The food on the table was actually cold. Although the table was full of delicacies, the three of them were not thinking about the food.
The maids on the side all bowed their heads to serve, but no one dared to take a step closer without giving orders.
"Your Majesty, do you suspect that Ksitigarbha is behind this?" Wei Shutong's expression became solemn.
Li Hongxin said: "Not only the Black Cave incident, I suspect that the murderer who committed the murder in Chengdu City is also involved with Ksitigarbha." After a pause, he said: "Master Wei, Lord Marquis, I have said , I am a warrior, and this matter is related to the stability of Xichuan, so I still have to say some things that should not be said."
Qi Ning raised his hand and said, "Your Majesty, it doesn't matter if you say it."
Wei Shutong also said: "Now there is an undercurrent surging in Xichuan, and I would like to ask the prince for some advice."
Li Hongxin said with a smile: "It's not about giving advice, it's just about eating the emperor's salary and being loyal to the emperor. The three of us are ministers of the imperial court, so we should work for the imperial court." After a pause, he waved and said: "You go down first!"
Several maids bowed and retreated.
Qi Ning was amused, thinking to himself that if we don't even need to be careful about what you said, why should we care about the maids
"Both of you know that when I returned to the imperial court, the emperor was generous and kind, and most of the officials in Xichuan were not transferred." Li Hongxin said slowly: "The imperial court also properly arranged the civil and military officials who followed me. To this day, half of the officials in Xichuan were serving under me."
Qining and Wei Shutong looked at each other and said nothing.
Qi Ning felt very strange at this moment, and felt that what Li Hongxin said today was really strange.
Li Hongxin is not a three-year-old child, let alone an ordinary person. This man dominated Xichuan back then and was considered a tycoon of his generation. Logically speaking, these words today cannot come from him, but he chose to say them without any hesitation. Without fear, it seemed that the people listening to him were close confidants around him.
"These people were all arrogant and powerful soldiers back then. Although they submitted to the imperial court with me, I am here to say that they will be punished with death. If I cannot suppress them here, it is inevitable that some of them will do evil in Xichuan. Li Hongxin looked solemn: "The Black Cave incident was to provoke chaos in Xichuan. The assassins assassinated officials to make people panic. And if he wants to attack me, to put it bluntly, he also wants to make Xichuan... Chaos.”
Wei Shutong nodded slightly but said nothing.
"I am sitting here, and no one dares to do anything wrong. However, if I am killed by someone, the Marquis may not know it, but Mr. Wei should understand that among the arrogant and powerful generals under my command in the past, some of them will inevitably rise up and cause trouble. Li Hongxin said calmly: "Those are reckless men who act on their own initiative and will not consider the consequences. That's why I said that my assassination and the Black Cave incident were probably planned by a group of people."
Wei Shutong opened his mouth slightly, thought for a moment, and then said: "What the prince said is absolutely true. It seems that the Ksitigarbha party must be eradicated as soon as possible."
Li Hongxin sneered and said: "My king's temperament has always been to take revenge. If Ksitigarbha was the one who assassinated me, I would certainly not allow this group of people to survive. But the most difficult thing now is who are these people?" , I only know that such a group of people exist, but I don’t know where they are. So I said that this time the assassins killed officials indiscriminately, and even sneaked into the palace to assassinate, but I have no clue to find them. Easier said than done.”
"Your Majesty, could this Ksitigarbha have something to do with the Black Lotus Sect?" Wei Shutong thought for a moment and then said: "The Black Lotus Sect in Qianwu Peak has always been sneaky, are these people causing trouble behind the scenes? "
Li Hongxin shook his head and said: "I don't know either. But it is not impossible. The Black Lotus Sect has not committed any heinous crimes before, so the government has never intervened. They dare not appear as the Black Lotus Sect and fight. It is also possible for Ksitigarbha’s slogans to deceive people.”
"Yes, Your Majesty, Lord Wei, all the gangs in the world have gathered in Xichuan, and they seem to be planning to attack the Black Lotus Sect. Of course you two already know about it." Qining suddenly said.
Wei Shutong nodded and said: "The Shenhou Mansion has issued an iron-blooded message, and the members of the Eighth Gang and the Sixteenth Society are indeed gathering towards Xichuan. The Eighth Gang and the Sixteenth Society are all over the south and north, and the distances vary, so they are currently gathering in Brazil. In the past, the lower official has also ordered the local government to keep strict surveillance. These people are reckless and don't want to cause trouble in Xichuan. But this time, the Lord of the West Gate of the Shenhou Mansion ordered the summons to deal with the matter through Jianghu means. , it’s not easy for the government to get involved.”
Li Hongxin smiled and said: "My intention is that if the Lord Ximen really comes to Xichuan in person, please tell the two of you to the Lord Ximen. Taking this opportunity, the Lord God's Mansion can investigate some Ksitigarbha in Xichuan. Check to see if it has anything to do with the Black Lotus Sect. If not, you should also find out where Ksitigarbha and his gang came from." He picked up the wine glass and said, "I don't want to ask about these things. I'm just worried about this. If it has anything to do with Ksitigarbha, it will put Xichuan into turmoil, so I only said a few words here today."
Qi Ning nodded and said: "Your Majesty is worried about Xichuan, which is touching. Your Majesty, please rest assured. If the god comes to Xichuan, I will definitely explain this matter to him."
Li Hongxin waved his hand and said: "That's all, I've been verbose for a long time. At this age, I just like to chatter. Lord Marquis, I'll just deal with this simple meal. I have ordered people to prepare it in Jianjia Hall and invited the gentry from Chengdu to accompany me. By the way. Mr. Wei, the officials in Chengdu need you to order us to come here."
"Your Majesty is too polite. It doesn't have to be like this." Qining said with a smile: "Your Majesty sent me to Bashu Xichuan mainly to find out the Black Cave Incident. Now I have roughly figured out the situation. It's just that Your Majesty is in Chengdu, so I specially came to Come and visit.”
Li Hongxin stretched out his hand and grabbed Qining's arm affectionately, and said: "It's hard for you to come to Xichuan, but you have to stay here for a while. You can bring back the cook I promised you later. In addition, I have some specialties from Xichuan. Prepare and bring some back to give the Hou family members a taste." He came closer and smiled softly: "Young people are not romantic in vain, Lord Marquis, there are many beauties in this land of Bashu, tonight... I will arrange some for you. What do you think of a famous beauty sleeping with you?"
Qi Ning hurriedly said: "Master Hou, this is not possible." He said in a low voice: "Master Hou also saw it, and there was a girl from the Miao family who came with me. This...!"
Li Hongxin laughed and said: "I understand, I understand, the Miao girl also has a certain taste. Then I will not disturb others' beauty, hahaha...!"
After coming out of the restaurant, Li Hongxin said goodbye first. As the governor of Xichuan, Wei Shutong naturally had to arrange for Jinyihou's food and accommodation.
Chengdu has its own official post, which is under the jurisdiction of the government, so everything is naturally arranged by Wei Shutong.
Wei Shutong had already sent people to Guanyi to make preparations. Guanyi was the place where officials from Beijing and other places stopped when they came to Chengdu. According to the size of the official position, the treatment was naturally different.
Qining is one of the four great marquises in the empire, so his salary is naturally the highest.
Wei Shutong personally sent Qi Ning and his party to the official post. By this time, the sky had already darkened. As soon as they got off the horse in front of the official post, they heard someone not far away shouting: "Master Hou, Master Hou!" Several people shouted. The figure was about to come over. Officers and soldiers had drawn their swords to stop him, but Qining heard the voice and said happily: "Let them come over."
Four figures came over quickly, and when they got in front of them, they all knelt on the ground. The person in front of them had already choked up and said: "Master Marquis, you... you are here." This person was Qi Ning who was separated from Qi Ning halfway along the way. peak.
Behind Qi Feng were the other three guards of the Hou Mansion who were on this trip, but all four of them were wearing casual clothes, obviously to conceal their identities.
Wei Shutong frowned and said, "Your Majesty, is this...?"
"Master Wei, this is the escort I brought from the capital. We separated halfway." Qi Ning smiled and said, "Fortunately, everything is safe, and I'm relieved." He added, "It's getting late, Master Wei has been traveling hard. Let’s go back and rest first, and we’ll talk in detail later.”
Wei Shutong said: "That's all right. Lord Marquis should rest early. The official post is fully equipped and there are people waiting for him."
Because Jin Yihou was staying at Guanyi, Wei Shutong had previously deployed officers and soldiers to guard the surrounding areas of Guanyi. Qi Ning did not talk outside. Guanyi had its own officials to lead Qi Ning and others in. Eve was a female dependent and had her own In the courtyard, several Miao Han people who came as escorts also had residences. Although they had not prepared a residence for Qi Feng and others before, and they arrived suddenly, there were many houses in the official post, so they were quickly settled.
The courtyard where Qin Ning lives is quiet and elegant, luxurious but not extravagant. It is obvious that some thought has been put into it in this short period of time. There are several maids waiting in the courtyard at any time.
Qi Ning told several Miao Han people to rest first, and let Eve, Qi Feng and others go to his room. Eve didn't have much impression of the appearance of Qi Feng and others, but she also knew that they were Qi Ning's companions who lost their way on that rainy night. However, Qi Feng was deeply impressed by Eve. After all, Eve's figure was very sexy, and she was also very conspicuous that rainy night.
"Zhou Shun, how's your injury? Can you recover?" After several people entered the room, Qining immediately looked at a guard and asked.
That night, during a fierce fight with Yao Zhi, Zhou Shun was injured and was taken away by Qi Feng and others. At this time, it seemed that he was not seriously injured, but Qi Ning was slightly relieved. These people were all guards of the Hou Mansion, no better than ordinary people. Qin Ning knew that these people could sacrifice their lives for him, so he was particularly concerned about them.
Zhou Shun immediately showed gratitude, cupped his hands and said, "Thank you, Mr. Hou, for thinking about me. It's nothing serious."
Qifeng said: "Master Hou, Zhou Shun has taken medicine and has been recovering from his injuries these days. This guy's body is not weak and he has recovered well, but he cannot use force for the time being."
"Sit down and talk." Qi Ning motioned for everyone to sit down, and he sat next to Eve. Eve was a little embarrassed, but did not avoid him. He saw Qin Ning talking to his subordinates and did not shy away from him. He knew it was Treating yourself as one of your own, you feel a little happy in your heart.
"How long have you been in Chengdu?" Qining asked after a few people sat down.
Qi Feng said hurriedly: "We have been in the capital for six days. After we were separated from the Marquis that night, we first looked for a place to see Zhou Shun's injuries. We were delayed for two days. Later, we thought that we would be able to escape later. After we escaped, We should be heading to Chengdu Prefecture, so we went all the way to Chengdu Prefecture and waited here." Wei lowered his voice and said, "We entered the city in disguise. We didn't dare to reveal our identities for fear of bringing trouble to the Marquis. We just walked in front of the city gate and the official post every day. Wait here and find out about Mr. Hou."
Qi Ning smiled and said, "You are quite smart."
"I saw the King of Shu leaving the city in person today. I knew he was going to greet the Marquis, so I waited for him at the official post." Qi Feng also smiled and said: "The Marquis is safe and sound, so we can rest assured." After looking at Yi Fu glanced at her and asked: "Master Hou, have you always been with this girl?"
Qining smiled and said: "The things I have experienced these days are more tortuous than yours. Yes, this is Miss Eve."
The few people had very good eyesight, and they saw that Qining seemed to have a close relationship with Eve. They all thought that the Marquis was the Marquis. His methods were extraordinary. In just a short time, they might have captured this beautiful and sexy Miao girl. At that moment, everyone stood up and saluted Eve, and Eve also stood up and returned the salute.
"Qi Feng, I have something to ask you." Qi Ning leaned forward slightly, "Have you ever heard of the Throatman in the past few days in the city?"