The first rays of morning light appeared on the horizon.
In the palace of the Helian tribe, no one slept a wink after a busy night.
The guards found that except for the few intact corpses at the beginning, most of the corpses buried in the ruins were in a mess. However, by piecing together the corpses, they could roughly estimate that there were about thirty or forty people burned to death in Sile Garden. The number was exactly the same as the women of Dayong, and the instructors and palace servants in charge of Sile Garden combined.
It looked like Si Le Yuan was also engulfed in fire, like an accident.
The clues were cut off here, and both King Helian and the Chanyu dispatched people to continue the investigation.
The people in the royal court of the Helian tribe were in panic.
In the early morning, Xue Tong walked around outside and then quietly returned to the temple. "The city gate was closed this morning, and the city guards are checking the people who entered and left the city gate yesterday."
"It is said that outside the city, the personal soldiers of the Northern Barbarian Chanyu have already dispatched some of their forces to track down all the people who left the royal court last night. Inside the royal court, they have also begun searching every household."
At this point, Xue Tong couldn't help but glance towards Wei Yunlan, "Thanks to Miss Wei for deciding to stay."
Otherwise, it would be difficult for them to escape if they were tracked by the Chanyu's personal soldiers.
As the saying goes, stay constant in the face of change.
Their best strategy now is to stay where they are and wait for an opportunity to escape.
In Wei Yunlan's opinion, the best time would be when the Northern Barbarian Chanyu left the royal court. If all went well, they would not only be able to escape themselves, but also help Princess Changning escape from the clutches of the Northern Barbarian Chanyu temporarily.
As for the future.
The Helian tribe is close to the Yandu Gorge Mountains and has weak military strength, which is several times easier to mobilize than the Huyan tribe where the Northern Barbarian Chanyu is located!
Once the situation in Dayong is somewhat stabilized, or the Crown Prince makes a decision, Princess Changning can be rescued from the Northern Barbarians.
Wei Yunlan believed that this day would not take too long to come.
…
Because of the incident at the palace banquet, the security of the Helian royal palace was strengthened several times more than before.
At this time, it would undoubtedly be more difficult to sneak into the palace.
All Wei Yunlan and others could do was to be patient and wait for news.
The first day went smoothly.
Among the crowd, except for Xue Tong and Chen Yan, who were the most skilled and had body shapes similar to barbarians, the rest did not leave the house.
Xue Tong and Chen Yan only left for half an hour each in the early morning and evening to get some information, get some water and food, and then rushed back.
When he came back in the evening, Chen Yan brought the latest news, "The city is checking every household, and foreign merchants must explain their origins. The temple we are in has not been checked yet."
It seems that they are checking from the outside to the inside. The temple where they are located is closer to the palace, so they will be checked later, but it is only a matter of time.
"Let's go into the secret passage first to avoid the spotlight. After we have checked everything, we will come out from the secret passage."
After Wei Yunlan made the proposal.
Only Zou Yun and Chen Yan, who were the most agile, were left outside.
The two men kept watch for the crowd. After more than half an hour, a team of guards arrived at the temple. They exchanged a few words with the northern barbarian "monks" who had not even been ordained, and then gave the temple a cursory inspection.
It's not that they were not careful, but in this temple, apart from the Dharma Hall where Buddha and Bodhisattva were enshrined, and the Zen rooms where the "monks" lived, few people went to other places, especially the two courtyards where sundries were stored. There was a thick layer of dust on them, and just by looking at the intact dust on the doors and windows, one could tell that no one had ever been here.
After the guards left, Wei Yunlan and his party left through the secret passage and returned to the room where the scriptures were stored.
The next day, the sea was still calm.
Before noon, Zou Yun overheard the news coming from the palace from the fake monks.
One was that many people had been poisoned on the night of the palace banquet, and the palace was looking for a doctor who could cure the poison.
The second was that what caught fire that day was not only the Jingyang Palace where the palace banquet was held, but also the place where the women of Dayong were imprisoned. Dozens of Dayong women were burned to death in the fire, and even their corpses were smashed to pieces by the collapsed beams and bricks and tiles.
When Zou Yun came back to repeat what he had said, he did not raise any questions. He only glanced secretly towards Wei Yunlan after he finished speaking.
The exchange of glances meant nothing.
On the third day, the city gates were reopened, and the Helian royal court, which had been on high alert in the previous two days, seemed to have returned to its normal state.
Wei Yunlan and the others all knew that this was a false impression deliberately created by King Helian and Chanyu because they had not been able to find the murderer for a long time, in order to make people relax their vigilance and expose their flaws.
It is not time to leave yet, so they will certainly not fall into this trap.
…
While Wei Yunlan and others were patiently waiting for the right opportunity, in the palace of the Helian tribe, the Northern Barbarian Chanyu was becoming more and more impatient.
Three full days had passed since the accident.
So far the murderer has not been found and no useful clues have been uncovered.
The wood, kerosene, and medicine powder that ignited Jingyang Palace seemed to appear out of thin air.
But the question is, how could it appear out of thin air? It can't be a miracle from the gods!
"Chanyu, the enemy is in the dark and we are in the light. Why don't we leave the Helian tribe first and leave some people behind to continue the search." Zuoguduhou, who had woken up yesterday, came to the Chanyu and advised him as soon as he was able to get out of bed.
Perhaps it was because the scorpion that stung him was larger. Among all the people who fell down, he was the last one to wake up. To this day, his ankle, which was stung by the sting, still feels tingling and there is a slight stinging pain when he walks.
He was scared of being stung.
The Northern Barbarian Chanyu was somewhat persuaded, and it was obviously not a solution to continue waiting like this.
As Zuogu Duhou suggested, the enemy is in the dark while they are in the light, and it is not wise to put themselves in danger.
There's no need to keep wasting time with the other party.
After making a decision, the Chanyu called his attendant, "Princess Changning hasn't woken up yet?"
After receiving a negative answer, the Chanyu couldn't help but frown.
Since the news of recruiting doctors and capable people was released, several people have entered the palace in the past two days. After trying acupuncture, bloodletting, and leech poisoning, all the people who were poisoned by the scorpion woke up, leaving only Princess Changning.
Seeing that Princess Changning's pulse was getting weaker, the accompanying Huyan tribe doctor hurriedly called a halt.
If we keep trying like this, Princess Changning's small body won't be able to withstand the torture. She might as well die now because she could have lived for a few more months!
"Shan Yu, it's not that we didn't try our best, it's just that the people of Dayong are too weak, and Princess Changning is even weaker than the average person. For now, the only thing we can do is to keep her alive and take good care of her. Maybe after some time, the poison will dissipate and she will wake up."
"But at this moment, you can't move around casually... If you're not careful, your life may be in danger."
The Northern Barbarian Chanyu also knew that these words were not alarmist.
But he couldn't slow down his plan for Princess Changning. With a cold light flashing in his eyes, he decided, "The plan remains unchanged. We will set off tomorrow. Leave Changning behind for the time being."
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