Pingyang Fu of the Red Chamber

Chapter 604 The evil spirit actually ran away
"Master Marquis, the scouts are here to report that the ladies from all the capital's houses, as well as the Queen Mother and the Empress's chariots are already on the way. Master Marquis, we'd better leave as soon as possible to avoid being late!"

Ning Bian reminded him in a low voice. After all, the Marquis had become a habit of procrastinating, so he might have gone late again.

"Well, it's so fast, they don't even need to eat!"

inside the house,

Zhang Jinyu, who was sitting at the table and still eating steamed buns, had just stuffed a steamed bun into his mouth and looked up at Ning Bian who was standing by the door.
It's not like I'm telling lies, I just feel a little nauseous in my heart. It's really okay. Why are you getting up so early? It's just to have some incense, not to go to a party.

But I really couldn’t delay, so I hurriedly swallowed a few buns, drank some water, and poured the pastries on the table into the brocade cloth. I wrapped them in my hands and hung them next to the sword at my waist. I shouted to the outside. ,
"Ningbian, let's go. Also, tell Wei Yong to be careful when leading troops to protect you."

"Yes, Lord Marquis."

Some soldiers had already brought the horse over directly, and the guards at the house were also preparing the carriage. Mrs. Wang took Qin Keqing and Yueshu into the carriage, while Yang Hanyu returned silently. Rest in your own yard without asking for trouble.

Two waves of people left the Hou Mansion and went directly to the street entrance and headed north.

Early spring morning,
The wind was still a bit cold. Zhang Jinyu wrapped himself in a cloak while riding on the horse. He saw many carriages in front and behind, speeding away with the fragrant wind. Seeing this scene, Zhang Jinyu was a little dumbfounded. Why were they walking so fast?

Ning Bian told the news, but the details were unknown. The key was how the Taiping Religion got involved. Zhang Jinyu squinted and thought in his mind. Originally, the affairs of Ning Guo Mansion, whether big or small, were all your Majesty's. Meaning, if your Majesty reacts violently, he will pick up the board and drop it gently. If there is another secret, the board should be beaten. Therefore, if the demon who colluded with the Taiping Religion is confirmed, Your Majesty will have an excuse and hurriedly asked,

"Master Hou, the reason why Liu Qianhu didn't arrest anyone is not only because the demon was too vigilant, but because someone else was helping him. I heard that the Taiping Sect was found among them, and there was another group of unidentified people. What are the details? , I’m not sure about the end.”

"Well, who could it be!"

Zhang Jinyu smiled heartily, then grabbed the horse's belly and galloped towards the outside of Beicheng.
Nancheng,

"Haha, okay, let's do it right. It depends on what the nobles do. Don't be afraid of spending money. Arrange the brothers well. As for the rest, let's see what happens. We'll see. Come on!"

Zhang Jinyu was still a little confused, but suddenly she was dumbfounded when she heard Ning Bian say that the Imperial City Division had not caught the demon Dao yet.
Several days have passed and no one has been caught. What do those people do for food? Speaking of which, the people in the Imperial City Division are becoming more and more useless. Last time, the people from the Taiping Religion arrested some common people to make up for their losses. I didn't even see a single hair on Taipingjiao. Now I can't even catch a demon. I don't know how the inner minister trained him.

Yesterday, the Marquis interrogated Jia Zhen again in Shuntian Mansion. Mr. Chang will definitely not delay and will probably send the confession from the court trial today. The general guesses that Jia Zhen's evidence of guilt should be solid. "

And the market square on the east side,
Liu Qianhu looked at the messy market around him, and one can imagine the anger in his heart. He was obviously here to arrest the group of men in black last night, but why did another group of unknown people suddenly appear from behind? He was caught off guard. ,
"Can you find out the origin of that group of people?"

"Going back to the Marquis, Lao Duan brought eight thousand cavalry, three thousand people stayed at the camp, and two thousand people assisted Liu Chen, Qianhu of the Imperial City, to capture the demon."

Ningbian thought for a moment, and according to the soldier who sent the message, it should be a report.

Only the hall master in front had a frightened look on his face and shook his head.
"No, it's not my fault, because Luo Yunhou's cavalry did not try their best to pursue them. They should have sealed off the market at such a close distance, but those cavalry were obviously about to catch up, so they stopped chasing them and gave up. The time we ran away was strange,"

"Ningbian, how many people did Duan Hong bring outside the city?"

I don’t know which Duke’s Mansion the driver is. Thinking of the Duke’s Mansion, I think of Rongguo Mansion. I don’t know who the old lady can take with her. It seems that the second wife doesn’t even have a royal status. Could it be that Mrs. Xing is following? That's a lot of pain,

"Then the prince of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, did you send someone to the Yangxin Hall to report this matter to His Majesty?"

"Hmm, eh? The old Taoist priest hasn't been caught yet?"

The incense master looked stunned for a moment, and thought for a moment, it was true, whether it was in an alley or on the street, a horseman could run faster than a man on two legs. When they turned around and fled south, the ghost-faced cavalry did not chase them at all. Another thing was that , those people in the market should be the lackeys of the Imperial City Si Yamen,
"Yes, Hall Master, it's strange to say that my subordinates felt that when we went there, it seemed as if they had an ambush and knew about it in advance. Maybe it wasn't us who were waiting for us,"

The hall leader sighed, it would be better to hide for a short time, the wind was too tight.

In a hidden old house, one of the strongholds of the Taiping Sect, the door was suddenly opened, and there was a burst of panicked footsteps outside. The leader of the Taiping Sect had already hid in a panic, leading people to disperse.
After entering the yard, the door bolt was unlocked. Everyone hid under the corner, listening to the movement outside. The sound of horse hooves could be faintly heard. After a while, the sound of horse hooves disappeared.
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief and sat down on the ground.
"Damn, those court dogs have such sharp noses that they were already ambushing there. Our brothers were spotted as soon as we arrived at the market in the east. Fortunately, the hall master used the golden cicada to escape from his shell, otherwise it would have been impossible. So good to run away,"

"Master Hou, since Liu Qianhu has not arrested anyone, he will definitely report it to the prince. I think the prince will not hide this matter. He should report it to the internal minister. The heavy rain last night caused inconvenience. Most of the arrested brothers followed They watched all night and finally arranged for some people to book Zuixian Tower as a resting place.

"Back to Qianhu, the person who touched me from behind was not from that group. He seemed to be from the Taiping Sect."

One of the incense masters was leaning against the wall, sweating profusely, panting heavily, and did not forget to please the hall master. Several other confidants also had tired looks on their faces.

The captain who responded took out a piece of yellow brocade cloth from his arms and handed it over.

Liu Chen took the yellow cloth, and there was an embroidered hidden mark on it, which was from the Taiping Sect. Since the person behind him was from the Taiping Sect, who did he meet yesterday?
"Put this thing away and give it to Eunuch Ming immediately. Tell the rest of the people to continue hiding in the East City Department and keep an eye on that group of people. I don't believe that they can still escape."

Then the eagle eyes narrowed, standing on the top floor of Zuixian Building, overlooking the entire Dongshi. Last night, because of the general position of the demon path, I wanted to search from house to house, but I didn't know that I encountered a group of unknown people who attacked me. They arrested more than a dozen people from the Military and Horse Department and happened to search a courtyard. The people inside had already run away. It seemed that someone was there to help them. I guess the identity of the demon was not simple.

"Yes, Qianhu, I'll go right away,"

Just as he turned to leave, suddenly, the captain stopped and turned around and said again;

"Back to your lord, my father-in-law just explained that there will be less noise today. The Queen Mother and the Empress will leave the palace to go to Jing'an Temple in Beishan today to offer incense. The ladies of the third rank and above from all the palaces in the city will also go with them, so it's better to pay more attention."

"Got it. Go ahead."

"Yes, my lord."

Watching his men leave, Liu Chen's face was full of gloom. He would not be able to catch him early, but he would not be able to catch him later. Now that there is someone to help him, it would be difficult to catch him again. What did Marquis Luo Yun and the Grand Eunuch think? Just now When Luo Yunhou went to hunt him down, he didn't try his best to hunt him down, so he asked the people who dispatched troops and horses to help. Unexpectedly, someone died just after they arrived.

Master Zuo was furious when he found out and withdrew the people from the Military and Horse Division. If they were to pursue him like this, how long would it take to catch him? He felt aggrieved.

While thinking,
The waiter's voice came from behind,

"Sir, breakfast is ready and brought to you. Take a look."

Liu Chen turned around and saw the waiter bowing outside the door. He smelled the aroma of rice and suddenly felt hungry.
"Bring it in." "Yes, sir."

The waiter responded, and then walked in with two waiters carrying breakfast dishes, which were placed on the table one by one. The reason why Liu Chen could live in Zuixian Tower was because of the request of the generals under the Marquis. He lived in Lihou I'm closer. The only one closest to me is the Zuixianlou family, so that's why we had this scene in the morning.

"My lord, that's it."

Liu Chen glanced at the table full of food and was a little surprised. Why were there so many?
"Well, go ahead, wait a minute,"

The waiter, who was about to turn around and leave, then turned around and asked again,
"Sir, do you have any other instructions?"

"Why is there so much breakfast? How much money should be included in the room fee and all this?"

No wonder Liu Chen asked this. Zuixianlou is a long-established restaurant in the capital. Staying there for one night is a luxury. What's more, there are so many people. Although they have a good father-in-law to take care of them, they spend too much money and can't catch them. Isn't it like sitting on a candle? .

Unexpectedly, the waiter seemed to have noticed something, and he came over and whispered back,

"Don't worry, sir. All the money spent has been covered by the housekeeper of the Marquis Mansion. You can stay here as long as you want. Don't blame me for being too talkative. Those generals who live in the school should be under the command of Marquis Luo Yun, otherwise The Luoyun Marquis Mansion can be so generous, and besides, the Marquis Mansion still lacks this little money. If I stay a few more days, I will be blessed by the Marquis. "

I don't know if it was the waiter's words that made Liu Chen unable to react for a while, but he was still a little jealous. Until the waiter left, he didn't say anything, but sighed.

"It's really better to follow the Marquis and do things,"

Then, he started eating.

In the secret room in the backyard of Zuixian Tower,
The master of the hall dressed up in disguise, wearing linen and rags, and actually pretended to be a groom. He was feeding the horses there. Looking at the fine foreign war horses in the stable, he couldn't help but sigh, the saint is now the best. It is truly unfathomable and strange, and I don’t know what will happen in the future.

He took a big bundle of the fodder in his hand and put it one by one in the food bowl. The war horse snorted and ate it. When the hall master finished his work,
The waiter in the front hall came to the stables with a simple meal and shouted deliberately,
"Come, groom, it's time to eat. Today is a good day. I brought you two buns."

When the hall master saw the waiter saying a code word, he knew something was wrong and replied,
"That's a good feeling. Thank you so much, waiter."

He walked over slowly and didn't mind that his hands were dirty. He just wiped them on his body repeatedly, picked up a bun and ate it, praising him repeatedly.
The waiter looked around and saw no one, so he bent down and poured a bowl of tea for the host, and whispered,
"Master, no one in the restaurant has gone out yet. The trap set yesterday was for us, but we didn't expect that people from the Taiping Religion would sneak attack behind us. I heard that it was the Marquis' subordinates who set the trap, so they didn't catch us."

"Well, this matter is clear. Young Master Hou wants to punish Jia Zhen. How can he really arrest him? I have written to the leader and the saint about this matter. Although there is no response, I should acquiesce. You guys Just go and do it, the evil way is hidden."

The hall master took a sip of water and took another bite of the buns. When he looked at it from a distance, he thought he was praising the deliciousness of the buns.

"Back to the Hall Master, the evildoer has been taken out of the capital by his subordinates and arranged in Zhuangzi outside. He also has the ultimatum from his early years in the capital, which will definitely not be traced."

"It turns out he is an old Jianghu. I am optimistic about him. Do you know his origin?"

The hall leader suddenly realized that someone who could get an ultimatum from the capital was not an ordinary person. It seemed that the old boy had been prepared for it, but he didn't know where he came from.
"Hall Master, we have found out something. He should be an abandoned disciple of Wudang Mountain Taoism. He has been abducting people in the outer pits based on his half-learned skills. I didn't expect that he would be able to do such an earth-shattering thing today."

The waiter also had a twitching look on his face. Sure enough, as long as a person has courage, he is not afraid of anything.

"Okay, this matter will be discussed later. Now that the leader has established a firm foothold in the south, he is just waiting for the court's reinforcements and the battle between the Taiping Religion. As soon as the court's defeat is revealed, it will immediately go north to the important town of Runan and capture this place. Until Jiangnan, so at that time, this evil way came in handy, and the White Lotus Sect still had to preach. "

"Yes, Hall Master, I understand."

Seeing that the hall master had eaten and drank enough, the waiter tidied up and then gave some instructions in a loud voice,
"Horse feeder, you have to be careful now. These horses belong to the military master, so you have to take good care of them."

"Do not worry,"

The hall master shouted, and then continued to carry the fodder to feed the horse.

Coincidentally,

He was heard by Zhou Zhengbai who was drinking tea in the adjacent yard.

"What's going on over there?"

Hearing this, the captain of the guard beside him immediately came to the wall, raised his foot and climbed on the side, climbed up the wall, and looked at the stables in the backyard of the restaurant. He only saw a groom feeding the horses there, but those horses seemed to be war horses.
Then he jumped off the wall and came to the prince's side,
"Going back to the master, it's a groom feeding the horses. They should be the mounts under Marquis Luo Yun. I just looked at them and they are all the best horses outside the pass."

"Well, why did Luo Yunhou's people arrive at Zuixian Tower? Did they discover us?"

Zhou Zhengbai's face was stunned, and he looked at Liu Zushan and asked worriedly.

"Your Majesty, don't worry. These days, Luo Yunhou's people and the imperial guards are searching for the demon in Ningguo Mansion. Everyone knows,"

Liu Zushan was not worried. There were many informants outside, and every move was under his nose. But how could Zhou Zhengbai feel at ease? When he thought of the people in the Imperial City Division, he felt sick in his heart.
"In that case, we can't be too ostentatious. Let's go into the house first. By the way, where did the teacher go?"

"Master, don't worry. Mr. Fan went to the Wu family and heard that there was a letter from the palace, but I don't know the details. My subordinates guessed that the princes are secretly colluding with the officials in the capital and want to enter the capital."

Liu Zushan has been in the capital for some time. He thought that the prince's plan would be smooth sailing. Who would have thought that things in the capital would happen again and again, and each time they would be more outrageous and weird. He always felt that there were too many disputes in the capital. The prince returned to the capital. I don’t know if it’s a blessing or a curse.

But how can Zhou Zhengbai think about this? After all, his father can say that as long as the Supreme Emperor is alive, the position of prince does not necessarily belong to someone. The prince of the current emperor has some things to fight for, and if he is like the current emperor, he will not pick up the throne. It can be seen that

That's why he made the trip to the capital. However, once he got to the capital, it was nothing like the enjoyment he had in his fiefdom. It was simply like being in prison, where he had to hide and there was no telling how long he would be able to stay hidden.

"Then wait a moment. We all want to go to Beijing, but we just don't know how capable they are. The road is not going to be easy!"

(End of this chapter)