Outside the inn.

Xijing Street.

Qi Yu was dressed in pitch-black armor, with a long ink-colored cloak tied around his shoulders, and his long hair tied back behind his head, revealing a thin and resolute face.

The whole street was about to be chaotic, hundreds of Qi soldiers who were waiting for the battle held bright torches, rode on horses, shuttled through the streets and alleys, the sound of horses' hooves was heard from the street to the end of the street, and many people around were awakened, pushing open the windows to watch this scene in horror.

The street was about to run out of people, Qi Yu's face was solemn, and he walked quickly to the horse of a Qi soldier. When the soldier saw him, he turned over and dismounted, handed the torch to the others, stood and gave a military salute to Qi Yu, and said, "See the prince." ”

Qi Yu looked a little displeased, and said to him, "Where are you?

The soldier looked at Qi Yu's face and said, "Back to the prince, we are the Praetorian Guards of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, and we are under the orders of the high governor to urgently assemble in Xijing. ”

After hearing this, Qi Yu's eyes became more and more cold, and he said to the soldiers: "What about Chief Gao, where are the others?"

As soon as the words fell, the sound of broken horses' hooves came, and Manager Gao hurriedly came to Qi Yu on a red horse, with a flattering smile on his face, and said, "The lower officials see the prince." ”

Qi Yu stepped forward with an arrow, grabbed his feet, and forcefully pulled him off the horse. Manager Gao was so frightened that before he could speak, Qi Yu pulled his collar with one hand and dragged him aside.

"Hey, Lord Wang, what are you doing here?" said to Qi Yu.

Qi Yu dragged him to a wall, locked his throat with one arm, and said sharply, "Manager Gao, what the are you doing?"

Seeing that Qi Yu, who had always been elegant, was pale at this time, and scolded swearing, Manager Gao was pressed against the wall by him, unable to move, sticking out his tongue and struggling twice, and when Qi Yu loosened his strength slightly, he bent down, coughed violently for a while, and said breathlessly: "Lord Wang, this is what His Royal Highness the Crown Prince meant......"

"Qi'an...... What did he ask you to do here?" Qi Yu's eyes had a fierce light, and he looked closely at Manager Gao and asked.

"Your Highness said, let the Praetorian Guard hunt down an important criminal...... Isn't that what you mean, Lord Wang? I came along with what you wanted. Manager Gao lowered his eyebrows and said to Qi Yu.

Qi Yu looked at him with some incredulity and said, "Are you following me?" Or did the prince ask you to bring someone to spy on me?"

"No, no, no, no. Manager Gao hurriedly said, "His Royal Highness the Crown Prince also has good intentions, how dare we disobey his wishes? Although His Royal Highness the Crown Prince does not have military power, for the sake of you, the prince, he has sent all the Praetorian Guards with him, you see......"

After hearing this, Qi Yu clenched the hilt of the sword with one hand, and muttered in a low voice: "Bastard, he wants to seize the initiative in front of me, and he has no brains......"

As he spoke, he threw his hand in anger and turned away. A person from the dart bureau stepped forward and said to Qi Yu, "Sect leader, what should we do now?"

Qi Yu turned his head and looked at the Praetorian Guards who were riding horses all over the street, with a grim expression, and said to him: "No, according to the original plan, there is no chance to be lost." ”

"Yes. The man saluted Qi Yu and turned to leave.

"Wait a minute. Qi Yu stopped him, stepped forward and whispered to him, "Tell the brothers, act in secret, and be careful not to interfere with the Praetorian Guards." ”

The man was ordered to leave. Manager Gao stepped forward quickly, nodded at Qi Yu and said, "Lord Wang, look...... We are also hunting down the person you want, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has specially instructed it, and the brothers promise that nothing will go wrong. ”

Qi Yu turned to him and asked, "Did Qi An tell you who the person he wants to hunt down?"

Manager Gao shook his head and said, "That's not true, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince just said that he was looking for a woman, wearing a long skirt in the style of the Western Regions, wearing a veil, called ...... It's called Han Luyao. ”

When Qi Yu heard this, he couldn't help but be stunned and asked, "How does he know what kind of clothes that woman wears and what she looks like?"

Manager Gao smiled, leaned closer and said: "Lord Wang, you don't know, the person you are looking for, some time ago in the Silk Yun Building, the auction bought something with a sky lantern, and the prince was present that night." Hey, guess what, Xuan Xuan, the shopkeeper of Siyun Building, entered the palace overnight and asked, yes, she has everything she looks like, and I still have a portrait here. ”

With that, he took out a piece of paper from his arms and spread it out, on which Han Luyao's clear face was drawn, but it was covered with a veil, looming.

Qi Yu didn't expect to get Han Luyao's clues so quickly, he squinted his eyes and looked at it, thought for a while, and asked Chief Manager Gao, "Do you know...... Who is Han Luyao?"

"His Royal Highness the Crown Prince said that this woman is a person who works for the new party and secretly makes small moves here in the old party, so this time we are sure to keep a tight mouth from above, so you can put a hundred hearts, prince. Mr. Gao said in a low voice.

Hearing Manager Gao's words, Qi Yu finally had a bottom in his heart. Although Qi An was suspicious by nature, secretly monitored his movements, and intervened in the middle, fortunately, he did not make too many mistakes and did not attract the attention of the imperial court. What's more, he also helped him obtain Han Luyao's portrait, so that the most important thing to find Han Luyao can get twice the result with half the effort.

Qi Yu hesitated for a while, and said to Mr. Gao: "There are so many of you, aren't you afraid of startling the snake?"

"Don't be afraid, lord. Manager Gao patted his chest and said, "I have asked my brothers to seal all the city gates, and I can't escape tonight." ”

It's good to cause some movement. These hundreds of Praetorian Guards alone won't be able to trap her, but if she reveals her position, we can find her in the shadows. As long as she gets evidence of collusion with the new party, the entire government and the opposition will definitely cause a shock, and the contradictions between the old party and the new party will definitely break out in an instant, and at that time, they will be able to take advantage of the chaos to kill people with a knife, and it will not be difficult to bring down Qi An.

Thinking so, Qi An's face returned to normal, and he said coldly to Manager Gao: "Go ahead, be careful, don't cause a riot and disturb the superiors." ”

"The little one understands, I do things, you can rest assured!" Mr. Gao said flatteringly.

Clang!

After three updates, it was late at night.

The summer solstice sunrise in the desert is early, and the sky is already faintly glowing.

Qi Yu ignored Chief Gao and his Praetorian Guards, but turned around and rushed to the remote path of Xijing with a dozen men and horses from the dart bureau.

Chief Gao shouted at the Praetorian Guards, telling them to guard strictly, seal all exits of the city gate, and not let go of a corner.

The Janissaries began an efficient carpet search, and the clamor of horses' hooves resounded throughout the city. The light of the torches flowed slowly like the blood of the city, and the low buildings on both sides of the street opened their windows, and people poked their heads out and looked at the scene in horror.

Only half an hour had passed, and the entire city's official roads had been firmly sealed off by the Praetorian Guards, with a soldier patrolling back and forth every few dozen steps.

The soldiers began to search from house to house, guarding the streets, knocking rudely on the doors of the surrounding households, shouting loudly outside the doors.

Most of the residents here have fled from the far Western Regions with their ancestors, and their families are generally poor, coupled with local bureaucratic corruption and collusion between officials and businessmen, resulting in a large gap between the rich and the poor. In many places, it is like a slum, where only the old and sick are left in the family, and the men go out to do business and work. The sudden search of the Qi army made many people panic, as soon as the door was opened, the soldiers outside rushed up, not letting go of a corner, and broke into the houses to force the search.

In a few moments the exclamations of women, the cries of children, and the impatient roars of soldiers resounded throughout the street.

Dissatisfied with the efficiency of the Qi army, Governor Gao ordered people to organize and drive all the people out of their homes for search. About half an hour later, a wide official road was densely packed with people, including many old women, women with children in their arms, and some sleepy-eyed idlers with blank faces. Dressed in coarse cloth clothes, their faces tanned and red, they looked at the soldiers around them with numbness, sluggishness, and fear.

Mr. Gao rode on a red horse, and his luxurious golden silk official uniform formed a huge contrast with the people of Xijing who were huddled under him. He narrowed his eyes and covered his nose in disgust, as if he was smoky from the smell of sweat on their bodies.

"Come on, between them, give me a good look at the portrait, the first person to find it, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has a lot of rewards. Chief Gao said angrily to the soldiers.

Hearing the order, the soldier rushed into the crowd, grabbed the collar of the person roughly, raised the portrait of the person to compare, and pushed it away after seeing it. The people gathered on the side showed frightened expressions in the face of the soldiers, and shrank back timidly.

After a while, the soldier picked up an old woman who was over the age of six, looked at her, and impatiently pushed her away. The old woman was pushed by him, took a few steps back, stood unsteadily, and fell to the ground all of a sudden. A man beside her, bare-armed, sun-tanned, hurriedly stepped forward to help her up, and said to the soldiers, "What are you doing? ”

The soldier listened, glanced out of the corner of his eye, and then dragged a young woman along.

"Hey, this is my wife!" the man shouted, taking the soldier's hand.

The soldier ignored him, picked up the portrait in his hand, and carefully compared it. The woman couldn't move, and couldn't help but bow her head.

After a few glances, the soldier pulled the woman's collar outward, and the man held his hand and yelled at him, "Hey, what are you doing, this is my wife!"

The soldier turned around and pushed at the man, but the man was tall and strong, and he didn't push, so he then reached out to pull the man's hand holding him, and the man was in a hurry, raised his hand and accidentally slapped the soldier.

This force was not light, the soldier fell to the ground, covering his face, and the eyes of the people around him were all focused on this place. The man was a little flustered and kept protecting the woman to retreat. The people around them dispersed, making way for the two of them.

The man looked around in panic and held his wife tightly behind him, his lips trembling.

A soldier walked straight up to the two of them, drew his sword, and slashed at the man without pause.

With the sound of a knife slicing into the flesh, a long wound appeared on the man's neck, and blood gushed out. He was so startled by the sudden blow that he didn't come back to his senses, his eyes widened, his hands on his neck, and he looked ahead in a daze. After a while, his body went limpy and fell to the ground.

The woman burst into tears, knelt beside him, and hugged his body tightly.

The pool of blood gradually dispersed, staining the ground beneath the man, his eyes still staring at the front.