Chapter 3 third quarter

The 800 sounding reminder drums every evening have been ringing for a long time. Since the establishment of the capital in the Sui Dynasty, Chang'an City has implemented a daily curfew and strict governance.Every day starting at You hour, drums will sound at Mingde Gate in the south of the city, Chunming Gate in the east of the city, and Jinguang Gate in the west of the city.People who go out from home should rush back home when they hear the sound of the drum. All the meetings will be closed, and those who remain on the street at this time will be guilty of crimes of nocturnal crime, and will be caught by the Jinwu Guards, and they will be exiled.

Chang Baixing burned the hearth in the room extremely vigorously, and the lights were brightly picked up, and the room was filled with a sense of warmth, because today is the twenty-eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, and the pedestrians who are away from home are rushing home It was the middle of the festival, so there were no guests in the guest house, and the yard was very deserted. Originally, after finishing the business in Luoyang, Chang Baixing planned to take a rest for a while.This year, he came to Chang'an, Xijing, just to celebrate the Lantern Festival in Xijing.At that time, Jinwu couldn't help it at night in the middle of the capital, and the people of the whole city rushed out of their homes to the West Market. What a bustling scene it was!I heard that during the Shangyuan Festival this year, the emperor will open the gates of the palace and let the beauties out of the palace to watch the lanterns.

Chang Baixing never expected that he would get involved in such a difficult matter for no reason. Yao Yuanzhi's visit in the morning disturbed Chang Baixing's calm mood in the past.He has a very good habit, no matter what kind of embarrassing things he encounters, he never panics, but finds a safe place, rests quietly, and thinks through the ins and outs of the matter, all the pros and cons .When he thinks clearly, when he will act. This time the errand was different from any previous one because it wasn't his job and the relationships involved were important. Chang Baixing is different from other thieves in the same industry. He is not the kind of gangster who steals other people's property on camera at any time.He is a top player in this field, one of the very few masters in the 358 states of the Tang Dynasty who are specially entrusted with theft. Their goal is not necessarily valuable property, sometimes it will be a letter, Or a token.Chang Baixing himself once stole his daughter's marriage letter from his daughter's in-law's family for a big salt merchant in Yangzhou, in order to prevent his daughter from marrying her son-in-law who had been betrothed since childhood, but is now very ineffective.Of course, their fees are also extremely high, so if you do business three or five times a year without failing, you can earn a considerable family business in a few years.

Chang Baixing's father had warned him many times that stealing money is not stealing power, that is to say, if someone steals something from a rich man, the servants in the government office will only take the opportunity to extort money from the owner for straw sandals and hard work. I will seriously pursue him; on the contrary, if you steal a powerful person, even if you steal a thin donkey that a poor imperial envoy rides to court, no matter the state government or county will search for it, because he Powerful. Therefore, for the sake of safety, Chang Baixing was very concerned about current affairs.Over the years, Chang Baixing has established a very efficient relationship network. Through this relationship network, he has a better understanding of the current political situation than many people who are officials in the court.

If you steal from the wrong person, the danger is great.This is also one of the main reasons why Chang Baixing has never missed a shot for many years.Just take the case of stealing Princess Taiping's pearl dress last time. It is said that Princess Taiping is the most powerful person in the Tang Dynasty today. , How can such a character steal?But according to Chang Baixing's understanding and analysis, first, Princess Taiping has countless treasures, and she herself does not know what treasures she has; He will never report to the authorities to investigate his trust. On the contrary, if Princess Taiping thinks of this dress, he will do everything possible to evade and conceal it. He may even use the simplest and most commonly used method by the rich and powerful—— Let the person who contributed this thing pay another respect.

Every day, the drums of reminders did not stop, and the tea server who was sipping extremely oily Beijing movies had already brought Chang Baixing's dinner and wine, but today it was too late.Chang Baixing got up and opened the door, wanting to imitate the respectable people in Beijing, drawing out his voice, and shouting decently: "Come on!" Before he could utter the words, a short club hit him head-on on the top of the head.He only felt his eyes go dark, and he fell backwards. Before Chang Baixing's body fell to the ground, the person holding a short stick outside the door rushed in swiftly and supported his body with his back. Almost at the same time, another person rushed in from outside the door. Pulling a quilt on top, he wrapped Chang Baixing's head with extreme skill, and then one of them carried his head and the other put his feet on his feet, and walked out of the inn swaggeringly.

When Chang Baixing woke up, it was already late at night.The first thing he found was that he was hung upside down on the roof beam by four horses.He didn't panic about it. Getting rid of such shackles is the basic skill of this profession. He first turned his head up and down, left and right, and found that he was not injured except for some dizziness.This is thanks to my father. Back then, my father repeatedly told me: "Jujube wood lining the Futou will last ten lives." Chang Baixing's soft-footed Futou is not lined with a piece of light hollow wood like ordinary people, but just to fasten the Futou. Form a beautiful arc on the forehead.His Futou is lined with a solid piece of jujube wood. Although it is cumbersome on weekdays, it saved his life today.

A tall man who was more than eight feet tall walked in, stretched out his hand to pinch Chang Baixing's chin and lifted it up to look. Seeing that his eyes were tightly closed, he untied him from the restraints.Chang Baixing was born thin and short, with a good figure for drilling holes in walls, but now he looks even weaker when he shrinks to the ground.The big man didn't say a word, just stretched out one hand to grab Chang Baixing's belt, lifted him up, and turned around to a brightly lit hall after going out. Chang Baixing's limbs dragged limply on the ground, like a dead person.When the big man came to the hall and stood him up, trying to make him stand up, he fell to the ground.This is a proper skill in this industry. One is to gain sympathy from others, so as not to be beaten to death by gangs;

However, Chang Baixing's eyes and ears were not idle. As soon as he entered the hall, he found that this was a very important family. There were more than a dozen treasures worth millions of dollars in the hall.The brocade skirt of the lady sitting in the middle of the hall was woven with thousands of mountains and rivers, and there were hundreds of people the size of mustard seeds, and all of them had vivid eyebrows.This is much more expensive than that pearl dress. Standing next to the noble lady was a man with low eyebrows and pleasing eyes. Judging from the scarlet fish bag tied around his waist, he must be a senior official of the third rank.

"Is it him? Why is it like this?" The lady's voice was serious and decisive. Only people who have been in power for a long time can cultivate such a calm and majestic tone.Chang Baixing looked up with his eyes, and saw the noble lady with a broad forehead, cold eyes, thick black hair tied into a big bun.Her face is very well groomed, and she can only be seen by about forty people, but the loose skin around her neck reveals her old appearance.It's a pity that this noble lady's figure is too fat, which greatly exceeds the plump standard of a beauty, and has become shamefully bloated.

All indications indicated that the lady above was none other than Yao Yuanzhi's 10,000 money for Xiaoxing's assassination—the youngest daughter of Empress Wu Zetian, the arrogant and powerful Princess Taiping in the court.Only half a year ago, there were three powerful women in the Tang Dynasty, one was Princess Taiping, and the other two were Empress Wei of Emperor Zhongzong and her daughter Princess Anle.In June of this year, Princess Taiping fully supported King Linzi, the current Prince Li Longji, and after Webster was eliminated, only Princess Taiping was left as a powerful woman in Chang'an. The actual age of Princess Taiping should be at least sixty years old. Now, Yao Yuanzhi, the prince's confidant, asks Xiaoxing to assassinate his original ally again. The court struggle is too terrible!Chang Baixing really felt terrified, he felt like a small beetle that crawled into the middle of two huge stone mills by mistake, any small move of these two political enemies would crush him to pieces. He thought to himself: Princess Taiping probably didn't catch him this time because she liked to see his gray-green skin. If she hadn't discovered the prince's plan, she would have come to fight to be Xiaoxing's customer. Damn it, I've lost my head and wanted to pretend to be Xiaoxing, now that I have money, I'm afraid I'll die to enjoy it.However, if he hadn't pretended to be Xiaoxing at the beginning, Yao Yuanzhi, who seemed to be quite kind, would have happily stretched out his little finger and killed him like crushing an ant. Well, resign yourself to fate! "Lord Dou," Princess Taiping said to Dou Huaizhen, her favorite minister who stood carefully beside her, "Can you believe that this kid will be the number one killer in the world?" Seeing that Dou Huaizhen's face suddenly became pale, Princess Taiping smiled and comforted him: "I know you put your heart into doing things. However, if things are slow, things will be smooth. If you act too hastily, it will ruin our big business. " "What the princess said is very true." Dou Huaizhen replied cautiously, "However, I heard that Xiaoxing's methods of killing people are all kinds of strange, not by strength. Some people say that he is a master in this industry, and he is a poet full of imagination. Killer, of course this is a rumor, we might as well try his method, what do you think?" Princess Taiping nodded slightly, and said to Chang Baixing: "Don't pretend to be a kid, get up and let us see if you are really interesting." Chang Baixing knew that this test must be passed, so he got up from the ground, flicked the dust on his skirt with his sleeves, and regained his former composure.He already understood at this moment that he couldn't die for a while. "A Niu, kill him." Princess Taiping suddenly ordered the strong man who carried Chang Baixing into the door. This guy's name was really correct. Before the princess finished speaking, his big hands like giant spirits rushed towards Chang Baixing's slender and thin neck. Dealing with such a reckless man, Chang Baixing didn't panic at all. He just took a step back to prevent the bully force from knocking him down. The bull's giant palm was hitting his matching palm.At the moment of the collision, Chang Baixing leaped back slightly with the help of Ah Niu's brute strength. A Niu let out a roar, and his finger was cut with a small gash by the blade that Chang Baixing held between his fingers. "Slow down." Chang Baixing made a firm gesture to stop the furious A Niu, and said loudly: "Princess, you must have heard of the belly snake ointment. If you don't want this guy to die, please Keep him still." Chang Baixing shouted to A Niu who was holding his right hand: "Recite the Buddha's name. If the princess doesn't speak, you will die when you recite the Buddha's name two hundred times." "Princess..." The man who looked like a half iron tower turned out to be a coward, and he collapsed on the ground suddenly, with bead-sized beads of sweat oozing from his forehead, and tears running down his face. Princess Taiping's face sank like water, she just silently stared at the crying man on the ground. "Boy, accept your fate. I'm sorry." Chang Baixing lost no time in putting pressure on A Niu. "Xiaoxing, have you always been this neat and tidy?" "If you go back to the princess, it's nothing. If you plan carefully, you can still do it without a trace." "Then, you should rescue A Niu first." Princess Taiping's cold face softened slightly. Chang Baixing walked slowly in front of A Niu and said, "Open your mouth." He popped a pill down Ah Niu's throat.It was a pill secretly prepared by Chang Baixing. The main ingredients were rhubarb and croton cream. On weekdays, he used this medicine to treat the martial masters and servants of the Nursing Academy. It was really like detoxification. First, the abdominal pain was unbearable, and then I had to run to the toilet for two days.There is no poison on Chang Baixing's knife at all, and he never uses poison.Of course, except for stuffy incense and drugs, those things are not poisonous. Dou Huaizhen stepped forward and said softly: "This time the princess picked you to make a fortune is my recommendation, you have to be careful. If you don't have that ability, don't bring me into trouble with you." "I'm sorry I don't know how to flatter you. I'm a little frightened recently. Maybe I'll delay the princess's important event." Chang Baixing knew that he couldn't escape this disaster, so he retreated and tried to get the princess to negotiate terms with him in person. "You kid, don't forget, who are you talking to. Besides, we haven't settled the account of you killing the chief executive in Luoyang." At this time, Dou Huaizhen completely let go of the airs of a noble official, and deliberately put herself in Luoyang. He brought out his evil young style to deal with Chang Baixing. Princess Taiping interjected, still with a calm face and a calm tone. "Since you know who I am, you must also know how I handle things. Whether it's your personal enmity or business, I don't have to intervene. However, since I can find you, I can control you. Besides, if you don't have that ability, you might be resting in the prison of the Ministry of Criminal Justice right now." "What is the princess' order?" Chang Baixing intentionally put on a nonchalant look.Xiaoxing's reputation as the world's number one killer made Chang Baixing easily pass the most dangerous test. It seems that Xiaoxing has made people develop a habit that is extremely beneficial to him, that is, they have no doubts about his method of killing people , once it is confirmed that the other party is Xiaoxing, the only thing to talk about is the goal and price. "That makes sense." Princess Taiping nodded, and said, "Let me ask you something first. If you send someone who knows your details but you don't trust to work for you, do you have any precautions?" "Only the dead can make people feel at ease." Chang Baixing replied firmly.Xiaoxing's answer at this time must be the same. A bright smile appeared on Princess Taiping's face, and she said, "The people who know the truth are mostly talented people, you killed them all, what big deal did you do?" "What I do is trivial. I don't need a lot of people. It's not like a princess who recruits heroes from all over the world. I've heard about this for a long time." Chang Baixing took the opportunity to praise Princess Taiping. "You don't need to flatter me. Now I can't talk about trusting you, but the matter is urgent, and you must do it. What do you think?" "Follow the princess' orders." Chang Baixing was terrified by Princess Taiping's shrewdness and calmness. Dou Huaizhen attracted a pretty woman with tattoos all over her face from outside. Without saying a word, the barbarian gave a deep salute to Princess Taiping, and then opened the brocade box she held in her hand.Chang Baixing looked at a picture in the box, and found that it contained a crab spider the size of a little finger.This is the rarest kind of Gu poison among the southern barbarians. Its biggest advantage is that it can be manipulated by the Gu poisoner a hundred miles away. However, it also has its fatal weakness. Chang Baixing knew that he still had a little chance. "How many days?" Chang Baixing asked how many days the Gu was going to play for him. "Thirty days. If the matter can be settled within thirty days, I will naturally let her bring the Gu back. If something goes wrong, you will know what will happen." Princess Taiping seemed very worried when she spoke. Chang Baixing was worried. Chang Baixing asked Dou Huaizhen to bring him a large bowl of pear blossom shochu, a specialty of Beijing and China.This is a kind of distilled wine that has only become popular in the past two years. Compared with the wine brewed from grain juice that people often drink in the past, the alcoholic nature of this wine is beyond ordinary people's imagination. He put the wine bowl on the copper mesh cover of the charcoal brazier, and when the wine was boiling hot, he drank it in one gulp. Then, he quickly sat down on the ground, opened his mouth, and let the barbarian put the crab spider into it. in his own mouth.Chang Baixing knew that small animals like spiders and toads that were suitable for making Gu were afraid of strong alcohol, but the barbarians in southern Xinjiang only made some bland rice wine, so they didn't understand this truth. When the crab spider climbed up to the base of Chang Baixing's tongue, he exerted force on his abdomen, and a gust of hot wine gushed out of his throat, and the giant gu immediately became dizzy.Then, Chang Baixing rolled his tongue and turned the ugly thing around. The moment it died of drunkenness, Chang Baixing shut up and swallowed the thing. Fortunately, Chang Baixing took advantage of the moment when the crab spider turned around and shut up and swallowed himself, and bit the two forefeet of the crab spider that was half drunk to death.He also acted boldly, he only heard that the Gu spider sensed the master's order with its two forefeet, whether this was the case, he had no idea at all. When Chang Baixing opened her mouth again, the barbarian showed an expression of appreciation, and said in blunt Chinese, "Okay, okay." Because, the most difficult part of releasing Gu is how to put the Gu worm alive into the victim's belly.If the victim is afraid of killing the Gu worm for a while, the poison will attack immediately, and the meaning of releasing the Gu will be lost. Therefore, the barbarian woman praises Chang Baixing for his knowledge and knowledge. As for the flying Gu that people say, it is all miraculous . The next thing is simple, the target to be assassinated is naturally Prince Li Longji, as for the price, Chang Baixing asked honestly and unceremoniously, and asked for 20,000 mins worth of gold from Princess Taiping, and the fee was paid first. Princess Taiping readily agreed to all Chang Baixing's requests.Her request to Chang Baixing is: first, to obey her orders when to act, and it can't be an hour earlier or an hour later; second, to prepare carefully and never miss.