Their almost pious expressions were silently pledging their loyalty.

The room fell silent again, with only the crackling sound of the charcoal fire burning in the brazier.

The wind and snow outside were getting stronger and stronger, and the goose-feather-like snowflakes were falling densely, like a thick fog.

Due to the delay caused by heavy snow, Lu Siji did not arrive in the capital until November 14th.

When Lu Siji returned to the capital, he did not return to his mansion or the Northern Pacification Division. Instead, he went directly to the Southern City Military Division and without saying anything, he went to the commander Liu of the Southern City Military Division and told him the purpose of his visit:

"The Imperial Guards, following the Emperor's orders, are transferring the Hao people suspected of arson to the Northern Pacification Division!"

Lu Siji spoke as if it were a matter of course and in an overbearing manner.

The Jinyiwei have always acted in this way.

Everyone knew that the Jinyiwei were only responsible to the emperor and could arrest anyone, including the emperor's relatives. They were outside the court. Both court officials and common people were terrified when they heard about the Jinyiwei and feared them like a tiger.

When the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard requested the transfer of prisoners based on the emperor's oral order, no one could refuse.

Lu Siji has the support of the emperor, so he is naturally confident.

However, he had thought that this task would not be smooth sailing. The Nancheng Bingmasi's detention of Hao Ren and not handing him over to Jingzhao Prefecture was most likely at the behest of the Prince Chen's Palace, so he thought that Commander Liu would definitely put up some obstruction. As a result, the other party agreed readily and immediately agreed to release Hao Ren.

After Commander Liu had Lu Siji sign the prisoner's transfer document, he personally took him to the prison to pick up the prisoner.

There were five Hao people who were detained on suspicion of arson in the house next to Prince Chen's Mansion. After Lu Siji took a quick look at the five Hao people, he ordered his subordinates to escort them back to the Beizhenfu Division.

Seven or eight Jinyiwei escorted the prisoner car holding Haoren away from the South City Bingmasi.

The black gauze hat, flying fish robe, and embroidered spring sword all declared their identity as Jinyiwei. Pedestrians on the road all tried to avoid them as much as possible. The journey was extremely smooth, and they soon arrived at Maoer Street where the Northern Pacification Office was located.

“Whoosh!”

As the group of carriages and horses turned into Maoer Street, they saw two sharp arrows suddenly shot from both sides of the street, cutting through the air like meteors. One arrow was shot at Lu Siji, who was in the lead, and the other arrow flew towards the prison van.

A square-faced Jinyiwei's expression changed and he shouted, "There's an assassin!"

He drew out his Xiuchun Sword and blocked the arrow with the long sword.

"clang!"

The feather arrow collided with the long sword, and sparks flew where the arrow tip hit the blade. Almost the next moment, a piece of white powder burst out from the feather arrow. At the same time, another feather arrow that hit the prison car also exploded. The powder spread rapidly like fireworks, blending with the surrounding heavy snow to form a thick fog.

The Jinyiwei, including Lu Siji, turned pale and shouted:

"Be careful, the powder is poisonous!"

"This is a drug, everyone cover your mouth and nose!"

"Guard the prisoner van, beware of assassins!!"

Amidst the shouts that came one after another, the "white mist" was filled with flashes of silvery swords, the sounds of weapons clashing, of horses falling, of horses neighing, of arrows breaking through the air... and of screams.

This street is the location of the Northern Pacification Office. There are hardly any people on the street. Seeing this sudden change, the few passers-by were all frightened and avoided it from a distance.

The cold wind was howling and blowing violently.

After a while, the "white mist" formed by the powder dissipated, leaving only white snowflakes floating in the air.

The streets were in a mess.

There were several Jinyiwei lying on the ground, as well as several embroidered spring swords lying in disorder. The prison car was empty, without a single Hao person.

The prisoner was kidnapped! ! The remaining Jinyiwei all looked unhappy, especially Lu Siji.

“Tick-tock.”

There was a scratch on Lu Siji's left upper arm. He covered the wound on his left arm with his right hand. Blood flowed out from between his five fingers, dripping from the wound and dyeing the snow on the ground red.

The square-faced Jinyiwei asked, "Commander Lu, are you still going to chase him?"

"Chase?" Lu Siji laughed sarcastically, "Where to chase?"

He looked solemnly at the broken chains on the prison van.

This group of prisoner-robbers was so bold that they dared to rob prisoners so openly in the capital, at the gate of the Northern Pacification Office. Moreover, this group of people was well-trained and had a thorough plan, and they had no desire to fight.

They must have planned their escape route in advance, which is why they disappeared without a trace in an instant.

There are not many people who can do such a thing in the capital, and Lu Siji first suspected the Prince Chen's Mansion.

These five Hao people were sent to the Five Cities Military Department by Prince Chen's Palace and were detained for so many days. But when I arrived today, Commander Liu was surprisingly easy to talk to.

If it was said that Prince Chen's Mansion had intended to rescue the prisoner long ago, then the matter would make sense.

At this time, another bearded Jinyiwei came over, clasped his fists and said, "Commander Lu, I suspect the one who came to kidnap the prisoner is a Hao!"

"Speak." Lu Siji raised his eyebrows and said coldly.

The bearded Jinyiwei continued, "When the other party was robbing the prisoners just now, I tried to get closer to the prisoner car, and happened to hear a robber whispering in Haoyu to the people in the prison car, 'Go quickly'."

This is also possible if they were rescued by accomplices of the Nanhao people.

Lu Siji gripped the reins in his left hand tighter, slightly pulling the wound on his left arm.

But at this moment, this little pain is nothing.

Could he be from Nanhao?

Lu Siji asked himself this question in his heart, and couldn't help but think of Uhaga Tower.

The emperor said that Gu Jue might have secretly brought Wuhejialou back to the capital from Nanhao, which was one of the reasons why the emperor sent himself back to the capital.

Lu Siji's eyes were filled with turbulence, and he raised his voice and ordered, "Pass on my order, search the whole city for the whereabouts of those five Hao people!"

"Also, send people to guard the four city gates. Do not let them escape from the capital."

"Try to keep some alive!"

He spoke the last five words almost word by word.

6◇9◇Book◇Bar

Lu Siji also had a headache.

The governor of the capital camp, Kang Hongda, was in charge of guarding the capital, but Kang Hongda had gone with the emperor on the winter hunt.

In previous years, when the emperor went on a trip, such as to the Mountain Resort to escape the heat, he would leave the crown prince behind to take charge of government affairs. This time the crown prince was not there either.

Originally, if the Crown Prince and Kang Hongda were present, they could directly order the city gates to be closed and no one to enter or leave. Now he could only settle for the second best and let the Jinyiwei guards guard the four city gates.

"Yes, Commander Lu." The square-faced Jinyiwei responded quickly and hurried to the Northern Pacification Office to pass on the order.

As for Lu Siji himself, he turned around and rushed to Prince Chen's Mansion, leaving the mess to the two Jinyiwei to clean up.

There were always Jinyiwei secretly watching the Prince Chen's Mansion. The Prince Chen's Mansion was like an airtight iron barrel that not even a fly could fly in. The Jinyiwei could only watch from outside.

Lu Siji also did not enter Prince Chen's Palace. He just came to a nearby alley.

A middle-aged man dressed in blue, with an ordinary appearance that one would not be able to remember him if he were thrown into a crowd, quickly turned into the alley and saluted Lu Siji first.

Lu Siji didn't have time for small talk and asked directly, "Has anyone entered or left Prince Chen's Mansion just now?"

The middle-aged man in green hurriedly shook his head: "No, Commander Lu, several of my subordinates have kept a close eye on all the doors of Prince Chen's Mansion. No one is coming in or out today."

"Five people from Nanhao were kidnapped. If you see any suspicious people coming in or out, report to the Northern Pacification Office immediately." Lu Siji said this and left.

He wanted to go to the post house where the Nanhao envoys had stayed before, but he didn't expect that just as he left the alley, a square-faced Jinyiwei came hurriedly with seven or eight Jinyiwei and reported: "Commander Lu, we have found the traces of those Nanhao people. They have been taken out of the capital through the west gate."

By the time the few Jinyiwei he sent arrived at the west gate, it was already too late.

Lu Siji: “…”

Lu Siji's face changed. He left three Jinyiwei to continue watching Prince Chen's Mansion and personally led the team towards the west gate.

"Chase!"

The group of Jinyiwei led by him all galloped on horseback.

According to the law, you are not allowed to gallop horses in a busy city, but the law is only used to restrain ordinary people. If the Jinyiwei galloped horses, it was because they had the emperor's order, and no one could interfere.

The group rode non-stop, and the sound of "crackling" whips was one after another. The momentum was so loud that wherever they passed was like a swarm of locusts, and all the people avoided them.

After passing through many streets, they arrived near the west gate and caused a commotion in the area around the gate.

Several people in the crowd shouted in panic:

"The Royal Guards are here!"

"Everyone, get out of the way!"

The guards at the west gate began to disperse the people who were queuing to enter and leave the city, clearing the way for the Jinyiwei.

After a while, Lu Siji and others rode out of the west gate in a line, their speed getting faster and faster, like a gust of wind sweeping past. None of them looked back, nor did they even glance at the roadside.

Among the people walking on the street, a thin monk in a gray robe pressed down the hat on his head and held a bowl in one hand.

His bamboo hat, robe, Buddhist beads and alms bowl were all covered in dust, and he looked like an ordinary monk who was passing by to beg for alms.

Most of the people around would just glance at him or even linger on him for long, let alone pay attention to the handsome face under the bamboo hat.

Wuhejialou looked at Lu Siji's back as he rode away on his horse, and his eyes became profound.

He stood there quietly, his monk robe fluttering in the wind, and snowflakes fell on his hat and shoulders.

Many people around him shrank their bodies due to the cold wind, but he did not move at all, his eyes were calm and indifferent, with a calmness and peace that could not change his expression even if Mount Tai collapsed in front of him, and his body was like a deep abyss and a towering mountain.

By the way, do you still have monthly tickets?

(End of this chapter)