Feng Ying put her hands on her hips and said coldly: "You are really unreasonable. I see that you are also subordinates of His Highness, so I can explain it easily. Don't think that girls are easy to bully!"
Lu Xiong raised his head and laughed, his laughter full of anger.
"I bullied you? My two brothers were beaten violently by you first and then killed by you, but you said that I bullied you?"
Chen Shen was afraid that the two gangs would really fight, so he hurriedly said: "Commander Lu, you said those two people were killed by Miss Feng and the others. Do you have any evidence?"
Lu Xiong gritted his teeth and said: "Both of them were hit by darts in the neck. They were killed with one dart. The person who killed them must be a master!"
Feng Ying hummed: "Chang'an City is very big, and there are more than just us experts."
"But the only masters they have offended are you. We came here to find you yesterday, and they died today. How could such a coincidence happen!"
Feng Ying said coldly: "After all, these are all your guesses. If you come here to spit on people based on just some guesses, if it had been before, I would have killed you with a sword!"
Lu Xiong said sternly: "Why bother talking about the past? Come here and try to kill me now?"
Feng Ying's face turned cold: "Since you are seeking death, I will help you!" She turned her right hand over and found a dagger.
Just as he was about to go over and teach Lu Xiong a lesson, he suddenly heard two "stop" sounds at the same time.
One voice was from Long Yang, who was afraid that Feng Ying would get angry and kill her. The other voice came from the gate of the courtyard.
I saw Wen Rong frowning, slowly walking over, and said in a deep voice: "What are you doing?"
Feng Ying was very polite to him and said: "Manager Wen, you are here to comment. This stupid guy came to slander us based on speculation. Isn't it disgusting?"
Lu Xiong said angrily: "Manager Wen, don't listen to her nonsense. These people just came to the palace and killed two of my brothers. We can never let people like them stay with the prince!"
His last words aroused the unanimous anger of the nine people. All nine people stared at him with murderous intent in their eyes.
Lu Xiong felt that all the hairs on his body stood up, and a chill ran down his back. He couldn't help but take two steps back.
Wen Rong walked among them and said in a deep voice: "I probably heard what happened clearly. Commander Lu, two of your bodyguards are dead. I suspect it was these new bodyguard friends who did it, right?"
Lu Xiong swallowed and said in a hoarse voice: "Yes."
Wen Rong added: "Miss Fengying said you were just guessing, which means you have no evidence, right?"
Lu Xiong gritted his teeth and said, "No, I have evidence."
"What evidence?"
"My two brothers were both killed by masters. They have never offended a master. Who else would kill them besides these people?"
Wen Rong shook his head and said: "This is just speculation, not evidence."
Lu Xiong pointed at Dahuang and added: "The two of them had a quarrel with this person yesterday and had a fight. They have a motive to kill!"
Wen Rong said: "Even if there is a motive, you can just ask questions. Why do you need to mobilize troops and mobilize people?"
Seeing that Wen Rong had been helping her to speak, Feng Ying gradually softened her expression and said, "Isn't that right? This guy wants to arrest us as soon as he comes. He is so arrogant!"
Lu Xiong said: "I just want to capture them and go to see Her Royal Highness the Princess, so that Her Highness can make the decision for my two dead brothers!"
Wen Rong said: "Just ask them to accompany you, why bother to arrest them?"
The more Feng Ying listened to Wen Rong's words, the more she found him pleasing to her eyes, and shouted: "That's right! If you speak nicely, we may not be able to agree to your confrontation!"
When Lu Xiong saw Wen Rong helping the other party, he knew that it would be impossible to catch them again.
Moreover, the murderous intent of the other party just now also made him secretly frightened. He walked down the slope and said, "Well, let's go to Her Royal Highness the Princess for comment!"
Wen Rong thought for a while and said: "Her Royal Highness the Princess is about to give birth. It is not appropriate to disturb her with this kind of thing. It is better to go find the third lady."
Lu Xiong frowned and thought to himself: "The third lady has a docile temperament, I'm afraid she will calm things down." He hummed: "Why not find the second lady?"
Wen Rong explained: "The second lady is going out."
Lu Xiong had no choice but to agree to find the third wife, Xu Wenqing.
Xu Wenqing was frightened, so Lu Xiong sent most of the guards around him back to the West Cross Courtyard. He only took about ten people with him, and followed Wen Rong, Fengying and others to the Qingzhu Courtyard.
Wen Rong knocked on the door, and after a long while, Lu Wei opened the door. Seeing so many people coming, he was surprised and said: "Manager Wen, you... why did you bring so many people here?"
Wen Rong cupped his hands and said: "There is a big event in the house, and we would like to ask the third lady to come forward and make the decision."
"What's the big deal?" Lu Wei asked.
Wen Rong hesitated for a moment and said, "Two guards died in the mansion."
Lu Wei was surprised and said: "Why don't you go to Her Royal Highness for this kind of thing?"
Wen Rong said: "Her Royal Highness the Princess is about to give birth, and I'm worried that her murderous spirit will disturb the fetus."
Lu Wei nodded and held his chest, seeming a little embarrassed.
Wen Rong said: "Isn't the third lady here?"
Lu Wei thought to herself: "My young lady is so timid, I'm afraid she will be frightened."
But then I thought about it, if she refused, everyone in the palace would think she was incompetent. Who would obey her in the future?
"Then you come in." She finally made a decision.
The group of people followed Lu Wei to the lobby. Lu Wei said: "You guys wait a minute, I'll call the lady." and then left.
In the lobby, Fengying and the others stood on the right, Lu Xiong and others stood on the left, and Wen Rong stood in the middle.
After waiting for a long time, I heard the sound of footsteps and two figures walked in from the side door. The person in front was Xu Wenqing.
Everyone bowed their hands to her and saluted her. Xu Wenqing went to the top and sat down. He smiled and said, "You don't have to be so polite here. Come here to see me. What's the matter?"
Lu Xiong said loudly: "Madam, two of my guards had an argument with the new guards and were killed by them. Madam, please make the decision for them!"
Xu Wenqing was startled and said: "Dead... dead?"
Lu Xiong said loudly: "Yes! Madam, please make the decision for us!"
Xu Wenqing turned to look at Feng Ying and the others, sizing them up.
Feng Ying hurriedly said: "Madam, those two people were not killed by us!"
Xu Wenqing turned to look at Lu Xiong and said, "Commander Lu, they said they didn't kill anyone. Are you mistaken?"
Lu Xiong said anxiously: "Madam, of course they will not admit that the cause and effect of this matter are like this..."
He told the story of how Brother Lu Song and Da Huang were beaten violently during a quarrel, and how the other party used despicable means to defeat him when he went to Dongkua Hospital for review.
Xu Wenqing nodded and said: "So that's it." Then he looked at Fengying and others.
Fengying said loudly: "What he said are all speculations and there is no evidence!"
Xu Wenqing nodded and said, "That's right." He turned to look at Lu Xiong, as if asking, "Do you have any evidence?"
Lu Xiong said anxiously: "Madam, it's obvious that these bastards did this. If we catch them and interrogate them, the evidence will naturally be there!"
Wen Rong took two steps forward and said slowly: "Madam, when the two guards had an argument with the personal guard, it was the two guards who suffered. In this case, the only one who will take revenge is the guard, and that guard
How can a personal guard go out and kill someone in revenge?"
Ping Qi looked at Wen Rong in surprise and thought to himself: "This housekeeper is such a good person, but he opened his eyes and told lies just to help us."
In his opinion, even if he had not suffered a loss before, he could still kill someone in revenge, and the two had nothing to do with each other.
Lu Xiong said angrily: "Maybe the Lu Song brothers were so angry that they invited these people out to break up, and they ended up killing them!"
Wen Rong said lightly: "That's even more impossible. Your two subordinates know that their skills are not as good as others, how could they ask them out alone?"
When Xu Wenqing heard this, he stood up and said: "Commander Lu, this matter is probably just a misunderstanding. Let's let the government investigate." He turned around and said: "Lu Wei, go get twenty guan of money."
Lu Xiong's heart sank, and he lowered his head and said nothing.
Not long after, Lu Wei came over with the money, and Xu Wenqing said softly: "Commander Lu, please take this money and give it to the families of the two guards."
Lu Xiong secretly sighed and said, "Thank you madam."
Wen Rong followed: "Commander Lu, I will report this matter to the prince and suggest to him that pensions be paid to the two guards."
In fact, these two people did not die in the performance of official duties, so they cannot be paid.
The two of them were from Lu Xiong's hometown. Lu Xiong knew that without the pension, the lives of their relatives would be difficult, so he held up his hands and said, "Thank you, Manager Wen."
After bowing his hand to Xu Wenqing, he resigned and left Qingzhuyuan, feeling extremely depressed.
In fact, after the initial anger, he gradually calmed down.
Especially every word Wen Rong said made perfect sense.
In the two disputes with the personal guards, the other party had the upper hand, and they had no reason to take the initiative to cause trouble.
But after thinking about it, the two fellow villagers who died were not from Jianghu, and they only had the strength of two arms. It was impossible to offend Jianghu masters. Who killed them?
After dinner, Lu Xiong handed in his shift. Feeling depressed, he decided to go out to find his former friends in the martial arts world and find out if there were any green forest thieves in Chang'an City.
After leaving the mansion, Lu Xiong headed towards Ye Yuqiuxing.
Ye Yuqiu's famous nurse was originally from Jianghu, but after learning about Lu Xiong's fortune, he defected to Chang'an.
Lu Xiong had worked as a nursing home in Ye Yuqiu for several years. He mobilized his connections and helped the other party find a nursing home job. He went to Ye Yuqiu to find this person for information.
In midsummer, although it has passed the unitary hour, the sky is still bright.
At this moment, Lu Xiong's eyes flashed, and he saw a petite woman walking on the street with her hands behind her back on the street where people were coming and going.
The woman was Feng Ying. Her steps were brisk and she had a smile on her face. She was obviously in a good mood.
Lu Xiong's face sank and he followed her quietly. After following her for a while, Lu Xiong became more and more surprised.
It turned out that every time Feng Ying passed a toy stall, she would stop and take a look. They were obviously toys for children, but she played with them with gusto.
After she played with every toy on the stall, she turned around and left without buying any.
When we got to the next toy stall, we followed the same example and again only played without buying anything.
Sometimes, the hawker would ask her: "Girl, which one do you want to buy?" She would say, "I'll take a look first." After looking at it, she still didn't buy any.
Lu Xiong had already seen that she had no money, so he didn't buy it, and suddenly felt that the woman was not that annoying.
At this moment, the woman and a man holding a child passed by.
The child was holding a small windmill in his hand. He accidentally dropped it on the ground and was stepped on by a pedestrian.
The child burst into tears immediately. The man holding him glanced at the windmill and said, "Don't cry. I'll buy you another one tomorrow."
The child stopped crying immediately.
Fengying stopped, and when the two of them walked away, she suddenly picked up the windmill, restored it with her hands, and blew on the windmill. The windmill suddenly started to twist and turn.
After Lu Xiong saw the smile on Feng Ying's face, he sighed and thought to himself: "This woman is not a bad person, I'm afraid I really misunderstood them."
He stopped following the other party, figured out the direction, and entered an alley, intending to take a shortcut to Ye Yuqiu.
As he walked, he was still thinking about whose hands his two men died.
Just as he was thinking about it, when he passed a corner, two white lights suddenly flashed, and two steel knives slashed straight at him.
Although Lu Xiong was frightened, he hurriedly retreated to the corner. Unexpectedly, at this moment, there was a sound of breaking through the air behind him.
He hurriedly turned sideways, but was still a step too late. He felt pain in his back shoulder and was stabbed by a sharp object.
The thing attached to his body was obviously a hidden weapon.
Lu Xiong didn't hesitate to think about it, but the two people who were attacking him from the front had already turned around and slashed at his right shoulder and left leg with their swords.
Lu Xiong pulled out his waist knife and swung it twice to block the two men's attacks. Then he flipped his right hand and swept the knife backwards, colliding with a sword coming from behind.
The man wielding the sword changed his moves very quickly. With a flick of his wrist, the long sword stabbed Lu Xiong's throat again. Lu Xiong guarded the door and neutralized the opponent's sword thrust with a few slashes.
Facing the attacks from the two knife-wielding men behind him, he tried his best to dodge and did not dare to turn around to resist.
After a few moves, Lu Xiong secretly complained. This made the swordsman's martial arts superior to his, and with the two behind him, he had no chance of winning.
The situation at hand can be said to be extremely critical. Lu Xiong was surrounded by three people, one of whom was above him, and he was also injured in the back.
If he hadn't been experienced in fighting, he would have been defeated long ago.
The three attackers all covered their faces with black scarves and did not say a word. Lu Xiong was too busy trying to defend himself and had no chance to call out for help.
In the narrow alley, the only sounds that could be heard were the clash of weapons and Lu Xiong's violent breathing.
Lu Xiong's face was already pale. If he continued like this, he would be splattered with blood within ten breaths!
At this moment, a burst of sweet laughter suddenly sounded from above his head. Lu Xiong was overjoyed. He had already heard who the voice belonged to.
The other three were all shocked.
Looking up, he saw a petite woman sitting on the wall, holding a small windmill in her right hand, swaying her feet, and said cheerfully: "Commander Lu, you framed us before, but did you ever think that retribution would come?
So fast?"
Lu Xiong said anxiously: "Save me quickly!"
Feng Ying giggled and said, "Why should I save you! Hey, you three, kill him quickly!"
The three people had already stopped their hands and formed a "pin" shape to surround Lu Xiong in the middle.
When they saw that the two of them knew each other, they just thought they were joking and did not believe that Feng Ying was telling the truth.
The man wielding the sword glanced at Lu Xiong and said coldly: "He has been hit by the poison dart. You two deal with him, and I will deal with the woman."
Feng Ying said angrily: "What are you doing to me? Kill him quickly, or I will kill you all!"
The man wielding the sword snorted coldly, waved his hand, and shot several cold stars towards Feng Ying. Then he jumped up and stabbed towards Feng Ying.
Lu Xiong only had to deal with two people, and the pressure was greatly reduced. However, after fighting for a while, he gradually felt that his body was getting weaker and weaker, his strength was disappearing little by little, and he knew that the toxins on the hidden weapon had dissipated.
He gritted his teeth and persisted, but he could only dodge the swords slashed by the opponent. However, due to his stiff body, he was hit by two swords in succession.
At this moment, a scream was heard, and a rain of blood fell from the sky.
Then with a bang, the sword-wielding man who was fighting with Fengying fell on Lu Xiong's side.
Lu Xiong and the other two people were startled and looked at the man holding the sword.
Both of his hands were chopped off by Feng Ying, and his upper body was like a long stick. He was screaming and struggling on the ground, like a dehydrated fish.
Feng Ying landed lightly next to the man holding the sword, kicked him, and hummed: "I told you to kill him, but you didn't listen and you insisted on seeking death!"
He raised his head and saw Lu Xiong's trembling feet, obviously unable to hold on any longer. He said happily: "Hey, he is dying. You two, stop being dazed and kill him quickly!"
The two men turned around and ran away without saying a word.
Feng Ying said angrily: "Don't leave!" Pointing her toes, she chased the two of them as fast as a ghost.
Lu Xiong could no longer hold on and collapsed on the ground, panting.
Not long after, two screams were heard in the distance, and then Feng Ying came back with an unhappy face.
He walked up to the man holding the sword, raised his sword and killed him too.
Seeing her ferocity, Lu Xiong's heart pounded and he hurriedly said: "Miss Fengying, thank you for your life-saving grace."
Feng Ying snorted coldly and walked towards the direction she came from without looking at him.
Although Lu Xiong was poisoned, he never dared to call her to save him at this time, and silently gritted his teeth and persisted.
Not long after, just when he was dizzy, he heard the sound of footsteps, but it was a group of common people walking along the alley.
They heard screams one after another on the street, so they came together to check. When they found the man holding a sword on the ground, someone exclaimed: "That man seems to be dead!"
"Go and report to the official!" someone shouted.
Someone else said to Lu Xiong: "Hey, you must be the one who killed me, don't even think about escaping!"
Lu Xiong said hurriedly: "I am Lu Xiong, the commander of the guards of Prince Zhou's Mansion. This man is a bad guy. You can report it to the official or to Prince Zhou's Mansion. Mr. Lu will be very grateful!"
"Really?" someone asked doubtfully.
"I think what he said is true. Look at the dead body. He is dressed in a sneaky way and has a scarf on his face. He is not a good person at first glance."
After listening to his words, some people left quietly, some went to report to the officials, and some went to the Zhou Palace.
After a long time, there was the sound of horse hooves, and the guards of Prince Zhou's palace came galloping on their horses. Lu Xiong kept biting the tip of his tongue and persisted until he saw them, his spirits relaxed, and he finally passed out.
…
When Wu Chengsi returned from the military camp, on the way to the side hall along the corridor, Wen Rong reported the assassination of Lu Xiong.
"How is he doing?" Wu Chengsi paused and asked.
Wen Rong said: "Fortunately, at the critical moment, Fengying's personal guard passed by and rescued Commander Lu. He only suffered some skin injuries and was poisoned. Mr. Mei has already seen it and said it's not a problem."
Wu Chengsi frowned and said, "Do you know who did it?"
Wen Rong said: "A famous assassin was killed by Fengying's bodyguard. After he woke up, Commander Lu identified the man and said he didn't know him. I also asked Commander Lu, and he said he couldn't think of who wanted to kill him."
Wu Chengsi nodded and did not ask any more questions.
Wen Rong continued: "Your Highness, there is one more thing. This morning, two guards in the mansion were killed outside."
Wu Chengsi frowned again and asked, "Who killed them?"
Wen Rong said: "The culprit has not been caught yet. The magistrate of Wannian County came to the mansion and said that he would personally investigate the case and give us an answer as soon as possible."
Wu Chengsi was silent.
Wen Rong said: "Your Highness, the two guards have elderly people and children at home. Do you think we should pay them pensions?"
Wu Chengsi said: "That's natural." He paused and said slowly: "Manager Wen, do you think the assassination of Commander Lu is related to the murder of the two guards?"
Wen Rong was slightly startled and said repeatedly: "Yes, this subordinate has neglected this point."
Wu Chengsi said: "Go and investigate this matter yourself. If necessary, you can mobilize the palace guards, personal guards and Jinwu guards."
Wen Rong accepted the offer.
After Wu Chengsi had dinner with several ladies in the side hall, he took a bath and went to Li Zhiying's bed.
Li Zhiying had a big belly and was sitting in front of the dressing table dressing up. Wu Chengsi found it quite interesting when he saw it.
In the past, he didn't think there was anything wrong with Li Zhiying dressing up every day, but since marrying Liu Lanshuang and Xu Wenqing, the two of them combined didn't spend as much time dressing up as she did. Only then did he realize that this lady loves beauty so much.
When Li Zhiying saw him coming in, she immediately said: "Husband, my grandfather is sick. I'm afraid he won't be able to come tomorrow." Her expression was quite depressed.
Wu Chengsi was surprised. At Li Ji's age, getting sick was not a trivial matter. He quickly asked, "Isn't his illness serious?"
"My grandfather's body is quite strong, but he is a little dizzy, which is not too serious." Li Zhiying often checked Li Ji's pulse and knew his body well.
Wu Chengsi breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Then will the dinner party be held tomorrow?"
Li Zhiying said: "My grandfather is not here, so it will be in vain. I want to do it another day. What do you think?"
Wu Chengsi smiled and said: "Everything depends on Madam."
Li Zhiying smiled slightly, suddenly remembered something, looked solemn, and said: "Husband, I heard that Commander Lu was assassinated today."
Wu Chengsi nodded and said in a deep voice: "It is such a thing."
Li Zhiying's expression was very solemn and she said: "Husband, I feel that the situation in the house is not normal recently."
Wu Chengsisu took note of his wife's opinion and asked: "What's not normal?"
"You were assassinated a few days ago, and the Shu couple have not been caught yet. Then two more guards died in the mansion, and Commander Lu was also assassinated. Even Hong Ming was almost killed yesterday."
Wu Chengsi's eyes flashed and he said, "You said someone wants to kill Hong Ming?"
Li Zhiying nodded and said: "Yesterday, one of her cousins came to find her and tricked her out of the house. Then three murderers suddenly appeared and wanted to kill her. Fortunately, a guard from the house happened to pass by and rescued her."
Wu Chengsi was silent in thought.
It is indeed abnormal for so many things to happen in the palace all at once.
Thinking about it carefully, Lu Xiong and the two guards can still have some contact, but Hong Ming really has no relationship.
How could she, a little maid who stayed in the house all day, be in danger of being killed?
Wu Chengsi thought about it for a long time, but couldn't figure out the connection between these things. He had military duties tomorrow, so he stopped thinking about it and went to bed early.