C24

Although the order was a bit strange, the officers who were involved in the operation had completely executed it and searched every corner of the city. In total, they brought back more than 40 Daoists and sent them all to Zhang Zhou's residence. At this time, Guan Yuniang, Elder You, Old Lin, You Nan Qi, Feng Xiaosu, Fei Zi, and the others also arrived after hearing the news.

Zhang Zhou had asked the servant to identify the culprit, but none of them matched his identity. No matter how infuriated Zhang Zhou was, he would not vent his anger on the innocent. Thinking about it, that Daoist priest should have already left the city.

Zhang Zhou waved his hand in annoyance, preparing to disperse these Taoists, but at this time, among all the Taoists, an old Taoist who seemed to have some experience, waved his hand and asked coldly, "A small criminal arrest actually dares to be so despotic, capturing him so casually, without any reason, I'm afraid this Taoist will not agree!"

Zhang Zhou took a look at the old Daoist who had just spoken. Behind him were more than ten Daoists, all of whom seemed to have the same hatred towards the same enemy. The rest of the Daoists did not dare to cause trouble and quickly left.

These more than ten Daoists were fearless in the face of the 50 + people who were eyeing them covetously. How could Zhang Zhou be in the mood to lament over this old Daoist's overbearing attitude? He had no place to vent his anger! He took a few steps forward and approached the old Daoist.

"Did you lock the door just now?"

"Never!"

"Have you been convicted?"

"Never!"

"That's fine, you can leave now!"

"Hmph, you are but a mere criminal arrest. Even if you want to condemn this poor Taoist, I'm afraid you don't have the qualifications!" This Penniless Priest needs a reasonable explanation now! "

It seems that the old Daoist feels that he has lost face because of this, and he will definitely regain this face! Zhang Zhou tried his best to suppress his anger.

"Don't stay here forever. The investigation is over, let's quickly leave!"

The old Daoist snorted coldly.

"This Penniless Priest has said that I must give a reasonable explanation. If there is no satisfactory explanation, then! "I'm afraid..."

Zhang Zhou narrowed his eyes as he looked at the old man in front of him.

"Oh? "What kind of explanation?"

At this time, a young daoist beside him shouted, "Kneel down and apologize to my master. Also …"

Zhang Zhou laughed and interrupted him.

"Do you want me to gift you eighteen thousand silver taels as a consolation?"

The old Daoist didn't seem to have changed, but the eyes of the people around him were filled with greed and excitement. That young daoist smacked his lips and said: "At least you're sensible!"

Zhang Zhou's smile faded.

"I'm sorry, but I will take back my previous decision. Since all of you do not want to leave, then don't! Men, capture all of this fur, and don't let a single one escape! "

The old Daoist did not expect this young fellow to behave in such a way. You dare! What kind of crime would dare to seek justice! "Ahhh!"

The old Daoist was too angry, too careless, and too sudden. Caught off guard, Zhang Zhou's leg was kicked into his stomach, causing him to fly backwards and knock over the two Daoists behind him!

The torturers present were even faster and rushed forward. Even if they were in the martial arts world, it was inevitable that they would be somewhat afraid of those dressed in official robes. In addition, within these torturers, many of them were not weak at all, and they began to wail and groan. They were originally a group of unlucky people, yet they were acting on behalf of their superiors. This was especially true for the old Daoist, who had his dantian's Qi broken by Zhang Zhou with a single kick and had been heavily taken care of. After the situation stabilized and the smoke and dust dispersed, he no longer had his original appearance.

Fortunately, as a criminal arrest, they had plenty of experience in beating people up. They knew the severity of the situation, or else a few of them might have been beaten to death on the spot!

Zhang Zhou vented his anger a little. After some thought, he called Lin Jiu and You Nan Seven over and whispered a few words to them. Then he walked over to the old man and began to whisper something.

"Yes." Old General You nodded, and assured Zhang Zhou. If one were to invert right from wrong and frame something, one would have to become an old general. Being an old hunter and a righteous person did not mean that everything would be settled in one go.

The dozen or so Daoist priests who had joined in the commotion were tightly tied up and dragged away.

He went back to his room and wrote two notes. One was to Chen Chaoying of the Flying Flood Dragon Gang, and the other was to Old Yellow. Zhang Zhou had no other contacts or informants outside of Hezhou.

Zhang Zhou deeply felt that his strength was insignificant and could not help but feel depressed. He leaned back in his chair, his brows knitted tightly, and Guan Yuniang gently rubbed his forehead. The scene was intimate, but it did not seem to be out of the ordinary for Tang Shui'er.

Zhang Zhou did not open his eyes. He was being massaged by Guan Yu-niang's soft fingers, but he could not loosen his frown. He asked softly, "Shui'er, do you remember the way back to that manor?"

"Of course!"

"What's the name of the manor?"

"I don't know. The people in the manor have never mentioned it either. When we left the manor, we were blindfolded. We were driven far away in a carriage. We only removed the blindfold when we arrived at an inn!"

Zhang Zhou had not expected that the other party would have such strict methods.

"Then how do you remember the way?"

"My elder sister told me that this inn is only a few dozen li away from the capital, and that the manor is about that far from the inn." "Big sister said that I can find the manor where we live if I just press down on the ground and avoid the willows. How did you know? I didn't ask, so I'm not sure!"

"Is that manor big?" What did it look like? Who are those people inside? "

"It's very big. There is a large lake inside, and there are many courtyards and houses. Usually, only a few servants can be seen. Those who don't talk much are usually limited to their daily life and are not allowed to go out." Other than a few masters who teach me all kinds of knowledge, they're rarely in contact with outsiders. "

With his understanding of history, being able to have this kind of influence in the capital was definitely not an ordinary person. He did not understand the power of these top bosses, nor did he dare to make wild guesses about their targets, but they had ordered their subordinates to steal the information of the high-ranking officials, regardless of their ability or their purpose, they were definitely top-notch existences! The various dynasties would probably have this kind of intense and covert strife, in which all sides fought and plotted against each other. Now that they were in such a situation, they truly felt chills run down their spines.

He suddenly said, "Sister Guan, you stay. Everyone else will be leaving first."

At this moment, this short sentence of his was filled with the imposing aura of the Patriarch. Everyone quietly retreated, and no one dared to imagine that there was anything amorous going on between a man and a woman. Zhang Zhou lay down again with his eyes closed, while Guan Yu-niang continued to rub his forehead. Suddenly, Zhang Zhou asked, "Sis, do you know the current situation of the Royal Family?"

"Royal family? "I know a bit, but it's all hearsay."

"Sister, tell me what you know. For example, how old is the crown prince this year?"

Guan Yuniang did not know why he wanted to know all this, but she still told him everything she knew.

The current emperor, Zhao Qianyuan, had personally put on armor when he was young and had made many meritorious feats in the border army. He ascended the throne at the age of forty, and became the year of the Great War. It had been fourteen years. The country was now strong and prosperous, the world was at peace. Occasionally, there would be some conflicts or natural disasters, but none of them had caused much of a commotion. It had nothing to do with the general situation of the world. Although there had been no major changes in recent years, the current emperor could not be denied to be a decisive ruler.

The emperor had four sons and three daughters. The oldest was King Jing, who was thirty-five years old. The youngest was a princess, but she was only two years old. The crown prince was the thirty-four-year-old second prince, King Ning. When the emperor ascended the throne, his identity was neither that of the eldest son nor that of the crown prince, so the emperor had chosen him as the crown prince. This had not caused too much of a commotion in the imperial court. The Eldest Princess Lin Lang and Ning Wang were born dragons and phoenixes, deeply loved by the Emperor. The Second Princess Zi Yu wasn't even twenty, and Tang Yu'er was probably pretending to be this princess, and there was even a princess who was only four or five years old.

The most powerful official in the dynasty was the Prime Minister, Yuan Shang, and the military general was Pei Yuanzhao of the Dazhu Kingdom. They were known as the two pillars of the dynasty …

Zhang Zhou listened and analyzed. The two of them were no longer standing and sitting. Instead, they were sitting and resting. Zhang Zhou used his fear of his sister's exhaustion as an excuse and asked Guan Yuniang to sit at the end of the bench. Zhang Zhou rested his head on her plump thighs and leaned on the chair. Guan Yu-niang saw his sad and worried look, and could not refuse. This bench was made by the Nine Prefectures Carpentry Workshop according to their own requirements. It was a sample that had yet to be put on the market.

"Elder Sister Guan, go and send a letter to the capital and try to gather more information about those top powers."

"Yea, Old Yellow intends to send a few more people over. I'll have them set off immediately."

"Big sister, I can't possibly ignore Yu'er's matter, but this opponent is really very strong, so strong that even I am a little afraid. I don't know what the result will be …" I'll leave you some money to ensure that you and your brother will have no worries for the rest of your lives. "If anything goes wrong, big sis, you …"

Guan Yu-niang covered Zhang Zhou's mouth, her voice trembling as she tried to control her emotions.

"Don't say that again. Do you remember what you said to me? Sister believes that this life and the fate of my previous life, I will not go anywhere! "

Zhang Zhou closed his eyes and bit his lips, obviously trying to suppress his emotions. Guan Yu-niang gently wiped away the tears at the corners of his eyes and asked, "Tell sister, what are you planning to do? "Okay?"

Zhang Zhou did not say anything. After a long while, he stood up and sat up.

"I don't know either. My mind is in a mess right now. I can't imagine what Yu'er will be going through. I really don't dare to think about it!"

"Little Boat, I feel that Yu'er must have some value to those people, that's why they took her away so peacefully, and not just directly killed her!" Therefore, Yu'er should not be in any danger for a short period of time. Furthermore, you are the head of the family, you must not lose your cool. No matter how anxious you are, you have to do it step by step! At the very least, he had to figure out who those people were! That's how we can arrange for a response! "

"Sigh, how hateful!"

In fact, he already had a general suspicion in his heart. That was because only the most powerful families would be able to do so. As for the reason why they wanted to obtain information regarding the government of the King of the Great Northern River and the He Province's government, it should be because they wanted to force the other party to join them during their faction's battle. According to Zhang Zhou's knowledge, the Tang Dynasty had strict control over the rights of all the vassal lords, including the princes. Especially the army, anyone with brain would never have any presumptuous thoughts in this regard.

Ten years ago, he had already started nurturing all kinds of spies and spies. Ten years ago, the Ping Wang was still a child and had already been excluded. The Prime Minister and the Kingdom of Dazhu? He had already become an extremely important man, and was secretly coercing the vassal lords to form a faction? The risks and benefits weren't even on the same side, daring to act like this was suicidal.

Now, if there was an open rivalry or covert strife, it would be between the Crown Prince and the King of Jing. They all had this kind of strength, so it was completely compatible with their current goals.

Asking for someone with his current status? There must be something wrong with his head! Stealing people? Not to mention how many people would follow him, but if there were people, could they succeed? Would the Yu'er sisters be safe and sound? He was now an ant!

While he was feeling depressed and confused, Lao Huang gave him a way out.

"There must be more of them in this He Prefecture! The things that the two ladies have done in the Hezhou City, unless there is an accomplice, it would not be possible to accomplish! "

Tang Shui'er told him about how he stole the box that day. It was true that there was a spy, but when they were protecting them, they had already been exposed. Old Man Li could be considered to be dead, but as for whether there were others, she was not sure. The line broke up here.

Old Yellow thought for a moment and said, "If Lady Yu'er and that Taoist left together, there would definitely be traces of their departure. When the time comes, we can draw a route and determine if Lady Yu'er went to the capital. Don't think about what you should do in the future. At the very least, you should set your goal first! "

Zhang Zhou completely agreed. Who should he send? Zhang Zhou thought of Liu Qingshan and did not send anyone to look for him. When Liu Qingshan heard of this, he had already entered the city. Liu Qingshan had no doubts about the plan. Zhang Zhou had helped him take revenge, and he dared to repay him with his life.

This concept of "a soldier dying for his own friend" was nothing special in this world! If they were in the same boat, they would have the courage to face each other! It wasn't that there weren't any treacherous people, but rather, the proportion of the crowd made Zhang Zhou feel that the people of this world were very grateful.

It had to be said that Chen Chaoying was very kind. He received Zhang Zhou's letter and immediately began to arrange for an investigation. He had indeed discovered something. In the morning, someone on the dock noticed a girl and a Taoist leaving on a boat, presumably in the direction of the capital. He also clearly remembered that the boat they were on was a willow leaf awning unique to the capital. The speed of this type of boat was extremely fast on the water. Furthermore, it was going down the water, so it would be difficult for them to catch up. Chen immediately described the situation and told Feizi to bring it to Zhang Zhou.

When Zhang Zhou saw the reply, he felt much more at ease. He had originally planned to go alone with Liu Qingshan. But Tang Shui'er was anxious to find her elder sister. Now that she had news, she anxiously requested to go, and Yang Xiaoluo, who was worried about Tang Shui'er, also requested to accompany her. Zhang Zhou considered the situation. After all, Tang Shui'er was familiar with the situation and might be of some help to her, so she agreed. However, he told Tang Shui'er that she must listen to Liu Qingshan's arrangements and not provoke any trouble, lest she alert the enemy. He also told Liu Qingshan that he must learn more about the background of the manor and must not act rashly! The three of them packed up briefly before leaving Hezhou for the capital.

Just as Zhang Zhou was calming down, someone from the criminal yamen came to look for him. He was ordered to go to the yamen immediately! The situation was urgent and should not be delayed!