Chapter 49
Those eyes were as cold as a drawn dagger, making his heart tighten.
In an instant, his intuition told him that this person must be related to the current situation.
Who wants to kill him?
However, the sky was dark and the crowd was surging, and the owner of those eyes had already disappeared into the darkness.
Li Linan was not willing to give up just like that. He stopped immediately and turned his head to glance behind him to the left.
Seeing that Li Linan seemed to have noticed something, a sneer flashed across Song Qianzhao's lips.
With such keen insight, why would he do anything else but choose to do evil and bring about his own destruction?
Just as she was about to turn around, she heard a light cough from the young man beside her.
Song Qianzhao looked back.
Because of the crowd's pushing, the boy stood quite close to her, separating her from the surging crowd without leaving any trace.
At this moment, the young man who was a head taller than him was reaching out his hand to her.
Song Qianzhao lowered his eyes and looked——
In the young man's slender white hand lay an egg.
She couldn't help but be stunned.
egg?
She was stunned for only a moment, then quickly grabbed the egg from the boy's hand, took two steps back, squinted her eyes, aimed, and threw it hard into the distance.
Li Lin'an turned a deaf ear to the officer's urging and stood stubbornly where he was.
Suddenly, he saw an unidentified object flying towards him, and his pupils rapidly enlarged. Before he could react, the object had already hit his left eye socket hard.
"Ah!" Li Lin'an, who always appears elegant in front of others, cried out in pain.
The pain in his left eye instantly made him lose his composure. Sticky egg liquid covered his eye and slowly slid down his cheek.
Li Lin'an forced himself to use his right eye to look at the yellow liquid on his collar. When he realized what had happened, his lips trembled with anger.
These troublemakers actually dared to throw eggs at him!
The crowd erupted in cheers: "Great job!"
Li Lin'an's face was distorted by the unprecedented feeling of humiliation.
"Let me go!" He struggled desperately, trying to break free from the officers' grip.
The two officers did not move at all and continued to escort him forward slowly.
Immediately afterwards, more eggs and vegetable leaves flew like raindrops.
But this time the eggs were not as friendly as the ones Song Qianzhao threw, and they emitted a disgusting stench.
The officers covered their mouths and noses in disgust, shouting "Stop", but did not speed up their pace.
After all, the adults said: Letting the people vent their emotions without delaying official business is also an important means to appease the people and enhance their sense of happiness.
Seeing Li Linan looking as miserable as a rat crossing the street, Song Qianzhao was in a good mood.
Such a good mood should naturally be shared with others.
She subconsciously looked at Xuan Shu beside her.
In the twilight, the young man's figure was as tall and straight as a green bamboo, with a hint of smile between his handsome brows, and he looked particularly handsome in the dim light.
Song Qianzhao couldn't help but be stunned, and secretly sighed in his heart: Your Highness looks so beautiful when he smiles.
It’s a pity that it is rarely seen.
The young man seemed to sense something and turned his head slightly to meet her eyes.
The surroundings were bustling with noise, but seemed to be still at this moment.
"What are you looking at, Mr. Song?"
Song Qianzhao's eyebrows curved, "I was just wondering, where did Your Highness get this egg?"
The young man gestured behind him: "Ruyue brought it."
Ruyue poked her head out from behind the young man and bowed to Song Qianzhao.
When watching the fun, bringing a few eggs is essential—if you don't smash them yourself, you can make a profit by selling them to those fiery-tempered spectators. Giving them away to those you like is also a great way to make friends. And if you get hungry while watching the fun, you can use them to satisfy your hunger. These little eggs are very useful.
Song Qianzhao looked at Ruyue with appreciation.
The people around the prince are indeed all very creative.
“Big Brother!”
Suddenly, Fan Zhiyu's voice came from behind.
He struggled to squeeze through the crowd and said excitedly, "I knew my elder brother and cousin were powerful. Good prevails over evil. Li Lin'an, the hypocrite, has finally been exposed!"
He had always been compared with "other people's children" Li Lin'an by Fan Sheng. Now that he saw that his father had made a mistake and he could go back and ridicule his father, he was naturally very excited.
"Miss Ruyue."
Fan Zhiyu said this and stuffed something into her hand.
"This is?"
"My eldest brother has developed a new soap. Use it in the bath. It's guaranteed to be fragrant and will leave you cleaner than usual."
Ruyue curiously opened it, took a sniff, and exclaimed in surprise, "What a nice smell!"
The young man looked at the soap, his eyes flashing with approval: "Song Qing is quite clever."
"My eldest brother is not only clever, but also very kind-hearted!" Fan Zhiyu's eyes curved slightly, and a smile spread from his brows. "My eldest brother sent the Wang family to establish a charity fund. A portion of the proceeds from each piece sold will be added to the fund to help the people."
The prince raised a bright smile and said, "It's a commendable act of kindness. I'll buy some more and consider it a good deed."
"Okay!" Fan Zhiyu cupped his hands, grinning so hard that his teeth were visible. "Then I'd like to thank you, cousin, on behalf of the people!"
…
Jiang He looked up at the sky and waved his sleeves, "It's getting late. We should return to the palace to report."
He Jizhong hurriedly bowed to see him off.
Li Shufeng said solemnly, "I will follow the eunuch into the palace to apologize to the emperor."
Jiang He gave him a meaningful look and said, "The emperor's mind is unpredictable. Even if His Majesty shows mercy, I'm afraid those ministers in the court won't let you off easily... Whether you can escape unscathed this time depends on your luck."
Upon hearing this, Li Shufeng remained calm, but his heart suddenly sank. He forced himself to calm down and walked out of the hall with Jiang He.
When passing by Lu Ming, Li Shufeng glanced at him inconspicuously.
On the way, he had heard that it was Lu Zhong's son who came forward to testify that his father had taken the blame. Such a hidden danger, the second son did not know how to eliminate it in advance... It's no wonder that he was caught by someone for being so careless.
Feeling the scrutinizing gaze on him, Lu Ming remained calm, without any fluctuation.
He had won this bet today. Since he had chosen to stand here, he knew he would be killed. But even if he did nothing, those who wanted his life would never let him go.
"Master Lu, please return home first." He Jizhong looked at him and said, "I will order someone to carefully examine the evidence you sent today. I will send someone to inform you of any further progress."
It's such a pity for this young man...
"Thank you, Master He."
Lu Ming bowed and slowly left the court.
He Jizhong watched him leave, his eyes full of regret, and finally turned his gaze to Zhao Tinglan who was still waiting in the hall.
"Your sister is in the backyard right now. If Miss Zhao wants to see her, go and see her..."
He Jizhong said slowly, "It's just that according to the rules of the government office, we have to wait until the coroner has finished examining the body before we can arrange the burial. I hope Miss Zhao will understand."
"Master He, you are too kind."
Zhao Tinglan knelt down and said, "Thanks to your Excellency for handling this matter impartially, I am deeply grateful!"
He Jizhong sighed softly, raised his hand and said, "Please stand up quickly. This is my duty. It's within my responsibility. You don't need to do this."
Zhao Tinglan knew who the real person who helped her was, but it was undeniable that Lord He was indeed an upright man.
Otherwise, she wouldn't even have the chance for a retrial.
She looked out of the hall.
The crowd had long since dispersed, with only a few people still whispering outside the yamen.
Lanterns hung high under the eaves, but in the dim light, she did not see the figure she was waiting for.
The noisy environment suddenly became quiet, her heart felt empty, and her eyes turned red.
Through her tearful eyes, she seemed to hear her sister softly calling her "Sister".
Zhao Tinglan stared into the void, tears rolling down his face.
It was not until the servant beside her urged her and asked if she wanted to go to the backyard that the illusory sound and shadow suddenly disappeared.
Zhao Tinglan raised his hand to wipe away his tears.
Wuyouding must be thinking of her too, right?
She is going to see Wuyou now.
Song Qianzhao didn't go far.
She stood quietly under the ancient locust tree outside the yamen, watching Zhao Tinglan led by the officials into the backyard of the yamen, and only then did she feel relieved.
"This case is entirely thanks to your Highness's assistance."
Song Qianzhao clasped his fists and bowed.
Although His Highness would eventually confiscate Li Lin'an's property and execute him after ascending the throne, they all had a common person they wanted to get rid of, so they were just trying to do it in advance.
But when Wang Mingfu first disappeared, His Highness had no idea it was connected to Li Shufeng's son, and had sent his followers to help her find her purely out of good will. Not to mention the incident in the tavern; if it hadn't been for His Highness's protection, she would have been hit on the head by a flying wooden stool, leaving her bleeding. His Highness fully deserved this thank you.
The prince stood with his hands behind his back, his sleeves fluttering in the evening breeze.
"Helping you is also helping myself," he shook his head slightly, his voice gentle, "Why thank me?"
"Otherwise," Song Qianzhao raised his eyes and looked directly at the Crown Prince, his tone sincere, "Your Highness didn't know at first that this matter involved Li Shufeng's second son, and he helped me out of his own will. Besides, when you helped me block that flying wooden bench in the tavern that day, I must have been bleeding. So, I should thank Your Highness!"
"If you feel that a verbal thank you is too little, just ask me to set up a table outside some other day."
The young man looked solemn, as if he was talking about something serious.
Song Qianzhao smiled and agreed: "When Your Highness is free, please send a message to me at any time."
As the crown prince, he must be very busy with his studies.
Xuan Shu glanced at him when he heard that.
He has to take the initiative to deliver a message for such a thing?
Do I have to ask him to write a letter saying that he can treat me to dinner today?
This is too embarrassing.
He is a man who attaches great importance to his reputation.
Thinking of this, the boy's expression became a little complicated.
Mr. Song's way of treating us to a meal is rather insincere.
“…”
Seeing his strange expression, Song Qianzhao realized belatedly that something was wrong. He was about to explain when he was interrupted by Fan Zhiyu who appeared behind him.
"What were you talking about?" Fan Zhiyu had unknowingly stood three steps away, his eyes flicking back and forth between the two of them. Suddenly, as if remembering something, he asked, "By the way, cousin, Li Lin'an has collapsed. Can we use this to implicate his father, Li Shufeng?"
Xuan Shu's eyes darkened slightly. "Of course. The Qianyuan Hall, which Li Shufeng instigated my father to build, was struck by lightning precisely because the Li family practiced witchcraft and hid corpses in the courtyard. Now, this has given Li's political enemies a perfect excuse."
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