Li Zhiying was silent for a long time, and suddenly said: "Husband, I feel that my brother is also cooperating with Li Jingwu, and yesterday he even wrote a letter in his own hand to lure me out. Will it... will it..."
Wu Chengsi said: "Are you worried that the two of them will do this together?"
Li Zhiying nodded and bit her lips: "And Li Jingwu didn't even know that the gold medal was in my house. I told my brother about this, so he must have told him!"
Wu Chengsi thought for a while and said: "If your brother is really willing to help them steal the gold medal, they don't have to go to such great lengths and use deceptive tactics!"
Li Zhiying said happily: "Then brother was intimidated by him?"
Wu Chengsi shook his head: "Although your brother didn't want to help them steal the gold medal, he probably still helped them."
Li Zhiying looked depressed for a while and lowered her head silently.
Wu Chengsi smiled and said: "Madam, there is no need to be sad. If you know who your brother is working for, you should be happy."
Li Zhiying was stunned: "Who?"
Wu Chengsi said leisurely: "Who has the greatest influence on your brother?"
Li Zhiying lost her voice and said: "Pei...King Pei? Isn't he in a prison?"
Wu Chengsi said slowly: "He must have strong support outside. That person united with King Pei's remaining party and helped King Pei implement this plan."
Li Zhiying nodded, understanding what her husband meant.
King Pei wanted Li Jingye to steal the gold medal, but Li Jingye refused, so they asked Li Jingwu to take his place.
If it had been the past, Li Jingwu would have followed King Pei's orders without hesitation, and his efforts over the past six months were not in vain.
Wu Chengsi continued: "I guess your brother must have refused to steal the gold medal, but he didn't want to let King Pei down, so he agreed to help him with a few other things."
Li Zhiying smiled bitterly and said: "Husband, please don't comfort me. What's the difference between him stealing the gold medal with Li Jingwu and stealing it by himself?"
Wu Chengsi said slowly: "Your brother is a man who truly upholds the belief of loyalty. He would rather give up everything and never leave King Pei. It is not easy for a person like him to refuse King Pei's order.
"
This sentence was very helpful to Li Zhiying, and she thought to herself: "Yes, my brother is not a bad person, he just followed the wrong person."
After thinking about it like this, his mentality suddenly improved a lot, and he said: "Husband, Li Jingwu has been away for many years. He might have done something bad, and the clue fell into the hands of others. This matter should have nothing to do with my second uncle!"
Wu Chengsi smiled and said: "That's natural."
Li Zhiying continued: "Should we go to the British Government to find Li Jingwu now?"
Wu Chengsi shook his head and said with a smile: "Have you discovered that their plan has another great advantage?"
"What?"
"They made us think that your brother had stolen the gold medal. Naturally, our attention was focused on your brother, and Li Jingwu could quietly do other things!"
Li Zhiying smiled slightly and said: "Husband, do you want to see what he is going to do?"
Wu Chengsi smiled and nodded.
After returning to the palace, Wu Chengsi asked Feng Wu: "Feng Wu, do you have anyone with similar martial arts skills to you?"
"No!" Feng Wu didn't hesitate at all.
Wu Chengsi frowned and said, "When Mr. Yang recommended you to me that day, weren't there two other people?"
"They can't beat me!" Feng Wu raised her voice slightly.
Wu Chengsi smiled and said, "What are the names of those two people?"
"Feng Ying, Long Yang."
Wu Chengsi asked curiously: "Is Fengying your biological sister?"
"no!"
Wu Chengsi nodded and said: "Then let the two of them guard outside the British Duke's mansion. As soon as Li Jingwu comes out, let them keep an eye on him and report Li Jingwu's location to the mansion at any time."
Feng Wu nodded and agreed.
When the time of Xu was about to pass, the two gates of Prince Zhou's Mansion suddenly opened, and two riders ran out of the mansion and headed towards Pingkang Fangfang Gate.
Immediately, the two of them were in high spirits. It was Feng Ying and Long Yang who had received Wu Chengsi's order from Feng Wu.
When passing through a bluestone street, Long Yang saw a noodle shop on the side of the road and said hurriedly: "Feng Ying, don't worry, we may have to stay up all night tonight, why don't we have something to eat first?"
Feng Ying thought the same thing and got off her horse.
The two tied their horses to an old tree nearby and found a seat at the noodle stall. Feng Ying said loudly: "Boss, three bowls of noodles!"
"Okay! Sit down for a moment!" the shopkeeper said happily.
There is a wooden board in the noodle shop with the words "Ten cents a bowl" written on it.
Long Yang touched the shriveled money bag, and suddenly a flattering smile appeared on his face, and said: "Feng Ying, can I have a discussion with you?"
Fengying said: "Except for borrowing money, everything is negotiable!"
Long Yang snorted secretly, suppressed his temper, and said with a smile: "Feng Ying, I'm not asking you to borrow money, but I'm making a deal with you!"
"What deal?"
Long Yang said: "I'll lend you the Book of Changes for three days to read, and you can treat me to this meal! How about it? It's a good deal, right?"
"What a bargain!" Fengying said in an unladylike manner: "Who wants to read your crappy book? I might as well buy something fun with your money!"
Long Yang's face straightened and he said: "Feng Ying, you can't say that. Reading can make you sensible and cure stupidity. There are many benefits. If you read for an hour, I guarantee you won't regret it!"
Feng Ying raised her chin and said, "I feel that I am very sensible and smart enough, so I don't need to study anymore!"
Long Yang cursed secretly: "Is there anyone more unreasonable than you in this world? There are not many people who are more stupid than you. If you don't know how to read more, you are really a rotten tree that cannot be carved!"
Although he wanted to say this, his dry wallet forced him to smile again.
"Sister Fengying, you are indeed very smart, but if you finish reading the Book of Changes, you will probably become the smartest person in the world!"
Fengying said disgustedly: "Brother Yang, your smile is so disgusting, and you say things that go against your will at first sight, I don't believe it!"
Long Yang couldn't bear it any longer, slapped the table and glared at Feng Ying.
"What do you want?" Feng Ying said with her chin raised.
Long Yang was silent for a while, then lowered his head and said, "Can you order a bowl of noodles for me?"
Feng Ying said angrily: "Do you even want me to help you with this kind of thing? It's really useless!"
Long Yang lowered his head and said nothing.
Fengying snorted and said, "I can help you a little, but you have to pay for it yourself!"
Long Yang cursed secretly: "Why are these bitches so smart!" He said helplessly: "Okay, I'll just pay for it myself!"
Fengying ordered a bowl for him.
After a while, all four bowls of noodles were served. Although each bowl of noodles was made of clear soup, the aroma was fragrant after adding chopped green onions.
Long Yang quickly finished a bowl, drank all the soup, and then looked at Feng Ying eagerly as she ate.
After a long while, Feng Ying touched her swollen belly, burped with satisfaction, and said with a smile: "Now that we are full, let's go on a mission!"
Long Yang secretly scorned: "What a vulgar woman! Look how she will get married in the future!"
The two left the copper coins, got on their horses, and came to the gate of the inner house.
There was a curfew outside and the door was closed. After the two showed their palace badges, Fang Zheng asked someone to open the door and let them out.
Relying on their royal badges, the two of them were able to pass unimpeded on the street, all the way out of the city and to the British Duke's residence outside the city.
Camping is a familiar task for the two of them. One is guarding the front door and the other is guarding the back door. They squat for a whole night.
The next day, it was still dark.
Outside the side door, Long Yang sat on a tree, reached out and picked off a leaf, folded it in half, and poured the dew that formed a line into his mouth.
After drinking a few leaves in a row, he suddenly heard a strange cry in the distance. Knowing that it was Feng Ying calling him over, his figure flickered and flew towards the main entrance.
When they came to the main gate, they met Feng Ying on a tree. Before Long Yang could ask, Feng Ying said: "The target has left the house, hurry up and chase her."
The two of them came to the nearby place where horses were tied, got on their horses, and chased towards Chang'an City.
Not long after, they caught up with a cavalry team, and the leader with a big beard was Li Jingwu.
The two men hung far behind and followed the cavalry into the city. Following them all the way, they found Li Jingwu entering a mansion in the west of the city.
Fengying glanced at the plaque on the door of the mansion and frowned: "Yewang County Duke's Mansion? Whose mansion is this?"
Long Yang said proudly: "I told you not to study, now you don't know, right?"
Fengying hummed: "You know?"
"Of course I know that the Duke of Yewang County is Qiu Shenji, a third-rank Weiwei Temple Minister and a confidant of Empress Dowager Wu."
Feng Ying frowned and thought, "What is Li Jingwu doing here?"
Long Yang said: "Hey! Why don't you ask me how I know?"
Feng Ying hummed: "You like to talk or not."
Long Yang said proudly: "This is the advantage of going to the Imperial College to eavesdrop. The students there like to talk about court affairs after class. Now I know all the ministers in the court!"
After a pause, he said seductively: "How about it? Do you want Brother Yang to take you to the Imperial College? You don't need to repay me. You can just treat me to a few meals in the future."
Feng Ying glanced at him sideways and said, "If I want to go, won't I go by myself? Why do I need you to take me with me? Stop being so nagging and hurry back to report Li Jingwu's whereabouts!"
After saying that, he came to the side of the mansion and jumped in.
Long Yang curled his lips and turned back towards the palace.
Feng Ying's lurking skills had long been perfected. She quickly found the lobby of the palace, dodged the guards in the palace, and quietly came to the corridor outside the hall.
He jumped up to the eaves and could see the lobby clearly through the window.
Not long after, Li Jingwu and a burly-looking middle-aged man were seen entering the lobby together.
Qiu Shenji was dressed as an official, obviously preparing to go to the Yamen. He smiled and said: "Why is my nephew free to come to my place today?"
Li Jingwu said seriously: "To be honest, my nephew is here to tell Mr. Qiu something on the orders of His Highness King Zhou."
Qiu Shenji was well aware of the relationship between the British Duke's Palace and the Zhou Palace. With a stern look on his face, he waved his hand to repel the servants and whispered: "I wonder what His Highness the King of Zhou has ordered?"
Li Jingwu also lowered his voice and said: "On the Mu holiday three days later, at around 4:00 in the morning, His Highness King Zhou would like to invite Mr. Qiu to go to "Muyage" to discuss a major matter."
Qiu Shenji cupped his hands and said, "Please tell His Highness the King of Zhou that Qiu will definitely attend the meeting on time."
After Li Jingwu finished speaking, he said goodbye and left. Qiu Shenji wanted to go to the Yamen, but he sent him out the door without asking him to stay.
After leaving the Yewanggong's mansion, Li Jingwu headed south of the city again, while Feng Ying followed behind, leaving marks along the way.
Soon, Li Jingwu came to an alley and entered a small courtyard.
Feng Ying sneaked in and discovered that the courtyard was much larger than it looked from the outside.
I saw Li Jingye following a man with a deer-headed and rat-like eyes, walking along the yard for a while, passing through the corridor, arriving outside a room, pushing the door open and going in.
Feng Wu came to the window, and as soon as she got close, she heard shouts coming from inside.
"Big! Big! Big! Damn it, why are you so small? It's so unlucky!"
"Bite him! Bite him! Bite him quickly, you idiot. If you lose, I will trample you to death!"
"Brother Hong... can you lend me more money? I will sell the sows at home when I get back, and I promise to return the principal to you with interest!"
"What's wrong, you Geng Lao Wu... Hey, Master Wu, you're here! It's so early today, come on, come on, sit down quickly. Geng Lao Wu, you have no money and you are still occupying your seat.
What, go aside and give up your seat to Lord Wu!"
Feng Ying was startled and thought to herself: "This seems to be a casino. Why is this guy Li Jingwu here?"
After staring outside for a while, Long Yang followed the code and chased after him, asking in a low voice: "Where is this place? Is Li Jingwu in there?"
Fengying nodded and said: "It's a casino inside. You should go back and report it quickly."
Long Yang said: "Why is it me again? It's your turn to run errands this time, right?"
Fengying took out three copper coins and turned them around.
Long Yang bargained: "I'll go with five!"
Feng Ying glanced at him with disdain, took out two more coins, and threw them at him.
Long Yang reached out and took it, smiling broadly.
More than an hour later, Long Yang came back, but Li Jingwu still didn't come out of the casino.
The two of them went to have dinner separately after changing their shifts. They kept watching until the evening, when the sky turned dark, and then they saw Li Jingwu walking out of the casino. His face was ugly, and he had obviously lost a lot.
After leaving the casino, Li Jingwu went to the north of the city and visited Huang Luchao, the minister of the Ministry of official affairs, Zhang Guangfu, the minister of justice, and Qu Chongyu, the general of the right guard.
The speech was exactly the same as when he visited Qiu Shenji, except that Wu Chengsi would invite them to discuss important matters at the 'Muyage' in three days' time.
All three of them had no doubts and agreed to keep the appointment.
In the next two days, Li Jingwu approached five more people one after another. These people were all Wu Mei's confidants. When they learned that Wu Chengsi had summoned them, they all naturally agreed.
On the early morning of July 20th, Li Hong got up early early on a rare day off.
It turned out that he had made an appointment with Li Dan, and today he would go out incognito with him to have fun among the people.
Li Hong had been emperor for more than half a year, and he had never gone out on patrol in disguise.
He was not interested in being incognito, but after the persuasion of Li Dan and Yaruo, he agreed.
In order to deceive others, Li Hong first went to Li Dan's Yin Prince's Mansion. Then the two brothers and Ya Ruo put on civilian clothes, took eunuchs and guards with them, left the mansion and went to the streets of Chang'an.
Looking at the bustling and noisy market, Li Hong nodded and said with a smile: "Well, I have been in the palace for a long time, and it is quite comfortable to go out for a walk."
Li Dan smiled and said: "Brother Huang, have you heard of 'Muyage'?"
Before Li Hong could answer, Dou Wenming, who was following him, said: "Your Highness, when we leave the palace, we must pay attention to our greetings outside, so as not to be recognized by others."
Yaruo smiled and said: "Little Douzi is right, you should be careful, it won't be fun if the secret is exposed."
Li Hong and Li Dan both nodded in agreement.
Li Hongdao: "I... this is the first time I have heard of the name 'Muyage'."
Li Dan smiled and said: "Mu Ya Ge is a very famous restaurant in Chang'an. It is different from other restaurants. If you want to enter their restaurant, you need to write a poem. If you do well, you can also eat for free."
Li Hong laughed: "Wonderful, I didn't expect that there is such an interesting place in Chang'an City. It's rare for us to come out once, so we have to go and take a look!"
Yaruo chuckled and said: "Husband, I have always heard others say that your poetic talent is not inferior to that of the great talents in Chang'an City. Let me see it this time."
Li Hong raised his head and smiled: "That's natural. I didn't have the opportunity before, but this time I can learn from the talents of Chang'an City."
Immediately, the group of people, led by Li Dan, headed towards the west of the city.
When I arrived outside Muyage, I saw a building with red buildings and blue tiles standing in front of me.
Li Hong praised: "It's good. Not only are the rules good, but the building is also well built. It can be called 'elegant'!"
When they came to the door, a deacon blocked the way and said respectfully: "I would also like to invite our guests to write a poem first."
Li Hong had already made preparations on the way here. He smiled slightly and said:
"The swaying bamboo shadows cover the quiet window, and the birds make noise at sunset.
Thank you, the begonias are flying away, and the weather is getting better for those who are trapped."
As soon as he finished speaking, Li Dan, Dou Wenming and others all cheered loudly.
Yaruo thought it sounded catchy, but couldn't tell whether it was really good or not. He smiled and said, "No matter what he does, you will definitely applaud him anyway."
Li Dan looked embarrassed and thought to himself: "As expected of a Turkic woman, she can't speak at all."
Yaruo turned his eyes to the deacon and said with a smile: "What do you think of this poem?"
The deacon seemed to have a lot of literary talent. He was still meditating on the poem. When Ya Ruo asked questions, he repeatedly praised: "My distinguished guest, this poem is very good. Everyone, please come in."
Only then did Yaruo believe that Li Hong was really capable. She stretched out her hand to grab his arm and said with a smile: "Husband, you are so awesome!"
Li Hong felt so unhappy that he took Ya Ruo's hand and strode into the restaurant.
When I entered the building, I saw that although the space in the building was large, there were not many tables and desks, and they were not neatly arranged. However, at first glance, I felt that it was quite charming and made me feel comfortable.
Li Hong praised: "It's really interesting. Lao Ba, who is the owner of this place? I would like to meet him."
Li Dan smiled and said: "Fourth brother, this boss is not an ordinary person. He is a son of the Wang family in Taiyuan and the cousin of Wang Bo, the Minister of Civil Affairs."
Hearing Wang Bo's name, Li Hong's face darkened slightly and he hummed: "So he is from the Wang family in Taiyuan."
Although the Wang family did not explicitly side with the Wu family, their preference was still very obvious. Not only did Wang Bo consider himself a disciple of Wu Chengsi, but the daughter of the head of the Wang family also married Wu Xiyue.
A few people asked for a private room on the second floor. Since it was not lunch time yet, they only wanted some tea, wine and cakes.
Li Dan took out some interesting gadgets for Li Hong to play with.
One of the small objects in the shape of a wooden clock caught Li Hong's attention and said, "Old man, what is this?"
Li Dan smiled and said: "Fourth brother has a good eye. This thing is the most interesting thing I have played recently."
Li Hong hurriedly asked: "Really? How do you play with this thing?" He picked up the wooden clock and looked up and down.
This wooden box looks like two wooden clocks, one large and one small, connected head to head.
Li Dan smiled and said:
"This thing is called 'partition walls have ears'. As long as you stick the big side to the wall and the small side to your ears, you can hear the voices in the next wall clearly!"