Tang Dynasty Puppet Doctor

Chapter 121 His true identity
The young man pondered for a moment, his lips curled slightly as he replied, "I don't know why that mysterious man took me in as his disciple. Three years ago, when I was most helpless and down and out, he found me and said he would teach me the skills to protect myself and avenge Sister Aying. In return, I only had to do one thing for him."

"What's the matter?" Xiao Muchen asked impatiently.

The young man said, "This is a secret. I promised my master not to tell you." He stood up again, hands behind his back, and continued, "As for the deaths of Hong Xian and Xue Huaiyi, they were not my fault. I simply used Hong Xian's death to implement my plan."

Murong Huan continued puzzledly, "But when we saw Hong Xian's puppet, she had just died in prison. How did you know the circumstances of her death?"

The young man smiled and said, "Because I have Hong Xian's name scroll in my hand. It clearly records the time and manner of her death, as well as her appearance at the time of her death."

As he spoke, the young man took out a scroll from his sleeve and threw it into Murong Huan's hand.

Murong Huan opened it and saw that it was indeed all about Hong Xian's background, all her experiences, and her final death.

"Who is Master? How does he know why Hong Xian died? Did he plan the deaths of these people in advance?"

The young man shook his head again: "I don't know either."

"So what exactly does the master want you to do for him? You..." Murong Huan asked again, suddenly asking with some fear, "Will you die too?"

The young man turned to her, an extremely innocent smile on his lips: "It seems that Junior Sister is very worried that I will die like Hong Xian, right?"

Murong Huan did not deny it. Selfishly, she did not want the deaths of these people to be related to her master. She was even more unwilling to believe that someone like her master was the murderer behind all this.

"Junior Sister is such a pure and kind person. What a pity."

The young man's sudden sigh gave Xiao Muchen a bad feeling.

"What a pity?" he asked.

The young man didn't answer, but instead asked, "Did your master ever tell you that if you met her in this life, you must treat her well?"

Xiao Muchen suddenly felt his heart tighten, and the question that had troubled him for a long time flooded into his mind again.

"Yes, what else did the master say to you?" he asked in a suddenly raised voice.

The young man didn't answer again. He stood up and paced leisurely around the cell. Suddenly, with a smile, he asked, "Are you getting married soon? As your junior fellow apprentice, can I offer you a glass of wedding wine?"

Xiao Muchen didn't answer.

At this time, Murong Huan continued, "Of course you can, but what identity do you want to attend our wedding banquet as? As a junior brother? Or as your original identity?"

The young man suddenly stopped.

Then she continued, "From the first time I saw you, I felt that you exuded an extraordinary demeanor. If you were really an ordinary beggar, you wouldn't have such a calm demeanor.
And you yourself said that Cui Ying made friends with many sons of officials and noble men in Luoyang City. She also had her own followers and a group of powerful people under her. How could she be easily captured by your accomplices just by going out?

This means that you actually have a group of forces that are opposing it, or in other words, you have received help from a noble person, right?"

After a slight pause, she asked in a deep voice:

"who are you?"

The smile on the young man's lips deepened, and he seemed to reveal some relief: "Junior sister is really smart. I heard that you can draw pictures by touching bones, and even the bones can restore their appearance before death. Then can you draw my real appearance through this fake face of mine?" Murong Huan didn't say anything more to him. He immediately asked someone to bring pen, ink, paper and inkstone, and without hesitation, he began to trace the young man's face.

The interrogation room fell into a long silence, the only sound being the scratching of the pen on the paper. When Murong Huan put down his pen and the boy's true features appeared on the paper, Xiao Muchen's eyes flashed with a hint of sudden realization and astonishment.

This was a face that was more dignified and handsome than the mask he was wearing now, and it matched the boy's inherent nobility better. However, it was also a face that Xiao Muchen felt familiar with.

"Prince Zhanghuai Li Xian?" he asked, "Your face is quite similar to his. Could it be that you are..."

Seven years ago was the year when Prince Zhanghuai was forced to death by Qiu Shenji. It was in this year that the young man was wandering on the streets and met Yingying.

That year, he was exactly ten years old.

After Li Xian's death, his three sons disappeared from sight. Some said they were killed by Qiu Shenji, but others said they lived in seclusion as commoners in order to avoid the empress's suspicion and persecution.

If he is Li Xian's son, then everything seems to make sense. Heichi Jun came to Puzhou, and he must have come for him?

Although he couldn't see Murong Huan's face in the portrait, the young man had already guessed the answer from Xiao Muchen's surprised tone.

He smiled and replied calmly, "Since my senior brother has guessed it, I won't hide it anymore. I am indeed Li Xian's third son, Li Yi!"

"My two brothers have passed away, and I am the only one left alive in this world. To escape Qiu Shenji and those killers, I hid in Puzhou. Fortunately, Sister Aying rescued me and I became an adopted son of the Lu family. That's how I survived under an assumed name."

"Senior Brother, you should have heard that my father was quite virtuous when he was alive, and was very much loved by the Imperial Grandfather. However, the sorcerer Ming Chongyan used his magical powers to repeatedly slander my father in front of my Imperial Grandfather and Grandmother, saying that my father's face was not suitable for inheriting the throne. They even fabricated a rumor that my father was the son of Lady Han. As a result, my father was in constant fear and trepidation, and he dared not see his mother. Since then, a rift has arisen between mother and son, and the Imperial Grandmother has become even more distant from my father."

"Later, Ming Chongyan was mysteriously murdered, and someone pinned this unsolved case on my father. The Empress, who was deeply convinced of Ming Chongyan, became even more dissatisfied with my father. Not only did she arrange for someone to report my father's love of music and sex, and his intimacy with household slaves like Zhao Daosheng, she also ordered people to hide hundreds of black armor in the stables of the Eastern Palace. Furthermore, Zhao Daosheng, a traitorous slave, accused my father of treason, which led to my father's dethronement, imprisonment, exile, and finally his death."

Having said that, Li Yi paused for a moment, a wry smile forming at the corner of his lips.

Although Xiao Muchen knew about this past event concerning Li Xian, he was too young at that time to tell whether it was true or not. Hearing the young man speak so angrily at this moment, he couldn't help but sigh and felt a little surprised.

"Since you know that the current sage hates your father so much, why did you dare to return to Luoyang and reveal your identity to us?"

Li Yi came back to his senses and said with a smile: "I believe in the character of my senior brothers and sisters. You won't betray me. What's more, I have the master's secrets with me..."

He pointed to his chest and continued cunningly, "This is the bargaining chip I use to negotiate a deal with my senior brothers and sisters."

Murong Huan and Xiao Muchen couldn't even utter a word of rebuttal.

Li Yi added: "And I also know that the death of my senior brother's family and the death of my senior sister's father are probably related to my father.

Don't you want to know who informed the Saint and caused the annihilation of your Xiao family?"

He turned to Murong Huan again, "Who was responsible for the death of your parents, Senior Sister?"

Xiao Muchen paused, pondering, "Although Helan Minzhi admitted before his death that he was the author of the letter of denunciation, was there anyone else involved? And who wrote the letter accusing his mother? His mother's identity and origins remain unsolved mysteries."

"Brother, sister, let's work together! I also want to be your trusted partner and use my wisdom to help you."