Upon hearing the news, Zhong Zhiheng fainted without being able to catch his breath. The Imperial Hospital was busy as a whole. After being unconscious for an hour, Zhong Zhiheng finally woke up. While gritting his teeth, he ordered the Jinyiwei to investigate the matter thoroughly. At the same time, he ordered the commander of the Imperial Guards, Ma Zhiming, to be dragged out and beheaded. The Imperial Guards were responsible for guarding the imperial palace. A dignified prince was murdered in his own bedroom, and his death was so horrific. Naturally, the Imperial Guards could not escape responsibility. When Ma Zhiming was dragged away, his face was extremely pale. The deputy commander of the Imperial Guards, Zhou Youan, who was kneeling with him, had an even uglier look on his face, and his whole body was shaking like a sieve.
…
Prince An's Mansion.
"What? The Fourth Prince was assassinated?" Zhong Mingwei's teacup fell to the ground with a "clack" sound, porcelain shards and tea splashing. He didn't care and stood there in a daze for a long time. Then he looked at Kong Wenmin who had a serious face, "When was the Fourth Prince assassinated? How did he die?"
"Your Majesty, the Fourth Prince was assassinated in the second half of the night. The assassin must have ambushed in the Fourth Prince's bedroom early in the morning. He waited until the Fourth Prince fell asleep and the night guards were on duty before he took action," Kong Wenmin's face was not very good when he said this. "The assassin was also an expert. He didn't have any sharp weapons like swords, but chose a bowstring that could be found everywhere. He strangled the Fourth Prince to death without making any noise. This morning, the palace servants waited in the outer hall until the sun was high in the sky, but the Fourth Prince didn't call anyone in to serve him and wash himself. Then they went into the bedroom to check. Who knew that half of the bed was soaked in blood, and the Fourth Prince's neck..." Kong Wenmin paused here, and when he spoke again, his voice was very low, "It was almost strangled to death. Later, I followed Commander Ma to take a look. It was really horrible."
"Where is Commander Ma?" Zhong Mingwei asked again in a hurry. "With such a big incident, His Majesty must be furious, right? Was Commander Ma tortured or thrown into prison?"
"Your Majesty, Commander Ma..." Kong Wenmin took a deep breath and said in a deep voice, "Commander Ma has just been ordered to be executed by His Majesty."
"What?!" Mei Ya, who had been afraid to speak, was so shocked that she was speechless. She suddenly sat up from her chair and looked at Kong Wenmin in disbelief. "Commander Ma is indeed guilty, but he does not deserve death, right? If we want to investigate, shouldn't the guards on duty in the Fourth Prince's palace be punished? How did they implicate Commander Ma? Moreover, they have not investigated anything yet, and they executed Commander Ma right away. This is simply unreasonable!"
"I'm afraid someone is interfering," Zhong Mingwei said slowly, and suddenly asked Kong Wenmin, "What about now? Since Ma Zhiming is dead, who will be the commander of the Imperial Guard?"
"Your Majesty, His Majesty has not yet appointed anyone, but Deputy Commander Zhou Youan will take the responsibility for now," Kong Wenmin said hurriedly, and said with some embarrassment, "Commander Zhou has just ordered the withdrawal of the 20 Imperial Guards stationed in Prince An's Mansion and to return to the Imperial Guards camp to be on standby at any time. I am here to report this to you, Your Majesty."
"Of course! Of course!" Zhong Mingwei didn't say anything, but Mei Ya nodded hurriedly like a chicken pecking at rice, "Such a big thing happened in the palace, I'm afraid the Imperial Guards are short of manpower. Guard Da Kong, you should take the guards back quickly, don't provoke the emperor's anger again."
"Yes, I will take my leave first," Kong Wenmin bowed and turned to leave, but suddenly stopped, turned around, looked around, and then approached Zhong Mingwei and whispered, "Master, didn't you want to recruit a group of servants to join the mansion? Now is a great opportunity."
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