Although Qiu Yizhi's mind was clear, he still couldn't accept such a drastic change in the situation. He gritted his teeth and said, "Even if Wen Honghui persuaded my brother to rebel, he might not listen to him. Even if he really rebelled, there are still the emperor and the prime minister in Jinling City, and he can't make much waves. I don't have any soldiers now, so even if I go out, it won't be of much use. Instead, it will bring disaster to myself. It's better to stay here first."
Wen Lingjiao didn't know that Qiu Yizi had discussed this in detail with Zhongli Kuang, so of course she didn't know why he suddenly became so slow and awkward at such a critical moment. She was so anxious that she gnashed her teeth.
At this moment, a burst of rapid footsteps was heard outside the prison door. The footsteps sounded dense and heavy, as if a group of fully armed soldiers were approaching rapidly.
After a moment's hesitation, Qiu Yizhi saw a group of soldiers, all wearing heavy armor and holding spears, walking quickly to the door of the cell. The leader stepped forward and said loudly: "By order, Qiu Yizhi will be executed on the spot!"
Qiu Yizhi felt dizzy after hearing these words: What? Are you going to kill me? Or is it the emperor's will
But he had experienced life and death several times, so he quickly calmed down and asked, "Where is the imperial edict? Where is it? Let me see it!"
The person who was speaking was questioned by Qiu Yizi, and his momentum was gone in an instant. Instead, he became a little nervous and hurriedly replied: "No... no imperial edict, this... this is the emperor's oral order..."
"Impossible!" Qiu Yizi interrupted him immediately, "I am the emperor's adopted son, and I also hold the title of earl. If they want to kill me, they must be very cautious. How could such a wise and holy ruler as the emperor kill me so easily?"
After saying these words, Qiu Yizi became calmer. He suddenly thought that with his status, even if the emperor really wanted to kill him, the person he would send to convey the order would definitely be the prince, the prime minister, or other important officials above the second rank. It would not be the turn of this little officer in front of him whom he had never seen before.
Hearing the officer's strong northwestern accent, Qiu Yizi was certain that he was a soldier newly recruited by Zheng Xin from the northwest, and the order to kill him must have been issued by Zheng Xin.
Qiu Yizi's face was filled with indignation, his eyes widened, and he shouted, "Did the eldest prince Zheng Xin send you here? You are forging an imperial edict! You will be tortured to death, your bones will be crushed to ashes, and you will never be able to recover! Apologize immediately!"
The officer, who was as tall as a stone statue, took two steps back in fear of Qiu Yizhi's sudden outburst of anger. He suddenly remembered the heavy responsibility he had shouldered, gritted his teeth, and ordered in Northwestern dialect: "Brothers, kill him for me!"
The soldiers brought by this officer were indeed newly recruited by Zheng Xin from the northwest. Not knowing Qiu Yizi's identity, they naturally had no fear. Upon hearing the order, they immediately raised their spears and stabbed towards Qiu Yizi.
At this moment, Yuchi Jiming let out a long whistle, and with a movement so fast that it was almost invisible, he flashed in front of Qiu Yizhi, grabbed a spear with each hand, and used some unknown technique to snatch the spears from the soldiers' hands, but immediately threw them to the ground, then drew out the dagger from his waist, and slashed the throats of the two soldiers, taking their lives in the blink of an eye.
This group of soldiers from the northwest had never seen such strange martial arts before. They were stunned for a moment, not daring to move forward nor retreating, and seemed a little at a loss.
The leading officer had fought with Lingnan King Zheng Gui before, and had seen a bit of the world. He immediately reacted and said, "Don't be afraid, brothers. Throw the spears out!"
The prison cell is just a small place. There is no place to dodge when dozens of spears are thrown at it. You will be stabbed like a hedgehog.
At this moment, a roar suddenly came from behind the Northwest Army: "Where did these bandits come from? How dare you break into the prison?"
Although the roar was not loud, it had great penetrating power, causing the eardrums of everyone present to swell.
Yuchi Jiming listened, but showed a happy expression and said, "It's okay, Dad is here."
After hearing what Yuchi Jiming said, Qiu Yizhi immediately shouted, "Brother Yuchi, it's me, Qiu Yizhi. These are all traitors. Kill them all!"
When Yuchi Lianghong heard that it was Qiu Yizi's request, he did not hesitate at all and showed no mercy, displaying his ultimate martial arts and killing the soldiers from the northwest. Yuchi Jiming was also ruthless, holding the dagger given to him by Wen Lingjiao, and also rushed into the battle.
Yuchi Lianghong and Yuchi Jiming, the father and daughter, were the top masters in the martial arts world. How could this group of Northwest soldiers, who had experienced life-and-death battles, withstand the front-and-back attack of the father and daughter? In just a cup of tea, these soldiers were dead or injured, and their combat effectiveness was eliminated.
Seeing this, Qiu Yizhi breathed a sigh of relief and asked Yuchi Lianghong, "Thanks to brother for arriving in time, otherwise I would have died today. But I don't know why brother is here?"
Yuchi Lianghong took a breath and said, "I just happened to pass by outside. I am also working for the Ministry of Justice. I heard that someone broke into the prison, so I came in to take a look. I didn't expect to encounter such a situation, so I had to take action."
Qiu Yi thought that this group of people from the northwest may have entered the cell by forging an imperial edict or following Zheng Xin's orders, and they might not have broken in by force - so the "someone" mentioned by Yuchi Lianghong might actually be Wen Lingjiao and Yuchi Jiming.
However, the reasons behind this are just trivial matters today and there is no need to delve into them.
So Qiu Yizhi said, "Brother, you are here just in time. Now is the time when I can use you. There is a rebellion outside. If you can help me put down the rebellion, you will have the credit of protecting me!"
Yuchi Lianghong was, after all, the leader of the martial arts world. He was a far cry from those greedy and foolish outlaws. When he heard Qiu Yizi's words, he was not thinking about the so-called opportunity to "build a career", but asked, "Brother, you are not exaggerating, are you? The emperor is in Nanjing and has just put down the rebellion in the Lingnan Palace. Who dares to rebel at this time?"
"The eldest prince—Zheng Xin." Qiu Yizi answered very concisely.
"What? Your Highness? How is this possible?" Yuchi Lianghong obviously didn't believe Qiu Yizi's words.
It was not surprising that someone as smart and capable as Yuchi Lianghong did not believe Qiu Yizi's words. After all, the eldest son of the emperor, Zheng Xin, always showed people the image of a gentle, respectful, frugal and filial son. If someone said that there was a rebellion, no one would guess that the mastermind was him.
Qiu Yizhi thought that the situation was critical and there was no time to waste, so he said, "Brother, why don't you try to find out who these people you defeated are working for and ask them who they are working for, then you will know."
Upon hearing this, Yuchi Lianghong immediately bent down and lifted up a soldier with broken legs with his right hand, then randomly pressed three or five acupuncture points on his body with his left hand, and asked viciously: "Does it hurt? Tell me who sent you here, and I will untie your acupuncture points! If you say so, and if you lie to me, I have a hundred ways to make you wish you were dead or alive!"
Yuchi Lianghong pressed several major acupoints that directly connected to the heart and nerves. The soldier suddenly felt as if there were thousands or tens of thousands of ants gnawing at his bone marrow. He gritted his teeth in pain and replied, "Yes... Your Highness sent us here." His voice was filled with an incomparably clear northwestern accent.
After hearing this, Yuchi Lianghong trembled all over, threw the soldier aside, and asked in confusion: "Brother, what you said is actually true. But...but the one who is causing the chaos is the Grand Prince. He has such great power, what can we do?"
This question really hits the nail on the head.
Qiu Yizi began to calculate rapidly in his mind: "Zheng Xin is already the eldest son of the emperor, truly 'second to none, above ten thousand people'. He listened to Wen Honghui's words and rashly rebelled. Isn't he seeking the position of emperor? He must have felt that his father, Zheng Rong, was increasingly inclined to pass the throne to his third son, Zheng Miao. Unless he took a risk, he would never have the chance to become the emperor. And if he wanted to make the current emperor, who was extremely strong-willed, change his mind, he would have to send troops to force the emperor to issue an edict to pass the throne to himself. The current emperor is wise and powerful. Although he has a problem with his dragon body, he is far superior to Zheng Xin in terms of talent, insight, prestige, and control over the army. Zheng Xin's rash coup is not likely to succeed."
Thinking of this, Qiu Yizhi felt relieved and said, "The emperor may have heard the news and has begun to quell the rebellion. It is not appropriate for us to see him right away. We should go see Prime Minister Zhongli first."
Zhongli Kuang is the only person in the court who can control the overall situation besides the emperor. When encountering such a big event, it is indeed a good choice to meet him.
So Yuchi Lianghong said, "That's great. We'll follow Prime Minister Zhongli's arrangements, and there will be no mistakes."
At this point, Yuchi Lianghong realized that Wen Lingjiao was also standing behind Qiu Yi, and was a little surprised: "Hey, why is Miss Wen here too? After your sect was wiped out, didn't the leader and the saint disappear without a trace? I have so many spies in the martial arts world, but I can't find them!"
Qiu Yizi knew that Yuchi Lianghong had always had some prejudice against Tianzun Sect, so he hurriedly explained: "Miss Wen has left Tianzun Sect. Now Tianzun Sect leader Wen Honghui is beside Zheng Xin, instigating rebellion. If Miss Wen hadn't come to report the news, I would have died."
Yuchi Lianghong was shocked when he heard this, and hurriedly said: "Wen Honghui is a big shot. With him stirring up trouble, it's no wonder that Your Highness has to risk the wrath of the world. There is no time to lose, let's act quickly." After that, he called everyone and walked out of the prison.
It was still dawn, the sky was just getting light, and the city of Jinling was relatively calm, except for a faint smell of tension and blood in the air.
The four of them walked quickly all the way, and after a quarter of an hour, they arrived at Zhongli Kuang's temporary residence.
Qiu Yizi looked up at the entrance of the mansion and screamed, "No, I'm afraid something has gone wrong."
Yuchi Lianghong felt nervous after hearing this and asked, "What do you mean, brother?"
Qiu Yizhi said: "My Master Zhongli is very meticulous in his work. Not to mention such a big thing, even on ordinary days, there are always people guarding the gate of the Prime Minister's Mansion and delivering messages. Why is there not a single soldier outside the gate today? I'm afraid something has happened..."