Wei Xu raised his head suddenly, and saw that the air vent at the top of the corridor was empty.
He tilted his head slightly.
Streams, rockery, scattered flowers and trees, gravel paths, corridors, and several old crabapple trees that are already full of emerald green.
His cold, lightning-like eyes swept over slowly, everything was normal, in the silence, one could still hear the tapping sound of the patrolling guards' boots hitting the ground not far away.
"But is there anyone?"
Wei Ping had followed, he was alert and looked around.
“Nothing.”
I didn't notice it, but it's not that there was no one. Wei Xu had a feeling that there was someone outside the air vent just now.
He jumped onto the beam and looked carefully. A thin layer of dust quietly covered the beam, without any trace of being wiped or trampled on.
He tiptoed and was standing on the roof.
There were heavy guards outside the courtyard, and in the distance there were double eaves and flying ridges. A cold wind, especially with a chill of spring, blew past, and Wei Xu's snow-white sleeves fluttered. In front of him, a branch of the old crabapple tree had been broken in half at some point, and was now being rolled up in the wind and shaking violently.
This branch has lush green leaves, and when it shakes most violently, it can just reach the eaves in front of the air vent.
Wei Xu jumped down and looked up. Just then, the branches moved back and forth again, and a shadow blocked the skylight for a moment, then swung away.
He looked up for a moment, and the shadow swung back and forth five or six times.
Am I really being overly sensitive?
Wei Xu frowned slightly and did not comment.
"Yesterday in Shanglin Garden, the man in blue was very skilled. He flew away and disappeared without a trace."
But Wei Ping felt that no matter how skilled the man in blue was, he would not be better than Wei Xu. Even though he was born into an imperial family, he had only seen one person in his life who could be compared to Wei Xu.
That person was the King of Qi Wei Jing who had been in trouble.
Thinking of the King of Qi, Wei Ping's heart skipped a beat.
Suddenly recalling the extremely dangerous feeling he had when he saw the back of the man in blue yesterday, his heart began to beat wildly.
"Jinzhi, I always feel that he is not dead."
Wei Ping was startled. Could it be him?
Wei Xu knew who this "he" was referring to: "It's hard to say. He was seriously injured and poisoned and fell into the river. The Qianshui River is turbulent upstream. Even for me, there is little chance of survival."
Wei Xu gave a very objective evaluation as always. At the end he said: "If there is an insider, it will not be difficult to escape from Shanglin Garden."
"If he's not dead, he'll show up sooner or later. We just need to be more careful." There's no point in searching for him now.
It must be said that every word Wei Xu said made sense. No matter how uneasy Wei Ping was, he frowned and thought for a moment before he had to go back to tell Chu Zhu that he had to make arrangements for the matter of the man in blue first.
Wei Xu stood there for a long time, looked around the courtyard, and finally walked back into the hall.
…
The footsteps overhead gradually faded away, but Wei Jing did not move.
His limbs were supporting the narrow space extending from the ground beam, tightly pressed against the stone slab above. His eyelids were slightly drooped, his eyes were on his nose and his nose was on his heart, and he adjusted his breathing to the lightest level possible, almost to none.
Wei Jing was in the gap under the corridor.
Before he approached the side hall, he chose this air vent after careful observation.
One is that it is located downwind of the branches, and the other is that this side hall facing the water is built in a special way to prevent moisture.
There is a slight gap between the base and the temple above, not much, only about two feet, and it is supported by lotus columns. Lying on the ground from here, you can directly see the stream and pond on the opposite side. Some are similar to stilt houses, but the gaps underground are much narrower.
When Wei Xu looked up for the first time, Wei Jing slipped directly into the small mezzanine, sticking tightly to it and staying at the outermost side. If someone lay down now, they would not be able to see him unless they stick their head in.
Wei Jing didn't want to cause any more trouble.
Although Wei Xu couldn't capture him, he was determined to leave, and the guards in the mansion couldn't stop him, but a war was inevitable.
Appearance can be concealed, but the kung fu that has been practiced since childhood cannot be replaced. Once the fight starts, Prince An will most likely be able to see the clues.
This went against Wei Jing's original intention.
He never wanted to reveal the news that he was still alive too early.
The purpose of this trip to the capital was to contact his former spies. Discovering the ill intentions of Prince Ji and Prince An was an unexpected gain. The Anyang County entourage immediately left smoothly. He did not want to create any more trouble at this moment.
Wei Ping and Wei Xu returned to the palace, but he was not in a hurry and hid quietly in the mezzanine.
The red crows rose in the east, breaking away from the thick clouds. The sun shone on the eaves and treetops, and the warmth drove away the chill of early spring.
The sunshine lasted for most of the day, and in the afternoon it was finally blocked by gray clouds again. Dusk fell and another night fell.
The sound of footsteps was heard overhead again, very lightly, coming closer and closer, standing in the corridor for a moment, and finally leaving.
Wei Xu and Wei Ping left the side hall.
Wei Jing opened his eyes and judged the man by himself. He knew it would not be so easy to dispel this man's suspicion.
He walked out of the mezzanine silently, tiptoeing lightly, and left quietly in the twilight.
…
Wei Jing was gone for the whole day, from dawn to dusk, and Shao Qing could no longer sit still.
She knew him. Unless he discovered something serious or something unexpected happened, he would never go back on his word and stay away for a whole day.
I forced myself to close my eyes and rest early in the morning. Finally, I dozed off for a while and when I opened my eyes, it was already noon. It's okay now. After waiting for a while after lunch, she began to mutter that he took a little too long. When she still hadn't seen him until mid-afternoon, she began to worry.
He ordered Qing Zhaiwei to find out the news. These ten or so young men were more flexible than Wang Jing. They immediately sent one of them out in disguise.
"My Lord, everything in Changningfang is as usual, nothing unusual has been seen."
Changningfang is not far from Prince An’s Palace and is a very lively market. The Prince An's Mansion suffered from being close to the north of the city, so it was not difficult to get information from it.
Shao Qing heaved a sigh of relief when he heard that. Wei Jing would definitely not be taken down silently. If something big happened, it would definitely spread widely in the market.
She calmed down a little, but couldn't sit still. She walked back and forth in the room, her eyes never leaving the wide-open door.
When the familiar black figure landed silently in the corridor, Shao Qing noticed it immediately.
"Husband!"
She hurried out to see if he had any injuries. She saw that although he was covered in dust, everything was fine. She breathed a sigh of relief and asked, "Why did you take so long today?"
To be honest, Wei Jing was very happy that his wife was so concerned about him. He comforted her with a few words and watched her prepare tea and food for him with a smile. He put down the teacup and said, "Chu Zhu is indeed Wei Ping's man. I also found a young man in Prince An's mansion. His skills are about the same as mine."
Wei Jing's hands were a little cold and covered in dust. There were only the couple in the room. Shao Qing took some water from the warming cage and poured it into the copper basin. She wrung out a towel to wipe his hands. She was surprised when she heard what he said: "I can be as good as you?!"
She was really surprised. After escaping through the dense forest, she had a very deep understanding of Wei Jing's fighting ability.
Wei Jing took the wooden chopsticks handed to him by his wife, served her the dishes first, and then told her in detail what had happened today. He only mentioned the hiding place in passing without saying how difficult it was.
"So it seems that Prince An has been planning this for a long time, and he must have developed a lot of people in secret." Ding Hua was not accidental.
Shao Qing still remembered that Wei Jing once told her that Prince An and the new emperor's adoptive mother were the same person, so they had a close relationship, but the result was a fake brotherhood. After two clicks of the tongue, she asked, "Husband, should we expose him for killing Ding Hua? What about Prince Ji?"
She thought about it and felt that Wei Jing would not do that. Prince An was obviously plotting against the emperor, and the current emperor was Wei Jing's arch enemy. He would definitely not help his enemy eliminate the major hidden danger.
As expected, Wei Jing laughed sarcastically: "The confidant he cultivated should be treated well."
Let him have a taste of betrayal and see if it feels as good as when he ascended the throne.
"Prince Ji is not in a hurry either."
Prince Ji was planning to start a rebellion with his sword pointed at Luojing, so there was no need to alert him to Prince Shang'an in advance. Let's put this matter aside for now. If Prince Ji can hold on to the end and Prince An is still around, it won't be too late to use it to intensify the conflict between the two.
Wei Jing's goal is to overthrow the Great Chu and kill his enemies with his own hands. He will not tolerate any political struggles or disputes. His next goal is to take advantage of the chaos to expand his territory, gain a firm foothold, and then eye the Central Plains.
It is just right for the new emperor, Prince An, to fight among his own people, and it is beneficial for him only for Prince Ji to oppose him. Besides, even if Prince Ji is not here, there are others.
"Prince An killed Ding Hua to silence him. He will definitely not set up his own power in the short term." He must be planning to erode the emperor's power.
Shao Qing was shocked. Isn't this guy too cunning? He was also good at disguise. He had been lurking under the noses of Concubine Li and her son for so many years without arousing their suspicion, and he had also secretly developed so many forces.
For example, Wei Xu was not an ordinary person, and Chu Zhu was also kept by Prince Ji's side for four or five years.
Huh? Then again, why would Prince An want to place counselors around Prince Ji? Four or five years ago, Prince An must not have had many confidants, right? Normally, it should be released to Luojing and the imperial court immediately.
It couldn't be that he was thinking at that time that he might need to incite Prince Ji in the future?
When this thought came to his mind, Shao Qing was shocked. Uh, the position of crown prince was still stable at that time?
Could it be...
Wei Jing was moved when he heard this: "Wei Ping was raised in Concubine Li's palace. Maybe he has already seen through his father's mind."
His thin lips immediately tightened.
Thinking more deeply, if this is true, then what role did Wei Ping play in the tragedy of his mother and brother?
Just stand by and watch? Wait until Wei Xian ascends the throne and then make profits secretly? Or... fanning the flames?
Even others.
Wei Jing's hands suddenly clenched, his brows and eyes turned cold.
His face changed drastically, and Shao Qing quickly held his hand, "This is just our guess, maybe Prince An and Prince Ji have an old grudge and are looking for an opportunity to take revenge?"
This possibility is also very high. Prince Ji has offended countless people since he was a child, while Prince An is just a poor little boy without a mother and his adoptive mother is not of high status either. It is normal for him to be bullied.
"We have to find out the truth before we can come to a conclusion. We can't make things difficult for ourselves first."
His wife looked at him worriedly, and Wei Jing's cold chest was tinged with warmth. He relaxed his expression and said, "Yeah."
"You're right, I'm fine, don't worry."
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