Chapter 55 You will be punished for treason!
Seeing the number of pursuers increasing, Zhou Tinglan gasped, "We can't run away like this! We'll be caught before we even get out the door!"
"Lan'er, how about we act separately?"
Zhou Tinglan shook his head: "No, the situation will be very unclear after we separate."
Another round of pursuit by petty officials began, and Zhou Tinglan and the other man knocked the pursuing petty officials unconscious.
Zhou Tinglan casually took off the clothes of the two clerks and threw one of them to Xie Zechuan.
"Put it on, we have to get out of here."
After hearing this, Xie Zechuan quickly put on his clothes.
After putting on their clothes, they turned around and left.
Unexpectedly, a group of clerks suddenly appeared on the opposite side again.
The leading captain looked at the fallen clerk, then at Zhou Tinglan and the others: "Did you see any of the two suspicious individuals passing by?"
"Your Excellency, I got separated from the others. When I found them, they were all lying on the ground. I had no idea what was happening!"
The captain cursed angrily, "They must not have gone far. Search the area nearby."
Zhou Tinglan's eyes turned and he said, "Sir, I will go look for someone nearby first."
The captain waved his hand and asked Zhou Tinglan to leave.
He casually glanced at the fallen clerk on the ground and said, "You've been fooled. Go chase those two people!"
The two men ran away quickly, avoiding the attacks coming at them from behind.
Zhou Tinglan flipped through the map in his hand: "Where are we now?"
Where can I find a place to hide temporarily?
After turning a corner, the pursuers behind him were left far behind.
Zhou Tinglan calmed her breath a little and pointed to a door nearby. "This is a dressing room. Let's go in and hide."
There were no other officials in the locker room, and the two men were alertly listening to the movements outside the door.
Another captain's voice came from outside the door.
"Please check everything carefully. His Highness is still waiting for us to capture the person and bring him back."
"Sir, do you want to search the locker room?"
The door was suddenly pushed open, and Zhou Tinglan and the other person stood in the locker room, pretending to be comfortable and lazy.
When they saw the person coming, both of them showed fear on their faces, like mice being caught by a cat.
The captain shouted rudely: "Why are you two in the locker room?"
Zhou Tinglan waved his hands, fear flashing in his eyes: "Sir, no! Sir, we just want to come to the locker room to rest for a while!"
"I've seen plenty of lazy clerks like you. You've been slacking off all day and don't even want your monthly salary! Hurry up and help find someone! If you mess up His Highness's plans, not only will you lose your monthly salary, you'll lose your life too!"
Zhou Tinglan nodded and agreed, "Yes, yes, I will go out and find someone right away. I will definitely not let your highness down."
She nudged Xie Zechuan beside her and said, "Why are you still standing there? Let's go out and look for someone together!"
Xie Zechuan also bowed to the captain and said, "We will leave now."
As Zhou Tinglan walked towards the gate, she stared at the captain with a strange expression.
Why does she look like an intern who was caught slacking off at work by her boss? She is so timid that she slides on her knees to admit her mistake, fearing that her salary will be deducted.
Forget it, the most important thing right now is to avoid being discovered and escape successfully.
"You have a good attitude in admitting your mistakes, very good!"
The captain was very satisfied.
At this moment, the captain came running over. "What's going on over there? Did you see two suspicious people running towards me? I just lost them."
Zhou Tinglan looked at the captain and felt uneasy.
The captain noticed Zhou Tinglan and the other man and frowned slightly. The two clerks in front of him gave him a familiar yet unfamiliar feeling.
Suddenly, a certain image flashed through his mind.
“That’s them!”
Zhou Tinglan's heart tightened, and she called out to Xie Zechuan behind her: "Run!"
However, the captain and several minor officials had already surrounded them.
**
Prince Duan sat in his chair, staring impatiently at the door to the forge. He curled his lips and said, "Why haven't they been caught yet? Are all the people I raise useless?"
Fu Chang tried to console him, "Don't worry, Your Highness. I'll go out and take a look at the situation."
Miss Zhou, there is no one to help you right now, I wish you good luck.
"Sir! We've caught him!"
Fu Chang bowed respectfully to Prince Duan and said, "Congratulations, Your Highness, on getting what you wished for."
"Good!" Prince Duan was overjoyed. He stood up and said with a smile, "Why don't you bring the person to me quickly?"
Another blind fellow has come before me like a dying grasshopper. I want to see who dares to eavesdrop.
Several clerks escorted two men in clerk uniforms into the forge.
"Your Highness, it's these two."
Fu Chang heaved a sigh of relief when he saw the two figures.
It was worth it that he protected her so many times. She was able to escape and even knew how to get away by throwing out two scapegoats.
Prince Duan looked down at the two officials on the ground and asked, "Who sent you? Is it His Majesty?"
"Your Highness, what are you talking about? I was just taking a nap in the rest room when I woke up to find them surrounding me. They said Your Highness wanted to arrest us!"
"Your Highness, I am wronged. I will never dare to be lazy again!"
"Your Highness!"
Prince Duan was upset by what he heard. He ordered Fuchang, "Fuchang, do you think what they said is true?"
"Your Highness, I'm not sure what to say."
Prince Duan asked in surprise, "Why?"
"When the two assassins fled just now, they were not wearing the clothes of minor officials. Of course, I may have been mistaken."
"You have a point." Prince Duan fiercely kicked the two men on the ground and said, "Come here, bring them away to be severely tortured."
The two petty officials on the ground wailed for mercy.
"Your Highness, it's really not me! Your Highness, please let me go for once!"
However, Prince Duan remained expressionless. He watched coldly as the clerk was dragged up from the ground.
Fuchang held his forehead and turned his back, pretending to look at the forge, unwilling to see the scene in front of him.
"Your Highness! Your Highness! It's all wrong! It's all wrong!"
The captain ran into the forge and knelt before Prince Duan. "Your Highness, something terrible has happened!"
"What's wrong? Explain it to me!"
The captain looked up tremblingly, his body shaking, and he said nothing.
What should he do? If he tells it out, His Highness will get angry and chop him to pieces.
Prince Duan roared: "Why don't you explain it to me clearly!"
"They...they weren't the ones eavesdropping on His Highness. They...they arrested the wrong people."
"Waste! Where are the people! Where are they?"
The captain swallowed hard and said, "Run...run!"
Unable to contain his anger any longer, Prince Duan clenched his fists and said, "They are all trash!"
"Your Highness, now is not the time to be angry. It would be better to wait and see His Majesty's reaction before making any plans."
"As you say, I want to see how my good brother will react when he sees it."
**
Zhou Tinglan and Xie Zechuan entered the palace smoothly with the prince's token.
The two men stepped forward and saluted: "Your Majesty, I pay my respects to you."
The emperor was sitting in a pavilion in the imperial garden, and the table was filled with various knives that Zhou Tinglan had recently sent to the palace.
He held a handkerchief in his hand, constantly wiping the blade, praising it: "What a good knife! What a good knife!"
The emperor's eyes lit up when he heard the voice. "Lord Zhou, Lord Xie, please rise at once. How did you find time to come and see me today?"
Zhou Tinglan said with a serious expression, "Your Majesty, I have something important to report to you."
The emperor put down his knife and said in a serious tone, "My dear minister, please speak."
Minister Zhou is good at forging swords, and he also helped me eliminate Yao Ningde, a parasite in the court. He is a loyal minister in the court.
I just don’t know what is being reported today?
"Your Majesty, please take a look at these first."
Zhou Tinglan handed over all the evidence and account books collected in Minister Chen's office to the emperor.
The emperor first looked through the letter, and his face became increasingly gloomy.
Zhou Tinglan saw the emperor begin to look through the account book and explained, "Your Majesty, this account book records the Arsenal's recent purchases and losses of forging materials, as well as the amount of weapons forged. There are obvious discrepancies in the amounts, and I believe Your Majesty has noticed this."
"What do you mean, Lord Zhou?"
"General Xie and I sensed something was amiss and infiltrated the Arsenal to investigate. We unexpectedly ran into Prince Duan and heard some horrifying words."
The emperor's expression grew increasingly serious. "Please tell me in detail, my dear minister, what exactly happened?"
"Your Highness, His Majesty is discussing matters with Zhou Tieguan and General Xie. Look..."
The emperor heard the sound outside the pavilion. He waved his hand to stop Zhou Tinglan and the other man from talking, and looked outside.
"Please come up, Prince."
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
The prince walked into the pavilion and bowed to the emperor, saying, "Your Majesty, your son greets you."
"Sit down. Now that the Crown Prince has arrived, let's hear what your uncle is doing at the Armory."
Zhou Tinglan looked at Xie Zechuan beside him, signaling him to speak.
Xie Zechuan understood and saluted, saying, "I heard Prince Duan and his entourage say in the forging room of the Arsenal that all the forging materials have been shipped to the barracks outside the city."
"Barracks?" The Crown Prince couldn't sit still. He asked, "Prince Duan is raising private soldiers in the suburbs?"
"That's right, and all the blacksmiths in Shangjing City are now controlled by Prince Duan's men!"
The Crown Prince was furious: "Father, if Prince Duan is not removed, I will suffer disaster for the rest of my life!"
"But..." The emperor hesitated.
Zhou Tinglan seemed to see the emperor's doubts: "Your Majesty, are you thinking of Prince Duan's mother, the Imperial Concubine?"
The emperor nodded slightly.
The prince was also very angry when he saw the emperor like this, but he could do nothing.
"Your Majesty, I feel sorry for you."
The emperor was puzzled and asked, "Why do you say that, Lord Zhou?"
"Your Majesty has been deceived by Prince Duan and the Imperial Concubine for many years. In fact, the Imperial Concubine is not your savior. It was the Imperial Concubine who intended to murder your Majesty and only saved your Majesty when she saw that her plan was about to be exposed."
"Are you serious, Lord Zhou?" The emperor stood up, walked to Zhou Tinglan, pointed at her and asked.
"I heard it from Prince Duan with my own ears, so it cannot be wrong."
Xie Zechuan also echoed: "Your Majesty, I heard it too."
"Great! Great! What a great Prince Duan, what a great Imperial Concubine! They kept it a secret from me for so many years!"
The emperor immediately ordered the Imperial City Office to bring Prince Duan back.
Dark clouds rolled over the sky of Shangjing City, blocking out the sun.
In the palace, Prince Duan sat leisurely on a chair. He looked at Rao Yongan in front of him and said, "Master Rao, it's been a long time since we last met. I didn't expect that our next meeting would be like this."
Rao Yongan raised his knife and pointed it at Prince Duan: "Your Highness, if you return with us honestly, His Majesty may spare your life!"
"Forgive me? Does my old, immortal brother have such a kind heart?"
Prince Duan quickly drew his sword and chopped off the head of a guard from the Imperial City.
The sound of a heavy object falling to the ground was heard, and the head rolled several times on the ground.
"Prince Duan, do you know what you are doing?" Rao Yongan roared at him.
"Of course, I know that the Great Zhao Kingdom will soon fall into my hands, and the first person to die will be Lord Rao."
Prince Duan raised his hand, and several black figures appeared behind him.
"Instead of worrying about me, why not worry about yourselves?"
"kill!"
The scene suddenly became chaotic. The entourage brought by Prince Duan was much larger than the number of the Imperial City Guards.
The situation became increasingly chaotic. Rao Yongan straightened his back, waved back a man, raised his knife, and shouted, "Kill Prince Duan!"
However, the opposite happened. The imperial city guards were defeated and killed one by one.
Lord Rao dragged himself along, the knife stabbing into the ground, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth: "Prince Duan, you will be punished!"
Prince Duan sneered: "I don't believe in karma. I only believe in myself. Destiny belongs to me!"
The news that Prince Duan had plotted rebellion and escaped, killing several imperial guards quickly spread throughout the entire Shangjing City.
The emperor immediately ordered the entire capital to be on alert.
"Search the entire city and capture Prince Duan!"
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