Who among the gangsters wants to fall in love?

Chapter 111: Deep Palace
Not long after the two left, the Right Chief of the Imperial City Division, Lin Daoren, also returned to the Imperial City Division.

He returned to his room in a hurry, with some anger in his eyes for some reason. Then after entering the room, his expression suddenly changed slightly, and he looked a little confused.

Although the room was exactly the same as when he left, Lin Daoren had been in charge of 'espionage and surveillance' for many years, so he must have some real skills.

He paced back and forth, walked around the room several times, and then suddenly stopped in front of the 'Heroes of the Jianghu' bookshelf... The bookshelf had been moved.

Lin Daoren narrowed his eyes slightly, but revealed a bit of doubt.

Even if the windows were open for ventilation, as long as someone had come and touched his things, there would definitely be a scent left behind. No matter how faint the scent was, Lin Daoren could smell it... This was related to the martial arts he practiced.

But he didn't smell anything... This was natural. Before Zhao Wumian sneaked in, he had already sprinkled some potion that could eliminate odors. He relied on this to avoid the noses of the hounds in the Prince Jin's Mansion.

Lin Daoren put his hands behind his back, remained silent for a moment, then turned and went to Li Zhengkong's room, intending to ask him.

But the room was empty, Li Zhengkong was not there... After being threatened by Zhao Wumian, he had already left quickly to prepare for Zhao Wumian's infiltration.

Lin Daoren was silent again, but he did not intend to reveal the matter... Li Zhengkong had his own secrets, but he also had...

Li Zhengkong is not Dongyan, but he is.

After returning to the Detective Department, Zhao Wumian put "The Romantic Affair of a Female Hero" aside and frowned slightly. He entered the palace to sneak into the East Palace, but from the information from all sides, he knew that the East Palace was under tight defense at the moment and no information could be released. Even whether the prince was alive or dead was unclear.

If you want to enter the Eastern Palace, you probably have to do as Miss Shen said and ask the Queen for help.

From Tu Ziling to Zhen Xing and then to Lin Miao, after investigating so many levels, it was expected that the leader of Dong Yan would be found soon. However, to this day, Zhao Wumian still couldn't figure out the purpose of Dong Yan's doing this.

Poison the prince, seize the pearl relic pagoda, capture Luo Chaoyan alive... What exactly do they want to do?
If he was plotting to take the throne, wouldn't it be enough to just kill the prince? Why poison him and keep him hanging?

The prince being alive must be useful to them...what use?

Supporting a puppet? The eldest grandson of the emperor is easier to manipulate than the crown prince.

It would be better for the crown prince to die directly. At least it would allow the court to make up its mind and quickly support the emperor's eldest grandson to ascend the throne to stabilize the situation. Now it is in this dilemma. It wants to support the young emperor, but it is also concerned about the Xu family and wants to wait for Luo Chaoyan to return to Beijing... This will easily lead to chaos in the world.

When Zhao Wumian thought of this, he suddenly stood up and remembered that the first person who came to capture Luo Chaoyan in Qinfeng Village was Wu Ming.

A Rong man came alone to northern Jin to capture Luo Chaoyan. Now it is deep winter, there is no food on the grassland, and they are invading the border on a large scale. So far, the King of Jin’s 200,000 elite troops are still holding the front line.

Damn it, could Dong Yan be colluding with the grasslands, intending to wreak havoc in the Central Plains and take back the foundation of the previous dynasty?

Dali was founded less than sixty years ago... Sixty years ago, Yanyun, Jin, and even part of the Central Plains were occupied by the Rong tribe. At that time, the Rong tribe named themselves a country "Kun", which means "Kun Yuan is great, all things are born and live in accordance with the will of Heaven."

Could this Dong Yan be a remnant of the previous dynasty?

Zhao Wumian's expression instantly became complicated. After all, he was most likely a member of Taixuan Palace and a rebel. Logically speaking, he and Dong Yan should be considered as colleagues.

But these are just speculations, there is no evidence at all, but it is true that Dong Yan is colluding with the Rong tribe... Miss Su's Qingming sword is still stuck in Wu Ming's shoulder.

If no clues are found, we can go to northern Shanxi to capture Wu Ming and interrogate him, and retrieve Miss Su's Qingming Sword.

Zhao Wumian still found it interesting to think about it. Recalling when they first came to this world, the three of them ran out of Qinfeng Village almost without stopping just to escape from Wu Ming. Now, half a month has passed, and he is thinking of returning to northern Shanxi to capture him and interrogate him.

Just at this moment, Su Qingqi passed by the window holding two booklets.

She caught a glimpse of Zhao Wumian sitting at the table out of the corner of her eye. She immediately stopped and turned around, with a smile on her little face. She was even unwilling to take a few steps into the house. She just took a few steps forward to the window, with one hand on the windowsill, wanting to talk to Zhao Wumian like this, not wanting to waste even a second.

She was just about to raise her hand to say hello, but then the warrior's sharp eyesight caught sight of "The Romance of the Heroine" that Zhao Wumian had placed on the table.

She blinked her eyes, and her expression suddenly became strange and a little embarrassed. She wondered why Mr. Zhao liked this kind of thing in the past?
But why not "The Romantic Affair of a Detective"?

In the past, when she went to brothels to investigate cases, she heard the sisters there say that men like women with special identities... and many of them liked to let those sisters wear uniforms such as detective uniforms.

Thinking of this, Su Qingqi subconsciously glanced at her clothes. Hmm... her bulging chest was invisible, and she could only see the intricate patterns on the collar of her clothes.

"Miss Su?" Zhao Wumian noticed Su Qingqi, but saw that she was looking at his chest with her eyebrows lowered, which seemed a little strange.

Su Qingqi came back to her senses, her face slightly reddened, and pretending to be calm, she tiptoed slightly and handed over two booklets, saying with a smile: "Young Master asked me to find out the news of Taixuan Palace...Taixuan Palace is low-key, and there is no trace of them in the martial arts world. This information is all old news."

In fact, the Imperial City Division had already checked everything that needed to be checked. The Detective Division might not know as much about the Taixuan Palace as the Imperial City Division, but Zhao Wumian still stood up and walked to the window to take the booklet. "Thank you."

"Sir, why are you investigating Taixuan Palace? Do you suspect they are related to Dongyan?" Su Qingqi didn't go into the house. She just put her hands behind her back, tapping the snow with her toes from time to time, and talked to Zhao Wumian through the window.

Zhao Wumian glanced through the booklet and suddenly said, "As expected, I should be from Taixuan Palace."

Su Qingqi paused, the smile on her face suddenly froze, and her almond-shaped eyes widened.

She looked at Zhao Wumian with a bit of disbelief in her eyes. She was stunned for several seconds before she said in astonishment:
"How is it possible? If a master like you is really from Taixuan Palace, he wouldn't be unknown... And if you are from Taixuan Palace, then shouldn't I arrest you?"

"I also think it's impossible, but I know Taixuan Palace's martial arts, so I want to check." Zhao Wumian shook his head slightly, "Don't tell Luo Chaoyan about this for now."

Su Qingqi nodded slightly, knowing the pros and cons of this, and then tapped the ground with her toes a few times, put her hands behind her back, clasped them tightly, and asked in a low voice: "If the young master recovers his memory, will he still be the young master?"

Zhao Wumian smiled, "If I really am a disciple of Taixuan Palace after I recover my memory, then Xiao Yuanmu will be my disciple, not to mention Luo Chaoyan... I have to choose between loyalty and righteousness, so I decided to leave Taixuan Palace and the court and become a free and easy knight-errant. What should Su Kuai do?"

Su Qingqi's eyes widened even more, and she clenched her hands even tighter behind her back, and continued in a low voice: "That's great, being a wandering knight is quite comfortable, but..."

"Just what?" Zhao Wumian asked.

Su Qingqi hesitated for a long time, her lips opening and closing, but she couldn't say anything. Finally, she hesitated and said, "It's easy to say that you want to retire, but once you enter the martial arts world and interfere in the court, how can you get away easily... But if you insist on doing this, I will naturally help you."

"I thought you would say something like traveling around the world with me." Zhao Wumian seemed a little disappointed.

Su Qingqi's almond-shaped eyes suddenly widened, her face flushed, and she stammered, "You and I are innocent, how can you say such things, young master..."

"You don't have to pay attention to him. He is just bullying you. How could he be willing to be a wandering knight?" At this moment, Guan Yunshu's voice came from the side. She crossed her arms and looked at Zhao Wumian coldly.

Zhao Wumian laughed and did not deny it. "It's too early to say these things... Miss Su, do you have a map of the palace? I plan to enter the palace tonight."

Speaking of business, Su Qingqi was stunned again. She didn't care about the so-called Taixuan Palace. She stared at Zhao Wumian in a daze, "Is he going to enter the palace tonight?"

"I have to go anyway."

Su Qingqi was silent for a moment, and said no more, but whispered: "I do have a general map, but the specific defense map is a palace secret..." "It's enough to know the general layout of the palace so that I don't get lost."

Su Qingqi nodded slightly and trotted off to get the map.

After she ran away, Guan Yunshu glanced at Zhao Wumian. He didn't say much about it, but his tone was rarely filled with worry. "Do you need me to pick you up?"

The imperial palace is a den of dangers and dangers, and it is unknown whether Zhao Wumian's trip will be successful.

Zhao Wumian pondered for a moment, then shook his head slightly, "Wait for my news."

After Su Qingqi brought the map, Zhao Wumian memorized it in his heart and took advantage of this time to practice martial arts. As it was getting dark, he went to the Shen Mansion to find Shen Xiangge.

"Entering the palace so soon?" Empress Canghua did not expect that he would be able to enter the palace in the evening even though she had just mentioned this matter to Zhao Wumian this morning.

She felt a little admiration in her heart. With such initiative, it was no wonder that he could accomplish so many things in just half a month.

"Miss Shen just wants me to be faster?"

"Don't men like things to go slowly so they appear to last longer?" Lady Canghua pretended to be innocent and asked with her head tilted. Her tone was full of the purity and playfulness that only a young girl could have. Unfortunately, she still blurted out such obscene words as usual.

"Why is the old woman acting like a virgin?"

The corner of Queen Canghua's eyes twitched slightly. In the whole world, only Zhao Wumian dared to speak to her like this.

She was too lazy to argue and took out a letter from her sleeve and handed it to Zhao Wumian.
"Give this letter to my aunt, she will help you, but if the truth is revealed and the palace gates are sealed, you will most likely not be able to escape... So if something changes, remember not to fight. It is better to be arrested honestly. When the news gets out, I can use the Shen family's connections to get you out."

"I know." Zhao Wumian nodded slightly.

As she spoke, Miss Shen suddenly stepped forward and touched Zhao Wumian's face with her small hand.

The touch from the side of his face was soft and warm, but Zhao Wumian felt as if he was facing a formidable enemy and took a few steps back, "Miss Shen, what do you mean?"

Empress Canghua rolled her eyes and said, "I'll help you disguise yourself. You're a popular person in the capital. You can't be sure that someone in the palace has remembered your previous appearance... This is to prevent you from being recognized."

"Miss Shen also knows this trick?" Zhao Wumian was a little surprised. "If you ask me, this should be something that Gui Xuan Gu can do."

"Why?" Lady Canghua stretched out her little hand and touched Zhao Wumian's face again.

"The Xiantian Flower-Picking Saint Sect." Zhao Wumian only felt warm and cool on his face, and guessed that Lady Canghua had applied something.

"Hmm?" Empress Canghua tilted her face. She didn't understand.

If Luo Chaoyan was here, she would definitely understand. Zhao Wumian missed the little doctor a little at this moment. This time when she entered the palace, no one could resist the sleepiness and stay up all night to wait for him to come back.

Hmm...that's not right. Miss Su should wait for him, but I don't know if Guan Yunshu will.

"Okay." Lady Canghua took out a small mirror from her sleeve and gestured to Zhao Wumian to look at it. She asked casually with a somewhat inexplicable tone: "Caihua Shengzong... Could it be that you admire Benwotang?"

"That group of flower thieves? I'll kill one if I see one." Zhao Wumian looked at his face. The changes seemed big, but in fact, if you look closely, people who are familiar with him will definitely recognize them at a glance.

Lady Canghua smiled slightly upon hearing this, and then said with a tone that showed Zhao Wumian's casualness and arrogance, "I knew from the night you announced yourself to the martial arts world that you don't like to disguise yourself secretly, so I helped you disguise yourself into this appearance, right?"

"That's true. A real man lives between heaven and earth. If he does things just because he wants to be ruthless and has no courage at all, he will probably never be able to become a martial arts champion in his lifetime."

Zhao Wumian paused for a moment, then continued, "Besides, I don't want to get to know Miss Guan and Miss Su in a fake identity."

Originally, Lady Canghua was very impressed by the first half of the sentence, but when she heard the second half, she rolled her eyes and said, "I thought you were such a gentleman, but in the end, you're just a pervert."

"It's human nature to start with emotion and end with courtesy. At least it proves that I'm not some scumbag who hooks up with decent girls but is unwilling to take responsibility... Why doesn't Miss Shen ask me if I object to making friends with you in a fake way?"

"Oh?" Lady Canghua was very interested. Could it be that this boy really wanted to seduce her?
She intended to tease Zhao Wumian, so she once again asked in an innocent and pure tone, "What about me?"

"It doesn't matter, Miss Shen. After all, I'm not familiar with you."

Lady Canghua silently retreated and sat back on the couch, expressionless, "Your watermelon is gone."

"I may not come back alive tonight." Zhao Wumian sighed lightly.

The corner of Lady Canghua's eye twitched again, and she ignored Zhao Wumian's self-torture trick and said seriously:

"Sneaking into the palace is a serious matter, don't take it lightly. Throughout history, many people have sneaked into the palace, but how many of them have been able to return safely?"

Empress Canghua's tone couldn't help but be a little worried. Even she had no confidence in escaping from the imperial palace.

Zhao Wumian looked at Lady Canghua.
"Whether you worry or not, it's all false... Wait until I come back safely and bring accurate news about the queen. If everything goes well, I can catch the Dongyan thief in one fell swoop. By then, can Miss Shen give me some more benefits, such as other secrets of the Shen family..."

"Let's go quickly!"

Xuanwu Gate is located due west of the Imperial Palace.

Zhao Wumian was wearing a white robe, with his arms folded, and a Kunwu sword wrapped in black cloth hung around his waist. He stood in the dark, glancing at the palace gate.

It was night time now, and the palace gates were filled with dense firelights, dimly visible in the snow...they were all guards with lanterns hanging around their waists.

The city wall was estimated to be several dozen feet high, and was also densely packed with archers.

With the defense of the imperial palace, of course, they didn't know about these guards in the open, and there were even more secret guards hiding somewhere... If Zhao Wumian and Guan Yunshu still wanted to sneak into the palace the same way they sneaked into Prince Jin's Mansion, they would surely die miserably.

Fortunately, someone is here to pick me up.

At some point, a figure appeared behind Zhao Wumian. It was Li Zhengkong.

He half-knelt behind Zhao Wumian and handed over the folded guard uniform and waist badge with both hands. "Young man, the guards must meet at the palace gate every hour and a half to prevent anyone from being secretly killed. But other than that, as long as you don't go to the East Palace, you can go anywhere else..."

Zhao Wumian nodded slightly, took the uniform and badge, and said, "Thank you, Master Zuo."

Li Zhengkong stood up, rubbing his hands and laughing, "As long as you succeed, don't forget Xiao Kongzi."

After a brief exchange of words, Zhao Wumian changed into a black robe, put on a badge, and followed Li Zhengkong towards Xuanwu Gate.

(End of this chapter)