Chapter 197 Seems like an old friend
At this moment, there was a sudden sound of breaking wind from outside. Lu Yan quickly pushed the black-clad assassin away and avoided Huo Lang's murderous move. The sharp sword blade scraped across the skin, making people shiver for no reason.
"Don't kill him!"
Lu Yan spoke up in time to stop Huo Lang's action. Upon hearing this, Huo Lang paused with his sword, stopping at the assassin's throat. His dark eyes narrowed coldly: "Why don't you kill me?!"
The sound of fighting outside the carriage was incessant. It would take less than an incense stick of time for the imperial guards to arrive. Lu Yan had no time to think and said to Huo Lang in a hurry, "I don't have time to explain now. You must help me protect this assassin and don't let him be taken away by the people in the palace!"
He seemed to be afraid that Huo Lang would refuse, so he held the other's cold hand and emphasized in a low voice: "This matter is really important to me."
Huo Lang frowned and stared at Lu Yan, feeling that he was shrouded in mist and hiding many secrets. He slowly lowered his sword-holding hand and clenched his teeth silently:
"Three days at most, and you have to give me an explanation!"
Not long after, the sound of hurried horse hooves suddenly came from afar. Hundreds of imperial guards finally rode over. The leader was Wu Mei, dressed in a maid's uniform. He dismounted and saw that Lu Yan's personal guards were either dead or disabled. The black-clad assassins were all restrained by Huo Lang's personal guards. Without caring about anything else, he quickly ran to Lu Yan and knelt down to salute:
"Your Majesty, I am late in coming to your rescue, and I deserve death!"
Zhao Kang's health is getting worse, and Lu Yan must not let anything go wrong. Why did a group of assassins suddenly appear today? Wu Mei was secretly plotting in his heart, could it be the Wei family? Or was it the Regent Palace? No matter who it was, it meant that someone had murderous intentions against Zhao Kang, and he couldn't take it lightly.
Thinking of this, his gaze towards the group of assassins became vicious.
Lu Yan motioned Wu Mei to stand up: "No problem, they are just a group of assassins who are not worthy of being in public. Thanks to the Prince Regent for arriving in time, it is inconvenient to stay outside the palace for a long time now, so you should return to the palace as soon as possible."
As soon as he finished speaking, he got on the carriage surrounded by a group of guards. Through a curtain, he saw Wumei step forward and ask Huo Lang for the remaining assassins: "The Regent has worked hard and made great contributions. Your Majesty will definitely reward you generously, but please hand over these assassins for the time being. I will order the officials to investigate them strictly."
Huo Lang climbed onto his horse and looked down at him from above. His eyebrows were long and sharp, and his pupils were dark, as if he could see through people's hearts. He sneered, which Wumei found particularly piercing: "Hand them over? There is no such rule in my command. Whoever catches them will get them. If the steward wants them, just come and grab them."
Wu Mei was secretly shocked when he heard this, thinking that these assassins were sent by Huo Lang, and now they are worried that they will be exposed, so they are blatantly protecting them? In that case, he must not let him take the people away, if he tortured them to get something out, it might even become evidence to bring down Huo Lang!
Wu Mei was furious and ordered the guards: "Sorry for the offense, bring the man back to me!"
Several guards stepped forward in response, but before they could make a move, Huo Lang suddenly drew his bow and shot arrows through their throats.
“Whoosh!”
“Whoosh!”
Blood gushed out instantly, splashing all over Wumei's body without him being able to defend himself. The two golden-scaled guards fell heavily to the ground without even having time to scream, looking up at the sky with wide eyes, and there was panic all around.
Huo Lang smiled coldly: "If you are not afraid of death, just come over here!"
He pinched the horse's belly without saying a word, then turned around and rode away. The bodyguards tied up the assassin neatly and followed him on horseback. The group left in a mighty procession, leaving behind only a mess of corpses on the ground.
Wu Mei wiped the blood off his face. Because he was extremely angry, his cheek muscles twitched uncontrollably. He never thought that the other party would dare to be so presumptuous. He spat out two words in hatred: "Huo! Lang!"
“Whoosh!”
Another sharp arrow came from a distance and hit the shaft of the carriage directly. The tail feathers were still trembling slightly, and Wumei was so frightened that he immediately shut up.
That night, the moonlight was dim and the snow on the eaves had not yet melted, and it was dripping down. The hanging lanterns swayed slightly in the cold wind, illuminating the gravel road.
Huo Lang was sitting in the house playing chess. He held the black pieces in his hands and carefully laid out the chessboard. Opposite him sat a white-haired old man. It was Mr. Xiahou. He stroked his beard slowly, with a worried look on his face. "How do you think this game should be solved, Your Majesty?"
Huo Lang knew that he was talking about the assassination of the emperor today, and said indifferently: "No big deal."
Mr. Xiahou shook his head slightly: "People already suspect you of treason. You forcibly took away the assassins in public today. It seems like you are trying to silence them. I'm afraid that Doctor Yu will condemn you. It's not a wise choice."
In this world where rumors can drown people, few people can bear such insults, otherwise their descendants will not be able to hold their heads up, and it is no exaggeration to say that they will be infamous for thousands of years.
Huo Lang picked up a black jade chess piece with his slender fingertips. The contrast between black and white was clear. His eyes were fixed on the silent fighting on the chessboard, and he dropped a piece with a crisp sound: "Then let's see if it's their pen and ink that's sharp, or my king's sword!"
Mr. Xiahou: "Your Majesty is a master at deploying troops, but the affairs of the court are complicated and cannot be resolved by force. I hope you will think twice before acting..."
Before he finished speaking, he suddenly realized that his white piece had been trapped in a dead end without him knowing when. He was so surprised that his hands shook so much that his beard was almost pulled off.
Huo Lang put away the chess pieces, picked up the teacup and took a sip: "Master, you lost."
Mr. Xiahou was in a dilemma while twisting the chess pieces. In the end, he found that there was no way to solve the problem. In the end, he could only shake his head and sigh: "I lost. I never thought that the prince's chess skills are so exquisite and hidden!"
Everyone in the palace said that although Regent Prince Huo Lang was good at martial arts, he was completely clueless about the arts of music, chess, calligraphy, and painting. The rumor sounded so convincing that Mr. Xiahou couldn't help but believe it to some extent. Now it seems that the rumor was clearly wrong.
Although Huo Lang won, he did not look happy. He lowered his eyes and stroked a black piece between his fingers. Unfortunately, they were both cold and neither could warm the other. Finally, he threw it into the chess basket with a clang and said in a disinterested tone: "I have learned it in my spare time. I am not worthy of the word "master". Please show mercy today, sir. We will compete again another day."
Mr. Xiahou wanted to say more, but Huo Lang raised his hand to interrupt him: "It is said that a gentleman is one who watches a game of chess without saying anything. I have another rule here, that is, a gentleman is one who does not say anything after losing a game. I know what you want to say, but there is no point in saying more. Sir, please reply. Don't let others use you as a pawn."
All the staff in the palace knew his temper. After hearing what happened today, although they felt it was inappropriate, no one dared to persuade him, so they instigated Mr. Xiahou, who had just arrived, to be the first to take action.
Mr. Xiahou did not understand what Huo Lang meant at first. When he walked out of the room in a daze, he suddenly found his good friend Mr. Sang hiding outside the courtyard gate and watching the excitement. He could not help but stamp his feet heavily, angrily and sighing:
"You old fool! After decades of friendship, you're still harming me like this!"
On the other side, Huo Lang collected the remaining chess pieces, and then put on a dark gold cloak to see the assassin captured today. In the dungeon of the palace, the seven or eight people were tied up tightly and thrown on the haystack. The leader was sitting against the wall, with a shadow covering his whole body, and he said nothing.
Huo Lang couldn't stand the cold and stench inside. He covered his nose with a white handkerchief to suppress the cough in his lungs and said in a hoarse voice:
"Bring the person here."
Someone immediately opened the cell door and dragged the black-clad assassin from the corner over. However, the light in the cellar was dim and his face could not be seen clearly. Huo Lang looked left and right but could not find anything special about this man that would make Lu Yan speak in his defense. He said in a deep voice, "Raise your head."
The man didn't move, so the guards grabbed his hair and forced him to raise his head. When his face was exposed to the air, the people around him couldn't help but gasp. They saw that his face was covered with countless scars of all sizes, crisscrossing and overlapping, uneven under the light and shadow. His eyes were bloodshot and full of hatred, like a devil returned from hell.
Huo Lang narrowed his eyes slightly, feeling that this person was somewhat familiar:
"Wei Hong?"
The black-clad assassin in front of him turned out to be the second son of the Wei family, Wei Hong, who was ordered to deliver food and fodder, but got lost in the wind and snow and has not been heard from since!
Wei Hong let out a low, crazy laugh from his throat: "The Regent has a keen eye. He actually still remembers an old friend like me."
Huo Lang leaned forward slowly, his narrow, dark eyes showing a hint of interest: "People outside said that you were lost while delivering food and fodder, and most likely died outside Guiyan Pass, but I didn't expect you to be still alive. Was the assassination instigated by you alone, or by the Wei family?"
Wei Hong asked coldly: "What do you think?!"
Huo Lang: "Your mother would rather endure such humiliation than start a rebellion. I think you planned this alone. It's a pity that you made a wrong move and it fell into my hands."
Wei Hong gritted his teeth silently: "If you want to kill me, then kill me. Why are you talking so much nonsense!"
Huo Lang laughed. He usually didn't like to laugh. Once he laughed, it meant someone was going to be in trouble. "That's good. I was worried that I had no evidence to deal with the Wei family. Now I can accuse them of rebellion and assassination. It's a legitimate reason."
Upon hearing this, Wei Hong looked at him fiercely and rushed to the edge of the cage: "Why did you save that damn emperor today! If I kill him, wouldn't it be better for you to rebel and become the emperor? Why did you save him?!"
"Ascend the throne as emperor?"
Huo Lang tilted his head slightly when he heard this, with a bit of confusion, as if he didn't understand why Wei Hong would ask such a stupid question. He covered his nose with a white handkerchief, and outsiders could only see the flickering light and shadow in his eyes. Little did he know that desires and ambitions were quietly expanding in the dark, hiding delusions that only he knew about. His voice was low and slow:
"I can rebel anytime I want, but unfortunately... the throne cannot satisfy my appetite."
What he wants is the person on the throne.
Wei Hong was shocked when he heard this. Even the throne could not satisfy Huo Lang's appetite. What on earth did this man want? "Today's incident has nothing to do with the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion. It was all done by me alone. If you want to vent the anger of the dog emperor, just kill me!"
Huo Lang chuckled: "I actually want to kill you."
It’s a pity that death is the most joyful thing in the world.
The man in front of him was Wei Tan's biological brother. If he killed Wei Hong, the emperor would probably hate him to death.
Huo Lang didn't want to admit it, but he had to admit that Lu Yan had a special affection for Wei Tan, far more than himself, otherwise he would not have ignored the charge of assassination and treason, and even begged him to save Wei Hong's life, all because the other party was Wei Tan's biological brother.
Lu Yan had been trying to please him in all these years, probably because he was afraid of the military power in his hands. Huo Lang might not be completely unaware of the plot he had used him to take advantage of, but sometimes he would rather be a little dumber and not think so thoroughly...
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