After fifteen years of cultivation, he finally reached the pinnacle of the first rank!

Chapter 139 Murderous Intention

After Zeng Hai left, a figure walked out from the darkness of the alley. He glanced at the other person's departing back, then his gaze fell on Li Zhu's body in front of him.

After thinking about it, he picked it up and placed it in a slightly conspicuous place at the entrance of the alley.

Then, he moved and turned to head out of the imperial capital.

During the period of monitoring Zeng Hai, he had secretly helped him solve many problems, otherwise the other party might not be able to leave the Tianjin Guard Headquarters.

Now that his mission has been completed, it is time to follow the commander.

Moreover, he knew very well that Shangyang City would probably not be peaceful in the future.

……

The crowing of the cock heralded the dawn, and the sky was just beginning to brighten.

After lying on his side in bed for almost the entire night without sleeping, Right Prime Minister Ji Song slowly opened his eyes after resting for less than half an hour.

Seeing this, the maid who was always serving beside her immediately stepped forward carefully and helped the other person sit up.

Ji Song's old face was full of fatigue, and there was not much light in his cloudy eyes. The recent death of his two daughters had already made him deeply sad.

"Someone is coming."

He spoke in a hoarse voice, and soon, a middle-aged man dressed as a butler walked in quickly from outside the door, bowed and said:
"Prime Minister, what do you want me to do?"

"Has the Second Prince found Zhu'er?"

"Your Majesty, there is no news yet." The butler shook his head slightly.

Hearing this, Ji Song's gray brows furrowed and his expression gradually became a little ugly.

Of course, he was not blaming the Second Prince Li Que for not trying his best, but he knew very well that Li Zhu had not been found until now. The longer the time dragged on, the more unpredictable things would become.

"Go prepare the carriage. I have to go to the Second Prince's residence in person."

Ji Song stood up from the bed, gave instructions to the housekeeper, and signaled the maid to change his clothes for him.

Not long after, Ji Song, dressed in a plain robe, was supported by servants as he walked out of the gate of the Third Prince's mansion.

At this moment, a gorgeous carriage came galloping from the street in the distance and then slowly stopped.

The Second Prince, Li Que, lifted the carriage curtain and looked at Ji Song, who was about to be helped into the carriage by the servants, and asked doubtfully:

"Where are you going, Right Prime Minister?"

Hearing this, Ji Song slowly waved his hand, signaling the servants around him to stop. Then, he turned around and bowed to Li Que, saying:
"I am about to go see His Highness."

"Is it because of my third brother?"

Li Que stepped on the servant's back to get off the carriage, walked to Ji Song's side, and said:
"Right Prime Minister, rest assured. I have people constantly monitoring the Tianjin Guards' headquarters. Furthermore, according to our informants, Concubine Jing's son was no longer in the Tianjin Guards' headquarters yesterday."

"It's almost certain that the other party is hiding in the carriage leaving the city. Furthermore, I've already sent an extremely powerful martial arts master out of the city to handle this matter. I believe good news will be reported back before today."

Hearing this, Ji Song was silent and thought for a moment, but seeing Li Que's confident look, he nodded slightly and said:

"Your Highness, thank you for your concern. I am deeply grateful."

Seeing this, Li Que quickly reached out to support Ji Song and said:
"Your Excellency, the Right Prime Minister, is too kind. Once my third brother returns safely, we will work together to apprehend the murderer and avenge the Imperial Concubine."

As he spoke, a stern look flashed across his face, and he said:
"As for Concubine Jing's son, Your Excellency, there's no need to worry. I will see to his due."

Ji Song's eyes flickered slightly, he saluted again and said solemnly:
"Your Highness's kindness, I will always remember it in my heart."

Li Que narrowed his eyes and bowed solemnly in return:
"Just these words from the Right Prime Minister are enough!"

Ji Song looked up and exchanged glances with him. Neither of them said anything more, but the meaning was self-evident, and both of them understood.

The left and right prime ministers were the confidants of Emperor Yuanwu. At the same time, Emperor Yuanwu also issued an express order prohibiting these two powerful prime ministers from participating in the competition among the princes.

Therefore, Ji Song would never dare to disobey this in the slightest.

However, it was inevitable that he had some bias in his heart, and sometimes, a casual word he said in front of Emperor Yuanwu might very likely invisibly affect the fate of a certain prince.

"Your Highness has come here so early in the morning and must not have had breakfast yet. If Your Highness does not mind, please dine with me."

Ji Song spoke slowly, and Li Que nodded without hesitation:
"I couldn't ask for an invitation from the Right Prime Minister."

As he said this, he turned around and gave an order to his men, then prepared to enter the mansion with Ji Song.

However, the sky was gradually getting brighter at this time. When he glanced at it casually, he saw a figure lying on the ground at the entrance of the alley not far from the Third Prince's Mansion. It seemed very abrupt on the empty street at this time.

"Where did this drunkard come from? It's unlucky for him to die in front of the prince's palace."

Li Que, who was originally in a good mood, frowned upon seeing this. Ji Song followed his gaze and then instructed the people around him:

"Send someone to deal with it."

After saying that, he continued to invite Li Que into the mansion for dinner.

At this time, the guards in the mansion hurried towards the alley to deal with the vagrant and drunkard mentioned by Li Que.

But soon, a burst of shrill screams arose in the empty street in the early morning.

Then, a guard staggered back in panic and quickly caught up with Ji Song and the other two who had not yet walked too far into the mansion.

"Prime... Lord, His Highness... Something happened to him!"

The guard's face was extremely pale and his teeth were chattering as he spoke.

Ji Song suddenly stopped and looked back at the other party. Suddenly, a very bad premonition came to his mind:

"What did you say?"

Hearing this, the guard knelt on the ground, tremblingly pointed in the direction of the alley outside the mansion gate, and said:
"Lying there... is the body of His Majesty the Third Prince."

When these words were spoken, the elderly Ji Song and Li Que were both stunned.

Li Que's expression suddenly changed. He took a step forward, grabbed the guard, and shouted angrily:
"how is this possible?"

The guard had already been frightened. At this moment, he just shook his head vigorously with a pale face and said in horror:
"I've confirmed several times, it's indeed the Third Prince..."

At the same time, Ji Song, with a hunched back, staggered and ran out of the mansion gate without waiting for the guard to finish speaking.

Seeing this, the servants nearby hurried over to help, but they were all pushed away by him with a wave of their hands.

Li Que looked up at Ji Song's figure, and for a moment, the expression on his face changed.

Then, he suddenly threw the guard in his hand out. The guard hit the wall next to him, cracking the wall, and then fell to the ground, rolled several times and fainted.

Li Que didn't even look at him and immediately followed Ji Song.

Not long after, at the entrance of the empty alley, Ji Song stood hunched over, staring blankly at Li Zhu's pale, cold body, like a lifeless clay sculpture.

A group of guards and servants from the mansion knelt down around him, all of them silent as a mouse.

The only one standing was the second prince Li Que. His face looked extremely ugly at this moment, and his eyes were full of incredible shock and anger.

He originally thought that Li Zhu was still in Li Musheng's hands, but the body of Li Zhu lay coldly in front of him.

He had even just promised Ji Song solemnly that Li Zhu would be back soon.

However, the slap in the face came so quickly and so unexpectedly!

"Who is it? How dare they? How dare they attack a prince in Shangyang City!"

Li Que roared with a gloomy expression.

Then, he slowly squatted in front of Li Zhu's body, and called out with red eyes:

"Third brother, third brother..."

Ji Song, who was standing aside, didn't say a word. Only turbid tears slowly flowed from the corners of his wrinkled eyes. Apart from that, his face was frighteningly calm.

"Your Highness, please declare the death of the deceased in the palace and order the blockade of Shangyang City. From now on, no one is allowed to enter or leave the imperial capital until the murderer of Zhu'er is found!"

Ji Song spoke in a calm voice. He did not look at Li Que, nor did he care whether the other party's sadness at this moment was true or false.

A prince died, his grandson died, and the only son of his dead daughter died!
The only thing he wanted to do at this moment was to take revenge and let all those involved be buried with him!
At this time, Li Que raised his head with tears on his face, looked at Ji Song standing beside him, and said:

"My Lord Right Prime Minister, please accept my condolences. Anyone who dares to kill my third brother will be cut into pieces by my sword."

After saying that, Li Que stood up suddenly, glanced at the people around him with a stern look, and began to give orders continuously.

Watching Li Que send people to deliver messages to various parts of the imperial capital, Ji Song slowly turned around and looked in the direction of the Tianjin Guard Headquarters.

His cloudy eyes were filled with terrifying murderous intent, and he whispered to himself:
"Fu Qiwen, Li Musheng, I will make sure you die without a burial place!"

Although Ji Song spoke softly, Li Que could still hear him.

For a moment, he frowned and looked at Ji Song, saying:
"We currently have no direct evidence to prove..."

However, before Li Que could finish, Ji Song suddenly interrupted him and said without question:

"All signs indicate that Zhu'er's death must be related to them, and I don't need any evidence to kill them!"

After saying this, Ji Song's hunched body moved, then he bent down and picked up Li Zhu's body lying on the ground. Without saying another word, he walked towards the mansion.

Li Que's expression changed slightly. He looked at the other person's body, which seemed as old as a candle in the wind, but he was able to hold the burly corpse of Li Zhu steadily and move forward.

Unbelievable strength suddenly burst out from the old body that needed help even to walk.

It is difficult to say whether this is the power of hatred or grief in Ji Song's heart.

……

Dali Imperial Palace, Fengyi Palace.

Queen Dali, dressed in a gorgeous purple robe and a dazzling jade crown on her head, sat with a noble look on her face on an armchair inlaid with gold and jade.

She held a delicate porcelain cup in her hand, and glanced at the eunuch in charge of the Imperial Household Department who had suddenly come to see her. She frowned slightly and said unhappily:

"Li Tianyi, there has been no progress in the case of Concubine Ji's murder. Why did you come to me instead of arresting the murderer? I don't have the ability to help you catch the murderer."

As she spoke, she slowly brought the porcelain cup close to her lips, preparing to drink the tea.

At this time, Li Tianyi, who was dressed in a golden python robe and had a gaunt face, bowed and said solemnly:

"The Third Prince Li Zhu is dead."

As soon as these words came out, the queen was stunned. The porcelain cup in her hand shook violently. Then, she looked at Li Tianyi suddenly and asked in surprise:

"What did you say?"

"The Second Prince just sent an urgent message into the palace, stating that the Third Prince had been murdered and his body dumped on the street in front of his own residence. As soon as I learned of this, I immediately came to report it to the Queen."

Li Tianyi frowned and answered slowly.

Hearing this, the queen was dazed for a moment, then stood up from her armchair, her expression suddenly becoming extremely ugly:

"Do you know who the murderer is?"

Li Tianyi shook his head and said:

"I don't know yet, but from what I know, it seems to be related to the Tianjin Guards."

The queen frowned when she heard this, but she did not ask any more questions. Instead, her expression changed drastically as she thought seriously for a moment.

He immediately sent people to arrange various matters after Li Zhu's death. At the same time, he issued several decrees from the palace, blocking Shangyang City and ordering all departments in the court to make every effort to capture the murderer.

After doing all this, the queen looked at Li Tianyi who had never left her face and said in hesitation:

"First, Imperial Concubine Ji died in the palace for no apparent reason, and now her son, Li Zhu, has been murdered. Who on earth did they offend?"

As she spoke, she stretched out her hand and rubbed her eyebrows, saying:
"It just so happens that these things happened while His Majesty was in seclusion. If I can't handle this matter well, His Majesty will blame me, and I will also suffer undeserved disaster."

Li Tianyi lowered his eyes, pretending not to hear the queen's complaints. He slowly said:

"Yesterday, a very cryptic piece of news circulated from the case of Cangyuan Marquis Mansion. Concubine Ji had colluded with Cangyuan Marquis Mansion to kill people and practice martial arts. Her death is likely related to this."

Hearing this, the queen looked up at him, but suddenly narrowed her eyes slightly and said:

"It's unusual that Concubine Ji has regained her youthful appearance. It's probably true that she killed people to train her skills, but your focus shouldn't be on that."

Then, her face darkened and she said with dignity:
"No matter what the murderer's reason was, he was able to sneak into the palace and kill a concubine without making any noise. I believe you should know what this means."

At this point, the Queen's voice suddenly became extremely cold:
"This means that for that person, everyone in the Dali Palace is like fish on the chopping board. He can slaughter them at will. Even me, he can kill me at any time if he wants to."

"If you can't find it, not only me, but everyone in the entire Dali Palace will be unable to sleep or eat!"

Hearing this, Li Tianyi did not speak. After a while, he nodded slightly and said:
"Don't worry, Queen. I have already sent experts to strengthen the guard of the palace and will do my best to bring the murderer to justice."

As he spoke, he raised his eyes slightly and looked at the queen, saying:

"Actually, what I want to say is that since the death of Concubine Ji was caused by killing people to practice martial arts, then the death of the Third Prince may be the same."

"Whether it's killing a concubine or a prince, it's something not ordinary people would dare to do. I think the person who killed the third prince and the one who killed Concubine Ji might actually be the same person."

"While we still have no clue about the murder of Concubine Ji, we may be able to focus on the murder of the Third Prince. This may be a breakthrough in our efforts to find the murderer."

(End of this chapter)