novelaction Chapter 927 Chance Encounter
Chapter 927 Chance Encounter
After saying that, he collapsed to the ground.
Seeing the large patch of blood seeping from the King of Qin's chest, the Queen knew he was not going to survive.
Her eyes held neither sorrow nor joy; if one were to probe, one might find a hint of pity, whether for her father or for herself, it was unclear.
At this moment, she had no time to care about any of that; she could only grab a few children and run out of the hall.
They ran head-on into Li Chong, Zhang Ping'an, and the people Zheng Ping brought.
Everyone was safe and sound in the end; the fire was just a false alarm. The only unexpected event was that the King of Qin died before the trial was over.
After this ordeal, Zhou Pu started coughing again, clutching his chest, but his eyes were chillingly cold.
Before Zhang Ping'an and the others could step forward to inquire, Zhou Pu coldly ordered, "Men, beat to death all the palace servants who failed to serve properly in Yangning Palace. Leave no one alive."
Zhang Ping'an paused upon hearing this, then quickly realized what remarkable things the King of Qin had said in the palace earlier.
Zheng Ping, who had come from the palace, quickly realized what was happening and immediately ordered his men to gag and tie up the palace servants before torturing them, to prevent them from saying anything they shouldn't and implicating them.
Xiao Xiangzi was originally glad that he was a eunuch whom Zhou Pu valued, and that even after the palace coup, his future prospects would not be bad.
Little did he know that his life was about to end. He pleaded for mercy several times, but ultimately swallowed it back, hoping only that he could die a quick and painless death.
Looking at the palace servants outside the hall, their skin torn and bleeding, Cui Ling silently slapped himself a few times in his heart.
In officialdom, there is no shortage of clever people. You may think you are clever, but there is always someone who is cleverer than you. He now deeply regrets why he did not learn from Zhang Ping'an and the others and find an excuse to leave earlier.
Now, hearing these shocking revelations, I'm a little overwhelmed.
Although Zhou Pu won't touch him now, it's only a matter of time. In officialdom, the most taboo thing is to lose the emperor's favor, and he has committed a major taboo.
Empress Qin, holding the children's hands, calmly watched this scene, no longer shedding tears or pleading for mercy.
The emperor and empress remained locked in a silent standoff, with only Cui Ling knowing the true reason behind it.
After these people were beaten to death, guards quickly dragged them away, and palace servants silently came to clean the floor tiles. Everyone had their own place, and everything proceeded in an orderly manner, like a precise instrument.
After a moment, Li Chong stepped forward and advised, "Your Majesty, now that the rebellion has been quelled, why don't you return to your palace to rest and take care of your health? Leave the rest to us!"
"Hmm, that's fine too," Zhou Pu nodded, seemingly lost in thought.
He then said, "I am very grateful to General Cui for saving me in time. I have observed that he is skilled in martial arts, quick-witted, and extremely loyal. I will have him protect me closely for the next few days!"
After speaking, he looked at Empress Qin and said, "The truth about the Prince of Qin has not yet been revealed. Before the Prince of Qin's case is resolved, the Empress and the three princes are not allowed to step out of the inner palace."
This was tantamount to placing him under house arrest. Empress Qin, with an expression of utter surprise, curtsied and said, "Your Majesty, I obey!"
After saying that, he left with the imperial guards who were escorting him.
After the emperor and empress had gone far away, Zheng Ping said meaningfully, "The trouble just now was timely. It's just a pity that General Cui became the last target."
“There’s no other way. Things have come to this point. The Prince of Qin knows too much. If we’re not careful, he might implicate a whole bunch of people. It’s hard to tell what’s true and what’s false. It won’t do the court any good. Rather than that, it would be better to let him take these secrets to the grave, so that the Emperor has a reason to turn a blind eye. Wouldn’t that be better?” Zhang Ping’an smiled faintly with his hands behind his back.
This can be considered a tacit admission.
Before noon today, the events that happened in the palace had spread to most of the important officials outside the palace. He estimated that his father-in-law, after this incident, would not consider resigning from his post for a while.
For aristocratic families like theirs, who were tabooed by the royal family, this was actually a good thing.
Li Chong stretched and interjected, "The morning court session won't be held today. I've been busy for days and nights, and I should rest. Also, I need to go and close the net at the Great Xiangguo Temple. I'll leave this place to you. I'm heading back to my residence now!"
Zheng Ping and Zhang Ping'an had no objections: "Thank you for your hard work!"
Li Chong waved his hand, then mounted his horse and rode away with his men.
The Li family was a once-prosperous but now declining family in the capital. They owned a large mansion in the city, which had previously appeared lifeless due to lack of repair and maintenance.
As Li Chong and his family members have risen to prominence in the court in recent years, their residence has been gradually renovated and now looks no less impressive than the Qian family mansion.
Upon returning to his residence, Li Chong was summoned by the old master of the house.
Although the old man didn't have any great abilities in his life, he was always thinking about how to revitalize the family. He was most proud of raising several good sons, who in turn had a bunch of grandsons. If a few more of them were to rise to prominence, the family could continue to thrive and prosper.
"Father, did you send someone to find me?" Li Chong asked, sitting down and rubbing his temples.
Old Master Li's face was full of concern. He first asked a few words of concern before getting to the point: "What trouble has happened in the palace again? Will you be awarded the top merit for leading the people to quell the rebellion this time?"
Li Chong suppressed his impatience and answered methodically, "It's inconvenient to say, I can't!"
Upon hearing this, Old Master Li was so angry he nearly fell over. If he were young, he would have certainly scolded his wayward son and even resorted to family discipline.
But the situation is different now. He is old, and the family will have to rely on this son in the future. So he could only suppress his anger and patiently say, "What's wrong with saying a few more words? We are all family. I am your father. Would I harm you? We can inform the clan in time if there is any news so that we can be prepared. The responsibility of revitalizing our Li family will fall on your shoulders. You have to set a good example for the people below."
Li Chong was immune to such words, and even disgusted by them. He got up and walked away, saying, "I know. If there's nothing else, I'll go back and rest."
"That brat!" Old Master Li couldn't help but slap the armrest of his chair.
He was clearly the son he disliked the most, but in the end, he turned out to be the most successful. He only regretted that his other sons were not up to par.
The servants attending to him kept their eyes down, having grown accustomed to this situation. They could only say that if you don't take your children seriously when you're young, you can't blame them for not being on your side when you're older.
After returning to his room, Li Chong put away the spikes on his body and asked his attendant, "Have we found out the identity of the person we met earlier?"
"Reporting to Master, we have found him. He is a scholar who came to the capital to take the imperial examination. His name is Li Chengye, and he comes from western Hunan. His identity is perfectly clear and clean. I have inquired with his fellow villagers. He is quite famous in his area and has a rather legendary life. He only started studying at a private school at the age of ten, but he passed the county, prefectural, provincial, and township examinations on his first try. He was incredibly successful. Moreover, he is not the kind of bookworm who only knows how to study. In his spare time, he would do some business with his classmates to make a living, so his family lived a good life."
"I see..." Li Chong thought for a moment before saying, "If that's the case, then we don't need to deliberately disturb him. But you keep an eye on this person's movements for me in secret and report back to me every now and then. I don't believe there are such coincidences in the world!"
Thinking back to when he and his men had ambushed this man outside the city, and how the man had predicted that he would rise to prominence and achieve his goals, he felt a strange, inexplicable sense of prophecy.
So he asked someone close to him to investigate.
He hadn't paid much attention to it at first, but considering the bow and arrows the man was carrying, and the inexplicable killing of the Second Prince Zhou Shu, he couldn't help but pay more attention to this man.
"I understand!" the attendant nodded.
He then asked, "The Great Xiangguo Temple has already taken action. Aren't you going to keep an eye on things personally, Master?"