Chapter 213 Who Are You? (Update 1)
Hundreds of miles from the capital, a convoy was slowly approaching on an old official road. They had come all the way from Fujian and Zhou, and the journey was long and tiring, their boots smeared with mud.
The night was dark and the temperature was extremely low.
"Sir Wen, Jingchuan County is twenty miles away. How about we stay in the county town tonight?" asked the scout.
Wen Liangye was already thirty years old, in the prime of his life. He had escorted many criminal officials in his life, but this time he was so nervous.
After a moment's hesitation, he said, "No need. This is a serious criminal specially ordered by the Emperor. There is no room for error. Let's talk about it when we get to the post station."
"But we've been walking all day, and it's going to rain tonight. I'm afraid we can't keep going."
Another person stepped forward and said, "Yeah, let alone us, the one in the prison van is probably also..."
He lowered his voice and said, "This is the Governor of the Southeast Navy. He can't die of illness on the road."
Wen Liangye pondered for a moment and nodded, "Okay, let's go to the county town ahead and find an inn."
"Yes." The soldier took the order and went forward.
The group continued on their journey. Not long after, Wen Liangye, who was riding a horse in front, suddenly raised his hand and signaled everyone to stop.
"Master Wen, what's wrong?"
"The wind is wrong."
"The wind is wrong? What's wrong?"
"The sound of the wind in the grass isn't right."
At this moment, not far from them, a group of men in black were hiding in the bushes and approaching them quickly. They pushed aside the grass and walked quickly, their clothes rustling against the sharp blades.
After listening for a while, Wen Liangye immediately shouted, "There's an assassin! Be alert!"
As he finished speaking, men in black leaped out of the bushes. In an instant, the two groups engaged in battle in the darkness, swords clashing and sparks flying everywhere.
The black-clad men were numerous and powerful, and they must have been lying in ambush for a long time. Based on Wen Liangye's many years of experience, he was afraid that this time he would definitely die.
But his death was better than the prisoner losing his entire family and dying with him, so while dealing with the assassin, he ordered everyone: "Master Nie, take the prisoner and leave quickly."
"And you, my lord?"
"I can't control it anymore, hurry up!"
Lord Nie quickly ran to the prison cart, fended off the assassin coming from the side with a knife, jumped onto the cart, mounted his horse and left eastward under the cover of Wen Liangye.
But the assassins' target was the prison van, and they focused their efforts on chasing it. Wen Liangye and his men tried to stop them, but it was just a drop in the bucket because most of the assassins began to rush towards the prison van.
Just when all the soldiers thought they would die today, suddenly, a group of people came running over from a distance. They were also dressed in black, but unlike the assassins, they had their faces covered in white.
These people quickly joined the battle. Compared with the men in black, they were more skilled in martial arts and well-trained. Before long, the assassins were beaten to a pulp and finally fled in all directions.
Barely a quarter of an hour had passed since the incident, and the wilderness had become silent again.
Wen Liangye stepped forward with his injured body and asked uncertainly, "Excuse me, heroes, who are you..."
The man in black in the front ripped off his white face mask, revealing a nonchalant expression: "I've been with you all the way, and finally caught these rats."
Wen Liangye was puzzled: "Rat?"
"My name is Xue Gang. I have been entrusted to escort Lord Shen, the Governor of the Southeastern Navy, to the capital safely."
.
Capital city.
There was a spring rain at night, and the next morning the sun was shining brightly, with the cuckoos chirping happily in the trees.
Chen Yi walked into the government office on the clean and bright bluestone slabs. Seeing Weng Bo limping with a kettle to add water to the tables of the officials, he greeted him.
"Good morning, Uncle Weng."
Uncle Weng turned around and laughed, "Master Shen, have you taken up your post? The tea is ready for you."
"Thank you!" Shen Yi nodded.
He went to the council hall first, but didn't see Pei Xingju there, so he ran to the office and found him there.
"There's news." He quickly pulled a note from his sleeve and handed it over: "Xue Gang sent it via carrier pigeon."
Pei Xingju took it, read it quickly, and looked calm.
"It was truly dangerous," Shen Yi sighed, "Shen Mingchang almost died on the road."
After a moment's silence, Pei Xingju said, "Duke Xin is so anxious. I'm afraid he knows about the Emperor's secret investigation in Minzhou. Who knows, the Emperor might have found something."
"What is it?"
"I can't say for sure." Pei Xingju said, "But the emperor is wary of Duke Xin, probably because of this matter."
"Be on guard? You mean Miss Liang?"
"Exactly. The Emperor didn't reveal Miss Liang's news to Duke Xin, presumably because he was afraid he'd become the second Empress Dowager."
The Empress Dowager had held Liang Yixin hostage in the palace, and later she was taken away by Duan Hongyuan. The Emperor would never allow this to happen a second time.
Shen Yi nodded: "With Xue Gang here, Shen Mingchang should be able to enter the capital smoothly."
"Not necessarily. Tell him not to let his guard down. Although Duke Xin no longer has Duan Hongyuan as his assassination weapon, he still has many capable people under his command."
In the Ministry of Justice office, Pei Xingju and Shen Yi were talking about Shen Mingchang, while people in the Xin Guogong residence were also discussing this person.
The news of the failed assassination attempt was delivered to Duke Xin by carrier pigeon just one night, and he woke up in a bad mood early in the morning.
After breakfast, he called his staff to discuss matters.
"If Shen Mingchang doesn't die, we will be the ones to die when he enters the capital."
"It seems that the matter of Minzhou can no longer be concealed."
"We have to keep it secret even if we can't! Keep sending assassins. No matter what the cost, we can't let Shen Mingchang enter the capital alive."
"The Emperor will definitely know that it was us who did it."
"So what if you know? Can you just pin the blame on the Duke for something that has no evidence?"
After a moment, Xin Guogong asked, "Have you found Duan Hongyuan's whereabouts?"
Upon hearing this, Marquis Cheng'en looked puzzled. "The matter of Duan Hongyuan is very mysterious. It's as if he disappeared out of thin air. Or, Duan Hongyuan might be in Pei Xingju's hands. He might have even concealed it from the emperor."
"Do you have evidence?"
Marquis Cheng'en looked embarrassed and said, "If I had evidence, I would arrest Pei Xingju first. Deceiving the emperor is a serious crime!"
"Duan Hongyuan's whereabouts are unknown, and Miss Liang's whereabouts are also unknown. Duke..." an aide said, "Miss Liang is our last straw."
How could Duke Xin not know? He didn't know what had happened, but things had been going wrong for him since last year. No, it should be that since Pei Xingju returned from Hezhou, he had been experiencing extreme misfortune in the court.
He closed his eyes. "According to You Jin, Shen Mingchang must not be allowed to enter the capital alive, no matter what the cost. Also, continue to investigate Duan Hongyuan's whereabouts. Xin'er must be found."
"yes."
.
Pei Mansion's study.
All was silent, the night as cool as water. Pei Xingju sat at the table, read a few official reports, then stood up. He picked up the candle on the table and went to the inner room. He came to a shelf on the west side and moved a Qilin statue on the shelf.
Suddenly, the bed slowly moved to one side, revealing a huge bluestone slab.
Pei Xingju walked over and knocked on a corner of the bluestone slab. With a loud bang, the slab fell down, revealing a dark tunnel.
He walked down calmly, and in a moment, everything in the study returned to its original state.
Walking along the narrow tunnel, we soon came into view of light. Torches were burning on the walls, and as we went further, we reached the deepest part.
This was a secret underground chamber, several feet deep. No one had expected that Pei Xingju's bedroom was directly above the chamber, and it could be reached directly through the secret passage from the study.
There is a large barrel in the middle of the secret room, which can accommodate about three people for a bath, but it is not a bathtub, but a barrel for punishing prisoners.
The water in the bucket has been specially treated. When people soak in it, they feel itchy and uncomfortable all over as if they are being bitten by millions of ants. Most people cannot last more than half a minute before their internal organs and even meridians feel disrupted.
At this moment, there was a person soaking in the bucket, but he seemed to be asleep, or perhaps he had already fainted.
When Pei Xingju arrived, he observed for a while and slowly raised his hand.
Soon, someone pulled up the chain and the person soaking in the barrel was hung up.
The man seemed startled by the commotion and raised his eyes wetly. Seeing Pei Xingju clearly, he gritted his teeth and smiled, "You're finally here."
Pei Xingju curled his lips and said, "Commander Duan, I wonder if you are satisfied with my hospitality?"
"Pei Xingju," Duan Hongyuan gasped, "You've locked me up here without permission. Aren't you afraid that the Emperor will find out?"
Pei Xingju sighed with regret, "As the saying goes, know yourself and know your enemy. We've been dealing with each other for so many years, and I originally thought Commander Duan understood me."
"Don't you know..." He half-raised his eyelashes, his tone light, but his eyes were filled with undisguised rebellion: "I, Pei Xingju, am a lonely ghost who is not afraid of anything?"
"Who are you?" Duan Hongyuan stared at him.
"Perhaps you should ask me why I captured you."
"What do you want?"
Pei Xingju approached slowly. "Sixteen years ago, General Pei Zhang led the Pei family army to attack Chang State. I want to know who tampered with the military orders."
Upon hearing this, Duan Hongyuan was shocked!
"You...you are actually...Pei Zhang's son!"
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