The prince is more stable

Chapter 346: Brothers of the Heavenly Family
Chen Shou felt very guilty. He felt that he had betrayed Zhao Xiaoqian's trust and messed things up.

But at the same time, Chen Shou told him another thing.

The bad news is that Zhao Ji is not dead.

The good news is that at least half of Zhao Ji died.

In the assassination in the dark alley last night, Zhao Ji was stabbed several times in the back and seemed to have been hit by an arrow in the leg. If it were not for the guards of the Prince's Mansion who fought to the death to protect him, allowing Zhao Ji to crawl to the Imperial Street and screaming so miserably that he attracted the imperial guards patrolling the city, the outcome last night might have been different.

If Chen Shou had followed his original plan, he would have set up a perfect ambush circle on East Street. This ambush circle was a sure kill, and if Zhao Ji had fallen into the circle, there would have been no way he could have escaped.

Unfortunately, the people arranged by Zhao Hao took action first, destroying Chen Shou's plan, and the ambush circle became ineffective.

I can only say that Zhao Ji was really lucky.

If Zhao Hao and his son had greeted each other beforehand, Zhao Ji would have been drinking Meng Po soup by the Naihe Bridge by now.

After comforting Chen Shou, Zhao Xiaoqian soon heard the news circulating in Bianjing City this morning.

The younger brother of the current emperor, Prince Suining Zhao Ji, was assassinated on East Street last night and was seriously injured. His current life or death is unknown.

This news is explosive.

To be honest, Zhao Ji had a good reputation both in the court and the country.

Zhao Ji loved literature and was fond of poetry and essays. He was also good at painting. He had a wide circle of friends and a free and open-minded personality. In addition, he was generous and humble, and had an excellent reputation in the court and among scholars.

The assassination of Zhao Ji last night immediately caused great indignation among the court and the public.

Such an honest, well-behaved, studious and humble gentleman, yet the evil people dared to kill him. They are simply heartless.

Is there no law in the world?
Just as the discussion among the common people in Bianjing was heating up, the court was in an uproar.

At the court meeting that day, countless court officials stood up and angrily reported to Zhao Xu that such a lawless thing had happened in the capital of the Song Dynasty. The Kaifeng Prefecture must kneel in the Golden Palace to apologize. Not only that, the assassination of Prince Suining must be investigated to the end.

Such a heinous assassination case happened right under the feet of the emperor, and there were serious problems with the public security of the Song Dynasty. Therefore, it was not only Kaifeng Prefecture that had to be held accountable. All prefectures, counties and cities under the jurisdiction of the Song Dynasty had to be investigated, bad boys had to be suppressed, and a group of lawless people had to be severely punished so that the world would follow their example.

Zhao Ji's good popularity and good reputation are reflected here.

When Zhao Xiaoqian was assassinated, there were not so many people who were angry and demanded justice for him.

That afternoon after the court meeting, someone came from the palace and summoned Zhao Xiaoqian.

Arriving at Funing Palace with familiarity, Zhao Xu's face was ashen, and some delicate porcelain fragments were scattered on the ground. It was obvious that Zhao Xu had just thrown something in anger.

Zhao Xiaoqian entered the palace and greeted the guests calmly.

Zhao Xu waved his sleeves with a sullen face and said, "Zi'an, have you heard about Zhao Ji's assassination?"

"I heard about it this morning."

Zhao Xu angrily said, "I don't know who this villain is, but he is targeting my brother! My brother Ji is such an honest and well-behaved child, who could he possibly be an enemy of? He almost lost his life last night!"

"Today, during the court meeting, the ministers have reported to me, and I am ashamed. The thieves are so arrogant that they dared to murder my own brother. This matter must not be allowed to go unpunished!"

Zhao Xiaoqian bowed his head and said, "I have always been friends with the Prince of Suining. We even drank and feasted together at a brothel and discussed poetry. This morning, I heard that the Prince had been assassinated. It was like a bolt from the blue. I am filled with shock and anger! I implore the emperor to investigate this matter thoroughly, to rigorously investigate the murderer, and to bring him to justice!"

Zhao Xu's eyes reddened as he sighed, "As expected of my brothers from the same clan, we, the descendants of the Zhao family, are naturally compatible! If our ancestors were still alive, seeing how respectful and friendly our Zhao clan members are, they would surely smile in their graves, having no regrets!"

Zhao Xiaoqian raised his head and said sincerely, "Brothers united are stronger than iron. Only when clan members work together can the Song Dynasty prosper and flourish."

Zhao Xu was moved and said, "Well said, well said! If all the clan members thought like Zi'an, the Song Dynasty would surely be strong and powerful, and we would be able to annihilate the barbarians and unify the country for eternity."

Zhao Xiaoqian bowed his head and said, "The assassination of the Prince of Suining is the worst incident since the founding of our dynasty. For both public and private reasons, I request an imperial decree to order the Imperial City Division to conduct a thorough investigation of this case. They must bring the murderer to justice and tear him to pieces to avenge the prince!" Zhao Xu said with relief, "I summoned you here today for this very matter. Kaifeng Prefecture cannot be relied upon, so this case must be handed over to the Imperial City Division. However, you do not need to worry about this matter; leave it to the people below."

Zhao Xiaoqian was startled and said unwillingly, "Why? I just want to do my best for the Prince of Suining..."

Zhao Xu smiled and said, "You will be taking up your post in Zhending Prefecture in a few days. A real man should put his country and family first. The case of Jidi's assassination should be handed over to Wei Jie."

Zhao Xiaoqian was silent for a long moment, then finally, with an expression of reluctance, sighed, "The country is more important than anything else. I cannot have both. Well then, Your Majesty, rest assured. I will live up to my mission when I go to Zhending. I will use my own strength to intimidate the Liao Kingdom and prevent the Hu people from coming south to graze their horses."

Zhao Xu was moved and said, "Good brother, good brother! Having Zi'an as my assistant is truly a blessing from heaven and a blessing for the country."

Zhao Xiaoqian hesitated for a moment and said, "I was unable to personally avenge the Prince of Suining, and I feel guilty towards him. I wonder how my brother Ji's injuries are. I would like to visit him at the Prince's mansion."

Zhao Xu sighed heavily, "Brother Ji's injuries were serious, but he survived. Zi'an is so thoughtful. After leaving the palace, he should go see him. This will also let outsiders see that the royal family's love is not as cold and ruthless as outsiders say. The brotherhood between Zi'an and Brother Ji will make the world ashamed and envious."

Zhao Xiaoqian said solemnly, "Don't worry, Your Majesty. I will make outsiders envy our brotherhood to death!"

After saying this, Zhao Xiaoqian still felt that his expression was not strong enough, so he clenched his right fist and raised it high and shouted slogans.

"Brothers in Heaven, never leave each other!"

Zhao Xu was also deeply inspired. Like him, he clenched his right fist and said, "Brothers from the Heavenly Family, we will never leave each other!"

So the two brothers looked at each other solemnly, and the scene was exciting, explosive, and a bit naive.

…………

After walking out of the palace, Zhao Xiaoqian breathed a sigh of relief.

I have lived two lives, and my acting skills are the best today. If there is a film festival in the Song Dynasty, who else but me will be the best actor this year?

In other words, Zhao Xu didn't know about it, otherwise he would have thought of skinning him alive.

After leaving the palace and walking to the carriage of the prince's mansion, Zhao Xiaoqian ordered: "Go to the Suining County Prince's Mansion and visit His Highness the County Prince."

"By the way, Chen Shou, go buy some gifts. It's impolite to come empty-handed."

Chen Shou was stunned when he heard this and hesitantly stood in front of him.

"The Crown Prince wishes to visit the Prince of Suining?"

"has a problem?"

"Of course!" Chen Shou said anxiously, "Once he enters the Prince's Mansion, I can't guarantee the safety of the Crown Prince. If Zhao Ji has any suspicions about what happened last night, the Crown Prince will have no way out today. It's extremely dangerous."

Zhao Xiaoqian sneered: "Give him Zhao Ji another bit of courage and see if he dares!"

"Stop talking nonsense and go."

Zhao Xiaoqian was indeed not afraid because Chen Shou was from a different class than him.

Even if the powerful and wealthy have deep hatred for each other in private, they will never tear each other apart in public. Everyone uses underhanded means to seek revenge, and the superficial harmony must be maintained tacitly, otherwise it would be a violation of the rules of the game.

Today, Zhao Xiaoqian came to visit him. Even if Zhao Ji was sure that he was the murderer behind the scenes, he would never turn against him, let alone do anything against him.

Chen Shou didn't understand this strange world among the powerful and wealthy, so he became more and more anxious.

"Prince, why did you come to visit Zhao Ji?"

"I just wanted to see if he would die of anger on the spot when the murderer visited the victim with a hypocritical face and the victim was helpless."

(End of this chapter)