Sword·Qinxin

Imperial City Chapter 5 Purple Begonia

"Hey...hehe...hehe..."

In the huge courtyard, petals fluttered under the pear tree, and a man in a white robe was dancing a sword among the flowers.The cold light is like water, the sword energy passes by, the prosperity is gone, and the waves are intoxicating.

After dancing, the white-robed man looked at the sword in his hand, raised his eyebrows, and praised, "Good sword, good sword!"

A woman in blue clothes walked towards the white-robed man with tea, and said with a smile: "Master Hou, this sword is finally forged, and your months of hard work are not in vain."

"Father...mother..." A four or five-year-old child ran towards the two of them from outside the courtyard, smiling like a flower.

The white-robed man put the sword back into its sheath, picked up the child, and said with a smile, "Little princess, give me a hug from Daddy to see if she has grown taller."

The childish voice asked dissatisfied, "Father, I haven't seen you for a long time, where have you been?"

"Daddy went to the capital."

"The capital? Why didn't daddy take me there?"

"Hehe, when you grow up, daddy will definitely take you there."

"Ding...ding..."

The crisp bells rang rhythmically, a touch of bright red came from far and near, under the slender jade neck, a piece of crisp breast was half covered, and the slender waist was not full, and she was wearing a skirt with a flowing skirt. , showing a pair of slender legs, bare feet, and a string of small bells tied to the ankles, adding a more seductive style.

"Master Hou, you are back." The voice was sweet and soft, soft and charming, "Master Hou is so excited to dance swords, how about I dance with you?"

Pear blossoms are flying, and bright red figures are dancing with the wind.

When she turned around, on her fat and jade-like back, there were blossoming purple begonia tattoos, revealing a strange coquettishness.

A crabapple flower is vividly painted on several picture scrolls in the house.

"Sister? Sister?" Yin Ling lightly pushed Yun Ying out of God.

Yunying came back to her senses, glanced at her own painting on the case, and asked, "What do you think of this purple crabapple?"

"Beautiful! But how can my sister draw flowers today?" Yinling tilted her head thinking, "I remember my sister doesn't like crabapple flowers."

"I really don't like it." Yunying glanced at it and said lightly, "Burn it."

Bao Zheng did not return to the mansion until Shen Shi, and called Zhan Zhao and Gongsun Ce to the study to discuss matters.

Gongsun Ce asked: "My lord, is there something to explain to the Holy Majesty?"

Bao Zheng said: "That's right, today the Holy Majesty stayed in the mansion after the early court, and showed me a letter, which mentioned that a spy leaked the situation of the border defense army to the Liao Kingdom, and pointed out that the spy was in the Hejian Mansion. The Holy Majesty specifically explained, This matter may be related to that person, so we must investigate carefully."

Zhan Zhao asked, "When will your lord leave?"

Bao Zheng said: "Tomorrow, the Holy Majesty will issue an order for our government to serve as a border patrol to inspect Hejian's military and civil affairs. We will leave in three days."

A few days later, Bao Zheng and his party arrived at Hejian Mansion.

Yinling picked up some corn in the courtyard and fed the birds, "Goo...coo..." After a few calls, a sky-falling bird folded its wings and landed on the aviary, staring at the three birds not far away with its red eyes. bird.

Yinling followed the sound and saw that there was a small bamboo tube tied around his ankle, he quickly walked to take it off, turned around and walked into the house.

There are a few numbers on the short note in the bamboo tube, after Yunying looked at it, she put the short note in the incense burner and burned it, standing aside, speechless for a while.

Seeing Yunying's sad face, Yinling couldn't help becoming worried: "Sister, is this mission dangerous?"

After waiting for a while, Yunying said calmly: "I'm going to visit Hejian Mansion."

"Hejian Mansion?" Yinling was startled when she heard this, and asked, "A few days ago, Mr. Zhan said that he would go to Hejian with Mr. Bao for inspection, and it would take some time before he could come back. Could it be..."

Yunying lowered her eyes and did not answer.

Yin Ling asked in a low voice: "Sister... this time is related to Kaifeng Mansion?"

Yunying shook her head, looked up at Yinling's worried expression, and smiled softly, "Don't worry, I will be careful."

The Nuanxiang Pavilion in Hejian Mansion leads to secluded winding paths, and only the chirping of insects is heard among the luxuriant flowers.

A man in a plain robe looked around anxiously, as if waiting for someone.

"The scenery here is pretty good." A soft female voice sounded from behind the man, her voice was calm.

Seeing the person coming, the man stepped forward and said with a smile: "The beautiful scenery complements the beauties, and to invite the beauties in the clouds, naturally we must find a good place."

Yunying didn't seem to want to talk more, she took out a register from her pocket and handed it to the man: "What the Lord wants."

The man took the roster and looked at the person in surprise: "Did you kill Qingfeng?"

Yunying snorted coldly: "The death of such scum is not a pity."

The man smiled and said, "Hehe, that's right, if you die under the peony flower, you can be a ghost."

The man suppressed his smile, put the roster in his arms, took out a letterhead, handed it to Yunying, and said: "Recently, people from Kaifeng Mansion are also in Hejian, so be careful."

Yunying took the letter and said "um" in a low voice, unwilling to stay any longer, and was about to leave.

"Dingling... Dingling..." The sound of the bell was clear in the silent night.

Yunying leaped lightly, swept to the courtyard wall, leaned on the top of the wall, and watched the sound.

In the corridor of Nuanxiang Pavilion, two maidservants were leading the way with lamps, and one maidservant supported a slightly drunk beautiful woman in red.The small bells on the beautiful woman's ankles rang rhythmically with her steps.

The half-exposed breasts undulate slightly, and the tattoo of a purple begonia is even more charming.

Hejian Mansion Reception Hall

The hall was filled with the fragrance of tea, and sitting at the main seat was a middle-aged man in his 40s. This man was Ding Xiaoyi, the governor of Hejian, and a man dressed as a general stood tall and straight beside him.

Ding Xiaoyi took a sip of tea and asked, "Master Bao, are you satisfied with the inspection these few days?"

Bao Zheng cupped his hands and said with a smile: "Dudu Ding has always governed Hejian in an orderly manner, and his achievements in people's livelihood are even a model for court officials."

"Hahaha, Master Bao is being polite." Ding Xiaoyi asked, "I don't know what arrangements Master Bao will make next? The governor should prepare in advance."

Bao Zheng said: "The Japanese government is going to inspect the barracks tomorrow. I wonder if Dudu Ding can arrange it?"

Ding Xiaoyi looked at the man dressed as a general beside him, and said, "Xu Meng."

Xu Meng walked towards Ding Xiaoyi and bowed his hands and said, "This subordinate is here."

"Master Bao will inspect the barracks tomorrow, and you will be fully responsible for it."

"Subordinates obey."

The next day, Xu Meng was already waiting outside the post house.

Bao Zheng and his party followed Xu Meng to the barracks.

Xu Mengping retreated the generals in the tent, and saluted Bao Zheng: "Xu Meng has met Mr. Bao."

Bao Zheng said: "General Xu please hurry up, this place is our own people, there is no need to be polite. The government did not inspect the barracks first, in case spies have suspicions, I hope the general will understand."

"Master Bao is too serious."

"General Xu, can you elaborate on the discovery of the spies?"

Xu Meng nodded and said: "About a month ago, the governor held a banquet in the mansion on his birthday, and invited the governor and some soldiers to drink. The governor was very happy at the banquet, and everyone drank a few more glasses. , so I didn't drink too much.

At about three quarters of the Chou hour, I came out of the hut in Beiyuan and passed the backyard when I suddenly felt two birds flying overhead. Seeing that there seemed to be something tied to the bird's feet, I picked up stones from the ground and knocked them down. one of them.

Beizhi approached and took a closer look. There was a small bamboo tube tied to the bird's ankle. The short note inside the tube was written in Liao script. Beizhi also knew a little bit of Liao script. He happened to see that the words "deploy troops" were written on the short note.

The governor had just made adjustments to the battalion's jurisdiction and dispatch the day before his birthday, so the spy must have leaked the information. "

Listening to Xu Meng's narration, Bao Zheng's face became serious.

"According to General Xu's deduction, the person who sent the information from Feige was someone from the Dudu's Mansion?"

"Reporting to my lord, the governor has already listed the transfer list, which was originally planned to be announced after the birthday, so only a few people know about the transfer. The humble official must have spies at the banquet that day."

"Who did you invite for the governor's banquet?"

"There are five people in total, including the humble officers, Cao Dujian and three battalion commanders."

Bao Zheng thought for a moment, then asked: "Is there anyone who doubts the general?"

"I'm ashamed of the humble staff. After that day, although the humble staff paid attention, they never got anything."

"Since the general deduces that the spies are from the governor's mansion, is there any special person walking around in the mansion?"

"A special person..." Xu Meng thought for a moment, and said: "More than half a year ago, the governor went to Beijing and brought a dancer with him when he came back. The dancer is very charming, and the governor dotes on her very much."

Bao Zheng asked doubtfully, "Dancing girl?"

"Ah, that's right, I just remembered that at the banquet that day, the dancer also danced to add to the fun, which made the Dudu very happy, and the Dudu drank a few more glasses because of it."

Bao Zheng thought about Xu Meng's words secretly, and didn't ask any more questions.

After a while, Xu Meng suggested: "Lord Bao, today you are inspecting the barracks, and you can see the three generals from that day, why don't you take a look first?"

"Alright." Bao Zheng nodded in agreement, "General Lao Xu."

It was Xu time when Bao Zheng and his party returned to the post house after their inspection.

Bao Zheng paced back and forth in the small hall, thinking over what Xu Meng said, hoping to draw some clues from it.

Zhan Zhao stood aside quietly, and asked, "My lord, why don't you visit the Dudu's mansion at night, maybe you can find something."

Bao Zheng hesitated for a while, then said slowly: "...well, Guard Zhan should be careful in everything."

Hejian Mansion Nuanxiang Pavilion

The beautiful woman in red sat in front of the dressing table and combed her soft and shiny hair. Several maidservants came in and out of the room carrying hot water.

"Ma'am, you can take a bath." A maid said respectfully to the beautiful woman in red.

"Okay, you all go down, I want to stay alone for a while."

"Servants leave." Several maids closed the door and retreated.

The beautiful woman in red stood up slowly, took off her clothes, her figure was graceful, and her fine hair was fully visible.

After half a stick of incense, a man quietly came to the door, looking around for no one, he pushed the door softly and entered.

With a squeak, a coquettish female voice immediately rang out, "Why are you here now?"

The man smiled and replied, "The beauty has been waiting for a long time."

"Fortunately, the governor went to Mr. Cao's house, otherwise, when do you plan to see me?" The woman said with a charming smile, "Come here quickly..."

The man chuckled and closed the door.The dense water vapor in the room added a bit of ambiguity.

Yunying watched the movement in the room from the dark place. After burning incense, the man opened the door and left quietly.

There was only one person left in the Nuanxiang Pavilion, and Yunying sneaked in quietly.The room was filled with water and mist, and behind the screen, the woman who was taking a bath stood up, and her sultry figure was faintly visible.Just when he was about to turn around, he felt something cold touch the jade neck.

Then a cold female voice sounded: "Unexpectedly, both Qingfeng and Ma Teng are Madam's guests."

"Hehe, it turns out that the girl is also my own." The woman didn't seem to care, she submerged her body in the water again, and said slowly, "Young lady came here at night, and you have such a posture, I don't know why?"

With a little effort from Yunying, the sword edge approached the jade neck by half an inch, and said coldly: "16 years ago, you were just a concubine of the Xidinghou Mansion, and more than 120 people in the Xidinghou Mansion were beheaded. alive?"

"You... who are you?" The woman asked in a panic with a startled expression, "How do you know about the Xidinghou Mansion?"

"Who Qingfeng and Ma Teng are, I know better than you." Yunying said, the strength in her hands increased a little bit, and blood was oozing from the woman's jade neck, "Who ordered you to become a concubine in the Marquis' mansion?" You? What happened back then? Tell me!"

The atmosphere in the room suddenly became solemn, and the woman secretly thought that something was wrong, secretly thinking about how to deal with this mysterious uninvited guest.

The irregular breathing of the woman can be vaguely seen in the smog and water vapor, and the water drops slowly slipped from her forehead and dripped into the water.

At this time, a maid knocked on the door lightly: "Madam, the governor has returned to the mansion, and I call you over."

"I'll go after I wash up, and you can go down."

As soon as the words were finished, she suddenly felt that the jade neck was no longer cold. The woman turned around and saw that the window had been opened, and the mysterious figure was nowhere to be seen.

Zhan Zhao was dressed in nocturnal clothes, with a black scarf covering his face, darting around in the night, and arrived at the mansion in a short while.

The guards in the mansion patrolled back and forth in groups of two, Zhan Zhao had figured out the pattern after seeing it, and when the guards were far away, he jumped into the courtyard softly.

The garden is full of fragrance of flowers, and the artificial hills are well arranged, making it easier for Zhan Zhao to hide his body.

According to Xu Meng, he found the bird trails from the Beiyuan hut to the courtyard. Zhan Zhao looked in this direction. The courtyard is next to the Nuanxiang Pavilion, bypassing the corridor, and passing through the stone arch on the right is the residence of the governor.

In the corridor, a maidservant is leading the way with a lamp, and behind her is a beautiful woman in red, with a variety of styles, very glamorous, it seems that she should be the dancer favored by the governor.

After walking to the arch, a man in plain robe bowed to the beautiful woman in red, and said, "Madam Zi is here, the governor has been waiting for a long time."

Mrs. Zi smiled coquettishly, "There is Mr. Lao Ma."

"Is the beauty here?" Ding Xiaoyi's slightly drunken voice came from the room.

Madam Zi stepped into the house, turned around and snuggled into Ding Xiaoyi's arms: "I am late, I hope the governor will forgive me." The soft voice made Ding Xiaoyi even more drunk.

Beautiful and charming, soft to the bone, not many men in the world can resist the temptation of this gentle fragrance.

Zhan Zhao thought to himself that the dancer girl would not be able to return to Nuanxiang Pavilion for a while, so why not go there to investigate first, maybe she will find something.With a turn of thought and a movement of body, he has quietly left the courtyard.

Yunying crouched on the tallest tree in the courtyard, the luxuriant branches and leaves covering her slender figure.

She had already been waiting here when she left Mrs. Zi's house, and as expected, Ma Teng was waiting in front of her, so it seems that they exchanged some messages when they passed by.

Yunying was condescending, and also saw a figure hidden in the dark, that figure was Zhan Zhao, who was following Ma Teng to Lady Zi's Nuanxiang Pavilion.

Yunying secretly sighed in her heart, Kaifeng Mansion really came here for another purpose.If he followed Ma Teng, his plan would definitely be ruined, and this is not the time to let him know.Thinking of this, Yunying swept sideways to the courtyard wall, kicking the leaves rustling.

This move really caught Zhan Zhao's attention, and the moment Zhan Zhao looked back, Yun Ying flew out.Zhan Zhao followed and jumped over the courtyard wall.The figures of the two disappeared in a flash, only the bird with red eyes and white feathers not far away watched the black shadow leave.

Zhan Zhao followed the black shadow, he wanted to catch this person easily, but unexpectedly this person is very good at lightness kung fu, his figure is erratic, his footsteps are silent, he is as fast as a swimming dragon.

During the chase, his complexion involuntarily sank, he used the unique lightness skill Zongyue Suiying, few people in the world could match it, in an instant, the two of them had chased dozens of streets and alleys, and although he was tight After that, the distance between the two of them never got closer.

There is such a master in Hejian Mansion, it seems that this spy is no small matter.Zhan Zhao was in a bad mood, raised his right hand, and threw a sleeve arrow at the shadow.

With the help of internal force, the Xiujian went straight to Heiying's right shoulder, and suddenly, a silver light flashed, and the Xiujian had been thrown back into Zhan Zhao's hand.

Holding the sleeve arrow in hand, Zhan Zhao stopped chasing and watched the shadow leave.There was a thin gap in the sleeve arrow in his hand.

At three o'clock in Haishi, in front of Bao Zheng's holding candle case in the post house, Gongsun Ce stood quietly, as if waiting for Zhan Zhao to return.

"My lord, this subordinate is late."

Seeing that Zhan Zhao was dressed in night clothes, Bao Zheng felt that something was urgent, so he hurriedly asked, "What did Zhan's guards find?"

"My lord, please take a look." Zhan Zhao put the sleeve arrow on the case.

Bao Zheng looked at the Xiujian and asked in puzzlement, "What's so special about this Xiujian?"

Zhan Zhao said: "My lord, when my subordinates visited the mansion at night, they found a man in black acting suspiciously, and chased him away. The small crack on the sleeve arrow was left by the man in black."

Bao Zheng picked up the sleeve arrow and looked at it carefully, turned the body of the arrow, and found the crack that Zhan Zhao said.

Bao Zheng was still puzzled, and asked, "Zhan Weiwei, what does this gap represent?"

Zhan Zhao said: "My lord, ordinary collisions between weapons will not cause cracks, even if martial arts practitioners inject internal strength into fighting, it will definitely not be the case."

Zhan Zhao paused, and then said: "This subordinate thinks that this happens only when weapons are forged with rare metals."

"Rare metals..." Bao Zheng pondered Zhan Zhao's conjecture, and asked, "Can Zhan's guards chase after the man in black?"

"My subordinates are ashamed. The man in black is very good at lightness. This subordinate did not catch up with him. However, this subordinate is sure that the man in black is a woman."

"...is it a woman?...a woman..." Bao Zheng muttered to himself, lowering his eyebrows in thought.

Seeing this, Gongsun Ce asked, "What did your lord think of?"

Bao Zheng shook his head, looked at Zhan Zhao and asked, "What else can Zhan guard find out?"

Zhan Zhao said: "According to General Xu's words, my subordinates checked the terrain, and the pigeon flew in the direction of Nuanxiang Pavilion where the dancer is."

Bao Zheng sighed: "It seems that the dancing girl is indeed suspicious."

Gongsun Ce said: "Since Dudu Ding brought back the dancer after he returned to Beijing half a year ago, if we can find out where the governor went when he returned to Beijing, maybe there will be clues about the dancer as well."

Bao Zheng said with a smile: "Our government has already edited a book. Go back to Beijing immediately and hand it over to the Eight Sage Kings. Just wait for the news from the Eight Sage Kings."

Madam Zi served Ding Xiaoyi and returned to Nuanxiang Pavilion after he fell into a deep sleep.Ma Teng has been waiting in the house for a long time.

"The beauty called me here, but you miss me?" Ma Teng put his arms around Mrs. Zi from behind, and gently rubbed against her jade neck.

Mrs. Zi pushed Ma Teng away sideways, and said, "I asked you to come to talk about business."

"Business?" Ma Teng smiled, stretched out his hand and pulled Mrs. Zi into his arms, "Isn't what we're doing now a business?"

"Don't make trouble..."

Mrs. Zi patted Ma Teng's chest lightly, but it was a pity that it was hard to resist the arrogance of a man's strength, so he had to let him get what he wanted.

After a burst of rain and clouds, Mrs. Zi leaned against Ma Teng and said softly, "Can we talk about business now?"

Ma Teng stroked Mrs. Zi's soft hair, and said with a smile, "What does the beauty want to know?"

"Apart from you and Qingfeng, who else was sent to the capital?"

"...Why did the beauty ask this?"

"Who are we working for? Everyone knows in their hearts. Why? I can't even ask this?"

"Hahaha, I'm just talking casually, don't be angry with a beauty." Ma Teng put his arms around Mrs. Zi and continued, "That girl is also a beauty, although she is a bit cold and arrogant, but she is very skilled. A few are her opponents."

"Yo...it seems to be a girl. What's her name?" Mrs. Zi asked tentatively.

"I can't say that. If it leaks out, it will lose my head."

"Hehe, there are only you and me here, so how could it be leaked out?" Mrs. Zi leaned close to Ma Teng's ear, whispering softly, Dou Hong's fingernails slowly slid across his chest, her soft and charming voice seemed to have an alluring charm.

Ma Teng felt hot all over his body, his qi and blood were churning, and he couldn't help wrapping his hands around her slender waist, and replied with a smile: "Since the beauty has something to ask, I will satisfy you..."

An hour later, Ma Teng straightened his clothes and left Nuanxiang Pavilion.Madam Zi saw that the person had gone away, took out the letter paper and wrote a few words and hid them in the small bamboo tube.

A moment later, a bird with red eyes and white feathers flew towards the capital, with a purple crabapple tied around its neck.

"Gu... gu..."

The bird with red eyes and white feathers stopped in front of an exquisite birdhouse, eating contentedly.

The aviary is made of fine pine wood, and the birds around the trough are exquisitely carved and vivid.The aviary is placed in a separate courtyard with luxuriant flowers and trees, several pines, and all paths leading to pavilions.

A well-dressed man took down the small bamboo tube and purple crabapple flowers, and walked towards the depths of the other courtyard.

The man pushed the door lightly and entered, bowed to the old man in brocade clothes and said, "My lord, there is news from Zi Haitang."

The old man in brocade clothes looked at the letter, frowned slightly, and ordered the visitor: "Bring Xu Renqing here, the king wants to see him."