After King Jing calmed down, the masked man continued to ask, "Last time, I said that I arranged for someone to infiltrate the spy department or buy relevant people, how did it go?" ”

King Jing hesitated for a moment, but still said frankly: "The situation is not very smooth. Mr. Hao knows that all the people who join the spy department have innocent backgrounds, and even an ordinary wrestler has to be reviewed by the supervisor and approved by thousands of households, so it is difficult to catch the handle. Now Cao Wenbing, the commander of the spy department, is the son of the emperor's nursing mother, and he is extremely loyal to him, and there is no possibility of being bribed at all. So far, only one hundred households and two general banners of the South Division of the Beijing Spy Department have been bribed, and the North Division is in charge of the edict, so there is no need to buy it for the time being. Because the time is too short, most of the people I arranged to infiltrate the spy department are still small flags. ”

The masked man nodded after hearing this, "We still have to step up our efforts to promote this matter, and let the bribed person pass on the relevant news in time." I suspect that as the emperor's illness worsens, the guards of the palace will gradually be handed over to the people of the spy department. When the time comes, as long as you are one step ahead, you will be able to take the lead. ”

"Okay, I'll keep an eye on this now. Is there anything else you would like to explain, sir? ”

"One thing needs to be remembered, you must often go to the queen mother in the palace during this time, and use filial piety to influence the queen mother. At that time, the first emperor's concubine died early, causing the position of the crown prince to be vacant. The first emperor felt that the prince was quite similar to himself, and intended to make the prince the prince, but he was always opposed by the courtiers on the grounds of establishing a successor. The emperor knew that he was not liked by the first emperor, so he often went to the queen to greet him, and even tried the decoction many times to show his filial piety. After the death of the first emperor, it was precisely because of the queen and the Cui family behind her that the emperor was able to ascend to the throne smoothly as the eldest son. Now the crown prince is only six years old, as Taishi Gong said: 'The lord is suspicious, the minister is not attached, and the people do not believe it. What does it belong to me? As long as you can convince the Queen Mother, great things can be expected after the emperor's death. In fact, this reason can also convince courtiers, including Ye Nanqing. Because the crown prince ascended the throne at a young age, Ye Nanqing and others, who benefited from it, could only be prosperous for ten years. Once the young lord takes power, there are only two ways left for Ye Nanqing: either rebellion, which will definitely not work; Either they are killed with their hands tied, and there is no possibility of even returning home. ”

King Jing nodded heavily, signaling understanding.

The Masked Man continued, "This is a critical time. Later, don't let the people in the court act rashly for the time being, so as not to arouse the emperor's suspicion. At this juncture, the emperor is the most suspicious, and he will definitely remove obstacles for the prince. Any disturbance could provoke a fierce counterattack from him. Therefore, during this period of time, except for going to the queen mother in the palace to calm down in the morning and dusk, you should not go out and walk around at will, let alone visit the ministers of the court. You see, the dying beast is the most ferocious and the mind is more unfathomable, especially the dying monarch. No one knows for sure what he's going to do. ”

"yes, I see." Although King Jing's tone was calm, there was also a faint hint of excitement that was not easy to detect. After seeing the masked man enter the secret passage and close the door, he walked around a few more times, and then forced himself to be quiet, holding a copy of "The Treatise on Salt and Iron" in his hand and reading it, but he didn't turn the page for half a day.

After a while, it was about midnight, and there was another knock on the door of the study. King Jing took a deep breath and said in a calm tone, "Come in." ”

The man in black leaned into the study, knelt a foot away without saying a word, and looked down at the ground.

King Jing didn't look at him, and asked coldly, "Say, why is Xia Guoyuan still alive and well so far?" How do you do that?! As he spoke, he slapped the table hard and scolded sharply.

The man in black kneeling on the ground shook his shoulders, and his tone was so eager that his voice was a little shrill in his voice. "Damn it! Damn the minions! Please punish the master. Because some time ago, the minions sent most of the good hands of the chief helm of the capital to monitor the spy department, and at the same time, according to the master's order, some good hands were mixed in, and there was really no manpower to carry out the task. Therefore, the minions first let the assassins of the Huai'an Mansion to find out the situation, and then took advantage of the opportunity of Xia Guoyuan's passenger ship to dock in Yangzhou. How do you know that the life and death of the assassin sent by Huai'an Mansion to investigate the situation is uncertain, and the assassin of Yangzhou Mansion is also found to be besieged......" Speaking of this, the man in black stopped his voice, and really didn't know what to say. After all, to be a slave is also to have the consciousness of being a slave, things are not done well, no matter how much explanation is useless, no master will like to hear so many excuses.

Sure enough, King Jing put away his gaze staring at the books, looked at the black-clothed man who seemed to have shrunk into a ball on his knees, and said coldly with a little sarcasm: "I see that you have been too idle lately, and you can't do anything well." Do you really think that you are a blood bodhisattva on high? ”

The man in black said in a panicked voice: "The slave doesn't dare! Slaves don't dare! ”

"Okay, then you can go to Yangzhou in person now and find an opportunity to get rid of Xia Guoyuan before he enters Beijing. Ten years ago, he was lucky, and he didn't want him to come to the capital to cause chaos this time. ”

The man in black bowed in place and got up to leave. At this time, there was a sudden knock on the door of the study again, and the man in black flashed on the spot, and he had already taken out the dagger he was carrying with him and came to the door, his eyes first stared coldly at the door, and then turned his head to look at King Jing.

King Jing was also taken aback, nodded at the Blood Bodhisattva who was looking at him, and then asked loudly, "Who?" Lone is busy. ”

A coquettish voice came from outside the door, "Lord Wang, the night is already very deep, and the concubine has boiled a bowl of lotus seed porridge for you to make supper." The woman outside the door was King Jingxinna's favorite concubine, dressed in light gauze and holding a bowl of porridge with a smile. Her heart was happy, and she had the idea of letting the prince stay in her room tonight, so that the sisters would not have to rob her.

King Jing breathed a sigh of relief, shook his head lightly at the Blood Bodhisattva, and then got up and went over to open the door, not letting the concubine in. He said with a smile: "Concubine Ai, why haven't you slept yet?" Lone is reading a book, and I'll go to you later. ”

The concubine's face was red, and her whole body exuded the fragrance after bathing, and she said with a charming look: "Lord, the concubine will go in and put down the lotus seed porridge to grind the ink for you." It is said that reading at night with red sleeves is also an elegant matter. As he spoke, he was about to squeeze into the study. She had heard before that the prince of this study never let others in, and if she went in tonight, she would definitely be able to compare the other sisters.

King Jing's face froze for a moment, and a faint grim smile appeared on the corner of his mouth, because he turned his back to the candlelight but was not noticed. He said softly: "If the concubine wants to come in, come in, it just so happens that Lone also has something to tell you." Then he took two steps back and opened the door, nodding imperceptibly.

The concubine happily walked into the study, and then lost consciousness in front of her. The man in black pierced the silver needle into the woman's temple with one hand, and with the other hand he caught the porridge bowl steadily, without spilling a drop of soup.

King Jing stood in front of the desk with his back to the man in black and said calmly, "Bury her in a mass grave." ”

"Yes!" The man in black put the porridge bowl on the desk, picked up the woman and went out, as if no one was there.

King Jing picked up the porridge bowl, blew a few breaths, drank it slowly, and chewed it carefully.