The swift horses galloped lightly, and the sound of the horseshoes faded away from the tension and oppression, becoming light and fast.

Su Ci asked: "How long will it take us to get there?"

"About an hour."

She said "Oh", then turned back and asked, "Do you want to sleep for a while?"

He looked like he hadn't had a rest for a long time, and who knew how long he would be busy later. She winked at him and patted her shoulder in a very manly way.

Yang Yanzong chuckled twice, raised his eyebrows and glanced at her thin shoulders. Okay, he followed her advice, handed the reins to her, put his arms around her waist, tilted his head to rest on her shoulder, and closed his eyes.

The corners of his lips curled up slightly.

Su Ci: Oh my god, it’s so heavy.

She felt her left shoulder suddenly drop. This guy's head was so heavy. She quickly held on to avoid both of them falling off the horse.

Yang Yanzong had only intended to tease her, his fingers tapping her waist from time to time. Su Ci wanted to laugh a little, but she tried hard to hold it back, cursing under her breath, "Do you want to sleep or not, you bastard?"

But gradually, his eyelids became heavy. Yang Yanzong had actually slept on horseback before, and more than once. Sometimes he had to rush all night to fight a battle, and when he was extremely tired, he could even fall asleep on a galloping horse.

He felt like he closed his eyes for a moment, but when he opened them again, he had already left Gaobian City and was galloping on the road towards the ancient pass. When there were still ten miles to go, he turned a corner and headed into the mountains.

The road became bumpy, and Yang Yanzong woke up. He didn't move after waking up, but leaned quietly on her shoulder. Su Ci's slender white neck was a little hazy in the moonlight. She was trying to straighten her back. He leaned quietly for a while and kissed her neck.

Su Ci let out a hiss. That place was a sensitive spot just like her ribs. She had been enduring Yang Yanzong's breathing all the way with great difficulty. Suddenly she was attacked and could not bear it any longer. Knowing that he was awake, she became bolder and twisted her body. Haha, it was so itchy!

The fat horse took two steps in a serpentine manner. Yang Yanzong held the reins with one hand and pulled them, and the big brown horse immediately returned to its original track. "Huh?" Su Ci suddenly discovered, "Where is Dahei? Why is Dahei gone?"

"Injured and receiving treatment."

Yang Yanzong said softly.

But in fact, it was not the case. The big black horse had sacrificed itself. After the Northern Rong army retreated and cleaned up the battlefield, Yang Yanzong personally closed its eyes and ordered people to carry it back for burial.

This dark horse has been Yang Yanzong's battlefield partner for many years.

But he touched her head and decided not to tell her these things, otherwise she would definitely be depressed.

“That’s great!”

Su Ci was indeed happy. Just now, for a moment she guessed that the dark horse was gone, and she felt sad for a moment.

Yang Yanzong also smiled. He had a good sleep and felt much more energetic. He turned his head and kissed her. He held her with one hand holding the reins, reached into his belt and fumbled for a while, then took out something and put it in her hand.

Su Ci held it up and looked at it in the moonlight. It turned out to be a small grasshopper, very small, made of grass. However, it had probably been woven for more than a day or two, and the green grass stems had turned dry yellow.

It was very delicate, even had tentacles. Su Ci couldn't help laughing. This guy was really good at trying to make people happy. It was obvious that he had made this thing. It was much more useful than any expensive gift.

She chuckled a few times, thinking of the expensive gifts, and suddenly remembered the box of gold and silver jewelry he had left in her room the night before the wedding. The routine was completely different, haha.

She was smiling, so Yang Yanzong asked her what she was laughing at. She whispered, and he couldn't help laughing too. He glanced at her and said, "Why? Are you not happy about giving you something?"

The box was chosen from his private collection of spoils. Part of it was in foreign style, and the other part was made by someone else with gold and silver.

"No, no, I like it very much. The more the better." Money, who would complain about having too little?

She chuckled, turned around and kissed him on the cheek.

Yang Yanzong snorted lightly and glanced at her sideways, but the corners of his lips were slightly raised.

…

This light-hearted and joyful atmosphere continued until he met Yang Yanzong's friend.

Ahead, the sound of Azhao's horse's hooves slowed down, and Yang Yanzong said, "We're here."

Su Ci quickly stuffed the little grasshopper into her little pouch and looked over.

This place is close to Gushan Pass, in the mountains. There is a dark cave entrance in front, which seems to be just found temporarily. The bumpy ground and the uneven road show that no one has walked here before. Bonfires are lit inside and outside the cave, with yellow flames jumping. A man is squatting outside the cave to get some fresh air. He is chewing the refreshing wild mint leaves and spitting them out, complaining as he spits, and he is very disgusted with the old mint leaves that Achuan found for him.

Hearing the sound of horse hooves, several people outside the cave looked up. The man was about thirty years old, with fair skin, but he had a goatee and a half-worn felt hat on his head. His clothes were similar to Achuan and the others, and he was very inconspicuous.

Su Ci took a closer look and exclaimed, "Huh?" This person seemed a little familiar.

In just a moment, the big brown horse had leapt up. Yang Yanzong turned over and dismounted. He turned slightly and used a little force to help Su Ci down. The man jumped up and said, "Oh, oh, oh, so this is your little wife?"

He had an ambiguous and gossipy look on his face, and looked at Su Ci with wide eyes curiously. The little girl was so small in stature and young, but she actually managed to win over the cold and ruthless Yang Shenxing. It was incredible.

He was only halfway through muttering when Yang Yanzong kicked him. The latter jumped back swiftly. Yang Yanzong was not happy and whispered to Su Ci, "This is Qiu Yuanming."

He wanted to introduce her to his friends.

When Su Ci heard the name, she suddenly realized, isn't this the aide to the Sixth Prince? ! She understood immediately, gave him a knowing look, and smiled as she cupped her fists towards Qiu Yuanming: "Hello, Brother Qiu."

"Sister-in-law, I am polite."

Qiu Yuanming pretended to bow. Su Ci had been to the Sixth Prince's Mansion for banquets several times and had also seen Qiu Yuanming from a distance several times. However, he was very serious at that time. She didn't expect that he was so funny in private.

Yang Yanzong smiled and said, "He is also from Tongxiang."

Tongxiang is a small place and the hometown of Yang Yanzong and Su Ci.

Su Ci suddenly realized that they were childhood friends. No wonder they knew each other so well! No wonder he and Yang Yanzong are good friends. That's why.

Yes, Yang Yanzong and Qiu Yuanming were indeed childhood friends. The Qiu family was even in the next alley to the Yang family. They went to the same school when they were young. Qiu Yuanming was actually only 27 years old, and his face looked young if you looked closely. He had a goatee that he deliberately grew to look mature.

While Yang Yanzong joined the army, Qiu Yuanming, by chance, became an apprentice and learned criminal law. Yes, Qiu Yuanming was an expert in criminal law, and he was in charge of this aspect in the Sixth Prince's Mansion.

When the two were in their teens, one joined the army and the other went to prison. Later, Qiu Yuanming was noticed by the Sixth Prince, who set a trap for him and then rescued him (this was only known later). After that, Qiu Yuanming entered the Sixth Prince's Mansion. The two had always been in contact. Yang Yanzong's biggest and most important source of information around the Sixth Prince came from Qiu Yuanming.

This time an important suspect was arrested at Guguankou. Yang Yanzong himself was not available, and Asheng, his subordinate who was good at interrogation, was injured again. So he secretly called Qiu Yuanming to come for help. Since Ji Ye was not there, Qiu Yuanming was very convenient and came quickly, covering both the front and the rear.

"It turns out that he is indeed a person of some importance," the villagers said and laughed. Then, back to the point, Qiu Yuanming hooked his arm around Yang Yanzong's shoulder and whispered, "This time, this malaria was led by this person, and he has someone above him."

In addition, Qiu Yuanming whispered: "Tong Jie'en is here."

Yang Yanzong nodded. He had already caught sight of the Inspectorate guards in black clothes and holding knives not far from the cave entrance.

The group said nothing more and immediately turned around and walked into the cave.

This was a long and narrow cave, winding for twenty or thirty feet to the end. The inside was a little bigger, with four hastily erected but sturdy cross racks, on which were tied several people who looked like blood gourds, their bodies still twitching. Su Ci took one look and didn't dare to look at it again. It was a bit scary. It seemed as if a piece of skin had been peeled off and the nails were gone.

Except for her, everyone in the cave looked calm. Ji Yuanhao had been standing at the edge since Tong Jie'en arrived. When he saw Yang Yanzong, he slowly walked up to him and nodded.

Ji Yuanhao was also dressed in black, without armor, and his clothes were inconspicuous. Only then did Tong Jie'en notice him. He shifted his eyes away from the blood gourds and stared at Ji Yuanhao, but said nothing.

Yang Yanzong and Ji Yuanhao made eye contact. It was a rare opportunity for Ji Yuanhao to appear in front of Tong Jie'en, so he decided not to avoid the latter since there was no way to avoid him.

His behavior also shows his determination.

Tong Jie'en knew very well that this was a great thing for the old emperor, and he didn't mind at all.

The people from all parties knew what was going on, and no one said anything nonsense. Tong Jie'en said, "Now that we have a clue, what are we waiting for?"

First of all, we have to determine whether this person’s confession is true or false.

Tong Jie'en glanced sideways at the guards around him, and seven or eight of them in black immediately came forward, two by two, and each of them looked closely at the blood gourd in front of them. Then, one of them held the other's ribs.

According to these people's confessions, they traveled on the road and in the mountains for nearly two hours and finally arrived at the place he said.

It was a very hidden valley. It was midsummer and the vast broad-leaved forest and vines and mountain grasses covered it tightly. It was also late at night. If it weren't for this person's confession, I'm afraid that even those standing on the top would not have known that there was such a valley below.

Everyone pushed aside the grass and quickly reached the bottom, where they immediately found many gauze frames.

This is what is used to hold mosquitoes.

The army in the mountains could not walk, and the Northern Rong soldiers could not cross the Great Wall, but mosquitoes could.

These carefully prepared malaria-carrying mosquitoes were carried on shoulders and hands and quietly approached the vicinity of Gaobian City, and at more than one point, they were opened at the same time. Mosquitoes are attracted to light and flesh, and will soon be attracted by the guards of the long trench, and then quickly fly close to the Gaobian camp.

As for why the plan was implemented so smoothly? Of course, it was because of the internal and external cooperation. One of the blood gourds said intermittently: "... The general was unwilling at first, but, but..." This kind of thing, once involved, can't be pulled out, "Finally, he ordered us to stay at Yugaobian... the main camp, and make arrangements."

After leaving this valley, we went to several other spots and found traces of mosquito nets.

Next, Tong Jie'en sneered: "Okay, let's go to Xiyang now."

…

Xiyang is 300 miles away from Gaobianyue and is also an important town in the northern border. Pingshan Pass, where Yang Yanzong previously left the country, belongs to Xiyang.

Now we can only be thankful that this collaborator is not yet in cahoots with Beirong to that extent, otherwise the outcome would be quite dangerous.

"Duke Ningguo, General Xuanwei Huang Zhengmao."

This was confessed by the leader of the Blood Gourd. Su Ci was a little surprised: "But isn't this Duke Ningguo the nephew of General Xu?"

It is also because of his royal blood and being the grandson of the eldest princess, otherwise it would not be so easy to be conferred the title of Duke. Haven't you seen so many generals with outstanding military achievements who still don't have titles?

And the old emperor didn't suspect the old general.

Among the four suspects, Su Ci originally thought that he was the least likely one.

Tong Jie'en suddenly said, "This person may have Northern Rong bloodline."

The second daughter of the Grand Princess, Princess Mingying was once abducted by the King of Youguli of the Northern Rong. Fortunately, she was rescued by General Xu the following year. However, the princess' reputation was damaged, so she later married a young general from a poor family. His surname was Huang, and Huang Zhengmao was the eldest son.

Later, based on some old doubts, the old emperor had some suspicions, but it was just a little suspicion. This was the most important reason to list him as a suspect, but there was actually no evidence. Now it seems that it may be true.

Beirong and Daqing are incompatible and are fighting to the death. Once his bloodline is revealed, Huang Zhengmao will be completely finished. His whole family may not be accepted in Daqing, and even his brothers' families and even General Xu may be implicated.

Or maybe there is some unknown story between this person and the Northern Rong. King Youguli is a member of the Northern Rong royal family, so many stories can happen between them.

The old emperor did put in a lot of effort to investigate. He was seriously injured and fell off his horse, and there was also such a serious hidden danger in the northern border. As an emperor, how could he tolerate it?

Tong Jie'en actually already had a lot of indirect evidence. Once it was combined with the confession from Blood Gourd, many things became clear. The traitor was directly pointed out as Huang Zhengmao, the Duke of Ningguo and General Xuanwei.

Xiyang is one of the important towns in the northern border. General Xuanwei Huang Zhengmao is one of the core defenders. However, it is also possible that he guessed that he was under close surveillance. Of course, it is also possible that he was trading with the Beirong unwillingly and did not want to expose himself to bargaining. In any case, the Beirong army did not use Xiyang as a breakthrough point, but chose Gaobian instead.

The reason why is unknown, but there are many things to consider in the subsequent arrest operation.

The first thing is that we must not allow internal strife in Xiyang and the army must be stable.

The second one must be as fast as lightning to prevent the target from escaping.

Their next plan was that the opponent could die, but he absolutely could not escape.

Su Ci asked Yang Yanzong a few questions in a low voice. When Yang Yanzong told her this, she understood immediately. He was trying to frame her. She understood.

The old emperor's ultimate goal is still the three royal palaces.

But I don’t know if it was because of her bad mouth, but after she finished her summary, Yang Yanzong smiled, and what happened next was really thrilling.

…

In fact, the arrest operation went relatively smoothly.

Tong Jie'en personally went into the city secretly and met with another Xiyang commander, General Tang Qun, who was one of the absolutely trustworthy candidates given by the old emperor.

Tang Qun was in disbelief when he heard this. The eight-foot-tall man's eyes turned red and he just murmured, "Impossible, impossible."

But when Tong Jie'en took out the command arrow and the old emperor's decree, Tang Qun immediately knelt down to receive the order, wiped his face and hurried away.

I don’t know if Huang Zhengmao noticed the abnormality in the army that night. Maybe he did, because after all, a thief is guilty and will pay more attention than others.

Tong Jie'en, Yang Yanzong, Ji Yuanhao and others rode fast to the headquarters of General Huang Zhengmao.

The city of Xiyang was much more spacious than Gaobian due to its topography. The military town and civilian houses were all within the city. The clattering sound of horse hooves could be heard running along the third street of the military control area all the way to the end.

The barracks were quiet. The group dismounted. Tong Jie'en waved his hand and the guards quickly surrounded the three-story barracks. The guards at the door were about to ask questions but were shocked when they saw the golden order Tong Jie'en took out. They were at a loss as the group quickly walked into the courtyard.

It was quiet inside. Huang Zhengmao had already found an excuse to send out all the personal soldiers who had followed him for many years.

Of course Yang Yanzong didn't know this, but as someone who had fought on the brink of life and death countless times, he immediately smelled something unusual. He shouted, "Stop!!!"

Ji Yuanhao, Azhao, Su Ci and others stopped in their tracks immediately. Tong Jie'en took two steps forward before stopping. Puzzled, he was about to ask a question, but just now, the silhouette who had been sitting in the study in the east suddenly moved, and the candlelight inexplicably lit up.

Just as Yang Yanzong was about to speak, he suddenly heard the hissing sound of gunpowder and kerosene being ignited. He was horrified and turned around and shouted, "Retreat, retreat quickly!"

"boom--"

With the study in the front yard as the center, the entire barracks exploded, and a huge orange flame suddenly exploded, covering the head and face!

The main target of Yang Yanzong's shouting was Su Ci. He didn't care about Tong Jie'en. Among so many people on his side, she was the worst in terms of skills! Unfortunately, she was not able to walk at the same pace as Tong Jie'en and the others, and fell behind. With so many people blocking her way, Yang Yanzong couldn't get to her right away.

At the critical moment, Su Ci screamed and ran backwards with her head in her hands. She was only three or four steps away from the door! But just as she took a step forward, there was a sudden explosion behind her. She could no longer stand and saw herself flying up and falling to the ground. She thought, “Oh the fuck is this possible?” In a flash, someone grabbed her waist and threw her out!

It’s Qiu Yuanming.

He had always kept a low profile, blending in with the personal guards. When the incident happened, he happened to be standing a little in front of Su Ci, at just the right distance. His kung fu was not very good, but fortunately it was just enough. He took a risk and threw himself away, and with a kick of his feet, both of them fell outside the gate at the same time.

"Bang!" With a loud bang, the two doors and the entire courtyard wall were blown away! Yang Yanzong was the first to arrive. He dove and leaned over, put one hand around Su Ci's waist and the other hand lifted Qiu Yuanming's collar. He flew out of the range of the explosion and landed safely.

It was a close call.

Qiu Yuanming rubbed his Adam's apple and coughed a few times, complaining: "Are you kidding me?"

He was so considerate and gentle to his wife, but so rude to his old friend that he strangled him to death.

Yang Yanzong patted him on the shoulder: "Thanks, brother."

Su Ci also hurriedly said: "Brother Qiu, I'm lucky to have you!"

Although Yang Yanzong's words were brief, they were sincere. Otherwise, Su Ci would have been bleed.

Qiu Yuanming didn't care much, "It's no big deal."

Is it worth thanking so much?

No one was busy, and it would have been awkward to say too many polite words, so the three of them laughed and dropped the topic.

Qiu Yuanming glanced over there and said, "That Supervisor Tong doesn't look very good."

…

As I joked before, it doesn’t really matter if Huang Zhengmao died. The most important thing is that he didn’t escape.

The only problem now is that Huang Zhengmao’s headquarters, especially his study, was completely blown up and nothing is left.

But this was not a big problem. Yang Yanzong had been prepared. He retreated a distance to avoid the Xiyang Army who rushed over to check and deal with the situation. Yang Yanzhen quietly stepped forward and reported: "Brother, Huang Zhengmao's private residence has been found."

He left someone to watch over it, and all the people were there.

Huang Zhengmao's wife and children were all here, no, it should be said that his concubines and children were all here.

For these generals who stay at the border all year round, their wives, children and parents usually stay in Beijing, but most of them have a family in the frontier, so it doesn't affect them at all to take concubines and have children. Huang Zhengmao is no exception.

Yang Yanzong smiled and said that all private houses would be fine.

Everyone immediately turned around and headed straight for Huang Zhengmao's private residence.

Tong Jie'en couldn't go. He was seriously injured. His head was broken and he was dizzy. His leg was either broken or sprained. His face was covered in blood. He grabbed Yang Yanzong's hand, stared at him with his eyes wide open, and glanced at Ji Yuanhao: "General Yang, don't forget the emperor's order!"

Yang Yanzong said calmly: "I can't forget it."

Although Tong Jie'en could not go, he sent the rest of the Supervisory Office staff to go together. Leading them was a eunuch named Liang. Su Ci noticed that Eunuch Liang was carrying a large bag.

The Pegasus galloped westward, the hooves clattering. Su Ci stole glances at the other party for a while, and suddenly remembered something: "Hey, didn't you say that the Sixth Prince wanted to get rid of you?"

Su Ci knew very well what Yang Yanzong was going to do in Huang Zhengmao's private residence. If he did, Yang Yanzong would either not take action or completely break off ties with the Sixth Prince's Mansion.

But why is there no movement from the Sixth Prince?

Isn't that like his style?

Yang Yanzong smiled and said, "How do you know he didn't make any movement?"

He had no idea how many attacks he had endured these days.

"Why don't you just stay quiet?" Su Ci glared at him. "How would I know if you don't tell me?"

"Okay, I'll tell you next time."

He bent his head, kissed her inconspicuously, and patted her back.

…

When they arrived at Huang Zhengmao's private residence, the eunuch Liang opened the big bundle. Su Ci observed carefully and found that the evidence that the old emperor wanted to use to wipe out the three royal palaces in one fell swoop was the third batch of 21 million taels of silver that disappeared in the river.

Yang Yanzong did not look surprised.

Ji Yuanhao raised his eyebrows, but he was mentally strong and there was no surprise on his face.

——Well, they are all great people, and she won’t get involved in the battle between masters. She’d better just watch the show.

The most critical moment had arrived. After Eunuch Liang had finished tidying up the secret compartment in the private residence's study, he stuffed all his belongings from a large bundle into it, arranging it so that it was hard to tell what was real and what was fake. Then he turned around and said, "General Yang."

The next key is up to you.

Ji Yuanhao spread out the old letter paper, dipped it in processed Chen ink, picked up the pen and paused for a moment before starting to write. He wrote with great concentration and heaviness, and what he wrote was actually the handwriting of the Four Kings!

Su Ci has a toothache. Don't ever think that you can control everyone. No matter how powerful you are, even the wisest man can make mistakes.

As for Yang Yanzong, he looked at Eunuch Liang's things, pondered over what he had prepared, and discussed it with Qiu Yuanming, who nodded.

Then, Qiu Yuanming walked to the other side of the long table, spread out paper and dipped it in ink, and then Yang Yanzong took out a carefully carved large seal.

——Qiu Yuanming came here not only for criminal investigation. Imitating handwriting is another of Qiu Yuanming's strengths, and he is very good at it.

Eunuch Liang's eyes lit up, and he quickly discussed with Yang Yanzong, hoping to have one made for the Seventh Prince's Palace as well.

Well, now that we've done it, let's just go all the way.

So three letters in different handwritings were quickly written and spread out on the table to dry, and someone from Eunuch Liang's side came to tidy them up and make them look old.

alright.

Ji Yuanhao quickly folded the letter and stuffed it into the cover. He personally threw this fatal letter into the secret compartment.

Qiu Yuanming was not slow either. He quickly folded the letter according to the Sixth King's habit, turned it through the Treasure Pavilion, and put it into the secret compartment.

Eunuch Liang smiled and said, "Well, thank you all for your hard work these days. His Majesty will not forget your contributions!"

The trip was a complete success, and the next step was to make a perfect exit.

Unexpectedly, something happened next that no one could have predicted.

The atmosphere has always been tense. After all, what they are doing is a major event that will affect the entire Daqing government.

I felt a little relieved when it was finally done.

Yang Yanzong switched his sword to his left hand and patted Qiu Yuanming on the shoulder with his right hand. He said, "Zhongqi, I have found a job for you as the Marble Prison Director. When this matter is settled, ..."

The Marble Prison Director was the position Qiu Yuanming had always dreamed of. He did not like being a staff member. In fact, he preferred to concentrate on applying what he had learned in criminal law.

Qiu Yuanming turned his head and smiled at Yang Yanzong.

But Yang Yanzong suddenly stopped talking halfway through his words.

When his hand patted Qiu Yuanming's shoulder, it brushed against his arm and abdomen. At the rib area, he suddenly felt that he had scraped a little edge of paper... It was quite like the corner of an envelope.

In a flash, Yang Yanzong's heart skipped a beat!

He is a very perceptive man who has escaped death many times by relying on his intuition.

At this moment, his mind suddenly flashed back to what he had just said to Su Ci on the road, "Hey, didn't you say that the Sixth Prince wanted to get rid of you?"

——"Why don't you just be nice!"

Yang Yanzong turned around abruptly, walked quickly into Duobao Pavilion, and quickly opened the secret compartment. He stretched out his hand and took out the several letters that had just been stuffed in. He flipped through them and found letters from the fourth prince, the seventh prince,... and one more, which was his.

It is stamped with the seal of the Zhenbei Xuanfu Envoy, and has his own lifelike handwriting.

Yang Yanzong smiled.

He sneered.