Just after Jia Lian put the guards and others under house arrest, on the way back to his residence, a thin and muscular black shadow flashed across the high wall in front of him, which immediately caused the soldiers to shout and be alert.
"Whoosh~!"
There was a sound of a sharp arrow piercing the air, piercing the cracked gold stone and rushing towards Jia Lian.
The expressions of all the guards changed drastically. Fortunately, someone reacted in advance and pushed Jia Lian away, narrowly avoiding the attack.
The black shadow didn't take any notice of the missed hit, and immediately jumped off the wall and ran into the darkness.
"Chase!" Liu Xianglian breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that Jia Lian was fine, but her bodyguard Feng Fei had been shot. Knowing that the opportunity to make a meritorious deed had come, she immediately chased him.
"No need to chase."
Jia Lian looked very calm. Seeing Liu Xianglian and others looking over in surprise, he said: "I know who wants to assassinate me. There may be more than one assassin. You must not mess up your position and light up all the places in the government office.
Pay close attention to patrolling."
"yes……"
…
The news of the assassination of the imperial envoy spread like a gust of wind.
"These salt merchants are so courageous! What should we do..."
In the government office, Wu Zhirong complained endlessly. He knew that the trouble was getting bigger and bigger, but he had to change his official uniform immediately and went to the Salt Patrol Censor's Office.
Along with him, there were two fellow intellectuals and several colleagues from Yangzhou Prefecture who came after hearing the news.
But after entering the Yanxunyan Censor's Yamen, Jia Lian was not seen, only some murderous officers and soldiers, who left them in the courtyard and ignored them.
After a long time, a low-level official affiliated with the Salt Patrol Censor Yamen revealed the news to them:
Although the imperial envoy was fine, he was very angry.
This undoubtedly made Wu Zhirong and others feel relieved, but at the same time, they were worried about how Jia Lian would react after the assassination.
This is something no one expected.
When the prefect Wu Zhirong and others received the news, the salt merchants would naturally know it too.
Wang Shanxiang, the vice president of the Wang family, was stunned when he heard the news.
"Who did it?"
He couldn't figure out who had such courage. Even he just mentioned it casually that day, but he still had great concerns if he was really asked to do this.
He has more than a million in wealth to his name. He has a lot of wealth. When he accumulates this wealth, he does more bad things and there is always less fear in his heart.
But no matter what, everyone who lives in this world still has some respect for the imperial power.
"Is it Zhou Boru, the old fox, or the Bai family?"
After thinking for a long time and unable to figure it out, Wang Shanxiang decided to go to Zhou Mansion.
Usually, everyone would come to the Zhou family to discuss major issues related to the entire salt business. This is the tacit understanding among the salt merchants over the years.
Although everyone is in a competitive relationship, the salt bank's profits are too great, so they must unite to avoid being taken advantage of by outsiders.
Wang Shanxiang was suspicious, and so were the other salt merchants.
In the Zhou family manor, when Zhou Boru heard the news, he, like everyone else, felt that one of his colleagues could not sit still, went against his plan, and took the lead in attacking Jia Lian!
When I was angry and wanted to call several other family members over to question me, I suddenly felt something was wrong.
He has served as the president of the Salt Bank in Yangzhou for many years. When it comes to his understanding of the overall situation in Yangzhou, he ranks second, but no one dares to rank him first.
After careful consideration, he felt that no one in Yangzhou City had any reason to risk his life to get rid of Jia Lian.
Although Jia Lian was sent by the emperor to hang a knife over the heads of all their salt merchants. So they had the motive to take action against Jia Lian, but it was not time yet.
Although Jia Lian seemed too greedy and domineering that day, according to their plan and multi-pronged approach, they were still able to force Jia Lian to take the initiative to retreat.
Now that their plan has not been carried out, who is going to get crazy and assassinate Jia Lian?
Excluding the salt merchants, only those from the Salt Transportation Department were left. But most of them were not low-level officials. Even if they were afraid that Jia Lian would find evidence of their crimes, they would not dare to take action against Jia Lian.
After all, even if Jia Lian dies, the court will immediately send a stronger team down. The same will happen to them then, and their death will only be worse.
Only the salt merchants, who have powerful means in the court, dare to have the courage to assassinate the court officials, because they are sure to suppress the matter through connections after it happens.
That's what happened with An Siyuan. It's just that something went wrong. The power behind them failed to suppress the matter completely, which led to the imperial court sending a Marquis of Zhenyuan down.
While he was thinking, his son came in and announced, "Sir, Mr. Bai and other gentlemen from several other families are here. It's about the assassination of the imperial envoy."
"Let them in."
…
Just when the salt merchants gathered together to suspect and criticize each other, a group of people came on horseback from the gate of Yangzhou City.
"Open the city gate!"
Although according to the time, it was already time to close the city gate, but because the visitor was someone from the guard, and he was carrying a token of the guard, the city guard did not dare to disobey and opened the city gate according to the order.
"I don't know why it's so late, why did the guard ask you to open the city gate?"
"You shouldn't ask too many questions, don't ask."
The people around the chief had some bad habits, so the city guard had no choice but to tolerate them.
But not long after, they heard the faint sound of fighting and fighting outside, and the city guard turned pale with fright.
Could it be that some bandits are planning to attack Yangzhou City?
Soon he realized that he had guessed wrong. It was officers and soldiers from the brigade who came, and as the officers and soldiers entered the city, he also understood the general outline of the matter:
An assassin was trying to assassinate the imperial envoy in the palace. The imperial envoy was furious and sent troops into the city to arrest the assassin!
this……
Yangzhou City is in a bit of chaos.
Even late at night, ordinary people can hear people riding horses and the sound of swordsmanship on the street.
The common people didn't know what was going on, so they could only close their doors and hide in their homes to pray to Buddha for peace.
Those who are more courageous can only climb the ladder to the wall and look outside, but they can't see anything.
Inside the Yanyan Censor's Yamen, Wu Zhirong and others waited for most of the night before finally seeing Jia Lian.
Jia Lian came out wearing a cloak. Supported by a group of soldiers, he stared at them expressionlessly.
"grown ups……"
Several chief officials of Yangzhou City, who would normally shock Yangzhou City by stamping their feet, now had uneasy expressions on their faces.
Jia Lian waved his hand and danced with his cloak, giving him a free and elegant feeling.
"I know what you are here to do. I can only tell you that I am fine. However, my brother who has been loyally protecting me for many years was hit by an arrow and was almost life-threatening.
Therefore, I am in a very bad mood, sir, do you understand?"
Only then did Wu Zhirong and others consciously understand why Jia Lian had not summoned them for so long since they had been here. Moreover, although the officers and soldiers of the Imperial Guard ignored them, they had great intentions of guarding them.
It turned out that the imperial envoy suspected that some of them were up to something evil.
"It is the fault of Xiaguan and others that caused your Excellency to be frightened. Don't worry, Your Majesty, Xianguan will immediately ask the officials, officers and soldiers of Yangzhou Prefecture to hunt down these daring villains..."
"No need. The assassin has been caught."
After Jia Lian finished speaking, officers and soldiers immediately pulled out a beaten man with a bruised nose and swollen face and dirty body.
As soon as this person saw Wu Zhirong, he immediately stepped forward like a dog and called out: "Master Fu Zun, help me~!"
Wu Zhirong's expression suddenly changed, and he quickly retreated, shouting: "Where are you from? I don't know you at all! Your Majesty, the Imperial Envoy, is wise and powerful, and you know everything. You don't want to try to bite me and deceive the public. How dare you assassinate the Imperial Envoy?"
, What a coward, there is only one way to die."
While Wu Zhirong was scolding, he looked at the expressions of the people around him.
Seeing the other officials looking at him in shock, Wu Zhirong's heart sank, and he quickly said to Jia Lian: "Please be careful, sir. I really don't know this person, and I definitely don't dare to be disrespectful to you, let alone
Maybe I'll send someone to assassinate you.
There must be someone here who wants to deliberately frame Xianguan. You must make the decision for Xianguan and don't let the villain deceive you."
Seeing that Jia Lian was indifferent, he began to suspect in his heart that it was just when Jia Lian was about to accuse him and move him that he heard Jia Lian say coldly: "Why are you panicking? I have already interrogated him clearly. This person belongs to the salt merchant Zhao family."
House slaves. Hahaha, I haven’t taken action against them yet, but they have taken a preemptive strike. Does this mean I have nothing to do with them?"
Wu Zhirong's expression suddenly relaxed, and he heard the murderous intent in Jia Lian's tone, and immediately agreed: "The Zhao family, who don't know how to live or die, actually sent someone to assassinate you. I will send someone to kill the Zhao Ye family."
Caught and brought to justice..."
"No need, I have my own opinion. You can just wait here. I would like to remind you that before I come back, it is best not to leave this place, otherwise it will cause any misunderstanding, which will not be good."
After saying that, in front of Wu Zhirong and others, Jia Lian got on his horse and led a group of soldiers around the side door and ran out of the Yushi Yamen.
The expressions of Wu Zhirong and others changed. Looking at the guards who were meticulously guarding the entire compound, they looked at each other and knew something was wrong.
After staying in the courtyard for a while and seeing Gao Kui and others in the side courtyard through the corridor, Wu Zhirong and others' faces turned pale. At this moment, no matter how slow they were, they knew that something big was going to happen.