Yangyue

Xiao Yangyue stared at Qi Zhu's face, her red lips opened slowly, her eyes showed a bit of sharp questioning, he asked: "Why is the smell of alcohol so strong on Master Hou?"

Qi Zhumu showed some confusion, and replied: "I drank a lot of wine in the tavern just now, isn't it strange that it smells like wine?"

Having said that, Henry Zhang also sat and drank in the tavern for a long time just now, but he didn't have such a strong smell of alcohol on Qi Zhu's body.

Xiao Yangyue stared slightly, and finally turned around with a flick of her sleeves, and stepped out of the hut.Henry Zhang walked through the courtyard of the tavern, his footsteps stopped suddenly, he turned around, and his eyes fell on the entrance of the wine cellar.

As soon as Henry Zhang stepped on the ground, his clothes fluttered, and his figure landed lightly by the wine cellar.He used the point of his knife to pry open the wooden plank, revealing the stone steps leading to the underground wine cellar.

A strong bloody smell mixed with various wine aromas rushed into Henry Zhang's nasal cavity head-on, his expression froze, he jumped down the steps with a few steps, and a cloud of dust came out from the soles of his shoes.

An assassin who had died long ago was lying there, with a ferocious expression and bulging eyes. His neck was cut open, and blood was still dripping thinly between the skin and flesh. The wall beside him was full of traces of blood spatter.

The fatal wound on the assassin's neck was caused by a sharp blade or other sharp objects. Henry Zhang lowered his eyes and stared at the corpse on the ground. Hearing the sound of Qi Zhu almost falling from behind, he said word by word: "Master Hou, Do you know what happened to this corpse?"

Qi Zhu was full of panic, it seemed that the bloody and terrifying scene in the wine cellar made him a civil servant who had never seen such a scene a little terrified: "How can there be a corpse here?!"

The assassin was wounded in the neck, and if the person who killed him was close to him, he would definitely be splashed with blood.If you want to avoid being splashed with blood, you have to be at least some distance away, or in the opposite direction to the wound. At this time, if you want to kill successfully, no matter whether it is with a sword or a hidden weapon, there is no exquisite internal force control. Ordinary martial arts I'm afraid it will be difficult for most people to do it.

Henry Zhang turned around and stared fixedly at Qi Zhu.

Qi Zhu seems to be in love with white clothes, the whiteness is not mixed with any impurities, it is as flawless and pure as the bright moon in the sky.

After the chaos in the tavern just now, Qi Zhu's white clothes became a bit messy and stained, but they were still clean, and there was no trace of blood.

Henry Zhang came in front of Qi Zhu, stretched out his hand suddenly, pinched Qi Zhu's wrist with his light white fingertips, and pressed the pulse of Qi Zhu's palm with his slightly cool fingertips.

Qi Zhu's eyebrows twitched, but he said with surprise on his face: "My lord, what are you?"

People who practice martial arts must have internal energy and true energy flowing in their bodies. Those with strong internal energy can perceive the size of a person's internal body just by the acupuncture points around the palm.

But at this moment, Henry Zhang couldn't feel any internal force flowing through the meridians of Qi Zhu's body. As long as he was a martial arts practitioner, this energy couldn't be hidden. Qi Zhu really didn't know any martial arts.

Although Qi Zhu's body was full of wine scent, the scent of the wine in the wine cellar was too mixed, there were all kinds of scents, including the Taixibai that Qi Zhu drank in the tavern just now.

Henry Zhang put down his hand, walked out of the wine cellar, and his figure disappeared at the entrance of the wine cellar.

On that day, the news about the tavern spread in the capital, and after only a few hours, rumors spread around the neighborhood.

Some people said that the tavern owner owed a lot of debts in the early years, and now the creditors sent thugs to come to his door; some people said that this matter might involve martial arts, the tavern owner must be a martial arts master who has lived in seclusion for many years, and those assassins who were killed came here He seeks revenge.

Even the servants and maids in Xiankunhou's mansion heard about it, and after Qi Zhu returned to the mansion, he heard the little girls who tended flowers and plants under the veranda muttering about it from a distance.

The little girls all heard the stories from the mother-in-law and servants in the mansion. They were young and had never heard of such a terrible thing. Their faces turned pale with fright, and they accidentally didn't pay attention to the sound.

Seeing Xi He, the big maid who was following Qi Zhu, she immediately stepped forward and scolded the little maids. Only then did the little maids find out that Qi Zhu had returned, and hurriedly greeted Lord Hou tremblingly.

After dinner, the old housekeeper at home approached Qi Zhu respectfully, and said: "Master Hou, an assassin wounded someone in the city today, and this old servant has the audacity to arrange a few more servants for Lord Hou to look after him." It's safe, I hope Hou Ye will let them follow when he goes out these few days, so be more careful."

The patriarch of the big family in the capital, who goes out without a dozen servants and maids, but Qi Zhu does not like to be followed, and loves to be alone wherever he goes.

Now the huge Xiankunhou Mansion only has Qi Zhu as the head master, not even a wife who is in charge of the house. In front of Qi Zhu, the words of the old butler who has worked in the mansion for decades can have some weight.

After listening to the old housekeeper's words, Qi Zhu thought for a while and replied: "I'm bothering housekeeper Lin, just do as you say."

Butler Lin nodded, and stepped back after saluting.

Standing aside, Xihe and two little maidservants stepped forward to wait for Qi Zhu to change clothes and take a bath. Xihe looked worried and couldn't help but said, "Master Lin, you're right, you should avoid going to places where people are too distracted these days." The servants heard that...the assassin in the tavern is very scary."

"Don't worry." Qi Zhu closed his eyes slightly and said, "Go down."

After listening to the secret report from the secret agent of the duckweed pavilion in the capital, the emperor sat in the imperial study, staring at the spy kneeling on the ground, and slowly stroking the jade paperweight placed on the desk with his fingers.

"Let Henry Zhang find out about the assassin." The emperor said in a deep voice, "Let him find out more secretly, don't wantonly search and spread the rumors all over the city. Tomorrow is the Lantern Festival banquet, let the duckweed pavilion and the guards Strengthen the guards, the festival is at the moment, it is a matter of the face of the royal family, I don't want to see any more trouble."

The spy bowed his head in agreement, and exited the hall, and the figure in black clothes disappeared into the night in a flash.

The next day, the Palace Lantern Festival banquet was held as scheduled.

On this day, the bloody smell that happened in the capital yesterday seems to have been forgotten by people. The streets and alleys in the city are decorated with lights and festoons. Children laugh and guess lantern riddles around the lights. lively.

The palace is brightly lit today, and the palace banquet hall is full of seats. All kinds of dishes and cakes are served in silver plates and porcelain cups, all of which are exquisite and luxurious.

The emperor and empress are at the top of the table, the rest are the princes, and the important officials of the court and the princes and marquises are sitting in the bottom table.

Qi Zhugui was the Marquis of Xian Kun, so he entered the palace early, chatting and laughing with the ministers who attended the banquet together.These marquis ministers, in order to show respect for the royal family, naturally had to sit down before the auspicious time when the emperor arrived.

After Qi Zhu took his seat, he raised his head and glanced lightly at the general's seat not far away.At this moment, the commander of the gate guards and the left and right acquaintances, all wearing solemn military uniforms, have already taken their seats, while the seat of the master of the Duckweed Pavilion on the other side is still vacant.

Qi Zhu let out a low laugh, and couldn't help shaking the fan with jade in his hand.

A quarter of an hour before the auspicious time, Henry Zhang finally came.

He was wearing a red-coloured double-breasted colorful embroidered dress, with a jasper rattan flower jade pendant on one side of his waist and a sword on the other.

There was a little silence in the lively hall, Henry Zhang came to his seat with a calm expression, raised his skirt slightly and sat down.

It's not the first time that Henry Zhang attended the palace banquet in women's attire. Most of the people who went to the palace banquet were veterans. Although they were dissatisfied, the emperor didn't say anything, and they could only pretend that they didn't see it.

When the emperor came to the hall at an auspicious time, all the guests at the banquet got up from their seats and shouted long live to the emperor three times in unison.The emperor raised his hand to signal to all the ministers to be calm, and there is no need to be too formal for today's festive feast.

Xiao Yangyue's outfit is not very gorgeous, and it is naturally inferior to the empress's floor-sweeping phoenix costume and phoenix crown inlaid with gold and silver, but Xiao Yangyue has a beauty without complicated decorations. The temperament, the colder it is, the more eye-catching it is.

A man who is even more beautiful than the women in the harem who love to compete for beauty the most.

Many civil servants at the bottom felt contemptuous, called it inappropriate, and ignored etiquette.The military commander was even more unhappy, Xiao Yangyue's status could not be shaken by others, and he was also the emperor's favorite minister, no matter how unwilling they were, they dared not show it on the face.

The emperor has long been accustomed to Henry Zhang's attire. Although it is really against the rules not to wear the official uniform of a general, the emperor does not like to pursue the red tape of officials like the previous emperors. I mentioned it once at first, and Henry Zhang bluntly said that he likes to dress like this , the emperor was too lazy to say any more.

Even the emperor didn't say anything, and the ministers didn't dare to say more.

After the banquet began, the emperor took the lead in delivering the congratulatory speech. After drinking three cups, the opera troupe and singing and dancing girls began to perform.The sound of the pipa and the silver bell on the dancer's wrist lingered endlessly, and the hall was full of excitement.

Amidst the lively noise of the celebration, the dancer's long sleeves fluttered up, and then fell down like butterfly wings.And at the moment when the long sleeves landed on the ground, a figure suddenly flew up from the guest seats, with a flash of the knife, a long sword pierced through the flying sleeves, and aimed straight at the emperor sitting on the jade steps!

That person is the doorman You Tongzhi, Ding Feiyun!

Henry Zhangyue's eyes moved, and he stepped up from his seat in an instant, touched the table with his toes, and the figure came behind that person.He pushed aside the scabbard of the long sword and swung it back. The moment Ding Feiyun's knife pierced the emperor's chest, the tip of his knife cut off Ding Feiyun's neck without hesitation, and his head rolled off Ding Feiyun's neck and fell. on the ground.

Ding Feiyun's head rolled to the feet of a civil servant, his eyes were bulging, and blood flowed all over the ground.The civil servant was stunned for two seconds, then suddenly fell off the chair and fell to the ground, his face was bloodless, he was so frightened that he couldn't scream, and he couldn't stop shaking.

Ding Feiyun's headless body froze in place, and the wound on his neck sprayed out blood mixed with minced flesh like a waterfall.

Accompanied by a shrill scream, the queen was so frightened that she lost her mind, her phoenix costume was stained with blood, she tilted her head and fainted on the chair.

Xiao Yangyue's cheeks were splashed with a few drops of blood. He stood on the jade steps in front of the emperor, looked coldly at the headless corpse that had fallen on the table, and flicked the blood on the long sword in his hand. A scarlet arc was thrown out on the jade steps.