On the first day of September, in the morning.

The north gate of Lin'an City is bustling and noisy as usual.

Pedestrians from the south to the north flow endlessly at the heavily guarded city gate, and the people who go out of the city move unhindered. On the contrary, the people who entered the city lined up outside the city gate, and were questioned by the soldiers defending the city in turn, and only after confirming that they were correct could they be released.

Although there are routine inspections on weekdays, they are far less meticulous and rigorous than they are today. The root cause is still the "turmoil in the rivers and lakes" that Lin'an experienced not long ago, so that Long Yan was furious, and everyone from the court to the Lin'an Mansion was trembling and fearful.

At that time, most of the officials who were responsible for maintaining law and order in the Lin'an Mansion had already been punished, ranging from demotion to transfer, to confiscation and beheading.

It is precisely because of the bloody experience of the previous car that today's Lin'an Mansion has to be cautious and cautious. They strictly guarded the city gate with an attitude of preferring to indulge in vain, and vowed to strangle all external hidden dangers outside Lin'an City.

In the long procession, a caravan of more than a dozen people slowly moved forward step by step.

The caravan was mostly grizzled and short-dressed men, led by an old man in his sixties and a young man and a woman. Among them, the woman held a big belly, as if she was pregnant.

"Where did you come from, where did you go?"

Before they knew it, the caravan had come to the city gate, where two sergeants with spears crossed to block their way, and two other sergeants looked around the caravan, knocking and poking the goods on the wagon with their knives from time to time, and examining them quite carefully.

The leading sergeant held a pen and paper in his hand, questioning and recording at the same time.

"The military master is hard, we are tea sellers from Jiangling, and we go into the city to deliver goods to several tea houses. The old man stepped forward with a smile on his face, and as he explained, he turned back and gestured to the two carriages.

The sergeant leader glanced at the crowd and asked nonchalantly, "Who are they?"

"They are the grandsons and granddaughters-in-law of the little old man. The old man first pointed at the young men and women who were submissive, and then at a dozen or so men, "The others are all contemptible men." ”

"What's the deal with a big belly?"

"The little old man is old and plans to hand over the business to his grandson, so he brings him to meet the old customers who know Lin'an City. The old man replied, "My granddaughter-in-law is pregnant, and my grandson is not worried that she is alone at home, so he brought it with him, and bought her some gold and silver jewelry by the way." After all, Lin'an is an imperial city, and there are many new things, which our small place can't compare. Hey hey ......"

"That's!" said the sergeant leader arrogantly, "according to the rules, anyone who does business enters Lin'an City, and one person ...... Collect a tael of silver. ”

"What?" the old man was shocked, "when did the rules come to be made? We can't make a lot of money with two carts of tea......

"The rules of the government are not for you to talk nonsense. The sergeant leader interrupted impatiently, "There are many people in the back, and Lao Tzu doesn't have time to accompany you, either pay the money or get out." ”

"I'm ......" The old man hesitated again and again, then took out six taels of silver from his arms, and reluctantly handed it to the leader of the sergeant with a shiny eye, and said aggrievedly, "Our ancestors and grandchildren, plus three more guys, as for the others...... I told them to wait outside the city. ”

"Seeing that you are sensible, Lao Tzu will open up and let you bring one more person into the city. The sergeant's leader weighed the silver in his hand and waved his hand in satisfaction.

"Thank you, Master Jun......"

The old man who had lost his stomach said absentmindedly, and then led the young man and woman and the four men who dared not speak angrily towards the city.

After entering Lin'an, this foreign caravan suddenly became familiar with the road, twisting around the streets and alleys, and went straight into a private house in the south of the city.

"God forbid, this journey is finally thrilling!"

As soon as he entered the courtyard, the man who drove the car immediately threw aside the horsewhip, reached out and groped back and forth from a large vat of tea, and finally took out a waist knife.

At the same time, the young man and another man pulled out a sword and an iron bow from the other two teapots.

The "pregnant" woman reached into her abdomen, and pulled out an embroidered pillow in front of everyone's eyes, and her swollen belly disappeared in an instant.

At this moment, a roe deer man brought a basin of water, and when several people washed their faces, their true colors were rediscovered.

The young men and women are Li Haitang and Pan Yuyin. The guy who drove the car was Feng Tianba, and the other guy was Liu Xunyi.

The person who brought them the water was Qin Ku's cronies and his childhood friend, Zhang Shun.

As for the old man and another fellow, they were also Qin Ku's cronies.

A month ago, Qin Ku carefully built this special caravan after thousands of selections, with the purpose of escorting Liu Xunyi and the four of them back to Lin'an smoothly.

The results were obvious, and they encountered almost no danger all the way south. What's more, there were a few times when they lived in the same inn with those Jianghu people who ambushed "Liu Xunyi", and they were not noticed by anyone, which can be described as a blessing from heaven and smooth sailing.

"Zhang Shun, after I go back, thank Brother Qin again and again for me. Liu Xunyi tidied up his clothes and told Zhang Shun, "I owe him another favor, and when this matter settles, I will definitely invite him to drink." ”

"Brother Liu, don't worry, the little brother will definitely convey it!" Zhang Shun smiled and happily agreed.

"That's right!" Liu Xunyi raised his eyebrows and said curiously, "Do you know how many people Qin Ku has found to pretend to be me?"

"I heard Brother Qin say that there seem to be more than a dozen ......" Zhang Shun was stunned, "Is there something wrong?"

"There's nothing wrong with it, it's just ...... Something strange. ”

"What's strange?"

"We went all the way south and we heard about 'me' almost every day. It is rumored that there are dozens of 'Liu Xunyi' who were kidnapped and sent to King Xian's mansion. If Brother Qin only found a dozen people to pretend to be me, then where did the other 'Liu Xunyi' come from?"

"This ......"

After being reminded by Liu Xunyi, Zhang Shun and Feng Tianba couldn't help but be stunned. It was only at this point that they realized that something was indeed unusual.

"Could it be a rumor?" Pan Yuyin speculated.

"Maybe!" Liu Xunyi nodded absentmindedly, "but I always feel ...... During this time, there were too many 'Liu Xunyi' in the rivers and lakes, too much, and a little ...... It's not like Brother Qin's arrangement alone. ”

"Could there be someone secretly helping each other?" Li Haitang said thoughtfully, "Maybe someone has the same mind as the Lord of the Qin Mansion, so he secretly fueled the trouble and helped Brother Liu escape this catastrophe?"

"Could it be...... Chasing the moon in the clouds?"

"The Holy Lord is far away in Dali, and he should ...... Not him. Li Haitang's answer was ambiguous, "But I can't say for sure, the Holy Priest has always been unpredictable." ”

"And!" Liu Xunyi changed his words and said, "Before entering the city, I found that there were many suspicious people outside Lin'an City, some of whom were using the code of the Xian Wangfu to communicate, I don't know what happened?"

"Are they still not giving up and want to break into Lin'an to make trouble like last time?"

"I can't say ......"

"I'll investigate!" Before Liu Xunyi could answer, Li Haitang had already taken the initiative to ask, "Anyway, you have to go back to the imperial court to restore your life, I have nowhere to go, so I simply went out of the city to find out their details." ”

"Brother Li, you can settle here for the time being. Zhang Shun took the opportunity to propose, "This courtyard is the property of the Qin family's temporary resettlement office, and it is very secretive. ”

"The Hexi Qin clan can set up an industry in Lin, and presumably other sects also have hiding places here. No wonder there were constraints everywhere in the last clearance, it turned out that they had been lurking in the most dangerous places. ”

Sighing with emotion, Liu Xunyi restrained his thoughts, cast his grateful eyes on Pan Yuyin, who was worried, and hesitated: "Miss Pan, now that we have returned to Lin'an, my injuries have also recovered, you don't have to worry anymore." At the moment, the situation in the imperial court is still unclear, and you are too close to us...... Maybe you will be burned. In my opinion, you should return to Pan's Mansion as soon as possible, and remember to say hello to Uncle Pan, Mrs. Pan, and Mr. Pan on my behalf. ”

"I ...... When will I see Brother Liu again?" Pan Yuyin wanted to refuse, but she really couldn't find a reason to refuse, so she said in a hesitant voice, "I promised the princess ......"

"Miss Pan, the princess's entrustment to you...... It's just a momentary mood, you don't have to take it personally. Liu Xunyi's expression was full, and he repeatedly said words in his heart, before he revealed his true thoughts and plates, "You are the eldest lady of the Pan family, and the apprentice of Peach Blossom Mother-in-law, you should live a leisurely life of fine clothes and jade food, spring and summer strings, and in the future, whether you are in business or medicine, you will have a bright future." I really shouldn't delay my good youth because of the princess's words, let alone because of me...... Wandering all day long, frightened. ”

"......"

"If I can escape this catastrophe, I will definitely go to Pan's Mansion to visit Uncle Pan and Mrs. Pan!" Liu Xunyi didn't give Pan Yuyin a chance to argue, and hurriedly instructed the dazed Li Haitang, "Send Miss Pan home for me." ”

"I ......"

"Lord Liu, we have been delayed for many days, presumably Ding Qinghong has already returned to Lin'an. Feng Tianba interjected inophinctly, "What should we do......?"

"Your Majesty, can you and I meet you when I meet?" Liu Xunyi thought for a moment and slowly spoke, "You go back to the Prime Minister's Mansion first, and inform the Prime Minister of the matter of this relationship, and I will go back to Tianji Pavilion to report to the Hou Ye." As for what to do next...... Just do what you are told. ”

"Makes sense!" Feng Tianba nodded again and again, "The prime minister and Tianji Hou are thorough, we will tell them the ins and outs of the matter, and by the way, we can also inquire whether Ding Qinghong is playing right and wrong in front of the emperor." ”

"That's good!" Liu Xunyi immediately decided, "Without further ado, let's leave immediately." ”

After the discussion, Zhang Shun and the people of the Qin family left in a carriage first, and then Li Haitang, who was full of embarrassment, urged Pan Yuyin, who was in a state of confusion, to walk out of the courtyard gate, and finally Liu Xunyi and Feng Tianba went their separate ways.

In the blink of an eye, this once-bustling house returned to its former tranquility. Apart from the few large vats of tea left in the courtyard, there was nothing else to prove that a group of passers-by had just arrived.

......