When Pei Yue left the Danxia Lake, there were more than one pair of eyes staring at him from a distance in the vast night.

Qian Bing's feeling was not wrong. Someone was indeed spying on them secretly. Although this man in his thirties seemed too ordinary on the surface, he had five senses that were unusually sharp and had an innate ability to foresee danger.

This is the reason why he was able to become the number one assassin of Taishitai Pavilion.

After Pei Yue returned to his residence, the soldiers began to set up secret sentries outside the courtyard, and a vigorous figure disappeared into the night.

After about a stick of incense, this figure as swift as the wind came to a secret and dark corner in the forest.

There are more than 20 martial arts masters hidden here. They are all from Liang and have different identities. Some are the guards of Xiangyun, some are the bodyguards of a bodyguard agency in the southern border of Liang, and the monk in robes is even a

The abbot of a monastery.

"Noricion, have you confirmed the residence of Marquis Zhongshan?" asked an old man over fifty in the crowd.

The person in charge of the investigation was Norio, who was in his thirties, and this old man was obviously in charge of the overall situation.

Norio nodded and said: "It's confirmed, there won't be anything wrong."

The old man looked around and said: "Everyone, please recharge your batteries for the time being. We will start before dawn."

Everyone nodded in agreement, and the old man asked Norixiong again: "Did you find Lao Jiang along the way?"

Norixiong shook his head. Just as he was about to speak, his expression suddenly changed and he signaled everyone to be silent. He then raised his hand and pointed towards the north.

"It's me."

Before these experts were about to take action, a dull voice sounded not far away.

The old man breathed a sigh of relief and whispered: "Don't be nervous, it's Mr. Lan."

Then I saw a tall man walking over. He was Lan Zhiqiu, the nephew of Lan Yu, the Xiongwu Marquis of Daliang.

Everyone saluted one after another, no matter whether they wanted to in their hearts or not, they did not dare to show any disrespect on their faces, because Lan Zhiqiu represented Lan Yu, and the latter was the noble person who controlled the fate of them and their relatives.

Lan Zhiqiu looked around, frowned slightly and said, "Where is Jiang Wanli?"

The old man hesitated and said: "Sir, he was still there when we gathered outside Jian'an City, but on the way here, he left the group at some point and is now missing."

Lan Zhiqiu's face turned ugly, and the atmosphere suddenly became stagnant.

According to the instructions of his second uncle Lan Yu, this Jiang Wanli is his most valued assassin. He spent countless efforts to control and control Pei Yue's big killer weapon. This man's swordsmanship is superb, especially the hand that can kill with one strike.

The ultimate trick of killing both jade and stone, as long as a suitable opportunity is created for him, Pei Yue will definitely die.

Just when Lan Zhiqiu was about to get angry, Jiang Wanli's voice suddenly sounded not far away: "I'm here."

Everyone was shocked. Norio looked at the man who appeared in front of him like a ghost, and asked nervously: "Lao Jiang, where did you go?"

Jiang Wanli said calmly: "I have been following you because I am not sure if there are any traitors among you, so I have to observe secretly."

Lan Zhiqiu suppressed his anger and asked in a deep voice: "Then have you found the traitor?"

Jiang Wanli stood ten feet away from him, holding the long sword in his arms, and said calmly: "Not yet."...

Lan Zhiqiu looked at this top swordsman who looked ordinary like a farmer. Although he understood that this kind of person had a weird personality and that he had to focus on the overall situation at the moment, he still couldn't help but snorted coldly, and then said to the old man: "You can't do anything tonight.

"

The old man said anxiously: "Sir, the second half of the night is the best time."

Lan Zhiqiu said solemnly: "The people of the Southern Zhou Dynasty fell into Pei Yue's trap and left hundreds of corpses on the bank of Danxia Lake. This is what I saw with my own eyes, which shows that Pei Yue must be on tight defense tonight. You guys

If you rush over at this time, you will only be plotted by him again. But as long as he can spend tonight safely, this person will definitely relax his vigilance."

The old man asked blankly: "In your opinion, when should we take action?"

Lan Zhiqiu raised the corners of his lips and said, "Of course it's when he feels he's safe and completely lets down his guard."

He smiled and told his second plan, and everyone's eyes could not help but shine after listening.

Only Jiang Wanli looked at Lan Zhiqiu without saying a word, his eyes as calm as water.

…

Before dawn.

Jian'an City, Imperial Palace.

Today is not the day of the court meeting, so the key release ceremony at the palace gate will be at the beginning of Mao hour (six o'clock in the morning).

It was still more than half an hour before the key was released. According to regulations, the palace door could not be opened. However, after the eunuch of the Ministry of Internal Affairs arrived with the oral instructions from Emperor Qingyuan, the gatekeeper did not dare to resist and ordered the imperial guards to open the palace door.

Then I saw ten imperial guards leaving the palace quickly and running towards the mansion where the important ministers were gathered.

The gatekeeper couldn't help but become nervous when he saw this scene. When the palace guards gathered around a carriage and arrived outside the palace, Xu Huiyan, the chief minister of the cabinet, got off the carriage. He found it increasingly difficult to breathe.

The chief eunuch stepped forward and saluted hurriedly: "Master Chief Assistant, Your Majesty is waiting for you in the side hall of Mingde Hall."

Xu Huiyan nodded and said, "Please lead the way."

Of course he knew where the Mingde Palace was. He was just following the rules. After all, it was extremely unusual for His Majesty the Emperor to suddenly summon him to the palace at this time.

Arriving at the side hall of Mingde Hall, Emperor Qingyuan raised his eyes and looked at the chief minister of the cabinet, and said softly: "Come here, give me a seat."

After Xu Huiyan thanked him, he sat down and looked at Emperor Qingyuan's face calmly. He had received a secret report from Yuan Yan earlier and originally planned to go to the palace after dawn to report, but he did not expect that the emperor would summon him so abnormally and eagerly.

Entering the palace shows that what happened in Donglin is more serious than what Yuan Yan said.

Sure enough, Emperor Qingyuan picked up a memorial from the imperial desk and handed it to the eunuch who was standing beside him. The latter held the memorial in both hands and took small steps to come to Xu Huiyan and handed the memorial into his hands.

Emperor Qingyuan said: "This is the urgent report just sent by Shangguan Ding. You can read it first."

Xu Huiyan took the memorial, glanced at it for a few times and immediately his expression changed. After his thoughts changed, he said solemnly and resolutely: "Your Majesty, this matter has absolutely nothing to do with the Duke of Zhen! Fang Yunhu was working in Beiliang before and had a lot of hatred with Pei Yue.

Deep, this time it is obviously revenge due to personal grudges."

Emperor Qingyuan sighed: "Why does it have nothing to do with Duke Zhen Guo?"

Xu Huiyan said in a deep voice: "If the Duke of Zhen had ordered him to do this, the plan would not have been so haphazard and crude, and there would be no way for Pei Yue to survive."…

Emperor Qingyuan was silent for a moment, which seemed to agree with his chief assistant's analysis. However, he said with a headache: "But the Liang people won't believe it."

Xu Huiyan said calmly: "Pei Yue was only slightly injured, but Fang Yunhu died in his hands. I think there must be something fishy about this matter. The emergency report from Shangguan Ding was not detailed enough, but even if Fang Yunhu was the one who planned it alone, after all, he

With hundreds of elite troops, how could Pei Yue have foreseen the situation and arranged traps and ambushes in advance?"

Emperor Qingyuan nodded slightly and said thoughtfully: "I have sent Xia Fei to mobilize a thousand Wude camp soldiers to rush to Donglin to protect Pei Yue and return to the capital after sunrise. As for Zhen Guogong, I have to ask Jubei Hou to make a hard trip.

, go to Chengbei Camp and tell the truth about the matter. Be sure to appease the Duke of Zhen and let him put the overall situation first."

Xu Huiyan thought for a moment, lowered his eyes and said, "Your Majesty is wise."

Emperor Qingyuan said helplessly: "This Liang man is really a troublemaker. He can cause trouble wherever he goes. That's all. I will ask Shangguan Ding to arrange the Qinghe distant marriage as soon as possible and send him back as soon as possible to prevent him from causing further trouble."

"

Xu Huiyan smiled bitterly and said: "Your Majesty, I believe that Duke Zhen can calm down. After all, it was Fang Yunhu who plotted against Beiliang Zhengshi first. Regardless of whether the other party was prepared or not, we can only suffer this dumb loss. The problem is that Pei Yue may not be willing.

If you give up, you will probably use this matter as an excuse."

Emperor Qingyuan looked a little ugly when he thought of Pei Yue's false injury. He looked at Xu Huiyan and said, "I'll leave this matter to Aiqing."

Xu Huiyan stood up and responded: "I accept the order."

The monarch and his ministers deliberated for a long time before Xu Huiyan dragged his tired body out of the palace.

The morning light is faint on the horizon, the autumn mood is gradually dyeing, and the frost is beginning to appear.


Chapter completed!