Chapter 15 Crisis
As night fell over the city, government offices and shops along the main streets lit up sky lanterns one after another.

The city gates had been open for two days, and the people who had been silent for a long time finally came out of their homes. The streets were also slowly filled with noise.

Zuiyinlou has also reopened and is now brightly lit.

The sound of harmonious music continued to come from the front building, but the back was much quieter than before.

In the warm room, the incense that was used at any time in the past had stopped burning. The stove was icy cold, and even the warm room was not warm at all.

"Reporting to Saint Princess, most of the sisters who were arranged to leave the city have successfully arrived at the secret post outside the city. Now that the city gates have been unsealed, there is almost no one searching."

After hearing the maid's report, Miao Chengtian breathed a sigh of relief.

She had been extremely worried these past two days and had intended to disperse and transfer the many assassins from Huanyinfang, but suddenly she received the news that Caozhou had been unsealed.

Right now, Zuiyinlou is also safe and sound. At least on the surface, it has not been closed down by the Xuanming Sect, and it can still open its doors to welcome customers.

Regardless of whether the Liang people had set any traps, it was enough for her to have the opportunity to transfer people safely.

"Are there any unusual movements inside or outside the city?"

"Nothing has been found yet, but news has come from the Jiyin Palace that the Jiyin Prince has reappeared, and the guards inside and outside the palace have been doubled."

"King of Jiyin?"

Miao Chengtian pinched his brows. He had been on guard against Xuanming Sect for the past two days and had temporarily forgotten about this matter. At the moment, it seemed that Xiao Yan was indeed a substitute pushed out by a certain force.

"Let's focus on this matter for now. Can you find out where Xuan Jingtian is being held?"

"For the past two days, the Second Lady has been staying in the residence of the Xuanming Sect's Huizhou leader..."

Miao Chengtian's heart sank slightly. She knew the habits of the insects of Xuanming Sect. If a beauty like Xuan Jingtian fell into their hands, she was afraid...

She clenched her fists, threw away these messy thoughts, and said in a deep voice: "Try to see if you can contact the leader of Huizhou. You must rescue Ze Xuan Jingtian before they send her to Bianliang!"

"Follow the order."

The maid bowed and left, leaving Miao Chengtian alone to stay in the room.

She was a little confused and kept pacing back and forth.

Right now, there is no hope for Prince Jiyin, and we can only try our best to rescue Xuan Jingtian first.

Otherwise, she would not be able to face returning to Fengxiang.

----

In the residential area next to the government office in Zuocheng, most of the residents are high-ranking officials and retired ministers.

The former residence of Zhu Liang's general Shi Shucong was located in this block, but at this time, the house had been converted into Jiyin Palace as the residence of Li Yu, the deposed emperor of the former Tang Dynasty.

The residence that the Caozhou Shogunate arranged for Xiao Yan was just one street away from the palace.

Inside the house, Xiao Yan was receiving his nominal subordinates.

The leader who originally belonged to Huizhou had been sent to the outskirts of the city. There were only five people in this house.

Two ghost soldiers who were extremely afraid of him served as guards at the door and hardly dared to step into the courtyard.

After seeing the subordinate who came to report left, Ji Ruxue took off the mask on her face, raised her eyebrows and said, "They will take action the day after tomorrow. Have you fallen into the trap?"

Xiao Yan sat in his seat, looking at the girl's bright and pretty face, and then he felt that the mask of the Xuanming Sect was really ugly.

He pondered for a moment and said, "That should be the case, otherwise they wouldn't have taken the deposed emperor out of the city at 3:00 pm the day after tomorrow. I guess they have figured out a way to spread the false news."

"What should we do? You haven't got the bad flag yet."

Ji Ruxue glanced at the movement outside and whispered, "Do you want me to contact Zuiyinlou and ask Shengji for help?"

Xiao Yan frowned, took off the fang mask on his face, and thought: "That's one aspect, but we can't rely on your Huanyinfang alone. There are still four Yama Kings and other hidden hands of the Xuanming Sect that I haven't seen yet. If I act rashly, there may be someone behind the scenes."

"What do you want to do?"

"You seemed to have told me before," Xiao Yan lowered his body, resting his elbows on his knees, and whispered, "Does the Jin State in the north also have secret agents in this city?"

"pretty close."

Ji Ruxue thought for a moment and said, "Prince Jin and Prince Qi are still allies at this time, and both of them support the Li Tang dynasty to fight against Zhu Wen. As for Prince Jiyin, Jin should also intervene."

"That's easy. I'll take you to Zuiyin Tower later. You can meet the lady there and ask her to find a way to spread the news."

"Are you trying to drag the Tongwenguan into the water?"

Ji Ruxue was shocked and stared at him with her almond-shaped eyes wide open.

Xiao Yan's eyes were fixed on the outside, and he smiled softly: "If the water is not muddy, how can we fish in it?"

After saying this, he stood up and said, "Let's go, follow me to listen to some music."

Ji Ruxue returned to her normal expression, but she was still full of admiration in her heart.

Through Xiao Yan, she finally saw what it meant to seize the initiative.

It's just like trying to catch chestnuts from the fire. As the two of them were about to leave, Xiao Yan suddenly paused.

Ji Ruxue then asked: "Is there anything else to prepare?"

Xiao Yan thought for a moment, put on the mask, and said, "Before going to Zuiyin Tower, we should also reveal our identities to your second wife."

The girl was delighted. She had wanted to reveal her identity to Xuan Jingtian for a long time, but Xiao Yan had been holding her back.

She took the lead and walked in front to lead the way.

This house has only two courtyards in total. Xuan Jingtian was locked in a room in the inner courtyard and had not eaten or drunk for two days.

It's not that she was not given food, she would rather starve to death than eat a bite of rice.

When he pushed open the door, he saw Xuan Jingtian sitting on the couch in a mess with his hands tied.

All the acupuncture points on her body were locked by Xiao Yan. Seeing the two men walking in, she could only stare at Xiao Yan with hatred with her beautiful eyes wide open.

Ji Ruxue hurriedly closed the door and wanted to go forward to untie her.

But Xiao Yan stretched out his hand to stop her, and then said with a smile: "Shengji, how do you feel these past two days?"

Xuan Jingtian was furious and his whole body was shaking.

But she was stunned immediately, and she noticed that Xiao Yan's voice was different from the previous two days.

"You!"

Ji Ruxue couldn't bear it any longer, pushed Xiao Yan's hand away, and ran over hurriedly.

"Shengji, it's me."

She moved her hands quickly and untied Xuan Jingtian's acupoints first.

The latter was already stunned. She was surprised and called out suspiciously, "Xue, Xue'er?"

"it's me!"

Ji Ruxue loosened the rope in two or three moves, and then took off the mask on her face.

The two looked at each other and were both overjoyed.

Xuan Jingtian was surprised and delighted. She hugged the girl tightly and cried, "How could it be you, how could it be you..."

Xiao Yan stood at the door with his arms folded across his chest, feeling suddenly bored.

He threw the mask on the table in the room and poured himself a cup of cold tea.

Over there, Xuan Jingtian stopped crying and burst into laughter, but she also felt a sense of fear as if she had survived a calamity.

In the past two days, she had already thought of a hundred possible outcomes for herself, but no matter how she thought about it, she thought it was worse than death.

She held Ji Ruxue's hand tightly and asked her anxiously about her unknown experiences in the past few days.

The girl was no longer as aloof as before. She spoke quickly and briefly described what had happened in the past few days.

After hearing the last part, Xuan Jingtian was greatly impressed.

She stood up and bowed solemnly to Xiao Yan.

"If it weren't for you, my dear, Xue'er and I would have been killed by our enemies..."

The latter waved his hand indifferently and said, "This is also due to Miss Ji's contribution. Without her, I wouldn't be so successful. We are all just helping each other."

"help each other……"

Xuan Jingtian recited this new word, looked at Ji Ruxue and said, "Ms. Xue'er should be credited with the great achievement, but my sister and I almost made a big mistake."

The girl was a little embarrassed and coughed lightly, with a blush on the tips of her ears.

"Okay, the reminiscing is over. I still need Saint Ji's help with something."

"I will do my best!"

Xiao Yan returned Xuan Jingtian's longbow to her, and then said: "Due to the current situation, please stay here for a day."

The latter knew that Ji Ruxue and the other two were also pretending to be members of the Xuanming Sect, and they could not let her go at will in a short period of time, so he nodded and said, "Of course it is so."

"The day after tomorrow, the city's garrison will be empty."

Xiao Yan stood up, dipped his hand in the tea, drew a sketch on the table, and said, "I need Shengji to attack the Jiyin Palace at the hour of Mao."

Ji Ruxue was standing nearby and was immediately shocked.

Xuan Jingtian frowned, still a little confused.

Xiao Yan picked up the mask on the table and briefly introduced the current situation and Xuanming Sect's plan. He then said, "I concluded that the one who left the city as bait was a fake King Jiyin."

"And if it's true, then Saint Ji needs to go and invite him out personally."

(End of this chapter)