wait a minute

Chapter 253
On the branches of the moon, the Wutong Street is full of traffic, and men and women who come out to play can be seen everywhere.

Ye Jingtang was dressed as an ordinary ranger, with a bamboo hat on his head, like an outsider who had never seen the market, looking left and right at the buildings along the street.

Wutong Street is the busiest street in the capital, famous for its Fengyuechang, but not all the brothels along the long street, the most numerous are luxury shops, as well as restaurants and teahouses for normal entertainment, ladies and wives who come here to hang out at night also There are many, but they will not stop at the entrance of the two brothels in the center.

The owner of Longyinlou has a big business in the middle of the capital. There is more than one shop under his command, and there is another Sifangzhai on the street. The chef he hired has been a royal chef for generations. , a vinegared fish that is common in Jiangzhou, is actually made into one of the eight major dishes in Yunzhou. It is almost the same as serving wine in Jinpinglou as an East banquet in Sifangzhai. , Whether you can eat it all depends on luck.

Yejingtang strolled in the street, and came to Sifangzhai in a short time. It can be seen that the building is full of hustle and bustle, but there are two people dressed as children standing at the gate. Whenever diners come to the door, they will say two sentence:
"I'm sorry for the guest officials, Sifangzhai was taken over by the son of Liang Guogong's mansion today, come back tomorrow..."

Seeing this, Ye Jingtang didn't approach the door, but walked around twice to make sure there were no suspicious birds or beasts on the eaves, then quietly disappeared into the dark side of the side alley, then flew upside down, hanging upside down on the third floor. Under the eaves of a high-rise building, I found a vacant private room, entered it through the window, and went to the door to look at the hall.

"Young Master Li is very talented..."

"Come on, let's toast Mr. Li..."

……

The center of the three-storey building is the hall. There is a screen wall at the door to block the view of the hall. Inside are eight large tables filled with delicacies from mountains and seas. The people sitting around them are all young people. A young lady of high birth.

Because there were female guests present, the atmosphere in the hall was much more serious. The Mr. Liu who took away the sword from Yejingtang was still in the Longyin Building yesterday, but today he changed into a robe, with a dignified and refined demeanor. It looked like a shy scholar who had never even touched a girl's hand since childhood.

Ye Jingtang looked at the table in the middle of the hall, and he could see that there were six men and one woman sitting on it, and his stupid cousin Wang Chihu was also among them.

Although Wang Chihu is only the head of the Heiya General Banner, his background is astonishing. One of his two cousins ​​proclaimed himself emperor and the other was crowned king. His father was still in command of the Yazhou Army. Looking at the entire capital, there are few people who are older than him. Judging from the number of seats, he can sit The one on the right must be the prince's son.

Ye Jingtang took a closer look, and it can be seen that the person on the right is a young man in his thirties, with a tall figure and a handsome and easy-going face, giving people a cynical and idle feeling. The female guests are also brought by this person. Judging by the name, it is undoubtedly Dongfang Shuoyue.

Ye Jingtang carefully observed Dongfang Shuoyue's speech and behavior. Although it was not as bad as the rumors, it could not be said that there was anything special about it. There was no air of superiority in the exchange of cups and cups. He looked like a normal young man, and Fang Shijie was not present between.

Ye Jingtang secretly watched for a quarter of an hour, and after drinking three rounds below, he still didn't find anything abnormal. Instead, he was attracted by a few conversations outside Sifangzhai:

"Girls, I'm sorry, Sifangzhai was taken over by Duke Liang's mansion today..."

"Ah? It's a pity, forget it, let's go, let's go to the next one..."

"Sister Xiuhe, Duke Liang's mansion is very powerful?"

"That's natural, Liang Guogong is a great hero in the founding of the country..."

……

Ye Jingtang recognized who the three girls were speaking, and couldn't help being surprised, he quietly jumped out of the window and came to the cornice to check the street.

The bustling street outside Sifang Zhaimen was full of cars and horses, and several servants followed slowly in a small carriage, and in front of them were three beautifully dressed girls.

Zhe Yunli was wearing a skirt and holding a round fan, like a scholarly lady from a wealthy family nearby who came out to shop, she looked gentle and not a little bit of Jianghu; and Pinger, dressed as a maid, followed behind, because it was the first time she came to Wutong Street, I was really surprised by the prosperity of this place, and asked east and west along the way.

Xiuhe walked in the front and led the way, explaining various issues along the way. When leaving Sifangzhai, she glanced at the chariots and horses parked on the side of Sifangzhai, and then took the two girls into Xianzhifang next door.

Seeing this scene, Ye Jingtang knew that it was Xiao Xiuhe who was shrewd and capable. He followed his orders and was inquiring about the movements of Prince Yan's son. Walking around by himself and asking questions would surely arouse suspicion, so he sent Yunli and Ping I also pulled it up, and went shopping by the way.

Ye Jingtang watched here for a long time, but didn't see anything unusual. After thinking about it, he fluttered down in the corridor between the two tall buildings and looked at it.

Xianzhifang mainly sells jewelry and rouge gouache. The products are mainly pure and lively, and are very popular with young ladies who have not left the cabinet. All of them are girls' homes.

At this time, in the lobby of the shop, three girls were standing outside the counter, with a tray in front of them, which contained several opened rouge boxes.The proprietress probably knew Xiuhe, and received her at the counter in person, and they were communicating with each other:

"The girl is a rare visitor, she hasn't come for half a month..."

"I'm busy at home, so there's nothing I can do. I was planning to go to Sifangzhai for dinner, but I didn't expect to be booked in... I heard that Prince Yan is also in Sifangzhai?"

"Yeah, I still have a top card from Longyin Building with me, and I bought a few pieces of jewelry here just now, and it's really a big deal."

"yes……"

The two exchanged a few words, and the proprietress noticed that Zhe Yunli was picking up lip balm, and asked again:

"How old is the girl?"

"sixteen."

"Yo~ this age is just right, look at this one, the color is thick but not strong, colorful but not flattering..."

"Huh~ Isn't this a bit too colorful? What do you think, sister Xiuhe?"

"I think it's quite appropriate."

"Girls, you can try it first. My shop has been open for 20 years. It is expensive but I have never made black-hearted money. If you put on makeup and it doesn't look good, I won't accept what you pay..."

……

Luo Ning's makeup has always been light, and she is also strict with the young Zheyunli. Zheyunli must not have dared to buy this kind of seductive vermilion lip gloss before.

But now that she is 16 years old, Zheyunli likes it very much from the bottom of her heart. Under the recommendation of several people, she still pulls the rouge flakes from the box and sucks them in front of the bronze mirror.

As the lips parted, the originally pale lips became visibly delicate and charming to the naked eye, so that the whole face was a little brighter.

"Huh~"

"Miss is so pretty."

"This color really matches, the proprietress has good eyesight..."

Zheyunli was obviously not used to it, his face was blushing, he bit his lower lip and looked carefully at the mirror, but found something wrong - in the mirror, he could see a familiar figure wearing a bamboo hat standing outside the side window, Seems to be looking at her in the mirror and laughing.

Shocking cousin?
Zhe Yunli was stunned for a moment, then turned around to look around, but saw that the window in the distance was empty, and there was no one there.

Zhe Yunli didn't think she would have hallucinations about men, and after exchanging a few words with the two of them, while Xiuhe was picking out rouge, she quietly walked out the door and came to the side aisle.

The aisle was empty, Zhe Yunli took a glance, walked along the aisle to the back alley, looked around, thought Ye Jingtang was playing peek-a-boo with her, so he wanted to call out.

But as soon as she opened her mouth, she noticed a familiar black figure emerging from the cornice, and it landed in front of her in the blink of an eye, covering her mouth and dragging her directly into the dark alley.

? !
Zheyunli, dressed as Miss Jiaojiao, was hugged with one hand and covered her mouth. Her eyes widened a little, but she didn't struggle. Instead, she held her breath and didn't make any sound. She leaned against the man's chest and listened.

hooves, hoofs...

There was the sound of horseshoes in the back alley, trotting towards Sifangzhai, and slowed down when they were about to arrive.

Zhe Yunli blinked, and understood that Ye Jingtang should be squatting, so he slightly raised his eyelids, wanting to see Ye Jingtang's reaction, whether he was going to move his glove sack or not.

Ye Jingtang had already seen the horses coming, now he covered Yunli's mouth, frowned and listened carefully, and found that the horsemen had arrived behind Sifangzhai, and a servant from the restaurant came out to greet them:

"Mr. Fang, please."

"Mr. Li's birthday party has begun?"

"Not long after the beginning..."

……

The person who spoke was Fang Shijie, and the conversation was normal, and he didn't notice any movement around the corner. Ye Jingtang secretly heaved a sigh of relief, and lowered his head to signal to keep quiet.

Zhe Yunli had been suffocating in the capital for a few months, almost suffocating to death. When encountering this kind of drama where the enemy is out in the dark, it can be said that his eyes were burning. Then, together with Ye Jingtang, they raised and lowered their probes from the corner of the wall.

There was no one in the back alley, only the restaurant guy was left behind the wall feeding the horses in the stable.

Ye Jingtang discovered that Fang Shijie had left Prince Yan's side at night and his whereabouts were unknown, so he was naturally suspicious, and was about to let Yunli go back, so he went to eavesdrop, but before he could speak, he heard little Yunli in his arms whispering:

"It seems to be Fang Shijie."

"Huh?" Ye Jingtang was taken aback, and looked down at Xiao Yunli: "How do you know?"

Zheyunli's eyes were full of arrogance: "I've been wandering around the capital for half a year, can't you treat me like I'm wandering outside every day? I can even figure out how many people there are in the black office and when the shifts change every day, let alone this kind of publicity on the surface. Characters. Fang Shijie is the guard of the prince of Yan, and if the prince of Yan is here, who else could this old man surnamed Fang be?
"I saw him once when I came to Wutong Street. I heard that this man turned out to be a ranger from Yanzhou. There is an outer room in Liujiao Hutong in the south of the city, and I go there every few days, every half an hour, and rub my waist when I go out..."

? ?
Ye Jingtang's eyes showed a strange color: "Who did you listen to?

"I heard from the idle man in the teahouse that it is said that there is no wind without waves. This old man may really have raised children outside. Brother Jing is helping the outside room? Walk around, I will show you the way."

"Catch what outer room."

Ye Jingtang shook his head secretly, came to the middle of the aisle, stuck it on the wall, and listened carefully to the movement in the hall behind the wall, only to find that Fang Shijie took a seat directly in the banquet, talking all about the scene, and it seemed unlikely that he would conspire loudly.

Zheyunli was obviously a little curious and didn't go back to the shop directly, but quietly hung it on the fence, looked at the horses in the yard with his head, and then pointed his eyes at Ye Jingtang.

Seeing this, Ye Jingtang came to the front again, and looked into the courtyard from the wall:

"what happened?"

Zheyunli hung her feet in the air, hanging herself on the wall, as tall as Yejingtang, her eyes signaled the horses grazing in the stables:

"This horse didn't sweat much, and it didn't run very far, but there was mud on its hooves, and it hit the horse's belly, and it seemed that it had run a section of muddy road; the capital is sunny these days, and there are no such bad roads in the city. There are river embankments nearby, and there are not many places where horses can go down, so let's go to the riverside and look along, and we may find horseshoe marks."

Ye Jingtang's eyes were quite surprised, and he took a serious look at the horse's hoof:
"Today, the empress went to Yutan Mountain Villa upstream. The control was carried out for more than ten miles along the way. Ships would be strictly inspected when they docked, but the downstream was not restricted. For convenience, merchant ships of all sizes went to the downstream to dock. Stop by the river... If you are going to the river to do something, it is more likely to come back from the lower reaches."

Zhe Yunli revealed a look of admiration of "heroes cherish heroes", and pulled Ye Jingtang's sleeve:

"Then let's go, the place that can turn into muddy ground must be flooded. I didn't find it before the high tide in the middle of the night. When the water level rises, everything will be submerged."

Ye Jingtang saw that Xiao Yunli was quite clever, so he didn't say anything, and let her go to say hello, then set off quickly, and went out of the city together...
-
Jiang'an Wharf outside the city.

Following Yang Guan's return to his hometown to purchase properties, the Qinglian Gang disbanded, and today's Jiang'an Wharf has been acquired by other local snakes in the city.

And as Ye Jingtang became the top swordsman, this group of town snakes who once had a business idea in Ranfang Street obviously knew that they had offended the wrong person. Knowing where they hid, they only relied on a group of younger brothers to maintain order.

The wharf is a place where the three teachings and nine currents gather. There is no one to watch the scene, so it is naturally a mess. It coincides with the surge in the number of boats arriving from the downstream under the control of the upper reaches. The incoming ships can only berth on the riverside temporarily, waiting for the port to be cleared to enter the port for unloading.

The moon is bright and the stars are sparse. A large ship from upstream is moored alone near the river beach two miles away from the pier. Most of the guests on board have disembarked and entered Beijing on foot, but the cargo on board cannot be unloaded. There are still a few people walking around on the boat, looking at the movement on the pier.

And in a courtyard by the riverside used to escape the summer heat, the young master in Tsing Yi stood on the observation tower, looking at the afterglow of the lights in the capital.

In a teahouse at the back of the house, several figures sat among them, among them an old man in a brocade robe wearing a cloak, sitting cross-legged in the middle.

On the right is Teng Tianyou, a muscular figure. Zhong Sunyan is sitting on the left. On the small table in front of him is a golden bowl with a lid and a wax seal on the edge. The surface of the lid is quite delicate, and an ancient emblem is engraved on it.

Zhong Sunyan's behavior was always casual, but at this moment his face showed seriousness, he didn't dare to touch the golden bowl, he just looked at it carefully and sighed:
"Back then, in order to restrict the strange people who had practiced the Dragon Crying Picture, the Northwest Royal Court asked the wizards of various departments to research the Prisoner Dragon Miasma. The result was that the Dragon Crying Picture was more mysterious and forcibly reshaped the body. The poison was not bad at all, and it could only serve as a short-term restriction. , Practice the painting of bathing fire and ignore it directly. Ordinary people who do not have the painting of singing dragons are in a catastrophe. Suffering the pain of being devoured by thousands of ants is more difficult than killing it directly..."

Teng Tianyou is also from Beiliang, he had heard the terrible name of Prisoner Long Miasma, thought for a while and said;

"Realist Xuanji and Ye Jingtang are both loyal to the imperial court. It stands to reason that they have practiced the jade bone map hidden in the palace. If this thing is useless to them..."

The brocade-robed old man sitting on top responded flatly:

"The dominance of Prison Dragon Miasma lies in destroying the foundation of human beings and making people's bodies disintegrate on their own; after practicing the jade bone diagram, the bones will not be damaged, and the flesh will still rot slowly. Even if you practice the three diagrams of muscles, bones and skin, the poisonous Being on the body all the time, the body is constantly wounded and healed, it can be regarded as a continuous consumption of energy, no matter how high the martial arts are, it is difficult to display much strength."

Teng Tianyou asked again: "As long as this thing touches the Empress, will she die for sure?"

The old man in the brocade robe thought for a while, then shook his head: "This thing should not have any effect on the empress, it can only be used to deal with Master Xuanji or Ye Jingtang. There is only one dose of poison. As for how to divert the tiger away from the mountain and how to use the poison, you can think about it yourself." Method."

Teng Tianyou frowned, exchanged a glance with Zhong Sunyan, didn't say anything more, and carefully considered the specific plan...

　Brother, if you are interested, you can take a look~
　　
　
(End of this chapter)