Everything starts from Menghualu

Chapter 454 The mantis stalks the cicada and the oriole follows behind
And the fact was indeed so. For a period of time afterwards, Xue Dingfei caused chaos in the Duke's Mansion, and everyone in the mansion could not live in peace.

Xue Yuan wanted to kill him several times, but he held back in the end. During this time, he also followed Cao Cheng's advice and sent people to keep a close eye on Xie Wei.

It can be said that everything that needs to be done has been done, and at this time Cao Cheng is just watching the show. He receives the latest news every day, so he enjoys watching the excitement.

Whatever disturbance happened in the Duke Dingguo's Mansion today, and whatever happened in the Xie Wei's Mansion tomorrow, it can be said that he had something fun to watch every day, but because of this, he overlooked one person.

All of them ignored this person, and that person was Zhang Zha. Yes, although he had to close the case last time, he still couldn't get over this hurdle in his heart.

So he had already started investigating secretly, and after much investigation, he found out about Zhou Yinzhi. All the secrets hidden by Zhou Yinzhi were uncovered by Zhang Zha like peeling off silk threads from an onion.

Looking at the information he had collected, Zhang Zha's face was full of shock. He had never imagined that Zhou Yinzhi, who seemed to be an inconspicuous man, had actually done so many things behind the scenes.

He returned to the capital with Miss Jiang Er, and was later chosen by Duke Dingguo to be an undercover agent. The decline of the Yan family was inseparable from his contribution.

Afterwards, he served Duke Dingguo and Marquis Dingyuan successively. He could conclude that this person must know something. With this guess in his mind, he was directly in a dilemma.

Because he was just a civil servant, how could he investigate a spy from Xingwu Guard without an imperial decree? No matter how you looked at it, this was not going to work.

Zhang Zha pondered for a long time and finally came up with a solution. Time quickly came to the next day. Early in the morning, Zhang Zha went directly to Xie Wei's house.

That's right, he thought about it for a long time yesterday, and finally thought of asking Xie Wei for help. After all, Xie Wei is His Majesty's man, and has nothing to do with the Xue family or the Dingyuan Marquis Mansion.

So even if Xie Wei didn't help him at that time, he would not leak it out. It was because of this idea that he dared to come here today.

Unfortunately, what he didn't know was that at this time, Xie Wei had already been targeted by the Xue family, so when Xie Wei learned that Zhang Zha came to see him, he seemed a little surprised. But he still went to see him.

When Zhang Zha saw Xie Wei coming, he immediately stood up and saluted. Xie Wei naturally hurriedly said a few polite words, and then the two of them continued to sit down.

"I wonder why Mr. Zhang came to see me today?" Xie Wei asked directly
"Thank you, Master. I came here today to ask for a favor. The thing is, ever since I was ordered to investigate the case of King Linzi last time, I have always had a doubt."

"That's probably what happened. I came to see you today because I want you to do me a favor and let me try Zhou Yinzhi." Zhang Zha said directly.
"Hmm? Sir Zhang, you come to me to ask me to help you arrest someone without any evidence? Sir Zhang, I remember that you are not such a person, right? This is not your character?" Xie Wei asked curiously.

"Master Xie, the reason why Zhang is like this is because the murderer is right in front of us and the truth is within reach, but we are powerless to do anything. This is really, really..." Zhang Zha hesitated and said
"Well, Master Zhang, I understand what you mean, but I want to remind you that I can help you, but I can only help you catch people, I don't know anything else." Xie Wei said
"Master Xie, please rest assured. Since it is Zhang who is investigating this case, I will naturally bear all the consequences. I will never implicate you, Master Xie." Zhang Zha said with a serious face.

"Master Zhang, are you really not going to consider this? You should know why this case was closed so quickly."

"If you bring up the past now, no matter what result you get in the end, I'm afraid it won't end well. Is it worth it?" Xie Wei reminded him hesitantly.

"Thank you for your reminder, Master. I know what's going on. In that case, I'll take my leave first. After you catch the person, please send someone to report to me." After Zhang Zha finished speaking, he stood up and left.

Xie Wei looked at his departing back and shook his head helplessly.

"Xie Ju'an, shouldn't you be happy now? With him in the front, I think those people from the Xue family won't have time to stare at us, right?" Lu Xian said
"It's easy for you to say that. Yes, it is true. However, this Mr. Zhang is indeed a pillar of the country. It is a pity that he died just like this." Xie Wei shook his head.
"Okay, I know you mean well, but do you think he will listen to you?" Lu Xian said
After hearing this, Xie Wei could only nod helplessly, and then began to give orders for swords, pianos, swords and books.

As for the news that Xie Wei had met Zhang Zha today, he naturally could not hide it from his spies.

"What did you say? Zhang Zha went to see Xie Wei? Oh no, he must have discovered something. Go and tell my foster father and let him take care of the aftermath." Cao Cheng said directly after hearing this.
As for Xue Yuan, there was actually no need for him to remind him, as he had already given the order. No matter why Zhang Zha went to see Xie Wei, he would not be able to survive.

That night, a figure appeared outside Zhang Zha's courtyard. He looked around, and after making sure it was safe, he jumped directly into the yard.

He looked towards the lighted room, then slowly walked over, gently unlocked the room with the dagger he carried with him, and then slowly walked towards the head of the bed.

After seeing the bed, he vaguely realized that something was wrong, so he decisively gave up the assassination and turned to leave. As a result, he was ambushed as soon as he left the yard.

It was undoubtedly true that he was very capable. He was able to hold out for a long time when outnumbered by two. However, he was no match for Jianshu and Daoqin and was captured.

Then Zhang Zha, who was hiding in the dark, slowly came out and said to Dao Qin, "Thank you very much, both of you. If you hadn't come here, I'm afraid I would be a corpse now."

To talk about what happened tonight, we naturally have to start with Xie Wei's instructions. After Zhang Zha left, Xie Wei knew that the news would soon be known to Xue Yuan.
Based on his understanding of Xue Yuan, he would definitely take action immediately, so he directly asked Daoqin and Jianshu to quietly find Zhang Zha and arrange the drama tonight.

Hmm? Zhou Yinzhi? I didn't expect that Duke Dingguo would send you to kill me? It really saved me a lot of effort. You have been captured alive today, so you are no different from being dead now.

"If you can tell me the answer I want, I will naturally speak for you in front of His Majesty, but if you don't, I just need to spread the news and you will be silenced soon."

"I've laid out the roads for you, choose one yourself," Zhang Zhe said confidently.

After hearing this, Zhou Yinzhi had no intention of speaking. Instead, he looked at Zhang Zha in front of him with a mocking expression and said, "Zhang Zha, do you think you won? Stop dreaming."

"If I really listened to you, we would all die. You want to fight the Duke? Give up on this idea. We will all die, all die!" Zhou Yinzhi said directly.

"Since you are so stubborn, don't blame me." After hearing this, Zhang Zha didn't use any tricks. He knew very well that Zhou Yinzhi would not say anything.

He planned to go to the palace to meet His Majesty tomorrow, and then His Majesty would make the final decision. However, he didn't know that many shadows had appeared outside their house. That's right, Xue Yuan would not let him assassinate alone.

He also prepared a lot of backup plans. Dao Qin was the first to notice something unusual. He saw a lot of kerosene suddenly thrown in from outside the yard, followed by torches.

When Zhang Zha saw this scene, his face suddenly changed and he immediately went to his mother's room because he was worried that he would be discovered and ruin his plan.

He didn't have time to let his mother leave. His mother was still in the room. Zhang Zha helped his mother out in no time.

"Hahaha, the master's back-up plan is here. You can't survive. You all can't survive. I can't survive either. Hahaha, hahaha!" Zhou Yinzhi laughed loudly.
Zhang Zha had no time to care about him at this time. He went out from the back door with Daoqinjianshu. As for Zhou Yinzhi, he could no longer take care of him.

When they arrived at the back door, several men in black came towards them. It was obvious that they had ambushed them here and were waiting for them to fall into their trap.

Jianshu rushed forward and fought with the men in black. Although the men in black were no match for Jianshu, they outnumbered him, so Jianshu was stuck in a stalemate for a while.

Dao Qin naturally rushed forward to kill them upon seeing this. Soon the men in black were beaten back step by step. Hu Sihou Zhang Zha took the opportunity to follow them with his mother on his back.

They wanted to run in one direction, but they didn't know that someone was already waiting there. When they walked into an alley, two rows of men in black holding bows and crossbows suddenly appeared on the roofs on both sides.

Dao Qin's face changed drastically when he saw this. He wanted to retreat, but found it was too late. A rain of arrows was shooting towards them.

Daoqin and Jianshu are both highly skilled in martial arts, so it is no problem for them to hold off for a while. However, it is different for Zhang Zha. He is just a civil servant and is accompanying an old man, so he cannot stop them at all.

Soon he was wounded, and upon seeing this, the old lady rushed forward to shield her son from the arrows, and soon she was shot several times.

Zhang Zha's eyes were about to burst when he saw this, but it was of no use. His mother still died to protect him. For a moment, he was completely desperate and lost hope.

Just when they were in a deadlock, a group of people suddenly appeared in the distance, led by Xie Wei. The imperial guards had arrived, and the men in black had no choice but to retreat.

Xie Wei winked at his two men, and then saw Zhang Zha with a dead look on his face.

He knew that no matter how he tried to persuade her, it would be useless at this time, so he simply changed his mind.

"Who are you showing this to? How do you think your mother died? Wasn't it all because of you? You chose this path yourself."

"I warned you at the beginning, but what did you tell me then? What's going on now? Do you regret it now? It's too late!"

"You only have two choices now. One is to wait for death here, and the other is to follow me into the palace to see His Majesty. You make your choice!" After saying this, Xie Wei turned around and left.

After hearing this, Zhang Zha did not hesitate at all. He just walked over holding his mother's body. After settling his mother down, he followed Xie Wei into the palace.

On the carriage to the palace, Zhang Zha, who had come to his senses, said, "Thank you, Master, for saving my life."

"It seems that you have recovered? In that case, don't say these polite words. You should think carefully about what to say when you see His Majesty later!" Xie Wei said directly
After hearing this, Zhang Zha nodded directly and stopped talking. The carriage soon arrived at the palace gate.

After entering the imperial study, the two of them immediately greeted each other, and Shen Lang simply waved his hand after hearing that.

"My dear ministers, what is the result? Is there any good news?" Shen Lang asked
"Please forgive me, Your Majesty. It was too late when I went there. Zhou Yinzhi had been killed. Only some bodies of men in black and the crossbows of the army were left at the scene." Xie Wei said
"Hmm? Is that so? What a pity. By the way, I heard that your mother, Zhang Aiqing, was murdered?" Shen Lang said with some regret.

When Zhang Zha heard this, he naturally hurriedly saluted. After hearing his words, Shen Lang said, "Your mother also sacrificed her life for the country. I will issue an imperial decree to let the old man rest in peace."

After hearing this, Zhang Zha naturally hurried to thank him. Shen Lang asked him to stand up and then said, "My dear, please tell me what you found in your investigation. What is going on?"

After hearing this, Zhang Zha told Shen Lang the whole story from beginning to end. Although Shen Lang felt relieved, his face was tightly knitted with frowns.

"According to your investigation, Lord Zhang, my brother's death should be related to Duke Dingguo. It's just a pity that Zhou Yinzhi has been silenced." Shen Lang said
Zhang Zha didn't react after hearing this, but Xie Wei understood that the matter ended here. Zhang Zha's so-called persistence was sometimes worthless.

At this time in the Duke Dingguo's Mansion, Xue Yuan also received reports from his subordinates.

"Huh? They are not dead? The imperial guards have been dispatched? Damn Xie Wei! But now that they are dead, what can you do to me?" Xue Yuan said angrily

Cao Cheng was similar to him, but his reaction was much calmer. If anyone knew the news and felt the most uneasy, it would naturally be Jiang Xuening.

"What? Dead? What did you say, sir? Is Mr. Zhang's mother really dead? How did she die? How could she die so suddenly?" Jiang Xue Ning asked

"Ning Er, you came here so early in the morning, is it just for this? You are so nervous about that Zha, could it be that you like him?" Xie Wei asked
"I, I didn't. I just admire Mr. Zhang's talent, so I felt sorry for him for a while." Jiang Xuening said

"Really? Only you know whether it's true or not, but I'm not interested. Do you have anything else to do? If not, just leave now and don't bother me here!" Xie Wei said directly
After hearing this, Jiang Xuening realized that she was too excited, so she bowed and then turned and left.

(End of this chapter)