POW camp

Lan Wei jumped down from the carriage, showing a stern expression rarely seen on his face, which made the housekeeper who came over startled, and looked at Mrs. Lian behind him in surprise.Madam said: "Lan Wei, will you come to the study with me?"

Lan Wei calmed down, bowed and said, "Yes, ma'am."

When the two walked into the study together, Lan Wei completely calmed down, and couldn't help but feel a little regretful about his gaffe just now. He apologized to Mrs. Lien and said, "I'm sorry, madam, I didn't control my emotions well."

Mrs. Lien looked at him, her eyes filled with unprecedented tenderness, and she asked in a low voice, "Lieutenant Lan, is it a lot of pressure to assume the responsibility of the Lan Corps?"

Lan Wei straightened his back and said firmly, "Of course not, ma'am."

Mrs. Lien sighed softly: "Actually, I know if you don't tell me. After the old duke passed away, the power of the Lan Corps..." She didn't say any more, and the two were relatively silent for a moment.Mrs. Lien smiled: "I should thank you, Captain Lan. Without you fighting bravely on the front line, the Lan Corps would not be able to regain its status."

"I don't, ma'am..." Mrs. Lien had never spoken to Lan Wei in this tone. For a moment, Lan Wei felt embarrassed and embarrassed, a little incoherent, and added, "Lan Ting is also very brave."

"He's just a child, so impulsive." Mrs. Lien's face showed a bit of warmth, "It's just like his father. When I first met the old Duke, he was only 24 years old, riding a horse, He ran towards me like flying, and hugged me onto the horse... At that time, I was really angry, how could there be such a rude person. Later, when he proposed marriage to my father, I didn't even think about agreeing." Mrs. En fell into the memory, talking lightly about those once gorgeous and dazzling scenes, her eyes sparkled.

Lan Wei listened silently, not quite understanding why Mrs. Lien suddenly told him these things, he suddenly thought of his parents, their encounter must be wonderful and wonderful.

"Some people are like this. They are clumsy and irritating in expressing their feelings, and they like to control others self-righteously. It depends on their status, background, experience and everything. Lan Wei, I hope you can see the true essence through these. thing."

Lan Wei understood a little bit, he took a deep breath, and subconsciously denied first: "No ma'am, the Crown Prince, he just..."

"The crown prince is serious, Lan Wei, I can see that."

Lan Wei pursed his lips, with a stubborn look on his face: "But I'm not interested in him."

"Then you won't get angry with him in public." Mrs. Lien smiled, "The crown prince is right, it is very difficult to see such a strong expression from you. At least, I have never seen that I love you." She walked past Lan Wei and patted him on the shoulder lightly, "Because you subconsciously understand that the crown prince can indulge your temper and will not punish you for your disrespect. And connivance means The beginning of love." Her deep and beautiful voice flowed through Lan Wei's heart, "Son, you should think about it carefully, no matter what decision you make, I will support you."

Lan Wei withdrew from the study and returned to his bedroom.The setting sun in the west, through the gap between the tall magnolia trees outside the window, casts mottled shadows on the milky white window screen.

Mrs. Lien's words echoed in his ears: because you subconsciously understand that the crown prince can pamper your temper... and pampering is the beginning of love...

Lan Wei lowered his head, and the five little men were bathing in the warm golden sunlight, looking at him tenderly.

The second trial was delayed for two hours before it officially started. To the excitement of all the reporters, the crown prince also appeared in the auditorium, one aisle away from Lan Wei on the left and one on the right.The flashes snapped and snapped, but Lan Wei just saluted the crown prince expressionlessly, then returned to his seat and continued to wait, just like usual.

The stern-faced judge looked at the schedule on the table, and there was only one item on it: summon witness Coto.He nodded slightly to the young lawyer: "The defense lawyer can start."

"Your Honor." The young man looked at him with some embarrassment. "Can you allow another ten minutes of delay? Our witness has a small problem to be resolved."

"I object." The prosecutor's lawyer stood up. "Because of this witness, we have postponed for two hours. According to the practice and the court's requirements, if he doesn't come again, we can only declare his testimony invalid."

"The objection is valid." The judge pulled down his glasses and looked directly at the young lawyer. "The court can only give you another 5 minutes."

There was a buzz of discussion in the audience.The defense attorney sat down to look at his watch and chatted quietly with his assistant.Lan Ting and Howes looked at each other silently at a distance not too far away.Hill sneered from the bottom of his heart, leaning on the chair with his arms crossed, and glanced at the crown prince lightly, but saw Flo looking in Lanwei's direction, as if he didn't pay much attention to what was going on in the court.The old lawyer frowned slightly, looking worried.

Four minutes passed in the blink of an eye, the young lawyer couldn't sit still, and turned to look at the entrance of the court.A sneer slowly formed on Hill's lips.The old lawyer straightened his hat, stood up calmly and said, "Your Honor..."

In the middle of the conversation, there was a "bang", and someone broke into the court. Everyone was shocked, and they all looked over, and it was Coto!

Shocked and angry, Hill glared at the adjutant.The adjutant was tongue-tied, and it took a long time before he stammered, "Why... not dead..."

Corto looked a little embarrassed, his right arm was obviously injured and was suspended from his chest by a splint.But he was in good spirits, striding to the witness stand, glaring at Hill.

The defense lawyer exhaled, obviously relaxed, and walked to Coto: "May I ask the identity of the witness."

"Cotto, Colonel Lauter's adjutant in Puman, with the rank of captain."

"Do you know my client?"

Corto glanced at Lan Ting: "I know him. At that time, he was a prisoner of war in the country of Ole, and he was imprisoned in the Fancheng prisoner-of-war camp."

"May I ask what happened on April 4th, can you give us a brief account?"

"Yes." Corto's expression was cold and he spoke quickly, as if he wanted to end everything as soon as possible, "Because Lan Ting refused to cooperate, Lieutenant Colonel Lauter thought of a way to force him to submit. In the face, torture and kill the prisoners of war in the same district as Lan Ting."

"Were you there?"

"No, but I've been outside and heard voices coming from the office."

"How many people were killed?"

"Four."

"How is my client doing?"

"He was agitated and I heard his hissing in anger, trying to stop this killing."

The young lawyer paused for a moment, then suddenly changed the question: "Captain Koto, what is your relationship with Lieutenant Colonel Lauter?"

"I object." The old lawyer knew that the case had been lost, but he stood up and declared dutifully, "This issue has nothing to do with this case."

"No, Your Honor, on the contrary." The defense lawyer said calmly, "Determining the relationship between the two can prove the accuracy of the witness's testimony."

"The objection is invalid. Witnesses please answer the questions raised by defense lawyers."

"It's very intimate. In fact, I know all about Lieutenant Colonel Lauter's affairs." Coto stared at Hill with uncontrollable anger in his eyes. "Including some private transactions."

The question was obviously skewed to one side. Hill snorted coldly. Fortunately, he was prepared and ordered in a low voice to the adjutant next to him: "Go and bring his daughter out and stand in the middle of the corridor without saying anything."

"Yes, General." The adjutant walked away quickly.

The old lawyer, who didn't understand the secrets, couldn't help but frown. In his opinion, the defense lawyer's question is meaningless. Is this another tactic?

"Excuse me, is there any private transaction?" the young lawyer asked.

"I object." The prosecution lawyer stood up.

The judge lowered his head slightly, as if he was reviewing documents, but his eyes were fixed on the crown prince sitting in the first row of the auditorium.Flo closed her eyes imperceptibly."The objection is invalid," said the judge grimly.

The prosecution lawyer sat down in a little astonishment, unusual, very unusual.

Hill involuntarily leaned forward, looking at the entrance of the corridor, a figure hurried over, turned out to be the panicked adjutant, opened his mouth wide, and waved violently at Hill.

At the same time, Coto's resounding answer sounded in the courtroom: "Lieutenant Colonel Lauter and Major General Hill of Ole have colluded. They exchanged information through me to win the battle against the enemy and suppress their own friendly forces. "

"You're lying!" Before everyone could understand what Coto said, Hill immediately got up and refuted loudly: "You're talking nonsense!"

Only then did everyone understand, there was an uproar, and the courtroom was in chaos.This is definitely the most serious accusation. The fact that a senior general colluded with an enemy country is an unforgivable crime of treason!

"It's you! You sent me the combat information of the Ole country in coded form in exchange for the intelligence of the Puman country. It's you!"

"You're lying! Pull him down! He's spitting blood!" Hill yelled disregarding his image, pointing his finger at Coto, and several guards around him rushed towards him.

People were stunned, the reporters kept pressing the shutter, and the judge slammed the gavel. The old lawyer was surprised at first, and then said nothing with a sullen face.There was chaos in the courtroom, amidst the noise of the crowd and Hill's angry scolding, the words that Coto shouted out with all his strength: "You blackmailed me with my daughter! Ask me to give you information, I tell you, you killed It's useless for me, I have evidence! Evidence!" He threw away the guard who tried to grab his arm, took out a stack of papers from his arms, and threw them into the air.Pieces of paper fluttered in the air like butterflies, and people scrambled to grab them.

Hill's face was livid, and he shouted hoarsely: "You fart!"

The door of the court was pushed open again, but at this time no one paid attention to who was coming. An old general who was over sixty years old was sitting in a wheelchair, squinting his eyes and watching the chaos in the court sternly.

Suddenly, a "bang" gunshot overwhelmed all the noise, and people stopped as if they had been immobilized.There was silence in the chaotic court just now, and Coto stared at Hill with grief and indignation in his eyes. A stream of blood slipped from his temple, and he fell down like a puppet out of control.

"Ah—" A woman's terrified scream sounded, and then she shouted in various ways: "Protect the crown prince!" "Protect the general!" "Madam—"

"Adjournment!" cried the judge, but no one heard him.

"How could you do such a thing!" The old general slapped the piece of paper on the table with a stern voice, "It's simply traitorous!"

"I'm just using my strength to attack the Lan family, what's wrong?" Hill stuck his neck and refused to give in.

"The key is the method, the method!" The old general's pale gray eyebrows kept shaking, "Why didn't you report such a big matter to me? Do you think your little trick can fool Flo? I told you a long time ago, He is no ordinary heir and cannot be controlled by you at all. I warned you to be careful of him!"

"So what? Do you want to sue me with this little piece of paper? What's more, Coto is dead." Hill gasped heavily and lowered his voice, "Dad, I still want to thank you."

"I didn't kill that witness at all. I came here as soon as I got off the plane. What can I arrange in a hurry?"

"But Dad..."

The old general stared at Hill with cloudy eyes, not knowing whether to be angry or sad: "Why don't you understand. Use your brain to think about it, without the permission of the crown prince, who would dare to speak in public and in front of him?" Why did Flo do this? This shows that he does not want to completely destroy the Hill family, he just wants to give you a warning! He can kill this witness, which means that he has other stronger evidence Prove that you are treasonous, this is a means of blackmail!"

Hill held his breath and said with difficulty for a long time: "Then what should we do, Dad?"

The old general closed his eyes and sighed heavily: "I'll go see him."

Lan Wei walked through the flowery courtyard and saw the wide racetrack from afar.He hesitated and slowed down, and suddenly found that he didn't know what to say when facing Flo.Do not know anything?It's self-deceiving; to clarify this ambiguity?Can't do it at all; apologize for yesterday's faux pas?Some are not reconciled.After thinking carefully for a moment, he realized that the emotion of "unreconciled" already explained everything.He sighed secretly, walked to the side of the racetrack, stood at attention, and said in a loud voice: "His Royal Highness, Major General Lan Lieutenant, come here under orders, and follow your orders."

"Come here, I've been waiting for you for a long time." Flo didn't stand up to return the salute, he waved as easily as if facing his family, "I'll show you something."

He pointed to the side, and a guard brought a fine horse.This horse looked like a good horse, fat and strong, with strong limbs, a deep chest, and a very dense brown-red coat, which reflected a satin-like luster in the sun.

The love for war horses and weapons is the deepest dream in every soldier's heart.Lan Wei was no exception, he couldn't help but reach out and stroke the short mane, feeling the ostentatious vitality under the warm skin.

"Your horse is too old, and I think you are not respectful enough to ride it. So I found this horse for you. Of course it is not top-notch, but it means a lot to me. I delivered the baby." Flo laughed, "How about it, it's hard to imagine, right?"

Lan Wei put his face on the horse's neck, his face softened: "Indeed, Your Highness."

Flo let go of the rein: "Go, try to ride, it will like you."

Lan Wei didn't move.

Flo hesitated for a moment, and said, "Lieutenant Lan, I know that I have done some things badly... well, to be honest, I don't treat a person very well...or I just treat him in the way I think is right." Lan Wei, I am not a genius, nor a perfect person. I have many shortcomings, hidden under the brilliant halo of the crown prince..." He paused, cleared his throat, and said with a little embarrassment, "Can you help me?" Do I correct them?"

Lan Wei raised his head and met Flo's eyes. Those gentle amber eyes clearly expressed all the anxiety and expectation in his heart, as well as the sincerity that was hard to ignore.He pursed his lips, took the reins of the horse, and said, "Let me try." Turning on the horse, he galloped away.

"Your Highness, please see the old general." A guard came up to report.

Flo picked up the binoculars, and followed the galloping figure not far away: "Is it finally unbearable? Tell him to come in."

"Is it here, Your Highness?"

"Yes, right here."

The old general's wheelchair rolled over the gravel path. He thought that the crown prince would meet him privately, but he didn't expect it to be at the racetrack.The crown prince didn't seem to notice his arrival, he kept paying attention to the riders in the arena, and said to the guards around him, "Look, the technique is very good."

"Major General Lan Wei is a recognized equestrian master, Your Highness."

"Oh?" Flo said excitedly, "After hearing what you said, I really want to compete with him."

The guard bowed: "Your Highness, with all due respect, I'm afraid you can't compare to him."

Flo chuckled, looking very happy.

The old general is not Hill, so many years of officialdom and battlefields have already trained him to be meticulous.In his opinion, every move, word and deed of the Crown Prince hides a profound meaning, including meeting him here at this very moment.

"His Royal Highness," the old general said.

Flo turned around: "Old General, you had a good holiday."

"Very good, thank you for your concern, Your Highness." The old general paused, a little embarrassed, and said after a long time, "It's just Hill..."

"Sigh." Flo put down the binoculars, his face darkened, "I didn't expect such a thing to happen, and now the media are reporting at length, demanding a thorough investigation of Hill. Old general, this incident has a very bad impact. .”

"Yes, Your Highness, I am very sorry. Your Highness... I am old, and I only have this one son..." He said mournfully, his wrinkled face showing endless sadness, "Your Highness, Hill he Confused...for the sake of my bloody fight for the country for so many years..."

Flo didn't speak, and looked indifferent.

"Your Highness." The old general said with a sigh of relief, "I am willing to hand over all the military power of the Hill family."

Flo smiled: "The old general is serious. I know that once the war is over, your four major families will feel a little uneasy. Old general, since you have said this, I might as well say it bluntly. Her Majesty is a nostalgic person, and she will never Please don’t worry about doing such a thing. As for Major General Hill..." He paused, seeing that the old general was listening intently, he continued slowly, "This matter is not just his matter. , It’s not just about your Hill family, it’s related to the confidence of the people of Ole Country in the aristocratic rule. My opinion is to put it on hold for now.”

The old general carefully figured out the meaning of the crown prince's words, paying attention to every word and even the tone of every sentence. "Her Majesty is a nostalgic person" means that the Queen may not move the four major families when she is in power, but it is hard to say when Flo is in power; let's put it on hold for now, and it is very likely to be mentioned again in the future.The old general raised his head, met Shang Flo's calm, gentle but unfathomable gaze, and suddenly realized in his heart that it was not that the crown prince couldn't move the four families, but for some reason, he didn't move now.He has the courage and confidence to take back his power at any time.

The old general struggled to get up from the wheelchair, knelt in front of Flo, and said with trembling lips, "Thank you for your tolerance, Your Highness."

"Don't do this." Flo hurriedly helped him up, "Old General, you should cultivate your mind and nature, and live up to your old age. Having grandchildren is also a great joy in life."

"Yes, Your Highness." The old general sat back in the wheelchair and looked much older all of a sudden.

There was a sound of horse hooves, and Flo turned around. Lan Wei was riding on the horse, bathed in the bright golden sun, and his whole body seemed to be transformed from there.Flo smiled and stretched out his arms to meet his lover.