At this moment, the king of Jiangxia was in the palace.
Li Daozong wore a green Chu Jinyi, tied with a three-beam Jinxian crown, and wore small leather boots with his feet on the clouds. He was dressed up for the upcoming sacrifice ceremony at Emperor Yangdi's mausoleum. Today, the prince is the officiant and he is the master of ceremonies. In fact, it is more about watching his show. The emperor sent him here because he was sophisticated and capable. All matters, big or small, are arranged by him.
After looking at the bronze mirror, Li Daozong smiled slightly with satisfaction. Then he walked out of the room, went to Princess Gaoyang's room in person, and knocked on the door.
"I told you I'm not going! Don't bother me again!" Princess Gao Yang shouted angrily from inside the room.
"Ling'er, what are you losing your temper about?" Li Daozong said with a smile, "You came to Xiangzhou just to join in the fun? Today, I don't know how many people have traveled thousands of miles to come here. Are you really willing to miss this event?"
There was no response from inside. After a while, Princess Gao Yang came forward and opened the door. She glanced at Li Daozong with a rather resentful look, turned around and walked into the room. She held her chin and pouted, and sat at the table without saying a word.
"What's the matter? Tell me to your uncle?" Li Daozong stepped forward and asked patiently.
"Huh! It's not because of that big bad guy!" Princess Gao Yang snorted angrily, "When Wu Meiniang came, he even disappeared! I was so angry!"
"Oh, I asked you why you have been so distracted and angry these past two days. Are you jealous?" Li Daozong smiled and said, "So, Qin Mubai has not shown up in the past two days, but he has been staying here. Where is Wu Meiniang?”
"If it's not there, where else can it be?" Princess Gaoyang frowned, and she hit her thigh with her fist in annoyance and helplessness, and groaned, "Uncle, what should I do? With Mei Niang, he can Don’t let me go, wuwu! I’m so angry and sad! I want to run back to Chang’an now!”
Li Daozong frowned slightly: "Did you see with your own eyes that Qin Mubai has been staying at Wu Meiniang's place for the past two days?"
"No... I'm just guessing!" Princess Gaoyang licked her lips and muttered, "If he's not there, where can he be? He hasn't shown up in the past two days. When Mei Niang didn't come, he wasn't Will you come to Xingyuan to accompany me every day?”
Li Daozong's eyes flashed with alertness, and he asked calmly: "How long has it been since you last seen him?"
"Since... he left the camp with my brother and uncle the day before yesterday evening, I haven't seen him again." Princess Gaoyang was still sad and murmured, "For two nights and one day, he was with Mei When my mother was together, I didn’t know what they did. They must have forgotten about me.”
Li Daozong raised his eyebrows, and a thought immediately came to his mind: No, Qin Mubai is definitely not such a person! Even if he was obsessed with Wu Meiniang, there was no way he would not show up for two days in a row and hang out with her all day long. Apart from anything else, it was the day of the sacrifice ceremony, and as the captain of Xiangzhou Prefecture, he was responsible for the security guard of the sacrifice site. Moreover, he arranged for people to guard the prince's palace and my place. With his always rigorous and serious style, how could he ignore it for two days in a row
"Then have you asked your brother, where did Qin Mubai go after eating that night?" Li Daozong asked casually, as if casually.
"I asked." Princess Gao Yang nodded and said, "My brother said that Mu Bai drank a lot that day and was a little drunk. He and his uncle left him sleeping there, but he insisted on leaving, saying he was in a hurry to return. The military government has important military affairs to take care of. Huh! It must be a lie! Mei Niang just came that day, and they must have a lot to talk about after a long absence! It doesn’t count, they combined to lie to me!”
Princess Gao Yang was talking loudly and complained continuously. When she turned her head, Li Daozong disappeared beside her.
"Oh, you don't want me anymore! Even the emperor doesn't like listening to my nagging!" Princess Gaoyang became angrier as she thought, rolling her eyes and shouting, "Come here, change your clothes!"
Two maids hurriedly came in to change her clothes. Princess Gaoyang stretched out her arms to let them serve and change her clothes, and said bitterly: "No matter what, I'm going to Mei Niang's house to catch him! Huh, they are all dishonest people, and they worked together to deceive me! If I If he is exposed on the spot, I will return to Chang'an immediately and never talk to him again!"
At this moment, Li Daozong had already walked quickly into the pavilion, saying as he walked: "Come, prepare your horses!"
"Shouldn't the prince take a ride for today's ceremony? Where are you going in such a hurry?" His confidant asked while ordering people to prepare their horses.
"This king is going to the prince's palace." Li Daozong took the reins of the horse, thought for a moment, and said, "take this note from me and go to the governor's house quickly. Please ask King Wu to rush to the prince's palace as soon as possible to meet with me. Note. Stay, don’t make any noise! If you meet King Qi, you must avoid it!”
The waiter's heart tightened, knowing that the matter was important, so he solemnly accepted the promise, and he and Li Daozong left the cabin one after another.
After a while, another car also drove out of the carriage and headed straight to the port city north of Xiangyang, stopping in front of the original "Zhengchang Lianghao".
Princess Gao Yang jumped out of the car, walked to the door angrily, gritted her teeth, and kicked the door hard with her feet. The banging sound attracted passers-by to look sideways.
After a long time, a subordinate female shopkeeper who was following Wu Meiniang came to see the door. Seeing that it was a princess, she hurriedly saluted: "Her Royal Highness the princess is here. I am a little far away from you, please forgive me!"
"Stop talking nonsense, where is Mei Niang? And where is that stinky man?" Princess Gaoyang said angrily.
"This!..." When the housekeeper saw Princess Gaoyang's anger, she couldn't help being frightened and murmured, "My boss is at home, but I don't know the stinky man Her Highness the Princess said..."
"Get out of the way!" Princess Gao Yang yelled at her angrily and rushed in angrily.
"Mei Niang, are you still hiding and not coming out to see me?" Princess Gao Yang shouted loudly as she rushed in.
Wu Meiniang was at home taking stock of the supplies brought by Chang'an. When she heard Princess Gao Yang's loud rebuke in the front house, her heart skipped a beat: What happened to this little aunt today
She had no choice but to stand up in a hurry to greet her. When Princess Gaoyang saw Mei Niang, instead of showing any shame or guilty conscience, she had a look of confusion and surprise. Her own anger immediately subsided a lot, and she became more or less calm.
"Your Highness, why are you so angry?" Wu Meiniang stepped forward and bowed, and asked in surprise.
Princess Gao Yang didn't reply. She bit her lip and blinked a few times. She peeked behind Wu Meiniang a few times. She wanted to speak bluntly and ask questions, but she always felt that she couldn't let go of her face when facing Wu Meiniang.
Wu Meiniang is such a delicate person. As soon as she saw Princess Gaoyang's attitude and expression, she had already guessed the purpose of her visit. So before Princess Gaoyang could speak out, she asked instead: "Why didn't Mu Bai come with Her Highness the Princess? Today is a big day for the ceremony. Shouldn't Her Highness the Princess go to the mausoleum of Emperor Yangdi with the Crown Prince, King Wu and the others? Well, why did you come to the humble house again?"
"Huh?..." Princess Gao Yang was startled very suddenly, "If you say so, is it possible that Mu Bai is not here with you?"
"Sure enough!" Wu Meiniang couldn't help but smile in her heart, shook her head helplessly, and said: "Since that day when I escorted you back to Jiangxia Wangxingyuan, Mubai has never appeared again. If your highness doesn't believe it, you can ask anyone in the house if Half of them mentioned that Mu Bai has been to my place in the past two days, and I can leave it to His Highness."
"Ah?!" Princess Gao Yang's anger suddenly disappeared, replaced by surprise and worry, "He didn't come to you, then where did he go?"
Wu Meiniang smiled calmly and said: "Your Highness, a major ceremony is about to be held today. He, the captain of this state, must be very busy. How can he hide here from me and ignore business? Before, I thought Mu Bai should be lingering around the prince. Between Xingyuan and Jiangxia King Xingyuan and the Governor's Mansion, why didn't Her Highness the Princess see him? "
"No!" Princess Gao Yang shook her head in panic and exclaimed, "Logically speaking, in such an extraordinary period, Mu Bai shouldn't have disappeared for two days in a row. Then where could he have gone? - Could it be that he disappeared? ?”
"No way?" Wu Meiniang said in surprise, "How could he go missing for such a big man? Who else can do anything to him on this land in Xiangzhou?"
"Why not!"
Suddenly, a sudden female voice came from the corner of the corridor ahead.
"who?!"
Several maids with martial arts skills around Wu Meiniang immediately stepped forward alertly and shouted questions.
"Don't be nervous, I don't mean any harm." A woman came out of the corner and approached step by step.
"Stop!" the maids showed their protective daggers and shouted sharply!
The woman stopped, looked at everyone with a smile and said calmly, "The distinguished guests from Chang'an don't know me. Your Highness the Princess should have an impression of me."
Princess Gao Yang was a little nervous with her heart beating fast. After hearing this, she looked at the woman carefully and suddenly said: "Oh, I have indeed seen her before! You seem to be... my royal sister-in-law's maid, surnamed Su!"
"Yes, maid Su Lianqing, you're polite!" The woman smiled and cupped her hands generously, "I'm here because I have something important to do."
Wu Meiniang nodded: "Then please come over and talk! You just said - 'Why not', what did you mean?"
"It means that if Qin Mubai really hasn't been hiding here with you these two days, then he is indeed missing!" Su Lianqing said.
"What?" Wu Meiniang and Princess Gaoyang exclaimed in surprise at the same time.
"Yes, that's it." Su Lianqing said with certainty.
"How do you know?" the two women asked in unison.
Su Lianqing smiled calmly: "Of course His Highness King Wu realized it and sent me to make a secret visit to find out his whereabouts."
"Oh?" Everyone was surprised.
Su Lianqing nodded: "You may not know that since arriving in Xiangzhou, His Highness King Wu and Qin Mubai have always been inseparable from each other. How could Qin Mubai be inseparable on such a critical day? , didn't show up for two days in a row? So His Highness became suspicious. He first secretly sent people to check places where Qin Mubai might go, such as the military camp and the imperial mausoleum, but found nothing. Then he suspected whether Qin Mubai had been hiding for the past two days. At Wu Meiniang's house. So I have been paying close attention to your house for the past two days, but I have not found any trace of him. I just heard your conversation again, so I am very sure that he is indeed missing! "
"Ah? What should we do?" Princess Gao Yang was immediately frightened. She hurriedly grabbed Wu Meiniang's sleeve and said anxiously, "Meiniang, you are so smart, you must have a solution! Find someone quickly!"
"Your Highness, don't be anxious." Wu Meiniang frowned and held Princess Gao Yang's hand, and said to Su Lianqing, "Miss Su, you have been paying close attention to the situation for the past two days, have you gained anything?"
Su Lianqing looked at Wu Meiniang up and down in surprise, nodded and smiled meaningfully: "I often heard His Highness and Qin Mubai talk about Wu Meiniang being extremely smart, wise and calm, and it is true. You still don't know my origins. Right? Actually, before I became Princess Wu's maid, I was a female devil who traveled around the world, known as 'Mrs. Yaoxie'."
"Ah?" Princess Gao Yang's eyes widened in surprise, "You devil! Then how could you..."
"How come you entered Prince Wu's Mansion and became your royal sister-in-law's maid, right?" Su Lianqing smiled nonchalantly and said, "Of course it's because of Qin Mubai's great blessing. He gave me a new life. Opportunities to enjoy life as a human being. It’s a long story. In short, I used to be a tough guy in the underworld and had many enemies. In the past few days, I have found that there are always some people from all walks of life around Prince Wu’s Mansion. I was wandering around to monitor, so I became suspicious, thinking that my enemies were looking for me to seek revenge, so I paid more attention to the movements of these people. As a result, I found that these people were not looking for me, but were focusing on Wu. It seems that someone wants to deal with King Wu. Since Qin Mubai and King Wu are one, it is not surprising that Qin Mubai is missing. "
"Since you know it, why didn't you tell it earlier?" Princess Gao Yang said anxiously, "If you had told it earlier, Mu Bai wouldn't have disappeared!"
"Your Highness Princess, you are so naive." Su Lianqing smiled and said, "I am just a lowly maid, am I going to alarm the master just because of a little speculation without evidence? Furthermore, His Highness King Wu is surrounded by himself. With the trusted armored guards, those people had no chance of hurting King Wu. I just had to be vigilant secretly. What's more, I didn't expect them to kidnap Qin Mubai at first. It was only after His Highness suspected that Qin Mubai was missing. , I told him my guess. He immediately decided that Qin Mubai was missing, so he immediately sent me out to look for him. "
"Okay, Miss Su, there's no need to go through all the trouble of explaining." Wu Meiniang frowned and asked, "You'd better tell me quickly, do you have any news about Mu Bai?"
Su Lianqing smiled and nodded seriously: "There is no exact news. But there is a small thing that caught my attention. Perhaps, this is an important clue to find Qin Mubai."
"What clue?" the two women asked urgently.
"That's..." Su Lianqing suddenly smiled mysteriously, looked at Princess Gao Yang and said, "I can't say."
"What do you mean?" Princess Gao Yang asked anxiously and angrily, "Why are you looking at me? You mean, you can't tell me?"
"Yes." Su Lianqing said simply without denying it.
"You!..." Princess Gao Yang was so angry that she really wanted to come forward and pinch her neck before she gave up.
"Your Highness, please be patient. After all, Mu Bai's safety is important." Wu Meiniang patted Princess Gao Yang's hand, stepped forward, took Su Lianqing aside, and said, "There are only two of us now, tell me. Listen. I'll work with you to find a way to save Mu Bai!"
"Okay. I like to cooperate with smart people. It's true that like a husband, like a wife, Wu Meiniang is indeed smart as she deserves to be." Su Lianqing said with a smile, "As for Princess Gaoyang... she is more than innocent and cute, and when compared to her mind, That’s a long way to go!”
"Okay, stop talking nonsense and speak quickly!" Wu Meiniang was also quite anxious.
"Why are you so anxious! I just sent someone back to the Governor's Mansion to deliver a letter. Aren't I waiting for His Highness to send me help? Do you want me to save Qin Mubai with just the power of a few of us women?" Su Lianqing glanced at the anxious Princess Gaoyang not far away, and whispered with a smile, "If nothing unexpected happens, the person who kidnapped Qin Mubai is Princess Gaoyang's brother, King Qi Li You!"
"What?!" Wu Meiniang was shocked, "This...is this impossible? Is there no reason?"
"These things are not what we should consider." Su Lianqing straightened his face and whispered cautiously, "Actually, Qin Mubai is lucky. Yesterday, I unexpectedly discovered that a pair of very powerful twin killers arrived in Xiangyang. , I broke into a cold sweat, because they were my enemies. Fortunately, they were not coming for me. I was curious and followed them, but found that they entered the inn where Li You rented. I took a bus with Li You's uncle Yin Hongzhi and left Xiangyang City to the suburbs. I followed them all the way, because I was afraid of being discovered by them, so I didn't follow them very far, but I figured out their approximate destination. They probably kidnapped Qin Mubai and hid him in that place on the outskirts. The pair of powerful twin killers must have come specially to guard Qin Mubai! "
"So that's it!" Wu Meiniang frowned in surprise and said, "Miss Su has great magical powers, is there any way to save Mu Bai? If you need help, I am willing to help you at all costs!"
Su Lianqing smiled slyly: "I don't need your help now. You just need to stabilize Princess Gaoyang and don't let her jump out and say bad things in an anxious and annoyed way. As for the aftermath... I may need it. Do me a favor."
"Whatever you want, just say it. As long as I can give it to you, I will definitely give it to you!" Wu Meiniang said firmly.
"Well, you are indeed a shrewd businessman. Everything has been discussed in advance, and you are very cheerful." Su Lianqing smiled, "Actually, I don't want anything important from you, I just want you to reward me with a bowl of rice. "
"What do you say?" Wu Meiniang asked curiously.
"Originally, I was Princess Wu's maid. I wanted to hide in Prince Wu's Mansion, retreat to the world, find peace, and live a stable life from now on. Who knew that Princess Wu was a good person who didn't live long, so she left at such a young age. "Su Lianqing shook her head regretfully and said, "My mistress has already gone. As a servant without her, life in Prince Wu's Mansion is not easy, so I want to leave Prince Wu's Mansion and follow you. ”
Wu Meiniang raised her eyebrows in surprise and said, "Didn't you go to a lower place?"
"No." Su Lianqing shook her head and smiled, "On the surface, Prince Wu's Mansion is better than yours, a business girl's family. However, you are Qin Mubai's wife who has never been married. I feel that following Qin Mubai, It is more practical than following King Wu. Moreover, you are a woman and I am a woman, so it is much more convenient. When Princess Wu was still here, I was happy and at ease, and the princess treated me very well. Now that the princess is gone, we are the same. The value of the maid who took care of the princess has plummeted in the palace, and those people will always look at us with some discrimination, as if it was our fault that Princess Wu died at an early age. How good it is to follow you! - And you also! It’s not a loss! Although I don’t know how to do business, I have traveled around the world for so many years and I have a lot of knowledge and skills. There is always something you can use me for!”
"Okay! Deal!" Wu Meiniang had no time to think carefully and nodded decisively, "As long as you rescue Mu Bai intact, I will promise you anything!"
"You are willing to share half of the pillow mat with me?" Su Lianqing said with a strange smile.
Wu Meiniang couldn't help but be a little annoyed, glared at her and said: "Do you think I will be in the mood to joke with you now? Think clearly, I may be your boss in the future, and you still have to look at my face to eat! So, you It’s better not to make fun of me now and let me hate you!”
"Tsk, tsk, what a powerful little girl!" Su Lianqing shook her head and sighed, "Okay, I won't tease you anymore. The people sent by King Wu should be here soon, and I'll leave now. If nothing unexpected happens, , you can have dinner with Qin Mubai tonight - farewell!"
After saying that, Su Lianqing cupped her fists, turned around and walked away in a long stride.
Princess Gao Yang jumped forward in a hurry: "Mei Niang, why did you let her go like this? What did you talk about?"
Wu Meiniang smiled lightly and said: "It's nothing. I feel that she is probably a liar, just trying to extort some money from me. I have sent her away. Your Highness, based on my understanding of Mu Bai, he will definitely not disappear without reason. , maybe there is some urgent matter to take care of. You know, a man like him always has the habit of putting women aside when doing business. Don't worry, why don't you come sit in my room and I'll send a few. Sisters go out to look for Mu Bai, maybe there will be news about him soon? "
"Okay..." Princess Gao Yang nodded helplessly and muttered, "I'm so useless! I'm so embarrassed! Just... was I rude?"
"No! We are all such good friends, so we should say what we say one by one, and say what we say two by one. There is no need to hide what you have to say in your heart! Your Highness Princess's straightforward and courageous temperament is what Mu Bai likes about you. In fact, I have always admired it and liked it very much!" Wu Meiniang smiled and took Princess Gao Yang's hand and walked into the room.
…
Qin Mubai glanced sideways outside the window of this farmhouse. It was already three o'clock in the morning, and in a short while, the sacrifices at Emperor Yang's Mausoleum would begin. The conspiracy of Li You and others is about to take place!
As time passed by, he couldn't help but feel worried. But now, he still has not recovered his strength. Moreover, the twin killer sisters were sitting at the head and end of the bed, each holding a sword, as motionless as clay sculptures.
Qin Mubai knew that as long as he made the slightest move, the two swords would be unsheathed, and he would probably be unable to move again.
Moreover, outside the door, there were Zan Junmo and Liang Mengbiao, accompanied by several sturdy men with strong martial arts skills as guards. From inside the room, you could hear them chatting and talking about dirty jokes.
"Am I really going to fall into trouble this time?" Qin Mubai couldn't help but feel bitter in his heart and thought, "As long as their assassination plan is implemented, no matter whether it succeeds or not, it will be an earth-shattering disaster! Prince Who are they going to blame for the assassination in Xiangyang? Li Tai, the king of Wei in Chang'an, or Li Ke, the king of Wu in Xiangyang? Assassination of the prince on his own land!"
"Perhaps Li You will also deliberately arrange for one or two of the dead officials involved in the assassination to be arrested. Someone will ask them for a 'very difficult' confession, and they will confess to the King of Wei, and even to confess to me, Qin Mubai!" Qin Mubai thought of this! He couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat, "Coupled with my mysterious disappearance in the past two days, by then, I will definitely not be able to clean myself up even if I jump into the Yellow River!"
"If the prince is really assassinated for this, then the entire Tang Dynasty... may be in chaos!" Qin Mubai did not dare to think about it, so he closed his eyes and let out a long sigh.
The twin sister killers sitting by the bed heard Qin Mubai's sigh, looked at each other, smiled, and said, "General Qin, are you depressed? Do you want our sisters to serve you and have fun with you?"
Qin Mubai was feeling upset and cursed angrily: "Didn't your master tell you that I am his sister's man?"
"So what's the matter?" The two sisters were really happy. They immediately stood up and hung the swords on the wall, and then began to undress and undress in front of Qin Mubai, "There is no unlovable man in the world, and which man only has one woman in his life?" ? Moreover, our sisters are also itching to see such a charming and elegant gentleman!"
Seeing pieces of silk gauze clothes being taken off from their bodies, revealing their young and plump bodies, Qin Mubai was really dumbfounded!
What the hell is this? Being imprisoned, you can still have an affair
"Hee hee, General Qin, here we come!" The two sisters had already taken off their clothes and climbed onto the bed without any shame and pressed on Qin Mubai's body.
"Don't worry, as long as you have sex with our sisters once, you will never miss another woman again!"
"Life is short, general, why don't you put aside your worries and enjoy yourself immediately? What are you waiting for? Let's undress the general!"
Liang Mengbiao, Zan Junmo and others outside the house heard the commotion in the house, and they all moved to the window to look inside. They smiled obscenely and said: "There is a good show, there is a good show! Live sex! Come on! Look!"
"Look, look!" The twin sisters raised their two pairs of proud breasts toward the window without any embarrassment, and said provocatively, "You only deserve to look at it! Want to eat? No share!"
"Damn, so slutty!"
A group of men laughed and drooled.
Qin Mubai lay on the bed with weak limbs, his teeth were itching with hatred, and he almost wanted to cry without tears.
"Damn it, women can rape men?! I never thought that I, Qin, would one day be the leading actor in a pornographic film!"