Chapter 160: I will not only beat you, but I will also raid your Right General

"Do it!"

"Take down this person who is impersonating the Xuanwu Mirror Master!"

"And those who are disguised as Embroidered Attire Envoys!"

Wu Xiqing gritted her teeth and said sternly.

"Yes."

The personal guards of the General's mansion, having received the order, responded and were ready to pounce on Li Tan and the others, intending to capture them as quickly as possible.

"Wait!"

Just as they were about to explode into action, Li Tan suddenly raised his hand, changed his face, and smiled, "No need for that. Resistance is futile; we will just surrender..."

The arrogant and fearless look disappeared without a trace in an instant.

Replaced by compliance and compromise...

"You are so sensible?"

Wu Xiqing was confused, looking at Li Tan, who seemed like a different person, puzzled and surprised.

She didn't expect that the dignified Xuanwu Mirror Master of the Mingjing Si would be a person who was tough on the outside but weak on the inside, lacking even the courage to fight to the death...

But for some reason, she always felt there was something fishy about it.

"Of course!"

Hearing this, Li Tan did not hesitate at all, admitting it decisively.

He paused, changed the subject, and continued, "By the way, Lady, do you know who my big brother is?"

"Your big brother?"

"You still have an older brother?"

Wu Xiqing was startled, her beautiful eyebrows slightly furrowed, and she muttered.

If she remembered correctly, Li Tan was the eldest son in the family, and the legitimate son at that. Where did this big brother come from?

"My big brother's surname is Chen, with the given name Yan, the Zhuque Mirror Master!"

Li Tan clapped his hands, as if he didn't know his own situation, blinked, and introduced him with great interest.

He paused and gave a friendly hint: "He is a person who is most careful and cautious in his work, and he will leave behind various contingency plans for all kinds of unexpected situations..."

"Chen Yan?!"

"What do you mean?"

Hearing this name, Wu Xiqing keenly realized that something was wrong, became alert, and guarded, "What do you mean?"

Living in Chang'an, how could one not have heard of that Great Zhou Poetry Immortal, the young general who quelled the rebellion in Qinzhou?

Especially at a juncture like this, Li Tan would never mention an irrelevant person for no reason...

At the same time.

A wisp of white mist quietly seeped into the room.

The mist was like the thin frost condensed on a river in the winter morning, light and almost transparent.

Yet, the moment it touched the candlelight, it glowed with a pearl-like luster.

It was as if someone had sprinkled a handful of fine powder ground from moonlight in mid-air.

"Where did this white smoke come from?"

Several of the personal guards saw this and expressed their confusion.

"Quickly hold your breath, this white smoke has a problem... Ugh!"

One of the personal guards keenly sensed the anomaly and immediately called out to warn them.

But before he could finish speaking, his legs went soft, and he fell down powerlessly.

Immediately after, the personal guards, who had been broad-shouldered and strong, collapsed to the ground one by one.

This also included Liu Bingzhong and the others from the Jingzhao Prefecture, as well as Wu Xiqing and the servants of the General's mansion.

"This white smoke is a muscle-relaxing drug!"

"It's too late..."

Zhang Yinxian was slow to react, judging the source of the white smoke through the medicinal power, but it was to no avail.

The medicinal power was too strong and fierce, making it impossible for anyone to react.

"Wrong!"

Liu Bingzhong, who had fallen to the ground, noticed the few people who were still standing as before, full of disbelief, and puzzled, "Why is Li Tan okay?"

"Still standing there perfectly fine..."

Liu Bingzhong was a bit dumbfounded.

They were not affected in the slightest.

It was as if the muscle-relaxing drug had no effect on them at all.

After a long while, until everyone in the room was lying flat, Li Tan answered Wu Xiqing's previous question: "It doesn't mean anything!"

"This Mirror Master was just purely stalling for time..."

"And by the way, I'll give you a reminder: don't say I didn't warn you!"

As he spoke, he walked to Wu Xiqing, shook his head from a high position, and mocked her, which was extremely humiliating.

"Li, you actually used poison?!"

"Shameless to the extreme!"

Wu Xiqing, who was lying on the ground, glared at Li Tan and cursed weakly.

Who could have imagined that the situation, which was originally completely favorable, would be reversed in an instant?

And in such a bottomless way!

Truly shameless!

"Let me correct you, the one who used poison is not Li!"

Li Tan shrugged, held up a finger, and said meaningfully.

It wasn't that he, Li, was truly that upright and disdained using such low-level methods as poisoning...

It was simply that he couldn't produce such a strong and effective poison!

"Actually, it was me."

An admission drifted in from outside.

Immediately after, a handsome and tall young man, leading several Embroidered Attire Envoys, walked into the room and appeared in everyone's sight.

"Chen... Lord Chen Yan?!"

Because he had dealt with him at Chunman Lou last time, Liu Bingzhong recognized the newcomer's identity at a glance and wondered, "Why did he come too..."

A moment later, a bold and strange guess surfaced in his heart:

Could he have been here the whole time?

Suddenly, Liu Bingzhong felt a chill down his spine...

"Zhuque Mirror Master Chen Yan, Yuwen Hu's most loyal and capable hound!" Wu Xiqing looked at Chen Yan, whose face was gradually becoming clear, and said in a deep voice.

Since the Great Zhou Poetry Immortal became famous in Chang'an, portraits of this person had long been snatched up by noble ladies of aristocratic families.

Out of curiosity, Wu Xiqing had also bought one...

The real person was even more heroic than in the portrait.

"Slap!"

"Ah!"

Along with the crisp sound of a slap, there was also Wu Xiqing's painful scream.

"My Lady!" Steward Zheng and the others saw this and shouted.

"Is the Grand Chancellor's name something you can call directly?" Chen Yan, who was pinching Wu Xiqing's neck and had just finished slapping her, said expressionlessly and coldly.

Never mind calling him a hound; it didn't matter what she called him, Chen Yan.

But daring to call the Grand Chancellor by his name and daring to be disrespectful to him, that was just asking for a slap.

"Chen Yan, you dare to hit me!!"

Wu Xiqing's brain was buzzing from the slap, and she questioned him angrily.

"I will not only beat you, but I will also raid your Right General's mansion!"

"Exterminate the Shangguan clan to the third degree!"

Chen Yan threw Wu Xiqing to the ground casually, glanced at her, and said nonchalantly.

If he wasn't raiding the house, was he here to play house?

The "evidence" that Chen had carefully prepared was neither more nor less; it was just enough to exterminate the three clans!

"You dare!"

Wu Xiqing stiffened her neck, glared at Chen Yan, and said sternly, "I want to see the Old Zhao Lord!"

"He will preside over justice for my Shangguan clan!"

"Slap!"

Chen Yan did not speak; the only response to her was another slap.

"Don't daydream!"

"Even if the Heavenly King himself comes, he can't save your Shangguan clan!"

Li Tan stepped forward at the right time, added a kick, and mocked.

Chen Yan glanced at him from the corner of his eye, his eyes full of appreciation.

This kid's acting was good; not only did he completely confirm Shangguan Jun's guilt, but he also provoked Wu Xiqing into committing an even greater crime, allowing him to play freely...

Every bit of benefit given to the Xuanwu Guard was not spent in vain!

Song Fei appeared outside the door and reported, "My lord, the culprit who poisoned General Shangguan and Lord Liang has been caught!"

"Bring him up!" Chen Yan beckoned.

A moment later.

A person dressed as a cook, about thirty-seven or thirty-eight years old, was brought into the room by two Embroidered Attire Envoys.

"Su Mancang?" Wu Xiqing recognized who the person was at a glance.

It was the head chef who had been working diligently in the Right General's mansion for more than ten years.

"My lord, I am wronged!"

"Wronged!"

"This humble servant truly didn't know that undercooked green beans are poisonous!"

Su Mancang, who was thrown to the ground, lay at Chen Yan's feet, kowtowing and worshiping, while constantly pleading his case.

"Whether you are wronged or not, only after an interrogation will we know..."

Chen Yan pursed his lips and said lightly, "Take him down and bring him back to the Mingjing Si!"

"As you command."

The two Embroidered Attire Envoys who brought Su Mancang in responded and acted, once again seizing him and taking him away.

"This was all planned by Chen Yan; why did he still have to do this?"

"..."

Liu Bingzhong, who witnessed this scene, was puzzled and fell into deep thought. Suddenly, his eyes lit up, as if he had been enlightened, and he secretly thought in his heart, "Poisoning from green beans is to round out the cause of Liang Qi's death!"

"Used to block the mouths of the common people and whitewash his traces in it!"

It wasn't taking off his pants to fart; there was a detailed response.

Shangguan Jun was saddled with guilt, and the cause of death didn't have to be investigated, but Liang Qi, who wasn't saddled with a hat, couldn't be ignored.

There had to be an explanation, and someone had to take the fall for his sudden death...

And that cook was an excellent choice!

Brilliant!

But are undercooked green beans really poisonous?

Li Tan reached out, lifted Wu Xiqing up, threw her to the Embroidered Attire Envoys on the side, and ordered, "Take our Lady Shangguan, as well as this group of bold personal guards and everyone in the mansion, back to the Mingjing Si!"

"Interrogate them well!"

The Embroidered Attire Envoys who received the order began to act extremely efficiently.

Not long after, all the "suspects" in the room were taken away.

"Prefect Liu has worked hard!"

Chen Yan walked to Liu Bingzhong, squatted down, offered a word of comfort, then raised his hand to lightly pat him on the shoulder, smiling playfully, and asked, "Do you think my Mingjing Si's way of handling the case tonight conforms to the Great Zhou Law?"

There is killing intent; is he beating me, or does he really have killing intent... Liu Bingzhong shuddered, staring at the gentleman who seemed harmless to humans and animals. ===== CHAPTER 161 =====