Ming Dynasty Detective 1546

Chapter 118 The Two Empress Dowagers Arrive (Part )
Backyard woodshed.

It has been nearly two days and one night since the princess fell into a coma and was locked up here.

Ordinary days may pass in the blink of an eye, but when imprisoned, it is no exaggeration to say that each day feels like a year.

In addition, there were five big locks on the door, the guards at the mansion were too lazy to even deliver food, and the house was filled with a foul smell, which was really unbearable.

But at this moment, Hong Niangzi, Jiao Bai, Lu Cangzhou and Yan Ling were either sitting or lying down, their bodies relaxed and their postures comfortable.

For a traveler, having a roof over his head to protect him from the wind and rain is already a great achievement, not to mention being able to rest and recuperate without being disturbed.

But they did not let their guard down.

On the contrary, Lu Zangzhou, who was sleeping outside, kept his ears perked up, listening to every footstep outside the woodshed.

Ignore the unimportant ones and pay attention to those that are clearly close to the woodshed.

The method of ground listening is not a rare skill in the world, but to really master it, it takes seven or eight years of hard work.

And just at this moment, Lu Zangzhou, whose chest was still rising and falling in an orderly manner the previous moment, suddenly opened his eyes, and the next moment he flashed in front of the other three people and patted them.

In just a dozen breaths, the four illusionists had stood up and were on guard.

Sure enough, footsteps arrived at the door, and the sound of fiddling with chains was heard. A low voice drifted in: "Wait until the prince consort is taken away, then set fire to this place. None of these untouchables will be able to escape!"

"Are you sure you want to put it in the Princess's Mansion?"

"The princess is unconscious, and the prince consort is a murderer. Who cares about these things? The leader said that we, the Jinyiwei, will be responsible for cleaning up the mess. We must not let this scandal spread!"

"understand!"

Mr. Fan from Yinglue Society said at the time: "The Jinyiwei are never reasonable. If they really want to convict someone of a crime, even the most innocent family will be destroyed!"

Not an exaggeration at all.

During the Ming Dynasty, the three secret agencies, namely the Embroidered Uniform Guard, the East Factory and the West Factory, committed countless illegal acts.

Seizing people's land, extorting money and property, abusing torture, falsely accusing and blackmailing, setting up illegal jails, killing people indiscriminately to establish authority, and punishing entire families...

The harm caused by the Censorate and the Guards is worse than that caused by tigers and wolves.

Behind these eight words is the blood debt of the people.

Therefore, Lin Daqin from Chaozhou, Guangdong, had never come into contact with the Jinyiwei. However, when he first heard about their arrival, he was terrified. But now, after hearing the conversation outside, the four people in the woodshed reached a consensus.

The Jinyiwei were planning to silence the witness afterwards!

Hongniang's face darkened slightly as she waited silently.

After the people outside confirmed that the chain was correct and turned to leave, she made a gesture, and Jiao Bai, Lu Zangzhou and Yan Ling immediately surrounded her.

Lady Hong said calmly, "This is all within our expectations. Even if there's no suspicion, the Imperial Guards wouldn't let an innocent person escape! But the conversation between those two just now seemed a bit deliberate. The Imperial Guards wouldn't dare set fire directly to the Princess's mansion. What they just said might be a trap to provoke us to flee so they can ambush us outside with bows and crossbows and capture us all in one fell swoop!"

The three nodded: "Sister Hong, what should we do now?"

Lady Hong hesitated for a moment and ordered, "Check again to see if all the tools are in place."

"Yes!"

The three of them dispersed and quickly took out the rope, flying claws and the mechanism treasure box.

They had been searched when they were imprisoned, so it was naturally impossible for them to have left these things. Now it was not a magic trick, but after entering the princess's mansion, they hid these things in several places where they were most likely to be imprisoned next.

Once they are locked up, they may appear to have nothing in their hands and be locked up with chains, but in fact they can be fully armed at any time.

Of course, no matter how sophisticated the illusion is, it has its limits.

This method undoubtedly cannot guarantee that it will be foolproof. If the princess faints and the Jinyiwei enter the mansion and directly take them out of the mansion and detain them in another prison, then these tools prepared long ago will lose their effectiveness.

But it is impossible to take care of everything in the world, let alone such a dangerous action. It is extremely difficult to prepare to this extent.

Seeing that everything was ready, Lady Hong gave specific instructions: "Jiao Bai, you come to borrow the fire. Even if the Jinyiwei don't really light it, we must let the princess's mansion burn down!"

"Don't worry, Sister Hong!"

Jiao Bai said in a deep voice.

He was well versed in alchemy and pyrotechnics, and was good at combining the real and the imaginary. The "Magpie Bridge" in "Magpie Shadows of Heaven" was designed by him. He used smoke, dust, light and shadow to create a shimmering Milky Way in front of the temple.

In his daily magic shows, he is mainly responsible for the phosphorescent fire and smoke. Once a big fire starts, it becomes his home ground.

Lady Hong looked at Lu Zangzhou again and said, "The way out is up to you!"

"The people have been chosen. When the fire is finished, there will be four bodies left like ours."

Lu Zangzhou's words were concise and to the point. He excelled in puppetry and escape techniques, and he controlled the magpies in "Magpie Shadows of Heaven." When more than a dozen magpies made of gold foil swooped down from the beams, they looked like real birds, vivid and lifelike. Later, they disintegrated into countless fireflies in the smoke and dust, disappearing the Magpie Bridge, a perfect synergy with Jiao Bai.

What Lu Zangzhou needed to do was to escape from the fire quietly and leave behind a charred corpse whose identity was difficult to identify.

As for why the princess's mansion suddenly lost four guards and servants? I believe that even if the Jinyiwei found out something, they would cover it up.

Hongniang finally looked at the youngest Yan Ling, seeming to want to say something but stopping herself.

Yan Ling smiled and said, "Sister Hong, don't you often praise us for our achievements in Qianji Yin and Nishang Transformation, which are even better than you? Of course, we will complete that task!"

Lady Hong sighed softly, "Actually, you don't have to go, but I know I can't stop you, so be careful!"

Yan Ling said calmly, "We will try our best to escape. If we fail, we will end our lives before we are caught by the Jinyiwei. Anyway, we have already prepared the clues, and those executioners will be able to find them!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the woodshed fell silent. Everyone's eyes were filled with cruel determination, and they all said in unison: "Though the sun and the moon are bright, they cannot illuminate the deep sea. I will never regret it, even if I die nine times. I only wish for a clear river!"

……

"Isshinkai?"

"How interesting! It's a pity I can't participate, but I must be the first to see the latest chapter of Journey to the West!"

Haiyue and Li Yuying meet again in the back garden. Compared to their impatience when investigating the case, they finally have some free time at this moment to talk about their experiences during the time they were apart.

While Hai Yue was speaking, Li Yuying marveled at the fate of the Imperial College, worried about the tyranny of Marquis Wu Ding, and was surprised that such a good work as "Journey to the West: A New Version" was finally being recognized by more and more people.

While Li Yuying was speaking, Haiyue also understood the ups and downs of the later and previous dynasties from another perspective.

Annan’s request for help was not just a request from a foreign vassal state for the Ming Dynasty today, because the Ming Dynasty was not in a stable political stage, but was undergoing new policy reforms after the Great Ceremony Agreement.

The ministers had just been driven to extremes by the emperor's arguments over the rituals, and now war was about to break out. Naturally, those who were unwilling had a thousand reasons to oppose. Even those who supported the rituals had many concerns considering the country's current strength.

"This case is certainly a crisis, but also an opportunity..."

Li Yuying originally had a vague idea of ​​the situation in the Ming Dynasty court. She simply thought it was a question of whether to save the country or not, and to go deeper, it was a question of whether to take back Jiaozhi.

She had thought about it, maybe it was true as this person said, the Li family's rule had ended, even if Mo Dengyong was defeated, it would not be the Li family's turn to continue to rule that land.

But even so, she wants the old villain Mo Dengyong to die!

To avenge her brother Li Weining, the murdered Emperor Li Gong, and the thousands of loyal and righteous people who were killed in Annan!
After listening to Haiyue's analysis, Li Yuying suddenly gained a clearer understanding of the situation in the Ming Dynasty court. "Your Majesty is determined to send troops, otherwise he would have rejected this proposal long ago and would not have delayed it until now. What I can do now is to ensure that Your Majesty can make this decision with justification!"

Haiyue reminded: "In war, you must never rush. Just let it happen naturally and don't lose your previous state of mind."

Li Yuying blinked her eyes and said expectantly, "Then I'll write to you more often. I hope Brother Yue doesn't find it annoying!"

"of course not!"

Publicly, Haiyue wanted Jiaozhi, and privately, she also wanted the smart and strong woman in front of her: "If this case is handled well, we won't have to be so sneaky next time."

Li Yuying had concerns, "No! You're studying at the Imperial College, so it's best not to get too involved with me, a princess from a foreign vassal state. We can only exchange letters. I need to train some capable people, and I can't have spies like Huixiang around me..."

As the two were talking, they saw Hong Qi rushing over with an extremely solemn expression.

"The arrest was not going well?"

"It's Empress Jiang who's coming! She's already left the Forbidden City!"

Haiyue and Li Yuying were both shocked: "The Queen Mother is coming to the Princess's residence? Why didn't she tell us in advance?"

Hong Qi was also anxious: "I was going to tell them originally, but this time it was Empress Dowager Zhang who took the lead and hurried out of the Forbidden City. The eunuchs couldn't ride fast enough on horseback, so it happened right after them!"

Empress Dowager Jiang of Ciren Palace was sensible and would not act rashly even though she was deeply concerned about the young girl. However, Empress Dowager Zhang of Cishou Palace never said such a thing.

What are the rules? She is the rules!
Haiyue immediately asked, "Did Yunyin Society take it?"

Hong Qi shook his head: "No! The boss is worried that the guards in the mansion are no longer useful, so he set a trap to lure them out, and at the same time he sent personnel from the Northern Pacification Office!"

"Now we're in trouble!"

Hai Yue's expression became serious. "Until the truth comes out, the Queen Mother cannot be allowed to contact the Princess. But now we can only influence Queen Mother Jiang at best. Queen Mother Zhang is a troublemaker!"

Li Yuying took a deep breath, feeling that her opportunity had arrived: "I regard Empress Dowager Jiang as the sun, but so many people admire her kindness. How can I be the only one to receive her grace and let her shine even more on me?"

Haiyue immediately understood what she was going to do: "Have you decided?"

Li Yuying said firmly: "It's decided!"

"Okay! I'll protect you!"

Hai Yue nodded and said to Hong Qi, "Brother Qi, please help me prepare a set of Jinyiwei uniforms and a sharp sword. I'm afraid I'll have to fight the murderer in front of the two Empress Dowagers!"

(End of this chapter)