At this moment, Cao Shenjun suddenly said: "Don't talk, there is the sound of horse hooves!"
Everyone immediately fell silent.
If you listen carefully, you can see that the sound of rain is indeed mixed with the sound of horse hooves.
Li Xian had a look of panic on his face, looking around as if looking for an escape route.
After a while, I saw three men wearing raincoats walking into the ruined temple. All three of them were armed with knives.
When Cao Canjun saw the person coming, he frowned and said, "Lian Canjun, why are you here?"
The leader was a lean man. He looked at several people, took something out of his arms, and said slowly: "Brother Cao, this is a letter from the Governor's Office. Judge Guan asked me to give it to you."
Cao Shenjun was stunned.
Judge Guan is the recently promoted judge of Qinzhou.
The former governor of Qinzhou was involved in the Pei Wang case, and most of the people in the governor's office were dismissed, so this judge Guan was promoted from below.
But he had never met the judge, so how could he write to him?
After all, he was a senior official of the Dudu Mansion. Cao Canjun didn't think much about it. When he took a look at the letter, his expression suddenly changed.
The letter actually asked him to return to Qinzhou City immediately to participate in an operation to suppress bandits.
Cao Canjun was a close confidant of Wang Changshi, and he knew that Wang Changshi valued Wang Chen and his wife very much. If he really left them alone, his career would be over.
"Brother Lien, I have been ordered by Wang Changshi to escort these three people to the capital. Please help me explain to Judge Guan. After I complete the task, I will go to the Governor's Mansion to take orders."
Lian Shenjun said coldly: "This is an order from the Governor's Office. Does Brother Cao want to disobey it?"
Cao Shenjun snorted and said: "Lian Shenjun, Judge Guan may not necessarily represent the Governor's Mansion. If he really wants me to suppress the bandits, he should discuss it with the Governor's Mansion first."
Lian Shenjun said with a cold face: "I will convey your words to Judge Guan. I hope you will not regret it in the future."
Cao Shenjun said calmly: "Cao will go and apologize to Judge Guan another day."
Lian Shenjun snorted coldly and left with his men.
Wang Chen said hurriedly: "Cao Canjun, because of our relationship as husband and wife, you offended Judge Guan. I really feel sorry for you."
Cao Canjun waved his hand and said with a smile: "Wang Langjun, don't mind. I am acting on the orders of Wang Changshi, and Judge Guan has no control over me."
One of the yamen officers whispered: "Join the army. I heard that Judge Guan and Governor Ning are relatives."
Cao Shenjun snorted and said: "What are you afraid of? We are acting on the orders of Wang Changshi. In Qinzhou, who doesn't give Wang Changshi three cents of face?"
The policeman didn't dare to say anything more, but his words still made Wang Chen and his wife feel even heavier.
The person who wanted to kill them could even persuade people from the Governor's Mansion. Especially now that they didn't know who that person was, they were both worried and frightened.
It's getting later and later, and the drizzle is still falling non-stop.
Mrs. Wang was lying on her husband's knees and had fallen asleep, but Wang Chen was not even half asleep.
He recalled every detail of his arrival in Beijing, every person he met, and everything he did.
When the two first entered the capital, they lived in that house, and the only person they had contact with was Butler Wei. Then his wife challenged Chang'an Musicians, and the two participated in the assassination of King Zhou.
Later, I went to a Buddhist temple and modified part of the mechanism of a secret room.
Not long after, he was found by King Zhou.
He didn't know what King Pei's plan was, nor what he was doing by asking him to change the mechanism of the Buddhist temple.
But he suddenly had a feeling that the danger he was facing might be related to that Buddhist temple.
At this moment, Mrs. Wang suddenly woke up and said: "Husband, did you hear anything?"
Wang Chen frowned and listened for a while, but didn't hear anything. However, he knew that his wife had excellent hearing, so he asked, "Did you hear anything?"
Mrs. Wang listened for a while and whispered: "There seems to be some sound mixed with the sound of rain, like someone's footsteps in the water. The sound is very soft, I can't be sure."
Wang Chen hurriedly woke up Cao Canjun and told him what his wife had said.
Cao Shenjun listened carefully for a while and faintly heard the sound of "ta, da, da".
A vigilant look immediately flashed in his eyes, he woke up the government officials, put out the fire, and whispered: "Be prepared to meet the enemy!"
The other party deliberately lowered the sound of his footsteps, which was obviously up to him.
All the government officials took off their long bows one after another, found cover, fully drew their bows, and pointed them towards the temple gate.
Wang Chen suddenly discovered that the place where they made the fire was far away from the doors and windows, so they didn't have to worry about what was behind them when they encountered enemies.
Goodbye, these government officials.
He was agile and practiced in his movements. He was obviously a specially selected capable person. He couldn't help but feel grateful to Wang Changshi.
At this moment, there were several loud "clang" sounds, the dilapidated temple roof was trampled to pieces, and several figures fell down.
At the same time, several shadows also jumped in the direction of the temple door and windows.
As expected, the people outside had evil intentions and launched a surprise attack on them without even confronting them!
Wang Chen and his wife were shocked, and Li Xian was so frightened that he put his hands on both sides of his head.
Cao Canjun was born in the military. Faced with the sudden attack, he remained calm and commanded calmly: "The first team stared at the roof, the second team stared at the windows, the third team stared at the door, and the fourth and fifth teams destroyed the enemies in the temple!"
As soon as he finished speaking, all the government officials shot arrows one after another.
In the dark night, it was difficult to dodge. When the intruders heard the sound of bowstrings, they were all surprised. How could they have expected that the people in the temple were carrying bows and arrows?
These people originally had extraordinary martial arts skills.
It's a pity that when facing dozens of bows, and the opponent was in a good location, they didn't have time to react, and most of them were killed.
Those who came in later were also attacked with arrows. Many people were shot to death or wounded as soon as they showed their heads from the windows or the roof of the temple, and no one dared to come in.
The officials shot two more rounds of arrows, and no black figure could stand in the room. For a moment, the room was filled with the groans of the injured.
Cao Shenjun was very decisive. He didn't know how many people were outside at the moment, so he didn't step forward. He ordered to shoot arrows in the direction of the moaning until the moaning disappeared one after another.
Wang Chen held his wife in one hand and held a crossbow in the other, and quietly fired a few arrows into the darkness.
Cao Canjun waited for a while and judged that everyone in the house was dead, so he asked several government officials to go to the window to check the situation outside.
A government official whispered: "There are no more people to be seen outside."
Cao Shenjun asked several government officials to go to the door. The officials visited for a while and said that no one could be seen.
Cao Shenjun knew that the outsiders had escaped and asked several government officials to go out to check.
After confirming that no one was around, the fire was rekindled and the bodies of the attackers were disposed of.
There are a total of twelve corpses in the temple. Although they are all wearing the most ordinary linen clothes, they are all strong and strong. You can tell at a glance that they are Lianjiazi.
Cao Shenjun led people to dispose of the body.
Wang Chen noticed that Li Xian's eyes were full of fear when he looked at the corpses, and his heart moved, and he asked: "Master Li, do you know these people?"
Li Xian waved his hands repeatedly, looked away, and hesitated: "I...I...don't know...them..."
He was obviously not good at lying, and as soon as he answered this sentence, everyone knew that he knew these people.
Cao Canjun didn't know about the relationship between Li Xian and Wang Chen, so he didn't speak.
Wang Chen snorted and said: "Master Li, if you don't tell the truth, we will have to leave you behind."
Li Xian was anxious: "Don't leave me, that's all I said. They are my brother's men. Those who came outside just now should be my sixth brother and eighth brother. They are here to take me back!"
Wang Chen was stunned: "Eighth brother? How many are there in your family?"
Li Xian whispered: "Just eight."
Wang Chen was stunned and speechless, always feeling that every word this kid said made him feel that something was wrong.
Cao Shenjun frowned and said, "Since this is your brother, why did you take action without saying a word?"
Li Xian said aggrievedly: "They... they always act like this. They like to rely on force to solve problems. They are very domineering! Thank you for protecting me. I will definitely repay you in the future."
Cao Canjun looked at Wang Chen, as if saying: "Are you sure you want to take this burdensome person with you on the road?"
Wang Chen looked at his wife and felt very unhappy when he saw Mrs. Wang comforting Li Xian softly.
After hesitating for a long time, he still shook his head at Cao Canjun.
Cao Canjun said nothing more and continued to lead his men to clean up the bodies.
Under the drizzle, a man wearing a raincoat ran wildly in the rain.
He ran all the way to a small river, where three tents were pitched.
The man in coir raincoat entered the middle tent, where there were more than a dozen men in black clothes.
The man in black in the middle, with gold trim on his clothes, was the same group of people who attacked Wang Chen that day.
The man in the coir raincoat was full of joy. As soon as he entered the tent, he said impatiently: "Captain, I discovered Li Xian and Li Dan!"
The leader in black was stunned for a moment, and then he was overjoyed: "Where did you find them? Do you know where they settled?"
The man in coir raincoat said: "In the dilapidated temple where the target is located, the two of them led people to attack the dilapidated temple, but were repelled by the government officials inside."
The leader in black raised his hand and said, "Wait a minute, tell me slowly, are those government officials still in the ruined temple?"
The man in coir raincoat nodded and said, "Yes, that Judge Zheng's letter is of no use."
After a pause, he said in confusion: "Captain, I really don't understand. We just kill those two people directly. Why do we have to borrow the hands of the people in the green forest?"
The leader in black squinted his eyes and said: "There is nothing we can do about it. The target has King Zhou's token in his hand. King Zhou is not someone who can be easily offended. If he sends someone to investigate, we will all be in trouble!"
A young man in black said: "We are also acting under orders. His Highness King Zhou can't blame us, right?"
The leader in black said coldly: "What do you know? That King of Zhou is the one who leads the troops. Even if we obey orders from above and make him angry, he can still make us disappear."
Everyone's faces turned pale when they heard this.
The young man in black said: "But we can't move the government officials away, and the people in the green forest don't dare to take action. How can we complete the mission?"
The leader in black said solemnly: "If we try to find a way to start from the Governor's Mansion, we can always transfer those government officials."
Immediately, a smile appeared on his face: "I didn't expect that Li Xian and Li Dan would also show up. It was really hard to find anywhere, and it took no effort to get here."
An older man in black said: "Captain, it seems that the task of catching these two is not ours."
The leader in black said coldly: "The superiors always only look at the results and not the process. If we can catch him, the credit will naturally be ours."
The man in coir raincoat agreed: "Yes, if we can complete the two tasks together, the credit will be great!"
The leader in black's eyes flashed and said: "You are wrong, not two, but three!"
"Three pieces?" The man in the coir raincoat widened his eyes.
The black-clothed leader rolled his eyelids: "Thank you for following me for so long, but you haven't made any progress at all. Let me ask you, why did Li Xian and Li Dan attack Wang Chen and his wife when they are fine?"
The man in coir raincoat took off his bamboo hat, scratched his head, and guessed: "Is it because Wang Chen and his wife betrayed them?"
The leader in black glanced at him sideways: "Idiot, Li Xian is in a situation where he can't take revenge on others! There is only one person he cares about most right now."
The man in coir raincoat lost his voice and said: "King Li Xian of England!"
The leader in black crossed his arms and said with a smile: "That's right, didn't you say before that there is a young beggar around Mr. and Mrs. Wang Chen?"
The young man in black was overjoyed: "Could he be Li Xian?"
The black-clothed leader's eyes flashed and he said, "Who else can attract Li Xian and Li Dan to show up besides him?"
…
After the attack on the ruined temple, the group walked in a hurry for two days.
Although the rain did not stop during the past two days, the journey was smooth and we did not encounter any problems.
In the evening of this day, a group of people arrived in Longzhou and Qingshui County.
Everyone found a hotel to stay and had dinner in the lobby of the hotel.
Suddenly, three people walked in outside the door.
Wang Chen was shocked when he saw the leader. This man was Lian Canjun who came to see Cao Canjun that day.
Cao Canjun also frowned and looked sideways at Lian Canjun, but did not stand up to greet him.
Lian Canjun came to the table and said coldly: "Cao Long, there is an order from the Governor's Office, ordering you to go to Shanyin County to suppress the bandits immediately. Please follow me back to Qinzhou as soon as possible."
Cao Shenjun said: "I have already said that I was ordered by Wang Changshi to escort these people to the capital. If the governor's office wants me to suppress the bandits, you can discuss it with the governor's office. As long as Wang Changshi gives the order, I will follow you immediately.
Walk!"
Lian Shenjun sneered: "Cao Long, this is not an order from Judge Guan, but an order from Governor Ning himself. Do you dare not even listen to Governor Ning's words?"
Cao Shenjun's expression changed slightly: "Is this really the order from Governor Ning?"
Lian Shenjun took out an official document and handed it to him: "Read it yourself!"
Cao Canjun took it and looked at it. Sure enough, it had the seal of the Governor of Qinzhou on it.
After a moment of silence, he turned to Wang Chen and his wife and said, "Brother Wang, Mrs. Wang, I'm sorry. Governor Ning personally ordered me to suppress the bandits. I really have no choice..."
After speaking, he shook his head and led the people to follow the company to join the army.
Wang Chen and his wife were stunned. The other party could even command the governor of Qinzhou. His power was beyond their imagination.
Without the protection of Cao Canjun and others, the couple would be like lambs waiting to be slaughtered. They might not even be able to reach Qingshui County.
Before Li Xian could figure out the situation, he was stunned for a while, then blinked and said, "Brother Wang, why... why did they leave?"
Wang remained silent, while Mrs. Wang lay in his arms and cried softly.
At this moment, another person came in from the door.
The man glanced at the lobby, then came to Wang Chen and his wife, cupped his hands and said, "Are you Mr. Wang Shen?"
Wang Chen felt so sad that he didn't even have the strength to speak, so he just nodded.
The man said: "Wang Changshi sent me to deliver a letter to you." He took out a letter and put it on the table.
As soon as Wang Chen picked up the letter, the man said "goodbye" and turned around to leave.
Wang Chen browsed the contents of the letter, his face suddenly turned pale, and his forehead was covered with cold sweat.
Mrs. Wang hurriedly said: "Husband, what's wrong? What is written in your heart?"
Wang Chen swallowed and spat, and said in a trembling voice: "Yes, the person who wants to kill us is the Queen Mother!!"
With a "pop" sound, Li Xian suddenly fell off the chair.
Wang Chen and his wife were filled with fear and could not care less about him.
Mrs. Wang took a few deep breaths and said with trembling teeth: "She, why did she want to kill us?"
Wang Chen shook his head, his mind went blank, and the letter fell to the ground.
Mrs. Wang picked up the letter and continued to read it. Suddenly, there was a hint of joy on her face.
"Husband, look, Wang Changshi has shown us a way out!"
Wang Chen hurriedly leaned over to watch with his wife. After watching for a long time, a glimmer of hope finally rose in his heart.
It turned out that Wang Changshi said in his letter that according to his judgment, the people sent by the Queen Mother did not know that they had the King of Zhou's token.
After they found out, they were afraid of the King of Zhou and did not dare to attack them directly, so they offered a reward in the green forest.
They also tried every means to transfer the officers and soldiers who protected them.
Therefore, they only had to guard against the people in the green forest. No one in the government dared to attack them directly.
Wang Changshi asked them to go to Qingshui County to find a businessman named Fan Ji. He was a giant businessman in Longzhou. His caravan traveled back and forth between Chang'an and Shu for a long time. No one in the green forest dared to steal his caravan.
As long as Wang Changshi's name is mentioned, the other party should not refuse them to follow the caravan.
When you arrive in Chang'an, if you immediately go to His Highness the King of Zhou to intercede, and he can ask the Queen Mother to mediate, you may be able to save your life.
The couple immediately cheered up, exited the guest room, and headed towards Qingshui Town.
Li Xian asked the two of them why. Wang Shen said: "Master Li, if you follow my husband and I again, you may be in danger. Why don't we break up here?"
Li Xian's eyes suddenly turned red: "Are you going to abandon me?"
Mrs. Wang said softly: "Mr. Li, what my husband just said did not lie to you. If you follow us, you may encounter bandits!"
Li Xian said loudly: "I am not afraid of danger, please don't abandon me!"
Wang Chen didn't want to talk to him at first, but seeing that his wife couldn't bear it, he had to say: "Well, if something happens in the future, don't blame us husband and wife for not reminding you."
The three of them set off immediately and headed towards Qingshui Town.
Wang Chen knew that this section of the journey was the most dangerous, so he was extremely vigilant along the way, holding the crossbow tightly in his hand. But if something happened, he would hide in the grass on the roadside.
After walking and hiding until evening, the three of them finally arrived at Qingshui Town.
Wang Chen didn't let go of his nervousness. He asked someone on the road to find out where Fan Ji lived. Then he came to the door of Fan's mansion and knocked on the door to ask for Fan Ji.
The servant outside saw Mrs. Wang's beauty and Mr. Li's delicate features, and felt that these three people had some background, so he asked them their names and informed them.
Soon, the doorman came back and let the three of them into the house. They came to a side hall and served tea again.
The three of them waited for nearly an hour before a servant came over and led the three of them to the lobby.
The lobby of Fan Mansion is spacious and bright, and sitting at the head is a short, fat man wearing a khaki robe.
The man held two iron bladders in his right hand, turning them back and forth in his palm, making a "beep, bab, bab" sound, and looked at the three of them with squinted eyes.
When he saw Mr. Li, his eyes suddenly lit up. He put the iron gall on the table, stood up and cupped his hands and said, "I'm sorry for not being able to welcome you from afar."
Wang Chen cupped his hands and said, "Mr. Fan is very polite. I'm Wang Chen. This is my wife, Fei. I took the liberty of visiting you today. I want to ask Mr. Fan for help with something."
When Fan saw that Wang Chen did not introduce Li Xian, he was secretly surprised and said lightly: "If you need my help if you need anything, please let me know."
Wang Shen said: "To be honest, my husband and I want to go to Chang'an. We are worried about the safety on the road. We want to go with your caravan. We hope that Mr. Fan can give us a ride."
Fan Ji picked up two more iron bladders and turned them around in his hands. He squinted his eyes and said nothing, as if to say: "Boy, I don't know you, why should I help you for free?"
Mrs. Wang said softly: "I dare not hide this from anyone else. It was Qinzhou Wang Changshi who asked us to come here to find you."
Fan Ji's expression immediately changed, and he laughed loudly and said: "I didn't expect that Wang Changshi could still remember me, Lao Fan, so I was so proud of his golden face. I will help you with this!"
Wang Chen was originally worried that the other party would need some token from the two of them before he would believe him, but when he saw that Fan Ji did not ask for it, he was relieved.
That night, the three of them stayed at Fan Mansion at Fan Yuanwai's warm invitation. Fan Yuanwai personally hosted a banquet for the three of them.
During the dinner, Mrs. Wang played a song on the pipa to express her gratitude to Mr. Fan.
After hearing this, Fan Yuanwai was filled with admiration and laughed: "Some time ago, I heard someone said that a talented musical girl came out of Shu, and she challenged the top ten famous musicians in Chang'an. Today I heard Mrs. Wang's fairy music again. It seems that Shu
It has truly become a gathering place for music and music!”
Wang Chen straightened his chest, raised his head and said, "Exceptor Fan, the woman who challenged the famous music master in Chang'an is my wife!"
Fan was so surprised that he stood up and toasted to Mrs. Wang. Mrs. Wang appreciated his enthusiasm and played another piece of music.
Fan was even more interested and asked someone to call over one of his concubines who was good at music and asked her to play along with him to add to the fun.
On the next day, Fan Yuanwai originally wanted to invite Wang Chen and his wife to stay for a few more days, but the couple knew that the Queen Mother wanted to kill them, so they did not dare to stay long. They just wanted to fly to Prince Zhou's Mansion.
Seeing that they were in a hurry, Officer Fan sent a caravan to set off in advance to escort the two of them eastward, and gave them a lot of money before leaving.