flstandardbreds Chapter 114 Backhand
Chapter 114 Backhand
The eunuchs and palace maids were strong, but the newcomers were even stronger.
The bloody blade moved with impunity, reaping the lives of the assassins who had suddenly appeared.
With the help of martial arts practitioners, in less than the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, all eighteen assassins posing as eunuchs and palace maids were eliminated.
Fei Xi had no interest in paying attention to the others in the palace hall. She let go of Gu Mingfeng, who was halfway through bandaging, and with her junior brother Ji's protection, she ran to her master Wei Jiucheng's side.
The wound on the master's injured right arm was not bright red, but rather a strange black.
Black blood kept seeping from the wound, emitting a pungent stench. Fei Xi knew at a glance that the dagger was poisoned.
Fei Xi pulled out the wrong medicine bottle several times from her bosom. Her trembling hands finally managed to hold the right bottle, but the shaking caused it to slip from her grasp.
The medicine bottle didn't fall to the ground; it landed in a pair of slender, fair hands. The owner of the hands poured out two Heavenly Fragrance Jade Dew Pills from the bottle and placed them in Fei Xi's hand.
Fei Xi looked up. The quiet man hadn't said a word, but his actions told her that he was by her side and that she didn't need to be afraid.
Holding back her tears, Fei Xi wasted no more time and quickly fed the pills to her pale-faced master, who was beginning to lose consciousness.
After feeding her the medicine, Fei Xi asked her junior brother Ji to press her master's key acupoints. At the same time, she took out her small knife, which could cut iron like mud, and her fingers flew, making the knife dance like a butterfly in her hand.
She used a knife to quickly remove the flesh and blood that had been mutated by the toxins until Wei Jiucheng's wound was no longer black and revealed its normal blood red color.
After treating the wound, Fei Xi took out silver needles to seal the key acupoints, then applied medicine and bandaged it. Only after doing all this did she have time to wipe the sweat from her face and let out a soft sigh of relief.
"Is Uncle-Master Jiucheng alright?"
"...Not yet." Fei Xi answered her junior sister's concern truthfully, then looked heavily at the black veins in her master's arm.
The dagger aimed at Hua Di was meant to kill him. Fei Xi had never seen the poison on the dagger before, but she knew in her heart that this poison was comparable to the deadly poison that kills on sight, and it was extremely fast-acting and exceptionally potent.
Now, all Fei Xi can do is seal the remaining toxins in her master's right arm.
She still needs to think of a way to completely remove the toxins from her master's body.
With Wei Jiucheng out of immediate danger, Fei Xi finally looked up and surveyed her surroundings.
As soon as she looked up, she met the eagle eyes of the Emperor Hua at the head of the table.
The elderly emperor glanced at her before turning his attention back to the people facing off below the stage.
"Your Majesty, He Jiang, as the Prefect of Yingtian Prefecture, colluded with the traitor Shi Wen and others, allowing the rebel army to enter the city. His crime deserves death!"
"Bullshit! Which bastard dares to slander your father like this! Your Majesty, you know me, Old He. Today, this old minister risked his life, braving the hail of swords and arrows from those bastards, to come and protect you without even flinching! I fought my way in and out of those rebellious bastards seven times, capturing many alive. I failed to detect their treasonous intentions in time, and I am guilty. Your Majesty, you may punish me as you see fit, I will not hesitate. But Your Majesty, please do not believe this bastard's slander. My loyalty has always been solely to Your Majesty. If Your Majesty does not believe me, I am more wronged than snow falling in June!"
Standing in the center of the stage was a burly man with a bronze complexion, broad shoulders, and a thick waist, resembling a farmer.
He was clearly younger than Emperor Hua, yet he kept calling himself an old minister, his vulgar insults spraying spittle all over the face of the old, pedantic minister opposite him.
"Hmph, I won't stoop to your level, you brute! Even if you have no treacherous intentions, the capital fell today, and you arrived late to protect the emperor, indirectly causing the tragic deaths of the Fourth Prince and Princess Yongle. What do you have to say for yourself!"
"You certainly did a good job protecting the Emperor. What? Did this old minister miss Lord Zhu's heroic act of protecting the Emperor when he came in? This old minister's only concern is His Majesty's safety, and his heart is filled with the peace of our Hua Dynasty. Every scar on this old minister's body is a wound he suffered for His Majesty. What were some of those who only know how to talk? What were they doing while this old minister shed blood for Hua Dynasty? They didn't just bark and howl!"
After He Jiangqi finished cursing, he knelt down and took out a parchment scroll and a letter from his bosom, saying to Emperor Hua:
"To be honest, Your Majesty, this old minister almost didn't see Your Majesty again today! Magistrate Li colluded with foreign enemies to steal the city's defense map, but I caught him red-handed. In trying to retrieve the map, I happened to witness Wang Zhizhong opening the south gate wide, letting the rebel army into the city! Thanks to the heroes of Tangjiabao and Pilibao, they not only helped me guard the south gate but also retrieved the map. This is the recovered map and the letter detailing Magistrate Li's collusion with foreign enemies. Please take a look, Your Majesty!"
"Do you think I don't know what others don't know? You, He Jiangqi, are the brother-in-law of the Tang family lord. You say that Judge Li is a traitor, but who knows if this is just a deliberate slander and frame-up! Your Majesty, the Tang family lord harbors rebellious intentions. First, Princess Ruiyun secretly hid prohibited weapons with the intention of rebellion. Now, I am going to accuse Prince Chengen of buying and selling official positions. The Tang family lord is absolutely involved in this rebellion!"
"Do you think I don't know, even if others don't? I'm returning it to you intact! Your third daughter-in-law, Zhu Yiyang, is none other than Chizhu Bieji, the youngest daughter of the former King of the Northern Desert. This old minister would like to ask you, Zhu Yiyang, what are your intentions in harboring a member of an enemy nation's royal family?!"
"You, you!!! This is slander!"
Lord Zhu, who was arguing with He Jiangqi, instantly turned red in the face, as if he had been greatly insulted. However, his trembling body betrayed his surprise and nervousness.
"If Your Majesty doesn't believe me, then my nephew, who was sent by this old minister, has captured Bieji and is waiting outside! Lord Qin, Lord Lu, your wives have all met this third daughter-in-law of Lord Zhu's family. Would you like to come and recognize her?"
The two adults who were called out lowered their heads and ignored He Jiangqi's words, pretending to await Emperor Hua's instructions.
"Xuan!"
At Emperor Hua's command, Tang Huaiyi escorted in a woman with gentle features and a delicate appearance.
This woman looked as delicate as a woman from Jiangnan, with an unyielding sorrow in her eyes, quite different from the three-dimensional and exquisite features of women from the northern border.
If He Jiangqi hadn't insisted that the other party was Chizhu Bieji, probably no one present would have believed that she was a woman from a northern tribe.
“Your Majesty, this woman is my third daughter-in-law, but her father is the benevolent and charitable Master Lu from the outskirts of the city. Master Lu comes from a respectable family and is gentle in nature. Since marrying into my Zhu family, she has been virtuous, kind, and dutiful. Lord He insists on calling her some kind of 'Bieji from the Northern Regions,' which is nothing short of laughable.”
"Your Majesty, please hear me out. Long ago, the King of the Northern Desert had a particularly favored concubine, the famous courtesan Chu Lian'er from Jiangnan. When Chu Lian'er gave birth to her daughter, the sun outside the tent was blazing hot, so the King of the Northern Desert named her Chizhu (Red Pearl) and immediately bestowed upon his youngest daughter the title of Chizhu Bieji..."
His gentle voice spoke eloquently and calmly, his reasoning was logical and persuasive, and he won people's approval.
Hua Di looked at the young man who was speaking to him below, Tang Jiabao...
Finally, Emperor Hua stood up and glared angrily at Zhu Yiyang, the Minister of Rites.
"You all usually call yourselves loyal ministers, and call those who uphold morality heretics demons. Today, when I am in danger, where are you loyal ministers?! You all just cower behind Prime Minister Yao, and there's even a treacherous son like Jianzi who is bringing disaster to the country and its people!..."
After finishing his tirade, Hua Di angrily pointed at Zhu Yiyang, who was already kneeling on the ground trembling with fear.
"Guards, drag this traitor out and tear him apart with five horses! The rebel Zhu Wen should be executed by slow slicing, and his entire family wiped out!"
After executing more than a dozen ministers in one fell swoop, Emperor Hua, his face grim and devoid of any smile, coldly looked at Cui Chou standing to the side and said...
"Cui Chou, inform the Spirit Hall. Give them a month to capture the old man who assassinated me and killed my beloved son today. Also, I noticed that the martial arts used by these assassins today belong to the Shaolin, Taibai, and Taoyuan sects. If they cannot give me an explanation, they will all be considered accomplices in treason."