The firelight in the stove reflected Liu Li's tears. She could imagine how dangerous her father's situation was at that time. But he never revealed anything in his letters home...
The crackling sound of burning firewood brought her out of her daze.
"Can you tell me what the secret is?" Liu Li wiped her tears and asked softly.
"I don't know yet." Zhu Zhen sighed: "But judging from Xiong Qitai's reaction, it should be a big secret."
"My father fought with them until the last moment, right?" Liu Li asked again.
"Yes." Zhu Zhen nodded, briefly explained the situation to Liu Li, and finally said solemnly: "I can responsibly say that senior brother died heroically for the country and the people."
"Yes." Liu Li nodded heavily, wiped his tears with the back of his hand, took a deep breath through his nose and said, "Take me with you when you handle the case later. My father's enemy is still there, and I will continue to fight on his behalf."
Her gaze was so determined that Zhu Zhen could not refuse.
"Okay." He nodded and said, "Let's avenge Senior Brother together."
"Well, my junior uncle is the best." Liu Li laughed through tears, and then exclaimed: "Oh, the pot is burnt!"
~~
During the meeting in the evening, Zhu Zhen indeed called Liu Li to join him.
"We all understand the situation and have been thinking about it for a while." He looked at his uncle and Luo Guanzhong and asked in a deep voice, "Tell me your opinions."
"Your Highness, please reveal your identity." His uncle said worriedly: "The fact that Xiong Qitai dared to kill the imperial envoy shows that he is crazy and there is no one he dares to kill.
"And since Liu Kong's killer is a traitor, he must have revealed His Highness's identity to him. Now that Ma Qingcheng has also disappeared, maybe he will jump over the wall in a hurry!"
"What a heck he is!" Zhu Zhen sneered and said, "He is not the only one who knows the identity of this king, there is also Zeng Tai. Does he think he can repeat his old tricks and do it silently like he did against my senior brother?
Destroy this king? Go ahead and dream!"
"The son of a rich man cannot sit down in court, so it is better to be careful." Hu Quan insisted.
"Having said that, it's really a pity to be famous at this time." Luo Guanzhong pushed up his glasses. As a novelist, he couldn't bear to have a mechanical deity suddenly appear in the middle of the story... That is a kind of unskilled storytelling.
Technique, because it destroys the internal logic of the story, is a clumsy plot strategy that only third-rate novelists will use.
Okay, that’s a bit much to say. In short, Teacher Luo hopes that Lao Liu can continue to use his current role to finish the scene. Of course, he is not trying to trick Lao Liu, but is actively making suggestions.
"This scene is not big enough, and the dramatic conflict is not intense enough. We can use the holes to make some fuss and push the scene to the climax, and then His Highness will reveal his identity and appear on stage. Wouldn't the effect be better?"
"Teacher Luo, it's not a good word to appear in public." Liu Li reminded in a low voice.
"Oh, really? I really don't know, haha." Luo Guanzhong smiled, thinking that he would not be able to secretly poke fun at the semi-literate person in the future. He quickly changed the subject and said:
"Moreover, if we close the net now, we may never know what the big secret is."
"That's true..." Zhu Zhen nodded. They had already learned from Bao Bao in the teahouse next door that Pang Yi, the prosecuting officer who was responsible for the senior brother's case, was sent to southern Gansu on a business trip at the beginning of the first month when he encountered a mountain. The bandit has already died in the line of duty.
"Besides, it is not very reliable to arrest the chief envoy of a province based on just one person's confession. Moreover, with the imperial envoy Shen Liben here, His Highness can't do whatever he wants... Then Xiong Qitai can just make whatever he wants. ?There is no way to corroborate his confession. If he recants his confession when he is sent to the capital in the future, His Highness will be completely disgraced."
"It makes sense." Lao Liu was finally convinced and nodded heavily: "I am here waiting for him to come. As long as he sends troops to catch me, I can naturally put down the rebellion, right?"
"Yes..." Everyone is worried, His Highness is obsessed with suppressing the rebellion.
"Besides, we still have to try to find the guard." Lao Liu said without much hope: "What if we find him, won't things turn around?"
"Well, I will send someone to find the bag on Toad Street tomorrow to inquire about the purchase," Hu Quan nodded.
"And Second Uncle's concubine... uh, Ah Fang. Second Uncle has been working hard for a few days, so it's time for her to contribute, right?" Lao Liu said again.
"Understood." Hu Quan smiled bitterly and said, "I'll go there myself."
~~
In that room, the imperial envoys were traveling. The silk and bamboo were flowing, and the scenery was lively and fragrant.
Shen Liben was being served by several stunning beauties, enjoying a luxurious dinner while admiring the beauties playing the flute.
During the banquet, they laughed and talked about the banquet. One person played the flute, another played a wonderful song. Everything was silent, and the fish came out to listen. It was like a fairyland on earth.
But the sound of rapid footsteps broke the harmony of the picture. Shen Liben frowned in displeasure. Only after he saw clearly that the person who came in was Xiong Qitai did he endure the attack.
"What's wrong? Are you in a panic?"
"Sir, it's not good, three of my people were captured by Zeng Tai's guy." Xiong Qitai said in a low voice.
"Were they the officials who were at Cao's house that day?" Shen Liben couldn't understand Xiong Qitai's mood, so he asked slowly.
"Yes, but he has agreed to let me interrogate him. I took them back in my humble position, and after questioning them overnight, I let them go." Xiong Qitai said angrily:
"Who would have thought that that insidious guy Zeng Tai actually lured them back to the police department on the pretext of closing the case and arresting them, and brazenly arrested the three people in the custody room.
"What's even more shameless is that he asked them to enter the holding room through the front door and leave through the back door. As a result, the others were unaware and didn't know that the three of them had been arrested!
"It wasn't until the family members of the three of them disappeared in the evening that they went to look for them in various houses, only to find that they had not come back at all!" Xiong Qitai said angrily: "It is simply sensational for a dignified inspector to kidnap my chief minister's court official! I will definitely Make him pay the price!"
"What are you shouting for? Can't you just get the person back?" Shen Liben dug his ears and said displeased.
"The official immediately went to ask for someone! But the man surnamed Zeng refused to admit it, saying that they had left the Yamen of Anchasi." Xiong Qitai said depressedly: "I asked Deputy Ambassador Feng, the guard guard I didn’t even see the three of them leave!”
"Please, sir, issue an order to hand him over, otherwise we will search the Yamen of Zhensi!" Xiong Qitai said, clasping his fists eagerly.
"Do you have any clues about those three people? Why are you so anxious?" Shen Liben was still calm and calm.
"There is a person who knows..." Xiong Qitai said with difficulty.
"Didn't you say that no one knew about it anymore?!" Shen Liben became furious.
"Sir, please don't be angry. I have even more outrageous news to report..." Xiong Qitai said, waving his hand to signal those beauties to leave.
