Ran Min's hoarse roar
ignited the inner rage of the City Patrol Division soldiers.

The Yan people had fought north and south over the years, and looking around, there was almost no opponent they hadn't defeated. This inflated confidence wasn't just limited to the common people.

In fact,
the place with the highest arrogance and the most serious "we're number one" complex was actually in the military, among these soldiers.

They had personally witnessed the Helian and Wen families, the Jin people's proud Three Jin Knights, being routed by their own Zhenbei Army and Jingnan Army. They had personally witnessed the helplessness and hesitation of the Qian people when the army approached Shangjing City. They had personally witnessed the savages fleeing for thousands of miles, their corpses strewn across the fields, and they had seen the Chu people on the Wangjiang River, their blood dyeing the river red like slaughtered pigs.

This was an army of spoiled soldiers.
If they were in Yan territory, they might restrain themselves a bit, but this was Yingdu, a place with mostly Jin people, defeated generals, a royal palace crying and waiting for them to be rescued from the savages,

what did it amount to!

In an instant,
bowstrings were drawn,
armored soldiers drew their sabers,
and two captains directly shouted:

"Damn it, we saw the assassin enter the royal palace with our own eyes. If you don't hand over the assassin, we'll massacre the royal palace!"

"Massacre the royal palace!"
"Massacre the royal palace!"

Zhao Wenhua's face turned green and then white. He had followed Situ Lei for half his life and witnessed the most glorious period of the Great Cheng Kingdom.

Originally, he thought that the execution of the royal palace guards a few days ago was the biggest slap in the face. Who would have thought that today's scene would truly throw the last bit of the royal palace's dignity into the latrine!

Even the slogan of massacring the royal palace had been shouted out,
so what was the royal palace,
what was the Situ family,
good for in the future?

It was laughable,
but the reason why the royal palace still had many forces and followers in the dark was largely because the Yan people valued the royal palace, and the Yan people wanted to use the Cheng Prince's Mansion to appease Yingdu and the Jin region.

Because the Yan people valued it, the royal palace seemed more valuable.
But once the Yan people blatantly took the initiative to trample on the dignity of the royal palace, the forces behind the royal palace would probably not feel a sense of shared hatred, but would feel that this royal palace was just like that, and then disintegrate.

"Everyone, an assassin did enter the royal palace earlier, but he has already been repelled by this old servant. He is no longer in the royal palace."
Zhao Wenhua could only explain.

"Hahaha, do you think we're three-year-old children?"
"Trying to fool ghosts!"

At this time, the servants and retainers in the royal palace also rushed out. They were also holding knives and guns. In fact, they were quite skilled, but at this moment, their morale was obviously waning.

This was the aftermath of the royal palace sitting idly by while the guards were taken away and killed. It was okay to risk your life for you, but if you sold out your teammates at every turn, who would be willing to risk their lives for you?

When people's hearts are scattered, it's difficult to lead a team.
Zhao Wenhua's facial muscles twitched. Of course, he knew that his previous explanation might have a bad effect. In the eyes of these soldiers who were almost overwhelmed by anger, it was simply a cover-up.

But Zhao Wenhua was an experienced man after all. As soon as the assassin left, the City Patrol Division soldiers rushed to the gate of the royal palace with angry roars, carrying the centurion.

If Zhao Wenhua still couldn't see that this was a setup, then he would have been stabbed in vain that year!

But the problem was, since he knew he was being set up, and he had fought with the assassin, if he directly said "I haven't seen the assassin" or "It's all nonsense,"

while it seemed like the most appropriate response,
hadn't the mastermind behind this scheme thought of that?

Once you denied it outright, there would likely be evidence to slap you in the face, and then you would really be in a hopeless situation!

"Brothers, charge in and avenge our sister-in-law!"
"Stop!"

At this moment, Xu Wenzu appeared on horseback. He wasn't wearing official robes, but a white undershirt, showing that he had just rushed over from bed after hearing the news.

"What's going on? What kind of decorum is this!"
Xu Wenzu scolded angrily.

Then,
the captain who had taken the lead earlier immediately came over and knelt down in front of the horse:

"Lord Prefect, let me tell you, our centurion's family was attacked by an assassin today. Our sister-in-law was stabbed to death by the assassin to protect our centurion. Fortunately, a group of us brothers arrived in time and scared off the assassin, and then chased the assassin all the way to the royal palace.

We saw the assassin climb over the wall of the royal palace with our own eyes!

Lord,
the brothers have shed blood and been wounded for Great Yan. Even after entering the City Patrol Division, the brothers still train every three days and have never slackened. The centurion often tells us that we must never waste our skills or wear down our bloodthirst. If His Majesty issues an edict in the future, our City Patrol Division brothers will still have to put on our armor and continue to fight for Great Yan!

Even in this Yingdu City,
we often offend people when we handle cases and arrest people. Our centurion is also a well-known iron-faced centurion.

The centurion told us that we are Yan people, and Yan people must straighten their spines and guard this territory for His Majesty and the imperial court!"

At this point,
the captain was already sobbing,
and the big man actually wiped away his tears.

"The centurion offended the royal palace in order to handle errands for you, Lord, which led to the royal palace's revenge. Lord, you must stand up for our centurion!"

…

"This man has good eloquence," Chen Daxia commented.
Zheng Fan glanced at Chen Daxia and said, "Yes, you should learn from him quickly."

Chen Daxia shook his head.
The Sword Saint's gaze was still fixed on Ran Min.

"I don't like this person."
"I can understand," Zheng Fan said, "but I don't like him very much either."
"You like to use this kind of person."

"That was before, when there was no room for choice. Who doesn't want their subordinates to be humble gentlemen with both virtue and talent?

Hehe, if all my subordinates were Chen Daxia, I would laugh myself awake at night."
Chen Daxia frowned slightly and asked, "Is that a compliment?"
"Yes."
"Why do you need to say 'if'?"
"To emphasize."

The Sword Saint said, "I thought you would value him because of this and then take him in."
"He's Xu Wenzu's man, how could I possibly snatch him away?"

Zheng Fan paid special attention to the Sword Saint's expression,
and continued:

"Everyone's path is their own choice. If he wants to take a gamble, then let's see how his future turns out. Besides, Fatty Xu isn't someone to be trifled with. He knows what he's doing."
"This is a wolf dog full of ambition," the Sword Saint commented.
"Who's calling me?"

At this moment,
Gou Moli happened to be walking up the stairs with pastries.

Zheng Fan reached out, took a piece of pastry, and put it in his mouth, saying:

"This Marquis already has a wolf king here. I don't even look at this kind of wolf dog."
Gou Moli immediately smiled.

He was good at capturing any subtle details.
First of all,
a wolf king was very similar to a dog, but not a dog.

From this sentence, it could be seen that his performance during this period had gradually gained the approval of the Marquis of Pingxi. He was now gradually trying to learn from those gentlemen and occasionally mix the term "Lord" into his address of "Marquis."

The Lord's chains on him were loosening more and more, and he would have more and more opportunities to stand alone in the future.
The Sword Saint looked at Gou Moli and then at Zheng Fan,

saying:
"Gou Moli and him are different. Gou Moli can fool his clansmen into going to their deaths, and he can let his most trusted subordinates cover his retreat, but he won't kill his own woman for a little so-called opportunity."

Gou Moli gave the plate of pastries to Chen Daxia, who was very hungry and injured,

and raised his hand,
saying:
"I want to kill her, but I can't. Li Liangshen and that Seventh Uncle would beat my head to a pulp."

The Sword Saint looked at Zheng Fan again and said:
"You're the same. You can be ruthless enough to do many things. You once said that Tian Wujing doesn't care about the world or anything like that, but in fact, you are the one who really doesn't care. Sometimes, the way you look at the commoners and refugees gives me the feeling that you're looking at a landscape painting."

"Oh, a very delicate metaphor." Zheng Fan's expression was calm, but he was touched in his heart, because the Sword Saint saw it very accurately.

"But you won't deliberately sacrifice the people you care about, so Tian Wujing is willing to let his son be raised here by you. That's why I'm willing to stand here."
"I'm very honored." Zheng Fan took half a step back and gave a Western-style salute.

Gou Moli then said: "I say, Sword Saint, the show is still going on downstairs, can we wait until the intermission to discuss our feelings?"
"Alas." The Sword Saint sighed, "It's just a feeling."
Gou Moli pursed his lips and said, "That's also the reason why I envy you."
"Hehe." The Sword Saint laughed.

In fact,
no one would really care about the death of Liu Niangzi in Ran Min's arms on the shelf.

Oh no,
the City Patrol Division soldiers would care,

but among this group of people "watching the show" in this restaurant, even the most compassionate Chen Daxia would find it difficult to empathize with the death of a woman they had never met at this time.

Not caring about a woman's death, but instead discussing the man's problems, was itself a kind of… affectation.

But Gou Moli dared to think so, but he didn't dare to say it directly. He had recently noticed that the Sword Saint's gaze was a little strange sometimes, so he tried to reduce the opportunities for him to appear alone in front of the Sword Saint. This guy seemed to want to kill him!

However,
at this time,
Gou Moli still walked to the railing, watching the scene below and sighing:

"How should I put it? Just like the Lord said earlier, people are different at different times. The centurion on the shelf, maybe before he joined the army, he was a well-known and helpful hero in the neighborhood."

Zheng Fan put the last bit of pastry into his mouth, then reached out and wiped his hand on Gou Moli's dog-skin hat, saying:

"Are you thinking of your past self?"
Gou Moli smiled,

"Lord, aren't you the same? The former Lord would have disdained playing any behind-the-scenes schemes."

What was the former Zheng Hou's style of doing things?
A few hundred riders?

Go, south to the Qian Kingdom!
Fifteen hundred riders?

Go, even further south to the Qian Kingdom!
It was so energetic.

"Because I now realize that I can achieve my goals with the least amount of cost."

Then,
Zheng Fan added:

"But I still like to enjoy the process."

…

"Lord, please uphold justice for us!"
"Lord, please uphold justice for us!"

Suddenly,
all the City Patrol Division soldiers knelt down, holding their knives across their necks. This was death remonstrance!

Xu Wenzu on horseback,
like the horse under him, seemed to be in a difficult position.

At this time,
as the noise at the gate of the royal palace continued to spread,

people from many government offices rushed over, but no one dared to intervene. At the same time, many gazes appeared on the periphery. Obviously, most of the dignitaries of Yingdu City were once again alarmed.

Silently,
a consensus began to rise in everyone's hearts,

that although the Situ family had lost its national title and become a prince, this Cheng Prince's Mansion, at least in terms of honor, was inviolable.

But if it was slapped in the face several times, then it would start to lose its value and become worthless.

At this time,
a subordinate civil official came to Xu Wenzu and asked for instructions:

"Lord, should we transfer the army from the camp outside the city into the city?"

Generally speaking,
when the situation in the city was out of control, or when the City Patrol Division was unable to cope with the internal situation, they would choose to transfer troops into the city.

Now, the troublemakers were the City Patrol Division themselves, and the only thing that could suppress the City Patrol Division was the army outside the city.

Xu Wenzu immediately raised his riding whip
and lashed it directly at the civil official subordinate,

"Pa!"
"Ah!"

"You're out of your mind! Look at who these people kneeling on the ground are! They are the soldiers of my Great Yan, the City Patrol Division of my Great Yan! How dare you ask me to transfer troops to suppress my own people, you bastard!"

The City Patrol Division soldiers kneeling on the ground breathed a sigh of relief when they heard this.

At this time,
Zhao Wenhua, standing on the steps, said:
"Lord, I think tonight's matter is just a misunderstanding, a conspiracy designed by someone."

"A conspiracy?"
Ran Min on the shelf said:

"Eunuch Zhao, are you saying that I, Ran Min, personally killed my beloved wife in order to frame your royal palace? I, Ran Min, used my beloved wife's life to weave a conspiracy for you!"

"You…"
If it was just an attack, Zhao Wenhua could almost be more than 80% sure that it was this centurion's trick, but with the death of a woman, Zhao Wenhua himself found it difficult to say some things, and even he himself was a little confused.

Was it some other force deliberately throwing dirty water on the royal palace and diverting the trouble?

"Centurion Ran, don't be too sad. Don't worry, I am here, and I will uphold justice for you. You came to the royal palace last time under my orders. No matter what happens, I have already been involved in the cause. I will never sit idly by!"

"Thank you, Lord. Ran Min, on behalf of his wife Liu, kowtows to thank you for your kindness!"
"Mm."

Xu Wenzu faced the gate of the royal palace.
In any case,
tonight,

the royal palace had to be entered,
and it had to be searched.

What he wanted was for the royal palace to be disgraced and lose its authority, so that the forces behind it would become disloyal!
Originally,
things wouldn't be so smooth,

because just a centurion being seriously injured in an assassination, how should he put it, was a bit untenable.

Fortunately…
Xu Wenzu couldn't help but glance at the shelf with the corner of his eye again.

He had told Zheng Fan not long ago
that this Ran Min was very similar to Zheng Xiaowei and Zheng Shoubei back then.

Now,
he felt that
Ran Min and Zheng Fan were completely two different people. Even if they had many, many similarities, he still felt that there was a… fundamental difference between the two.

It was probably equivalent to,
if there was a benefit in front of him one day, Ran Min would not hesitate to kill himself to take the benefit;
but Zheng Fan would most likely beat and scold himself,

"You dead fatty, you dead pig, you made me lose so much."
Then, he would turn around and leave.

But, right now, he needed people to use. Ran Min's knife was very useful, very useful, and he was willing to use it!

"Eunuch Zhao, no matter what, today we must let…"
"Could you please ask Lord Xu to invite Lord Pingxi over to preside over the situation?"

At this time,
Cheng Prince Situ Yu walked out from inside, but he stood on the threshold, not crossing it, and even deliberately smiled and rubbed his soles on the threshold, implying that,

"Look carefully,
I didn't leave the palace."

"Lord, this humble prince believes that in such a situation, we should invite Lord Pingxi to preside over the overall situation."
Xu Wenzu looked at the Cheng Prince,
saying:

"But Lord Pingxi is the most protective of his own people."
This was a reminder and a warning.

At the same time,
it was also a little funny,
because this matter itself was created by the person you were calling to preside over the overall situation.

But soon,
Xu Wenzu realized some problems.
His coming forward would be different from Zheng Fan's appearance in terms of meaning, the nature of the matter, and the impressions it gave.

…

On the platform, because of his profound realm, the Sword Saint, with his amazing hearing, said:

"That little prince wants to call you to come out and preside over the overall situation."
"Hey, don't tell me, I've already arranged this."
"Arranged?" The Sword Saint frowned slightly.
"Arranged?" Chen Daxia widened his eyes, not believing it at all.

…

Zheng Houye did have arrangements. In the past, he didn't want to play tricks and schemes, firstly because there wasn't much room for him to display them, and secondly because the effect wasn't as good as being reckless.

But it didn't mean that Zheng Houye didn't know how to play, nor did it mean that he didn't know how to think deeply. In fact, taking one step and looking three steps ahead was Zheng Fan's professional quality.

As Xu Wenzu was pondering,
a personal guard wearing a flying fish suit squeezed through the crowd and came in, saluting Xu Wenzu and saying:

"Lord, my Lord heard the commotion outside and sent this humble servant to check the situation."
Situ Yu immediately said:

"Quickly invite the Lord over."

At a young age, under the torches this night, Situ Yu's eyes seemed to be shining. His decisiveness at this moment not only surprised Xu Wenzu slightly, but even gave Zhao Wenhua a feeling of seeing the demeanor of the old master in the past.

The personal guard held up a token with both hands,
saying:

"Lord, my Lord has said in advance that everything in Yingdu should be managed by you, Lord, and my Lord will not overstep his authority.
If there is anything you need,
please transfer troops into Yingdu first, Lord!"

"…" Situ Yu.
Xu Wenzu was overjoyed when he heard this,
and immediately reached out to take the token, saying to Situ Yu:

"Prince, today's matter must be resolved quickly. I don't believe that the royal palace will harbor evil and hide dirt, and I don't believe that you, Prince, would send assassins to assassinate officials of my Great Yan Dynasty. I believe that you, Prince, may have been confused in the past, but in your heart, you are still loyal to Great Yan and loyal to His Majesty.

Therefore,
please order your subordinates to step aside
and let the City Patrol Division enter the palace to search,

so that the matter can be resolved.

Furthermore, the City Patrol Division soldiers said earlier that the assassin entered the royal palace, and Eunuch Zhao also said earlier that he had fought with the assassin. Therefore, in order to ensure the safety of the royal palace, after all, there are no guards in the royal palace now, it is better to let the soldiers go in and search to ensure the safety of you, Prince, and the Empress Dowager."

Hearing this, Zhao Wenhua immediately cupped his hands and said: "Lord, the assassin has been repelled by this servant and has left…"

"How can the safety of the Prince and the Empress Dowager be a trivial matter? Who knows if the assassin has accomplices, who knows if there are any escaped fish hiding in the royal palace that may pose a threat to the royal palace?

As the Prefect of Yingdu, it is my duty to protect the Prince and protect the Empress Dowager. Today, no matter what, even if I bear the greatest responsibility, I will spare no effort to protect the safety of the Prince and the Empress Dowager!"

Saying that,
Xu Wenzu immediately turned his head to look at the large group of City Patrol Division soldiers kneeling on the ground,
and shouted:

"Remember, after entering the palace, you are only allowed to search and not to disturb the female members of the family. Those who violate the order will be executed!"

"Yes!"
"Yes!"

A large group of City Patrol Division soldiers immediately stood up and rushed into the royal palace with their swords.
The servants and retainers were unable to stop them.

Even Zhao Wenhua, after twitching his face a few times, could only protect Situ Yu in front of him and not stop them, because the die was cast, because the royal palace was inherently a weak side that could be manipulated by the Yan people.

Perhaps,
today's only comfort was probably that the little prince had matured a lot after experiencing this.

It's just that,
the face of the royal palace,
alas,
don't think about it.

Xu Wenzu, riding on his horse, couldn't help but reach out and rub the mane of the horse under him.
The horse began to spit.

Things were done.
After slapping this slap in the face today,

he could consider how to slap the next one.
Slapping the face of the royal palace was slapping the energy and spirit of those dignitaries in Yingdu. Once the royal palace was slapped down, it would be easier to deal with those so-called dignitaries next.

However,
at this moment,
a scream suddenly came from the royal palace.
A City Patrol Division soldier ran out,

rushed out of the gate of the royal palace,
rushed down the steps,
and knelt down in front of Xu Wenzu with incomparable excitement and anger:

"Report, Lord, we found the body of the assassin who was silenced in the well in the front yard of the royal palace, wearing night clothes!"

"Hiss…"
Xu Wenzu was stunned for a moment.
Damn it,
Brother Zheng,
did you arrange it so meticulously!

…

The Sword Saint looked at Zheng Fan beside him with great doubt and asked:
"Was this also your arrangement?"
"Huh?"

Zheng Houye pretended to be calm and nodded slightly:
"Mm."
This always sudden and inexplicable stroke of genius,

Zheng Houye was already used to it,
and even had a feeling
that all the bad luck he had accumulated on the battlefield was used here.

"Lord is wise and resourceful, this subordinate admires you!"
Gou Moli immediately offered the first lick,
there was no other way,

the other two beside him were wooden, if he didn't lick, the Lord would be cold.

Zheng Houye pressed down his hand,
unleashed the old fan-shaped diagram,
with three parts of calmness on his face, three parts of wisdom in his grasp, three parts of indifference, plus one part of a faint smile:

"It's a small matter, a small scene."