Chapter 424 This time, I am
The gates of the capital were opened.
Two carriages entered the city one after the other.
Not long after, a man in a bamboo hat followed.
The carriages went left and right. The man in the bamboo hat hesitated for a moment and followed the carriage on the left into the alley.
The alley is very lively as you first enter it, with neighbors coming in and out and children running around, it really has a festive atmosphere.
But the further you go inside, the more remote it becomes.
The walls seemed to be damp all year round, with mosses growing to death. Occasionally, miscellaneous trees would grow tenaciously in the cracks of the walls, with branches and leaves piercing into the alley, and you could see a few strands of hair fluttering in the wind.
Occasionally, there are the sounds of dogs barking and firecrackers in the distance.
The man in the bamboo hat listened to the squeaking of wheels in front of him and walked at a leisurely pace.
He stopped suddenly.
Looking up, I saw an intersection ahead and a man with a hunched back turned back from the alley on the right.
He looked up at the man in the bamboo hat and asked, "Are you here?"
"Fucheng!"
The man in the bamboo hat narrowed his eyes, "Who else?"
"I heard that there was a wild dog following my uncle, so I came to take a look. Tell me, who is your master?"
Fucheng walked towards the man in the bamboo hat with a hunched back, his hands behind his back and a dry cough.
The man in the bamboo hat turned around and saw no one. He sneered, "It is said that you are a eunuch, and today I see that it is true. You dare to appear here without fear, so you must have some skills. So, let me test your weight today!"
A strong wind suddenly blew in the alley.
Not long after, Fucheng carried the man in the bamboo hat to the intersection of the alley as if he was carrying a dead dog. A carriage was waiting on the left, and the driver was actually Sun Bu Tong.
Fucheng got in the car and said, "Go back!"
"drive!"
Sun Bu Tong pulled up, covered his face, and the carriage started slowly.
"Hey, housekeeper, where did you get all these martial arts skills?" Sun Bu Tong asked, "I know there are good fighters in the palace, but those good fighters... what do you say? Once you enter the deep palace, you can never get out."
"Kid, don't ask questions that you shouldn't ask." Fucheng searched the man in the bamboo hat with his hands and took out a bunch of odds and ends.
He looked carefully and shook his head, not finding anything that could confirm the identity of the man in the bamboo hat.
After returning to the Bo's house, Fucheng took the man to the torture place and poured a bucket of cold water on him to wake him up.
The man opened his eyes, looked at everything in front of him blankly, and suddenly his body shook.
"Do you want to tell it yourself, or do you want us to help you recall it?" A voice came from behind, and then Fucheng walked up to the man with a small knife.
The man bowed his head in silence.
"He's a real man!" Fu Cheng said with a smile, "We like this kind of man the most. He can endure!"
"Woo!" Fucheng blocked the man's mouth with a cloth. Changle, who was chasing Duoduo across a corridor, suddenly stopped and looked over here in confusion, "Why do I hear someone shouting?"
The guard standing opposite smiled and said, "Princess, they are just playing around."
"Oh! Really? It sounds pretty miserable." Changle smiled, "Duoduo, Duoduo!"
When she ran away, Fu Cheng's voice came from inside, "You are derelict in your duty. Go and accept the punishment yourself later."
"Yes." The guard made a bitter face, thinking that we dare not stop the princess.
Changle caught up with Duoduo, leaned over to pick it up, and whispered: "Last time my cousin beat that woman, that's how she screamed. They were beating people, right, Duoduo?"
"Meow!"
Jiang Qingzhi came out of the shower and Fucheng was waiting outside.
"My Lord, they are assassins. They have been taken to the outer frontier to kill people since they were young. They don't know who their master is, and they only know to follow orders. They are never allowed to marry in their lives. They spend their days either training their muscles or thinking about how to kill people. They are almost like puppets."
"It doesn't take much to know the origin of someone who can support such a loyal soldier." Jiang Qingzhi entered the room. Seeing that his hair was still steaming, Li Tian quickly asked Huang Yan'er to get a towel.
"Hurry and sit down." Li Tian pulled Jiang Qingzhi to sit down and wiped his hair.
"If you catch a cold at this time of year, it's no small matter. The day before yesterday, a child in Xin'an Lane caught a cold and had a fever in the middle of the night. The family came to our house for help. Fucheng took the lead and gave them good medicine. The next day, my husband went out, and the family came to thank us..."
Jiang Qingzhi didn't sleep well last night. Listening to his wife's mumbling, he felt his mind was particularly empty, as if he could live like this forever...
……
"...At midnight last night, the Yan cavalry discovered six masked men outside the Yang family's villa. They climbed over the wall and entered. Not long after, they heard screams coming from the villa..."
Inside Yongshou Palace, Yan San spoke slowly, "Not long after, the six men came out of the gate and fled far away. Yan Qi's men followed closely, but eventually lost them. This humble servant is incompetent."
Emperor Jiajing was sitting cross-legged. It should have been time for him to go to bed, but this news made him lose all desire to sleep.
"That idiot has finally started to fight." Taoist sighed, "He has the same temper as I did back then. If anyone dares to provoke me, I will fight them to the death. I would rather break than bend, and I will never retreat an inch!"
This is also the reason why Emperor Jiajing remained silent even after watching both sides killing each other.
How to respond to being assassinated?
Tooth for tooth!
"Because His Majesty has not given the order, the Yanqi people did not go to Xin'an Lane to wait. But I think the Jinyiwei and Dongchang people are there." Yan San said.
"What do the Yanqi people think?" the Taoist asked without thinking.
Yan Sanque knew what he was asking. "Last night, those six people acted decisively and retreated with one blow. When they came out and found that they were being followed, they did not stop, but dispersed. I bet that if anyone dared to follow them, they would definitely be ambushed by others afterwards."
"Art of War?" asked Emperor Jiajing.
Yan San knew some military tactics and shook his head. "It's not a military tactic, but a kind of... fighting method that I have never seen before. There are not many people, but they are extremely elite and fierce. And the fighting method is weird, making it hard to defend against..."
"Your Majesty." Yan Song came. Having not slept all night, he looked particularly haggard, with big bags under his eyes.
"explain."
"The people from the Military Affairs Department reported that Yang's villa outside the city was robbed by thieves last night. Seventeen guards were killed, and the owner Yang Zhi and four guests were also killed. In addition, the two officials present seemed to be frightened. The late prince's foster brother was also there..." Yan Song knew without even thinking that it was Jiang Qingzhi who did it.
Yan Shifan took a deep breath when he heard the news. "There are many people in the capital who can do this, but this is the only one who can strike with lightning speed and then escape far away. Wei Huo in the Western Han Dynasty did this. Only Jiang Qingzhi in the capital has this method."
Your Majesty, we are in trouble.
Yan Song could almost foresee the situation that would become increasingly heated later.
"Check!" Taoist said calmly.
Yan Song lowered his head and said, "Yes."
He walked out of Yongshou Palace, his steps looking a little unsteady.
Zhang Tong was sweeping the floor. When he saw him come out, he said, "Yuan Fu, walk slower or you might fall." As he said that, he leaned the broom against the railing and came over to support Yan Song.
"Slow down, there's a small gap here, don't let your toes touch it."
Yan Song looked at him from the side, thinking that he was a eunuch who wanted to flatter him, and was ready to scold him, but when he saw the clear eyes, his heart softened, "I can leave."
"Please slow down!" Zhang Tong let go of his hand and watched Yan Song walk slowly away.
Then he saw Jiang Qingzhi.
"Long Wilbur!"
Yan Song stopped and held onto the right railing and said, "There are corpses all over the ground in Yang's villa, and the smell of blood makes me want to vomit. The people from the Military Affairs Department said that this is the first case in the capital in the past twenty years."
"Why doesn't the Prime Minister pay more attention to state affairs?" Jiang Qingzhi said lightly.
Jiang Qingzhi actually didn't defend himself... Yan Song sighed in his heart, "When will the cycle of revenge end? This has just started, is it going to continue forever?"
"I won't offend others unless they offend me!" said Jiang Qingzhi.
"Chief Weber!" Zhang Tong said happily on the steps.
"Those people will not bow their heads this time." Yan Song shook his head, "I will do what I should do, you... just take care of yourself."
At this time, Yan Dang and Jiang Qingzhi had the same position.
Jiang Qingzhi walked up the stairs, smiled and took out a piece of chocolate and gave it to Zhang Tong.
Zhang Tong took it, sniffed the chocolate, and then carefully held it in his arms.
"Don't want to eat?" Jiang Qingzhi asked.
"Keep half of it and give it to Eunuch Huang," said Zhang Tong.
"It will. Your clothes are dirty and can't be washed clean." Jiang Qingzhi touched his head and said, "I will give one to Eunuch Huang."
"Really?"
"Really, look, he's not coming out."
Huang Jin came out. Jiang Qingzhi handed him a piece of chocolate. Huang Jin took it and asked, "You still have the appetite to eat?"
"If the sky falls, there's a tall person to hold it up. Why should I panic?"
Jiang Qingzhi pointed at Zhang Tong and said, "He is a good kid with a kind heart. Keep an eye on him and don't let anyone bully him."
Huang Jin glanced at Zhang Tongyi and said, "We know. By the way, His Majesty seems to be in a bad mood."
Jiang Qingzhi walked into the hall.
Emperor Jiajing closed his eyes as if he was practicing.
Jiang Qingzhi walked to the opposite side of him and sat cross-legged on the cushion.
"coming."
"Yes."
"Is it fun to kill and burn people?"
"I just feel that... it's very refreshing to take revenge."
"Have you thought about the consequences?"
"I thought about it."
"Talk about it."
"It will take ten years for the literati to rebel. They are no match for the tactics of conquest and punishment. So they are afraid. When people are afraid, they are like dogs. They will roar at their opponents, but they dare not rush up to bite them..."
"So you killed those five people without restraint?"
"If we don't kill them, they will become complacent, they will disrespect your majesty, they will..." Jiang Qingzhi took a deep breath, "It will hinder the great cause of revitalizing the Ming Dynasty."
"I know you have other ways to kill those people silently without leaving any excuse for them to vent their anger. Why did you choose the most violent way of breaking in and killing people?"
"It's because they went too far." Jiang Qingzhi looked up. "Those people broke into Xin'an Lane and started the coup blatantly, just like they did many years ago. I can either choose to imprison myself or..."
"Or fight back!"
"Yes."
Emperor Jiajing opened his eyes and said gently, "Are you scared?"
Jiang Qingzhi shook his head.
"That time, there was no one around me, so those people acted recklessly. I could only choose to endure it and escape to the West Garden."
Emperor Jiajing stretched out his hand, but Jiang Qingzhi did not move.
The hand stroked the top of his head.
"This time, I'm here!"
(End of this chapter)
