At night, after everyone had gone to bed, Xia Houshu quietly put on his night clothes and sneaked out of the house over the wall.
Before going out, she went to Yun Xi's room to take a look. Seeing that she was sleeping unconscious, she added a handful of strong ingredients to the incense burner, guessing that she wouldn't wake up for a while.
Last time, the appearance of the man wearing the fox mask disrupted her plan and caused her to lose the map of the Prime Minister's Mansion that Xia Houyi helped draw. She could not ask Xia Houyi again and could only rely on her memory.
Find Yi Wu's house.
It has been several days since I first came to the Prime Minister's Mansion. The security around the Jade Jade Pavilion has been removed, and it was so quiet that not even a cat came out for a walk.
The night was dark and windy, and everything was lonely. This strange silence made Xia Houshu hesitate to take this risk. After all, sometimes the calmer the sea, the more dangerous it is.
But then she thought about it, the longer time passed, the fewer clues Yi Wu would leave behind, and the harder it would be for her to find out the cause of Yi Wu's death.
She simply changed her mind, jumped off the roof briskly, and sneaked into Yi Wu's room through the side door.
The room was very dark. Xia Houshu came in for the first time. She was not familiar with the layout of the room, so she had to squat behind the door and listen to the noise outside. After making sure that no one was approaching, she took out the night-light pearl and used the weak light of the pearl.
Look around and check.
The furnishings in the room are still the same as before. There is not a trace of dust on the finely polished furniture. Women's hairpins, jewelry, lipstick, and rich clothes are all placed neatly and orderly in their proper places, as if their owners have never left them.
Never left.
In the dead of night, time seemed to slow down. Xia Houshu patiently rummaged through the house, even carefully opening the mezzanine of the dowry and looking at it. However, he didn't know whether Yi Wu was too cautious or whether the house had been sent by Wang Chonghou for a long time.
People searched carefully, and she searched every corner but could not find any useful clues.
It seems that my busy work has been in vain again.
Xia Houshu sighed in frustration and was about to put away the night pearl and leave when she heard a loud "bang" that made her eardrums hurt - a large iron cage seemed to fall from the sky and tightly cover her.
In an instant, she was like a prey caught in a trap, with nowhere to escape.
Xia Houshu rubbed his eyes. Before he could figure out the situation, the room was suddenly brightly lit, and a team of neatly dressed guards immediately surrounded her.
It took a while for her eyes to adapt to the change in light here, and then she saw a tall man, neatly dressed and luxuriously dressed, striding towards her position. It was Wang Chonghou, the powerful Prime Minister in the court.
Although Xia Houshu was a female relative, she had seen this world-famous chief minister of Nanqi at a banquet and recognized him at first sight.
Although Wang Chonghou is over fifty years old, he is still handsome and energetic. His fine clothes and gorgeous dark patterns further highlight his noble status. Having been in the officialdom for many years, he seems to have his own aura, just by standing there.
, people can already feel his majesty that comes from within.
Xia Houshu remembered that Yinxiang said that Yi Wu once lamented that time was ruthless and beauty faded easily when he asked a painter to paint a portrait. So these years were too kind to a man like Wang Chonghou. In addition to adding some wrinkles to his face,
What is more important is the calmness and magnanimity after settling.
Looking at the momentum, Wang Chonghou seemed to have known that she was coming.
Xia Houshu's heart suddenly clicked, and he suddenly realized that Wang Chonghou was like the farmer waiting for a rabbit, and he was the stupid rabbit.
Wang Chonghou walked around the iron cage with gentle steps, and looked at Xia Houshu carefully with only one pair of eyes exposed. Finally, he stopped in front of her, playing with the jade ring on his thumb and talking slowly.
The ground asked: "The strong man came here late at night, what's the point?"
Xia Houshu glanced at the guards who surrounded him, then looked along the open door at the dark roof opposite, and suddenly felt discouraged. She was too careless. Not to mention that she was trapped in a prison and couldn't fly, even if she couldn't fly.
Even if she was able to escape from this iron cage with her extraordinary powers, she would be shot into a hedgehog by the archers lurking on the rooftop opposite.
Wang Chonghou must have made a foolproof plan in setting up this situation. However, he now trapped her here instead of killing her directly, perhaps because he wanted to keep her alive. So no matter what she said, it seemed inappropriate.
If you are not careful, you may fall into the opponent's trap and lose your chance of survival.
Wang Chonghou couldn't wait for her answer and lost his patience. He looked at her with regret and said, "I thought she was smart at first, but it seems I overestimated her."
"..."
Wang Chonghou turned his face to the attendant next to him and said, "Even if he is useless, just kill him!"
"Wait!" Xia Houshu was shocked. She was just calculating her pros and cons, but she never expected that Wang Chonghou, who usually looked dignified and majestic and was known as a kindhearted man, would say the words "Kill him".
He was so casual, as if he was saying "This cup of tea is cold, pour it".
Wang Chonghou was very satisfied with Xia Houshu's reaction and continued to look at her.
While Wang Chonghou listened quietly, Xia Houshu sorted out his thoughts and collected clues. If she guessed correctly, the relationship between Wang Chonghou and the mausoleum king Yuwensheng was extraordinary, and this relationship could not be exposed openly.
That's why they publicized Yi Wu's origins and used a romantic affair to cover up their true friendship.
At this point, Xia Houshu didn't think she could deceive him by pretending to be a gangster like last time. She might as well take advantage of his trick and deceive him once. So she mustered up her courage and pretended to be calm and said: "I'm afraid, Prime Minister, you have forgotten
Have you made a gentleman’s appointment with King Ling?”
"Prince Ling?" Wang Chonghou was stunned for a moment, his eyes were deep, as if he was thinking about the credibility of his words, or thinking of a real agreement between them.
Xia Houshu thought he had guessed correctly and breathed a sigh of relief.
Unexpectedly, Wang Chonghou suddenly changed his expression and sneered: "What does killing an assassin who sneaked into the house have to do with Prince Ling?"
It was clear that he had to pretend to be confused while pretending to understand. Xia Houshu rolled his eyes in his heart and continued to challenge: "What about Mrs. Yi?"
"How is Mrs. Yi?" Wang Chonghou asked.
Xia Houshu's mind turned around and he immediately said ambiguously: "If you don't speak secretly, do you still need me to remind the Prime Minister about Mrs. Yi?"
Wang Chonghou showed a strange look and said: "What exactly do you want to say?"
Perhaps it was because the words "Mrs. Yi" touched a soft spot in his heart, or perhaps because Yi Wu's death was too sudden and strange, he finally became angry and raised his voice a lot.
Finally, he got it right for once, and Xia Houshu secretly felt happy.
She swallowed nervously, and then said seriously: "Mrs. Yi is a beauty trained by Prince Ling's Mansion. She was handed over to the Prime Minister like pearls and jade, but you let her break. Do you think Prince Ling will do it again?"
Do you trust me?"
Xia Houshu spoke forcefully, but she had no idea in her heart. She originally only guessed that Yi Wu was a chess piece placed by King Ling in the Prime Minister's Mansion. In addition, Yinxiang once told her that Yi Wu had a fierce quarrel with Wang Chonghou before his death, so
She made a bold assumption without conclusive evidence, and there was no guarantee that it would not be exposed in front of the parties involved.
She secretly prayed that she would be a blind cat and a dead mouse!
Wang Chonghou was silent for a while.
Xia Houshu couldn't tell what he was thinking, so he could only quietly observe the changes in his expression in order to guess his next plan.
"You are so smart!" Wang Chonghou suddenly said, with a hint of cunning in his cold eyes, and his tone became serious, "How can you and other children discuss the matter between the truth and Mrs. Yi?"
Before Xia Houshu could react, he looked at the big iron cage again, his eyes as sharp as an eagle, and said coldly: "Who sent you here? What is the purpose of breaking into my mansion again and again?"
As he spoke, he came closer and suddenly raised his voice: If you are smart enough, just tell me honestly, and maybe I can keep your whole body."
Repeatedly? But this is obviously her second time! Is there any misunderstanding here?
Could it be the one wearing the fox mask last time...
Xia Houshu thought to himself that it was really over this time. Wang Chonghou had focused all the blame on her, so why not tear her into pieces?
Xia Houshu thought about it in a mess, and suddenly felt blessed. Since Wang Chonghou felt that she was being instigated by others, what if the person standing behind her was Prince Ling?
Xia Houshu insisted that he was from King Ling.
"It seems that you are unwilling to tell the truth." Seeing how stubborn she was, Wang Chonghou became increasingly impatient and waved his hand, "Kill her! Drag the body out and feed it to the dogs!"
Hello...dog?
Xia Houshu's mind instantly flashed back to the powerful hounds he had seen last time, with sharp teeth and sharp mouths, and ferocious eyes, and he couldn't help but shudder.
"Wait a minute!" Xia Houshu stopped her again. She would rather be shot to death by random arrows than be bitten and devoured by those hounds.
Wang Chonghou frowned slightly, thinking that this man is really interesting. Do you really think he is trying to scare him?
Xia Houshu stared at the guards behind Wang Chonghou who had a third of their swords drawn, fearing that they would all pounce on him.
Even if they each stabbed her, she wouldn't be able to get out alive.
Xia Houshu was both nervous and angry. She glared at Wang Chonghou and said sternly: "As the head of hundreds of officials, the Prime Minister is so careless about human life. It really puts our generation to shame!"
"So what if people's lives are taken lightly?" Wang Chonghou chuckled, and when he raised his eyes, his eyes were filled with sternness. "Then you have to be able to leave alive and prove that the truth is that people's lives are taken care of."
The dead cannot speak, so she really had to find a way to leave first. But now she was like a trapped animal, her life and death were in the hands of others, so how could she leave?
Xia Houshu thought for a while, then looked at Wang Chonghou firmly and said: "I also know a secret of Mr. Ling. If I die here tonight, tomorrow this secret will spread throughout the capital. By then, not only Mr. Ling will
If you have to suffer, the Prime Minister’s life will probably not be easy.”
"Little trick!" Wang Chonghou sneered.
"That's wrong!" Xia Houshu didn't show any weakness, pretending to be calm and continued, "Since I dare to come here alone, I put my family and life at risk. But people are always greedy for life and afraid of death, so no matter when
, you have to leave yourself a way out, right? If the Prime Minister thinks that I am scaring you, you can kill me immediately, but the secret you want to hide cannot be hidden."
Wang Chonghou finally looked at her and looked curious: "Then I want to hear what kind of secret it is."