Jinghong Tower

Chapter 407 The Androgynous Little Prince
In this intelligence, Hongxiu reported two things: she killed three people within a month.

The three people were General Yu, a distant relative of Meng Zhong, General Yang, who had his wife insult He Shuting in public, and General Li, Meng Zhong's former brother-in-law, who was stationed at Yingfengkou.

Among them, although Uncle Li was not in Longxi, the Yingfengkou where he was stationed was the Longxi fortress. He had fought side by side with Meng Zhong in his early years and shared life and death with him, otherwise he would not have married his sister to Meng Zhong.

Even though he later went to Yingfengkou, Uncle Li's prestige in the Meng family army remained undiminished.

After Meng Cheng's death, many people in the Meng family army sent people to Yingfengkou to ask Uncle Li to return to Longxi to take charge of the situation. He Jiang found out that General Yu's visit to cause trouble and the actions of General Yang's wife were all the work of Uncle Li.

After Hongxiu killed General Yu, He Jiang sent Hongxiu to kill General Yang and Uncle Li one after another. He Shuting took advantage of the ignorance of General Yang's daughter-in-law and accused General Yang and Uncle Li of having an affair with the Tartars.

Their heads were hung high at the city gate. Longxi was close to the border, and the Tartars often invaded and looted food, livestock, and women. Therefore, the people hated the Tartars. When they learned that the two had an affair with the Tartars, they spontaneously ran to the mansions of General Yang and Uncle Li and smashed them. Uncle Li's grandson, who was not even a month old, disappeared in the smashing and his life or death was unknown.

He Ran put down the intelligence in his hand and said to Zhong Yi, "He Shuting and He Jiang, the cheap father and daughter, are both vicious people. It is not enough to just send assassins. Even though they have killed three people in a row, their current situation is still difficult. I want to help them."

Zhong Yi still had no expression on his face: "How can I help?"

He Ran smiled: "Help them gather the Meng family army and fight Xiao Wenyuan."

Xiao Wenyuan has proclaimed himself king. Although his military strength is not as strong as that of Longxi, he has the powerful external support of the Tartars. Longxi is now leaderless. Once Xiao Wenyuan launches an attack, Longxi will be in danger.

Zhong Yi said coldly: "The people I have are only good at fighting and killing. For this kind of thing, you should ask Feng Xieying for help."

After saying that, he turned and left. He Ran didn't need him anymore, and there was nothing for him to do here.

He Ran was not surprised by this. The current Zhong Yi was very different from Zhou Chi in his previous life. He was more like a combination of Zhou Chi and Zhong Yi's original self: gloomy, vicious, proud, suspicious, and sensitive.

He Ran asked Xiaoli to invite Feng Xieying over. After hearing the reason, Feng Xieying smiled and said, "Xieying is the most suitable."

He Ran shook her head: "No, you are not suitable. You are too famous. Neither He Shuting nor He Jiang will believe it."

Feng Xieying thought for a moment and said to He Ran, "There is one person who might be suitable."

He Ran said, "Tell me about it."

"This man's name is He Zongqun, from Zhending. He passed the second-level official examination. He is from the same clan as the head of the family. He was transferred to Xi'an not long ago."

He Zongqun?
He Ran had some impression. It was her first year in Beijing. Many sons of the He family came to take the official examination. He Shuming also came. In the end, only He Zongqun passed.

Moreover, He Zongqun was only a branch of the He family and his family was in financial difficulty. The reason he was able to come to the capital for reference was because he had sought help from the elders of the He family.

"Have you ever taken him with you?" He Ran asked.

Feng Xieying nodded: "This man is low-key and patient, but resourceful. When he was in Changgou County, there were spies planted by Jing Chongguang in the area who designed to frame General Lu Zhen. General Lu almost fell into the trap. He Zongqun pretended to make friends with those people and feigned compliance. In the end, he caught all the spies in Changgou County and several neighboring counties."

Feng Xieying described the details of the incident in detail, which was a battle of wits and strength, thrilling and exciting. At that time, Jing Chongguang and Emperor Yonghe had just escaped, and their remnants were spread all over Jiangnan. More than a dozen new officials sent from the capital died in their hands.

After Feng Xieying left, He Ran asked someone to find the files of He Zongqun in various places in recent years, including the internship period and the current period in Xi'an. He had served as an official in five places in total. In addition to the one in Changgou County, he also appeared in two other cases. Every one of his superiors commented that he was smart and sharp, and could be of great use.

After careful consideration, two days later, a secret letter was quietly sent to Xi'an.

Just as He Zongqun's affairs were arranged, He Ran received good news.

Wang Hao is dead!

A month ago, Wang Hao was injured by Zhou Cangyue and died in less than ten days.

Zhou Cangyue complained in the letter that he suspected Wang Hao was killed by Nong Liuniang, because the wounds on Wang Hao's body were inflicted by him personally, and the knife did not hit any fatal parts. He was still preparing for Wang Hao's counterattack in a few days, but he did not expect to receive the news of Wang Hao's death.

Moreover, it is said that when Wang Hao died, all the skin on his body fell off, like a skinned rat, which was a horrible sight.

So Zhou Cangyue wrote a letter to He Ran overnight, saying in the letter: "Wang Hao's death is unscientific, too unscientific! This really wasn't done by me, I was frightened!"

After reading his letter, He Ran laughed out loud. She could imagine Zhou Cangyue's horrified expression when he learned that Wang Hao had shed his entire skin.

He Ran was not surprised. As early as when she learned that the mother-child Gu in Nong Liuniang and Wang Hao was lifted, she knew that this day would eventually come, and by then, Wang Hao would die miserably.

When Zong Qi came, he heard He Ran's laughter before he entered the house.

He looked at Xiaoli: "Master, do you have guests?"

Xiaoli smiled and said, "There are no guests. The boss is reading a letter."

Zong Qi was curious, whose letter could make his sister so happy and laugh so hard?

After finally no more noise could be heard in the room, Xiaoli went in to report. When Zong Qi went in, He Ran was carefully putting a piece of sealing wax in a notebook.

"Sealing wax? You collect sealing wax?" Zong Qi didn't find it strange. In modern times, He Ran collected a lot of things, and they were all worthless, such as instant noodle bags, popsicle sticks, and various bottle caps.

He Ran chuckled and said, "Put away anything you like if you see one."

She put the wax book into the drawer and said seriously, "I heard that the missing ship was found?"

On that day, of the fifty ships that were carrying rice to the capital, only forty-nine arrived, one was missing, and there was an official on board that ship.

Zong Qi nodded and said, "I came here for this matter. The boat was found on a shallow beach in the Shushui River. Although part of it was robbed by nearby villagers when it was found, it can be seen that the rice on the boat was not lost when it ran aground. The people on the boat, including four officials from Yuhang who were going to Beijing, and seven boatmen, were all missing."

He Ran thought of He Zongqun's experiences in Jiangnan, where more than a dozen newly promoted officials died. The four people who came to Beijing this time were also newly promoted officials sent to Jiangnan. She thought about it and said, "Let the Jinyiwei investigate this matter."

After finishing the business, Zong Qi did not leave, feeling a little embarrassed: "I, I'm getting engaged."

He Ran was stunned: "With Lu Chang?"

Zong Qi couldn't hide the joy in his eyes: "Yes, it's her."

He Ran laughed: "Congratulations! Oh my God, after living for three lifetimes, I finally have a sister-in-law!"

Zong Qi: "Where does three lifetimes come from?" He Ran: "Don't worry about it."

Zong Qi and Lu Chang are engaged!
He Ran counted the days and found that the couple's progress was very rapid.

In Zong Qi's words, he had lived for two lifetimes and finally met someone he liked, so of course he had to marry her home as soon as possible. Of course, he could also marry her.

Li Jinxiu felt that Zong Qi was good in every way except that he was too old, so they couldn't delay any longer. A man's golden years were only a few years, and if they didn't have a few children while they were still willing and able, what would they do if Zong Qi became old and frail and couldn't do that anymore?
I have to say, she is worthy of being the woman who once frightened countless men. Even He Ran expressed admiration for what she said.

Lu Chang chuckled when he heard this.

Only Zong Qi was disheveled in the wind. He was twenty-seven, not seventy-two. If you didn’t know, you would think Lu Chang had found an old man.

Customs vary from place to place. In the capital, in addition to gift giving, engagement also requires a banquet.

He Ran said to Zong Qi: "Please tell me in advance when you set the date for the wedding banquet, and I will definitely go!"

After seeing Zong Qi off, He Ran's heart was filled with joy. If her modern relatives knew this news, they would definitely be very happy.

He Ran suddenly wanted to talk to someone, so she picked up a pen and wrote a letter to Zhou Cangyue.

She told Zhou Cangyue that her brother was going to get married and her sister-in-law was a lovely and capable girl.

At the same time, Zhou Cangyue was looking at the woman standing in front of him with a confused look on his face.

Nong Liuniang, this woman is Nong Liuniang!
Just today, several women dressed as Dong people suddenly came outside the military camp. They wanted to see Zhou Cangyue, the Grand Marshal of the Huwei Army.

Of course the soldiers refused to let them in. One of the women said in not very fluent Chinese: "Tell Marshal Zhou that Nong Liuniang wants to see you."

The soldier took a few steps back in fear. He used to be a member of Wang Hao's Han army, but later he was captured and joined the Huwei Army. The Han army called her Nong Liuniang, who was full of poison and could spit out poisonous smoke from her mouth that could kill people from ten feet away. Therefore, although he had never seen Nong Liuniang, he was already terrified by the mention of her.

The soldier did not dare to delay and rushed in to report the news. When he learned that Nong Liuniang had arrived, Zhou Cangyue was stunned. It seemed that he guessed right. Wang Hao was killed by Nong Liuniang, and he was the one who took the blame for Nong Liuniang.

No, although Wang Hao is not a good guy, he can't just take the blame. He needs to negotiate terms with Nong Liuniang. Wang Hao has been dead for more than 20 days, but Nong Liuniang only appeared at this time. Zhou Cangyue dare not underestimate the enemy.

While he was thinking, Nong Liuniang came in. Seeing Zhou Cangyue, Nong Liuniang was startled and said, "Are you Zhou Cangyue? How come you look better than a woman? No wonder people say you are neither male nor female."

Zhou Cangyue: Thank you so much, you are quite humorous.

"You don't need to tell me, I know I'm good-looking. You came to me because of Wang Hao, right?"

Zhou Cangyue: When I was a little girl, I even hid it from Sister Ran, so you can see how pretty I am.

Nong Liuniang is a Dong girl with a straightforward personality. Seeing that Zhou Cangyue was the same, she found Zhou Cangyue more and more pleasing to her eyes. As expected, among the Han people, besides the leader He, Commander Zhong and his men, there are still good people.

Once, because of Wang Hao, she thought that all Han people in the world were bad people. Even when she sent people to the capital for help, it was only because He Ran was a woman, not because He Ran was a Han Chinese.

There are not many Han people that Nong Liuniang finds pleasing to the eye, and Zhou Cangyue came from behind.

"Yeah, you're quite clever, little brother. I came to you just because of Wang Hao."

Zhou Cangyue couldn't bear to hear Wang Hao's name now. Whenever he heard it, he would think of the skinless corpse. It was so disgusting that he didn't eat meat for several days because of this.

"You killed Wang Hao, but everyone thinks he died at my hands. His men all want to kill me to avenge him. Nong Liuniang, I know the grudge between you and him, but since you killed someone, just admit it openly. With your current status, it's not something shameful to admit that you killed your ex-husband who has long been divorced."

Nong Liuniang was a little confused by his outburst: "Ex-husband? What's that?"

Zhou Cangyue: "Wang Hao is your ex-husband, your last husband."

Nong Liuniang understood. She had learned something about her ex-husband. From now on, whenever she talked about Wang Hao, she would say ex-husband. The Han people really know a lot.

"I did admit it. I was the one who killed Wang Hao, but I was not there at the time. Even if I admitted it, no one would believe it."

The corner of Zhou Cangyue's mouth twitched. She could kill people even when she was not present. The rumors were true.

Nong Liuniang continued, "I have poisoned him. He will slowly die within a month. Before he dies, he will shed his skin like a snake."

Zhou Cangyue waved his hands repeatedly: "Alright, alright, I know you are very powerful, please stop talking."

Nong Liuniang was puzzled. This handsome little prince seemed to have something wrong with his brain.

Isn't it just peeling? What's wrong with that?

Nong Liuniang said: "I only want his life, not his territory, but his territory cannot be given to you either. I came here to tell you that Wang Hao's territory has an owner. If you dare to take it, I will kill you!"

He had forgotten how many years it had been since someone had said they wanted to kill him face to face. Zhou Cangyue was a little curious and couldn't help but ask, "You want to poison me?"

As soon as he said this, he suddenly remembered the legends about Nong Liuniang. He quickly stepped back and made a pause gesture: "Let's talk it out nicely. We are all civilized people. Don't poison people at will. This is not good. Sister Nong Liu, you are a kind-hearted person. You will definitely not do this, right?"

Nong Liuniang snorted coldly and put down her raised hand.

Zhou Cangyue breathed a sigh of relief. Nong Liuniang could throw out a handful of poison with just a wave of her hand. It was so scary.

"You're talking about Wang Hao's territory. You don't want it, and you won't let me have it. So who do you want to give it to?"

Nong Liuniang looked at him and said word by word: "Master He, this is my thank you gift to Master He."

Zhou Cangyue's eyes lit up. Although Nong Liuniang spoke in a strange voice, the four words "He Da Dangjia" were clearly pronounced and sounded particularly nice.

"The head of the He family you are talking about is He Ran?"

Nong Liu Niang nodded: "Is there anyone else in the world who is worthy of the title of He Da Dangjia?"

Zhou Cangyue wanted to say that there was a Mr. He decades ago.

Forget it. Most of the people in the cave are illiterate. She wouldn’t understand even if I told her, so I won’t waste my breath.