Half in the river wind, half in the clouds

Chapter 147 Acting Skills

Li Dan thought of the tragic end of the Five Dragon Kings and was overwhelmed with emotions.

When he was in the palace, he was in name only, and the officials did not avoid him when they did evil. He had always known the moral character of the Dou brothers, so he felt that there was nothing wrong in sentencing him to exile.

Li Dan said: "In that case, Sanlang will be sentenced."

Li Longji copied Jiang Feng's words and said, "Although Dou Huairang was only sentenced to exile, once a wicked person loses power, everyone will push him down. Those who were bullied in the past will be bullied again. In the end, he was tortured and humiliated by his enemies. Only Dou Huairang's second son, Dou Ding, survived. He was also the one who stabbed Wu Lang that day. People in the world always ask others for help first, and then blame themselves. Dou Ding did not reflect on the fact that the tragic death of his parents and the destruction of his family were the cause of his bad behavior and many unjust actions. He just thought it was the result of punishment."

Li Dan had also experienced the consequences of people's opposition and adding insult to injury.

The emperor asked, "If Dou Ding was alone, how could he hurt Wu Lang?"

Li Longji said: "Dou Ding was injured and has been captured by me. According to his confession, he has been following me for several days. It happened that another group of people wanted to harm me the day before yesterday, so he took advantage of the chaos to attack me."

Li Dan was shocked when he heard this. Thinking of Princess Taiping and his eldest son, he asked, "Do you know who wants to harm you?"

Li Longji shook his head and said, "I don't know. They were all wearing black clothes and masks, so I couldn't see their faces clearly."

Li Dan frowned. Now that Princess Taiping had moved to the Eastern Capital, various forces were ready to make a move. Some people wanted to assassinate Li Longji, presumably because of his status as the crown prince.

He pondered for a moment and said, "This matter must be thoroughly investigated and the mastermind behind it must not be allowed to go unpunished."

Li Longji nodded and said, "I understand."

Li Dan looked at Li Longji with a trace of worry in his eyes. He knew very well the cruelty of the palace struggle. If he was not careful, he might be doomed.

But what he was more worried about was fratricide among brothers. He would never allow such a tragedy to happen to his son again.

He even had a little regret, because he wondered if it was the right thing to do to make Li Longji the crown prince because of his great contributions.

Such enthronement of a crown prince undoubtedly sent a signal to his sons that the throne could be obtained through merit, and it also meant that everyone could be a crown prince.

He had no better solution at the moment, so he could only say earnestly: "Sanlang, you must be careful in the future and never underestimate the enemy."

Li Longji nodded solemnly and said, "I will remember your father's teachings."

Li Dan asked again: "What about Dou Ding? Where is he now? What should we do with him?"

Li Longji pondered and said, "What Miss Jiang San said just now is not without reason. Now that I have been appointed as the crown prince by my father, I should be a role model for the world. The affairs of the Dou family are inextricably linked to me. It can be said that I did not kill Bo Ren, but Bo Ren died because of me. It was my recklessness. I am willing to punish myself by being a vegetarian for three months, and my concubine Jiang will be a vegetarian for three months, and I will be fined for half a year to thank the world."

Li Dan and Prince Ning were both very surprised, but even more unexpected things were yet to come.

Li Longji bowed his head and said, "As for Dou Ding, I dare to ask you to forgive his crime. I am willing to give him a small fortune to show your kindness."

Li Dan remained silent for a long time.

After a long while, he took a step forward, lifted up Li Longji with both hands, and said with great emotion: "It is not that I am kind, but that the crown prince is lenient. It is a blessing for the country that the crown prince is like this."

Li Longji just lay on the ground and couldn't get up.

Li Dan had no choice but to ask, "What is Sanlang doing?"

Li Longji was also very moved, his voice choked with sobs, he said: "Wu Lang was injured while trying to save me, which makes me feel extremely guilty. When we five brothers were in the palace, we hunted, played polo, and drank together... But now that I am the crown prince, you brothers have to leave your father and go to serve in a remote place. The blood of the royal family is not as good as the happiness of family life that ordinary people can enjoy. I dare to ask your father to revoke the order to send Wu Lang and Si Lang out."

Seeing Li Longji's excellent acting skills, Li Chengqi had no choice but to kneel down and act out the scene of deep brotherly love.

Li Longye didn't want to go to Liangzhou at all, so he knelt down early with his hands on his chest.

Jiang Feng naturally didn't dare to stand.

For a moment, Li Dan was the only one standing in the courtyard.

Li Dan leaned over and helped Li Longji, Li Chengqi and Li Longye up one by one.

Jiang Feng took a quick look and saw that the old man had tears in his eyes.

The three sons were also very sad.

For a moment, Jiang Feng couldn't tell whether these people were expressing their true feelings or simply showing their excellent acting skills.

Li Dan said, "Good. Good. Good. It is rare that the prince has such a broad mind! As long as you brothers are in harmony, I will have nothing to ask for."

Jiang Feng thought that Li Longji had performed enough, but he didn't expect that he still had a backup plan.

He then said sincerely, "Father, I have one more request."

Li Dan had already been coaxed into a frenzy, and readily agreed: "Prince, just say whatever you want!"

Li Longji said: "All the people in the land are the subjects of the king. Those who want to assassinate me must have done something wrong, so they risked their lives and property to commit such a heinous crime. I am willing to forgive them this time, and ask the emperor to reopen the drum for hearings, open up the channels for people to speak freely, and accept advice with an open mind. If the channels for speaking are open, those who have opinions and grievances against me and the officials will not need such bloody killings."

Li Dan was so pleased that he could only sigh.

Unexpectedly, Li Longji changed the subject and went back to the topic: "Aunt is already old, and she is the only sister of your father. Your father is reluctant to give up his sister, and I can't bear to see her move to Luoyang. Because of the treacherous frame-up, Aunt was ambushed in Zhongnan Mountain, and then misunderstandings and rifts gradually developed between me and you. I beg your father to ask your aunt to come back. If she is still angry, I will accept the punishment. I only hope not to be alienated from you!"

The title of a wise ruler and an emperor of all ages was not given for nothing.

He first pleaded for mercy for the group of men in black, and then asked for Princess Taiping to be released back to Chang'an. He was almost saying openly that the men in black were sent by Princess Taiping.

But Li Dan just thought that Li Longji had put aside the past grudges and took the initiative to show goodwill to Princess Taiping.

Perhaps in his opinion, those men in black could only be the work of his good sister.

After all, only he himself knew why Princess Taiping was suddenly moved to Luoyang.

Because that day, his sister actually said a lot of bad things about the prince and then suggested that he change the crown prince.

At that moment, the girl's face actually overlapped with that woman's face.

He was terrified and broke out in a cold sweat!

If I keep indulging myself and giving up power, will I end up cultivating another Wu Zetian?

Therefore, the order for Princess Taiping to move to the Eastern Capital was issued from Hanzhang Palace overnight, shocking the court and the public.

Jiang Feng didn't understand why Li Longji had to bring his mortal enemy back from Luoyang.

She certainly didn't believe his talk about the deep affection between aunt and niece and their unwillingness to be separated.

After all, a few years later, he killed Princess Taiping and her son without mercy.

As for the others, although Li Chengqi and Li Longye were both extremely moved, they still had doubts.

Although the four fathers and sons were talking about the same thing and the same person, their thoughts were completely different.