Chapter 882 Assassination
The official in charge of ceremonies was counting the game. When he came to the carcass of the stag, Song Gan and Song Kun suddenly spoke up. "Your Majesty, we have successfully hunted this stag and present it to you!"
Their voices couldn't hide their pride and desire for credit.
Seeing their lack of manners, the official in charge of counting the prey quickly stopped them from approaching, saying, "Who are you? Get out of here! You must not be disrespectful before His Majesty."
The Song brothers thought that since their identities were indeed unknown, they were worried that someone might steal the credit for their hunt of such a large prey, or that it might disappear without a trace. So they kept a close watch on it for fear of having their credit stolen.
The commotion immediately caught Xie Shang's attention. He frowned and said in a deep voice, "What's all this noise about?"
"Your Majesty, we are Consort Song's own brothers. We hunted a deer to present to Your Majesty." They said urgently, "General Peng Fei is our maternal uncle."
The official in charge of ceremonies originally wanted to have them driven out, but they took the initiative to introduce themselves as General Peng's nephews, and the official in charge of ceremonies suddenly dared not move.
Xie Shang also heard this, and when he looked at the prey again, it was indeed a sika deer that was very difficult to hunt.
Jiang Fenghua was talking to Sang Yupianpian when she heard someone introduce the Song family. She thought to herself: Song Qing wanted to help her family rise to power, and she really succeeded. The Song family has hunted the extremely difficult-to-hunt sika deer. They are really capable.
However, the Song brothers were too hasty; their personality was really not likable.
Looking across the entire harem, besides her having given birth to two princes, only Consort Song's second prince remains. The Emperor is now inclined to promote the Song family, so it seems the Song family is truly about to prosper.
Xie Shang walked to the edge of the platform, and just as his fingers were about to touch the antlers...
Suddenly, a strange change occurred!
A very faint "click" sound rang out, followed by a bloody, mangled spring that sprang out from the deer's belly. Before the sound faded, a dark, fierce shadow tore through the air, accompanied by a piercing shriek, and went straight for Xie Shang's throat.
The moment Xie Shang sensed the danger, he moved swiftly, almost like lightning, to dodge the sharp metal weapon that carried a strong scent of blood. The poisoned short arrow grazed his neck.
At the same time, time seemed to stretch out and freeze in that instant. Shangguan Li, the commander of the Imperial Guards, stood beside the emperor. He was so shocked that his face changed color, his eyes widened in horror, and he drew his sword with lightning speed, the blade flashing coldly.
His fierce roar pierced the air, "Protect the Emperor!"
At the critical moment, everyone was on high alert. Jiang Fenghua was also startled, and her scream was almost stuck in her throat. If Xie Shang hadn't reacted quickly, would that hidden weapon have pierced his throat?
Jiang Fenghua rushed from the stands to Xie Shang and took his arm: "Your Majesty, how are you?"
Xie Shang's eyes were cold. At this moment, his body displayed an almost instinctive, beast-like sharpness. He did not respond to Jiang Fenghua, had no time to think, and suddenly turned around to look at the Song brothers who were still smug.
His deep, dark eyes shot out a sharp, cold light, making the hairs on his body stand on end.
The Song brothers never expected this to happen; how could there be a hidden weapon inside the deer's belly intended to assassinate the emperor?
A deathly silence! A suffocating silence enveloped the entire hunting grounds. Everyone held their breath until the Emperor was safe and sound, at which point they slowly exhaled.
Xie Shang walked up to the Song brothers and asked, "Did you hunt this deer?"
The Song brothers' movements, expressions, and even breathing seemed frozen by an invisible ice; their lips trembled as they stammered, "Your Majesty, this humble subject doesn't know what's going on, it..."
They just publicly admitted to hunting a deer and presenting it to the emperor. If they deny it now, and a hidden weapon shot out of the deer's belly to assassinate the emperor, then it would truly confirm their suspicion.
At this moment, Songgan reacted quickly, "Your Majesty, please investigate thoroughly! This humble subject truly has no idea what happened. How could a hidden weapon be shot out of a deer's belly? We hunted the deer; how could we possibly hide a hidden weapon inside it? Isn't this just shooting ourselves in the foot? Someone must be framing us..."
"Yes, yes, Second Brother is right. How could we be so stupid as to hide a concealed weapon in the prey we hunted to assassinate the Emperor? We don't even recognize what that thing is. We beg Your Majesty to investigate."
Xie Shang raised his foot and kicked the two Song brothers hard in the chest. The two were immediately knocked to the ground, looking weak and disheveled.
He had just examined the deer's wound; the arrow wound was on its neck, and judging from the depth of the arrowhead, it must have been restrained and killed by the arrowhead penetrating directly.
He said coldly, "Investigate? Of course I will investigate thoroughly and find out why your Song family plotted against me."
"Your Majesty, we are innocent! We are innocent!" Song Kun cried out.
Only after confirming that there were no more hidden weapons in the deer's belly did Shangguan Li voice his doubts, lowering his voice to say, "Your Majesty, there is indeed something fishy about this."
Xie Shang raised his hand to stop them. Of course, he knew something was amiss. The Song family had no intention of assassinating the emperor. Besides, the two people in front of him were cowards, probably unable to even lift a knife, let alone have any brains. How could they dare to assassinate the emperor?
Xie Shang said in a deep voice, "Take them into custody and put them in jail first."
Song Gan and Song Jin collapsed to the ground, trembling like leaves. A wet patch slowly spread from their crotches, and the fishy smell mixed with their bloody stomachs, making people feel nauseous and want to vomit.
-
Consort Song was still in the camp. She had not yet left the military tent to return to the palace, partly because she wanted to see her brother's abilities.
Should she continue to rely on the Peng family or the Song family? She wants to support the Song family; only those with the same surname can be considered family.
But now, after hearing what Song Gan and Song Kun had done, she was completely dumbfounded. She asked Dong'er again, "The Emperor has imprisoned them?"
Dong'er said, "The Second Young Master and the Third Young Master's plot to assassinate the Emperor almost killed him. The Emperor is truly enraged, and I heard it was extremely dangerous..."
Song Qing knew that Song Gan and Song Kun didn't have the guts to do it, and there must be something fishy about it.
Soon, the Emperor sent someone to read out the imperial edict, which basically said that someone in the Song family was plotting a rebellion to assassinate the Emperor, and that the matter was currently under investigation. The Emperor said he would not say more about Consort Song and hoped that she would take good care of herself.
Song Qing never expected the Emperor to issue such an edict. If Song Gan and Song Kun really dared to rebel and assassinate, she wouldn't have to worry too much about the future of the Song family. It was clear that someone was using them to kill the Emperor.
Despite being covered in injuries, Song Qing still cared for her brother.
After the official who delivered the decree left, Song's mother came again in a flurry of tears: "Your Highness, please save your two brothers! They would never even kill a chicken, how could they dare to kill someone?"
Knowing her brother's character, Song Qing deliberately said, "They dared to shoot a fully grown sika deer. Mother said they wouldn't even dare to kill a chicken. Aren't you ashamed, Mother? Now that the Emperor is going to thoroughly investigate the Song family, are you happy, Mother?"
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