The Imperial City Guard Sets Its Sights on Gongming, the Chief Steward of the Deep Palac

Chapter 140 The Imperial City Guard Sets Its Sights on Gongming, the Chief Steward of the Deep Palace.

Two days later, Song Jiang, along with Tang Long and Yue He, arrived at Tongtian Garden, intending to exchange their passes there!

Tongtian Garden is located in the most prosperous central area of ​​Bianliang. It is four stories high and is said to have been built by Emperor Shenzong with the help of two thousand craftsmen over two months. It is made entirely of the finest stone flooring!

Standing atop Tongtian Garden, the entire city of Bianliang seemed to be beneath one's feet. Kaifeng did not allow buildings to exceed two stories, so Tongtian Garden was the highest place!

The three large, golden characters "Tongtianyuan" were hung in the most eye-catching place. These three characters were actually carved together from gold!

The dazzling gate and antique-style decorations are a constant display of their nobility and wealth!

This place is a veritable den of iniquity, where you can drink and eat, listen to music, and even invite girls to join you!

But the wealthy especially love this place, especially when they bring their concubines or courtesans, find a room to drink, and then naturally, they have a great time!

Every room in Tongtianyuan is furnished with beds and chairs made of the finest wood, the walls are covered with calligraphy and paintings by famous artists, and the cabinets are filled with antiques from various dynasties!

The rarest spices made the whole room feel like it was immersed in a sea of ​​flowers, intoxicating and making people not want to leave!

The ingredients used are all top-quality; they have everything that exists in the world, whether animal or plant. There's nothing they can't get, only things you can't imagine.

Song Jiang ignored the magnificent exterior decorations and walked over to the person who seemed to be entertaining all sorts of people.

Before Song Jiang could get close, a person appeared out of nowhere and blocked his way, saying, "Those who come to Tongtian Garden are either rich or noble; unauthorized persons are not allowed to approach!"

Song Jiang sneered. He really was looking down on people like that, but he couldn't be bothered with such a person!

He said directly, "I'm here to participate in the Qibaoge auction!"

The man looked at Song Jiang. Although his clothes and appearance were not luxurious, he had a unique air about him.

Being able to guard the gate of Tongtian Garden naturally requires exceptional eyesight. He knows that many wealthy and noble people are very low-key and seem ordinary, but their elegant and noble temperament cannot be concealed!

He immediately abandoned his underestimation and said, "In that case, please go to the left!" Anyway, Song Jiang had no money and would be kicked out anyway, so he was too lazy to provoke him and offend someone he shouldn't have!

Song Jiang thought highly of this man; his change of heart was so swift, and his mind was quite astute!

Just as Song Jiang was about to go in, he felt two pairs of eyes staring at him. He glanced at the guerrilla brothers hiding in the crowd not far away!

They didn't react much, but they made a few subtle gestures to tell Song Jiang that he was indeed being watched!

Song Jiang remained calm and casually glanced around. He noticed two people dressed as commoners, but completely out of place with their surroundings, glancing at him from time to time. They were actually from the Imperial City Guard; only they liked to dress like that!

Song Jiang didn't know why the Imperial City Guard had suddenly set its sights on him. If it was because of his meeting with Gao Qiu a few days ago, Song Jiang thought that was complete nonsense!

Unless the Imperial City Guard is bored and has nothing better to do, why would they be monitoring me when I'm neither a high-ranking official nor a wealthy man?

You should know that there aren't that many secret agents in the Imperial City Guard. Wasting time on yourself is a complete waste of time!

However, Song Jiang was always extremely cautious, so being suddenly targeted by the Imperial City Guard was definitely not a good thing!

In a flash, Song Jiang wondered whether to leave directly or ignore the surveillance of the Imperial City Guard and continue into Tongtian Garden!

After hesitating for the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, Song Jiang decided to enter Tongtian Garden. This opportunity was rare, especially since the world had completely deviated from the original storyline, where danger and opportunity coexisted!

Song Jiang was quite certain that if they really had something on him, it wouldn't be the Imperial City Guards watching him, but the Imperial Guards coming to arrest him!

Today is the only day to redeem your admission ticket at the Treasure Pavilion. If you miss it, you'll never have another chance!

Having made up his mind, Song Jiang disregarded the two unbridled gazes and entered Tongtian Garden!

Upon entering Tongtian Garden, someone led Song Jiang to a room. There weren't many people in the room, presumably because everyone who entered the Qibaoge auction house didn't want others to know they had come in!

That's normal. If you really find something good, why worry about others coveting it? As the saying goes, "A common man is innocent, but possessing a treasure is a crime." It's always better to be careful!

A person with a blank expression is sitting in a seat in a room. In front of him is nothing but a table and a pen.

The person in front of me is so ordinary that he would go unnoticed in a crowd!

But this man's eyes were like those of a venomous snake; once he stared at you, it was like being locked onto a target, unable to move!

The man looked at Song Jiang and said in a cold, icy voice, "How many admission tickets do you want?"

Song Jiang glanced at the man and said, "Three!" The people who entered the auction with him were Yue He and Tang Long, while Gongsun Sheng was outside to provide backup.

The man coldly replied, "Thirty thousand taels of gold!" His voice was devoid of any emotion.

Song Jiang nodded and handed a stack of silver notes to the man.

The man counted the items and found there was no shortage of gold or silver. He then placed three black iron tokens on the table and said, "Apply for these tokens at Chenshi (7-9 AM) three days from now to enter Tongtian Garden. If you arrive late, the gold will not be refunded, and you will not be able to enter the auction of rare treasures!"

Song Jiang picked up the plaque and glanced at it briefly. The plaque was neither copper nor iron, and he didn't know what material it was made of, but it felt heavy in his hand and was quite substantial!

The iron plate feels very hard to the touch, with a cool sensation that gives one a very strange feeling that is hard to describe!

Song Jiang didn't say much, put the token in his pocket and left the room!

Outside Tongtian Garden, when the two secret agents from the Imperial City Guard saw Song Jiang come out, one of them quickly left, while the other pretended to be nonchalant but kept staring at Song Jiang!

Song Jiang ignored the spies and quickly left, returning to the inn where he had previously stayed.

Le He and Tang Long were both there. Song Jiang gave them some instructions, and then Le He and Tang Long left the room.

Song Jiang stayed in his room, feeling a strange sensation. It was as if a hidden force was watching him. He didn't know if this force was an enemy, but it was definitely not a friend. Song Jiang thought back to the assassination attempt he had suffered before. If it weren't for Gongsun Sheng, he would probably be dead by now!

But Song Jiang couldn't say exactly where he came from. Although he was a time traveler, he was still a human, not a god, and couldn't possibly know what would happen in advance, especially the changes brought about by the butterfly effect. Song Jiang knew that it was always better to be careful in everything!

Inside the Imperial City, the Imperial City Guard spy who was keeping an eye on Song Jiang was reporting something to two people, who listened with expressionless faces!

After the spy finished reporting, one of them spoke up: "Understood, you can go now! Remember, you mustn't tell anyone about this, or you know the consequences!"

The man shivered, nodded, and retreated tremblingly.

One of them asked, "Steward Yang, what do you think?"

That Chief Steward Yang was the same Chief Steward Yang who met Li Yan deep inside the palace that day!

Steward Yang said with a smile, "Eunuch Li, you've been with us for quite some time now, and we'd like to hear your thoughts!"

Eunuch Li Yan said, "In my opinion, it would be better to send someone to eliminate Song Jiang directly, so as to avenge the day he stole your imperial seal!"

Steward Yang laughed and said, "A mere imperial treasure is nothing to us!"

Li Yan respectfully asked, "Then what does the steward suggest?"

Chief Steward Yang shook his head and said, "If I hadn't had people in the Imperial City Guard that day, I wouldn't have even known that Song Jiang had come to Tokyo. Li Yan, do you know what the duties of the Imperial City Guard are?"

Li Yan certainly knew the duties of the Imperial City Guard, but he was always good at figuring out his superiors' intentions; otherwise, he wouldn't have won Emperor Huizong's favor and eventually become one of the Six Traitors!

He shook his head and said, "This subordinate does not know!"

Steward Yang laughed and scolded, "You're always so shrewd, but today you're actually putting on an act in front of me!"

Li Yan smiled but did not answer. Instead, he bowed respectfully, looking like he was all ears!

Chief Steward Yang said solemnly, "The Imperial City Guard is the Emperor's eyes and ears. They keep track of all the movements of any fourth-rank official, including who they contact and what they do. Depending on the seriousness of the matter, the Imperial City Guard will report everything truthfully to the Emperor!"

Li Yan nodded, looking as if he had just realized something, and said, "I see!"

Seeing Li Yan's shameless act of feigning ignorance, Chief Steward Yang continued, "Our Emperor is magnanimous and forgiving. No matter how much silver his ministers embezzle, how they wrongly judge cases, how they punish the people, or how they impeach each other, it doesn't matter to the Emperor! Do you know why?"

Seeing that Chief Steward Yang had already asked a question, Li Yan could no longer pretend to be ignorant and had no choice but to speak up: "His Majesty can tolerate everything except for the power in his own hands and the throne he sits on!"

Steward Yang nodded in satisfaction and said, "That's exactly right!"

Li Yan didn't understand why Steward Yang was telling him all this, when Steward Yang suddenly spoke up: "Rat!"

A young man appeared in front of Li Yan from the shadows of the room!

Li Yan was shocked. This person was hiding in the shadows and he couldn't even hear a breath. If he wanted to take his life, wouldn't it be a piece of cake!

Seeing Li Yan's surprised expression, Steward Yang laughed and said, "Li Yan, besides Zi Shu showing himself in front of me, you're the first person to have seen what he looks like!"

Li Yan immediately realized that Steward Yang considered him one of his own! He quickly knelt down and said, "Thank you for your kindness, Steward!"

Steward Yang laughed and said, "Get up! There are some things you can know, but if I overhear anything outside that I shouldn't have!"

Steward Yang suddenly became serious and said coldly, "You will suffer a fate far more gruesome than being slowly sliced ​​to death. You know I mean what I say!"

Seeing that the usually smiling and amiable Steward Yang suddenly changed his expression, Li Yan felt a chill run through his body and his legs started to tremble!

Manager Yang smiled again and said, "Don't worry, we treat our own people even better than our own sons!"

Although he knew that Steward Yang could not have a son, Li Yan still kowtowed three times to Steward Yang!

Steward Yang ignored Li Yan and instead said to the young man named Zishu, "Tell me about it!"

Li Yan then looked at the man named Zi Shu. Although the man in front of him was named Zi Shu, he did not look like a rat. He was quite handsome, but he exuded a cold aura. He had probably been hiding in the shadows for a long time.

The rat whispered, "That day, Gao Qiu's adopted son harassed a girl at the inn, but the girl taught him a lesson. Gao Qiu doted on this adopted son and always sent Qiu Yue and Zhou Ang to protect him!"

"These two tried to attack, but were stopped by two others. If it weren't for Song Jiang's intervention, Gao Yanei would have died on the spot!"

Li Yan said regretfully, "It's a pity we didn't kill that dog from the second year of high school."

Manager Yang glanced at Li Yan with a smile and asked, "Have you verified the identities of those people?"

Zishu nodded and said, "According to my investigation, the girl's name is Chen Liqing. She is the only daughter of Chen Xizhen, the commander of Maxing Town. She has been skilled in martial arts since childhood and is a formidable figure in the martial world! As for the two people, they are with Song Jiang. One of them is Bian Xiang, a servant he hired before he arrived in Qinghe County! As for the other person, he should have joined Song Jiang later. Due to time constraints, I cannot find out much more about him yet!"

Chief Steward Yang nodded in satisfaction and continued, "What brings Song Jiang to Tokyo this time?"

Zishu said, "After he came to Tokyo, he has been in close contact with a man named Tang Long! This Tang Long is the cousin of Teacher Xu of the Imperial Golden Spear Class, and he was also a blacksmith under the magistrate of Yan'an."

Manager Yang said, "You may leave!"

The mouse nodded and quickly disappeared from the room, just like a mouse, appearing and disappearing without a trace!

Li Yan was full of questions, but he didn't dare to ask them!

Chief Steward Yang spoke first: "After arriving in Tokyo, Tang Long contacted many craftsmen and also sought out many eunuchs to purchase weapons!"

Li Yan exclaimed in surprise, "Are these eunuchs tired of living? Tang Long is playing with fire and getting burned. Xu Ning isn't even keeping an eye on his cousin!"

Steward Yang laughed and said, "Of course, this was kept from Teacher Xu. I didn't know about it at first either. If Song Jiang hadn't gone to Gao Qiu's residence, I wouldn't have even realized he had come to Dongjing!"

Li Yan said, "Father-in-law, do you mean that Tang Long and Song Jiang are in cahoots, and that Song Jiang is the one who wanted to buy these things?"

Steward Yang didn't answer, but muttered to himself, "Song Jiang is a clerk in Yuncheng, so these things can be investigated clearly. But in the past six months, he hasn't been in Yuncheng County often; instead, he's frequently disappeared. I wonder where he's gone!"

Li Yan asked, "What does Father-in-law mean?"

Steward Yang continued, "There's a very important point: according to Zishu's investigation, after Song Jiang went to Qinghe County, he went to Qingzhou Prefecture to help a man named Hua Rong wipe out the Three Mountains of Qingzhou, and then went to Dongchang Prefecture where he had a fight with a man named Liu Guang!"

Li Yan pondered for a moment and said, "This Song Jiang is no pushover either; he can't stand not stopping for a moment!"

Steward Yang laughed and said, "Not at all! Let me explain Song Jiang to you in detail, and you can take a look!"