Chapter 236 Sword (III)
When Xiao Yan returned to Shengping Tower, he still went to the locker room to wash his hands. At the same time, he hung up the sachet that Ji Ruxue had sewed for him to cover up the scent of Zhang Zhenniang's rouge on his body.

If he only had one official robe, changing clothes would be the safest thing to do. However, he didn't think anyone would come to smell his scent on purpose, so it would be fine to do this.

He had indeed figured out why Zhang Zhenniang was looking for him.

This woman wanted to eat him and she didn't even try to hide it. She seemed to want to cultivate Xiao Yan as her lover.

Although she didn't know where she got the confidence from, she might be proud of her beauty, or she felt that the little power she got from Zhu Wen was enough to make Xiao Yan willing to do this, or she might just be stupid and really thought that Xiao Yan admired her...

Of course, there is another purpose. Maybe the Hades sent her here, and she mixed the Hades' mission with her private thoughts. That way, she could sleep with Xiao Yan and complete the instructions of the little dwarf at the same time. It's the best of both worlds. Isn't it wonderful?

However, if he could use her, Xiao Yan would be willing to fall for this beauty trap.

He never minded having sex with a woman, and he didn't even think his body was noble, but he wouldn't go to bed just for the sake of having sex. This wasn't to say that he was very self-disciplined, because for him, sex was always a means to an end, but never the end itself.

As long as the goal can be achieved, this kind of thing is not a big deal.

However, there is a prerequisite. Even if it is to achieve the goal, he will not just become a concubine who can be discarded at will. Instead, he wants the other party to be willing and even happy for it even if she knows that he goes to bed with her for power.

Sometimes, playing hard to get is very particular about the target. For example, Xiao Yan himself, handsome appearance is one thing, and young fame is another, but more importantly, if you can get him, you will have a kind of vanity that only women understand.

If the Marquis of Champion, who is admired by all the women in the city, becomes her lover, this matter itself is a pleasant thing. Therefore, even if Xiao Yan is cautious and unwilling to give in easily, Zhang Zhenniang will only think that she is trying to conquer the Marquis of Champion step by step, and will not realize that she has fallen into a trap of playing hard to get.

Even if you realize it, what can you do?

In people’s subconscious mind, things that cannot be obtained must be the best.

……

Xiao Yan entered the hall with washed hands, and Tian Er in the corner finally breathed a sigh of relief. He didn't know who Xiao Yan had just met, and even sneaked out to look for him. After not seeing Xiao Yan, he almost thought that he had not led the way well. But now seeing Xiao Yan's indifferent look, he finally felt relieved.

However, he was not allowed to go forward to greet them again, as the hall suddenly became quiet, and then a eunuch made a loud announcement.

"Your Majesty has arrived..."

"The feast begins."

Xiao Yan lowered his eyes and sat down, stroking the Jinwu Guard Order given to him by Ding Zhaopu in his hand, just thinking alone.

------

Longjin Bridge.

The banks of the Bian River were already covered with flowers, tourists were shouting with joy, and the laughter of young ladies was also heard. It was a very lively scene. This was a simple celebration very different from the one in the imperial city. There were not so many etiquette and rules. Tonight, everyone just had to celebrate the festival happily.

"Is there any lantern arrangement at the Xiao residence?"

Before the cruise ship arrived, Miao Chengtian, Ji Ruxue and their group were enjoying the lanterns and guessing lantern riddles in the lantern market on the shore. However, they were all beauties, and even with veils on, their beauty could not be concealed, so they did not join the crowd, but only lingered on the outermost side.

"Xiao Yan didn't let me." Ji Ruxue held a lantern riddle in her hand, thinking while saying, "He said that we need to clean up in the future, and there is no one in the house, so there is no need to waste time. Everyone in the house was given three days off, and he called me to come and look for you..."

As if they had expected it, Miao Chengtian and Xuan Jingtian were not that surprised. They just covered their mouths and laughed. Then they guessed a few riddles and took some gifts from the riddles and walked towards the big ship that was finally slowly approaching the shore.

Ji Ruxue was walking behind, also holding a gift in her hand. It was just a small stone dyed with paint, colorful, small and pretty.

But before leaving, she saw that the gift on a lantern not far away was a amulet, so she hesitated for a moment.

In fact, she also knew that the so-called amulets sold in such small shops could not bring any peace, but when she saw it, she wanted to go over.

What if it's of some use?

She turned around and saw that the big ship should wait for a while, because there were many boats of various types moored on the river, so she couldn't rush in recklessly.

"You go first." She said to the two little sisters who were traveling with her, and went over alone, intending to guess the riddles.

However, at this moment, her eyes subconsciously swept across the long street over there, and she just happened to see two tall warriors protecting two young men as they moved forward with the crowd.

In fact, it is not quite right to say there are two teenagers, because one of the teenagers is wearing a mask, so his specific face cannot be seen, and the other, slightly shorter teenager is also wearing a mask, but it is obvious that he is just a half-grown child.

At the same time, a warrior holding a wide robe in his hand covered the slightly shorter boy with it, and then completely concealed his figure.

The crowd was surging, and after a glance, the shorter boy or child could no longer be seen. All that could be seen were the backs of two tall warriors, slowly moving towards the direction of Daxiangguo Temple or Anle Pavilion.

Ji Ruxue frowned slightly. She always felt that the figure of the half-grown child just now looked familiar, as if he was similar to someone in Anle Pavilion.

As for the person in Anle Pavilion who can match this age and body shape, it seems that the only one who was heard not long ago going to the Lantern Festival alone is Luo Xiaobei...

But it was obvious that there was no impression of the masked young man and the two tall warriors, at least Ji Ruxue couldn't remember them.

You can't say that Luo Xiaobei made friends with two big men and a young man who inexplicably had to wear a mask to cover his identity in Bian Jing, right?
And why is it necessary to make Luo Xiaobei wear a mask and a robe?

When she thought of this, Ji Ruxue already felt something was wrong, until the shop owner next to her spoke to her in a nice way.

"My dear, if you can't guess the riddle correctly, you can take the lantern and the gift away for ten coins. See..."

"I don't want the lantern anymore." Ji Ruxue paid for the copper coin, took the amulet and left.

Although she was afraid of losing track of the person she had just met, she still went to find a sister from Huanyinfang who had not yet boarded the ship for the purpose of not worrying Miao Chengtian and the others, spoke a few words to her, and then hurriedly merged into the crowd with the amulet in her pocket.

……

Anle Pavilion, the main gate of the building.

"I'm sorry, you two, but all the seats in our pavilion are fully booked."

A waiter held out his hand and kindly stopped the two people who wanted to go straight into the store, and pointed to the busy sumo arena in the distance with a smile: "If you two want to wait, you can go over there and take a look..."

"We have a seat."

Before he could finish, the fake Li took out a red-faced hardwood directory with gold foil from his bosom and interrupted calmly, "It has been booked on the third day of the month."

The waiter immediately recognized the authenticity of the list in the fake Li's hand, and took it with a smile: "Come here, take these two distinguished guests to Room B No. 7, and ask the kitchen to prepare the dishes according to the list."

After saying that, he reached his hand inside and smiled at the fake Li who was obviously the owner: "Welcome to Anle Pavilion. Let us let you know that we need to collect this list. If you want to keep it as a souvenir, there are samples in the room, you can take them yourself..."

"Understood." Fake Li nodded, then paused for a moment, as if waiting for something.

The waiter naturally did not rush him. The main door of the main building had three openings and was extremely spacious. There was no need to worry about anyone blocking the road, and he would not have any doubts about the strange masked guest in front of him.

Countless dignitaries in Bianjing City were keen on Anle Pavilion, not only because of the variety of things inside, but also because of the service attitude and process, which made them feel like being bathed in spring breeze. Unlike the servile waiters in the nearby wine shops, the service in Anle Pavilion was not so respectful, but extremely professional. Only such a place could match their noble status. Seeing a tall warrior carrying a child in a wide robe on his back from a distance, the fake Li pointed at them.

"Those two are also from our group."

After saying that, he stopped waiting and went straight in.

What is obvious is that when the warrior came over later carrying the child who seemed to be asleep, the waiter did not say much and just led them straight inside.

"According to the intelligence from Tianyouxing, the Dark Star Xiao Yan will enter the palace for a banquet tonight. Without this person, the resistance will be greatly reduced."

Fake Li looked around, admiring the magnificent scenery that he had never seen in Anle Pavilion, and whispered: "Now that I have found Yang Shuzi's whereabouts, do I need to contact him?"

"No need." Kui Si (si) who was following him said concisely.

The fake Li frowned behind his mask and asked again, "Where are Kuichou and the others?"

"I don't know." Kui Si said.

The fake Li was secretly annoyed and stopped asking.

All the way from the Changsheng Palace, these so-called "Tiankui" have indeed been following his actions, but they are just following. Most of the Tiankui simply ignore all the instructions of the fake Li. Only when it comes to the fake Li himself, will they listen to the fake Li's orders truthfully.

All the actions of this trip were obviously planned long ago. As for the man behind the scenes who was responsible for the dispatch, it was the seldom-seen ugly guy. When he entered Bian Jing, he left only a word to protect His Highness in secret, and then disappeared with the rest of the people.

How could all these things not annoy the fake Li who was planning to show off his skills? He thought Yuan Tiangang really wanted him to show off his talents, but he didn't expect that there were still various restrictions, although he didn't know whether these things were what Kuichou himself was thinking.

However, he also understood that he did not have the strength to convince Tiankui and his men to obey his orders wholeheartedly, so he just endured it all the way.

But he didn't expect that until now, he had easily tricked Luo Xiaobei into coming to find Yang Shuzi, but they still hadn't told him all the arrangements?
That guy, Mirror Heart Demon, was clearly lying at that time...

Thinking of this, Fake Li sneered and said, "Since Kuichou is not here, you and Kuiyou should listen to my instructions later. Otherwise, there is no guarantee that there will be some accidents in this mission."

Kui Si remained silent and did not answer.

Fake Li was too lazy to say more. He had figured it out these days. No matter how disobedient these people were, there must be instructions to protect their own safety in all their missions. So he simply acted fearless at the critical moment.

After the four people entered the so-called Room No. 7, Kui Si first raised his finger at the fake Li and others, signaling them not to make any noise, and then he carefully checked all four sides of the elegantly decorated room.

"Correct."

"Let me ask you, where is Uncle Yang hidden by your master?" Fake Li looked at Luo Xiaobei.

The latter had just taken off the mask reluctantly. Hearing this, he just thought: "He is not hiding, but the master seems to only allow him to move around in the east courtyard."

Obviously, he still thought that Duan Chengtian had taken in Yang Shuzi.

Kui Si said, "Since he can move freely, there must be someone watching him in secret."

The fake Li was stunned, obviously he had not thought of this relationship yet.

At this time, Kuisi had already looked at him, and the fake Li frowned slightly, knowing that the other party was asking him about his arrangements. After all, he had just told them to follow his instructions.

He did not hesitate and said directly: "You and Luo Xiaobei go to find Yang Shuzi first. If you lead out the hidden hands, Kuiyou and I will be responsible for picking you up."

Kui Si nodded, and didn't seem to intend to refute.

And the fake Li also looked at Luo Xiaobei again: "If this trip goes well, your master will be cleared of suspicion of being a traitor, and we can also ask for credit for you from the Marshal. You are still a bad person, right?"

Hearing this, the latter was stunned, "No."

"Remember, as long as the Marshal agrees, your master's title of Sky Speed ​​Star will be yours from now on, just like Sky Dark Star Xiao Yan, do you understand?"

"Why didn't you notify Tian Anxing in advance?"

"In order to avoid alerting the enemy, did you, Tian Anxing, know that your master hid Yang Shuzi?"

"I do not know……"

"Then why are you asking? Go quickly." Although the fake Li was impatient, he suppressed his anger in the end.

Then, Kui Si followed Luo Xiaobei out of the room while trying not to attract attention.

……

"Senior Gong Yang, the other side has taken action."

The sound of knife sharpening stopped. Gong Yangzuo raised his Tang sword, which was already shining coldly. He narrowed his old eyes and smiled: "Let them in. Remember what the captain said. Don't act too fake, otherwise you won't be able to catch the big fish behind."

Behind him, several bad guys from Yanzhou clasped their fists and strode away.

Putting down the Tang sword, Gong Yangzuo picked his teeth, turned his back, and met You Yi's angry gaze in the corner.

What was unexpected was that the latter was tied up all over, and his acupuncture points seemed to be locked, so he could only stare.

"Old You, don't blame me, an old man."

Gong Yangzuo grinned, ignoring You Yi's gaze, and slowly wiped the knife: "My loyalty to the Marshal is no less than yours, but the captain saved my life, and there are two favors, one of which I have not repaid. Today, he trusts me, so I have to repay him."

You Yi's face flushed, and he seemed to want to say something, but he couldn't make a sound.

Gong Yangzuo sheathed his knife, was silent for a moment, then smiled and broke the toothpick in his hand.

"It's a tough life for the lieutenant. The prince recognized by the previous emperor is still regarded as a thorn in the eyes of his own family. How strange is that? Of course, I don't care about the Li Tang royal family, but I have to say with all my heart that what the commander did was not right.

Just because the captain is the prince, he cannot be tolerated? What kind of thing is this? A capable prince is wrong?"

At the end of his speech, he stood up, took down his faded visor from the wall, and shook his head: "I know you will scold me, but I have lived for fifty-nine years, and I have been respecting the Marshal for fifty years, and I dare not disobey him. Today, I just want to live according to my own wishes.

You don't have to say that the captain used me. Even if he used me or plotted against me, what does it matter? Back then, he could have exchanged Yelu Abaoji's life for my worthless life. I could have used my worthless life to help him do the things that mattered to the world. That's all."

After saying that, he thought for a moment, as if he wanted to say something else, but in the end, he just smiled and walked out of the room proudly.

"I, Gong Yang Zuo, act only for the sake of being open and honest and having fun!"

(End of this chapter)