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A cramped and damp prison cell, a cold and hard stone bed, a layer of dry and thorny straw, and a dying oil lamp.

The crimson robe has faded, the official hat has been taken off, and a light and soft snow-white jacket is ironed and coldly clinging to the texture. The cold winter wind that sneaks in from the cracks in the stone bricks penetrates through the thin jacket and freezes into the bone marrow , the blood is getting colder, and the restless heart seems to be calm and relieved.

Tang Ci sat on the stone bed, straightened his back against the blue-black stone wall, and slightly closed his eyes.

When she was just thrown into the prison of the Criminal Ministry, her mind was in a mess. Shen Yi, the emperor, An Ning, King Sheng, Yici, Rou Ke, Qin Yan, Xu Qian, Yunzhou's adoptive parents and even Lu He were all intertwined and intertwined. The ground weaves into a net, both thin and dense, firmly imprisoning her in the self-comfort of being overwhelmed by the uncertainty of the future and the interdependence of blessings and misfortunes. There are too many things to worry about, thinking over and over again, thinking over and over, still There are too many people who are worried, thinking about it one by one, planning one by one, but still can't find a solution.

If you want to say regret, what Tang Ci regrets is that she can't keep calm, and she regrets so much that she can't wait to slap herself hard. Why did Yuqian Shenyi's empty words make her mess up and make people catch her hypocrisy?

If you say you don’t regret it, what Tang Ci doesn’t regret is that you can’t hold back. He didn’t listen to the advice of Qin Yan and others, but drafted the memorial book and spent sleepless nights mulling over his words. Advise and plead for mercy.The emperor can be ruthless, ignoring the brothers who are close to him by blood. Could it be that he is willing to follow his example and refuse to save him?Furthermore, King Sheng's matter cannot be saved. Although the death penalty cannot be escaped, there has never been an example since the beginning of the dynasty that not only the family members of the vassal king were not only tortured by the car, but also his wife and children were watching the punishment.How can public anger be used as an example to arrest a few literati?Water can carry a boat and it can capsize it. Even the emperor who is in the rank of Jiuzhong Jinkou Yuyan, if he wants to control the rivers, lakes and seas in the palm of his hand, it is delusional.

But the emperor is the emperor after all, you talk back to him and make him lose face in front of Limin Qianshou, even if he is not willing to go down the lower steps, he has to kick you down the high platform hard.When Tang Ci was young and was Princess Yongjia, he saw several ministers holding wats and admonishing him regardless of the occasion. Although his father was good-tempered and his admonitions had merits, he still kept the notes and did not publish them.Therefore, she chose to play it alone today when the public's anger has not diminished and the emperor's mood is not too bad, and when she played it, she also said something pleasant to the ear to listen to him, and set up a step for him to be a benevolent monarch and a filial son Give him the next.

A wise man is bound to make mistakes.She keeps every secret, but she forgets that there will always be villains who do bad things at critical moments.

The door lock "cracked"——

Tang Ci slowly opened his eyes, and smiled lazily and fearlessly: "Master Hu, what can I do to make you condescend to come to this dirty place?"

Hu Laiyan stepped into the door, followed by a slightly thin man, who was hidden in the darkness before he could see clearly, but now he managed to see his face clearly with the help of a lamp like a bean - Lu He.

Hu Laiyan touched his few strands of green beard, squinted his fox eyes and lowered his waist: "What did Master Tang say? You are a third-rank official of the imperial court, and you are also an established county horse of Prince Yu's Mansion. You may not know—— "He chuckled, he was very sinister, "Maybe it's the prince of the previous dynasty, how dare I be negligent, and I have to use my housekeeping skills to entertain Your Highness?"

"I don't quite understand Mr. Hu's words. What kind of prince?" Tang Ci tilted his head and thought for a while, then smiled suddenly, "It's because Mr. Shen didn't know where the two sentences came from. Listen to the words. If these words must be pressed on my head——Since Princess Rouke is my unmarried wife, how can I call Princess Anning "sister" to make people suspicious? To tell you the truth, this morning I I wanted to accompany Rou Ke to visit Sister An Ning."

Hu Laiyan laughed loudly, the cell was narrow, his laughter bumped from the west wall to the east wall, echoed and twisted, and was pressed under the ceiling, dull and annoying.

"Mr. Tang has a good literary talent and eloquence. I know myself. Even Tian Ji is not sure whether I can win the horse race." Hu Laiyan hooked his fingers back, and Lu He beside him gave way, and a jailer raised his hands Hu Laiyan came forward with a wooden tray, and Hu Laiyan waved his hand, "There are always rules for interrogation. Those ignorant common people call my place 'Ghost Seeing Sorrow', but I don't know that my place is very comfortable and comfortable. There are always some new tricks to play with every day, which will never make people feel empty..."

At that moment, a man's ghostly cry and wolf howl could be heard clearly and clearly from not far away. The cell was silent for a while, and there was a vague smell of blood mixed with the damp and rancid smell in the corridor, which made people sick .

Tang Ci's ten white and slender fingers resting on his knees trembled unconsciously. Hu Laiyan put his hands next to his ears, stretched his neck as if listening for a while, and said to Tang Ci, "Look Look, look, the Huzhou rice merchant who had contradicted Marquis Wu'an for no apparent reason was just put on his head by an iron hoop and served him for a while, so comfortable—" Suddenly he patted Lu He again, and said with a smile, "It's still you scholars after all. If you have a brain, you can wash away the grievances of Mr. Han and Mr. Xie with some tricks."

Rice merchant...Han Hu...and Xie Bin? !Clearing up grievances is clearly distorting black and white!

Tang Ci's eyes widened in disbelief, but Lu He smiled slightly and said, "Master Hu praised you, but I just did my duty."

Hu Laiyan also knew that Tangci and Lu He had a very close friendship, but now one of them is working for the prince and the other is working for the king of Lu, even if they have a deep friendship, they will gradually become strangers.

"It's getting late, Mr. Tang might as well choose a comfortable thing to use." Hu Laiyan gave a wink, and the jailer was about to hand over the wooden plate in his hand to Lu He.

Lu He was stunned for a moment, then walked towards Tang Ci with a wooden plate on his face calmly, and said, "Master Tang, choose one."

There are two rows of square wooden signs on the wooden plate, which are the same.

Looking at each other, Tangci didn't feel the slightest bit of shame or guilt in Lu He. Since returning to Beijing, although the two of them got together less often, she easily refused to believe that Lu He would be the one who made a fool out of him.

Lu He also saw a little disdain in Tang Ci's eyes, but more doubts.

Out of the corner of his eye, he glanced at the people behind him. They were not far away but not close.

After a while, Tang Ci pulled out a wooden sign, and Lu He turned around and presented it to Hu Laiyan.

When Hu Laiyan saw the wooden sign, his face showed regret, and he shook his head: "It's a pity, it's a pity, Mr. Tang's body is not to say that women are greedy when they see it, but men may be tempted by it. But God's will can't be violated..." He Smiling, he ordered the two jailers, and said, "Bring the whip, so I can serve you well. When Master Tang is comfortable, he will speak pleasant words from his mouth."

Lu He lowered her eyes, secretly pinched the corners of her clothes, and almost didn't dare to look at Tang Ci again. Even though the punishment of whipping was the lightest punishment, she still had a hard conscience.

"I'm tired, I'll go back and rest for a while." Hu Laiyan narrowed his fox eyes, walked out of the cell very comfortably, and walked on the sidewalk, "Lord Lu will imprison me for my sentence, please don't be selfish."

Lu Hegong claimed it was.

The two prison guards are both men with strong backs, big shoulders, and round waists. They threw down their long whips at intervals from one left to the other, using skillful energy, raising their wrists and swinging the whips. ——However, the heavy rain occasionally carried a little blood foam.

Lu He turned his back to Tangci who was tied to the torture rack, and his eyes were fixed on the blue and black brick wall, the strips were either fine or rough, and two stretched necks were thrown by the brazier in the corner of the torture room. The venomous snake was spitting out the red letter, and its sharp teeth didn't know where to bite, but the venom invaded Lu He's bone marrow, heart and lungs bit by bit, biting every inch of her skin domineeringly and involuntarily. Strong guilt and anxiety to control.

A muffled grunt that was slightly weak after being suppressed for a long time came from behind him, which obviously made the blood of the two jailers who had been beating against a wooden post for a long time beating, and the whips came down fast and urgently.Lu He's heart sank fiercely, bottomless, she turned her head slightly, the blood-stained snow-white coat hurt her eyes, and she turned her head quickly.

"Lord Tang, let's recruit." After a long time, she said.

The voice is low and hoarse.

In front of the hall.

In the afterglow of the setting sun, there was a slender and beautiful woman kneeling, the powerless and redundant winter sun projected on the earth, and behind her was a thin and long black shadow, very thin and long, like a dwarf plum tree trying to draw Nutrients are the branches that reach out to the blue sky. If you pick them lightly, they will be broken in the middle.

Li Shunde walked out of Jinshen Hall, walked all the way to the side of the woman with small steps, and earnestly persuaded: "Princess, kneel down again, the sky is dark, this place is open, and the wind blows, it is very cold at night." very."

Rou Ke didn't look at him sideways, but stared straight at the vermilion gate of Jinshen Hall. The gate was two or three people high. , closed tightly, the vermilion paint on the door densely casts thicker and darker shadows in the evening when the sky is getting dark, leaving people with only deep, terrifying and endless despair.

"What did Uncle Huang say?"

Li Shunde smacked his lips dryly, sighed and said: "What kind of temper is your majesty, the princess has always observed words and expressions, and has little knowledge, is there any reason why he doesn't know?"

"I knew it in the past. But it's my turn today, and now I don't quite understand it—how can His Majesty trust Shen Yi's simple words?"

Li Shunde said: "If you put it aside on other matters, Your Majesty should laugh it off. Why are you making such a big fuss today? The Princess can't pretend to be confused, can she?"

"Eunuch Li is an old man from the two dynasties, but I don't know that I have been ignorant for 13 years and pretended to be confused for 13 years?" The winter wind was howling and cold, and I knelt outside Jinshen Hall for two hours, and my white jade-like cheeks were blown out A few red marks are pitiful.Rou Ke was exhausted, her voice was weak but not cowardly, "13 years ago, my uncle killed my husband who was a matchmaker with my parents, so now I have to repeat the same mistakes and become the laughing stock of the world?! "

There was no one around, Li Shunde was still surprised - when did Rou Ke speak so indifferently?

Li Shunde went from top to bottom, lowered his eyes, and saw two hot tears rolling out from the mole at the corner of her eyes, he remembered the Tang Ci that he had argued with Shen Yi in the hall today, looked at her appearance and age, hesitated, and lowered his body , and asked in a low voice: "The princess will tell the servants, maybe there is a way to find out——Who is this Lord Tang...?"

Can a family of merchants in Yunzhou raise such a child who knows both civil and military skills?

Rou Ke smiled lightly, her smile was bright and warm, dispelling a bit of coldness.

"She's my sweetheart."