Shen Zhao had a decent smile on his face, but he froze instantly when he heard the words.
After a long while, he pulled the corners of his mouth hard.
"Third Uncle...what is Third Uncle saying?"
Shen Zhixiu shook his head, his face calm and composed, "Chen Zhao, ah, Shen Zhao, you still need to practice your skills on this face."
Shen Zhao had been used to looking up at Shen Zhixiu since he was a child, so at this moment he was so nervous that he clenched his hands.
But he still calmed down and said in a mysterious tone, "How did Third Uncle know?"
The word "firearm" made Shen Zhao panic.
The thing he thought was hidden and unknown to anyone was revealed so openly by Shen Zhixiu.
Shen Zhixiu said, "You did this very secretly. I only realized it after entering the manor."
"You ambushed someone in the dark, didn't you?" He changed his posture lazily. "You've surpassed your teacher."
Shen Zhaoxian's panic-stricken heart now calmed down a bit, and he even felt a little secretly happy.
He still succeeded in planning ahead of his uncle.
Shen Zhixiu glanced at Shen Zhao and suddenly said, "I know His Royal Highness the Crown Prince can't tolerate me anymore. I'm curious what crime he plans to accuse me of."
"The Emperor wouldn't believe me if I secretly purchased firearms and started a rebellion. The best charge would be treason. The Liao Kingdom was destroyed, and the Tartars' guerrilla warfare was ineffective. Southern Xinjiang is well-defended by the Zhao family, so the only thing left is... Western Yue."
"I colluded with Xiyue?"
Shen Zhao's thoughts were drawn away by Shen Zhixiu, and he said after hearing this: "Third uncle is very smart and witty, he is worthy of being the second assistant of the cabinet."
Shen Zhixiu continued to mumble, as if asking Shen Zhao, but also as if he was thinking about it himself.
"How did the Crown Prince get in touch with Xiyue? The Second Prince is stationed in Xijiang, and he's not someone you can easily fool."
He frowned, as if he was thinking about the trick.
Shen Zhao was both impressed and excited. He knew things that his uncle didn't know. Did this mean that he was better than his uncle?
"Third Uncle probably doesn't know that the Second Prince has already cooperated privately with His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. The Second Prince knows that ascending the throne is hopeless, so he has agreed to support His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."
Shen Zhixiu looked surprised. "Oh? Then the prince should have paid a price too, right? The thirty-two states in the northwest? Or the twelve counties in Lingnan?"
Although the second prince had no hope of ascending the throne, he never did business that would lose money.
Chen Zhao was full of admiration, "Third Uncle guessed right. His Royal Highness the Crown Prince promised to give him the thirty-two states of the Northwest. Then he will be the local emperor of the Northwest."
Once a person has been suppressed for a long time and lacks confidence, they will involuntarily show themselves when they find an opportunity. Shen Zhao was just like that at this moment, eager to prove that he was better than Shen Zhixiu.
Shen Zhixiu nodded. He had been investigating this matter for some time and finally found out the truth today.
At this moment, in the dense forest not far from Zhuangzi, an inconspicuous carriage with green curtains was parked under a tree.
A man walked up to the carriage and reported, "Your Highness, there's news from the palace. Last night, Elder Shen came to the palace to plead guilty, saying he had discovered that the eldest son of the Shen family was secretly storing firearms. The Zhongyong King searched the mountain, and it was also the emperor's order."
The prince's expression changed slightly, "What did you say?"
"Go check the area around that village right now to see if it's the mantis stalking the cicada and the oriole behind it."
The man took the order and returned to the car in less than a quarter of an hour.
"Your Highness, as you suspected, there are many people lying in ambush nearby. If our people show any intention of taking action, they will be wiped out immediately."
The prince pursed his lower lip, thinking that Shen Zhixiu was really cruel, and he could decisively take action against his own nephew.
Fortunately, he got the news and was able to respond in time.
"Pass the order down. Shen Zhao is colluding with Xiyue and illegally possessing firearms. He must be strangled on the spot."
"Yes, Your Highness."
Shen Zhao, who was talking to Shen Zhixiu at the moment, didn't know that the prince had changed his decision.
He looked at Shen Zhixiu and Su Qingyu with pity, "Uncle San, Aunt San, please come in."
Shen Zhixiu shook his head and said, "I won't go out. If your people are capable of coming in, I'll wait."
Chen Zhao was stunned. Could it be that his third uncle had something else to rely on?
Uncle San still felt that with Wenzhu and the people outside's skills, he still had a chance of escaping.
Shen Zhao's mind raced, knowing that this matter couldn't be delayed any longer and needed to be resolved quickly. He shouldn't have said all that nonsense just now and should have let the people hiding in the shadows take action directly.
He looked at Shen Zhixiu deeply and said, "Since that's the case, I'll leave first."
Shen Zhao pushed the door open and walked into the yard.
He looked up at the place not far away where the assassins were hiding and made a gesture.
The meaning of that gesture was to let these people come down and take action directly.
Suddenly, a figure rushed out from the main room, and Shen Zhiheng ran quickly towards Shen Zhao.
"Don't touch your uncle."
At the same time, the assassins hiding in the dark suddenly drew their bows and shot arrows, and countless arrows flew towards Shen Zhao.
Shen Zhiheng was shocked and tried to block Shen Zhao. However, it was useless. Sharp arrows shot at them wave after wave, and in an instant, the father and son were shot into sieves.
Shen Zhao's eyes widened, and until the last moment, he didn't understand how these arrows hit him.
When he closed his eyes, he remembered the meal he had at Qingyuanju at noon today. It was really the last reunion dinner.
Shen Zhixiu and Su Qingyu, who were standing by the window of the wing room, were also horrified at this moment.
Especially the words that Shen Zhiheng shouted when he rushed out, and the tragic death that followed, made Shen Zhixiu's eyes immediately red.
It was because of him that his brother died tragically from an arrow.
Su Qingyu kept hearing Cheng Rujin's last words before his death, and cursed Shen Zhao to die with thousands of arrows piercing his heart.
It actually worked.
Both of them stared at the tragic scene in the yard and didn't speak for a long time.
Suddenly there was a noise coming from the back window. Wenzhu reacted very quickly and was under the window in an instant.
After two moves, it was clear that the person coming was Li Yunzhou.
Li Yunzhou stepped forward and asked, "What's going on? Why did they attack Shen Zhao?"
He was stunned when these people drew their bows and shot arrows. After confirming that they could not hurt Shen Zhixiu and Su Qingyu, he kept his composure and did not take action.
Unexpectedly, those arrows actually hit Shen Zhao directly.
Shen Zhixiu said in a deep voice: "Those are the prince's men. Something must have happened that made the prince change his mind and directly silence Shen Zhao."
"Maybe... they discovered your people in the dark."
Li Yunzhou leaned against the window, facing Shen Zhixiu and Su Qingyu, with his arms folded across his chest.
"That's also possible. What will the prince do next?"
Shen Zhixiu said coldly: "Of course it is to prove Shen Zhao's guilt and make myself have nothing to do with this matter."
Zhuangzi's door was suddenly pushed open, followed by the voice of the guard's announcement.
"His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has arrived."
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