Chapter 036 Jin丨Jiang Literature Exclusive Published

The young man replied: "Pei Rui."

"Unstoppable, very good." Taiping Wang patted his shoulder: "I have other things to deal with. When I am done, I will send someone to look for you."

After saying that, he turned around and mounted his horse again. His eyes looked around like a knife and a blade, and he led the army to continue moving forward.

The local officials were trembling. After Taiping Wang went away, they looked at Fang Yingkan for help: "Young Marquis, I have clearly investigated and defended strictly, and made full preparations. I really don't know why there is an assassin!"

Fang Yingkan's face was gloomy: "What's the use of saying this now? Hurry up and catch the assassin."

The prefect wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and quickly sent people to the city tower to catch people.

Across the busy soldiers, Fang Ying's eyes fell on Pei Rui, and anyone could see his displeasure at this moment.

Pei Rui seemed to sense something and turned his head. The pair of gray eyes with compelling power seemed to penetrate his soul and see through his thoughts.

Fang Ying felt cold behind him and subconsciously looked away.

When he looked again, the boy had turned around and left with the knife.

Pei Rui passed through the crowd and returned to the position just now according to the route in his memory: "Lu Xiaofeng?"

No one responded.

He hesitated for a moment, and just when he was about to squat down to find the scabbard, the familiar footsteps gradually became clearer, and someone dragged his arm.

Lu Xiaofeng said, "Xiao Pei, your scabbard is with me, it's not lost."

He stuffed the scabbard into Pei Rui's hand, and roughly understood why Pei Rui couldn't find his things when they first met.

Pei Rui said nothing, bent his arm, wiped the knife on the bend of his arm, wiped the blood off with his clothes, put the knife back into the sheath, and looked unusually calm and reliable.

Lu Xiaofeng: "Do you really want to follow King Taiping?"

Pei Rui was confused: "Why?"

Why are your words so incoherent?

Lu Xiaofeng took him back to the city and asked about the details of the assassination just now: "How many assassins were there? Did you kill them all? Did you leave any alive?"

Pei Rui: "Yes."

Lu Xiaofeng: "Did those people resist?"

Pei Rui shook his head.

Lu Xiaofeng: "Is it the same as those who were controlled by the flute?"

Pei Rui: "Yes."

Lu Xiaofeng: "It seems that even if there are survivors, it will be difficult to find the mastermind behind the scenes."

Pei Rui: "Isn't it Fang Yingkan?"

Lu Xiaofeng: "It is indeed possible that it was him, but the young marquis is in a high position of power. Accusing him before finding evidence is a frame-up."

Pei Rui nodded as if he understood.

After returning to his residence, the government officials came over and asked a few questions, which were similar to what Lu Xiaofeng had asked before. Pei Rui answered smoothly, and with Lu Xiaofeng guiding and supplementing beside him, he did not reveal his way of thinking that was very different from that of ordinary people.

These people were very polite to Pei Rui. Not only was he a young marquis' man, he was also favored by the King of Taiping. He might become very successful tomorrow. Who would offend him at this time?

After asking the questions, Lu Xiaofeng sent them off on behalf of Pei Rui, and got close to a few people by the way, asking about the progress of the case.

Pei Rui was in a daze in the room holding the knife, his fingers stroking the patterns on the scabbard.

Xue Chen: [Lu Xiaofeng should have an idea, and the case will be closed in no time.]

System: [What do you mean?]

Xue Chen: [When I was sunbathing, he came over and obviously wanted to share the progress of the case. If he hadn't reminded me, I wouldn't have thought that Fang Yingkan would send someone to attack at that time. 】

System: 【How did Lu Xiaofeng know this?】

Xue Chen: 【Fang Yingkan must have received some information to do this. As long as we keep a close eye on him, we will find the clue sooner or later. It is better to be a fool. You don’t have to do anything. The answer will come to you.】

System: 【Indeed, Pei Rui won all the way.】

Xue Chen: 【Didn’t you hear it? Am I being too tactful? I am mocking you. 】

System: [……]

Lu Xiaofeng sent those people away and came back from outside. Seeing Pei Rui holding a knife in deep thought, she went over and sat next to him: "Have you thought it over? Do you really want to follow King Taiping?"

Pei Rui opened his eyes: "Is King Taiping going to the battlefield?"

Lu Xiaofeng: "As the commander-in-chief of an army, of course he has to go to the battlefield. If you agree to King Taiping, you will have to go with him then. This is a rare opportunity, many people want it but can't get it, but the swords on the battlefield are blind and very dangerous."

Pei Rui: "My sword is used to kill people, I'm not afraid of danger."

Lu Xiaofeng: "If you're not afraid, King Taiping's place is a good place to go."

Killing enemies to serve the country is always better than being used by others to kill innocent people.

Fang Yingkan's murderous intention towards Pei Rui has only increased. If he continues to stay with Fang Yingkan, even if Pei Rui's knife skills are strong and he can tell whether the food is poisonous, people will always be careless and will sooner or later fall into his hands.

Lu Xiaofeng thinks that staying with the King of Taiping is a good place for Pei Rui to stay away from danger.

However, this matter of fate is something that others cannot afford, and can only be left to Pei Rui himself to make a choice. All Lu Xiaofeng can do is to help Pei Rui analyze the pros and cons and tell him the pros and cons of staying with the King of Taiping.

Pei Rui was pulled by Lu Xiaofeng to talk for a while. He understood the reason and had already made a decision. After hearing a few words, he started to argue with the system. On the surface, he maintained an appearance of listening seriously and responded from time to time.

The sky gradually darkened. In the evening, the people of King Taiping came to summon him.

Pei Rui stood up with his knife. The man immediately smiled and said, "Mr. Pei, the prince asked you to come over because he wanted to have a simple chat with you and then invite you to have a meal. There will be guards around, so there will be no problem. You don't need to bring this weapon, right?"

Pei Rui said without hesitation, "Then I won't go."

The person who came to invite him said quickly, "Mr. Pei, I was wrong, I was wrong. If you really want to bring a knife, then bring it. But I have to trouble you to explain it to the prince in person."

Pei Rui nodded and said, "He won't ask."

His father was actually very generous to his subordinates and didn't pay much attention to etiquette. As long as they didn't touch the bottom line and could get along well on the surface, it was fine.

But his status was too high, and he was surrounded by nobles and ministers. Naturally, he had to be strict and thoughtful when dealing with them, and not to let them gossip. Even if the King of Taiping didn't have any special rules, the upper level followed the example, and gradually no one dared to be presumptuous.

The man smiled and said, "Whether the prince asks or not is one thing, and whether the little one follows the rules is another. Master Pei, do you want to change clothes before going to the banquet?"

Pei Rui shook his head.

He changed clothes after he came back, but all his clothes were black, and they looked no different, and there was no other pattern to change.

The young man raised his left hand, stretched it forward, and landed on Lu Xiaofeng's shoulder. He moved down a little and grabbed his arm: "Let's go together."

Lu Xiaofeng liked to join in the excitement: "Can you?"

The people of King Taiping said: "Since you are Mr. Pei's friend, of course you can."

-This

banquet was nominally prepared by the local prefect, but the person in charge was actually Fang Yingkan.

Today, when King Taiping was assassinated, he had the opportunity to show his skills, win the favor of King Taiping, and get close to King Taiping at the banquet.

Unexpectedly, the great opportunity was snatched away by Pei Rui, and the banquet afterwards also changed its taste.

Fang Yingkan, dressed in brocade clothes, stood tall and elegant, standing in front of the window, watching the people outside busying about.

As the sun was setting, lanterns were lit in the courtyard, shining brightly, which matched the bright moon in the sky.

Fang Yingkan walked out of the room and asked someone, "Has the King of Taiping not come yet?"

The man said, "The King of Taiping is still talking to Master Pei."

Fang Yingkan nodded and waved to let the man go.

He looked at the King of Taiping from a distance and whispered, "Pei Rui..."

On the King of Taiping's side

Pei Rui accepted the King of Taiping's invitation and temporarily became his close bodyguard, responsible for protecting the King of Taiping's safety.

King Taiping was very happy to have such a brave general under his command, and seeing that he was still young, he could not help but say a few more words: "Your merits have not been reported yet, and you have no rank for the time being. You can receive your salary from me. When you have made merits in the future, I will submit a letter together to request credit for you."

Pei Rui was not interested in merits: "I don't want to be an official, I want to be on the front line all the time."

King Taiping: "I thought so when I was young. It would be nice to be a military general to guard the territory. Unfortunately, things are beyond one's control. Sometimes, no matter how high your martial arts skills are, they can't defeat power... But don't worry, I'm here, I will make good arrangements for you, and I will never let your talent be lost."

Pei Rui nodded.

King Taiping did not expect that he looked cold, arrogant and sharp, but he was not difficult to get along with, just like his youngest son.

He asked gently: "How old are you?"

Pei Rui: "Sixteen."

King Taiping: "So young? Seven years younger than my two sons. At your age, you have mastered such wonderful swordsmanship. You are really talented and have unlimited future. But what's wrong with your eyes? Can't you see at all?"

Pei Rui: "Yeah."

King Taiping: "After returning to Beijing, I will find a skilled doctor to see you, maybe it will improve."

Xue Chen: [Can it be cured? ]

System: [No, this is the initial setting of the vest, it cannot be easily changed. ]

Xue Chen: [Can it be changed with some effort? ]

System: [Yes, but it is not recommended. ]

Xue Chen: [The price to pay is too high? 】

System: 【It's not a big deal, but it's not very cost-effective. Every time you fill up a vest, you can get a part of the energy to condense the soul to extend the life of the main body. If you use this part of the energy on the vest, you can repair the defects of the vest to a certain extent.】

It's really a loss.

The synchronization rate of the vest is only 100 points in total, and the quantity is limited. After the synchronization rate is filled up, there is no obvious improvement on the main body.

If you really want to repair the vest, you can only open a new vest after completely repairing the soul and waiting for the main body to reach a normal state, and fill up the synchronization rate to heal the old vest.

But the newly drawn vest still has defects, so it's better not to brush it.

Seeing that he had been silent, King Taiping thought that his words had touched the boy's heart.

He said to Pei Rui: "Let's go out for dinner. Children of your age have the biggest appetite and they practice martial arts every day, so they can't stand being hungry. The food in front should be almost ready by now, let's go and take a look."

Pei Rui followed him out. Lu Xiaofeng, who was waiting outside, stood up hurriedly: "My Lord, how are you?"

Prince Taiping: "Are you Lu Xiaofeng? You are really handsome. I heard that you are good at investigating cases and many unsolved cases were solved by you. "Yes, are you interested in taking a position in the Six Gates?"

Lu Xiaofeng waved her hands repeatedly: "Thank you for your kindness, Your Highness, but forget it. I am used to being free and I hate being constrained. Moreover, I have always disliked troubles, but troubles always find me and I am involved in various things. If I enter the Six Gates, I will never have peace again."

Prince Taiping did not force it, and without saying anything more, he took the two young juniors to the banquet.

Pei Rui did not put down his knife throughout the whole process, and his vigilance was pulled to the extreme.

With his age, status and qualifications, he should have sat at the last seat. Even Lu Xiaofeng, who was very famous in the martial arts world, was not qualified to be in front of the court official.

But Pei Rui was thick-skinned, relying on the fact that he couldn't see, he ignored the gazes of the officials and sat on the left hand seat of King Taiping, and pulled Lu Xiaofeng to sit on his left hand side with great force.

Fang Yingkan saw that his seat was taken by him, and his face became visibly gloomy.

Upon seeing this, the prefect Wu Wenhao picked up the wine jug, came over and filled it for Prince Taiping, then came to Pei Rui and reminded him, "Isn't it inappropriate for Mr. Pei to sit here?"

Pei Rui lowered his eyes and said in a cold voice, "I want to sit with someone I know."

The young man's dependence was too obvious. Prince Taiping had just learned of his age and felt a little pity for his blindness. He didn't want to disappoint Pei Rui, so he said, "It's just a seat. It's the same wherever you sit. Let Pei Rui sit here."

Lu Xiaofeng's eyes changed when she looked at Pei Rui.

Wu Wenhao smiled, gave Fang Yingkan a helpless look, and sat back in his seat.

Fang Yingkan looked at Pei Rui with hatred, Pei Rui looked up and tilted his ear slightly: "Someone is looking at me with malicious intentions."

Lu Xiaofeng quickly held down his knife: "Now is not the time to kill."

King Taiping: "What do you mean by killing?"

Lu Xiaofeng: "Xiao Pei's perception is sharper than that of ordinary people. He can feel when others look at him. Malicious gazes are particularly obvious. This is how he discovered the murderer who poisoned him in Woyun Tower in Huzhou. It's a pity that I didn't pay attention to it at the time, causing many innocent people to die in vain."

King Taiping heard Fang Yingkan talk about this.

He thought it was Lu Xiaofeng who had solved the case, but he didn't expect Pei Rui to have also contributed to it.

The King of Taiping whispered, "Xiao Pei has such a skill? If so, we must not repeat the same mistake. Xiao Pei, do you know who was looking at you just now?"

Pei Rui shook his head and pointed to the front: "He was standing there."

The King of Taiping called the followers behind him and pointed to the place where Pei Rui said: "Did anyone stand there just now?" The followers said:

"Your Highness, it was the young marquis."

The King of Taiping said: "Fang Yingkan."

Pei Rui took the opportunity to complain to Fang Yingkan: "So that's the case. He has chased me several times. It's normal for him to have bad intentions now."

Lu Xiaofeng wanted to cover Pei Rui's mouth and stop him from talking.

Fang Yingkan is a big suspect, but is the King of Taiping someone he can trust?

The factional struggle in the court was fierce and the situation was very complicated. Who knew if Prince Taiping and Fang Yingkan had any interests in the dark?

What if they were secretly colluding? Before getting evidence to prove that Fang Yingkan planned to assassinate Prince Taiping, Prince Taiping would never believe Pei Rui, whom he had only known for less than a day, even if Pei Rui had made a contribution in saving the king.

This move was really too risky.

But he couldn't help thinking, what if Pei Rui's intuition was right?

The King of Taiping was expressionless, and it was hard to tell what his mood was. He asked calmly, "Why did he chase you?"

Pei Rui shook his head, "I don't know."

King of Taiping: "I don't know?"

Pei Rui: "I couldn't see, and I don't know what happened. I remember that when I first met him, he had been chasing me for a long time."

King of Taiping: "Did you run into something?"

Pei Rui: "He has that poison."

King of Taiping's eyes frosted: "What poison?"

Pei Rui: "The one that plays the flute."

King of Taiping: "Good boy, don't make this public. I will send someone to investigate thoroughly. Don't mention it again before everything is clear."

Pei Rui pulled Lu Xiaofeng's collar: "He can check."

Lu Xiaofeng: "..." Why did he do this?

King of Taiping looked at Lu Xiaofeng with a hawk-like sharpness, observing whether he could be trusted.

Lu Xiaofeng: "I was probably the first person to encounter the murder flute sound. At the beginning, very few people were poisoned. Because I was at the scene, I was regarded as the murderer. Thanks to someone in the government office who recognized me and helped me clear my name, I was able to investigate this case. It has been more than three months to this day."

Prince Taiping: "Oh?"

Lu Xiaofeng: "The murder flute sound is actually a kind of poison. People who are poisoned will be controlled by the flute sound and do things they don't want to do."

No matter who he talked to, Pei Rui would not look at the other person, but looked straight ahead. His tone was flat, but his face was very slightly proud. The long scar on the right cheek moved slightly with his expression: "Fang Yingkan had that kind of poison. He wanted to use it on me and Lu Xiaofeng, but I broke it with a knife."

"Anyone who has seen your swordsmanship will be convinced." The King of Taiping naturally praised him, "How could he have that kind of poison?"

Pei Rui: "He said someone else gave it to him."

Lu Xiaofeng was surprised again. Is Fang Yingkan crazy? He actually told Pei Rui this.

The King of Taiping: "Who is it?"

Pei Rui shook his head; "I don't know who it is. Fang Yingkan said that the person who made the poison and the person behind it are not the same person. He also said that the poison was to be used in the military and was not intended to be used to kill people."

Lu Xiaofeng: "Did you come up with these by yourself, or did you find them out from somewhere? Do you have any evidence?"

Pei Rui: "Fang Yingkan said it himself."

"Has Fang Yingkan gone mad? He is so bold and arrogant that he has done all kinds of bad things without any remorse and is still smug everywhere." After saying this, King Taiping softened his tone and said to Pei Rui: "Xiao Pei, the reason why Fang Yingkan wanted to kill you is so obvious, why do you still say you don't know?"

Pei Rui: "Before I met Lu Xiaofeng, wasn't I being chased by the flute player?"

King Taiping: "So there must be something else we don't know."

The banquet was noisy, and King Taiping spoke to the two in a low voice. They behaved as usual. King Taiping was indifferent when facing Lu Xiaofeng, and when he spoke to the black-clothed boy holding a knife, his eyes and brows were much softer, like an ordinary elder who cares for the younger generation.

No one dared to disturb them at this time. The lower officials talked in low voices, and the noisy voices added a layer of cover-up to the conversation of King Taiping and others.

Fang Yingkan, who was sitting on the right side, was out of tune with them. The food and wine had been served, but King Taiping had not yet started eating, so no one dared to eat.

Fang Yingkan's brows were gloomy, and he picked up the wine glass and drank one glass after another.

Some officials wanted to say a few words to him, but were scared back by his expression.

Although Pei Rui was talking to King Taiping, he was actually still paying attention to Fang Yingkan, just like Fang Yingkan was paying attention to him all the time.

Xue Chen: [Fang Yingkan is getting impatient.]

System: [Not necessarily. What if he is just in a bad mood and his facial expression is still the same as usual? 】

Xue Chen: 【It's enough that he's in a bad mood. Everyone present is smart. The only not-so-smart Xiao Mian has a strong intuition. No matter how Fang Yingkan manages his expression, he has been seen through by everyone at this time.】

System: 【Then he can't be so shameless as to pretend to have a good relationship with your father. Great! I've disliked him for a long time. He actually wants to use your father to harm you.】

Xue Chen: 【He really wants to harm me, but he won't use my father to harm me.】

System: 【Why did Fang Yingkan have a breakdown?】

Xue Chen: [Probably because, at the first time node, Xiao Mian encountered something incredible in that house full of limbs.]

System: [What could it be?]

Xue Chen: [Conclusive evidence of treason and collusion with the enemy, that's what the original book says.]

If "Pei Rui" is really alive today, he should be able to produce evidence. But now he is just a vest of Xue Chen, who was secretly thrown in by the world consciousness and replaced the defective products of the dead.

The clothes and knife on his body were automatically generated by the system, and there is no possibility of evidence.

Pei Rui can't play a big role except as a personal witness. The best way is to let Fang Yingkan realize that what he did is about to be exposed, but it has not been exposed, making him uneasy, and naturally his emotions collapse, revealing more flaws.

All that needed to be said had been said. Prince Taiping joked with Pei Rui for a few more words, stopped talking appropriately, and sat upright.

He looked around and raised his wine glass: "Today, I have troubled all my colleagues to welcome me. You are all thoughtful. You should know why I went to Pingyang. The mutiny in the army is not a trivial matter. Whether it is a quarrel, withholding of food and wages, or other reasons, I will find out everything. Please cooperate with me." The others raised their glasses and stood up: "This is my duty. Please rest assured, Your Majesty

."

Prince Ping drank the wine in one gulp and put down the cup: "Those who assassinated me today were all soldiers in the army. Let me tell you all a secret. After being arrested, they woke up in a moment. No matter how severely they were tortured, they refused to tell the truth. Instead, they seized the opportunity to attack others or commit suicide. Now there are no survivors."

The officials of Pingyang Prefecture were shocked: "How could this be?"

"In that case, wouldn't the clues be cut off?"

"They are just ordinary guards. Why do they behave like well-trained assassins? Could they be spies planted by the enemy?"

Fang Yingkan should have been glad to have escaped at this time, but he did not relax at all.

Because he knew very well that if he didn't have enough trump cards, the King of Taiping would not make such an important matter public. The clues were cut off, but the King of Taiping was not in a hurry. Instead, he was confident and must be very sure of it.

Pei Rui turned his head and looked at Fang Yingkan with his empty gray eyes.

The strong sense of oppression made the young marquis a little breathless.

Fang Yingkan curled the corners of his mouth and forced himself to calm down: "Pei Rui, are you looking at me?"

Pei Rui tilted his head: "You again?"