Yue Haoyun frowned and said, "Just now, when I realized that those assassins were coming for me, I guessed that they might be the Empress Dowager and Han Lie!"
"Now, no one is more eager for my death than them!"
Yue Haoyun looked up at the nothingness before him, his eyes gleaming with cold light as he spoke word by word, "Zhu Ling! Han Lie! If you can't poison me to death, you'll have to assassinate me! If I continue to endure this, I'd be a coward!"
After saying that, he punched the bed hard.
The Second Prince stood up and walked over to him, patted him gently on the back, and said comfortingly: "With us here and Daxia backing you up, they won't succeed."
At this moment, there was a commotion outside, the sound of carriages clanging and noisy voices, as if some people had entered the inn, and quite a few of them.
Silver Leopard immediately went out to check.
In less than a cup of tea, he returned to report, "Second Prince, Prince Yue, Lord Han, the city guard has arrived with a dozen of his subordinates."
In fact, it stands to reason that whenever the delegation arrives at a place, they should send someone to notify local officials in advance so that the local officials can make preparations in advance.
When the delegation entered the city, they should welcome them with great fanfare.
However, the Second Prince and Han Qingbo did not want to cause too much trouble, so they did not send anyone to inform the public in advance.
When they arrived at Shijiu Fort, the city lord was unaware of the situation. It was not until they checked into the inn that the city lord learned about it from his servants.
Therefore, by the time he and his subordinates hurriedly prepared and arrived in a carriage, the street assassination had already occurred.
As soon as Yin Bao finished his report, the city guards and their entourage arrived outside Yue Haoyun's room.
"The defender of Shijiu Fort wishes to see the two envoys!" A loud male voice came in startlingly.
The second prince responded, "Come in and talk!"
As the door opened, a middle-aged man with a protruding pot belly walked in respectfully, followed by a dozen people.
However, the dozen or so subordinates did not dare to enter the house rashly, and just stood outside the door with their hands hanging down.
The general, the governor of Shijiu City, bowed deeply to the Second Prince and Han Qingbo: "Your humble servant, Liu Jing, the governor of Shijiu Fort, greets the Second Prince and Lord Han!"
The second prince waved his hand: "Get up quickly."
Liu Jing stood up tremblingly, lowering his eyes and saying, "The delegation encountered an assassin right after arriving at Shijiu Fort. I have truly failed in my duty! I beg your Excellencies to punish me!"
"I wonder if anyone in the delegation was injured?"
Han Qingbo said calmly, "Prince Yue and one of his followers were injured. I and the Second Prince are safe and sound."
Liu Chengshou raised his eyes slightly and glanced at Yue Haoyun on the bed, and said in a trembling voice, "I am terrified that Prince Yue was injured on my territory."
The Second Prince glanced at the hunched Liu Chengshou with a look of disdain. "Lord Liu, now is not the time for you to repent. You've arrived just in time. We've captured a man alive. Once the assassin is bandaged, take him back for questioning and investigate his background."
Liu Chengshou quickly responded, "Okay, okay, I'll conduct the interrogation myself, tonight!"
Then, Liu Chengshou's eyes turned and he said, "Second Prince, the Prince of Yue is injured. This inn is simple. Why don't you all stay at my Chengshou Mansion?"
The Second Prince waved his hand: "That's not necessary."
After saying that, he used the excuse that Prince Yue needed to rest and let Liu Chengshou and the others go back first.
Then, the second prince called Golden Tiger and Silver Leopard and gave them some instructions in a low voice.
The Second Prince and Han Qingbo gave some instructions to the guards and then returned to their rooms to rest.
When it was almost midnight, the second prince was sleeping in a daze, when suddenly he was patted twice on the shoulder.
"Who?!" The second prince woke up in shock.
"Your Highness, it's me, Jin Hu!"
After confirming that it was his confidant, the Second Prince relaxed, "What's wrong? Is there something wrong?"
Jin Hu reported, "Shou Liu interrogated him overnight, but the assassin only said he was paid and didn't reveal anything else."
"Shou Liu was afraid the interrogation would be too harsh and he would not be able to withstand it, so he paused it."
"Later, just as Your Highness had predicted, at three o'clock in the morning, two men in black sneaked into the prison, intending to rescue the man alive."
"The people lying in ambush outside jumped out and captured both accomplices."
The Second Prince clapped his hands in delight, "Great!"
Jin Hu continued, "The city guards have already identified the assassins. They are all bandits from Budai Ridge. The injured one is a brother of the two who broke into the prison in the middle of the night."
The Second Prince's eyes lit up and he asked, "Did they tell me who was behind this?"
"When I came to report this to you, the garrison commander Liu Cheng was in the middle of the trial. I'm sure it hasn't finished yet."
The Second Prince waved his hand and said, "That's great. I'll go over and take a look too."
After saying that, the second prince called Han Qingbo and took him to the prison of the city defense office.
Inside the city guard's prison, two men in black had their hands and feet tied with iron chains, their bodies covered with dense whip marks.
Liu Chengshou leaned back on the armchair opposite him, yawning, "Hurry up, tell us everything! You'll suffer less!"
The second prince and Han Qingbo came in at this time.
When Liu Chengshou saw the two men, he hurriedly stood up and saluted like a pug. "My two envoys, it's so late at night, I can interrogate them. Why did you come in person?"
The second prince ignored him and sat directly on Liu Chengshou's armchair. He picked up the interrogation record on the table, glanced through it, and then handed the record to Han Qingbo to read.
"Master Liu, please take a break first. Let's examine this case together."
Liu Chengshou nodded and stood aside.
The Second Prince looked at the two men in black and said to the older one, "Wang Dahai! Who hired you?"
Wang Dahai glanced at the second prince, turned his face away, and said nothing.
The Second Prince didn't think twice and continued, "Your target is the great prince of Dai Viet. I bet the reward is going to be astronomical!"
"Without a hundred thousand taels of silver, you brothers wouldn't take this risk, would you?"
As soon as the Second Prince finished speaking, the younger man in black next to Wang Dahai suddenly raised his head, a look of shock on his face: "What? Are you saying that's the Great Prince of Dayue?!"
He was so shocked that his voice was a little hoarse.
The Second Prince smiled and nodded, "Exactly. The tall man you assassinated on the street today was named Yue Haoyun. He is the eldest brother of the current Emperor of Great Yue, a dignified prince!"
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