Douchengli is located in the southeast of Taicheng, close to the west bank of the Qinhuai River. It is the most complicated area in Jiankang City except Chunhefang.
In the past, there was a wharf nearby, where merchant ships were berthed, and the trade of goods was busy. There were many restaurants, shops, and brothels along the river, which gave this place a prosperous scene.
But later, with the rise of new terminals in Chaogou, the terminal freight industry here gradually stagnated and even declined.
Today, the square is already dirty and messy, with a mixture of good and bad. Although it is still lively, it is mainly a gathering place for low-level traders, street performers, streetwalkers, idlers, down-and-out literati, and gang organizations.
It's night now and the city is closed under curfew.
After the gates of the square were locked, there was little government control in this place where dragons and snakes lived together. Even under the curfew, there was still an abnormal and long-lasting bustle.
The venue for cockfighting and lackeys is brightly lit, and crazy game owners are placing bets to win or lose; flamboyant orioles are walking through the crowds of people in the streets, showing off their coquettishness to attract tonight's prey; in the dark alley, the gangsters belonging to different gangs are gearing up for a while. If something goes wrong, be ready to take action at any time.
In this brightly lit downtown, a man with a beautiful beard wearing a bamboo hat and holding a silver gun walked into what looked like a rather large restaurant.
Under the light of oil lamps and torches, people of all colors gathered in the lobby.
There are people from all walks of life with weapons lying around on the table, drinking and talking, and there are also idle people dressed as gangsters, happily teasing the promiscuous woman next to them who is looking for a financial sponsor.
The bearded man holding a silver gun stopped in the lobby and attracted the attention of some people in the lobby.
Some people with malicious intentions thought that a fat sheep was coming, and glanced at it greedily and wantonly.
But seeing that the silver gun seemed to be stained with blood, which made people feel chilly, and seeing that although the man's eyes under the bamboo hat were calm, but after their eyes met, there was a cold evil aura, he had no choice but to put away his malice and continue to drink and eat meat. .
The man glanced around the lobby and saw an inconspicuous table in the corner of the lobby, so he went over and sat down.
He refused the waiter's kindness and did not take off his bamboo hat. He only asked the waiter to clean the table and serve some food and wine.
The surrounding environment was noisy, and the man was quiet in the midst of the noise. He just drank by himself and drank in silence, turning a deaf ear to what was going on around him.
It seemed that not long after, I felt that the noise around me had changed. The noise dropped slightly, but it quickly returned to its previous state.
The man glanced sideways in front of the door. His originally calm eyes seemed to be a little agitated, and a smile broke out on his face as thin as a knife.
I saw a short but very stocky young man standing in front of the door for a moment. When he spotted the man, he walked straight towards him excitedly.
The young man looked ordinary and did not stand out in the crowd, but he seemed to be unable to speak. He was gesticulating with his hands, but he was babbling without knowing what he was saying.
Behind the young man came an elegant Confucian scholar of medium height.
It's just that this Confucian scholar stands out from the crowd with his fluttering clothes. Standing in this restaurant where people from all three religions gather, he seems a little out of place with the things around him.
I saw the young man taking the lead to come to the man with the beautiful beard, pulling his arm and saying "beep", not knowing what to say.
But the man with the beautiful beard seemed to understand. He stroked his long beard and smiled easily. He pointed at the young man and said, "If this is the case, I will give you a powerful bow next time."
After hearing this, the young people danced happily like children.
At this time, the Confucian scholar had also walked to the table, stroking his beard and shaking his head helplessly, pointing at the young man and saying: "Dendrobium, don't do anything wrong to Liu Changshi!"
The young man named Shi Hu stuck out his tongue like a child and stood aside politely, but he was still winking at that "Liu Changshi".
The man with the beautiful beard stood up at this time.
The elegant Confucian scholar had a calm expression on his face and handed over his hand first: "Brother Boling, you really made it difficult for me to find him!"
The man with the beautiful beard was Liu Boxuan, and Boling was his given name. He saluted in surprise and said, "Brother Zhenjian, how did you find this place? Please sit down."
The elegant Confucian scholar known as "Zhen Jian" was Zhang Hongce, the maternal uncle of Xiao Yan, the governor of Yongzhou, who had a hundred thousand troops in Jingzhou and Yongzhou, and was also his important think tank.
"So it's hard to find me. After asking around, I heard people say that there is a man with a silver spear and a beautiful beard hanging around this fighting arena." Zhang Hongce said and sat down opposite Liu Boxuan with a look of annoyance on his face, "Why didn't Boling leave a word? , I left for several days, which made the young master and I worry all day long, but we didn’t want to hide in this land of dragons and snakes and drink secretly. "
"Hey..." Liu Boxuan sighed and filled the wine cup for Zhang Hongce, "Zhen Jian is not ignorant. Boxuan is actually a person wanted by the court. His previous whereabouts in Beijing have been leaked, and he finally escaped from the pursuit of the court's hawks. If I I am really afraid that I will be targeted by hawks and dogs after being around the young master for a long time. If the young master or even the envoy is involved, Bo Xuan's sin will be huge!"
Zhang Hongce chuckled, pointed at Liu Boxuan and said, "What a good Liu Boxuan! You went out to travel alone, but you came up with such a high-sounding reason. I really can't do anything with you!"
Liu Boxuan pretended to be surprised: "When do I have the leisure time to go out to enjoy the mountains and rivers, I just go out to avoid trouble. Brother Zhenjian does not avoid suspicion to protect himself. If the government comes to make fun of me at this moment, brother Zhenjian will join me." Suffer that prison sentence.”
"Look what you said!" Zhang Hongce pointed at Liu Boxuan with a look of helplessness, "Then I'm really scared, so I might as well go to the Tingwei Office and report it to you now."
The two are close friends, and now they are both important counselors under Xiao Yan. They did not shy away from talking during this meeting, and they talked casually in this place where dragons and snakes were mixed.
Dendrobium, who was slightly short in stature, just stood behind the two of them with his arms folded, acting as a bodyguard. His eyes were burning, paying attention to every move around him.
It happened that a gang member at the next table with weapons on the table glanced at them curiously, and Shi Hu stared back.
The evil aura in his eyes frightened the desperadoes, whose blood had been licked from the tips of their knives, to the point where they couldn't even raise their heads for a moment. In the end, they got up and left in despair.
Here, the conversation between Liu Boxuan and Zhang Hongce gradually got on the right track.
"Young Master paid a visit to the Supervisor of the Zhongshu yesterday, and talked about the friendship between uncle and nephew. A letter was also given to the Young Master to take to the envoy. The Young Master has completed all the matters for the visit and is preparing to return to Xiangyang in the near future."
"I know." Liu Boxuan nodded, his eyes moving.
"Young master knows that Boling will not be returning in the near future, so there must be something important. I am here this time. On the one hand, I will tell you that Young Master Boling is about to leave, and on the other hand, you and I will have a good relationship, which is different from the generals in the envoy's account. Young Master thinks if Boling is in trouble, so sending Hongce here is to relieve Boling's temporary difficulties."
Liu Boxuan frowned, looked up at Zhang Hongce and said:
"Bo Xuan deeply feels the great kindness of the young master. The master and the young master treat me as a nobleman of the country. I am deeply frightened. How can I dare to trouble the young master to worry about Bo Xuan again. As the young master expected, I really have something to investigate, and I may not be able to come back for a while. When I get to the young master, please ask him to go back to Xiangyang first. Bo Xuan will come soon after and stand on a bush to apologize to the lord and young master."
"What exactly did Boling do? Can you tell me?" Zhang Hongce sighed softly: "Young Master didn't ask where Boling was, not because he didn't care, but because he felt that if he interfered in Boling's affairs, it would cause Boling to misunderstand. I am different. , you and I are friendly, and I’m here to help.”
"Haha...Brother Zhen Jian is wrong." Liu Boxuan said, "Young Master is a wise and honest person. If you ask me, I dare not not tell you. It's a pity that I still don't know how to explain it to Brother Zhen Jian. This involves a lot of things." It’s a major assassination case, and there are still no clues.”
Zhang Hongce narrowed his eyes: "What a big case, Boling will tell you in detail?"
"You know there was a big fire in Tongxiali a few days ago."
"Could it be...could it be that there was a fire in Tongxiali? Is the case you mentioned related to the assassination of Princess Yongning?"
After Zhang Hongce finished speaking, his heart couldn't help but tighten, and at the same time he was sweating for Liu Boxuan.
He advised: "Bo Ling, the court has not yet reached a conclusion. It has become a murder without a head. The previous emperor used this to eradicate a group of political enemies in the court. Some people were killed by the three tribes. Did those people really participate in that assassination?" ? I don’t think so. To put it bluntly, this may be an incident deliberately caused by Xiao Yuwan’s adulteress who conspired with the emperor. The implication is to eliminate those different voices in the court and the public. This matter has nothing to do with you, so why should you? Are you going to swim through this muddy water?"
"It is true that the emperor took the opportunity to eradicate dissidents, but it is not what Zhen Jian thought. Someone did want to assassinate Xiao Yuwan, and who is involved behind this is still unknown."
As Liu Boxuan spoke, he took out a heavy iron sign from his arms and placed it on the table.
Zhang Hongce glanced at the iron sign, then raised his eyes to look at Liu Boxuan curiously.
"What is this?"
Liu Boxuan pressed the iron sign on the table. Then he pushed him in front of Zhang Hongce.
"You'll know after you see it."
Zhang Hongce doubtfully picked up the iron plate and looked at it for a while, and couldn't help but be surprised.
"Egret!"
Liu Boxuan nodded, his eyes a little gloomy.
Zhang Hongce looked serious: "This is a serious matter. This matter involves the diplomatic relations between the two countries. How can we talk about it randomly? Where did this token come from? What is going on?"
Liu Boxuan took the token back and said, "This token was obtained by suicide."
"What Boling means...the Northern Dynasty wants to assassinate my princess of the Southern Dynasty?"
Liu Boxuan said nothing, just stared at Zhang Hongce.
Zhang Hongce thought for a moment: "How did you get involved in this matter? You are an important criminal of the imperial court, how can you put yourself in danger again? Could it be...could it be the person the young master mentioned that day, the one named Xiao Dalang?"
Liu Boxuan smiled casually, raised his glass and drank without replying.
"Still drinking! Boling, if the young master knows that you are doing such a stupid thing here, he will let the horse Fo Nian come and take you back to Xiangyang. You are a very smart person, why are you so stupid? This has nothing to do with us in Jingxiang, we will do it ourselves It can be hung high on the ceiling.”
"As entrusted by others, there is no need to say more, Brother Zhen Jian."
"Who is entrusted by him? That Xiao Dalang? Who is he? The last time the young master mentioned him, he was a little confused. After inquiring, he did not know that there is such a person in the capital."
Liu Boxuan nodded: "Exactly, just because he is involved, Boxuan cannot stay out of the matter."
"who is he?"
"The Crown Prince of Jiangxia."
"Humph, Boling Gaoyi, just because of the little incense and love left? It is said that the young prince has broken his brain. Although I have not seen it in person, I only heard the external comments, and he is not a normal person. , Boling’s foolish loyalty may have been used in the wrong place.”
"I have made up my mind. No need to say more, Zhen Jian can return to the young master."
Zhang Hongce sighed deeply, said nothing, drank two cups of wine, and went away sulking alone.
At this moment, the hustle and bustle around him stopped for a moment, and it seemed that someone else had entered the restaurant.
Dendrobium's seemingly uncontroversial but sharp eyes turned towards the door, and saw six men dressed as businessmen walking into the lobby one after another.
Anyone with a discerning eye can see that although these people are dressed as Hu businessmen, how can the fierceness and violence they exude belong to those who think about making money all day long?
Liu Boxuan had also noticed them. He took a sip of wine and said in a deep voice to the strong young man behind him: "Dendrobium, don't look at them. Come and sit down."
Dendrobium said "uh uh" twice and sat down in front of Liu Boxuan.
But even so, the six people noticed them one after another.
One of them, a relatively young man with a deep voice, said to another figure who looked like a decisive and murderous leader: "Brother, why does he always linger and follow us?"
The leader-like person's face was as dark as water, and he said: "Don't worry about him, he has never seen our true face, just take it as a coincidence, be patient for a while, and then act on your own initiative."
He glanced at Liu Boxuan intentionally or unintentionally, and then took a few brothers to sit in another corner of the restaurant.
However, Liu Boxuan remained calm and continued to drink as if no one else was watching him, and continued to chat with the person opposite.
On the other side, although Liu Boxuan was like this, he knew in his heart that those men dressed as barbarians were the assassins who assassinated Princess Xiao Yuwan of Yongning.
This encounter happened to be a coincidence. He had lost these people in this arena that day, so he lingered here for a long time.
But after the fight, the behavior of these people had been deeply imprinted in his mind.
He kept quiet just to avoid alerting others. Behind these killers was what he wanted to investigate.
Liu Boxuan glanced at Zhang Hongce, and his tone seemed a little cold: "Zhen Jian, you and I can't talk about the same thing, why don't you leave quickly?"
Zhang Hongce didn't expect Liu Boxuan to be so rude. Just as he was having a fit, he heard a "crash" sound above his head, and fine dust kept falling and fell in front of his eyes.
Liu Boxuan's eyes were sharp and he said: "Shi Hu, take Zhang Canjun and leave first!"
Dendrobium seemed to realize something was wrong. He nodded and reached out to pull Zhang Hongce.
At this time, most of the people in the hotel seemed to feel something was wrong, and they all raised their heads to look at the roof.
There was just a loud noise, and the roof suddenly collapsed, and countless tiles and wooden beams crashed down, crushing the people in the lobby underneath.
The tragic situation suddenly emerged, and countless screams and wails spread in the rising dust and smoke.
Liu Boxuan dodged the beams that hit him and blocked the falling bricks with his hands. He waved the dust in front of his eyes with his sleeves and shouted: "What a Jane! Dendrobium!"
At the same time, he felt that something was wrong with the situation around him. Murderous intent was everywhere, and he saw a dozen black figures quietly appearing on the ruins of the restaurant, the weapons in their hands shining with a cold light.
