Cloud of the Qing Dynasty

"I'm not doubting him, it's just a conjecture, there's no solid evidence yet, Sister Hua added Qin Wuqi's name to it, maybe it's just because he has a motive for doing so." Zhang Chi explained to Mu Liuyun Said, "You may not care much about the affairs of the Jianghu. Before the murder of Lord Hou, the action to clean up the forces in the Jianghu has been vigorously advanced according to the original plan. The Shangqing Palace, as the imperial court, must fully support and win over The faction, not only did not receive any impact, but also gained some benefits. But Jinghong Villa is different. They have huge power and occupy too many interests that should belong to the imperial court, such as salt roads, banks, mines and so on. They are the lifeblood of the country, but now they are in the hands of Jinghong Mountain Villa, even if the imperial court proposes to recruit, for them, it is a piece of the profits that they originally enjoyed, how can they bear it?"

Speaking of this, Zhang Chi also noticed Mu Liuyun's lack of interest, so he stopped analyzing the overall situation wisely, and concluded: "The one who is leading these things in the court is the Marquis of Yongning. Still out of overall considerations, Qin Wuqi has a good reason to kill Yongninghou."

Mu Liuyun said lightly: "It's the same as he had a good reason to frame Shangqing Palace before."

"Yes, he has a reason to do this, but it doesn't mean he will do it." Zhang Chi knew that Mu Liuyun still regarded Qin Wuqi as a confidant and friend, and he was unwilling to listen to these unfounded guesses, so he sighed softly He said: "However, I refused Qin Wuqi's betrothal, but it was not entirely because he was suspected. On the roster given to me by Sister Hua, every suspect had a sufficient motive to kill. In comparison, Qin Wuqi Wuqi is the least suspicious one. I mainly consider that even if Marquis Yongning is dead, the fundamental conflict between Jinghong Villa and the imperial court will not disappear. I tried to put myself in Qin Wuqi's shoes. What do you think? Jinghong Villa will only have one way to rebel in the future, if it really comes to that stage, if I don’t do my best to plan for him, it will be disloyal and unrighteous, if I sincerely help him to rebel, it will go against my heart."

Mu Liuyun said: "You once told me that your greatest wish is to have a stable country and a peaceful world. Even though they have brought you to the present situation, you still don't want to be an enemy of the imperial court."

Unexpectedly, Mu Liuyun still remembered the content of a night talk after drinking a long time ago. Zhang Chi couldn't help but feel a little happy. No matter what, I want to make him pay with his blood, but the court is not a specific person. Even if there are individual thieves in power, I can't just think about overturning the entire ship and letting the Central Plains return just because of my personal grievances. Go to the troubled times in the past when the people were in dire straits—unless the existence of the imperial court itself was the root cause of the people’s dire straits.”

Mu Liuyun was noncommittal, and Zhang Chi added: "Although I don't want to participate in the conspiracy, I will definitely not let the murderer behind it go, no matter how powerful he is."

Mu Liuyun said lightly: "There is no need to explain, if you don't fight against the court because you are bullying the weak and afraid of the strong, and fear the power of the court, I really want to look down on you, but I know you are not such a person. It's the Zhang Chi I know."

Hearing the words, Zhang Chi felt as if a hot current poured into his heart, and he touched Mu Liuyun's hand: "How lucky I am, to meet someone who understands me and believes in me so much, Liuyun..."

He was full of emotion and was about to tell, but Mu Liuyun turned his head away: "Since we don't plan to do anything for Jinghong Villa, let's leave here as soon as possible."

"This..." Zhang Chi wondered, "Your body still needs recuperation. If you leave at this time, where is the safe place for you to recuperate?"

"You don't have to worry about my whereabouts. I believe that people from the Shangqing Palace will come looking for me in a short time. You should think about what you should do if the court backfires." Mu Liuyun turned his eyes away from him and sighed softly. , "In the future, I will no longer be able to protect you..."

The loneliness in Mu Liuyun's tone made Zhang Chi unable to say a word of comfort for a while.

***

Mu Liuyun said that people from Shangqing Palace would come to him, and he was right. A few days later, Qingliu and Qingyue from Shangqing Palace brought some disciples to pay a visit, and wanted to pick up their Grand Master Uncle. Shangqing Palace.

Although not long ago, the head of the sect personally announced the decision to expel Mu Liuyun from the Shangqing Palace, but the fact that Zhang Chi was wronged has been spread in the Jianghu. Fighting a powerful enemy alone for the sake of loyalty has no moral taint at all. Even if the Shangqing Palace backtracks and takes Mu Liuyun back, it will only increase their prestige in the arena.

What's more, the battle at Nanmenguan was indeed too shocking. People in the martial arts world do not live in bloody storms every day. It is already a remarkable achievement for a master to kill and injure more than a hundred people in his lifetime. What's more, nearly a hundred people were killed and dozens of people were injured in one battle. The casualties in that battle were so great that it even changed the distribution of forces in the entire rivers and lakes.

Facing such a figure who has become a legend and is an idol worshiped by the disciples in the sect, taking him back to the Shangqing Palace for recuperation is better than letting him wander outside as a traitor and be used by other sects. As soon as the Qing Palace got the news about him, they immediately sent someone out.

Naturally, Zhang Chi had no reason to object. The Shangqing Palace was undoubtedly the best place for Mu Liuyun. Even if his martial arts were abolished, the Taoist priests in the Shangqing Palace would not treat him badly just because of his reputation and seniority.

Originally, Zhang Chi was definitely going to Shangqing Palace with Mu Liuyun. Even if he knew that Mu Liuyun was safe in Shangqing Palace, he still couldn't worry about Mu Liuyun's injury, but there was an unexpected person who followed everyone in Shangqing Palace. We entered Tingquan Villa together.

When Zhang Chi heard that Long Jiu had also come, he temporarily left Mu Liuyun who was talking to Qingyue, and went to meet Long Jiu in the living room.

"Brother Zhang Chi!" As soon as Long Jiu saw Zhang Chi, he stepped forward excitedly, seemingly wanting to put his shoulders habitually, but stopped temporarily: "I don't know anything about Captain Zhao. Love, I didn't mean to hurt you."

Zhang Chi nodded and said, "Well, I believe in you."

He was so straightforward that Long Jiu, who had prepared a full amount of explanations, didn't know how to continue. Zhang Chi said, "Sit down and talk slowly, what's going on?"

Long Jiu sat down a little uneasy, and sighed: "Although I didn't mean it, I still have to bear a lot of responsibility for this matter. You believed that villain because of my recommendation, and I only know He was sent from Beijing, and the edict he held was true, but he didn't know that he was secretly bought by Princess Yaoping, and since he knew your whereabouts, he has been secretly communicating with Yi Qiuhua, deliberately leading you into an ambush .”

Zhang Chi pondered: "That is to say, the cancellation of the arrest warrant and the emperor's summons are all true..."

"It's absolutely true! The emperor was also furious when such a thing happened. He has ordered the eldest princess to be placed under house arrest. He still wants to see you. This time, I will personally bring you to the capital to ensure nothing goes wrong." Long Jiu was a little displeased. Too sure: "Brother Zhang Chi, are you willing to trust me again?"

"I believe you, brother nine."

Long Jiu breathed a sigh of relief: "I've been wandering outside the villa for many days, but the owner of Tingquan Villa didn't allow me to enter at all, probably because he was afraid that I would play some tricks to harm you, if it wasn't for the help of Shangqing Palace For the sake of face, I can't even talk to you...I can't think of such a big thing, you are still willing to trust me. "

"I'm not a credulous person, but I believe in my own deduction." Zhang Chi said, "If brother Jiu really wants to take me to receive the reward, he can trick us into a trap when he brought Liuyun to find me earlier. , even if we changed our minds later, we can still deceive us into the trap ourselves, and we don’t have to pretend to be others, and share the credit with others for nothing. Ninth brother is a smart person, and he will definitely not take a long way when there is a shortcut.”

"It's easy to talk to smart people." Long Jiu grinned with relief, and patted Zhang Chi's arm as usual. It's not as simple as it seems on the surface, Brother Zhang Chi, you have lived here for many days, did you find anything?"

Even to the very trusting Long Jiu, Zhang Chi did not disclose the true identities of the two elders of Tingquan Villa, but lied as they claimed to the outside world: "I only know that the owner Ye Hai is Ye Qinghong, the former owner of Jinghong Villa." The relatives of his family, who have no children, only live with his paralyzed cousin, have always been relying on hitchhiking on the caravan of Jinghong Mountain Villa to sell medicinal materials from the Miaoling mountain forest to the Central Plains to make money."

"... No wonder they don't look like ordinary big families. It turns out that they are also involved with the Jianghu sect like Jinghong Villa." Because Zhang Chi, who is good at observing, came to the conclusion, Long Jiu did not doubt that he was there, and started I planned a trip back to Beijing with Zhang Chi.

***

Hearing that people from Shangqing Palace wanted to take Mu Liuyun back, Xin Lanshan pushed Qin Wushang over to give him a final follow-up consultation.

Mu Liuyun's injury did not develop into the worst situation. Not only was he not paralyzed, but he could barely get out of bed and walk around.

"Although martial arts are useless, if you take good care of them, you can still act like a normal person." Qin Wushang wrote him a few prescriptions at the table after taking his pulse, and noted the stage at which each prescription should be taken. , "Continue to take the medicine according to these prescriptions, and don't hold any heavy objects or do too much movement within three months."

"Thank you, doctor." Mu Liuyun stood up with Qingliu's support, and gave him a deep bow, "I will repay my life-saving grace in the future."

Qin Wushang said indifferently: "Don't worry about whether to report or not. Anyway, someone begged me hard, so I rescued you."

Ye Hai on the side smiled awkwardly: "Well...Lanshan, the weather is fine today, let's take Guichen to the yard to bask in the sun first."

"Oh." The strong Miao man pushed Ye Guichen out, Ye Hai turned back and said to Mu Liuyun: "Since the Taoist priest has decided to leave, I won't keep you. The consultation fee is 2000 taels, what?" When it’s convenient for you, you can just bring it along, and it’s also possible to hand it over to Jinghong Villa.”