Pei Zi Yun looked up and saw a general around forty years of age. He had a stern expression on his face and was clad in armor. As he ran over, the sound of his armor clanking could be heard.
It wasn't just this person, all the other officers behind him were doing the same.
The soldiers were all clad in dark red paper armor. Looking at the red clouds, they rushed out from the alley and shouted, "Do not move, all of you kneel down."
The Canton Princess was filled with fear. When she heard the shouts of the soldiers, she opened her eyes and looked at the scene.
At this point, the crowd of people who were running away all knelt down in front of the soldiers.
The Canton Princess heaved a sigh of relief. She then realized that she was in Pei Zi Yun's embrace, and her face turned red.
"Kneel down, kneel down."
The surrounding soldiers raised their bows, "Whoever dares to move will be killed without mercy!"
A few of them still wanted to fight, but heard an order, "Shoot!"
The sound of arrows piercing through the air could be heard as a volley of arrows pierced through the crowd of people who were trying to resist. Blood splattered everywhere. The arrows were fired at close range, and the power of the arrows was maximized. Cries of pain could be heard, and the remaining people lost the courage to resist.
Chen Hu still wanted to resist. "Pu!" An arrow pierced through his thigh, and he fell to the ground. Several people rushed forward and held him down.
"Take them all down!" Someone ordered. The remaining general panicked as he took out a piece of paper, crumpled it into a ball, and was about to swallow it!
A nearby officer saw this and slapped him across the face, causing the general's face to swell up. The piece of paper flew out of his hand.
"What happened?" The leader of the generals did not expect something like this to happen. He picked up the piece of paper and looked at it. His face changed, and his hands started trembling.
"It's done!" Pei Zi Yun sighed in relief when he saw this.
Pei Zi Yun looked at the snow falling from the sky, and did not speak for a long time.
Imperial City, Midnight
The snow was everywhere, and the red walls were covered with a layer of silver. The wind howled, and the wind chimes were ringing loudly. The guards and soldiers stood in two rows.
In front of the Hall of Literature, several officials were waiting. They were dressed in official robes, and were discussing the attack on the Crown Prince yesterday.
There was some worry on the faces of these officials. The news had come out in the middle of the night yesterday. They were all important officials, so they could see the crux of the matter at a glance — the two kings fighting for the throne was not a blessing for the imperial court.
At this point, a red-robed eunuch walked out from within the hall, "Prime Minister Liang Yuan Zhi, Grand Secretary Duan Shou and Zou Jin request an audience."
The three of them tidied themselves up and followed the eunuchs inside with ivory tablets in their hands.
As soon as he walked in, he saw the Emperor sitting and looking into the palace hall. It was unknown what he was thinking. Below him was Count Zhongqin, who had a solemn expression on his face.
Prime Minister Liang YuanZhi raised his head slightly and saw that the Emperor's face was a little pale, and his expression was one of anger. Not far away, he threw a memorial on the ground, as if he had lost his temper.
"I called you in for one thing." When the Emperor saw that everyone had gathered, he asked coldly, "Last night, the Crown Prince was attacked by an assassin. Someone sent a message from King Lu, and ordered the generals to bring troops to protect the Crown Prince. This matter has to be clarified."
Hearing the Emperor's question, none of the officials dared to speak. Only the Emperor's coughing could be heard. The Emperor stopped coughing and glanced at them coldly, "Take the note and show it to everyone."
"Yes!" The eunuch passed the note down.
The Crown Prince had been assassinated. Chen Hu, Li An Jun and Lu Sheng had been ordered by King Lu to bring their troops to Sky Road. Chen Hu had even surrounded the Crown Prince to attack him. All the officials knew about this. Now that the Emperor had asked this question, all the officials were sweating profusely, and didn't make a sound.
"How did you all become mute?"
"Count Zhongqin, you're the first to take a look." The Emperor spoke, and all the officials could feel his anger.
Count Zhongqin acknowledged and took the note. Although he had read it twice, he still read it carefully. After a while, he handed it over to Prime Minister Liang Yuan Zhi. When Liang Yuan Zhi received it, his heart was thumping furiously.
"King Lu's message: This matter is urgent. I order you to send ten soldiers to protect the Crown Prince. This is to ensure his safety."
He looked at it several times before he passed it to the other officials without saying a word.
"All of you take a look, take a look. Tell me, is it King Lu who is being reckless? Or is someone trying to sow discord? All of you have to speak. "The Emperor saw that all the officials were silent and spoke out coldly.
Grand Scholar Duan Shou scrutinized the note, "Your Majesty, I've looked at this note several times, and it does seem to be written by King Lu himself. However, King Lu has been a King for a long time, and has been in charge of military affairs for many years. His handwriting has spread far and wide, and could be easily forged. Hence, I dare not say for sure."
Grand Scholar Zou Jin shook his head, "This handwriting seems to be the same, but not the same. It's only the shape, but not the spirit. It's not King Lu's handwriting, and can't be used to convict King Lu. Your Majesty, please reconsider!"
The Emperor didn't comment further, but turned to look at the Prime Minister, "My beloved subject, what do you think?"
Hearing the Emperor's words, Liang Yuan Zhi glanced at the Emperor before he lowered his head and spoke, "Your Majesty, let's not talk about whether this is true or not. This could be a ploy by a villain, or it could be a handwriting. However, the most urgent matter now isn't this. It's the assassination of the Crown Prince."
"During the Lantern Festival at Sky Road, such a huge incident happened, and everyone was watching. Although there's a ban on this, I'm afraid rumors have already spread. Even the Imperial Court is in a state of unrest."
"When I came over earlier, I saw that some of the officials weren't asleep yet, and were discussing amongst themselves. Although I reprimanded them, it's difficult to stop them."
"We have to quickly quell the effects of this incident."
"The Crown Prince has come out to patrol, and to show that he's fine. King Lu's assassination shouldn't be pursued for now. Although everyone knows about the assassination, they don't know that it has anything to do with King Lu. Hence, we can't announce it to the public."
"Chen Hu, Li An Jun and Lu Sheng, the three generals, disobeyed the imperial edict and brought their troops into Sky Road. This is treason, and must be dealt with swiftly."
Hearing these words, the entire hall fell into a deathly silence. Only the sounds of heavy breathing could be heard.
Count Zhong Qin stepped forward, "Your Majesty, this subject agrees. The Qian Dynasty will soon be in a state of chaos. It's a taboo to deploy troops without permission. The assassination of the Crown Prince and King Lu concerns the future of the country. It's best to keep this under wraps, and deal with it quickly."
"This subject agrees as well." Grand Secretary Duan Shou then spoke out, "Your Majesty, Chen Hu attacked the Crown Prince, and under the watchful eyes of so many people, it's hard to cover up this matter. We have to deal with this matter immediately."
"Li An Jun and Lu Sheng have colluded with Chen Hu. They should be treated as criminals, and should be punished with death."
"But we must not implicate King Lu."
"The Imperial Court has been established, and the Emperor of the dynasty is used to it. If we were to implicate King Lu, the hearts of the people would be uneasy, and this would lead to trouble."
Hearing this, the Emperor nodded his head and issued a decree, "Pass the decree. Suspend the use of King Lu's imperial seal, and shut the doors to reflect on his mistakes. Assign guards to watch over him, and check to see if there's anyone suspicious."
"Count Zhong Qin, you and Grand Secretary Duan Shou shall interrogate the three generals, and conclude this case as soon as possible."
The Emperor spoke as his face flushed red, and he started coughing uncontrollably.
The Prime Minister was waiting for the Emperor to give his orders. The Emperor then spoke to Liang Yuan Zhi, "I haven't been feeling well recently. Follow my instructions and visit the Crown Prince. If he's fine, summon him to the palace for an audience."
"Yes!" Zhao Yuan Zhi understood what was going on and replied loudly.
Everyone retreated out of the room, leaving the Emperor coughing uncontrollably.
The Emperor then sighed, "Don't you think I've been a failure in my life? There are still dozens of military vassals under the heavens. The Crown Prince is too soft, and King Lu is too vicious. Ai, if only one of them was the same person."
The eunuch stood by the side, and didn't speak a word.
King Lu's Mansion, Study
A bookshelf was placed by the side, and was filled with books. Two beast shaped furnaces were burning brightly, and the wind outside was piercing to the bone. At this point, the room was warm and comfortable, just like the orchid painting that was hanging on the wall.
Xie Cheng Dong waved his brush as a eunuch was grinding ink. When he was done, Xie Cheng Dong blew on the ink before handing it over to the eunuch. These few days, Xie Cheng Dong had been plotting against King Lu.
Looking at the article in front of him, Eunuch Liao was shocked, as he thought of Pei Zi Yun.
Pei Zi Yun was a Daoist as well, which was very impressive. He then raised his head to look at Xie Cheng Dong and sighed, 'Could it be that all the talented people under the heavens have gone to Daoist sects?'
He then looked at it carefully, "That's impressive. If this plan of shifting the blame to King Lu succeeds, all the armies under the heavens will be under King Lu's command."
Xie Cheng Dong laughed, "Actually, I'm just borrowing from Yang Lue. There's a saying, 'The Emperor is always good. Bad people are always surrounded by bad people.'"
"The Emperor has decided to remove the military power from the cities, and all the generals under the heavens are gnashing their teeth in fear. This rumor seems to be directed towards the Crown Prince, but in actual fact, it's King Lu who has expressed his support for them."
"When you fall into the river, you won't even let go of a single straw of hope. What's more, it's King Lu's boat?"
"Everyone who knows there's a problem will respond to King Lu."
"The Emperor's health isn't good. It would be best if King Lu could take over the Crown Prince position. If not, we would have to rely on these military towns."
However, if that was the case, it would be difficult to flatten these military towns one by one. Da Xu's population would be halved in three hundred years, but this was not important to Xie Chengdong.
All he had to do was to borrow the Dragon Energy to break through to the Earth Immortal Stage.
Just as he was thinking about this, Xie Cheng Dong's blood started to boil as his hair stood on end. His heart started to race, as though something bad was about to happen. He knew something wasn't right.
At this point in time, he was in King Lu's palace and couldn't use any Daoist arts. He then started meditating and closed his eyes. When he looked at himself, he realized that he was surrounded by a thick layer of black Qi.
"Calamity Qi?" Xie Cheng Dong knew that something was wrong. He then said, "Eunuch, please take care of this memorial. I have to go to the monastery once more to pass on some instructions."
Eunuch Liao looked at Xie Cheng Dong and was surprised, "It's the middle of the night and you're going out?"
He felt that these Daoists were acting weird, but he didn't suspect anything. He then laughed, "Young Master, please go. This is the token that allows you to leave. Take it and return it to me when you return tomorrow. If not, you won't be able to leave. I shall take care of this memorial now and pass it to King Lu."
Xie Cheng Dong received it and bowed before turning around to leave.
When he walked out, he saw that it was snowing heavily. He noticed that the door had been sealed, and a lantern was hanging from the eaves. As he walked along the road, he noticed that there were black robed guards standing guard every few steps. They were all armed with a halberd and a bow.
When he reached this point, Xie Cheng Dong squinted his eyes and frowned. He glanced at the lantern behind him before he walked out. Indeed, when he reached the door, he was stopped.
At this point, the sky was already bright. From afar, he could see four guards standing at the door. The door wasn't open yet. One of the guards looked at him and smiled, "So it's young master Xie. There's no reason for me not to trust you. However, there's a rule to open the door. Young Master Xie, you just have to wait for two hours."
"I'm under orders. It's an urgent matter. Take a look at this token." Although Xie Cheng Dong was anxious, he was calm and collected. He then retrieved a golden token.
Under the light of the lantern, the token gleamed coldly. When the guard saw it, he hurriedly replied, "Then I shall open it immediately. However, it can only be the side door."
Xie Cheng Dong nodded his head as a gust of wind blew past him. He couldn't help but shiver. Seeing that the side door had opened, he then walked out of the door.
The moment he walked out, he felt his entire body relax.
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