The heavens set sail from the courtyard

The next night, the palace night banquet was held as scheduled. Emperor Qing and hundreds of civil and military officials hosted the Yuan-Mongol envoys to celebrate the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries.

During the day, Eunuch Hou brought Ye Liuyun into the palace to meet the emperor. No one knew what Ye Liuyun said to Emperor Qing. Anyway, the eunuchs serving outside the palace only felt that the palace shook twice and then quickly returned to calm.

After Ye Liuyun left, Emperor Qing got angry at Eunuch Hou, and then summoned Ye Chong into the palace. Soon the palace issued an imperial decree, appointing Ye Chong as the garrison commander of Kyoto and the highest official of the Privy Council, replacing Qin Ye's original position.

When Ye Chong received the imperial edict, his calves were trembling, because he found that Emperor Qing's face was terribly gloomy. Although he promoted him, his eyes seemed to want to eat him.

Emperor Qing ordered Ye Chong to take the imperial edict, leave the palace immediately, and take over the Kyoto guards. He was not allowed to attend any night banquets.

Ye Zhong did not dare to delay and could only rush to the military camp.

In the afternoon, Fan Jian and Fan Xian left Fan Mansion together. The father and son rode in a carriage to the palace for a banquet, with Fan Qing (Bai Yan) driving.

The carriage stopped outside the palace. According to the rules, all people entering the palace had to undergo a strict search, and even their faces had to be checked to see if they had any disguises.

Fan Jian asked Fan Qing (Bai Yan) to go back home first and come back to pick them up in two hours.

After Fan Qing (Bai Yan) drove away in the carriage, he turned two corners and turned the carriage into a small alley, directly into the backyard of a house.

The Iron Rat from Wing Thirteen was waiting for him in the yard.

Tie Shu sent the horse to the stable, and then met Wang Gang with Fan Qing (Bai Yan).

Wang Gang took out two sets of eunuch costumes and gave them to Tieshu and Fan Qing (Bai Yan). Both Wang Gang and Fan Qing (Bai Yan) were good at disguise, so they helped Tieshu put on some makeup and it was easy for him to change his appearance.

The three men disguised themselves as eunuchs and sneaked into the palace. Yan Xiaoyi received an order from Li Yunrui to pick them up and avoid inspection.

When Yan Xiaoyi saw Wang Gang, he secretly said to him: "The princess asked me to tell you that Ye Liuyun entered the palace during the day and helped heal Hong Siyang's injuries."

Wang Gang laughed and said, "I kept Hong Siyang alive just to hold Ye Liuyun back."

Yan Xiaoyi looked at Wang Gang deeply and was very wary of his intentions.

"Ye Liuyun will not hinder you for an hour."

Wang Gang nodded and said, "Tell the princess to rest assured. Fan Xian will definitely die tonight."

"The princess only asked me to help you in. As for how to get out, I have no control over it." Yan Xiaoyi said.

Wang Gang nodded and said, "Don't worry, Commander Yan. We have our own way to leave. After all, this is not the first time. I am familiar with the roads in the palace."

Yan Xiaoyi snorted coldly and personally led Wang Gang and the other two into the banquet venue, acting as a serving eunuch.

Wang Gang exchanged glances with Tie Shu and Bai Yan, and then went about his business as if nothing had happened.

He had already seen Fan Jian and Fan Xian, father and son, and personally poured them a cup of tea, but neither of them noticed the flaw.

The Yuan-Mongol envoys had not arrived yet, and Emperor Qing had not shown up either, so the banquet naturally had not started yet. The ministers of Qing State gathered in groups of three or five to chat, but Fan Jian and Fan Xian were the only ones who were deserted, as if they didn't like anyone.

Prime Minister Lin quickly walked into the hall, and many ministers gathered around him to greet him. The treatment he received was completely different from that received by Fan Jian.

Fan Xian joked with Fan Jian: "Father, you have been an official in the court for twenty years, but you don't have many friends!"

Fan Jian coughed and said, "Being an official is to benefit the people, not to make friends. Tonight's banquet, the princess invited Zhuang Mohan, a great writer in the Northern Qi Dynasty. He is known as the literary master of the world."

"Zhuang Mohan? I don't know him!" Fan Xian asked curiously: "Who is he?"

Fan Jian said: "Zhuang Mohan is a role model for scholars all over the world and has a very high status in the literary world. He has also read your poem "Climbing the Heights"."

Fan Xian blushed and felt a little embarrassed.

"'Climbing the High Tower' was written by Mr. Du, not by me," Fan Xian said modestly.

In order to cope with the poetry gathering that day, Fan Xian could only write a poem "Climbing the High Tower" by Du Fu to slap Guo Baokun in the face. Unexpectedly, this poem was worthy of being praised as the best seven-character poem in Tang Dynasty. Even in this world, once it came out, it was extraordinary and made Fan Xian famous.

When he first entered the palace, many civil servants wanted to ask him for advice on poetry and prose when they saw him, but Fan Xian politely refused.

He knows nothing about poetry and prose. It's okay for him to plagiarize a few poems, but if he really communicates with those literary masters, he will be exposed immediately.

Fortunately, Fan Jian helped him block a lot of people.

Fan Xian sat for a while, and then he saw Guo Baokun, the son of the Minister of Rites, walking up to him with a step that showed he didn't recognize any relatives.

"Fan Xian, at the banquet tonight, your true colors will be exposed. Your behavior of deceiving the world and stealing reputation will surely be infamous for eternity."

Fan Xian was completely confused and had no idea what was wrong with Guo Baokun.

"Young Master Guo, Minister Guo wants to see you about something." Wang Gang walked over and said to Guo Baokun.

"What does father want to talk to me about?" Guo Baokun asked curiously: "Isn't he busy receiving the Yuan and Mongolian envoys?"

"Minister Guo only asked me to inform Master Xiao Guo, and didn't tell me anything else?"

Guo Baokun glanced at Fan Xian with pride again and said, "Fan Xian, just wait!"

After saying this, Guo Baokun proudly left the hall with Wang Gang.

"This person must be sick!" Fan Xian said speechlessly.

Fan Jian snorted coldly: "It's all your fault."

When Fan Xian first came to Kyoto, he had some conflicts with Guo Baokun. Fan Xian couldn't stand Guo Baokun's bullying, so he helped the common people. As a result, the two of them became enemies.

Later, in order to teach Guo Baokun a lesson, Fan Xian and Teng Zijing put Guo Baokun in a sack and beat him up to vent their anger.

Afterwards, the two went to court, and Fan Xian prevailed and won the case. It can be said that since Guo Baokun and Fan Xian had a grudge, he had never taken advantage of him, but he had been beaten a lot.

So Fan Xian didn't take him too seriously.

Guo Baokun and Wang Gang walked out of the main hall and headed towards an empty side hall. Wang Gang led the way in front and Guo Baokun followed behind. As the two of them walked further and further away and there was gradually no one around, they didn't notice anything was wrong.

Wang Gang walked to a corner, and there was no road ahead. Guo Baokun then said in a careless manner: "Are you lost, little eunuch?"

"Master Guo, we're here." Wang Gang turned around and said with a smile.

Guo Baokun was stunned and asked in confusion: "What do you mean we have arrived? There is no road ahead."

Wang Gang's eyes flashed, and the next moment Guo Baokun felt dizzy, his body softened, and he knelt down towards Wang Gang.

"Have a good sleep!" Wang Gang supported Guo Baokun and took off all his clothes and put them on himself.

Guo Baokun was thrown naked into the palace gutter by Wang Gang. He touched his face and turned into Guo Baokun, then walked towards the harem as if no one was around.

The banquet was held in the front hall of the imperial palace because Kyoto has been quite unstable recently. An assassin sneaked in yesterday and injured Hong Siyang.

In order to protect Emperor Qing, Yan Xiaoyi transferred most of the guards to the front, so the defense force in the harem was inevitably weaker.

In fact, Li Yunrui and Yan Xiaoyi's idea was that after Wang Gang killed Fan Xian, they would get rid of him and mobilize all their forces to kill the Dark River killer and never let Wang Gang leave the palace.

As a result, the harem's defenses were left unattended, and Wang Gang's lightness skills allowed him to sneak in easily.

He took out the map Bai Yan had given him earlier and headed straight for the Queen Mother's bedroom.

Because Hong Siyang was crippled by Wang Gang, the Empress Dowager's bedroom was guarded by no experts except a group of guards.

Wang Gang walked into the bedroom with a swagger. Everyone who saw him stood still as if they had been acupunctured, so no one tried to stop him.

Clang.

Wang Gang pushed open the door of the empress dowager's bedroom with one hand and walked in with a big stride.

"Who is it?" The palace maid in the bedroom screamed when she saw Wang Gang.

The next moment, the shouting stopped and Wang Gang walked directly to an old woman.

The old woman had white hair, wrinkles all over her face, and a bloated figure, but she still looked very noble. When she saw Wang Gang, she did not seem panicked.

"Who are you? Why did you break into the palace? Are all the guards outside the palace dead?"

Wang Gang laughed, clasped his hands together and said, "I, Guo Baokun, am here on the orders of the Crown Prince to ask the Queen Mother for something."

The Queen Mother's old eyes revealed a hint of shrewdness, and she said: "Guo Baokun? Is he Guo Youzhi's son?"

"Although the Queen Mother is in the harem, she knows everything about the previous dynasty. I admire her." Wang Gang said with a smile.

"What exactly does the prince want?" asked the Queen Mother.

Wang Gang glanced at the big bed in the bedroom and said, "The prince wants Ye Qingmei's relics."

The empress dowager, who had been calm all along, suddenly changed her expression when she heard Ye Qingmei's name.

"How did the prince know?" the Queen Mother trembled.

Wang Gang smiled and said, "Your Majesty, just hand over that thing and I will leave immediately."

The Queen Mother sank and snorted, "If I don't give it to you, what can the prince do?"

Wang Gang raised his lips and said, "Since the Queen Mother won't give it to me, I can only take it myself. Please forgive me if I offend the Queen Mother."

After saying that, Wang Gang went straight to the pillow of the empress dowager's bed.

The Queen Mother ran to the bed in panic and tried to block Wang Gang, but Wang Gang showed no respect for the elderly and loved the young. He pushed the Queen Mother away without caring about her age.

"Ah!" The Queen Mother screamed and fell to the ground. No one knew how many of her old bones were broken.

Wang Gang directly took away the key hidden under the Queen Mother's pillow.

"You can't take it away." The Queen Mother cried out weakly.

Wang Gang stopped and slowly walked to the Queen Mother and squatted down.

"Queen Mother, why do you have to ask for trouble?"

The Queen Mother grabbed Wang Gang's trouser leg and struggled, "You are definitely not the prince's man!"

Wang Gang laughed and said, "The Queen Mother is really smart. Not only am I not the prince's man, I am also not Guo Baokun."

"Who are you?" The Queen Mother stared at Wang Gang and shouted.

Wang Gang wiped his face with his hand, and his bones changed and his original appearance returned to normal.

"My name is Wang Gang. I was born as Ye Qingmei's son and was hunted by you. Now it's time for you to pay back your debt."

The Queen Mother was stunned, but Wang Gang pointed his finger between her eyebrows.

"Have a nice journey, there will be others to accompany you soon." Wang Gang snorted coldly, stood up and walked out of the palace.

The Queen Mother stared blankly into the distance. (End of this chapter)