After passing Crouching Bull Pass and exiting Luyang Pass, a large "circus" walked southward towards Nanyang.
Yang Fan, the cavalry, and the inner guards were mixed in with this circus team.
After leaving the palace that day, Yang Fan and the others first followed Master Rumei to her house in Nancheng before regrouping the team and leaving through the side door. They met up with another team that had been waiting there for a long time and went out of Dingding Gate, heading southward.
This team was a circus that mainly performed illusions. The troupe leader was the illusionist master that the "Succession Hall" had invited from Chang 'an to Luoyang.
Yang Fan originally wanted to invite him to expose the deceit of the old nun from Hanoi, Taoist Shifang, and the barbarian Molei. Unexpectedly, Xue Huaiyi's fire had angered Wu Zetian, so she vented her anger on the old nun from Hanoi who had boasted that she could see the past and the future. Thus, she attacked the three swindlers. This way, there was no need for Yang Fan to do anything. Young Master Jiang relied on the three swindlers to amass wealth, but his businesses were confiscated by the imperial court because of the collapse of the three swindlers. Young Master Jiang failed on the verge of success and went north. He was killed by Yang Fan at Hulao Pass, so the illusionist master was never put to use.
Later, Yang Fan paid him a sum of money as compensation and no longer restricted his actions. The old man simply used the money to hire some people and a few disciples to perform in Luoyang. For a time, their performances became very popular in the three cities of North, South, and Gentle House.
However, they had been in Luoyang for a year, and the illusionist program could not be updated so quickly. Because there were no new programs, business had gradually declined, so they were planning to move to another place. Yang Fan wanted to find an excuse to cover his overly conspicuous subordinates to Fangzhou, so he thought of them.
It was said that as long as they took Yang Fan and the others to Fangzhou, then Yang Fan would have to pay for all the food and accommodation along the way. The old leader didn't even ask about the background of these people and immediately agreed. Thus, Yang Fan and the others became members of the illusion group.
Along the way, they passed through Nanyang, Dengzhou, and Gu City. If they did not perform at all when they passed through these cities, even if others did not notice, the Succession Hall would definitely notice their abnormality. Therefore, Yang Fan could only reluctantly allow the old leader to perform in each city they passed through.
The secret letter Yang Fan wrote before he left was given to Xiao Man. Yang Fan specifically told her to hand it over in the evening. When the sun set, Xiao Man handed the letter to the Succession Hall's guard in the Yang Mansion. After reading the secret letter, the guard immediately sent someone to the palace gate to report to Ren Wei.
Ren Wei waited anxiously in front of the palace with a few guards. He had no idea that Yang Fan had already swaggered away in front of him. It was not until the Yang Mansion sent a message that Ren Wei realized that the master had stood him up.
Ren Wei returned to the Yang Mansion and read the letter left by Yang Fan. He had no choice but to report to the Succession Hall with the letter. By the time they responded, Yang Fan had already disappeared outside Luoyang City.
…
Yang Fan and the others rushed to Fangzhou. The old leader was very experienced and found a house to rent, ready to perform on the streets the next day. They rented a dilapidated house. The house was not small and there were many rooms, but they were too dilapidated for years. Some of the rooms were already cracked. If it rained, it might rain heavily outside and drizzle inside.
However, the rent was very cheap. With so many people, if they lived in an inn, even the cheapest one, the daily expenses would not be small, which would not match their status.
After Yang Fan settled down, he left with Gu Zhuting. They knew the specific place where the Prince of Luling was being held, but it was only a name on a piece of paper and they had no specific impression of it. Now that they were here, they needed to understand the details and the situation of the Prince of Luling.
Wu Zetian's distrust of her son and indulgence of the Wu Clan caused her to be caught in a cocoon of her own making.
The Wu Clan's henchmen and spies were everywhere in the imperial court, especially in the army. Even the slightest movement couldn't be hidden from them. This time, Yang Fan's sudden transfer of some people could not be hidden from them.
However, because this matter had been carried out in secret, and the members of the 100 cavalry had been transferred away unusually quickly, they had no idea where exactly these people had been sent by the Empress. If they wanted to find out, they would have to spend some effort.
In addition, the sentries that had been sent to Lu Province to hold the Prince of Luling under house arrest naturally belonged to the Wu Clan. In the past, the more people like this were used, the more at ease Wu Zetian felt. But now, because of this, it created a great obstacle for Yang Fan's actions.
He could not openly rush to the Prince of Luling's residence to read the imperial edict and then urge the Prince of Luling, Li Xian, to return to Luoyang. If he had the imperial edict in hand, the guards would not dare to rebel or stop him, but they would definitely report it to the Wu Clan as quickly as possible.
Whether it was Wu Sansi or Wu Chengsi, as long as any member of the Wu Clan knew of this news, Yang Fan's group could forget about returning to Luoyang peacefully, unless he brought a large army to protect them. But if he really did bring an army, who could guarantee that every soldier and officer in this army would be reliable?
According to the records in the palace, the Prince of Luling, Li Xian, was being held under house arrest in Zhushan District. Fang Province had four districts under its jurisdiction, and its administrative center had originally been in Zhushan District, but during the reign of Zhenguan, it had been moved to Fang Ling District. The illusion team was currently in Fang Ling, the administrative center of Fang Province, so he still had to hurry to Zhushan. Fortunately, the two districts were not too far apart, so it was very unlikely that he would be discovered if he broke up with these martial artists here.
Yang Fan and Gu Zhuting went out for a stroll, found the locals, and carefully inquired about the situation in Zhushan as well as the path to take. Then, they hurriedly returned, preparing to arrange for their own people to break up and leave the city one after the other. They would head to Zhushan District and meet up there, then study how to get in touch with the Prince of Luling.
Unexpectedly, just as the two of them returned to the alley of their rented residence, they saw a sea of people in front of them. Many people had gathered there to watch the commotion. Yang Fan did not know what was going on, so he hurriedly quickened his pace. Pushing through the crowd, he couldn't help but inwardly grumble.
He saw Zhang Xitong, Yue Ziqing, Zhang Qi, Tian Yan, and Wei Yong unarmed, surrounded by several dozen officials wielding iron chains and sabers at their waists. Bailiffs had stepped forward to put chains on them to arrest them. Perhaps because they had received strict orders from Yang Fan, Yang Fan saw that they were itching to try, but in the end, he did not resist.
Seeing that the situation was bad, Yang Fan hurriedly stepped forward and cupped his fists toward the bailiffs and bailiffs. "Dukes, if there's a problem, we can talk it over. What happened to my brothers?"
As he spoke, he realized that there were still a few people lying on the ground. Judging from their attire, they were quite similar to the poppies of the marketplace. They were struggling and moaning on the ground, and because Yang Fan had been obstructed by someone, his line of sight had been affected, so he had not seen them.
A man who seemed to be the head of the squad turned his head and coldly asked, "They're your brothers?"
Yang Fan hurriedly nodded and said, "Yes, this Duke …"
The head of the squad raised his mustache and sneered, "Very well, tie them up as well!"
With a "clatter" sound, a set of shackles was placed on Yang Fan's neck. Yang Fan was stunned and said, "What exactly happened?"
The head of the squad sneered and said, "What happened? Let's talk in prison! "
One of the ruffians lying on the ground, moaning, hugged his calf and wailed miserably, "Brother-in-law, Brother-in-law, my leg seems to be broken. You have to help me!"
"Shut your stinky mouth and go around causing trouble for me!" The man with the mustache fiercely reprimanded him and said to one of his subordinates, "You, go get a few cars and send those bastards for treatment first. Put all the expenses on credit and charge it to these people."
The constable answered and raised his ruler to chase away the crowd as if he was swatting flies, "Get out of the way, get out of the way, get out of the way, get out of the way, get out of the way.
"Take these people back to the yamen!" The man with the mustache shouted and left with his hands clasped behind his back while humming a tune.
Seeing that Gu Zhuting was about to take action, Yang Fan hurriedly stopped her with a look.
In a small place like this, there was no need for a murder case to happen. Beating up a public servant was enough to cause a sensation in the surrounding villages. If they were to pile up these public servants here today, they would immediately become local celebrities and it would be difficult for them to move a single step.
"What happened?" Yang Fan asked the few cavalrymen who caused the trouble. Among them, Wei Yong was the oldest, so Yang Fan was asking him. Before Wei Yong could answer, a constable raised his saber and shouted, "Shut up! Don't talk. If there's anything, go back to the yamen! "
Helpless, Yang Fan could only sullenly shut his mouth and let the constables escort him back to the yamen.
Among these people, even an ordinary imperial bodyguard or an ordinary Plum Blossom Palace Guard could scare the constables out of their wits, let alone Yang Fan and Wei Yong who were officials of the capital. However, they had important matters to attend to and could not easily reveal their identities.
They could not reveal their identities elsewhere, and it was even more so in Fangzhou. What were the intentions of the cavalrymen secretly appearing in Fangzhou? A prince was imprisoned here. Once these two matters were connected, the truth would probably be immediately guessed by smart people. Yang Fan could only be patient and plan to wait until he understood the whole story.
After they were escorted to the yamen of Fangling, they were directly thrown into the prison without asking the magistrate to enter the court to interrogate them. The prison of Fangling County was not large. There were four cells in total and not many prisoners. In the innermost cell were two disheveled and haggard old men in their fifties.
Yang Fan and the other five were stuffed into the same cell. The head of the prison locked the door and swaggered out.
Only then did Yang Fan glance at them with slight anger. He coldly asked, "Who can tell me what happened?"
… …
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