She fell out after crying at the wrong grave

"Is the person on guard?"

Behind the pink wall of Liuxiang, Yun Cong leaned against a tree, and several hidden guards had dispersed and sneaked into the entire alley.

"Yes, Lord Yuncong, according to what Lieutenant General Chu said, Chen Lan and the envoy of the Marquis of Shuzhong will meet with Lieutenant General Chu at the second house south of Liuxiang today."

Yun Cong took the cloth strips and slowly wrapped his hands around them. "The master is not here. Today is a big event concerning the Marquis' wife. We cannot afford to make any mistakes. Keep an eye on her and don't get caught."

The hidden guard hesitated for a moment, knowing that he was still talking about the current Princess Xuancheng. "Yes, I have given the order, and there will be no mistakes."

Yun Cong nodded and said nothing more.

Chen Lan was much more anxious than expected.

After the midnight meeting, Chu Hui quickly gave Chen Lan a positive reply according to Qin Shengguang's plan. Chen Lan immediately wrote to Shuzhong, asking Shuzhong Hou Wang Xuan for help in the name of being the descendant of Princess Pingchang.

Wang Xuan did not say whether he agreed or refused, and his attitude was ambiguous and he did not give a reply. Chen Lan became anxious and wrote another letter. Finally, he received a reply from the military advisor in Shu, saying that he would send an envoy to Kezhou for a meeting after considering the situation with the lord.

Chen Lan thought about it and decided that Shuzhong was thousands of miles away from Kezhou, and the envoy's coming in person was a sign of Shuzhong's sincerity. Even though he felt it was unsafe, he was happy to accept it.

But in fact, it took only half a month. With Chu Hui's power and the use of the official post eagle, the letter could not be delayed much.

When he told Chu Hui everything about the messenger's visit, Chu Hui couldn't help but sigh in his heart.

In order to capture this man, Qin Shengguang spent so much effort to set up this plan, and even took the risk of letting people from Shuzhong into Kezhou. Isn't it like killing a fly with a sledgehammer and the result is not worth the effort?
Wang Xuan was a man of strange temperament, and his actions were mysterious and confusing, but it was hard to say that he had no intention of rebellion. The Shu was like a paradise on earth occupying the southern border of Da Chong, with mountains and rivers as natural barriers, which was easy to defend but difficult to attack. Wang Xuan was never soft-hearted when dealing with the southern barbarians, and he was the same when dealing with his own people.

If Wang Xuan intended to raise an army, then the act of going to great lengths to send people to Kezhou would seem to have ulterior motives.

Qin Shengguang gave him an unfathomable look and said that this was the lord's order and he should just do it.

Chu Hui was even more shocked. This was called the Lord? It looked like Da Chong was really going to be finished.

Liuxiang is the most remote alley in Kezhou City. It was mostly used to house wounded soldiers during wars and was also home to the remains of many fallen soldiers. Most locals considered it unlucky and no one bought a house here.

Many homeless beggars settled here, but there were too many people and too few houses, so it was very chaotic.

Chen Lan took Chu Hui's money, but did not rent an inn in the city. Instead, when he first arrived here, he relied on his boxing skills to defeat other beggars and got a courtyard as his base.

Those beggars had little food and clothing and were extremely weak. Even if there were a few more of them, they would not be a match for Chen Lan.

There were several shadow guards hiding on the second floor of the clothing store at the corner of Liuxiang, the second floor of the teahouse opposite, and the big locust tree at the end of the alley. The urn was ready, just waiting for today's turtle to come in.

Chen Lan went to the city gate to meet them, and Chu Hui sat quietly in the yard, waiting for the two of them to break through the heavily guarded area and come in.

Chen Lan and the envoy from Shu were walking on both sides of the street, keeping an eye on the movements on the road all the time. At first glance, they looked like the ones who were peeking their heads out and didn't look like good people.

When the guard saw the two men entering the city, they didn't immediately find someone to take a shortcut to report to Yun Cong until they reached the end of the middle street.

Zhongjie bypassed the Kezhou Prefecture Hall and went around the Suoying Drum in the south, avoiding the patrol soldiers of the garrison camp on the street and easily entered Liuxiang.

Chen Lan looked around and saw that there was nothing unusual in the surrounding environment, so he crossed the street and walked to the messenger.

"Please come this way, sir." Chen Lan stretched out his hand and led the way half a step ahead.

Little did they know that these two people were dressed neatly and elegantly, making them the easiest to spot in the crowd, and their every move had already been captured by the spies hiding in the dark.

When the person was brought into the courtyard, Chu Hui stopped drinking tea.

In broad daylight, they actually dare to bring people in.

During this period of time, thanks to the patrol officers who were ordered to pretend not to see anything, Chen Lan was able to fall into the trap so easily.

Being able to dodge it once might be a coincidence, but if it happens too many times, for a person with Chen Lan's personality, he would inevitably become lazy and look at himself differently.

Death is also death due to one's own unique self-confidence.

In this case, it is God's will, and I can't blame myself for selling him out, Chu Hui thought with ease.

"Sir, this is another ally of mine, Chu Hui, the military officer. I'm sure you've heard of him." Chen Lan acted respectful and introduced him to the envoy, "Military officer Chu, this is the envoy sent by the Marquis of Shuzhong, Mr. Zhang Changshi."

Chu Hui raised his hand, greeted the other party, and then said, "The Chief Secretary has come from afar, I am sorry for not welcoming you in person."

"You're welcome. Please sit down and talk."

The three of them sat down in front of a square stone table. The newly grown poplar trees were so lush and green that they mostly obscured their shadows.

Hiding on the dense branches of a tree across the wall, Yun Cong, who was deliberately wearing a dark green short-sleeved dress, was lying on a high branch of the tree, with a camouflage straw hat made of poplar leaves on his head.

What these people talked about, to what extent, and when, were not within Yun Cong's control. His role had always been to use force, and to use force quickly.

Even though there were many people lying in ambush around, the courtyard was still empty, and it was impossible to capture anyone immediately, and it would easily alert the enemy. Before today, Yun Cong had specially surveyed the surrounding terrain and accurately found this opportunity to take action, which was also the closest distance.

The trees were dense enough to hide people, high enough for viewing angles, and enough to provide unexpected shelter. If you jump down from here, you will be only ten steps away from the wooden door.

If a person wants to run, he will subconsciously run towards the wooden door. It goes without saying that Zhang Changshi is a civil servant, and Chen Lan's mediocre skills can still deal with beggars. Yun Cong has been trained in the military camp since he was a child, and the two of them together are no match for him.

In Qin Shengguang's expectation, Wang Xuan would not be stupid enough to easily accept Chen Lan's request, and the people he sent also had impure motives. At most, they were trying to find out the truth, and it was impossible for them to know everything about Chen Lan.

Chu Hui was the one who set the trap, so naturally he wouldn't open up to others.

Three people are deceiving each other, how can they come up with anything threatening?

Moreover, with the current situation, it is unknown whether we will become enemies with Shuzhong in the future. We should avoid the situation if we can. It would be best to make others think that Kezhou has no commander in chief and people’s morale is low and nothing can be accomplished. This will be of great benefit.

Although the deception would not last long, it would take at least 15 days for letters to travel between Shuzhong and Kezhou. Even if Chen Lan was captured today and Zhang was released to report the news, it would take more than half a month.

Once Chen Lan was imprisoned and found out the answer to the Marquis's request, the rebellion in Pingzhou could be called off. In mid-May, Prince Youbei would enter the capital to marry Princess Xuancheng, and everything would be done in time.

Now, news has spread from the palace that Jin Zhaoyi is pregnant. According to Jin Feng's ambitions in the court and the people's support for the current emperor, it is only a matter of time before the empire collapses.

If you want to have a place in troubled times, you must strike first.
-
On April 24th, it rained again.

Spring rain is as precious as oil, and it is the most precious thing for farmers working in the fields.

But for Ah'an right now, it is a death curse.

If it rains, they won't be able to finish the remaining buildings, and they won't be able to hand over the complete Chong'an Hall in time for Hu's return.

In this way, Shen Zhuo, the evildoer, will lose face, and I'm afraid that everyone around him will suffer.

Ah'ao stood in the corridor, facing the cool breeze, sighing and coughing a few times.

Ying'en held up the umbrella, shook off the cloak, and put it tightly on her. "Your Highness's illness has not yet fully recovered. Why are you standing in the rain and wind? You must be coughing non-stop."

There was a hint of blame in his tone, but the emotions were full of concern.

Ah'an looked at the Chong'an main hall in the misty rain in the distance, standing tall in the world, and was speechless for a moment.

"What are you looking at, Your Highness?" Ying'en followed her gaze and saw nothing. "Chong'an Palace is no different from before."

Ah-yi gathered her clothes and sighed again, "Ying'en, if you leave the palace, where do you want to go?"

As the upcoming marriage was getting closer, the planned things were delayed again and again, which made people anxious. Even though Ah-yi was cautious enough, there were still many unexpected situations that were not within her plan.

Just like the rain that has not stopped for nearly ten days.

Ying'en thought for a moment and replied, "I will follow Your Highness. Wherever you go, I will go. Anyway, the world is so big, and I have no relatives or friends left, only Your Highness."

Besides this body, there are people who have entrusted their lives and fortunes to me. Even so, I can't just give in to my fate.

Ah-yi turned around, picked up the umbrella on the ground, and ran into the rain without looking back, "Ying'en, go and ask Lord Xu Tingzhou to come to the palace now, and I will discuss countermeasures with him!"

On the blue bricks, the rain splashed by her brisk footsteps kept jumping on the hem of her skirt, gradually blooming into inky black flowers.

The footprints that had just passed were instantly washed away by the fresh rain, and the person's back was hazy in the fog and soon could not be seen clearly.

Ying'en looked at it for a while, then went back to the corridor to get another umbrella, and went out of the palace to ask for permission to stop the boat.

It rained for several days in a row and the craftsmen in charge of the construction were unable to continue their work. They had to cover the wood on the open ground with tung oil cloth and were forced to rest for a few days.

In fact, it can't be said that they were forced. The salary of the supervisor was low, and the work was hard in the wind and sun. How many people would really work hard?

Because the matter was right under Xu Tingzhou's nose and he really needed something to focus on in order to suppress the pain in his heart, he came to check on it every day and took on the responsibility of assisting.

It is expected that these painted buildings have already been blurred in some places by the rain in the damp and rainy weather. If we force ourselves to finish painting them, there will inevitably be more damage.

It will be too late to make up for it by then.

"If the rain doesn't stop in two days, we'll have to find another way." Xu Tingzhou held the record book and said to Ah'an seriously, "Your Majesty won't allow anyone to help you. If you don't act soon, Your Highness may not be able to remedy the situation all night long."

Ah'ao was quite calm.

"It's going to rain, who can stop it? It's not always possible for people to have smooth sailing. It's just a matter of countering each other. We'll wait for two more days, and when the two days are over, we'll change immediately."

However, plans are never as tragic as reality.

Before two days had passed, an imperial edict was delivered to the Buddhist temple where few people visited.

(End of this chapter)