Chapter 167: Siege

They exchanged a few pleasantries, and then Lady Murong took her seat.

The Murong family had actually already gathered in full; they were simply waiting for Li Musheng and the others to arrive before beginning their morning meal.

As the head of the Shengzhou's number one martial arts family, Lady Murong had three sons and one daughter.

Murong Xiaoya, the youngest daughter, sat in a corner on one side of the long table, with her two elder brothers seated beside her.

She was naturally socially anxious; upon seeing Li Musheng and the others arrive, her gaze remained fixed on the group.

However, greeting them in front of so many people in the hall was certainly something she dared not do.

When the Murong family ate their morning meal, they adhered strictly to rules: no talking while eating, merely eating in silence, making the hall appear very quiet.

After finishing the morning meal and waiting for the family members to depart one by one, only then did Lady Murong begin to speak of the main matter.

"Regarding the events that occurred in the city yesterday, I have heard this child Xiaoya recount them. Thank you, Your Highness, and my lord Hu, for your intervention; otherwise, if Xiaoya had fallen into the hands of the Bai Li family, the consequences would have been unimaginable."

Lady Murong spoke slowly, her gaze fixed on Li Musheng and Hu Rui'an across the wooden table.

Upon hearing this, Murong Xiaoya, seated in the corner of the table, raised her head and glanced over in their direction.

Having traveled this far, she naturally knew more or less many of the secrets of Hu Rui'an and his group.

Before returning home, Hu Rui'an had instructed her that regarding the series of confidential matters of the Tianjin Guard, she must not leak them to outsiders.

Therefore, when recounting the events that happened on the road and the situation of Li Musheng and the others to her father and family, she naturally did not say everything.

For instance, in her view, Li Musheng's cultivation was so terrifying and shocking, yet previously he was completely unknown.

She concluded in her heart that the other party must be the greatest reliance and trump card in the Tianjin Guard's current plan to annihilate the Falling God Peak.

That such a top secret was known to her also indicated the trust Li Musheng and the others placed in her; therefore, she naturally could not leak this matter to the Murong family.

"Head of the Murong family speaks too highly. I am a person who likes to speak plainly with the window open; I believe Head of the Murong family should understand my meaning."

Hu Rui'an squinted his eyes slightly, yet spoke while looking at the Lady Murong before him.

His implied meaning was very clear: he had come for the matter of Shengzhou and for the task entrusted by Commander Fu Qiwen.

Upon hearing this, Lady Murong did not seem surprised; she nodded lightly and said:

"Brother Qiwen has already sent me a letter explaining the situation. Before my lord Hu arrived, I also sent people to investigate the reasons behind this."

Speaking thus, Lady Murong turned her head to look at her second son, Murong Zhen, beside her; the other party immediately took a letter out from his sleeve.

He then stood up and, following the yellow pearwood table before him, handed it over to Hu Rui'an's side.

"This is a letter I had someone secretly intercept, which Zhu Ziming, the Governor of Shengzhou, secretly sent out. After my lord Hu reads it, he will understand some of the truths within."

Lady Murong signaled for Hu Rui'an to open the letter; upon hearing this, Hu Rui'an glanced at Li Musheng beside him, immediately seeking the other party's opinion.

However, Li Musheng merely waved his hand, obviously having no interest in the matter; he simply continued drinking his morning tea on his own, letting them handle it themselves.

Seeing this, Hu Rui'an took the letter, opened it, and after a quick scan, his eyebrows immediately furrowed.

"A provincial governor secretly reporting to the Falling God Peak, detailing all orders and movements of the Shengzhou Tianjin Guard, reporting to the other party in every detail?"

Hu Rui'an's face looked somewhat ugly; before coming to Shengzhou, the situation he knew was that Zhu Ziming and Mei Yan had close private dealings with the Falling God Peak.

But he did not expect the real situation to be far more serious than he imagined; Zhu Ziming leaking such important secrets now is almost equivalent to being a traitor and criminal of the court.

Additionally, there is another more important matter: the affairs of the Tianjin Guard are something Zhu Ziming, as a provincial governor, has no right to participate in.

But judging from the content of the letter before him, the other party seems to know the affairs of the Tianjin Guard almost inside out; this obviously also involves the Vice Prefect of the Tianjin Guard, Mei Yan.

And this also means that Mei Yan may have also betrayed the court.

However, Hu Rui'an still did not rush to draw a conclusion in his heart; after all, Mei Yan's sister is the current Queen of Great Li, and the entire Mei family's foundation lies in the Imperial Capital.

From any aspect, the other party had no reason to betray the Great Li court.

"Regarding Governor Zhu Ziming, this is some of the situation our Murong family could learn; as for that Vice Prefect of the Tianjin Guard, I also sent people to investigate."

Lady Murong saw all of Hu Rui'an's reactions and continued speaking:

"But since a ghostly incident occurred within the Tianjin Guard, Mei Yan has basically not appeared again, and the Mei residence has become extremely rare in dealings with those outside the provincial city; therefore, we have not yet found concrete evidence linking them to the Falling God Peak."

Upon hearing this, Hu Rui'an fell silent for a moment, then put away the letter in his hand and said:

"Last night I went to the Mei residence; it is said that Mei Yan suffered deeply from the ghostly incident, to the extent that the affairs of the Shengzhou Tianjin Guard were all handed over to his son to handle."

Lady Murong nodded lightly and said:

"I have also heard of this matter, but the Mei residence has been acting far too cautiously recently, almost watertight; whether the matter is truly so, our Murong family cannot ascertain."

Speaking thus, he slowly shook his head again and said:

"I believe my lord Hu should also be able to see that our Murong family's current situation is not very good; at present, many martial arts families in the provincial city have begun to show a trend of uniting, attempting to erase our Murong family from the Jianghu Wu Lin."

"Even if I have the heart to assist Brother Qiwen, at present my strength is insufficient; the places where I can help are extremely limited."

Upon hearing these words, Hu Rui'an looked at Lady Murong; the other party's words were indeed spoken sincerely.

The Murong family's current predicament also seemed indeed to be so; regarding this, he did not wish to say too much.

And now, he had another important matter to do: to deal with Zhu Ziming in a timely manner.

The matter of Shengzhou naturally was not only related to Zhu Ziming, but there were too many things to do at present; for the others, there was no clue, so the only thing he could directly act upon and dispose of now was this matter concerning Zhu Ziming.

And with the letter in hand, plus the imperial order from the Commander, and with Li Musheng, this Eighth Imperial Prince, he would have no problem executing him first and reporting later.

Of course, Hu Rui'an naturally understood that disposing of Zhu Ziming was secondary; the key was to learn more useful clues from him.

Thinking thus, Hu Rui'an looked at Li Musheng sitting nearby.

And as soon as he noticed the gaze cast upon him, Li Musheng, who was drinking tea, raised an eyebrow; knowing the other party certainly had no good intentions, he simply pretended not to see.

Seeing that Li Musheng did not pay attention to him, Hu Rui'an hesitated for a while, then had to give up resentfully.

At this time, Lady Murong, who had seen all of Hu Rui'an's attitude towards Li Musheng, narrowed her eyes slightly, then suddenly clasped her hands and spoke:

"Eighth Imperial Prince must be visiting Shengzhou for the first time; why not let Xiaoya accompany Your Highness to tour the city today and experience the local customs different from the Imperial Capital?"

Upon hearing this, before Li Musheng could speak, Hu Rui'an's eyes lit up and he said:

"Your Highness, these two days are free from affairs; strolling around is quite good; after all, who knows when there will be another chance to come to this place?"

Li Musheng glanced at the other party, thought for a moment, and did not say much, merely nodding lightly.

This trip to Falling Spirit Peak, though mostly spent on the road, was something Li Musheng had actually intended to use for traveling the Jianghu, taking in sights along the way.

Of course, he did not expose Hu Ruian's little scheme.

The other party likely wanted him to leave Murong Fu because he dared not leave Li Musheng's side, yet still wished to handle the matter of Zhu Ziming.

At this moment, seeing Li Musheng agree, Murong Hong turned and beckoned to Murong Xiaoya in the corner.

Seeing this, Murong Xiaoya obediently walked over.

Murong Hong gave the other party a few instructions, then sent Murong Zhen to find several experts from the manor to accompany them.

However, just then, a sudden burst of hurried footsteps echoed from outside the hall.

Next, an armored soldier quickly entered the hall and, with an urgent expression, reported:

"House Head, we just received news that Bai Li Changfeng has suddenly allied with the three great families in the city, sending thousands of soldiers marching toward us; it appears they intend to surround and annihilate the Murong family."

Upon hearing this, Murong Hong's face immediately darkened, and those around him, including Murong Zhen, all changed expression in unison.

"Father, as far as I know, Han Chuiyuan has no intention of going to war with the Murong family recently; now that Bai Li Changfeng has suddenly acted, it is highly likely due to the death at Bai Li Wei."

Murong Feng spoke with flashing eyes; Murong Hong glanced at the other party, pondered for a moment, then ordered:

"Immediately mobilize the soldiers under your command to guard every part of the manor; however, without my order, do not engage the enemy outside the manor for now."

Then, he looked at Murong Zhen and said:

"Zhen'er, immediately transmit my order: everyone in the manor must be ready for orders from this moment on; if the situation becomes uncontrollable, we will have no choice but to act early."

After giving all these instructions, Murong Hong finally looked at Li Musheng, clasped his hands, and said:

"Your Highness, the situation has changed; for everyone's safety, please remain in the manor for now. Once I have dealt with the current matter, I will have my daughter take Your Highness to tour the city."

Having said this, Murong Hong did not say anything more, immediately took his leave, and departed the hall with the rest of the Murong family.

However, Hu Ruian's expression shifted, signaling Shen Anran to quietly pull Murong Xiaoya, who was walking at the very back of the group.

"Your Highness, there is no need for us to get involved in the struggle between the Murong and Bai Li families; it would be better to leave Murong Fu first and take refuge in the city."

Hu Ruian suggested this to Li Musheng without a blush or a racing heart.

Upon hearing this, Li Musheng glanced at the other party, then patted his shoulder and sighed:

"Lord Hu is truly diligent and responsible in completing the mission regarding Sheng Zhou."

Having said this, he said nothing more and walked toward the hall's exit.

Seeing this, Hu Ruian was slightly stunned, then immediately hurriedly called for Shen Anran and the others to follow.

As for Wu Shang and Cheng Zhong, they needed no such call or reminder; the moment Li Musheng left, the two of them stuck to his side like leeches.

The halted Murong Xiaoya kept her head down, walking beside Shen Anran; after hesitating for a while, she could not help but timidly ask:

"Does Your Highness still need me to guide him through the city?"

Shen Anran held her hand and said seriously:

"Xiaoya, your Murong family's current situation is not good; staying in the manor is not as safe as being by Your Highness's side, so come with us."

Upon hearing this, Murong Xiaoya neither agreed nor refused, simply letting herself be swept along to follow.

Of course, she was not worried about the Murong family in her heart.

Although the current Murong family is not as prosperous as in the past, a skinny camel is still bigger than a horse.

It is almost impossible for the other martial arts families in the city to take down the Murong family in a short time.

As for whether there is danger in following Li Musheng, that need not be worried about at all.

So, she still remembered her father Murong Hong's instructions: first follow along and complete her task.

The group left the hall, prepared for a short while, and then planned to leave Murong Fu.

However, this time it was Cao Gaoshan's turn to look utterly stunned; the position of carriage driver, originally his, had been snatched by Wu Shang and Cheng Zhong.

Now he had become the person riding the horse at the front to lead the way.

Inside the carriage, four people sat somewhat cramped.

Hu Ruian's bulky body sat on one side; opposite him sat Li Musheng and Shen Anran; Murong Xiaoya, as before, huddled in the corner where she usually stayed.

"Miss Murong, how can you guide us if you stay there? Come sit here instead."

Li Musheng raised an eyebrow, looked at the hunched-necked Murong Xiaoya, then reached out and patted the seat beside him.

Upon hearing this, Murong Xiaoya instinctively shook her head.

But after thinking for a moment, she seemed to feel Li Musheng's words were reasonable, so she carefully shifted her body and sat beside Li Musheng, her face completely flushed.

Li Musheng glanced at the other party's unease, simply shook his head; next, the two carriage drivers sitting in front urged the horses toward the exit of Murong Fu.

Since learning that several martial arts families in the city had united to attack the Murong family, the entire Murong Fu was now on full alert; rows of armored soldiers ran quickly through every part of the manor, and the figures of many Murong martial arts experts flashed by from time to time.

"The Sheng Zhou garrison is somewhat special; it is jointly composed of the Great Li court and local Jianghu families. This was one of the methods the court previously used to manage Jianghu forces."

"The Jianghu families provide silver to maintain the army; these soldiers obey the court's deployment, serving in wars between Great Li and surrounding dynasties; however, these families simultaneously hold the right to rule over the soldiers."

Inside the carriage, Hu Ruian, seeing the scene outside through the window, took the initiative to start a topic and explained the situation of Sheng Zhou to Li Musheng.

"The Murong family is the number one martial arts family in Sheng Zhou; when their power was at its peak, their contribution to the military reached forty percent, the other martial arts families shared ten percent, and the Great Li court held fifty percent."

"However, as the Murong family declined, their influence in the military now stands at less than twenty percent; this means they can now mobilize less than twenty percent of the Sheng Zhou garrison."

As Hu Ruian spoke, he glanced at Murong Xiaoya.

After sitting beside Li Musheng, she began earnestly leaning her head toward the window to direct Cao Gaoshan and the others.

The guards of Murong Fu, upon seeing her, did not block them and simply let the group out of Murong Fu.

(End of this chapter)