Chapter 1117 Concubine Mei, Nangong Yan and Mai Dang

He was about to run away when he heard a sound of breaking through the air.

Three arrows shot at him in a triangular shape.

Dong Rui dodged two arrows by leaning to the side, but the third arrow was caught by the violent ape and snapped in half.

But due to this delay, the opponent also rushed to the front, and the heavy mace weighing more than 100 kilograms directly hit Dong Rui's head, not caring about his brain bursting.

He wanted to kill people in the street for a disagreement.

Just as the violent ape was about to turn into a big guard, a bright light flashed first, and with a "clang" sound, the heavy mace was swung away.

The sound of metal clashing was piercing and long, and the pedestrians around were shocked and covered their ears.

Dong Rui was the closest, and he was shocked so much that he saw stars and couldn't help shaking his head.

Damn, my ears were ringing so badly.

The object that shook the heavy mace away made a turn and returned to the owner's hand.

It was He Lingchuan who came out.

The owner of the heavy mace took two steps back, raised the mace and looked at it, his face suddenly gloomy:

There was a gap as big as a grain of rice on the mace.

This mace is made of black gold and cold iron as the main materials. He has always been the one to break other people's weapons, so how could the heavy mace suffer a loss?

With anger in his eyes, he looked at the knife in He Lingchuan's hand.

What's special about this knife? Do you want to take it and study it?

The forty or fifty people following behind him immediately heard the boss's roar: "Capture them all!"

They immediately rushed forward and joined other officials to capture He Lingchuan and the other two.

The leader of the officials stepped forward and saluted respectfully: "Lord Nangong! These two prisoners have escaped and resisted arrest. Fortunately, you have reached out to help!"

Lord Nangong? How many Lord Nangongs are there in Xuncheng? Dong Rui was slightly surprised. When I visited Xuncheng last night, I heard the people mention "Nangong" more than once, and their words and actions were all hesitant.

He Lingchuan has already said: "We are merchants who have just entered the city. We are innocent. You have mistaken me!"

Before taking action, he still needs to argue with reason.

At the same time, the divine bone necklace on his neck actually heated up.

What good stuff did it like?

He Lingchuan patted the necklace:

Also consider the time and occasion, don't want to eat everything!

But what treasure does this new official have?

The leader of the officials showed a wanted order, pointed to the portrait on it, and then pointed to Dong Rui: "Master Nangong, what do you think?"

He Lingchuan took a look and thought, he was 50% similar to Dong Rui.

Portraits are always abstract and not very accurate. If they are 50% similar, it's no wonder that the officials determined that Dong Rui was a fugitive.

But Master Nangong didn't even look at it and said directly: "Exactly the same, capture him!"

They had no choice but to take action. He Lingchuan and Dong Rui understood.

The opposite Master Nangong was arrogant and didn't care about fugitives at all. What he wanted to care about was He Lingchuan's crime of bumping against his weapon, and maybe he had some ideas about the Fu Sheng Sword.

They had just arrived in the capital of Bo, and their feet hadn't even warmed up yet, so why did trouble come to them?

Although he was not afraid of the officials and this "Lord Nangong", He Lingchuan had tasks to do in Bo, and he didn't want to cause trouble at the moment.

A strong dragon cannot suppress a local snake.

The official's bright long sword chopped over, and He Lingchuan dodged sideways, picked up the two men by the back of their necks, and threw them at "Lord Nangong" like throwing sandbags.

There was a sudden sound of wind behind his head, and the soul-catching mirror in his arms also shouted: "Behind!"

He Lingchuan turned the mirror into a shield without thinking and blocked it behind him.

With a dull bang, something hit the rectangular shield with great force.

With two hoots, two sharp claws stretched out, trying to dig the shield and hurt people.

He Lingchuan didn't confront it head-on. He put his shield on the ground and tilted it, and he used the force to unload it.

He learned this move from Menban in the Panlong World. The latter had unique experience in using shields.

It happened that the recoil force of the Soul-Snatching Shield took effect again, which shocked the monster that attacked He Lingchuan, and the claws that were originally holding the shield tightly loosened.

Passersby screamed and avoided:

This is a monster shaped like a tiger, with a shoulder height of nearly five feet, but with long forelimbs and short hind limbs, and a particularly strong and developed chest and legs. It is very good at wrestling, twisting, and entanglement. There are stripes on the back, and the fur is much duller than Jiaoyu.

Pseudo-tiger.

He Lingchuan had seen this kind of monster in the Beijia Treasure Tree Country. At that time, they acted as the executioners of death row prisoners and ate two prisoners alive in front of all the townspeople. It can be said that they were extremely cruel.

The pseudo-tiger in front of him was bigger than the ones He Lingchuan had seen before, with fierce light flashing in his eyes and fangs like daggers.

As soon as it loosened its claws, He Lingchuan raised his shield and slapped it in the face. The corner of the shield hit its chin, causing the mimic tiger to fall a foot away and roll on the ground before getting up.

There was a bloody tiger tooth on the ground.

But it shook its head and its eyes flickered, but it did not choose He Lingchuan, but chose Dong Rui instead.

This guy knows how to pick on the weak.

The violent ape was stared at by it and was eager to try. If Dong Rui had not stopped it, it would have transformed and rushed forward.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, the guards surrounded He Lingchuan and the other two, and it seemed to have formed a formation.

He Lingchuan winked at Dong Rui, indicating that he should escape into the dark alley behind.

He had explored the terrain nearby yesterday. There were two collapsed houses at the bottom of the dark alley, where he and Dong Rui could get rid of the pursuers.

The mimic tiger was about to attack again when a female voice came from behind:

"Stop, stop!"

He Lingchuan turned around and saw three women walking quickly, followed by dozens of guards.

The leader, Pingting Ana, was beautiful and looked familiar.

Dong Rui also exclaimed, isn't this the beauty who gave alms to refugees at the foot of the city wall yesterday?

Is the capital of the Kingdom of Bian so small?

She shouted twice, her breath was a little insufficient, but she walked towards the guards and Nihu, saying: "What are you doing?"

The guards immediately stepped back, Nihu stared at her with a pair of fierce eyes, very unconvinced, suddenly roared and pretended to pounce.

Facing such fierceness at close range, the maid behind the woman was shocked and stepped back two steps, but she herself stood still, frowning.

Nihu's ferocity and her weakness are in sharp contrast, which makes the onlookers feel nervous.

The Lord Nangong shouted, and Nihu reluctantly retreated to his side.

The leader of the officials immediately saluted her, also very respectful: "Greetings to Concubine Mei! Your subordinate is catching the fugitive!"

Concubine Mei? Dong Rui thought, it seems that he has heard of her somewhere else.

"It's not them." Mei Fei said quickly, "You caught the wrong person."

The leader of the officials was startled, and Mei Fei pointed to the diagonal alley opposite: "I saw the man in the portrait rush into that alley with my own eyes."

The officials looked at Lord Nangong when they heard this, but the latter stared at He Lingchuan: "Maybe Mei Fei saw it wrong?"

He didn't want to let go of the person who hurt his precious mace and his pet.

The two officials who were thrown away by He Lingchuan climbed up from the ground by holding their waists and backs. He didn't hit them lightly, and the two were almost thrown to pieces.

"Does Nangong Chief Steward mean that I have poor eyesight?" Mei Fei brushed her hair aside. "It just happened a few breaths ago. Everyone around saw it. You can find someone else to question."

Nangong Chief Steward stared at He Lingchuan for a long time before saying, "No need. Mei Fei said it wasn't him, so it wasn't him."

"Why are you still standing there?" He pointed his chin towards the alley and said to the officials, "Chase him!"

"Yes!" The head of the officials shuddered and led the crowd to chase him in.

"Boy, Mei Fei will testify for you. It's a blessing from your ancestors." Lord Nangong said to He Lingchuan in a gloomy way, then raised his hand to Mei Fei and saluted, and walked away.

The dozens of people followed him and left in a mighty manner.

When they were far away, the crowd dared to gather around.

He Lingchuan and the others thanked Mei Fei.

Mei Fei glanced at the two people: "Are you from other places?"

"We are merchants from the Yangshan Islands in the west."

She said: "Merchants who are so good at fighting, no wonder Nangong General Manager is suspicious."

He Lingchuan raised his eyebrows.

"I'm sorry to make you laugh." Mei Fei waved her hand, "You are all innocent people and should not be affected by this storm. You-"

She pointed at Dong Rui: "You really look like a fugitive, it's best to cover your face when you go out. The next time you meet an official, you may not be as lucky as this time."

Her words were gentle and there were no ups and downs, but He Lingchuan could sense that there was a cold and distant look in her smile.

After that, she turned and left, followed by a large group of palace maids and guards.

The onlookers immediately made way for them.

He Lingchuan remembered that there seemed to be a temple in the direction she came out before, and now she was going back again.

Dong Rui reached out and touched his face, cursing a few times for bad luck.

This face was given to him by Master Shuangye, who would have thought that he would look like a fugitive thousands of miles away?

He also heard the crowd whispering:

"It's this kind of thing again."

"These two people are so lucky that they actually have Concubine Mei to help testify! They really burned incense before leaving."

"The foreigners who were taken away a few days ago didn't have their good luck. Now..."

"Shh, keep your voice down."

The excitement was over in a flash, and the crowd dispersed.

He Lingchuan locked his eyes on Ah Hao in the crowd, and seeing that he turned around and was about to leave, he hooked his finger at him and turned back to the inn.

After a while, Ah Hao walked into He Lingchuan's guest room.

Dong Rui closed the door and set up a barrier: "Sit down. Tell us about the... Mei Fei."

"Mei Fei is the most favored concubine. I heard that she was originally a commoner living near the horse farm in the west. She was brought back by our king and was soon made a concubine. She is only in her teens now." Ah Hao said, "She is very kind and often helps disaster victims and the poor, saying that she wants to accumulate merit for our king. Most refugees and beggars in the capital have received steamed bread and silver from her, and some have even received winter clothes."

"When did she enter the palace?"

"It seems like only two years ago."

Dong Rui sighed: "A pear tree overshadows a crabapple tree."

The king is over 60 years old this year, and this little concubine is only in her teens. What a pity.

Ah Hao suddenly whispered, "I heard from people in the palace that Concubine Mei was the most favored by our king. As soon as she entered the palace, she caused dissatisfaction among other concubines, who teamed up to tease her and almost killed her."

He Lingchuan sat down: "Even you know about this, it's impossible for King Wu to be kept in the dark, right?"

Ah Hao scratched his head: "Hey, our king was furious and severely punished the concubine who caused the incident. Later, he favored Concubine Mei even more. When he went out hunting and playing, he would definitely take her out. It seems that Concubine Mei was the only concubine who could leave the palace frequently. Even Nan Lord Gong, you should also be polite to her."

Dong Rui said, "The arrogant guy just now?"

"Yes, yes, that person is Nangong Yan, the most trusted chief steward of the Yuwei of our king." When Nangong Yan was mentioned, Ah Hao's voice automatically became smaller, "Anyone targeted by Chief Steward Nangong will be skinned alive if not dead! You two are really lucky, and you actually have Concubine Mei to testify. Otherwise, it's hard to say whether you can come out later."

Dong Rui rolled his eyes, "I'm not a fugitive, can't you verify this?"

"It's not easy to check, and sometimes they may not check." Ah Hao laughed, "Don't you look a lot like the fugitive? They may just..."

Use Dong Rui to take the blame and take credit.

"This is not uncommon. Some outsiders without any foundation become scapegoats for others without knowing it." Ah Hao spread his hands, "Even if he doesn't look like the criminal at all, it doesn't matter."

Dong Rui laughed and cried, and finally understood why Mei Fei asked him to cover his face when he went out. The officials here are very familiar with arresting innocent people and taking credit.

"Does Mei Fei often speak out so righteously?"

"I'm not often in Xuncheng, so I don't know." Ah Hao said, "But her reputation for charity has spread all the way to Julu Port. People in the city like her and say she is a light in Xuncheng."

This dark place should also have a light.

He Lingchuan thought for a while: "Tell me about Nangong Yan."

When talking about this general manager of Yuwei, Ah Hao was a little hesitant.

If the poison Dong Rui put on him was not more deadly, he would not even dare to mention the words "Nangong General Manager".

Nangong Yan was originally a servant of the King of Biao. He inherited his father's business and grew up in the King of Biao's palace since he was a child. He was loyal to his master. After the King of Biao usurped the throne, Nangong Yan's status also rose to the sky and he was able to carry a knife to the palace.

Over the years, Nangong Yan has been rampant. Ministers and wealthy people are afraid of him, not to mention the common people.

His name can stop children from crying at night in Xuncheng.

Dong Rui interrupted: "You said that the Yuwei often arrests people. What are the charges?"

"Rebellion, remnants of the Mai family, and so on." Ah Hao's voice was further lowered, "Once someone is accused of being a wing of the rebel party and is arrested by the Yuwei, he will most likely not appear again in the future."

He Lingchuan's heart moved: "What kind of force is the Mai Party?"

When He Lingchuan was visiting Xuncheng, he saw someone burning paper money for "Lord Mai" in the dark alley.

The official must not allow it.

Even if it is not allowed, some people still burn.

"Mai Party..." Ah Hao couldn't help licking his lips, "That's about the Mai Liansheng case that shocked the country eight years ago."

Mai Liansheng and the King of Biao were both important officials of the previous dynasty. The former helped the latter overthrow the old dynasty and secure the throne. He made great contributions and was therefore named Prime Minister.

After the founding of the country, Mai Liansheng proposed new policies to benefit the people's livelihood, but several of them were not implemented well, which led to the idle circulation of money and silver, and some officials embezzled money and made it difficult to benefit the people.

What's more terrible is that two officials who harmed the public and enriched themselves were his students.

The opposition used this as an excuse to attack Mai Liansheng.

At this time, Mai Liansheng was known for his upright and honest image among the people, and was deeply loved by the people. Some people even built a shrine for him.

Later, the court of the King of Biao was somewhat turbulent, and there were more negative rumors about Mai Liansheng. Ah Hao was still young at that time, and he didn't know what happened specifically. Anyway, eight years ago, Mai Liansheng was exposed by his subordinates for treason!

Overnight, the chief steward Nangong led the feather guards to rush into the Mai Mansion to collect evidence and arrest people.

This time the evidence was conclusive, and Mai Liansheng had no way to refute it. He was sentenced to death by King Bi with a cup of poisoned wine, and the Mai clan was executed.

However, the huge Mai clan did not disappear into thin air.

In recent years, there have been many uprisings in Bi country, and several rebels have gathered their troops under the banner of the Mai clan and descendants.

Therefore, one of the most important tasks of the feather guards now is to hunt down the "Mai party remnants."

This made the whole country of Bi country feel uneasy and insecure.

However, somehow, the "Mai party" seems to be arrested more and more in recent years.

"The palace guard who drank with me a few days ago said that two years ago, there was a palace man who did not join everyone in scolding the Mai party. As a result, he was reported by someone, saying that he sympathized with the remnants or was a spy of the evil party." Ah Hao shrugged, "Anyway, this palace man was taken away by the feather guards and never appeared again."

Hearing this, He Lingchuan also understood.

The trust that King B had in Nangong Yan was earned through his own actions. In recent years, Nangong Yan did things that King B was not comfortable doing; Nangong Yan dared to kill people that King B did not want to kill.

He was King B's black glove.

He worked so hard and dared to bear such a bad name. Who else could King B trust if not him?

The theft of the lantern now seemed to be a bit like the work of the Kingdom of B.

Although He Lingchuan felt that there were many doubts and contradictions in this case, many strange things in the world were not logical at all.

Small countries, tyrants, and resentful ministers, who knows whether their behavior can be judged by common sense?

…

The next evening.

Doctor Chen returned home and asked his servants to hang a jar of good wine and a melon from the depths of the pool, and then prepare a few good dishes.

He dug a large pool in the backyard of his house, which was one foot deep and filled with clear water.

The pool water can be used to raise fish and put out fires.

It was midsummer, and Xuncheng was extremely hot. Ordinary people would sweat after walking a few steps. But the water in the deep pool was still cold. The wine and honeydew melons fished out from here would quickly condense a layer of water droplets on the surface. A bite of it would be cool and refreshing.

Doctor Chen had been eating chicken feet and duck goods all night with cold wine, and his nose was still sweating.

In the past few months, he was always worried, fearing that he had made a mistake in his treatment. However, in the past half month, the condition of the second prince has improved significantly. The palace is full of joy, and the king is in a good mood. Even the palace servants who usually look down on others have to bow respectfully and sing "Hello, Doctor Chen" when they see him.

What a comfortable life!

After drinking half a jar of wine, he took a shower and was about to go to bed when the doorman suddenly ran in:

"Master, a box was suddenly delivered from outside."

The box was quite exquisite, with a note on it saying "Personally from Doctor Chen".

Dr. Chen took the box and asked, "Who sent it?"

"No, I don't know." The doorman was dozing off, but a stone suddenly bounced in from the window and woke him up. "I went to the toilet and when I came back, this box was on the table."

It was harmless to tell a little lie. Anyway, there was a box on the table for no reason.

"Why is it always like this recently?" Dr. Chen muttered and went to open the box.

"Oh!" The two took a step back at the same time, both of them were shocked.

There were a few freshly cut chicken and rat heads in the box, which dyed the bottom of the box red.