The carriage wheels creaked softly, Jing Wan'er and Pei Tan sat opposite each other in the carriage, and there was an unreal feeling in the quiet air.

  "Sir," Jing Wanyu looked at the person in front of her, Pei Tan's face was calm and quiet, she didn't know why he had been closing his eyes and remaining silent since they got on the carriage, "You're taking me back to Dalisi like this, what if...it drags Dalisi into trouble?"

  Pei Tan said that he would not intervene in the case, and it was not under the jurisdiction of the Dali Temple. However, on the other hand, he brought Jing Yuanyuan back directly, and everyone in Chang'an witnessed it with their own eyes. Isn't this equivalent to pushing the Dali Temple into the fire again?

  Pei Tan finally opened his eyes, a pair of deep and calm eyes, he asked Jing Wanyan: "Did you harm Li Xiu on purpose?"

  Jing Wan'er was taken aback for a moment and subconsciously said, "No." She had never harmed anyone before.

  Pei Tan also stared at her and said after a while: "There is no evidence that you have harmed anyone, so you are innocent."

  No government agency has the power to dispose of an innocent person, even if Geng Wen Zhong's Jingzhao Yin wants to handle this case, it cannot be fabricated out of thin air.

  Jing Wan'er's eyes flickered slightly, but despite what she said, she was indeed the most crucial suspect in this case. Pei Tan took her away just like that; would the authorities at the capital's yamen office let things slide?

  As the Minister of Dali Temple, how could Pei Tan not know this weight?

  Moreover, Jing Wanyu saw that just now at the Li's house, Pei Tan was deliberately taking advantage of the momentum to put pressure on Geng Wentong, forcing him to loosen his mouth. However, after thinking back, Geng Wentong would not sit and wait for death after all.

  Jing Wan'er lowered her eyes: "Wan'er doesn't want to implicate the adults, nor does she want to implicate the Great Temple of Law."

  Pei Tan gazed at her, his eyes clear and deep: "I know you just want to save people."

  Save poor Shi Wan and Fan Ziyong, Jing Yuanyu just chose the wrong way, and in others' eyes, it's like hitting a stone with an egg, a lonely girl without relatives or friends, yet she dares to confront the young master of Zhaojun Li.

  Jing Wan'er's thin lips trembled slightly as she said, "Your Excellency, I..." Sometimes, even though one knows they shouldn't do something, they can only do it. She couldn't bear to watch Shi Wan being harmed either.

  She was really afraid that Pei Tan would continue to ask her about Shi Wan's whereabouts. Although Jing Wanyan could be resolute and not say a word to others, if the person asking was Pei Tan, she didn't know if she could do it. In this world, the one person she least wanted to deceive was Pei Tan.

  Pei Tan seemed to see through her thoughts and didn't continue speaking. The carriage stopped at the gate of Dali Temple, and everyone in the carriage remained silent without making a sound.

  Such tacit understanding made Jing Wanyu secretly clench her skirt even tighter.

  "Get off." Pei Tan had already stood up and lifted the curtain of the carriage, "We're here."

  Outside the car is the Dalit Temple, which is the most familiar place for Jing Yuanyu in the past and now.

  Standing in front of the Dalit Temple, Jing Wanyi stared blankly again. It was still that somewhat gloomy and lifeless entrance, which many people considered an ominous place. However, for Jing Wanyi, this was a place she would rather spend her whole life waiting at.

  Pei Tan turned his head to the side, staring at Jing Wanyan again. In fact, he had always been able to see through this girl's heart. "Don't worry, if you don't want to say where Shi Wan is, I won't force it."

  Since this was her way of choosing to protect others, Pei Tan didn't want to blame anything. From the beginning, Jing Wanyu had been this kind of person.

  Jing Waner lowered her eyes, feeling a little sour and astringent.

  Pei Tan lifted his foot and walked into the Da Li Temple, Jing Wanyu couldn't help but follow him. As if in the past, every time, she involuntarily followed the figure in front of her.

  At the same time in Li's family, it was already chaotic.

  All the concubines and maidservants screamed as they fled from Li Xiuyi's room. "Slut! Slut!"

  Geng Wenzhong's face turned pale, knowing that he couldn't persuade Li Xiuzhi to give up on this spoiled child. To avoid him causing more trouble, Geng Wenzhong gritted his teeth and went straight to find Li Xiuzhi's father, Li Xiao.

  In the end, he obeyed the Li family and looked up to their high status and power, rather than submitting to Li Xiuzhi as a spoiled brat.

  Li Xiù's father Li Xiao was one of the nine ministers, and the positions occupied by other members of the Li family in the court of the Great Tang were also half of the country.

  Under such a force, who can resist? Geng Wen Zhong is just one of those who had no choice.

  Apart from this major event, Li Xiao had naturally received news of it long ago.

  "Being played by a woman like this, this unfilial son has truly disgraced the Li family." Li Xiao spat out these words with a cold expression.

  Geng Wenzhong knelt on the ground: "Does Your Excellency, the Duke of Nine Ministers, still remember that there was a rumor in Chang'an before? It said that Pei Tan and a palace maid who escaped from the palace were unclear about their relationship. Not only did he hide her in the Temple of Great Compassion, making it impossible for people in the palace to find her, but later he also used the power of the Temple of Great Compassion to reverse the case for this palace maid's family. This woman was originally the daughter of Jing Zhe, the Grand Protector of Chang'an. After the Jing family fell into trouble, she was sent to the palace as a maid. Some people say that the case of Crown Prince Zhang Huan was actually Pei Tan using public power for private gain, and in reality, he still wanted to clear the name of that woman..."

  Li Xiao's cold eyes stared at Geng Wenzhong: "You mean to say that the one who impersonated the bride is this palace maid?"

  This rumor is known throughout Chang'an City, although Pei Tan's thunderous and fierce behavior as the Crown Prince overturned the case, winning over

  Geng Wenzhong paused, his face slightly pale: "Eight or nine out of ten... Duke Jiūn hasn't seen it, but the way Pei Tan is protecting that woman today, regardless of whether the rumors are true or false, it's better to believe they exist than not. Moreover, for a woman, neither you nor Li Gongzi are worth offending Pei Tan, this scourge..."

  Geng Wenzhong remembered that Pei Tan had called out "Wan'er" today. The former daughter of the Jin family, the daughter of Jing Zhe, the Grand Protector of Chang'an, was named Jing Wan'er.

  "It's said that back then, Pei Tan refused the Emperor's offer of marriage also because of this woman... If Pei Tan dared to refuse even a princess of the Great Tang, what wouldn't he dare to do?"

  They say that a beauty is a calamity, but isn't she indeed a calamity? If not for Pei's refusal to marry, how would there be the later events of the princess becoming a "public princess", being married off to Tibet and forming an alliance...

  Li Xiao's face was gloomy as he stared at Geng Wenzhong: "I heard that woman cursed my son to die within three months, is this true?"

  Geng Wenzhong felt a chill in his heart and hesitated before answering: "Your Excellency of the Nine Ministers?"

  Li Xiuxiu was after all the legitimate son of the Li family, and even if he acted ridiculously, Li Xiao might not like this son, but he would definitely not allow anyone to bully him.

  The cup in Li Xiao's hand was crushed: "Just a cheap person, how dare you to curse the descendants of my Li family?"

  To be honest, Li Xiuzi's arrogant and lawless personality has a lot to do with his father Li Xiao's indulgence. In Li Xiao's eyes, ordinary people are all inferior and worthless, and even if they are trampled by the Li family and Li Xiuzi, it is their own fault.

  Geng Wenzhong's face turned pale: "Your Excellency Jiuling, the key now lies not with this woman, but with Pei Tan."

  Why are these father and son both fixated on women?

  If Pei Tan really brought the Dali Temple out to stir up trouble, the humble Yamen of the Metropolitan Governor would not be enough to see, and Geng Wen Zhong would also have to drink a pot.

  Li Xiao's face turned gloomy: "What's wrong with Pei Tan? When has this old man ever been afraid of a young whippersnapper?"

  Geng Wenzhong's heart sank, and he couldn't believe that both Li and his son were so arrogant and self-important, and yet they seemed to be completely unaware of the terror that Pei Tan inspired.

  Appearing to be gentle and courteous, he single-handedly defeated the Gong family, even the Wei family, and other families with insight also knew to avoid the sharp edge of the Dalisi Temple. In Chang'an, they all restrained themselves a lot, which one still dared to be as arrogant as the Li family?

  Li Xiao slanted his gaze at Geng Wenzhong, looking at the fear on his face, but coldly smiled: "Now that Zong Chuke has fallen, are you all afraid of this kid in Chang'an City?"

  At a glance, he saw through Geng Wen Zhong and others' hearts. Geng Wen Zhong lowered his head, not daring to admit or refute it.

  Li Xiao's face turned gloomy: "You are timid like mice, thinking that I am the same as you?"

  In Li Xiao's eyes, Zong Chuke was just a pawn propped up by the Wei family. Even if Pei Tan had great endurance, he could at most overthrow one Zong Chuke. The real power of the Tang Dynasty lay in the seven surnames and five clans: the Zhaojun Li, the Boling Cui, the Xiangyang Zheng, the Fanyang Lu... Could Pei Tan really overthrow these powerful families that dominated the Tang Empire?

  Ridiculous to the extreme.

  In Li Xiao's heart, he was a proud Zhaojun Li, and he wasn't afraid at all.

  Geng Wenzhong hung his head low, and under his clothes was a cold sweat. He, Li Xiao, wasn't afraid, but Geng Wenzhong was. All these small fries who relied on the big family were afraid of Pei Tan.

  Zong Chuke is a first-class official, with great power and influence in the imperial court. Even if he relies on the Wei family, he is still a major player. Now that he has fallen out of favor, what will happen to minor officials like Geng Wenzhong? Will the Li family discard them like trash when it's their turn?

  It's those minor characters who are unlucky.

  This father and son of the Li family are really alike, so heartless and ruthless. Geng Wenzhong gave up trying to persuade them.

  The next day, Li Xiao called three imperial physicians from the palace to come to the Li residence and jointly diagnose Li Xiu for more than two hours. Geng Wenzhong lay on the ground for more than two hours.

  Then three imperial physicians with completely white hair walked out, their faces were neither optimistic nor relaxed. One of the imperial physicians, Shi Yuan Zheng, spoke first: "Lord Li."

  Li Xiao finally opened his mouth and asked Taiyi: "Please ask, how is the dog son?"

  The imperial physician slowly said: "Observing the pulse of your son, I found that he usually has signs of physical deficiency and excess. Perhaps it's because he is young and too indulgent... His physical foundation is indeed a bit too weak."

  The imperial physician also knew the severity of this ninth-ranking official and spoke with great caution. In fact, Li Xiuzhi's body was like that of an elderly person who had overindulged in sensual pleasures, and it was well-known within the palace that this young master Li was quite dissolute.

  Li Xiao looked at the imperial physician with a cold gaze and asked: "May I ask, is it true that the Crown Prince only has three months left to live?"

  The three imperial physicians were taken aback, exchanging a tacit glance with each other. After a long while, someone finally spoke up: "According to our diagnosis, although the young master's body is somewhat weak, he doesn't have any serious illness... therefore, we didn't realize that the young master only had three months left to live."

  The imperial physicians didn't dare speak too loudly, and it was clear that Li Xiuzhi's body was indeed not well, but saying she could only live for three more months was also an exaggeration.

  Kong Wen Zhong's body trembled twice on the ground, as if he couldn't hide his excitement. If Li Xiu really wouldn't die, it would be good news for him. Otherwise, he would be the first to vent his anger.

  Geng Wenzhong felt deeply that he had picked up a life from the Ghost Gate Pass and let out a long sigh of relief.