"Don't let him run away!" Someone in the crowd shouted sternly, snatching the crossbow held by a companion next to him, and pointed it at Xue Lingfeng.
If Xue Lingfeng really escaped death, the consequences would be disastrous.
Xue Lingfeng is extremely shrewd and can find out the origin of tonight's assassin in less than a day. He has three thousand Tiger God Camps in his hands. Once he launches an attack, no one can predict the outcome.
The most important thing is that the capital needs stability. Even if it is turbulent secretly, it must maintain tranquility on the surface. Such tranquility must not be destroyed because of the failed assassination tonight.
This man was holding an arrow and crossbow, aiming it at Xue Lingfeng's back. Xue Lingfeng obviously knew that tonight was not the time to show off his bravery, and if he continued to fight, he would only end up dead on the street, so he sprinted with all his strength. He was no ordinary person, he had already run several feet away in the blink of an eye.
The man was about to release the arrow, but he saw that the short, fat man in black was already following Xue Lingfeng like a ghost, very close at hand. If this arrow were released, it would accidentally hit the short, fat man in black. It's not a joke, because this person didn't dare to pull the strings. In such a daze, Xue Lingfeng and the man in black opened a distance again and disappeared into the night.
The man holding the crossbow frowned, and someone beside him said anxiously: "Senior Brother Seventh...!"
The seventh senior brother threw the arrows and crossbows in his hands back to his companions and said coldly: "Follow him, I want him to die!" With a wave of his hand, he led his men to chase after him.
After chasing them to the street, they didn't see the two people. The seventh senior brother raised his hand to signal everyone to stop, looked down, then went to the left, squatted down, and saw blood on the ground. Xue Lingfeng had already suffered when he ran away. There was fresh blood on the ground from the knife wound, which naturally fell from Xue Lingfeng's body.
The Seventh Senior Brother immediately turned to the street on the left. A dozen people followed him and ran for a short distance. Hearing a scream, someone immediately said: "Seventh Senior Brother, over there." He raised his hand and pointed forward to the right. , everyone speeded up, and soon they arrived at an alley. Before they entered the alley, they saw a figure slowly walking out of the alley. It was short and fat. It was the man in black who had just chased Xue Lingfeng. , this man held a knife in one hand, with blood dripping from the blade, and in the other hand he actually held a head. The head was already bloody and bloody. Everyone looked carefully, but they could still tell that it was Xue Lingfeng. head.
The seventh senior brother pulled off the black scarf covering his face, stepped forward, and whispered: "Marquis Shen, have you succeeded?" He looked at the head again.
"The body is in the alley. Go and take care of it yourself. You know what to do." The second senior brother also pulled off the black scarf, revealing a face that was harmless to humans and animals. It was none other than Qu Xiaocang, the newly promoted god lord of the Shenhou Mansion. He casually threw the head to a subordinate, who took it. Someone immediately took a black bag and wrapped the head.
The Seventh Senior Brother was ordered to enter the alley, and after walking only a short distance, he vaguely saw a headless corpse lying on the ground, wearing armor, with the big knife still in his hand.
This seventh brother was naturally Yan Lingxian, the captain of the Big Dipper Military Academy. He reached out and pulled at the armor of the corpse, his eyes full of coldness.
Qu Xiaocang glanced at everyone and said in a deep voice: "You all know that the emperor has decreed that Xue Lingfeng colluded with Qining, collaborated with the enemy, and was even preparing to launch a mutiny in the capital, so we must secretly eliminate this person. My army is heading north, and the capital needs peace, so this matter can only be handled secretly."
"Marquis Shen, Xue Lingfeng is the commander of the Tiger God Camp. He was punished for treason and there are no generals in the army. It will inevitably cause chaos." Someone under his command whispered.
"Xue Lingfeng's murder cannot be hidden after all, and there is no need for us to hide it." Qu Xiaocang was unusually calm: "But it was not our Shenhou Mansion that killed Xue Lingfeng, but... the Jiutian Tower of the Northern Han Dynasty!"
No one dared to say much.
Qu Xiaocang obviously wanted to blame the northerners for this matter, but this was indeed the last choice at the moment.
Qu Xiaocang looked at the night sky and then said: "There is still half a stick of incense left. The night patrol team will come here and let them find Xue Lingfeng's body." Staring at one of them: "Yue Lin, You take two people and stay here nearby, and when the patrol discovers the body, you can show up and guide them to deal with the rest of the matter."
The man cupped his hands and said, "Yes!"
Before dawn, Qu Xiaocang had appeared in the palace, holding a box wrapped in black cloth in his hand. Under the leadership of the palace servants, he came to the inner palace. When he entered the Nuan Pavilion, he saw the eunuch Guihe. While waiting inside, Qu Xiaocang carried the box to the Nuan Pavilion, put the box away, and then knelt down on the ground. There was a bead curtain in front of him, but Qu Xiaocang didn't even look to see if there was anyone behind the bead curtain.
Guihe sighed at the side: "The Lord Shen is really neat in doing things. He agreed on three days, and it was three days." Staring at the wrapped box, "Is his head inside?"
Qu Xiaocang did not answer, but untied the black cloth on the outside of the box with his own hands, and then carefully opened the box. The lights were bright in the Nuan Pavilion. Guihe glanced at it, and saw a bloody human head inside, and frowned slightly. , sighed: "What a big human head!"
"The patrolling officers and soldiers should have discovered Xue Lingfeng's headless body." Qu Xiaocang said: "Someone will report this matter to the Ministry of War as soon as possible, but there is evidence at the scene that Jiutianlou is suspected of assassinating Xue Lingfeng, so Shenhou The government took Xue Lingfeng’s body back.”
"It turns out that Commander Xue was assassinated by people from Jiutianlou." Guihe said with a smile: "When our army went north, the Northern Han people sent assassins to create chaos in Jianye Capital City and assassinate our Chu general. This is a reasonable thing."
Qu Xiaocang knelt on the ground and said nothing.
"Marquis Qu Shen, you have done a good job in this matter, and the emperor must be very satisfied." Guihe said: "But at this moment, the emperor will naturally not reward you directly. He will reward you again when he finds an opportunity later!"
Qu Xiaocang said respectfully: "I thank the Emperor for your kindness."
"Then you should step back first." Guihe glanced at the box: "As for this head...!" He pondered for a moment before saying, "Stay here for now."
Qu Xiaocang lowered his head and said, "Yes!" But he had no intention of retreating immediately.
Guihe frowned and said, "Is there something else, Qu Shenhou?"
Qu Xiaocang finally raised his head and said, "Dear father-in-law, I want to see the King of Huainan!"
Guihe's face changed slightly and asked: "Qu Shenhou, you seem to have forgotten your identity. You are the Shenhou of the Shenhou Mansion. The Shenhou Mansion is a yamen directly under the emperor. You only obey the emperor's will. Although you have the status of King Huainan, Noble, but it seems you shouldn’t see him.”
"Your father-in-law, please report this on your behalf." Qu Xiaocang stared at Guihe's eyes: "The Shenhou Mansion has indeed always been loyal to the emperor, but what Qu has done seems to have deviated from this principle."
Guihe's face darkened and he said coldly: "What do you mean by this?"
Qu Xiaocang once again cupped his hands and said: "Please report to the King of Huainan on your behalf. Qu Xiaocang from the Shenhou Palace wants to see you!"
Guihe's face was ugly, and there was a sudden silence in Nuange. The air seemed to be frozen. Qu Xiaocang kept kneeling and cupped his hands and did not move. Guihe stood two steps in front of Qu Xiaocang and did not move.
After a while, I finally heard a voice sighing: "I have known for a long time that if Ximen Shenhou resigns, among the Big Dipper, the only one who can really take up the big job is Qu Xiaocang. It seems that I still look at people the same way. It's accurate." As he spoke, a figure suddenly appeared behind the bead curtain. The bead curtain was opened, and Huainan King Xiao Shaozong, dressed in brocade clothes and jade belt, suddenly appeared behind the bead curtain. He slowly walked out from behind the bead curtain, with his hands behind his back. , staring at Qu Xiaocang who was kneeling on the ground, and sighed softly: "Qu Shenhou wants to see me, and I am here!"
Qu Xiaocang looked up at King Huainan and said respectfully: "Qu Xiaocang pays homage to the prince!"
Xiao Shaozong smiled gently, but Guihe very obediently brought a chair over and placed it behind Xiao Shaozong. Xiao Shaozong sat down and then said: "Why do you want to see me?"
"My lord, this is the head you want." Qu Xiaocang raised his finger and pointed at the box and said, "Once Xue Lingfeng dies, the Tiger God Camp will be without a leader."
The smile on Xiao Shaozong's face became even stronger, and he asked very directly: "When did you know?"
"I realized later, and it wasn't until your father-in-law ordered me to kill Xue Lingfeng that I finally understood." Qu Xiaocang said very seriously.
Xiao Shaozong sighed: "Qu Shenhou, do you know that although you are the smartest among the Big Dipper, you are also the stupidest. You are the one who can see through the key points, but you should not have revealed your power in front of me. Smart, many people in this world are too smart, so their intelligence is mistaken for their cleverness, and they end up ruined and dead."
Guihe coughed lightly, and several figures immediately appeared around Nuan Pavilion.
Qu Xiaocang didn't even look at him, his expression was extremely calm, and he said: "I just want to thank the prince in person. If the prince feels that I am an untrustworthy slave, they don't need to do anything. I will commit suicide in front of the prince immediately. "
Xiao Shaozong and Guihe looked at each other and said with a smile: "Qu Shenhou should not call himself a minister in front of this king."
"The prince has taken control of the capital and will rule the world soon." Qu Xiaocang said respectfully and directly, "I am not wrong in my claim."
Xiao Shaozong stared at Qu Xiaocang's eyes. Qu Xiaocang's eyes were as small as mung beans, but just like that, they seemed to be harder for people to see through. Guihe sneered beside him and said: "Qu Xiaocang, do you know, you This sentence is already a treason statement, enough to drag you out and behead you in public."
"I have already said that if the prince wants me to die, there is no need to take action." Qu Xiaocang seemed unusually calm at this time.
Xiao Shaozong leaned forward slightly and stared into Qu Xiaocang's small eyes. His voice seemed to have no emotion at all: "Come and give me a reason not to kill you. Don't say the wrong thing. What I hate most is that I don't want to kill you." The king controls the trouble, and you seem to have become the king’s trouble now!”