At this moment, he was truly grateful. Thankfully, he had not used torture on Huo Yuan yesterday. Otherwise, once King Jing became the Crown Prince, he, the Yingtian Prefecture Yamen daring to offend the Emperor’s own uncle, would probably be the first to be dealt with.
"Hehe, Brother Huo, please——"
Zhao Hongwang handed a bowl of sparkling purple rice porridge to Huo Yuan with both hands, saying with a beaming smile, "Brother Huo, eat while it’s hot. This is the porridge that my dumb chef Xiao Huo made in the mansion. It doesn’t compare to the craftsmanship of the Huo family chef, but it’s better than what’s sold in the inn, Brother Huo. Please make do with a little of it, hehe..."
Huo Yuan was incredibly astute. How could he not see the reason behind this? He took the porridge and started eating leisurely. After a few bites, he said faintly, "Indeed, it’s not as delicious as what our Huo family’s chef makes. Unfortunately, being in this state of disgrace, I can only make do with these things."
Upon hearing these words from Zhao Hongwang, with an overtone of a reprimand, he instantly made a grimacing face, saying in a dismal tone, "Brother Huo, this prison disaster wasn’t my intention. Brother Huo, being exceptionally clever, must understand the reasons even without me uttering a word. I’m under someone’s thumb and hence had to wrong Brother Huo. I hope Brother Huo can forgive me!"
When Huo Yuan heard this, he put down his chopsticks, joined his hands at his stomach, and looking at the pitiful Zhao Fuyin, laughed.
"Master Zhao’s visit to me today is an attempt to avoid offending the higher-ups and me, isn’t it?"
Zhao Hongwang felt hot on his face as his inner thoughts were laid bare by Huo Yuan, He blushed, feeling embarrassed, "Ahh, to tell you the truth, Brother Huo, I have been forced into this!"
Huo Yuan said, "In the world, perfection is hard to achieve. The so-called bear’s paw and fish are mutually exclusive. If Master Zhao chooses me, you should free me immediately. There’s no point in fussing about food and drink; if you choose the one above, there’s no need to see me, Master Zhao. You couldn’t possibly think that just by locking me up in prison and giving me some pleasant words and a few full meals, I would bear no grudge against you and be grateful, could you?"
"No no no, Brother Huo, listen to me, I ..."
Zhao Hongwang was waving his hands, trying to defend himself, but was stopped by Huo Yuan’s raised hand.
"Master Zhao need not say more. If you think I am guilty, feel free to interrogate me; if you think I am innocent, please free me immediately. Anything else is pointless talk!"
Hearing this, Zhao Hongwang started spinning his little moustache and his eyeballs started rolling.
Jin Guifei is currently sick and is unsure when she will recover. Even if she does recover, she should first be concerned about her son, right? If he solves the case of the Crown Prince’s assassination, Jin Guifei will surely reward him. At that time, would she still care whether her cheap brother’s case is solved or not? However, if he doesn’t solve the assassination attempt of the Crown Prince, even if he uses harsh torture to force Huo Yuan to admit guilt, in Jin Guifei’s eyes, he would still be an incompetent person.
Therefore, how Jin Guifei looks at him entirely depends on whether he can solve the case of the Crown Prince, and not on whether he forced Huo Yuan to admit his guilt.
And Huo Yuan, from his tone, if he is not released now, he probably bears a grudge against him. To offend the future Empress Dowager and incur the personal grudge of the future Emperor’s uncle, Amitabha Buddha, he dares not!
"Hehehe, Brother Huo, look at what you’re saying, I was actually planning to free Brother Huo from prison today. I just thought to myself, maybe I should invite Brother Huo for breakfast before leaving, hehehe..."
Who invites people to have meals in prison?
In his heart, Huo Yuan scoffed coldly but didn’t say anything. Since his objective had been achieved, there’s no need for this small talk!