Chapter 79
It was three o'clock in the night. The glazed tiles of the East Palace shone coldly under the waning moonlight. Ji Zeming stepped on the thin frost on the blue bricks, the corner of his robe brushing the withered chrysanthemums in front of the steps, and stopped outside the East Palace again.
Just as the eunuch was about to pass on the message, he raised his hand and pressed the other person's wrist, lowering his voice very low: "I need to see Your Highness urgently, please do not make it public."
Inside the hall, candlelight flickered. Li Yin was leaning against the window, flipping through a military tome. Seeing him return late at night, his fingertips paused, his eyes growing colder. "If you're still here for Sanlang, there's no need to say more." His fingertips traced the cinnabar markings on the pages, his tone firm, "If she needs protection, I will do my best to protect her."
Ji Zeming stared at his wife's straight back, his Adam's apple rolling for a long while. Finally, he gritted his teeth and stepped forward: "Your Highness, do you know that keeping Luo Neiguan by your side is like hanging a knife over your head? She must leave the East Palace!"
"How dare you!" Li Yin slammed the book shut, causing the teacup on the desk to clatter. "Luo Sanrong is someone I personally keep by my side. You're meddling too much!"
"What exactly is the danger?" Li Yin suddenly interrupted, suppressed anxiety swirling in his eyes. Mr. Chashan's whispered words from the day before were still ringing in his ears, but despite his repeated inquiries, no one was willing to reveal the secret.
Ji Zeming's throat tightened. Seeing the stubbornness in the prince's eyes, he turned away and said, "Your Majesty... Your Majesty cannot say it."
"Forget it." Li Yin's shoulders suddenly relaxed, but the strength of his fingertips pinching the corner of his sleeve did not decrease. "If I were afraid, I would not have let him stay by my side. You can leave now!"
The palace door closed quietly, leaving only the candlelight flickering in the silence.
Li Yin sat quietly for a while, and suddenly felt that it was too quiet outside the hall. In the past, at this time, the kind-hearted servant would definitely greet him through the window, but today there was not even a sound.
His heart sank. He reached out and grasped the sword on the wall. He quietly moved to the palace door on the carpet with his boots and called out in a low voice, "Warm man? Is there anyone outside?"
Just as he finished speaking, the palace door was suddenly kicked open from the outside! Amidst the flying wood chips, more than a dozen figures dressed in black rushed in, their faces covered with pale masks that were exactly the same as those worn by the assassins at the Prime Minister's banquet.
Li Yin subconsciously took a half step back, his long sword clanging out of its sheath, the cold light reflecting off his tense jaw. "Who are you? How dare you break into the East Palace!"
The men in black did not answer, but just took half a step back.
Li Yin's eyes fixed, and he saw Luo Sanrong being held by two people behind the crowd. His hair was disheveled and there was blood at the corner of his mouth, but he still pursed his lips stubbornly, staring at the men in black with his almond-shaped eyes, refusing to let the tears fall.
"Put down your sword." The leading black-clad man's voice was hoarse as a broken gong, and the dagger at Luo San'er's neck moved a little closer. "Otherwise, this young eunuch's life will be at stake today."
Li Yin stared at the blood oozing from Luo San'er's neck, his fingers clenching the hilt of his sword until his knuckles turned white. In an instant, he threw the sword to the ground, where it clashed with the bricks with a resounding sound. "The sword has been lowered. Let her go!"
The man in black sneered and pushed Luo Sanrong forward.
Li Yin stepped forward, holding her firmly in his arms. Before he could even steady himself, several long swords were already slashing towards his heart! He subconsciously pushed Luo Sanrong back and met the attack with his bare hands. His knuckles struck the black-clad man's shoulder, but he was met with a backhanded slap to the chest. He groaned and took two steps back.
In just a moment, Li Yin was surrounded by men in black, with wounds on his shoulders and arms, and blood soaked through his moon-white brocade robe.
He was staring at the dense swarm of sword flashes before him, feeling a chill in his heart when he suddenly heard a crisp "crash" sound. The west window frame was smashed open, and Ji Zeming leaped in with a long sword in hand. With a flash of his sword, he split open a gap. "Your Highness! When I saw the guards outside the palace lying in a pool of blood, I knew something was wrong!"
"Be careful!" Li Yin reminded hurriedly, but before he finished speaking, a long knife had already chopped towards Ji Zeming's back.
Ji Zeming spun around, swept his sword across, and stood back to back with Li Yin, whispering, "These people have strange martial arts skills, they are definitely not ordinary assassins!"
Seeing that the two men cooperated well with each other, the man in black suddenly changed direction and rushed straight towards Luo Sanying.
Although Luo Sanrong had no martial arts skills, he refused to sit still and wait for death. He grabbed the inkstone on the table and smashed it at the man in black, splashing ink all over his face. This action completely enraged the man in black. He roared, raised his long sword high, and chopped it down at Luo Sanrong's head!
"Sanlang!" Li Yin's eyes were bloodshot, and he ignored the blade attacking from behind and jumped in front of Luo Sanrong.
The long knife fell and hit his back hard. The wound was so deep that the bone could be seen, and blood immediately gushed out, staining Luo Sanrong's sleeves red.
Li Yin gasped in pain, but still grabbed the black-clad man's wrist with his backhand, threw him to the ground, snatched the knife and stabbed it into his heart.
But the severe pain in his back had blurred his vision, and two more wounds appeared on his chest. Blood flowed down his clothes and dripped onto the blue bricks, leaving dark marks.
He looked at the white mask swaying in front of him, and suddenly remembered the mask that fell off when Weidao was assassinated last month. His heart skipped a beat. The pattern on this mask was exactly the same as Weidao's mask.
"Oida... is that you?" He clutched the bleeding wound on his abdomen, his voice weak but insistent, "Who sent you?"
As soon as the voice fell, a long knife suddenly pierced out from the side and went straight into the chest of the leading man in black! The man in black fell down with a muffled groan, revealing the anxious face of the tail knife behind him.
He quickly stepped forward and supported the staggering Li Yin, his voice filled with fear: "Your Highness! I'm too late! I was entangled by assassins outside the palace gate and couldn't get in in time!"
Seeing that the familiar face did not betray him, Li Yin's tense nerves finally relaxed. His eyes went dark and his body fell down.
Luo Sanrong rushed forward, clutching his bleeding wound with both hands. Tears could no longer be held back, falling onto Li Yin's bloodstained collar. "Your Highness! Hold on! Imperial Physician! Call the Imperial Physician!"
There were chaotic footsteps outside the palace, and the candlelight swayed in the night wind, reflecting the blood and scattered white masks on the ground, dyeing the East Palace red that night.
——
It was already the next morning when His Majesty learned the news. He hurriedly summoned the Prime Minister and anxiously asked, "Prime Minister, what exactly is going on? Is it true that a group of men in black, wearing white masks, broke into the Eastern Palace?"
The Prime Minister said slowly, "Yes, Your Majesty."
His Majesty paced back and forth, his brow furrowed. This scene reminded him of a scene ten years ago. How could he not be anxious? He asked in a panic, "What should I do?"
The Prime Minister said with an unchanging expression, "Your Majesty, at this time, you must be more resolute in your character."
His Majesty said worriedly, "As the Crown Prince's father, the Crown Prince is in imminent danger, and yet I am still worried about the consequences of the news leaking out. I really am..."
The Prime Minister soothed him, "Your Majesty, calm down. I know you're definitely thinking of calling in the Imperial Guards for accountability, but there's a good chance that this will leak out. What if it causes even greater panic?"
Sure enough, after saying this, His Majesty calmed down, but was still frightened. Seeing this, the Prime Minister showed disdain in his heart.
Seeing that the time had come, the Prime Minister requested, "In order not to shake the people's hearts, please leave this matter to me."
His Majesty said absentmindedly: "Okay"
After leaving the palace, Sun Xing and Xu Jiang were already waiting at the Prime Minister's residence. As soon as they entered the residence, the Prime Minister asked directly, "Have you finished the final finishing work?"
Sun Xing stepped forward and whispered, "Of course. I guarantee they won't find anything. Furthermore, Your Majesty already knows about this matter, and you've remained silent. We are deeply grateful."
After hearing this, the Prime Minister warned: "You still need to be vigilant at all times and never be careless."
The two responded, "Yes."
After leaving the Prime Minister's Mansion, Xu Jiang pulled Sun Xing aside and said with a worried look on his face, "What should we do? There were clearly ten assassins, but there were only nine bodies. What if they find out it's us..."
Originally, the two men thought that as long as the prince died, the matter of buying and selling officials could be put on hold, so they came up with the idea of hiring someone to kill someone and put the blame on others. They didn't expect that this matter would now give others a handle, which was really not worth the loss.
Xu Jiang was still worried and said, "This matter can't be reported, but it can't be unreported either. What should we do?"
......
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