Many maids have been locked in a damp and dark woodshed by the dead soldiers to be on the safe side since they were banned from entering the inner courtyard.

  They are all in the prime of their lives, how can they bear such suffering? They cry and tremble with fear, worrying that if those people outside get angry, they will kill them all. After all, deaths happen every day in big households, and dying in a remote place like Wuzhou is just a waste of life.

  "This is a woodshed, mostly dry firewood." A faint voice said from the corner, "Just use flint to ignite it, and it's easy to burn out a path."

  The rest of the maids were all frightened and no one responded.

  "That voice in the corner still continued faintly: 'Or maybe just wait here... till death...' "

  That young master has gone three years without touching a woman, not three days or three months, they would have lost their chance long ago.

  Perhaps one day their corpses will become firewood for the woodshed.

  There was a maid shaking her head and shrinking into the corner, sobbing quietly.

  That voice rang out coldly again: "What's the use of crying? Now, just light the fire. If you can die happily, you should go thank King Yan."

  Suddenly, a maid stumbled out from behind the wall, they had forgotten how long it had been since they last ate: "I'd rather stake my life..."

  After finishing speaking, the figure suddenly crashed into the wall and said crazily: "Better to die than wait for death, better to die than wait for death."

  A maid holds two flints in her hand: "I have dry firewood by my side, burn it. Burn it."

  Burned to death, or burned alive.

  Several maidservants hastened to fetch flint and tinder from the corner, watching as countless sparks flew out in the darkness, like the starlight in their hearts.

  The fire met the dry hay, and the fierce flames rose. These pale faces were illuminated clearly, they stared at the sparks without fear. Coincidentally, one side of this haystack wall was entirely made of straw, and as soon as the fire burned, that side of the wall collapsed completely like withered grass, and in less than a minute, these maids saw the long-awaited exit being burned out before their eyes.

  "You can go out now!" It was that faint voice again.

  All the maidservants, unable to glance in the direction of the sound, tumbled and stumbled, rushing into the night.

  At this time, all the dead soldiers were ordered to guard around the inner courtyard of Zong Huo. The woodshed where the maidservants were detained was all at the farthest edge of the outer courtyard. It wasn't until the flames reached the sky and thick smoke billowed that these dead soldiers finally realized what had happened.

  "What's going on?!"

  The dead warriors' eyes emitted a unified tremble as they gazed at the soaring flames, unable to react in time.

  A small servant stumbled and fell to the ground, his legs weak as he exclaimed: "It's those maids... they've run away!"

  The warriors' eyes widened in anger, "What's going on with the fire?"

  The young servants were also frightened out of their wits, the burning of the barn triggered a chain reaction, and these lower-class people living nearby were shocked and terrified.

  "The fire started from inside the woodshed..." The young servant only muttered out this one sentence.

  The dead soldier suddenly drew out the knife from his waist and said, "Guard the exit of the inner courtyard well. When you see those maidservants, kill one by one."

  The little servant's hand trembled as he pointed: "It seems... it seems like someone is rushing towards the inner courtyard."

  If these maids' goal is to sneak into the inner courtyard during the chaos, then their target is Zong Ho. It seems that there really are people controlling these lowly maids from behind...

  The dead soldier coldly looked at his comrades behind him: "Take advantage of them not having arrived yet, kill them all."

  Maybe it's time to deal with these cheap people.

  The dead men went to intercept the maid, and that little fellow stumbled into Zong Huo's room, slamming the door shut behind him. In the darkness, Zong Huo, who should have been asleep after drinking the "Anshen Tang", stared blankly at the ceiling with his eyes, muttering to himself, "Hot... hot..."

  The little servant trembled and looked around, but even Ji Lang, who was supposed to be guarding Zong Huo, was nowhere to be found.

  He slowly walked forward and called out: "Young master... it's on fire..."

  Because of fear, his hands were icy cold. He raised his hand and placed it on Zong Ho's head, the sudden chill made Zong Ho shudder.

  "Master?" The young servant spoke up with a mix of fear and trepidation.

  Zong Hu suddenly clutched his forehead with a spasmodic grasp, as if grasping at a lifeline. With a sudden burst of strength, the frail "young servant" let out a shrill cry and was lifted off the ground.

  Like a chicken, it was picked up and thrown into the bed.

  "What did you say?" Zhong Chuke's voice was a little sharp.

  Pei Tan was surrounded by a dozen or so black-clad men, but at this moment, he slowly pulled over a chair from the wine tower and sat down on it with his back straight. His eyes were dim: "Jing Wanyan has long been gone from Chang'an City. So, Shangshu's plan is likely to come to nothing."

  Zong Chuke stared at Pei Tan: "You dare to deceive me?"

  Pei Tan looked at Zong Chuke with a faint smile: "Pei will not speak falsely in front of the Minister, otherwise, Minister, why haven't the thousand imperial guards brought Jing Yuanyuan to your presence until now?"

  As Zong Chuke said, Chang'an was already as secure as a golden soup, not even a fly could hide. However, so many well-trained Tang Dynasty imperial guards had delayed for nearly two hours and still hadn't found a single palace maid in hiding.

  I believe everyone has the most detailed portrait of Jing Wan in their hands.

  The most elite Qian Niu Guard of the Great Tang Dynasty has been searching with the clearest portrait, but still can't find the person, which already shows that something is off.

  Unfortunately, Zong Chuke's attention was focused on the confrontation with Pei Tan at Wangyuelou and didn't have time to notice these issues.

  At this time, Zong Chuke's eyes were crimson and terrifying: "That servant girl has no chance of leaving Chang'an City. The guardians of the six gates of Chang'an are all old men and Wei's people."

  The Empress Wei and Wei Xiang had long been secretly in control of the city gate, this kid was just making a last-ditch effort, trying to prolong his life for a moment.

  "Minister, when did you take over this gate of Chang'an?"

  Zong Chuke's eyes narrowed slightly.

  On the day Pei Zong left Drunken Immortal Pavilion and returned to Dali Temple, locking himself in, Zong Chuke had already joined forces with Wei Hou to seal off Chang'an.

  He didn't have time to make any arrangements.

  Thinking of this, Zhong Chuke's expression turned cold once again.

  "So when did Jing Yu'er leave, the Lord Chancellor should be clear in his heart... Calculating according to time, Pei's closed door at the Temple of Justice was exactly when Jing Yu'er left."

  Since Pei Tan's movements became abnormal, Zong Chuke had been staring at him without blinking, and naturally had no time to take care of other things.

  It would be better to say that Pei Tan deliberately let Zong Chuke stare at himself, in order to make arrangements for Jing Wanyan's departure.

  Zong Chuke's eyes narrowed together, "You little scoundrel..."

  "Right, and then there's the whereabouts of Pei Mou's personal bodyguard, Pei Xian. Shouldn't the Minister be thinking about that now too?"

  The first master of the Pei family, Bi Luo, rushed to Pei Tan's side in secret, but Pei Xian never returned. Adding to that, Jing Wanyan had already left Chang'an at that time, and layer by layer, a net was formed, trapping Zong Chuke inside.

  Zong Chuke's whole body trembled, and his hands shook violently. He suddenly couldn't hold back a mouthful of blood, and the black-clad man beside him immediately said: "Your Excellency!"

  Zong Chuke didn't want to think about that process at all, "Even if there was no such servant... I can still kill you today, and then... in front of Wei Xiang, just make up a crime, and let the Pei family and this wine house disappear..."

  He was like a fierce ghost, staring at Pei Tan, biting his skin and flesh, refusing to let go until death. It was also for the sake of avenging his son.

  "Your Excellency can indeed kill at will. But my family, the Pei clan, has been entrenched in Hedong for many years. I fear it is impossible for you to bring down the Pei clan with just a few fabricated charges. And if the Pei clan emerges unscathed, but you were to kill me, would the Wei clan be willing to make an enemy of my family's century-old foundation for the sake of an outsider like yourself? I advise you to think thrice, Your Excellency."

  The He Dong Pei clan, the Bo Ling Cui clan, and the Great Tang Wei clan.

  Wei is now the leader of the Tang Dynasty because both the Empress and the Prime Minister of the Tang Dynasty are surnamed Wei.

  But just a few years ago, this world was still not under the rule of the Wei family.

  Seven clans and five surnames, four families in Guanzhong, each of these aristocratic families has balanced power, all are towering trees with deep roots that cannot be shaken. Zong Chuke holds the position of first-class secretary, and also has the support of the Wei family. But what's the use of that? Even if this secretary is indeed a member of the Wei family, will the Wei family become sworn enemies with the illustrious He Dong Pei family just because of the death of a worthless young master?

  Because of a small-minded person, one can lose the entire world.

  After all, Zong Huo's life, from beginning to end, only cared about one person, and that was Zong Chuke.

  Pei Tan slowly stood up from his desk, his eyes gazing out the window: "Your Excellency, at this moment, the carrier pigeon from Wuzhou should have arrived..."

  After hearing the two words "Wuzhou", Zong Chuke seemed to have lost all his support, and the blood flowing from the corner of his mouth dyed his entire face with an eerie ferocity.

  。

  "Baekhyun, you're so young and yet you're truly a devil." He said slowly.

  "Today's outcome was always destined to be so, but the Grand Secretary insisted on going against heaven's will, which is why we have today's despair."

  And what they, father and son, felt at this moment was despair, which wasn't any different from the fisherman and his daughter who were trampled to death on the street, had already experienced it early on.

  There was indeed a snow-white pigeon perched on the window frame, which was the very window that Pei Tan had just opened.

  Pei Tan gazed at the carrier pigeon, which had come from a thousand miles away and was now perched on the Moon-Watching Pavilion, also a pre-arranged meeting point.

  "Your Excellency, don't you want to take a last look at your son and find out what news he has brought?"

  Zong Chuke stumbled and staggered, a man in black clothes with a long knife cut off the message tube from the leg of the carrier pigeon, opened it carefully and handed it to Zong Chuke.

  Zong Chuke opened the letter and looked at the words that had long since dried: The young master is seriously ill, please hurry to find a famous doctor, come to Wuzhou to see the young master...

  This last piece of news also carries with it a vagueness that is fitting for the end.

  "Since this letter was written, half a month has passed. Your husband has been fleeing for his life, but he still had to die in the end." A man who is destined to die cannot escape death, especially since the Grand Justice Temple has already stamped its golden seal and sentenced him to death.

  Zong Chuke's eyes had lost their focus. He was an old man who had a child late in life, and he was destined for calamity. If you cannot become a saint, then you can only become a demon.