allonlinenovel Chapter 200 Blocking the Knife
Chapter 200 Blocking the Knife
Looking at the woman lying on the ground and Zheng Luoqi and the others standing to the side, everyone couldn't help but wonder. What Zheng Luoqi said seemed to make some sense, but after all, being handsome couldn't be an excuse for him to get away with it.
It wouldn't be appropriate to let Zheng Luoqi and the others off the hook just because of their appearance and their one-sided statements, so the group decided to report the matter to the authorities.
Upon hearing that the authorities were to be called, the woman panicked. She wanted to stop them, but worried that doing so would expose her guilty conscience. If she said she wouldn't report it, wouldn't that be tantamount to admitting her guilt? But if the authorities actually came, she dared not face them, fearing her identity would be revealed...
After much deliberation, the woman decided that escaping in the chaos was the best course of action.
Just then, the shopkeeper rushed back into the shop and immediately saw Zheng Luoqi and the others. He instantly understood what had happened; someone had been following them. Fortunately, Sister Hong was there to keep watch, otherwise, who knows what trouble might have ensued.
When the innkeeper arrived, everyone handed the matter over to him. After all, the innkeeper seemed to know the woman, and since the incident had occurred on her turf, they couldn't interfere. Seeing that there was no more excitement to be had, the crowd left.
As soon as the group left, the shopkeeper's expression changed instantly, and his tone became scrutinizing: "May I ask what brings you all here?"
"We were just passing by when we accidentally wandered into this place, and then this woman framed us. What do you want to do, shopkeeper?" Zheng Luoqi asked with a smile.
"Gentlemen, let's not beat around the bush. Our little shop has powerful backers; it's not a pushover. Do you also have powerful backers? Besides, these aren't places for you to come to. Since you've come, you'll have to pay the price!" the shopkeeper said disdainfully.
Zheng Luoqi and the others exchanged glances, knowing what the shopkeeper meant. He wasn't planning to let them off easily. However, they didn't want to reveal their identities yet, so they made up an excuse and said, "We really were just passing through and didn't mean anything by it."
However, the innkeeper didn't believe their explanation and sneered, "Hmph, how could it be such a coincidence that I just happened to be passing by and ended up in this room? Since that's the case, then don't blame me for being impolite!"
After the shopkeeper finished speaking, he drew a dagger and began fighting with Zheng Luoqi and the others. He was agile and his moves were fierce, clearly not an ordinary shopkeeper.
Seeing this, the woman next to her quickly dressed and joined in. She held a short sword and worked with the shopkeeper to attack Zheng Luoqi and the others.
Although Zheng Luoqi and the others were somewhat surprised, they quickly reacted, drawing their weapons and engaging the innkeeper and the woman in fierce combat. For a time, the room was filled with the glint of swords and the clash of weapons, with both sides exchanging blows.
The people Zheng Luoqi was originally following suddenly jumped in through the window next to them and quickly joined the battle.
Those individuals were agile and swift, clearly highly trained experts. Zheng Luoqi's side, despite being outnumbered, did not suffer a disadvantage; instead, they displayed formidable fighting prowess and excellent teamwork.
The shopkeeper and the others quickly realized that Zheng Luoqi was the leader of the group, so they all turned their attacks on her. However, Zheng Luoqi displayed extraordinary strength, easily dealing with the group's combined assault.
As time went by, Zheng Luoqi's side gradually gained the upper hand.
Before long, Zheng Luoqi and his group captured the five men. Knowing that they had been exposed, Zheng Luoqi decided to go all the way and killed them all, leaving only the shopkeeper alive.
Looking at the corpses scattered on the ground, the shopkeeper was secretly filled with remorse: He had acted impulsively today, only thinking about avoiding exposure and killing these people in front of him. As a result, his side was no match for them and was killed instead.
"Since you've said that we shouldn't beat around the bush, then I'll be frank with you too. Those people are from Beirong, right?" Zheng Luoqi asked the shopkeeper with a faint smile on her face.
"Ha! The person is already in your hands, so of course whatever you say goes! Why do you need to ask any more questions!" The shopkeeper had an indifferent expression, seemingly unconcerned about Zheng Luoqi's question, but his slightly trembling hands betrayed his inner tension and unease.
"Stubborn?" Zheng Luoqi's lips curled up slightly, revealing a barely perceptible sneer.
At this moment, He Jinyu found a letter on one of the Northern Rong people. It contained details of important military matters that the court officials had recently discussed in the morning court session, including when grain would be transported to the frontier, who would deliver it, how much would be delivered, and who would be sent to support the frontier.
Zheng Luoqi's face immediately turned ashen. She turned and ordered Boyu to take the shopkeeper away and interrogate him severely.
Then he instructed He Jinyu to immediately inform Zhang Zhiyuan, the Commander of the Imperial Guard, that he had found the spy from Beirong, and that Liu Hongwei, the Grand Master of the Palace, was the spy. He was to order Zhang to quickly surround Liu Hongwei's residence to prevent anyone from escaping.
After hearing Zheng Luoqi's series of instructions, the shopkeeper's face turned deathly pale, his eyes filled with astonishment and disbelief. He stared wide-eyed at Zheng Luoqi, his voice trembling as he asked, "Who are you? This has nothing to do with Lord Liu; it was all my doing!"
Zheng Luoqi originally just wanted to trick him, but he admitted it himself! Great! This saved a lot of trouble.
Zheng Luoqi didn't want to listen to the shopkeeper's excuses for Liu Hongwei, so she had Boyu quickly take the man away.
Upon receiving the news, Zhang Zhiyuan immediately dispatched men to surround Liu Hongwei's residence.
Liu Hongwei knew he had been exposed and was prepared. When Zhang Zhiyuan arrived, he found that Liu Hongwei and his family had already committed suicide by poisoning themselves.
Zhang Zhiyuan knew something was wrong and immediately rushed to the study. Just as he was about to get there, he discovered that Liu Hongwei's study was on fire. Taking advantage of the fact that the fire was not yet large, Zhang Zhiyuan immediately ordered people to put out the fire.
The fire was small and was quickly extinguished. Through the study window, Zhang Zhiyuan saw Liu Hongwei sitting at his desk, seemingly having committed suicide by poison.
Liu Hongwei's head was completely buried on the desk, and it seemed that a letter was pressed between his head and the desk. Because the letter was pressed down by Liu Hongwei, it was not affected by the fire.
Zhang Zhiyuan picked up the letter and read it carefully. It was written by Liu Hongwei, in which Liu Hongwei admitted to his treason and claimed that he was the sole perpetrator, without mentioning a third party…
After learning this news, Zheng Luoqi guessed that the person behind Liu Hongwei must have found out that she was investigating spies recently, so he directly pushed Liu Hongwei out to take the fall.