Great opportunity
This was only because she relied on her superior agility to constantly dodge.
Mo Yimingyue's scimitar struck his face again. A Qiu heard the sound of wind behind his head and knew that a spear and a sword were attacking from behind at the same time. He could no longer dodge backward.
She had no choice but to raise her arm and use the "Assassinate Qin" weapon hidden in her sleeve to parry the attack.
With a clang, the crescent blade was knocked back and flew back into Mo Yimingyue's hand.
At that moment, A Qiu had only enough time to leap forward, barely dodging the attack from behind, landing steadily and looking around warily.
Mo Yimingyue held a knife in her hand, her eyes gleaming as she scrutinized A Qiu. She said leisurely, "If you continue to only dodge without fighting back, you might not survive here today. Such skill is certainly not that of an unknown person. Why not reveal your identity and we can discuss things together?"
Although A Qiu had concealed her face, Mo Yimingyue's discerning eyes were sharp enough to see that the other party was a woman.
A Qiu, quick-witted, changed her voice and said in a strange tone, "Master Mo Yi, you and my Yin Yue Clan have no past grudges or present enmity. I am merely here to monitor on the orders of my clan leader. If you are willing to let me go today, we can turn hostility into friendship. At least until the situation between the North and South is clear, we will not touch Luo Yu Fang, how about it?"
Mo Yimingyue chuckled and said, "The suggestion is excellent. I just wonder if you, young lady, are qualified to speak on behalf of your clan leader."
Before he finished speaking, the "Crescent Blade" shot out like lightning, aiming straight for A Qiu's vital point. Meanwhile, the two swordsmen and the three Yin Shang, who were waiting around him, seemed to have received a signal from Mo Yimingyue and also attacked A Qiu with lightning speed at the same time.
A Qiu was greatly shocked. Only then did she personally experience some of the thunderous methods her senior brother used to intimidate the martial arts world.
Mo Yimingyue had already decided to eliminate the eavesdropper on the spot. Her earlier call to stop was merely a ruse to create an opportunity for the four of them to act simultaneously.
Because of his ghostly footwork that he had previously displayed, which caused chaos among the four of them and made them unable to defend themselves, and because he had only taken hits without fighting back, his senior brother thought that he had not shown his full strength. Mo Yimingyue judged that it would not be easy to defeat him.
Therefore, his decision was swift and decisive: regardless of who he was on, he would kill them immediately.
The reason they stopped to probe and ask which side they were on was simply to create a perfect opportunity for the four of them to attack together.
A thousand calculations flashed through A Qiu's mind, but the reality was that there was no time to lose, so he had no choice but to risk revealing his true form and go all out.
With this thought in mind, the assassination attempt on Qin was about to slip into his hand when he heard the sound of a strong wind approaching.
It turned out that three arrows flew through the air in succession, but they were not aimed at him, but at the three people beside him.
At this moment, A Qiu had no time to care whether the archer was friend or foe. He steeled his heart and did not attempt to assassinate Qin again. Instead, he kept the arrow hidden in his arm and parried another "crescent blade" strike. With a clang of metal, he flew back several feet.
At the end of the long street, several riders were galloping towards them. The woman at the head of the group, with a childlike voice, shouted with imposing authority, "The Dragon Tiger Cavalry is here! Who dares to engage in a nighttime brawl in the West Market?"
It turned out that the commotion from the fight had alerted the Imperial Guards who were patrolling the area late at night.
Mo Yimingyue glanced sharply one last time in the direction A Qiu had fled, and finally decided to abandon her attempt to kill A Qiu.
A Qiu knew that it wasn't because he was afraid of the people who came, but because his identity at this moment could not be exposed to the Imperial Guards from the court.
After all, at this moment, he still has an official identity: Xiao Yue, the envoy from the Northern Qiang.
Mo Yimingyue retreated swiftly, disappearing over the wall of a house in a few leaps.
His three subordinates followed suit, leaping onto the courtyard wall and disappearing into the darkness within a few breaths.
A-Qiu was left standing there, and only when the Imperial Guards rode up to her on two horses did she smile bitterly and pull off her face mask.
The newcomer showed no surprise upon seeing her, only frowning and asking, "Are you injured?" Looking in the direction Mo Yimingyue had left, he added, "These people are all formidable. Jianzhang truly is a place where hidden talents abound!"
A Qiu said in a daze, "General Xiao Fan, how come you happen to be here? You just happened to help me escape this calamity?"
The newcomer was none other than Fan Liancheng, the "Black Eagle," one of the Four Guards of the Flying Phoenix in this generation.
She shrugged and said, “It wasn’t just a coincidence. I was patrolling the city on East Street when I suddenly ran into your chief guard, Lie Changkong. He told me that you were conducting an undercover investigation in Luoyufang, but there were suspicious martial arts figures lying in ambush and tailing you nearby, and they didn’t look like ordinary people. He was worried that you would be at a disadvantage, so he asked me to bring the Imperial Guards here quickly. Sure enough, we arrived just in time.”
She then said with a headache, "Big sister, what are you looking for? Why don't you openly bring the army in to search? Going in without permission, acting like a masked thief, sneaking around like this, no wonder you keep running into danger."
A Qiu realized that although Lie Changkong had left, he still cared about her. Otherwise, he wouldn't have surveyed the surroundings before leaving, noticed something was wrong, and immediately went to find Fan Liancheng, who was closest to the area and could help her the most.
Only Lie Changkong, who had served under Gu Yi for a long time, was familiar with the Imperial Guard's patrol times, locations, and personnel on duty, which is why he was able to bring in reinforcements so quickly.
Fan Liancheng's words implied that although she was often in the military camp rather than in the palace, she already knew about A Qiu's dangerous encounter when she was invited to Bifu Pavilion last time.
An unusually warm feeling swept through her heart. Suddenly, A Qiu reached out and put his arm around her shoulder, saying emphatically, "Let's go back to the palace!"
When A-Qiu returned to her own Tai Le Shu, the atmosphere among the people rehearsing "Shao" and "Wu" in the hall had changed from the high spirits of the last time to the solemn atmosphere of impending storm.
The atmosphere in Dayan was now one of strictness inside but relaxation outside. Outwardly, the people appeared as orderly and well-behaved as ever, but in secret, all of Jianzhang's troops had begun to be mobilized. Both the Jianzhang Division of the Central Army and the Imperial Guard had entered an unprecedented state of emergency.
Upon seeing them, Pei Yu immediately beckoned them to the side and asked in a low voice, "Is what my mother said true?"
A Qiu wasn't sure which issue Mu Huaying was referring to, so she asked, "Which matter are you referring to?"
Pei Yu said with a solemn expression, "Naturally, it's about the possibility of spies being planted within the Southern Dynasty." He then whispered, "The court has received news that the 100,000-strong Northern Qiang army is marching south, but currently only military personnel and a few important figures know about it. His Highness the Crown Prince and His Majesty haven't had a chance to discuss this matter with you yet, have they?"
A-Qiu suddenly realized the importance of her current position.
Pei Yu then asked, "I heard you're investigating the spies. Is there any progress?"
Fan Liancheng, standing to one side, also looked concerned. This was because they were both military commanders, and in these turbulent times, if spies were to instigate defections, commit arson, or even open the gates to the enemy, it would be impossible to guard against them, causing them immense headaches.
A Qiu decided not to hide anything from the two of them and was about to tell them the truth about the Frost Vine in Luoyu Workshop when she heard someone announce from outside the door: "The Grand Commander has arrived!"
The three exchanged glances, for the visit of the Imperial Guard Commander, "Silver Saddle and White Horse" Sikong Zhao, to the Imperial Music Bureau was no ordinary event.
As the emperor's most trusted and trusted general of the Imperial Guard, Sikong Zhao would not usually associate with any important officials in the court, let alone visit them.
Even when Gu Yi was alive, Sikong Zhao, as the emperor's man, maintained a polite and courteous distance from him.
As expected, as soon as Sikong Zhao entered the hall, everyone turned to look at her with attention, even the officers of the Divine Hound Camp and the dancers in the hall.
On ordinary days, most of them could only watch this spirited female general in the palace from afar during military parades.
Sikong Zhao greeted everyone with a calm expression, as if nothing had happened, but no one dared to ask her why she had suddenly decided to come to the Taile Department to watch the rehearsals of "Shao" and "Wu".
Only after A Qiu approached did Sikong Zhao whisper, "Since yesterday until today, His Majesty has come to invite the Grand Master of Music several times, but you have not been to the Imperial Music Bureau. Now that you are back, go and see His Majesty first." He then looked at Fan Liancheng and Pei Yu and said, "You two come too."
A Qiu then realized that the reason why the Grand Commander Sikong Zhao had come to invite him personally must be to discuss the tough battle between the North and the South.
The place Sikong Zhao led them to was not the main hall where the emperor and his ministers held their meetings, but the Yunlong Hall, the sleeping quarters of Emperor Xie Lang.
This incident alone shows that Xie Lang's health condition has not improved and his illness is probably getting worse.
Throughout his life, Xie Lang struggled to suppress his inner demons and regrets over his emotions. Yet, during the day, he still had to manage countless affairs, painstakingly rebuilding the dynasty from the ruins of the former Huan. The exhaustion he endured was beyond what outsiders could understand.
As A Qiu stepped into the Cloud Dragon Palace, she couldn't help but think about what Xie Lang had done back then that caused him to develop such a severe hysterical inner demon.
Was it simply because he loved Ah Xiu but couldn't have her?
Was it simply because he was ordered by the emperor at the time to personally send Ah Xiu's child into the mouth of the Candle Dragon?
To be fair, the first incident is a common occurrence in life. As for the second incident, although he lacked loyalty, he was merely a pawn carrying out the emperor's orders at the time. Ultimately, the emperor's decree for the child's death was not his own. It wasn't that he intended to betray the emperor; he simply didn't offer any help.
She found it hard to imagine that Xie Lang, such a dignified and resolute man, would develop such a deep inner demon over just these two matters.
After she, Fan Liancheng, and Pei Yu bowed and rose as was customary, she looked up at the people in the hall. At a glance, she knew that Xie Lang's condition had probably not improved much in recent days.
Consort Chen sat beside the dragon bed, while Crown Prince Xie Tiao stood at the foot of the bed.
Mu Huaying stood behind Consort Chen, on one side of the dragon bed, her face extremely pale.
These were all people Xie Lang trusted most. Besides them, she also knew Bai Shi, who tended the incense burner beside the hall, adding spices from time to time. A calming and soothing fragrance permeated the hall.
To her surprise, both the Right Chancellor Shangguan You and the Left Chancellor Gongyi Xiu were also present.
After several days apart, Xie Lang leaned against the cushions, his face looking even more haggard and worn. But he still forced himself to stay awake, and after scanning everyone in the hall, he asked with difficulty, "Is everyone here?"
Consort Chen reported in a low voice, "Only Chief Shangguan and Lord Xiao of the Green Falcon Guard are not here."
Upon this reminder, A Qiu indeed discovered that all the previous generations of Flying Phoenixes were present except for the deceased Zhao Lingying, while the current generation of Flying Phoenixes were absent except for Shangguan Yuqi and Xiao Chang'an.
Upon hearing this, Shangguan You bowed and said, "Yuqi goes back to the family's forbidden area for three days of seclusion at the end of each month as usual, and he probably hasn't returned yet. If there's anything, I can relay it to him."
Ah Qiu knew that Shangguan Yuqi had been tricked by Huli Guang at Bifu Pavilion and nearly suffered a great humiliation. Although Shangguan Yuqi was no ordinary woman, it must have affected Ah Qiu's mindset, which had been smooth sailing all her life. Her return to the forbidden area for seclusion at this moment must have been due to some enlightenment.
Mu Huaying said coldly, "Although Lord Qingyao Guard is a Han Chinese like us, he is ultimately from the Xiao family of the Northern Dynasty. It doesn't matter if there is nothing to do normally, but when we are fighting a powerful enemy, there are some things that we should not let him know."
A Qiu then realized that Xiao Chang'an had been excluded from this meeting. But to be fair, she felt that Mu Huaying's arrangement was not without reason.
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