Chapter 463: The only way is to kill him (ask for monthly votes)
Upon hearing this, the man in black robe said: "I have personally carefully examined the clothes and accessories of the stump, his stature, and the traces beside the carriage and horses..."
"I trust your work, but these can all be falsified and confused." Prince Rong said, "There are always doubts about this matter."
This point cannot be denied. The man in black has always been trusted by King Rong. He immediately said, "If the person who died was not Yu Zeng, then someone took him away during the chaos and fabricated a false image of him being killed... But who would do this?"
"It must not be Ming who went to such great lengths to create such a false impression." Li Yin said slowly: "She must have already determined that Yu Zeng is dead. I have succeeded."
The illusion created by the person behind the scenes was not only for him, but also for the Ming family.
But in this matter, he had an advantage over Ming in distinguishing the true from the false, because he knew very well that his people had failed.
The black-robed man frowned and thought, "Could it be that Yu Zeng had made preparations in advance and took advantage of this opportunity to escape?"
Prince Rong shook his head: "Outside the capital, he probably doesn't have such great ability to allow him to quietly escape from the eyes of both the prince and the Ming family."
If you want to know who did it, you have to think carefully. Who will benefit more from saving Yu Zeng? Or, what is the value of Yu Zeng's life? After leaving the identity of the head of the Sigongtai, the only thing left on Yu Zeng is the secret connection with him... And the most important thing in this connection is probably the incident about Ah Shang...
Li Yin's idea of this was not just speculation.
He thought of the jade dust that mysteriously disappeared in Beijing two years ago.
He had long wanted to get rid of Yuxie, but had never found an opportunity. Yuxie was in a state of confusion, but she was extremely cautious and never stepped out of the Princess's residence. During those years, he was still controlled by the Ming family. Any action he took in the capital could bring disaster. Moreover, Yuxie did not know the whole truth, so the threat she could bring could still be controlled by Yu Zeng.
Under this premise, if he were to take risks and reach out to the Princess's Mansion, he might be more likely to expose what happened that year if he was not careful, which would only backfire and not be worth the loss.
So he just ordered people to secretly monitor Yuxie's actions in turn near the Princess's Mansion, one to control Yuxie's movements, and the other to wait for an opportunity to take action that would not arouse suspicion.
But just two years ago, Yuxie suddenly behaved unusually and left the Princess's Mansion on her own initiative. And "by an incredible coincidence" she fell into the river and escaped being killed. Since then, there has been no clues and even the Ming family has not been able to find out anything.
Everything that happened that day was too coincidental, even perfect.
In the past two years, he would think about this matter from time to time, but everything was calm and there was no suspicious news at all.
He even began to think that Yu Xie's disappearance was just a coincidence...until today, Yu Zeng's incident gave him the same strange feeling.
So, could he guess that two years ago someone had learned from Yu Xie that Yu Zeng had secretly sent a letter, and traced it back to Yu Zeng, and took the opportunity to take Yu Zeng away this time? If this assumption was true, who would this person be?
Who would have suspected Ah Shang's death without any reason? Who would still try to find out about the past after so many years? And who would have the ability to take Yu Zeng away?
Is he one of Ashang’s old subordinates?
Li Yin concentrated and thought for a moment, and Chang Kuo's face appeared in his mind.
In the battle with the Northern Di, Chang Kuo was the commander-in-chief, and he was the one who brought back the remains of Ashang... Was it because of what he saw and heard at that time that he became suspicious? And now Chang Kuo's daughter is in charge of the entire Huainan Road, and Tangzhou is just outside the borders of Huainan Road... If Chang Kuo had been prepared, then he would have been able to take Yu Zeng away.
As this guess gradually took shape in his mind, Li Yin frowned slightly.
Seeing that he stopped talking and seemed to have made a decision, the man in black felt uneasy and bowed his head again to apologize.
"The enemy is in the dark while we are in the light, and the oriole is behind us... it is inevitable that we will make mistakes." There was still no anger in Li Yin's voice. He only said: "Retreat and take ten strokes of the cane. Just be careful next time."
"Thank you, Your Highness!" The man in black robe was moved and ashamed. He bowed and retreated.
Li Yin quietly looked at the scene in the garden. After a while, a respectful voice sounded from behind him: "Father."
"Lu'er is here." Li Yin sat down at the stone table in the pavilion with a smile and raised his hand to motion Li Lu to sit down as well.
There was a chessboard on the stone table. Li Lu understood, bowed, sat down, and played chess with his father.
Holding his son, Li Lu said in a gentle voice, "Father, it's rare for you to have such a leisurely time these days."
"Yes, it has been several months since you and I, father and son, have sat idle like this."
"Father has been really busy these days." Li Lu looked ashamed. "As a son, I am incompetent and unfilial. I rarely share my father's worries."
Prince Rong shook his head upon hearing this and sighed slightly: "My son is very smart, but there is only one flaw..."
As he spoke, he dropped a piece before continuing, "You are too harsh on yourself and don't know how to cherish yourself."
"Over the years, you have been trapped in the capital and have helped your father a lot." Prince Rong's face was warm, and his eyes were filled with the love of a father. "Your mother and I are already satisfied that you can return to Yizhou safely."
"As for those trivial matters, how can they be compared to my son's health? Once you recover, you will naturally have the opportunity to help your father share his worries in the future."
Li Lu then responded with a "yes".
Compared to the Confucianism that is highly respected nowadays, his father Li Yin prefers Taoism to cultivate his mind, so he always gives people a casual and relaxed feeling. He never treats him harshly or with patriarchal scrutiny or pressure, and is always willing to appreciate his strengths and affirm his efforts.
Before his father was transferred away from the capital, he often carried him on his shoulders, taught him to play the flute, carried him on horseback, and carved a wooden sword for him...
Moreover, his father never had any illegitimate children and respected his mother very much. He was his only son and all his attention as a father was given to him.
It seems that he is very lucky to have the best father in the world.
He had once thought so, so even though he had become calculating due to the circumstances, he never separated himself from his father in his heart. Therefore, he did his best, obeyed his father's instructions, and truly regarded his father's affairs as his own, and never complained at all...
But now, he is far less confident than before.
Li Lu exhaled slowly in his heart, without showing any strange expression on his face, he remained respectful and calm.
During the game, Li Lu took the initiative to ask his father about the current situation, and Prince Rong did not shy away from answering.
Finally, Prince Rong said: "The most common thing I have heard recently is that Chang Suining of Jiangdu was promoted to the governor of Huainan Road—"
Hearing Chang Suining's name, Li Lu's eyes changed slightly: "Yes."
"Earlier, you asked me to wait and see for a while, saying that he was a rare genius who could do things... Now it seems that this is indeed the case."
Prince Rong smiled with admiration in his eyes, "She is indeed very outstanding. She is so young, but has achieved such amazing results. She is both wise and brave. She can be compared with my nephew Li Xiao."
Then, Hanxiao asked Li Lu, "You must have written to her more than once to try to convince her. Has she ever responded?"
Li Lu lowered his eyes slightly and said, "Father, there is no response yet."
The faint smile in Prince Rong's eyes remained unchanged, and his tone was casual but firm: "It seems that this person will not be willing to be used by my Prince Rong's Mansion."
"Father..." Li Lu said hurriedly, "My son was not careful and used the wrong method before, which made her feel disgusted and alienated. With time, it may be possible that..."
Prince Rong shook his head slightly, interrupted Li Lu and said, "It's not just her who is involved, but also her father Chang Kuo."
"She is still young, so it may be possible to persuade her. But her father is very upright and has a strong character. Once he makes up his mind, it may be difficult to change it -"
Li Lu keenly noticed the change in his father's attitude and couldn't help but say, "But father was willing to give the Chang family more time before..."
For my father, even if the Chang family cannot be used by the Rong Palace, it will not be bad for the Rong Palace if one more force can emerge to rule the world.
"That was my previous thought. Now it seems that the situation has changed." Prince Rong said, "First, Chang Suining has risen much faster than ordinary people. In just two years, she has become the governor and now has more than 100,000 troops. What's even worse is that she is now quite famous among the common people and scholars. Not long ago, Zheng Chao from Xingyang also became her disciple... Those Jiangnan families are also quite convinced by her."
"Moreover, judging from her various actions, although she has ambitions, she is not the talent I need for troubled times." Prince Rong's eyes seemed to see through the chessboard and saw the changes in the situation caused by the girl: "She killed Xu Zhengye, pacified Jiangnan, defeated the Japanese enemies, and helped Dong Luo to quell the civil strife... She even set up a plan to kill Kang Dingshan and helped Cui Jing solve the problem of Guandong for the court without bloodshed."
When Prince Rong said this, his eyes were filled with admiration and regret at the same time: "Everything she did was for a stable situation, not a chaotic world."
People with such outstanding abilities who refuse to follow the trend and instead choose to go against the trend are extremely rare.
He could vaguely see some of A Shang's old image in it... This was obviously not a good sign.
"If such a person is allowed to grow stronger, he will only become an obstacle in the future." King Rong said, "We should not raise a tiger to cause trouble just because we value talent for the moment."
His tone was not harsh, but Li Lu had already seen the murderous intent in his father's chess moves.
Li Luwei clenched the chess piece in his hand, raised his head and said: "Father, I think..."
"Lu'er." Prince Rong also raised his eyes, his gaze still calm, but it made Li Lu subconsciously keep silent.
"No matter how powerful you are, there are always things in this world that cannot be tamed." Prince Rong said in a tone of teaching, "Your father knows that although you are weak, your mind is stronger than that of ordinary people. But sometimes if you are too obsessed with something, that thing will become a demon in your heart, making you lose the ability to see things objectively. Instead of being tamed, you will become a puppet of the other party--"
Meeting that not-so-sharp gaze, Li Lu suddenly felt as if he was completely seen through.
Prince Rong returned his gaze to the chessboard and captured another piece: "Faced with such uncontrollable people and things, the only way to eliminate all hidden dangers is to kill them as soon as possible."
At this point, Li Lu knew that he could no longer stop them. After a moment, he responded in a tone of being taught, "Yes, thank you for your teachings, father. I will definitely keep them in mind."
Prince Rong had another reason that he did not make clear, which was that he suspected that Chang Kuo had taken Yu Zeng away, and that this had touched upon the inner story of Li Shang's death.
For him, that matter was really not appropriate to be brought up again.
With so many unfavorable hidden dangers before us, the safest option is to get rid of Chang Kuo and his daughter as soon as possible.
The game is over and the winner is decided on the chessboard.
Li Lu smiled with shame: "My father planned everything carefully and foresightedly, but my son lost."
Prince Rong smiled and said, "When my father was your age, he was not as good as you."
The father and son chatted for a while, and Prince Rong reminded them: "If you have time, go visit your mother more often."
Li Lu replied "Yes". After enduring a whole winter last year, his mother's health, which had just started to improve, is now getting worse day by day.
Knowing that his father was busy, Li Lu stood up and saluted at the right time. Before leaving, he thought for a moment and asked in a low voice: "May I ask, father, how do you want to deal with Ma Wan..."
Prince Rong obviously didn't care about the existence of Ma Wan as a chess piece. He just smiled and said, "Although our positions are contradictory, she is your legally married wife after all. You can decide how to deal with her, keep her, or make good use of her."
Li Lu lowered his eyes: "Yes, thank you father."
His father had always been like this, always giving him enough power to make his own decisions within the bottom line, so he had never felt any oppression before.
On the way out, Ma Wan's uneasy face flashed through Li Lu's mind.
Yes, he should indeed keep the person and make good use of him.
After all, there are very few things that he can truly control and utilize now.
Princess Rong had been a Buddhist for many years, so Prince Rong built a Buddhist temple for his wife in the palace.
Princess Rong is now terminally ill and has difficulty getting out of bed, but incense is still burning in the Buddhist temple.
An extremely thin figure was kneeling in the Buddhist hall copying scriptures. The maid who was grinding for her had a numb and dazed look on her face, her eyes were red and swollen, and she had cried countless times.
The person who copied the scriptures was Ma Wan.
Since the end of last year, after she acted according to the instructions of her grandfather and the saint, Prince Rong's Mansion allowed her to stay in this Buddhist temple on the pretext of asking her, the daughter-in-law, to copy scriptures and pray for her mother-in-law. This has been a full four months.
She knew that this was house arrest in disguise.
During these four months, her words could not be spread out from here, and no news from outside could come in.
This behavior, without even a direct questioning or clear punishment, and without giving her any chance to speak, made her even more tormented. For self-protection, she did not dare to take the initiative to say or do anything radical before the attitude of Prince Rong's Mansion was clear. However, day after day, she did not know how long this would last.
She thought a lot and waited for a long time, but the person she wanted to see never came.
Did Prince Rong intend to keep her trapped like this for the rest of her life? What about him? What was he thinking? While Ma Wan was absent-mindedly copying the sutras, there was a sudden noise outside the usually quiet Buddhist temple.
"Meet the prince..."
The sound of the guard's salute reached Ma Wan's ears.
Ma Wan paused while copying the sutras, and a mass of ink spread out from the pen. She put the pen down and stood up immediately - it was him! Thank you all for your monthly tickets, thank you to book friends 20230911215940209, book friend 20230322192947376, book friend 20201004200215127, Absorbing the Spirit of Heaven and Earth, book friend 20200903221157048, and Miaomiao Honey Water for your rewards, good night~ (End of this chapter)
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