"King, don't be obsessed anymore."

"It is the wisest choice for the king to tell everything he has done, so that the Queen Mother and His Majesty can be relieved."

"I am afraid there is no point in continuing to waste time like this."

"—The minister doesn't have much time to continue to spend time with the king."

"Today, if the king does not explain his crimes clearly, then the next time the king sees his ministers, I don't know how long it will be······"

Chang'an City, north of Shangguanli, Lieutenant's Mansion.

It was clearly a dark cell, but it was separated into a 'single room' that was obviously a bit of an anomaly.

On the couch made of Chen wood, there is a quilt and mattress half a palm thick;

In front of the couch, eucalyptus and eucalyptus are ready;

The narrow area, which was no more than three feet long and wide, was lit by more than 20 oil lamps.

If it weren't for the fact that this 'single room' was surrounded by walls, and only on one of the walls, a wooden door was opened that could only be entered by a human bending down, I am afraid that no one would have thought that this 'single room' was actually a prison cell.

On the couch in the cell, Liu Rong, the king of Linjiang, had a sad face, and every time he wanted to speak, he stopped talking without exception.

Lieutenant Zhi Du sat in front of Liu Rong, separated from Liu Rong by a wooden eucalyptus, his face was gloomy.

And after Zhidu's eerie 'persuasion', Liu Rong's already sad face only added a little helplessness······

"Lieutenant Zhi, what do you want the widow to say?"

"—Even if you want to confess your guilt, you have to let the widow know what crime he has committed, right?"

I don't know how long he was silent, and after finally no longer being shocked by Zhidu's eagle-like gaze, Liu Rong moved his gaze to the side slightly, plucked up his courage, and asked a question.

Hearing Liu Rong's question, Zhi Du squinted the corners of his eyes without changing his face, and his gloomy face, which was already heart-warming, filled in a little bit of coldness.

"It's all in the Lieutenant's Mansion, King, do you still want to play stupid?"

"When we set out from Gangneung, didn't the envoy sent by Your Majesty tell the king: Why did Your Majesty summon the king to Beijing?"

···

"If the king doesn't remember, then the minister, remind the king."

"——Last year, the king was named the king of Linjiang, and the capital was Jiangling;"

"After the king came to the country, the king of Linjiang and the internal history were ordered by the king to build the Linjiang palace in the south of Jiangling City."

"During the construction of the palace, the king was dissatisfied with the narrowness of the palace, so he ignored the obstruction of the king and the internal history, and forced the craftsmen to destroy the outer wall of the Taimiao, and incorporated the place that originally belonged to the Taimiao into his own palace."

"By this year, when Tingwei Zhang Ou learned of this, he immediately impeached His Majesty: The king of Linjiang sat on the temple and invaded the temple as a palace."

"Subsequently, His Majesty summoned the king to an audience, and ordered the ministers and court lieutenants to find out the matter······"

Speaking of this in a gloomy tone, Zhi Du took a breath and frowned a little annoyedly;

It seemed that it took a lot of effort to press down the irritable mood with difficulty, and his face was gloomy and he bowed his head slightly.

"The king has 'forgotten' things, ministers, have reminded the king."

"If the king remembers, let's get started."

"——Tell me all about the crimes you have committed."

···

"In the hands of the ministers, there are still a lot of official affairs that have not been handled."

"If the king continues to be obsessed, the minister can only put aside the king's affairs first and move on to other things."

"It's just that the minister is leaving, ······"

With a meaningful word, Zhi didn't forget to turn his head a little and look around the cell he was in.

And after Zhidu's urging again, Liu Rong's bitter and restless face finally appeared with a helpless wry smile······

"The widow has never interfered in the construction of the king's palace."

"From being named the king of Linjiang to being the king of Jiangling, the capital of the vassal king, the widow has never met the king and the internal history alone because of any thing."

"The construction of the palace was directly ordered by the Shaofu of Chang'an, and handled by the prime minister and the internal history."

"As for the Taimiao in Gangneung City, the widow has never been close to ······"

"—Your Majesty, are you taking me for a fool?!"

Without waiting for Liu Rong's words to fall, he let out a low roar with annoyance, and his face twisted!

When Liu Rong was stunned with a frightened expression, Zhi Du let out a cold snort again, and the only trace of respect he had for Liu Rong disappeared completely.

"The king, as a relative of the Liu family, is also the prince and vassal king of the queen mother herself!"

"In just one year, haven't you ever gone to the Taimiao Temple to worship your ancestors?!"

"——When worshipping ancestors, the king will definitely find out the abnormality of the Gangneung Taimiao."

"If it weren't for the king himself ordering the king and the internal history to smash the outer wall of the Taimiao, how could the king be indifferent when he saw the state of the Taimiao when he worshipped his ancestors?!!"

Speaking truthfully, Zhi Du's face only became more angry, and he let out a few low roars in succession, and then suddenly got up from his seat.

"Has the king made up his mind to refuse to admit his guilt!"

"If that's the case, then the minister won't waste any more time!!"

"Then the minister went to tell the Queen Mother and Your Majesty: The King of Linjiang is stubborn and refuses to admit his guilt!!"

Seeing Zhidu's 'furious' posture, Liu Rong's bitter face appeared in an instant, and he instantly appeared frightened;

But after a short period of composure, Liu Rong still lamented helplessly, then shook his head and smiled bitterly, and gave up his hand to Zhidu.

"Lieutenant, maybe I don't know······

"From last year's vassal to Gangneung, until this Hajj meeting, there are few people, and they have never left the palace for a single step."

"—Even if the palace has not yet been built, the widow has been placed in the unfinished main hall by the king and the inner history."

"It wasn't until my father sent an envoy to summon him that the widow finally walked out of the palace······"

···

"As for ancestor worship, of course the widow wants to go, and he should go."

"But every time this matter is mentioned, the king and the internal history unswervingly tell the widow: Before the construction of the palace is completed, the widow must not go out of the main hall."

"-Even when his mother died of illness, the widow wanted to go to Beijing for funeral, but he couldn't make it because of the obstruction of Wang Xiang and Neishi······"

"Even the mother's funeral can't be rushed, even the mother dies, and the widow can only mourn and mourn in the palace;"

"How can you go to the Taimiao to worship your ancestors and discover the abnormalities of the Taimiao?"

The extremely sad words still failed to make Zhidu's cold face warm up at all, and he saw Liu Rong sighing with a wry smile again;

He lowered his head and thought for a moment, and then said again: "Lieutenant, there is no need to scare the widow like this anymore. ”

"What 'crime' the widow has committed, the widow knows it in his heart, and the lieutenant also knows it in his heart······"

···

"Does the lieutenant know what the people of Linjiang Country said when the widow walked out of Jiangling City and saw the widow's king driving axle broken?"

"—They said: Our king, he will never return······"

···

"Since the lieutenant has other things on his hands, don't waste any more time."

"Don't bother the lieutenant, and then go to Changle and Weiyang, and play to the emperor's grandmother and father;"

"—Please prepare cloth and pen for the widow."

"The widow personally wrote a letter of accusation and presented it to the emperor's grandmother and father······"

···

······

After Liu Rong's extremely sincere words, Zhidu, who was still angry, only turned cloudy for a while.

Liu Rong, what crime did he commit?

As Liu Rong said: Anyone with a discerning eye can see what 'crime' Liu Rong entered the court because of this.

But even if he knew it in his heart, Zhidu could only continue to pretend that he didn't know.

- Because Zhidu's duty is not to find out the truth, or to uphold justice.

What Zhi needs to preside over is the 'Heavenly Dao';

In Zhidu's view, there is only one 'day' in today's Han family······

"Now that the king has made up his mind, the minister will not bother to speak any more."

"The matter of Jiangling Taimiao was specially sent by Tingwei to investigate;"

"The confessions of the king of Linjiang and Neishi have also been sent to Chang'an."

"—The king's crime has long been ascertained."

"Your Majesty sent his ministers and court lieutenants to investigate this matter, just to see if the king is willing to admit his guilt and whether he realizes his mistakes."

"But now it seems ······"

As he spoke, he saw Zhi Du sigh inexplicably, and then straightened up and slowly put his hands behind his back.

Looking at Liu Rong's eyes, there was also a faint flash of emotion and sympathy.

"Cloth, pen, don't think about it."

"What the king said, the ministers will relayed it to the Queen Mother and Your Majesty word for word."

"In the future, the king will live in the lieutenant's mansion with peace of mind and wait for His Majesty's disposal."

"—If you think of something and want the minister to tell your majesty, the king can call the jailer at any time."

"Minister, wait for the king's good news······"

finally said a word, and stared at Liu Rong with complicated eyes, and after looking at it for a long time, Zhi Du let out another light sigh, and then turned around.

was about to lean over and walk out of the prison door, but when he heard Liu Rong's low and inexplicable pleading words behind him, he heard it······

"There are a few things I want to ask the lieutenant for guidance."

Hearing the noise behind him, Zhi Du only turned around silently;

Although he didn't speak, he also put on a posture of 'the king but it doesn't hurt to say'.

But when Liu Rong started again and expressed the doubts in his heart, Zhi Dugang's eyebrows were a little loose, but they became firm again.

"If you can, please tell me the lieutenant;"

"—Did the lieutenant do everything on the orders of his father?"

"Is it my father who told the lieutenant to interrogate and interrogate the widow in the cell of this lieutenant's mansion?"

"Is it also the will of my father that I don't even give a cloth or a pen to the widow, and I don't even give the widow the opportunity to write a letter of guilt in person?"

Liu Rong asked sadly, only to cause Zhidu to raise his head with a firm expression, and look deeply into the depths of Liu Rong's gaze.

After watching for three or five breaths, Zhidu's highly recognizable eerie tone sounded again in the cell.

"Just now, the king said, 'These things are clear in the king's heart, and the courtiers are equally clear in their hearts.'"

"Since the king already has such an awareness, he shouldn't ask these questions again."

"What the minister is doing, whether it is instructed by His Majesty or not, is the minister's duty."

"The interrogation is carried out by the ministers, not by the court lieutenants, and it is because His Majesty can't bear to let the king suffer, so he sent me to take charge of this matter."

"Your Majesty, let's concentrate on what is in front of you."

"Except for the matter of the Jiangling Taimiao, which needs to be considered by the king, whether to confess or not, other things are probably not what the king should be concerned about today······"

"-Is it Xiao Jiu?"

"-Lieutenant, did you accept Xiao Jiu's instructions?"

"——Is it because of Xiao Jiu's entrustment that the lieutenant is not willing to give even a piece of cloth and a pen to the widow?"

After the sound of Zhidu fell, the cell fell into a brief silence again;

And after Liu Rong asked several questions one after another, there was a long silence in the cell.

Xiao Jiu;

In Zhidu's impression, it has been a long time since anyone has used 'Xiao Jiu' as Liu Sheng's title.

- After Liu Sheng was named the crown prince, even the Empress Dowager Dou began to call Liu Sheng 'prince';

As for the Son of Heaven, it is free to switch between the little bastard, the prince, and the occasional 'Xiao Jiu' according to the occasion.

And inside and outside the government and the opposition, most people still use 'Your Highness' as Liu Sheng's title.

Zhi Du never thought that one day, he would be able to hear this 'Xiao Jiu' again from the third person besides the Empress Dowager Dou and the Son of Heaven.

Zhi Du never expected that everything that happened now would actually make Liu Rong, who was at the center of the whirlpool of public opinion, shift his attention to his younger brother, the current crown prince, Liu Sheng······

"The King's ······"

"—yes and no?"

Zhi Du subconsciously wanted to speak, but Liu Rong asked another question full of determination;

When Zhi Du raised his head in accordance with the sound, he saw that Liu Rong's temperament had undergone earth-shaking changes in this moment.

- The panic of being in the cell of the lieutenant's palace is gone;

- The panic caused by the entry into the court and the unpredictable life and death has disappeared.

Even the fear of Zhi Du himself seems to have been completely overcome by Liu Rong.

At this moment, Liu Rong looked at Zhidu with determination, as well as a little pleading, even pleading.

But when he saw Liu Rong's appearance of 'seeing death as home', Zhidu's mind sounded in due course······

"Prince ······"

"No matter what, you can't let the prince get involved in this matter······"

Silently reciting this sentence in his heart, the hesitation that briefly existed on Zhidu's face disappeared.

Instead, there is more firmness and determination than Liu Rong, and the ruthlessness that has almost been engraved into the soul of Zhidu······

"Your Majesty once said: Lieutenant Zhidu is not a courtier of the Han family, but a retainer of the Liu family."

The minister replied: The minister is not Liu's retainer, but His Majesty's personal minister······"

···

"King, think about it."

"Whether to admit guilt or not, king, be sure to think carefully about ······"

If he dropped a word, Zhi Du finally ignored Liu Rong's sad gaze full of pleading when he looked at him;

Resolutely turned around, leaned over slightly, and emerged from the cell through the narrow doorway.

After Zhidu left, Liu Rong sat on the couch, stunned in place, and couldn't come back to his senses for a long time······

"Little Nine ······"

···

"It's not a little nine······"

···

"Yes... Father? ”

···

"Father, do you want me to die······"

"-The one who wants me to die, is it my father·········"