Chapter 348 As the saying goes, it's easy to defend against external thieves, but difficult to guard against thieves within your own ranks!
On the 29th day of the twelfth lunar month, the day before New Year's Eve, even though it was snowing heavily, there were still quite a few people on the streets of the prefectural city.
Everywhere was decorated with lanterns and colorful decorations, creating a joyful and lively atmosphere. There were also many more pedestrians dressed in red and green than usual.
Li Shiyue was wearing a peach-pink dress that she would never normally wear, with a silver hairpin in her hair. As she walked down the street, she looked like a charming young girl.
In fact, given Li Shiyue's age, she should have been a mother long ago.
Nowadays, even mothers rarely wear this fresh peach pink color; those who wear this delicate color are mostly young girls who haven't yet reached marriageable age.
It's not that older women aren't worthy of wearing fresh colors, but women who have experienced life and become mothers are inevitably burdened by family chores and children, so they don't look as good in delicate colors as young girls who haven't experienced life.
In fact, in well-off families, it's not uncommon to see mothers wearing peach-pink and pale yellow dresses;
However, in ordinary households, the wife inevitably has to work hard, and there are also children to take care of. How could she not maintain such a fresh and tender appearance?
Li Shiyue, being petite and living a relatively smooth life, didn't seem out of place dressed as a young girl.
However, why is Li Shiyue, who should be in Lijiatun waiting for the New Year with her family, still staying in the prefectural city at this time?
This story begins after Li Shiyue left the General's Mansion on that day.
Just as she and Li Qiutian left the general's mansion, snowflakes began to fall.
As luck would have it, Li Shiyue, looking up at the sky, made eye contact with someone on the second floor diagonally opposite.
Who is this person?
It was Li Qingyun!
It turns out that Li Qingyun, who went up Daheishan Mountain alone that day, somehow found his way by going north of the city and finding a place under the city wall to enter the city.
It was never used, never inspected, and nobody knew about it.
What Li Qingyun did in the ten days or so after entering the city is unknown to anyone but himself.
After finishing their shopping in Lijiatun, the group left the city in droves.
Li Shiyue, however, said something to Li Qiutian and the others halfway there, then dismounted and took a side path back to the prefectural city.
Why did Li Shiyue return to the prefectural city?
Firstly, her intuition told her that something big was bound to happen in the coming days!
If she returns to Lijiatun, it will be a long time before she can get any more news about the Prince's Mansion.
At such a crucial juncture, she had to stay in the capital!
Second, the Prince of Zhenbei is most likely to die, so when will he die?
After his death, it became clear who would be the next ruler of Andong!
Who is the master of Andong is related to Li Shiyue's future life and fortune!
Third, Li Shiyue does not believe that the Prince of Zhenbei is about to die and that Liu Tan has no backup plan!
Liu Tan will definitely make a move!
Liu Tan was willing to help Yan Xuefei poison the Prince of Zhenbei at the beginning, so Liu Tan was watching the Prince of Zhenbei die!
The death of the Prince of Zhenbei at this time presented Liu Tan with the best opportunity to ascend to the throne!
For the sake of future power, Li Shiyue would naturally be eager to seek the "merit of following the emperor"!
Even if Liu Tan didn't say anything to her, she still had to have this much sense of observation, just in case she needed her help.
Fourthly, she was also looking for an opportunity.
Upon returning to the prefectural city, Li Shiyue went to a clothing shop and bought herself a pink dress. She then had her hair styled in the latest fashionable fashion, adorned with silver hairpins, and wore jingling earrings and bracelets, thus dressing up as a commoner's daughter.
She tried her best to dress in a completely different image than usual, determined that people who didn't know her would not be able to tell at first glance that she was Li Shiyue!
But coincidentally, while Li Shiyue, dressed in this manner, was inquiring about information in various parts of the prefectural city, she unexpectedly encountered Li Qingyun again!
Their eyes met, and Li Shiyue simply nodded slightly to Li Qingyun before turning away, just as she had done when they first met outside the General's Mansion.
But who could have imagined that on the 29th of the twelfth lunar month, Li Shiyue, carrying a basket, would run into Li Qingyun once again!
After encountering him time and time again, Li Shiyue couldn't help but wonder, "Could he be stalking me?"
So this time, Li Shiyue stepped forward and struck up a conversation with Li Qingyun.
The two found a tavern that was quite crowded and sat down at an empty square table in the corner.
Then, Li Shiyue started following Li Qingyun!
The thirtieth day of the twelfth lunar month, New Year's Eve.
Li Shiyue dressed in a dark black night outfit, styled her hair in a man's bun, and covered her mouth and nose with a black mask, revealing only her cunning eyes and smooth forehead.
With a wood-chopping knife hanging at her waist, a "needle from Dongfang Bubai" hidden in her hair bun, and a dagger in her boot, Li Shiyue followed Li Qingyun, who was also dressed in black and had his face covered with a black mask, jumping out of the window onto the roof. In just a few leaps, the two left the guesthouse and headed towards the Zhenbei Prince's Mansion.
Li Shiyue and his companions were lucky; it wasn't snowing as they ran back and forth across the rooftops of various houses.
As for the Prince of Zhenbei's mansion, it was naturally not so easy to get in.
However, Liu Tan had already revealed to them the time and specific location of the guard rotation at the Prince's residence.
As the saying goes, it's easy to guard against external thieves, but difficult to guard against thieves within your
Knowing this, Li Shiyue and Li Qingyun entered the Prince's mansion as if it were empty. They swiftly scaled the courtyard wall, climbed onto the roof, and leaped back and forth until they reached a brightly lit courtyard.
After waiting in the shadows for a long time, and when Li Shiyue felt her feet were about to freeze numb, the soldiers who were changing shifts finally came out of the courtyard.
Taking advantage of the ten or so breaths before the next wave of soldiers arrived, Li Shiyue stretched his ankles and followed Li Qingyun as he climbed over the wall again and hid in the shadows of the inner courtyard. In just two breaths, the two of them crossed the courtyard and climbed onto the roof!
Li Shiyue and Li Qingyun lay completely covered on the roof, hiding themselves behind their backs, when the changing troop entered the courtyard.
At that moment, the snow started falling again.
Li Shiyue carefully peeled back the roof tiles and glanced at Li Qingyun opposite her. In her heart, Li Shiyue couldn't help but sigh, "I underestimated this Taoist priest!"
No way, even with all my cheat codes, I'm still no match for a native!
Yes, Li Shiyue had been following Li Qingyun all this way and genuinely felt that he was no match for him.
This Li Qingyun must be at least fifty years old, yet he can jump around like her, who has an internal strength that's like a cheat code, without even panting. Not to mention, he stood in the shadows outside the courtyard wall for more than two quarters of an hour, and his legs didn't even go numb.
However, before Li Shiyue could even begin to complain in his mind, voices drifted out from under the flipped-up tile.
Through the gaps revealed by the torn tiles, Li Shiyue looked down and saw the Prince of Zhenbei, who was leaning against the brocade quilt, looking as withered as ever!
Li Shiyue was very surprised. She had thought that the poisoned Prince Zhenbei would not look good, but she really did not expect that she would see a trace of death on the Prince Zhenbei's face!
"Ha ha!"
Li Shiyue quickly looked down and saw that Princess Zhao Changying, who was standing not far from the low couch where the Prince of Zhenbei was sitting, was laughing loudly, with each laugh being louder than the last.
"Haha! Haha! Haha!"
From those few laughs, you could tell that Zhao Changying was genuinely happy; anyone could hear the joy in her laughter.
Besides the Prince of Zhenbei and Zhao Changying, there was another person in the room, and that was the steward.
The steward looked at Zhao Changying with great surprise. You see, Zhao Changying was not like this before. Instead, he looked worried and distressed about the Prince of Zhenbei. His concern in his words seemed genuine to everyone.
Even before that, Zhao Changying had told the Prince of Zhenbei, "...I wrote a letter to my grandfather, asking if there was any elixir of immortality in the house!"
I still remember when I was young, Emperor Xianzong sent my grandfather two elixirs of immortality as a birthday gift.
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