The Dumb Prince of the Ming Dynasty

"I don't need to conduct the interrogation anymore, do I?" Li Jinglong said, looking exhausted.

Zhu Yuanzhang, with his legs crossed, said with a half-smile, "Of course you have to interrogate him. Don't you like Hai Li?"

"No, no!" Li Jinglong waved his hand. "That's all just rumors, complete fabrications."

Zhu Yuanzhang snorted: "I know you don't like her. You just lust after her body. You're despicable!"

Li Jinglong: "..."

A hint of sadness flashed across Zhu Yuanzhang's face as he said in a deep voice, "We have already ordered the Embroidered Uniform Guard to go to Xi'an to arrest Princess Qin. We will not kill Hai Li before Princess Qin returns to the capital."

Princess Consort of Qin, the principal wife of Prince Zhu Shuang of Qin, the younger sister of Wang Baobao, and also the Darughachi of the southern garrison of the scouts.

Hai Li, Wang Baobao's daughter, serves as a female official in the imperial harem and is suspected to be the current Darughachi.

"Your Majesty, did you already know everything?" Li Jinglong asked.

"We're not gods," Zhu Yuanzhang shook his head.

Li Jinglong shrugged: "Hai Li can just wait to be dealt with. Is there any need for an interrogation?"

Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes turned icy: "Don't you want to know why Xiao Huan died? Why did Xiao Huan write your name?"

"I kind of want to," Li Jinglong answered honestly.

A flicker of pain crossed Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes: "We want to know too. The Empress trusted Hai Li so much, treated her so well, raised her like a daughter. Why did she betray the Ming Dynasty?"

"Alright, I will go and investigate." Li Jinglong nodded and turned to leave.

He stopped again after walking a few steps.

Then he turned around, adopting a smug expression: "Your Majesty, may I use torture?"

Zhu Yuanzhang raised his eyes: "What kind of punishment?"

"We're all men, you know what I mean." Li Jinglong stretched out his dragon claw hand.

Zhu Yuanzhang waved his hand: "Get lost!"

……

Yichun Courtyard.

Two imperial guards stood on either side of the door, watching Li Jinglong, who was in a daze.

"Young Duke, are you going in or not?"

"What's the rush? What's the rush? This young duke is mentally preparing himself, understand?"

The guard on the right muttered under his breath, "You've been building for half an incense stick's time."

Li Jinglong glared at him and stepped into the courtyard.

The yard had been cleaned up, and the bloodstains on the ground had been washed away, as if nothing had happened.

Hai Li is temporarily imprisoned here, guarded by imperial guards.

"Sister Hai Li!" Li Jinglong entered the room with a bright smile.

Hai Li stood by the window, wearing a simple long dress, her hair flowing down her back. She wore no jewelry or makeup, her face was bare, lacking her usual charm but possessing a more refined beauty.

Sunlight streamed in through the window, outlining her stunning curves.

This is insane!

"Li Jiujiang, are you here to kill me?" Hai Li asked coldly.

"How could that be!" Li Jinglong said sincerely. "You're my dear older sister, I'm too busy taking care of you to even think about it."

Hai Li glared at him: "You scoundrel, just ask me whatever you want, I'll tell you everything I know."

As Li Jinglong took a few steps closer, a delicate fragrance wafted towards him.

The woman in front of me is truly beautiful.

"Cough cough, why did Hesaer kill Xiaohuan?" he asked.

Hai Li said calmly, "Because Xiao Huan knows Hesa'er's identity."

Li Jinglong waited, but there was no further response.

He frowned: "That's it?"

"Yes, after spending a lot of time together, Xiao Huan discovered Hesa'er's identity. It's that simple."

Li Jinglong was somewhat skeptical: "You just killed a mere palace maid who discovered a spy from the scout unit?"

"What else can we do but keep her around to snitch?"

Li Jinglong paused and asked again, "Why did Xiao Huan write my name before she died?"

Hai Li laughed, his expression strange: "Xiao Huan has always admired you. Every time you entered the palace, she would secretly watch you. Because she missed you, she wrote your name. It was written a long time ago and hidden in her room. After Hesaer killed her, he deliberately put it in a conspicuous place to attract your attention."

"Is it really that simple?" Li Jinglong asked.

"Yes, it's that simple. Just the fluttering heart of a young girl in love."

Li Jinglong suddenly felt a little sad.

He had never heard of the name Xiao Huan before, nor did he know this person.

A young girl who admired him died.

"What are you thinking about?" Hai Li asked when he saw that he was silent.

Li Jinglong sighed, "Oh, my damn charm."

Hai Li: "..."

Li Jinglong pondered for a moment before speaking: "I have something to tell you. His Majesty has issued an order for the Embroidered Uniform Guard to go to Xi'an to arrest Princess Qin."

Hai Li wasn't surprised: "I knew this day would come."

Looking at her calm expression, Li Jinglong felt that this woman was much more complex than he had imagined.

"Are you the Darughachi of the southern detachment of the current scouts?" he asked.

Hai Li nodded: "Yes."

Li Jinglong frowned: "Why?"

"Because I am a Yuan person, the daughter of the Great Yuan Qi King." Hai Li smiled with a complex expression.

Li Jinglong stopped asking questions; everything was now clear.

"I knew this day would come," Hai Li smiled.

"Oh?" Li Jinglong looked up at him.

Hai Li's expression darkened: "Because our opponent is the Zhu Emperor, we certainly cannot win. I, you, the Ming Dynasty, the Yuan Dynasty, we are all on his chessboard."

"He's not a god," Li Jinglong said.

"You have no idea how terrifying he is." Hai Li smiled bitterly: "After so many years in the harem, I've come to know how terrifying he is more and more."

Li Jinglong spread his hands: "What? Unbearable to look at? Indescribable? A terrifying evil god?"

"That's all I have to say. Heh, I heard you don't want to be an official, you just want to lie low?" Hai Li changed the subject. "I think that's fine, while His Majesty still has some affection for your Li family."

Li Jinglong smiled and said, "I never had any ambitions to begin with."

He was secretly alarmed. What had Hai Li gone through to be so terrified of Zhu Yuanzhang?

"Is there anything else you'd like to ask?" Hai Li asked.

Li Jinglong hesitated for a moment before replying, "The list of remnants of the Ma Junsi (Military Detective)."

Hai Li gave a cold, beautiful smile: "I'd rather die than tell."

Li Jinglong started rolling up his sleeves, looking him up and down: "Then I can use torture now."

Hai Li instead took a few steps forward, straightened his proud figure, and opened his arms: "Come on."

Li Jinglong: "..."

"Little brat," Hai Li chuckled.

Li Jinglong rubbed his forehead and asked seriously, "Do you have any other wishes?"

Hai Li's face darkened. After a long silence, he spoke softly, "I want to go back to the grasslands, or, bury me back on the grasslands."

Li Jinglong simply smiled, turned around, and walked out.

He stopped and stared blankly as he arrived at the gate of Yichun Courtyard.

Xiao Huan's death wasn't that complicated.

However, a faint pain lingered in his heart for the girl he had never met.

Hai Li's case wasn't that complicated. She and Princess Qin were physically in the Ming Dynasty, but their hearts were in the northern frontier.

"Young Duke, what are you reminiscing about?" asked the guard on the left side of the door.

"What the hell are you looking at? I'm trying to recall the details of the case," Li Jinglong said speechlessly.

The guard on the right gave him a knowing look: "Young Duke, we all know you're after Miss Hai Li."