After leaving Yuchi Gong's house, Li Hong wandered around the streets with nothing to do. After thinking about it, he decided to go back to the mansion. Li Yifu should have arrived by now. He summoned him here so that he could accompany him in the interrogation of Yarou. Li Yifu had once had an encounter with Ci'en Temple for a woman, and finally had a feud with Dali Temple Cheng Bi Zhengyi because of this matter. So he summoned him here in the hope that his appearance might shake the firm belief of Yarou, a woman, and that he could feel more relaxed and know what he wanted from her.
He had no intention of going to Changsun Wuji's house. He had been wandering around Chang'an City for more than a month, but it was like a forbidden area. He could not enter there casually, otherwise he would easily be criticized and impeached.
The bustling streets of Chang'an City were filled with people coming and going, including Tang people, Hu people, and people from other countries in the Western Regions, creating a noisy and lively scene.
There were also the Wa people in the middle. At that time, Wa was still the Tang people, or it was the name they called their country themselves. It was not until twenty years later, when the Japanese envoys came to the Tang to congratulate the Tang Dynasty on pacifying Goguryeo, that they discovered that Wa had a derogatory meaning. After returning home, they began to call themselves the country's name Japan.
The Japanese were easy to identify, and they looked a bit shabby and unconfident in the Tang Dynasty at that time. They were short, timid, and tried to please everyone they met.
Young boys and girls walk openly on the streets, behave like gentlemen and ladies to each other, go to teahouses and restaurants together, or go to Taoist temples and Buddhist temples to enjoy the scenery, increasing their opportunities to get to know each other.
At this time, reciting poems and composing essays had become a daily necessity for the Tang people. The court's vigorous promotion of the imperial examination led to an increasing number of scholars in the Tang Dynasty. They wore round-necked long robes, a fu hat on their heads, and walked leisurely with a relaxed look, often standing out from the crowd.
The third Japanese envoy to the Tang Dynasty just returned in August, with a total of 250 people, and they ate, lived and studied for free. Because of this, Li Hong once argued with Shangguan Yi in the Hongwenguan. In the end, he made Shangguan Yi so angry that his beard stood up high, his whole body was shaking, and he said he would report to His Majesty that the King of Dai lacked virtue.
After returning to Prince Pu's Mansion, Li Yifu was already waiting at the door. Because he was not in the mansion, Li Yifu chose to wait at the door instead of waiting inside the mansion himself.
...
...
The two of them slowly walked towards the room where Yarou was imprisoned. On the way, Li Hong asked, "Are you sure you don't know this woman?"
Li Yifu sighed deeply and said sincerely: "To answer the king of Dai, although I once used public power to save my life and asked Bi Zhengyi to release the woman because of my confusion, I was rejected. Later, I never went to Ci'en Temple again, let alone had any contact with them."
"So it's going to be very difficult for me to pry her mouth open today?" Li Hong said thoughtfully.
"It's not difficult actually. As long as the King gives it to me, I promise to let you get what you want." Li Yifu assured Li Hong.
"Torture? Or force her to confess? Or make a false confession? What's the point of all this? Even if they execute her, it's easy, but we will never know what their purpose is. How can we prevent it?"
"By the way, have you checked the matter I assigned to you at the Ministry of Industry?" Li Hong asked, remembering the matter he had entrusted to him.
"We've checked. These people are now missing. No one knows where they went. The case has been filed with the county magistrates of Chang'an and Wannian, but the case has never been solved." Li Yifu said.
There were two guards from Prince Pu's mansion guarding the door. When they saw Li Hong, they hurriedly saluted.
Li Hong asked, "Any reaction in the past few days?"
"To the King of Dai, every time he delivers food, he will ask to see someone who can make the decision. Occasionally, he will yell in his room, but he is not very... crazy. There will also be screams at night."
Li Hong nodded in satisfaction, then looked at Li Yifu and motioned to open the door. Hua Meng also came slowly from the corridor with two people. Li Hong looked at the two people behind Hua Meng and a sly smile appeared on his face again.
He was the first to step into the room and saw a figure curled up on a cushion. The servant brought the cushions and put them down. Li Hong sat down on a cushion casually and motioned Li Yifu to sit down as well.
Hua Meng led the two men to stand at the door. As long as the King of Dai called, he would immediately take them in to obey the King of Dai's orders. But he was very puzzled why the King of Dai wanted to find two dirty and smelly old beggars who exuded a sour smell and looked to be in their fifties or sixties.
Yarou heard the door open and felt strange. She wondered why someone would open the door when it was not the time to deliver food.
The head buried on the futon slowly raised up, the hair looked a little dry and messy because it had not been washed for a few days. The expression was also a little haggard, the face was pale, the whole person was lifeless, and the originally bright eyes had lost their former luster.
The dazzling light shone into the room. It took Yarou a while to adjust to the situation before she could see clearly that two people, one big and one small, had appeared in the room. They were looking at her with a smile.
Yarou moved her stiff and numb legs and feet, shook her arms, and sorted out her clothes that she had not washed in several days. She always felt that her clothes gave off a sour smell.
He knew the villain. It was he who led people into his own courtyard in Ci'en Temple that night. He didn't know the man next to him, but he gave him a sense of danger.
"King Dai? I wonder what purpose King Dai has in coming to see me?" Yarou fiddled with her hair in front of her forehead and said coldly.
"It's nothing. I just want to ask clearly, why did you kidnap my palace maid? Also, Bai Lu also said that you wanted to hand her over to Wang Jing and let Wang Jing bully my palace maid. Why?" Li Hong asked with interest.
"No reason. Your maid is so pretty that I naturally wanted to kidnap her. As for giving her to Wang Jing, it was just a coincidence."
"So that's what you mean?" Li Hong confirmed again.
"What do you mean?" Yarou didn't understand what Li Hong wanted to ask. In her opinion, this little Dai Wang should come to interrogate her and ask why he kidnapped the palace maids and the people of the Tang Dynasty in the backyard, but why did he always focus on the topic of his palace maids?
"That is to say, you intentionally gave my maid to Wang Jing to be bullied by him." Li Hong explained.
Yarou looked at Li Hong quietly, not knowing what he was thinking. Could it be that the King of Dai was making things difficult for her just for a palace maid?
"Yes, I do have the idea of sending your palace maid to Wang Jing to bully." Yarou thought for a moment and replied.
"Very good, then I have a few more questions. I hope you can answer them truthfully one by one. If you don't answer, the fate of Bai Lu that happened in your hands will happen to you." Li Hong said playfully.
As soon as Li Hong finished speaking, Yarou immediately glanced at Li Yifu next to him warily, thinking to herself, "Could it be that the King of Dai is going to hand me over to this person in front of him and let me let him insult me?"
When Li Yifu heard the words of the King of Dai, he looked at Yarou's beautiful and attractive face, which exuded a charming and amorous temperament. He suddenly became a little excited and rubbed his hands and said, "Thank you, King of Dai. I will not let you down..."
"I...get out, Li Yifu, you think too much. This woman is not for you. There is someone else. Just forget about it!" Li Hongchong snorted at the self-indulgent Li Yifu.
"Uh..." Li Yifu's face turned red and he sat there awkwardly, not knowing what to say.
However, the funny picture formed by Li Hong's angry expression and Li Yifu's embarrassed expression made Yarou burst out laughing. After laughing, she immediately felt something was wrong and pursed her lips to act cool.
Li Hong ignored Li Yifu who apologized to him, looked at Yarou and asked: "What is your purpose in imprisoning the people of the Tang Dynasty? Were the first batch of craftsmen who built the Big Wild Goose Pagoda kidnapped by you? Where are these people now? Who is your real identity? What convenience did Liu Shuang and Wang Jing give you?"
Li Hong ordered Li Yifu to investigate the craftsmen who built the Big Wild Goose Pagoda. He had already gotten the answer from Li Yifu on the way here. Those people had disappeared and no one knew where they went. Now he threw this question to Yarou, but he intuitively felt that these two things should be together.
After asking, Li Hong waited quietly for Yarou's answer, but Yarou seemed to be deaf and was reluctant to answer a single word of Li Hong's questions.
"Since you know that I am the fifth prince of the Tang Dynasty, you should know that no matter what, Liu Shuang will never be able to sit on the position of Zhongshu Ling again. So, don't expect him to be able to run away from the Dali Temple and take the position of Zhongshu Ling again to rescue you." Li Hong looked at Yarou without saying anything and continued.
There was a hint of nervousness in Yarou's eyes. It seemed that Yarou still held on to the last glimmer of hope.
"Your Majesty of the Tang Dynasty has many princes. Does the King of Dai think that Your Majesty will arbitrarily deal with a minister for a little prince? Moreover, it is the position of Zhongshu Ling, which is extremely important in the Tang Dynasty."
"Huh? I didn't realize you know so much about the official positions in the Tang Dynasty at your young age. No wonder you cling to Liu Shuang."
"Bah, you are the one who is clinging to Liu Shuang. I am very young, but I would like to ask King Dai, how old are you this year?" Yarou retorted, and her originally pale beautiful cheeks suddenly had a blush.
Li Hong smiled and said nothing. She didn't understand what it meant to hug someone's thigh and thought he was really hugging Liu Shuang's thigh.
"Okay, this is your last chance. Do you want to answer the questions just now or not?" Li Hong was too lazy to talk nonsense with her, and it seemed that he had no effective methods for dealing with women.
Just like when facing Lanling and Chengyang, I can't avoid being bullied by them, but Yiyang and Gaoan are the exceptions. They are too stupid and can only be bullied by me.
Yarou raised her delicate chin high, telling Li Hong with her attitude that she would not answer.
"Hua Meng, bring her in." Li Hong turned and said to the outside.
Yarou and Li Yifu looked towards the door at the same time. No one had arrived yet, but a sour and stinky smell had already entered the room. The whole room suddenly became extremely smelly, making people want to vomit.
The embroidered handkerchief on Yarou's body had been taken away long ago. At this moment, she had nothing on her body, so she had to cover her mouth and nose with her sleeves. Li Yifu also covered his mouth and nose immediately.
The two looked at Li Hong again, and they didn't know when Li Hong had covered his mouth and nose before them.
Two beggars appeared at the door. There seemed to be flies around them. When they opened their mouths, they had yellow teeth covered with vegetable leaves. Their nostrils were filled with nose hairs and even had green and yellow snot hanging from them...
Li Hong really couldn't bear to watch it any longer. The two beggars with their mouths wide open and the vegetable residue between their teeth made him feel miserable.
Yarou looked at the two beggars in horror, and vaguely guessed what Li Hong meant. Her cold eyes suddenly became like a sharp sword, tearing the harmless smiling King Dai into pieces!
Li Yifu's face was filled with pity and regret. He covered his mouth and nose with his hands, feeling heartbroken. Such a beautiful flower had to be given to these two beggars. The King of Dai was too vicious!
Li Hong covered his mouth and nose and said in a low voice: "As the saying goes: 'Killing someone destroys their heart', but I am not going to kill you. It is too bloody and cruel. I don't like it. So I plan to grant you a marriage. How about it? You pick one of these two. If you don't pick, they won't pick either. I just asked them, and they are willing to share a wife."
Li Hong looked at Yarou's pretty face, which was pale and bloodless. She didn't even dare to look at the two beggars not far behind him. She just stared at Li Hong! In her mind, she had already chopped Li Hong into pieces several times!
"Huh? Still not admitting? Do you think I'm faking it? Well, today I will grant marriage to the three of you! Yifu, let's withdraw and don't disturb these two gentlemen from entering the bridal chamber. Oh, by the way, as for the six rituals of offering the betrothal gifts, asking for the name, and accepting the betrothal gifts, just skip them and go straight to the bridal chamber today. If you are not satisfied with the others, I can do it for you later. Yifu, run, I can't breathe..." Li Hong said hastily, and rushed out of the room with Li Yifu in embarrassment. When they got outside, they immediately took a deep breath of fresh air.
It was too cruel and unbearable. Li Hong felt that if he stayed for a while longer he would definitely vomit.
"Congratulations to the bride... I wish you a happy bridal chamber... Enjoy your wedding night..." Li Hong kept saying "oh" one by one, and Li Yifu next to him got goose bumps all over his body. This trick is too cruel, he must learn it!
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