Chapter 102 A Plan to Assassinate the Emperor En route
Ning Jinli recognized the voice as that of General Duan Wu, who was blocking people from entering the temple.
However, the voice of the person who was stopped was unfamiliar, and he clearly did not take Duan Wu seriously, referring to himself as "sir," indicating that he was not of ordinary status.
Ning Jinli immediately went to the cave entrance and looked out.
Two groups of people were gathered outside.
One group consisted of Duan Wu leading a dozen or so soldiers.
The other group was led by a man in official robes, accompanied by several guards.
At the command of the man in official robes, his guards drew their bronze swords in unison, ready to take Duan Wu's head.
"Lord Liu, you are so impressive!" Xiao Qidi's voice suddenly rang out.
The crowd was arguing fiercely when they heard the noise and all turned to look at the cave entrance.
"Your Majesty! Fairy!" Duan Wu and his soldiers were overjoyed.
It has been almost a month since Your Majesty left without saying goodbye.
No one knows his whereabouts.
Moreover, the fairy did not appear during this period.
This situation is very similar to the last time, so everyone thought that it was the same as last time, that the emperor had gone to the immortal realm with the fairy, and that he might return at any time.
I didn't expect it to take so long this time.
The official, addressed as Lord Liu by Xiao Qidi, quickly bowed and greeted His Majesty, then glanced at Ning Jinli.
"Who is this person?" Ning Jinli asked softly.
Xiao Qidi said, "An official in the royal city, one of the Empress Dowager's people."
"Why are you making such a racket here?" Xiao Qidi swept his gaze across the crowd.
Just as Lord Liu was about to speak, Xiao Qidi beckoned to Duan Wu.
Duan Wu immediately ran to Xiao Qidi and explained the situation.
It turned out that Lord Liu had come on the orders of the Empress Dowager. Duan Wu did not want him to know the current situation here, so he blocked him outside Linxian Village from the beginning, hoping to delay until the emperor returned to make a decision.
As a result, Lord Liu insisted on forcing his way in.
Duan Wu, mindful of the other party's status, could only negotiate before allowing them to bring in a few guards. He then planned to find a place for them to stay and not wander off.
But Duan Wu, a military general, was nowhere near as shrewd or eloquent as Lord Liu, a civil official of the imperial court.
On the way in with his men, Lord Liu managed to extract some information from him through casual conversation.
Lord Liu not only learned that a fairy named Jinli had emerged in Linxian Village, whom everyone worshipped.
Duan Wu also let slip that the emperor had gone to the celestial realm with the fairy and was not currently here.
So Lord Liu insisted on going to the Fairy Temple to take a look.
How could Duan Wu possibly agree to such an important location?
Therefore, the two sides just had a conflict.
Fortunately, Xiao Qidi appeared; otherwise, it's hard to say how things would have ended.
"Lord Liu, what brings you here, Empress Dowager?" Xiao Qidi asked as he approached Lord Liu.
Lord Liu bowed and replied, "Your Majesty, it is because Your Majesty has been away from the capital for too long that the Empress Dowager misses you very much, so she sent me here to invite you back."
“It’s time to go back… I miss Mother very much,” Xiao Qidi said with a meaningful look in his eyes. “Alright, wait for me outside the village. I will pack up a bit and we will return to the capital together tomorrow.”
A look of delight appeared in Lord Liu's eyes. "Yes, sir!"
Subsequently, Xiao Qidi ordered his soldiers to escort these people out of the village.
"Are these people really just here to take you back to the capital?" Ning Jinli wondered suspiciously as she watched them leave.
Xiao Qidi said calmly, "In any case, I really should go back."
"Should I come with you?" Ning Jinli asked.
Xiao Qidi shook his head. "No, I can't let you be in danger."
Ning Jinli asked again, "Are you planning to go back and do something?"
Xiao Qidi slowly exhaled a breath of sullen air, a cold glint flashing in his eyes. "Perhaps, I'm not really sure either."
Ning Jinli said softly, "Then I'll prepare some things for you to protect yourself. Please be careful."
The coldness in Xiao Qidi's eyes was replaced by tenderness. "Okay, thank you for your hard work."
——
The next morning.
Xiao Qidi set off, accompanied only by General Li Yao and no other soldiers.
Duan Wu didn't understand this at all.
Although a portion of the Xuanjia Army was led by Qi Zhan to annihilate the Sha Yue Kingdom, there was still a portion at Xitun Pass. At least several dozen could be selected to accompany and protect them.
Why did Your Majesty bring only one person with you?
But since it was the emperor's will, Duan Wu couldn't interfere.
At the entrance of Linxian Village, Xiao Qidi and Li Yao each rode a horse toward the place where Lord Liu was waiting.
Both of them were dressed in ordinary clothes, but under their outer garments, they wore a set of the latest close-fitting protective suits provided by Ning Jinli, and there were also special forces daggers hidden in their boots.
Because Li Yao was skilled in archery, Ning Jinli prepared a modern repeating crossbow for him.
In addition to these, Ning Jinli also gave Xiao Qidi a new cell phone, because his previous phone had been lost when he fell into the Eagle Falling Gorge.
Ning Jinli had downloaded some documents onto the phone she gave him, so he could take a good look at them on his way back to the capital.
Xiao Qidi has already learned modern writing and has no difficulty reading.
These documents are historical records, documenting key events from the year Xiao Qidi was born, through the establishment of the unified Xuan Dynasty in the Central Plains, to its eventual demise.
Xiao Qidi and Li Yao rode their horses to the edge of the village and met up with Lord Liu's group.
The entire group consisted of more than thirty people, and apart from Lord Liu, the rest were all armed guards.
"Your Majesty, the journey is long. Please take my carriage," Lord Liu said politely, standing in front of a carriage.
"No need, I'm used to riding a horse." Xiao Qidi didn't even glance at the carriage and walked straight to the front of the group.
Lord Liu then took his captain of guards and they all got into the carriage.
The procession slowly set off.
Lord Liu lifted the curtain a crack, glanced at the backs of Xiao Qidi and Li Yao in the distance, then lowered the curtain and said to the captain of the guards, "Xiao Qidi actually only brought one attendant. It's truly a stroke of luck."
The captain of the guard nodded. "It will be much easier for us to take action then."
Lord Liu looked smug. “I didn’t expect that the men the Marquis sent to deal with Xiao Qidi would all disappear without a trace. They probably fled to save themselves because of the drought and famine and the harsh conditions. I should thank them for leaving me such a good opportunity to make a contribution.”
"My lord, we must not be careless," the guard warned. "Xiao Qidi was able to come to this remote place all by himself, which shows that he is no ordinary person."
Lord Liu laughed and said, "Why do you boost the enemy's morale and diminish your own? He doesn't suspect me at all, otherwise, why would he only bring one attendant? And he didn't even bring any weapons. Besides, he only knows that I am the Empress Dowager's person, how would he know that we are all retainers of the Marquis of Le'an? In addition, there are more than thirty of us, there is absolutely no possibility of failure!"
Seeing that Lord Liu's words made sense, the captain of the guards said no more.
The group walked until nightfall, and the surrounding area was still desolate.
Lord Liu then suggested that they rest on the spot.
Xiao Qidi agreed, but instead of staying with the group, he and Li Yao found a spot a little further away from the group, lit a campfire, and ate dry rations while looking at historical materials on their phones.
Li Yao, on the other hand, observed the movements of the group without making a sound.
Night was falling.
Apart from the few guards on duty, everyone else in Lord Liu's carriage party was asleep.
The wilderness was especially quiet; due to the extreme drought, there wasn't even the sound of insects chirping, only the crackling of burning firewood.
"Hmm? So he's one of Marquis Le'an's men?" Xiao Qidi muttered.
Li Yao asked in a low voice, "What did you say, Your Majesty?"
Xiao Qidi waved his hand, "I'll tell you after I finish reading this part."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Xiao Qidi had already seen the historical records of the Marquis of Le'an launching an assassination rebellion.
One of the people mentioned was a man named Liu Chang.
This person was a retainer secretly cultivated by the Marquis of Le'an. After entering the court as an official, he joined the Empress Dowager's faction, but in reality, he was completely obedient to the Marquis of Le'an.
Liu Chang was the main planner of the rebellion that launched the assassination attempt on Xiao Qidi.
And this Liu Chang is none other than Lord Liu.
Xiao Qidi turned off his phone, rubbed the bridge of his nose, looked up at the stars in the night sky, and quickly thought about it.
That period of history did happen in the parallel universe where Ning Jinli lived.
Based on the secret history, the rebellion occurred after the person in that world became a human stick and was replaced by a puppet.
Marquis Le'an was likely unaware of this, and did not know that the reigning monarch was an imposter. He even harbored the delusion of eliminating the monarch and supporting a new king in the future.
Of course, with his counterpart in that other world providing advice to the puppet, Marquis Le'an ultimately failed.
He ended up being torn apart by five horses.
"Marquis of Le'an..." Xiao Qidi sneered and murmured, "In this world, I won't let you live long enough to launch a rebellion."
Xiao Qidi called out softly, "General Li."
"Your subordinate is here," Li Yao replied.
Xiao Qidi's thin lips moved slightly, "Bring Liu Chang here, and kill the rest of them."
"Yes, sir!"
Li Yao took out a repeating crossbow from the pack on his back and strode towards the carriage procession.
Xiao Qidi sat by the fire, resting his chin on his hand and closing his eyes to relax.
Soon, shouts and angry rebukes came from the carriage procession not far away, followed by the sounds of a noisy fight.
Before long, the sound of begging for mercy rang out again.
After a while, things returned to calm.
Xiao Qidi heard footsteps approaching and slowly opened his eyes.
Then they saw Li Yao grab Liu Chang by the back of his collar and drag him over like a dead dog.
"Are you injured?" Xiao Qidi glanced at General Li, whose face was covered in blood.
Li Yao raised his hand to wipe his face, his eyes still filled with a hint of murderous intent and excitement. "Your Majesty, this humble general is unharmed, but this Lord Liu broke his leg when he tried to escape."
"Your Majesty... why... why did you do this?" Liu Chang lay on the ground, his face pale and his whole body trembling.
His mind was filled with extreme fear and shock, and he couldn't even feel the pain of his broken leg.
More than thirty guards...
Including the captain of the guard, they were all assassins secretly raised by Marquis Le'an.
And just like that, he was caught completely off guard and killed by Li Yao all by himself!
At first, about half of them died in their sleep.
Sensing the danger, the guards quickly engaged Li Yao in battle.
He was standing next to Li Yao, cursing him out.
But he soon found himself unable to continue cursing.
Li Yao, wielding a strange weapon that could fire short, sharp arrows in succession in one hand and a palm-sized knife in the other, slaughtered about twenty guards without any chance of resistance!
The guards' bronze blades struck him, but only managed to tear his outer garments, failing to harm his flesh in the slightest.
But his arrows and daggers could easily pierce through the guards' soft armor.
Even that seemingly ordinary and unremarkable knife could break the guards' long swords!
And so, not a single one of the thirty-odd guards survived...
"Don't you know why I did this?" Xiao Qidi stood up and walked up to Liu Chang.
Liu Chang's eyes were filled with terror, "Your Majesty... Your Majesty did not know..."
Xiao Qidi sneered, "Speak, what is your purpose in coming to take me back this time?"
Liu Chang burst into tears, "I came here on the Empress Dowager's orders! I did not lie to you!"
Pfft!
Li Yao plunged a knife directly into Liu Chang's thigh.
"Ah!" Liu Chang let out a bloodcurdling scream like a pig being slaughtered.
Li Yao did not stop there, but instead gripped the hilt of the knife and slowly pulled it back.
"Stop...stop!" Liu Chang couldn't bear the excruciating pain any longer. "I'll talk...I'll tell you everything! We...we planned to assassinate the king on the way...and when we returned to the capital, we would announce that the king had met with an accident."
"Who ordered this?" Xiao Qidi's eyes were terrifyingly cold.
Liu Chang's jaw trembled. "Yes, yes... Marquis Le'an."
Xiao Qidi pursed his lips and remained silent for a long time before squeezing out a few words through gritted teeth, "Does the Empress Dowager know?"
Liu Chang shook his head, "I...I...don't know."
Xiao Qidi stepped on his wound.
Liu Chang screamed in agony, "I really don't know!"
Xiao Qidi slowly moved his foot to Liu Chang's neck. Liu Chang begged for mercy and swore that he really didn't know if the Empress Dowager knew.
Crack—
Xiao Qidi stepped down expressionlessly.
Liu Chang's neck was shattered. After struggling a few times in his death throes, he breathed his last.
"Let's go, let's keep going." Xiao Qidi walked towards his mount.
Li Yao asked, "Back to Xitun Pass?"
"No." Xiao Qidi leaped onto his horse. "The Empress Dowager wants to see me, so of course I have to go see her and give her a surprise."
...
A few days later, on a clear morning—
A luxurious carriage sped out of the royal city gates and arrived in another city after a long journey of most of the day.
After entering the city, the carriage went directly to the palace inside the city.
"Greetings, Marquis Le'an!" The servants, maids, and guards outside the palace knelt before the carriage.
The coachman lifted the curtain, and immediately servants climbed into the carriage to get a foothold.
A middle-aged man dressed in a magnificent robe, with rosy lips, white teeth, and handsome features, stepped on the back of a servant, quickly got out of the carriage, and then rushed into the main hall with a face full of excitement.
When the maids inside the palace saw that Marquis Le'an had arrived, they bowed and greeted him respectfully before all of them sensibly withdrew and closed the door.
"Your subject, Marquis Le'an, pays his respects to the Empress Dowager." Marquis Le'an stood in the main hall and bowed to the screen in front of him.
"Lord Le'an, do you know your crime?" A sharp voice rang out from behind the screen.
Marquis Le'an stared at the thin gauze screen, where he could vaguely see a graceful figure reclining on a large chair. He swallowed hard and curled the corners of his mouth. "If I am guilty, please punish me, Your Majesty."
"Come here, I'm going to punish you severely."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Marquis Le'an smiled and walked around the screen.
Instantly, a delicate fragrance filled the air.
A pair of long, slender, snow-white, soft, and boneless arms wrapped around his neck, and a pair of red lips pressed against his ear, "Listen carefully, I'm going to punish you... punish you by making you take off my clothes one by one... no hands allowed, only your mouth..."
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