The Great Han Dynasty Volume 2: The mountain has trees, and the trees have branches; seventy-seven assassins.

  Modified yesterday's chapter and added some content.

  To those comrades who have a soft spot for Zhao Wang Ruyi's shoes and can't bear to see this, you don't need to look any further. As for me, I still yield to the logic of the plot.

  In the east wing, Shi Feng was still defending Zhao Wang, his expression indignant. Liu Ying listened patiently with a full heart, when suddenly he saw Zhang Ji rush in, still panting, his face also changed.

  "What's wrong?" Liu Ying asked, and for some reason, she suddenly had a bad premonition.

  "Your Majesty," Long Ji stammered, "Prince Zhao...he..."

  Liu Ying stood in the bathing hall of the palace, gazing at the young man floating up and down in the water, his face serene as if still smiling.

  His expression was momentarily wooden.

  How could it be accepted? He was still angry when he left in the morning, but in an instant, they were separated forever.

  "In response to Your Majesty's words." The palace maid knelt down on one side and whispered, "This morning, the Empress Dowager ordered someone to give Zhao Wang a cup of wine. After Zhao Wang drank it, he..."

  Liu Ying suddenly burst into anger, with one foot on his body, scolding, "You are all dead men. Can't you stop people from coming to report to me quickly? What's the use of me raising you?"

  The eunuch fell to the ground and did not dare to resist, but stammered, "But that's what the empress dowager meant."

  As slaves, how dare they resist?

  "Mother, mother." Liu Ying murmured, suddenly turning around and sweeping her sleeves away.

  He hastily made his way through Weiyang Palace and walked up the covered walkway, directly arriving at Changle Palace.

  "Ah." In the Changxin Hall, Empress Lü smiled and turned around, benevolently saying, "Your Majesty shouldn't be handling state affairs at this time, why have you come to my Changle Palace?"

  "I want to know." Liu Ying's face was tinged with a hint of gloom, and he asked stiffly, "Was it you who ordered the murder of Ruyi?"

  "Yes." Lü Hou's smile faded as he replied calmly and composedly.

  "Mother Empress has already promised that Ruyi would be returned to the Zhao family," Liu Xiang asked, "why are you going back on your word?"

  "After I came back, I thought about it carefully and regretted it." Lyu Hou stood up, walked to his side, and replied, "This land is my son's territory, I will not allow anyone to pose a threat to you."

  "I have already made up my mind to strip him of his title as King of Zhao, isn't that enough?"

  "Not enough." Empress Lü said calmly, "He is still young this year and can only rely on your protection. He will be very good to you, but who knows if he will remember the hatred of his mother's grudge in the future? If he wants revenge, as long as there is a slight possibility, I cannot let it go... Moreover," she looked at her son in front of her and said sharply, "Your Majesty, you should know that Liu Ruyi was once considered by the previous emperor as a candidate for the throne. If one day you make a mistake, the courtiers will inevitably think, if Zhao Wang became the emperor back then, wouldn't everything be much better?"

  A faint green glow flashed across her face, "How dare he! How can I tolerate him?"

  "But he has no intention of rebelling now." Liu Ying said loudly, "Just based on these possibilities, you killed a king and his mother, isn't that too excessive?"

  "It will be too late when he rebels." Lu Hou said coldly.

  "Alright, Your Majesty." She said softly with a smile, as if comforting a mischievous and giggling child. Covering Liu Ying's eyes with her hand, "It has come to this, the dead cannot be brought back to life, so you shouldn't quarrel with Empress Dowager anymore. Your Majesty, you should know that everything Empress Dowager does is for your own good."

  She has always been obedient to her son, even if she is dissatisfied with herself, she will eventually accept it willingly. Lv Wei has always known that.

  However, she miscalculated this time. Liu Ying stepped back and avoided her hand, raising her head with a deep rejection in her eyes, asking, "Empress Dowager, if you really are doing this for my own good, why don't you ask me how I feel?"

  Her hand stiffened, and she put it down nonchalantly, sneering, "What a joke. If I knew you were wrong, would I just watch you go astray without pulling you back?"

  "What is right and what is wrong," Liu Ying retorted sharply, "does that mean you are always right, Mother?"

  "So," Empress Lü said in a cold voice, "Your Majesty is blaming me?"

  "The son does not dare to blame his mother." Liu Ying replied calmly, "It's just that the son wants his mother to know,"

  He paused for a moment and said slowly, "When Empress Dowager killed Ruyi, she also killed the mother in her son's heart."

  "You," Lü Zhi's whole body trembled with rage as she pointed at her own son standing below the palace, "is this what you wanted to say to your empress dowager?"

  Liu Ying lost her composure and didn't respond.

  "Get out of my sight," Lü Zhi shouted, turning her back on him and refusing to look at him again.

  He smiled slightly and turned away.

  Standing under the gate of Changxin Hall, Liu Ying turned back, her face pale, and took another look at the back of her mother standing on the hall, and suddenly thought of the past events in the countryside when she was a child.

  At that time he was only six years old, barefoot and playing in the fields, unaware of the passing of time, so his mother came out to look for him.

  Memories of the countryside, had long since faded after he ascended to the throne. At this moment, looking at his mother wearing the solemn attire of the empress dowager's back, it suddenly appeared in his mind again, as clear as if it were yesterday. 16K Literary Network

  "Your Majesty." Zhang Jiuhou stood outside the hall, his heart racing with fear as he watched Liu Xiu stride out of the inner chamber with a flourish of his sleeves.

  "Return to Weiyang Palace." Liu Ying said, his face expressionless.

  He quietly responded with a "yes", not even daring to breathe heavily, as the imperial carriage approached quickly, waiting for the emperor to board.

  On the covered walkway connecting Yongle and Changle Palaces, torches were burning. As they passed by the torches, Liu Ying shouted, "Halt!"

  He stared at the flames, lost in thought for a while.

  "Your Majesty," Chang Ji asked cautiously on one side, "what is this?"

  He smiled slightly and pulled out the imperial edict that demoted Zhao Wang to Marquis of Handan from his sleeve, throwing it into the flames.

  A bamboo strip was thrown out in an arc and fell into the fire, bursting into flames with a "whoosh".

  "Let's go."

  He remembered that day when Ruyi had just returned. They boarded the imperial carriage together, also from Chang Le to Wei Yang, at that time, the spring was beautiful, at that time. Ruyi's face was radiant and lively.

  That delicate boy like jade died quietly by his side, Liu Ying had a chill, he wanted to protect him with all his might, but in the end, he couldn't protect him.

  "Your Majesty, we have arrived." Chang Ji reported softly.

  After a long while in the darkness, he softly murmured and stepped forward. "Chang Ji," he ordered, "have someone investigate clearly, on that day when King Zhao was murdered, who sent the urgent message and who administered the poisoned wine."

  His eyes turned cold and he shivered slightly, nodding his head in response, "Yes."

  In the first year of Han Emperor Hui's reign, in summer, Zhao Wang Like was buried with the rites due to a vassal king at Lantian. His posthumous name was Xian, and he was known as Zhao Xianwang.

  Yang Lishi walked proudly down the main street of Dongshi, his family now worth a thousand taels. When he spoke, his voice was also somewhat louder. He entered the Qiongyang restaurant, puffed out his chest and ordered the waiter, "Bring me the best wine and dishes."

  Suddenly, he heard someone behind him ask, "Are you Yang Lisi?"

  He turned back in surprise and smiled, "It's really me, who are you?"

  The words had barely fallen when a newcomer let out a cold laugh. He only felt a pain in the back of his head before losing consciousness.

  When he woke up, his hands and feet were all tied up. He found that there was a cloth stuffed in his mouth, unable to make a sound. It seemed like he was curled up in a cart moving forward. The wheels rumbled. Outside, the sound of crowds could be faintly heard.

  After a while, the voices became sparse. Walking for another short while, they finally stopped, and the car door was pushed open with a clang. The man in uniform pulled him out, threw him to the ground, and all around had already left the official road, desolate wilderness, grass and trees connected, it seemed that the newcomer had brought him outside the city gate.

  A black silk shoe walked over from one side and stopped in front of him. The embroidery was exquisite, and the person examined him for a long time before saying calmly, "Undo the rope on his body."

  The gag was finally removed from her mouth, and Yang Lisi let out a breath of air, questioning, "Who are you people? Do you know I am the Empress's person, dare to treat me like this, don't want your lives?"

  He smiled slightly and immediately returned to his normal expression, "I knew you were the Empress's person, that's why I asked you to come here."

  He sternly asked, "I only ask you one question, was it your own hands that poured the poisonous wine for King Zhao?"

  Yang Lishi shivered with fear.

  He looked up in surprise, gazing at the young man in front of him. The young man in black was seventeen or eighteen years old, with a gentle and refined temperament, but he had an inexplicable aura and murderous intent. His phoenix-like eyes were slanted upwards, and he bore some resemblance to Empress Lü, whom he had caught a glimpse of at the Changle Palace a few days ago.

  His teeth chattered up and down, making a rattling sound. He had already guessed who the person was.

  "Is it or isn't it?"

  Yang Li suddenly knocked his head violently, "Your Majesty spare my life, Your Majesty forgive me, I was just following the Empress Dowager's orders, my true intention was not to harm Prince Zhao."

  Liu Yingmu's eyes were about to split, one foot kicked on his chest, and he scolded, "It's just a small palace slave, dare to plot against the Han dynasty's princes and kings, committing the crime of offending superiors with inferiors, deceiving masters with slaves, and should be punished."

  His kick was merciless, with great force, Yang Lishi was kicked to the ground, spitting out a mouthful of blood, not daring to wipe it away, repeatedly begging for mercy, "Your Majesty spare my life, Your Majesty spare my life, I didn't intentionally do it."

  Liu Ying leaned against the tree beside her, panting heavily, recalling the tragic death of Ruyi in the bathing pool, and feeling as if a stormy sea was about to overwhelm her, unable to calm down.

  "Your Majesty," Chang Ji stood behind him, his eyes sympathetic, and asked softly, "Please restrain your grief."

  He nodded and closed his eyes, saying, "Go back."

  "Yes." The imperial carriage driver responded and asked, "Then Your Majesty, how should this person be dealt with?"

  Liu Ying turned around to look at Yang Lisi, seeing that his face had already turned into a liver color, a pair of triangular eyes carefully looking at himself, and when he saw himself turn back, he quickly lowered his head again, the ugly appearance made people feel nauseous. Thinking again that Ruyi was killed by such a person, the flames of anger rose again, and with one stroke, she drew out the sword from the waist of the attendant next to her and slashed at the man on the ground.

  Yang Li's miserable cry, large patches of blood gushing out, on the ground, his swollen body was suddenly split in two from the waist, and for a moment he still hadn't died. Yang Li propped himself up with his hands and crawled a few steps, lifted his head and said viciously, "A lowly person is just carrying out orders, Your Majesty can only kill a lowly person today. If you have the ability, take your sword to Changle Palace and interrogate the Empress Dowager?"

  "How dare you, a mere palace slave, to offend His Majesty?" Lü Yi shouted loudly, kicking Yang Liushi to the ground. Yang Liushi convulsed several times before finally dying, his triangular eyes still wide open.

  The scene was so miserable that Liu Ying only felt a strange smell in his mouth. In the Battle of Huai River, he had killed hundreds of people with his own hands. Killing people in war was justified, and he never showed mercy. However, now as an emperor, he had personally killed an unarmed palace slave, and he even felt like vomiting. Yang Lishi deserved to be killed, but before he died, he asked a question that Liu Ying couldn't answer after careful consideration.

  But in any case, he couldn't interrogate his mother, and at this time, he didn't want to see his mother again either.

  "Luó zhěn," he called out loudly.

  "Your Majesty, what's wrong?" Lü Tui asked respectfully from outside the carriage.

  "Not returning to Weiyang Palace for now," he said. "Let's go to the Xuanping Marquis' residence instead, I want to pay a visit to Princess Ruyuan Zhang."

  I am not counting character divider line

  About Liu Ruyi, um, I want to say a couple of things.

  In dealing with things, Lü Zhi's idea is that if there is a possibility of trouble, it should be eliminated, and it is better to kill wrongly than to let it go. Liu Ying's idea is that as long as you don't betray me first, I won't betray you. Don't blame today's people for future events.

  The idea itself is not right or wrong (in fact, if it's about politics, maybe the former is more suitable. However, I insist that if it's about a girl marrying, then choosing a husband who won't betray you is more practical. So for the two emperors of the Liu family I wrote, Liu Che and Liu Xiang, I still like the latter more.) Because of Empress Lü's strong personality, she got what she wanted, except for Zhao Wang Youyi. However, she didn't convince Liu Xiang.

  Liu Ying tried to persuade her mother with gentle means, but also failed.

  Before the Changle Incident, the relationship between the mother and son was generally good. Politically, it might have been similar to that of Emperor Wu of Han and Empress Dowager Dou in earlier times; if there were important matters of state, Emperor Hui would first ask Empress Lü, and then issue edicts in his own name.

  Because their views on governance were largely consistent, there was no conflict between them, and they did not become as estranged as Emperor Wu and Empress Dowager Dou.

  And as expected, this is the first ideological conflict between mother and son. From now on, the emotional honeymoon period of this mother-son relationship has come to an end.

  Starting from tomorrow, the perspective will shift back to our heroine Zhang Yan.