When the rooster crows, the mosquitoes in Zheliu Pavilion are silent and the birds are silent. However, a sudden and rapid knock on the door wakes Xiang Baili in bed.
A fire broke out in Zitong Street last night and burned all night long before it was finally put out. This incident not only frightened the people in the city, but also alarmed Qi and Yin, Dukes of Ye State within the palace walls. He called the incident Mu Lu
The city was facing a major disaster that had never happened in thirty years, and the commander of the imperial army was ordered to Xiang Baili to investigate the cause and effect of the entire incident overnight. At this time, it was just dawn, but the military commander in front of the palace had just fallen asleep.
"Could it be that some clues have been found?"
The general struggled a lot, but he just turned over on the bed and put the quilt over his head again. At this moment, he just hoped that the person outside the door could calm down for a while and let himself sleep for a while.
Unexpectedly, the knocking on the door continued for a long time. Instead of stopping, the knocking became heavier and louder. Not only that, the visitor even shouted loudly:
"General Baili, General Baili! The red feather guards who put out the fire last night said that you rode back to Zheliuxuan. I know you must be at home! Open the door quickly!"
Xiang Baili was so troubled that he couldn't sleep anymore. He wondered which ignorant guy was so persistent. He muttered and turned over to sit up. Then he reached out and grabbed the green satin robe hanging by the couch, and put on a pair of black straw sandals.
He walked towards the courtyard with a straight face.
But when he unbolted the door and pushed open the courtyard door, what appeared in front of General Tsing Yi was a familiar face wearing a cloth on his head and a soap coat.
"Aren't you the guy who delivers the wine at Jia Yunzhai? Why are you here looking for me at this time?"
Take a step to the side of Baili, and let the other person come in. At this time, the cattle and horse carts for people in the city have not yet started on the road, and the person in front of you is actually carrying two large wine jars wrapped in red seals, all the way to the door of his house
came.
But the waiter, whose clothes were soaked with sweat, shook his head and stood motionless at the door: "General Baili, it was my boss's wife who asked me to bring you some jars of wine."
"But I didn't--" yesterday
The green-robed general recalled carefully and did not remember that he had sent someone to order new wine in Jia Yun Zhai yesterday. But before he could finish speaking, the boy in front of him had already thrust the wine jar towards his chest.
The middle stuffed over:
"The landlady said that when we were doing the accounting a few days ago, we found that a few jars of wine were missing, so she asked me to deliver them to the general early in the morning. I was afraid that the general would not be at home if it was too late."
"But why didn't you ask that kid named Jiang Yan to come along? I happened to have an appointment with him today to practice swordsmanship."
Xiang Baili knew that Leng Jiayun would never ask someone to visit Zheliuxuan without any reason, so he felt that something was a little strange.
"I don't know about this kid." The waiter shrugged, saying that he was just an errand boy.
Xiang Baili nodded hesitantly and quickly returned to the courtyard. He picked a branch that still had a corolla from the crabapple tree that was almost finished withering. He tied the same string of silver coins together and handed it to the waiter.
I gave him a silver coin:
"Then thank you for making this trip. This is the advance payment for the wine and your silver reward next month. Please also tell the landlady for me to thank her for her kindness."
"Thank you, General. I won't bother you anymore."
The waiter took the money, smiled from ear to ear, turned around and ran away in a puff of smoke. The man in green clothes immediately closed the door with his backhand, but the smile on his face had long since disappeared, and his brows were knitted together.
Without thinking, he picked up half a brick from the ground and slapped it hard on the wine jars. There was a muffled sound, and the two wine jars cracked, and the pale golden nectar gurgled out.
It soaked a piece of mud several feet square at the door, and the overflowing aroma of wine immediately spread within the courtyard wall.
Xiang Baili loved fine wine, but he couldn't care less about his heartache at this moment. He just reached out and rummaged through the sharp broken pottery, even though his cut fingertips were dripping with blood, he didn't care at all.
Soon, he twisted up a piece of oil paper that was hidden in the jar but had not been soaked by the wine. The paper was actually two layers stuck together with paste, so the ink in the sandwich did not melt.
Facing the candlelight in the lantern, General Qingyi clearly saw a line of beautiful handwriting:
"The three of them stepped out on the moon and stayed all night, hoping for help."
"Young Master Ziyin and those two brats are gone?!"
In an instant, the last remaining trace of sleepiness in the green-robed general's mind disappeared. He immediately went back to the house to get dressed again, washed his face with a glass of cold well water in the backyard, took out Mo Yun Taxue, and flew onto his horse, carrying his hands.
The sword galloped straight towards Miyagi.
It was just dawn when a figure hurriedly ran towards the palace gate in the distance. It was Qi Ziyin's personal bodyguard Wan Shi. Xiang Baili, who was rushing towards Guihong Garden, saw him from afar.
He grabbed the other person and shouted:
"Wan Shi, you really didn't stay with the young master! He didn't come home all night, why didn't you tell me earlier?"
"Yesterday was the birthday of that girl Ning Yue. Young Master, he sent a message to me specifically, asking his subordinates not to talk too much, and to wait until dawn before going to look for him..."
Wan Shicheng was so frightened that he did not dare to raise his head and look into General Qingyi's eyes.
"Did the young master tell you where the three of them plan to go and cause mischief?"
"The letter Brother Miao brought back said that the young master followed Jiang Yan and the others to the old forest in the eastern suburbs outside the city."
"This is nonsense! Ever since the old king came to power, no one has dared to step into that forest easily. Do these little brats think that they can break into anything just because Jiang Yan has practiced martial arts for so many days?
?And you, how could you be so confused and allow the young master to do whatever you want!"
"General Baili, forgive me!"
Seeing that the other party was angry, Wan Shi fell to his knees with a plop. But Xiang Baili knew that the young master who was fond of white clothes had an eccentric temperament. After a few words of reproach, he took off the forbidden army talisman he was wearing:
"Nothing you can say will help at the moment. You can quickly use this talisman to summon the Mo Ling guards who are on duty in the palace to gather in front of the Jiying Palace and follow me out of the palace to find the person!"
Wan Shi immediately kowtowed and accepted the order and left. In just half a stick of incense, the Imperial Guards like black ants gathered from all over the palace and arrived in front of the Jiying Hall. Although there were only a few hundred people, Black Armor Mo Ling could
However, the soldiers were still neatly arranged in a square formation, with a formidable momentum.
"General Baili, what are you planning to do when you mobilize your troops so early in the morning?"
Just as Xiang Baili counted his men and was about to lead his team out of the palace, he suddenly heard the voice of a person speaking from the corridor in front of the palace. He quickly turned around and saw Jinghaihou Qi Shouyu who had not known when he was standing.
behind oneself.
General Tsing Yi didn't understand why the other party entered the palace from the Hou Mansion so early today, so he had to bow his hands and salute, but he winked at Wan Shi and did not mention the disappearance of the young master:
"There was a fire in the city last night. I believe the Governor also heard about it. I am planning to lead the troops to investigate this matter."
"Oh? Could it be that the general already has a clue?"
Qi Shouyu narrowed his eyes and looked at Xiang Baili opposite with a strange look.
"It's just some fragmentary clues, don't bother the Lord Warlord."
"Hey, it's your duty as ministers like you and me to take care of the Lord's worries." The short and fat prince laughed, and suddenly raised his finger and pointed at Wan Shi standing aside, "But you, because of this
Why are you here?"
"Your Majesty, my subordinate, I am here to help General Baili."
"Is it possible that my nephew doesn't need your protection today?"
"This - this -" Wan Shi did not dare to say that Qi Ziyin had not returned home all night, and he could not think of any good excuse. He was hesitant and speechless. However, this had exposed his flaws.
"Why, is there something you can't tell me about?"
Marquis Jinghai raised his voice, and his eyes seemed to have taken a clear look at the young guard in front of him. Wan Shi could no longer control himself, so he had to tell the truth:
"Your Majesty, it is the young master who stayed out of the palace all night long after leaving the palace last night. I am planning to take people out of the city with General Baili to look for him!"
"Absurd! You actually plan to deliberately deceive such a big thing?!" Qi Shouyu became furious on the spot, but he was referring to Sang and scolding Huai. Wan Shi was so frightened that he could no longer stand still and fell to his knees with a plop.
Xiang Baili couldn't help but scold him for his stupidity in his heart, but he still tried to smooth things over for Wan Shi, "Master Governor, please calm down your anger for now. If you blame him more for this matter now, it will not help Young Master Ziyin to return safely."
"Doesn't it mean that General Baili doesn't intend to report to the king of such an important matter? Could it be that my poor concubine nephew is not of the Qi family's blood?!" Marquis Jinghai said, snorting heavily.
There was a sound.
"Lord Governor, I have just learned about this matter. It happened suddenly. Please allow me to lead the troops to look for the person. It will not be too late to return to the palace later! If the delay lasts for a long time, who will be responsible for what happens?"
Qi Shouyu suddenly became aggressive, which made Xiang Baili go crazy. At this time, spending another moment in the palace would be more dangerous for the three children. But the prince in front of him still refused to give up.
Asking:
"Do you think you can still deceive me? Ziyin clearly went out of the palace to hang out with the kid named Jiang Yan last night, and someone saw the two of them and the red-haired girl appearing at the Zitong Street fire.
The scene! General Baili, don’t you know anything about this?”
"The three of them also went to the pawnshop where the fire broke out on Zitong Street last night? Where did the governor get the news?" Xiang Baili was shocked again and hurriedly asked. He had been busy putting out the fire all night.
He really didn't bother to question the residents at the scene. What made him even more frightened was that the short and fat prince opposite had so many eyes and ears in the city, and his information was much better informed than his own who was in charge of the imperial army.
"Last night there was a fire. There were many people who witnessed it. A little inquiry will tell you everything. You, the chief military and horse guard, actually know nothing about it? What a joke!"
"What does the governor mean when he makes sarcastic remarks?"
"What do you mean? The child named Jiang Yan was recruited into Mo Ling's guard by the general. Since then, Zi Yin has been hanging out with him from time to time, almost forgetting his identity! I have always been
I have always been worried that if this continues, some trouble will one day occur. Now that the young master has disappeared without any reason, does the general not at all suspect that he has something to do with that wild boy of unknown origin? "
"Overseer, be careful not to make random suspicions when handling cases. Although you and I have always had political differences, the top priority right now is not to hold anyone accountable! Even if we go to meet the king now, I believe he will definitely agree to let me go find the person first! If
This matter is indeed related to Jiang Yan, and I will definitely punish him severely afterwards and will never tolerate him!"
Xiang Baili still wanted to argue, but while he was talking, he saw another person walking out from behind the corner of the corridor. It was Qi Heyin, the lord of Ye Kingdom!
"General Baili's words are wrong. It concerns the safety of my young son. Asking for accountability is as important as leaving the palace to find him!" The king seemed to have already learned about Qi Ziyin's disappearance. He became much older overnight, and his voice also changed.
Somewhat hoarsely, "Whether the new boy who joined the Mo Ling Guard is directly related to this matter or not, the general may no longer be suitable to lead the troops to find people and investigate the truth. To avoid suspicion, please temporarily hand over the Forbidden Army Talisman."
Brother Yu, let him go out of the city to look for the person on behalf of the general until the whole matter comes to light."
"Last general—obey the order!"
Xiang Baili was stunned for a moment, but he did not argue any more, but obeyed the order obediently. Because he knew that it would be futile to continue to entangle, and would even make the emperor embarrassed in front of all the soldiers - since Jinghaihou deliberately
He entered the palace at this time to report the news of Qi Ziyin's disappearance, and specially arranged for the king to hear the conversation and dispute between them. He must have made plans in advance.
General Qingyi stood helplessly beside Qi and Yin, watching the Mo Lingwei he had trained with his own hands be led out of the palace by Marquis Jinghai holding a military talisman, and let out a long sigh.
Realizing that his subordinates looked bad, the king comforted him in a low voice:
"Bai Li loves you, please relax. When the truth comes out in the future, I will clear up the name of the general. In fact, this matter is at stake with Ziyin's life, so please be considerate. You also know my brother's temper. If I didn't order you to hand over it just now,
If you send out the military talisman, he will definitely mention this matter in the court in the future, but it will appear that I am too biased towards you."
"The general will be frightened." Xiang Baili quickly knelt down on one knee and saluted.
"But speaking of my brother Wang -" Qi Heyin suddenly paused, with a strange expression on his face that was hesitant to speak, "Have you ever felt, Aiqing, recently that he seems to be different from before?"
Already?"
"Why did the Lord say this?"
The green-robed general answered questions, but clearly did not think this was the other party's illusion.
"I just feel that Brother Wang is not as open-minded as before, as if he always wants to fight for something for himself..."
Duke Ye was not completely sure of his feelings and stopped mid-sentence. He just looked at the red sun rising outside the palace wall and fell into a long silence.
Thank you for your tasteful attention to "Twin Moon". I hope the wheat grown by Xiaoli will suit your appetite.