No, gentlemen also guard against

Chapter 646: The Crown Prince was attacked [asking for monthly votes! ]

When Ouyang Rong walked into the meeting room of Xunyang Palace.

The atmosphere in the hall fell into silence.

In other words, sorrow and joy are not shared.

Under Ouyang Rong's heroic eyebrows, a pair of sharp eyes quickly looked around.

The people in the hall were divided into three groups.

One group included Prince Xunyang Li Xian, Princess Wei Mei, Little Princess Li Guoer, as well as Mr. Yuan, Shun Bo and others, who were surrounding Dalang Li Fusu and asking about his well-being.

Princess Wei Mei, who was always strong and authoritarian at home, now had red eyes. She wiped her tears while checking Li Dalang's body.

The woman's hands could not stop moving. She touched Li Dalang's head with her left hand and pinched his shoulder with her right hand, as if to confirm whether her eldest son was okay.

Li Xian stood aside with a stern face, looking serious and gloomy, as if he said something to Wei Mei and Li Dalang.

The latter turned around, her face slightly angry, protecting her eldest son and arguing with her husband.

Li Guoer stood aside, without interrupting, with her eyes lowered and her sleeves drawn up.

Others were like the mediator, trying to persuade the prince and princess who had "parenting differences".

Li Dalang kept waving his hands and comforting everyone in the familiar and honest voice of Ouyang Rong:
"Father and mother, I'm fine. I'm really fine. I wasn't even scared. I was planning to come back after visiting Hukou County...

"I haven't even met those rebels yet. General Qin, Lady Miaozhen and the others arrived just in time. I'm fine. You don't need to worry or be angry... Hey, Tan Lang is here."

After Ouyang Rong brought Xie Lingjiang in, Li Guoer looked at them the first time. Li Dalang also noticed it and immediately stood up to greet Ouyang Rong in turn.

"Tan Lang Tan Lang..."

Li Dalang could not hide his joy. He walked forward, clenched his fist, raised it heavily, but then lowered it lightly and hit his friend on the left shoulder.

Ouyang Rong just glanced at him with a flat reaction. He didn't say anything, then turned his gaze to the other two groups of people in the hall.

Among them was a cold-faced young general and several green-clad officials.

Ouyang Rong knew these green-clad officials. They were the adjutants he had arranged for Li Dalang to accompany him, the deputy governor of Jiangzhou, to inspect the counties. They were safe and reliable, and were considered officials close to the Xunyang Palace.

As for the cold-faced young general who took the lead, he was not included in Ouyang Rong's previous arrangements, but he was also familiar with him.

This young general is called Qin Yi. He is the supervisor of logistics and food transportation in the front-line central army camp.

In the past, he traveled between Xunyang City in Jiangzhou and the southwest front line. After the huge grain ships and material boats guarded by heavy troops on the Yangtze River left the bustling Xunyang Ferry Wharf, Qin Yi was responsible for supervising the transportation and ensuring safety along the line.

Ouyang Rong used to be the chief officer of Jiangzhou and was in charge of the Jiangzhou lobby, so he often dealt with him.

This Qin Yi is one of the confidants of Qin Yanqing, an old acquaintance of Ouyang Rong. You can tell from his surname, which is also Qin, and he is a member of the Qin family.

After all, it was such an important task, so it was normal for Qin Jingzhen and Qin Yanqing to put it in the hands of their own sons.

The transport supervisor Qin Yi also had considerable power, and was granted by Qin Jingzhen the authority to temporarily mobilize the black-armored soldiers of the Xuanwu Camp.

Before, Ouyang Rong thought that the General Qin mentioned by Li Dalang was Qin Yanqing, but now it seems that he was referring to Qin Yi.

Qin Yanqing didn't come, he was still busy on the southwest front.

As the chief officer of the Central Army Battalion, Qin Yanqing was busy with military affairs. Therefore, every time he went to Xunyang City, it meant that something major was happening involving Xunyang City.

So even though the two of them were friends, Ouyang Rong still didn't want to see him often...especially when it came into play with the incident of "the Crown Prince being in danger."

Fortunately, Li Dalang is safe and sound now.

"Governor Ouyang."

Qin Yi took the lead and saluted with his fists clasped, neither humble nor arrogant. The green-clad officials followed suit and saluted with respectful expressions.

After seeing Ouyang Rong, the adjutants who were accompanying the prince on his inspection tour all breathed a sigh of relief.

Ouyang Rong looked back at the crowd of black-armored soldiers in the yard outside and nodded slightly.

"You're welcome. General Qin, please take a seat."

Qin Yi and others did not sit down and remained standing.

Because at this time in the hall, Prince Xunyang, Princess Xunyang, the little princess, and Li Dalang, who was standing next to Ouyang Rong with a look of joy on his face, were all standing.

Who dares... No, there are actually people who dare to sit there.

Ouyang Rong saw from the corner of his eye that at the end of the row of seats near the door in the conference room, there was a woman in palace dress sitting on a chair, holding a teacup with her eyes lowered.

Just now, when Ouyang Rong came in and greeted everyone in the hall, she didn't move at all and didn't interrupt. She was like a transparent person, staying out of it.

She was also the third group of people in the hall in Ouyang Rong's eyes. She was the only one and was clearly distinguished from the other two groups.

Ouyang Rong took another look at this figure in palace attire that didn't fit in.

"Ouyang Changshi..."

Caishang Lady Miaozhen put down her teacup and suddenly shouted.

"Oh, I forgot. You are no longer a mere official, but a scholar of Xiuwen Academy, the most noble scholar in Luojing. You are also the acting governor of Jiangzhou and the right supervisor of Jiangnan Province... I was careless and called you the wrong name, which was rude."

She spoke apologetically.

But the tone was neither cold nor hot, and Ouyang Rong could not tell the specific emotion.

But I don’t care either.

"Miao Zhen Lady."

Ouyang Rong bowed slightly, raised his eyes and looked at her:
"Why did Madam Shi suddenly come back from the front line?"

While he was speaking, Miaozhen had already picked up the teacup and took another sip of tea.

While she was quietly drinking tea, Qin Yi spoke on her behalf, his tone serious:

"We were able to arrive in time and escort the prince back to the city safely this time, all thanks to Ms. Miao Zhen."

"Oh? What do you mean?"

Ouyang Rong asked.

Everyone in the hall also looked at Miao Zhen.

Especially Li Xian, who looked at him with a complicated look in his eyes...

She became the focus of the whole audience, but this woman in palace dress, who was much older than Rong Zhen but was also a lady in Caishang, had a dull reaction and fiddled with the teacup in her hand.

"That's right, Tan Lang."

Li Dalang took the initiative to speak, breaking the silence in the hall.

"The last stop of this inspection is Hukou County. Hukou is close to Hongzhou, where Jiang and Hongzhou meet and is adjacent to the Yangtze River waterway.

“I had intended to inspect this last stop and then take the official ship down the river back to Xunyang.

"We arrived in the afternoon and planned to stay in Hukou County for one night. Before entering the city in the evening, Ms. Miaozhen suddenly arrived by boat, leading several female officials to stop me and the accompanying officials at the city gate. She said that she had received intelligence that the city was in danger tonight and there might be traitors lurking. Ms. Miaozhen also brought the official seal of the Supervisory Council..."

Having said this, Li Dalang paused, glanced at Miao Zhen who was drinking tea calmly, as if he was brewing his words, hesitated for a moment, then turned around and continued:
"After verifying the official documents, I was still hesitating when General Qin Yi came hurriedly with 300 soldiers from the Xuanwu Camp to escort me to transfer. So I boarded a ship directly at a wild ferry and returned to Xunyang without entering the city."

Ouyang Rong naturally understood what Li Dalang meant.

At that time, he must have hesitated and did not believe Miao Zhen, even with the seal and official documents of the Supervisory Council.

However, Qin Yi is a member of the Qin family and comes from the central army camp. General Qin, Qin Changshi and others have a good relationship with Ouyang Rong.

He and the 300 Xuanwu Camp soldiers who were temporarily transferred were the decisive factors that made Li Dalang decide to trust and move away on the spot.

Ouyang Rong's thoughts turned instantly, and he asked directly:

"What happened next? How did Hukou County become?"

An adjutant who was patrolling with Li Dalang still had a look of fear on his face:
"Something happened in Hukou County that night. A group of pirates attacked the county, robbed several families, and fled. The Hukou County Court is still investigating..."

Qin Yi suddenly spoke:
"This is not an ordinary group of pirates. Before I escorted the prince away, I left behind a detachment of the Xuanwu Camp. Later, there was a brief confrontation in the city. There were experts among them. During the whole process, neither side left any corpses..."

He paused, stopping there.

But Ouyang Rong narrowed his eyes slightly.

He was able to engage in a battle with a squad from the Xuanwu Camp and not fall behind in the first place. Although he couldn't be said to be evenly matched with them, he was still an elite fighter.

He looked around the hall and saw no other new information.

He first bowed to Miaozhen and expressed his gratitude.

Li Xian also stepped forward and thanked Miao Zhen. Wei Mei also stepped forward and offered to give a thank-you gift.

The latter did not look away and declined the gift of thanks.

Soon, the meeting in the hall was over.

Ouyang Rong personally escorted Miao Zhen out of the palace, and stopped at the door to ask:

"Where did you get the information, Madam?"

Miao Zhen, who has recently been commanding the frontline, has an unchanged expression:

"Of course it's the spy from the Overwatch Council down there. I'm not just sitting there doing nothing."

After saying that, he turned around and left without any further ado.

Ouyang Rong watched her go away calmly.

Not far from the entrance of the palace, Qin Yi waved his hand, refused the reins of the mount handed to him by his men, paused, lowered his head and straightened his clothes.

Ouyang Rong walked over. The two looked at each other and walked together in tacit understanding.

……

Palace, study.

Ouyang Rong, Li Xian's family, Xie Lingjiang, Shun Bo and others gathered together.

Ouyang Rong was the last to arrive.

"How is it, Tan Lang? What did General Qin say in private?"

Li Xian asked immediately.

Ouyang Rong looked thoughtful:
"According to Qin Yi's intelligence, the pirates that the Xuanwu Camp fought were very well disciplined. They didn't seem like random pirates, and there might be Qigong practitioners among them..."

Li Guoer spoke up immediately:
"It's aimed at Dalang."

Ouyang Rong nodded slightly.

Li Xian asked: "Whose man is he? Could it be Wei?"

"But why did Miaozhen communicate with us?"

Everyone was talking.

Li Dalang recalled the scene when Miao Zhen suddenly came to his door, and smiled bitterly: "I was so scared at that time, I thought I had fallen into a trap, and I almost used the talisman left by Master Yuan on the spot."

Ouyang Rong whispered:
"General Qin's point is that Miao Zhen's intelligence is most likely true and doesn't seem like a scam."

Li Dalang reacted: "Are they those people in Tiannan Jianghu who are obstructing the Buddha?"

"possible."

Li Xian was puzzled: "Why did they attack us first?"

Ouyang Rong pursed his lips.

Li Guoer suddenly asked, "Is it Wei Shaoqi, Du Shuqing and the others?"

Everyone exchanged glances.

Xie Lingjiang frowned: "Didn't Yunmeng Jianze say last time that they would not target the palace?"

Li Guoer thought calmly:

“There are two possibilities. First, they discovered that we were not sincere and still helped build the statue, so they wanted to retaliate.

"Second, are Wei Shaoqi and Du Shuqing planning to bypass Yunmeng Jianze and use the power of Tiannan Jianghu to take revenge on our palace? This does not count as Yunmeng Jianze breaching the contract."

Wei Mei narrowed his eyes and added speculatively:

"It's hard to say, there are both, and the so-called eldest lady just turned a blind eye."

Li Xian was worried, "What should I do now?"

Ouyang Rong said calmly:

"Qin Yi has sent a message back to the Central Army Camp, and they will dispatch a group of elite soldiers from the Xuanwu Camp to Hukou County to continue tracking down these suspicious pirates.

“I will also issue an order to have the Jiangzhou Governor’s Office and the Jiangzhou Grand Hall Office simultaneously issue official documents, dispatching the counties of Hukou to mobilize personnel to cooperate with the Xuanwu Camp to search the mountains, forests, and swamps.

“In addition, the news that the prince was suspected of being ambushed and killed this time cannot be suppressed. We must also report it and make a big fuss. This matter is within the jurisdiction of the Jiangnan Supervisory Office.

"So the female officials of the Overwatch Council must arrest the pirates. I will go there tomorrow to test their attitude and see how they deal with it."

Ouyang Rong spoke decisively, and all the arrangements were in order:

"No matter what, Hukou County is also within Jiangzhou. The Central Army Camp and the Supervisory Council on the front line cannot sit idly by. This threat suspected of targeting our palace is not just our business, and they must eliminate it.

"Even if we can't catch him in the end, we should at least give the palace some right to defend itself..."

"it is good."

"Just do as Tan Lang says."

Li Xian and others echoed.

Li Guoer frowned:
"This princess still doesn't understand how Miaozhen got the news. Why did she inform Dalang? Doesn't she hate...hate our family very much?"

Wei frowned and looked at Li Xian.

The latter's face changed slightly and he dared not say a word.

Xie Lingjiang said softly:

"Is this really an official business? Did the female official of the Supervisory Council on the front line receive the news that these pirates attacked Hukou County? Is that why Miaozhen came to report it?"

Everyone was silent and thought for a moment, and Li Guoer nodded reluctantly:

"That makes sense. If she doesn't report something to Dalang, she will be held accountable later. And maybe she knows that reporting the news is useless and Dalang will be suspicious and ignore her."

Ouyang Rong on the side pondered:

"No, she was the one who notified Qin Yi. There's no need to alert him. If she really wants to play dumb, she can just drive slower and wait for Dalang to stay in the city for the night. If he is attacked by pirates, she can rush over to clean up the mess."

Everyone couldn't help but look at each other.

Ouyang Rong suddenly made the decision:
"Let's wait and see. Tomorrow I will go find Ms. Xia Rong and ask her about Miao Zhen to see if there is anything strange."

"it is good."

"Thank you for your hard work, Tanlang."

The secret meeting in the study ended.

Everyone looked serious; the sudden appearance of the strange pirates made them alert.

Xie Lingjiang and Ouyang Rong returned to the Huaiye Lane residence together to have dinner with Zhen Shuyuan.

Before leaving, Xie Lingjiang returned to his boudoir and took away a little black spirit that was fighting a battle of wits and courage with Youzhong.

After a stick of incense.

Inside the carriage, Miao Si had just emerged from Xie Lingjiang's red sleeves when she jumped onto Ouyang Rong, lowering her head and sniffing his clothes.

The little ink spirit stretched out his hand very domineeringly and grabbed the pastry box.

The next moment, Ouyang Rong held down his entire head.

"Take it away, take it away, little Rongzi, you are the most annoying, no one else!"

Ouyang Rong did not answer, but protected the pastry box and did not give it to Miaosi.

He lowered his eyes slightly, thinking about important things, while picking up a piece of cake with two fingers and feeding it to the little junior sister's mouth.

Xie Lingjiang was stunned for a moment and took a bite.

"How does it taste?" he asked.

"It's delicious. Where did you buy it?"

Ouyang Rong pursed his lips.

This box of pastries was handmade by the embroiderer, not from Tao Shou Zhai.

I heard from Pei Shisanniang that there are fewer embroiderers nowadays.

Ouyang Rong said softly: "A friend gave it to me and asked me to bring it to my family to try."

Hearing the word "family", Xie Lingjiang lowered his head shyly.

Miaosi's expression immediately exploded, and he began to raise the flag of rebellion, muttering indignantly:
"Okay, okay, you're the most reserved! No, uh..."

He was ruthlessly suppressed by Ouyang Rong's big hand.

"Big Brother, please go to Xunyang Grottoes by yourself tomorrow. I won't go with you. Dalang is in danger just now, so it's better for me to stay in the palace and keep an eye on it with fellow Taoist Lu Ya."

Xie Lingjiang looked away and gave a gentle reminder.

Ouyang Rong was stunned.

"what?"

"What's so strange about that? It's okay. Go ahead. This is official business. I'm not a stingy woman."

Ouyang Rong nodded calmly: "Okay."

He picked up another piece of cake and fed it to the mouth of "Not a Stingy Woman".

Xie Lingjiang clenched her silver teeth, put it into her mouth, and gently pursed her red lips. After a while, her eyes curved into crescents.

"This osmanthus cake is so sweet."

Ouyang Rong tilted his head to look at her, then suddenly pinched the tip of her nose and said seriously:
"Junior sister is sweeter."

"Huh, glib."

……

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