The Side Character Wants to Lie Flat-Chapter 148 - 149: A Thousand Gold Can’t Buy Foresight
It took every ounce of Li Cheng’s strength to swallow the curse that was about to escape his lips.
He forced a smile.
"Prince Zhao certainly has a sense of humor. Heh heh."
Li Ji extended his right hand toward him. "Shouldn’t the Crown Prince return the Hongjun Sword to its rightful owner?"
Perhaps it was just Li Cheng’s imagination, but he felt Prince Zhao had deliberately emphasized the words "return it to its rightful owner," as if implying something.
In front of so many people, Li Cheng had to maintain his princely decorum. He couldn’t afford to be petty, so he could only swallow his resentment and hand over the Hongjun Sword.
After taking the Hongjun Sword, Li Ji immediately passed it to Hua Manman and instructed her.
"Wipe it clean."
Hua Manman instantly switched into employee mode.
Faced with her boss’s command, she responded without hesitation.
"Right away!"
She took out the silk handkerchief she always carried and wiped the Hongjun Sword from pommel to tip, twice.
Her meticulous motions made it seem as if the sword were covered in something filthy.
Li Cheng’s eyelid twitched as he watched, and he almost couldn’t stop himself from cursing aloud.
’Fuck, this bastard and bitch are definitely doing this on purpose!’
’They’re just trying to humiliate me!’
Li Ji sheathed the clean Hongjun Sword. His gaze swept over the person lying on the floor as he asked nonchalantly.
"And who might this be?"
Li Cheng said with a smile that didn’t reach his eyes.
"He is the disgraced official Luo Yun. I am interrogating him for the crime of corruption. This matter does not concern Prince Zhao, so I hope you won’t interfere."
Hua Manman immediately looked at Luo Yun. ’So this is the famous County Magistrate Luo!’
He looked utterly miserable now, his body beaten so badly there wasn’t a single patch of unbruised flesh.
Li Ji said with a half-smile.
"It’s rare for me to see the Crown Prince conduct a trial. I’m quite curious. Since I have nothing better to do, why don’t I stay and watch how you handle this?"
Without waiting for the Crown Prince’s reply, he had someone bring a couch, and with a flick of his sleeves, he sat down coolly in the public hall.
Li Cheng couldn’t just throw Prince Zhao out in front of everyone. He could only swallow his anger and walk toward the main seat with a dark expression. 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖
Halfway there, he suddenly stopped.
He whipped his head around, staring intently at Prince Zhao.
More precisely, he was staring fixedly at Prince Zhao’s legs.
A moment ago, he had been so preoccupied with the fact that Prince Zhao was not only alive but had returned safely that he had failed to notice Prince Zhao had walked in on his own, not relying on a wheelchair as he usually did.
Li Ji leaned lazily against the armrest, the corners of his lips turned up in a devilishly charming smile.
"Why is the Crown Prince looking at me like that?"
Li Cheng desperately wanted to ask Prince Zhao if his legs had returned to normal.
But the words caught in his throat.
A powerful sense of dread and unease washed over him.
He was terrified of hearing the one answer he didn’t want to hear.
Li Cheng’s lips parted and closed, but in the end, he couldn’t stop himself from asking the question that plagued his mind.
"Are Prince Zhao’s legs... healed?"
Only after the words were out did he realize his voice was trembling slightly.
Even though he struggled to maintain a calm expression, his voice betrayed his true feelings.
Li Ji lifted his right leg, planting his foot on the low couch.
He tapped his knee twice with his hand. His long, narrow eyes swept lightly toward the Crown Prince as he smiled with delight.
"Yes. And I have the Crown Prince to thank for it. Not only did I not drown after falling into the river, but the life-or-death situation must have triggered my survival instincts. My legs regained their feeling. It was truly a pleasant surprise."
Li Cheng felt a tightness in his chest, as if he were about to vomit blood.
He had deliberately ordered someone to cut the rope to make Prince Zhao fall into the river and drown.
But not only had Prince Zhao survived, his crippled legs had also been healed!
Was it that Prince Zhao’s luck was too good? Or was it that his own luck, as the Crown Prince, was just too rotten?
Either way, the result was enough to make Li Cheng sick with rage.
Yet he couldn’t show it, lest he arouse suspicion.
He had no choice but to swallow his pride, forcibly suppressing the resentment in his gut as he squeezed out a smile.
"That only proves that Prince Zhao has good luck and is favored by the heavens. What could it possibly have to do with me?"
The smile on Li Ji’s face deepened. "It was because the Crown Prince chose the path with the rope bridge that I had the opportunity to recover. I am truly grateful to you from the bottom of my heart."
Li Cheng wanted nothing to do with Prince Zhao’s gratitude.
He never would have imagined that Prince Zhao could have had such a stroke of luck.
If he had known this would be the outcome, he never would have ordered the rope to be cut.
Too bad.
Hindsight is twenty-twenty.
Li Cheng didn’t want to speak to Prince Zhao anymore, afraid he might actually die of anger.
He sat down with a grim face, his cold gaze sweeping toward Luo Yun.
"I will give you one last chance. If you still refuse to confess the truth, I will have no choice but to have you thrown in the great prison for further torture."
Luo Yun opened his chapped lips, his voice hoarse.
"I... am innocent."
It was still the same answer.
Even after all the suffering, he refused to yield.
Li Cheng’s patience had completely run out.
He also had other matters to attend to and didn’t want to waste any more time on Luo Yun. He immediately ordered his men to take Luo Yun away for continued interrogation.
But just then, Li Ji spoke up leisurely.
"Since the Crown Prince can’t seem to get a confession, why not hand the matter over to me?"
It wasn’t just Li Cheng; even Hua Manman was quite surprised to hear this.
She had previously pleaded with Prince Zhao to help Luo Yun, but he had coldly refused her.
’Why has Prince Zhao suddenly changed his mind?’
Li Cheng was extremely displeased. He frowned and said.
"Did I not just say? This matter has nothing to do with Prince Zhao. Do not interfere."
But Li Ji just smiled, his gaze cold and sharp.
"When the Crown Prince was about to kill a man with my Hongjun Sword just now, did you think then that this case had nothing to do with me?"
Li Cheng was at a loss for words.
Li Ji pressed on.
"That is the Hongjun Sword, bestowed upon me by the Saint. It represents the Saint’s trust in me.
Yet the Crown Prince took it without asking and used it to execute a court official.
If the Saint were to hold someone accountable later, would the responsibility for unlawfully executing a court official fall on you, or on me?"
Li Cheng couldn’t answer, and his expression grew even uglier.
He retorted through gritted teeth, "We are both serving the court. Why must we draw such a clear line?"
Li Ji sneered. "How silly of me. One moment, the Crown Prince says this has nothing to do with me, and the next, he says we needn’t draw such a clear line. You truly are fickle!"
Hua Manman muttered under her breath.
"I’ve heard that people with big faces are usually good-tempered, because it’s hard work to turn hostile when you have such a big face to turn. But that rumor doesn’t seem entirely credible. The Crown Prince’s face is plenty big, yet he turns hostile in a flash."
Li Ji carefully studied the Crown Prince’s face and offered an objective assessment.
"It is indeed quite large."
Li Cheng: "..."
Although Lady Hua’s voice was quiet, the hall was so silent that everyone could hear her conversation with Prince Zhao perfectly clearly.
