"Yes, Your Majesty!" Ma Cheng answered loudly and immediately sent out troops to outflank Huichuan County.
Li Qitian was burning with anxiety at this time.
When Li Qitian first received the news of the treasure, he suspected that it was fake news sent by someone with bad intentions to lure him away from the capital.
But he was reluctant to give up this opportunity.
What if the treasure was real?
What if he didn't go and the treasure really fell into Lu Heng's hands?
Lu Heng could hide this news, but who knew what he was plotting! Moreover, Qian Ying had always been his trusted minister and had a wide network of contacts. He had a counselor who knew about Lu Heng's actions from various channels and told his master.
If this news was false, he would have made a wasted trip at most. If it was true, the crisis of his empty treasury would be solved!
Li Qitian was more and more certain that this trip was correct, and his eyes were more and more anxious.
The troops rushed forward for a while, and the buildings of Huichuan County became more and more clear in the wilderness under the scorching noon sun.
Li Qitian raised his whip and was about to move, but he saw a man riding a horse quickly coming from the opposite side.
The man was wearing a dark blue short robe, his hair was tied up high, his face was square, and his appearance was ordinary. He was a person who couldn't be found in a crowd.
He was Li Qitian's spy named Zhu Meng.
"Your Majesty!"
Li Qitian slowed down his pace, and the thousands of soldiers and horses behind him also slowed down. A cloud of dust was blown up on the dirt road by the wind, making people squint their eyes. But behind the emperor, the cavalry all looked solemn and didn't make the slightest sound except for the sound of the horse's hooves.
His horse galloped to the front. Li Qitian reined in the red date horse and pointed his whip at the messenger, "Quickly report this!"
Zhu Meng flew down from the horse, kneeled on one knee and cupped his fist, "Greetings to Your Majesty. The last batch of stones from the stone factory has been sent out from the South Gate and went straight to Wanzhou Town."
Li Qitian sneered, "It's really better to come early than to come at the right time. Men! Follow me to pursue! "
"Yes!"
The rest of the soldiers responded in unison.
Li Qitian then instructed Ma Cheng, "Go into the city and take control of Huichuan County for the time being. Don't do anything else. The most important thing is to keep an eye on Zhong Yibo! "
Ma Cheng's heart skipped a beat. He had a vague premonition that the world was about to fall into chaos. He hurriedly suppressed his wild thoughts and solemnly bowed. "This subject accepts the decree!"
Li Qitian hastily led a thousand men and horses to bypass Huichuan County, heading straight for Wanzhou Town.
On the other hand, Ma Cheng ordered his deputy generals to surround Huichuan County while dispatching troops to bring them into the city.
Seeing a group of soldiers heading towards the city gate, the citizens who were entering and exiting the city all dodged to the side in fear. When the guards at the city gate saw that it was the cavalry of the Fifth Military Camp, they knew that something must have happened. They hurriedly opened the city gate and quietly retreated to the side.
It was the busiest time of the day in Huichuan County. Women with grocery baskets and businessmen walked on both sides of the street in twos and threes.
Everyone was worried, frowning as they discussed today's food prices in low voices.
In the city, there was a long line of people in front of the rice store, snaking across two streets.
It was late autumn, and the sun was shining brightly in the main house. The citizens squinted their eyes because of the sun.
As soon as the cavalry led by Ma Cheng entered the city, the citizens on the street screamed in fear and stumbled to the sides of the road to avoid them. Seeing the cavalry charge forward, everyone was panicking.
The women gathered together in fear and discussed in low voices.
"What's going on? What is the imperial court going to do? "
"Why does it seem like these soldiers are heading towards the county government?"
"Which noble did County Magistrate Lu offend in the imperial court?"
…
Ma Cheng couldn't help but curl his lips when he heard the citizens' discussion.
Didn't he offend a noble? And this time, Zhong Yibo offended the noblest person in the imperial court!
The soldiers quickly surrounded the government office. Each of the soldiers was like a ferocious tiger coming down from the mountain. They fiercely rushed into the government office, causing the bailiffs to question them loudly.
"Who are you? How dare you come to the government office and behave atrociously! "
Ma Cheng strode over with a saber in one hand and said loudly, "All of you, behave yourselves! I am here on Your Majesty's verbal order. If anyone dares to resist, they will be charged with treason! "
The bailiffs were stunned for a moment.
The soldiers from the five barracks had a murderous aura. Each of them was like a wolf or a tiger. The bailiffs didn't want to cause any trouble and implicate their families. Naturally, they stood quietly at the side, waiting for Ma Cheng's order anxiously.
"General, we didn't find him!" Someone followed the order to search, but they didn't find Lu Heng.
Ma Cheng was stunned. He immediately glared at the bailiffs beside him and shouted, "Where is Zhong Yibo?"
Some of the bailiffs hesitated, but some judged the situation and said, "It seems that something happened to the countess. Zhong Yibo rushed home."
Ma Cheng immediately ordered some people to stay behind at the government office. The rest went straight to Zhong Yibo's residence.
At this time, Lu Heng had indeed returned home. However, it wasn't because of Bian Ruohan. It was because the situation had been decided. He hadn't slept for many days. He felt tense in the government office and couldn't sleep. Thus, he wanted to go home and have a good sleep.
Bian Ruohan was flattered when he heard that Lu Heng had returned. He hurriedly ordered, "Quickly prepare the Earl's favorite dishes."
She hurriedly checked herself in the mirror and put on her favorite twin flower hairpin. Then, she touched up her rouge and applied lipstick. Only then did she walk to the study in the outer courtyard.
However, when she arrived at the courtyard where the study was located, she was stopped by Lu Wenru and his men.
"Madam, the Earl has been tired for many days. He just went to bed."
Bian Ruohan's face immediately turned cold. "The Earl has returned to the residence. Even if he wanted to rest, he should go to the inner courtyard. Why would he rest here? You dog slave, are you making fun of me? "
Lu Wenru was Lu Heng's personal attendant. He was the most dignified. Bian Ruohan was displeased when he kept calling him a dog slave.
However, Lu Wenru was gentle and rational by nature. He knew that the Countess in front of him was from a poor family. She didn't even hesitate to make a fuss in front of the Earl. Moreover, with his status, he couldn't argue with the Lady of the House.
Lu Wenru could only cup his hands and say, "Madam, please go back. The Earl is truly very tired and has finally fallen asleep. Madam, please take care of the Earl. Don't disturb his good sleep. "
Bian Ruohan felt that he had been humiliated. He was so angry that his face turned purple. He pointed at Lu Wenru and said through gritted teeth, "You damn slave! You dare … "
Who knew that before he could finish speaking, a "boom" came from behind him. Bian Ruohan screamed in fright and hid behind a servant girl in a panic.
Lu Wenru was shocked. He hurriedly led his men out of the courtyard and towards the door. Before he could get close, he saw the black door being hit again. Another dull "boom" sounded. The two doors were forcefully knocked down. The doormen and workers at the door were scared silly.
Soldiers wearing the uniforms of the Five Armies swarmed in. At this moment, Lu Wenru had no time to react. He was pressed to the ground in the blink of an eye amidst the screams of his servants.
Lifting his head with difficulty, Lu Wenru saw a burly middle-aged general walking over with a sword in his hand. He recognized the man when he got closer.
This man was the Commander-In-Chief of the Five Armies' East Road. The man Your Majesty relies heavily on!
The black war boots stopped in front of him. Ma Cheng said in a deep voice, "Your Majesty has ordered us to surround the Lu Residence. Where is Zhong Yibo!"
Lu Wenru's heart skipped a beat.
Oh no, this is bad! Your Majesty rushed over in such a hurry as if he was raiding the residence. He didn't even wait to knock on the door and directly broke down the door. Could it be that what the Count did in private had been leaked? Could it be that things were developing in a direction they didn't want to see the most?
Lu Heng had been woken up by Bian Ruohan's sharp screams when she approached. However, he couldn't be bothered to respond to Bian Ruohan. If they met, they would have to talk. Thus, he covered himself with a cold blanket and couldn't be bothered with her.
He was so tired that he couldn't even find a place to sleep peacefully. Lu Heng's heart was filled with a nameless anger. He was so irritable that he wanted to kill someone.
However, at this moment, someone actually knocked on the door from outside!
In a fit of anger, Lu Heng put on his outer robe and shoes and rushed out. "How dare you! Who … "
The second half of Lu Heng's reprimand was choked in his throat. Seeing the cavalry from the five military camps swarming over, Lu Heng's anger and sleepiness were splashed with cold water at the same time.
Ma Cheng strode over and cupped his fists. He put on a fake smile and said, "Greetings to Zhong Yibo. I am here under imperial orders to protect Zhong Yibo's safety. Zhong Yibo, please rest well in your room. Without Your Majesty's orders, it's best if you don't come out. "
As soon as he finished speaking, Ma Cheng didn't wait for Lu Heng to react and gestured towards the people behind him.
Immediately, more than ten people rushed over and directly pushed Lu Heng into the bedroom.
Bian Ruohan was crouching behind the pillar. When she saw that Lu Heng had been caught, she immediately screamed and jumped out. She didn't have time to be afraid and said with righteous indignation, "What are you people doing! Who knows if you're really following imperial orders or if you're faking them! This is Zhong Yibo, Your Majesty's favorite! Who do you think I am? I'm Concubine Zhuang's younger sister! I'm a true member of the imperial family! "
Ma Cheng put on a fake smile and bared his teeth.
"No matter who you are, aren't you a citizen of Da Zhou's imperial court? How can you question Your Majesty's orders like this? Madame Zhong Yibo, please calm down a little. That way, everyone can avoid trouble and you can also suffer less. "
"You!" Bian Ruohan was furious, but she couldn't find the words to refute. Deep fear grew in her heart.
Ma Cheng saw that Lu Heng didn't have the slightest intention of protecting Bian Ruohan. Instead, he looked annoyed. Ma Cheng thought of the shared honor and disgrace between Pang Xiao and Qin Yining and couldn't help but look at Lu Heng with disdain.
Was this also a man?
Regardless of whether he liked it or not, his woman was quarreling with another man. As a man, shouldn't he speak up for her?
Seeing that Lu Heng was wearing a casual robe and that this was the outer courtyard of the Lu Residence, Ma Cheng knew that Lu Heng was sleeping in the outer courtyard.
"Since Madame Zhong Yibo is also here, then let's invite Madame Zhong Yibo into the room as well." Ma Cheng knew that Lu Heng didn't like Bian Ruohan, so he wanted to lock Bian Ruohan in the same room as him.
Lu Heng didn't have the time to think about anything else. Due to the extreme lack of sleep, his brain was a little slow. Now, he finally understood.
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