As a guard of the Nanjing East Palace, Shen Buci might not be a match for Dongling's national master, but he was more than enough to deal with a fish killer. Zhao Mian gave an order, and after an incense stick, Li Er was caught off guard and put in a sack on his way home, and then taken to Zhao Mian's room.
Zhao Mian sat behind a landscape screen, drinking freshly brewed tea. This tea was specially brought from Nanjing, called "Dian Chunzhi", and only one cup was worth a thousand gold.
When you are away from home, your food, clothing, shelter and transportation are naturally not comparable to those in the Eastern Palace, but Zhou Huairang and Shen Buci are still trying their best to maintain the noble life of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. Take this Chunzhi for example, it has an excellent throat rhyme, and it is like being bathed in spring breeze when you taste it. It is unique to Nanjing and Shangjing. It is difficult to find the best quality in ordinary noble families. The best can only be found in the palace.
The house was filled with the aroma of tea, which seeped into one's lungs, as if spring was endless and the years were peaceful - if there wasn't that thing struggling in the sack outside the screen.
Shen Buci said, "Sir, the person has been brought here."
Zhao Mian asked: "In your opinion, does this person have any kung fu?"
The fish killer: “Woo woo woo woo…”
Shen Buci said: "No."
Zhao Mian asked again: "Is it really not there, or does it just seem like it is not there?"
Shen Buci carefully recalled the scene at that time. When he followed behind Li Er, he followed His Highness's instructions and deliberately made some noise. He waited for Li Er to look back and check the situation like a normal person before he took action.
His movements were neither fast nor slow, enough to give an adult man time to resist. Li Er did resist, but he only had strength and no skills, and did not look like a man with martial arts skills.
Shen Buci said: "It should be true that there is none."
The fish killer: “Woo, woo, woo…!”
Because of the cloth stuffed in his mouth, the fish killer couldn't make any sound for a long time. Zhao Mian was annoyed by the noise and raised his hand to signal Shen Buci to remove the sack and cloth from Li Er.
As soon as Li Er's mouth was free again, he shouted without hesitation: "Help! Murder and kidnapping, help! Hurry up and help!"
Zhao Mian didn't want to talk to the fish killer and gave Zhou Huairang a look.
Zhou Huairang walked over to Li Er and squatted down. The unpleasant fishy smell hit him in the face. He stared at Li Er for a long time. Li Er was stared at so hard that his whole body was numb, but he still tried to ask for help: "Help?"
Zhou Huairang wanted to find something extraordinary on Li Er's face, but he couldn't find it after searching for a long time. He sighed, looked up at Shen Buci who was suppressing Li Er, and said, "Show me his hands."
Shen Buci grabbed Li Er's arm and forced him to stretch out his hand.
Zhou Huairang stared with his eyes wide open, and with the same concentration as when he and His Highness played the game of finding faults together when they were young, he carefully observed Li Er's wrist. His brows were furrowed more and more, and his eyes were getting closer and closer to Li Er's wrist, but he could still only see a piece of black skin.
Zhou Huairang refused to give up easily: "Old Shen, let's move to the lamp - I don't believe it!"
The sound of tea cups clinking came from behind the screen. Zhou Huairang knew that His Highness was getting impatient. His eyes opened wider and his eyes were so sore that he almost cried.
Under the pressure from His Highness and his unremitting efforts, he finally saw a red line on Li Er's wrist that was exactly the same as the one on His Highness's wrist.
"Found it, there really is a red line." Zhou Huairang shouted, "Sir, it's him!"
There was silence behind the screen for a few moments, and then a "hmm" with an indecipherable emotion was heard.
Zhou Huairang asked Li Er: "Big brother, your name is Li Er, right?"
Li Er shook his head repeatedly: "I am not me, I am not me, you have recognized the wrong person."
"Your reaction shows that you are. Li Er, I know you are anxious, but don't be anxious, listen to me slowly." Zhou Huairang said kindly, "We know that you were chosen by the national teacher, there is a red line on your wrist, and there is poison in your body. My son is the same as you... Do you understand what I mean?"
Li Er suddenly realized: "Oh, you are here to force me to get married."
Zhou Huairang was a little confused: "What are you forcing?"
"I don't want it, I don't want to marry. I don't want to marry, I don't want it." Li Er was very emotional. If he hadn't been held down by Shen Buci, he would have jumped up. "Please let me go, please. As long as we don't get married, I'm willing to do anything—"
Zhou Huairang was even more confused: "You don't want it? If you don't want it, why would you go to Qinghui Building?"
"I'm going to find you to break off the engagement."
Shen Buci and Zhou Huairang looked at each other. After that, Zhou Huairang asked, "Do you know who you are breaking off the engagement with?"
"I won't marry anyone."
Zhou Huairang glanced at the screen secretly and said almost in a whisper: "Even if he is... a rare beauty?"
"I won't marry her. No matter how beautiful she is, she can't compare to my Miss Zhao." Li Er kept talking to himself, "I have worked hard to keep my virginity for Miss Zhao for 32 years. How can I just give it up just because I was poisoned? God has no eyes—"
Zhou Huairang couldn't help but ask, "Who is Miss Zhao?"
"She is the daughter of the tofu seller next door. She has been engaged to me since she was a child. Although she has already..." Li Er closed his eyes in pain, "Brother, please let me go. A forced melon is not sweet!"
Zhou Huairang did not expect the fish killer to be so affectionate and loyal, and reminded him: "If you don't marry, if you can't find the antidote, you will die."
The fish killer opened his eyes and said righteously: "A real man would rather die than surrender. I, Li Er, would rather die than marry. Come, kill me."
Zhou Huairang was stunned. Was it his illusion? Why did he feel that Li Er was more humiliated than his own prince in being forced to tie the red string
"If you insist on forcing me to get married, I will die right now." Li Er looked around, as if he had given up everything. "I will hit my head against the wall, hang myself on the beam, or stew myself to death in an iron pot."
Zhou Huairang didn't know what to say. He went back behind the screen and looked at His Highness's expression: "Your Highness, look..."
His Royal Highness the Crown Prince prefers light orange and yellow colors. Today he was dressed in pine flower color, which looked like pine petals falling on gold powder, making his face look as precious as Xiuyan jade and as bright as a pearl.
At this moment, His Highness, who was being adored by everyone, seemed a little stunned, with a hint of disbelief in his tone: "He... is he disliking me?"
Zhou Huairang scratched his head: "This..."
As the "Friend of the Crown Prince" appointed by the Emperor, Zhou Huairang believed that among his peers, no one knew His Royal Highness the Crown Prince better than him.
His Royal Highness was born noble and had such a beautiful appearance. Even if he didn't show his status to others, he could still attract the admiration of countless men and women. His Royal Highness had always been the only one who looked down on others, so it was never the turn of others to look down on His Royal Highness.
Take the matter of the red thread for example. It is certainly a real humiliation for His Highness, but for Li Er, shouldn’t this be a great joyous event where a beauty falls from the sky
"Sir, calm down." Zhou Huairang whispered, "The fish killer hasn't seen you yet. When he has the honor of seeing your true appearance, he will definitely..."
Zhao Mian looked at Zhou Huairang as if he was a fool: "We haven't even figured out his true identity yet, and I let him see his true appearance, am I stupid?"
He stood up and walked to the screen. Li Er also noticed the movement behind the screen. The two looked at each other across the screen, and Zhao Mian only saw a large black area. He wanted to look down at the other person, but he found that the fish killer was half a head taller than him.
Li Er looked at the blurry figure behind the screen, then lowered his head and saw a pair of golden boots through the gap in the screen.
He asked, "You are... 'Young Master'?"
"it's me."
Li Er was stunned for a moment, and muttered to himself, "It's useless even if the voice sounds nice."
Li Er told the truth: "If you ask me this, then I still feel a little wronged."
Just as Zhao Mian was about to explode, he heard Li Er say, "But I also want to ask you, do you dislike me?"
"What do you think?" Zhao Mian took a step forward and said sincerely, "I'm almost sick of it."
Li Er breathed a sigh of relief: "Does that mean I don't have to marry you?"
Zhao Mian got even more angry after hearing this. How could a fishmonger say this to him? But he changed his mind and thought about his status. There was no need to bother with such a person.
The premise is that this person is really just a fish killer.
Zhao Mian said: "I won't force you to marry me."
The surprise of escaping a disaster came so suddenly that Li Er couldn't believe it: "Really?"
Zhao Mian said: "A gentleman's word is his bond."
Li Er was so moved that he thanked the screen repeatedly: "Sir, you are such a good man. You will surely live a long life and have many children and grandchildren in the future." He looked at Shen Buci, then at Zhou Huairang, "You too."
Zhou Huairang's mouth twitched: "Thank you."
"You can go now." Zhao Mian said coldly, "Go back and wait for death."
Li Er's gaze returned to the screen again, and he said with embarrassment: "Although I am not afraid of death, I still don't want to die. You definitely don't want to die either, right?"
Zhao Mian ignored him and watched quietly to see what tricks the black-skinned fishmonger was going to play.
Li Er seemed to take it as his acquiescence: "It seems that we have reached a consensus?"
Zhao Mian raised his eyebrows: "Consensus?"
Under such circumstances, Li Er actually laughed: "Let's stop arguing and go to the Imperial Master to grab the antidote together."
This smile made Zhao Mian suddenly feel that something was wrong.
Rob? Is this person really from Dongling
The current Emperor of Dongling was just a puppet, and the Queen Mother was the one who controlled the government. The Imperial Master was the Queen Mother's fellow disciple, and it was no exaggeration to say that he was second only to the Queen Mother and above all others.
The Queen Mother of Dongling was very indulgent to his junior brother. As long as he didn't do anything that would lead to the demise of Dongling, she would let him do whatever he wanted. Unfortunately, the Dongling State Master was an unpredictable and sinister figure. The common people of Dongling knew what the consequences would be if they disobeyed the State Master's wishes. At the very least, they would suffer a fate worse than death, and at the worst, their entire family would be exterminated.
If Li Er was a native of Dongling, he would be filled with awe just by hearing the word "imperial master". How could he dare to go against him
"If we don't get married, we have no choice but to wait for death and find an antidote." Li Er seemed to have guessed what Zhao Mian was thinking and said, "Anyway, I'm an old bachelor and my family members have all died a long time ago. I'm not afraid of anything."
Zhao Mian sneered: "If we want to find an antidote, we can do it on our own. What's the point of bringing you along? Are you that powerful?"
Li Er thought for a moment and asked, "Do you like fish?"
Damn, he quite likes to eat.
Zhao Mian said: "Then kill a fish for me now. If you kill it well, I can consider taking you with me."
Li Er was full of confidence: "OK, catch the fish."
Zhao Mian said: "Kill him with a sack on your head."
Li Er: "What am I wearing?"
Zhao Mian laughed and said, "Practice makes perfect. You have been killing fish for ten years, can't you be blind in your eyes but not in your heart?"
"This..." Li Er looked embarrassed, "I'll try, I'll try."
Soon, Zhou Huairang prepared the fish, chopping board and kitchen knife needed for the fish-killing show.
Li Er was pushed to the table, still wearing a sack on his head. He picked up the kitchen knife, twirled it in his hand in a fancy way, and said with a smile, "It feels good."
The butcher took a deep breath, held the still alive fish in his hands, knocked the fish unconscious with the handle of the knife, then removed the scales, cut open the belly and dug out the internal organs - the whole process was done in one go and was very skillful.
After the task was completed, Li Er asked expectantly, "How was it? Did I kill well?"
Zhou Huairang whispered in Zhao Mian's ear: "Sir, it seems that he really is a fish killer."
Zhao Mian was silent for a moment, then ordered Shen Buci: "Take him away."
"Hmm? Where are you taking me now? Do you want to take me with you to find the antidote?" Li Er shouted unwillingly as he was dragged away, "At least give me a definite answer—"
"Remember to take him to take a bath." Zhao Mian wrinkled his nose in disgust, "He stinks."
Li Er: “…”
After the fish killer was taken away, Zhou Huairang asked, "Your Highness, didn't you say before that if you couldn't get the answer, you would torture him severely? Why didn't you torture him?"
"No hurry. If the fish killer really has another identity, he will be exposed sooner or later." Zhao Mian paused and said, "Besides, my father hates torture."
Zhou Huairang smiled and said, "Your Highness really doesn't want to do anything that His Majesty doesn't like."
Recently, unexpected things have happened one after another, which has been very stressful. Zhao Mian pressed his eyebrows with a slightly tired look and asked, "Is there any news from Bai Yu?"
Shen Buci said, "Divine Doctor Bai has learned that Your Highness has been poisoned. She suggested that Your Highness go to Dongling Kyoto, because the rare and precious herbs needed to prepare the antidote can only be found in Wanhua Meng's residence, Nangong. She will also rush to Kyoto in advance to wait for Your Highness."
Zhao Mian felt better: "So, she still has a way to get rid of the poison, and she is not eating for free in the East Palace." As he said this, he glanced at Shen Buci.
Shen Buci: “…”
Zhao Mian said: "Pack up and set off tomorrow."
Zhou Huairang asked: "Your Highness, should we take Li Er with us?"
Zhao Mian said without hesitation: "Yes. Before leaving the city, you should investigate this Li Er in detail."
Just now he was pressing forward and testing the fish killer, who seemed passive and kept talking nonsense, but in fact he had a clear purpose and was neither arrogant nor humble, as if he came prepared.
Can an ordinary fishmonger do this? If he believed it, he would not be worthy of the surname Zhao.
(End of this chapter)