While they were talking, Chen Keyan and his party were approaching.
Su Xian made plans yesterday to meet up with Chen Keyan here, and then take a boat to Nanchen together.
Her identity is special and should not be exposed.
Fortunately, the people around Su Xian, such as Yang Zhilan, Guan Ping, Zhou Wei, and more than ten followers, are all carefully selected confidants.
It doesn't matter even if they know Chen Keyan's identity.
In addition, Li Qingniu was followed by more than ten Butterfly Valley masters.
Of course, it is impossible for only these twenty people to follow when they go to Nanchen. In fact, there are several disguised teams hidden in the dark to provide support at any time.
These teams were composed of the Hou Mansion's personal guards, internal guard killers and Butterfly Valley experts, totaling more than 150 people.
"Sir."
Chen Keyan walked closer, followed by more than ten confidants, including two girls, Jian'er and Bi'er.
"Miss Chen."
Su Xian nodded. It's hard to call her "Princess" outside. It's more appropriate to call her "Miss Chen".
Chen Keyan turned sideways and saw Li Qingniu at a glance. He was wearing a green Taoist robe, had a white face and a beard, was slightly stout, and looked like an outsider.
Finally met the legendary Doctor Li... Chen Keyan suppressed the excitement in her heart, walked up to Li Qingniu, pretended to be calm, and said politely:
"I've met Dr. Li!"
"..."
Li Qingniu's expression was very ugly, his eyes were as wide as a bull's eye, staring at Su Xian and Chen Keyan who had just approached, with a "Sure enough" expression on his face.
"snort!"
He put his hands behind his back, puffed out his slightly fat belly, and turned sideways arrogantly.
Chen Keyan was very embarrassed for a moment, and her heart tightened. She hurriedly looked at Su Xian and asked for help with her eyes.
Su Xian always kept his wits about him. He first gave Chen Keyan a reassuring look, and then took Li Qingniu to the river beside the official road. The river was flowing endlessly and it was a tributary of the Yellow River.
"let go!"
Li Qingniu glared at him with an expression of "You must give me a reasonable explanation" written all over his face. He was conceited as a miracle doctor, how could he be easily manipulated by others?
"Master, what are you doing? That's the princess of Nanchen. Why is Master so contemptuous of her?" Su Xian's voice contained a hint of questioning.
"Did I slight her?!"
Li Qingniu's eyes widened even more, with a look of disbelief on his face. It was clear that Su Xian colluded with Princess Nanchen to "calculate" him, but in the end it turned out that he had slighted Princess Nanchen.
Isn't this confusing right and wrong?
Li Qingniu's heart suddenly sank, and he had the urge to return to the divine capital.
Seeing this, Su Xian quickly apologized and said with a smile:
"Master, please don't be impulsive. Please listen carefully to the disciple's explanation."
"explain."
Li Qingniu looked sideways, he wanted to see what kind of flower Su Xian could tell.
Su Xian said:
"The clues we found are in the Nanchen Palace. Master, think about it, it is the palace of a country after all. How can we easily enter and investigate?"
"Princess Nanchen actually only has a casual acquaintance with this disciple, but in order for the master to pass on the family line as soon as possible, the disciple put down his old face and asked others, and they were willing to help."
"With the help of Princess Nanchen, we can successfully sneak into Chen Palace to investigate."
"..."
After hearing this, Li Qingniu's frown relaxed a little, and his face became a little brighter, but he still maintained an air of dignity and said, "So what about Chen Gong? I have countless masters under my command. Isn't it easy to get in and out of Chen Gong?"
Su Xian frowned and said:
"It is true that both Zhou Wei and Zhi Lan have the ability to enter and leave the Chen Palace at will, but there must be equal masters in the Chen Palace. No matter how powerful they are, their hands and feet must be tied up!"
"Furthermore, this clue also involves many people in Chen Palace, including those with extraordinary high positions."
"Without Princess Nan Chen's recommendation, we can sneak into Chen Palace, but how can we contact those high-ranking people without alerting them? Kidnap? Or force them to interrogate?"
"..."
When Li Qingniu heard this, his brows furrowed again. This was indeed a problem.
Although his expression wanted to move, he couldn't let go of his face, so he stayed there.
Seeing this, Su Xian slowly curved his lips and said:
"Since Master doesn't want to see Princess Nan Chen, and doesn't need her to introduce us to Chen Palace, then this disciple will explain the situation and ask her to leave on her own."
Li Qingniu still maintained his airs and refused to let go of his face.
Su Xian would not spoil him. After waiting for a while, he turned around and left, saying:
"Since master insists, then disciple will go now..."
Before he finished speaking, Su Xian suddenly felt a gust of wind blowing around him.
Looking closely, it turned out to be Li Qingniu. He passed Su Xian at a sprint speed of 100 meters and ran to Chen Keyan. He nodded and smiled and said: "Your Highness, you are welcome. I still need to trouble your Highness next..."
"..."
When Chen Keyan saw this, she could hardly suppress her inner joy. She almost knelt on the ground and begged Li Qingniu to heal her father.
Fortunately, Su Xian's words were still in her ears. She immediately calmed down and pretended to be "unaware of Li Qingniu's identity" and "slightly arrogant", and said slowly:
"Doctor Li, you're welcome, just call me 'Miss Chen'."
Su Xian stepped forward. He understood what was going on, but he didn't want to expose it and said with a smile:
"I think everyone is almost rested, so let's get in the car. We'd better board the ship going south before dark and rest on the ship at night."
"That's fine."
"..."
Now everyone got on the bus one after another.
Not long after the convoy traveled along the official road, it arrived at the Grand Canal Pier.
When night fell completely, Su Xian and his party had successfully boarded the ship.
The big boat goes down the Yellow River.
After traveling more than ten miles on the waterway, the big ship adjusted its direction at "Heyin" and sailed southward into the Grand Canal.
In this way, the fleet galloped along the Grand Canal overnight, first passing through Zhengzhou, arriving at Bianzhou on Henan Road, and then passing through Songzhou, Bozhou, Xuzhou, Sizhou in turn, and arriving at Chuzhou on Huainan Road.
At this time, Su Xian and others had spent a day and night on the boat.
They abandoned ship and landed in Chuzhou.
Of course, the purpose of landing was not to rest, but to change to a carriage and take the land route.
Why take the overland route instead?
Because the Grand Canal was excavated by the "Daqian" of the previous dynasty, at that time, Nanchen had not yet established a country and was under the jurisdiction of the "Daqian" dynasty. Therefore, the Grand Canal was built all the way to Hangzhou, the hinterland of Nanchen today.
"Green Gourd Sword Fairy"
Decades ago, the Daqian dynasty collapsed. The Central Plains had been in turmoil for several years. People were displaced, order collapsed, and no one was dredging the Grand Canal.
At the beginning of the establishment of the Liang Dynasty and Nanchen Dynasty, people's livelihood was in decline. For several years, they were unable to dredge the Grand Canal.
Therefore, after several years of neglect, the Grand Canal became silted up and became unnavigable, almost becoming a waste river.
Later, as the national strength of Daliang and Nanchen gradually recovered, they organized manpower to dredge the canal, and the canal became a major transportation artery running through the north and south.
However, the Grand Canal in Huainan Road has not been dredged. It has been silted up for decades, and various river sections have turned into independent "fish ponds".
Why is this so?
Because the canal in Huainan Road is the "buffer area" between Daliang and Nanchen.
Just imagine, if this section of the canal is unobstructed, then the warships of Daliang can go straight to Nanchen, and the warships of Nanchen can also go north to attack Liang. It is so convenient.
Sometimes, being too convenient is not a good thing.
…
This morning, Su Xian and his entourage took a carriage, passed through Chuzhou, and arrived at the boundary of Yangzhou.
To the south of Yangzhou is the Yangtze River, which flows eastward and flows into the sea.
To the south of the Yangtze River is the destination of this trip - Nanchen Capital City, Jiangning.
In a certain restaurant in Yangzhou City, Su Xian and his party took a break.
We are about to enter Nanchen and we are about to go to Jiangning. We must not act too hastily at this time. We must plan step by step and make decisions before taking action.
In a certain box, Su Xian, Yang Zhilan, Li Qingniu, Zhou Wei, Guan Ping, Chen Keyan, Jian'er, Bi'er, etc., were sitting around a table.
While they had lunch in advance, they discussed their plans for the afternoon.
"Without further delay, as soon as we enter Jiangning City, please ask His Highness to lead us into the palace immediately." Su Xian looked at Chen Keyan and "requested".
Li Qingniu looked slightly unnatural, thinking that Su Xian had already spoken, and as a master, he should just sit back and enjoy the fruits of his labor, so he kept silent.
Chen Keyan was "slightly arrogant" and seemed a little embarrassed. She frowned and said, "Will you enter the palace this afternoon?"
"Your Highness, I will repay you generously for this kindness!" Su Xian stood up, pretended to be polite, and saluted respectfully.
Li Qingniu on the side was slightly moved when he saw this. This disciple had really sacrificed too much to help him, so he couldn't help but cast a look of approval at Su Xian.
Although Chen Keyan was "arrogant" on the surface, she was actually very scared inside, fearing that Li Qingniu would find out and then abandon her father's illness.
But this was Su Xian's special order, and it was Su Xian's plan. She didn't dare to disobey it, so she had to bite the bullet and wave her hands and said, "That's all, I'll do my best."
"Thank you, Your Highness!"
Su Xian thanked him again, then turned sideways and gave Li Qingniu a "OK" look.
Li Qingniu felt very relieved. He glanced at Su Xian, coughed, and thanked Chen Keyan for her willingness to help.
Chen Keyan was flattered, you know, this is the legendary miracle doctor in front of her!
She was counting on the miracle doctor to treat her father. How could she dare to accept Li Qingniu's thanks?
In her desperation, she actually forgot Su Xian's instructions, stood up and returned the favor, and then asked Li Qingniu to treat her father.
"uh-huh!"
Fortunately, Su Xian was quick-sighted and noticed something was wrong with her, and quickly coughed to remind her.
Chen Keyan was suddenly startled, realized what she was doing, and quickly stopped trying to return the favor... But she had already stood up. This move was very abrupt, and everyone's eyes were on her.
what to do?
At this time, one of Chen Keyan's subordinates knocked on the door outside the box, saying that there was something urgent to report.
Chen Keyan quickly borrowed the donkey from Poxia, ordered the man to come in, and then asked what the urgent matter was.
This was a spy from Nanchen Secret Guard. After entering the box, he reported:
"Yesterday, Jiangning City was under martial law. All city gates were closed, no entry or exit was allowed, and the city walls were heavily defended! The situation was tense."
"What did you say? The entire Jiangning City is under martial law?!"
"..."
Chen Keyan, Su Xian and others stood up.
His complexion changed drastically.
You must know that Jiangning City is the capital of Nanchen. It is impossible to impose martial law except at critical moments, and there are heavy defenses on the city wall...
This shows what?
It means that the situation in the city has changed!
And very critical.
"Father!"
Chen Keyan instantly thought of the key point.
Before she left Nanchen and rushed to Shu and Daliang, Emperor Chen's coughing of blood was already very serious. Now that dozens of days have passed, Emperor Chen's coughing is...
She didn't dare to think deeply.
But the shocking changes in Jiangning City had to make her think again.
She was so anxious that she couldn't speak.
When Su Xian saw this, he immediately stood up and asked the secret guard spy: "What exactly is going on? Why is Jiangning City closed? Who is causing trouble? Where is Emperor Chen? I don't care!"
Although the spy did not know Su Xian, he saw that Chen Keyan was very close to these people. After careful consideration, he made the decision and reported:
"Your Majesty has not shown up for more than ten days. Rumors are spreading in Jiangning City, saying... saying..."
"What did you say?" Chen Keyan shouted.
When the spy saw this, he breathed a sigh of relief and then reported:
"It is said that His Majesty may have... passed away, and it has spread to all the people of all ages!"
"Then King Li took the opportunity to bewitch some civil and military ministers and dispatched thousands of troops. Not only did he seal off the entire Jiangning City, he also..."
"They also gathered troops to besiege the imperial city, saying they wanted to 'clear the emperor's side'. King Li once threatened that if he could not see your majesty again, they would storm the imperial city."
"..."
"Father!" Chen Keyan took a step back and kept shaking her head. Her face turned pale for a while, and crystal clear pearls were already spinning in her eyes.
Regardless of the father-daughter relationship between her and Emperor Chen, considering the situation alone, if Emperor Chen was endangered or died at this time, she would have no chance of winning!
Years of planning will be in vain.
If King Li really ascends the throne and becomes the new Emperor Chen, her life will not be easy in the future...
Su Xian also frowned and had a bad premonition. Could it be that he came a step too late?
He secretly helped Chen Keyan to seize the throne of Nanchen, mainly to leave a way out for himself, but now it seems that this matter is about to go south.
The rest of the people also have different thoughts, because this is a huge change. If Nan Chen is not careful, big news will break out, and it may even affect the situation in the world.
Of course, among everyone, Li Qingniu's expression was the most complicated.
He caught two key words, "Chen Emperor" and "died". After thinking about it carefully, he couldn't help but look sideways at Su Xian and Chen Keyan, and a strong feeling of "being fooled" emerged in his heart. a feeling of.
Furthermore, Nanchen was in civil strife at this time, and it might not be easy to find clues about Jiuzhi Manna... Li Qingniu couldn't help but feel worried.
…
After a while, there was silence in the box.
Su Xian was the first to break the silence.
He looked determined and said to everyone:
"As long as King Li doesn't ascend the throne for a day, we still have a chance. Don't be discouraged, please cheer up. Let's all think about whether there is any way to deal with it."
After hearing this, everyone cheered up and looked at Su Xian, waiting for him to say something.
"Our top priority is to sneak into Jiangning City and find out the real situation. As the saying goes, only by knowing yourself and the enemy can you win every battle!" Su Xian turned to look at Chen Keyan and asked:
"Your Highness, you are Princess Nanchen, is there any way for us to sneak into Jiangning City?"
Everyone's eyes fell on Chen Keyan.
But no one has high hopes.
After all, Jiangning City has been completely closed and heavily defended. How can they get in? Not even if wings grow on your back!
Chen Keyan wiped the crystal from the corners of her eyes and quickly calmed down. Once this person calmed down, his thinking became smoother. No, Chen Keyan's eyes suddenly lit up and she said:
"There may be a way for us to sneak into Jiangning City without anyone noticing!"
"Is it really true?!"
Su Xian and others were surprised, and then they were overjoyed.
As the saying goes, everything is difficult at the beginning, but fortunately they are about to take the first step.
…
at the same time.
In Jiangning City.
Prince Li's Mansion.
study.
King Li was staring at a map of the palace city, frowning and deep in thought.
Suddenly a servant came to report that there was a distinguished guest who wanted to see him.
That distinguished guest was none other than the leader of the remnants of the previous dynasty, the daughter of Yang Zong—Yang Ruoxian!
