western Qiang?"

The two of them had several private encounters, and it was unknown whether the woman had lost her virginity or her heart, and was too ashamed to face her husband's family, so she threw herself into the Bian River, ending up dead. The young prince was heartbroken upon hearing the news, and he could not help but rush to his rage for the beauty, and hired a killer to travel thousands of miles to rob and kill her, just to vent his hatred.

Zhang Zao's whole body stiffened, and for a moment he felt as if he had fallen into an icy cave.

How could a commoner like him easily hear the secrets of the affairs of the powerful and influential? After hearing these secrets today, he was afraid that he would not be able to escape unscathed.

With a clatter, Li Zhen placed the wine cup on the table and continued, "I want you to make this romantic anecdote into a good play. Starting tonight, it will be spread throughout the brothels."

He paused meaningfully, "Especially those places where foreign merchants gather, we must make sure that everyone knows about it."

Zhang Zao was so shocked when he heard this that cold sweat broke out on his back and his throat tightened. After a while, he licked his lips and asked tentatively, "Your Excellency... Your Excellency, what do you mean?"

What do you mean?

Li Zhen put on a sinister smile and sneered.

It's hateful that the emperor is so biased that he keeps such a close eye on Xie Yunzhou, preventing that bastard from making any big mistakes. All his efforts have been wasted. How can he be willing to accept this?

Fortunately, Li Baoji died in time.

When this matter gets out, Xie Yunzhou will be left speechless.

By then, rumors will spread like wildfire, and there's no doubt that they will burn Xie Yunzhou's head, causing Xi Qiang to be furious and question him, and the court and the public to boil over. He wants to see how the government can still favor that bastard!

Li Zhen tapped the table with his fingertips, his voice turning cold. "My intentions are none of your business, and it's not your place to ask. As long as you do this well, I'll naturally benefit from you."

Zhang Zao was already frightened out of his wits. He swallowed hard and said with difficulty, "I am not very talented and well-educated. I am afraid, I am afraid that I cannot handle such an important task for you..."

Seeing that he did not agree immediately, but instead tried to shirk responsibility, Li Zhen became furious. Just as he was about to speak out, he suddenly heard a loud "bang" and the lattice door of the wine room was kicked open by someone from the outside!

Li Zhen was stunned.

The staff member was standing outside the screen, looking in the direction of the voice, and when he saw the person coming, he was stunned for a moment.

Xie Yunzhou stood outside the door, his eyes red and a fierce aura emanating from his body, but he smiled and said, "Oh, I haven't seen you for a few days. Third brother seems to be in a good mood, acting as a storyteller."

The staff member glanced behind him and saw that the two guards who were originally guarding the door had fallen to the ground. It was unknown how long they had been unconscious.

Seeing that Xie Yunzhou came with ill intentions, the staff hurried forward and stretched out their hands to stop him.

"Young Prince, what is this..."

Xie Yunzhou was already extremely angry. He grabbed his wrist and kicked him out!

The aide didn't even have time to scream before he was sent flying like a kite with a broken string. His back hit the screen hard and he slid down again, knocking his teeth and causing blood to come out of his mouth and nose.

The screen collapsed to the ground, revealing Li Zhen, who was sitting behind it in shock.

Zhang Zao screamed in fear at the sight, but then choked back the sound. In this situation, how could he dare to stay any longer? He immediately tried to flee, shrinking his neck.

"stop."

Xie Yunzhou suddenly spoke.

Zhang Zao was startled suddenly, stopped, and turned back tremblingly.

Xie Yunzhou cast a cold gaze upon him, and warned him coldly, "What you said about that woman just now is nothing but nonsense and slander. Watch your mouth! If I hear even a single word from you in the future... I will cut off your tongue, chop it up, and feed it to the dogs! Understand?"

Zhang Zao nodded repeatedly, like a chick pecking at rice, "Yes, yes! I haven't heard a single word today!"

After receiving this reply, Xie Yunzhou withdrew his gaze and signaled him to get out.

Zhang Zao's legs were trembling. He raised his hands in a random salute and ran out of the door in embarrassment.

The aide had already fainted, without making any sound. Seeing Xie Yunzhou approaching step by step, Li Zhen's throat tightened, and he instinctively felt a hint of fear in his heart.

This bastard has always been unruly and willful. Relying on the favor and protection of the emperor and the princess, there is nothing in the world that he dare not do. Today he came with such a strong force that I am no match for him at all. I am sure I will suffer.

Before Li Zhen could open his mouth, Xie Yunzhou stepped forward, grabbed him by the collar, and punched him hard on the head!

Li Zhen's head was hit so hard that it tilted to one side. Blood came out of his mouth and nose, choking him and causing him to cough violently.

Xie Yunzhou grabbed half of his body, stared straight at him, and confirmed with hatred: "It was you who instigated Li Baoji."

Li Zhen endured the pain and slowly opened his eyes. Seeing his scarlet eyes, he suddenly felt indescribably happy. He couldn't help but smile maliciously and smugly, "Why, are you heartbroken about this beautiful woman's tragic fate?"

Although he had guessed about 70% of it, but now when he heard his provocation with his own ears, Xie Yunzhou felt a sharp pain in his heart and blood almost gushed out of his eyes. He wished he could torture this beast to pieces.

Jiuniang.

Jiuniang.

Xie Yunzhou's eyes burned with a sudden surge of heat. He reached out with his long arm, grabbed the wine jug on the table, and smashed it down on Li Zhen's forehead. "You're coming at me with all your grudges and hatred, but why did you want to harm her?! You want that seat, but you'll have to wait for it! I'm going to kill you today!"

Although Li Zhen knew that he acted recklessly, he thought that he would not dare to kill him because there were many people around. However, he did not expect that he would really go crazy without caring about anything. He was caught off guard and was hit. Blood gushed out from his forehead instantly.

Just as he was about to struggle, he suddenly heard hurried footsteps outside the door.

"Stop! Everyone, stop!"

The fight here had already alarmed the restaurant manager. Knowing that these two were both important people among important people and that the small restaurant could not afford to offend them, the manager quickly sent someone to report to the Inspection Office. At this moment, a group of inspection soldiers arrived and rushed forward to stop them.

Xie Yunzhou was grabbed by the waist by several people and dragged backwards.

Seeing someone trying to help him, Li Zhen turned his head, spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva, and shouted angrily, "Kill me if you dare! In front of the inspection department! In public, murdering the prince, what kind of crime is this? When the censors impeach you, even the government won't be able to protect you! Do you dare? I bet you..."

Before he could finish his words, his voice was replaced by a scream.

The cry was extremely shrill, almost heart-wrenching and painful.

Xie Yunzhou struggled to break free from the shackles of several people, and without hesitation, he raised his foot and kicked Li Zhen's right knee hard. There was a crisp "crack" sound, and the knee joint broke immediately, and then shattered into pieces under his fierce pressure.

Li Zhen felt a sudden sharp pain in his right leg, his eyes rolled back, and he almost fainted.

Xie Yunzhou was filled with hatred and increased his strength, sneering, "Do you think I don't dare? Even if I cripple you, what does it matter?"

Li Zhen threw his head back and screamed, curling up in agony, writhing and struggling on the ground. The excruciating pain in his legs gradually spread, and despair surged in his heart like a tide, and it felt as if all the blood in his body had frozen.

Since ancient times, disabled people have not been able to become emperors. If his leg is disabled, there will be no possibility for him to succeed to the throne!

By the time Chen Sui led a team of imperial guards to the restaurant, it was already too late to stop it.

Li Zhen collapsed in a pool of blood, half of his face was covered in blood, blood kept oozing out of his mouth and nose, and then spread across his face. His right leg was twisted into a very strange angle, and he was about to faint from the pain.

Chen Sui was horrified at the sight. Seeing that Xie Yunzhou showed no sign of stopping, he didn't have time to think deeply. He immediately rushed forward, his arms like iron hoops from behind, tightly strangling Xie Yunzhou's chest. He turned around and shouted, "What are you all standing there for? Hurry and take the Third Prince to the Medical Bureau! Quick!"

The imperial guards finally woke up as if from their dream and swarmed forward. A few of them helped to restrain Xie Yunzhou, while the rest of them hurriedly carried Li Zhen out. Their black boots stepped on the broken porcelain on the ground, leaving a messy and glaring bloodstain.

Before leaving, Chen Sui stopped abruptly, slowly looked at the patrol inspector and the restaurant manager, and warned them word by word in a cold voice: "Anyone who dares to spread the news of today's incident will be killed without mercy."

Everyone responded in agreement.

After hearing this reply, Chen Sui stepped out of the door, but his heart felt as heavy as if a brick was pressing on it.

He knew very well in his heart that today's mission was a complete failure.

Even if he could silence the inspectors, how could he silence the Third Prince? The incident had happened so suddenly that there was no time to silence the medical officer. Furthermore, the Zhouxi Wazi was already a mixed bag, and tonight's chaos was likely to be difficult to resolve.

As expected, within just one night, the news that the third prince was seriously injured and disabled by the young prince Xie Yunzhou in the west wazi of the state spread almost throughout the capital, and the Censorate and the Imperial Censorate were shocked by the news.

The lights in the Imperial Academy were on, and more than ten medical officers worked tirelessly to treat Li Zhen throughout the night. However, Li Zhen's injuries were too severe, and his right knee bone was shattered. Although his life was not in danger, he would never be able to walk normally again and became a disabled person.

There was an uproar in the government and the country.

The next day at court, the imperial desk was filled with impeachment memorials from the Court of Censors and the Imperial Censorate, all of which angrily accused Xie Yunzhou of being rebellious and defying moral principles, and that he should be severely punished to uphold discipline. According to the laws of the Great Zhou Dynasty, he was to be stripped of his title, given 80 strokes of the cane, and exiled 3,000 miles.

Although the government intended to suppress the rebellion, the court was filled with outrage. However, Xie Yunzhou refused to mention the fact that Li Zhen had instigated the Qiang people to rob Zhe Rou. He only said that he and Li Zhen had a long-standing grudge and that they had an argument after drinking, and he accidentally lost his composure.

At the end of the argument, even though the emperor was fully committed to defending Xie Yunzhou, he couldn't find an argument that would convince the crowd. He was so angry that he was shaking all over. He pointed a trembling finger at Xie Yunzhou's face and laughed in anger: "Good boy, you are so responsible! In my opinion, you are all crazy!"

Upon hearing this, Xie Yunzhou straightened his back even more, his face looked cold and indifferent, without any fear at all.

Seeing that the situation was difficult to resolve, the government had no choice but to order Xie Yunzhou to be confined to his house for a month and temporarily detained in the Imperial City Division. The case would be investigated in detail by the Imperial City Division, the Zongzheng Temple, and the Dali Temple, and the case would be dealt with after the evidence was clear.

Xie Yunzhou kowtowed without a care in the matter, then stood up and was escorted out by the marriage officer of the Imperial City Bureau and led into the inner prison.

Lu Chen was in the inner room. He heard footsteps and slowly raised his head. When he saw that it was Xie Yunzhou, he frowned and asked, "What happened..." Before he could finish his words, he had already guessed the key point and his voice suddenly turned cold: "Did you touch Li Zhen?"

Xie Yunzhou walked into the cell and sat down leaning against the wall. When he heard him mention Li Zhen, a hint of coldness appeared in his eyes, and he hummed nonchalantly through his nose.

Lu Chen's eyes darkened slightly. "I will take care of this matter. Why are you acting so impulsively?"

"Why?" Xie Yunzhou was furious when he heard his words, and couldn't help but raise his lips in ridicule, "Could it be that you, Lu Bingyan, are the only one in this world who is allowed to risk his life to avenge her?"

Lu Chen paused suddenly.

After saying this, Xie Yunzhou felt a blockage in his heart. He gritted his teeth and turned his face away, his Adam's apple rolling violently.

The cell fell into silence, with only the mingling breathing of the two men and the occasional "beeping" sound of the torches on the wall being heard.

"Mingqi."

After an unknown amount of silence, Lu Chen suddenly called out.

After a moment of silence, Xie Yunzhou turned his head to look over.

"If I die, the Lu family will have no descendants. Although I have instructed Nan Heng to guard her tomb for three years, you will still have to take care of her seasonal sacrifices. Therefore, you must take care of yourself."

His voice was low and hoarse, filled with extreme fatigue, but every word he spoke was as heavy as a thousand pounds.

Xie Yunzhou was stunned.

After a long silence, he raised his head slightly and chuckled, "Lu Bingyan, what are you dreaming about? I let you meet her first back then, and now you want to beat me to it? If you're capable, let's go down and continue the fight."

Lu Chen lowered his eyes, his expression indifferent, and it was difficult to see clearly in the darkness.

Seeing that he remained silent, Xie Yunzhou leaned back against the stone wall with his head tilted back, half of his handsome face hidden in the cold moonlight. "As for me, I am not without tolerance. Considering that we are brothers, as long as Jiu Niang agrees, I can be the elder and you the younger. That's not impossible."

Still no one responded.

The water droplets seeping from the stone wall slowly accumulated and fell with a "thump" sound, which was particularly clear in the silent cell.

Xie Yunzhou waited for a long time without any response. His throat was boiling and he was about to say something else when he suddenly saw Lu Chen's thin lips move slightly and he spat out two words coldly.

"dream."

Hearing this, Xie Yunzhou raised his face slightly in the darkness and smiled silently.