Chapter 707

A trap's success or failure sometimes lies in a single thought.

"You should go back; do not leave the palace for these two days. I will arrange for you and Li Tai to meet one last time."

It was a foregone conclusion!

Empress Zhangsun could say nothing more.

She could only return to the Inner Palace in a daze.

There were too many things she could not fathom, yet she could control nothing!

After this news spread through the Inner Palace.

Princess Changle, Li Xueyan, and Wu Meiniang all came looking for him.

Although Wu Meiniang did not know Li Tai, she had spent so much time with Empress Zhangsun that they all, without exception, wanted to plead for Li Tai.

Everyone thought that in a duel between the two brothers, Li Tai would surely die!

Qin Mu knew everything, but he did not want to say.

If he did not intervene, it would actually be Li Ke who died.

He did not want to explain.

He simply announced it bluntly.

"Regarding the duel, no one is allowed to plead for mercy again! Let their fates be decided by Heaven!"

Hearing Qin Mu speak this way, the women were helpless.

No one could change Qin Mu's mind.

They had already developed deep feelings.

The only thing they could do was ensure that Empress Zhangsun got to see Li Tai one last time.

Outside the palace.

Besides the things Li Tai was busy preparing for the duel,

Li Ke was also busy.

Since arriving in the Great Qin's Changancheng, Li Ke had been deeply shocked by everything he saw.

He did not take the duel three days later to heart.

He could defeat Li Tai even with his eyes closed.

He was busy with other matters.

On the streets of Great Qin, many bookstores had opened, and there were also many book stalls along the streets.

Buying a book here cost only ten coins, and the quality was excellent.

Great Qin encouraged scholars from humble backgrounds, so culture was flourishing.

There were many types of novels on the streets. They were far better than the bookstores he ran in Jin Ling!

Li Ke was busy collecting these books.

The retail price here was much lower than the wholesale price Qin Mu gave him.

But he was also worried that the Great Qin side would not let him take too many books back to the Great Tang.

Li Ke had been investigating how Great Qin managed to produce these books.

The handwriting was neat, and every copy was identical; it did not look like it was copied by hand.

If he could discover the secret of Great Qin's book production, perhaps the Great Tang could also develop like this?

"Boss, where do you get these books?"

"The Book Production Bureau."

"What kind of place is the Book Production Bureau?"

"Are you from out of town? But your accent sounds like someone from Changancheng. The Book Production Bureau is, of course, the Book Production Bureau."

"Thanks!"

Li Ke curiously went to find it.

Only to discover that the entrance to the Book Production Bureau was guarded by a squad of soldiers.

To go inside and get books, one had to present a certificate issued by the imperial court.

He didn't even have the qualifications to buy them!

"They are guarded really strictly!"

Li Ke marked the location, wanting to sneak over the wall at night to see the secret of Great Qin's book production.

He simply found an inn nearby to stay in.

"Look over there, one row past that, the tallest building is it!"

Night fell.

He changed into night-traveling clothes and sneaked out quietly.

Li Ke's martial arts were actually quite high.

If it weren't for his status as an Imperial Prince, which forbade him from touching military power, he could have become a fierce general on the battlefield!

Finding a deserted spot, he leaped over the wall.

He saw that inside, there were still people working overtime at night.

This was indeed the place where books were made!

He saw those people holding a square board, pressing it onto the page, then lifting the paper, and pressing the next one.

This speed was indeed countless times faster than copying by hand!

So there was such a method!

Li Ke, in his excitement, accidentally bumped the window frame, immediately alerting the guards.

"Someone is there!"

A squad of soldiers rushed out and surrounded Li Ke.

Li Ke wanted to jump the wall and escape, but he discovered a squad of crossbowmen appearing upstairs.

Helpless, he had to surrender!

They caught him without asking who he was and threw him into the Embroidered Uniform Guard prison overnight.

Poor Li Ke, an Imperial Prince his whole life, was sitting in jail for the first time.

Living in a cell, sleeping on straw, not even having a drop of water to drink.

He stared longingly out the window, hoping for dawn.

When the time came, if Qin Mu discovered he knew the secret of book printing,

he didn't know how he would be treated?

Would he die?