Chapter 529 Dragon Roar
Just when the fuse was about to burn through, an anxious voice suddenly shouted:
"Father, be careful! There's something wrong with that salute! It's dangerous, get out of the way!"
The emperor was startled and subconsciously took two steps back.
The commander of the imperial guards, Yan Ning, reacted quickly and immediately led his men to rush forward and protect the emperor as he retreated.
At the same time, the fuse of the first salute gun also burned to the bottom, and a salute shell whizzed into the sky and exploded with a loud bang.
The fuses of the nine cannons are connected. After the first cannon explodes, the fuse continues to burn towards the second cannon.
Almost at the same time as the shout rang out, Xiao Changheng's face changed and he immediately stood up and rushed over.
When the first cannon blasted, there was a commotion at the scene. Everyone looked in the direction where the shout had just come from, only to see that the person who had spoken had already rushed towards the emperor, posing as if to protect him.
It’s Xiao Zirui!
"Father! Please stay away from these salutes! I have found that at least three of the nine salutes have been tampered with. The person behind this must be killed!"
The emperor's face changed, and under the escort of Yan Ning and other imperial guards, he retreated until he maintained a safe distance.
The sudden change frightened everyone else and there was a commotion around.
At this moment, the second cannon was successfully fired, and the salute shell exploded in the air, resounding throughout the world.
The fuse burned toward the third salute gun.
Everyone was staring at the sparking fuse nervously, but Xiao Zirui made a gesture and his guards immediately rushed up and surrounded Xiao Changheng!
Xiao Changheng's eyes turned fierce, and the emperor was startled before he could say anything.
The Emperor spoke first:
"How dare you! What are you doing?!"
Xiao Zirui immediately turned around and bowed:
"Father! Our Daliang's artillery has always been controlled by the Regent, but I discovered that the artillery for this sacrificial ceremony was tampered with. The Regent is of course the first person to be blamed! I am doing this for your safety!"
"I also ask Father to immediately order the arrest of the Regent and conduct a thorough investigation!"
Just as he finished speaking, the third salute shell whistled into the sky and cannon fire roared.
Everyone present was shocked. Although this salute was still launched normally, with Xiao Zirui's words in front, it always gave people the feeling that the other salutes on the ground would explode in the next second.
The emperor was also shocked and shrank his neck. He was a little annoyed and frowned. Just as he was about to speak, Xiao Zirui rushed to say:
"If you don't believe me, wait until these nine cannons are fired and see if anything goes wrong!"
The emperor took a deep breath to calm himself down and said in a deep voice:
"Then let's wait and see! If this doesn't happen, King Rui, you must give me an explanation!"
As he was speaking, the fourth salute shell was launched into the air and exploded. It was another normal one.
Civil and military officials and the people outside began to riot. Everyone's eyes were focused on the remaining five cannons, and they subconsciously stepped back a little, even though they were not actually close to the cannon in the center of the square.
There was no problem firing four consecutive salutes, Xiao Zirui was not in a hurry. He glanced at Xiao Changheng and secretly calculated in his mind.
Of course he was absolutely sure. After all, the simultaneous explosion of three tampered cannons would have the greatest deterrent effect and would most likely scare the emperor and cause him to severely punish the regent!
So the last three gun salutes are the key!
After being surrounded by the guards of Prince Rui's Mansion, Xiao Changheng did not move rashly. He narrowed his eyes slightly and subconsciously glanced in the direction of Yun Qingqing.
Sure enough, she was staring at the salutes and making inconspicuous movements with her hands. Xiao Changheng could tell at a glance that she was secretly making hand gestures.
Seeing that Yun Qingqing's expression did not fluctuate much, Xiao Changheng withdrew his hand from the black jade pendant without saying a word, and just watched Xiao Zirui speak nonsense with cold eyes.
The fifth and sixth ceremonial bombs were launched into the air and exploded one after another.
Seeing that everything was normal, the emperor's face became more and more gloomy:
"Prince Rui, if you are wrong, you'd better apologize to the Regent now! Otherwise..."
Before he finished speaking, the Queen behind him interrupted:
"Your Majesty, the salute has not yet ended, please be patient for now."
The emperor paused, and then said nothing more.
"Don't worry, father. We will soon know whether what I said is true or not!" Xiao Zirui said impatiently when he saw that the fuse was about to burn to the seventh cannon.
His eyes sparkled as he stared at the seventh cannon.
The fuse had burned to the bottom, and only a muffled sound was heard from the salute, but no salute shell was launched into the air!
Everyone's attention was attracted by the salute, and Xiao Zirui was ready to go, just waiting for the cannon barrel to explode so that he could order the palace guards to capture the regent.
But suddenly, a dazzling light burst out from the barrel of the cannon, and at the same time, a strange whistle sounded!
Deafening roars resounded throughout the square, and even the ground shook slightly!
Everyone subconsciously covered their eyes and breathed back, many of them screaming in panic:
"Oh no! The salute really exploded!"
"Hiss... is there really someone doing something wrong?"
"Is His Royal Highness Prince Rui really saying this?"
"The Regent... no way?"
Xiao Zirui's eyes sparkled as he looked straight at Xiao Changheng, and he shouted with all his strength:
"Quickly take down the Regent! Protect His Majesty!"
The palace guards heard the sound and rushed forward!
Xiao Changheng's face turned cold, and he waved his sleeves without hesitation. The strong winds knocked the guards to the ground.
Xiao Zirui had expected this, and not only did he not panic, but a hint of pride flashed in his eyes, and he said sternly:
"Prince Regent, it was clearly the salute that had gone wrong that you were in charge of, and you dared to do it in front of my father! If you really have ill intentions, then don't blame me for rounding up and suppressing you, a traitor!"
As he spoke, he waved his hand violently, giving a signal:
"Someone come!"
As soon as he finished speaking, a large number of archers suddenly appeared outside the square and aimed at the Regent!
Xiao Changheng's eyes became stern:
"How dare you secretly deploy private troops without permission!"
The emperor's expression also changed:
"Prince Rui! You..."
The eighth cannon suddenly burst into dazzling light and made the same roar, drowning out the emperor's voice.
Everyone was shocked again.
Xiao Zirui felt relieved and shouted loudly:
"Father! I am completely worried about your safety and have no choice but to resort to this desperate measure! I hope that Father will allow me to capture the Regent first, and then I will apologize to you!"
As he said this, he raised his hand again, and thousands of archers were ready to go!
The emperor was shocked and confused by the roar. He looked at Xiao Changheng hesitantly, then at Xiao Zirui. For a moment, he didn't know whether he should stop it.
At this moment, the last cannon suddenly lit up!
The strong light made it impossible for everyone to open their eyes, and at the same time, a roar even louder than before was heard!
The sound was not like the sound of a cannon explosion, but rather like the roar of a prehistoric beast, low and long, which subconsciously gave rise to awe in people's hearts!
All the civil and military officials were silent, the people knelt and trembled, and the archers were controlled and unable to move!
A huge shadow slowly condensed from the last three salutes and rose into the sky, attracting everyone's heads to turn and look, and the whole audience held their breath!
Another low growl sounded from the shadow.
Everyone's eyes widened.
That was the sound of a cannon exploding?
It's clearly a dragon's roar!
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