Chapter 741 The Assassin Arrives
In the vast land of Xianbei, Song Shuwen's figure looked a little tired in the wind.
He and his secret guards had been searching for a long time in this strange land.
And today, the gears of fate seemed to start turning. Song Shuwen's dusty boots finally stepped on the medicine they needed.
His eyes lit up instantly, and the light seemed to penetrate the haze.
He excitedly said to the tall and stern secret guard beside him: "I always thought that this medicine could not be found in this Xianbei land, but I didn't expect that I could still find it. After running around for so long, it was not in vain."
The secret guard nodded slightly, and there was a trace of imperceptible relief in his eyes.
Song Shuwen paced back and forth excitedly, as if he had seen the scene of going back to report. He shouted: "Now, we can finally go back and report. Our efforts have not been in vain. We can bring hope to those who are waiting."
They carefully collected the medicine and wrapped it in a clean cloth.
Song Shuwen set off on his return journey accompanied by the secret guards.
Along the way, the god of luck seemed to favor them. They did not encounter any pursuit and the journey was unexpectedly smooth.
When they finally returned to the Xianbei camp, Chen Meng heard the news that Song Shuwen had successfully collected medicine, and a smile instantly broke out on his face.
Chen Meng came up with big strides and laughed heartily: "Haha, Dr. Song, I knew you would succeed."
Song Shuwen's tired face also showed a relieved smile. He handed the cloth bag wrapped with medicine to Chen Meng and said: "Fortunately, I have fulfilled my mission. Although the journey was difficult, fortunately I found it."
Chen Meng carefully took the medicine, checked it carefully, and then said solemnly: "With these medicines, we have more confidence."
Song Shuwen said to Chen Meng: "I am really tired now after running all the way. I will start to prepare medicine after a short rest and regaining my energy."
After that, he turned around to find Hong Gang.
Hong Gang's tent was filled with a faint smell of incense. Song Shuwen entered the tent and informed Hong Gang of the news of collecting the medicine.
Hong Gang's eyes flashed with a subtle anger, but he immediately changed into an enthusiastic expression.
He greeted Song Shuwen with a smile on his face and said kindly: "Oh, Dr. Song, you are really hard-working! You must have gone through a lot of hardships along the way. Don't worry, I will arrange a comfortable place for you to rest."
Song Shuwen smiled tiredly and said: "Thank you, Chief Hong. This medicine is hard to come by, and we must make it work as soon as possible."
Hong Gang nodded repeatedly, but he was secretly calculating in his heart.
While he sent people to arrange a resting place, he was thinking about how to destroy Song Shuwen's achievements.
Song Shuwen was taken to the resting tent. He lay down without any defense and soon fell into a tired sleep.
Hong Gang paced back and forth in his tent, racking his brains to think of a sinister plan.
Hong Gang knew that Xiyu had arranged secret guards to protect the medicine. If he rashly took actions to destroy or steal the medicine at this time, he would definitely be discovered.
He was anxious, and fine beads of sweat oozed from his forehead.
However, he suddenly stopped, and a sinister smile appeared on the corner of his mouth. He thought to himself: "Even if Song Shuwen successfully collected the medicine, what can he do? Tuoba Tianlong was seriously injured, and maybe this medicine couldn't wake him up. Even if there is medicine, it may not be able to achieve Song Shuwen's great achievement."
His eyes became gloomy, as if he had seen Song Shuwen's efforts come to nothing.
On the other side, night had fallen.
Liu Xie, with a smile on his face, invited enthusiastically: "Xiyu, the moonlight is just right tonight, why not come to the banquet with me and share this moment of tranquility."
Xiyu thought for a while, then nodded and agreed.
The two came to the banquet, and saw that more than a dozen dishes with good color, fragrance and taste had been carefully prepared on the table.
As soon as Xiyu sat down, Liu Xie asked the eunuch to pour wine for Xiyu, but Liu Xie himself did not drink.
Xiyu looked at the table full of delicacies and the wine glass in front of him, and felt a little strange in his heart, but he did not show it on his face. He picked up the wine glass, took a sip of wine, looked at Liu Xie sharply, and asked: "Your Majesty, why don't you drink with me? Isn't it boring for me to enjoy this delicious food and wine alone?"
Liu Xie's eyes flashed a trace of panic, but he immediately calmed down, laughed dryly and said: "I have been feeling a little unwell recently, and it is not suitable for me to drink. You can drink as much as you want, don't worry about me."
Xiyu frowned slightly, and the doubts in his heart became more and more intense.
After three rounds of wine, the atmosphere at the banquet was a little subtle.
Suddenly, a black shadow rushed out of the dark like a ghost. It was a masked assassin.
His eyes were full of anger, and he rushed towards Xi Yu, cursing: "Xi Yu, you traitor, I will clean up the mess for His Majesty today!"
Before he finished speaking, the cold sword had already stabbed Xi Yu with a sharp momentum.
This sudden change surprised Liu Xie and Xi Yu.
After all, Xi Yu had been on the battlefield for a long time, and he regained his composure in an instant.
At the same time, the dark guards lurking around moved out like lightning.
The dark guards were all agile, and they quickly surrounded the assassin in the middle.
The swords collided, making a crisp collision sound. The assassin was not an ordinary person. He rushed left and right under the siege of the dark guards, and his moves were fierce.
Liu Xie's face was pale. He stood up in a panic, stepped back repeatedly, and stammered: "Where did this assassin come from?"
Xi Yu stared at the assassin with cold eyes, wondering about the assassin's origin and whether there was someone behind him.
In this chaos, the fight between the secret guards and the assassin became more and more intense. Amidst the flashes of swords and shadows, the outcome was still unknown.
In the fierce fight, the secret guards gradually gained the upper hand. They cooperated tacitly, pressed hard with every move, and finally injured the assassin.
The assassin staggered back a few steps. Seeing that the mission could not be completed, he looked at Liu Xie in despair, and said with guilt in his eyes: "I'm sorry, Your Majesty, I failed to complete the mission."
After that, he bit his tongue and committed suicide without hesitation.
Seeing this, the secret guards rushed forward to try to stop it, but they were still a step too late.
The assassin's body fell softly to the ground, blood flowed from the corner of his mouth, staining the ground red.
Xiyu's face was terribly gloomy. He slowly raised his head, looked at Liu Xie with a torch-like gaze, and asked in a cold voice: "Your Majesty, this assassin keeps saying that he wants to clean up the mess for you. Do you know the reason?"
Liu Xie was also terrified at this time. He waved his hands in panic and stammered to explain: "I... I really don't know, I have nothing to do with this matter."
Xiyu frowned, full of doubts in his heart. He knew that this matter was definitely not that simple. A bigger conspiracy might be brewing quietly in the dark.
Xiyu was silent for a moment, then waved his hand, signaling the secret guards to retreat.
Seeing this, Liu Xie was extremely anxious. He almost cried and said in a trembling voice: "Xi Yu, this matter really has nothing to do with me. Now I need you, how could I send someone to kill you? I still count on you to help me achieve my great cause."
Xi Yu looked at Liu Xie's panic-stricken look, and his face looked a little better.
He narrowed his eyes slightly and looked at Liu Xie carefully, as if judging the truth of his words.
After a while, Xi Yu sighed slightly and said: "Your Majesty, I believe you. It's just that the appearance of this assassin is too strange, which inevitably makes people suspicious."
Liu Xie nodded repeatedly and said hurriedly: "I understand, I understand. I will do my best to investigate this matter and give you an explanation. There must be someone behind this who wants to alienate the relationship between our monarch and ministers, and his heart is worthy of death."
Xi Yu nodded slightly. Although he still had doubts in his heart, he didn't want to make the situation too stiff at this moment.
He sat back at the table and said, "Your Majesty, let's continue the banquet and don't let this assassin spoil the mood." Liu Xie sat down as if relieved, but he was still uneasy.
Next, Liu Xie shouted anxiously.
A group of servants walked into the tent tremblingly.
Liu Xie's eyes were wide open and he shouted loudly: "Listen carefully, find out how this assassin got in immediately. If you can't find out, all of you will die!"
The servants were so scared that they trembled all over, and they quickly responded in unison: "Yes, Your Majesty!"
Then they immediately scattered and began to investigate.
Xi Yu sat aside and watched all this coldly.
He picked up the wine glass and sipped the wine gently, while thinking in his mind.
He didn't completely believe Liu Xie's words, but for now he could only wait and see the results of Liu Xie's investigation.
Liu Xie continued to express his opinion to Xi Yu, his expression was urgent and sincere, and he repeatedly told Xi Yu to believe in himself.
Xi Yu waved his hand slightly, and said in a steady tone: "Your Majesty, I have already made up my mind. This must be a trap set by the assassin to alienate us. If it was really done by your Majesty, how could the assassin directly say who was behind it? This is clearly unreasonable."
After listening to Xi Yu's analysis, Liu Xie's frown gradually relaxed, and a look of relief appeared on his face. He said with emotion: "Xiyu, I am so relieved that you can understand me like this. You know how much I rely on you, and you will never do such a self-destructive thing."
Xiyu nodded slightly and said: "Your Majesty, it is important to find out the origin of this assassin as soon as possible. We can't be led by the conspiracy of the person behind this."
Liu Xie nodded repeatedly, and his eyes were full of gratitude to Xiyu, as if because of Xiyu's understanding, the relationship between the monarch and the minister between them has become more stable.
Next, Xiyu and Liu Xie seemed to have forgotten the thrill just now, and continued to drink with their glasses, as if nothing had happened.
After a while, several servants hurried over. They knelt on the ground trembling with fear, and the leading servant said in a trembling voice: "Your Majesty, we asked around, but no one saw how the assassin appeared. However, we guessed that he should have climbed over the wall directly. We did not do our job well, please punish us, Your Majesty."
Liu Xie's face suddenly darkened, and he put the wine glass heavily on the table, making a "bang" sound.
He glared at these servants and scolded loudly: "You bunch of trash! So many people can't even find out where the assassin came from, what's the use of you?"
The servants lowered their heads even lower, their bodies trembling constantly, and they dared not breathe.
Xi Yu watched from the side, frowned slightly, and said: "Your Majesty, calm down for now. The assassin was able to climb over the wall, which also shows that there are loopholes in our defense. The top priority is to strengthen defense, not just punish them."
Liu Xie listened to Xi Yu's words. Although his anger was still in his heart, he also felt that it was somewhat reasonable. He gritted his teeth and said, "Humph, I'll spare you this time. Why don't you get out and strengthen your defense!"
The servants retreated crawling on the ground as if they had been granted amnesty.
Liu Xie had nowhere to vent his anger, and he kept complaining in his heart.
He originally invited Xiyu to dinner with good intentions and wanted to get closer to each other, but who could have expected that such a thing would happen.
He was filled with regret and secretly thought that he should not have left Xiyu here if he had known better.
Liu Xie, who became more and more angry as he thought about it, grabbed the wine glass and drank the wine in one gulp.
The spicy wine flowed down his throat, but it did not extinguish the anger in his heart.
He slammed the wine glass on the table, looked at Xi Yu and said, "Xi Yu, look what's going on! I wanted to have a good drink with you, but this assassin disturbed my interest."
Xi Yu frowned slightly. He could understand Liu Xie's anger, but he also knew that it was not appropriate to say anything more at this moment.
He just nodded slightly, with some complicated emotions in his eyes.
Liu Xie drank a few more glasses of wine, and the resentment lingered in his heart, making him unable to calm down for a long time.
Finally, Xi Yu said: "Your Majesty, don't blame yourself anymore. This matter will definitely come to light. I asked a secret guard to stay and start the investigation."
Liu Xie listened and nodded slightly in agreement.
Xi Yu then ordered a secret guard to take away the assassin's body. The secret guard quickly picked up the body and left quietly in the night.
Xi Yu looked sharply at the direction in which the secret guard was going, and solemnly warned: "Check carefully based on his facial features, items on his body and other clues, and don't let go of any clues."
The secret guard took the order and quickly disappeared from everyone's sight. Liu Xie looked at this scene and his mood eased a little.
He knew that Xi Yu's secret guards were extremely efficient in their work. With their participation in the investigation, they might be able to find out the mastermind as soon as possible.
Then, Liu Xie leaned forward slightly and asked Xi Yu with some sincerity: "Xi Yu, I have something to ask for. I hope you can send troops to station here. Firstly, it can protect my safety, and secondly, It can prevent another assassin from attacking."
After hearing this, Xi Yu felt that what Liu Xie said was very reasonable.
He pondered for a moment, then called a servant, took out a military talisman from his arms, handed it solemnly to the servant's hand, and ordered: "Take this military talisman, quickly go to the Black and White Cavalry, and mobilize five thousand soldiers and horses. come over."
The servant took the military talisman with both hands, responded respectfully, and left in a hurry.
Liu Xie looked at Xi Yu's actions and felt grateful.
He knew that Xi Yu was sincerely helping him. With these five thousand troops stationed, his safety would be a little more guaranteed.
Xi Yu leaned on the chair and said with a deep look: "Your Majesty, with these five thousand soldiers and horses, we should be safe in the short term. But we still need to find out the mastermind behind the assassin as soon as possible to avoid future troubles. "
Liu Xie nodded repeatedly in agreement.
At the same time, Xi Yu's expression became serious, and he solemnly said to Liu Xie: "Your Majesty, after sending these soldiers and horses, I hope you will not feel uncomfortable or mistakenly think that the minister has the intention to rebel. ”
Liu Xie burst out laughing after hearing this.
He waved his hand and said: "What are you talking about, Prime Minister? Even if I don't trust other people in this world, I will never distrust you, Prime Minister. Your actions, Prime Minister, will only make me feel at ease and able to sleep peacefully." ”
Xi Yu looked at Liu Xie's sincere look and let go of his worries a little.
He knew that in this complicated situation, the trust between monarch and ministers was extremely fragile, but for now, Liu Xie still trusted him.
This night was destined to be an uneventful night.
Xi Yu decided to stay tonight with a serious look on his face. He said with firm eyes: "If you are willing to ask Your Majesty Sang Weichen to stay, we must investigate clearly."
Liu Xie nodded slightly, with trust in Xi Yu on his slightly tired face.
"Is it necessary to make an announcement to the outside world?" Liu Xie asked softly. He knew that this matter was of great importance, and if he was not careful, it would cause turmoil in the court.
Xi Yu waved his hand, his deep eyes shining with confidence: "It's not necessary. There are some things that the fewer people know about, the better."
Liu Xie looked at Xi Yu and said sincerely: "Tonight, you can sleep in the same bed with me."
Hearing this, Xi Yu was shocked and quickly bowed and saluted: "Your Majesty, I must not do this. I am a minister, and sleeping with your Majesty is really an act of transgression."
Liu Xie looked at Xi Yu's respectful look, feeling both emotional and helpless in his heart. He smiled and waved his hand: "That's all, I know what you are thinking."
Therefore, Liu Xie immediately ordered his surroundings to arrange a comfortable residence for Xi Yu in the side hall.
Not long after, the attendants had tidied up a room in the side hall.
Although the room was not as luxurious as Liu Xie's palace, it was still elegantly and comfortably decorated.
Xi Yu followed the attendant to the room. He looked around, his heart full of gratitude.
Liu Xie personally sent Xi Yu to the door of the room and said sincerely: "I'm sorry that you have to rest here for the past few days. I hope you can find out the truth as soon as possible."
Xi Yu bowed deeply again: "Your Majesty's kindness will be unforgettable. I will do my best to live up to your Majesty's trust."
After Liu Xie left, Xi Yu sat on the edge of the bed, closed his eyes slightly, and began to sort out the clues of today's events.
After Liu Xie returned to the dormitory, his heart could not calm down for a long time.
At this moment, a neat sound of horse hooves was heard.
It turned out that the black and white knights had quickly arrived. They were like a steel torrent, directly surrounding the palace. (End of this chapter)