With a million soldiers, the empress begged me not to rebel

At this time, the servants and guards in the Prime Minister's Mansion strengthened their vigilance under Liu An's orders.

They patrolled back and forth, armed with swords.

His eyes scanned everything around him vigilantly, and the atmosphere was tense and depressing.

The Prime Minister's Mansion, which was originally brightly lit, is now a mixture of fire and lights.

Reflecting the panicked figures of the servants, it was like hell on earth.

Thick smoke filled the air, making people cough.

The maids and servants who were awakened by the fire stood in the yard in disheveled clothes.

Their faces were filled with fear, and they were whispering and discussing this sudden change.

After receiving the news, the commander of the city defense army did not dare to neglect it.

He immediately assembled his troops and galloped towards the Prime Minister's residence.

The sound of horse hooves broke the silence of the night, coming from far away and becoming clearer and clearer.

The shops on both sides of the street were closed and the pedestrians hid in their homes.

Afraid of being caught up in this sudden storm.

The commander of the city defense army was wearing armor and riding a tall horse.

He led hundreds of soldiers and came to the gate of the Prime Minister's Mansion in a mighty procession.

He dismounted, walked quickly to Liu An, knelt on one knee, clasped his fists and said:

"Your Excellency, Prime Minister, I am sorry for being late in coming to your rescue!"

His tone was respectful, but he couldn't hide his nervousness.

Liu An's face was gloomy and he waved his hand.

"Get up, no need to be polite."

"The mansion has been attacked. Immediately lead your men to block off the surrounding streets and search house to house. Make sure the murderer is brought to justice!"

The commander received the order and immediately stood up to command the soldiers to take action.

The soldiers quickly dispersed and surrounded the streets around the Prime Minister's Mansion.

Armed with swords, they searched house to house, leaving no corner untouched.

The people were awakened by the sudden search and came out of their homes to inquire about the situation.

The soldiers shouted at them and told them to go home quickly and not interfere with official duties.

The noisy search operation continued until dawn.

However, nothing was found except the charred remains of the thunder bomb.

The soldiers returned to the Prime Minister's Mansion dejectedly and reported to Liu An.

Liu An had a gloomy face, and his expression became increasingly ugly as he listened to the reports from his soldiers.

After a night of searching, no clues were found except for the iron lump that was blown beyond recognition.

Those damn assassins seemed to have disappeared from the face of the earth.

……

The sky of the capital city was turning pale.

Cheetah and his group, mixed in with the caravan entering the city, were all in high spirits, ready to leave the city.

However, before they could go far, several city defense soldiers blocked their way.

"Stop! Routine inspection!"

A man who looked like a captain of the city defense army shouted loudly.

Cheetah thought to himself that something was wrong, but he remained calm on the surface.

"Sir, we are honest merchants. This is our clearance document."

The captain of the city defense army walked up to Cheetah, looked him up and down, and asked in a deep voice:

"Where are you from? What are you doing in the capital?"

Cheetah forced a smile and said in a slightly hoarse voice:

"Sir, I came from the north to sell some furs and am going to sell them in the south."

As he spoke, he took a piece of animal skin from the cart behind him and handed it to the captain of the city defense army.

"Look, sir! This is the finest fox fur. It's warm and comfortable."

The captain of the city defense army took the animal skin, stroked the soft fur with his rough fingers, and a hint of greed flashed in his eyes.

He was about to speak when another soldier hurried over and whispered something in his ear.

The captain of the city defense army's face suddenly changed and became extremely serious.

"The city was attacked by a group of rebels last night."

"In recent days, only entry is allowed but no exit is allowed. Everyone must be inspected!"

The captain of the city defense army threw the animal skin back into Cheetah's hands with a firm tone.

Cheetah frowned slightly, thinking to himself that this was not good, it seemed that plans could not keep up with the changes.

He suppressed the uneasiness in his heart and forced a helpless smile on his face:

"Sir, this... I have something urgent to do."

As he spoke, he quietly put a piece of silver into the hands of the captain of the city defense army.

"It's just a small gift, not a token of respect. I hope you can do me a favor."

The captain of the city defense army calmly put the change into his pocket, but his tone remained unchanged:

"This is an order from above, no one can disobey!"

"Hurry back, or don't blame us for being rude!"

Seeing that there was nothing he could do, Cheetah could only sigh helplessly and lead everyone back to the city.

The pedestrians dispersed and each looked for an inn to stay.

Cheetah walked into an inn called "Yue Lai Inn" and asked for a room on the upper floor.

He pushed open the door, looked around, and made sure the room was safe before walking to the table and sitting down.

He took out a piece of paper from his pocket, dipped it in tea and wrote a few lines of small words on it:

The capital is under martial law and it is temporarily impossible to leave the city.

The cheetah rolled the note into a thin roll, stuffed it into a small bamboo tube, and then released a carrier pigeon.

The carrier pigeon flapped its wings and flew away, carrying the news of the cheetah to Shannan Prefecture.

At this time, Chen Qingwan was sitting upright in the Golden Palace, with her brows slightly furrowed and a serious expression.

She had just returned to the capital two days ago and immediately began to handle government affairs.

By the way, I was thinking about how to deal with that old fox Liu An.

This old guy actually dared to use her army privately while she was away. He must be tired of living!

She was thinking about how to weaken Liu An's power.

At this time, Liu An, accompanied by a group of ministers, walked into the Golden Palace in a mighty procession.

Liu An walked to the front of the hall, bowed, and said in a deep voice:

"Your Majesty, I have something important to report."

Chen Qingwan nodded slightly, motioning him to continue.

Liu An raised his head, glanced at the ministers standing on both sides, and then continued:

"Last night, the Prime Minister's residence was attacked by criminals. Important documents in the residence were severely damaged, and there were heavy casualties within the residence..."

As Liu An spoke, he deliberately wiped the non-existent tears from the corners of his eyes with a handkerchief, looking heartbroken.

After hearing this, Chen Qingwan raised her eyebrows slightly and asked calmly:

"who is it?"

Liu An took a deep breath and said indignantly:

"All signs indicate that this attack was carried out by Shannan County Magistrate Lu Yan!"

"This man is extremely arrogant and has no regard for the law. He treats the laws of the court as nothing!"

"Now they are even more audacious, openly attacking the Prime Minister's residence. They deserve to be killed!"

Other ministers also echoed.

"Your Excellency the Prime Minister is absolutely right!"

"Lu Yan's actions are simply lawless!"

"Without severe punishment, it will not be enough to appease the public anger!"

Chen Qingwan sat upright on the dragon throne, her eyes slightly narrowed.

Listening to Liu An's crying, he sneered in his heart.

This old fox secretly used my army to go to Shannan Prefecture to capture Lu Yan.

He was tricked by Lu Yan and now he is pretending to be pitiful.

"Oh? Is this happening?"

Chen Qingwan pretended to be surprised.

"This Lu Yan is quite courageous."

When Liu An heard this, he was secretly delighted.

It seems that the empress is also dissatisfied with Lu Yan. Lu Yan is dead now!

"Your Majesty, please understand! Lu Yan's actions are simply a contempt for the imperial power. His crime is unforgivable!"

Liu An added fuel to the fire.

"In that case..."

Chen Qingwan stretched out her voice and glanced at the ministers of His Highness.

"Punishment!"