Ren Pingsheng was well-read. He observed for a while and said, "Why do I feel that it looks a bit like a Bifang bird?"

Sun Yong scratched his head, "What is Bifang? Can I eat it? I haven't eaten meat for a long time, so I want to have a snack."

Zhou Cisui slapped Sun Yong on the back, "Bifang is the sacred bird of the Zhou Dynasty. I can't show my respect to it enough, but you still want to eat it! Red feathers, one leg, it really is! Wait a minute..."

Zhou Cisui's eyes lit up, "Brother Pingsheng! There is a piece of cloth on the bird's foot!"

When Ren Pingsheng looked over, he saw that the bird had indeed a piece of brown cloth wrapped around its feet, which blended with the color of its feet and could not be seen without careful observation.

He reached over and carefully took it off.

Sun Yong and Zhou Cisui also leaned over to watch.

Ren Pingsheng's hands trembled slightly, "It's the general's handwriting!"

After watching it carefully several times, the three of them were so excited that they wanted to shout to the sky!

The general actually ran away!

Zhou Cisui clenched his fists, "It's really worth it to have such a master in this life."

The most excited one was Sun Yong, his eyebrows were dancing with joy and he laughed heartily, "In the future, our brothers' names will definitely be mentioned in this world!"

Ren Pingsheng was the calmest. He put the letter into his sleeve and said in a deep voice, "First, finish what the general has arranged. Then, go directly south and meet up with the general!"

After he finished speaking, several people sat down under a big tree and discussed strategies based on the suggestions mentioned by Gu Wei.

Ren Pingsheng held a branch in his hand and drew a rough sketch of the structure of Shangjing city on the mud ground with a sharp look.

"Prime Minister Xie's home is on Shenwu Street, the imperial palace is on the east side of Shenwu Street, and the moat bypasses the imperial palace and goes straight outside the city..."

"By the way, the general also asked us to draft a letter and send it to Lu Yinli's residence in the capital."

"Who is Lu Yinli?"

"I don't know either, but the general must have a deeper meaning. I'll ask him after I meet him again."

The hot summer wind blew, and even though the three young men were dressed in rags, they could not hide their high spirits.

Behind them, the setting sun looked like blood.

———

Prime Minister's Mansion.

Today is the day of the Prime Minister's wife's funeral.

But the entire Prime Minister's Mansion was hung with red lanterns, decorated with lights and colorful lanterns everywhere, and there was an air of joy.

Several maids touched the reward money in their pockets, their brows were filled with joy. They looked around and hid behind the hanging flower door to discuss cautiously.

"I knew Concubine An was no ordinary woman the first time I saw her. In the capital, which concubine could be promoted to the first wife? And at the funeral of the first wife."

"The Prime Minister's Mansion will be in a state of flux in the future. It's a pity for the Third Miss, born to Concubine An, to be exiled with the former General Zhenbei. Otherwise, she would be a legitimate daughter and would definitely be able to find a good marriage."

"My uncle, who was on duty at the stables, said that the former wife, Zhao, was rolled up in a tattered mat and thrown into a mass grave! The prime minister didn't even give her a proper burial!"

"Tsk tsk, she's finally dead. That woman was so vicious all day long. Cui'er, a maid from the outer courtyard, was accidentally tripped by her and was sold to a brothel! What a sin! Cui'er is a family girl!"

"Over there! Have you finished hanging the lanterns?"

The maids were startled back to their senses by the angry roar of an old woman.

Everyone was scared to death and stopped gossiping. They lowered their heads, picked up the big red lanterns beside them, and walked quickly up the winding corridor.

There are long tassels hanging from the big red lanterns. When the wind blows, the tassels spread out and sway gracefully.

From a distance, it looks like a red ocean.

Aunt An, wearing a hood, appeared in front of the shops of her two younger brothers.

Uncle An was in the timber business, and Uncle An was in the cloth business. They were both considered the best among the merchants in the capital.

But it’s not Xie Boyuan that he relies on.

Instead, he was a middle-aged man who was accidentally rescued by Uncle An many years ago.

The man's surname was Wu. He was loyal and had a great business sense. With his uncles An and An's second uncle, he quickly became very successful in the business world in Beijing.

Despite helping so much, the man wanted nothing and was only willing to be a shopkeeper quietly, earning a meager salary and working as a long-term worker for the An family, saying that it was to repay the man for saving his life.

No matter how his two uncles persuaded him, he just refused and was very stubborn.

The An family had no choice but to treat him well and not dare to neglect him at all.

At this moment, when Aunt An appeared, Uncle An immediately put down the things in the shop and hurried over, "Sister, what are you doing here?"

Aunt An said calmly, "Go and bring your brother here."

Uncle An listened to Aunt An very much and turned around and went to another street.

Manager Wu in the lumber shop was originally using an abacus with his head down, but when he saw Aunt An coming, he immediately looked up and looked at her with a deep gaze.

After Uncle An arrived, the three of them got on the carriage and headed for the suburbs.

Both Uncle An Da and Uncle An Er were very smart. Looking at this road that obviously led to their parents' graves, and thinking of the rumors that had been making the rounds in Beijing recently, they immediately knew what was going on and felt heavy-hearted.

The scenery outside the window kept receding, and the carriage stopped in front of two old graves.

The grave is quite old, but the surroundings are very clean, without any weeds or anything like that. You can tell at a glance that someone is cleaning it all the time.

There was a torn mat casually thrown in front of the grave, revealing half an arm covered with whip marks.

Aunt An's eyes were cold and stern. "This is one of our family's enemies. Now he is finally dead. I brought him here for you to see."

After that, the three of them fell silent again.

Uncle An Da and Uncle An Er, both eight-foot-tall men, thought of the tragic death of their parents, brothers and sisters-in-law that year and started crying like children again.

After chatting about the past at the grave, the three of them started their return journey.

Aunt An leaned against the windowsill, and when she thought of Xie Boyuan's dog-like face pretending to be affectionate, she couldn't help but feel like vomiting.

The only thing that supported her now was what Xie Ling said outside the pass: that she would come to pick her up later.

She had a miserable life, but fortunately she had a good daughter.

Thinking of Xie Ling, Aunt An's eyes brightened up again.

She believed her daughter could do it.

The carriage bumped along the way, and when it reached a woods, Uncle An, who was sitting in the front driving the horses, suddenly stopped.

He said sternly, "Who are you?"

Aunt An's heart beat faster, could it be that she encountered bandits?

Uncle An immediately protected Aunt An behind him.

"No, we were sent by Xie Ling to pick you up."

Aunt An suddenly lifted the carriage curtain and asked, "Were you sent by A Ling?"

In order to meet Aunt An, Ren Pingsheng and Zhou Cisui specially washed up to look more elegant.

Otherwise, given their miserable appearance in the past few days, they would have been chased away by the An family as beggars as soon as they showed up.

As for Zhang Yong, he looked like a bandit, so they naturally did not allow him to come.

Ren Pingsheng bowed and spoke in a gentle tone.

What he didn't expect was that the An family was so decisive and daring! He didn't even hesitate and planned to go with them!

With a bit of admiration in his eyes, he said, "We will come to pick you up at midnight tonight."