The film and television world begins with the battle for the throne in Kowloon

Chapter 634 Night Visit to Dali Temple

All the efforts for so long were not in vain. He finally climbed up the big tree of the Eastern Palace. Zhou Kui finally put his mind at ease. From now on, he had a backer. As long as the prince agreed, Zhou Kui was not in a hurry to send his daughter over sooner or later, so he nodded quickly.

After they sat down again, the relationship between the two was obviously further developed. Zhou Kui said in a friendly manner, "Your Highness, that Quan Wanji has been spreading the news about the achievements of the King of Shu in Suizhou some time ago, and he also belittled Your Highness. I saw it with my own eyes and I hate it in my heart."

"Now that he has fallen into my hands, I will definitely avenge your highness and punish him properly, so that the King of Shu will see that our Eastern Palace is not something that he can bully."

As soon as Li Yan accepted it, Zhou Kui regarded himself as a subordinate of the Eastern Palace. Li Yan smiled slightly in his heart, but said with a look of approval: "Master Zhou is thoughtful. I won't thank you for doing things for me. We are all family, so it's awkward to say those polite words!"

"However, I have something that I would like to trouble you with, Lord Zhou. Is it convenient for you?"

Zhou Kui was stunned, and immediately patted his chest and said, "Your Highness, please tell me what you want. As long as I can do it, I will do it even if it means going through fire and water."

"Ok!"

Li Yan nodded and asked, "How is Quan Wanji doing these days in prison? Has anyone visited him?"

"Your Highness, Quan Wanji fell from a sixth-rank court official to a prisoner overnight. Naturally, his state couldn't be good. He was distraught and couldn't believe it. He cried and shouted every day that he was wronged. His wife came to see him once, and he asked her to ask the King of Shu to save him."

"But the King of Shu never came, nor did he send anyone else to visit."

Li Yan nodded. He could understand Li Ke's situation. Now that the King of Shu had just been ordered to reflect on his mistakes behind closed doors, he naturally didn't dare to go out against the order. Besides, the body of his other arm, Cheng Huailiang, was still warm and Li Ke's mind was all on that. Quan Wanji was only temporarily detained in the Dali Temple and would not die for a while. It would be the same whether he was dealt with sooner or later.

Cen Wenben could help, but he would definitely blame Quan Wanji for being clever and coming up with all kinds of messed up ideas, which led the King of Shu astray. He might even take this opportunity to kick Quan Wanji out of officialdom completely and away from the King of Shu. How could he go to help? Even if he went, he would be adding insult to injury!
Li Yan thought about his plan again and confirmed that it was roughly correct. Then he threw out his idea: "Zhou Kui, I want to meet Quan Wanji in the Dali Temple without alerting outsiders. You are an expert, can you do it?"

"Of course, if it's too difficult."

"Oh, no, no!"

Zhou Kui was happy to see that Li Yan did not treat him as an outsider. He had just become the prince's disciple and had received an assignment. This meant that the prince trusted him. No matter what, he had to do what the prince had asked for the first time.

I immediately agreed, thought for a moment, and said, "If Your Highness asks me to bring Quan Wanji to the East Palace to meet His Highness the Crown Prince, it will indeed be difficult, but if Your Highness is willing to condescend to go to the Dali Temple, then it will naturally be very convenient."

"I am in charge of this matter, and my words will be heard in the Dali Temple."

"If Your Highness needs to keep it secret, I can transfer Quan Wanji to a separate cell block in the next few days. When everyone has gone home, after curfew, I can temporarily transfer the guards away in the name of duty. Your Highness can enter the cell without interacting with anyone during this time. I guarantee that no one will know."

Li Yan couldn't help but nod secretly. He was indeed an old hand. As soon as he opened his mouth and revealed a little bit of his intention, Zhou Kui knew what he wanted to do. He arranged everything properly and considered everything very carefully. He didn't ask any more questions and just did his job well.

Don't judge a book by its cover. Zhou Kui looks like a talented person!

The two of them immediately discussed the details and determined the final plan. After finishing the business, their relationship became obviously more harmonious!
At noon, Li Yan invited Zhou Kui to have lunch in the Prince's Palace. If nothing unexpected happened, Zhou Kui would be Li Yan's cheap father-in-law in the future, so he naturally had to give him this little face.

There is no other way. For the sake of the Tang Dynasty, Li Yan has no choice but to sacrifice himself.
During this time, Wang Xuance had been standing quietly nearby, watching with his own eyes how Li Yan recruited a sixth-rank official, and he also heard the content of the conversation. After the previous scene, Wang Xuance no longer dared to underestimate Li Yan, and felt that every move of the prince was full of meaning.

When he heard that the Crown Prince was going to secretly enter the prison to see Quan Wanji, he immediately started thinking. Quan Wanji was a close minister of King Shu Li Ke. After the court meetings of the previous two days, he had basically been dismissed. What was the purpose of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince going to the prison to see him at this time?

Could it be that he wanted to win over this person, or get some secrets of the King of Shu from him? Yes, Quan Wanji has followed the King of Shu for many years and must know a lot of his secrets. If he could get them in his hands, he could hold the King of Shu's handle and even bring him down completely, eliminating this hidden danger.

Wang Xuance couldn't help but admire Li Yan's thinking. Just because a Dali Temple Secretary came to his house by chance, he thought of a way to squeeze out his last value and find a way to further deal with Li Ke. He was really a genius!

Three days later, at the first quarter of the hour of Hai! The city of Chang'an had long been under curfew, and the streets were deserted. The residents of the city had already fallen asleep. The bright moon in the sky was emitting a hazy silver glow, which fell on the ground. From time to time, the sound of dogs barking could be heard from afar, and a team of night patrol soldiers passed through the streets one by one.

Li Yan was completely covered by a black cloak. Under the guidance of Wang Xuance, he came to the Dali Temple's office located in the southwest corner of the imperial city. At a small door on the side, Wang Xuance pushed open the half-open door and met Zhou Kui.

Zhou Kui bowed slightly to Li Yan, without saying anything more or greeting, and walked briskly with the two of them to the prison area behind the government office, turning left and right along the way without running into anyone. They passed through many case rooms and came to a secluded area in the northwest.

Zhou Kui said in a low voice: "Your Highness, I have detained Quan Wanji in solitary confinement in the C-block for questioning two days ago. There are twelve cells here. Currently, only the second cell on the left as you enter the door has someone in it, and that person is Quan Wanji."

"At midnight, the patrol officers on duty at the Dali Temple will come to conduct routine inspections. Your Highness will have one hour to do so. I will come to pick you up in advance, then?"

"Yes! I understand."

Li Yan nodded, saw Zhou Kui leave, told Wang Xuance to guard the door, and then pushed the door open and walked in.

The lights in the prison area were dim, and there was an oil lamp hanging on the wall of every other cell. This place was a little different from what Li Yan had imagined. A long corridor led to the distance, the ground was paved with bluestone slabs, and there were various rooms on both sides.

It was not the arm-thick wooden fence with straw on the ground that Li Yan had imagined, but it was arranged like an ordinary inn, with wooden partitions that blocked most of the view, and each cell door was locked from the outside.

If there wasn't a small window with wooden bars facing the corridor in each room that couldn't be blocked, Li Yan would have thought he was in an inn.

But think about it, this is not the Ministry of Justice, and they are not dealing with the lowest level of people. The Dali Temple detains officials who have committed crimes in the court.

In any case, in this feudal society where the classes are clearly divided and people are divided into different levels, the levels not only exist at all times, but also exist at all levels. In the bureaucracy, even criminal officials are one level higher than ordinary people. How can there be no decent people lying on the dry grass in groups of three or five like the common people?
Li Yan shook his head with a wry smile, then stood in place, closed his eyes and concentrated, adjusted the imperial energy in his chest to his brows, instantly activated the Eye of Heaven, and let his consciousness flow from his body slowly like water to the prison area in the distance.

The layout of the prison area and the cells kept appearing in my mind, all the way to the deepest wall. Each cell not only had a bed, but also a set of tables and chairs, and even pens, ink, paper, inkstones, teapots and books. If you don't look outside, the conditions here are even better than those of ordinary inns, and the facilities are more complete.

I noticed that there was indeed no one else in the entire prison area, except for a middle-aged official lying in the second cell on the left, who was sleeping and snoring softly.

In an instant, Li Yan withdrew his consciousness and nodded slowly. He thought that it was better to be cautious than to be slow. Of course, Zhou Kui was sincere enough, and judging from all aspects, there was no possibility that he would secretly oppose him, but Li Yan still had to be careful.

In daily life, not only Li Shimin might send people around him, but other brothers or ministers might also put some people into the Eastern Palace with ulterior motives. Li Yan didn't care. Since his words and deeds could be known to Li Shimin, there was no need to guard against others.

But we still need to be careful when it comes to key people and matters to avoid leaking secrets.

Reaching out to take off the cap on his head, Li Yan took two light steps and came to the second cell door on the left. He saw that the lock on it was only hanging there. It could be easily accessed from the outside, but the door could not be opened from the inside. Once again, he admired Zhou Kui's meticulousness. Li Yan knocked on the door gently.

'Bang, bang. bang'

The muffled sound echoed in the silent corridor, sounding particularly frightening and strange.

Quan Wanji, who was sleeping soundly inside, was awakened subconsciously and called out in a sleepy voice, "Who is it?"

His tone revealed the displeasure and irritation of being woken up from his sleep. Then Quan Wanji sat up from the bed very naturally, stretched out his feet to put on his shoes, and then opened his hazy eyes. After seeing the scene in front of him, he suddenly had a shock in his heart and instantly became clear.

This is not in my own house, but in the prison cell of Dali Temple. How could someone be knocking on the door?
I turned my head and looked at the small window on the other side of the wall. The sky outside was dark and the moon was high in the sky. It was obvious that it was not yet dawn.

(End of this chapter)