Jiuxi

Chapter 604: 602 [Under the Abyss]

From ancient times to the present, killing the king has always been a task as difficult as ascending to heaven.

For any emperor who is in power normally, the probability of being assassinated is extremely low, because people of unknown origin have no chance to approach him, and he is under heavy protection most of the time.

Only on very rare special occasions would the emperor appear before ordinary people.

This is the moment.

The identities of the two assassins were not false. They were indeed royal craftsmen who had participated in the construction of the imperial tomb in this area many years ago.

But they have another identity, that is, brothers who would rather die than return.

Ning Bugui rushed to the capital after burying his mother. The first thing he did was to find these two people, because he knew that on the day of the previous emperor's burial, the new emperor would definitely offer sacrifices near the altar. In addition, in order to show the emperor's filial piety and maintain the court's etiquette, Li Zongben must not have any masters from the court guards or the weaving bureau around him at this time.

This is the only chance.

But Ning Bugui would never have imagined that there was someone who had the same plan as him.

In fact, the eunuch was only one step faster. The two assassins were about to take action, but the sudden appearance of the eunuch did not create any obstacles for them. Instead, it created an excellent opportunity for them.

Under normal circumstances, if the two men made the slightest unusual movement, they would surely be intercepted by the court guards and the masters of the Sutra Weaving Bureau. At most, they could cause some fright to Li Zongben but could not really hurt the young emperor.

Unexpectedly, someone helped them disrupt the situation.

There was chaos in the scene, and the eunuch attracted almost everyone's attention, so the two assassins successfully got close to the altar and launched a fierce attack on Li Zongben.

Although the two men's expressions remained grim at this moment, there seemed to be a raging fire burning in their hearts.

If they could really succeed, not only would they be able to repay Ning Bugui's kindness, but they would also be destined to go down in history.

It doesn't matter whether it is a good reputation or a bad reputation.

As the distance got closer, they could even see the panic on the emperor's face.

But then a gust of wind swept in, and a tall figure appeared in an instant, separating the two assassins and Li Zongben.

Li Zongben, who was retreating in panic, staggered and nearly fell to the ground. Fortunately, he steadied himself in time and did not lose his imperial dignity in front of more than a thousand people.

He looked at the figure standing in front of him, and his mood was extremely complicated for a moment.

The person who came was naturally Lu Chen.

He and Qin Zheng started almost at the same time, and he was farther away from the altar, but he arrived earlier, which was enough to show the gap in martial arts between the two.

Seeing Lu Chen protecting the emperor behind him, the left prime minister Li Daoyan in the distance felt relieved, but his expression was still solemn. His gaze fell on the eunuch who was kicked over by the emperor, and a look of worry and confusion appeared in his eyes.

The two assassins knew Lu Chen's identity and were familiar with the youngest duke of the dynasty. Many of his deeds were well-known to them, but they were not afraid.

Although this person has made great military achievements and is extremely good at battlefield strategies, it does not mean that he is also good at killing in the martial arts world.

Force him to retreat, and there is still one last chance to kill the king!
Otherwise, as long as Lu Chen could hold them back for a moment, the court guards would completely surround them.

The two of them were in tune with each other, moved in the same direction, and joined forces to attack Lu Chen.

Even though they had no weapons in their hands, their momentum was still ferocious. One of them punched Lu Chen's right chest, while the other's right hand was like an eagle's claw, grabbing Lu Chen's throat directly.

In a flash, murderous aura filled the air!
Lu Chenyuan stood like a mountain, taking a long breath. He looked calmly at the fatal move coming towards him, and suddenly took a step forward.

As his status gets higher, he has fewer and fewer opportunities to display his martial arts skills, but that doesn't mean he will slack off.

When he first started practicing the Shangxuan Sutra, Lin Xi was surprised at his speed of improvement because it took him less time to get started than her. Although this was related to the fact that Lu Chen had practiced the Shouzheng Jue for nine years, it was also enough to prove his talent in martial arts.

In the past thousand days and nights, Lu Chen never wasted any time. Even when he was leading his troops in battle, he would take some time to consolidate his skills.

At this moment, the internal energy of the Shangxuan Sutra circulated throughout his body. Lu Chen stepped within a foot of the two assassins, and the punch from the left landed on his shoulder.

Lu Chen's shoulders only trembled slightly, and the assassin's fist was suddenly bounced away. The tremendous force rebounded out, and the assassin felt as if he had punched a rock. The severe pain went from his fingertips back to his arms and spread to his limbs.

The next moment, Lu Chen raised his right hand to block his throat.

The eagle claws attacked, and the two fierce forces suddenly collided.

The other assassin's right hand instantly deformed, and the eagle claw turned into an extremely strange posture.

Broken knuckles!

The expression on the assassin's face just changed when Lu Chen clenched his left hand into a fist. The powerful internal energy gathered in his fist and suddenly hit the opponent's chest!
As everyone watched nervously and anxiously, the assassin flew backwards, gliding for more than a dozen feet like a kite with a broken string, and fell to the ground with a thud.

In a flash, the two seemingly ferocious assassins retreated and flew away.

The assassin was not injured, but he did not have the chance to continue rushing forward, because when his punch was bounced off by Lu Chen's internal energy, two figures appeared in front of him.

One was Qin Zheng, the director of the Weaving Bureau, and the other was Yuan Yuji, the junior supervisor of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

Compared to Lu Chen who will show his prowess on the battlefield, Qin Zhengze basically has no need to take action personally. However, he has been able to lead the Weaving Bureau for more than ten years and has been as stable as a mountain, so his skills must be strong.

Yuan Yuji was very skilled, and Lu Chen only took a glance and was sure that his martial arts skills were even better than Qin Zheng's, and only slightly inferior to his own. Facing the siege of two masters, the assassin was quickly defeated and was finally easily subdued by Yuan Yuji.

Li Zongben was now under the protection of the imperial guards.

All three assassins were captured. The one who was knocked away by Lu Chen's punch looked pale and barely alive, and it was obvious that he was not going to survive. The other two were not in danger of death.

The chaos finally subsided. Xue Nanting supported Li Daoyan and came to the altar. Li Daoyan said solemnly, "Your Majesty, do you want to summon the imperial physician to check?"

Li Zongben had calmed down from his panic at this moment. He shook his head and said, "Don't worry, Prime Minister Li. I am fine."

Li Daoyan glanced at the three assassins who were firmly controlled by the court guards, and couldn't help but hesitate to speak.

Li Zongben turned to look at Lu Chen and said sternly, "If Lu Qing had not rescued me in time, I would have been murdered by the traitor."

Lu Chen bowed his head slightly and said, "Your Majesty is the Emperor of Great Qi, so you are naturally blessed with great fortune. How can such villains harm Your Majesty in the slightest?"

Li Zongben looked at him steadily, feeling overwhelmed.

The eunuch assassin was someone he had arranged himself. He originally just wanted to cause a little noise so that he could deal with two very important issues. However, he didn't expect that there was a real assassin lurking nearby.

Thinking back to the critical situation just now, if Lu Chen had not acted decisively enough, even if he was just a little bit slower, the two assassins might have had a chance of succeeding.

When he thought of this, Li Zongben felt a strong fear and uncontrollable anger in his heart.

On the other side, Qin Zheng knelt down and pleaded guilty: "Your Majesty, I failed to do my job properly and put Your Majesty in such a dangerous situation. This crime is unforgivable. Please forgive me!"

If there was only the eunuch assassin, although he would need to bear some responsibility, he would not fall into the abyss, after all, the Weaving Bureau had no control over the eunuchs in the palace.

However, there were actually assassins among the craftsmen, and more than one. This was the area that the Weaving Bureau was responsible for investigating. How could he, as the supervisor, stay out of it?

The atmosphere around the altar was extremely depressing.

Li Zongben glanced at Qin Zheng, then said to Li Daoyan: "Prime Minister Li, today is the funeral at the mountain mausoleum. Although there was a little accident, I don't want the ceremony to be interrupted."

This means that the last step of the funeral must be completed.

Qin Zheng was still kneeling on the ground, with bitterness filling his heart.

Li Daoyan sighed inwardly upon seeing this, and after a moment's thought, he nodded and said, "Your Majesty is absolutely right."

Of course he knew that the emperor was expressing his strong dissatisfaction with the Weaving Bureau. However, today was the last day for the late emperor. How could the old man bear to see the late emperor go in unrest?
Li Zongben then looked at Qin Zheng and said, "Get up."

Qin Zheng slowly stood up and retreated silently. His lonely figure seemed to have aged a lot in an instant.

Civil and military officials and royal family members looked at the altar with complicated expressions. The interrupted ceremony continued. The three assassins were taken away. Each of the remaining craftsmen was accompanied by a court guard, who watched their every move with sharp eyes.

Beside the altar, Li Zongben stood solemnly facing north.

The difference from before was that this time Lu Chen was standing within three feet behind him.

As the craftsmen worked cautiously, the outer gate of the imperial mausoleum was gradually sealed.

The mountain breeze was blowing gently, and the atmosphere was extremely solemn and heavy.

"It's done!"

The slightly trembling voice of Xie Zhen, the Minister of Rites, spread all around.

Led by Li Zongben, more than a thousand people kowtowed three times and bowed nine times in front of the imperial mausoleum.

The funeral finally took its final step, but no one could relax.

Because that sudden assassination is bound to cause huge waves.

On the day of the late emperor's burial, in front of all the ministers and royal nobles, someone actually dared to assassinate the emperor on this occasion. Who could be so cruel and bold as to be so cruel?

This case will certainly be investigated thoroughly, and almost everyone can foresee that there will be a lot of bloodshed next.

Among the crowd, there was a young man in mourning clothes with a dejected look on his face.

In fact, when the first assassin made his move, Li Zongjian's heart suddenly skipped a beat because he recognized the eunuch's identity.

His name was Wen Changbao. Five years ago, he was sent to Jianwang Palace by the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Because Li Zongjian didn't like him very much, he only stayed in the palace for more than two months before returning to the palace.

Li Zongjian therefore did not dare to move a step, for fear of attracting the attention of the court guards.

He looked at the emperor who was closely protected by the court guards, a look of sadness gradually appeared in his eyes, and he silently muttered in his heart.

"You made such a fuss just to kill me. You really don't want to bear the slightest bad reputation."

"Second brother...you are still as hypocritical as ever."

(End of this chapter)