He thought clearly and was very clear about his situation. He was lucky to be able to handle this job smoothly without any fault.
Wang Jingzong heard the meaning of Jiang Shen's words and understood his attitude of throwing away the burden. He couldn't help but feel a little disappointed. There was some worry on his face. He glanced at Ruan Pingan and moved to say something.
Ruan Ping'an hurriedly grabbed Wang Jingzong's sleeve quietly and shook his head slightly.
Wang Jingzong had no choice but to stop his activities and his face did not look so good.
After throwing out a hot potato, Jiang Shen was in a good mood. He turned to Mu Rongxun and said, "Twilight food, ask the kitchen to add another dish."
Mu Rongxun smiled and said: "Yes, I will do it now, I will make the elders happy." He turned around with a smile and walked to a place where no one could see him. The clear smile on his face slowly solidified, and his eyes showed A thoughtful glimmer.
Just after Mu Rongxun walked into the increasingly westerly sunlight, a window on the third floor of Mingyuan Building was gently closed without making any sound.
The windows in the Mingyuan Building are made of whole pieces of glass. This thing is a rare item. It cannot be made in ordinary workshops. Only official workshops can produce such crystal clear objects. baby.
Ordinary people spend a lot of money on such a small piece, which must be carefully polished and set in jewelry for decoration.
Only people in the palace and those with bells and pans would embed such expensive and hard-to-find items in their windows.
The blazing sun exudes the scorching heat and brightness before setting in the west. It slants into the room through the transparent glass, and the glass shows a blue brilliance.
There are no flowers or trees in the tribute courtyard. In the spring of March, only the green grass emerges from under the wall.
Standing on the third floor of the tall Mingyuan Building, you have a panoramic view of the entire Gongyuan. You can see the heavily guarded sealing workshop, the silent east and west dormitories, the stove with smoke curling up, and the soldiers walking back and forth in Ganggang Tower. , the sword on his waist shone coldly in the sunlight.
Meng Suige stood under the window and watched Mu Rongxun disappear on the road leading to the kitchen, then he looked back and without looking back he was filled with emotion: "Is he thinking about the food there, or is he thinking about the food there?" Where are the people?”
Yao Yao suddenly raised his head: "He went to the kitchen again?"
Meng Suige turned around and nodded: "Well, he got hungry too quickly."
Yao Yao pursed her lips and looked at each other with Han Changmu, each seeing a hint of surprise in the other's eyes.
Han Changmu squinted his eyes, turned his head and looked at the ticking clock, and said in a cold voice: "At this hour, meat and vegetables will be brought in from outside."
Without waiting for Han Changmu's instructions, Meng Suige stood up suddenly and said hurriedly: "I'm humble enough to catch him."
"Stop." Han Changmu shouted sternly: "You have no evidence, how can you arrest him."
Meng Sui paused for a moment, stopped with a dejected look on his face, touched the back of his head and murmured: "It's because of the low position and recklessness."
"He Zhenfu is guarding the kitchen. He is always careful and will never make any mistakes." Han Changmu did not mean to blame Meng Suigai. Scholar, and then found signs of trespassing in the warehouse. All these seemed to have nothing to do with each other, but they seemed to be related in some way.
Now that the Gongyuan is closed, no one can go out, and the news will naturally not be leaked. Everything is still within control.
But after the first exam tomorrow, the scholars will leave Gongyuan and enter again the next day, and everything will be difficult to control.
And twenty days later, all the officials who participated in the provincial examination will also leave Gongyuan. Not all of them have the same tongue, and not all of their mouths are tight.
Once what happened in the Gongyuan was leaked to the market, it would be like a drop of water falling into a boiling pan of oil, which would surely stir up endless speculation and rumors.
If the imperial court fails to find out the whole story within a short period of time, rumors will spread, involving the provincial examination, causing people to doubt whether the provincial examination is fair and whether the results are genuine.
Thinking of this, Han Changmu suddenly felt a chill in his heart and his expression changed drastically.
Yao Yao saw something was wrong with Han Changmu's expression. She also thought about the consequences of not being able to deal with the incident, and felt a sense of foreboding. She murmured: "The person who leaked the question didn't care whether the question was true or false, just to muddy the waters of the provincial examination." ."
Han Changmu stared at Yao Yao deeply and said calmly: "If the people behind the scenes really have this intention, then the four examiners can be excluded."
Yao Yao frowned: "Why?"
"Jiang Shen is the head of the civil service. Although he is stubborn and very aloof, he has been conscientious and dedicated to Dajing since he became an official in the court. He will never do such an unsafe thing when he is about to become an official." Han Changmu After a slight pause, he continued: "Mu Rongxun is ambitious. Ever since a seat was vacated in the cabinet, he has been running around, jumping up and down, just to get into the cabinet. At this time, doing things that harm the provincial examination is not good for himself. He can There is no need to do such a thing that harms others and does not benefit oneself by using the provincial examination to recruit disciples. As for Wang Jingzong and Ruan Ping'an, it is even more impossible to do such a thing. Wang Jingzong is a close minister of the emperor and has won the Holy Heart. Although his rank is not He is tall but has a noble status and is very straightforward. Ruan Pingan is a practical person and never disdains the court. Apart from interacting with people in the same field as him, he has never been particularly close to anyone. The important thing is that both Wang Jingzong and Ruan Ping'an came from poor families. They had no family to rely on and no seniors in the court to support them. They were lonely ministers who had been deliberately supported by the saint over the years. They were loyal to the saint and could not and did not dare to do anything. Both of them are very aware of this kind of betrayal. Once they betray the saint, not only will their career be cut off, but they will also be annihilated."
Although Han Changmu has been in Beijing for less than a year, he is extremely familiar with the affairs of the court, and he talks about these courtiers in detail. It is obvious that although he was far away in Jiannan Road before, he has always paid attention to the turmoil in the court.
Yao Yao glanced at Han Changmu thoughtfully and thought: "So, the only ones left on the second floor of Mingyuan Building are those?"
Han Changmu shook his head: "There are also Beiya forbidden troops and internal guards."
Yao Yao wailed: "There are six or seven hundred people here."
Meng Suige felt a headache after listening to it. It was relatively easy to interrogate a hundred or so people, but to sift through the cocoons among six to seven hundred people to find the suspicious person was like looking for a needle in a haystack. What's more, the situation is unclear now. The clues are not clear.
He shook the stack of confessions and lists in his hand: "How about we start checking among these people first?"
Yao Yao pursed his lips and said, "There are about a hundred numbers here, and each of them is suspicious and not clean."
Meng Suige said worriedly: "But rumors spread from these people. If you inquire carefully, you will always find something."
"It's too slow." Han Changmu was quiet for a moment, shook his head and said, "It's too slow to ask questions one by one."
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slow. "
He looked at Yao Yao and Meng Sui, and said quietly: "We should proceed tonight as agreed before."
Yao Yao and Meng Sui looked solemn and said yes in awe.
The days are long and the nights are short, and it gets dark later and later. After the evening meal, there is still some light in the sky. A thin crescent moon hangs on the west wall. The moonlight is fluffy, as if it is wrapped in a dark veil. .
In spring, Xie Liangzhan is prone to spring sleepiness and his appetite is always not very good, but the spring cakes made by the cook today are very suitable to his taste. After eating three of them in a row, he put down the bamboo chopsticks and walked among the shadows of flowers to relieve his appetite. .
A Yong hurriedly walked through the corridor door and walked up to Xie Liang. The strong smell of vegetables on his body made him frown, and glanced at A Yong with disgust: "Go and change your clothes and then talk back."
Ayong chuckled twice, turned around and left.
After a while, he changed into a discreet indigo gown, and his hair was combed again. It was still dripping with water, but the smell of vegetables all over his body had indeed dissipated a lot, and he deliberately used incense to diffuse the smell. Very thinly covered.
He followed Xie Liangzhan, walking slowly around the winding gravel path, and said in a low voice: "Young Master, I found out that the sacrifice is in the Han Mansion."
Xie Liang stopped his steps and asked, "Is Han Changmu in the house?"
A Yong shook his head: "No, the information I found out is that he has entered the palace and stayed in the palace for the past two days."
Xie Liang frowned slightly: "I didn't hear anything happened in the palace, how could he stay in the palace?" He became suspicious: "Is this news true?"
Ayong nodded heavily: "It's true, our people saw it with our own eyes."
Xie Liang's suspicion was somewhat dispelled, and he thought for a moment and said, "Have you found out the situation of the sacrifice?"
Ayong said: "We have found out that the sacrifice is in the outer courtyard of Han Mansion. It should be that Han Changmu did not realize the identity and use of the sacrifice, so he did not deliberately leave anyone to guard it. There were only two wet nurses accompanying him, and the guards were not tight."
Xie Liang narrowed his eyes: "Then let's do it tonight. The sacrifice is always not safe if it is placed in the hands of others."
Ayong should claim it is.
Xie Liang walked slowly to a clump of peonies. The green leaves were as dense as if they had been washed by clear water.
This garden is full of lush and swaying exotic flowers and plants, as well as strange and strange rocks. Although the scenery is excellent, under the hazy moonlight, it always has a somewhat gloomy atmosphere.
Xie Liang smiled pleasantly and asked casually: "Is there any news from the Gongyuan?"
Ayong shook his head: "Not yet."
When Xie Liang heard this, his expression turned cold: "What's going on?"
Ayong shook for a moment and his voice became lowered: "The inspection of the food delivery truck was particularly strict today, and I didn't find any opportunities for my humble job."
Xie Liang glanced at A Yong, and suddenly smiled uncertainly: "No news is good news, what are you afraid of?"
Ayong trembled again, lowering his head and not daring to speak.
Of course he was afraid. Ever since his son left the Four Sacred Sect and hid in the capital, his temperament had become even more moody and unpredictable.
Sometimes there is a smile on the face, but when you open your mouth, you want to take someone's life.
Sometimes the anger on his face is clearly frightening, but yet he is rewarded with money inexplicably.
He really couldn't understand it, but he knew clearly that he couldn't guess the mood of the young master based on the joy and anger on his face.
Whatever the young master asked him to do, he would do it.
Seeing Ayong scared out of his mind, Xie Liang suddenly felt bored. He waved his hand and said impatiently: "Go ahead and arrange the sacrifices."
Ayong was granted amnesty and trotted out of the garden.
The twilight gradually deepened, and lights were lit everywhere. The dim shadows of the lamps were blown swaying by the night wind. The dots of lights were very dim, only illuminating the square inch under the lamp, and could not illuminate any further place.
The lights in the east and west dormitories were brightly lit, and the sound of swishing came and went.
Tomorrow, when Gongyuan opens its doors, the scholars will hand in the examination papers for the first session and leave Gongyuan.
No matter how the answers are in this round, once the test paper is handed into the hands of the promotion officer, the dust has settled on the first round.
The scholars all took advantage of this last night to light lamps and boil oil to answer, hoping to be perfect.
Just after midnight, a dexterous figure flashed out of Mingyuan Tower. Under the cover of night, he jumped up and down in the Gongyuan and headed towards the sealing workshop behind Mingyuan Tower.
Most of the people in the dormitory couldn't stand it any longer. They turned off the lights, huddled on the narrow and simple couches, and fell asleep uneasily.
There were only a dozen or so dormitories on the west side with lights on. There was a scholar with a face as white as jade, who was holding a chin in one hand and a pen in the other, frowning and thinking hard.
The handwriting on the several examination papers under my arm was clean and neat. Although I don't know how well they answered, at least the entire examination paper was filled up.
The scholar covered his mouth and yawned, looking tired. He stretched and carefully dried the ink. He put the test paper into the test bag hanging on the wall and put away the pen, ink, paper, inkstone and wooden board in front of him. , shouted outside and wanted to go to the toilet.
Not long after, soldiers came rushing over and glared at the scholar before letting him out.
After walking a few steps, the scholar spat at the soldier and hurried to the toilet at the end of the alley.
The city of Chang'an was completely silent at that time, with layers of walls and roofs undulating and winding in the dark night.
Several black shadows jumped on the high wall of the outer courtyard of the Han Mansion, turned over and jumped into the courtyard. They used the pillars and tree trunks to hide their figures, and gradually approached a guest room in the outer courtyard.
The people in the guest room had already gone to bed, leaving only a bean-like light under the window, reflecting the fading window paper.
These black figures were like the wind, forcing themselves under the window of the guest room. One of them took a slender bamboo tube and opened the window paper.
The man blew lightly on the bamboo tube a few times, and a puff of white smoke floated into the room, swirling a faint mist behind the window paper.
After blowing the white smoke, the man put away the bamboo tube and leaned his head against the window paper. Hearing the heavy breathing of the people in the room, he knew that the white smoke had an effect. He raised his hand decisively and shouted: "Come in."
The hands of the four people guarding the door were on the handle of the knife. The moonlight fell on the knife, and the unexpected cold light stung people's eyes.
One of them used the blade of a knife to open the door latch, and the wooden door latch fell to the ground with a muffled sound.
Four people filed in, and two people stood guard inside the door. After getting used to the dark room, they walked around the dining table and bed in the dark and walked to the bed.
The heavy curtains hung on the ground, making the bed airtight.
The night wind blew into the room through the wide open door, causing the curtains to sway and sway.
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There was a soft rustling sound.
The person on the bed seemed to be sleeping very deeply. It was obvious that the white smoke that had just been blown into the room had an effect.
These four people all had poison repellent in their mouths and were not afraid of the white smoke that filled the entire room.
Of the two people who walked to the bed, one slowly drew out his long sword, the clanking sound was extremely low, and it circled coldly in the room.
Another person stretched out his hand and slowly opened the curtain, and saw two raised quilts on the bed, and a swaddle was placed in the middle of the quilts.
The man reached out to hug the baby, but unexpectedly a ray of cold light flashed deep in the curtain, and something pierced the back of his hand, and he let out a sad cry.
The person holding the sword on guard next to him changed his face and shouted sternly: "Go quickly, you've been tricked, there's an ambush, go quickly."
The leading man in black who was guarding under the window shouted: "It's broken, leave quickly."
Before he finished speaking, he ran towards the courtyard.
The two men in black who were guarding the door also rushed out.
At the same time, there was a rustling sound in the quiet night, like the wind blowing on the leaves or the rain hitting the plantains.
The sound was not deafening, but it was extremely dense and made people feel frightened.
The leading man in black looked up and saw many more crossbowmen on the high walls and roofs.
His expression changed and he took a few steps back.
The man whose hand was pierced was already pale, but he gritted his teeth and muffled the cry in his throat. He stretched out his hand to pierce the back of his hand and pulled out the arrow nailed to the bed.
The crossbow arrow was pulled out of his palm, bringing out a string of shrill blood beads.
He grunted, nailed the arrow to the wall with his backhand, and ran outside after the man holding the sword.
Blood flowed out continuously from the blood hole in his hand and fell all over the ground. His face became paler and paler, his legs became weak, he staggered, and he was unable to run.
The man holding the sword noticed something was wrong, reached out and grabbed his arm, dragging him to the door.
At this time, the clouds that covered the moonlight were blown away by the wind, and the cold moonlight fell on the crossbow arrows, looking cold and cold.
The leader was so frightened that he never expected that he would receive such treatment and be able to use crossbows to encircle and suppress them.
He shouted: "Back off, back off quickly, back into the room."
There was a sound of messy and stumbling footsteps, and the five men in black who broke into the Han Mansion were trapped in the room. They stood back to back, forming a corner-shaking posture, and the swords in their hands trembled with cold light.
The leading man in black said solemnly: "I diverted the crossbow arrows. After the third and fourth arrows were broken, the second and fifth arrows rushed out."
The injured man reluctantly refused: "Brother, I, I will deflect the crossbow arrows, you go first."
The leader of the men in black glanced at his hand that was bleeding continuously, and his face became gloomy: "Quickly, while they are trying to catch you alive, you can still fight for a way out. One of them can escape, but none of them can't escape." He paused slightly. , I felt that my mouth was full of bitterness, and I spit out four words filled with blood: "End it on your own."
After saying that, he didn't wait for the rejection of these people. He shook the sword in his hand, kicked the door open, found the easiest direction to break through, and flew away.
The guards on the wall were trained to draw crossbow arrows, and there was a burst of rustling sounds. However, these guards seemed to have no accuracy in their hands, but the arrows grazed the body of the leader in black, missed, and pierced each other. In the yard.
The leader of the man in black was overjoyed. He swung the long sword in his hand with lightning speed, leaving endless afterimages. He just made a hole in the wall, turned around and shouted: "Hurry up, hurry up."
The four people in the yard followed closely. Seeing that the leading man in black had jumped off the wall, the four people were overjoyed. They gathered their breath and chased after him.
I thought I could escape with this, but who would have thought that the hole that had just been opened was quickly blocked by the nursing home.
The sharp arrows were as sharp as the wind, and now the guardian had a good shot. The arrows were all missed and penetrated the limbs of these four people.
At the same time, several clouds of dark purple smoke suddenly exploded around the four people. This smoke was all-pervasive. The four people's minds suddenly became dizzy. Their bodies were hit hard in the yard. Their whole bodies were limp and powerless, and they could not even bite open their mouths with the strength of poisonous teeth. None.
The leading man in black staggered into the winding alley, but there was no sound of footsteps behind him. When he looked back, he could not see a single figure in the dark night.
His heart suddenly sank, and he glanced at Han Mansion in grief, a vicious look flashed in his eyes, he gathered a breath, and passed through the night with lifeless madness, crossing the wall of the house.
His face turned pale, and his mind was very tight. He was concentrating on avoiding the cavalry and secret sentries patrolling the city, but he did not notice that there was a vague black shadow that followed his footsteps not far or near.
He walked through the misty night and rushed back to the mansion in Gudefang. He looked up at the door plaque with a white face and let out a frightened sigh.
I thought it was an easy job, but unexpectedly it went awry and four brothers got involved.
If all four brothers were dead, it would be over, but if there were one or two alive, they would never be able to withstand the methods of the Internal Security Department.
If his bones are weak and he says secret things that cannot be said, he and the other brothers behind him will not be able to escape the blame.
He hesitated for a moment, then reached out and knocked on the door.
With a creak, the corner door opened a narrow gap, and he stepped in without hesitation.
The black shadow following him was lying on the wall of the square. When he saw that the corner door was closed and no one came out, he took advantage of the darkness and jumped up and down before turning back.
There was a commotion in Han Mansion for half the night, and the Gongyuan was not quiet for long.
Just when the dexterous figure touched the courtyard wall of Yinfang, an earth-shaking and shrill howl sounded from the west side of the dormitory: "Killing, killing."
The words shook the treetops outside the Gongyuan, and the birds resting in the treetops were frightened and flew away with a flutter into the sky.
The soldiers in the four-corner watchtowers were so frightened that they stuck their heads out, and the Beiya Imperial Guards outside Yinfang rushed out.
The nimble figure staggered in fright, holding on to the wall of the courtyard before he stood firm. Seeing that the Beiya Imperial Guards were alerted, he had no chance to touch the seal room. He sighed with frustration and lowered his head. The cat hunched over and walked back.
While walking, I kept talking.
I don’t know who has such a loud voice, it almost scares people to death.
What's so scary about killing people? Who hasn't seen a dead person?
Killing, killing, the man suddenly woke up, this is the Gongyuan, someone was killed in the Gongyuan, this is to poke a hole in the sky.
The man didn't dare to say anything, and quickly passed through the dark night, running towards the west side of the dormitory.
(End of chapter)
