Kou Zhong untied his horse by the tree and rode towards Song Jingang's appointment.
The scene on the street was still the same, but he already felt that his interest was waning.
In the end, Wang Shichong could not become a great person and could only be a local overlord. Unlike Li Mi, Li Shimin and others were the figures who competed in the world. Compared with Du Fuwei, he was far behind. Although he had no plans, he always
Because of his cowardice, it is difficult to express his ambitions.
Li Mi now has thousands of reasons to attack Luoyang, but with his endurance skills, he is unwilling to take risks as long as he knows that Wang Shichong can still control the overall situation.
Otherwise, even if Li Shimin's army is defeated and retreats from Guanxi, it will be the moment of death for Li Mi. Therefore, Li Mi would rather let Wang Shichong have more glory for a while so that he can block Li Shimin, and his army will try to gain time to recuperate and replenish the soldiers.
Rejuvenate.
Could it be that the plan to deal with Li Mi fell short? The feeling of gaining and losing again is as regrettable as if the opponent suddenly throws the cards and refuses to gamble when he knows that the cards in his hand are guaranteed to win.
The current situation in Luoyang is changing every moment, and no one knows what will happen in the next moment.
What new arrangements will the Tiele people's retreat and the killing of Dugu Ba bring to the Dugu clan?
Suddenly, a light flashed across Koo Zhong's mind and he suddenly realized.
With Shen Luoyan's loyalty to Li Mi, she would never kill Dugu Ba because of personal grudges.
Just seeing Dugu Ba personally visit the Tiele people's lair, one can see that Dugu Ba, even if he is not a pro-Tiele faction within the Dugu valve, should at least be the connector responsible for threading the needle.
Shen Luoyan killed him just to destroy the relationship between the Dugu clan and the Tiele people.
Ba Fenghan did Li Mi a big favor by forcing Qu Ao to leave.
What would be the consequences if the people of the Dugu Clan knew who the real murderer of Dugu Ba was? After thinking about this, I felt dejected and knew that the Dugu Clan would never believe his words.
At this time, the horse came to the highest point of Tianjin Bridge and walked down.
Although the streets were full of pedestrians, cars and horses, Kou Zhong felt extremely lonely, as if they were living in different worlds.
His thoughts turned to Li Shimin.
His strength is indeed unexpectedly powerful. The masters of Tiance Mansion are all smart and brave people who will make people eat away if they come out.
Now that Ba Fenghan is gone, the strength of the two of them has been greatly reduced. Although they have solved the problem of Shi Fei Xuan, they have replaced him with Li Shimin who also gives him a headache, making him feel that he will be killed at any time.
Under such circumstances, should we evacuate immediately and get out of Yang Gong's treasury before Li Shimin returned to Guanzhong? After arriving in Luoyang, it was the first time that he wanted to retreat.
Thinking of this, he gritted his teeth and turned around, determined to go to the imperial city first and try to find Xu Xingzhi. He even forgot about Song Jingang's date.
※※※
Xu Ziling!
Xu Ziling put the secret book together in his arms and said coldly without looking back: How are they going to harm us this time?
Shen Luoyan came to him and sat down Yingying and sighed: Why is the sky playing such a trick on people and placing you and me in a hostile position?
She was dressed in plain white, and her slim jade face had some indescribable and charming charm in its beauty.
Xu Ziling's anger suddenly disappeared.
In this time of chaos, she has to use her wits and strength to fight against people with different positions. It's like everyone at the gambling table is trying their best to win all the money into their own pockets. What's the point?
It's someone else's fault.
Shen Luoyan said calmly: Let's go! Wang Shi's inflation limit is too late and you can't even leave.
Xu Ziling was still recalling the astronomical knowledge he had just gained from Lu Miaozi's masterpiece, and his heart felt peaceful and clear.
Calmly said: Tell me how I can tell whether your suggestion is malicious or kind?
Shen Luoyan said quietly: Let me tell you one thing. Dugu Ba's body has been found and the scars on his body are almost certainly caused by you and Ba Fenghan.
Xu Ziling was slightly stunned, then he came to his senses and said with a bitter smile: What a clever plan to frame the blame!
Shen Luoyan was surprised that he didn't get angry. After a long while, he lowered his voice and said: "Every time I want to hurt you, the pain in my heart cannot be explained to outsiders. Do you understand? You'd better leave!"
Xu Ziling felt something was wrong but didn't know what the problem was.
If Shen Luoyan had not been sure of victory in this battle for the Eastern Capital, he would not have spoken to himself in this tone and manner.
He intuitively felt that she persuaded him to leave after a lot of inner struggle and revealed a conspiracy that he should never know.
If the Dugu clan desperately avenges Dugu Ba and they are completely unprepared, his and Kou Zhong's lives will indeed be in danger.
Shen Luoyan raised her head and looked at him with her beautiful eyes and said: If you want, that's all! Even the ones who shouldn't come out are real men who can bend and stretch. Zi Ling, take care!
The last sentence was as quiet as a gnat, and Shen Luoyan left as if he was about to run for his life.
Xu Ziling stood up and took a deep breath.
The only thing he should do now is to find Kou Zhong to see how to deal with the angry Dugu clan.
※※※
Kou Zhong was thinking about how to find Xu Xing without attracting attention. Song Mengqiu called him from behind and said: "Brother Kou, Master Shangshu is looking for you."
Kou Zhong stopped at the entrance steps of Shangshu Mansion, turned around and saluted: General Song must have been very busy these two days, otherwise how could I feel like I haven't seen General Song in a long time?
Song Mengqiu came to him and took his hand, walked inside and entered the door. He stopped and said: These days we don't even have time to sleep, so even Lord Shangshu has to find something to relax.
Kou Zhong had not had a good impression of this man from the beginning, always feeling that he was tactful, hypocritical and misspoken. However, in order to find out what was wrong with him, it was better to start with him than to ask Wang Shichong directly and had to give him a perfunctory answer first; I really can't think of anything. It can make those of us who don't have a good night's sleep forget our worries.
Song Mengqiu pretended to be mysterious and whispered in his ear: Of course she must be a woman and the most beautiful beauty. Her voice, color and art are so beautiful that one can even forget his father's last name.
Kou Zhongcha forgot about Xu Xing's great wonder: Who is the beauty with such charm and power?
Song Mengqiu happily said: Of course, Shang Xiufang, who is known as the best courtesan in the world, who else is worthy of being praised for her beauty, beauty, and skills besides her?
Kou Zhong thought that it was her.
When Fu Qian first engaged Qu Aoyu in Manqingyuan, Wang Boben invited her to perform in public, but he, Xu Ziling, and Ba Fenghan ruined it. And they also wanted to take Shangguan Longzhi and her away. Yuan Xianyi couldn't tell whether she had performed before, and it was funny even thinking about it.
Song Mengqiu said proudly: Mr. Wang knew that she would enter Guanzhong after singing the Rong Fengxiang play tomorrow night, so he tried every means to invite her and set up two banquets, so he asked us to find you to take advantage of the excitement.
Kou Zhong touched his belly and said, "What time is it now? I have just had enough to eat and I am drunk. I want to stuff more than half a bun, but there is nothing I can do."
Song Mengqiu didn't know that he wanted to take advantage of Wang Shichong's busy time to find Xu Xingzhi. He laughed dumbly and said: "Brother Kou, are you laughing at the drunken man? You don't mean the food and wine?" Shang Meiren is known to love taking naps, so if he wants to ask her out, he can only come after Wei Shi. Bar!
Kou Zhong walked with him for two steps, stopped and said: I have to go and make myself comfortable first, lest it would be terrible to be reluctant to leave when we had a wonderful view after sitting down. Ha!
Song Mengqiu could only say: See you later!
Kou Zhong secretly called God to help me and escaped.
※※※
Xu Ziling came to the horse and caressed its neck lovingly while thinking about how to go about finding Kou Zhong.
To find Kou Zhong, he first needs to find out where Song Jingang is currently staying in Luoyang. He can only contact Ren En from the Green Snake Gang in Luoyang. He has a solution than he can.
Just as he was about to fly on his horse, someone approached him quickly.
Xu Ziling looked away and saw a young, thin man dressed as a servant walking towards him from a distance. His features were pretty and he looked familiar, but he couldn't remember where he had seen him before.
The young man showed a friendly smile and waited until he came to him and said: Master Xu, don't you recognize Tongtong? When Master Xu and Liu Shuai met that day, they even poured you tea!
Only then did Xu Ziling remember that it was Tongtong, a pretty woman he saw at his place of residence after reuniting with Liu Heitai. She was now wearing men's clothing, so he couldn't remember it for a moment, otherwise how could he forget it with his photographic memory.
In terms of beauty, she is certainly not as beautiful as Shen Luoyan or Song Yuzhi, who has an all-powerful beauty. But she is better in that she is simple, beautiful, cheerful and easy to get close to. She also has a unique temperament.
He smiled and said: Is your dressing up skills inherited from brother Zhuge Dewei? There is no flaw in a woman pretending to be a man. I still remember Brother Liu praising your flying knife.
Tongtong's pair of beautiful eyes lit up and she said happily: I didn't expect Master Xu to be so arrogant when he first met you, and he was still afraid of you!
Xu Ziling was stunned and said: What do I have to be afraid of?
Tongtong said excitedly: I'm not really afraid, I just think Master Xu is the kind of person who doesn't talk much and always keeps a distance from others. You know! Master Xu is so famous.
Seeing her innocent expression, Xu Ziling smiled like a child and said, "That's just me pretending to scare the girl." Then he frowned and said, "Didn't you follow Brother Liu back north? It's too dangerous to keep you here like this."
Only then did Tongtong seem to remember something and she glanced around and said: "It's too revealing here. Can Mr. Xu follow Tongtong to talk somewhere else?"
Xu Ziling couldn't bear to reject this delicate beauty. He was unsure, but he could find out where Song Jingang lived from her. "No problem, but I have important things to deal with, so I can't spend too much time." Tongtong said happily: It will only take one moment. You can leave the horse here and we will have someone to look after it for you.
Hearing her words, Xu Ziling immediately knew that she was not alone in Luoyang and happily went with her.
※※※
Kou Zhong came to the entrance of the main hall where the banquet was held in Shangshu Mansion and sighed inwardly before stepping through the door and entering.
The guard saluted solemnly.
He had just wandered around asking everyone he met, and finally learned from a pretty maid that Xu Xingzhi was also a guest attending the late lunch.
In the past, he would have been valued by Wang Shichong because of his empty deeds, and he was happy now because he had retreated in his heart. This situation can only add to the troubles.
Even if there is a way to inform Xu Xing of his decision, it is not appropriate for both of them to leave the meeting at the same time or one after another with excuses.
The hall was full of people when the banquet was open for two tables, and people lined up at the south end of the hall.
On the east side of this gorgeous hall, more than a dozen men and women who look like musicians sit and wait in silence, obviously the team accompanying Shang Xiufang.
Even though there were nearly fifty people in the hall, including the maids and maids who were waiting on them, most of them kept strictly quiet. Even though some people were talking and laughing during the banquet, they were very careful, and it felt like an official entertainment.
The arrival of Kou Zhong immediately attracted everyone's attention. Wang Shichong, the chairman, laughed and said: Mr. Kou, please come here!
It seemed that this was the first time that Kou Zhong was called sir, and he immediately got goosebumps all over his body. As he pretended to greet everyone, his eyes quickly conveyed a message to Xu Xingzhi who was sitting at the other table, and he didn't know whether he could understand it before he turned to Wang Shichong's table.
Go.
Eighty percent of the people sitting in the chair were acquaintances. Only two men were unknown, but neither Shang Xiufang nor Dong Shuni was seen.
Wang Shichong ordered his servants to pull up the empty chair across from him and joked: I thought you would miss this grand event. I am so destined to meet you, so I will give you the dragon seat next to the phoenix seat, close to the water, and it will depend on your fortune after the fight.
!
Except for Linglongjiao, all the men at the table laughed ambiguously, including Ouyang Xiyi.
Wang Shichong's move would give Kou Zhong some face. However, because he had repeatedly performed extraordinary feats and was a guest official, and because he had recently gained great prestige in Luoyang, no one would think that Wang Shichong's arrangement was inappropriate.
Kou Zhongfu sat down and deliberately complained: It seems that the prince is still not that good of a friend. If the prince is willing to tell me this morning that I have an appointment with Sister Shang, then I will come in even if Dugufeng and his family are blocking the entrance to the imperial city!
His words immediately caused a burst of laughter, breaking the previous serious atmosphere.
Wang Shichong didn't know why he was in such a good mood that he deliberately sighed and said: "You don't know, Miss Xiufang didn't tell me until quite an hour ago that she wanted to come to the banquet with you. What can I tell you this morning?"
Under the laughter of everyone, Wang Xuanying, who was sitting opposite Kou Zhong, said happily: Dad's face is as big as the sky now. When Sister Xiu Fang came to Dongdu this time, she was only willing to sing two stations and refused to do anything else. I will definitely make an exception this time.
It attracts the envy of many people!
Only then did Kou Zhong realize that Shang Xiufang was so arrogant, and he couldn't help but be curious to see her beauty.
Wang Shichong was greatly comforted by Lao Huai after hearing his son's flattery; he forgot to introduce Mr. Kou because of the conversation.
After his introduction, it turned out that the two people were Tian Zan, the general manager of Xianzhou, and Yang Qingnai, the general manager of Guanzhou, who were Wang Shichong's capable men stationed in the outer cities of Luoyang.
Of course, these two people did not come just to listen to the music. This shows that Wang Shichong is constantly recruiting his subordinates to make arrangements.
Others at the table included Wang Xuanshu, Wang Honglie, Wang Xingben, Linglongjiao, Yang Gongqing and Lang Feng. Including Shang Xiufang who had not arrived, there were exactly twelve people.
But Master Kefeng and Zhang Zhenzhou were nowhere to be seen.
The former probably didn't want to attend such a sensual occasion, while the latter might have left Dongdu to take charge of a certain military operation somewhere.
At the other table were lower-level officials and staff like Xu Xingzhi, several of whom Kou Zhong had greeted.
Ouyang Xiyi, who was sitting next to Kou Zhong, saw Wang Shichong whispering secretly to Yang Gongqing who was sitting next to him. He came closer and said, "Brother Zhong, how should you thank me?"
Kou Zhong was dumbfounded and said: What good things have you done for your son?
Ouyang Xiyi smiled and said, "Your seat is specially given to you by me. Should you thank me?"
Kou Zhong felt grateful in his heart that this senior master had taken such good care of him and quickly thanked him.
The orchestra suddenly started playing strings and pipes together and played melodious music that echoed around the beams.
Shang Xiufang finally arrived.
※※※
Xu Ziling and Tongtong walked through the outer shop and returned to the house where they met Liu Heitai that day.
After sitting down, Tongtong offered him some fragrant tea and sat next to him and said, "Did Master Xu do this to Dugu Ba?"
Xu Ziling smiled bitterly and said: I wanted to kill him, but it was someone else who attacked him, but now I can't get rid of the relationship.
Tongtong said nonchalantly: Dugu Ba's notoriety spread far and wide, and the news of his death will only make people happy. But the strangest thing about this is that I didn't realize that Dugu Feng seemed to have taken any obvious actions, which made me even more worried about Mr. Xu.
The inappropriate feeling in Xu Ziling's heart became even stronger.
What is the reason that can keep a hot-tempered and violent You Chuhong under control? If he cannot see through the enemy's plan, he and Kou Zhong may be completely defeated.
He said in a deep voice: When did they discover Duguba's body?
Tongtong replied: His body should have been hanged on the Tianjin Bridge by the patrolmen at midnight yesterday. Xu Ziling was shocked. Shen Luoyan's method of framing the blame was indeed very vicious. Anyone would have thought that they hung the body on purpose. This was to avenge the earlier siege on the bridge.
Tongtong continued: There is a saying that either you die or I die. Master Xu and Master Kou had better take the initiative, otherwise they will suffer.
Xu Ziling smiled bitterly and said: I was about to discuss this matter with Kou Zhong. Do you know where Song Jingang settled?
His head was glowing and he came out of the ground happily.
Xu Ziling was surprised and said: Your information is quite good.
Tongtong said happily: This is exactly our mission here. There is also a very important news to inform Mr. Xu. We speculate that there should be a traitor in Wang Shichong's camp who secretly colludes with Dugu Feng.
Xu Ziling said in astonishment: Why do you say that?
Tongtong said solemnly: This is inferred from some clues. Frankly speaking, there are also our informants in the White Palace. For example, Yang Tong's minister Yuan Wendu has always been greedy for life and afraid of death. However, even though Wang Shichong had a heavy army in the imperial city, he still remained romantic during the conversation. Not only did he appear to be unscrupulous, but he also knew Wang Shichong's overall plan. He paused and continued:
Just by looking at the Dugu Clan's unscrupulous methods to deal with Master Kou, we know that Dugu Feng knows that Master Kou is the one strategizing for Wang Shichong!
Xu Ziling's expression finally changed.
If this is the case, then not only he and Kou Zhong are in danger, but Zhai Jiao and others may also be killed at any time, and even Song Lu, Song Yuzhi and others may be implicated.
Xu Ziling stood up suddenly and said decisively: I want to go find Kou Zhong immediately.