Chapter 791: Night Trial (I)

Before I knew it, the night was already dark.

When Hu Liefeng rushed back to the central army tent, the camp was already silent. All the generals had fallen asleep. Only the night patrol guards were still energetic and sticking to their posts.

For a whole hour, Hu Lie sat behind the desk without saying a word, his deep eyes fixed on the slightly swaying candlelight, as if he was in a trance.

Yin Zhan had followed Hu Lie for many years and knew his temper very well. At this moment, Hu Lie had a blank expression on his face and was deep in thought, which generally meant that he was in a bad mood, so he stood aside and did not dare to make any noise.

"Cough cough!"

After an unknown amount of silence, a sly gleam suddenly flashed across Hu Lie's eyes, and the haze between his brows suddenly dissipated. He said seriously, "Yin Zhan, pass on Long Yu."

"Yes……"

"And Ding Qinghong is here too."

"As ordered!"

Yin Zhan took the order and left. Within a moment, he brought Long Yu and Ding Qinghong, who had been waiting for a long time, back to the central military tent.

The two of them knew that Hu Lie would take action tonight, so they did not sleep all night, waiting for Hu Lie to summon them again.

"Meet the prince!"

Looking at the two people who were so respectful, Hu Lie slowly stood up, walked forward, and said thoughtfully: "The matter about Liu Xunyi and Zhao Xin...after all, it was caused by you, so it's natural that it should be settled here."

Hearing this, Ding Qinghong was overjoyed and said hurriedly: "Your Majesty, this is absolutely true. I can testify for General Long..."

"Crack!"

"Forehead……"

Before Ding Qinghong could flatter and seek credit with all his confidence, Hu Lie attacked as fast as lightning, and his five fingers like eagle claws tightly grasped his throat, causing him to whimper in pain, and the sound stopped abruptly.

"do not move!"

As if he saw that Ding Qinghong wanted to resist, Yin Zhan's eyes suddenly turned cold. He quickly drew his sword from its sheath, and the tip of the sword, flashing with a terrifying cold light, pressed tightly against Ding Qinghong's back. If he dared to move, he would surely be killed with one blow.

"My Lord, what are you doing..."

"Get over there and kneel down!"

Before Long Yu could finish his words, Hu Lie suddenly let out a loud shout, which frightened him so much that his face changed. Although he was puzzled, he did not dare to contradict him and could only kneel down reluctantly.

"Your Majesty...Why is Your Majesty like this..."

Under the grip of Hu Lie's five fingers like iron hooks, Ding Qinghong felt his throat tighten and he couldn't help but retching, but he couldn't open his mouth, and his face turned red and purple. Due to his own situation, he didn't dare to fight back, and could only beg for mercy intermittently and painfully.

"You want to use me to get rid of Liu Xunyi and Zhao Xin, and use this to destroy the marriage between the two countries, or even provoke a war between the Mongols and Song." Even though Ding Qinghong's life was hanging by a thread, Hu Lie had no intention of letting go. He questioned word by word, "Why did you, a eunuch who is neither male nor female, sow discord and use such a vicious 'killing three birds with one stone' plan?"

"It's unfair..."

"Unfair?" Seeing that Ding Qinghong refused to admit it, Hu Lie's five fingers increased their strength again, "With your half-baked tricks, you think you can deceive my eyes? If you don't tell the truth, I will send you to the west with my own hands."

"What good will it bring to you to instigate a marriage between the Mongols and the Song Dynasty?" Yin Zhan asked, "Tell me the truth, who sent you here?"

"I'm telling the truth..." Ding Qinghong still refused to give in and said stubbornly, "If... Your Majesty doesn't believe me, I can confront Liu Xunyi face to face..."

"No need to confront, I have already investigated the whole story." Hu Lie said angrily, "What truth? It is completely false and nonsense!"

"What?" Long Yu was shocked, and the look he gave Ding Qinghong changed from surprise to embarrassment.

"Impossible..." Ding Qinghong screamed hoarsely, "Liu Xunyi and Zhao Xin are definitely having an affair..."

"What I'm asking about now is not the love between Liu Xunyi and Zhao Xin, but your selfishness." Hu Lie shouted, "Why do you want the world to be in chaos? I'll only give you one chance. If you don't tell the truth, I'll send you to hell to explain to King Yama slowly."

"Don't...don't kill me..."

Ding Qinghong knew that with Hu Lie's power and status, it would be easier to kill him than to kill an ant. Therefore, under the threat of life and death, no matter how many tricks Ding Qinghong had, he didn't dare to pretend at this moment.

"Stop talking bullshit!" Yin Zhanhu glared, and the tip of the knife instantly pierced through Ding Qinghong's robe and stabbed into his flesh.

"I said... I said... Because I have a feud with Liu Xunyi, and I have an irreconcilable hatred with the Song Dynasty court..."

In desperation, Ding Qinghong could only recount his "tragic fate", especially the past when he was used and then abandoned by Xifu, and was forced to become a eunuch by Wanrenshan. He made it sound so dark and unbearable to hear.

However, Ding Qinghong never gave Jin Fuyu away until the end, and he didn't dare to mention that Jin Fuyu had ordered him to assassinate Zhao Xin.

First, Jin Fuyu is Ding Qinghong's only supporter at the moment. If he betrays him, he will never have peace in the future.

Secondly, if Hu Lie knew that I had ill intentions towards Zhao Xin, I would not be able to survive tonight, let alone the future.

Therefore, even if Ding Qinghong confessed all his dirty past, he did not dare to mention Jin Fuyu at all, to prevent Hu Lie from following the clues and finding out his other faults.

Fortunately, Hu Lie didn't know much about the Central Plains martial arts, and Ding Qinghong's explanation was reasonable, allowing him to escape with a lucky escape.

"With a sinister villain like you by the side of the Emperor of the Song Dynasty, how can the country remain prosperous?" Hu Lie sneered, "I am not interested in interfering in the feud between you and the court of the Song Dynasty, but if you dare to provoke my beloved concubine, I will make you wish you were dead!"

"I dare not!" "As for the relationship between Liu Xunyi and Zhao Xin..."

"I am a liar, a fabricator... I have insulted the princess's reputation, and I deserve to die."

At this moment, Ding Qinghong had already guessed something from Hu Lie's attitude and knew that he intended to cover up the matter. If he did not know the current situation and refused to change his words, his end would be extremely miserable.

Although he did not expect Hu Lie to tolerate the affair between Zhao Xin and Liu Xunyi, in order to survive, Ding Qinghong no longer cared about finding out the truth, or even his own dignity.

In this matter, Ding Qinghong fawned on the powerful and changed his attitude according to the situation. He would rather slap himself in the face than challenge Hu Lie. He was much more tactful than Long Yu.

"How dare you lie to me, you bastard?"

Long Yu was furious and stood up angrily to settle the score with Ding Qinghong.

"boom!"

However, just as Long Yu stood up, Hu Lie suddenly raised his leg and mercilessly kicked Long Yu to the ground.

"Waste! Idiot! Coward! You just believe everything you hear. You don't have the ability to tell the truth from lies, but you falsely accuse the princess of her innocence. How dare you blame others?" Hu Lie pointed at Long Yu, who was curled up on the ground, and scolded him, "Go back and pack your things immediately. Go back to the Twenty-Four Cities tonight, and don't let me see you again!"

"Your Majesty, I..."

"Get lost!" Hu Lie did not give Long Yu a chance to explain, and ordered, "Yin Zhan, send someone to follow him back to pack up his things and escort him back to the Twenty-Four Cities."

"As ordered!"

After agreeing, Yin Zhan helped the furious Long Yu up and coaxed and persuaded him to leave the central army tent.

After watching Long Yu leave, Hu Lie secretly breathed a sigh of relief, as if relieved of a heavy burden. He then cast a scrutinizing gaze at the trembling Ding Qinghong, and said hesitantly: "As for you..."

"I swear to heaven that from today on, I will never say a single word again. If I break my promise, I will be struck by lightning and die a miserable death!"

Ding Qinghong knew why Hu Lie drove Long Yu away. It was not because he was stupid and reckless, but because he did not want anyone in his camp to leak the "scandal" of Liu Xunyi and Zhao Xin to the outside world, so as not to affect the reputation of Hu Lie and the Mongolian royal family.

At present, apart from Liu Xunyi and Su He, the only people who knew about it were Long Yu, Ding Qinghong, Ya Kun, and Yin Zhan. Liu Xunyi and Su He are not to be mentioned, and Ya Kun is a monster who does not understand the ways of the world. Yin Zhan is Hu Lie's confidant and will never leak the secret. Therefore, the only people who could possibly "do something bad" are Long Yu and Ding Qinghong.

Hu Lie knew Long Yu's personality. If this was true, he would not give up and would even go to Wan'an Palace. If this was false, he would fight Ding Qinghong to the death.

At the moment, Hu Lie didn't want Long Yu to report this to the Khan, nor did he want him to fight to the death with Ding Qinghong. As a last resort, he could only find a reason to drive Long Yu back to the Twenty-Four Cities when Long Yu was ambiguous about this matter, so that the war could be calmed down.

Ding Qinghong was sent by the Emperor of the Song Dynasty to escort the bride. Killing him would be unreasonable and would easily lead to complications. Moreover, keeping such a traitor by the Emperor of the Song Dynasty was not a bad thing for Hu Lie and Mongolia.

"Ding Qinghong, this king hopes you will always remember one thing."

"Your Majesty, please speak!"

"No matter when or where you hide, it would be easy for me to kill you."

Hu Lie's voice was calm and his tone was not harsh, but the intimidation contained in every word was enough to frighten Ding Qinghong.

"I will keep this in mind!" Ding Qinghong rolled his eyes and said flatteringly, "If Your Majesty does not mind, I am willing to act as Mongolia's internal supporter and lurk beside the Emperor of the Song Dynasty..."

"Asshole!" Hu Lie glared and spoke sternly, without missing a single word. "After the marriage between the two countries, Mongolia and Song are one family. Since we are one family, why do we need to plant an accomplice?"

Hu Lie's reasons sounded reasonable, but the truth was that he simply did not trust a snob like Ding Qinghong, and therefore was unwilling to associate with him.

"Your Highness is absolutely right. It is I who... was rude."

"Go down!"

Hu Lie seemed to be very disgusted with Ding Qinghong and waved his hand impatiently. Ding Qinghong was still frightened and quickly kowtowed to thank him, then fled from the central army tent.

"Your Majesty!"

About an incense stick of time later, Yin Zhan returned to the tent in a hurry.

"gone?"

"Let's go!" Yin Zhan replied, "I personally escorted Long Yu and Ya Kun out of the camp, and gave him a bottle of golden wound medicine, lying that it was sent by the prince."

"Well done! Long Yu has been wronged. This will make him feel better." Hu Lie said absentmindedly, "What did he say before he left?"

"Not a word."

"Heh, this kid is mad at me."

"How dare Long Yu get angry with the prince? Little did he know that the prince was tempering his temper." Looking at Hu Lie's tired face, Yin Zhan couldn't help but feel worried, "It's late at night, the prince should rest..."

"How can I sleep if my heart is still tied up?"

"Your Majesty..."

"No need to say more!" Hu Lie waved his hand to interrupt Yin Zhan's consolation, and then said in a loud voice, "Next, call Su He!"

……

(End of this chapter)