novelaction Chapter 527: Act at Night
Chapter 527: Act at Night
Yan Qing and Li Jing took advantage of the night and immediately hid in the crowd after leaving the house.
I have to say, the princess's trick is really simple and effective.
One tael of silver, no more, no less, paid out every two hours.
Those who need money will come and queue up even if it is late.
Those who are not short of money and just want to join in the fun can just collect the money and go back.
Now, the streets and alleys from East Street to North Street are full of people coming and going, especially many children and the elderly. Some are happy to get the silver, while others are rushing to line up to receive the silver.
Yan Qing stroked his fake gray beard and mingled with the crowd as he walked toward Prince Jing's mansion. He didn't know where Li Jing had gone.
Thinking of the arduous task of finding something, he unconsciously quickened his pace.
Prince Jing had been gone for more than ten days, and everything in the palace was calm. The guards also relaxed, no longer having the tension in their heads that they had when Prince Jing was around.
Yan Qing arrived outside Prince Jing's mansion and easily jumped into the mansion with the help of a tree on the side of the road.
At one side, the guard at the gate was concentrating on watching the crowd passing by outside.
According to the map of Prince Jing's Mansion that he had seen, Yan Qing bypassed the outer courtyard and went straight to the attic in the center of the mansion.
The attic has three floors, surrounded by pavilions and waterside terraces, and connected only by a covered bridge.
There were two soldiers guarding the attic.
Yan Qing sat on the wall with his arms folded, looking at the two palace soldiers with worry.
The back and sides of the attic were separated by the lake. With his lightness skills, he had to step on water to get through, which would also make noises and attract the guards' attention.
After thinking for a while, he shifted his gaze to a guard standing guard not far away.
After changing into the armor of the palace guard, Yan Qing swaggered across the corridor bridge and came to the attic.
One of the soldiers asked, "It's not time to change shifts yet, what are you doing here?"
Yan Qing said, "There are a lot of people outside today, so the boss asked me to look around to avoid mistakes. Is everything normal here?"
Seeing that he was here to inspect, the man softened his tone and said, "Everything is normal."
Yan Qing pretended to look around, and when he was one step away from the two men, he quickly slapped them on the neck.
The two of them fell down instantly.
Yan Qing took the two men up to the second floor in an instant, opened a door, threw the two men in, blocked their mouths, and tied them up tightly with their belts.
The last time he saw it, King Jing's men did deliver the remaining half of the Spirit Fire Grass to this attic, but he could only look for it somewhere.
Yan Qing didn't dare to waste time and began to search carefully.
On the other side, Li Jing also took advantage of the night and sneaked into Li's mansion.
Although the Li Mansion is different from the Wang Mansion and is heavily guarded, it also has many servants and maids. No wonder the princess set the time at 9:00 p.m.
If she went down now, she would not be able to see the master of the Li Mansion at all, which would only cause panic.
Now we can only wait.
*
Two guards from the Dingguo Mansion Ancestral Hall had already sat down on the steps outside the door. Inside the room, Su Lingyue was still kneeling straight, silently reciting scriptures.
Xiao Yu leaned back in the chair, resting his forehead with his arms on the armrests and closing his eyes.
"Bang, bang, bang"
The night watchman sounded outside.
The time has come.
"Yue'er, the time has come." Xiao Yu slowly raised his eyes, with a hint of fatigue in his voice.
"Ah."
Su Lingyue responded softly, took the handwritten scripture from Caiyi's hand and put it into the fire.
Watching the fire engulfing the scriptures bit by bit, Su Lingyue clasped her hands together again and bowed three times towards Jiang Yunyin's tablet.
She closed her eyes and prayed silently in her heart.
"Mother, I like Xiao Yu very much, but he is suffering from illness. He is a good man who cares about the people and should not suffer this disaster. If mother's spirit is aware, please bless me to find the spiritual fire grass as soon as possible and save the prince from illness."
After praying in her heart, she took Caiyi's hand, rubbed her sore knees and stood up.
Xiao Yu walked to Su Lingyue's side, held her hand, and his eyes moved, "Does it hurt?"
Su Lingyue nodded and started to act coquettishly, "Yeah, it hurts, it will only get better if you rub it, my Lord."
Xiao Yu raised the corner of his mouth.
"I'll go rub it for you in the carriage."
Outside the ancestral hall, Li Qingyuan was waiting.
Seeing Xiao Yu and Su Lingyue coming out together, Li Qingyuan curled up the corners of his mouth and said, "I'm here to see the prince and sister Yue'er off."
"Okay!"
Su Lingyue responded with a smile.
She scratched Xiao Yu's palm and whispered, "Your Majesty, please let go first. I want to talk to my sister-in-law."
Xiao Yu let go of her hand, with no expression on his face.
Supported by Caiyi, Su Lingyue walked to Li Qingyuan's side and asked, "Sister-in-law, have you seen Master Li in the past two days? I can't see him, and I don't know how he is doing."
After a moment's silence, Li Qingyuan let out a sigh of relief, as if trying to clear away the heavy worries in his heart.
She whispered, "I went there yesterday. The external injuries have healed, but my legs are still numb."
Between Li Xiaoyun’s incident and Li Yi’s incident, my sister-in-law must be having a hard time.
Su Lingyue comforted him, "Mr. Li's legs need to be healed slowly."
Li Qingyuan's eyes, which had been drooping, moved, and her voice became lighter, "Really?"
These things were overwhelming her, and Su Lingyue's words just now gave her a glimmer of hope.
"Yeah." She chuckled in response, then her face darkened again.
"This is my father's fault. I hope he can change his ways and stop treating you harshly or targeting other people in the Li Mansion."
Li Yi's affairs were not made public, and Su Lingyue could not speak clearly about them.
But Su Lingyue believed that these words would definitely touch Li Qingyuan.
Li Qingyuan remained silent and didn't say anything. Her expression couldn't be seen clearly, but Su Lingyue knew that she must be feeling uneasy.
When they arrived at the door, Su Lingyue said goodbye to Li Qingyuan and got on the carriage back home.
Now the last batch of silver is being distributed at the gate of Duke Dingguo’s Mansion.
There were still crowds of people on the road and the carriage was moving very slowly.
Xiao Yu took Su Lingyue's hand and said gently, "Come and sit down."
"Oh." Su Lingyue held Xiao Yu's hand and slowly stood up and sat in his arms.
Xiao Yu put one arm around Su Lingyue's waist and the other hand on her knee, rubbing it gently.
Caiyi turned her head to the other side, held her breath, and dared not breathe.
At this moment, a figure suddenly opened the curtain and rushed in.
Su Lingyue shrank back into Xiao Yu's arms out of fear, and only relaxed after seeing clearly who the person was.
"Ajing, is everything going well?" Su Lingyue asked with surprise.
Li Jing glanced at her and Xiao Yu, said "hmm" and sat down next to Cai Yi, and asked, "Where are the clothes?"
"It's ready." Caiyi said, took out a bundle from the corner of the carriage and handed it to Li Jing.
Li Jing raised her eyes and looked at Xiao Yu and Su Lingyue calmly. Su Lingyue reacted at this time, covered Xiao Yu's eyes with her hands, and said with a smile: "Switch, he can't see."
Xiao Yu let Su Lingyue cover her eyes, but he still didn't stop rubbing his knees.
Li Jing changed into the same clothes as Caiyi. Caiyi took off the bun on her head and quickly tied her hair into a bun, making her look like a maid in a royal palace.
Su Lingyue released her hand that was covering Xiao Yu's eyes and asked, "Ajing, who in the Li Mansion was stabbed?"
Li Jing calmed down and said, "Madam Li was stabbed in the arm, the two concubines were stabbed in the chest and back, and one of the bastards had a leg broken."
Su Lingyue nodded, "It's neither too light nor too heavy, just right. Li Yi will be able to hear it tomorrow at the latest!"
Xiao Yu, who had been silent, said, "Listen outside."
Su Lingyue pricked up her ears and listened carefully. Sure enough, in addition to the laughter of the people who received the silver, there was also the sound of patrol soldiers searching.
Xiao Yu said: "If nothing unexpected happens, this matter will reach Li Yi's ears tonight."
If Li Yi could still stay on the same boat with his father under such circumstances, then he would be a man without blood and energy.
In Su Lingyue's previous impression, people in the court had to give some face to someone who was always cold and harsh, and Li Yi would never form an alliance with his father again.
At this moment, Yan Qing also got on the carriage in the chaotic crowd. After changing into the same clothes as the guards outside, the voice of the captain of the patrol camp was heard from outside.
"Your Highness, Princess, the residence of the Minister of War, Lord Li, has just encountered an assassin. We are conducting a routine inspection. Please forgive us."
Xiao Yu nodded, and Caiyi lifted the curtain. The man took a quick glance and saw only two maids, the prince, the princess, and three guards outside, and no one else.
Xiao Yu was known for his cold-blooded reputation. The man was afraid that he would be remembered by Prince Su's Mansion, so he apologized repeatedly: "Your Majesty, Princess, please forgive me. We are also enforcing the law impartially."
However, the people in the car didn't even look at him.
Watching the carriage leave, the man broke out in a cold sweat.
*
After getting away from the patrol soldiers, Yan Qing lifted the curtain and entered the carriage.
Su Lingyue asked: "Yan Qing, how is your investigation going?"