After nightfall, the Wending Palace was brightly lit. Wang Qi'an and Xunmu Ruomu were lurking on the roof opposite the palace to observe the movement. From this angle, under the reflection of the lights, the entire palace looked like a mountain entrenched at the foot of the mountain. Huge monster.
They had been watching here for nearly an hour, and just now they finally saw a group of heavily guarded carriages and horses departing from the palace and heading towards the palace. It was probably King Wen Ding who was entering the palace to meet the saint.
They waited for a while, and saw no movement on the other side. The three of them jumped from the roof tiles, and quickly circled half a circle along the Wending Palace like ghosts, and came to a place under the outer wall of the palace that was not inhabited by people. This was their After studying the map of the palace, we selected the best entry point.
The three of them looked around to make sure there was no one around, then pointed their toes and flew over the courtyard wall. This time, they ended up in a bamboo garden in the mansion. The lights were low and the garden was full of green bamboos for cover.
After careful inspection, the three of them walked out of the bamboo garden and sneaked into a five-story attic in the mansion. It was the highest point in the mansion, allowing them to overlook the whole mansion. They compared it with the map before deciding on their actions.
There are no lights in the attic at this time, and the door on the first floor is closed. On the left side of the attic is a small lake, sparkling in the night. There is a small pavilion in the middle of the lake, and a covered bridge connects the attic.
On the right side of the attic is a bamboo forest, and the wind blows and rustles!
Wang Qi'an and the others climbed to the top floor of the attic, opened the window, and huddled inside. Although the room was pitch dark, with their skills, seeing in the dark was not a problem.
I saw that this room has four windows, bookshelves in the corners on both sides, and paintings and calligraphy on the walls. A long rosewood table more than two feet tall is placed in the center of the hall. Six high wooden chairs are placed in front of the table, and behind the table There is another chair with exquisite woodwork, with armrests carved with images of roaring dragons and tigers, and a wider seat surface. It is obviously the master's seat.
On the long table are tea-making utensils such as a stove, a hot pot, a five-cup plate, a tea grinder, and a whisk.
Wang Qi'an guessed that this might be a place where King Wending entertained guests or rested in his spare time.
At this time, Wang Qi'an followed the four windows and looked down one by one, and found that the Wending Palace occupied an extremely large area and was large in scale. The overall plan was no different from the construction drawings he had obtained before.
Li Zhun, the minister of the Ministry of Industry, is worthy of being called a genius and famous craftsman of the Southern Han Dynasty. The layout of the entire palace is extremely natural. It is surrounded by mountains and rivers, surrounded by forests and lakes. The buildings are well-proportioned and the original scenery of the area is preserved as much as possible. The ravine in the chest can be seen from the layout.
Wang Qi'an himself was the son of a powerful official in the Northern Zhou Dynasty. His father, Wang Chongyuan, held the position of General in the Northern Zhou Dynasty. He was a very popular minister. He could be considered below one person and above ten thousand people. However, compared with this place, the General's Mansion was insignificant. The size of the great witch is probably less than one third of the size of Prince Wending's palace.
The attic where Wang Qi'an and the others are currently located is located on the central axis of the palace. The distance from the back door to the main entrance of the palace is about two-thirds. About twenty feet in front of the attic is where the main building complex of the palace is located. There are many courtyards. , the houses are lined up in rows. The middle courtyard is much larger than the others in terms of land area and building scale. There are watchtowers at the four corners. It is brightly lit at the moment and sentry posts can be seen everywhere. This courtyard is where King Wending lived and worked daily.
Other courtyards are sparsely lit, and people can occasionally be seen walking around. According to the map, these courtyards are where the people in the government live.
After roughly confirming that everything was correct, the three of them explored from three different areas as planned.
Wang Qi'an's first destination is an independent courtyard far away from the main building complex, surrounded by open space and with towering walls.
Because he felt this time was extremely suspicious.
Wang Qi'an disappeared, avoiding the bright post and the secret sentry, and came to the courtyard more than ten feet away.
He had to stop because a group of guards were running toward the courtyard.
Wang Qian was shocked. Could it be that he had been discovered? I can't help but be on guard.
But it was not what Wang Qi'an thought. These guards stopped in front of the courtyard and divided into two lines to stand guard on both sides of the courtyard gate.
"It's such a coincidence that it appears at this time." Wang Qian muttered to himself.
Wang Qi'an was secretly relieved when he saw that these guards were only here to defend themselves, not to deal with him.
He wondered which direction to sneak into the courtyard without being discovered.
Fortunately, these were just ordinary soldiers, not martial arts masters. After Wang Qi'an thought for a moment, he walked around to the back of the courtyard, quickly dodged to the corner, and quietly climbed up the wall.
There was a quiet fragrance of flowers, and Wang Qi'an took a look, and it turned out that the backyard at his feet was covered with roses, and it was a flower bed.
The main hall of the central courtyard was brightly lit, and there were faint voices. Wang Qi'an didn't have time to think too much and walked along the ridge of the roof.
"Cousin, it's really too risky to come here this time." A delicate female voice said.
"If you don't enter the tiger's den, you won't get the tiger's cubs. I came here in person to show our sincerity in cooperation, and only then can Liu Hongbi be convinced." Another young man's voice replied.
"The Han Dynasty court has always been worried about Uncle Wang's independence from the Han Dynasty, so he sent troops to conquer him year after year. If anyone knows that cousin Wang is here, the consequences will be disastrous." The woman added.
"My father's decision back then almost affected my cousin's life, and you have been wronged all these years." The man said with a guilty tone.
"For the great cause of the family and the country, personal honor and disgrace are of no consequence. Speaking of which, if it hadn't been for the full protection of His Highness King Wen Ding, Wan Wan would not be able to see her cousin today. If it can be done this time, my cousin must not leave. Forgot to promise Wan Wan." said the woman who called herself Wan Wan.
Wang Qi'an was confused on the roof at this time, and he didn't know who the two people talking in the hall were. He originally wanted to lift up the roof tiles and peek, but he sensed that in addition to the two people talking, there were two other masters accompanying him in the hall. The slightest movement would probably attract attention.
The place was suddenly heavily guarded. It seemed that important hostages were not being held, but to protect the people in the hall.
"Wu Fan, go to the front hall and ask Manager Liao how long it will take for His Royal Highness Prince Wen Ding to return from the palace? We have to rush back to Jiaozhou tonight. If we stay away for too long, we are afraid something will happen in the army." The young man may be able to wait. It's been too long, he said slightly irritated.
"Chief Guard Wu is a guest, so I'd better leave this matter to Wu Niang," Wan Wan said.
When he heard the word Jiaozhou, Wang Qi'an was shocked and couldn't help but think of this person.
At this time, there was a commotion in the front hall, and then a deep voice came from outside the door: "Thank you, Prince Jinghai, Jiuhou. I feel sorry for you. It's just that tonight is a very important matter, so I spent more time in the palace. Please forgive me. The king’s late arrival!”
The people in the hall heard the sound and hurriedly stepped out of the door, just in time to meet a man in the gorgeous attire of a royal nobleman.
"See Your Highness!" Everyone knelt down and saluted.
At this moment, Wang Qi'an finally saw everyone's true face in Lushan.
Liu Hongbi looked to be no more than 27 or 28 years old. He had a square face, thick eyebrows, and piercing eyes. He did have a majestic aura.
"Get up, free of charge!" Liu Hongbi seemed to be in a happy mood, caressing his sleeves and saying with a smile on his face.
