The Ming Dynasty began from Sarhu

Chapter 194: Desperate Mandarin Duck (I)

boom!
Zeng Tianxing broke through the window frame and fell to the ground from the second floor of the Jiaofangsi.

Zeng Zongqi fell on his back, his spine broke like a bowstring, and after a sound of bones cracking, he could no longer stand up.

When the pedestrians on Xizhimen Street saw this, they screamed and fled in all directions.

Zeng Zongqi spurted blood from his mouth, and two more people flew down from the building and hit the bluestone slabs like him, their bones broken and they let out screams that were not human.

Zeng Tianxing saw that he could not escape, so he collapsed on the ground and stared straight ahead.

Shen Lian turned over and jumped out of the street-facing window, standing steadily in front of the three people.

The Embroidered Spring Sword was broken, and the chain mail was soaked in blood, which trickled down along the armor plates. It was impossible to tell whether it was Shen Lian's or the barbarians'.

But one thing is certain.

There were more than a dozen people in the Jiaofangsi, and only he and Cai Lian were still standing.

When the two injured soldiers saw Shen Lian catching up with them, they struggled to stand up and limped eastward, leaning on their goose-feather knives.

When the two men passed by Zeng Zongqi lying on the ground, they did not dare to stop for a moment.

Zeng Tianxing laughed at the two of them and watched them go away.

Suddenly, Shen Lian darted forward, catching up with the two guards in three steps. He swung out his embroidered spring knife, piercing their backs, the tip of the knife protruding from their chests. At the same time, he whipped his kick towards another man, and with a cracking sound, the man's neck was broken.

Zeng Tianxing sneered, "No matter how good your kung fu is, you can't escape my uncle's grasp! Shen Lian, don't think you have great kung fu skills. The Jinyiwei will kill you sooner or later!"

Shen Lian pulled the knife out from between the soldier's sternum, shook off the blood on the blade with all his strength, and stared at Zeng Tianxing who was crawling on the ground.

"die!"

A hint of disdain flashed in Zeng Tianxing's eyes, and he suddenly burst into laughter.

Shen Lian put away his Embroidered Spring Knife, stepped on Zeng Tianxing's back, and said coldly:
"Don't scare me with Xu Xianchun. You've killed countless innocent people in the past two years. If I weren't busy today, I would have sent you to the Pacification Office and let you experience the torture of the imperial prison!"

Zeng Tianxing spat out a mouthful of blood and grinned, "Shen Lian, do you know who wants you dead? When death comes, you are just an ant!"

Shen Lian stepped on the broken part of his back and applied a little force. Zeng Tianxing howled like a wild beast, raised his head and laughed miserably, "If you really think this is the Emperor's will, then you've underestimated the East Factory!"

Shen Lian picked him up. Zeng Tianxing collapsed to the ground with his legs limp. He looked at Shen Lian fiercely: "He was my uncle. We also killed the Jinyiwei sent to Shandong. You didn't expect that!"

Shen Lian's mind went blank, and the scene of Eunuch Wei summoning him before leaving Luanzhou appeared before his eyes.

Shen Lian, work hard, and the position of Jinyiwei deputy will be yours when you come back. Our family is planning to replace Xu Xianchun. This person has unclear ties with Donglin, is greedy for money and lustful, and is not in the same boat with us.

Shen Lian angrily said, "How dare you deceive the factory master! Where is the factory master now? You bunch of beasts, the factory master shouldn't have promoted you in the first place! Wait until his adopted son comes back..."

After hearing this, Zeng Tianxing's face was full of sarcasm. He vomited blood and his face looked gloomy.

"You can't come back. They've all been sent to Nanzhili. Shen... Lian, you, Liu Zhaosun, and Wei Zhongxian must all die. You killed so many bandits and offended the Jinyiwei. My uncle won't let you go and will keep hunting you down. It's a pity that I brought too few people with me today..."

Shen Lian was furious. He stepped on Zeng Tianxing's chest, picked up the Embroidered Spring Knife with his left hand, and strangled his neck with his right hand, wiping it hard.

He threw away the broken embroidered spring sword in his hand, stripped off the clothes of a foreign soldier on the ground and put them on, went back upstairs to pick up the goose feather knife and short crossbow, and pulled up Cai Lian who was hiding in the inner room.

Just as he was about to break out of the window behind the Jiaofangsi, Cailian stopped him and said, "Shen Lang, the Jiaofangsi is my nightmare. I hate this place!"

Shen Lian had just killed thirteen people in the time it took to stick up an incense stick. After hearing this, he spoke with murderous intent.

"Burn it!"

In Cai Lian's eyes, the Jiaofangsi took away her parents, brothers, and everything from her clan.

Shen Lian also hated the Jiaofangsi.

It was the Jiaofangsi that alienated the relationship between him and Wei Zhongxian. It was this gentle land that made him indulge in women and gradually drift away, leading to the disaster today, which not only harmed himself but also the factory owner.

Cailian retrieved several bottles of tung oil from the house, and the two of them split up, pouring the oil from the second-floor corridor all the way to the door. Shen Lian smashed the wine jar downstairs, spilling the wine all over the floor.

After doing this, he took down the lantern hanging in the corner and knocked it to the ground.

A fire quickly broke out upstairs and spread along the doors, windows, tables and chairs.

Just now, when Shen Lian was fighting with the Jinyiwei, all the musicians in the Jiaofangsi had fled. Only Shen Lian and Cai Lian were left in the huge restaurant. There were many screens and curtains in the Jiaofangsi, all of which were flammable objects. Seeing the fire burning fiercely, naturally no one dared to step forward to put out the fire.

Seeing the fire spreading from outside, Shen Lian quickly carried Cai Lian on his back and jumped out of the back window.

Shen Lian had great physical skills, and neither of them was injured after landing. Shen Lian held Cai Lian's hand and stood in the backyard.

The soldiers from the Military Affairs Department who came to the crossroads to capture Shen Lian looked up and saw black smoke billowing into the sky from the Music Bureau and the fire raging to the sky. They were all stunned on the spot and waited for a long time before they arrived to put out the fire.

Cai Lian looked up at the flames in the sky, her pretty face was reflected in red, and she stood by clapping and laughing.

"What a display of fireworks! Burning everything to ashes! From now on, there will be no more Jiaofangsi in the world. How wonderful! Hahahaha!"

Shen Lian followed Cai Lian's gaze.

This Ming Dynasty ritual and music institution, established during the reign of Emperor Chengzu, was completely engulfed in thick smoke and flames.

The carved beams and painted buildings were crackling with fire, and the burning curtains and furniture emitted thick black smoke. The evening breeze blew away the smoke, revealing the hideous flames underneath.

Shen Lian vaguely saw that thousands of souls of musicians rose into the sky. Millions of souls were graceful and beautiful, staying in their best age. At this moment, they left this hell on earth that had tortured them to death with the fireworks.

Shen Lian grabbed her and said, "Hurry up and don't burn the people around you, otherwise it will be a sin."

The two men looked up and saw another group of people coming from a distance, checking passers-by.

Shen Lian thought he was in trouble. If he was alone, it wouldn't be a big problem for him to escape, but now he was with a woman, so it would be difficult for him to get away with it.

The Jiaofangsi has been burned down. If you stay in the capital, you will be discovered sooner or later, and then you will be dead.

Just as he was getting anxious, he heard the sound of wheels rutting behind him. The coachman was driving the cart slowly towards the stable behind the Jiaofangsi.

"Captain Shen, get in the car!"

Shen Lian was extremely surprised. At this moment, two heads popped out from the curtain of the carriage. They were Zhao Yuanzhi and Lu Jianxing.

The driver of the carriage turned out to be Old Zhao, the Imperial Household Department’s Fengluan official.

Shen Lian was overjoyed and quickly asked Cai Lian to get on the carriage first, and he followed.

The carriage was quite spacious, enough to accommodate four people. Seeing that Shen Lian was unharmed, the two younger brothers couldn't help but praise him again.

"Were there twelve bandits who entered just now? Were they all killed by Brother Shen?"

Shen Lian glared at the two of them and said angrily, "Seeing so many people, why don't you two go in and help me?"

Zhao Yuanzhi and Lu Jianxing glanced at each other. Only then did Shen Lian see the bloodstains on their bodies. They had just killed many barbarians outside the building.
Shen Lian whispered to Zhao Fengluan, "Old Zhao, aren't you afraid of being implicated?"

Zhao Fengluan laughed and said, "The Jiaofangsi was burned to the ground. As Fengluan, I can't escape from it. If I don't leave, the cabinet emperor will have me executed by slow slicing! Lord Liu is a young hero. I will follow the Marquis of Ping Liao!"

Shen Lian smiled without saying anything. It was true that everyone in the world was connected with Liu. Now even the number one pimp of the Jiaofang Bureau was going to Kaiyuan.

Is this a blessing or a curse?

"When you cross the intersection later, don't say anything. The person guarding the intersection is my friend! Let Cailian hold you off, and nothing should happen."

Zhao Fengluan carefully warned everyone.

Just after taking a few steps, he heard the chaotic sound of horse hooves on the street. Shen Lian knew that it was the people from the Military Affairs Department coming to reinforce. If he let them block the street, he would not be able to leave.

Shen Lian was uneasy.

(End of this chapter)