Who among the gangsters wants to fall in love?

Chapter 196: Meeting on a narrow road, death in prison
With Tong Congdao's entry into the capital, the whole city was stirred up. Xu Ran and Chief Constable Su rushed to the palace. The Black Armor Guards and the head of the Detective Department patrolled the streets and alleys of the capital. The solemn and murderous atmosphere spread throughout the capital, which made the people in the city confused and puzzled.

In order to prevent panic among the people, it was impossible to inform the whole city about Tong Congdao's entry into the capital. Moreover, doing so for a martial arts master would make the court appear to be in disarray and undermine its prestige.

But this is also a special period. Luo Chaoyan has just ascended the throne for a few days, and the country is not yet stable, but the Huanzhen Pavilion has come out to cause trouble. It is never excessive to be on guard.

Guangming Gate on the south side of the capital.

Tap tap tap————

The sound of horse hooves was like thunder, echoing across the wilderness one after another.

Zhao Wumian, dressed in a white robe and riding astride the Jade Lion of Zhaoye, rushed out pulling the reins. Behind him followed more than twenty experts, including the Jade Captain of the Detective Department, and guests from the Shen and Tian families.

The Red Flower Stick of the Shen Mansion, 'Lord Yang' Shen Lian rode a tall horse and followed Zhao Wumian. He looked stern and asked in a low voice: "My Lord, at our current speed, we can reach Longji Town before noon... But it will take time to go back and forth. Is it inappropriate for you to leave the capital as well?"

Zhao Wumian had a sword on his waist and looked forward, but he said to the people behind him: "Time is tight and the mission is heavy. I am riding a night-lighting jade lion, and I can reach Longji Town in less than an hour... I will go ahead and scout the way forward for you."

"Ah!" The people behind him screamed, many of them were Zhao Wumian's little fans.

Zhao Wumian was a hero who killed Luo Chaoyan and ascended to the throne with just a sword. As men, they naturally admired him. Therefore, they did not suspect him at all. In their hearts, they actually thought that no matter what ambush there was in Longji Town, this marquis could probably kill it all by himself.

Zhao Wumian nodded slightly, and said to Shen Lian: "I will go first, and I will leave them to Brother Shen to lead... Be careful."

After that, Zhao Wumian spoke in secret and said something to Shen Lian.

Shen Lian was slightly stunned, and then immediately raised his hand, "Shen Lian will definitely live up to the mission."

"drive--"

As soon as he finished speaking, Zhao Wumian waved his whip, the white horse under him neighed loudly, and he rode away, raising a large cloud of dust behind him, but disappeared in the blink of an eye.

The eyes of the people behind him lit up slightly, and they were all fascinated... Good horses, magical weapons, powerful beauties, have always been the eternal pursuit of people in the martial arts world.

But who would have thought that their idol, Wei Minghou, came on horseback to a forest in the south of the city, dived into it, and then came out from the west side of the forest. Without a horse, he put on a bamboo hat and a straw raincoat, and returned to his previous exile attire, and quietly entered the capital.

Plainclothes constables were dispatched to the forest in advance to take care of his night-watching jade lion.

Zhao Wumian never believed what Chou Manjiang said, because he could not understand what the purpose of Huanzhen Pavilion capturing Shen Cekai and Tian Wenjing was.

Given the style of the flower thieves in Huanzhen Pavilion, if they wanted to capture someone, they would capture the ladies, why would they capture these two grown men? If they were to be used as bargaining chips, they didn't send anyone to negotiate with the court in the middle.

In this case, the greatest role of these two people is probably to let Zhao Wumian capture Chou Manjiang alive, let Chou Manjiang be sent to the Detective Division Zhao Prison alive, and then spread false information.

What other information is more trustworthy than what you get from interrogation?
Of course, this news is not necessarily false. Those two people might really be in Longji Town, and there are indeed thieves from Huanzhen Pavilion lying in ambush in Longji Town. This can increase the credibility of the news, but it is certainly impossible that Huanzhen Pavilion came to Beijing just to capture two young masters of aristocratic families... and no matter what they want, it must be in Beijing.

Now that he was pretending to leave the capital, from Huanzhen Pavilion's point of view, had his goal been achieved? Was it time for them to take action?
However, if Zhao Wumian's guess was true, then he did not understand the cruelty of Huanzhen Pavilion... Chou Manjiang was at least one of the best masters. How many masters could there be in a sect? Even if all the elders of Xiaoxitian were added together, they would probably only have about four masters.

Huanzhen Pavilion also expected this number.

That's why he asked Chou Manjiang whether it was worth it, but Chou Manjiang did not give him a direct answer for the sake of his plan.

But the answer must be in Beijing.

Someone sent a message to the imperial courtyard, "Zhao Wumian left the imperial court with a group of people. The whereabouts of Xu Ran and Su Huaixi are unknown, but one of them must be protecting them in the palace, or even both of them are in the palace."

Tong Congdao was sitting cross-legged in the yard, looking at a big locust tree planted in the yard. Hearing this, his face was expressionless and he remained silent.

Before, Tong Congdao went to Qinfeng Mountain in northern Shanxi for the sake of Naraku Hongsi, and had a fight with Chen Qiyuan and Xu Ran... But in that battle, he was simply used as a gun by Lady Canghua, and the two guardians on the left and right died for no reason, causing great damage to the vitality of Honwo Hall.

The two top masters are already the backbone of the sect...If he doesn't take revenge, then all his efforts to cultivate powerful martial arts will be in vain.

Therefore, Tong Congdao is still investigating who the black-clothed man who suddenly appeared in Qinfeng Village was, but he has no clues. Although he vaguely guessed that it might be Empress Canghua who was engaging in "sect palace fighting", he has no evidence at all.

Now that he has come to the capital, his main purpose is actually to capture Zhao Wumian and interrogate him. Now he knows that Zhao Wumian has a green jade pendant, one of the four glazed jades, in his arms... Isn't this the right time?

Therefore, he is still pondering whether or not to go outside the capital to capture Zhao Wumian first... After all, before this, they didn't know what arrangements the court would make. Now it seems that the court still wants to play it safe and will not buy into the tactic of luring the tiger away from the mountain. The two martial arts champions are determined to stay in the capital.

Li Jingnan was a very smart person. He knew what Tong Congdao was thinking, so he said, "Let's focus on the plan. Master Tong should lure Xu Ran and Su Huaixi out first, and we'll take the opportunity to sneak in. As for Zhao Wumian... he won't be able to get back to the capital in a while in Longji Town. If everything goes well, we can go to the south of the capital when we retreat, and we might run into him."

Ning Zhongxia was also standing by, and he pondered for a moment, "At present, the only martial artists in the capital who are worth noting are the two martial arts champions and Zhao Wumian... Zhao Wumian is outside the capital, and if the two martial arts champions are delayed by Hall Master Tong, then with Elder Li's strength, he will basically be able to accomplish his goal."

Tong Congdao could also distinguish between public and private matters. What Li Jingnan said made sense. It was a rare opportunity as Zhao Wumian had left Beijing. He stood up and saw a Miao Dao hanging on the belly of the white horse tied beside him.

I think Chou Manjiang also learned martial arts from Tong Congdao.

Tong Congdao drew his sword calmly, and after a moment's hesitation, he said:
"The news I got in Beijing has been leaked to the court. As far as I know, the current emperor favors Zhao Wumian the most. This guy is probably the emperor's male favorite, so I left Beijing openly and went to the south of Longji Town to convey the signal that I want to hunt down Zhao Wumian... If she sends Wu Kui to support, then she can still lure the tiger away from the mountain. If she doesn't send anyone..."

Tong Congdao paused for a moment, and then his voice turned cold, "There is no such thing as Wei Ming Hou in this world anymore."

Conspiracy.

If Luo Chaoyan sends the martial arts champion to rescue, she will fall into the trap of luring the tiger away from the mountain. If she does not send, Zhao Wumian will die... and there are only two martial arts champions in the capital. To be on the safe side, one must be kept in the palace.

One is in the palace, and the other is outside the capital. With Li Jingnan's ability, unless he meets some mysterious master who is hiding in the city, or is surrounded by a dozen masters, it would basically be a fish-frying game... After all, he is one of the former Five Mountains.

Of course, the most important thing is... if Tong Congdao is entangled by Xu Ran and Su Huaixi, and the army surrounds him, and he can't fly, he will die in the capital.

Even Wudamu didn't dare to be surrounded by the army, let alone Tong Congdao whose strength was far inferior to his?

Therefore, it would be best for him to act outside Beijing.

It’s impossible for everyone to come and go freely in the Imperial Palace like Zhao Wumian...If it weren’t for the Empress Dowager, Lady Canghua, and Chief Constable Su who tried their best to help, and if Luo Shuzhi hadn’t wanted to use him, Zhao Wumian would have died in the Imperial Palace.

Li Jingnan and Ning Zhongxia thought about it for a while and nodded. There was nothing wrong with this plan.

With a plan in hand, they took action immediately.

In the Imperial Palace, after learning that Tong Congdao had entered the capital, the Empress Dowager and Luo Chaoyan's plan to go out of the palace for fun was put on hold.

The capital is in a treacherous situation right now, and leaving the capital at will would bring trouble to Zhao Wumian, so they could only wait in the palace... The Empress Dowager lay on the embroidered bed in a depressed mood, her beautiful face buried in the pillow, the front of her clothes was squeezed into an arc with a very oppressive feeling, even if she didn't deliberately lift her hips, the curve behind her waist was very eye-catching.

Without palace shoes or white socks, her delicate bare feet kicked the bed from time to time.

It was morning court time, and Luo Chaoyan was attending court in the Taiji Hall.

Xu Ran and Su Huaixi were both wearing court robes and standing in the front row of civil and military officials in the hall.

"Xie Jingzhao led 3,000 soldiers and rushed out of Yanmen Pass. He attacked the enemy camp at night, burned down the camp, and killed 1,000 enemies. Unfortunately, it rained heavily. Fortunately, General Xie had already led his troops far away. This was considered a small victory..."

The Minister of War was still holding the declaration of war and reading the battle report that had just arrived. At this time, a man from the Detective Department, dressed as a constable, came quickly to the front of the palace and sent a message to the female official Zhongli through the eunuch in front of the palace. Finally, the female official Zhongli whispered to Luo Chaoyan:

"Your Majesty, the Detective Department seems to have spotted Tong Congdao outside the south of the city... He seems to have heard the news that Wei Minghou left the capital, and went to hunt him down."

When the ministers heard the battle report, they all cheered, but Luo Chaoyan's face immediately darkened, causing the laughter of the ministers in the hall to stop.

Chief Constable Su and Xu Ran both have extraordinary five senses. When they heard the low voice of Zhongli, Chief Constable Su frowned slightly, "It's a conspiracy to lure the tiger away from the mountain."

Xu Ran's face also darkened slightly, and he exchanged glances with Chief Constable Su.

The two of them knew Zhao Wumian's plan and knew that Zhao Wumian did not actually run to Longji Town, but it is better to be safe than sorry... If Zhao Wumian ran into Tong Congdao before he could get to Beijing, that would be bad.

Luo Chaoyan was actually worried about this, so she thought for a moment and gently raised her hand, "Captain Su, go outside the city to arrest the thief Tong Congdao from Huanzhen Pavilion."

No matter what, one of them has to go out... Otherwise, Tong Congdao will see that his plan to lure the tiger away from the mountain has failed, and there is no guarantee what he will do next.

As for Xu Ran and Chief Constable Su both leaving the capital, that is absolutely impossible... No matter what happens, a martial arts master must remain in the palace.

At this moment, Chief Constable Su left the capital, firstly to ensure that Zhao Wumian was truly safe, and secondly to stabilize Tong Congdao.

Knowing where he is is far better than having him hiding in the dark.

Chief Constable Su bowed and accepted the order, then left the court in a hurry.

The other court officials were completely confused, but when they saw Luo Chaoyan nod his chin slightly, he said to the Minister of War, "My dear, please continue."

Because he was unsure whether any of these civil and military officials were colluding with the Huanzhen Pavilion, Luo Chaoyan would not reveal the details of the plan casually.

Guan Yunshu and Su Qingqi did not follow Zhao Wumian, but stayed in the capital to ensure that any news about Huanzhen Pavilion would be passed on to Zhao Wumian. Therefore, Xue Xiao also stayed in the Detective Department, and Zhao Wumian took Yan Jiu's sword.

To be honest, Snow Owl is indeed useful. The fragment of the sword has been given to the purple-clothed girl for research. I don’t know when the spice ingredients on the sword can be developed.

The Detective Department, the case room, is a three-story building. Inside, there are not only various rumors about the martial arts world, records of secret treasures, biographies of heroes, but also many martial arts secrets. It can be regarded as the "Glass Tower" of the Detective Department.

On the first floor, in a room filled with bookshelves, the center of the room was left empty. Many small tables were put together, and a lot of documents and files were placed on the tables, making the room look messy.

Su Qingqi was wearing a black police uniform, with her hair tied in a ponytail hanging behind her waist. She was sitting at the table flipping through files.

Guan Yunshu sat opposite her obediently, looking a little bored. He was holding a string of Buddhist beads in one hand, with his eyes closed and silently chanting scriptures... As the eldest sister of the Buddhist sect, she never missed the morning lessons every day.

Su Qingqi had nothing to do, so she came here to investigate the Jiangzhu Jade... Chief Inspector Su had already led the team to investigate for several days, and had recorded all the incidents suspected to be related to the Jiangzhu Jade. Su Qingqi was now making the final summary and speculation.

In addition to the two women, there were several detectives looking through documents. The desk was quiet with only the slightest sound of flipping through papers.

Most of the people in the Detective Department were out patrolling the streets, so the filing room seemed sparsely populated at the moment, but it was impossible for all of them to go out... There were still many detectives left in the Detective Department, one to prevent prison breaks, and the other because they had their own cases to deal with.

Su Qingqi looked at the document in her hand with a serious look on her face… This volume was the handwritten notes of Chief Constable Su, and there was a passage in it that was specially marked in red.

"In the 25th year of Taizu, in the capital, Emperor Taizu Gao was assassinated, and the Prince of Yan made great contributions in protecting him."

Guan Yunshu looked over after hearing this, "What's the problem?" "The assassination of Emperor Taizu Gao should have been recorded in detail, but there are only a few words here, and it's obvious that the record was erased artificially..." Su Qingqi frowned slightly, "There are obviously doubts."

"Maybe it is just related to other things. It's far-fetched to insist on linking it to the Jiangzhu Jade." Guan Yunshu sighed lightly and looked helpless.

From the very beginning, she felt that finding clues to the Crimson Pearl Jade from the Detective Department was simply a fantasy... Without any clues at all, what could she guess by just blindly guessing?

Su Qingqi pondered for a while and said, "There is a person imprisoned on the fourth floor of Zhaoyu. It can be inferred that the person might be the assassin of the incident. Why don't we ask him?"

"You grew up in the Detective Department, and you don't know the identity of the prisoner on the fourth floor?" Guan Yunshu felt that Su Qingqi was somewhat unprofessional.

"During the Jingnan Rebellion, the imperial court underwent a major reshuffle, which of course included the Detective Department." Su Qingqi retorted dissatisfiedly, "This kind of past that has been artificially erased is entirely passed down by word of mouth. Not to mention me, even my eldest brother may not know much. After all, he has only been the chief detective of the Detective Department for about ten years."

Su Qingqi's voice was a little loud, causing the other detectives to look at her in surprise.

She immediately shut up, bowed her hands to apologize, and then closed the document and put it on the table neatly, ready to come back here to check it when she has time. Then she stood up and said to Guan Yunshu, "Go ask?"

She is also a person of action. Since she thinks that the person on the fourth underground floor might know some clues, she should naturally go and check it out.

Guan Yunshu sighed again, thinking that Su Qingqi's efforts were completely in vain, but he was just sitting around doing nothing anyway, what if he could really gain something?
After the two women left the filing room, a constable came to the table silently, raised his hand and picked up the document that Su Qingqi had just read, frowning tightly.

"Prince Yan... How is Prince Yan related to that matter? This is a clue. If this plan fails, I can still try going to Prince Yan... But Su Huaixi helped me find out this old story, so I don't have to waste time..." The constable was silent for a while, put down the document, turned around and left the case room.

The guard in front of the case room greeted the detective, "Captain Bai, have you finished your investigation?"

Captain Bai nodded slightly, then smiled and said, "Recently, His Majesty is investigating the Crimson Jade. The case room is crowded and messy, with documents and files scattered everywhere. Thank you for your help in sorting them out for us."

"Oh, no, we are all working for His Majesty."

"Haha." Captain Bai's smile seemed a little forced. He chatted briefly for a few words and then left.

Captain Bai left the Detective Bureau, turned a few alleys, and finally arrived in front of the two men.

Li Jingnan and Ning Zhongxia.

Captain Bai handed over two sets of police uniforms and two tokens, and said, "With my position, I can only give you two these uniforms at most... But you can't go to Zhaoyu with these uniforms alone. After you enter the Detective Department, you have to find a way to get to Zhaoyu..."

Captain Bai thought for a moment and reminded, "There is only one entrance and exit to Zhaoyu Prison. There are Jade Constables guarding the gate in shifts every half an hour. If there is anything wrong, the gate will be sealed immediately to prevent the prisoners from Zhaoyu Prison from escaping... You'd better not be exposed."

Li Jingnan nodded slightly, "After rescuing the people, we can find a way to escape. Captain Bai won't have to worry about it."

As soon as he finished speaking, Li Jingnan and Ning Zhongxia put on the police uniforms, changed their appearance simply, hung the tokens around their waists, and quickly walked into the Detective Department.

Captain Bai looked at the two men's backs, a sneer appearing on his face.

He is Dong Yan, also known as the Prince's Party... Luo Shuzhi is dead now, but Dong Yan is still alive. As the saying goes, a centipede is still alive even after it is cut into pieces.

After Luo Shuzhi's death, most of the prince's party surrendered. After all, a man of insight is a hero. But no matter when or where, there will always be subordinates who are loyal to only one person.

It is just like him to Luo Shuzhi and Xu Ran to Luo Chaoyan.

These remnants gathered together, determined to seek revenge... not for the throne, not for power, but just to kill Luo Chaoyan and Zhao Wumian and avenge the prince.

Captain Bai was one of them, so Dong Yan contacted Huanzhen Pavilion and asked Captain Bai to cooperate with them.

If not for this, Huanzhen Pavilion would have taken action at this very moment, not earlier or later... In fact, it was only because of Dongyan's cooperation at this very moment.

According to Captain Bai, the reason why Huanzhen Pavilion came to Beijing this time was actually to rescue the prisoner who was imprisoned on the fourth floor of Zhaoyu... The prisoner knew the secret of the assassination case many years ago.

Maybe it's not rescue. Maybe he can just say a few words to the prisoner, find out clearly and then escape.

As for what he was asking... Captain Bai had no idea either. He guessed it was about the Jiangzhu Jade. After all, the court was speculating so.

But Captain Bai knew that if he told Huanzhen Pavilion that Prince Yan was actually an eyewitness of the assassination attempt and knew the details of the assassination, Huanzhen Pavilion would probably flee the capital immediately.

After all, the Huanzhen Pavilion can obviously tell who is easier to deal with between the Prince of Yan and the imperial court.

But Dongyan cooperated with Huanzhen Pavilion just to cause trouble and take revenge...so naturally she hoped that Huanzhen Pavilion would make as big a noise as possible.

As for the life and death of Li Jingnan and Ning Zhongxia? He didn't care.

Captain Bai turned around and left. Once this matter was settled, his position in the Detective Department would obviously be useless. He would be dead if he stayed any longer, so he should leave Beijing as soon as possible.

If it was a little later, no matter whether Huanzhen Pavilion's plan succeeded or not, Chief Constable Su would definitely suspect who sent them to Zhaoyu, and when the time came to investigate the spies, he didn't think he could escape.

He first found a corner and sent a pigeon to deliver the information about Prince Yan's involvement in the assassination, and then went to the inn to buy a horse and prepared to leave the city.

He was dressed in a constable's uniform and riding a tall horse. When he met his patrol colleagues along the way, he would greet them with a smile. Once he arrived at the city gate, he could naturally leave the city safely.

At the city gate, there was a wanderer wearing a bamboo hat and a straw raincoat, who was honestly walking in from Beijing. When he saw Captain Bai riding a horse, he looked up slightly in surprise.

Where did this captain come from? According to the original plan, the captain who was supposed to go out of the city to rescue people in Longji Town had already followed him out of the city, and the rest of the captains were basically patrolling in the capital... Did this guy go out of the city just to handle official business?

At the moment, Huanzhen Pavilion was in the capital, and any slightest sign of something wrong had to be investigated, so when Captain Bai passed by Jianghu Ke, Jianghu Ke immediately raised his head and called him over.

"Captain, are you going out of town to hunt down the murderer?"

Why am I chasing you? I’m trying to run for my life!

But he definitely couldn't say that. Captain Bai forced a smile and looked down. Then his heartbeat suddenly accelerated, "boom boom boom" in his chest like a drum.

But the knight looked up at him, and because of the angle, Captain Bai could see his face clearly.

He was thinking about the face under the bamboo hat day and night... thinking about how to kill him.

Zhao Wumian!
But why is he here? Didn't he go to Longji Town?

This guy saw through Huanzhen Pavilion's plan! ?
The plan failed! ?

Countless thoughts echoed in Captain Bai's mind, and finally resulted in a slight doubt from Zhao Wumian.

"Constable, why is your heart beating so fast?" Zhao Wumian paused for a moment, then raised his head again, tilted his hat slightly, and paused, "Do you recognize me?"

With Zhao Wumian's sword skills practiced here, he could clearly sense the panic and tension in Captain Bai's heart.

Are you so nervous and flustered when you see his face?

Captain Bai's mood kept changing, but he tried his best not to show any panic on his face. He smiled and said, "I remember the Marquis's face very clearly, but as far as I know, the Marquis should still be in Longji Town... I don't know how he came to the capital at this moment, so I am a little surprised."

At this moment, a snowy owl flew towards him and landed on the eaves of a building. It called out to Zhao Wumian twice, and then pointed its wings in the direction of the Detective Department.

Something happened in the Detective Department.

Hearing the voice, Captain Bai looked towards Xue Xiao, and the moment their eyes were separated, Zhao Wumian suddenly rose from the ground and sat behind Captain Bai like a ghost.

Before Captain Bai could react, he felt a pain in the back of his head and everything went black.

In the last moment before he lost consciousness, he saw from the corner of his eye that Zhao Wumian reached out from his side, grabbed the reins, and rode away.

He sensed something was wrong... He was finished. Whenever they met Zhao Wumian, their plan would definitely go wrong... Damn it.

Captain Bai felt filled with endless regret... What if he had taken a different route out of Beijing?
But how did Zhao Wumian realize that something was wrong with him?
Passersby near the city gate could only see a gangster suddenly sitting behind the constable, and then the constable rode away on his horse, as if the constable and the gangster knew each other... With their eyesight, they could not see clearly that Zhao Wumian knocked out Constable Bai.

Zhao Wumian rode his horse towards the Detective Department with a slightly cold look in his eyes.

Since Xue Xiao came to report that something was wrong with the Detective Department, then this captain who was nervous and flustered when he saw him must have something wrong with him. Maybe he was a spy? There was no need to question him and waste time... If he misunderstood this person, he could apologize later.

But if I'm not mistaken...

A little earlier.

From the Detective Department, Su Qingqi and Guan Yunshu hurried to Zhaoyu, and no one stopped them.

Zhaoyu was a gloomy and narrow place, not suitable for the Snow Owl to stay. It didn't even have a place to stay, so it stayed on a big locust tree outside Zhaoyu, squinting its eyes, standing on the branch to bask in the sun, motionless, looking very comfortable.

But not long after Su Qingqi and Guan Yunshu entered, something strange happened at the entrance of Zhaoyu Prison. An old man hiding in the dark suddenly rushed out at an extremely fast speed and with ruthless moves. He took care of the two Zhaoyu guards in just three or two moves, and then dragged them into the Zhaoyu Prison gate. Then another person rushed into the prison and closed the door of Zhaoyu Prison.

Before the door closed, they could still be heard talking to each other.

"We work in shifts every half an hour... this amount of time is enough."

"But if someone discovers the missing Zhaoyu guards within half an hour, we will probably die here."

"Are you still afraid of death?"

"I'm just afraid that I won't be able to kill Guan Yunshu before I die."

"I don't know where Guan Yunshu is at the moment, but since she's not traveling with Zhao Wumian, she must be in the capital."

"...Leave alive first."

After a few words, Snow Owl could hear nothing.

It blinked its eyes, reacting a little slowly, and then all its feathers exploded... Damn!
It flapped its wings quickly to find Zhao Wumian.

(End of this chapter)