Golden branches and jade leaves

Chapter 12: Aftertaste of the Assassin
When Ni Tingxuan from the periphery rushed to the main hall with his people, the matter was over, leaving only a messy main hall, telling what kind of fierce battle happened here just now.

More than a dozen assassins were lying on the ground, each of them had more than a dozen wounds, large and small, in different shades, the originally tight-fitting colorful clothes were torn and tattered, and the corpses were stained with blood.The broken limbs and arms scattered all over the ground are even more shocking, not only from assassins, but also from many concubines and maids who have suffered misfortune.

The originally neat and gorgeous tables in the hall were scattered, and the carved silver candlesticks were pushed to the ground. Only the red plum blossoms among the broken jasper porcelain pieces all over the floor were still quietly blooming, reflecting the embroidered gold thread. The bloodstains that slowly spread on the carpet gave him the illusion for a moment that he was walking into the palace of a country that had just been destroyed.

The queen and Concubine Ni climbed up from behind the dragon chair tremblingly, their faces were pale, and there was not even a trace of Fengyi's aura to rule the harem.

Some of the concubines who survived the catastrophe looked at the scene in front of them, terrified that the ground was deserted, and trembled, and some of them needed the support of the palace servants to barely stand still.They are all delicate young ladies in the deep boudoir. The biggest bloodstain I have ever seen in my life is just a little blood bead from the finger pricked by an embroidery needle. I have never seen such a hellish scene in front of me. It is too late when I am nervous to escape Feeling something, now that I am safe and relaxed, many people vomited out immediately.

What shocked Ni Tingxuan the most was the figure in the emperor's arms, blood splattered along the white tube top, making people's eyes burn.

"Doctor! Where's the doctor?!" Amidst Qi Taki's sharp shouts, the panting doctors finally arrived.

After that, there was a rare rush in the palace. Every master seemed to need help and comfort. The concubines were sent back to their respective palaces, and the injured naturally waited for the diagnosis and treatment of the imperial doctor.

Qi Taki's immediate anger was understandable. Since the founding of Da Qi, at least since he ascended the throne, such a thing has never happened. The emperor of Da Qi has never been pointed at his nose with a sword. experience of fleeing.

Therefore, the punishment and treatment were carried out extremely quickly and violently. Before the assassination time ended, many officials hurriedly got up from the warm quilts. Of course, such a serious incident that endangered the royal family did not allow them to continue to sleep peacefully. It's time.Soon, the governor of the capital, the Dali Temple, the Ministry of Punishment, and related departments began to gather in various yamen to discuss and get busy.The people in the palace involved in this assassination, like Qian Lian who was in charge of leading the way, were sent to jail and tortured immediately. Even the guards who were on duty that night were severely punished, and countless of them were beaten.The forbidden army was ordered to rush to the streets and search for suspected locations.

Under the blurred night, a figure flew across the air. It was the man in Tsing Yi who had failed in the assassination. He quickly passed by several houses, and turned into an alley.

Just after turning into the alley, I saw a figure standing in front of a dilapidated house, holding a lantern, standing leisurely.The figure of the man in Tsing Yi froze, and his aura rose in an instant, and his whole body was on alert.His current situation is really not optimistic. When he broke through the palace, he experienced a series of fierce battles. Fortunately, most of the guards in the palace were attracted to Meiyuan by the news of the assassination. After he broke through the inner palace, he did not encounter anything. Dangerous, relying on lightness kung fu to break out.

"Mr. Wen, don't be nervous. I'm here to meet you." The visitor looked calm and calm, while raising the lantern in his hand.

He is a middle-aged man about 47 or [-] years old, with a slight smile, he looks even more graceful and unruly under the light.

The man in Tsing Yi saw his face clearly, his surprised expression flashed and disappeared, and then he relaxed, "Unexpectedly, Mr. Ge will come here to meet Wen Xian in person."

"Mr. Wen has worked hard tonight, how could Ge not come to greet him in person." The visitor let out a long laugh, hearty and bright.

"The hard work was in vain. Tonight's action was miscalculated." Wen Xian shook his head and smiled.Instead, he looked at Ge Chengming with a little surprise: "Sir, it doesn't seem to surprise Wen Xian's miss at all."

"When a sharp sword is out of its sheath, it is like drinking the enemy's blood. It must be full of sharpness and sleep contentedly, just like the son's usual habit of killing people. But now the son is showing his sharpness, and there is a lot of excitement in his expression. It must be the sword meeting the gods. Bing, I have met a rare and powerful enemy." As he spoke, he led Wen Xian to the door of an old room in the alley, and tapped it lightly with his fingers a few times regularly. "Squeak..." With a sound, the dilapidated door opened.A guy who looked like a boy leaned forward, and when he saw that it was Ge Chengming, his face immediately became happy, and he said, "Mr. is back!" He quickly opened the door.

"Mr. is a man of great wisdom. Wen Xian could have expected Wen Xian's failure, but Wen Xian was not surprised. But this time, the matter is of great importance. Since he failed, Mr. was not impatient or upset. This made Wen Xian curious." Wen Xian smiled calmly as he followed Ge Chengming into the house.

"It's up to people to plan things, but it's up to God to make things happen. So what happens if you succeed, so what if you fail? If I, Nanchen, need to rely on assassination to survive, I'm afraid it won't last long." Ge Chengming sighed.

"It's no wonder that Prince Lian Cheng said that Mr. Wen has the style of an elegant scholar in the Wei and Jin Dynasties. It's because Wen Xian has little knowledge." Wen Xian wiped his face while speaking, and took off a human skin mask in his hand, revealing the hidden beauty under the mask. true appearance.Having safely entered their stronghold here, naturally there is no need to dress up.

Ge Chengming's eyes swept across his face, and he couldn't help raising his eyebrows. A trace of surprise flashed in his eyes, and he said with a smile: "No wonder that in the Northern Qi Dynasty, the king of Lanling needed to wear a bronze mask to maintain his prestige when he went into battle to kill the enemy. The demeanor is like that of the ancients."

Wen Xian's face darkened slightly.

Ge Chengming was startled, and then remembered the rumor that Wen Xian didn't like being discussed about his appearance, so he changed the subject immediately: "My lord's injury is not serious, the doctor and medicinal materials in the hall are all ready, why don't you go in and rest for a while."

Wen Xian entered the room as he said, and everything was prepared in the room, it seems that they also knew that regardless of whether they win or lose this time, injuries will be inevitable.He first went to the copper basin to wash his face, but he looked down and saw that his clothes were already stained with blood. He raised his eyebrows, and a trace of disgust flashed in his eyes. He immediately took off his coat and kept it on the side, washing it by himself .

The little guy next to him immediately came up to serve him. As soon as his hand touched him, Wen Xian's reaction was great. With a wave of his hand, the little guy fell out hard.

"No need, I'll do it myself, you go out." Wen Xian said lightly.

The boy didn't dare to say anything, got up and walked out.Seeing Ge Chengming outside, Ge Chengming asked, "How is Mr. Wen's injury?"

"I don't know, it's just that Mr. Wen has such a big temper. I just wanted to help out, so I just got hurt." The little guy couldn't help complaining in a low voice.

"Hehe, since this person is a killer and works in the business of adding blood to the blade, he is naturally more vigilant than others." Ge Chengming smiled and said, "Wen Xian's martial arts can be regarded as the strongest among the new generation of masters in Jianghu. That's right, he is also proficient in disguise thaumaturgy. It is really lucky for the prince to subdue this person, don't lose your courtesy, the prince always treats him with courtesy."

"Understood," the boy replied, and couldn't help but say: "A killer who kills people like hemp, but he was born with such a good-looking girl."

"You must never say these words in the future!" Ge Chengming glared at him, and said sternly: "Wen Xian hates people mentioning his appearance the most. I accidentally mentioned it just now and felt that he had murderous intentions for a moment. You guys If a person doesn't know how to check the corners of his mouth, he will inevitably invite death."

Seeing what Ge Chengming said solemnly, the boy obediently agreed.

Ge Chengming's words were sharp, but he couldn't help thinking inwardly: "No wonder people in the world say that Wen Xian is as ruthless as a snake and scorpion, and more beautiful than a virgin. His face, who would have imagined that he is the number one killer who is famous for his cruelty and ungratefulness at the expense of money."

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"Is it better?" Ni Tingxuan took a bottle of ointment and walked into the corner room where the guards stayed temporarily. He lifted the curtain and entered the back room, and asked the person lying on the bed.

"What's better, it's not good at all!" The person on the bed got up and shouted, "It hurts like hell, these bastards, my subordinates don't know how to be merciful, it's a waste of my usual... oops!" Because of the movement It was too big and affected the wound again, Mu Qinghan couldn't help shouting, and said bitterly: "When I get better, let's see how I deal with them."

"Isn't that enough to be merciful? When I came in just now, I saw the executioners holding Xiao Song to ask you about your injuries. I was afraid that I might have done something wrong. They really care about you?" Ni Tingxuan said with a smile.But there was a faint sense of sadness in his heart, he was reserved by nature, far less popular than Mu Qinghan, who had a bright temperament, among the guards.

"Be merciful, you ghost, you go and try to bear the hundred boards, and see if you can still get up now?" Mu Qinghan complained bitterly, he was just dismissed from his position for the crime of failing to save him , and suffered a hundred boards.Since Ni Tingxuan was in charge of the security work on the periphery this time, the crime was not so serious, and he was only fined three months' salary.

Mu Qinghan said it, but she also understood that the guard who executed the execution just now was indeed merciful.You must know that the board of the inner court guards is not so easy to bear. It is said that if the execution master has reached a certain level of kung fu, there will be no scars on the outside, but the bones and tendons will be broken inside.No matter how strong his martial arts are, he can't support dozens of boards.If the execution guards were really going to kill him, he would have been unable to speak here long ago. On the surface, his hundred team looked full of scars, but in fact they were all skin traumas. They just needed to recuperate for a while.

"Looking at how energetic you are now, doesn't it seem that there is nothing hindering you? Fortunately, I went to the imperial doctor to get you some wound medicine." Ni Tingxuan shook the bottle in his hand.

"What medicine? Hey, why didn't an imperial doctor come to see it? I was injured on duty anyway." Mu Qinghan said sadly.

"Okay, okay, those imperial doctors are busy treating the concubines and ladies in various palaces now, how can they have the time to come and take care of us rough people, it would be nice if they could get a bottle of medicine, lie down and don't move, I Come and apply the medicine for you." Ni Tingxuan gently pushed him, motioning him to lie down.

"No imperial doctor? Wait, don't brothers have an imperial doctor?" Mu Qinghan raised her body to stop him and asked. Many guards were injured when they fought against the assassin today. "How many brothers were injured?" It's not easy."

"The imperial doctor came, but he left immediately. After all, it happened to be at night this time. There were not many imperial doctors on duty, but there were too many injured masters and concubines. Even Prince Yu was seriously injured..." Ni Tingxuan After hesitating for a moment, he said.

"Tingxuan, my injury doesn't matter. If you go to the imperial hospital again, you must call some imperial physicians. No matter how many concubines there are, they will not be able to use the entire hospital's imperial physicians. If you can't call anyone, send a few brothers to go home. Please go, and ask for some more medicine by the way, a few people have serious internal injuries, and they can't wait for their injuries." Mu Qinghan said anxiously.

"Understood, I already sent someone to call for you. I just met Xiao Song, and I told him, so don't worry about it. Be careful that you won't get out of bed for a month." Ni Tingxuan laughed.

"That's good," Mu Qinghan felt relieved, and said, "Why did you let Xiao Song go? You don't even know what good things you did, it's obviously..."

"What's there to say? Xiao Song was poking around in front of your door just now. I thought he was idle, so I ordered him." Ni Tingxuan gave him a white look.Song Dan is Mu Qinghan's deputy.

Mu Qinghan chuckled, he knew that his friend was cold on the outside and hot on the inside, caring but unwilling to show it.Because of this, he is a little unfamiliar with the people around him. In fact, he cares as much about his subordinates as he does himself.

"Speaking of that Prince Yu, what a handsome kung fu, I really didn't expect it, how is it compared to you? If you fight against him, what are your chances of winning?" While taking the medicine, Mu Qinghan said Nor was he idle.

"How do you know this? I haven't compared him before. He is an authentic prince, not us thick-skinned people." Ni Tingxuan said with a smile: "Do we still have a chance to compete with him? "

"That's true, alas, anyway, there won't be any chances. How could the noble descendants of the emperor and my little bodyguard have the chance to fight?" Mu Qinghan sighed, with a listless taste in his words.

"He still cares after all, even though he can't see it on the surface," Ni Tingxuan sighed inwardly.Mu Qinghan was dismissed from the position of deputy commander just because of dereliction of duty, and was reduced to an ordinary guard.

"Okay, after all, the emperor is only angry for a while. With your qualifications and usual achievements, you will be promoted back in a short time. You don't have to be too depressed. Could it be that your father-in-law can still look at his son-in-law who is about to pass because Is it because of such injustice that you lost your position for nothing?" Ni Tingxuan comforted him.

Mu Qinghan's future father-in-law is naturally their immediate boss, Shi Qian, the commander of the guards.

When mentioning her father-in-law, Mu Qinghan felt a little embarrassed instead. Thinking of the days before, when her mother sent someone to Shi's house to discuss the wedding date, and the servants who came back reported that Shi's family seemed to be trying to evade.Reminiscent of the fact that the Shi family has been in business as usual in the past few years, but it seems that they are becoming more and more estranged from their Mu family... He feels a little sad.

"What's wrong?" Ni Tingxuan asked seeing Mu Qinghan's fascinated look.

"It's nothing," Mu Qinghan came back to his senses, turned to look at him and said, "Stop talking about me, it's just a position of deputy commander, and it's not me who needs to worry most now , think about your Ni family first," he reminded solemnly, "don't forget where that assassin came from. I'm afraid it will be used by some people to make a big fuss."

"The emperor has trusted our Ni family a lot these past few years, so there shouldn't be anything wrong," Ni Tingxuan was slightly taken aback: "Besides, the troupe that mainly ambushed the assassins this time was recruited by the empress. It has nothing to do with our Ni family."

"Although there are many assassins, they didn't kill the Emperor's nose with their swords."

"Okay, don't talk about it, it's useless for us to worry about it here." Ni Tingxuan also knew that the matter would not be so simple, but what could they do now?

"It would be fine if that's the case, I'm afraid that what happened this time is based on your Ni family. I don't know if those gangsters have found anything," just when they came out, they met the gangsters from the Ministry of Punishment and were summoned.Mu Qinghan turned her head away: "I really can't stand that group of court veterans, even the slightest things will be used to make a fuss about it. They will be relegated, and they will participate in the past."

If they were really targeting the Ni family... Ni Tingxuan couldn't help trembling.

"Hey! Hey! Take it easy, it hurts..." Someone who was seriously injured immediately shouted.

The news of the assassin reached Ni Yuan's mansion two hours after the assassination ended.

"What? You said that the assassin pretended to be the servant we sent into the palace to deliver things this time?!" Ni Yuan couldn't help standing up, and asked repeatedly to the subordinate who had just delivered the news.

Daqi's current high-ranking Minister of the Ministry of War has a simple and strange appearance, his facial features are as profound and clear as knives and axes, his eyebrows are as thick as lacquer, and his bones are sharp. Heroic extraordinary forceful momentum.

"Yes, the eyeliner in the palace just sent over the information, and the subordinates have already checked it out. Li Cheng's body was found in a hidden place near the palace gate. I'm afraid they had planned a long time ago to ambush there. , taking advantage of Li Cheng’s changing clothes before entering the palace. After coming out, he passed the search and entered the palace, and after entering the palace, everyone was trembling and did not dare to say a word, so no one noticed..." A shrewd and capable middle-aged man next to Ni Yuan reported the incident in an orderly manner. He was Ni Yuan's capable subordinate Dou Feng.

Li Chengcheng is the real person in Tsing Yi this time, but he is just a rather face-saving servant of the Ni family. He is prudent and courteous, so he was specially asked to go to the palace to offer famous tea this time.

"Sir, what do you think of this matter?" Ni Yuan was silent for a moment, then turned to ask the people around him.What he asked was a haggard old man in his sixties. This was his confidant Lu Qifan.

"Your Majesty, don't be alarmed. This matter may not necessarily involve your Majesty." Lu Qifan gently twisted his long beard and said.His face has become like a piece of dry old bark, only a pair of eyes are still shining.

"How can I not be alarmed? Based on the secret report we received from the Pillar Society a few days ago, I'm afraid they are the ones who did it this time. It's hateful! I thought they would at least wait until the end of the year before doing it, but I didn't expect it to happen all of a sudden. Act in advance." Ni Yuan said bitterly.

The Pillar Club is an organization assembled by the old forces of the Liang Kingdom. Twenty years ago, Ni Yuan surrendered to Daqi. After that, Daqi conquered Liangdu with lightning speed and flattened the whole country.After the fall of the Liang State, there were unwilling old officials of the Liang State who lurked secretly and formed a Pillar Club to accumulate strength, wait for opportunities, and plot to restore the country.

No matter for Qi State, or for Ni Yuan, a traitor of Liang State, the Dongliang Society can be said to hate it to the bone. He had already received a secret report about an assassination operation, and even arranged to take this opportunity to counterattack and wipe out this force that had been against him for many years, but he did not expect them to suddenly strike ahead of time.

"What's the situation in the palace right now?" Lu Qifan asked Dou Feng, gently twisting his long beard.

"This time the incident was quite serious. Not to mention that the banquet was messed up, there were more than a dozen concubines who died, and even high-ranking concubines such as Concubine Chen Shu and Concubine Zheng were killed. Moreover, for Prince Yu to Protecting the emperor was seriously injured, oh, there is another talented person who was also seriously injured." Dou Feng replied truthfully.

"Talented?" Ni Yuan raised his head and asked, is there anything special about this talented man?
"This person is pregnant." Dou Feng explained.

"How many people did the Dongliang Society dispatch this time?" Lu Qifan couldn't help but marvel.Even if the guards are not allowed to enter the inner court family banquet, but Eunuch Xu and Eunuch Li who are beside the emperor are first-class masters, how could there be such a big loss?It stands to reason that although there are many masters in Donglianghui, they should not all rush into the palace in one go.

"The Pillar Club has dispatched thirteen people in total." Dou Feng smiled wryly.

"Only thirteen people? Then there must be peerless masters among them." Lu Qifan sighed: "There are such people in the Pillar Club!"

"One of them not only killed Eunuch Li in one move, but also seriously injured Prince Yu and Eunuch Xu. He was pretending to be Li Cheng."

"There are still such masters hidden in the Pillar Club?" Ni Yuan asked in shock.

"I'm afraid he's not a member of the Pillar Club. Although he can't recognize his face, but according to the reports from the palace's eyeliner, and his martial arts skills, he suspects that Wen Xian is the number one killer in the world." Dou Feng hesitated, "I just can't be sure. "

"It's him," Lu Qifan pondered for a moment and said, "Did someone from the Dongliang Society bribe him?"

"Although Wen Xian is a killer who recognizes money but not people, according to the secret report from Nan Chen, he is currently working under Nan Chen's Prince Cheng, Chen Qian." Ni Yuan said.

"Chen Qian was able to subdue him? This Wen Xian has always been famous in the Jianghu for being cruel and ruthless. He recognizes money but does not recognize people, and is cruel and bloodthirsty. He often slaughters people because of a disagreement, so he has many enemies in the Jianghu. , it’s just because he is young, but his martial arts are extremely high, and no one has done anything to him.”

Ni Yuan pondered for a moment, and said to Dou Feng: "Send someone to investigate this matter yourself, and find out how Chen Qian subdued Wen Xian. If it's just gold and silver, we can buy it in the same way. There are other methods..." Wen Xian's fast sword is famous all over the world, and he is also proficient in disguise thaumaturgy. As an assassin, he is really hard to guard against.

Dou Feng obeyed his orders.

Lu Qifan added: "So, this matter is probably the result of the cooperation between Dong Lianghui and Nan Chen's latent forces in Daqi."

"I'm afraid that's the case," Ni Yuan said, "It's just that the truth of this matter might as well be investigated in detail later, but there is a huge difficulty in front of us." The information he had investigated from the Pillar Club before indicated that this action was going to marry him. Misfortune to Ni Yuan, who framed him for assassinating Qi Taki, has the intention of treason.Originally, after getting the news, Ni Yuan was going to make arrangements calmly, and took the opportunity to wipe out this confidant of the Pillar Club, but he didn't expect that their sudden action disrupted his overall plan in advance.With Dong Liang's deep-seated hatred for him, it is impossible to give up the plan to frame him just because he acted ahead of time.In the body of the dead assassin, there must be some clues that point to Ni Yuan.It has been two hours now, and it is estimated that the guards in the inner hall have already started to inspect the corpse together with the Ministry of Punishment and are ready to investigate.

As an old Liang vassal, his status was originally unstable, and he was in the same position as the deep-rooted nobles of Da Qi headed by the Wang family. He is also suspicious by nature, which will greatly hinder his future actions.

"How is the emperor?" Lu Qifan asked Dou Feng again.

"With the protection of Prince Yu and others, the emperor was not injured." Dou Feng replied: "The empress and Concubine Ni are fine, the highest status of the casualties present is Concubine Chen Shu."

"Although the emperor didn't suffer any injuries, shocks are still inevitable. The only thing to be thankful for is that the queen mother didn't come to the banquet this time." Ni Yuan shook his head.

"My lord's words are wrong. Fortunately, the queen mother did not come this time." Lu Qifan chuckled.

Ni Yuan thought for a while, and immediately understood the meaning.The most fortunate thing for them about the assassination incident this time is that the Wang family was responsible for finding and selecting the troupe. If they really tracked it down, the Wang family would not be able to escape the suspicion of assassination.

In the past few years, the power of the Wang family in the court has grown day by day, making the emperor have a grudge against the Wang family, and there is still Qi Long in the palace who is not the Queen Mother's own flesh and blood, but is adopted because she is worried that she will not be able to give birth to a prince. Rumors about the son of a low-ranking palace man.Especially in such a dangerous situation, the queen mother did not come, did she know something beforehand?As long as there is a little provocation, those who are interested will inevitably have doubts in a certain direction.The Wang family has always been at odds with their Ni family, and it is not impossible for them to set things up.

Lu Qifan pondered for a moment, then raised his head and said, "My lord, I have a plan to clear my name, but my lord will suffer a lot."

"Oh, tell me quickly, sir." Ni Yuan said anxiously.

Lu Qifan murmured the plan in a low voice, Ni Yuan pondered for a while, his eyes sparkled, and he was calculating the gains and losses.

Seeing this, Lu Qifan said again: "In recent years, although the Lord has tried his best to keep a low profile and not participate in the government affairs, he has successively wiped out Wei Pingshu, and this time he has made great achievements in Nanchen. It is inevitable that some people in the court will be jealous. I am afraid that the achievements have already made a big impact. The lord is suspicious, now that Wen Xian is participating in this assassination, I am afraid that Nan Chen is going to use Chen Qian again, the lord might as well take this opportunity to hide his strength and bide his time, avoid his edge, wait and see what happens, and then try again. event."

Ni Yuan clapped his hands and laughed loudly: "Okay, let's do it like this."

(End of this chapter)