Jiuxi

Chapter 803 801 [Heart Like a Tiger]

"I would rather not return than to meet Lord Lu!"

A powerful voice sounded in the hall.

Lu Chen looked up and saw that the man was about thirty-six or thirty-seven years old, with slender limbs and a tall body. His face was strong and angular, and he looked a bit desolate and weathered.

Although he tried to hide it, he still couldn't conceal the sharpness and determination that seemed to be born with him.

Lu Chen was no stranger to this kind of ruffian, there were quite a few of them in the Seven Star Gang.

Not to mention Lin Jie, who is already the number one on the martial arts list. As long as one can reach Lin Xi's level, he can control his aura freely. The man in front of him is still slightly inferior to him.

"I have heard of his fame for a long time. Seeing him today, I can see that Mr. Ning is indeed a man of high bearing."

Lu Chen spoke casually, then pointed to the side and said, "Please sit down."

Ning Bugui was not afraid, he bowed and said proudly: "Thank you for the seat, sir."

Tan Zheng and Qu Zhong stood behind Lu Chen, and on both sides more than a dozen elite guards stood solemnly with swords in their hands. Ning Bugui seemed oblivious to all this and drank his tea calmly.

But he was really interested in this young duke.

In the assassination of the emperor, the two assassins he had ambushed in advance almost succeeded by mistake, and he took advantage of Gao Que's weakness to coerce Gao Huan, the former Minister of Justice. He wanted to take advantage of this opportunity to stir up trouble, but Lu Chen took Gao Huan out with one move. Later, Tan Zheng and Qu Zhong set up a trap with Gao Huan's cooperation and successfully controlled this daring hero.

Unexpectedly, Ning Bugui not only had no resentment towards Lu Chen, but also wanted to see the other party's style with his own eyes. Therefore, he was willing to live in the place arranged for him by Tan Zheng. Otherwise, even if he could not escape, at least he would have the courage to end his life.

Lu Chen put down the teacup and smiled, "I thought the first thing you would do after meeting me was to take out your hidden blade and die with me."

This was not a joke. Ning Bugui planned to assassinate the emperor because the capital city rebelled and the main branch of the Ning family in Changle was destroyed. Although his mother was not killed by the court, she committed suicide by taking medicine because of this incident. Therefore, Ning Bugui's enemy was the court of Daqi. As an important official promoted by the previous emperor and the pillar of Daqi today, Lu Chen was naturally Ning Bugui's enemy.

"My Lord, you have fought on the battlefield for many years, experienced life and death situations, and you have outstanding martial arts skills. Why would you care about a lowly person like me?"

Ning Bugui was quite carefree. He glanced around and said, "Even if there were no warriors here, if I dared to draw my sword in front of you, I would be killed in an instant."

Lu Chen said calmly: "If that's the case, why do you want to fall into the trap?"

Ning Bugui was slightly startled and asked, "What do you mean, sir?"

"When you threatened Gao Huan, I had someone check your background. You are a real man. Looking at your life, you dared to break out of the house at the age of seventeen, and you didn't care about the wealth of Changle Ning's family. What's more valuable is that you can still fight and make a living."

Lu Chen briefly mentioned Ning Bugui's past and said slowly, "How could someone like you not be aware of the danger? Gao Huan did not act according to your arrangement, and you must have known that something had happened. Under such circumstances, you still accepted Gao Huan's invitation and stepped into the trap I had people set. What else could it be but walking into a trap?"

After hearing this, Tan Zheng and Qu Zhong's expressions looked a little unnatural.

They always carried out Lu Chen's orders without thinking, and did not dare to question them, so they did not consider the reason why Ning Bugui joined the game obediently.

Ning Bugui did not pretend to be nice, and said with admiration: "My Lord, you are wise. My thoughts are completely exposed in front of you."

Lu Chen smiled and said calmly: "I roughly know why you want to do this, but I don't quite understand where you get the confidence that I will agree with your idea."

The two men were like playing a game of charades. Tan Zheng stared at Ning Bugui's face and gradually began to understand something, while Qu Zhong was obviously a little slower.

Ning Bugui said without hiding anything: "Because I want revenge."

"revenge?"

Lu Chen looked at the other party's defiant face and immediately fell into deep thought.

"The Emperor's mausoleum was my best and only chance. Since then, Li Zongben has lived in the deep palace. My hands are not that long, and forcing my way into the palace is a dead end. If I want revenge, seeking help from outside forces is my only option. Originally, Longlin Gao's family might have been able to be used by me, but because of the sudden intervention of the Duke, I have no hope."

Ning Bugui explained the cause and then said sincerely, "Last autumn, before the Lord's subordinates took action, I suddenly heard the news that the court was going to launch a northern expedition and that the Lord was excluded from the candidate for the commander-in-chief because of his advice and dissuasion. I immediately realized that perhaps this was God's mercy, giving me a clear way out. To be honest, even if the Lord did not let his subordinates take action, I would have taken the initiative to surrender to the Lord's camp."

The atmosphere in the hall was a little weird.

Lu Chen picked up the teacup and said leisurely, "Go on."

Ning Bugui realized that the next step was extremely crucial. Whether he could achieve his long-cherished wish depended on whether he could convince this young nobleman, so he coughed lightly and said, "Your Excellency is young and noble, with outstanding military achievements. Your status in the hearts of the border soldiers is comparable to that of a god. Throughout history, such a glorious situation often brings unpredictable dangers. I am not exaggerating. The incident of the Northern Expedition last year is enough to prove it."

"When you come to the capital, there will be disturbances in the court. Some people must have been sharpening their knives, waiting for you to hand over some military power. If you take this first step, there will be countless ways to deal with you in the future, such as placing supervisors in the Dingzhou border army, imitating the example of the previous emperor sending Xu Zuo to monitor Li Jingda."

"One step back means all the steps back. When your power to protect yourself is weakened to a certain extent, you will be a lamb to be slaughtered. Your life and death will all depend on the will of others. However, in my opinion, it will be difficult for you to break the situation, because the other party always holds the righteous position. If your resistance is too fierce, you will be accused of having ulterior motives, and the world will certainly look askance at you."

"Perhaps the best outcome for you is to surrender all military power and live in the capital with your family as a rich and idle man."

Ning Bugui stopped talking and looked at Lu Chen respectfully.

"Finished?"

Lu Chen smiled and said calmly: "Now that things have come to this, you should offer a plan to break the impasse." For some reason, Ning Bugui suddenly felt a pressure coming towards him.

He knew that Lu Chen's current achievements were no fluke, but he was not afraid before coming here. After all, he could speak freely in front of an official of the level of the Minister of Justice, and after playing around in the world for the past twenty years, he thought he still had some strength.

Until this moment, when he looked at Lu Chen's gentle expression and felt the invisible pressure, as if his thoughts had already been seen through by the other party, Ning Bugui finally became a little nervous.

After calming down for a while, Ning Bugui said earnestly: "My plan to break the impasse is very simple, but absolutely effective. As long as you are willing to help me make some arrangements and let me get within 20 feet of the emperor, I can assassinate the king. Once the emperor dies, the heir is only five years old, and the Jiangnan clans are all cowardly people and are not to be feared. Then you can take control of the situation!"

After he finished speaking, he subconsciously observed the guards in the hall.

After hearing his outrageous plan, although these people's eyes suddenly became fierce, they did not make any unnecessary movements and waited for Lu Chen's instructions very calmly.

Seeing this scene, Ning Bugui felt a slight chill in his heart.

This detail shows Lu Chen's control over his subordinates.

Lu Chen looked down at the green in the teacup and suddenly shook his head and smiled.

Ning Bugui said quickly upon seeing this: "My identity is not a secret, and many people in the Jiangnan noble families know it. After I succeed, you can just have someone reveal my identity, and the crime of regicide will have nothing to do with you. As for my previous connection with the Gao family, and today's meeting, you can easily erase all traces."

However, Lu Chen still did not respond, instead he fell into a long silence.

Ning Bugui didn't dare to say anything more, fearing that it would have a counterproductive effect.

"For you, a common man's anger is enough to splatter blood five steps away. To avenge your mother and assassinate the emperor is enough to go down in history."

Lu Chen's tone was very calm, and no emotion could be heard. He looked at Ning Bugui and said, "But for me, if killing can solve the problem, why should I take the risk of returning to Beijing? Can't I find a confidant who dares to kill other than you?"

Ning Bugui was stunned.

"One of the reasons I want to meet you is that I am really interested in you, a grassroots hero. I am not disappointed after meeting you today. You are both ruthless and capable of planning."

Lu Chen put down the teacup and said frankly, "Secondly, I want to use your knowledge of the Jiangnan clans to help me accomplish two things. You traveled all over Jiangnan as a spoiled family. You have some understanding of the clans and know how they act. You are also independent of this group of people. You happen to be the most suitable person."

Ning Bugui hesitated and said, "Please give me your instructions, sir."

Lu Chen said: "The first thing is to find out all the details of the rebellion in the capital, and the second is to find out the details of the Jiangnan clans."

Ning Bugui remained silent for a long time before he raised his head and said, "Can I...get what I wish for?"

He is not afraid of death, and the only person he cares about, his mother, has passed away. Apart from revenge, there is no other means in the world that can threaten him.

Even if Lu Chen is powerful and omnipotent, Ning Bugui will not be afraid.

Lu Chen shook his head.

A look of disappointment appeared on Ning Bugui's face.

The next moment Lu Chen said, "You know very well that the person who killed your mother was not the late emperor, nor the current emperor, but the Changle Ning family who attempted to rebel, and all the black hands that fanned the flames of this rebellion. Most of those people are still living comfortably in this capital. You know that you can't deal with so many enemies with your own ability, so you forced yourself to correct your thoughts and only point your spearhead at the emperor."

Ning Bugui lowered his head in shame.

"Guo Congyi, Wang Yan, Ning Yuanfu, and Le Qinyi are already dead, but the black hands that pushed the rebellion are hiding behind the curtain. You know it very well but you are powerless to tear this web apart, so you want to kill the king and comfort your mother's spirit in heaven with your own death. It will be worth your life in this world."

Lu Chen looked up at the other person and asked calmly, "Is it worth it? Are you willing?"

"Jiangnan clan..."

Ning Bugui read out each word, his eyes slightly red and hatred obvious.

He was also one of them before he was seventeen, but this was exactly the identity he hated so much, otherwise how could he break out?

He also knew how deep the foundation of those people was, how intertwined and interdependent they were, like a huge net that covered the sky and the sun.

It’s not that he didn’t try to investigate the rebellion, but as Lu Chen said, he didn’t have enough strength to break it.

Now that Lu Chen had revealed his self-deceiving thoughts, all that was left was the bloody reality.

Ning Bugui looked into Lu Chen's deep eyes and said in a hoarse voice, "It turns out that the Lord came to the capital this time not to fight for power with the Emperor, but to deal with the Jiangnan clans."

Lu Chen naturally did not elaborate on his plan, but simply said: "If you don't want to, then leave. I won't kill you because you are a man who is determined to avenge your mother."

Ning Bugui stood up. The guards in the hall still did not move, but everyone's hands were ready to draw their swords at any time.

He pretended not to notice this, bowed deeply, and said firmly: "I am willing to serve you, sir."

(End of this chapter)