Chapter 294: The Sword is Unsheathed

Song Jin was having dinner.

I don’t know what kind of shock and fear Qin Chi saw in Old Man Hong’s eyes when he showed the portrait to him.

"Isn't this possible?"

Old Man Hong murmured, "Maybe it's a little bit similar."

Qin Chi knew that he was probably thinking of someone, so he was not in a hurry to ask, but waited patiently for Old Man Hong to come back to his senses.

Old Man Hong said carefully, "This portrait reminds me of the former crown prince, but what I remember most is the banquet held by his staff in Jiangnan. Most of the literati and scholars like folding fans, but he holds a feather fan made of white crane feathers. The handle of the fan is engraved with the Bagua diagram, which is called the White Feather Fan. I heard that he admired Zhuge Kongming of the Shu Han period very much since he was a child."

"Former Crown Prince?"

Qin Chi was very shocked. "The current emperor has only appointed one crown prince. And now he lives in the East Palace!"

There is no such thing as a former crown prince! Old Man Hong explained: "The current emperor was not a crown prince before he ascended the throne."

Qin Chi knew about this.

Perhaps all the scholars in the world know this.

Rumor has it that a coup took place in the palace on the night of the late emperor's death.

According to historical records, the former crown prince poisoned the previous emperor and attempted to usurp the throne. Emperor Mingcheng and Prince Rui, who were only princes at the time, joined forces to rescue the emperor and shot the former crown prince to death in the Hall of Supreme Harmony. Counting the time, more than 20 years have passed since the palace coup.

Qin Chi had read this history in the Hanlin Academy.

But history books are only written by the victors, and it is very difficult to discern the truth.

Qin Chi looked at Old Man Hong and waited for him to speak.

Old Man Hong was very secretive about the palace coup that year, "There are some things that cannot come out of my mouth. If you want to know, you can ask the prince in person when you see him in the future."

He was always beside Prince Rui back then.

I can’t say I know all the truth, I still know about 70% or 80% of it, but a gag order has been issued on what happened back then.

Seeing that he didn't say anything, Qin Chi didn't force him.

Old Man Hong said solemnly: "I will have someone continue to investigate this matter, but the tea shop that Madam mentioned, there is a secret passage in Fengning Hutong that seems to lead there."

He thought of something and took out a roll of paper from the secret compartment.

"This is a map of the underground tunnel we are investigating."

Old Man Hong spread out the rolled-up paper. The route on it was like a spider web. Taking the entrance of the secret passage in Fengning Hutong as the base point, the secret passage map he drew was also connected in all directions. "We can't alert the enemy for the time being, so we are exploring a little slowly."

Actually, it’s not that slow.

In just a few days, they found several secret passages, one of which led to the backyard of the tea shop.

Qin Chi stared at the secret passage map with a fierce look in his eyes, "Could they be the ones who plotted against my wife last time?"

Old Man Hong didn't say anything.

This is obvious.

"Could it be that the former prince is not dead?" Qin Chi asked again, staring at the portrait.

Old Man Hong shook his head. "The night of the coup, the crown prince was killed. I was also at the scene. The person in the palace was very cautious. Not only did he have someone identify him, but he also ordered someone to chop off his head, eliminating the possibility of fake death."

There were so many people there.

Emperor Ming Cheng not only asked one or two people to verify his identity.

The change of imperial power, fighting among brothers, and the winner becoming king and the loser dying are not uncommon. Old Man Hong did not comment on this, nor could he say who was right or wrong.

Qin Chi suddenly stood up and said, "Let's go and verify it ourselves."

"Sir? What do you want?"

Old Man Hong was surprised, "Do you really want to take the risk?"

Qin Chi's sharpness and momentum did not subside at this moment. He just glanced at Old Man Hong with cold eyes and said, "Gather all the people and activate all the hidden lines in the city. Follow my orders."

"Yes, sir."

Old Man Hong said no more and left.

Since arriving in the capital, Qin Chi has always acted cautiously and rarely takes such strong actions.

The night was slightly cool.

An ink-colored cloak was draped over Qin Chi.

The moment he covered his face, his aura was no longer restrained. His eyes were firm and cold, like a leopard walking at night, full of murderous intent and determination.

Qin Chi and Old Man Hong went out.

We went to a large house in a certain alley in West City. This is one of the bases for the secret guards.

"Are you ready?" Qin Chi asked.

Qin Yi, who had not appeared for a long time, appeared and said, "Sir, everyone has been notified."

This enabled all the hidden wires in the city.

On this night, any slight movement can be noticed.

Qin Chi ordered people to start investigating.

The first thing to investigate is the whereabouts of the so-called former crown prince and Yan Jiangnan. At present, the two must be hiding somewhere in the capital, and if they cannot be found, they will only alert the enemy.

"Ten of you will form a group and go in from all the secret passages. Don't hold back when you see strangers. You must find all the entrances and exits within one hour."

There is no wrong version in the 1619 book forum!

Qin Chi was determined to alarm the other party.

This method cannot be said to be effective.

It's just a matter of luck.

Facts have proved that Qin Chi is still lucky. Nearly a hundred secret guards sneaked into the underground tunnel, and inevitably ran into hostile people. The other party was about to shout angrily who he was.

The secret guard rushed forward without saying a word and launched a killing move.

At night, the surface was still calm, but no one thought that there were several battles going on underground. Occasionally, someone heard a little noise in their sleep, but they would think it was an illusion.

A dove flew over.

It landed on the windowsill, and Qin Yi went up to catch the pigeon.

He took off the scroll tied to the pigeon's feet, handed it to Qin Chi respectfully, and then quietly stepped aside.

Qin Chi opened the note and asked, "Is he in Zuixianlou?"

He placed the note in his hand above the lamp and lit it, then threw it on the ground. When the words disappeared after burning, Qin Chi stood up and looked out the window with cold eyes.

Pull the hood up.

"Set off!"

Qin Chi gave an order and strode out.

The streets of the capital city looked deep and quiet under the dim moonlight. A group of people moved swiftly through the winding dark alleys like shadows.

Their target is Zuixianlou.

There is a deep courtyard behind Zuixian Tower.

Usually, there were few people here, and they would not receive guests. Occasionally, people would see singing girls coming in and out of the brothel, and often hear the sound of stringed instruments. Therefore, it was rumored that this was a place of enjoyment specially set up by the owner of Zuixianlou for himself.

Qin Chi held a long sword in his hand, the tip of the sword flashing coldly in the moonlight.

As they surrounded the yard like ghosts.

Qin Chi raised his sword and pointed silently.

The tip of the sword pointed towards the courtyard.

In an instant, the secret guards rushed into the courtyard from all directions like cheetahs pouncing on their prey. Although there was no sound, their momentum was like a raging wave, unstoppable.

The experts protecting the compound also noticed the enemy attack.

Immediately launch a counterattack.

Amidst the flashing of swords and the shadow of sabers, the two sides fought fiercely.

Each of them has a nimble figure and uses fierce and deadly moves.

The most shocking thing is that both sides were wearing faceless masks and dressed in tight night clothes. At first glance, they were very similar. If an outsider came over to take a look, he would probably not be able to tell whether they were enemies or friends.

In the night, Qin Chi was particularly conspicuous in his cloak.

(End of this chapter)