Chapter 225: Message from the Palace
That night, the number of guests in the Jiaofang in the capital skyrocketed. The officials, who were made nervous by the "Assassination Declaration" and could not sleep for several days, were overjoyed and launched a revenge party.
Zhao Duan's reputation has also changed to some extent after this incident.
Among the noisy crowd, Wu Ling, a new young student of the Bafang Theater and a member of the Kuangfu Society in Beijing, stood up and left silently.
After walking through the streets with lively lights at night, he did not return to the theater, but arrived at another restaurant and sat down.
I asked for a pot of wine and a plate of salted peanuts.
Eat and drink slowly.
Finally, a guest sat down at another table behind him. The two of them sat back to back, as if they didn't know each other at all.
But they used the method of sound transmission to talk in a low voice.
"Has the new helmsman really been arrested?" Wu Ling asked in a low voice with an ugly look on her face.
The middle-aged man from Kuangfu Society behind him said "En" and said in a deep voice: "The known information is that Zhao Duan led people to ambush, the court hawks and dogs came out, the new helmsman has been deposed, and the attack Go to jail."
It's Zhao Duan again... Wu Ling clenched her fists.
He thought of the painful experience when he went to assassinate Zhao Thief, but was killed by the "Empress".
After calming down, he asked: "What should we do next?"
The middle-aged rebel said:
"Thousand-faced God Lord didn't have much contact with us after he entered the city. This is the only good thing. His arrest has relatively little impact on us.
But we still have to be careful. Many of us have moved our residences, changed our identities, and are dormant, waiting for further instructions from the general altar. "
The general forum...Wu Ling said bitterly:
"Two new helmsmen in a row, and they took office less than half a month ago, so..."
The middle-aged man also fell silent for a while and said: "At this time, it is even more difficult to lose control of one's position. I have activated the emergency communication channel to report the situation back to the main altar, and the master will make arrangements."
After a pause, he hummed again:
"Besides, after the New Deal is promulgated, we are not the ones who should be anxious. Our enemy is just the false emperor. If the New Deal can benefit Dayu, it will be good for us to support the crown prince to ascend the throne."
Wu Ling's heart moved:
"You mean, the ones who are really anxious are those princes who are ready to make a move..."
The middle-aged man used the gesture of drinking to cover up: "We have lost two Tiangang-level masters in a row, and it is the turn of those royal spies to help."
Wu Ling was convinced, said a few more words, stood up, paid and left.
When he walked out of the wine shop, he looked up and saw dark clouds covering the moon. He couldn't help but shudder and thought:
However, the secret spies of Prince Jing's Palace also fell into the hands of that Zhao Duan.
…
…
South of the capital, thousands of miles away.
Zhuang Xiaocheng raised his head and looked at the dark clouds covering the moon above his head, his brows furrowed.
Wearing a Confucian robe, he is about sixty years old. He has silver hair and a deeply wrinkled face. He has the demeanor of a national scholar who does not change color even when mountains collapse before his eyes.
As the former "Emperor's Master" and one of the Three Gongs and Nine Ministers, the Grand Tutor was also a highly relied-upon counselor under the Second Prince. He was also the second-ranked rebel leader in the Kuangfu Society.
A few months ago, after leaving the capital, he returned to the current headquarters of Kuangfu Society.
That is, the place at your feet called "Forbidden Villa" is built on a pure mountain peak.
It also controlled the operation of the rudders of the nine and eighteen prefectures of Dayu through remote control.
Among them, the most important one is naturally the capital.
However, what Zhuang Xiaocheng did not expect was.
Since his departure, the anti-party network in Beijing has been hit hard several times in a short period of time.
The "Frost Sword" sent to replace him died a few days after entering the city.
After that, the intelligence that came from the capital one after another made the imperial master in his 60s move and look sideways again and again.
In the court, several ministers fell one after another, and the empress' control over the court continued to increase.
The Xiuwenguan, which had the prototype of a "cabinet", was established, further consolidating power in the hands of the empress.
Of course, if it was just these, it wouldn't really make him nervous.
The most terrible thing is the so-called "New Deal."
With Zhuang Xiaocheng's wisdom, after roughly reading the "Three Golden Strategies", he was horrified and immediately judged:
"If these three strategies are implemented, the throne of the Empress will be impregnable!"
What shocked him even more was the name that appeared in almost every piece of information.
"Zhao Duan!"
Zhuang Xiaocheng murmured, and in his mind, he thought of that day in the bamboo forest in the southern suburbs, in the drizzle, that dandy lackey who broke into the temple with a knife.
His eyes were full of confusion.
Zhuang Xiaocheng couldn't understand why that person, who had never seen a special face no matter how he looked at him before, would rise up and show such skill and talent after he left Beijing.
This made Zhuang Xiaocheng regret it countless times.
Why didn't our own warlock strike harder that day and kill him completely?
"It has become a serious problem..."
Zhuang Xiaocheng sighed, lowered his eyes, and looked at the letter sent by the falcon in his hand.
The capital is too far away from the Forbidden Mountain Villa, and even in this world with sorcerers, it is difficult to send messages over long distances.
Therefore, Kuangfu Society arranged a set of secret messaging methods similar to beacon towers.
You can use special security measures to convey some simple information with pre-agreed "codes".
Just now, the latest information came from Yamashita Eagle:
The Thousand-Faced God was arrested.
"In just a few months, two of my generals were lost..." Zhuang Xiaocheng clenched his palms tightly, with veins bulging on the back of his hands.
It showed that his heart was far less peaceful than his face.
How was it damaged?
It stands to reason that with Qianmian's cunning and prudence, he also brought a "personal" treasure that he had prepared for him.
This shouldn't be the case.
Unfortunately, complex information cannot be conveyed on letter paper, so we can only wait a few more days for detailed information to be sent back.
"Could it be this Zhao Duan again?"
Zhuang Xiaocheng had an inexplicable premonition and laughed at himself:
"I will never make the same mistakes again..."
Behind him, there was suddenly the sound of footsteps stepping on the stairs, very light.
"Master, it's windy on the top of the building, but what happened down the mountain?" A woman's voice sounded worried.
Zhuang Xiaocheng retracted the paper into his sleeve, turned around with a smile, and looked at the woman who climbed up with the help of the lantern hanging from the White Crane Tower in the villa:
"Why is the princess here and not looking after His Royal Highness?"
The second prince's name was Xu Jianwen. When he was ten years old, he was named "King Wen" by the late emperor in accordance with the rules of the royal family. But she has been living in the capital, and the woman in front of her is the second prince's wife, Princess Wen.
Princess Wen, who has a delicate temperament and charming appearance, said softly:
"Your Majesty has servants to take care of him. I'll come up and take a look."
The heir apparent to the two of them was just a young boy, but he was the flesh and blood of the second prince, Xu Jianwen, and the banner of Kuangfu Society.
Kuang Fushe's external banner has always been to overthrow the false emperor and support the young prince to ascend the throne.
Zhuang Xiaocheng smiled and shook his head:
"Princess, don't worry, I will handle some minor matters with the generals in the society."
Princess Wen, who had a weak temperament, said "Yes" and seemed to be relieved. After Zhuang Xiaocheng comforted her, she went downstairs.
Watching the woman leave, Zhuang Xiaocheng, who looked like a great scholar, stood with his hands behind his hands and suddenly said:
"Inform Prince Jing's Mansion of this news and the other idle princes, huh, let them weigh it for themselves. See if the pseudo-emperor becomes more powerful." , will they take action on their uncles?"
In the darkness, the shadow of the lamp swayed gently, and a figure slowly appeared, cupping his fists and saying:
"Yes!"
Then, disappeared.
…
…
When Zhao Duan returned to his home on horseback, it was completely dark.
Mosquitoes are flying around the antique gatehouse and hanging lanterns.
Combined with the blue sky in the distance, Zhao Duan felt as if he had stepped into a painting.
Entering the house, a new servant who was recently added to the family came forward to lead the horse, shouting "Master" is back!
He was the only male master in the family, and Zhao Duan became "Mr. Zhao" at a young age.
Dining hall.
Eugene Hua and Zhao Pan greeted them anxiously, and their stepmother had anxiety in her eyes:
"What's going on? My aunt is at home. I heard from the neighbor that you went to catch a thief? Are you injured?"
Zhao Duan smiled, laughed, opened his arms, and carried the two girls back to the dining hall.
He briefly said that the thief was captured and there was no need to be nervous in the future.
As for being ambushed in Nancheng at noon, he did not mention it.
He just said casually that he had met You Zhande's family, and the previous matters were over, and the two families would no longer contact each other.
Eugene breathed a sigh of relief, then smiled happily, and his heart dropped.
Zhao Pan vaguely felt that something might be going on, but there was no evidence.
…
After meal.
Zhao Duan, who was full of wine and food, returned to his yard.
Since the weather was still a bit sultry, I didn't go into the house. I squatted under the eaves and took out the "Jiuyi" mask to play with.
"This thing can transform your face if you put it on it?"
Zhao Duan seemed to have gotten a new toy and couldn't wait to try it.
He slowly put the soft mask on his face, only to feel that the mask absorbed itself and slowly blended into his own skin.
"Who would it be better to become?"
In his mind, familiar faces flashed one after another.
Finally, he was silent for a moment, thinking of himself in his previous life.
That hard-working man never complained, but never enjoyed his power for a day until he suddenly died.
On the face, it was like water waves spreading.
"Brother, the green grapes bought by my mother were frozen in well water..."
In the corridor, a girl wearing a thin skirt came holding a copper basin filled with green tea, her voice was clear.
Seeing him squatting on the ground, he said strangely:
"Brother, what are you doing squatting here...ah!!"
The next second, the girl saw a strange man and turned to look over.
"Bang!"
The copper basin in his hand fell to the ground, and Zhao Pan's mind suddenly thought of the rumored rebel killer in Beijing.
I thought, didn’t my elder brother say that the other party has been arrested?
Or is it that the person in front of me is not the rebel?
But who else would break into the house silently?
“What’s wrong?”
In the hanging flower door, Eugene Hua, who was wearing a thin women's sweatshirt and long skirt, heard the movement and ran over.
He happened to bump into his daughter, and when he saw the strange man, his face turned pale: "You...who are you? How dare you break into someone else's house? Da Lang?"
Zhao Duan raised his hand, smoothed his hair back, showed his handsome face, and said calmly:
"Don't panic, aunt, it's me."
Huh... He found that his voice seemed to have changed, becoming similar to the previous life in his memory.
"You...are you Da Lang?"
Eugene was stunned, and realized that the man in front of him had the same figure, clothes, and demeanor as his stepson.
But the appearance is really too mediocre.
"It's me, I've learned a new skill in disguise."
Zhao Duan looked calm and casually mentioned a few details of his life that only his family knew, to prove his identity.
Only then did the mother and daughter believe it, and stared at him cautiously and curiously.
Zhao Pan said disgustedly: "Brother, why did you change your face to such an ordinary face? It's really hard for people to notice you. If you throw it into a crowd, you probably won't be able to tell."
Eugene Flowers spoke for his stepson:
"When you disguise yourself, you must be mediocre to be able to act well."
Zhao Pan nodded and accepted this explanation.
I think my eldest brother is so smart, he can actually create such a face with no memory.
"..." Zhao Duan was silent.
At this time, the maid Mian Tao hurriedly ran over. Before anyone arrived, her voice came first: "Master, someone from the palace has sent a message, saying that you should go to the palace tomorrow morning to accompany Your Majesty to the Tianshi Mansion!"
(End of chapter)