The garrison of the Imperial Guards is closely adjacent to the outer wall of the imperial palace. There are three thousand elite Imperial Guards stationed there on a three-shift rotation to safeguard the security of the imperial city.
And in the central area of the Imperial Guards' garrison is Yuning Marquis's Mansion, where the deposed emperor of the Great Wei Dynasty is under house arrest.
Yejingtang and Dongfang Liren came together to the vicinity of Yuning Marquis's Mansion. Along with the constables of the Black Yamen, they inspected the surrounding environment and found no traces of a tunnel. However, for the sake of safety, Dongfang Liren still gave the order to move the deposed emperor to a nearby residence, which was strictly guarded by the Imperial Guards, and secretly dispatched personnel from the Black Yamen.
Dongfang Liren didn't make a big show of arranging defenses, after all, currently, they only knew the general intention and still had no evidence.
The heir apparent of the Prince of Wu was being watched by the experts of the Black Yamen. Today, he was drinking with other princely sons at Longyin Tower and showed no abnormalities.
If the defense was too obvious, the heir apparent of the Prince of Wu would definitely know that the plan had been exposed and would directly cancel the plan. Then, even if the molten oil took effect and the city wall of the imperial city collapsed tomorrow, it still couldn't be proven that it was the heir apparent of the Prince of Wu who arranged it.
Eliminating the heir apparent of a vassal prince without solid evidence would likely cause great chaos among the other princes, as they would feel that if one fell, the others would be in danger. So currently, the court still had to pretend that it knew nothing and wait for the heir apparent of the Prince of Wu to take a desperate risk.
After arranging everything, it was already late at night. Dongfang Liren stayed nearby on the west side of the imperial city to be able to respond to any changes in a timely manner.
Yejingtang had fought in the tunnel in the morning and faced three opponents on the street at night. He had only eaten a meal at noon, and he had only eaten half of it. He really needed to rest. So he handed over the matters to the chief constable of the Black Yamen and got off work.
Originally, Benben meant for him to stay in the palace nearby and spend the night in the imperial palace.
But since Benben wouldn't serve him at night, Yejingtang naturally declined this kind offer and took his leave to head towards Tianshui Bridge.
It was already late at night, and the pedestrians on the street gradually became sparse.
Yejingtang's figure was like a swallow as he skimming past countless pavilions and residences. He crossed Yun'an and came to the street of Tianshui Bridge. All the shops were closed.
There was still some noise in the escort agency. Looking from the roof, he saw Chen Biao and Yang Chao sitting under the eaves. There were two pots of small wine and a plate of peanuts in the middle, and they were chatting idly while staying up late:
"Does the young master really not have a confidante in Liangzhou? The letter was inserted on the door today, and she didn't even show her face. At first glance, it's a girl who's shy and embarrassed."
"I watched the young master grow up. How could I not know? The women at the border don't look good and have bad tempers. Since the young master was four or five years old, he would squat at the door worrying about how he would marry a wife in the future. When the master passed away and he heard that he was going to the capital, he left so simply without even looking back..."
Yejingtang stood on the roof and really wanted to kick Lao Yang, who was talking nonsense after drinking too much. But considering that he was an elder in the family, he let it go. Without disturbing the two of them drinking, he directly entered Pei's Alley.
Outside the gate of Pei's Mansion, two lanterns were hanging, and the gate was already closed.
Yejingtang didn't disturb the Pei family members who had already gone to bed. He directly went to the inner courtyard at the back. As soon as he landed on the roof, he found a big bird poking its head out from the roof ridge and then bouncing in front of him: "Jiji ji..." Judging from the tone, it seemed to be saying—You scoundrel! You still know to come back!
Yejingtang caught the bird and rubbed its head:
"Did you catch up with them?"
The bird shook its head and gestured. It probably meant that they were running around and didn't stop at all. If it followed them, it couldn't come back to deliver the message, and if it came back to deliver the message, it would lose the target.
Yejingtang had been chasing Xu Bailin and the others like a ghost for so long. Even if they were very careless, they should know not to take chances. So he wasn't surprised.
The bird had been chasing for most of the day and was also very tired. Since Yejingtang was in the Pei family's residence, he didn't let the bird keep watch at night. After landing in the covered corridor, he let the bird go to play in Zhe Yunli's room.
Luo Ning, the Female Knight, was temporarily staying in the Pei family's residence, so Zhe Yunli naturally also lived here. Because there was no young lady in the Pei family, Zhe Yunli received the treatment of a princess. She lived alone in the large Western Wing Courtyard and had four or five maids serving her.
Although it was already late at night at this time, Zhe Yunli hadn't gone to bed yet. In the spacious room, she was playing the popular sparrow cards among the noble ladies in the capital with several young maids of her age.
Yejingtang saw the happy and sleepless looks of the little maids and knew that Miss Zhe had lost miserably. He found it a bit funny and didn't go to disturb them. Instead, he quietly came to the Third Miss's courtyard.
In the main courtyard, the side room where Xiuhe was sleeping had already turned off the lights, but there was still a light on in the main room.
Yejingtang walked to the door and looked inside. He could see that the Third Miss, who had been given medicine, had already fallen asleep in the bedroom. Luo Ning was waiting for him to come back and was still leaning on the beauty couch, reading a book in her hand.
Hearing the noise outside the door, Luo Ning put down the book, made a "shh" gesture, then quietly walked outside, closed the door behind her, and said softly:
"The Third Miss just fell asleep. Have you finished your work? Will you go out again later?"
Yejingtang put his hand on the shoulder of Female Knight Luo: "The matter hasn't been settled yet, and I might go out at any time."
Luo Ning was waiting for Yejingtang to come back to adjust his body to prevent something from happening during a fight. However, it seemed a bit too direct to enter the room as soon as he came back. So she asked:
"Have you eaten?"
Yejingtang shook his head: "I've been running around all day and didn't have time to eat."
Seeing this, Luo Ning turned around and walked towards the small kitchen in the inner courtyard: "The maids have already rested now. I'll make some noodles for you."
"Noodles?"
Yejingtang blinked his eyes and looked at the cold and charming side profile beside him.
Luo Ning felt that Yejingtang's pronunciation was wrong. She turned her head, and their eyes met:
"What's wrong?"
Yejingtang raised his hand and put it on Luo Ning's shoulder:
"Nothing."
"Hmph."
Luo Ning slightly twisted her shoulder but didn't get away, so she let Yejingtang hug her.
The two of them walked together to the kitchen in the inner courtyard. Because the residence was very large, the scale of the kitchen courtyard was almost the same as the courtyard in Shuanggui Alley.
Luo Ning was afraid that Yejingtang would leave in a hurry as soon as he came back, so she prepared boiling water in advance, and they could have a hot meal in at most a quarter of an hour.
Luo Ning was busily working in front of the stove with skillful hands, and Yejingtang was helping beside her. They were like an intimate young couple.
But when Luo Ning was cutting scallions on the chopping board, the blade suddenly stopped. Then she raised the knife and put it on Yejingtang's neck, with a look of shame and anger in her eyes:
"You lecherous fellow!"
Yejingtang was beating eggs and was stunned by this sudden murderous intent. He said blankly:
"I didn't touch you. Why am I a lecherous fellow?"
Luo Ning's face turned red. She remembered the unbearable experience of the day when they took the medicine together. She gritted her silver teeth and stared at Yejingtang for a moment, then put away the kitchen knife and continued cutting the vegetables.
Da da da.
Yejingtang shook his head and smiled. He was beating the eggs with chopsticks and leaned in a bit:
"Female Knight Luo just said it herself. You can't go back on your word later."
Luo Ning moved away a bit, looking very disgusted, but she didn't say anything.
On the other side, at the Prince of Jing's Mansion.
At night, Mingyu Building was brightly lit and stood among the city like a lighthouse.
Outside Mingyu Building was the Black Yamen. Because of the particularity of the yamen, there were not many prosperous shops in the surrounding streets and alleys, and the people passing by were all in a hurry, not daring to linger at the yamen.
Outside the high wall on the east side of the Black Yamen was an old alley. In the alley was the residence of the chief constable of the Black Yamen. There was a small courtyard inside, and there was still a light on.
There was a large pot placed in the courtyard, and a cook was stir-frying a large pot of dishes.
Qiu Tianhe was dressed in common clothes and stood outside the door with his hands behind his back, looking at the moonlight in the sky. Because he was poisoned by the Soft Bone Fragrance and was also sealed with twelve gold needles by Divine Doctor Wang to block his qi channels, the restrictions on him were too great. His fingers occasionally twitched, and he looked like an ordinary civilian with a large frame but uncoordinated hands and feet.
Although he had walked out of the dungeon, without freedom, he was like an immortal prisoner locked in the capital.
In the dungeon, there was free prison food. After coming out, it was obviously inappropriate for the court to provide food and accommodation. But they also couldn't let Qiu Tianhe leave the sight of the Black Yamen. Therefore, the Black Yamen symbolically arranged a job of delivering prison food for him, allocated a residence, and gave him four taels of silver every month.
Qiu Tianhe had been roaming the martial world for half his life and was considered a top-notch figure in the martial world at his peak. Doing menial tasks here was a bit unseemly.
But "once in the martial world, life and death are the boundaries." After having a glorious half-life in the martial world, now that the court no longer pursues his past grudges and he can spend his remaining years in peace in the capital, just delivering food every day and spending the rest of the time drinking tea and basking in the sun with a pension, it can be considered a good end in any way, and there's nothing to complain about.
Qiu Tianhe waited outside the door for a while. After the cook finished making the last meal of the day and put it in the rice bucket, he entered the door, picked it up, and walked towards the side door of the Black Yamen.
Just after walking a few steps, he heard a sound:
Ka.
The faint sound of bricks cracking.
Qiu Tianhe stopped in his tracks and looked at a corner of the outer wall of the Black Yamen. He saw a crack appearing on the ground.
Qiu Tianhe frowned. He didn't see anything special, so he didn't pay attention to it. He carried two rice buckets and entered the Black Yamen, and he went back to the old place where he had been imprisoned for a year with ease.
The dungeon of the Black Yamen had three floors and was entirely built with black vine bricks. Both the inside and outside were indestructible.
The Black Yamen specialized in dealing with people in the martial world. Usually, those who were caught outside were killed on the spot. There were not many people who could be brought back and imprisoned. But those who could be locked in the dungeon either had a special role or possessed unique skills. None of them were easy to deal with.
The first underground floor was relatively normal. It was filled with all kinds of strange people and scholars. Occasionally, they would be taken out to act as "bad people" to help with cases, and they still had a chance to get out alive in this life.
The second floor was basically for death row prisoners. Once they came in, they had no chance to see the light of day again. The occupants in the seven or eight cells were all well-known and powerful figures in the martial world without exception. Qiu Tianhe used to be the most famous one here.
It was late at night, and occasionally, there were some soft sounds of chains dragging in the deep prison underground.
Qiu Tianhe passed by the cells one by one, filled the bowls with rice, and placed them outside the small openings on the doors. When he reached the second floor, he was surprised to find that there were new inmates in his "former residence."
Qiu Tianhe was a bit surprised. He came to the wellhead and peeked down, wanting to see which martial world friends they were. As a result, he found that there were two people inside, covered in bloodstains, with chains on their hands and feet, leaning against the corner.
When they saw him peeking down, the short and sturdy man quickly sat up:
"Hey! Brother, what place is this?"
Qiu Tianhe saw that he didn't know them and casually replied:
"This is the dungeon of the Black Yamen. Who are you two?"
The short and sturdy man said: "Wang Er from Yanzhou. My elder brother is Wang Chengjing, the Bengshan Tiger."
Qiu Tianhe was surprised: "The Two Kings of Yanzhou? Do you two deserve to live in this room?"
"Hey."
Wang Er, who had just woken up from a coma in the dungeon, originally wanted to ask about the situation. When he saw the delivery boy above being so arrogant, he suddenly became angry:
"You old fellow, my brother and I are in prison now. A tiger that falls into trouble is bullied by dogs. I won't argue with you. But if we were outside, when you heard our names, you'd kneel down on the spot. Why don't we deserve to live in this room?"
Qiu Tianhe slowly served the rice and gestured to the left and right:
"On the left is Nan Gongling, the Thousand-Faced Gentleman, and on the right is the One-Eyed Maitreya from Shazhou. Do you think you two are qualified to live in the middle?"
!
When Wang Er heard the names of these two notorious devils in the martial world, his momentum immediately weakened a bit. He looked around:
"Combined, my brother and I are not unable to fight them for a few rounds."
"Do you have the guts to speak louder and let the two next door hear you?"
Wang Er thought that in the cell, those two murderous devils couldn't do anything to him. But who knew if they would meet during the exercise time in the future? He really didn't dare to shout loudly. He just said:
"So what if I don't dare? You're just a delivery guy. Why are you bluffing with the power of others? Do you have the guts to open this fence and come down to talk!"
Qiu Tianhe didn't bother to scare these small fry in the martial world and asked:
"How did you two get in here?"
Wang Er became angry when talking about this: "We took a job to kill someone but didn't succeed and got caught."
"Who were you trying to kill?"
"A lord of the Black Yamen named Yejingtang. By the way, how many years should we be sentenced according to the law for attempted murder?"
Qiu Tianhe thought for a while: "Those who plot to kill but don't succeed will be sentenced to three years in prison; those who injure will be hanged; those who kill will be beheaded."
Wang Er's expression lit up: "We didn't injure anyone! By the heavens, my brother and I didn't even touch a corner of Lord Ye's clothes, and we were almost beaten to death. Does that mean we can get out after being imprisoned for three years?"
Qiu Tianhe shook his head and sighed: "If you were imprisoned on the upper floor, there would be a possibility of getting out. But if you're imprisoned on this floor, don't even think about it. Since the dungeon was built, only one person has walked out of this floor alive."
Who?
"Qiu Tianhe."
Wang Er's eyes were slightly shocked, and he said in disbelief: "Qiu Tianhe got out?! After Xuan Yuanchao died, Qiu Tianhe firmly held the position of Saber Champion. How could the court let such a person go?"
Qiu Tianhe thought this guy had some knowledge and added an extra spoonful of rice to his bowl:
"Qiu Tianhe is half a master of Yejingtang. It's not difficult to pull some strings and get a backdoor."
Wang Er was very surprised. But after thinking about it, he thought it was possible. The successor of the Eight Steps Crazy Saber technique was said to be an old acquaintance of Qiu Tianhe. Since Yejingtang knew the Eight Steps Crazy Saber technique, it was normal for him to have a connection with Qiu Tianhe.
Wang Er pondered for a while and frowned:
"Lord Ye is a person of the court and should be judged according to the law. Qiu Tianhe is his half-master, and he even let Qiu Tianhe go after he robbed the emperor's consort. My brother and I didn't even touch him, and according to the law, we should only be imprisoned for three years, but he imprisoned us until we die. Isn't this showing favoritism and bending the law?"