Chapter 764: Chapter 726: Assassination (First Update)

After Dong Han left, the entire back hall of the Imperial Clan Court descended into an eerie silence.

Zhao Xi stood in front of the redwood veneer carved with ancient designs, leisurely putting away the ink-dried paintings.

On the adjacent table screen, there was a sword stand holding Zhao Xi’s protective sword, the Taixu Sword.

Except for the faint friction sound of him storing the paintings, there was no other noise, and time seemed to freeze at this moment.

Closing the painting cabinet door, Zhao Xi’s right hand lightly grasped the hilt, but in an instant, he drew the sword at lightning speed, turned swiftly, and held it horizontally in front of him, just in time to block the sharp arrows breaking through the door.

The opponent’s skills were excellent, just as Zhao Xi had previously guessed — only masters had come.

And very clearly, the nighttime assassination was just a false rumor deliberately spread by Chief Minister Yang; the real assassination had already begun.

After a few thuds, the doors and windows were broken open, and people leaped down from the roof. A dozen people surrounded Zhao Xi, holding long knives, dressed in black, with dark hooded cloaks covering their heads and masks on their faces, leaving only their cold, venomous eyes exposed.

They were Death Warriors.

It seemed Yang Xiong’an spared no expense to prevent him from walking out of the Imperial Clan Court alive.

Zhao Xi didn’t have much time to think. He leaped into the air, the Taixu Sword sweeping across as he engaged in battle with the Death Warriors.

...

In the side courtyard.

The person tasked with assassinating the Crown Prince was arranged by her grandfather. Yang Xueru felt guilty and was pondering how to explain everything to Zhao Xi when she heard intense fighting sounds coming from the back hall.

At this hour, it was still early before the assassination time her grandfather mentioned.

Thinking she misheard, Yang Xueru deliberately walked to the door, where she listened more attentively. The sound of clashing blades grew increasingly fierce, and she realized that the instruction for a nighttime assassination from her grandfather’s study was just a distraction. The assassins had probably already infiltrated the Imperial Clan Court.

Greatly alarmed, Yang Xueru quickly moved towards the direction of the fighting.

She wanted to stop the assassination, to use herself as leverage, force her grandfather to withdraw the men, and save the Crown Prince.

Unfortunately, her wishful thinking could not penetrate the chaotic and dangerous battleground where sword energy and debris flew wildly.

Just as she reached outside the inner hall, Yang Xueru was knocked to the ground by a Death Warrior that flew out. She groaned in pain, stood up, and saw seven or eight Death Warriors surrounding Zhao Xi, with several bodies of fallen Death Warriors lying everywhere in a bloody scene.

Such a sight was too much for the sheltered Yang Xueru, causing her to feel nauseated. Before she could vomit, another Death Warrior was kicked out.

Yang Xueru quickly hid behind a pillar, covering her mouth as she cautiously peeked out.

This assassination came too fast and unexpected, entirely beyond her planning. She didn’t know how she could make herself the most effective hostage.

Just then, a nearby voice of a young man filled with anger shouted, "Kill them all, leave no one!"

Yang Xueru turned her head and saw Song Yuanbao arriving with five or six Hidden Guards.

In the blink of an eye, those Guards rushed into the inner hall like a gust of wind.

With so many people joining, the fighting sounds inside grew even more intense.

Yang Xueru thought Song Yuanbao had gone in with the Guards, but just as she breathed a sigh of relief, she heard a voice beside her, "What are you doing here?"

Yang Xueru was so startled her face changed, almost collapsing against the pillar. She turned her head laboriously, meeting Song Yuanbao’s cold gaze.

With a swish, without waiting for an explanation, Song Yuanbao’s sharp longsword was already against her neck.

"Don’t, don’t kill me!" It was her first time encountering such a situation, and Yang Xueru was trembling all over, "I’m, I’m not a bad person."

"The assassin inside was arranged by your grandfather."

Song Yuanbao wasn’t asking her, just stating a fact with calmness.

The calmer it was, the more dangerous it felt.

"It has nothing to do with me." Yang Xueru explained, pale-faced, "I stand with His Highness."

"Why should I trust you?"

"You may not believe me, but you have to believe this." Yang Xueru said, trembling as she took out a token from her sleeve pocket.

It was the token for deploying the Death Warriors by Chief Minister Yang.

"These people were not arranged by me. I just stole my grandfather’s token," Yang Xueru said. "With this, I can threaten them."

Song Yuanbao squinted his eyes, evidently harboring various doubts about Yang Xueru’s words.

Seeing that he still refused to believe, Yang Xueru was almost about to cry from anxiety, "If it really doesn’t work, you can take me as a hostage. If I raise the Token and go out, they will definitely be apprehensive."

Upon hearing this, Song Yuanbao, holding a sword in one hand, forcefully dragged Yang Xueru over with the other, indeed taking her hostage as they walked inside, shouting loudly: "Everyone stop, or I’ll kill her!"

The development of events was completely out of Yang Xueru’s plan. The one holding her hostage was not Zhao Xi; she could feel the cold, icy blade pressed against her throat.

Song Wei died at the hands of the Tongji Association, and the master behind the Tongji Association was Chief Minister Yang. Yang Xueru was well aware that if she fell into Song Yuanbao’s hands, she might not survive, thus she was terrified.

The Death Warriors inside, seeing the Token in Yang Xueru’s hand, glanced at each other before gradually stopping their fighting, each pointing their sword at Song Yuanbao, their gazes filled with vigilance.

"Who is this, I suppose I needn’t introduce further. If any of you dare harm a single hair of the Crown Prince today, I’ll make sure she never rests in peace!"

As he spoke, the sword pressed against Yang Xueru’s neck applied even more pressure.

Blood immediately appeared on Yang Xueru’s neck, she was terrified, raising the Token even higher, struggling to say: "Back down, all of you back down!"

The principle of the Death Warriors when executing tasks is to never rest until death, but helplessly, with Yang Xueru holding the Token, they had to retreat halfway.

The Hidden Guards brought by Zhao Xi also gradually withdrew.

Soon, only Zhao Xi, Song Yuanbao, and Yang Xueru, who was being held hostage by Song Yuanbao, remained at the scene, along with the corpses on the ground that had yet to be dealt with.

Song Yuanbao didn’t release Yang Xueru; instead, he knocked her out with a hand strike, found a rope, and tied the woman up tightly to a pillar, pocketing her Token, before looking at Zhao Xi, "I arrived late to rescue, causing Your Highness to be startled."

Zhao Xi glanced at Yang Xueru, "Why is she here?"

Song Yuanbao replied: "Came to court death on her own, couldn’t stop her." After a pause, he asked again, "Was Your Highness injured anywhere?"

Zhao Xi shook his head, "No injury."

Song Yuanbao looked at the bodies of the Death Warriors on the ground, gritting his teeth in hatred, "I really didn’t expect the Yang Family to be so brazen as to openly assassinate the Crown Prince. By the way, Your Highness, I heard when I came that none of the ministers who went to the morning court have returned home. Most likely something happened in the palace, the Emperor is in danger, should we go rescue him now?"

Zhao Xi sat down, his face showing no panic or disarray from the fight. Although the Death Warriors who came were all experts, their grade was lower than his, so dealing with them wasn’t too difficult.

Not hearing Zhao Xi’s answer, Song Yuanbao called softly, "Your Highness?"

"It’s not suitable to go out now." Zhao Xi said slowly.

"Why?"

"The martial arts grade of the Death Warriors is lower than mine, in a one-on-one fight, they can’t beat me. Yang Xiong’an wants to play a numbers game." Zhao Xi said, "The assassination just now was only the beginning. If I’m not mistaken, since you came in, the Death Warriors outside have been redeploying. Two fists are no match for four. If we go out now, we’re just sending ourselves to death."

"Then what should we do?" Song Yuanbao asked anxiously, "With such a big incident, are we just going to sit here and wait for our doom?"

"No." Zhao Xi said, "At this hour, the rescue team has already entered the capital. The subsequent matters have someone to arrange; we should wait and see."

Song Yuanbao suspiciously looked at him, "The person Your Highness mentioned, who is it?"

"Song Wei."

Song Yuanbao lowered his eyelids, "If I hadn’t personally seen Yun Huai take my father away for treatment, I almost would have believed that the person lying in the coffin that day was him."

Zhao Xi smiled, "Song Wei has my orders in hand, he wouldn’t dare just die like that."

Song Yuanbao sighed, "To be honest, Your Highness, did you know long ago that the Yang Family was conspiring?"

"The Yang Family’s conspiracy is not a day or two, just didn’t expect they’d resort to forcing the palace this quickly, certainly surprising."

"So does that mean the reason the Emperor was shot with an arrow was also because of the Yang Family’s doing, trying to frame Your Highness?"

Zhao Xi said, "The arrow in Father’s chest was not from the Yang Family."

Song Yuanbao listened more and more confused, "Then who else could it be? Could it really be Your Highness?"

"Indeed, it was me."

Song Yuanbao was shocked, "You?"

Assassinating the Monarch is a grave crime!

"I shot the arrow, but hitting Father was an accident, Mr. Cui didn’t lie, it was a stray arrow."

Song Yuanbao still found it unlikely, "Your Highness is a master archer with impeccable aim. Missing a target is one thing, but for it to turn into a stray arrow hitting the Emperor, that’s too far-fetched!"