In a daze, Li Zao seemed to see the little woman sitting on the swing in Zaoyuan.
Yulu News from Qiantang... Who is her lovesickness line dedicated to? Of course he knows.
He recited "No longer lingering in my heart" many times in my mind. Although he really didn't linger in his heart anymore, he still knew it.
"You are the champion, you are the champion..."
A shout interrupted Li Xia's contemplation.
"Li Xia, did Zhang fill this in for you?"
"I do not know."
"Don't you know? I found your handwriting on it when I searched it in your baggage. Don't you know?"
Xiao Tailai chuckled softly, passed the paper in his hand out for circulation, shook his head, and said with emotion: "What a love, what a separation. You regard returning to the south as a journey, and she waits alone in the empty window.
You should return early...ah, you are collaborating with the enemy and treason!"
Li Xia didn't answer.
Xiao Tailai turned to Zhao Yun, solemnly cupped his hands, and said: "Your Majesty, I think the case is clear and there is no need to ask any more questions. Li Xia talked about his experience going north and mentioned Zhang Rou's daughter only briefly, saying that he escaped by cheating death in Weishan. It was too much.
It's easier. Thousands of people surrounded him, but he was able to escape? I wouldn't dare to make up such a legendary story!
The truth must be as Bai Mao said. Li Xia was captured by Zhang Rou in Weishan. Because of his talent and appearance, he became Zhang Rou's son-in-law. He and Zhang's daughter wrote the words with eyebrow pencil on this paper.
Later, Li Xia wanted to serve the Northerners and return to the Song Dynasty as a spy. Zhang wrote a poem on the love note and asked Li Xia to take it with him to remind him to return safely... This is all evidence.
!”
Loud shouts also exploded in the hall.
"Yes, what Li Xia said is absurd and impossible, but what Bai Mao said is consistent and has many supporting evidences."
"When Li Xia went north, he often acted alone, leaving Lin, Liu and others behind, claiming that he was protecting everyone's safety, but in fact he took the opportunity to collaborate with the enemy."
"I also don't believe Li Xia's claim that the ropeway slipped, he pretended to be hiding, and he faked his death to escape."
"Li Xia is not sincere, I also noticed that he has too much to hide..."
Zhao Yun's face darkened.
The word "dishonest" seemed ordinary, but it struck a chord in his heart.
The reason why Zhao Yun killed Yu Jie may not be important because of other evidence. The key lies in... his imprudent tone of words.
It's about attitude, and attitude toward the king is about loyalty.
This is the most important duty of a minister.
Li Xia's performance showed no loyalty from beginning to end...
Following Zhao Yun's change of face, all the officials in the palace guessed what would happen to Li Xia.
They understood the official's thoughts and couldn't help expressing their opinions one after another.
"I ask your Majesty to kill the traitor as a respectful example!"
"I second the proposal..."
~~
Jia Sidao was still playing with the cricket.
He is not in a hurry.
Uncle Xie Fang thought that Jia Sidao wanted to use Tian Kui's case as an opportunity. He was right, but not entirely right.
Today's inquiry in front of the emperor involved Tian Kui and Yu Jie, but it was just a lead-in.
If you succeed, it's fine. If you fail, it doesn't matter. It's just that one more Li Xia and Nie Zhongyou died.
When the day comes, news of the war in the southwest comes, and the Yu Jie case will inevitably be overturned.
At that time, Li Xia and Nie Zhongyou, who died today, can still become one of the evidence to bring down Uncle Xie Fang.
If the officials refused to admit that they killed Yu Jie by mistake, they would have to wait until the Southwest was defeated. At that time, the officials would have no choice but to admit it no matter how unwilling they were to admit it;
Uncle Xie Fang thought he had escaped this disaster, but the fact is that every time he covers up the consequences of killing Yu Jie, the consequences will only become bigger and bigger, and sooner or later he will not be able to escape;
Li Xia guessed that he was just a chess piece during the trip to the north, but he did not guess that he was still just a chess piece during the imperial prelude today.
A cricket is just a cricket, so what if it bites? No matter whether the cricket wins or loses, the bet on the scene is won by the owner...
With these thoughts in mind, Jia Sidao raised his head.
His eyes fell from Cricket to Li Xia, with a hint of apology in his eyes.
"Go to hell, you will be unjustly killed by Uncle Xie Fang, but it doesn't matter, I will reverse the case for you soon..."
~~
Nie Zhongyou also raised his head and looked at Cheng Yuanfeng.
Cheng Yuanfeng was also looking at him, his old eyes were red but full of disappointment.
Nie Zhongyou opened his mouth and only made a vague, slight sound.
But no matter what he said, it was impossible for anyone to believe him.
Can the captured people return safely?
Who believes it?
No imperial guards came to listen to Nie Zhongyou's words, and there were only shouts in the palace asking for orders to kill him.
"Nie Zhong has collaborated with the enemy and rebelled. I ask your Majesty to kill him."
"..."
Finally, Nie Zhongyou lowered his head in frustration, revealing the mark of humiliation on the back of his neck.
He remembered what Zhang Hongdao said to him.
"I believe in your integrity, but Zhao Song will not believe it. If you are branded with this, even if you escape back to Song Dynasty, you will only be more ruined. If you don't believe it, you can try it..."
~~
Zhao Yun put down his wine glass and planned to order the two traitors and collaborators to be executed.
He felt that Li Xia was an outstanding young man, and it was not surprising that Zhang Rou recruited him as his son-in-law.
And this young man has a sense of arrogance, and he really wants to do something earth-shattering...
Suddenly, Li Xia said: "There are so many loopholes in what Bai Mao said, didn't you guys find it?"
"Your words are full of loopholes." Xiao Tailai said, "What Bai Mao said is much more detailed than you, and there is supporting evidence."
Li Xia said: "Since it was Bai Mao who testified that Nie Zhongyu and I collaborated with the enemy, why did you arrest Lin Zi and Liu Jinsuo before Nie Zhongyu and I returned?"
"We didn't catch it..."
Liu Jinsuo: "It was the Left Prime Minister who captured us!"
Xiao Tailai didn't want to bring the topic to the party dispute between the left prime minister and Ding Daquan, lest Li Xia take advantage of it, so he said calmly: "Li Xia, the evidence is conclusive, don't make any excuses."
"Evidence? That piece of poetry can't explain anything."
"It can explain your marriage with the Zhang family."
"Who knows if it's really Zhang's daughter's handwriting? Maybe it was Xiao Yushi who filled it in?"
"Shuzi! Stop spouting nonsense, I will frame you again?!"
Li Xia stopped looking at him and said to Zhao Yun on the imperial couch: "Your Majesty, may I ask Bai Mao a few more questions?"
"allow."
"Bai Mao, you said that the reason why Nie Zhongyou brought you back was to prove that you rescued him from prison?"
Bai Mao responded: "Yes."
Li Xia asked again: "Why does he want to prove it?"
"Because...because he was caught by the Northerners."
Li Xia said: "But I rebelled with him, didn't I? Since I rebelled with him, as long as I didn't say anything, who would suspect that he was caught by the Northerners? I can say that he escaped with me."
Bai Mao suddenly lost the fluency in his speech and became stammering.
"He, he, he... he was caught, Lin Zi and the others all know it."
"Nie Zhongyou and I rebelled together. To seal the forest, wouldn't it be easier for Liu Jinsuo to keep his mouth shut? Why do I need to take you with me?"
"I, I, I... you think I am a collaborator and treason like you... but I am different..."
Li Xia said: "We wouldn't think so because your mother is still in Song Dynasty."
Bai Mao was stunned and said: "You, you, you... me, me, me..."
"Are you stuttering? Because those remarks just now were made up?"
"no."
Li Xia said: "There is only one explanation for Nie Zhongyou being able to bring you back with him. He was really saved by you. Because of the grace of saving his life, he brought you with him, but he couldn't trust you, so he left you outside Lin'an City, right?
?”
"No, that's what I said." Bai Mao said, "He is treason."
Li Xia said: "Nie Zhongyou did not rebel. You even rescued him when he was seriously injured and was still unconscious."
"No," Bai Mao said loudly, "He obviously..."
Li Xia interrupted Bai Mao and said, "Because when I saw Nie Zhongyu in Youxiang Mansion, he didn't have the brand on the back of his neck..."
"You're talking nonsense! He would have been branded a long time ago!"
Bai Mao was very angry because he knew that Li Xia was talking nonsense. He had seen the brand on Nie Zhongyou's neck in Bozhou City, and Li Xia was telling lies with his eyes open.
"It must have been branded on in the past two days." Li Xia added.
"You're talking nonsense!"
Li Xia suddenly struggled out a hand, pointed at Bai Mao, and shouted: "Whether I'm talking nonsense or not, you can tell at a glance whether the injury is new or old."
He struggled to free his hand, but the guards held it down again.
Bai Mao was suddenly startled.
He saw a ring on Li Xia's hand.
It was not a valuable thing, but it was given to his mother when he first stole something.
As a celebration for his graduation...
Bai Mao stopped talking, but his eyes were filled with confusion.
Li Xia turned to Nie Zhongyu and asked, "Nie Zhongyu, when I saw you at the Youxiang Mansion that day, there was clearly no brand on the back of your neck. Who put it on you?"
Nie Zhongyou slowly raised his head and opened his mouth.
Li Xia asked again: "Why did they want to break your throat?"
A guard came forward and listened to Nie Zhongyou for a while.
"He said... Cai Zhu, the deputy commander of the front department of the palace, had someone brand him..."
"nonsense!"
Wu Yan came out again and said: "Your Majesty, Li Xia is right, you can tell at a glance whether the burn is new or old."
"look."
"yes."
A guard came forward again.
"Your Majesty, this is a new injury. The mark is still red. It seems that medicine has been used to make it look like an old injury..."
"Nonsense." Xiao Tailai was furious and said, "I have obviously seen..."
He looked around and his expression suddenly changed.
Because he had seen it before, he didn't take a closer look just now. When he looked now, he saw that the mark on the back of Nie Zhongyou's neck was red and thickened.
"Someone has branded it again. What I saw the day before yesterday was not like this..."
Wu Yan said: "The man has been locked up in Sanya, who can brand him?"
"You!" Xiao Tailai said, "It's you..."
Wu Yan sneered, turned around and stopped talking to Xiao Tailai.
"Your Majesty!" Cheng Yuanfeng suddenly stood up and said: "I am willing to vouch for Nie Zhongyou. He is definitely not a rebellious person. I beg your Majesty to search the three yamen. If the soldering iron can be found, Nie Zhongyou and Li Xia will be cleared.
…”
Uncle Xie Fang suddenly turned around to look at Cheng Yuanfeng, with a look of shock and anger in his eyes.