Work overtime

Li Beichen did not go back directly to Qinzheng Hall, but drove to Tianlao to see Meng Qing, and also interviewed Yang Wanli and Huang Shaoan, the young ministers of Dali Temple.

Meng Qing was held incommunicado and placed in a cell with the best conditions.

But no matter how good it is, going to jail can never be comfortable.The darkest things in the world are gathered here.

The deepest sins, resentments and grievances.
Naturally with a desperate air of death.

Besides, human nature means that the jailer will not let him have an easy time.

When a person who is high up suddenly falls into the mud, there will always be someone who can't help but step on him first.

Meng Qing was dressed in prison uniform, with disheveled hair and a dark and stained face. The jade crown that usually bound her hair was missing. Her hands and feet were shackled, and her expression was panicked and frightened.

There is absolutely no aura like the usual court officials.

When he saw Li Beichen, his eyes widened and he froze for a long time, then he knelt on the ground as if he had no bones, his head was like pounded garlic, and he cried out pathetically, "Your Majesty, I was wronged. I was wronged. Yes."

The sound of banging and banging was still very clear in the noisy cell.

Li Beichen was silent, with the corners of his mouth pursed and a sinister look in his eyes.

Meng Qing couldn't help but shuddered and closed his eyes.

This is the instinctive fear of feeling approaching death.

He didn't kill the person, but he did force him.When she woke up, the girl was lying naked next to her, her eyes were wide open, her neck was bruised, she was dead, and her body was cold.

That scene appeared clearly in his mind again.

The surrounding jailers had long been dismissed by Xu Fuhai.

"Xu Fuhai, get Master Meng a basin of water to wash your face."

Meng Qing's heart trembled, there was moisture in her eyes, and a tear fell to the ground unsatisfactoryly. Her throat was sore that she almost cried.

Is the emperor trying to show mercy and pardon him?

A jailer ran into the cell with a basin of water in fear.

"Remove the shackles on your hands and feet," Li Beichen ordered. He glanced at the thatch in the corner, frowned, and said coldly, "Bring Mr. Meng a wooden bed and add a quilt."

The jailer responded one after another, sweating profusely, and hurriedly followed the instructions.

Li Beichen winked at Xu Fuhai.

After a while, a little eunuch walked in respectfully holding a pile of clothes.

After putting on clean clothes, being served by the young eunuch, and tidying up, Meng Qing changed her appearance and stood with her hands hanging down, her eyes filled with confusion.

Li Beichen winked, and only he and Meng Qing were left.

Meng Qing's legs went weak involuntarily, and she knelt down again, tears streaming down her face.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, I, I did something stupid, but I really didn't kill her."

Li Beichen stood with his hands behind his back, staring at Meng Qing, silent. After a moment, he raised the corner of his lips and said coldly:

"It is up to you to decide whether you killed the person or not. Your father begged me after he went to court. He couldn't worry about you, so he begged me to take care of you so that you would suffer less in prison. You can take care of yourself!"

When Meng Qing heard this, she wiped her tears with her sleeves.Growing up, his father always kept him and his younger brother in check.

Li Beichen shook off his sleeves, snorted coldly, and left.

Xu Fuhai comforted and explained to Meng Qing a few more words before leaving with the emperor.

Later, Li Beichen took the opportunity to inspect the work at Dali Temple and met with Shaoqing Yang Wanli and Huang Shaoan, who are currently co-hosting the work.

There were a lot of cases in the past few days. Li Beichen only made a symbolic inspection and did not pay any extra attention to Meng Qing.The general idea is that when dealing with important officials of the imperial court, one must be impartial, truth-seeking, and cautious.Don't wrongly accuse good people, and don't tolerate bad people.

At first, the jailers kept their hearts in their throats, fearing that the emperor would be angry and punish him.

It turned out that the emperor was just going through the motions for the sake of Meng Qing's father, Prime Minister Meng, changing his clothes and adding an extra quilt to preserve his dignity, instead of directly acquitting him. They were all relieved.

But through this, he understood Meng Qing's identity, and he was concerned about settling the accounts with Qiu Hou, so he served him carefully, not daring to show any slights, and trying his best to facilitate him in every aspect.

At night, sleep on a hard wooden bed covered with a soft quilt.Meng Qing actually felt a little bit happy.

He hid under the quilt, took out a small piece of paper, and read it carefully word by word with the help of a night-light pearl the size of a glass bead.It was given to him by the little eunuch who brought him clothes.

The emperor told him what to do next.

After reading it twice, Meng Qing thought about it, stuffed the note into his mouth, chewed it and swallowed it.

There were a few silver notes and a jade pendant in the pockets of his clothes, which were probably left for him as a jailer.

There is also a fish-shaped jade comb.It's just an ordinary comb, nothing fancy.She didn't feel anything when she got the banknote, but when she held the comb in her hand, Meng Qing's eyes suddenly became wet.

The comb had no practical value, but it preserved his dignity.

Late at night, what happened in the prison during the day and the conversation between the emperor and Meng Qing were reported word for word by the jailer to the contact person in a dense grove.

In the shadows not far away, an expert was ordered to follow them, hiding cleverly and observing secretly.

The contact person realized that he might be being followed based on his intuition as he traveled around the world.After the meeting, I deliberately didn't go back to resume my life. I walked around but didn't find anyone.

I always felt that something was wrong, so I simply made a fuss and sneaked into the Sixth Prince's Mansion in the dark.
These things under the table often happen quietly in the dark, and only those involved will feel that their lives are hanging by a thread, with swords and swords flickering.

Like the part of the iceberg that sinks below the sea level.The sea looked calm, with fish leaping and birds flying.I don't feel any different from usual days.

When Li Beichen returned to Qinzheng Hall, Chen Ning had been waiting for a long time.

He changed his clothes, purified his hands and burned incense to get rid of the bad luck of being in prison. Then he invited Chen Ning into the inner hall and ordered Xu Fuhai to drink two cups of the best Biluochun.

Chen Ning looked calm on the face, but he was agitated in his heart. He had a hand in what happened last night.

He knew there was something wrong inside, and deliberately pushed the drunk Meng Qing into the tea room.

Li Beichen didn't seem to notice the unnaturalness in Chen Ning's expression. His face was stern, but his tone was very gentle, "Can you play chess?"

Chen Ning didn't dare to raise her eyes. She only saw the corner of the bright yellow eyes in front of her eyes, and a trace of inferiority flashed through her eyes. She whispered, "Only a little."

He had no means to hire a specialized teacher to learn how to play chess since he was a child. How could he dare to say that he knew how to play chess in front of the emperor like this?

Li Beichen took a sip of tea and stared at Chen Ning, "Sit down and play another round with me."

"I obey." Chen Ning sat nervously on the other side of the chessboard, silent.

It was still the same game of chess that I had played with Concubine Jing before.Li Beichen couldn't explain why he was obsessed with this.

He reminded softly, "It's your turn."

Chen Ning began to sweat on his forehead. He stared at the chess game closely, analyzing the posture and momentum of the black and white stones.

After a while, he paused anxiously.A position unlike anyone before.

Li Beichen suddenly became interested.I started to re-evaluate this game.

After the two of them went back and forth, Li Beichen glanced at Chen Ning, smiled and said nothing.

Chen Ning, who had been nervous before, was now calm and composed, and there was even a clear smile on the corner of his mouth.I'm afraid I thought to myself, it's been through a few hands anyway.There is no shame in losing to the emperor, but you may lose your head if you win.

The mentality of giving it a try actually led to a way to survive by playing chess.

Li Beichen was touched in his heart and dropped his son in one place.Unexpectedly, as soon as the black piece fell, Chen Ning dropped a white piece, and the black piece was immediately lifted up.

Chen Ning beamed with joy, but immediately realized that it was inappropriate. He immediately lowered his head and suppressed the smile on his face, feeling uneasy.

When you lift it up, you hold it in your hand like a hot potato.

The emperor shouldn't be so stingy and angry because of that, right?

From the corner of his eyes, he quietly looked at the emperor opposite.

"Good chess." Li Beichen smiled slightly, holding the black piece in his hand, but it still didn't fall down.

From Li Beichen's point of view, Chen Ning's reaction was normal.

He was once so afraid of his father, or even more afraid.Because he desperately longed for his father's approval and was worried that he would disappoint him.

Chen Ning's hanging heart returned to his chest, and he took a long breath, with beads of sweat on his palms.

Li Beichen's temperament when he plays chess is very different from when he discusses politics on weekdays.

On weekdays, he is a majestic and indifferent king who shows no emotion or anger. No matter how close he is, he is still a lonely and aloof king.

At this time, his eyes were clear and tranquil, like the calmness of blue waves thousands of miles away, and the carefreeness of wandering clouds and cranes.

"Who did you learn your chess skills from? Or did you teach yourself?" Li Beichen's fingers were long and slender, and he calmly landed a move.

The behavior is elegant and graceful, and the arc drawn is pleasing to the eye.Chen Ning felt admiration and envy from the bottom of his heart.

"I have never studied under a teacher. I used to learn a little bit from an old man in the village who would give me some pointers."

"It's rare." Li Beichen smiled slightly.

After saying that, Li Beichen looked at Xu Fuhai and said, "Xu Fuhai, find a good set of Go and give it to Mr. Chen."

Xu Fuhai, who was waiting aside, had long developed a cautious and silent temperament. He was also surprised at this time, but only for a moment, he immediately returned to normal and responded respectfully.