After Xiao Jingcheng entered the house, before Li Zhao could say a word, he clasped his hands and bowed deeply to Li Zhao.
Li Zhao's gaze sharpened. He stepped aside and said in a deep voice, "Your Highness, what does this mean? Why are you bowing to me with such a grand salute for no reason?"
Xiao Jingcheng straightened up. With a sincere look on his face and no sign of impatience or embarrassment, he said slowly to Li Zhao, "Some time ago, I was framed by a villain and ended up in Dongli Town. If it weren't for Jiang Mian, I would have died long ago."
"That villain played a dirty trick behind my back, causing me to lose my soul. I became a living dead man."
"Although Jiang Mian found a Taoist priest and managed to retrieve my soul, perhaps because my soul had been lost for too long, it was quite uncomfortable when it returned to my body. My memory got confused, so I was irritable and easily angered."
"Today, I'm here to apologize to Uncle Li specifically. I hope Uncle Li can forgive my rudeness and offense the other day."
Li Zhao raised his eyebrows in surprise.
It was really strange. The noble Crown Prince actually condescended to apologize to an old nobody like him?
But was what he said just now true?
Would one's personality really change drastically after the soul left the body?
Li Zhao sized up Xiao Jingcheng carefully again.
No wonder he felt that Xiao Jingcheng was a bit different today. He was no longer as impatient, irritable, and outspoken as he was a few days ago. Instead, he knew how to restrain his edge, suppress his true nature, and began to show his strategic skills. He not only evaded the Prince of Xuan's probing but also came up with a way to divert the Prince of Xuan's attention.
Now he was more like the crown prince who had been carefully taught and trained by the royal family.
However, despite this, Li Zhao's attitude remained very cold. He said, "Your Highness, you're making it hard for me. You're the noble Crown Prince, while I'm just an ordinary old man. How can I deserve your apology?"
"Whether Your Highness is irritable or polite and well - behaved, it makes no difference to us common people."
"Your Highness is of noble status. Even if Your Highness decides to take our lives, we should offer them without a single complaint."
Hearing these words that were like sarcasm, Xiao Jingcheng didn't get angry and jump up like before.
Whether it was him a few days ago or the current him, it was still him. He wouldn't deny what he had done. If he had made a mistake, he had made a mistake.
"I've never had such a thought," Xiao Jingcheng said. "I admit that I accidentally hurt Jiang Mian, and I also admit that I hurt her unintentionally a long time ago. But to err is human. I will try my best to make up for the mistakes I've made."
Hearing this, Li Zhao couldn't help but look at Xiao Jingcheng a few more times.
Indeed, to err is human. Even he himself had made many mistakes.
But it wasn't easy for anyone to admit their mistakes, dare to take responsibility, and be willing to correct and make up for them.
It seemed that he hadn't misjudged. Xiao Jingcheng was a hundred times better than other royal heirs of the State of Chu he had ever seen.
However, even so, Li Zhao didn't immediately soften his attitude. Instead, he smiled and said, "Your Highness may have found the wrong person if you want to admit your mistakes. Your words of repentance should be said to Mu Jin. What's the use of saying them to an unimportant old man like me?"
"Of course, it's useful," Xiao Jingcheng said, looking at Li Zhao quietly. He recalled the true appearance of Ye Wanmian that he accidentally saw when he was possessing the dog, Dahuang.
He had to admit that without the veil, Ye Wanmian really resembled Li Zhao.
Coupled with the same red moles on their bodies, it further confirmed his speculation.
However, Li Zhao didn't seem to intend to recognize Ye Wanmian. Otherwise, he wouldn't have proposed to take her as his apprentice and teach her how to observe others.
He probably had other reasons and didn't dare to recognize Ye Wanmian. And Ye Wanmian didn't seem to notice Li Zhao's true identity. So he couldn't expose this matter rashly, lest things go wrong.
Making his attitude clear to Li Zhao and sincerely admitting his mistakes was one thing. There was a more important thing for him to do when he came here.
"At first, when I heard Uncle Li's name, I just felt it was a bit familiar," Xiao Jingcheng said. "But at that time, the wandering soul in my body hadn't completely stabilized yet, and I had lost a lot of memories. So I couldn't remember for a long time."
"Not until today, when I completely retrieved my memories, did I understand why I felt familiar with Uncle Li's name."
Xiao Jingcheng sat down opposite Li Zhao and said calmly, "The Xiao family's kingdom was built on the corpses of the kings of Chu. When the king of Chu was in power, the Xiao family was just one of the prominent noble families in this land."
"Before the fall of the State of Chu, there were five well - known noble families in this land, namely the Shen family in Hexi, the Xiao family in Lingyang, the Luo family in Hedong, the Zhong family in Lingnan, and... the Li family in Luozhou."
Li Zhao's face remained unchanged. He just looked up at Xiao Jingcheng and waited for him to continue.
"More than twenty years ago, the Li family was at the height of its power. The descendants of the family were all over the court and had extremely high prestige among the people in Luozhou. And that year, there was a 23 - year - old Chief Secretary in the Li family named Li Bingjun."
"A 23 - year - old Chief Secretary was unique among the noble families. If the Li family had been allowed to continue developing, it would have become more and more powerful and unshakable."
"Therefore, the king of Chu became suspicious of the Li family. Angered by the Chief Secretary's admonition, he randomly found an excuse and ordered the massacre of the entire Li family, not even sparing the babies in the cradle. The Li family in Luozhou disappeared from the world since then. This incident is also known as the 'Blood Incident in Luozhou' in the history books."
Li Zhao had a good memory. So when Xiao Jingcheng slowly recounted the disaster that the Li family in Luozhou had suffered, the scenes of the past unconsciously appeared in front of his eyes.
On that day in Luozhou, the blood flowed like a river, the corpses were strewn everywhere, and the wailing filled the air. Even the sky seemed to be dyed red.
In a fit of anger, the king of Chu caused countless deaths. Committing such a heinous crime in Luozhou, a place where people respected and worshipped Buddha, was the greatest contempt for the gods and Buddhas.
It was said that the noble families were deeply rooted and had extensive interests, which were enough to deter the royal power. But they couldn't withstand a crazy king who didn't care about his reputation, the court rules, or the world.
The destruction of the Li family in Luozhou was like an alarm bell, ringing in people's hearts.
If they didn't find a way to break the deadlock, whether it was the Shen family in Hexi or the Xiao family in Lingyang, they might become the next Li family in Luozhou.
Xiao Jingcheng observed Li Zhao's expression carefully and threw out his speculation:
"If I'm not wrong, Uncle Li should be that 23 - year - old Chief Secretary, Li Bingjun."