Who among the gangsters wants to fall in love?

Chapter 189 Take Me Out of the Palace
The next day, people in the streets were still talking about the plaque of the martial arts champion being removed. The ten martial arts champions chosen by Emperor Jingzheng had not changed in seventeen years. Only an old spear champion was killed by Xiao Yuanmu, and later Chen Qiyuan inherited his father's business... It was no wonder that the martial arts world was shocked when Luo Chaoyan removed a martial arts champion as soon as he came to power.

However, no matter how much the martial arts world is shaken, it cannot affect the imperial court. What Zhao Wumian should consider now is what Ning Zhongxia is planning while lurking in the capital.

At this moment, Luo Chaoyan had just ascended the throne and had not yet had time to deal with the issue of the Rong people entering the pass. The capital really could not afford to have any major turmoil happen again.

Zhao Wumian stayed in the Su Mansion and spent a sleepless night full of tenderness and sweetness. He got up and met Mrs. Su and had breakfast together.

As a mother-in-law, Mrs. Su did not make things difficult for the son-in-law of the Su family... Those words were fine to say in front of Su Qingqi, but of course she would not say them in front of Zhao Wumian.

After breakfast, there was still some time before the lunch as the Queen Mother had mentioned, so Zhao Wumian and Su Qingqi practiced the Yuehua Sword together.

As Zhao Wumian gained more practical experience and insights into martial arts, he increasingly felt that it was not without reason that this sword technique allowed the Su family to gain a foothold in Jiangnan and become the number one family in Jiangnan... It was indeed unique.

The moon rises from all directions, shining over the mountains.

However, as the two of them practiced martial arts, they tended to stick with each other, and they could not comprehend much of the so-called meaning of martial arts at all.

Su Qingqi was worried that her mother would see them being affectionate, so she quickly dodged the kiss and said business with a blushing face:
"The Huanzhen Pavilion wanted the four colored glaze jades. Did they already know about the jade pendant that the young master was wearing? They surrounded Miss Guan just to lure the young master over, but they didn't expect that the young master was so strong, so they failed."

"Whether they know it or not, it doesn't matter that the feud has already been formed. I am in the capital now. No matter what they are plotting, they can't avoid me. They will definitely make some plans against me. If an enemy comes, we will fight him with our generals and if a flood comes, we will block it with earth..." Zhao Wumian paused for a moment before continuing:

"Does the Detective Department have no records of the other four colored glaze jades? The colored glaze lamp is in Huanzhen Pavilion, the green jade pendant is with me, where are the other two?"

With the intelligence network of the Detective Department, it is understandable that they didn't know about the Cold Jade Gu. After all, there is nothing noteworthy about a Gu poison that has only appeared for a hundred years. But how could they not know about the Four Glazed Jades, a treasure related to the Nine Bells? Chief Inspector Su must have sent someone to investigate.

Su Qingqi recalled a little and said, "The four glazed jades were originally related to Chen, one of the southern countries. The nine bells were the national treasure of Chen at that time. The four glazed jades created for the nine bells became the identity certificate of the royal family of Chen. The jade pendant was in Xiao Xitian's hand, and we did not know it before. But the remaining two pieces, one is called the Zhan Yan hairpin, now in Taixuan Palace, and the other one..."

Su Qingqi tilted her head and thought, frowning, and then said, "I haven't heard my elder brother mention it. When I went to the case room to read books when I was a child, I didn't see much record of the last piece of Liuli Four Jades."

"No?" Zhao Wumian frowned, "This thing hasn't appeared in the world for hundreds of years?"

"Not really." Su Qingqi pondered for a moment, "The last piece is called Jiangzhu Jade, which is the first of the four colored jades. The royal family of the previous dynasty snatched it from Chen State, but after Emperor Taizu Gao conquered the country, he didn't find it...

Maybe it was stolen by some thief during the chaos, or maybe it was taken away by Wudamu. In any case, there has been no news of the emergence of the Crimson Baht Jade in more than fifty years, and I don’t know its specific shape.”

Su Qingqi grew up in the Detective Department and probably knows more than Shen Xiangge.

However, Zhao Wumian felt that it was more likely that Wudamu had escaped with the Jiangzhu Jade. But if that was the case, then the Huanzhen Pavilion's desperate pursuit of him, did it mean that they were cooperating with Wudamu?

After all, with the strength of Huanzhen Pavilion, there should be no reason for them to snatch the Crimson Jade from Wudamu.

However, the Crimson Pearl Jade is obviously involved in many past events in the martial arts world. Judging from the written records alone, the information is indeed lacking.

Zhao Wumian noticed other aspects. "Zhan Yan's hairpin is in the hands of Taixuan Palace, and Taixuan Palace is a rebel... Is Xiao Yuanmu a descendant of Chen Kingdom and wants to restore Chen Kingdom?"

Su Qingqi nodded, "The slogan of Taixuan Palace is indeed 'Looking back at the desolate world, go home, without wind and without Chen, what is home'...but it is not clear whether Xiao Yuanmu himself is a descendant of Chen country."

"What kind of slogan is this? It's not as good as 'Anti-Li and Fu Chen'. It doesn't have any courage at all." Zhao Wumian shook his head.

Su Qingqi chuckled, "If other families heard your words of 'rebellion against Li Fu Chen', they would definitely use your ability to play Wan Yue Xian as an excuse to accuse you of being a spy sent by Taixuan Palace."

"Miss Su is not 'other family.'" Zhao Wumian kissed Su Qingqi's pink lips again.

Su Qingqi blushed and put her hands on Zhao Wumian's chest, "Your injuries are all healed... I won't sleep with you tonight."

"I'm going to find someone to fight with when I get out..."

The couple started flirting while practicing swordplay in the yard. When it was almost noon, Su Qingqi got up and went back to the house. She found a clean white robe and handed it to Zhao Wumian. She said with a little resentment, "The Queen Mother invited you to lunch, you have to go no matter what. But now you are a marquis, so dress up a little more elegantly... I ordered this from Jinxiufang, would you like to try it on?"

"Custom-made? When?" Zhao Wumian was a little surprised. Where did Su Qingqi find the time?

"It's been three or four days. At that time, you killed Luo Shuzhi and were waiting for the emperor in Beijing. I had nothing to do, so I went to Jinxiufang. After all, you can't wear the same clothes every day, right?" Su Qingqi took off Zhao Wumian's belt and took off his coat for him. She smiled slightly and continued, "I'll go to Jinxiufang tomorrow to order a crimson python robe for you to wear on formal occasions."

"Your Majesty didn't order it?"

"She doesn't know the details of your figure..." Su Qingqi paused slightly, and said with a little pride, "As far as I know, it must be my Jinxiufang."

Hearing this, Zhao Wumian's heart was moved and he couldn't help but hug her waist.

Miss Su is so nice to him.

Su Qingqi paused, her eyes widened, and then she made a rejection gesture, "You will be entering the palace soon, and it's still broad daylight..."

"Let's do something quick."

"How can you be fast... um..."

"Then let the Queen Mother wait for a while and tell her that I was delayed..."

……

Su Qingqi couldn't get out of bed for a while. Zhao Wumian changed into a clean white robe, went out of the room and asked the maid, only to find out that it was already three quarters past noon... He was obviously late. He guessed that the Queen Mother had already eaten. But if he stood her up again, the Queen Mother would definitely "never have any contact with him again."

Alas, I wanted to go faster, but Miss Su was too tempting and I couldn't control myself. Zhao Wumian silently apologized to the Queen Mother.

However, he still used his Qinggong skills to go to the Sword Sect branch, preparing to say goodbye to Mu Lier, but Mu Lier had already left Beijing and only left him a letter. The greater good was that she was indeed worried about Luo Xiangzhu's safety, so she did not wait for him.

Only then did Zhao Wumian enter the palace to look for the Queen Mother.

With Zhao Wumian's current status, if he wants to enter the palace, no one dares to stop him. However, the harem is not a place that any man can enter at will. The etiquette and rules are strict. If Zhao Wumian enters and leaves the harem at will, sooner or later rumors will spread that "the empress dowager and the emperor share the same husband." Therefore, the empress dowager sent a carriage to wait behind the palace gate early in the morning.

A palace maid was standing in front of the carriage, pacing back and forth with an anxious look on her face. After waiting for a long time, Zhao Wumian finally showed up. She was relieved and said, "Oh, Lord, you are finally here. The Queen Mother was almost dying of anxiety in the palace. If you didn't come, she would have demolished Kunning Palace."

"I was delayed by Ning Zhongxia's matter. You also know that the emperor has just ascended the throne and the capital cannot tolerate any mistakes at this moment." Zhao Wumian found that Ning Zhongxia was quite useful.

Thank you, Ning Zhongxia.

The palace maid did not bother to answer, and hurriedly lifted the curtain of the carriage to let Zhao Wumian in, and then rode away.

Inside Kunning Palace, the empress dowager was indeed furious. She stood in front of the window with her hands behind her back, her pretty face extremely cold. The palace maids around her were silent as a cicada, lowering their heads and not daring to speak.

The sumptuous dishes had been on the table for half an hour, but they had not been touched at all.

Lian Xue whispered, "Queen Mother, let's eat first... Why are you waiting for that heartless person? It's not good for your body to be hungry."

"I'm not in the mood. I have no appetite for anything."

The Empress Dowager gets angry whenever she thinks of Zhao Wumian. He deliberately made her angry in front of her last night, and now it seems like he has broken his promise... Will he come to Kunning Palace or not?

She was the queen mother, and she only invited him to have a simple meal and chat. She didn't ask him to do anything, let alone harm him... Was it necessary for him to keep avoiding her?

She sighed softly, stroked her skirt and sat down at the table, sitting silently at the table.

There were nearly ten delicious dishes on the table, which made people's mouths water, but only the Queen Mother enjoyed them alone.

Even though she asked Lian Xue to come and eat with her, Lian Xue did not dare to break the etiquette at all. She only waited until the empress dowager finished eating before she went to eat at the small table.

If she didn't eat, the palace maids in Kunning Palace would almost starve to death, and she was indeed hungry... She would eat by herself first.

If Zhao Wumian comes later, I will have to think of some way to teach her a lesson.

As she pondered, she picked up the white jade bowl and chopsticks and ate in silence. The palace maids around her lowered their heads and said nothing, but they all breathed a sigh of relief.

She definitely couldn't finish all these dishes, and the empress dowager was not an extravagant person. She knew that Zhao Wumian practiced martial arts and had a big appetite, so she specifically instructed the imperial kitchen... But it turned out that guy didn't want to come.

When I thought of him, I suddenly became even angrier.

If Shen Xiangge was present, he would definitely have something in common with his aunt.

Don’t say that you are the empress dowager, even if I changed my identity and became the mighty Empress Canghua, I would still be mad at him.

That guy is born to be unlucky for the women from our Shen family.

On the other hand, while Zhao Wumian entered the palace to accompany the Queen Mother, the three Yuan Kui were also investigating the case leisurely, and even made some progress.

In a streetside wine shop, Pei Yuzhong and Tian Wenjing drank silently, waiting for news from Shen Cekai.

Although they are both legitimate sons of aristocratic families, when it comes to the intelligence network in the capital, they are definitely not as good as Shen Cekai, a young man who grew up in the capital.

Shen Cekai went to look for Mr. Du Sanye, a famous underworld figure.

Mr. Du Sanye is actually a middleman in the underworld. The work he does is not much different from that of Qingyuantai, but he is not as big as Qingyuantai.

In the past, any wanderer who came to Beijing and wanted to find a job would look for this so-called middleman... Ever since Qingyuantai was slaughtered by Ning Zhongxia, everything has risen when one whale falls. Many middlemen have relied on the remaining connections of Qingyuantai to get commissions and make a good living in the capital.

Mr. Du Sanye is one of them.

Pei Yuzhong sighed softly, "Brother Zhao is about the same age as me, but now he has relied on a sword to send the emperor to the throne... Knowing him, it is really stressful."

Tian Wenjing was fanning himself with one hand and holding a wine glass, still as coquettish as ever. But after hearing this, he didn't say anything more coquettish, but just said:
"Su Qingqi, Guan Yunshu is the beloved of Marquis Weiming, Yan Jiu has been missing since he lost to him once, Xuan Liu is also missing, Mei Chongyang died for his country at Piantou Pass, these are the five... These five leaders have their own stories, how can we spend our whole lives in debauchery?" "If not, we would not have accepted this order." Pei Yuzhong sipped his wine, his eyes slightly complicated.
"Chou Manjiang has killed someone in the capital and has already attracted the attention of the court. If he wants to kill someone again, he is afraid that he will not die quickly enough. However, due to the harm caused by his martial arts, he cannot just sit there and do nothing. Therefore, the most likely place he will go is a place where he can kill people openly... Wait for news from Brother Shen."

Tian Wenjing nodded. They were both top officials, chosen ones with lofty ambitions. It was impossible for them to be willing to be inferior to others.

During the conversation, Shen Cekai came in hurriedly, "I have some information. Although the martial arts world is the martial arts world, the Dali law does not allow people to be hacked in the street. This is especially true in the capital, under the feet of the emperor. But if you want to set up some black fights in secret, you just need to make some arrangements. The third master gave me two locations. Shall we go and investigate separately?"

Pei Yuzhong frowned and started to care about other things. "Can we open a black arena just by arguing with people?"

"As long as there is a black ring, there will be spectators. There are people from the underworld who want to fight to make money, there are princes who need to use it to select retainers and thugs, and there are many people who just watch for fun... Over the years, the black ring has become an industry in the capital, and everyone gets what they need. It's not like the court can just uproot it if it wants to."

Shen Cekai explained softly that he grew up in the capital and had some understanding of these things.

Tian Wenjing frowned, "If Chou Manjiang could sneak into the Black Lei, why did he kill someone in the street yesterday?"

"We can't use the common sense to look at that kind of murderer. He may have killed someone on a whim, and then realized that if he continued to kill, he might be surrounded and killed. That's why he had no choice but to fight in the underworld arena. If he didn't even have this kind of foresight, he would have died long ago." Pei Yuzhong pondered for a while, then shook his head slightly.

"No matter what, now that we have a clue, we can't be timid and stand still, right? If we keep doing this, when will we be able to enter the realm of heaven and reach the level of martial arts leader?"

What Pei Yuzhong said was not without reason. As a Jianghu person, he was always risking his life. What could he do without risk? Now that there was a clue, he should naturally investigate.

"There are two locations, one is Lijing Manor on the outskirts of the city, and the other is Wutong Garden in the city..."

"Wutong Garden?" Tian Wenjing was a little speechless. "If I remember correctly, Wutong Garden is a brothel, right?"

"Not really... There are only prostitutes inside who can only be looked at but not touched. Many literati and officials in the court like to go there to show off their literary talent. There seems to be a poetry gathering tonight." Shen Ce thought about it, then shook his head and said, "It's a brothel on the surface, and it's normal to be a shady place behind the scenes. It's just a disguise anyway."

Pei Yuzhong pondered for a while and said, "I am the strongest, so I will go to Lijing Manor on the outskirts of the city alone, and you two will go to Wutong Garden?"

"can."

Having made the decision, the three of them immediately went their separate ways.

There are not many black rings in the capital, only two at most. After all, competitors are enemies. If there are too many black rings, they will rob each other without the court's intervention. But the two black rings that can be left are naturally large in scale and have tight security. It is not easy for three people to sneak in.

But the three of them can't be so incapable of doing even this.

They are just not as good as Zhao Wumian, but they are still among the top ten leaders in the world.

Inside the wine shop, there was a wanderer wearing a bamboo hat. After the three men left, he silently finished the wine in the glass, then flicked a few copper coins onto the table, pressed down his bamboo hat, and stood up to leave.

The direction we were heading towards was Wutong Garden.

The area of ​​the Imperial Palace is vast, and the Kunning Palace is different from the Fumo Palace. It is located deep in the harem and is off-limits to ordinary people. It takes several quarters of an hour to go to the Kunning Palace by carriage, but Zhao Wumian can't be allowed to break into the harem alone, so he can only wait.

Zhao Wumian closed his eyes and used this free time to practice swordplay.

Although he cannot communicate with the bridge of heaven and earth, learning more martial arts can definitely improve his combat power.

The harem was desolate and lonely. Apart from the palace maids and the palace masters, the only people living there were the empress dowager, Guan Yunshu who was still recuperating from his injuries, and the purple-clothed girl who was fiddling with flowers, plants and poisonous insects.

As the carriage rumbled forward on the Baishi Imperial Road, Zhao Wumian wanted to look for Guan Yunshu and the girl in purple again.

If reality is a Galgame, as I step into the Palace, options will surely come to me... But at this moment, I am on the Empress Dowager line. If I switch to the Nun line or the Purple Clothes line, the Empress Dowager line will be completely cut off.

The frame was too boring, so Zhao Wumian joked in his heart.

As the carriage arrived in front of Kunning Palace, a palace maid went in to announce, "Empress Dowager, Marquis Weiming is here."

The Queen Mother had finished her lunch long ago and cleared away the dishes. She was lying on the couch taking a nap. Upon hearing this, her upper body jumped up, her eyes slightly surprised, "I thought that guy wouldn't come..."

"The Marquis said that he was late because he went to check on Ning Zhongxia." The maid said obediently.

"If you're dealing with official business, you should send someone to deliver a message." The Queen Mother said in a dissatisfied tone.

"It seems that the Marquis... has no subordinates. Not to mention servants and maids, he doesn't even have a house." Lian Xue said.

After saying this, she and several palace maids couldn't help but laugh softly with their hands covering their mouths.

He is obviously the most favored marquis by the emperor's side, but why does he feel like nothing? He is not like the other princes at all. It's quite interesting.

"This is not an excuse." The Queen Mother wanted to laugh when she thought of this, but she was still upset in her heart, so she kept a cold face.

She decided that her attitude would be worse later, so she refused to even stand up to greet him. She just lay on the couch, supporting her beautiful face with one hand, and clamped her legs together, looking lazy, and said slowly, "Xuan."

Soon after he finished speaking, footsteps were heard coming from afar, and Zhao Wumian, dressed in a white robe and holding a sword at his waist, walked slowly in.

The palace maids who were still laughing shut up immediately and secretly looked up at Zhao Wumian.

He has a handsome face, wearing a white robe with black bamboo patterns, cloud-like snow-white boots, and a sword shaped like a crescent moon slung across his waist.

Wei Ming Hou is really handsome.

Several palace maids blushed.

The empress dowager also looked at Zhao Wumian with some surprise. It was obvious that Su Qingqi had dressed up her man specially today. Not to mention the clothes, even his hair was tied up with a white jade crown. He was indeed a bit more luxurious than before.

The Queen Mother nodded slightly, smiling, "This is more like Lord Dali."

Zhao Wumian cupped his hands and ignored the words, thinking that the Queen Mother was praising him, "I am nearly an hour late, please forgive me, Queen Mother."

The Queen Mother wore a luxurious red dress embellished with gold thread, and her hair was simply tied up with a gold hairpin. Her dress was simple, but the elegance and nobility in her every move could not be concealed no matter what.

Now lying on her side on the couch, her dress was tightly held, highlighting her beautiful figure. Unlike Su Qingqi, this was a mature figure.

Just like the buttocks, even though Zhao Wumian could only see a little bit of the arc due to the angle, he could still see that it went from narrow to wide, with smooth waist and hip lines, especially along the lumbar vertebrae and coccyx to the buttocks, shaped like a water droplet, and he could feel the state change of matter under the action of gravity, natural symmetry, and the most interesting thing...

Zhao Wumian took a glance and then looked away. The empress dowager had too many identities. If Zhao Wumian was a little abrupt, he would violate three ethics. So he would not just look at her casually.

In Zhao Wumian's heart, he still regarded the Queen Mother as an elder.

After all, it is impossible to say that he has no feelings towards Luo Chaoyan at all.

The Queen Mother saw that Zhao Wumian didn't even look at him for long, and nodded slightly in her heart. Although this Wei Ming Hou made her angry, he was obviously a good person. Otherwise, Mu Lier would not have accepted him as her disciple.

She smiled slightly, but did not stand up. "My Lord, there is no need to be so polite. Even if I don't mention that you escorted the emperor to the capital to ascend the throne, this is not the first time we have met before..."

As she spoke, the Queen Mother paused slightly, recalling the night when Zhao Wumian carried her on his back and charged towards the Black Armor Imperial Guards, and then gently asked her if she wanted to leave the palace with him.

At that moment, her heart was indeed beating fast, but now that so much time has passed, she finds it interesting when she recalls it without emotion.

Under such circumstances, this man actually wanted to take her out of the palace, just because he saw that she had been living alone in the palace for ten years and was lonely and miserable?
"If I will not forgive you, what do you intend to do?"

But she had to vent her anger, so the Queen Mother looked at Zhao Wumian with her smiling eyes, full of interest.

Zhao Wumian took out the rouge that he had prepared in advance from his arms, "This is the rouge from Qian Su Zhai, I hope the Queen Mother likes it..."

The Queen Mother was slightly stunned. "How do you know that I like things from Qian Su Zhai?"

"I specifically inquired about it. After all, Wumian also knows that the Queen Mother is unhappy."

"To whom?"

"This is Wumian's secret." Zhao Wumian thought it would be better not to betray his brother-in-law.
The Queen Mother chuckled, and gently pulled back the hair hanging on the side of her face with her fingers. She opened her red lips and said, "But this is not enough... Have you forgotten what I have suffered because of you?"

Zhao Wumian blinked, "What crime?"

"This is my secret."

"Pfft..." Lian Xue couldn't help but laugh, but when the Queen Mother saw her, her face turned stern again.

Zhao Wumian looked a little helpless. It seemed that the Queen Mother was taking revenge on him because he was late.

He asked, "When I entered the capital, I heard that the Queen Mother was suffering from a mental illness because of what happened before..."

Zhao Wumian hesitated for a moment before asking, "Is this true?"

He didn't know whether the Queen Mother was pretending to be sick to protect him or something else.

"Really." The Queen Mother frowned, expressionless, "So, Lord Marquis, have you figured out how to compensate me?"

"…What does the Queen Mother want to do?"

The Queen Mother told her the plan she had thought of long ago.

"Take me out of the palace."

(End of this chapter)