Less than a moment before leaving, shopkeeper Ma finally knocked on the door tremblingly and gave a general report on the current news in the city.
There was nothing unusual in Langzhou City. Li Yuan had not left the house since he returned to the Jiedu Envoy Office from the Chengdong Posthouse last night. In front of the gate of the government office, civil and military officials have gathered. Not only are there many soldiers, but also many people watching the excitement are lingering around. After all, it is a rare event for His Highness Prince Zheng to visit in person, so this is normal.
But as the hour was approaching, many maids and servants came in and out of the gate, holding various ceremonial items, naturally for the purpose of picking up the guests.
As for the streets and alleys around the government office, even around the South Pavilion, hundreds of Wuping sergeants are patrolling at this moment, and regular checkpoints have been set up to check passing vehicles and pedestrians. However, these are all routine arrangements. There's nothing strange about it either. Yang Shifan and others had already thought of this, otherwise they would not have used the food cart in Junan Pavilion as a cover.
After all, as far as he knew, the officials and people in the city knew about Li Yuan's care for Junan Pavilion. Perhaps these Wuping sergeants were sensible. In the past, they would not block the carriages and horses of Junan Pavilion if they set up checkpoints. What's more, in their eyes, a What danger could there be in a cart full of meat and vegetables? Even if he has different intentions, how can he succeed in the face of the heavily guarded Jiedushi government office? So I often just show off and let it pass...
All in all, what Shopkeeper Ma said was that everything was normal and there was nothing unusual about it.
So Yang Shifan and others felt relieved and decided not to change their original plan. Everyone had firmly memorized all the arrangements and no longer said anything. They sat and stood silently, arranging their equipment and weapons. By the way, they took advantage of this short moment to close their eyes and recharge their batteries, waiting for the sun to get higher. The time has come.
The light in the sky became more and more intense. On the hexagonal eaves of Wuping Jiedushi's office and under the pillars of each corridor, the long silk ribbons to welcome guests had been rolled out one after another. The whole mansion instantly became filled with joy and splendor. Sergeant Wu Ping guarding the door also maintained an upright posture, either holding a spear or holding a sword tightly, with a serious expression on his face.
Everything was tense and orderly. The maids and servants kept passing through the gate, their heads lowered and their footsteps hurried. The musicians recruited from the side are also busy tuning the strings and preparing for the upcoming performance, and the clear and loud sounds of various musical instruments can be heard endlessly.
Many officials' carriages and horses have already arrived in front of the Jiedushi Mansion. After getting off the bus, the guards of the government will naturally check their bodies, and then the maids and servants will come. After saluting, they will be taken into the manor to sit and drink tea.
Although all the civil servants who received the invitation understood that today they were just a supporting role to show their support, and because of Marshal Li's face, they would just pretend to congratulate the generals, but as members of the officialdom, everyone had the same tacit understanding.
The so-called pretense has to be done in full, and today we not only have to show it to Li Yuan, but also to the current King Zheng. After all, most of the colleagues present are old officials from Langzhou, so it is still very useful to show loyalty. necessary.
Therefore, all the civil servants did not accept the invitation from the maids and servants of the government office. With the legitimate reasons of courtesy, they stood in a line in front of the mansion under the sun, chatting and talking to each other while greeting and complimenting each other, while waiting for His Highness Prince Zheng. The guard of honor arrived.
These officials, who were considered to have some reputation in Langzhou City, did not wait for too long. Soon there was a crowd in front of the gate, and everyone who was supposed to be there and who was not supposed to be there had all arrived.
When King Zheng Li Congjia arrived with hundreds of imperial guards, a group of officials stood up to greet him. With mature and natural smiles on their faces, they bent over and held their hands in their hands, showing off to the best of their ability.
The crowd soon gathered around Prince Zheng and others towards the wide stone steps of the mansion, laughing and laughing all the way towards the mansion. The melodious music of silk and bamboo sounded all around, and the musicians worked hard to play festive Chu-style music. The Wuping sergeants were gradually removed from their sentries in front of the mansion, and were replaced by arrogant Forbidden Army guards.
...
On the street south of Junan Pavilion, ten black figures were lurking in two carts filled with wine, meat and vegetables, waiting quietly. Through the extremely narrow gap, countless figures can be barely seen flashing. Through the layers of wooden boards of the cart, the loud voices of people not far away sometimes reached my ears, accompanied by the melodious music of silk and bamboo, as if I was in a flashy place.
As if provided by God, the two carts from Junan Pavilion, after a perfunctory wave from a group of Wuping sergeants, followed the familiar route and quickly arrived at the side gate of the Jiedushi Mansion.
Li Guanxiang, the guard who was in charge of this gate today, did indeed keep his promise. The surrounding walls were empty. The people hidden in the cart looked for an opportunity to appear, and soon got in through the half-open wooden door.
Less than ten steps into the mansion quietly, a tall figure suddenly appeared at the corner behind the door. The person who came was none other than Li Guanxiang, the guard general of the Wuping Jiedushi Mansion.
"How is the situation in the front hall?" Yang Shifan asked in a low voice, his voice seemed dull and lame.
Xu Shi was helplessly tied into the same boat. Li Guanxiang held up his hands and smiled reluctantly: "All the guests have arrived. It is estimated that His Royal Highness King Zheng will announce the decree soon! Marshal Li led all the generals to wait in the front hall... .”
"Where are the three hundred guards under your command?" Liu Ju asked abruptly.
Li Guanxiang's eyes hesitated for a while, then he replied: "I have transferred all the three hundred guards near the side gate and the backyard to the east gate half an hour ago under the pretext of Shangguan's transfer order...
In short, as long as you follow this long corridor to the backyard, it should be smooth. However, there are several hidden obstacles on the way from the front hall to the backyard. Even I can't know the details. It's best if you don't make too big a move. Movement, so as not to be exposed prematurely..."
"We will pay attention! Take action immediately." Yang Shifan's eyes suddenly flashed with murderous intent, and he gave the order decisively. He reached out and pulled out the sword from his waist. There was a soft clatter, and everyone had already held all kinds of weapons tightly in their hands. in hand.
Yang Shifan took the lead and pranced forward under the mottled tree shadows and courtyard corridors. Except for Liu Ju and the two men who stayed at the side door, the other six were well-trained and no one said a word. They quickly followed closely, and soon they were Cross the long corridor to reach beyond the backyard wall.
Everyone stood close to the wall, their tall and straight bodies seemed to be in line with the straight line of the wall, quietly listening to the movements inside the wall. Within a moment, as expected, several maids passed by on the path inside the wall, chatting and making delicate sounds as they walked.
After all, there was only one wall separating the maids inside the wall. Yang Shifan decisively stretched out his hand and made silent gestures in the air. The figures of the other six people flashed almost at the same time. The three of them conveniently landed on the shoulders of the other three and climbed over first.
The maids on the path inside the wall were all weak and ordinary girls. They couldn't react. When they heard a strange noise above their heads, they subconsciously looked towards the wall. Unfortunately, they couldn't see clearly what the scene was. The sharp sound of breaking through the air sounded in the ears, but it was too late for any exclamation to come out of the mouth.
In just a moment, the heads of the three maids each had a scar that penetrated into the flesh. Soon, another cold light followed, flickering above the heads of these maids who had long lost the ability to resist. In an instant, the three poor young girls were dead and in different places.
As soon as Yang Shifan landed, he slashed three people with the long sword in his hand. The originally sharp blade was dripping with blood and reflected a strange and colorful light in the sun.
Yang Shifan looked at the long wall with an expressionless face. He had already expected in his mind that anyone who came close to the wall would be killed without mercy. After all, this place was still on the edge of the backyard and was still close to the front hall. If he hadn't taken any action, he would have alerted the enemy. This is really an unwise move.
The seven people slowly spread out and advanced, waving the swords in their hands. Several nearby outer courtyards were the first to bear the brunt. Many maids living here, regardless of their age and beauty, were ruthlessly slaughtered by the people hiding in the dark.
Occasionally, those who exclaimed often had blood mist filling their throats before they even finished speaking, and they lay on the cold ground with their eyes wide open in fear.
"My Healing Game"
All these horrific scenes happened in a matter of seconds. Even a soldier who had experienced hundreds of battles could easily deal with these helpless girls. The seven of them killed each other without interfering with each other.
In a short period of time, seven people killed more than twenty maids.
When they finally gathered in a courtyard full of flowers and plants, the six people who hurried over looked at the five headless corpses on the ground in a daze. Yang Shifan's technique was the cleanest and neatest. They all cut off the heads, completely eliminating future troubles.
"It should be clean outside." Yang Shifan leaned over the body of a girl and wiped the blood on the sword, then said calmly and coldly: "Next, we have to grab a smart tongue to lead the way to find the person, and don't see anyone. Just kill."
"Brother Yang, it seems that there is not a single male in this backyard! Hehe, I see that the maids in this mansion are quite pretty. It's a pity that we killed so many just now..." A man suddenly licked Licking his chapped lips, he lowered his head and smiled lewdly.
Yang Shifan frowned and shouted in a low voice: "Shut up! Don't miss something important!"
The man hurriedly kept silent, and then followed the crowd closely. It seemed that the massacre just now was too easy and boring, and he kept looking anxiously.
