The imperial guards and palace servants rushed over from the tunnel. First, they used a stone pier to prop up the door-blocking stone, and then they passed four iron rods as thick as a forearm through it. Eight imperial guards inside and outside worked together to lift the huge stone blocking the door.
The Empress Dowager and Dongfang Liren left under the escort of the palace servants, while Yejingtang, together with several hidden guards, went to the collapsed tunnel again to check the situation.
The tunnel had collapsed in a chain reaction. According to Yejingtang's estimate, it had collapsed for more than ten zhang, over forty meters, which wasn't too long.
However, the soil above had loosened. Without support and reinforcement, if they started working rashly, they would be buried alive after digging just a few meters.
Digging upwards also carried great risks. In case they pierced through the moat, everyone in the tunnel would be drowned.
After studying for a while, Yejingtang thought that each profession had its own expertise. This kind of work of drilling, prospecting, and opening the tunnel should be left to skilled craftsmen. So he turned around and left the tunnel.
After being busy underground for half a day, it was already noon.
Yejingtang leaped out of the side hall room in Fushou Palace. He could see that there were palace servants everywhere outside. Besides the imperial hidden guards, there were also several chief constables of the Black Yamen.
Dongfang Liren was standing in the corridor, arranging tasks for the chief constables of the Black Yamen. When he saw Yejingtang coming out, he came up to him and said:
"I've already arranged for people to search the streets and alleys around the imperial city. I've also asked the Ministry of Works to send craftsmen to survey the tunnel. It will probably take some time to find out the details."
As he spoke, he took a robe from a palace maid and handed it to Yejingtang.
Yejingtang tore off the half-piece of clothes that looked like a Buddhist robe and put on the robe of an imperial guard. He asked:
"The entrance on the other side must not be on the street."
Dongfang Liren, probably afraid that Yejingtang would expose himself, still stood in front of him to block and helped him fasten the belt:
"Of course I know that. But there are cluster in a crowd mansions of princes, marquises, and generals around the imperial city. If we search the tunnels of each house one by one, we'll surely find something even if there's nothing there..."
Dongfang Liren still maintained his noble demeanor, but the action of bending down to fasten the belt for the man was full of a girlfriend-like charm. His heroic eyebrows and attractive red lips were only a short distance from the man's chin.
Yejingtang was taken aback by Benben's sudden initiative. Just as he was about to politely decline and do it himself, he noticed that Benben had some dust on his face after running wildly in the dusty tunnel. So he raised his finger and scraped it on Benben's face.
"..."
There was suddenly a deathly silence in the corridor.
Dongfang Liren's action of fastening the belt stopped. He raised his eyes and looked at the handsome young man who had blatantly flirted with him. There was some disbelief in his eyes.
Yejingtang's finger paused, and he changed to wiping Benben's face with his sleeve:
"There's some dust. I'm helping Your Highness wipe it..."
Dongfang Liren grabbed the hand that was randomly wiping his face. The dragon pattern on his plump clothes bulged, and he said in a deep voice:
"Yejingtang, are you running amok? You take every opportunity to offend me. Do you think I really won't deal with you?"
Yejingtang motioned to the palace maids and hidden guards behind:
"There are many people here and it's easy to be seen. Your Highness, please pay attention to your demeanor."
You still know that there are many people here and it's easy to be seen?
You touched my face in public...
Dongfang Liren looked back and suppressed the anger in his eyes. He said coldly:
"If there's a next time, don't blame me for being ruthless!"
Yejingtang nodded: "Understood."
Only then did Dongfang Liren stop. He continued to ask:
"Do you have any plans next?"
Yejingtang tidied up his clothes by himself. After thinking for a while, he said:
"It will take time to dig through the tunnel, and the thieves may run away at any time. I remember the approximate route of the tunnel. I'll first check it out from the surface. As for His Highness the Crown Prince of Wu, Your Highness has sent people to investigate. If there's a need, please inform me at any time."
In fact, Dongfang Liren wanted Yejingtang to take a rest. But the current situation was unclear, and Yejingtang was very capable. If Yejingtang took a rest, she couldn't very well count on a bunch of idlers from the Black Yamen to investigate the case. So she reminded him:
"Be careful. Don't try to deal with things on your own when something happens. Inform me first."
Yejingtang nodded. Just as he was about to set off, he had an idea and asked:
"By the way, Your Highness, where is the eldest prince of the emperor being held?"
Dongfang Liren asked in confusion: "Do you suspect that the thieves have their eyes on the eldest prince?"
"It's just better to think of the worst-case scenario."
Dongfang Liren looked back and then said in a low voice:
"He's under house arrest in Yuning Marquis's Mansion in the west of the city. The barracks of the imperial guards of the imperial city are nearby, and Qin Wenli has been staying by his side."
"Who is Qin Wenli?"
"The Eight-Armed Dizang."
When Yejingtang heard this, he nodded slightly and felt that he might have been overthinking it.
The Eight-Armed Dizang was the leader of the court's violent institutions. Only the eight great champions could be sure to suppress him. Basically, the remaining martial artists couldn't shake him, not to mention that there were imperial guards assisting in the defense.
Moreover, no matter how unclear the direction of the tunnel was, it was in the east of the city, while the eldest prince was in the west of the city, in completely opposite locations.
Since the target of the tunnel wasn't the eldest prince, it was rather difficult to guess.
Since Yejingtang couldn't guess the intention, he bid farewell to Benben, hung his knife around his waist, leaped up, and jumped onto the palace pavilion. According to his memory, he groped and investigated outward. Just after passing through several houses and before leaving the scope of the dormitory hall, he suddenly found himself in the back garden of Fushou Palace.
Yejingtang stopped on the top of the wall and looked around. The thousand-year-old ginkgo tree that he had been longing for was in the corner of the back garden of the dormitory hall. There was a swing hanging on the branches, below which was a tree altar, and large bluestone bricks were paved on the outside.
And the Minglong Diagram that his adoptive father had mentioned was right under the large bluestone bricks!
Yejingtang had an idea in his heart. He really wanted to take this opportunity to fish in troubled waters and dig out the Minglong Diagram for his own benefit.
But when he looked closely, he saw the Empress Dowager wearing a deep red phoenix dress and the palace maid Hongyu standing in front of the ginkgo tree. The Empress Dowager was holding three sticks of incense and bowing and worshiping in a proper manner.
?
Yejingtang looked confused, not understanding why the Empress Dowager was worshiping a tree here.
The Empress Dowager, who was holding the incense and praying, noticed someone moving on the wall and looked over. Her eyes lit up a bit, and it seemed that she was going to wave and ask him to come over.
Since Benben wasn't there, Yejingtang didn't dare to have contact with the stunning Empress Dowager. He first cupped his hands and saluted:
"Your servant is investigating the direction of the tunnel and pursuing the thieves. I'm sorry for disturbing the Empress Dowager. Please forgive me, Empress Dowager."
When the Empress Dowager heard this, of course she couldn't pull Yejingtang over to inquire about his well-being. She said with concern:
"You've worked hard. Pay attention to your safety when you're doing things. You did a great job in protecting me today. I'll reward you later."
"Thank you, Empress Dowager."
Yejingtang cupped his hands and saluted on the wall, then leaped over the wall and headed towards the edge of the imperial city.
The Empress Dowager held three sticks of incense and stood under the thousand-year-old ginkgo tree. She looked into the distance. It was only when Hongyu waved her hand in front of her that she came back to her senses and continued to worship the tree lord that could bring her good luck...
The imperial city was very large, with countless palace pavilions connected to each other. Even palace servants who were not familiar with the place might get lost.
Yejingtang walked above the palace pavilions. It could be said to be a bit audacious, but since he was holding a waist token that allowed him to freely enter and exit the palace, he didn't encounter any obstruction. Following the route in his memory, he turned left and right in the imperial city for a while and soon came to the east city wall.
Outside the city wall was the imperial river, and then came the eastern district of the city. Wutong Street, Wendu Bridge, and even the mansions of princes, marquises, and generals were all in this area.
Even though Yejingtang had a waist token of the Black Yamen, he couldn't be so lawless as to pass through the back house of the current prime minister and state duke without notice. He could only act secretly.
After searching for about half an hour according to his memory, Yejingtang stopped at the mansion of a vice-minister. He could see that there were many servants in the mansion checking the houses, and the owner of the house was standing in the courtyard discussing.
Judging from their conversation, it was the vibration from the collapse of the tunnel just now that had spread to the ground and scared the residents on the ground.
The tunnel ended here. Where it led next was completely unclear. If they wanted to find out, they could only dig up the ground. This project was even bigger than rebuilding the collapsed tunnel. By the time it was completed, the traces would have long been wiped away.
The clues ended here. Yejingtang stood on the top of a tall building, looking around at the endless building complex in the capital city, his brows furrowed...
——
At the same time, on a small street in the eastern part of the city.
The small street was adjacent to the Eastern Market, and there was a crossroad nearby with a dense flow of pedestrians.
Wang Chengjing, known as the Mountain-Collapsing Tiger, was dressed like an ordinary merchant and strolled on the street. His eyes occasionally scanned the young martial artists riding past. His younger brother, Wang Er, was walking not far away.
The Wang Chengjing brothers had taken on a killing job from the Zhou family. Ye Sishilang had already failed. If Yejingtang couldn't finish the job either, it would be equivalent to working in vain and suffering losses.
But Yejingtang wasn't an ordinary person. Although they knew his name, age, and other information, he was very difficult to find. Through inquiries and investigations in the past two days, they only knew that Yejingtang was the young master of a merchant family in the capital city.
Wang Chengjing originally wanted to go and block the road, but he found that Yejingtang didn't go back to Tianshui Bridge at all. If they used kidnapping to lure the snake out of its hole, Yejingtang would definitely bring a group of high-level Black Yamen guards. How to get Yejingtang out alone was really a troublesome matter.
With no clue at all, Wang Chengjing could only use the stupid method of waiting by the stump for the hare. He wandered around the streets near the Black Yamen to see if he could meet Yejingtang passing by and then follow him to find an opportunity to kill him.
But he didn't even have a portrait of Yejingtang. He only knew that Yejingtang was in his twenties, tall, very handsome, and carried a knife. This kind of waiting was like looking for a needle in a haystack.
Wandering aimlessly along the street, just as Wang Chengjing was frowning with worry, the sound of a carriage came from ahead.
Gululu~
He casually leaned against the side of the street to make way. But when the carriage passed by, his ears twitched slightly, and he faintly caught a sentence:
"How could it be Yejingtang..."
"That slash couldn't be wrong..."
The voices of an old man and a young man talking.
Wang Chengjing suddenly came to his senses. Without showing any change in his expression, he glanced out of the corner of his eye and saw that it was an ordinary small carriage ridden by a merchant passing by.
The carriage was not big. There was a middle-aged coachman sitting outside. His figure was very well-proportioned, and he looked like a martial artist with extremely high alertness. The moment Wang Chengjing reacted, the coachman turned his head.
Wang Chengjing was secretly shocked. But with his years of experience in the martial world, there was not the slightest change in his expression. He just casually looked at the street. Only after the carriage had gone far away did he frown and turn around to follow slowly.
Wang Er leaned over and asked in confusion:
"Have you found the person?"
"No. But the people in that carriage should be those wanted by the government. Judging from their tone, they have just fought with Yejingtang."
Wang Er didn't see anything special about the departing carriage and asked:
"Shall we follow the carriage and wait for Yejingtang to come and catch the thieves?"
Wang Chengjing nodded: "The people in the carriage have high martial arts skills. Maybe we can finish the job without bloodshed."
Wang Er thought for a while and shook his head:
"When the Black Yamen catches people, it may not necessarily be Yejingtang who comes. If they come, there will definitely be a large group of them, and it will be very difficult for us to fish in troubled waters. Moreover, if the people in the carriage have extremely high martial arts skills, Yejingtang may not be able to find them."
Wang Chengjing thought for a moment: "These are not problems. Let's first see where this carriage stops and find a way to send the news to Yejingtang. When Yejingtang receives the tip-off, he will definitely come in person for the credit. When they fight like a snipe and a clam, we can then act according to the situation..."
"Good plan..."