The prince is more stable

Chapter 999 The decisive battle
News of Zhao Xiaoqian's assassination has now spread throughout the city.

All the officials and imperial guards in Bianjing were mobilized, and the streets and alleys of the city were guarded by officials and imperial guards. The people of the Imperial City Guard searched the entire city with fierce expressions, looking for the assassin's accomplices.

The women in the palace, including Di Ying, had already known about the news. As soon as the news reached the palace, Di Ying and the others were terrified and at a loss. The sisters gathered in Funing Palace and anxiously surrounded Di Ying.

Di Ying was heavily pregnant and was so frightened by the news that she almost fainted. Tears streamed down her face uncontrollably. After a brief moment of panic, Di Ying quickly calmed down.

She is the Empress, the head of the harem. She cannot afford to lose her composure at this time, otherwise the entire harem will descend into chaos.

So Di Ying mustered her strength and, despite her large pregnant belly, first sent someone to inquire about her father, Di Zi. Di Zi was at the time leading troops out of the palace to protect the emperor by imperial decree, and immediately sent someone back to tell her that the emperor was safe and sound, which put her at ease. Di Ying and her sisters finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Still uneasy, Di Ying couldn't stay in the palace any longer, so she led her sisters to wait outside the palace gates until Zhao Xiaoqian's carriage returned. Only after seeing Zhao Xiaoqian unharmed did the women feel completely at ease.

After the initial relief came endless fear and shock. The women all threw themselves into his arms and burst into tears. Even Yelü Nanxian, who was usually aloof, was now crying with tears streaming down her face.

"Why are you crying? I'm back safe and sound. Heaven has blessed us, so there are no taboos." Zhao Xiaoqian smiled nonchalantly.

Di Ying sobbed, "My lord speaks so lightly, but you have no idea how much worry I've been carrying. Our world has collapsed. My lord is the emperor, the Son of Heaven, who should be staying in the deep palace. Why do you keep running around outside? Who is out there?"

Zhao Xiaoqian paused, wondering who was outside.
I went fishing today and ran into Li Qingzhao and Zhang Zeduan. Later, I drank with Li Qingzhao, and things got a little ambiguous between us; I think we even... well, you know...

Zhao Xiaoqian felt he couldn't upset the pregnant woman, so he decided to avoid the main issue.

"I met a painter outside today, he was very talented... um, a man," Zhao Xiaoqian said.

Di Ying didn't think much of it and buried her face in his arms, still sobbing: "My lord, if you want to see anyone in the future, just issue an imperial decree to summon them to the palace. There are too many people outside who have ill intentions towards you, so you dare not leave the palace again."

"I can't leave the palace. There are so many fish in the Bian River waiting to take my bait," Zhao Xiaoqian resolutely refused.

Di Ying snorted in dissatisfaction, but she knew that her husband's mind was not so easy to change, so she had no choice but to compromise and say, "Then my husband, please take more people with you when you go out of the palace in the future. You are the emperor of the Great Song Dynasty. When the emperor goes out, there are at least a thousand people in his entourage. Let my father come along too. My father is very capable and will definitely be able to protect my husband."

"Wouldn't that be inappropriate? What if we encounter assassins? Would it be a bit presumptuous of me to push my father-in-law out to take the blows first?" Zhao Xiaoqian hesitated.

Di Ying spat angrily, "How many disrespectful things have you done to your father-in-law? Besides, you are the ruler and he is the subject. If there is real danger, it is a subject's duty to protect his ruler. I will not blame you, my lord."

…………

Despite such a major event, Bianjing (Kaifeng) is still in turmoil.

The assassins have been captured, but the matter is not over. Did they have accomplices? Is there a mole in the imperial court? Besides, what other suspicious people are there in the city? These are all things that Kaifeng Prefecture and the Imperial City Guard must investigate thoroughly.

The assassination of the emperor was a momentous case, not something that could be solved simply by arresting a few assassins.

The constables from Kaifeng Prefecture and the Imperial City Guard conducted a comprehensive search of the city, going door-to-door to investigate the heads of households and their members. They also questioned every inn and post station in the city.

The investigation yielded some unexpected results, uncovering a number of fugitives who had been wanted by the government. It's unclear what these wanted criminals were thinking; perhaps they believed that the most dangerous place was the safest place. Despite being wanted by the government, they dared to sneak into Bianjing City.

Of course, if the assassination attempt on the emperor hadn't happened, perhaps their thinking wouldn't have been wrong; at least before that, they were safe living in Bianjing.

After returning to Yanfu Palace, Zhao Xiaoqian took a bath, changed his clothes, and then lay down to sleep.

He slept until noon the next day. After washing up and having breakfast, Zheng Chunhe hurriedly went into the palace to tell him that Zhen Qing from the Imperial City Guard and Liu Dan from the Ice Well Office had arrived and were requesting an audience outside the palace.

Zhao Xiaoqian nodded. These two must have come to report the results of the interrogation. Liu Dan's efficiency was indeed very high. He was truly a fearsome living Yama, and the results were in less than a day.

The two were ushered into the hall. Zhen Qing and Liu Dan bowed, and Zhao Xiaoqian asked them to sit down.

"Your Majesty, I have interrogated the assassins overnight and obtained their confessions." Liu Dan knew the seriousness of the matter and dared not say anything unnecessary. He immediately handed over a confession with his red seal.

Zhao Xiaoqian took the document, glanced at it, and then frowned: "Couldn't find the person behind this?"

Liu Dan said with a look of fear, "It's not that I'm incompetent, but I don't know who ordered these assassins. They are originally from the martial arts world and have some fighting skills. They make a living by escorting goods and running errands."

"About half a month ago, they met a middle-aged man dressed as a scholar in a restaurant in Bianjing City. The man gave them a thousand taels of silver as soon as they met, saying that he wanted to hire them to do a job. If they succeeded, he would guarantee their descendants wealth and honor." "The scholar did not give his name. He spoke with an accent from Yinzhou in the northwest. He was plain-looking, rather short, and not outstanding at all."

“These assassins were originally from the underworld, and they never cared about laws or rules. They would do anything if someone paid them, so the two sides hit it off immediately.”

"The scholar later told them that this matter was of great importance and must be done without fail. Therefore, they needed to recruit more people from the martial arts world so that everyone could work together to accomplish this great task. So these people quickly gathered a group of fellow martial arts practitioners and practiced for many days in a deserted valley outside Bianjing City."

"Not only that, but last night's assassination attempt on the Emperor was also a trap personally set by the scholar. The series of killing moves, including poisoning, ambush, and surprise attack, all came from the scholar's plan. These assassins are brainless; they only know how to carry out the scholar's plans."

Zhao Xiaoqian frowned: "Are there any court officials or powerful figures involved?"

Liu Dan lowered his head and said, "The only clue I have obtained from the interrogation is that scholar. As for whether this scholar is the real mastermind or just a tool in someone else's hands, we do not know at this time. At present, I have not seen whether there are any powerful officials or nobles behind this case."

Zhao Xiaoqian glanced at him and said, "That's it? You interrogated him all night and got nothing out of him. Are you going to turn this into another unsolved case?"

Liu Dan was somewhat apprehensive and said with a bitter face, "Your Majesty, it's not that I'm incompetent, but these assassins were completely unaware of the situation. I swear, I've really wiped out all the assassins. Under my tutelage, they've become neither human nor ghost."

Zhao Xiaoqian sighed. In fact, he knew he couldn't blame Liu Dan. In the field of interrogating prisoners, Liu Dan's ability was already unparalleled.

Liu Dan would thoroughly investigate anything the assassins knew, but even if he tore them to pieces, they still wouldn't be able to glean anything about what the assassins didn't know.

Zhao Xiaoqian remained silent for a moment, then slowly said, "I still have a question that I cannot answer."

“Last night I left the brothel in a carriage, intending to return to the palace, but then I decided to stop and have some roast meat. How did these assassins know I would stop and walk into their trap? It’s simply unbelievable.”

Liu Dan bowed and said, "This servant has also inquired about this matter. The main thing is that they studied the Emperor's temperament beforehand..."

"What do you mean?"

"After the Emperor ascended the throne, everyone in the court and the public knew his likes and dislikes. They knew that the Emperor loved food and was skilled at cooking. He would never miss a delicious meal. That scholar deliberately set up the murder plot because of this personality of the Emperor."

Zhao Xiaoqian's eyelids twitched: "So, last night when I smelled that strong aroma of roasted meat in the carriage, I was already caught up in the scheme at that moment?"

"That's right. The roasted meat was made using a secret recipe from a scholar. It was incredibly delicious, and to lure the officials in, a few drops of aphrodisiac fragrance from beyond the borders were sprinkled on it, making people stop and linger involuntarily."

"Last night, the emperor stopped his carriage after smelling the aroma of roasted meat. It was this aroma that led him into their trap."

"Later, when the emperor arrived at the barbecue stall, one of the assassins began to poison the meat. However, no one expected that the emperor's personal guard, Chen Shou, would be so cautious. Even in that situation, he did not forget to test for poison and found a stray dog, which thwarted the assassins' plan."

Zhao Xiaoqian was stunned upon hearing this; the trap set up was indeed ingenious.

If it were an ordinary person, they would have already started drinking the Meng Po soup by now.

Every step I took was calculated, and everything was so natural and random, who could defend against it?
I never imagined that I would almost die because of food. Last night, I was just a hair's breadth away from death. If Chen Shou hadn't been cautious, I would not have been able to avoid that fatal blow.

Liu Dan lowered his head and continued, "Later, the poisoning failed, and the assassins revealed their true colors. All the killers gathered nearby showed themselves, and the Emperor knows what happened after that."

When Zhao Xiaoqian recalled what had happened the night before, he felt a wave of fear wash over him.

Chen Shou saved my life at least twice last night; if it weren't for him, I probably wouldn't have survived this ordeal.

Those who have done good deeds should be rewarded; otherwise, who will save them next time?

"Old Zheng, convey the imperial decree: Chen Shou, the deputy commander of the Imperial Guards, is hereby granted the title of 'Viscount of Yingchang County,' and is bestowed with 10,000 strings of cash, 2,000 mu of fertile land, and his son is granted the honorary title of 'Military Cavalry Captain.'"

"The soldiers who protected me last night will all be granted two thousand strings of cash and two hundred acres of land in the capital region. Their descendants will be given priority in the imperial examinations and military service."

"The soldiers who died in battle will each receive a pension of ten thousand taels of silver, which will be personally handed over to their families. In addition, each family will be granted a thousand acres of fertile land, and their descendants will be granted official positions with stipends from the court to support their families."

Zheng Chunhe bowed inside the hall, then hurriedly left to deliver the imperial decree.

(End of this chapter)