The prince is more stable

Chapter 343: Son of a Wealthy Family
The assassination was sudden and fatal.

At this time, Zhao Ji's heart was filled with deep fear.

This fear was not entirely due to facing death. What was even more difficult for him to accept was that his true identity might have been seen through by someone.

For smart people, they have a full sense of superiority in the areas they think they are good at and proud of. They always think that they are hiding perfectly and have almost no flaws. No one can see through their true face, and no one can discover the power hidden behind the scenes.

But tonight, the assassination happened right before his eyes. Zhao Ji had never offended anyone and never had any conflicts of interest with anyone on the surface.

Now that someone is trying to assassinate him, it means that the things he did in the dark have been more or less exposed, so others want to get rid of him, or to retaliate in the same way.

So, who is this “someone else”?
Who else could it be besides Zhao Xiaoqian?

The biggest move Zhao Ji has made in recent years is the several assassination attempts on Zhao Xiaoqian.

The guards of the Prince's Mansion carried Zhao Ji on their backs, and only about ten people were left. They fled in a panic into a dark alley beside East Street.

The dark alleys are lined with residential houses on both sides. The houses are low and dilapidated. In any dynasty, only a very small number of people enjoy wealth, and the vast majority of people still live in poverty.

Zhao Ji was hit in the thigh by an arrow and was bleeding profusely. He needed to be bandaged immediately. A royal guard immediately kicked open the door of a private house.

Inside a residential building, a middle-aged couple was awakened and sat up in bed in shock.

A look of fear flashed across the middle-aged woman's face, and she opened her mouth to scream, but a royal guard's eyes flashed with a murderous light, and he raised his knife and slashed the throats of the innocent middle-aged couple.

Zhao Ji glanced indifferently at the two corpses on the bed and sat in the room as if nothing had happened.

They are just grass. The lives of the poor are cheaper than leeks and are not worth the prince's mood.

The commander tore off his inner shirt and pulled out the arrow from Zhao Ji's thigh. Zhao Ji groaned in pain, but gritted his teeth and dared not make any sound. Cold sweat poured down his forehead.

The commander took out a small bottle of gold medicine from his arms. It was common for warriors to fall and get injured, so they usually carried gold medicine with them for emergency use.

The golden medicine was evenly sprinkled on the wound on Zhao Ji's thigh, and finally the wound was tightly bandaged with clean underwear cloth.

Zhao Ji didn't make a sound from beginning to end. This was a critical moment and any negligence could determine his life or death.

After being bandaged, Zhao Ji's face turned pale and he looked outside the house anxiously.

"Did the assassin follow us?" Zhao Ji asked.

The commander listened intently for a while and said, "There still seems to be footsteps in the alley outside..."

Zhao Ji's heart suddenly sank. This group of assassins actually dared to chase him all the way. It was obvious that they would not give up until they achieved their goal. If he was not careful tonight, his life might be in danger.

"Send two people to climb out from the other side of the wall, and then make some noise from a distance to lure the assassin away." Zhao Ji immediately gave the order.

The commander and the remaining dozen or so imperial guards were stunned.

The order was cold and ruthless. Even a fool knew what would happen to the assassins if they were attracted to it.

Seeing everyone's hesitation, Zhao Ji sneered: "If anything happens to me tonight, not only will you all be held accountable, but your wives, daughters, and relatives will also be sent to the Jiaofang Bureau and will serve other men from now on. Think about the consequences yourself."

The imperial guards felt a chill in their hearts and kept silent with their heads down.

The commander's face turned pale, but he still turned to the crowd and said, "Your Highness's words make sense. Who is willing to go out and lead the assassin away?"

After a long time, two imperial guards finally came out to volunteer.

Zhao Ji smiled, still as amiable and elegant as usual, his eyes filled with gratitude. "I have taken note of your generosity today. If I can survive this calamity, I will repay you one day."

The two imperial guards barely managed to curl their lips, but their hearts were chilled.

Their fate was no different from that of the corpses of the middle-aged couple on the bed; they were all worthless.

The two men climbed out from the wall at the other end of the house. Not long after, they heard a loud kicking sound from afar. Apparently, in order to attract the assassin's attention, two imperial guards kicked open the door of another house from a distance.

The sound really attracted the assassin. The footsteps in the alley paused, and then they rushed towards the sound of kicking the door in a disorderly manner. Soon the alley was silent.

Zhao Ji waited patiently in the room for a moment, making sure the alley outside was silent. He breathed a sigh of relief, had his commander carry him on his back, and the group exited the alley, sprinting towards the Imperial Street. They hadn't run far when they heard two shrill screams behind them. The voices were familiar; they were the two imperial guards who had attracted the assassin. Apparently, they had been killed by the assassin.

Zhao Ji and his imperial guards, who were fleeing for their lives, felt a sinking feeling in their hearts, and they ran in increasing silence.

Zhao Ji was carried on his back by the commander for a long time before he slowly said, "I will remember their kindness. From today on, I will definitely provide generous relief to their families."

The conductor didn't turn around, but just hummed dully.

Zhao Ji began to boost morale again, saying, "The same goes for you. As long as I can survive this night's disaster, you will all be rewarded handsomely."

The eight imperial guards behind him thanked him weakly.

Zhao Ji was speechless. He knew that his decision to let the imperial guards attract the assassin had chilled the hearts of the imperial guards.

But he had no choice. If he had to do it again, his decision would not change.

How can the life of a wealthy man be treated the same as that of a lowly blade of grass?

Some people are born to live a life of luxury and be protected by the whole world, while some people are born to be sacrificed. This is the right given by God.

The residential area behind Daxiangguo Temple is very large and has many dark alleys.

The commander carried Zhao Ji on his back and fled for his life. After twists and turns, he could faintly see the faint lights on the bell and drum tower in the distance.

It seems to be not far from the Imperial Street.

Zhao Ji was overjoyed, and the commanders and the imperial guards also looked excited.

As long as he escaped to the Imperial Street, his life would be saved.

The Imperial Street was the main artery of Bianjing City, equivalent to the Suzaku Street of Chang'an City during the Tang Dynasty. It led directly to the Yanfu Palace in the north. There were many imperial guards patrolling the city on the Imperial Street, so the assassins were not brave enough to chase them onto the Imperial Street.

"I'm almost saved!" Zhao Ji said excitedly. At this moment, the desire to survive was more important than anything else. Even the wound on his thigh didn't seem so painful anymore.

At this time, everyone was passing through the last dark alley, and through this alley was the Imperial Street.

However, something unexpected happened again.

Suddenly, more than a dozen figures appeared from the rooftops of houses next to the dark alley. These people held knives in their hands, and the cold and dim knife light seemed to fall from the sky, jumping down from the rooftops. The knife was as powerful as a landslide, slashing fiercely at Zhao Ji and the imperial guards.

Zhao Ji was terrified. He was originally being carried on the commander's back, but in a panic he twisted his body violently and fell off the commander's back. He then took advantage of the situation and pulled the commander in front of him.

In a flash, the unstoppable sword light slashed fiercely at the commander's body, and the fierce force almost split the commander in half.

The commander couldn't even make a sound. He just faced Zhao Ji and stared at him blankly, his eyes full of hatred and resignation. In the blink of an eye, the commander's burly body fell heavily to the ground.

Zhao Ji had no time to study the commander's dying look. After the knife flashed, more than a dozen assassins rushed forward with knives and headed straight for the remaining eight imperial guards in the Prince's Mansion.

Zhao Ji was so frightened that he screamed and ran away with his head in his hands. While the imperial guards were fighting for him, he rolled and crawled through the lower body of the fighting crowd.

Tonight was extremely exciting for Zhao Ji.

At this time, Zhao Ji became more and more shocked and frightened.

He knew very well that the current group of assassins wielding knives were the second batch.

With his meticulous mind, he judged that this group of assassins was a different group from the first group, which means that this was the second assassination attempt he had encountered.

Countless thoughts were churning in Zhao Ji's mind, and his spirit was almost collapsing. On the same night, he encountered two assassination attempts in succession. The methods of assassination were different, but the same thing was that they were both fatal and aimed at his life.

So, is this a serial assassination scheme, or a coordinated action by two enemies?

No matter what the outcome, there is one thing Zhao Ji can be sure of.

Zhao Xiaoqian was really determined to kill him tonight and had no intention of letting him live.

(End of this chapter)