Jiuxi

Chapter 603: Murder in the Rain

The fifth day of June, 2:30 pm.

The sky was hazy and fog was everywhere.

The majestic and towering imperial tomb is hidden among the mountains and rivers, quietly waiting for its owner.

Seventy-two strong men carried the late emperor's coffin and walked step by step towards the depths of the imperial mausoleum.

Monks and Taoists in monastic robes and holding monastic instruments led the way, while the emperor Li Zongben, members of the royal family, civil and military officials, and relatives with military merits followed behind.

When the auspicious time arrived, the coffin was placed into the mausoleum for burial.

The strong men withdrew, and Li Zongben followed the court etiquette and went in personally to do a final inspection under the protection of the court guards.

The others were waiting outside the outer gate.

The ministers were divided into civil and military groups as they usually did when attending court meetings. Standing in the front row on the left was the left prime minister Li Daoyan, and on the right was the Duke of Wei Li Tianrun, who had the highest title.

Lu Chen stood behind Li Tianrun, looking at the solemn and majestic gate outside the imperial mausoleum in front of him, and then his gaze moved to the side.

The group of people standing in the front right are the royal family members.

Because of the Yuanjia Rebellion, many members of the Da Qi royal family died at the hands of Jing's army. He was the only one of his peers from the previous emperor's branch who survived, and the others were all descendants of the branch.

This was unfortunate for the royal family, but it was a good thing for Da Qi because it greatly reduced the pressure on the court to support the royal family.

Lu Chen's gaze rested on a young man in mourning clothes.

The man seemed to sense something and turned to meet Lu Chen's gaze.

He is the third prince Li Zongjian.

At this moment, Li Zongjian's mood was extremely complicated.

If there was a pill to cure regret in this world, he would definitely go back to the banquet at Jingshui Tower a few years ago.

At that time, in order to stand up for Li Yunyi, or to further deepen his friendship with Li Shizhi, he chose to make things difficult for this young man from the frontier.

How could he have expected that the other party would soar into the sky, change his appearance every once in a while, and accomplish in just a few years a leap that others would find difficult to achieve in their entire lives.

Li Zongjian naturally had various considerations when planning the assassination on Qingfeng Street, but perhaps even he himself had not thought about it, and in fact, he had always had a deep hatred for Lu Chen in his heart.

Now he suddenly realized it, but it was meaningless because he would never have another chance to do it again.

Especially after yesterday's conversation with Li Zongben, Li Zongjian has deeply realized the gap between them.

Putting aside other issues, at least Li Zongjian has made one thing clear: Li Zongben knew about his private contacts with Xu Ruqing, and even knew his biggest secrets in the past. This shows that Li Zongben has always had spies among his most important confidants.

The strange yet familiar name Yunniang completely destroyed Li Zongjian's defenses and will.

So what Lu Chen saw was a lifeless face and a pair of dull and sluggish eyes.

Lu Chen's heart moved slightly, and the scene in the Cining Palace that day emerged in his mind.

Queen Mother Xu ultimately overestimated her own skills and underestimated Li Zongben's determination. Even if Lu Chen was not present at the time, the young emperor could handle it. In the end, Queen Mother Xu had no choice but to give up, but Li Zongben took a step back and allowed Li Zongjian to participate in today's ceremony.

Lu Chen didn't know about the meeting between the royal brothers yesterday, but at this moment, observing Li Zongjian's distraught expression, he suddenly realized that something was wrong.

Why did Li Zongben agree to Empress Dowager Xu’s request?

He obviously didn't need to do this. Empress Dowager Xu's mood had nothing to do with him. He could have kept Li Zongjian confined in Qiushan Lane to avoid unexpected events.

unless--

Lu Chen began to observe the situation around him.

In the spacious area directly in front of the imperial mausoleum, there stood officials and nobles waiting to perform the ceremony. To the right front were members of the royal family. To the left front were the crowd divided into three parts. The first was the eunuchs in the palace who were preparing various sacrificial supplies, the second was the craftsmen waiting to complete the final door-sealing ceremony, and the rest were the palace guards and masters of the Weaving Bureau.

The imperial guards imposed martial law around the imperial mausoleum, while soldiers from the Beijing camp deployed defenses further out.

At this moment, more than a thousand people gathered outside the imperial mausoleum. Regardless of their status, each one was carefully checked to ensure that there were no problems with their background.

Lu Chen looked at them one by one very patiently, and when he passed a eunuch holding a tray, he suddenly stopped.

The eunuch, who was probably in his twenties, stood at the edge of the crowd, his upper body slightly leaning forward, presenting a tense posture.

There was no doubt that he looked very nervous.

Just at this moment, there was a noise at the gate of the imperial mausoleum, and then Li Zongben came out first, followed by the court guards.

At this point, the mountain tomb funeral entered the process of paying respects.

Under the guidance of the Minister of Rites Xie Zhen, the palace eunuchs came to the altar one by one, holding the offerings.

Li Zongben stood directly south of the altar, facing the imperial mausoleum.

The left prime minister Li Daoyan stepped to the front of the emperor, holding the mourning book in his hand. "Greetings!"

Minister of Rites Xie Zhen shouted loudly, and more than a thousand people around him bowed their heads. Then, the old voice of Li Daoyan was heard.

The old prime minister read word by word towards the altar.

"In the fifteenth year of Jianwu, the year of Renyin, on the first day of the fourth month, on the nineteenth day of Dingchou, Emperor Gaozong Ming died in his principal bedroom. On the fifth day of the sixth month, Renyin, his spirit was moved to the imperial mausoleum, as is the ritual."

"The successor ruler is benevolent and filial, and he suppressed his emotions and ascended the throne. He was filled with remorse and followed the will of the emperor. Soon, the people of the country were at peace and the country was celebrating. He was deeply saddened and admired the emperor. He called on the gods to issue an edict and ordered his ministers to write."

"I bow down to the Emperor Gaozong Ming, the sun and the moon give birth to spirits, the stars give birth to saints, the origin of the mysterious talisman, the style of the great destiny, spanning the heavens and the earth. How great is his splendor, his wisdom is unparalleled, his birth is fruitful, his saintliness and respect are increasing day by day. He knows everything, he knows everything, he is filial and friendly, and his reputation is far-reaching. The emperor is on a tour in the south, the emperor is from the northern tribe, the king and father ordered me to organize the six armies. I drove the bears and the barbarians on both sides, the rebels gathered like ants, and I said I would cut down their flags..."

The mourning book was very long, and was a personal account by Li Daoyan of the late emperor's life-long achievements.

Li Zongben looked at the main gate of the imperial mausoleum, with an indescribable sadness in his heart. He silently said: "Father, perhaps I cannot be as focused as you, but I will definitely remember your last wish and will never let your spirit down."

There was a gentle breeze and sporadic raindrops floating in the sky, as if they were seeing off the emperor who had worked hard all his life.

"…Alas, the jade voice is still in my ears, the great body is gradually dying, billions of people are crying to the heavens, as if they have lost their parents, they can't even reach their beards, they are just going to die, the leaves follow the tortoise shells, there is a time in the distance. The mysterious palace is about to close, the dragon carriage is here, please stop shining, stay with the heavens for a long time, engrave it on the jade, it will be immortal for ten thousand years. Alas!"

After Li Daoyan finished reading the last sentence, he bowed tremblingly.

Seeing this, Li Zongben said softly, "Please take care of yourself, Prime Minister Li."

Li Daoyan stood up and looked at the young emperor. Without saying much, he just lowered his eyes to greet him and then walked back to his original position.

After the ceremony of sending away the deceased was completed, the next step was the final ceremony. The craftsmen closed the outer gate in front of everyone's gaze. From then on, the imperial mausoleum was completely isolated from the world.

Li Zongben still stood there, and the eunuchs holding the funeral gifts returned the same way they came.

"what!"

Amidst the solemn silence, a ferocious shout suddenly rang out.

A eunuch suddenly jumped out of the team. He removed his left hand and the utensils on the tray fell to the ground. His right hand, still holding the tray, rushed towards the emperor who was less than ten feet away.

The tray in the eunuch's right hand seemed to have become a deadly weapon. If he was allowed to hit the emperor on the forehead without any hindrance, no one dared to imagine what the outcome would be.

The accident happened too suddenly, and there were several people who reacted first.

Qin Zheng, the director of the Sutra Weaving Bureau, rushed directly towards the altar.

Left Prime Minister Li Daoyan and Right Prime Minister Xue Nanting shouted almost in unison: "Protect the emperor!"

Duke of Wei Li Tianrun shouted out two words without thinking: "Lu Chen!"

As soon as the words came out, a figure shot out like an arrow and passed by Li Tianrun.

It was Lu Chen.

There was a sudden disturbance in the field.

No one could have imagined that at today's mountain tomb funeral, there was actually an assassin hidden in the crowd that had been repeatedly checked many times, and that this assassin turned out to be a eunuch in the palace!

Qin Zheng and Lu Chen rushed to the altar quickly, while the masters of the Sutra Weaving Department and the court guards were a little slower. The eunuchs were afraid of being mistaken for accomplices of the assassin, so they dodged in all directions in panic.

The assassin was too close to the emperor. When the guards took a step forward, he had already arrived in front of Li Zongben.

The tray came down towards Li Zongben with a faint sound of thunder and wind.

From this it can be clearly seen that although this eunuch does not have very advanced martial arts skills, he has amazing brute strength.

When the crisis came, Li Zongben showed no panic on his face. He took a step back very calmly, and the tray fell in front of him.

Li Zongben took advantage of the situation and kicked the eunuch in the chest, knocking him to the ground. He shouted angrily, "How dare you, a eunuch, bully me!"

This scene made everyone in the distance feel relieved.

However, at this moment, two figures took advantage of the chaotic situation to appear on the north side of the altar and rushed towards Li Zongben at the same time.

"His Majesty!"

Panic shouts suddenly arose from all around.

No one noticed when the two men appeared. They were only wearing craftsmen's clothes. Although they were unarmed, their momentum was far stronger than that of the eunuch who was kicked by the emperor and could not get up.

You can tell at first glance that these two are true martial arts masters!
Li Zongben's face changed drastically.

The eunuch who assassinated the emperor was named Wen Changbao, and he was someone he had arranged in advance. That's why he was able to respond calmly, and the other party did not pose any substantial threat at all.

How could he know that among the royal craftsmen who had been investigated many times by the Weaving Bureau, there was actually a real assassin.

Real fear finally appeared on the young emperor's face. He no longer had the calmness and composure he had before, and he retreated in panic.

The two assassins were as fast as lightning, with no fierce or ferocious emotions on their faces, only a cold murderous intent!
(End of this chapter)