It was raining continuously in Bianliang. Wu Dong, Wu Song, Yang Zhi, Wu Yong and others braved the rain and soon arrived at a tavern.
There were no other guests in the tavern, so the four of them sat down, ordered a pot of wine and several plates of food, and ate slowly.
The sky was getting darker and gloomier, the rain gradually became heavier, thunder roared, and lightning continued. At this moment, a short and stocky man entered the tavern.
This short and stocky man sat directly on the table where Wu Dong and others were sitting, and whispered: "Big boss, you are finally here."
Wu Dong looked at this man with a smile and said: "Cao Zheng, the business of your tavern is not very good. We have been here for so long and we haven't seen any other guests come."
The short and stocky man was Lin Chong's apprentice Cao Zheng, who could also be regarded as Wu Dong's nephew. Together with Zhu Gui, he was responsible for the intelligence work of Liang Shanbo. After learning about the disappearance of Li Shishi, Wu Dong sent Cao Zheng to Bianliang to ask Cao Zheng to
Find out the whereabouts of Master Li.
Cao Zheng smiled bitterly and said: "Big Chief, this is the edge of the city, so naturally there are not many guests. And today is a rainy day, so the number of guests is even smaller."
Cao is opening taverns all over the country, including such roadside taverns and some prosperous hotels. However, Bianliang City is different from other places. Only a few taverns can be opened here. If you want to open a big hotel
, which requires not only money but also deep social connections in Bianliang City. Cao Zheng has been in Bianliang for too short a time and does not yet have the conditions to open a large hotel.
Wu Dong nodded and said, "Cao Zheng, have you found out the whereabouts of Miss Li?"
Cao Zheng looked guilty, shook his head and said: "Big Chief, in the past six months, we have not received any information related to Miss Li. We have visited almost all the big houses in Bianliang City, and we have not seen Miss Li.
We have also looked for some secret places, but there is no Miss Li. I am wondering if Miss Li has left Bianliang City?"
Wu Dong frowned and said, "Does she have other relatives in Bianliang City?"
Cao Zhengdao: "There should be no such thing...Miss Li originally lived with her father, but her father died early, so she lived on the street, and then entered Cuifeng Tower. If she had other relatives, she would not have let her live on the street. We
I also asked Li Yun, the owner of Cuifeng Tower, and he also said that Miss Li has no other relatives."
When Li Shishi was living on the street and was less than ten years old, he was adopted by Li Yun and taught Li Shishi piano, chess, and painting, and finally became the top leader of Cuifeng Tower, so he should know the best about Li Shishi's affairs.
Wu Dong took a sip of wine, listened to the sound of wind and rain outside, tried to calm down, and carefully analyzed the whereabouts of Li Shishi.
Either Li Shishi redeemed himself and left Cuifeng Tower, or someone redeemed him, but no matter which way, Li Shishi shouldn't disappear?
She is so famous. There are so many people in Bianliang who know her. In addition, her beauty is very eye-catching. As long as she appears in front of the crowd, she will naturally be noticed and recognized. Is she really not in Bianliang anymore?
?
"Where can I go?" Wu Dong was thinking deeply, and everyone stopped talking.
****
At this moment, footsteps suddenly came from the rain, and several people were seen running towards the tavern, all wet.
These people just came in and immediately shouted: "Quick, quick, boss, serve the wine and cut us five kilograms of beef! We want good wine and good meat!"
Immediately, a waiter served wine and meat to these people, and these people started eating and drinking.
Wu Dong looked at these people and saw that these people were very thinly dressed. It was such an early spring weather and it was raining, so they were probably freezing and needed food and wine to warm themselves up.
It seems that these people are all figures in the world, and the leader seems to be a big man with a beard.
At this moment, this big man with a beard actually drank a full bowl of wine in one go, laughing and saying: "Good wine, good wine, it really froze me to death along the way! I feel so good now!"
A thin middle-aged man next to him said: "Brother Li, what is going on with that nunnery? How could we encounter so many officers and soldiers? If we hadn't run fast, we would have fallen into the hands of the officers and soldiers this time.
"
The big man with the beard chewed the beef, swallowed a large piece of beef, took another sip of wine, and then said: "I don't know what happened. The last time I went to that nunnery, there were only a few young nuns.
I didn’t see any officers or soldiers at all.”
A tall young man opposite said: "Brother Li, why don't we go to that nunnery?"
The big man with the beard said: "Go! Why don't you go? Our gold and silver are all hidden in that nunnery. There are more than a thousand taels. That will be the food for our village in the next few years. We have to take it!"
This group of people did not care about Wu Dong and others at all, and openly talked about extremely secretive things. Wu Dong, Wu Song and others were listening quietly.
At this time, the thin middle-aged man asked again: "Brother Li, the rain is so heavy today, it seems that it won't stop for a while. Let's find a place to live in Bianliang City first, rest for a while and then go there."
nunnery."
The big man with the beard shook his head while eating the meat and said, "No, no, we'll go to the nunnery tonight."
The thin middle-aged man said: "Don't be so anxious?"
The bearded man drank another bowl of wine, patted his belly with satisfaction, and said, "You know what? With weather like today, you will definitely be unable to see your hands at night. It's time to go to the nunnery to take out that batch of gold and silver! Even if there is
It is impossible for the officers and soldiers to discover us."
The thin middle-aged man was stunned for a moment, and then immediately said: "Wonderful, Brother Li is very thoughtful. We will go there in the evening."
This group of people ate five kilograms of beef and were still not satisfied. They ordered another three kilograms of mutton and a dozen steamed buns, and ate again.
Wu Song, Yang Zhi, and Wu Yong did not take these people's words to heart. They thought that some little thief somewhere had hidden the gold and silver in the nunnery, so they went to the nunnery to take it out.
In this era, peasant uprisings are happening one after another, and there are many people who are kings of the mountains. There are petty thieves everywhere, and it is not uncommon to encounter them by chance.
At this moment, a flash of lightning suddenly flashed in the sky. Wu Dong looked at the lightning and suddenly his heart moved. Many famous women in history have hidden in nunneries. Could Master Li also be hiding in a nunnery? Listen to these people
It was said that there were a large number of officers and soldiers in the nunnery. The situation was so strange that Wu Dong couldn't help but become curious.
"Cao Zheng, send someone to follow them later and see where they go." Wu Dong whispered, and Cao Zheng nodded.
Those Jianghu characters had a meal and stayed in the tavern for a while. When the rain became lighter, they left the tavern. By this time, Cao Zheng had already sent someone to follow them.
****
That night, thunder roared, as if someone was pouring water on the ground. The rain turned out to be extremely heavy, and the water on the ground was already half a foot deep.
Outside Bianliang City, the few people in the world that I saw during the day appeared here. These people were soaked and ran towards the distance.
In such weather, there is no need to wear a poncho, because you will get wet regardless of whether you have a poncho or not.
Wu Dong, Wu Song, Yang Zhi, and Cao Zheng followed this group of people and moved forward in the rain. Their martial arts skills were much higher than those of the Jianghu figures, and they were not afraid of being discovered by them. If they were discovered, they would
Use force to force them to reveal the location of the nunnery.
After running for a full 30 miles, a plum forest suddenly appeared in front of us. In the plum forest, a temple was looming. This should be the nunnery.
Those people in the world entered the plum forest, and finally came to the back of the nunnery. The wall here was very high, and these people climbed in with ropes.
Wu Dong and others also came here. Wu Dong's body suddenly jumped up and he climbed over the wall without a rope. Wu Song, Yang Zhi, and Cao Zheng followed Wu Dong's example and climbed over easily.
The wall.
After entering the nunnery, they suddenly saw a light appearing in the distance and heading this way. Wu Dong and others hurriedly hid among the flowers.
I saw a soldier walking past here holding an umbrella and a lantern, and disappeared after a moment.
Wu Dong and others came out of the flowers, and Yang Zhidao said: "Big leader, these are the imperial guards of the imperial court, and they are the guards of the imperial palace."
Yang Zhinai was an officer and soldier of the Song Dynasty. He knew the military system of the Song Dynasty very well and recognized the identity of this soldier at once.
Wu Dong couldn't help but was stunned. He thought they were ordinary officers and soldiers, but he didn't expect that they were the imperial guards guarding the palace. How could they appear in a nunnery?
Wu Dong didn't say a word for a long time, and Wu Song couldn't help but ask: "Brother, what's wrong with you?"
Wu Dong said: "It's nothing, I just remembered something, let's go inside."
Wu Dong suddenly remembered the Li Shishi in history. Legend has it that Li Shishi and Song Huizong once had an affair. Could it be that Song Huizong hid Li Shishi here? Only Song Huizong could mobilize the imperial army to guard the palace here.
"Is Shishi here? If so, then Huizong should have brought her here... Shishi... has she forgotten her agreement with me? Could she... have followed Song Huizong?" For a moment,
, Wu Dong felt a little confused.
But no matter what, we must first see if Master Li is here.
As I continued walking inside, I met more and more officers and soldiers along the way, hundreds of them in total. Moreover, the quality of these officers and soldiers was very good, much better than the officers and soldiers I had seen in the past.
Yang Zhidao: "Big Chief, these are the most powerful officers and soldiers in the imperial court. How come they are here? Generally speaking, such officers and soldiers only appear when the emperor is traveling... Could it be that the emperor of the Song Dynasty is here?
"
After saying this, Yang Zhi suddenly felt a little afraid in his heart. After all, he was once an officer and soldier, and he still held an indescribable respect and fear for the emperor. He still felt that the Emperor of the Song Dynasty was a sacred existence that could not be desecrated.
Wu Dong just nodded silently and said nothing. When he came to a corner, footsteps were heard again from the front, and Wu Dong and others hurriedly hid.
This time two nuns came over, holding umbrellas. One nun said: "Why are there so many officers and soldiers here again today? Could it be that noble man came to visit her again?"