MLIAM Chapter 88

Chapter 88: Those Who Deceive Others – My Own Home Has Been Hollowed Out Into a Rat’s Nest…

Yu Shuli nodded with effort, offering Zhao Lan a weak smile: “Your Highness is right. If Wei Yan hadn’t chosen me time and time again without hesitation, we probably would have forgotten each other long ago.”

Zhao Lan looked at his eyes and gently said, “Fortunately, you’ve finally overcome your hardships.”

Yu Shuli tried hard to pull himself out of his sad emotions, and asked, “Your Highness, why would Yu Miaomiao tell me all these things? If she sincerely wanted to continue deceiving me, shouldn’t she have insisted that it was Wei Yan’s fault? And why did she suddenly explain the whole story to me?”

“This matter is indeed strange. Even if the reasons she fabricated are no longer valid, we haven’t even formally interrogated her yet. She still has a chance to retract her confession. But now she suddenly reveals the secrets she’s been hiding for so many years…” Zhao Lan pondered for a moment, and asked, “Are you willing to let me see the letter?”

“Of course. My affairs with Wei Yan are not something worth concealing from Your Highness.” Yu Shuli handed the letter back to Zhao Lan.

Zhao Lan, having been granted permission, opened the letter and examined it carefully. After a while, he frowned and pointed it out to Yu Shuli: “Look, judging by the handwriting, this letter was clearly written in a very hasty situation. Later, out of panic, some of the characters are even misspelled. If I remember correctly, your second sister is a talented woman. She shouldn’t make such basic mistakes. Therefore, I judge that when she wrote this letter, she must have encountered a very critical situation that conflicted with her original plan. She had no choice but to leave the letter to show her goodwill to us. Of course, this is also a signal for help to you.”

Yu Shuli’s eyes widened, and his jaw lifted slightly: “You can see so much from a single letter… Your Highness is truly remarkable!”

“Your second sister’s plan to lock herself in the woodshed must have been for an ulterior motive. She must have been planning to take the opportunity to escape. But now it seems that everything is not going according to her expectations.” Zhao Lan continued: “If she was originally cooperating with the Crown Prince Party, then she should have expected to be picked up by the Crown Prince’s people, right?”

Zhao Lan looked around: “So, where did the problem occur?”

Although the woodshed was simple, it was heavily guarded outside. It didn’t seem like it could be escaped from silently.

Yu Shuli’s eyes flickered: “Could it be… Wanyan Jun’s people?”

“But how did his people take her away? It’s almost impossible to go outside. The Northwest army isn’t just for show.” Zhao Lan paused, then suddenly asked Yu Shuli in a deep voice: “Does this woodshed have a secret passage that people don’t know about?”

Yu Shuli was about to say, “How is that possible?!” But as if suddenly realizing something, he abruptly pushed aside the straw and firewood on the ground, and muttered in frustration, “There used to be a cellar here. I once brought Wanyan Jun and my second sister here… This is also the only place they both know…”

Under the straw, a wooden cellar door was indeed visible.

Zhao Lan’s expression changed: “It must be here!”

Yu Shuli frowned as he pried open the cellar door: “But this is just a cellar. How could she have the ability to get out from here?”

Yu Shuli cleaned up the dust at the cellar entrance, and Zhao Lan held the candlestick tightly. The two of them followed the hole into the cellar.

Yu Shuli walked in front, scouting the way for the Second Prince.

After only a few steps, Zhao Lan grabbed Yu Shuli: “Look at the ground.”

The flickering candlelight swayed. Yu Shuli followed the Second Prince’s indication and looked over. He could barely see that in addition to the dust, there were scattered traces all over the ground, which looked like someone had been coming in and out recently.

He was surprised: “There are so many messy footprints on the ground?! Does this mean that someone really came in?”

He quickly protected Zhao Lan behind him: “Your Highness, be careful. What if someone is hiding underground and ambushes us?”

Zhao Lan shook his head: “They’re not stupid. They won’t hide inside and wait for us to find them.”

The two continued walking by the light of the candlestick. Zhao Lan looked at Yu Shuli’s worried expression and comforted him: “Don’t worry, no matter who your second sister is in the hands of, she won’t be able to cause much trouble. Don’t you believe in Wei Yan? Even if your second sister goes out and talks nonsense, Wei Yan himself is innocent, so it doesn’t matter.”

Yu Shuli sighed: “That’s what I say, but over the years, I alone should have caused him a lot of harm. Public opinion is a terrible thing. I don’t want Wei Yan to be pointed at.”

“As long as you stand by his side, he won’t be defeated by anyone.” Zhao Lan turned to look at Yu Shuli, and said seriously: “Ji’an, only you are his only weakness.”

He moved the candlestick in front of him and placed it in the center.

Yu Shuli followed the light to look at Zhao Lan, pursed his lips, and said bitterly: “Your Highness, you understand him so well, is it because you and him are the same kind of people? You always keep the bitter fruit to yourself, and never show your difficulties and hardships… It must be very hard to live like this.”

Zhao Lan was stunned for a moment, then smiled lightly and changed the subject: “So don’t worry, I won’t fall in love with someone like me.” He tugged at Yu Shuli’s clothes, cleared his throat, and lowered his voice: “Also… I’ll tell you a secret, I’m also the bottom one… so we can exchange tips when we have time.”

Yu Shuli’s mouth twitched upon hearing this, and he couldn’t be happy.

Who on earth leaked the news that he was the bottom one?!

He laughed awkwardly: “How does Your Highness know that I’m the bottom one?”

Zhao Lan glanced at him: “You’re stupid enough, and Wei Yan is cunning enough. If you can top him, I’ll call you Dad.”

Yu Shuli: …

He said in horror: “Your Highness, don’t talk nonsense, I don’t want to be such a shameless emperor.”

Zhao Lan: …

Yu Shuli carefully probed: “Then why did Your Highness become the bottom one?”

Zhao Lan sighed: “A very clichéd story. I was in trouble during disaster relief and was saved, so I offered myself in return.”

“It’s that simple?” Yu Shuli pouted and shook his arm: “Your Highness is teasing me, right? You know everything about my affairs with Wei Yan, this is not fair.”

Seeing Yu Shuli acting up, Zhao Lan shook him off, his eyes flickered, and said: “At first I thought… Dai Meng, such a dull and honest muscular man, was very attractive… I’m used to seeing deception in the palace, so it’s normal to be attracted to a wolf-dog like him, right? Isn’t there a type of man in storybooks called a loyal dog?”

Yu Shuli said “Oh”: “Your Highness is quite knowledgeable about storybooks.” He smiled honestly: “So that’s why. I thought it was because Your Highness couldn’t do it, so you had to find someone who looked like he could at a glance. After all, Dai Meng looks like the type who works hard…”

Zhao Lan turned his head, interrupted Yu Shuli, and flicked his forehead: “You’re the one who can’t do it!” But his voice was a bit unusually shy.

Yu Shuli had never seen Zhao Lan like this, so he curiously looked over: “Then Your Highness, may I ask? Is Dai Meng good at it?”

“It’s not convenient!” Zhao Lan glared at him: “What? If I say he is, you want to hit on my man?”

He was still rejecting Dai Meng before, but now he’s become “my man.”

Yu Shuli curled his lips, but only dared to complain in his heart.

Seeing that Zhao Lan had misunderstood, he quickly waved his hands and shook his head: “No, no, no! Your Highness misunderstood, I’m not really gay, I only like Wei Yan’s type, I don’t like other men! I feel disgusted when I see them!”

Zhao Lan chuckled and glanced at him: “It seems that Wei Yan is serving you well.”

Yu Shuli smiled: “Wei Yan is really good at it. He’s more proactive in bed, and he knows how to act spoiled and wear people down. I always say that he’s like a fox spirit reincarnated as a human, just to devour my soul and seize my spirit. He’s quite good at this, I always…”

From the depths of the cellar came Zhao Lan’s finally somewhat exasperated voice: “Shut up! Yu Shuli! No one asked you for these lewd details!”

Then came Yu Shuli’s suddenly enlightened voice: “Ah… lewd? Didn’t Your Highness want to exchange details with me? Oh, I see, you’re breaking down now because Dai Meng isn’t good at it, right? Listen to my advice, Your Highness, with your conditions, you can find a better man, why hang yourself on one tree?”

The cellar was silent for a moment. After a while, Zhao Lan’s voice rang out through gritted teeth: “Dai Meng is good at it!”

“It’s good that he’s good, it’s good that he’s good.” Yu Shuli frowned slightly, and muttered, “My mother gave me two jars of ointment. Your Highness, remember to ask me for it when you leave… I always feel that people like Dai Meng wouldn’t be considerate.”

“I don’t need it!” After a long while, as if competing, Zhao Lan added: “He’s considerate!”

After the two finished negotiating about whose man was better and who was more considerate, they finally reached the bottom of the cellar.

Zhao Lan raised his hand to signal a truce.

The two looked around and saw that the surroundings were filled with scattered furniture and some old clothes. In the distance were some stored grains and pickled vegetables. It really didn’t seem like a place where someone could hide.

Seeing Zhao Lan looking around, Yu Shuli scratched his head, feeling a little embarrassed that the Second Prince saw the mess in his house. He explained: “This cellar hasn’t been used for many years, and my mother has put some sundries in it, so it’s full.”

Zhao Lan “Mm”ed, and asked casually: “Where does the end of your cellar lead to outside?”

Yu Shuli thought about it and replied: “It’s the noodle stall on the back street. The owner is an old acquaintance of my family.”

Zhao Lan held the candlelight and shone it on the top of the cellar at the end. He was silent for a moment, then asked Yu Shuli for his sword.

With two “bang bang” sounds, the top of the sword hit the stone on the top of the cave.

The two frowned.

“The inside is hollow. There really is a secret passage above.”

Yu Shuli bit his teeth in anger: “My own home has been hollowed out into a rat’s nest, and I’m the last one to know!”

“…It’s not quite a rat’s nest, but you may want to send someone to see if it will cause a collapse. I think it’s probably not safe.”

Yu Shuli nodded: “I feel a chill down my spine when I think that this kind of thing could happen in The General’s Residence.”

“This kind of secret passage is not something that can be planned overnight, it may be a long-term plan. Your heart is pure and kind, it’s normal that you can’t defeat these thousand-year-old foxes.” Zhao Lan comforted him: “Don’t worry, the one in your family isn’t easy to bully either. If we really fight, we won’t suffer.”

Speaking of Wei Yan, Yu Shuli’s tone could not hide his worry: “I don’t know how Wei Yan is doing now that he’s gone to The Censorate.”

Zhao Lan pondered for a moment, and said: “Let’s go up first and see if Wei Yan has returned, and wait for Dai Meng’s news. You send someone to the noodle stall to ask if the stall owner has seen any suspicious people coming in and out. If we can find the person who took your second sister, we may also be able to follow the clues and find the location of Wanyan Jun and Marquis Xunyang.”

Yu Shuli nodded and did as Zhao Lan instructed.

After the two returned to the ground, they met Dai Meng who was returning.

Dai Meng brought back a person. According to the old man at the noodle stall, it was said that he was the person who kidnapped Yu Miaomiao.

This person was a fish seller on East Street. Not to mention the old man at the noodle stall, even Yu Shuli knew him.

However, this person’s tongue was cut off, and the meridians of his hands and feet were cut off. If Dr. Yang hadn’t used his miraculous hands to save his life, he would have died long ago.

However, precisely because of this, he naturally couldn’t be interrogated.

The clues seemed to be broken again.

Dai Meng panted and said: “I went in time. At that time, those people were committing murder to silence him. I slashed and injured two people with my knife, but I still didn’t have time to save his tongue. But I saw the leader. Judging by his skills, he doesn’t look like a Da Liang person, maybe he’s a talented person from a foreign country. When they saw me, they immediately abandoned him who they thought had been silenced and left, as if they were afraid of being caught by me. However, I was quick-witted,” he took out a wooden sign from his arms.

“I still snatched this from them.”

He handed the wooden sign to Zhao Lan. Zhao Lan glanced at it and didn’t see anything special, so he handed it to Yu Shuli again: “You’re more knowledgeable about this kind of thing, you take a look.”

Yu Shuli took the wooden sign and took a deep breath: “It should be from Xizhao. I’ve seen this kind of token with similar patterns on Wanyan Jun…”

He gritted his teeth, and was furious.

The Xizhao people actually wanted to use their own Da Liang people as a knife to kill their own Da Liang people.

Wanyan Jun is going too far.