It was late at night, and the backyard of the Assassin's Mansion, which was Li Ke's residence, was still brightly lit, and many people had gathered.

The officials of the Assassin's Mansion and the private soldiers of the former palace have all arrived. Everyone was fully armed and held their breath, looking solemn. In the inner house, there was a loud roar and a loud bang on the tables and chairs.

"It's the other way around, it's the other way around! It's really the other way around! ”

Qin Mubai walked into the courtyard and heard these voices, and couldn't help but be shocked: Li Ke? It's actually Li Ke roaring wildly? …… I've known him for so long, and I've never seen him so angry! If it was just because of Zheng Anshun's disappearance, with Li Ke's always calm temperament, he would never have made such a breathless move.

Yuwen Hongtai was also a little stunned, and muttered: "No, why is Your Highness so angry?" ”

One of the officials walked out, it was Zhou Laojiu, who Qin Mubai had summoned at the inn before, he gave a salute first, and then invited Qin Mubai to the side, and said in a nervous whisper: "General Qin, this time it's really a big deal!" ”

"What's the matter, why did His Highness gather all of you officials and soldiers from the palace?" Qin Mubai asked.

Zhou Laojiu said nervously: "A general from the palace has come back and reported that the princess was intercepted halfway!" ”

"What?!" Qin Mubai's eyes suddenly widened in horror: "This ......!" There is such a thing! ”

No wonder!

At that moment, Qin Mubai didn't have time to listen to Zhou Laojiu's details, and strode into the hall of the inner house.

The hall was a mess, full of broken dishes, tables and chairs. Li Ke's face was flushed and angry, his whole body trembled, his fists were clenched, the green tendons on his forehead exploded, and he was sitting on the chair panting.

There were two other people in the hall, one was Changshi Quan Wanji, who was whispering to persuade Li Ke to something. The other was kneeling on one knee with his head down, wet and drenched, it was Xue Rengui!

"Qin Mubai, you came just in time!" Li Ke saw Qin Mubai coming in, and without waiting for him to speak, he strode up and almost shouted, "You immediately count the people and horses of your military mansion, unite with the royal palace soldiers and officials led by Xue Rengui, and go to the lair of the Xihe Caoshui ghost tonight!" I don't believe it, he can turn the other way! If the manpower is not enough, I will immediately write to Li Tao and ask him to send a large army to suppress it! It's the other way around, it's the other way around! ”

Qin Mubai let Li Ke roar like thunder, and he didn't say anything, and his expression didn't change.

Li Ke yelled a few times, took a few breaths, ran to the table and took a sip of tea, as if he had calmed down again, and let out a long breath.

Quan Wanji sighed lightly and said, "Your Highness, you have never been so impulsive. ”

Li Ke turned his back to everyone, raised his hand and waved, and took a long breath again, as if he had exhausted the depression in his chest, and sighed: "What a shame!" My princess and daughter were actually intercepted by the grass cowards! ”

"It's the last general who is incompetent and insults the princess and the county lord!" Xue Rengui stood up abruptly, and wiped it around his neck as soon as he pulled out the knife.

Qin Mubai's eyes were quick, and he flew up and slashed at Xue Rengui's wrist with the knife, and with a whoosh, the knife flew out like a flash of light, and it was inserted into the beams and pillars in the room with a buzzing sound, and it was several inches deep.

"Rengui, what are you doing here!" Qin Mubai shouted, "How can a man take his own life!" ”

Li Ke was also shocked, turned around and strode over, looking at Xue Rengui's neck in surprise, where there was already a trace of blood cut by the blade. He hurriedly stretched out his sleeve to wipe it, and blamed: "Rengui, Xiao Wang has never blamed you. How can I blame you for this? The water ghosts are scheming, even if they enter the palace, they can arrest people. How can you do such a stupid thing that kills you? If you are gone, who will help me rescue the princess and my daughter? Tomorrow they will return, but I will lose you, will I not lose my left arm and my right arm? ”

"Your Highness......" Xue Rengui looked ashamed, and fell down on one knee, "The last general is too incompetent, he is really shameless to face His Highness, and he is ashamed of His Highness's kindness!" ”

"Hurry up." Li Ke bent down to help him up, took him and Qin Mubai's hands left and right and sat down, and said, "I was too excited just now, and I haven't even asked the reason yet." Rengui, now Mu Bai is also here. He has always been resourceful, and he must have a clever plan and opinion. Now tell us in detail what happened. ”

"Yes." Xue Rengui wrinkled his brows and said goodbye.

It turned out that Xue Rengui and Yin Yang were ordered by Li Ke to lead a team of palace guards to Anzhou to pick up the long-lost Princess Wu Yang, and the one-year-old little county lord. Because the princess was weak and sick after giving birth, the carriage and horses were bumpy, so she chose to take a boat. Originally, it was smooth to sail down the river and come back, but tonight when the boat was less than 20 miles away from Xiangyang, everyone suddenly heard a strange "boom" sound from the bottom of the boat.

The experienced boatmen suddenly shouted in panic, saying that there were water ghosts scuttling the boat!

At this time, the big ship was sailing in the middle of the river, and it did not take the shore before and after, and it was difficult for Xue Rengui and Yin Yang, two fierce generals, who did not know the nature of the water. The boatmen were afraid of the water ghosts again, and they were all out of proportion, and many people jumped into the river to escape.

Only Xue Rengui, Yin Yang, the princess, mother and daughter, and all the sergeants and soldiers were left on the boat, just like fish on the chopping board for others to slaughter, helpless!

Soon, the bottom of the boat began to enter the water, and everyone hurriedly gagged it, but to no avail. The big ship is finally starting to sink. Everyone tried their best to remove the plank for the princess and her daughter to ride, while the others were all soaked in the water. Seeing that the hull was tilting and sinking, it was almost roofless, and more than a dozen dexterous little shuttle boats sailed over with their lights in their hands.

The other party seemed to know who fell into the water, but he was not in a hurry to save people, but said that it was okay to save people, only the princess and her daughter, and others could give a few small boats to escape by themselves.

This shows that it is a water ghost who has come to hijack the car!

Seeing that this thin plank was about to capsize at any time, and the life of the princess's mother and daughter could not be guaranteed, out of helplessness, Xue Rengui and others had to adopt an expedient measure and let them rescue the princess first. Xue Rengui and Yin Yang discussed, each in their own way, and one stayed with the princess to be a hostage, so that he could take care of it; One came back to report the news.

In this way, the princess and Yin Yang were tied up together, more than half of the sergeants drowned, Xue Rengui and others drove a small shuttle boat, staggered and finally rowed back, because they couldn't drive the boat and didn't know the nature of the water, and they were almost overturned by the wind and waves several times along the way and the boat was buried in the belly of the fish.

After listening, Li Ke and Qin Mubai glanced at each other, and said almost in unison: "This is obviously premeditated!" ”

Quan Wanji was puzzled: "It seems that the enemy knows our every move quite well. They had already set up an ambush on the river, first sinking the ship, and then easily hijacking the princess, mother and daughter, almost without moving a single sword. With such a deep plan, it can be seen that the other party is not an ordinary coward! ”

"Needless to say." Qin Mubai gently picked his mouth and said, "I just met Yuwen Hongtai, and I heard that Zheng Anshun is also missing, what is going on?" ”

"I told him to call you." Li Ke beckoned to him, "Come on too!" ”

With that, Li Ke led everyone to a guest room, where two men were lying flat on the bed. Qin Mubai frowned when he saw it, but it wasn't the two hundred horsemen bodyguards he sent to Zheng Anshun?

"A few days ago, I agreed with Zheng Anshun that we would take the time to meet today and discuss some things. But after a while, before anyone came, I became suspicious. When he sent to his dwelling, he saw only these two men. Li Ke said, "I went to the doctor to show them, but they were numbed by someone with the usual drugs used in the rivers and lakes, and their lives are not in danger, but they don't want to wake up tonight." There is also a letter left in the room, you see! ”

Li Ke handed over a letter, and Qin Mubai took it and opened it. When I opened the envelope, I seemed to smell a faint fragrance, and it turned out that there was a gardenia in the letterhead.

There are only numbers in the letter - "The organs are exhausted, what can I do?" Weeping willows, lonely fireworks. ”

Everyone looked at it and shook their heads together: "The first eight words are easy to understand." It's nothing more than that the other party saw through the strategy arranged by us and Zheng Anshun, and was arrogantly shouting after kidnapping people. What is the explanation of the next eight words? What is 'weeping willows, lonely fireworks'? ”

"I don't understand it for a while...... Qin Mubai wrinkled his brows and shook his head, chewing these eight words carefully in his heart, and groaned: "It feels like an allusion to the woman in the Qinglou." How do you explain the willows in Chuiyang Lane? Slow down...... Your Highness, I'm going to find someone to talk to, and I hope I will gain something. ”

"Who are you looking for?" Before everyone's words landed, Qin Mubai had already walked out, and his figure disappeared. Soon, he brought a person, who turned out to be Zhou Laojiu, the leader of the government officials.

Qin Mubai asked, "Zhou Laojiu, I have a few questions I want to ask you." You're a native of Xiangyang, right? ”

"The villain lives in Xiangyang, and his ancestors have been from Xiangyang for generations." Seeing that many big people were present, Zhou Laojiu replied tremblingly.

"That's fine." Qin Mubai said, "I want to ask you, where is the most famous place for fireworks in Xiangyang?" ”

"This one...... Puhua Long Street, which is close to the port market in the north of the city! Zhou Laojiu replied, "Seventeen or eighteen green buildings have been opened there, large and small, specializing in the business of merchants and merchants, which can be described as a lot of money." ”

"Hmm. Among the many Qinglou women, is there a particularly famous one named Gardenia? ”

"This ...... This ......" Zhou Laojiu pondered for a while and shook his head, "There are many lotus flowers and begonias, but there are really no gardenias." ”

"Really?"

"Not really." Zhou Laojiu said affirmatively, "Although the villain is a humble person and can't afford to go to that kind of place to play, his responsibility is to always walk there a few times a day." Therefore, it is also clear which family has a slightly better girl. No way! ”

At this time, Li Ke said: "Is there a store name, called Chuiyang, or Xiangliu, or is it on the side of these four words?" ”

Zhou Laojiu was stunned and pondered for a long time, but still shook his head: "Still not!" ”

"That's weird!" Everyone exclaimed.

Li Ke and Qin Mubai whispered: "Mubai, do you mean to say that the eight words behind this, weeping sun alley willows, lonely fireworks, are alluding to the other party's contact point?" Why did he tell us? ”

"The purpose is very simple, of course, to negotiate terms with us." Qin Mubai said, "Don't hide it from Your Highness, just this morning, Pang Fei and Zhao Chong, the general of the Zuoying Water Army, also disappeared in Xiangyang!" ”

"What?" Li Ke said angrily, "The other party is really bold!" ”

"Wait, calm down, calm down!" Qin Mubai waved his hand and said, "I always feel that the other party has been leading us by the nose, and he knows all our movements at a glance, and everything is ahead of us." ”

"You mean, there are moles among us?" Li Ke said in a deep voice.

Zhou Laojiu immediately panicked: "Small, villain is not!" The villain knows little about things, and he doesn't have the courage to collude with the water ghost to target the prince and the general! ”

"Knowing you're not, shut up!" Li Ke snorted impatiently and said, "Mu Bai, it seems that we have fallen into each other's trap since we stepped on the ground of this Xiangzhou. If you think about it, from the beginning, things were coincidental, and now that you look back, it seems like it was all carefully arranged. From the time we encountered the water ghosts in Baguidu to the disappearance of the princess, Pang Fei and others today, there has always been a black hand behind the scenes calculating us and controlling us to death. Even the strategy we planned with Zheng Anshun, he cracked it at once, and in turn calculated us. Our opponent is really not easy! It's more than a hundred times more powerful than the straw bales I met in Jiangzhou! ”

"yes!" Qin Mubai also nodded, "Now the other party's purpose is already obvious. The kidnapping of Zheng Anshun, the kidnapping of the princess, and the capture of Pang Fei and Zhao Chong were all directly aimed at His Highness and me. Its purpose is nothing more than to get rid of the grain and make a lot of money. And those who can accept such a large amount of grain, the Zheng family is the best buyer; If you want to get out, you must beat you and me in the heart, and let us go. The other party is not small, and his appetite is not small! They are on an equal footing and are negotiating terms with us! ”

Li Ke grabbed the letter angrily: "But now we don't even know who the other party is and where it is!" What does this weeping willow, fireworks girl, what does it mean? ”

Qin Mubai wrinkled his brows, and said while pondering: "As soon as we saw the word fireworks, we naturally thought of the land of fireworks. But there are willows in front of it, and there is loneliness before the fireworks...... Zhou Laojiu, let me ask you, is there a place with many willow trees in this Xiangyang City? ”

"Yes, there are many houses in the city, and willow trees are planted in their homes." Zhou Laojiu replied, "Since the former Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty Li Guang went down to the south of the Yangtze River, the willow tree was worth a hundred times, but all rich and noble families would plant some to show the courtyard. ”

"Is there a family that grows willows and gardenias?" Qin Mubai continued to ask.

"This, this has to be thought about carefully......" Zhou Laojiu tapped his forehead in thought, and suddenly raised his head: "Yes!" There are several! The women of these families all love gardenias. We passed by the yard as we patrolled the streets, and we often smelled the smell of flowers. The floral fragrance of this gardenia is the most intense. When the spring flowers bloom, you can smell it from afar. ”

Qin Mubai raised his eyebrows: "Then among these families, are there any widows?" ”

"What, widow?" Everyone was shocked at the same time.

What was even more surprised was Zhou Laojiu, his eyes widened: "General Qin, you are a god!" There really is! And she is the most famous stunning little widow in Xiangyang City, and she is still a half-closed door! ”

"What do you mean by a half-closed door?" Qin Mubai asked.

Li Ke said: "This is a unique place in Xiangyang. An ordinary woman from a good family secretly takes over some skin and meat business, and to put it bluntly, she is a private prostitute. ”

"That's right! There is a family, the family was originally very prosperous, the family wealth is famous, and the only son in the family married a famous beauty in Xiangyang. Unexpectedly, more than a year ago, this only son drowned, leaving only a beautiful little widow. Later, this little widow couldn't help but be lonely and made a half-closed door, not for money, but just to find some merry men to accompany her! Zhou Laojiu said, "That woman now lives alone in a big family, Xu Liang's family, known as the flower lady!" ”

"Willows, gardenias, flower girls, weeping willows; The little widow, the half-closed door, the lonely fireworks - that's her! Qin Mubai punched his palm and said in a deep voice, "The contact location given by the other party is the little widow's home!" ”

"So what are you waiting for! Send troops to surround and arrest people! Li Ke shouted.

"Slow!" Qin Mubai raised his hand and said with a stern face, "Your Highness, since the other party dares to tell us the contact location so blatantly, he must be prepared." If we lead our troops to arrest people in such a reckless manner, not only will the bamboo basket be empty, but we may also hurt the lives of the princess and others! ”

"Hateful!" Li Ke obviously realized this, but he was a little unwilling, and hit the wall with an annoyed punch, and shouted, "I was actually teased like this gang of stubborn criminals!" ”

"Or Mu Bai is wise, calm and capable." Quan Wanji stood up and spoke, "The other party is a serial plan. first arrested Pang Fei and Zhao Chong, and then Zheng Anshun and the princess's mother and daughter, and left such a letter, let us take the initiative to contact. This one out of one ring, the seamless combination is quite tight. The mastermind of the other party is really a brilliant person! Mu Bai, there is no other way now, if you don't enter the tiger's den, you will wilt the tiger, so you have to send someone to go to Xu Liang's house alone to contact the other party. See what the other person wants. Knowing their intentions, we can solve the problem-for-tat. ”

"What Mr. Kwon said is extremely true." Qin Mubai took a deep breath and said awe-inspiringly, "Originally, I came to Xiangyang to contact them, but I didn't expect that even Zheng Anshun and the princess's mother and daughter could be robbed, it seems that the other party's appetite is even greater than I imagined." There's nothing to say, it's the Longtan Tiger's Den, I, Qin Mubai, must go and break through today! ”

"I'll go with you!" Li Ke said categorically, "I don't believe it, what a three-headed and six-armed other party is, what can I do!" ”

"Your Highness, you should stay in the Thorn History Mansion and preside over the overall situation!" Qin Mubai said, "You and I can't appear in the same place at the same time, and we can't be in danger at the same time. Don't worry, they will definitely not do anything to me, because they know that I can't ignore the lives of the princess and others, and they will let me go back and give orders to the military government. If you stay here, everyone will have a backbone. Please also be sure to be impatient, do not rush into action, and wait for my news in the house. ”

"......" Li Ke's brows were depressed for a long time, and he nodded unwillingly: "Okay, it's up to you!" I don't have as much resourcefulness and composure as you, but you'd better be careful. After all, we know almost nothing about them, and we don't know what kind of tricks they will come up with. ”

"I will." Qin Mubai turned around and patted Xue Rengui on the shoulder, "Brother Xue, don't blame yourself. In other words, no one can protect the princess today. You assist His Royal Highness to sit in the Assassin's Mansion, in case of change, you still need to lead the personal soldiers and servants! ”

"Xue is ordered!" Xue Rengui hugged his fist gratefully, and said, "Brother Qin, you have to take care of yourself!" Now, it's up to you to turn the tide! ”

Qin Mubai smiled confidently and with some playfulness: "It's just a small thing, I've seen a lot." Now my greatest hope is that the princess, mother and daughter and the abductee are safe and sound. In that case, I will go first, and you don't have to worry about anything. I'll be back unharmed! ”

"Take care!" Everyone gave it to each other.

"Zhou Laojiu, you come and show me the way, just go to that flower girl's house!" Qin Mubai put his hand on Zhou Lao Jiu's shoulder and strode out of the room.

Li Ke took a long breath, frowned, shook his head and sighed: "Whenever there is a critical moment, he always stands up to solve the problem...... I really don't know if this is a blessing or a curse. ”

"Why did Your Highness say this?" Kwon Wanji was surprised.

"Fortunately, it goes without saying. It is a great blessing to have such a friend, so that anyone can sit back and relax. Li Ke said, "Misfortune is ...... I was too dependent on him. To this day, I almost developed a bad habit. If you have a problem, look for Mu Bai. It's as if I can't even think about it if he doesn't come. Let's take this letter as an example, let alone go to the flower lady's house to explore the tiger's den in Longtan, even the meaning of this letter, I can't crack it at all. With him, I felt like I was back in life, like a child who was a few years old and hadn't been weaned yet! ”

"Uh......" Quan Wanji and Xue Rengui looked at each other dumbfounded, and said in their hearts: Didn't we crack it out, could it be that we weren't weaned either? ……