Thousand Miles of Bright Moonlight

Chapter 116: Leaving the Capital

Li De did not punish Li Zhongqian on the spot.

Li Zhongqian was taken away by the Jin Wu Wei and cast into the palace prison.

Two days later, Zheng Jing went to see him: "Many cabinet ministers pleaded for your mercy."

The entire Xie family were martyrs, Princess Wenzhao perished in her most youthful years, and Li Zhongqian fought for the Great Wei in the north and south. His martial arts skills were ruined, and the ministers appealed to Li De for leniency, saying that he had lost control after his sister's death which was pardonable.

The Eastern Palace was uncharacteristically quiet this time and did not take advantage of the opportunity to hit a person who was down.

Zheng Jing sent the jailer away and asked the question in his mind, "Erlang, did you really want to assassinate His Majesty at that time?"

Even his golden hammers, he couldn't lift. He was checked before entering the palace for the banquet, and he didn't have any weapons. How did he dare make such a move? If the arrows were fired, he would have been a sieve in a matter of seconds! Moreover, Li De himself had martial skills. As soon as he had the opportunity, he could have shaken him off.

Li Zhongqian, lying on the stack of hay, was expressionless: "If it succeeded, then we would have died together."

His tone was flat, not caring at all about the shocking upheaval his success would bring.

Zheng Jing sucked in a breath of cold air. Li Zhongqian really wanted to kill his father!

He was silent for a long time and said, "But you failed."

Li Zhongqian sneered, "Sanlang, do you think that if I kept to myself, they would truly let me go?"

Zheng Jing's eyes flickered.

The most heartless was the imperial family.

With Princess Wenzhao dead, Li De knew that Li Zhongqian could not let go of his hatred. Whether he laid low or went crazy like the night before, Li De would not leave him, this hidden danger. The emperor was suspicious. Li De would clear all obstacles for Li Xuanzhen at any cost, in order to avoid the turmoil that would come when Li Xuanzhen ascended the throne.

Li Zhongqian knew Li De's ruthlessness, and Li De also knew his nature. If he truly concealed his strength, Li De would not only not drop his guard, he would be even warier and immediately eliminate him.

In the end, Li Xuanzhen was a man of his word and did not rush to harm him, but Li De was not reassured and was eager to summon him back to the capital to test him.

So, he might as well fight.

In any case, the worst outcome was nothing more than losing his life.

There was nothing for him to lose now.

Zheng Jing sighed quietly: "You have already tried. Do not have such thoughts in the future. His Majesty dares to let you return to the capital, so he is not afraid that you will assassinate him again. Princess Wenzhao's memorial hall was built not long ago; His Majesty will not dare to take your life for the time being... Erlang, what are you going to do in the future?"

After his recent assasination attempt, Li De would instead put down his guard against Li Zhongqian. A hot-tempered prince was indeed easier to deal with than a deep-scheming one, but he couldn't be completely at ease.

Li Zhongqian looked at the damp brick ceiling at the roof of the prison cell: "Sanlang, prepare dry rations and horses for me."

Zheng Jing was stunned: "Where do you want to go?"

Li Zhongqian calmly said, "To Helong. I will ask His Majesty for permission to go to Helong."

Li De would agree to this request that was to his benefit.

Zheng Jing frowned: "Erlang... Princess Wenzhao is no longer here. The Hu people saw with their own eyes that Helong is now occupied by the Northern Rong. The situation is grim."

Li Zhongqian said softly: "She died, and I want to bring her back. She is timid, and she'll be afraid on her own. I want to bring her home. I promised her that no matter where she is, I will find her."

Zheng Jing felt that Li Zhongqian was acting completely whimsical: how could one find a person's bones in the vast expanse of the world?

He didn't know how to persuade Li Zhongqian. Thinking of the Seventh Princess who died outside of the country, his heart felt like it was pierced by needles, and it hurt immensely. Li Zhongqian was the Seventh Princess' biological brother, and would only feel more pain than him.

But how was Li Zhongqian going to find her?

"Your martial arts skills..." Zheng Jing wanted to say but stopped.

Li Zhongqian's face did not change: "Can't hold a golden hammer, I can change and wield a long knife, change to a dagger, change to a spear... I once abandoned martial arts for literature, then abandoned literature for martial arts. The damage left by a few poisoned arrows can not destroy me."

He could not collapse before he found Little Seventh.

Zheng Jing sighed long and hard.

No matter how many words of dissuasion he uttered, Li Zhongqian was deaf to them. He could not stop Li Zhongqian from leaving Great Wei.