Chapter 196: A Plan to Earn Money from Meng Cao

Chapter 196: A Plan to Earn Money from Meng Cao

Chapter 196: A Plan to Earn Money from Meng Baicao

Fifty miles west of Zhuozhou, there is a Heiling Mountain with a valley in the mountain.

At the end of the Yuan Dynasty, rebel armies rose up in large numbers. Beiting built a fortress in the valley and set up a thousand-household command post to guard the western gate of the capital.

After the Ming Dynasty was established, most of the castles were demolished, leaving only some houses as relay stations.

Thirty years ago, an earth dragon turned over, causing the mountain to collapse and completely blocking the mountain road in the west. This trade route has been completely abandoned since then.

"Chirp~"

The night owl flapped its wings and flew over the Motie Valley, its screaming sound shrill and erratic.

It flew to the opposite mountain wall and landed among the slanting beech branches. Its two small lantern-like eyes surveyed the area below.

Starting half a year ago, many large lanterns began to appear in the valley.

As the two-legged beasts settled here, the originally skinny rock mice became fat and ate a lot.

"Chirp~"

A black shadow flashed past its eyes, scaring the night owl so much that it flapped its wings again.

A rope hangs down from the peak, swaying and extending to the valley bottom...

"Squeak~"

Two lanterns were hung under the eaves, and a long-tailed rock rat climbed over the threshold and slipped in.

The few disciples of the Hundred Swords Gang guarding the door were not surprised. After moving here, it seemed that all the rats from the Black Ling Mountain came to visit, and they could not be driven away or killed. They had become accustomed to it.

There was a faint sound in the sky, as if a bat was flying by...

In the courtyard, there were five or six lights on in the room, which was very bright, but the furnishings were very simple. The only decent round chair was occupied by a young man with a fair face and no beard, who was wearing casual clothes and had a voice that was so sweet that it made people sick.

"Captain Meng, are you sure?"

"Those three Jianghu people were hidden agents planted in the early years. Although they acted at the same time this time, they did not know Wang Lingbao, nor did they know the existence of Motie Valley, so they are not closely related."

"Where's Wang Lingbao?"

"We don't know whether Wang Lingbao is alive or dead yet. We have sent people to investigate. However, I know this man. Even if he falls into the hands of the enemy, he will not dare to betray us, unless he doesn't want his wife and children anymore."

There was murderous intent in Meng Baicao's words. He was in his early forties, tall and fat, standing in the room like a small mountain of meat, with two tiger-head iron plates hanging around his waist. There were four tiger-tooth-like iron spikes on the plates, about half a foot long and extremely sharp.

"We will return to the capital tomorrow morning. Captain Meng will know the situation. However, we spent so much money and raised the army for a thousand days... but failed at the last moment. You should think about how to explain it to Her Majesty."

Meng Baicao said awkwardly: "As long as Prince Ning has not returned to his fiefdom, there is still a chance. I will continue to plan the assassination..."

The white-faced man sneered, "The Minister of Justice has sent more than a hundred military detectives to the Qianyun Inn. You'd better save your time! If you leave Han Chenhao with evidence and eventually implicate the palace, Meng Baicao, I'm afraid the heads on our shoulders will not be enough to chop off!"

"Eunuch Qin taught me that."

Meng Baicao cursed the eunuch in her heart, but she smiled flatteringly and took out a brocade box, which contained four pearls the size of longan: "Please, eunuch, remember our past friendship and say a few good words to the imperial concubine."

"Is that so? Let's do our best."

"Then I won't disturb your rest, father-in-law."

Although there was a full moon in the sky, the light in the valley was dim due to the obstruction of the peaks.

Zhang Yu was hiding in a big tree outside the wall. From a great distance, he saw the door open and a blurry figure come out. Before leaving, he bowed repeatedly to the person in the room in a very flattering manner.

"According to Wang Lingbao, this should be the residence of the gang leader Meng Baicao."

There are twenty or thirty houses in the valley, but only this courtyard is special and has disciples on duty.

"It should be right."

Zhang Yu looked at the moon in the sky and estimated that there was still an hour left. He and King Ning had agreed to launch an attack on Motie Valley when the moon reached its zenith. He rode alone on a fast horse and arrived at Heiling Mountain first.

There was a faint sound in the air, as if another bird was flying by.

The Baijian Gang disciples who were on duty outside the door didn't pay much attention. There were plenty of birds and beasts in the mountains. The place was surrounded by mountain walls on three sides, and there was only a path leading into the valley on the east. There were no sentries or ambushes anywhere, so what could happen in the valley?

Zhang Yu arrived at the courtyard, glanced at the gate, walked along the corner to the window frame, activated the "Northern Sea Magic Art", and listened carefully. He heard even snoring coming from the room. He waited for a while, quietly opened the window, jumped in, took two steps at a time, and ran directly to the bed.

"Who?"

The man seemed to have just woken up from a dream. He turned over and sat up. Just as he was about to shout for help, his two fingers had already pressed on the acupuncture points on his sternum.

When he tried to open his mouth again, he felt as if half a bowl of fish bladder glue had been poured into his throat, and he could only make extremely low and hoarse sounds.

"Who are you?"

Zhang Yu turned and ran to the door, listening carefully. There was no sound in the yard, so he returned to the bed.

"You are not Meng Baicao? Who are you?"

"I……"

The glue seemed to have solidified, and the man's already shrill voice made it even more difficult for him to speak.

The pale-faced, beardless man covered his throat with a look of horror. A fishy smell came from under his body, and the bedding was instantly wet.

Upon seeing this, Zhang Yu bent his fingers and released a stream of Qi, slightly unblocking his mute point.

"If you don't want to die, answer the questions truthfully."

"Mercy, mercy, my little Qin Shun'er will tell you everything."

Qin Shuner was born in the inner court and had never seen such underworld tactics. He was already timid, and now he was even more afraid of them.

Zhang Yu heard his shrill voice and looked at his appearance and posture, and vaguely guessed his identity - a dog eunuch.

"Where is Meng Baicao?"

"I...I don't know."

Zhang Yu sneered and stretched out two fingers, holding a golden needle as thick as a cow hair. The needle tip trembled slightly and emitted a cold light.

"You are not honest? If you are not honest, I will use this needle to pierce your Niwan acupoint, making it impossible for you to live or die. Even if you die, your soul will be sealed in this broken body. For the rest of your lives, you will be a dead eunuch and will never be able to be reborn as a human being!"

Qin Shuner quickly knelt on the ground and kowtowed repeatedly, thinking to himself that he had taken the blame for Meng Baicao, who deserved to be killed.

"This room originally belonged to Meng Baicao. He let me stay here for one night. I really don't know where he went."

"So, who are you?"

"Little man..."

Seeing that he looked embarrassed and seemed unwilling to speak, Zhang Yu raised his hand and tapped his right abdomen, left chest and neck three times with his two fingers as fast as lightning.

Qin Shuner suddenly felt his legs go cold, his chest feel tight and he felt short of breath. His energy and blood rushed to his head and he almost fainted.

"I have pressed your fatal point. If you cannot release it within two quarters of an hour, the Qi and blood in your body will flow upwards and rush straight to the head of the Six Yang. Even the Great Luo Immortal cannot save you."

Qin Shuner had seen this before. When Zhang Yu pointed at him, he became speechless, so there was no reason for him not to believe it.

"Please spare my life, my good man. I am a eunuch beside Concubine Wan."

"Concubine Wan Gui?"

She was Wan Zhen'er, who had a very bad reputation among the people and was known as the modern-day Daji and the national disaster Baosi. It was said that this evil concubine had a stunning appearance but a heart of a vicious snake. Emperor Yousheng abandoned the six palaces and favored only this one, which led to the gradual hollowing out of the dragon body.

"Why did she ask you to come to the Hundred Swords Gang?" "To...assassinate Prince Ning."

Rootless people like them live in this world, fighting for temporary honor and disgrace, and have no plans for eternity. When disaster strikes, facing life and death, they no longer care about anything.

"Do you know Yang Fengming, the man that Qiandaomen protected last year?"

"I have never heard of this name."

Qin Shun'er was afraid that the plague god would not believe him, so he quickly explained: "In the imperial concubine's palace, there are three eunuchs who are granted the right to wear dragon robes. There are eight sixth-rank eunuchs like me who run errands and convey the emperor's orders. They usually have their own errands."

Zhang Yu understood what was going on. He stared at Qin Shun'er until he felt his hair stand on end. Then he sneered, "You're smart. You didn't lie to me."

"How dare I?"

Seeing that he was spineless, cowardly, and had no martial arts skills at all, Zhang Yu thought to himself that this man was a eunuch in the palace, trusted by Concubine Wan, well-informed, and able to go out of the palace on business. If he could be recruited for his own use, he would be able to have more eyes and ears in the imperial palace in the capital.

He asked calmly, "Do you want to live?"

Qin Shun'er was quite sensible and kowtowed repeatedly: "Please spare my life, sir, spare my life, sir, what do you say, sir, what do I do?"

Zhang Yu sneered, "I won't hide it from you. The Hundred Swords Gang's plan to assassinate Prince Ning has already been exposed. Hundreds of masters from the palace have surrounded Motie Valley, and not even a mosquito can fly out. If you fall into Prince Ning's hands, he won't kill you, and Concubine Wan won't trust you anymore. Isn't that right?"

When Qin Shuner heard this, his whole body went limp and he collapsed to the ground.

Seeing that the emperor was in poor health, the officials from Jiangxi Province in the court showed signs of supporting the prince from his hometown to come to the capital.

Concubine Wan is deeply favored by the emperor, but she has no children. If she welcomes an older prince into the court, once the situation changes, she will either be asked to pay with white silk or poisoned wine.

If a palace slave like him fell into the hands of Prince Ning, the first person who would want to kill him would be Concubine Wan.

"I am not a subordinate of Han Chenhao. I cooperate with him only to deal with Meng Baicao."

Qin Shuner was somewhat clever, otherwise he would not have been valued by Concubine Wan. When he heard that Zhang Yu was willing to speak more, he grasped a life-saving straw at a time of despair and quickly expressed his willingness to cooperate.

Zhang Yu took out a small red bottle from his arms and handed it to Qin Shuner.

He got this from the beast who harmed his father and bullied his sister in the Pingyang Wusheng Temple.

………………

"Meet Boss Meng."

In front of the courtyard gate, three disciples of the Baijian Gang who were on duty at night saw the visitor and hurriedly bowed and saluted.

Meng Baicao was wearing a loose robe and holding a sword in his hand.

He had just fallen asleep when he was called up. He was feeling annoyed. He glanced at the Hundred Swords Gang disciple who came behind him to call him, and then looked at the three people in front of the door. He felt that something was wrong, but he couldn't tell what it was.

Just as he was about to cross the gate, he suddenly turned around and asked.

"After I left...was there anything unusual?"

"No, it's just that the guest said there were too many rats and they were making a lot of noise, so he couldn't sleep. He asked his subordinates to get a jar of wine and four dishes, saying that he wanted to drink to fall asleep. After the wine and dishes were ready, he asked me to invite you, the leader, to drink with him."

Meng Baicao's frown loosened, he sneered, and cursed in his heart: "This damn eunuch is really used to the life of luxury in the palace."

In the blue sky, the full moon was about to rise to the zenith, casting a silver glow in the courtyard.

"What a strong smell of alcohol!"

"How much did you drink?"

When Meng Baicao walked into the room, the smell of alcohol hit her nose.

Qin Shuner was sitting at the table, eating side dishes and drinking happily. Although he enjoyed endless wealth and glory in the palace, he was still a slave, like a bird in a cage, without any freedom. Once he left the palace, he would rely on his power to do whatever he wanted. This was also the reason why eunuchs had a bad reputation among the people, because their eating habits were too ugly.

"Captain Meng is here. Has he disturbed your rest?"

"Don't disturb me, don't disturb me, I haven't slept yet either."

Qin Shuner took a new cup, filled it with clear wine, and refilled his own cup.

"That's great, please take a seat and have a few drinks with us."

Meng Baicao smiled and sat down on the round chair opposite, but said: "Eunuch Qin, you don't know, ever since I left the Jinyiwei, I have been hiding in the rivers and lakes, working hard day and night, just worried that I would fail to fulfill the trust of the imperial concubine and hurt Feng En, so I haven't touched alcohol for many years."

Qin Shuner laughed and scolded: "This is bullshit!"

Meng Baicao's face changed slightly. When he was in the Jinyiwei, he was a powerful captain. In Motie Valley, he was also the leader who had the final say. He felt a little guilty for being scolded by a eunuch who was more than 20 years younger than him and was not even capable of tying a chicken.

Qin Shuner continued, "Jin Diao Si, Zhang Diao Si, Shen Diao Si, aren't they serving the Imperial Concubine? Am I, Qin Shuner, not serving the Imperial Concubine? We can all drink, but you, Captain Meng, can't? Are you working harder than those three big dicks?"

"Eunuch Qin is right. I am too pedantic. I will drink this wine."

Qin Shuner is a villain who is used to taking advantage of his position to bully others. Meng Baicao was helpless. He did not dare to offend the three great Diao Si, so he had to raise his glass and drink it all.

"That's right. A small cup is not enough for you. Let's drink from a big bowl."

Qin Shuner stood up with a smile, took a black pottery bowl, picked up the wine jar, and filled another bowl, talking as he poured.

"Don't worry Captain Meng, the failure of this assassination attempt is not your fault. It's... Prince Ning who has been harboring evil intentions for a long time. He came to the capital to meet the emperor and brought so many guards and martial arts masters with him. What did he want to do? Sima Zhao's intentions are known to everyone."

"After we return to the palace, we will talk about it this way. The Imperial Concubine will definitely not blame you."

"Thank you, Eunuch Qin."

Meng Baicao was overjoyed when he heard this and hurriedly thanked him. He drank another six or seven bowls of wine and was actually a little tipsy.

The jar of wine almost reached the bottom of the sea.

Seeing this, Qin Shuner stood up and walked to the east side of the room, stood there quietly, and looked at Meng Baicao.

"Eunuch Qin, what are you...what are you doing standing there?"

Qin Shuner chuckled and said, "We're afraid you'll get drunk and go crazy, so we want to stay away from you."

Meng Baicao was completely confused when he suddenly saw a figure emerge from under the bed like a ghost and appear in front of him in an instant.

He instantly broke out in a cold sweat, and his drunkenness was about four or five points gone. He punched out with his left hand, and his right hand quickly reached up to the hilt of the knife.

"Not bad for his reaction speed, worthy of being a master of the acquired realm!"

Zhang Yu did not dodge, but easily snatched the sword and allowed the soft fist to hit him.

"You...you poisoned the wine?"

Meng Baicao just realized that his internal energy was blocked in his dantian, and his muscles and veins were weak and he couldn't use any strength at all.

He hadn't even seen his opponent, but he had already been tricked and became a lamb to be slaughtered.

But Qin Shun'er is Concubine Wan's man, how could she help him harm herself?

By the way, this damn eunuch is the most shameless.

It seems that if this man in black robe and golden face threatened him, he would sell himself out in order to save his life.

Zhang Yu slowly sat down opposite him, took a new bowl, and poured himself the last half bowl of wine.

"Boss Meng, I want you to sit down and have a drink, but you used up most of my five-spice softening powder."

(End of this chapter)