Murong Xue heard the other party's solemn words and couldn't help but feel curious: "I wonder what Master Shen's orders are?"
Shen Lie first looked at Li Chengwu on the dragon throne and saw the emperor nodding in agreement, so he said to Murong Xue: "Shen would like to ask the general to pay attention to a man named Lao Jianhua next to the prince. He and Xie Guang are in the same group. Son, if there is a chance, it would be best to arrest him secretly."
Murong Xue couldn't help laughing and said: "Master Shen is teasing me. I will go to Longtan Tiger's Den alone. I'm lucky if I don't get eaten alive. How can I capture Xie Guang's accomplices?"
"General, don't be impatient. Let's listen to Shen's explanation." Shen Lie was not affected by Murong Xue's words and patiently explained: "Lao Jianhua's identity is very complicated. I'm afraid he is not as simple as Xie Guang's comrades. In a strict sense It is said that he does not belong to anyone’s subordinates, and is most likely a third force besides Xie Guang and the Turks.”
Shen Lie's words immediately aroused Murong Xue's curiosity, and she began to pay serious attention.
Just listen to Shen Lie continue to talk: "According to the investigation of the Nilin Division, the mastermind of the case of He Jingming, the commander of the Fierce Blade Legion and the guardian of the Zhenjiang, was killed in an attack in Liangzhou. The mastermind behind the scenes is very likely to be this Lao Jianhua .”
After hearing this, Murong Xue immediately changed her previous attitude. He Jingming's death involves his two good brothers: Li Jiangyao wants to avenge his mentor, and Xu Youchang must clear away the stigma on himself. Although the life and death of both of them are uncertain now, from Murong Xue's standpoint, she must find the real culprit for them and understand the whole incident no matter what.
"Lord Shen," Murong Xue said solemnly, "The unfortunate death of Commander He is related to the dignity of our Shengtang military. As long as the murderer behind the scenes can be found out, please do whatever is necessary for me to do, please give me the order!"
-
"Ha, interesting, really interesting!" Li Bing read the official document sent from the imperial capital and smiled at Lao Jianhua next to him: "Lao Aiqing, this time, you have a new colleague."
Lao Jianhua had already read the appointment document in Xie Guang's house. At this time, he took the official document with his hands still pretending to be pretentious, read it carefully, and then said: "Your Highness, I think this Murong Xue is really weird."
"Oh? What's weird?" Li Bing was a little curious.
Lao Jianhua replied: "I heard that it was this General Murong who led the Qilin Army and Xuanjia Army of Xie Taifu in a bloody battle on the streets of the imperial capital. Later, in full view of everyone, the same him gave you and Taifu Sir He gave way to Mingde Gate, and the emperor did not punish him for it afterwards. So..."
"So, you can't figure out which side Murong Xue is on, right?" Li Bing said with a smile, "It seems like he is helping both sides and not helping either."
Lao Jianhua nodded: "That's right. Moreover, Wei Chen is probably not the only one who has doubts about this."
Li Bing was still smiling: "It's a long story. If you have a chance, you can ask Murong Xue in person."
Lao Jianhua heard a hint of joking in the prince's words and smiled lightly: "I obey the order. When Murong Xue comes, I will definitely ask him carefully."
Li Bing glanced at Lao Jianhua meaningfully and changed the topic: "I have read all the books that Lao Aiqing recommended to me a few days ago. I feel that they are all the same old tunes and there is nothing new. .”
Lao Jianhua did not disobey and said with a smile: "Your Highness is talented and intelligent, and I admire them. Although those books are all sacred scriptures, many of their ideas are a bit conservative. Your Highness pointed out the disadvantages, which shows that he has understood them thoroughly."
"Don't flatter me," Li Bing waved his hand: "Those books talk about the way of governing a country by a sage king. I dare not say that I have understood it thoroughly. However, they repeatedly emphasize that the king should be based on benevolence and righteousness. , be open-minded, select talents, and entrust the important responsibilities of the country to loyal ministers. Only in this way can the world be peaceful and the people be happy. These words make my ears almost go numb."
Lao Jianhua rolled his eyes and said with a smile: "Since His Highness doesn't like those old and pedantic theories, why not try something different?"
"Oh? What do you mean?" Li Bing was slightly curious: "Is there anything new to play with?"
Lao Jianhua responded: "Your Highness should know martial arts, right?"
Li Bing nodded: "The Li family is sweeping the world, and military merit is their top priority. As a member of the royal family, I have been required to practice martial arts diligently since I was a child, so naturally I am good at it. But I am only proficient in swordsmanship and boxing, and I am not very good at other things. ”
Lao Jianhua showed an enigmatic smile and raised his finger to point to a candle lamp in the corner of the palace: "Your Highness, look there."
As soon as he finished speaking, the flame that was originally bright and dancing suddenly went out. Li Bing was startled, and looked at Lao Jianhua with surprise and joy: "Aiqing, you...did you do this?"
"Hahaha, Your Highness, this move is called Divine Machine Finger." Lao Jianhua introduced: "It relies on internal force to explode a small group of highly condensed energy at the moment of snapping the fingers, thereby hitting the target from a distance. How? Like? Is it interesting?"
Li Bing looked at the extinguished candle lights in the distance and nodded repeatedly: "It's interesting."
"Your Highness, are you interested in learning to play?"
"Oh? Is it difficult to learn?"
"It's not difficult at all." Lao Jianhua said confidently: "As long as you have some foundation in martial arts, the key is how to master the technique of exerting force. With His Highness's excellent qualifications, Wei Chen can master it with just a brief explanation."
Li Bing said happily: "Okay, okay, please teach me, Master."
While the prince and Lao Jianhua were chatting and asking for advice, Murong Xue was on the post road seven hundred miles away from Luoyi, believing that the horse was free from the reins and hurried on easily.
More than half a month has passed since I received the emperor's order. During this period, he met with Shen Lie several times to discuss how the two sides could communicate and cooperate in the Eastern Capital. At the same time, he also completed the handover of the official duties of the Forbidden Army's Tiger and Leopard Cavalry.
After that, he wrote a letter to his father Murong Qianqiu in Xishu, telling him that he was about to go to Luoyi, and asked Murong Qianqiu to use family power to help him secretly.
Murong Xue rode alone, starting from the imperial capital, and felt at ease along the way. This guy is free and easy by nature. Since he knows that he is entering a dragon's pond and a tiger's den, he should seize the rare time to appreciate the charm of the journey.
In the evening that day, Murong Xue was rushing forward, but unexpectedly it started to rain. Because he was eager to enjoy the scenery, he missed the inn where he stopped. At this time, there was no village or shop in front of him, and there was no place to shelter from the rain. Fortunately, Murong Xue was a soldier and didn't care much about the wind and rain. He simply whipped his horse whip and galloped happily in the wind and rain.
But before he could run out a few steps, he suddenly heard a woman's voice calling for help not far ahead.
Murong Xue was confused and quickly turned around the mountain bend. She saw four burly men dressed as bandits desperately dragging a young woman into the carriage, obviously intending to do something wrong.
Next to the car, the body of an old man was lying.
When Murong Xue saw this, without saying a word, she drew out the sunset bow hanging next to the saddle, took aim at the bandits, and said, "Stop it!"
The four bandits did not expect that they would encounter passers-by among the barren mountains and old forests. They were all fierce and cruel people. Seeing that Murong Xue was just working alone, they planned to step forward and teach the kid who dared to meddle in other people's business.
However, when they saw clearly the bow and arrow in Murong Xue's hand, they couldn't help but hesitate again.
You know, long-distance weapons like bows, arrows and crossbows have always had extremely high deterrent effects. Therefore, the imperial government often did not prohibit civilians from possessing swords, guns, clubs and other weapons, but only bows, crossbows and arrows were not allowed. Except for the Orion families registered in the Yamen, ordinary people were not allowed to hide bows and crossbows privately, let alone bring weapons into the city, for fear of the powerful lethality of crossbows.
At this time, the bandits saw Murong Xue holding a bow and arrow, aiming at them, and they immediately did not dare to act rashly. The leader of the bandits shouted loudly: "Hey, friend, it's none of your business here. You'd better leave as soon as possible. Otherwise, we won't look good on you."
Murong Xue's face was as dark as water, and she asked in a deep voice: "Did you kill that old man on the ground?"
Seeing that Murong Xue didn't take his words seriously, the bandit leader couldn't help but became a little angry: "We killed him, what do you want?"
Murong Xue sighed and said calmly: "I originally planned to let you wait for a way out. But you hurt people's lives and cannot escape the king's law. I can only settle this lawsuit for the local government!"
Before he finished speaking, he fired three arrows in succession as fast as lightning, without missing a beat, directly nailing the throats of the three bandits.
Seeing that the situation was not going well, the remaining thief leader stretched out his hand to pull the woman to block him, and at the same time put the ring knife on her neck, and roared: "If you dare to move again, I will kill you..."
Before he could finish his words, a white feather arrow seemed to appear out of thin air and hit the man's throat. The thief leader grunted in pain, and the steel knife in his hand fell loose.
Hot blood splashed on the woman's cheek, scaring her so much that she fainted on the spot.
-
"Girl, are you awake?" Murong Xue said softly: "I brought medicine with me and I just cooked a batch. You drink a bowl first to drive away the cold."
The woman who had been robbed by the robbers woke up leisurely and looked around with blurred eyes. It took a long time before she came back to her senses: "I...where is this?"
Murong Xue handed the small copper bowl to the woman: "This is a dilapidated temple. You were frightened just now, and you were caught in the rain and cold, and fell into a coma. I had to take you here to take shelter from the rain temporarily. This pot, bowl and soup medicine , these are all emergency supplies I keep with me. It’s still clean, so drink it.”
The woman closed her eyes gently and frowned, as if she was trying to recall everything that happened not long ago. After a long time, she opened her beautiful eyes and said softly: "I remember it, thanks to the young master for rescuing me just now, otherwise... the young master is so kind to me for saving my life, please accept my thanks."
As she said that, she struggled to hold herself up and pretended to kneel down in front of Murong Xue.
Murong Xue quickly put the medicine bowl steady and held it up with both hands: "It doesn't have to be like this. You are still very weak now, so it's best not to move around."
When the woman heard what Murong Xue said, she nodded slightly, then lay down weakly on the grass, and continued to speak softly: "Young master, my humble name is Rui Ji, but I am a happy household in the imperial capital. I don't know whether your surname is high or not. , the slave family must repay the life-saving grace."
