"Report."
The carriage stopped only two streets away from Suzhou Mansion, and the tiger guards watched the movement around them vigilantly. A spy from the Overwatch Council in civilian clothes approached, checked his waist card, and leaned over to the window of the carriage and whispered. Said.
Fan Xian in the car was holding a book and looking at it carefully, and nodded: "Let's talk."
"Mingyuan did not resist. People from all over have already entered, and they are currently searching, but there is no result for the time being."
Fan Xian pondered for a moment, then said, "Pay attention to propriety, and don't be too arrogant."
The secret agent responded, turned and left the carriage, and disappeared among the morning crowd in Suzhou City.
The carriage started to move slowly again, and entered the direction of Suzhou Mansion half a street away, another spy from the Overwatch Council flashed out from the corner of the street, came to the side of the carriage, and reported in a low voice: "There is no movement at the pier. "
Fan Xian remained silent, and waved the man away.
From Huayuan to Suzhou Mansion, you have to pass through half of Suzhou City. On this road, the carriages are walking silently, which does not attract too many people's attention. Most of the citizens of Suzhou City do not know that this morning , The officials of the Overwatch Council have already broken into the Ming Garden like wolves and tigers.
And within this distance, the crows temporarily mobilized by the Overwatch Council began to report information from various sources, and all information related to the Ming family's response was gathered in this moving carriage.
For example, the situation of Mingyuan, the opening of Ming's business as usual, and the response of the Governor's Mansion, all were passed to the carriage as quickly as possible, and Fan Xian had the overall consideration.
In other words, this carriage is the backbone of the Overwatch Council's actions today.
Fan Xian also felt something strange. Even if the Ming family showed weakness, they couldn't be bullied by him. They haven't taken any countermeasures yet. On the contrary, the governor's yamen has become tense, and there are already reports of troops being dispatched.
In today's plan, seeing the Ming family's reaction is one thing, and catching that housekeeper surnamed Zhou is the most important thing. Over the past few days, Ming Yuan has been under the close surveillance of the Overwatch Council, and that Steward Zhou should have no chance of escaping.
Of course, the most important thing is that the Ming family should not know until now that the news that Steward Zhou is hiding in the Ming Garden has already been grasped by the Overwatch Council.
Thinking of this episode, Fan Xian couldn't help but a self-deprecating smile appeared on the corner of his lips. If the big families in this world come in from the outside, they will always be centipedes, and they can't die immediately, but if they make trouble from the inside, then they will die. You will face real difficulties - this sentence is what Cao Xueqin said in Dream of the Red Chamber. And the reason why he sighed like this at this time was that Steward Zhou's hiding place was a member of the Ming family, a very powerful person in the Ming family, and told Fan Xian through a certain channel.
Otherwise, given the strict precautions of Mingyuan, and the Overwatch Council hadn't successfully placed a nail in the upper echelon for more than ten years, how could it be possible to calculate that Steward Zhou was in Mingyuan
As long as Steward Zhou is in the Ming Garden, today's matter will be settled.
…
…
The carriage gradually approached the Suzhou Mansion, and another spy from the Overwatch Council came to report a certain news, and then there was nothing unusual, the carriage got into an inconspicuous alley, leaned against a thick wall, and stopped. There, I don't know what I'm doing.
Ten feet away from the side of the Suzhou government office is the big prison where the prisoners are held. The big prison kills people in the autumn and raises them in the spring, so now is the time when the "population is booming", and there are forty or fifty people in a prison.
Going in from the iron gate of the big prison, until you reach the end of the straight road, there is a place where the skylight shines from above, which brings more warmth and dispels a little dampness. Compared with other dark and sunless cells, it is better Much more comfortable.
The cell was covered with hay, and under the grass there were some prohibited quilts. A middle-aged man was drinking wine alone with a pale face, enjoying the treatment that ordinary prisoners could not enjoy.
This is Ming Fourth Master. Because the Overwatch Council wanted to deal with the Ming family, he became the first person to be taken out to sacrifice the flag. He was forcibly imprisoned in Suzhou Mansion. It has been more than ten days and he has not been released yet. the wind. But after all, the Ming family has great power, and Suzhou Mansion seems to be raised by them. He lives in a prison, and naturally someone takes care of him from top to bottom, so he lives a comfortable life. There were some gangsters in the next cell, and they all looked at him enviously.
Fourth Master Ming was lazy to pay attention to those thieves, but squinted at the three yamen servants outside the prison door, with a sneer on his lips, and said, "What's the matter today?"
The cell door slammed open and was opened by the yamen servants. One of the yamen servants bowed and said with a flattering smile, "Fourth Master, I have suffered a lot these days, but the Overwatch Council is watching closely, so we can't arrange a single room for you. "
Fourth Master Ming shook his head, sighed and said, "It's a serious matter to go out earlier, did you say anything at home?"
At this time, the other two yamen servants had already brought in good food and wine, and arranged them in front of him, with a strong aroma.
Fourth Master Ming was a little surprised, thinking that it's not time for lunch yet, why did he come so early today to deliver the meal? Suddenly, he thought of something, his expression changed dramatically, and he hissed, "What do you mean?"
"After this meal, let's go on the road." The yamen servant sighed.
Fourth Master Ming's face was pale, he couldn't believe his ears, he thought that at most he was bullying the market, he would not be punished for capital punishment, and he was a member of the Ming family, how could the government dare to kill him so casually. He stepped back subconsciously, looked at the yamen servant with resentment in his eyes, and said fiercely: "What do you mean, I don't understand."
The yamen servant lowered his head slightly and said, "Fourth Lord is not to blame for the meaning of the Overwatch Council."
Fourth Master Ming is not a fool, after thinking about it for a while, he understood the ins and outs of this matter, and after a long silence, he said with a sad smile: "What Overwatch Council! I'm afraid the family is going to kill me."
The yamen servant straightened up and said in a low voice, "Since fourth master understands, then don't worry too much about it. It's not for the good of the family... The Overwatch Council is pressing the family hard now. I heard that they have already entered the garden this morning. If you don't do something and make some disturbances, how can the Overwatch Council stop? You are the fourth master, and it is always worthwhile to use your life to keep the family safe for half a year."
Fourth Master Ming cursed angrily: "You bastards! Why don't you let the old lady die if you want to die! I'll fuck her ancestor!"
It has come to the moment of life and death, of course he knows why the Ming family sent someone to kill him, it is definitely not to silence, he does not know the core business of the family at all, this is just a stroke of ink, a stroke of ink painted on the face of the Overwatch Council Well, the battle of showing weakness and sadness planned by the Ming family since the end of last year needs to use the death of the dignified Fourth Master Ming as an opportunity for that outbreak.
Thinking of this episode, how desperate and angry he felt.
The yamen servant's complexion changed, and he said: "The old matriarch is the protector of the Wan family, the fourth master should be more respectful."
Fourth Master Ming smiled miserably, and retreated to the corner, cursing in his mouth: "I am also the master of the Ming family, why should I die? Just because I am not her own?"
At this time, the two yamen servants had already walked up to Fourth Master Ming, completely ignoring Fourth Master Ming's scolding and resistance, and took out a ball of dirty rags and stuffed it into his mouth, blocking his swearing, and at the same time His hands were tied behind his back.
At this time, the commotion in the inner room had disturbed the entire prison, and many prisoners looked at this side curiously and fearfully.
The leading yamen servant frowned, and shouted: "The Overwatch Council is doing business, please be quiet!"
Even if they were locked in prison, these prisoners knew that the Overwatch Council was suppressing the Ming family, but everyone did not expect that the Overwatch Council would go deep into the prison to assassinate Fourth Master Ming. , but no one dared to take another look over there, for fear of getting into trouble.
…
…
The yamen servant looked at the food plate in front of him, shook his head, and said regretfully, "I couldn't eat well for the last meal. It's really hard for you."
After saying this, he waved his hand, and the two yamen servants who were holding Fourth Master Ming put a rope around Fourth Master Ming's neck.
Fourth Master Ming's neck was tied, his face was flushed from suffocation, his feet kept kicking the ground, the hay was flying around, and the brocade underneath was dirty.
The ropes are getting tighter and tighter, Fourth Master Ming's eyeballs seem to be bulging out, his nostrils are dilated, and he looks extremely terrifying, and the pedaling force of his feet is getting smaller and smaller, like a dying frog , flicking feebly.
Fourth Master Ming, who was dying, could imagine the despair in his heart, and the resentment towards the old lady of the Ming family and Ming Qingda, but he was about to die, so what
The yamen servant who looked coldly at the dying Fourth Master Ming suddenly felt a little strange. He glanced at the prisoner next to him from the corner of his eyes, and the prisoner was looking at him.
Looking at himself indifferently, it doesn't seem like watching the excitement in cold blood, and there is no feeling of fear.
He turned around in astonishment, and then saw the prisoner take out something from the haystack and aimed it at himself.
A crossbow!
…
…
Shiny! Three crossbow sounds, and three crossbow arrows shot out, piercing the throats of the three yamen servants with incomparable accuracy. The three of them clutched their throats, and before they could make a sound, they fell to the ground, kicked their feet twice, and that's it. kill.
As soon as the yamen servant died, the rope became loose, and the already dying Fourth Master Ming kicked his feet feebly, gradually recovering his strength.
He slowly opened his eyes, and looked at the prisoner next door with confused and cloudy eyes. He didn't know why the other party wanted to save him, let alone see clearly how the other party saved him.
At this time, the prisoner seemed to have done nothing, squatting beside the fence with his eyes straight ahead.
Fourth Master Ming's whole body was sore and limp, his trousers were drowned, and the smell was unbearable, but he knew that he had narrowly escaped death.
At this time, behind him, the thick wall seemed to be forcefully opened by ghosts and gods, and a hole was quietly opened, revealing the blue sky outside!
…
…
Gao Da took back the long knife, his face turned pale, and he forced his way through the thick walls of the prison in Suzhou Mansion, which also took away a lot of his true energy. He entered the prison cell, carried Fourth Master Ming in one hand, and left the prison.
Another official from the Overwatch Council entered, pulled out the arrows from the throats of the three yamen servants, carefully arranged the situation in the cell, and then walked to the fence and stretched out his hand.
The prisoner who had saved Fourth Master Ming's life before said nothing, handed the dark crossbow in his hand to the Overwatch Council official, and pointed to the food box next to him.
The Overwatch Council official picked a chicken leg and put it in his hand.
The prisoner smiled, somewhat satisfied.
The Overwatch Council official said in a low voice, "Wait two more months, Sir still needs you as a witness."
The prisoner nodded while nibbling on a chicken leg.
Not long after the Overwatch Council official withdrew, the prisoner flicked the gnawed chicken leg into a cell on the opposite side with one finger, suddenly his face changed, he was extremely distressed, and he hissed, "Help, help!" Help! Someone murdered and robbed the prison!"
※※※
The carriage left the alley behind the Suzhou Mansion and slowly drove towards the Yamen of the Governor's Mansion, but there was already one more person on the carriage at this time.
Fourth Master Ming sat slumped under the carriage chair in great distress, looking up at the young and handsome man, speechless for a long while.
Fan Xian shook his head and sighed, "The rich and powerful are indeed so filthy and filthy."
He immediately smiled and said: "Now you can see clearly now, and I don't need to talk too much. In the future, the Ming family, you have to take good care of it and cooperate well with Ming Laoqi."
Fourth Master Ming swallowed a mouthful of saliva. The scene of escaping from the dead had too much psychological impact on him, and he couldn't allow him to think about it at all. He nodded fiercely.
Fan Xian said softly: "The old matriarch wants to kill you, plant it on my Overwatch Council, publicize it to the people, create a shameless and cold-blooded image of me, Fan Xian, and stir up the emotions of the people to protect her Ming family... But now I have saved you Come on, instead plant the blame on the Ming family, explaining that the family robbed the prison... Tell me, how will she respond?"
Fourth Master Ming's eyes were blank, he shook his head, endured the pain in his throat, and said in a hissed voice: "My lord... don't underestimate me... that old bitch."