amaotonovel Chapter 407 Assassination
Chapter 407 Assassination
Prince Yu held the teacup with his slender fingers, took a sip of spring tea, and upon hearing his subordinate's words, his smile became even more gentle. He reached out to stroke the red fox's fur, only to remember that the red fox had been left in the Great Zhou.
He sent people to investigate the Prince of Qi and learned that the Marquis of Shou'an would join forces with other officials to petition for the establishment of a crown prince on the day of Princess Guangning's wedding. However, after the Marquis of Shou'an's wife entered the palace to meet the Empress, the Marquis of Shou'an suddenly changed his plans, and it was unclear what big move he was planning.
They continued digging, but couldn't uncover any useful information. All they knew was that the Marquis of Shou'an planned to request permission to enter the palace to see the Empress again after Princess Guangning's marriage.
This was not good news for him. What was worse was that the Marquis of Shou'an and the King of Qi were clean, and no evidence of their crimes could be found.
If we want to bring them down, we need to create some "evidence".
He went through their records again and unexpectedly discovered a breakthrough—the ancestral temple of the Marquis of Shou'an.
In the past, it was common for officials to build ancestral temples in their hometowns. Firstly, someone would guard the ancestral graves, and secondly, the temples would be bustling with worshippers, which would accumulate good karma for their ancestors.
The clan members were very united and kind, donating a considerable amount of silver to the temple every year. The temple would also take in some homeless refugees. Over time, their reputation spread, and some criminals would conceal their identities and disguise themselves as refugees to stay in the temple for safety.
There's something to be done here.
He specially arranged for someone to leak the information to the King of Qi. When the King of Qi's men followed the clues to his ancestral home, they detained them and lured the King of Qi to his ancestral home to be killed.
After the death of the King of Qi, he arranged for someone to spread the news that remnants of the previous dynasty were hiding in the ancestral temple of the Marquis of Shou'an. It was because the abbot of the temple discovered this that he secretly notified the Marquis of Shou'an and the King of Qi. The King of Qi rushed to the ancestral temple to deal with the matter, but was instead killed by the remnants of the previous dynasty.
The Northern Qi emperor would be furious and personally send people to investigate.
The vagrants and criminals in the temple had no household registration, and they could not explain their origins. They were either tortured into confessing or died tragically under torture.
After all, the Northern Qi emperor was extremely fearful of the remnants of the previous dynasty, which gave rise to his inner demons. He would rather kill the innocent than let the guilty go free.
With these people dead, the case of King Qi will be dropped.
If he doesn't do this, the murderer of the King of Qi will not be found, and everyone will suspect that Zhao Yi was responsible. In that case, it will become an obstacle to Zhao Yi's ascension to the throne.
Prince Yu put down his teacup and dusted off his sleeves: "Keep a close eye on things, and make sure there are no mistakes."
"Your subordinate obeys." The subordinate acknowledged the order and withdrew.
-
The ancestral home of the Marquis of Shou'an was not far from the capital, in a village less than two hundred miles away. If one rode a fast horse, one could make a round trip in a day.
The messenger sent by the King of Qi returned the next morning.
When the guards delivered the letter to the main courtyard, King Qi was being helped by eunuchs as he slowly walked around the courtyard.
King Qi's face turned pale. The skin wound on his buttocks had healed, but he could not sit or walk, and it would hurt if he exerted himself.
He gasped, glancing at the guard standing at the courtyard gate, and asked irritably, "What are you doing standing there?"
The guard rushed forward: "Your Highness, Li Qing has sent a letter."
King Qi frowned: "Open it."
The guard opened the letter and handed it to King Qi.
King Qi glanced at the letter and recognized Li Qing's handwriting. The letter roughly stated that they had followed the clues to his maternal grandfather's ancestral home, where remnants of the previous dynasty were hiding in a temple. They wanted to investigate, but were obstructed by the abbot and his clan.
The letter also stated that there were dozens of people in the cemetery who had no household registration and whose origins were unknown.
King Qi's face darkened, and he angrily rebuked, "A bunch of unruly commoners!"
He was about to send more people to his ancestral home, but then he remembered that remnants of the previous dynasty had infiltrated his maternal grandfather's family cemetery. If these troublemakers didn't give his people any leeway, things could escalate and the consequences would be unimaginable.
King Qi gritted his teeth and said, "Help me to the Marquis of Shou'an's residence."
The eunuch helped King Qi walk out.
"Wait!" King Qi hurriedly called out.
He remembered something: his maternal grandfather always valued the clan. If he knew that the remnants of the previous dynasty were in the clan, he would have dealt with them quietly and would not have given him a chance to interfere.
He had a different idea. It wasn't that the temple was intentionally harboring remnants of the previous dynasty, but rather that these people were hiding in the temple to conceal their identities. If he could capture them and bring them before his father, he would have performed a great service.
Father Emperor is overjoyed that he has eliminated a major threat, so why would he punish the clan?
After careful consideration, King Qi decided to personally visit his ancestral home. Those unruly people, knowing his status, would certainly not dare to obstruct his actions.
"Hatch the carriage," King Qi ordered.
The eunuch exclaimed, "Your Highness, your injuries have not yet healed!"
"He won't die." King Qi shouted, "Go quickly."
The two eunuchs looked at each other, unsure of what to do.
The guard turned and went to harness the carriage.
When the two eunuchs saw that the guards had moved, they dared not disobey the King of Qi any longer and helped him out of the mansion.
The guards had been very thoughtful, laying a thick, soft mattress on the floor of the carriage so that the King of Qi could lie on it.
King Qi lay on his side in the carriage and ordered his guards to summon secret protectors before he could finally go to his ancestral home with peace of mind.
The coachman, concerned about King Qi's injury, drove extremely slowly.
King Qi had his own plans. He intended to resolve the matter before tomorrow, then secretly bring the remnants of the previous dynasty back to the capital and deliver them to the Northern Qi Emperor on the day of Guangning's marriage. This would divert the Northern Qi Emperor's attention and allow Zhao Yi to return to the Great Zhou.
Thinking of this, King Qi instructed his coachman to hurry on their journey.
The carriage sped along the official road, and the King of Qi was so jolted that his bones felt like they were about to fall apart. He almost vomited up his breakfast and lay listlessly on his mattress, unable to eat lunch.
Seeing that the Prince of Qi looked dejected, the eunuch cautiously said, "Your Highness, we'll arrive after we go around that mountain ahead."
King Qi, with his eyelids drooping, did not respond to the eunuch's words. Instead, he got up, leaned against the carriage window, and pulled back the curtain. He then saw a towering mountain that seemed to reach into the clouds ahead.
The guard rode his horse swiftly into the bend in the road and lowered the curtain.
"Boom——"
A deafening explosion rang out, and the King of Qi felt a jolt in his chest, as if his internal organs had shifted. Before he could react, a long sword pierced into the carriage.