The sky was faintly bright, and in the twilight, a black pong carriage staggered to the end door.

The guards guarding the door had just been on duty all night, and it was when they were tired and unbearable, and they were also quite impatient with the little eunuch who was rushing out of the car: "Going out so early is a big deal?" ”

As soon as he finished complaining, he heard a shrill hoarse voice from the car: "The matter of the Queen Mother, is it a big deal?!" ”

The guard was shocked when he heard this, and saw that the gray cloth curtain on the car opened half of the fan, revealing half of his face full of folds, and his eyes were not good, so he saw that the guard's heartbeat missed half a beat, and he hurriedly changed into a flattering look, hugged his fists and saluted: "It turned out to be Father-in-law Ji!" It's early in the morning, why do you have to go out? ”

"The miscellaneous family also knows that it is early in the morning, so they shouldn't come to disturb Qin Duwei." Father-in-law Ji spoke modestly, but his tone was sarcastic, "But our Queen Mother is worried about the mutton soup and beard cakes of the Zhang family in Xishi, so don't the miscellaneous family have to buy them for her old man?" ”

"That's that!" Qin Duwei couldn't help but smile, "Our Queen Mother is a Hu person, isn't it just like this......" Before he finished speaking, he was slapped by Father-in-law Ji, and realized that he had said the wrong thing again, so he hurriedly turned wittily, "Don't you have to bother Father-in-law Ji!" Speaking of such an errand errand, you sent a little eunuch who was still the food supervisor to do it, why do you always do it yourself? ”

"That's the meal that is going to enter the queen mother's palace and give it to those monkey cubs, how can I rest assured?" Gonggong Ji was a little impatient, "The miscellaneous family is in a hurry, Qin Duwei let him go!" ”

Qin Duwei naturally didn't dare to delay, nodded and watched the eunuch in charge of Kunning Palace go away.

The carriage traveled all the way to the West Market, and when it stopped in front of an inconspicuous restaurant, two little eunuchs waited for Father-in-law Ji to get off the car, and shouted to the store: "Shopkeeper Zhang!" ”

I saw a middle-aged man wearing a greasy white cloth smock running out, and arched his hand to the door from a distance and said, "Father-in-law Ji is here, the small shop is really shining!" ”

Father-in-law Ji's compliments to him were completely useless: "Don't mess up those useless things with the miscellaneous family, I gave you your special mutton soup and beard cakes yesterday, but they are all ready?" The miscellaneous family is waiting to return to the palace! ”

Shopkeeper Zhang said: "The Hu cake is ready, but the mutton soup still owes some heat......

"Bastard thing!" Ji Gonggong was displeased, "You dare to delay the food in the tribute palace?" The head wants to change places, doesn't it? ”

Shopkeeper Zhang hurriedly said: "Father-in-law Ji, don't worry, listen to the villain's explanation: My Zhangjia sheep soup is delicious and delicious, and it has always been killed and cooked and eaten." In order to make this pot of tribute soup, the villain got up and slaughtered the sheep when he was young, and now it has been boiled for two and a half hours, and it is just right to boil for another half an hour. If the villain asks his father-in-law to bring the soup back at this time, although he can pay the difference, he owes some taste, and he is afraid that the nobles in the palace will not be satisfied with it, and then complain about the father-in-law, aren't you? ”

Father-in-law Ji glanced at him when he heard it: "The soup is not boiled well, and the rhetoric is one set at a time." ”

Seeing that Ji's father-in-law's attitude had eased, Shopkeeper Zhang hurriedly stepped forward and warmly invited: "Father-in-law may wish to sit in the small shop first, warm up after drinking hot soup, and the villain will cut you a plate of braised mutton that has just come out of the pot, you can taste it!" ”

"You pickled shop...... Find a clean place for the miscellaneous family to get their feet down! Father-in-law Ji chattered, but raised his feet and walked to the store, walked two steps and instructed a little eunuch behind him: "You go to the Ziyan Pavilion on the street in front of you, weigh three taels of good snuff for the miscellaneous family, remember to pick and choose carefully for me, don't let the black-hearted shopkeeper be shoddy!" ”

The little eunuch hurriedly agreed, turned around and ran away. When he walked away, Gonggong Ji and Shopkeeper Zhang glanced at each other, lowered their voices and asked, "Where are the people?" ”

"Inside." Shopkeeper Zhang replied, led Father-in-law Ji all the way inward, walked to the innermost box, stretched out his hand and pulled a painting hanging on the wall, and saw that the Bogu shelf that was originally together suddenly separated, revealing a door.

Father-in-law Ji ordered another little eunuch to guard outside the door, straightened his collar, and walked in.

Inside the door was a small secret room, and in the middle was a wooden table, and a man in black sat beside the table, blowing a bowl of steaming mutton soup with his head down.

Father-in-law Ji looked at the person in front of him, a pair of cloudy old eyes blinked a few times, and his voice trembled and changed his tone: "Isn't it my old eyes that are dizzy...... But is the prince here in person? ”

Mu Yunsong raised his head, his eyes were soft, and he bowed to Gonggong Ji and said, "Ji Bo, I haven't seen you for many years. ”

Gonggong Ji was so excited that he was a little at a loss: yesterday, he received news from his apprentice from outside the palace, saying that he had seen the contact code of the Mu family, and it was the highest level.

Gonggong Ji read the code copied by his apprentice several times, and the more he looked at it, the more frightened he became: according to the edict of the first emperor, the king of Beijing was not allowed to enter Beijing unless he was edicted, otherwise he would be punished for the crime of rebellion. However, judging from this code, I don't know which master of the Beijing Mansion came to Xijing.

Therefore, he found a way out of the palace early in the morning, but he never thought that it was Mu Yunsong, the prince of Beijing, who came in person.

Father-in-law Ji couldn't help but worry when he was excited: "The prince came to Xijing like this, but it is very dangerous!" "But what happened to the Beijing Palace?!" ”

"Something is indeed wrong, but it is inconvenient to elaborate at this time." Mu Yunsong said, "Ji Bo knows that the emperor has brought a woman into the palace a few days ago?" ”

"Women's ...... I haven't heard that the emperor has recently added a concubine. Gonggong Ji frowned and pondered, he was the eunuch in charge of Kunning Palace before, and he was still deaf and clear-sighted, but in recent days, the Queen Mother and the emperor have become more and more discordant, and even been placed under house arrest by the emperor for a long time.

Seeing that the prince was embarrassed, Gonggong Ji hurriedly asked: "What kind of woman is the prince looking for, the old slave knows it, so he can arrange someone to investigate." ”

Mu Yunsong hesitated: If the emperor really hid Su Qi in the palace, he would naturally hide it from others and not let anyone know her identity. At this time, if Ji Bo went to investigate, it would be tantamount to startling the snake, and it might expose him, an informant who had been ambushed in the palace for many years.

"You don't have to look it up first." Mu Yunsong tapped his fingertips on the table, and said after some consideration: "Ji Bo can have a way to arrange for this king to enter the palace?" ”

Father-in-law Ji was shocked, and hurriedly said: "Think twice, the prince!" This is absolutely inappropriate. Recently, the palace has been strictly prohibited, and even I, an old slave who has been working in the palace for decades, have to match the waist card when entering and leaving the palace gate. Even if the prince can sneak into the palace, if someone finds out, it will be difficult to figure it out! And the King of Beijing is not allowed to enter Beijing without an edict, and the prince can't lose the lives of a large family in the Beijing Palace! ”

Mu Yunsong was too worried about Su Qi's safety, and he said the idea of entering the palace in a hurry, and at this time, he was advised by Gonggong Ji, and he also felt that he was too impulsive, so he said: "That's it, it's that this king is not thoughtful." Ji Bo doesn't have to worry about this matter, help me check on another person first......"

After talking for a long time, the two heard the silver bell on the wall ringing softly, and knew that the shopkeeper was sending them a message, and the little apprentice who bought snuff had returned. So Gonggong Ji and Mu Yunsong bowed goodbye and walked out of the secret room, pretending to be dissatisfied and ordered the little eunuch to take the charcoal stove food box containing mutton soup and Hu cakes, and get in the car to go back to the palace with chatter.

Mu Yunsong was left in the secret room, staring at the smoking bowl of mutton soup:

Since Emperor Mu Yunze took great pains to capture Su Qi, he naturally had to take care of it under his nose, so there was a good chance that Su Qi was hidden in the palace. But he himself carried the lives of dozens of members of the Mu family in Guangning, and he could never show up in Xijing, and the line of Gonggong Ji could not be moved easily......

Now, who can enter the palace to find out Su Qi's whereabouts?

Mu Yunsong got up irritably and paced back and forth in the secret room, suddenly wondering what Mr. Su was doing now.

Since that day's fight in Dongfeng Town, the two of them have parted ways, even if they are both for the same purpose, they are persistently going their own way, and they have no intention of cooperating with each other.

Thinking of Mr. Su, Mu Yunsong suddenly thought of someone.

It was night, and the city of Xijing had entered the curfew, but there was only one place, which was still singing and dancing, lively and bustling.

At the back door of the teaching department, under the red lantern, a beautiful woman was shyly tugging at a young man's sleeve, and said angrily: "The third prince really wants to leave? But the slave family is not serving to your liking? ”

Xia Ke felt a little annoyed in his heart, but he couldn't bear to be angry with a delicate girl, so he only said: "My family has strict rules, and my children are not allowed to stay overnight, so I will come to see you another day." ”

The girls of the Jiaofang Division have always served the dignitaries and nobles in Beijing, and they have also heard of the family rules of a family like the Xia family, so they reluctantly let go and said: "The third prince has to talk about it, and the slave family is waiting for you every day."

Xia Ke chattered in his mouth, but his steps were hurried, secretly wondering if he would be scolded by the old man if he went back at this hour.

As soon as he walked to a place where he was carrying people, he was suddenly stretched out by a hand to cover his mouth and dragged into the dark alley.

"Huh?!" Although Xia Ke was surprised, he had some kung fu in his body, and when he raised his hand to grab the arm of the sneak attacker, he was about to give him an over-the-shoulder throw when he lunged over.

It's a pity that the ideal is very plump, the reality is very skinny, no matter how he exerts his strength, the people behind him are as solid as a rock and do not move at all.

Xia Ke was in a hurry, and another whip leg went to attack the attacker's lower plate, but he easily dodged it, and the people also went around to him, and a Ugin dagger pressed against Xia Ke's throat without warning.

Xia Ke was completely out of choice at this time, so he had to raise his hands and pretend to be calm and said to the black-clothed masked man in front of him: "This brother, if you have something to say, if you are short of silver, I have a purse in my waist and a few silver tickets in my arms, you can take them." ”

But the black-clothed masked man did not take his silver, but reached out and pulled off the face towel on his face, looked at him with a pair of deep pool-like eyes and said, "Third Prince Xia, I haven't seen you for a long time." ”