Kaifeng Monster

Chapter 97 The Imperial City Nightmare (1)
Back in Kaifeng, Zhan Zhao first reported the ins and outs of the incident to Bao Zheng. Since the incident involved strange forces and chaos, it was not easy to tell the officials clearly, so he had to agree that "the trip to Long County did not yield much, and the escape case of the Yao family and Yao Meiren "Irrelevant" excuse to deal with the emperor first.

Renzong didn't mind this matter, his anger only boiled over at the moment he learned that Yao Meiren had escaped, and after so many days passed, it had already subsided significantly.In addition, because he is in favor of Concubine Zhang, he is somewhat less concerned about Yao Meiren's case, and ordered the Kaifeng government to investigate with all his might, without even setting a time limit.

Although the emperor didn't put any pressure on him, the big stone in the hearts of the people in Kaifeng Mansion never let go for a moment.Especially Bao Zheng, who was so worried that he couldn't sleep at night, he said to Zhan Zhao and Gongsun Ce: "I heard that Yao Meiren died in the palace for no reason, and her soul disappeared-could it be said that there are evil spirits hidden in the palace of the imperial city? If you let it go , how do you know it won't hurt the emperor?"

For several days in a row, nothing came out of the plan, and the word "Chuan" between the eyebrows was as deep as a chisel.On this day, he entered the court to discuss matters. When the court was over, the Empress Dowager Li sent someone to invite Bao Zheng to share with him, saying that there was a good tribute tea.

After the civet cat was exchanged for the crown prince, Bao Zheng was the guest of Empress Dowager Li - the other courtiers saw it, although they were jealous, but they couldn't say anything. No matter how narrow-minded you are, you have to be convinced: so Li How much credit is it to go from a poor woman in a broken kiln to the empress dowager?It is not too much to burn incense and make offerings every day, it should be regarded as a guest of honor.

When Bao Zheng and Empress Dowager Li were drinking tea, they suddenly came up with a plan. When they returned to the mansion, they hurriedly asked Zhan Zhao and Gongsun Ce to discuss the matter before they sat down. The girl enters the palace."

After much deliberation, if there are monsters by the emperor's side, no matter how many imperial guards you send, they will end up with naked eyes and mortal bodies, which will not be of much use; if you send a bunch of monks and Taoists into the palace, the emperor will think you are mentally ill. There is bound to be a lot of discussion inside and outside the ruling and opposition parties.In order not to overwhelm others, it would be best to send Duanmucui into the palace—small goals, great abilities, low-key and unassuming, and rich experience in collecting monsters.The so-called Duanmu playing, one top two.

Zhan Zhao was taken aback, not knowing how to answer for a moment, he was stunned for a moment, and his tone was rather hesitant: "Duanmu's magic power has lost more than half, it's not as good as before, my subordinates are worried..."

Bao Zheng was surprised, and looked at Gongsun Ce: "Didn't it be said that this girl passed through the wall and transferred without any effort? Now how much of her mana has recovered?"

Here, Mr. Bao obviously confused the concepts of mana and mana.Even if they are not gods, as long as they can cast Taoist spells, they can subdue little devils and calm down little rookie devils.There are many stories of wandering Taoist priests drawing talismans to catch ghosts among the folks. Strange Tales from a Liaozhai Studio also records a story about a certain scholar learning from a Taoist priest and reciting mantras through walls. It can be seen that in the section on mantras, as long as you have the heart and strength to enter the right teacher's door, Ordinary people can also act.

But when dealing with tricky devils and monsters, the power of spells is like scratching the surface of the boots, because these monsters are also proficient in spells, and the two counteract each other, and the superiority is judged by strength.When Duanmucui was the master of Xihualiu sect, he mostly relied on mana to subdue demons.What's more, this girl was a mess in reciting spells because of her superb magic power.Gongsun Ce only saw that she passed through the wall without any effort, but he didn't see the hard work behind her - because of reciting the wrong spell, she didn't know how many bumps on her head.

Seeing this, you may ask, why Zhanwei said "Duanmu lost most of his mana, not as good as before", instead of losing all his mana?Is there any sign of her mana returning?
In this regard, our answer is: Yes...not entirely.

For example, if you leave a used up battery for a while, maybe at a certain moment, on a certain occasion, it will suddenly be able to exert its residual heat - Duanmucui's mana is currently hovering in this state.

After talking with Mr. Bao, Zhan Zhao and Gongsun Ce decided to go to Duanmucui's place: "It's good, you want to send someone to the palace, can you tell him?"It's not certain whether Miss Duanmu is happy or not.

At this moment, Aunt Liu went out to buy groceries but did not return, Duanmucui was practicing mana by the water tank——since she found out that she still had some mana left, and these mana were not effective from time to time, she did not leave the house without leaving the house. , Enthusiastic about mana cultivation.

There is another guest in the yard, Zhang Long, one of the four captains of Kaifeng Mansion.

At this moment, he was sitting on the edge of the flower bed, staring at the bare altar soil with ecstasy, and couldn't help asking: "Sister Duanmu, when will this kapok tree grow?"

"It will grow when it's time to grow." Duanmucui focused on two things, "Get up!"

The word "Qi" was not addressed to Zhang Long, but to a fish in the water tank.

Duanmucui does not touch meat, so it stands to reason that there should be some kelp and seaweed in the water tank. The reason why there are fish is because the guards often come to eat - chef Aunt Liu will not treat him badly, chicken, duck and fish, and serve some from time to time Delicate dishes are served.The scene where Duanmucui and Zhan Zhao eat together is a scene: Zhan Zhao’s side has fish soup, while Duanmucui’s is white porridge, steamed buns, and steamed stuffed buns.Fortunately, this rough-headed girl was only thinking about mana cultivation for the time being, and didn't pay much attention to the difference in diet. When she regained her senses in the future... hide her face... Zhan Huwei's meat-eating era is almost over.

Now she was riveting with the fish, the word "qi" fell, and the fish came out of the water with a splash, opened and closed its mouth, struggled in the air and wagged its tail.Water droplets splashed everywhere, Duanmucui was the first to bear the brunt, making it all over his face.

But the surprise was greater than the anger, Duanmucui stared at the fish with wide eyes, and when the fish was close to the edge of deoxygenation, she smiled and let him into the water.

After entering the water for less than half a stick of incense, she tossed him up again.

"rise!"

The fish was struggling again in mid-air, Duanmucui smiled and called to the bystanders: "Zhang Long!"

There was no response, but when he looked back, Zhang Long's grief was all pinned on the lump of dirt, and he had no other thoughts.

There was no audience to support such an exquisite spell, just like a night walk in brocade clothes, Duanmucui felt resentful and had no choice but to put the fish back into the water.Just as he was sighing, the door squeaked behind him, and Zhan Zhao and Gongsun Ce arrived.

Duanmucui was overjoyed, and came over in three steps and two steps, pulling Zhan Zhao with one hand and Gongsun Ce with the other: "Come here, come and watch me do tricks."

Seeing that Zhan Zhao and Gongsun Ce had arrived, Zhang Long quickly put aside his love for his children and joined the team of onlookers.

Duanmucui triumphantly said, "Get up!"

At the critical moment, the spell failed, and the fish was still swimming in the water without getting up.

Duanmucui couldn't hold back anymore: "Again!"

The fish didn't give face very much, not only didn't get up, but also sank, a string of bubbles came out.

Duanmucui's face turned red and white, Zhan Zhao and Gongsun Ce knew that they wanted to let her go down the steps, Qiqi turned to look at Zhang Long: "How is Miss Hongluan?"

So the three of them came to the flower bed together, leaving the girl alone behind: "Get up! Get up again! You can't afford it! Get up for me!"

The hard work paid off, and for the last time, the fish really got up again, twisting and turning in mid-air.

Duanmucui let out a sigh of relief, and called to Zhan Zhao and the others to observe. Before she approached the fish, she viciously stretched out her finger and poked its belly: "I lost the chain at a critical moment, and Aunt Liu will roast you later!"

The fish is angry.

You know, it is not an ordinary fish, it is quite thoughtful and individual.Originally, it had accepted the arrangement of fate and was ready to face the bloody chopping board and the cold kitchen knife. But at the last moment of its life, this girl insisted on not letting it survive, and lifted it out of the water several times, putting it in a state of insecurity. Oxygen's near-death situation is too inhuman... so inhuman!

Wherever there is oppression, there is resistance, and it must fight hard to restore its dignity.

But seeing that it exerted all its strength, raised its tail high, and slapped Duanmucui's face with lightning speed...

There was a crisp snap, like a slap in the face.Gongsun Ce and the others were startled, and quickly looked over: "Miss Duanmu, what's wrong?"

There was the sound of splashing water, the fish fell into the water, and then Duanmucui's calm voice: "It's okay."

fine?Gongsun Ce and Zhang Long breathed a sigh of relief, and continued to look down at the lumps of dirt.

fine?Zhan Zhao didn't believe it, he strode over and pulled her arm, his body was facing him, his face was turned to the side.Zhan Zhao's heart skipped a beat, and he took a step to the side to see her face, and she quickly turned her face to the other side.This cycle goes on and on, one wants to see, the other doesn't let him see, he misses and misses again, and finally he stumbles, and when he turns his face one time, it meets Zhan Zhao's gaze.

But on her smooth and fair left cheek, there was a fishtail-shaped imprint, which was glowing pink.To be honest, it is quite aesthetic and artistic. Not to mention the clear shape of the fish tail, even the lines of the fish scales are printed on it.

Zhan Zhao was confused, after watching for a long time, he could only repeat the old question: "What's wrong?"

"It's nothing." The girl smiled softly, she rolled up her sleeves while laughing, "Zhan Zhao, stay for dinner tonight, we have fish to eat!"

Before Zhan Zhao could stop her, Duanmucui had already bent down, grabbed the rim of the tank with one hand, and plunged straight into the water with the other arm.The tank was at least half the height of a person. She failed to fish it out once, and then lowered it a little. The clothes rolled up to her elbows were wet to her upper arms, and a few strands of long hair were also soaked in the water.Zhan Zhao stomped his feet when he saw it: "Alright, what are you competing with fish for?"

Gongsun Ce and Zhang Long also looked over curiously: "Guard Zhan, what is Miss Duanmu busy with?"

Zhan Zhao turned to this side, said "Fishing fish" before exiting, and there was a huge splash of water around him, and at the same time, there was the sound of a heavy object entering the water.

Zhan Zhao was splashed with water, and after he realized it, he didn't care about anything else, so he stretched out his arm and fished it into the tank. After touching her waist, he held her shoulder with the other hand, and pulled her out with force. water surface.

Duanmucui raised her hand to wipe the water on her face, but she didn't intend to get out of the water tank: "I will avoid the water, Zhan Zhao."

Zhan Zhao was speechless for a while, and out of the corner of his eye, he saw Zhang Long and Gongsun Ce's stunned faces, and suddenly became angry: "I don't care if you can avoid the water, come out quickly."

Even Gongsun Ce and Zhang Long could hear that his tone was wrong, let alone Duanmucui.With a thud in her heart, she held the rim of the tank still: "Hey, Zhan Zhao, why are you angry?"

Zhan Zhao saw that she was wet from head to toe, and she still looked like she was strolling in the garden without paying attention, his complexion sank, he let go of the hand that was holding her, turned around and walked out.

When Duanmucui saw that he not only refused to pick up the quarrel, but also walked away, he felt angry: "Hey, Zhan Zhao! What does it matter to you if I go into the water?"

Zhan Zhao didn't say a word, just opened the door and left.Duanmucui stared at the half-closed door for a while, then turned to look at Gongsun Ce: "Why is he angry? He's in charge of the world, can he still let me go into the water tank to catch fish?"

After finishing speaking, there was a clatter, and he sat back in the tank again.

Gongsun Ce and Zhang Long looked at each other in blank dismay, and carefully moved over to look at it for a while.The water in the tank was originally only half full, but after she sat down like this, it almost overflowed to the edge of the tank.Through the rippling water surface, one can vaguely see her sitting with her knees leaning against the wall of the tank.Gongsun Ce sighed in his heart: Sure enough, he can avoid water, and his skill in avoiding water is quite extraordinary.

The sudden quarrel between the two was unexpected, but business still had to be done, Gongsun Ce knocked on the rim of the vat: "Miss Duanmu, I have something important to discuss with you, can I... take a step to speak?"

There was no answer for a long time, so Gongsun Ce once questioned the sound transmission effect of water as a medium, thinking that if she didn't want to come out, would he still have to use a ladle to scoop up the water in the tank...

"I have something to say."

Depending on the situation, she didn't intend to come out.Gongsun Ce sighed inwardly, to make a long story short, he explained the matter.During the period, the fish swam in front of Duanmucui, bought salt and made soy sauce N times, seeing that Duanmucui had no intention of making trouble with it, he was really elated and rejoiced.

Duanmucui's voice was lazy, neither enthusiastic nor resistant: "It's all up to Mr. Bao's arrangement. When will you enter the palace?"

That's it.

The sedan chair arrived at dusk two days later.Duanmucui was taken to Kaifeng mansion first, and then entered the palace with Bao Zheng's sedan chair.While waiting for Bao Zheng's free time, Duanmucui leaned against the car window and played with twisting the curtains, twisting a piece of curtain cloth that was spread out like a twist.While twisting vigorously, out of the corner of his eye, he saw Bao Zheng and his party approaching, then his eyes slipped to Zhan Zhao, who was wearing a crimson official uniform, his face sank, and he threw down the curtain without saying a word.

She was concentrating on preparing to throw out the momentum and the effect. Just think about it, there was a swish, and the curtains were blown by the wind, separating the two of them tightly. Anyone with a discerning eye would know how angry she was when they saw it.

It's a pity that she forgot that she had just twisted the curtain cloth into twists, and the twist not only had no effect, but also made a cloth stick dangling by the window, which was very unpleasant.He wanted to smooth out the cloth, and seeing that Zhan Zhao was approaching, he had to tilt his head to pretend he didn't know.

Bao Zheng didn't pay attention to this side, but Gongsun Ce saw her movement, amused in his heart, and deliberately turned his head to look at Zhan Zhao.Zhan Zhao made his face burn when he saw it, and sighed inwardly, went over to help her spread the curtains, saw that her expression was not right, knowing that she didn't want to see her, he still smiled and talked to her: "Duanmu, these two days How are you?"

Duanmu Cui didn't move, a snort came out of his nose.

Zhan Zhao originally planned to put down the curtain and leave, but when he heard her snort, he suddenly stopped.

Gongsun Ce was also attracted by this snort, and heard her nasal voice, he asked curiously, "Miss Duanmu, have you caught a cold these two days?"

Duanmu Cui hummed: "The past two days have been hot and cold, it's not surprising to catch cold."

Gongsun Ce teased her: "It's true that the past two days have been hot and cold, but if you didn't soak yourself in the tub for so long, you might not catch a cold."

Duanmucui's face darkened, and she stretched out her hand to pull the curtain cloth heavily.This time, it is true that the inside does not see the outside and the outside does not see the inside.

I heard the bearers shouting in unison outside and exerting their strength: "Okay, get up! Let's go!"

The sedan chair swayed, and entered the imperial city like this.

Bao Zheng placed Duanmucui in the Empress Dowager's palace, and said to the outside world that the Empress Dowager had received favors from the girl's family when she was living among the people. Later, thinking about it, he entrusted Bao Zheng to investigate on her behalf in private. Finally, there is news in the past few days.Later, the family's fortunes fell, and there was only one orphan girl left, so they were taken to live in the palace for a few days to reminisce about their old friendship.

Empress Dowager Li was also very concerned about the tasks entrusted by Bao Zheng, she had asked the palace servants to tidy up a good room in the palace, and assigned a few servant girls.When we met her face to face, I saw that she was pretty, with icy skin and snowy skin, and there was a cuteness in her eyebrows. The more I looked at her, the more comfortable I felt. I dragged her to talk for a long time, and then let the palace servants take her. She went down to rest, turned her head to Yinzhu, the maid who was close to her, and said, "Look at how attractive this girl is, she looks like a girl from a good family, she is well-behaved and clever, not like that concubine Zhang Guifei, who looks like a monster. She's so charming. If our emperor can get such a concubine, I won't have so many worries."

Empress Dowager Li had always disliked Concubine Zhang Guifei, but she hadn't shown it much in front of others, at the moment she was in her own palace, and she didn't treat Bao Zheng as an outsider, so it was a bit blatant to say it.

Bao Zheng's heart skipped a beat when he heard this, originally he wasn't going to take this issue, but Empress Dowager Li got more and more energetic and said to Bao Zheng, "What's this girl's family background? How old is she? Has she agreed?"

Bao Zheng cleared his throat: "Weichen asked her before, and she has agreed to it."

"Oh..." Empress Dowager Li nodded slightly, with endless regret in her voice, she still didn't give up after thinking about it, "Then you haven't passed the door yet?"

Bao Zheng answered simply: "Come on, I heard that the horoscope has been changed, and the etiquette has also been discussed."

Empress Dowager Li sighed, and said to Yinzhu: "Look, this is our emperor's unlucky luck."

So this topic was brought up, and Bao Zheng let out a sigh of relief.When he asked the Empress Dowager before, he only said that he was investigating an old case when Empress Liu was in charge of the harem. When Empress Dowager Li heard the word "Empress Liu", she lost interest immediately—unexpectedly, she was not interested in the case, but fell in love with the person first. upset.

(End of this chapter)