Zhi Xuan

In the middle of the night, the Prince's Mansion was still brightly lit.

The gate of the courtyard is tightly locked, and there are soldiers guarding both inside and outside, not to mention people, not even a fly can fly out.

The courtyard in the mansion was emptied, several straw mats were spread out on the ground, and on the mats were more than a dozen servants who had been beaten to a bloody mess.

Around the courtyard were servants holding torches and long sticks, each with a cruel face, glaring at the wailing people on the ground.It's just that they colluded with spies to poison the young master, and it's not a pity that they all die!

The painful howls continued one after another, especially in the dark night.

Several servants desperately raised their heads, looked at Fu Ling ahead through their eyes blurred by blood, struggled to stretch out their hands, and begged: "Fu Ling, I really don't know, please forgive me!"

The waiter's begging kept ringing out, his face was covered with bloodstains, and if he moved a little, the wound on his body would cause severe pain.Each of them had their legs broken and could not stand at all. They could only prostrate on the ground begging for mercy, hoping to spare their lives.

"I don't know?" The magistrate sneered and waved, "Bring it up."

After the words fell, two strong servants came out from behind the crowd, dragging a blood-stained maidservant by their hands.

The maid's name is Ling, and her parents were born in Dongliang Kingdom. She came to Xiyuan Kingdom with Mrs. Liang, and she has always been loyal.The maidservant has served in the prince's mansion for many years, and she has never made any mistakes, so she is very trusted by the mansion.Who would have thought that she would be found in the end.

When the house was searched, crushed seeds were found in her room, and the evidence was conclusive.

If it wasn't for the timely order from the government order, these seeds would have been thrown away or planted to others long ago, and she would not have leaked any lies.

The evidence of poisoning was found, and the maid knew that she would not survive, so she readily confessed what she had done, and bit out all the servants involved in the matter.

The government order ordered that she be punished with a cane, and after confirming that she was not grabbing and biting indiscriminately, all the people she confessed were taken down and walked with a cane in the courtyard.

The maid was dragged into the yard, and dark red bloodstains were drawn behind her.

The waiter let go and threw her to the ground.

When the tortured waiter saw her and knew why he had been tortured, his eyes were tearing apart and he gritted his teeth with hatred.If it wasn't for the inconvenient movement, he would immediately pounce on her and bite her to pieces.

"I really didn't know that she was going to poison the young master. If I knew, give me a hundred courage, and I would not let her deliver the young master's meal!"

A waiter stared at the maid full of hatred, confessed that he accepted the benefits of the maid, and replaced the person who was supposed to deliver the meal with her.

Such incidents are rare, but not without precedent.

In the elder prince's mansion and the families of various clans, there are many maidservants who rely on their beauty and want to show up in front of their masters more often, and take this opportunity to gain favor.Once she is favored, even if she can't even be a concubine, she can surpass other maidservants and bring benefits to her family.

Zhixuan doesn't have a wife, not even a concubine, so it's not uncommon for a maidservant to have a go at it.

Because of this kind of thinking, the servant was fooled by the maid and let down his vigilance.In addition to receiving a lot of benefits, he readily agreed to help her change errands and let her deliver meals to Zhixuan every day.

As the first waiter spoke, the rest of the tortured confessed one after another.Regardless of whether they really didn't know or not, they all had unshirkable responsibility for Zhi Xuan's poisoning.

When they make a confession, there is a special person responsible for recording it, and it is necessary not to omit a single word.

After the final results of the interrogation, all these must be presented to Zhi Xuan for review.

"Young Master has always been generous to others and never punished you indiscriminately. Why do you want to harm Young Master?" The magistrate walked up to the maidservant and looked down at her, "Who bought you? Or did you have evil intentions when you entered the mansion?"

The maid lay on the ground silently, if her chest was not still heaving, she would look like a dead person.

"Speak." The magistrate said in a deep voice, "If you don't tell the truth, I will beat your whole family to death with sticks! The young master is generous and kind, but I am not. You should know my methods."

The maid finally made a movement, she slowly raised her head, did not confess as expected by the government order, but refused to repent, and spit blood-stained saliva at the government order.

"Gong Zixuan, damn it, damn it!"

"Bold!"

The government order's face was dark, and the servants on both sides were furious instantly. The wooden staff with thick arms fell on the maidservant, breaking all the bones in her legs.

The maid let out a scream, her voice was so shrill that it was no longer human.

The servant lying on the straw mat was silent.Seeing the miserable state of the maidservant, he suddenly realized that when he was beaten with a stick, the government order had already shown mercy.

At the fifth stroke of the wooden stick, there was a sudden commotion among the servants and maidservants who were ordered to observe the punishment.

A young maidservant walked out of the crowd, trembling and lying on the ground, her voice trembling uncontrollably, obviously terrified.

"Servant, servant knows..."

The government decree ordered to stop the staff, and asked people to bring the maidservant in front of him.

The servant girl was still afraid, but she didn't dare to hide it, she tried not to look at the mangled man on the ground, tremblingly said: "Reporting to the government order, this servant once saw Ling meeting a man outside the house."

"Do you know who it is?" the government order said.

The speaking maid recalled carefully, and revealed that the two had a very close relationship. When they were still in the western capital, they took the opportunity of delivering vegetables and meat to the mansion to meet.

"After arriving in Zhidi, this person still came every month, but he disappeared suddenly last month. The person who delivered the food said that he was sociating everywhere in the city, saying bad things about the young master, and was dealt with by the city doctor and the village elder, and hanged for three days outside the city. God, I hanged before I let it go."

As soon as the maidservant finished speaking, Ling on the ground suddenly roared.

The maidservant was frightened, and hurriedly turned sideways to avoid it, but the corner of her skirt was still caught by Ling, stained with blood-red fingerprints.

"A person who provokes trouble in the city?"

Seeing that the maid didn't seem to be lying, the government official looked at Ling who was screaming and struggling, and said in a deep voice: "Is that person your relative or lover? Could it be that you blamed the young master for his death?"

As soon as Ling's roar stopped, the government order knew that he had guessed right.

"A wolf-hearted thing!" the magistrate yelled angrily, "He slandered the young master's reputation with empty words, joined dozens of people to stir up troubles everywhere, and made the city unstable, so he should be dealt with. What's more, the ones who punished him were the officials of the city and the village elders. He deserved his death, but you should hate and murder Young Master because of this, you really deserve to be hacked to pieces!"

Maid Ling is still struggling, showing no sign of repentance.

The government ordered people to detain her and lock her up alone, and she will be dealt with after reporting to Zhixuan.

Although the truth of the matter was found out, the government order was not at all relieved.

Although it is not a nail buried by others, it is more hateful than a nail.Years of kindness have been left behind, all relatives are ignored, and all they want to do is to avenge a hypocritical man, it is simply right and wrong!

Although the man is dead, from all indications, it is 100% the nail planted by Xidu City.Ling did such a thing, no matter whether her family is loyal or not, it is impossible for her to be reused.

Such betrayal is more hateful than foreign malice!

After Ling was taken down, the government order interrogated the relevant people again, and after confirming that there were no omissions, all the confessions were re-transcribed and ordered to be sent to Zhixuan.

At the same time, the government order also ordered people to search the man's former residence.

The shed was in a mess, and had been searched by the village elders and the doctor.Probably because it was unlucky, no one moved in after the man died, and a lot of dust accumulated.

The waiter couldn't find anything and was about to leave when he found a strange bird on the beam of the room.This bird is leaden gray in body, with blood red claws, about the size of a crow, and has never been seen in Zhidi.

Seeing that there seemed to be something on the bird's claws, the waiter quickly closed the doors and windows, brought a ladder, and took a lot of effort to catch it.

"Sure enough, there is something!"

A piece of sackcloth was wrapped around the bird's claws, the servant did not move, and immediately took the bird back to the mansion and sent it to the magistrate.

The government order inquired about the process in detail, but also did not untie the sackcloth, but went out of the city in person and took the bird to see Zhixuan.

At that time, Zhi Xuan had already read the confession and was thinking about who was standing behind the man.

Suddenly, a bird chirping came from outside the door. It didn't sound like a golden eagle or two parrots, but it sounded like pigeons.

Then there was the voice of the government order asking for an audience.

"Come in."

Zhi Xuan put down the bamboo slips, and looked at the official who walked in through the door.

Due to not being in the mansion and taking care of his body, Zhi Xuan didn't wear a black robe, nor did he tie his hair up, looking very casual.

There are wooden basins in the house, which are filled with clear water, and the crushed herbs are soaked in the water, which emits a mint-like smell.

The government order came forward to salute, sent the caught bird to Zhixuan, and explained what happened.

Zhi Xuan looked at the bird that was moving its neck and cooing continuously. Although the feather color was slightly different and the body was slightly larger, the bird in front of him was indeed a pigeon.

Untiing the sackcloth tied around the pigeon's claw, Zhi Xuan was almost pecked.

The government order hastily grabbed the pigeon and almost broke its neck on the spot.

Zhi Xuan signaled him not to be so nervous, and then unfolded the sackcloth.

There are only a few numbers on the linen cloth, and every word is related to him.

"Assassination?" Zhi Xuan put down the sackcloth, rested his chin on his side, recalling all the things that happened these days, instigating trouble was part of the plan, and poisoning himself was probably out of plan.

From the looks of it, these assassins from the western capital are not yet aware of the changes in the city.If they knew but did not leave, then there is only one explanation: they are dead soldiers, and they will not stop until they achieve their goals.

"It's a little troublesome."

Zhi Xuan fell into deep thought.

This matter has been exposed, the difficulty is not how to arrest them, but how to find them out.

The content on the sackcloth proves that he will be assassinated. Who is the main messenger?Mi's suspicion is the biggest, but who can guarantee that there is no other person waiting to make a profit?

Zhi Xuan pondered for a moment, motioned for the magistrate to come closer, and gave such and such and so and such orders.

"Young master, this matter is too dangerous."

"No, with the witch doctor Sang doctor here, and secretly increasing the guards of soldiers, nothing will happen."

Seeing that Zhixuan had made up his mind, the government order could no longer persuade him, so he could only return to the county seat and start making arrangements as soon as possible.As for the pigeons he brought, Zhi Xuan kept them.

Not long after he left, the witch doctor came in with a bowl of medicine, and there were two parrots standing on his shoulders, followed by wolf cubs that were getting fatter every day.

"Young master, it's time to take the medicine."

The witch doctor and Sang doctor understood Zhi Xuan's habits, and they would try to avoid bitter medicines when prescribing prescriptions.When boiling the decoction, some sweet herbs are occasionally added to relieve the bitterness of the decoction.

Zhi Xuan took the medicine bowl, tested the temperature, thought it was safe to drink, brought it to his mouth and drank it down.

In addition to detoxification, the decoction also has ingredients for sleeping.

Doctor Sang and witch doctor checked Zhixuan's pulse and found that his body energy was damaged to a certain extent. During the recuperation period, he should not be too tired. He should be urged to rest early every day, and not to stay busy until late at night.

The decoction took effect quickly, and Zhi Xuan yawned.Look at the bamboo slips on the case, there is no need to deal with it right away, just push it aside and wait until you wake up tomorrow.

That night, the government order and several senior officials who received the news got together and stayed up all night.

The food delivery team in Xincheng was cut off from the news, and none of them knew what happened in the county.

At dawn, Ding Bao went to the medicine field with two other senior officials, left after an hour, and went to Xincheng with Zhixuan's warrant.

"The tribute team will leave in five days."

According to the agreement between Zhixuan and Xiducheng, after the food was delivered, he would not only add the names of Marquis Xiyuan and Liuqing to the slips, but also allow them to select personnel to participate in the tribute and escort the rhinoceros hide and horns to Zhongdu together.

The food delivery team did not leave after completing their mission, and what they were waiting for was this warrant.

For others, the earlier the tribute, the better.This is not the case for the assassins hidden in the secret team.

Since arriving in Zhidi, they have been trapped in the new city, unable to deliver news, and unable to contact the nail hidden in the county seat.After exhausting all their efforts, they didn't get any useful news except that Zhi Xuan was not in the new city or the county seat.

Now Zhixuan ordered that the tribute team will leave soon, and they have no reason to stay in Zhidi.I don't want to return without success, so I can only do it as soon as possible.

"I heard that there is a medicine field outside the city, and Gongzi Xuan is here."

After inquiring with the common people in the city, the assassins confirmed Zhi Xuan's location, and even slipped out of the city in disguise, tracking two medicine servants who deliberately revealed their identities to find the specific location of the medicine field.

As everyone knows, their every move is within Zhi Xuan's expectations.

Zhi Xuan couldn't lock down the assassin right away, after all, there were so many food delivery teams, if the assassin wasn't in Mi's team, he might startle the enemy if he acted rashly.

After some consideration, he decided to use himself as a bait to cast a wide net in Xincheng, and he could always lure these guys out.

Facts have proved that this method is very effective.

The following assassins thought they were smart, so they stopped after a certain distance and did not move forward.Several people hid in a patch of grass, confirmed the location of the wooden house, and when they saw a servant coming in and out, they nodded to each other and quickly retreated.

"Rest today, do it tomorrow night!"

The assassins agreed on a plan and began to wipe their weapons, and prepared poison on their bodies just in case.

It's just that they would never have imagined that when they were exploring the medicine field, they were contaminated with vine pollen, and a few bees followed them, and they were lying on the outer window of the house at this moment.

After a while, the bees on the window have covered a layer.

The queen bees are two huge gray wolves with special ropes tied to their bodies, and the other end of the rope is tied to the carriage.

Behind the carriage is a group of soldiers, stepping through the new city and surrounding the assassin's workshop.

The assassin in the house sensed something was wrong, opened the window, and a swarm of bees flooded in instantly.Several people were caught off guard by the swarm of bees, and there was severe pain in their cheeks and necks, and there was a sudden howl of ghosts and wolves.

In order to avoid the bee swarm, they rushed out of the house desperately, only to find that they were surrounded by heavily armed soldiers around the house.

There was a carriage parked directly opposite the house, and two giant wolves beside the carriage were staring at them fiercely, as if they were staring at fresh meat that was about to be eaten.

The door of the carriage was pushed open, and a man in a black robe came out. It was none other than the target they planned to assassinate, Zixuan, the protagonist of Zhidi!