Nan Yi struggled in the lake. She was not bad at water, but she jumped into the cold water without any preparation, and her movements became panicked for a moment. The lake water poured into her nose, and the biting coldness spread to her western limbs.
Such coldness made her instantly return to the ice and snow of Tiger Kneeling Mountain. In those days, she ran in the mountains covered with snow, until she reached the Podao nunnery.
Although Pang Yu told her that all she had to do was go to Yulou to convey a message, Nan Yi was worried that she would not survive in Lidu Mansion and wanted to make more preparations.
There were only ruins left in the Taoist temple, and no one could be found. There was indeed a dead tree in the courtyard.
Nan Yi was illiterate, but she had a photographic memory. She only glanced at the silk paper, and if she regarded each word as a pattern, she could memorize all the patterns on the silk letter at a glance.
Nan Yi found a piece of talisman paper, but couldn't find the pen and ink, so he simply bit his finger and used the blood from his fingertips to carve the words on the silk letter one stroke at a time, then buried the talisman paper under a big tree.
After doing all this, she went to Luyang Town and knocked on the door of the Qin family.
But these days have passed, and she doesn't even dare to recall this incident. What is the plan? Did you make it? Did King Ling'an see the message she buried under the tree? If King Ling'an is captured, will she be the eternal sinner? She was in a daze, she was just a little thief and had never thought of being related to anything earth-shattering.
For the first time, the biting lake water exposed her to a similar cold, and she suddenly remembered these things again.
……
Soon, Nan Yi was fished ashore, and the waiting female envoy immediately wrapped her in a thick felt and handed her hot ginger tea to warm her up. Despite this, Nan Yi still sneezed several times in succession.
"Quick, take the young lady to change clothes."
The woman on the side is Lu Jinxiu, the third concubine of Xie's family. She looks gentle, but her movements reveal a bit of crispness and determination.
Nan Yi walked forward in confusion surrounded by the female envoys, all of whom were extremely unfamiliar faces.
Probably sensing Nan Yi's panic, Lu Jinxiu stepped forward and smiled reassuringly at her.
"Just now the officers and soldiers were searching for assassins in the wedding hall, but the only one missing was the young lady. Everyone thought..." Lu Jinxiu stopped, "but they didn't expect that the young lady is such a loyal woman who would die for the eldest son."
The stone in Nan Yi's heart relaxed a little. At least some people believed her performance. But when she looked around the Western Zhou Dynasty, Xie Queshan was no longer there.
——
Usha stood on the high city wall. From this position, he could overlook Xie's Wangxuewu with its green tiles and red roofs.
The winding corridor connects to the courtyard, and vague figures shuttle under the eaves. Even if a huge change occurs, the momentum and dignity of the big family are still there.
The two agents who had sneaked into the Xitang returned and were reporting to Usha: "General, Xie Heng is dead again."
"Can you move your hands?"
"It's strange to say that the prefect and Mr. Queshan arrived suddenly. We didn't find a suitable opportunity to make a move. However, Xie Heng died suddenly like this. The doctor said that he died from a sudden fire attack on his heart. There were no external injuries on his body. I don't know if there were any. Other secrets..."
Usha was not surprised, but instead showed an expected sneer at the corner of his mouth.
"The prefect led troops to surround Wangxuewu in order to investigate the cause of Xie Hengzai's death. However, after searching inside and outside, no trace of King Ling'an was found. Now the soldiers have withdrawn."
"It seems that the Xie family has not contacted King Ling'an either..." Husha said thoughtfully, "Someone should have informed King Ling'an that there was an ambush in the valley, but there was no time to notify Xie Heng, so Xie Heng never knew about it again. King Ling'an won't show up, otherwise he wouldn't send so many more dead soldiers, and it looks like he's going to kill the fish and break the net."
"But...who informed King Ling'an? Is there a spy in our army?"
Usha closed his eyes and thought rapidly in his mind.
He was well aware that the exchange of information affected the direction of the war. From the moment they got the information about Xie Heng's plan and decided to use it to catch the turtle in the urn, he deliberately blocked the information. Except for a few close friends who knew the location and time of the plan, the other soldiers were all You don’t know where you are going until you set off.
It seems that Usha is a hot-tempered rough guy, but in fact he is as careful as hair and has keen observation skills.
He went through everyone in the army in his mind, and the more he thought about it, the more he felt that everyone was suspicious, especially Xie Queshan.
To be honest, even though Xie Queshan has been loyal to the Qi people's royal court for many years, Husha still doesn't have much trust in this Central Plains man. He is not of my race, so his heart must be different.
But ever since Xie Queshan came into contact with the information about Feng Lidu Mansion, Hu Sha used various reasons to monitor Xie Queshan and watch his every move. Xie Queshan really didn't have any opportunity to deliver the news.
Husha thought that Xie Queshan's wallet was stolen that day, but the thief, Pang Yu who had access to the information, and everyone in the inn were all dead...
So who is the spy, and who informed King Ling'an?
This person must be found out and cut into pieces, otherwise his future actions will be hindered at every step. Husha's face turned grim, and he punched the brick wall hard.
——
Xie Queshan stood in the mourning hall, staring at the lifeless man in the coffin. Wangxuewu hung up red silk candles for his happy event, and replaced them with white candles for his funeral. But this change happened overnight.
"Brother, I'm offended."
Xie Queshan leaned over, opened Xie Hengzai's mouth, and inserted a silver needle into his throat. The needle did not respond.
He waved to He Ping who was on the side, and He Ping immediately stepped forward to help him hold the silver needle.
Xie Queshan unbuttoned Xie Hengzai's shirt and slowly washed it from his abdomen to his throat with a towel soaked in hot vinegar. The poisonous gas hidden deep inside the body was fumigated and dissipated, and the black color on the silver needle began to appear.
He Ping observed the silver needle in his hand and whispered in surprise: "The eldest son has been poisoned and died!"
"And this poison has penetrated deeply into the body, and it needs to be taken for many years, so that it can cause the illusion of sudden death tonight without anyone noticing."
Xie Queshan took back the towel, quickly wiped the water marks on the body with another dry towel prepared, and tied his clothes again to make everything look normal.
He Ping thought of something: "Then the eldest son's serious illness in recent years will also be..."
Xie Queshan nodded and analyzed: "The person who poisoned him is hiding in Xie's house, otherwise he would not be able to poison without anyone noticing."
"That person...is the spy that Usha placed in the Xie family?"
"yes."
"Then Usha also sent two dead men to Xitang to take action. He had other plans and didn't even inform the young master..."
"He can't trust me," Xie Queshan laughed self-deprecatingly, "After all, I bleed the blood of a foreign race. Even though I have been in the Imperial Court of Daqi for many years, I am still an outsider."
He Ping defended his young master and said, "The prime minister has full confidence in your young master. Why does he, a young general, question you?"
"Husha is not a little general. He has made military exploits in one year that would take others five years. If he succeeds in capturing King Ling'an this time and returns to the royal court, his status will even be comparable to that of the prime minister."
He Ping pursed his lips in dissatisfaction, but he could not argue.
"Don't tell anyone about the eldest son's poisoning."
"If you don't tell me, the Xie family will misunderstand you and make the eldest son mad. If you want to go back to the Xie family, you can't let the Xie family neglect you like this."
"They hate me. Did they start after my eldest brother died tonight?"
He Ping was speechless.
By betraying his country and abandoning his family, his path was much more difficult than others. No need to argue, just keep going.
While he was talking, Xie Queshan had already put on Xie Hengzai's clothes again. He solemnly and carefully smoothed the pleats on his eldest brother's clothes. Then he raised his face with his usual calm expression.
"You take these things back and put them away first. I'll stay here for a while."
He Ping cupped his hands and said, "Yes, Young Master."
