Chapter 708 Undecided
"My Lord, My Lord! My Lord, wait a minute!"

Qin Wei rushed out of the prison in a hurry, shouting in an attempt to keep Zhao Yuan.

However, Zhao Yuan ignored Qin Wei's plea, walked towards his carriage with firm and quick steps without looking back.

"My Lord, where are we going?"

"Go home!"

In response to the driver's question, Zhao Yuan uttered a cold answer, then leaned over and got into the carriage, isolating Qin Wei, who had hurried over, outside the curtain.

"go!"

"As ordered..."

"Wait a moment!"

The moment the driver whipped his whip, Qin Wei rushed forward and blocked the carriage with his body. The driver was horrified and hurriedly pulled the reins, raising his horse's hooves high, almost trampling Qin Wei off the horse.

"Master Qin, be careful!" the driver complained in a low voice with lingering fear.

"My Lord, listen to me for a moment! Just one sentence!"

"Get out of here!" Zhao Yuan's angry voice came from the carriage, "If you dare to block the carriage again, I'll hit you to death!"

"Even if you kill me, I will still tell you!" Qin Wei made up his mind, suddenly opened his arms, and stared at the slightly shaking car curtain with a determined look.

"Great! You've all grown up, become independent, and have your own ideas. No one will listen to my orders anymore." Zhao Yuan's self-deprecating and resentful voice sounded a little sad. "Over the years, even a dog would be loyal to its master, but you bastards are all ungrateful. Your abilities have not improved, but your arrogance has become more and more arrogant!"

"Master Hou!"

Zhao Yuan's words made Qin Wei feel very uncomfortable. He fell to his knees and said earnestly, "My Lord, if even you are unwilling to save Brother Liu, he will definitely die this time!"

"He will surely die?" Zhao Yuan laughed in anger. "If this gets out of hand, he won't be the only one who will surely die. Humph! Take care of yourself first!"

"My Lord, you and Brother Liu are like father and son. Now that he is in great danger, can you really bear to watch him die without saving him?"

"How dare you!" Qin Wei's words seemed to have touched Zhao Yuan's nerves, causing his tone to suddenly become very irritable. "You heard everything that happened tonight. Is it me who watched him die without rescuing him, or is it Liu Xunyi who brought this upon himself? You should know the answer! Right now, it's not that I don't want to save him, but that I can't save him. Do you understand? You can survive if you are punished by heaven, but you can't if you are punished by yourself. Liu Xunyi is courting death, and even the king of heaven can't save him."

"Is there really no way?" Qin Wei was unwilling to give in, but he had no other choice but to place all his hopes on Zhao Yuan. He begged bitterly, "My Lord, from what Brother Liu just said, he may not know about the princess' request to the emperor. Maybe there is another hidden story behind this matter, maybe Brother Liu was wronged..."

"Qin Wei, are you really naive or are you just pretending to be confused?" Zhao Yuan interrupted impatiently, "At this point, do you think the truth of the matter and Liu Xunyi's crime are still important?"

"What do you mean?" Qin Wei looked confused, as if he didn't understand Zhao Yuan's hidden meaning.

"It doesn't matter who caused this incident or whose fault it is!" Zhao Yuan said in a deep voice, "What matters is that the emperor was fooled and made a 'not so wise' decision, so someone needs to take the blame to save the emperor's face and silence the gossips."

"Your Majesty, what you mean is that the Emperor knew Brother Liu was innocent, but he deliberately made him a scapegoat..."

"How dare you!" Zhao Yuan said sternly, "Who can tell for sure whether Zhao Xin and Liu Xunyi are in collusion? How can you tell whether what Liu Xunyi just said is true or false? If you presume to speculate on the emperor's intentions, you may lose your life!"

"This……"

"Even if Liu Xunyi's words are true, it is more important to save the emperor's face than to find out the right and wrong of the matter!" Zhao Yuan's tone slowed down and he sighed, "In fact, the emperor has been very tolerant and restrained in this matter. Otherwise, Liu Xunyi would not be the only one imprisoned in the Sky Prison tonight?"

After saying this, Zhao Yuan no longer paid attention to Qin Wei who was hesitant to speak, and gave an order directly. The carriage moved farther and farther away until it disappeared at the end of the street.

When the worried Qin Wei returned to Tianji Pavilion like a zombie, it was already dawn.

"Master Qin!"

Qin Wei dragged his exhausted body and slowly walked into his room. Suddenly, a panicked and anxious voice sounded from outside the courtyard. Then, Ding Chou, with red and swollen cheeks and worried eyes, limped in front of Qin Wei.

Last night, Ding Chou was severely punished by the palace guards. Although he did not suffer fatal injuries, he was bound to suffer from skin and bones for a few days.

"Xiao Dingzi, what are you doing here?"

"I want to ask about Lord Liu's situation!" Ding Chou said hurriedly, "Lord Qin just came back from the prison, he should know everything about Lord Liu. What crime did he commit? Why did the emperor send people to arrest him? How is Lord Liu now? When can he come back..."

"Little Ding!" Qin Wei waved his hand to interrupt Ding Chou's chattering and warned him, "Don't ask about things you shouldn't ask about, or you'll get into trouble. As for Lord Liu's lawsuit...you can't take care of it, go back and have a rest!"

While talking, Qin Wei walked to the table and sat down, wanting to pour a cup of tea to moisten his throat, but unexpectedly the teapot was empty, without a drop of water.

Perhaps because he was in a bad mood or just angry, Qin Wei smashed the teapot against the corner of the wall with all his might. With a loud bang, fragments flew everywhere, frightening Ding Chou who was caught off guard. He trembled and looked at Qin Wei with more panic in his eyes.

"Stupid guy, you don't even know to add water when the teapot is empty!"

From Qin Wei's upset eyes and irritable tone, Ding Chou could easily guess that Liu Xunyi's situation must not be optimistic.

"Master Qin, please be patient. I'll go get a pot of water..." "No need!" Qin Wei took a deep breath, trying his best to calm himself down, and said softly, "Xiao Dingzi, there is nothing for you to do here, go back!"

"Master Qin, I know that I am a lowly person and I shouldn't ask too many questions. But... I am really worried about Master Liu's safety." After hesitating for a long time, Ding Chou finally couldn't get rid of his obsession, so he asked, "You can not tell me the reason for the matter, but can you tell me the result of the matter?"

"What do you want to know?"

"I want to know...will Lord Liu...die?"

Facing Ding Chou, who was timid but full of desire, Qin Wei was silent for a while, then he sighed and nodded slowly: "Yes!"

"hiss!"

Ding Chou took a deep breath and his mind went blank in an instant.

"This time, Brother Liu has poked a hole in the sky, and even the gods can't save him." Qin Wei said helplessly, "You only need to know about this matter, and don't talk nonsense when you get out."

"But..." Ding Chou was in a state of confusion and spoke incoherently, "But... Lord Liu is a meritorious official of Tianji Pavilion and a pillar of the court. Why didn't the Prime Minister and the Marquis save him?"

"This matter cannot be explained in a few words. Even if I explain it, you may not understand it. In short, the Prime Minister, the Marquis, and even the entire East Palace will be in great trouble."

"Then...what about Lord Qin?" Ding Chou asked impatiently, "You are Lord Liu's good brother who shared life and death together. Others may watch him die without helping, but you will never stand idly by, right?"

Facing Ding Chou's expectations, Qin Wei couldn't help but feel a pain in his heart. His facial features gradually became ferocious, as if he was indignant and powerless. He was annoyed and helpless, angry and sad. He kept muttering to himself: "In fact, I am just like you. I am insignificant, powerless, and can't influence anything..."

"What do you mean? Don't you care about Mr. Liu's life or death?"

"Of course not!" Qin Wei said in confusion, "It's just that... the Prime Minister and the Marquis are powerless to do anything about this matter, so what can I think of at the moment?"

"Why not go find the young prince?" Ding Chou suggested, "The young prince has a close relationship with Lord Liu, I believe he will definitely be willing to help..."

"It is the Emperor's will to punish Brother Liu. Not to mention the young prince, even Prince Rong... I'm afraid he wouldn't dare to say anything." Qin Wei shook his head firmly, "What's more, if we ask the young prince for help at this critical moment, wouldn't that drag him into the water? Regardless of whether we can convince the young prince or whether he can help Brother Liu, just the fact that we go to the young prince for help will definitely cause great dissatisfaction in Prince Rong. If we do this, won't we make enemies for the Marquis? And cause trouble for the East Palace? In the end, not only will we fail to rescue Brother Liu, but we will also make things worse and put the East Palace into a more passive situation."

"Lord Qin's worries are not without reason..." Ding Chou frowned and thought hard, "Even if the young prince is willing to help, Prince Rong will not agree."

"It's good to know."

"Why not... ask Princess Xinde for help?" Ding Chou suggested again, "She is now the Mongolian princess. If she asks the emperor for help, he will definitely agree."

"That's fine, but... can you see the princess?" Qin Wei asked, "I'm afraid that you and I would be shot to death by the Royal Guards before we even enter the palace gate, so how can we enter the palace to see the princess? You also know the princess's identity. The emperor's protection for her must be as strong as a rock. Our chance of seeing the princess... is even slimmer than the chance of breaking into the prison to rescue someone."

"This..." Being rejected by Qin Wei again, Ding Chou gradually became flustered. "This is not okay, that is not okay. What should we do? We can't just watch Master Liu die, right?"

"There is nothing we can do!" Qin Wei sighed, "Even the Prime Minister and the officials in the East Palace are powerless to save the situation. I'm afraid Brother Liu will not be able to escape this time..."

"Got it!" Suddenly, Ding Chou's eyes lit up and he said excitedly, "Not only is the East Palace powerful in the court, but the West Palace is equally important in the emperor's heart!"

"What do you mean by that?"

"Since the East Mansion is powerless to save the situation, why don't you ask the West Mansion for help?" Ding Chou said confidently, "The East and West Mansions have always been at odds. If the West Mansion can plead for Lord Liu, I believe the emperor will be surprised and spare Lord Liu's life for the sake of harmony in the court."

"Xiao Dingzi, do you know what you are talking about?" Qin Wei frowned and scolded, "The people in Tianji Pavilion are all from the East Palace, how can they ask for help from the West Palace?"

"Others certainly can't do it, but maybe Lord Qin can."

Just these words made Qin Wei's heart tighten suddenly. He looked at Ding Chou with more solemn eyes and asked suspiciously: "Little Ding, what do you mean by this?"

"Hehe..." Ding Chou smiled innocently, leaned close to the anxious Qin Wei's ear, and whispered, "Not long ago, I accidentally saw Lord Qin and Bai Jin, the Minister of the Privy Council, talking happily, and they got off the same carriage. Therefore, I guess Lord Qin may have some good friends in the West Mansion."

"hiss!"

When Qin Wei heard the devastating news, his face turned pale, his lips were bloodless, and he stood there like a wooden sculpture, unable to recover for a long time.

"Don't worry, Lord Qin. I haven't told anyone about this." Seeing Qin Wei speechless, Ding Chou hurriedly spoke to comfort him, "I've heard from other officials that being in the officialdom is bound to involve socializing everywhere. I understand Lord Qin's difficulties. What I meant just now was... Since Lord Qin has some friends in the West Palace, I wonder if they can do you a favor and try to plead for Lord Liu in front of the emperor. Maybe..."

"No need to say more!" Qin Wei suddenly came to his senses, quickly concealed the weirdness on his face, and pretended to be nonchalant and agreed, "For now, the only way is to treat a dead horse as a living one. Brother Liu is my best brother. As long as I can help him, I will try any method."

"Master Qin is so righteous, I admire him!"

"Verbal admiration is worthless. My mouth is dry now. Why don't you go make some tea?"

Facing the overjoyed Ding Chou, Qin Wei playfully rubbed his head with his hand, and at the same time raised a friendly smile. But when he looked into the depths of Ding Chou's eyes, a hint of inexplicable hidden brilliance flashed quietly.

……

(End of this chapter)