When Li Ke returned to the restaurant, he went straight to the emperor's room.
The emperor was still eating cakes happily. When he saw Li Ke entering the room, he invited him to come over and join him.
Li Ke sat down next to the emperor.
I ate a piece of cake handed over by the emperor.
"How's it going?" The emperor asked and looked at Li Ke.
Li Ke shook his head and said with a wry smile: "Father, I just went out for a trip, and Ninggu County Magistrate Chen Qu stayed with me the whole time."
"I originally wanted to walk around along the street, but when I walked over, I realized that everywhere was blocked by wooden boards."
"There are craftsmen everywhere, Chen Qu said to his son, they are the ones in Ninggu County who are renovating the streets."
"But I discovered that those were no ordinary craftsmen at all."
"After hearing the identity of Erchen, they were not afraid at all, nor were they at all surprised."
"This is not what a craftsman should look like."
The emperor nodded, he had long expected such a result.
Ninggu County is now on guard against them from head to toe and wants to imprison them in this small restaurant.
"Since you can't find any evidence, tell Mr. Chen all the abnormalities you discovered."
"You and me, father and son, just enjoy the food and drink here." The emperor said with a smile.
The emperor is now lying down.
Since Qizhou officials were strictly guarding against him, he simply stopped investigating.
Have a good time here.
When Zhao Chen is almost there, they can go to the next place.
And here, I will leave it to Zhao Chen to investigate.
"Ah?" Li Ke was a little stunned.
They didn't investigate at all and left everything to Zhao Chen?
"Father, if my brother knew that father treated him like this, would he give up his job?"
"After all, the emperor's temper..." Li Ke did not continue.
He was worried that if Zhao Chen knew that the emperor was lying down like this, would he be so angry that he would go back to Chang'an?
"You don't know how to use your brain. If you tell Mr. Chen directly that I won't investigate anymore and let him do it by himself, of course he will be unhappy."
"But if you tell Mr. Chen that we tried our best but found nothing, we can only rely on him to turn the tide now."
"Would Mr. Chen feel much better this way?"
"Boy, you have to pay attention to the art of speaking, and don't tell the truth."
The emperor looked at Li Ke with a smile and spoke earnestly for a while.
Li Ke's face twitched.
Where is the art of speaking here?
It was obvious that he had found an opportunity for Zhao Chen to deal with Li Ke!
"Father, you understand everything you said, but it is up to you, Father, to write the letter to the emperor."
"My son is worried that if the emperor knows about this in the future, he will beat him to death." Li Ke said to the emperor.
The emperor glanced at Li Ke.
He secretly said that he didn't want Zhao Chen to trouble him in the future.
The Li Ke in front of him didn't have any sharp eyesight at all.
This son doesn't share his worries, so he, his father, needs to support him?
No filial piety at all!
"Don't worry, with me supporting you, how dare Mr. Chen do anything to you?" The emperor waved his hand.
He just wanted to lie down quietly.
It is impossible to take the blame for Li Ke.
Li Ke curled his lips secretly, he knew that following his father out would definitely be bad.
Sure enough, it was Li Ke who had to take the blame for this kind of thing.
"Go get a pen and paper, I said, you write." The emperor waved his hands to Li Ke, not giving him a chance to speak again.
What can Li Ke do?
I could only swear secretly in my heart that I would never be alone with the emperor again.
…
Li Ke was writing to Zhao Chen about some situations in Ninggu County.
Chen Qu also returned to his county government office.
Ma Zhiyuan is already waiting here.
"I heard that the King of Shu just went out. What happened?" Ma Zhiyuan and Chen Qu asked.
Chen Qu cupped his hands and said with a smile: "Li Ke wanted to come out to investigate the situation in our Ninggu County, but the official has already been prepared."
"The roads all around were blocked with wooden boards on the pretense that they were being repaired."
"Although Li Ke is angry, there is nothing he can do."
Hearing what Chen Qu said, Ma Zhiyuan finally showed a smile on his face.
He was also worried about what Li Ke would see if he left the restaurant.
Fortunately, Chen Qu's coping method was very good.
Even if Li Ke had suspicions, he didn't see anything and it wasn't of much use.
"Chen Qu, you did a good job in this matter."
"As long as they are not allowed to find evidence, everything can be explained away."
"After all, the person in Chang'an won't just watch us being investigated." Ma Zhiyuan said with a smile.
Chen Qu has always been curious about who the person from Chang'an that Ma Zhiyuan has been talking about is.
"Captain Ma, who is that person from Chang'an that you have been talking about? Can you talk to me about it?" Chen Qu asked Ma Zhiyuan again about the person from Chang'an.
When asked every day before, Ma Zhiyuan would excuse himself with various reasons.
"The man from Chang'an has a high position and can speak his mind even in front of the emperor."
"So, Magistrate Chen, just take care of your own affairs. When the time comes, I will recommend you to Chang'an."
"When the time comes, we will rise to prominence and our ancestors will be honored." Ma Zhiyuan only said these few words.
As for who the person in Chang'an is, Ma Zhiyuan is still tight-lipped.
Chen Qu felt a little disappointed when he didn't get the answer he wanted.
But he still nodded and said with a smile: "Then I would like to thank Captain Ma for his cultivation."
"If that happens one day in the future, I will definitely not forget Governor Ma's kindness."
Ma Zhiyuan was also happy and said: "Today's matter should be over, the emperor and others will not send anyone out again."
"County Magistrate Chen, I will go with you later to deal with those who have not yet been dealt with."
There was a hint of unbearable expression on Chen Qu's face.
Then he nodded again, with a sharp look on his face, and said: "Yes."
…
There is not a trace of life in Ninggu County at night.
The entire city was shrouded in a dark and terrifying aura.
About three miles away from the restaurant where the emperor and others stayed, there was a dilapidated village.
Around the village, there are Ninggu County government officials with weapons guarding the area.
Everyone had a sharp look on their face, and their cold eyes looked at the ordinary people tied up in a row in front of them.
"I'll ask you one last time, where is that man hiding?" A government servant walked over with a knife in his eyes.
He put the knife on the neck of a middle-aged man and spoke in a cold tone.
The middle-aged man's eyes were full of fear, but he didn't say a word.
"Looking for death!" The yamen servant seemed to be irritated by the middle-aged man's attitude.
The knife was drawn across, and the blood stained the knife edge red.
"father!"
When the middle-aged man fell to the ground, the cry of the little boy came from behind.
The little boy ran over and tried to help his father up.
But the yamen officer grabbed the little boy in his hand and shouted: "Tell me, where is that man hiding?"
"If you don't say anything, I will kill you all!"
Everyone in the crowd looked sad.
"Sir, I say, don't hurt a child." An old man in the crowd cried.