Qi Feng said: "Master Marquis, both generations of Marquis have upright temperaments. For the sake of official business, they don't care about the faces of many people. It is inevitable that they will offend some people. Our Jinyi Marquis Mansion has many enemies as well as many friends." He asked in a low voice. : "Master Hou, what on earth did Liang Xiong say?"
"Wu Dalin was not in the camp last night." Qi Ning naturally did not hide it from Qi Feng and said softly: "Liang Xiong was looking for Wu Dalin in the camp last night."
Qi Feng was shocked and frowned: "Wu Dalin is not in the camp? Then where did he go?"
"I also want to know." Qi Ning smiled and said: "Qi Feng, do you think Wu Dalin has an old grudge with us and will he wait for an opportunity to retaliate?"
Qi Feng looked cold and said: "Master Hou, do you suspect that Wu Dalin has a problem?"
"There is no evidence, and I won't doubt anyone." Qi Ning said, "But we must always be careful. We have no contact with Wu Dalin, and we can't figure out this person's thoughts."
After leaving Beijing, Wu Dalin spoke less than ten words to Qi Ning. This man was taciturn and it was indeed difficult for people to guess.
"Master Marquis, Wu Dalin has an old feud with our Qi family, and since he can enter the Yulin camp, it is natural that the Duke of Zhenguo transfers him there." Qi Feng said softly: "The Sima family has always wanted their young lady to enter the palace as their queen. , this time we are going to Dong Qi to ask for marriage, and the Sima family is naturally unwilling to accept it. If they say that they may ruin the marriage proposal, I believe it."
"Sabotaging the marriage is nothing more than destroying the gifts you brought." Qi Ning whispered: "Wu Dalin is the leader of this trip and the escort of the convoy. He has a heavy responsibility. If the gifts are destroyed, he will not be able to escape the responsibility. Do you think he dares to do so?" Stealing and stealing?"
Qi Feng whispered: "Master Hou, if Wu Dalin was really instructed by the Sima family to obstruct him or even destroy the gifts, then even if he is held responsible afterwards, the Sima family will definitely protect Wu Dalin. Now the Sima family is in the middle of the court. With overwhelming power, it is not too difficult to keep Wu Dalin."
Qi Ning sighed: "It seems that I really have to be careful. If the gift is destroyed and the marriage proposal fails, Wu Dalin has someone to protect him, but I have no one to protect him."
Qi Feng said: "Master Hou, from today on, we will keep a close eye on Wu Dalin and never let him have the opportunity to destroy the gifts."
Qi Ning raised his hand and placed it on Qi Feng's head, nodded slightly and said, "Wu Dalin will be left to you, be sure to keep a close eye on me."
In the next two days, Qi Feng and Li Tang really kept a close eye on Wu Dalin. They acted quietly and could not tell anything on the surface, but Wu Dalin's every move was under the surveillance of these people.
After walking for two days, the team turned back to the northeast, getting closer and closer to the Huaihe River. Fortunately, there was no delay along the way. Although Wu Dalin made people suspicious, nothing happened, and everything went smoothly. .
There was still one day to go from the Huaihe River, and the team was hurrying a little faster. It had been sunny and sunny for several days, but at dusk that day, it suddenly started to rain. In terms of summer rain, it Just came, and within a few moments, it was already pouring with rain and bursts of thunder.
When approaching the Huai River, there were only a lot of deserted villages. During the Qin-Huai War, the Northern Han army once crossed the Huai River, and the Chu army finally defeated the Han army across the river. Both sides of the Huai River were fought fiercely. The battlefield was in depression and decline. Although the war had ended and the imperial court ordered the refugees to return home, countless people died tragically in the war. Many even entire villages were massacred. Although some of the refugees who fled south did return home. , but most of them are still living outside.
The scouts sent out found a ruined village ahead. In the heavy rain, the team sped up and rested only when they arrived at the village.
There are twenty or thirty households in the village, but now there is no one to be seen, and half of the dilapidated houses have even collapsed. Although the two to three hundred people seem crowded, they have a shelter from the rain after all.
The two most complete houses naturally belonged to Qi Ning and Hu Bowen. The other soldiers were scattered in other houses. Wu Dalin ordered the goods on the car to be moved to a house, and arranged for soldiers to guard them. Patrol posts were arranged and everything was ready, and the village became quiet.
Qining's room was lit with lights, but it was quite dim. He was quite energetic at this time, thinking that he had not practiced kung fu for a few days, so he closed the door and practiced the set of kung fu taught to Bai Ying in the house.
He has memorized this set of kung fu very well, but the luck method of each move is completely different. Although these kung fu are exquisite, Qi Ning has never been in actual combat, so he is not sure about their power.
I don't know how long it took, but suddenly I heard a rapid knock on the door. Qining stepped forward and opened the door. It was still raining heavily outside. I saw Liang Xiong was soaked all over, his face was slightly pale, and two people were following behind him. When the soldier saw Qi Ning, he immediately said: "Master Marquis, something... something happened!"
Looking at his face, Qi Ning knew something was wrong. His heart sank slightly and he asked, "What's wrong?"
"Master Marquis, please move." Liang Xiong said: "Some... a brother has been killed!"
Qi Ning was startled and frowned. At this time, he didn't care about the rain outside. When he went out, Liang Xiong led the way. After walking for a while in the rain, when he arrived at the entrance of the village, he saw that there were already twenty or thirty people gathered in front of him. Together, Liang Xiong said in a deep voice: "Everyone, get out of the way, Lord Marquis is here!"
The soldiers hurriedly got out of the way. Qi Ning stepped forward and saw three corpses lying on the ground. Wu Dalin was squatting next to a corpse, seemingly inspecting the corpse. Seeing Qi Ning coming over, Wu Dalin stood up and saluted, cupped his hands and said : "Master Hou!"
Qi Ning walked to a corpse and squatted down. Wu Dalin was already pointing at the throat of the corpse and said: "Master Marquis, the fatal wound is here."
It was quite dim in the night rain, but Qining could still clearly see a blood hole the size of a thumb at the throat of the corpse. From the blood hole, blood was pouring out.
"What kind of weapon is it?" Qining asked with a frown.
Wu Dalin looked solemn and said: "It was obvious that a sharp weapon penetrated the throat, but the scar was not caused by a sword. The sharp weapon was very thin, only the size of a finger. I couldn't guess what weapon it was for a while."
"When did you find out?"
"Just now." Wu Dalin said: "These three people were assigned to guard here in a humble position. Just now when other people came over for rotation, they saw these three people already lying on the ground. After receiving the news, they rushed over immediately and sent someone Report to the Marquis."
Qi Ning asked: "Three people were guarding here, but they were killed. What was the other party's purpose?"
Wu Dalin said: "It is very likely that he wants to enter the village. He has deployed people around the village. It is not easy to sneak into the village."
Qi Ning looked at Wu Dalin and asked, "Leader Wu, did you say someone sneaked into the village?"
"The humble official has sent someone to count the number of people." Wu Dalin said: "Master Hou, these three brothers are usually extremely vigilant, but they did not even draw their sabers, and there were no signs of fighting at the scene... It seems that the enemy is the enemy. His martial arts is really superb."
At this time, I heard Hu Bowen's voice coming: "Where is it? Can the murderer be caught?" In the voice, I saw that Hu Bowen had come over in the rain, and his official robe was soaked. When he saw the corpse on the ground, Hu Bowen changed his color in shock and became anxious. Asked: "Master Hou, what on earth is going on?"
Qi Ning stood up and said: "Mr. Hu, it's raining heavily outside. You go back to the house first." He said to Wu Dalin: "Leader Wu, send more people and ask everyone to be in high spirits. The villagers are careful Search to see if anyone has sneaked in. By the way, those carts of gifts must be strictly guarded."
"Don't worry, Lord Marquis. There is a layer of people guarding the building where the goods are stored outside, and there is also a circle of people guarding the house. I will let them have weapons in hand, so no one can get close." Wu Dalin said sternly.
Qi Ning nodded and said: "Let these brothers be buried on the spot. After I return to the capital, I will advise the emperor and receive compensation from him."
Back in the house, Hu Bowen was in shock, "Master Hou, it seems that Liang Xiong is right. We are indeed being targeted, and they have already started to take action."
"Master Hu, if their goal is to prevent us from asking for marriage, why did they kill several soldiers?" Qi Ning sat on the chair, thoughtfully: "Even if they killed the guarding soldiers and sneaked into the village, But those goods are heavily guarded and difficult to access, and they should know this."
Hu Bowen also nodded slightly and said: "What the Marquis said is absolutely true. Killing a few soldiers will naturally not stop us from going to Dong Qi. Moreover, if they take action at this time, they will only alert the enemy. Aren't they worried that these soldiers will be killed?" If we kill him, will we be more careful?"
Qi Ning narrowed his eyes slightly and said: "None of the three soldiers drew their sabers, and there were indeed no traces of fighting at the scene. It can be seen that they were killed by the opponent in an instant."
"It seems that there are indeed powerful characters among that group of people." Hu Bowen was worried: "The soldiers in the Yulin Camp are all brave and good at fighting, and these people are carefully selected from them. Even if they are not against the opponent, they will not be without resistance. He was killed with such force." After a pause, he said softly: "Master Hou, could it be that several people on the other side attacked at the same time?"
Qi Ning nodded slightly and said: "It is possible." After a pause, he whispered: "Can Mr. Hu think of another possibility?"
"Please give me some advice, Lord Marquis?"
"If an acquaintance killed them, and they were unprepared, leaving no traces of the fight, is it possible?" Qining asked.
Hu Bowen was startled and said in horror: "Killed by an acquaintance? Mr. Hou, do you think it was... could it be?" His pupils shrank slightly.
Qi Ning sighed: "I'm just guessing. I just thought it was possible."
"Master Marquis, if... if this is really the case, then why did you do it?" Hu Bowen frowned and said, "What is the purpose of killing three of them?"
Qi Ning thought for a while and then said: "This is also what I am puzzled about. Killing requires a motive. I still can't figure out the motive for killing these three people, unless there is only one possibility."
Hu Bowen asked anxiously: "What?"
Qi Ning looked solemn and said: "Kill and silence."
"Kill and silence?"
"These three people were patrolling at the entrance of the village. Maybe they saw something they shouldn't have seen." Qi Ning said solemnly: "They saw something they shouldn't have seen, but they were discovered by the other party. The other party was worried that the three people would leak out, so they attacked Killing is to kill people and silence them.”