In the south of the county, there was an open space where mountain products were sold. Most of the mountain products obtained by the villagers outside the county would be brought here.
It was already afternoon, so there were not many people gathered here. There were only a few villagers who hoped to sell their products. A man in grey robes strolled here with his hands behind his back. From time to time, he squatted in front of the mountain products displayed by the villagers to check their quality or ask about their prices.
After strolling around, the man in grey robes went to a nearby teahouse. He sat down in the teahouse and shouted to the waiter, "Give me a pot of tea!"
"Alright, please wait a moment," the waiter replied.
A carriage stopped outside the door and blocked the entrance, attracting the attention of the man in grey robes. However, no one got out of the carriage. While he was looking around, he suddenly felt something pressing against his waist. He looked down and found a dagger pointed at him. He looked up abruptly and saw two people on his left and right, sandwiching him in the middle.
"…" He was about to say something when he was warned by the pain of the dagger.
The two people on his left and right didn't say anything. They threw several copper coins on the table and each grabbed one of his arms. Without changing their expressions, they took him out and directly pushed him into the carriage.
As soon as he entered the carriage, his mouth was covered and he was pressed down on the carriage. He was tied up tightly and the carriage quickly turned around and left.
The waiter in the teahouse came out with the brewed tea but found that the guests were gone. He put down the teapot and swept the copper coins on the table. He ran to the door and looked around, but still didn't see anyone. He scratched his head and came back with a strange look on his face …
Outside the villa, a group of famous people from Canglu County bid farewell. Lan Ruoting personally saw them off and sent them down the mountain.
"Mister Lan, please wait!" The group of people didn't dare to go back until Lan Ruoting stopped.
On the way down the mountain, they walked briskly. Today could be said to be a happy day. Many people had a lingering aftertaste on their faces.
The princess personally showed up to receive them. Not only did she discuss poetry with them, but she also accompanied them for lunch. Although the princess wore a gauze hat and couldn't see her face, her graceful figure, elegant behavior and demeanor, and her gentle and beautiful voice were fascinating. Moreover, the way he spoke and the way he spoke showed that he had an extremely good upbringing. As expected of someone from the imperial family, he was definitely not someone that this small county could raise. He was worthy of admiration.
Rumor had it that the princess was ugly. However, from what he had seen and heard today, whether it was her figure, her demeanor, and her voice, how could such a person be ugly? Some of the men were already fantasizing about how wonderful it would be if they could get intimate with her. Unfortunately, her identity and status were destined to be beyond their reach, so they could only fantasize about it in their hearts.
After lunch, it was Lan Ruoting's turn to talk to everyone. He asked about the situation and opinions of Canglu County.
In short, the atmosphere was good. Before they parted, Lan Ruoting gave each of them a hundred taels of silver, saying that it was a gift from the princess, so that they wouldn't mind it.
Lin Shangpo, who was nervous before he came, was also in a good mood at this time. He realized that he had thought too much. His mind was still recalling the time he spent with the princess. He thought about his wife and compared it to the princess. Their demeanor was simply incomparable, and he felt slightly regretful.
Most of the people were in a very good mood. Only those like Su Dekang, who seemed to have already seen through Shang Chaozong's act of buying people's hearts, kept silent with a straight face and worried about the future.
As for why Lu Shengzhong disappeared, Shang Shuqing's reply was that he went back ahead of time. No one took it seriously. In fact, some people felt that Lu Shengzhong didn't deserve to come to such an occasion. Just because he was the shopkeeper of Quiet Ink Pavilion, the best stationery shop in the city, he dared to come and pretend to be a refined scholar. Wasn't he asking to be humiliated?
At least this group of people thought that they were the refined scholars of Canglu County.
After going down the mountain, everyone went back to their own homes. When everyone returned to the city, it was almost evening.
The quiet narrow alley was filled with smoke. The scholar who pushed open the door and went home shouted, "Tomorrow, I'll kill that hen and stew it!" He announced his return.
The little woman came out of the kitchen and scolded, "The princess didn't take care of your meals. Are you hungry or what?"
The scholar entered the main hall with his head held high. In front of his wife who followed him in, he took out his money bag and poured a pile of silver coins on the table.
The little woman covered her mouth and exclaimed, "You dare to steal and rob?" At least she was sure of one thing. No one was willing to lend so much money to their family at once.
"Steal and rob? How can you think of that! " The scholar rolled his eyes and immediately said in high spirits, "It's a gift from the princess. Now, do you still think that scholars can't earn money?" He was quite proud and elated.
"A gift from the princess?" The little woman's eyes lit up. She immediately turned around and closed the door in front of the hall, as if she was afraid of being seen by others. She returned to the table and quickly counted the money. Her hands were trembling with excitement. Her family had never seen so much money.
"There's no need to count. One hundred coins is enough for our family to eat for a year! Tomorrow, I'll buy two new clothes for you. Remember to kill that hen tomorrow … "
Not long after the group of scholars from Canglu County returned to the city, a horse carriage also entered the city and stopped in front of the Quiet Ink Pavilion.
The coachman respectfully asked Lu Shengzhong to get off the carriage and then drove away.
Seeing this, the neighbors hurriedly came out of their shops and gathered around to ask about the princess's invitation.
"I can't say it, I can't say it!" Lu Shengzhong cupped his hands and pleaded with the crowd to let him go.
Seeing that he couldn't say it, the crowd could only give up and gradually dispersed. However, there was still some envy in their eyes when they looked at Lu Shengzhong.
Lu Shengzhong looked around and hesitated slightly. His transcendence energy was restricted, so he didn't dare to run. He walked to the door of the shop and removed the planks.
Once he entered, he immediately walked to the back hall. When he opened the curtain and entered the back hall, he was stunned. He saw Bai Yao sitting inside and staring coldly at him. He didn't know where he came from.
Looking at the window, Lu Shengzhong smiled bitterly.
When night fell, Lu Shengzhong went to the door and lit one of the two lanterns.
Two hours later, a figure appeared at the corner of the street. It was Liu Ziyu in disguise. She came to the entrance of the Quiet Ink Pavilion and looked around before walking straight in.
Not long after, the sound of fighting could be heard from within.
Bang! A figure smashed through the planks of the door and flew out, landing on the street and vomiting blood. It was Liu Ziyu.
Such a commotion immediately attracted several people to emerge from the dark corners of the street. They flashed in this direction, but halfway through, they were intercepted and killed by people who appeared out of nowhere.
Bai Yao flashed out of the Quiet Ink Pavilion and stomped on Liu Ziyu, who was trying to get up. He raised his sword and slashed down. A cold light flashed, and Liu Ziyu's head was directly cut off.
The fellow disciples who came to rescue Liu Ziyu naturally knew that they had fallen into a trap. Seeing that Liu Ziyu was dead, there was no need to rescue him. Seeing that Bai Yao had appeared, they knew that they were no match for him. Someone shouted, "Go!"
Two blood-curdling screams came from the night sky. Two more people soared into the sky and disappeared into the night sky. Behind them, there were people chasing after them.
The people in the surrounding shops were alarmed by the sounds of fighting. They looked out through the cracks in the windows and doors, and all of them were scared out of their wits.
The patrolling soldiers in the city quickly rushed over. A carriage arrived, and one of Shang Chaozong's personal guards came out. He flashed a token at the patrolling soldiers and took command.
Yuan Gang also came out of the carriage and went into the Quiet Ink Pavilion to drag Lu Shengzhong out. He sent him onto the carriage and quickly left.
Bai Yao and the others also flew into the sky, disappearing into the night.
On top of the city wall, someone lit a bonfire. The pile of firewood that had been doused with oil instantly burst into flames.
Inside the manor, Niu Youdao, who was standing on the balcony and looking into the distance, saw the signal from the distant city wall. He calmly said, "Old Bear, release it!"
Behind him, Yuan Fang immediately grabbed a Golden Wing from the cage, walked to the railing, and tossed it into the night sky. The Golden Wing rapidly flapped its wings and disappeared under the hazy moonlight.
The Shang siblings and Lan Ruoting, who were watching from the side, exchanged glances. Shang Chaozong could not help but ask, "Has the assassin been caught?"
"It's not important whether the assassin is caught or not. The one behind the scenes is the real problem. Unfortunately, we can't do anything to him for now." Niu Youdao turned around and smiled at him. "If the Prince can conquer Qingshan County, I will give the Prince a generous gift!"
Generous gift? The three of them looked at each other. Lan Ruoting asked with interest, "What kind of generous gift is it?"
Niu Youdao smiled but did not answer. Lan Ruoting was speechless. He knew that he had asked in vain again. If this person did not want to talk about it, there was no point in asking.
Niu Youdao seemed to have put this matter to the back of his mind and changed the topic. "If it's convenient, you can go to the Arcana Realm for seclusion tomorrow."
Shang Chaozong nodded. "Alright! I will help Daoye make the necessary arrangements. "He was still thinking about what kind of generous gift the other party was talking about. It was a little ticklish.
Niu Youdao cupped his fists and bade farewell. He turned around and led Yuan Fang down the pavilion.
The three people in the pavilion watched the two of them return to their own courtyard. Lan Ruoting suddenly had a thought. "This Daoye is not simple!"
Shang Chaozong asked, "What do you mean, Mister?"
Lan Ruoting asked, "Didn't the Prince notice? That bear demon has been tamed by him. The people of Nanshan Temple are still estranged from us, but they are obedient and close to him … He's so capable at such a young age. He's really a demon! "
The courtyard was quiet under the moonlight. Yuan Gang returned with Lu Shengzhong, who had a bitter expression on his face.
"It's settled." Yuan Gang said these four simple words, which could be considered as a satisfactory explanation of what happened in the city.
Niu Youdao said to Yuan Fang, "Old Bear, take him away. Instruct the people to keep an eye on him. Don't let him escape. Don't let anyone talk to him. If necessary, use extreme measures!"
"Daoye, don't worry." Yuan Fang gave his guarantee. He turned around and grabbed Lu Shengzhong's clothes, dragging him away.
Late at night, in a courtyard in Nanzhou City, a golden wing descended from the sky and landed on the horizontal beam of an eagle's nest under the eaves. "Gu gu."
An Xiaoman quickly came out and grabbed it. She took out the secret letter from the tube at its feet.
When she returned to the house, she read the secret letter. It was a message from Senior Brother Lu Shengzhong. He said that he had accidentally exposed himself. In order to protect himself, he had no choice but to betray Liu Ziyu and the other Immortal Retaining Sect disciples. Now that Liu Ziyu had been killed, there were still people in the Immortal Retaining Sect who knew about it. He believed that Liu Lu would soon receive the news and ask him to quickly contact the sect to avoid disaster.
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