Chapter 415: The Shu Girl Vs the Lady of the Country
Chang'an City, a small courtyard in a certain mansion.
Wang Chen was sitting on a wooden pile, holding a saw in his hand and cutting a piece of wood.
After sawing off a two-foot-long log, he took a hammer and long nails and hammered on the wood.
At this moment, a deep pipa sound sounded from the house.
Wang Chen stopped what he was doing and looked in the direction of the house. He felt that the music was full of sadness and desolation, and he couldn't help but let out a long sigh.
This time he came to Chang'an from Shu with his wife. Originally he only wanted to repay a favor, but unexpectedly the other party asked him to participate in the assassination of King Zhou.
If you participate in this kind of thing, no matter whether you succeed or not, it will be difficult to leave Chang'an alive.
Both of them were mentally prepared when they agreed to participate in this matter.
Mrs. Wang has been cautious all her life and only focused on honing her music skills. Thinking of her upcoming death, she suddenly felt an urge in her heart to let the world hear her music before she died.
Wang Chen felt very sorry that he had caused trouble to his wife, so he naturally tried his best to help her fulfill her wish.
At his insistence, the other party finally agreed to arrange the assassination after the music concert.
As a result, the assassination failed. From then on, the couple could only hide in this house until they completed another agreed task before they could leave Chang'an with peace of mind.
But both husband and wife knew in their hearts that if they were involved in such a big event, their chances of survival would be very slim.
Even if you are lucky enough to survive, can you really return to your previous peaceful life in the future?
Therefore, Mrs. Wang has been in a bad mood these past few days, and the music she plays naturally has a sad color.
Wang Chen didn't know how to comfort his wife, and he was filled with self-blame, so he could only continue to work hard.
At noon, Wang Chen saw that his wife had not even eaten. He felt even more depressed and advised: "Can you eat something?"
Mrs. Wang shook her head and did not answer.
Wang Chen sighed and said: "Don't be too pessimistic. There is nothing dangerous about what they asked me to do. It will be completed in a few days, and then we can leave."
Mrs. Wang said quietly: "Will they really let us go?"
Wang Chen said loudly: "Of course, once this matter is over, no matter what they say, I will never stay again!"
Mrs. Wang smiled bitterly: "Brother Shen, have you noticed that they have treated us as prisoners and won't even let us out of the door. I, I am so scared."
Wang Chen said hurriedly: "Don't think too much, King Zhou's people are hunting us all over the city. They are here to protect us!"
Mrs. Wang whispered: "What they said is what they said. Who knows whether it is true or false?"
Seeing his wife's miserable expression, Wang Chen was afraid that if she continued like this it would affect her health. He gritted his teeth and said, "Okay, I'll take you out to relax."
He held his wife's hand and walked out of the yard.
As soon as he reached the door, he was stopped by two guards.
Wang Chen was furious: "Why are you stopping us? Go away!"
A guard said coldly: "Steward Wei has an order that the two of you are not allowed to leave the courtyard."
Wang Chen was furious and shouted: "Do you really regard us as prisoners?"
At this moment, a middle-aged man wearing a dark blue robe came over and said with a smile: "Brother Wang, what's wrong? Why are you so angry?"
Wang Chen said angrily: "We, husband and wife, came to Chang'an to repay our kindness back then, but you treat us as prisoners. What's the point of this?"
Butler Wei hurriedly said: "Brother Wang, please don't be angry. It's really too dangerous outside. If you go out, you may be caught by people from Prince Zhou's Mansion."
Wang Chen snorted coldly: "You say that every time, who knows whether it is true or false?"
Butler Wei frowned and thought to himself: "This man is still useful right now. If he is not allowed to go out, he will definitely not do his job well, and His Highness will definitely blame him."
He then asked, "I wonder what the wise couple want to do when they leave the house?"
Wang Shen said: "My wife stays in the yard all day long and is almost sick. I want to take her out to relax."
Butler Wei said: "Well, let's take a walk around the mansion and come back after we're done. How about that?"
Wang Chen turned to look at his wife, and when he saw her nodding, he agreed, "That's fine."
Butler Wei immediately called a dozen guards, all of whom changed into civilian clothes, and personally followed Wang Chen and his wife out of the mansion. They only wandered around the streets of the mansion and refused to go further away.
Mrs. Wang felt even more worried when she saw such a large group of people following her, like they were guarding prisoners.
In addition, no one from King Zhou was seen outside looking for her and the two of them, so she thought to herself, "I'm afraid they won't let us go."
At this moment, I suddenly heard a voice coming from a tea shop on the street.
"Hmph, you don't know how arrogant Liu Zixian is. After defeating Master Meng, he said in public: 'Sichuan music is no more than a trivial skill, and it is difficult to reach the level of elegance.'"
Mrs. Wang was shocked and angry. She followed the sound and looked towards the tea shed. She happened to see another person saying: "I think what she said is right. How can the land of Bashu be compared with our Chang'an."
Mrs. Wang could no longer bear it, stepped forward quickly, and scolded:
"Who said that the music of Shu is not as good as that of Chang'an? A few days ago, a woman from Shu challenged the top ten masters of Chang'an alone and won four games. Haven't you heard?"
The first person hummed: "I heard from Liu Zixian that our Chang'an masters did not want to bully a female class, so we gave in. Liu Zixian said that the Shu girl's musical skills are so-so and she is no match for him."
Mrs. Wang was trembling with anger. When she challenged the ten families, Liu Zixian was also there. She didn't take it seriously, and the man knew enough not to challenge him.
Who would have thought that this person was so shameless that he would say such things afterwards.
Wang Chen stepped forward, saw his wife's face ashen, and asked: "Madam, what's wrong with you?"
Mrs. Wang gritted her teeth and said: "Brother Shen, I want to compete with an arrogant person. Will you allow me?"
Wang Chen was full of guilt for his wife, so he naturally agreed.
"Whatever you want to do, I promise you."
Mrs. Wang said: "Well, you accompany me to find someone immediately."
Wang Chen didn't ask any more questions, just said: "Okay." After saying that, Mrs. Wang asked the two people in the tea shed: "Do you know where Liu Zixian lives?"
Both shook their heads.
At this moment, Butler Wei saw the two of them stopped at the tea shed for a long time, walked over and asked: "Brother Wang, are you thirsty and want to drink tea?"
Wang Shen said: "No, we husband and wife want to find someone."
Butler Wei's face darkened, and he pulled the two of them aside and said, "Brother Wang, we agreed in advance that we would only take a walk outside the mansion, and you asked for someone to find. I can't agree to this anymore.
"
Wang Chen said angrily: "We, husband and wife, are not your prisoners. We can go wherever we want. Why do we need you to agree?"
Butler Wei advised: "I am doing this for your own good. If you are caught by people from Prince Zhou's Mansion, how will you survive?"
Wang Chen snorted: "Who knows whether what you said is true or not? We have been out for so long and we haven't seen anyone from Prince Zhou's palace on the street!"
Butler Wei knew that this person had a weird temper, but His Highness also told him not to offend this person. After thinking about it, he asked, "Who are you looking for?"
Mrs. Wang said: "It's a musical master named Liu Zixian."
Butler Wei asked curiously: "What are you looking for him for?"
Mrs. Wang said bitterly: "This man insults my Shu music. I want to compete with him."
Butler Wei pondered for a long time and said, "Well, how about I help you invite this person over?"
He made up his mind to lock up Liu Zixian after the competition between Mrs. Wang and Liu Zixian, and then deal with the minor matters when the big thing was over.
Mrs. Wang nodded in agreement.
After returning home, Butler Wei wanted to be cautious and asked someone to inquire about Liu Zixian. The person who reported back said that Liu Zixian had indeed publicly humiliated Shu music.
Butler Wei was worried and asked again: "What kind of person is Liu Zixian? He is so good. Doesn't he offend all the music masters in Shu for nothing?"
The person who responded smiled and said: "You don't know something. Liu Zixian can be called the most arrogant person in our Chang'an musical circle. It is said that he is proficient in all kinds of instruments, but he is too arrogant and loves to humiliate others, so he has a very bad reputation.
.”
Butler Wei shook his head and said, "Okay, take a few guards and invite him over quietly, don't let anyone see him."
"yes!"
…
In the west of Chang'an City, in a small courtyard of less than half an acre, Fen Bao was bored and kicking pebbles on the ground.
The yard was small and dark, and even the trees grew crookedly, which really didn't please her eyes.
Normally at this time, she could sit in the clean corridor of Xinglan Courtyard, drink a bowl of red date and lotus seed soup leftover from her own lady's drink, and talk with several other maids about interesting things in the mansion, not to mention how comfortable it was.
After thinking for a while, I returned to the house, poured a cup of tea and drank it.
Turning around, I saw Liu Lanshuang wearing men's clothes, sitting by the couch, playing an unknown musical instrument, making a weird sound.
"Miss, what is this?"
"Call me young master."
"Yes, sir, what is this?"
Liu Lanshuang said: "This is called Juozhen, which is a musical instrument from Qiuci."
Anibao said "Oh" and sat on the chair without talking. She had no interest in musical instruments at all, let alone such an instrument that she had never heard of before.
After a long time, Anibao couldn't help but said: "Sir, do we really want to sleep here tonight?"
"If you don't want to, you can go back home." Liu Lanshuang said without raising her head.
Xi Bao said hurriedly: "It's not that I don't want to, it's because I'm afraid that your stay will be uncomfortable."
After a while, she said cautiously: "Sir, are you angry with the prince?"
Liu Lanshuang raised her head and asked strangely: "Why did you say that?"
Anibao said plausibly: "If this were not the case, how could you suddenly move out and live in a place like this?"
Liu Lanshuang remained silent.
Anibao sighed and said: "I have advised you many times not to dress up as a man and compete with others. This time it was better. Not only did you compete with others, but you also made a fuss. As a result, the prince found out and blamed you.
,Yes or no?"
Liu Lanshuang glanced at her sideways and said, "If you say one more word, you'll go back immediately!"
Anibao knew that she meant what she said and immediately shut up.
There was only one room in the yard. Liu Lanshuang was sleeping in her clothes, and Fen Bao was sleeping on a small bed in the room.
The small bed was cold and hard, making sleeping very uncomfortable.
Early the next morning, Hui Bao heard a knock on the door in a daze.
Just as she was about to put on her clothes and open the door, Liu Lanshuang had already stood up and said, "Don't say anything later." After that, she left the house and opened the courtyard door.
There were two well-dressed men in black standing outside the door. One of them said, "Does Liu Zixian live here?"
Liu Lanshuang looked at the two of them for a while and said, "I am Liu Zixian, what do you want from me?"
The man smiled and said: "Great, our Butler Wei heard that you are proficient in music and would like to invite you to come over."
Liu Lanshuang said calmly: "I don't know Butler Wei, you can leave!"
The man looked cold and said, "I'm afraid it's not up to you." As he spoke, four men in black appeared behind them, all with knives on their waists.
Anibao just happened to put on his clothes and came out. Seeing this, he was surprised and asked: "Who are you and what do you want to do?"
The man in black frowned and said, "Who are you?"
Hui Bao said: "I am the young master's maid, you..."
I was about to say, ‘Do you know who my young master is?’ When I suddenly remembered Liu Lanshuang’s instructions just now, I shut my mouth.
The man in black said: "It would be troublesome for this girl to report to the official." He said coldly: "Then you two can come with us."
Liu Lanshuang glanced at the hand holding the knife, pretended to surrender, lowered her head and said, "Okay then."
Surrounded by six men in black, the two walked southward and soon arrived at the door of a mansion.
Liu Lanshuang took a look at the door lintel and saw that there was no plaque on it. She was secretly happy and guessed that this must be the hiding place of the Shu couple.
Following the man in black through the door, a middle-aged man in blue robe was standing in the corridor waiting.
The middle-aged man looked Liu Lanshuang up and down and said, "Are you Liu Zixian?"
Liu Lanshuang said: "Yes."
The middle-aged man narrowed his eyes and said, "I heard that you are proficient in all musical instruments and are a master of music. Why don't you bring an instrument with you when you go out?"
Liu Lanshuang snorted and said: "Your people are so rude and don't give me a chance to get an instrument. Of course I came here empty-handed."
The middle-aged man laughed and said, "Don't be offended by me, Mr. Liu, please come with me."
Liu Lanshuang hummed: "Where are you taking me?"
The middle-aged man smiled and said, "You'll know when you get there." He turned around and walked along the corridor. Liu Lanshuang followed silently. Fen Bao, full of suspicion, also followed.
Soon, they came to a small courtyard, where Wang Chen and his wife were waiting.
Mrs. Wang took one look at Liu Lanshuang, stepped forward and said, "Mr. Liu, we meet again." Her tone was quite impolite.
Liu Lanshuang smiled at her, then clapped her hands. As soon as her voice fell, two people jumped from the roof, it was Feng Ying and Long Yang.
Butler Wei was shocked and angry. He glared at Liu Lanshuang and said, "Who are you?"
Long Yang took out a loud arrow from his arms and threw it into the air.
Feng Ying's figure was as fast as a ghost. In an instant, she knocked everyone in the courtyard unconscious, including Butler Wei.
Except for Liu Lanshuang's master and servant, only Wang Chen and his wife were not attacked.
Mrs. Wang's beauty turned pale and she hid behind her husband. Wang Chen said loudly: "What do you want to do?"
Fengying smiled and said, "Of course I'm here to catch you."
Wang Chen lost his voice and said: "Are you from Prince Zhou's Mansion?"
Fengying said with a smile: "That's right."
At this moment, a guard rushed to the small courtyard and shouted: "Steward Wei, it's bad, the Jinwu Guards have surrounded us!"
After finishing all the words, he found Butler Wei lying on the ground. He looked around and said in surprise: "What, what is going on?"
Feng Ying's figure flashed and she came behind him and hummed: "Why are you asking so many questions? Just lie down quickly." Something hit the back of his neck and he immediately fainted to the ground.
Not long after, Wu Chengsi came to the small courtyard with a group of Jinwu guards. After glancing at Wang Chen and his wife, he came to Liu Lanshuang, held her hand and said, "Madam, thank you for your hard work."
When Wang Chen and his wife saw Wu Chengsi, they both knew that they had no way to survive. Their hearts were full of sorrow and they hugged each other.
At this moment, a person behind Wu Chengsi came forward, cupped his hands and said: "Brother Wang, sister-in-law, I finally found you." It was Yang Tai.
Wang Chen glared at him and said coldly: "Kill if you want, why bother to say more!"
Yang Tai smiled bitterly and said: "Brother Wang, it was all my fault in the first place. If I hadn't recommended you to King Pei, nothing would have happened today."
Wang Chen stared at him for a moment and hummed: "Yang Tai, although I owe you a favor for what happened back then, I don't blame you. Do you know what really makes me look down on you?"
Yang Tai was stunned for a moment and shook his head.
Wang Chen said angrily: "I, Wang, have always admired you as a person and regarded you as my only confidant, but I didn't know that you are a seller seeking glory!"
Yang Tai said anxiously: "Brother Wang, please listen to my explanation!"
Wang Chen said loudly: "You don't need to explain. When you followed King Pei, you asked me to surrender to him. But now, do you dare to say that you have not abandoned your old master?"
Yang Tai sighed and lowered his head.
Wu Chengsi suddenly said: "Wang Chen, you can help King Pei assassinate me, do you know what you rely on?"
Wang Chen was stunned and couldn't answer.
Wu Chengsi said: "It's not because of anything extraordinary about you, but because of Yang Tai's trust in you. It is precisely because I believe in Yang Tai that I went to find you incognito. If it weren't for Yang Tai, you would
How can I help King Pei? How can I repay his kindness?"
Wang Chen blushed and said loudly: "Yes, the man surnamed Wang is just an ordinary carpenter. He is not as good as a finger of big shots like you. If you want to kill him, just kill him!"
Wu Chengsi said coldly: "As a husband, not only can you not protect your wife, but you also involve her in death. Do you think you are admirable?"
Mrs. Wang said anxiously: "This is of my own free will, no... you don't need to say anything!"
Wu Chengsi smiled and said: "That day, I was fortunate enough to listen to Mrs. Wang's performance of various musical instruments. She was really amazing. This kind of skill is only the second time in my life that I have seen her."
Mrs. Wang saw Wu Chengsi's pleasant expression and boldly asked: "The second time?"
Wu Chengsi smiled and said: "Yes, besides you, I have met someone else. That person is also proficient in various musical instruments, and his level is better than yours."
Mrs. Wang was tolerant of everything else, except Qu Le, who was extremely confident in herself and said unconvinced: "Who is that person you are talking about?"
Wu Chengsi turned to look at Liu Lanshuang: "Far away in the horizon, but close in front of you."
Mrs. Wang was surprised and said: "You mean Liu Zixian?"
Liu Lanshuang raised her chin and said, "Liu Zixian is just my pseudonym when I dress up as a man. I am Mrs. Qin from Prince Zhou's Palace, and I am His Highness's second wife."
Mrs. Wang was stunned for a long time, then lowered her head and said: "So you are the lady of the country, but even if you have a distinguished status, you may not be able to play better music than a common girl!"
Liu Lanshuang said slowly: "No matter how much you talk, it's useless. Let's have a test to see who's better!"
Mrs. Wang was about to agree, but suddenly her heart moved and she said: "I am going to die soon, how can I still be in the mood to compete with you?"
Wu Chengsi did not want to kill the two of them at first, so he took the opportunity to say: "Originally, you have committed an unforgivable crime by assassinating me, but today I will give you a chance. If you can defeat my wife, I will spare you."
Mrs. Wang was overjoyed: "Seriously?"
Wu Chengsi said calmly: "I have kept my promise, so why should I lie to you about a little girl?"
Mrs. Wang was filled with surprise and looked at her husband.
Wang Chen was actually ready to die calmly, but what Wu Chengsi said just now woke him up and he felt that he should not harm his wife.
Seeing Madam trying to persuade Wu Chengsi with words, his will to survive surged in his heart. He held Madam Wang's hand and said, "Madam, it is the greatest luck of my life that Mr. Wang can marry you."
With tears in her eyes, Mrs. Wang held his hand and said, "Don't worry, I will definitely win. Let's leave Chang'an alive together!"
Wu Chengsi said with a straight face: "If you lose, I will not only ask for your lives, but also ask you to answer all my questions!"
Wang Chen hesitated for a moment, glanced at his wife, and when she nodded, he said, "Okay, I promise you."
Immediately, the group returned to Prince Zhou's Mansion and entered Liu Lanshuang's Xinglan Courtyard.