In the rainy night, the two teams of flying horses sounded gongs to open the way, leading the few travelers on the street to hurriedly avoid. Li Hongce galloped on the long street with a whip, and behind him, two hundred forbidden troops with torches in their hands ran quickly and hurried to the Zhou State Mansion.

Zhang Shun's guard Li Hong's side also hit the horse like flying, with a trace of confusion in his solemn expression. He has followed Li Hong for many years, and knows that he is lenient and benevolent, restrains his selfish desires, and is dedicated to the country, and he doesn't want to be like Red Lotus today.

Yes, the world of young people is very simple, only the responsibility for the family and the country, and the protection of the lover. Zhang Shun looked at Li Hong's figure struggling to resist the horse, and only felt that he seemed to be more humane like this, knowing that this move was inappropriate, but he was willing to accompany him to the danger.

As soon as Li Hong waved his hand, the two hundred forbidden troops rushed straight to open the aconitum gate on the wall of the fang, and ran straight towards the gate of the Zhou Guogong Mansion a hundred steps away. The guards of the Zhou State Mansion walked out of the room on duty at night in surprise, and were pressed down by two forbidden soldiers on the spot, with knives on their necks, and they couldn't see who was coming, so they could only hear their majestic roar: "The prince is in prison, who dares to move!" ”

The huge Zhou Guogong Mansion was surrounded by the forbidden army in an instant, and on a rainy night, the two lanterns in front of the mansion were beating like ghosts, full of indescribable treacherous feelings.

"His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has arrived, don't open the door of the mansion soon!" Zhang Shun roared and slapped the door, shaking the door like a mountain, but no one answered the door for a long time. Zhang Shun looked at Li Hong, only to see that Li Hong's expression was extremely ugly, and he bowed his head heavily, Zhang Shun beckoned, and the two extremely burly soldiers of the forbidden army immediately picked up the hammer on horseback, raised their arms and stepped forward, and were about to crash towards the vermilion gate.

At this moment, the ghost of the gate opened a crack from the inside, and the voice of the housekeeper in the palace came: "I don't know if His Royal Highness the Crown Prince came late at night, can he allow the villain to pass the ......"

Li Hong couldn't wait any longer, put aside Zhang Shun, stepped forward and said: "Helan Min's battle is bullying, robbing the people's daughters, the crime is clear, the palace has solid evidence, you wait to get out of the way!" ”

The housekeeper Lao'er had never seen Li Hong so angry, and he instinctively retreated in fright. Li Honghuo pushed open the door, Zhang Shun shouted "Go to the inner house", and the forbidden army rushed into the mansion quickly.

After rushing through the second gate, he turned the corridor, and saw a staff-like figure gathering the women and children in the house, blocking the corridor and blocking the road to Helan Min's backyard. The rainy night was bleak, Li Hong couldn't see the true face of this person clearly, and he was anxious and reprimanded: "Bold! How dare you not let me see this palace? ”

"The contemptible people are the disciples of the Zhou State Mansion, and they only eat the Lu of the Zhou State Mansion, and they should only serve the Zhou State Prince. Although His Royal Highness is the crown prince and the eunuch of the country, he forcibly broke into the mansion of a first-class official in the middle of the night in the middle of the night, shouldn't he give an explanation? ”

"Helan Min's battle is bullying, robbing the people's daughters, the crime is clear, if you don't let it, you will be punished as a co-defendant!"

The man's appearance was very respectful, but the words that came out of his mouth were full of provocation: "Folk girl? There are no folk girls here at all, only Pingkangfang Kabuki Red Lotus, and she took the initiative to come to the door at the invitation of Zhou Guogong, how can you say 'forcible robbery'? His Royal Highness, as a prince, has every opportunity to manage the Tang Dynasty, but he forcibly broke into the mansion of the Zhou State for an unpopular courtesan, have you ever thought about what the Emperor and the Queen of Heaven and the Manchu Dynasty would think? Aren't you afraid that under the impeachment of hundreds of officials, the two saints will be furious and abolish His Royal Highness's position as the crown prince? ”

In the backyard hall, Helan Minzhi was naked, holding a short knife in his hand, squatting beside the sobbing red lotus, wiping away the blood stains from his mouth, and said angrily: "You are just a kabuki in Pingkangfang, even if I kill you today, no one will ask me a word!" It's just that you look a little bit good, and be polite to you, you don't want to be wrong, and you dare to kick me! Today, I, Helan Minzhi, will condemn you, whether you are alive or dead, don't think of me today! ”

Red Lotus's beautiful little face was blue and purple, and her clear eyes were swollen like peaches, which was pitiful. In order not to be humiliated, she struggled desperately, and she has been with Helan Minzhi so far, and now she has no strength, and only one is left to die.

Once he dies, he will save his name, and he may be able to leave some good things in Li Hong's heart. But once she died, she couldn't pass the news to Li Hong, so her original intention of coming here couldn't be realized.

It turned out that death was such a luxury, and it was always necessary to save a life in order to convey Helan Minzhi's plot to Li Hong, Honglian cried tears like rain, her face was full of despair, and she slowly loosened the hand in front of her.

Seeing that Honglian was no longer desperately struggling, Helan Minzhi was so excited that he pushed her down before he wanted to make a mistake, so he heard a loud "clang" sound, and the door flew open, and before he could look back, he was kicked out by a person, and he was beaten on his body, punching viciously, until he spit saliva in his mouth and fainted, the man gasped and got up from Helan Minzhi's body, turned around and walked towards Honglian, it was none other than Li Hong.

Honglian had already been frightened on the spot, and she couldn't come back to her senses for a long time. Li Hong saw that Honglian's clothes were disheveled, and her exposed snow-colored shoulders and neck were blue and purple, and his heart was about to break, so he hurriedly took off his cloak and wrapped it around her. After coming back to her senses for a few minutes, Honglian was frightened and aggrieved and mixed all kinds of emotions, for fear that this matter would affect Li Hong, and cried and begged: "Your Highness, go quickly...... Don't get into trouble because of me......"

Unexpectedly, the matter has come to this, Honglian's first thought is not herself, it is still him, Li Hong sighed, bent down to pick her up, and protected her in his arms: "It's okay, you don't have to worry, with me, no one will be able to hurt you." ”

"Your Highness", Honglian tried her best to endure sobbing, pointing to the file on the table and said, "Honglian has found out, someone intends to be unfavorable to His Highness......"

Li Hong instantly understood why Red Lotus would come to the Zhou State Mansion in danger, and he was so distressed: "Don't worry, there is Zhang Shun here to deal with the aftermath, everything is fine." You're not lightly injured, I'll send you back first. ”

With that, Li Hong walked out of the side hall with the red lotus in his arms. The guards of the Zhou State Mansion came one after another at this time, but seeing that Li Hong was present, the forbidden army was waiting for them, even in their own courtyard, they did not dare to act rashly, and could only watch Li Hong stride out with the red lotus in his arms.

After returning to the small courtyard, Li Hong went to the kitchen to boil hot water, and brought it back to the bedroom for Honglian to scrub and treat the wounds. Honglian's body was injured, and the shoulder blades of her forearms were full of bruises, but she didn't care about herself, pulled Li Hong's wide sleeves and said: "Your Highness, if Helan Minzhi wakes up, she will definitely make a big fuss about tonight's events, and then how should Your Highness be good......

Li Hong sat on the edge of the couch, holding the hand of the red lotus, lowered his head and sighed. Su Rili, he liked to look at her little hands, these skillful hands that were good at playing the pipa were born beautifully, like onion tubes, slender and white, and the pale pink nails were unstained, clean, with a healthy luster, but today, her nails were oozing blood, and there were several wounds on the fingertips. Li Hong held her little hand in the palm of his hand, and cherished it very much: "Actually, I've been thinking about it all these days, it's time to tell my father about us." In the past, the reason why I had a lot of scruples was that I knew that even if you were the crown prince, there were many unfreedoms, and the laws of the king had to be followed, so no matter how much I loved you in my heart, I could only keep forbearing, for fear that taking you into the palace would hinder you. In the East Palace, if you don't have a noble identity, many things are difficult to do, I am really afraid that if I dissect my heart, it will make you feel more wronged, who knows that such a thing has happened now...... Now that you think about it, even if there is intrigue in the palace, at least you will not be hurt and humiliated like this, but in this way, you will never be able to leave, you ...... Will you follow me? ”

When making decisions on military affairs, Li Hong did not hesitate so much, waiting for Honglian's response at this time, but it was like a year. Honglian has been waiting for Li Hong's words for more than a while, she used to think, as long as she can be with Li Hong, she is willing to do whatever the title, and when she really waits for this moment, she is only stunned and tears, and she does not dare to agree: "What a vulgar body, how can you be worthy of serving Your Highness, Your Highness, don't make the emperor and queen angry because of me, today's matter, you might as well say that I made an appointment with His Royal Highness first, and then went to the mansion of Zhou Guogong, His Royal Highness annoyed me, and then there was a misunderstanding with Zhou Guogong......"

"If I say that, am I not going to put you to death?" Li Hong raised his eyebrows slightly, and made up his mind, "I know your concerns, but I won't scruple anymore." I will make a promise to my father and the emperor, and explain that He Lanminzhi will take away my love Ji and want to take it for myself, so I will enter the palace and take people. In order to punish my mistakes, I will ask my father to remove my right to supervise the country as a punishment. ”

Honglian's eyes widened in shock, and she said hurriedly: "If it is really because of me, His Royal Highness has been removed from the right to supervise the country, wouldn't Honglian be a sinner of the Tang Dynasty......"

"It's not because of you", Li Hong explained her, "Helan Minzhi has been catching my mistakes and omissions, and I can't deny Ning Chungong's matter." At this time, asking my father to surrender is regarded as retreating, just cautiously find out the witnesses and find out the mastermind behind the scenes, and my father and queen mother will naturally understand why I did this, and then all the crises will be solved. ”

Honglian nodded as if she didn't understand, but the sadness on her little face did not decrease at all: "By the way, Your Highness, just ...... Helan Toshiyuki's butler called him out halfway, and I vaguely heard the butler say that he had found Princess Anding, who had died many years ago...... It's a living princess, not a human being. ”

Hearing this, Li Hongru was shocked and couldn't speak for a long time, and when he reacted, he asked Honglian urgently: "An Ding is still alive?" Where is it now? ”

"I don't know...... I only heard this sentence clearly, and I couldn't tell the difference between the others," Honglian shook her head.

If it is really as Red Lotus said, it will really be what Li Hong is most worried about, not only will it separate the emperor and queen, but it may even delay a series of people and things behind the "abolished Wang Liwu" back then, and it will not only be one or two people, but the entire Tang Dynasty.

"This palace knows", Li Hong was bored and worried, but he didn't show it at all in front of Honglian, he only thought about her injury, "If there is anything else hurt, I'll wipe it for you." ”

"Don't bother Your Highness", Honglian's words were soft and gentle, no longer trembling like Fang Cai, as if she had walked out of her fear and fear in the company of Li Hong, "I want to take a bath and deal with the wound again." ”

Li Hong didn't force it, and left the room after helping Honglian fill a basin of hot water. After Li Hong left, Honglian Fang slowly got up, she didn't take off her clothes, the whole person plunged into the wooden bathtub, the grievances and sadness that she had endured in front of Li Hong finally burst out at this time, tears rained down, but she still didn't dare to cry.

The rainy night outside the door was still deep, Li Hong stood with his back against the door, his face full of self-blame, thinking to himself when he Li Hong had to rely on his beloved woman to suffer all the grievances in order to protect the Tang Dynasty?

Just when he was bored, Zhang Shun came back and saluted from afar. Li Hong knew that he had something important to say, so he motioned for him to stand still, took off his clothes, and walked in front of him in the rain.

"Your Highness, everything has been handled properly, the Ning family also has a son, who was passed on to his cousin's house before, and I let that child take Ning Chungong's name. It's just that...... Tonight's matter, Zhou Guogong estimated that he would still complain to the emperor and queen. ”

"It's okay, let him go. You go to the imperial doctor again, let him prescribe a tranquilizer like Shen Yan, cook a bowl, give it to the Red Lotus girl, and then choose two stable and reliable mothers-in-law, come here to take care of her, and do it now." ”

Zhang Shun intervened, bent down and retreated, rushed back to the East Palace Zhang Luo for a long time, and finally selected the person, prepared the medicine, and sent it to Honglian's residence.

Li Hong coaxed Honglian to drink the medicine, and when he saw that she was asleep, he went back to the East Palace. At this time, it was already half the night, but Li Hong was not sleepy, and asked Zhang Shundao: "You go to see if Shen Yan has woken up, this palace has something important to tell him, I have to go back to the Red Lotus girl at dawn." ”

"Uh, this ...... But the doctor said that he had to sleep for at least three hours after taking the medicine, and Xue Xianling had only slept for two hours, so I was afraid that he wouldn't be able to wake up......"

Li Hong was anxious, but he had no other choice but to say: "You go to the room to have a look, and when he wakes up, bring him over." ”

With that, Li Hong turned around and walked into the study, spread out the official paper, and took up a pen to write a letter to the emperor. Compared with the private waist card, fighting for the wind and jealousy is already a trivial matter, and Li Hong intends to use this as an excuse to confess his guilt to the emperor.

If the guest wanted to blackmail him, he didn't think about it, but at that time, he didn't know the safety of the red lotus, even if it was Biluo Huangquan, he would break in, and where could he take care of his own honor and disgrace. For more than a year, he had been hesitant, not knowing whether to leave the red lotus by his side, but now he had to make up his mind. Otherwise, after this incident, Honglian was afraid that it would be difficult to save her life, Li Hong was angry at Helan Minzhi's shamelessness, and pitied Honglian's life experience, but he was a little fortunate that he could finally have her and keep her by his side.

Maybe if he just worked harder and was more determined, he would be able to give her happiness. Sprinkled with thousands of words in one go, Li Hong put down the brush, read it carefully, and after confirming that it was correct, spread it out flat, and waited for the ink to dry up and then put it in a bag and seal it.

The day of spring is brighter and earlier, before the time of the rooster's crow, there are birds chirping outside the window, the study is high, Li Hong stands by the window, his eyes cross the palace, looking at the Chang'an City that is gradually waking up, and he can't tell whether he is confused or melancholy. He was named the crown prince at the age of four, and the crown prince was in charge of the country at the age of eight, and he has gone through many ups and downs in the past ten years, but he has never felt as tired as this year. All things came one after another, and everything was poking at his heart, especially today's Red Lotus incident that hurt him the most. However, if there is anything that has the most far-reaching impact on him and the Tang Dynasty politics, it is the case of Princess Anding.

When Princess Anding died, Li Hong was only two years old, which was the age of babbling, knowing that he had a younger sister, but he had no true feelings, only extremely dimly remembered that he was held in the arms of his mother in pain for a long time, and his father comforted him, and he couldn't help crying. Within a few days, a grand ritual was performed in the palace, from his mother to the palace maids, including Li Hong, everyone was dressed in a vegetarian diet, and since then, he has no sister until he was born a few years later.

As an elder brother, of course, he hoped that this sister, who had suffered calamity at birth, did not die, but at the same time, he was a little confused, could it be that his mother, the queen of heaven, really took advantage of the stability in infancy in order to ascend to the throne, and set up this mystery of hiding from the world?

Unlike other princes, Li Hong is the eldest son of the emperor and the queen of heaven, and in addition to the monarch and ministers, they are the closest and closest family. Li Hong still remembers that when he was young, he was in charge of the country for the first time, and his father wanted to take his mother to the Eastern Capital, and then return to his mother's hometown and Wenshui Province. The emperor and queen felt sorry for the child, and after discussion, he decided to take Li Hong with him, and the family of three played outside for half a year before returning to Chang'an City.

This is Li Hong's best memory when he was a child, and the closeness to his parents also made him very confident when dealing with political affairs, even if he was reprimanded for doing something wrong, he could quickly adjust his mentality.

Although her mother is strict, she is also loving, Li Hong can't imagine that she will really send Anding, who is still in infancy, out of the palace for the sake of the posterior, so that she will be adrift for many years and suffer from the people's suffering. If this is true, how will he face his mother from now on? If this is false, it means that someone wants to use this to attack the queen and drive a wedge between her and the emperor, so how should he deal with it? Li Hong felt that he had fallen deeply into this puzzle, like a trapped beast in a trap, looking around, he couldn't find a way out.

Just as he was pondering, Xue Ne's voice came from outside the door: "Your Highness...... The minister was rude and slept for so long, please punish His Highness! ”

Hearing that Xue Ne was coming, Li Hong seemed to have found the key to open the mechanism, and hurriedly responded: "Come in, this palace has something important to discuss with you!" ”

Xue Ne pushed the door in, and after resting for a few hours, he recovered a little bit of his spirit, he was still the most handsome and humble young man, but his expression looked very anxious, and asked Li Hongdao: "Your Highness, the minister heard from Brother Zhang Shun that Helan Minzhi actually found out about Ning Chungong, and coerced the Red Lotus girl because of this, what should I do now?" Fan Ning has a strong temperament, and he will not betray His Highness, but he doesn't know ......"

"Don't worry", Li Hong motioned to Xue Ne to step forward and handed him the documents on the table, "Helan Minzhi's meeting to make trouble is expected, and the palace has already taken countermeasures." ”

Xue Ne took the paperwork and swept it through the ten lines at a glance, and his shock was even worse: "Your Highness...... Do you want to ask yourself to be dismissed from the post of superintendent? ”

"The palace is not hasty", Li Hong motioned for Xue Ne to sit down, and the two sat on the soft seat, facing the chessboard, Li Hong pointed to the two chess pieces on the chessboard, "General" and "Shuai" and smiled: "'General' is always protecting 'Shuai', but this time, 'Shuai' can only advance by retreating." Prudently, Ning Chungong's matter, although Zhang Shun has a way to fool the past, but the emperor and queen of heaven will probably not believe it. In addition, because of the red lotus today, I beat Helan Minzhi, if I don't give up the right to supervise the country, I am afraid that I will be punished more severely. ”

"Your Highness means that this matter may cause the adversary hiding in the shadows to let down their vigilance?"

Li Hong bowed his head and said: "It is worthy of being cautious, and it is thorough at one point." In fact, after this round of fighting, not only did we not get nothing, but we have already determined that the mastermind behind this scene is a veteran who is deeply involved in the court. As the crown prince in charge of the country, seeing that there is such a black hand manipulating the government in the dark, he must not stand idly by. This time, we must seize the opportunity to solve this case and completely cut off this black hand. ”

Xue Ne felt extremely uncomfortable in his heart, feeling that Li Hong had fallen into such a passive situation in order to help himself, his eyes were red, but he couldn't say a word to express his guilt. Li Hong got up and patted him on the shoulder, signaling that it was okay: "This palace is not to protect you, but to believe in you, and I believe that you will definitely be able to find out the truth." As long as you solve this case, you won't be disappointed by this palace, do you understand? ”

"Yes", Xue Ne avoided the table and bowed his hands deeply, "It's useless to talk too much, the minister will also handle this case well if he risks his life, find out the culprit, and give an explanation to His Highness!" I implore Your Highness to take care of your health and wait for the grand exhibition in the coming days. ”

"Don't worry, this little thing, this palace will not feel sorry for itself because of this", Li Hong's slender knuckles controlled the chess pieces, "snapped", and went straight to the coach on the opposite side, he raised his eyes to look at Xue Ne, chuckled, sincere and gentle, "Hong has lived for seventeen years, has been the prince for thirteen years, has never had any rebellion or mistakes, and now there are two things, one is a lover, the other is a confidant, and he will never regret it...... Cautiously, Yuan Gongyu, the chief of justice, was a righteous person, and the palace had shown him the record of that day's debate, but the palace did not mention a word, so he took the initiative to say that some of the physical evidence in the case was not clear, and proposed to argue again. This palace has bought you seven days, and now there are six and a half days left, so you must hurry up and solve the case as soon as possible, understand? ”

Xue Ne heard that Li Hong recognized him as a confidant, and was moved by all kinds of emotions of guilt and guilt, and when he heard that there was still room for the case to turn around, he was overjoyed: "Six days later, the minister will definitely give Gao Min a few colors." ”

Li Hong couldn't help laughing: "Don't say it as if you're going to beat him, besides, there is another matter in this palace that I want to entrust to you." Honglian was in Helan Minzhi's place, and I heard that someone had found stability. Whether it is a real stability or a fake fake, you must find out who is behind it as soon as possible, and it would be great if you could bring the impostor to the palace. ”

When Xue Ne heard that the matter was serious, he asked in confusion: "No matter how bad Helan Minzhi is, he is also the nephew of the queen of heaven, and the life and death of the family depend on the queen of heaven, why do you also do this thing that threatens the queen of heaven......

"People's hearts are separated from their stomachs, don't speculate about those pickled goods", Li Hong sighed, only to feel that Xue Ne said the four words "Helan Minzhi" in his mouth, which was dirty for him, "It's not early, just go back to Lantian after breakfast." ”

"Thank you, Your Highness, the minister should go back to investigate the case earlier. But...... Can you let the ministers ......?"

"No", Li Hong didn't raise his eyelids, so he knew what medicine was in Xue Ne's gourd, "Before the next debate, don't go to see her again in order to avoid suspicion." Don't be discouraged, when you get out of prison, won't you be tired of being together every day? This palace has entrusted reliable people to take care of her, you can rest assured. ”

I didn't expect my heart to be so obvious, Xue Ne scratched his head, responded with a red face, said goodbye to Li Hong, turned around and hurried out of the East Palace, and rode his horse towards Lantian.

Six and a half days later, he must take her out of the prison of the Ministry of Punishment, Xue Ne secretly swore that the reins were held tighter. The words in his heart had been muffled for more than ten years, taking root and sprouting, and they had become shady, but these days were like boiling water, burning his heart, so that he could no longer wait, he just wanted to confide in her all at once.

Even if the gods of heaven stop him, he will poke a hole in the sky, so why be afraid of the mastermind behind the scenes?