Chapter 298: Practicing martial arts for so many years, it

At this moment,

someone outside the door said in Bai Gao language, "Minister, the Chief Envoy says the Great Zhou Emperor has sent someone to summon the Chief and Deputy Envoys into the palace."

Hearing this, Jin Chuihuan buried his head deeper into his arms.

"Hmm! Understood."

"Yes."

The man let out a long breath and said, "Get up! Go wash your face."

"Yes!"

Jin Chuihuan stood up and walked out of the room backward.

In the room, the man looked at the closed door, shook his head, walked to the couch, looked at the chessboard, and said in a voice almost impossible to hear, "Meifeng, it seems there's no chance to catch up with you!"

"Someone come!"

The door was opened: "Minister!"

"Change clothes."

"Yes!"

After a while, the man, dressed in the formal attire of a Bai Gao Kingdom envoy, walked out of the room and came to the side of the Bai Gao Kingdom Chief Envoy, saying:

"Be prepared. This morning, not only did the Li brothers not die, but everyone who has infiltrated Bianjing in the past half year is also gone."

The Bai Gao Kingdom Chief Envoy stared at the man in disbelief, his face turning ashen.

Quyuanjie.

Marquis Yongyi's Mansion main gate.

An Imperial City Department clerk who often followed Zhao Meifeng walked over from the courtyard.

"Yunqing, Chief Zhao wants those two to go over."

"Pan Chen, what do you think Chief Zhao means?"

The slightly chubby Pan Chen sighed, shook his head, and said, "Old Gao, you'll know once you go in with them."

After saying this, Pan Chen turned and walked toward the courtyard.

Soon, a group of four passed by Li Chimei, who was blocking the second gate,

and arrived at the spacious racecourse courtyard.

Gao Yunqing looked at the neatly arranged men in black, let out a painful sigh, turned his head, and closed his eyes.

The two who had just been struck on the arm by Zhao Meifeng's scabbard looked at this scene, their eyes full of surprise, and then lowered their heads in resignation.

Walking to Zhao Meifeng's side, Zhao Meifeng raised his chin slightly.

The two immediately knelt on the frozen-hard ground.

Xu Zaijing, who was sitting at the hut entrance wiping his armor with a towel, looked up at them.

The two watched Zhao Meifeng walk over slowly, pulling out his waist sword as he walked. One of them said:

"Young Master Jing! I'm sorry! Chief Zhao! I'm sorry!"

The other also said, "Young Master Jing! We failed in our duty! Chief Zhao! I'm sorry!"

Zhao Meifeng had already pulled out his waist sword and looked into their eyes, saying, "Good! Let's be brothers again in the next life!"

"In the next life, let's be brothers again!"

Gao Yunqing on the side just wanted to speak but was pulled by the arm by Pan Chen, who shook his head.

Zhao Meifeng walked in front of the two and placed the blade of his waist sword on one of their necks, just about to exert force...

"Brother Zhao!"

"Enough people have died in this place today! Why don't you..."

Hearing Xu Zaijing's words, a light appeared in Gao Yunqing's eyes on the side.

"Why don't you take them back to kill them?"

The light in Gao Yunqing's eyes dimmed again.

As Xu Zaijing spoke, he looked into the eyes of the two kneeling on the ground.

Seeing no resentment in their eyes, he nodded secretly in his heart.

Zhao Meifeng, who had his back to Xu Zaijing, also paused, then raised his chin again and said, "Take them back to the Department!"

Gao Yunqing and Pan Chen hurriedly walked behind their two companions and helped them up.

Zhao Meifeng sheathed his waist sword and turned to walk toward Xu Zaijing.

Xu Zaijing put the wiped armor to the side, sat on a small stool, and kept silent while watching the two Imperial City Department clerks being taken away.

Zhao Meifeng on the side also felt a bit awkward and didn't speak either.

By the time the four had just left the racecourse courtyard,

at the entrance,

Qingyun ran over with a solemn expression.

Xu Zaijing looked up at Zhao Meifeng on the side and said, "Brother Zhao, these two wearing guard uniforms look familiar. Have they been to Chuzhou?"

Zhao Meifeng squatted down and looked at Xu Zaijing: "Yes, when attacking the gate courtyard, they... they were responsible for beating drums and gongs to cover the sound."

Xu Zaijing curled his lips: "Why didn't you say they attacked the courtyard with us?"

Zhao Meifeng coughed embarrassedly.

"Looking at their age, they should have families, right?"

Xu Zaijing asked while looking at Zhao Meifeng. Zhao Meifeng said with a solemn expression:

"Hmm, both have parents. The first one who spoke just now has a son and a daughter, and the other has two daughters."

"They have also been practicing martial arts since childhood."

Xu Zaijing looked at Qingyun running over, turned his head to look into Zhao Meifeng's eyes, and said, "Brother Zhao, for such a dereliction of duty, I will not plead for them."

Zhao Meifeng closed his eyes and nodded.

"But..."

Zhao Meifeng's eyes shone brightly, and he looked at Xu Zaijing abruptly.

"But, to die just like this is a pity."

Xu Zaijing turned his head and said, "Qingyun."

Qingyun, who had run close, bowed and looked at Xu Zaijing: "Young Master! I shouldn't have..."

Xu Zaijing waved his hand, signaling Qingyun not to speak, and looked at him, saying, "Pick two swords and send them to the people you meet."

"Yes, Young Master!"

Qingyun walked to the side and picked from the spoils of war.

Then Xu Zaijing looked at Zhao Meifeng again and said:

"Brother Zhao, let them go under my father's command! When they have collected enough enemy heads equal to the number of assassins, then this matter will be considered settled."

After saying this, Xu Zaijing tilted his head, no longer looking at Zhao Meifeng, stood up, picked up the cleaned armor, and walked to the side.

Zhao Meifeng looked at Xu Zaijing's back and nodded heavily: "Good!"

At this moment, Qingyun, who had picked out a long sword, walked over, turned his head to look at his young master who had his back turned, and said softly:

"Brother Zhao, let's go."

"Go."

Just after walking two steps,

"Brother Zhao!"

Zhao Meifeng turned back to look at Xu Zaijing, who had already turned around.

"If possible, save the flogging for later, wait until they return to carry out the punishment, so as not to delay going to the north."

Zhao Meifeng nodded and said:

"Good!"

Marquis Yongyi's Mansion main gate.

Pan Chen: "You are all old hands who followed Chief Zhao, how could you two be so???"

One of the men who made the mistake sighed and said, "We've been stable for too long, it was our own negligence."

After Pan Chen finished speaking, he shook his head and said:

"Don't blame others for not pleading for you two. If it were someone else, it would be a major incident and would implicate your families!"

The two nodded, their eyes full of deathly stillness.

"Chief Zhao didn't even say a word to plead with Young Master Jing."

Hearing Gao Yunqing's words, Pan Chen clicked his tongue.

The other man who made the mistake said:

"Chief Zhao let us go in, one is to let us die with a clear understanding, and the other is to let Young Master Jing remember the old friendship."

"Before at the Jin Yang Mountain stronghold, I also carried out family law, I understand all this."

Gao Yunqing said, angry at their failure to meet expectations, "Sigh! Let's go!"

Pan Chen on the side said, "Don't worry, Chief Zhao and we will take care of your families in the future."

As he spoke, the four turned sideways to let the several flatbed carts enter the gate.

"Gentlemen, wait a moment!"

Hearing Qingyun's voice, the four turned their heads to look.

Looking at Zhao Meifeng, who still had a straight face, and the two swords in Qingyun's hands, Pan Chen sighed.

Soon,

the tightly covered carts left Quyuanjie.

At this moment, Nanny Fang pinched her handkerchief and walked in from outside the door with her head lowered. Looking at the Old Madam's expectant gaze, Nanny Fang said with a smile:

Gao Yunqing and Pan Chen also brought the two men in.

The two swords brought from the Xu family were placed on the table. Zhao Meifeng sat behind the table, looked at Gao and Pan Chen who followed in, and said, "Give the swords to them!"

After drawing the swords, one said, "To be able to die under such good swords, that's not bad!"

"Clatter!"

The stack of books on the table was thrown over by Zhao Meifeng.

It happened to hit the two men's faces.

Zhao Meifeng pointed at the two and said, "Pack your bags, roll to the northern front today, and don't talk to me until you have collected thirty enemy heads with these swords!!"

In the somewhat dazed expressions of the two,

Gao Yunqing and Pan Chen looked at each other, their faces full of ecstasy, and said, "Deaf? Why don't you thank Chief Zhao!"

"Thank my ass! You two bird-sucking things, hurry up and roll!"

Pan Chen hurriedly pulled the two and said, "Go, go, go!"

End of the Chen hour (after 9:00 AM).

Marquis Yongyi's Mansion.

The racecourse was already very clean.

The only two changes were that several patches of wall plaster had been scraped off, and a large area near the wall had been replaced with soil.

Xu Zaijing entered the greenhouse and, with Qingyun's help, washed his face and the red spots on his neck again.

After stepping over the fire basin prepared in the kitchen several times,

he returned to the inner courtyard.

Arriving at his mother's courtyard,

amidst the announcement of the maid, Xu Zaijing lowered his head and passed through the cotton curtain into the room.

"Jing'er, what is going on?"

Madam Sun asked, and the others in the room also looked at him.

Xu Zaijing smiled and said:

"There were five or six blind thieves who climbed over the wall into our house this morning. Two were pounced on by the big dogs, and I happened to be practicing archery and hit two..."

"It was all bloody, and I was afraid of scaring the maids and nannies in the inner courtyard, so I didn't let them go over."

Looking at Madam Sun, who was glancing at him with an expression of disbelief,

Xu Zaijing chuckled.

"Tell the truth!"

Xu Zaijing heard Madam Sun's words and looked at the maids on the side.

Cuichan, Nanny Zhu, and others saw Xu Zaijing's look and tactfully retreated.

"Cough, the Li brothers identified them, saying they were people from the Bai Gao Kingdom."

"How many?"

"Uh... eleven, twelve... thirteen, fourteen!"

Xie Shi and Hualan looked at each other in surprise.

After hearing Xu Zaijing's count, Madam Sun glanced at him and said:

"Hmm, that's more like it! Who did you ask to handle it?"

"The Imperial City Department."

"Hmm, that's right!"

"Still, go and invite some monks and Daoist priests."

"The child has already sent people to invite them."

Madam Sun nodded: "It is only right to take care of the families of those who work for our family! Sigh!"

"After all this commotion this morning, no one has eaten well, eat some more!"

Xu Zaijing nodded repeatedly.

The maids were summoned in. After finishing breakfast, Xu Zaijing returned to his courtyard.

Anmei was accompanying Hualan doing needlework in Madam Sun's warm room.

Looking at her mother-in-law and sister-in-law teasing her grandson not far away,

Hualan whispered, "Anmei, how come you didn't look surprised when you heard about Fifth Young Master just now?"

Because Hualan was pregnant, Anmei rarely held the cat recently.

"Second Sister-in-law, you don't know what he did during the Lantern Festival when he was ten..."

Great Zhou Imperial Palace.

The Bai Gao Kingdom's Chief and Deputy Envoys, along with the translator, walked through the spacious palace against the north wind under the guidance of an eunuch.

After walking for a while, they arrived in front of a large hall.

Outside the large hall,

there was still wind in the shadows where there was no sunlight,

and it was even colder than on the road.

"Please wait a moment, Envoys!"

The eunuch said this and went in to report.

The Bai Gao Chief and Deputy Envoys bowed slightly and waited in the shadows.

After a while,

a man dressed in Northern Liao style walked out under the guidance of an eunuch and walked to one side.

The Northern Liao man curiously scanned the two, and when he came back to enter the hall, he looked at them again.

After another while, the Jin Kingdom envoy, whom Xu Zaijing had met twice, also walked out.

He also scanned the two of them,

said something in a gibberish language,

and the accompanying Jin Kingdom translator said, "Eunuch, he asks why these two are not going in to wait."

"This servant does not know."

They waited outside for another hour,

and the golden-armored warriors had been changed three times.

When the Bai Gao Kingdom envoys felt their hands and feet were cold,

the envoys from Northern Liao and the Jin Kingdom walked out, somewhat at odds with each other.

Just when they thought it was their turn, they waited for another half hour before an eunuch came to the hall entrance and said:

"Come in, the translator doesn't need to follow."

The two entered the large hall and felt a wave of heat rushing toward them, making their faces and hands feel much more comfortable.

After crossing a door, the eunuch flicked his horsetail whisk and said:

"The Chief Envoy follow this eunuch in, the Deputy Envoy wait here."

The Bai Gao Kingdom envoys separated.

The Deputy Envoy followed the eunuch into the corridor on the right. Stepping on the carpet, this Bai Gao Kingdom Deputy Envoy took a deep breath.

After walking dozens of steps, the eunuch stopped at the door: "Please."

The Deputy Envoy nodded, exhaled, and pushed the door open to enter.

The door was closed.

The man looked at Zhao Meifeng, who was sitting uneasily in the room, and said somewhat puzzled, "Master didn't beat you?"

Zhao Meifeng didn't speak, his eyes full of the person in front of him, looking carefully at his eyebrows and eyes.

Zhao Meifeng walked a few steps quickly and hugged him: "Eldest Senior Brother!"

Then he patted the man's back hard. The man patted Zhao Meifeng's back three times, and then the two separated.

The man, who was Zhao Taifeng, asked with a smile:

"Where is E Feng?"

Zhao Meifeng shook his head and said, "Dead, I sent him away with my own hands."

Taifeng froze, then said in a deep voice, "He was quick-witted and unwilling to be under others. Did he defect to someone?"

Zhao Meifeng nodded.

"Is Master's health still good?"

Zhao Meifeng looked up at him and said:

"Good! Since the Department was reused, Master's spirit and health have been much better than before."

"Eldest Senior Brother, what is your position in the Chuihuan Department now?"

Taifeng smiled and said, "Equivalent to your position."

Zhao Meifeng widened his eyes in surprise and asked, "Second-in-command of the Chuihuan Department?"

Taifeng nodded and said, "Now the Liang family is in power in the Bai Gao Kingdom. The nominal head is Liang Yiren, and I hold the second seat."

Zhao Meifeng said, "Eldest Senior Brother, Empress Liang was assassinated, do you know how..."

Taifeng said, "I planned it."

Zhao Meifeng: "Oh."

After saying this, Zhao Meifeng stood up, walked quickly to the door of another room to check, and then walked back quickly.

"Eldest Senior Brother!"

Looking at Zhao Meifeng's solemn appearance, Taifeng looked at him with slight confusion.

"There is an unverified piece of news regarding Yu Jie'er..."

Taifeng's gaze suddenly sharpened. Yu Jie'er was his daughter.

"What's wrong? Have you found her burial place?"

Hearing his senior brother's tone, Zhao Meifeng shook his head with an awkward expression:

"There is a young girl who might be her bloodline."

Taifeng looked at Zhao Meifeng, his eyes filled with an unclear meaning.

Zhao Meifeng looked at the door that had just been closed, and then said in an extremely low voice:

"Eldest Senior Brother, besides me, you are the third person to know about this."

Taifeng said indifferently, "The other one is Master?"

Zhao Meifeng looked into his senior brother's eyes and shook his head: "No."

Seeing the surprise in the depths of Zhao Taifeng's eyes, Zhao Meifeng smiled.

"The specifics will need you, Senior Brother, to verify yourself."

"Also, who is the other person who knows? Can't you say?"

Zhao Meifeng looked at him and said, "It's not the Emperor."

"The little girl is now in Jiying Lane, at the home of Lord Sheng of the Ministry of Personnel, and is a personal maid to a concubine-born daughter."

"When Senior Brother has time, I will ask Fifth Young Master of the Marquis Yongyi family to help you take a look."

Taifeng nodded and then looked at his junior brother:

"Marquis Yongyi Xu family? This morning, the most powerful batch of Bai Gao experts all perished in his house."

Zhao Meifeng looked at Taifeng's appearance and exclaimed, "They really arrived at the right time."

Taifeng: "It wasn't arranged by me..."

Zhao Meifeng froze.

At this moment, the closed door was pushed open,

and the elderly Zhao Zilong walked in.

Looking at Zhao Taifeng, he said softly, "You've suffered a lot, haven't you?"

Zhao Taifeng smiled, his nose felt slightly sore, and he bowed and cupped his hands:

"Master!"

As he spoke, his hand reached into his sleeve.

The Bai Gao Kingdom Chief and Deputy Envoys had already left the palace.

In the study,

the Emperor looked at the transcribed copy in his hand,

a detailed map of the only remaining horse-grazing land in the Bai Gao Kingdom outside of Xingqing Prefecture,

with the troop deployment, troop types, and information on some Bai Gao generals marked in the blank spaces.

"Good, good, good!"

The Emperor nodded and said.

"Send it to Marquis Tuoxi and Marquis Yongyi, let them use it as a reference."

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 299 =====