When Li Ran heard this, he felt as if he had been struck by a bolt from the blue:
The prince is dead!
Just when Li Ran was being chased in the narrow alley of Qufu, Tai Ziye actually died in Lu Palace!
The assassination operations in the two places were carried out almost at the same time. But the only difference is that Lu Gong's assassination was successful, but Li Ran relied on Sun Wu's ridiculous power to escape.
With the news of Tai Ziye's death, everyone saw Li Ran's anger.
But he did not get angry, nor did he burst into anger, nor did he roar and ask questions.
He just silently stared at his originally sunny face, the twinkling starlight in his eyes gradually turned into firelight, and the dense flame of revenge slowly burned in his heart, but he looked quite forbearing.
"Lord, what should we do now?"
According to reports from Shusun Bao's retainers, what was even worse was that after Prince Ye died, Ji Sunsu immediately joined forces with the courtiers and put Shusun Bao under house arrest in the mansion. Because the defense of Lu Palace was Shusun Bao's.
Bao personally arranged it, so when Prince Ye was killed, Shusun Bao happened to be derelict in his duties and even became the first suspect.
Therefore, there is definitely no way back to Shusunbao's mansion now. And it is obvious that the real culprit behind the assassination of Tai Ziye definitely does not want Li Ran to continue to live, and will definitely set up another plot around the mansion to facilitate
Cutting off the roots.
Therefore, the most important thing facing Li Ran at the moment is naturally how to save his own life.
Just like in Zhou Wangji, Li Ran faced this problem again.
"Lord! For the current plan, it seems that we can only escape from Qufu first and then discuss it!"
Hearing what Sun Su said, Li Ran did not panic and was not prepared to escape at all. He chose to stay in Qufu!
"My lord? Qufu is extremely dangerous for my lord. If you don't leave, you may not be able to save your life!"
Sun Su has his own reasons for saying this. After all, he has only one mission, and that is to protect Li Ran.
"This place is not far from Uncle Sun's house, and it is so dangerous. How can the assassins sent by the Ji family not have second-hand preparations? Outside Qufu City, it is probably even more dangerous. What's more, if we escape just like that
If we go out of the city, wouldn't that just give Ji family an excuse?"
Seeing Ji Le on the side, he took a step forward and wanted to comfort him. But who knew that Li Ran suddenly raised his head and looked at Sun Wu:
"Brother Sun Wu, you are very skilled in martial arts. Can you help me again?"
Thinking that Sun Wu had just saved his life, Li Ran seemed a little reluctant when he blurted out. He was worried that Sun Wu would refuse.
However, after all, Sun Wu was born as a calf and was not afraid of tigers. Instead of refusing, he said rather righteously:
"Sir, don't you want to find out the real culprit? If so, Wu must be unstoppable. Although Wu is not from Lu, there is no reason to shrink back when he encounters such an unjust thing. Please speak frankly, Sir, Wu must be unstoppable!" When Li Ran heard this, he was very grateful and nodded frequently:
"Very good! Doctor Shusun is now under house arrest. We have no place in the Lu court. If we want to stir up trouble, we must make some noise!"
"And I am being hunted right now. If I show up, I'm afraid it will be a disaster. Although I am not afraid of death, if I die in vain at this time, no one will be able to avenge the prince's revenge, and I will only fear the injustice of the uncle and grandson."
There will never be a day when the truth will be revealed, so please ask Brother Sun Wu..."
Li Ran made the arrangements, and Sun Wu immediately accepted the order.
Watching his leaving figure, the gloomy look on Li Ran's face gradually improved, but his serious face still made people feel nervous.
Ji Le looked at him with some suspicion and asked:
"Is this really feasible?"
Although she had no doubts about Li Ran's strategy, she also knew in her heart that the people they were going to deal with this time were none other than the Ji family and the Meng family.
In the past, they could borrow the power of the Jin State to deal with these two major forces. That was because the Jin State was such a behemoth that both the Ji family and the Meng family were intimidated.
But now they can only rely on their own strength to deal with this crisis. And the disparity in strength makes it almost impossible to succeed?
"The crown prince ascended the throne by offering sacrifices to heaven. If he can get help from his uncle and grandson, he will be able to revitalize the royal family and regain his real power in the near future."
"But Dr. Shusun had such a broad mind, but the Ji family and the Meng family did not. They killed the prince in order to firmly control the state of Lu in their hands, control the king with ministers, and make decisions about the king's affairs." p>
"This matter is highly treacherous and must not be stated openly. Therefore, if we make this matter a big deal and everyone knows it, the Ji family and the Meng family will definitely expose their flaws! Now, no matter whether it succeeds or not, I will give it a try.
!"
Li Ran's attitude is extremely determined.
He is not a person who likes tactics, but when he steps into this battlefield, it means that he has no way out.
Especially after experiencing the chaos in the Zhou royal family, he had already developed a sympathy and sympathy for Prince Ye, a friend in Lu State who was very similar to Prince Jin.
He still remembered how indignant Prince Ye was when he told his uncle Sunbao that he wanted to fulfill his father's legacy.
He still remembers how indignant the prince was when he heard him say that he should keep to himself, and he still remembers the grand ambitions contained in the prince's ambition.
Unfortunately, all this has become a thing of the past with the death of Tai Ziye.
Now, the only thing Li Ran can do is to fulfill Tai Ziye's last wish.
Ji Le looked at the unwavering expression on Li Ran's face and felt confused for a moment.
She couldn't understand the friendship between Li Ran and Tai Ziye. In her eyes, Li Ran and the prince were just acquaintances, not even as good as her friendship with the prince. How could Li Ran risk his own life for Tai Ziye?
?
But she still chose to believe Li Ran, because she felt something from Li Ran's words that she had never seen or even heard before.
"What's next?"
Ji Le thought for a while, raised his head and asked.
"Go find Mr. Chou."
Li Ran's eyes shone with a strange light.
......
Qufu, a villa.
This villa is located next to the royal road to the west of the Lu Palace. The Lu Palace is 100 feet due east, and the Xialiu River is 200 feet due south. It has a favorable geographical location. It used to be the property of Shusun Bao, but later it became the property of Jishi in Lu.
The foothold of the country has always been used for the Ji clan's business in the Lu country.
When Ji Le brought Li Ran here, Gongzi Chou was already here.
"The servants here are all traders from my family in the State of Lu. They have been handling the business of our Ji clan in Qufu for many years. They should be reliable."
"In addition, there are thirty guards inside and outside the courtyard, so there is no need to worry about the safety here."
When Li Ran heard this, he couldn't help but glanced outside the house. He saw a row of guards guarding each side of the door. They were tall and tall, and the bronze scabbards in their hands were faintly glowing with gold.
As rich and powerful as the Ji family, these thirty elite guards alone are enough to rival any of the three houses in Qufu, not to mention the servants in this other courtyard, who also run various businesses in Qufu.
Ji Le brought Li Ran here because she wanted to save Li Ran's life. In addition, she also wanted to see how Li Ran would rescue Shusun Bao and find justice for Tai Ziye.
Young Master Chou still looked crazy. When he saw Ji Le coming, he immediately ran over and grabbed Ji Le and said with a silly smile:
"Sister Jiji...you are here..."
If it were in the past, Li Ran and Ji Le might just sigh in their hearts to show their helplessness towards this young master.
But today, when Li Ran saw such a crazy and ignorant Young Master Chou again, he pulled him to a deserted corner. No matter how hard he struggled, Li Ran never let go.
"What are you going to do...let me go! I'm going to play with my sister!..."
Gongzichou's wrist hurt. He looked at Li Ran with a serious expression in front of him. His face was full of fear, and his bright black eyes were flashing with fear.
"Young Master! What I will say today will only be said once!"
Li Ran looked into his eyes and said in an almost roaring voice.
Then Young Master Chou froze on the spot, looking at him motionless, with a weak and helpless expression still lingering on his face.
Li Ran didn't care at all and just continued:
"Your brother is dead! Their target now is you! They want to help you rise to power and let you act as their puppet. If you continue to pretend to be crazy and stupid in the future, you will be exposed one day. After all, you will not be able to escape.
The result of being assassinated by them! Your brother's death is a lesson to others!"
"I know that you, Master, know better than anyone else that if you want to live, you can only pretend to be crazy and act like a fool! Therefore, Master, you have not dared to show signs of being a normal person in these years, let alone show your sorrow for the current situation of Lu State, and your feelings for Ji
The Meng family hates it deeply!"
"But have you ever thought that since you were born in the royal family of the State of Lu, there are certain things that you are destined to be unable to escape from?"
"Since I have an acquaintance with your brother, I promised him that I will help him regain the power that belongs to the Lu State, help him revive the Lu State, and I will definitely help him clean up the dirt of the Lu State! Although he is dead now,
But I won’t give up either!”
After Li Ran finished speaking, there was a sudden silence in the other courtyard.
Gongzi Chou looked at Li Ran with doubtful eyes for a long time.
The silence of the two seemed to be a tacit cooperation. Li Ran's silence gave Gongzi Chou time to think, while Gongzi Chou's silence seemed to be thinking about what Li Ran said.
But there was still a trace of fear in Gongzichou's doubtful eyes.
"You... how did you tell that I was pretending to be stupid?"
After a while, Young Master sighed suddenly, and then asked in a low voice.
Yes, Gongzi Chou’s madness is just an act.
His fear was precisely because Li Ran saw through his disguise. Because Li Ran could see through it, it meant that Ji Shi would also see through it one day.
He didn't understand where he had a flaw that allowed Li Ran to find out. But he could conclude that since Li Ran had seen through his disguise, he would not let him continue to pretend.
Because what Li Ran said just now can be said to be very tough.
People with a tough attitude will always end up in trouble.
And such people are also dangerous.
He thought of his father, who died in the Chu Palace, and who died in the Chu Palace with regret.
He thought of his brother, who had just died tragically in Lu Palace.
Anyone who dares to go against the Ji family and the Meng family, anyone who dares to resist them, even the monarch, will eventually die.
They have one thing in common with Li Ran, that is persistence.
He knew that such persistence had already killed his father and brother, and he did not want to be killed by such persistence again.
But the persistent Li Ran found him and blew away the mask he relied on to survive.