Jinghong Tower

Chapter 435 Fifty-one Days

As it turned out, Mingming was not wrong. The next day, the women who had been arrested were released.

In fact, it is very easy to distinguish the true from the false. Whether in the gambling house or the palace, there are many people who have seen Miss Mingming. The reason why so many people were arrested is that those clerks just wanted to let the people above see that they are working hard.

However, both Emperor Yonghe and Miss Mingming disappeared without a trace like dewdrops in the sun.

In the capital, Zhong Yi walked quickly into Laomofang Hutong and handed the news from Fuzhou to He Ran.

He Ran read it carefully and then looked at the date above. It had been ten days.

This is already the fastest speed that can be achieved in the human-powered era.

She picked up the almanac on the table, flipped through it, and said to Zhong Yi, "The 25th of next month is a good day, what do you think?"

It is now the fourth day of the Lunar New Year, and there are still fifty-one days until the twenty-fifth day of next month.

A hint of murderous intent flashed in Zhong Yi's slightly narrow eyes. He Ran had been waiting for this day for fifty-one days, and so had he.

Yunnan.

Zhou Cangyue could finally run around. He performed a set of knife skills. Bai Gou grinned and said, "The doctor said that although you can run and jump, you still need to take good care of yourself, otherwise you will develop a chronic disease."

Zhou Cangyue asked: "What day is today?"

The white dog said, "It's the fourth day of the seventh month, what's wrong?"

Zhou Cangyue: "There are only two years, six months and eight days left. Do you want me to take good care of him?"

The white dog was confused: "What do you mean by two years, several months and several days? What are you talking about?"

Zhou Cangyue: "If you don't understand, don't ask."

This was the deadline he set for himself. Within the deadline, he had to defeat King Baoxiang, he had to make Jiaoying pay tribute again, and he had to meet He Ran alive and well.

Thinking of this, Zhou Cangyue suddenly turned around and ran. The white dog didn't understand why and hurriedly followed him.

Zhou Cangyue ran to the lake. The water was as clear as a mirror, reflecting a bearded face.

"Ah? Why is it so ugly? It must be an illusion."

Zhou Cangyue stretched out his hand to stir up the clear water in the lake. The reflection shattered as it swayed, and then reassembled as it swayed, still showing that weathered face.

Zhou Cangyue wanted to cry. He was just injured, so how could he be disfigured?

Sister Ran is the most lustful
"Where's my knife?"

Bai Gou quickly handed over his knife, which was a large sword that had been used to chopped off countless heads.

"I want a razor, a razor for shaving!"

Zhou Cangyue was about to collapse. Really, he almost died at the hands of King Baoxiang, but he didn't even collapse like this.

What is a razor?
Who in the Beggars' Sect uses that?
Bai Gou took off the dagger tied to his ankle and handed it to him. Zhou Cangyue said disdainfully: "How long have you not washed your feet? The knife smells like stinky feet."

Having said that, he still used the dagger to shave his beard cleanly.

As expected, beard is a killer of appearance. Without beard, his youth returns immediately.

Zhou Cangyue swore that he would never grow a beard in his life, even if he was mistaken for a eunuch, he would not grow one. When he was old, he would be a neat and clean-cut beardless old man.

With his good looks back, he regained his confidence. Zhou Cangyue was full of confidence. He threw the dagger to Bai Gou and said, "Go, invite Zhang Shigong and his men to my tent."

The white dog looked up at the sky. This meant that he could walk on two legs. It was time to start the war and he didn't want to delay even for a day.

"Why don't you wait a little longer? The doctor said you need to rest a little longer."

Before Bai Gou could finish the rest of the sentence, Zhou Cangyue pointed at his face and said to Bai Gou: "I can wait, but my youth can't wait. Youth is fleeting. Do you understand?"

The white dog can understand every word, but why can't he understand when they are put together?

Ten days later, Ruyan pushed the door open excitedly and saw Mingming wiping her knife.

"Oh my, I thought the beautiful gambling goddess only played with dice and not knives. Now she is cleaning the knife. This knife must be raw."

Before he could even utter the word "rust", the knife in Mingming's hand had already flown over, brushed Ruyan's face, and stabbed into the door frame.

Ruyan was stunned for a moment and took a breath, but she still finished her words stubbornly: "It's rusted."

Mingming rolled his eyes and didn't even look at her: "When I was killing people, you were still playing in the mud."

Ruyan giggled: "I am only eighteen years old, just the age to sparkle like morning dew."

Mingming laughed: "I killed my first person when I was ten years old. By the time I was eighteen, I had killed more than twenty people. How about you?"

Ruyan: "I came to Jinghong Tower when I was ten years old. Since then, I have never had to worry about food and drink. I often worry that such a good life is a dream in the middle of the night. Fortunately, this is not a dream. I have been happy for eight years and will continue to be happy in the future."

Mingming finally looked up at Ruyan. The girl had bright eyes and a brilliant smile. She looked like a child who grew up in the sun.
She grew up in darkness, like a trained mouse.

Lan Ruo is the same.

The first time Lan Ruo killed someone, he was younger than her, so King Jin remembered Lan Ruo very early on, and so Lan Ruo died at the age of fourteen.

I clearly can't understand why a person who grew up in darkness can make so many people live in the sun. Ruyan's bright smile is something she will never have. However, Lanruo has made many children like Ruyan able to confidently say to others, "I have been happy for eight years and will continue to be happy in the future."

What Lan Ruo had accomplished was beyond her reach, no wonder even Zhong Yi was willing to follow her.

"Okay, then you must leave Fuzhou alive, so that you can continue to be happy."

Ruyan grinned, revealing an eight-tooth smile.

She took out a note from her bosom: "This is for you. It has been translated."

Mingming's eyes lit up, the order from above finally arrived.

There were only a few words on the note. After Mingming read it, he lit a candle and watched the note turn into ashes.

Seeing that she didn't say anything, Ruyan pulled out the dagger, wiped it with her sleeve, and offered it with both hands, and asked flatteringly: "Hero, have you thought about what to do? If there is anything you need me to do, just tell me."

Mingming looked at her and said, "Why are you so well behaved all of a sudden?"

Ruyan grinned: "The superiors assigned you such an important task, which means you must be an expert. No, you are an expert among experts. I was blind and did not recognize you before, and I have offended you. I hope you will forgive me. When this task is completed, I will treat you to West Lake vinegar fish when I return to Hangzhou."

Mingming rolled his eyes and said, "I beg you, please keep the West Lake Vinegar Fish for yourself." Ruyan: "So you have eaten it before."

That night, several figures quietly sneaked into the Regent's Palace. Suddenly, the palace was filled with shouts: "There is an assassin, catch the assassin!"

There was a loud bang, like a thunderclap, and in an instant, all the sounds disappeared and the surroundings became eerily quiet.

Someone shouted, "What are you still standing there for? Go protect the prince!"

Before he finished speaking, there was another loud noise, and this time the sound was obviously not coming from the same place as before.

The sound came from the back house.

"It's bad, go to the backyard and protect the prince!"

A team of guards rushed to the backyard, but before they could gain a foothold, the third loud noise came, which was more real, more explosive, and more terrifying than thunder on a clear night.

The young prince woke up from his sleep and burst into tears.

The tender cry of the child was particularly harsh in the dark night, and also pointed the assassin in the direction.

The prince was right there. He was Jing Chongguang’s late-born son and also Jing Chongguang’s only son now.

The wet nurse was coaxing the child when suddenly, a group of guards armed with swords broke in through the door. The wet nurse screamed in fear and the child in her arms was frightened again and cried incessantly.

Looking at the frightened woman and the crying child, the guards breathed a sigh of relief. As long as nothing happened, it didn't matter if they were a little frightened.

They looked around and made sure that there was no one hiding behind the curtains or under the bed, then they retreated one after another.

A guard was walking at the end, and he glanced at the child in the woman's arms intentionally or unintentionally.

Children aged three or four like to run in the garden, and it is common for them to fall and get their hands covered in mud.

But how could a prince, who had maids and a wet nurse who never left his side, have a curve of black mud between his fingernails?
The guard dodged and continued searching for the assassin with his companions.

"Look, look, what is that?"

Some people picked up things on the ground, and some people quickly held up lanterns to shine over there.

"Firecrackers? These are burnt firecrackers!"

Everyone understood that the loud noise just now was caused by the firecracker. It was such a big firecracker, no wonder it was deafening.

"I was so scared, I thought it was a thunder cannon."

A guard muttered quietly that before becoming a guard in the palace, he was Jing Chongguang's personal soldier. Outside the city of Yangzhou, the thunderous sound of the thunder cannon still appears in his dreams to this day.

The head guard glanced at him and cursed, "If you don't know how to speak, don't speak. What is a thunder cannon? Why is there a thunder cannon here?"

Yes, although the Thunder Cannon is small in size, that is only compared to ordinary artillery. Even if the Thunder Cannon can be equipped with wheels and pushed, it is still a pile of heavy iron. How can it appear in the palace?

In any case, the loud noises were just from the firecrackers, and everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

Then, they found two burnt firecracker tubes, but this only proved that the assassin was bluffing.

Most importantly the Assassin!

They clearly saw several figures jumping over the wall, but now they have searched every corner of the palace and still cannot find the assassins.

Ruyan and her companions had just changed out of their night clothes when news arrived from the palace.

"Ha! The prince in the mansion is fake!" Ruyan said.

Mingming raised his eyebrows: "If the prince is fake, then the prince must be fake too. Jing Chongguang, this old bastard, is really cautious."

Ruyan slumped on the mat like a boneless person: "Fortunately we didn't do anything too hard, we just lit a few firecrackers, it's not a loss!"

Mingming pulled out a long needle from his head and gently moved the candle wick, and the candle flame popped into a spark.

"Aren't you an expert in killing people? Speak quickly." Ruyan urged. It seemed that she was not tired tonight.

Mingming said slowly: "Old Jing must be in the palace. In his opinion, the palace is the safest place. Why?"

Ruyan's eyes lit up. "There are secret passages? The imperial palace in Fuzhou was expanded from the Fuwang Mansion of the previous dynasty. There are secret passages in old houses like this, so there must be some in the imperial palace. By the way, weren't you a queen? You must know about the secret passages in the imperial palace, right?"

Mingming snorted coldly: "I have never been a queen, I am still a virgin."

"Okay, okay, you are a virgin, so do you know the secret path? Don't tell me that the secret path is in you. You just said that you are a virgin." Ruyan said.

She clearly wanted to hit someone, but she didn't want to argue with a child, so she said, "There are indeed secret passages in the palace. I know one, which is in the Queen's Palace. Emperor Yonghe often sneaked back to his own palace through that secret passage, but it is said that Jing Chongguang doesn't know about this secret passage."

Ruyan lay on the ground like a deflated dumpling. This kind of brain-intensive work was not suitable for her. She was still just an eighteen-year-old child.

Mingming snapped his fingers and said, "I remember now. Jing Chongguang hid in the palace not because of the secret passage in the palace, but because of those women in the harem!"

Ruyan suddenly became interested: "I remember now, Jing Chongguang loved to cuckold the emperor the most, that's how he got his son. Now that Emperor Yonghe is gone, the women in the harem have become Jing Chongguang's. Ah, I'm going to go into the palace to catch the adulterer, and I'm going to submit an article to the evening paper, called He Ruyan Catching an Adulterer. What do you think, will I become famous overnight?"

Could anyone explain to me what's going on in this guy's train of thought?

"What I mean is that the women in the harem are backed by the four great families and the big merchants in Fujian. Emperor Yonghe has just passed away, who knows if any of them are pregnant? Even if not, Jing Chongguang will announce that they are pregnant. After ten months of pregnancy, when the baby is ripe, he will hold another child and say that it is Emperor Yonghe's child.

What we can think of, Jing Chongguang can also think of, and of course the families behind these women can think of it even more. Every family wants this good thing to happen to them, so they will send people to protect the women they choose, and their people are everywhere inside and outside the palace walls.

The assassin is just the opposite. Who would care whether anyone in the harem is pregnant? Even if the baby is born, it is just a child who can be killed with one knife.

Therefore, the palace is the safest and most secure place.

It is safer for Jing Chongguang to hide in the palace with his precious son than to stay in the regent's palace with heavy guards."

Mingming rarely speaks so many words in one breath, so Ruyan was a little flattered after hearing this, and immediately came over like a dog: "Sister, when are we going to enter the palace? To be honest, I have never been to the palace in my life."

"Hmph, what kind of palace is this? Not to mention the one here, even the one in Nanjing doesn't count. If you want to go to the palace to broaden your horizons, you have to return alive. Then, when the time comes to reward you for your merits, you can go to the palace to receive your award. Wouldn't that mean you're going to the palace then?" Mingming said.

Ruyan grinned foolishly, it was a reward based on merit. She had received many awards since she was a child, but she had never received one in the palace.

"Hey, sister, when will you let me go with you to perform meritorious deeds?"

Ruyan rubbed her little hands, the happy little fly.

Mingming reached out and stroked her furry head: "I will go alone, you guys will be my support, but you can't go near the palace."