20demayo Chapter 485 Your Majesty, Are You Okay in the Northwest?
Chapter 485 Your Majesty, Are You Okay in the Northwest?
Lord Zhou knows exactly what I mean." Yan Henian smiled and turned away.
Zhou Huai looked at Yan Henian's departing back with a sinister look.
After Jixiang announced in the court that he would investigate Guo Ziyi and Prince Duan's followers hiding in the capital, the Imperial Guards and the Acropolis Army began a carpet search in the imperial palace and the capital.
The entire capital city was instantly shrouded in a tense atmosphere. The sounds of horse hooves and footsteps could be heard on the streets. Soldiers, armed with weapons and with eyes as sharp as hawks, searched house by house.
Inside the palace, the commander of the Imperial Guard, Situ Changqing, personally led the team to the Imperial Household Department. Holding the imperial edict in his hand, he said to Sun Lin, the new head of the Imperial Household Department, "Your Majesty's order to investigate the remnants of the rebels. No one is allowed to move without authorization. Those who violate the order will be punished for treason!"
Sun Lin's face changed, and he quickly bowed and replied, "Yes, yes, Master Situ, please do as you please."
Situ Changqing waved his hand, and the guards behind him immediately dispersed and began to search every room carefully. Bookshelves were opened, boxes were pried open, and even the floors and walls were knocked and checked, for fear of missing any possible hiding places.
At the same time, the Weicheng Army in the capital was also moving intensively under the command of King Annan. In a house in the east of the city, the deputy general of the Weicheng Army, Wang Meng, led a team of soldiers to break into the house. The owner of the house was a wealthy businessman. Seeing this, he turned pale with fear and asked in a trembling voice: "General, what do you mean?"
Wang Meng gave him a cold look and waved his hand, "Search!"
The soldiers rushed into the house like wolves and tigers, rummaging through boxes and cabinets, and even the backyard garden. The rich businessman stood aside, sweating profusely on his forehead, but he dared not say anything.
At the same time, Jixiang stood in front of the window of the hall, looking at the gradually darkening sky in the distance, frowning. She knew that her decision would inevitably lead to dissatisfaction from some people, and even secret obstruction. But she knew even more clearly that if she did not act decisively at this time, the consequences would be disastrous.
The search lasted a whole day, and the people of the capital were in a state of panic. In teahouses and taverns, people were whispering, fearing that they would be implicated.
"Have you heard? Guo Ziyi and Prince Duan's followers are hiding in the capital. Your Majesty is going to catch them all in one fell swoop!"
"Shh, keep your voice down! Don't talk about this kind of thing casually, or you'll get into trouble!"
"But if we continue to investigate like this, how are we ordinary people going to live?"
"Just bear with it, it will be fine after the storm passes."
As night fell, the search by the Imperial Guards and the Acropolis Army came to a temporary halt. Situ Changqing and Wang Meng returned to the palace with their search results.
In the imperial study, Jixiang sat at the desk, holding a memorial in his hand, his brows furrowed. Situ Changqing and Wang Meng knelt on the ground and reported respectfully: "Your Majesty, we have searched more than 300 places in the palace and the capital, and arrested more than 50 suspicious persons, more than 10 of whom have confessed and are indeed implicated by Guo Ziyi and Prince Duan."
Jixiang put down the memorial, his eyes cold, "Have you found out where they are hiding?"
Situ Changqing bowed his head and said, "Your Majesty, most of these people are peripheral spies, and the whereabouts of the core figures have not yet been found. However, I have sent people to step up the interrogation, and I believe there will be results soon."
Jixiang nodded, with a hint of fatigue in his tone: "Continue to investigate and make sure to find out their roots. I will never allow anyone to threaten the stability of the court."
"Yes!" Situ Changqing and Wang Meng answered in unison.
After the two left, Jixiang stood up and walked to the window. The capital was still brightly lit in the night, and her eyes were like the bright lights, with light. She knew that the chaos in the capital would soon end, and when Tian Muyu returned to the capital, the whole capital would be clear and bright.
Jixiang couldn't help but murmur, "Your Majesty, are you okay in the northwest?"
At this time, in the Northwest Jiedushi's mansion, Tian Muyu was sitting in the luxurious bedroom, tossing and turning, unable to sleep.
He missed his queen, and he also missed his three lovely children.
Suddenly, there was a knock on the door.
Tian Muyu looked at the closed door and said, "Come in!"
Jiang Renhe and Ouyang Qingfeng immediately pushed the door open and walked in one after another.
"Not discovered by King Qiong's people?" Tian Muyu was curious.
Jiang Renhe smiled and said, "Those people seem to be blind."
Tian Muyu was stunned.
Ouyang Qingfeng explained, "I'm afraid this was deliberately arranged by King Qiong. When we came in, we ran into the night patrol guards. It was easy to avoid them, but those people surrounding your yard were not ordinary people."
"Yes, there are several people whose martial arts skills are not inferior to mine and Senior Ouyang's. But they didn't even notice us."
After listening to Ouyang Qingfeng and Jiang Renhe's words, Tian Muyu frowned slightly, with a hint of doubt and vigilance in his eyes. He stood up, walked to the window, gently pushed open a gap, and looked out in the moonlight. The yard was quiet, with only a few lanterns swaying gently in the wind, reflecting the figures of several guards. They seemed to be standing casually in various corners of the yard, but their eyes were always vigilantly scanning the surroundings, obviously closely monitoring every move here.
"What does King Qiong mean by this?" Tian Muyu whispered to himself, with a thoughtful tone. He turned around and looked at Ouyang Qingfeng and Jiang Renhe, "You just said that those guards' martial arts skills were not low, but they didn't notice your infiltration at all?"
Ouyang Qingfeng nodded, his expression solemn: "That's right. When we sneaked in, although we avoided the patrolling guards, the people in the yard seemed to let us in on purpose and had no intention of stopping us at all."
Jiang Renhe also said: "This is indeed strange. Logically speaking, with their skills, it is impossible that they could not find us. Unless... they did it on purpose."
When Tian Muyu heard this, a hint of coldness flashed in his eyes: "Is King Qiong testing us, or does he have other plans?"
Ouyang Qingfeng pondered for a moment and said slowly: "In my opinion, King Qiong's move may have two intentions. First, he wants to see if we will take any action. If we really want to take the emperor out, he will have the opportunity to take action against us; second, he may want to convey some kind of message to us, or in other words, is he trying to show goodwill to you, Your Majesty?"
"To show goodwill?" Tian Muyu sneered, "If he really agrees with me, why would he keep me in this government office?"
Jiang Renhe shook his head: "Don't be careless. Since King Qiong dares to raise the flag and become the enemy of the emperor, he will not give up easily. Our infiltration into his territory this time is already very risky. If we act rashly again, we may fall into his trap."
Tian Muyu was silent for a moment, then nodded: "My cousin is right. However, we can't just sit there and wait for death. Since he deliberately let his guard down, let's just take advantage of him and see what tricks he wants to play."
Ouyang Qingfeng was puzzled, "Your Majesty, what do you want to do?"
Tian Muyu's eyes darkened, and he whispered, "Since he deliberately let you in, you should go with the flow and secretly investigate his background. Tonight, we will thoroughly investigate this Jiedushi's government office! However, you must be more careful in your actions and never let him catch us."
Ouyang Qingfeng nodded in agreement: "Okay, let's do as the emperor wishes. However, we have to act as soon as possible. The longer we delay, the more disadvantageous it will be for us."
As the three were discussing, they suddenly heard a slight sound of footsteps coming from outside the courtyard. Tian Muyu immediately raised his hand to signal everyone to be quiet, and then quickly blew out the candle in the house. The house suddenly fell into darkness, with only a few faint rays of moonlight shining through the window lattice.
The footsteps got closer and closer, and finally stopped outside the door. Then, a deep voice came from outside the door: "Your Majesty, King Qiong wants to see you."
Tian Muyu and Ouyang Qingfeng looked at each other, with a hint of surprise in their eyes. They didn't expect that King Qiong would send someone to invite them at this time.