Jie teaches the Immortal Sweeping Heaven’s Cultivation of All Heavens

The Crown Princess prepared gifts for each of the princes.

Liu Dong received a writing brush with a jade handle.

Liu Dong accepted with a smile, saying that she would use it often.

The eldest prince said, "Fourth brother likes reading and writing, this calligraphy brush is just right for you."

Liu Tong: "Second brother also likes reading and writing, but this calligraphy brush is more suitable for him."

The Crown Prince smiled and said, "This was given to you by your second sister-in-law. How could I, as her older brother, possibly take it away?"

Liu Tong: "That's true."

After having lunch at the Crown Prince's Palace, the group took their leave.

Back at the Prince's residence, Liu Dong took out the writing brush and heated the tip against the lit candle.

The heat from the pen tip is transferred to the pen barrel.

Suddenly, a streak of dark light shot out from the tip of the pen.

Liu Dong was prepared. He quickly turned his head to the side, and the black light grazed his cheek and shot into the wall behind him.

Liu Tong walked to the wall and slapped it with her palm.

The internal force flowed into the wall through the palm strike, propelling the contents inside out.

With a flick of her left hand, Liu Tong caught a small, black needle in her hand.

This is a poisoned needle, deadly upon contact with blood, which has been sealed inside the handle of a writing brush.

When the pen tip heats up, it triggers a mechanism in the pen barrel, which shoots out a poison needle, catching the penholder off guard and causing them to lose their life.

The method of murder was secretive and skillful; it's just unknown who orchestrated it.

Crown Princess?
impossible.

Her family had fallen on hard times; where would they get such a wonderful thing?
Liu Tong assumed that someone had sent the brush to the Crown Princess through her family.

Perhaps, that person's target wasn't him, but the Crown Prince?

The result is now in his hands.

If it weren't for his heightened senses, which allowed him to detect the abnormality of the brush, he wouldn't have been able to detect it.

I'm afraid I might lose my life at any time.

"Xiao Luzi." As soon as Liu Dong finished speaking, Xiao Luzi appeared in front of him.

Liu Tong tossed the brush to Xiao Luzi, who immediately took it and disappeared to investigate its origin.

The brush handle is made of the finest white jade, and the mechanism inside is incredibly ingenious; it is definitely not something an ordinary craftsman could make.

By examining these two aspects, it is possible to determine who the writing brush came from.

Before Xiao Lu could even find out where the calligraphy brush came from, Liu Dong had already noticed that there were people following him.

Those people were quite strong, considered top-tier in the martial arts world.

But for Liu Dong and Xiao Luzi, who were already Grandmasters, those people were no match for them at all.

What they called covert surveillance was as conspicuous as a candle in the dark to the two men.

Xiao Luzi: "Master, I'll go and deal with them."

Liu Tong: "They are still useful."

Xiao Luzi: "??"

Liu Tong: "Perfect timing for the cicada to shed its shell."

Xiao Luzi understood.

Xiao Luzi knew what his master was thinking.

His master had no interest in that position; what he hated most was the emperor dragging him into the mud to be used as a whetstone for the crown prince.

Xiao Luzi knew that his master was eager to escape this quagmire, but he had not left because he was concerned about the lives of those around him.

With such a kind heart, how could the master not willingly follow him?
Xiao Luzi: "Master, this servant will immediately have someone prepare the house by Daming Lake."

Liu Tong: "No rush. After leaving the capital, I want to travel around more."

Xiao Luzi: "This servant follows and serves her master."

Liu Tong laughed: "I'm not used to you not following me." Xiao Luzi's subordinate is too versatile. Not only is his martial arts good, but his service skills are also top-notch. Even his cooking skills are comparable to those of the imperial chefs.

Over the years, he has stayed by Liu Tong's side, taking excellent care of her.

Liu Tong considers herself to enjoy life, but she can't do without the small ways.

Liu Tong: "Have someone prepare a carriage. Tomorrow we'll leave the city to go to the temple to offer incense."

Xiao Luzi was stunned for a moment, then understood what Liu Dong meant.

There were city guards, patrol battalions, yamen runners from Shuntian Prefecture, and guards from various prefectures—there were just too many people in the capital.

Those people won't make a move easily.

You can understand it by seeing how many days they've been following Liu Dong around.

Liu Tong said that the purpose of offering incense was to lure everyone out of the city.

It would be easier for those people to make their move outside the city, and it would also make it easier for Liu Dong to escape unscathed.

The next day, Liu Dong left the city with only Xiao Luzi.

As the two walked along the mountain path, they suddenly felt a gust of wind and found themselves surrounded by four people.

Everyone in the capital knew that Liu Dong and Xiao Luzi had been learning martial arts since elementary school.

However, no one knew just how skilled they were in martial arts.

In everyone's opinion, their martial arts skills were inferior to those of the eldest prince.

The eldest prince was skilled in horsemanship and archery, but his martial arts skills were only second-rate in the martial arts world.

There are four top-notch experts here, yet they still can't complete the task assigned to them by the Crown Prince.

Of the four, only one made a move, while the other three stood by to prevent the two from escaping.

Liu Dong and Xiao Luzi exchanged blows with the man, pretending to be completely outmatched, just waiting for him to strike their chests with a palm, making it look like their heart meridians had been broken.

However, plans cannot keep up with changes.

Just then, the Marquis of Zhenbei, returning from the border, happened to be passing by with his troops and discovered Liu Dong and his group.

Marquis Zhenbei immediately led his troops to rescue Liu Zhu.

When the four assassins realized they couldn't complete their mission, they quickly fled.

Only three people escaped, while another was wounded and captured after being hit by a hail of arrows from the soldiers.

This man was a suicide soldier; he committed suicide after being captured.

The Marquis of Zhenbei ordered someone to bring the corpse into the city and hand it over to the Dali Temple.

The assassination of a prince is a major incident that the Dali Temple and Shuntian Prefecture must thoroughly investigate.

Liu Dong and Xiao Luzi were extremely helpless.

Such a good opportunity, and it was wasted.

Marquis of Zhenbei, why didn't you arrive a quarter of an hour later?

The two were filled with resentment, but on the surface they had to put on an act of deep gratitude.

Back at the prince's residence, Xiao Luzi had to quickly prepare a generous gift to send to the Marquis of Zhenbei to express his gratitude for the "life-saving grace."

Liu Dong then had to go to the palace to "cry out" to the emperor and beg him to make a decision for her.

The emperor was very annoyed. In recent days, he had dealt with many people because of the incident in Jiangnan.

Those two bastards are quite capable; they managed to extract a lot of benefits from him in Jiangnan.

Fortunately, he still maintained control over Jiangnan, and those two brats didn't manage to take it over.

The emperor was pondering how to punish the two scoundrels when he heard the news that one of them had been assassinated and nearly died.

Needless to say, it was definitely the Crown Prince's doing.

I'm so disappointed in myself.

The Crown Prince has been by my side for so many years, yet he hasn't learned any skills; his methods are still so crude and childish.

Did he think that with Liu Dong dead, the Jiangnan region would belong to him?
Where does he place himself, the emperor?
Or perhaps the crown prince is too ambitious, even wanting to kill the emperor himself?
A murderous glint flashed in Emperor Qianming's eyes.

This crown prince cannot be allowed to live. (End of Chapter)