The Devil's Tribulation

In the secret room of the Lu Mansion, Magistrate Lu asked worriedly, "Uncle, is this really going to happen?" Immortal Lu, or the uncle mentioned by Magistrate Lu, looked much younger than Magistrate Lu, and seemed to be only 30 years old, while Magistrate Lu was already in his 40s. The Lu family was also a famous family in the capital, but Magistrate Lu was from a collateral branch, and it was almost impossible for him to get to the position of Magistrate, mainly because of the help of this uncle. Magistrate Lu had also collected a lot of resources for him over the years, and the reason why he could reach the current Jindan cultivation level was that this collateral nephew had put in a lot of effort.

Master Lu said, "This time you should be looking for the missing prince. This happened decades ago. It's not your fault if you don't know. If the Third Prince wants to punish you, I will help you deal with it." Hearing his uncle say this, Governor Lu felt relieved. However, his original plan of making merit and moving to another place might not work. Governor Lu thought to himself, "What bad luck! How could I run into this? I've only been in office for five years!"

In the evening, it was almost dark. Magistrate Wu and the cold-faced guard finally arrived in Fancheng. As soon as they entered the city, they went to the temporary residence of the third prince without stopping. Prefect Lu also received the news that the magistrate of Li County had arrived, and accompanied the third prince in the living room to wait for the magistrate Wu. Prefect Lu originally had a good impression of the magistrate, but because of this incident, he now has no good impression of the magistrate at all. Who would like a subordinate who causes trouble for himself?

As soon as the third prince and Magistrate Lu entered the living room, the guard came to report: "Your Highness, the Magistrate of Li County is waiting outside." The third prince was sitting in the main seat. When he heard that the person had arrived, he waved his hand and said, "Let him in." The guard bowed and left. After a while, a fat man in a green official uniform came in. Facing the third prince, he bowed down and said, "The Magistrate of Fancheng and Li County, Wu Yaozu, greets Your Highness. I greet Magistrate Lu." The third prince looked at the fat man kneeling below and instinctively felt a little disgusted, because the prince was also a fat man, although not this fat. But he still needed this person's help to do his job, and he still had to use him now, so his tone was relatively gentle: "Magistrate Wu, please stand up and answer."

When Magistrate Wu heard that he was asked to stand up and speak, he thought, "It's a good sign." So after thanking him, he stood up, but his waist was still bent. The Third Prince took off the dagger from his waist, handed it to the guard beside him, and said, "Look, is this the dagger you see?" The guard held the dagger and came to Magistrate Wu. Magistrate Wu looked up and was about to speak, but the Third Prince continued, "Look carefully." Magistrate Wu had no choice but to take the dagger, look at it carefully in front of his eyes for a few breaths, and then respectfully handed it back to the guard. He bowed to the Third Prince and said, "Your Highness, the dagger I saw that day is exactly the same as this one. Especially the Qilin on it, I won't be wrong." The Third Prince nodded with satisfaction and continued, "Tell me the story of how you saw the dagger in detail, don't make any mistakes or omissions." Magistrate Wu took a few breaths and slowly told me the story of how he saw the dagger, without any deviation or omission. He just concealed the fact that his son was forced to buy and sell medicinal herbs.

After listening to Magistrate Wu's story, the Third Prince was silent for half a minute, and no one in the living room dared to speak. Everyone could see that the Third Prince took this matter very seriously, which also showed that the Emperor took it very seriously. After a while, the Third Prince suddenly asked, "Prefect Lu, do you know your crime?!" Prefect Lu knew that what was coming was coming, so he quickly stood up and knelt down, "I am guilty of not investigating! I hope Your Highness will give me a chance to make up for my crime!" Magistrate Wu breathed a sigh of relief, "It's really the tall guy who is in charge." However, he also knelt down and said, "I know my crime!" When the Third Prince saw the prefect and the county magistrate kneeling in front of him and trembling, he felt an inexplicable pleasure in his heart. This was power! Although he was a prince, he had no real power. This time he was on a mission ordered by the emperor, which was equivalent to an imperial envoy, and he had the right to deal with local officials of all sizes.

The third prince, who was psychologically satisfied, said in a gentle voice, "Get up. This mission cannot be done without your assistance. If you can help me find the fifteenth brother as soon as possible, it will be counted as a credit to you. My father cares a lot about my fifteenth brother." Hearing that they could be credited with a credit, the prefect and the county magistrate replied excitedly, "We will do our best to help the third prince." Give a stick first and then a date. Although it's an old trick, it works very well.

The third prince saw that the effect was good, and said with a smile: "Okay, let's work together and complete the task assigned by our father, and we will all be rewarded." The two people below also stood up quickly. They were indeed afraid just now. Although County Magistrate Wu knew that the third prince would use this trick, he was still uneasy before he was sure that everything was fine. As soon as the two stood up, the third prince continued to ask: "According to County Magistrate Wu, the first person to discover the fifteenth brother was your county lieutenant? Where is he?" County Magistrate Wu quickly replied: "I didn't know that the third prince was going to ask about the fifteenth prince, so I didn't notify County Lieutenant Sun to come here." The third prince frowned and looked at Lu Zhifu. This kid was not rigorous in his work. It seems that he should not be entrusted with things in the future. When Lu Zhifu was looked at by the third prince, his heart skipped a beat, and he just reacted.

The Third Prince thought for a moment, and if he went back and forth again, it would be too late, so he said, "Let's bring the county lieutenant here tomorrow. That's all for today. County Magistrate Wu has worked hard, so go down and have a rest." He left without paying any attention to Prefect Lu. County Magistrate Wu immediately understood what the prince meant, "It seems that Prefect Lu doesn't like the prince." However, as a subordinate, he still politely bowed to Prefect Lu and said, "Prefect, you have worked hard, I will take you back to your house to have a rest." Prefect Lu was unhappy and waved his hand, "No, you can go and have a rest, I still have official business!" He left without even looking back. County Magistrate Wu thought to himself, "What the hell, you didn't do your job well, and now you're taking it out on me!"

The next day, Sun Erleng started practicing in the training room early. Although it was early in the morning, Sun Erleng was already sweating. His muscles, which had been loose due to his indulgence in the past few years, have now become stronger. Since taking the "magic pill", Sun Erleng has felt very strong. If he doesn't release some energy every day, he can't sleep at night. He is a typical energetic person! Now he is full of energy, his eyes are bright and he has been on the battlefield. He has a murderous aura. No matter how you look at him, he looks like a battle-hardened general!

Sun Erleng was practicing happily when a soldier rushed in: "Captain! Captain!" Sun Erleng frowned: "Didn't I tell you not to call me Captain, but County Lieutenant!" The soldier quickly changed his words and said: "County Lieutenant, there is an officer outside, saying that the Third Prince wants to question you!" Sun Erleng was stunned at first, and asked hurriedly: "Third Prince?" The soldier nodded and said: "Yes, there is also a token." Sun Erleng asked hurriedly: "Where is it?" "It's at the gate, and he brought two majestic monster mounts!" The soldier replied hurriedly. Sun Erleng did not dare to neglect it, and went out to meet the officer without wearing any clothes, bare-chested.

Seeing the official in red guard uniform, Sun Erleng hurriedly saluted, and then he realized that he was not wearing a shirt! But he couldn't care less at this time, and said quickly: "I am the county lieutenant of Li County. I wonder if the official wants to see me for something?" The guard saw that Sun Erleng actually came out to see him like this, and wanted to blame him for being rude, but when he saw Sun Erleng's muscular body, he thought to himself: "What a brave man!" Then he didn't care and said: "The third prince wants to ask you a question, you should change your clothes quickly and follow me to Fancheng."

Sun Erleng hurriedly changed into his official uniform, but it was the uniform of a captain. He knew that this meeting with the prince might be his chance, so he dressed himself up as much as he could. After looking around, he found that this uniform was the most suitable. He still held the title of the captain of the imperial guards. It should be said that the title of the captain of the imperial guards was his official title, and the county lieutenant was only a temporary title.

The two hurried and finally got back to Fancheng before noon. The third prince was getting impatient, it was almost time for dinner. Just as he was about to call someone to ask, someone came in and reported: "Your Highness, Li County Lieutenant Sun Erleng has arrived." The third prince sat down again: "Let him in." After a while, Sun Erleng walked into the hall with a tiger step, his head held high and his eyes shining. When he saw the third prince, he was neither humble nor arrogant, his voice was like a bell, he knelt on one knee, and bowed his hands and said: "I, the head of the imperial army and Li County Lieutenant Sun Erleng, greet your highness!" When the third prince saw Sun Erleng, two words immediately emerged in his mind: "Tiger General!!" Then he thought: "I must recruit him for my own use!"

The third prince changed his attitude towards the prefect and the county magistrate, and actually stood up and walked to Sun Erleng, helped Sun Erleng up with both hands, and said gently: "General Sun has served in the imperial army before?" Everyone around was dumbfounded, especially County Magistrate Wu, who couldn't believe the scene in front of him, and complained in his heart: "What medicine did this Sun Erleng take, and today he has changed his previous appearance and become a general?" Sun Erleng was flattered: "I dare not call myself a general. A few years ago, I followed General Wei, obeyed his orders, and fought against the State of Chu for a few years." The third prince was more satisfied after hearing this. He actually followed Wei Qing, the military god of the Great Zhou! In fact, Sun Erleng never followed Wei Qing, but their army was also under the command of Wei Qing. If you insist on saying that he obeyed his orders, it is not wrong.

The third prince wanted to place his own people in the army. Now there is one right in front of him. Although his military rank is not high, he is a tiger general at first glance! With a little training, he will definitely shine in the army in the future! The third prince believes in his own vision! Then he pulled Sun Erleng to sit aside and asked a lot of questions about the military. Sun Erleng has been in the army for many years, how can a prince compare to him? What he said was refreshing to the third prince, which made him more determined to win him over.

The prefectural magistrate, who was being ignored, saw that the third prince was chatting happily, and did not dare to interrupt. It was the third prince's guard who coughed lightly when he saw that his master was talking more and more. The third prince then remembered that he had not asked the main business yet. So he smiled and said, "The general is an expert in marching and fighting. This prince will ask for advice another day. Today I asked the general to come because I need to confirm something with the general." Sun Erleng knew that the main business was coming, and he also straightened up and said, "Your Highness, please ask, I will tell you the truth." The prince nodded with satisfaction. You know what, if the third prince likes him, then he will like him no matter how he looks at him. The first impression of a person is so important!

The third prince asked, "I heard from Magistrate Wu that you were the first to come into contact with the fifteenth brother?" Sun Erleng was stunned and asked in confusion, "The fifteenth prince?" Sun Erleng was a soldier, so he didn't know how many princes there were in the royal family. Magistrate Wu thought that Sun Erleng knew Pan Chengfeng's identity, so he was so nervous. He didn't know that Sun Erleng was not nervous because of his identity as a prince, he just knew that Pan Chengfeng was a cultivator.