Li Hong took one step at a time until he stepped onto the last step. Xiaoxue on his left and Zong Chuke on his right both looked nervous and looked vigilantly at the hundreds of soldiers around them.
“Plop… plop…”
After Li Hong stepped onto the last step, several people led by Helan Minzhi all knelt on the ground, with their heads pressed against the ground and trembling all over.
The disheveled beauties nearby looked at Li Hong as he slowly approached, and were puzzled as to how these "senior officials" who had just been domineering, talking and laughing, making bold statements, and fearless of anything suddenly became such a different person.
But no matter what, they were not fools. They knew in their hearts that this young man must be a higher-ranking official than them, so they hurriedly followed him and prostrated themselves on the ground.
At this moment, the sound of neat and quick footsteps suddenly sounded behind Li Hong. Two teams of about two thousand soldiers rushed silently towards the entrance of Hanfeng Palace from the left and right sides of Cuiwei Palace.
The unsheathed swords and cold lances all exuded a murderous aura of iron and blood. The entire team was dressed in black armor, with only the red silk on the top of the helmets fluttering in the wind.
Exuding silent fighting spirit and murderous aura, they had already defeated more than a hundred soldiers who had already lost the will to fight before they even got close.
They dropped their swords one after another and were surrounded in the square by the soldiers who had rushed over, waiting for their fate.
...
...
From beginning to end, Li Hong did not even look back. The prince's left and right imperial guards led two generals and Liebao, Fang Zhan, Heng Qiao and others to quickly control the situation, and then stood not far in front of Li Hong to prevent any accidents.
Li Hong slowly paced in front of the people kneeling on the ground, kicked out all the disheveled women one by one, and said lightly: "Take them away first."
Suddenly, several soldiers came up, without any mercy, they grabbed each person by the hair with their huge hands. Immediately, screams were heard everywhere, and each person was dragged to the bottom of the stairs and guarded together with the soldiers.
"Japanese envoys? Interesting. You actually came to my Tang Dynasty Palace to drink and have fun. I wonder who gave you the courage?" Li Hong asked, kicking the heads of the two Japanese envoys kneeling on the ground.
"Ning Daoming, Xiao Shougui, Xiao Shoudao, you three are officials of the Tang Dynasty, don't you know that this is the royal palace? Is this the place for you to drink and have fun? Raise your heads and talk." Li Hong put his hands behind his back and kicked back and forth at the heads of several people who were lying on the ground and dared not move.
"What? You don't dare to speak? Ning Daoming, I let you escape last time, but you still don't repent. Are you really looking for death? What do you think of the royal family of the Tang Dynasty? This is not a place you can come to!" Li Hong suddenly stepped on Ning Daoming's head and asked harshly.
"Tell me, who the hell gave you the courage!"
"I acknowledge my crime, please spare my life, Your Highness the Crown Prince." Ning Daoming dared not move his head as it was stepped on. He kept his mouth pressed tightly against the ground as he spoke incoherently.
Li Hong let go of Ning Daoming's head and slowly stood in front of Helan Minzhi. Looking at Helan Minzhi who was as small as a shrimp, the murderous aura on Li Hong's body became stronger and stronger.
"Zong Chuke drafted an edict: I will go to Cuiwei Palace to pay homage to Grandpa Huang today, and investigate Helan Minzhi, Ning Daoming, Xiao Shougui, Xiao Shoudao, and dozens of Japanese envoys who were drinking and having fun in Hanfeng Palace. This is a crime of great disrespect to our royal family and an insult to the face of our Tang Dynasty royal family. Order, I have summoned the Ministry of Personnel, the Ministry of Rites, the Honglu Temple, the Zongzheng Temple, etc. to Taiyi City for inquiries. I have thought about it for a long time. This matter concerns the majesty of the royal family and the laws and regulations of the court. I have decided to personally conduct the trial, and the Ministry of Justice and the Dali Temple will assist in the trial. Please agree, father. Crown Prince Li Hong."
Zong Chuke threw away the sword in his hand, hurriedly followed the cheetah into the Hanfeng Hall, looked for writing brushes and ink, and began to draft an edict.
Helan Minzhi knelt on the ground and heard everything clearly. His eyes went dark and he almost fainted! At this moment, there was only one thought in his mind: he must not fall into the hands of the prince. Even if he was handed over to the Ministry of Justice or the Dali Temple, he would definitely be able to get out. But if he fell into the hands of the prince, he didn't know whether he could save his life.
"Hong'er, I am a royal relative. You cannot interrogate me personally. You have to hand me over to the Zongzheng Temple. This is in line with the laws of our Tang Dynasty." Helan Minzhi knelt on the ground and said hurriedly.
"You fucking know you're a royal relative?" It would have been fine if Helan Minzhi didn't say anything. As soon as he opened his mouth, Li Hong's anger, which was already about to be suppressed, erupted like a volcano: "How dare you say that! Who the hell gave you the guts to act so arrogantly here! Bringing these filthy people to the royal family to enjoy peace and prosperity!"
Li Hong stepped on Helan Minzhi's head and asked a question, stomping on it until blood flowed from Helan Minzhi's forehead. He still had no intention of stopping: "Tell me the fucking story, royal relatives? Royal relatives, where the fuck do you put the face of the royal family? Do you know what this place is? You really fucking think that if someone protects you, you can run rampant in the Tang Dynasty! I tell you, Helan Minzhi, no one can save you this time! Let's settle the old and new accounts together!"
Li Hong looked at the half of the face that was under his feet viciously, grinning and said: "Helan Minzhi, I tell you, no one can save you. You dare to trample on the face of the royal family, so don't blame me, Li Hong, for not treating you as a human being!"
"Falawless and Wutian, take everyone into the restricted area. Without my order, even my father and mother will never allow them to visit. If anyone is lost, killing you a hundred times will not be enough!" Li Hong stomped hard on Helan Minzhi's face again, turned around and left.
He believed that as long as they entered the restricted area of Taiyi City, no one would be able to take these people away from him!
Inside the palace, there were many more white carrier pigeons today than usual. While other eunuchs were running back and forth, Yang Wu already had seven or eight secret memorials in his hands.
At this time, he once again took the secret letter from the carrier pigeon at the door of Ganlu Palace, turned around and ran back to the imperial study in a hurry with a serious expression, carefully placed the secret letter on Li Zhi's desk, and then respectfully stepped aside!
Li Zhi's face was full of anger, his cheeks were flushed and he coughed from time to time. One can imagine how angry Li Zhi was at this moment.
Looking at Wu Shun and her daughter kneeling in front of him, he roared, "Nonsense! Are you crazy? Hanfeng Palace is also a place for you to make trouble! Who gave him the courage to let him drink and have fun in Hanfeng Palace! And with a Hu woman accompanying him! Where do you put my face! Do you still have my existence in your eyes!"
"Your Majesty, Minzhi is still young, not much older than Li Hong, and has a more lively personality. It's useless for you to get angry now, right? You should think of a solution first..."
"Pa!" Li Zhi slapped Helan Minyue on the face, and immediately a stream of blood slowly flowed out from the corner of her mouth.
"How dare you! You are still young? Li Hong is no younger than him! When have you ever seen Li Hong with such a corrupt character! You still have the nerve to plead for him? I tell you, no matter how Li Hong deals with him, I will not interfere! Such contempt and trampling on the royal dignity is disrespectful and you should be beheaded!" Li Zhi said angrily with red eyes, staring at Helan Minyue's incredible face.
Wu Shun was also startled. Unexpectedly, Li Zhi, who was always gentle, could be so frightening when he got angry. She glanced at Helan Minyue and forced a smile, "Your Majesty, Minyue and I are not begging for Minzhi. We just hope you can see how to make the incident less of a commotion. If this gets out, our royal family's reputation will be...not good. After all, it is our own royal family's business..."
While listening to Wu Shun's words, Li Zhi was flipping through the secret memorial that Yang Wu had just handed over. When he saw that Li Hong, in the name of the Eastern Palace, had formally drafted an edict to give full authority to investigate the case, Li Zhi couldn't help but look up and sigh.
The secret memorial was casually thrown on Wu Shun's face, and he said weakly: "It's not that I don't want to help you. The prince is determined to conduct the trial himself. If I oppose it, how can I face my father, the court officials and the people of the world! Withdraw, and don't mention this matter again."
"Your Majesty...you...if anything happens to Minzhi, Your Majesty, I will not live either..." Wu Shun was shocked and quickly glanced through the secret memorial. He saw that the words were filled with the prince's anger and determination. If Your Majesty did not step in on this matter, it was not impossible for Li Hong, who was always vindictive, to execute Helan Minzhi because of this matter!
"Yangwu, send them out of the palace." Li Zhi turned his head to look out the window and said lightly.
In his heart, he was thinking, what will the Queen do next? It doesn't matter to him. Anyway, he has long disliked Helan Minzhi. He goes in and out of the palace every day, freer than Sujie, Shangjin and others.
"Has this secret memorial been given to the Queen?" Li Zhi picked up the secret memorial and asked Yang Wu.
"Your Majesty, I am not aware of this. I rushed to deliver the secret letter as soon as it arrived." Yang Wu could feel the deep sense of powerlessness in Li Zhi's heart.
"Go to the Queen and take this secret letter with you." Li Zhi sighed, but finally softened his heart.
Wu Mei was in the palace, holding the secret memorial submitted by Li Hong that Li Zhi had just handed to her. She frowned and read it over and over again until she had memorized it. Then she sighed and slowly put it on the table.
"Your Majesty, what do you think? Do you really want to let that little guy interrogate them personally? Are you sure you want to let the crown prince interrogate the ministers in the court, the local governors, the royal relatives, and the Japanese envoys? Although it concerns the royal family's face, given Li Hong's temper, if this matter is known to everyone in the world, wouldn't it be even more inappropriate?"
Wu Mei frowned a little. It would be fine if it was just a minister in the court or a local governor, but this meant that all the powerful people were imprisoned. If it got out, it would be no small matter.
"What does the Queen think?" Li Zhi asked calmly with no expression on his face.
"Ministry of Rites, Ministry of Personnel, and Honglu Temple, have you decided to let them go to Taiyi City?" Wu Mei did not answer Li Zhi's words and continued to ask.
"Yes, I agree. This memorial was submitted later, and it is too late for me to change it." Li Zhi sighed. Helan Minzhi deserved it. He had to be met by Li Hong! Couldn't he wait until Li Hong went to Cuiwei Palace before going there himself?
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