Chapter 127 Sixth Visit to the Palace
In a quiet alley.
As officials from the imperial yamen flocked in, the place suddenly became lively and crowded.
Because of the perspective, Haitang, who rushed to help, first saw a carriage lying flat on the ground.
Then there was Zhao Duan standing in the alley, and Jin Jian, who had a lower presence next to him.
As for the dead swordsman, he was blocked behind the two men and was in a blind spot.
"Why are you here?" Zhao Duan was stunned.
He was surprised by the appearance of his two colleagues, and also shocked by the word "rebel" from their mouths.
Haitang looked him up and down, and breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that he was not injured.
His gaze shifted to the young priestess again, and he was slightly stunned.
In an instant, he completed a series of mental supplements, seemed to understand something, and said with a bow:
"Meet Priest Jin Jian."
Then he explained:
"We've received news that the new leader of the Kuangfu Society has entered the city..."
She spoke quickly and concisely describing what had happened.
Zhang Han nodded and said:
"We were just in the distance when we vaguely saw a green aura rising from this side, which disappeared in an instant. We were still confused, wondering if it was the rebels who sent out sorcerers to harm you.
"From the looks of it, could it be that the Golden Sword Priest took action?"
The two were also somewhat confused about the current situation.
As he spoke, he was still looking around vigilantly, as if looking for signs of battle.
Immediately, he noticed, without surprise, that there seemed to be a figure behind Zhao Duan, and immediately shouted:
“Who’s there!”
While speaking, he had already adopted an attacking posture.
"...Don't be nervous, he's already dead." Zhao Duan was silent for a moment, then reluctantly stepped aside and introduced:
"This is the person who blocked my way and tried to assassinate me. Well, I've killed him."
I killed him... killed him...
Zhao Duan's light words reached the ears of the two, making them stunned at first.
When I saw clearly the corpse kneeling on one knee, leaning on the sword with his hand, and closing his eyes as if he was sleeping.
The expression on his face turned into disbelief.
"Gao Li!"
The two of them almost spoke in unison, connecting the appearance of the person in front of them with the portrait in the information.
Especially the iconic frost sword, which clearly revealed the identity of the corpse:
Fang Fu arrived in the capital a few days ago. Zhuang Xiaocheng's successor, the new branch leader of Kuangfu Society, is also a talented swordsman who entered the divine realm decades ago.
Just a while ago, they were in the Peony Hall, seriously discussing how to deal with Gao Li.
How to gather the strength of the nine halls to jointly meet the challenges.
But at this moment, Zhao Duan said that the new helmsman had been killed by him.
"Is he really Gao Li?"
The heroic female inspector with long legs, thin waist and high ponytail murmured to herself.
Zhang Han stepped forward, confirmed it, and said in a complicated tone:
"That should be right. He is indeed dead."
He raised his hand, touched the blood on his chest, and said blankly:
"Is it a knife wound? But this wound doesn't seem right... It's not fatal. Could it be the soul..."
Zhao Duan cleared his throat and said:
"He was indeed killed by magic."
There is no way, this thing cannot be concealed. At the same time, I feel conflicted and don’t know how to explain this.
A divine talisman is so powerful.
Zhao Duan was almost certain.
The old man who repeatedly tried to poach me and take me in as his apprentice was definitely a cultivator in the "worldly" realm.
Otherwise, even if an ordinary priest in the Divine Chapter Realm had such a treasured talisman, he would not be so wealthy as to give it away casually, right?
He was an official appointed by the imperial court, a member of the royal family, yet he had an affair with a high-ranking priest...
It's easy to say but not nice to hear.
At this time, Jin Jian beside him suddenly spoke:
"It relies on the 'Divine Command Talisman' from my Tianshi Mansion."
Seeing the three of them looking at her, she lied without changing her expression:
"I gave it to him for self-defense."
ah?
When did you send it to me... Zhao Duan was stunned for a second, then smiled and nodded:
"That's right. Last time I asked Priest Jin Jian to protect me, we became friends. I've made too many enemies recently, and with what happened with Marquis Xia Jiang yesterday, I asked her for help."
The perfect excuse!
When he said this, Zhao Duan suddenly understood why the golden tablet appeared here.
It must be that old official who was good at fortune-telling. He sensed that he was in trouble today, so he informed Jin Jian and asked her to come over.
In this way, if we just say that the talisman was given to him by Jin Jian, everything will make sense.
As for the reasons, there are also ready-made
——In the last incident at Prince Jing’s Mansion, the middle-aged sorcerer who was captured happened to be a priest who defected from the Tianshi Mansion.
In other words, in that case, Zhao Duan accidentally helped the Tianshi Mansion capture the traitor.
This is no secret, many people know about it.
It was reasonable for Priest Jin Jian to help Zhao Duan privately as a reward for his gratitude.
Anyway, as a disciple of the old Taoist priest, she is wealthy and has no shortage of money.
"Is that so..."
Zhang Han and Haitang looked at each other, their faces showing realization.
At the same time, he couldn't hide his surprise.
They didn't expect that Zhao Duan was actually friends with the Heavenly Master's disciples, and that he had such a great reputation that he could invite them.
When did the arrogant priest ever look down upon the notorious pretty boy?
"Well, this was quite dangerous, but fortunately it was the enemy who died in the end, not me."
Zhao Duan spoke seriously:
"Thank you both for coming to my rescue. This is a serious matter. I'm about to go to the palace and will report there. I'd also like you to help me bring back the body. Also, I suspect there may be rebels hiding nearby..."
Zhang Han and Haitang looked at each other and said at the same time:
"Don't worry, Zhao Jisi, leave this to us."
Zhao Duan nodded in thanks and looked at the golden tablet again.
But the young priestess raised her hand and yawned, her figure slowly fading away:
"I'm leaving now. If you have any questions, just come to Tianshi Mansion to find me."
What a night owl, he's so sleepy... Zhao Duan shook his head.
He borrowed a horse from an official, spurred the horse and galloped towards the palace.
"I hope it wasn't too long..."
…
…
Imperial Palace, outside the Meridian Gate.
The sun has risen high in the sky, the sky is bright, and it is time for today's morning court to end.
A large group of officials walked out one after another on the white jade steps carved with dragons and phoenixes.
The atmosphere is strange.
Many eyes fell on the officials from the Dali Temple. Zhou Cheng, whose brows were deeply wrinkled with the Chinese character "川" (Chuan) wrinkles, had a gloomy expression. He left angrily without saying a word.
No stops were made.
Everyone could see that the Dali Temple Minister was in a bad mood, and no one wanted to offend him.
Ma Yan was among the last group to walk out of the Golden Palace.
There was not even a single minister close to him.
This shows how poor his popularity is.
When he was alone in front of the Meridian Gate, he suddenly looked up and gazed into the distance.
Outside the Meridian Gate, outside the gate of the imperial city, a horse was galloping against the current!
When they reached the city gate, the black shadow on the horse turned over and came closer with extremely fast steps.
The deep red palace walls, the golden sunlight, and the black human figures form a scene with great artistic conception.
"Why are you here?"
Ma Yan stopped and a look of surprise appeared on his tall and cold face.
Zhao Duan was exhausted from the journey, having ridden his horse at full speed. He was panting and said with a smile:
"Excuse me, Senior Brother, what was the result? On my way here, I saw Zhou Cheng's face was ashen and he ignored me. I guess he got humiliated."
Upon hearing this, Ma Yan's mouth corners slightly raised, and he briefly recounted what happened in the court.
That is to say, I broke into the Dali Temple and beat someone up... and everything is fine?
Zhao Duan found it quite interesting and asked curiously:
"Where is Marquis Xia Jiang?"
Ma Yan said calmly, "This crime is extremely heinous and must be executed immediately."
So cruel... Zhao Duan was greatly surprised.
But when he learned about the crimes he had committed, he shook his head and thought that such a person deserved to die a hundred times.
"Then what will be the outcome of the treatment of Princess Yunyang..."
He finally asked the question that concerned him most.
Ma Yan glanced at him and said:
"You've arrived just in time. When I left, His Majesty told me to find you in the palace and have a private conversation with you."
Although Princess Yunyang instigated the case of Marquis Xiajiang, there was a lack of evidence after all.
And since it involves the royal face, it is not surprising that it was not mentioned on the spot.
But the empress will definitely give him a punishment.
"Your Majesty is looking for me?"
Zhao Duanxin said that this was a coincidence, and things happened at the same time, and immediately laughed and said:
"I'll be there right away. I have an important matter to report to His Majesty."
The palace is far away from the assassination site.
In addition, the effect of the divine talisman was obscured by the "Taixu Scroll".
The commotion caused by the briefly gathered blue cloud was limited to that block.
Therefore, no one in the Golden Palace knew about this matter yet.
Ma Yan asked doubtfully, "Big deal?"
…
…
Imperial study.
After the court was dismissed, the Queen of Dayu first took off her dragon robe and removed the pearl curtain with the help of the palace maids.
After changing into his white uniform, he went to the imperial study as usual to review the accumulated memorials.
The "female prime minister", wearing a female official robe, a wingless black gauze, and plum blossom makeup on her eyebrows, has been waiting for a long time with a very "neutral beauty".
"Your Majesty, the secret report just sent by the Shadow Guard has been placed at the top."
Mo Chou strictly fulfilled her duties as the "female secretary".
Xu Zhenguan, who had just finished the morning court and felt a little tired, perked up when he heard the word "shadow guard".
She took lotus steps and walked behind the table.
Leaning back on a golden nanmu chair covered with silk cushions.
With her slender white fingers, she picked up the "secret memorial" from the top of the pile of memorials.
Everyone in the world knows that the Imperial Court is a knife in the hands of the empress, openly displayed.
But only a few people know that the emperors of Dayu throughout the ages have a dagger hidden in their hands.
It is a secret spy organization under the "Royal Worship" system that is only loyal to the emperor, called "Shadow Guard".
This was different from the imperial yamen that was stationed in the capital and mainly monitored court officials. Whenever there was a major case, people were sent on business trips to the nine provinces and eighteen prefectures.
The shadow guards are spread throughout Dayu and all major prefectures except the capital.
All members are hiding in the dark and exist as secret agents.
With the help of "secret memorials", important information from all over the country was presented to the empress.
"Branch leader?"
Xu Zhenguan flipped open the secret letter, his beautiful eyes swept over the words, his slender black eyebrows slightly frowned, and he said in a cold voice:
"Zhuang Xiaocheng left, and now Gao Li is thrust in. These remnants of the underworld are truly restless. It seems... I've been too lenient with them."
This secret memorial contained the news that Gao Li had replaced Zhuang Xiaocheng and secretly sneaked into the capital to serve as the "branch leader".
(End of this chapter)
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