From the moment the carrier pigeon was shot down to the moment Sang Biao caught it in its mouth, it all happened in the blink of an eye. Although the branches and leaves of the big banyan tree trembled slightly, no one else noticed.
Sang Biao was familiar with the terrain. Holding the pigeon in its mouth, it found Xiao Jingcheng hiding in the dark. It spat the carrier pigeon out in front of him and wagged its tail proudly, as if saying, 【General, Sang Biao has retrieved the prey!】
"Well done," Xiao Jingcheng praised. He squatted down to examine the unconscious pigeon on the ground.
Many noble families in the capital kept pigeons. To distinguish their own carrier pigeons, they usually hung unique marks on the pigeons' legs to avoid misidentification.
Sure enough, there was an iron ring on the leg of the carrier pigeon in front of him. The pattern on the iron ring was from the Feng family, the maternal family of Concubine Feng.
This carrier pigeon was indeed sent to find Xiao Yixuan.
Xiao Jingcheng took off the message tube on the pigeon's leg and said to Sang Biao, "The pigeon is yours."
Sang Biao was overjoyed. It immediately picked up the pigeon in its mouth and went to find its little companions to share the pigeon.
With this unexpected gain, Xiao Jingcheng didn't linger. He left immediately and returned to Zhao Hu's home.
After entering the house, he took out the message tube and broke the wax seal on it.
He took out the letter from the tube and unfolded it in his palm. His pupils suddenly constricted when he saw the words on the letter. He suddenly stood up from the chair. He stood up so abruptly that the chair was knocked over and made a loud noise on the ground.
This loud noise was like a thunderbolt, striking hard at his heart.
His hand holding the letter trembled uncontrollably. Xiao Jingcheng's face turned completely pale.
The letter said that the rumors about his origin had finally reached the emperor's ears. The emperor was extremely angry and issued an order to depose Shen Lingyun from her position as the queen. She was also sent to the Cold Palace!
【I heard that the queen and Prince Mu were actually engaged back then. But somehow, this marriage ended up with the emperor instead.】
【The emperor and the queen had a very good relationship at first. The emperor even invited Prince Mu to teach the crown prince. But later, for some reason, the relationship between the emperor and the queen gradually deteriorated, and the emperor doted on Concubine Feng exclusively.】
【So some people speculated that the crown prince was actually not the emperor's bloodline, but the child of the queen and Prince Mu.】
When he was possessing the dog Dahuang, he and Ye Wanshuang had sneaked into the morgue at night. The two guards had discussed this matter back then!
Even the lowest - level guards of the Pei family's army in Dongli Town were discussing this matter. One could only imagine how widely these rumors had spread in the capital!
This scheme was not only targeting him, but also his mother, Shen Lingyun!
First, they tried every means to lure him out of the capital. Then, they made him discover the illegal salt case in Ningzhou. After that, they used the illegal salt case as an excuse to arrange water bandits and mountain bandits to ambush him on the way!
If these two schemes couldn't get rid of him, the assassins lurking in the mountains would be the final blow. Once something happened to him, the southern inspection would definitely be postponed. Xiao Yixuan could then leave the capital on this pretext. In this way, the rumors in the capital would have nothing to do with him.
Xiao Jingcheng grabbed the table tightly. His fingernails dug deeply into the wood. His eyes were blood - red, and the whites of his eyes were full of bloodshot eyes due to anger.
Although his mother had never shown a smiling face to him and had always been strict with him, she was his mother after all...
How could his mother bear such a blow after hearing the news of his death and then being cruelly sent to the Cold Palace by his father!
All of this was the doing of Xiao Yixuan and Concubine Feng!
Xiao Yixuan!
He wanted to kill this brute!
Xiao Jingcheng immediately rushed out of the door. He almost bumped into Zhao Hu at the main gate of the Zhao Mansion.
"Boss, where are you going in such a hurry?" Zhao Hu asked curiously.
Stopped by Zhao Hu, Xiao Jingcheng regained a little bit of his sanity.
Even if he rushed to Liuxiang Tower and killed Xiao Yixuan at this moment, it would be of no use. His father would not release his mother from the Cold Palace.
What he should do was to return to the capital as soon as possible and find a way to rescue his mother from the Cold Palace, so as to prevent Concubine Feng's people from harming his mother!
Grabbing Zhao Hu, Xiao Jingcheng gritted his teeth and said, "Go and prepare two fast horses and five hundred taels of silver right away. Then call Tang Kang here. I don't want the five - thousand - tael silver notes I asked you to exchange before. I'll give them all to you!"
Xiao Jingcheng's grip was so strong that even Zhao Hu gasped in pain: "You don't want them? Really?"
Zhao Hu was both shocked and suspicious.
Everything was fine in the morning. Why did he suddenly say he didn't want them?
Xiao Jingcheng tightened his grip. His eyes were blood - red, and the whites of his eyes were full of red bloodshot eyes due to anger: "Go quickly!"
Zhao Hu grimaced in pain: "Okay, okay, I'll go right away. Boss, please let go, let go!"
Xiao Jingcheng let go of Zhao Hu. Zhao Hu rubbed his aching wrist and then rushed off to do what Xiao Jingcheng had told him.
Xiao Jingcheng was worried about the capital. He waited anxiously in the Zhao Mansion. Every moment was a torture for him.
The sound of Zhao Hu's footsteps was like a life - saving straw to him. He walked out to greet him. Zhao Hu was walking towards him in a hurry, carrying a bag of silver in his hand:
"Boss, the horses are ready. They're waiting outside. Here's the five - hundred - tael silver you asked for."
Xiao Jingcheng took it and walked out quickly. Besides the dogs like Sang Biao, Zhao Hu also followed closely beside him. After they walked out of the main gate, there were indeed two bay horses waiting outside. Tang Kang was already waiting there.
"Get on the horse," Xiao Jingcheng said to Tang Kang. With a leap, he mounted one of the horses.
Tang Kang got on the horse as he was told. Xiao Jingcheng said to him, "You go east, and I'll go west. Keep galloping towards the town gate. Don't look back. Return to Dongli Town three days later."
What was this for?
Although Tang Kang had questions in his mind, he didn't have time to ask them at this moment. Xiao Jingcheng slapped the horse's rump hard. The horse neighed in pain and galloped towards the town gate.
Xiao Jingcheng put his finger to his lips and whistled loudly. The dogs split into two groups. Led by Sang Biao, some followed behind Xiao Jingcheng, while Curly followed Tang Kang.
The two horses galloped in opposite directions, one east and the other west.
A strange scene soon appeared in Dongli Town. Someone was galloping on a fast horse on the street, followed by a group of barking dogs. This scene not only appeared in the east of the town but also in the west.
Xiao Yixuan had left people to keep an eye on the Zhao family. The spy naturally noticed the strange situation at the Zhao family. Sensing something was wrong, he immediately rushed to Liuxiang Tower and reported what he had seen to Xiao Yixuan.
"What did you say?!" Xiao Yixuan stood up in shock. His face showed his disbelief. "You said there were two people with similar figures and appearances riding horses towards the town gates in the east and west, followed by many dogs?!"
The guard said, "Your subordinate will never misidentify! And one of them is the cousin of Sister Jiang from Huichuntang!"
Xiao Yixuan's expression changed several times. His heart skipped a beat.
Oh no, it was Xiao Jingcheng!