There is a god in the sky

Chapter 420 Blocking

The secret passage from Qianjia Village to the Tong Mansion had been sealed off, so Shen Lan and Li Ye had to find another way to enter the city.

By the time the two arrived at the city gate, it was almost dawn.

The wind was biting cold, and long lines of people waiting to go into the city to sell their goods had formed, each huddled behind others to ward off the chill.

Li Ye ran to the front and showed his token to the guard on the city wall above.

"I am Li Ye, the Deputy Commander of the Imperial City Guard. I am on official business and have important intelligence to report to His Majesty. Open the city gates immediately!"

Li Ye's status is not low, and he even invoked the emperor's name. If he were just an ordinary soldier, he might have really intimidated him.

Shen Lan stared intently upwards and saw a soldier in armor glance down before loudly replying, "The city gates don't open until 3:45 AM. Even if the commander of the Imperial City Guard were to arrive in person, he would still have to wait another 3:45 AM."

"Who is your commander? Call him out."

"It's no use talking to anyone. The higher-ups have given instructions that the door must not be opened until the appointed time."

Li Ye put away the token and said to Shen Lan, "There's nothing we can do but wait for 45 minutes."

"It's alright, a little while won't make a difference."

The two looked at the long line of people behind them and did not walk to the end of the line.

No one will ask them to queue properly.

The sky gradually brightened, and time ticked by; even three-quarters of an hour felt incredibly long.

"The time has come." Li Ye walked to the tightly closed city gate and heard the sound of the gate being opened.

He squeezed through the city gate as soon as it opened a crack, only to be blocked by two guns.

"Vice Commander Li, you cannot enter this door today."

"What do you mean?"

Shen Lan walked up from behind and looked at the soldiers, feeling that they looked familiar.

She asked, "Chief Judge Xiao is right behind us. He ordered the two of us to take the case files to the palace to report back. Are you trying to delay the imperial order?"

Shen Lan took out a scroll and held it up, saying...

The soldiers remained unmoved, still firmly holding their spears.

"We know nothing about the case, nor about any imperial decree; we only obey orders from our superiors."

"Who is your superior...?"

They remained silent and did not answer.

Li Ye remembered that the commander of the Imperial Guard was surnamed Jiang, so he called out, "Then please have your Commander Jiang come over and have a word with us."

The two remained unmoved, saying, "We don't know any Commander Jiang."

Shen Lan stepped forward, frowned, and asked, "Are you from the Pingyang Marquis's residence?"

The soldiers of the Marquis of Pingyang's mansion had a completely different temperament from those of the Imperial Guards.

She had thought these soldiers looked familiar, and it turned out to be because of their menacing aura and fierce eyes.

Li Ye asked in surprise, "Why would it be people from the Marquis of Pingyang's residence guarding the city gate?"

Could it be that something has happened in the palace again?

Surely the emperor can't even hold onto his throne if they're gone for a few days?

"Since Lord Shen has guessed our identities, he must also know that we are acting under orders. Please forgive us."

Shen Lan laughed angrily, "You're only trying to stop the two of us? Or are you going to stop the hundreds of people behind us too?"

She pointed to the anxious people waiting behind her and asked.

The people had no idea what was happening ahead; they only saw that someone had been stopped by the guards, and they dared not force their way forward to urge them on.

"You two can step aside and let the people enter the city."

Li Ye swiftly threw a punch, sending the two guns blocking his way flying, and then punched one of the men in the face.

They were no match for Li Ye, but this was the city gate, and forcibly breaking in would be a serious crime.

Shen Lan thought about many things in those few minutes.

They had no enmity with the Marquis of Pingyang; in fact, they had a good relationship with him.

The reason he could send troops to prevent them from entering the city must be because of Li Ge.

Either they didn't want them to go into the city to rescue people, or they didn't want them to be harmed in the city.

Hundreds of soldiers quickly surrounded the city gate from behind, completely blocking it.

If they want to break through the encirclement, they have to defeat all of them.

Shen Lan and Li Ye may not necessarily lose, but the chaos caused by this battle might cause them to lose their chance to save people.

Shen Lan grabbed Li Ye's arm and whispered, "Don't fight head-on."

"What can we do? We can't even get through the city gates."

"Let's think of another way."

They waited for Xiao Ji outside the city while trying to figure out how to break the deadlock.

Getting into the city is only the first step; the important thing is what to do next.

Since the Marquis of Pingyang could stop them from entering the city, he would naturally be keeping an eye on their every move.

Breaking someone out of prison is already incredibly difficult, and with obstacles in the way, it becomes even more challenging.

"Is the Marquis of Pingyang doing this because he's afraid we'll implicate the Xiao family and the Marquis of Pingyang's mansion?"

Shen Lan thought about it and decided against it.

“The Marquis of Pingyang has no reason to harm us. The fact that he sent people to block us here means that he knows about our relationship with Li Ge.”

Xiao Ji wouldn't specifically tell him, so only Li Ge would do that.

"Li Ge? How could he have known he was going to die? How could he have known what we were going to do?"

“He’s so smart, and he’s in the palace, it’s impossible that he wasn’t aware of the courtiers’ malice. I even suspect that he arranged for us to leave the city.”

Shen Lan thought about it more and more and it made more sense.

In this way, she was able to understand things that she couldn't understand in Tongzhou County.

They were originally driven out of the city by Li Ge, and the Marquis of Pingyang was also trying to stop him, because he didn't want them to enter the city and rescue people.

Thinking about it this way, it becomes clear that this imprisonment was also part of Li Ge's plan.

He really isn't afraid of death.

"I predicted long ago that Li Ge would not be able to escape unscathed from the vortex of the imperial court."

I originally intended to wait until the court was more stable and the ministers were more relaxed before finding an opportunity to have Li Ge fake his death and escape.

"We're not without options. Whether we return to Aoki Prefecture or go to the ends of the earth, we can always escape this place of trouble."

Li Ye clenched his fist. "I don't care, I'll take him back even if I have to."

The sound of horses' hooves came from behind. Shen Lan turned around and saw Xiao Ji leading his men over.

"My lord, Vice Commander Li and I went ahead to scout the way, but we were stopped by the city gate guards and they wouldn't let us into the city."

She had just finished complaining when Xiao Ji saw the Marquis of Pingyang riding out in front of her.

He remained tall and imposing, exuding a powerful aura.

Some people recognized him and brought him gifts, while others knelt down in front of him and kowtowed repeatedly.

The area outside the city gate was vast, but when Marquis Pingyang led his troops out, it seemed as if they were a massive army.

Xiao Ji handed the reins to Shen Lan, then stepped out from the crowd and walked to the Marquis of Pingyang.

"What does Your Excellency mean by this?"

"I didn't mean anything by it, I was just asked to stop them outside the city."

Xiao Ji sneered, "One of them is the deputy commander of the Imperial Guards, personally appointed by the Emperor, and the other is the only female official in the court. Neither of them can be stopped by the Marquis at will."

"Is that so? I had no other intention. If the Emperor blames me, I will take responsibility."

Shen Lan asked directly, "My lord, where exactly is Li Ge now? How does the Emperor intend to execute him?"

Marquis Pingyang coldly uttered a single word: "Death."

"Is death inevitable?"

"Yes."

"There's no chance of survival?"

"It's impossible for him to live. The entire court will not allow it, the students of the city will not allow it, and the Emperor will not allow it either."