Gao Chai, a close aide of Prince Cheng, got off the bus about fifteen miles away from Linmanting City, where there was an official road to the north.
It was just after noon, the weather was hot, and the people and horses were tired before entering the city.
After entering the city, I saw a vendor selling sour plum soup on the roadside. Prince Cheng was thirsty and asked someone to buy one.
In such weather, drinking a bowl of sour plum soup is indeed very effective in relieving the heat.
After finishing the drink, Prince Cheng handed the bowl out of the carriage window, and his men took it and returned it to the vendor.
At this time, Prince Cheng looked outside and felt something was wrong.
He glanced at the hawker again and asked, "Are you a foreigner?"
The vendor nodded: "I just came today."
Prince Cheng asked again: "When did there start to be no pedestrians on this street?"
The hawker replied: "Two moments ago there were still some, but now there are none."
Prince Cheng: "Then, it must be because I returned to the city. Where are you from? From Yunzhou City or Geling City."
The vendor replied: "From Geling to Yunzhou, and from Yunzhou to here."
Prince Cheng nodded.
He got off the carriage and looked back, and saw that the gate of Linmanting City was being closed, and a group of soldiers wearing fine armor had blocked the gate opening.
He looked at the hawker: "Why don't you put some medicine in the sour plum soup?"
The hawker replied: "That's not necessary. It would be an insult to the prince's status. After all, we can let the prince die in a fair and just way, so why use underhanded tactics."
Prince Cheng sighed and looked back at the carriage behind him. His daughter was still in the carriage, leaning on the window and looking out.
He was silent for a moment and thought carefully. It was probably because Yu Lingwei had no evidence and wanted to do something directly.
But there was evidence in his car.
The leader of the Momen Gate gave him the structural diagram of the Geling City gate, the structural diagram of the military passage inside the city wall, and the structural diagram of the secret passage of the palace.
These few things are enough to convict him of treason.
So when he was about to get in the car, the hawker selling sour plum soup said: "Your Majesty, it's better for you to walk back to be more dignified. It's also best not to touch the things in the car. Even if you burn them now, it's useless. Besides, Your Majesty has no chance."
Prince Cheng smiled: "Just like that, you want to convict me?"
The hawker said: "Your Majesty, it's better for you to go home first."
Many finely armored soldiers poured out of the surrounding alleys, and both sides of the street were soon filled with teams.
Prince Cheng suddenly turned around and jumped on the carriage, intending to destroy the evidence. As soon as he came in, he saw a middle-aged man sitting in the carriage.
"Lu Gang, who holds the humble position of imperial guard and governor, has met the prince."
The man clasped his fists towards Prince Cheng.
Prince Cheng's expression has changed.
Lu Gang should be in Yunzhou City at this time, not here. The people he sent to kill Lu Gang went to Yunzhou instead...
"Your Majesty, get in the car."
Lu Gang made a gesture of invitation.
The carriage started slowly again and headed towards Chengjun Prince's Mansion. Along the way, there were soldiers on both sides of the street.
When we arrived at the street where Chengjun Prince's Mansion was located, it was even more heavily guarded, and we even saw a cavalry team.
At the gate of Chengjun Prince's Mansion, Lu Gang got out of the car first, and then opened the car door for Chengjun Prince.
Prince Cheng took a deep breath and said calmly: "Since you have come in person, you really want to accuse me of some crime, so why are you so pretentious?"
Lu Gang said: "Your Majesty belongs to the royal family and is your Majesty's younger brother. Even if you are convicted, it will be decided by Your Majesty. For your humble position, you must respect your status as the prince."
Prince Cheng glanced at him and got out of the car.
When he arrived at the door, he saw Beiye King Tuoba Lie standing inside the door. At this moment, Tuoba Lie's face looked a little ugly.
"Your Majesty."
Tuoba Lie leaned down and saluted.
Prince Cheng's expression became even more grim: "Why are you here too?"
Tuoba Lie said: "Lu Gang brought His Majesty's decree to my house to read it out. I have to come."
Prince Cheng turned back to look at Lu Gang, who just smiled, with a look of humility still on his face.
Entering the gate of Chengjun Prince's Mansion, in the courtyard are all Yu Lingwei wearing red python and brocade clothes. These are serious people from the case investigation department, not the nature department who hides in the darkness.
Where these people from the Investigation Department appear is actually enough to explain the problem and the outcome.
"Your Majesty, please look over here."
Lu Gang asked Prince Cheng to move. At this time, Prince Cheng's face was as white as paper. He followed Lu Gang mechanically and his eyes were lifeless.
He didn't understand why, the day suddenly changed.
He didn't understand why, without warning, even Tuoba Lie was forced to Linmanting City, and why.
He walked a few steps and looked back at Tuoba Lie: "If I had known this earlier, you should have come to see me earlier."
Tuoba Lie just shook his head and said nothing.
Lu Gang stopped at a place and pointed in front: "I received a report that the body of my Yu Lingwei is hidden in the prince's palace. I have to come and take a look."
Following his instructions, Prince Cheng saw the corpses lined up on the ground over there, all covered with white cloth.
"Your methods are too crude."
Chengjun Wang said: "Don't say that these life and death have nothing to do with me. Even if I killed them, would I hide them in the mansion?"
Lu Gang said: "I'm also curious, so I can only talk about it after checking."
He walked to the corpses and opened them one by one: "In addition to the people from the Natural Resources Department of Yulingwei, there are also the corpses of some people of unknown origin. Originally, their identities could not be found, but in the prince's study
, a box of things was found, which seems to prove the identity of these people."
He waved, and his men carried a box to Prince Cheng.
When the box was opened, it was the letters that Yu Lingwei had forged.
These things were all taken away by Salang after the people from the Department of Natural Resources were killed.
But now, not only the dead people appear in the palace, but also the evidence of the letters.
In this situation, Prince Cheng smiled instead: "Sure enough, I still want to accuse him."
"My lord, why bother?"
Lu Gang took out a few things from himself and put them in the box.
"These drawings were given to the prince by the Momen rebels. The prince should not be able to deny it."
Lu Gang looked at Prince Cheng: "Actually, it doesn't matter if there are none of those corpses and letters. It's enough for the prince to go to Youfang Valley."
Prince Cheng was shocked when he heard these words. He turned around and looked at the old man who was already stooped.
The old man who has been by his side for more than ten years and is not only regarded by him as a confidant but also as his teacher... Dongfang Su.
Dongfang Su stood there, and when Prince Cheng looked over, he slowly stood up straight and stopped being rickety.
"amazing."
Prince Chengjun said: "It's amazing that I can hide beside you for so many years and still confide in you."
Dongfang Su said: "The prince was negligent."
This sentence was a reminder. At this moment, Prince Cheng couldn't help but think about what he had overlooked.
Then he wakes up...
Yes, if it weren't for the people arranged by Emperor Jade to be around him, how could he possibly see through 90% of Emperor Yu's plans?
That's not seeing through it, that's just knowing it already, and that's why he was able to gain the trust of the county king.
Prince Cheng was silent for a long time and looked at Lu Gang: "My daughter doesn't know anything. She..."
Lu Gang still said humbly: "My lord, please think twice, this is treason."
Prince Cheng's words stopped abruptly.
He turned his last hope to Tuoba Lie, who was standing beside him without saying a word. Tuoba Lie's face was almost as ugly as his.
Lu Gang said: "General, your Majesty has spoken. Your Majesty said that since this case occurred in Yunzhou, it will naturally be tried by the General. The General is a person whom Your Majesty trusts. Your Majesty also said that if you leave it to the General, Your Majesty will have peace of mind."
Tuoba Lie stood stunned for a moment, then leaned over and said, "I obey your order."
Lu Gang smiled: "Then, I will stop interfering because of my humble position and ask the general to review the case."
After saying that, he turned around and walked aside.
A moment later, in a side room of Prince Cheng's Mansion, Tuoba Lie waved his hand for everyone to go out. He and Prince Cheng were the only two people left in the room.
"Why this?"
Prince Cheng suddenly asked.
Tuoba Lie shook his head: "A few days ago, Lu Gang found me and read out His Majesty's decree, asking me to leave for Linmanting City immediately."
"How many days ago?"
Prince Cheng muttered to himself.
"I......"
Tuoba Lie said in a complicated tone: "I will try my best to protect Tan'er. If I can't, don't blame me."
Prince Cheng nodded: "I know."
Tuoba Lie looked at Prince Cheng's face that was as gray as ashes. He sighed, stood up and left.
Tuoba Lie walked out of the house and stood in the yard. Lu Gang, who was looking up at the birds on the tree, heard the sound and turned back to look at Tuoba Lie.
"General, is the case being tried so quickly?"
Tuoba Lie said: "I'm just feeling a little uncomfortable. I came out to take a breath and let him think about it for himself. I'll explain it truthfully later without omitting anything."
Lu Gang hummed: "General, if you don't feel well, go and rest for a while. There's no rush in trying the case."
Tuoba Lie thanked him and walked outside the palace.
Standing here, looking at the street with no common people and only soldiers everywhere, he was silent for a long time.
At this moment, the palace suddenly lit up, like a thunderbolt, falling directly in the courtyard of the palace.
Tuoba Lie turned around and saw a room in the distance that was split into two halves.
There was a dark shadow, holding Prince Cheng's daughter Xie Yatanqiu in his hand and taking off.
Lu Gang, the governor of Zhenfu, flew up and tried to stop the man. In mid-air, the man turned back and slashed with his sword. The energy of the sword had the potential to split the sky.
Lu Gang also unsheathed his sword in mid-air, and the sword swirled out like a crescent moon.
This sword energy like lightning and thunder collided with the sword energy like the crescent moon in mid-air, and they were evenly matched.
But just this blow blocked Lu Gang's advance. When he looked again, there was no sign of the escaped man.
Lu Gang turned back to look at Tuoba Lie at the door. Tuoba Lie was standing there, doing nothing.
Lu Gang frowned and waved, and his men jumped over the courtyard wall and followed him to chase them.
Behind the palace, there was another sword flash, and then there was the sound of wailing.
This knife killed countless people who were blocking the front, and how many people were maimed.
Lu Gang's figure also disappeared behind the palace, and the courtyard suddenly became chaotic.
Tuoba Lie stood there, his expression gradually changed from sadness to joy, and the smile on the corner of his mouth disappeared in a flash.
In the next breath, Tuoba Lie jumped up and rushed towards the backyard.
No one saw Tuoba Lie's smile, and no one could understand the meaning of Tuoba Lie's smile.
Two days later, in the morning, Chang Shui came.
The man in the hat took Xie Yatan's hand and asked her to board the boat. It was more like throwing her on board than inviting her on board.
"I just promised your father that I would do one thing for him for free. I don't owe your father anything, let alone you. If you annoy me, I can save you or kill you."
The man in the hat looked at Xie Yatan, who had an angry look on his face: "You actually still have the intention to be angry with me at this time? Your father is about to die, you'd better save your strength to grieve."
After he finished speaking, he grabbed the pole and poked it, and the boat flew away.