……

When it was dusk, a caravan came from the northwest to Wuzhong.

Several carriages of the caravan were all bundled with bulging goods, accompanied by more than a dozen horsemen and helpers, who looked dark-faced, dressed and accented by Wu Yue, and the guards guarding the city gate were allowed to pass after a few interrogations.

After entering the city, the caravan went straight to Xiangfu.

"Brother Zhongli is finally back, what is going on?" After the caravan entered Xiang's mansion, Uncle Xiang, who was anxious every day, hurriedly came and grabbed Zhong Liwu, who had become a coachman, and asked.

"Brother Xiang, everything is going well, the Ji brothers successfully ambushed at Hangu Pass, and personally shot Qinghehou, and arranged for someone to investigate in Xianyang for half a month, and learned that Qinghehou had been seriously injured and died, and he should have died of poison at this time......" Zhong Liwu replied in a low voice with a solemn face.

"Haha, it's good that the Marquis of Qinghe is dead, hurry up and go to the study to talk in detail!" Zhong Liwu was a little speechless and stopped, but Xiang Bo laughed heartyly and dragged Zhong Liwu to the backyard.

But a moment later, there were exclamations and angry voices from the study, and soon several members of the Xiang clan were also gathered.

After listening to Xiang Bo's words, the faces of the Xiang clan turned white with fright, and they all showed extremely frightened expressions.

Because Zhong Liwu brought back a piece of news that made them feel the collapse of the sky, the Xiang Yu brothers and sisters actually learned about the assassination of Qinghehou by the Xiang family and the Ji brothers, and pursued them all the way to Langya, and then parted ways, one to chase Zhong Liwu, and the other to chase Qinghehou.

"Brother Xiang, don't worry too much, I arranged for someone to secretly follow the Marquis of Qinghe all the way to Langya, and then diverted to Xianyang, although the Marquis of Qinghe stayed in Langya County for more than a month, but did not detect the appearance of Jing'er, but ......" Zhong Liwu said this, and suddenly his face shook and stopped.

"But what?" Xiang Bo asked nervously.

"But Jing'er may have an accident, I heard from someone who followed the inquiry that there were many cases of missing girls in Langya County, which happened to be during the arrival of Qinghe Hou in Langya......" Zhong Liwu touched his face and beard and hesitated.

Xiang Bo's face was dark, and he gritted his teeth and said: "Such a son of evil, how can he die, only if the Marquis of Qinghe dies, my Xiang clan will have a chance to restore Dachu, this matter has been planned by my Xiang clan for a long time, and it was almost destroyed in the hands of the two of them, just die!" ”

"Brother Xiang, now is not the time to be angry, we waited for the successful ambush in Hangu Pass, Jing'er must have never seen Qinghehou in Langya, the news must not have leaked out, otherwise we can't speak here safely, Qinghehou is poisoned with arrows, we have soldiers searching for Brother Ji Bu everywhere along the way and back, if someone around Ji Bu is caught, then this planned matter may involve me and Brother Xiang, so we need to plan as soon as possible, so as not to have many dreams at night, if we can capture Wuzhong, once it spreads, Other counties will inevitably gather, and Brother Ji Bu will also raise troops near Guanzhong to echo, and the anti-Qin and Chu events can be expected! ”

"We have already arranged this matter, I heard that the police in the county government have been transferred frequently in recent days, I am afraid that the matter will be revealed, so I still need to inquire before making a decision, Brother Zhongli has returned all the way to the car, please go and rest for the time being, and discuss the matter of raising troops carefully tomorrow......"

Xiang Bo stood up and sent Zhong Liwu out of the study, and then arranged for the servants to send out a few letters, and waited until night fell, and then prepared to go out to a quiet garden.

Chu Sheng Garden, on the surface, a Wuzhong businessman opened a Qu Garden, in fact, the secret controller is the Xiang family, which contains countless young and beautiful women from the land of Chu Yue, and will invite some gentry officials to drink and entertain here on weekdays, the purpose is naturally to corrupt and win over some officials in Wuzhong, in fact, it is similar to some secret commercial clubs in later generations, only receiving a fixed group of people and not open to the public.

When Xiang Bo came to Chusheng Garden, there were already seven or eight carriages in it, and in a luxuriously furnished attic, more than ten young women wearing sheer gauze skirts were accompanying a few officials and gentry in plain clothes to drink and have fun.

"Xiang Gong is here!" Seeing Xiang Bo striding in with a relaxed expression, several officials and a group of women all stood up to greet him.

"Haha, you don't need to be polite!" Xiang Bo laughed and walked to a desk and sat down, and immediately two seductive women knelt on both sides, one on the left and one on the right, pouring wine and tea to serve.

Xiang Bo hugged a woman in his arms, and leaned into the woman's thin skirt with a familiar hand, kneading it and saying with a smile: "I was busy with affairs a few days ago, and I haven't been together with you for a long time. ”

"Haha, thank you Xiang Gong for your hospitality, the past few days were indeed busy, in May, Xu Gongzi came to disturb it, followed by the emperor's parade, as well as the collection and disposal of the autumn grain tax and the mulberry silkworm tax, alas, it has been a really busy mess recently......" A middle-aged official shook his head with a smile.

And when it came to Xu Gongzi, the room instantly fell silent.

"Don't blame Xiang Gong, it seems that someone said the wrong thing!" The middle-aged official came to his senses and apologized a little embarrassed.

"Hehe, don't use it, don't use it, the criminal master is telling the truth, last time my nephew collided with Xu Gongzi, it was really embarrassing, but the matter has been a few months ago, don't mention it, the Xiang family has embarrassed Jiangdong's father!" Xiang Bo smiled disapprovingly and waved his hand.

"Xiang Gong is elegant, don't say it, today Xiang Gong is warmly invited, I will drink and have fun, Xiang Gong is here, I will drink together!" A large, rough-looking man raised his glass.

"That's right, don't talk about ruining things today, drink and drink!" The others raised their glasses.

After drinking all the glasses, the atmosphere in the room instantly became relaxed and lively, and these people were also mixed with the Xiang family on weekdays, so when they were drinking with the woman in their arms, they began to talk about some hearsay news stories.

"I heard that the Marquis of Qinghe was assassinated in Hangu at the end of July, and the leader of the bandits is Guanzhong Ji's Kunzhong, I don't know what will happen next?" In the midst of the staggering, Xiang Bo asked while drinking.

The room instantly fell silent again, and everyone's faces became a little solemn.

"This matter is not clear, although this news has been published in the Daqin Metropolis Daily, but there is no news in the follow-up, my Wuzhong is too far away from Xianyang, but it is estimated that it may be known in the next few days!" An official shook his head.

"The Ji clan is simply lawless, he dared to ambush the Marquis of Qinghe at the pass, and he also killed the niece of the county guard, a delicate and beautiful little lady died like this, which is embarrassing!" Someone put down their glass and sighed.

"Isn't that little lady named Chu Yue the fiancée of Xu Gongzi, I don't know why she is with Qinghe Hou, and she also blocked a poisonous arrow from the bandits for her, could it be ......" The person who spoke suddenly shook his body and looked at the others with a frightened face.

"What's the matter?" Someone asked.

"Could it be that Brother Wang guessed that Xu Gongzi was the Marquis of Qinghe?" The other man suddenly looked equally stunned.

"Yet, don't you think it's a coincidence and a strange thing?" The official surnamed Wang nodded solemnly.

There was an eerie silence in the noisy and lively room, and even the dozen or so women who were laughing were all screaming in surprise, covering their mouths with frightened faces.

The name of the Marquis of Qinghe is known to everyone in the world, if that Gongzi Xu is the Marquis of Qinghe, isn't it the Marquis of Qinghe who the Xiang clan offended?

Xiang Bo's face jumped slightly, but his face remained unchanged and shook his head and said with a smile: "Hey, Brother Wang must have guessed wrong, why did the Marquis of Qinghe suddenly come to Wuzhong for no reason, not to mention that when he collided with Gongzi Xu, if it was really the Marquis of Qinghe, as long as he showed his identity at that time, my Xiang family would only kneel and beg for mercy, why make trouble to the end, today I finally have time to drink and feast together, don't scare me!" ”

"Huh~~" A few exhalation sounds sounded in the room in an instant, and the expressions of a group of people instantly relaxed.

"Xiang Gong is right, Brother Wang, don't talk about it, Xu Gongzi is definitely not the Marquis of Qinghe, then Gongzi Xu is already familiar with the Marquis of Qinghe, I heard that in Xianyang on weekdays, they mingle together for feasting, entertainment, and playing, and they meet together on the way back to Xianyang, and when the bandits attacked the Marquis of Qinghe, the little lady of Chuyue was just affected!"

"Yes, yes, I heard that the Marquis of Qinghe accompanied the emperor to parade to Mount Tai and then left, he must have gone to play elsewhere, and then he happened to meet Xu Gongzi and others who also returned to Xianyang, so they went together, this matter will definitely not be ......wrong."

Several people put forward their own speculations based on Xiang Bo's words, and this speculation was also reasonable, so the atmosphere in the room quickly became active again, and the worry that Xu Gongzi and Qinghe Hou were alone was instantly put behind them.

The banquet continued, and the topic was messy, but the most talked about the attack on the Marquis of Qinghe, because this incident was indeed a news that shook the world.

"A few days ago, a businessman returned from the northwest, I heard that the Central Plains and Guanzhong are arresting bandits everywhere, and countless famous heroes have been killed, and thousands of misbehaved idlers have been captured in Guanzhong in a few days, and bandits in Sanchuan and Hedong counties have gathered to attack the county government to make trouble, I heard that many people have been killed, and it is estimated that this matter will soon spread to Wuzhong!" A gentleman said suddenly.

"This matter has been confirmed, and an edict has been transmitted to the county governor's mansion yesterday!" The county Cheng hoopoe, who has not spoken much, nodded and said.

"Brother Dai, do you know the details?" Xiang Bo's heart tightened slightly.

"A certain nature knows, hundreds of bandits ambushed by the Marquis of Qinghe in Hangu that day, but they were almost killed by the guards of the Marquis of Qinghe with Taiyi God Musket and Taiyi Divine Thunder, and the bandit leader Ji Xin was killed on the spot, but the bandits planned carefully, ambushed again at the mouth of the valley, the Marquis of Qinghe was injured by a poisoned arrow, and the emperor was furious and beheaded dozens of soldiers and officials of the bandits in Hanguguan, and at the same time ordered the world to search for the bandits, Ji Bu, and yesterday's edict has been transmitted to Wuzhong!"

"No wonder the county guard convened the county lieutenant and the police chief to discuss secretly today, and we were all stopped from the government, it turned out that it was because of this matter!" An official suddenly realized and nodded.

"Don't worry, Ji Bu is just a ranger's ear, how can he fight against the Son of Heaven, besides, Guanzhong is thousands of miles away from my Wuzhong, he will definitely not flee here, the county guard is just taking precautions, this matter has nothing to do with me, come, drink and drink!" The hoopoe raised his glass.

Xiang Bo also breathed a sigh of relief, but he still said with some uneasiness: "I have a lot of idle people in Wuzhong, I don't know if I will be implicated?" ”

"Haha, although Xiang Gong can rest assured, he was also present when the county guard arranged it today, just for show, and the police officers and lieutenants will inevitably relax in a few days, but Xiang Gong still tries his best to restrain the children and acquaintances in the clan, so as not to be arrested by the police as bandits!" Hoopoe said with a smile of relief.

"Brother Dai reminds me, and I will definitely remind you!" Xiang Bo breathed a sigh of relief, knowing what the hoopoe was referring to, because the Xiang clan had close contacts with many rangers and ruffians in Wuzhong, but the worries in his heart were also much less at once, as long as he didn't notice that his Xiang clan was preparing to rebel.