The river, as calm as a porcelain surface, suddenly churned up a large splash. A seven-foot-tall man dressed in Mongolian attire emerged from the river, a curved knife clenched between his teeth.
Empress Fucha's beautiful figure was obscured by a fierce-looking man with a curved sword in his mouth. The Emperor's eyes narrowed sharply, and he stopped in his tracks.
Yan Ning saw that the person dressed in Mongolian attire had already grasped the scimitar in his mouth. In desperation, she shouted for help to the imperial guards around her. "Help! There's an assassin!" Her terrified voice pierced through the vast grassland sky.
Fukang'an, still some distance from the Emperor, threw the dagger in his hand at the assassin wielding a curved sword. The dagger grazed the Emperor's fluttering silver hair and pierced the man's heart.
Before Fukang'an could reach the emperor, another person dressed in Mongolian clothing emerged from the water and, before Fukang'an could reach him, used a knife to hold the emperor in his arms.
Then four more people dressed in Mongolian attire emerged from the water, making a total of six, including the burly man who had fallen in earlier. All five, soaking wet, brandished their water-drenched curved swords, which, when illuminated by the golden light, gleamed so brightly they sent a chill down one's spine.
Yan Ning recognized the person holding the emperor hostage as the one she had bumped into in the forest earlier—the same person sent by Prince Latna Siddi of the Doroduleng County to deliver a message to the emperor.
Dozens of imperial guards surged forward like a tide, standing behind Fukang'an with their swords drawn, awaiting orders.
The Emperor restored his imperial majesty, his sharp eyes piercing Fukang'an, signaling him to act according to the circumstances.
Fukang'an returned the same sharp gaze and waved his hand to stop the imperial guards behind him, ordering them not to make any rash moves.
This river winds through forests and grasslands; sending imperial guards into the water would only alert the assassins holding the emperor hostage. Fukang'an kept a close eye on the five assassins' every move, daring not to make the slightest mistake.
"Step back, or I'll kill this dog emperor!" The assassin leader brandished his water-drenched scimitar at Fukang'an, the crescent-shaped blade perfectly positioned to strangle the emperor's neck.
The Emperor showed no fear on his face, like a general on the battlefield. "I consider myself to love my people like my own children, so why do you, brave warrior, harbor such deep hatred towards me!" His tone was calm and composed, exuding a natural air of kingship.
The assassin, soaking wet, spat on the ground and said with utter contempt, "A tyrannical and incompetent ruler who harms innocent people!"
Having lain hidden underwater for so long, the five burly men were now drenched in sweat, as if soaked in a downpour, and their strength was clearly waning. The Emperor sensed that the grip on his hands was not the strength expected of a grown man trained in martial arts, and gestured to Fukang'an with his eyes towards the assassin's arm.
Fukang'an's sharp eyes glared at the leading assassin, his voice icy cold, "Release the Emperor, and I will spare your corpses!" These few words sent a chill down the spines of the five assassins.
The assassin holding the emperor hostage then smiled disdainfully, his eyes filled with a resolute determination to die. "Since we dared to come, we never expected to leave alive!"
The emperor continued, following the assassin's words, "Then why didn't you just kill me with a single blow? Why did you go to such lengths to kidnap me? I am the ruler of the world. State your demands!"
The assassin pressed his knife close to the emperor's neck, his face contorted in pain. "Does this dog emperor still remember Zhu Enzhao, whom you wrongfully killed twenty years ago!"
"Zhu Enzhao?" The Emperor was lost in thought, but he really couldn't recall this person.
Seeing that the emperor couldn't remember the person he was referring to, the assassin coldly reminded him, "The Lament for the Times!"
The emperor's pupils widened suddenly.
In the twenty-first year of the Qianlong Emperor's reign, Jiangsu suffered a severe drought, resulting in poor harvests and skyrocketing prices for rice and flour, leaving the people destitute. Local officials embezzled relief funds sent by the imperial court, prioritizing their own enjoyment and neglecting the lives of the people, refusing to provide aid. For a time, the people of Jiangsu were in dire straits.
Zhu Enzhao, a failed scholar, was outraged and compiled idioms from the Four Books into an essay entitled "Lament for the Times," criticizing officials who embezzled relief funds.
Officials accused Zhu Enzhao of disrespecting sages and brought him to the capital. The emperor considered this "insulting the sages and violating the law, truly the work of a scoundrel." He then ordered the confiscation of the Zhu family's property and the punishment of those involved, but those outside the Zhu family were only sentenced to imprisonment.
"You are his descendant? But..." The Emperor pondered without speaking.
"But the entire Zhu family has already been executed by you! Is that so?" The assassin's hand gripped the curved blade uncontrollably, the blade already digging into the flesh of the emperor's neck. The emperor's neck was forced towards the assassin, his body becoming even less flexible.
Seeing the assassin's blade close to the emperor's neck, Fukang'an, with one hand behind his back, directed the imperial guards behind him to act at the opportune moment. The imperial guards had been trained by Fukang'an and understood his commands at a glance. They all gripped their knives tightly, their eyes fixed on the five assassins.
The assassin stopped exerting force, his expression lost in painful memories.
"I am Chen Choutian, the son of the Chen family, a close friend of Uncle Zhu! My father, seeing the massacre of Uncle Zhu's entire family, felt pity and secretly hid Zhu's three-year-old daughter in our home. Then, the soldiers sent by you, this dog emperor, slaughtered more than twenty members of my Chen family. My mother and my infant brother were also hacked to death by the soldiers sent by you, this dog emperor! If my father and I hadn't been away from home, we would have died long ago under the blades of those dogs..."
Taking advantage of Chen Choutian's pained expression and inability to pay attention to anything else, Fukang'an pulled off the jade pendant from his waist and flung it at Chen Choutian's eyes. Six agile imperial guards leaped up from behind him and pounced on the assassin by the river from above.
Chen Choutian's vision went black, and the emperor's sword in his hand was suddenly gripped tightly in his own. Fukang'an rushed forward, snatched the curved sword from his hand, and slashed his legs.
The other four men, whose bodies had not yet regained their agility and whose opponents were highly skilled imperial guards, were subdued within two moves.
Yan Ning watched as these matters of life and death were decided in an instant. In ancient times, if you wanted to fight against imperial power, the only option was death.
Inside the Emperor's yurt, Chen Choutian and his accomplice were bound hand and foot, kneeling on the ground. The blood on his legs soaked into the crimson royal carpet, leaving no trace of color.
At this moment, Heshen, accompanied by a group of guards, tied up an elderly man in his sixties dressed in Mongolian attire and threw him heavily to the ground. Upon seeing the old man, Chen Choutian, ignoring the pain in his legs, crawled to him, saying, "Father, didn't I tell you not to come?"
The old man, looking frail and aged, got up, his droopy eyelids obscuring half of one eye. He glared fiercely at the emperor, who sat atop the throne. His exposed skin resembled a withered tree trunk, and his entire body exuded a chilling, hellish aura.
The Emperor gazed at the father and son kneeling and crawling on the ground, clinging to each other, and was deeply moved by their unwavering bond of brotherhood. His eyes swept over the faces of all the princes, finally settling on Fukang'an.
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