The King of Liang, the feudal lords outside the town, and the generals inside

On the second night, they came to the governor's mansion.

The Governor's Mansion was already in ruins. After Qin Ran left that night, a fire broke out here.

"General Qin said that he didn't give the order to set fire to the governor's mansion, he just killed someone and left." Bai Yu said.

Mu Fengyi said: "Then how did the fire start?"

Looking at the desolate scene in front of him, Bai Yu sneered.This scene seems a bit familiar. Wasn't his home also burned by such a big fire?Who was the instigator at that time?

The five people were all dressed in nocturnal black clothes, and under the cover of night they climbed over the wall and sneaked into the Governor's Mansion.The corpses here have all been cleaned up, leaving only broken walls and some breath of life that has not been completely burned.

They searched for clues separately in the mansion, Bai Yu turned around in the backyard, and his eyes fell on a well in the corner of the courtyard.

The bricks that built the well looked quite new, without moss growing on it, not like old things, but the strange thing was that the wheels for hanging the buckets above the well were rusty, as if they hadn’t been used for several years.

Bai Yu walked over to look at it for a while, then bent down to look at the bottom of the well.It was too dark to see anything.He looked up at the stars and the moon in the sky, feeling even more strange.

Why is the water in the well not reflective at all?

He thought for a moment, picked up a small stone and threw it into the well.

Two seconds later, there was the sound of a stone falling to the ground.

There is no water in this well.

Bai Yu put his hands on the mouth of the well and pondered for a while, and when Mu Fengyi came over, he said, "General, is there a longer rope to hang me down to see?"

"Is there any problem with this well?" Mu Fengyi probed over.

"There is no water in the well." Bai Yu threw another stone in.

Mu Fengyi untied the rope hanging the bucket from the wheel, tried the rope's tenacity, and said, "This is about the same. But don't go down, I'll come."

Bai Yu called Ruan Haoyue and others back, tied one end of the rope tightly around Mu Fengyi's waist, and the other end was tied around Yuan Kai's body, and they pulled it together.Mu Fengyi lit the torch and jumped into the well.

The well was not very deep, and there was indeed no water in the well, and it was even as dry as if there had never been water, and the bottom of the well was overgrown with weeds.Mu Fengyi took a photo around with the fire folder, and at a glance, he saw a few messy footprints on the ground, which were relatively small, like a woman's footprints.

Mu Fengyi followed the footprints all the way forward with the help of a gloomy and flickering flame, but accidentally knocked his head on a hard object.

Mu Fengyi held his head and took a step back, and found that he had hit the wall of the well, and after landing, his footprints extended into the wall.

Mu Fengyi was startled suddenly, and his back felt a little cold.

Bai Yu asked from above: "General, did you find anything?"

Mu Fengyi told what he saw one by one, Bai Yu didn't think about any ghosts, he immediately said: "The footprints extended into the wall? The wall must be alive, there should be a mechanism to control it, and it can be opened. That's a door." ! General look for it carefully.”

Mu Fengyi agreed, and groped around the well wall and the ground.

When he touched a small raised stone on the wall of the well, Mu Fengyi lightly pressed it, and there was a roar from the wall of the well, and the wall slowly turned, revealing a long dark passage behind the wall, leading to nowhere.

Mu Fengyi exclaimed in surprise: "There is really a secret passage behind this!"

He walked in cautiously. The secret passage was very narrow, allowing only one person to pass through. Standing at the entrance of the secret passage, he couldn't see the end at a glance, and there was no light.

The rope was not long enough, Mu Fengyi hesitated for a moment, and said, "Shall I untie the rope?"

Bai Yu climbed up to the mouth of the well and slid down the rope.

"The general is waiting for me here. I'll go ahead and see where this secret passage leads to." Bai Yu lit the torch in his hand and said, "If I don't come back in fifteen minutes, the general will go up by himself."

"But..." Mu Fengyi subconsciously wanted to persuade Bai Yu, but he couldn't persuade Bai Yu, so he could only say, "Okay, be careful, come back quickly if something goes wrong, don't be brave."

Bai Yu nodded and said, "Don't worry. I think this secret passage is just a secret passage leading to the outside, and there will be no danger."

He leaned on the wall and walked forward step by step carefully. Everything in the dark passage was peaceful, and there was a series of meandering footprints on the ground, which seemed to be running through the dark passage.Bai Yu compared her own feet, the footprints were a little smaller, and it looked like it was a woman.

I don't know how long I walked in it, but there was some light in front of me, and the light seemed to be shining from above.Bai Yu quickly ran over and looked up, he seemed to be at the bottom of another well.

Bai Yu took a picture on the wall of the well, and the marks of piercing with a sharp weapon continued upward.It seems that someone stuck a dagger in and climbed up out of the well with his strength.

Baiyu had the dagger that Wei Lun gave him on his body, so he also climbed up in the same way, lying on the mouth of the well and looking out.

This is like the backyard of a small Taoist temple, with six or seven side rooms on both sides, the courtyard is empty, and there is no one there.

For the sake of safety, Bai Yu only secretly took note of the appearance of the courtyard, not daring to go out, slowly climbed down to the bottom of the well, and returned the same way.

Mu Fengyi was still waiting at the same spot, with an anxious expression on his face, he was relieved when he saw Bai Yu came back, and said, "You didn't encounter anything, did you?"

Bai Yu shook his head and said, "No."

The people above first pulled Mu Fengyi up, then threw the rope down, and pulled Bai Yu up.Bai Yu told what he had seen, and Wei Lun looked in the direction of the secret passage, thought for a moment, and said, "There is a Taoist temple in the southwest... but it has been abandoned long ago."

Bai Yu said: "The Taoist temple has been abandoned for a long time, but the well in the Taoist temple is newly built. This is new."

Ruan Haoyue let out a "huh" and said, "You said there were women's footprints along the way?"

"Exactly, and only such a person's footprints."

Yuan Kai said: "It seems that there is a secret passage in the well, and the people in the governor's mansion don't know about it. Otherwise, there must be more than one person escaping from here, and it is impossible for all three of them to be killed. Then this person from the secret The woman who said goodbye..."

Mu Fengyi said: "Could it be Qin Yao's maid?"

"But how did she know that there is a secret way down the well?" Ruan Haoyue said, "She was snatched into the mansion by Fang Ruiqiang, and she had never been here before, so how come she knows more than the master?"

"It probably wasn't Qin Yao either. General Qin told me that Qin Yao jumped over the wall and escaped from the Governor's Mansion that day," Bai Yu said.

Wei Lun thought for a while and said, "Let's go to that deserted Taoist temple. Since this secret passage leads there, there should be some clues there."

Bai Yu is trying his best to find out the truth of the matter, but the courtiers in Shangjing can't wait anymore.Almost half of the ministers in the court haven't left since they came down this morning. They stood silently and neatly outside the Chongming Hall. All of them had a common goal:

Ask the emperor to take back Yan Xun's military power, let Cen An take over all military affairs at the border, and escort Yan Xun and Qin Ran back to Beijing for disposal.

The emperor was so angry that his hands shook, and he shouted angrily outside the Chongming Hall: "What do you want to do? Are you forcing the palace to rebel?!"

The leader is Shang Shuling Song De, who stood in the center and said in a clear voice: "Your Majesty, Yan Xun is arrogant and disobedient and does not obey the order. He will despise the emperor for covering up crimes. I dare not sit idly by with all kinds of crimes! Even if you risk your life today, I also ask the emperor to take back Yan Xun's military power, Nachen and other loyal words!"

The other ministers echoed, "Please take back Yan Xun's military power, Nachen and other loyal words!"

The emperor's anger accumulated between his brows, "Okay, if you want to stand, stand, I want to see how long you can stand!"

This incident reached the ears of the Queen Mother, who was closing her eyes, and Princess Zhaoning was behind her gently massaging her temples.She glanced at Lan Yan lightly, and said: "Let the imperial physician bring some soothing soup to the emperor, Aijia is afraid that he won't be able to sleep tonight."

Lan Yan agreed to go, Princess Zhaoning said softly: "Queen, don't be really mad at Brother Huang."

The queen mother shook her head and said: "Of course Aijia loves his son dearly, but the emperor just doesn't understand Aijia's heart, and Aijia really can't help it. He loves and trusts Yan Xun so much that he almost becomes half an emperor. It has become a habit to resist the decree at the border, and I don't feel afraid at all. How can this continue?"

Princess Zhaoning's hand paused: "General, he... never dares to be rebellious. Apart from other things, his parents and relatives are all in Beijing. If there is any change in him, the queen mother will immediately take care of him." The family is coerced, and I am not afraid of him."

The queen mother patted her hand, said with a cold expression: "Zhao'er is too simple, you must know that since ancient times, those who can achieve great things have a heart as hard as a stone."

Princess Zhaoning fell silent, not daring to speak for Yan Xun.

The Queen Mother fiddled with the emerald jade finger in her hand, and said quietly: "When An'er takes over Yan Xun's military power, the Ai family will feel at ease."

I don’t know what the legs of the ministers were made of. The emperor asked them to stand, and they really stood all night. Except for the two older ones who couldn’t bear it and fainted, everyone else was still in a row after the emperor got up. Stand in a row.

When the emperor opened the door and saw this scene, he almost didn't come up in one breath.

Naturally, the early court did not succeed. The emperor sat in the Chongming Hall with a gloomy face, silently confronting the ministers outside.

The queen brought a pair of children to relieve the emperor's boredom. The emperor forced a smile when he looked at the children, and said, "It seems to be a little heavier."

The queen smiled and said: "Yes, Zan'er and Jia'er's appetites are good every day, and they don't need to be coaxed to eat. They are more fragrant than courtiers and concubines, so they naturally grow faster."

The emperor nodded, played with the little princess with a rattle, and said with a smile, "Jiaer looks the most like me."

The queen tenderly kissed her daughter's cheek, looked at the emperor's expression, then looked outside, and said, "Your Majesty, they are..."

"Don't worry about them, just stand if you want, I didn't punish them, it's all their own fault." The emperor said in a deep voice.

"But if this continues, I'm afraid it will hurt the hearts of the courtiers." The queen thought about it, "The courtiers shouldn't be involved in politics, but seeing the emperor angry, the courtiers really feel uncomfortable."

The emperor looked at her and said: "It's okay. You are the empress, so it's no big deal to say a few words in front of me." He thought for a while, and said: "Yan Xun is your cousin, and this is considered a family matter. Do you think I should listen to them?"

The queen pondered for a moment, and said in a low voice: "The concubine doesn't understand government affairs, nor does she understand border wars, so she doesn't dare to comment on it. But the concubine looked at it coldly, and felt that the focus of those ministers' requests did not seem to be on dealing with Cheng Rui. They... ...I want Cen An to lead the army."

The emperor's expression sank, and he narrowed his eyes slightly, "You're right."

The empress dowager has been in charge of the government for 16 years, and she has her natal family behind her back. The power in the court is intertwined. There are still many ministers who will please her in secret. The emperor knows it well and has always turned a blind eye. As long as they Don't go too far, just pretend you didn't see it.

However, this time, so many people jumped out at once to let the emperor give the military power to the empress dowager's nephew. If it was said that there was no one behind the scenes, no one would believe it.

The queen frowned and said worriedly: "Then what should we do now? If the emperor doesn't agree, I'm afraid they won't leave, but if the emperor agrees..."

"I will not agree." The emperor said decisively.

The emperor stood up and strode out of the Chongming Hall with a gentle smile on his face, "Your servants are tired after standing all night? Why don't you kneel down and rest."

Everyone was taken aback, looked at each other and knelt down in a daze.Song De said: "The minister is not afraid of being tired, but only asks the emperor..."

The emperor smiled and waved his hands, "I know that you are all loyal and thinking about me. After thinking about it all night, I feel that Yan Xun is indeed a bit arrogant, and Cen An is also good at leading troops."

All the ministers didn't expect the emperor to change his temper suddenly, and they were all stunned. Even Song De was speechless, choking on the generous speech he had prepared, "...does the emperor agree?"

The emperor nodded with seriousness on his face, "Of course, how could I disagree with such a good proposal of yours? But since I took a step back, shouldn't you also take a step back?"

Song De was overjoyed and said, "Your servants should obey the order."

"That's right." The emperor said with a smile, "You all have sons in your family, so let them go out with Cen An tomorrow."