The cicadas outside were whining and whining, exacerbating the mood already on fire.
In the dark house, the man on the throne could not see his true face. He could only hear him ruthlessly saying to Duan Honglin who was lying on the ground: "I spent all my efforts to get you out of Jingzhou. In less than half a year after entering Beijing, not only did you not give me anything,
I gave him some feedback and even helped me cut off a connection in the Ministry of Rites."
The voice sounded a little gloomy, and he took a deep breath impatiently.
"I'm not a philanthropist. Duan Honglin's message to you before should have been very clear. You can't drag people into the water. The child in your concubine's belly will go to hell with him."
"No, no, no, no, no, sir." Duan Honglin trembled when he heard this, and he wanted to crawl forward a few steps.
However, two guards beside the man stepped on his shoulders, preventing him from taking a step forward.
Duan Honglin didn't dare to raise his head, but his desire to survive told him not to make any mistakes at this time.
"Sir, sir, I have found some clues recently. It is my family members who are holding me back. If it were not for my family members, today would be the day for me to report to Pei Xingyuan!"
Duan Honglin shook his head like a rattle, still showing his usual elegant look.
"My lord gives me one more chance, just one. This time I really found out something shocking. If I succeed this time, not only Pei Xingyuan will be dragged into the water, but the prince will also be dragged into it."
The man in the main seat raised his voice and made a sound.
It seems that I finally got some interest.
Duan Honglin rubbed his hands frantically, trying to use this humble gesture to ask the mysterious master on the throne to let him and his son live.
But the man at the head of the table seemed to know how to control others' courage. He sneered, "I don't have the patience to give you another chance. Half a year is already my bottom line."
Duan Honglin changed from rubbing his hands to kowtowing, and said in a panic: "I guarantee the heads on my neck. This matter involves so many people. If you do a little bit of manipulation, these people will be completely dead."
His prayer voice became more and more urgent.
The man sitting on the main seat was lost in thought. In the dark cabin, the only sound he could hear was his steady tapping on the armrest.
I don't know how long it took, but Duan Honglin almost fell into despair while waiting.
"Do you know what situation you are in now? Even if I really let you live, given your current status in the capital, you are just an ant that can be easily crushed to death."
The man's words are true. Duan Honglin now says that he can bring down Pei Xingyuan, the prince. This is too true.
He is not a fool.
Duan Honglin subconsciously wanted to raise his head to argue, but his movements were still not as fast as those of his subordinates, and his head was immediately pressed down mercilessly.
There was a dull sound as it hit the ground.
The man in charge let out an emotionless ouch, then snorted happily.
"Although I no longer have an official position in the capital, Duan has been wandering around the officialdom for so many years, so he must have accumulated some skills and connections.
"Really, if you believe me and let me go this time, I will definitely give you a satisfactory result. Even if I can't completely bring down Pei Xingyuan and the prince, I can still skin them."
Duan Honglin felt dizzy before his eyes, but in this dizzy state, his desire to survive still made him blurt out these requests.
"How can I trust you? If I let you go and you run away, wouldn't I be the one who was taken advantage of?"
The man broke through Duan Honglin's little pretense, and his tricks were not enough in his eyes.
Duan Honglin was immediately speechless.
The dark room fell into an eerie silence, and the man sighed.
"It's better to kill you. Keeping you alive will be a hidden danger sooner or later. Dead people are the safest."
With that said, the man stood up with his hands behind his back. When Duan Honglin heard this, he shouted in a panic: "My lord, don't be lord!"
"Sir, I really know what happened between Pei Xingyuan and the Crown Prince. It was Pei Xingyuan who was behind the investment that destroyed many businesses in Jingzhou City. If we can collect all the evidence and follow the clues, the Crown Prince will not be able to escape this matter."
When Duan Honglin heard that his life was about to be lost, Duan Honglin didn't dare to hide the secret at all, so he opened his mouth in a panic and spilled the beans.
The man who stood up raised his eyebrows. He had heard a little bit about the investment in Jingzhou City, but it had nothing to do with him. At first, he just listened and let it go.
"Oh?" The man said thoughtfully.
——
Here Mi Xiayao was sitting by the window with her chin in her hands. The scorching heat outside had already caused some thin sweat on her temples.
Linglong was fanning her fan carefully.
"Mrs. He, the Minister of Dali Temple, wants to invite me to a banquet? All the other ladies in the capital are avoiding me, so why does she still invite me?"
Mi Xiayao looked around at this ordinary invitation in boredom, and found it somewhat novel.
Song Qiao was watching Mi Xiaobao reciting the Three-Character Sutra. She couldn't help but raise her head when she heard Madam's doubts about this matter.
"Madam, is it possible that the camel that was crushed was bigger than the horse?"
Mi Xiayao let out a soft cry, and turned around to glare at Song Qiao with warmth and anger.
Linglong carefully glanced at Sister Song Qiao, then at Madam.
"Then Madam, are you planning to go to this banquet?" Song Qiao straightened her expression and became serious.
Mi Xiayao fanned the invitation card and turned her head to look not far away.
"Go ahead... I have nothing to do at home anyway. Go out and see more. If I meet another noble person, I will gain another connection."
This thought finally convinced me.
Linglong received a new errand from Mi Xia Yao and turned around to dress appropriately for the banquet.
Everyone in the room seemed busy. The most idle person was sitting by the window, holding his head and looking at everyone. Gradually, his thoughts could not help but wander outside.
Recently, because she was busy preparing for the entertainment venue, she had been spending most of her time in the study.
Song Qiao raised her head inadvertently and saw her wife staring at the ground with a rare dull look.
"Speaking of which, it seems that there has been no news from Mr. Pei recently?"
This girl just wanted to mention something.
Mi Xiayao moved her eyelids slightly and glanced at the maid who spoke particularly meanly today.
"What news do you want?" She became more energetic and began to argue with Song Qiao.
Song Qiao became more courageous. She raised her chin and snorted, "I don't want the news. I obviously want to know Master Pei when I see the expression on the lady's face."