LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 262 Hope and Despair
As soon as she returned home at the beginning of the Yuan Dynasty, the guard handed a small letterbox to her. She opened it and saw that it was a thin small letter signed with only a few words written on it, "The medicinal materials are fake. It is suspected." In order to lure the tiger away from the mountain, you must protect the safety of your wife and children and pay attention to the news in the palace."
Looking at the message, Yuan Chuyi realized that Xiao Jing already knew that the medicinal materials were fake, and even suspected that his trip to the Wulin Alliance was someone else's trick to lure the tiger away from the mountain. He was afraid that he and his children would be in danger, so he sent a secret message back. Explain to Xuan Yue. Sure enough, he and his children occupied the most important position in his heart.
Thinking about this, she missed him even more.
Xiao Jing was currently in the Wulin League, listening to the news from another Jianghu swordsman that the disaster relief food had been robbed. The person who came secretly this time was a bounty hunter with thick eyebrows and big eyes.
The bounty hunter said that when he went north on a mission to the southwest last year, he accidentally saw a large amount of food in the bilge of the passenger ship, and there were many men in black with knives and swords on the ship. He didn't notice anything wrong at the time, but now that he thought about it, he realized that there were many passenger boats on the river at that time, just like the boat he was on, with a deep draft and seemed to be carrying heavy objects, not like they were just carrying passengers. .
"What boat were you on? Which river?"
"Lanjiang! We are traveling on Caobang's boat."
"Caogang!" Xiao Jing suddenly knew what was going on. Last night Wu Tian also said that the grain was rushed to the ferry and transported by ship. It seems that the Caogang had a big role in the grain robbery case.
Xiao Jing asked Lou Xingyun to give the bounty man 600 taels of silver notes, and the remaining 400 taels would be paid after he verified the authenticity of the information.
"When Lao Wu comes, ask him to check the Cao Gang immediately!" Xiao Jing said.
"Yes!" Lou Xingyun responded.
Xiao Jing called Ling Zhen, Master Mei and others to ask them some information about the Cao Gang. After he finished asking, Lao Wu and Fang Wuyan also came back. They confirmed that the people in the Valley of Miracle Doctors had been exterminated, and there were no traces of the murderer left behind. However, it could be seen from the wounds on the bodies of the deceased that the weapons used to kill them were all the same type of sharp swords, and were the same as those that had attacked them before. The knives used by the assassins are the same.
"The Tibetan Medicine Pavilion in the Valley of Divine Doctors was also looted!" Fang Wuyan said, "My subordinates did not find the Dragon Heart Grass!"
Xiao Jing sighed, "It's as expected!" They had killed all the people, how could they still keep the medicinal materials? He stood up, looking lonely, "Go back to the capital!"
When Master Mei and others heard that they were leaving, they couldn't help but look at each other, "My lord, you are going back to Beijing, what about the leader of the alliance?" Ning Wuying is now the leader of the martial arts alliance. If he leaves, what will happen to their martial arts alliance? Are they leaderless?
Xiao Jing glanced at Ling Zhen lightly and said casually, "Leader Ling will take over for the time being!"
"Yes!" Ling Zhen responded, with a hint of suppressed joy in his tone.
Xiao Jing looked at him indifferently, "If there is anything unusual in the world, report it to me immediately!"
"Yes!" Ling Zhen responded again.
"Mr. Mei, Mr. Mei, I owe you a favor during this trip!" Xiao Jing thanked Mr. Mei again, "If you still have something to do with the leader, please stay a few more days. I still have important things to do in the capital!"
"Thank you for your hard work, Your Majesty!" Mr. Mei Lao said apologetically.
"My lord, can I still go to the capital with you?" Mei Aoxue stood in front of Xiao Jing and said with expectation.
"Aoxue!" Mr. Mei, the old owner of the village, was so embarrassed, "You are a girl..."
Xiao Jing interrupted Mr. Mei's words and said directly: "The palace welcomes Miss Mei to be a guest at any time. It's just that there is something going on in the palace right now. If you go there at this time, I'm afraid you won't greet her well."
"That's right, Aoxue, the prince has important things to do, so don't go and make trouble!" Old Manor Master Mei grabbed Mei Aoxue and scolded him.
Mei Aoxue pouted angrily and stood beside Master Mei, watching helplessly as Xiao Jing got on his horse and left.
Mr. Mei, the owner of the village, pulled Mei Aoxue back to the room, poked her in the forehead, and scolded her fondly: "How can you, a girl, chase a man by yourself? It's so unethical! Even if you are a child of the world, you can't do it! It's a joke." "
Mei Aoxue disagreed and said with a smile: "Why not! The prince is handsome and mighty, and he is a martial hero. Why do I like him!"
"The prince has a wife and children. If he likes you, you have to chase him. But if he doesn't like you, how can you, the eldest lady of Meiyuan Villa, shamelessly pester him? This is terrible. Insult the reputation of our Meiyuan Villa."
"Grandpa, why, how did you know that the prince doesn't like me!" Mei Aoxue didn't believe that Xiao Jing didn't like her. Although he is not the most powerful person in the country, he is handsome and his martial arts is not weak. How could he not like him?
"The prince said that I can consider you your adopted sister to protect your safety! He has said so, don't you understand yet!" the master of Mei Laozhuang said seriously.
Mei Aoxue sat there with pursed lips and said nothing, as if she was thinking about something or making some plans.
Let's talk about Xiao Jing. After the group left the Wulin League, they immediately returned to Beijing. Around Shenshi, when they passed by a tea shed, they were tired and the horses were exhausted, so he stopped to rest for a while before continuing on their way.
As soon as the group dismounted and entered the store, they saw several fast horses galloping in front of them. Just as those fast horses ran past the tea shed, Leng Shuanghua looked at the group of people and wondered: "Brother, how can I Look at the few people who passed by just now, they look like Brother Xuan Yue and the guards in the mansion!"
"What!" Lou Xingyun was surprised, "Why don't you catch up and take a look!"
"Okay!" Leng Shuanghua immediately mounted a fast horse and chased after him.
Fang Wuyan looked at Leng Shuanghua's speeding back and shook his head, "Lao Wu probably got it wrong. Why did Xuan Yue appear here? Something must have happened in the house!"
Lou Xingyun looked at Xiao Jing, "I guess Lao Wu was wrong too!"
Xiao Jing rubbed his eyebrows and said, "Wait and see!"
A few people had just drank a bowl of tea in the tea shed when they saw Leng Shuanghua coming back with a few people. When they saw it, it turned out to be Xuan Yue.
"Master!" Xuan Yue, whose body was stained with blood, was overjoyed. Unexpectedly, she met Xiao Jing on the way.
"Why are you here?" Xiao Jing asked, looking at the blood on his body, there was a trace of anxiety in his tone, "But something happened to the madam?"
"Madam is fine!" Xuan Yue smiled, took the tea handed over by Lou Xingyun, drank it, took a breath, and then whispered to them about the Dragon Heart Grass. He was afraid that someone would follow them, and he was afraid of the Dragon Heart Grass. The Cao incident was leaked out, and he didn't even dare to talk about it.
Last night, he and his men set out from the capital overnight without rest. They rushed to the Wulin League at a speed of 800 miles. They were attacked shortly after leaving the capital. Fortunately, the people who came were not particularly difficult to deal with. After a hard fight, they He broke out of the tight siege, and after a night of wandering and changing horses twice at the inn on the way, he arrived here at this time.
Xiao Jing's handsome face suddenly showed a long-lost smile, "Where is the real Dragon Heart Grass?"
Xuan Yue whispered a few words in his ear. Xiao Jing was overjoyed and stood up immediately, "Let's go!"
The group of people immediately mounted their horses and galloped towards the Wulin Alliance. In the tea shed, a young man watched Xiao Jing and his group leaving in a hurry. He also stood up and walked out of the tea shed. With a long whistle, two black figures immediately flashed beside him. He whispered something, and the two men immediately After disappearing, he mounted a fast horse and chased in the direction Xiao Jing and the others went.
Half an hour later, Xiao Jing and the others arrived at a ruined temple on the border of the Wulin Alliance. This dilapidated temple is dilapidated, but there are signs of people coming and going from time to time. As soon as they got off their horses, a group of masked men in black fell down around the ruined temple, holding bows and arrows and surrounding them.
Xiao Jing ignored them all and walked straight into the main hall of the ruined temple. Lou Xingyun unsheathed his long sword and led the people to attack the archers. In a blink of an eye, the ruined temple was littered with corpses and rivers of blood.
Xiao Jing took Xuan Yue and Fang Wuyan into the main hall, looked around, and finally found a small box in a hidden compartment under the Buddhist niche. Xiao Jing opened the box and saw a herbal medicine lying inside. He was overjoyed and handed the box to Fang Wuyan.
Fang Wuyan took it and looked at it carefully, with a happy smile on his face, and nodded in doubt, "It's the real dragon heart grass!"
"Great!" Xiao Jing was overjoyed and looked at the dragon heart grass. "There is hope for Madam's detoxification!" He put the box away in his arms, fearing that it would be lost!
Lou Xingyun came in, "Sir, the assassins outside have been dealt with. Three of our people were killed and five were injured!"
Xiao Jing sighed heavily, "Cremate your dead brother and bring him back to Beijing for a grand burial!"
Lou Xingyun went out again to lead people to clean up the corpses of the assassins and their men. Xiao Jing was also in the main hall of the ruined temple, standing on the steps and watching them doing what they were doing. A falcon flew from a distance. He stretched out his hand, and the falcon landed directly on his arm.
Xiao Jing smoothed the feathers of the falcon, took off a mailbox from its feet, opened it, took out the letter inside and looked at it, his face suddenly lost all color.
"Master! What happened?" Fang Wuyan stepped forward and asked.
"Ye Ming was attacked, and the whereabouts of him and Phoenix Blood Vine are unknown. The Ming Guards failed to respond to him, and now they are still looking for his whereabouts!" Xiao Jing handed the letter to Fang Wuyan, feeling extremely heavy and as if he was lost. He fell down on the steps.
Fang Wuyan read the contents of the letter, and his mood suddenly became heavy.
"Sir, my wife is still at home waiting for you to return. Otherwise, let's go home first. Ye Ming is just missing, but there may be a turning point!" Xuan Yue said.
Xiao Jing suddenly became energetic after hearing this, "Yes, Ye Ming just disappeared, maybe he is on his way back to Beijing! Madam is still at home waiting for us to go back, I can't give up just now!"
He said like a self-hypnosis that he would never give up any hope before the matter came to the last moment. After Lou Xingyun led his people to clean up the corpses in the ruined temple, he immediately rushed back to the capital with his people. He was afraid that Yuan Chuyi's health was deteriorating and that something would happen to the capital, so he drove non-stop all the way, day and night.
On the first day of the Yuan Dynasty, he didn't know that Xiao Jing was in a hurry. She was preparing to attend the palace banquet in the evening. The Beidi delegation has arrived in the capital. The emperor held a banquet in the palace to welcome them. Officials of the fifth rank and above in the court can bring their relatives to the banquet. Although Xiao Jing was not at home, in the first year of Yuan Dynasty, as a relative of a high-ranking official and the first-grade wife, the emperor naturally sent her a message asking her to enter the palace at night to attend the banquet.
A few months after arriving in the capital on the first day of the Yuan Dynasty, it was her first time to attend a welcoming banquet for foreign envoys. She dressed up according to etiquette and attended the banquet in the evening.
She entered the palace very early. After all, since she entered the palace, she naturally wanted to pay her respects to her ancestors. The ancestors would also talk to her and would not let her go so quickly. The ancestor was not worried that she would be hungry if she did not dare to eat at the dinner party. He also had some snacks prepared for her to eat first, and then go to the banquet hall when she had eaten too much.
On the first day of the Yuan Dynasty, he did not come to the palace alone. He brought Yunxuan and a personal girl with him. Seeing that the banquet was about to start, she took them towards the banquet hall.
The banquet hall was brightly lit, and the guests were seated separately by men and women. On the side of the male guests, if you look around, you can see that most of them are adults in official uniforms. On the side of the female family members, they are all dressed in gorgeous clothes and wearing hairpins, competing for their beauty. They gather together in small groups, chatting and laughing. The sound of silk and bamboo is melodious and melodious, and the dancers dance lightly and gracefully on the gorgeous stage. It looks like a prosperous scene of singing and dancing.
Yuan Chuyi walked in with Yun Xuan and the maid, and everyone's eyes quickly fell on her. In these looks, there was surprise, envy, jealousy, and confusion.
"See Princess An." Several married ladies brought their girls over to greet her with smiles. "Why did the princess come alone? Why didn't she come with the prince?"
As soon as these words came out, more eyes were attracted around them, and everyone speculated why King An and Princess An did not appear at the same time.
"Isn't it that Prince An loves the princess very much? Why didn't he come to such a palace banquet with the princess? Could it be that he doesn't want to appear in front of everyone with the princess?
"That's right, it seems that those rumors of love and affection are all false!"
"The love between a husband and wife is not just about words, it depends on how well the two of them get along."
When Yuan Chuyi heard such questions and speculations, she couldn't help but smile. She had seen these concubines last time at the Prince Consort's Mansion, but she only knew them by nodding and was not familiar with them.
"The prince is not at home. I want to come and join in the fun of this rare feast, but I have to come alone!" She said with a sweet smile. Looking at the girls on the ladies, a look of disappointment suddenly appeared on their faces. .
On the first day of the Yuan Dynasty, among these people, she saw Mrs. Yang, the Minister of Rites, and Miss Yang. When Miss Yang heard that Xiao Jing would not come tonight, although she felt disappointed in her heart, it was not shown on her face like others, but the trace of disappointment in her eyes could not escape Yuan Chuyi's eyes.
On the first day of the Yuan Dynasty, he looked at this girl. She was very young, about seventeen or eighteen years old, beautiful, gentle and pleasant, and she looked like a lady. But why would such a girl think of marrying Xiao Jing as a concubine? Although the concubine is also a concubine, she is still a concubine after all!
Yang Wanyue saw Yuan Chuyi's smiling eyes on her, she couldn't help but smile, and bowed slightly to Yuanchu Yi's blessed body again.
Yuan Chuyi looked at her, nodded slightly, then said goodbye to the married women, and walked past them towards his seat. She is Princess An and a first-grade wife, so her position is naturally at the head of His Highness. When the Queen followed the Emperor and several ladies to the high seat, she saw her at first sight.