Love Affairs in Chang'an - Chapter 236

Chapter 236 Zhao Chong’s Secret
They talked happily, knowing each other well. Qin Mubai, Zheng Anshun, and Li Ke had experienced the water ghost turmoil this time. They could be considered to be “wealthy and honorable with tribulation”. They were originally the same kind of young masters, but now they felt more and more speculative.

As a prince, Li Ke had an extremely rare advantage. He had inherited it from his father, Li Shimin-he was a virtuous servant without any airs.

When they were half drunk, the three of them had long forgotten who was the prince, who was the general, and who was the young master of the richest family of the Great Tang. The three of them only knew that they were close friends who drank and were close friends.

Under the influence of the wine, some words that he normally wouldn’t say were also unrestrained and unrestrained.

“Mubai, so your unmarried wife is coming to Xiang Prefecture. This is a righteous elopement by Zhang Ming. Congratulations!” Li Ke smiled shamelessly, his eyes shining brightly as he whispered, “But, what about Chen Nuxia, who is concealed in your golden room?”

“What should we do?” Qin Mubai pretended to be stupid as she squinted her eyes while she was drunk.

“Chi, you’re still pretending! Do you believe that I will reveal everything about you to Wu Meiniang and Gaoyang? At that time, you won’t be able to bear it!” Li Ke said angrily, “I don’t like the way you pretend to be stupid and die!”

“Ho ho!” Qin Mubai laughed foolishly, “You’ve threatened me at least 800 times. It’s no longer effective!”

“Brother Qin, you are so romantic! Wherever you go, you will bring along a colorful dress. As far as I know, there are quite a few women in Xiang Province who admire you from wealthy families to common people.” Zheng Anshun laughed from the side.

“No way.” Qin Mubai chuckled and said, “They love me and love my crow at most. If you stay with His Highness for a few days, it would probably be enough.”

Li Ke was both angry and funny. He scolded, “Zheng Anshun praised you, but you even harmed me! You are so unkind! Quickly answer the question, if Wu Meiniang comes, what will happen to your Chen Nuxia? Do you still dare to continue hiding in the Golden Room?”

“Why not?” Qin Mubai opened his mouth and shouted, “At most, the Golden Room will hide two prodigies!”

“Haha, this fellow, your courage is getting fatter and fatter! You just have to keep your mouth shut. Once Wu Meiniang comes, you won’t have this kind of arrogance anymore.” Li Ke laughed loudly, “Even if you can deal with Wu Meiniang, I think if Gaoyang comes, you will still be dead!”

“Ah!” Qin Mubai’s entire body trembled. “You–what did you say?”

“Haha, did you see that? He panicked!” Li Ke and Zheng Anshun laughed together.

“Your Highness, quickly explain clearly, what do you mean by ‘Gao Yang is coming’?” Qin Mubai asked.

“Hmph, listen carefully!” Li Ke said seriously, “Didn’t you say a few days ago when you were chatting with King Qi that you wanted to bring Gaoyang to Xiang Zhou?” Li You is an impatient person. He will definitely do whatever he thinks of. No, he sent someone to pick up Gaoyang. He’s halfway there. A letter was sent to me today informing me of this matter. “Let me ask you to come with me. When I’m free, I’ll go to Dengzhou to meet you and bring Gaoyang over.”

Qin Mubai widened his eyes and swallowed a mouthful of saliva, “Did he really do it?”

“What’s so strange?” “In the past, Gao Yang didn’t spend at least half of his time in Chang’an and most of the time stayed at her uncle’s house in Bing Zhou. But now, her uncle Yin Hongzhi has moved to Deng Zhou with Prince Qi. It’s normal for Gao Yang to come to stay here.” Li Ke sneered with joy.

Qin Mubai rolled her eyes and thought to herself, “My dear, it’s fine if I have a Wu Meiniang. It’s not difficult for her to get along with Chen Yan peacefully.” If that lawless little Abyss Devil Ling’er comes along … Three women in one play, maybe it’s a martial art show. Moreover, they are also performing martial arts together. I’ll pretend to be cannon fodder armor and dragon set B.

“Miserable!” Qin Mubai cried out involuntarily, then revealed a bitter smile on his face.

“Haha!” Li Ke and Zheng Anshun laughed cunningly and complacently.

“The ocean is overflowing. Only then will I show heroic qualities! I’m not afraid of them!” Qin Mu’s liquor exploded. She slapped the table and drank this sentence with righteousness. Then, she glared at the two people in front of her with contempt and scolded, “It’s only in times of crisis that I know that the world is blazing. I can see you clearly!”

“Hahaha!” Li Ke and Zheng Anshun, however, laughed even more rampantly and almost burst into tears.

At this time, a woman hurriedly walked into the hall and said to the three people, “Hey, keep your voices down. The princess has just gone to bed. Don’t wake her up!”

The three of them saw that it was Su Lianqing, who had just entered the manor to become the Princess’ personal maid and bodyguard.

Li Ke feigned anger and said, “There are no rules! Are you talking to this king like this? The princess can’t sleep well, take two balls of cotton and bet on her ears!”

“No, no.” Qin Mubai hurriedly waved his hand, “Your Highness, we’d better keep our voices down. Su Lianqing, go back and serve the princess!”

“I know!” Su Lianqing curled her lips and pouted, “Three drunks.” She went away sullenly.

Qin Mubai asked, “Your Highness, I heard that the princess is seriously ill. How is it?”

“Hey, don’t mention it!” Li Ke knocked on the table angrily and said, “Ever since she got married, her body hasn’t recovered.” All year round, he never left the medicine jar. I don’t understand. How could her body be so weak? Didn’t I get demoted back to Chang’an at the beginning of last year, when she was in labor and could not withstand the bumpy journey, so she stayed in Anzhou to rest and not accompany her. Soon after, she gave birth to her daughter, and her body became weaker and weaker. Not long ago, he was kidnapped by the water ghost, and he received some shock and excitement. After returning to the manor, there were twelve hours a day, and eleven hours on the couch, looking like a cripple. Don’t scold me for being disheartened. For the sake of her illness, I went to ask for medicine and worship the gods and buddhas. It’s really a lot of trouble. However, there was no improvement at all. Because of her poor health, I have never married a woman in the future for fear of provoking her. ”

“Just because you don’t have a concubine doesn’t mean you don’t have other women.” Qin Mubai said, “Your Highness, it is said that a ruined wife cannot be abandoned. Don’t be impatient.”

“That’s not true. I just feel a little annoyed. I don’t know how to cure her illness.” Li Ke frowned and said, “Love is love, love is love. I have always been very clear about this.”

“Looks like you’ve already reached a certain level of romance.” Qin Mubai smiled mischievously. “I heard that the princess and your mother are still relatives, and they have the blood of the former Sui royal family. This marriage can be considered a match for each other!”

Li Ke smiled indifferently and said, “To be honest, I only married her on orders. We don’t have any deep feelings for each other. We have always been respectful to each other at most. However, I will definitely not abandon the kindness of a husband and wife for a hundred days.”

“That’s good. It’s only a man’s true colors that attach importance to love and righteousness and have a beginning and an end.” Qin Mubai nodded.

Li Ke knew that Qin Mubai had something to say, but he didn’t make it clear and nodded vaguely. In his heart, he couldn’t help but think of Qin Shuang’er who was far away in Chang’an, and couldn’t help but feel a trace of inexplicable sadness in his heart. It had been so many years, but the two of them had never been together before. Seeing that Wu Meiniang and Gaoyang were coming to Chang’an, Li Ke’s heart was filled with jealousy and thoughts. But when he thought of the princess lying in bed, he could only suppress this thought in his heart and didn’t dare to say it out loud.

Zheng Anshun was a clever person. Seeing Qin Mubai and Li Ke fell into silence thoughtfully, he knew that both of them were thinking about something, so he took the initiative to provoke the topic and divert their attention, breaking the silence for a moment.

“Gentlemen, this wine is getting cold.”

“Oh?” Li Ke came back to his senses and called out, “Someone, change the wine!”

After changing the drinks and dishes, the three of them continued to eat and drink. Li Ke suddenly remembered something and said, “Oh right, I was so happy that I almost forgot! Mubai, do you still remember Zhao Chong on death row?”

“I remember. What’s wrong?” Qin Mubai asked.

“He sent word to Prison Child that he would see you again before he left.” Li Ke curled his lips and said, “It is customary for prisoners to have a sumptuous beheaded meal to fulfill a punishment wish like ‘Noodle Party Family’. However, Zhao Chong’s punishment wish is not to see any family, but to see you. How strange!”

“If I don’t go, does that mean that I’m disrespectful to the deceased and he won’t die in peace?” Qin Mubai asked.

“That’s pretty much what I mean! Normally, no matter how ferocious a death row is, as long as his punishment wish is not too excessive, it will be satisfied.” Li Ke said, “Besides, will you not go?”

“Of course.” Qin Mubai raised the corner of his mouth and smiled, “As you know, my curiosity has always been very strong.”

Death row inmates were executed in the autumn, and Zhao Chong still had some time to live on death row. Moreover, the Great Tang of Zhenguan had always advocated “prudent punishment.” That was, those condemned to death must be sent to Chang’an in a unified manner, and only after the Emperor gave his approval would they be able to execute them in the autumn. Moreover, Li Shimin had to personally patrol the prison before the execution. If a condemned prisoner cries out for redress, the case will be reopened.

It was precisely because of this that a few years ago, Li Shimin’s visit to prison left behind a legend. On that occasion, as usual, he patrolled the prison before the autumn sentence. There were 390 death row inmates, but none of them cried out for redress. Li Shimin suddenly thought of letting these people go home to celebrate the New Year. After the autumn harvest, he would return to prison to receive punishment.

It sounded like a fantasy, but Li Shimin did. One had to know that this era did not have high-tech tracking technology, let alone chasing after them online.

However, what was truly fantastic was that after the autumn harvest of the following year, all 390 death row inmates had truly returned, and there were quite a few of them! A few of them were also young and strong. After returning home, they allowed their daughter-in-law to conceive, allowing the family to have a follow-up incense fire. In the end, under the supervision of their hometown’s son, they came to Chang’an with a thankful heart to die!

Li Shimin and the others were touched. When these 390 prisoners were released from death row, they returned to their families and became good citizens.

Unfortunately, there was only one such incident in Chinese history, and it would only happen once. Even Li Shimin wouldn’t do it again. Otherwise, the law will be illegal.

After the banquet ended that night, Li Ke left Qin Mubai and Zheng Anshun to sleep in the secretariat’s mansion. Qin Mubai saw that it was still early and did not feel sleepy. He took a pot of wine and called for the manor official to lead the way. He went to the prison and visited Zhao Chong.

As a felon on death row, Zhao Chong was held incommunicado in the iron cell Qin Mubai had seen before.

The iron door opened and Zhao Chong sat on the straw against the wall. He looked up at Qin Mubai and smiled, “I knew you would definitely come.”

Qin Mubai ordered the prison to close the door from the outside. He walked to his side and sat down on the haystack. He shook the wine jug in his hand and said, “Want a sip?”

“You’ve already drunk quite a bit. Give me this jug!” Zhao Chong didn’t stand on ceremony either. He reached out with his shackled hands and grabbed the wine jug. He pulled out the plug and poured it down his mouth, sprinkling half of his body wet.

“Happy! It’s really good wine!” Zhao Chong took a deep breath and smacked his lips. He looked at Qin Mubai and said, “You’re very curious, aren’t you? Are you guessing why I called you here?”

“Yes.” Qin Mubai nodded and admitted.

“You’re very smart, so I want you to do me a favor.” Zhao Chong said, “There’s a secret left behind by my grandfather, but it hasn’t been solved since my father’s hand, so I can’t do it.”

“What secret?” Qin Mubai asked.

“I’m not too sure either. My grandfather gave it to my father when he was dying. Unfortunately, he died before he could finish his sentence.” Zhao Chong said, “My father pondered for half his life, and I also pondered for nearly twenty years. I never understood what this secret was about. Although I don’t know what it is, I vaguely feel that it may be a treasure, or it may be a major secret that has been sealed in the dust for a long time and forgotten by the world.”

“Oh?” Qin Mubai raised an eyebrow with interest, “You mean, the treasure map?”

“Probably something.” Zhao Chong nodded. He looked at Qin Mubai seriously and said, “Originally, I wanted to bring this secret to the ground together.” Afterwards, he was still unwilling to accept it. It’s not that I’m reluctant to part with any treasures, but that I’m unwilling to lose to this secret. It’s not that I boast. I haven’t met anyone smarter than me in all these years who deserves me to study this secret together. Later, I finally met an opponent, but unfortunately, he was the one who dug my grave for me. It can be said that I am both regretful and gratified to bump into you. “General Qin, you are much smarter than me. If you were to solve this secret, you would definitely be able to!”

“If you trust me, I can give it a try.” Qin Mubai was also very interested, so he nodded.

“I even invited you here with my Punishment Wish. Can I trust you?” Zhao Chong grinned and said, “I’m not interested in any treasures or secrets. I just want to see someone solve this secret with my own eyes. It has been our father and son’s long-cherished wish for many years.”

“Alright, I’ll help you.” Qin Mubai nodded and said, “If I can break it before the Autumn Punishment, I will definitely send someone to Chang’an to tell you the secret.”

“Thank you!” Zhao Chong nodded solemnly and walked to the door with vigilance. He waved to Qin Mubai and asked him to come over.

Without the slightest hesitation, Qin Mubai stretched his head over and Zhao Chong smiled, “General Qin, aren’t you afraid that I’ll grab you and strangle you with chains?”

“You won’t.” Qin Mubai smiled indifferently, “Hurry up and tell me!”

Zhao Chong stared at Qin Mubai for a moment. He nodded and smiled, “He is indeed a character. Alright, I’ll tell you where the blueprint is! I only have one request. I don’t care what you do with the blueprint and the treasure that may exist, but if you solve the secret, you must let me know whether I am in the mortal world or the underworld!”

“I promise.”

…

After leaving the prison, Qin Mu rushed to the place where Zhao Chong had mentioned-the Zhao Clan’s old mansion-without stopping. It was not far from the prison.

Zhao Chong used to pick up Night Fragrance, but there were no other things in the house, so he only had a lot of dung buckets. It had been a long time since he had lived in the backyard, and there were weeds and piles of manure. Although it had been useless for some years, the stench still lingered.

Qin Mubai covered her nose and mouth with a masked scarf tied at the corner of her robe, and endured the stench as she flipped through the dung buckets one by one. Finally, he found the dung bucket that Zhao Chong said was missing a bucket ear. He turned around and saw that the bottom was indeed very thick. He struggled to break the bucket, and the bottom of the bucket broke, revealing an extremely small layer of sandwiched material wrapped in oil paper.

Qin Mubai was delighted-that was it!

After returning the messy courtyard to its original state, Qin Mubai put on a small paper bag and returned to the guest room of the Secretariat Manor. Using the oil lamp to open the small bag, it turned out to be five pieces of thick oil paper that were about the size of ordinary books. They were all the same in shape and size, with some scattered lines drawn on them, and some words with incoherent meanings written on them.

Qin Mubai tried to spell it back and forth, but he couldn’t spell out any shape, nor could he comprehend the words.

After pondering for a long time, he was completely confused and didn’t have a clue.

He couldn’t help but laugh. He thought to himself, if it was just a simple piece of work, then why should I do it? Don’t worry, think about it slowly!

Regardless of his treasure secrets, Qin Mubai was not in a hurry. He put away the paper and fell asleep peacefully. She slept on a couch for a night without a dream until she woke up in the morning.

Li Ke had already gone to the government office to handle official business. Perhaps he was grounded in Chang’an for a year and suffered enough, but Li Ke really changed his appearance and became much more diligent. Every day, he came to the yamen to deal with public property. He paid close attention to everything, and spent most of his energy on government affairs. In the past, when he was the Governor of Anzhou, he only remembered that he was a prince and didn’t care about the so-called Governor. Therefore, he spent ninety percent of his energy on eating, drinking, and entertainment, and used a bit of his mind to carry out his official duties, which was still a sloppy and perfunctory task.

The backyard of the Prefecture, where Li Ke lived, was very large. All the officials and QinBing in the Prefecture could live here.

Qin Mubai heard a roar of slaughter coming from the backyard. He knew that it was the QinBing of the Prince’s Mansion who were training in the morning. With a thought, he decided to take a look.

Right now, the commander of the Palace’s QinBing was already the Divine Army’s Lieutenant Xue RenGui. There were also two deputies, Yin Yang and YuWen HongTai. I wonder how well the three of them have trained the new recruits of the Wu Palace? There was also Xue Rengui. Although he had talent and potential, he didn’t have any military experience. What was the appearance of the morning training he presided over?

Qin Mubai was very curious and strode towards the school grounds. He was still thinking of a good way to trick Xue Rengui from being an “iron rooster” like Li Ke and borrow it for a period of time.