"Don't be impatient."
Seeing the woman about to attack, Zhao Lin quickly waved his hand and said, "If you think what I said is wrong, feel free to refute me and convince me. If you can't convince me, I will kill people. What's the difference between you and Zhu Zhongyan?"
The female assassin snorted coldly and said, "People like you are the best at making excuses. I can't argue with you, so I won't be fooled. Traitor, you are so young and yet you don't follow the right path. You actually joined the eunuch party and wrote such a poem for Zhu Zhongyan, a powerful eunuch who is harming the country and the people. Today I will kill you. No matter what you say, it will be useless."
Zhao Lin sighed and said, "My life and death are in your hands. It only takes a moment for you to kill me. But I want to ask you one last question. Please answer it."
The female assassin said, "You say."
Zhao Lin asked, "Miss, what do you think of the world now?"
The female assassin said, "The people are suffering."
Zhao Lin said: "Whose problem is this?"
The female assassin said without hesitation, "Of course it's Zhu Zhongyan. If it weren't for this powerful eunuch deceiving the emperor and deceiving his superiors and subordinates, how could the current situation have occurred?"
Zhao Lin continued, "You said it was Zhu Zhongyan's fault. Then I want to ask you, besides fabricating some unjust cases and eliminating dissidents, what else did Zhu Zhongyan do? Did he sell official positions or engage in factional strife? Or did he collude with local powerful families and wealthy merchants to oppress the people and sell supplies to the Northern Di and other countries, committing treason?"
"This..." The female assassin hesitated.
Zhao Lin didn't wait for her to react and asked, "Let's not talk about the distant past. You should know who is responsible for the embezzlement of disaster relief funds in Qingzhou. Is it Zhu Zhongyan?"
The female assassin reluctantly said, "Even though he didn't do it, it doesn't mean he's a good person."
Zhao Lin sighed, "Yes, he's not a good man. I also say he deserves to die, but we can't put all the problems on him. In comparison, I think the ministers in the court deserve to die even more. What do you think, young lady?"
"Nonsense! You gentlemen are loyal to the emperor and the country, and work diligently. How can a mere eunuch be compared with them?" the female assassin scolded.
Zhao Lin sighed and said, "If I'm not mistaken, young lady, a family member must have died because of Zhu Zhongyan, so she hates him to the core. But think about it, young lady, Zhu Zhongyan is just a eunuch. Even if he has great power, he is just corrupt and perverts the law, creating some unjust cases. What impact does he have on the people of the world?"
"This..." The female assassin hesitated.
Zhao Lin continued, "Young lady, you should also know that the world is in chaos right now, and the people are suffering. Last year, there was a civil uprising here, which was suppressed by Feng Siyuan. Was this caused by Zhu Zhongyan, or by the officials in the court?"
The female assassin said, "Don't slander people. It was all a natural disaster."
Zhao Lin smiled and said, "Just treat it as a natural disaster. The flood was a natural disaster, but what about the embezzlement of disaster relief funds? Do you know how many people would have died without these funds? Who should be blamed for this?"
The female assassin reluctantly said, "This place is under the jurisdiction of Feng Siyuan, and Feng Siyuan is Zhu Zhongyan's man, so this is Zhu Zhongyan's fault."
Zhao Lin said, "But not a penny of the embezzled disaster relief funds reached Zhu Zhongyan. Instead, it was divided up by the Crown Prince and some ministers. Can we really blame Zhu Zhongyan?"
The female assassin remained silent.
Zhao Lin seized the opportunity to press the point, "Let's not talk about the floods, let's talk about nearby Yuanling Province. Logically, Yuanling Province is wealthier than Jiujiang Province, and the people should be living better. So why are there constant civil unrest, even worse than in flood-stricken Jiujiang Province? And that Yuanling Governor, Ji Changzai, isn't Zhu Zhongyan's man, right?"
"This... who knows if he is, maybe he is hiding deep and has not been discovered?" The female assassin said stubbornly.
Zhao Lin smiled and said, "Okay, let's not talk about this anymore. It has nothing to do with me anyway. But if the bleeding is not stopped, the girl will die from excessive blood loss."
The female assassin was hit by an arrow in the back. Although the arrow shaft was cut off, the arrowhead was still on her body, and blood was flowing out of the wound. Her clothes on the back were already soaked.
The female assassin shook her head and said, "It has nothing to do with you. I heard you're quite famous in the capital. Why do you have to collude with the eunuchs? Wouldn't it be better to just take the imperial examination and become an official?"
Zhao Lin felt strange. This didn't seem like a question that an assassin like you should ask, right?
Zhao Lin spread his hands and said, "This is a secret, but I can tell you. In fact, I joined the eunuch party under the order of Lord Li Xingye, the prefect of Shengjing, to collect evidence in preparation for eradicating the eunuch party in the future."
"Really?" the female assassin said in disbelief.
"Of course it's true. If you don't believe me, you can go and investigate to see if I'm lying to you." Zhao Lin said.
The female assassin stared at Zhao Lin. "I know you're stalling for time, but I'll trust you this time. If you dare lie to me, I'll kill you, and save you from being infamous for being associated with the eunuchs."
Zhao Lin became more and more puzzled and said, "The girl's voice sounds familiar. Have we met before?"
"No, you heard it wrong." The female assassin said quickly.
"Okay, just pretend I heard wrong."
Zhao Lin said, "Miss, are you using my place to hide? Feng Siyuan has sealed the city gates and is searching the entire city. You can't get out or escape, and you'll be exposed and caught sooner or later. So now the only place in the city that's not being searched is here. You're quite clever."
The female assassin snorted coldly, "Hmph, you're clever, but it's a shame you don't use it in the right way. Listen carefully, from now on, don't leave me more than ten steps away. I'll spare your life once I leave the city. Otherwise, with just a flick of my finger..."
Zhao Lin said, "I will be dead soon. Got it, got it. Hurry up and sit down and bandage your wound. The blood is all on the ground."
Zhao Lin sighed, "You're lucky to have escaped even after being shot. You'll be even luckier coming to me. Put away the hidden weapon quickly, and I'll bandage your wound."
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