Compared with his younger brother Cao Delin's caution, Cao Dangjia is calm, and his attitude will not change at all because of the change of Chi Fei's identity.

Just as although he allowed his granddaughter Cao Wan'er to have a relationship with Ning Yazhi, the second lady of the Zhenguo Mansion, since childhood, he never used this relationship to take the opportunity to have a relationship with the high-ranking and powerful Zhenguo Mansion, just as a private relationship between juniors, neither interfering nor preventing.

This is the backbone of the Cao family, and it is also the backbone of the Cao family himself.

It is precisely because of Cao Dangjia's attitude that the Ning family admires Cao Dangjia's personality, and the two families have maintained a good relationship for many years, which can be regarded as an unexpected joy.

As the guests took their seats one after another, the Nine Lamps Banquet finally officially began.

The people began to orderly deliver the dishes that had been prepared one after another to each table.

Because there were too many feasts, and the dishes were prepared in advance, by the time these dishes were delivered, they had already begun to be cold, and at most they were only warm.

However, all the guests who have accepted the banquet in the palace are not surprised by this, because the banquet in the palace is basically like this.

It's just a formality, and as for the taste of the dish, not many people care about it. Many people have already eaten at the bottom of the house before they go out.

When everyone began to move the chopsticks, Chi Fei was a little absent-minded, and frequently looked at the front seat.

Until now, he didn't see his father-in-law Ning Zhiyuan, eldest sister Ning Yashan, and eldest brother-in-law Qiu Yuchen appear at the banquet.

But the eldest brother-in-law Qiu Yuchen's mother, Princess Qingping, and her family have already come, and they are all sitting on the front seat as the princess's family.

Chi Fei couldn't help but be a little confused, logically speaking, his father-in-law had already gone to watch the ceremony, but why hadn't he shown up yet? Could it be that something is getting involved?

Not long after everyone started to move their chopsticks, An Guogong led his second grandson, Xie Changting, the master of the horses, to start toasting the guests at each table one by one. He was accompanied by the elders of the other houses of the Xie family and the officials of the Zongren Mansion.

The Xie family is very similar to the Ning family, most of their clansmen serve in the southwest army and rarely return to the capital. This was the case with An Guogong's two sons and several other grandchildren.

This time, An Guogong returned to the capital, firstly, to attend the wedding of his second grandson, and secondly, he planned to rest in the capital for a period of time.

His return to Beijing this time has aroused a lot of waves and attention in Beijing.

An Guogong is not an ordinary noble, he has not only held the power of the Southwest Army for many years, but also the Empress Dowager Xie and Concubine Xie were born in the Anguo Mansion, which makes the Xie family naturally become the apex of the major families in the capital.

With An Guogong's identity and seniority, whenever he went to toast a table of guests, the guests at that table, especially the people from the noble family, would say all the good things to congratulate him, but Xie Changting, who was the protagonist of tonight, was ignored.

For everyone's congratulations and persuasions, An Guogong also behaved very boldly, and went on with the guests one after another, and everyone praised him for not reducing the amount of wine that year.

When it was Chi Fei's turn to sit at their seat, Cao Dangjia congratulated An Guogong on behalf of Cao Fu.

It's just that compared to other nobles who are eager to curry favor with An Guogong, Cao Dangjia is obviously much colder, and he simply said "Congratulations, congratulations" and forget it.

An Guogong didn't think it was wrong, and had a toast with Cao Dangjia with a red face.

After finishing this cup, An Guogong asked Chi Fei a little drunk: "Su Zhen, where did your father-in-law go?" Why haven't you seen anyone yet? ”

"My father-in-law may have something to do, and I couldn't arrive for the time being, please forgive me. He's supposed to be almost there. ”

"Okay, when Ning Zhiyuan's kid comes, I will definitely let him punish himself three cups. Changting, you can have a drink with Su Zhen on my behalf. ”

"Yes, grandfather.

I have heard of Mr. Su's name for a long time, and it is really better to see it than to hear it. If there is a place that you can't greet tonight, please forgive Mr. Su, and I will have a toast with you on behalf of my grandfather. Master Xie Changting politely raised his wine glass and toasted to Chi Fei.

"The master of the horse has won the award, and I wish the master of the horse and the princess Qin Se to sing together and give birth to a noble son early." After speaking, he had a toast with the concubine Xie Changting.

Next, An Guogong took his grandson to other places to toast.

Because there were too many guests, after walking down a circle, even An Guogong, who was known as a large number of people, was already full of alcohol, drunk, and even began to walk a little unsteadily.

As for the horse Xie Changting, it is even more obvious, he has to be supported by someone to walk, and it is obviously not light.

Seeing this, the people of the Xie family had to let the two of them go back to the inner hall to rest first, and others would entertain the guests for the time being.

At this time, the banquet was already halfway through, and many guests began to stop their chopsticks to chat, or persuade each other to drink.

Chi Fei looked at the empty seats in front of him again, and sure enough, his father-in-law hadn't come yet.

This made him feel a little uneasy, not knowing what had happened to them.

Suddenly, Chi Fei felt a burst of damp heat coming from his shoulder, and then he saw a little guy apologizing to him with a panicked face.

It turned out that when the little guy came over with tea, he accidentally knocked over the tea and spilled it on him.

If it weren't for the fact that there were guests everywhere, it is estimated that the little guy would have been so frightened that he would have knelt down and begged for mercy.

Chi Fei was not a mean person in the first place, so naturally he would not bother with him.

Stretching out his hand to stop the other party's continuous apology, Chi Fei said to Mr. Cao, and then went to find a place to deal with the water stains on his body.

Seeing that he didn't care, the little guy immediately took him to the guest lounge with a thousand thanks.

Since all the guests were eating at this time, there was no one in the lounge, and it was very quiet.

Just as Chi Fei was sorting out his clothes, the little guy suddenly stepped forward and quietly stuffed a small thing into his hand, and said in a low voice: "This is what my master gave to Mr." After speaking, without waiting for Chi Fei to answer, he turned around and left the lounge.

Chi Fei watched him leave with some surprise, and then opened his palm to take a look, only to see a small paper ball inside.

Although he didn't know who was behind the little guy, Chi Fei immediately walked into the water room next to the lounge, and then quickly opened the paper ball.

After opening it, I saw that there were only a few words on it: the situation is critical, leave the capital quickly.

The handwriting is delicate and elegant, as if it came from a woman's hand.

Behind the paper, there is a very simple drawing.

After seeing the words on the paper clearly, Chi Fei's face suddenly changed.

If it were a normal day, he wouldn't have believed such unsolicited news at all.

But now that most of the banquet has passed, his father-in-law and eldest sister have not shown up for a long time, which has to make him feel suspicious.

Chi Fei was cautious, and after thinking about it for a while, he decided that he would rather believe it than believe it, and take his wife Ah Zhi out of here first.

After making up his mind, he immediately walked to the backyard.

It seems that most of the subordinates were called to the hall to entertain guests, and Chi Fei didn't meet anyone along the way, and he arrived at the front door of the backyard smoothly.

Since the backyard is a place to entertain female dependents, it is inconvenient for Chi Fei to enter as a man, so he first goes to find the red shadow who is left in the rest area of the next person.

After being reported by the people, soon Hongying walked out alone and asked Chi Fei what was the matter with her.

Chi Fei looked around, and when he saw that there was no one, he handed her the paper ball.

After reading the paper ball, Hongying immediately frowned, "No matter who the other party is, do you think this news is reliable?" ”

"I don't know, but my father-in-law and eldest sister haven't shown up yet, and I feel that something is wrong.

Just in case, we'd better get out of here first.

Even if it is later confirmed that the news is fake, at most it will be a rude laugh behind someone's back. ”

Red Shadow is also a decisive person, and immediately nodded: "I'll take Miss out now, and you will wait for us here." ”

"Okay, you go. Be careful not to arouse the suspicion of others. ”

Red Shadow nodded, and immediately turned back to the backyard.

After she left, Chi Fei felt that he was too conspicuous standing here alone.

Looking around, he simply hid behind a rockery not far away and waited for someone.

The father-in-law, who had not appeared for a long time, had already made him feel a little inappropriate, and now with this mysterious paper ball, the string in his brain suddenly collapsed.

After hiding behind the rockery for a while, Chi Fei suddenly heard a rush of footsteps from far and near.

It was definitely not Ah Zhi and them, because the footsteps were very chaotic, and when I heard it, many people were rushing here.

Chi Fei quietly looked over, and saw more than thirty men dressed as subordinates walking briskly down the road and heading straight to the banquet hall in the front yard.

During this time, no one spoke, and all of them walked forward with solemn expressions.

The leader was in his thirties, with a strong body and a fierce face, and he really didn't look like an ordinary subordinate.

The group passed quickly, in a hurry.

Seeing this scene, Chi Fei felt more and more that something was wrong.

These people give Chi Fei the feeling that they are not so much subordinates as soldiers.

Although he was quite far away from them, Chi Fei still felt a murderous smell from these people.

Chi Fei, who was originally just half-convinced, began to worry about his father-in-law, whether something really happened to them.

But now the most important thing is whether Ah Zhi and the others can get here safely, which is the most crucial.

Fortunately, what Chi Fei was worried about did not happen. After a while, Chi Fei finally saw Ah Zhi and Hongying hurriedly walking towards this side.

As soon as Chi Fei saw them, he immediately ran out and took them to the back of the rockery to hide.

"Brother, what's going on?" Ah Zhi, who didn't have time to ask in detail, had time to ask.

Chi Fei briefly explained the situation, and also told them what had just happened.

When Ah Zhi heard this, she immediately became nervous, "Then what should we do now?" ”

"Let's get out of here. It's just that we don't know what's going on out there right now, and it might be dangerous to act rashly. ”

The red shadow, who had been silent, suddenly spoke: "You two are hiding here for the time being, don't move, I'll go and find out the situation." ”

"Are you sure?" Chi Fei looked at her with some concern.

Red Shadow glanced at him with a retarded look, and then "floated" out without saying a word.

It's not an exaggeration at all, that's really floating.

I saw that the red shadow was moving in a very special way, and from a distance it looked like a fallen leaf fluttering in the wind, constantly moving quickly behind the trees, rockeries, and flowers.

Moves silently, like a ghost.

Under the cover of various obstacles, her figure quickly disappeared.

This woman is really good at the legendary light skills. Chi Fei couldn't help but feel an eye-opener.

What is the origin of this red shadow?

Although Chi Fei had known that her martial arts were very good, he didn't expect to be so powerful.

And judging by her usual behavior, she was probably still a person in the rivers and lakes before.

With such a powerful character with them, Chi Fei suddenly felt a lot more at ease.

"Brother, do you think dad and eldest sister will be okay?" Ah Zhi asked worriedly.

Chi Fei hugged her and comforted: "You don't have to worry, my father-in-law is shrewd and capable, and there are a large number of guards around him to protect him, so he will definitely be fine."

And the eldest sister is the daughter-in-law of the eldest princess, with a noble status, and I believe that no one dares to touch her.

As soon as we left here, we rushed back to the Zhenguo Mansion and knew what had happened. ”

Ah Zhi breathed a sigh of relief.

While the two were hiding, several more groups of people passed by on the road, and they all seemed to be on the same number as the first group, and their destinations were all from the front yard.

Seeing so many unknown people gathered in the front yard, Chi Fei couldn't help but be glad that he got the news in advance, otherwise he really didn't know what would happen if he stayed there any longer.

For fear of being discovered, Chi Fei and Ah Zhi hid behind the rockery and did not dare to make any sound.

Although it was already early autumn, there were still a lot of mosquitoes in the garden at night, so Chi Fei had to take off his robe and wrap Ah Zhi around her whole person, so as not to be bitten by mosquitoes.

Ah Zhi hugged him with a full of dependence and buried her head deep in his arms.

After the two waited for half an hour, the red shadow who went out to inquire about the news finally returned, but it brought very bad news: the entire princess's mansion was surrounded by a large number of officers and soldiers.

Although he didn't know who those soldiers were under command, Chi Fei didn't think that those people would let him go.

Chi Fei suddenly had a flash of inspiration, and then took out the white paper from his body and flipped it over.

After observing the very rudimentary painting through the moonlight, he realized that it was a rough topographical map.

"Do you see if this is a map of the Princess's Mansion?" Chi Fei handed the white paper to Red Shadow.

After carefully distinguishing it, Red Shadow nodded and said, "It should be right, this is the topographic map of the backyard of the princess's mansion."

This is the maple forest, and this black dot is located in the maple forest. The owner of the map seems to want us to get us in.

What are you going to do? ”

"I don't know who reported to us, but I think they really want to help us.

Since the outside was already surrounded by officers and soldiers, we had to try our luck with this map. ”

"Okay, then I'll open the way in front, you and Miss follow behind, and listen to my signals."

"Okay, thank you for your hard work."

After making a decision, the three of them immediately set off for the Maple Grove.