Chapter 57: Punishing the Heart (I)

Zhong Lishuo never knew what Wentai said to Wen Shumei that day, but he gradually found that Wen Shumei's temperament suddenly became much calmer after Wentai left, and he didn't always stick to him like before. Without Wen Shumei's sticky cake, Zhong Lishuo could finally breathe a sigh of relief and calm down and think about how to deal with Shangguan Hong and the prince.

It has been a few days since the emperor ordered Shangguan Hong to be sent to the prison, and it has been much calmer these days. I haven't heard of any other movement in Shangguan Hong. It is at this juncture that Zhong Lishuo is most afraid of nothing more than if the emperor is soft-hearted and does not kill Shangguan Hong, then Shangguan Hong's matter will be reported by Zhong Lishuo, and this matter will be known to everyone, and he will become the target of public criticism at that time. Presumably, in the hearts of the queen and the crown prince, they must want to get out of her quickly.

If there is any accident with the emperor at this time, whether Shangguan Hong has the ability to make a comeback does not matter for now, the prince alone will let him go. Thinking about it this way, Zhong Lishuo really can't work harder.

Zhong Lishuo thought, and subconsciously looked out the window, it was already time for the sun to set, and in the afternoon he sent Chen Tong to inquire about the place where Shangguan Hong was being held, and now it was time to come back. After listening to Chen Tong's statement first, Zhong Lishuo decided whether to visit Shangguan Hong at night.

Just when Zhong Lishuo was hesitating, Wen Shumei's maid Red Lotus came to bring tea and snacks to Zhong Lishuo. Zhong Lishuo couldn't help but be a little surprised, in the past, Wen Shumei came by herself, how did she change the maid today. Watching Honglian put down the things in her hand, she asked casually:

"Why don't you see the princess?" Zhong Lishuo doesn't like to call Wen Shumei's name, he is more used to calling Wen Shumei Princess. A few days ago, he pretended to be intimate in order to coax Wentai, but now that Wentai is gone, he will return to his old name. In fact, it's not that Zhong Lishuo has any prejudice against Wen Shumei, it's just that he is not used to getting too close to people, he is not uneager, but he has never trusted people for many years, so he will not take the initiative to get close to others, but if someone intends to get close, he feels that this person has other plans. Such an ambivalence did make him a little uncomfortable, but there was no way.

Honglian listened to Zhong Lishuo's words, looked at him and pursed her lips and smiled:

"Your Highness misses the princess?" As soon as the words came out, he felt that he had said the wrong thing, so he hurriedly shut up and whispered, "The slave has a lot of mouths." Zhong Lishuo glanced at him, but he didn't take it to heart, just waved his hand:

"It doesn't matter. Why haven't I seen the princess for the past few days? What's important for her?" Zhong Lishuo asked, only to feel that he was a little worried about Wen Shumei, as if his previous dislike of her no longer existed. He couldn't figure out his own thoughts. When Honglian heard this, she was still timid, so she just replied in a low voice:

"That day, Lord Wen taught the princess a lesson, asking the princess not to make children angry, and asked the princess to share the worries of His Royal Highness. The princess remembered Master Wen's words clearly, and she also knew that what she had done wrong before. I thought not to disturb His Highness and not to bother His Highness. But the room fee is also remembered by His Royal Highness, thinking that His Highness will be distracted when he sees her, so he asks the slave maid to bring snacks and tea, so as to remind His Highness to be careful of his body. ”

For some reason, Zhong Lishuo felt a warm heart when he heard this, thinking that Wen Shumei could be regarded as understanding the reason, so he was happy to accept the things she sent, looked up at the red lotus and smiled:

"I went back to the princess, and said that I would go to see her when I was free. The last few days have been very busy, don't let her feel wronged. Honglian listened, and hurried, so she went out.

Zhong Lishuo was still sitting in the study waiting for Chen Tong. About an hour later, Chen Tong finally appeared outside the door of Zhong Lishuo's study, hurriedly approached the house and closed the door, turned around and whispered to Zhong Lishuo:

"It has been investigated, and Shangguan Hong pleaded guilty not far from his death. His henchmen above the court argued against him, which made it impossible for the emperor to give orders. I think this was mostly done by the queen. Zhong Lishuo only listened to Chen Tong lightly, and lowered his eyes slightly:

"Don't speculate about how the crown prince is, now the first thing is to let Shangguan Hong break his thoughts, so that the crown prince can rely on less." Chen Tong obviously didn't understand what Zhong Lishuo meant, but he didn't dare to be disobedient, so he asked:

"So, what does Your Highness mean?" Zhong Lishuo still lowered his eyes, and a strange smile rose at the corner of his mouth:

"Didn't you just ask you to take care of the jailers guarding Shangguan Hong, do you think I want them to take care of him?" As he spoke, Zhong Lishuo glanced at Chen Tong meaningfully, got up, "Let's go, go see off Lord Shangguan." ”

Chen Tongfang understood what Zhong Lishuo meant, so he followed Zhong Lishuo out.

It was already night, and it was already pitch black in the few places in the city, let alone the prison for the dying.

The entrance of the prison was like a city tower, but only a small door was opened, and the door was guarded by four guards. It may be that during the day, there is a little more majesty here, but at night, it only feels eerie and terrifying.

Chen Tong led Zhong Lishuo to the door of the prison, took out some silver taels from his arms and whispered to the guards, Zhong Lishuo stood three feet behind Chen Tong, and glanced at the place. There was no ordinary man's horror in his eyes. He only watched the guards take the silver taels from Chen Tong's hands, and then glanced at Zhong Lishuo, and hurriedly put on a flattering smile:

"Your Highness, this is also money for the upper parts, and there is no way for the small ones. I still have to ask His Highness to come out early, in case he is seen by the official who patrols the guard, the small head is going to move. Zhong Lishuo was disgusted with the guard's face in front of him, and he didn't even bother to say a word to him, so he only let out a cold snort from his nose, and lowered his body to follow the guard into the narrow door.

A small road, the farther ahead, the more mad it became, Zhong Lishuo could even feel the cold aura that penetrated the stone wall. Torches were nailed to the walls on both sides of the corridor, and the faint light in the darkness made the death row even more terrifying.

When he reached the innermost point, the guard who took the lead stopped, pointed to a small cell separated by wood not far away, and said:

"Shangguan Hong is there. The emperor gave the order to leave him alone in a room. Zhong Lishuo looked at the dim and damp prison and nodded slightly, and heard the guard's voice again:

"Your Highness, hurry up, it's very cold here, it's not good for Your Highness to stay for a long time, and the little one will go back outside first." Zhong Lishuo became a little impatient, and he waved his hand:

"Got it. Go out. ”

After the guards went out, Zhong Lishuo took two steps forward, stopped and said to Chen Tong behind him:

"Just wait here." After speaking, he went straight to Shangguan Hong's place.