Dong Tianxing was stunned for a moment: "Princess means... the Duke of Zhen Guo?"
"Master Dong, you are a bit conservative," Li Xi sneered, "I am referring to the Queen."
Dong Tianxing looked at Shen Lie next to him: "Actually, I had guessed that the Zhenguo Palace was involved behind the scenes, but I never considered that the Queen would get involved. After all, she is just a prostitute..."
Shen Lie waved his hand: "Old Dong, we have received news that the person who really calls the shots in the Cheng family is actually Cheng Wen. Relatively speaking, Cheng Dong appears to be more cautious and conservative when it comes to being an enemy of Daduhu. Some. Like the Jiuxi incident you just mentioned, the Queen is probably pushing it."
Dong Tianxing thought for a moment and nodded in agreement: "Well, what you said makes sense. The Cheng family has a deep feud with the governor, and the queen has been secretly recruiting troops recently, winning over many old nobles and court ministers. I don't know. What exactly does she want to do?"
"What can you do? Take control of the power." Li Xi snorted: "Cheng Wen has been an extremely ambitious girl since she was a child. Everyone in the Cheng family must obey her in everything, otherwise no one will be able to reap the benefits. Even her father's concubines. This has long been known to everyone in the aristocratic circles of the imperial capital."
She paused briefly and continued: "From Cheng Wen's point of view, brother Jiang Yao not only has a long-standing grudge with the Zhenguo government, but more importantly, she is the one who controls the Zhenjiang Army outside the Zhenbian area and the inner Jingchao Hall. The biggest obstacle to strengthening the descendants and conspiring to interfere in politics. Only by finding a way to get rid of brother Jiang Yao can Cheng Wen and the Cheng family truly get rid of the constraints and do whatever they want."
Shen Lie also noticed that the situation was not good, so he said seriously: "Princess, this matter cannot be delayed. We must minimize the harm before the situation becomes more complicated. Li Bing is suspicious by nature, and he was originally very afraid of the Protector. This time the Jiuxi controversy was made out of thin air, there is no guarantee that he will not consider doing anything to Jiang Yao again."
Before Li Xi could answer, Yuan Bin said angrily: "What a bullshit emperor, we never recognized him! When the rebellion in Western Xinjiang, the Turkic invasion, and the people of the Thirty-six Kingdoms of Ghost Desert were worse than death, where was Li Bing? ? If he dares to bully the Great Protector, our Suppressing Army will never agree!"
Li Xi glanced at Yuan Bin and Shi Feng worriedly, nodded and replied: "Don't worry, I will inform Li Xiuming immediately and let them find a way to resolve this matter. The reward of Jiuxi will not be given in a short time. Whatever can be settled, there is always a chance to deal with it.”
-
Just when Dong Tianxing was discussing countermeasures with Shen Lie, Li Xi and others because of the Jiuxi incident, a group of people were plotting something in an abandoned house in Mingrenfang in the south of the city.
They were the masters from the Huben Camp sent by Lao Jianhua to the imperial capital.
Wen Xiao, an old member of the Nilin Division, was furious when Shen Lie and others exposed his whereabouts by announcing the imperial capital.
He is the kind of person with a vicious heart and a narrow mind. It has been difficult for him to endure in the world for many years. Now he just planned to sneak into the imperial capital to avenge his family, and he was directly exposed in broad daylight. How could he not be angry?
I just heard him say viciously: "Shen Lie, this little bastard, I didn't seek any harm from him, but he came to mess with me first?! Well, since you are unkind, don't blame me for being unjust! Wu Ling, prepare your manpower." , let’s have a big fight!”
Wu Ling asked: "Uncle Wen, what are you going to do?"
"The Intelligence Department of the Zhenjiang Army has a very clear idea, that is, we want the court to focus all its attention on us, but I don't want to follow their wishes!" Wen Xiao sneered: "Bring out the list I made. No. Take a few heads, they don't know how powerful it is!"
Wu Ling took out a piece of letterhead from his arms, read it, and said: "The whole city is currently on high alert. If we carry out an assassination operation now, will..."
Wen Xiao waved his hand: "I can't control that much. Shen Lie left letters everywhere. The court already knows that I am here and will take action soon. By then, I'm afraid it will be more difficult to do anything. It's better to take advantage of the chaos just now, Add chaos to him, and in turn turn the court's attention to Shen Lie!"
Wu Ling thought about it carefully and finally nodded: "Okay, I'll listen to you. We have a long time to sneak into the city. The longer we delay, the more dangerous it becomes. We really should act as soon as possible."
Seeing that he agreed, Wen Xiao ordered: "You don't have to deal with all the people on the list, just pick these few. There is no need to hit with one hit, just make them feel that this is Shen Lie's revenge. We The purpose is to get the imperial court to focus on the Prince Consort’s Mansion. If they start making trouble, we will have the opportunity to raid the Wannian County Prison!"
"Understood," Wu Ling stood up suddenly: "I will dispatch manpower immediately!"
-
The Imperial City, which was on high alert due to the death of the palace supervisor Pei Yinglun, was once again extremely nervous overnight.
As soon as the red letter warning of Iron Hand's appearance appeared, four important members of the imperial court were assassinated that night.
Xiao Yue, the minister of Dali Temple, was poisoned to death at a friend's banquet; Su Mingzhong, the general of Yulin Lang in Beiya's Imperial Guard, was attacked by a crossbow on his way home and was seriously injured; Shang Fu, the deputy general manager and foreman of Ouchi, left the palace While doing business, he was stabbed three times by the killer. Fortunately, the Imperial Guards beside him fought to save him and saved his life.
Including Shi Tianmu, the director of Nilin, also encountered the assassin.
He had just come out from the palace after checking the sentry post. As soon as he reached the gate of Beiyamen, two poisonous crossbow arrows were suddenly shot from the darkness. As soon as the arrows screamed through the air, the Nilin agents reacted immediately. The agent closest to Tian Mu raised his foot and kicked their long history to the ground, barely escaping the fatal attack. .
Similar to the previous assassinations, this time the assassin saw that he failed to succeed and immediately used Qing Kung Fu to escape from the scene. The people from the Nilin Division chased him from the back door of the palace to the Chengenfang area. In the end, the assassin disappeared. .
When this matter reached the palace, Li Bing immediately paid attention to it and urgently summoned Tian Mu and Ouyang Lin to understand the situation. Tian Mu, who was so frightened that his lips were green and his face was pale, recounted in detail what happened to his life just now in front of the emperor, and repeatedly called him lucky.
Ouyang Lin said in a deep voice: "Your Majesty, I just sent someone to ask Su Mingzhong and Shang Fu's accompanying guards. They also said that the assassin's escape direction was towards Cheng'enfang. From this point of view, most of them... with the consort. It’s related to the government.”
Tian Mu quickly continued: "Your Majesty, the Prince Consort's Mansion has always been very close to the Intelligence Department of the Zhenjiang Army. Previously, we investigated the murder of General Cheng Xi and cleared all the strongholds of the Intelligence Department in the imperial capital, leaving only the Prince Consort's Mansion untouched. . I suspect that there are many secret agents of the Xinjiang Army hiding there, and maybe the thief Shen Lie is inside! Several people who were attacked this time were involved in Shen Lie's case. This is obviously revenge."
Li Bing hesitated and asked, "What do you mean?"
"Search the Prince Consort's Mansion," Ouyang Lin said firmly: "Whether Shen Lie is inside or not, the suspicion of Cheng'enfang is very high. Wei Chen believes that it is necessary to send someone in to take a closer look."
Hearing this, Li Bing pondered for a moment and sighed: "I'm afraid this is inappropriate. The Prince Consort's Mansion is Murong's residence, and my sister Princess Fenyang also lives there. If you don't have any concrete evidence, just come and search the house. In case anything happens, I found nothing, how should I explain to them?"
As he said that, he looked up at the two people in front of him and asked, "Didn't you both send people to monitor the place? Haven't you noticed any clues?"
Ouyang Lin and Tian Mu looked at each other and said awkwardly: "Your Majesty, please forgive me. The Prince Consort's Mansion occupies a vast area, and the ministers cannot get too close there, so they can only monitor the main access roads and some areas, and it is difficult to fully monitor them." Surveillance.”
Tian Mu also nodded: "The Nilin Division is about the same. The opponents are all elite assassins who come and go, deliberately hiding their traces, and it is difficult for the eyes to detect them in time. However, the general direction is not wrong. Since the killers have disappeared in In the Chengenfang area, within a radius of several miles, only the Prince Consort's Mansion is the most suspicious."
Li Bing shook his head: "Based on the general direction alone, I can't take action against the imperial general and the majestic prince-in-law. You are posing a problem for me."
Hearing what he said, Ouyang Lin and Tian Mu had no idea for a while. There is indeed a certain risk in searching the Prince Consort's Mansion. If something goes wrong, it will inevitably lead to accusations from the royal family, courtiers or the military.
The emperor is obviously unwilling to take this risk, so should they be allowed to take it?
When the monarch and his ministers were worrying, a delicate voice suddenly came from behind the screen: "Your Majesty, I have a plan. Is it possible?"
The three of them were stunned when they heard this, and turned to look at the same time, only to see Queen Cheng Wen walking out from behind the screen. Ouyang Lin and Tian Mu quickly saluted him, and at the same time they knew that the emperor had asked the queen to stay there and listen to their conversation, which showed that Li Bing now favored and trusted Cheng Wen.
Li Bing asked curiously: "Queen, if you have any good ideas, please tell me."
Cheng Wen first smiled sweetly, and then said: "I think we might as well use a strategy like Li Daitao's stiffness."
"How about Li Dai Tao Zhan? Please tell me carefully."
Cheng Wen responded calmly: "Since there is no solid evidence about the assassin, and it is difficult to explain to the public by rushing to the government, it is better to do a real case with solid evidence, and make a small sacrifice in exchange for a big goal."
After saying that, she turned to Ouyang Lin and Tian Mu: "You pick a master of Qinggong and let him steal my seven-treasure phoenix hairpin, and then secretly sneak into the Prince Consort's Mansion to hide it. You can use this as an excuse to enter the manor to search for the thief, can't you? Already?"
"Wonderful!" Tian Mu exclaimed: "The Queen is really good at planning. The Seven Treasures Phoenix Hairpin is a treasure handed down from ancient times as a tribute from the ancient Yue Kingdom six hundred years ago. It has been treasured and passed down by all the empresses of the Holy Tang Dynasty. It has always been regarded as the mother of the world. A symbol is never lost. If it is stolen by a thief, it is normal to search for it."
Ouyang Lin also nodded slightly: "And the brilliant thing about this plan is that someone did sneak into the Prince Consort's Mansion with the treasure. Even if we can't find Shen Lie and the people from the Intelligence Department, as long as we catch the person who stole the treasure in the end, If the government and the opposition can be silenced, Commander Murong and Princess Fenyang will be unable to say anything at all."
