I'm not a fortune teller.

Chapter 22 The edge of despair!

"You mean the county magistrate is involved?"

Upon receiving the order from the court, the governor of the northern border immediately took soldiers to blockade Fuchuan County and Heishui County. The scale of this painting market was even larger than the one in Jiangnan. It was said that even the prince was trapped here. He did not want to be involved in such a big pot at all, but it happened in his own jurisdiction.

I originally thought that the magistrate of Fuchun County was a direct subordinate and had no background, so I would take the blame first. After all, it was him who had no news of the prince, so he had to take responsibility even if it was a natural disaster. But I didn't expect that the magistrate would be directly involved.

And the woman in front of me is quite smart!
"Sir, please save my husband!" Luo knelt on the ground, crying with red eyes. "The evil spirit came suddenly. My husband opened the door and found out. He told us to close the doors and windows and rushed out without hesitation. He wanted to remind the people of Fuchun County to close the doors and windows and never come out. Now it's been a whole night and he hasn't come back. Please, sir, please save my husband!"

Both the governor and several accompanying military lieutenants looked at each other in bewilderment. They naturally did not believe that a civilian county magistrate would be so bold as to rush out and ask the common people to close the door when they knew clearly that there was the evil spirit outside that caused the deaths of tens of thousands of people in Jiangnan. But now people have been involved in it, and the surviving family members said so. The dead are the most important. You can't accuse people of talking nonsense without any evidence, can you?
"Sir, please save my son." At this time, the old woman of the Zhang family also burst into tears, hugging Luo and crying so miserably.

Even though the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law were at loggerheads just now, and the old woman looked like she wanted to tear apart the wicked daughter-in-law who locked her son up, she still knew what to do when dealing with outsiders. Her eldest son might be dead now, but his reputation could not be ruined. She still knew how to choose between the county magistrate who was locked outside and died by his own daughter-in-law and the county magistrate who had no choice but to go out and protect the people.

She didn't ask for any compensation from the court, but at least her son's reputation should not be ruined!

The drama of the two mothers-in-law immediately made the governor, who wanted to interrogate the case, give up the idea of letting the county magistrate take the blame.

A dead person is used to take the blame. The people above are not fools. Moreover, the relative said this and that. If more difficult words get out, it will be a stain.

"Don't worry, Madam Luo." The governor coughed softly, "Mr. Zhang is so dignified, it is really admirable. If there is a chance, we will naturally do our best to rescue him."

"Someone, send Magistrate Zhang's family down to rest."

"Yes"

After the Zhang family members were sent out, the armored captain beside them frowned and said, "Sir, what should we do now?"

The governor covered his head when he heard this. How could he know what to do?
The painting market in the north has always been well controlled. The aristocratic family has reached a tacit understanding with the owner of the painting market over the years, and they have lived in peace for many years. Why did it suddenly go crazy this time?

Not only the population of two counties was involved, but even the prince was implicated. Is this wave intended to completely anger the royal family?

"This matter is not simple." The governor said in a low voice, "The latest news is that Beihai has sealed off the city, and now this incident has happened in Fuchun. I suspect that something big may have happened."

"Beihai?" The captain's face changed: "That's His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."

"That's why I said something big might have happened!" The governor said with a sullen face, "It's best if it's nothing to do with me. I don't want to be involved at all."

As soon as he finished speaking, he heard a soldier outside hurriedly reporting: "Sir, the third prince has arrived!"

Upon hearing this, the governor stood up excitedly and said, "Where is it? Take me there!"

When he first heard that the prince was trapped in the Painting Market, he was almost scared to death. Now that the third prince is safe and sound, it must be that the people planted by the noble family in the Painting Market protected him and as long as the prince is fine, everything can be discussed.

"Lord Song, there is no need to trouble you." A gentle voice came from the door, and soon Li Yu, dressed in white, strode in.

Qin Fang, who was accompanying him, directly showed the imperial edict.

Upon seeing this, the governor and others knelt down immediately.

"Your Majesty has ordered that the Third Prince Li Yu will take over Youzhou's military affairs from today and go to Beihai immediately to welcome the Crown Prince!!"

The governor's eyes suddenly went blank and his whole body couldn't help but tremble. The worst situation had happened.

I will eventually be involved in this big trouble.——
"Oh no, Second Master, news has come from Youzhou that the imperial court has sent troops!!"

In Yuchi Mansion, as the epidemic became more and more serious, the already overwhelmed Yuchi Hong's face changed again. When he heard the report from his subordinates, he was not only shocked but also felt deeply powerless.

After this damn plague broke out, everything went from bad to worse. The whole city was out of control, the prince was in trouble, several of his uncles were infected one after another, and even his father and eldest brother were not spared. Once the court forcibly opened the north gate of the city, the Yuchi family would be really finished!
"Is the news accurate?" Yuchi Hong asked in the face of his subordinates' report, still unwilling to give up.

"It came from Youzhou." The deputy general also looked helpless: "It shouldn't be fake."

Upon hearing this, Yuchi Hong collapsed in his chair completely powerlessly. The Yuchi family had been highly valued by two generations of emperors, and their influence had long spread throughout the northern border. Youzhou was the place in the northern border to defend against the Northern Qi, and a large number of Yuchi family members were serving there. The news coming from there would definitely not be wrong.

"Sir." Yuchi Hong looked feebly at an old man sitting next to him. The old man was over 70 years old, with silver hair and gray beard. He was neither a sorcerer nor a warrior, but a guest of honor in the Yuchi family. Luo Sanye, the military strategist who assisted his father and His Majesty in winning seven battles, had always been the most reliable staff of the Yuchi family. The old man looked at the last hope in the eyes of the young man of the Yuchi family and sighed helplessly. The situation at this time was more desperate than the situation when the northern border was surrounded and there was no help in the rear. Even he could not see any hope.

"It's a dead end," the old man shook his head, "Now that the imperial army has arrived, there's no chance of survival."

He had opposed when the group of aides in the Prince's Mansion wanted to use the forbidden technique. If he had not agreed at that time, even if the Prince was gone and the Yuchi family was suppressed, there would be a chance to manipulate it, a chance to preserve the family tradition and not let the nine clans suffer. However, no matter whether young or old, the Yuchi family could not let go of the power in front of them and chose to take a gamble.

Since the gambling began, the demise of the Yuchi family has entered the countdown, and now it seems that there is almost no chance.

"Where are Chen Xiao and the others? Still no news?" Yuchi Hong stared at the people from the Prince's Mansion. At this moment, the sorcerers and staff from the Prince's Mansion all lowered their heads guiltily. It was indeed their staff who had strongly persuaded the Yuchi family to get involved this time. Now that things have come to this, it was considered magnanimous that the host family did not tear them apart.

"Your Highness the Crown Prince should not entrust such an important task to an outsider," the scholar-looking man said gritting his teeth.

Others nodded.

When choosing someone to pick up Master Tian, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, who was still relatively clear-headed, chose to let Chen Xiao go against the majority's opinion. The group of old people in the Crown Prince's Mansion were all opposed to it.

Chen Xiao was originally a poor man whose family was destroyed and his original purpose of joining His Highness was not pure. How could such a person be assigned such a life-and-death mission?

Not to mention his ability, his loyalty is questionable. If he sees that the situation is not right, there is a high possibility that he will abandon the prince halfway.

Now it is as expected, there is no news at all, I am afraid he will run for his life as soon as he leaves the North Sea! !
"What's the point of saying this now?" Seeing that the people in the Prince's Mansion had no idea at this moment and were even blaming His Royal Highness the Crown Prince for his decision, Yuchi Hong was immediately extremely disappointed. What kind of people had his cousin the Crown Prince won over over the years?

There is not a single usable one.
"At this point, we have to prepare for the worst." The old man sighed and stood up and said, "Second Master, pick the most qualified children in the clan, count them, send reliable guards to follow them, and set off at night to send them overseas first."

Yuchi Hong sighed deeply. In fact, he probably guessed that this was the situation, but he still wanted to hear something different from the other party. Now it seems that he was overthinking.

Yes, in this situation, how can there be any chance of turning the situation around?
"Second Master, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince!!"

Before he could recover from the desperate situation, his subordinates came hurriedly to report even worse news!

"Let's go!" Yuchi Hong stood up quickly. In fact, he was numb to bad news, but he still couldn't give up completely on the matter of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince.

"Uncle."

Entering the courtyard where the prince was isolated, the prince was locked to the bed and was controlled by a special acupuncture method. However, perhaps because it was too uncomfortable, it was obvious that the prince was struggling against the acupuncture points, and his muscles and bones began to deform and twitch. If this continued...
"Your Highness!" The Second Master hurried forward, not caring whether he was infected or not, and grabbed the other person's hands: "You must hold on!"

"Second brother." The prince's face was distorted, and he almost pleaded, "Use medicine, I can't stand it anymore!"

"Your Highness, don't give up easily. The Queen is relying on you." Yuchi Hong held the other party's hands and tried to dissuade him.

The prince must not die in the North Sea. Now that the imperial army has arrived, even if he can only be sent back in one breath and a word is said for the Yuchi family, there is a chance to leave two more fires for the Yuchi family.

Given the current situation of the Yuchi family, he could not expect to escape unscathed, but at least... at least
"General!!"

"What's wrong again?" Yuchi Hong turned around and shouted almost roaring.

"Two pieces of news!" The butler who came in took a look at the struggling prince and lowered his voice. It seemed that he did not intend to say it here for fear of irritating the prince.

"It's okay." The prince was so weak that his voice was as thin as a mosquito: "Speak, I can bear it."

"The Third Prince Li Yu has arrived at Beihai City with Youzhou's troops under the order of the emperor, saying that he is here to welcome His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."

Yuchi Hong felt as if he was falling into an ice cellar when he heard this. How could they come so quickly? It had only been half a quarter of an hour since he received the letter from the Lord. Could it be that the Third Prince's group also flew over like the eagle that delivered the letter?
"My brother really cares about me," the prince said with a weak smile, "if you have any other bad news, tell me all at once."

"Mr. Chen is back too!"

"Oh?"

(End of this chapter)