Chapter 104: Strike Back

When Zhong Min followed Xiao Mingzheng, Xie Feng and others to check what was going on, they found that a large number of officers and soldiers had indeed rushed in without any scruples. Not to mention the servants serving in the official residence, even Xiao Mingzheng's guards could not stop them. Judging from their posture, it seemed that they had come with ill intentions.

"How dare you! Prince Mu is here! Who dares to make such a noise?" Xie Feng shouted, scolding the officers and soldiers who had clearly seen Xiao Mingzheng but still had no intention of stopping and were rushing towards them. "Anyone who dares to disrespect the prince and dares to take a step forward will be killed!"

The people below finally stopped. One of the leading generals, seeing this, clasped his fists towards Xiao Mingzheng and said, "Prince Mu, I am the Deputy Commander of the Left Army of the Jingzhao West City Defense Army. I have been ordered by General Lu to apprehend the assassin and take over all security for Your Highness while in the capital. Just now, Your Highness's attendants refused to let me through, so I forced my way in. Please forgive me for any offense!"

"Capture the assassin? General Lu is quite well-informed. He learned about my assassination attempt so quickly." Xiao Mingzheng said expressionlessly, "Could it be that General Lu got the news long ago?"

"This..." The deputy commander lowered his head when he saw Xiao Mingzheng's unfriendly expression. "Your Highness has misunderstood. General Lu just learned about it, so he immediately sent me to bring people to protect you."

"Even if you just found out, how could you come so quickly? If you knew in advance, you would be too slow. What went wrong? If you can't explain it clearly to me, then take your people and leave here immediately. I don't need a bunch of trash to protect me!" Xiao Mingzheng was full of domineering power. He swept his eyes coldly over the people below. The natural king's aura made everyone dare not make a sound.

The deputy commander was already apprehensive. Deep down, he hadn't wanted to take on this mission, but there was nothing he could do. Who was this King Mu? Even if he was alone in the capital, the 100,000 elite soldiers of Northwestern Muzhou were no idlers. If he offended this lord in the slightest, he would be killed, and the others would not let him go.

"Your Highness, please calm down. I am only following orders. Your Highness is of a very high esteem and distinguished status. General Lu was concerned for your safety during your visit to the capital, so he stationed troops not far from your residence early this morning. Fearing your Highness would be concerned, I did not inform you beforehand," the deputy commander said cautiously. "I am sorry that I was late in coming to your aid and frightened you. I beg your forgiveness."

"I will not pursue today's matter any further. I will just tell Lu Yu that he doesn't need to worry about my safety. As for where you came from and where you are going back to, I don't want to tell you for the third time!" Xiao Mingzheng said with anger, and turned around and left.

Seeing this, Zhong Min winked at Xie Feng beside him, and then followed him in.

The deputy commander was at a loss for a moment when he saw this. He looked at his subordinates on both sides and saw that they all looked confused and cautious, which made him even more hesitant.

He knew Prince Mu's temper to some degree, and if he didn't withdraw his men after Prince Mu's adamant refusal, he would surely offend his master. General Lu's intentions, though unspoken, were clear to him. He simply wanted to use tonight's incident to have the soldiers openly place Prince Mu under house arrest. Of course, this wasn't Lu's own idea; it must have been orchestrated by the court.

But Lu Yu, this cunning man, chose not to take the normal route and force his way in, but instead chose this very moment to bring his men on this mission. His intentions were obvious. It was likely that Lu Yu didn't dare to confront Prince Mu directly, but he also didn't dare to openly disobey the court's wishes, so he compromised. If it succeeded, it would succeed; if it didn't, it would be fine. After all, the responsibility would be placed on Prince Mu, and it wouldn't be Lu Yu's turn to blame him.

Thinking of this, the deputy commander didn't dare to do anything anymore. Seeing Xie Feng staring at him with his eyes wide open, the warning was obvious. He was even more frightened for a moment. He quickly smiled twice, then waved to his subordinates behind him, signaling them to pack up, and left quickly with his men.

"Your Highness, those bastards are gone!" Xie Feng came in to report with a cheerful look on his face. He felt so relieved when he saw the scoundrels on those people's faces. "A bunch of bad-intentioned people actually want to bully our Prince Mu's Mansion. Who can't see their little tricks? They just want to control..."

"Alright, big brother, don't be too happy. This matter is not as simple as it seems." Zhong Min interrupted Xie Feng and turned to Xiao Mingzheng, who looked thoughtful. "Your Highness, in my opinion, these officers and soldiers would never dare to take such a move without the court's authorization. But they evacuated so easily, which only proves that the matter is not so simple."

Xiao Mingzheng finally raised his head from deep thought, looked at Zhong Min, and said in a deep voice: "You are right, this is just a test."

"Test? What does Your Majesty mean? I am stupid and really can't figure it out." Xie Feng was confused when he heard it.

"No need to ask too much, you just need to do your own thing, and everything will be clear after the empress dowager's birthday." Xiao Mingzheng did not say much. In fact, this was just the emperor's usual practice. He just wanted to see how tough he was now.

Seeing Xie Feng still looking confused and unable to understand, Zhong Min couldn't bear it, so she kindly explained, "You still can't tell. This must be the Emperor testing the prince's strength. The prince was so strong today, the Emperor must be worried, thinking that the prince has a trump card, which is why he is so confident. In comparison, the Emperor will not dare to think of making trouble openly from now on, and will adopt more covert means."

After hearing Zhong Min's explanation, Xiao Mingzheng neither confirmed nor denied it, but only showed a slight approval. Xie Feng finally reacted after Zhong Min's reminder and said repeatedly, "Now I know what to do. Please rest assured, Your Highness. No matter how great the price, I will ensure your safe return to Muzhou!"

Seeing this, Xiao Mingzheng nodded slightly, then took out a jade pendant from his body and handed it to Xie Feng, saying: "Send someone secretly to Yanyun Town, 30 miles outside the capital, and hand this item to the owner of Caoshan Medicine Hall in the town. Tell him that the wind has started!"

Xie Feng naturally didn't understand what kind of medicine Xiao Mingzheng was selling, but he knew what he could ask about and what he couldn't ask about, so he didn't say anything more. He quickly took the jade pendant and went out to make arrangements.

Zhong Min had a vague idea, believing this was a pre-emptive move by Xiao Mingzheng, designed to prevent the court's actions. However, none of this directly connected to external defenses, so she didn't ask too much. She would know the answer naturally, so there was no need to be overly curious.

After being busy for so long, it was finally quiet again. Xiao Mingzheng had returned to his place to rest, and Zhong Min also returned to bed to have a good sleep.

After this incident, the days that followed were relatively peaceful. No further traces of the assassins were seen until the Empress Dowager's birthday banquet. However, Zhong Min knew that the more this happened, the more it signaled a crisis. The calm before the storm is often more terrifying than the rest.

After the birthday banquet officially concluded, Xiao Mingzheng proposed returning to Muzhou. Although he knew it was impossible to get the emperor's permission so quickly, he still had to go through all the necessary procedures. As expected, the emperor enthusiastically invited Xiao Mingzheng to stay in the capital for a while longer, as a show of royal brotherhood.

According to the timeline, Luo Jiaxing's urgent report would arrive in a day or two at the latest. By then, the emperor, under pressure, would have no reason to force him to stay. Therefore, Xiao Mingzheng didn't bother trying to argue with the emperor. He simply agreed and waited and watched to see what tricks the emperor or anyone else who wanted his life would come up with in the next few days.

After leaving the palace, Xiao Mingzheng received an invitation from his third uncle, Prince Xiao, inviting him to attend today's dinner. The third uncle was now in his sixties and was quite prestigious among the royal elders. Therefore, Xiao Mingzheng naturally could not ignore the invitation of the third uncle like he would other powerful invitations.

However, this Third Imperial Uncle had always been close to the Emperor. Before the Emperor ascended the throne, he and the current Empress Dowager had worked together to clear obstacles for him. Furthermore, he had always harbored hostility towards Prince Mu, who was nearly ten years younger than the Emperor. If it weren't for his manipulation, Xiao Mingzheng wouldn't have joined the army at such a young age. However, it was precisely because of these hardships and training that Xiao Mingzheng became the formidable force he is today.

After Zhong Min listened to Xie Feng's brief account of Prince Xiao's situation, she immediately understood that tonight's banquet was anything but ordinary. Although it was Prince Xiao who was present, the old prince was already aligned with the emperor, and presumably had no good intentions. Xiao Mingzheng was likely attending another Hongmen Banquet tonight.

Fortunately, everything was as expected. She didn't have any major worries. After clumsily helping Xiao Mingzheng change his clothes, the group set off for Prince Xiao's mansion.

When I got there, I realized that there were quite a few people attending the dinner. From kings and nobles to dignitaries, almost all the important people in the capital were there.

There was no special name for Prince Xiao's banquet this time, and the person who sent the invitation made it clear that the old emperor's uncle liked lively occasions, and he took the opportunity of celebrating the empress dowager's birthday to invite everyone to gather at his house and strengthen their relationship.

Although there wasn't any particular reason, no one would deny the honor, so everyone showed up in great numbers, making it seem quite lively. Compared to the Empress Dowager's birthday banquet yesterday, while the scene wasn't as grand, almost everyone who was supposed to be there was there.