Love Lock

Chapter 200 Out of Brotherhood
Immediately afterwards, a chaotic chorus of neighing horses and shouting people came from outside.

"what happened?"

The King of Liangzhou suddenly lifted the carriage curtain. Through his drunken, hazy eyes, he saw torches flickering and figures moving about in front of him.

The commander of the guards' voice came from the darkness: "Protect the prince! There's an ambush!"

Almost at the same moment, dozens of dark figures darted out from the woods on both sides of the official road, rushing towards the convoy like ghosts.

They were dressed in black, their faces covered with black cloths, and the weapons in their hands gleamed coldly in the moonlight.

"Kill! Leave no one alive!" The leader of the assassins said in a cold voice. At his command, the men in black surged forward like a tide.

With a clang, the captain of the guards drew his sword to block the first assassin who lunged at him, and shouted sharply, "Form ranks! Protect the prince's carriage!"

The guards hastily engaged in battle, but the long journey had already exhausted them.

The assassins in black were highly trained and ruthless, each move deadly. In the blink of an eye, several guards lay dead in pools of blood.

The King of Liangzhou turned pale, his drunkenness completely gone. He also kept assassins in his own residence, so he could tell at a glance that these men in black were death-defying warriors who would not rest until they died in battle.

He suddenly drew the sword hanging on the carriage wall and roared at Zheng Wenqian, "Stay close to me!"

Zheng Wenqian nodded tremblingly, but then a sharp arrow pierced through the air and "poof" through his throat.

His eyes widened, his hands futilely clutching his neck, blood gushing from between his fingers, before he collapsed heavily inside the carriage.

"Wenqian!" King Liangzhou exclaimed in surprise, then was pulled back to reality by the sounds of fierce fighting outside the carriage.

He kicked open the carriage curtain and jumped down, just in time to see the commander of the guards being attacked by three men in black.

The commander of the guards was highly skilled in martial arts, wielding his long sword with impenetrable precision, and had already killed two assassins.

Outnumbered, his right arm was slashed open with a deep, bone-revealing wound, and dark red blood dripped down his arm in the darkness.

"Your Majesty, please leave!"

The guard commander shouted with all his might, and at the same time, he dodged the fatal blow by turning to the side and stabbed through the chest of an assassin.

The King of Liangzhou did not flee, but instead drew his sword and joined the battle.

Although he was a prince, pampered and privileged, he had practiced martial arts since childhood and possessed remarkable swordsmanship. With a single thrust, he struck an assassin squarely in the shoulder.

"Protect the prince!"

The remaining guards desperately huddled together, forming a fragile defensive line. But the assassins outnumbered them, and the Liangzhou King's guards fell one after another.

The guard commander fought and retreated, reaching the side of the Prince of Liangzhou: "Your Highness, this humble general will cover the rear, you should ride away quickly!"

"How could I be a coward who fears death!" King Liangzhou roared, brandishing his sword and pressing towards another assassin.

Just then, a cold arrow shot from the shadows, striking the guard commander squarely in the back.

The loyal guard commander, who had just been hit on the forehead with a teapot by his master, groaned and knelt down, still supporting himself with his sword.

"Zhou Huan!" The King of Liangzhou tried to help him up, but he was pushed away.

"Go...go quickly..." The guard commander spat out a mouthful of blood, using his last strength to rush towards the approaching assassin, buying time for the King of Liangzhou.

With tears in his eyes, the King of Liangzhou turned and ran towards a stray warhorse. Just as he was about to leap onto its back, a dark figure darted out from the shadows and kicked him to the ground.

"Your Highness, Prince of Liangzhou, why are you in such a hurry to leave?"

The lead assassin walked slowly forward, his long sword dripping with blood.

The King of Liangzhou struggled to his feet, gripping his sword tightly: "Who sent you? Wei Mingyuan? Or..."

The assassin leader sneered and interrupted him: "Why ask so many questions of a dying man?"

The sounds of fighting around him gradually subsided. King Liangzhou looked around and saw corpses scattered everywhere. All his guards had died in battle.

Under the moonlight, blood stained the soil of the official road dark red.

"Ha! What a fine 'treat your brothers well'!" King Liangzhou laughed bitterly. "That illegitimate son couldn't wait to get rid of me as soon as he ascended the throne. Doesn't he fear the ridicule of the world?"

The assassin leader said no more, and with a wave of his hand, three men in black pounced on him at the same time.

The King of Liangzhou fought back fiercely, his swordsmanship so sharp that he managed to force the assassins to retreat for a time.

But he was outnumbered and soon a wound was slashed open on his back, and blood soaked through his moon-white python robe.

"I am the legitimate son of the late emperor! How dare you lackeys kill me?" King Liangzhou roared, piercing the throat of an assassin with his sword.

A hint of impatience flashed in the eyes of the assassin leader, who then took action himself.

His martial arts skills were clearly far superior to the others. Within three moves, he knocked away the Liangzhou King's sword and then stabbed him in the abdomen.

"Uh..." Zhao Hongyi knelt down on the ground, blood gushing from his mouth.

He looked up and glared at the assassin leader, the sound he managed to squeeze out was extremely difficult.

"He killed me today...and someone will kill him tomorrow...the imperial family is the most ruthless...he...he will not have a good end..."

The assassin leader stared expressionlessly at the dying Prince of Liangzhou and whispered, "His Majesty has ordered that the Prince of Liangzhou be thoroughly investigated for the sake of brotherhood when he encountered bandits on the road."

"Hahaha..." Upon hearing this, the King of Liangzhou let out a shrill laugh, his laughter laced with blood and foam: "What...what a...brotherly love..."

His body slowly fell, but his eyes remained wide open, as if he had died with his eyes open.

The moonlight shone on his once handsome and refined face, his frozen expression a mixture of anger, resentment, and deep hatred.

The leader of the assassins bent down to check the King of Liangzhou's breath, confirming that he was completely dead, before giving orders to the remaining men in black.

"Check this place immediately, leave no survivors. Make it look like we've encountered bandits."

A man in black hesitated and said, "Sir, this is... a prince..."

"Execute the order," the leader said coldly. "What His Majesty desires is a stable empire. As for the means... history is written by the victors."

The night wind howled, rustling the grass and trees, and also dispelling the stench of blood from the official road.

At the leader's command, the remaining men in black turned and disappeared into the forest.

When the last man in black disappeared into the darkness, only a pile of corpses and the indifferent moon remained, silently watching this tragic scene of royal brothers killing each other.

In the distance, an owl let out a mournful cry, as if foreshadowing something.

The power game surrounding the new emperor's ascension to the throne has quietly begun, and the death of the Prince of Liangzhou, who was the most vocal in his actions, is merely the first step in this bloody game.

Before long, the sound of rapid hoofbeats came from afar, breaking the deathly silence on the official road.

Several fast horses, illuminated by torches, galloped in like arrows, their hooves kicking up clouds of dust that looked particularly eerie in the dim moonlight.

By the dim moonlight, it was clear that the leader was Pingchuan, the deputy commander of Zhao Zun's personal guards.

He was dressed in a black, close-fitting outfit, and the sword at his waist gleamed coldly in the moonlight. His sharply defined face was filled with solemnity.

Scarface and Charcoal Head followed closely behind him, both with solemn expressions.

"Yu!"

With a unified shout, more than ten warhorses came to a sudden halt near the assassination site.

The horse's hooves left messy tracks on the spot, and the horse snorted uneasily, as if it too could smell the strong stench of blood in the air.

"Brother Ping, look!" Scarface dismounted and pointed his rough fingers toward the road ahead.

Under the moonlight, the corpses lay scattered on the ground like harvested wheat stalks, some still in the postures of their struggle before death.

Blood soaked the yellow earth of the official road, turning an eerie dark red under the moonlight.

Pingchuan frowned, deftly dismounted, and his black leather boots made a sticky sound as they stepped on the blood-splattered ground.

"Be careful, look around," he commanded in a deep voice, his tone as cold as ice.

Everyone dismounted and carefully inspected the scene by the light of the torches.

Most of the guards' bodies were wounded by sharp blades, with fatal wounds mostly in the throat or heart, indicating that the perpetrator was ruthless and swift.

Several maids lay dead beside the carriage, one of them still in the position of fleeing, with three feathered arrows stuck in her back.

“There must have been at least a hundred people, right? They’re all dead.” Charcoal Head squatted down beside a corpse, his rough fingers tracing the sword wound on the victim’s neck. “The wound was clean and uniform; it was a single, fatal blow.”

Pingchuan did not answer, his gaze sweeping across the scene like that of a hawk.

His pupils contracted sharply when he saw the ornately decorated carriage.

A flag, swaying precariously, was stuck diagonally beside the carriage. Although stained with blood, the emblem of the Liangzhou Prince's Palace was still recognizable.

"It is the carriage of the King of Liangzhou."

Pingchuan's voice was so low it was almost inaudible. He strode forward and abruptly lifted the curtain of the carriage, revealing it to be empty.

By the light of the torches, Pingchuan finally saw a middle-aged man in a python robe lying backwards at the front of the procession.

A thin line of blood ran down his throat, his eyes were wide open, and his face was frozen with an expression of resentment and anger.

The crowd gathered around, and when they saw the corpse of the King of Liangzhou, they couldn't help but gasp.

A night breeze blew, causing the torches to flicker and cast swaying shadows on everyone's faces.

"Brother Ping! Look!" Tan Tou suddenly pointed to the corpse dressed as a bandit on the ground. "They probably encountered bandits."

Bandits?

He didn't think they were bandits.

Pingchuan's temples throbbed, and various possibilities flashed through his mind.

He subconsciously touched the sword at his waist, his knuckles turning white from the force.

“Brother Ping,” Scarface swallowed hard, his voice trembling slightly, “this is a prince, don’t you think…”

"Shut up!" Pingchuan interrupted sharply, his eyes as sharp as knives. "This concerns the royal family; how dare you or I presume to know?"

He looked around. The trees on both sides of the official road rustled in the wind, and the shadows flickered, as if they were hiding a deadly intent.

"We should not linger here. Mount your horse immediately and return to report to the Prince."

No one dared to say anything more, and they all mounted their horses.

Pingchuan took one last look at the corpse of the King of Liangzhou, gritted his teeth, and suddenly spurred his horse.

"drive!"

Several fast horses galloped toward the fork in the road leading to Cangzhou, their hooves gradually disappearing into the boundless night...

The morning light, like blood, dyed the eastern sky red.

The bloodstains on the official road were not yet dry, gleaming a hellish dark red in the rising sun. Several crows circled down, pecking at the remnants of last night's battle.

But the city gates of the capital slowly opened at this moment, and farmers selling vegetables and vendors rushing to the early market filed in, as if the massacre that had taken place on the official road was nothing more than a phantom in the morning mist.

"Have you heard? Several vassal kings returned to their respective fiefdoms early yesterday morning..."

"Shh!" The old tofu seller hurriedly interrupted his companion, "You don't understand. The new emperor's enthronement ceremony is over, so the vassal kings naturally have to return to their fiefdoms. Otherwise, what would they be doing here?"

In the teahouse, a storyteller was striking his gavel as he recounted the great achievements of the new emperor in governing Xuzhou when he was still the King of Xuzhou.

In a private room on the second floor, several silk merchants exchanged meaningful glances. One of them lowered his voice and said, "I heard that the day in the palace..."

"Your fragrant tea, sir." The waiter suddenly pushed open the door and entered, abruptly ending the conversation.

The prince was killed on the official road leading to Liangzhou, but in the capital, it was as if nothing had happened.

The bustling city dwellers didn't care who became emperor; it just gave teahouses, taverns, and alleyways more to talk about.

On the bluestone path of the Dali Temple government office, Sun Wenlin's official boots trod through the morning dew.

He looked at the two bright yellow imperial edicts in his hand and a bitter smile appeared on his lips.

The first imperial edict, with its vermilion annotation as vivid as blood, reads: "...caused by lightning, Wei Dabao is released without charge."

"My lord..." The registrar's hands, holding the official seal, trembled slightly.

Sun Wenlin shook his head slightly and untied the silver fish pouch from his waist.

He should step down and leave. This was clearly stated in the second imperial edict.

“Sun Wenlin’s investigation was inadequate, and he wronged a loyal official. He is unworthy to be the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review. He is hereby demoted to the position of seventh-rank magistrate of Ganluo County, Xuzhou. He shall take up his post immediately. Wei Dahai, the Vice Minister, shall succeed him as Minister of the Court of Judicial Review.”

Was it truly caused by lightning, or was it due to his inadequate investigation?

"hehe!"

Sun Wenlin chuckled self-deprecatingly; he knew this would be the outcome sooner or later.

With the downfall of Emperor Qianlong, Empress, and the Marquis of Champion's residence, the pillars of the Sun family collapsed. Now, the Wei family is powerful, and the Sun family has declined.

Just then, the sound of rapid hoofbeats suddenly came from outside the window.

Sun Wenlin turned his head and saw Wei Dahai, the Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review—no, now the newly appointed Minister of the Court of Judicial Review—leading more than ten guards into the courtyard. His brand-new official robes were so bright in the sunlight that they hurt one's eyes.

"Lord Sun, oh no..." Wei Dahai deliberately dragged out his words, "Now I should call him Magistrate Sun. His Majesty has ordered me to hand over the reins immediately, what do you think..."

"Lord Wei, there's no need for further words."

Sun Wenlin placed the official seal on the table and silently took off his official robes. In the end, he simply bowed deeply and said, "This humble official takes his leave."

After Sun Wenlin left, Wei Dahai snorted, pinched his nose, and walked to the innermost cell of the Dali Temple. Amidst the pungent stench of mildew and blood, the jailer rattled off the chains.

"Cousin! I didn't do that." Wei Dabao rushed to the fence, his bruised eyes and gaunt face visible through his disheveled hair. "I knew my family wouldn't abandon me."

Wei Dahai gestured for the guards to leave, then lowered his voice and said, "You can leave now. Although the new emperor is our Wei family's nephew, he has only just ascended the throne..."

"It wasn't me, it was all that bitch Han Lei's fault..." Wei Dabao suddenly sprang to his feet, the shackles clanging loudly.

But before he could finish speaking, he suddenly fell silent because Wei Dahai grabbed his wrist.

"Don't talk nonsense. Let's go!" A sharp glint flashed in the eyes of the newly appointed Minister of Justice, Wei Dahai. "This case is now 'caused by lightning'."

Caused by lightning!
Wei Dabao understood.

Although he was unwilling, he still nodded firmly. He walked out of the Dali Temple prison with Wei Dahai, a prison that had almost cost him his life.

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