"A close call?" Zhao Ji smiled bitterly. "If even hanging by a thread is considered safe, then there would be no danger in the world... My son, the assassin is on my neck, the knife is slicing across my cheek. Do you think it's dangerous?"
"Ah!" Zhao Kai shuddered. "Where are the guards and the others? Aren't they with Father?"
"The guards were all crippled. Liang Shicheng, Wang Fu, and Gao Qiu were all knocked down. If it weren't for Zhang Shixun, I would be dead!"
"Zhang Shixun? Who is he?"
"A commoner, quite brave, fought off two assassins alone, remaining unscathed. He ultimately defeated them. But just as he was chasing the assassins, another skinny assassin entered the room through the window. Caught off guard, he was straddled by my neck..."
Zhao Ji couldn't help but twitch his face when he said this. "This assassin is threatening me with a sharp knife. He is extremely arrogant."
"You thief deserves to die!" Zhao Kai couldn't help but curse.
The father and son were filled with righteous indignation and cursed the assassin harshly.
After calming down, Zhao Kai noticed something strange: "Father, the assassin doesn't seem to want to kill you."
Zhao Ji was stunned: "What do you mean?"
"Father, think about it. If an assassin really wanted to kill you, they wouldn't ride on your neck, let alone wield a knife while riding on your neck."
"That's true."
Zhao Ji carefully recalled the details of last night. Just as Zhao Kai said, the assassin had at least several chances to kill him. One was when Li Kui pulled his beard, and the other was when Shi Qian sneaked in from the window.
He clearly remembered that Li Kui was holding two axes in his hands. When Li Kui rushed in front of him, he deliberately handed the axe in his right hand to his left hand, freeing his right hand to pull his beard.
The son was right. If he wanted to kill someone, he could have killed himself with a single blow of the axe.
As for Shi Qian, the flea on the drum, he has more opportunities to kill himself.
"Hiss..." Zhao Ji took a breath, "Third brother, maybe what you said is true. These villains don't want to kill me, they just want to humiliate me."
"That's intriguing." Zhao Kai was secretly pleased to see his father agree with his opinion. "I've heard that some rebels only oppose corrupt officials and not the emperor. Perhaps these rebels are just that kind of people."
"Only against corrupt officials, not against the emperor?" Zhao Ji savored this sentence.
"Some people, driven to desperation by corrupt officials, raise the flag of rebellion. They hate those corrupt officials and want to kill them immediately, but they don't actually want to rebel. That's why there's the saying 'Only oppose corrupt officials, not the emperor.' Father, these rebels can be divided and divided..."
Zhao Ji waved his hand and stopped them, saying, "Third brother, these words are fine to say here, but you must not spread them outside. Anyone who rebels, no matter what slogans they shout, is a traitor to the Song Dynasty and must be killed without mercy!"
Zhao Kai bowed and said, "I understand, but I dare not tell anyone. Don't worry, father."
"Well! Go ahead and urge Nie Shan to handle the case properly and bring these traitors to justice as soon as possible."
Zhao Kai agreed and went.
Zhao Ji looked at his son's back and nodded slightly.
He was quite satisfied with his son.
Among all his sons, the third prince is the most like him. He is smart and clever, proficient in music, chess, calligraphy and painting, and has great literary talent. He even made it to the palace examination and almost won the top spot.
As for Crown Prince Zhao Huan, Zhao Ji shook his head secretly when he thought of him.
This boy is too dull and lacks spirituality, not at all like his father, the emperor.
Deep down, Zhao Ji did not want to pass the throne to the crown prince.
"Let's talk about it later. I'm still in my prime and can put this matter aside." Zhao Ji was thinking about his worries while stroking his beard out of habit. Halfway through, he remembered that his beard was gone, and he couldn't help but feel angry.
…
When Zhang Shixun returned home, Ding Dusai was sitting in the living room waiting for him.
"Sir, are you okay?" Seeing Zhang Shixun coming back, Ding Dusai hurried out to greet him.
"I'm fine. I'm alive and well, unharmed." Zhang Shixun carefully examined Ding Dusai's complexion and asked with concern, "I didn't scare you last night, did I?"
"No, it's not directed at me, I'm not afraid."
"Where are Li Shishi and the others?"
"Everyone was a little frightened, but everything's fine." Ding Dusai saw the ashes on his face and took out a handkerchief to wipe his face, laughing as he did so: "Sun Sansi was the happiest last night."
Zhang Shixun also smiled: "If she knew the other news, she would be even happier."
"What news?"
"This... let's not talk about it." Zhang Shixun smiled mischievously, "Everyone in the capital will know it tomorrow."
It's embarrassing to say this to Ding Dusai.
Ding Dusai didn't care and said, "Besides Sun Sansi, there is another happy person."
"who?"
"Sister Li."
"she?"
"Yes." Ding Dusai finished wiping his face and took a closer look. Seeing that it was clean, he said, "The emperor had his beard pulled out by that Li Kui. I saw Sister Li turning her face away and laughing secretly."
"Haha, the emperor looks like a chicken with its tail pulled out. It's really funny." Zhang Shixun couldn't help laughing when he thought of Zhao Ji's embarrassed look.
"Sir, that's not the case."
"Um?"
"The official had his beard pulled out by thieves. Among us sisters, the one who should least laugh is Sister Li."
Zhang Shixun thought about it and it seemed to be true.
"Sir, I always thought that Sister Li and the official family were good friends and had found their home. However, Sister Li's behavior last night showed that she and the official family were not as close as others imagined."
Zhang Shixun nodded in agreement: "You have a point. If she really loves the emperor, she should be heartbroken to see him having his beard pulled out."
"This isn't Sister Li's fault," Ding Dusai defended Li Shishi. "The emperor is definitely like other stinky men. He only admires Sister Li's beauty and doesn't treat her as a close person... Humph! No man is a good thing, not even the emperor."
"Ahem! Don't lump everyone together." Zhang Shixun felt embarrassed.
Ding Dusai smiled: "Sir, please don't misunderstand me. The men I'm talking about don't include you."
"Am I not a man?"
Ding Dusai stamped his feet and said, "Of course you are a man... Ah! I won't talk to you anymore. I have to go home. I haven't slept all night and I'm almost dead tired."
"I'll take you there." Looking at her pretty pink face, Zhang Shixun felt a little itchy in his heart and wanted to give her a kiss.
"No need for you to send me off. I'll take the sedan back." Ding Dusai walked out, giving him a reproachful look: "Why are you looking at me with such a sneaky look?"
"No, you're seeing things." Zhang Shixun secretly sighed in his heart. Women's intuition is so strong that as soon as he had a thought, she would notice it.
Zhang Shixun sent her to the sedan chair, leaned close to the curtain and whispered, "Think of me more when you have nothing to do."
"Bah! No way."
Zhang Shixun laughed and turned back to the yard.
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