Xiao Luolan suddenly remembered that last night, Sect Master Zhou stayed up late at night and summoned Wang Zhi, the envoy of Yantie Zhuanyuan, to come and ask which people or officials in the city were closely involved with Wei Guogong.
As luck would have it, it was Wang Zhi, the Guangling salt and iron envoy, who accused the people of murdering the youngest son of the governor of Wu County.
Chapter 214
"Madam, Mr. Wang is here to visit. Do you want to see him?"
Xia He gently combed the princess's hair with sandalwood. There was a touch of jasmine scented oil on the sandalwood comb. The princess's hair was thick and smooth, and it looked good no matter what hairstyle she wore. After returning home, Xia He returned to the princess to serve her. It was a lie to say that she was unhappy, and she was going to give her mistress a nice haircut.
Gorgeous flowers have replaced the heavy and gorgeous hairpins, flowers are arranged on the temples, lotus patterns are dotted on the forehead, and jade and purple skirts are wrapped around the waist.
The fairy concubine is nothing more than that.
The beautiful woman in the bronze mirror lowered her eyes slightly, as if she was thinking about something. Xia He's voice became softer: "My lady went to play with Mr. Shiliu early in the morning. She asked me to tell you that there is no need for lunch." Waiting for her."
Xiao Luolan came back to her senses and remembered how wonderful it was that the relationship between the two people who had never dealt with each other had improved. She looked at Xia He and said, "Wang Zhi just declined for me."
"Yes." Xia He was a little surprised and quickly responded. Many treasures in Jiangdu Palace were sent by Mr. Wang. He also went in and out of Jiangdu Palace late last night. Xia He thought that Mr. Wang should be with him. Have you made good friends, or have you guessed wrong?
After all, it was the Lord's business. After thinking about it for a while, Xia He no longer paid attention to this issue. She walked out of the door, walked through the courtyard palace, and finally bowed her sleeves to Wang Zhi who was waiting in the outer hall, with a smile on her face: "Master Wang, It is really unfortunate that the princess is not feeling well and it is not appropriate to receive the adults. Please forgive me."
"I'm taking the liberty of visiting you. It's okay if the princess doesn't blame you." Wang Zhi stood up. The rich man from Guangling with a kind face and meticulously groomed gray hair said with a smile: "In that case, I'll take my leave first."
Xia He saw him off with all due etiquette.
Xiao Luolan sat on the railing and blew the wind, watching the thousands of red carps in the lake swaying their tails and the waves rising and falling. When Xia He said that Wang Zhi was gone, she gently fanned herself. Just when she was about to go back to the house, I heard Luo Jinhu asked for a meeting.
Luo Jinhu knelt on the ground as soon as he arrived. It was such a hot summer and there was sweat on his forehead. I don't know whether it was because he was too hot or because he was nervous.
Xiao Luolan looked at Luo Langjun's overwhelming gift, and then looked at the heavy gift behind him. It was obvious that he didn't bring a box of gold from Youzhou.
"The common people are guilty and deserve to die. I accepted the gift from Wang Zhi in a moment of confusion. Please convict the princess!" Luo Jinhu regretted it at this moment.
As a princess, although his status was lower, he still lived in Jiangdu Palace. Because he had done something wrong, he had been paying close attention to Wang Zhi.
When he found out that the princess didn't meet him, he thought about the chaos in Guangling now, and Wang Zhi was among them. After thinking about it, he couldn't help but tell the princess everything, and he regretted it in his heart. He was really confused yesterday, so he Received bribe from Wang Zhi.
Xiao Luolan understood immediately. She hid her surprise. She didn't expect Wang Zhi to give Luo Jinhu a gift.
"Is there anything besides gold?" Xiao Luolan asked Xia He calmly with a trembling look on his face when he saw that Luo Langjun was bleeding from his head.
How could Luo Jinhu dare to hide it? He quickly said: "Yesterday I was having a drink in a restaurant outside. Wang Zhi came to me first and told me his heart. He said some business talks and promised me a piece of Huaiyan salt if I got a ship. As long as I If you have time, I can say a nice word for him in front of the princess."
"The common man drank too much and was obsessed with money. He couldn't help but agree to him and asked the princess to punish him." Luo Jinhu was crying with tears at this moment. He recounted in detail that he only became brave when he saw that the palace also accepted Wang Zhi's gift. When he got older, he saw that an official as big as Wang Zhi wanted to bribe him, not to mention the high profits in Huainan, which made him red-eyed and confused, so he did something wrong.
Money attracts people's hearts, but sometimes it can also cost people's lives. Luo Jinhu is now covered in cold sweat on his back.
Xiao Luolan listened to the whole process and finally said: "Just this once, Luo Langjun must not do it again."
Luo Jinhu didn't even bother to wipe the blood from his head and said, "Thank you for your generosity, Princess. I swear, I will never do such a bastard thing again in the future."
After Luo Jinhu turned around three times and left uneasily.
"Madam, what should I do with this gold?" Xia He asked.
"Put it in the gold vault at the prince's place," Xiao Luolan said. Sect Master Zhou did not refuse Wang Zhi's gifts. He even collected several boxes of gold, so he might as well put it all at his place.
When Zhou Xu came back from outside, he was not surprised to learn that there was an extra gold box.
If the people under Madam's command are no longer clean, just replace them.
Since her daughter and Shiliu were not in the palace, the excitement during the meal felt less. Xiao Luolan didn't know if Sect Leader Zhou felt this way, but she did anyway.
"I feel a little cleaner." Xiao Luolan sighed and gave a piece of fried fish to Sect Leader Zhou. Neither of them liked having people around to serve them when they were eating, so the whole palace seemed a little empty.
"Invite some dancers and musicians this afternoon, or do you want to go out to play?" Zhou Xu asked.
"Are there any operas and storytelling?" Xiao Luolan asked.
"Of course there are. Madam has everything she wants." Zhou Xu said with a smile, "I heard from Xia He that Wang Zhi had been looking for Madam early in the morning."
"Yeah." Xiao Luolan said, "But I asked him to go back."
"Why not?" Zhou Xu gave his wife a bowl of lotus seed soup.
Xiao Luolan thought for a while and said: "Salt and Iron Zhuan Yuanzhi Wang Zhi is a wealthy man in Guangling. It is said that he can't spend all his money in ten lifetimes. With such an important official position and such huge profits, Wang Zhi must be behind it." Someone."
"Except for Wei Guogong, I can't think of anyone who can control Huaiyan in the Jianghuai area without being coveted."
"So, I think Wang Zhi should be a member of the Duke of Wei." Xiao Luolan looked at Sect Master Zhou and expressed his speculation: "In fact, some of the people he identified were not involved in the matter of the guardian of Wu County. However, you need someone The names are here to catch them, right?”
Xiao Luolan always felt that it was too coincidental, and couldn't help but suspect that this was a trap set by Sect Master Zhou and Wang Zhi to the Guangling aristocratic families who were close to Wei Guogong.
Zhou Xu poured wine for his wife himself and laughed and said, "Madam, you are my confidant."
Seeing that he had guessed correctly, Xiao Luolan was a little confused: "Zhou Lang, how can you be so sure that Wang Zhi will switch to you?"
Zhou Xu played with the wine glass: "Because he knows that the first person I want to kill is him."
"But what if he doesn't want to die?" Zhou Xu took a sip of wine and said slowly: "Then I can only die as a Taoist friend rather than as a poor Taoist."
Xiao Luolan suddenly felt that the light dimmed. It turned out that it started to rain outside at some point, and Xia He closed the window.
In the rain, Guangling City was hazy with smoke. Pedestrians took shelter from the rain, and soon the streets were empty. They avoided snakes and scorpions at the Nanshikou, for fear that the winding blood would flow to their feet.
Not long ago, this place was crowded.
Wang Zhi looked at the beheading platform.
His son stood beside him with an umbrella raised, his hands shaking unconsciously. He was invited by Zhou Youzhou to watch the execution process all morning, and he also listened to the prisoner's abuse and humiliation all morning: "Father, Zhou Xu is an insidious and cruel person. They are cold-blooded and ruthless, and your cooperation with them is tantamount to seeking the skin of a tiger."
"Now everyone in the Guangling family hates us to the core. When Duke Wei takes Guangling back, I'm afraid... I'm afraid our family will follow the footsteps of the Huang family and the Li family, and the whole family will be wiped out!"
Wang Zhi looked up at the rainy sky. For a moment, he couldn't tell whether it was rain or tears on his face. Only a calm, almost cold voice came from his mouth.
"Then do you know that I will not be the knife in Zhou Xu's hand?"
"Your head and mine will fall to the ground today."
Wang Zhi did not look at his son, only staring at the execution ground: "When the time comes, others will look at our heads and say the same words as you."
"The only difference is that you are dead and he is alive."
"Are you willing?"
Wang Zhi turned and left.
The rain poured down, washing away the blood.
Chapter 215
Jin Ben stretched out his hand to catch the rainwater. The face under the mask seemed to be soaked in the water vapor of the Jiangnan water town. Sometimes he felt that his entire face was moist. His long brown curly hair, which was different from the Central Plains, was tied up half-wet and half-dry. , the rain dripped along the armor and onto the boots, Jin Ben stepped on the rain and climbed onto his horse.
This is Jin Ben's first time going to Jiangnan. To be honest, he likes the scenery here very much, but he doesn't like some of the people in Jiangnan very much.
His mask, his hair color, his eye color, and his attire are all topics of discussion in whispers. The key is, his hearing is pretty good. Those words of contempt, fear, and disgust are like a fly. There was a buzzing sound in his ears, which was very annoying.
Especially when he led people to raid homes and exterminate clans, the curses were particularly loud, but Jin Ben was a little considerate. After all, people were going to die, so just curse.
Even his lord was scolded a lot, much more than him. Thinking of this, Jin Ben felt that his little reputation was nothing.
Holding the reins with one hand, Jin Ben led the cavalrymen with bright armor and crossbows on their backs and walked slowly in Jiangdu City. This is the inner city of Guangling. The people who live here are either rich or noble, rich and distinguished families, aristocratic families, and wealthy merchants gather here. .
Except for the merchants and civilians who were gradually returning to normal life outside, the always bustling inner city was quiet, even strangely dead.
The surviving aristocratic families in Guangling almost closed their doors, and many people retreated to the family manors to defend themselves.
While riding the horse, Jin Ben recalled the Huang family in Guangling that he led people to check out when the sky was dawn. His family's manor was so large that it was surrounded by mountains and lakes. Inside the manor, there were thousands of rocks and ravines, and the vegetation was covered with them. The clouds are steaming, the forest springs are pines and cypresses, the Ministry of Agriculture has hundreds of hectares of mulberry fields, and a large area of fruits, vegetables and grains are self-sufficient. The manor is home to many servants and maids. It is one of the famous gathering places for celebrities.
In Guangling, Huang Tingjing of Huang Manor can be ranked among the top three in the discussion meeting.
The wealth of the Huang family really shocked Jin Ben. His lord naturally had a manor and villa, but what was the identity of the lord? He was the governor of Youzhou and the general of the Shangzhu Kingdom, the King of Zhenbei, who unified the financial and military power in the north, and the Huang family was just It is one of the five companies reported by Guangling Wang Zhi.
I heard that his family had a good relationship with Wang Zhi, but he was sold after he changed hands. Jin Ben had to admire Wang Zhi. This man's ruthlessness really made him look at him more.
Wang Zhi was sitting in the carriage, and they were the only ones walking side by side on the wide road. He stroked his beard and smiled at General Guitu in greeting. The two seemed to have met by chance.
Wang Nao, who was driving the carriage for his father, was carrying a bamboo hat. He let the rain drip down along the edge of the bamboo hat, like pearls and jade falling apart. Following the carriage were the fully armed members of the Wang family.
"It's going to rain heavily soon. I wonder where General Jin wants to go?" Wang Zhi asked.
"Invite everyone from Guangling to Jiangdu Palace for the prince." Jin Ben looked ahead.
"May I ask which master it is? I have been in Guangling for a long time and may be able to introduce you to the general." Wang Zhi said with a smile.
Jin Ben turned to look at the old man. He felt that if Wang Zhi hadn't seemingly surrendered to his lord, the families in Guangling who shared the same hatred would probably have eaten him alive, or at least they would have hated him to the bone.
"I heard that Mr. Qianli's Guangling San was unparalleled in the world. The prince wanted to hear it, so he sent us to invite him."
Wang Zhi's smile did not change: "It turned out that I wanted to invite Mr. Qianli, but General Jin took the wrong path."
Jin Ben reined in the reins: "Don't Mr. Qianli live in Zhufang Linshe?"
Before he came, he asked Xu Huaicei, and he told him that the famous Zhufang Forest House in Guangling was Mr. Qianli's residence.
In just two days, Xu Huaicai figured out all the details of Guangling. According to his lord's instructions, he gathered the remaining soldiers in Guangling City and prepared to recruit new soldiers in the near future. The work was in full swing. His serious and hard-working attitude and his easy-going skills Every deputy general has a chance to fight.
Dai Chenggong really has some good ideas under his command.
"Mr. Qianli is a famous scholar in Guangling. His name is Zhang Xuanyi. He is the youngest son of the head of the Zhang family in Guangling. He has excellent music. Zhufang Linshe is just a temporary residence where Mr. Qianli occasionally stays. He is probably in his own home now." Wang Zhi pointed to the avenue on the right: "General Jin took the wrong route. Turn right and walk along Shuochan Street until you reach Mr. Qianli's home in half a cup of tea."
"As for whether Mr. Qianli is at home, I don't know." Wang Zhi smiled.
Jin Ben said: "Since Mr. Wang is so familiar with Guangling, it is better to let Mr. Wang lead the way to avoid finding the wrong person."
"It's a great honor for me to serve the prince." Wang Zhi stepped out of the carriage and asked his servant to lead the horse forward. He held an umbrella and rode with the notorious Ghost Slaughter Cavalry General.
The two of them didn't actually talk much, but in the eyes of the spies who secretly investigated the movements of this team of killing gods, they seemed to have a good friendship.
The Zhang family on Shuochan Street is a wealthy family.
When Zhang Kunlun heard the servant's report, the tea in his hand clattered to the floor. His wife and concubines at home burst into tears. Someone had just been slaughtered on the execution ground that morning. Was it their turn now? !
What's more, it was Wang Zhi who led the way. Zhang Kunlun gritted his teeth with hatred and was extremely frightened. Where could he escape?
The head of the Huang family is the captain of the Guangling County. After the envoy was beheaded, the Huang family immediately followed in the footsteps of the envoy. After the chief died, all the soldiers in the city were taken over by Zhou Manzi's men!
Is Zhou Manzi trying to drive them all away? Zhang Kunlun felt extremely regretful. If he had known that Guangling City could be broken so easily, he should have taken his family to the countryside to take refuge in a fortress! What's even more hateful is that King Chu Ling abandoned them directly!
