Zhao Mian ordered people to fetch a few basins of water and pour the medicine in. Everything was ready, and Li Er consciously stood in front of the basin to wash his face.
"Wait a minute," Zhao Mian called him, and while adjusting his sleeves, he condescended to say, "I'll help you wash it."
Li Ercai didn't believe that such a good thing would happen: "I don't want to trouble you, I can..."
Before he uttered the last word "以", Zhao Mian raised his hand to the back of Li Er's head, and taking advantage of his unpreparedness, he quickly and accurately pushed Li Er's head into the water.
The moment his face hit the water, Li Er instinctively closed his eyes, but he reacted quickly enough and was not choked, so he did not look in such a mess.
At least he wasn't as embarrassed as when Zhao Mian was forced to kneel down by him.
Zhao Mian was unhappy, and he wanted to see how long Li Er could hold it in.
He counted in his mind, and when he counted to one hundred, Li Er was still lying obediently in his hands. He didn't struggle, nor did he make any gurgling sounds. He was very calm.
Zhao Mian's brows were slightly furrowed. Could it be that the fish killer was suffocated to death? That would be a happy event.
Zhao Mian had a sullen face, thinking about asking Zhou Huairang to set off firecrackers to celebrate, and then let go of his hand.
Li Er straightened up and took a deep breath. His head left an afterimage, like a large dog falling into the water. "That was a close call. I almost suffocated to death."
Zhao Mian's face was splashed with water droplets, and his forehead was throbbing. Zhou Huairang quickly took out his handkerchief and wiped his face.
Li Er closed his eyes and stretched out his hand to Zhao Mian as if nothing had happened: "Give me the handkerchief."
Zhao Mian's forehead twitched even more. What was wrong with the tone of this commanding voice? Did the butcher really think he was helping him wash his face? He said in a very cold voice: "No."
Li Er wiped his face with his hands, opened his eyes, and took the initiative to approach Zhao Mian: "Come and see if I washed it clean?"
As he got closer, drops of water slid down his nose and fell on the yellow hem of Zhao Mianxin's clothes.
Zhao Mian seriously suspected that this was another opportunity for Li Er to take revenge.
He frowned and took a half step back. Because they were too close and there was a big height difference, he had to look up and cast a sharp look at Li Er.
After being immersed in the potion for so long, Li Er's dark skin did not fade at all. Not only that, Zhao Mian looked at his face again and again, and did not see any abnormalities such as peeling or cracking.
Also, when you take a closer look, Li Er’s pupils… are indeed the only eye-catching part of his face.
Zhao Mian withdrew his gaze expressionlessly.
Don't panic, just try a potion.
Zhao Mian said: "Continue."
Li Er tried every potion, but his black skin remained as still as a mountain. Zhou Huairang almost lay on Li Er's face to look for it, but he still couldn't find any flaws.
Li Er's face was wet. He tilted his upper body, walked around Zhou Huairang who was blocking his way, and looked at Zhao Mian, as if to say, "What else do you want me to do? Tell me."
Zhao Mian suppressed his anger, but his voice still sounded like gnashing his teeth: "Don't think you can fool me by pretending to be an ugly man."
Li Er looked at him, not wanting to laugh, neither admitting nor denying, and just said: "What you said is too hurtful, it's not that ugly."
Zhao Mian realized that he might be angered by Hei Pi again. In order to maintain his demeanor and rationality, he slowly took a deep breath and closed his eyes. Zhou Huairang leaned close to his ear and whispered, "Sir, should we kill Li Ercha first?"
Zhao Mian closed his eyes and said nothing until he felt he had calmed down enough, then he opened his eyes. Just as he was about to speak, there was a new movement outside the door.
"Sir," a steady voice sounded as the door was knocked, "I am back to report."
Zhou Huairang was very happy: "Old Shen is back!"
Zhao Mian was delighted. If anyone could bring changes to the situation now, it would be Shen Buci.
Zhao Mian said: "Come in."
Shen Buci walked in through the door, exhausted. Seeing Li Er and His Royal Highness standing together, his eyes darkened and he immediately placed his hand on the hilt of his sword, ready to strike. As long as His Royal Highness gave the order, he could execute Li Er on the spot at any time.
Li Er didn't have much ill will towards his former opponent, and said with a smile: "Don't be nervous, I'm not here to fight."
"Don't pay attention to him." Zhao Mian said, "How is the investigation going?"
Shen Buci then withdrew his gaze, walked to Zhao Mian, whispered two words in a voice that only the two of them could hear, and said two things.
The first thing was within Zhao Mian's expectations, and Zhao Mian's expression remained unchanged after hearing it, and he did not react much. But when Shen Buci said the second thing, Zhao Mian was startled at first, and then he raised his eyes and looked at Li Er.
Li Er also looked at him, watching his eyes gradually brighten up and the corners of his mouth curl up little by little. He was in a good mood, even excited.
When the young man, who is as beautiful as a flower in the world, is happy, his eyes move in the extreme colors, so bright and dazzling that people can't take their eyes away.
Li Er looked at him for a while, then asked with a smile, "What are you so happy about?"
The young man signaled his subordinates to make him a cup of hot tea. He picked up the teacup, lowered his eyes and gently blew out the hot air, looking completely relaxed and as pretentious as he could be.
But the boy's face was so handsome that even though I knew he was pretending again, I was willing to indulge him.
No way.
Li Er turned his head away and didn't look at Zhao Mian. He said to Zhou Huairang, "Your son's old habit of acting pretentiously has come back again."
Zhou Huairang was furious and glared at him, "Are you looking for death? How can you talk like that? Do you know..."
Zhao Mian raised his hand to stop Zhou Huairang from chattering. He had already made up his mind, so it was not a bad idea to be merciful and let Li Er talk a little. "Li Er, do you still remember the Liu family that was forced to be a matchmaker by Wan Huameng before us?"
Li Er nodded: "I remember. Later I heard that the Liu family had disappeared and were taken away by Wan Huameng to raise Gu."
Zhao Mian said casually: "I found them."
"Huh?" Li Er was a little surprised. "You found them in Nangong?"
Zhao Mian said: "No, I found them in a few counties not far from Kyoto."
In the past few days, Shen Buci first followed Zhao Mian's instructions and followed the villagers from Chenjia Village who went to the market to the county town, where he waited for the big customer who had made an appointment with the villagers before.
Although the big customer was dressed simply and looked no different from an ordinary villager, he was extremely generous and bought enough food for seven or eight people at once.
Shen Buci followed the clues and tracked the important customer back to his hiding place, and sure enough, he saw a familiar face - Liu Zhun, the steward of the Liu Mansion who was responsible for receiving them.
Liu Zhun brought several servants from the Liu Mansion and claimed that they were a large family fleeing from famine, living in anonymity in a small place.
Afterwards, Shen Buci searched in no less than ten counties and villages around Kyoto, and found some results in each of them. There were several people from the Liu Mansion hiding in each place, more than a hundred people in total, but he never saw the figures of Mr. Liu and Mrs. Liu.
Shen Buci guessed that Master Liu and the others must be hiding more secretly and needed a more in-depth investigation. He didn't have that much time, so he left some people to keep an eye on Liu Zhun and the others, and he went to Kyoto to meet up with His Highness first.
"These people in the Liu Mansion are neither being hunted nor have they shown any signs of being poisoned." Zhao Mian said, "Then why are they running?"
Li Er thought for a moment and said, "Perhaps he was afraid that Wan Huameng would be angry with the entire Liu Mansion because of Miss Liu's suicide, so he ran away first?"
Zhao Mian nodded in agreement: "Perhaps. Or perhaps, someone instigated them to do this in order to let Wan Huameng take the blame, add to Wan Huameng's evil deeds, and put him in a position where everyone is the target of criticism."
Li Er smiled and said, "Your idea is quite interesting. If that's the case, we should thank this person. The enemy of my enemy is my friend."
Haha, you're still playing dumb with him.
"There is something more interesting." Zhao Mian smiled slightly, "On the way to find Liu's family, we also found someone."
Li Er's curiosity was aroused: "Who?"
Zhao Mian said to Shen Buci: "Bring him in."
Everyone looked towards the door at the same time.
A man was pushed in. He was very tall, and his skin was as dark as if he had lived in the desert for a long time. Although he was the tallest person in the room, he was hunched over, timid, with his neck lowered, his eyes numb and he dared not look at them, looking like he had worked hard for most of his life.
Li Er raised his eyebrows slightly.
Zhou Huairang looked at Li Er, then at the man, as if he had swallowed a duck egg, with his mouth wide open: "This..."
—This man looks exactly like Li Er.
Shen Buci made a thorough investigation and was able to confirm that this person was the real Li Er who had killed fish for twenty years and whose fiancée died.
Not long ago, a strange stranger found him, gave him the money he could earn by killing 8,000 fish, and asked him to leave Chongzhou, the farther the better, and it would be best if he could take a boat out to sea and take a look at the other side of the sea.
Before leaving, the strange stranger humbly asked him for some advice on how to kill fish. It must be said that the stranger was very talented in killing fish. After practicing for half an hour, he was able to kill fish with a knife like a pro, and it was easy for him to fool an amateur.
Zhou Huairang was quite excited, pointing at Li Er and saying, "Li Er, you said you didn't disguise yourself!"
Li Er said confidently: "I never said that."
Zhou Huairang said: "So you admit that you used someone else's face?!"
Li Er crossed his arms: "Admit it."
Zhao Mian raised his hand, and the real Li Er was taken away. He looked at the fake Li Er and asked, "Did you confess on your own, or did I force you to confess?"
Li Er asked back: "What do you want me to confess?"
"You keep saying you want to form an alliance with me, but you refuse to show your true face. How can I trust you when I can't see your sincerity?"
Li Er laughed: "Even if I confess, how can you know whether what I said is true or false?"
"You don't have to worry about that." Zhao Mian said, "I have my own way."
Li Er lowered his head and pondered for a long time, his expression changing unpredictably. Finally, as if he had made a great decision, he said, "Okay, then I'll tell you, actually..."
Li Er stopped talking halfway when he saw that he was about to get to the key information, obviously trying to create a tense atmosphere.
Zhao Mianli didn't bother to pay attention to him and continued drinking his tea.
Li Er, who was not welcomed by anyone, took a deep breath and said, "Actually, I am from Xixia."
Zhao Mian said indifferently: "Oh."
Li Er continued, "I was originally a first-class guard in the Xixia Imperial Palace. After the fall of Xixia, I was lucky enough to survive until now. I brought the remaining guards to Dongling and lay dormant for two years, waiting for the right opportunity to restore the country. I don't want to show my true face because I'm afraid that the secret agents in Beiyuan will recognize me."
Zhou Huairang asked: "Why Dongling?"
"Where else can we go?" Li Er said self-deprecatingly, "Beiyuan or Nanjing? Xixia was destroyed by Beiyuan. Although Nanjing did not participate on the surface, it secretly provided Beiyuan with a lot of military equipment and food. The four words 'working together in cahoots' have been played out by the two countries. Only Dongling, which once had a good relationship with Xixia, may be able to accommodate the remnants of Xixia."
Zhou Huairang was clever for once: "If you say so, then so? Where's the evidence?"
Li Er said: "We Xixia Imperial Guards all carry a jade token with us. One for each person, unmatched in the world."
Zhao Mian had heard about this incident and it was true.
Zhou Huairang stretched out his hand and opened his palm: "Give it to me."
"I didn't bring it."
Zhou Huairang said firmly: "If you don't bring it, you don't have it!"
Li Er smiled, "It would be more suspicious if I had brought it with me. I came to you on my own initiative and brought with me a jade token that symbolizes my identity. Wouldn't it be exposed if you searched me? I was deliberately trying to lead you to discover me. Believe it or not, if I hand over the jade token now, your master will accuse me of lying again."
Zhou Huairang thought about it and it seemed to be true. He asked, "Where did you put the jade token?"
Li Er said leisurely: "Chongzhou."
Zhou Huairang was anxious: "It will take at least six days to go from Kyoto to Chongzhou and back!"
Li Er nodded: "That's right."
Zhou Huairang shouted angrily: "You are clearly stalling for time!"
Of course, Zhao Mian knew what Zhou Huairang could see. Even if he sent someone back to Chongzhou to get the so-called jade token, he still couldn't confirm Li Er's identity in the next six days.
But the question is, even if the jade token is finally found, can it prove that he is from Xixia? The jade token is separated from its owner and could be stolen by anyone.
Zhou Huairang had been led astray by Li Er and had obviously forgotten a key point. The fake Li Er said so much but was reluctant to take off his black leather mask.
The fake Li Er is not Li Er, and it is a foregone conclusion that he borrowed someone else's face. With Li Er's style of doing whatever he wants, he certainly doesn't have the patience to continue pretending, unless he has a compelling reason.
The reason why Li Er had to pretend was simple.
Because Li Er knew that his face was the best evidence to expose his identity.
Because Li Er had seen him, and he had also seen Li Er.
Because Li Er knew very well that as long as he showed his face, he would be recognized.
The two of them knew each other.
Zhao Mian had grown up to be 18 years old and knew countless people. Of these people, most were from Nanjing, and Li Er was obviously not from Nanjing. By excluding this, the scope of searching memory could be greatly narrowed.
Since he was old enough to understand, Zhao Mian was taken by his father and the prime minister to meet envoys from various countries. He had contact with the Three Kingdoms, which had a similar culture and deep roots with Nanjing, the small countries in Southeast Asia, and the Western island countries across the ocean.
He had met at least eight hundred foreign envoys, if not a thousand.
Among the nearly a thousand people, who would be Li Er
The fact that Li Er was so secretive proved that he was not a small figure who was forgotten after being seen. Perhaps he had left a deep impression on him and was an "old acquaintance" whom he could recognize at a glance.
The scope of the lockdown has been further reduced.
The disappearance of Liu Mansion, the extraordinary martial arts of Li Er and others, Li Er's extraordinary courage, the pride of a young man that he tried to hide but occasionally revealed inadvertently, and his difficult-to-remove disguise...
Figures flashed through Zhao Mian's mind one after another, from the recent to the past, from Western Xia to Nanyang. The memories were becoming more and more distant, but they were still clear because of his amazing memory.
In the end, he locked his eyes on a handful of people. As for the rest, he could only rely on his intuition to guess.
Who could it be.
The mist in Zhao Mian's eyes gradually dissipated. He looked at Li Er steadily, and after a long silence, he finally said, "I will send someone to find the jade token you mentioned."
Zhao Mian suddenly became so easy to talk to, which made Li Er a little surprised: "Is this true?"
Zhao Mian gave him a dignified smile, which was his usual smile when facing foreign envoys: "Really."
Li Er hesitated for a moment, his expression unconsciously becoming more sincere: "Actually, no matter who I am, I want to get rid of Wan Hua Meng and get the antidote, just like you do. You don't have to doubt it."
Zhao Mian did not comment, but said: "Since you are from Xixia, you should know why Xixia fell."
"I feel sad when you mention this." Li Er said sadly, "My Xixia Dynasty had eleven emperors and lasted for more than two hundred years. It was destroyed by Beiyuan two years ago."
Zhao Mian asked again: "Then do you know who is the culprit who destroyed Xixia?"
Li Er clenched his fists and said, "Of course it's that crazy Emperor Yuan."
Zhao Mian sneered: "Emperor Yuan is certainly the culprit, but the reason why Xixia fell so quickly was because of another person."
Li Er asked: "Who?"
Zhao Mian said slowly, "Two years ago, Beiyuan marched westwards and reached Lingzhou with unstoppable force. Xixia defended Lingzhou to the death, and Beiyuan lost countless soldiers, horses, money and food, but still could not take Lingzhou after a long siege."
"However, just when the Yuan army was at a loss, the battle situation suddenly took an unexpected turn."
"The commander of Lingzhou's defense died suddenly without any warning. Then, in the chaos of Lingzhou, the city gates were opened wide in the middle of the night, and the Yuan army was welcomed into the city."
"After the Yuan army entered the city, it was like entering an empty space. The Xixia army was demoralized and had no power to fight back. The Yuan army fought hard in Lingzhou for half a year. The last battle took only two days and one night to capture Lingzhou, a key defense town of Xixia."
"The one who opened the city gate was none other than the commander-in-chief, a forward he trusted the most. His name seemed to be..." Zhao Mian paused, pretending to think, "Ye Xiao."
"Rumor has it that after Ye Xiao had done all this, he stepped over the corpse of the commander he had assassinated with his blood-stained boots, climbed up the city gate wearing a dark red cloak, and looked down at the sea of blood and corpses all over the city. He only said one word - stupid."
"It's really so arrogant and presumptuous that it's outrageous."
"Later, people discovered that Ye Xiao was not the real Ye Xiao, but Emperor Yuan's second son, the sixteen-year-old Prince Heng of Beiyuan. Because he was crowned a king at the age of 16, people often called him the Little Prince."
"After this battle, the young prince became famous, and both fame and fortune came to him. Emperor Yuan was very pleased, calling him a sharp weapon for the country, and gave him full power over the Fuxue Tower, which he had cultivated himself and could control all affairs in the world." Zhao Mian smiled lightly and said as if watching a play, "I also heard that this incident made the crown prince of Beiyuan quite dissatisfied, and there was a big rift between the brothers because of it."
"After the fall of Lingzhou, Xixia had no more cities to defend and no more generals to use. Within three months, the capital was conquered by Yuan's army. The imperial guards fought to the death, but it was difficult to turn the tide. The palace fell, the young emperor and empress both committed suicide by slashing their swords, and the rest of the royal family leaders were captured. After more than 200 years, Xixia finally fell."
Zhao Mian was talking about what happened in another country two years ago, but his thoughts drifted back to Nanjing six years ago.
That year, the envoys from Beiyuan came to visit, and the emperor held a spring banquet in the garden. He skillfully performed the etiquette and grace that a prince of a great country should have, and respectfully accompanied the emperor.
When both the host and the guests were having a great time, a luxurious black dragon robe unexpectedly floated into his sight.
"When I was young, I was young and ignorant, and I offended Your Highness many times. Now I have come from afar to personally present you with a pearl and a pillow. I hope Your Highness will accept them with a smile and forgive my mistakes in the past."
The clear young voice, with a casual tone, is like the blooming of a new tung tree, the beauty of spring.
Zhao Mian, who was dressed in bright yellow court robes, raised his eyes slightly and met a pair of breeze-like eyes among the rustling peach blossoms.
Leaning on the railing and looking out, I feel so young.
Zhao Mian withdrew his thoughts and stopped smiling, looking at Li Er coldly.
Li Eryi looked back at him, his eyes were as sharp as torches, with an excitement that was difficult to suppress, as if he was a dozen years younger at this moment, like a boy the same age as Zhao Mian, who was excited because he finally found a playmate who was on equal terms with him.
Zhao Mian stared at Li Er's familiar eyes and said slowly, "Let me ask you, Li Er, are you the Little Prince of Beiyuan?"
(End of this chapter)