The news had wings. As soon as it spread from the palace, by dusk, almost all the civil and military officials and noble families in the court knew that An Qiuwan was "fucked" to stand under the sun by Emperor Xuan Yan.
At first, Chamberlain Liao was worried that the emperor would be angry because the An brothers left the palace without authorization. Emperor Xuanyan was indeed furious, but he was only angry at the chamberlains around him and Concubine Rong.
Emperor Xuanyan, who had not killed anyone for a long time, beheaded five of his chamberlains. Concubine Rong was demoted to a concubine and moved out of Qifeng Palace. Chamberlain Liao was fined three months' salary. After seven days of reflection, Emperor Xuanyan still sent Prince Li He to the throne.
The eighth prince Li Ye took a large number of treasures from the palace to visit the Taifu Mansion.
As night fell, the officers and soldiers who had been searching for the girl all day and night continued to search for the girl's whereabouts. Prince Li He arrived at An's house and brought with him Emperor Xuanyan's instructions that someone from the An's family needed to go to the palace.
An Yudao took the initiative to stand up, and Liang Fanbin also wanted to go with him. The two of them took a carriage and went to the palace under the escort of An Mansion.
The moonlight was dim, the cold wind was howling, and the lights on the street were brightly lit, illuminating the motorcade as it moved forward.
There was silence in the carriage. Liang Fanbin looked out the window at the cold street, while An Yudao glanced at Liang Fanbin calmly from time to time.
Liang Fanbin is An Qiuwan's most proud student. He has been with An Qiuwan for more than twenty-five years. Whether An Yudao or An Yuzhi, they all understand Liang Fanbin's position in his father's heart. However, An Qiuwan personally said today
He said that Liang Fanbin must be given up, and even when danger comes, he can be sacrificed and pushed out to die instead.
An Yudao frowned, feeling complicated.
Once, because An Qiuwan valued Liang Fanbin too much, An Yudao felt envious and jealous of him. Now looking at Liang Fanbin, An Yudao only feels pitiful.
An Yudao looked away, but because the wind was too strong, he raised his hand to lower the curtain on the other side of the car.
Several screams suddenly sounded at this moment.
An Yudao and Liang Fanbin raised their heads and looked to the west.
"Help, help me, help!" A beggar ran over, shouting, covering his bloody belly.
Two tall and burly men chased behind them. One of them sped up and raised his hand to slash.
The beggar fell to the ground and struggled to crawl forward: "Help, help me!"
"What are you doing in a daze? Go save people!" An Yudao shouted.
Several guards of An Mansion immediately dismounted and ran away.
Across the wide street, the two men did not leave because of their approaching. They raised several knives and chopped the beggar to death completely. They turned and ran away when the guards were approaching.
"Stop!" Several guards shouted and ran after him.
The two guards stopped and looked at the beggar who had been hacked to death on the ground, with blood splattering all over the ground. The beggar's eyes were still staring in horror.
The guards looked back at the carriage.
"He is dead," Liang Fanbin said. "Who wants to attack a beggar? Is he not an ordinary beggar?"
Just as he finished speaking, another scream was heard from the other side.
The guards who did not pursue him drew their swords one after another and stood guard around the carriage, fully alert.
A guard who was chasing the two men came back with a long stride: "Second Master, they ran very fast and are familiar with the terrain. They may not be able to catch up. Three more beggars were found in front of them."
"Go to Jingzhao Mansion to report the case quickly," An Yudao Surong said, "and then ask someone to find patrol guards nearby."
"Yes!" the guard responded.
"This is the inner city," Liang Fanbin said, "How dare you kill people here, you are lawless and daring. These beggars are also doing whatever they want. How can they enter this inner city?"
An Yudao looked at the other guard and said, "Without further delay, ask them to come back and go to the palace first."
"Yes." The guard responded and went to call someone.
Screams came and went, especially harsh in the night.
The huge imperial city seemed to have turned into a hunting ground. The killers were madly chasing homeless beggars in the night, and at the same time fled quickly when the guards chased them.
Warm corpses were discovered one after another, covered in blood, appearing in the streets and alleys.
Officers and soldiers from Jingzhao Prefecture were dispatched overnight. Because there were too many corpses, Zhu Xian sent people to Beifu soldiers to find a large number of militiamen to collect the corpses together.
The streets were brightly lit and full of people. As officers and soldiers surveyed the scene, screams rang out again in the gradually quiet imperial city.
Zhu Xian was trembling with anger: "Damn it, hate it!"
Everyone around him said nothing, and continued to clean up the scene after retracting their gazes, feeling mixed emotions.
The night was dark, some were dreaming, some were awakened, and some were still awake. More and more eyes opened in the darkness.
Lu Qianhai finished his last bite of steamed buns and looked up at the girl in front of him.
There was only one candle lit in the corner, the light was dim, and the girl was holding a pen in her hand, leaning on the coffin board to write.
"Would you like some water?" the girl looked over and said.
Lu Qianhai had a cold face and shook his head.
"Then, do you want to go to the latrine?"
I’ve been holding it in for a day, and I’ve long thought about it, but how to get there?
"Aren't you afraid of me calling for help?" Lu Qianhai said.
"You don't dare," the girl smiled. "You know my skills very well, and there are not many people guarding here. It's easy for me to deal with them."
"who are you?"
"I went to eight major pharmacies today," Xia Zhaoyi looked back and continued writing, "Ping'an Hall, Yuming Hall, Baohe Hall, Renxin Pavilion, Fangjia Pharmacy, Guangji Pharmacy, Materia Medica Dongfang,
Huiminfang.”
"Pharmacy?" Lu Qianhai said softly.
"Of these eight pharmacies, five are well-known and have branches all over the country. Three are only slightly famous in the capital. However, the main stores are all in the capital. The current accounts in the main store are clear and distinct, because medicinal materials and ointments can be stocked for several years.
, Refining elixirs and pills takes longer, so their current accounts are kept for at least ten years." Xia Zhaoyi continued.
Lu Qianhai looked at her and said nothing.
"Master Lu is so smart, you should have guessed why I came here," Xia Zhaoyi smiled, raised her head and met his gaze, "Do you still need to ask me who I am?"
After a while, Lu Qianhai said coldly: "You are doing useless work."
"You are using your useless loyalty."
"What's the point of doing this, remnant of the Xia family?" Lu Qianhai said.
He paused after he finished speaking, and clearly saw the angry and fierce light in the girl's eyes.
"What are you talking about," the girl said in a crisp voice, one word at a time, "Xia family, what?"
The side hall was empty and deep, and the voices of the two people talking had a faint echo.
Her eyes were bright, and her thin and upright little body was sitting behind the coffin board. She spoke every word with clear enunciation and enunciation like ice, as if it was coming from the underworld.
Lu Qianhai's scalp was numb, as if there was an invisible aura oppressing him.
He pursed his dry and flaky lips, looked away, and said uncomfortably: "Good advice, you and your accomplices should stop doing useless things."
"I don't have any kind words, but I have a sarcastic one," Xia Zhaoyi said, "Master Lu, have you ever seen those chickens and ducks in cages in the market?"
