The people of the Pei family followed Hu Shang's carriage all the way, seeing them rushing through the night, and finally arrived at a place one hundred miles away from Chang'an.

  Such exhaustion from running around, if it's not a fugitive, how is it possible?

  As they saw them exhausted and stagnant, the trained Pey family members hiding around exchanged a glance with each other.

  That group of rough and wealthy merchants rented an entire tavern, secretly transporting the trunks they had brought to the courtyard of the tavern.

  The person tracking him didn't dare sneak into the wine tower until late at night, and saw that more than a dozen boxes had their lids open, all of which were empty inside.

  And Zong Huo, who was hiding, had already unknowingly hidden somewhere in this wine building.

  The young waiter in the wine house kept bringing large fish and meat from the kitchen to one of the rooms, where Zong Huo was hiding for a long time and eating and drinking at the table.

  The house was surrounded by guards on all sides, and the shopkeeper only dared to put the food at the door, letting the people inside take it in.

  Zong Huo fiercely bit into the meat scraps in his mouth, his face flushed with red clouds: "This is what I call meat! Meat! Give me more!"

  Zong Huo looked like a half-madman. Whoever was locked in that underground place without sunlight would go mad eventually.

  Nowadays, Zong Huo sees meat and tastes it, and when he sees it, he eats like a hungry tiger.

  "Although we have already left Chang'an for a hundred miles, we must still be careful in our actions." A leader said coldly, "Until we send the young master to Jiangnan, we absolutely cannot let our guard down."

  They arranged for several people to guard the yard of Zong Huo, and this group of people's skills were obviously well-trained, clearly selected by Zong Chu for Zong Huo alone.

  The people of Pei's family were naturally cautious everywhere. One of them followed the shopkeeper, and when he opened the door to take food inside, he saw a figure eating and drinking heavily.

  "It's definitely Zong Huo." The people of the Pei family exchanged glances with each other.

  This made their purpose for this trip even clearer.

  At midnight when everyone fell into a deep sleep, someone released a purple signal smoke. The people of the Zong family who saw the smoke exchanged a knowing look in their eyes.

  "The young master has safely left the city." The attendant in the study room said with a hint of a smile to Zong Chuke.

  Zong Chuke also saw the signal smoke in the sky, his gloomy eyes swept over a chill at this time: "Before arriving in Jiangnan, I must make that rebellious son behave."

  The staff remained silent, and the signal was sent from a hundred miles outside Chang'an City. This mission will naturally be foolproof.

  It is said that no one knows a son better than his father, and Zong Chu Ke understands Zong Ho's nature best. Faced with the colorful world outside, Zong Ho may not be able to resist indulging in wine and women halfway through.

  ——

  Early in the morning, Pei Tan opened the door and saw Pei Xian who had been guarding all night.

  He didn't bring any maids from the Pei household, only this one attendant. Apart from protecting him personally, Pei County was also practically the only person in the Grand Temple that Pei Tan could trust and make use of.

  "Pei Tan asked him: 'How is it?'"

  "Sir, someone sent a signal fire last night."

  As a well-trained member of the Pei family's guards, Pei Xian could identify the signal smoke that belonged to them. The smoke screen last night was probably related to the case of Zong Huo.

  "Can you determine the specific direction of the smoke?" Pei Tan asked faintly.

  Pei Xian said: "Can only see about at least a hundred miles away, can't tell specific location."

  These smoke bombs also have a disorienting effect and will not allow you to find the real launch location.

  Pei Tan said: "Fleeing a hundred miles in one night can be said to be exhausted from fleeing."

  The father and son of the sect are both disobedient to the imperial decree, and now they have taken fake passports out of the city. It can be said that there is no monarch or subject anymore.

  But although Zong Chuke was a high-ranking official, his family did not seem to be as deeply rooted as the seven noble families. Zong Chuke was of humble origin and had risen to his current position through his own efforts. It was astonishing that he would dare to deceive the emperor in such a way, which showed that he had thoroughly provoked the emperor's anger. Zong Chuke did not realize that it was himself who had driven his family to their current state.

  Zhongzong ordered the execution of Zong Huo, which was a warning to Zong Chuke. However, Zong Chuke... perhaps because he understood this, he disregarded everything and still wanted to save Zong Huo.

  Between his son and Zhong Zong, Zong Chu chose his son.

  It was destined that he couldn't even protect his own son in the end.

  "Get ready, I'm going into the palace."

  The horse carriage was moving along the streets of Chang'an City, when a gust of wind blew open Pei Tan's curtain. He looked outside and saw that they had arrived at the residence of Su Shilang, where he had attended a wedding banquet before.

  He thought of Su Shouyue, the new son-in-law, who married the daughter of the Boling Cui family, and it was a step to reach the sky.

  Even a prestigious family like the Pei family, wanting to marry a daughter from the Cui clan of the Five Surnames and Seven Clans, would require a fortunate opportunity. However, this opportunity unexpectedly favored a side branch of the family.

  Unconsciously, Pei Tan suddenly realized he had overlooked something.

  Even if there are palace maids outside the palace, they listen to Jing Yuanyuan's orders. So this maid can loiter outside the Temple of Great Justice and gather information about the surroundings. Zi Xiang'er was once imprisoned in the Temple of Great Justice, so she had the opportunity and time to draw a map of the temple and send it back to the palace for Jing Yuanyuan.

  What about Su's family?

  That female palace maid disguised as a man, actually openly took the Su family's invitation card and became an honored guest at the wedding. Could it be that Jing Wanyan really had extraordinary abilities, not only was she able to find out that he would attend the wedding banquet that day, but also managed to obtain a formal wedding invitation, and majestically entered the ranks of the Su family's guests?

  Bai Tan's palm suddenly clenched into a fist, the right hand wrapped in a silk handkerchief, and the wound on his palm was throbbing with pain.

  Can a humble person like Jing Yuanyuan achieve such a feat?

  Just as Pei Tan was shocked and trembling, the voice of Pei Xian came from outside the carriage, bringing him back to reality: "Young Master, we have arrived at the entrance of Wenchang Gate."

  The gate guard was about to inspect Pei Tan's token, and after a moment, Pei Tan handed the token out from the carriage.

  The guard saw the token and immediately put away the long spear that was blocking the road: "Please, Lord Temple."

  Pei drove his horse carriage along the palace path, passing through the palace gate. After a brief conversation with Pei, he said: "This time, stop the horse carriage outside the Xuanwu Gate and you can go."

  Once inside the Wenchang Gate, it was as if they had entered the palace. The eunuchs walking around with their heads bowed did not even raise their heads to take a look at this inappropriate horse carriage that had arrived at such an inopportune time.

  Xuanwu Gate was still a distance from Zhongzong's Zichen Hall, and although Pei County was surprised, he replied, "Yes, young master."

  Arriving at the Xuanwu Gate, Pei Tan got off his horse and walked. He had a travel permit, so no one dared to stop him wherever he passed.

  Pei Tan is like this because he thinks he needs to think.

  He walked alone in the quiet palace path, without anyone to disturb him. His eyes were deep and profound as he began from the beginning to the end, taking every seemingly coincidental clue, from that piece of human skin to now, filtering them finely like sifting out impurities from tea.

  After doing so, he found out how much of the residue at the bottom of the pot was something he had never noticed before.

  ——

  Zhong Zong was also busy during this time, and for an emperor who had spent the first half of his life in prison, it was impossible to completely erase the darkness of the past, no matter how much he wanted to.

  So Zhong Zong was furious, he was angry with every single person who had been intertwined with him in the first half of his life, even those... who supported him in the dark and walked through many people step by step.

  Pei Tan entered the palace at an untimely hour; he actually stayed in the palace all by himself until the ninth watch, before finally allowing himself to walk to the Zichen Hall.

  Emperor Zhongzong's complexion was not very good today, so he asked: "Pei Qing, do you have any good news to bring to me today?

  Bai Tan knelt on the ground as usual: "The good news is that I have clearly verified that Zong Huo is indeed not dead."

  Zhong Zong's face sank, and this was not good news for Zhong Zong at all. Knowing that Shangshu Zhong Chuke had indeed disobeyed orders, it was like slapping Zhong Zong in the face.

  "Where is the person now?"

  Pei Tan said: "Last night, he had already obtained the pass with the title of Fengche Dujun and escaped from the North City Gate all the way to 100 miles outside. The people I sent have been following him closely."

  Zhong Zong's eyes were extremely cold: "These two father and son are truly making me look at them with new eyes."

  Pei Tan knelt on the ground without speaking, and Zhong Zong walked back and forth in the hall several times.

  "He said: 'You just said, who gave you the pass?' "

  "Rank five, Commander of the Imperial Chariots."

  It is indeed a small official position, even Zhong Zong had to react for a moment before he could understand it.

  Zhong Zong's face sank as he said, "What does a Fengche Duiwei have to do with the Zhong family?"

  It's actually helping to commit such a heinous crime, even if it's a fifth-grade official, should be put to death.

  Pei hesitated for a moment before saying in a low voice, "I think that the Imperial Carriage Escort may not necessarily have any connection with Minister Zong. The more unrelated it is, the safer this pass will be."

  Pei Tan cracked the case without implicating innocent people. Zong Chuke found a fifth-grade captain for the same reason, not wanting anyone to discover his involvement.

  Zhong Zong hesitated for a moment: "I understand what you mean. You are saying that Dou Wei is just a pawn being used."

  "It must be."

  This Fēng Chē Dū Wèi is definitely unclear who the connected official documents are being used on.

  In this way, it would be impossible to find anything on Zong Chuke's body.

  Due to Zhong Zong's emphasis and Pei Tan's ideas, the monarch and his subject talked all night until midnight.

  "Pei Qing, you can stay in the palace tonight, I'll have someone clean up the palace garden for you."

  If he rode a horse carriage out of the palace and returned to the Great Temple of Wisdom, the sun would already be high in the sky.

  "Your Majesty has long heard of the beauty of Taiye Pool. Tonight, with the wind clear and the moon bright... I would like to take this opportunity to go for a midnight stroll..."

  Taiye Pool is in Daming Palace, and the legend of Taiye Pool has been circulating throughout the Tang Dynasty.

  Zhong Zong's eyes were deep and profound as he gazed at Pei Tan, saying: "Since you have the intention, for the rest of this night, you may wander freely within the palace."

  With the token of passage and Zhong Zong's words, from this moment until dawn, Pei Tan could do whatever he wanted in the palace for five watches.

  Pei's eyes shone with the starlight of this night, "Your subject thanks Your Majesty."

  At midnight, the palace was as quiet as a pool of Taiye under the moonlit sky. But it was like a stone suddenly falling into the lake, with dark and sinister depths, as if thousands of waves had rolled over.