Zhao Huan was beaten, his left eye black and blue, a treatment that was probably unprecedented for an emperor. When he left the inn, the waiter came up to greet him: "Sir, you are awake. Breakfast is ready. Please come downstairs."
"Um," Zhao Huan wanted to ask but was too embarrassed to ask, "Last night..."
Big Mouth smiled and said, "Oh, the shopkeeper went out early in the morning. She said that the room fee is waived, and our shopkeeper will also cover the meal expenses for you. Please forgive me, our shopkeeper is actually not a bad person, it's just that hehe." Looking at Zhao Huan's bruised eyes, Big Mouth felt a little embarrassed, and the damage on his face was not much better than Zhao Huan's.
Zhao Huan was doubly embarrassed: "Oh, haha, it's okay. I was just asking casually, where did this Miss Tian go?" He finally asked.
Tian Yingying, this girl is full of mysteries, a feeling Zhao Huan has never experienced before. Although he was beaten black and blue, the dog emperor did not feel angry at all, but instead had an indescribable feeling.
"Oh, the shopkeeper went to Kaifeng Prefecture. Lord Meng sent two officials to invite her over this morning. It seems to be about Mr. Huang's case." Big Mouth replied.
Zhao Huan's heart moved. Meng Gurao. It seems that the sudden death of the wealthy Huang is not that simple. It may be murder. Meng Gurao must have some evidence.
"Let's go, take me to dinner." Zhao Huan said.
Breakfast is simple, a bowl of porridge, two steamed buns and a few side dishes.
"Big Mouth, tell me about Miss Tian." Zhao Huan asked.
Dazui covered his swollen face and said, "Sir, please don't ask me. Although my boss may be a bit harsh and unruly, he is actually..."
This kind of person is easier to deal with. You can appeal to their emotions and reason with them, and even tempt them with money: "Big Mouth, we hit it off right away. I treat you like a brother. Here are five taels of silver. Use them to buy some wine."
Seeing the silver, Dazui immediately ignored everything else and said, "Brother, what's your name?"
Zhao Huan smiled and said, "Zhao, Zhao Xiaolong." He didn't dare to call him Zhao Zilong anymore. Have you ever seen Zhao Zilong with a black eye after being beaten?
"Oh, Mr. Zhao, let me tell you something," he said, his mouth suddenly becoming unstoppable. He took a stool and sat down across from Zhao Huan. "She's my shopkeeper. Don't you think she's pretty?"
This is true. Zhao Huan nodded and said, "Very beautiful. I, I, I am also puzzled. Such a beautiful girl can't be unmarried."
"Who says it's not true?" Dazui patted his thigh. "Actually, my shopkeeper is also a miserable person. She originally had a sweetheart."
She already had a lover. Zhao Huan's heart sank when he heard this. Ma De had met many women since leaving the palace, and they were either already in love or had lovers. Who had offended anyone? First, that Yun Niang had been so ruthless to him. He had finally shown interest in this mysterious Tian Yingying again, and now she had a lover again.
"You mean, her boyfriend dumped her?" Zhao Huan leaned over and asked in a low voice.
Big Mouth shook his head: "That's not the case. He's dead."
"Dead?" Zhao Huan was shocked. "How did he die?"
Upon hearing this, Big Mouth opened his mouth wide and was speechless, as if he had thought of something extremely terrifying and shocking.
Zhao Huan became even more curious. He drank his porridge with a steamed bun in his mouth and asked, "I'm asking you a question! How did Miss Tian's lover die?"
Big Mouth stood there motionless, and Zhao Huan was even more baffled. "Are you stupid? Big Mouth, Big Mouth!"
When he saw the beads of sweat on Dazui's forehead, Zhao Huan secretly thought that something was wrong. He froze, feeling only a tingling sensation on his back. Until he slowly turned around and saw Tian Yingying's angry face.
She seemed to have returned from Kaifeng Prefecture, but he didn't know when she had already appeared behind him. Zhao Huan forced a smile, but before he could say anything, there was a "bang" and a sharp pain in his right eye, followed by a blackout. The moment he fainted, Zhao Huan realized that her lover had been beaten to death, definitely by her.
When he woke up again, Zhao Huan had been thrown out of the Lai Fu Inn. He got up in a daze, and now he had turned into a panda.
"Are you here to dine and dash?" A passing man stopped, looked up at the entrance of the Laifu Inn, and gave a thumbs-up: "How dare you dine and dash here? You can do it!"
Zhao Huan recognized him. He was the guy who had dinner at Laifu Inn last night. He was probably a neighbor in this alley. The man shook his head and walked away.
"Stop!" Zhao Huan called out to him.
The man turned around in surprise: "What?"
"I'll treat you to a drink."
There was nothing a meal couldn't solve. This man was Zhao Fachun, the owner of the Zhao Family Iron Shop, which was across from the Lai Fu Inn. Zhao Huan was drinking with him in a small tavern.
"So you have set your eyes on the girl from the Tian family at Lai Fu Inn. I advise you to give up on this idea," said Zhao Fachun.
"Why?" Zhao Huan asked.
The information I didn't get from Big Mouth came from this Zhao Fachun. He just sighed like Big Mouth did: "This Tian girl is also a miserable person. Her father, Tian Wenjing, is a well-known good man in the neighborhood. His daughter, Tian Yingying, is the girl who beat you up."
He said it as if nothing had happened, but Zhao Huan was filled with shame. How could he feel about the girl who had beaten him? He wondered what Nangong Lian'er and Linghu Yunlong would think when they found out he had been beaten after returning to the palace.
Zhao Fachun continued, "This girl from the Tian family wasn't like this before. She's more lively and active now, but also well-behaved and sensible. She had a lover named Han Zhongyong, a guard who later joined the Imperial Dragon Guard, the department established by the emperor."
"Dragon Guard? What's his position?" Zhao Huan was surprised. He didn't expect that Tian Yingying's lover was actually a member of the Dragon Guard. He didn't know if he knew him, but he seemed to have seen the name somewhere, but he couldn't remember it for a moment.
Zhao Fachun shook his head. "He was just an ordinary official. Han Zhongyong was a really good young man. Unfortunately, when Prince Kang rebelled, His Majesty was besieged by the rebels in the suburbs. The Imperial Dragon Guard went to rescue him, but Han Zhongyong never returned. The wedding of these two was approaching, and it was said that a rebel arrow shot directly at His Majesty. It was Han Zhongyong who jumped forward to block the arrow for the emperor. The emperor's life was saved, but Han Zhongyong died."
Zhao Huan was shocked to find that Tian Yingying's lover was actually the officer of the Imperial Dragon Guard who died trying to save him. Zhao Huan then remembered that when he was comforting the soldiers afterwards, there was a man named Han Zhongyong on the list of casualties, and his name was also engraved on the merit tablet.
Zhao Huan's memory was so vivid because he remembered ten arrows being fired at him, and after the guards deflected several, seven or eight arrows were still flying towards him. It was two officers of the Imperial Dragon Guard and a guard from the Palace Guard who threw themselves on him as a human shield.
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