Late Tang

For a moment, Li Jing suspected that Monk Xuan Cheng was the senior brother he said, and suspected that he was the secret spy of the six doors.Li Jing remembered that the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang, once established a secret spy organization to inspect the school, among which a large number of monks and monks were used.Since the Six Doors is a secret espionage organization affiliated to the Ministry of Justice, it is not unusual for Shaolin Temple, which has always had a very close relationship with the imperial court, to have disciples joining it.

But Xuan Cheng suddenly came over to talk to him about this today, with a sincere tone and a good attitude, which satisfied him.If Xuan Cheng is really the secret spy of the six doors, then he should not take the initiative to tell these things.He came over to talk to himself about this, and it should be out of love for Shamen Town and him that he said this without avoiding suspicion. "Will you tell your brother about the Sword Dance Pavilion again?" Li Jing asked tentatively.

Sure enough, Xuan Cheng shook his head, "I have joined the town of Salmonella now, and it is related to the town of Salmonella. Of course, I will not tell others casually."

Li Jing nodded lightly, and Monk Xuan Cheng seemed to be trustworthy.Although Xuan Cheng is a Shaolin monk, he has a senior brother who is a secret agent of the Six Doors.But when the pirates attacked, he resolutely raised the golden cudgel and fought behind him to the last moment, at least he couldn't forget the deep memory.Li Jing needs manpower everywhere now, but there are not many people around him. Lin Wei, Lin Wu, and Wang Zhong are his sworn brothers, so they can naturally rely on them.But such a big Shamen town needs more development in the future, so it can't just rely on these people.Although you should maintain proper vigilance towards others, you should also give enough trust.

Loyalty comes only when there is trust, this is what Li Jing has always believed.

Time is running out, Li Jing knows that sooner or later there will be a battle between himself and Wang Jin and Feng Zhang.Now, for reasons of strength, he can only temporarily compromise and forbear, but he will not allow this time for too long.For Wang Jin's hurtful actions towards him, he will definitely retaliate in the shortest possible time.Right now, on the surface of the Tang Dynasty, everything seems to be in harmony. The imperial court and the local government, as well as the ministries under the local feudal towns, seem to be in balance.But this balance will soon be broken, and even the last veil of warmth will be torn. At that time, everyone will be unable to take care of themselves.At that time, Li Jing could only rely on herself.

Aunt Gongsun may really be a member of the Plum Blossom Sect, and the Plum Blossom Sect may really be an organization that secretly rebelled against the imperial court as Xuancheng said.But how much does all this have to do with Li Jing?The so-called loyalty and betrayal, there is a very good saying, loyalty is just not enough bargaining chips for betrayal.

In the troubled times of the late Tang Dynasty that is about to unfold, it is too late for everyone to protect themselves, so how can they care about the so-called Li and Tang royal family, the Great Tang Dynasty?Although Li Jing has a special feeling for Datang, a powerful dynasty in Chinese history, this will not make it possible for him to be foolishly loyal to Datang.Datang is very important, but they and their family and friends are the most important.

Li Jing didn't care about Gongsun's true identity. What he cared about was knowing the changes in their relationship after knowing Gongsun's new identity, and whether he could bring more help to Aunt Gongsun by cooperating with her.

After Li Jing found Zhang Chengzong, apart from Lin Wei and Wang Zhong, among the generals in Shamen Town, only Zhang Chengzong and Liu Shouqian, the family members, had Li Jing's trust the most.However, among the two, Zhang Chengzong handled things more carefully, and Liu Shouqian was more forthright. Both of them fought equally bravely, but most of the time, Li Jing still preferred to leave matters to Zhang Chengzong.

"I need you to do something." When Zhang Chengzong came in, Li Jing said to him: "There is still a little time before the luncheon. You go and take Aunt Gongsun to the No. [-] granary in the north of the city. Remember, this matter cannot be let If others know, it’s better to keep it a secret.”

"My lord, if Gongsun refuses to go, should I just force him to go?" Zhang Chengzong didn't ask why.

"Just say that I'm waiting for her there, and she will definitely come. If she doesn't believe it, just tell her the word plum blossom, and she will go."

Zhang Chengzong turned and left, Li Jing called Liu Shouqian again and asked him to lead a team to guard outside the study. "Within half an hour, no one is allowed to enter the study without my permission." He said, "The guards are doubled. He will take a few reliable brothers and me to the No. [-] warehouse in the north of the city."

Liu Shouqian blinked, "General, the luncheon is about to start, and you must not be absent. If you have anything, you can leave it to me."

"I have to personally come forward for this matter, don't worry, half an hour is enough."

The No. [-] warehouse in the north of the city was extremely quiet, and the guards here had all been replaced by trusted brothers brought by Liu Shouqian.The servants stood guard outside, and Li Jing was sitting on a bag of rice and straw, writing a letter on a roll of paper in one hand.Soon after the letter was written, Li Jing sealed the envelope and handed it to Liu Shouqian.

"You go on your own now, to Dengzhou, and deliver this letter to a one-armed janitor at Donghai's pawn shop."

Liu Shouqian glanced at the envelope, there was nothing written on it, it was just a blank envelope.But the seal was sealed with wax paint, and a strange symbol pattern was also printed.He said solemnly: "General, what should I say?"

"You don't need to say anything, just hand over the letter to the other party, and then you will come back immediately."

Li Jing closed her eyes and waited in the warehouse for about a quarter of an hour before Aunt Gongsun came late.She came in alone according to the appointment. For the sake of privacy, she put on a red military uniform of a soldier from Shamen Town, and a fiery red hat on her head.

After entering the warehouse, she took off her hat as if no one else was there, and took off the red back and cape she was wearing outside with bare hands.

"Why do you want to meet here?" After Aunt Gongsun took off her camouflaged military uniform, a high-waisted skirt jumped out, and the high skirt was tied directly to her chest. There is a feeling of tearing clothes and jumping.

"Because of the secret." Li Jing said indifferently, "I believe that there are some things that you should not want everyone to know."

She sat down on the rice bag beside him, her every move was very graceful.Her straight black and bright hair danced lightly with a slight flick, and her eyes, which were like dots of ink, were like dazzling black jade.Li Jing hadn't seen her beauty for a long time, and now she was awakened again. "I know you are from the Plum Blossom Gate." He told her.

"Really?" She turned her head to his face solemnly, without any change in her expression. "General Li, did you call me here just to tell me this? Are you joking with me? Or are you going to blame me for the last intelligence error?"

"If you are really not, then you should be a little surprised when you hear the Plum Blossom Gate, instead of being so indifferent. Besides, if it wasn't because my family would say the word plum blossom to you, I'm afraid you wouldn't come here. Bar."

Li Jing reached out to touch her cheek lightly, then reached out to grab her right hand, and suddenly rolled up her sleeve.Pointing to the pink five-petal plum blossom on his arm, he said: "It is rumored that every member of the Plum Blossom Gate will have a plum blossom tattoo on his arm. It is said that different petal colors also represent different status levels. Pink petals, inside the gate What level is it? The rudder master or the hall master?"

"Plum blossoms have five colors, white, pink, red, purple, and yellow. Yellow is the symbol of the big pavilion leader, purple is the elder, red is the protector, pink is the hall master, and white is the rudder master. In addition, the ordinary inner circle members are blue, The peripheral members are black." She looked at Li Jing indifferently, "Although these are not very secret things, but you are just from an ordinary farm family in Dengzhou, even if you are valued by the nobles, it has only been a few months. You How do you know this, I'm curious?"

"So you have admitted your identity?" Li Jing looked at her, "So you are the leader of the Plum Blossom Gate, it seems that your status is not low."

"Why did you join the Plum Blossom Sect?" Li Jing asked, "Is it a family inheritance, or did you join later?"

Aunt Gongsun faced it calmly, without avoiding it, her hand was still in Li Jing's, and she didn't mean to blame at all, she let that snow-white arm be exposed to the air, and the pink five-petaled plum blossom on that arm It looks extraordinarily beautiful. "My ancestors used to be the internal guards of plum blossoms, but after the new emperor ascended the throne, the internal guards of plum blossoms were purged, and my ancestors were killed, and their children and family members were slaves. When I was born, I was a member of the music workshop. A servant girl. She learned singing and dancing since she was a child, and later performed on stage. She was spotted by the head of Jianwu Pavilion and paid for her."

"Then why did you join the Plum Blossom Gate?"

"Everything is fate, and it has been predestined by God." Aunt Gongsun smiled lightly, "I joined the Sword Dance Pavilion to practice sword dance diligently, and after a few years, my reputation gradually became better. Praise. Later, the dog emperor Li Kui heard that the most licentious and senseless emperor called us into the palace to perform, and then he raped me." Gongsun stroked the temples beside his ears, and said in a miserable way, "After that night, I I was pregnant with the bastard of the faint king, but it turned out to be a bigger disaster. On a night of thunder and lightning, I was forcibly taken out of the palace by some mysterious people. I was beaten unconscious on the way, and woke up But it was found in a boat on the Weishui River."

"what's going on?"

"I don't know." Gongsun's eyes were full of memories of the past, and there was a trace of resentment. "Maybe it's because the Hunjun didn't want me, a lowly dancer, to conceive his dragon seed, or maybe it was a secret murder by a jealous concubine. Fortunately, I was rescued after being thrown into the river. Maybe it was God has already predestined that the person who will save me is actually the current leader of the Plum Blossom Sect, from then on, I have completely joined the Plum Blossom Sect and vowed to be an enemy of the Li family for the rest of my life!"

(To be continued)