The Marquis took out a gold token and threw it up, saying, "Don't meddle in other people's business. I have a secret order: open the door immediately!"
Pang Fei accepted the gold medal, examined it carefully, and found it to be correct. Logically, he should open the door now.
But he was still unwilling to give up. He rolled his eyes and said, "My lord, it's not that I'm trying to make things difficult for you, but the rules clearly state that opening the city gates at midnight to let troops in requires an official document from the Ministry of War."
"You can't just have a gold medal, can you?"
The deputy commander and the soldiers beside him had already knelt down upon seeing the gold medal.
After all, this is a token that signifies "the emperor's personal presence," meaning whoever holds it is essentially acting on behalf of the emperor!
When they suddenly heard that Pang Fei actually needed an official document from the Ministry of War, they were so shocked they almost lost their teeth.
With a gold medal that reads "As if the Emperor were personally present," what need is there for official documents from the Ministry of War?
Is the Ministry of War more powerful than the Emperor?!
The Marquis, listening from below the city walls, suddenly understood that he was being put in a difficult position.
There are many eyes and ears in Yaochi; if we delay even a little longer, all our efforts may be in vain.
He looked up at Pang Fei on the city wall and sneered, "Pang Fei, if I remember correctly, you are Chen Chuan's sworn brother!"
"Now you're disregarding the secret imperial order and insisting on blocking me from entering the city. Are you defying orders to avenge your brother?"
Pang Fei was filled with pleasure, but he refused to admit it.
"My lord, you mustn't say that. I'm only doing this for the sake of the new capital and the Emperor's safety. As long as you bring the official document from the Ministry of War, I will personally open the door for you immediately!"
Standing behind the Marquis, Li Yongqi went mad. He spurred his horse forward two steps and said, "My lord, I'm going to kill this idiot!"
The Marquis shook his head, "No need, I'll do it!"
As he spoke, he took out a steel claw from his waist, untied the rope, swung it a couple of times, and threw it onto the city wall. Then, he stood on the horse's back, used the momentum to swing to halfway up the city wall, and climbed up in a few quick movements.
Pang Fei and his soldiers were extremely surprised!
Although they had heard of the Marquis of Xinting's illustrious military achievements, this was the first time they had witnessed him display his abilities firsthand.
Before they could even close their jaws, the Marquis had already climbed onto the wall.
"Lord, Lord..." Pang Fei was about to speak when a flash of silver light appeared before his eyes, and the next instant he felt a chill on his neck...
"Thump!" Pang Fei's body fell to the ground!
The stench of blood spread rapidly, turning the deputy commander and soldiers pale.
Murder at the slightest disagreement?!
The Marquis bent down, took back the gold medal from Pang Fei's hand, frowned and scolded the crowd, "Open the door immediately! If you delay the battle, you will all lose your heads!"
At this moment, the deputy commander wished he had eight mouths, shouting repeatedly, "Open the door! Open the door now!"
With a heavy thud, the two city gates were forcefully pushed open by ten soldiers.
The thousand Northern Expeditionary Army soldiers, eight men per row, passed through in no time.
Marquis Xinting had already retracted his steel claws, flipped over and jumped off the city wall, landing on his horse.
The deputy commander's legs went weak, and he quickly ordered the soldiers to close the city gate again.
A soldier asked, "Sir, what is the Marquis going to do? All the horses' hooves are covered with straw mats, no wonder there's been no movement at the city walls!"
Unexpectedly, the deputy commander slapped him across the face and cursed, "You're asking me? I don't even know who to ask! Shut your mouth if you don't want to die!"
The soldier didn't dare say another word and quickly retreated.
The deputy commander turned around and looked at the dead Pang Fei, remembering how he had always been overshadowed by him. Was this his chance to be promoted?
Without mentioning how happy and afraid the deputy commander was, he only said that a thousand northern expeditionary soldiers entered the city and headed straight for Yaochi.
Following the pre-arranged tactics, Li Yong led his men to blockade the area within five miles of Yaochi, and to arrest anyone who made a move.
If there is no movement, wait until dawn. Neighbors will identify each other and testify. Those who are not permanent residents will be investigated.
If someone covers it up, all eight neighboring households will be implicated and punished.
This is to minimize the chance of someone escaping through the secret passage and getting away with it by pretending to be an ordinary citizen.
Meanwhile, the Marquis led his men to besiege Yaochi.
As for the Princess's residence, Jiang Cheng can take a hundred soldiers there, which is enough to capture them.
All the gates and walls of Yaochi were heavily guarded, torches were held high, swords and spears were brandished, and doors were kicked open to enter...
In the darkness, even the slightest movement is extremely noticeable.
The noise, cries, and shouts of battle from Yaochi quickly spread throughout the entire city.
Countless people were jolted awake from their sweet dreams, not understanding what had happened.
Could it be that barbarians have attacked?!
The heads of the families didn't even have time to put on their coats and trousers properly before they hurriedly sent their guards and servants to gather information.
Soon, the news came back.
Soldiers are besieging a villa, and people are ransacking the Princess's residence and arresting people!
A separate courtyard?!
The eldest princess?!
Each family head pulled out a handful of hair, still unsure how to connect them.
Whose villa is this?
What did the powerless and unfavored princess do to warrant having her home confiscated and being arrested?
With these questions in mind, no one dared to sleep, and they waited for the results.
In the Princess's residence, everyone from the master to the servants slept soundly.
The gatekeeper was fast asleep in the gatehouse, the charcoal brazier at his feet burning brightly, warming his cotton shoes and giving off a faint burnt smell.
Suddenly, several people climbed over the wall and quickly opened the gate.
A hundred soldiers rushed in, finally waking the gatekeeper. Before he could rub his eyes and see who it was, he was pinned to the ground and tied up like a dumpling.
In the courtyards behind, everyone screamed in surprise as the doors were suddenly kicked open.
The maids and servants wandered around like headless flies, completely unaware of what had happened.
Bao Lei yanked open the bed curtains and shouted, "What happened? What's all the commotion?"
Unaware that the family was about to fall apart, she thought her father had lost the hibiscus ointment and started making a scene again.
So she put on her overcoat, opened a hidden compartment by the bed, took out a jade box, and was about to leave.
Suddenly, three or five burly soldiers burst in from outside the door. The light from the candlelight reflected off their swords and spears, which chilled her to the bone, and the jade box in her hand fell to the ground with a thud!
A soldier quickly stepped forward, picked up the jade box, examined it carefully, and said, "Found it! Arrest the person immediately and search them!"
The other soldiers immediately took action, pinning Bao Lei down and tying her up tightly. Perhaps fearing she would bite her tongue, they grabbed something from the bed and stuffed it into her mouth.
Bao Lei felt nauseous and wanted to vomit because her mouth was stuffed with her socks!
She struggled desperately, wanting to yell and question.
But then he saw the soldiers take out account books, several jade boxes, and a pipe from the cabinet from a hidden compartment by the bed...
Her face turned deathly pale. Oh no, she'd been caught!
These people aren't here for revenge or robbery; they're after the "miracle ointment"!
Yesterday's flower viewing party was such a success, we were on the verge of getting rich, and our wishes were about to come true, so how did it all suddenly fall apart?
No, it doesn't count as wish fulfillment!
Bao Lei suddenly thought of Princess Kang Le, who had left quickly because of vomiting.
If there was anything unexpected yesterday, it was this country bumpkin girl.
She was already standing by the "water" when she suddenly withdrew.
I initially thought she was genuinely unwell, but now it seems she might be the one who caused the trouble!
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