Zhao Rang and Yuan Mingkong discussed it to the end and decided to divide their forces into two groups.
One person went to check whether the news from the shadow guard was reliable, and the other took advantage of the darkness to go to Xiangtengju to investigate.
Yuan Mingkong originally disapproved of this plan.
As the Deputy Commander of the Shadow Guard of the Investigation Department, of course he didn't want to doubt his own people... Even if there was irrefutable evidence in front of him, he would think twice about whether there was an accident.
Moreover, Lan Mo Country is not under his jurisdiction, and the six deputy commanders of the Shadow Guard are not monolithic, so such matters do require a bit of consideration and caution.
Zhao Rang was not in his position and did not seek political advice, so he could not understand Yuan Mingkong's thoughts. But from the perspective of an outsider, his analysis is not unobjective.
So Yuan Mingkong finally listened to his advice and decided to go to the door in person to ask the shadow guard in charge of the matter for further information.
The communication between the shadow guards is the same as that between Mr. Wang San and his dark son, the old scholar. There is an extremely covert way to complete the exchange of information.
Therefore, there is not much information that can be covered, and we can only pick out the most critical ones.
But if you want to judge the authenticity of an incident, the most important thing is precisely these details.
The Investigation Division had installed shadow guards in King Lan Mo's city, but how did he know that King Lan Mo had not used the same method to deal with him?
The mantis stalks the cicada and the oriole follows. There are people in this world who think they are the smartest and still wonder how it all happened before they die.
Yuan Ming chose to have a face-to-face chat with the Wangcheng Shadow Guard, so he had to be prepared for the worst.
At least it exposed the shadow guard's existence and cost him his life. On the other hand, the shadow guards in the royal city might have turned against the enemy and were waiting for Yuan Mingkong to come to his door.
How many secrets should be kept in the mind of a deputy governor?
Not to mention that the deputy capital’s surname is Yuan!
When Zhao Rang went to visit Xiang Tengju at night, Yuan Mingkong originally wanted to do it himself.
At least he had practiced the shadow guard's sneaking method and was able to minimize the movement. Even if you are discovered by others, you can escape quickly. As long as you don't get caught, there's still room for maneuver.
They had just formed an alliance with the three brothers, but this alliance was extremely fragile.
If they were discovered to have secretly gone back to investigate, they might immediately fall apart and turn against each other again! If you want to work together again, it will be harder than reaching the sky...
But Zhao Rang insisted on going in person.
Yuan Mingkong vaguely guessed that Zhao Rang might have some doubts, but he didn't say anything and didn't ask himself.
As a friend, this is the most basic level of trust.
It's just dark now, and the streets outside are still very lively.
At this time, it was just right for Yuan Ming and Kong Qin to come and meet.
As for Zhao Rang, he decided to take a nap first to recuperate his energy.
When he opened his eyes again, exactly two hours had passed.
Zhao Rang glanced at the long street outside the window. It was completely silent and withered people, so he dressed up and prepared to go out.
The new smock he bought is dark purple.
In the middle of the night, black is more eye-catching, but dark purple is the most suitable.
With this smock draped outside, Zhao Rang felt that even if he didn't know how to move forward secretly, he could sneak into Xiangtengju quietly.
Along the way, Zhao Rang's body was pressed tightly against his side.
The moonlight is very bright tonight, shining brightly on the ground, as if it can cleanse all sins and make them nowhere to hide, but it has brought great trouble to Zhao Rang.
The only thing he could use to cover his figure, apart from the blouse on his body, was the narrow shadows under the eaves on both sides.
Relying on the memories from the day, Zhao Rang groped his way to the vicinity of Xiangtengju.
Seeing the silence on the third floor without any lights, he felt a little lonely...
No matter how lively the place is, there will always be a time when the show ends. So you must have fun while the show is still going on!
But when Zhao Rang got closer, he realized that his emotion just now was simply ridiculous!
But he forgot that Xiangtengju has two underground floors!
The first floor is a gambling house, and the first floor has the best girls in the royal city!
These two levels of ceremony will never end!
As long as you always have money in your pocket, this kind of indulgence can continue for you.
After entering Xiangtengju through a small window in the back hall, Zhao Rang saw the brightly lit stairs leading to the underground.
The sound of singing and dancing could be heard from inside, and Zhao Rang was in a trance when he heard it.
Which descendant of an aristocratic family doesn't like singing every night?
Of course Zhao Rang is no exception!
In addition to being serious about practicing swordsmanship, he is even more serious about having fun!
After taking a few more steps, the sound of the dice and sieve colliding became clearer. Zhao Rang couldn't help but feel a little itchy. He really wanted to throw himself at the gambling table without any scruples, play a few games to his heart's content, and have a great time!
Fortunately, he gave up this idea in time, turned around, no longer concerned about the activities on the two floors below, and prepared to go to the private room on the third floor to take a look. Especially the one mentioned specifically by the horse dealer, it might still leave some traces.
At this moment, Zhao Rang suddenly asked about an indescribable smell that floated out from the ground along the stairs.
This smell was torn apart from the smell of rouge and alcohol, making it look unique.
Zhao Rang stood still, sniffed hard, and suddenly thought of the unpleasant smell the horse dealer mentioned, could this be it?
Now because of the distance and the other smells neutralizing each other, it became less unbearable.
If it really smells like that, doesn't it mean that someone from the Yanyu Pavilion is hiding in the two underground floors of Xiangtengju?
Zhao Rang hesitated for a moment and decided to go and find out.
Pulling the hood of the smock down to cover most of his face, Zhao Rang stepped on the steps and walked down one step at a time.
There is another door on the basement level.
There are two plaques hanging on the lintel, placed one above the other. The taller one reads "Wealth comes from all directions" and the shorter one reads "Kill from all directions".
This is a common method used by gambling houses.
When it comes to gambling, if you don't make a fortune, it all depends on luck. So not only the gamblers are superstitious, but the bookmakers who open gambling houses are even more superstitious!
"Four Directions Kill" is for gamblers.
Who comes here and doesn’t want to get rich? Make a lot of money and squeeze the dealer dry.
That piece of money coming from all directions is what the banker really wants.
No matter who walks through this door, he will be forced to go in with a gold bag and come out with a broken sack. It's all empty, not a drop is left!
Zhao Rang tasted the two plaques carefully, and the door of the gambling house suddenly opened!
"Congratulations on getting rich! Congratulations on getting rich!"
A short, middle-aged man who smelled of alcohol walked out of the door.
"I'm going to take care of the gambling house business for Mr. Wang San. I'm the shopkeeper here."
"Two and a half punches" is of course not his real name, but a nickname.
One is that the gambling shop owner is very short, only two and a half fists tall. But he also pointed out that his double-fist skills are extremely strong, and it only takes two and a half punches to meet an enemy, so no one dares to cheat here.
Zhao Rang lowered the hood of his smock a few inches for fear of being recognized.
Seeing this, Liang Fang waved his hand, and immediately a boy came forward, holding a tray.
There is a mask on the tray.
He handed the mask to Zhao Rang with two and a half punches and said:
"Don't worry, sir!"
Zhao Rang put the mask on his face with understanding and said in a low voice:
"Thank you, shopkeeper, you are really thoughtful!"
Zhao Rang was not in a hurry to redeem his chips. He came in to find someone.
Of course, while you're looking for someone, it's not impossible to get addicted to handicrafts.
The luxuriously furnished hall was full of excitement, and everyone was focused on their bets.
Zhao Rang walked past these gambling tables one by one, like a shark swimming in the sea in search of prey.
Finally, he stood at a table where there were not many gamblers and it was not too busy.
No one was placing bets at this gambling table at the moment, and everyone's eyes were focused on a young man wearing a mask and exuding neat energy.
The young man took out a scroll from his armpit and spread it out on the gaming table for the dealer to see how many chips he could exchange.
After looking at it for a long time, the sharp-eyed banker said:
"This landscape should be an authentic work by Master Fan, the master of painting in the previous dynasty. Unfortunately, the mounting technology is too poor, and the age has caused blisters and insect bites, so the price has been greatly reduced!"
Zhao Rang couldn't help but shake his head after hearing this.
The spirit, spirit, and rhyme of this painting are all of the highest quality, and it can be regarded as lifelike.
But the forger only focused on making the paper look old, making the paper thin and brittle, but they forgot that Old Master Fan was a court painter.
Those who write for the emperor use tribute paper, and it will definitely not become like this even after hundreds of years.
The young man listened, but kept nodding his head and said:
"The banker has a good eye! But we don't expect to make a fortune from it, just let me play a few games here happily!"
Seeing that the young man was so talkative, the dealer immediately put away the scroll and called the boy to bring him a plate of chips, which amounted to a thousand taels.
The young people poured the chips into their arms and carried them with their clothes. They were so happy!
Zhao Rang shook his head secretly and walked aside.
Unexpectedly, this young man who had just made a fortune took a step forward, stopped in front of Zhao Rang, and said:
"Young master, you are very lucky tonight!"
Zhao Rang replied calmly:
"If it's a matter of luck, of course yours is better!"
The young man's face darkened.
He knew that among the group of people just now, including the banker, only Zhao Rang saw something strange in his painting.
Zhao Rang smiled and then asked:
"Is not it?"
After hearing this, the young man also changed his smile and said smoothly:
"Wouldn't it be a pity if two lucky people don't compete?"
These words aroused Zhao Rang's interest, and he asked simply:
"How do you want to compare?"
The young man rolled his eyes:
"In a gambling house, of course it's all about gambling!"
Zhao Rang thought for a while and nodded in agreement.
The young man lowered his head and counted the chips in his pocket, separated half of them, and poured them all on the gambling table.
"I pressed half, plus..."
As if conjuring magic, the young man took out a long sword from the other armpit. The scabbard was engraved with two powerful ancient characters "Ling Feng".
