A low voice came from Cai Quan's mouth. In the alley behind him, more than ten soldiers from the Beijing camp with cold faces and plainclothes either pulled out their Yanling knives in unison, or held crossbows and used them to shoot.
Under the cover of the vast twilight, they intercepted and killed the four bandits who were about to rush to the street.
It was evening, and the streets were already sparsely populated, but smoke was already curling up from the chimneys of the neighboring houses. As for the adults and children who were watching the excitement of welcoming the bride, they were all standing on tiptoes and stretching their necks in front of the Qin Mansion.
Looking inside, nothing can be seen.
"Hula la..." The four bandits had just arrived at the street entrance and before they rushed towards the door of Qin's house, they saw more than ten people surrounding them, with evil looks on their faces and sharp knives in their hands.
"not good!"
"There's an ambush!"
"It's the army!" The four of them looked at each other, but they didn't know it was a trap, so they shouted almost at the same time.
Regardless of whether it was Yan Ling Dao or skirmisher formation, these Cuihua Mountain bandits who had fought against Chen Han's army knew all of them, and they knew they were ambushed.
"Pfft!"
Six crossbows were fired from four directions, and the arrows were shot specifically towards the lower body of the four people. The four bandits screamed, their expressions changed drastically, their pupils shrank sharply, and they hurriedly dodged, but they were calculated mentally but not carelessly, how could they avoid it?
Not long after, several screams and muffled groans were heard.
The four bandits were hit by arrows in their thighs and calves, and blood was pouring out.
"clang……"
The soldiers brought by Cai Quan threw the crossbow machine, the light of the sword flashed, and the cry of killing rang out. The hands of the two sides immediately exchanged hands, and the sound of gold and iron clashing was heard.
On Cai Quan's side, he had an obvious numerical advantage. In addition, the four bandits were shot in the legs by arrows and were slow to move. After a short battle, they gained the upper hand and knocked them to the ground, using swords on their necks.
There was only one man who was brave and brave. Even though he was hit by an arrow in his calf, he still held a waist knife and waved it like a tiger, and fought against Cai Quan and others.
On Jia Heng's side, there was a crowd of people. The bride, accompanied by a phoenix crown and a red hijab, stepped through the gate with the support of Baozhu and Ruizhu, the two maids who accompanied the room.
A firecracker was picked up by an old servant of the Qin family on a bamboo pole and lit. The crackling sound of the firecrackers was heard, suppressing the growing cries of murder in the distance.
As for Jia Heng, who had a keen hearing, his frowned brows did not relax.
As Qin Keqing boarded the sedan, the wedding ceremony came to an end.
"Sit down, bride, get up." With a long call, the bride sat firmly on the sedan chair, and the bearer lifted the sedan chair. There was a sound of blowing and beating all around. Jia Heng looked calm, and he also got on the horse, holding the reins, and looked back to the east.
Looking around, he saw only the street lights and night lights. Cai Quan waved to himself, knowing that the love affair had settled, he breathed a sigh of relief, led the wedding team, and Qin Keqing headed towards Ningrong Street.
go.
At the same time, at the city gate, Dong Qian had also caught Lai Sheng, who was driving his carriage, and was waiting for news to meet the bandits.
In an inconspicuous and dilapidated courtyard, Lai Sheng was tied up with ropes, his hands cut behind his back, and he looked at Dong Qian and others in horror.
"Who are you? I am the manager of Ningguo Mansion. Let me go!"
Dong Qian sneered: "Tell me! Where is Jia Zhen now?"
Lai Sheng's face was gloomy and he said angrily: "How dare you call my master by his first name!?"
"Pah!" The young man on the side rounded his arms and slapped Lai Sheng on the face. After a while, Lai Sheng's cheeks were red and swollen, and his eyes were shocked.
"You thieves, let's wait and see when your grandpa Lai reports to the government!" Lai Sheng's face was burning with pain, and his heart was burning with anger, and he cursed angrily.
"Report to the government? Might as well tell you, we are the government! The Five Cities Military and Horse Division has discovered that Jia Zhen colluded with the Cuihua Mountain bandits and entered the city to rob women and children. Tell me! Where is Jia Zhen's support now?" Dong Qian grabbed Lai Sheng's chest.
The front skirt of his clothes was lifted off the ground, his eyebrows were filled with evil spirits, and he said in a cold voice.
"Government?!" Lai Sheng reacted in an instant and said in horror: "You are from the Military and Horse Division of the Five Cities. Do you know that the commander of the Military and Horse Division, Mr. Qiu Liangqiu, is my old friend in the Ning Mansion? I want to see you.
Master Qiu!"
Dong Qian's heart trembled, and he thought to himself, it's a good thing that Brother Heng didn't look for the Five Cities Soldiers and Horses Division. A stern expression surged on his face, and he sneered: "It's useless to look for anyone to collude with thieves and kidnap women and children! Master Qiu can't protect you either!"
"Brother Dong, the bucket is here." At this time, two young men were carrying a wooden bucket filled with clean water.
Dong Qian said coldly: "Tell me, where is Jia Zhen taking care of her now?"
One of the two young men kicked Lai Sheng hard in the leg. Lai Sheng was caught off guard and knelt on the ground. He tried to stand up but was held down by the two men. Dong Qian sneered, grabbed Lai Sheng's hair and said in a deep voice:
"Tell me, where is Jia Zhen?"
Lai Sheng cursed angrily: "How dare you touch me...Pfft..."
Before Lai Sheng could curse, he was pinned down in the bucket. After a while, he was picked up. His nose was dripping with mucus, he was gasping for air, and he felt like he was suffocating. There was a fire burning in his lungs, as if he was going to explode.
"Where is Jia Zhen now?"
"I don't know...Pfft..." He was pushed into the bucket again, and he was soaked three or four times in a row.
"Outside the city... Shuiyue Temple..." Lai Sheng's consciousness was almost blurred. He could only feel the double shadow of the person in front of him, and the lights in the distance were getting closer and closer. He took a big breath and whispered.
Dong Qian said to the two young men who were pressing Lai Sheng's shoulders: "You guys, keep an eye on him, don't let him run away, let him breathe, then block his mouth with a cloth, and take him to the yard."
The carriage inside will take him to Jingzhao Yamen while it’s dark! Mr. Xu from Jingzhao Yamen has already said hello in advance, remember, don’t let anyone see him.”
The torture just now was only suitable for him to do it himself, because even if things were different, his brothers would not be implicated.
The two men nodded and said, "Brother Dong, don't worry."
Dong Qian walked out of the courtyard, got on his horse, and quickly went to look for Jia Heng.
Now that Jia Zhen's whereabouts had been found out, he was the only one to report the news, and then went to Shuiyue Temple with his cousin. No one else could interfere.
Jia Heng has paid his respects here and sent Qin Keqing to the bridal chamber. The relatives and friends in the courtyard were entertained by Li Dazhu and Aunt Cai, eating wine and ordering.
But Jia Heng was in the kitchen, talking quietly to Cai Quan.
Cai Quan whispered: "Brother Heng, everyone is under control. One of the leaders resisted arrest with a knife. He was hit several times and was seriously injured. He must have been severely injured. The other three were slightly injured and have been bandaged to stop the bleeding.
."
Jia Heng frowned and asked, "Are the brothers injured?"
Cai Quan smiled and said: "No, this time it was a calculation without any intention. There are many people here, and my brother asked someone to bring a few crossbows from the army, so there were basically no injuries."
Jia Heng looked strange for a moment and said to himself, "Good guy, Cai Quan has brought out control weapons such as crossbows. His original reminder was really a bit redundant."
Jia Heng thought for a while and warned: "The leader should be rescued as much as possible, and the others should be kept alive and delivered to Jingzhao Mansion next time. Mr. Xu and I have agreed in advance that the surprise interrogation will be completed overnight.
This is an ironclad case, and we will never give the second house of the Jia family a chance to react."
Cai Quan knew that by asking him to escort him, he was giving himself credit so that he could show up. He couldn't help but feel grateful. He cupped his fists and said, "I'll escort you there myself. Brother, why don't you go to Jingzhao Mansion later?"
"By the way, today is a great day for brothers, a wedding night with flowers and candles." Cai Quan said with a smile.
Jia Heng shook his head and said, "I'll wait for my cousin."
He was naturally waiting for news about Dong Qian. As the saying goes, the disaster of Lu would not end until his father died. If he didn't take this opportunity to find out Jia Zhen, the matter would not be considered over.
Cai Quan said: "Brother, do you want it?"
Jia Heng said coldly: "Jia Zhen is hiding somewhere right now, waiting for these bandits to snatch people away. How can I let him wait in vain!"
"Brother Heng...isn't it too risky?" Cai Quan said with a worried look on his face: "That man is a powerful general of the third rank of the imperial court after all. Brother Heng must not be impulsive. As long as Master Xu comes to Shuxu,