Half in the river wind, half in the clouds

Chapter 138 The Way of the Emperor

Li Longji didn't care, and nodded, "Dou Ding stabbed him in the right chest with a sword, and he is still unconscious."

"Why didn't Li Zan say it just now? Dou Ding didn't say it either..." Jiang Feng didn't believe it. Li Longye was a martial arts master. How could Dou Ding's mediocre skills possibly hurt him!

"Let Li Zan take you to see him. I heard that he took care of you without taking off his clothes when you were in Liangzhou?" Li Longji said, with three parts of smile, three parts of sarcasm, and four parts of scrutiny on his face.

Jiang Feng was still confused. Li Longji was furious and cursed: "Old Five is simply blind to fall for a stupid woman like you. Get out now!"

Jiang Feng really couldn't understand the emperor's jumping thoughts.

But she roughly understood that she didn't need to marry Dou Ding or become a nun.

Li Longye's injury was just a bluff.

She escaped! She controlled the urge to shout "Long live the emperor" and kowtowed to express her gratitude. This guy can only be a thousand years old now.

Jiang Feng had already stepped over the threshold when Li Longji's voice came over again: "Wait."

Jiang Feng was shocked, and her first thought was that Li Longji regretted it! She lost her balance and tripped over the threshold, falling flat on her face. She cursed him a hundred times in her heart for being useless, but she still prostrated herself on the ground and kowtowed repeatedly. As Li Longji's smile deepened, she said, "Don't worry, Your Highness. I will do my best to take care of Prince Xue to atone for my sins. If I fail in this mission, I will die to apologize. Please rest assured, Your Highness!"

"It's easy to kneel down and kowtow! Your sister is so arrogant, and your elder brother is also full of integrity! The reputation of your Jiang family is ruined by you, a girl!" Li Longji scolded.

You've lost your life, and you're still talking to me about integrity?! It's simply "Why don't you just eat meat?"

Jiang Feng lay on the ground without saying a word. Li Longji just wanted to get rid of her quickly, otherwise he would be really angry to death, so he asked unhappily: "Stand up and answer."

Jiang Feng stood up and waited devoutly and sincerely for Li Longji to ask questions.

Li Longji suddenly felt a little overwhelmed, but he still patiently asked, "According to you, how should Dou Ding be dealt with?"

Jiang Feng tilted his head and thought seriously for a long while, then sighed and replied, "In terms of reason, according to Tang law, it is not excessive to exterminate the entire clan; in terms of emotion, Your Highness has both civil and military achievements. If the world knew that he was trying to murder the crown prince who is popular among the people, they would definitely spit on his face. In terms of public, private, emotion, and reason, he cannot escape death. However, people in the world always ask others first and then themselves. Dou Ding will definitely not reflect on the fact that the tragic death of his parents, the stupidity of his brother, and the humiliation of his eldest sister-in-law are ultimately the result of his bad behavior and many unjust actions. He only asks for punishment from the emperor."

Jiang Feng pondered Li Longji's facial expression, and it seemed that he could say something more profound, so he plucked up the courage to continue: "Your Highness is merciful. At that time, he only sentenced Dou Huairang to exile. But when a wicked person loses power, everyone will push him down. Those who were bullied in the past will naturally bully him again, which is the end of his family being broken up. But Dou Ding's stupidity and ignorance are all blamed on Your Highness. Your Highness is so innocent. Your Highness, in terms of emotion, reason, and people's hearts, are all on Your side. How to deal with him is just a matter of your words. But... but... must he be killed? Why don't Your Highness spare his life to show Your Highness's benevolence and the emperor's great grace..."

"If I hadn't checked your background clearly long ago, I would have really suspected that you had an affair with him if you had helped that kid to absolve him of his guilt!" Li Longye interrupted Jiang Feng with a smile on his face.

Jiang Feng's face turned red, but he held his head high, as if to say: You are right, we are indeed innocent as can be.

In Li Longji's view, that life was indeed not a big deal, but how could he, who was determined to avenge his enemies, let someone who dared to assassinate him live! However, what the girl said seemed to be right. If Dou Ding's life could win some reputation for generosity, it would be worth it. His old father was reluctant to give up power and tried to win over Princess Taiping to restrain him, just because he was worried that he would attack the eldest brother.

Thinking of this, he was in a good mood. Jiang Feng looked as pleasing to the eye as a porcelain doll, and said with a smile: "You ignorant of the danger, why don't you go!"

Jiang Feng ran away as if he had been pardoned.

Li Longji smiled and drank half a cup of tea, and said to Gao Lishi who was smiling beside him: "This little girl is enough for Wulang to bear."

Gao Lishi smiled and said nothing.

After a while, Wang Maozhong came in with his beard raised in anger. Li Longji asked knowingly, "Who made the general so angry?"

Wang Maozhong straightened his neck and said, "Your Highness, Dou Ding wants to assassinate you, why are you going to let him go?"

Li Longji knew he had this question, so he didn't answer. He just said calmly, "We were assassinated at Prince Ning's mansion yesterday. Lao Wu and Nezhi escorted me, and you led the people to chase him alone. Dou Ding was seriously injured and there was no one to help him. It was such a long journey from my eldest brother to Yongningfang, but you didn't catch him? And you let him hide in Jiang's mansion? That would be fine, but you also searched the mansion. The mansion is not big, how come you couldn't find him?"

Wang Maozhong blushed and said, "Maybe, maybe they hid it..."

"Nonsense!" Li Longji shouted. "How could I not know your ability? Since you have got the clue, you will dig out the person even if you dig three feet deep. Why don't you tell the truth? Do I have to beat you with a stick?"

Wang Maozhong was not afraid. He scratched his head and said with a smile, "Your Highness is wise. Nothing can be hidden from you. Uh...uh, last night I chased them out, but those men in black disappeared in the blink of an eye. I'm afraid they have some background! But Dou Ding's martial arts are not very good, and he was stabbed by the prince. He was easily targeted by me. I wanted to make a big move, so I sent someone to follow them."

Li Longji smiled. Although this guy was a little domineering sometimes and had little culture, he was indeed useful.

Wang Maozhong also heard: "Dou Ding first went to Dou Huaizheng's house. That old man actually drove his own nephew out. Later, he fled to Jiang's house. I waited for a long time but there was no movement, so I went in to search. I observed his expression and felt that Mr. Jiang seemed to be unaware of the situation. I guessed that there might be someone else behind the scenes, so I withdrew and sent people to guard Jiang's house, just waiting for the boy to fall into the trap. Unexpectedly, a pretty girl also came to the door."

When Li Longji heard that he was still lying, he said with a frown, "I'm afraid you recognized Dou Ding just after he was driven out by his uncle? You know the things between Dou Ding and Liangdi's mother's family very well. Didn't you induce him to join the Jiang family?"

Wang Maozhong scratched his head again and said nonchalantly, "I did use some tricks. I had other intersections guarded. If he ran, he could only run to the gate of Jiang Mansion. I... I just wanted to help the prince. If the Jiang family is loyal, then it won't matter. But, but the third lady is suspected of helping Dou Ding escape!"

"You are still being stubborn. You are trying to test their sincerity. You are just trying to get Wulang and Nezhi into trouble." Li Longji scolded.

Wang Maozhong lowered his head and said nothing, obviously still unconvinced.

Li Longji did not mean to blame him, he just said: "You get up, let's leave it at that. Wulang is my brother, you and Nezhi are my right-hand men, the overall situation is not settled, how can you start a mess from the inside, wouldn't it ruin the whole thing!"

Wang Maozhong had no choice but to kowtow and agree.