Chapter 457: When a Whale Falls, All Things Come to Life (5k)
assassin!
Along with this heart-wrenching cry, dogs barked in the quiet Canal Transport Office.
The light from the stars and moon above his head also became cold. While Ning Zechen shouted a warning, he also felt a strong anger and confusion in his heart.
However, the enemy did not give him time to think. Four killers in night clothes attacked him from four directions almost at the same time.
The sharp blade in his hand was dazzling, like a spider web, trapping the Governor of Grand Canal in the center. Such an attack would be difficult for him to resist even at his peak strength, not to mention that he was already seriously injured.
Is he going to die... At the moment of his death, Governor Ning tried his best to turn his head and look towards the bedroom. He saw that the window was lit and his wife's shadow was rapidly enlarging.
"Don't go out..." He wanted to warn, but the assassin was already in front of him. However, at this moment, the air in the night seemed to be filled with circles of illusory ripples.
A sigh-like Buddhist chant came from afar:
"Amitabha……"
In the sky, illusory lotus flowers swirled and fell like snow.
The four assassins were horrified to find that they were surrounded by a quagmire and could not move. If they took one more step forward, they could kill Governor Ning, but that step was like an insurmountable barrier.
Not only that, the murderous intent in the hearts of the four of them was wiped out by the Buddha's name, and they lost their desire to kill. They felt the urge to lay down their butcher knives and become Buddhas on the spot.
It was because of this delay that a black shadow passed through the darkness. On the roof, the old eunuch Hai Chunlin in a python robe came rushing in. The royal attendant glanced at him coldly and flicked his fingers.
"bite!"
The four blades fell to the ground at the same time. The black-clad assassins looked at each other in horror, gave up their actions, and fled in four directions.
"Still want to leave?"
Eunuch Hai snorted coldly and took a step forward.
In an instant, four "Eunuchs of the Sea" appeared at the same time, intercepted the assassins one by one, and hit the assassins on the head with one palm. The four elite assassins died at the same time and their bodies fell to the ground.
Immediately, the four eunuchs merged into one and landed in front of the collapsed Governor Ning.
—Where were the clones? It was just his terrifying speed that left four afterimages.
"master!!"
The door was pushed open. Madam Ning, who was in her inner clothes, held the door with both hands. She screamed miserably with a pale face as if struck by lightning. She ran over in two or three steps and hugged her husband who was spitting blood and had blue lips.
The girl who was already asleep next door was also awakened. When she opened the door and saw this scene, her legs went weak and she fell to the ground.
In the distant night sky, a white gauze floated over, revealing the plump figure of Prajna Bodhisattva with a lotus mark appearing between his eyebrows.
"He was poisoned. It must have been the poison on the assassin's knife."
Eunuch Hai squatted down and pried open Governor Ning's eyelids, without turning his head:
"It's up to you."
Prajna Bodhisattva smiled sweetly: "The poison is very strong, but it is a relief that it was delivered in time."
She raised her hand and grabbed it, and in her hand there was a jade bottle. The white porcelain bottle was embossed with Buddhist texts, vaguely piecing together to form a small statue.
——The "Medicine Buddha" among the Buddhist deities.
A cluster of water splashed out of the bottle and condensed into a water man in the shape of Buddha. It circled in the air and drilled into the mouth of Governor Ning who was almost unconscious.
Then, circles of Buddha's light appeared on Governor Ning's gray face, and then, in the surprised eyes of everyone, his complexion visibly returned to normal.
Suddenly, a mouthful of black blood spit out from his mouth, and he woke up, gasping for breath:
"Husband... Madam?"
Governor Ning looked around blankly before noticing the old eunuch and the female Bodhisattva beside him.
Mrs. Ning cried with joy, hugged her husband to check the wound, and was surprised to find that the knife wound on his back was healing rapidly.
"I have cast a spell to treat the disease. Fortunately, no vital parts were injured. It only consumed some of the Governor's energy and blood. He will be back to normal after three days of rest." Prajna Bodhisattva said with a smile.
Ning Zechen finally understood what had happened, and with a surge of joy at having survived a catastrophe, he comforted his wife and daughter before supporting himself to his feet, first offering his thanks, and then wondering,
"Hai Gongfu? Bodhisattva? Why are you here?"
Eunuch Hai also breathed a sigh of relief and said:
"Zhao Duan guessed you might be in danger, so he asked the two of us to come and help. He's behind and will be here shortly."
Was it Envoy Zhao who sent someone to rescue me? Ning Zechen was stunned.
But this was not the time to talk. Ning Zechen first comforted the official on duty in the yamen and ordered an inspection of the four bodies. He was then helped back to the bedroom to wait.
…
A moment later, Zhao Duan, who was protected by Lang Shiba and Ji Yue, finally arrived.
"Governor Ning? Fortunately, it seems our enemies have miscalculated."
Zhao Duan stepped into the bedroom and saw that the person was still alive. He breathed a sigh of relief and smiled.
Eunuch Hai quickly gave a brief account of the matter, and concluded by saying:
"Several assassins are deadly warriors with poison hidden in their mouths, so their identities cannot be identified."
Prajna Bodhisattva smiled and said, "Your Excellency owes me a favor."
"It's a monk's duty to save a life. Why would he ask for favors?"
Zhao Duan pulled up his pants and turned his face away from the old nun. He didn't give the old nun a good look and walked quickly to the bed.
Governor Ning sat on the bed, looking grateful: "Envoy, if it weren't for you, I would be dead."
The wife and daughter beside him also bowed at the same time. Madam Ning's eyes were red:
"Your Excellency first saved my mother and me, and then saved my master. I have no way to repay you..."
"What are you talking about? I should be the one apologizing. If it weren't for me, the Governor wouldn't be in danger tonight." Zhao Duan felt ashamed and looked at everyone:
"I want to speak to the Governor alone."
Everyone walked out of the room in tacit understanding.
When there were only two people left in the room, Ning Zechen couldn't help but ask:
"Lord, how did you know I would be assassinated?"
Zhao Duan pulled a chair, sat beside the bed, and recounted his experience of being assassinated by the courtesan:
"...I sensed something was amiss. Then, remembering your wife's kidnapping, I suspected the enemy might be feigning an assassination attempt on me, but actually targeting you... This would both hinder the 'New Deal' and deprive me of support."
Governor Ning was silent for a moment, bitterness mixed with disbelief:
"Your Excellency... do the Shen family really have such courage? I've just thought about it, but I still find it hard to believe. You know, in another month, your Majesty's dragon ship should arrive. At this critical juncture, the Shen family... or is it not the Shen family who assassinated us?"
As the governor of the Grand Canal, how could he be stupid?
Recalling the appearance of Prince Jing during the day, he had some guesses in his mind.
Under the candlelight, Zhao Duan stared at his colleague who had also relied on women to rise to power. His face flickered in the candlelight.
"Governor, does it matter whether it's the Shen family or not?"
Ning Zechen fell silent!
Yeah, is it important?
Zhao Duan said in a deep voice:
"For the imperial court, the Shen family is one of the toughest nuts to crack when it comes to implementing new policies. Whether Prince Jing's Mansion intervenes or not, it will only exacerbate the conflict between the imperial court and the local powerful families.
You've been in charge of Jianning Prefecture for several years now. Do you still harbor hope for these clans? Hoping they'll wake up and follow the trend?
I know you are tied up here, and there are many things you can't do, so I came here this time, not only to prepare for the Fengshan ceremony, but also to cut the Gordian knot."
After a pause, Zhao Duan stared at the second-rank official:
"I will say what you dare not say, do what you dare not do, and kill whoever you dare not kill!!"
"I only want the result, which is to break the backbone of these powerful families before His Majesty's Fengshan ceremony!"
Governor Ning stared blankly at the ambitious young man in front of him. Seeing the fire dancing in his eyes, his heart was filled with blood.
He almost lost his life tonight and died in office, which was a huge shock to him.
As a military officer, how could Ning Zechen be the kind of person who would just sit there and do nothing?
"Envoy Zhao, what are you going to do?"
Zhao Duan reached into his arms and took out a "map", which he spread out by candlelight. On it was the Shen family's huge assets.
Its tentacles extend to all kinds of businesses, as well as a large number of farmlands and shops.
"The Shen family is the leader of the powerful clans. If we defeat them, the rest of the clans will naturally fall. However, since Prince Jing's Mansion has intervened, it will be difficult to arrest their clansmen by forcibly using the Cao Gang case.
Besides, such brutal methods will easily cause fear among the nobles... which is not good. With the Fengshan ceremony approaching, we should use more elegant methods."
"So, I plan to work together within the next month to attack the Shen family's business from all angles... We want to make the Shen family unable to withstand the pressure, and then force Old Lady Shen to surrender..."
"And, most importantly, every bit of what we snatch must be distributed to other small families in the city...
As the saying goes, when a whale falls, all things come to life. The only way is to make other noble families realize that sharing the Shen family is beneficial to them, and this benefit... may make up for the losses suffered by accepting the "New Deal"..."
"That way... they won't stick together, or even turn around to help us..."
Zhao Duan talked about the plan he had thought of along the way one by one, which he named "Whale Fall Plan".
Ning Zechen was stunned when he heard this, and the look in his eyes when he looked at him was strange.
I thought to myself, is this also called "elegant means"?
You are trying to dig up the Shen family's roots!
In particular, the idea of "dividing the Shen family and making up for each family" turned the contradiction between the court and the aristocratic group into a contradiction with the Shen family alone...
Living King of Hell.
At this moment, Ning Zechen finally understood the weight of the nickname "Zhao Yanwang".
"Your Excellency's plan is brilliant, but if this is the case, I'm afraid the number of assassinations you and I will face will increase rather than decrease." Ning Zechen sighed and said.
Zhao Duan smiled and said, "Is the Governor scared?"
Ning Zechen laughed heartily, and this man of action revealed a fierceness almost like a mad tiger in his eyes:
"Even the Bodhisattvas in the temple still have some temper. Ning's life and property are about to be lost. If I continue to be weak, won't I be laughed at by the world?"
"Someone come!"
Shout loudly.
The bedroom door opened, and Master Wen Liang walked in with his head bowed. "Governor, what are your instructions?"
Ning Zechen threw away the official seal and said harshly:
"Mobilize the transport troops! I need to vent my anger! I've had enough of this humiliation!"
…
…
The next day, early morning.
When the sky in the east began to turn pale, all the shops in Jianning Prefecture had already opened their doors to welcome customers.
In this era, because there is no nightlife, people wake up very early, in a silk shop belonging to the "Shen family".
The shopkeeper directed his staff to sweep the street in front of the door, organize the goods, and prepare to welcome customers.
"Boss, when can we take down the white paper lanterns outside our shop? Ever since we put them up, our business has been drastically reduced. People outside won't come in when they see them, thinking they're unlucky. The Sun family's shop across the street even threatened us, saying we're selling funeral clothes..."
A waiter complained while wiping the table.
Immediately, he knocked the shopkeeper on the head with a long wooden ruler and glared at him:
"If you can't talk, sew your mouth shut! If the boss wants to hang you, then hang you for a full month. If you spread this, I won't care if he breaks his legs, but don't make me suffer the consequences!"
The guy shrank his neck in fear and dared not speak, knowing that the Shen family was indeed capable of such a thing.
For local tycoons like these, as long as they don't kill people openly and deal with some small characters, no one will care.
The shopkeeper walked to the door, looked at the Sun family's silk shop across the street and hummed:
"Let the neighbors be proud for a few days. Don't worry, after the Second Master is buried, please tell the boss to pay back all the money they have taken from the business. In our Jianning Mansion, we are..."
Just as he was boasting, he suddenly heard shouts from the street. A large group of canal soldiers, dressed in neat uniforms, holding swords and guns in their hands, came in groups and pairs. The leader pointed at the long street:
"Anyone with a white lantern hanging at the door will be shut down! Seal up the accounts and send them to the government office for the legal advisor to review!"
A group of foreign soldiers responded: "Yes!"
Then, groups of evil spirits came out roaring.
Like a pack of wolves, they rushed into the shops owned by the Shen family, which were hung with white cloths, and violently smashed and looted them, driving the people out roughly, in the surprised eyes of the people.
"What are you going to do?"
The silk shop owner was horrified when he saw a group of transport soldiers rushing in:
"Do you know who our boss is? Who dares to ask you to act like this?"
Merchants have been afraid of soldiers since ancient times, but with the support of the Shen family, the shopkeeper has the confidence to scold this group of soldiers.
The canal soldier who was giving the orders swaggered in, sneered, and kicked the shopkeeper to the ground, spitting:
"What Shen family? We have no business with that. We are only following the Governor's orders! The Governor has received a report that merchants in the city are hoarding goods and disrupting market prices. Anyone who dares to stop them will be thrown out!"
The shopkeeper screamed as he and a group of his employees were thrown into the street, where they watched helplessly as the grain transport soldiers locked the shop door and posted a cross-shaped seal with a large red official stamp.
He was shocked and angry. As people on the street were watching and pointing, he looked up and saw that all the shops of the Shen family on both sides of the bustling street had been sealed off, while the other shops were intact.
A similar scene was taking place in various places in Jianning Prefecture during the day.
…
…
“Bang!”
In the Shen family mansion, in a study.
The current head of the Shen family, the biological father of the deceased "Second Master Shen", threw another "letter of help" in his hand onto the table.
He raised his head, staring at the family members standing in a row with their heads bowed in the room like a lion, and roared:
"You all just stood by and watched those soldiers cause trouble?!"
A group of disciples trembled, and one of them mustered up the courage to say:
"Master, when we received the news from the people below, it had already happened and it was too late to stop it."
Another person also complained:
"Yes, Master. Besides, those people are, after all, transport soldiers. Although they are a group of low-class people, they are wearing those military uniforms. We dare not do anything rashly, for fear of causing trouble for the family."
The Shen family is a wealthy family, and the owners of ordinary businesses below them are not even qualified to step into the Shen family mansion.
After receiving the news, they could only report it to the boss above them, and the small boss would then report it to the big boss, and the news would be collected in the hands of the brothers and sisters of each branch of the Shen family.
Therefore, by the time the head of the family found out, the incident had already happened a long time ago.
"In one day, not only were all the shops in the city sealed off, but the farm tenants were also arrested on pretexts, and even the goods from the caravans that were supposed to be dispatched were seized..."
The head of the family looked grim: "Ning Zechen... now that he has the support of Zhao's concubine, he has finally shown his fangs."
No one dared to say a word.
He waved his hand with a gloomy face, and a group of his disciples fled as if they had been pardoned. Only he was left, walking out of the study and towards the mourning hall.
…
Inside the mourning hall.
The black coffin was still placed in the hall and had not yet been buried.
But today, there are only the old lady and her personal maid, Miss Hong.
The old lady, short in stature, wearing pure black mourning clothes and with silver hair, sat on a cushion, with the dragon-headed cane placed on the ground beside her.
There was a copper basin in front of the old lady, and she was throwing paper money into the basin alone.
The paper money was devoured by the flames and burned into white ash. In the past few days, the paper money burned throughout the night was enough to fill five large houses.
All because of the old lady's words: "Even if the descendants of our Shen family go to the underworld, they will not be short of money to spend."
At this moment, Miss Hong led the head of the family outside the mourning hall and said to the old lady's back:
"Madam, the master is here."
The patriarch who was as majestic as a lion just now was now as gentle as a cat. He bowed and said, "My son has something important to report."
The old lady didn't even turn her head and continued to burn paper money: "Speak."
"The people below reported that Ning Zechen was assassinated yesterday and nearly died... Zhao Duan was originally staying at Jingyuan and was suspected of being assassinated by the courtesan as well. He then rushed to the Canal Transport Office at night to rescue Ning Zechen..."
"Since dawn today, Ning Zechen has dispatched a large number of transport troops to seal and seize the goods in many of our shops..."
The head of the family told all the news he had received.
As the old lady listened, she stopped feeding the paper money.
When she heard that many of the family's businesses had sent requests for help, she was momentarily distracted and her hand was nearly licked by the flames.
After taking it back in pain, the old woman came to her senses and said:
"Were those assassins sent by my Shen family?"
The head of the family said, "Mother, without your permission, how could we dare to assassinate him? Yesterday, some of Wuji and his younger generation did have the idea of taking action, but they didn't carry it out. Besides... even if someone did it secretly, it wouldn't be possible to do it so quickly, so carefully, and on two fronts."
The old lady listened and murmured softly:
"Yeah, it was too quick and too thorough. How could it be a spur-of-the-moment decision? It was clearly a long-planned one."
The patriarch gritted his teeth and said:
"Mother! I'm afraid this was done by Prince Jing's Mansion, and they want to frame us. Ning Zechen now has the support of the Zhao family, and they are tearing their faces apart, and it seems that they are going to start a war. We..."
Without even turning her head, the old lady raised her right hand, interrupted the latter, and said softly:
"Everyone knows what Prince Jing's intentions are. It's not surprising."
After a pause, she said, "If we can guess, then how could Zhao and Ning not guess?"
The patriarch was stunned for a moment: "You mean, they deliberately want to use this as an excuse..."
The old lady said calmly:
"Whether Prince Jing's Mansion exists or not, this battle must be fought. The young man surnamed Zhao is surrounded by many experts. If he wanted to forcibly arrest you and me and throw us into prison, no one would be able to stop him, not even Xu Jinglong. But they didn't do it. This is not out of kindness, but out of cruelty.
"They know that if they capture you and me, it will only cause fear among the noble families, leading them to rebel and turn to the Eight Princes... On the contrary, this method is more clever and more deadly."
She stood up slowly, and Red Girl hurried forward to help her pick up the dragon head crutch.
The old lady turned around in the mourning hall and looked down at her eldest son who was listening to the instructions below. Her wrinkled face was cold and indifferent:
"This battle is worth fighting. If Zhao wants to fight, then I will fight with him. What's wrong with that?"
The head of the family suddenly raised his head: "Mother..."
The old lady ordered majestically: "Give the order, fight back. Do not stop until you are dead!"
…
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(End of this chapter)
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