Ask the Nine Ministers

Chapter 292 Serial Bloodbath

Wen Jia's heart tightened, and a chill instantly ran down her spine.

She instinctively pulled the three children behind her and quickly turned around.

Several burly men, their faces covered with black cloth, pounced out of the shadows like ghosts...

"Hide behind your mother!"

She almost screamed, her voice distorted with extreme terror.

Without a second thought, her body moved faster than her mind. Instinctively, she pushed the terrified Niu Niu behind her, then spread her arms wide like a mother eagle protecting her chicks, bravely shielding Tong Tong and Guan Chen...

"court death!"

The leader's eyes revealed a ferocious look, and his blade whistled as he slashed straight at Wen Jia...

"mother……"

Niu Niu was terrified.

A heart-wrenching cry shattered the silence.

"Assassin! Help!" Guan Chen reacted quickly, grabbing the doorman and rushing towards the closed door, frantically pounding on the door with his small fists and screaming for help.

At this critical moment...

"How dare you, thief!"

A sharp cry rang out, like a thunderclap.

A figure swooped down like a swallow, a short, black whip whistling through the air as it cracked across the man's wrist, which was gripping his knife...

"Ah!" the man cried out in pain.

The short blade clattered to the ground.

Upon seeing this, the other person immediately abandoned the target, brandished his knife, and turned away.

"Xiao Zhao!" Wen Jia exclaimed, both surprised and delighted, her voice filled with the exhaustion of someone who had just escaped a disaster. "How is it you?"

"Princess, do not be afraid! It was the young lady who ordered me to protect you."

Xiao Zhao agreed verbally, but her hands didn't stop moving at all.

The whip flashed, the movements swift and agile, like an impenetrable net, quickly trapping several burly men who were trying to pounce on the child...

Several burly men cursed under their breath, but she had them in a flurry of activity, making it impossible for them to get close to her...

At the same time, the gates of the Lu residence swung open with a loud crash—

A group of guards, armed with fire and water sticks and carrying broadswords at their waists, poured out from inside.

"Damn it, let's retreat!"

Seeing the situation was turning against him, the assassin glared hatefully at Xiao Zhao, let out a short whistle, and without hesitation turned and fled into the depths of the dark alley...

"We can't let them escape!"

Xiao Zhao's eyes flashed with murderous intent as she made to chase after him, but Wen Jia stopped her.

"Don't bother with a desperate enemy..."

Wen Jia was pale, one hand covering her bleeding shoulder, the other tightly holding the trembling Niu Niu, her voice weak but urgent.

"Miss Xiao Zhao, protecting your own life is the most important thing. There are many of them, and you can't afford to get hurt again..."

Xiao Zhao glanced at the few still-shaken children and nodded.

"Very well. I will return to Shuiyue Nunnery now to report back to the young lady. Take care, Princess!"

She came quickly and left quickly.

After giving his instructions, he vanished into the twilight at the end of the rain-soaked alley with a few leaps.

The steward of the Lu family was dumbfounded, thinking that his eyesight was failing him.

"The maidservant beside Miss Xue is so...so skilled..."

Wen Jia didn't explain Xiao Zhao's background, and forced a smile while enduring the stinging pain and dizziness in her shoulder.

"Thanks to Miss Xiao Zhao's timely intervention today, otherwise Tongtong and Guanchen would have been harmed by the villains. Even if Wen Jia were to die ten thousand times, he would not be able to atone for his sins..."

"Your Highness is too kind. You risked your life to protect the young master, which is an immense favor. Please come to the manor to heal your wounds. Master and Madam will be there immediately..."

Steward Lu was a sensible man. He quickly instructed the maids to carefully help Wenjia, and then told the wet nurse to take the child and hurriedly walked into the mansion.

Lord Lu and his wife rushed over upon hearing the news.
Upon seeing the bloodstains on Wen Jia's body and realizing that the two children were unharmed, Elder Lu was filled with lingering fear and repeatedly thanked Wen Jia.

“The princess sacrificed herself to protect my grandchildren. The Lu family will never forget her great kindness and virtue.”

Wen Jia weakly shook her head and returned the greeting.

"You flatter me, sir. I am the child's aunt. This is what I should do. It's nothing to brag about."

Lord Lu, who once served as prime minister, had witnessed countless ups and downs and was well-versed in human nature. How could he not know the intricacies and implications involved?

He stroked his gray beard, a look of doubt suddenly appearing in his eyes.

"Who is this audacious criminal who dares to attack a child in broad daylight..."
-
Shuiyuean.

East Wing Meditation Room.

A lone lamp on the table casts its light on the curtains that rustle in the cold wind.

Xue Sui, a slender figure, sat by the window, picking up his brush and writing, his small regular script lines elegant and refined.

"girl."

Xiao Zhao deftly lifted the curtain and entered, like a raccoon dog, bringing with her a chill from the outdoors.

"As you instructed, I followed that gang of scoundrels all the way to the Yongfeng back alley grain store in the west city. I found that they went in and never came out again. I sneaked in under the cover of night and found that they were all hiding inside drinking heavily..." After saying that, she lifted her sleeve and revealed a hidden weapon.

"This thing, I stole it from a drunkard..."

The triangular bone-piercing nail gleamed coldly under the dim light.

It was exactly the same hidden weapon used in the assassination attempt at Xishan Palace last time.

A cold glint flashed in Xue Sui's eyes.

Yongfeng Grain Depot…

According to Tian Shu's "Zhao Hui Tie", it was a property under the name of Xiao Ping, a distant relative of the Xiao family. It specialized in the grain business and thrived thanks to the Xiao family's protection in the capital...

The assassin's hideout overlapped with the Xiao family's den of iniquity.

Why would someone act so readily for the sake of a child?
"Ping Le".

Xue Sui put down his pen and, almost without hesitation, uttered those two words decisively.

The candlelight flickered.

Her cold eyes reflected a chilling killing intent.

“No one but her would risk harming the two children of the Lu family…”

Xiao Zhao, after catching her breath, was somewhat taken aback.

"Miss, wasn't Princess Ping Le stripped of her title and banished to the abandoned garden in Shuozhou by His Majesty? The spies came back saying that she went mad before she even arrived in Shuozhou. How could she possibly command the desperados in the capital?"

"Imprisonment is not the same as death. Madness is just a tactic she often uses, nothing more than a cover..."

A smile played on her lips as she gazed at the pitch-black night outside the window.

“Ping Le has been ambitious since childhood. She has won people’s hearts with wealth and beauties. She has been scheming in the court for many years. How could she not have a few loyal followers who are willing to die for her?”

Jin Shu looked worried. "Your insight is excellent, young lady. I'm afraid Ping Le's visit this time is not well-intentioned."

Xue Sui curled her lips, her eyelashes trembling slightly. "The Lu family's children are her own flesh and blood, and also her most valuable bargaining chip and hope. She will not be content to live out her days in obscurity in Shuozhou, nor will she let go of any opportunity to turn the tables and regain her position... The closer Wen Jia gets to the Lu family, the more genuinely he takes care of her children, the more jealous she becomes of Wen Jia usurping her place, leading her to act desperately..."

Xiao Zhao clenched her fists, her eyes flashing with a fierce light.

"If I had known she would be so persistent, I should have nipped her in the bud from the start..."

Xue Sui slowly shook his head, his gaze deep.

Ping Le's goal was far more than simply snatching children or venting his anger.

Having already reached this perilous point, why would she reveal her hand for personal grudges?
She pondered for a moment, then turned her gaze to Xiao Zhao.

"Are you hurt?"

"No. How could a petty thief possibly harm me?"

Xiao Zhao grinned nonchalantly, "Miss, what should we do next? We can't just sit and wait for Ping Le to cause trouble, can we? Otherwise, I'll go to Shuozhou and just kill him..."

She made a gesture as if she were about to kill someone.

Xue Sui chuckled and lightly tapped her head with his finger.

“Silly girl, Ping Le is cunning and will surely be on guard. You are willing to take the risk, but I am not willing to let you venture into that dangerous place.”

After saying this, she returned to her desk, spread out a sheet of plain paper, and began to write.

After a while, he straightened up slightly, blew on the still-wet ink of the secret letter, carefully folded it, put it into a specially made thin bamboo tube, sealed it with sealing wax, and handed it to Jinshu.

"Send it to the East Palace immediately and make sure it is delivered to His Highness the Crown Prince."

Jinshu nodded silently.

Half an hour later, a pure white carrier pigeon flapped its wings and flew out of Shuiyue Nunnery, silently disappearing into the night, and flew swiftly towards the imperial city...

The following morning, an even more shocking piece of news broke in the capital.

Wang Qinian, a secretary in the Ministry of Works' Agricultural Development Division, and Ma Yuankui, a secretary in the Ministry of Revenue's Granary Division, were attacked by unidentified assassins in their respective residences.

Ma Yuankui was critically injured, and Wang Qinian died on the spot.

Not only that, on the same day, assassins also committed atrocities in front of the Lu family mansion, attempting to kidnap General Lu You'an's two children. Fortunately, Princess Wenjia risked her life to protect them, preventing the thieves from succeeding...
-
In the winter in the capital, the wind was biting.

Heavy clouds pressed down on the palace eaves, and a somber atmosphere permeated the palace walls.

Inside the Zichen Palace, Emperor Chongzhao sat on the dragon throne with a livid face, holding a memorial in his hand, his eyelids half-closed, his old face dark.

Wang Chengxi stood to one side with his hands at his sides, not daring to breathe loudly.

The deathly silent inner sanctuary sent chills down one's spine.

"Snapped!"

The memorial was submitted.

His cloudy gaze was like a knife, scraping across the two kneeling sons of His Majesty.

"Xue Qinglian, Zhang Minda, Ma Yuankui, Wang Qinian... all died suddenly without warning... Tell me, what exactly happened? Is my capital city a den of thieves or a slaughterhouse?"

Li Huan raised his eyes, his forehead covered in a fine layer of cold sweat.

"Father, please calm your anger. I have only just learned of this myself and am currently conducting a thorough investigation."

"A thorough investigation?" Emperor Chongzhao sneered, his eyes filled with suspicion and displeasure. "I appointed you to oversee the Ministry of Justice and manage the security of the capital region, and this is the result? How can you expect me to calm my anger?"

"Your subject has failed in his duty, but this matter is truly strange. The assassin's methods were ruthless, and his target was clear: Lords Ma and Wang. This is likely no ordinary revenge killing... It is more likely a premeditated attempt to silence them..."

"Silence them?" Emperor Chongzhao let out a cold laugh.

"If I remember correctly, these two are your confidants, deeply trusted by you? And you also protected them when military supplies were involved? Prince Duan, how can I trust you? Or... did you originally intend to use the assassins to clean house for you?"

(End of this chapter)