Chapter 114 The Death of Li Lang "Send it to the Prime Minister's residence."...
Li Zhen watched him walk towards the desk. Xuan Ying immediately went to greet his master. Li Zhen glanced at him as he followed behind, tossed him a bag of pastries, and then turned around and sat down in the chair.
Looking up, I saw Xuan Moying bring the pastries closer to smell them, then chuckle and stuff them into his arms.
Li Zhen couldn't stand his attitude and tapped his knuckles on the table.
Xuan Moying quickly looked up and took in her master's disdainful expression. She straightened up and said seriously, "Master, the Fourth Prince went to the Zhuang residence again today and left after about a quarter of an hour."
Li Zhen lightly flicked his fingers, and a black piece was placed on the chessboard. It was still the same endgame, except that the black piece broke through the white pieces' encirclement and formed a single move.
Then, with a flick of his two fingers, Xuan Moying jumped out of the window again.
Li Zhen's gaze followed the door, then he looked at the open door, ran his fingers through his hair, and sighed.
Then, he remembered Xuan Moying saying earlier, "He went to the Zhuang residence again."
Yes, Li Zhao has been quite diligent in visiting the Zhuang residence these days, but it seems the talks haven't gone smoothly.
Zhuang Xiang felt a headache coming on just thinking about the old man's appearance.
Over the years, not only has Li Zhao frequently tried to win over Zhuang Xiang, but he himself has also made numerous subtle hints. However, the other party remains unmoved by either soft or hard tactics, and his temperament must have caused Li Zhao considerable embarrassment.
But with this happening one after another, I'm afraid Li Zhao won't be able to swallow this insult.
No one knows a younger brother better than his elder brother.
Li Zhao left the manor and went straight to the dungeon.
"Brother Lang, are you still not going to say anything today?"
He was busy picking at the dirt off his little fingernail with his left thumb, his head turned toward his fingers, but his eyes were fixed on the person on the stone pillar.
The man had no strength left to reply. Half-dead, his head hung limply. His body was covered in bruises from the whipping, and patches of clothing clung to his tattered skin. The dark, uneven wounds were a mixture of scabs, mud, and flesh torn from the barbs of the golden whip.
The man's hands were hanging high up, as if they had lost their joints, his whole body dangling from his arms like a lump of meat hanging on a rope.
His feet had lost all strength to support him, and his legs slumped down to the ground at an odd angle.
It looks like it's taking in less air and exhaling more.
"Your Highness, he has fainted," the black-clad constable reported.
"Hmph." Li Zhao sneered. "You're already dizzy? How pathetic."
As she spoke, she stood up, walked into the stove, and poked at the embers with the hot iron rod. When the hot iron turned red-hot, she was satisfied and pulled it out.
Youyou approached Li Lang and said, "Brother Lang, why are you asleep? Let me help you wake up." With that, she pressed the branding iron hard against the side of the bound man's throat.
Hearing the man's hoarse roar, like that of a wild beast, he couldn't help but burst into laughter, "Hahahaha, you two are all tough nuts to crack, aren't you? I'll see if your bones are tougher, or if this branding iron is tougher."
He was so engrossed in his own laughter that he pushed the branding iron in a few more inches.
A moment later, the person on the other side fell silent.
Clang! The branding iron fell to the ground. "Go take a look."
Li Zhao clapped his hands while turning his back to the group.
"Your Highness, he's not breathing."
Li Zhao snorted and shook his head, "Send it to the Prime Minister's residence."
Upon receiving the order, the men hurriedly untied the iron chains. Once the man was freed from the chains, he crashed heavily to the ground.
It seemed the noise bothered Li Zhao, so he smiled and left the cell.
When the laborers saw the pile of soft flesh on the ground, they didn't know where to start. They just tried to work on the person on the ground, one by one.
After leaving the dungeon, Li Zhao turned a corner and went to Consort Li's palace.
"You killed someone?" Consort Li exclaimed in shock.
The maids all left the room and closed the doors and windows tightly.
"Mother Consort," Li Zhao said lazily, lying on the couch and picking his ear. "What's all the fuss about?"
Consort Li: "Didn't you say you wanted to keep him around to threaten that woman from the Zhuang family?"
"Hmph." Li Zhao then sat up slightly, leaning back. "That old scoundrel Zhuang Ziyang! He dared to threaten me with the Emperor. All these years, he's wasted his time on this worthless pawn."
Hearing this, Consort Li changed her breathing and said nothing more. Then she suddenly asked, "But if we lose Zhuang Ziyang's support, Zhao'er, do we have any chance of survival?"
Li Zhao lay half-reclined on his back, supporting his head with his hand, his eyes closed as if deep in thought.
"Oh dear, hurry up and tell me! You're driving me crazy!" Consort Li exclaimed again.
Li Zhao sat up straight, his brow furrowed, and said angrily, "I don't know."
Consort Li gave a light scoff.
"But this Zhuangzi is unclear about the rules and has no intention of helping the other side, so he is not to be feared," Li Zhao said, squinting and raising his lips.
Consort Li: "Hmph, that old geezer! Zhao'er, you are a prince, and you have repeatedly humbled yourself to beg him, but he really thinks he's someone important."
Li Zhao's expression softened somewhat.
Then Consort Li said, "Have your uncle deal with him later. Zhao'er, you should focus on important matters. There will be plenty of opportunities to deal with that old man."
Li Zhao listened, chuckled, stood up, looked around, seemed to find it boring, tossed out a "I'm leaving," and pushed open the door to leave the palace.
Seeing him like this, Consort Li was not displeased. She simply lowered her eyelashes and pondered for a moment. Her eyelashes were very long, casting a dark shadow under her eyes.
Meanwhile, Li Yang was still at the teahouse checking accounts with You Feng and the others. After all that trouble, although the teahouse had made some money over the past few months, the disaster relief efforts, coupled with the lack of income during this period, meant that they still owed money to quite a few merchants.
"Miss, I really have no money left."
As Youfeng spoke, he pulled open the drawer, revealing only a pitiful few copper coins inside.
hiss--
Li Yang stared blankly at the drawer. Although she had roughly guessed that there was no money in the account, seeing the drawer completely empty was a wake-up call. She then let out a shrill scream, "Ah—"
Chen Junbo rushed over upon hearing the noise. "What's wrong?"
"Chen Junbo, we're out of money..." Li Yang cried out, pouting.
Following her directions, Chen Junbo also noticed a few lonely copper coins in the drawer.
Seeing her cries so real, he found it amusing and quickly pulled her into his arms, gently patting her head to comfort her while glancing at the coins in the drawer, frowning and pursing his lips, a half-smile on his face.
At this moment, Chen Junbo only felt a headache. He was, after all, the top merchant in Jiangnan, yet his wife was crying and making a fuss over money.
Moreover, the waiters in the shop, including Youfeng, were all watching the two of them and didn't know how to handle the situation.
Chen Junbo stopped patting her, waved for people to disperse, and then patted Li Yang's shoulder lightly, saying, "There's money, there's money."
As he spoke, he took out a cloth bag from his bosom and took out two silver notes.
Seeing that Li Yang had stopped crying, she said, "Is this two hundred taels enough to pay the bill? We can have Bi Fang put it in the account later."
Li Yang hurriedly wiped away the tears that were hanging on her eyelashes, her face was surprisingly smooth and without any marks. "Is that so? Hmm, that works too."
Chen Junbo was amused by her, realizing she was putting on an act for him. It was quite a feat that she managed to squeeze out a couple of tears... Thinking this, Chen Junbo felt indignant, realizing he was worth less than two silver notes.
"Zhaozhao." The man's tone was steady and low, not like he was in a good mood.
Li Yang chuckled dryly twice, then scratched his head. "I can't help it. I'm out of money. We still have to pay our monthly allowance next week."
Chen Junbo remained silent and could only look at her with a relaxed expression.
Seeing this, Li Yang couldn't help but snuggle into his arms again, staring at him and grinning.
The person opposite him had no choice but to let the person in his arms hold him, his chest heaving as he took deep breaths to calm himself. The person in his arms gently rocked him around the waist, and he irritably wrapped his arms around the person who had angered him.
"Cough cough."
A sharp cough suddenly rang out, and the two quickly released each other.
Seeing that Youfeng had her back to the two of them, Liyang straightened his clothes and asked, "Youfeng, what's wrong?"
"Well, that's it." Xiao Lu still had her back to the two of them, "A letter has arrived from the Prime Minister's residence, saying that the young mistress is requested to go there quickly."
Li Yang was stunned. "Didn't they say we shouldn't go there anytime soon? Did the messenger say anything else?"
"No, no." Youfeng stammered. In his haste, Liyang turned her around, only to find that she had turned around and her eyes were still tightly closed. He couldn't help but laugh.
"Oh dear, Youfeng, hurry up and tell me, you're making me so anxious."
Youfeng then opened one eye, looked relieved, and said, "No, the servant from the Prime Minister's residence who came to deliver the message seemed very anxious. He only told the young lady to go there quickly before leaving in a hurry."
Li Yang looked at Chen Junbo in surprise, but the latter only shook his head. Not daring to delay, the two straightened their clothes and hired a carriage to head to the Zhuang residence.
As soon as they arrived at the gate of the mansion, they saw the nanny beside Zhuang Shutong anxiously looking around at the entrance.
"Granny, what's wrong?" Li Yang was carried off the carriage by Chen Junbai and asked anxiously, ignoring everything else.
When I usually visit the Zhuang family, I am waited by the gatekeeper. I have never seen the nanny who serves my mother like this before.
"Oh dear, girl, you've finally arrived!" Your nanny exclaimed, slapping her thigh in a fluster.
"Could it be that something happened to Mother?" Li Yang asked in a trembling voice, gripping the old woman's arms with both hands.
"Oh, oh, young lady, please come with me!"
This old woman's words were so infuriating that Li Yang was left hanging in suspense. Fortunately, the old woman was very fast, and the group arrived at Zhuang Shutong's door in just a short while.
Li Yang stopped asking the old woman and pushed open the door, calling out, "Mother!"
Seeing Zhuang Shutong sitting listlessly on the edge of the bed, I felt a little more at ease, so I closed the door and walked towards the bed.
Since Chen Junbo couldn't go inside, he found a place to sit in the garden at the entrance and waited for Li Yang.
The weather is stuffy today; it looks like it's going to rain heavily.
Li Yang walked slowly to his mother, his heart, which had just settled, was once again gripped with anxiety.
Zhuang Shutong sat listlessly by the bed, wearing only his undergarments, his hair disheveled, his face ashen.
The old woman was really useless; she ran all the way from the door to the house without saying a word. Li Yang sighed, carefully walked to his mother, and squatted down. "Mother."
A pair of hands touched Zhuang Shutong's knees, grasped her hands, and instinctively felt that they were holding something icy cold. He couldn't help but look at Zhuang Shutong nervously.
Hearing her soft call, Zhuang Shutong's eyes flickered for a moment, then fell into a deathly stillness.
Seeing this, Li Yang squeezed her hands tightly again and called out, "Mother, it's me, it's Zhao Zhao."
She instinctively felt the cold stone in her hand tremble, and when she looked up, she saw tears streaming down Zhuang Shutong's face. Li Yang felt a pang of panic; she had never seen her mother like this before.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com