Chapter 423: Escape
After smashing the gate, Zhu You did not rush in with the group, but jumped directly into the air.
The figure rose and fell several times between the roof ridges and eaves, and in a flash, it crossed the courtyards and arrived above the core area of Cui Mansion.
The overwhelming "force" around him pressed down like an invisible cage, tightly enclosing and sealing off the entire core area.
Then, he landed lightly on the ground.
Just at this moment, the rosewood carved door of the main study in the core area was slowly pushed open from the inside, and Cui Yan, the current head of the Cui family, walked out slowly.
He was about forty years old, with a gaunt face and a tall figure, and was wearing a simple and elegant dark blue silk gown.
She wore a jade belt around her waist and did not wear too many luxurious ornaments. Only a black jade ring on her finger was warm and restrained.
His whole body exudes a calm demeanor that comes from a thousand-year-old family.
Even in the face of the deafening noise outside the mansion and the uninvited guest in front of him who was holding a long knife and looked murderous, there was no trace of surprise or panic on his face.
"Brother, you invaded my house in broad daylight with a weapon. What advice do you have for me?"
"According to the order, arrest all core members of the Cui family. Anyone who dares to disobey will be killed without mercy!"
Zhu You's voice was cold and without any emotion.
When Cui Yan heard this, a faint smile appeared on his face.
The smile was not mocking, but rather as if someone had heard something that was expected yet slightly absurd.
However, even so, he still did not show any panic.
"Oh? I wonder what heinous crime our Cui family, with its thousand-year-old reputation of loyalty and patriotism, has committed to warrant such a massive military mobilization?"
"Treason." Zhu You spat out two words.
The smile on Cui Yan's face deepened, but he was still frighteningly calm.
Zhu You's heart suddenly sank.
Something is wrong. This cannot be described as cunning or deep.
The other party's behavior seemed more like they had already anticipated that the court would take action at this moment, and... were prepared!
Soon, the leaders of several teams responsible for the cleanup arrived at the core area and gathered together.
"Sir, the clearing of the various courtyards went smoothly, and we encountered no serious resistance."
"Sir, the east wing is under control, and there is no stubborn resistance."
"The same is true for Xiyuan..."
Zhu You's uneasiness grew stronger.
With the Cui family's thousand-year-old roots in Linhai Prefecture, the mansion must have a large number of guards secretly retained and martial arts practitioners hired, and their strength must be extremely strong.
Otherwise, the court would not have secretly planned and prepared for such a long time.
Strive to take it step by step and kill with one strike.
Even though he had made all the preparations, he was still mentally prepared to go through a hard battle and suffer heavy casualties.
But now, there wasn't any real resistance at all? It was so smooth that it was actually frightening.
As teams came to report, the content was almost the same.
Zhu You's chest rose and fell slightly. He was almost certain that something unexpected must have happened.
His face was cold as he ordered:
"Bring up all the captured core members of the Cui Mansion!"
In front of the study is an extremely spacious courtyard with the ground paved with white marble and surrounded by towering ancient trees.
A large number of people from the Cui Mansion were driven to the center of the courtyard by the soldiers. At a glance, there were about fifty or sixty people, most of whom looked frightened.
"Cui Muzhou, bring him here!"
A man named Cui Muzhou had his hands handcuffed behind his back and was pushed forward.
He looked to be in his thirties, with a fair complexion and a strong scholarly air. He was wearing the common robe worn by scholars.
It was found that he was a teacher in Cui's family school, who usually only taught poetry, songs, and romantic stories.
The wealthy families, especially the four great families that have been passed down for thousands of years, have complex and intertwined forces, and their true strength is extremely difficult to detect.
Some people are the ones who show their face in public, while others are the ones who hide their inner thoughts in the dark.
The most outstanding person in a family throughout the ages who holds the real core power will never enter the officialdom, and may not even be the head of the family.
The Xuanji Guards spent countless efforts and hard work before they found out that the real people in charge of the Cui family in the current era should be two people.
According to multiple sources of confirmation, this seemingly frail teacher of clan studies is one of them.
Zhu You's "momentum" was like an invisible hand, tightly enveloping it and sensing it carefully.
This person has a weak aura and indeed seems like someone who is only good at writing.
But deep in those overly calm eyes, there always makes people feel an indescribable sense of disharmony.
not good!
Zhu You suddenly approached, so fast that only a shadow was left behind.
The palm suddenly covered his face, and a surge of force shook it down.
With a slight "swish" sound, a layer of human skin mask as thin as a cicada's wing and extremely exquisitely made was peeled off from the man's face!
The face under the mask is indeed about 50% similar to the original Cui Muzhou, but the details of the eyebrows and eyes are clearly another person!
The cold sharp blade of the long knife instantly touched his neck, leaving a bloody mark.
"Tell me! What's going on? Where is the real Cui Muzhou?!"
After a stick of incense, Zhu You's face had become extremely ugly, as if water could drip out of it.
Thirteen people!
A total of thirteen core members of the Cui family who were listed as key targets all used this kind of lifelike disguise mask.
When was he switched? When did he leave?
Zhu You didn't notice it at all!
Because of the fear of alerting the enemy, Xuanjiwei's previous investigations had always been mainly concealed, and were inevitably incomplete.
But right under their noses, thirteen core members escaped without a trace.
Zhu You's face looked extremely ugly.
Just now, the head of the family, Cui Yan, cooperated very well and guided them to open the door of the Cui family's underground palace hidden under the rockery.
The scene inside the underground palace was horrifying.
In addition to the immovable land deeds, the wealth accumulated over generations is piled up like a mountain, and the brilliance of the gold, silver and jewelry alone is almost blinding.
However, Zhu You could see at a glance that the number of truly valuable and priceless top-level collections, such as ancient paintings from previous dynasties, unique calligraphy works, and rare treasures, was far lower than the expected heritage of a thousand-year-old family.
There is another thing, the quantity of which is even more strangely small, and that is the silver bill.
Compared with the huge amount of gold and silver, the huge silver notes that are easy to carry and transfer are almost nowhere to be seen.
Whether it is people or the most portable wealth, they have already been transferred quietly, clearly preparing to divide the fuel in advance!
At this moment, a subordinate hurried over and reported with a pale face: "Sir... the head of the Cui Cui family has died suddenly of poisoning!"
"What?!"
Zhu You suddenly turned his head, his eyes filled with rage like a raging storm.
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