Patrol Captain

"pa"

The guzheng string broke, the sound was sharp and thin, with a short "whoosh" at the end, like water splashing out of a silver bottle that had just broken.

The dancers, interrupted by the abrupt change of sound, cried out in pain, staggered, and their dance became chaotic.

"Be bold!"

An official from the Prince's residence stood up and roared angrily, his murderous aura palpable, his gaze like a drawn sword as he looked at the dancers.

“ceng”

“ceng”

"........."

The sound of long swords being drawn from their sheaths suddenly rang out.

Immediately following was the clanging sound of armor clashing.

One by one, armored soldiers clad in black gold armor filed in from both sides of the main hall's gate, surrounding the musicians and dancers who had started the disturbance.

The long sword gleamed coldly, reflecting on the faces of these women, causing them to lose their color and fall to the ground, huddled together.

In an instant, the atmosphere inside the hall became extremely tense.

The guests on both sides had subtle, meaningful expressions. They seemed to be watching this scene, but their eyes were glancing at the hall.

The group of officials from the imperial court were caught off guard by this sudden turn of events. Sensing the subtle atmosphere, their expressions changed. They tried to remain calm, but their expressions revealed a hint of panic.

The hall was silent, and everyone's expression was different, exuding a sense of oppression.

In the side-view position, Xu Liang's expression remained unchanged, his gaze meeting Xiao Zhongtian's without flinching.

Just then, Chief Secretary Yan stood up, looked at the front of the hall, frowned, and coldly rebuked the soldiers.

What are you all doing?!

"Today, His Highness is hosting a banquet for officials from the Imperial Court. You all came up here with knives, disturbing our distinguished guests and ruining the atmosphere. You've acted rashly. Get out of here!"

Upon hearing the reprimand, the soldiers silently sheathed their swords, bowed their heads, and retreated.

The musicians and dancers immediately knelt down, bowing their heads to the ground, trembling and trembling with fear.

Yan Changshi waved his hand impatiently.
"Keep playing music, keep dancing!"

Immediately, the musicians and dancers felt as if they had been granted a pardon, quickly wiped their eyes, and rearranged themselves.

Soon, music filled the hall, and people began to dance.

The tense atmosphere returned to its usual lively state, with guests continuing to clink glasses and chat, as if nothing had happened.

At this moment, Chief Secretary Yan turned to Xu Liang and said with a forced smile,
"Lord Xu, I am truly sorry. My subordinates were incompetent and acted rashly, ruining your construction!"

As he spoke, he bowed again towards the head of the table.
"My subordinates made poor arrangements."

"Please punish me, Your Highness!"

In the main seat, Xiao Zhongtian, the King of Northern Liang, remained calm and composed, his slanted eyebrows exuding an imposing aura even without anger.
"Then I will punish you. You must not be negligent in the slightest while you are entertaining Xu Shaoqing today."

"Since I am here, you will not be able to relax. So you may keep me company."

At this point, the prince stood up, his black python robe billowing open, and turned his gaze to Xu Liang, then to the Left Clan member beside him, before speaking.

"Please enjoy yourselves, gentlemen. I must take my leave now!"

Xu Liang lowered his eyes, spoke calmly, and took the armrest, "Your Highness, please take care!"

"Your Highness, please take care." The man from the Left Clan opposite him stood up, his face showing deep wrinkles, and responded.

And so, Xiao Zhongtian, the King of Northern Liang, departed.

It's like only showing one side of it briefly.

After about half an incense stick's time, Xu Liang did not interact with the people from the Prince's Mansion as usual, but instead made an excuse to leave the banquet early.

Accompanying him as he left the banquet was the Left Imperial Clan Minister, who was entrusted with an imperial mission.

On the way back, this Zuo Zongren had his hands behind his back and looked rather unpleasant.
"Xu Shaoqing, I must speak to you today. Why did you suddenly bring up His Majesty's summoning of the Prince to the palace in public? Don't you know that's a taboo subject?"

"You saw it too, the way they acted just now was deliberately for our benefit. Do you think this King of Beiliang will come back to the capital with us?"

"You know what's going on inside."

Zuo Zongren was an old man who understood all the intricacies of the royal family. He only listened to His Majesty's decree ordering the Prince of Beiliang to return to the capital; the Prince of Beiliang would not go.

If I wanted to go, I would have gone already.

Everyone is tacit.

As a result, Xu Liang asked the other party when he would return to the capital with them in front of the King of Beiliang, and in front of all the prince's subordinates in the palace. I don't know what he was thinking.

Faced with the anger of this man from the Left Clan, Xu Liang remained silent, only saying:
"Prince Xiao just asked us when we will return to the capital. What should I say to that official?"

"We have no clue what His Majesty has asked us to do. How are we supposed to explain this to His Majesty when we return? This question from the King of Beiliang seems to be urging us to go back. We must stay a little longer!"

"This is the only option we have!"

Upon hearing this, Zuo Zongren, who was displeased, wanted to speak but didn't know what to say.

With a final flick of his sleeve,

"Sigh... I don't know either. Never mind, I'll be going now!"

With that, the old man patted his head, looked troubled, and left first.

As Xu Liang watched the other person's departing figure, his previously silent expression suddenly came to life, his eyebrows raised, and his eyes flashed with a sharp light.

The musicians who had just sung a tune called "Qingping Xiao Diao" had a line in the tune that caused him to momentarily lose focus.

That was the secret signal that his one-way contact with his inside man was successful.

This indicates that the court spy lurking in the Prince's residence had seen the signal he left behind and responded during the banquet at the Prince's residence.

A thought flashed through his mind: the fact that someone could arrange a rendezvous signal during the banquet at the Prince's residence in such a short time meant that this inside agent of the court held an important position in the Prince's residence, just as he suspected.

With this in mind, Xu Liang made a decision. Now that he had made contact, he would quickly send the message to the person in the court who was lurking among them, so that this person could find out the undercurrents behind the Northern Liang Prince's Mansion as soon as possible.

With these thoughts in mind, Xu Liang quickened his pace.

Before long, he walked through the brightly lit gardens of the Prince's Mansion and returned to the villa where he was staying.

He returned to his room, ordered someone to light a lamp, and then closed the door.

He then strode to the desk, looked at the sheets of paper pressed down by the stone, grabbed them, and with a flick and a shake, the paper turned to dust. As the lamp was lit, the flames rose a few inches high before quickly falling back down.

Then, he spread the paper out on the table again, pressed it down with a weight, dipped his brush in ink, and wrote one character after another on the paper.

These words are still completely unrelated.

After a dozen or so breaths, Xu Liang placed the pen on the pen holder next to him, blew a breath out of his mouth to dry the ink on the paper.

After doing all this, he twisted the wick of the lamp on the table, making the flame rise.

Then, he flicked his sleeve toward the window beside him, blowing it open.

He walked over, and before the imperial guards stationed outside could approach, he waved his hand.
"I had a few drinks at the banquet and just wanted to get some fresh air!"

Then, with his hands behind his back, he faced the window and enjoyed the evening breeze.

As night deepened and a gentle breeze stirred, the lights of the pavilions and towers flickered in the distance. The clamor of the banquet gradually faded as the guests departed, and the Prince's mansion was enveloped in the thick darkness. The bronze bells on the eaves, devoid of human voices, rang softly in the breeze, mingling with the swaying light of the lanterns under the eaves, casting shimmering shadows. In the distance, the faint sound of a night watchman's clapper echoed, piercing the high walls of the mansion and startling several roosting birds under the eaves. These birds flapped their wings and took flight, quickly rousing the armored guards on patrol. The dull thud of boots rose from the end of the corridor, then vanished into the shadows.

After a short while, just like before, Xu Liang closed the window.

He glanced back at the paper on the table, its surface flickering in the candlelight. His eyes darted around, and after a moment's thought, he walked over, folded the paper, and lit it over the flame, burning it to ashes.

He believed that the mole, who was deeply entrenched in the Prince's mansion, had already seen the message he left behind.

...............

late at night.

In the backyard of the Prince's mansion, shadowy figures peered out from both the light and the shadows, their eyes like cold hooks, guarding the place with menacing solemnity.

"Dump Dump"

Slightly hurried footsteps could be heard.

In the darkness, pairs of eyes silently watched as this person entered a room with lights on.

Inside, there was a figure crouching like a tiger, its side profile like a mountain.

"Your Highness, I have arrived!"

The figure outside the door hunched over and spoke, the first part urgent, then abruptly ending softly.

"Come in!" came Xiao Zhongtian's steady voice from inside.

"squeak"

The person pushed open the door with both hands, the candlelight inside flickered, stepped inside, and then turned and closed the door.

Then, he turned around and bowed to the prince sitting behind the tiger-shaped desk.

The candlelight illuminated the man's figure.

He was of medium build, but his shoulders and back were straight, exuding a sense of competence. His skin tone was not the typical tan of Liangzhou, which is tanned by the Gobi Desert sun year-round. His eyebrows and eyes were not particularly sharp, with two shallow lines etched at the corners of his eyes. At this moment, he was smiling gently, and the lines spread out, revealing a touch of warmth.

Her hair was tied into a bun with a plain white jade hairpin, with a few stray strands hanging down her forehead, adding a touch of the casualness of a frontier scholar. She wore a light scarlet double-breasted shirt with a three-inch-wide black cloth strip sewn at the hem, a black leather belt around her waist, and a pair of black leather boots.

One glance reveals a man with the composure and competence of someone who has lived on the frontier for a long time, as well as the refinement of a civil official, gentle yet possessing a certain integrity.

It was none other than Chief Secretary Yan, who had just invited Xu Liang to the banquet!
After the tiger incident, Xiao Zhongtian, the King of Northern Liang, looked at his Right Chief Secretary, his eyes and brows darkened in the candlelight.

"Did you get the information?"

The sound was deep and resonant, like a tiger's roar. The light in the bronze lamp was dimmed, and the shadow pressed down heavily.

Now, Yan Sun slowly raised her head, her voice carrying a sense of relief.

"Your Highness, the information has been obtained!"

"Hehe, it seems that my royal brother used you. It seems he had been plotting this all along!" Xiao Zhongtian's hoarse laughter seemed to freeze the air.

"I'm getting more and more curious. What news could have prompted His Majesty to re-employ you, my long-time 'sleeper agent'?"

It turns out that this person was actually the "insider" of the imperial court that Xu Liang had contacted!
He had actually been right next to Xu Liang the whole time.
But this person appears to have already betrayed us.

As soon as he finished speaking, Chief Clerk Yan knelt down, kowtowed to the ground, and spoke earnestly.

"Your subject dares to humbly request that Your Highness fulfill the agreement between us."

“My flesh and blood relatives are still in the capital.”

After the tiger incident, the prince readily agreed, his voice decisive; it was an instinctive response.
"I will immediately arrange for someone to bring your family back to Beiliang. I have made a promise, and I will keep it."

"Unlike our cold-blooded emperor, who makes you do things and then controls your family."

"Thank you, Your Highness!" Yan Sun's words were tinged with excitement. He knew that by leaking this information, he had essentially betrayed the entire imperial court.

He also completely severed ties with the imperial court, while his own family and relatives were still under surveillance in Shendu.

For so many years, his identity as a "double agent" has kept him living in constant fear, always worried that one day his secret would be exposed.

The emperor in the imperial court was unaware that he had been exposed by the prince years ago and made a double agent. He was tasked by the prince with transmitting information the emperor desired to the court.

"Speak, seeing you like this, I'm even more curious!" Xiao Zhongtian's deep voice fell.

At this point, a hint of tension flashed in Yan Sun's eyes, and his voice lowered and became hurried.

"The imperial court has received word that they are investigating whether there is a powerful figure behind the Prince's Mansion!"

"I believe that news of that being's existence has been leaked!"

"The imperial court has already noticed!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the candlelight in the room was immediately extinguished, leaving only a few wisps of burning smoke.

Behind the desk, Xiao Zhongtian's slanted eyes shot out a chilling light.

"Where did the imperial court get this information?"

Yan Sun felt a chill run through her body and shook her head.

"The message I received did not mention it, but according to the intelligence passed on by Xu Shaoqing, the court is still uncertain, so they sent people to investigate under the pretense of paying respects to the crown prince."

"This means that the information they received over there is inaccurate; it's still in the stage of suspicion."

"That's not what I want to hear!" Xiao Zhongtian's voice carried a suppressed murderous intent.

"The news has already leaked, and the court will never budge. Once my brother becomes suspicious, he will refuse to admit it, especially now."

"You, go and investigate where the imperial court got its information."

"As for how to do it, I don't need to teach you, do I?"

The meaning behind the King of Beiliang's words was, of course, to have him, an unexposed inside man, try to extract information from the Vice Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices.

Yan Sun clasped his hands in a fist salute, stood up, and his mind was sharp and resolute.
"I obey!"

As he spoke, he bowed back a few steps, preparing to leave.

"Wait a minute!" The voice of the King of Beiliang rang out in the darkness, his eyes shining with a frightening light.

Yan Sun stopped in his tracks, lowered his head, and listened attentively.

"Looks like we need to move the plans forward!"

"Send people to negotiate with those forces in the underworld. What use are these people if they cannot be used by me?"

"Especially those blessed lands and grotto-heavens at the very top!"

"If they disobey, kill them!"

"Leave no beginning or end behind...!"

"Yes!"

Yan Sun's face, which had been buried in his hands, changed slightly. It seemed that the prince was going to consolidate his forces ahead of schedule.

He turned and left the study.

The room was completely dark, with only the prince sitting quietly behind the tiger-shaped desk, his eyes gleaming sharply in the darkness.

At this moment, all was silent outside, the night was eerie, and a bloody storm was about to sweep through, ready to devour its victims. (End of Chapter)