[Rat and Cat] Han Palace Autumn

The next day, the two arrived at Chu Qingyuan early, and they were shocked when they entered the door—the whole courtyard was actually built in imitation of the Zhengshi Hall under the Zhongshu Gate in the capital, with winding corridors and countless pavilions.

Zhan Zhao took a deep breath and walked into the gate of the courtyard. This courtyard alone is enough to clearly reveal the ambition of King Xiangyang.

Facing him was a white-faced, beardless middle-aged scribe, with a natural and kind appearance. He smiled and cupped his hands at the two of them: "Is it the two gentlemen Zhao and Tang? The prince has already ordered the gentlemen to come today, and I told you to treat me well." Yes." Seeing Zhan Zhaohao and Bai Yutang returning the gift appropriately, he turned around and led the way, "My surname is Shen, and the single name is Han, you can call it whatever you want... Come, let me introduce you to the gentlemen of Chu Qingyuan, We will all be colleagues from now on.”

Stepping into the main hall, there were already some people dressed in scholarly gowns gathered in the hall, Zhan Bai and the scholar with the surname Shen had met one by one, and these people also bowed their hands to them as greetings, but it was the last person At that time, I hit a nail that was neither soft nor hard.

It was a scholar in a green shirt, with a cool and handsome face, although the edges and corners were a bit feminine, but the expression in his eyes made him not look feminine at all, but this person's expression was not very pleasing, and raised an eyebrow after hearing the introduction , looking at the two of them with a gloomy look.

"I'm Tang Lan." He interrupted Shen Han, "I think the two gentlemen have never heard of it... Tang Mou has already heard of the names of the gentlemen—— Fengshen is handsome, with a peerless appearance, but there are no rumors. error."

These yin and yang words caused Shen Han's face to change drastically. The origin of Zhan Bai and the others is not a secret. As a guest, these words are not easy to mention in person.

Both Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang were a little puzzled by his inexplicable targeting, so they could only smile awkwardly, and didn't want to cause any complications.Unexpectedly, Tang Lan didn't let them go, and continued: "The two people's backgrounds are very strange, but it can't help but make people think it's too coincidental. Could it be that they inquired about the prince's happiness before..."

"Tang Lan!" Shen Han raised his voice and interrupted him. These words could be called aggressive, and Bai Yutang's expression changed a little - this man's speech was too harsh. When did Fifth Master suffer? Such idleness!Immediately, he was about to speak ironically, but Zhan Zhao pulled his cuffs and gave him a secret wink before he managed to suppress his anger.

Tang Lan snorted, but didn't insist on talking, just nodded to them hastily, and then sat back in her seat, leaving only a thin back for them.

Shen Han didn't expect such a thing to happen, and apologized to the two of them repeatedly.The two of them didn't care too much, they nodded their thanks to Shen Han when they were led to their own place, and the matter was considered over.

Unexpectedly, the matter is far from over, this Tang Lan seems to be at odds with the two of them, and she often appears out of nowhere to find fault, either to ridicule them for relying on their appearance to get ahead, or to question their ulterior motives - just started. The two of them were taken aback, thinking that they had revealed some flaws, and after a long time, they had no choice but to get used to it.

"This guy is simply incomprehensible," Bai Yutang couldn't help complaining, "Every time we see each other, it's like we've been shot... Master Bai has no impression of him, so why not offend him somewhere?"

Zhan Zhao could only sigh helplessly: "Forget it, although he taunted us a lot, it didn't cause any harm after all, and sometimes those groundless suspicions would actually deepen Zhao Jue's trust in us - it's a good thing There must be a mistake. This person is in charge of operating the army...Maybe he is really not used to us by nature, and this may be true."

Tang Lan's popularity in the palace is not very good - this may also be related to his gloomy personality, even though the king of Xiangyang has a lot of errands for him, he doesn't fully trust him, so his status in the palace is not very high.

After getting acquainted with everyone in Chu Qingyuan, Bai Yutang also asked everyone about it, but no one could tell the reason for his undisguised hostility. Flattering words: "...This Tang Lan always looks so defiant, hey, he is just a clean guest who came to the door by himself, and he was not well-known before. The prince kindly raised him, so he really thinks he is some crouching dragon and phoenix child. ! It's nothing more than jealousy of the two gentlemen for being reused by the prince..."

These were not constructive words. Fortunately, Tang Lan was only at the stage of verbal provocation. Zhan Bai and the two simply stopped paying attention to him and continued to investigate the strange scene in Xiangyang at night.

Regarding this matter... Zhan Zhao went to spy on the King of Xiangyang, but it seems that the matter is really a secret. At this time, the King of Xiangyang, who has trusted them very much, is uncharacteristically silent, but it is quite unpredictable when he arrives. A word of persuasion: "Young Master Zhao, you just need to do things well for the king. Everyone in the palace performs their own duties. Sometimes, don't be too curious."

Zhan Zhao had no choice but to retreat. He and Bai Yutang had been in the palace for a month, and they went out almost every night to search for clues, but everything about the towering tower seemed to be like a moon in the mist, with some traces, but completely Can't touch the edge.Intuition told them to find out what the night guards were really guarding against, and then they could touch its real core, but as time passed, things didn't make any progress.

Of course, it’s not that they didn’t gain a little during this period of time—going out to investigate every night, they would always inadvertently encounter some incidents that did not conform to the moral sense. In the city, word of mouth gradually circulated among the common people about "Longwei and Heavenly Punishment".

This kind of rumor has been banned repeatedly, and later it became a serious problem for the royal family. This statement is inseparable from the true man of the dynasty, and it is said that Xiangyang has a different idea that attracts evil spirits. At this time, Tianwei is already angry, but he thinks it is inappropriate Only when they endanger the common people will the heavenly punishment be sent down to punish the wicked.The King of Xiangyang was so angry that he slapped the table several times in Chu Qingyuan, and ordered the military officers and counselors in the mansion to catch the person behind the trouble as soon as possible, but many actions failed to gain anything, and on the contrary, the argument of "God's punishment" was confirmed.

Of course, the two protagonists of the operation participated in every encirclement and suppression discussion in every detail, and coupled with their own outstanding abilities, it would be a strange thing to be caught.

"This momentum cannot be set off by the little things we do... Mao'er, there are experts in Xiangyang City to help!"

"That's true, probably someone sent here by the Holy Majesty—the Emperor told me before that his suspicions were based on the assassin's confession and his own sources. In Xiangyang City, there must be people from the capital secretly lurking. "

Now the two of them are even more reassuring and bold to stir up wind and rain in the city, making the palace full of chaos and chaos, even a few counselors gathered together and began to whisper about the authenticity of the so-called "Heaven's Punishment".

Seeing it in the eyes of the two, they were even more motivated - and to search for those who spread rumors, the army always needs to be dispatched. The scribes in charge of the military have been busy with this matter recently, but it has been several days since Tang Lan came out to find fault .

The good news is that with the further spread of rumors, a large number of soldiers were recruited here, and a gap was really opened in the investigation of the Sky Tower—the night patrol team that was mobilized more frequently due to lack of manpower was finally spotted by Bai Yutang According to the trajectory of the formation, the entire Xiangyang troops alternated back and forth, faintly surrounding an unknown place, and if it was expected, it should be the specific location of the legendary Chongxiao Tower.

"I didn't expect this building to be hidden in the city." Late at night, on the roof, Bai Yutang stroked his chin, looked down at the endlessly moving steel army array, and said with a smile to Zhan Zhao, "This skyscraper must have passed through a master." Guiding the layout, the so-called big hermit hides in the city. Compared with a building guarded by heavy soldiers, hiding him in this huge city is an extremely clever way. It is like hiding a fish among fish schools, compared to protecting him in a fish pond alone It can confuse fishermen's eyes even more, and these soldiers who come and go—" He pointed at the cold metallic luster, "It's like entangled aquatic plants in a sea area, hidden reefs on the bottom of the sea, even if a fisherman After all the hard work to catch that cunning fish, it will be torn apart by endless strangulations on the return journey."

Zhan Zhao frowned: "Speaking of which, this skyscraper is really difficult to break into - I understand the real reason for the strange curfew: every house closes its doors, which reduces the possibility of intruders hiding in residents' homes. Possibly, it avoids wasting manpower to search from house to house; not being allowed to light lights can also prevent some strange people who know how to hide from hiding in the dark under the cover of light and shadow. The quiet street at night can provide great convenience for hunting fugitives. The streets are clean and spacious, and the mobilized army can be negligent and kill people in an instant..."

"That's right..." Bai Yutang took a deep breath, "It seems that this Xiangyang old man is not as incompetent as the fifth master thought before. We were able to survive all the time because of the right time, place and people. But once they break into the sky, these advantages will disappear in an instant... At that time, it will be really difficult to escape. This matter needs a long-term plan."

Zhan Zhao lowered his head silently, and after a while, he raised his firm eyes, looked at Bai Yutang and said with a sigh, "No, Yutang...it's too late."

"What... cat, you..."

"Yutang, don't lie to yourself," Zhan Zhao stared at him firmly, "You can't fail to notice that the King of Xiangyang is impatient, his movements are becoming more and more frequent, and his arrogance is becoming more and more arrogant—he is clearly preparing to Let's do it, how can there be no clues in the documents in the government? If we wait until he has assembled his troops and arranged, what is the point of finding the alliance letter? The soldiers have followed him and raised the flag of rebellion—that is There is no way out. If the emperor wants to expose his conspiracy in advance, he must stand firm in righteousness. No matter what method he uses, he will always be able to divide his forces into pieces—just like the effect of our previous actions. "

"—he can't hold his breath anymore," Bai Yutang turned around and stared at the silent city below his feet, and put a hand on his forehead, "How could I not feel it? As soon as it is triggered, I understand that he will raise his troops to revolt in September at most—after autumn, it is the season of murderous aura."

Zhan Zhao sighed, looked up at the dark sky in the distance, which was so thick that the night couldn't be melted away: "Yes, the sky will change soon."