"Go and invite Taoist Chen over." King Yue ordered.
A personal guard took the order and left. After a while, Chen Shuozhen came to the study.
The King of Yue said calmly: "Daozhang Chen, you find a way to bring Xu Yuanju into the city tonight, but don't let Wu Chengsi's people find out!"
Chen Shuozhen's eyebrows jumped and he said in surprise: "Your Highness, why did you suddenly bring him into the city? Isn't it safer to keep him outside?"
The King of Yue smiled and said: "Wu Chengsi insulted Xu Wenqing's daughter, and the woman committed suicide by throwing herself into a well. I must tell him the good news!"
Chen Shuozhen was slightly startled and said, "Is there such a thing?"
King Yue said: "To be honest, I was a little surprised at first, but the source of the information is very reliable. I can only say that he is a young man after all, and there will always be some weaknesses in him."
Chen Shuozhen nodded and said, "I understand. If you don't have any other instructions, I'll leave first."
"Go ahead and be careful along the way."
At noon on the second day, Chen Shuozhen returned to the palace. The King of Yue was already impatient with the waiting. After meeting him, he scolded him: "Why did you stay here for so long?"
Chen Shuozhen stood still in front of the desk, hesitated for a moment, and said, "Your Highness, Xu Yuanju has done something."
The King of Yue's face darkened: "Don't tell me that he escaped?"
"He did dig a tunnel and tried to escape, but he was caught."
The King of Yue said with a sullen face: "He actually asked him to dig a passage? Where did his tools come from? What do those guards do for food!"
Chen Shuozhen explained: "I heard that Xu Yuanju made a small wooden shovel by splicing some small pieces of wood from his body. Those pieces of wood were very small and he had hidden them in his belt before, so the guards didn't notice."
The King of Yue was startled, shook his head and said with a smile: "This man is indeed a talent. Forget it, just capture him. Where is he now?"
Chen Shuozhen lowered his head and said, "Your Highness, there is one more thing."
"What's the matter? Tell me quickly. When did you become such a mother-in-law?"
Chen Shuozhen said slowly: "When Xu Yuanju escaped, because the iron chains on his feet were connected to the stone piers in the prison, he used an iron wire to cut off both of his feet."
The King of Yue stood up suddenly and said in horror: "He...he cut off his feet with a wire?"
Chen Shuozhen nodded silently.
"This...how is this possible? Where did he get the wire? And...he is obviously a weak scholar, how could he do such a thing?"
"Besides, if he cuts off his own feet, there will definitely be movement. Are the guards guarding him dead?" The King of Yue sounded panicked, and he was a little confused.
Chen Shuozhen was a murderer all his life, but when he talked about Xu Yuanju, he couldn't help but sigh.
"He didn't know how to block his mouth and didn't make a sound. Others didn't know where he hid the wire before, and he also hid a fire break. He burned his wound with a fire break and forcibly stopped the bleeding.
Then he escaped through the dug tunnel."
There was a little cold sweat on the forehead of King Yue, and he smiled bitterly and said: "I still underestimated him before. Have you brought him here?"
Chen Shuozhen nodded and said, "Because of his injury, I wasted a little more effort. Do you want me to bring him here now?"
"No." The King of Yue stretched out his hand to block him and said, "I will go see him in person."
Xu Yuanju is a short, thin, middle-aged man with an ordinary appearance.
When the King of Yue saw him in a wing room, he still couldn't believe that he could do such a thing.
But when your eyes moved to his legs, you could see that both of his feet were wrapped in white cloth. This wound proved that Chen Shuozhen was telling the truth.
"Li Zhen!"
Seeing Queen Yue, Xu Yuanju's eyes burst into anger.
"You treacherous bastard, you clearly promised me that as long as you hand over the drawings, you would let me and my daughter go. Let me ask you, how is my daughter doing now?"
The King of Yue sighed: "Xu Changshi, I will never go back on my promise to you. I just want to wait for news from over there to confirm that there is no problem with your drawings before I let you go."
Xu Yuanju said angrily: "It's about my daughter's safety. How could I deceive you with fake drawings? Tell me quickly, have you healed my daughter's eyes?"
The King of Yue said in a deep voice: "I originally planned to help your daughter to treat her eyes immediately, but it's a pity that her daughter was snatched away by Wu Chengsi."
Xu Yuanju's eyes widened and he said, "What you said...is true?"
The King of Yue said calmly: "Wu Chengsi took advantage of my absence to break into my house and took your daughter away. Everyone in the city knows about this. You can ask anyone at will."
Xu Yuanju suddenly looked up to the sky and laughed: "The sky has eyes, the sky has eyes, that's great, the Prince of Changping County deserves to be the Prince of Changping County, haha!"
The King of Yue sighed and said: "Originally, I planned to let your daughter go, so I didn't bother him about this matter. There's just something I have to tell you."
After learning that his beloved daughter was safe, Xu Yuanju seemed to have regained his composure and said calmly: "Your Highness, it's okay to say so."
The King of Yue touched his nose and said with a wry smile: "Xu Changshi, I hope you won't be too sad when you hear this later."
Xu Yuanju's face changed slightly and he said, "Is it related to my daughter?"
The King of Yue nodded and said in a very heavy tone: "I got the news yesterday that your daughter committed suicide by throwing herself into a well because she was insulted by Wu Chengsi."
Xu Yuanju's face turned pale, and he immediately smiled and said: "His Royal Highness, King of Yue, do you think I would believe such a lie?"
The King of Yue said calmly: "If you don't believe it, you can go to the city and ask."
Xu Yuanju glared and said, "Even if everyone in the city says this, do you think I will believe it?"
He sneered and said: "Xu has learned a lot about your ability to spread rumors over the years, and has suffered enough losses. You'd better save your worries."
The King of Yue was not angry and said calmly: "Since you don't believe me, then you can go to the Governor's Mansion and confront Wu Chengsi face to face to see if he can return your daughter to you."
Xu Yuanju's face changed drastically and he said: "You...are you willing to let me go?"
"certainly."
The King of Yue walked to a chair, sat down, and said, "Since I promised to let you go, I won't make a mistake."
Xu Yuanju looked at his legs and sneered: "You saw that I can't walk now, so you said that on purpose, right?"
The King of Yue waved his hand and said: "I know you have misunderstood me a lot before, but this time I will let you see my sincerity, and I will personally take you to the Governor's Mansion in a carriage."
Xu Yuanju stared intently at the King of Yue, unable to figure out the true meaning of his words for a while, especially as this matter related to his precious daughter.
Ever since his wife was killed by a villain because of his selflessness, he has been dependent on his daughter. As he gets older, he regrets more and more about what happened back then.
For him now, his daughter's safety is more important than anything else.
Just as Xu Yuanju was hesitating, Chen Shuozhen suddenly said: "Your Highness, I think it is inappropriate to directly ask Xu Changshi to find Wu Chengsi."
"What's wrong?" asked the King of Yue.
Xu Yuanju looked at the two people's exchanges with a sneer and thought to himself: "You deliberately sang along and thought you could deceive me?"
Chen Shuozhen said: "Xu Changshi's daughter died because of Wu Chengsi. If he is allowed to go to Wu Chengsi to ask for his daughter, he will probably be imprisoned by Wu Chengsi."
The King of Yue frowned and said, "You mean to ask me to send Xu Changshi there?"
Chen Shuozhen said: "That's not appropriate. After all, Wu Chengsi is the governor of Yangzhou, and Xu Changshi is an official of the governor's office. If he wants to forcibly detain it, we have no choice."
The King of Yue pondered and said, "What do you mean?"
Chen Shuozhen said: "Last time Wu Chengsi invited you to meet at Mingde Temple, and also invited all the forces in Yangzhou City. Why don't you follow his example this time?"
The King of Yue was slightly startled and fell into thought.
In fact, if possible, he doesn't want to confront Wu Chengsi right now.
But if you want to win over Xu Yuanju, you must make Xu Yuanju believe that his daughter died at the hands of Wu Chengsi.
If you want him to believe it, you need to let Xu Yuanju meet Wu Chengsi.
Chen Shuozhen is right, Wu Chengsi is likely to detain Xu Yuanju.
And even putting this aside, the King of Yue felt that it was inappropriate to let Xu Yuanju go find Wu Chengsi like this.
If possible, he still hopes to hold Xu Yuanju in his hands and persuade him to join him.
But in this case, a conflict with Wu Chengsi is inevitable.
But then I thought about it, the last time he lost to Wu Chengsi, it was because he detained Xu Yuanju's daughter and suffered a legal loss, so he didn't dare to make a big deal out of it.
This time was different. It was Wu Chengsi who insulted Xu Yuanju's daughter first, and legal principles were on his side. No matter how big the matter was, he would not be afraid to hear it from Heaven.
Thinking of this, the King of Yue nodded and said: "Well, you immediately send someone to send an invitation to Wu Chengsi. Tell him that I will invite him to meet at Mingde Temple tomorrow morning at four o'clock."
"Your Highness, you no longer have a clear view of virtue?" Chen Shuozhen said.
The King of Yue was stunned: "No more?"
"The head of the Yan family was settled by Wu Chengsi, and the children of the Yan family sold many properties to save him, and Mingde Temple was one of them. Now Mingde Temple was acquired by the Yu family and renamed Wumingguan."
The King of Yue was silent for a moment and said: "Then let's make an appointment to meet at Wuming Temple."
After speaking, he turned to look at Xu Yuanju and said, "Xu Changshi, what do you think?"
Xu Yuanju had been watching with cold eyes, but he was a little shocked when he saw that the two people actually planned to let him meet Wu Chengsi, and also planned to invite all the forces in Yangzhou.
Could it be that what the King of Yue said was true? His daughter was really dead?
"If Xu Changshi has no objection, let's just settle it. What do you think?"
Xu Yuanju nodded, his confidence wavering slightly. He heard that Wu Chengsi was very young, exactly the same age as his daughter.
His daughter was as beautiful as his dead wife. Maybe Wu Chengsi really saw his daughter's beauty and became interested in her.
As soon as this thought arose, he suddenly shook his head vigorously to dispel it.
This night, Xu Yuanju barely slept.
In addition to the constant pain in my feet, whenever I think of my daughter's blindness, the pain in my heart far exceeds the physical pain.
Early the next morning, Xu Yuanju was moved to a carriage and followed the King of Yue's luxurious carriage toward the Wuming Temple outside the city.
The Guanzhu Tian of Wuming Temple is still the Guanzhu. He was favored by the head of the Yu family, Yu Que, because he organized the banquet appropriately last time, so he allowed him to stay as the Guanzhu.
As the master, Yu Que naturally came to Wuming Temple early.
The Taoist temple on the mountainside has not changed much from last time, but the entire situation in Yangzhou has undergone tremendous changes in a short period of time.
Last time, the people attending the meeting were all from the King of Yue, but this time they were all from Wu Chengsi, including Yu Que himself.
He believed that the two princes knew very well that those under them would only follow the more powerful ones.
And although they may express an attitude on the surface, in reality no one will get involved in the fight between the two parties.
Yan Mingde, who was involved last time, is now in jail. How can others not take this as a warning?
Yu Que stood at the entrance of the Taoist temple, wearing a wide robe with wide sleeves. Every time someone came, he would come forward to greet people warmly and give them an exquisite brocade bag.
There is a peace talisman in each brocade bag. Although the talisman was painted by a Taoist priest, the brocade bag is edged with gold wire and embedded with several small jade beads.
This piece of kit is worth hundreds of dollars, which fully demonstrates the financial strength of the Yu family.
At a quarter of the hour, the sound of horse hooves could be heard, and a person came up the mountain road.
Everyone else came in carriages, but this man came on a tall horse. Yu Que looked up and found that the person coming was Gong Lingshu, a member of the army.
The soldier, Cao Shenjun, had a gloomy face and seemed to be in a bad mood.
Yu Que stepped forward and said hello and handed over the kit. Gong Lingshu thanked him dryly and went in.
At this moment, another carriage drove up the mountain road. Gong Lingshu seemed to recognize this carriage, and his expression instantly became worse.
He swung his sleeves vigorously and hurried back up the mountain.
Yu Que felt a little strange and stared at the carriage closely.
The curtain of the carriage shook, and a person walked out from behind the carriage, but it was Xu Hui, a member of the Hucao army.
Yu Que stepped forward with a smile and said, "Xu Hucao, you are really early."
Xu Hui stared at Gong Lingshu's back for a while, then turned around and said with a smile: "His Royal Highness the King of Yue's invitation naturally comes earlier."
Yu Que felt that he had a good relationship with Xu Hui, so he asked: "Xu Hucao, did you have any trouble with Gong Bingcao? Why did he leave so quickly after seeing you?"
Xu Hui said calmly: "Recently, the Governor is thoroughly investigating the corruption and bribery of all officials in the governor's office. You should also know about the relationship between Gong Bingcao and the Chen family."
"The Grand Governor asked me to take charge of this matter, so Gong Lingshu naturally dislikes me."
The real situation is that Wu Chengsi is investigating all officials who are close to Yuan Shutong. This is a confidential matter, so Xu Hui will naturally not let it slip.
Yu Que frowned and said, "Yes, I heard that Gong Bingcao did receive money from the Chen family. Because of his strong military ability, Governor Yuan turned a blind eye."
Xu Hui cupped his hands and said, "Then I'll go in first." After saying that, he walked away.
Yu Que thought: "King Changping entrusted such an important matter to Xu Hui, so he seems to have quite a lot of trust in him."
In his mind, he immediately raised Xu Hui's status a few points and lowered Gong Lingshu's status a few points.
After a stick of incense, the carriages lined up at the entrance of the Taoist temple.
At this moment, I heard a bell ringing, and a purple-red carriage slowly drove up the mountain road, with a string of purple gold bells hanging on each corner of the carriage.
Yu Que straightened his clothes, bowed slightly, stepped forward and said, "Yu Que pays homage to His Highness the King of Han."
Li Yuanjia raised the curtain, nodded slightly to him, and drove directly to the back mountain in the carriage.
After another tea time, King Li Zhen of Han finally arrived.
He was not as grand as Li Yuanjia, so he got off the car at Guanmen and said with a smile: "Master Yu, has King Changping arrived?"
Yu Que respectfully replied: "His Royal Highness the King of Yue arrived first this time."
The King of Yue smiled slightly and said: "No matter what your status is, you should always be punctual. Does the head of the Yu family think that this king is right?"
Yu Que replied tactfully: "Your Highness' reputation for punctuality is admired by everyone in Yangzhou City."
The King of Yue waved his hand and ordered: "Help Xu Changshi down."
Under Yu Que's surprised gaze, Xu Yuanju was carried onto a stretcher.
"This...Xu Changshi, what...what happened to your leg?" Yu Que swallowed in surprise.
Xu Yuanju said calmly: "A small injury, it doesn't matter."
After a pause, he said: "By the way, Head Yu, can I ask you a question?"
Yu Que glanced at the King of Yue, saw him smiling and saying nothing, and said, "Excuse me, Xu Changshi."
"You...do you know where my daughter is?"
Yu Que was slightly surprised and looked at King Yue again, not knowing how to answer for a while.
Xu Yuanju sat up on the stretcher and asked, "I won't ask about her previous experiences. I just want to know where she is now?"
Yu Que hesitated and said: "It should...should be...at the Governor's Mansion."
Xu Yuanju nodded and lay back again.
After the King of Yue left with his men, Yu Que wiped the sweat from his forehead and thought to himself: "There is a rumor in the city that Wu Chengsi raped and killed Xu Yuanju's daughter. I am afraid that the King of Yue brought Xu Yuanju here just for this matter."
He had a premonition that there would be a dispute today, which would probably be more intense and sharp than the last time. He had to deal with it carefully.
In the following time, Yu Que was always thinking about how to protect himself in the upcoming dispute, and how to refuse when the King of Yue or King Changping asked him to express his position.
It wasn't until two tea breaks later that I saw a group of people walking over from the mountain road.
He hurriedly cleared his mind of thoughts, walked forward to meet him, cupped his hands and said, "Yu Que pays homage to His Royal Highness Prince Changping!"
Wu Chengsi's horses were left at the bottom of the mountain, and just like last time, he led the people up on foot.
Behind him were Zhuge and his son, Han Cheng and Hei Chi Changzhi, and dozens of sergeants.
Every time he saw the sergeant following Wu Chengsi, Yu Que held his breath unconsciously, and even his words became reserved and his movements became stiff.
Wu Chengsi smiled, raised his hand, and said: "Master Yu, there is no need to be polite." He did not stop and led people directly to the back mountain.
Yu Que waited until the backs of Wu Chengsi and his group disappeared, adjusted his sleeves, and then slowly followed him.
Everyone had arrived, and Wu Chengsi was the last one to arrive.
When Wu Chengsi led people to the back mountain, he found that the layout of the Jindai this time was almost exactly the same as last time, with two first seats side by side.
The King of Yue was already sitting in his seat, looking in his direction.