"Brother Zhao, come and sit down, come and sit down. I admire your righteousness and awe before the Emperor today, I admire you very much!" Fu Yiran, a student from Weifang who had spoken a few words with Zhao Fangjing before, took the lead in pulling Zhao's arm and pressing him down on the shoulder to sit down.
Zhao Fangjing glanced around at the people at the table. Some of them looked familiar; they must be staying at the same inn. He'd seen them so often these past few days that he'd gotten somewhat acquainted with them. Then he looked again at a few people he didn't recognize, including Li Wei, of course.
"How do you know what I said to the Emperor?" Zhao Fangjing suddenly remembered this as he came downstairs. Logically, what he said shouldn't have spread to the Kangxi Emperor and those present so quickly, or even at all. Although he didn't know the identities of those present, judging from the high-ranking official who had almost arrested him and threatened to beat him to death, everyone present was undoubtedly a noble or imperial relative. And those servants... thinking about this, Zhao Fangjing suspected that perhaps it was those people who had leaked his words.
Upon hearing this, Li Wei's eyelids twitched, and he thought to himself, "This is bad." He then immediately said, "We heard this from someone. It's probably because Brother Zhao's words in front of the Emperor were too shocking that they spread so quickly."
The people who had just heard Li Wei mention it didn't say they heard it from him, and just echoed him.
Zhao Fangjing stared at Li Wei for a long time, but he really couldn't remember the face.
"Brother Zhao, come, let's drink. This cup is a toast to you. I greatly admire your ability to speak up for the scholars of the world before the Emperor." Fu Yiran raised his cup, and the others followed suit. Indeed, Zhao Fangjing's words had given the scholars of the world a sense of relief.
Zhao Fangjing naturally responded to everyone's toasts. After drinking some wine, someone suddenly asked, "Brother Zhao, you are really bold. How dare you speak of the Crown Prince like that in front of His Majesty?" After saying that, he raised a thumb to show his admiration.
At this point, Zhao Fangjing, who had drunk several rounds of wine, was no longer as wary as he had been at the beginning. His cheeks were starting to turn slightly red, and he began to slur his words. He became quite pleased with himself when someone praised him like that.
"Hehe, think about it, His Majesty is holding a calligraphy conference in Jinan Prefecture. Since it's open to everyone, it means opening up channels for expression. And since it's opening up channels, it won't be a one-man show. So whatever is said, as long as it's for the Qing Dynasty and for the common people, His Majesty won't blame him," Zhao Fangjing said with a silly grin. Then he couldn't help but pick up his wine cup and take a small sip. Li Wei had specifically ordered the shopkeeper to serve the finest Daughter's Red wine because he'd heard from the shopkeeper that Zhao Fangjing was a bit of a drinker. Sure enough, after the wine went down his throat, Zhao Fangjing's mouth wasn't so tight anymore.
“That makes sense, that makes sense!” Fu Yiran nodded repeatedly, and the others followed suit. Since Zhao Fangjing had become famous overnight, his words would naturally garner a lot of approval.
"Brother Zhao, the Emperor has been keeping the matter between the Crown Prince and Suo'etu under tight control. How could you know so much about it? Besides, they are the Emperor's father and son. How dare you?" someone asked again.
"Everyone knows about the disaster caused by Suo'etu, and it's common knowledge that he is the Crown Prince's uncle. Besides, someone told me that the Crown Prince..." Zhao Fangjing was about to continue, but suddenly seemed to realize something and immediately stopped speaking.
"What happened to the Crown Prince?" Fu Yiran asked, and everyone else craned their necks, eagerly waiting for Zhao Fangjing to continue.
"It's nothing, it's nothing. Anyway, everything I said is true. Even if the Emperor is displeased, he can't kill me. If he kills me, it will discourage the scholars of the world. Don't you agree?" Zhao Fangjing seemed to really see himself as the hero who spoke up for the scholars of the world. He almost revealed the secret he had been hiding, but he held it back.
"Come on, let's toast Brother Zhao!" Li Wei took the lead in toasting Zhao Fang, and the others followed suit, creating a lively atmosphere at the table.
Li Wei knew that Zhao Fangjing had only said half of what he wanted to know, so he wasn't in a hurry and was waiting for the right opportunity!
Clearly, the time was ripe. The group was all drunk and staggering, and Zhao Fangjing was also reeking of alcohol. However, he seemed to still be somewhat conscious. He stood up, walked out, and then went upstairs to his room to sleep.
After Zhao Fangjing left, Li Wei immediately pulled the hand off him, then quickly got up, went to the innkeeper, and booked a room—the one next to Zhao Fangjing's.
Then, he instructed the innkeeper to escort everyone from the private room back to their respective rooms, naturally giving them more money. Seeing the money, the innkeeper obediently did as Li Wei instructed.
Li Wei followed the servant to his room, then pretended to have a headache and asked the servant to fetch him some water. While the servant went to get the water, Li Wei secretly left his room and went to Zhao Fangjing's room. He reached out and pushed the door, only to find that it was locked from the inside.
Helpless, Li Wei returned to his room and waited for the servant to bring water. After washing his face and hands, Li Wei gave the servant some loose silver, and the servant left happily.
Unable to enter Zhao Fangjing's room immediately, Li Wei had no choice but to rest on the bed. In short, he planned to keep an eye on this person; if anything happened, it would surely reveal some clues.
When Li Wei was asleep in the middle of the night, he suddenly heard a loud struggle, which seemed to be coming from next door. He immediately jumped out of bed without even putting on his robe and rushed to open his door.
But it was pitch black outside. Before he could even open the door, he saw several dark figures flash past. After they passed, Li Wei opened the door a crack and saw several men in black carrying a burlap sack downstairs. They moved extremely lightly, almost like ghosts, without making a sound. There seemed to be some noise coming from the burlap sack, but Li Wei couldn't make out what it was.
Watching them open the door and leave, Li Wei went back into his room and lit a candlestick with a tinderbox. He carried the candlestick out of his room and went to check Zhao Fangjing's door. Sure enough, the door was already open.
When Li Wei went closer, he was shocked to find that Zhao Fangjing, who should have been sleeping in bed, was nowhere to be seen. The men in black had indeed taken Zhao Fangjing away.
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