A corpse wrapped in black cloth was placed in front of Queen Han. When the black cloth was lifted, half of the head was visible. The deceased seemed to have been stabbed head on.
In the splendid and spacious Feixiang Hall, only a small oil lamp was lit. A ball of light the size of a human head moved from the imperial concubine's couch to the body, illuminating the remaining half of her face.
Empress Han frowned, pinched the hand holding the silk handkerchief, and unconsciously brought it to her lips. Her throat moved, as if she couldn't help but vomit.
This was already the second corpse brought back by Hu Rong. Empress Han recognized the deceased. They were all masters of the imperial family and had been ordered to assassinate the prince.
Hu Rong had told the queen the exact location of the prince, and the queen believed in Hu Rong and was full of gratitude and respect.
In fact, Hu Rong was not a close relative of Empress Han, but was brought by Empress Tang from her natal family. With the support of Empress Tang, she was appointed as the general manager of the palace by Emperor Tiande. After Empress Tang passed away, Concubine Han was promoted to empress.
, commanded the harem. It was Hu Rong who should have been purged.
But later, Hu Rong not only was not eliminated, but became the person she trusted and relied on the most. The reason for this change was because Emperor Tiande sent people to kill Hu Rong's family. In fact, in Emperor Tiande's plan,
He also wanted to kill Hu Rong and Queen Han, but the emperor never expected that things would be exposed.
Emperor Tiande did not die of illness at all, but was held down by Hu Rong and strangled to death by Empress Han with a rope.
"My dear, don't panic. The third batch of assassins contacted by me will arrive early tomorrow morning."
After two consecutive assassinations failed, Empress Han sat on the couch frustrated, waved her hand feebly, and signaled Hu Rong to take the body out. Hu Rong carried the body, walked out of Feixiang Hall, turned left and disappeared.
The palace maid Han Ju opened a small crack in the window and looked outside. It wasn't until Hu Rong's slender figure left the Changqiu Palace that she ran back to the queen, squatted at the queen's feet, raised her head and said, "Does the queen really believe in Hu Rong?"
?”
"I don't believe him, who can I believe?" Queen Han said while wiping her tears: "Now, even Meng'er doesn't come to see me."
Han Ju frowned and said, "Could it be that King Feng didn't receive the letter? The empress left all these matters to Hu Rong, and he could definitely do something about it. King Fu, King Xian, King Feng, and King Rui all did it at the same time.
Don’t you think it’s strange to leave the capital?”
Queen Han shook her head gently: "This person is dead, is there still a lie?"
Han Ju dared to ask again and again: "But has the empress gone to the Duke's Mansion to inquire? Is there really someone going to assassinate me? Could it be that these people were killed by Hu Rong and brought to the palace to deceive the empress? And Prince Fu
They suddenly disappeared, could it be that they collaborated to defraud King Feng away?"
Queen Han said slowly: "Then what do you mean..."
Han Ju said with sincerity: "Although Hu Rong has made great contributions to the queen, the queen cannot leave everything to him. Now that the prince's location has been confirmed, it is better for us to find the killer ourselves. The slave's cousin is also wandering around the world.
You can hire a very powerful killer. But... the price will be higher."
The sadness on Queen Han's face lessened a bit: "How long has it been since we started talking about the price? Since there is such a way, go ahead and do it. I will give you whatever it takes."
Just when Han Ju was about to walk out of Changqiu Palace, the eunuch Zhang Cong walked in quickly and whispered in the queen's ear. Queen Han quickly called Han Ju back and told her that Duke An Guo had passed Tongguan. The queen asked Han Ju
, how many days will it take to invite the assassin. Han Ju said that she doesn’t know yet and can only find out by asking her cousin.
That night, Han Ju went to see her cousin. When the two met, they had a passionate and impatient romance.
In fact, he was not Han Ju's cousin at all, but Han Ju's lover. That man gave himself a trade name, Hu Tongtian.
While getting dressed, Han Ju said, Princess Tang's princess just died from Hualiu, and now the disease is very serious in Pingkangfang. You should be careful and don't go to those rotten women. Otherwise, you will be like that princess.
Likewise, his nose was rotten into a hole, his eyes were blind, and his death was miserable.
Hu Tongtian hugged Han Ju's slender waist and hugged her tightly, saying: He only has one woman, Xiao Ju. Now he is the only woman, and in the future there will be only you.
Upon hearing this, Han Ju smiled, snuggled into Hu Tongtian's arms, and gave Hu Tongtian the golden cup she stole from the palace.
Hu Tongtian said that he would sell these things and save money to live a good life with Han Ju in the future. Han Ju fell into his arms intoxicated, thinking about the future.
"I told you, the price this time will be very high." Han Ju turned over in Hu Tongtian's arms.
Hu Tongtian asked: "Have you told her how much it will cost?"
Han Ju said: "I didn't say."
Hu Tongtian's voice was low: "In my opinion, instead of saying how much money you want, you might as well let her give it."
"why?"
"What she gives must be something she can accept. On the contrary, if we want it, I don't know how much is appropriate. If it is too much, the queen will be angry, and she may not give a single copper; if it is less, we still feel
deficit."
Han Ju sat up and said, "I don't think it's necessary to be so troublesome. And you underestimate the queen. Not only can she mobilize the household department, but the Han family is also very wealthy. During the years she has been the queen, the Han family's nephews have made a lot of money. Although
It's not as rich as the Fan family and the Qian family, but it shouldn't be underestimated. Besides, I told the empress that in the assassin business, half of the money is given up front."
Hu Tongtian sat cross-legged on the couch: "Do you believe it?"
"Um."
"If this is the case..." Hu Tongtian rolled his eyes: "We can just take the money and leave. Why bother to break into the Duke's Mansion again? The Duke's Mansion is not an easy place to enter. Even if you go in, you will still kill people and make trouble.
If there is any movement, I'm afraid I won't be able to get out. I don't want to make money but lose my life."
Han Ju said angrily: "If you really do things like that, how can I have the face to stay with the Queen? Isn't this a trick on me?"
Hu Tongtian smiled apologetically and said, "Oh, my little darling. How can I forget you when I have money? Of course we will fly away together."
Han Ju became embarrassed: "However, it is now confirmed that the prince is in the courtyard of the seventh lady of the Duke's mansion. Is it so difficult to kill someone? Didn't Brother Tongtian say that he knows many powerful people who come and go as easily as they walk on the ground? Normally?
It costs a lot of money to make friends with them, but at the critical moment, you can’t actually use it?”
Hu Tongtian said with difficulty: "It really costs a lot of money to hire them."
"But if we get rid of the prince, we can make more money."
Hu Tongtian gritted his teeth: "Okay, I'll contact you."
"It must be quick."
"Ok, I know."
That night, Hu Tongtian contacted Li Chengbang, a northwest swordsman who was wanted by the government and was hiding in the black market. He was nicknamed "Desert Wolf" in the world. He was a recognized master. Some old power gangs in Luoyang City did not dare to provoke him.
.
After setting the time, Han Ju ran back to the palace. At this time, Queen Han said that she was worried that there would be no time, so she sent Zhang Cong to intercept Duke An Guo halfway.
Han Ju was shocked and advised the queen not to do this. Once the "Peace Alliance" was violated and the Tang family was offended, instead of stopping the barbarians in the northwest, they led troops to break through Tongguan, which would be a big trouble.
Empress Han said, "If I don't kill the prince, my life will be at stake. What else can I care about? Even if Tang Qiong really leads his troops into the capital, I will just die. The result will be the same, so I might as well fight."
…
After defeating the Khitan warriors, Su Ping became even more low-key and never mentioned martial arts in front of others because he did not want to establish himself as a martial artist.
But the tree wants to be quiet but the wind doesn't stop.
Well, the concubine Lin sent her son Tang Yan to live in the sixth lady's house for a few days, saying that she wanted the sixth uncle to teach martial arts. Soon after, Concubine Kong was not willing to follow others and sent her daughter Tang Yan to her.
The sixth lady also said that she would practice martial arts with her husband-in-law.
The relationship between the Sixth Miss and the two concubines was very normal, because they were all good sisters of the Concubine Fan in the past, and they vented their anger out of the same nostril. Now that the Concubine Fan is about to die, and the Sixth Miss has been promoted to the post of Okura Supervisor, these guys are like
Started to get closer to Miss Six.
Tang Mei has kept Tang Yan because Concubine Lin also sent many gifts. This is the first gift Tang Mei has received since she became the supervisor. At this time, Miss Six was not rich.
For the sake of the gift, she agreed.
Moreover, Tang Mei knew that sending the child to her, claiming that he was learning martial arts from her husband-in-law, was just a gimmick. The real meaning was to affirm Miss Sixth's status. This was to express her position. Concubine Lin had already taken action, and Concubine Kong
How could the concubine be willing to be a queen? But she had no son, so she came here with her daughter in her arms.
The middle-aged concubine Kong Concubine, holding the pink and jade-carved little girl in her arms, sighed and said: "I have offended Miss Sixth before. It's so pitiful that I and the other concubines have to help the concubine to speak, otherwise the concubine will want to
We can only accept the small shoes we wear. After all, the Fan family is very wealthy, and the Duke of Guo also relies on her."
"Auntie, there is no need to say more, I know these things well in my heart." Tang Mei sat on the couch with a cold face, not showing any warmth.
Seeing Tang Mei's face, Concubine Kong smiled and said, "I heard that Sister Lin brought a lot of gifts when she came to this house. We don't know where she got the money. It's just that we have always used hands and feet.
It’s clean, but I don’t have much savings. Although we don’t have any ready-made gifts for Miss Six, we’re not here to show off. There is always a big gift for Miss Six. I believe that Miss Six will be tempted.”
Tang Mei raised her eyebrows: "What kind of ceremony?"