At dusk, the cold wind is miserable. Pedestrians huddle up, wrap up their clothes tightly, and head back home one after another, looking for shelter from the wind and rain.
Next to Royal Street, in an unknown steamed bun shop, Feng Shu, who was devouring his food, looked at the bleak scene outside the shop and shook his head slightly.
He had a lot of gambling debts, was chased everywhere, and couldn't return home. He was really embarrassed.
After thinking about it, I still have to find a place to hide.
"Feng Yuhou, you are so hard to find!"
As soon as Feng Shu lowered his head and stuffed the bun into his mouth, several strong men appeared at the door of the store.
Feng Shu secretly complained. He wanted to leave but had no way to escape. He could only force out a smile.
"Brother Six, long time no see."
"Feng Yuhou, it's been a long time no see! You asked the brothers to search all over the place, and they thought you were gone!"
After the leading black man finished speaking, he sat down on the stool next to Feng Shu. Several burly men behind him stared at him eagerly.
Several idle men sneered, and several diners nearby looked curiously. Feng Shu's face darkened, he put down the buns and clapped his hands.
"Chen Liu, at least I, Feng Shu, have some respect in Lin'an City. Are you going too far by forcing me like this?"
After all, he is the Yu Hou of the Palace Front Division, a military attaché of the fifth rank. It's hard to live up to the reputation of being pressed for debt by these gangsters.
"Feng Yuhou, killing people to pay for their lives and debts to pay back money is a matter of course. What we at Chunfeng Tower do is clear business, and even the interest rates are fair. Even the second and third grade ministers of the imperial court will not default on their debts. Feng Yu When, do you think so?"
Chen Liu sneered, leaned forward and got closer to Feng Shu.
"Feng Yuhou, if you give me your house, it shouldn't be much different. Or, brother, I can go to Dali Temple to make trouble with the Dianqian Secretary. What do you think?"
Chen Liu's face was full of flesh and his eyes were fierce. Feng Shu looked around and immediately softened.
"Brother Chen Liu, give your brother some face and give him a few more days of grace. Do you think so?"
If this gets serious and the big headscarves in the court know about his bad gambling, how can he hang around in front of the palace?
"How many days of grace?"
Chen Liu looked at Feng Shu, smiled coldly, and knocked on the table lightly.
"Feng Yuhou, you owe us Chunfeng Tower more than 7,000 yuan, and we can't find you for more than a month. If we didn't care about our feelings, we would have gone to make trouble. Can you tell me, how many more days of grace do you need? You To shirk this way is to treat brothers like monkeys!"
"Brother Six, why are you nagging him? Go directly to Xia Zhen and ask him for money!"
"In my opinion, sell his house to pay off the debt!"
"If you don't let him chop off one of his hands, let's forget about it! He won't be able to pay for it anyway!"
Several burly men nearby urged him impatiently.
These guys are all outlaws from Lin'an City, and the restaurant hires these people just in case of emergencies.
"Brothers, don't do this! Don't do this!"
Feng Shu suddenly panicked and said quickly:
"Brother Chen Liu, I'm short of money. Go back and tell Shopkeeper Dong that if you give me some grace, I will find a way to pay you back!"
The money he owed from Chunfeng Tower amounted to more than 7,000 yuan. In a hurry, he could not come up with so much at once.
Not to mention, he still has outstanding debts from other restaurants and gambling houses. It adds up to tens of thousands of dollars, which makes my head ache just thinking about it.
"Feng Yuhou, you said the same thing last time. Can I still believe you?"
Chen Liu's eyes were cold and stern, and his eyes were filled with coldness.
Such a rotten gambler has a lot of debts, and his gambling debts will probably go to waste.
If someone hadn't warned him later, he would have been rude.
"Brother Chen Liu, don't worry! This time we will definitely do it! Let me think of a solution!"
Feng Shu was serious and swore repeatedly.
"Feng Yuhou, don't say I didn't remind you. The ugly thing is ahead. I'll give you half a month to raise the money. If you still can't pay by then, don't blame me, Chunfeng Tower, for being inconsiderate!"
Chen Liu's eyes were ferocious, and the word "evil man" was almost engraved on his forehead.
"Never! Never!"
Feng Shu's face was hot, his voice was trembling, and he lacked confidence.
"Feng Yuhou, I will trust you again. Brothers, let's go!"
Chen Liu stood up and left with the rogues.
"It's Niang, where can I get money?"
Feng Shu had a bitter look on his face, and he was no longer interested in eating or drinking.
In a private room by the window on the second floor of a restaurant in Baozipu, Zhang San looked out the window, and Feng Shu with a sad face came into view.
He saw everything that just happened clearly.
"Third brother, Chen Liu and the others are leaving. Listen to what they say and give Feng Shu half a month to pay off the debt."
Wang Gui came in and said softly.
In fact, it was their brothers who found out about Feng Shu's traces and informed Chunfeng Tower.
"How's it going over there at Huang's side?"
Zhang San frowned slightly and gently turned the tea cup in his hand.
Huang Qian is Shi Miyuan's eagle dog and another commander of the Dianqian Division. If Shi Miyuan wants to mobilize troops from outside the city, there is a high probability that it will be Huang Jin or Xu Gui.
If this is really the case, it is because of Tuqiongdiao's view that Huang Qian must be killed immediately to prevent the imperial army from entering the city. There is no other way.
"Back to third brother, it's Du San and Gao Hu who are watching. Huang Qian has been staying with his best friend these days. Du San and the two have been told that if Huang Qian wants to act rashly, the brothers will take action immediately."
There was a hint of excitement in Wang Gui's eyes.
Among the brothers, Du San and Gao Hu were cruel and ruthless, and they were members of the Lian family. Such an assassination could only be done by them.
"What's the situation at the Prime Minister's Mansion and Prince Yi's Mansion?"
Zhang San asked seriously.
Shi Miyuan's Mansion and Prince Yi's Mansion are two particularly important places to pay attention to. Next are Feng Shu and Huang Qian. One is destined to be used, and the other may be eliminated.
"Zheng Qingzhi and his son from Prince Yi's Palace, as well as Yu Tianci, a staff member of Shi Miyuan's Palace, and Shi Miyuan's eldest son Shi Zhaizhi, the two parties have been in frequent contact recently, and it seems they have important matters to discuss."
Du Er was in charge of Prince Yi's Mansion, Wang Gui was in charge of Shi Mansion, and Zhang San was in the middle to make overall arrangements. It can be said that officials who have close contact with Shi Miyuan are all under their surveillance.
"Let people continue to follow Huang Yan and Feng Shu. Prince Yi's Mansion and Shi's Mansion are keeping a close eye on them. Don't scare the snake and expose the enemy. Don't be careless!"
They are responsible for the outside of the palace, but they don't know if Zhao Hong can handle the imperial army inside the palace.
"Third brother, and another thing is that Yu Tianci has been to the Yang family in Xiaoshan several times recently and brought a lot of food, drink and entertainment items. Several dandies from the Yang family, Zheng Qingzhi's son Zheng Shichang, and Shi Miyuan's son Shi Zhaizhi, These people eat, drink, and fight like crazy.”
Wang Gui added.
"The Yang family is also involved!"
Zhang San shook his head in surprise, and then sighed.
"All kinds of monsters and ghosts appear together. It seems like the storm is about to come!"
Zhou Ping must be informed of these matters in time so that the palace can prepare a response in advance.
Zhang San stood up and patted Wang Gui's thick shoulder.
"Wang Gui, tell brothers, cheer up. Whether we brothers can succeed in this life depends on this time!"
Zhao Hong was kind to him, and the opportunity was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, so of course he had to give it a try.
"Third brother, go up to the mountain of knives or go down to the sea of fire, brothers are all right!"
The thunder that Zhang San obtained was probably provided by Zhao Hong. With these iron guys, you will be much more courageous.
Although he didn’t know what Zhang San wanted to do, Wang Gui estimated that he was related to the current prince Zhao Hong.
"Good brothers, treat each other sincerely and live together and die together!"
Zhang San felt hot in his heart, nodded and said.
"Third brother, don't worry, brothers will listen to you. Only now in this life do I feel like I am living like a human being!"
Wang Gui was solemn and decisive in his words.
Wang Gui's words made Zhang San feel sour in his heart.
Wang Gui thinks so, so why doesn't he?
Lin'an Palace, the night is vast, the wind is drizzling, the mood is quiet and deep, and the desertedness makes people feel palpitating and have the urge to escape quickly.
When it was time to greet the guests, Zhao Hong and Zhou Xiuniang wore thick cotton clothes, held umbrellas, and headed towards the Funing Hall.
The weather was wet and cold. He originally wanted to take his son, but finally decided to give up. First, the child is still too young. If something happens to him due to the cold, the gain will outweigh the loss.
The key is, who knows if Zhao Kuo will be awake? He went there many times but returned without success.
At the entrance of Funing Hall, when he saw Zhao Hong and his two men coming accompanied by their guards, Li Gu quickly stepped forward to greet them.
"Your Highness, Madam, why didn't you take the sedan?"
"I'm used to it. It's uncomfortable to sit on that thing."
Zhao Hong put away his umbrella and the two went up the steps.
"Eunuch Li, how is your health as an official? Are you feeling better?"
If Zhao Kuo was still asleep, he would have no choice but to go home.
"Your Highness, you came just in time. The Guan family has woken up, so go in quickly. I'm afraid the Guan family's time is running out!"
Li Gu's words surprised Zhao Hong.
"Li Gu, what happened to the official family?"
The idea of interceding for Liu Kezhuang and Zeng Ji was unknowingly thrown out of the window.
"Your Highness, the imperial doctor just came here and said that the official family has been seriously ill, probably in the past few days."
Li Gu looked around and lowered his voice.
"The official is feeling unwell, and he has been taking the elixir given by Shi Miyuan every day for a while. His health is not getting better, but is getting worse."
"Alas! This is really..."
Zhao Hong was shocked and shook his head helplessly.
This and that are elixirs, they are simply deadly poisonous pills!
Fortunately, he was the prince and could get the news as soon as possible. If he had been that idiot before, he might still be playing music with a beautiful woman in his arms in the Duke of Ji State's mansion.
"Your Highness, several concubines from the palace have just arrived. You must hurry up and avoid running into the Queen."
As Li Gu moved forward, he looked around and whispered:
"Your Highness, Princess Yi has been here several times recently and has had many conversations with the officials. It seems that the officials have something to tell you."
"Eunuch Li, you are interested!"
Zhao Hong was startled. He looked around, took out two gold collars and stuffed them into Li Gu's hands.
"Prince, how embarrassing this is!"
It was so heavy that Li Gu couldn't help but feel happy.
"This is what it should be. My father-in-law is a loyal person to the court, so it should be so. If my father-in-law gets into any trouble in the future, I will never stand by and watch."
Zhao Hong said in a low voice, seriously.
I wonder what Zhao Kuo will explain when he meets him?
"Then I would like to thank His Highness the Crown Prince!"
Li Gu looked at Zhou Xiuniang with a somewhat troubled expression.
"Your Highness, madam, it's best not to go in. The official has something to say to you alone."
"Xiu Niang, you and Li Tang go back first."
Zhao Hong nodded lightly, and Zhou Xiuniang knew it well, so she said goodbye and left.
Needless to say, when Zhao Kuo came to Zhao Hong, he must have something important to explain.
"Dong Songchen, you stay here. Your Highness, hurry in!"
Li Gu pulled Zhao Hong and quickly arrived in front of Zhao Kuo's imperial couch.
On the imperial couch, Zhao Kuo lay quietly with his eyes closed. Looking at him, he was as skinny as wood and his face was as golden as paper. He had completely lost his appearance and looked completely different from the last time Zhao Hong saw him.
"Guan family, the prince has arrived."
Li Gu stepped forward and whispered in Zhao Kuo's ear.
"Prince, you are here."
After hearing Li Gu's words, Zhao Kuo opened his eyes tiredly and saw Zhao Hong kneeling in front of the couch, stretching out his hand and trying his best to squeeze out a smile.
"My child, I never thought that daddy would see you for the last time! Are you okay, grandson?"
"Dad, your grandson is fat and strong! Just rest and recover. You will get better soon."
Zhao Hong lay in front of the bed and couldn't help crying.
After getting along for such a long time, he and Zhao Kuo have developed a father-son relationship. Suddenly seeing Zhao Kuo so old, he felt sympathy.
If I had known earlier, I would have brought my son with me.
"My child, I'm afraid Daddy won't live for a few more days."
Zhao Kuo smiled sadly, looked at Li Gu, and whispered:
"Li Gu, I have a few words to tell the prince and tell them to step back. You watch from the entrance of the palace and don't let anyone in!"
"Slave obeys the order!"
Li Gu waved his hand and left with the eunuchs and slaves. Only Zhao Kuo and Zhao Hong's father and son were left in the palace.
