Chapter 53 second quarter

After Tang Ji left the dormitory, she took a long breath and walked out quickly. Ever since Wang Fu died, she has been shrouded in guilt and anxiety. These two seeds have taken root in her heart and are difficult to get rid of.When she saw that Zhao Yan chose to die for Concubine Dong, she seemed to have returned to that snowy night, when she saw Wang Fu died in her hands, her eyes were full of love. Yang Xiu was right, this was her last chance to get rid of the nightmare, and she had to face it head on. When she was about to reach the gate of Sikong Mansion, she suddenly heard a commotion in front of her.Tang Ji's heart moved, she didn't get closer, but found a hidden place, and poked her head out quietly.

At the gate of Sikong Mansion, there were two teams of people standing.The leader of a group is Sun Li, and behind him are night watchmen; there is another group of people who are unarmored and dressed in stabbing clothes. Man Chong and the new Xu Duling stand in front of Xu Gan.At this time, Zhao Yan was pressed tightly on the ground by two soldiers with big arms and round waists, unable to move, and Concubine Dong's spiritual seat fell to the ground. "Lieutenant Sun, what's going on?" Xu Gan asked sullenly, with a slight layer of sweat on his forehead. Sun Li quickly clasped his fists and said, "We just received a report that a person appeared in front of Sikong's mansion, acting suspiciously, so we rushed over to have a look, and we happened to run into him."

"Zhao Yan? How did he do this?" Xu Qian was taken aback. Zhao Yan in front of him was covered in blood, and his thumb was missing, and he was sluggish. Sun Lidao: "When we found him, he was already like this." Man Chong leaned over to pick up the spiritual tablet from the ground, put it into the lantern, looked at it, and handed it to Xu Gan.Xu Gan looked at it and blurted out: "So it was for her!" After they lost Zhao Yan in the afternoon, Xu Qian was so angry that he mobilized everyone to search and arrest all the shops Zhao Yan had entered and everyone he had contacted, but he still didn't know where he was going.In the end, according to the items Zhao Yan bought, Xu Duwei came to the conclusion: he should have decided to avenge someone, so he bought a lot of sacrificial items to summon the souls of his blood relatives.

According to this idea, Xu Gan searched for all the people in Xudu city who might have grudges with Zhao Yan, but still couldn't figure it out.Just now, a mysterious bamboo slip appeared in Xu Duwei, with only three characters written on it: Sikong Mansion.As soon as it involved the emperor and Duke Cao's family, Xu Gan didn't dare to neglect. He didn't care to trace the source of the bamboo slips, so he hurried to Sikong Mansion with Man Chong.As soon as they arrived at the gate of the mansion, they saw Sun Li pressing Zhao Yan to the ground. When Xu Qian saw the words "Dong Shaojun's spiritual position" written on the spirit tablet, he immediately understood.This Zhao Yan must be Dong Chengyu's party. In order to avenge Concubine Dong, he tried to sneak into Sikong's mansion and commit murder.This is also consistent with Xu Duling's analysis.

Man Chong calmly stopped Xu Gan: "Don't jump to conclusions, you have to find out how he sneaked into the Sikong mansion first." Sun Li said from the side: "When the curfew just started, we ran into Mrs. Tang's chariot and horses. Going to the Sikong mansion, there are only Mrs. Tang and a driver in the car. This subordinate thinks that it is very likely that Zhao Yan pretended to be the driver and coerced Mrs. Tang into the mansion under the pretext of meeting His Majesty." Hearing the name "Tang Ji", Man Chong raised his head with interest: "You seem to know Mrs. Tang very well, why didn't you stop her then?"

Sun Li's face turned red: "You know, Mrs. Tang has always... misunderstood her subordinates. If the subordinates knew that she was being coerced, they would not have let them enter the Sikong Mansion no matter what." He stammered, obviously anxious.Man Chong patted him on the shoulder, signaling to stay calm.This young officer was good at everything, but he was easily nervous. When he saw the eldest son of the Cao family being assassinated, he was so anxious that his voice became numb. It was a joke in the army for a while. Tang Ji was hiding nearby, following the wind and lips to capture this conversation.She was very surprised, she did not expect that Sun Li would take the initiative to excuse her. "Hmph, he must be afraid that I will bite him out after I'm arrested, he must be." Tang Ji said bitterly in her heart.But that's good too, so she won't have to show up in person.

Man Chong is not as innocent as Sun Li.His mung bean eyes kept scanning Zhao Yan on the ground, his expression like a poisonous snake was lost in thought.There are many doubts about this matter, especially the mysterious bamboo slip, which makes Man Chong feel that there is something wrong with it.It suddenly occurred to him that before Zhao Yan was arrested by Xu Duwei, Chen Qun from Xicao was also reminded by a note to come to find someone.Somewhere, there seems to be an invisible hand manipulating all this. "This matter needs to be cautious." Man Chong reminded Xu Gan tactfully.

"It's okay, take him back to Xu Duwei later. Hmph, don't think that you can't spit out anything because you don't have a tongue." Xu Qian said coldly, and at the same time glared at Zhao Yan viciously, with bloodshot eyes.He originally thought it was a simple task, but he didn't expect to make such a big noise.If Mr. Cao's family members made any mistakes, his guilt would be serious. Man Chong shook his head gently.Xu Gan is smart enough to do things, but too emotional and inflexible, making it difficult to maintain an open and calm mind-and this is very critical for Xu Duwei.

Sun Li made a gesture and dragged Zhao Yan up from the ground, intending to hand it over to Xu Duwei to take him away. At this moment, a carriage suddenly rushed over from a distance and stopped in front of Sikong Mansion.An old man in blue jumped out of the carriage, roaring like thunder. "How dare you openly bully court officials!" Kong Rong shouted. No one expected that Kong Rong would appear at this time. This guy is not afraid of anyone in Xudu, he dares to say anything - the most important thing is that he is very defensive.Seeing his sudden appearance, the people around subconsciously took a step back, for fear of being splashed by his saliva.

When Kong Rong saw Zhao Yan lying on the ground covered in blood and dying, his beard trembled in anger.He looked around and shouted at Man Chong: "Man Boning, explain to me why Xu Duwei beat up a court official in the street?" He didn't know that Xu Duwei had changed candidates, so he immediately pointed the finger at Man Chong.Before Man Chong could speak, Xu Gan hurried over, calmed down his anxiety in an instant, clasped his fists with both hands, and smiled all over his face: "Young Master Kong, I am in charge now." Kong Rong saw that it was Xu Gan, and his face softened a little.This man has a very good human name, and he once discussed Confucian classics and metaphysics with him, so he can be regarded as a rare person that Kong Rong has a high regard for.

"Why did you come here?" Kong Rong was a little puzzled.In his opinion, only the filthiest and nastiest villains are suitable to manage Xu Duwei's cesspit. Xu Gan explained: "Bo Ning will go to Runan to take up his post in the near future, and Xu Duwei will be taken care of by his subordinates for the time being." Have the sympathy of "Gaoshi's self-defilement".Sure enough, after Kong Rong finished listening, he put his hand on his shoulder and sighed. "There's a curfew tonight, why did you come here?" Xu Gan asked. "Hey, it's not about gathering Confucians. Your family Guo Jijiu recommended Jia Wenhe, and the old man has been discussing with him until now before returning home. I didn't expect to see such a thing!" Xu Qian said with a smile: "The capable work harder, and the wise worry more." Kong Rong said "Yes", which was quite useful. Man Chong nodded secretly at the side, the person Guo Jia chooses is indeed not that simple.When it comes to the implementation of strategies, Xu Gan is inferior to him; but when it comes to dealing with these Luoyang faction people, Xu Gan does have his own way. After Kong Rong exchanged greetings with Xu Gan, he leaned over to help Zhao Yan up, but Sun Li refused to give in. At this moment, Xu Gan said, "Lieutenant Sun, you should step back first. Young Master Kong's mansion is upright and will not show favoritism." Yes." Sun Li had no choice but to step aside. When Zhao Yan saw that it was Kong Rong, the light in his eyes became brighter, and he moved his mouth a few times, making an indistinct sound.Kong Rong took a look and found that his tongue was gone, and his complexion immediately became gloomy.He raised his head and asked, "Zhao Yan belongs to me, what kind of law did he commit?" He first declared that Zhao Yan belonged to him, and then asked what law he had violated. Kong Rong made it clear that he wanted to intervene.Xu Qian sighed: "Zhao Yilang intends to assassinate Duke Cao's family members and the emperor to avenge Dong Cheng. This is a big matter. I am the first Xu Duling, and I am not familiar with everything. I am afraid that I will make mistakes and fall into Zhongliang, so I went with Bo Ning personally. deal with it." He deliberately misled what he said, as if Zhao Yan's affairs were done by one person who was full of favor, and his new appointment as Xu Duling was just a generational experience.When Kong Rong heard this, he cast a gloomy glance at Man Chong: "You tortured Yang Taiwei first, and then cut Zhao Yilang's tongue. You night owl really thinks you are the king of Xudu!" "Master Kong, you misunderstood. When we found Zhao Yan, he was already like this, and it wasn't Bo Ning's doing." Xu Qian defended Man Chong. "You mean he cut off his tongue and fingers, and then wandered the streets until he was picked up by you?" Kong Rong asked sarcastically. Man Chong remained silent, he already understood Guo Jia's intentions.Guo Jia knew that arresting Zhao Yan would be very difficult and would cause a strong backlash, so he deliberately let him be responsible together with Xu Gan.In this way, no matter what happens, Luo Yang's anger will only be poured on him, allowing Xu Qian to maintain his innocence. If it were someone else, they would definitely complain that Guo Jia favored one and favored another, but Man Chong would not.He has long been regarded as a monster by the officials of Luoyang, and he will not be infamous this time.Guo Jia knew him very well and knew that he was not a person trapped by false fame at all. Seeing that Kong Rong was getting emotional again, Xu Gan passed over Concubine Dong's spiritual seat: "We found this on him." Kong Rong took it over and looked at it, and suddenly remembered that Zhao Yan and Dong Shaojun There was originally a marriage contract, but it was only because Dong Cheng repented that this marriage was not married.Unexpectedly, this kid has been thinking about the daughter of the Dong family. In other words, he really didn't show up a while ago, could he really be planning to assassinate Cao?Kong Rong himself felt suspicious, and his tone softened a bit.If this is the case, Zhao Yan may not be able to keep it. Xu Qian said: "Our people have gone to the Sikong mansion to investigate, and we will know the truth in a while. Before that, we should send Zhao Yilang to Xu Duwei for treatment of his injuries. If Kong Shaofu is worried, he can come along with him." .” Kong Rong was quite satisfied with this arrangement. After all, Xu Qian was a scholar, and he knew how to do things better than that hideous Man Chong.Xu Gan patted his chest, leaned close to Zhao Yan who was lying in Kong Rong's arms, and said loudly: "Kong Shaofu, Zhao Yilang, please rest assured, as Xu Duling, I will deal with it fairly." As soon as he heard the words "Xu Duling", Zhao Yan opened his eyes, opened his arms, and rushed towards Xu Gan. Everyone thought he was dying, so they relaxed their vigilance.As a result, Zhao Yan suddenly got into trouble, and Xu Qian was caught off guard. Zhao Yan embraced him, and the two of them rolled to the ground.Zhao Yan didn't know where the strength came from, his red eyes strangled Xu Gan's throat, and he roared like a beast.Xu Gan struggled desperately, but he couldn't open his iron-like hands. Since the truth was dispelled by Liu Xie, Zhao Yan has been determined to die. The only thing that has supported him until now is only one thing: kill Cao's important officials and avenge Dong Concubine.When he heard the words "Xu Duling", his last anger turned into strength, no matter who he was, he rushed towards him. As soon as the soldiers rushed forward, it was difficult to separate the two for a while.Xu Gan's complexion became paler and paler. His hands scratched and swung around, and suddenly touched a bump on Zhao Yan's waist, which looked like a knife handle.In desperation, he didn't care much, grabbed the handle of the knife and drew it out, then stabbed Zhao Yan desperately, piercing the body one knife at a time. A sharp pain in Zhao Yan's waist and eyes made him even crazier.One of these two people choked desperately, and the other stabbed to death, as if they both had a mortal enemy.The people around did not dare to approach, unable to make a move. In the end, Sun Li reacted the fastest. He picked up the scabbard and hit the back of Zhao Yan's head repeatedly, trying to knock him unconscious. Zhao Yan was hit a few times, and his mind was already confused, but his hands still grabbed Xu Qian's thin and thin neck with his intuition and a near-death strength.Seeing that Xu Qian's struggle was getting slower and slower, Sun Li's eyes flashed coldly, and he raised the knife and cut off Zhao Yan's head in one fell swoop.He mastered the strength very well, the blade just cut Zhao Yan's neck, but did not hurt Xu Gan's body. Xu Qian only felt a pungent blood rushing to the sky, Zhao Yan's head rolled off his body, but the headless body still kept choking his neck.Sun Li squatted down, and forcefully separated Zhao Yan's hands.He found that Xu Gan had stabbed Zhao Yan at least a dozen times near the waist and eyes, and each knife penetrated deeply into the body. Even without the severed head, Zhao Yan would not have been able to survive. Concubine Dong died at my own hands, and now the man who avenged her also died at my own hands. The fate is really strange.Thinking of this, Sun Li laughed at himself, wiped off the blood on the knife with his hem, and inserted it into the sheath. Zhao Yan's head fell to the ground, and his eyes were still wide open. There was no unwillingness or anger in his eyes, only a strong expectation. It seemed that death was something he couldn't wait for. "Will Tang Ji be killed by me one day?" Sun Li had an inexplicable premonition for no reason.He didn't know that not far from the scene, Tang Ji, who was hiding her figure, covered her mouth with her hands, tears streaming down her face. The moment Sun Li chopped off Zhao Yan's head, her nightmare was not reduced, but became clearer.This man forced to kill Wang Fu, trapped and killed Concubine Dong, beheaded Zhao Yan, and every one of the dead had shocked Tang Ji unforgettable.The haze in Tang Ji's heart gradually condensed into reality, becoming the figure of Sun Li, which was deeply burned in her heart and could never be erased. Beside Sun Li, Xu Gan, who escaped from death, lay motionless on the ground, his eyes protruding a little like a frog, his originally spotless robes were covered with blood stains, and he no longer had any romantic demeanor.He escaped from the dead without a trace of strength, and his fear was like a chain tightly entangled his body.Man Chong walked over, felt Xu Qian's pulse, and told the left and right: "Sit up Mr. Xu quickly, lean your neck back, and put it on the windward side." He has been immersed in the art of calligraphy for a long time, and he is very proficient in handling such accidents.After giving all these instructions, Man Chong turned his eyes to Zhao Yan again. When everyone was shocked, only he remained calm - because he was not observing Zhao Yan, but the night behind Zhao Yan. The other person staring at the headless corpse was Kong Rong. He stroked his beard and remained silent for a long time, as if he had aged ten years for a moment. "Yanwei, you, why are you so impulsive. Xudu's gathering of Confucian scholars has just begun, and the old man still expects you to take up the burden and run around in the middle..." Kong Rong closed his eyes, feeling sad in his heart.He watched Zhao Yan grow up. When the Zhao family collapsed, his father entrusted Zhao Yan to Kong Rong to take care of him.When Kong Rong came to Xudu, he intentionally cultivated this young man and promoted him to be Yilang, who followed him around.Unexpectedly, today... Zhao Yan attempted to attack Xu Duling in full view and was killed. Even Kong Rong could not defend him publicly.However, although Zhao Yan was reckless, this move was not a loss for the great festival. If Kong Rong let go of him, wouldn't it chill the hearts of righteous people in the world? "Yanwei, you are the reincarnation of Nie Zheng and the rebirth of Jing Ke. I will not let you die without a name. I will let your name be known to the world." Kong Rong secretly made up his mind, flicked his sleeves, and was about to speak, when suddenly a figure moved in front of him, and Man Chong stood in front of him. "Man Boning? The old man is in a bad mood right now, don't mess with me!" Man Chong calmly said: "There are two things that need to be clarified by Kong Shaofu." Kong Rong raised his eyes and said, "You have killed everyone, so what else is there to ask?" Man Chong raised his head: "It's not about Zhao Yilang. I’m asking you instead. This afternoon, the carriage you were riding in suddenly lost control in the streets and alleys of the south of the city, and almost capsized. Is there such a thing?” "Yes." Kong Rong replied stiffly. "The second thing. Your residence is in Guidefang. When you return home from General Xuanyi, go straight all the way to the west. Why do you want to detour here?" "Where the old man wants to go, should Xu Duling take care of it?!" Seeing Kong Rong who was about to explode, Man Chong didn't continue to ask.Kong Rong glanced at Zhao Yan's body again, and walked away quietly without saying a word. Xu Gan had already been helped to sit under a tree, his eyes dazed.Sun Li directed the people around to start cleaning up the scene, moved Zhao Yan's body and head away, and spread yellow sand nearby to spread on the bloodstains.The guards in Sikong Mansion also heard the movement at this time, and came to inquire one after another.Not far away, the place where Tang Ji hid just now was empty at this time, leaving only a few drops of wet marks on the ground. People around were busy, but Man Chong held his hands behind his back at this moment, looking up at the sky like ink, the wrinkles on his face outlined a confused expression. He has a strong feeling: all of this is not accidental, including Zhao Yan's actions, his resignation, and Xu Du's recent series of mysterious events, there is a thread looming.He was thinking hard, trying to parse out the truth. In his mind, Shangshutai, Forbidden Palace, Sikong Mansion, Xu Duwei and other various buildings are turned into points, and the people living in them are connected to each other into lines, and the dots and lines intersect. Hundreds of lines are connected vertically and horizontally with each other, which is dazzling and outlines a different kind of Xudu.He tried his best to figure out the movement, and picked out the key point in the complicated flow, but he always failed. As the former Xu Duling, Man Chong is well aware of several undercurrents hidden in Xu Du. Whether it is the Luoyang faction, the Han family or the aristocratic family, he has the confidence to figure out the context and have a plan in mind-but only this one thread leads to the future. The system is extensive and intricate, and it affects the whole body.It is hidden among thousands of clues, like a rabbit in the forest, it is extremely difficult to find traces.Zhao Yan's death was probably just a weed that was blown away the moment it entered the forest. Man Chong didn't know who was manipulating the silk thread behind his back, and he didn't know where he would eventually lead Xu Du, so he could barely tell where the next node of the thread would fall.Under the night sky, he slowly raised his hand and stretched his index finger to a certain point in the far north. Man Chong's lips rubbed lightly a few times, but no one around heard his voice.