The Imperial Palace.
Zhao Lu followed the young eunuch ahead as they slowly walked along the stone path.
Everyone says the imperial palace is wonderful, and it truly is. Outside the palace, people go hungry and cold, while inside, the emperor's single meal can cost an ordinary family more than they could save in a year.
Why is the imperial palace so good?
Naturally, it was because the emperor lived there.
Zhao Lu looked up and saw Emperor Zhao Zhen of the Song Dynasty standing in the pavilion, gazing down at the fish swimming in the lake.
Zhao Zhen, dressed in a white casual outfit, turned around upon hearing the noise and smiled slightly at Zhao Lu.
"emperor."
Zhao Lu bowed slightly.
When Emperor Zhenzong was over fifty years old and still had no son, he brought the heir of the Prince of Xiangyang into the palace to prepare for the establishment of an heir. However, only three months after the heir entered the palace, news spread that Consort Liu and the current Empress Li were pregnant.
In a drunken rage, Emperor Zhenzong declared that whoever gave birth to the crown prince would be made empress, thus initiating the later controversy surrounding the "switching of the crown prince by a cat." However, in his drunken state, he momentarily forgot about the heir apparent of the Prince of Xiangyang, and from then on, Zhao Lu's position in the palace became somewhat awkward.
After Consort Liu gave birth to a son, Zhao Lu was sent out of the palace and returned to Xiangyang. Later, Consort Liu's son died of illness at the age of six. Emperor Zhenzong lamented that he had no heir for half his life and did not attend court for many days. The Eighth Prince then presented Zhao Zhen, who had been escorted by Chen Lin years before, to the emperor as the heir apparent. Emperor Zhenzong was pleased to see that Zhao Zhen resembled him and immediately appointed Zhao Zhen as the Crown Prince to guard the vacancy of the Eastern Palace.
Emperor Zhenzong initially brought Zhao Lu into the palace with the intention of having an heir, but later sent him back to Xiangyang after he had a biological son. In the end, however, he still made the son of the Eighth Prince the heir.
Although Bao Zheng later clarified the matter and cleared Consort Li's name, and the truth about Zhao Zhen being Emperor Zhenzong's biological son came to light, before the matter was clarified, Zhao Lu, who almost succeeded to the throne, seemed like a joke.
He was only one step away from that supreme position, yet he missed it.
How could Zhao Lu not be unwilling to accept this?
The two sat down in the pavilion. Zhao Lu was respectful, while Zhao Zhen smiled and asked, "I heard that the Prince of Xiangyang is unwell. How is he?"
"Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty." Zhao Lu first expressed his gratitude, and then said, "It was the servants' carelessness that caused my father to slip and fall, making it difficult for him to move around."
Zhao Zhen said gently, "I hope my royal uncle recovers soon."
Zhao Lu lowered his eyes and respectfully said, "I appreciate Your Majesty's kind words."
Zhao Lu and Zhao Zhen had a casual relationship, not as close as brothers in ordinary families, but not too distant either. When the two chatted about the matter of Marquis Pang Yu of Anle, Zhao Zhen casually mentioned it, saying, "Minister Bao told me that he has made some progress, and I think the case will be solved sooner or later."
Zhao Lu's heart skipped a beat, and he asked, "Could the mastermind behind the Chenzhou case be none other than Young Master Pang?"
Zhao Zhen chuckled and said, "Others may not know his character, but do you think I don't know my brother-in-law? He wouldn't do such a thing."
Zhao Lu said, "With Judge Bao here, the young marquis will surely be able to clear his name."
Zhao Zhen smiled and nodded. He trusted Bao Zheng implicitly and was very pleased to hear Zhao Lu's words. Firstly, he was pleased with his keen eye for talent, and secondly, he was pleased that others agreed with his judgment.
After chatting for a while, Zhao Lu went to see Empress Li, with whom he had spent some time in the palace when he was young.
Empress Li treated him very well back then, but after she became pregnant, she gradually distanced herself from him. Now, when they meet, they can only exchange polite words. Zhao Lu felt a pang of sarcasm in his heart, but on the surface, he put on a show of utmost respect.
After having lunch in the palace, Zhao Lu politely declined Empress Li's offer to stay—after all, the offer was just empty words, and accepting it would only make things awkward—and then he left the palace by carriage.
These past few days have seemed to be filled with nothing but bad things that have put him in a bad mood.
Inside the carriage, Zhao Lu's forehead veins throbbed as he thought about the series of events that had occurred recently. He reached up and rubbed his forehead, then closed his eyes and took a deep breath, hoping to calm himself down.
A gentle breeze lifted the curtains, bringing the aroma of food from the street into the carriage, making Zhao Lu feel nauseous. He opened his eyes and looked out the window, only to see a young, lame man holding a fortune-telling banner looking back at him.
The cripple, who had been walking with a limp, stopped after meeting his gaze, a strange, enigmatic smile on his face.
Although Zhao Lu had never met Yan Liang, for some reason he was convinced that this man was the fortune teller Xu Yiwei had mentioned.
Xu Yiwei could not possibly expose him.
Zhao Lu was confident. He smiled slightly at the young man, and the curtains fell, separating the two from each other.
Yan Liang watched the carriage disappear into the distance, raised an eyebrow, and smiled.
When Yan Liang returned to Kaifeng Prefecture, Bai Yutang was sitting in the courtyard drinking tea with Zhan Zhao. When Yan Liang pushed open the door and entered, Bai Yutang glanced at him lazily, while Zhan Zhao asked him with great curiosity, "Brother Yan, did you have any success on your trip?"
Before they could finish speaking, Yan Liang had already sat down at the table. Zhan Zhao reached out and poured him a cup of tea, waiting for his reply.
"I've made some progress," Yan Liang replied with a smile, then asked, "Has a very important person recently arrived in Bianliang City?"
"Yes. It's the Empress Dowager's birthday, and the Prince of Xiangyang's heir is coming to the capital to offer his congratulations. It's about six days ago," Zhan Zhao replied.
Bai Yutang recalled being spoken to by the Prince of Xiangyang earlier, and couldn't help but raise an eyebrow, looking at Yan Liang with a slightly scrutinizing gaze.
Yan Liang met their gazes and said, "I ran into him today."
Bai Yutang and Zhan Zhao looked at him, waiting for him to continue.
"..."
"That's all?" Bai Yutang couldn't help but ask.
Zhan Zhao's eyes also held the same doubt.
"It's gone."
Yan Liang shrugged.
Bai Yutang glanced at him sideways: "You've really reaped a great harvest."
"Thank you for the compliment." Yan Liang smiled calmly.
Xu Yiwei was detained in the Kaifeng Prefecture dungeon yesterday evening. Judge Bao interrogated him all night, but Xu Yiwei stubbornly refused to divulge any information. He remained silent no matter what was asked. Judge Bao and Mr. Gongsun did not get any rest all night, while Judge Bao only rested for a short while today before changing into his court robes to attend the morning court session.
People like Xu Yiwei are the most difficult to deal with; they won't budge no matter what you ask and will just keep you hanging on. Besides, they have no evidence that this person is related to the Chenzhou case. Pang Yu testified that he recognized him by his voice, to which Xu Yiwei sneered that there are countless people in the world with similar voices, and that a fool like Pang Yu might easily mistake him. Yan Liang testified that he was looking for Pang Yu in Donghua Town, to which Xu Yiwei's smile grew even colder, retorting that since Marquis Anle Pang Yu had committed countless evils and his crimes were unforgivable, why couldn't he act on behalf of Heaven and rid the people of this scourge?
He mocked Pang Yu repeatedly in his words, his whole demeanor cold and unwavering.
Judge Bao was unwilling to use torture to force people to submit, and Xu Yi was injured, so even if he was tortured, he might not be able to confess.
With the situation at a stalemate, Yan Liang went out for a stroll early in the morning, chatted with the two men for a while afterward, and then suggested talking to Xu Yiwei.
When Judge Bao heard this request, he first felt it was inappropriate, since Yan Liang was not from Kaifeng Prefecture, but was just someone who had been implicated. However, he remembered that Yan Liang had put a lot of effort into this matter, and Xu Yiwei was someone he had found, so he nodded and agreed.
Bai Yutang was not from Kaifeng Prefecture either, but he was close. Now, Yan Liang was just as important.
Yan Liang entered the dungeon and faced Xu Yiwei, while the others listened to their conversation from where Xu Yiwei couldn't see them.
"Young Master Xu, how was your rest?" Yan Liang asked with a smile, his tone incredibly irritating.
Xu Yi glanced at him sideways and snorted coldly, "Thanks to you."
He didn't know what Yan Liang wanted to talk to him about, but he had already made up his mind not to say anything to this person.
Yan Liang seemed a little embarrassed and said, "No need to thank me."
"you--"
Xu Yiwei's dark face almost fell over; he looked at the shameless young man with disbelief.
"Young Master Xu, do you still remember what you asked me in Donghua Town?" Yan Liang asked calmly. "You first asked me to count how many parents and brothers you have. Do you remember that?"
Xu Yiwei remained silent, recalling the question the Prince of Xiangyang had asked him four days ago.
Do you have any sisters in your family?
Do you still remember what happened in your family?
Xu Yiwei's heart pounded, and he unconsciously took a step back.
"I've calculated that you, Young Master Xu, are an only child, orphaned at a young age," Yan Liang said slowly. "And you haven't denied it—"
"So what if I am!?" Xu Yi interrupted hastily, staring intently at Yan Liang. "I am indeed an only child, and both my parents are deceased! So what? Are you going to find me a younger sister to force me to submit?"
Yan Liang looked at him strangely and said, "Of course my calculations are accurate, Young Master Xu, you do not have a younger sister."
"But what I didn't say is that your father has a sister."
His words shocked not only Xu Yiwei, but also the others who were listening in.
"What do you mean? No, how do you know..."
Xu Yi tried to calm himself down, but he was so agitated that he found it difficult to remain calm.
"I figured it out," Yan Liang said with a smile.
Xu Yiwei's eyes were red as she looked at him coldly.
Yan Liang spoke silently, and Xu Yiwei's expression changed drastically after seeing his lips move; he was both surprised and suspicious. He rushed to the door and asked urgently, "What did you say? — What do you know?"
Yan Liang smiled at him and left without looking back, leaving Xu Yi alone, distracted and uneasy.
What did you say to him?
Bai Yutang pressed for an answer.
"The Crown Prince of Xiangyang".
Yan Liang didn't try to hide anything and spoke frankly. He looked at Judge Bao and said, "If Judge Bao trusts me, you can investigate the Prince of Xiangyang's heir."
Judge Bao stroked his beard and looked at Yan Liang with a thoughtful expression.
They all heard how Yan Liang had stirred Xu Yiwei's emotions with just a few simple words. Previously, Xu Yiwei had been completely unmoved, so Yan Liang clearly knew something.
But how did he learn those things?
Could it really have been calculated?
If Zhao Lu was the mastermind, why would he act in Chenzhou under the name of the Marquis of Anle? Moreover, Zhao Lu had always been in Xiangyang and had no grudge against Pang Yu.
Everyone was filled with mixed feelings and clearly didn't quite believe his words, which didn't surprise Yan Liang.
The difference between paying players and free-to-play players inevitably leads to information asymmetry. Now that he has taken the lead, he can't help but feel a sense of loneliness at the top.
Yan Liang, a whale (pay-to-win) player: Paying to win is just that awesome.
Author's Note: Pay-to-win player: Yan Liang
Commoner players: Zhao Lu, Zhan Zhao, Bai Yutang, Judge Bao, Mr. Gongsun, Xu Yiwei
Mentally challenged player: Pang Yu
Pang Yu: ? ? ?
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