Chapter 47 How could you even insult yourself?
"They are all street thugs from various places. They do odd jobs when they have work, and steal when they don't. They are very dishonest."
The long sword that Ke Zhenhai carried at his waist was almost seventeen feet tall, but this deputy general was so tall that the long sword looked like a toy next to him.
"Later, I heard from a beggar that there was a place that was hiring people to do work and that the price was high, so I went there. When I got there, I found that it was not an ordinary job. They all knew in their hearts that it was not a good thing to do, but firstly, the person behind them paid quickly and generously, and secondly, they were not restricted much. Except for strictly prohibiting them from talking about certain things, they were free to do whatever they wanted."
The group walked along the damp floor, surrounded by the sound of dripping water, making it impossible to tell whether it was blood or water.
Seventeen sniffed; the smell of blood filled his nostrils, mingling with the lingering scent of blood from the previous night, making him feel somewhat uncomfortable.
Suddenly, Mingyue stretched out a hand and silently stuffed an object under Seventeen's nose, waving it around before withdrawing her hand.
The sudden movement startled Seventeen, but the bloody smell at the tip of her nose was instantly dispelled, leaving only a faint, sweet fragrance.
He paused, then remembered that this was the scent that often lingered around His Majesty. He never expected... that Brother Yue would carry it with him.
"Those people confessed everything after being scared, but they only knew that the people behind them seemed to be plotting something big and that they were going to be beheaded. They knew nothing else and only followed the orders of the bandit leader."
Ke Zhenhai stopped in his tracks and looked at the cage in front of him.
"Your Highness, we have arrived."
He turned and saluted. Long Zhaoming slowly walked forward. The prison guards had all been replaced by garrison soldiers, who immediately stepped forward and opened the prison door.
As Long Zhaoming entered the prison, a stench of blood mixed with an indescribable smell assaulted his nostrils. Seventeen couldn't help but frown again. Why was this smell even more unpleasant than the smell of blood?
“Raise your head.”
The bandit leader, his hands and feet bound, hung his head, covered in blood, looking as if he had been through a fierce battle the night before.
The man kneeling on the ground remained motionless for a long time, so a soldier came in, grabbed his hair, and pulled him up.
Only then did the Seventeenth Brothers get a clear look at the bandit leader's face.
He had an extremely ordinary and plain appearance, but his eyes held a fierce glint in them, like a wild beast that enjoyed killing for pleasure. Even in this situation, he still maintained that wild and rampant nature.
Long Zhaoming didn't seem to care at all. He lightly flicked the fan in his hand to unfold it and asked, "Where are the weapons hidden?"
The bandit leader had long known that the people who arrested them were not the yamen runners of Fenglin Town, but well-trained garrison troops. When he realized this, he understood that he was doomed.
He knew perfectly well what the other bandits were like. If they were just ordinary bandits, they might have a chance to survive, but what he did was something that would cost him his head.
However, they had still held onto a sliver of hope, but the moment this noble prince spoke of weapons, it meant that they had everything under control.
The bandit leader made a "heh heh" sound, as if his voice was hoarse. Long Zhaoming was puzzled and turned to ask Ke Zhenhai, who was standing next to him, "What did you do to his voice?"
Ke Zhenhai looked bewildered and innocent. He stepped closer and pressed his foot against the bandit leader's neck, right on the bobbing Adam's apple. The sudden stimulation almost made the bandit leader vomit. Cold sweat mixed with blood and dust left several marks on his dirty face.
"Weapons, weapons are here..."
Before he could finish speaking, a gust of wind rushed from behind, grazing Long Zhaoming's neck and piercing straight into the bandit leader's throat, right at his Adam's apple.
All of this happened so suddenly that everyone present was stunned. The bandit leader stared wide-eyed, then leaned back in his half-kneeling position, dying with his eyes wide open.
Seventeen and Mingyue immediately turned around and chased after the direction from which the gust of wind had come, but they were too late. The man's body lay quietly on the ground, lifeless.
Ke Zhenhai walked over with a dark face, checked his breathing, and said in a deep voice, "Dead."
Right under his nose, right under the nose of the King of Huainan, the thief was assassinated. This was a gross dereliction of duty!
Ke Zhenhai turned and knelt before Long Zhaoming, his voice loud but unable to conceal his anger: "It is this humble general's dereliction of duty! Please punish me, Your Highness!"
Long Zhaoming's expression was also not very good. He felt that the person behind him was too bold. He, the Prince of Huainan, was still here! He was going to kill someone to silence him right in front of him!
On second thought, he realized that it was fortunate that he and his elder brother did not actually have a rift, and that his elder brother had always been by his side. If those people had really gotten their way, and the matter had reached Yejing, he would not have been able to explain it to his elder brother!
That's a brilliant two-birds-with-one-stone strategy.
Mingyue and Seventeen ordered the garrison to carry the man's body away so that the coroner could examine it. Then they turned around and asked, "Your Highness, this man must have come to kill the bandits."
Long Zhaoming nodded, his face grim: "You've got some nerve."
After saying that, he flicked his sleeve and left without paying attention to Ke Zhenhai, who was still kneeling on the ground. Mingyue quickly followed. Seventeen looked at Ke Zhenhai and whispered, "His Highness is not angry with you. Get up quickly."
Ke Zhenhai naturally knew that His Highness did not blame him, so he stood up decisively and clasped his hands in a fist salute to the Seventeenth Prince: "This subordinate will definitely investigate this matter thoroughly."
Seventeen paused for a moment and then said, "Let's wait for Your Highness's instructions."
After saying that, he turned around and followed the two who had walked away.
Ke Zhenhai turned around and looked at the soldiers guarding outside the cell with a sinister gaze, and ordered, "Take this man back too. Since they are not afraid of death, let them die in peace."
"And the others, don't let them get away with it either. Get all the information His Highness wants to know!"
The garrison soldiers solemnly accepted the order, and Ke Zhenhai, exuding a menacing aura, left the prison cell.
After Seventeen caught up with Mingyue and His Highness, he followed silently behind, pondering the unexpected situation that might arise today.
Initially, they learned from Xie Qingyan that the Xie family intended to rebel and had separated and hidden their troops, entrusting their weapons to this traitor for safekeeping.
But for some reason, this thief had other ideas. Anyway, he burned, killed, and looted all the way to Fenglin Town, where he colluded with the magistrate of Pu County.
The Xie family was completely unaware that this thief had already harbored ulterior motives. Xie Qingyan was also helping him conceal the truth, all in order to gather evidence and wait for the day when he could bring him to justice.
In that case, the appearance of the person who assassinated the thief is quite strange.
Since the Xie family was unaware of the thief's machinations, they wouldn't send anyone to silence him. Moreover, they were extremely audacious, killing the man right in front of the garrison and even the prince, before immediately committing suicide themselves.
This was the idea of completely burying the location of the weapon.
It's raining.
Long Zhaoming stood at the exit, the drizzling rain and mist outside almost blurring his vision. A gust of cold wind blew in, and Seventeen shrank his neck.
"Your Highness, please wait a moment. I will go back and call someone to come and meet me."
Mingyue walked to his side and said something. Long Zhaoming nodded. At this moment, his mind was already in turmoil with all sorts of emotions, and he had no time to care about his brother's insincere words.
Seeing that Mingyue was about to rush into the rain, Seventeen quickly called out to him, "Brother Yue!"
"I'll go. My lightness skill is better than yours, and I'm faster."
Mingyue did not refuse, but took off his outer robe and draped it over Seventeen. Instantly, that familiar fragrance enveloped Seventeen. He sniffed it and said with a smile, "Why do you still carry a sachet with you? This is just like His Majesty's."
Long Zhaoming had just come to his senses when he heard those words, and he shuddered in fright, staring wide-eyed at Seventeen.
Mingyue remained unmoved: "This is the only one that has a bit of a smell. I thought that since we're in prison today, the smell would be strong, so I'll let it dissipate."
"Brother Yue is very thoughtful."
Seventeen said no more, turned around, put on Mingyue's outer robe, and quickly returned to the inn to call for help. They hadn't brought anything with them when they left, just the three of them.
Hearing the commotion, Xiao Mowen poked his head out and, seeing it was Seventeen, asked, "Does Your Highness need backup? I see it's raining outside, and it's quite heavy."
Seventeen flicked her wet ponytail, took off her outer robe and shook it, saying, "Well, you go first, I'm going to wash up, it feels a bit chilly."
After saying that, he sneezed loudly, rubbed his nose, and shook off the moisture from his body.
Xiao Mowen smiled and said, "Go ahead, I'll take some people to pick them up."
Seeing the pouring rain, the two knew this wasn't the place for a heart-to-heart talk, so they both kept quiet.
Mingyue didn't care. She squatted by the wall and watched the heavy rain pour down. The rain looked like a string of beaded curtains, swaying in the wind.
Unfortunately, such a "beaded curtain" cannot be bought even for a thousand pieces of gold.
Long Zhaoming found it strange, feeling that his elder brother had never been so...inappropriate before. After a moment's thought, he squatted down beside him.
Mingyue glanced at him, her voice cold: "How can Your Highness behave so rudely?"
Long Zhaoming: ?
How can you even insult yourself?
Mingyue snorted coldly and ignored him. Long Zhaoming looked around and, seeing that no one was paying attention to them, leaned closer and whispered, "What's going on between you and Seventeen? You seem to be in a bad mood today."
"Nothing much."
"I don't believe it."
Long Zhaoming had a shameless look on his face, as if he was determined to spread the whole thing around if you didn't tell him.
Mingyue ignored him and just looked at the hazy gray fog outside.
"What exactly happened?"
Long Zhaoming scratched his head, the matter between his elder brother and the Seventeenth Prince was one of the few sources of amusement he had on this journey. Besides, they were all brothers, so what was wrong with sharing it?
Mingyue picked up a small pebble at her feet and tossed it aside. The pebble landed in the grass, and a small, sharp squeak was heard. Soon after, Long Zhaoming saw a large, fat rat scurrying away.
"......"
"It has nothing to do with Seventeen. Doesn't that Xie Qingyan look familiar to you?"
"Hmm?" Long Zhaoming frowned in thought. Xie Qingyan... that delicate and frail face appeared in his mind. Familiar? But he didn't seem to recognize it.
"I don't think he looks familiar...who do you think he resembles?"
"Weekly Order".
Zhou Yueling was the maiden name of Consort Ling, the eldest daughter of the Zhou family. She was as pure and aloof as the moon and was deeply loved by the late emperor after entering the palace.
Long Zhaoming's mind clicked for a moment before returning to the correct position.
"You mean, he is... the biological child?"
"I wonder how many children Zhou Yueling had back then."
Mingyue's tone was indifferent, but her words exploded in Long Zhaoming's ears like thunder. It took him a while to realize that it was a bolt of lightning as white as day, accompanied by a rumbling thunder. It was no joke.
"Your Highness!"
Xiao Mowen's voice came from outside. Long Zhaoming turned his head and saw him holding an umbrella and walking quickly towards them through the rain.
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