It was late at night, and the backyard of the Governor's Mansion, where Li Ke lived, was still brightly lit and many people gathered.
All the government officials from the governor's office and the former private soldiers of the prince's office have arrived. Everyone was fully armed and holding their breath, looking grim. In the inner house, there were repeated loud roars and loud noises of tables and chairs being smashed.
"Rebellion, rebellion! It's really contrary to heaven!"
Qin Mubai walked into the courtyard and heard these voices, and couldn't help but be surprised: Li Ke? It's actually Li Ke who's roaring like crazy? … I’ve known him for so long, and I’ve never seen him get so angry! If it was just because of Zheng Anshun's disappearance, Li Ke would never have been so complacent and went into war with his always calm temperament.
Yuwen Hongtai was also a little shocked and muttered: "No way, why is His Highness so angry?"
One of the government officials walked out, Zhou Laojiu, whom Qin Mubai had summoned before at the inn. He bowed first, then asked Qin Mubai to one side, and whispered nervously: "General Qin, you are really in trouble this time." Big deal!”
"What happened? Why did His Highness gather all you government officials and soldiers from the palace?" Qin Mubai asked.
Zhou Laojiu said nervously: "Just now a general from the palace came back and reported that the princess was intercepted on the way!"
"What?!" Qin Mubai's eyes widened in horror: "This...! Such a thing actually happens!"
No wonder!
At that moment, Qin Mubai had no time to listen to Zhou Laojiu's detailed explanation and strode into the inner hall.
The hall was in a mess, with all broken dishes, tables and chairs. Li Ke's face was red and furious, and his whole body was shaking. He clenched his fists tightly and the veins on his forehead popped out. He was sitting on a chair and breathing heavily.
There were two other people in the hall, one was Chang Shi Quan Wanji, who was persuading Li Ke in a low voice. The other one was kneeling on the ground with one knee all wet and his head lowered. It was Xue Rengui!
"Qin Mubai, you're here just in time!" Li Ke saw Qin Mubai coming in. Without waiting for him to speak, he strode forward and almost shouted, "You should immediately count the troops in your army and join forces with the royal soldiers led by Xue Rengui." He and the Yamen will go to the Xihe Water Ghost's lair tonight! I don't believe that he can rebel! If the manpower is not enough, I will write to Li Ji immediately and ask him to send an army to suppress it! It’s really the opposite!”
Qin Mubai allowed Li Ke to roar like thunder without saying a word or changing his expression.
Li Ke yelled a few times, took a few deep breaths, ran to the table and took a sip of tea. He seemed to calm down again and let out a long breath.
Quan Wanji sighed softly and said, "Your Highness, you have never been so impulsive."
Li Ke turned his back to everyone, raised his hand and waved it. He took a long breath again, as if he had exhausted all the depression in his chest, and sighed with emotion: "What a shame and humiliation! My princess and daughter were actually killed. The grass bandits were intercepted!"
"The general is so incompetent that he has insulted the princess and the princess!" Xue Rengui stood up and drew his sword and wiped it from his neck.
With quick eyes and quick hands, Qin Mubai raised a palm and struck Xue Rengui's wrist where he was drawing the sword. With a whoosh, the sword flew out like a ray of light, inserted into the beam in the room, buzzed, and penetrated several inches.
"Rengui, what are you doing!" Qin Mubai shouted, "How can a man commit suicide!"
Li Ke was also shocked. He turned around and strode over. He looked at Xue Rengui's neck in surprise, where there was already a trace of blood cut by the blade. He hurriedly stretched out his sleeve to wipe it, and said reproachfully: "Rengui, Xiao Wang has never blamed you. How can I blame you? The water ghosts have their best intentions. Even if they enter the palace, they will arrest people." Yes. How could you do such a stupid thing? If you were gone, who would help me rescue the princess and my daughter? If they come back tomorrow, wouldn’t I lose my right arm instead of my left arm?
"Your Highness..." Xue Rengui looked ashamed and fell down on one knee again, "The general is too incompetent. I really have no face to face Your Highness. I am unworthy of Your Highness's kindness!"
"Get up quickly." Li Ke bent down to help him up, took his and Qin Mubai's hands and sat down, saying, "I was so excited just now that I haven't even asked why yet. Rengui, now Mubai is also Here he is. He is always resourceful and has great ideas. Now tell us what happened in detail."
"Yes." Xue Rengui frowned and said.
It turned out that Xue Rengui and Yin Yang were ordered by Li Ke to lead a team of royal guards to Anzhou to pick up the long-lost Wu Princess Yang and the one-year-old princess. Because the princess was weak and sick after giving birth and could not bear the bumpy carriage, she chose to take a boat. Originally, the trip back down the river went smoothly, but tonight when the boat was less than twenty miles away from Xiangyang, everyone suddenly heard a strange "boom boom" sound coming from the bottom of the boat.
The experienced boatmen immediately shouted in panic, saying that there were water ghosts digging into the boat!
At this time, the big ship was sailing in the middle of the river, with no shore in front or behind, which made the two fierce generals Xue Rengui and Yin Yang not aware of the nature of water. The boatmen were so terrified of water ghosts that they lost all sense of the situation and many people jumped into the river to escape.
Only Xue Rengui, Yin Yang, the princess and her daughter, and all the soldiers were left on the boat. They were like fish on the chopping block and ready to be slaughtered. They were helpless!
Soon, water began to enter the bottom of the boat, and everyone hurriedly blocked their mouths, to no avail. The ship finally began to sink. Everyone tried their best to remove the planks of the boat for the princess and her daughter to ride on, while everyone else was soaked in the water. Seeing that the hull of the ship was tilting and sinking and was almost submerged, more than a dozen clever small shuttle boats came over with lights on their hands.
The other party seemed to know who fell into the water, but he was not in a hurry to save people. Instead, he said that if he wanted to save people, he could only save the princess and her daughter, and the others could escape on their own in a few small boats.
This clearly shows that the water ghost is here to rob the driver!
Seeing that the thin ship plank was about to capsize at any time, the lives of the princess and her mother could not be saved. Out of helplessness, Xue Rengui and others had to adopt an expedient measure and let them rescue the princess first. Xue Rengui and Yin Yang discussed it and went their separate ways. One of them stayed with the princess as a hostage, which was to take care of them. The other came back to report the news.
In this way, the princess and Yin Yang were kidnapped together, and more than half of the soldiers drowned. Xue Rengui and others drove a small shuttle boat and staggered back with great difficulty. Because they did not know how to sail a boat and did not know the water, they had many problems along the way. Several times, the boat was almost overturned by wind and waves and was buried in the belly of the fish.
After listening, Li Ke and Qin Mubai looked at each other and said almost in unison: "This is obviously premeditated!"
Quan Wanji said doubtfully: "It seems that the enemy is quite aware of our every move. They have already set up an ambush on the river, first sank the ship, and then easily hijacked the princess and her daughter, barely using a sword or a soldier. So. The clever plan shows that the other party is not an ordinary bandit! "
"That goes without saying." Qin Mubai raised his lips slightly and said, "I just met Yuwen Hongtai, and I heard that Zheng Anshun is also missing. What's going on?"
"I asked him to call you." Li Ke waved to him, "You all can come too!"
After that, Li Ke took everyone to a guest room, where two men were lying on the bed. Qin Mubai frowned as soon as he saw it, weren't they the two Baiqi bodyguards he sent to Zheng Anshun?
"I made an agreement with Zheng Anshun a few days ago to take time to meet today to discuss some things. But after a while, he still didn't come, so I became suspicious. I sent someone to his residence to have a look, and they only saw these two people." Li Ke said, "I asked the doctor to check with them. He was drugged with drugs commonly used in Jianghu. His life is not in danger, but he can't even think of waking up tonight. There was also a letter left in the room. ,You see!"
Li Ke handed over a letter, and Qin Mubai took it and opened it to read. When I opened the envelope, I seemed to smell a faint fragrance. It turned out that there was a gardenia flower sandwiched in the letter paper.
There are only numbers in the letter - "After all the agencies have been exhausted, what can you do to me? Willows in the sunlit lane, lonely fireworks."
Everyone looked at it and shook their heads together: "The first eight words are easy to understand. It's just that the other party saw through the plan arranged by us and Zheng Anshun, kidnapped the person and then screamed arrogantly. The last eight words What’s the explanation for ‘willows in the sunlit lane, lonely fireworks’?”
"I can't quite figure it out for the moment..." Qin Mubai frowned and shook his head. He chewed on these eight words in his heart and chanted: "It feels like it is alluding to the woman in the brothel. Willow in Chuiyang Lane does it again." What's the explanation? Wait... Your Highness, I'll find someone to talk to, maybe we can get something out of it."
"Who are you looking for?" Before anyone could finish their words, Qin Mubai had already walked out and disappeared. Soon, he brought someone with him. It turned out to be Zhou Laojiu, the leader of the government officials.
Qin Mubai asked: "Zhou Laojiu, I have a few questions to ask you. Are you a native of Xiangyang?"
"This little man has lived in Xiangyang for generations, and his ancestors have been from Xiangyang for generations." Seeing many big shots present, Zhou Laojiu replied tremblingly.
"That's good." Qin Mubai said, "I want to ask you, where is the most famous place for fireworks in Xiangyang?"
"Well... the Puhua Street in the north of the city is close to Hong Kong City!" Zhou Laojiu replied, "There are seventeen or eight brothels of various sizes opened there, specializing in the business of visiting merchants. It can be said that there is a lot of money."
"Yes. Among the many brothel girls, is there one who is particularly famous, named Gardenia?"
"This... this..." Zhou Laojiu thought hard for a while and shook his head, "There are many lotus flowers, begonias and so on, but there are really no gardenias."
"Really?"
"Really not." Zhou Laojiu said with certainty, "Although I have a low position and a low income, I can't afford to go to that kind of place, but my duty is to go there a few times every day. So which one has a little bit of money?" Excellent girl, it’s clear in her heart that she has no plan!”
At this time Li Ke said: "Is there a store name called Chuiyang, or Xiangliu, or something related to these four words?"
Zhou Laojiu pondered for a long time, then shook his head: "Still not!"
"This is weird!" Everyone was surprised.
Li Ke and Qin Mubai whispered: "Mubai, you mean that the eight characters behind these, "Weeping Sun Alley Willow, Lonely Fireworks," allude to the other party's contact point? Why did he tell us? "
"The purpose is very simple, of course to negotiate terms with us." Qin Mubai said, "To be honest with Your Highness, just this morning, Pang Fei and Zuoying Navy General Zhao Chong also disappeared in Xiangyang!"
"What?" Li Ke said angrily, "The other party is really brave!"
"Wait, calm down, calm down!" Qin Mubai waved his hands and said seriously, "I always feel that the other party has been leading us by the nose, knowing all our movements clearly, and doing everything before us."
"You mean, there is a traitor among us?" Li Ke said in a deep voice.
Zhou Laojiu immediately panicked: "You are not a villain! You know very little, and you don't have the guts to collude with the water ghost to target the prince and the general!"
"I know you're not, so shut up!" Li Ke snorted impatiently and said, "Mubai, it seems that we have fallen into each other's trap since we stepped onto the ground in Xiangzhou. You Think about it, from the beginning, everything happened by coincidence. Looking back now, it seems that everything was carefully arranged from the time when we encountered the water ghost causing trouble at Baguidu to today when the princess, Pang Fei and others disappeared together. There is always a dark hand plotting against us behind the scenes, and he has a firm hold on us. Even the plan we planned with Zheng Anshun was solved instantly, and he plotted against us in turn. This is really true. It’s not easy! It’s a hundred times more powerful than the idiots I met in Jiangzhou!”
"Yes!" Qin Mubai also nodded, "Now the purpose of the other party is obvious. Kidnapping Zheng Anshun, kidnapping the princess, and capturing Pang Fei and Zhao Chong are all directly aimed at His Highness and me. Their purpose , it’s just to sell the grain and make a lot of money, and the Zheng family is the best buyer who can accept such a large amount of grain; if you want to sell it, you must let us go. They are very courageous and have great appetites! They are trying to negotiate terms with us as equals!"
Li Ke grabbed the letter angrily: "But now we don't even know who the other party is or where they are! What does this Chuiyangxiangliu and Fireworks ladies mean?"
Qin Mubai frowned and said thoughtfully: "When we saw the word "fireworks", we naturally thought of the land of fireworks. But there were willows in Chuiyang Alley in front of it, and before the fireworks there was still loneliness... Zhou Laojiu , let me ask you, is there any place in Xiangyang city with many willow trees?"
"Yes, yes, there are many residences in the city, and they plant willow trees in their homes." Zhou Laojiu replied, "Since the time when Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty, Li Guang, went to the south of the Yangtze River, the value of willow trees has increased a hundred times, and every wealthy family will plant some To show the door.”
"Is there any family that has both willow trees and gardenias?" Qin Mubai continued to ask.
"This, you have to think about this carefully..." Zhou Laojiu tapped his forehead in thought, and suddenly raised his head: "Yes! There are several families! The women in these families all love gardenias. We passed by that place while patrolling the street. There is always a fragrance of flowers in my yard. The fragrance of gardenia is the most intense. When the flowers bloom in spring, you can smell it from far away. "
Qin Mubai raised his eyebrows: "Are there any widows among these families?"
"What, widow?" Everyone was shocked at the same time.
Zhou Laojiu was even more surprised. His eyes widened: "General Qin, you are a god! You really are! And you are the most famous and beautiful little widow in Xiangyang City, and you still have a half-closed door!"
"What does it mean to open the door ajar?" Qin Mubai asked.
Li Ke then said: "This is a unique and romantic place in Xiangyang. Women from ordinary good families secretly accept some flesh and blood business. To put it bluntly, they are private prostitutes."
"Yes! There was a family that was originally very prosperous, rich and famous. The only son of the family married a famous beauty in Xiangyang. Unexpectedly, more than a year ago, the only son drowned and died, leaving only a beautiful and wealthy little widow. . Later, the little widow couldn't help but stay lonely, not to make money, but to find some romantic young men to accompany her to relieve her guilt!" Zhou Laojiu said, "That woman now lives alone in a wealthy family, known as Xu Liang. —Flower lady!”
"Willow trees, gardenias, flower lady, willows in Chuiyang Lane; little widow, half-closed door, lonely fireworks - that's her!" Qin Mubai punched his palm and said in a deep voice, "The contact address given by the other party is That little widow’s home!”
"Then what are you waiting for! Send troops to surround us and arrest them!" Li Ke shouted.
"Slow down!" Qin Mubai raised his hand and said with a stern face, "Your Highness, since the other party dares to tell us the contact location so blatantly, they must be prepared. If we lead the troops to arrest people so recklessly, we will not only be in danger. Fetching water is in vain, and may even hurt the lives of the princess and others! "
"Hateful!" Li Ke was obviously aware of this, but he was a little unwilling to do so. He punched the wall hard in annoyance and shouted, "To be teased like this by these stubborn gangsters!"
"Mubai is still very intelligent, calm and capable." Quan Wanji stood up and spoke, "The other party made a series of plans. First, they captured Pang Fei and Zhao Chong, and then Zheng Anshun, the princess and her daughter, and kept them. After sending such a letter, let's take the initiative to contact him. This is a perfect combination. The other party's mastermind is really a very smart man! Mu Bai, there is no other way at the moment. The tiger's den is so weak that we have to send someone alone to contact the other party. After knowing what the other party wants, we can solve the problem tit for tat. "
"What Mr. Quan said is absolutely true." Qin Mubai took a deep breath and said solemnly, "Originally, I came to Xiangyang to contact them, but I didn't expect that even Zheng Anshun, the princess and her daughter could be robbed. It seems that the other party’s appetite is even greater than I imagined. There’s nothing more to say, it’s the Dragon Pond and the Tiger’s Den. I, Qin Mubai, must try it out today!”
"I'll go with you!" Li Ke said resolutely, "I don't believe it anymore. How weak the other party is, what can they do to me!"
"Your Highness, you should stay in the Governor's Mansion and take charge of the overall situation!" Qin Mubai said, "You and I can't appear in the same place at the same time, nor can we be involved in danger at the same time. Don't worry, they will definitely not do anything to me. Like this, because they know that I can't ignore the lives of the princess and others, and they want to let me come back and give orders to the military government. If you stay here, everyone will have a backbone. Please be patient. , don’t act in a hurry, wait for my news in the house.”
"..." Li Ke frowned for a long time and nodded unwillingly: "Okay, it's up to you! I'm not as resourceful and calm as you, but you'd better be careful. After all, I'm not as resourceful and calm as you. , we know almost nothing about them, and we don’t know what kind of tricks they will use.”
"I will." Qin Mubai turned around and patted Xue Rengui on the shoulder, "Brother Xue, there is no need to blame yourself. No one else would be able to protect the princess today. You assist His Highness in the Governor's Mansion, just in case There has been a change, and you are still required to take charge of the soldiers and government officials!"
"Xue takes the order!" Xue Rengui hugged his fists gratefully and said, "Brother Qin, you should also take care of yourself! Now, it's all up to you to turn the tide!"
Qin Mubai smiled confidently and teasingly: "It's just a small matter, I have seen too much. Now my greatest hope is that the princess, mother and daughter and the kidnapped people are safe and sound. In this case, I will go first, you don't have to No worries. I will come back intact!"
"Take care!" Everyone handed him to him.
"Zhou Laojiu, come and lead me. Let's go to that flower girl's house!" Qin Mubai put his arm on Zhou Laojiu's shoulder and strode out of the room.
Li Ke took a long breath, frowned, shook his head and sighed: "Every time when there is a critical moment, he always stands up to solve the problem... I really don't know if this is a blessing or a disaster."
"Why did Your Highness say this?" Quan Wanji asked in surprise.
"Needless to say, it's a blessing. With such a friend, anyone can sit back and relax, which is a great blessing." Li Ke said, "The trouble is... I am too dependent on him. To this day, I almost don't care." It’s become a bad habit. If I have a problem, I can’t even think about it if he doesn’t come. Let’s not talk about going to that lady’s house to explore the dragon’s den. I can't figure it out at all. When I'm with him, I feel like I've come back to life, like a child who hasn't been weaned yet!"
"Uh..." Quan Wanji and Xue Rengui looked at each other and were speechless. At the same time, they said in their hearts: We haven't cracked it yet. Could it be that we haven't weaned it yet? …