Along the way, military flags were flying, gongs and drums were beating, and the people went out of the city to watch, with armored troops guarding on the side. The momentum was as grand as that of an emperor's outing.
However, just as Bian Tang's carriage arrived at the place, the curtain of the carriage was lifted, and Prince Bian Tang, dressed in a bright yellow brocade robe and a yellow fur coat, stepped out of the carriage with steady steps and his neck held high. If it weren't for his bruised face, I believe everything would have been perfect.
The faces of Zhao Che, Chu Qiao and others suddenly became as ugly as they could be. Even the envoys from Bian Tang had mournful expressions.
They never thought that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince would dare to appear in person in this outfit!
Poor Zhao Qi and Da Xia's civil and military officials, they were completely unprepared, everyone looked horrified and in a panic. But the old hands in the officialdom are indeed old hands in the officialdom. Everyone reacted faster than the other. The head of the Wei Clan, Lord Wei Guang, was the first to bow and sighed, "I have heard for a long time that Crown Prince Li Ce is a man of great character and extraordinary handsomeness. Today I get to see the Crown Prince's golden face. It is indeed radiant, comparable to the sun and the moon."
As soon as he finished speaking, everyone rushed forward to greet him. The civil officials recited poems and composed couplets, singing in unison, praising Li Ce to the point that he was the most handsome man in the world, surpassing all times and past. The military commanders did not have so many flowery words, but they were also very supportive and gave thumbs up, combining all the words they could think of: beautiful, pretty, and so handsome.
Li Ce laughed loudly, and suddenly the wound on the corner of his mouth was moved. He cried out in pain, waved to everyone, and said "Okay, okay" repeatedly. I accepted all the praises with peace of mind.
I wonder what Emperor and Empress Bian Tang would think if they were here.
After much persuasion, the Tang King's lifeblood was finally put on the carriage, and with horns blowing all the way, they marched towards Zhenhuang City in a mighty procession. But after just a few steps, Crown Prince Li Ce raised an objection, "Why do the horns sound like they are going to war?"
Zhao Qi was stunned, and once again felt fortunate that he did not go to pick him up in person. The sound of the horn music has a ritual system. There are battle songs for going to war, triumphal music for returning in triumph, special ceremonial guards for the emperor's travels, and the music for welcoming distinguished guests also has to be played according to the other party's rank. Now everything is in order, so why would Bian Tang be dissatisfied?
After negotiating for more than half an hour, Daxia had to make concessions. In an instant, lascivious music suddenly sounded. Amid the soft string music played by a group of young women in brightly dressed, the army once again slowly set out.
Li Ce didn't care about the wound on his face at all. He kept lifting the curtain of the car and waving to the people below. He was smiling and approachable.
Chu Qiao sighed secretly, rode on horseback and followed the Cavalry Battalion to send Prince Li Ce into Shengjin Palace.
Zhao Che and Deputy General Cheng accompanied him into the palace. Chu Qiao and a group of soldiers went straight back to the cavalry camp. Just as they reached the door, they suddenly saw a black eagle circling in the sky. When a crossbowman saw this, he drew the crossbow from his waist and shot. Unexpectedly, a sharp arrow shot up from behind and knocked his arrow off target.
The eagle became even more arrogant when it saw this, screaming and circling around the group several times before spreading its wings and flying away.
"Coach Chu! Why did you miss my arrow?"
Chu Qiao gave the soldier a cold look, snorted, and rode into the camp.
After several days of hard work, they finally had time to rest. As soon as they returned to the camp, everyone fell asleep except the guards who were on duty.
Chu Qiao wore ordinary casual clothes and quietly walked out through the side door.
The weather is getting warmer and the Chishui Lake has thawed. From afar, I can see a tall and slender man in white clothes standing on the lakeshore. In the breeze, he looks indescribably handsome and elegant.
Chu Qiao stepped forward, smiled, and said, "Who are you posing for?"
Yan Xun turned around, smiled gently, looked Chu Qiao up and down, and said, "Are you scared?"
"No." The woman smiled slyly.
"You're just being stubborn." Yan Xun laughed. "The whole imperial city knows about it. You've become a celebrity."
Chu Qiao was stunned. "Everyone in the imperial city knows about it? Then no one reported it?"
"Zhao Che said he didn't see you hitting anyone. The entire Cavalry Battalion said the same thing. Even Crown Prince Bian Tang refused to admit that you hit him, insisting that he fell down. If you don't even ask the victim, what else can the Emperor do?"
Chu Qiao covered her mouth and laughed, "If I had known this would happen, I should have hit you harder."
"Ah Chu, are you used to the life in the army?"
"Fortunately," Chu Qiao nodded, "Zhao Che doesn't trust me and has repeatedly tested me, but the situation is not bad, everything is still under control."
Yan Xun nodded silently and said slowly: "Well, be careful. If something is impossible, don't force it."
"I know, don't worry."
"I won't keep you any longer. This token can make the people of the Great Guild work for you. You may need it when you are outside."
Chu Qiao took the wooden sign and saw that it was of simple style with a huge Saker Falcon carved on it and the word "Tong" written on the back.
"I'm leaving first."
"Yan Xun!"
The man turned around and looked at her in confusion. Chu Qiao was also surprised at her momentary loss of composure and smiled awkwardly, "Be careful on the road."
Yan Xun smiled, his smile was as warm as the willows in the spring breeze, his clothes fluttering, and he rode away.
Chu Qiao stood there silently for a long time, and only walked slowly towards the Cavalry Battalion after his figure disappeared.
With a sigh, Yan Xun jumped off his horse and said to the people who came forward, "What's going on?"
Ah Jing quickly replied, "Wei Jing sent people to collect information about the girl beating Prince Bian Tang overnight, and bribed two soldiers from the Cavalry Battalion as evidence, and they are about to rush to Shengjin Palace."
"Wei Jing?" Yan Xun stopped and said slowly.
"Prince, what should we do? Although Prince Tang is afraid of losing face and won't pursue the matter, once the matter is exposed, the girl will still be doomed."
Yan Xun's eyes turned cold, and he said in a deep voice: "Notify the Night Team and let them handle it."
Ah Jing was stunned and murmured, "Does the prince want it?"
"Kill Wei Jing." The man's eyes suddenly became more ferocious than a wolf's. There was no trace of the gentleness from before. He said slowly in a gloomy tone, "He has lived long enough."
It was already very late at night, and the sky above Shengjin Palace was still immersed in the sound of stringed instruments and bamboo music. The cold and distant moon hung high in the sky, emitting a bleak and sad glow. Although Zhenhuang City never implements a curfew, the area beyond Ziwei Square is the imperial city, which is heavily guarded and dead silent. Especially at this time, there are basically few people walking around, and those who can still walk around here at this time are naturally not ordinary people.
More than a hundred cavalrymen formed a shuttle formation with a narrow front and back. The only sound on the silent long street was the clatter of horse hooves, which sounded even clearer in the dead of night. The iron armor was cold. After walking for half an incense stick of time, they did not enter the main road of the imperial city. Instead, they turned into the patrol road near the city wall and walked along the wall.
There were many cavalrymen walking in the center, with guards on both wings holding tall shields. There were two lanterns in front and behind for lighting, and the center of the team was completely immersed in darkness, making it impossible to see clearly. However, from this arrangement, one could tell that the center must be guarding important people.
The forwards in the front row are all armed with sharp weapons, including swords, spears, and armor, and can both attack and defend.
There were twenty cavalrymen on each side, guarding the center of the team like two walls. Everyone was holding a sword, wearing heavy armor, and facing outwards. The armor flashed with a silvery-white light, and it was obviously made of heavy armor from the Western Regions. Even if someone attacked from a high wall or by the road and shot arrows at them, as long as they were not using heavy bows and crossbows, they would have nothing to fear.
Such strict precautions can almost be described as watertight. Ever since the mysterious death of Muhe Xifeng of the Muhe clan, the nobles in the capital who valued their lives immediately felt insecure and fell into a panic. After Wei Jingrong became a sword-bearing guard in front of the emperor, he seemed to cherish his life even more.
The wind was cold and the snow on the ground was flying, which made the atmosphere even more solemn and depressing.
"Sir." A servant rode up and said in a deep voice to the man on horseback, "Just walk a little further and you will reach the north side of Yuan'an Gate. We can go in quietly and won't be discovered by the master of the house. Eunuch Tai is already waiting for us in front of the palace gate. As long as we hand over the memorial, neither Prince Yan nor the little girl will be able to escape."
Wei Jing nodded coldly, his eyes like a ferocious wolf, cruel and bloodthirsty, the corners of his mouth were hard, looking gloomy and domineering.
There were piles of clouds in the sky, and the stars and the moon were dim.
The man in the darkness was wearing a black night suit and standing on a high palace wall with his eyes slightly narrowed. A cold wind blew across his slender body, making him look even more aloof, sharp and outstanding.
Thirty men in black stood on both sides, crouching or lying on the ground, hiding in the shadows, waiting for the opportunity to come.
Suddenly, there was a loud sound of music coming from the direction of the palace, and faint sounds of drums and chimes. The man knew that the time had come and the musicians began to cover their actions, with only one stick of incense left.
A sharp whistle suddenly broke the tranquility of the long night, startling the horses' hooves that were moving forward in an orderly manner.
The Wei soldiers were suddenly horrified and looked up at the dark sides in panic.
At this moment, a whistling sound was heard, and thirty crossbows on the high wall fired arrows at the same time. The arrows flashed, biting people's hearts and lungs, taking the horses but not the people.
The war horses neighed miserably and raised their hooves with all their might. Soldiers on horseback fell off their horses one after another, and the screams were endless. Wei Jing was protected in the center by the crowd. He was shocked and angry, and shouted angrily, "Who is coming?"
The man in the darkness sneered, raised the golden crossbow in his hand, and shot it away with a whoosh. However, before the arrow reached him, his figure had already leaped down the high wall like a leopard, dropped a few feet like a heavenly soldier, then swung out the hook in his hand, leaped into the air, and landed steadily on the ground in an instant.
With a swish, the long sword in the man's hand pierced into the armor of the opposing soldier. Another soldier rushed forward with his sword raised, but just as he took a step, a golden arrow came first and pierced his throat!
The screams immediately resounded throughout the entire Ziwei Street!
Following closely, the Grim Reapers hiding on the high walls jumped down one after another, raising their swords to kill.
Most of Wei Jing's followers had fallen by this time, their war horses were screaming and wailing, their hooves flying everywhere, and many were shot by crossbows and wounded. They fell to the ground, but were trampled to death by the war horses. The troops had already lost their formation, and the escort group of more than one hundred people was immediately routed.
"You are a traitor of the Wei clan! You have framed loyal people, excluded dissidents, and stolen the country. Muhexik is here today to enforce justice on behalf of heaven and take your life! Prepare to die!"
Suddenly, there was a chaotic sound of horse hooves in the distance. Wei Jing knew that the imperial guards must have heard the sound and rushed over. He immediately calmed down and shouted bravely, "Mu He, you bastard, you are struggling to death. Come on if you have the guts!"