To the northwest of the capital, there is a large area, calling An Tianyuan, taking the meaning of stabilizing the world, and is exclusively used for receiving foreign missions.

King Lu's birthday, the matter is very high, and the vassal states in the enlightened territory have already sent the highest level of envoys to the enlightened royal capital with generous gifts to congratulate him on his birthday.

In the east, although the country of Pakistan has coveted the enlightened and rich land for a long time, and the two countries have also been facing each other on the border for a long time, they have also sent an embassy to the capital.

The most surprising thing is that Qin, a strong enemy in the north, even though the two countries had been attacking each other on the border for many years, actually showed weakness with strength and sent an embassy to congratulate him on his birthday.

In the middle of the Kaiming Dynasty, Xiao Chen, a pawn and young secretary who specializes in receiving envoys from various countries, has become the busiest person in these days, and it was not until later today that all the missions were arranged, and he ordered a group of officials to take care of them, and then left the garden and returned home.

The mission was heavily guarded, and the guards in full armor patrolled back and forth around An Tianyuan, which was not only a guard, but also a display of majesty.

From the perspective of a traveler like Du Xuan, although the territory of the Enlightened Kingdom is vast, including all of today's Sichuan, Yunnan, Chongqing, Guizhou, and Vietnam, on the map of China, it can only be regarded as a residence in the southwest.

But in the eyes of the twelve generations of monarchs of the enlightened country, the enlightened country is the center of the world, with a long heritage, dominating one side, the Chengdu Plain is fertile for thousands of miles, the country of abundance is rich in land and resources, the army is sufficient, and the equipment is well-equipped. The enlightened country has long been ranked among the countries of ten thousand times, and it has the confidence to despise the vassal states of the world.

No, the north is strong Qin, didn't he also send an envoy, not far away, across the Shu Dao moat, and the king of Chaohe?

Therefore, these guards, in the face of the envoys of various countries, will always have a little sense of superiority, and their chests are a little higher than usual.

At night, all kinds of lanterns have already been lit up, hitting the snow that has not yet melted, covering the huge An Tianyuan with a layer of graceful light.

A figure evaded the patrolling guards and quietly infiltrated An Tianyuan, like a light civet cat, walking through the shadows cast by various temples.

After a short time, the figure approached the temple where the Tho delegation was staying.

After a pause, he jumped up the steps and stood at the entrance of the temple.

Knock! Knock! Knock!

Five slight knocks sounded, two long and three short, different in severity.

Knock! Knock! Knock!

There are five responses inside, two short and three long, with the same difference in severity.

The code was answered, and the door was pushed open silently.

Someone flashed in, passed through the curtain, walked through the hall, and entered the room.

Inside, there were five men in ceremonial dresses sitting around, and when they saw the comer, they all bowed their hands, and they were not surprised.

The one who came was Mr. Huang.

"Thank you, all the brave men. Mr. Huang bowed, and his eyes swept over the five people in turn, "The worries have been removed, and tomorrow's affairs, all the strong men can give it a go." ”

"Mr. Huang can tell the master's family, we should live up to the trust, either the matter will be done, or blood will be splashed on the spot. The first one bowed in return and replied loudly, with an awe-inspiring atmosphere.

It was this group of people, on a snowy night, who rushed to an inn twenty miles north of the capital, and killed all five members of the Tho State Birthday Mission, leaving five people dressed as messengers, and the rest of the people immediately dispersed.

The five people pretended to be an envoy, rushed to the capital at the scheduled time, and stayed at An Tianyuan generously.

"This is very good, the things that you have supported the strong men behind have also been known to the master's family, and the strong men should be relieved, if something happens, they will definitely live up to the trust. In order to prevent the rumors from being exposed, all the strong men must not leave the palace, and tomorrow there should be pawns to guide the audience. ”

Mr. Huang explained, bowed again, and left the hall.

......

To the south of the capital, the residence of the court band.

The night was dark, but the sound of the piano came from an independent courtyard.

The sound of the piano is light and tactful, chanting and singing, in response to the evening breeze, swinging into the distance, like the sound of heaven.

The listener is not annoyed, closes his eyes and listens quietly, the fairy sound is cleansed, the heart is as calm as water, Shi Shiran, and he goes into a dream.

The sound of nature comes from the guqin.

The person who strokes the qin is a stunning woman, twenty-eight years old, with a face like a jade, wearing a white gauze shawl, covering a thick deep coat, slender and dignified, with a posture of not staining the dust.

The woman is sitting in front of the low table next to the window, with a few pianos on it, and her slender jade fingers caress the strings, "gently twisting and slowly wiping and picking", and her ten fingers are like cheerful dancers, jumping between the strings.

Suddenly, a flower bloomed on her chest!

First, the finger-sized flower bones appeared on the white veil on the chest, like a budding plum blossom.

The rippling sound of the piano is like a March wind, and the plum blossoms seem to have received the command of spring, and they begin to bloom at a speed visible to the naked eye.

The flowers are getting bigger and bigger.

In an instant, the flowers have bloomed to the size of the palm of the hand, dotted on the woman's chest, red and white, contrasting with each other.

The flowers are still spreading.

The next moment, a black dot appeared in the middle of the flower, and the black dot grew bigger and bigger.

It's the tip of the sword!

The next moment, the tip of the sword guides the blade and comes out through the chest!

And all of this, but between two breaths.

Things happened too quickly.

The sound of the piano was still flowing, and the woman still maintained the posture of stroking the piano with both hands, until she saw the blade of the sword coming out of her chest, and the pain and puzzled expression from her chest did not have time to well-up on her forehead.

In the next moment, the corners of her mouth also bloomed with blood flowers, and then her body suddenly rushed forward, and her forehead hit the guqin heavily.

Zheng!

Like a murmur of a beautiful tune, the stunning woman used her forehead to play the last note of her life.

On her back, she still had a slender sword stuck in it.

The hand holding the hilt of the sword is a slender hand!

The person who committed the assassination was actually a woman, who also had a stunning beauty.

Poof!

The assassinating woman drew her sword back into its sheath and quietly looked at the corpse of the woman who stroked the qin, without sorrow or joy, calm as usual.

After a long silence, the assassin woman removed the body that was still warm, hid it, and carefully cleaned up the blood stains at the scene.

After doing this, the assassination woman sat down cross-legged in a hurry, wearing a bronze mirror, meticulously changing her makeup until she completely changed into the appearance of a woman playing the qin.

Next, the assassination woman changed into the same thick and deep clothes as the Fuqin woman, and then put on the same white veil. From this, it can be seen that it is as if the Fuqin woman has been resurrected.

When everything was ready, the assassin woman sat cross-legged in the group again, and her jade hand touched a few guqins.

Close your eyes and take a deep breath, pause for a while, open your eyes, and pluck the strings with your jade fingers.

The sound was no different from the previous sound of the piano, and the sound of heaven that had been suspended because of the attack was perfectly continued, still light and tactful, and sung in a low voice, as if this piano sound was originally from the same person's hand.

The courtyard was as quiet as ever, as if nothing had happened.

Only the sound of the piano continues, or it is noisy like a torrential rain, or it is as close as a whisper, rippling gracefully, blending into the cool night outside the window.