Still waiting for Zhaoyang

Chapter 23 Smoke and dust in the deep east (1)
一
In the evening, the doctor changed the medicine for Xia Yue's arm.She felt a little lighter all over her body, so she asked He Xiang to fetch water for a bath.

Her left hand is inconvenient, He Xiang rubbed her back, unexpectedly when her hair was lifted up to reveal her back, He Xiang exclaimed: "Miss, there is something growing on your back."

Xia Yue touched it suspiciously, but didn't know what was going on, so she took a look in the mirror and found that there were some yellow raised sores on the back of her neck, which were neither painful nor itchy. I did not notice.

She got up from the bucket, wiped off the water on her body, wrapped some clothes, asked He Xiang to light a few more lamps, sat on the stool by herself, and looked in the mirror for a while.

She was terrified, put down the mirror and said to He Xiang: "Send someone back to Ming Shan Tang to invite Mr. Mu."

"Now?" He Xiang asked.

"Well, now." Xia Yue replied.

He Xiang hesitated for a moment and said, "Miss, are you still taking a bath?"

Xia Yue glanced at the bathtub: "I won't wash it anymore. I will wear the clothes slowly by myself, and you don't have to worry about me."

He Xiang nodded, walked around the screen and was about to open the door to go out.

Just as the door opened, He Xiang heard Xia Yue call her back again: "Forget it, it's too late, everyone must be resting soon. Let's go tomorrow."

He Xiang turned back and said: "It's okay, miss, if you are afraid of troubleping Tian's family, I can just drive there by myself."

"No need. It's the same if you go tomorrow morning." Xia Yue said.

He Xiang thought for a while and said: "The water is cold, I'll fetch some hot water and continue to wash the body for Miss."

Xia Yue said slowly: "Go out first and close the door. If I don't call you, don't come in. I will close the door, and don't let others in. The breakfast is left at the door, and I will take it myself .Tomorrow, when I go to invite Mr. Mu, he will tell me that I have yellow sores on my body and I have a fever, and I will wait until he comes.”

He Xiang panicked all of a sudden: "Miss, what's wrong with you? It's not a serious illness. Why are you driving me away? I'll go ask Mr. Mu right away. I'll go alone. I'm not afraid. If you don't take a bath, I'll dress you , don't be angry. I..." He Xiang went to fetch the clean clothes on the screen and put them on Xia Yue.

Xia Yue scolded: "Put down the things, tell you to go out immediately! Did you hear that!"

The two grew up together, and they love each other as sisters. Although they quarrel from time to time, she has never spoken to He Xiang in this tone.

He Xiang was extremely wronged, with tears in her eyes, she left silently.

Xia Yue was still not at ease, and followed her out, and inserted the latch.

Then, she sat back alone, took off her clothes, and checked the rest of her body one by one through the mirror.

She found that besides the back of her neck, she also had several on her arms.The sore is yellow, about the size of a mung bean, and if you scratch it lightly with your fingers, it will quickly turn red.

Although there was a heating stove in the room, she still felt cold. She shivered and put on her clothes layer by layer.

She had a bad hand, so these things were slow and difficult, and she rested on the stool for a while, then got up and went to close the windows completely.

After finishing all this, she lay on the couch with all her clothes on. Although she was tired and tired all over, she couldn't fall asleep anyway.

She suddenly thought of Zijin.

two

In Jinluo in the evening, the lights are bright and the Cuiwei Building is bustling with people. At the time when there are the most customers, a very ordinary-looking person comes out and walks into a secluded alley.

A man in black flashed out from the corner and asked in a low voice, "How?"

The man replied: "He's in the third private room on the left on the second floor. There should be three men and five divas in the room, and there are four guards at the door, with ordinary skills."

The man in black said: "You stay here." After speaking, he quietly jumped onto the roof and ran towards the edge of the city.

When he reached the edge of the woods outside the city, he stood there and turned around to look around, and blew a short whistle towards the woods, only a few people appeared from the darkness in the woods.

One of them, wearing a bamboo hat and showing a white porcelain face, was Zijin.

And the man in black is Chu Zhong.

Chu Zhong recounted the situation of the investigation just now, and said: "It is not difficult to kill him, but His Highness also knows that this Cuiwei Building is located in a busy city, and if there is any movement, it will attract officers and soldiers."

Zijin murmured, "It's okay. Let's advance to the city and play by ear."

Chu Qin standing next to him stopped and said, "The situation is delicate now. I'm afraid that the imperial court will set up an ambush in the city. When we take the bait, if His Highness makes the slightest mistake, I will be blamed even if I die."

Chu Zhong also said: "Your Highness only needs to stay here for a while, I will definitely bring Wang Gan's head here tonight."

The other people next to him also followed suit.

Zijin pursed her lips and said nothing.

His face was hidden under the shadow of the bamboo hat, and only his jade-like jaw was visible under the moonlight. After a while, his lips moved slightly: "I have made up my mind." Then no matter what others said, they kept silent.

The two brothers of the Chu family knew that although he seemed kind and gentle, once he made up his mind, no one could stop him, so they stopped trying to persuade him.

Several people disguised themselves and scattered into the city.

From the city gate to Cuiwei Tower, you have to pass Min Mansion.

Zijin and Chu Qin went all the way, in order to avoid people's eyes and ears, they chose the road farthest from Min Mansion.

When he saw the high wall of the Min Mansion from a distance, knowing that there was no one there, he still couldn't help but pause.

They could have had a careful plan to lure Wang Gan out of the city and get rid of him.But time is running out, and if you delay for a moment, it will be more dangerous. I don't know if Wei Shangrui's people have already found out Jin Luo and caught him here.

A group of people came to the vicinity of Cuiwei Building cautiously.

Seeing the moon in the sky, the diners gradually dispersed, but the number of people in Wang Gan's private room did not decrease but increased, and the voices were noisy.

The alley they were standing at could see the movement of the entire Cuiwei Building at a glance. The location was very good, and it was very hidden, so few people came and went at night.

Unexpectedly, an ordinary carriage suddenly turned a corner and came towards them.There were three people on their side - Zijin, Chu Qin and a guard.

The guard is Jin Luo's new face, in case of emergency.

At this moment, an inconspicuous whistle sounded faintly, which was the signal for Wang Gan to leave Cuiwei Tower.

Zijin and the others quickly put their heads down, and came out of the alley, ready to outflank them from other places.

At this time, the carriage turned a corner on the main road and came oncoming.Because they were in a hurry, they didn't avoid it. At the moment when the carriage approached, Zijin pretended to bend over to pick up something, hiding his face, avoiding the sight of the driver, and the guard stood in the middle.

Under such circumstances, the driver saw Zijin's back through the darkness, and tentatively called out, "Master?"

The guard and Chu Qin, who was hidden in another place, froze at the same time.Chu Qin recognized this voice, it was Min Jiachang's mother's son.

Zijin lowered his head, naturally he couldn't hear the movement, but he caught a glimpse of the carriage slowing down as it passed by him from the corner of his eye, and felt something bad in his heart.

Chang's mother in the carriage suddenly became excited when she heard the address she had been thinking about day and night. She lifted the curtain of the car and asked her son, "Er Shun, who are you calling?"

Chu Qin wanted to stop it, but it was too late.

Zijin lowered her head, thinking that something must have happened to the people in the carriage, but she had no choice but to straighten her body without seeing Chu Qin's warning.At the same time, Chang's mother jumped out of the car and staggered towards Zijin.

Zijin raised her head and was taken aback when she saw the person coming.

"Master." Chang's mother held Zijin's hands tightly.

"Mother Chang." Zijin called her.

The old woman had tears in her eyes: "Where have you been these days? Miss said that you have found a relative at home and you are going to join them for business, but you didn't tell me where you went, this old woman."

Chu Qin glanced at Zijin.

Zijin is in a dilemma.

Chang's mother said again: "Don't be in a hurry to send my old lady away, go back with me, I'll cook something you like, take a break first."

Zijin looked at the hands that Chang's mother was holding her, sighed slightly and said, "Chang's mother, you go back first, and I will go to your old man after I finish my work here."

Mother Chang replied, "Don't coax me."

Zijin smiled and shook his head.

It was his negligence, thinking that no one would recognize him if he disguised himself in the dark, but he unexpectedly ran into Chang's mother and son on the road.She has raised him for many years, so he must be different from others, and she can recognize him at a glance.

With such an interruption, Wang Gan has already left Cuiwei Tower.He was about drunk to the point of unconsciousness, and was dragged out, put into a sedan chair, and went straight home.

Cuiwei Building is still some distance away from Wang's house, so it's a good time to make a move along the way.

Chu Zhong and his party have already followed.

But Zijin and Chuqin couldn't get away here.

Chang's mother took Zijin's hand and said, "What can I do for you in the middle of the night? Have you ever gone back? There is no one in the house now, the eldest lady is away, and the house is not occupied for a long time, and it gradually becomes deserted." .I went back yesterday to have a look. The flowers that Miss planted before were not cared for, but they bloomed well..." Her son was the concierge of the Min family. Later, the Min residence lacked a mother who was in charge, so Min Yi hired her .The old man was getting old, and he just stood in the alley and babbled non-stop, regardless of others.

As soon as Zijin heard her mention the person in his heart, he couldn't help asking: "Did Miss send a letter back later?"

Mother Chang was surprised: "You haven't contacted?"

Zijin shook his head, the wind in the imperial capital was very tight, and he didn't trust Duke Huai, so he didn't dare to disclose any information related to Xia Yue, so naturally he didn't dare to ask people to find her rashly.

Chu Zhong on the other end didn't know why Zijin didn't bring his elder brother to join him, and he felt a little anxious, and he couldn't let go of the opportunity to kill Wang Gan.Jinluo was very close to the imperial capital, and it would be more dangerous for them to stay a little longer, so he decided not to wait for Zijin, but to do it himself first.

So, he led people to follow Wang Gan's sedan chair carefully, waiting for the opportunity to move.

Wang Gan's sedan chair stopped halfway, and then saw Wang Gan staggeringly opened the sedan chair curtain, threw himself under a tree and began to vomit, and after vomiting, he wanted to urinate again.Wang Gan looked around, asked someone to help him into a narrow alley, and only when he reached the river at the end of the alley did he untie his belt and start urinating.

This was a good time, and there was no need for too many people, Chu Zhong winked at the accompanying people, got on the tiles by himself, and followed.

Wang Gan was so drunk that half of his body lay on top of his followers.When you urinate directly into the river, you can hear the sound of the water from afar.

Chu Zhong drew out his short knife, jumped from the wall to behind the two of them, and stabbed Wang Gan from the back with one knife, cutting straight to his heart.The blade was so sharp that almost no blood was seen, only Wang Gan groaned.

The entourage at the side only noticed the abnormal movement, and when he turned around to see Chu Zhong who was covering his face, he was so frightened that he hurriedly shouted for help.

Chu Zhong didn't want to hurt the innocent life of this entourage, but just wanted to make a quick decision, so he drew out his dagger and made another shot.Unexpectedly, the attendant not only failed to save the Lord, but threw Wang Gan away in fear of death.Wang Gan was urinating on the bank, so he stood very close to the river for fear of getting his feet wet.Now being pushed by his followers, he slid down suddenly and fell into the river with a "plop".

When the people on the other side of the sedan chair heard the exclamation by the river, they suddenly felt that something was wrong, and surrounded them with torches while yelling.

Chu Zhong didn't panic, he jumped onto the courtyard wall by the river and followed the current to look for Wang Gan, fearing that he would die.

Wang Gan's sedan chair didn't go very far, Chu Qin's ears were extremely sensitive, and when he heard movement by the river, he hurriedly wanted to signal to Zijin, but just as he turned around, he heard a very faint trace of light on the big locust tree behind him. The sound of the leaves is different from the sound of other leaves under the wind.He frowns, his figure flies, and the sword in his hand has pierced like a gust of wind.

The tall man in the dark shadow on the tree hastily drew his sword to block it, and forcibly received Chu Qin's sword force.

The two men collided with swords, and the tree trunk shook.The tall tiger's mouth suddenly went numb, and he almost couldn't even hold the sword, and was forced to fall under the tree.

Zijin hurriedly said to the guard on the side: "You escort them away first." The man didn't dare to argue, he stuffed the Chang family's mother and son into the car and disappeared in a hurry.

The tall man did not chase the car, but cast a probing look at Zijin from a distance.

Chu Qin got angry, and stabbed several times in a row, the opponent dodged left and right, and could no longer be distracted to look at Zijin.The tall man realized that he was showing weakness, and was about to fly back, but Chu Qin seized the opening and hit him directly on the right shoulder.Seeing that he was too late to dodge, the tall man held his sword and shouted suddenly: "His Royal Highness King Yanping—"

A tall companion flashed out of the night and attacked Zijin.

Seeing this, Chu Qin's heart moved, he no longer wanted to fight, and hurriedly flew towards Zijin.

Although Zijin's ears were poor, his reaction was excellent. He swept his body back and deftly avoided a move. He drew his long sword out of its sheath and used it as a shield in front of him.

In an instant, Chu Qin had returned to Zijin's side.

The opponent has no chance of reversal.

Chu Qin shouted in a deep voice, "Report your name."

The tall man suddenly put away his weapon, took a few steps forward, walked under the moon, bowed his hands and said: "I am the bodyguard in front of the imperial court today, what's the matter, I have been waiting here for His Royal Highness King Yanping for a long time."

Zijin frowned slightly: "Are you from Uncle Jiu?"

He Chuyi nodded: "Exactly."

This tall man was precisely He Chuxin who was accepted by Shang Rui as his confidant together with Yao Chuang.According to Shang Rui's will, he has been guarding in Jinluo, and sent people to pay attention to the old house of the Min family and the related people who had close contacts with the Min family in the past. He did not expect that he would really wait for him tonight.

Zijin asked, "What's the matter with you?"

"Today, I have a letter to deliver to Your Highness." He spoke to His Highness one by one, and he was still as aggressive as when he made the move just now.In fact, just now he was motivated to kill, the emperor didn't order to kill or not to kill, but told him to play by ear.He had heard that there was a pair of brothers beside King Yanping who were very good at swordsmanship, so he couldn't help but want to try it himself, after a few tricks, he felt that his reputation was truly worthy.

He Chuyi untied his sword, threw it on the ground, and took out a letter from his chest: "Your Majesty ordered me to wait here. If you are lucky enough to meet His Highness, I will hand over this letter to His Highness."

Zijin didn't accept the letter, sheathed the sword in his hand and asked, "How can you recognize me?"

He Chuyi glanced at him again, and replied: "Your Highness, if you see Imam in the future, you will know the reason."

Under the moonlight, Zijin Zhilan Yushu, with red lips and bright teeth, is clearly the face of the Wei family.He Chuyi really wanted to take a closer look at him, but because of the majesty of the Tian family, he was a little apprehensive.

He Chuyi walked up to Zijin and held the letter for a long time, Zijin looked at him coldly, but didn't accept it.

He Chuyi said again: "By the way, I have told me today that besides this letter, there is one more sentence to bring to Your Highness."

Zijin didn't want to talk to him, fearing that he was delaying the army and delaying the time to move the rescuers.

He Chuyi said again: "There is a girl surnamed Min who is now our honored guest."

"Say it again?" Zijin's eyes froze, his hands were quicker than his words, and the long sword touched He Chuyi's neck in an instant.

He accidentally repeated: "Today I met a girl surnamed Min in the Imperial Capital, and we hit it off. Later, Miss Min fell off her horse and suffered some injuries. Today, I kept her by my side and ordered someone to take care of her. "These words, but he said without authorization.He is different from Yao Chuang, he has a very cunning temper, even if he has never met Xia Yue, he knows about it from Yao Chuang.

Hearing his words, Zijin felt that his heart was tied to a boulder and sank straight into the glacier.

After a while, he collected his thoughts and glanced at He Chuyi.In the depths of those usually warm eyes, there was a rare chill at this moment.

Zijin turned his eyes to look elsewhere, and after a while, put away the sword in his hand, raised the corners of his mouth and smiled slightly: "When the king was in the dust, the father of this girl Min took good care of the king, and now he can have uncle Jiu to take care of him. It couldn't be better." His tone was calm, although he didn't have the slightest smile in his eyes, he couldn't see any flaws.

After saying this, Dai Zijin of Chu Qin accepted the letter from He Chuyi.

He gave up his opinion and accepted it. He touched the half-inch blood stain on his neck that was cut by the blade, cupped his hands, and withdrew with his companions.

Zijin didn't open the letter, and said to Chu Qin: "The matter has come to an end, we have to go back to the Southern Region first."

Chu Zhongben was confirming Wang Gan's life and death by the river, but unexpectedly saw the signal flare fired by the elder brother in the sky, so he didn't dare to delay, so he had to go outside the city to rendezvous.

They didn't dare to stay longer outside the city, and the group galloped away on horseback.

(End of this chapter)