Chapter 102 Assassination of the Sword Master in the dark night
Prince Qi's Mansion.
Wang Gui, the chief minister, brought a man in a cloak into the main hall.
After the palace door was closed, Wang Gui stood guard outside and did not allow anyone to pass by.
inside the house.
Wan Jianshan, who had washed away all the dirt, looked a bit elegant like a swordsman. He looked at the prince with a smile and said:
"Your Highness has taken you in for many days. I am very grateful. I wonder what your Highness's summons is for you?"
"Mr. Wan, I have something to ask of you."
King Qi said seriously: "You are ranked eighth on this year's Emperor Zun Pavilion master list. I think you can defeat Ye Hongyi, who is ranked tenth, right?"
"Ye Hongyi?" Wan Jianshan said disdainfully, "That girl in her early twenties?"
"It's not in my eyes at all."
"But why am I ranked eighth when I was still seventh last year?" Wan Jianshan asked with a frown.
King Qi said: "Because now a genius has come to the capital, and his guard code suddenly appeared, ranking fourth with the Western Chu Jian Shang."
"Dian Yi, are you from Emperor Zun Pavilion?" People in the world were very sensitive to this surname, and Wan Jianshan showed a hint of fear.
King Qi nodded.
Wan Jianshan said: "His Highness has ordered me to do my best, but I have no identity certificate in the capital and cannot walk outside."
"Sir, don't worry. I have prepared a new identity for you, and there are absolutely no flaws."
…
"Fang Jue, you have to be careful about King Qi."
In the main house of Fangjiazhuang, the two of them were boiling hot pot, and Ye Hongyi said this.
"King Qi?" Fang Jue didn't take this person seriously. He smiled and said, "What are you careful about?"
"The King of Qi is a small man, and He Louqian's backer is him. This time the He Louqian incident happened, and many of his useful officials were wiped out in one fell swoop."
Ye Hongyi said seriously: "The guard in Fuzhou who colluded with He Louqian is from King Qi. After he was captured, he quickly confessed that King Qi was his backer."
"Then why will King Qi be fine?" Fang Jue frowned.
"Of course it's because the King of Qi has never done anything illegal through these two people. At most, he only contacted the military, paved the way for his own people in Beijing, and formed cliques for personal gain..."
Forming a clique for personal gain is a crime that is fatal to an official, but is normal to a prince.
Without forming a party, how can people compete for the position of crown prince?
As long as he doesn't commit any heinous crimes, the emperor won't say much about it, or even don't care at all.
"If we kill He Louqian this time, King Qi will have no one in the household department, and he will not be able to reach into the treasury."
"What?" Fang Jue was surprised, "He reached into the treasury and Your Majesty didn't care?"
"As the saying goes, if you clear the prefecture in three years, you will get one hundred thousand snowflakes of silver... It is the stupidest thing to just reach out and take the money. It is the long-term way to recruit a few royal businessmen to run it for yourself through the relationship with the Ministry of Revenue."
Ye Hongyi immediately explained some methods known to all parties.
Fang Jue nodded, indicating that he understood.
When He Louqian was there, the King of Qi could use his strength to let the merchants under his control do business with the Ministry of Household Affairs and accept many large orders.
This kind of business is innocent and not afraid of investigation. Which prince wouldn't support it?
Otherwise, where would such a large amount of funds come from? The prince's salary is not that high.
Now that He Louqian is no longer here, he is just going to leave the tea. If the King of Qi wants to do this again, he will not do it. The Ministry of Revenue will not buy it.
Therefore, for the King of Qi, killing the people in front of He Lou was tantamount to cutting off his financial path and making them irreconcilable.
"King Qi...Dian Yi, send a message to the old man. I want to know everything about King Qi."
Fang Jue shouted to the door, and then heard footsteps leaving.
He looked at Ye Hongyi again: "You are the chief investigator of this case. King Qi knows that I have Dian Yi as my guard, so he shouldn't be so stupid as to send someone to kill me."
"But you are in danger. You are always alone when you go in and out. This habit needs to be changed."
Ye Hongyi hummed: "If he dares to touch me, Your Majesty will not spare him, and he will never be able to be crown prince again."
There are also some rules in the capital.
You can attack openly, but not secretly, especially the main figures of the Three Law Departments. Anyone who dares to assassinate the emperor will not give him face when he comes and must be thoroughly investigated.
"Better be careful... In this case, you come with me."
With that said, Fang Jue held up Ye Hongyi with one hand.
"Wait a minute, my duck intestines..." Ye Hongyi quickly stuffed the duck intestines on the chopsticks into her mouth and pulled them away without a trace.
After she finished eating, she realized that Fang Jue was holding a hand, and she suddenly became nervous.
At this moment of surprise, a secret door on the wall opened, and Fang Jue greeted: "Come in."
"ah?"
"Isn't this... bad?"
Ye Hongyi blushed. It was already dinner and the sky was getting dark.
Could it be to keep warm...
"You haven't applied for the job yet..." Ye Hongyi muttered, but still took small steps, lowered her head and followed behind into the secret room.
"What did you say?" Fang Jue turned around and didn't hear clearly.
Ye Hongyi shook his head: "Nothing..."
In the secret room, Fang Jue peeled off the cloth on one wall, revealing treasures hanging all over the wall.
"This is..." Ye Hongyi exclaimed, she had seen this thing before, but never such a delicate one.
Fang Jue said: "This is my private collection. It cannot be mass-produced at the moment. It took me several years to get these in Emperor Zun Pavilion... You pick one and I will give it to you."
"Really?" Ye Hongyi looked happy.
She shook her head again and said worriedly: "If I accidentally lose it, wouldn't I be endangering the enemy?"
Fang Jue smiled: "Even if you lose it, no one can copy it. Even Emperor Zun Pavilion can't mass-produce it."
"That's true, hey, then I'll choose?"
Ye Hongyi smiled and quickly made a choice among a wall of "truths".
"I want this little one..."
"Okay, I'll give you a box of ammunition. Ask me for more when you're done with it." Fang Jue took off the small one.
Fang Jue handed it to her: "Can you use it?"
"Didn't you teach me how to use a musket?"
"This thing is different from a musket. It does not require ignition. It is more accurate and simple. You only need to open the safety... right here... then load the gun, wipe this place, and then shoot, just like a musket."
"How powerful is it?"
Fang Jue said: "Seven steps away, it's faster than a flying knife."
"What about within seven steps?" Ye Hongyi asked with a smile.
"Not only is it faster than a flying knife, it is also more accurate than a flying knife."
…
It's night.
Ye Hongyi left Fangjiazhuang alone, leaving a little late today.
Don't get me wrong, it was because I had to get familiar with the new weapon and tried it several times in the secret room of Fangjiazhuang before the delay.
Fortunately, the city gate will not be closed until dark.
Riding his horse into the city, under the watchful eyes of the defenders, Ye Hongyi headed towards the Xuanjian Sifu Yamen.
"What are you looking at? That's Mr. Ye from the Xuanjian Division, the Young Master's confidante. Do you dare to look more and not be afraid of being blinded?" A soldier lightly slapped his companion.
The soldier smiled and said, "I'm just amazed that there is such a woman in the world. I think Master Ye is the only one worthy of being a young master."
"Isn't that right?"
Entering Jinling from the South City Gate, you have to go to Xuanjian Division and pass through Zhuque Street.
At night, there was no one on the main street. It stands to reason that the curfew in Jinling is not strict, so someone should be setting up stalls at night.
However, the four main streets need to be cleaned to prevent thieves from escaping at night and blending into the crowd.
But it’s not like there is no one at all.
"Da da..." The horse's hooves hit the stone floor, and Ye Hongyi smelled something wrong.
There are also crows, magpies and poultry in Jinling City, but tonight they are quiet, as if no one dares to make a sound.
Animals are more alert to danger than humans.
In the past, when I was out of time, the dog would have to bark twice, but Ye Hongyi caught a glimpse of Old Hu's dog at the entrance of the alley, lying on the spot without making a sound.
The sky had completely darkened, and only the torch in Ye Hongyi's hand was still bright.
"call out--"
A sound broke through the air, and Ye Hongyi quickly got off her horse and hid at the entrance of a nearby alley.
She threw away the torch, but the warrior's eyesight allowed Ye Hongyi to see clearly.
The horse was hit by several arrows and it was too late to cry out. One arrow shot into the horse's head and killed him suddenly.
"who?"
Ye Hongyi hid in the darkness and looked at the streets and nearby buildings, where assassins were carrying out assassinations.
It wasn't even a bow, but a bow that had been ready to go, because for a master like her, she would hear the sound of the bow being drawn at a close distance.
The other party even noticed such details, which shows that he is a master.
"I am Ye Hongyi, the swordsman in charge of the Xuanjian Division. Which big shot in the military wants to kill me?" Ye Hongyi said coldly.
Anyone who can produce slaves must be from the military. Hiding slaves privately can be directly regarded as treason.
A rush of footsteps faded away.
"Leaving?"
Ye Hongyi didn't understand why they wanted to escape. They had the upper hand with their bows and crossbows.
But at this moment, a stream of white clothes floated over and flew diagonally from upstairs to the main street.
Wan Jianshan fiddled with his forehead, brought up the long hair that blocked his sight, and tied it to his left ear.
The sword in his hand was pointed at Ye Hongyi: "Tenth on the master list?"
Ye Hongyi saw this and saw the outline of this person's cheek in the darkness:
"Wanjian Mountain?"
"Eighth on the master list, sixth on the villain list!"
Ye Hongyi joked: "I didn't expect you to be hiding in Jinling. Next time I see Commander-in-Chief Mo, I will laugh at him. People on the evil list can actually live freely in the capital. It seems that he has slacked off."
"Did King Qi send you to kill me?" Ye Hongyi asked directly.
"He actually has a powerful crossbow in his hand, and he colludes with a scum like you. It seems that he has a big plan."
Wan Jianshan swung his sword a few times, warmed up, and said calmly: "You will not survive tonight. No matter how much you know, it is useless."
Having said that, he raised his sword and came to kill.
