Chapter 335 Brothers (Part 2)
Sima Jun looked calm: "What do you mean, Your Highness?"
The prince laughed and said, "It's just a joke, why take it seriously?"
"There is one more matter which I think I should report to Your Highness."
"What's the matter?" asked the prince.
"Li Mo, the chief clerk of the Shangshu Mansion, is colluding with Lü Qiuyan and is bound to leak court secrets to him. This scourge must be eliminated. I believe that Li Mo should be apprehended swiftly."
"Yes, that makes sense," said the prince. "I'll have Liang Huang go and catch him."
"No need for that. I don't trust Liang Huang. Li Mo is already in my hands," Sima Jun said. "Your Highness, please order the Supreme Court to investigate this case thoroughly. I will hand Li Mo over to Bo You."
The Crown Prince was startled and frowned. "This is nonsense. The court has its own rules. The Seven Lieutenants are responsible for public security in the capital, and the Court of Justice is responsible for criminal justice. Unless it's a serious case, it should be handed over to the Seven Lieutenants. Why should a mere Li Mo be bothered by the Court of Justice?"
"That's true, but I suspect Li Mo and Liang Huang are connected. Handing Li Mo over to Liang Huang would actually give him a chance to live."
The prince was incredulous. "How could a mere clerk be linked to the Chief of the Seventh Lieutenant Department? Aren't you overly praising him?"
"Your Highness, please understand that Lu Qiuyan's influence in the capital has only just begun to emerge, and has not yet been completely eradicated. I believe that caution is the best course of action."
The prince asked again, "How are the two of them connected? Do you have any evidence?"
Sima Jun was a little hesitant.
This matter involves Sun Zhi.
When Sun Zhi first met Sima Jun, he offered to trade Lu Ming for his position. Then, after a single visit to the Seventh Lieutenant's Office, his attitude changed dramatically. Sima Jun had long suspected he had been persuaded by someone there. Now, it seemed that person was most likely Li Mo.
However, Lu Ming had already made things complicated, and Sima Jun didn't want to make things even more complicated by bringing out Sun Zhi.
In response to the prince's question, he could only reply: "I will find the evidence myself."
The prince said angrily, "If you can't find evidence, won't you get Bo You scolded too?"
"If I can't find out, I will apologize and won't implicate Bo You."
"Apologize, apologize! Do you really think you're impenetrable?" The prince shook his head. "When will you change your reckless nature?"
Sima Jun simply bowed and said, "Your Highness, please forgive me. I can only entrust Li Mo to Bo You. If Your Highness does not agree, I will have no choice but to conduct the interrogation myself."
"you!"
Sima Jun simply bowed to the prince.
The prince looked at him for a long time before sighing deeply, "You are so stubborn. People will accuse you of abusing your power again."
Sima Jun said nothing, but just bowed to the ground.
"Get up, I promise."
"Thank you, Your Highness."
Sima Jun stood up and was about to say goodbye when Zhao Tong, seizing the opportunity, announced from outside the hall, "Your Highness, the Crown Princess and Princess Princess are here."
The Crown Prince put it aside and smiled at Sima Jun, "Last time, you rejected Wang Xuanji's marriage proposal in front of Fang Mi, and she almost cried herself blind when she got home. Today, I'll just play the peacemaker. I don't ask for an apology, but please don't mention those childish remarks from last time again."
Sima Jun said, "What I said last time came from my heart and was not a joke."
The prince frowned and said, "It's your parents' orders and the matchmaker's words. Your marriage was originally decided by the Queen Mother. If she agrees, can't you say it?"
"I have been without a father or a mother for a long time, and it is I who will marry. I do not think it is necessary to trouble the Queen Mother for the decision on this matter."
"Come on," the prince said impatiently. "It's just a matter of marrying a wife. Why are you being so fussy? Telling others about it will make you a laughingstock. You're marrying your future princess now. If you find another woman you like in the future, just take her in. I'm not going to take your life."
"Forgive me for not obeying your command." He then bowed and said, "It's getting late. I'll take my leave."
Sima Jun said this and turned and left.
"Stop!" the prince shouted angrily.
Sima Jun paused.
"I can't get you to do anything now, right?" the prince said gritting his teeth.
"Your Highness, why do you say that?" Sima Jun stood in front of the palace gate, his wide sleeves blown by the strong wind. "Your Highness wants the Northern Palace, and I have already presented it to you with both hands."
The prince sneered: "How long will you hold this grudge?"
"I do not bear any grudge, nor do I dare to bear any grudge."
After he said that, he bowed again and left the hall.
The strong wind blew the drizzle into the corridor, and Sima Jun hurriedly left the East Palace.
"Prince, please stay!"
Sima Jun turned around upon hearing this, only to see Wang Xuanji catching up with him in small steps.
"Where is your Highness going?" she asked breathlessly. "The Crown Prince just sent a message saying he wants to have dinner with us."
"I have something else to do, so I have to leave first. I won't stay for dinner."
Wang Xuanji took a deep breath, as if mustering up courage, and stood in front of him: "I was just waiting in the side hall with the Crown Princess, and I had the audacity to overhear the argument between the Crown Prince and the Crown Prince..."
She bit her lip and choked out, "What is your dissatisfaction with me, Prince? Why would you refuse this marriage even at the cost of disobeying the Queen Mother and the Crown Prince?"
"You and I are not destined to be together. If we force this, neither of us will live well. Please understand, my lady."
Wang Xuanji opened her eyes wide with tears and asked, "Please tell me, my lord, what does it mean to be destined but not meant to be together?"
"I'm not interested in romance, so I don't plan to get married."
"Your Highness is lying," Wang Xuanji said, "because you have someone else in your heart, right?"
Sima Jun didn't comment, but simply bowed and said, "It's getting late, I should go back home, my lady, please go back as well."
After he said that, he turned around resolutely and walked into the wind and rain.
Wang Xuanji looked at his resolute back, biting her lip, her face already wet, not knowing whether it was tears or rain.
——
Sima Jun returned home in the heavy rain, his whole body soaked.
Sun Wei was afraid that his old injury, which had just healed, would relapse, so he asked Doctor Lin to prescribe a prescription for him and watched him drink it himself.
After drinking the medicine and changing his clothes, Sima Jun was calm and composed, without a trace of fatigue.
He went to discuss matters with Deng Lian and others, and when he returned to the hall, he saw Sun Wei flipping through the manuscript that Sun Qiao used to practice calligraphy.
A desk, a person, and a lamp form a world of their own, so quiet that it seems not to belong to this mortal world.
Sima Jun stared for a moment before Sun Wei realized he was coming.
"Have you finished your homework today, Qiao?" Sima Jun walked in, sat on the couch on the side, and asked.
Sun Wei had no intention of discussing Sun Qiao's homework with him. Thinking of Sima Jun's anxious look just now, she couldn't help but complain, "The East Palace is so big, there are plenty of places for the prince to stay. There's nothing urgent at home, so why is the prince in such a hurry to come back?"
Sima Jun glanced at her and said, "If I don't come back, the Crown Prince will capture me and dine with Wang Xuanji. He wants me to give in and take back what I said when I refused the marriage proposal. Of course, there's no reason for me to take it back. Otherwise, wouldn't that be deceiving the emperor?"
Specious arguments.
Sima Jun today is no longer the blockhead he was in his previous life.
But he is no longer the taciturn person like in his previous life, who is always full of sophistry and arguments.
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