We forgot.
His question was of great significance.
It should be noted that Zhao Lingying is currently the head of the Imperial Archives, but before that, she was Qingluan, one of the Emperor's personal guards, the "Flying Phoenix Guards," and had primary responsibility for the Emperor's safety. Does this mean that just because her official position has changed, she can shirk and ignore such a serious matter as an assassin attacking the palace?
Zhao Lingying was immediately speechless. Although she had grown up in the palace and enjoyed the emperor's favor, her foundation was ultimately incomparable to that of a high-ranking official like Shangguan You. She could not refuse to answer Shangguan You's question, nor could she offer a perfunctory answer, otherwise she would surely lose Shangguan You's respect.
As ruler and subject, father and son, a subject's loyalty to his ruler extends even unto death. How can one cherish personal safety and refuse to face danger for one's ruler simply because of high office and generous salary?
Zhao Lingying's beautiful eyes flickered as she carefully considered her words before speaking. Gongyi Xiu had already snapped open his jade-bone folding fan with a "snap," and said with a smile as he fanned himself, "I seemed to have heard some noise, but Consort Zhao was discussing the case of the Divine Hound Camp's horse racing in the outskirts of the capital with me at the time. I said that this matter must be consulted with the Left Prime Minister before a decision can be made."
He continued, "After a few words back and forth, the sound disappeared, and we forgot about it, each returning to our quarters to review official documents. It wasn't until the Imperial Guards came to search that I remembered this incident. I suppose the same is true for Zhaorong."
Humans are naturally inclined to focus their attention only on matters that concern them. Hearing that even though he wasn't present, Gongyi Xiu would still need to consult him in times of need, Shangguan You couldn't help but feel a little satisfied.
Upon hearing that it was about the Divine Hound Camp, he frowned and said, "The General should also discipline his own servants."
He then said to Zhao Lingying, “Since it was due to negligence in official business, it is understandable. The Junior Tutor did not name you, but only posted a notice on this bulletin board, which is considered to give you face. Everyone knows that the Junior Tutor does not do anything secretive. Since he wanted to point out your dereliction of duty, he could not secretly exchange messages with you, so this was the only way.”
As he spoke, he took the note off and handed it to Gongyi Xiu, saying, "Keep this safe. You two will come with me to court now and see what the Junior Tutor and the Emperor have to say."
Gongyi Xiu had no choice but to tuck the "Not good" written by Gu Yi into his sleeve. He felt as if the two large characters were burning hot inside his sleeve, making him restless and uneasy.
He secretly grumbled to himself: What on earth is A Qiu up to that he managed to bring up the Junior Tutor Gu Yi to scare him?
Because of the delay outside the gate, Shangguan You, Gongyi Xiu, and Zhao Lingying arrived at the court a little late.
At this moment, all the civil and military officials in the hall were gathered, but the court was so quiet that even the sound of iron horses under the eaves and the dripping of water from the copper water clock outside the hall could be heard clearly.
Emperor Xie Lang was about forty years old. His expression was cold and stern, with a thunderous aura between his brows. The tassels of his crown swayed slightly, clearly indicating that he was extremely angry.
General Sikong Zhao of the White Horse was kneeling on one knee below the red steps in front of the palace. It seemed that before the three entered the palace, Sikong Zhao was recounting the whole story of what happened last night.
Gu Yi, the Junior Tutor, stood behind the Emperor as always, wearing a golden feather and black cloak, but his expression remained unreadable.
Upon seeing this scene, Gongyi Xiu was already at his wit's end. He was secretly apprehensive, but had no choice but to follow behind Shangguan You and slowly advance to the head of the civil officials' ranks.
After recounting the events, Sikong Zhao concluded apologetically, "This humble servant is unworthy. If it weren't for the Grand Tutor's timely arrival to block her attack, I wouldn't have been able to stop her either. As a result, the Grand Tutor also suffered considerable injuries."
Gongyi Xiu was in turmoil, his heart filled with unbearable bitterness. He finally understood why his master had secretly arranged for him to enter officialdom five years ago, planting the seeds for this eventuality. It was all to clean up the mess his junior sister had made!
He dueled with Grand Commander Sikong Zhao atop Xianyang Palace, and unleashed the Lanling Howl at night atop the capital city, wounding Junior Tutor Gu Yi. Any one of these three incidents is enough to warrant a hundred deaths.
But Zhao Lingying heard it in a completely different way. She was on night duty at the Ministry of Personnel, which was not far from Xianyang Palace, and should have rushed to rescue Sikong Zhao in time, but she did not show up. This forced the Junior Tutor Gu Yi to personally come to snipe the assassin and was injured in the process. Therefore, Gu Yi, who usually did not care about the affairs of the Flying Phoenix Guard, could not bear it any longer and wrote a note and sent it to the gate of the Ministry of Personnel early in the morning.
If Gu Yi had not been injured, according to his usual style, the meeting would have glossed over the matter instead of explicitly stating his fault.
Shangguan You, as the head of all officials and the most respected, originally intended to take the note to Gu Yi for questioning. As fellow ministers, even if Zhao Lingying had made a mistake, how could he so disrespect the Ministry of Personnel by openly criticizing it as "bad" outside the grand gates of the Ministry of Personnel? But at this moment, he decided to forget about it.
Xie Lang said in a deep voice, "The assassins from Lanling Hall are running rampant in the palace, injuring important officials, and treating this forbidden area of the Dayan Imperial Palace as a game, coming and going as they please. If this is left unchecked, everyone in the palace will be in danger. What suggestions do you gentlemen have?"
To his surprise, whenever he sought the opinions of his ministers, as long as Gu Yi did not express any opposition, the ministers would rush to express their opinions, fearing that they would not be valued and adopted by the monarch.
But this time, when asked, everyone in the imperial court fell silent; it was truly a case of utter silence.
The reason is simple: since its rise to fame, no one has dared to challenge Lanling Hall. In the past, they have often taken the heads of corrupt officials in various places, earning them a fearsome reputation that is difficult for officials to guard against. Anyone who has served in an outside post only hopes that Lanling Hall will not target them, and would never actively seek out Lanling Hall unless there is a reason.
No one expected that the assassin from Lanling would break into the palace at night.
The civil officials who love to express their opinions are mostly scholars who are physically weak and have little experience to offer in matters that require them to confront and face criminals head-on.
The military officers, accustomed to the civil officials speaking first, were still mentally preparing their speeches, even if they had ideas, to avoid being ridiculed as ignorant and uncultured brutes for their lack of eloquence or grandeur. Military officers, too, had pride and self-respect.
Seeing that everyone was speechless, Xie Lang turned to Shangguan You and said in a deep voice, "Left Prime Minister, you speak."
Shangguan You, though past forty, possessed a handsome face and a refined air—the Shangguan family had produced many handsome men for generations. He stepped forward, unlike the others who were obsequious, and instead cupped his hands, saying, "Your Majesty should first ask why the assassin from Lanling entered the palace to carry out the assassination. What is his purpose?"
His question, though seemingly absurd, was actually a fundamental question.
Lanling Hall has always kept to itself and the imperial court, so why would it risk such a great danger to enter the palace and commit a crime? If the aim was to assassinate the emperor, then why was there only one person with no one else to assist them? And what benefit would Lanling Hall gain from assassinating the emperor?
If he was hired by someone else, then who is the mastermind behind it?
That's the key point.
Otherwise, even if we capture that assassin today, other assassins will continue to attack in the future. Even when dealing with assassins, it's best to understand their origins in order to devise a targeted strategy.
After all, there are very few chief assassins in the world who can come and go as freely as Jing Ke last night. Being truly wary of them might not be that difficult. After all, an assassin is just an individual, while the capital is garrisoned with hundreds of thousands of troops and armed with heavy weapons like crossbows; targeted defenses can greatly reduce the risk.
Xie Lang, still furious, said to Sikong Zhao, "You answer this question, Prime Minister."
Sikong Zhao bowed and said, "Yes." She pondered for a moment, then answered earnestly, "Based on what I saw last night, the direction the assassin took did not seem to be towards His Majesty's sleeping quarters. As for her purpose, I also asked her."
She thought hard and said, "The assassin said that she was just coming for a visit and would neither kill nor steal anything."
Nearly three hundred people on the steps fell into a deep and prolonged silence.
Therefore, the Lanling Assassin was just taking a walk. This whole thing was a misunderstanding, and the Junior Tutor was simply caught in the crossfire.
Xie Lang said sternly, "If she didn't come to kill anyone, then why did she end up stabbing the Junior Tutor?"
Sikong Zhao replied, "That's because I wanted to capture her, so she made a move." He then hesitated and added, "When making a move, swords and spears are naturally indiscriminate, and one wouldn't ask if the other party was the Junior Tutor." This sounded as if he were defending A Qiu.
As Gongyi Xiu listened to their question-and-answer session, he had already roughly pieced together the facts in his mind. A Qiu had not intended to provoke anyone, but had been intercepted by Sikong Zhao from the air. However, the only thing he couldn't understand was how Sikong Zhao, who was patrolling below the city, could have noticed A Qiu's "Earth Concealment" technique.
If A Qiu were to hide, even though he was ranked third on the "List of Banished Immortals" as "Jade-Faced Marquis Liu," he knew he wouldn't be able to find him.
They, as fellow students, often played hide-and-seek like this when they were young, and he never succeeded in finding her even once. She could even shrink her heartbeat and breath to an invisible state.
Xie Lang's face was ashen. He turned to Pei Yuanli, the Marquis of Dongguang, the head of the military generals, the Grand Marshal and General-in-Chief, who commanded tens of thousands of Jianzhang troops, and asked in a deep voice, "What is your opinion, Minister Pei?"
Pei Yuanli said succinctly, "Whatever her purpose, the palace needs to strengthen its security and vigilance."
Then, he rose from his seat, stepped forward, and prostrated himself, saying, "Your subject requests that the system of the Flying Phoenix Four Guards be restored, and that outstanding women from aristocratic families and the martial arts world be selected to enter the palace."
These words caused an uproar in the court, and the officials looked at each other in bewilderment.
The Flying Phoenix Guards were established because the new dynasty was newly established and the situation was unstable. If the assassination of the emperor were successful, the country could change hands in no time.
After their success, the four guards of Feifeng retired one by one. Some became imperial concubines like Li Lanxiu, some became wives of officials like Mu Huaying, some worked in the Ministry of Personnel like Zhao Zhaorong, and some still held important positions in the Imperial Guards like Sikong Zhao.
In any case, he would not be as concerned about the security of the palace and the safety of the emperor as he used to be, because the situation was different, and since his position was no longer that of the monarch's personal bodyguard, his main responsibility was no longer there.
At this moment, Pei Yuanli proposed to re-establish the Flying Phoenix Guards, and the entire court fell silent once again.
The Great Phoenix Soars is a symbol of an era of fierce competition, martial prowess, and bloodshed.
What exactly does Pei Yuanli want to do?
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