On that day, Zuiqing Building, Jing Wanyu poured a cup of tea on the map after everything was said, and all the cities and hills became blurred and finally disappeared on the embroidered silk.

  "This picture will not be taken out of this room." She said quietly, her eyes cast down.

  She was well aware that privately engraving a map of the Tang Dynasty's territory was punishable by death, so she never had any intention of spreading this map.

  It wasn't until then that Pei Tan finally came back to his senses from the slight shock, looking at this young girl, who was actually the daughter of Hu Jingzhe, and even in Chang'an in the past, she had no reputation for her talents, an almost unknown figure.

  It was not uncommon for girls in Chang'an City to be betrothed at the age of ten, but did Jing Wanyan have a marriage contract with someone back then, or had it been tacitly abandoned afterwards?

  "Go back and don't show up for a few days."

  Jing Wan'er walked into the Drunken Love Building like this today, and she didn't even know how many people saw her.

  Perhaps she thought that being ambiguous was safer than being straightforward, but after all, her existence posed too great a risk, and Pei Tan couldn't be as carefree as her.

  After Jing Wan'er returned from the Moon Building, Zi Cui'er was anxious and asked, "How was it?"

  Jing Wan'er slowly took off her veil and looked at her: "Don't worry, starting from today, I won't cause any more trouble for you guys."

  There was a double meaning in these words, which made Ziyue'er feel a bit uneasy.

  Jing Wan'er rushed towards her with a smile and entered the courtyard with her head down.

  Zi Cui'er's heart was racing with anxiety, as if lost in thought, staring at Jing Wanyan's back. Dali Temple Master was at the Drunken Love Building, and Jing Wanyan had been there for a whole morning - what exactly happened between them?

  On this day, Pei Tan left the Drunken Love Building. The eyes that Zong Chuke had sent to follow him immediately returned to report back. If in the past Zong Chuke wanted to find Pei Tan's weakness, he would not have let go of this opportunity. But now he thought he already had a hold on Pei Tan's weak point, so Zong Chuke said nothing.

  At this time, it was the third day since he left Pei County with the body. He ordered his men to speed up and hurry back to Chang'an. In his heart, Zong Chuke had always been unfavorable to Pei Tan, although there were other Pei family dark guards guarding him, but the entire Chang'an was still within the range of terror of the Wei family.

  Zong Chuke had long been attached to the powerful and noble families, and was on good terms with the Wei family. In Chang'an, apart from Emperor Zhongzong, Pei Tan had almost no other family power to rely on.

  So the more this was the case, the colder and more proud guard used force to urge his horse on, the following dark guards exchanged a glance with each other, also hastening their pace towards Chang'an.

  What interrupted them was a cluster of extremely bright signal flares, which were particularly dazzling in the daytime sky. The leader, Pei Xian, suddenly widened his eyes and forcefully reined in his horse without warning.

  Several other Ba family dark guards also stared at the cluster of smoke in the air that refused to disperse, "What is this?!"

  The horse stopped, and Pei County quickly dismounted and took a few steps forward.

  This was the unique signal smoke of Pei's family, which would not be confused with other smokes. When Pei County saw this extremely bright smoke flower, it came from the direction of Chang'an City far away.

  This proves that the person who sent the signal is indeed the young master of his house. Pei Tan.

  Several dark guards looked at each other in dismay: "What does this mean?"

  At this moment, Pei County was gazing up at the sky for a long time without saying a word, his eyes had already become deep and profound.

  It can be seen that Pei Tanfang's signal is definitely for those outside the city to see, otherwise there would be no need to use such eye-catching smoke to inform them.

  The signal of the Pei family is divided into five colors from light to heavy, and the one that just scattered in the air is the lightest.

  This shows that what happened is not serious, the problem is that it's not a serious matter, but Pei Tan had to go thousands of miles to notify them in this way, which is obviously a bit strange.

  Obviously, other dark guards also became tense: "Isn't something wrong with the young master? Then we must hurry back!"

  Pei County stared at the sky, refusing to move for a long time.

  Because signal smoke cannot speak and cannot convey any other obvious meaning, it can only tell you what happened through the color of the smoke.

  Is it urgent or not?

  Pei County was the guard who had been following Pei Tan for the longest time. He was sent by Pei Tan to bring back the body, and Pei Tan must have known that after finding the body, he would rush back to Chang'an day and night without stopping.

  So if it's just for urging, Pei Tan can dispense with this smokescreen.

  The rest is easy to guess, since it's not meant to urge him on, but rather to release this smoke signal that indicates there's no serious situation, which means the opposite... telling them not to rush back to Chang'an.

  "Everybody, halt in place."

  The other dark guards were shocked and looked at Pei County in confusion: "Pei Shuaiwei, what's going on?"

  Pei County's expression sank, and after a long time, he said: "Listening to your orders, we await the signal."

  ——

  In Chang'an City, Pei Tan sent out a signal and then turned around and returned to his room alone.

  The oil lamp on his desk was lit, and looking at that lonely lamp, he thought of the girl who had risked going to the brothel to find him.

  "Once Da Ren reaches Wuzhou, no one in this world will be able to do anything to him."

  Wuzhou is the perfect haven that Zong Chu Ke has prepared for his son, where Zong Huo can live a carefree life, perhaps even marry and have children like ordinary people, and continue to roam free; at that time, even if Pei Tan knows everything about him, he will not be able to reach into Wuzhou to catch him.

  "Zong Ho needs to disguise himself, his merchant caravan even at full speed on the road, in order not to draw attention and dare not use horses that are too fast. Our only chance is that we can have faster horses."

  Pei Tan looked at Jing Wanyan without making a sound.

  "Firstly, before Zong Ho has fully arrived in Wuzhou, intercept and kill him. Wan Er dares to guess that perhaps the lord also has this intention."

  Wuzhou is a fortress of copper and iron. The best way is to think of a way to break through this fortress with one blow before entering the Zonghuo Iron Wall.

  Jing Wan'er's bright eyes stared at Pei Tan, "But Wan'er thinks that the probability of this plan succeeding is roughly equal to zero."

  Pei Tan still had no words.

  "The reason is the dead soldiers around Zong Huo," Jing Wan'er said in a suppressed tone. "Wan'er dares to think that someone like Zong Chuke, who could abandon his honor and dignity for wealth and glory..."

  "Selling his soul, he can also go toe-to-toe with adults, his wisdom must not be lower than that of adults. The plan that adults can think of, Zong Chuke, for the life and death of his son, may have carefully planned every loophole. Therefore, before arriving in Wuzhou, Zong Chuke must have given orders to all the dead soldiers, that is, before entering Wuzhou, he would rather exchange lives than give up on protecting Zong Huo."

  Bai Tan's fingers gently pinched the bridge of his nose, and his eyes also closed.

  Jing Wan'er's voice seemed to have lost its vitality as well: "So...Wan'er can only muster up the courage again, when Zong Huo and the others think they are safe, it is actually the best opportunity for us to strike!"

  Let Zong Huo enter Wuzhou and then kill him and his subordinates in the place where they feel safest. This is the best revenge.

  Such a meticulous plan, even a seasoned general on the battlefield might not have thought of it. A young girl like Zhen Guan who spent her first ten years in the boudoir and the last five years trapped in the palace, yet she utters words that send shivers down one's spine.

  "All the dead warriors are not afraid of death." Jing Yuanyu smiled at this time, "But they will also be exhausted, their bodies are just ordinary people's bodies after all. Especially because of Zong Chuke's orders, in the few days and nights before entering Wuzhou, they must have been through a very difficult time. After they really stepped into the territory of Wuzhou, they must have had an unreal feeling."

  The Art of War says, attack where they are unprepared, and you will be victorious in every battle.

  Jing Wan'er seemed to be genuinely laughing: "So now the adults only need to think of a way to do one thing, which is... to get to Wuzhou before the others."

  Wuzhou is an iron wall, but it can take a step ahead and open a prison cell on this iron wall.

  This is already enough to drive Zong Ho mad...

  …

  Pei Tan looked at the solitary lamp on the table and slowly walked in, with his pen and ink still on the table, gently swaying in the wind.

  Along with the signal, homing pigeons were also released. As long as Pei Xian remained in place and waited for half a day, the homing pigeon carrying Pei's letter would inform Pei Xian and his dark guards of their next move.

  Even if we set out from Chang'an now and use the fastest horses, it's possible that we can only arrive in Wuzhou at the same time as Zong Ho.

  However, if he is no longer in Chang'an and is far away, then with the original daily thousand-mile journey of Pei County's fine horses, it would be possible to arrive at Wuzhou before Zong and Huo.

  This is a plan where no link can go wrong.

  Pei County, who had been waiting for half a day, suddenly opened his eyes from his meditation and saw a carrier pigeon flying towards him.

  He then caught the carrier pigeon and opened it to see Pei Tan's order.

  Pei County's eyes flashed with a bright light, and he quickly folded the letter and put it in his sleeve. He turned to several dark guards and said: "Immediately change direction, the young master has other orders!"

  The Dark Guards were stunned, but since there was a new order, they naturally put their mission first.

  At this moment, all the dark guards remounted their horses again. Pei County turned his horse's head and led everyone to gallop out once more.

  That night, Chang'an was in a state of turmoil. Zong Chuke thought he had grasped the throat of Pei Tan, that is, the former concubine Jing Yuane. However, after the Drunken Love Pavilion, Jing Yuane really closed her doors and did not come out, giving the anxious couple, Zi Chan'er and her husband, a real comfort.

  But Pei Tan, what he did was far more than just writing a letter to inform Pei County. Even if Pei County arrived in Wuzhou first, how would they carry out this life-and-death task under the gaze of countless eyes, avoiding all those who wanted to protect Zong and Huo? And after they killed Zong and Huo in Wuzhou, the people of Wuzhou who discovered their deaths would not let go of the perpetrators. The entire city of Wuzhou would become a trap that would ensnare Pei's secret guards, a true copper wall and iron fortress from which there was no escape.