Zhou Gu and the others returned to the capital and were protected by the guards of the East Palace. They encountered no further trouble and the journey for the next fifty miles went very smoothly.
He Zheng had a lot of things to ask Zhou Gu and was full of doubts, but when he saw him saying a word, he stopped talking. His face was pale and the corners of his mouth were pursed tightly, and he wisely closed his mouth.
After returning to the capital, Zhou Gu said to He Zheng, "Let's go, you and I will bear with our injuries for now and go directly to the palace." Then he said to Yun Ze, "You will come with us."
Naturally, the injuries they suffered must be shown to His Majesty first.
Anyway, His Majesty also knows that His Highness the Crown Prince has four personal guards, and it was Taifu Qin who was a young man who suggested that His Majesty let the Crown Prince choose the candidates himself. The prince was young at that time and His Majesty had just assumed power. He was not yet afraid of the young prince and gave him all the treatment he deserved.
Yun Ze nodded.
Therefore, Zhou Guling took the two monks back to the Duke Protector's Mansion at midnight to take care of them. He and He Zheng entered the palace.
The emperor was listening to King Ruian's report on the progress of the case in the imperial study, when he heard that Zhou Gu, He Zheng and the prince's personal guard Yun Ze from the East Palace were asking for an audience. The emperor waved his hand and said, "Invite them in."
King Ruian had finished talking about what he wanted to report and was about to resign when the emperor stopped him and said, "Your case and the case Zhou Gu is investigating now are two cases, but they are somewhat related. We can listen to them together. .”
King Ruian suddenly felt at ease, thinking that Su Rong was the one who had something to do with it, and these two cases were all aimed at her. He should be, standing aside.
Not long after, Zhou Gu and others entered the imperial study. Their clothes were all scarred by swords, their clothes were stained with blood, and their faces were pale from excessive blood loss.
He Zheng knelt down on one knee, "Your Majesty!"
Zhou Gu bowed and said, "Your Majesty!"
The emperor was shocked when he saw the appearance of the two of them, "What is going on with you?"
Zhou Gu said with a pale face, "Your Majesty, we got the news yesterday that Ding Man's body was found a hundred miles outside the capital. Commander He and I took people out of the city to investigate, looking for traces, and found Ding Man in the evening. The last place where Man settled down was at the Great Buddha Temple. So that day and night, he checked all the monks in the Great Buddha Temple. Early this morning, the results were obtained. Wangsu, the first disciple of the abbot of the Great Buddha Temple, and Guangzhen, the deacon of the Discipline Hall of the Great Buddha Temple, were suspected. Then they were escorted back to the capital. However, on the way back to the capital, fifty miles away from the Great Buddha Temple, they were intercepted and killed by hundreds of dead soldiers. When Commander He and I left the capital, we did not bring many men with us. He brought the Imperial Guards with him. Twelve people, I brought ten people to protect the country, and there are five times as many killers as us..."
He Zheng took the words, "Bizhi asked Master Zhou to leave first, but Master Zhou Renyi didn't leave first. Otherwise, with Master Zhou's martial arts, he wouldn't have been so close... There are too many killers and they are too powerful. At this critical moment, I can no longer take care of him." The two monks could no longer be saved, so Mr. Zhou was allowed to cut off his tail to survive. However, he did not expect that those killers were not only going for the two monks, but also for Mr. Thursday, vowing to kill him to the death. Fortunately, Mr. Thursday..."
Hearing this, the emperor looked at Yun Ze and asked, "Did the guards from the East Palace rescue you?"
Zhou Gu took the words and shook his head truthfully, "No, it was Fengling who was beside Miss Su Qi who brought a group of people to save us. His Highness the Crown Prince originally sent Yun Ze out of the city to meet him, but someone predicted it in advance and a group of people stopped him. Yun Ze..."
Yun Ze handed over his hand at this time, "Your Majesty, there are twenty killers who are intercepting me. I was ordered by His Highness the Crown Prince to bring a hundred East Palace guards out of the capital. The purpose of the twenty killers is to stop and delay time."
The emperor understood and looked very ugly. The prince was not in front of him, so he couldn't ask him how he got the news. But he thought again, such a big thing happened, and if he, as the prince, couldn't get the news, he would be a waste. . He was afraid of his son because of his ability and insight. The prince could always get the news immediately if he could not get it within a hundred miles of the capital.
He asked angrily: "So, there are two batches of killers? One batch of twenty people, and one batch of hundreds of killers?"
"They are dead men." Zhou Gu corrected, "I don't know when I was so hated by others, and people wanted to kill me so generously. I threw those two monks out, and the dead men didn't kill them. , instead they surrounded and killed me."
The emperor was angry when he heard this. He was afraid and suspicious of the protector of the country.
On the one hand, the government was concerned, but if Zhou Gu was killed, it would be a different matter. Wouldn’t the Protector and Princess Sheng’an explode? Then he can still live a pure life?
"Where are those dead soldiers? Are there any alive?" The emperor didn't ask how many people Su Rong sent Fengling and lead to rescue Zhou Gu. Since the people had come back alive, there could only be more than the killers, not less. If her identity as the princess of Nanchu had not been known, he would naturally have sent someone to question her. It would be a big problem for a little concubine in Jiangning County to have so many people in her hands, but that was no longer necessary now.
Zhou Gu shook his head, "There is no one left alive. Since he is a dead soldier, it is useless to leave him alive."
He reached into his arms, took out the comb, and handed it to the emperor, "This was found from one of those dead soldiers. Your Majesty, please take a look. Do you recognize this comb?"
The emperor stretched out his hand to take it, looked at it again and again, frowned, and asked Eunuch Yu, "Yu An, look at it, do you recognize it?"
Eunuch Yu had already seen it, so he took it now and looked at it carefully up and down for a while before shaking the corners of his mouth and saying, "Your Majesty, this, this comb... I seem to recognize this comb."
"Huh?" The emperor stared at him, "Is it something reserved for the royal family?"
"yes."
The emperor's face darkened and he asked: "Whose?"
Eunuch Yu was speechless.
The emperor shouted angrily in a deep voice, "Say!"
Eunuch Yu knelt down on the ground with a pop and said with a white face: "Your Majesty, if I remember correctly, this comb was picked out from the royal tribute eight years ago and given to concubine Li. Li Bin likes peach blossoms, so when you see this comb, you will give it to Li Bin along with other rewards."
Libi is the mother-in-law of the fourth prince.
The emperor's face turned very ugly, "Are you sure?"
Eunuch Yu said, "There is a register, but I'm just looking at the portrait. Why don't I go check the register?"
"Go and check quickly!" The emperor waved his hands with a stern face.
Eunuch Yu stood up and went immediately.
Zhou Gu didn't expect it to be something belonging to a beautiful concubine. He just thought it was extraordinary. The pattern on the seal was not that of an ordinary comb. The peach blossoms were lifelike, which was very rare.
The imperial study was very quiet for a while, except for the emperor's heavy breathing.
King Ruian looked at her nose and heart, pretending that he did not exist, but thinking in his heart that Li Concubine had always been in the harem without fighting for it, but he did not expect that now she was involved in a major case.
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